"Ken initiated this page for me back in 1994 when I contributed factoids and trivia to his Filipino Web pages. The page had grown since, he encouraged me to put this up in my own page." ...marian
The Fluorescent Lamp was invented by Agapito Flores (1879-1943). Mr. Flores was born in Guiguinto, Bulacan, Philippines. He had shown President Quezon his invention but was saddened that the President did not know what to do with it then. Fortunately, a French guest at the Malacanang Palace made arrangements to send him to Paris with the help of the French government. It was in Paris where he was given a patent for his invention. General Electric Co. in the U.S. bought his work and has been sold to millions around the globe since.
Source:
http://www.pipol.schoolreference.com/agapitoflores.htm
Contributed by: Marilen Valdez
THE YO-YO
The yo-yo
is considered the second oldest toy in history, the oldest being the doll.
Pedro Flores, a Filipino, originated and introduced the U.S. manufactured yo-yo.
The word yo-yo is a Tagalog word, a nativePhilippine language, meaning 'come back.' In the Philippines, the yo-yo was a weapon for over 400 hundred years. The weapon was large with sharp edges and studs and attached to thick twenty-foot ropes for flinging at enemies or prey. People in the United States started playing with the British bandalore or yo-yo in the 1860s. It was not until the 1920s that Americans first heard the word yo-yo. Mr. Flores began manufacturing a toy trademarked with that name. He became the first person to mass-produce them at his small toy factory called Flores Yo-Yo Company in California.
He is considered by many as the "Father of the Yo-yo" in the U.S. Flores yo-yos are some of the most highly sought after yo-yos by collectors.
Sources:
http://www.nationalyoyo.org/museum/pedroflores.htm
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story075.htm
http://www.ayya.org/hof.htm
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa120297.htm
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/myo-yo.html
http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/yoyo.asp
http://www.spintastics.com/HistoryOfYoYo.asp
http://www.yo-yos.net/Press%20facts.htm
http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-yo
http://www.nationalyoyo.org/museum/history.htm
While Karaoke is a Japanese word, Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario is now the world's sole patent holder for a sing-along system, according to a Philippine court ruling. Del Rosario won an infringement case against Janito Corp., the Chinese firm which claimed to have invented the Miyata Karaoke. The court ruled that Janito Corp. manufactured a system identical or substantially similar to Del Rosario's invention. He developed the karaoke prototype in 1975 and started marketing it in 1978. The founder and president of the Inventors and Innovators Development Foundation, Del Rosario hailed the decision as a triumph for cash-strapped and unrecognized Filipino inventors who are often victimized by big business pirates.
Source: Filipinas Magazine, February 2000
Two Country
Awards for the Philippines:
A Nobel Peace Prize Award and a Global Non-Violence Award
On February 25, 2001, the Philippines received a very unusual global award.
It is the first of its kind in the world, as well as the first award given to
an entire nation. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Foundation (Nobel Peace Foundation)
awarded the Philippines for their “wonderful gift of the spirit . . .
to the world” in the form of People Power II. The prestigious Center for
Global Non-Violence also joined the Nobel Peace Foundation in giving the award
as the Philippines celebrated People Power I and II.
Sources:
http://www.nsclub.net/asison/articles5.html http://www.globenet3.org/Essays/Essay_Task.shtml
Q: What
Filipino Lenten practice depicts the risen christ meeting the Blessed Virgin
Mary on Easter morning?
A: Salubong
Q: Name
the first Filipino saint and the Pope who canonized him. Where did this saint
meet his martyrdom?
A: San Lorenzo Ruiz. Pope John Paul II. Japan
Source:
Tinig
ng A T & T Klub Pilipino, The Official Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1995: "How's
Your PQ? Pinoy Quotient," page 5.
Country Western Singer, Neal McCoy, is of Filipino descent. Here is a link to his Web site:
http://nealmccoy.com/
A little about him and some of his claims to fame are:
Name:
Born Hubert Neal McGaughey, Jr. When he first got his record deal, Neal changed
the spelling to McGoy, and then to McCoy.
Heritage:
Neal's father is a Texan of Irish descent and his mother is Filipino. He often
refers to himself as a "Texapino."
Awards:
Entertainer of the Year, 1998 & 1999 TNN/Music City News Country Awards.
Video of the Year "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," 1997 TNN/Music City
News County Awards.
Albums:
At This Moment (1990)
Where Forever Begins (1992)
No Doubt About It (1994)
RIAA Certified Platinum
You Gotta Love That (1995)
RIAA Certified Platinum
Neal McCoy (1996)
RIAA Certified Platinum
Greatest Hits (1997)
RIAACertified Platinum
Be Good At It (1998)
The Life Of The Party (1999)
24"7"365 (2000)
Filipino
Design Artists in "Finding Nemo
'Bahay kubo' ( "Nipa" Hut)
LOOK closely into that dentist's aquarium, right where the little clownfish Nemo is resting. Yes, that is a bahay-kubo. That little touch is only one of the different contributions to the Disney/Pixar film "Finding Nemo" courtesy of two Filipino artists involved with the production. It may be set in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, but there's a lot of the Philippines in there, thanks to Nelson Bohol and Gini Cruz.
Bohol, 41, is one of the movie's main background designers. "I provide the environment, props, anything they need," says Bohol on the phone. Bohol, born in Catbalogan, had always liked drawing since he was little. After graduating with a degree in architecture from the Manuel L. Quezon University in 1985, Bohol went to work for Burbank Animation in Makati, cutting his teeth on Saturday morning cartoon shows.
Bohol fell in love with the possibilities of this new industry. Bohol and four other animation artists formed their own company in 1991. Shortly after, Bohol got to work on early episodes of the now ubiquitous Nickelodeon show "Rugrats." When the show received an Emmy, the Filipino animators even received a certificate attesting to the Emmy win. While that was a proud moment for Bohol, there was more awaiting him.
In 1996, 20th Century Fox's animation division held an exam for local artists, intent on finding talent they could bring to the States. Thinking he had nothing to lose, Bohol took the exams, and wound up among the 50 artists-there were over 150 applicants- accepted by Fox Animation.
Working out of Phoenix, Arizona, Bohol got to work on such Fox animated flicks as "Anastasia" and "Titan A.E." In 2000, he moved to Pixar Animation Studio, where he designed environments and props for a movie that took three years to finish -- "Finding Nemo," the latest Disney/Pixar collaboration.
Bohol explains that he is still very much into the traditional aspects of animation. "Lapis at papel pa rin (still pencil and paper for me)," he laughs, "I don't know much about computers."
'Pinoy closeness'
Still very fond of his homeland, Bohol applied some personal touches to the aquarium tank in the dentist's office. "The aquarium is 100 percent mine," he says proudly. First, he was responsible for the bahay-kubo. Next, he used Mt.Mayon as an inspiration for the miniature volcano inside the aquarium, Mt. Wanahakalugi: "But I couldn't make it as perfect as the real Mayon."
Last, he added a very personal touch. "In the aquarium, there are three tiki heads. They're actually caricatures of three artists who worked on the movie." The one to the right resembles another Filipino-blooded artist, Ricky Nieva, while another the one on the left is of a Korean-American colleague.
"The one in the middle, that's me," laughs Bohol, "complete with bigote and nunal (mustache and mole)."
Now residing in the East Bay in Northern California with his wife and four kids, Bohol is ecstatic about his time working with Disney and Pixar. "This is it! This is the best place to work, my dream from when I started." Citing Marikina as his hometown, Bohol loves basketball and misses the "samahan" (closeness) among Filipinos and the food-he even hopes to visit soon. Yet he never forgets how lucky he's been. "Oh my God, I'm so blessed."
Animator Virginia "Gini" Cruz's path to Pixar is not too different even if her role differs from Bohol's. Cruz was born in Pasay City but left the country when she was three as her parents migrated to Guam. "My late father wanted me to study here because he said the education was good," Cruz recalls. Originally dragged home "kicking and screaming," she found out she enjoyed herself here, studying at St. Scholastica's College Manila for high school and taking up fine arts at the University of Santo Tomas, majoring in advertising. After graduating in 1987, she returned to Guam, where she worked in advertising, but her artistic sense was pulling her in a different direction.
She studied computer art at New York's School of Visual Art, putting together a reel of animation for her thesis. She sent it out to different companies, but when Pixar called in 1996, Cruz knew immediately where she wanted to go. "I really, really wanted to work with them." Working with Dory In some capacity or other, Cruz got to work on "Toy Story 2," "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters, Inc." But her biggest contribution so far is her involvement with "Nemo," as she got to animate Dory, the forgetful bluefish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. It was, after all, her job to look at the character designs, listen to the recorded voice, and make sure that Dory said what she was supposed to. "I loved working on Dory," Cruz enthuses. "It really appeals to me, the idea of this fish with short term memory loss. Ellen DeGeneres was amazing. She has such a rich array of emotions in her voice."
Cruz also enjoyed working briefly on the cowgirl Jessie from "Toy Story 2."
Unlike Bohol, Cruz works primarily with computers but adds wryly, "I'm the one who keeps calling the system guys when I can't get it to work." Cruz says one has to learn to use technology if you work on actually animating characters "but it doesn't necessarily make it easier. You have a lot of details to take care of. It's all the same, in the end."
Like Bohol, she is relishing being able to work with Disney: "I am still amazed. I mean, every movie I watched when I was a kid was by Disney."
Next adventure
The very busy Cruz loves living in the eclectic city of San Francisco, where she is currently trying to develop a green thumb by cultivating a garden. "If I didn't have my garden, I'd just be at work all week." She's been back to the country several times, recently for a wedding. But work is what drives her these days.
As "Finding Nemo" proves, Filipino craftsmanship comes in many forms but remains resilient and vibrant, visible in the way Dory mouths her lines perfectly or the mesmerizing seascape unfolding on the screen. Bohol and Cruz are now deep into work for Pixar's next adventure-the superhero tale "The Incredibles," due out in fall, 2004.
Sources:
http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_sho/2003/aug/11-02.htm
http://www.inq7.net/ent/2003/aug/11/ent_2-1.htm
http://www.outsourcephilippines.org/newsIndex.cfm
The Pinatubo chicken is a genetically engineered crossbreed between a Philippine native hen and a French rooster. It's named after the destructive volcano, Mt. Pinatubo. It is said to be a superchicken because it can weigh up to six kilos after just six months with a diet of only grass. Pinatubo roosters can mate with an average of 10 hens a day. Breeders say the new chicken is a cheap alternative to regular chickens sold in the local market because it doesn't have to be fed expensive commercial feeds to reach maximum weight. However, the Pinatubo chicken eggs have to be hatched in incubators. For some reason, they have turned carnivorous and eat their own eggs.
Source:
Filipinas Magazine, February 2000
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