Foot and Fire

It is blue and black to me. And the Roman retail company says so. Since the company deals with color, its description blue/black is the correct one because colors are identified based on the spectrum and on this one, the colors were identified based on the standard colors. But it appears from the polls conducted that the majority saw the dress as gold/white. As experts says, no one is right or wrong when it comes to perception because color is how we perceive the light and perception can vary from one person to another. So the problem is, why do others perceived this as gold/white? In this case, I must venture to say that the screen lights as well as light coming from the external environment must have played a role. Also, the fact that the color comes in stripes, some perception is tricked. Likewise, the pixel of the photo as well as the brightness and contrast when they were saved and shared must have been affected. In my case, I saw this last night when I was very sleepy and...

From pale green (or red or purple) you turned into sunshine signaling me that you are in hurry to be picked from the budded befruited standing scepter of the forest. Why hurry? You will be cut in half, you football-shaped creature! You will no longer remain you. You will be your many soft white seeds with smooth pulps bearing your sweetness with tempered sourness. Then, you will merely be scooped out right away. (Children in the Philippines will gently suck you first, though). For a week, your soft delicate seeds will be fermented under the seething sun, or on some days, in a dryer machine. As if for you being picked is a happy occasion, you ignore me then and now. Mind you, Dear Cacao, you will be sun-dried for one more week before your individual selves in the form of cocoa beans will be shipped out of Ivory coast or Indonesia.   Gerlie M. Uy Copyright 2015 *A poem inspired after reading Chocolat Here's my review on...

Chocolat By Joanne Harris Fiction Softbound, 320 pages A happy read. Especially on this Lenten season. If one has seen the movie first before reading the book or vice verse, I must say that it does not matter. Both versions are justice to each other. But in my case, I saw the movie first and then read the book in years apart, mind you!  Set in an obscure town in France, this novel with magical realism genre is all about spirituality, no mere religion, about the essence of doing good to our fellowmen that showing off goodness, about acceptance of our human weaknesses and surviving it. I expected some concoction along the way but I failed. I wished there are incorporated recipes on chocolate or some sprinkles of academic facts on chocolate but it did not. What it has is an engaging story told through the eyes gypsy-like Vianne who struggles to find a home, an acceptance by giving people their little sweet indulgence and Fr. Francis Reynaud who struggles about h...

A pose with the serene-faced Tiya Maria. If there is a Hall of Fame for the people of La Carlota City, Tiya Maria will surely be in the list. Her arroz caldo, a salted rice porridge topped with toasted garlic and served either with boiled egg or chicken part, has stood the test of time. She started her backyard business literally in her backyard in 1991. I was in my elementary years then and always passed by her house-turned-arrozcaldohan (place for arroz caldo).  From then on up to now, her arroz caldo earned a following, from hospital workers, police officers, school teachers to students as well as weary travellers who get down in the Happy Valley or in corner of Uriarte Subdivision. Now at 82 and suffering from cataract, Tiya Maria enjoys listening to the radio and the chortles of her grandchildren as well as great grandchildren. She passed on her trade secrets to her children who now run the business, still in their backyard. However, even without signboards or adve...

On 11 October 2014, the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Shrine or more popularly referred as Our Lady of Manaog or Manaoag Shrine in Manaoag, Pangasinan was officially declared as a minor basilica by Pope Francis and a rite was locally held last 16 February 2015. Local news say that the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag is also a parish church of the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan and that it is an affiliate of the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. It is also said that a church is raised to the status of a minor basilica when it has "unusual historical significance" or is "especially sacred because of the presence of a relic or relics." And only a Pope can declare a church as a minor basilica. In the following photos, I am sharing to you my visit in 2012 to this church which houses the miraculous Lady of Manaoag.  Just touching any part of the body of this miraculous Lady will grant some innermost prayer. *** ...

Under the Tuscan Sun is set in Cortona, Italy where the American author Frances Mayes bought a house and narrated her experiences in settling in an Italian Village where Etruscan civilization once flourished. She shuttled back and forth in US and Italy and made homes in two continents. Please see my book review here. It happened in Italy is a storytelling by an Italian-American author Elizabeth Bettina who learned that her grandmother's hometown in Italy called Campagna had been an internment camp of a number of Jews during the holocaust. No one seems to perpetuate stories on Jews in Italy because they have a happy story of survival unlike those that happened in camps where dancing with death were told over and over. Please see my review here. *** I had said my piece for the two books and authors in my respective review of the books but a desire to bring both of them under one review is strong that I have to write it down and blow it away from my consciou...

A friend of hers with a Lady Bug,  a good luck insect in Europe.  This is a favorite of mine! Her portraits caught my attention. The faces in them have the surprising rawness and life. She has the talent in rendering faces that I cannot believe that she picked up the brush and easel only about six months ago; it appears to me that she has been doing this for a hundred years already. Her portraits are not mute faces; the eyes tell stories. Also, they have either ladybug, puma, butterflies, owl or violets with them. Self-portraits are most of them; subtle storytelling of a woman who found her art. She rejoices in her milestone in having her works of art part of the lively art scene in Monaco as well as UNESCO but little did she know that it is not the outward recognition that I wished to congratulate her for. It is her inward growth -- of finding her art and her expression -- which allowed her to fly like a Mariposa butterfly transformed from a larva to a pretty winge...

It happened in Italy by Elizabeth Bettina Softbound, 331 pages (appendices not included) 2009, Non-fiction/History I once posted in my status message that I almost gave up on this book after two chapters. Actually, I read the preface and the Introduction which are five pages only. I said so because the preface and the introduction did not set the mood of the book but only spoiled it because I felt the exultation to goodness was overrated.  So, I recommend that one should go to Chapter I right away. From Chapter 1 up to 53 plus the epilogue and afterword as well as some appendices, I was swayed by the book. I could not believe myself being hooked in the storytelling which does not involve conflict and so much suspense. The story teller is alive in every page. Author Bettina has the vitality in her story telling. Her otherwise boring and simple topic became alive in every page. She made the reader part of the journey on how she first discovered the fact that her gr...

Our tale starts not in who saw each other first. We both simply soar high over this nesting territory. Against the backdrop of our clear skies, I dropped myself slantingly and you incessantly trailed me. You reached me with your majestic talons and I found myself flipping over to offer you mine. It was you who consistently cruised with me and I made many calling sounds in return. “Are we meant for each other?” I asked. Then you brought some twigs and I picked some leaves. “We are!” you declared. We both found our nesting territory. And we made love in the nest and everywhere we can perch. We do this not only to ensure the next generation but we do this too to bond. Our hatchling will leave us after two years if it survives but we will never leave each other. And every after two years, we love like it was our first time. And our tale ends in who left each other first because to love like an eagle is to love “Till death do us part.” Copyright Gerlie M. Uy Fe...

Easy steps to follow for this one.  Soak in warm water the dried pancit canton and the dried vermicelli. In a wok, saute in olive oil the garlic and onion.  Add a handful of cashew nuts and chicken or canned tuna. When cooked, add vegetables and let cook for two minutes before adding the drained noodles.  Season with salt and pepper as well as soy sauce. Let cook for 5 minutes. Serve hot!

A pose with our PAO Chief Persida Acosta during the 2009 PAO Convention 1. First of all, you have the opportunity to serve the poor. 2. If you don’t know how to handle the commercial side of private practice, then this is your nest. 3. If you want confrontations all the time, here, you are inside the courtroom most of the time. 4. If you love the RPC, then you are in the right place. 5. If you are a true blue public servant, you are at home. 6. But here, unlike its counterpart, you may handle a civil case. 7. If you are a psychiatrist in your past life, you can summon such talent from time to time in handling ‘special’ clients. 8. If you avoid ‘toxic’ partners, you will enjoy serving this firm ran according to MC-18. 9. If you can deal with 8 to 5 work clock, then stay here. 10. If you have the patience to understand and remember over a hundred cases, come here. 11. If you value peace of mind over money vis-a-vis corruption, then here is the place to be. 12...

My special day is always celebrated with spaghetti. I love vegetables and I love the meatball.  So here it is in easy steps. 1. Cook Pasta according to package direction. 2. In a wok, saute in olive oil, garlic and onions  the chopped carrots, asparagus, corn kernels, and mushroom.  Season with salt, pepper and dried herbs. Set aside. 3. In a wok, saute in olive oil, garlic and onions the tomato sauce with meatballs until boiling and simmer until a little thick for your liking.   4. Serve by placing the pasta first, then the sauce and last, the veges.  *** *** *** *** ***

My dusty diaries tell of my ten-year journey  so that I am still keeping my schedule the traditional way!          I am aching to write about my ten years as a lawyer in public service. Alas, I did not keep a journal. It is no accident that every writer has one, but can you blame this soul when scribbling is a luxury since post-bar era and typing is the trend since day one in my work area? But I just can't give up, so an idea just came about. I dusted off my ten schedule books that served me from February 2005 until December 2014.      In my schedule book s are the cases for trial. It is a tragedy that the cases for mediation were not entered there; they will just fade away unless my memory can salvage them . I started with the notebook-sized moss-green book with gold-inscribed print: 2005 diary. It seems I need not move forward from there because on the inside cover, I copied from the wall of the old MTCC sala, these profound word...