Manila Under Water September 28, 2009

So my mom woke me up sometime on Saturday, she was watching Manila flooding.  Mom was trying to get her sister on the phone making sure she was in Baguio and not still in Manila.  Typhoon Ketsana, aka Ondoy, swept over the Philippines and dropped over 455 millimeter into the Manila area, 341 millimeters of that rainfall fell in only 6 hours, to put that in perspective Katrina had 350 millimeters fall in a 24 hour period.  The flooding as of today has left over 240 dead and thousands other homeless.

 

Here are some articles:

• Typhoon Wreaks Havoc on the Philippines
• Escaping Manila’s Floodwaters, Only to Find Fire
• Social Media Keeps Flood Victims Connected
• Philippines Storm Toll Rises; Government Criticized

Donation info outside of Philippines:

• BayanUSA
• Philippine Aid
• Pnoy Apparel – buy a any Sammy t-shirt and they’ll donate another to a child, plus $5 of your purchase
  • Men’s – Eggplant & Black; Women’s – Teal & Purple

Donation info within Philippines (you can use this if you live outside of the country as well)

• Philippine National Red Cross
• Kabataan Partylist
• Ondoy, You Fucking Asshole
• ABS-CBN Foundation more info here

For those of you in the Philippines they still need volunteers, and if you can’t donate money you can donate other goods.  via Philippine National Red Cross website:

 

Most urgent needs

Food items: Rice, noodles, canned goods, sugar, iodized salt, cooking oil, monggo beans and portable water
Medicines: Paracetamol, antibiotics, analgesic, oral rehydration salts, multivitamins and medications to treat diarrheal diseases
Non-food items: Bath soaps, face towels, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, plastic mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, water containers, water purification tablets, plastic sheetings, and Laundry soap
Rehabilitation Programs: Shelter materials for house repair

 

If you’re someone who makes a concious effort to know where your money is going with regards to charity’s you might want to reconsider donating to the American Red Cross, here’s some reads.

And although I really don’t want to go there, I believe its worth mentioning, every countries leader(s) is(are) going to have to face some kind of disaster, its how you prepare before hand and how you react afterward that really measures your worth.  The Bush Administrations and Louisiana’s local government failed in the later during Katrina, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo failed in both, 800 million Pesos (almost $17 mill. US) in emergency money is meant for actual emergencies, not pocket money to gallivant across the globe.

 

If you live in the US and can’t donate there’s always people in need here in our own country.  You can donate blood to the American Red Cross, volunteer at your local shelter (women’s, animal, homeless, etc…), donate home goods to your local shelter (women’s, animal, homeless, etc…), donate or volunteer with The Salvation Army, help out the old lady who lives down the street from you, or just do something good today.

FPAC and Stuff September 18, 2009

:O so I went to the Festival of Philippines Arts and Culture this past week.  Honestly it was the first time going to a Filipino festival xD  Was nice, I really wanted to buy some of the books though, but they cost so much.

Those books reminded me that there’s practically nothing in the chain brick and mortar stores here.  I mean Filipino’s are the 2nd largest Asian demographic in the United States but there’s hardly anything in the bookstores.  Anything from Rizal has to be ordered at the counter.  This was when I lived in Long Beach, so maybe its different here, but I seriously doubt that.  I remember staring at the Asian History section and seeing Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and no Philippines.  I don’t think I have go to the counter and request anything, it should just be there, especially since Filipino’s were no minority in Long Beach >:

I know Filipino’s have been in Riverside since Riverside has been Riverside, but again, its practically Middle America.  My best bet would be San Diego, if they don’t have anything I’m not sure what to think.  And I don’t know if its just because Boarders and Barnes & Nobles aren’t aware how many Filipino’s there are in California, or if its just because Filipino’s tend not to buy books on the History of the Philippines (from chains at least)…

Other then that, I found my Godmothers address and phone number   We’re thinking of just surprising her with Christmas gifts instead of calling first :3  I want to make a shawl since she made so many things for me, but I’m not sure what the weathers like in Hawaii, so I have no idea if it should be very lacey and light or somewhat heavy, maybe I’ll just ask Hawaiian Ravelers.  I have some pattern suggestions on my other blog, but I still really need to narrow it down and get started as soon as possible.

 

Also quizzeh!  I’m not surprised 8D

 

You Are Fantasy / Sci Fi

You have an amazing imagination, and in your mind, all things are possible. You are open minded, and you find the future exciting. You crave novelty and progress. Compared to most people, you are quirky and even a bit eccentric. You have some wacky ideas. And while you may be a bit off the wall, there’s no denying how insightful and creative you are.

What Kind of Book Are You?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Books, Books, Books, and Hipsters oh my! September 5, 2009

Just read a CNN article on libraries a while ago.  It remind me of those articles about the schools getting rid of the books in their libraries and going full on digital.  On the one hand I can understand the need to keep up technologically, but on the other wtf is a library without any books?  I’m one of those people who want’s a Kindle, or hell, any e-book reader, and I know I’ll use it (donations plz :p) but at the same time I <3 my books.  If we had a fire near the house and they told us to evacuate I’d probably attempt to haul all my books off with me.

I can understand/appreciate/envy the convenience of having all your books stored on one little device, and taking them with you when you go places, but it seems a little cold too.  I love the feel of holding a book in my hand, or snuggling under a blanket thinking “I’ll read just one more page before going to sleep” and actually turning a real life physical page (oh my!).

Greenwalt, for example, set up a Twitter feed and text-messaging services for his library. He monitors local conversations on online social networks and uses that information as inspiration for group discussions or programs at the real-world library.

Other libraries are trying new things, too.

The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, in North Carolina, has a multimedia space where kids shoot videos and record music. It also runs a blog dedicated to gaming and hosts video game tournaments regularly.

I can also understand the need to go digital, or the need to not totally shut itself out of all things technology, I actually think it makes more sense then just being totally stubborn about “libraries are for books only”.  Or the need to appeal to a larger community, a lot of libraries are shutting down and if widening a library’s use to welcome more mediums/technologies means more people (and money) then I would consider that a good thing.  But at the same time I don’t think they shouldn’t be throwing out books in favor of the shininess that is technology.  Even if I do end up eventually saving up for a Kindle, or any other e-reader (donations? lol), I’d still buy physical books, and I definitely wouldn’t get rid of the books I own now, even if I do get digital copies.

Like burning books, you can burn as many books as you want and there’ll always be another copy somewhere else in the world, but it doesn’t make the loss all the more sad.  You can get rid of all the physical books in libraries all you want, because you have digital copies, but it make the physical loss all the more sad.

I love books, not just because of what they contain, but the smell of them, the weight of them in your hands, the crinkle of the pages, and the creek the spine makes when you open them up, I love everything about them.  The thought of libraries getting rid of their books scares and saddens me, not just because I’m one of the millions of people who loves actual bound books, but because I know that its one step closer to having the machines enslave us all D<!!!!!

Seriously though, can’t they go digital and keep the books?  Why does it have to always be all or nothing with people?

Kitteh got a Cleaning September 2, 2009

Cat got a bath today :3  Before you start thinking cat’s don’t need baths I’ll tell you they shed like a shag rug (???) and that wrecks havoc for someone who lover their pet and has allergies, like meh.  The gross thing about someone whose allergic to animals is that they are actually allergic to the animal, they’re allergic to the dander (undercoat) and the saliva (ewwy).  I start itching if I’m near my cat for too long, especially if he’s near my face, so he gets a bath once a month, poor thing~  lol

Looks so sad doesn’t he 8D?  Using the shower’s a little easier because he has nowhere to go kekeke  We used to give him baths in the old home and he’d claw onto the nearest thing he could in order to avoid the water, he’d hang onto the shower curtain and climb up towered the ceiling and stay there till the water drained xD  We started moving the curtain away from him, so he started using the nearest arm he could sink his claws into, and start climbing, it hurts more then in sounds, people used to know when I gave him a bath because of the battle scars.

Betrayed look!  He actually took it better then I thought he would, must be getting used to it.  Although when I started running the water he beelined underneath the bed, I lured him out with foodage

In other news, I found out how refreshing it is to walk around wearing a swimsuit in 90°+ heat.  I’ve also finished my Evangeline gloves, posted it on Crafty Chango, and starting a new fingerless glove project for the biscuit :3.

Vinyl Toys; gimmeh Monehs x_x August 30, 2009

So off and on I get these urges to buy vinyl toys, but I can never work up the money to splurge on one.  I think the only toys I have are the Reina Pinky Street ones.

 

 

I got them a couple of years ago (I think) while I was in Little Tokyo with the Lei.  If you’re unfamiliar with Pinky Street toys they’re little toy figurines.  They kind of remind me of paper dolls you can just pop the head off and but it on another body, or pop the legs off, or the torso, and they even come with a little accessories, mine has the scarf and a little wallet/purse that sticks to the hands.  I want more =(

 

I also love the DIY toys, but I’m kind of afraid to buy one because I’ll end up keeping it blank just so I wont mess it up :p.  The DIY ones are blank vinyl’s that come is a plain color and then you mess with it.  You can use a marker, pens, paints, sew clothes for them, cut them, turn them, whatever.  It’s basically a blank canvas in toy form for you to make your own.  Two of the more famous DIY vinyl’s are Kidrobot’s Munny and Dunny.

Aside from the vinyl DIY’s there’s another popular DIY but its a plush one.  Shawnimals Plushform is basically a plush think with four limbs and something that might be a head… or not.  Some of the more interesting ones are when they just totally cut into the plush and patch up the gaping hole with something else like an open mouth, or sticking something into the patch area (like an eye).  I also really <3 a lot of the painted ones though.

I think I might get the Plushform eventually >D since its closer to my comfort zone, not to mention being a little more to my budget considering the size.  The Kidrobots cost anywhere from $7 – $210 for just the blanks, of course if its been morphed by an artist those can go for a lot more.  Still want D<