The Anthem Philatelist

I have been buying and collecting CDs since the 80's until the stores stopped selling them around 2010. This collection started when my Dad came home from the US in 1984 bringing with him one of the first CDs to ever come out of the US market.  It was a CD of Pat Benatar from her Live from Earth Album with the hit song Love is a Battlefield and Yes Owner of the Lonely Heart 90125 album. Thirty years after,  I have collected around 2K CDs with complete Albums and sets (mostly 80's and alternative rock, up to the time when the the CD stores closed)  of The Beatles , Queen , U2 , The Police , The Cure , Madonna , Green Day , Duran Duran , Tears for Fears , Depeche Mode , Stone Temple Pilots , Dishwalla , Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins , and many more.  My two favorite Filipino Artists to collect are Ryan Cayabyab and Eraserheads . I completed the collection through buying the physical CD in stores, here and abroad, and when the stores disappeared- online. Nowadays m...

In Dallas , we stayed at the hotel where the PacMan was staying, the elegant Gaylord Texan at Grapevine, Texas . It is centrally located between downtown Dallas and Fort Worth and about 30 minutes from Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , the venue of the the fight between multi-divisional champion, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and the larger "Tijuana Tornado", Mexican Antonio Margarito . We arrived the day before the fight and our Sudanese cab driver, Jamal told us that a lot of Filipinos had been arriving at Dallas since 2 days ago. Several boxing personalities were spotted around Gaylord- these are some of them, starting with the non-boxers (writers, commentators, promoters, relatives, etc).    Wakee Salud . At first I thought he would be an intimidating and boisterous personality but I was gravely mistaken- he is a gentle giant. The long time Pacman friend and promoter is really a kindhearted person, always willing to share his thoughts about his ward's...

Does too much excitement make you forgetful...or am I getting old? A few weeks ago, during our visit to San Francisco, I had the opportunity to fulfill a dream in my life- to see the works of the great Masters of Art- Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and the rest. While my wife was shopping at Costco, I saw an advertisement that the works of the post-impressionist masters are displayed in the de Young Museum at the Golden Gate Park   My super loving wife Grace was unable to come with me; she had to pack our things for our flight back home later that night. Good thing that my newly married sister, Mary Elizabeth Tambis who also loves art, was kind enough to accompany me to the Musee d Orsay exhibit.    The Musee d Orsay is a train station created for the Paris International Exposition of 1900 which was transformed into a museum by world renowned architect, Gae Aulenti . It firs t opened to the public in December 9, 1986 with its goal to highlight the art of the western wo...

Today marks the 47th anniverary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy , the 35th President of the United States, which took place on Friday, November 22 , 1963, in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. in Dealey Plaza.    Kennedy was fatally shot while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a Presidential motorcade. God bless his soul🙏... I was fortunate to have visited the The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas Texas which is located on the si xth and seventh floors of an early 20th-century warehouse known in 1963 as the Texas School Book Depository.    Opened on Presidents Day 1989, the Museum has since welcomed more than 6 million visitors from around the world—people of all ages seeking information and understanding about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.    The museum tours are self-guided. After the tour, JFK memorabilia is sold at the museum store near the entrance. I was able to get a sticker magnet which showed JFK on a postage ...

A week ago, my wife and I were in California to attend the wedding of our beautiful and kind-hearted youngest sister, Mary Elizabeth Avanzado (Tambis). One of our side-trips was a visit to quaint yet intoxicating Napa Valley, a grape-growing region located in Napa County, California, USA. Considered one of the top wine regions in the United States, it is one of only nine Great Wine Capitals on earth, with a history dating back to the nineteenth century. After a smooth hour and a half ride from Sacramento, we were taken to the picturesque countryside of Napa, a place vibrant with colors of a mber, green and crimson. The shades of the flora were changing, and the leaves falling fast, signifying that winter is around the corner.   The air was sweetly aromatic and the temperature comfortably cool. We arrived around 2 pm and had a late lunch at a/k/a Bistro in dow ntown St. Hele na . We were greeted in a bustling bar area and comfy lounge serving up handmade cocktails which won...