While blog-hopping, I stumbled into this really nice post by fellow blogger Ynseng on her blog (http://sensiblesanity.blogspot.com) about her recent trip to the Zoobic Safari in Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales.

In it she makes some rather interesting observations about the zoo and its inhabitants and manages to see through the veil that zoo spin doctors propagate by saying that their main purpose is to educate and to conserve…

Read her entire post at http://sensiblesanity.blogspot.com/

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I have a memory of going to the Manila Zoo when I was little. I went to Avilon Zoo some years back when it was relatively new. I have to admit that on both times, I remember being pleasantly impressed. I saw nothing wrong with zoos as long as the animals were treated and fed well.

[Read entire post at http://www.mefindhome.org]

This essay was reportedly written by a Korean English student who was more grieved for our country than we are.
Please read with a grain of salt, ponder on his/her words, and maybe, just maybe we can collectively repent and decide to start working to uplift our country.

As you know, we have plenty of Koreans currently
studying in the Philippines to take advantage of
our cheaper tuition fees and learn English at the
same time.
This is an essay written by a Korean student i
want to share with you. (Never mind the grammar;
it’s the CONTENT that counts) Maybe it is time to
think about this in the midst of all the confusion
at present.
MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
Jaeyoun Kim
Filipinos always complain about the corruption in
the Philippines . Do you really think the corruption
is the problem of the Philippines ? I do not
think so. I strongly believe that the problem is
the lack of love for the Philippines .
Let me first talk about my country, Korea .
It might help you understand my point.
After the Korean War, South Korea was one
of the poorest countries in the world. Koreans
had to start from scratch because entire country was
destroyed after the Korean War, and we had no
natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines , for
Filipinos were very rich in Asia . We envy Filipinos.
Koreans really wanted to be well off like
Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine.
My father & brother also died because of famine.
Korean government was very corrupt and is still very
corrupt beyond your imagination, but Korea was
able to develop dramatically because Koreans really
did their best for the common good with their heart
burning with patriotism.
Koreans did not work just for themselves but also
for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired
young men with the spirit of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the
government to reform Korea . He tried to borrow money
from other countries, but it was not possible to get a
loan and attract a foreign investment because the
economic situation of South Korea was so bad. Korea had
only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that
they could send money to Korea to build a factory.
They had to go through horrible experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow
money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the
airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw
the President Park . They asked to him, “President,
when can we be well off?” That was the only question
everyone asked to him. President Park cried with
them and promised them that Korea would be well
off if everyone works hard for Korea , and the President
of Germany got the strong impression on them
and lent money to Korea . So, President Park was
able to build many factories in Korea . He always
asked Koreans to love their country from their heart.
Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA
came back to Korea to help developing country
because they wanted their country to be well off.
Though they received very small salary, they did their
best for Korea . They always hoped that their children
would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places where
poor and physically handicapped people live. They
wanted me to understand their life and help them..
I also worked for Catholic Church when I was in the army..
The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we
have to love our neighborhood. And, I have loved my
neighborhood. Have you cried for the
Philippines ? I have cried for my country several
times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people. I have been to the New Bilibid
prison. What made me sad in the prison were the
prisoners who do not have any love for their country.
They go to mass and work for Church. They pray
everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines . I
talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security compound,
and both of them said that they would leave the
Philippines right after they are released from the
prison.

They said that they would start a new life in other
countries and never come back to the Philippines .
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that
we were able to share our wealth with our neighborhood.
The owners of factory and company were distributed their
profit to their employees fairly so that employees could
buy what they needed and saved money for the
future and their children.
When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith and
wanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines ,
I completely lost my faith.
I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable
situations in the Philippines . Street kids always make me sad,
and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic
country in Asia , but there are too many poor people here.
People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing has
been changed.
My parents came to the Philippines last week and
saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer
than the present Philippines when they
were young. They are so sorry that there are so
many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan,
I forced my parents to take a boat because
it would fun. However, they were not happy after
taking a boat. They said that they would not take the boat
again because they were sympathized the
boatmen, for the boatmen were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it.
But, my parents did not enjoy it because of love
for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church
since I was very young told me that if we just go to
mass without changing ourselves, we are not
Catholic indeed. Faith should come with action.
She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things
for them because all of us are same and have received a great
love from God. I want Filipinos to love their
neighborhood and country as much as they love God
so that the Philippines will be well off.
I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos
should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once.
It should start from person. Love must start in everybody,
in a s mall scale and have to grow. A lot of
things happen if we open up to love. Let’s put away
our prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes.
I discover that every person is worthy to be
loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible.
Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and
relationships. It changes the world. Please love your
neighborhood and country.
Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others we
do to Him. In the Philippines , there is God for people who
are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love.
If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines .
Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country.
You already know that God also will be very happy if you love others.
That’s all I really want to ask you Filipinos.

Living with a picky eater, two hungry kids, a nanny that does not eat beef, I am challenged to come up with a variety of dishes for our everyday meals. I myself eat most foods so feeding myself is not a problem.

Read more…

Zurich-based Filipinos can eat Filipino dishes and shop for Pinoy food items at Golden Asian Store.

Owned by a Filipino entrepreneur, Golden Asian Store has been meeting the gastronomic needs of Pinoys in Switzerland since 2000. It was featured by GMA News early this year.

Read more here.

This is a blog post on the popular Swiss softdrink made of milk serum that Pinoys might not like at all.

Read more here.

The remaining three contestants in season 7 of American Idol were given triple chance to to make it to the upcoming finale next week as they serenade the audience with three songs each.

Continue reading here…

If I had my way, I’d be in t-shirts, shorts, and sneakers the entire summer season. “WTF, but we’ve never seen you in shorts EVAR!” Exactly! Come on gais, give the corporate rockstar slash almost-model a break! I don’t have much of a choice since I’m practically coerced by my day job to be in corporate drab on weekdays and man, those things can be annoyingly uncomfortable even when it’s raining out. Good news is, owing to the Intertropical Convergence Zone, we’re in for a shorter summer season this year as heard from the radio this morning (says PAGASA). Whether that’s a good or bad thing, blame it all on the ITCZ. Heck, we can even blame ITCZ for the hike in power prices since no one has balls big enough to own the boo boo!

On the subject of t-shirts (thank Jockey for supposedly inventing the tee in its current form way back in 1913 per the infallible wikipedia), I had for the longest time been wanting to get myself some David & Goliath goodies. A few months back, I was walking inside the Power Plant Mall and a statement shirt on David & Goliath’s show window caught my attention. It read “Trust Me! i’m a liar.” I went in, felt the shirt fabric, looked at the price, made a mental note to go back soon, and left. Good thing I didn’t buy the “Liar” shirt because, about a month later, I saw Juned wearing it and I’m not so keen on wanting to look like twins with anyone just yet. Sry, Juned-san.

Photos and the rest of this post through here >>

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Japanese Used Cars Providers. I was recently discussing interesting stuffs (Search engine optimization) with my colleague about exploiting the search engine and how to rank high on various keyword searches that we end up collaborating on certain efforts i.e. to rank high on “japanese used cars providers” keywords.

More of the SEO experiment here..

My Cebu E-Commerce Meetup/ E-Business Owners Meetup Xperience! First, let me congratulate Jannette Toral or DigitalFilipino for successfully spearheading the event together with Microsoft Philippines (Independent Software Vendor - Developer Platform Evangelist Group) who was also the prime mover of the social networking event.

Read more here..

More eNGy business humor  toons here 

Languages have been part of the human experience.

Consider for one moment that we Filipinos have 154 recorded dialects and languages. For such a small part of the world as the Philippines, listen in on the radio with all 90 million Filipinos speaking all of their languages at the same time and you’d wish the radio would just go static. Read more…

The Queen Victoria Building, is now famously known as the QVB was designed by George McRae and completed in 1898. It replaced the original Sydney Markets and was named to honour Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

What will you find at the QVB?
The Queen Victoria Building fills an entire city block bound by George, Market, York and Druitt Streets.There is so much history to see when you visit this unique building. You can read a brief history of the QVB by clicking on the link here

Sometimes honesty can give you a free cup of good ol’ Swiss coffee.

Is honesty still the best policy? I think it is.

Read more here.

The Embassy of the Philippines in Bern is staffed by people who are kind, courteous, and competent. And Filipino citizens based in Switzerland are blessed to have them.

Read more here.

The results of the Civil Engineering (CE) Licensure (board) Examination which was held nationwide last May 8 & 9, 2008 has been released by the PRC.

Check it out here [ Civil Engineering (CE) Licensure (board) Examination ]