Time for Some 1950 Oldies-from the Platters

If you grew up in the 1950's to 1960's, you should remember these two songs by the Platters. Enjoy! Comment?

Charice P and Lea Mitchell of Glee-Season 2

Lea and Charice of Glee
Glee is one of my favorite TV show. So I am indeed excited about Charice‘s( as filipino foreign student) role in the upcoming Season 2 of this popular and award winning FOX TV show. According to the latest news, The ‘rivalry’ between Charice and Lea M. is very much awaited. But according to Lea M., during an interview at Santa Monica Pier recently – the term ‘rival’ is not accurate as both Charice and her may even “become best friends”. Here's a video of what Lea M said about Charice P.

Season 2 will feature music of Britney Spears and Paul McCartney. Susan Boyle ( as lunch lady) and Carol Burnett (as mother of Sue) have been recruited and signed to appear in some episodes.

For those of you who have not heard of Charice P. She is a "Filipina International Singing Star" discovered through the powers of Youtube. She is currently featured on the cover of Reader’s Digest Asia for August 2010 Edition.

Here's a video comparing their voices by singing the same song "Taking Chances" popularized by Celine Dion. Who has the better voice? Listen and Judge for yourself.

Bizarre, Unusual and Sexy Names of Towns in US

Can Anyone tell me where is the town of Winner in the US? What state and the nearest biggest city?

The following weird, unusual and sexy names are real names of towns in the United States. For a complete lists visit www.accuracyproject.org/towns.html

Go to Hell - Hell, Michigan, of course!
Hell, Michigan
Hell Hollow, New Hampshire
Hells Corners, Ohio
Half Hell, North Carolina
Devil's Backbone, Connecticut
Devils Den, California
Devils Elbow, Missouri
Devils Lake, North Dakota
Devils Slide, Utah
Devils Tower, Wyoming
Devil Town, Ohio
Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
Red Devil, Alaska

Get your mind out of the gutter!

Loveladies, New Jersey
Hooker, Oklahoma
Hooker Hole, Louisiana
Romance, Arkansas
Horneytown, North Carolina
French Lick, Indiana
Sweet Lips, Tennessee
Fanny, West Virginia
Busti, New York
Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania
Big Beaver, Pennsylvania
Butts, Georgia
Buttzville, New Jersey
Dicktown, New Jersey
Erect, North Carolina
New Erection, Virginia
Dickshooter, Idaho
Intercourse, Pennsylvania
Loving, New Mexico
Climax, Georgia
Conception, Missouri
Fidelity, Missouri
Manly, Iowa
Eros, Louisiana
Dickey, Maine
Fort Dick, California
Beaver, Arkansas

Heaven only knows

Angel City, Texas
Angel Fire, New Mexico
Angels Camp, California
Angeltown, Tennessee
Heavenly Hills, California
Heavenly Valley, California
Little Heaven, Delaware
Heaven Heights, Massachusetts
Convent, Louisiana
Pray, Montana

Any one knows if there is a place called Loser, State, US?

Latest News from the University of the Philippines Chemistry Alumni Foundation(UPCAF)

I am a Life Member of this Foundation. I graduated from UP with a B.S. Chemistry degree in 1955. This year is the Centennial Year of Chemistry in UP and for the first time members of the Board of Trustees held a meeting at the new Research Building for Chemistry just recently completed and furnished ( map above).

The construction of a National Science Complex in Diliman, Quezon City started a few years ago which included a new Teaching Building for Chemistry. It will be completed soon ( see update below). The first phase of government Funding was 200 million pesos and the second phase was 118 million pesos.

Last year, I had the opportunity to visit the construction site through the kindness of Renan Del Rosario, the current Chairman of the UPCAF Board of Trustees. Fund raising for furniture in the new building are undergoing. Last year, I donated to the Foundation 10,000 pesos ( about $200) through Renan. I felt good about this donation.. It is my way of saying thank you for the the educational benefits that I have received from the University of the Philippines.

All Chemistry alumni and their friends are encourage to donate for the furniture and other equipments needed in the new Teaching and Research Building. Please send your donation to UPCAF, Inc, Institute of Chemistry, College of Science, U.P., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, c/o Renan del Rosario.
Life membership to UPCAF is 3000 pesos for local or $ 70 for foreign membership.

The Institute of Chemistry (IC) is one of six degree-granting units of the UP College of Science and is designated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a center of excellence in chemistry.

The IC started as the Department of Chemistry in 1910 and was eventually reorganized as an Institute in 1987. Today it is recognized as a leading institution of learning and research in chemistry in the Philippines.

With the completion of two new buildings within the Science Complex, the IC continues its commitment to education, research, and extension services and in producing the finest graduates in chemistry.

Update on IC New Buildings

The implementation of Phase 1 of the construction of the research building and part of the teaching building of IC has been underway since last May 2008. Construction of the research building is expected to finish by December 2009. Phase 2 of the project for the completion of the construction of the teaching building starts January 2010 and ends January 2011.

The Project Team led by IC and Architect Lisa Santos ensures that buildings construction are completed on schedule and within budget by holding weekly site coordination meetings with the building construction management and contractor and representatives of the UP Office of the Campus Architect .

Doing Business in the Philippines-Hopes for Improvement

The Makati Skyline, Philippines

The following posting, I wrote about two years ago during the previous Arroyo Administration. Today, I have high hopes that the P-Noy administration will improve the conditions of doing business in the Philippines. Just recently, I heard that the paper work for getting a business permit has been shortened from several pages to two and the time to get a permit was shortened from two days to two hours. Is this news true?

"I just finished reading a short article that it is not easy to do business in the Philippines. According to the article based on the World Bank survey, Singapore took the top spot in the rankings in the ease of doing business. New Zealand was 2nd and US was 3rd. Hong Kong was 4th, Japan 12th, and China 83rd. Could you guess PI ranking? A pathetic 140th!!

This is not news to me. Grease money runs the country. Unnecessary paper work slows down the growth of small business. For example just getting a permit takes a lot of paper work and grease money. Even in the business of tourism ( which should be encourage by the government), the presence of "grease takers" really frustrates me. There are other specific examples, that I will not mention for fear that it will have a detrimental effect in my small business in the Philippines. To survive, I follow the principle, "If in Rome do what the Romans are doing". Sad but that is the reality of life.

The article concluded that we should not be discourage from doing business in the Philippines. It says there are some rotten eggs in the basket, but the good ones outnumber the bad ones. It also advise us to know the proper way of doing things and stick to it and most of all ditch those greasers. What do you think? Is this a reasonable advice?"

Again, with P-Noy in power, I have high hopes that there will be an improvement in the business environment in the Philippines.

Kindness from a Stranger-Putong-Rite of Welcome

Side and Front Yard of our Retirement House in Amoingon, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Several years ago, prior to the building our beach house in Amoingon, Boac, Macrine and I usually have Sunday drives after church from Amoingon to Buenavista. This drive along the national road parallels the western seacoast of Marinduque where there are beautiful homes of expatriates and balikbayans retirees from all over the world as well as rich businessmen from Manila. We drive just to get an idea of the architectural styles that we may be able to incorporate into our beach house design. One Sunday we saw a beautiful modern design beach house painted blue, between Gasan and Buenavista. It is appropriately named, CASA DE AZUL. We were struck by the simplicity of its design and architecture, we decided to park outside the gate of the house. We got out of the car, linger a while at the closed gate to see if the owners are in. It appears that someone was in the house and I started ringing the door bell. No sooner than after I pressed the buzzer, a middle aged lady got out of the house and asked us what we want. I said we admired the style of the house and asked permission to take a photograph. Then we introduced ourselves and stated our purpose why we stopped.
To our surprise the lady invited us to come in and introduce herself as the owner. Her husband was outside the yard and asked if we are interested to see the whole house as well as the backyard which faces the ocean. The house was beautiful inside, modestly furnished. We found out that the couple resides in Manila. The house is their weekend retreat. The lady is a filipina and the husband was originally from Austria. The wife works in Manila and the husband is in the import-export business. This incident will never happened in the US. The owners will call the police and accused us probably of trespassing.

To reciprocate this act of kindness from a stranger, we allowed visitors to take photographs of our front yard. We have several visitors the last couple of years who stopped at our front gate and ask permission to take pictures of the front yard. The front yard is landscaped with blooming bougainvilleas in a rainbow of colors, orchids, and several blooming tropical shrubs. Yes,indeed we allowed them to take photographs of "my landscaping" and even offer them a glass of juice or bottled water. It is our way of reciprocating the kindness of the couple who resided in the Blue House by the Sea. Unfortunately, we have forgotten their names and they probably do not remember our names also. But, I feel this story is possible only in the beautiful island of Marinduque-home of the most hospitable people in the Philippines, if not in the whole world. Do you know that Putong (or Tubong) is only done in Marinduque? Here's a short video of a typical Putong in Marinduque( in Laylay, Boac)