Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 168

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

People are panic buying the September issue of Esquire off the shelves to get th...

People are panic buying the September issue of Esquire off the shelves to get the historic Eraserheads CD inside. The big surprise is that I am also inside and now considered historical rather than hysterical. (Thanks to Jake Versoza for this pic and Gerard Lico who was thoughtful enough to send it to me in Tokyo) Pls share.


2014

My Inquirer column today opens with Bibingkahttp://opinion.inquirer.net/78366/h...

My Inquirer column today opens with Bibingka
http://opinion.inquirer.net/78366/history-in-language


History in language
opinion.inquirer.net
Bibingka is sometimes used as a vulgar slang word to describe a part of the female anatomy, but for many Pinoys it means a rice cake that we associate with Christmas and the dawn Masses that precede it. When I presented a paper on rice in the Philippines at a conference in New York University, the a���

Presidents of the Philippines take possession of Malacanang by ascending the fam...

Presidents of the Philippines take possession of Malacanang by ascending the famous staircase into its grand hall for the first time as President, after taking their oath of office. Do they, like Manuel Luis Quezon, remember the urban legend about Rizal's mother, Teodora Alonso, climbing the same staircase on her knees, to plead for the life of her son from the Spanish Governor General.? In his memoirs, Quezon says that story kept him from signing any death sentences during his term. Pls share.


2014

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/78315/riz...

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/78315/rizal-the-bed-spacer


Rizal the bed spacer
opinion.inquirer.net
In his student memoirs, Jose Rizal speaks very fondly about his Jesuit education at Ateneo Municipal compared to his stay in the Dominican-run University of Santo Tomas (the Royal and Pontifical University in the Philippines at the time). One should be fair on this issue and remember that Ateneo Mun���

Historians often read history off tombstones. This one in Zoshigaya cemetery in...

Historians often read history off tombstones. This one in Zoshigaya cemetery in Tokyo reads: "Alfred Charlton, Order of Merit 5th Class, and wife Seiko." It is the closest I got to Usui Seiko the lady who kept Rizal company during his Japan visit from February-April 1888. (Photo by Takefumi Terada, 2009) Please share.


2014

Many people cannot imagine a melon (right) that sells for $250 but in Japan ever...

Many people cannot imagine a melon (right) that sells for $250 but in Japan everything is possible including the watermelon shaped like a Song-period double gourd much esteemed by Filipino collectors of Chinese ceramics. Was amazed in Ginza today. Pls share


2014

Mobile UploadsSo I went to the bookstore to pick up the l...

Mobile Uploads
So I went to the bookstore to pick up the latest Esquire issue with the new Eraserheads songs, as well as grab additions to my Ambeth Ocampo book collection. Lo and behold, the same magazine issue features an interview with Sir @[666801646:2048:Ambeth R. Ocampo]. Awesome! :) #RFTS #HappyReading #FanboyPeg

Room with a view. Home for the next two months is the Internatiomal House Japan...

Room with a view. Home for the next two months is the Internatiomal House Japan an oasis in Central Tokyo. I hear birds and running water, this will be a productive time.


2014

Seat of Power. A view of the gallery taken from behind the chair of the Chief Ju...

Seat of Power. A view of the gallery taken from behind the chair of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Majesty of the Law stopped me from sitting or even touching this chair.


2014