Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 211

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/45495/riz...

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/45495/rizal-butterflies


Rizal & butterflies
opinion.inquirer.net
Once we had to endure a long-winded academic who held forth with an impassioned monologue on Rizal. With lunch waiting in the next room, I decided to cut him short with a suggestion: “Perhaps your conclusion would be different if you had consulted Rizal’s correspondence with Dr. Czepelak.” The silen...

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/45381/our......

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/45381/our-balimbing-is-the-coromandel-gooseberry


Our ‘balimbing’ is the Coromandel gooseberry
opinion.inquirer.net
In the past 10 months at Sophia University in Tokyo, my host professor Takefumi Terada, dean of the faculty of Foreign Studies, has patiently rounded off my culinary education by pushing me out of the Pinoy comfort zone that is familiar with tempura, sushi, sashimi, tonkatsu, ramen, and karaage chi...

Remains of saints used to be cut up and distributed among the faithful. These gi...

Remains of saints used to be cut up and distributed among the faithful. These gilt reliquaries contained the arms or hands of various saints and I imagine that the one that preserved that of 16thC mystic Teresa de Avila was like one of these. Critics claimed that the late generalissimo Franco of Spain kept the arm of Teresa de Avila by his bedside not because he was devout but rather because it was a good back scratcher!

We have many signs against doing "Number 1" in public places in the Philippines...

We have many signs against doing "Number 1" in public places in the Philippines but signs against "Number 2" are quite rare like this one seen in a government office and sent by Maisa Castañeda.Too bad I didn't have a camera to document a sign inside a Batangas church that read "Bawal tumae sa Tahanan ng Diyos." Now that's truly OMG.


Smile

In another life I gave S. R. Nathan President of Singapore (1999-2011) a tour of...

In another life I gave S. R. Nathan President of Singapore (1999-2011) a tour of the Ayala Museum and Fort Santiago. His parting words were, "let me know when you visit Singapore." Was surprised that he remembered and hosted a lunch at the Istana where I presented him with "Rizal without the overcoat." I guess this was one of the perks of once being National Tour Guide of the Philippines. Much of the conversation over lunch, however, remains off the record.


Near Famous

I envy painters because their pictures are often worth more than a thousand word...

I envy painters because their pictures are often worth more than a thousand words from historians. Carlos V. Francisco left us with many iconic images. After Rajah Humabon was baptized and named Carlos his wife was christened Juana (after the Spanish Queen Juana la loca or Joanna the Mad) she asked for a gift and was given an image that survives today as the Sto Nino de Cebu. Pit Senyor! Happy Sinulog fiesta for our friends in Cebu!

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My column today is on mothers. Whenever people remember her they always wonder w...

My column today is on mothers. Whenever people remember her they always wonder why I did not inherit her good looks.

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My Inquirer column today on my mother who would've turned 80 tomorrow.http://op...

My Inquirer column today on my mother who would've turned 80 tomorrow.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/45061/mothers-and-history


Mothers and history
opinion.inquirer.net
My mother would’ve turned 80 this weekend had she not passed away unexpectedly, 10 years ago, 12 days after she turned 70. Aside from memories, the only physical part of her person left with us today are part of her ashes in the crypt of Sanctuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park and a small plot of e...

The two first books published in the Philippines in 1593 are preserved in: the U...

The two first books published in the Philippines in 1593 are preserved in: the US Library of Congress "Doctrina Tagala" and the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana in Madrid "Tratado de Doctrina" aka "Shih-lu." Lets hope Philippine libraries follow suit and share their rarities online too. Posted today is the title page of the Shih-lu.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/44941/fir...

http://opinion.inquirer.net/44941/first-books


First book(s)
opinion.inquirer.net
History teachers have a fetish for firsts: first sundial in the Philippines, first adobo, first destructive storm/earthquake, first woman president, first hero, first Miss Universe, First Filipino. Endless is the list that torments students who not only have to know these bits of useless information...