time is opal

a distinct and famous marker inside the grand central terminal in new york city is the elegant brass clock in the middle of its main concourse which sits atop of its main information booth. this is easily a favorite meeting place of tourists and transient travelers who go through this transportation hub.

each of the four faces of the clock is made of opal, estimated by sotheby's and christie's to be worth between $10 to $20 million. that's another way of saying that "time is gold!"

Whispering Wall

Jersey Iggy has passed through this walkway (near Oyster Bar Restaurant) before just beyond the Main Concourse at Grand Central Terminal in New York, but didn't know that this very arch was where the "Whispering Wall" was. It's one of the secret marvels inside this grand building.

What's so great about it? If you talk against one corner of the wall, another person can hear what you're saying on the diagonally opposite corner by pressing his ear against it. Ever played make-believe telephones as a child with tin cans and a string? It's like that, but with just the walls of this walkway. The sound travels through the architecture of the arch. It's an acoustic wonder!

Fortuitous Faery and a friend tried it...and it worked! A lot of other tourists in-the-know were doing it, too. People who have no idea will think you're nuts, though, talking to a wall. If you find yourself here, do be careful what secrets you whisper on one corner...someone may have unwittingly eavesdropped on the other side! Haha.

P.S. See the guy sitting on the right-hand corner? Miss Iggy thinks he was sketching something. He was kind of cute.

Celestial Ceiling

Jersey Iggy was starry-eyed at the celestial ceiling (part of which you can see above her head) inside the Main Concourse of the Grand Central Terminal in New York that was painted with intricate constellations. This stellar artwork was originally done in 1912 by French artist Paul César Helleu. The ceiling underwent a 12-year-long restoration which ended in 1998 to rejuvenate its original luster. If you drop by Michael Jordan's Steakhouse in this building, you can catch a glimpse of the actual grime that had covered the ceiling, which remains untouched.

However, this astronomical masterpiece isn't an accurate depiction of the constellations' actual placement in the sky--the artist had painted the constellations backwards as based on a medieval manuscript. But don't let that deter you from marvelling at this glorious work of art!

isn't it grand?

greetings from grand central terminal in new york city--the world's largest train station by number of platforms (44)!

this bustling train station, located on 42nd street and park avenue, serves commuters from upstate new york and connecticut. it's also an important historical landmark. miss iggy got a grand view of the afternoon rush hour activity here in the main concourse a couple of weeks ago.

grand central is also a subway stop which serves multiple lines including the "S" shuttle train which will take you straight to times square in no time.

aside from being a transportation hub, there are different shops, a post office, and a dining area downstairs to keep the transient traveler on the go. and for the shutter-happy tourists, the architecture inside provides plenty of photo ops. the ceiling is a celestial display of painted constellations!

the huge american flag was hung over the main concourse shortly after the september 11 world trade center tragedy.

the main concourse is a popular meeting place. it's also where you can find the ticket booths to various train destinations.

if you're in manhattan from march 24-april 6, drop by grand central terminal and check out the free exhibit featuring BMW art cars in vanderbilt hall. miss iggy wants to go! :)

the world is her poster

miss iggy is mapping out her goals: spreading strawberry love beyond borders, doll domination, cultural enlightenment, and world peace. sounds lofty, huh? that's why she's brushing up on her geography. one should know the difference between vienna (where princess ody lives) and vientiane (where sreisaat currently is for holiday), for instance!

Flags of Nations

Jersey Iggy felt like a dignitary walking through this hallway lined with flags of the Member States of the United Nations in New York. Oh wait, she is an ambassador--a self-proclaimed one, that is--of good will and travel thrills!

This hallway leads to the General Assembly within the U.N. Headquarters.

And look, Miss Iggy found the Philippine flag! Find your own country's flag, too (see how fast you can sort through 192 flags!) when you visit the U.N.!

Major "Dodo"

This golden Dodo is a gift by Mauritius to the United Nations. This strange-looking, flightless bird was uniquely endemic or native to Mauritius in the 1600's, but became extinct less than a hundred years later.

The dodo is a lesson in extinction and is the source of the expressions "as dead as a dodo" and "going the way of the dodo." No, we wouldn't want our endangered species to end up like the dodo!

The dodo appears on Mauritius' coat of arms.

This is just one of the gifts by Member States on display inside the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Have you seen the beautiful painting from the Philippines that Miss Iggy loves?

"Philippine Skyland" Painting

Jersey Iggy's heart did a somersault when she saw the Philippines' gift to the United Nations: a painting by a Filipino artist who signed it as "M. Baldemor," whom she assumes is Manuel Baldemor, world-reknowned for his paintings that have appeared on UNICEF greeting cards.

The painting is called "Philippine Skyland" which depicts tribal life in the northern highlands: Miss Iggy's native home! The verdant background is unmistakably the famous Banaue Rice Terraces (A UNESCO World Heritage Site). Suddenly, Miss Iggy felt homesick, yet proud at the same time that her home region is there for all the world to admire.

This and other interesting gifts by the Member States can be seen inside the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

U.N. General Assembly and Security Council

Jersey Iggy was lucky to have had a free personal tour inside the U.N. Headquarters in New York, thanks to a friend who works there (Thanks, V!). She had this special pass that let her linger in some areas inside without having to follow a tour guide. Since it was barely Spring when she went there, the visitors weren't that many. She can only imagine how crowded it can get in summer.

She got to sit inside the General Assembly, a very important part of the UN. Every September-December, sessions are held here with all 192 member states' representatives in attendance to discuss issues on international law and make non-binding recommendations to member states. To learn more about the functions of the General Assembly, click here.

Here, Miss Iggy stands outside the Security Council, another organ created by the U.N. Charter. Its main purpose is "the maintenance of international peace and security." She didn't get to take a peek inside, though.

Giving Red on this Green Day

Jersey Iggy tagged along with Fortuitous Faery to a blood drive by the New Jersey Blood Services, a division of the New York Blood Center. The blood drive was on St. Patrick's Day, on this really cool bus--a mobile blood drive unit--on a parking lot in Wharton, New Jersey.

Donating blood is not only good for your health, your gift is also considered life-saving, as it supplies hospitals in New York and New Jersey in need of blood.

Donors must meet certain criteria in order to be considered eligible. A questionnaire is provided to determine if you can donate blood. This non-profit, independent blood center sometimes offers free incentives to donors, such as free cholesterol screening (as was the case that day) or gift cards in the mail. After your first donation, you are issued a donor card which identifies you and your blood type and makes your next donation easier. If you provide your email address, you get email notifications of the next available blood drive in your area.

After this good deed, Miss Iggy was proud to wear a St. Patrick's Day-themed button from Helzberg Diamonds (these "I am Loved" buttons are free!) and a red "badge" from the blood drive. (Miss Iggy thinks, though, that people will be out partying and pubbing on this day rather than donate blood. Drinking alcohol disqualifies you as a blood donor. :P)

"Sphere Within a Sphere"

Behold...Italy's gift to the United Nations Headquarters in New York in gold: "Sphere Within a Sphere" (Sfera con Sfera). The artist behind this is Arnaldo Pomodoro.

This shiny sculpture can also be seen in other places such as the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. With that said, Miss Iggy would like to holler "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" Rock the Shamrock! Wear green, go green! :)

"You Can't Talk Peace & Have a Gun"

Some of you may recognize this post's title as part of the lyrics for the late Francis Magalona's song "Kaleidoscope World." It was the first thing that came to mind when Jersey Iggy saw this sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd called "Non-Violence," also known as "The Knotted Gun." This can be seen just outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

This sculpture was a gift to the U.N. from Luxembourg in 1988.

A Khmer Wedding

Oh, my sweet, wonderful, beautiful Miss Igorota sisters! How Khmer Iggy and I have missed all of you! I’ve barely been able to blog at all during the past weeks so I’m excited to jump back in.

The whole neighborhood of Tuol Sangke woke up before sunrise today thanks to the loud music coming from our neighbor. The music, coupled with canned chanting of the monks, signaled that a wedding was to take place in the neighborhood. Reluctantly, I got out of the bed complaining about loss of precious beauty sleep with the music reverberating everywhere at an unholy hour. When I went to the kitchen I found my dear husband already making me my chocolate drink.

I went outside, just before 6.30am, to walk the dog and, lo and behold -- there were already vehicles rolling in our streets and carrying wedding guests. Khmer Iggy volunteered to walk the dog with me, and she confessed, she had never seen so many Land Cruisers and Lexus cars in one place before!

Here's Khmer Iggy standing in front of the lavishly decorated entrance to the tent-covered reception area. The tent covered the entire block where we live. Inside the tent were rows and rows of tables and chairs and powerful loudspeakers broadcasting music and the entire ceremony throughout the neighborhood.

A traditional Khmer wedding starts with a procession led by the groom heading towards the bride's house to present gifts (dowry). The groom and his gift-toting entourage walk in a procession to the bride's house. Elders say that the groom's eagerness to marry is reflected in the distance he is willing to walk. Unlike in Philippine weddings, in a Khmer wedding, guests don’t bring the gifts at all. Even the gifts that they carry during the procession are provided by the groom to represent a part of the dowry. The gifts come in twos (pairs) to represent the couple.

Then the bride and her family meet the groom and his entourage at the especially decorated doorway where the bride offers a lei to the groom, and vice versa. After the obligatory photo-shoot for a few minutes, they then enter the house together for a day-long ceremony with the whole proceedings being broadcast over a loudspeaker and interspersed with traditional Khmer wedding music, a live salapa (sitcom) about married life, and canned chanting. A lavish reception follows with dancing that lasts all night long.

Iggy, the bride and groom and the bride's parents.

Although not invited, Miss Igorota was happy to get a glimpse of a traditional Khmer wedding, and managed to sneak in a few shots paparazzi-style. Khmer Iggy couldn't help but admire the fabulously dressed women all prettily made up at silly-o'clock in the morning.

Miss Iggy thinks that times are hard, but we still see people taking the marriage plunge. This is definitely love, and the power of love is even stronger than the economic crunch! One of my Khmer friends told me that he's getting married later this year, and that's welcome news for us and Miss Iggy, as we'll be able to see a Khmer wedding in its entirety.

U.N. headquarters new york

miss iggy sends salutations from the united nations headquarters in new york! she felt at home here, true to her calling as self-proclaimed ambassador of good will and travel thrills! behind her is the famous UN secretariat building which has 39 stories and is over 500 feet tall.

visitors can enter the UN at 1st avenue and 46th st. in midtown manhattan. the area occupied by the UN headquarters is considered "international territory" although physically on american soil. this land, which overlooks the east river, used to be a meat slaughterhouse location (as overheard from one of the tour guides) before it was converted into the UN headquarters in the 1950's by a team of international architects led by new yorker wallace harrison.

these are the flags of member states that line the general assembly building. currently, there are 192 member states in the united nations.

philatelists and postcard enthusiasts will also be pleased to know that the UN has its own post office with unique postage stamps. so while you're there, send a postcard back home!

for more information on visiting the UN headquarters in new york, click here.

miss iggy had a previous international experience in vienna, too--with princess ody!

here's to world peace!

church of scientology, new york

jersey iggy was amazed to see the church of scientology of new york...right in the theatre district! (at west 46th st. to be exact). she was at a good vantage point for a photo, but then the big, red rutgers bus partially blocked the church sign.

miss iggy found out that the first scientology church was in camden, new jersey, founded by L. Ron Hubbard. and of course, we all know that tomkat (tom cruise & katie holmes) have been all over the tabloids and entertainment magazines for being famous followers of this religion.

miss iggy learns lomography

jersey iggy attended a free workshop on "portraits of women" at the lomography gallery store in new york city last saturday.

the becky seems to be the most knowledgeable among the sisters about lomography since she owns multiple lomo cameras (just check out her previous post with a "supersampler" photo of miss iggy in boracay), but after sitting in at the workshop, miss iggy found out that princess ody actually lives in the international homebase of the lomographic society: vienna! it's jersey iggy's first time to learn about all things lomo. for a more detailed account of the lomo fun, fortuitous faery will show you here. the official lomo motto is: "don't think, just shoot!"

miss iggy loved the lomo wall inside the store! it's covered with colorful lomo prints! miss iggy just had to pose there, too.

the free workshop was held in celebration of international women's day, and part of a bigger, worldwide event celebrating the 25th year of the lomographic society.

the lomography gallery store is located at 41 west 8th street, new york city, just a short walk from the west 4th street subway station.

Boracay Redux ala Miss Iggy

supersampled. heh.

Seemed like Miss Iggy enjoyed her first Boracay trip with Gingmaganda last year that she had to be back for more. Alter ego Singapurple Iggy found herself riding the Paraw to catch the sunset, chilling at Jonah's Fruitshake for her daily dose of Vitamin C and posing gamely with Kermit Jr. for 'several' sunset shots.

a Paraw is an outrigger sailing boat, made from wood and bamboo. Riding it, you get to sit on it's 'wings' and catch the breeze while it glides on water.

jonah's fruitshake, we heard, is the best in the island. They serve their mango-kalamansi (lime) shakes-- their best sellers, on really tall glasses. yum!

the proverbial sand castles-- of course!

sharing the sunset with Kermit Jr.

mr. iggy at the down syndrome solidarity walk

mr. iggy at the recently-concluded Stand Up for Down! Solidarity Walk for Down Syndrome kids hosted by the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines. hundreds of people attended the event at the Ortigas Business District which started off with a grand parade at Julia Vargas Avenue. after the parade, a program was held inside SM Megamall for the kids and their family and friends. behind him are placards for Brina Kei, a family friend.

miss iggy at pandan restaurant

jersey iggy finally found herself in this much talked-about filipino restaurant in bloomfield, new jersey: pandan asian cuisine.

after seeing anthony bourdain indulge in filipino foods in his show's recent philippine episode (watch the entire episode in 5 parts on youtube!), she ordered sizzling "sisig" (a dish born in the province of pampanga) which was featured in said travel channel show.

it was a generous serving on a sizzling plate, but the sizzle didn't last long enough to thoroughly cook the egg yolk dropped in the middle. result: the dish had a slight soupy texture from the melted egg yolk, but the flavor was still unmistakably "sisig."

jersey iggy also ordered one of its "house specials," the "marinated chicken in pandanus leaves." it's essentially boneless chicken marinated with a "flavorful mixture and wrapped with pandanus leaves and served with sweet and sour chili sauce." see how the pandan strips tied around the chicken make it look like a giant sushi? miss iggy liked the yellow new york city-themed plate it was served on.

it was a no-brainer. the place was called "pandan" so she ordered something pandan-esque, hence this choice. the restaurant did not focus strictly on filipino food, as it also offers other asian dishes the way anita's asian fusion does.

miss iggy liked the ambient atmosphere: the warm hues of the restaurant's interior, the native chairs and even the "banig" (woven mat) material covering the bottom part of the walls.

the waitress who served miss iggy's table was very nice, and even shared her thoughts on "slumdog millionaire" when she overheard us discussing the film.

it's quite a drive getting to this place, though, almost 40 minutes. but once inside, it's a welcoming place to be. pandan restaurant is at 406 broad st., bloomfield, NJ 07003. street parking is limited, but there is a small public parking space nearby.

mourning for "the man from manila"

on march 6th, the philippines lost a very important entertainment icon: francis magalona. he was 44.

he was known as "the king of pinoy rap" (and deservingly so) for having emerged into the mainstream with his innovative rap music with lyrics that promoted patriotism, for being proud of one's filipino heritage and brown skin ("bilib ako sa kulay ko, ako ay pilipino"--from the song "mga kababayan" or "my countrymen").

but he was so much more than that. he was a loving husband, a father, an actor, a director, a photographer, an artist, an entrepreneur, an MTV asia VJ, and a good friend to many in his chosen industry. for many filipinos who grew up with his thought-provoking songs (and not just the rap ones), the news of his death is too surreal to accept as true.

he lost his "happy battle" to leukemia, but he never lost an iota of faith or optimism during his final moments, as he himself documented in his blog. the "master rapper" is survived by his wife pia and their 8 children.

thank you for the memories, for letting us look into your "kaleidoscope world." the "three stars and the sun" are a little dimmer at this time because of your passing...but it's people like you that made it possible for them to shine brighter than ever.

your life, though cut short, was very well-lived, an inspiration to many. you will be dearly missed. you'll live eternally in our hearts through your music. you gave our country a soundtrack to be proud of.

may you rest in peace, mr. francis M...you're the man! [1964-2009.]

every juan to t3 (terminal 3)

miss iggy was thrilled to fly from the shiny and spacious terminal 3 of the ninoy aquino international airport (NAIA) in manila last december to visit south cotabato in the isle of mindanao. here she is at the bust of the late benigno "ninoy" aquino, jr., after whom the airport was renamed (formerly known as the manila international airport) to commemorate his assassination here in 1983.

terminal 3 services all domestic flights as well as international flights of such local airlines as philippine airlines, cebu pacific, and seair. gingmaganda first brought miss iggy here back in august for a trip to boracay. i'm sure the becky also went through this airport for her recent boracay honeymoon.

the check-in process was a breeze (the giant, pink thing above is a christmas "parol" lantern), but when miss iggy had to eat a quick lunch before boarding, she was disappointed by the absence of decent dining tables and chairs at their small food court upstairs. people had to eat either standing up with food propped on those tall "dining desks," or sitting down in benches with their food tray on their laps. not very comfortable at all! hopefully the food court has changed by now for the better.

mr. iggy at sta. lucia east grand mall

mr. iggy at the sta. lucia east grand mall--cainta, rizal's first ever shopping mall.

sta. lucia east grandmall is at the crossroads of cainta, pasig, marikina, and antipolo and is a favorite transit point for commuters from these places on their way to quezon city. hopefully it will have its very own train station in the near future. loyal mallgoers refer to the place simply as, "santa lu".

kilometer zero

did you know that all points of destination in the philippines are measured from this kilometer zero marker in manila's rizal park? for instance, baguio city would be 330 km. north from here. you can see this marker across from rizal's monument and right in front of the big bulova clock, close to the carabao statues.

fortuitous faery indulged in a self-portrait at the shiny orb on top of the marker after taking miss iggy's photo. [circa december 2008]