back from Venezia !!!!!!

Venice-June2009

sigh .... it's good to be back home :-) we had a great time in Venezia, (click on my mask to) see the pix !!!

But as always ... home sweet home hehe! We always are happy to travel and happy to be back :-)

Did you miss us while we were away? (grin grin)

huggies,

PB

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goodbye arabia ... the Iran disaster closes all doors 4 me ...

Here is a relic from the time that arabia ment: joy and fun and sweetness .... now, with the disaster unfolding in iran, it's clear that there is no happiness in that region anymore, and I closed all doors. Nowadays, I get allergic to arab and persians and their political and religious system. I'm very sorry for my friends there .... I know they suffer from it too.

gratitude vs. ambition

Van fwfreshmenpicstheklineshcolarsinthepool

I've read somewhere: "The first step is being grateful for all you have. It is a very healthy and positive way to keep you motivated. Take time out of each day to think about five things you are grateful for. This is a time for you to reflect on the day in a positive light."

Those are true words. Whoever you are, you and me, and whereever we are, we have so many things to be grateful for. It's a good idea to start the day, revisualising the persons and things and circumstances that should make us grateful.

But at the same time, I am not content with just gratitude. I want to look forward, and see new things and meet new people and discover new attractions.

-oOo-

Does that make me ungrateful? I don't think so ... it's who I am, constantly welcoming a new day and new experiences. What do you think? Can gratitude be combined with ambition and expectation?

huggies,

PB

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little tony

Van Manila-Cebu-Bohol-March2009

A teacher asks her class, "If there are 5 birds sitting on a fence and you shoot one of them, how many will be left?"

She calls on little TONY.

He replies, "None, they will all fly away with the first gunshot."

The teacher replies, "The correct answer is 4, but I like your thinking."

Then little TONY says, "I have a question for YOU. There are 3 women sitting on a bench having ice cream:
One is delicately licking the sides of the triple scoop of ice cream.
The second is gobbling down the top and sucking the cone.
The third is biting off the top of the ice cream.
Which one is married?"

The teacher, blushing a great deal, replied, "Well, I suppose the one that's gobbled down the top and sucked the cone."

To which Little TONY replied:

"The correct answer is 'the one with the wedding ring on', but I like your thinking."

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Chinese gays step quietly toward progress

Van Bangkok-April2009

By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer Tini Tran, Associated Press Writer – June 18, 2009

BEIJING – The first time director and movie buff Cui Zi'en tried to hold a gay and lesbian film festival in 2001, it was shut down by police before it even opened. When he tried to organize a gay cultural festival in 2005, five dozen police officers swarmed the venue, closing it.

But this Wednesday, Cui and other organizers managed to pull off the opening to the five-day Beijing Queer Film Festival with no police and no disruptions — drawing only an appreciative and low-key crowd to the Songzhuang Art District on the city's outskirts.

For China's gay community, this week's film festival and an art exhibition on sexual diversity in Beijing, along with last week's first gay pride festival in Shanghai, are quiet steps forward after years of slow but unmistakable progress.

Cui, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, said the events mark a significant moment for China's fledgling gay movement.

"The biggest change is that I'm not the only one doing this," he said. "There's more support from the gay community. Society has become more relaxed and open-minded in its thinking."

But he sounded a note of caution that progress is often accompanied by setbacks, saying organizers would not consider the events a success unless they make it to their closing ceremony Sunday unscathed.

"In China, we were the first to put on queer events. In those events, we've had interference and that had lasting influences," Cui said.

"(Now) we've had a successful opening and if we can also achieve a successful closing to the event, it will have another kind of impact," he said.

China has indeed eased its control over some aspects of gay life. In 1997, sodomy was removed from the country's list of crimes, although homosexuality was not taken off the list of mental disorders until 2001.

In recent years, the gay community in China has gone from being virtually invisible to establishing a small foothold in society. In large cities, gay bars have opened and gay and lesbian activist and support groups have sprouted. Internet access to gay groups online has helped ease the isolation for those who live in rural areas.

Even so, the vast majority of the country's gay and lesbian population continues to face discrimination and stigmatization. Most remain deeply closeted in a still highly conservative society. Gay Web sites are often blocked by the government's Internet firewalls.

Still, community organizers see progress in the fact that gay-themed events that would have been banned outright even a few years ago are now being permitted.

"Ten years ago, this would have been completely impossible," said curator Yang Ziguang, who helped put together the Beijing art show, the first in the country to explore sexual diversity and gender issues. The works by 16 artists include explicit explorations of gay and gender issues.

The auditorium for the film festival's opening movie — a story of a Chinese man who searches for the soul of his dead Swiss lover — was packed with a lively crowd of about 100 people, mostly young and proudly gay.

Others who came were simply curious to know more about gay issues, a segment sought out by organizers who wanted to encourage dialogue between the gay community and the wider public.

"I don't know that much about the lifestyle so I was curious," said Du Jie, 30, an artist who lives in the area. "I really liked the movie. You see on-screen the raw emotions in the relationship between them. It's a very good opportunity for the public to better understand the gay community."

That's not to say that everything has gone smoothly. The art show curators ran into problems with local authorities just before opening day last Sunday.

"I used to think China was becoming more and more open. On TV, movies and magazines, you hear more and more about these issues," said Gogo, a second curator who goes by one name. "But before the exhibit started, they came and told us 'You can't do this.' That changed my mind a little about how ready China really is."

Furious negotiations followed, and in the end only four works were removed — including one photo showing a man holding a fish over his crotch and a painting depicting two naked men in a sexual act. Organizers decided to leave the empty white frames hanging on the wall as a statement on censorship.

Despite the initial problems, the exhibit's opening drew an estimated 500 people — an enthusiastic public response that left its organizers pleasantly shocked.

The organizers said they made a concerted effort to keep the events low profile to ward off unwanted attention. There were no fliers or public advertisements for the events — only announcements circulated on Web sites. And they chose to hold it in the remote Songzhuang Art District, almost an hour's drive from downtown Beijing.

"If we were to advertise this all over the place, then we would only cause problems for ourselves," said Zhu Rikun, another film festival organizer.

The same low-key approach was taken by organizers of the country's first gay pride festival last week in Shanghai, China's commercial hub. They carefully planned a week's worth of movie screenings, art shows and sports events — all held in private venues instead of public spaces, said festival spokesman Kenneth Tan.

Despite the attempt to avoid problems, several events still ended up getting delayed or canceled by authorities who claimed organizers didn't have the correct permits, said Tan.

Still the festival got high praise from the China Daily, the country's official English-language newspaper, which ran a front-page article lauding organizers for sending a strong signal about "greater acceptance and tolerance."

Overall, China has been slowly moving in a direction of more openness toward the gay community, Tan said.

"I think the government has given a lot of space for the local gay community to grow and flourish," he said. "I've been in China for seven years and the changes I've seen in the Shanghai gay scene is tremendous. It's a metamorphosis."

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the kitchen is coming!

Van fwfreshmenpicstheklineshcolarsinthepool

which means ... we went to the Bulthaup store today and they nicely prepared everything for us and the price was within our budget ... so tomorrow we'll sign the contract and the kitchen will be delivered this September! Woohoo !!!

Maybe you wonder what the picture on top has to do with kitchens? Well, in the kitchen you prefer to use fresh food, and the picture shows the fresh meat at Allan's Institute :-) so whenever there is the smallest opportunity to publish pix of cute guys, I'll grab it :-)

fresh hugs,
PB
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PDF under attack?

Van Budapest[Hungary]-May2009

sweets, for today just a quickie :-)

I read that nowadays there are computervirusses, even in PDF files !!! My oh my ... and that's something that was totally virusfree till recent ... and I use PDF a lot.

So no choice, I'll have to buy a good virusscanner. According to the consumer magazine, the free one I'm using now (AVG) is not so good, and they preferred GDATA.

I downloaded it today, a whopping 250 Mb !!! and it's a free trial for 30 days, I'll let you know if it functions well :-)

Stay virusfree !!!

PB
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nudity: why we should embrace it

Van Manila-Cebu-Bohol-March2009

(source: http://www.planetout.com/lifestyle/2009/06/naked-power.html)

There’s an adage that says, "All the world’s problems could be solved if our leaders would hold their meetings in the nude." The image may be humorous, but you can’t miss the powerful connection between accepting our bodies and accepting each other.

What we believe about our bodies, is what we believe about ourselves. That’s why that old joke about the one’s who seem to always go naked on a nude beach are the one’s who should keep their clothes on, is ultimately a statement about body-phobia. If we can’t see the beauty in others, especially in the body’s natural state, then we are doomed to hate ourselves, because sooner or later we will have less and less control of our body’s look, not to mention it’s function.

Many of you are probably thinking that this is nothing new because you already feel that your body is far from where you’d like it to be. After all, America’s consumerism has succeeded in not only making us the most obese population in the world, but also the most unrealistic body conscious population in the world. Is that a lose / lose situation or what? But all is not lost. There are many ways out of this scenario and believe it or not, the key is actually your body.

When streaking was the fashionable mode of activism, it worked because the naked body had the shock value to disrupt and attract attention, regardless of what cause the runners were trying to advance (the sexual revolution, antiwar demonstrations, etc...). A few celebrities don’t give a damn about who sees their naked beauty, like Madonna. When she was cornered by the tongue-wagging media about her first nudes being published, she simply yanked the bang out of their buck by responding with, "So what?" (Hey! look, I am a fag! I just made a Madonna reference!)

These examples point out the power and strength that is the unobstructed body. Furthermore, it seems this strength of nakedness is present regardless of body type. It does not matter if a "gym bunny" or a "troll" walked down the street naked, they would, without a doubt, stop traffic. Furthermore, if you were to witness this event, below your culturally trained shock would be some configuration of awe, as if to think, "That takes guts!" Nudity can be viewed as one of the most natural forms of honesty — physical vulnerability. I believe that the innate desire for a sense of belonging infers an innate desire to be known — to be accepted as you are. In that light, nudity, to a great degree can become a recipe for more fully accepting yourself — even if it’s just running around in your birthday suit in the privacy of your home.

So am I suggesting we all doff our clothes any chance we get? In some respects, it is already happening. Photographic and video imaging across the internet is now so easy, that showing explicit and sexy self portraits is becoming as commonplace as revealing your astrological sign. Hundreds of websites are solely devoted to sharing thousands of explicit self photos and videos of everyday people. There is a sense that this kind of cyber exhibitionism and voyeurism has the feeling of a revolutionary act of freedom and sexual self acceptance, which flies in the face of the prudish negativity that is so pervasively degrading in our society. Although an intricate part of internet exposer lies in the fact that all of the sexual activity occurs in the safety and privacy of one’s own home, I predict that if people experience pleasure, freedom, empowerment and sexual health from this type of semi-anonymous expression on the internet, more public forms of this kind of natural expression is only a pant zipper away.

That’s what makes the negative hysteria around sexting so vile. With all this new media, it was going to happen sooner or later, and it will happen again when other new forms of communication emerge. I’m not saying that the bullying and exploitation that has come with it is okay — I am not. But to label these kids as sex offenders is so damaging and wrong. Besides, if so many adults are doing it, why are we so surprised that they are following our lead? Once again, silly and irresponsible teen behavior gets blown way out of proportion, and what is the message that everyone hears though it’s never spoken: "The body in its natural state is severely bad."

Is it really that horrible? Wouldn’t it solve a lot of the problems in the world if everyone felt comfortable with their unique sexuality, behavior and body shape? Could personal explicit photography and video recording become as commonplace and enjoyable as taping a person’s birthday party? The, um... naked truth is that the majority of us have perfectly healthy and beautiful bodies, and we look nothing like the enormously unrealistic body type our society deems as acceptable. And for that I say, "Thank goodness!" When it comes to body image the most important activity is not to conform to whatever the "ideal" body might be, but to celebrate everyone’s body type, whatever it’s shape and size!

So if you want to reach new levels of accepting your body, I don’t necessarily suggest you streak down the middle of some busy street (unless you can get away with it). But if you are at a nude beach or a clothing optional resort, don’t be the one who keeps your shorts on. You’ve got nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. Celebrate it! I’ll wager you’ll feel good about yourself for letting the sun touch you all over. Make it a step of radical self-acceptance. Oh! But don’t forget sun block - Youch!

Dr. Jallen Rix holds a doctorate of education in sexology and specializes in maximizing sexual pleasure for singles and couples, "ex-gay" recovery, religious abuse and creative approaches to sex education. You can learn more about Dr. Rix at his website.
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lawyers joke :-)

Van Manila-Cebu-Bohol-March2009

One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the road-side eating grass.

Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.

He asked one man, "Why are you eating grass?" "We don't have any money for food," the poor man replied. "We have to eat grass."

"Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you," the lawyer said.

"But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree."

"Bring them along," the lawyer replied.

Turning to the other poor man he stated, "You come with us, also".

The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, "But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!"

"Bring them all, as well," the lawyer answered.

They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.

Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you."

The lawyer replied, "Glad to do it. You'll really love my place. The grass is almost a foot high".

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sniffing & sneezing

my oh my, the cold springtime in Belgium (15°C) finally got me ... here I am, sniffing & sneezing and imitating a fountain (water from the nose). Horrible, I wish I were in Asia !!!!!!

Well, soon hehe!

atsjoooooooooooommmm !!!!!!!

PB
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a new ABBA from Sweden? (thx 2 APS)

via videosift.com

3rd party info: Lets Love the Philippines!

Van Manila-Cebu-Bohol-March2009

Lets Love the Philippines!!!


My dear Filipino friends and partners,

A few months back, I have received an email from one of our distributors containing an essay created by a Korean student studying here in the Philippines. My heart melted as I read the essay, thinking that this foreigner in the Philippine soil took pity and gave much love for this country. He emphasized that what the Filipinos lack is not good governance. South Korea, way back 1960’s was battered with war, corruption, and famine. It was once a very poor country. The South Korean President called back their skilled workers abroad to work in South Korea even for a lower salary. They immediately went back for the love of their country. And now South Korea grew to become a promising rich country in Asia. Instead of pushing their skilled workers out of the country, they pulled them in. In the Philippines, it is the other way around. After I read this essay of a Korean student, Mr. Jaeyoun Kim, I agree with his opinion that the problem of the Philippines is the lack of love for the Philippines. I want to say something more about the Filipinos and the Philippines.

The Philippines is the first democratic country in Asia and the only predominantly Catholic country in Asia as well. It has abundant resources in agriculture, fishing, mining, resorts and versatile cultures. Filipinos belong to the top ten happiest people of the world. The Philippines was expected by most of the countries to be the best country in Asia after WWII. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.
The most important assets for any country are its people, land and sovereignty. The Philippines has good, friendly, happy and hardworking people. It has beautiful land with abundant resources. It has its own sovereignty which those national martyrs sacrificed their lives to get it for the right, dignity, freedom and benefits of ALL their beloved fellowmen — the Filipinos.

Like what Mr. Jaeyoun Kim said, I admired the Philippines very much when I was young. I told myself I would go to the Philippines to see how great this country is. When I arrived in the Philippines two years ago, I was disappointed and frustrated. For the last two years, the Philippines had sent another few millions of its most precious asset, its people, out of the country as OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) to serve the people of other countries worldwide. Most of them are doing manual labor. The Philippines’ economy relies heavily on the remittance of the OFWs. Even government officials started to call them the HEROES of the Philippines! I feel sad. I have travelled to many countries, and I saw for myself how hard those OFWs work, how do they live below their means, saving every penny so they could send home some money. I have heard so many stories about how they have been maltreated, ripped off and abused in those foreign countries. Every Christmas season, when we are celebrating the holiday with our families, there are over 10 millions of Filipinos outside the country missing their families, crying on the phone! Will they and their families have a peaceful and happy holiday? I don’t believe so! Who doesn’t have brother, sister, daughter, son, wife and husband? If they are OFWs, will you wish them be home with you?

There are many foreign investors coming to the Philippines and trying to get as much as resources from the Philippines, especially its mining resources. Do they care about the pollution or environment protection? I don’t know but I do see the polluted rivers, lands and suffering Filipinos. There are over 7,000 islands in the Philippines. Many of them are beautiful and considered among the best resorts in the world. Tourism can be a great resource of fortune for this country. It can develop millions of jobs for Filipinos and bring billions of dollars to the Philippines.
When asked about the government and its lawmakers, senators and congressmen, 85 percent of those I talked to said the government is so corrupt. Five percent gave no comment, 10 percent just conservatively smiled. I have met many Filipino businessmen, especially those in their mid-30s to mid-40s, who want to do something to help their country but couldn’t. I could feel their passion and, at the same time, frustration about their homeland.

Months ago, many people gathered on EDSA to celebrate the anniversary of People Power Revolution, the non-violent revolution that toppled down the highly-corrupt Marcos government. I asked many Filipinos, “Were there many OFWs during Marcos’ regime?” The answer was negative. What does that mean? In the last two years, this country has sent a few more millions OFWs out! The rate of poverty and people in hunger kept going up. During this global financial crisis, the unemployment rate also increased.
I am neither a politician nor an economist. But my feeling is, if this country keeps sending its most precious asset — the Filipinos — out as the biggest labor supplier of the world, I don’t see much chance that the Filipinos’ future will go anywhere better. I can see that the position of Filipinos in the international society is low because most Filipinos working abroad are laborers and are poor. Why would other countries bypass the Philippines and rather go to other Asia countries to invest? Why would the US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, bypass the Philippines when she came to visit Asia? We can’t blame anybody because I always believe that how others treat us is because we make them treat us that way! To keep on blaming others or ourselves will not help anything but only make things worse.

I came to the Philippines in 2006. During my stay, I traveled to many places, from north to south. I met many Filipinos and I fell in love with Filipinos and the Philippines. Within me grew a passion and desire to do something to help make the Philippines as the best country in Asia as it is supposed to be.
For the last two years, I have found and learned that other than love Filipinos and love the Philippines, we need to be united, too! Unity is power! Let us be united. Let us help and support each other. Let us work together on an economical movement instead of political movement in 2009 and 2010 to improve the economic situation of the Philippines! Let us create US$24 billion to US$50 billion revenue for the Philippines! Let us bring all our OFWs home and build the Philippines as the best country in Asia as it should be.

Is that possible? Yes, I believe it’s possible if we love each other and unite ourselves.

First of all, I encourage each one of us to reframe our minds to think like an entrepreneur and build our own business, our own International business! We could “Nrich” our life and help others to “Nrich” their lives, too!
To be a successful entrepreneur, there are five criteria to be met: Leverage, Control, Creativity, Expandability and Predictability.

Teambuilding is the best way to leverage! I encourage each one of us to join and learn with others who want to be “Nriched” and “Nrich” others as well!
As I always emphasized, we are in the educational business. We are offering a “life-changing” education to all those who want to become an entrepreneur. They are educations of mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, finance and marketing skills. We want everyone who join us to become a leader — a true leader who has the following characteristics: (1) dreams big; (2) think big; (3) cares for, loves and helps others; (4) is willing to learn and be a good teacher; (5) inspires and brings people to move up and go beyond their human limitations, doubts and fears; (6) is focused and persevering; (7) responsible and walks his talk.

India, the seventh largest country in the world with a population of 1.17 billion people, became one of the fastest growing economies in the world after their economic reforms in 1991. India will replace Japan as the third economy of the world by 2032 and will replace the United States of America by becoming the second economy of the world by 2050. India started to build their IT industry — they develop and export IT products, support and services, not labor!

Can Filipinos and the Philippines do better than India? Yes, I believe we can as long as we love Filipinos, love the Philippines and stay united! Join us to learn, to teach, to build and export our “life-changing” education, not labor, which can benefit all Filipinos, the Philippines and the whole world.
Do we love the Philippines? Do we love our hometown? Do we love our family? Do we love ourselves? Are we willing to love each other as God commanded us? If our answer is YES, please join us and let us work together! This is the best timing and opportunity for all of us! Let us build an international business and bring fortune to all Filipinos and the Philippines. We can make it happen! We can create a historical miracle! Please tell everyone you know (families, neighbors, friends, classmates, colleagues, OFWs, government officials, congressmen, senators) and let’s work and fight together for the bright future and prosperity of all Filipinos, the Philippines, and even the whole world!

Sincerely Yours,
Joseph Ho
www.nrichclub.com
www.nrichglobal.com

from our Asian President of Kaire World

fly like a bird

Stone Man, originally uploaded by sokalkyle.

Now that we regularely take a plane, the news of the Air France flight from Brazil really interests us.

Not because it probably went down. We know that it can happen, and we're prepared for it (in case, not as a necessity!). Me & my bf, we jokingly say to each other: if the plane crashes, at least we'll die together :-) but it has a serious undertone.

It interests us because obviously so many important people were on board of that plane. A number of high positioned guys from Michelin (France/Brazil) ... is it wise to put them all together in one plane, knowing the possibility of crash?

Which caused HL to remark: well, they paid for first class, but in death all are equal ... paying much more, they will die for the same price as economy :-)

A horrible remark, of course, but nevertheless true!

We'll think about you, next time you'll take a plane. We hope you do the same!

hovering hugs,
PB
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