Manny Pacquiao's fists were fast and furious - putting Ricky Hatton to sleep before his head hit the canvas. It was such a devastating knockout that you expected the skinny Chris Tucker from Friday to jump on Hatton and screech "You just got knocked the f*ck out!"
Showing posts with label philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philippines. Show all posts
victorious
pacman gear
Get nike'd up for Manny Pacquiao's upcoming fight. nice site and I like the Philippine flag inspired "MP" logo.
pacman bobblehead
Manny Pacquiao bobblehead promoting the SF Giants' Filipino American Heritage celebration night on 4/21.
bourdain in the philippines
Tony Bourdain makes a long anticipated (by many of his Filipino viewers) visit to the Philippines in a decent episode of No Reservations. The visit is largely motivated by a video sent in by Filipino-American fanboy named Augusto during the viewer-choice contest a year ago.
The running theme throughout this episode was of identity. Culinary and cultural. While seemingly unimpressed with Manila street food, Tony remarks that there doesn't seem to be one dish that identifies itself as "Filipino". However, after being wowed by sisig, oxtail kare-kare, goat head and sinigang in Pampanga and lechon in Cebu, he discovers that Filipino cuisine is truly a melting pot of culinary influences reflecting a complex history of foreign influence and occupation. Plus, distinct regional differences stir up the pot even more. He ponders why Filipino cuisine is largely absent in America - to which one of his hosts suggests that Filipinos are more adaptable to where they emigrate.
Tony meets up with Augusto in Cebu and examines Filipino identity through his eyes. As it turns out, Augusto has only been to the Philippines once. While he was exuberant with Filipino pride in his video, he appears reticent with his family in the Philippines. Tony plays counselor, as Augusto admits that he feels like an outsider caught between America and the Philippines without truly feeling part of either place and ultimately identifying himself as a New Yorker. His whole family in Cebu was eerily silent - perhaps nervous about having cameras jammed in their face while eating. But the lechon and its trusty handlers livened the mood and Tony claimed it to be the best pig in the world.
Even though only 3 regions were investigated, it was a decent episode. The Filipino guides were familiar to me in their emotional expression of pride and knowledge in their homeland. They complained about being overlooked in southeast asia (not just by Bourdain) and then admitted to looking westward to America more than its Asian neighbors. In many ways, I can identify with Augusto and now I'm craving for that crispy lechon skin. Video clip below. Deleted scene featuring tapsilog here.
pac-man
Pac-man proved again that he's pound for pound the best fighter in the world. Props to Manny Pacquiao for dominating Oscar De La Hoya and bagging $11 million in the process. He jumped up 2 weight classes and outclassed the bigger - albeit over-the-hill - Oscar De La Hoya. The outcome was not a suprise to any boxing fan, but the actual domination was ugly. Manny's speed and agility neutralized any size and reach disadvantage. Pacquiao's straight left repeatedly connected to the head, eventually forcing De La Hoya to quit on his corner stool after the eigth round with a swollen shut eye and a bruised face.
Oscar admitted that he doesn't have it anymore and hopefully he hangs his gloves up. I was a fan of the Golden Boy during the '92 Barcelona Olympics and through his wars with Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez. Oscar's skills fell off early in this decade, but he deserves respect for being boxing's biggest box office attraction and for being the first Hispanic American to own a national boxing promotional firm.
filipino foodie
Nice article in The Wall Street Journal on Filipino cuisine. Lots of yummy details and thankfully it goes beyond the typical balut experiences that seems mandatory on any foodie travelogue to the Philippines.
As I've mentioned before, my dad explains the lack of Filipino restaurants in America through the theory that Filipino food is best cooked at home. Why would I pay money for food that I could easily find at a party. We lived in a sizeable Filipino community in Maryland and every weekend had a house party with potluck dishes overcrowding dining tables. Titas that you've never met before would pile food onto your plate chirping "Eat, Eat. Eat!" right after the kiss-on-the-cheek greeting. After making a circuit around the table, your plate resembled a culinary car dump with 15 different foods piled up on top of each other. Nonetheless it was always delicious. Meanwhile, a Filipino restaurant would open up only to close shortly after. Grand opening, grand closing! Perhaps "filipino restaurant" is an oxymoron to pinoys who share my dad's perspective. What are other factors? I've heard that maybe the food is too simplistic, inaccessible or not exotic enough for Americans. Can it be elevated without being bastardized?
As for me? I grew up associating Filipino food with home cooking. But living away from mom's cooking and outside a filipino community makes me more eager to patronize a Filipino restaurant. I was shocked to find a "turo-turo" place nearby and I've tried some fusion and upscale joints in Philly and NYC. When I tell my parents of these places, I can sense the good natured smirks on their faces saying, "You got suckered into paying how much for what?"
stuff fil-ams like
Keeping in tradition of Stuff White People Like, here's an entry on stuff Fil-Ams like. I remember when I arrived on campus at Temple U., and a filipino girl asked me if I was joining TUPAC (Temple U. Philippine American Council). And I unknowingly said, "What? A club for the rapper Tupac?"
#1 Sushi
This satisfies the Asian part for Fil Ams. The rice and soy sauce are natural ingredients they are used to. Just add pork, grease, and vinegar and it'd be a barrio fiesta for them.
#2 Picture taking
Fil Ams love taking pictures of each other, even redundantly in the dance club. This custom dates back to when white people took pictures of them a century ago.
#3 Free sandwiches. Not this.
Fil Ams will gather around free food in general, so be cautious if your multicultural org's resources are limited.
#4 Latino Culture
This usually comes in the form of salsa dancing. Move out the way when "Esa Morena" is played at one of their debuts.
#5 Hawaii (Yes, that is Jasmine Trias)
This satisfies Fil Ams claim to be Pacific Islander (minus the whole genocide thing, of course).
#6 Afro-American culture
Fil Ams' fascination with Afro-American culture goes way back when David Fagen and African American Buffalo Soldiers helped Filipinos fight against American colonizers. They honor him through corn rows and sporadic copula absence.
#7 Sportin dark colors
#8 Rockin big shades (sorry Krish)
#9 Sportin bright colors
#10 Choreographed Dancing
These Fil Am dance troupes usually consist of an absurd amount of dancers, moving uniformly. Uncle Sam says: "You're easy to control. Yet, oh so funky."
#11 Pageants
Through consent or coercion, Fil Ams are socialized to participate in extravagant pageants. This relates to #2 and #14.
#12 New York
When you ask a Fil Am where they are going to vacation, they will usually tell you "I really want to go to New York" if Hawaii is not an option. This relates to #7 because of New York's connotation with hip hop culture. Coming largely from the suburbs, Fil Ams will grab any opportunity to be urban.
#13 Basketball (5'10" and under bringin the thunder)
#14 All-you-can eat buffets
Fil Ams tend to gravitate to all-you-can-eat buffets. This phenomenon relates to American consumer influence in the Philippines, like indulging in choice, variety, and extravagance (and endless cheddar-baked biscuits).
#15 Extended college life
But likely not this.
#16 Being late
Fil Ams are always late, even for job interviews. At some Filipino masses, you will notice church starts at fifteen after the hour. Too bad it doesn't end fifteen minutes early, when Fil Ams tend to leave after bread time.
#17 Head wraps and Kufi caps
This is a gesture to their Muslim and African roots. This kind of relates to #6.
#18 The idea of revolution
Fil Ams love proclaiming the need for revolution (while wearing dark or bright colors and a head wrap). Actual revolution, however, is kind of scary.
#19 The sound of vinyl scratching
Wicky wicky wicky. Got your attention (like a dog whistle)?
#20 Loitering in large groups
This is especially true after a Fil Am youth group or club meetin and usually takes place in parking lots. This phenomenon is related to #10, with less body movements.
#21 A Tribe Called Quest
When "Scenario" comes on in the club, you betta duck cuz Fil Ams will bug out. Why do Fil Ams like ATCQ? It might be Ali Shaheed Muhammad's fresh beats or the resonating, non-threatening Afrohumanist rhymes. Or maybe its because they are a "tribe."
Mad'L Flip / Plus 63
Mad'L Flip courtesy of Freshmanila
My sister pointed me to this cool blog: Plus63.
Always nice to find an outlet for pinoy creativity.
philippine all stars
The Philippine All Stars won the 08 World Hip Hop Dance Competition, beating out 1,000 dancers from 30 different countries.
pinoy idol
Tired of American Idol overkill and frightened by the prospect of having David Archuleta forced upon us all summer long? Check out Pinoy Idol. This vid showcases the first cut which has currently been cut down to the top 24.
banig wallpapers
Props to my sis for showing me this:
Dan Matutina's artwork draws heavily from his native Philippines, including very cool wallpaper inspired by banigs (handwoven sleeping mats). As a side note, when I was a kid visiting the Philippines, I slept on a bed with a mosquito net instead of a banig. But I forgot to use the mosquito net one night and I woke up with a million bites all over my body. Spent the rest of my vacation itching like crazy!
lost in translation
Some funny English-Tagalog mis-translations. More here
01) Contemplate - kulang ang mga pinggan
02) Punctuation - pera para maka-enrol
03) Ice Buko - nagtatanong kung ayos na ang buhok
04) Tenacious - sapatos na pang tennis
05) Calculator - tawagan kita mamaya
06) Devastation - sakayan ng bus
07) Protestant - Tindahan ng prutas
08) Statue - Ikaw ba yan?
09) Tissue - Ikaw nga!
10) Predicate - Pakawalan mo ang pusa
11) Dedicate - Pinatay ang pusa
12) Aspect - Pantusok o pandurog ng yelo
13) Deduct - Ang pato
14) Defeat - Ang paa (ng pato?)
15) Detail - Ang buntot (ng pato?)
puto cravings
Saw this pic via Simply Anne's and it made me smile. And then it made me hungry. Actually I grew up eating a different version than this pic. We customarily ate the greasy white slabs of slippery puto with butter slathered on top. Our neighbor growing up always served the dry spongier bite-sized puto (as shown in this pic). Either way, its such a great breakfast or snack. Now I have to stop by the nearby Filipino market (thank god there's one 20 min away) and grab me some. This little store gets shipments from the almighty Philippine Bread House.
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