Today, 23 Jan 2012 the entire Catholic church celebrates the feast day of one of its most loyal servants, San Ildefonso (Archbishop of Toledo, Spain; St. Ildephonsus in English). He died on 23 Jan 667. He is honored in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Story behind the picture above (excerpts from here):

It is recounted that on this feast of the Mother of God, Archbishop Ildephonsus, together with some of his clergy, hastened to church before the hour of Matins to honour Our Blessed Lady with their songs. Arriving close to the church, they found it all ablaze with a heavenly radiance. This so frightened the little band that all fled, except for Archbishop Ildephonsus and his two faithful deacons. Deacons, take note! With wildly beating hearts, these entered the church and made their way to the altar. A great mystery was about to unfold.

A Chasuble from the Treasury of Heaven

There, seated on the Archbishop’s throne, was the august Queen of Heaven surrounded by choirs of angels and holy virgins. The chants of paradise filled the air. Our Blessed Lady beckoned Ildephonsus to approach her. Looking upon him with tenderness and majesty, she said: “Thou art my chaplain and faithful notary. Receive from me this chasuble, which my Son sends you from His treasury.” Having said this, the Immaculate Virgin clothed Ildephonsus in the chasuble, and instructed him to wear it for the Holy Sacrifice on her festivals.

The account of this apparition, and of the miraculous chasuble, was deemed so certain and utterly beyond doubt, that news of it spread through the Church, even reaching the Ethiopians. The Church of Toledo honoured the event with a special proper Mass and Office. What was the miraculous chasuble like? Artists through the ages have sought to depict it, more often than not in rich brocades of gold and blue.

San Ildefonso, pray for us.

http://www.mozillaphilippines.org

Interested to be part of the localization (translation) efforts of the Mozilla Community Philippines? Please join us for an afternoon of coffee while we talk about the following:

Sign-up page is now online at

http://phlmozcoffee2012.eventbrite.com

Please do not hesitate to contact me via robert.reyes@gmail.com or SMS 0939.914.2860 for inquiries. Thanks!

BTW, did I mentioned that Mozilla HQ is sending some swags for the meeting attendees? See you!

Junior <form> function() & .class (JFFC) will be the first web design conference for students in the Philippines, organized by UST TomasinoWeb (TomWeb) and the Philippine Web Designers Organization (PWDO). JFFC is the student counterpart of PWDO’s <form> function() & .class which is the first community-organized web design conference in Asia.

Visit http://tomasinoweb.org/jffc for details on how to register to this event (open to all students and students at heart).

To show my support to the recently-launched campaign, here’s my own “more fun in the Philippines” photos:

Live blog post of the expedition can be read here.

Mabuhay ka Romi Garduce!

The 17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is scheduled from the 9th to 12th February 2012 at the Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines. For the past three (03) years in-a-row, my family and I became part of this annual event. Let me just share with you my very own version of a Newbies Guide to the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta to ensure that you will be able to maximize enjoyment visiting the event.

Going to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

The Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is held at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga (around 85 kms from Manila). The public activity and viewing area is actually around the two (02) Philippine Air Force maintenance hangars (starred in the aerial view below), which are located at the far end of DMIA’s left side runway.

TRIVIA: Did you know that when Clark Freeport Zone was still a United States Air Force Base, it was designated as one of the alternate landing runways for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program? That is how long its runways are!

You may opt to bring your own vehicle and drive all the way from Metro Manila to Pampanga as early as 0300H to catch the hot air balloons preparation and eventual lift off, which normally starts at 0500H. Expect MODERATE to HEAVY TRAFFIC along the hi-way leading to the entrance of the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta – most especially during the weekend of the event. The vast land along Manuel A. Roxas Hi-way in the aerial shot above is turned into a parking area during the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Be prepared to walk for almost a kilometer during the Saturday & Sunday run of the event, as hundreds if not thousands of vehicles will be parked towards the entrance of the venue.

Last year, we opted to leave the family car at home and took the public transport to Clark Freeport Zone. Victory Liner in Pasay City dispatches their first bus off to Dau, Pampanga (route is to Dagupan, actually) as early as 0320H and every 40 minutes thereafter. Fare is just less than PHP300 per pax. If you can catch the first bus trip, the better as you will be arriving at Dau some 90 minutes after.

From the Dau Bus Terminal, you may take a jeepney or a tricycle ride to the entrance of the Clark Freeport Zone (SM City Clark will be the landmark). I suggest that you take the jeepney ride, as some tricycle drivers charges quadruple the normal trip faire during the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta days (last year, a tricycle driver was asking for PHP500 to bring us up to the gate of the Clark Freeport from the Dau Bus Terminal; jeepney ride is something like PHP10 per pax only). You will then have to transfer to another jeepney, the one that shuttles to/from the Clark Freeport Gate up to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta grounds.

Another option is for you to get there the afternoon before the morning when you intend to go inside the Hot Air Balloon grounds. There are a lot of inns, motels, and hotels around the Angeles, Pampanga area – which is basically just outside of the Clark Freeport Zone. Two (02) years ago, this is what we did – we stayed at a nearby inn then checked-out at around 0430H.

Where to Get the Tickets?

Entrance Ticket to the Philippine Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is normally pegged at PHP150 per head. It can be purchased ahead of time at the Air Ads Office (hangar) along Andrews Avenue (near the Domestic Airport), Ticketnet, or during the event day itself at the gate.

For the past two (02) years, I was lucky enough (with a few connections) to secure an All Access Pass (or sometimes called as Photographer’s Pass) to the event. So what is an All Access Pass? The pictures (of my son and his nanny) below will somewhat explain the difference between a Regular Ticket (pass) and an All Access Pass:

Having an All Access Pass will give you the chance to be up-close and personal with the Hot Air Balloons, the crew, and the pilots. You may actually go beyond the cordoned off area. And since I had an All Access Pass and my son is just a kid (3 years old then), I was able to snatch him in beyond the cordoned area. Last year, the All Access Pass I got was courtesy of the Digital Photographer Philippines team (though I had to shell out PHP1,000 per ID). Still no word on how to get an All Access Pass as of post time (will update this blog post as soon as I have more info). This was how the All Access (Photographer’s Pass) looked like last year:

Mind you, these passes are color-coded and can only be used during the specified day.

What to Do Inside the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta Grounds?

If you will be there early and on time for the hot air balloon launch, you will see how the chase crew prepares …

Such an awesome sight to see the hot air balloons rising against the sunrise from the horizon …

Photo-ops with vintage and current fleets of the Philippine Air Force …

This is my favorite part: watch aerobatics demonstration after the hot air balloons had landed. The name to watch out for: Capt. Meynard Halili – idol!

Inside the hangars, there are displays and activities you and your family will surely enjoy – bonding moments …

Also, get a chance to see airborne jumpers up-close and personal …

Do not forget to take your pics in front of the planes in display … yes, you may actually touch them and if you’re lucky enough, the pilots or even the ground crew will let you sit inside the aircrafts … and be sure to bring home that miniature hot air balloon souvenir!

What to Bring to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta?

Remember that it is almost summer already during the period of the Philippine Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in February, so better make sure that you will bring/wear with you:

• Lots and lots of fluids – water! Last year, I experimented in bringing Gatorade instead of bottled water, and indeed it worked! Avoid sodas (softdrinks) and any drink that has caffeine – it will dry your system out.
• Be there in your summer outfit. Wear a hat/cap if you can to avoid being a victim of heatstroke.
• Bring at least a set of extra clothes.
• Bring your best digital camera with extra batteries! It is such an awesome sight to see colorful balloons being prepped and eventually flying.

Thank you Lord for all the blessing in 2011. May You continue to shower us with your blessings in 2012.

After a tiring travel from Manila to Kuala Lumpur yesterday, a good night sleep at our hotel rooms is a welcome relief to recharge some energy needed for the next two (02) days.

Mornings at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is somewhat similar to downtown Manila: food vendors along the streets and intersections, as the busy workforce heads to their respective work places.

Another similar thing between Manila and Kuala Lumpur: people crosses the street wherever they like  

No less than Mozilla Foundation’s Chairperson Mitchell Baker opened the Mozilla Camp Asia 2011 (or simply MozCamp Asia 2011), giving all of the attendees a glimpse of what’s in store for Mozilla in the future.

After the coffee break, the participants were given some time to prepare for the Community Lightning Talks. Each of the community representatives were given two (02) minutes to introduce their locale to the entire Mozilla organization. Below, you will see my fellow Mozilla Reps from the Philippines busy outlining what Jun Barrun will be presenting (while I am busy finishing my coffee and taking photos .. hehehe):

Last to be called during the Community Lightning Talks is the Philippines (didn’t know if William Q – who is half Pinoy, half French; and is from Mozilla’s marketing team; based in Paris – intentionally did that .. hehehe).

After the last session for today, we were whisked via tourist buses to Restoran Seri Melayu, which was actually just a few blocks away from the Intercontinental Hotel Kuala Lumpur, where dinner will be held while enjoying a cultural presentation.

While waiting for the other participants to arrive at the dinner venue, we took time taking our pics with the majestic Petronas Tower in the background.

The Philippine contingent to the Mozilla Camp Asia 2011: (L-R) Juned Sonido, Allan Caeg, Joell Lapitan, Eusebio “Jun” Barrun Jr., RenRen Gabas, and of course, ME!

The Malaysian cultural presentation started with a “kulintang” group. This musical instrument is a testament of how the Malaysian’s (or Malays) influenced the Philippines. Head down south of the Philippines (Mindanao), and you may see a lot of people still playing the “kulintang”.

After dinner, we stayed at the Restoran Seri Melayu for some more minutes, then decided to join the group of Mozillians heading to the Petronas Tower for sightseeing.

Here’s my zoom shot of the Petronas Tower bridge from the Restoran Seri Melayu parking area:

The bus ride from the Seri Melayu to the Petronas Tower took a total of around 2 minutes … that’s how near it is! Upon arrival at the Petronas Tower, all one could say was, “Wow!” Truly majestic!

The front side of the Petronas Tower has a very long walkway, where people can stroll or simply sit back, relax, enjoy, and take pics of the twin towers.

The first few floors of the tower is actually a mall, comparable to that of Greenbelt 5 – both in structure and the prices of things that are being sold therein.

After the mall closed at around 10PM, we decided to head back to the hotel to catch some sleep and rest for the Day 2 of the MozCamp. At first, we thought of just walking back to the hotel from the Petronas Tower, but since it was drizzling, we decided to take the cab – for experience and as a precautionary measure, not for us to catch any flu or cold.

It just took the taxi cab driver three (03) stop light turns, and we’re back to the hotel! Cost of the ride: MYR14 (around PHP195) with the taxi meter flagged down + MYR5 as toll for falling in line at the Petronas Tower Taxi Line.