Gensan Gazer Jan-Feb 2012

Arts & Culture ● Health & Environment ● Lifestyle & Entertainment ● People & Places ● Travel & Leisure

Gensan Gazer GENERAL SANTOS CITY’S MAGAZINE VOLUME III NUMBER 1

It’s More Fun in Kalilangan!

Wonders of the Wild: General Santos City’s Last Frontier The Swedish Family Pettersson Marrakech on My Mind From Settlement District to Metropolis ... And many more stories!

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Soon you will experience the perfect blend of culinary delight, elegant ambience, and casual dining in just one setting.

Watch for the opening of C Bistro at Tiongson Avenue!

Happy ation nd 73rd Feorusary and Anniv alilangan, 23rd Kensan!

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editor’s NOTE

Armando Nicolas P J EDITOR

GENSAN GAZER JAN-FEB 2012 Gensan Gazer shall not, without the consent of the Publisher, be given, lent, resold, used as textbook, hired out or otherwise disposed of; or affixed to any part of any publication or advertising material in any way whatsoever. While all reasonable care is taken for contributed material, no responsibility will be assumed for its return or for corrections.

Opinions expressed or implied are solely those of the authors, and are not necessarily endorsed by the Editor or Publisher. Advertisers and/or their representatives shall indemnify the Publisher in relation to any concomitant slander, defamation, breach, royalties, intellectual property and copyright infringements, unfair trade practices, or violation of privacy rights in their ad material.

All contributions must be submitted by email to writing@ gensangazer.com and are subject to editorial review for possible inclusion in Gensan Gazer.

Armanikolas Publishing ®™ B34 - L7 Doña Soledad II A, Espina Gen. Santos City 9500 Philippines Phone : +63-83-8269221 Phone : +63-83-5547055 Mobile : +63-908-3373005 Website : www.armanikolas.com Website : www.gensangazer.com Email: inquiry@armanikolas.com Email: inquiry@gensangazer.com Email: advertising@gensangazer.com

COLORS OF KALILANGAN: YELLOW - Represents cultural heritage and history; RED - Represents entertainment and tourism, and GREEN - Represents agriculture

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Cover photo by

Gensan Gazer™ Magazine is published by Armanikolas Publishing ®™ and printed in General Santos City, Philippines.

Cocoy Sexcion

Van Almeria Egai Cadiente Bing Cariño Donna Mae Congson Romarie Ivy Cunanan Apple Greatson Francisco Nusha Heit Avel Manansala Orman Manansala Marthin Millado CONTRIBUTORS

We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them.

- Robert Moffat (1795-1883), missionary to Africa

wenty-Twelve, Year of the Water Dragon, the year of the Games of the XXX Olympiad, a leap year -- seems off to a bright new start. Here, Kalilangan 2012 is underway, leading up to Gensan’s 73rd Foundation Anniversary.

Gensan Gazer celebrates these auspicious milestones with a four-page feature on the nationally acclaimed festival, and a six-page spread, featuring world-class photography by Jing Velos,

on Gensan’s last frontier and soon-to-be tourism jewel, the Klaja Eco Park.

Vol. III No. 1, breaking away from the tradition of reverse-covers we started last year, also lets you in on the adventures of the Swedish Family Pettersson in the region, thanks to Alma’s brilliant storytelling.

Elsewhere V3N1 brings you Bing’s account of Gensan’s transformation from settlement district to metropolis, Donna Mae’s hair tips for the new year, Romarie’s personal pampering time, and the GG debut of Eat’s

Terrific! by Orman, winner of the Best Food & Beverage Blog in the 2011 Philippine Blog Awards for Mindanao.

We also take a humorous look at how our Western neighbors call each other names, and take a peek into the magic and mystique of Marrakech in Morocco, new items on GGList, books to read, albums to listen to, carbon footprint, panic attacks, even a few snippets on Tom Cruise, Giorgio Armani, and the world’s tallest building.

Welcome to Year III of our very own Gensan Gazer, now read in 370 cities across 55 countries and territories worldwide!

Armando Nicolas P J

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resh from being acclaimed by the prestigious Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) as the Best Tourism Event of the Philippines - Culture and Arts Category for the year 2011, the 23rd Kalilangan, and Gensan’s 73rd Foundation Anniversary are organized this year by the Local Government Unit of General Santos City again in partnership with Mindanao State University General Santos City.

INSIDE V3N1 volume three number one

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Gensan Milestones: Kalilangan 2012 and Gensan’s 73rd Foundation Anniversary Travel Tales & Trivia by Mandi Nicolas P J: Marrakech on My Mind The Swedish Family Pettersson

by Alma Celesthia Dumalag-Aguja as told to Mandi Nicolas P J Wonders of the Wild: Gensan’s Last Frontier Unraveled Anew Photography by Jing Velos

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Pinoy Says, Tisay Says by Mando and Nusha: No, honey, you can’t be a mom!

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Arts Attack, Culture Shock by Bing Cariño: From Settlement District to Metropolis

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Places2Go | GGPicks: Roster of bars, cafés, hotels, resorts, and restaurants to enjoy in and around Gensan

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GGList: Our list of things to wear, snack on, read, listen to, and resolve to do as 2012 ushers in

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Eat’s Terrific! by Orman Ortega Manansala: Gensan’s Best Eats

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Book Pickings: Moonwalking Murakami Music Reviews: Death Cold Cab Play

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Health Bits: Stopping Panic Attacks Naturally

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Green Living: Watch Where You Step -Understanding Your Carbon Footprint

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Back2Back: New Year Hair by Donna Mae Congson Personal Pamper Time by Romarie Ivy Cunanan

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Opinions Cache: Ethnic Jokes Are a Fool’s Game by Donald Kaul

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Postscript by Armando Nicolas PJ: Doing It Yourself and Doing It Right

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The Acute Eye by Apple Greatson: The Ruins GG V3N1

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Kalilangan 2012

Mosaic collage based on original photo by Ronald Velasquez, Second Runner-up, Kalilangan 2011 Photography Competition

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Convergence in Divergence:

Enriching Heritage, Bridging Cultures K

ALILANGAN is an annual celebration of the General Santos City Foundation Anniversary, which gives recognition to its founding pioneers -- the early inhabitants (the B’laan and Maguindanaon peoples), together with the pioneering settlers from Luzon and Visayas -- their shared histories, cultural heritage,

tapestry of traditions, and most especially their decades-old harmonious co-existence as a common citizenry.

Fresh from being acclaimed by the prestigious Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) as the Best Tourism Event of the Philippines - Culture and Arts Category for the year 2011, the 23rd

Kalilangan and Gensan’s 73rd Foundation Anniversary are organized this year by the Local Government Unit of General Santos City again in partnership with the Mindanao State University - General Santos City (MSU-GSC).

Kalilangan 2012 reflects the high regard accorded by the people of Gensan to the city’s rich cultural

heritage, emphasizing on the diverse traditions and historical backgrounds of its Tri-People constituency, and fostering mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values representing all sectors regardless of level or persuasion.

Kalilangan 2012 actively champions the development of vibrant cultural and heritage sectors. The festival makes heritage enriching, fun and accessible to all through exciting events that engage diverse audiences. It further promotes public awareness and appreciation of our heritage through educational and relevant activities and programs.

Kalilangan 2012 also complements between economic activity, promotion of tourism, and responsible entertainment. The festival brings culture and agriculture together with activities that showcase and build a sustainable future for agriculture by fostering vital links between the people and the land.

This year’s festival theme is “Convergence in Divergence: Enriching Heritage, Bridging Cultures,” where convergence in divergence is a normal, expected and inevitable undertaking especially within multicultural realms. It expresses unity and a feeling of shared identity that breaks the borders of separation and drawn-out boundaries. It seeks to feel, to breathe, to aspire, and to move Gensan’s inhabitants as one entity, thus keeping a crucial role in bonding the variety of colors in a spectrum, and ultimately molds a diverse society like General Santos.

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hese thematic values are also evident in the festival colors: Yellow, representing cultural heritage and history; Red, entertainment and tourism; and Green, agriculture.

Convergence in Divergence is also the process of expanding one’s mind. The creative synergy brought by convergence in divergence -- the collaborative enterprise between the Gensan LGU, MSU-GSC, together with all stakeholders and various sectors -- has earned for Kalilangan 2011 the Best Tourism Event of the Philippines, Culture and Arts Category, City Level (2011).

Shout For Joy by Noel Nacion, Champion, Kalilangan 2011 Photography Competition

To better understand our own rich cultural heritage, while enhancing respect for others, this year’s festival launches the initiative of Enriching Heritage and Bridging Cultures, exploring the ways in which cultures of the Tri-People and other subcultures, have influenced Gensan society. Our aim is to revitalize and invigorate our

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experience of these vibrant cultures and traditions.

Enriching our cultural heritage nurtures the basic document of our identity. It preserves our tangibles -- history, literature, visual arts, tools and objects related to the physical context of cultural production, which includes the intangibles -- oral traditions, performances, musical practices, cultural interactions -- and the interfaces between them. The cultural and social drive of heritage leads to a new understanding of its potential, that is not only directed toward preserving the past, but also inspiring cultural progress and creating social harmony.

Bridging cultures recognizes the different pathways that bring people together and provides them with cultural information, actual experiences and personal interactions. In a multicultural city like Gensan, people generally have roots in one culture while living in another. Their

challenge is to build a bridge that allows them to move back and forth between the cultures of importance to them. Bridging cultures is dedicated to help individuals find ways to build these personal bridges. It also helps them explore the varied enriching opportunities occuring with cultural convergence.

This year, the Kalilangan festivities are grouped into six main categories, namely: Cultural, Entertainment, Agricultural, Institutional Events, Bazaar/ Food Galore, and Forums/ Seminars. Grouped under the Cultural Category are the Cultural Night/Show, Laro ng Lahi (Kadangthon, Sack Race, Patintero, Palosebo, Tug-o’-War, Sungka, Skipping Rope, Kite Flying, Dama), Traditional Games (Damlo Anok, Sipa sa Mangis), Kulintangan/Pangalay Exhibition Showcase, Ethno Musikahan sa Kalilangan, Traditional Houses exhibit (Tri-People), Traditional Dances, Tanghal Mindanao (University Theater Festival), and Visual Arts Exhibit.

The Entertainment Category includes the Carnival, Akostik, Hiphop, Beatbox, Bandalayag, Pinoy Cosplay, Kalilangan sa Barangay, and the Kadsagayan Street-Dancing. The Agricultural Category includes the Agrifair, Zoo, Karitela/Kariton Rides, Dog Show, Snake Show, Birds Show, Farmers’ Day, and Techno Forum. The Institutional Events are the Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Lambigitan Cultural Night, Salubungan, and Unveiling of Landmark in Buayan. The rest of the categories are Bazaar/Food Galore and Forums/Seminars, which includes the Seminar on the History of General Santos.

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alilangan 2012 starts with a soft opening on February 10, and formally opens with a Grand Opening Ceremony on February 21, with the Closing Rites on February 27, on the 73rd Foundation Anniversary of Genseral Santos City itself.

Family Country Hotel & CONVENTION CENTRE We’re a -ready establishment!

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Mateo Rd, Lagao, General Santos | Tel (083) 552-8895 to 97 | Fax (083) 301-0774 www.FamilyCountryHotel.com E-mail: fchcc@bayandsl.com

1,000-person capacity convention centre Spacious, grand lobby 25-meter swimming pool, children’s pool Floating-like restaurant and coffee shop Annex building with 5 air-conditioned function rooms • Courtyard/open garden with landscaped grounds for outdoor functions

• Spacious children’s playground

• 4,450-square-meter fenced parking area • Andrea Ticia Resto Bar by the pool • Executive board room for small functions

Matrimonial Room

Deluxe Room

Suite

Happy 73rd Foundation Anniversary, Gensan! Happy 23rd Kalilangan! zone

We serve Ihaw-Ihaw & Chinese Dishes

Andrea Ticia Resto Bar Located at the pool side of the Family Country Hotel and Convention Centre

Fully airconditioned function rooms

Kalilangan 2011 Photo Retrospective

Looking Back at the Best Tourism Event of the Philippines*

* ATOP (Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines) named Kalilangan 2011 as the Best Tourism Event of the Philippines, Culture and Arts Category, City Level (2011) 8

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TCT No. Area Location/Description T-119780 339 Makar, GSC/Residential T-122475 665 Apopong, GSC/Residential T-129809 328 Brgy Sta. Cruz, Koronadal/Residential T-105514 360 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-105511 360 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-105508 450 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-114869 360 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-120871 251 Makar, GSC/Residential T-118378 231 Obrero, GSC/Residential T-121872 360 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-119733 1000 Lagao, GSC/Residential T-113828 1384 Makar, GSC/Residential T-113823 1384 Calumpang, GSC/Residential TCT-112360 578 Tambler, GSC/Residential TCT-112349 589 Tambler, GSC/Residential TCT-116601 216 San Isidro, GSC/Residential T-105458 413 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-100996 150 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-99483 300 Polomolok, SC/Residential T-101457 250 Katangawan, GSC/Residential T-95188 1735 Labangal, GSC/Residential T-139208 240 Polomolok, SC/Residential T-121871 360 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-119234 200 Buayan, GSC/Residential T-101458 518 Labangal, GSC/Residential T-147-2011002867 216 Lagao, GSC/Residential T-99221 358 Tambler, GSC/Residential T-113829 724 Calumpang, GSC/Residential T-114870 5,261 Calumpang, GSC/Residential T-62594 426 Balu-an, GSC/Residential T-62595 318

T-62596 315

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T-92624 314 Balu-an, GSC/Residential T-92625 313

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Indicative Price 300,000.00 350,000.00 1,700,000.00 865,000.00 - - 350,000.00 400,000.00 50,000.00 700,000.00 300,000.00 500,000.00 850,000.00 - - - - - - 200,000.00 400,000.00 70,000.00 85,000.00 150,000.00 867,500.00 150,000.00 - - - - 550,000.00 200,000.00 200,000.00 2,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 106,500.00 79,500.00 78,750.00 78,500.00 75,750.00 75,500.00 75,000.00 74,750.00 74,500.00 78,500.00 78,250.00 77,250.00 77,000.00 76,750.00 76,500.00 76,250.00 75,750.00 76,000.00 900,000.00 312,000.00 398,000.00 200,000.00 200,000.00 700,000.00 200,000.00 150,000.00

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Travel Tales & Trivia

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Marrakech On My Mind

y first Moroccan visit was in 2007, a weekend in Tangier and Casablanca. I had to skip Marrakech further south, which had been on my mind since. Four years later I made it back, and finally immersed in the magic and mystique that is Marrakech, the Red City.

Beef tajine

Medina maze

Posh riad in Gueliz

Like many Moroccan cities, Marrakech comprises both an ancient fortified city (medina), where my girlfriend and I stayed the first few days, and modern quarters, foremost of which is Gueliz or Ville Nouvelle, where we stayed on our last night. Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco, and one of the busiest squares in Africa and the world, Djemaa el Fna, which teems with locals and tourists, peddlers and touts, acrobats and street performers, snake charmers, horse carriages, dancers, and musicians. By night food stalls open in the square, transforming it into one colossal open-air mess hall. Both souk and square are a few minutes walk from the riad (traditional Moroccan palace with an indoor garden or courtyard) where we stayed within the medina. We scoured the old city on foot the entire time, barely getting by on sparse French and nary a map as guide.

It was good to enjoy couscous and tajine dishes (so called because of the traditional earthenware pot in which it is cooked) again, and enjoy breakfasts with lots of olives and freshly squeezed orange juice.

The riads were a oneof-a-kind experience altogether, homey and exotic, a welcome change from drab hotels in most modern cities.

Menara Int’l Airport

Place des Epices

Moroccan camel

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uaint alleys, the maze of streets in the medina, huge squares, historic monuments like La Koutoubia and Bahia Palace, new Euro districts, spices, cuisines, camels -- all make for a Marrakech visit to enjoy, and later, to remember. (Mandi Nicolas PJ)

Bath in riad in the medina

Koutoubia Mosque

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THE SWEDISH FAMILY PETTERSSON The Arrival, Christmas Eve

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e remember the classic novel, The Swiss Family Robinson, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family shipwrecked in the East Indies on their way to Australia. Written

by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, the novel was purposely written to teach his four sons about self-reliance, family values, good husbandry, and the uses of the natural world. Over the years there have been many versions of the tale -- with episodes added, changed, or deleted -- each one playing up all sorts of adventure in the tropical setting.

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Enter the Swedish Family Pettersson -- the father, Leif Pettersson, member of the Swedish Parliament, and his wife, Britt-Inger Pettersson, teacher; the eldest daughter, Cecilia Pettersson Jurell, bartender, and her husband, Johan Jurell, metalworker; youngest daughter, Lisa Pettersson, political adviser, and her fiancé, Lars Eriksson, entrepreneur -- circa Christmas 2011, on their way to General Santos City, neither shipwrecked nor in a ship, but in an altogether exciting adventure in tropical SoCSarGen (South Cotabato, Sarangani, and Gensan). The 36hour flight from Stockholm over, the Petterssons have just begun their dream visit to this part of the world.

Leif, Britt-Inger, Cecilia, Johan, Lisa, and Lars made it all the way from Stockholm in Europe to Gensan in Mindanao with nary a hitch. In between welltimed and closely-executed holiday preparations, we picked up our Swedish visitors from the General Santos International Airport, and brought them straight to SunCity Suites, where they were booked for a couple of days. Although their long-haul flight had been relaxed and comfy, simply nothing could match a shuteye on full-length beds that didn’t shake, something even first-class cabins lacked for obvious reasons.

As the Swedes rested, we hurried home and

By Alma Celesthia Dumalag-Aguja as told to Mandi Nicolas P J / Photos by ACDA

scrambled to prepare a family Christmas feast, quite unsure what our unlikeliest of guests had in mind for the occasion.

That same evening Lief and company were at our humble abode in Doña Soledad for Christmas eve dinner. The house was abuzz with activity -- my siblings doing this and that, calling on my nephews and nieces doing their own thing all over the place. The visitors blended in instantly. They participated in the Filipino parlor games and the exchange of gifts, and took a special liking for homestyle Filipino food, not least of all lechon (roast suckling pig) and panga (tuna jaw).

They were especially fond of mangoes, and the mango float I prepared was a big hit, judging from their second (and more) helpings.

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appy 73rd Foundation Anniversary & 23rd Kalilangan, Gensan!

Christmas Carol, Swedish Style

W We all witnessed the fireworks display outside our house at midnight, which reverberated with all other such spectacles citywide.

(Fireworks ban was in place in Davao, we heard, but not in Gensan.)

After that, for the next hour or so, we sang our hearts out home karaoke-style (or videoke, as it’s called here).

Our Swedish guests, quite surprisingly, were very good singers, as we’d no sooner again witness.

Leif, Britt-Inger, Cecilia, Johan, Lisa, and Lars were back at the hotel around 1:30 am. Christmas was off to a good start.

e reconvened at 5 pm on Christmas Day at Piyesta at Robinsons Place Gensan. The Petterssons loved the restaurant-bar’s signature kinilaw (raw tuna salad), sashimi, and all-time favorite garlic chicken -- washed down with San Miguel and Red Horse beer in tower dispensers.

In more ways than one, not only food and drinks overflowed at our table -- love of family and joy of life did, too.

(To this day, however, they couldn’t find a similar design, one with a separate middle slot for ice to keep the outer beer

container cold.) I lost count of the number of refills made, what with all the singing and talking going on throughout.

All this time a local band was playing covers of songs

by Justin Bieber, Shakira, Lady Gaga and the like, which Britt-Inger, the mother, sang along to. Apparently she knew the songs because she taught teenagers in school, hence her exposure to pop culture and such. In more ways than one, not only food and drinks overflowed at our table -- love of family and joy of life did, too.

This was made more evident back at SunCity just before midnight. Over rounds of Swedish whiskey at our makeshift circle of outdoor chairs at the al fresco section of Caffe Firenzo (then closed for Christmas), the family took turns at singing Swedish songs, the mother translating along the way. At one point, Lisa sang with tears in her eyes. Cecilia introduced their wedding song, “The Way You Look Tonight,” everyone singing in the all too familiar chorus.

They requested us to

sing Filipino songs, too. In response, I sang “Walang Hanggang Paalam” (Never-Ending Farewell) with my husband Mayong. I also did “Moon River”-- everyone joined in.

Cecilia and Lisa dedicated to their mother Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By,” a song the two sisters used to listen to as kids. As her daughters sang Britt-Inger looked at them lovingly through misty eyes. It was a one-of-a-kind Christmas carol, one I will remember for a long, long time.

Lazy in Lemlunay On Boxing Day the Swedish family Pettersson stayed at the Lemlunay Resort Hotel in Tinoto, Maasim, Sarangani -- soaking in the infinity pool all day, ice-cold beers aplenty.

They booked three rooms facing the pool, and the only time they left that vantage point was went they went snorkeling in the aquamarine waters off the bluff.

Swedes in Boodle Fight We rejoined the Swedes on the 27th at the 73rd Infantry Battalion Headquarters in the hills overlooking the Lemlunay coast. We were welcomed by Col. Espuelas. For a change, here lunch was served boodle fight style, where food is 14

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served on banana leaves across a continuous row of tables, and eaten standing up with bare hands. The unique experience was topped only by a grand tour around the hill camp atop a combat vehicle!

Gensan Fish Port and Sarangani Highlands

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he following day we accompanied the Swedes to visit the famous fish port and witness how the day’s tuna catch was unloaded and processed before being exported. After that we had a hearty breakfast at Sarangani Highlands Garden Resort, with one of the owners, Dr. Joe Ruiz, giving a short talk on Sarangani’s beauty and history himself.

Lake Sebu: Natural Wonder, Cultural Gem From Sarangani Province the Swedish family and entourage traveled northwest to Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, making sure not to miss lunch at a famous catfish place around Banga-Surallah area. As expected, the Swedes enjoyed the fried hito and ginataang hito (catfish in coco milk).

After a relaxing night at Monte Cielo Resort, where owner Mayette Yap’s hospitality remained impeccable and unmatched, the Swedish Family Pettersson took on Lake Sebu’s Seven Falls Zip Line, Asia’s highest at 200 meters and most scenic with lush rainforests and the famed seven falls as backdrop.

Where most weekend war-

riors and Lake Sebu visitors stopped after the zip line rush, Leif and company proceeded to Barangay Klubi high up in the mountains the following day, and to meet National Living Treasure Lang Dulay, as named by National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Intense Klubi The Swedes were so amazed to see the fine T’nalak (traditional T’boli tapestry) made by Lang Dulay that they endured steep inclines, big rocks and muddy dirt roads on small motorbikes with two big passengers in tandem behind a small driver uphill (and back) just to visit the community of T’nalak weavers in Klubi.

After the tense one-hour uphill climb to Klubi and the slightly shorter yet doubly frightful rush downhill (at one point of which Britt-Inger sustained slight bruises from slipping off the bike after a bad swerve at a near collision), the Swedes were only too glad to return to Monte Cielo. The Swedes paid the habal-habal drivers P1,000 each instead of the agreed P500 out of relief and gratitude, still shaking their heads in disbelief at the motorcyclist’s dirt track skills.

Lang Dulay, T’boli’s Soul After the Klubi thrill, meeting the T’boli treasure herself was priceless, probably the highlight of their Lake Sebu excursion, although the adrenaline rush of the zip line course nudges at a close second.

Citing Lang Dulay, 1998 National Living Treasure awardee (Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan), NCCA thus writes: “Using abaca fibers as fine as hair, Lang Dulay speaks more eloquently than words can.

Images from the distant past of her people, the T’bolis, are recreated by her nimble hands -- the crocodiles, butterflies and flowers, along with mountains and streams, of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, where she and her ancestors were born –- fill the fabric with their longing to be remembered.

Through her weaving, Lang Du16

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lay does what she can to keep her people’s tradition alive.”

Isla Jardin del Mar The far from Robinson-esque adventures behind them, the Petterssons were ready to just chill out and relax as 2012 ushered in. And what better way than to hit the paradise that is Isla Jardin del Mar off Gumasa in Glan! Fresh seafood, fruits and beer taken care of, the only thing left to do was lie down on the beach. Or swim in the clear aquamarine waters.

Or snorkel. Or chat over cold beers and delicious food. Or a million other things to enjoy as time passed. And so they did.

The only glitch was it rained a little bit (New Year blessing), which was alright since the sun had so easily burned their skin, and the local children swarmed them, not like the ill-mannered touts at tourist traps would, but swarmed them anyway. Even grown-ups came to have their photos taken with the Swedes, which could get a bit of a drag after some time. But Leif and company were unfazed -- they were simply happy to be alone with family and friends on the beach, happy to pose for photos with strangers, happy to goof around with the children, happy to just be there on New Year’s Day.

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leven days after Christmas they flew to Manila, and then on to Stockholm, back to the winter cold of Europe.

They seemed truly happy to be a part of our Christmas and New Year, but it was truly great to be a part of theirs. G G

f

Wonders of the Wild

eeling the bane of burnout in your job or career, and wishing to just take off and backpack your way through the continent? That may be too drastic and time-consuming.

Hungry for an adventure but a bit jaded in the ways of commercial tourism and commodified Gensan’s Last Frontier Unraveled Anew travel? Without doubt, the industry is a necessity in the 21st century, Text by Armando Nicolas PJ | Photos by Jing Velos Based on Eco-Tourism Profile, published by CEMCDO under Egai Cadiente but you have other alternatives.

Granted you’ve just about had enough of zigzagging all over the city and the outskirts for the cold springs and beaches, and for a change have taken on hiking ang whitewater tubing instead. You’re off to a good start.

But why not take the trail less traveled in your very own neighborhood, and discover General Santos’ wondrous wilderness, the last frontier of this rapidly growing and fast evolving metropolis?

Enter the highlands of Klaja Eco Park -- a rich wilderness of hiking trails, crystal clear rivers, rolling hills, waterfalls, rock walls, camping grounds, caves, forests, and hilltop lookouts -- a green safari of sorts, minus the hunters and the hunted, by all means, and much much closer to home.

REDISCOVER...

Conel -- The Japanese forces’ last refuge during WWII, a vast stretch of karst

formation replete with waterfalls, underwater streams and limestone rock walls.

Mabuhay -- Nopol Hills provide a natural sanctuary for a diverse wildlife,

including the endangered giant golden-crowned flying fox (golden-capped fruit bat), Philippine hornbill, and wild hog.

Olympog -- Gensan’s summer showcase, where virgin vegetation straddle the vast expanse of undulating hills and plunging ravines.

Upper Labay -- Gensan’s cultural centerpeice, home of the B’laan tribe, where traditional living is in harmony with nature’s ways.

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Conel d

erived from K’lanel (B’laan for turmeric), Conel stuck as a result of years of misuse by pioneering families from Luzon and Visayas, who came to Gensan and worked hand-in-hand with the indigenous folk to till the land and eke out a living.

Conel, it turns out, is blessed with rock formations, waterfalls and springs. It rightfully serves as a gateway to the vast irregular limestone region replete with sinkholes, underground streams and caverns -- an area now known as the Klaja Karsts.

Kalaja Cave -- The Kalaja stands as remnant of reckless destruction of the natural environment in the pursuit of much-fabled hidden treasures. The Japanese forces used this cave as water source, which in turn conjured myths of left-behind treasures and spoils. Elders speak of looting of WWII trucks, tanks and other war paraphernalia during the 60s and 70s.

An underground cave system, it has a 154-m2 pool

about 3 meters deep at the entrance. The cave has three rooms about 210 meters long, ending with a sump. Water from this cave is used as agricultural supplement to nearby farm fields.

Bunga Spring -- Smooth flowing waters abound smack in the middle of the Klaja Karsts. The clearing has a campsite between cliffs.

Kalaja Face -- To this day this vertical limestone wall has only one known route, which was established with the help of American and local climbers. Standing over 50 meters on the west side of the Kalaja River, the face offers three overhangs and a difficult degree of climb challenges.

Malakong Face -- Located at Malakong Gorge about 3.5 km from Kalaja Cave, the face comes with 12- to 25-meter-high smooth limestone walls, creating a good 18

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starting point for rock climbing newbies. It also offers shaded routes and campsites.

Amsikong Waterfalls -- Located between Gensan and Polomolok, about 12 waterfalls drop and flow from the mountaintop river in Camp Flores (Polomolok) down to the granite boulders and limestone cliffs of Conel, creating small pools and waterfalls in their tracks.

Compact Facts -- Barangay formed by Republic Act 5412, ratified 9 November 1940, comprised by Puroks 1-7, Guadalupe, Nangka, Malinawon, Udagri, and Nopol. Approximately 13 Km from City Proper, 56.4 Km2 in area (variably plain, hilly, mountainous), temperate climate, 2,649 inhabitants (2005), mostly B’laan, with B’laan and Cebuano spoken.

Livelihood based on corn, copra, cattle, goat, water buffalo. Forestry under conservation and rehabilitation. Special events include Araw ng Conel (November 5), San Jose Patronal Fiesta and San Roque Patronal Fiesta.

Mabuhay f

ormerly Barrio Klinan 5 of Barangay Lagao, Mabuhay in the 1940s was a remote forest area with about 15 settlers who tilled an ample clearing for livelihood.

As the Japanese–American war broke out the settlers were driven away, returning after the war in 1945 to re-establish themselves.

In 1968 Klinan 5 was declared a barangay, but the barrio council and lay leaders changed the name to Mabuhay, hoping that the positive effect of the name could bring about peace and order to the place. Mabuhay is now one of fastest growing barangays, becoming the alternative choice for residence due to its high elevation and temperate climate.

Nopol Hills -- The peak offers a breathtaking view of Sarangani Bay and the city, the sunset even more so. Wild boars and monkeys roam the grounds in the thriving forest nearby. The place is also the nesting ground for hornbills, and a colony of thousands of meter-sized golden-crowned flying foxes (fruit bats) and wild hogs.

Purok Bagong Buhay -- Natural attractions include the Seven Falls and the Fungol Cave.

Sniper’s Place -- Straddling the edge of a cliff, it served as lookout and ambush area for Japanese troops in WWII. It now stands as the best place to view Mt Matutum and the rest of the Mt Parker range.

Corn Camp -- A kilometer from Sniper’s Place on foot, Corn Camp is a high ground that offers 360° views of the whole region, forest, and cliff face of Klaja Eco Park.

Mabuhay Ridge -- Crossing this kilometer-long ridge is a natural adrenaline rush, the sheer height from both sides nagging.

Compact Facts -- Barangay formed by Municipal Resolution 78, ratified 7 September 1959, comprised by Puroks 1-3, New Mabuhay, Intake, Malayang, GK Bull Mountain, Habitat, Paradise, Pareñas, Cuyos, Unson A/B, Panaghiusa, Golingan I/ II, Bagong Buhay, and Promised Land. Approximately 11 Km from City Proper, 3,844 ha. in area (variably plain, hilly), temperate climate, 14,775 inhabitants, mostly Ilocano, Cebuano, Bicolano and Muslim, with Boholano, Cebuano and Ilonggo spoken. Livelihood based on fishing, farming and livestock.

Special events include Araw ng Mabuhay (September 7) and Our Lady of Fatima Patronal Fiesta (October 12-13).

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Olympog F

ormerly a purok of Barangay Conel, Olympog was home to mostly native B’laan and a few Muslim inhabitants. The first recorded Christian settler was Agripino Biscayda, a farmer from Bohol who came in 1945 to till the land and mingled with the natives. He would later become the first Christian leader to share the position with the B’laan chieftain named Calib.

Olympog, whose name is derived from colympog (cogon grass in B’laan), is considered Gensan’s summer capital, a haven for extreme eco-adventure. Deer, wild boars and monkeys used to roam freely in abundance around the forests of Nopol Hills. A few still inhabit the now protected forest area.

Balakayo -- This mountain resort is ideal for outdoor gatherings. Here the view of Sarangani Bay’s expanse is simply breathtaking night or day. On the other side Mt Matutum reigns.

Protected Forest -- This is ideal for observing monkeys and fruit bats in their 20

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natural habitat. (The current tally of monkeys in the wild is approximated at 40; fruit bats, in the few thousands.)

Falls -- A number of waterfalls are accessible by trekking.

Hills -- The hilly terrain is ideal for mountain and outdoor adventures such as horseback riding, mountain climbing, rope bridge crossing, archery, and other sports.

B’laan Country -- The presence of an authentic B’laan community here enriches the cultural character of the barangay, making it one of the gems of Gensan’s heritage treasure chest.

Compact facts -- Barangay formed by Resolution No. 3 (1990), comprised by Puroks 1-3, Biscayda, San Vicente, Sampao, Kidam, Tucanop, Balsinang, and Balakayo. Approximately 12 Km from City Proper, 2,251 ha. in area (variably plain, hilly, mountainous), temperate climate, 3,252 inhabitants, mostly B’laan, Boholano, Cebuano, Ilonggo and Muslim, with Cebuano and Bul-anon spoken. Livelihood based on rice, corn, cattle, goat and poultry.

(Continued on page 34)

Upper Labay

G

osdack to the native tribes, Upper Labay (the flow of the river up from the throne going down in B’laan) started out in 1972 as a sitio of Barangay Tinagacan, comprised by eight households.

A year later the B’laan chieftain Calib donated the area, with a number of families coming in from the islands of Cebu, Iloilo and Negros, and neighboring towns Malapatan, Malungon and Polomolok.

A cultural destination in the city, where one can still observe locals immersed in their craft and livelihood of weaving malong and banig, it also offers extreme eco-adventure opportunities.

Sansapan River and Cave -- A destination for extreme adventure seekers, it offers a smooth trek across forested river trails en route to Sansapan Cave, whose main attraction is the waterfalls hidden inside the caverns. For the more extreme sports-oriented, continue hiking on and descend a steep cliff for the thrill of a lifetime. This is where canyoneering begins, an adventure introduced in Europe that combines rock climbing and spelunking. It in-

cludes maneuvering through wet and rocky terrain, swimming, rappelling in waterfalls, bouldering, and falls jumping.

Boys Scout Camp -- A campsite established for scouts right at the top of the hill that overlooks the barangay, it also serves as a camping site for visitors intending to enjoy nature in a simpler, more spartan ways.

Cultural Center -- A center that showcases the crafts and tools of the indigenous B’laan tribe, as well as its heritage and culture, it showcases household handicrafts, musical intruments, weaving machine for malong making and other art crafts.

Compact Facts -- Barangay created 20 September 1978, comprised by Puroks 1-2 (Barangay Proper), New Paradise, Abtois, Sansapan, Taliwara, Daan Banwang, and Almatac. Approximately 22 Km from City Proper, 2,341 ha. in area (variably plain, hilly, mountainous), temperate climate, 2,649 (2005) inhabitants, mostly B’laan, with B’laan and Cebuano spoken. Livelihood based on corn, cotton, sorghum, charcoal, cattle and goat. Forestry under connservation and rehabilitation. Special events include Araw ng Upper Labay (September 20) and St. Michael Patronal Fiesta (September 30).

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Moving Onward

T

he four mountainous barangays, the last frontier of the city, are a vast potential for eco-tourism.

At various stages of fund sourcing and development are the local government’s vision of sustainable tourism and culture-preserving designs that

22

cater to ethnic diversity and environmental protection, which covers: • Cultural Heritage Village in Upper Labay • Cable cars/zipline in Balakayo, Olympog • Cottages, bike park, safety cables and metal ladders at Malakong Wall, Amsikong Waterfalls, and Sansapan Cave Falls • Canyoneering at Sansapan Falls • Cottages and view deck at Sniper’s Place • Nopol Hills bat sanctuary view deck • Sleeping quarters at Klaja and Corn Camp at Bagong Buhay, Mabuhay • Reforestration of Klaja Karst lands • Spring resort, bike park and cottages at Kalaja Cave • Cottages and spa at Nopol Hills and Balakayo Hills • Mountain trek/bike trails at Mabuhay Ridge, Purok Bagong Buhay, Nopol Hills, Alperaz • Livelihood development in handicrafts production • Support facilities such as comfort rooms, sleeping quarters, bail-out cottages, forest/tourism rangers quarters within the Klaja Eco Park • Retirement village in the 4 barangays • Open zoo and vafari in Conel

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he Klaja Eco Park is well on its way to becoming Gensan’s eco-tourism pièce de résistance.

Watch out, world!

Pinoy Says C

Mando

This is a difficult question to answer objectively, since I’m prone to be more sympathetic with your fiancé. If he’s someone like a friend I know, who can’t seem to ignore the ugliness of the world and the seemingly hopeless state of affairs of mankind (read: religious and racial strifes, abuse of power and greed, exploitation of the weak and innocent, et cetera) that he’s witnessed, then he considers the rearing of children as a disservice and an act of unkindness to his own offspring. Of course, you have to find out why he doesn’t want to have children, but only do this with an open mind, not with an agenda to force him into your scheme.

How that dialogue goes will largely decide your future together. Proceed with care.

23

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Tisay Says

I’ m ha ppily en a won derfu l magan,ged to only re ce ntly conf who to m e th at he didessed wa nt childre n. All n’t my life I’ve drea m ed mothe r, a nd noofwbein g a of my life ju st decth e love I ca n’t be th at. Wided hat shou ld I do?

C

Nusha

True love is the basis for a happy marriage -- when your partner’s happiness is just as important as your own. I tend to imply that your fiancé is narrowminded and selfish. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to force anyone into fatherhood, but let me explain.

Since you’re engaged I assume that you didn’t meet just recently. Dreaming of being a mother all your life is a strong statement, one that doesn’t sound like a silly idea that came to your mind just recently. So I presume that he was fully aware of it when asking for your hand, and he only recently confessed that he has a different vision of your future together.

False pretenses? Cold feet? Whatever! It doesn’t change the fact that his approach is unfair, that he raised false expectations, and has stolen your time.

Has he had much experience with children?

Scared that he won’t be a good father? Worried that he’s too young or too old? Doesn’t want to change diapers?

You may discover that his reasons are things that are solvable, and will require just some time, effort and work.

If not, my harsh advise is to think about yourself, dump him, move on, and don’t waste your time any longer. If you follow his wish then you’ll always regret giving up your lifetime dream. Sooner or later you’ll resent him.

Always keep in mind -- quite often men come and go (unfortunately), whereas your child is for keeps.

artsATTACK cuLtureSHOCK

by Bing

Cariño

From Settlement

District to Metropolis

I

n the two-volume Annotations and Jurisprudence of the Local Government Code of 1991 by Reynaldo Aralar, he wrote that “the barangay evolved from its predecessor, the barrio. ...Although recognized in the Local Autonomy Act and the Barrio Charter with respect to its existence as a local community, the barrio is not constitutionally recognized as a Local Government Unit. It took the time from the birth of the Philippine Republic in 1946 up to the 1970s and 80s that finally barangays were recognized as a territorial and political subdivision of the Philippines.”

The beginnings of General Santos City as a community is older than the establishment of the Philippines as a republic.

When Gen. Paulino Santos arrived in 1939 he established the settlement districts of Marbel, Tupi, Polomolok and Lagao in the vast area of the Cotabato Basin, most of which are under the jurisdiction of the earlier established Municipality of Glan.

This soon became a political unit when the area was named as the Municipality of Rajah Buayan. As the municipality grew in importance, barrios were so established that in 1956 as the Municipality is named General Santos, the municipality included the barrios of Malandag, Polomolok, Labu, the three barrios of Lagao, Katangawan, Conel, Sinawal, Glamang, Klinan, Upper Klinan, Polo, Maitum, Silway 8 Creek, Rubber, Palkan, Sulit, Alabel, Kawas, Bula, Lun, Kolombuko, San Jose, and Lasok.

In 1957 when the Municipality of Polomolok was created, the areas known as Klinan, Glamang and Matinao became part of that municipality. By 1959, under Resolution 79, Gen. Santos annexed Buayan, Baluan, Bula, Conel, Katangawan, the three barrios of Lagao, Labangal, Siguil, San Jose, Tambler, Sinawal, Dadiangas, including the barrios that are now under Alabel (Dumulok, Alabel, Alegria, Kawas, Maribulan, and Tukawal), and the whole of Malungon including the barrio of Malandag.

In this political separation, Tinagacan, under R79, was carved out of Katangawan, and under Resolution 139, Baluan from Buayan, adding two new barrios. In 1964, 24

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under R139 the second Barrio of Lagao took the name San Isidro.

When Gen. Santos became a city in 1968, Malungon and Alabel became separate municipalities, leaving the city with Buayan, Baluan, Bula, Conel, Katangawan, the two barrios of Lagao, San Isidro, Labangal, Siguil, San Jose, Tambler, Tinagakan, Sinawal, Dadiangas and two more: Ligaya (becoming the new name of Upper Baluan under R181), and Klinan 5 (carved out of Polomolok, becoming Mabuhay under R78).

As the population and income of puroks increased, they were able to separate from barangays and establish themselves into separate units. In 1976, a big chunk of the highly populated Sitio New Society in Labangal became Barrio Apopong, the 21st barangay. In 1986, under City Ordinance 39, Calumpang separated from Labangal.

Three resolutions were passed in 1991 creating new barangays carved from a mother barangay: Upper Labay, Batomelong and Olympog (the latter two from Tinagacan). The same year, as basic services became difficult to deliver, Dadiangas, by virtue of SP Resolution 90, was divided into four autonomous LGUs creating Barangays Dadiangas South, Dadiangas

North, Dadiangas West and Dadiangas East; Lagao’s Puroks 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15 came to be known as Barangay City Heights.

Politics and governance play a large role in the shaping of the culture of a place. To understand the construct of local identity, deciphering the evolution of the territorial definition and political subdivision of a place is a requisite. The last redefinition of the geographic and political subdivisions of Gen. Santos was in 1991, which created 26 local autonomous governments that define community life as defined in the Local Government Code of the Philippines -- 26 basic political units that serve as the primary units of government, which design and implement policies, plans, programs, projects, and activities in the community, and serve as a forum where the collective views of the people may be expressed, crystallized, and considered, and where disputes may be amicably settled -- the components of local culture.

In less than a century, Gen. Santos grew from a settlement district that became a barrio; it then grew to a municipality that bred new municipalities. It established itself as a city, which then transformed sitios into barrios, puroks into 26 barangays.

Many of these barangays (like Polomolok and Alabel before) already have the capacity to become municipalities.

A

t this rate of growth and development, General Santos City in a few years could become a metropolis of municipalities and cities.

(Mapping out the transformation of the land was done with the assistance of the Office of the Barangay Affairs and Ms Melinda Y. Bulan, administrative officer of the Records Division of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.)

bars Babes Bar - One of East Asia Royale Hotel’s watering holes, with discotheque, live music Thu-Fri (2nd Flr, Arcade 1, East Asia Royale Hotel, National Highway, Gen. Santos, +6383-5534123 ext. 106) Cassado Billiard Bar - Pool tables with lady attendants, live band, icecold beers (Grd Flr, Arcade 1, East Asia Royale Hotel, National Highway, Gen. Santos, +63-83-3028389) GGPick N O 1 Bar - Live band, ice-cold beers, best live guitar by Gifford (Mezzanine, Marietta’s Bldg, Magsaysay Ave., Gen. Santos) GGPick Pacman Sports Bar - Five pool tables/dart boards, The Pacman himself if you’re lucky, lots of lounge space (JMP Bldg 2, Aparente, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5528880) GGPick Q Bar - Great place to dine and be seen in, for chilling and dancing, with superb music and yuppie crowd (SunCity Complex, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5543202) GGPick Red Rocket Sports Bar Warm meals and ice-cold beers (Grd Flr, Arcade 2, East Asia Royale Hotel, National Highway, Gen. Santos)

GGPick Coffee Dream - Coffee, sweets an refuge after shopping or while waiting for company (2nd Flr, KCC Mall, Gen. Santos, +63-833018263) [wi◦fi] GGPick Fagioli Coffee Shop Great after hours haunt, tends to get really crowded at night (Petron Station, Lagao, National Highway, Gen. Santos, +63-83-552749) [wi◦fi] GGPick Fagioli Coffee Shop - Private yet accessible, perfect chill after shopping (Grd Flr, KCC Mall, +63-835542384) [wi◦fi] Generals Brew - Fine gourmet coffees, sandwiches, combo meals (Pioneer, Gen. Santos, +63-835526559) [wi◦fi] Red Ribbon Bakeshop - Cakes, pastries, sumptuous Filipino/Western meal combos (Lower Grd Flr, KCC Mall, Gen. Santos, +63-83-3018388)

SunCity Suites - Hotel at the heart of upscale and trendy SunCity Complex (National Highway, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5523333) [wi◦fi] Sydney Hotel - Centrally located, offers comfortable accommodations and excellent restaurants, professional banquet/conference facilities (Pendatun cor. Pioneer, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5525479) [wi◦fi] Tierra Montana Hotel - Centrally located, offers comfortable accommodations and excellent restaurants, professional banquet/conference facilities (National Highway, beside DHL, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5547733) [wi◦fi]

hotels iFAMILY COUNTRY HOTEL

resorts iRICHEVA GENSAN SUITES

iQ BAR

cafés GGPick BluGré Cafe - Next best thing to Starbucks, designer coffees, hot/cold mixes, filling meals (Robinsons Place, Gen. Santos, +63-835542177) [wi◦fi] GGPick BluGré Cafe - Bigger and more relaxing than the one at Robinsons (South Osmeña, Gen. Santos, +63-5521111) [wi◦fi] Cafe Amoree - Local gem, great drinks/eats, off city center but worth a visit (Mabuhay Rd, Gen. Santos, +6383-5542173) [wi◦fi] Cafe Paulino - Unpretentious coffee place, quiet retreat from the crowd (Gaisano Mall, Gen. Santos) GGPick Caffe Firenzo - Gourmet coffees, desserts, sandwiches, pizza, open 24/7 (SunCity Complex, National Highway, Gen. Santos) [wi◦fi] GGPick Choca Loca - Pasta, sandwiches, specialty hot/cold chocolate drinks, shakes, halo-halo (South Osmeña-Quirino Sts across from DTIXII Bldg, Gen. Santos) [wi◦fi] Coffee Club 101 - Coffee, pasta, desserts, free PC stations for patrons (Laurel East, Gen. Santos, +63-835535430) [wi◦fi] GGPick Coffee Club 101 - Great place to people-watch and be seen in, perfect chill after shopping (Robinsons Place, Gen. Santos, +63-835534878) [wi◦fi]

CBHL Garden Rooms & Dormitel - Central location and tasteful guest rooms at budget rates (Laurel, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5546336) [wi◦fi] GGPick East Asia Royale Hotel Stone’s throw away from the financial district, shopping malls, convention/ exhibition centers, with function rooms/ restaurants/bars (Grand Royale Ballroom, Babes Bar), business center, 24-hour room service (National Highway, Gen. Santos, +6383-5534123) [wi◦fi] GGPick Family Country Hotel & Convention Centre - Guest rooms, meeting/banquet halls (up to 1,000 heads), pool, in-house Cafe Leticia amidst greenery (Mateo Rd, Lagao, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5528895) [wi◦fi] Florotel - Strategic downtown location, modern amenities (North Laurel Ave., Gen. Santos, +63-83-5540880) Ice Castle - Modern, centrally located, offers excellent accommodations, in-house bar and restaurant (Provido Village, City Heights, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5544423, +63-838269026) [wi◦fi] Phela Grande Hotel - Luxury guest rooms, in-house Meilih Restaurant/ Cafe Eduardo (Magsaysay cor. Atis, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5524220) [wi◦fi] Residencia Heneral Travelers Inn - Prime location, affordable rooms -Your home in Gensan (RD Bldg, Pioneer Ave., Gen. Santos, +63-83-3020533, +63-922-8420103) GGPick Richeva Gensan Suites - Minimalist-modern, centrally located, offers affordable quality accommodations (11 Sampaguita St, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5540410, +63-919-7936227, +63-932-3753001, gensansuites@gmail.com) [wi◦fi]

iISLA JARDIN DEL MAR

Amandari Cove - Resort-quality accommodations, pool, Cafe Amoree and Caicos Restobar (Dacera, off Mabuhay Road, +63-083-5542654 | 8261074 | 8261070) [wi◦fi] Gensan View Resort - Sun, sky, swimming pool (Nursery Rd, Lagao, Gen. Santos, +63-83-3028237) GGPick Isla Jardin del Mar Sand, sun, sky (Gumasa, Glan, Sarangani, islajardindelmar@yahoo.com) GGPick Le Jardin Arnevel Convention halls, swimming pool, 2,000-m2 garden, spacious parking area (Mabuhay Rd, Gen. Santos, +6383-3012513) [wi◦fi] GGPick Lemlunay Resort Clifftop seaside resort with excellent villas, restaurant and bar, pool, and worldclass dive site (Tinoto, Maasim, Sarangani, +63-920-914 9259 | South Point Divers: www.southpointdivers. ph) [wi◦fi] Merl Garden Spring Resort Zip-line ride, pool, horseback riding and more (Lahit, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, +63-919-4577221) Olaer Spring Resort - Natural springs, lasting city icon (Apopong, Gen. Santos, +63-83-3802345) GGPick Paraiso Verde Resort & Water Park - Modern recreational facility with main attractions Moby Wave Pool, Adventura River Rapids, Freestyle Swim Pool, and Wiggles Kiddie Pool, a 300-person capacity pavilion, and food court (Gen. Santos Drive, Koronadal, +63-832281988, +63-923-8701483)

pLaces2GO

GGPicks

GGPick Rosal Beach Resort Sun, sky, and all-year-round white sand beach fun (Gumasa, Glan, Sarangani, +63-920-9212203) Shellrock Spring Resort - Natural springs and greenery, a welcome escape from city life (Barrio Cebuano, Tupi, South Cotabato, +63-9182821801, +63-83-5524278)

restaurants GGPick Aunt Ludi - Apart from a wide array of gourmet breads, Aunt Ludi serves great burger, pastas, and rice meals. (Robinsons Place, Gen. Santos and J&G Propriedad Bldg, Nuñez Street, Purok Malakas, Gen. Santos, aunt_ludi_bakeshoppe@yahoo.com) GGPick Big Ben Steaks & Grills - Steaks you can always rely on in a homey, central setting, you’d wanna hang out long after the plates are cleared. (Robinsons Place, Gen. Santos, +63-83-3030315) GGPick Bigby’s Cafe & Restaurant - Great coffees and sumptuous food platters. Try Pescado Al Fresco -dory in onion sauce! (Robinsons Place, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5520111) [wi◦fi] GGPick Cookie Factory - Homestyle restaurant (J. Catolico Sr, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5522035) Firenzo Deli - Pastries, sandwiches (SunCity Complex, National Highway, Gen. Santos) [wi◦fi] Gio’s Mongo Grill - One of Tiongson Arcade’s main draw, Gio’s has great tasting barbecue (Tiongson Arcade, Lagao, Gen. Santos) Grab-A-Crab - Exciting seafood, crab specialties (Laurel East, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5535430) [wi◦fi] Grab-A-Crab - Same Grab-A-Crab vibe, only smaller (Robinsons Place, Gen. Santos) [wi◦fi] Gusteau’s Restaurant - Fine crab and seafood delicacies (SunCity Complex, National Highway, Gen. Santos) [wi◦fi]

iLITTLE DUBAI KEBAB GRILLS

GGPick Little Dubai Kebab Grills- Taste of exotic Middle East at half the price (Gen. Santos, +63-835520140, +63-922-8141010) [wi◦fi] GGPick The Little Kitchen - Serves European (pizza, pasta, chicken cordon bleu), Oriental (kalbi chim, ebi tempura, chao fan), and Filipino (sizzling bangus sisig, buco pandan with lychee) in Mediterranean-inspired and Filipino-warmed ambience. (Cor. Quirino and Zapote, Gen. Santos) [wi◦fi]

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C

ongratulations on the success of BMT 2011!

The euphoria may have died down, but the friendship and fond memories linger on and on...

iRED TRELLIS SEAFOOD GARDEN

Ocean Cave Restaurant - Fine seafood and Filipino specialties (SunCity Complex, National Highway, Gen. Santos) [wi◦fi] GGPick Pablo’s Steaks and Crabs - Pablo’s has perfected the art of preparing steaks (certified US Angus) (National Highway, Gen. Santos, +6383-5539298) GGPick Paseo Del Sol - Hacienda-style haven, for theme/special events, serving Pablo’s/Ranchero fare, and exclusive dishes for private functions/catering (National Highway, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5539298) GGPick Ranchero Grill - Takes native/Filipino/ranch-style food to the next level. Book in advance to play it safe! (National Highway, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5539298) GGPick Red Trellis Seafood Garden - Asian fusion-inspired, chili/ black pepper crab to die for (Across NDDU-IBED, Tiongson Extension, Lagao, Gen. Santos, +63-83-3022722) Rooftop Grill Ihaw-Ihaw - Seafood/grill, great city view (6th Flr, Sydney Hotel, Gen. Santos, +63-835525479 ext. 103) [wi◦fi] Royale Lounge - Relaxing café

with minimalist decór, acoustic music Wed-Sat (East Asia Royale Hotel, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5534123) [wi◦fi] GGPick Sarangani Highlands Garden & Restaurant - Hilltop joint with views of Sarangani Bay, downtown Gensan, Mt Parker/Mt Matutum. Great for private parties (Tambler, Gen. Santos, +63-83-3040752) GGPick Taps & Mix - Healthy meals, relaxing atmosphere, eclectic crowd, affordable price 24-7 (Roxas East across NDDU campus, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5542846) [wi◦fi] GGPick Tricia’s The Coffee Pot & Tables - Coffee and pastry, buffet meals twice a week, homey atmosphere (20 Champaca St, Gen. Santos, +63-933-9411941) [wi◦fi]

Wanchin Dimsum Restaurant Good food, ample space, great view of Plaza Heneral Santos (2nd Flr, Sydney Hotel, Gen. Santos, +63-835525479) [wi◦fi]

resto-bars Drill Shack- Aussie staples such as salads, steaks, burgers and condomwrapped beers (Grd Flr, Arcade 1, East Asia Royale Hotel, National Highway, Gen. Santos) GGPick Jmix Resto Bar - Great food, great music, the one place you’re most likely to have a drink with Manny Pacquiao -- if you’re lucky. (JMP Bldg 2, City Heights, Gen.

In support of the MSU GSC PAVILLION PROJECT please send pledges/donations to Mercy Galdonez-Aquino/ Sheila Marie AlonsabeDumaguing (Savings Acct No. 009343-0257-07, BPI Santiago Blvd, General Santos City)

Santos, +63-83-5542368) GGPick Piyesta! KTV and Resto Bar - Value-for-money combo meals, inventive dishes, novelty cocktails, free KTV rooms up to your total food/drinks bill, friendly staff, al fresco heaven (Robinsons Place, Gen. Santos, +63-83-5542139) [wi◦fi]

iPIYESTA KTV & RESTO-BAR

ERRATUM: We regret to omit Jhui’s name in this photo by Johann Niño Mari Abi-abi in Postscript (V2N7, Nov-Dec 2011).

The caption should read, from left: Caroline Joy Arjona, Marthin Anthony Millado, Valerie Pailden, Jhui Laguardia Magnabijon, and Honey Lyn Nonog | Gowns by Theresa’s Fashion | Pictorial assistant: Alejandro Lebrando

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Aunt Ludy and Rolee wheat bread... yum!

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We so terribly miss Singapore’s Gardenia Super Soft & Fine Enriched Wholemeal Bread (100%), the first and only bread in Singapore made with 100% wholemeal flour, so much so that we had to scour the whole of Gensan to find a close alternative. (Just two slices of Gardenia wholemeal bread offer 82% of the daily whole-grains requirement for a healhty diet. Whole-wheat -also referred to as whole-grain, wholemeal, or simply, wheat -- bread is a type of bread made using flour that is partly or entirely made from whole or almost-whole wheat grains.)

Imagine our surprise when we found two good options in our own backyard: Aunt Ludy and Rolee Bakeshop! Aunt Ludy’s is creamy soft and thinly sliced (great for slight toasting), while Rolee’s is coated with whole or cracked grains of wheat. Both are great for turkey ham sandwiches, peanut butter, bare dipping in your coffee, or even simply on its own!

See No Evil Hear No Evil

Tees by Artwork: chic, casual, and cool!

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ove over Bench and Penshoppe, enter hip and cool Artwork! Over the years this brand has delivered well-designed and finely crafted tees of all persuasions -- pop, avantgarde, gypsy, ethnic, retro, vintage, sporty, hippie, rasta, modern -- and we just love how their art canvas transcends the commonplace and mundane. Their price range is reasonable, too -- what with their use of high-quality cotton and cotton mixes that wear well and wash even better. As if that’s not enough, they also have regular sales and design competitions to really shake things up.

Or simply read the two new books and listen to the two new albums we recommend on page 30. We’re sure you’d love playing Coldplay and Death Cab For Cutie in the background while you read Foer and Murakami back to back. (Single sitting optional.)

Our New Year’s Resolutions (for you, if you like)

Too jaded, too tired, or too busy to go back to formula and come up with your nth list of resolutions for the new year? How about we do it for you? Here are four:

• Be fit. Work out regularly to reduce

cancer risk, increase longevity, achieve and maintain weight loss, enhance mood, and lower blood pressure.

• Enjoy life more. Get out and try

something new: take up a new hobby, learn a new sport. Do gardening, or head to the local spa.

• Get out of debt. Resolve to get a handle on your finances.

• Help others.

Assist at a local library, mentor a child, or help build a house.

Volunteer, or donate.

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The online of this columnvewrsion Best Food & Bev on the erage Blog in the 2011 Phili ine Blog Awards pp for Mindanao.

Gensan’s Best Eats

F

resh from recently winning the Best Food & Beverage Blog from the Philippine Blog Awards for Mindanao for Eat’s Terrific! on www.ormanmanansala.com, I am sharing my preferred list of gastronomic pleasures in Gensan. Read on…

ambience is just as perfect.

Best Iced Tea -

Best Lomi - Order it from Uno Cafe or Big Chow and you’ll still get the best hot noodle soup in Gensan. Each serving costs only P100 and is good for two persons.

When I’m under the weather, this lomi is my comfort medicine. Surprisingly, I immediately get energized after consuming my fill of this lomi.

Best Strawberry Milkshake - There can

only be one great strawberry milkshake.

And only Shakey’s Pizza Restaurant can deliver the creamiest and tastiest strawberry milkshake. Would you believe that I can consume two orders in one sitting? Get yourself one now!

Don’t be deceived by drink-all-you-can iced tea and end up disappointed. My choice is the one served by Cafe Amoree. Served in a tall glass, you’ll love every sip and wish it were endless.

Best Oven-Roasted Chicken - Bounty

Fresh’s Chooks-To-Go is selling like pancakes. Chances are you’re staring at an empty display shelf now. The good thing is that they are now found everywhere.

Their roasted chicken has remained very tasty, though it has become smaller in size, it seems. Still, this is the best dish during emergency situations.

Best Thin Crust Pizza - Calda’s at Best Pinaputok na Tilapia - Daniella’s

Diner along Tiongson Arcade cooks up a storm with their Pinaputok na Tilapia! I saw how they prepared this and I must say that it was worth every centavo. I can understand that they were very generous with the ingredients but when they included half a bar of butter in the foil-wrapped tilapia, I was floored! No wonder it tastes so good!

Gaisano Mall is a new find! Of all their pizza variants, I super love their Filipiniana Thin Crust Pizza. Topped with my fave longganisa and chorizo slices — this one’s a sure winner!

Best Halo-Halo - This time, I will go for

Razon’s. Its simplicity just wins me over.

With just macapuno, saging na saba and leche flan, this one is probably the tastiest ever. Its almost snowflake-like crushed ice makes this an even more exhilarating find. Go for Razon’s halo-halo at SunCity Complex and KCC Mall.

Best Siopao - After trying every siopao

in town, Joan’s Bakeshoppe’s is still my choice for best siopao. There are wannabes to the siopao throne but wannabes they remain as Joan’ Bakeshoppe’s siopao still reigns supreme.

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Best Combo Meals - If you’re a group of five famished individuals and are on a tight budget, then this is for you. PiYesta KTV & Resto Bar serves the best value-for-money combo meals but never scrimps on the ingredients. Service is superb, too, and the

Best Sizzling Shrimp Scampi - Little Kitchen has come a long way since they first started. Not only did they expand their restaurant area, they also added new offerings on their menu. Their Sizzling Shrimp Scampi remains my all-time favorite.

T

here you go –- my list of Gensan’s best 10 eats. You may not agree with me but it shouldn’t stop you from checking them out. Happy eating!

SkyCable Gensan Channel 21

SkyCable Davao Channel 19

For TV advertising info and inquiry, call 082-225-4199 now.

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Whole body massage, foot spa, foot massage, manicure, pedicure, waxing, and body scrub | Separate sauna for men and women -- Level 2, Tan Bldg, Aparente Avenue, Purok Malakas, bBeside Lagao National High School) General Santos | (083) 303-5086 | (0922) 8637437

bookPICKINGS

Moonwalking Murakami

Moonwalking with Einstein

by Joshua Foer

Foer’s unlikely journey from chronically forgetful science journalist to memory champ frames a revelatory exploration of the vast, hidden impact of memory on every aspect of our lives.

On average, people squander forty days annually compensating for things they’ve forgotten. Joshua Foer used to be one of those people, but after a year of memory training he found himself in the finals of the U.S. Memory Championship.

Even more important, Foer found a vital truth we too often forget: In every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories. Moonwalking with Einstein draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of memory, and venerable tricks of the mentalist’s trade to transform our understanding of human remembering.

musicREVIEWS Mylo Xyloto (2011), by Coldplay | êêêêê -- Coldplay’s fifth album -- with its bigger choruses, grander textures, and happier outlook -- showcases cascading vocals on Paradise, anthem groove in Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall, love play in Hurts Like Heaven, love fight in Don’t Let ‘Em Take Control! and U2-esque vibe in Don’t Let It Break Your Heart!

The darker-toned Princess of China, a ballad about loss and regret, featuring Rihanna, posits synth-fuzz groove that is offhandedly seductive.

Other gems here are A Hopeful Transmission, Charlie Brown, Mylo Xyloto, Up with the Birds, Major Minus, UFO, Us Against the World, and Up in Flames, a song pondering breakups as 30

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IQ84

by Haruki Murakami

Tokyo 1984, a young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence. Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to unravel. As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge, we learn of the profound connections that bind them ever closer. A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery -- 1Q84 is Murakami’s most ambitious novel yet: a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

Death Cold Cab Play an end-of-the-world scenario. As heartbreak lullabies go, it’s the bittersweet stuff we remember best.

Codes and Keys (2011), by Death Cab for Cutie | êêêêê -- DCFC’s latest album is a more uplifting affair than Narrow Stairs (2008). Even “when there’s a burning in your heart,” sings Ben Gibbard on You

Are a Tourist, “let it grow.” The optimism is not without worry though, and the arrangements add disorienting texture (listen to the eerie ghost vocals on Doors Unlocked and Open). Still, songs here -- like Unobstructed Views, Underneath the Sycamore, Codes and Keys, Monday Morning -- tell of a life that just might be wonderful after all.

by Jacinta Hawthorn

chological exercises intended to retrain the amygdala. Once you learn to control the amygdala this ultimately turns into a brand new behavior.

The most essential approach is to breathe correctly. When attacks arise your breathing becomes faster and shallower.

It’s a sign that the fight or flight response is triggered. By taking taking extended deep breaths you’ll be able to seize control.

It is essential to make deep breathing exercises a part of your everyday regimen because this will help you become a more serene person and less at risk from stimuli that bring about panic and anxiety.

Y

ou can also follow a training course that will take you through the other approaches you must learn to bring your

O

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE Gensan Gazer

Gensan Gazer

anxiety under control. The very best help I have found are The Linden Method (www.thelindenmethod.com) and Panic Away (www.panicaway.com). They are easy to understand self-help products created to assist you to simply triumph over any kind anxiety disorder.

Jacinta writes from experience as she is a former panic and anxiety sufferer. She invites you to visit ArticleCity.com.

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REACH 55 NATIONS WITH US.

Gensan Gazer

Photography by Apple Greatson Francisco Model: Julius Lagare (Atlanta Festival Ballet Company) Production: Marthin Millado, Bing Cariño

i

f you want to stop panic attacks naturally, take the self-help option instead of taking prescription drugs.

Anxiety attacks can be halted, and there are incredible all-natural means to accomplish this.

Panic and anxiety attacks start off in the brain, created in the area referred to as amygdala, like a switch that turns anxiety on and off.

Controlling the amygdala is the vital thing to mastering precisely how to cease panic and anxiety attacks naturally. Panic accomplishes a useful purpose as it serves to alert you of approaching threat so that you can do something to assure your own survival. This process is called the fight or flight response; symptoms happen once this process becomes too easily induced due to over-excitement.

The good news is that panic attacks really are a behavioral pattern acquired over time from responses to stressful stimuli.

Any kind of acquired behavior may be unlearned as well.

Although there are natural cures for panic and anxiety attacks such as natural herbs, they simply offer short-lived reduction because the secret is to unlearn this behavior rather than manage it by treatment.

It is easy to avoid anxiety and panic attacks by performing psy-

Stopping Panic Attacks Naturally

Photography: Apple Greatson Francisco | Model: Che Tiongson Hair and Makeup: Jacque Kate A. Duguil | Gown: Emi Englis

healthBITS

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greenLIVING

W

hile visiting national parks or forest preserves, you’ll often be told to “leave nothing but footprints.” This is always a good policy in these situations. However, we often forget, or simply do not know that wherever we go, we actually leave two sets of footprints. Your physical footprint is, for the most part, a harmless indentation left behind wherever you step. The other is what is known as your carbon footprint, essentially the level of greenhouse gases your lifestyle and activity emit into the environment. Here we help you understand not only what your carbon footprint is, but also how to measure it and identify some simple ways to reduce it and to save energy.

Your Carbon Footprint: What Is It? A carbon footprint is “the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product, or person.” This means that if you live a lifestyle that requires the use of a greater amount of energy and fossil fuels that form greenhouse gases through combustion, the larger your impact on the environment and your carbon footprint will be.

Often people consider their carbon footprint to be the result of their immediate use of fossil fuels and energy usage, like cooking with natural gas or using petroleum to run their car. However, your carbon footprint consists of many activities that can be far less obvious.

This may include the fossil fuels used to transport the food that you buy at your local grocery, or the energy used to dispose of the waste produced in your household. All this comes into account when trying to make an accurate estimate of what impact is left behind by your daily activities and choices.

Watch Where You Step: Understanding Your Carbon Footprint www.energyresults.com sia #4 and Japan #5) but #1 in emissions per capita. Since this much larger footprint is made up of many much smaller individual footprints, it is important to understand your contribution and responsibility to the greater whole. Individually, the average American produces 9.44 tons of carbon dioxide on their own per year! Surprised?

(Calculate the size of your household’s carbon footprint at www.epa.gov/climatechange/ emissions/ind_calculator.html) How to Reduce Your Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Taking small steps to reduce your carbon footprint and saving energy is actually fairly simple. Here are some easy things that you can do to live a more environmentally healthy lifestyle.

• Limit consumption of bottled water. The production, consumption and disposal of bottled water leaves a rather significant carbon footprint. It requires the combustion of fossil fuels to make and transport the bottle, and dispose of it if it’s not recycled. Home filtration systems can reduce your impact and water cost.

best way to ensure that unnecessary energy is not lost.

With a powerstrip, you can even switch off more than one appliance at once.

• Use cold water. No, I’m not suggesting that you start taking cold showers.

Using colder water to wash clothes that do not require a hot water wash is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. While washers already require a lot of energy to run, it takes even more to heat the water.

Using cold water whenever possible can make a big difference and will increase your energy saving.

filters, and appliances could have a massive impact in reducing your carbon footprint. Less energy used means less greenhouse gas emissions. Even just maintaining and taking care of the appliances and products you already own can ensure a smaller footprint without spending a lot of money.

(Measure the energy efficiency of your home and your potential energy savings at energyresults.com)

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ith easy steps like these, you’re on your way to increasing your energy savings and reducing the your carbon footprint. We all have a role in trying to shrink the adverse impact we have on the environment, not only as an individual, but also as a member of a household, as a citizen of a country, and as an inhabitant of Planet Earth.

• Recycle and reuse. Recycling uses a lot less energy since it is reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that would come out of creating a completely new product.

• Upgrade the energy efficiency of your home. New energy-efficient light bulbs,

• Unplug appliances that are not frequently in use.

Most of these items have a standby mode that wastes energy even when they’re not in use. Unplugging is the

How to Measure Your Carbon Footprint? Perhaps not surprisingly, the U.S. has one of the largest carbon footprints in the world, ranking #2 in total emissions (others near the top include China #1, India #3, RusGG V3N1

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New Year Hair

Back2Back

by Donna Mae Congson and Romarie Ivy Cunanan

E

Photo

by Apple Greatson Francisco | Hair by Envy Me Salon | Makeup by Donna Mae Congson

Personal Pamper Time

S

veryone loves the new year because it means new beginnings, new ideas to play with, a fresh new start. This year try to change your hair, explore and experiment. Based on my research on trends in the Year of the Water Dragon, drastic change seems to be fashion. If your hair color’s comfort zone is more on the browns this year, be more experimental -- play with reds and matte.

chedule an afterwork massage or manicure for an end of the day pick-me-up.

I always indulge myself in stress-releasing pamper time to wash every last work-related molecule of angst from my psyche.

This serves two goals: not only does it help erase the wear and tear already done to your body and mind, it also signals your brain, “Hey, work is over, now it’s me time.”

One hairstyle that Hollywood stars have been crazy about is the ombre hairstyle -- not to be confused with a Spanish male, hombre, with a silent h. Ombre is French for shaded. It is an effect where the color gradually changes from light to dark (source: pinkrickshaw.com). For ladies who have been coloring

It’s pampering that feels so good, and the ritual of regular breaks that’s so beneficial.

If you have money, honey, schedule a standing appointment on a Friday afternoon with a masseuse whose fingers simply walk on water. You’ll feel good knowing it’s set early and it’ll give you something to look forward to, plus cut down the possibility you’ll talk yourself out of spending the time and money on yourself.

A pedicure or manicure works just as well for you high maintenance chicks who don’t feel like disrobing just to get your groove back.

Plan your perfect experience at The Horizon Spa, where you can relax, enjoy holistic ambiance and a variety of services (e.g., rejuvenating body massage to soothe muscles and joints pain, whitening body scrub), and relieve stress and tension.

And if you don’t have time to work out because of your busy schedule, why not hit the sauna? You might even feel compelled to throw a situp or two in while you’re there.

Few things will melt away stress faster than sweating through every pore of your body. Or during weekends groove your body at Horizon’s

in our small town, but let’s do that this year, shall we? This look is often seen at celebrity red carpet events -- high volume and bouncy with beach waves.

Enough with the pin straight hair look please. If you have naturally wavy hair, love it; there are ways to maintain and tame them.

For girls/ladies with very nice bone structure, small face, and long neck, get a very short haircut this year. Bob cut and fringe are still in, but this time the fringe is not super bold straight; this year it should have volume and is more textured.

For guys, the trend is undercut. You can do a lot of playing, experimentation and ideas with undercut. Grow your hair a bit longer then do the undercut.

For everyday messy matte look apply wax, but for a formal edge brush your hair up and do a wet look using your preferred gel.

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their hair and maintaining it, this look is like getting lazy that you let the roots grow out. It’s darker in the roots and lighter at the ends, but without the harsh lines that separate them. For those who have brunette hair, this look is very easy to achieve -- highlight the ends so the more your hair grows the better it looks.

One hair style that has been around for a very long time is the blowout messy look, which is not yet well-accepted here

e should have our own style -- we just perk it up sometimes to go with the trend. Fashion gurus have one thing to say, “Fashion and trends fade, but style is eternal.” So find your own style, have fun, explore, experiment, and work it this 2012!

Fitness Studio. Try Aero Dance and for sure you’re on your way to living fit and healthy. Here you get help in monitoring your weight every day, plus you’ll meet new pals and discover new friendships.

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ry something that is pampering -- “I’m spoiled” -- that’s also personal, regularly enough to signal stress relief out of your system. You go, girl!

opinionsCACHE

Ethnic Jokes are a

Fool’s Game

If patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels (and it is), then telling other people’s jokes is the last refuge of columnists (who are often mistaken for scoundrels, for some reason).

By Donald Kaul

L

et me tell you a joke.

It’s a terrorist joke that belongs to John Cleese, the British actor and Monty Python comic genius.

It’s called Alerts to Threats in 2011 Europe: “The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have therefore raised their security level from ‘Miffed’ to ‘Peeved.’

Soon though, security levels may be raised yet again to ‘Irritated’ or even ‘A Bit Cross.’

(The English have not been ‘A Bit Cross’ since the Blitz in 1940, when tea supplies nearly ran out.)

“Terrorists have been re-categorized from ‘Tiresome’ to ‘A Bloody Nuisance.’ (The last time the British issued a ‘Bloody Nuisance’ warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.)

“The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from ‘Run’ to ‘Hide.’ The only two higher levels in France are ‘Collaborate’ and ‘Surrender.’

(The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.)

“Italy has increased the alert level from ‘Shout Loudly and Excitedly’ to ‘Elaborate Military Posturing.’ Two more levels remain: ‘Ineffective Combat Operations’ and ‘Change Sides.’

“The Germans have increased their alert state from ‘Disdainful Arrogance’ to ‘Dress 34

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in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.’ They also have two higher levels: ‘Invade a Neighbor’ and ‘Lose.’

“The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.”

I know, I know. It’s humor that relies on national stereotyping and you shouldn’t do it.

It’s like Polish jokes. (Poles, by

the way, tell Bulgarian jokes.)

But that’s why ethnic jokes are funny, at least to the less sensitive. They allow one to feel superior to other people without having to actually do anything that’s superior.

If you make a joke about French cowardice, it makes you look brave. Are the Germans warlike? Sure, to peaceful people like us.

All nonsense, of course.

The French are no more cowardly (or brave) than anyone else. Their quick surrender to the Germans in 1940 can be attributed to the fact that only 25 years before they’d fed an entire generation of their young men into German machine guns and cannon.

They weren’t cowardly, they were exhausted. (And their reluctance to take part in our invasion of Iraq can be written off to good judgment, rather than lack of courage.)

Germans, on the other hand, while they earned their reputation as bellicose bullies, have pretty much outgrown it.

They are now one of the most peaceful nations in Europe and one of the more cautious about signing up for a fight.

The Italian reputation as ineffective warriors has a basis in fact also, I suppose, but their real problem is that they are terrible at picking allies. Do you really want to get enthusiastic about a war when Hitler is the guy running the show?

Italians are wonderful people — warm, welcoming, and possessing of a great ability to enjoy life. If that makes them indifferent soldiers, I say more power to them.

There are a lot of people in the world who are good at war. Being good at pasta is better.

I once made up WhiteAnglo-Saxon-Protestant jokes as a counter-attack against Polish jokes. (I am Polish, kind of.) I’ve forgotten all of them except one: “At a White-Anglo-SaxonProtestant’s funeral, how do you accommodate all the friends who want to be pallbearers?

“You take two handles off the casket.”

If there’s anyone I’ve failed to insult, I apologize. (5 Dec 2011, OtherWords.org) Columnist Donald Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“We’ve piled up a $60-billion debt and will only pay our creditors when we’re good and ready.”

Sketch and text by Khalil Bendib, 28 Dec 2009

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postSCRIPT

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lot of the things we need to do sometimes rely on other people, and when the same people you rely on to accomplish a task or a project do not deliver quality work, if they do deliver at all, things naturally suffer, or worse, fail. Which raises the question: what are we to do in such situations?

Do it yourself, and do it well! Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, didn’t wait on anyone to create the lightning rod, bifocals, Franklin stove, carriage odometer, glass armonica, and the flexible urinary catheter: he invented them himself. Of course, not everyone is a polymath, like Leonardo da Vinci (14521519) -- painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geolo-

by Armando Nicolas PJ gist, cartographer, botanist, writer, the epitome of the Renaissance Man -- and in our highly specialized society most everyone depends on somebody else for this and that. (Why make your own cheese and pasta when you can easily get them at the local grocery?) But in most cases, the things that don’t happen or fail because of the people you so undeservedly count on are things you can actually do on your own. True, doing it right is a big factor, but starting with your own initiative is a good start.

Why, instead of a stunt double, did film actor-producer Tom Cruise perform the action sequence himself in his most recent movie, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, where his character Ethan Hunt scaled the vertical glass-and-steel wall on the outside of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 830 meters (over 2,700

Doing it Yourself

and Doing

It Right

feet)? Beyond authenticity and the art of impeccable filming, even despite the risks associated with such an endeavor, it was simply because he could do it. (Hats off to Brad Bird for brilliant direction!) I doubt Tom is thrilled by most Bollywood actors, whose singing parts are actually done by unseen singers and dubbed into the final movie.

The Burj Khalifa Hotel mentioned in the movie, by the way, is the Armani Hotel Dubai, the first hotel designed and developed by Giorgio Armani, who probably got tired of how hotels are created, and finally decided to make one himself.

Neither does this notion

have to be taken wholesale. It’s still practical to keep a few options ready when it comes to things like calling a taxi, shopping for essentials, and going to a hairdresser, for example -so you really don’t have to drive all the time, or make your own toothpaste, much less cut your own hair!

For one, Gensan didn’t have a great place to party apparently so the owners of Q Bar opened shop. Other entreprenuers have started or are starting new ventures here to shake things up, fill a need, do things right finally, or any mix of the previous three. Gensan Gazer was born around this same notion -- to create a light yet intelligent product that caters not only to local folk -- never mind naysayers and wannabes who think glossy is classy regardless of mediocre content, whose main driving purpose is selfgratification and profit and nothing more.

M

Copyright © 2011 Paramount Pictures

eanwhile I entrust the willful creation of this magazine to my writers, artists, photographers, advertisers and other contributors, my friends and supporters -- the absence of whom I can simply remedy by going back to where Gensan Gazer started in the first place: I’m going to have to do everything, if I have to, on my own.

36

GG V3N1

by Apple Greatson Francisco

he Ruins in Bacolod is of Italianate architecture with neo-Romanesque columns, very closely resembling the faรงade of Carnegie Hall in New York City. The mansion was built in the early 1900s by the sugar baron, Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson (1865-1948), and was home to his unmarried children with his first wife, Maria Braga, a Portuguese from Macau. The mansion was the largest residential structure ever built at that time. In the early part of WW II the US Armed Forces burned the mansion to prevent the Japanese from using it as headquarters.

It took days of fire to bring down the roof and the twoinch wooden floors.To this day, the 903-square-meter structure still stands tall amid the plantation, and continues to awe both local and foreign visitors.

T

The Ruins

acuteEYE

THE

Asia United Bank is now open to serve you at One Roma Square, Aparente Avenue!

Call 3) t (08 us a 1364 5 52 ! now

W

e at Asia United Bank believe in the highest ideals of corporate excellence, the best-value products, and the timely delivery of services to our esteemed clientele at all times and without fail. This is why we strive to be always within reach by the community that we serve -- businesses, institutions, and homes alike -- a sign of our commitment to our clients first and foremost. We’re proud and happy to say that the AUB Gensan Aparente Branch is now open to serve you.

Proud Member of

Member of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation Maximum Deposit Insurance up to P500,000

Asia United Bank The Bank of Choice www.aub.com.ph

I love the great outdoors, the sun and sky and sea, the shallows, the swells, the seemingly full and hollow endlessness... i love substance, the sound of a perfect sentence, the flow of honesty and wisdom, the magic of a vision,

the remembrance,

the experience,

the life.

that’s why i read gensan gazer . t

n ’? o Dyou