Villa Escudero- return to childhood thrills

Mid- October of this year, I was privileged to be the tour guide who yapped non stop with the hired grayline tour guide, for our company's Korean guests, two doctors and two lady managers from a large pharmaceutical company based in Seoul.

Ok, so this is not the most unflattering picture of me, but what is flattering is the place called Villa Escudero.

This coconut haven was a grand estate dating back to the Spanish times, where the Escudero family, planted coconuts to escape having their land parceled out to the masses. They employed hundreds of people to farm coconuts and to date, the plantation is now a tourist theme park of Philippine culture. Features of the park is the iconic carabao ride, with young native attired singers crooning kundimans and popular karaoke foreign tunes, depending on the visitors on the cart.

Apparently, our carabao is of Mexican descent by the name of a popular telenovela heroine!

The museum is contains collections of clothing, saints and religious icons, collections of jewelry, Filipiniana items, stuff animals, shells, botanical specimens and art are all crammed into this two story building, whose exterior is a pink and white chiffon cake facade of a church. The facade of the Escudero museum is decorated in pink and white, its design mimicking an authentic Spanish cathedral in Intramuros.

The native barong tagalog on a Filipino family during a formal event
Said to be the uniform of the first Philippine president, Emilio Aguinaldo

And the terno of the late Cory Aquino.

The Escuderos are fond of warrior garb as Japanese, Chinese and Koren warrior outfits are displayed here.
Medal plaque in honor of Gen. Douglas MacarthurA collection of Philippine knives, daggers and hand weapons
The hall of Filipino ethnic tribes

Philippine mollusks are archived in this showcase

The last stations of the Cross showing the death of Christ in the crucifixion is detailed wonderfullywith ornate robes on the grieving Mary and the lady disciples.A grand tableau of a silver altar, with life size images of the apostles and Christ during the Last Supper are at the center of the Escudero Museum.

A replica of a well-to-do Filipino home is depicted here, most presumable a mirror image of the home of the Escuderos.

The famed waterfall lunch experience is an integral part of the stay, a buffet of filipino delicacies, like adobo, chicken in gata, misua(wait that's chinese!), grilled tilapia, salad of green mango, kamatis, sitaw, tapa, and dessert of sago are among the selections. These are served on basket plates lined with banana leaf. Yes, the best part is to eat with one's hands, but etiquette now demands use of cutlery.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a rondalla and native dance cultural show. My batteries all got juiced out from taking videos and photos of the show.

If you ask me, I'd enjoy coming back to this place, each person must be prepared to fork out 1, 250 on a weekend to enjoy all the attractions, and have transportation ready to travel to and from Manila. Considering the photo opportunities, and the historical snapshots to be had, it's not a bad package.

Here are some of the highlights of my visit, included here are videos of dances which could fit here in my blog: For the other videos, you can check my youtube links. A mythical sarimanok fashioned in coconut frond on a stick given by dancing kids

Blog revival

My friends right now are an eclectic mix of people all of whom I've met over food. And birthdays as well.

During this instance, we had a ball just celebrating the host's birthday, her dining table table was transformed into a Net cafe of sorts, with 5 laptops just on and whirring to the Net on her Wifi.

I realized too that to make friends is not as complicated, spending time, talking, opening up and sharing what you have are ingredients to friendships growing. Those who make this process complicated, or always finding excuses to just opt out of spending time, are not really worthwhile to be friends with at all.

Real friends do laugh, talk and don't mind the passing of time, even if everyone will be super busy during the week.

Kudos to you guys for carving a place in my heart. Luv ya.

for concerned individuals..must read

Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy
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Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print AP – FILE - In a Wednesday, July 20, 2005 file photo, Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, answers … By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer David Crary, Ap National Writer – Thu Aug 6, 1:45 am ET
NEW YORK – The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

Instead, the APA urged therapists to consider multiple options — that could range from celibacy to switching churches — for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.

In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report, and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.

The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.

Judith Glassgold, a Highland Park, N.J., psychologist who chaired the task force, said she hoped the document could help calm the polarized debate between religious conservatives who believe in the possibility of changing sexual orientation and the many mental health professionals who reject that option.

"Both sides have to educate themselves better," Glassgold said in an interview. "The religious psychotherapists have to open up their eyes to the potential positive aspects of being gay or lesbian. Secular therapists have to recognize that some people will choose their faith over their sexuality."

In dealing with gay clients from conservative faiths, says the report, therapists should be "very cautious" about suggesting treatments aimed at altering their same-sex attractions.

"Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome," the report says.

"We have to challenge people to be creative," said Glassgold.

She suggested that devout clients could focus on overarching aspects of religion such as hope and forgiveness in order to transcend negative beliefs about homosexuality, and either remain part of their original faith within its limits — for example, by embracing celibacy — or find a faith that welcomes gays.

"There's no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don't work, they feel doubly terrified," Glassgold said. "You should be honest with people and say, 'This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have.'"

One of the largest organizations promoting the possibility of changing sexual orientation is Exodus International, a network of ministries whose core message is "Freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."

Its president, Alan Chambers, describes himself as someone who "overcame unwanted same-sex attraction." He and other evangelicals met with APA representatives after the task force formed in 2007, and he expressed satisfaction with parts of the report that emerged.

"It's a positive step — simply respecting someone's faith is a huge leap in the right direction," Chambers said. "But I'd go further. Don't deny the possibility that someone's feelings might change."

An evangelical psychologist, Mark Yarhouse of Regent University, praised the APA report for urging a creative approach to gay clients' religious beliefs but — like Chambers — disagreed with its skepticism about changing sexual orientation.

Yarhouse and a colleague, Professor Stanton Jones of Wheaton College, will be releasing findings at the APA meeting Friday from their six-year study of people who went through Exodus programs. More than half of 61 subjects either converted to heterosexuality or "disidentified" with homosexuality while embracing chastity, their study said.

To Jones and Yarhouse, their findings prove change is possible for some people, and on average the attempt to change will not be harmful.

The APA task force took as a starting point the belief that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexuality, not a disorder, and that it nonetheless remains stigmatized in ways that can have negative consequences.

The report said the subgroup of gays interested in changing their sexual orientation has evolved over the decades and now is comprised mostly of well-educated white men whose religion is an important part of their lives and who participate in conservative faiths that frown on homosexuality.

"Religious faith and psychology do not have to be seen as being opposed to each other," the report says, endorsing approaches "that integrate concepts from the psychology of religion and the modern psychology of sexual orientation."

Perry Halkitis, a New York University psychologist who chairs the APA committee dealing with gay and lesbian issues, praised the report for its balance.

"Anyone who makes decisions based on good science will be satisfied," he said. "As a clinician, you have to deal with the whole person, and for some people, faith is a very important aspect of who they are."

The report also addressed the issue of whether adolescents should be subjected to therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation. Any such approach should "maximize self-determination" and be undertaken only with the youth's consent, the report said.

Wayne Besen, a gay-rights activist who has sought to discredit the so-called "ex-gay" movement, welcomed the APA findings.

"Ex-gay therapy is a profound travesty that has led to pointless tragedies, and we are pleased that the APA has addressed this psychological scourge," Besen said.

can you spell A-W-E-S-O-M-E ?

It was early, around 730 pm when I arrived at the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium.
I had the idea that the spelling bee would be filled with dialogue and kind of get boring, but I was wrong.
The stage was arranged in a sparse style, chairs in front, and a banner that spelled out "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" .
This review is not meant to be very detailed as you can read better reviews in my previous blog post about it. So I assume my dear readers already have a background about it.
I will just comment on the production night.
Sounds= ok and clearly heard
Lights= cool, it focused on stage on the performers, as well as when the actors had to go down stage after they lost their turn.
Participation of the audience= There were three guest spellers that evening, two were lucky bloggers who won through the website, the other is the statuesque, and hot Angel Aquino. All three gamely joined in the spelling, and rode along with the antics as they were pulled, danced around and played around by the actors. It was funny because when there was the time the guest speller had spelled a difficult word right, the examiner had to deliberately give a hard word to be easily misspelled.
Each speller who lost their turn got a fruit juice drink as a token. For the guests, especially the non celebs, they got their 15 minutes (and more) of fame for that evening. ONe of them, wore exceptionally high, 3 inch purple heels.And was dolled up for the evening.
I like the clever way each guest speller was described on the spot.
The quips and the descriptions of the words to be spelled were totally hilarious and bursting to the seams with inanity, puns and amusement.
The way spelling bees are conducted is, each contestant goes to the front, is given the word to spell, then they can ask about the word origin, and have the word used in a sentence. Afterwards, they have to spell the word. Each speller in the show had their own eccentricities and peculiar ways to get the words spelled correctly.One wrote in on her arm, another spelled it with his foot, then another spelled it as if possessed and robot-like.
All in all, the show ended ten pm, and started promptly at 8pm, no intermissions, no problem, and lots of fun!
It will have its run still on the suceeding weekend before it flies to Singapore:
JUL 10 8pm, contact Johnsy Reyes at 09175342326 ;Ken Espinosa: 09164939311
Jul 11 2pm : BEL Pacheco-09156216512
JUL 11 8pm: PHEONA baranda: 09064372869
JUL 12 3pm: Theody DEmaisip-09209326067 ; Oliver San Juan: 09218030360
JUL 12 8pm Mae Castro: 0906-3414559

MANG INASAL- Ayala Ave. food review

I have always been faithful in my conquests.

chicken inasal is ONE of them.

Now, I venture on my Friday lunch out towards the Mang Inasal resto at the white Romanesque-style building along Ayala beside RSC where the Hyundai office is. Located on the second floor, M.I. shares the floor with Karate Kid, Binalot and other eateries.

It mainly caters to the working denizens along Ayala, and so the lunch hour was packed, with queues everywhere.

My goal was to redeem one of my free meals from a popular credit card company, and I was prepared to be inconvenience. Going to a fast food restaurant isn't a breeze during the noon time, so I endured a waiting in line time of ten minutes, before I flashed my charge slip and ordered camote fries and beef sinigang ( it isn't obvious I am hungry no?)

Thumbs up for :
1. The order taking was quick.
2. Each diner was given a number on a long bbq stick, so waiters can quickly give orders to diners as needed.
3. Food was piping hot, and meets the expectation of saucy, juicy chicken barbeque.
4. A tall pitcher of H2O satisfied diners' thirst.
5. Unlimited Rice!
6. The takeout of my camote fries was wrapped in foil and quickly served.

thumbs down:
1. food servers looked harried and toxic.
2. Witnessed a food server slam the stock room door at her colleague for unknown reasons and it was unpleasant.
3. One food server almost slipped as she stepped on an oil slick.
4. Orders were queued long and many diners were unhappy.
5. There was inadequate food delivery as my order was not complete when my number was carried off.
6. There was lack of coordination of the servers and the dispatcher, making for long delays.
7. Only one cleaner cleared tables, and three food servers going around, one griller also for many diners.
8. Only one cashier taking all the orders.

Overall, if you are willing to wait, the inasal is really worth waiting for, but the service is wanting for improvement.

Improvements can be done by all servers exercising extra courtesy and meeting customer needs on time.

Food wise, I comment on the sinigang, it tastes good, there were a total of 3 bite sized beef cubes in the sour broth. The chicken was again, sweet and tangy in its bbq sauce, while the meat was tender and addicting to eat . Dipping the white meat in a combination of calamansi, soy sauce, vinegar and chili drops made the experience quite satisfying though one has to truly wash hands afterwards.

I rate this restaurant, on a scale of 1to 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest, it merits a 2, because it took me an hour to finish my meal there and in the lunch hour, services and attention has to be improved to better customer repeat visits.

Gonna watch Spelling Bee tonight,RCBC plaza 8pm

While browsing throught the morning papers at the office lounge, I was astounded to see that there it is, PUTNAM COUNTY spelling bee is tonight at RCBC!
I dialed the number and reserved two tickets for me and my date, we initially just wanted to dinner at QC, but since it's her birthday and she let me just plan what to do, this would be a great thing to do. Besides, I think this is the first time I am gonna watch a musical with her as of late.
Pricey and tickets ah..I won't disclose it but front seats it is.
I hope I can get chosen as guest speller....(crosses fingers)

Will post a review of the musical later....
DARN I did not anticipate I will be watching and I wanna get pics with the actors like i used to do reviews..but ill find a way..heheh..

Can you spell A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N?


For more information about spelling bee , check this out:
site of spelling bee producer:
http://www.atlantisproductionsinc.com/
site of reviews of spelling bee philippine production:
http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2009/04/spelling-bee-review.html
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=450175&publicationSubCategoryId=70


plugging for spelling bee from a musical lover:
The last show of the first run of Spelling Bee is tonight. There will be a re-run starting July 3:

July 3, 2009 (Friday)
8 PM, RCBC Plaza , Makati
Minnie Fong Show for Charity
Spelling Bee Updated Seat Plan
For Inquiries and reservations email minnie.fong@gmail.com or call her +63917-8676332.

I usually watch either the opening or the ending show. Please let Minnie know if you're an OAP friend.


July 4, 2009, Saturday,
8pm, RCBC Plaza , Makati
Geoffrey Yu Show
For Inquiries and reservations email yu.geoffrey@gmail.com or call him +63920-9287573


July 5, 2009 (Sunday)

3 PM, RCBC Plaza, Makati
Jessica Manalo Show
For inquiries and reservations e-mail jessicaxii@hotmail.com or call her +63918-9004995



Ticket Prices:
P 500 (Balcony)
P 700 (Loge Sides)
P 900 (Loge Center)
P 1,100 (Orchestra Sides)
P 1,300 (Orchestra Center)

Top 10 List of Emerging Influential Blogs of 2009

It's a yearly writing project by Ms Janette Toral of Influential Blogger.

These are blogs that started anytime from May 1, 2008 to the present. They are gradually gaining a considerable amount of readership and influence. They also blog for various reasons such as expression of thoughts, sharing of knowledge and insights, events reporting or coverage, and some for profit.

I present to you my top ten nominees!

1. Zorlone by Doc Z
2. The Struggling Blogger by Roy
3. Father Blogger by Angel
4. Writing to Exhale by Jan
5. Tales from the Mom Side by Dee
6. Dear Bloggery by Snow
7. Home Buddies by Fehdz
8. Dare to Speak Out by Silver
9. Lifelots by Irene
10. Jed Chan by Jed

For more information about this contest, please visit Ms. Janette Toral's page.

This event will not be possible without thanking our sponsors:

Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, and Blog4Reviews.com.