Blagadaggg!!! (Under Renovation)

The Aftermath: (Cotabato Floods)

2011-07-05T11:43:00.005+08:00

Cotabato Central Pilot Elementary School Gymnasium served as temporary shelter for the flood victims

Fern's Heart

2010-12-03T23:21:00.004+08:00

Wild Berries

2010-12-03T23:19:00.001+08:00

Kinilis

2010-12-03T23:16:00.002+08:00

Mountain View

2010-12-03T23:13:00.003+08:00

Last Christmas...

2009-01-07T10:53:00.018+08:00

Ohhhh my!!!! hehehehe.... a very very very late christmas post.....

Anyway... just want to share some photos taken last christmas from Koronadal, South Cotabato, my wife's hometown.

"Light A Tree Competition" along Alunan Avenue, Koronadal, South Cotabato.

Stretch of Narra trees that lines Alunan Avenue comes to life with dazzling lights and vibrant colors.
Each trees were adopted by a participating agency or companies to be decorated and lighted up.

A Fruitful Christmas!!!

A very fruitful christmas because my father-in-law have his mango orchard harvested...
and gathered almost 10 tons of green mangoes.

Bell peppers, bitter melon, tomatoes, cucumber, squash, eggplants, okra and.... ohhh... I forgot the others....
just sing "bahay kubo" halos lahat makikita nyo sa garden ng father-in-law ko ;-)

Pasko sa Gensan 2008

2008-12-09T10:39:00.007+08:00

Wooot Wooohhh!!! Paskong-pasko na talaga!!!

Nitong nakaraang Biyernes, ika-5 ng Disyembre ay pormal ng binuksan ang "Pasko sa Gensan 2008". Ang Tema sa taong ito ay "Enchanted Gensan: Once upon a Yuletide Season". Nagkataon namang napadaan ako sa Oval Plaza at buti na lang dala-dala ko ang aking maliit na camera... kaya heto ang ilan sa mga eksenang narehistro sa memory card.....

Isang makulay at mala-pantasyang parada na nilahukan ng mga mag-aaral sa Elementarya at High school

Drum and Lyre Competition pagkatapos ng parada.

Bonggang Mother Majorette! Talbog ang lahat!!!

Ang mga bongacious na host.... apir kina sir Glen at Egai!!!

Oval Plaza at night......

Enchanstage

Gensan's Giant Christmas Tree

MunaTo Festival 2008

2008-12-04T08:22:00.025+08:00

Even though Alabel, Sarangani Province is just a minute away neighbor of Gensan City, it was my first time to witness their "MunaTo Festival". There were so many activities I missed for a week long celebration, but since the highlight of the festival fell on a Saturday, that was my chance to visit Alabel.

My First destination ...... the Motocross. But I was so early, the race hasn't started yet, but luckily there were riders practicing, and so these are what my camera captured...

Amazing motorbikes flying up the air, it was breath-catching, one's life could be endangered
with the tricks they do, but for a show, they were definitely cool.

You must be a light-rider in order to breeze the wind. Riders were fascinating, and kids were just awed
at the flying riders, but they must be really careful when they try this. With elders on the lookout please!

My Next stop.... "Sayew D'Dalan" or the Street Dancing Competition. There were only three Municipalities who joined the competition, Municipality of Malungon, Alabel and Maitum. The photographs you see are activities from the street dancing. The drums were just beating frantically as the dancers sway their bodies to the beat.

Colorful costumes depicting the creativity and art of the indigenous people of Sarangani Province.

Chanting happily and shouting Hurrahs as the drums and lyres echo wildly in the distance.
Cornhusk dresses these participants, a proof of the agricultural thanksgiving each municipality bestows to the gods.

Walks, skips, runs, all for the easy sway of the arms as they wave them to demonstrate for the crowd
which are all enjoying the show, all cheering for their own bet.

The beauty of Sarangani is not only through these pictures, visit the place and you will see an abode of nature, Glan's Gumasa White Beach, the oysters in Malapatan, corn in Maitum, atis in Maasim, the Little Baguio in Malungon, the fascinating falls in Kiamba, and of course, the White House Capitol in Alabel...

All of them, in one great festival..... MunaTo

./service blagadaggg restart

2008-11-28T16:39:00.005+08:00

Finally….. I’m back!!! Oooppsss…not from bora escapades ha… tagal na kaya naming nakauwi, I mean back to cyber world. Almost a month na ata ah. Well, maybe this is the prize of people who made a little AWOL in the office (ssshhhhhh!!!) kaya pagbalik… sangkatutak na trabaho ang naghihintay. You may wonder what a Linux command line doing in my post title? Well, di na kasi yan maalis-alis sa paningin ko sa kaka-butingting ng linux server and workstations this past weeks. Dagdagan pa ng network cabling/configurations, software installations and PC repair. Owwws.... my post title simply means reviving my blog site after a long period of inactivity.

Hmmmnnn…... just want to share you what my work really is….. first, I’m not a photographer, just a shutter happy guy. I’m a Computer Eng-eng employed in LGU as IT Consultant under City Mayor’s Computer Literacy Project. I’m teaching Basic Computer subjects in Elementary Students every morning then back to our office located in City Public Library in the afternoon to make butingting everything. After office hours, I worked as a Computer graphics/lay-out artist, multimedia/web designer, systems analyst and computer technician in our little company R2C2 Digital Instincts. Whew!... on weekends... laba saka plantsa... ganyan talaga ang mga Macho.... nooorin.....

Our small office inside City Public Library
(Magulo masyado kaya wall na lang pinakita ko)

BES Elementary School Computer Room
(Teaching Counter Strike, DOTA, GTA)

Configuring web/proxy server in City Library Internet Section

My desk in our little home-based company...
(shift time is from 8:00 pm to antukin)

our recent client.... Green Tropics Coffee Enterprises - producer of World's Most Expensive Coffee

Kafe Balos tarps

Escapades.........

2008-11-07T11:24:00.002+08:00

Boracay Photoshoots

Boracay is an awesome tropical island about an hour's flight from Manila, Philippines. Its long white sand beaches is what most people are here for. Not only is it a lovely stretch of powdery white sand against azure water, it's also the commercial center of the island. A stretched grove of shady palm trees separates the beach from the line of restaurants, cafes, bars, internet cafes, shops, bakeries, etc. Facilities for the usual water sports activities such as wind surfing, snorkeling, diving and jet skiing are also widely available for those in search of more active pursuits.

The fun in Boracay also doesn't end when the sun sets. Boracay nightlife is pulsating with many bars and restaurants serving food, drink and fun until the very late evening.

Whether you go by plane or by boat, the port of entry for Boracay Island is the small town of Caticlan on the mainland. Outrigger boats or "bancas" leave every few minutes from Caticlan's jetty port. The short boat trip to Boracay's jetty port at Cagban cost 20 Pesos. Tourists have to pay a terminal fee of 50 Pesos and an environmental fee of 50 pesos. Tricycles are available at Cagban to bring passengers to their hotels. Tricycle fare is from P20 per pax up to P150 per trip depending where your resort is. 

sun rays a few minutes after sunset
Boracay Station 3
Usual site in Boracay, foreigners everywhere
this sandcastle was done for more than seven hours
 Willy's Rock at dusk

PUKA White Beach Photoshoot
A quiet stretch of white sand along the northern tip of the island, Puka Beach is an image of what most people expect on a tropical island: white sand, azure water, and relatively empty. This is where locals gather the small puka shells for some of the jewelry that is sold on the island so expect the sand to be more coarse than on White Beach. The water tends to be a little rougher on this side of the island but it is much quieter. Similarly, there are fewer services -- at last count there was one restaurant but you likely won't have a problem getting a cold drink or an ice cream as there are a few vendors that patrol the beach. The main road in Boracay terminates at Puka Beach therefore you'll be able to hire a tricycle to get there in less than 10-15 minutes from central White Beach. Make sure you arrange a pickup if it is a quiet day and no tricycles are hanging around the beach. Most people experience Puka as one of their sailboat or banca stops during a day trip.

Whew! not breathing for 5 seconds
My two piece..... sandals and shades.... no more no less.....

Island Tour Photoshoot
The best way to see the beauty of Boracay is to explore around the island and it`s various beaches . You can rent a native sailboat (paraw) or motorized outrigger (banca)  You will be constantly asked if you want to take a boat trip, as there are literally dozens of companies offering this service. It is better to go with a reputable and established groups to ensure your safety and avoid being overcharged.

Blue Moon

2008-10-14T14:34:00.003+08:00

Blue moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love on my own

Blue moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love on my own

Blue moon
You knew just what i was there for
You heard me saying a prayer
For someone i really could care for

And suddenly there appeared before me
The only one my arms could ever hold
I heard someone whisper, “please, adore me”
And when i looked my moon had turned to gold

Blue moon
Now i’m no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Without a love of my own

My new gear...

2008-10-02T15:39:00.009+08:00

I didn't expect buying online would be that fast. It's my first time to have an online transaction in ebay and in just 24 hours, my items arrived. Thanks to some trustworthy people in the net like Dennis Lim, a very reliable and honest power seller in ebay. I highly recommend this guy if you want to purchase digital gadgets in ebay.

Well..... my wife call it my guilty pleasures.... anyway I thank her so much for letting me have my new gear (without any @##%$#^$#.... hehehehe). It's another additional gaassssss2 for my hobby, a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens. Actually it's the cheapest starter lens with IS(image Stabilizer) technology good for shooting hand held in low-light places where flash photography is prohibited. The IS minimize shake in slow shutter speeds that creates jiggly effects when shooting hand held. And with a maximun focal length of 250mm, it's very useful in shooting long distance subjects.

Lens extracted in its maximum zoom....

Trying a long distance shot.

This bag weighs more than 2kg now... and it's giving me *&^%^$#@* backache!!!

Kitakits tayo sa MBS2!!!

2008-09-30T09:38:00.008+08:00

MINDANAWON: Paminawon Intawon
Blogging the Mindanao Consciousness

After the success of 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit held last October 2007 in Davao City, the Tuna Capital of Philippines is now up and ready for the biggest gathering of bloggers everywhere in Mindanao.

The 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit or MBS2 will be held at the Family Country Hotel and Convention Center here in Gensan City this coming October 25-26, 2008.

Registration is free and open to any past or present Mindanao resident, regardless of age or creed, as long as he has a BLOG published in any of the following platforms: Wordpress, Blogger, Livejournal, I.ph, Multiply, Friendster, Imeem, or any social networking site with BLOGGING Capabilities.

I am new to the world of blogging, and as a gensan based blogger, I am grabbing this oppurtunity to meet other bloggers from anywhere in Mindanao.

For more information on how to register, please visit gensantos.com

Kitakits!!!!!!

Finalist!!!

2008-09-24T10:23:00.012+08:00

(September 18, 2008 / 11:45 am)

I was surprised to received a text message from Jon of Jonallier Events Planning and Management informing me that my photo entries to the 2nd Canon Kadayawan sa Dabaw Photography contest were adjudged as Finalist. The Top 20 finalists were exhibited in The Atrium, Gaisano Mall of Davao, during the 2008 Tourism Celebration of the Department of Tourism and Davao Region Tourism Council from September 16-18, 2008. They will be giving the awards and certificates that very afternoon but since Davao is 3 hours away from gensan, nyeeee...nyeeee.... better stay here and celebrate. I can't really believe it since I'm just a practicing hobbyist that still learning the basics of photography. Hmmmm... maybe there were only 20 of us who joined this contest....hahahaha lucky me!!!! The contest guidelines was so strict.... no editing, no post processing, no cropping, no everything but whewww..... luckily it made to the finals, but not lucky enough to be on the top 5 winners. But then it's an achievement for me.... akalain mo parang ka level ko na rin yung mga beteranong professional photographers. Hayyyy...better luck next time and continue learning (the basics pa rin ;-)

The Contest results here.....

Photo Exhibit in Gaisano Mall Atrium, Davao City (Photo courtesy of Jojie Alcantara)

Kafe Balos (Mindanao Civet Coffee)

2008-09-18T16:28:00.007+08:00

(Design: Kyawster / Text:Fred F.)
Featured in TV Patrol SOCSKSARGEN

The Philippines has recently discovered it produces one of the world's most expensive and coveted kinds of coffee. It comes from an unusual source - the droppings of a nocturnal, cat-like animal called the palm civet. Civets, related to the mongoose, are usually seen as pests in the Philippines and hunted for their meat but their droppings are worth their weight in gold. Known locally as alamid or balos (B’laan dialect), civets are carnivorous but they also have a taste for the sweet, red coffee cherries that contain the beans. The beans pass through the civet whole after fermenting in the stomach and that's what gives the coffee its unique taste and aroma. Civet coffee is more oily, there's more aroma and it has such good taste that you can get value for money even if the cost is high.

Civets have a broadly cat-like general appearance, though the muzzle is extended and often pointed, rather like an otter or a mongoose. They range in length from about 17 to 28 in (400 to 700 mm) (excluding their long tails) and in weight from about 3 to 10 lb (1 to 5 kg). Viverrids are native to Africa (bar the area immediately south of the Mediterranean), Madagascar, the Iberian Peninsula, southern China, and Southeast Asia. Favored habitats include woodland, savanna, and mountain biomes and, above all, tropical rainforest. In consequence, many are faced with severe loss of habitat; several species are considered vulnerable and the Otter Civet is classified as endangered.

Very little is known about civets' mating habits. They breed year round, producing litters of 1-6 fully-furred babies after a gestation period of 60-81 days. Some species may have 2 litters per year. Civets are omnivorous, supplementing a meat diet (both hunted and scavenged) with fruit, eggs, and possibly roots.

The civet produces a musk (also called civet) highly valued as a fragrance and stabilizing agent for perfume. Both male and female civets produce the strong-smelling secretion, which is produced by the civet's perineal glands. It is harvested by either killing the animal and removing the glands, or by scraping the secretions from the glands of a live animal. The latter is the preferred method today.

Kopi Luwak, also known as caphe cut chon (fox-dung coffee) in Vietnam and kape alamid in the Philippines, is coffee that is prepared using coffee cherries that have been eaten and partially digested by the Asian Palm Civet, then harvested from its feces.
Filipino coffee traders called on villagers in Mountain Province to stop capturing and eating civet cats (Paradoxurus philippinensis) because a decline in the cat population would cause a decline in the supply of one of the world's most expensive coffee varieties.

Civet cats eat ripe coffee berries, and local coffee traders gather the beans from their droppings to produce the most expensive coffee varieties in the world. The civet cat, locally known as motit or alamid, is a nocturnal animal that roams the forests of northern Philippines and dwells on rocks where fruit-bearing trees grow nearby. Civet cat eats the ripest and sweetest varieties of coffee beans. Their digestive tracts filter the beans that pass through the intestines. The beans that are not digested are used as an ingredient in the making of what Filipinos call "Coffee Alamid."

Local producers say they wash the beans thoroughly and heat them to 250 degrees Fahrenheit to kill bacteria. SARS fears have stopped the Chinese from eating civet cats. But that hasn't turned off others from sipping the strangest of brews — one they insist is made from coffee beans eaten, partly digested and then excreted by the weasel-like animals.

Kabus

2008-09-16T10:15:00.005+08:00

Kabus gyud kaayo ang panginabuhi karun. Kinahanglan gyud nato mukayod ug husto sa tanang butang atong pagahimuon. Parehas aning sa litrato, ang basura sa uban mahimong bulawan sa iyaha. Sa pagtinguha niyang mabutangan ug unod ang hapdos nga tiyan, kinahanglan pang mukutkot ug yuta para mangita ug puthaw arun ibaligya sa junk shop. Ingon ana kalisod ang panginabuhi sa tawo sa kalibutan, pati mga bata gisayang ang kinabuhi sa pagkutkot sa mga basura nga unta naa ni sila sa mga eskwelahan nagatuon. Pero unsaon man nga wala gani ikapalit ug pagkaon, mugasto pa sa eskwelahan? Ikaw… nga ang mga ginikanan nag-antos sa pagtrabaho arun naay ipakaon ug ipa-eskwela sa imuha sa maarang-arang nga eskwelahan, sa pangandoy nga matagaan ka ug nindot nga kaugmaon, nganong wala man ka sa eskwelahan? Giuna pa ang pagdula ug computer sa mga café, pagbarkada. paglaruy-laroy ug pag inum-inom. Mau ba nay imuhang ibalos sa mga kaayuhan sa imuhang ginikanan? Kay nganong dili man gyud patas ang kinabuhi dinhi sa kalibutan?

10th Tuna Festival (Tuna Float Competition)

2008-09-11T10:36:00.021+08:00

Last September 5 was the Culmination of the 10th Tuna Festival in commemoration of the 40th Charterhood Anniversary of General Santos City. The hightlight of this event was the Tuna Float Competition participated by 14 float entries from fishing companies, private sectors and Schools from Gensan. The entries were really amazing, colorful and unique.

The winners of the competiton.... GRAND PRIZE WINNER: RD Corporation, 2nd Place: Coastal Barangay Bawing, 3rd Place: Tuna Canners Association of GenSan (TCAGS), 4th Place: San Andres Fishing Industries, Inc. and 5th Place: East Asia Royale Hotel

Below were the non-winning entries and some shots from the parade....

Gensan's 10th Tuna Festival "A decade of fish-tivities and oppor-Tuna-ties"

2008-09-10T15:43:00.013+08:00

Tuna Festival Culinary Expo (Table setting Competition)
Gaisano Mall, Gensan City

Sang nagligad nga semana nag agi ako sa Gaisano Mall kay mabakal tani ko sang ika-duha nga libro sang "Twilight Saga" ang "New Moon" sa may National Bookstore. Pagsulod ko pa lang sa entrance sang mall natingala ko ngaa daw kagutok gid sang mga tawo kag pirti ka gahod, kay gali may ara sang Table setting competition nga ginsalihan sang mga naglainlain nga mga eskwelahan dire sa gensan. Nagsuksok man ako to kag mag du-aw, ay abaw kanami gid gali sang ila ginpanghimo. Daw pang professional gid ang dating kag native inspired ang setting. Samtang naga libot ako tan-aw, waay man untat pitik ko sang akon camera. Ari ang iban sang mga kuha ko...

Waay lang ako kabalo kung sin-o ang mga tag-iya sang mga entry kay nalingaw na ko ka tan-aw, waay na man ako kapamangkot kung diin ang mga nagdaraug na entry.

Sa akon pag lagaw-lagaw sa sulod sang mall, na-agyan ko si mayor nga naga pangamusta sa mga kandidata sang Ms. Gensan. Ka mga gwapa gid sa ila, smarte kag talented. Kanami man sang dekorasyon sa Atrium sang Gaisano kung diin ginbutang ang stage sa tunga, kag sa ibabaw may naga biritay nga mga tuna. Kanami gid tan-awon sang atrium kung ara ka sa ibabaw, malingaw gid imo mata katan-aw tan-aw.

The Twilight Saga

2008-09-01T11:33:00.007+08:00

Hmmmmmm... I'm not a novel fanatic... and it takes a good book to get my attention. I prefer reading Technical/Computer related books and magazines. Last week, we were at the National Bookstore and my wife was so kulit. She keeps on begging to have a copy of the TWILIGHT Saga. So ano pa bang magagawa ko?

After two days she finished reading it then wala na s'yang ibang ginawa kundi kwentuhan ako nang kwentuhan about Edward and Bella. I tried reading the Preface... it's intriguing and it caught my interest. I'm now halfway and I can't stand putting it down once i've started reading. Well, who wouldn't want to read it???

It's a modern day vampire love story. It has something magical and fantasy element like "Blood and Chocolate" and "Harry Potter". We just bought the second book "New Moon" yesterday. I think I'm hooked on it now as if I was bitten by Edward and Bella's world.

KADAYAWAN FESTIVAL 2008

2008-08-28T16:33:00.002+08:00

The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting "Madayaw", from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living.

Madayaw Dabaw!!! Last Saturday (August 23, 2k8) was my first time to witness the Kadayawan Festival specially its grand event the "Indak-indak sa kadalanan" competition. It was truly an awesome event, full of colors and excitement as hundreds of young dancers in their most colorful costumes performed in the competition. Davao City is 3 hours away by bus from my hometown Gensan City. I arrived late so I was not able to witness the parade in the morning . The competition was scheduled in the afternoon so I have more time shooting the dancers while they're waiting for their turn.

Cloning me..... again....

2008-08-28T14:42:00.005+08:00

Wish I have clones.... so I can do all my jobs at the same time. Pwede na akong maglaba habang namamalantsa, nagwawalis habang nagdidilig at nagluluto habang naliligo. Mas masisiguro ko pang maayos yung trabaho ko dahil ako mismo ang gumagawa. Di ko na kailangan mag-utos at mamura kung di ko gusto yung trabaho ng inuutusan ko.
Kung pwede lang sana.... kaso sa Photoshop lang pwede eh....

Welcome to Bloggers World.......

2008-08-21T15:12:00.005+08:00

WHEW!!!! It's been quite a long time when I signed up to this blog site... and all i've posted was my experimental cloned photo. I'm not expecting that somebody would comment on my post.... I'm actually planning to delete this blog para wala ng maliligaw sa site na ito kaya lang sayang naman yung energy ng nag comment if mabubura lang. Kaya sapilitan na ito..... kahit man lang once a month na posting siguro okey na yon at least magkakaroon ng laman yung site ko. Actually, I created my blog heading ages ago, uploaded it last week..... then ngayon pa lang ako magpopost......

Anyway, why BLAGADAGGG!!!??? Hmmmnnn... wala lang....gusto ko lang....hehehe... para madaling tandaan, magkasing-tunog kasi ng BLOG. Well, according to street dictionary... BLAGADAGGG!!! is a very common expression referring to the sound of something or someone na nahuhulog galing sa 4th floor ng condo, taas ng poste o kaya billboards, kapag gumulong pa ito ay madadagdagan pa ng effect at magiging BLAGADAGGGADAGGGADAGGGGG!!!! Depende kung gaano katagal ang paggulong at pwede pang dugtungan ng TOINKKKSSS.....KRASSSHHHH.....ARRGGGGG... AWWWWWW!!!!!! In short ang BLAGADAGGG ay isang ekspresyon na tumutukoy sa KATANGAAN o KAPALPAKAN;-)

Happy BLAGADAGGINGGG!!!!!!!!

Cloned!!!

2008-06-11T15:20:00.001+08:00

Just trying to clone myself....