Category: Events

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Today is International Women’s Day 2010

International Women’s Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

In my world, there are many women achievers that I see, some of whom I personally know — women of all ages who are moving in different spheres of influence trying to make this world better for others, women climbing the corporate ladder just as fast as their male counterparts, women making marks in the fields of arts, science, government, industry, medicine and in many more areas.

But today, I want to honor the women who are not as visible to the world as we know it. These are the women in many countries who continue to be discriminated against; abused by their own culture, family and husbands; tortured as political prisoners; forced into heavy labor under abject conditions; and many other women who suffer in silence despite domestic violence for the sake of their children.

I truly feel blessed to be born a free woman — free to grow up under the care of a loving family, free to be educated as much as i wish to, free to choose who I love and marry, free to travel, free to express myself in any form (within reasonable bounds), free to be recognized for my God-given talents in a society that treats men and women equally.

How sad it is to see that even in world that has gone through centuries witnessing slavery, discrimination, abuse and the like, these have not been totally eradicated till now despite the technological and educational advancement that people living in this century have access to.

I fervently hope that it will not be long before women are accorded the dignity, respect and equality that we have a right to as  human beings and children of a God that sees all men and women as equals. Equality not in the sense that men and women should have the same roles all the time (as women definitely have roles that are best served by our nurturing nature) but equality in the sense that a woman who chooses to stay home to take care of children should be accorded the same respect as one who chooses to pursue a career. After all, careers have office hours. Full-time mothers work 24/7.

I wish I live to see the day when societies with castes and social classes break these barriers down and afford women the same rights to dignity, education and work as men. I hope that I or my children will be able to witness a world where women are free to be the best they can be as citizens of this world with the same opportunity to make a contribution to mankind.

To all my women family and friends, here’s wishing ourselves a HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!

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New Year’s Eve Blue Moon

When people say “Once in a blue moon”, it’s not because the moon turns blue but because a blue moon is an uncommon site to see.

Wikipedia defines a blue moon as:

A blue moon is the “extra” full moon in years that have thirteen full moons. Most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but in addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains an excess of roughly eleven days compared to the lunar year. The extra days accumulate, so every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year Metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon. The extra moon is called a “blue moon.”

Last Dec. 31, 2009, many of us in Manila, Philippines looked up at the clear skies and saw a blue moon.  A blue moon that falls on New Year’s Eve supposedly occurs only every 19 years.

I did not want to let the night pass without going out into the garden to see it and capture it with my trusty ol’ digicam. Here are two shots that I took:

The next blue moon that falls on a New Year’s Eve is expected in the year 2028.

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MOVE – a World AIDS Day Project by Headshot Clinic

Are we aware of how HIV/AIDS is rapidly spreading in the Philippines and in the world?

I got hold of some materials with some statistics from the National Epidemiology Center and was shocked to find out that:

– At the present rate, there will be 700 new cases of HIV/AIDS before 2009 ends

– In 2000, there was only 1 new case every 3 days; in 2009, there are TWO new cases EVERY DAY!

– 89% of HIV transmission is through SEX

– Since 2007, 72% of new cases were males who were infected by having sex with OTHER MALES

Coinciding with the annual celebration of World AIDS Day last December 9, a series of portraits done by the renowned Filipino conceptual photographer, Niccolo Cosme, is on exhibit at Greenbelt 5 (fountain area). The exhibit runs till December 14.

My oldest daughter and I were lucky to have been part of a pool of bloggers who participated in this year’s Project Headshot Clinic. On their website, this is what Headshot Clinic has to say about their unique way of spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS:

The Headshot Clinic is the flagship in employing unparalleled advocacy using digital photography as its main medium of representation and publicizes it through the presently prevailing social networks. The collaborating powers of both will further enhance awareness as last year’s UNAIDS supported Project Headshot Clinic: AWARE to spread the issues and facts of HIV/AIDS. “AWARE” took the internet by storm. It was able to spread consciousness and made more people aware of HIV/AIDS.

This year, UNAIDS and Project Headshot Clinic are working together to call for ACTION in fighting the spreading of HIV/AIDS. It is a sad realization that as much as we are aware of the dangers, still – more and more people are diagnosed with the decease.

And so we have to MOVE.

Headshot Clinic Project: UNAIDS MOVE aims to facilitate curiosity in people and drive them to make a change. We will inform the public and will ultimately thrust a call for action to fight HIV/AIDS. It will feature advocates who are the movers and shakers in the Philippines, as well as regular people like students, taxi drivers, or personalities who are or have been affected by HIV. This time, as we have succeeded in the dissemination of awareness from last year, we are acting on it.

And we will fight it together, everyone has a voice and it should be heard.

To put the exhibit together, Headshot Clinic and Niccolo tapped celebrities, bloggers and ordinary people for headshots. Personally, I felt it was my chance to help promote an advocacy as a blogger, to do something worthwhile and push for awareness and change.

Some people I recognized among the pics taken by Headshot Clinic were Boyet Sison (ANC host of Hardball), RJ and Vanessa Ledesma, Carlos Celdran, Joey Reyes, Cong. Risa Hontiveros, Kristine Hermosa, Gelli de Belen, Dr. Eric Tayag of DOH, Tim Yap and Niccolo himself.

Here is my own headshot pic.

It’s time to MOVE and make more people aware of the creeping threat of HIV/AIDS in our country!

There will be more activities to drum up HIV/AIDS awareness in the Philippines scheduled for 2010. Watch for them!

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Taste Korean Food Festival (Nov. 19-23, 2009)

In the 80s I had the chance to live in South Korea for 5 months due to work. An assistant and I did computer audit work for an oil company and a multinational bank. I fell in love with Bibimpap, a complete meal in itself consisting of ground beef and various vegetables, together with a fried egg as rice toppings together with a special Korean hot sauce. Coming back to Manila, one of the first things I did was to try to find a Korean restaurant. I could not find any at all.

Fast forward to today in 2009. Look everywhere and you see Korean culture around us. There are so many Koreans in different parts of the country studying English, engaging in business, and many other activities. Korean restaurants, Korean hair stylists, Korean groceries abound everywhere. It seems that the Koreans have been able to integrate in some way with the Filipinos.

Last Friday, I came across a Korean food festival at the Atrium of Shang Plaza. The Korean culture through its food is available for everyone to see and taste test till Monday, Nov. 23.

I was able to interview Mr. Park Hyun Mo, the Co-Chairman of the 60th Anniversary of Korea-Philippines Diplomatic Relationship who gave this background of the festival.

Here are pictures I took at the festival. Go visit the festival this weekend and get a chance to taste real Korean food.

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UNO’s Man Up! Fashion Show

More than those corporate attires which make you look very respectable but cramps one’s style, I prefer very comfortable, casual and feminine outfits. The most manly outfit I confess to wearing is oversized pajama tops.

So, when an invite came up to attend UNO magazine’s fashion show for 2009 with the theme “Man Up!” featuring women dressed in men’s attire, I became intrigued about how the collections would look. Would the models turn out manly-looking (a thought I was not too keen about)? But curiosity got the better of me and before long, I was part of the beautiful crowd that went to the NBC Tent at the Fort last Nov. 16.

At the entrance, I was greeted by RJ Ledesma, UNO’s editor-in-chief. Yes, there too was Chris Tan, the boss of Kring at flippish.com who I first met at RJ’s book launch. Soon after, I spotted other blogger friends: Vince, Jayvee (also UNO’s Online Editor), Fritz, Noelle and Dhon. After a quick light meal at the buffet table spread out (c/o Tamayo’s Catering), Noelle, Fritz, Dhon and I found seats on one side of the runway. They announced free beer too (c/o San Miguel) but really now, I am not a beer drinker!

There were 4 stylists featured in the show: Mara Reyes (Gas, Bench and Diesel), Tricia Gosingtian (Massimo Dutti, Marithe et Francois Girbaud, and Levi’s), Xie Antonio (Gap, Celio, and DC), and Dominique Tiu (Blued, Raoul, and Marks&Spencer). This actually caught me delightfully surprised because it turns out that Tricia and Dominique are my oldest girl’s friends. Imagine that! So young and already bursting into the fashion scene!

The collections fortunately did not disappoint me. I thought they would all show up in striped suits like the invitation above! Good thing it was far from it. And it was fun to have Noelle beside me because while I had no idea who the models were, she’d lean towards me once in a while and give this fashion newbie her comments.

One fascinating thing she pointed out to me was the style where two men’s shirts were worn like a dress with parts of one shirt gathered at the back for that sheered look.

There were some clothes that really appealed to me. Classy yet sexy! Good for officewear. Great-looking for dinner out after.

For a first, this fashion show did show elements of men’s clothing although they did not bring it to the max yet as most of the styles were still more sexy than manly (which I actually liked, haha). Maybe they’ll be bolder next year and actually incorporate men’s clothing with a dash of femininity. That I’d like to see!

Here are some videos. The first one is from Dominique Tiu’s line; the second one is the parade of models towards the end of the show.

I did not go to the after-show party anymore at the For Members Only club but Noelle and I did get to have a few shots together, thanks to Fritz, our ultimate photographer! Thanks, Fritz.

And to everyone at UNO magazine and the 4 stylists, a big congratulations for a fantastic show. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

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Blog Watch Formally Launches on Nov. 24, 2009

I had an earlier post about being part of Blog Watch, hosted by Vibal Foundation’s Philippine Online Chronicles.

On November 24, 2009, Blog Watch will be formally launched in the presence of traditional and new media at Max’s Restaurant on Jupiter St., Makati, from 11am to 2pm.

The blogger-writers for Blog Watch will attempt to “fill in the gaps” as well as complement traditional media’s coverage of the 2010 elections. We have began some features on voter education and are now beginning to provide backgrounders on the candidates for national positions (both on the personal side as well as the political side, including issues they are supporting). In addition, commentaries stemming from the personal insights of the writers will add flavor to this site.

It is our hope that through Blog Watch as well as other blogs and news sites, including those set up by COMELEC, the voting public will be able to make wiser decisions on who to elect into office.

I invite you to visit Blog Watch regularly to become as informed as possible before the 2010 Philippine elections. You may also follow Blog Watch on Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and subscribe to its YouTube channel.

The bloggers (as of this writing) who form part of Blog Watch are Noemi Dado (A Filipina Mom Blogger), Jane Uymatiao (Here’s to Life!), Sonnie Santos (Sonnie’s Porch), Dine Racoma (The D Spot), Vincent Golangco (When in Manila), Carlo Ople (New Media Philippines), Marck Rimorin (The Marocharim Experiment), Rochelle Sy Chua, Juned Sunido (Baratillo @ Cubao), Fritz Tenatativa (Fritzified), Leslie Bocobo, Brian Ong (The Philippines and Beyond), Victor Villanueva (Bikoy.Net), Dean Jorge Bacobo (Philippine Commentary), Pierre Tito Galla (Jester-in-Exile), Karen Ang (Bury me in this dress), AnnaManila (Ode2Old), Wyatt Belmonte (Wyatt’s Kitchen), and Blogie Robillo (Blogie Blog).