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Efren and the other side of his award

This year's CNN Hero is Efren Penaflorida!

I am not going to spoil the jubilation of the whole country and to those who voted for him.

I am, like them, in jubilant mood when I heard and read the news of him winning.

No question about that.

But, the bitchy side of me shows no mercy.

Not for him. Not for the Dynamic Teen Company.

The award also shows the recent devastating plight of millions of Filipino children who are out-of-school.

The number of these school-less kids could be prevented if the HYPOCRITE CATHOLIC CHURCH would stay out of way by telling every horny POOR families that using contraceptions is against the teaching of the hypocrites!

Raising up a child IS not EASY. How much more with 2 or 5 or 9?

I can't explain that to you as I don't have a family of my own --- but I SEE it in my totally extended family where I have aunts and uncles with 4-11 children whose don't have white-collared jobs. Their monthly paycheck is still at the poverty line.

I used to give them snide remarks about their "skill of plowing" but I'm always intercepted with remarks like, "It's not your worry. It's ours."

The most common remarks I heard from them was, "If you have many children, they can help you when you grow old."

That's security reason.

But, some of those children didn't even finish high school, only few. They are working now to help their big family.

They got married early and have many children, too.

Because village / barangay life doesn't offer much opportunity, they move to the city for "greener pasture."

And the cycle continues.

The real victims?

The young, innocent children.

From Germany to Japan

I've been emailing some of my friends to be a guest blogger in this blog.

They all said YES and I'm waiting for their articles and photos as of this writing.

And guess, who's the first guy who responded?
It's Chris.

From Germany.

I met him in Japan during the"Japan Highlights Tour" organized by a fellow couchsurfer, Mochan, of Wish Club.

We've been together for five day and it was such fun for having him and the rest of the sojourners in Japan.

Click the video. He's cute. :)

Here's what he says about his Japan trip.

It was 1998 when I started to love Japan.

I just knew it from postcards, movies, video games and - well - the Japanese soccer team and I said to myself, "Damn, one day I will go there and explore it by myself."

Eleven years later years later, my dream came true when I started my first trip alone to the other side of the world.

What I experienced was way beyond my expectations: food, freaks, friends, geishas, temples, nighlife, onsen, sake, shinkansen (bullet train), short skirts and much more!

I decided to take my camcorder and start a little diary for me to remember my trip and for my family and friends to enjoy it with me.

Besides that, I had to prove that I managed to accomplish the tasks which I asked my friends to give me before I took off. This was sometimes pretty nasty, a little bit embarrassing, but always fun as hell!

When I came back I wanted to get back there immediately to visit all my new friends and couchsurfers again!

I hope that someday our ways will cross again...

Beijing's First Ever Sing-a-long Sound of Music

Last Saturday, despite the windy and freezing weather, The Boat sailed off with the singing seven children of a widower naval commander, Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp.

And of course, Maria was aboard on it, too!

She was hard to ignore---she was the only one in a nun costume.

Boy, she (or was she a he?) behaved badly. I saw her pouring and serving alcohol to her tutees and her bitches.

If you were at Beijing's First Ever Sing-a-long Sound of Music debauchery, you were, for sure, sang a-long with the rest of the crew.

The captain's children were soooo badass (I saw you, Phil! Hahahahaha) and they can really carry a tune!

It was magical!

The crowd went gaga over romantic scenes of the Captain and the Governess.

They sang their hearts out as if to impress Simon Cowell for the next American Idol or Britain's Got Talent.

Every song from the movie was gladly sang by the pleasing hearts of men and women who cared nothing but fun sans the fear of being captured by The Third Reich.

It was a fun-filled event of enthusiastic people who are united not just for the love the 1965 film but also for the love of music.

Whether they were out of tune or not, it didn't matter.

Alcohol kept pouring in and saved their face from falsetto and unheard baritone ever.

Just like the recurring theme of the movie, which is making choices, the ones who were there made their choice: they sing and dance their way to a fun-filled life!

The SOUND of MUSIC, is heard, beyond the Alps in Switzerland.

It's beyond the Rainbow Flag that's been hanging at The Boar Bar.

It's TIMELESS.

It's UNIVERSAL.