A SOON-TO-BE PHILIPPINE SURVIVAL SHOW CALLED NATIVE INSTINCT

SURVIVAL-THEMED SHOWS on TV are now the most watched programs anywhere in the world and it opened the eyes of the viewer of the different scenarios when society or even a single individual is threatened by events or by forces caused by nature or by humans. It also shows primitive-living techniques, woodlore and culture of native peoples which had never been seen before on the boob tube.

Survival TV produced illustrious names like Les Stroud, Ray Mears, Bear Grylls, Mykel Hawke, Cody Lundin, Dave Canterbury and others and have spurred reality-TV shows like the highly-rated Survivor®. As if that is not enough, there are many survival videos produced professionally that are uploaded on YouTube, Vimeo and other dedicated sites which command a good following.

Matthew Everett, an independent film maker and a product of Bridgewater College in England, decided to organize his own production outfit in Southeast Asia where he was able to produce and direct indie short documentaries about Philippine culture. When not filming, he goes back home each winter to work in a power plant to raise the money he needs for his film projects.

Taking it a step further, he began mulling of a survival-cultural-adventure made-for-TV series. When Everett met Wil Rhys-Davies and Jing de Egurrola of Snakehawk Wilderness School, he felt he is catching on to that dream and named this project as “Native Instinct”. He explains that it is a bit like a survival show but it demonstrates cultural differences between the lead casts with some humour in it.

In fact, he had already made two test shoots at Guintarcan Island in Cebu and in an Aeta village of Bataan. This reality TV show aims to educate its viewers on survival techniques along with Philippine culture in an exciting and fun way. It will follow Rhys-Davies and De Egurrola, both wilderness instructors, as they travel through the islands, dealing with different survival situations and learning new skills.

What makes it different from the rest of the survival TV genre is that both Rhys-Davies and De Egurrola have good chemistry since both are good friends for years. Both enjoy poking fun at each other, on and off the camera, and it is this playful banter that will set it apart from the rest.

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Rhys-Davies is raised on the periphery of the rugged Brecon Beacon Mountains in Wales and have wandered considerably the local woodlands of his childhood, it just seems natural that, one day, he would be an outdoorsman and wilderness traveler. He spent ten years with the British Armed Forces serving in a variety of environments, at home and abroad.

A trained mountain leader, wilderness medic, Outward Bound instructor and avid wilderness traveler; has travelled and worked in a multitude of environments in many countries, such as deserts, jungles, high mountain ranges; and in all seasons as a backpacking guide, climbing instructor, desert survival technical consultant, mountain biker, adventure-cycle tourer, and canyoneer.

He has worked with various clientele, from gang members, wealthy clients, drug and alcohol rehabilitation patients, and individuals who seek his knowledge. He is especially fond of the Aeta people of Zambales, the Philippines, whom he describes as amazingly friendly and one of the best jungle people he has met.

He is always passionate to see young people challenge themselves through outdoor activities. He is currently working on a multi-discipline adventure trip for 2014. Currently residing in the Philippines, he works with Snakehawk Wilderness School and consults with Silangan Outdoor Products.

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The other cast is a Filipino and is a native of Cebu. He is a former SWAT operative and police investigator and had been taught woodcraft by his grandfather as a child. He used to be a recreational climber and free-lance mountain guide before shifting to bushcraft and survival and teaches these to aspiring woodsmen during weekends as well as urban survival techniques for corporate functionaries.

He uses the jungles and woodlands of the Babag Mountain Range as his playground and as location of the annual Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp of which he is the convenor and main instructor. Apart from that, he organized and founded the first and only bushcraft and survival guild in the Philippines called Camp Red.

He is now working for the completion of the Cebu Highlands Trail in 2015, a project patterned after the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail of the United States and is also engrossed in outreach projects that benefit the children of the mountains and of the environment. He is married for 24 years now and a father to two adult sons.

He is presently managing a top-rate private security agency in Cebu and is the partner of Rhys-Davies at Snakehawk Wilderness School. He is a product endorser of Silangan Outdoor Equipment, Bamboo Military Shoes, Seseblades and AJF Knives. He tests gears and equipment which are then given review on his blog. He maintains a free-platform blog named Warrior Pilgrimage. (Click on this address: www.pinoyapache.blogspot.com)

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Native Instinct is programmed to be filmed as a TV series but lack of funds hampered its shooting and is presently campaigning in Indiegogo.com to raise £2,000 to propel it into finishing the first six episodes, which would include a re-shoot of the island escapade and the Aeta cultural immersion. The money would be spent for travel, equipment and production expenses.

Prospective investors will be able to choose their perks according to the various donation packages indicated at its Indiegogo.com project page. As you read this, the Native Instinct production staff are asking you to please help this show by supporting for the completion of this in the form of donating any amount at its Indiegogo.com page.

Below are some video clips of Native Instinct under the “Jungle Survival with the Aetas” episode. It is like Dual Survival® of Cody Lundin and Joe Teti but with a different twist. What would that be? It is for you to distinguish! Please enjoy - - -

Native Instinct-Test Shoot Day 1 from Matt Everett on Vimeo.

Featured at istorya.net on October 10, 2013

Document done in LibreOffice 3.3 Writer

ALBERT'S MARKET ADVENTURE

IT IS TEN IN THE morning and it is so hot by the time we leave the cool cavern that is the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City. The WE are no other than cousins Jay de Paula, Albert Lavilles and me. Staying behind is Aunt Lourdes, Albert's mother. She has special visitors today – my mom Marietta and my aunt Evangeline, Jay's mama.

Albert is a naturalized Australian of Cebuano origin and I last saw him in the early '90s and that was a long long time ago. Since then he visits Cebu every now and then and I just can't cross paths with him. Not until today – November 22, 2010. Our meeting is already arranged by Jay's sister, Coy. It is very important for Albert to visit Carbon Market. Taking pictures of markets and places that are exotic to his adopted country is his passion and I am tasked to guide him there as well as protect his person and camera.

On the other hand, Jay is a frustrated basketball star, having shined his behind on the bench of the Santa Lucia basketball club. Not the pro club, pardon me, but a grassroots team somewhere in Barangay Tinago. But, despite possessing a pair of arthritic knees, Jay could do a Michael Jordan pirouette during a fastbreak or do a Tim Hardaway crossover dribble above the arc. Yeah, I'm telling the truth. Honest. And he will add his brawn today.

Anyways, we did go to the Carbon Market. But, first, I insist that we drop by at the Cebu Heritage Park in Pari-an. It is the first time that Albert saw the monument designed by the famous Filipino sculptor Reynaldo Castrillo. A short walk brought Albert to the Yap-San Diego Ancestral House at the corner of Mabini and Lopez Jaena streets.

Then we transfer to Freedom Park. Sitting right across is my alma mater (and of Jay's too) - the University of San Jose-Recoletos. Freedom Park is not a park anymore and it is converted to a dry market where you could buy flower bouquets, native crafts, cabinets, cribs, juju medicine, second-hand RTWs, etc. We cross a street and ogle at the stall lining the former Warwick Barracks with its wares of home-made hearths and lanterns, giant tansan¹ basins, slippers and those things made in China.

We took a left turn to Escaño Street nearby the VECO Power Plant and Albert kept on putting pressure on his camera button and shoot whatever that took his fancy: poultry eggs, fresh seaweeds, laundry dyes, alum, peddlers, stalls, tobacco leaves, fighting spiders, etc. We cross MC Briones Street and go inside the wet market designated by city administrators as UNIT I.

I disdain visiting the wet market of Carbon because of filth and dirt but, today, it is a different matter. The unsightly makeshift stalls have been removed and fresh air could now move freely so it doesn't stink anymore. The floorings have been tiled and there is a semblance of hygiene. We saw a squad of market administrators doing their inspection rounds. That is fine. Former city mayor Tomas Osmeña did a good job overhauling Carbon.

The meat stalls are now more orderly and stall owners are much more organized. Greeting our eyes were small production shops, on the stalls themselves, of local sausages, known as chorizo. People are grinding pork meat, some are mixing spices and dye on the ground meat while others were stuffing the meat into cellulose-like intestines and tying a string around each segment and finally display the finished product!

Moving on, we saw more of the different red meat for sale like beef and goat; chicken were a-plenty too. What's interesting with these vendors selling meat and chicken is that nothing is wasted. Meaning the skins, the heads, paws, lungs and other innards, intestines, claws, the tails, the blood and anything in between can still be sold for there are many many ways how people cook it. We Cebuanos are very good at using these animal parts into something of a specialty. Yes, for every part there is a different way to cook.

Then on a neighboring section, fish, sea shells, crabs and prawns are sold. Rabbit fish, white mackerel, yellow-fin tuna are very common. Mussels and clams also. I could name a lot of fish and shellfish in Cebuano dialect but I am at a loss of how to give its English version. Haha... Anyways, Albert did get his shots of the sea critters that will soon be food on someone else's dining table. Now time to move on the other side of Carbon Market, this time to UNIT II.

This second building is dedicated to fruits and vegetables. Green and half-ripe mangoes of Guadalupe are so plentiful. Citrus fruits, coconuts and root crops too like sweet potatoes, taro, cassava, greater yam, ginger, carrots, radish and peanuts. Amidst all these are cabbage, breadfruit, spring onions, Malabar nightshades, sweet potato tops, cucumber, string beans, taro hearts, swamp radish, cayenne, bell peppers, camias², soursop, tamarind, melon and Mambajao lanzones³. Albert didn't miss them all, it's still part of his system.

Now, we retrace our route and take a pee at a public toilet in Freedom Park. Despite the frequent washings and cosmetic appearance, the urine odor stuck to the wall, the tiles, the ceiling, the fluorescent bulbs, the electrical wires, even on our clothes, hair and nostrils. It stink! On the tiled floor is an orphaned brief that used to have an owner. Held my breath for as long as I could and I got my own version of the Guinness record for myself.

Thankful to get rid from that claustrophobic wetbox, I towed Albert and Jay to Magallanes Street and pushed them up and inside a horse-drawn carriage locally known as the tartanilla. The cart creaked and rocked as we settled in the wee seats where our knees crossed and touched each other's crotch then the jockey say something to the horse and it made a slow U-turn towards Tabo-an Market – our last destination.

Right after crossing Forbes Bridge and taking a right turn to B. Aranas Street, the tartanilla took on an easy roll. The steel shoe make a clop-clop-clop sound on the hot asphalt pavement and it is almost noontime. We cross busy C. Padilla Street and the horse showed consistency and discipline in evading careening vehicles and slowing down on street corners through the tug of the reins. All this time, I took a video from our starting point until the cart stopped infront of a dried-fish store. Word of caution: Do not do this if you are not street-smart.

I don't know how to eat dried fish and my palate is not in good terms with it. But today I am overwhelmed by the different types, colors and shapes of dried fishes. In one basket is a heap of anchovies; on another is a tinier variety. Over there is rabbitfish or “danggit” - everybody's favorite. Some basket contain dried-fish, tapa-style; while others contain either “toloy”, “mangsi” or “bodboron”. I see strange varieties of fishes, salted and dried. Over one corner is my favorite – the “pusit” or dried squid; right beside it is another dried-squid variety and another basket is full of dried shrimp.

Hanging on a post are dried tentacles of octopuses and dried skins of large fishes packed inside of plastic. Stacked neatly are bottles of pasted shellfish, sea urchins, crab, tiny shrimps and tiny fish. The place is swarmed by a sinister fish odor that is strangely pleasant and acceptable for humans on this side of the globe. I see Albert having a relapse of his asthma and sinusitis but Jay is enjoying this gastronomic delight. Me? I badly need a cold drink.

We could have spent more time were Albert have a day or two of stay; and he needs rest too. He and his mom just came from Labason, Zamboanga del Norte; a far-away place that takes a day of travel. Yes. But, for less than three hours, I have achieved more than what he has done visiting Cebu by himself or with another through the years!

By ten before twelve, we were now inside a taxi cruising back to the hotel. I drop by my place and that ended the less than three hours of the old-city market tours that produce valuable images for Albert. Enjoy the ride.

Document done in OpenOffice 2.1 Writer

Images courtesy of Albert Lavilles

1Cebuano for tin bottle caps.

2Averrhoa bilimbi.

3Lansium domesticum.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS (A Video Carol Presentation of the Cebu Mountaineering Society)

It is, once again, the advent of Christmas. This is a season of gift-giving and the remembrance of an infant boy who was born in a manger 2,000 years ago and who will, one day, change the world. We all enjoy now of that little boy's legacy and, because of that, we all live in a better world and receive blessings.

For an outdoors group like the Cebu Mountaineering Society or CeMS, celebrating Christmas would tend to incline towards the mountains and the environment. When talking about the environment, Mount Manunggal comes into mind. In Mt. Manunggal, it is where CeMS have become an inspiration and established thereafter. 1989 was that year.

Several years after that, people come and go to Mt. Manunggal and leave voluminous garbage. CeMS tried to correct that with its first phase of its stewardship program in 2006 by collecting garbage after every commemoration of the death anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay which is held every March 17th of each year. For three years the garbage kept on accumulating until we decide to implement the next phase.

We educated the campers and visitors of Mt. Manunggal by installing steel environmental-awareness signages at strategic areas in tandem with Ayala Mall but it is not enough. We tried to activate the last phase but CeMS do not have the funds to implement it. It would have complemented the first and second phase. It is, for this reason, that CeMS is asking you to donate a part of your blessings for this worthy endeavour.

The fund will be used to fabricate sturdy garbage receptacles all along the camping area where there are environmental-awareness signages located. To optimize your donations, part of it will be used to provide the capital to sell foodstuffs and refreshments during the celebration of the Sinulog Grand Festival on January 16, 2011 for which the whole of Cebu and the Philippines will be celebrating and where the profits go to fund these receptacles!

Please send your cash or check donation to CEMS MOUNTAINEERING SOCIETY INC., under account number 175-160271-4, Chinabank Cebu, Ramos Branch or through Western Union and address it to Ann Trinitas Vidal, Aces Laser Surgicenter, Ground Floor, Cebu Velez Hospital, 41 F. Ramos Street, Cebu City, Philippines 6000.

CeMS have come a long way since its inception and have produced another generation of responsible climbing individuals and they provide this carolling video to entertain you. This video is taken during the CeMS Christmas Camp in the Sierra Tree Farm of Mount Gaas, Balamban, Cebu on November 27-28, 2010. Take time, enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas to you! God bless you!

- Jonathan Consunji

President, CeMS

MATCHSTICKS IN LOVE

I THINK IT IS best for everybody that I have to share with you of an interesting video that I have discovered during my never-ending and ever ongoing trysts into the Internet following where my curiosity and child-like wonder would lead me into.

This video is about the moving tale of two matchsticks meeting and falling in love with each other at first sight in a park somewhere in your kitchen. Seriously speaking, I found this video in my site solely dedicated for my open source advocacy at MyOpera. Funny, how it got there beats the hell out of me. Even though the poster of this video got the ire of the administrators of MyOpera by deleting its account, I thought otherwise by not deleting this video from my site. In fact, I copied and pasted the video’s URL in my USB drive and archived it hoping someday I may feature it in my blog.

Then, after many many months of hibernating it in a single dimensional world of an opaque word processor, I finally found my urge to write about it and giving justice to the incessant thought that have been bugging and bullying me in the back of my mind.

This video is, obviously, NOT INTENDED FOR GENERAL SHOWING especially in the presence of children below thirteen years old without the benefit of parental guidance and/or in company of responsible adults for the reason that it invites in the viewer carnal desires and tendencies due to the demonstration of the sequence of movements that imitate the human mating positions and actions.

However, if you remove those malicious thoughts, this video is very entertaining and quite flattering. If you dissect the mechanics and the minutest details that go in making this video you will be quite amused at how much time the author spent in shooting the video in different sequence, segments and in reels! Just imagine how many “cameo” sticks he or she used in each sequence that seemed to appear the same and, of course, how many tubes of glue or epoxy are used to accomplish the task of arranging the different positions in each segment until it passed the author’s or of the critic’s eye.

It is an epic for its size!

For whatever its worth, its message is sent and understood to anyone without a big budget to spare. So I am inviting everyone here to try and see the video at your own pace and risk and be educated at the same time of how to make an effective low-budget video.

MATCHSTICKS IN LOVE



Flame Of Love! - video powered by Metacafe

Document done in RoughDraft 3.0, Trebuchet MS font, size 12.

YES! CEBU'S INMATES CAN DANCE!

INMATES HAVE BEEN, in the past, associated with prison riots, daring break-outs and mass jailbreaks; but here in Cebu, the Philippines, inmates have not been giving headaches to their jail guards lately. In fact, they gave their guardians a perfect sense of security by being "good" inmates, in the most literal sense of the word, in a province-owned and operated prison facility that is the CPDRC or the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, which is located in the hills of Barangay Kalunasan in Cebu City. Jail wardens of other prison facilities must be green with envy of why CPDRC was able to achieve such relative penal peace with regards to managing their "boarders". Just an out-of-the-box creativity and artistry, a little freedom of movement and some incentive package have made our Cebuano inmates famous when it was featured in the Internet showing them in a mass workout of dancing artistry that is way beyond their toughie character and macho image. Their videos were the most watched when it was featured at YouTube recently and you would not miss it for it is highlighted in ORANGE with a white letter P at the back. So enjoy it while you can:

THRILLER

RADIO GA GA

JUMBO HOTDOG



ALGORITHM MARCH

Believe you me, I once worked as a jail guard of CPDRC when it was located yet at M.J. Cuenco Avenue, also in Cebu City. From February 1989 up to September 1990 I cradled a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun walking my rounds on the prison wall's catwalks from tower guardhouse to tower guardhouse, be it day, night or graveyard shift. There was a shaky truce then between us and the inmates then who were greatly politicized and influenced by inmates who have criminal cases against the state, particularly of subversion and of rebellion, and aggravated, by the fact, that they were detained in an old facility good for 250 inmates when their total population then was swelling to about 1,500. Thanks to that newer, bigger and more modern facility at Kalunasan, CPDRC administration are experiencing better days ahead. Even the good reviews at YouTube. What will their next dance move be?

Document done in AbiWord 2.4, Trebuchet MS font, size 12.