Traffic Hell

Too much traffic and we had not moved for 30mins. So I walked all the way from C5-Ortigas flyover to Eastwood.

By the way its EDSA1 aniverssary.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Asturias

(A nice place at Asturias Manila)

At last, I have found the time to write about this... Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Asturias, Manila. You might think of the UST upon hearing the street, but there is more to studies. As they say, all school and no play makes Juan a very dull guy.


(The bar with menu on the wall)

I was waiting to meet a friend when I decided to take a walk around the street. And there to my surprise was a very different place with the word TAPSI shouting by the entrance. What I found was goldmine for the college students who are tight on the budget but wants to enjoy and unwind after the exams.



(People inside the bar)

And as expected, the place was full of students trying to have a good time. And yes, there is almost no place to walk through. The place was an experience. You can feel the youth in the air.


(Tapsilog at TAPSI)

More to the bar and the restaurant, TAPSI is an architectural encounter. The place is an antique Filipino house converted into a restobar filled with unique designs and memorabilia from different decades in history.



(The place is air-continuous)

I tried their TAPSILOG and it was good and cheap! For those who are really on the budget, they can order KROPEK from the counter. Now thats what I call a real students' place!


(Tree inside TAPSI with glowing fruits)

Beer is very affordable (although the tube ice tastes funny) and the food is very affordable for the students.

Of Great Men

(Manila Central Post Office, Lawton, Manila)

Lawton

(Lawton, Manila)

Adamson

(Within thy portals hollowed, view from AdU's ST gate fronting SV Building. )

Its 77th year of Adamson University!

Mabuhay Vincentians!

Paraluman

"Kamukha mo si Paraluman"("You look like Paraluman") I have always heard from the popular song of Eraserheads.

But who/what is Paraluman?

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Paraluman the Street

(Paraluman Street, St. Joseph, Cainta, Rizal)

Barely few passersby knew who/what paraluman was.

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Paraluman the Actress

Sigrid Sophia Agatha von Giese (December 14, 1923), better known as Paraluman, was a legendary Filipina actress during the early cinema era in the Philippines. She was a contemporary of the likes of Fernando Poe, Sr. and Marlene Daudén and was a major contract star of Sampaguita Pictures

Personal life
Paraluman was born from a German father and a Filipina. At her prime, she was considered as the Philippine's answer to Swedish-American actress Greta Garbo because of her perfect bone structure, svelte figure, long brown hair, hypnotic eyes, an impenetrable gaze, and a face capable of registering everything.

The young Paraluman was a movie fan. She loved reading magazines about her favorite celebrities. Her interest in showbiz increased when she learned that their next-door neighbor was the big movie star, Corazón Noble. Oftentimes, she would climb over the fence to catch glimpse of the actress.

Her curiosity yielded positive result because Noble’s younger sister, Lily, noticed her. Soon, Paraluman became friends with Lily.

Career
Because of her extraordinary beauty, Paraluman was recommended by Norma, another sister of Corazón, to Luis Nolasco of Filippine Films. She was only 17 at that time. Her first movie was Flores de Mayo (1940). She first used the the screen name Mina de Gracia. It was later changed to Paraluman by Fernando Poe Sr., who signed her as a full-fledged star in X’otic Films’ Paraluman (1941). This was followed by Bayani ng Bayan and Puting Dambana.

After World War II, she came back to cinema as a contract star of Sampaguita Pictures. She then became a famous leading lady in romantic movies, but when she made a comeback, her image was repackaged by Sampaguita Pictures owner Dr. José “Doc” Pérez. She was given character roles, playing nemesis to Gloria Romero in Hongkong Holiday, then as a lame woman in Tanikalang Apoy(1959). This, however, turned to her favor because it honed her acting skills more, earning her a FAMAS Best Actress Award for the movie Sino ang maysala?.

Paraluman was also nominated four times in FAMAS: twice in 1959 for Best Actress for the movies Bobby and Anino ni Bathala, in 1972 as Best Supporting Actress for Lilet, and in 1976 as Best Supporting Actress for Mister Mo, Lover Boy Ko.

Her daughter, Baby O'Brien, was a TV-commercial-model-turned-actress. Her granddaughter, Rina Reyes (O'Brien's daughter) is also an actress.

Paraluman's legendary status in Philippine showbusiness even merited her an inclusion in the lyrics of Ang Huling El Bimbo, one of the most popular songs of Filipino rock band Eraserheads.
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Paraluman as the symbol of beaty in a song

Huling El Bimbo

Last El Bimbo

by Eraserheads

kamukha mo si Paraluman
you looked like Paraluman
nung tayo ay bata pa
when we were kids
at ang galing-galing mong sumayaw
and you were so good at dancing
mapa-Boogie man o Cha-cha
be it Boogie or Cha-cha
ngunit ang paborito
but my favorite
ay pagsayaw mo ng El bimbo
was when you danced El bimbo
nakakaindak, nakakaaliw
catchy, amusing
nakatindig-balahibo
hair-raising

pagkagaling sa skwela ay
after school
didiretso na sa inyo
I'd go straight to your house
at buong maghapon ay
and the whole afternoon
tinuturuan mo ako
you would teach me

magkahawak ang ating kamay
we held hands
at walang kamalay-malay
and had no idea
na tinuruan mo ang puso ko
that you taught my heart
na umibig nang tunay

true love

naninigas ang aking katawan
my body freezes
pag umikot na ang plaka
as the record starts to spin
sabay sa kembot ng bewang
along with the sway of your hips
at pungay ng iyong mga mata
and the sparkle of your eyes
lumiliwanag ang buhay
my whole life brightens
habang tayo'y magkaakbay
when our arms are on each other's shoulders
at dahan-dahang dumudulas ang kamay ko
and my hand slowly slides
sa makinis mong braso

on your smooth arm

sana noon pa man ay
I wish that long ago
sinabi na sa iyo
I had already told you
kahit hindi na uso ay
though it's gotten old
ito lang ang alam ko
this is all I know

magkahawak ang ating kamay
we held hands
at walang kamalay-malay
and had no idea
na tinuruan mo ang puso ko
that you taught my heart
na umibig nang tunay
true love

lumipas ang maraming taon
many years passed
di na tayo nagkita
we haven't seen each other
balita ko'y may anak ka na
I heard you already have a child
ngunit walang asawa
without a husband
taga-hugas ka raw ng pinggan
I heard that you wash dishes
sa may Ermita
somewhere around Ermita
at isang gabi, nasagasaan
and one night, you were run over
sa isang madilim na eskinita

in a dark alley

lahat ng pangarap ko'y
all my dreams
bigla nang natunaw
have suddenly melted
sa panaginip nalang pala
I will now get to dance with you
kita maisasayaw
only in my dreams

magkahawak ang ating kamay
we held hands
at walang kamalay-malay
and had no idea
na tinuruan mo ang puso ko
that you taught my heart
na umibig nang tunay ...
true love ...

Mark

(picture from wikipedia)

It is not for nothing that the samurai have chosen for their truest symbol the fragile cherry blossom.
Like a petal dropping in the morning sunlight and floating serenely to earth,
so must the fearless detach himself from life, silent and inwardly unmoved.

(Eugen Herrigel)

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(Photo taken by David Hyde about two months before Mark died)



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It is two years now since Mark left. I knew then that his goodbye would mean that it was only us who would bid farewell. For when he left, no words were heard from him. I knew then that he would never return. But I cant stop waiting for him to step back in to those doors. I have waited, and waited, and waited long enough that I forgot how it feels to wait.

His life is like a flower that started to bloom in the month of January. Before he can fully show his beauty to the world, the wind blew him away. He was not given a chance to bloom, he was never given a chance to wither.

If I was to spend my life watching a bud to grow into a flower, I would not have wasted a lifetime. And if the bud have grown into a flower and withered, we have not wasted beauty nor time.

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Dying cricket –
how full of
life, his song.

(Basho)
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(Video presentation by Jayson Bayugo)
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In memory of my younger brother Mark Anthony "Mac Mac" who was murdered on February 2, 2007.