by Oliver Carlos Here are some trivia about the UP Oblation, the iconic sculpture that represents my alma mater. Maybe you don’t know a few of them so I guess this piece would be very informational, especially for history buffs like me. 1. The original Oblation is made of concrete…

by Oliver Carlos When I was a teen, I ate and breathed basketball. I played the sport as much as I can. My favorite shot was the 3-point shot. I practiced shooting triples 3 times a day- in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. I did that…

by Oliver Carlos One staple question I ask my Philippine History students is, “Name a Filipino hero or President who is not on a Philippine coin or paper bill, but deserves to be there?” …

by Oliver Carlos I just realized recently that I don’t need to go to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte just to see platoons of majestic windmills. There are dozens of them just across the lake where I live. From Cabuyao, Laguna, I drove 3 hours to reach the hills of Pililia, Rizal…

by Oliver Carlos One afternoon, while I was washing my car in our yard, there was a very loud and weird sound. It’s like a siren that is used to alert people to go to bomb shelters you see in old war movies. The sound is quite deafening maybe because…

by Oliver Carlos When I was working for the cable TV show LB Talk more than 20 years ago, I remember covering a story about Isla de Los Baños. That’s a proposed reclamation project on Laguna de Bay. A large island would be formed offshore from the Los Baños municipal…

by Oliver Carlos The first time I got interested in becoming a writer was when I was in Grade 6. The passion was kindled more when I was in high school. I was so hungry for any material or workshop that would improve my writing skills. Since the internet was…

by Oliver Carlos One of our regular Blog is Life readers is Mrs. Cecille E. Kennedy from Oregon, USA. She’s been reading our blogs since the beginning, that’s almost a year now. Cecille is my Mom’s best friend. They grew up together in Los Banos, Laguna. They were classmates in…

by Oliver Carlos One of the most precious photographs in my collection is a picture of me holding my newborn son Jethro. My wife Maffy had just given birth to our unico hijo, and the doctor immediately called for me to present to me my baby. Jethro was less than…