Thousands of Airsoft Pellets Left Behind on the Melvin Jones Football Grounds

Saw these today at the Melvin Jones football grounds. These are airsoft pellets or BBs. There are thousands of these spread out on the right side of the football field. These were left behind by an airsoft tournament that was held there on December 6 and 7. 

This begs some questions.

What's the procedure for airsoft tournaments? Is it okay for them to just leave these behind? Aren't they supposed to clean these up once the tournament is over? 

Airsoft pellets are typically made of plastic. If these pellets left behind at the Melvin Jones football grounds are made of plastic, then these should be cleaned up. First of all, these plastic pellets are not environmentally-friendly. Two, these are a slipping hazard. There were kids playing football in the field while these photos were taken. Three, the area and nearby Burnham Park is home to many birds that might mistake these pellets as food. And four, leaving behind plastic in a playing field is littering. 

Now, there are some airsoft pellets that are made of biodegradable materials. They are less common because they are often more expensive. I'm not an airsoft player so I don't know if these pellets are biodegradable or not. But even if these are biodegradable pellets, they don't degrade as fast as you might expect. It takes months or even years for biodegradable pellets to fully decompose. 

The Melvin Jones ground is a playing field. It should be free from any form of obstructions and litter.

"Uray kurap basta ada naaramidan na."

"Uray kurap basta adda naaramidan na." This is the kind of mentality that perpetuates corruption. Instead of telling  government officials that corruption is wrong, you are telling them that it's okay to be corrupt as long as "adda naaramidan da". 

With this mentality, you are literally giving public officials the go-signal to be corrupt as long as they give something to the people.

Government officials should be subjected to the highest moral standards because they are entrusted with public funds and resources. 

Corruption is corruption. It's still corruption even if an official has done something for his/her constituents. 

A public official can still perform and do great things for his people without getting involved in corruption. Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig City is a prime example. Mayor Leni Robredo of Naga City is another example. 

In the first place, if government officials did something for the people, that's their job. That's what they are supposed to do. That's what people voted them to do. That's their duty. 

This "uray kurap basta adda naaramidan na" mentality isn't pro-people. It's pro corrupt public officials.

Know that when you use this kind of argument, you are enabling corruption. You are giving corrupt officials a golden ticket to steal from the people.

Great White Egret (Ardea alba) Hunting in the Balili River in La Trinidad, Benguet

Saw this 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁 (𝘈𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘢) hunting for prey in the shallow waters of the Balili River in La Trinidad, Benguet. The diet for this big bird includes fish, frogs, small reptiles, crustaceans, insects, and even mice. 

Baguio City Has a Public Transportation Crisis

Baguio City has a public transportation crisis. The lines for jeepneys are hundreds of people long. It can be nearly midnight and people will still find it difficult to flag a taxi. Taxi and jeepney drivers sometimes prefer going home than taking passengers when the traffic situation becomes unbearable.

Some people say these only happen during holiday season wherein tourist arrival reaches its zenith. Nope, these also happen during the off-seasons. Not as often but they do happen.

There's a good paper recently published by the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies that touches on Baguio City's urban problems and how these can be potentially solved or at least alleviated. 

Authored by Jeffrey H. Javier and Karl Mico D. Alangui, the paper is called 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘆? The paper is free-access. Give it a read. Just Google the title of the paper and it should come up.

#baguiocity #urbandecay #trafficproblems

A Book About the Practice and History of Tattooing in Kalinga, Northern Luzon, Philippines

This book is a must-have in your bookshelf if you're interested in learning about Igorot culture, traditions, and history. In this book, the art of tattooing among the Kalingas in Northern Luzon takes center stage. 

Based on her extensive fieldwork and documentation in Kalinga, Analyn V. Salvador-Amores weaves a comprehensive account of the traditional practice of tattooing in Kalinga in the past and in the present.

Salvador-Amores also discusses the relevance of the practice and how it has evolved in the time of contemporary practitioners like Whang-od and her young apprentices. 

To get a copy of this important book on Cordilleran culture and history, you can try the bookshop/giftshop of the Museo Kordilyera at the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB).

📖 𝘛𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘯𝘬, 𝘛𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘶𝘻𝘰𝘯, 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴

✍️ Analyn V. Salvador-Amores

The Last Full Moon of 2025

The full moon yesterday evening is the last full moon for 2025. It's called the Cold Moon in reference to the bitter cold and plummeting temperatures that comes with it during this time. For instance, Baguio City and La Trinidad recorded low temperatures between 13 to 14 degrees Celsius this morning.

The next full moon will occur on January 3 next year and it's called the Wolf Moon. This is the traditional name for the first full moon of the year.

Kankana-ey word for moon: 𝗯𝘂𝘄𝗮𝗻.

On The Physical Fitness of Early Igorots

This is one of the more well-known ensemble photos taken in the Cordillera region by Dean Worcester, an American politician, photographer, and writer who lived in the Philippines during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

What's immediately noticeable in this photo is the fitness of the subjects. No one is obese. Everyone has the lean-and-mean physique.

There are no gyms back then. No fancy fitness fads and trends. So their great physique can be attributed to the toughness of life in the mountains, of always being physically active, and a clean diet.