Dear Pres. Obama: Happy Earth Day!

Excerpts from Kari Norgaard's open letter to Obama, posted on Whitman College's website:

Asst. Prof. of Sociology and Environmental Studies

First of all, I’d like to say thank you for taking our environment seriously. At this point, our most profound moral, economic and social obligation is to bring climate change under control...

Don’t wait for public consensus on climate change... Public opinion does matter in a democracy, but this is a time when following it would be a serious mistake....

This is the same quack professor who suggested that "'cultural resistance' to accepting humans as being responsible for climate change ‘must be recognised and treated’ as an aberrant sociological behaviour... equitable to overcoming ‘racism or slavery in the U.S. South’"(UK Daily Mail)

She had presented her paper in the same environmental conference, "Planet Under Pressure," that put out a consensus statement "calling for humans to be packed into denser cities so that the rest of the planet can be surrendered to mother nature." This is ironic since in her faculty bio webpage, which has since been disabled by both Whitman College and Oregon University, she describes herself as loving the outdoors and being with nature. I guess the draconian rules these environmental fascists want to impose on everyone else do not apply to them. They want more pristine nature only for themselves.

Yes, let's cede our freedoms to these environmental technocrats...



Happy Earthday!

Metro Manila by Rail

Metropolitan Manila (Metro Manila) encompasses 17 townships, so it is a challenge to get around, especially for one who lives in the south (Parañaque) and works in the north (Quezon City). It can take more than a couple of hours to navigate the 15.5-mile (25-km) route due to traffic congestion.

Metro Manila

The most efficient way, I found, was to do most of the trip by rail, starting with the PNR (Philippine National Railways, Orange Line) train from Bicutan to EDSA/Magallanes, an MRT-3 (Metro Rail Transit, Blue Line) train to Araneta Center-Cubao, then finally an MRT/LRT-2 (Light Rail Transit, Purple Line) train to Katipunan.

The trip takes just about an hour, including walk/wait times between stations. The only hitch is the congestion inside the rail cars* during peak hours. Be prepared to be intimate with your fellow man and mindful of pickpockets. It also helps to have a stored-value ticket on hand to breeze through the turnstiles.





This, however, does not include getting out of Better Living Subdivision, where we live, to go to the Bicutan PNR station. That can take from 20-40 min, depending on the traffic along Doña Soledad Ave. I would either hitch a ride with my brother-in-law when he goes to work, or have Tatay drive me there. Otherwise, it would have to be the dreaded tricycle. Ugh!

Tricyle

From SM Bicutan, where I get dropped off, there are elevated pedestrian walkways across South Luzon Expressway that takes you directly to the PNR train station--a legacy of former MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) chairman Bayani Fernando, who obsessed about traffic efficiency.

On the other hand, the short walk from the Katipunan MRT-2 station is the nightmare leg of the trip. The pollution from jeepney congestion along Aurora Boulevard is horrendous, and the buildings on that corner (St. Bridget School) all but encroached on the sidewalk that pedestrians sometimes need to occupy the street.

Jeepney mess
(Source: runningpinoy.wordpress.com)

It is not advisable to take the tricycle to Ateneo. They force you to go solo, which costs PHP25--an exorbitant fee considering the distance serviced. Furthermore, the drivers are also reckless, zig-zagging between cars and going over the sidewalks. You are also seated so low in a tricycle that you're practically inhaling exhaust directly from tailpipes. Disgusting.

Under the base of the Katpunan fly-over, among street hawkers, is the station of jeepneys that finally takes me to Ateneo's Gate 3. Thus begins another work day at the university.

Acheche!

Found this hilarious t-shirt at Shoppesville in Greenhills:

Warm and fuzzy as Hello Kitty

The Argentine Marxist revolutionary must be turning in his grave. His iconic visage has attained the currency of a brand in consumer capitalist West. Every latte-sipping, tofu-noshing college kid has one in his/her closet to rubber-stamp their callow activism.

I love the way this t-shirt fully embraces what Che's image has really become--a trendy, hipster brand. It is a testament of how capitalism neutralizes the ideologies of its opponents by simply turning them into commodities. Haha!

Greenhills as Punk Bazaar

I vote this the most improved shopping center in Metro Manila. I was surprised at all the changes since I left. The stalls are less overcrowded, there is more parking space, and the shopping areas now brightly lit. I used to attend nearby La Salle high school, and witnessed how over the years this once plush shopping center fell into disrepair up until I left for the US. Virra Mall became a shabby place where one went to procure pirated DVDs in shady, nondescript shops. Now, the vibe is back!


Electronics bazaar: we had the motherboard of my Mom's iPod Touch changed for $116

What I'm delighted the most is what has not changed about Greenhills--they have managed to maintain the feeling of bazaar in the Middle-Eastern sense. Unlike Bonifacio Highstreet and Ayala Greenbelt, which features only restrictive high-end shops, here, there is still space for tiangges (informal stalls) where sellers of native goods, Chinese knock-offs, and bootlegs thrive, and where one can still haggle with the proprietors for the best deal.


Shop specializing only in action figures


Knock-offs: Angry Birds craze takes over Manila


Shop that repairs all types of printers, including 80s dot matrix models

The flea market form and labyrinthine organization embraced by Greenhills has always reminded me of LA Chinatown in the cyberpunk movie Bladerunner. Though now less dingy and more respectable, it still maintains the informality and anti-establishment ethos Ridley Scott's punk bazaar.

Mall Numerology

These malls in the Binondo area (Chinatown) all have numerical names, a Chinese penchant for lucky numbers.


168 Mall, i.e., 24 x 7


11/88 Mall and 999 Mall

The Devil Made Me Do It

I was amused to find this political t-shirt that is typically American and conservative in the piles of knock-offs at the Divi Mall.



It is a mockery of how liberals condescendingly portray heartland conservatives as mindless drones controlled by Fox News Corp. I wonder who among the bargain hunters here get it.

These Third World capitalists (and trademark pirates) going about their own business most likely don't know and don't care.

Device Savvy

At the Divi Mall food court, you can also find these cellphone repair shops...



where device savvy street urchins download Pixar cartoons on their mobile phones!

Food Trip: Hopia

Philippine version of the Chinese moon cake, filled with mung beans and sometimes pork, purple yam, and salted duck eggs. Freshly prepared at the Divi Mall food court.

Divisoria Mall

Went Christmas shopping at Divisoria Mall. Divisoria is known as the place to get rock-bottom prices, but navigating its streets is not for the faint of heart.


Street-side stalls, polluted Manila estero


Nanay checking out noise-makers for New Year's Eve

Fruit stand


Kiwi, Dragon Fruit, Pomelo, Durian


Angry Birds craze, "Bawal Pisilin" (please don't squeeze)

"Divi" Mall is a step up from street-side stalls. It's pasilios (lanes) are clean and air-conditioned, even if still too narrow and overcrowded. It's not exactly a mall, more like 5 stories of bazaars selling knock-offs from China.

Pasilio


children's toys, mobile phones


DVDs and music CDs (organized simply into "male" and "female" singers)

Food Trip: Callos

Nanay prepared this Spanish dish of ox tripes, chorizo de bilbao, garbanzos, and olives in tomato sauce. The tripe has to be boiled twice: the first time to remove the debris that forms from cleaning the tripes by scraping with a knife, and the second time to cook until tender.

Food Trip: Balut

The ultimate Filipino street food. Foreigners dread being egged on to eat this boiled duck fetus by cheering Filipinos. Giving in is sure to win instant acceptance with the amused locals.


Street hawkers sell balut around the city from the town of Pateros (lit. "duck farmers")


To eat balut, first crack the egg from one end...


and drink the broth of the amniotic fluid


then peel off the rest of the shell (revealing the curled up duck fetus sitting on the albumin)


and savor the meaty goodness

Burp!

Here's a video of my dad enjoying balut:

Food Trip: Puto

What a difference the banana leaves make. I hardly paid attention to the fragrance it adds to this kakanin, until I tried to make puto and bibingka without it. No banana trees in Illinois. Darn.

Berso sa Metro: Hindi mapapagod sa paghihintay

Si alguna vez la vida te maltrata,
acuérdate de mi,
que no puede cansarse de esperar
aquel que nose cansa de mirarte.

Kung sakaling malupit sa iyo ang kapalaran,
alalahanin mo ako,
dahil hindi mapapagod sa paghihintay
itong walang sawang tumitingin sa iyo.

Luis Garcia Montero (Granada 1961- )