On Palawan, Chedeng, BDO, GiMaDePe, Chico & Delamar, BDO, RayBan, Magic Palayok, Manny Pacquiao, Michael McDonald, Top Gun and John Adams

Your Signature Can Make A Difference

Remember Aesop’s fable about the thirsty crow? Let’s call him Vince Perez. Stumbled upon a half-empty bottle of Chivas Regal. Can’t reach his beak inside, you see, so he got some ice cubes until he got a shot of scotch whiskey on the rocks.

           Great things start from small beginning, goes the Milo slogan. Little things accumulate. I am proud to say that I have signed the petition to stop mining in Palawan.

I did that last March and my blog 2Rivers has been carrying a self-made banner link to the sign-up website since then.

Good news: Palawan is unique for its rich but delicate biodiversity. Here’s the bad news: the ground underneath is so thin and fragile so any excavation threatens to sink the entire island.

Join us in saving Palawan. Sign up by clicking THIS.

A Stormy and Thankless Job

Weather is, by nature, unpredictable. That’s why we used to have the tradition of naming tropical depressions with girls’ names, an ode to the fairer sex’s famous fickle mind. That is, until women’s lib landed, so now we also have boy storms.

            The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), throughout the years, has been our only source of information about anything about the weather. This government agency under the Department of Science and Technology reports their forecasts based on their instrument readings, always setting the expectation that conditions can, and oftentimes will, change.

            It does them gross injustice to get blamed for something beyond their control, like what’s happening now. Some politicians, instead of being thankful that typhoon Chedeng didn’t fully land in Metro Manila and the northern part of the country as was calculated based on the available information at that time, actually slammed PAGASA.

Instead of being thankful that their constituents did not have to face the full force of nature’s fury, they even took it as an opportunity to get media mileage.

PAGASA’s warnings galvanize preparedness and have actually saved lives, but there are people who just stubbornly insist on focusing on flaws, and nothing can change their mind, not even the climate.

But if the storm did arrive, they would blame PAGASA too. “What a fool believes he sees,” sings Michael McDonald and the Doobie Brothers, “no wise man has the power to reason away.”

The Doobies!

See also My Favorite Michael McDonald Song!

BDO Means Bad Customer Service

Yesterday I had the misfortune of having to cash a manager’s cheque at Banco De Oro in SM Manila. It was a Saturday and the only ones open are those in the malls and that was the nearest. I’m having difficulty writing this because I don’t want to write bad stuff about anything or anybody but obviously they don’t care about customers either.

            My cheque had to be approved by the manager. One of their regular patrons, who came to withdraw from his passbook issued from another branch, told me he used to be able to transact anywhere, but now he had to endure the inconvenience of getting approved.

            Whoever makes those policies seems indifferent about their customers and the company’s reputation.

Another stupid policy is the guards have to check your bags even after you had gone through the mall guards. It is redundant, time-consuming and serves nothing but the guards’ egos. I understand security but I also recognize paranoia.

Then there was a power fluctuation and all their systems went down.

Obviously they don’t respect their customers so they didn’t even bother to have a back-up. We were told to come back later, as if other people's time is not important.

I strolled around the mall, where at least two escalators are not working. I thought of going back on another day but I figured I have to go through the entire process again so I had to waste almost 5 hours.

I told the manager I’ll cash my cheque in another branch, she said sure but all their branches are down too. What the F?

I told her one of the guards was rude, and she acted as if she didn’t hear me. I said it again, the teller beside her was looking at us both, but the manager ignored it, pretending to be engrossed in her paper work.

           

Pure Talent

Had the pleasure of meeting and watching the YouTube sensation GiMaDePe perform live earlier this week near Greenfield District in Mandaluyong. They’re a group of Filipino musicians who arrange and perform acoustic versions of movie themes and songs without the singer.

            The name GiMaDePe, is an abbreviation of the first syllables of the name of their four members who are trainers from SPI Global, the first Filipino-owned international call center under the PLDT Group. Their prime inspiration is Depapepe, the Japanese acoustic guitar duo

            It is always refreshing to witness first class talent firsthand. GiMaDePe lets the music express itself and take centerstage – timeless rhythm in its purest form.

Depapepe

Heard On Wednesday

Caught a portion of the Morning Rush with Chico and Delamar on Monster Radio RX 93.1 last Wednesday. I like their  freestyle chats with suave segues, anything under the sun. I don’t get to tune in that often? But I’ve been listening for quite a while, but mostly I was on the now defunct Morning Zoo Crew on Magic 89.9 with Slick Rick and King DJ Logan, who’s now with 99.5 RT.

            What everybody anticipates most about the Morning Rush is their Daily Top 10, where they’d give a talking point, listeners would join the conversation via text message and Twitter, and they’d read the ten best ideas on air.

            The topic was Commandments On Love and Friendship. I fully agree with “Don’t read your partner’s text messages and e-mails.” Trust is really important to me. What’s the point of being friends or having a relationship if you don’t trust each other, right?

            Kudos to Shong Mao, one of the listeners who consistently gave good ideas. My favorite was “Don’t yell unless there’s fire.” Love that line, so witty and true.

Why I Wear Sunglasses At Night

I go the extra mile to affirm my belief in humanity. Last April, I lost my Top Gun style sunglasses, in an original Hugo Boss frame with its indestructible case, in a PBCom pantry while waiting for some friends who work at Stream, formerly eTelecare.

            The next day I got it back because somebody turned it over to the security personnel. It perhaps helped that it was tinted prescription glasses, 600 on both eyes, so I know nobody but me can use it. Still, I’m grateful, and it strengthened my faith in the inherent goodness of my fellow men.

Top Gun!

John Adams had such faith

Fantaserye On The Go

Rode a bus going to Megamall in Mandaluyong from C-3 Road in Caloocan via Edsa last week. The bus TV was showing Magic Palayok which I saw for the first time. I heard about this afternoon serial last Feb and I’m curious to see it because my all-time crush Mikee Cojuangco has a special role there. Gosh darn it, she wasn’t in that episode.

            In the story, the lead love team Geoff Eigenmann and Carla Abellana got married to avoid a court case, something like that, and he told her he doesn’t love her. Geoff hated his mother Isay Alvarez and he threw her out of his house when she tried to visit.

            In another scene, he found his long lost brother Romnick Sarmenta, who apparently lost his memory. There’s this little girl staying in the house of Cherry Gil and Chynna Ortaleza who they tried to kill. But she was saved by two magic little beings, one of them was Janice De Belen riding on a giant spoon. Makes sense, because palayok is the local term for clay cooking pot.

            The little girl turns out to the daughter of Romnick and Mikee.

The Living Legend

Our generation has a ring side view of the phenomenal career of one of the greatest boxers of all time. That fact that he’s a Filipino brings honor to our nation.

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is already a living legend, the tantalizing symbol of what even a poor boy from the province can accomplish, the dizzying heights to which he can soar.

           

Pacman’s record as the world champion in a staggering eight divisions borders on the super human. He is a real hero, the People’s Champ, as we call him, more so because he has remained humble and unassuming even with all his achievements.

            

 That’s a real champion!

Here’s The Manny with Sugar Shane Mosley!

Here’s The Manny with Jimmy Kimmel!