iBOONDOCK

Kakainggit na abs. Image courtesy of Tangguyob.com.

Orange skyland. February 2008. Barangay Asin in Tuba, Benguet. Photo courtesy of my once favorite newspaper.

According to my good friend Gina, orange (the color not the Nueva Vizcaya fruit) has a calming effect. I’m not sure about that but maybe she’s right. Maybe this is the reason why God in his wisdom usually paints our sky orange. Maybe it’s his way of telling us, “Calm down, you silly people. Calm down.”

Anyways, it’s the middle of the week where I sit so I’m looking at this picture to calm myself down.

P.S. Sabi pala ni Gina, isang rason daw kung bakit orange ang kulay ng mga damit ng mga Ananda Marga at ng mga Buddhist monks ay dahil sa natatanging “calming effect” ng nasabing kulay na ito.

Is Baguio the educational center of the north? Maybe. Lately though, it seems like it’s developing a reputation as the place where Koreans can get a quickie diploma. Last November, for instance, the Koreatimes reported this:

Twenty-three incumbent and former military officers and officer cadets were caught for having used fake university diplomas during their application for officer training, a lawmaker said Friday.

According to Rep, Song Young-sun of the Grand National Party, the Ministry of Defense recently withdrew its appointment of 13 incumbent and two former officers for allegedly fabricating diplomas from A.T. College in Baguio, the Philippines, to submit to the ministry for verification of their academic record.

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First term Kalinga Congressman Manuel Agyao (2nd from left) poses with some of his constituents during a trade fair in Manila. Photo courtesy of Marciano Paroy/Groundreport.com.

Know more about the Congressman’s legislative initiatives in his congressional page. He is the vice chair of three committees: National Cultural Communities, Public Works, and Rural Development. To date he has sponsored 14 bills mostly pertaining to the creation of schools or barangays.

Rep. Agyao used to be the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Assistant Secretary for Northern Luzon. He’s one of the very few iCordilleras in government service who reached the Asec (Assistant Secretary) level.

Links to other Cordi officials after the jump.
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Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, a man named Marcos, who fancied himself as the legendary Malakas built this monument for himself in the mountains of Tuba, Benguet.

He wanted a grand monument. It would be much much grander than Mt. Rushmore because he will have the mountain all to himself unlike Lincoln, and Washington, and that other President who had to share the limelight with the others. Co-starring lang sila habang si Marcos ay main and only feature.

But Marcos wasn’t contented to be the only dweller of the mountain, so he kicked out the Ibaloys who lived there since time immemorial.

And so the days passed. And the days turned to years. Then the century turned. Then this is what became of Marcos.

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Zapata/Baguiocity.com

Who would have thought that this harmless looking chicken can be hazardous to our health.

By the way, I once thought that “cull” is a breed of chicken like the Ancona chicken or the Cornish chicken. Stupid me. It turns out that “cull” is not a breed. We just call them that because they are “culled out” from the rest of the flock as they are not that productive in laying eggs. Ito ay ayon sa aking kapatid who should know what he is talking about.

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Zapata/Baguiocity.com

Of course this blog is not all about bootlickers, chicken wings, and community activism. We are also about artistas. So let’s do a post on our favorite artista, Marky Cielo. Here are six things you might not know about him.

1. Did you know that he was (is?) the Department of Health’s Youth Ambassador Against Tobacco? That’s him and DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III shaking hands. Photo courtesy of the DOH website.

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