Mm..also went through the foreign language film phase. Kurosawa ( Kagemusha) and Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal). Glad that iTunes/TV has both films for rent or purchase.
There's Game & Watch I read books when I was in grade school, Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys. Eventually graduated to Ludlum in Highschool Aside from the usual board games, Monopoly, Demopoly, Game of the Generals, Cluedo, and the more traditional filipino games like agawan base, patintero, syato, taguan, trumpo and saranggola, I was always looking forward to Saturday Mornings watching Saturday Fun Machine ( Superfriends, Space Race, Space Ghost, John Blackstar, Super Six).
growing up in Cavite ( which was still very "provincial" back in the day) I also 'played' with ants. especially the huge ones ( "hantik" we call them in tagalog) since I found them to be slower & dumber. I was probably their worst nightmare. We had a couple of mango trees in our backyard where they loved to nest, I'd burn their nests down or firebomb their ant trails (using rolled up newspapers as a makeshift torch) until most of them if not all were burnt to a crisp.
Mm....Indian mango? Yup. Sarap kapag summer sa probinsya. Kasama ng baligang berries. Katapat lang ng asin and asukal. My cousins and I would jealously guard my grandma’s fruit bearing trees against poachers (other kids). The highlight of our summer vacation were the town fiesta (lots of food, disco in the town plaza, peryahan) and beach excursions (sunburn, pork bbq, big, fresh saltwater fish caught just a few hours earlier, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked over open flame (walang sinabi salmon), jellyfish stings and lots of buko juice). Also, cockfighting derbies (my mom was a sabungera).
^ we had several types of mango trees, theres the pico, kalabaw, indian & supsupin. it was the latter that was always infested by the hantik ants. we took a lot of things for granted growing up surrounded by fruit trees, sinuguelas, guava, langka, duhat, sampaloc, atis, macopa, coconut (even the macapuno variety) , bananas & the lowly aratiles tree that bore the sweetest berry-like fruit.. my family was in the agri business maintaining salt beds & fish ponds (bangus & sugpo) for decades until my late mother (& her sisters) decided to have their land converted in the late 90s into residential subdivisions. & right outside our own backyard up until the late 80s was technically a "bukid" where you could find a few cows & carabaos roaming around. even though I studied in Manila all throughout & would stay in our apartment in Manila, 'home' was always our hometown in Cavite for me. yes, like you, I miss those days. most of the trees in our backyard are still there but gone is the countryside feel which we enjoyed for most of my youth & this has, sadly, given way to creeping urbanization.
Can’t believe I forgot Bergman. The Seventh Seal gave me goosebumps. I also recommend Wild Strawberries. And Persona! Okay, back on (this fun) topic I remember saving up for Walkman, reading lyrics off the leaflet included in casette tapes, sorting out tapes and CD’s by artist (pre-iPod days) And as a kid, playing “The Millionaires Game” (Konti lang stocks and inde uso Monopoly sa province namin hahaha) Bonding over Uno Stacko. Proud to say I have good concentration on this game hahaha And jackstone! Dami ko alam na “exhibition”
Mmm..art films? Yeh, I first got exposed to “art films” during the first Manila International Film Festival (hosted in the Parthenon-like building in which dozens of construction workets were hurriedly buried in concrete because there wasn’t time to excavate their bodies). This was during martial law but during the film fest, soft-porn films were exhibited with no censorship. I still remember watching Emmanuelle something and I was underaged at that time.
Perya! Color block game. And that other one where you throw the ball, it will land on a certain color. Eto ang “timezone” nung highschool ako. And of course I spend all my money riding those rusty and shaky ferris wheels! Thrilling! Sa subdivision namin meron din Flores de Mayo. We cap the month with a procession, potluck sa chapel and BINGO game sa basketball court. I distinctly remember winning this set of pots and pans which kept clanking as I walked home.
Who didn’t enjoy watching movies then at Remar, Diamond, ABC Tri-Cinema, New Frontier, etc in Cubao during the 70’s and 80’s without dreading the now ubiquitous pimps and holdup artists while savoring the sweet smell of popcorn? Of course, Sundays aren’t complete without enjoying the rides and treats at Fiesta Carnival while the hoi polloi of Classes A And B hobnobbed in nearby Rustan’s Cubao. Then when you need to go to Makati there’s always the airconditioned Love Bus in front of Ali Mall. Yeah, simple days past...
Practiced More Than Words in my hand-me-down Lumanog acoustic guitar. Or washed my brother's small body 16-valve corolla for a fee. Good times
There's also the Christmas show at COD and the live bands at Shakey's Ali Mall. Ah yes, the movie houses in Cubao, I do miss the painted movie billboards. My folks always goes to movie house with the best painted movie billboards. Yung mas kamukha ni Christopher Reeve aka Superman. Movie tickets at that time just cost 2.50. I f it's a big hollywood blockbuster hit like E.T., First Blood or Rocky 3, it's 3.50 or 4.50. Those were the days.
It's cute how this thread morphed from what we did before the Internet to... What we did before the computer was invented
Aratiles! Oh, I loved those. We had an Aratiles and Kamias tree in our front yard and the berries would be scattered on the ground. It brings back memories. I don't see these trees anymore. Maybe it's the weather? It used to be cooler before and I'd wear a "chaleco".
^Aratiles seed dropping would make the earth red and our dogs then would lie and smear themselves with the dirt and look like fricking red pandas later on...kamias tree in our backyard was the source of sinigang and afternoon snacks pickled with salt and vinegar... Kyusi subdivisions were the envy of Manila denizens because we had more trees and parks than they do...almost all homes had trees and gardens and even small fishponds...we use to fish the goldfish off our pond every afternoon using “pisi tied to tingting” And who didn’t fly kites in and around their streets and in Parks and Wildlife or at UP Sunken Garden?
I've always wondered why Shakey's didn't keep their live band setup. I really hope they bring it back. I was able to enjoy a live gig at their outlet beside the Malate church with my mom back when I was 8 and it sure felt great back then. Good times!
