Looking over my prognostications for the last half of 2008, I’m happy to note that I got no better than a 71% accuracy rate. Which is fine, as the things I missed out on were the dire ones, like oil hitting US $ 200 a barrel and OFW remittances dropping (it has held firm year on year and has even risen slightly).

However… Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Sullivan in theatlantic.com writes a lucid and thought-provoking article on why he blogs, and the reasons he sets forth hold true for all of us. Aside from the need for self-expression, the standard explanation, there’s the adrenaline rush of thinking on your feet, and trying to put your musings and ideas into words with the immediacy inherent in the medium. It is “the spontaneous expression of instant thought“. As such, blogging can be addictive. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo from travelchannel.com

Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations” fame was in Manila to film his show and I wasn’t even aware of it until weeks after he left. My wife knew, but didn’t say a word, not knowing or caring who Mr. Bourdain was.

As always, I found out first from the blogs, notably marketmanila.com and food-stylingmanila.com. I was on the verge of tears and dying of envy of everyone who had a chance to interact with the Great Bourdain. Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of the show and when I got a copy of “No Reservations” the book, around this time last year, and saw that he had never been to the Philippines, I knew that it was only a matter of time before he landed on our fair shores and sampled our unique cuisine.

Well it happened, and he and his crew went in and out the country like ninjas, stealthily but effectively. They had no choice, I suppose, as the resulting media frenzy would have kept him from sampling the authentic grub which was their real objective. And they did their homework, zeroing in on the authoritative people who could give them a broad sampling of honest Filipino cooking at its best during their short stay. Guys like Market Man, Claude Tayag and Gene Gonzales. Read the rest of this entry »