A September to remember

I will never forget September 2009, especially its first day and last day.
September 1 – my worst day, ever
September 30 – my best day, so far
That’s all.

Dog displaced by typhoon seeks refuge in my room

I have a furry, four-legged guest who’s currently staying in my room.
She’s Ganda, the dog of my sister’s parents-in-law, whose house in a Manila suburb was messed up by typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) over the weekend.
The floodwater has receded, but my sister said it could take at least a month to clean up and [...]

Typhoon leaves trail of damage in the Philippines

Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) has left the Philippines, but parts of the national capital region and surrounding areas are still reeling from the effects of the weather disturbance, which is said to have brought more rains than hurricane Katrina.
I was not affected by the typhoon because it was my day off when it unleashed [...]

Author of political economy of media book replies to my email

This week I received an unexpected email from Robert W. McChesney, author of the 2008 book “The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas.”
I never thought that a busy scholar like him would take the time to read an email from a total stranger and even reply to it. I felt really honored.
I emailed [...]

Hong Kong skyline is best viewed from the ‘stars’

Currently three out of the 20 tallest buildings in the world are in Hong Kong: Two International Finance Center, Central Plaza and Bank of China Tower.
These structures and more make the former British crown colony’s skyline one of the best in the world, if not the best.
The view from the Avenue of Stars, along the [...]

Touring Kuala Lumpur with the whole family

My visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was my first foreign trip with my mother and my sister. And so far, it’s been the only one.
We had another companion, my mother’s friend.
The friend of my mother’s friend (relationships are a little bit tricky sometimes) – a Malaysian citizen – served as our tour guide.
Getting around Kuala [...]

WordPress and After the Deadline join forces for better blogging

Matt of WordPress has pointed out that last week, WordPress users “published 1.4 million new blog posts, but … only ran the spell checker about 204 thousand times.”
He said there could be two possible explanations: “We’re all perfect writers or that we just forget to run the spell checker.”
Personally I don’t write directly on WordPress. [...]

Unlike Borat, Bruno is not for all adult moviegoers

Bruno, the story of a 19-year-old German-speaking Austrian gay fashion show host who’d stop at nothing to become world famous, is not for all adult moviegoers.
It’s not because of the “mature content” of the latest Sacha Baron Cohen starrer.
The film is R-18 in the Philippines and I believe in many other countries too. If adults [...]

Exploring Bangkok on foot

It’s been said that the best way to explore a city is on foot.
I totally agree. Exploring Bangkok on foot was the most memorable part of our trip to Krung Thep.
Unlike the guided tour in the morning of our first full day in Bangkok, the adventure on foot wasn’t rushed. (My post about the guided [...]

Unusual building in Beijing

It wasn’t a part of our guided tour in Beijing, but I strongly believe that anyone who visits the Chinese capital should see it.
The China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters building in Beijing is the strangest edifice I’ve ever seen.
While the Bird’s Nest, the site of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is also an unusual structure in [...]