blogging can be libelous?

i'm in total awe when i read on someone else's blog that anyone blogging about someone (and something?) could be liable of libel, especially if he/she is

Quote,
- Publicly mentioning names of people being exposed in the blog.
- Posting pictures of the people being named by Brian Gorrell in his blog.
- Publishing the URL of the blog or linking to the blog.
- Quoting a libelous sentence on the blog or re-publishing/summarizing allegations thereof
Unquote.

do you agree or disagree? well, i guess it doesn't really matter if you're living in a civilised and democratic country ... it's a whole different matter if you're blogging from the Philippines.

click the link above - and make sure you read the blog and the comments section ... this whole thing has snowballed and as it develops, it has become one truly embarassing situation for the Philippines as a country, its government, its judicial system and its people. what an outrageous, alarming and shocking revelations!

geez, i wonder if i am guilty of libel now that i've published the much talked about link in my blog ... what do you think?

Happy Easter!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge Him
And He will direct you on your path."
- A bible passage

VALENCIA, SPAIN: Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias - L'Oceanografico

Same place we have been. The aquarium's fantastic! A visit to this wonderful museum is highly recommended.

Valencia Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

14 February 2008

Our trip to Valencia is something we looked forward to. Whenever you're in Valencia, Spain, a visit to their pride and joy of a museum called Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) is a must. It is one fascinating place and touted to be truly a world class science museum in every aspect.

Visit to the Oceanograpico Museum. 25€/ticket/person – it’s worth every dime (thanks for the treat, Faster Åsa). Highlight of the day was the dolphin show (see separate YouTube video).

We were up quite early this Valentine’s Day – our chirpy Alexander served as our alarm clock. He was already up and about at 5.30 am – I can assure you he’s like an annoying siren rambling about the house – not letting up unless everyone else is on their feet. As I sleepily prepared some breakfast, we map out our plan for our day activity: the 1 ½ hour trip to Valencia – the city famous for its art and science culture. It would be our advance birthday treat to Alexander.

The drive in itself was of course a bit boring for an overly excited and anxious soon-to-be-7-year-old-boy. To get him busy and his mind occupied, we initiated a contest called “spot-and-count-an-orange-tree” – there’s actually plenty of them along the stretch of AP-7 highway as most of the land are tilled as orange orchards. True enough, after counting endlessly, Alexander slept on our way home.

"thrilla" in Manila, Philippines

i'm sorry, but i just can't help posting this .... i just have to share (in case you haven't heard).

though thousand of miles away from the Philippines, i make it a point to touch base on what's going on out there by reading online mags and newspapers from Manila. while at it i came across Brian's blog which truly fascinates me in many ways possible - and he confirmed once more how things work in the Philippines. i felt so sad ... you see, there is nothing wrong about the Philippines per se ... it is some people in the Philippines behind its bad reputation.

Brian's plight is just one of those things that happen in the Philippines - and boy how he brought the house down against the so-called "elites" of the Philippines.

Below is the link to Brian's fight and cause ... make sure you read the history behind this saga (click the 8 posts on the upper left side corner of the page).

http://delfindjmontano.blogspot.com/

happy birthday to me!

hurray! i'm another year older ... and wiser! at least i believe so ...

and guess what? i had my birthday wake up call all the way from the Philippines! my friend, Dainty, never fails to greet me on my birthday - it would come in any form of letter, card, e-mail or by phone. today, we had a long girly-talk over the phone and it felt so good! geez, i miss our "telebabad"-days way back then. we had planned to rendezvous with our respective families in Orlando, Florida this Easter holidays, but due to some unexpected turn of events from our homefront, my family could not leave as planned. her family, however, are scheduled to leave next week ... i somehow felt that i let her down. oh well, there will always be another opportunity to meet - someday ... somehow ... somewhere.

in any case, i'd like to say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

a real crooner ...

i found this video of Alexander while i was cleaning up our picture files ... i thought this is sort of cute (well, i have to say so - i'm his Mom!).

anyway, this clip was taken in 2006 at the height of the Cars' craze - he was about 5 years old.

twogether for 19 years ...

... and still counting!

we are truly blessed of great and wonderful gifts as a couple; and the most treasured gift of all is, of course, our pride and joy, Alexander.

we couldn't ask for more ...

fun and sunny sunday

it's been another fun-filled weekend spent today. after lunch, alexander and i set off to our usual long walk to the shopping mall about 6 kilometers from our house - it was "easy-as-pie"! with alexander in tow, it was never a dull long walk .... what with all his chattering and singing and blabbering of endless stories and rhymes - his energy is contagious!

arriving at the mall, we were in for a surprise - it's kids' day and there were activities for children at every nook and corner. what caught our attention was the giant trampoline in the middle of the shopping court where children get to hop as high as they could as they were attached to some mechanical "bungy" straps. there is no mistaking the piercing shout and shrieks of glee - it's an experience of sheer joy and excitement.

alexander was mesmerised ... he wanted to try, of course. so we queued until he got his turn. "mommy, take a picture of me when i am high up there. i want daddy to see this", he said. you can see that he was very excited. and off he went .... (see video below).



alexander was quite satisfied with the experience and was beaming with pride.

after a few rounds to the different toy shops, we decided to head for home. time passed us by so quickly ... we arrived home quite tired - i went for a nap while alexander busied himself with his Wii games. i was awaken by alexander's whisper to my ear: "mommy, i'm hungry ..." my short nap was almost a deep slumber ... it was almost 8 pm.

well, too much fun can truly wear one out ...

the long wait is over ...

finally, we got word from the local police station that our long lost scooter was awarded to us as its rightful owner.

remember what i wrote about our precious scooter stolen from our backyard? the incident happened a couple of years back. last year, we were informed that it was recovered - still in traffic but physically decapacitated since its absence from our garden shed.

oh well, the only interest we have in recovering that poor thing is to get hold of its spare parts as reserve to my other scooter - and to teach that "robber" a lesson.

ahhh ... justice is truly bittersweet.

hello, springtime!

yup, the signs of spring cheered me up as i woke up to the cheery chirping of birds outside my bedroom window - hurray!

it's the 1st of March - it's the time of year when i'd get myself overly excited about a lot of special occasions bound to happen on this very month. on its first week, we celebrate our wedding anniversary; my birthday falls under the second week of March; some of my friends and cousins' birthday fall during the third week of March (Neyney and Shez among others); and my beloved husband's birthday falls under the fourth week of March - which is also the same week Sweden starts their Easter Holidays. so, you see, this for me is truly a merry month to be happy about.

i guess it is only but proper for me to say hello to springtime, and enjoy the merry and festive month of March ... and beyond!