Alice Dixson

     Alice Dixson Finally Opens up         about Robinson’s “Taong-Ahas”

Admit it, you were scared to go inside a Robinson’s Galleria fitting room or restroom from the mid-’80s up until the mid-’90s just like anyone else. Anyone who was alive back then heard stories about Robina Gokongwei’s twin, a half-human, half-snake creature that had a penchant for beautiful women whom he later abducted after marking them. One of the alleged victims was popular movie and TV actress Alice Dixson. Ms. Dixson was one of the “it” girls back then. People fell in love with her the moment she rolled her shoulder and uttered the words, “I can feel it,” for a Palmolive soap commercial.

She also became the darling of Philippine prime time TV when she starred as Faye in Okay ka, Fairy Ko, a popular TV show which premiered in 1987 on IBC 13, and which starred “Bossing” Vic Sotto.
In an episode of Sarap Diva, a cooking and talk show hosted by Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez, Ms. Dixson talked about the urban legend and what supposedly happened to her at Robinson’s Galleria. She was clearly aware of the urban legend and she said what people are claiming wasn’t true. She was never abducted by a “taong ahas.” The myth of the half-human, half-snake creature is nothing new.

In Part II of Historia natural del sitio, fertilidad y calidad de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas (History of the Bisayan Islands [1668]) by Fray Ignacio Francisco Alcina, the Spanish priest documents the supernatural beliefs of the Visayans and one of them is the belief in the existence of humans having snake twins. Snakes have been part of various myths and legends. It even played an integral part in the salvation history of man. In the Bible, the snake symbolizes temptation, the beginning of man’s downfall, the start of man’s pride swelling, catapulting him, at least in his mind, to a god-like status. The snake is the devil’s advocate, taunting man to defy God.

The Chinese believe that snakes are evil, malevolent creatures that cause harm. They are believed to possess magical powers like shape-shifting. One such creature famous for her shape-shifting abilities is Madam White Snake from the Legend of White Snake. Other creatures that are part snake are Fuxi and Nüwa and Gong Gong. In the Philippines, we have Zuma, a comic book character created by Jim Fernandez in 1976. Zuma is an Aztec demigod with the body of a human and a two-headed snake around its neck.

He is the son of Kukulkan, the Aztec serpent god. His daughter is named Galema. Galema was conceived when Zuma raped Galela, a mortal. No one really knows how the urban legend of the Robinson’s Galleria “taong ahas” started. It could have been just someone’s idea of a joke. Someone had told someone and it eventually spread like wildfire. Or it could have been a publicity stunt. They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. Good or bad PR is still PR. Or it could’ve been started by the rivals of the Gokongweis. At that time, and even up to now, there are very few players when it comes to mall industry. Perhaps someone didn’t want to play fair and wanted to ruin Robinson’s Galleria’s reputation. Maybe someone had concocted a wild story they knew urban legend-believing Filipinos would eat up.

Even when logic dictates that such stories could not possibly be true, as there really are no half-human half-snake creatures out there, you still get goosebumps when you enter a Robinson’s Galleria restroom or fitting room. Especially when it’s nighttime, and you look around and you find yourself all alone.
You can watch the entire video here.

Woolly Mammoth!

These Farmers Thought That They Hit Something Underground           Until They Found Out That This Was A Woolly Mammoth!

The collection, looking like it comes straight from a horror film, also featured the sketches of infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper’s victims: Catherine Eddowes and Elizabeth Stride.

Supposed human hearts and other organs can be found preserved in jars.

A blog post about the alleged find claimed: “In 1960 in London at the time of clearing the site for construction of a new residential neighborhood, the old long-abandoned mansion belonged to Thomas Theodore Merrylin was set for demolition.

Two farmers were trying to drain water on their field when they hit something underground.

They dug the ground and discovered that lying beneath was a woolly mammoth.

20% of the mammoth’s body was found.

Woolly mammoths are extinct relatives of today’s elephants. Although the word “mammoth” has come to mean “huge,” woolly mammoths were probably about the size of African elephants. They lived during the last ice age, and they may have died off when the weather became warmer and their food supply changed. Humans may also be partly responsible for their disappearance due to hunting.

Two farmers from Michigan were trying to drain water on the field where they were working. Suddenly they hit something underground. Then the two farmers, James Bristle and Trent Satterthwaite were shocked with what they discovered.

They started digging and dug 8 feet deeper to finally see what was under the ground they have always worked on. They finally able to see that it was a remains of a woolly mammoth! There was a total of 20% remains that they found. It included its head, tusks, several rib parts, set of vertebrae, etc. It had been said that the one they found lived more than ten thousand years ago.

Dan Fisher, a University of Michigan professor said the missing parts of the woolly mammoth might have been consumed by humans. Also, the one they dug was in its 40s or 50s already when it died. About 30 woolly mammoths were found in Michigan.

According to the professor, the one found may also not be a woolly but a “Jeffersonian mammoth” or a hybrid of woolly and Columbian mammoth.

“You have a better chance of winning the lotto than doing what we just did,” the professor said.

Only a few people get lucky with certain discoveries about historical remains and it is truly a shocking yet amazing experience to find one.

This Mysterious Tiny Human Skeleton

This Mysterious Winged Tiny Human Skeleton Was Discovered In                  The Basement Of An Old House In London!

Preserved ‘remains’ of fairies, werewolves and other otherworldly creatures were supposedly discovered in an old house owned by mysterious 19th century collector.

The ghastly exhibit was supposedly the collection of a “Thomas Theodore Merrylin” – a supposedly “rich aristocrat and biologist in the 1800s”.

Indeed, his collection features the skeletons of werewolves, vampires, aliens and winged fairies. These artifacts were supposedly discovered in the basement of his old house in London.

This gruesome collection features intricate framed skeletons as well as jars and cases of mythical creatures in gruesome poses.

Remains of fairies with their wings nailed to boards are put on display alongside the remains of strange aliens and human-like creatures.

Plastic Food Models Aren't Just for Restaurants Anymore

In Japan, Plastic Food Models Aren't          Just for Restaurants Anymore

In Japan, plastic models of food are common outside of just about every eatery. In order to provide potential customers with information about exactly what's on the menu, shokuhin sanpuru (食品サンプル, “food samples”), or highly detailed replicas of every dish served in the restaurant, are displayed near the entrance. Customers peruse the food samples, and then decide to enter the shop or keep looking for someplace to eat.

There is an entire industry devoted to creating these food samples. The Tokyo neighborhood of Kappabashi is home to a cluster of these small businesses that make plastic food samples, which German filmmaker Wim Wenders documented in his movie Tokyo-Ga more than 20 years ago.

While plastic food samples are so common in Japan as to be unnoticeable to most Japanese people, there is a new trend in Japan to turn them into eye-catching cellphone accessories and other knick-knacks. Writing on Naver Matome, blogger itinii has collected a variety of social media links with photos of this twist on shokuhin sanpuru.

Now on sale: new smartphone straps based on food samples used at Kichijoji Tokyu department store.

Food samples have been turned into a variety of kitschy collectibles including, in this case, refrigerator magnets:

Designed to look like an apple with a notch cut out for a smaphone, this is a striking design.

This is just the beginning of an increasing descent into whimsy. Some smartphone stand and case designers allow you to create your own work of art, in this case, by using ikura, or salmon roe that is a popular topping served with white rice. One Twitter user doubts:

Is there anyone out there who is going to say, “Wow, cool, I can customize my smartphone case with salmon roe?” I think I'll be the only one.

For a new display at Tokyo Station, here are some shokuhin sample fridge magnets.

The food sample novelty boom is becoming increasingly more elaborate. In this case, a kaisen-don (a popular seafood rice bowl) has been transformed into a smartphone stand.

View image on Twitter

View image on Twitter

View image on Twitter

Fire hits mall in Taguig City

  Forced evacuation happening in Market!     
                    Market! due to fire


This morning, May 24, Market! Market!, a mall in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) was reportedly on fire - Kami.com.ph spotted details of a report saying evacuation was enforced at the mall because of the fire which allegedly started on the fourth floor 

According to the reports a fire alert has been issued at 10:48 a.m. which placed the burning Market! Market! mall on first alarm. 

Probably in Market Market/Serendra/High Street. Fire marshals on the way. Smells like burnt rubber in our office.

However, the Market! Market! Management said the cause of fire is still under investigation.

Netizens who are in the area said mall-goers were forcibly evacuated. The management assured that its employees and shoppers were safe from the fire incident.

One netizen who seems to be working in the area also took to Twitter to share his observations.

New Database Aims to Track Rights Violations of Caribbean's Most Vulnerable Communities

The Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) and the Dominican Republic-based Centro de Orientacion e Investigacion Integral (COIN) recently launched the Caribbean's first online database documenting human rights violations.

The Shared Incident Database, or SID for short, aims to provide supporting data for and facilitate the work of those advocating safer and healthier conditions for the region's most vulnerable. The SID will track incidents affecting people living with HIV, sex workers, drug users, men who have sex with men, transgender people, marginalised youth, migrants and inmates — all communities that are stigmatised and frequently suffer from discriminatory practices.

The goal is to empower non-governmental organisations in making decisions and designing programmes based on reliable and accessible data, as well as strengthening their advocacy capability. Beyond benefiting civil society organisations, the SID could also reassure those who wish to report abuse that there is a reliable, secure and trustworthy means of doing so — that a network of organisations exists that is equipped and willing to assist with follow-up.

In an online interview, Global Voices asked CVC's Executive Director Dr. Carolyn Gomes, based in Kingston, Jamaica, how the SID will benefit the non-governmental organisation (NGO) community and the clients it serves.

Global Voices (GV): When will this database be up and running? What is the timeline?

Carolyn Gomes (CG): The database is already up and running, and being used by civil society organisations in Jamaica, Guyana and Belize. We recently completed training in Suriname and are hoping that organisations there will want to join it. The SID was built over a two-year period in Jamaica by CVC in partnership with three other civil society organisations. It was developed to specifications by TOUCAN, a Jamaican information technology (IT) company.

GV: Will it be retroactive? Will past incidents over the last few years be added to the database?

CG: It does allow data to be input from incident information previously captured by civil society organisations. CVC has supported a couple of organisations to help them with logging their past incidents.

GV: Who will have access to the database? Specific organisations, including those that have participated in trainings? Anyone else?

CG: The non-identifying data will be accessed and shared with all organisations that join the database. There is a specific process for joining, after organisations have been trained. The Steering Committee for the database regulates this process. The University of the West Indies, Faculty of Law, Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) is providing legal technical advice on the use of the data for purposes of reporting and redress. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) — which has responsibility for regional discrimination indicators for the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) — will also have access to the Global Data Reports.

GV: Currently, if people want to report an act of discrimination in their community, do they have to report through one of these organisations? Or will they be able to access a reporting system that feeds directly into the database?

CG: The SID is intended for use by civil society organisations, so individuals would have to go to one of the organisations using the database in order to have their incident recorded. The responsibility for assisting with the redress sought by the client will lie with the organisation to which the report is made. We want to publicise this database, so that people and civil society organisations are aware that there are organizations prepared to record the abuses that they allege; and so they know those organisations will work with them to get redress for the abuse.

GV: How will CVC and partners report the statistics and information gathered in the database, and how often?

CG: The Global Data Reports generated by SID will be provided to the Steering Committee at each meeting (these are currently monthly, but aiming for quarterly when the database is fully rolled out). The reports will be used for spotting trends, as the basis for reports to national, regional and international bodies, and for sharing with User Members. Each organisation (User Member) can generate reports that are germane to their work and needs — but are pertaining only to the cases that they have collected.

We also asked Gomes about the privacy and safety aspects of the database, given that any centralized collection of data can become a target, both for state entities but also for malicious hackers. A breach like this could have a particularly harmful effect for the CVC database, given the nature of its contents.

Gomes emphasized the system's explicit protections of identifying data about individuals in the set, but also acknowledged that in order to be effective, the system would need to allow for some sharing of information between vetted partners.

GV: Does the database have the necessary confidentiality/privacy safeguards?

CG: There are multiple layers of confidentiality built into the database. Identifying data is not shared with anyone outside of the particular organisation that took the report….It is not public in ANY WAY…. Data is stored externally with a secure cloud-based server. The data is not randomly accessible from anywhere. Other categories of persons (field officers responsible for collecting reports in the field) can only see the reports that they input in the database. Organisations are required to have signed confidentiality agreements with clients. Only non-identifying data is shared across the database. Organisations can request data sharing (again, non-identifying data) of other organisations for research or advocacy purposes. But that would have to be approved by the organisation to whom the request is made.

GV: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about?

CG: CARPHA [the Caribbean Public Health Agency] is exploring the possibility of writing up SID as a Regional Best Practice for addressing Stigma and Discrimination. Organisations using the database will be supported to seek redress by the Social Justice and Community Lawyering Network, a group of over 40 lawyers from 13 Caribbean countries that have answered a call to provide pro bono legal services to inadequately served populations especially vulnerable to human rights abuses, including those living with and at risk of HIV. The network was developed by URAP [the University of the West Indies, Faculty of Law, Rights Advocacy Project] in conjunction with CVC (with support from the Robert Carr Civil Society Network Fund (RCNF) and the CVC-COIN Regional Civil Society Grant from the Global Fund). This cadre of young and more experienced lawyers across the region will provide support to civil society organisations seeking redress for their clients.