One I accidentally stumbled upon is very interesting and informative, although undoubtedly snobbish, authored by one Toto Gonzalez. It’s remembranceofthingsawry.wordpress.com.
Gonzalez is one gem of a Kapampangan writer who writes very good English, certainly eons better than the kind most columnists churn out for local newspapers in Pampanga… even better than the prose of some national paper essayists.
Equally sparkling as gem are his historical data on prominent Kapampangan families, their homes built when the poor were virtual slaves in their vast lands, their lifestyles, their kitchens, their dining rooms, their kitchen wares, their foods. Even their snobbish bad habits which, rather disappointingly, Gonzalez seems to find delight in, as he himself, so the blog indicates, was born slurping cereal from a silver spoon.
The blog is not lacking with photos of lavishly furnished old homes of the Kapampangan rich and, I’d suppose, powerful, obviously old homes ornate with archaic woodwork and ancient chandeliers. Considering the homes are in these islands of kidnap-for-ransom, the photo captions are not fitted with corresponding addresses.
The site spills over the brim with info on Pampanga art, cuisine, family traditions, and even goes beyond his native province to dwell upon classy tidbits from Cebu, Davao, Tarlac, Negros, and, of course, Manila.
Gonzalez is a living encyclopedia essential to the nouveau riche planning absorption into the caste of brown royalty. He is familiar with le style Rothschild (the surname sends shivers in the Apocalyptic spine), knows silverware by Paul de Lamerie (sounds classy, though I wouldn’t know him from my favorite balut vendor), and many other such things I could only gape over in wonder.
From the posh of Gonzalez’s blog, a jump to centralluzoncorruption.com would be just that — a jump. Propel both feet from the lifestyle of luxury down to the ugly realities of evil slithering in local politics and law (un)enforcement in the region. Its author is anonymous which accounts for its audacity.
The website dares spell out names of local politicians and policemen allegedly engaged in hanky-pankies and misdeed of even graver significance. The familiarity of the names lends some credibility to the allegations, but then, accusations can be conjured up from thin air.
The other hackneyed argument, of course, is that where smoke is, fire could be tailending.
The website’s name says it all. The details, perhaps saucy, unfold my clicking on its home page such titles as: Nueva Ecija’s top criminal is a policeman; Angeles City, Set-up Capital of P.I.; Land theft or rent-a-judge, etc. etc.
It sounds like a blackmailing website, juicy with threats to some people to drop charges against others or face up to more exposé. But it seems to be gaining following in communities where, indeed, the system has cloaked both politicians and police with impunity from a culture of excesses. “Sige, hala bira,” they’d say.
And then, there’s eksite.com. It’s among the pioneering local website founded by the talented Titus Toledo. “ek” stands for electronic kabalen so the right guessing is that it’s slanted for the Kapampangans which, considering Titus authorship, is more virtue than fetter.
The site runs the panoply of Kapampangan thoughts, considering its contributors are among the most talented Kapampangans writers alive, including New York-based diplomat Elmer Cato.
The only difficulty I find in the website is accessing its contents, made a tad cumbersome by a confusing layout. A dark colored design on the home page obscures a list of contents and I suppose the home page itself could do better with less introductions and more on contents to click on.
Well, go on now, internet your way through the day.
