mikeside

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The Sounds of Manila plays the best of Filipino music.  It’s been almost a decade since the Sounds of Manila aired its initial web broadcast.  The web broadcast plays Original Pilipino Music - both old & new, the ever popular Manila Sounds & the new Manila Sounds - these are actually both Manila Sounds, the latter are simply revivals, restored to life with fresh musical arrangement, which in some cases turn out to be better versions of the original ones.  And in between these, The Sounds of Manila web broadcast also plays music adaptations by Filipino talents.

The birth of Manila Sounds dates back as far as the mid 70’s and to this date both young & old Filipino music lovers still can’t get enough of it.  The Manila Sounds awakened the Filipinos’ appreciation for homegrown music.  It became a catalyst that stirred the Philippine music industry to search and promote more Filipino talent & music.  Equally instrumental for introducing & promoting Manila Sounds were the DJ’s of that era, who believed in the Filipino talent.  To listen to the Sounds of Manila, click -> www.edlagman.com/mikeside.htm

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For the past several weeks leading to the culmination of the battle between Obama & Clinton for the presidential nomination, Tim Russert had become a part of our household.  He was with us during breakfast & dinner.  As my wife & I conversed, Tim’s discussion about American politics & politicians in general interspersed with our conversation.  His face & his voice had become the third person in our living room & bed room.  My wife’s obsession with American brand of politics has also gradually made me a better informed person, politically.  In fact, Tim had made many Americans across the country become well informed individuals about local politics, issues of national interests and current events.

Thus when I read the news about Tim’s passing away on the web, just a few hours after he died, I called my wife on her cell phone & broke the news.  As I expected she became emotional about this sad, tragic news.  Tim Russert suffered a massive heart attack.  That evening my wife kept crying all night as she watched the news about Tim’s untimely death.

I hardly knew Tim Russert, except for the fact that he was a broadcast journalist.  From how he projected himself on television, one could easily tell he was a very likeable person.  He was just like one of the good guys.
One significant aspect of his being a broadcast journalist that I admire most was his verbal skills.  He spoke with simplicity but with crystal-clear clarity, his words were nothing fancy or flowery.

We will miss you Tim.

Tim Russert’s Books are available online.

I don’t think I’ve essentially veered away from this theme since I started posting on this blog.  I try to make it a point that every time I post something, it has to have real value of some kind.  Like when I wrote about the traffic cameras, the message I was driving at then was for people to realize how their bad driving habits can someday cause some serious problems to them or to others.

Imagine for awhile what it would be liked if someone decided to quit learning all together.  The consequences could be unpredictable, hilarious, unfavorable, disastrous or even fatal.  If I didn’t take the time to learn how to create a blog or if you didn’t bother to learn how to use a computer, this blog would not even exist.  On your part, I don’t think you’d even bother buy a computer!

You learn something new everyday, right?  So, what have you learned today?

Aru abe!  That’s one of my father’s fave expressions, which I think is quite common among Pampanguenos.  In English, it means, “wow my friend”.   In memory of him, I am posting a simple write-up which was first published several years back in a company newsletter where my wife used to work.  It’s not the original copy, some revisions were made but the essence of the message remains the same.  This is dedicated to you, Happy Father’s Day.

He was kind, gentle and always with a smile.

He was slow to anger and patient . . . traits that no one can belie.

His compassion to those who had less always had a special place in his heart because he knew what it was like to be hungry, deprived and oppressed.

He was a hard-working man, struggling to provide the best.

He loved life and cherished it till his last breath.

Yes, he had passed on to a new life,

Still, I recall, he seemed to stand out from the rest.

Moving has always been a tiring experience.  I must have moved at least to 4 different cities in and outside of Orange county.  The process was always physically exhausting.  Similarly, moving my first blog to a new domain was no different.  The experience did not exactly involve any heavy lifting but more of clicking & dragging the mouse, switching from one html page to another, copying & pasting, uploading and saving files, posting, publishing & other related tasks in order to create the new virtual home as cozy & comfortable.

My blogging experience is in its infancy stage - it’s a new territory that I started to explore just weeks ago.  I know blogging has been around for quite awhile but having realized the impact & the positive gains one derives from it, I wasted no time to teach myself how to get my own blog up & running.  Initially, I’ve looked around for easy-to-use software.  I tried WordPress & TypePad but had problems with maneuverability as far as tweaking the design or visual appearance.  I said to myself, there’s got to be an easy & quicker way to come up with a blog.  Then I found Blog.com.  The learning process was quick, maybe because of my two previous learning experiences from using WordPress & TypePad.  But honestly, I think their site is very much user friendly, even an idiot can do it!

I have posed this question to friends, family members & people I worked with.  As expected, the responses were mixed but confined within the following 2 choices.  Either they stay here in the US till they drop dead or go back home to motherland, wherever that may be.  Those who prefer to retire here in the US outnumber those who would want to go back to the country of their birth.  The main reason for their decision to stay is more of economics.  Secondly, they can not stand the thought of giving up the conveniences of what a world-class country has to offer.  For those who prefer to go back home to their roots, the underlying reason is strong family ties.  Usually, these are individuals who have been transported to foreign lands by virtue of their marriage to an immigrant or citizen.  So, where would you want to be when you’re 64 or older? 

Read more >>  Retire in the Philippines - Guide to living, traveling and everything you need to know about the Philippines.

BBC report reads . . .
“The study concludes that humans are creatures of habit, mostly visiting the same few spots time and time again.”

This explains why drunks keep going back to bars and why crooks keep going back behind bars.