Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 152

So much ink spilled waxing over a Manila socialite's long swan-like neck by writ...

So much ink spilled waxing over a Manila socialite's long swan-like neck by writers who don't know what a long neck is really like in Myanmar.

Sorry for the late posting, my Inquirer column yesterday on the urban legend abo...

Sorry for the late posting, my Inquirer column yesterday on the urban legend about handkerchiefs with Rizal blood would not load on FB.
opinion.inquirer.net/83970/blood-and-bones


Editorial cartoon, April 11, 2015
opinion.inquirer.net
To subscribe to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper in the Philippines, call +63 2 896-6000 for Metro Manila and Metro Cebu or email your subscription request here.

Chichaworm is a new Bohol food product. Crunchy spicy cultured worms. Tasty and...

Chichaworm is a new Bohol food product. Crunchy spicy cultured worms. Tasty and good with beer!

Sorry for the late posting of my Inquirer column today about the old part of Mak...

Sorry for the late posting of my Inquirer column today about the old part of Makati--the pusod ng Makati.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/83917/miracle-in-makati


Miracle in Makati
opinion.inquirer.net
Contrary to popular belief, Makati is not just the commercial and business district of the Philippines. It is not just a former swampland masterfully developed by the Zobel de Ayala family in the middle of the last century into a city of skyscrapers, glitzy malls and high-end gated communities (Forb���

Horror vacui (fear of empty space) is said to be part of Filipino aesthetic and...

Horror vacui (fear of empty space) is said to be part of Filipino aesthetic and someone said we got this not from Spain but from Mexico. When you visit Spanish colonial churches in Mexico you will see horror vacui on a differet level. Every inch of space carved, gilded, and painted to give the faithful a vision of heaven on earth.


2015

Imperial Easter Egg hunt. Faberge crafted 50 unique bejeweled eggs with a "surpr...

Imperial Easter Egg hunt. Faberge crafted 50 unique bejeweled eggs with a "surprise" inside for the Russian Imperial family from 1885 to 1916. Eight remain unaccounted for so if you find one, like this beauty in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, its worth a few million dollars. Happy Easter!

Contemplating one of my ancestors today reminded me of the Manila visit of Princ...

Contemplating one of my ancestors today reminded me of the Manila visit of Prince Charles after the HK turnover in 1997. He was to be presented with a tarsier making an embassy officer ask worriedly "does it bite?" I was more worried it would pee on royalty.

Christ is taken down from the cross painted by the anonymous "Bohol Master" in t...

Christ is taken down from the cross painted by the anonymous "Bohol Master" in the late 18th or early 19th century. There are two Marys here, Mary the grieving mother whose heart is pieced by a dagger, and Mary Magdalene with the long hair mourning Jesus by kissing his hand. John stands by. This is part of a 14-piece Stations of the Cross preserved by the Bangko Sentral. Pls share.


2015

My Inquirer column today is an excerpt for a memoir in progress. Hope you like i...

My Inquirer column today is an excerpt for a memoir in progress. Hope you like it enough for me to finish the book.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/83781/cloistered


Cloistered
opinion.inquirer.net
In my mind���s eye I see it clearly, white as the empty page I slowly fill with idle words and stray memory. An oasis of peace nestled in the grimy navel of a city best remembered in the past tense, a city once extolled by a 16th-century Spanish king as ���insigne y muy leal��� (distinguished and ever loy���

Sophia University students picnic under the sakura blooms, its called hanami. La...

Sophia University students picnic under the sakura blooms, its called hanami. Last Sunday there were more than the usual number of Pinoys at St. Ignatius church, some ignored the posted warning about selling food on the street. In Tokyo you can find: banana-q, bbq, lugao, puto, kutsinta, tuyo, bangus and even Eskinol. (Photo courtesy of Fumi Terada)


2015