+++++++++++++
February 13, 2004
In three hours, Roxas Blvd. from T.M. Kalaw St. to Pres. Quirino Ave
will be closed to traffic at 1 PM; from P. Ocampo to T. M. Kalaw at
7P.M. - all because of a kiss billed as "lovapalooza"
here in Manila. 5000 couples will line up the streets and for 10 seconds
will simultaneously kiss at exactly 12 midnight in an attempt to break
the world record of 4,445 couples performed in Chile. What's in a
kiss anyway? Times Square in New York does that past midnight, every
New Year's Eve! :-)
Read news story: 5,122
pairs smooch their way to world kissing record
+++++++++++++
To those who are vacationing in Pinas this month and bringing cash,
especially $100.00 bills, advice your bank to give you the crisp "kissable"
currency. It appears Pinas Malls, banks, currency exchanges and Ermita
money changers are very discriminating in their criteria. An old $100.00
bill is definitely "out"; and travelers checks? Forget it,
very rare are these promptly honored.
+++++++++++
The interesting people in a small gambling casino in my hotel are
those you had met and talked to briefly. One real estate lady from
Baguio offered her title on a property she owns; a dentist was hawking
her new cell phone; an expat who claimed he opened the casino at 6pm
stayed till closing time; a woman requesting P10,000.00 on the spot
personal loan; a young business man who sold his expensive wrist watch
- bet the proceeds and lost in baccarat in less than a minute...!
These are faces you see in a Casino....They look for that kiss of
hope - a "lovapalooza" of futility in a quest of sudden
ray of sunshine in a smoked-filled room where you can anytime you
want, "lose your shirt" and whatever is left of your dignity.
++++++++++++
There is a tabloid paper in Romblon province which boasts of a bi-lingual
readership: English and Filipino with its columns written in either
languages. Since its election year, advocacy is the norm - at least
from the few issues I read. The lesson I believe that we learn from
the successful writers workshop on the province' three languages is
an awareness that perhaps Asi, Unhan and Ini (Romblomanon) can hold
its own if allowed to blossom in the pages of weekly/monthly issues
in bilingual publications. Tri-lingual publication? Plausible. The
young writing fellows in the "writeshop" showed so much
potential to be ignored.
++++++++++
Philippine mobile phone carriers did it again in the texting world!
This time, their corporate gods probably thought of "sanrokan"
(or is the concept of "tingi" coming into play again?)
by giving cell phone owners a service called: "pasa-load"
For as low as P2.00 or so, when you are "no load" (you ran
out of phone card minutes) you can just ask you seatmate, friend,
neighbor for "pasalod" to give your texting another
lease of borrowed life until you can buy your own credit. You may
not pay back sometimes. It's all up to you.
