Monday, July 18, 2011

In My Dreams

 TRIBUTE TO A FRIEND

Dreaming about angels may mean you will hear of the health of friends, relatives...

Could be fanaticism but I have a certain degree of belief on the interpretation of dreams.  So one day when I looked up the meaning of my dream... You got a sense of what happened next?  I would squish at my sister calls.  Why?  She rarely calls me and if she does, it must be something urgent.

My sister, being the bearer of news of my mom's death, I would picture about my dad each time she calls.

This may be the prize i need to pay for living far away from home..

Friday, July 8, 2011

Transforming Metro Manila

BY Donald Goertzen

During a Power Point presentation in October, Environmental Attorney Antonio "Tony" Oposa remarked on how unfortunate it is that the model for urban living in the Philippines is Los Angeles, California and not Manhattan, New York. In Manhattan people can meet all there needs – shopping, entertainment, school, and work – by getting around on foot, bicycle, subway, and the occasional taxi. In Los Angeles two cars per family is the norm. It’s not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

That the U.S. would provide so many models for the Philippines is indeed unfortunate, but almost inevitable given the forced occupation by the U.S. for half a century and the fact that the Philippine elite is educated in the U.S. Aside from Los Angeles as the model for urban transportation, we also have homes with windows so small – in a tropical climate – that aircon becomes a necessity. And then there’s our U.S.-trained police and military...

I do take issue with how a lot of things are done here in the Philippines, but as an American citizen I also fault my own nation and culture for foisting itself and its way of doing things on so much of the rest of the world.