litratong pinoy#15:dalampasigan

mahal ko ang dagat, kaya naman nang umuwi ako sa aking probinsya ng capiz noong pebrero, naligo ako sa baybay beach sa lungsod ng roxas (binansagang "seafood capital" ng pilipinas, kung saan ako pinanganak). natatangi ang makikita mong shells sa dalampasigan doon dahil hugis-apa ("cone") ang mga ito at tinatawag na "torotot" shells. nakakain ang laman nito. namulot ako ng isang plastik ng mga ito at dinala dito sa amerika upang ilagay sa bote at gawing dekorasyon sa aking kuwarto, para na rin magsilbing alaala sa aking bakasyon.

habang naliligo ako sa dagat ay may natatapakan ang paa ko sa ilalim ng tubig na mga lamang-dagat, at ang tawag dito sa ilonggo ay "litog." naluluto rin ang mga ito at nakakain. pumulot ako ng mga ito. mabuhok ang shells nila.

sana ay naaliw kayo sa mga lamang-dagat ng dalampasigan sa aking probinsya.

craving crabs

last weekend, my family drove to south jersey in a historic maritime town called tuckerton.

tuckerton is located close to other beach attractions such as long beach island and atlantic city.

the weekend get-away was to celebrate my aunt's birthday, so her four kids tagged along. traffic along the garden state parkway was moving slowly with other cars also headed to the jersey shore.

we bought her a cookie cake so she can blow candles. cookie cakes are easier to transport and don't melt. i did the lettering on the cake with red gel icing. the tube was just enough for the entire greeting.

no, she's not twelve years old, if you counted the candles. the four blue ones each represent 10 years, so she's actually 48. she doesn't read my blog, so it's okay to reveal her age...haha.

the house where we stayed at is actually owned by a doctor friend of ours. his family was kind enough to let us use their vacation house for the weekend. this house is right next to the waters which lead to barnegat bay and ultimately to the atlantic ocean. almost all the houses there own fishing boats such as the ones you see on the first photo.

it was my first time to experience "crabbing" here in the east coast. at first, i thought we would actually be submerged in knee-deep seawater and catch crabs using only our hands and maybe crab baskets as i remember watching on the GMA 7 reality show "extra challenge." thankfully, the task only involved crab traps that look like square cages with small pieces of raw chicken inside for bait. you attach a long string on the trap and tie the end onto something sturdy then plunge the whole thing into the water.

and then...you wait. you don't have to sit by the water forever, though. you can do whatever else you want then check on it after about 30 minutes or so. our cousins abby and jason were so into it, that they'd check like every 2 minutes.

an unlucky crab would eventually find its way inside the trap, then we'd extract him using a pair of tongs.

most of them would really hang onto the walls of the trap, unwilling to surrender to the wrath of the tongs. but, they'd end up inside the pan, anyway, ready to meet their fiery fate in the name of dinner.

we'd cook the crabs whenever we caught four or five. it's really a treat to eat these critters straight from the waters. nothing beats fresh!

even if i didn't do any swimming, the summer sun baked my skin. it was also relaxing to sit by the waters as the seabreeze swept my hair. my little cousin abby was the one who enjoyed this trip the most. i reckon she even gained some muscles lifting those heavy crab traps from the water. here she is willingly striking a nautical pose:

my family is planning to go back here in the fall for my birthday. we'll see how the crab crumbles.

litratong pinoy#14:sa gawing kanluran

para sa temang "kanluran", naisip ko ang mga cowboy ng mga wild west na pelikula at naalala ang aking bakasyon sa texas noong abril. sakto sa kategoryang ito ang fort worth na tinaguriang lugar "kung saan nagsisimula ang kanluran" ("where the west begins"). kung gusto mong makakita ng mga cowboy at mga toro, sa stockyards station ang iyong dapat puntahan.

napatigil ako sa pangalan ng isang tanyag na tao sa lugar na ito, isang huwes na nagngangalang roy bean. ayon sa kasaysayan, binansagan niya ang kanyang sarili bilang "batas sa kanluran ng pecos" ("law west of the pecos"). natuklasan kong isa siyang pambihirang personalidad dahil kahit isa siyang huwes, may-ari din siya ng isang saloon o bahay-lasingan. biruin mo, nang naging huwes siya, ang unang batas na pinatupad niya ay ang patayin ang may-ari ng kanyang kakompetensyang saloon! abusado! isumbong natin kay tulfo!

ang bakya pala na suot ko sa litrato ay gawang-pinoy. isa siyang produkto ng happy feet sandals na binili ko bilang pasalubong sa aking sarili noong umuwi ako sa pilipinas noong pebrero.

anthony bourdain almost went to the philippines!

the travel channel had launched a contest for fans of "anthony bourdain's no reservations" ("FAN-atic special") where they would send in videos of themselves suggesting where tony should go next.

augusto elefanio, a filipino-american from long island, new york, made it to the final four who got to visit new york city for a personal interview with mr. bourdain. that interview would help him decide the winner who will be his personal tour guide to the chosen destination.

augusto's video entry was a clever slide-show presentation of his vacation photos from manila and cebu with him narrating what to eat and what the local places had to offer. what caught tony's eye? the shiny hunk of lechon! watch the video below to see his entry that was picked from among 1,300 hopefuls. or if by some reason the clip doesn't show below, click on this link instead.



augusto looked nervous and timid when he faced mr. bourdain in the "interrogation room", where they were secretly viewed from behind a one-way mirror. when asked how long he's been in the philippines, he said "a week" and that his trip was from two years ago. that didn't impress mr. bourdain, for that didn't qualify him as a knowledgeable enough tour guide.

and the deal-breaker? augusto declared that the movie "apocalypse now" was filmed in the philippines. mr. bourdain simply asked, "have you seen apocalypse now"? then, augusto looked down and replied, "no."

mr. bourdain deliberated from behind the one-way mirror, saying, "do i really want to go to the philippines with this boy?...and he hasn't seen "apocalypse now"--that's just wrong."

this little piece of film trivia was probably the result of googling, but it proved to be the apocalyptic demise of augusto's chance to show tony around the philippines. he offered information that he wasn't even privy to, so it just came out sounding like hearsay. but augusto's efforts should be applauded, nonetheless. so, congrats anyway on making it to the final four!

danya alhamrani was the lucky winner who convinced tony to feature saudi arabia, shown in last night's episode. she deserved to win, as she knew her country well and seemed the smartest among the finalists. she was the only female, too. saudi also was the "most challenging" choice for tony. see her video here.

s.o.s.!

is it a shameful crime to like abba? haha. hey, those shirt dresses on agnetha and anni-frid would surely make princess leia jealous! and look at those stylin' boots!

after watching the "mamma mia" musical, i've been belting out abba songs a lot more on videoke.

i haven't seen the movie yet, but hopefully will soon. if i can somehow squeeze it in by the end of this coming week.

[postcard from http://postsecret.blogspot.com]

nihao, swatch!

at the swatch store in times square, the official beijing olympics 2008 watches were on display for people to ogle at.

i think the one in the middle featuring the official mascots is the cutest of them all. their names are beibei, jingjing, huanhuan, yingying and nini. easy to remember, right? sounds pretty much like the nicknames pinoy kids grow up with regarding the two-syllable rule. theirs sound more chinese, though.

get to know more about the beijing olympics mascots here.

litratong pinoy#13:luntian [berde]

sa m&m's world sa times square mo masisilayan ang higanteng kulay luntian na m&m na nakabihis bilang istatwa ng liberty. tingnan mo naman ang ayos ng paa, parang nang-aakit pa. at ang taray ng kilay, diba?

at sa labas ng kanilang tindahan, isang berdeng m&m pa rin ang sumisilay sa mga dumadaang tao at sasakyan.

puwede mo rin siya iuwi na pasalubong bilang lalagyan ng m&m's candy na hinubog bilang istatwa ni liberty!

sponge capacity

i think i'm about to burst....

cats in the cradle

we've decided to name our black kittens "siomai" and "maki." they're going to be 3 months old at the end of this month and will have been with us for two months. they are so pitch-black that it's a must to use flash when photographing them, otherwise you'll wonder what the black lumps are in the photo.

here's siomai attacking a bird toy. [die, little birdie! die!]

and here she is again undaunted by our dog tiffany's presence at her bed. it's tiffany's bed, but she doesn't seem to care about the territorial issue. tiffany is intimidated by these kittens.

how do we tell the kittens apart? they both have patches of white fur on their bellies, but siomai has a bigger patch. she's also the naughtier one of the pair.

"wowowee" in new jersey

i can imagine the boardwalk hall in atlantic city is filled to capacity tonight with die-hard fans of willie revillame's noontime show, "wowowee."

my mom seriously considered buying tickets to watch it ($150 each), but decided instead to keep the cash and spend it on something else. "wowowee" is her number one favorite filipino program on TFC.

this poster advertising the show was at a filipino store in jersey city. hmm, they misspelled "boardwalk" there....

notice how miss igorota's eye looks like she smudged it with mascara. she was stuffed in my bag along with a water bottle, and i guess the moisture made contact with her face. poor thing now looks like a voodoo doll.

what his dad gave him

there's a miniature version of the rockefeller building rocking tourists' imaginations at the rockefeller center. it's a structure built by chris burden made entirely out of "erector sets" (sounds pervy, doesn't it?)--toy construction pieces. the work is called "what my dad gave me." if you look closely at the first photo below, it's the shiny, metallic structure directly in front of the real rockefeller building...with my travel mascot, miss igorota.

chris burden is a notorious performance artist who made a spectacle out of himself by having himself nailed to a volkswagen, crucifix-style. if you think that's outrageous, consider his other feat of having someone shoot a bullet into his arm, all in the name of art.

the fragile-looking structure measures 65-feet tall. the exhibit is on limited display at the rockefeller center. to read more about this, click here.

litratong pinoy#12:balingkinitan

isa siya sa mga artista sa tanyag na musical na "chicago" na tinatanghal sa ambassador theatre sa broadway. nanood ako nito kamakailan lamang at nang matapos ang palabas, may ilang artista na nakihalubilo sa mga manonood--nakipaglitrato at pumirma ng autograph.

kahit hindi ko siya kilala, lumapit na rin ako at inabot ang aking playbill ng "chicago" at isang bolpen. hindi ko akalain na makakapagpa-autograph ako sa isang broadway na bituin. hindi ako handa gaya ng dalawang batang babae na naunang nagpapirma na may bitbit na pentel pen, tig-isa pa sila.

nang paalis na siya ay nakahabol pa akong kunan siya ng litrato. napakabalingkinitan ng kanyang katawan!

nang tinignan ko ang kanyang pirma sa aking playbill, nalaman ko na siya pala si dylis croman at ang papel niya sa palabas ay si "annie." isa siya sa mga babaeng kriminal na kumanta sa eksenang "cell block tango" ("pop, six, squish, uh-uh, cicero, lipschitz") at ang kinanta niyang kuwento ay yung "six."

mas bongga ang movie version ng musical na ito, pero iba pa rin ang live theatre. magaling din ang kanilang live orchesta na siyang nagbigay buhay sa mala-vaudeville na awitin ng palabas.

ito naman ang isa sa mga promo poster ng musical sa labas ng teatro. ito ang larawan ng artistang gumanap kay roxie hart--si michelle dejean. lahat sila naka-itim na lingerie. maliban kay "mama" morton, lahat ng mga babaeng gumanap ay balingkinitan ang katawan.

pero sa totoo lang, naantig ako sa pagganap kay amos hart, yung kawawang asawa ni roxie. naluha nga ako nung kinanta niya yung "mr. cellophane"...at gusto ko siya tuloy bigyan ng isang malaking bear hug! maririnig mo rin sa loob ng teatro yung pagkaawa ng mga tao sa pagbigkas nila ng "aaaaaaaawwww."

new york taxi

i've never been in a new york taxi. i always prefer taking the subway because a) it only costs $2.00 each way regardless of the distance (i can hop on a subway and go all the way to coney island with just that $2.00 fare--incidentally, i've never been to coney island, sadly); and b) it's faster because there's no traffic lights underground.

but maybe i should try it at least once sometime just to know what it's like, and to cross it off my non-existent list of things to do in new york city. right now it seems predominantly occupied by a list of broadway musicals to see.

there's a blog by a lady taxi driver in new york called new york hack. ("hack" is slang for cab driver, from the archaic word "hackney.") melissa plaut, the blogger, published a book based on her blog entitled "hack: how i stopped worrying about what to do with my life and started driving a yellow cab." i bought a copy of this book from ebay, but haven't finished reading it. she used to be an office worker in manhattan who decided one day to just become a new york cabbie. and now she's a published author as well.

[photo taken inside a new york souvenir shop along 42nd st.]

litratong pinoy #11:tatak pinoy

meron nang naunang nagpost ng litrato ng pambansang bubuyog ng pilipinas, pero sadyang karapat-dapat siyang isali sa kategoryang ito. bahagi siya ng kulturang pinoy. kaya naman nang nagbakasyon ako sa pilipinas, madalas akong kumain dito. ang branch na ito sa san mateo, rizal ang kauna-unahang kinainan ko.

ang una kong inorder ay yung jolly spaghetti and regular yum na combo meal. at dahil sa jologs ako lalo na pag hawak ko ang camera ko, kinunan ko ng litrato ang pagkain ko. kakaaliw yung korte ng plato. pero mas nakakaaliw malaman na tatlumpung-taon na silang nagpapasaya ng mga pamilya. naalala niyo pa ba yung jingle nila na "i love you sabado"?

walang "langhap sarap" dito sa east coast eh. kailangan ko pang dumayo sa california kung gusto kong kumain ng jollibee. kailan kaya dadapo ang pulang bubuyog na ito sa new jersey? please naman, kahit sa jersey city! haha.

at sa larangan naman ng pampalasing, san miguel beer ang hanap ng mga pinoy saan mang sulok ng mundo. pati kuting ng pinsan ko sa pasig, na-curious sa boteng ito.

maipagmamalaki din ng pilipinas ang mga manika nito, gaya ng coralyn na manika na gawa sa tela, hindi plastik kaya hindi potensyal na safety hazard sa mga bata. binili ko ito para sa aking inaanak na dalawang taong gulang. nagustuhan niya.

at syempre, isa pang manika na maipagmamalaki nating tatak pinoy ay yung igorota na galing baguio.

sasamantalahin ko na rin ang pagkakataon na ipagbigay-alam na may nilunsad kaming blog ni gingmaganda na bida ang manikang ito! punta naman kayo para masaya!

in a new york minute

you've heard the eagles song, right? and i experience it everyday. as soon as i get off the bus at the port authority bus terminal on 42nd st., i take a deep breath, check that i don't have sleepies in my eyes, then join the throng of people sprinting--not walking--to their respective points of destination in manhattan.

everything happens quickly in new york, everyone moves fast. if you stop in the middle of your tracks for a fraction of a second, someone will surely bump into you.

new jersey and new york are in the same time zone, but still, everything seems to move at a quicker pace in the big apple. i've adopted their speed, because when in new york, one tends to walk as new yorkers do (with the obvious exception of ogling tourists).

a new york minute seems like 10 new jersey minutes...and an hour in philippine time.

the peoplescape of new york is as volatile as the cloud formations in the sky. you never see the same faces again.

[photos of the morning crowd inside the port authority bus terminal]