Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 161

Its a blessing to have a profession you truly enjoy because work is always a ple...

Its a blessing to have a profession you truly enjoy because work is always a pleasure. Spent the day poring over original letters of Rizal to his family. When I look up I have a wall of paintings by Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. I'm grateful the late Eugenio Lopez, Sr. collected all these and established a museum to share with the public. Pls share. (Photo courtesy of Mercy Servida)


2014

My Inquirer column today is about being a teacher concerned with the progress of...

My Inquirer column today is about being a teacher concerned with the progress of students.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/80816/rizal-report-cards


Rizal report cards
opinion.inquirer.net
When I am asked how to make history interesting, my standard reply is that history, as an academic subject, is naturally engaging, and if you think or feel otherwise, that simply means you probably had a bad teacher.

Looking at: Bencab, Cirilo Bautista, and F. Sionil Jose recently made me realize...

Looking at: Bencab, Cirilo Bautista, and F. Sionil Jose recently made me realize I will never be National Artist because I don't use a cane nor wheelchair. Worse, I still have hair. (Pls share)

One of the three ongoing shows at Silverlens is Memento by Gregory Halili who ca...

One of the three ongoing shows at Silverlens is Memento by Gregory Halili who carves and paints lifelike skulls on shells. I braved Hagupit to view this exceptional piece, the "Craneo de Rizal." Please share. (Photo courtesy of Sandy Tan).


2014

F. Sionil Jose, National Artist for Literature, turned 90 last week. Am envious...

F. Sionil Jose, National Artist for Literature, turned 90 last week. Am envious Lourd de Veyra inherited a penis sheath, all I got was immortality as a character in his novel "Sins."


2014

Waiting for typhoon Ruby/Hagupit reminded me of barometers from the Jesuit-run M...

Waiting for typhoon Ruby/Hagupit reminded me of barometers from the Jesuit-run Manila Observatory that used to be standard emergency equipment on ships and homes. Those designed by Federico Faura (hence Padre Faura street in Ermita where the Observatory used to be located before they moved to the Ateneo campus in QC) are more famous than that made by his successor Jose Algue.


2014

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/80683/ced...

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/80683/cedulario-de-manila


���Cedulario de Manila���
opinion.inquirer.net
People who patiently read through the long list of titles of the recently departed Duchess of Alba in my column last Wednesday have an idea of the long-winded system of multiple surnames and double surnames that survived in the Philippines from the Spanish period. This still leads to some confusion,���

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/80629/the...

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/80629/the-duchess-of-alba


The Duchess of Alba
opinion.inquirer.net
When I was learning French I was advised to read Tintin in the original because it was grammatically correct compared to Asterix, which used too many colloquial terms. The pictures helped me make sense of unfamiliar words.

My pessimistic father worried when he entered the Ayala Museum at 2pm last Satur...

My pessimistic father worried when he entered the Ayala Museum at 2pm last Saturday for my last History Comes Alive lecture for 2014 to find a sparse crowd. Little over 500 people turned up at 3 pm and assured us that the series continues in 2015. Lecture took an hour but book signing took two and a half hours. Crowd shot courtesy of Xiao Chua.

Wondering what Christmas shopping was like in the prewar Crystal Arcade on Escol...

Wondering what Christmas shopping was like in the prewar Crystal Arcade on Escolta designed by Andres Luna de San Pedro, son of Juan Luna. All malls look alike these days, this one literally had Old World Charm.


2014