digitaldaydream

someone has to come up with a name for gayden's dance moves. i die!




Flesh asia daily has the equally funny letter from the guy who sent it in.

I can't find a big size of the poster but here are the deets - i won't be in town but LJ's very own wexistence  will be there!


On May 11, 2009 we will begin our COUNTDOWN TO CHANGE as we encourage Filipinos to vote for reform in 2010.

365 DAYS TO CHANGE is organized by Artists' Revolution, and headlined by the enduring Apo Hiking Society, as well as Joey Ayala, Isay Alvares, Robert Sena, Kjwan, Jon Santos, and Juana Change.

More artists are being invited so STAY TUNED for the evolving artist lineup!

For tickets to 365 DAYS TO CHANGE...TODO NA 'TO! please contact: CHINGKEL, AISSA, or MENARD at 8982913, 8983221, or 8997691 loc. 2222-24.

NOW NA! :)

JR and I are heading to Japan for Holy Week! Thank god for the two long weekends and cheap PAL tickets. Round trip Manila-Osaka flights were $240 roundtrip plus taxes...it comes out to just under $650 for two tickets. 

We're both big fans of Japanese food and are determined to make the trip a feeding frenzy. We start out with a night in Osaka then two nights in Kobe and then we head to Kyoto for three nights and then we spend the rest of the trip in Osaka.

We're going to Kobe just for the beef. I've already found some good restaurant recommendations. I discovered this site called Bento that has english reviews to restaurants around Japan. Kyoto is a must-see for the temples but I got overwhelmed while doing research because it sounds like Kyoto has more temples per square mile than any other place in the world. Or something like that. But thanks to piracy and illegal downloads i found a copy of Lonely Planet Kyoto on torrent. Someone had taken it out from a public library and scanned each and every page. Thanks a lot, whoever you are! Lastly, Osaka is where Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki originate from. We also downloaded Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations Osaka episode and got excited about all the food. Bourdain goes to this tiny sushi restaurant that has all of six seats and everything they served him just looked so good.

The challenge of course is the language barrier but I'm sure we'll manage, and that is always part of the fun anyway.

The other bonus is that we're going right smack in the middle of cherry blossom season!

I have to say, it feels good to be back on LJ.

And welcome back, Mika and Jill! ;) 

Ever since J and I got together, I've been eating so well. Little Tokyo is a favorite, and we are determined to go through every single restaurant in that area to find the best eats. So here are our recommendations for three out of the many restaurants in Little Tokyo.

At Urameshi Ya, we ordered the beef set, which was good for 4-5 people. We finished everything but the liver.

We recommend the "second class beef". Much better (and cheaper) than "first class" and wagyu.


At Niko Niko Tei, he shoyu ramen is made with a slightly thicker and more flavorful soup base than what you would get at Shinjuku. Very yummy. Their sushi is affordable and pretty good as well, although their nori isn't as crisp as it should be. I'm still on a quest to find the best sukiyaki in the area as Niko Niko's wasn't anything to write home about.

Nodasho, next to Niko Niko Tei, serves excellent chicken teriyaki. They also give free beer stubs for your next visit. Next time I'd like to sit at the sushi bar as they had two Japanese chefs working the bar.

And a word of warning, do NOT eat at KIKOFUJI! When we had lunch there, we saw one waitress loading the salad bowl with her hands. She was taking lettuce from this giant bowl and loading it onto the serving bowls. We were already grossed out and then ALL the other waitresses joined in and did the same! There were about five waitresses using their unclean hands to load the salad bowls and then putting them onto trays and serving the patrons. I was watching for a while and no hand washing or sanitizing took place. There were multiple waitresses dipping their hands into the giant bowl of lettuce. SO GROSS.

Educate yourselves. Understand the data. Our education system is in terrible shape and we are in serious trouble.
Please make time to watch this video.

you can make a difference:

Synergeia

57-75: Reverse the Education Crisis

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080601-140015/Kuya-Ate-in-Sarangani-help-pupils-read-better

Our program, which I think is a FIRST in the nation, is featured in today's inquirer!!! Last friday, we held a consultation with our volunteers and all of them said YES they want to do the program again next year, YES they want it to be institutionalized, and YES they had an amazing time with the kids and were really challenged but recognized that it was all part of a greater learning process.

two of our programs made it to this week's local paper :)

Reading Camp
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2008/05/26/life/reading.camp.html

Villagers pin hope in baskets
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2008/05/26/bus/villagers.pin.hope.in.baskets.html

Two new sunscreens - La Roche Posay and L'Orealhere.

And other more "serious" entries over at Alabelle. Y'know, gossip girl and stuff.

i just discovered the glory that is google reader. wow, i'm light years late to the party.

Yorac awardee knows what it's like to stand up to giants

Ma'am Nene Guevara of Synergeia, one of the most dedicated public servants I know. She has committed her whole life to transforming the system one local government at a time. She inspires me.

xxx


thanks, everyone, for your kind words. :) i know it is difficult for most people to get knee-deep in community work, so you guys can all live vicariously through me instead. i will try to blog more. :) next up, you'll meet my goats. oh yes, you read it right!

check out all the photos from our education program at my flickr!

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.


i hope that by the end of 2008 i would have covered more of mindanao by land.

MANILA, Philippines -- Former president Fidel Ramos warned President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday that pardoning convicted plunderer and deposed leader Joseph Estrada was a dangerous move that could lead to her own downfall.

In a statement, Ramos said Estrada’s plunder conviction and pardon are “bigger than President Arroyo and/or Estrada himself.”

“...All Filipinos are stakeholders in this case,” Ramos said prior to his departure for Guandong, China where he was attending a business conference. His statement was made before Malacañang announced that Arroyo had granted Estrada full pardon.

Ramos, who saved Arroyo from being toppled following the mass resignation of her Cabinet members and resounding calls for her resignation at the height of the “Hello Garci” scandal in July 2005, also warned that she has “little time” to make the country globally competitive.

“She has barely three years left to stabilize the economy while contending with the present political instability created by divisions among the political leaders, graft and corruption, peace and order problems, political killings and human rights violations,” Ramos said.

Ramos also admitted to cracks in the administration coalition composed of the Lakas-CMD, of which he is chairman emeritus and Speaker Jose de Venecia is chairman, and Kampi (Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino, Partner of the Free Filipino), which was founded by Arroyo in 1996.

On Tuesday, Ramos was photographed with Arroyo and De Venecia to show that all was well between the two officials, who were reportedly at odds after the Speaker’s son, Jose de Venecia III, told a Senate hearing about the alleged corruption that accompanied the granting of the national broadband network deal to Chinese telecom firm ZTE Corp.

Ramos also said the requisites for executive clemency had not been met, and even Estrada had not admitted his guilt. And granting Estrada pardon just a month after his conviction could send a signal to other convicts to seek the same privilege.

“President Arroyo must bide her time and should not be rushed,” Ramos said. “This proposal must be evaluated on account of its impact on other felons who may also demand the same treatment.”

He cited retired Army major general Carlos Garcia, who is charged with plunder, as an example.

Ramos said setting Estrada free was also a “dangerous proposal” since the convicted former president could always rally his followers to mount protests against Arroyo, who may find herself “suffering the same fate as that of Estrada who was forced to vacate his office in the face of mounting protests.”

Ramos said Arroyo must also consider the sentiments the family of Bubby Dacer, the publicist who was abducted and killed allegedly by Estrada's men and whose case has remain unsolved for almost seven years.

i am:

sad
disappointed
crushed
disillusioned

obviously she is setting the stage, protecting herself in preparation for her own plunder trial after she steps down in 2010

i can't wait for 2010. this administration has crushed this country.

SHORTLY before six in the evening today, Malacañang announced that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has granted executive clemency to convicted former President Joseph Estrada, defying the warnings of civil-society groups, prosecution lawyers in the plunder trial, and that of another former chief executive, Fidel Ramos.

The order to grant pardon to Estrada came only one and a half months after the guilty verdict and the concomitant penalty of reclusion perpetua handed down by the Sandiganbayan on the former chief executive for the capital offense of plunder. Press Secretary and Acting Executive Secretary Ignacio Bunye read what he called was a “very important order” granting Estrada pardon as premised on the following:

* the policy of releasing prisoners who have reached the age of 70;
* that Estrada has been under detention for six and a half years; and
* that Estrada has publicly committed to no longer seek any public or elective office.

With the executive clemency, Estrada’s civil and political rights are restored, although the forfeitures imposed by the Sandiganbayan “remain in force and in full, including all writs and processes issued by the (court) in pursuance thereof, except for the bank accounts he owned before his tenure as president.”

The pardon shall take effect upon Estrada’s acceptance of the order.

Early this week, civil-society groups expressed opposition to reports being floated that Malacañang was considering granting Estrada “unconditional pardon.” Leah Navarro of the Black and White Movement said this sends the wrong message to the people, that “it’s all right to plunder, as long as you can cut a deal with those in power.”
Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio lamented that this would put to waste six years of hard work and expenses in trying to convict Estrada on plunder charges. Ignacio added that the issuance of pardon did not follow proper procedure and even lacks documents.

Yesterday, ex-President Ramos added his voice to those warning Arroyo not to be hasty in giving executive clemency to Estrada, saying it would be a “terrible calamity to the great majority of Filipino people who have suffered from the plunder that has been proven in court beyond reasonable doubt.”

“She should weigh what ordinary people might do, or what the families of those who are convicted and detained in the national penitentiary might do,” Ramos remarked. “If everybody is equal under the law, why not also them?”

Those pleas have apparently fallen on deaf ears.

But Estrada lawyer, former Senator Rene Saguisag, who says he goes by the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, believes the pardon was done with the “highest national interest” in mind.

Pardon, like amnesty, he says, is “a tyrant’s attempts to make up for his/her injustices,” alluding to the “unconstitutional” manner of Estrada’s removal from office in 2001. In contrast, he says “everything here (pardon) is legal, constitutional.”

Granting pardon to convicted criminals is the sole prerogative of the President.

To Saguisag, pardon was also the “best solution” for a closure to the events that began in 2001. “It is not only popular but also right for the vast majority of our people.”

Hearing the news, a shocked Villa-Ignacio says Arroyo’s decision only betrays a lack of political will on her part to enforce the court’s ruling to convict Estrada. “It goes to show that the government has no political will to enforce the decision by the judicial department, and in the end, it has no political will to fight corruption,” he says.

University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque says this recent act was only typical of Arroyo’s “transactional politics” as it again allows her to defuse the growing tension faced by her administration for the national broadband network deal and the “cash gifts” scandal.

However, Roque sees the executive clemency as “not intended to favor Estrada, but to favor Arroyo, to ensure more stability so she can continue governing even if she has no concept of good governance.”

This view is shared by Akbayan party-list chair emeritus Loreta Ann Rosales. “The capacity to grant an official convicted of corruption executive clemency could only come from a president who is all too willing to commit the same crime and expect that the same privilege would be extended to her once she faces accountability for her own crimes.”

Saying no one should be above the law, not even a popular president, Rosales says corruption prevails in the country because “we have high officials like Arroyo who abuse their authority to coddle corrupt officials. ”

“The grant of pardon to a convicted plunderer within six weeks of conviction is unprecedented in the entire 500-year history of our country,” says Marichu Lambino, who was among the private lawyers who assisted the government prosecution panel in Estrada’s plunder trial.

Lambino suspects that the haste lends credence to reports that the grant of pardon was the result of a deal struck between Arroyo and a powerful religious bloc. “Only the criminally rich and mighty who have big power brokers behind them are given pardon with such haste.”

As opposed to pardon as an act of mercy or grace as how jurisprudence calls it, Lambino adds that in Arroyo and Estrada’s case, it is one of “disgrace and ruthless display of power, an act that shows under the Arroyo government, there is no right and wrong — there is only power.

Radiohead’s new album ‘In Rainbows’ was not eligible for the charts to record the sales of the album, since Radiohead offered the download on their own site with the unique pricing system.

Besides the estimated 1.2 millions copies sold for about another estimated average of £2.50 to £4 ($5-$8)… we do have some interesting numbers coming from Last.fm. The website tracks the songs played on everyone’s computers (and even iPods) and Radiohead topped all of the website’s charts.

‘15 Step’, opening track of ‘In Rainbows’ topped the charts of the week ending on October 14th, which means that ‘15 Step’ was played 263,169 times by 67,122 unique listeners in 4 days since the release on October 10th. To put that in perspective, Kayne West’s ‘Stronger’ topped the list the (full!) week before with 57,904 plays by 22,587 unique listeners. Radiohead’s Karma Police was number three that week with 23,992 plays (now 16,119). All in all Radiohead have took over the top artists spot from The Beatles with a total of 118,836 people playing 3,308,175 Radiohead tracks in the past week.

rankings here: http://www.ateaseweb.com/2007/10/12/radioheads-videotape-already-remixed/