Friday, April 30, 2010

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #43 - Answer

Congratulations to Sam for correctly guessing that this week's TV theme was from 'Taxi'!



Taxi followed the lives and relationships of the employees of the Sunshine Taxi Company. Danny DeVito played the taxi dispatcher with a Napoleon complex, Louie De Palma, watching from his tower over his ragtag crew of drivers.

The crew included Judd Hirsch as driver Alex Rieger, Marilu Henner as artist and driver Elaine Nardo, Tony Danza as boxer and driver Tony Banta, Jeff Conaway as actor and driver Bobby Wheeler, Christoper Lloyd as Reverend Jim Ignatowski, and Andy Kaufman as mechanic Latka Gravas and Carol Kane as Latka's wife Simka....

I do have to admit that I have a bit of a selfish reason for choosing Taxi as this week's TV theme.... This scene from Taxi may be the funniest scene ever on television.... It makes me laugh out loud every time I see it! Christopher Lloyd (who went on to play Doctor Emmett Brown in the "Back To The Future" series) needs to renew his driver's license and the gang all head down to the DMV to help him out. The entire scene is very funny, but if you want to skip to the best part, go four minutes into the video.

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #43

Everybody was stumped last week, so this week's TV theme is a bit easier..... Happy Last Day Of April! Can You Guess This TV Theme?

Spinal Epidural Arachnoid Cyst-MRI

Submitted by Dr Sangeeta Aneja, MD Head of Dept, LLRM Meerut

First Branchial Cleft Cyst-CT

First branchial cleft cyst are of two types--Type I cysts are located near the external auditory canal. Most commonly, they are inferior and posterior to the tragus (base of the ear), but they may also be in the parotid gland or at the angle of the mandible. Type I cysts may be difficult to distinguish from a solid parotid mass on clinical examination. Type II cysts are associated with the submandibular gland or found in the anterior triangle of the neck. Thin capsular enhancement is noted on post contrast scans.

Carcinoma Stomach with Peritoneal Deposits- CT & MRI

Note the antropyloric mass with peritoneal deposits.

Spinal Epidural Lymphoma-MRI

Note the dense, nodular sheet like enhacement in the posterior epidural region. CT chest and abdomen of this patient reveals mediastinal & retroperitoneal lymphnodes. Biospy consistent with NHL.

Reported by Teleradiology Providers

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Pickle Pops

While perusing a post that pitted game show hosts Alan Thicke and Marc Summers against each other over at 'Just The Cheese' by Powdered Toast Man, I started thinking....

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the name Marc Summers.... Double Dare? Ok, the second thing.... That's right, Pickle Pops.... Wait.... You didn't think of Pickle Pops?

On an episode of the Food Network show 'Unwrapped', hosted by Marc Summers, appeared a short segment on the now infamous Bob's Pickle Pops.

Do you ever sneak a sip of the pickle juice after you've finished the last crispy dill? Or added the pickle juice to a recipe to give it a little extra kick? Well, Pickle Bob had an even simpler idea.... Frozen Pickle Pops. It started out as a small operation at the local skating rink, where Bob would freeze and sell the leftover pickle juice. After quickly and repeatedly selling as many pickle pops as he could make every weekend, Bob decided to take his idea to the next level.


Packaging the Pickle Pops in a traditional Otter Pop fashion, Bob has taken his spicy dill, regular dill and lemon dill flavored pops nationwide. The pops contain only pickle juice and are currently being marketed as a healthier alternatives to sugary desserts.... The pops are currently being marketed to schools and concession stands nationwide, and could soon be seen in a store near you!


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Quantity And Quality - Bacon And Bloo-Duh

Woo hoo! One of my YouTube videos has received over 122,000 views! And over 325 comments!

Anyway, the kid in this video is a brat, but I find it hard to disagree with his logic.

My favorite part of the video? Thank you for asking.... I have two....

Number 1.... Pause it around the 32 second mark....

a. The look on his face is priceless.
b. If you look closely at the miniature wall-mounted license plate, it bears the words "LOW N SLO". I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds inappropriate, so it makes me laugh.

Ok.... Number 2.... Pause it around the 48 second mark and notice the three full bottles of ranch dressing sitting on the table.



However, I don't think that video is half as good as this one.... But this video of a really cute video of a kid worried about his bleeding baby brother only has around 500 views.... I love how the father can't control his laughter!



I probably just need to insert better search terms, but it's such a huge discrepancy.... Which video do you like better?

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Lola Conching Achay: Bolobolo Healer of Siquijor


Lola Consolacion Achay, aka Lola Conching, is one of Siquijor’s last remaining bolo-bolo healers*. Lola Conching lives in the small village of Tag-ibo in the municipality of San Juan, in the island province of Siquijor, the Philippines. Her abode is the traditional bahay kubo with bamboo and tugas beams and roof partially made of nipa and iron sheets.

Lola Conching is an extremely busy mananambal (local folk doctor). She has a steady flow of patients coming from all over Siquijor and beyond, all wanting to get healed by the famed bolo-bolo healer. The waiting patients sit on a long bench in a small receiving area in front of the kubo. To keep them entertained while waiting for their turn, Lola Conching set up a videoke machine in the room, so that bored patients can drop a five-peso coin and choose the songs they wanted to sing.

When I first met her, Lola Conching was taking a brief recess between healing sessions. While preparing her healing implements for her next patient, she was dancing to the tune of “Paparazzi” being sung in the videoke machine by one of her waiting patients. She was, indeed, not your everyday kind of “Lola.”

Vibrant and amiable with a very pleasing smile, Lola Conching is 85 years old. She doesn’t speak Tagalog nor English, but thank goodness, my habal-habal driver Johnson was there again to help translate what she was saying. Born in 1925, Lola Conching has lived all her life in Siquijor. In fact, she insisted, she has never gone beyond more than 10 kilometers of her home. She is a widow with four children and countless grandchildren.

In 1967, Lola Conching claimed that the Senyor Santo Nino visited her and gave her a black magic stone. The Senyor Santo Nino instructed her to use the stone to heal people of their illnesses. Lola Conching let me hold the black stone for a while. I inspected it closely – it looked just like any batong buhay, although it was very round, very smooth, and very black. Possibly, it was a tektite that had become smooth through much handling. I wanted to feel its energy, and I closed my eyes. But before I could feel anything, Lola Conching took it back as she was about to use it for her next patient.***

Bolo bolo session

Mang Francisco Cruz, 82 years old and a resident of Zamboanga del Norte, traveled hundreds of kilometers to consult Lola Conching about his illness. He was accompanied by his wife, Aling Zeny, 80 years old. Mang Francisco has been suffering from chronic itching all over his body. He has taken powerful drugs prescribed by medical doctors, but the itchiness that afflicted him persisted.

I observed how Lola Conching proceeded to treat Mang Francisco.

First she prayed to the images of the Virgin Mary, the Santo Nino, the Holy Family, and the statue of the crucified Christ enshrined in her altar.

Then she got her implements ready: the black magic stone, a drinking glass, and a small six-inch bamboo tube called bagacay. The drinking glass of Lola Conching was also special: a Colt 45 glass given to her by a dealer of the beer company.

Lola Conching put the black magic stone inside the Colt 45 drinking glass and then poured visibly clean water from a pink plastic pitcher into it until it was half-full. Next, she inserted the bamboo tube into the half-filled glass. Then, as if to show that there was no trickery involved in her healing, she sipped some water, gurgled it in her mouth, and spat it out of the window. She opened her mouth for us to see that it contained nothing.

Turning to her patient, Lola Conching blew air into the water so that it became bubbly, all the while hovering the Colt 45 glass all over Mang Francisco’s body. As if by magic or some other mysterious cause, the water became extremely dark and murky. Shaking her head, she threw away the dirty water through the open window. She cleaned the glass and again poured clear water into it and repeated the procedure several times. At last, after the fourth repetition, the water remained clear. Lola Conching smiled, visibly pleased with the result. It meant that all the bad elements from Mang Francisco's body had already been removed. She then rubbed an oil potion on the forehead and stomach of Mang Francisco. The healing session lasted about five minutes, after which Mang Francisco declared he no longer felt itchy. It was a success. He has been healed by Lola Conching.

Aling Zeny, Mang Francisco’s wife, pulled money from her purse, folded it a few times and placed the bill into Lola Conching’s palm, thanking her profusely. Lola Conching smiled as she called the next patient. From what I witnessed, Lola Conching does not charge a specific amount for her healing services. Any amount of donation will do.

I cannot tell exactly if the healing was merely a placebo effect, brought about by the power of auto-suggestion, or one that can truly be attributed to Lola Conching’s healing power. But I met many former patients of the bolo-bolo healer who testified in their honor they had been cured of their ailments.

My friend and fellow blogger Sidney Snoeck traveled to Siquijor two years ago and documented the work of Lola Conching. Snoeck referred his back pain to Lola Conching for bolo bolo healing and described it in his blog:

“Having some back pain from riding my motorbike, I asked Manang Akay if she could cure me. She told me she would try and she put first some 'magic oil' on my painful lower back while mumbling things I didn't understand. Then she started the bolo-bolo procedure. To my horror the first glass of water turned into extremely dirty water. Luckily, after the third time, the water remained clear. To be honest I felt much better and my back pain disappeared for several days. Maybe it was just a placebo effect. I really don’t know but honestly I felt better.

Meanwhile, I had to say goodbye, too, to Lola Conching. I thanked her for her kindness. I felt that I needed to give a donation for taking up some of her time, so I pulled some money from my wallet and gave it to her. She waved it away but I insisted, out of gratitude for allowing me to document her work, because I might have witnessed one of Siquijor’s last remaining bolo-bolo healers.

The house of Lola Conching. You can see here some of her patients, waiting to get healed by the famed Bolobolo healer


Lola Conching set up a videoke machine so that waiting patients can sing songs while waiting for their turn. Oh that's my habal-habal driver Johnson singing "Faithfully", one of Journey's signature songs. He also consulted Lola Conching for his headaches (see first photo). By the way, Johnson scored 99 in the videoke, which made him extremely happy.


Lola Conching Achay with her Bolobolo implements: a six-inch bamboo reed; the black magic stone (inside the Colt 45 glass) given to her by the Santo Nino in 1967; and the Colt 45 drinking glass (given to her by the beer company dealer).

Lola Conching's Black Magic Stone. It was given to her by the Santo Nino, circa 1967.


Mang Francisco Cruz, 82, of Zamboanga, traveled hundreds of kilometers to Siquijor to be treated of the chronic itchiness of his body.


Before each healing session, Lola Conching asks the blessings of the saints in her altar.


Lola Conching's altar. The presence of other non-religious objects in her altar relates to the fact that Lola Conching is maintaining a Sari-sari store in her room.


Pouring visibly clear water on the Colt 45 drinking glass.


Applying the healing potion and blowing air into the patient.


Hovering the Colt 45 glass while blowing bubbles into it. Bolobolo in Visayan means "bubbles".


The water became extremely murky and dirty, indicating the presence of the bad elements in the patient's body.


The process was repeated a few times, until on the fourth time, the water remained clear, an indication that the impurities causing the disease were gone.


Applying the last ritual.


Mang Francisco: "The itchiness is gone!"


A gallery of the healed patients of Lola Conching, found on the wall of her house.
_____________________________________

*Bolo-bolo, in the old Visayan language, means “bubbles.” In the course of my sojourn to this island province, I visited two other bolo-bolo healers to compare their techniques. Unfortunately I could no longer interview and observe these other two. One has moved to Cebu, and the other named Juan Caguyom has been incapacitated by a stroke.

**Mananambal is the Visayan word for manggagamot or healer.

*** Apparently, all the bolo-bolo healers use a black stone in performing the bolo-bolo ritual of healing, although I have no idea if the other healers in Siquijor claim to have received the stone from the Santo Nino, too.

Best Combinations Since Peanut Butter And Jelly

The idea seems simple.... Take three awesome things, put them all together in one photograph.... A 'triawesomegraph' or examples of 'awetrigraphy'.... Ok, so my made up words won't end up in Webster's next edition of the dictionary, but I wouldn't mind having a book full of 'awetrigraphy' on my coffee table while I'm having my next lavish party.... You all will laugh at me, until Portia De Rossi or Christina Hendricks bumps into me and while trying to gather herself, she casually glances down and notices my coffee table fare.... I am now the most interesting guy at the party.... Of course, I'll have to turn down their advances because I'm happily married, but I'm sure you'll find love elsewhere Mrs. De Rossi and Ms. Hendricks....

Where was I? Oh, yes, sorry.... I've found two amazing pages that have been able to display this craft.... May I present to you
'Selleck Waterfall Sandwich' and 'Nimoy Sunset Pie'....

Here are a few of my favorites from their collections.... By the way, what would be in your 'awetrigraph'?

Featured Sandwich: Italian

Featured Sandwich: Meatloaf

Even Their Logo Is Awesome!

Featured Pie: Key Lime

Featured Pie: Apple

Featured Pie: Blueberry

Monday, April 26, 2010

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Holoprosencephaly - MRI


Lobar holoprosencephaly occurs with partial fusion of the frontal lobe with an otherwise normally formed interhemispheric fissure, lateral ventricular formation, variable and incomplete absence of the anterior corpus callosum and/or septum pellucidum, and separate thalami.


Friday, April 23, 2010

Müllerian Duct Cysts and Prostatic Utricle Cysts


Although these conditions are believed to be two different entities, it is difficult to differentiate them from one another on imaging and clinical studies. Both occur in the midline. Müllerian duct cysts originate from the remnants of the müllerian duct. Prostatic utricle cysts result from the dilatation of the prostatic utricle. Müllerian duct cysts may originate from the region of the verumontanum but usually extend above the prostate and may be slightly lateral to the midline. They do not communicate with the urethra. Prostatic utricle cysts always arise from the verumontanum and are always in the midline, and they communicate with the urethra.
 

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #42 - Answer

I was able to stump everybody with the short and sweet theme from 'Caroline In The City'!

After Lea Thompson was the rocker who fell in love with a leather jacket wearing and cigar smoking talking alien duck in 'Howard The Duck', and after she was Marty McFly's mother in the 'Back To The Future' trilogy, she became Caroline Duffy in 'Caroline In The City'....



Do you remember 'Caroline In The City'? It was on the air for four seasons.... Lea Thompson played Caroline Duffy, a syndicated cartoonist who wrote a comic strip titled 'Caroline In The City'.... Caroline works closely with Richard, played by Malcolm Gets, who takes the job as her comic strip colorist to make ends meet.... Throughout the series, Richard hides his undying love for Caroline as she dates new men and complains about her love life.... Hilarity ensues....

I became quite addicted to this show when it was on at 1:00 am, after watching back-to-back episodes of 'Boy Meets World'.

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #42

Are the weeks getting longer? It felt like Friday would never come..... Well, it's finally here! Can You Guess This TV Theme?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Conversations with a Sorcerer

Witchcraft and sorcery are alive and well here in the island of Siquijor, Philippines. This mystical island is considered the navel of sorcery and magic in the Philippines, and there are indeed people who practice sorcery and witchcraft here. In particular, I was constantly hearing about this powerful sorcerer who lives in one of the remote villages of Siquijor. I have met many people in Siquijor, and the name that is invariably mentioned whenever sorcery is being discussed is Mr. Alberto ‘Manong Edol’ Baroro.

I decided to meet Manong Edol and perhaps interview him and photograph his work. Incidentally, my habal-habal driver Johnson frequently transported clients to Manong Edol’s house. When I told Johnson my intention to meet Manong Edol, he arranged a late afternoon meeting between me and the Siquijor sorcerer.

It was a rainy late afternoon last April 1 when I met Manong Edol. He lives in the little uphill village of Cang-Atuyom, on the slopes of the mystical Mount Bandilaan in the town of San Antonio, Siquijor. Mount Bandilaan is the highest point and dead center of Siquijor island.

The house where Manong Edol lived was accessible only through a narrow dirt path from the rough main road. The dirt path was an alternating upward and downward slope that, when it rained like it did that day, became very slippery. After struggling for several minutes of rough climbing and descending, we finally spotted the house of Manong Edol. The house was made of wood and concrete, surrounded by huge trees.

In front of Manong Edol’s house was a garden planted to various kinds of shrubs and herbs. I noticed that the house was isolated. The nearest neighbor was the one we passed by earlier, some two kilometers away.

A kindly looking man in his early 60s, Manong Edol did not fit into the stereotype-image of a sorcerer. He was a warm and friendly person, although serious in demeanor. He had a prominent forehead and streaks of gray hair. He welcomed me and my habal-habal driver Johnson into his house, a modest place which, aside from a few chairs and a small table, was devoid of furnishing. On one of the walls was a huge calendar with the red dates of the moon phases. On the other wall was an altar with religious statues and images.

Since Manong Edol spoke neither Tagalog nor English, Johnson became our interpreter. I began by telling him I wanted to interview him on the three forms of sorcery -- kulam, gaway, and barang. At first, he wanted to decline – lest I might misinterpret some of what he would say because we didn’t speak the same dialect.

When I told him I would record the conversations on video, as well as in writing, and that consequently I would be able to verify Johnson’s interpretations against those of other Visayan folks who would subsequently view the video record, he assented.

While he agreed to be interviewed immediately, he said I would have to wait for the night to document his work, as he performs witchcraft only after sundown. In the meantime, I set up my video camera and began to ask questions.

“How do you call your form of sorcery?” I began

“There are three procedures that I can perform,” Manong Edol said, “paktol, barang, and gaway. The paktol is a curse I put on a person I want to suffer or die. The barang, on the other hand, involves my ability to command insects to hurt a person. The gaway involves a rag or waxen doll which I pierce in the part where I want the hex victim to suffer”.

I have been hearing about paktol, barang, and gaway for years. A sorcerer who uses the paktol, barang, or gaway is known as a mangkukulam, mambabarang, or manggaway, respectively. Manong Edol is all three, although he prefers using paktol than the other two.

Barang and Gaway

The barang* is a powerful procedure that involves keeping an army of insects. The insects are kept inside a bottle or a bamboo tube and are trained to hurt a guilty person. A piece of paper with the name of the person to be hexed is tied with a string to the neck of the insect. It is then commanded to lodge itself into any of the body openings of the victim. The insect wreaks havoc inside the body that results in death.

According to Manong Edol, he no longer performs barang because of the difficulty of "disciplining" the insects.

"These little creatures can be very unruly," he said, "so I no longer use them. Besides, they cannot hurt someone who has already fled to another island. The insects cannot travel across the sea. Barang is a very old and outdated procedure, and I doubt if there are any more mambabarang in Siquijor. Otherwise I would have already felt their powers."

Manong Edol is right. By now, the barang is a lost craft. The barang was described by a Spanish chronicler as early as the 16th century. In 1578, a Spanish traveler named Diego Lope Povedano wrote: "They( the Visayans) have another way of killing their enemies who do them harm. In a bamboo tube, they put some insects similar to house flies, but with hard skins. They call these barang…”

The gaway, on the other hand, involves making a rag or waxen doll in the likeness of the person to be cursed. The sorcerer sticks a needle into the part where he wants his victim to suffer; if he sticks a needle in the stomach, the victim will suffer a terrible stomachache, and so on. Sometimes needles are not necessary; simply applying force to the part of the doll is enough. Nevertheless, Manong Edol avoids doing gaway because he wants to concentrate his powers on the paktol.

Paktol: The most powerful spell

According to Manong Edol, the paktol is the most powerful procedure and those cursed by it would definitely suffer unless they repent and ask for forgiveness. The paktol involves many procedures. The most basic is getting an object from the prospective victim, such as a strand of hair or a photograph. Tools used differ, too, among sorcerers. In the case of Manong Edol, he uses human skulls.

“But let me tell you,” he asserted, “that I do not perform sorcery simply because I want to hurt or kill someone. I use the curse only if there has been a grave injustice committed. The paktol will not hurt someone who is innocent."

Fascinated with this mysterious man, I asked how he began his career as sorcerer.

The Beginnings of a Sorcerer

Born in 1946, Manong Edol is, from what I gathered from the locals I interviewed, one of the three highest ranking sorcerers in the island (the two others being Juan Ponce and Vicente Tamala). I further learned that in the hierarchy of sorcerers, the higher-ranked can subjugate those who are below him. This means he can diffuse the hex or spell of the lesser sorcerers and even submit the lower ones to his will.

Manong Edol confided that a sorcerer is a very gifted person. He has powers passed on to him by unseen supernatural beings that live in this world. But even then, this gifted person needs someone, a more powerful and usually older and more experienced sorcerer, to train him, so that he can fully harness his gifts.

Manong Edol learned the craft from Emid Balasi, an 85-year-old witch from Lazi, who used to frequent his farm to gather herbs. As a friendship grew between them, the woman became convinced that young Edol had latent gifts that could be developed. When the old woman died in 1968, she passed on to Manong Edol her secret prayers and procedures in witchcraft. From then on, Manong Edol engaged in witchcraft and sorcery.

Inheriting the Powers of Boscia Bulongon

If he had latent gifts, he must have inherited these from his grandmother, the late Boscia Bulongon, possibly Siquijor’s most famous sorcerer of her time.

In the 1970s, Bulongon gained notoriety when she was consulted by then First Lady Imelda Marcos – who grew up in Leyte where the belief in kulam was also quite prevalent – sent for her. It seems that Mrs, Marcos developed severe lesions on her legs that resembled reptile scales. As the story goes, Lola Boscia was fetched from Siquijor island by helicopter and brought to Malacanang Palace.

Lola Boscia confirmed that Mrs. Marcos was indeed a victim of kulam, and assured her she could diffuse the power of the curse, being a more powerful sorcerer than the one that hexed the former First Lady.

When she was healed, Mrs. Marcos reportedly paid Lola Boscia a huge sum of money for her services and asked her to stay in the Palace to be her confidante and adviser. After the Marcoses fled the country, she returned to Siquijor.

Rumor has it that Lola Boscia hid bundles of cash in her house and grew so miserly she would not share a centavo with her relatives. She also became mean in her old age, refusing to pay tricycle fare, knowing all the drivers were afraid to charge her. In the end, one of her grandsons beat her to death with a piece of wood, as witches are supposed to be impervious to metal weapons. However, to this day, they failed to find the treasure she was supposed to have hidden.

Lola Boscia’s story, the biggest of that time, reinforced the belief among outsiders that Siquijor is indeed a sorcerer’s island.

Manong Edol claimed he felt that his grandmother‘s power passed on to him after her death. However, he never inherited any material wealth from her.

* * *

While we were deep in conversation, I almost forgot the passing of time. I took a glance at my watch and found that it was about six in the evening. Outside, the fading sun had begun to cast deep shadows. Soon it became dark, and since they did not have electricity, Manong Edol lit an oil lamp. We continued conversing, but I had to stop the video camera from recording as the oil lamp did not provide sufficient lighting.

Arrival of clients

Meanwhile, two people appeared at the door: a young woman in her twenties and an older lady who looked like her mother. Manong Edol welcomed the guests, bade them to come inside, and introduced them to me.

The young lady and her mother live in Dumaguete and came to Siquijor to seek Manong Edol’s help. The young woman requested me not to take photographs while she was around and I agreed.

She then told us her story, the intimate details of which I cannot divulge here for obvious reasons. In summary, a white man took advantage of her. In other words, her honor was besmirched. She wanted revenge, she said, as she pulled out from her purse two small photographs of the offender.

I soon found out that in this remote region, people very rarely go to the police to seek justice. For many, the mangkukulam is the chief judge in many disputes: whoever he finds guilty he punishes by death or illness.

From what I gathered, anyone who needed the service of Manong Edol must first convince him that revenge is truly justified. Manong Edol explained he does not take every case presented to him. He listens to the account of what took place, weighs the facts, and only takes the case when he is satisfied someone has been truly aggrieved, hurt, or disgraced. Apparently, there are three very serious offenses that merit the use of the paktol: an insult cast on a family; dishonoring a woman; and murder. Manong Edol ignores cases involving politicians or petty crimes.

Manong Edol assured the mother and daughter that he will now take the case. They gave him the two pictures, and wrote the name of the white man on a piece of paper. Before leaving, they gave Manong Edol an envelope containing money. He did not tell me how much money was inside, but he confided later that he usually charges P6,000 to P40,000, depending on the client’s status in life.

Performing the paktol

After the clients left, Manong Edol led us to a small nipa hut (bahay kubo) at the back of his house. By then, the rain had diminished into a drizzle and we navigated easily the short distance, carrying lighted candles to see our way. The house was about ten square meters in size. In the middle was a small table, on top of which was a human skull, a white candle, a small tin can, a piece of white paper, and a pen. It is here where Manong Edol performs the paktol.

In one corner was a small altar with the statue of the Santo Nino and various other miniature statues and pictures of saints. He confirmed he was Roman Catholic, when I asked. In another corner of the room were three cats that seemed very still and quiet, and beside them, more skulls.

Meanwhile, Manong Edol started to perform the ritual. He knelt before the altar and prayed in whispers. He then took out a small book from where he recited more prayers, but in a mysterious language, which Johnson did not understand. It was definitely not Visayan.

After praying, Manong Edol lit the candle and put it inside the tin can, which he placed beside the skull. Taking a piece of paper, he wrote the name of the white man on it and inserted it into the skull. He then burned both photographs given to him by his client, using the candle light. When the photographs disintegrated into ash, he placed them in the tin can and whispered the paktol.

The white man has now been cursed.

“What will happen to him?” I asked.

“He will suffer a terrible illness,” he answered. “Then he will die.”

“What if he asks for forgiveness?”

“If the aggrieved woman forgives him, then I will release the curse. But he must do so soon. When his illness turns to worse, I can no longer reverse the paktol."

“How will you know if the curse took effect?”

“I will receive a call from the client telling me that the person has died.”

The paktol, according to Manong Edol, will take effect as soon as he is finished with the procedure. At this very moment, he told me, the white man would already be suffering from nausea, vomiting, and a terrible headache. In a few days, his stomach will bloat and he will bleed from the inside. No medical doctor can cure the illness caused by paktol. The torment will end with death. The doctors will say that this or that illness caused the patient to die, but he would have actually died because of the paktol.

“How many people have you already put to death by means of the paktol?”

“Hundreds,” he replied. He then pulled out a high school notebook containing all the names of the people he had cursed with the paktol. Indeed, there were hundreds of name written there. I was curious to know if there were familiar names listed in the notebook. I was relieved when I did not find any.

Sorcerer versus sorcerer

“Can you also cure a person who has been hexed by another sorcerer?”

“Oh yes,” Manong Edol said with a hint of pride in his voice, “Everyone here knows my work. If someone has been cursed by another sorcerer, they just come here and I heal them.”

“How do you cure them?”

“I can command the other sorcerer to release the spell.”

"What if he refuses?”

“No sorcerer has refused my command. Otherwise he will be punished by my own hex.”

“Does that mean you have to meet the other sorcerer face to face?” I asked, bewildered.

“Not necessarily,” answered Manong Edol, “I can command the other sorcerers by whispering. They always obey me.”

The skulls

At this point, I could no longer contain my curiosity and asked him about the human skull. “Did this belong to a victim of your paktol?”

“No”, Manong Edol said, “That is actually the skull of a former neighbor who died of a natural cause many years ago. I asked the family if they could give me the skull for my sorcery, and they agreed.” Apparently, most of his neighbors feel honored if Manong Edol asked them for anything, even for the skull of a loved one.

Manong Edol used to perform paktol in a hidden cave in Cang-Atuyom. But one day, he discovered that his secret cave had been found by looters who stole his skull collection. He had to ask other neighbors for the skulls of their dead kin in the nearby cemetery. It was gladly given to him. He then built the nipa house at the back of his house to use for performing his craft in lieu of the looted cave.

“Up to now,” he said with visible pride, “no one has ever said 'no' to me, whenever I ask them for the skull of their relative.”

Also a healer

Manong Edol is also very much in demand for his gift of healing. He can heal those that have been hexed by other sorcerers. He can also heal illnesses that had already been declared hopeless cases by medical doctors. For this reason, Manong Edol is also considered a mananambal (shaman).

****

Meanwhile, it was getting very late in the night. Manong Edol invited us to supper which we politely declined. We bade our goodbyes and thanked him for his time.

Afterwards, Johnson and I rode the habal-habal and drove in the night towards the lodging house where I was staying. Nights in Siquijor could be very dark because there were no street lamps to guide motorists. I was feeling edgy at the thought of driving in this remote place very late at night. Trees were everywhere around and there were very few houses along the narrow dirt road. I had the eerie feeling someone was watching us from among the trees.

In about an hour we reached the lodging house safely. Meanwhile, Johnson bade his adieu. When I entered my room, I dropped my photographic equipment at the foot of the bed and lay down to rest. I was tempted to turn on my camera and see what had been recorded. But an eerie feeling stopped me; instead, I turned off the lights and closed my eyes. Strangely, the darkness gave me comfort. I prayed and fell into a sound sleep.









*Before traveling to Siquijor, I studied the excellent book of the prominent anthropologist Richard Lieban about witchcraft in the Visayas, entitled Cebuano Sorcery: Malign magic in the Philippines. It is a well-researched book based on his observations and interviews among the locals. I found many similarities between some of the witchcraft techniques described by Dr. Lieban and those used by Manong Edol.

NewLeftMedia Interviews Protesters On Tax Day

Here's another hilarious/scary video from NewLeftMedia.com.... Again, two guys, Chase Whiteside (interviews) and Erick Stoll (Camera), interviewed tea baggers who were protesting on tax day in Washington D.C.

It's really amazing to watch Mr. Whiteside ask a protester a simple question, and then watch the blank look on the protester's face when asked to simply clarify his opinion.

This might be the most entertaining video they've produced! I wonder if anybody said no to an interview.... Did you know that President Obama is considering banning fishing in America? Who knew?

Can anybody tell me if that little singing blond lady telling me that there is a communist in the White House is former Saturday Night Live star Victoria Jackson?



If you enjoyed this video, I posted three others.... You can watch their interviews with Tea Baggers protesting the Health Care Policies by clicking here, interviews at the Tea Party protests by clicking here and you can see their interviews with people waiting for Sarah Palin to sign her new book (my favorite video) by clicking here.....

Perfect Candle For My Birthday Pie!

Take note family, this is the only acceptable candle for future birthday pies! Seriously, pie is way better than cake, right?



The large center flame lights 14 smaller candles, all while the candle spins and play the 'Happy Birthday' song!

Three candles can be purchased at
MyBirthdayCandle.com for a steal! Three awesome candles for only $19.99!

If you act now, you can get a free awesome birthday candle! All you have to pay for is the shipping and handling!

Pars flaccida cholesteatoma







Findings

There is an 8mm mass in Prussak’s space with erosion of the malleus and scutum.

Differential diagnosis:
- Pars flaccida cholesteatoma
- Cholesterol granuloma
- Paraganglioma
- Pars tensa cholesteatoma


Diagnosis: Pars flaccida cholesteatoma


Key points

A pars flaccida cholesteatoma often occurs when a patient has chronic middle ear inflammation and/or TM perforation. The cholesteatoma forms when there is an accumulation of stratified epithelial cells in Prussak's space. The cholesteatoma can be seen in all age groups, but tend to be more aggressive in children. Patients can present with aural discharge, conductive hearing loss, and otalgia. Early treatment with surgery can preserve hearing.


Radiologic overview of the diagnosis

A pars flaccida cholesteatoma appears as a mass in Prussak's space with erosion of the scutum and/or adjacent ossicle. Ossicle erosion is seen ~70% of the cases. There is no enhancement of the cholesteatoma itself, though surrounding granulation tissue may enhance.

High resolution temporal bone CT is the best modality to evaluate a suspected cholesteatoma. A pars tensa cholesteatoma is far less common and involves the sinus tympanum. A cholesterol granuloma appears blue on otoscopy and may have similar bony erosions as that of a cholesteatoma. A paraganglioma appears as a cherry red mass on otoscopy and usually does not erode bone.

In this case, there is an 8mm mass in Prussak's space with erosion of the malleus and scutum.