Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 167

Contrary to rumor, I am NOT the owner of the First edition Noli me tangere (1887...

Contrary to rumor, I am NOT the owner of the First edition Noli me tangere (1887) that fetched seven million pesos at auction last week. What I do own are memories and experiences, like cradling the original manuscript of the Noli with the cover hand-drawn by Rizal himself. This priceless relic was conserved courtesy of the German government is now preserved in the National Library of the Philipines. Pls share.


2014

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/78730/que...

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/78730/quezon-in-japan-1938


Quezon in Japan, 1938
opinion.inquirer.net
Grant K. Goodman (1924-2014) was a historian who specialized in Japan and Asia. After his retirement from the University of Kansas, he used to describe himself as an ���extinguished��� rather than the distinguished professor he truly was. I was drawn to him at conferences because of his engaging present���

Took friends to the bamboo forest in Kamakura last weekend. I've been to Hokukuj...

Took friends to the bamboo forest in Kamakura last weekend. I've been to Hokukuji temple many times before but each visit is always like seeing it for the first time. Photo courtesy of my new friend Visha.


2014

Born in Panay when P.I. referred to the "Philippine Islands" not the expletive,...

Born in Panay when P.I. referred to the "Philippine Islands" not the expletive, Juan and Martina de la Cruz were billed in a U.S. postcard as the smallest people in the world. Both were born to normal-sized parents and at 32 years old Juan measured 29" tall while Martina at 36 stood at 27". Juan married an average-sizied much younger woman and more research should yield what else happened to them in the US after they were exhibited in carnivals.


2014

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/78586/wit......

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/78586/with-ricarte-in-yokohama


With Ricarte in Yokohama
opinion.inquirer.net
In Tokyo, the International House of Japan has a famous reference library that has on its locked Rare Book shelf a privately printed book, ���Nippon in Spring��� by Esmeraldo E. de Leon, the ���Souvenir of the Second Filipino Students Educational Party to Japan in 1936.���

Did Rizal smoke? Why would he make this clay pipe if he didn't? Perhaps he wante...

Did Rizal smoke? Why would he make this clay pipe if he didn't? Perhaps he wanted to send this as a present for his friend Blumentritt who was such a heavy smoker Rizal sent him a Pinoy-made lighter and fragrant Philippine flowers. Too bad this pipe is not extant and is believed lost or destroyed during World War II. Pls share.


2014

Long before styling gel or even Tancho Tique, Pinoys in 1936 got the slick shiny...

Long before styling gel or even Tancho Tique, Pinoys in 1936 got the slick shiny look using Tarzan pomade from Japan. I presume it kept hair in place even if you swing from trees. Pls share.


2014

FB friends asked for the list of books that are significant to me. I oblige with...

FB friends asked for the list of books that are significant to me. I oblige with not one but two lists in my Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/78550/books-and-privacy


Books and privacy
opinion.inquirer.net
What books are significant to you? Facebook introduced this challenge to get people engaged and read the advertisements that boost its revenues. Facebook friends ask the same intrusive question to get people to disclose a bit more about themselves. Don���t think too hard, they ask, just give a list.

I crashed the Palanca Awards night and found myself in the Presidential Table wi...

I crashed the Palanca Awards night and found myself in the Presidential Table with Gilda Cordero Fernando, guest of honor, who delivered a wonderful speech. (I went home with the original manuscript with all her corrections).
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/171700/crash-a-door


Crash a door
lifestyle.inquirer.net
You will now be punished with the keynote speech I gave on Palanca Awards night this September.

Caught the last day of a GOYA exhibition in Tokyo National Museum of Western Art...

Caught the last day of a GOYA exhibition in Tokyo National Museum of Western Art and was drawn to a print that applies to many of our transport and political issues: "the sleep of Reason produces monsters." Pls share


2014