Munich
Angkor Wat
Greenwich
Tower Bridge
Roman Colosseum
Coventry Cathedral
Sicily amphitheatre
Mt. Etna
Taj Mahal
Travel theme: History
Tag: history
Dear Joe, From Josephine
The challenge for this week’s Poetics is to take a character, fictional or non-fictional, and re-write their story from the point of view of their husband or wife. To avoid any accusations of libel, no living people please!
Dear Joe, I’ve always loved you
With all my heart since we’ve met
When I came with my father for his eyes
It may be too late to cure him
But we found each other
A whirlwind romance indeed
Even though your family didn’t like me
We carried on loving each other
Even though it was such a short time
And that our boy “Francisco” died
Three hours after he was born
I knew you blamed yourself for that
Please don’t, life was unfair sometimes
Thanks for marrying me
Even though my heart was breaking
It was few hours before your execution
I died with you, too
Forever yours, Josephine
(c) ladyleemanila 2016
- love story between our national hero, Jose Rizal and Josephine Bracken
Berlin Wall Museum – Echoes of the Past
Berlin Wall Museum exhibition dates back to the museum’s first days, just after the building of the Berlin Wall, and charts the lifespan of the world’s supposedly most secure border system. For over 50 years the Wall Museum, founded in 1962 as a bastion of peace in freedom, has stood at the legendary Checkpoint Charlie border crossing, the geographical focal point of the Cold War, where the West-East divide began and ended.
Wandering through different rooms one can also examine original artefacts used during many of the infamous escapes from East Germany – from escape cars, to hot air balloons, from homemade mini-submarines to deceptively hollow surfboards, the permanent exhibition is a testament to the ingenuity of the human mind when faced with perilous circumstances. Alongside the information boards and escape objects, there was also showcase work by artists, whose only means of dealing with the existence of this cruel divide was to turn to their art.
I’m very grateful that we went to this museum and saw its exhibition. I’m hoping that the world would really know the value of freedom. Let there be peace and love!
What made you smile this week?
For: Weekly Smile 27 #weeklysmile, Photo Workshop and bits of my week – Echoes Of My Neighbourhood 26, Three Things Thursday: July 7, 2016
Strolling at Kurfürstendamm
We strolled along Kurfürstendamm, Ku’damm for short. At 3.8. km, it’s the longest avenue for shopping and strolling. Breathtaking architecture, elegant boutiques and lively scenes with street artists around Breitscheidplatz have made this shopping boulevard one of Berlin’s most attractive avenues.
There was a parade of organ grinders on the street.
organ grinder
One of Berlin’s most haunting symbols – Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Church – the tower of the original church, destroyed during World War II – stands in the centre of Breitscheidplatz, serving as both memorial and reminder of the terrors of war.
For: Jo’s Monday walk : Boa Vista Trail, Our World: Fourth of July edition, Happy Independence Day!
My Part in the EDSA Revolution 1986
Two nuns were kneeling down in front of a soldier. One nun was holding her rosary tightly, urging the soldier not to shoot them or just reciting her prayers loudly. The other nun was in a contemplative mood, one hand touching her chin, the other arm crossed under her chest. In front of them was a soldier brandishing a belt of bullets, his M-16 rifle held at slope arms. The contrasting image of the nuns and the cold, harsh rifle of the soldier was the focus of this photograph. A huge crowd was behind the nuns. They were ordinary street Filipinos, men and women, parents and children, students, employed or unemployed, rich, middle-class or poor. I was part of this crowd – more people coming and going, military tanks and cannons with their soldiers greeted with flowers and food, burning tyres, activist flags and streamers, vendors, vehicles, portable radios, foreign correspondents and religious altars everywhere.
For: Writespiration #85 Snippets of You by Sacha Black
heeding haiku with Chèvrefeuille – ”baransu”-
they fought for our freedom
learning the past through art
at the gallery
country’s history
as part of our heritage
should know them by heart
(c) ladyleemanila 2015
The EDSA Revolution of 1986 – Fairy Tale Prompt July 17th 2015 Compassion and Courage
When I read the prompt about compassion and courage, I immediately thought of our EDSA Revolution of 1986. I wrote a blog about it, that I was proud to be part of that history. That it was a story about every Filipino’s dream of being free and taking part in the process. It involved over 2 million Filipino civilians, as well as several political, military and religious groups. It was one of nonviolent protests that began in 1983 and culminated in 1986. The methods used amounted to a sustained campaign of civil resistance against the 20-year running authoritarian, undemocratic regime of the then President Ferdinand Marcos. It led to his departure from the Malacanang Palace to Hawaii and the re-establishment of the country’s democracy.
Corazon Aquino was proclaimed as the legitimate President of the Philippines after the revolution. The wife of slain political leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, she fought the aging dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the controversial snap elections for Presidency in 1986. She won but was cheated. Not a gun was fired, yet Marcos was forced to step down because millions went into the streets and demanded his resignation.
Revolutions do not take place overnight. The Marcos years, characterized by the unscrupulous exercise of power preservation and fomented political unrest. Allegations of graft and corruption against the administration would forge a disproportion of wealth. The declaration of Martial Law on September 23, 1972 started a feeling of discontent which would make this act of resistance essential, even inevitable to the reinstatement of democracy.
The EDSA Revolution of 1986 was about the people power that was of the spontaneous, disoriented, unorganized fluid and ambiguous kind. Filipinos from all walks of life discovered a collective will that they had never exerted before and a common bond they had never nurtured. Spontaneity, astonishment and interestingness were the very spirit of the vent. To conclude, people, when treated badly, can summon enough courage, solidarity and determination to stand up and resist.
ladyleemanila 