Is Manila ready for an earthquake? A study states up to 38% of the capital may be devastated

“CNN’s Anna Coren revealed that the Philippine government commissioned an Earthquake study several years ago. The results of the study made by the Japanese hinted that up to 38 percent of the capital would be devastated, and the projected death toll to be at least 50,000 people.” Also read: “UN to Metro Manila: Ready for Big One?” And here’s the “Earthquake Impact Reduction Study for Metropolitan Manila” [PDF] The scary thing is I can see the fault line from myRead more
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“Blow-Up Babies”: Quite possibly the most inappropriate name for a business? [photo]

Throughout Southeast Asia the English language is often misinterpreted, misrepresented, or massaged into new forms of communication through humorous signage. Take this one I captured as an example. Throughout the Philippines, and Manila especially, English is widespread and I have yet to see many humorous examples as I have so often seen in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan. Until today. Let me introduce you to a photo studio by the name of “Blow-Up Babies”.  Read more
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Video of dolphins following our boat to Puerto Galera

This was pretty awesome. About halfway into the two hour boat ride to the island of Mindoro, a group of dolphins surfaced and followed us for a few minutes. Watch the clip. (this is my first SmugMug video embedding, so please let me know if you can’t view it) Pardon the wind noise, but I grabbed the nearest camera which happened to be my iPhone 4.Read more

“Where Will the Next Earthquake Hit?”

On February 24th, GOOD posted “Where Will the Next Earthquake Hit?“ The timing is eerie and unfortunate. “A year after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, people everywhere have been speculating about when and where the next cataclysmic one will hit our shores. If major quakes occur approximately 15 times a year around the world, where will the next one hit?“Read more

Aninuan Beach, Puerto Galera

We just returned from a fantastic week in Puerto Galera on the island of Mindoro south of Luzon (four hours of travel time from Manila). It proved to be an excellent escape from Manila and a worthy alternative to flying to other islands. I’ll post a full write-up soon with some recommendations for getting there and what we enjoyed most.Read more