Best Things in the World, Brazilian movie

Best Things in the World, Brazilian movie in Portuguese on Cinema World channel at Cignal TV and Sky Cable

The student, personal and family lives of two normal young adults took a turn overnight after their father, an academician announced separation from their mother.

While living normal and happy surrounded by friends, Mano and brother Pedro struggle when they find out their father will live in with his favourite male student.

It's difficult for the younger Mano as he has a reputation to protect and is going through some dilemma whereas Pedro is managing his relationship with his girl friend.

Mano faced several trials but the most difficult were dealing with his lady friend, his father and his partner and the suicide of Pedro. His circle of friends though were supportive.

Mano coped by venting his angst, expressing them, dealing with friends, taking on an advocacy, being a leader of himself, chasing his dream and playing music. Brother Pedro, a theater actor dealt his painful separation through poetry and escape.

At the start, Mano was reluctant to engage in sex. Ending, with him redeemed from the trials, he guaranteed that the kiss with his girl will not be disappointing. Indeed it was not.

When we accept our shortcomings and act on them, we will eventually redeem ourselves at the proper time.

How Maro recovered when this Portuguese's teenage boy's world is about to crash

1. Vent out your anger. Do not repress. Time when you are ready

2. Talk to a friend, a trusted senior, brother, your mother, father even your father's lover

3. Express your feelings in music. Something in the way she moves

4. Be a leader of the self

5. Bike around the city

6. Save your brother, save your friend

7. Be tenacious

8. Bounce back. Redeem from you failure

9. Take care of family

10. Engage in an advocacy actively

Best Things in the World, Brazilian movie in Portuguese

Grand Prize, 2011 Cinema Brazil

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/the-best-things-in-the-world/

Night Ride in Folding Bike

Lingguhan Sikad sa Diliman. Thursday 6:30 PM 17 March 2022 organized by the Tiklop Society of the Philippines.

A night ride of folding bike bikers following an estimated 25 kilometer route starting and ending at the UP Diliman Bahay ng Alumni participated by 27 bikers (unofficial).

Participants rode in Dahon and Brompton bikes among others of different models and makes with a variety of accessories rode by a diverse age group mostly perhaps in their 30's and older coming from QC, Manila, Caloocan. Farthest I recalled was from Montalban, the closest from Katipunan.

Road Leader Shao disclosed the route close to 8 PM which will take the herd to CP Garcia, Katipunan, Luzon Ave. then sneek into Republic Ave, Sauyo exiting to Commonwealth Ave via Regalado Highway.

Navigating through Republic Ave at the narrow 2-lane Luzon Ave brought almost half of the participants to a standstill for about 20 minutes due to a monstrous traffic bottleneck.

Eventually the entire herd met up snaking its way around Republic Ave to Sauyo until De Leon st at Barangay Holy Spirit until the way out to Commonwealth Ave via Holy Spirit Drive.

Taking Quezon Memorial Circle, it was a leisure cool ride back to Bahay ng Alumni past 10:30 PM.

Heavy snacks (Jollibee Hotdog, ube pie, siopao, Come, Sprite) surprised the participants care of an organizer celebrating her birthday with the successful bikers.

The LSD put to test the Dahon Metro, Relive App Huawei phone and power bank and my stamina and presence of mind to keep with with an over 20 kilometer ride at night in a herd in a new uncharted route. Survived also the hot spots swerving from the outer lane of Katipunan to the flyover to cross to Luzon Ave and the second half of the Quezon Memorial Circle crossing the intersections of North Ave, Quezon Ave, East Ave (Thanks to the marshall who saw that we crossed safely )

Riding in a folding bike was just sakto, not competitively speedy nor dragging slow. A 7-speed gear was sufficient to handle the sloping roads from Sauyo to De Leon streets.

Thank you TSP and for the stolen short talks with some participants. Especially for making the adventure enjoyable and safe.

#TSP

My Father's Bike

 Three generations of sons with resentments for their fathers travel together by land to pick up the matriarch who just separated from the patriarch. Coming from three separate households, the son plans to pick up his mother so she could take care of the aging patriarch of the family and manage this family crisis.

The old man, Wlodzi a famous clarinet musician, Pawel, a pianist of  a grand orchestra in Berlin and Maciek, his student son staying with his mother in London, a pop music lover vent out their anger and resentment towards each other in the car, in homes, at the camp, outdoors. Every word uttered by one starts a tirade of accusations.

The grandfather, son and grandson uncomfortably control each other wanting to change behaviors and values at every opportunity. Not even their commonality for love of music but of different genre could bind them together.

Slowly though, through the unfolding of small moments together, the resentments towards each dissolve.

The son Pawel, who spotted his mother in the company of her new lover dropped his intention to bring her back to Wlodzi as he sensed his mother accorded with affection and control, the attention all of the two generations of males did not demonstrate with each other during their growing up days.  Pawel kept this feeling to himself.

The old bicycle stored at Wlodzi’s storage was given to his son given with a warning that once he falls from it, he would take away the bike from him. Towards the end of the journey when slowly the three have started to accept each other’s being’s, Wlodzi gives the bicycle to young grandson Maciek which he brought with him back to London.

Movie closes with Pawel playing the piano with the orchestra in Berlin, interpreting a sad piece passionately inspired perhaps by the turn of events with Wlodzi watching his son’s performance on TV.

Even with all the differences, each one, regardless of their imperfections were reared to stand on their own and not to fall down as symbolized by the small bicycle passed on to Maciek who towards the end confessed that he is expecting a child from his older Literature teacher.

Grandfather and father no longer resented the confession of the student son.

Best Screenplay, 2012 Polish Film Festival

Discovery of Year (Michał Urbaniak), 2013 Polish Film Awards

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/my-fathers-bike/

May-December Affairs

Two movies on May-December affairs thrilled me with the couples connecting, hurt me when they separate, rejoiced with reconciliation, shocked with unexpected turn of events.

The European films Love in Mauritius in French set in the island and in Paris and Minute's Silence in German set in a fishing village in Baltic tackle the themes on love frowned by norms.

One is fun to watch, the other more profound and hurting. Couples are happy when not in denial, disturbed when pressured for rightness.

In Love in Mauritius, two couples with issues strike it out: the elder woman with his husband and mother and the younger student with his mother. Both go through a period of transition moving on without each other. Eventually, the two discover that they are meant for each other.

Age gap, marital status, lies, and undisclosed facts were overcome by the feelings the two are meant for each other realized over time.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/love-in-mauritius/

https://youtu.be/4BbnM-LtYr8

In Minute's Silence, I feel the pain of Christian when as a student to his teacher and as a fisherman and boatman to the residents of a small community, he deliberately represses his feelings. I feel his pain when he cannot even say goodbye in private to his beloved partner and teacher Stella in the company of classmates and Stella’s fellow academicians.

While both Christian and Stella are physically separated pressured by the local community and the accident, Christian discovered a way to be reunited perpetually through the sight of fossilized insects.

No pressure can block the strong drive of the younger lover to make the relationship work even if it means giving up one's life or ways initiated by the young male to put a closure to the relationship.

"Love, Christian, is a warm wave bearing us up." It is a joy but down there are rocks and specimen endangering lives.

A Minute's Silence is a Best Film nominee in the 2016 Munich Film Festival.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/a-minutes-silence/

https://youtu.be/fbwUwpQtwS4

Both films shown on Cinema World.

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Two movies on May-December affairs thrilled me with the couples connecting, hurt me when they separate, rejoiced with reconciliation, shocked with unexpected turn of events.

The European films Love in Mauritius in French set in the island and in Paris and Minute's Silence in German set in a fishing village in Baltic tackle the themes on love frowned by norms. 

One is fun to watch, the other more profound and hurting. Couples are happy when not in denial, disturbed when pressured for rightness.

In Minute's Silence, I feel the pain of Christian when as a student to his teacher and as a fisherman and boatman in a small community, he represses his feelings. I feel his pain when he cannot even say goodbye in private to his beloved partner and teacher Stella.

While Christian and Stella are physically separated pressured by the local community and the accident, Christian discovered a way to be reunited perpetually.

No pressure can block the strong drive of the younger lover to make the relationship work even if it means giving up one's life.

A Minute's Silence is a Best Film nominee in the 2016 Munich Film Festival.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/a-minutes-silence/

https://youtu.be/fbwUwpQtwS4

In Love in Mauritius, two couples with issues strike it out: the elder woman with his husband and mother and the younger student with his mother. Both go through a period of transition moving on without each other. Eventually, the two discover that they are meant for each other.

Age gap, marital status, lies and undisclosed facts were overcome by the feelings the two are meant for each other realized over time.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/love-in-mauritius/

https://youtu.be/4BbnM-LtYr8

Both films shown on Cinema World.

Love for a son. Lover for a lover

 Identifying Features. Mother in search of her son crossing the Mexican borders detected as missing said to have died

Mother's love for a child is no other doing whatever it takes to gain her son back. Unsettling discovery

But when survival is at stake, men turn into savage beasts

Grand Jury Prize 2020 Sundance Film Festival

Movie in Spanish with English subtitles

https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/384050/

Lovers. 5 Lovers set in Bologna Italy playing different roles seeking assurances for faithfulness and devotion

Several interesting settings essayed by the same actors: Manager-subordinate in a corporate setting. Bookstore owner-real estate agent. Boutique sales person-Boutique sales manager. Wife-Male therapist. Ghost writer-DJ icon

Humans always have insecurities about themselves projecting them to their lovers

Serious, creative, dismaying reality

Best Feature Film 2017 Crystal Palace London International Film Festival

Movie in Italian with English subtitles

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/lovers/

Blackbird

 Just watched the premiere airing of Blackbird on Cinema World Asia recognized as the Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

"It's just who I am. Too bad not too many people like that!"

Sean is an obedient 16-year-old son, intelligent, a principled person with a character. He loves his little half-sister who he does not see. He reads Frank Kafka known for themes on transformation, isolation, sacrifice.

Story revolved around deconstructing what's going on in Sean's mind wrongly accused of plotting a crime.

The sufferings and conditions he faced, bullied, ostracized, beaten up toughened his grit, endurance and perseverance.

As the story unfolded, we eagerly track how he gets redeemed from the misconceptions about him and how the universe makes up for the injustice done to him.

Detention in prison not once but twice drew out the true good humanity in Sean. Resolving issues on his own; he simply was just truthful about himself and how he feel for others.

"Doesn't anyone care about the truth?"

His goodness was not easy to extract but once it surfaced, he is seen not just human but an extraordinary human.

Nothing not even the most adverse condition can put a good man down. The universe finds a way for one to get what one deserves. 

"Easy isn't really my thing"

Still serving the last 2 months of his sentence, the black bird has been freed

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/blackbird/

Burning Birds

 Disturbing, depressing, enraging

How can a patriarchal society be cruel to a marginalized mother who took on the difficult responsibility of raising her family?

Burning Birds movie shown on Cinema World at Cignal TV set in Sri Langka makes you question why families have to face such tragic fate.

It is about the plight of Kusum, wife of a murdered fish vendor who took on the role of a breadwinner to feed her family doing odd and compromising jobs.

A responsible mother will do whatever it takes for the sake of the children even at the expense of her pride and dignity. Man as humans has limits and tipping points.

Watching Burning Birds, I recalled Pope Francis' message to the youth at UST in January 2015 when he saw the children assigned to present cry.

Pope Francis in his message paid tribute to women and posed a question on suffering children.

Women see differently from men. She poses questions which have no answers and could not put them in words but in tears.

"Why do we allow children to suffer?," he asked. There are no answers but reaction can  either be in silence or in tears.

Only when we weep are we cleansed to see the reality of life. Only when we weep are we capable of fully understanding life.

I weep for what all that mother Kusum did to raise her family when the breadwinner of the house was deliberately killed. I weep for the tragedy that she faced doing what she did for the love of her family.

The movie Burning Fires powerfully elicited that response.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/.../burning-birds.../

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/burning-birds/

The Vegetarian

 The Vegetarian shown on Cignal TV's Cinema World channel 59 introduced me to the culture of the Indian Brahmin from an Indian-Italian male son perspective particularly on beliefs on family, death, reincarnation, after life journey.

Story as narrated by Krishna, a staff at an Italian cow farm milking and measuring the outputs has a firm embrace on the caste and the sacredness of a cow; through narration, poetry, images, flashback, storytelling as a "live book" he educates us on nature, trees, rivers, marriage and singleness and the relationship between a vegetarian meal and the cow.

Living in Italy working hard to make ends meet to support his Italian wife, he stood by his Indian roots.

Admirable how Krishna has not compromised the sacredness of the cow, beliefs even with most difficult situations confronting him.

Enlightened and inspired by the lead character, The Vegetarian as it ended left an unexplainable impression, not sadness nor joy, not disturbed nor convinced but certainly respect for the Brahmin's beliefs.

"When the sun has set, when the moon has set, when the fire has gone out, what is then the light of man?"

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/the-vegetarian/

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Bon Appetit, set in Switzerland and Spain is another favourite

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/bon-appetit/

https://cinemaworld.asia/schedule/

Film Festival Movies on TV at Cinema World

 @CignalTV’s CinemaWorld on channel 59 features foreign "indie" films entered in international film festivals

Watching several films in a marathon each day feels like being in the festival itself without paying for festival passes

Literature on synopsis and schedules is available on Cinema World Asia website https://cinemaworld.asia/schedule/

 (all foreign films have English subtitles)

Channel is an exposition of the diversity of culture, values, tradition, language, norms, landscape, situations and emotions across the continents

Conflicts though are universal differing in resolution

-Felt how an Afghan woman is tortured if pregnant and not married in Wajma

-Experienced how the Italian farmers love preparing food, enjoying meals together and how influential the police and the Mafia are in Mafia and Red Tomatoes

-Brought me to Saint-Petersburg in Russia figuring out how a single mother can make a tourist park work to save it in Love in Saint-Petersburg

-Introduced to Dafne, an extraordinary daughter with syndrome managing the grief of the loss of her mother and emotional state of her father through her wisdom, long walk and conversation

-Witnessed how couples in Sweden plan their weddings, work out divorce papers and live on boats in Greta's Wedding

-Brought me to a safari farm in Johannesburg South Africa following the changing behaviors of a grandfather, teenage boys, daughter and their relationships with each other in Nanny on Board in South Africa

-Observed how an introverted only son living with an absentee single mother cope with struggles in school and with his relationship with his mother in Sebbe. Disturbed with the escape choices Sebastian set up: self-destruction or disappearance

-Saw through the psyche of a refugee son in Macando Austria acting as the man of the house for his mother and two young sisters in the absence of a soldier father who died in the war. Witnessed his coming of age as influenced by young friends, older father image neighbor friend from responsible to mischievous, delinquent, hating eventually accepting

-Followed the turnaround in a waiter's life when he took on an identity of a mysterious writer living a life of lie in My Words, My Lie, My Life

At the comfort of your home theatre, watch how the stories are differently said, struggles resolved and how they deepen your understanding of the complexities and mysteries of being human

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wajma_2013

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbird_(2012_film)

https://2015.italianfilmfestival.com.au/.../mafia-and-red

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/love-in-saint-petersburg/

https://www.screendaily.com/.../dafne.../5136806.article

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/gretas-wedding/

https://cinemaworld.asia/.../nanny-on-board-ii-south-africa/

https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/film/macondo.7368

https://theweereview.com/.../my-words-my-lies-my-love.../

A number of films tackle difficult and disturbing conflicts between child and parent ending either with a redemption or left unresolved

Son and mother https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/film/sebbe.7886

Son and mother https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/film/macondo.7368

Daughter and father https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/film/dafne.13154

Daughter and father https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wajma_2013

Daughter and father https://cinemaworld.asia/.../nanny-on-board-ii-south-africa/

Son and mother https://cineuropa.org/en/film/309499/

Finding Rizal in a time of barriers

Finding Rizal in a time of barriers, a documentary premiered on Jose Rizal’s 160th birth anniversary on ANC Sky Cable

“Heroes build on each other. Rizal gave an idea. Bonifacio started a revolution and gave human form to the idea but did not complete it. It was Aguinaldo (a hero you love to hate) who gave us the first republic.”

-Ambeth Ocampo, historian

“Because we have to link Rizal with the present condition. Rizal is part of a diaspora. A diaspora of his time as much there is now a diaspora of our time. We can understand what is now as what was then."

-Dr. Milagros Guerrero, historian

“It was Rizal who saw our capacity for greatness. It was him who seeded the idea of nationhood.”

-Ambeth Ocampo

“Are we not living in barriers?

Rizal lived in a time of barrier. Yet he broke through this to continually reaffirm his humanity and his genius.

May we find a piece of his humanity in every piece of our own journey, in every barrier we break down.”

-Loren Legarda, narrator

Galing ni Floy Q.

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Inabangan sa marathon Sunday showing on GMA News TV (Jan 2015). Tinapos sa online replay.

Two favorite dialogues of Pepe: 1. Speech made at the celebration of two artists originally assigned to Pedro Paterno at a restaurant in Europe. 2. "Meeow." when friends did not notice him enter the room in Europe. I can't help compare the insights learned from the Isang Panaginip na Fili ng Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (DUP Official Page) ni Floy Quintos and from the well produced GMA teleserye.

Teleserye left four impressions: 1. Family is important and is the foundation of support. 2. Pepe fulfills the needs of women. 3. An all-start cast of national heroes in Spain. 4. Situation in the 1890's and 21th century has not changed.

Isang Panaginip na Fili https://youtu.be/DpvfyryaMLs Heneral Rizal https://youtu.be/hP0R55UM6sM https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=705187659599885&id=655961044522547

Bike Make Over

The Miyata Ridge Runner Aluminum Classic Mountain Bike (from the Koga family) make over from the warehouse almost bare basic to the enhanced state at the cost of only 2 for the boys sessions

Thanks to the bike spotter, a metallurgical engineer, a hard core biker

Si master Rey ang nagtono, nag grasa, nagkondisyon sa mga gumagalaw na parte. Si Ka Jimmy ang nagpalit ng calipher brakes to V brakes, Shimano combo brake/speed shifter to Revo grip shifter at handle bar

Si Jimmy at Lemuel ang nag unlock ng mga Bridgestone chain at hardlocks, gumawa ng susing dimple at nag duplicate

Salamat mula sa sa isang kuripot na hobbyist

A Weekend in Nature’s Bosom (Susong Dalaga, Talim Island)

Bob Tongco’s detailed article on Talim written 28 Feb 2001

Here is the article I wrote about our escapade, or was it an escape? Anyway, I don’t know how many of the details you want the world to know so you can just delete portions as you see fit. In any case, I hope all those who read this story and are inspired by it also practice low-impact mountaineering. Thanks for the great learning experience. When’s our next trip? Don’t forget my pasalubong from the US! - Bob

P.S. I wonder if some size 11 CoolMax socks would be comfortable (hint, hint).

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A Weekend in Nature’s Bosom

(Susong Dalaga, Talim Island)

I never imagined I’d be on top of a peak named after a woman’s most noticeable body feature. Definitely not on the third weekend of February, only a few days after Valentine’s. The mountain was Susong Dalaga, the highest point on Talim Island, which is in the middle of Laguna de Bay.

I was in the proverbial right place at the right time, and I knew the right person. In this case, he was Chito. His kind of adventure is a little different from most mountaineers. Instead of going to well-established trails and campsites, he looks for new mountains to explore. On that Thursday evening, we met at Estor Pang Outdoor (free plug!) and told us he was going to Talim Island and reestablishing the Susong Dalaga trail. So I asked if I could bring another friend, Lawrence Dy, and he said yes.

Chito, Lawrence, and I met at Burger King Libis 7AM the following Saturday soon followed by Wilbert Chua. Lawrence offered his van and we accepted, the on-board TV and VCD player was an unexpected bonus. We picked up the last member of our party, Larry Honoridez, whom I had met at Edsa Dos along with Chito and Wilbert. We must have been a pretty motley group since we had a semi-retired businessman in Lawrence, a marketing guru in Chito, a metallurgical engineer in Larry Larry Hillboy Honoridez, a recently liberated computer jock in Wilbert Wilbert Chua, and of course, an equally outgoing biology student in yours truly.

Backpacks loaded, we proceeded to the Cardona wharf to check the banca trip schedule. These fiberglass boats are the only means of getting to Talim Island. They are practically jeepneys and can be flagged down anytime. We parked the van at Sta. Ursula Parish in Binangonan then commuted back to Cardona. The banca we rode was filled with friendly locals all eager to describe the trail, the terrain, and the names of the barangays we would pass. Talim Island is a beautiful place to visit mainly because of its people. They were all very warm and accommodating to us trekkers.

As we left the pier, the weather was sunny and windy; fortunately, it was not very hot. After a thirty-minute boat ride, we arrived at Barangay Lambac at about noon. We were immediately greeted by the self-proclaimed kapitan of the area who was sitting on the “Welcome to Lambac” sign with three of his friends. He asked us if we had permits, what we intended to do on the mountain, and even offered us girls when he found out we were all guys. We didn’t take him seriously since they smelled of gin already. So we proceeded to follow the main eskinita which was a gently sloping, cemented path. And while looking for a sari-sari store, we met Mang Roi, a born-and-bred Lambac native who gave us helpful instructions. He said that the last time anyone was up Susong Dalaga was the year before, and they were all locals. This only made us more excited since it confirmed that the mountain was indeed one of the more forgotten destinations in Luzon.

We stopped to eat lunch under one of the many mango trees on the island. Mang Roi walked up to us again and offered to lead us up to the main trail. As Chito put it, this was a stroke of good fortune and we accepted his offer. The trail was established, but definitely not overused. It was a moderately sloping, rock-strewn path and it was beautiful since there were trees everywhere. We took several rest stops but mostly to look at the view, which, even halfway up the slope, was already breathtaking. At this time, we really began to feel the sun but the wind was up to the challenge. We continued up until we reached a fence erected to keep cows from grazing too far up. Mang Roi then told us we could climb the rest of the way by ourselves. We thanked him and were about to leave when another friendly Talim native came along. This time, he was Mang Rolly on his way to a barangay on the other side of the island. Mang Roi told us Mang Rolly could lead us to the shoulder and show us the way to the peak. Mang Rolly then led us up the increasingly steep trail which soon tired Lawrence out until he volunteered to follow later. Of course, we didn’t let that happen and we finally reached the shoulder together.

It was a small flat area sheltered by a mango tree with an inviting shade. From that vantagepoint, we could already see the Southeastern coast of the bay. Visible were Mt. Sembrano, Mt. Makiling, and a good portion of Talim Island. Lawrence immediately fell asleep while the rest of us discussed the trail and stared at the other peaks on the island. Mang Rolly showed us where the trail to the top of the mountain was and told us that it would be a lot more difficult than the previous trail. We then thanked him and he went on his way down to the other barangay.

We spent about an hour just lying under that big tree. It was a worthy alternative campsite being well shaded and very windy. The view was rewarding and staying there only made us want to (get to the) summit sooner. At about 4PM or so, we decided to go for the peak. It was already visible beyond the treetops and we were sure it wouldn’t take us more than 15 minutes to get there. We followed the trail as best as we could. In some areas, Larry (our pointman extraordinaire) had to scout while the rest of us caught our breath. Eventually, we reached a point where the trail was completely overgrown with tall cogon. Since we could still see the summit and had a vague idea of where the trail was supposed to be, we decided to press on. From that point on, we were bushwhacking our way up the mountain. We tolerated the numerous thorns that pressed on our hands, arms, and legs. It was very slow going and the small shrubs were our only anchors on the mountain’s slope.

Once we were all gasping and Wilbert was getting his legs all wounded, we stopped on a very steep incline to rest. After about thirty minutes more of difficult climbing, we rejoined the trail. This time, we could follow the route even as bamboo had taken over it. We clambered over several clumps and crawled under several others, this was a lot of fun. Another long bushwhack through cogon and we knew we summited when we heard Larry scream with joy.

Finally, after 3 hours of actual climbing, we had conquered Susong Dalaga. Our reward, only noticeable after about 2 minutes of jumping and shouting, was a 360° view of the entire Laguna de Bay. Now visible were Mt. Banahaw, Mt. Maculot, the entire Tagaytay Ridge, the SLEX, the Makati and Ortigas skylines, the Antipolo mountains, Manila Bay, and all the towns and provinces around the Laguna area including Metro Manila. It was an amazing sight and one I will not soon forget.

The summit itself was small, but untouched. There was no proof that others had camped there before us aside from the trail marks. We spent a lot of time looking at the vistas from each side of the peak before we finally decided to set up camp. Our campsite was well organized and very well equipped. Chito, the hardware master, brought a tarp along providing us with a separate cooking and eating area. We also had two tents, a socials area with a view of Metro Manila in the distance, and a lot of space to sit and enjoy the landscape.

Socials was very insightful (care of Chito and Lawrence), inquisitive (care of Larry, Wilbert, and Yours Truly), and provided us with lots of laughs in the morning (details of which will not be disclosed). Two of us accidentally spent the night under the stars, it must have been the fermented sugarcane beverages. I was thinking that if the mountain was the shape of a woman’s breast, the campsite would have to be a very prominent landmark.

We all slept well and were greeted with Larry’s fine breakfast that Wilbert and I failed to enjoy since we had some stomach problems, again due to the fermented sugarcane beverages. It rained just as we were about to leave. Not a strong rain, but a gentle reminder that the campsite wasn’t really ours.

To complete our true traverse of the mountain and the island, we went down another trail leading to Barangay Lanosa. This trail was less steep but was twice as long as the previous day’s hike. It was even more beautiful, as we went through grasslands, several other campsites, a bamboo grove, a forest, and the final half-kilometer was through a rock-strewn waterway that was dry at that time. We finally reached our destination at 1PM and headed straight to this sari-sari store for much needed refreshments. We got on another banca that stopped so many times for passengers. It would leave a barangay dock only to be waved back moments later by latecomers. The boat ride was almost an hour long and provided us with a look at the other side of the island. The houses on this side were smaller and spaced closer together so that the barangays lost their boundaries. We got to Binangonan and prayed in the beautiful and very old Sta. Ursula Church before we left. We stopped by Danny Balandra’s Danny Balandra house in Angono where we had fried itik and gourmet pancit canton while enjoying his hospitality before finally heading to Manila.

The week before, Chito, Larry, Wilbert, and Danny, attempted to reach Susong Dalaga but had to settle for one of the other peaks on Talim. We were lucky to finally be able to reach the highest point on the island. The lessons I learned on that climb will never equal the sheer exhilaration of reaching the summit after a challenging ascent. The quiet on that mountaintop was as rare as the clean air and the brisk, cool wind. On the way down, the weather was as perfect as the climb, the company, and the memories of the weekend spent away from the world. I would wish that more exciting events happened while we were at the summit, but nothing could have been more exciting than sitting down and absorbing nature.

[The kapitan turned out to be the Barangay Captain of another barangay. What he was doing in Lambac and why he was drunk by lunchtime remains a mystery.]

Bob Tongco

Outdoor Enthusiast

February 28, 2001

I Pray

I pray for families in mourning who experienced loss that they are comforted

I pray for relatives and friends who look after me that they are rewarded for their generosity

I pray that I am provided with resources to get me by so I can continue to extend random acts of kindness to those I can

I ask that my guardian angels guide and protect me that I don't let my guards down

I extend these intentions to others too who are not given the means to express gratitude and ask for help

Ang Dasal

Pagpuri. Pasasalamat. Pagpapatawad. Paghingi. Pagsara

#Feelings

Gusto mo bang ikwento ang problemadong relasyon mo para sa payo at pananaw ng iba? Tiyak may mapupulot kaming aral sa ibabahagi mo.

Hear other people's relationship stories. Listen to the experts' advice. Read the viewer's points-of-view. Sangayon ka ba? Voice it out.

Tune in to #Feelings. It is a chat show on Pinoy relationship counselling aired in mass and social media transmitting at #onePh, 92.3 FM radio, YouTube and all popular social media platforms. It airs live daily except weekends at 12:30 PM hosted by psychologist Dr. Rica Cruz and writer marketing practitioner blogger Stanley Chi

Who are Doc Rica and Papa Stan? Click on the links for their credentials.

-https://www.facebook.com/stanleychifanpage

-https://sugarandspice.asia/programme/dr-rica-cruz-2/...

Actively interacting with viewers from all over the country and even overseas on love, sex and relationship, they post a lot of questions and get sane, insane, civil and wild responses. The lifeblood of the program are the two letter senders via magpakiramdamantayo@ who narrate their relationship situations soliciting for advice or validation. Advice is given on the spot by the two hosts and their virtual audience.

Other segments help build the interest to stay on.

• They set the theme for discussion for the day.
• They ask for stories on relationship, give advice, ask for viewers' views.
• Viewers' views are expressed in witty titles and short rants or raves.
• They solicit questions about anything which they attempt to answer in a light humorous way. E.g. -"Kung ang mukha ni Rizal ay nasa piso, nasaan ang katawan? Eh di nasa Paco Park" -"Kung anak ko naging pari, father na rin ba ang tawag ko?"
• They list Top 10 thoughts on behaviors manifested in a certain relationship mode, quote appropriate relationship sayings, create polls. They state trivias.
• They give shout outs.
• They solicit inputs on the color of clothes to wear the next day.
• They end with a coping tip influenced by her discipline and his practical street-smart exposure.

Stan and Rica's diverse backgrounds create an agreeable positive chemistry conveying the findings related to the discussed theme for the day.

How Stanley and Rica frame their response to the letter writer seeking for advice deepens appreciation to relationship.

Serious cases are presented yet they are treated lightly and nonchalantly as if experiencing relationship problems is now the norm.

With so many diverse cases that have surfaced, the program conveys a common message, no one should get stuck in their miserable relationship. And their hundreds or perhaps thousands of followers echo this.

In the end, it is the letter senders' decision on how to address his submitted situation.

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I used to follow Psych O Clock habit, a similar program but on radio at DZUP 1602. Like this show, it is relevant, current, interesting and principle based. #Feelings fill in the void left out by PoC with some naughtiness, humor and mischievousness.

Show is replayed evenings at 9:00 PM. It is also broadcast on 92.3 FM

https://www.facebook.com/480575026017566/posts/1072543266820736/

POC http://pochaholic.blogspot.com/?m=1