I just registered for Blog Action Day 2008. Last year the topic was on the environment. This year we’re doing poverty. If blogging for a cause is something that interests you, just click on the button at the top of this post to participate!

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Got this in my mailbox today entitled “Prospective living in the Philippines”. Some truly hit home while some are mere exaggerations. You be the judge.

1. Every street has a basketball court.
2. Even doctors, lawyers and engineers are unemployed.
3. Doctors study to become nurses for employment abroad.
4. Students pay more money than they will earn afterwards.
5. School is considered the second home and the mall considered the third.
6. Call-center employees earn more money than teachers and nurses.
7. Everyone has his personal ghost story and superstition.
8. Mountains like Makiling and Banahaw are considered holy places.
9. Everything can be forged.
10. All kinds of animals are edible.
11. Starbucks coffee is more  expensive than gas.
12. Driving 4 kms can take as much as four hours.
13. Flyovers bring you from the freeway to the side streets.
14. Crossing the street involves running for your dear life.
15. The personal computer is mainly used for games and Friendster.
16. Where colonial mentality is dishonestly denied!
17. Where 4 a.m. is not even considered bedtime yet.
18. People can pay to defy the law.
19. Everything and everyone is spoofed.
20. Where even the poverty-stricken get to wear Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger (peke)!
21. The honking of car horns is a way of life.
22. Being called a bum is never offensive.
23. Floodwaters take up more than 90 percent of the streets during the rainy season.
24. Where everyone has a relative abroad who keeps  them alive.
25. Where wearing your national colors make you baduy.
26. Where even the poverty-stricken have the latest cell phones. (GSM-galing sa magnanakaw)
27. Where insurance does not work.
28. Where water can only be classified as tap and dirty.
29. Clean water is for sale (35 pesos per gallon).
30. Where the government makes the people pray for miracles. (Amen to that!)
31. Where University of the Philippines is where all the weird people go.
32. Ateneo is where all the nerds go.
33. La Salle is where all the Chinese go.
34. College of Saint Benilde is where all the stupid Chinese go and;
35. University of Asia and the Pacific is where all the irrelevantly rich people go.
36. Fast food is a diet meal.
37. Traffic signs are merely suggestions, not regulations.
38. Where being mugged is normal and It happens to everyone.
39. Rodents are normal house pets.
40. The definition of traffic is the ‘non-movement’ of vehicles.
41. Where the fighter planes of the 1940s are used for military engagements, and;
42. The new fighter planes are displayed in museums.
43. Where cigarettes and alcohol are a necessity, and where the lottery is a commodity.
44. Where soap operas tell the realities of life and where the news provides the drama.
45. Where actors make the rules and where politicians provide the entertainment.
46. People can get away with stealing trillions of pesos but not a thousand.
47. Where being an hour late is still considered punctual (Grabe talaga ‘to!)
48. Where the squatters have more to complain (even if they do not pay their tax) - than those employed and have their tax automatically deducted from their salaries.
49. And where everyone wants to leave the country!

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April 22, 2008 is Earth Day. Here are 50 simple tips to fight global warming (taken from http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html):
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So I went to Cebu to celebrate Sinulog this January 2008. Maybe I’ll write a full post of my experience soon but in the meantime check out my photos.

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FTA:

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest-lived animal was an Arctica clam found in 1982 aged 220.

Unofficially, another clam - found in an Icelandic museum - was discovered to be 374-years-old, Bangor University said, making their clam at least 31 years older.

I guess the little ones really know how to adapt to the changing ‘clam-ates’ and avoid any ‘clam-ities’!

Check out the full story here.

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I wrote a response on Jeff McIntire’s blog which I would like to share with all of you:

I am proud to say that I live in the “greenest” Philippine city, Marikina City. We have very good waste collection and management system. Garbage cans can be seen everywhere, bicycle lanes, clean surroundings, etc thanks to our Mayor. Our city used to be ugly and polluted, but over a span of 5-15 years it evolved into what it is right now. This just goes to show that change CAN happen if good people and great leadership!

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(photo by stingerstyler)

So I can’t fly nor can I crawl up and swing between tall buildings, but I’ve always wanted to help save the world in every small way I could. This post is for our Mother Earth.
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I have always wanted to help save the world, even just a little bit. When I was in college I joined the Manila Jaycees (Junior Chamber International), a socio-civic organization. I sort of lost interest and later dropped out after a while, and I never really actively went out of my way to do my share.

Anyway, while surfing one day I chanced upon the Blog Action Day website. I was immediately drawn in by the slogan, which reads:

What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.

I could help save the world. All I have to do is blog about the environment on October 15. How much easier can it get?

So I signed up. I am in. Finally, I am getting involved again.

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As I was going through my feed reader today I noticed that the Philippines was mentioned in two online comics that I was subscribed to. It’s probably just a coincidence, a funny one though. Just click on the thumbnails to view the full comic.

First we have Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! It talks about Romeo Jalosjos winning a reelection in Zamboanga Del Norte from jail.

Next we have Wizard of Id. I have absolutely no idea what it means.

Sugoii sugoii.

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