Who do you think will win in the never-ending struggle between man and beast? In this video, which I think was taken at the Benguet State University, the beast appears to have won. Is this a sign of things to come? When the Apocalypse arrives, maybe the last creature standing will be a goat.
Category Archives: Benguet
Movie Review: Daan Patungong Kalimugtong/The Road to Kalimugtong
If you ever have the chance to watch the independent film Daan Patungong Kalimugtong, make sure you go watch it. (Or you might be better off buying a VCD/DVD copy if they are available because, as we noted in other movie reviews, digital Filipino films just do not translate well on big movie screens; they get overblown and lose much of their color.)
Kalimugtong is a really good film. Aside from the fact that it is well made, here are several reasons why I liked the movie: all the actors are our kailiyans (one of whom, Analyn Bangsi-il won an award as Best Child Performer); they used Ilokano as the medium (although there are also dialogues in English and Tagalog); they have beautiful shots of the mountains we all love; the musical scoring is terrific. And, oh, did I say it was a really good film?
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Who Owns Our Place Names and Cultural Icons?
When Mang Donald put up a restaurant and named it “Mang Donald’s”, he got sued by Mac Donald’s for trademark violation.
When a coffee company uses the name of our towns and provinces for its coffee products, shouldn’t we also be suing it for taking advantage of our place names? Surely it is not an accident that they are using our place names isn’t it? They are doing it because the names of our towns and provinces (in the pictures above from left: Ifugao Brew, Kalinga Brew, Sagada Brew, Benguet Brew) sound exotic and, in the coffee business, exotic sells. There is also some goodwill attached to our place names (in the same manner that there is some goodwill attached to the MacDonald’s brand) that the company wants to take advantage of.
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Congress Watch: It’s Your Money, Folks
Of course we all know that some people want to become Congressman/Congresswoman because they want to serve their constituents. And, of course, we also know that public service is not its own reward because congressional representatives have this thing called pork barrel (or Priority Development Assistance Fund) which they are allowed to disburse according to their heart’s content.
In Tagalog, bahala sila kung ano ang kanilang gagawin sa pera. We should bear in mind though that a Congressman’s or Congresswoman’s pork barrel is not really his/her own money but our money. So there should be no reason for us to be indebted to our congressional representatives mainly because they brought a project to our area. It’s not as if they used their own personal funds. Right?
When Your Kids Won’t Go To School
The school year is about to begin so let’s have a quiz. Well, actually, it’s just one multiple choice question, the kind that our teachers used to give us during periodical grading exams (Not sure if that is what they still call it these days.)