Something to do with those aging mix tapes

This artist got creative with his recycling. Perhaps he too had boxes of old mix tapes he wanted to get rid of. Instead of throwing them out with the trash, he turned them into art.


Pretty darn cool.

The Jim Morrison piece above is $700. See more here.

Stumbled upon

An ad from the U.P. Alumni Association. What do you think?



So the ad is about a "wiser electorate" but what about the wisdom of the politicians themselves? How can one chose wisely during an election when there is hardly any wise choices to be made?

The future of newspapers

Photo: Freephoto.com

With news left and right of newspapers folding, consolidating or going purely online, it's hard not to wonder what the future holds for newspapers.

As journalist by training, it is a medium I hold dear. I believe in the importance of its role not just in informing the public, but in keeping, to the extent that it can, our governments and other public institutions honest.

But I also have to admit that I have not had a newspaper subscription in years. I read the Sunday paper only intermittently. By and large, I get my news online, or on TV.

So in thinking about all that threatens newspapers, I have to admit that I'm part of the problem.

What then is the solution? Ten experts weigh in here.

Of the ideas presented, this one, from acclaimed newspaper designer Mario Garcia, struck me as the most interesting and exciting:

"If I am starting a newspaper from scratch, I may consider doing a robust Sunday edition, then creating the ultimate online newspaper for daily. I may even consider a very short, one-section, printed daily edition, but acting more like a companion to the online than a self-standing newspaper. I would print it in an A4 compact format, and I would make a sort of navigational tool to [information] that readers must know that day."

I heard Garcia speak in person while attending the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Even then, his newspaper designs seemed fresh and innovative to me.

Now if only there was a newspaper around that would be brave enough to take his suggested route. I think it would make for an interesting experiment.

I like fish too...

...but this is too much.

It's Jollibee good!

The New York Times ran a restaurant review of the recently-opened Jollibee in Queens.

Matt Gross writes, "Spaghetti ($4.49) is topped with a sweet, hot-dog-and-ham-studded tomato sauce, and is frighteningly addictive."

And of my favorite:

"Jollibee’s signature deep-fried peach-mango pie ($2.29) is crusty and intensely fruity, at once a Filipino thing, a Georgia thing and something else entirely. It’s worth the wait."

I wonder if my relatives in Woodside have made the trip yet. Full story here.

The obsession continues

I'll take any of these with my morning coffee, please.

Organic and clean (raredevice.net)
Simply cool (nest-living.com)

For a touch of color (alessi.com)

Rest in peace, Francis M.

The man was responsible for my introduction to rap, Filipino-style, with "Mga Kababayan." And for music class in high school, I sang "Cold Summer Nights" for a passing grade. One thing he always was was proudly Filipino.


So long, Man from Manila.

Help!

I was a Girl Scout once, all the way through high school, in fact. Loved every minute of it too--the camping weekends, the competition for best patrol, the cheering and singing (okay, that part not so much). But for all that we did and have, we missed out on the whole Girl Scout cookie experience.

I encountered my first Girl Scout cookie at the first office I worked in. Everyone's got a co-worker who has a kid selling something at some point during the year. While I begrudgingly purchased Chirstmas cards and gift wrappers for this, that, or the other fund-raising effort, the Girl Scouts and their cookies, I looked forward to.

The season is upon us again. The little girl who came to my house a few weeks back to take our order delivered 4 boxes of cookies last week. By Saturday, we were out. Luckily, on a random trip to Long's Drugs (I never go there), we stumbled upon a Girl Scout cookie booth/table and bought more. That lot too is gone now. And today, I drove to 3 different locations, under pretense of having to go there anyway for one thing or another, looking for more Girl Scout cookies.

I wish I knew where that little girl who came to my house lives. Is it weird that I'd totally be knocking on their door right now, if I could?


For the love of God, I just want some more Do-si-dos!

Of Tony, Augusto, and Filipino pride

I was enjoying a high of Filipino pride in the wake of the Philippine episode of "No Reservations" when I read this. It seems the guy Anthony Bourdain himself credited for getting him sufficiently psyched to visit the Philippines was catching flack for, of all things, not being Filipino enough.

Some background: Viewers of "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel have seen Anthony Bourdain traipse across Asia in all sorts of exotic culinary adventures. But much to the dismay of many Filipino and Filipino-American fans, he kept skipping our 7,100+ islands. Then came a contest that solicited advice, nay, enthusiastically worded and videotaped suggestions, from viewers on where Tony should head next. Enter Augusto, a young Fil-Am whose video caught Tony's eye. With his "Philippines"-emblazoned hoody and a photo of a full roasted pig, Augusto somehow gave Tony the push he needed to finally embark on a Filipino food adventure.

Tony ate sisig and taho, slurped goat bile soup, got a little education on the origins of Filipino food, and drank lots of San Miguel beer. But he also went on a journey of discovery of sorts, with Augusto, who was trying to reconnect with his Filipino roots in Cebu. A New Yorker more than a Cebuano, Augusto was, in a way, just as wide-eyed (or even more so, Bourdain being the world traveler that he is) as Tony as he coaxed the bone marrow in bulalo, or crunched on crispy lechon skin.

The criticism of Augusto seems to stem from the fact that he had only been to the Philippines one other time before coming with the Travel Channel crew. He was no expert, on the Philippines nor its food, by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, he couldn't even speak Filipino.

Thing is, he didn't need to. Anyone who's seen the episode can see that Augusto was not there to guide Tony. They had other experts (local tour guides, chefs, bloggers, etc.) for that. Augusto was there to be Tony's companion, and perhaps to illustrate the crazy, confusing amalgamation that is the Philippines, its people and its food--constantly changing, struggling to be defined, yearning to be rediscovered.

Another thing: This is not new territory for the show. In one episode, Tony goes with a Korean-American on a trip to the countryside to visit her grandfather. She too was reconnecting with her roots, dining with relatives she hardly sees and perhaps barely knows. While she seemed more knowledgeable about Korean cuisine than Augusto was of Filipino food, the storyline was essentially the same. It was a journey into a new country for Tony, made more poignant perhaps when experienced with another American finding a connection to her heritage.

Whatever the motivation, whatever Tony's reason was for picking Augusto, I think the episode was successful in giving its largely North American audience a taste of what the Philippines has to offer to travelers. We've gone unnoticed for too long, relegated to the second, if not third, tier list of people's places to visit. Seeing the show, I was reminded of the country's complexity, the noise and clamor of its city streets, against the relative quiet of what I still consider my tree-lined streets in Los Banos. It's enough to keep me going back, knowing that with every visit, there will always be something new to see and do in my old town.

As for Augusto, I say kudos to him and other Filipinos like him who desire a connection with the country of their roots. So many of us have left the Philippines, and many more will follow in our footsteps. But to those to refuse to forget, who live their new lives in new countries as Filipinos still, I say thank you. And spread the word.

In the meantime, enjoy bits of the show here:

An odd kinda day

This morning, I woke up in tears from a nightmare. A little boy that I adopted was trying to kill me with my husband's guns. I kept calling my husband for help, but he was downstairs vacuuming while talking on the phone so he couldn't hear me.

Not a good way to start. No wonder today has been an odd kind of day. It's alternately cold and sunny, outside and within.

On a downswing, I found myself looking for this.

Who's thinking of the Super Bowl...

...when there's UFC 94?!

Saturday's title fight should be a good one. I'm rooting for "the prodigy" BJ Penn. And not just because he looks Pinoy.

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
Photo: UFC.com

Other UFC fighters weigh in on the match here.

Matt Hughes:
“I believe this is going to be a close fight. I think if it ends early, BJ’s going to get his hand raised, and if it ends later, then Georges’ will get his hand raised.”

Matt Serra:
“It’s tough to say because it could go either way,” he says. “Because that’s MMA, and of course the game’s so crazy. It’s tough to pick a winner. But, again, I think it’ll come down to strategy, and I believe Georges will be looking to put him against the cage, put him down, use his wrestling, his explosiveness and his athleticism and really just try and take him to deeper waters. Get him into the later rounds, and I think that Georges will win a decision that way.”

Sean Sherk:
“I think both pose a lot of problems for each other, and it’s what intrigues people about this fight,” he says. “The last time they fought it was right down to the wire. A lot of people said Penn won, a lot of people said St-Pierre won. But I don’t see BJ getting knocked out. I don’t see BJ getting submitted. If anything, I see a decision by St-Pierre or a knockout by Penn.”

As for me, I'm hoping for a good fight with a third round win by Penn. By submission, preferably. I'm sure my friend Ameetess with strongly disagree.

25 Way Random Things

My friend Sarah tagged me with this on Facebook.

1. I wish I was better at making new friends, and keeping in touch with old ones.
2. I learned to drink coffee at a very young age. We're talking grade school here. Daddy (my grandpa) taught me how. It was instant coffee with lots of sugar and powdered milk. I remember pouring it over a plate of steamed rice and scrambled eggs. And liking it!
   
3. I dream of living in the Philippines again.
4. In another life, I think I could have been an architect. In this one, I'd settle for becoming a better writer.
5. The best thing to come out of my grad school stint was meeting V. I still sometimes can't believe he married me.
   
6. As far as I'm concerned, it's never hot enough.
   
7. When I was 6 or so, I swear I saw a vampire. He was standing in the middle of the street, in front of our house. I stared at him from my bedroom window, frozen in fear, for what seemed like forever. Finally, I mustered up the courage to roll myself off the bed. I fell with a thud, waking up my parents who wanted to know what on earth I was doing.
8. I have a brown thumb, which V suggests I parlay into a weed control business.
9. I miss being near my family.
10. I regret not being there when Mommy (my paternal grandma) died.
11. I'm scared of swimming in open water. But I love the beach. I'm deathly afraid of drowning, so I forced myself to learn to scuba dive.
12. I'm really good at making V laugh.
13. Ever since I can remember, I've always thought about adopting a kid. Or two.
14. I had a hard time learning the multiplication table. I used to cheat on tests by counting the windows of my classroom. To this day, I can't recite tables 7 and 8. That's why I got a calculator watch this Christmas.
15. I dream of being my own boss.
16. So far, I've lived in 17 different houses/apartments, in 14 different towns/cities. I'm used to moving around but look forward to planting roots one day. I could be happy and fulfilled in one place, as Tracey would say.
17. I used to be sporty and outdoorsy. The smell of freshly cut grass still takes me back to those countless afternoons on the football (soccer for the Americans) field. And the sight of my hiking boots makes me yearn for the time when I climbed mountains for the view, and the good company.
    
18. In Los Banos, my adoptive hometown, I was happiest walking among the trees.
    
19. People buying cases of bottled water at Costco annoy me. Unless you're catering a party, or going on a long road trip, or living out in the woods for months on end, there is no need for individual serving-sized bottles of water in the house. Ever heard of a pitcher and glasses? A Nalgene bottle and a Brita filter? Folks, let's all try a little harder for the environment, shall we?
20. I would always want to travel more.
21. If I ever win the lottery, I'd pay off all my friends' student loans.
22. I was only ever as cool as the friends I surrounded myself with. Left to my own devices, I read gossip magazines, shop at the Gap and listen to Top 20 music.
23. I was once described by a medical professional as a "mole producer." As in, I have lots of moles all over my body. Her terminology suggests that I will constantly make new ones. So does that mean that one day, I'll be totally spotted?
24. I will tell anyone who asks that I went to the gym today. Even though I didn't.
    
25. The only thing I miss about being young is being fearless.
    

One more reason to love Trader Joe's

Well, what do you know?

They have San Mig Light at Trader Joe's!

Now you see it.

Now you don't.

Happy Monday, all!

Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul

I thought I'd explain more about the exhibit V & I saw at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. But lacking the information to write knowledgeably about it, I defer to the experts.

From the National Geographic website:




The Hidden Treasure

In 1988, Afghanistan was ten years into a violent civil war. As the security situation in the capital worsened, government and National Museum officials worried the Kabul museum, home to thousands of historical artifacts and works of art, would be destroyed or looted. They made a plan to transfer many of the objects to secret hiding places.

By 1989, the transfer was complete, and caches of priceless historical objects were secured in the Ministry of Information and the Central Bank treasury vault at the presidential palace. Among the hidden treasures were Bronze Age gold pieces, hundreds of ancient coins, and the famous "Bactrian hoard," a collection of some 20,000 gold, silver, and ivory objects from burial plots at Tillya Tepe in northern Afghanistan.

Workers involved in the transfer swore secrecy and designated "key holders" for the vaults. They kept their covenant through civil war and Taliban rule at enormous personal risk.

The objects remained hidden despite nearly constant conflict and political upheaval in Kabul. But a campaign by the Taliban in 2001 to "destroy all images" resulted in the loss of thousands of irreplaceable artifacts throughout the country, including many of the items hidden in the Ministry of Information. But the palace treasures survived.

In 2003, after the Taliban had been thrown from power by a U.S. military campaign and Afghanistan's first open elections had installed Hamid Karzai as president, a report from the Central Bank in Kabul revealed that the museum trunks deposited at the palace vault in 1989 were intact.

A team of local and international experts, including archaeologist and National Geographic Fellow Fredrik Hiebert, assembled in Kabul to see the vault opened and verify the authenticity of its contents.

When the first safe was finally cracked, the team saw piles of small plastic bags with old labels, each one containing beads and jewelry. Russian archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi, whose team had discovered the Tillya Tepe objects in 1979, smiled when he spotted an artifact with a small wire repair that he'd made with his own hands.

In June of 2004, an announcement was made to the world that the Bactrian hoard and other hidden treasures of Afghanistan were found, and an international effort was mounted to preserve these collections and put them on exhibition for the world to see.

Images from nationalgeographic.com.

If nothing else, this exhibit shows us a side of the Afghan culture and people different from the images we've been seeing on TV all these years. "Hidden Treasures" goes to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, then the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

A quick San Francisco trip

Can't seem to get my mind in gear for a proper post, so here's one of images from a recent weekend in San Francisco.

Saturday afternoon was spent perusing the exhibit "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul" at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Aside from the amazing artifacts displaying a mixture of cultural influences, the exhibit tells the story of how these artifacts were rescued from the massive destruction in Afghanistan. More info here. For those in the Bay Area, you only have till this weekend to catch it.

Saturday night went as follows, with my good friend Ameetess: cocktails at Michael Mina, show at the Punchline, and late dinner at Ana Mandara.

Sunday was a slow day. I wanted to visit the Xanadu Gallery, located in the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco. Got as far as the circular gate as the gallery was closed. Another visit for another day. Even from the outside though, the Wright details are self-evident. Peeking inside, one sees hints of the style of the Guggenheim in New York.






For a late lunch, we headed over to the Ferry Building. Had a soft-shell crab sandwich while V had his staple fish and chips. Lots of artisinal shops to peruse, including a mushroom stall, a salumeria, and of course, a pastry shop.

Staying sharp

I was just telling someone at lunch today about how I have to keep my writing skills sharp. It has become more of a challenge now that I don't have a regular writing/editing gig.

Then I found this quiz at Chuvaness' blog, on some of the most misspelled English words out there. Taking my time, I still came away with a less than perfect score (22). Try it, and let me know how you do.

While we're at it, here are some of the most mispronounced words. Many are obvious, but we can all pick up a tip or two.

Back from the holidays

How's your 2009 going so far?

Good, I hope. V and I have just barely recovered from being on the go since Dec. 22. Drove to Oceanside to spend Christmas there with my family. Drove back up to Monterey on the 26th so they can spend the weekend here. Said goodbye to my family on the 28th, leaving just enough time to pack and catch our 6 AM flight to Wisconsin the next day.

Spent New Year's with V's family in Stevens Point, with a day trip to Madison squeezed in. Flew back on the 4th, arriving at home well past midnight, sans one piece of checked bag. Spent yesterday unpacking, doing laundry, and playing with Briscoe. Today, it was naps, and chores, more laundry, and dealing with things around the house that are suddenly breaking.

Is something up? Our overpriced plasma TV konked out a few days before we left for Oceanside. Then the printer decided throw out a bunch of "cartridge errors," despite the nearly new cartridges. Then yesterday, as I was cleaning up my dog's accident in my office (in a momentary lapse of reason, I gave her half a can of tuna with her dog food), the brushes on the steam carpet cleaner stop turning.

Now I have to figure out if it is worth it to get any of these items fixed, or if buying new ones is more efficient.

On another note, the holidays were fun, albeit tiring. My sibs and I, along with V and my good friend Ameetess, got happy on a few bottles of wine and beer on Christmas eve. Childhood stories were told, along with many others which had us grabbing our stomachs in laughter. The weekend in Monterey was more low-key, spent walking on the wharf, filling up on seafood, and driving the picturesque 17-Mile Drive. We also spent the day with an aunt I haven't seen in years, who drove down from Hayward for the day.

In Stevens Point, V & I did the rounds of visiting his relatives. On New Year's eve, we caught up with aunts and uncles over lasagna and, for me particularly, multiple slices of red velvet cake. Watched the ball drop in Times Sqaure while sitting in a country bar, with V's brother Seth, his old friend Corey, and a bottle of the local brew. On the 2nd, V, Seth and I spent the day in Madison, visiting the "Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired" Monona Terrace, the state capitol building, and the dearly missed Outback Steakhouse where we introduced Seth to the wonders of the Bloomin' Onion.

More importantly, V got to say a final goodbye to the 128-year old farmhouse that was home to his granparents and dad. He walked the rooms, the barn, climbed up the hayloft, peeked into the chicken coop, and spent time with his grandma remembering the years he spent growing up in that farm. I took pictures until my hands hurt from the cold.

To top it off, I got my Marimekko wall hanging and my Gorillapod, and Briscoe got a snazzy new collar from the in-laws.

All things considered, it was satisfying holiday spent with family and friends. Laundry, repairs and the rest of our real lives aside, we recognize that we have been blessed and are ever thankful.

Best wishes to all in 2009.