a movie revuew

CITY OF ANGELS

 a heavenly movie...

"I would rather have a mortal life with her, than an eternity without her.."

Thus the narrative atmosphere of the movie CITY OF ANGELS  was set. It is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen so far..

 

Is the setting LA?..Maybe..Sometimes we see two of the angels sitting on top of the famous Hollywood sign, unseen just like any other spirits ..One is Seth played by Nicholas Cage...He was an angel who fell in love with a brilliant heart specialist  played by Meg Ryan.

Meg Ryan, once a star of   the Soap Opera AS THE WORLD TURNS  lent a brilliant performance in the movie. She and Nicholas Cage blend with such magic chemistry that made this remake of WINGS OF DESIRE  a modern classic of its own..She is lean, small pert and none of the bosominess  of other movie stars but the expression of her eyes and slightly turned up mouth makes her an easy favorite of many film loving fans..

Dying, in the movie seems to be an easy thing...Angels, it seems are in this earth just mainly to help others and also to accompany the souls whose time has come...One of the questions asked by the angel to the newly separated  soul is:

"What do you like most when you are on earth?"

There are various answers. And Seth has all them written down in his book...

 

When he could not help himself any longer, he decided to change into a mortal by simply falling down from the top of a skyscraper..It gives a different meaning to the term  FALLEN ANGEL..

It is also a good movie to see this Christmas..or any night of the year...

Its soundtrack is also a keeper..a touching song about angels was sang by Alanis Morrisete..

 

Did Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan live happily ever after?

 

Rent the movie..Or better buy it because you would want to see it over and over again!...

CHRISTMAS EVE 2007

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...at the St.John the Evangelist...

(December 24, 2007)--It was the day and the time again. One daughter, Bernadette came all the way from Ottawa ( a good 4 hours drive ) just to join her family (sister Michelle and us )..and to see again the house where she grew up..They arrived at about 3:30 pm, Dec. 23. On the afternoon of Dec. 24, Simon, Berna's husband brought our four grandkids to the house..

"Where are the two? ( Michelle and Berna )," I asked..

"Doing some last minute shopping.."

I have only more than an hour left. Then I would go to church again to play music. What else am I to do? It seems I can never get out of this duty ( which I love so much ) of accompanying the congregation on a Christmas eve Mass.

I asked Mia and Emma to do some last minute rehearsal of the songs we have been doing for the past 4 years...

"Look guys, worse come to worse, you might just be the ones singing tonight..But you can do it.. Try your best, and we will give you extra money.."

That's the magic word..They came to the piano beside me, sang to their hearts content while Dillon their cousin from Ottawa was dancing about to their songs..Chloe his sister snuggled close to Mia during the rehearsal, listening intently. I have a feeling she too will become  a singer  someday..She knows how to listen. Number one trait for a musician!

Then at 4:30 pm, Simon brought me to church for the 5:00 pm mass..Sara and Danica were already there. Sara and Danica are two youth singers doing regularly the 5:00 pm Saturday mass. I met them very recently when things were being reorganized here at St. John the Evangelist.

The two were good!..They were knew their stuff. We just refreshed their songs which they selected a few minutes before the mass and then, they were ready to go. No practice necessary...

The Mass commenced with a short play..Three portable houses were carried to the altar..They looked like the houses of the 3 little pigs. The church lights were off except for one spotlight perched atop a stick.Then the play began.

A member of the youth group was dressed like a postman and she delivered a letter to eachof the three houses.."I am visiting you today" the letter said..It was signed JESUS..

The play revolved on the different reactions of the three letter recepients..Whatthey did when they learned that Jesus is about to visit them...

The play was short..but sweet..

Then the mass started..The two singers selected O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL, HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING, SILENT NIGHT, O HOLY NIGHT and lastly ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH..

Sarah's voice sounded like a violin. Danica's voice was also beautiful in its own way..Their voices complemented each other...After their rendition of O HOLY NIGHT, the congregation broke into an applause...Father Joe complimented their singing immensely right before giving the final blessing to the congregation..

I was picked up after Mass by Jonathan, Michelle's husband....Arrived home to find Berna and Michelle was already there and they just have dinner.

We rehearsed the songs again..This time Michelle joined her 2 daughters..I invited her to sing..

"Why not?" she said.."Just for one song"I thought she was joking. Several years ago, she and Berna were also my singers for the mass, same church..St. John the Evangelist..

Half an hour before 8:00 after we had a little supper, we headed back to the church.

When we got there, we found out that our projection slides for the lyrics was left in the house..No worry, I said to myself..One has to be very flexible and be ready for all kinds of situations..So we changed some of the songs so the audience can participate..I picked some of the ones I did in the 5:00 pm mass.

But things worked out well. Two is a magic number: Michelle and Berna ( years ago sang with me for several years) Sara and Danica, just an hour ago then Emma and Mia saved the Christmas eve Mass that night by singing alone by themselves without fear even if 3 of their companions did not show up. But Mia was a forerunner of the church music work. She was about 8 when she started leading the congregational singing all by herself..Recently, she was admitted to Mayfield school of the Arts after a rigid screening.A week ago the school choir to which belongs sang at the newly erected Rose Theatre in Brampton..

Then her sister Emma was born and she was also endowed with some musical gifts. She is gifted with a wide vocal range and she reaches the high notes very easily. When they were in Florida, she participated in a singing contest and she won first prize with her rendition of DANNY BOY. She is half Irish, by the way.

Then in a recent local competition in Ontario, she won a gold, a silver and 2 bronzes for 4 songs which she entered. Singing is not new to them.

During the mass, Mia did the psalm. During the communion song ( a medley of Night of Silence and Silent Night ) Michelle joined her two daughters in the singing. Then they did O HOLY NIGHT after which the congregation broke into an applause.

Then all of us went home after church..Recieved accolades as we passed out of the church..Some old ladies said they were happy to see and hear my two grand daughters back.

I was so glad when the mass was over. Never had I felt so good because I realize that even if the chips are down and problems spring out,, God is always around to help !!

Mia giving Chloe a buss

 

Chloe checking what Santa gave her..Penny for your thoughts, Emma..:)

 

Grandparents do love their grandkids...:)

 

Grandma's Delights...

 

All Dillon wants for Christmas is a front tooth..Say Merry Christmas, Dillon!

 

Chloe. I call her baby Berna..She is very similar to her Mom, including the way she sucks her thumb...:)

 

Last but not the least: Boppy!!! He had lots of Turkey  for Christmas dinner..:D

 

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE AND ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

movie making in BC

Lights..camera...action!

BC style...

..And I thought that Toronto is Hollywood North ( at least that is what the press agents say re: my city ) until I learned a large number of movies were shot in B.C.

Many were good, a few were stinkers...

In 1971, Robert Altman directed the western McCabe and Mrs. Miller.. This was shot in the Lower Mainland. So was The Accused with Jodie Foster and also I, Robot the sci-fi thriller with Will Smith that grossed about 350 million $ worldwide..

In one of our walks downtown, Rain pointed out to me a restaurant/hotel which is the hang out of many Hollywood celebrities when they are doing some film work in Vancouver..

Of course, there are also some turkeys, e.g. Are We There Yet?..Vancouver International Airport doubled as Oregon city's airport. Yes, it was Ice Cube's attempt to do a comedy which was not at all funny...

Fairmount Hotel Vancouver ( 900 West Georgia st. ) was the scene of a shootout involving George Segal and some baddies. Of course, they were using blanks. The film centered on a plot to assasinate Soviet Premier Alexi Kosygin and the climactic gun battle took place in the hotel's famous green rooftop. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the title. It was Russian Roulette.

At 750 Hornby street, you will find the Vancouver Art Gallery. This is better known because of its Emily Carr and Group of Seven Paintings..The venerable Gallery was renamed Coolsonian Criminology Museum in the movie Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.If you grew up watching Scooby Doo cartoons on saturday mornings, you might love this movie which sometimes feature fart- related jokes..:)

Lucy Liu one of the recent Asian actresses who made a name as a good swordswoman was filmed in  a movie here called Ballistics: Ecks vs. Sever..In the Vancouver Public Library ( 350 West Georgia st. ) her character wipes out a bunch of Defence Intelligence Agency baddies who are pursuing her. And I thought there should always be silence inside public libraries...

Gastown was also the location of Halle Berry's characterization of Catwoman..Halle looked seductive in her tight leather outfit ( according to some reports, many times her pants wouldrip at the wrong places forcing the director to shout "cut" because just too much skin is revealed ) ..The leading man is Benjamin Bratt ( Law and Order ).

Did you like Catwoman?Miami Herald's Connie Ogle wrote "Catwoman does not belong to the big screen. It belongs to the litterbox.." I liked it, because I like to see STORM wearing tight leather pants and bouncing off sky scrapers..:) Story wise, I do agree with Connie Ogle.

See?..I really wished I stayed in Vancouver longer than 6 days..Six weeks will be more like it..Beyond six weeks, I may hate to leave the place already ----#

 

Flight from Toronto to Vancouver

Air travel is not what it used to be..But all things fair, first let us look at the bright side and hear  the good news....

The night before my trip, I printed my boarding pass in a laser printer in my basement. And I am glad I did  because it saved me several minutes in the lineup. Passengers who hated computers have a long line up because they still want the airline staff to print their boarding passes for them.. There is a separate line up for those with preprinted boarding passes. First a receptionist would scan the bar code on the Pass and match the name to my ID with a photo..Next, I would drop off my check- in luggage to be weighed, leave it  on the transport belt, then proceed to the Security area with my carry on luggage.

And again I subjected myself to that humiliating exercise of being frisked and poked with a metal detector by a gauntlet of guards who think you are carrying an explosive device to blow yourself up inside one of their planes. Surprise,surprise,  I came out clean as a whistle.

Then inside the plane I found the seat written on my home made boarding pass... There was a small LCD monitor that shows the map of Canada from Ontario to British Columbia.  And for 5$, you can watch a new movie to make your trip less boresome... If you doze off while watching the film, I do not think your money will be refunded.

Instead of a movie.I opted for a "fresly made" cheese sandwich offered by the air line for the price of $6. The cheese tasted like soap.

Then came the take off. The Captain seemed to have been a stand in comic before he got his wings.."Please do not smoke inside the wash room," he quipped.."If you do, you will be asked to leave the plane through a special door in the left wing and jumped out without a parachute..."Nobody laughed because I do not think anybody is listening to these precautionary advices.

At first we were traveling inside an endless cloudbank. There was no turbulence anyway so I continued staring at the map on the monitor in front of me with the small plane ( that's us ). The plane's speed at that time wasaround 550 miles and hour. As boredom set in I started looking at my watch frequently or look at some quaint cloud formations imagining a group of angels watching us . But once I looked down, I saw an Air Canada plane slid by below us traveling in the opposite direction. And the plane looked big! Means the paths of the two planes were pretty damned close! My boredom was shaken off. But there was nothing I can do.What, tell the next passenger to me I believe there had a been a close mid air collision?.

Maybe it was not so good looking outside after all. I went back staring at the stupid map. The plane was already over Alberta..

A few minutes later the cloudbank dissapeared. The view below was gorgeous. One minute you would see some lakes and rivers in a plain of pure snow. The highways look like thread laid down in a staright line going in and out of nowhere. Then the rivers and lakes dissapear into one endless plain of snow..Not even city clusters or even a single barn or silo. But the view from the top is absolutely enthralling...

Yes, I did take this shot from my seat as the plane passed over Alberta..

Then the plains started to grow mountains. At first there are just small ones with some lakes in between.  Then  the mountain ranges started growing bigger.Half an hour before touch down, I saw nothing below but mountain peaks covered with snow and ice, like gigantic mounds of ice cream.Or small sandhills made from white sands usually found in Boracay.

The view of the Canadian Rockies from 34,000 feet was so majestic and astounding that one could not help ( upon seeing this arial view ) but remember a paragraph from the hymn  "How Great Thou Art.."

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

'Tis the season to be ....?

ANATOMY OF A MANGER----The "building" itself is a speaker enclosure..The woofers & tweeters are dead but the box itself was still in good condition. I ripped the innards out, then put in the creche I got from Goodwill for a couple of bucks..The other background is an old facade of a "palace" a remnant of a bigger artwork,, It was a discard so I got it only for a buck..I used this as a background for the 3 magi..I got the 3 kings from some old boxes in my basement..

 

MANGER IN A BIRDBATH--This birdbath stayed in the backyard the whole summer. Then it fell  and one of the birdie tails broke off..No problem. Fixed it with glue..THen I saw this Jesus, Mary, Joseph figures, one of th earliest manger set I had ( I now have at least 6 sets ) and put them there. These figures are small, mind you. But the the Sony Digicam I placed it close to the figures. The MACRO of the lens feature kicked off and it gave a decent  close up shot of the figures...The MACRO is a lens feature that enables you to get sharp looking  close up shots of miniatures..Assuming you have a steady hand...:)

 

..Same subject, different angle...

 

THE GLASS MANGER SET--A few days ago, I set up this manger set outside our front door. I "glued" the glass figures on the concrete slab with water..It was simply pouring ample water on the slab after the figures are there..With a sub zero temperature, the water turned to ice and "glued" the figures to the slab. Including the artificial hay ....

 

That afternoon the first major snowstorm in Toronto came...At first, the whole set was covered with snow..I simply brushed off the snow, then built a "wall" at the back...Thenfixed some lights around the set.  The very bright lights are plastic angels covering the tiny light bulbs..Plus some colored lights that came free if you surrender some old fashioned Xmas lights that are  not electricity savers..Ontario Hydro is now doing everything to conserve energy..especially this Xmas season..:)

 

Same subject, without any flash...

decorations, part 2

the true meaning of Christmas...

Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

"Glory to God in the  highest heaven and peace on earth to those with whom He is pleased.."

All of these angel decors were bought AFTER CHRISTMAS when they are slashed in price rather than be brought back to the stock room..Some have lights, some don't, but they are garbed in breathtaking costimes are their faces are..how can I say it in a better word, angelic...

 

When the angels went away from them back into heaven, the shepherds  said to one another,  "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the angel has told us.."

The manger persons I bought from a Carlton card store in Toronto a few days before Christmas and I had to wait in line. The price was already marked down at that time.  I also was lucky having bought the last box ( with all the pieces tucked neatly inside ). The "house"  was bought somewhere else, and the sheep were bought from  a Dollar store...

 

 a night view of the Manger....no flash from the camera

 

So, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger. When the shepherds saw him, they told  them what the angel had said about the child. All who heard it were amazed at  what the shepherds said..

This decor ( a one piece manger with all the characters glued together ) I bought from a Goodwill store..The price was an amazing 2.50 $..But its value is one hundred times more than its buying price..

 

Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. The shepherds went back, singing praises to Godfor all they have heard and seen; it has just as the angels have told them..---#

AMEN, ALLELUIA....!!!

christmas decorations

I AM A CAMERA..

Specifically a SONY cyber-shot. My tag price?..149.00 Canadian on which 16% tax would be added to the price once you decide to buy me.

Some of my cousins go as high as 1,000$..But what the heck I can do so many of the basic things they can do. And the most basic of these is to take digital pictures to be used in the Internet.

Do not be misled by my tag price. In fact when I came to the household where I am now, I am more used than my other cousin, a Canon something.Its tag price is almost seven times higher than mine...Even the labels do not mean anything.

What matters is how you handle the camera, what to shoot, how to shoot and what kind of effect you are trying to achieve..

I, together with the person who handled me, created the following photos...Figure out what the photos are trying to convey..Because after all, photography is also an art. An art intends to tell the beholder a message, a statement, a lesson..

An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone over them. "Don't be afraid, I am here with good news for you which will bring great joy to all people.."

This shot was taken in a certain setting where the light is dim, but the flash is kept out of auto..That means the camera would click and would take the image even if it is dark...

 

If you go to another setting, the flash will pop and will reveal the actual figures..The low priced camera has these features...

 

Joseph went from the town of Nazareth to the town of Bethlehem in Judea because he was a descendant of David. He went to register with Mary who was promised in marraige to him...

Again the first setting, this time covering a more extensive view of the town..

 

The houses shown here are made of porcelain and they have their own bulbs..The houses are Victorian style and not the Biblical ones  found during the time of the first Christmas...

 

3 figures ( Jesus, Mary and Joseph ) were placed in a bird bath made of porcelain..Instead of animals adoring the bay, we have birds..

 

These Manger pieces are made of crystal. We bought them during an after Christmas sale when every thing is really, really cheap...

One Christmas season, I placed them outside of the house on a cement slab near the door.  I made for them a small cave made of ice and snow ( an igloo ) and it really blended well with the figures. They seemed to  have been made of ice...

Nelly's Toronto Concert

Remember the Nelly Furtado article I published a few days back?*..Well, on the Monday  issue of the METRO , a Toronto daily newspaper, Miguelita and I saw her photo on its front page. So she did really come here for a fund raising concert, not just to visit her daughter's dad.

She performed at the ELGIN  one of the Broadway style theatres that usually show concerts, Christmas specials and similar events..Toronto has its own Broadway live theatre strip.

She  raised about $500,000 that Monday night for Gilda's Club Greater Toronto, a cancer support support group. The concert was called IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING.

Photo's caption read SHE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING..

Ain't that the truth...

*   http://journals.aol.ca/mabait42/ASINGANIAN-JOURNAL-book2/entries/2007/11/22/nelly-furtado-visits-toronto-library/495

The killer quake of '90...

by Sonny Espejo

 

Earthquake. I also learned of it thru the chikka messenger. I called my wife and kids one by one and it seems like I’m more concerned than they are. No worries, they assured me, just a mild one.

Those of us who lived through the horrors of the 1990 killer quake are understandably panicky. I was in Candon, Ilocos Sur when that big one happened, supervising the construction of a four-story school building for the St Paul sisters at St Joseph Academy. Suddenly the terrifying tremors started accompanied by a deep rumbling, gently at first but growing stronger by the second, and then the earth trembled in its full fury for a seemingly endless duration.

Suddenly, in the school square where I was trying desperately to stay upright, wailing and hysterical High School kids converge with the nuns and teachers and my construction crew. It was pandemonium in the face. I never saw such a diverse group pray so hard and so desperately! Verily, in times like those, there are no atheist. Three or four more after-shocks happened within minutes of each other. And while the children are hauled off one by one by alarmed parents, and the teachers scampered towards home, Me and my construction gang who are mostly from Baguio and Asingan are left to assess the damages to our project.

A tumbled wall of freshly piled hollow blocks, some broken urinals, un-used concrete mixes, etc. –they’re the least of our worries. In our minds is the nagging question – are our families in Baguio and Pangasinan safe? We have to spend the night still in Candon because bridges are impassable. Power lines lay strewn all over the road. Telephone lines or what’s left of them are clogged.

And what a long and harrowing night it was, especially when the transistor radio broke in the news of death and devastation in Baguio, Dagupan, Cabanatuan and all other places. Fear and anxiety engulfed us despite reassurances from our local friends. All we want is go home; and go home we did at the first crack of dawn – walking, riding, climbing, wading and all the time thinking of home. I could never forget that.

Where were you when that monster happened?

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

I was in Toronto when it happened..But I heard a few weird stories about  it..

** On a Sunday before the quake, a priest got a letter asking him to tell his congregation there will be an earthquake..Of course he did not read the letter otherwise there will be a panic ..And what if it did not happen?..But then, it did.Who but God would know what will happen next?.

** a beggar was asking for some food in a restaurant in Pangasinan. He was rudely shooed away, the beggar said.."something will happen to you in a few days.." When the quake struck, his restaurant toppled and he died under the rubble..

** a few hours before the quake started, the cloud formation atop a Pangasinan town took on the shape of a broom..After the quake, the whole town was wiped out as if a giant broom swept it away..

My sister Ester Costes Lomboy was in Asingan  during the killer quake.." The ground was  turning around like a phonograph platter, aside from that,  it was also rising up and down..After it stopped I run home, expecting that our house had gone down..When I saw it was still standing, I almost broke into tears.."

Francis ( Belo ) Malala related to me: "I was biking on my way home from Bantog. Then the ground shook..I saw the ground starting to open; I thought my bike and I would be swallowed by the crack, which was quite deep.."

the baguio killer quake....

The Baguio Earthquake in 1990...

submitted by Rain

During that quake in 1990, where i was working for 9 years in Baguio, first I felt the the ground  rumble and rain started to fall like snow....

 

I was working when the quake happened. Power was shut off..Everything went dark...Everyone was running towards the exits....

 

Outside, everyone was wet because of the rains..Rains plus the shaking and the rumbling sound....

 

Baguio turned out to be a ghost town suddenly  because many people died...Saw a few of them... 

 

I lost my shoes while running..I stepped on broken glass..but I felt no pain because I was soo scared..I thought I would die..!

 

Then I found later that all communications were cut off....People were crying and praying..walking from our houses ....

 

My eyes saw the company beside my place of work crumble....The skies were dark because of the rain..the grounds were shaking ceaselessly..It really felt like the end of the world!

 

I fell on my knees, cried while I was praying hard....!!!!

 

This happened around 2:00 pm....What happened within the the next 24 hours was really unforgettable....People were lining up for food..There were lots of dead bodies all around us..Lots of debris,  people crying..it was terrible....!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honorees of the Asinganians Canada ( Toronto )

Consul General Atty. Mosquera has inducted a new set of Officers of Asinganians of Canada.
 

The honorees are:

Sonny Espejo's poem in the original Tagalog and an English translation...

I  wrote this  short "tula" on the eve of our "Babang-Luksa" for my beloved son, Isagani Jr. (Jay-ar) which is the main reason why I recently  took a short vacation.  It aims to rationalize the deep, deep loss somehow; and to strengthen our faith that he is now happy with the Lord.

Sonny Espejo

 

Ako Lahat Sila

I AM ALL OF THEM

 

Huwag mo nang tangisan ang aking puntod

Wala ako diyan, di ako natutulog!

Bulong mong dasal, bulaklak mong dulot

Salamat, salamat, huwag ka ng malungkot!

 

Please do not cry over my grave,

I am not there nor do I sleep

Your whispered pray'rs, the flowers you gave

A million thank- yous, again please do not grieve

 

Huwag mo akong hanapin, di ako nawawala

Sa maranyang memorial park di mo ‘ko makikita

Ako’y hanging amihang haplosmo sa umaga

Ako’y ang pagaspas ng mga ibong kumakanta!

Don't look for me, I didn't go away

In this memorial park, you could never see me

I am the North Wind, that blows in the morning

I am the ballad that all the happy birds sing

 

Nakikita mo ba ang bughaw, ningning ng ulap,

Ang luntiang parang, hamog na kumikislap?

Sila’y Ako at ako’y sila, di mo pa ba nakikita?

Di ako nawala, huwag ka ng lumuha pa!

Can you see the  clouds upon the blue?

The verdant fields, sometimes filled with dew?

I am them, they  are me, can't you see?

I never left you, so please don't cry for me!

 

Ako ay sanlibot sanlaksang mga bituin

Ang liwanag ng buwan sa gabing matulain

Himig na maganda, tugtuging indakin

Ako lahat sila, lagi mo sanang iisipin,

 

Nandito lang ako at lagimong kapiling!

 

I am the thousand stars that gleam above

The effervescent moon rays on a poetic night of love

The beautiful music, the dancing filled with glee

I am all of these, so always remember me!

 

 

I am always here forever... beside all of you!!

###############

English translation  and photographs by

Victorio D. Costes

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

a comment on Sonny Espejo's poem....

Comment from rickytagamanaoag
20/11/07 3:00 AM | Permalink

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    How sweet it is to read such a moving tribute of a father to a son. Thank you for sharing such a personal moment in your family's life. I don't know you Sonny, but I know of what you've written on this board, be it in the political arena, social, and personal events. To say that this tragedy befalling your young family's life is devastating is an understatement. It is incomprehensible and unimaginable, to say the least, but you managed to capture the essence of what it's like for a parent to lose a child.
    I remember your daughter's words about their relationship, and in her young mind how she also  likened his spirit to her guardian angel, her superhero. Young minds cope with tragedies much better than we adults.
    You "rationalizing" your loss must be a healing process. Oh, what it must be like for your wife! I don't envy the circumstance, but I do envy the pillar of strength around her. Take care of your family Sonny, you've got a great thing going.

 

*****

 

 

Nelly Furtado visits Toronto Library

NELLY VISITS QUEEN/SAULTER LIBRARY

Did you know that today Thursday, November 22, Nelly Furtado, the well known pop singer visited the Queen/Saulter Library ?..She was wearing a toque with a very plain, informal get up that NOBODY except a Library staff recognized her. The library staff brought this matter to Miguelita and she approached her.

Then Miguelita introduced herself to Nelly because the dad of her daughter Nevis is Jasper Gahunia. Jasper's ( who is also a record producer ) Mom is from the Philippines. And Miguelita is a close relative of her mom Thelma who belongs to the Tabayoyong family.

Nelly dropped by the library and then she read a story to her child, Nevis while they were in the Children's section.. She dedicated her latest album to her. Upon learning that Miguelita is related to Nevis dad she told her to "hug grandma.." Which she did.

"Did you take a photo?" I asked Miguelita. "No I did not.I did not have my camera with me."

 

She got a hug from Nevis...

 

"Did you get her autograph?"

" I forgot, but my staff got one from her.."

She stayed in the library for almost an hour. From the library, they will be visiting Jasper's Mom Thelma who lives in Toronto.---#

more photos from the ASINGANIAN INDUCTION BALL IN TORONTO

Okay, we have Edgar Resulto ( in blue barong ), then Barbara Soberano Pascua, then Miguelita H. Costes. Looking out from behind is Ely Pascua, Barbara's better half...

 

starting from left: Miguelita, Barbara, then Lori Torres-Pearson class 1965 of the Rizal Academy. Beside Lori is her husband Kenneth Pearson the Global Director of HATCH. It is a company which deals with Mining and Metal Processing. Behind ( again ) is Ely.

Lori asked about the whereabouts of Nely Isaac who happened to be her high school classmate. Lori already met their class valedictorian  Alex Tanwanco. Lori, by the way is a sister of Atty. Villamor Torres who was also one of the honorees during the ball.---#

 

Remy Manuel and a good friend...( somebody e-mail me her name, please?)

 

Remy with Columbia Tarape-Diaz from Bantog, Asingan. Coco ( Columbia's nickname ) is one of the founders of this Association..

 

Hey, every one is smiling from ear to ear. They must have had a yummy dinner!!

"Tilyar manen.."

The following photos looked as if they were shot in Asingan around the 50's or '60s. But it was taken by Sammy Antonio around the wide rice plains of Texas.One can see the image of a McCormick rice thresher known locally ( at least in Asingan anyway ) as the "tilyar" or "tilyadora".

It was a big metallic monster, complete with iron claws, metallic intestines and an aperture that spews out the golden palay ( husked rice ) into a sack.

The machine is so noisy, dusty and enviromentally unfriendly because of the fine dust ( bodo ) that it creates. But it does save a lot of manpower working on those rice stalks separating the palay from the straw.

 

It was my brother Donato Costes who once  operated a rice thresher. He slept in the field where the machine was: thresher, tractor, a platform scale ( simbangan ) used to weigh the sack ful of palay. His workers used thick clothes and hats even if the weather was so warm. In order not to inhale the fine dust, they use a bandana to wrap their faces. They would like stagrcoach robbers from the cowboy movies.

Yes, as Sammy Antonio mentioned, there was always a festive mood when the tilyar rumbles into the barangay. Palay means money. The hardworking farmer would again taste the fruits of his labor after the sacks of husked rice are stored under his house...

photos by Sammy....

from inside his car, a glimpse "deep in the heart of Texas.."

 

There it is, still alive and kicking here in Texas...

 

A "kuliglig" salesman should introduce his stuff to these American farmers...

 

What's the machine doing there?..It is supposed to be working!

christmas in asingan ( long time ago )

SPIRITS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

...in Asingan

Christmas lights in front of Alex Romero's house, taken 2003

Before the town fiesta arrives, another happy event in Asingan would be the Christmas season. The last Christmas which I attended in our hometown took place about 5-6 years ago. We went home on a Dec. 4 and came back to Toronto the following December 31. After a 24 hour flight, we touched down in Toronto a few hours before the parting of the new and old year because Manila has about 12 hours time difference with Toronto..

Thinking of it now, there were a few peculiar highlights of this trip. When we traveled to Pangasinan after a few days in Manila to recover from the ordeal of the long trip, I relished the sights in Tarlac where the Christmas lights were in full regalia..

And I thought there is a shortage of electric power here, I asked my companions..The towns and cities of Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan were bright with Christmas lights of all shapes, sizes and colours When we reached Asingan we saw many houses bright with their own Christmas lights. The Municipio itself looked a bit like Disneyland at night time.

Then the Misa de Gallo commenced when December 16 rolled around. In the new Asingan church, the singers, mostly students from the Rizal Academy were accompanied by huge speakers driven by powerful amplifiers. They were playing karaoke tracks of Christmas carols even if the season was still advent.

 

Ah the Misa de Gallo. I spent many Misa de Gallos in that choir loft over the old church ( before the big one in 1990 which toppled the whole church  like a pack of cards.)

In 1960, the choir was accompanied by a violinist from Urdaneta, Mr. Jose de Guzman, the father of the incumbent priest, Fr, Lazaro de Guzman. The organist was Mrs. Fe Diaz Acosta, the sister of the late Atty. Rustico Diaz, Sr. She played the keyboard very well and she also had a very sweet angelic voice. Another musician, a violinist, was Mier Gacusana from Dupac. One choir member called him Jose Jr. because he played the violin fairly well. And so, I had the taste of working with the choir, no pay but each Misade Gallo, we had breakfast every morning. Sometimes the dogs in the priest's house would beat us to it. While we were singing, they were sampling our breakfast until there was nothing more left..

In the evenings, we went caroling. It was another non paying gig. But once in a while, some houseowners served arroz caldo. I brought an old acoustic guitar, Mier brought his violin and his sense of humour and a priest would always accompany us to keep the girls away from the boys..Caroling ended at 12:00 midnight, Misa de Gallo commenced at 4:00 and so there was not much sleep in between..

When Fr. Ferrer took over the church after Fr. de Guzman, some of the old choir members stayed, but they missed the easy and playful ways of Fr. de Guzman.. There was no more caroling. But the Misa de Gallo went on just the same. Sometimes there was breakfast, sometimes there was none.

But he always treated the choir with a picnic after the Xmas season ( usually after the New Year. ) One time, we went to a fishpond in Binmaley. I could not forget the menu then. There were boiled crabs, big shrimps, fried fish, and lots of oysters. The food was laid out on several layers of banana leaves.. Some of us used pieces of banana leaves as plates and we ate with our hands. There is nothing like eating with your bare hands especially if you are feasting on sea foods...

Such were my memories of the Christmas past---#

---vdc

The  Yuletide decor in the facade of the former Rizal Academy, circa 2003