Seeing double

I love my glass window. It always provide me with visually stimulating images such as this. This was taken just after a brief downpour. At first I thought it was your regular rainbow, with the regular set of colors. But as I focused my viewfinder more closely, I noticed on the left a second, dimmer, and thicker secondary rainbow. It was caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the raindrops. Notice that the colors of the secondary rainbow is reverse that of the primary one. It lasted only for a minute or two but it was unforgettable.

Its times like these that I am reminded how beautiful life is.

Its images like this which make me grateful for being alive.

Santa baby

Here in the Philippines, Christmas (un)officially starts on the 1st day of September. Absurd as it may sound, it is common to see houses now being adorned with parol (christmas lanterns), wreaths and christmas lights. Major establishments and malls start playing christmas carols and one's own village start posting ads for their own christmas bazaars. The Philippines, arguably, have the longest Christmas celebration ending up until the Feast of the Epiphany on the first Sunday of the following year (!).

And as if that's not enough, this little shop I found has all the christmas decors you can think of on display with the obligatory christmas jingles playing on the background (which plays ALL YEAR ROUND, by the way). Whoa! When I visited the shop, there were several people purchasing fake snow(?) and some reindeers for their garden. I will never understand that, but hey, if it floats their boat, right? By the way, the shop is called Lane Crawford and they're located at Timog Avenue cor. EDSA.

Have a great Monday everyone :D

And so it is: Adidas King of the Road 2008

Posting this an hour and a half after I crossed the finish line. Yes, I survived :) With a pace of 9:30, I'd say its not bad for someone who's nursing a bad knee.

The event was very much well-attended with over 5, 000 runners from all shapes and sizes proudly donning their race bib and out to test their limit. There were very young sprinters and there were some senior racers. The tough ones joined the 21km race. Weekend warriors like me opted for the tamer 10km. The rest went for the 5km.

Anyway, I took this photo a few minutes just before the race gun was fired. Geez. These men have hairy legs :D



Enjoy your Saturday, people.

Carbo-loading

I usually blame my active lifestyle for my insane consumption of everything starchy. Especially now that I have several races to finish this year, it is common to see me glut on bread, noodles and all the carbohydrate staple you can find in the food chain. As I am writing this post, I am halfway through my second bowl of pesto pasta. And yes, its my breakfast.

Tomorrow will be the Adidas King of the Road. I will run and finish it and then dash off to the closest bakeshop and buy myself some bread, just like those cute little pastries in the photo. By the way, those were from Bread Talk - one of my favorite haunts in the baking universe. They serve delightful goodies for all.

Anyway, I wish for a good weather tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll make it to the finish line without passing out. Cheers!

Krus na Ligas

Being a former resident of Krus na Ligas, I find it appropriate to give a little information on this popular area around the UP campus. Legend has it that during the occupation, a Spanish soldier passing by the village asked one of its inhabitants for the name of the place. Since the soldier was gesturing towards a poison ivy tree (locally called ligas) where an old chapel stood (and still stands 200 years after), the local thought that the Spaniard was asking for the name of the tree. He answered Krus na Ligas and the name stuck on to this day.

All in a day's work

Posting late today. I just got discharged from the hospital due to severe abdominal pains. Anyway, I saw this while I was on my way home. I can only imagine what the owner of the bike does with all the curious things attached to his two-wheeled companion. That's all for now. Cheers!

QC Trivia

I know what you're thinking, "That's obviously not taken from Quezon City. That's Taal Volcano for crying out loud!". True. So, what is this image doing in this blog?



Did you know that sometime in 1936, the Department of Public Works and Communications of the Commonwealth government, under Secretary Mariano Jesus Cuenco, suggested Tagaytay to be the seat of the national government?!? At that time, they felt that Manila as a capital was becoming too congested for administrative functions. So they recommended the transfer of the capital from Manila to Tagaytay(!).

Former President Quezon rejected the idea as he thought that Tagaytay, which he referred to as "the city by the ridge", is a place for tourists and vacationists. He felt that it is more of a weekend spot for public officials, businessmen and the middle class.

In the morning of September 27, 1939, the President with some cabinet members and some assemblymen, visited Diliman. There he underscored the “necessity of early approval of the charter of the proposed city in Diliman site.” Later, Assemblyman Ramon P. Mitra (Mountain Province, 2nd district) would father a bill for the new city's creation. In his bill, the city was called Balintawak City.

More trivias to follow. Enjoy your Monday! :D

His Art, Our Heart

Quezon City has very good museums. They may not be as enormous as those found on other parts of the world, but they do provide interesting collections. The other day, I visited the Vargas Museum to look at some of the works of the country's first National Artist, Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (1892-1972). The exhibit, entitled Capturing Anxieties: Amorsolo, His Contemporaries and Pictures of the War, is part of a four month, multi venue exposition of his works collectively called His Art, Our Heart.

I must admit that I only think of paintings of idyllic landscapes (just like the photo I posted here - Rice Planting, 1943, oil on canvas) and portraits whenever his name is mentioned, the Vargas Museum exhibit showased his works depicting the Philippines as a wartorn nation, under the Japanese during the second world war.

Muses

Created by National Artist Napoleon Abueva, the Siyam na Diwata ng Sining (Nine Muses of Arts) was to represent the muses of the theatre, literature, architecture, painting, sculpture, dance, music, film and the computer arts. This wonderful piece of work is located at the College of Arts and Letters in the UP Diliman campus. I am posting a photo of it with only five of them. This was taken from just under the shade, right about on the middle to showcase the trees as well as the sky.

UP Acad Oval

The recently implemented "One way Acad Oval Scheme" has generated mixed reactions from the UP community. According to Dr. Cynthia Gregorio, vice chancellor for community affairs, the one way scheme was the initial phase in the implementation of the UP Traffic Management Plan. Under this plan, the university oval was divided into two lanes: the outer lane for motor vehicles and the inner lane to serve as a bike lane. Its goal is to lessen the volume of vehicles passing through the campus thereby reducing pollution and risks for the students.Most of the jeepney drivers are against it as they need to spend much more gasoline going in circles just so it won't violate the one-way policy. And since the buildings inside the campus are not necessarily close to each other, the passengers (students) end up spending more time before they can reach their next class. On the other hand, some preferred the change as the oval doesn't look like it is in such a mess as when the two-way scheme was still implemented.

I personally like the new scheme. As a runner, I now feel more comfortable doing my usual rounds under the shade of enormous acacia trees with jeepneys coming only from one direction.

High Art

Named Specific Gravity, this huge suspended boulder is sure to make you stop on your track and ponder for a while, circle around it or play with the dripping water from the big rock supported by three metal posts.

Sculptor Reg Yuson (shown in photo: pony-tailed, long hair/white shirt) believes that art is supposed to initiate thought. So when you look at that big rock, it is really more about you (the viewer) than it is the about the boulder (the subject). Its goal is to make the looker think how he is connected to his surroundings through his relation with gravity.

October Theme Day: Lines

This photo was taken from the inside of University of the Philippines Ang Bahay ng Alumni. I just like the way the colors of the stained glass provide an attractive and dramatic contrast to the bell tower outside (on the lower left). These colorful windows at the front provide lighting at the assembly hall and main corridors at daytime. At night, they are backlighted by several metal halide lamps making it a beautiful directional sign especially during social affairs.



By the way, its the monthly theme day. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Almost but not quite

The boy scout monument that I have blogged here before is almost finished. It is interesting to note that they have added a life sized figure of the city's first mayor, Tomas Morato. Its like he's watching over the diners and on the restaurant district of the city. Very nice touch. I just wish that the entire monument gets done real soon. It will really ease the traffic in the area.

Make her cry with joy

Survey says that women love flowers, probably up there with the shoe addiction. It may not be Valentine's Day nor her birthday, but if you do decide to surprise her with a bunch of lovely flora, please do consider the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation, Inc. Located at the corner of Quezon Avenue and EDSA, it offers a wide array of flowering and fruit bearing plants. Herbs, seeds, pots and other gardening needs are also available should you wish you to cultivate your green thumb.

You've been warned

When I took this photo, the boy's parents were not with him. He seemed not to care, though -oblivious to the the danger that may happen if he take a few more steps towards the bank. All he wants is his catch for the day.



I know its raining and that this photo is not exactly about a gloomy, gray day but I was hoping that this will somehow brighten up your day. Anyway, I'm heading to Kawayan Cove in Nasugbu, Batangas for a little education :)

Holy!

Here's another Quezon Memorial entry. This one is aptly called the "House of Worship". Its one of the bas reliefs that one can see from the outside of the shrine. It was installed in the 1980's, but with the looks of it, needs some overhauling real soon. When I took this photo, there were several men fixing some of the other broken parts of the monument. I hope they don't forget this one, too.

Anyway, I am posting this to show that the city is composed of people with different religions. Although the majority of the population is Roman Catholic, the Protestant, Iglesia ni Cristo, Islamic, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses faith are well represented here among other religious denominations.

Its a Wednesday and from where I sit, it looks like the rain will not stop. Stay dry :)

Slumber Power

Found this one inside the UP campus. It looks like someone's body clock has been messed up with all the schoolwork (or excessive partying, perhaps) that he/she just paint-sprayed his frustration on a wall hoping that it will cure his/her insomnia. Or maybe its intended for another person who is the reason why he/she is still up. Whatever the case may be, I felt a cosmic connection to the poor person who did this. I have been and still is agressively battling the worst jetlag I've ever had in my entire life. They say that recovery time is usually one day per time zone but 10 hours of sleep after a week sounds unhealthy to me. Didn't mean to gripe. Blame it on sleep deprivation. Anyway, I hope all of you are well rested.

Under

Sixty seven years after the cornerstone of the Quezon Memorial Circle was first laid, the first underpath was constructed from the park to the city hall. It was named after the current mayor, Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.



When I took this photo, there were very few people down there. Maybe its the lack of sufficient lighting that scares them off. Or maybe, they'd still prefer the thrill that is brought to them when they run for their lives when crossing the main highway. Admit it or not, Pinoys are not exactly popular on following traffic and pedestrian rules. Its a Monday and I hope you all stay safe on the road.

Clumsy?

I don't know about you but I always have the inclination to point my camera towards the funny and bizarre. I saw this signage while traversing the inner belly of Quezon City.



I'm not sure if its the owner's name but I do hope its not a description of how they do things right there.

Quezon Memorial

Back from Paris. Its been a while since I last posted here. Allow me to kickstart my photoblog again with a photo of a water reflection of the Quezon Memorial.



The late President Sergio Osmeña created the Quezon Memorial Committee after the second world war. Its first task was to hold a nationwide contest for architects and artists to submit for a design of monument and resting place for Quezon - the first Commonwealth president and Osmena's predecessor. Federico Ilustre won the competition. The monument- 66 metres high- is located right smack in the center of the park. Its height was chosen to represent the age of late president at the time of his death (of tuberculosis while in exile in the US during the World War II). Looking closely, you can see three mourning angels each holding a sampaguita garland, sitting on top of the big pylons with their parallel wings pointing up. The angels stand for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao - the country's three major group of islands - while the three-sided base was said to represent birth, life, and death. The three angels were made by the Italian sculptor Francesco Ricardo Monti.

Have a good weekend to all. Cheers!