Super PacMan Returns (the p-2)

Manny! Manny! Manny!
Our Super Hero so to speak, has just renew his winning and send his army of adoring fans in cloud nine again. This, after earning his incredible 8th World Title in Arlington Las Vegas 3 Sundays ago. Don Manny "the Destroyer" Pacquiao no doubt is the Man!, the real Pride of Pinoys and the rightful heir to the throne of another boxing legend Mohammad Ali. Adding to our super Hero's bloody Collection, another Mexican Fighter was stripped of fame and glory, - the nearly paralyzed Antonio "Tornado" Margarito this time - after Pacman's mouthful of punches, so speedy and solid, landed w/o ado on all parts of the tall man's face, body and internal organs. News says, whilst Mexico's deglamourized gladiator is holidaying in the hospital for a complete make-over, ours is having a thanksgiving concert in Vegas, singing and partying there like a rockstar as if no eye-closing combat happened 2 gory days ago in the same US state.

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Money, Money, Money

On a lighter note, behind the success of the Man are the equally famous women of his life (other women, not included). Talk of Manny's first lady - Dona Jinky's Pacquiao's alleged sky-is-the-limit shopping of the world's expensive Hermes bag, whereas Dona Dionisia is on her knees, lighting candles and calling on all the Saints and Angels while crying a river and collapsing the same time, in fear and agony for the son's only life - all for the sake of maintaining stardom and nobility for the country, and yes, more and more fortune that continue to propel their growing clan in the pedestal.
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For the love of a mother who fret too much, a posh car is said to be the great son's token, forget not his unwavering gift of charity to all those who queue before him. Money, it seems, is synonymous to Manny these days. Heck, even a gradeschooler knows it: the Lotto's grand prize is no match to the People Champ's one-time salary making him among of the top 10 of the Planet's richest athlete.

Fight-Fight-Fight

Our Hero seemed to have tested and tasted everything. He's now in the prime of his career and in the peak of his success. And he has the mortal combat AKA Boxing and supporters of all kinds and motive to thank for. Yet, despite the frenetic call for his early retirement, Farewell to the sport that made him the richest and the greatest is still a long-way in his vocabulary. In fact, Combat Promoter Bob Arum and Maverick Coach, the husky-voiced Don Freddy Roach is itching to schedule the Fighting Congressman for a next fight intended to outshine his last. Among the possible brave contender is Yuri Foreman of Israel and yes, ANOTHER MEXICAN FIGHTER Juan Manuel Marquez for a reunion fight; but the gore-loving audience is wildly cheering Pacman to silence the talkative Black-American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

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Exactly Where, When, with Whom and How Much is not a question. Our Super Hero was born to give the Philippines a new merit, his family an extra riches, his name a renewed fame, his audience a wild entertainment that promise to record another chapter in History. This is, if he could keep the skull and sanity in its fighting form, the Neuro-Doctors or the brain-expert warns. Nobody wants to see PacMom and PacMan in a pathethic rendition of Petta.

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Come his next Fight, Let us all pray for our hero's safety.

----to be continued
photocredit: ram lacandazo

A Stranger in One's Paradise

A New Discovery
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In my recent love-affair with Nature-Tripping here, I have found a weekend get-away out of the City's madding crowd. Not too distant, nor too pricey. I was smitten by its virginal beauty, captured by creative wonder. Such is a shining example of how God works greater with men.
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The haven I am referring to is exactly where that healthy girl in green is sitting in peace and solitude, - unmindful of the chaotic world outside her. Well, not your typical attraction, but there's something there that made it special, the kind that you would want your love ones to see. Albeit, due to the location's enormity and height, it would ask an open mind & a pair of willing legs - healthy for the spirit and body, anyway. Thus: before the claws of media market its cultural uniqueness and environmental awareness in the mainstream, let me take you there while I'm going to -
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Aeta's Field, Forever...

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The Paradise' long and winding road is Dusty, Rocky and Grassy....
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And the narrow path is dotted with smiling cum waving children whose skin color, hair type and faces mirror one another. Their deep-brown eyes talks, gently confronting yours as they hail you with gusto. I was astonished. mystified. humbled. and yes, - entertained. Right in my front are the new breed of lingering aborigines kept and beloved by Barrio Secovia, province of Pampanga. Contrary to popular belief, they aren't naked and w/o the legendary bows and spear. Real people in real sense. Living a meager, yet less-complicated life. Shy, but genuinely friendly. They embraced the community after escaping the notorious Mt Pinatubo's mega-million spewing of burning ashes and lavas that ravaged their former tribal homes decade ago. After few minutes drive from Nayong Pilipino in Clark,

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The Gate of a Tailor-Made Paradise opens...
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and Welcome us to a journey of a lifetime inside the Paradise Ranch - a 50 hectare joint eco-tourism project of the Philippines and America. The temperature inside is tantamount to Baguio City, so cool for Wedding, ...cooler for Honeymoon...ideal for recreations...perfect for retreat w/ the Prayer Mountain atop. The cost of native bungalows, small villas, lake houses and cottages is fair to one's pocket.

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Nested at the peak of the infamous Clark Air Base is a million dollar panorama of the entire Clark Zone. The sight of nearby cities and towns is breath-taking. The hills and mountains so picturesque, the rivers and volcanoe, an eye-candy. Yet, the vista is just a tip-of-the-iceberg because there's more to discover inside,... there's -
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More than meets the eye,

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Garden-fresh air is in abundance, green-leafy bushes are well-manicured, red soil is fat and skillfully landscaped. Butterflies of all colors spread their wings freely and just like me, they are besotted by the grace and fragrance of Earth flowers around. The kid in me squeal all the more when I spotted life-size ostrich, marching ducks and proud peacocks in orchestra with the exotic birds' intermittent hummings and musical chirpings. These and more are what made up the hidden Sanctuary. In the midst of them are -
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The special workers,
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the bare hands who turned the formerly dry prairies into a Greenland. The men and women in Blue who used to be naked, and armed w/ bows and spears. They are the parents and siblings of the younger Aetas we've rubbed elbows with near the Gate. This Paradise was made for, and by them. While Non-Governmental-Organization abroad has made the funding, the Natives has provided the meaning. The Ordinary has become ExtraOrdinary with the intimate merging of the two.

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Report says, the Aetas are dedicated workers and proficient on their fields. They know how to innovate their craft. Plus: they are approachable, jolly and courteous. You won't get lost. You wont get bored with their company. But wait, there's more: not all employee w/ curly hair and bronzed skin are Aetas, some are AmerAsians w/c you could easily mistaken for their purely-pinoy blooded counterpart. The Ranch has been a medium to reunite them with their long lost American parent. They too plays a vital part for their good command of English to the delight of foreign guests. Most of them are visible during school breaks. And as I gladly -
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Look Forward,

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I wish and hope the Ranch will endure the test of times, so more younger generation would come to visit, support the noble cause, and be inspired by the brain and workforce behind - so as to learn, share and promote to others the very essence of -

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Tree-Caring,

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- and Tree-Planting for the Future.
I've been to someone's Paradise. But because I was made to feel at home, I'm a stranger no more

(The Attraction is open to public 7 days a week, P50 entrance. For xtra info: contact 045-8898245/46)

The Silent Witness

A month before the dreaded Halloween, I went out to practice photoshooting around our not so peaceful neighborhood. Along w/ my almost stolen SLR, my bored but watchful eyes have chanced on a rusty yellow truck left standing in careless abandon.

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It was forsaken in an open street for a week or so I guess, to the delight of the fun-starving community children who came in troop from somewhere - always ready & always willing to storm our formerly peaceful pavements. The big toy, undoubtedly, had offered the little boys something newer to enjoy.

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For blogging purposes, I visually challenged myself to execute some papparazi shots from few meters away. Thanks to my soon-to-be-obsolete telephoto-lense, I was able to arrest (I think) the boy's natural display of wonder, agility and pride in rightful angle.
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IN- OUT-UP-and- DOWN…
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From the looks of it, the kiddoes have had seemed to perfected the art of indoor plunging and bending,
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of leaping & trekking the outer and uppermost corner,

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of sitting like a dignified "King" from inside,

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and like a nobel "Frog" from outside,
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Oh yes, the unruly little bunch of exhibitionist, err… acrobats are promising and full of life not to mention their inborn know-how in exploring their fullest potentials - with the poor truck, of course as the defenseless medium and silent witness of their kiddy actions & "crimes".
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Ah if only a Truck could speak I'm pretty sure it has lots of messy & smelly stories to tell….
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Up-close and personal, take a look at some of the invaders who've made up my pre-Halloween post.

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