Update: Cory will be buried on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the family’s plot at the Manila Memorial park beside her husband, the late senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.
Photo Harbat: Wikipedia.
What you’re looking at is John F. Kennedy’s eternal flame. A month after arriving the United States of America, I had the privilege of visiting JFK’s burial site at the Arlington National Cemetery. Sa mga marami pang mga bisita sa bahay namen in Philadelphia, coming from Manila, Sydney, Toronto, London at pati na mga friends and relatives from all over the …

Photo Harbat: Dito anuncio: reyna elena dot com is down! Madalas pong pag-initan ang palasyo nang La Kapitana. There’s just a dozen and battalion of bloggers out there who would love to see reyna elena dot com disappear sa blogosphere. Ilang beses na bang tinira ang site na yan. Not once, not twice but several times. Hindi man kuting si reyna, but reyna elena dot com has 9 and a half lives. Je suis tres heureux que Barrio Siete is here, ici. Imagine kung wala ang Barrio Siete? Saan ako …

Barrio Siete Dot Com condoles with the Filipino people and the Aquino Family. We lost our greatest democracy icon. And in honor of our President Cory Aquino, Barrio Siete Dot Com declares a week 10-days of mourning. To all our visitors, please continue to say a prayer, Touch a Blogger and Tie a Yellow Ribbon for Cory Aquino. Thank you. La Kapitana.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
I’m sure, it was Jepoy who texted me. “R.I.P. Corazon Aquino”. I was in the middle of a meeting. I knew exactly …

Daz right mga kabarrio! Wag nang mag-tune in sa GMA News TV na mali mali ang news at ayaw ikorek! (Pwera yung video sa sidebar! Hahaha!) Itapon ang mga TV, bumili nang bago, tune in sa ABS-CBN! Now na! Hahaha! Maraming salamat sa Barrio Siete reporter na si Monique who alerted la Kapitana. At maraming thank you to ABS-CBN who got it right at truly naman na nag-effort si Leilani Chavez to write the correct report at eto sya:
“As a gesture of support for the ailing president, supporters from the …

Photo Harbat: Inquirer
Gloria flies to Washington DC kasama ang pamilya nya pati na isang batalyon nang langaw. At ang sabi nung junakees nya, “It’s an honor to the country!” Huh?! What country?! Pampanga?!
Washington DC is about 2.5 hours away from my Barrio Siete, Philadelphia. At kung andun ako sa Philly, I would have driven para masilayan ko si Glory, sa kanyang visit ki Oby, in Washington DC. Konti lang naman ang tanong ko ki Gloria and she does not even have to call a friend para sagutin.
Question Number 1: Ba’t …

Gulantang ako kanina before I headed to work. There was this email I received about Chiz Escudero. It said:
Reynz, ang pers lab mong si Chiz is social climbing in the dark!

HUH?! Social climbing in the dark?! Ano yon?! Latest version nang social climbing?! So, I called up the the person who emailed me while driving. What he told me was enough for me na isalpak ang preno sa tapat nang pulis! Waaaa!!!
What’s the buzz?!
Ang chorva was that, si Chiz Escudero pati na si Mike Manuel (pala! hahaha! thanks to …

Yes, 51% of what Gloria’s SONA 2009 were buladas!
As the nation and us Overseas Filipinos as well as Overseas Filipino Workers listened to the State of the Nation Address ni Gloria, what in the world was she trying to tell us nga ba? Typically, when the head of a state delivers a State of the Nation Address, eto ang report nya sa sambayanan na mga ginawa nya or ang sinasabing accomplishments for the good nang sambayanang Pilipino. Yan ang kanyang Annual Report bilang pag-tatalaga nang lipunan or sapilitang pagnakaw nang …

If you’re a regular at reyna elena dot com, you must have noticed that I love to dissect SONA and do my analintek review. Over the years, ga-wait sya nang mga students. Para kopyahin. Ang mga leche, pati ako ako napasubo sa isang titser nang isang universidad sa Manila. Pero, kiver! Typically after I digest and organize my SONA Summary, then I follow it up with my Reaction Paper.
Im fak, this morning pag-gizing ko, ganito karami ang tambay sa palasyo. Waiting for my Reaction Paper. Pwes. Eto na sya.

And …

In my SONA 2009 Summary, I offer no comments, unless napapahagikhik lang talaga ako. What I was doing was trying to understand kung ano ang sinasabi saken nang spikir. Are these all rhetorics? Spins? Chorva? Me chenalyn ever ba ang mga to o puro chika lang? And so, I must understand the speaker kung ano ba talaga ang ka-eklavuhan nya. So, here’s my 1st pass of Gloria’s SONA. This is not my reaction chorva. No worries mis estudiantes, but I will write a reaction paper. Or… i-drowing ko na lang …

Note: Mga ka-barrio! Eto na ang totoong SONA! Salamat kay Mel Beckham na kinalabet kaming dalawa ni Silver dahil dun sa naunang post namen na SONA na 2008 pala! Leche! Hindi na pala SONA yun, kungdi, CHONA!
Without any further delay whatsoever, heto na ang totoong SONA 2009 full transcript. Pwede nyo pa ring magamit ang previous 2008 SONA post to compare with this one. Tingnan natin ang differences – kung meron bang nagbago, natupad o napako sa mga pinagsasabi ni PGMA. Ihanda ang yellow pad at kelangan ipasa ang ating …

ERRATUM: Our apologies. The SONA that you are seeing here in this post is the copy of the 2008 SONA. Our apologies for the inconvenience and confusion. We will update the succeeding post with the real deal 2009 SONA transcript. Thank you.
P.S. Thanks to Mel Beckham for the heads up.

As has been typical over at Reyna Elena and to those of you who are waiting for the usual, the SONA 2009 Summary by Reyna Elena is currently in process. Will post soon… Watch out for it na lang both …

SONA 2009 will be a few hours from now, July 27, 2009. At para sa mga kagaya kong mga Overseas Pinoys at Overseas Filipino Workers, pati na rin sa mga ka-sangga naten dyan na ang Barrio Siete eh kung saan-saang lupalop nang mundo dahil nga pare-parehas lang tayong nag-lilinis nang onidoro para me mga lecheng gowns ang mga trapolitos at trapolitas na gora ngayon sa SONA, eto po eh padala nang isang masungit na reader nang Barrio Siete na itago na lang naten sa pangalang… Chuva Chienes hahaha!
Pwede nyo pong …

Sanggol pa lang ako, mahilig na talaga ako sa SONA. Isa sa pinaka-swak na SONANG napuntahan ko ay ang Thermos Day at Thermos Night sa Amsterdam in Holland. Hehehe! Kaya nung nalaman kong meron den palang SONA si Gloria, nakahiligan ko nang bigyan nang analintek review ang bawat SONA nya. Lahat yun sinulat ko sa aking palasyo. Isa sa pinaka-mainit na sinulat ko yong How to write a SONA reaction paper. Kung saan ako binira nang binira ni Miss Alpay. Eto naman kasing mga lecheng estudyante, kopyahin ba ang summary …

La Kapitana believes that the GMA News TV story on yellow ribbon fever is wrong if not misleading!
Dismayado La Kapitana sa news that I read on GMA News TV, a link that was sent to me by Chuva Chienes. Kaya, I am so galit and bitter right now that I just finished drinking dalwang botelya nang datu puti at pag hindi inayos ang anunsyong pinalabas sa GMA New TV, I will soon be drinking Marka Pinya Soy Sauce! Leche! Exactly, when can you trust news to be korak?! Baliktad na …

I was running… catching a picture of the older brother, carrying his younger brother… it was a sight to behold… I asked them to wait for me… as I snapped this picture.

I pray that they will be safe and have this place as their playground because I was told by one resident who I was talking to, that these kids could not even play outside. I pray they grow up to be successful and many more good wishes as I watch them join their father for one leisurely walk… today… …

This is a true story of how I ran across the best boss in the world.
Haddonfield, New Jersey
I used to work in Haddonfield, New Jersey. My boss? Nasty bitch, foul mouthed and hated white people. Working as Controller, I had a staff. Napakatamad, bastos at maldita. I can’t do much. Ka-chika nang impaktita si maldita. I didn’t like the partnership they had dahil it was unprofessional and it was then that I wished i had another job.
Business divested: Unemployed
Months passed, anak nang leche oo! I was only joking, aba! Pucha! …

My fellow bloggers, I invite you to Touch a blogger: Tie a yellow ribbon for Cory Aquino! Very simply:

Create an entry entitled: “Touch a blogger: Tie a yellow ribbon for Cory Aquino!“. A link to this original entry will be appreciated, but is not required.
Post a yellow ribbon in your blog for President Cory Aquino. Whatever form of yellow ribbon that your creative imagination can come up with.
Invite other bloggers to tie a yellow ribbon for Cory.

President Cory Aquino has done a lot for us Filipinos. She’s suffered more than …

Photo Credits: (La Kapitana’s own, very very own camera at a mall in New Orleans last Sunday.)
Noong nakilala ko si Inay Reyna, para ba akong mababaliw kakatawa sa bawat entry nya sa kanyang blog. Aliw na aliw talaga ako, kaya naman noong nabalitaan ko na may tambayan siyang pinamumunuan, nakibisita naman ako kaagad. Ito na nga ang siste, akalain mo ba naman na mapapatambay ako dito ng matagal. E bakit nga, kasarap ba katsimisan ng ating mga parlorista at mga tanod na walang sawa sa pagtoma.
Naiinggit talaga ako at nag …

This 2010 Election Automation has now made a very interesting turn. It’s laway connection and the whole thing was an arkila election. Confused with what I have just said? That was not the intent. I was confused. And reading the series of the entries on Ellenville, one commenter who was notorious at Reyna Elena was trying to push it on a different tangent. It’s more like – to hell with how the contract was drawn, let’s push the automation! Haller?! Kahit lopsided ang contract? Does the end (automated polls) justify …

I love JFK, Jr.

10 years later, I still love him.
Photo Credits: Yahoo
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Ang Barrio Siete ko na New Orleans is called The Big Easy. Don’t ask me why. It’s not easy to make hada nang lalaki at babae dito. Kaya, I decided na bumaba nang bundok ng me araw pa. Pourquoi? Dahil hindi ko pa nasisilayan ang barrio (sa looban) na to ever since I came noong February 2009, other than mga ilang minuto noong Mardi Gras.

Linggo, puno ang Barrio, layo parking ko. Matapos kong tahakin at bagtasin ang riles nang tren…

Ang ilog…

Ang kasagingan…

Napadpad ako sa plaza. Kala ko …

Ugali ko nang mag-basa nang Ellen Tordesillas pag-gizing ko. And as is usual, nag-kakape sa Barrio Siete, nag-babasa. Pero this time, na-tapon pati pagka-babae ko at na-ngilabot ako nung nabasa ko ang isang link na iniwan nang isang reader.
It’s about an OFW. Another malreatment. Another heart-wrenching story. Na inaabot nang ating mga kapwa Pinoy. It’s about Jenny, 41, a Filipina household service worker employed by a Kuwaiti family.
““There was no single day that she did not hurt me. She loved hurting me,” cried Jenny as she showed all the …