Manila folders (the common paper good, not the
Filipino contortionists) are made from the fiber of the abacá plant. Sometimes called "Manila hemp" due to its
origin in the Philippines, it is not a true hemp because the fibers come from the
leaf petiole, not the
bast fibers (sourced from the phloem or inner bark) of the plant. The petiole layers, called "tuxies", are stripped off using a
tuxying knife and separated either by hand or mechanically. Abacá (
Musa textilis) is a relative of bananas and plaintains (both also
Musa species). Other than its utility for making the aforementioned common cream-colored office product (also available in non-folder form as "oak tag" or "tag board"), abacá is resistant to salt water and therefore
valued for cordage (especially
hawsers) and nets. It is also used to make a fabric called
Sinamay (often used to make hats) and other common products like rugs and twine (with the coarser outer fibers) and tea bags, filter paper, vacuum cleaner bags, and other papers (with the finer inner fibers.)
posted by nekton
on Oct 21, 2011 -
26 comments
Featuring Nellie McKay, Cyndi Lauper, Tori Amos, Martha Wainwright, Steve Earle, Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Kate Pierson (of the B-52s) and many others,
Here Lies Love is the
result of a recent collaboration between
David Byrne and
Fatboy Slim. 22-tracks long, it tells the story of the Iron Butterfly, aka
Imelda Marcos, first lady of the Philippines, and her relationship with her childhood servant Estrella Cumpas. Its official release is April 6th, but
until then you can listen to the whole thing on NPR Music. The double-disc set will also feature a 120 page booklet and a DVD of historical footage.
[more inside]
posted by Lutoslawski
on Mar 30, 2010 -
15 comments
"I used to say that Ali was the best I'd ever seen," says Arum, an industry legend who co-promoted the Ali-Frazier "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975. "I had never said that about another man. I don't use those words cheaply. But here it is:
Manny Pacquiao is the best I have ever seen, including Ali.
posted by AceRock
on Mar 14, 2010 -
59 comments
During the Philippine-American War at the turn of the 20th century, American soldiers used a torture method called "
the water cure" to extract information from Filipino fighters.
[via brijit]
posted by AceRock
on Feb 21, 2008 -
26 comments
It's been covered elsewhere in the media (and
on MetaFilter) before, but Jason DeParle's
feature in the NY Times Magazine this weekend is a well-researched, clearly written, and evocative piece on the phenomenon of the Filipino overseas contract worker. Just don't get him confused with a
balikbayan (who has a cultural spot all his own, with
boxes named in his honor).
posted by sappidus
on Apr 22, 2007 -
6 comments
Democratic presidential candidate rails against US imperialism. "The platform . . . condemns the experiment in imperialism as an inexcusable blunder, which has involved us in enormous expense, brought us weakness instead of strength, and laid our nation open to the charge of abandoning the fundamental principles of a republic."
A prominent American author who
initially supported the conflict, changed his mind, calling it
"a mess, a quagmire from which each fresh step renders the difficulty of extrication immensely greater.” The US is “the kind of World Power . . . that a prairie-dog village is . . .
it is the duty of our Government to stand sentinel, with solemn mien, and lifted nose, and curved paws, on top of our little World-Power mound.”
posted by insomnia_lj
on Mar 20, 2006 -
25 comments
Wedded by the revolution... "Dare to struggle, dare to win ... as married gays. After raiding a few Army camps, two communist guerrillas hid in a forest gorge and fell in love.
Deeply.
That was three years ago. On Friday, under a romantic drizzle in a muddy clearing in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao, Ka Andres and Ka Jose exchanged vows in a heavily guarded ceremony before local villagers, friends from the city and their comrades in arms.
They are considered the first homosexual couple in the New People's Army (NPA) who were wed by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)."
Some reactions. A
wedding picture.
posted by talos
on Feb 22, 2005 -
30 comments
In 1898, the United States made a major move in the direction of colonial imperialism with the acquisition of the Philippine Islands from Spain. President Bush, in a recent speech in the Philippines,
pointed to that country's story as a model for rebuilding Iraq. Perhaps
a history lesson about the American and Filipino experience in this occupation is in order for both us and our President. The
atrocities committed during the Filipinos' struggle for independence (including the use of
concentration camps), the
high death toll (between 250,000 and 1,000,000, according to this article), and the American occupation which spanned six decades lead me to question whether Bush is just ignorant of the associations made in this comparison, or if it's a subtle way for the administration to set the stage for what possessing Iraq is actually going to entail. (Most links courtesy of the outstanding
BoondocksNet, a collection of primary and secondary sources related to American imperialism.)
posted by UKnowForKids
on Oct 22, 2003 -
25 comments
Gay Pride events are taking place worldwide this month, and
PlanetOut has got a number of interesting features to mark them: most fascinating to me are a series of coming out stories from other, mostly third world, countries. The first a tale of someone growing up gay in
Bosnia, and today from someone in the
Phillipines, with more to follow each day this week. There's also an article commemorating the
25th anniversary of the rainbow flag (which is getting back in the
pink). Good, if not terribly in-depth, stuff. Be careful when following the links, you might run into some gay/lesbian/non-vanilla NSFW stuff.
posted by WolfDaddy
on Jun 3, 2003 -
10 comments
At the Wallow of the Military Order of the Carabao, our nation's military leaders smoke Cuban cigars, sing racist songs about
Filipinos, and suck up to the defense industry.
posted by xowie
on Jan 29, 2003 -
13 comments
One Nation, Overseas Wired Magazine on the Philippines as one of the world's leading labor exporters. Hearing the words "flexible, industrious, and frequently skilled" applied to Filipinos is certainly encouraging to us, but... (more inside)
posted by brownpau
on May 29, 2002 -
8 comments
Climb a mountain, fall under a curse? The ethnic spirituality of the Ibaloi tribe meets Philippine environmental politics as President Macapagal makes plans to take a mountain-climbing trip to Luzon's highest peak. While I understand the environmental concerns involved, especially with her entourage of
suckups local gov't officials, there's definitely something amusing about the line,
"cursed by Pulag’s pantheon of Ibaloi gods." Nice pictures from Mt. Pulag here. I've been there once; it's worth the climb.
posted by brownpau
on May 22, 2002 -
3 comments
Sneaky! Grr . . . A few months ago, while surfing for wreck diving info, I stumbled upon
this page as a main link entitled
Nightlife in the Philippines. Because it promotes outright trafficking of women, I made a ruckus and sent an email complaining about it to the site admin and our government's
Department of Tourism. (Prostitution, BTW, is illegal in the Philippines.) Shortly afterwards, the site admin removed the main link. So how come it's still on the site via
this page? I know Southeast Asia (the Philippines second only to Thailand, I think) has a rep for cheap beer
and women, but I HATE the fact that many foreigners (like the owners of
this shop,) feel that they can buy anything they want while on vacation in third world countries, and that it's alright to perpetuate the trafficking of Filipino women under the guise of
tourism. Bah.
posted by lillitot
on Apr 13, 2002 -
31 comments
Be careful how you sing "My Way" After being ridiculed for an off-key version of My Way, the irate singer kills one heckler and wounds another. Philippine karaoke bars have begun to remove the song from their playlists as this was the climax of several violent incidents when this song was played.
posted by Lanternjmk
on Feb 19, 2002 -
8 comments
"A plan to hijack US commercial planes and slam these into targets like the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia,
was first uncovered in Manila in 1995 after police arrested four suspects in a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II." So perhaps what happened yesterday shouldn't have been an entirely unforeseeable event.
posted by lia
on Sep 12, 2001 -
5 comments
Erap to be arrested today. Filipinos might be interested to know that a warrant of arrest has been issued to deposed Philippine president Joseph Estrada for the non-bailable offense of economic plunder.
A few thousand of his supporters have gathered around his residence in the affluent subdivision of North Greenhills, and there have already been
untoward incidents. My family lives there; Mom says anti-riot police are roaming the streets.
posted by brownpau
on Apr 24, 2001 -
23 comments
When Headlines Go (Nearly) Right The world's most unfortunately named cleric makes a cameo appearance in a row over sex scenes in a film. Can someone persuade me that the Pope didn't make Bishop Sin a cardinal just for these moments?
posted by holgate
on Mar 27, 2001 -
7 comments
the wit and wisom of Imelda Marcos Often regarded as merely a woman with enough wealth to own a huge collection of shoes, Imelda, it seems, has the wit of a Gore Vidal, the incisevness of a Paglia, and the ability to refer to essentials that can be found in Pascal. Click on her nose to find the path to her brain...a trip worth the taking.
posted by Postroad
on Mar 25, 2001 -
1 comment
Revolution in the Philippines! The Secretaries of Defense and Finance, the National Treasurer, and the entire administration of the Armed Forces have joined the giant People Power Rally II in the streets to bring down the corrupt Estrada administration.
posted by lia
on Jan 19, 2001 -
10 comments
Remember last year's story about the plane hijacker in the Philippines who jumped with a home-made parachute and died?
Here's the story from the point of view of the crew and the flight attendant who pushed him off of the plane.
posted by lia
on Jan 14, 2001 -
5 comments
Gosh, this is strange: US Congressman Robert Aderholt (R, 4th District of Alabama) wrote to President Clinton asking him to postpone the upcoming visit of the Philippine president to Washington, "citing certain businessmen close to Mr. Estrada with alleged ''strong ties to the communist Chinese.''
The funny thing, for me at least, is that the people the oh-so-smart Rep. Aderholt named aren't just CAPITALISTS, but are among the richest men in Asia!
Errr, since when did having a chinese surname make someone a communist? And doesn't China have most favored trading status with the US anyway?
posted by lia
on Jul 10, 2000 -
17 comments
