September 30, 2011

Josh Page Singing "Rainbow Connection"

Just a quick post. I saw Josh Page’s video singing “Rainbow Connection” on Facebook. Dale Bacar shared it on his Facebook Wall. I loved his voice instantly! He reminds me of Josh Groban. He’s also cute.

Here’s Josh Page singing “Rainbow Connection”. Visit his YouTube Channel here to hear his other songs.

He’s cute and his voice is fabulous.

Pasig City’s Ordinance No. 9

IMG_4088

I saw this huge sign at KFC-Pasig earlier when I ordered box-of-six. It reads:

“Pasig City Ordinance #9 series of 2010, “An Ordinance banning the use of any form of plastic bags on dry goods and regulating its utilization on wet goods, as well as the use of Styrofoam and similar materials as containers for food, produce and other products, providing penalties for its violation thereof and for other purposes”, applies specifically to “PLASTIC BAG” (including plastic straw) & “STYROFOAM FOOD CONTAINERS” and NOT to plastic cutleries, plastic dining wares & plastic kitchen wares utilized by fast food restaurants to serve food and drinks.” Starting July 1, 2011

That explains why KFC and Jollibee are no longer using plastic bags. I wonder how McDonalds, Pizza Hut and other fast food chains are doing. I felt like I am in the United States where paper bags are part of their everyday life.

I must say, it’s one of the best ordinance ever passed by the City Government of Pasig. I just hope that they would have the will-power to implement this for more than 1 year. I hope it’s not a “ningas-kugon” (something that doesn’t last) or simple publicity.

BTW, Jollibee’s paper bags were supplied by Detpak.

IMG_4090IMG_4092IMG_4093

Technorati Tags: ,

September 29, 2011

RWC 2011 Fan Art Competition

Another exciting side event of the upcoming Ragnarok World Championship 2011 in Seoul, South Korea is the Fan Art Competition. It’s amazing to know that there are so many talented artists who are also fan of the online game Ragnarok.

Here are some of the entries for this year’s Fan Art Competition:

brazil fan artfan art philippinesfan art usindonesia fan artjapan fan art 2japan fan art 3japan fan art 4japan fan artkorea fan arttaiwan fan art 2taiwan fan artthailand fan art

Who do you think would bring home the prize?

September 25, 2011

RWC 2011 Cosplay Competition

This year, cosplay competition is one of the side events of Ragnarok World Championship in Seoul, Korea. Cosplay has been integrated into the Ragnarok world since it was launched in 2003. Here in the Philippines, cosplay always takes place on Day 2 of the annual Level Up! Live. It’s one of the most favorite part of the celebration.

Let’s take a look at the 2011 Cosplay Competition entries from different participating countries. As you can see, the Archbishop is a favorite character to cosplay, as well as the Stalker, Ninja, and Royal Guard. The Philippine entries are the Soul Linker, Royal Guard and the male Ranger.

1_600x450

Soul Linker

2_600x450b

Arch-Bishop

5_600x450

Ranger

7_600x450 alche japan

Royal Guard and Alchemist

japan ab japan ninja

Arch-Bishop and Ninja

 KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Priest

 japan ranger japan rg

Sniper and Crusader

 korea ab korea ninja

Arch-Bishop and Taekwon Master

 korea rogue 2 stalker thailand

Stalkers

 thailand wizard

Wizard

 us alche

Alchemist

 us priest

Priest

September 24, 2011

Kwek-Kwek

One of the most popular street food is Kwek-Kwek. It’s quail egg wrapped in a crispy, orange-coating. Being Filipino, it’s one of my favorite meryenda (snack). For the longest time, I thought it’s food coloring that gives the Kwek-Kwek it’s color. I finally searched for the recipe of this popular snack and found out that it’s in fact Atsuete (Annatto) that gives the color. 

IMG_1527IMG_1528IMG_1529

Here’s the recipe taken for Panlasang Pinoy:

Ingredients:

12 to 18 pieces boiled quail eggs

1 cup flour

3 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp. annatto powder (pinulbos na atsuete)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 cups cooking oil

Cooking procedure:

1. Place the cornstarch in a container and dredge the boiled quail eggs. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper then mix thoroughly.

3. Dilute the annatto powder in warm water then pour-in the mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well.

4. Place all the quail eggs in the mixing bowl and coat with the batter.

5. Heat the pan and pour the cooking oil.

6. When the oil is hot enough, deep-fry the quail eggs by scooping them from the mixing bowl using a spoon. Make sure that each is coated with batter.

7. After a few minutes, remove the fried quail eggs from the pan and place in a serving plate.

8. Serve with vinegar or fish ball sauce while still crispy. Share and Enjoy!

Miku, a guest from Panlasang Pinoy, also provided this recipe for the sauce:

Liwayway (gawgaw isang piraso …yung nasa papel ang packaging)
4 cups of water
5 tbsp. of Toyo (datu puti para dark talaga ang color)
Pepper
Sugar
Salt kung kulang pa sa alat.

Mix mo muna lahat yan sa saucepan. Pag na halo mo na ay saka mo painitan sa kalan at patuloy na haluin. Bago pa man kumulo iyan ay lalapot na yan. Patuloy na haluin hanggang sa makuha ang nais na lapot.

Lagyan ng sili bago patayin ang kalan kung gusto mong maging maanghang. Kung gusto mo ng medyo may lasa pa ay maglagay ng magic sarap.

Yan ang basic na recipe ng mga nakikita mo sa kalye.

*Liwayway is a brand of corn starch

*Datu Puti is a brand of soy sauce

(Mix all the ingredients first in the sauce pan. Once all the ingredients are mixed, heat up the pan and continue stirring. Even before it boils up, the sauce will thicken. Continue stirring until the desired thickness is achieved.

Put some chili pepper before turning off the stove if you want a hot sauce. If you want to add some flavor, put some Maggi Magic Sarap (a brand of seasoning).

That’s the basic recipe (of the sauce) that you’ll find on the street.)

Technorati Tags: ,

Ragnarok World Championship (RWC) 2011

The Official Website of this year’s Ragnarok World Championship (RWC) is open! Please click here to visit.

rwc 2011 logo

RWC is a yearly event amongst nations with Ragnarok Online. It consists of different events that culminates in a 7 x 7 match between teams from different countries.

It's been held since 2003 and continues to attract Ragnarok enthusiasts from all over South East Asia, the US, Brazil, and Europe.

It was held in Seoul, Korea since 2003. However, in 2008, it was held outside of Korea for the first time. I was there when it was held at the World Trade Center, Manila.

In 2009 it was held in Yokohama, Japan followed by Indonesia in 2010. This year, it's again being hosted by Korea with several side events like the Cosplay and Fan Art. The final match will be on October 11, 2011.

Good luck Team Philippines!

Tomorrow, I’ll be posting some of the most magnificent Cosplay entries for this year's Ragnarok World Championship. Oh, by the way, did I mention that I’m a huge Ragnarok fan and player? :)

September 23, 2011

Tobie and Rocky

Tobie and Rocky is one of the 4 gay couples that I truly admire. Today, I finally read the blog post on how Rocky narrates their beginning as a couple. I also found out that April 23, 2009 is their anniversary.

TobieAndRocky4

If I understood it correctly, sometime in 2007, Rocky accidentally took a picture of Tobie in a sci-fi convention. Rocky posted the said picture on the net when Tobie left a simple message saying that he’s the guy in the picture. It’s just a simple meet and greet and their love story didn’t took flight… yet.

Then they met online, the 2nd time, after almost 2 years. Tobie saw Rocky’s profile in a famous gay dating site. It was then that Rocky realized that Tobie is a true-blooded bisexual. It’s something that they talked about. They became friends and would just talk occasionally, as Rocky indicated, “with the random bit of flirting here and there online”.

In February 2009, they decided to meet in person just to play NetRunner (I never heard about this game, promise). Rocky invited Tobie and they’ve realized that there is “spark” between them. They’ve “connected” (sort of) to each other’s soul. They’ve enjoyed the night playing the game.

They’ve hang out all throughout Valentine’s Day 2009 together after that and they get to know each other even more. Rocky at this time, have a partner and he left out the details on how that old relationship ended.

Eventually, Rocky and Tobie reached a point where in their bond and their feelings to each other are just RIGHT. They started living together in their apartment called “The Sietch” and since then, they’ve become a couple.

TobieAndRocky2

Rocky, by the way, is a successful blogger and the name behind the blogThe Geeky Guide to Nearly Everythingand is the marketing manager of a BPO company. Tobie is also a blogger, an artist, comic book creator and is the author of The Garapata Can Speak”. He is also the boss of his own International Medical and Business Transcription Company.

Like the ending of the Harry Potter series, I can say that between Tobie and Rocky, all is well.

Technorati Tags: ,

September 22, 2011

The Poster Boys of Happy Gay Relationships

I currently have four Poster Boys of what a gay relationship is all about: Tiggah & Pooh, Mark & Kevin (of Westlife), Tobie & Rocky (more of them soon) and Neil & David.

Neil Patrick Harris is one of the most successful gay actor in Hollywood today. He was well known before as Doogie Howser and now as Barney Stinson (“How I Met Your Mother”). He was recently interviewed for Entertainment Weekly about being gay in Hollywood and here’s what he said:

“It was not this big secret that I was trying to keep. We crafted a statement that seemed appropriate and empowering, and then we let the cards fall where they may. I wanted to be honest about things. I was admittedly concerned about the public’s reaction, and I must say, the indifference that most people expressed was the greatest reaction of all—and a reflection of a nicely evolving culture. I enjoy that I can tweet pictures of my babies, 11-month-old twins Gideon and Harper, in the morning, then don the Barney suit and make out with a couple of chicks in the afternoon, and no one bats an eye.”

David Burtka on the other hand, is the biological father of the twins and a successful chef. They always look good together. I always love their pictures whenever they go public. I see them as lovers and as best buds. I would definitely love to see them get married soon in New York.

Hopefully, once Oreo is here with me, we could also have such gorgeous picture together. Hopefully, we could also be poster boys of happy gay relationships for others.

neil-patrick-harris-hollywood-walk-of-fame-02neil-patrick-harris-hollywood-walk-of-fame-10neil-patrick-harris-hollywood-walk-of-fame-11

Here’s also Neil’s interview with Ellen DeGeneres about the twins. Fabulous isn’t it?

Neil Patrick Harris talks about his twins.

September 18, 2011

Happy 2nd Anniversary Hon!

2nd anniversary

I can’t believe that today is our 2nd Anniversary! I checked my calendar twice, and yes, it is September 18 today. Our 2nd Year Anniversary!

Happy 2nd Anniversary Hon, my Oreo, my better-half, partner, lover, friend. You’re the one person that I imagine living the rest of my life with. Thank you for everything and I’m looking forward to see you again. I love you!

Like what Tobie (a blogger friend) said: “"Another year added to the rest of our lives together."

Technorati Tags: ,

September 17, 2011

Housing Project at Nagpayong, Pasig City

Way back in October 16, 2008, the city government of Pasig and Habitat for Humanity Philippines started to build a housing project for the poor residents of Pasig City. It’s located adjacent to the “Bahay Aruga”and “Bahay Pag-asa” and the Pasig City Jail, along Molave Street, Nagpayong, Brgy. Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City.

I’ve heard about this housing project from my mom and I decided to take some pictures. What I saw was about 3 housing buildings that are categorized as low-cost housing units. Unfortunately, after much publicity about this project and even with the partnership with the Pasig City Government, I haven’t seen a single, habitable unit in this housing project.

I’m calling the attention of volunteers and Mayor Bobby Eusebio to finish what they started. The project is half-way to completion and I hope they’ll put more efforts to finish what they started. If the city government of Pasig City can afford building an extravagant mansion for the juvenile delinquents, perhaps they should allot enough funds for the poor residents as well.

For further reading, click here.

Bahay Aruga 017Bahay Aruga 018Bahay Aruga 019Bahay Aruga 020Bahay Aruga 021Bahay Aruga 022Bahay Aruga 023Bahay Aruga 024Bahay Aruga 027