The Gutenberg Experience at the Plantin-Moretus House–Workshops–Museum Complex

The movable-type press is a system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce a document usually on a paper. The figure behind this technology is Johannes Gutenberg, who in mid-15th century Europe, introduced the metal movable-type. Gutenberg created his type pieces (the metallic alphabets, numbers, and punctuation) from lead, tin, and antimony, which…

Rio and its Playful Landscape (Part 2 of 2)

I am really glad, I was not interpellated by popular biases against Rio. Otherwise, I would not have experienced the carioca landscapes between the mountains and the seas. A panoramic view of the city from the Marro do Urca (Photo: SAP Tiatco) My visit to Rio de Janeiro was spent for a few hours only. Given…

Rio and its Playful Landscape (Part 1 of 2)

In the Philippines, when one thinks of Brazil, she thinks of the Amazon jungle, the carnival, beauty pageants, and Rio! Rio’s popularity has been on the rise since the 1960’s. The Bossanova song “A Girl from Ipanema” invaded the world radio, even winning Record of the Year in the 1965 Grammy Awards, beating American and English…

Sydney Opera House: Sculptural Marvel and Architectural Wonder

A trip to Sydney is never complete without a visit to the Sydney Opera House. One of the most popular and most visited tourist destinations not only in Australia but arguably also in the entire world, the Opera House is an unusual structure that appears to be a grand sculpture from afar. Just like any…

Gaudi’s Candyland

Oftentimes, we associate Barcelona with its football team, especially the powerful line-up beginning with Lionel Messi, Arthur Melo, and Arturo Vidal. For my friends who have visited Barcelona, they remember the city via Barceloneta (Summer Beach) and the 1.2 km Las Ramblas (the Central Boulevard for many tourists). My other “nerdy” acquaintances think of Placido Domingo…

Hiroshima Means Peace

On 6 August 1945, 8:15 AM – Tokyo Time, Enola Gay released Little Boy and came straight to Shima Hospital in the Prefecture of Hiroshima. Little Boy is a kid but ironically, a powerful young boy whose audacity paved the way for almost 300,000 Japanese casualties. Little Boy’s impact was so huge. Years later, thousands of Japanese continued to…