Bloomberg’s William Psesek writes today about the Philippines and althoug his headline is a bit of a downer, the article overall has some good points. The headline? “Philippine Soap Opera is a Downer”. The soap opera being referenced, of course, is the arrest of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the ongoing struggle over her […]
I put this out there once before but I’m going to do it again because every time I read this I get pretty seriously cranky. This is a description of Manila from Gary Allen Poole’s biography “Pacman: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao”:
“…Manila, the decaying capital of the Philippines. It’s one of Southeast Asia’s […]
In Yahoo’s “Year in Review” data released today, Manny Pacquiao is number 3 on the list of “Most Searched Athletes”. Danica Patrick was number one; Tiger Woods was number 2. Following Manny were Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kris Humprhries, Hope Solo, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Caroline Wozniacki. Since this is an American poll, it’s […]
In an annual corruption survey carried out by the group Transparency International, the Philippines has moved up from 134 out of 183 countries rated last year, to 129th. In Asia, the Philippines ranked 25th out of 35. While the gains are modest, the trend is regarded as significant and reflects improved perceptions of the Philippines […]
Could it be that the fight that everyone wants to see is actually going to happen? After sounding less than certain about it a few days ago, Manny Pacquiao now sounds more confident that the fight will be made, saying there are only a few “little things” to sort out before he signs and the […]
Wow, I wasted a whole evening ranting about how lame the new John Carter Trailer was, based on the very lame piece of x%&# that they showed on GMA this morning. But ….my prayers are answered. 18 hours later the ACTUAL new trailer is out and it is much, much better. What gives? What the […]
WELL, I DECIDED TO RETIRE THIS PAGE BECAUSE, THANK GOD, THEY CAME OUT WITH THE REAL TRAILER AND IT LOOKS GOOD.
VISIT THE JOHN CARTER FILES FOR MORE ON THIS.
This is one of the simplest and most ingenious ideas to come along in a long time. It’s caught the attention of the United Nations and others. Here is the article from AFP explaining Filipino entrepreneur Illac Diaz has figured out a way to used discarded soft drink bottles to light homes for free during […]
Bad news for the humble gecko, the nocturnal lizard that specializes in wall climbing and is considered good luck in the Philippines and elsewhere. The Washington Post is reporting that there is a booming trade in geckos and that the going black market rate in the Philippines for an 11 oz gecko lizard is $1,160 […]
It took him a couple of weeks to come out with it, but LA times boxing writer Lance Pugmire has written an excellent article on the dilemma of how to score a close boxing match such as the Pacquiao-Marquez III fight on November 12. Pugmire explores the difference in effect between watching a bout on […]
The Philippine Star is reporting multiple sightings of a pair rare Philippine eagles and their offspring on Apayao. The eagles were seen on November 6, 8, and 19. Photographs taken represent the first photos of Philippine eagles ever taken in the Cordillera administrative region.
A roundup of Philippine news taken from Philippine and international publications. Click “Continue Reading” to access the full feed. Stories include updates on GMA detention; an international analysis of Chinese/Philippine relations, and 30 other articles.
Floyd Mayweather has called out Manny Pacquiao, claiming he’s ready to fight the Filipino on May 5, 2012. In a video linked to Mayweather’s Twitter feed, Mayweather had this to say: “I’ve been told May 5 is open,” he said. “Losing is in Pacquiao’s mind because he lost just last week. He lost to Marquez […]
A Youtube user named “tierraboricua” has edited a lengthy documentary on the Spanish American War into five digestible episodes dealing with the Philippines. I’ve gathered them all together into a single blog post so they are easy to find and view. There is some excellent archival footage of the Philippines and the Philippine-American War in […]
Tamil singer Dhanush and a group of Indian producers and writers have produced a song in “Tamglish” that has gone viral in a major way. What does Kolaveri mean? Even Tamil listeners are asking. Urbanictionary.com has been nice enough to provide a definition. According to the website kolaveri means — “A strong urge to kill […]
The New York Times is reporting that the Philippines is the “new capital of call centers”, overtaking India which now ranks second behind the Philippines as a home for call centers for US companies. The times estimates that 400,000 Filipinos now work in call centers and Filipinos have become more preferable to Indian call center […]
Dear Juan Manuel Marquez,
First, thank you for your consideration given to my previous letter, written after your November 12 trilogy fight with Manny Pacquiao (Dear Juan Manuel Marquez). The reason I’m writing a second time is that Don Donatello has written a good article in Now Boxing which I would like to […]
BREAKING NEWS: At least 3 people were killed today when a powerful bomb exploded in a budget hotel in Zamboanga City, Philippines on Monday (Sunday night in the US). The blast was centered on the second floor of Atilano Pension House and caused the second floor to collapse while blowing off the roof. It then […]
Twelve hours after the first reports of a horrific friendly fire incident along the Pakistan border, the question What really happened? remains largely unanswered, but tidbits are beginning to emerge. In the early hours one news source, the UK’s Guardian newspapers, was alone in reporting that NATO forces had fired in response to incoming fire […]
For most casual observers, the 2012 campaign to date has been little more than background static, but the surprising endorsement today of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich by the prestigious Manchester Union Leader newspaper in key first primary state New Hampshire rises to the level of something that even casual observers should notice. New Hampshire […]
The US and NATO are on the defensive in Pakistan, where a NATO attack has killed 28 Pakistani soldiers occupying a border checkpoint on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Pakistan government has blocked shipment of NATO supplies in retaliation, and has ordered NATO to vacate an air force base which the US has […]
The overnight Nielsens are in and the Lady Gaga Special (reviewed here yesterday), drew 5.5M viewers making it ABC’s highest rated show in this particular timeslot in the last four years, and more than 1m more viewers than watched on ABC in the same timeslot a year ago.
The special featured a range of […]
I came across an article the other day quoting Philippine Tourism officials as saying that the target for tourism arrivals is being increased from 8.5m to 10m annually andmy first impression was — huh? that’s a big number, Philippines Tourism must be doing better than I thought. I assumed the numbers applied to 2012 or […]
Early Saturday morning, after a 15 hour bargaining session and a 149 day lockout, NBA commissioner David Stern and representatives of the owners and the players of the NBA announced that a tentative deal has been struck that calls for training camps to open on December 9, and an abbreviated 66 game season to begin […]
The 2011 Philippine Blog Awards (http://philippineblogawards.com.ph) announced today the finalists for the “Bloggers Choice” Awards category among Fililpino Bloggers.
ARMIE YUSON (http://armieyuson.blogspot.com/)
Bluecloud’s Confessions (http://bluecloud1003.blogspot.com/)
Jerry Polence: Filipina Cosplayer (http://www.polence.com/)
Empowerment in just 1 click (http://empoweredgrace.blogspot.com)
Mykiru Isyusero (http://mykiru.blogspot.com)
Libre Lang […]
Manny Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza has “gone off” on Bob Arum and Michael Koncz in an interview with Boxing Scene and in so doing may have drawn a battle line that will lead to seriou schisms within Team Pacquiao. I don’t see how he can go down this road without […]
It took a while for Lady Gaga to really break through into my consciousness — Poker Face slipped right past me; Bad Romance (and wacky fashion statements) got her on my radar; Edge of Glory intrigued me; but it wasn’t until Born This Way that I began to think seriously that she could be someone […]
We were having our Thanksgiving dinner and a promo for the Lady Gaga Thanksgiving special came on, which caused me to bring up Maria Aragon — thinking everyone knew the story of how the Filipina-Canadian was discovered by Lady Gaga on Youtube and the rest is history. None of my web-savvy kids knew the story, […]
Those fallen in battle on either side of a conflict always have a story, and most of those stories are quickly lost and soon forgotten. One story worth remembering of a hero who understood and honored his enemy is that of Lt. Ernest H. Johnson, a Nebraska volunteer who, like many American adventurers at the turn […]
