Planking: Not just an internet craze but a sign of protest?

What is planking? 


Planking is a prank that involves lying face down in a public place, with photos posted on social networking sites.


It was invented by two friends in Somerset who called it the Lying Down Game


But it also emerged later in Australia and was nicknamed planking.


It recently gained national attention in the Philippines when protesters "planked" on the streets as a sign of protest against the rising fuel prices.


The action prompted a congressman to file a bill in the Congress to ban planking, which ultimately became a trending online topic. 


Since then, planking has been a part of every protest.

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?

SEEN: Baklavaji

A Turkish sweets shop in Maidan Hawally

HUMOR: With due respect to the members of the third sex,  "baklava" sounds like the Filipino phrase "bakla ba?" rougly translated "Is he gay?" or "Are you gay?".

FACTS:  Baklavaji is a sweets shop in Maidan Hawally selling popular Turkish sweets particularly the "baklava".

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup and honey. It is a widely popular dessert in the Middle East, served in every special occasions.

Ji is generally used as a suffix in names and title in the Indian subcontinent.

SEEN: Toot Berry

A newly-opened juice shop in Maidan Hawally

HUMOR:  Somehow, it sounds like "tooth fairy" to me...

HUMOR: The phrase "toot berry" is actually a pleonasm or a redundant term. "Toot" is a Persian-derived term for "berry" or to be specific the "mulberry" fruit, so it's like saying "berry berry".

FACTS: Toot or mulberry is widely used as a tea (toot chai) or juice drink (sharab el toot) in Lebanon and in other parts of the Middle East.. 

Miss Philippines finishes 3rd Runner-Up in Miss Universe 2011

Miss Shamcey Supsup of the Philippines bags 3rd Runner Up in the just concluded Miss Universe 2011 pageant held in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Miss Angola, Leila Lopes won this year’s crown. Supsup, who is one of the early favorites, finishes 2nd in the online fan voting and 1st in the Final Fan ranking.

In the question and answer portion, she said she would not change her religion just to marry the person she loves.

Shamcey, who hails from General Santos City, is quiet an achiever. She graduated as Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Architecture from the University of the Phillipines-Diliman. She also topped the June 2011 Architecture Licensure Examinations.

Sources: ABS-CBN News
Miss Universe 2011

posted from Bloggeroid

Losing Focus

Seen in Mighty Optical Illusions

Either I've been lazy or I lost focus but surely I've been missing out on this blog lately...Gotta get out of this funk..soon!

INFOGRAPHICS: How big is the Agusan monster crocodile?

A monster crocodile was recently caught in a remote village in the province of Agusan Del Sur, Philippines. It is now believed to be the largest crocodile ever captured in the world though the report is still being verified.

So how big was it? ABS-CBN News prepared these illustrations to compare it to other known captured crocodile and even to an SUV.

Sources: ABS-CBN News, Philippines
              AFP
              Guinness World Records

Happy 3rd Birthday our dearest Zoe..

Time flies so fast but she wants..no, she insists....that we still call her Baby Zoe...well, she's still the baby of the family....May she continues to grow up as loving and as sweet as she is..God bless her always.

Happy, happy 3rd Birthday Baby Zoe..We Love You!