Throughout my life I’ve heard the same modern composed Christmas songs every Christmas — “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”, “Winter Wonderland”, “Frosty the Snowman” etc…..And, ironically it seems, there have never been new ones since I was about five years old. Yes — a couple — “Do You Hear What I Hear” and “Little […]
First lady Michelle Obama got into the Christmas spirit Saturday by helping field phone calls from excited children eagerly tracking Santa and his sleigh full of toys across the world.
“I’ve spotted a little dot, flashing dot that is over — right now, Santa’s sleigh is over the country of Latvia. And he’s delivering […]
A California Toys R Us just got a visit from the American Express angel. A mystery woman described only as a “retired grandma” surprised and delighted shoppers at a Culver City store Friday by swooping in with her plastic to pay for holiday purchases.
“She was very quiet and unassuming and nobody in line had […]
The truly bizarre yet strangely compelling nightly border closure ceremony involving both the Indian and Pakistani border guards at the Attaga border crossing. Apparently this is how they close the border every day at the end of the day.
It isn’t that often that Ethiopia makes it into the news these days — and now when it does, it’s not for the right reasons. I spent two years of my life in Addis Ababa and the hinterlands of Ethiopia at a time when the country was Africa’s equivalent to Cuba — a hardline communist […]
I wrote once, quasi-famously it turns out, about the empathy, grace, and humility of Manny Pacquiao. It was gratifying, even thrilling, to see the response — more than 200,000 read the article; 39,000 fowarded it to Facebook, and through it all what came through was a deep, heartfelt appreciation by everyone –myself and all […]
I wrote once, quasi-famously it turns out, about the empathy, grace, and humility of Manny Pacquiao. It was gratifying, even thrilling, to see the response — more than 200,000 read the article; 39,000 fowarded it to Facebook, and through it all what came through was a deep, heartfelt appreciation by everyone –myself and all […]
One by one they are leaving us. First it was Corazon Aquino, whose People Power Revolution of 1986 fired imaginations around the world and ignited the possibility of People Power. Half a world away, in grey, central European streets of Prague, another unlikely pro-democracy leader was emerging — a playwright, not a politician, who would […]
Here’s a wonderful 3 minutes from Carl Sagan on how as a young boy he was mesmerized by the Mars of John Carter, Tars Tarkas, and Dejah Thoris. The reverence with which he speaks of the imaginative transport that the stories achieved for him, and how they inspired him to consider the possibility of the […]
A friend of mine sent around a powerpoint presentation entitled “If the World Were a Village of 100 People” which was very moving and I wanted to share it, but Powerpoint doesn’t share so well on a blog, so I went to YouTube and found there are a bunch of people who have done videos […]
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it does. Christopher Hitchens, one of the free-est of the free thinkers I’ve ever come across, a guy who tossed ideas like hand grenades and liked enough whiskey “to kill or stun the average mule”, has died after all all too brief battle with esophogeal cancer. He was […]
The Golden Globe nominations are out, and along with a spate of other nominations announced this week, the 2011 Oscar field is taking shape with three films leading the way and a few others close behind. The Artist, a unique silent comedy in black and white that has the critics extremely excited, led the way […]
Rolfo “Julius” Dogillo will get to spend Christmas with his father in the Philippines — something he might not have been able to do if it hadn’t been for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Guam and TakeCare Insurance Company.
Yesterday morning TakeCare donated $7,500 to fund 15-year-old Dogillo and his family’s trip to the Philippines where he […]
This is the kind of thing that is hard to understand from abroad, particularly in America where the institutions of government are given greater weight and value than the individuals occupying them. It bears watching.
MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Renato Corona on Monday finally broke his silence amid the criticisms leveled against him and […]
Rummaging around the internet looking for Fil-Am war nuggets, I came across this interesting 8 minute video on American architect Daniel Burhnam, who was commissioned to design Baguio City as a “Hill Station” and summer capital for the Americans during the early colonial period, and whose name continues to be associated today with Baguio because […]
by Col. John E. Olson, USA (Ret.)
“Stand aside, the Scouts are coming.” These simple words contained in a poem written by an American officer in a Japanese POW camp shortly after the fall of Bataan reflect a sincere and respectful tribute to some of the finest soldiers ever to serve in the U.S. […]
Freddie Roach, newly minted Hall of Fame trainer, will have his wares on display tonight when Amir Khan takes on Lamont Petersen. In today’s Washington Post, Mike Wise has written a great tribute to Freddie that reminds us of where Freddie has been, and what he’s had to deal with.
Freddie Roach got off the […]
by David Ignatius
Is American power in decline, relative to the rest of the world? That question is at the center of a provocative study by the U.S. intelligence community exploring what the world might look like in 2030.
The answer, judging by comments from a panel convened to discuss the topic, is that […]
A friend of the Philippines, Carol Merrill, alerted me to “Forgotten Soldiers”, a documentary about the U.S. Army’s Philippine Scouts, which will premiere in January 2012. This is a film that I hope fervently will be seen and gain an audience. For Producer/Director Donald Plata and writer Chris Schaefer it has clearly been a labor […]
Here is how the NY Times is reporting on the transfer of GMA to a military hospital
MANILA — The former president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was moved through heavy traffic and pounding rain to a government hospital Friday to await […]
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC 8: The Philippines emerging as the most-preferred destination for voice-based BPO destination is a wake-up call for the larger Indian BPO sector, says Mr V. K. Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group.
The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) had declared recently that its call centre business had grown over 20 per cent […]
Philippine director Marlon Rivera exploits cliches to lambast of the pretensions of independent cinema in his country and his fellow filmmakers’ inflated egos.
BUSAN, South Korea — A mockumentary about filmmaking and a gritty-realist tragedy of child prostitution in a Manila slum are arguably two of the most je jeune offerings in a festival lineup. Philippine director Marlon […]
Good ol’ michaeldsellers.com has evolved a site where I spend a lot of my time writing about an object of great passion in my life — the Philppines. I have some other sites “on the side” as well — and last Saturday I came to realize that was time to make another one because it’s […]
The satirical Borowitz Report is reporting that Mitt Romney is currently huddled with his advisors considering a “bold strategy” of a high profile extra-marital affair in order to compete on more equal terms with former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich, who has blown past Romney in the latest polls.
Growing up in America, December 7th was burned into my mind as the “day that will live in infamy”, as indeed it was. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a horrific blow on the United States that knew no equal until September 11, 2001. But the Philippines was part of the United States in 1941, […]
One of the really truly “good guys” in sport has been given an award that he deserves: Freddie Roach is in the boxing Hall of Fame. Widely considered as the finest trainer in boxing today, Roach has been elected to the 2012 class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF). 12 others made the […]
A friend sent me this link and I’m sharing it. Very compelling short film (very short) called “Last Day Dream” by acclaimed director Chris Milk. Most likely after you watch it once you’ll “get it” and want to watch it again. Enjoy.
Behind the scenes with an American film crew in the Philippines shooting Goodbye America
Manila Standard and Philboxing writing Ronnie Nathanielsz has taken steps to contain an upraor that ensued after Nathanielsz wrote an article in which he appeared to refer to Manny Pacquiao as the “former pound for pound king”. The article in question was about Manny Pacquiao sparring partner Glenn Tapia, who won his fight on the […]
In the aftermath of the release of the new trailer of John Carter, set for release on March 9th, it’s been interesting to watch all the flame-throwiing on YouTube and elsewhere by those who say “It’s a ripoff of Avatar”, and those who say “Dude, Avatar was based on this.” The truth is, Edgar Rice […]
