Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 189

Long before PAGASA, the Philippines relied on the Manila Observatory founded by...

Long before PAGASA, the Philippines relied on the Manila Observatory founded by the Jesuit Fr. Federico Faura (thats why we have a Ermita street called "Padre Faura") whose observations on weather and earthquakes were cited world-wide. This photo shows the meteorological station after the typhoon of September 1905. The "MO" has a wonderful website with a lot of historical material.

Elizabeth Keith is an an artist best known for her woodblock prints of Japan. Sh...

Elizabeth Keith is an an artist best known for her woodblock prints of Japan. She visited the Philippines in the early 1900's and drew very romantic images like this from Mindanao showing a woman using a banana leaf as an umbrella. Definitely not something you would use during a Super typhoon.

My Inquirer column today isn't about the typhoon or the frustrating Amnesia Quee...

My Inquirer column today isn't about the typhoon or the frustrating Amnesia Queen Napoles.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/64923/dasmarinas-hideyoshi-and-san-pedro-bautista


Dasmariñas, Hideyoshi, and San Pedro Bautista
opinion.inquirer.net
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) is often encountered by Filipino students taking an Asian history course or, depending on the textbook or teacher, Hideyoshi may be mentioned in passing together with Dasmariñas in a Philippine history course.

I'm glad I have never been on the wrong side of Miriam Defensor Santiago. Spent...

I'm glad I have never been on the wrong side of Miriam Defensor Santiago. Spent an hour chatting with her once and was told by a Cabinet member afterwards, "buti ka pa kinakausap nyan!" I can think of a handful of people who fit her description of "unparalleled mediocrity" and "fungus face."

Re-reading Noli me tangere on an i-pad feels different, but the story whether di...

Re-reading Noli me tangere on an i-pad feels different, but the story whether digital or print reminded me of these watercolors of Philippine life made by J. A. Karuth in the late 1850's. The Franciscan friar on the left resembles Padre Damaso, the Dominican (caption is wrong) on the right doesn't resemble any of the characters created by Rizal but Karuth drew them all, Jesuits and Agustinians, fat and round.

Last weekend on the Star Ferry my favorite nephew and I re-enacted a pose we mad...

Last weekend on the Star Ferry my favorite nephew and I re-enacted a pose we made seven years ago in the same window seat. History in the making--seven years from now he will probably be carrying me or pushing my wheelchair. Click to view both photos and spot the differences :)

Homage to Warhol. We go through life seeing things but not noticing them. These...

Homage to Warhol. We go through life seeing things but not noticing them. These are just rows of canned Campbell's soup that pass unnoticed in supermarkets until Andy Warhol re-presented them in his art hundreds of times leading us to look at the ordinary in new ways.

All Souls Day reminded me of two sculptures by Rizal: the one on the left is "Th...

All Souls Day reminded me of two sculptures by Rizal: the one on the left is "The Triumph of Death over Life" on the right is "The Triumph of Life (Knowledge) over Death." Only copies of these works have survived as the originals are believed to have been lost or destroyed during the Battle for Manila in 1945.

Pahabol sa undas. This is one of my favorite graves in the Manila North Cemetery...

Pahabol sa undas. This is one of my favorite graves in the Manila North Cemetery a.k.a Cementerio del Norte. Most people have mourning angels or crucifixes as grave markers, an Eygptian Sphinx does make a statement.

My Inquirer column today--sorry its not on Halloween or All Saints or on All Sou...

My Inquirer column today--sorry its not on Halloween or All Saints or on All Souls Day.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/64449/japan-in-philippine-history


Japan in Philippine history
opinion.inquirer.net
Hasekura Tsunenaga was a Japanese samurai who was received in Mexico, Spain, the Vatican, and the Philippines as a Spanish ambassador in a romantic seven-year journey. He was given an audience by King Philip III in Madrid, was baptized at the Real Monasterio de Descalzas Reales where the Duke Lerma…