Art Bell

[wr250]

would you prefer yes or no for your answer?

perhaps a solid "maybe" ?

[rzr1911]

perhaps a solid "maybe" ?

maybe somebody could post a job description for Davebots. That would be interesting.

[Art Bell]

That's cool about good news coming!

Art, about Airyn, is she Tagalog, Illocano, Mindanaon, or Visayan?  I've noticed a difference in the appearance and culture depending on where someone is from.  Many Americans don't know this, but most Filipinos are tri lingual or even more, they speak their island's language, the national language, English, Spanish, and sometimes even more.  I want to learn Cebuano, I am determined to keep the culture alive in our family. 

Art if you make a lot of phone calls back home there, there's a low cost phone service called Lunex with Globe unlimited, it costs 25 bucks a month and you can talk unlimited to one Globe cell owner.

She is from Bukidnon, Mindanao and does speak all the main language's. I think it is pretty much a must. She is one of eight children! Dad was a Farmer. He was a great guy and I was proud to have known him, he put all his children through University's . Airyn is a Teacher. He passed about two Years ago.

Art

[sydtron]

What a noble profession.  Takes a special kind of person to be a teacher. 

[nbirnes]

But the sheer number of crazies on the internet didn't exist.  The fact that you had to have some level of intelligence to get on the internet, weeded out most of the noise.

I fondly remember 1994, when you could walk about with confidence. If you wanted to engage, you soon got to know everyone in the room. Before that, there was echo.nyc -- not sure what it's called now. The most intelligent people on the planet, so they were strange. People are strange.

[VegasI15]

That's cool about good news coming!

Art, about Airyn, is she Tagalog, Illocano, Mindanaon, or Visayan?  I've noticed a difference in the appearance and culture depending on where someone is from.  Many Americans don't know this, but most Filipinos are tri lingual or even more, they speak their island's language, the national language, English, Spanish, and sometimes even more.  I want to learn Cebuano, I am determined to keep the culture alive in our family.

Sounds similar to Spain as far as language goes.  The national language is Castillian Spanish, but each region speaks their own language on top of that.  Catalan in the Catalunya (Barcelona) region for instance.  Since English is also taught you have quite a number of tri-lingual people.  I ran into a lot of Filipinos in Barcelona when I was there also. Their Spanish accents were much better than most Americans for sure.  And dare I say much more friendly.

She is from Bukidnon, Mindanao and does speak all the main language's. I think it is pretty much a must. She is one of eight children! Dad was a Farmer. He was a great guy and I was proud to have known him, he put all his children through University's . Airyn is a Teacher. He passed about two Years ago.

Art

First off sounds like Airyn is very intelligent, great catch.  I remember her being on the air talking about how much she liked Baked Potatoes.  Has the potato novelty worn off?   A related question, I hear from a lot of expats that Mindanao can be a very dangerous place.  How true are these rumors?

[Art Bell]

Well if you go to the very South of the Island you might lose your head, I call it head chop land but it is a very small part of the Island, everything else is pretty much safe. There are areas I went with armed guard.

There are areas here in America I would be more concerned for my life in. If the same Standards were applied that the State Dept uses for overseas were used here, then there would be travel warnings for Chicago, L.A. And lots of areas in the U.S.

Art

[GeorgieForPresident2216]

my first internet account was a unix shell and I paid $25 a year for it

Yeah, we had the WWW on our Sun X-Windows UNIX terminals in our university engineering lab before most people had heard of it.  Before that we just had the UNIX command line OS, but I don't think we had internet access at that point.  Could be wrong.

[munbeam666]

She is from Bukidnon, Mindanao and does speak all the main language's. I think it is pretty much a must. She is one of eight children! Dad was a Farmer. He was a great guy and I was proud to have known him, he put all his children through University's . Airyn is a Teacher. He passed about two Years ago.

Art

My granddaughter's great-great grandfather owned a farm in the Philippines next to a large US military base (I believe it was Clark, not sure)
During WW2 the base and the surrounding countryside was taken over by the Japanese. My son-in-law's family had to flee to the mountains, and got involved with a resistance movement. It was a very dangerous situation, if the Japanese had ever captured them, the entire family would have been killed. Great-great grandfather was one of a number of Philippine soldiers who were promised all kinds of US veteran's benefits after the war ended, due to their contribution to the war effort, but never received anything

[Art Bell]

Yes I know, we promised a lot and delivered very little, shame on US.

[zeebo]

.. If the same Standards were applied that the State Dept uses for overseas were used here, then there would be travel warnings for Chicago, L.A. And lots of areas in the U.S.

So true.  When I first travelled abroad I was stressed with various warnings, but then found it was a lot like here - mostly ok, but with some rather dicey areas.

[NowhereInTime]

Well if you go to the very South of the Island you might lose your head, I call it head chop land but it is a very small part of the Island, everything else is pretty much safe. There are areas I went with armed guard.

There are areas here in America I would be more concerned for my life in. If the same Standards were applied that the State Dept uses for overseas were used here, then there would be travel warnings for Chicago, L.A. And lots of areas in the U.S.

Art

Especially "the Gateway to the Wesht" St Louis, for obvious reasons.

GNS

[PB the Deplorable]

My granddaughter's great-great grandfather owned a farm in the Philippines next to a large US military base (I believe it was Clark, not sure)
During WW2 the base and the surrounding countryside was taken over by the Japanese. My son-in-law's family had to flee to the mountains, and got involved with a resistance movement. It was a very dangerous situation, if the Japanese had ever captured them, the entire family would have been killed. Great-great grandfather was one of a number of Philippine soldiers who were promised all kinds of US veteran's benefits after the war ended, due to their contribution to the war effort, but never received anything

Weren't they fighting an army that invaded their country, took their land?  Seems like it should be the US soldiers who should be paid benefits by The Philippine government, if anything.  (Yes I know they were a US colony at the time, but they gained independence right after the war)

[Art Bell]

Many many risked and lost their lives trying to help U.S. Prisoners of War.

Art

[Catsmile]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War

The Philippines belong to US/A at the time... so yeah.

[morgana213]

Many many risked and lost their lives trying to help U.S. Prisoners of War.

Art

Seems like politics often get in the way of doing the right thing. 

[VegasI15]

First off I am proud to say my grandfather served in the Philippines during WWII.  PaperBoy I encourage you to learn more about the war in the Pacific.  I think you will totally change your mind on the subject if you do.  In short the Filipino gorillas were a huge part of the war.  Without their help our advance in the Pacific would have been much more difficult.  Perhaps almost impossible.

For starters they were so good, the Japanese couldn't get a hold of all the Filipino islands.  Also thanks to them, we had the intelligence to free many POW's that were captured by the Japanese.  I could go on with more.

If you are interested here is my favorite documentary on the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL709B59EBC3FD591D

[Catsmile]

...  Seems like it should be the US soldiers who should be paid benefits by The Philippine government, if anything.  (Yes I know they were a US colony at the time, but they gained independence right after the war)

:



                                                                 

[Mind Flayer Monk]

During WW2 the base and the surrounding countryside was taken over by the Japanese.

Supposedly, the Japanese Army buried a considerable amount of gold looted from Asia in those mountains.

First off I am proud to say my grandfather served in the Philippines during WWII.  PaperBoy I encourage you to learn more about the war in the Pacific.  I think you will totally change your mind on the subject if you do.  In short the Filipino gorillas were a huge part of the war.  Without their help our advance in the Pacific would have been much more difficult.  Perhaps almost impossible.

For starters they were so good, the Japanese couldn't get a hold of all the Filipino islands.  Also thanks to them, we had the intelligence to free many POW's that were captured by the Japanese.  I could go on with more.

If you are talking about the Huks, General Lansdale (we) hunted them down after WW2 was over.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukbalahap

The Hukbalahap (Filipino: Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon, English: The Nation's Army Against the Japanese), or Hukbong Laban sa Hapon (Anti-Japanese Army) was a Communist guerrilla movement formed by the peasant farmers of Central Luzon. They are popularly known simply as "Huks". They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight into a rebellion against the Philippine Government, known as the Hukbalahap Rebellion in 1946. It was finally put down through a series of reforms and military victories by Filipino President Ramon Magsaysay.[1]

The fate of the Huks:
"On one occasion he (General Lansdale) accompanied a unit which captured, killed and decapitated a Huk guerrilla. Seizing the head, Lansdale began to ask it questions, to which, obviously enough, there were no answers. He grew angrier and started slapping the head, until the Filipinos piped up: 'Colonel, Colonel, it is dead. It cannot talk to you.' Lansdale rounded on them: 'No, you stupid son of a bitch! Of course it can't! But it could have, if you hadn't been so fucking stupid as to sever the head from the body!' He threw the head to the ground."
-----

From: Small Wars, Faraway Places by Michael Burleigh

[WOTR]

But the sheer number of crazies on the internet didn't exist.  The fact that you had to have some level of intelligence to get on the internet, weeded out most of the noise.

I was trying to figure out what it was that I liked about the "old" internet.  I thought it may have been that it was easier to find relevant information (even without the "magical" google search engine.) 

In the end, I think that you have summed it up.  Not every idiot had a voice.  This reduced the amount of "fluff" and "noise."  There were generally longer, more helpful posts on boards and information was more likely to be correct (not everybody felt that they were an expert in everything.)

This is one of the few boards that I post on, and I believe that it has attracted it's share of intelligent posters.  Also, the lack of moderation gives it more of an "early" feel.

***I'm proud to say that I lower the median IQ of the posters here, reduce the quality of the average post, and generally attempt to be as unhelpful as possible using sarcasm and spreading my cynicism...***

[munbeam666]

Many many risked and lost their lives trying to help U.S. Prisoners of War.

Art

...and the lives of their families

[Art Bell]

Well not everybody or even that many bother to study History.

Art

[phrodo]

Well not everybody or even that many bother to study History.

Art

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Sooo... please tell us you didn't sign another non-compete clause.   

[b_dubb]

Seems like politics often get in the way of doing the right thing.

Most politicians are loyal to their careers and the USA is merely an afterthought

[inuk2600]

Well not everybody or even that many bother to study History.

Art

I'd love to hear you talk with Dan Carlin. He does the Hardcore History audio series http://dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

It's some of the best listening I've done!

[ks3484]

Yes indeed, Ramona was a big part of my life and now Airyn is as well, no Man can say he walks a path like this without a good Woman along side him, I have been lucky beyond reason.

Art

Hey Art, were you aware that there are those here amongst us who expect your answers to be short and terse when the subject of Ramona is breached. Can you guess Y?

[Art Bell]

Hey Art, were you aware that there are those here amongst us who expect your answers to be short and terse when the subject of Ramona is breached. Can you guess Y?

No, why? It is hard to talk about Ramona because it always revisits grief a bit, but I don't mind she was and always will be a big part of my life.

Art

[Catsmile]

Speaking of the Philippines, Mindanao and such...
Herez some footage from a local, thatz about a week old.
Enjoy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J87V7K-9Woo

[ge30542]

I agree with ks3484, I would feel a little uneasy talking with a married man about his deceased, previous wife.
Now, with regards to my ex-wife, I can only say, "may she rest in peace.............soon"

[Zenman]

Art, do you have a drone yet? If so, do the cats like it?