Wednesday – 19 Oct 2011

[smartads] For this post I began on Sunday afternoon, because that is were I left off on the last post.  If you are a little lost, then maybe reading the last post will get you up to speed.  That should not be necessary though to understand what is going on, that would be for background purposes only.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Mindoro

Oriental Mindoro (Filipino: Silangang Mindoro, “Eastern Mindoro”; Spanish: Mindoro Oriental) is a province of the Philippineslocated in the island of Mindoro under MIMAROPA region in Luzon, about 140 km southwest of Manila. The province is bordered by the Verde Island Passage and the rest of Batangas to the north, by Marinduque, Maestro del Ocampo Island, Tablas Strait and the rest of Romblon to the east, by Semirara and the rest of Caluya Islands, Antique to the south, and by Occidental Mindoro to the west.Calapan City, the only city in the island, is the provincial capital.

Oriental Mindoro is touted as the country’s emerging eco-tourism destination. In 2005, the Philippines was found to be the center of marine fish biodiversity and the home of the most diverse marine ecosystem in the world, by American biologists Kent Carpenter and Victor Springer. Most of the endemic species in the Philippines are found in the Verde Island Passage between Mindoro island and the main island of Luzon. The passage houses 2,983 individual species of algae, corals, crustaceans, mollusks, fishes, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, based on a study conducted by scientists Carpenter and Springer in 2005.

http://www.islandsproperties.com/maps/orientalmindoro.htm

Hits Sunday night, Oct 16 @ 10:09pm = 1406057=7917

Hits for Monday, Oct 17 @ 0021 (Tuesday) = 1414524=8467

I didn’t do a hit count for Tuesday.  I decided to surprise, no, more like shock :Amazed: Lita and not get on the computer on Tuesday evening.  I always get on the computer if it is up so I figured I’d make her ask why wasn’t I on the computer or what’s wrong with the computer.  It worked.  At 10:17pm last night, she asked me what was wrong with the computer.  Of course the computer is fine and I hope you like the post for today.

Lita got back from church/market/Judith’s about 1:10pm.  She bought some pan de leche (milk bread), at least that is what she called it.  I like to try some things and bread happens to be one of them.  I tried it and it was pretty good.  In fact I was thinking that if I had a very large one of those I could make myself a sandwich, if I could get the right ingredients for a sandwich that I like.  Lita’s glad I like it and she says she can get it larger, so I may get my wish of that sandwich yet. Around here it would probably end up being a BLT and maybe without the “L”.  Of course I can always use the fried potatoes and fried onions like I did this evening for supper, but I’d prefer the former.

http://www.mapsir.com/1221/

I added a couple of links to the Blogroll.  The first is Flavours of Iloilo.  It is a website about enjoying the heart   :Heart: of the Philippines through your stomach.  There are a few interesting articles there and lots of pictures of food.  The second link is Anti-Pinoy.  This site is written by a Filipino guy that basically just tells it like it is, in his opinion.  It has become one of my favorite websites because he thinks a lot like I do.  Of course I don’t agree with everything he says, but much of it I do.   He talks about what the problem with the Filipino is, why and what he thinks should be done.  I have already posted 2 or 3 articles by this guy and I would recommend giving his site a view to see the thoughts, ideas and BS this guy has to express. I think that a lot of people feel the way he does, but they don’t have the means and/or the guts say anything.  He’s definitely not shy about putting his thoughts down in type for all to see and hopefully it will wake some people up as to what is going on with the Philippines.

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-photo/switdyen/1/1260292794/tamaraw-falls.jpg/tpod.html

Titing and Emei were out front drinking most of the afternoon and early evening.  Their drink of choice today was bourbon. I forget the name of it, but it was one of the cheap version they have here.  I think they started out with Sting and ended up drinking most of that bourbon mixed with the Mountain Dew. Usually it is Tanduay mixed with Mountain Dew or Sting .  They offered me some a couple of times, but I don’t like to drink bourbon or any dark colored liquor.  I prefer tequila or vodka if I’m going to have hard liquor, but preferably I rather just stick to drinking beer.   :Beer: They are always trying to get me to try their Tanduay or bourbon.

http://www.asiatravel.com/philippines/puertogalera/mermaid/index.html

On Monday I sat out in LolyKat just to get out of the house.  I brought my glasses and I did a couple of the large crossword puzzles, in ink.   :Who-s-the-man:  I would classify the puzzles I did as between easy and medium, but a lot closer to medium than easy.  I completed them all and only missed 1 letter.  A 5 letter word for ‘gray’ should have been ‘dingy’ instead of ‘dinty’ and a 5 letter word for ‘sad song’, starting with D-I-R, is ‘dirge’.

Heads up Philippine Knowledge: When using the modes of transportation, know the approximate going rate.  In my experience riding, the drivers usually do not offer change unless you ask for it.  I’ve noticed that the most common way to ask here seems to be non-verbal.  When you give them the money, just sit in the vehicle and they normally with just give you the change because they assume that is what you are waiting for.  I have asked what I owed before and all I got has a shrug in one case and a, “Whatever you want”, in another case.  The second case was for a longer than normal ride in a pajak-pajak.  It was from downtown Calbayog to our house, approximately 1 mile.

http://www.maplandia.com/philippines/region-4/oriental-mindoro/puerto-galera/hotels/marco-vincent-dive-resort/

Lita found out on Sunday that the going rate for a round trip of Calbayog-Tambis-Calbayog is P1000 ($23.25) per person.  I also asked Cathy about it on Monday evening and she said the same thing.  So I figure that between the transportation, the eating and the extra’s I’m sure to find in the supermarket, we will save a little over P2000 because I will not be going to Tambis with Lita, Grace and Jay on that trip.  Yeah I know, I’m always talking about wanting to go someplace.  My strategy is to get the bills paid faster, so I will be able to go more places later.  I will use that P2000 to pay more on a bill or two. Lita will be stopping by Robinson Mall on the way back for me and I have given her a list of things I want, I even prioritized the list.  Since I won’t be there looking around, we won’t spend money on what my stomach makes me pick up and put in the basket.  I don’t ask for much to get along.  My top priorities on the list are Underwood Chicken Spread, since I never see the Deviled Ham there and canned tomatoes.  The usual sauces, cornmeal and Skyflake cheese crackers round out the list.  See I don’t ask for much.

While she is gone I plan to visit downtown and RFM area to take pictures.  Lita doesn’t like to walk around just to take pictures.  I’m sure I will be able to recruit a volunteer, without much trouble, to go around with me.  There are at least 2 new restaurants that I need to take pictures of and, of course, the area where Robinson Mall is going to be built (RFM). Maybe I will be able to get closer to the new market and get newer pictures of that also.  The possibilities are endless, as long as those possibilities don’t cost any money.

http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2009/07/mt-halcon-2582.html

On Monday, Lita left for the market around 5:00pm and it started pouring down rain about 5:17pm.  I figured she wouldn’t be too happy about that.  She didn’t think to bring an umbrella with her because it didn’t look like rain, but that changes quick around here.  I was right, when she got back, she was soaked.  She was also tired :Tired: and her foot was hurting.  Jay and I carried the groceries in and, after she went to the CR, Lita went to bed.  After a couple of hours of sleeping :Zzzzzz: , she was fine.

I have a couple of more items to talk about but I’m considering doing separate stories on those, just to get in a little editorial type post.  I want to do a little research on them before I jump into it though.  I’ve touched on both the subjects before and mostly gave my opinion already, but I’ve heard recent news on both of them and want to see how the rest of the world views them before doing the post.

http://www.viewphotos.org/philippines/images-of-Bansud-3618.html

You probably noticed the Smiley’s that I put in here.  I just added those and thought I’d give them a try for awhile to see if it makes a difference for the website.  You know I like to try new things out to try to improve whenever I can.  :Happy:

Thank you for being patient with me on this infrequent posts.  They will probably continue to be infrequent though unless I get a very eventful day.  The day/days off in between doing the posts have been good for me.  If I am not going to do a post I will still try to get in something so the day will not be for nothing and you will know that I am still around.

http://www.flyphilippines.com/mindorooriental.php

Salamat, Palaam

Today in Philippine History

14 OCTOBER

1896 – Approximately 150 Filipinos suspected of involvement in the Philippine  Revolution against Spain are boarded on  SS Manila for exile to Fernando Po island (in Equatorial Guinea);  some six weeks earlier, revolutionists,  members of the secret society-turned-revolutionary-governmentKagalanggalangang Katipunan nang  manga Anak nang  Bayan (KKK) led by Supremo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro began the revolution  against the over-three-centuries-long  colonial rule, with the Spanish  governor-general and other officials  harshly responding with the imposition of  martial rule, widespread arrests and  execution of native patriots.1899 – The official organ of the fledgling  Philippine Republic, Gaceta de Filipinas  (originally El Heraldo de la Revolucion),  comes out with its final issue as the  imperialist American invaders close in on  the Philippine government-on-the-run led  by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo eight months into what will prove to be a bloodily protracted Philippine American War (1899-1914); having beensuccessively renamed from El Heraldo de la Revolucion  to Indice Oficial, to Gaceta de Filipinas,  the official newspaper penned by Filipinos such as Rafael Palma, Cecilio Apostol,  Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Epifanio de los  Santos and Salvador del Rosario using  their nom de plume came out with its first  issue on September 29, 1898 some two  weeks following the Opening of the  Malolos Congress set to draft what would  be Asia’s first republican constitution.

Inauguration of the 2nd Philippine Republic

15 OCTOBER

1901- One year and eight months into the bloodily protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914), the imperialist body “Taft Commission” issues a haughty report, referring to the continuing independentist resistance of Filipinos in Batangas, Samar, Cebu and some parts of Laguna and Tayabas provinces as continued “insurrection”;  the Fil-Am War that started on February 4,1899 was surreptitiously instigated by an American soldier as part of what would be the successfully wicked scheme of the Bald Eagle President, William McKinley, to manipulate news of it and make the United States Congress approve his war invasion plan on the fledgling Southeast Asian republic.

Manuel Artigas y Cuervas

1866 – Manuel Artigas y Cuerva, future Filipino scholar, biographer, historian, journalist, and bibliographer who will later initiate the establishment of the National Library is born in Tacloban, Leyte to a Spanish father and Bulakena mother during the Spanish colonial era; Artigas will write for the Spanish language periodical Diario de Manila, will found the La Voz de Ultramar periodical that will expose the abuses of the colonial authorities, will become chief of the Filipiniana Division of the Public Library during the American Occupation, and will come up with a number of popular works including Reseña Historical de la Universidad de Santo Tomas de Manila (1911) and Los Sucesos de 1872 (1911).

16 OCTOBER

1897 – One year and some two months after the  Philippine Revolution broke out, colonial Spanish  Governor-General Primo de Rivera issues a decree calling for Filipino volunteers in all provinces in the  main islands of Luzon and the Visayas and in all  districts in Mindanao; coming nearly two months before the Pact of Biak na Bato creating a truce between the colonial government and the  revolutionary forces led by Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo, (who seized power from Generalissimo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro, Supremo of the secret society-turned-revolutionary-governmentKagalanggalangang Katipunan nang  manga Anak nang  Bayan (KKK) that launched the Himagsikan against Spain in 1896),  the volunteers, to be armed, paid, and  equipped at  the expense of the government, are required to be able-bodied and between the ages of 18-50.

First Philippine Assembly

1907 – The first Philippine Assembly under the  imperialist United States colonial government is  inauguratedeight years and eight months into the  bloodily protracted Filipino-American War  (1899-1914); members of the colonial Philippine  Assembly, effectively the lower house counterpart  to the all-American Philippine Commission, were  earlier ‘elected’ from a voting exercise participated  only by some 1.5% of the Filipino populationowing  to the severe and elitist qualification requirement,  with majority of the members coming from Sergio S. Osmena’s (pro-immediate independence)  Nacionalista Party.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29350241@N02/3127087899/in/set-72157623488906720/