dipping it again

in short, makisawsaw na naman ang daliri ko sa mga isyung hindi ko maiwasang hindi mag-comment.

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Ban Ki Moon in Manila : There will be a reversal of migration due to the global financial crisis.

Ah, hello, Secretary sir, I think I have written the same thing in this blog as soon as Lehman Brothers crumbled. And I don’t think you have to be UN Secretary to figure it out. What I want to hear from you is – what are you (UN) doing, together with the other giants World Bank and International Monetary Fund to avert this global financial crisis? Maybe hang those greedy businessmen who sent the stock markets tumbling so they can’t do it again?


Katas ng VAT to fund programs for the Poor.

Aha! Piyesta na naman ang mga ganid! Hiding again under the pretense of humanitarian cause. For the poor daw! Sige nga. So what do we expect in the next few days, ang magagaling na mga pulitiko pupunta sa isang baranggay, mamimigay ng kaunting delata sa mga kawawang mahihirap tapos kung todo pictorial at tv coverage na? Stop it already. Kawawa naman kaming mahihirap. Namamatay na sa gutom ginagamit pa ninyong props sa mga propaganda ninyo.


Anabel Rama celebrates 56th birthday in Willie’s yacths.

Aba ang yaman na nga pala talaga nitong si Willie. Mantakin mo, may yate at hindi lang isa, dalawa pa! Ganon ba kalaki ang sweldo nya sa ABS-CBN? After the Ferrari scandal, eto at may dalawang bonggang-bonggang yate naman sya. Eh dream ko rin yan. Sarap kayang mag-sail from port to port with your own luxurious yacht. Sabi na nga mali ang pinili kong trabaho eh. I should have been a Tv host even to one pathetic noon time show. Milyonaryo na ako, makakapag-kunwari pa akong mabait sa mahihirap at pro-poor kahit diring-diri ako sa mga amoy araw na hampaslupa! It’s showbiz afterall.


Jocjoc, naiuwi na ng Pinas. Inaresto. Dinala sa Ospital.

One word: Drama. Ay, two words pala: Malaking Drama! Hay naku, bakit ba itong si Jocjoc lang ang pinag-pipistahan? Haleeerrrr!!! Isa lang sya pero marami pa dapat kayong arestuhin no. Mga kumag kayo. 700 million pesos lang ang pinag-uusapan dito. Peanuts. Eh ano nang nangyari sa ibang mga scandal? Nasan na ang broadband scandal? Pati yong sa textbook? Pati yong sa C5? Pati yong sa swine at kung ano-ano pa? Hirap kasi sa atin, puro expose, puro pasabog. Pagkatapos mag-expose, wala na. Naka-kuha na kasi ng milya-milyang media mileage. Hmpt!

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Sunflower Cracker Blueberry – melamine positive... not

Shucks!! Eh peyborit ko pa naman ang Sunflower Crackers. Madalas akong bumili nyan sa Kadiwa. Tested positive daw for melamine sa Hongkong. O sige, yong Blueberry flavor lang daw. Pero bakit pagdating ng Pinas, hindi naman daw at clear daw lahat ng crackers manufactured by Croley? Ano’ng nangyari? Iba ang testing process ng HK at Pinas? O iba ang lagay, este samples na na-test? Whatever, hindi na muna ako bibili ng Sunflower. Moonflower na lang kung meron.

dante's first... yeeeyyy!

I must admit I’m one boring webbie. I don’t surf the net mad like some people do. I tend to stay on familiar grounds that kept my internet activities limited to reading on-line newspapers, downloading mp3s and checking my e-mails. Ho-hum!

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Sometimes i go streaming but my 128 (can't afford faster connection, darn!) makes it more frustrating than interesting. I sometimes go webcamming too but silly people i meet online just makes me puke rather than get hooked on it. So I chose to stick to what I do best - being a boring surfer! Hehehe....

But when some of my friends started babbling about Friendster, Facebook, Flicker and anything F, I decided to end my ignorance. Afterall, I can’t go on nodding my head whenever they talk about those social networking sites, pretending to get what they’re saying when in fact I haven’t got the slightest clue as to what these things are. What a moron huh.

First, I tried Friendster. But even before I started posting my pix, I felt it wasn’t my thing. Besides, I can’t find a pic of mine worthy of posting and getting cutesy comments. Cute. But mushy. I needed something more challenging.

Then Matt invited me to his blog. And, boy was I thankful for that invite coz it introduced me to something that I was unconsciously looking for – blogging.

And so with Blogger.com providing a one-button blog creator for morons like me, Dante Speaks was born. A name that was instantaneous, never took longer than two seconds for me to come up with it. I know it sounds pretty close to one Hollywood film about one vicious volcano. But it wasn’t my intention to capitalize on that film’s fame. It was just the perfect blog name for me coz it carries my name and the one thing that I love doing – speaking (or in this case, writing) my mind out.

My first posting was exactly a year ago. Since then, I never looked back. I was posting new materials as well as old ones resurrected from my vaults - some jurassic floppies, cd’s and flash disks. Writings that I used to share with friends via e-mail.

So after 365 days, 6,200++ visits, 170 posts, countless template changes and one cool banner courtesy of DennisQ later, Dante Speaks is celebrating it’s first year on the blogging world. Yeyyy!

And whatever I wrote and posted – be it trivial, mundane, serious, hilarious or simply crazy, I’ve now reached into a wider audience (okay, I’m over reacting here… haha). But hey, my visitor’s locator says Dante Speaks is now globe-trotting. That is, if this cluster map’s accurate!

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Anyways, I’d like to thank you guys for being a part of this blog. I may not know most of you personally but it was a pleasure sharing figments of my sometimes hyper-active grey cells with you. Don’t know your names so let me just thank you by location (though I can only approximate on the areas):

Canada – Edmonton

USA – Hawaii, California, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Georgia, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia (probably my cousins though I don’t exactly know their areas)

The Carribean – Turks and Caicos

African Continent – Libya (I bet it’s Mario), South Africa and Egypt

Europe – Italy, Turkey, Spain, Belgium (Erick?), Germany, France, Ireland, England, Romania, Finland and Norway

Asia – India, Thailand, China, Singapore, Jakarta and Surabaya (my friend Chayadi, is it you?) in Indonesia and Hiroshima and Osaka (I’m sure it’s my niece Minette) in Japan

KSA – a whole lot from Riyadh, Jeddah (my friend Cesar and my cousins in that area) and Dammam/Jubail area (my entire addicque friends led by Raoul, Ega and JunC )

And of course from Mindanao, Visayas and the Luzon area of the Philippines where my niece Myles and Jun C’s dear Linds frequent this site too.

Once again, a big THANKS to all of you. Keep visiting coz I’ll be posting more. Heck, I just got warmed up in this blogging thing. Haha!

antibacterial soaps

saw this one somewhere on the net and thought it's worth sharing. a little info that can save you from the dangers brought about by health/sanitary soaps posing as antibacterial. i'm not saying we take it as the bible truth but at least let's start investigating the soap we're using.

i only have one problem with health/medical bulletins like this - it always says this or that is found to be dangerous then goes endorsing something in the end. can't help it but it makes me suspicious. at any rate, here's the article - it's up to you to discern.

Say no to antibacterial soaps
By Lori Bongiorno Posted Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:01pm PDT

Global Handwashing Day, held earlier this week, was established to promote a simple message: Wash your hands with soap and water to prevent disease. It's also the perfect time to visit the topic of what kind of soap you're lathering up with. This is an important decision that many of us don't think twice about.

The main ingredient in most liquid soaps lining store shelves is triclosan, a pesticide that kills bacteria. Turns out you just need to banish germs from your hands, not kill them. Studies show that antibacterial soaps aren't more effective at preventing illness or removing germs than good old-fashioned soap and water.

In fact, antibacterial soaps may do more harm than good.

There are concerns that triclosan may contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It's also present in human bodies and breast milk, as well as in streams. The Environmental Working Group says triclosan has been linked to developmental defects, liver toxicity, and cancer in lab studies. It also may affect thyroid and other hormones that are crucial to normal development.

The best thing you can do is avoid soaps that claim to be "antibacterial" while we wait for more research to be done. A quick read of the label will tell you if triclosan or triclocarban (a similar compound that's found more commonly in bar soaps) are active ingredients. If so, move onto another product.

Here's a small sampling of triclosan-free liquid hand soaps to get you started:
· Trader Joe's Lavender & Chamomile Hand Soap
· Method Hand Wash (Pink Grapefruit)
· Softsoap Soothing Aloe Vera Moisturizing Hand Soap
· Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Pure-Castile Soap (Hemp-Peppermint)
· Terraessentials Organic Real Soap for Hands
· Desert Essence Castile Liquid Soap with Organic Tea Tree Oil

For more suggestions, visit the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

it's jun's day

second birthday boy po for the month of october si jun c, isang original addicque na obvious naman sa mga pix. kita nyo na lang ang mga ka-kengkoyan. nayanig ang pancitan dahil sa mga tawanan ng grupo. bumaha talaga ng food. kaya linds, wala daw munang pambili ng pako at semento para sa inyong mansion! hahahaha!!!

smile! hheheheee... pigil na pigil kasi baka ma-censor!

mag-blow ng birthday cake na naka-dila! sya lang ang makakagawa nyan!

ito po ang buong tropang addicque na pumiranha sa mga fud!

gift ng isang nagkukunwaring sosyal - guess ang lalagyan pero ang laman, cheap! hahaha

and from now on, magpapakabait na si jorge dahil sa gift ni tserman!

HAPPY HAPPY BDAY JUNC!

more pix in http://addicquotes.blogspot.com

happy bday raoul

Oct 17 po ang birthday ng kaibigan naming tserman. And today, he held a dinner party sa bago nilang condo ni ricky. Yummy ang food and, as usual, halakhakan dahil halos in full force ang mga adik. Absent lang si Orlee who's somewhere else pati sina Matt and Neil who are both on holidays (though pabalik na si Matt in a few hours).

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Here's a few pix of the party. Mas marami pong pix ang ipo-post ko sa http://addicquotes.blogspot.com/ at doon ko rin ilalagay yong poem na ginawa ko, my very first attempt in doing such a thing. First attempt ding magpaka-comedy, buti naman natawa ang mga adik.

Jun, Rommel, Ricky and Ega - pektyur muna!

Ariel, Ren and Irwin - tawanan muna!

james, tito bong and ren - part of the citrus gang!

ang gift po ni ega na dinamay na kaming lahat ng adik

isang framed poster ng aming birthday greetings

eto naman ang gift ni james na personalized pa ang wrapper!

sarrraapppp!!!!!

name-the-yummy cake courtesy of james

to tserman, Happy Happy --th birthday! May the good Lord continually guide and bless you and your family.

no. 11: my faves

for whatever reason, a song from the sound of music keeps playin on my mind this afternoon. it goes something like 'these are but few of my favorite things' (i'm not even sure if i got it right). then i said, yeah, why dont i come up with a collage of my favorite stuff - people, food and whatever.

well, this is how it turned out...

that's yum

A few months back, may na-discover akong restaurant somewhere deep in the residential areas of Al-Khobar. I’ve introduced the place to Ega, Raoul and Ricky last Ramadan. Maaga kasing nag-sara ang favourite naming Flamingo so I thought of showing them this place.

Di naman ako napahiya. In fact, I was happy na pumasa sa discriminating taste nilang tatlo ang food. And when you got “hmmm sarap” from these people, well, masarap talaga yon.

It’s called Mughal – a predominantly Pakistani/Arabic restaurant. I said predominantly kasi yong décor is more of oriental/mid-eastern plus the staff are mostly Pakistani. Ang maganda, they offer a wide variety of entrees kaya whatever you’re craving for, most likely meron sila. Steak, pasta, fish, chicken and all the other oriental favourites namin like fried rice, spring rolls, camaron, at kung ano-ano pa.

In fact they have a small section for fresh sea produce where you can choose crab, lobster or fish and have them cooked the way you want it. It’s pretty much like Marina or Sanbok. Though this place is tops for me kung yong tatlo rin lang ang pag-uusapan.

It’s because of the food. Dito, I asked for grilled hamour in lemon/butter sauce and get exactly what I wanted. Yummy na kahit si Raoul eh hindi masyadong mahilig sa fish, he was nodding his head in approval nong matikman nya. Nothing horrible like what I had in Marina – sinabawang salmon, remember?

Maganda ang ambience nong resto kaya lang may kaliitan yong place. And it gets to be buzzing with clients lalo na kung weekends. How I wish they could provide enough space for a more relaxing, intimate and cozy dinner. Para mas ma-enjoy namin yong mga chikahan at hagalpakan ng tawa over dinner.

At siguro, kami pa lang ang Pinoy na kliyente nila dahil in all the occasions na nandon ako, wala pa akong nakitang ibang Pinoy na kumakain. Mostly mga katutubo (arabo) ang guests nila though eto yong mga disenteng klase who goes there just to enjoy a good dinner.

Ang maganda pa, polite naman ang waiters na mukha ding malilinis sa katawan dahil wala kang maaamoy na makakasira sa appetite mo while they are busy shuffling cutleries and dishes over your table. What’s more, the service is remarkably good.

Plus, mas mura ang food nila compared to most of the favourite spots namin – Flamingo and Applebees included. And Sanbok will pale in comparison pag presyo na ang pinag-usapan.

With all these, siguro makaka-ilang balik pa kami don before we think of moving on to some place new. But for now, Mughal is the place.

sinabawang salmon?

i was with orlee and his utol/friends last thursday night prowling khobar dahil pare-parehong walang pasok because of the long holiday. first stop namin pagdating ng khobar was to have dinner kasi gutom na raw si orlee. and since nandon na rin lang kami sa area, sabi ko bakit di na lang sa marina kami kumain.

in two occassions kasi na nagpunta ako don, satisfied naman ako sa food. aside from the fact na maganda yong place. the glass panel offers a view of the sea na mas maganda kung sunset. kahit medyo pricey ang food, the ambience more than makes up for it.

kaso, napahiya ako sa grupo.

pareho kami ni orlee ng choice, salmon. and he wanted it cooked on butter/lemon sauce. good kasi di ko pa na-try yon. i had other entrees before but not the salmon. so after a while, dumating na sya. but to my disappointment, parang naging sinigang yong salmon. lumalangoy sa sandamakmak na sabaw. and that sabaw is supposed to lemon and butter pero pagtikim ko pa lang, the taste was awful, parang expired na laban!

with all the civility i could muster, nag-reklamo ako kay kabayang waiter. hiyang-hiya si kabayan up to the point na ikatwirang ganon daw talaga ang lasa non. hindi kako ah. sa tinagal-tagal ko nang nagda-dine out, ngayon lang ako nakalasa ng ganon. so the poor kabayang waiter took back the plate, papa-remedyohan daw sa cook.

whatever the cook did, nag-improve lang ng konti yong lasa. still, it wasn't worth the price we're paying (or should i say, buti na lang si orlee ang nagbayad! hahaha).

then comes the dessert. fruit platter ang kinuha nila (i opted out and had a smoke instead). pagbalik ko, nagtatawanan ang grupo. yong first few slices daw nong watermelon, lasang onion/garlic! ano ba yan! balik na naman si kabayang waiter and gave us extra slices of the watermelon.

i was really frustrated. hindi na yata ako babalik doon. babalik na lang siguro ako sa mughal. or sa sanbok. or try the newly-opened toni roma's.

and oh, by the way, mukhang hindi na rin muna kami babalik sa flamingo. it might be our all-time favorite place in khobar but the last time we were there, i had to ask the waiter if it was steak or rubber served to us! darn!

makisawsaw ulit

there are days na hindi pwedeng hindi ako mag-react sa mga balita. today's one.

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source: lahat yata ng news channels sa tv

headline: oj simpson found guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery, facing life imprisonment.

ay katagal na naman dapat nasa kulungan nyang oj na yan. 12 years ago pa dapat when his wife was brutally murdered. he was guilty as hell. iba lang talaga ang justice system sa america, maraming technicalities na pag pumalpak ang prosecuting panel, lulusot at lulusot ang salarin no matter how guilty he is.

:(

source : pilipino star ngayon

headline: pilipinas, hihingi ng danyos sa china

dahil daw sa gulong ginawa ng melamine-infected milk, (and two of the chinese brands found in the market were tested positive), hihingi daw ang philippine government ng compensation sa chinese government. napa-tawa ako ng malakas! eh sa spratly nga hindi nyo mapa-alis yong flags nila sa kini-claim nyong isla, eto manghihingi pa kayo ng compensation sa gatas! come on people!!!

:)

source : pilipino star ngayon pa rin

headline: psycho test sa mga ofw, walang bayad

siguraduhin nyo lang na walang bayad dahil kawawa na ang mga umaalis na ofw. kung ano-ano na ang pinababayaran ng mga walang-awang recruitment agency. as in baon sa utang bago maka-alis ng pinas. at saka please lang, siguraduhin nyong effective yang psycho test na yan. eh ang dami pa rin kayang nakakalusot na mga may sayad noh. i know some...

:)

source : manila bulletin online

headline : solons caution malacanang: don't sell petron, pnoc-ec

balak daw kasing ibenta ng philippine government ang shares nito sa petron at pnoc. what's wrong with this government? instead na mag-ipon ng lucrative investments, benta ng benta. bakit, kinakapos at kinukulang ba tayo sa budget? o baka naman kapos na ang naibubulsa ng mga magagaling na kurakot? kawawang pinas!

:(

source : abante online

headline : malakihang kupit aarangkada

aarangkada daw ang mas malupit na kupitan habang lumalapit ang 2010. pampondo daw ng mga tatakbo sa election. sabi na nga ba, kaya nagbebenta pati ng shares sa petron!

:)

bailing out

And so the crisis continues. The world’s largest and richest economy crashing right before our very eyes. Nobody ever thought something like this could happen. Specially the Americans themselves. They thought theirs is a life of perpetual luxury and wanton excess. Now they know better.

Pero hindi ako worried if the rich New Yorkers lose their 5th Avenue penthouses. Paki ko. O kaya mailit ang mga porche at jaguars nila. Paki ko. If this is the time na maranasan nilang mabuhay just like the rest of us, so be it. The change might do them some good and bring their feet back to the ground for a while.

Tulad ng sabi ko na dati, what really bothers me is the effect of this debacle. Dahil yon nga, an economy as frail as that of the Philippines may suffer from the ripple effect of this financial crisis. We may be halfway around the globe from the US. Pero ang dating ng shockwave nito sa atin can be felt like the source is just a few meters away.

One immediate effect, and very possible at that, ay ang headline sa mga tabloid sa atin ngayon. It’s about one politician who’s speculating on the effect of this crisis on the OFW’s. Sabi nya, the US financial crisis may lead to companies cutting down on staff, if not totally closing shops. And this will be bad news for hundreds of thousands of Pinoy workers strewn all over the North American continent. Ganon din daw ang pwedeng maging scenario sa Europe at Japan kung saan marami ring Pinoy migrant workers.

If it happens, the estimated 1.4 to 1.8 billion US$ monthly remittance from OFW’s can be reduced significantly. And that will be a grim picture for the Philippine economy which has been hanging on to dear life via this OFW remittance.

And, as if the macro effect is not enough, mas masakit ang epekto nito sa buhay ng mga migrant workers na ito if they lose their jobs at umuwi ng Pinas. Ano ang gagawin nila para suportahan ang kanilang mga pamilya? Put up a business sa isang ekonomiya where small businesses can drop like swathed flies? Not everyone can be Gabby Concepcion and head towards showbiz (though I wouldn’t envy his situation right now).

Wag naman sanang mangyari.

And now that the US$ 700 billion rescue package was already approved by the US government, sana nga makabawi ang economy nila. Again, not that I care kung ano ang mangyari sa mga kano. But if their economy can resurrect itself from this bail out package, mawawala ang source ng lagnat na pwedeng maging kumbolsyon sa Pilipinas.

Kahit US, Europe at Japan ang nabanggit sa speculation ni politician at hindi directly threatened ang tulad nating mga nasa Middle East, I'm still praying na wag lumala ang sitwasyon. Coz we will still fill the pinch kahit anong mangyari. One way or another, we and our families will also suffer pag nagkataon.

And that's bad news for us as well. Nag-a-amortize pa si Jun C ng kanyang mansion. Irwin still has to buy his Alto. Gagawa pa ng junior si Raoul. Mag-to-tour pa sa Europe si Orlee. Ricky still have to see his little girl win the Bb Pilipinas crown. Vayren still has to go to SAP Academy. Mag-aasawa pa si Edgar. At malaki pa ang utang ko sa Visa. Besides, 100,000 pesos lang yata ang coverage ng PDIC. Syempre ayaw kong mawalan ng saysay ang pinag-paguran ko ng maraming taon sa Saudi. Huwag naman sana.