Salamat Dolphy (1928-2012)

Kahit ngayong kabi-kabila na ang pag-alala at pakikisimpatiya ng lahat ng Pinoy saan man sa mundo sa pagkawala ni Mang Dolphy, pakiramdam ko kelangan ko ring makapagsulat ng kahit munting tribute para sa kanya. Ewan ko ba..hindi naman ako kaano-ano, ni hindi naman kakilala pero kagaya ng karamihan sa atin, bahagi ng aking kabataan si Dolphy...may isang bahagi sa sarili ko na nalungkot..nakakalungkot naman talaga yung mabalitaan na wala na yung isang kakilala, yun bang para akong namatayan ng malapit na kamag-anak. At bakit naman hindi..sa ilang taon rin namang kasa-kasama natin sa ating mga tahanan si Dolphy..sa telebisyon..sa sine..

Naalala ko pa dati nung bata pa ako, wala pa kaming TV, ni wala pa ngang kuryente sa barangay namin pero kilala ko na si Dolphy. Halos laking sinehan ako. Ninong sa kasal nina Tatay yung may-ari ng dati'y nag-iisang sinehan sa bayan namin. Makinista pa sa naturang sinehan ang isang kapatid ni Tatay. Tindera naman ng kakanin ang Lola ko-buchi, kamote cue. Madalas nilalako nya ito sa oras ng sine at madalas kapag nakahabilin ako kay lola, kasa-kasama rin nya ako paglalako.Nakakabisado ko na nga ang palabas, sa araw-gabi ba naman halos na labas-masok ako sa sinehan ..lalo na kung Tagalog ang palabas. ..Nino Muhlach. FPJ. Lito Lapid. at syempre Dolphy. Kahit ulit-ulitin,ayos lang.

Isa naman sa kinakasabikan ko pag napapaluwas ng maynila ay ang makapanood ng TV sa bahay ng mga tiyahin ko. Kapanahunan ng Channel 13 at 9 noon, kasikatan yan ng EAT Bulaga, Iskul Bukol, TODAS at siempre John en Marsha..sino bang hindi nakakaalala sa pinakakagiliwang pamilya sa telebisyon..ang mag-asawang si John Puruntong at Marsha, ang matinis na boses ni Matutina at ang walang kamatayang linya ni Donya Delilah.."Kaya John..magsumikap ka"..

Grade 5 na yata ako ng magkakuryente sa lugar namin. Siempre isa sa mga sinadyang maipundar nina Tatay ang TV. Black and white na de-pihit ang channel at laminated wood ang katawan. Wala pang cable noon kaya antenna lang sa bubong na madalas mawala ang signal lalo na kung umuulan at mahangin. Pero ayos lang. Ang importante sa amin noon, may TV na kami. Makakapanood na ng mga paborito naming palabas. Makakapanood na ng John en Marsha.Ilang taon pa bago kami naka-afford ng Colored TV. Wala ng John en Marsha pero may Home Along Da Riles na. Wala na si John pero ganun pa rin ang sayang dala ng pamilya ni Mang Kevin (Dolphy), ni Aling Ason (Nova Villa) at ni Richie (played by Babalu). Walang kupas.

Iba talaga ang karisma ng isang Dolphy. Palibhasa puro ordinaryong tao ang kinatawan nya sa mga naging palabas kaya masang-masa talaga ang dating. May nakikita ang bawat nanonood na bahagi ng pagkatao nila sa kanya, sa bawat eksena, sa bawat sitwasyon. Sinalamin nya ang tipikal na Pilipino na may prinsipyo, masayahin, may respeto at pagmamahal sa pamilya...Masayahin daw kasi ang mga Pilipino, laging tumatawa, laging nakangiti kahit sa harap ng mga pagsubok. Kaya naman hindi nakakapagtakang minahal at pinatuloy natin sa ating mga tahanan ang isang Dolphy..At lalong hindi rin nakakapagtakang ganito na lamang ang pagsimpatiyang pinadarama ng sambayanan sa kanyang pagkawala..

Gayunpa man, mawala man ang isang Hari ng Komedya, alam ko na hindi mawawala ang kanyang alaala..Malalim ang iniwan niyang puwang hindi lamang sa industriya ng Pelikulang Pilipino, kundi sa lipunan at kasaysayan. Marami pang magagaling na komedyante, marami pang susunod, marami pang magpapatawa.. Pero hindi na siguro mapapantayan ang kanyang mga naiambag sa ating kultura. Hindi sapat ang pagkilala at parangal pero alam ko na alam nya, walang makakapantay na tropeo at medalya sa pagmamahal at respetong ibinibigay sa kanya ngayon ng sambayanan..Mawala man ang Hari ng Komedya, mananatili ang ngiti at saya sa bawat tahanang Pilipino dala ng alala ng isang Dolphy.

Hindi man ako kapamilya o kakilala, pero para sa yo Mang Dolphy, maraming salamat po mga tawa at sayang naidulot ninyo sa amin..Masaya na siguro kayo ngayon...may reunion sa langit si John at Marsha pati si Donya Delilah. Kasama pa si Richie. si Panchito. si Chiquito. si FPJ. at iba pa. Masaya ang all-stars na sitcom sa langit.

Store calls for graffiti artists

Al Maha.com published a call for graffiti artists in Kuwait to go visit Pink Moon and do their thing on the store's side walls. I think its a welcome opportunity for these "underground" artists and I wonder how they will respond to this.

The call comes with a small warning though, saying the store is not responsible for the wall so if  the government decides to repaint it, they can do it.

Contact: info@mypinkmoon.com
Photo courtesy of Al Maha.com

SEEN: It's More Fun in the Philippines....in Kuwait.

In observance of the Philippine Independence Day, a popular hypermarket chain here in Kuwait decorates its store with the Philippine national colors and "It's More Fun in the Philippines" posters..they been doing that every year and not only for the Philippine, but also for other countries' National Days, like the US, UK, Thailand, India among others. I guess its a simple tribute to all its loyal customers and staff... they're the only ones doing that here in Kuwait, and I gave them props for that..

Jollibee opens in Kuwait

The bee is in Kuwait. Again.

There were some rumors already swirling around a few months ago that a store will open here soon. That rumor turned out to be a fact. And everyone- at least the Filipino community- becomes excited about it. 

Today, February 25, it becomes a reality.

Labor Attache David Des Dicang and franchise owner Yacqoub Al Hajery cuts the ribbon to formally open the store in Kuwait City, February 25.

Fr. Ben Barrameda officiates the blessing of the store with selected guests.

The large crowd that turns out for the event waits outside the store despite the rain and cold wind.

Philippine fast food giant, Jollibee, "re-opened" its doors to its loyal customers here in Kuwait. Yes, I wrote "re-opened" because there used to be one store here when I first arrived "few" years ago. They closed down for still unknown reasons but anyway, it's not my story.

What is important is it's here. The "langhap-sarap" goodness every Filipino-young or old- comes to love and made this brand one of the most recognizable name in the Philippines, is here. 

My kids are already too excited  about our first visit but that's not gonna happen anytime soon. We'll just have to wait until all these excitement dies down a bit. I'd prefer to have a good seat while enjoying a bite of the Champ with my wife :)

Argh. I can't wait.

The store is located in downtown Kuwait, behind the Main Post Office, the same building as Caesar's Restaurant and Kodak.

Credits:
Jollibee Kuwait Facebook page
Photos by Jobz Torres and Tin de los Santos.

Jollibee buys Burger King franchise in the Philippines

Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN

Philippine fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. has cemented its leading position in the highly competitive quick-service restaurant industry by taking over the Philippine operations of American chain Burger King.

The deal allows JFC to gain a foothold into the premium segment of the hamburger category in the fast-food business as the group was expecting the premium price segment of the market "to grow appreciably in the years ahead as the Filipino consumers' standard of living rises from the growing economy."

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Friday, Jollibee announced that it has signed an agreement acquiring a 54-percent stake in BK Titans Inc., owner of PERF Restaurants that, in turn, is the sole franchisee of the Burger King brand in the Philippines. The deal was priced at 65.5 million pesos (US$1.49 million).

Burger King has 23 restaurants in the country, mostly located in Metro Manila. It generates annual revenues of P800 million and has recently turned profitable despite its much smaller store network compared to Jollibee's.

The American fastfood chain, which is based in Miami, Florida, has similar products to Jollibee such as hamburger, fried chicken and fries in its core menu. However, Burger King's products are priced about 30 percent higher than comparable Jollibee products in the Philippines.

The entry into higher-end fast food products will allow Jollibee to harness the growing mass affluence of Filipino consumers and capture a niche market that is less sensitive to economic cycles. At the same time, its entry is seen allowing Burger King to scale up operations in the country.

With the entry of Jollibee into BK Titans, the fast-food giant will still have as minority partners the groups of businessmen Manuel V. Pangilinan (13 percent) and Alberto Lina (33 per cent).

Founded in 1954, Burger King is the second-biggest fastfood hamburger chain in the world operating more than 12,300 locations and serving 11 million guests daily in 78 countries. Most of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. In Asia, the business is managed by Singapore-based BK Asiapac Pte. Ltd.

For its part, Jollibee operates the Philippines' biggest fastfood network with 1,941 stores in the country under the brands Jollibee (733), Chowking (395), Greenwich (209), Caffe Ti Amo (2) and Mang Inasal (393). It has 437 stores overseas under the brands Yonghe King (235), Hong Zhuang Yuan (52), Jollibee (71), Red Ribbon (39) and Chowking (40)

posted from Bloggeroid

The Rise of the Parking Sheds

There's a large open piece of land in front of our building which is being used as a free parking lot for residents/guests of the apartments around it, and even by worshipers at the nearby mosque.

Sometime this year, a parking shed (right, photo below) was constructed by a resident obviously for his own use. A few months later, another shed (left, photo below) followed just a few meters from the first one.

Just a couple of days ago, another resident built his own in between the first two.

Photo taken Sept. 15, 5:50  pm

Photo taken Sept.16, 7:20 am

 I won't be surprised if more parking sheds appear soon.

UPDATE: When I came home today from work....voila!..there's goes another one...

Photo taken Sept.17, 5:37 pm

and I haven't even finished writing this blog!........


This practice has been happening not only in my area but also in other parts of Kuwait...people claiming a piece of public land for their own selfish motives as if they paid for it..

Or did they?

I don't think so.

I remember one incident that happened last month. It was past 1 am and most of us were already sleeping when we were awakened by a noise coming from outside. Apparently, the "owner" of the leftmost shed arrived to find another car parked in her "territory". So she (yes, she's a woman) was deliberately blowing her horn (without any regard for her neighbors) continously for almost 30 minutes hoping to alarm the "invader". A patrol car came, probably alerted by one irate neighbor. At about the same time, another lady from the building across came rushing. She was the driver of the other car. After a short discussion and gesturing, the "invader" moved her car, the original "owner" reclaimed her "territory" and the police left the scene, without even bothering why there's a parking structure there in the first place!

Maybe it's not my business but I mean, come on...the last time I checked that lot is a government-owned piece of land and I believe whatever structure built there, even if temporary, is definitely illegal...

Or is there any exemptions to local regulations that I am not aware of?