the type who remembers

Photo

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:20:01 -0400

juanrepublic: 22 Years Ago Today: 1990 Luzon Earthquake This is...

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:27:15 -0400

22 Years Ago Today: 1990 Luzon Earthquake

This is not my story to tell.I was barely a year old when this tragedy struck. The only story I had (as told by my parents) about a national calamity when I was a baby was a year later, during the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption. Supposedly, I repeatedly told them the lines ‘Tot ako mawnteyn tubot’ (“Takot ako sa Mountain Pinatubo” or “I’m afraid of Mt. Pinatubo”). And based on the age of my usual readers/followers and most of the Filipino Tumblr users, I think only a few could tell his/her story of the 1990 Luzon earthquake.

But I do have an a posteriori experience of the tragedy. During the glorious age of educational shows on Philippine TV, we had this program Bayani. It was a show on ABS-CBN that features the lives of our national heroes during the Spanish, American, and Japanese colonization periods. But during the later years of the program, they also featured contemporary and ordinary heroes such as Macliing Dulag (a tribal chieftain in Cordillera who led a protest during the Marcos regime), Sajid Bulig (a hero of the Bocaue. Bulacan pagoda tragedy of 1993), and Roselle Ambubuyog (the visually-impaired Filipina who became a Summa Cum Laude at the Ateneo De Manila University).

I remember one Bayani episode when they featured the story of the miners of Benguet who became a rescuer at the collapsed Hyatt Terraces Hotel. It was a memorable experience for me since it showed the resilience and heroism of those miners who did that noble and courageous act voluntarily. The story even became more dramatic when they were asked to stop their rescuing mission because they were accused of plundering what was left at the hotel. Their hard work paid off when they managed to pull out a survivor days after being trapped from the rubble.

If there’s one thing I can be proud of, that would be the spirit of bayanihan among us, Filipinos. Though we may be criticized as a nation who only become united during the time of tragedy, that is some trait that can’t be easily removed from us. But do we really have to wait for a tragedy just to knock some wisdom in our heads?

A few days ago, I was browsing a published journal about the frequency of earthquakes in the whole world. It includes an X-ray-esque map that shows what countries experience more earthquakes. And being an archipelago lying at the Pacific Ring of Fire, I wasn’t surprised to see a bright, white line that stretches across the whole country. It is said that this year (or the next years to come) is the time in the earthquake cycle when the big one is expected to strike. But are we prepared? Are the foundations of our buildings intact? Have we inspected the weak spots in our infrastructures? Are the people residing near the fault lines advised to relocate? do we have a concrete, emergency plan just in case the big one strike? As cliche as it may sound, it is better to be prepared than sorry.

For those who are old enough to remember: Where were you during the 1990 Luzon earthquake?

Source: I saw this photo on my Twitter timeline. This was the front page of The Philippine Star on the 17th of July 1990, a day after the tragedy.

hotguysreadingbooks: The only insight our submitter gives about...

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:24:35 -0400

hotguysreadingbooks:

The only insight our submitter gives about the mystery man in this beautiful photo is “Paris, Summer of 2011.” Anyone want to imagine a romantic backstory that leads to this hot guy reading on a bridge? The possibilities are endless.

(thanks, Taynée!)

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Posted by Kristin

myedol: Street Poetry by Robert Montgomery

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:22:56 -0400

myedol:

Street Poetry by Robert Montgomery

the collapsing sun: 'a bottle of storm clouds' cover, details - revealed!

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:22:08 -0400

the collapsing sun: 'a bottle of storm clouds' cover, details - revealed!:

collapsingsun:

Feast your eyes on this gorgeousness! The cover art is here and my first short story collection - A Bottle of Storm Clouds - is coming to bookstores real soon, courtesy of Visprint.

Cover art and design by Karen Francisco, author of Naermyth.

Award-winning author Eliza…

you should have checked your pockets

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:09:27 -0400

whywebrokeupproject:

you weren’t sure our relationship was working so you were talking it through with your best friend. you pocket dialed me and left me a voicemail that recorded eight and a half minutes of that conversation. i played the voicemail back for you and that was the end of that.

somethingvain: christian dior haute couture f/w 2012

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:08:24 -0400

somethingvain:

christian dior haute couture f/w 2012

Photo

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:03:02 -0400

heyoscarwilde: Shiny Happy People between scenes on Back to the...

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:56:00 -0400

heyoscarwilde:

Shiny Happy People

between scenes on Back to the Future with Neil Canton (producer), Robert Zemeckis (director) and Michael J. Fox circa 1984 :: scanned from Starlog Magazine :: O’Quinn Publishing :: 1985