Enlightening

http://youtu.be/qaK1qg75Z8c
Important tips to have a happy and healthy life - know your archetype.

Texts: Archetypes: Who Are You?
By: Caroline Myss

Acoustic Guitar Music: Patrick Ki

How Filipino are you?

AKO AY PILIPINO, PILIPINONG TUTUO

Ako ay Pilipino, ang dugo's maharlika

Likas sa aking puso adhikaing kay ganda

Sa Pilipinas na aking bayan

Lantay na Perlas ng Silanganan

Wari'y natipon ang kayamanan ng maykapal

Bigay sa 'king talino mabuti lang laan

Sa aki'y katutubo ang maging mapagmahal

Ako ay Pilipino, ako ay Pilipino

Isang bansa, isang diwa ang minimithi ko

Sa bayan ko't bandila laan buhay ko't diwa

Ako ay Pilipino, Pilipinong tutuo

Ako ay Pilipino, ako ay Pilipino

Taas noo kahit kanino, ang Pilipino ay ako.

Video: Kuh Ledesma

http://youtu.be/fR3zgjIthaE

**************************************************************
Previous Publication ALT Website November 11, 2005
**************************************************************
For me it's not a Filipino party without lechon.

 

Professor Joe: I did not pass the
quiz.  I'm rated as "ILOCANO." 

Confused about your ethnic identity? Want to
know how Filipino you are? Take this less-than-scientific quiz to rate your
Filipino-ness. You might be surprised at the results! Scoring: Give yourself 3
points if you can relate to the following characteristics yourself, 2 points if
it relates to an immediate family member (mom or dad), and 1 point if you know
someone who has the characteristic.

MANNERISMS AND PERSONALITY TRAITS


1. You point with your lips.
   
2. You eat using your hands and have it down to technique.
   
3. Your other piece of luggage is a balikbayan box.
   
4. You nod your head upward to greet someone.
   
5. You put your foot up on your chair and rest your elbow on your knee while
   eating.
   
6. You use a rock to scrub yourself in the bath or shower.
   
7. You have to kiss your relatives on the cheek as soon as you enter the
   room.
   
8. You're standing next to eight big boxes at the airport.
   
9. You collect items from hotels or restaurants "for souvenir's sake."
   
10. Your house has a distinctive aroma.
    
11. You smile for no reason.
    
12. You flirt by having a foolish grin on your face while raising your
    eyebrows repeatedly.
    
13. You go to a department store and try to bargain the prices.
    
14. You use an umbrella for shade on hot summer days.
    
15. You scratch your head when you don't know the answer.
    
16. You never eat the last morsel of food on the table.
    
17. You go bowling.
    
18. You play pusoy and mahjong.
    
19. You find dried up morsels of rice stuck to your shirt.
    
20. You prefer to sit in the shade instead of baking in the sun.
    
21. You add an unwarranted "H" to your name, i.e. "Jhun," "Bhoy," or "Rhon."
    
22. You put your hand in front of you as if to make a path and say "Excuse,
    excuse" when you pass in between people or in front of them.
    
23. Your middle name is your mother's maiden name.
    
24. You buy tons of bath towels when they go on sale.
    
25. You love to buy sale items even when you do not need them.
    
26. You are a member of the "SDK" Club. (Samahang double knit).
    
27. You are still wearing outdated clothing you have when you first came to
    USA.
    
28. You send out RSVP invitation even if the party is to be at home.
    
29. You love to wear all you expensive jewelry's when attending parties to the
    extent of having 2-3 rings on both hands, 3 pieces of necklace or bracelets at
    the same time.

VOCABULARY


1. You say "comfort room" instead of "bathroom."
   
2. You say "for take out" instead of "to go."
   
3. You "open" or "close" the lights.
   
4. You ask for "Colgate" instead of "toothpaste."
   
5. You ask for a "pentel pen" or a " ball pen" instead of just a pen.
   
6. You refer to the refrigerator as the "ref" or "pridyider."
   
7. You say kodakan instead of "take a picture."
   
8. You order a "McDonald's" instead of a "hamburger" (pronounced
   ham-booh-jer).
   
9. You say "Ha?" instead of "What?"
   
10. You say "Hoy!" to get someone's attention.
    
11. You answer when someone yells "Hoy!"
    
12. You turn around when someone says "Psst."
    
13. You say "Cutex" instead of "nail polish."
    
14. You say "for a while" instead of "please hold" on the telephone.
    
15. You say "aray!" instead of "ouch!"
    
16. You say "he," when you mean "she" and vice versa.
    
17. Your sneeze sounds like "ahh-ching" instead of "ahh-choo."
    
18. You prefer to make acronyms for phrases such as "OA" for over-acting,
    "DOM" for dirty old man, and TNT from well you know.
    
19. You say "air-con" instead of "a/c" or air conditioner.
    
20. You pronounce the following words: "hippopo-TA-mus," "com-FOR-table,"
    "bro-CO-li," "and "Mongomerry Ward."
    
21. You say "brown-out" instead of "black-out."
    
22. You say "Uy!" instead of "Oops."
    
23. You pronounce "F" for "P" or "P" for "F."

HOME FURNISHINGS


1. You use walis tambo and walis ting-ting as opposed to the conventional
   broom.
   
2. You have "Weapons of Moroland" shield hanging in your living room wall.
   
3. You have a portrait of "The Last Supper" hanging in your dinging room
   wall.
   
4. You own a karaoke system.
   
5. You own a piano no one ever plays.
   
6. Your house is cluttered with boroloys.
   
7. You have a "tabo" in the bathroom.
   
8. You have a rose garden.
   
9. You have two or three pairs of tsinolas at your doorstep.
   
10. You display a big laughing Buddha for good luck.
    
11. You have a shrine to the Santo Nino in your living room.
    
12. You own a "Barrel Man" (shwing!)
    
13. You have a parol hanging outside the house during the holidays.
    
14. Your lampshades still have the plastic covers on them.
    
15. You cover your living room furniture with bed sheets.
    
16. You have plastic runners to cover the carpet in your house.
    
17. You refer to the VCR as the "Beytamax."
    
18. You have a rice dispenser.
    
19. You own a turbo broiler.
    
20. You own one of those fiber-optic lower lamps.
    
21. You own a lamp with the oil that drips down the strings.
    
22. You have a giant wooden fork and spoon hanging in the dining room.
    
23. You have wooden tinikling dancers on the wall.
    
24. You own capiz chandeliers, lamps, or placemats.

AUTOMOBILES


1. You own a Mercedes Benz and call it "chendeng."
   
2. You own a huge van conversion.
   
3. Your car chirps like a bird or plays a tune when it's in reverse.
   
4. Your car horn makes three or more different sounds.
   
5. Your car has curb feelers on it.
   
6. You hang a rosary on your car's rear view mirror.
   
7. You have those air fresheners in a bottle.

FAMILY


1. You have aunts and uncles named "Baby," "Girlie," or "Boy."
   
2. You were raised to believe that every Filipino has an aunt, uncle, or
   cousins.
   
3. Your dad was in the navy.
   
4. Your mom or sister is a nurse.
   
5. You get smelling kisses from your grandma.
   
6. Your parents call each other "mommy" and "daddy."
   
7. You have a family member that has a nickname that repeats itself, i.e.
   "Deng-deng," "Ling-ling," or "Johu-johu."

FOOD


1. You put hot dogs in your spaghetti.
   
2. You consider dilis the Filipino equivalent of french fries.
   
3. You think that eating chocolate rice pudding and dried fish is a great
   morning meal.
   
4. You order things like tapsilog, or tocilog at restaurants.
   
5. You instinctively grab a toothpick after a meal.
   
6. You dip bread in your morning coffee.
   
7. You refer to seasonings and all other forms of MSG as "Ajinomoto."
   
8. Your cupboards are full of corned beef, hash, spam, and Vienna Sausages.
   
9. "Goldilocks" means more to you than just a character in a fairy tale.
   
10. You appreciate a fresh pot of rice.
    
11. Your baon is usually something over rice.
    
12. You bring baon to work everyday.
    
13. Your neighbors complain about the smell of tuyo on Sunday mornings.
    
14. You eat rice for breakfast.
    
15. You use your fingers to measure the water when cooking rice.
    
16. You wash and re-use plastic utensils and Styrofoam cups.
    
17. You have a supply of frozen lumpia in the freezer.
    
18. You have an ice-shaver for making halo-halo.
    
19. Your tablecloths have tell-tale "tuyo circles" on them
    
20. You eat purple yam-flavored ice cream.
    
21. You gotta have a bottle of Julran handy.
    
22. You fry Spam and hot dogs and eat them with rice.
    
23. You think half-hatch duck eggs are a delicacy.
    
24. You know that chocolate meat" isn't really made with chocolate.

ABOUT YOUR SCORE:
259-345 POINTS:

Welcome to America. Judging from your high score, you are an obvious
transplant from the Philippines. There's no doubt what your ethnic identity
is. You're Filipino, through and through.

173-258 POINTS:

Congratulations, you've retained most of the Filipino traits and
tendencies your family instilled in you.

172 POINTS & UNDER:

You have OFT (Obvious Filipino Tendencies). Go with the flow to reach full
Filipino potential. Prepare for assimilation; resistance is futile.

Feeding the World

I live on dollar a day. 

HOW DO YOU FEED 7+ BILLION PEOPLE? Easy, if you do it the Chinese way.  They are the experts.  Everything they have produced have reached my kitchen in some ways.  However it was not impacted on my mind how it all started.  Years ago, I remember I was driving with my family from San Francisco to Los Angeles and across the far horizon I saw hundreds if not thousands of cows.  I did not know or care what happened to them after that.  Well, I know now from this awesome video:

http://player.vimeo.com/video/57126054#at

All the President's Women

WAY BACK IN 2006 I RUN A SERIES ABOUT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AMERICAN FIRST LADIES.  Read below.

There's something about Mary:  The Insanity Trial of Mary Todd Lincoln -  Friday, February 15, 2013 - A PBS dramatic reenactment of one of saddest legal episodes in Chicago history - the 1875 insanity trial of Mary Todd Lincoln.  As political partner with the President of the United States, all have their own share of woes and griefs - assassination, alcoholism, adultery et cetera.  In the end they were all strong women in spite of their husband's weaknesses and peccadilloes.

*****************************************

Previous Publication  May 11, 2006

*****************************************

 

AMERICAN FIRST LADY MARY TODD
LINCOLN

MARY TODD was born on December 13, 1818 in Lexington, Kentucky.  She
came from a well-to-do family, well-educated and very attractive.  As a
young woman she had many admirers.  She went to Springfield, Illinois, to
live with one of her married sisters . 

There she met  a successful and hard-working lawyer, Abraham
Lincoln (16th U.S. President, 1861-1865).  He was the tallest of all the
U.S. Presidents at 6'4'.  He had past two girlfriends - Ann
Rutledge who died in 1835 and Mary Owens who said no to his half-hearted
proposal of marriage.  After the courtship of Mary Todd, she chose him and
they got engaged but was broken and then unbroken.  They finally married in
1842 and went to live in a boardinghouse.  Eighteen months later, he bought
a plain but comfortable frame house that was to be the family home.  The
Lincoln family lived modestly.  He was often seen taking care of his horse
and milking the family cow.  There was usually a maid to help Mary with the
house chores and there was a carriage available for attending social
gatherings.  She was popular and socially ambitious while Abe was moody and
more involved in debates politically as a congressman and as leader of the
Illinois bar.  According to gossips, they disagreed a lot when they were
together.  Didn't anybody?

They had 4 sons: Robert, Edward, William and Thomas also better known as
"Tad."  The children were naughty and hard to manage.  Three died
young and only one lived to grow up.  Their oldest child Robert became a
well-known lawyer and statesman.  He attended Harvard Law School and served
in the Union Army under Ulysses S. Grant.  President James Garfield (20th
U.S. President, 1881- 6 1/2 mo.) appointed him Secretary of War in 1881 and
held the same post under President Chester Arthur (21st U.S. President,
1881-1885.]

In 1861, when Abe Lincoln was elected President, Mrs. Lincoln's 
ambition of being a First Lady finally became a reality. 
However, her White House years did not bring her much happiness.  The Civil
War just started and Commander-in-Chief Lincoln was busy organizing green
volunteers into armies.  She was unjustly suspected of not being loyal to
the Union because she came from the South, and several close relatives were in
the Confederate Army.  She was not popular inside the beltway of Washington
being high-strung and her bossy manner annoyed many.  As a loving and
caring mother, the death of her third son William in 1862 added grief to her
never ending sorrow. 

The assassination of her husband at the presidential box of the Ford's
Theatre by a best known actor of that time by the name of John Wilkes Booth
was the final and ultimate shock.  She became mentally depressed and
physically incapacitated and years of traveling failed to restore her
health.  She was dealt another blow when her son Thomas died at age 18 in
1871.  For her own good, she was committed to a private sanitarium to chill
out and was released after a year.

She was 64 years old when she died in 1882 at the home of her loving sister
in Springfield, and was buried at the tomb of her beloved Abe at Oak Ridge
Cemetery.  The monument that marks the grave of the Great Emancipator is a
dear place of universal pilgrimage.

In Springfield visit the Abraham Lincoln Library.   http://www.alincoln-library.com 

Don't Know Much History Series

050112006 

cc: LabTechs website

Fountain of Youth Where

MYTH OR LEGEND, WHO CARES?! Since the beginning of time many have been telling stories about where to find this undiscovered place - seeking the Fountain of Youth.  Whosoever drinks or bathes in its water will forever be young.  Herodotus, the Father of History, wrote in his early writings to have located the Fountain of Youth in Ethiopia.  I have often wondered how the Ethiopians maintain their youthful beauty and Haile Selassie, the King of Kings, could have lived for a long time it seemed. A Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, accordingly to have found the restorative spring when he and his soldiers crossed the Land of Darkness, wherever that maybe, as was told in the Eastern version of Alexander Romance.  In a Persian painting, he was portrayed watching a salted fish revived by the Water of Life.  I love salted fish I could have just eaten it with white basmati rice.  You bet, only Alexander can conquer the Persians (modern-day Iran).  A popular medieval fantasy called The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (The Legend of Prester John) pointed the location of the fountain at the foot at the mountain in Polombe (modern-day Kollam, Kerala), India.  And of course the best-told legend of all, El Spanish Conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon, first Governor of Puerto Rico, traveled to St. Augustine, Florida in 1513 to supposedly looking for the Fountain of Youth and turned out to be not true.
There's really no need to be forever looking for I or we have found 2 Fountain of Youth destinations.  You don't have to buy very expensive face mask or resort to plastic surgery or have a deal with the devil and be Dorian Gray. 
We have found the exact place in the Dead Sea, just bathing for 15 minutes and your skin will be as soft as a newborn baby.  However after 4 months you have to go back to the Dead Sea to repeat the ritual and revitalize.

Enjoying a good swim

Amazing feeling

Have you ever seen such youthful-looking group? They just came from the Dead Sea, refreshed and rejuvenated. 

 Recanto Park Hotel in Iguassu, Brazil is the other such place.  Just a short swim or a 15-30 minute stay in the swimming pool will do you good.  Don't miss this place if you want your friends to wonder why you look so young.

Friends are amazed this woman had 2 sons in their 40s

This is how I looked the next day after being revived and rejuvenated - I woke up in the morning with the most beautiful unmade-up face in the morning!

St. Petersburg, Russia

IF YOU GO BY BUS, THE CITY OF VYBORG IS THE POINT OF ENTRY TO ST. PETERSBURG FROM HELSINKI.  We had to go through 4 checkpoints at the border.  We waited within reasonable time in my opinion.  Remember our 2002 tour just started when Communist Russia just lifted its Iron Curtain.  The young teenage looking soldiers were very nice.  It did not take much to please them.  Barry from Manchester, our tour director, gave his ballpen to the soldier.  It's a no man's land on the road to St. Petersburg, about 5-hour drive.  I enjoyed looking at the tall thin birch trees along the way - reminded me of that one scene in Dr. Zhivago where the soldiers were looking for a militant group in the forest.

I'm glad Russia opens her door to the world.  Hidden treasures are meant to be seen. 
Click attachment and be amazed.

Attachment: St._Petersburg_the_Russia_of_the__.pps

Presidential Quips & Quiz

VIDEO: http://youtu.be/hm54kCOExKI




Source: AARP Bulletin
Article: Power of 50
            Mr. President Said What?

Who knew? I pretend to be a half-Fulbright Scholar in American politics so I took the quiz.  I thought I knew much but not that much!

Presidents Morphing: http://www.wimp.com/presidentsmorphed/

Math Challenge

BARACK H. OBAMA, re-elected lame-duck President of the United States of America, delivered his State of the Union address last evening of February 12th,.  Many wondered, the 47% of the population at least, why he was re-elected with a depressed economy, same job unemployment of 7.4% when he took over, and a bloated fiscal deficit of $17 trillion plus.  One thoughtful voter told me many cows could be led by their nose even by an smart ass and a promise of free gifts as Santa Claus.

Well, may I add how smart his thinking was or is by this incident that happened in 2009:

NEWS ALERT!

A public school teacher was arrested today at JFK International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator.  At a morning press conference, Attorney General Eric Holder said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra Movement.

He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

'Al-Gebra is a problem for us', the Attorney General said. 'They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values!

They use secret code names like "X" and "Y" and refer to themselves as "unknowns" but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle."

When asked to comment on the arrest, the president said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."

[There's always a first - another Nobel Prize in Math for Obama, math genius?] 

Obama has only 5 fingers, no wonder.

Russian Churches

VIDEO

________________________________________

Interesting notes about the history of the making of Russian churches.  Very colorful and yet very dark.
Click attachment.  Save and run.

Attachment: Russian_Churches_-11000- (2).pps

[Link Broken]

Published  2/12/13  altgroup  multiply
Web Page:  Russian Churches

Every breath of air

Take my breath away......

----- Original Message -----

From: Association of
Laboratory Technologists

To: Association of
Laboratory Technologists

Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 1:00 PM

Subject: Every breath of air

	New Message on Association of Laboratory Technologists

Every breath of
air

Reply

Recommend Message 1 in Discussion

From: ALTPresident1 I READ somewhere that we breath the air that turns into wind and believe.  We can't see it, we can't touch it, we can't grasp it, and we can't feel it and yet know it's there.  We know there's a sun when it's rising and shining.  But in the darkness of night when there's no sun and we can't see it we believe there's a sun because we know the sun will come out tomorrow as expected.  Why then, I beg to ask some of us, can't we believe there is a God? A most amazing thing happens every spring on top of the corner nook of the front door of my house.  Every spring, little by little, day by day, a mother bird (not a father bird, I think, because mothers are more nurturing) returns and builds a nest of tiny thin sprigs and branches  I even saw the other day a piece of white tissue attached to the nest.  Today, it has become a beautiful and comfortable nest for the blue eggs (I dragged a small ladder some years ago to see what's in the nest).  Don't ask me what kind of birds - all I know they are either brown or black birds and very protective of the young ones.  Once or many times, who knows I wasn't there all the time, the birds even startled my mailman. I love the GE ecoimagination ads - the tap dancing elephants  and the wind energy - the little boy catching the wind in a small bottle, traveling awhile and giving it to his grandpa for his birthday - every moment tuned to Bob Dylan's song "Catch the Wind."  Very impressive.  It reminded me of a most amazing neat little story about Thomas Edison:  When Thomas Edison was on his death bed, his dear friend and great admirer Henry Ford had Edison's son hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to capture his last breath.  The test tube with Edison's last breath is still on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Wow! Whoo!

******************************

Previously Published on April 21, 2007

MSN Groups ALT Website

******************************

Son of a Gun

WE HOLD THIS TRUTH TO BE SELF EVIDENT: GUNS KEEP US SAFE.

Got this photo two weeks ago.  Judging by the photo, it was done in the 2009 presidential inauguration.  Michelle's dress was so far different from the 2013 inauguration day - she was wearing from what the babe cadets in  Star Strek had in their wardrobe.

The crossover dress of 'from men to women'  design was from the Thom Browne Collection. I wonder how much Michelle paid? Not worth the price if you ask me.

 

Recycled Web Page   @2012

_____________________________________

Gun thoughting.....

----- Original Message -----

From: Association of
Laboratory Technologists

To: Association of
Laboratory Technologists

Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:25 AM

Subject: Re: fbo 007

	New Message on Association of Laboratory Technologists

fbo
007

Reply

Recommend Message 3 in Discussion

From: ALTPresident1 HERE WE GO AGAIN...Right off the bat the NRA and gun lobbyists are under attack by the Left-Wing because of what happened in Virginia Tech U.  Politicians, talk-show hosts, celebrities, gun activists and bleeding heart liberals are making their voices heard in crescendo and are on the rant for more unnecessary moronic bills and legislations to ban guns.  For these folks really and truly believe that - mental disorder is not the cause; anti-social behaviour is not the cause; snottiness and racial superiority of fellow students in American campi are not the cause; abuse of civil liberties to be politically correct is not the cause; etc...etc...Yes, blame it all to guns.  We might as well ban planes when they crash; we might as well ban cars when they crash; we might as well ban wines and liquors for killing people.  In reality, who is really to blame?  Human frailties.  Under the Constitution of the United States, to own a gun is a God-given right to protect one self and this right must be fought and preserved at all cost no matter what!! Perhaps it is impossible for a person who does no good not to do harm. - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Published  2/18/07  ALT  MSN Group

Web Page: Son of a Gun

3 Minute Management Course

 Management 101

 Lesson One: An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A  small
 rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and  do
 nothing?" The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on  the
 ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared,
jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

 Management Lesson:
 To be sitting  and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

 Lesson Two: A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to
 get to the  top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the
 energy." "Well,  why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied
the bull. " They're  packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of
 dung, and found it  actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest
 branch of the tree. The  next day, after eating some more dung, he reached
 the second branch. Finally  after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly
 perched at the top of the
tree.  He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who
 shot him out of the  tree.

 Management Lesson:
 Bull shit might get you to the top, but it  won't keep you there.

 Lesson Three:
 A little bird was flying south  for the winter. It was so
 cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground into a  large field. While he
 was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on  him. As the frozen
 bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to  realize how warm he was.
 The dung was actually thawing him out! He laid there  all warm and happy, and
 soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the  bird singing and came
 to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered  the bird under the
 pile of cow dung, and
promptly dug him out and ate  him.

 Management Lesson: (1) Not everyone who shits on you is your  enemy.
 (2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend..
 (3)  And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

 This  ends the three minute management course...

*******************************************
Originally Published on May 24, 2006
MSN Groups Website
*******************************************

The Philippines: Land of Mona Lisas and Picasso-like Politicians

Just like you're lost in the labyrinthian maze (redundant), you're reading a recycled page.  Yes, I've always been into recycling.  Not only here in the United States do we have bad hospital experience, malpractice and human error, but also in the Philippines and other countries.  A friend of a friend who just died and was buried Friday in Chicago paid a hefty price of PhP 1 million ($23,000+) for healthcare in the Philippines while vacationing and was misdiagnosed.
******************************
Previously Published on March 2, 2005
ALT website
******************************

In a message dated 2/26/05 7:19:04 AM Pacific Standard Time,
rosigs2003@yahoo.com writes:

Most doctors and well off people here in Minnesota
would rather buy a
home in warmer climate (say
Florida) than invest in the Philippines because
of
terrible healthcare.

Thank you very much, JR, for sharing your medical "adventures" in the
Philippines and for your triumph over blindness. My fraternity brod, Jay
Caedo, lost his sight due to diabetes, in spite of the fact that his dad is
one of the best medical doctors in the Philippines. I guess one cannot change
fate or for that matter, destiny even with the best medical people in
attendance.

We are aware of the terrible situation the healthcare
industry of the Philippines is suffering from. As I said in my essay, the
Philippines -- in spite of being one of the world's leading suppliers of
nurses, physicians and medical professionals -- has "the Mona Lisa" syndrome
(to quote again Princess Emraida Kiram) as the Number-One cause of death, that
is, preventable death.

I have written this series of articles about
Reinventing the Philippine healthcare and hospital industry but I guess that
the vested interests do not want true structural reforms to happen in the
country.

We are aware of the need for state-of-the-art health
facilities and trained personnel. This is why part of our plans of building an
international airport in Sorsogon Province is the need to put up an
ultramodern medical center adjacent to the site.

And speaking of
medical centers, did you know that the first real medical center of the United
States was actually built in Manila at the turn of the 20th century? A medical
center, by definition, has to have a hospital, a school of medicine and a
research-and-development (R&D) facility. The Americans did that by
organizing the Philippine General Hospital, the UP College of Medicine and
what became the National Science Research Institute in Ermita, Manila, in the
early 1900s.

My colleague in the Philippine History Group of Los
Angeles, Frank Quismorio, Jr., MD, gave a lecture to us about this historic
first medical center in the Philippines, as a colony of the United States. Dr.
Quismorio, who teaches medicine at USC Medical School, told us also of the
Filipino version of the medical research that went awry in Tuskegee, Alabama
(for which then President Clinton apologized to the Black-American victims of
the research gone bad). Hopefully we may be able to publish Dr. Quismorio's
research on these matters on time for the Kalayaan 2006 celebrations in
Southern CA, under my chairmanship.

Perhaps if we can motivate all the
Quismorios, the Kirams, the Navarras, the Torreses, the Delfins and all the
other well-meaning Filipino Americans in the United States -- from sea to
shining sea, including the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota and beyond the Midwest --
to pool their resources, we can still have that day when even the poor folks
in the Philippines may be able to smile like Mona Lisa and not die needlessly
from the "Mona Lisa" syndrome.

Mabuhay,

Bobby M.
Reyes

PS: To those who just tuned in to this thread, I tried to
initiate a discussion of the Philippines' medical and healthcare industries by
writing a series of columns. Here's one (written in April 2004) that featured
Princess Emraida Kiram and Joseph Lariosa and my trip to Chicago. Click here:
PinoyOnBoard.com - The Philippines: A Land of Mona Lisas and Picasso-like
Politicians or copy and paste to your browser
http://www.pinoyonboard.com/2004/0411_reinvent.html

=============================================================
Visit
the www.bobbyreyes.com and the "Daily B.R.E.A.D." in the www.PinoyOnBoard.com.
Listen to the "Mabuhay, Las Vegas" talk show on Saturdays @ 8:00 p.m. at
Station KRLV 1340 AM on your radio dial in Southern Nevada.

Hawaii Beach Baby

ALOHA-OE!
HAWAII IS THE CROSSROADS OF THE PACIFIC.  Captain James Cook of the British Navy discovered the islands in 1778.  He originally called it The Sandwich Islands in honor of the Earl of Sandwich, the first lord of the British Admiralty.  About 1795, less than 20 years later, a strong tribal chief - King Kamehameha I - conquered most of the large islands and united them as a monarchy.  The islands became a royal domain of Hawaiian kings until 1893.  King Kalakaua, the Merry Monarch, revived the hula and old customs suppressed by Protestant missionaries.  His sister, Queen Liliuokalani, followed him to the throne in 1891, two years before the end of the only known monarchy in the United States.
Hawaii includes more than 20 islands (Kawai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Hawaii, Niihau, Kahoolawe) atolls and reefs.  All the islands were probably formed by volcanoes pushing up from the ocean floor.
The islands are the melting pot from various countries: Chinese (1852), Polynesians from South Pacific (1859), Portuguese (1878), Japanese (1886), Puerto Ricans (1901) and Filipinos (1906).
The first pineapple plant arrived in 1813 but commercial development did not begin until 1882 - 1,000 pineapples arrived from Jamaica.
Hawaii became a part of the United States in 1898 when Americans in the islands led a revolution to overthrow the monarchy.  In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the union.

Video
http://youtu.be/eELunUdQHTc

King Kamehameha I

Best way to crack a coconut - by the face

Honolulu

Here we are sitting on top of the highest point in Maui - the 10,032 feet high Haleakala crater, one of the largest inactive volcanoes in the world.  We go jogging in the morning then have breakfast at the condominium veranda.

Breakfast at Lucy's timeshare

Da-Tu and I would go jogging on the beach

Around 11 am we packed our picnic lunch, walked a short distance to the beach and took a short swim, enjoyed the tropical sun and ate under the coconut tree.

A real tropical paradise.  There are no snakes in Hawaii I was told - only kahunas (medicine man or priests) and aku (ocean bonito) among other things.

Lahaina Sunset

Extinct Volcano

We have to wake up around 3 am to see the beautiful sunrise from the top of Haleakala.  Girlfriend Ellen drove all the way to the top of the mountain and back.  She's the best driver among us

The capital Honolulu lies about 2,300 miles southwest of the United States mainland.  First time visitors are always surprised how far Hawaii is.  Hibiscus is the national flower of Hawaii.

 

 

Fire Tree

Visiting a Filipino plantation in Lahaina

Maui Yacht Club

MSN Groups Photo Album

January 30, 2006

Lucy, Lib, Da-tu Fely

Video  Beach Baby by First Class

Link http://youtu.be/oeGPpwFpIAA