Back to the Philippines » Interesting websites http://www.backtothephilippines.com An Overseas Filipino Returns Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:31:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Funny Pedring Photos and the Floating DPWH Officials http://www.backtothephilippines.com/funny-pedring-photos-and-the-floating-dpwh-officials/ http://www.backtothephilippines.com/funny-pedring-photos-and-the-floating-dpwh-officials/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:23:00 +0000 mixxy http://www.backtothephilippines.com/?p=1080 Just a few days ago the latest uproar in Philippine cyberspace was the Anti-Planking Law being proposed by a lawmaker.  I only recently knew about this “Planking” thing about a few months ago, thanks to Facebook and all.  I’m really so behind with the times.

What’s even funnier than this Planking mania are these photos circulating the web about the Floating DPWH Officials and these kids playing amidst the huge Manila Bay wave.  It’s definitely both an OMG and a LOL at the same time, at least inside my head.

The following are the photos and links to the sites… It’s definitely an “upper” for me after such a disastrous start of the week, power failures and all.

This photo courtesy of Mr. Paul Payumo (of Facebook fame)

Floating DPWH Officials

The Photoshop fiasco started when a certain Civil Engineer named Pierre Albert San Diego who claimed that those photos released in the DPWH Facebook site was a poorly done Photoshop fabrication.  What a shame, indeed.   Then after this, several more funny Photoshopped versions of the 3 officials was circulating from the web, like for example: 3 officials with Lord Voldemort, 3 officials with Shamcey Supsup. 3 officials inside a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao.  You can find it all here and here (DPWhere Facebook Page).

Here is DPWH’s response on this Photoshop fiasco.

DPWH Official Statement

And lastly, here’s another bonus:

I hope her iPad is still dry and intact

]]> http://www.backtothephilippines.com/funny-pedring-photos-and-the-floating-dpwh-officials/feed/ 1 In praise of the Philippine blog community http://www.backtothephilippines.com/in-praise-of-the-philippine-blog-community/ http://www.backtothephilippines.com/in-praise-of-the-philippine-blog-community/#comments Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:07:27 +0000 mixxy http://backtothephilippines.com/personal/in-praise-of-the-philippine-blog-community/ img_8602-small.jpg First of all, I just wanted to say that inspite of my headache today (maybe because it’s very cold here!) I am very much encouraged by all the comments I received after re-launching this blog. During the past weeks, I discovered and read a lot of blogs from people from all walks of life. One thing that I deeply appreciate is the willingness of people to share their knowledge about blogging and setting up a blog, and how things work in the blogosphere of which I consider myself a newbie. They have all been my mentors, so to speak and my entertainers as well! I honestly admit that I do not only read blogs about money, travel and finance, even online entrepreneurship (serious stuff) but I do follow personal blogs as well and you know the “chismis” (gossip) and “kwentuhan” (storytelling) kind of blogs of which many Filipinos are addicted to reading (admit it). But one thing also that impressed me are the quality of blogs of some high school students I came across lately. Their journalism teachers must be so proud of them! When I was in highschool our Journalism teacher even forced us to write a journal! Now, they do it on their own and are even making some money out of it.

I have heard of Adsense before but I never really took it seriously until I spoke to a relative of mine casually and asked him about his job experience since he was interested in applying for jobs here and he said that he earns a living mainly from Adsense and Affiliating Marketing. At first I was doubtful how that could happen but that stuck in my mind. I had not exchanged emails with him for a while but now I probably know how he did it ;-) . But anyways, I am always elated whenever I read news and stories about fellow Filipinos who made a living from the internet who would have otherwise stayed in poverty or depended on jobs that lead nowhere.

We now even have our own Philippine Blog Awards. I mean, I really have missed a lot this past few years not knowing how developed and mainstream blogging is in the Philippines. I also noticed a lot of bloggers from Davao lately. And I mean everywhere, even in Friendster, I have friends who proudly say they live in Davao and love it. I am really intrigued by this city and who knows I might pay a visit this year. However, I admit when I finally move to the Philippines I am biased towards living in a Tagalog-speaking area because I only know Tagalog and I am quite bad at learning a new language. After having lived in a Dutch-speaking country for 2 years I know how difficult it feels if you are surrounded by people who don’t speak your language. At this point I am no longer motivated to learn a new language, it’s really just me.. but anyways.. I really want to see that city and also Boracay. Yes, I know.. I maybe one of the last few overseas pinoys out there who has not seen Boracay (blush). I do envy people who have visited places like Palawan, Ilocos, Banawe. It’s really crazy to think that I’ve seen places like Trondheim or Milan when I have not even seen Vigan!

Another one that deserves to mention are the talented Vloggers I have found lately such as Komikero and HappySlip. They really deserve the recognition they are now getting.
I wanted to mention all of the blogs I have been reading lately but even if I wanted to link, there’s just so much of them it’s hard to pick from all of them. Maybe later when I do have the time I can select a few to put in my reading list / blogroll.

]]> http://www.backtothephilippines.com/in-praise-of-the-philippine-blog-community/feed/ 9 Learning more about Philippine History http://www.backtothephilippines.com/are-you-interested-in-the-history-of-the-philippines/ http://www.backtothephilippines.com/are-you-interested-in-the-history-of-the-philippines/#comments Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:31:00 +0000 mixxy http://backtothephilippines.com/news/are-you-interested-in-the-history-of-the-philippines/ Do you want to refresh your knowledge of Philippine history? Or perhaps you’ve never visited the country but would like some background information. Did you know that there is a wealth of information available in the internet and most of it is free. I could not believe that I was able to find these Filipino classics downloadable:

Noli Me Tangere (in Dutch)
This the National Hero Jose Rizal’s most famous and greatest work. It is fiction but it mirrors the life under Spanish colonization. This is part of the curriculum in Filipino secondary education.

The Reign of Greed (El Filibusterismo in English)
This is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and is normally taught to Senior high school students in the Philippines.

Here are really old e-books of really old history books you might be enthralled to see and they are all downloadable:

Manila and Philippines Hamm, Margherita Arlina, 1871-1907

A History of the Philippines Barrows, David Prescott, 1873-1954

And that is not all, in the site Internet Archive, if you enter “Philippines” in your keyword search you would find all sorts of old and new historical books and even videos and movies contributed by individuals all around the world.

However, some of you may want an actual book to read in bed or want the latest publications about Philippine history or culture. Here are examples of books and media I have found to be interesting:

MP3 Download:

]]> http://www.backtothephilippines.com/are-you-interested-in-the-history-of-the-philippines/feed/ 1 A Dutch Cafe in Manila http://www.backtothephilippines.com/a-dutch-cafe-in-manila/ http://www.backtothephilippines.com/a-dutch-cafe-in-manila/#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:32:00 +0000 mixxy http://backtothephilippines.com/news/a-dutch-cafe-in-manila/ Hey! I found a Dutch Cafe right in the heart of Manila called Juris Cafe. My husband was so thrilled to see that they serve Bitterballen, Stamppot with Andijvies and Unox sausage and sinigang which are his favorites. Wow, they also serve Belgian beers. The owner is also an Amsterdammer. Can’t wait to visit that place.

]]> http://www.backtothephilippines.com/a-dutch-cafe-in-manila/feed/ 5 Making money with Carabao Milk http://www.backtothephilippines.com/making-money-with-carabao-milk/ http://www.backtothephilippines.com/making-money-with-carabao-milk/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:05:00 +0000 mixxy http://backtothephilippines.com/news/making-money-with-carabao-milk/
Here’s an article I found lately. It’s old but it talks of a smart guy from Talavera, Nueva Ecija who put the Carabao milk on the mainstream and he does have a great idea for OFW’s who want to invest. The name of his company is DVF Dairy Farm.
More details on this article: Milking the Profits.

Credits for above photo go to: Philippine Pictures

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