"I'm hip about time" says Wyatt nicknamed Captain America, in the classic film "Easy Rider". Since watching that movie, I've associated Harley-Davidson bikes to that hippie culture of the 60's. It's the closest thing I've been to the world of motorcycles' pop culture equivalent of Bob Dylan. A few years later I picked up Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. It was a great read, mainly because of HST's masterful prose and uncanny wicked humor. Still, the idea of possessing a Harley or riding one, seems like an exclusive thought to me. I imagined big, burly, bearded, smelly guys would only ride it. Unless, you walk around with a young Dennis Hopper aura. However, through the years, the brand of Harley-Davidson, while maintaining its iconic branding and association to the 60's hippie counter-culture, has also developed a connection to mainstream bikers. So, much that it has finally come roaring into this country of ours. 

I was waiting for the sunset, hoping I could take some photographs of the rock formations against a fiery red sky. I decided against it when I saw this natural pool below the Macadlaw rock formation. I put down my backpack and set up the tripod, stripped my shirt and slowly waded into the pool. At a short distance away, I could hear the waves wailing as it crashes into the rocky barriers, each sending a powerful stream of saltwater flying up in the air. I turned around and planted my feet, my sun-burned body wholly dipped in the clear blue water. I stared ahead towards the sea and counted each apparition of stunning white splashing water, each getting bigger and higher until it comes down on me like raindrops. 

The last time I set foot at the National Gallery of the Philippines was way back in early elementary. The memories are almost gone of that long-ago field trip. If ever I stared at Juan Luna's The Spoliarium I might have done so for only a split second. Not so, during one afternoon last October, when together with Lauren and Christine off we went to the National Gallery for some art and culture cultivation experience. I stared at it for minutes, studying each details and comparing it to what I've seen in history books. The real painting is immensely imposing, covering almost all of my line of sight. Juan Luna spent an agonizing but creativity filled eight months finishing it. The result was just spectacular, its something we could always be proud of and is very fitting to be the first piece of artwork to greet visitors at the National Gallery.

One of the highlights of the recently held Hot Air Balloon Festival was the participation of the Breitling-sponsored aerobatic team from Dijon, France. Seven Aero L-39 Albatros jets took to the sky and performed a number of mad aerial stunts, rivaled only by the crazy Navy pilots from the movie "Hot Shots". The crowd, already amazed by the hot air balloons that took off just after sunrise, lets out 'oooohs and ahhhhs' with an exclamation awe each time the jets would fly as close to each other, almost colliding before flying into different directions at the last second possible. They give a real hardcore meaning to flirting with disaster.