Formal wear

It's not everyday that I see a pug in a tuxedo in the streets of Metro Manila.

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Golden eggs

Not from a goose but from a shark—the Whitespotted Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum), to be exact. Found among the coral reefs of the west Pacific, including the Philippines, this small, one-meter, nocturnal shark lays eggs that are five inches long. These back-lit eggs showing the fascinating development of the shark inside are in the Ang Kalaliman (The Deep) section of the Manila Ocean Park. I assure you that these sharks are very much alive. In fact, the guy in the middle was wriggling so much I had to take several shots before I got one with both his head and tail in the photo.

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WWII alien

At least, that's what this looks like to me. I saw this sculpture made of old scrap metal inside Fort Santiago in the old walled city of Intramuros but couldn't find any kind of information about it. I won't be surprised if the metal came from weapons and vehicles used during WWII, which also caused the damage to the building behind it.

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Natural polish

So how do Filipinos who don't have electric floor polishers or vacuum cleaners with a gazillion attachments keep their wood and stone floors shiny? With a bunot, half (or two-thirds, in this case) of a dried-out coconut husk—without the shell, which is too hard. The husk's fibers are soft enough not to scratch wooden floors but tough enough to withstand the vigorous polishing that floors require. Of course, this method requires that one be healthy and very fit, without knee or hip problems of any kind. Put one foot on the bunot and just slide it back and forth, following the grain of the wood. Guaranteed to strengthen your arches and leg muscles, and give you a great aerobic workout. And I've just realized while cropping and editing this photo that our bedroom floor needs to be waxed and polished very soon.

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He doesn't use a phone booth anymore

About ten minutes away from our house, there is a street corner that used to be notorious for purse-snatching. The robber was on a scooter and had victimized several people, including a friend of ours. Because of this, the barangay decided to put a security outpost on the corner. I have never actually seen a security guard posted there since it was finished, but neither have I heard about new purse-snatching incidents. I think the gaudiness of the outpost was enough to turn even the thief away.

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Keeping things cool

The Humanities cultural gala Magis was staged at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater in the Ateneo de Manila University. Named after the American Jesuit priest from Connecticut who first came to Manila in 1921, the theater sits 1,100 people. I wandered behind it during the intermission and saw the compressors of the airconditioning system that keeps the place cool. There were four of these huge structures and the noise they created was tremendous.

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Meals on wheels

The customized motorcycle and bicycle side car designs in Manila can be very ingenious. I've already shown you what our neighborhood water filtering station uses to deliver 5-gallon bottles. This man has a gas stove and an eating counter attached to his bicycle.

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Shared habitat

The Penguin Café Gallery in Malate, Manila (just several blocks away from the Malate Church) derived its name from the owner's large collection of penguins. Here is one decorating a lamp in a corner, with a couple of penguins painted on the window. I don't know if geckos have the same type of habitat, but this twisted one looks happy enough sharing the same space as the penguins.

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