September and Typhoons

Photo taken by Hushbox Manila's Kebo Brown

The month of September seems to bring in the killer typhoons in the Philippines. Milenyo (international code name Xangsang) was on September 28, 2006 and  responsible for 200 deaths. Ondoy (Ketsana) was on September 26, 2009 and brought the most rainfall at 455 milimiters, almost double that of the United States' Katrina at 250 milimeters of rain. The death toll passed the 300 mark.

And on the anniversary of the fateful Ondoy, came Pedring (Nesat), the 17th storm that hit the country. I must hand it to PAGASA's (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophsycial and Astromical Services) new administrator Nathaniel T. Servando. His office was relentless in giving updates when it was first spotted as a low pressure area to a Tropical Storm (TS) until it inensified into a  full blown Typhoon. I was in Malapascua's  Gato Island diving when  I read the TS and gale warnings on my twitter feed which I promptly shared with my fellow divers and boatmen.

Photo posted on Facebook

With the repeated updates in literally all media, Pedring claimed only 18 lives and the damage to infrastructure and agriculture pegged at P100.3 billion (ten times more than Ondoy's P10.45B cost). At home, power was restored at 7pm and unfortunately, I still don't have cable TV and internet connection.

As of today, another Tropical Storm codenamed Quiel (Nalgae) was spotted 1,400 kms east of northern Luzon and is expected to enter [to use PAGASA's parlance] Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) this afternoon. According to the Department of Science and Technology undersecretary Graciano Yumul Jr. "it is likely to intensify into a powerful cyclone".   Oh well.. there are four more typhoons expected to enter PAR before yearend - these are codenamed Ramon, Sendong, Tisoy and Ursula.

To help Typhoon Pedring victims, contact:
Philippine Red Cross:  BDO Savings Account 453-0018647
Gawad Kalinga: needs food and water, call +631916 437-9941
UAA&P - food, clothes and medicine, drop off at the University located at Pearl Dive, pasig
Citizen's Disaster Response Center - Metrobank  Account 636-3-63600741-3

Some video clips of Pedring:
http://youtu.be/xnLwDBQzc-s
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/metro-manila/09/27/11/giant-waves-hit-roxas-boulevard#ooid=5mcDZ1MjokxVVrK1as9_nUi5pcwM0Jq_
http://youtu.be/PaSTykzjtSs

X marks the spot for Zero In

Well, you won't see the X unless you go to the upper level of SM Mall of Asia (main entrance area). X is the symbol for the Roman numeral ten and thus, aptly adopted to represent the tenth anniversary of Zero In. 

Zero In is the annual collaboration of five private museums in Metro Manila - these are, Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Bahay Tsinoy, Lopez Museum and Museo Pambata. 

Since 2001, the five museums have been working together, sharing resources, mounting annual multi-museum exhibitions and including lectures and workshops to reach out and make art more engaging and relevant.

This year, Zero In is quite ambitious and is breaking barriers by literally bringing art closer to the public through a mall exhibit dubbed Open Call Arts Festival. The exhibit is more like a teaser showcasing different forms of art forms: cuisine (Ateneo), Japanese manga and cosplay (Ayala), visual (Bahay Tsinoy), sound art (Lopez) and dance (Museo Pambata).  The event is open to the public free of charge and will run until September 24.

Here's what to expect at the mall:

 Carell Belandres  playing  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman from Ninomiya Tomoko’s Nodame Cantabile, a manga about a gifted pianist

Nyko Maca leading dance of Gumboot group of Museo Pambata Child Advocates

Ateneo's interactive food game called Crafty Critters Munch Up

Tad Ermitaño checking out his sound installation artwork  

Eric Ambata's sound art called Lethe shared via QR code capture

Escola de Samba de Manila performing Afro-Brasilian drums and dance

and here's the Zero In gang at the opening

If you do visit, please check out the trees and touch the planter box. Yes, the metallic planter box! It is part of the sound art installation. You will be amazed with the sounds that will come out.

This Saturday, September 24 - catch the following performances:
1pm - Performance by sound artists E.X.I.S.T.  which stands for Experimentation In Sound Art Tradition: Gentle Universe, Caliph8, Manner Villariba, Elemento and Toshiyuki Seido
2pm - Piano performance of Carell Belandres of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" from Ninomiya Tomoko's Nodame Cantabile, a manga about a gifted pianist
3pm - Performance by sound artist E.X.I.S.T.
6pm - Gunboot dance of Museo Pambata's child advocates with Nyko Maca

Open Call art festival is just one of the many projects lined up by Zero In this year.  Ongoing onsite at each five museums are exhibitions featuring each genre - in Ateneo (until December 22), an interactive food-themed game called Crafty Critters Munch Up  that takes off from its permanent collection; Ayala Museum (until October 2), the world of manga in Manga Realities: Exploring the Art of Japanese Comics Today; Bahay Tsinoy (until October 23), an art installation by Con Cabrera called Kasama; Lopez Museum (until April 3, 2012), performances and sound/media art installations in Reverb; and, Museo Pambata (until October 6) , performances by Gunboot and Batang RO alongside an exhibiton of National Artist for Dance Ramon Obusan's memorabilia entitled Sayaw!.

Climbing Packing List

For those who are planning to climb, here's an equipment checklist that I use for packing. The list is from a local mountaineering group hence, quite 'local' (e.g.white flower and salonpass are included in the list).

Backpack
1 ground sheet/tarp
1 backpack cover
3 giant plastic (two to waterproof backpack and one to cover backpack at night)
1 earth pad
1 sleeping bag
1 mess kit
2 liter trail water
1 liter empty bottle (for camp water)
1 umbrella
1 camp lamp
1 chopping board
2 zip lock
3 coffee
1 ID
1 pocket money
1 cellphone
1 headlamp and extra batteries (preferably alkaline)
1 comb
1 kernmantle
1 camp pants
1 camp shirt
1 long socks
1 thick socks
1 pair sandals

Med kit: white flower, diatabs, biogesic, hydrogen peroxide, plastic strips, cotton buds and salonpass, sunblock, alcohol, lip balm

Packed Food: 1 breakfast, trail food, chocolates

Trekking
1 trekking shorts
1 pair trekking shoes
1 trekking shirt
1 pair arm sleeves
1 pair long socks
1 pair thick socks
1 pair trekking gloves
1 camera
1 copy of itinerary
1 group plan
1 whistle
4 pony tails

Wash up Items
1 t-shirt
1 shorts
1 shampoo, conditioner, soap, cologne, toothpaste, toothbrush
1 trovel