Haw Haw de Carabao

I remember pretending to be receiving holy communion (don't tell father..) whenever my friend would give me some Haw Flakes. Sometimes we even fall in line just to have some of these yummy candy. But is it a candy or is it something else?

As I was writing this entry, it dawned on me that I have no idea what these Haw Flakes are made of. As per my research on the internet, specifically Wikipedia, Haw Flakes are made from the fruit named Chinese Hawthorn which is a bright red fruit about 1.5 inches in diameter. According to research, the fruit was said to show anti-tumor activities on the skin which is great for skin cancer patients. However, I also found out that Haw Flakes coming from China were seized and banned by the US Food and Drug Administration because it contains a red dye called Ponceau 4R. This dye is said to induce allergic reactions and may intensify asthma symptoms.

Ok... Now we know. Problem is, do you still want to eat Haw Flakes after knowing that? I think I would if it doesn't contain Ponceau 4R. :)

Boys 80's Toons

I noticed that I've mentioned a lot of girly cartoons in this entry. So for the male readers of my blog, don't fret because I'm here to post a couple of your favorite shows back in the day. :)

Let's start off with G.I. Joe. I can still remember tagging along with my brother and his playmates just so I can play with them and their G.I. Joe action figures. I also own a couple myself so they didn't mind me playing with them.



Another favorite cartoon that my brother and his friends would love to watch is of course Transformers. Men and robots. It's like peanut butter and jelly. I'd remember breaking a couple of my brother's action figures because I tried to "transform" them but not on how they are intended to become. LOL!



There's also the different anime like Voltes V, Voltron and Daimos. Who can ever forget the catchy theme song of Voltes V. Even though it's in Japanese, we would always sing along with it. 'Sounds like' like ang lyrics namin. Haha! Plus I remember shouting my favorite weapon: "ultraelectromagnetic pop!!!". Haha!



With Voltron however, all I can remember is that I get goosebumps when all the lions are coming from their different lairs and then uniting as one super robot! I just love it...



As for Daimos, I love the love story between Richard and Erika, the lovely winged alien. Hehehe!




Among the three anime which is your favorite?

Ring, Ring, Ring!

Do you still remember this kind of phone in your home?



We had one of these in the 80's. I had fun dialing numbers and hearing the clicking sound. It was also sometimes annoying to use it especially when you're in a hurry. Mas nakakainis pa lalo pag nagkamali ka ng pag-dial. You have to press the plunger and dial the phone number again. Kainis! It's a good thing they've phased out this unit.

Interpreter Please!

Now these four songs (Sweet Soul Revue, Angelina, Macarena & On ne s'aimera plus jamais) would likely generate two reactions from you: 1.) you would dance or sing along with it; OR 2.) your face would totally cringe just by hearing the first few notes. Haha!

I will not be a hypocrite so I would say that mine would be the first reaction. The only problem when singing these songs is that I have no idea what it says or means (pang Singing Bee..Hahaha!).

It is because of the melody and beat of these songs that allowed us to accept them (aminin nyo man o hindi! LOL!) despite the language barrier. There are only four songs that I've included in this post because I can't remember the other one that was a hit in the 90's. Do advise me if you know it. I'm not sure what language it was in though.

Anyway, if I'm not mistaken, the second song has a tagalog translation that my guy friends know oh so well. The person who came up with the lyrics probably had a bad experience with a girl. Hahaha! I cannot post the lyrics here because some will surely find it offensive.

So people, travel back in time. Bring out your dancing shoes and start grinding. :-) Enjoy!

Scramble!!!

During a hot and humid day, it really feels great to be sipping something sweet and very cold. Usually if it's not a fruit shake then it would probably be something from Quickly like their best-seller Taro Ice or my favorite, Choco Loco.

But before there was Quickly,a somewhat similar drink was available, though it only has one flavor, the kids back then didn't mind. It's color pink and it also has sago (tapioca).



It was unfortunate however that I wasn't allowed by my parents to buy this on the streets for fear of getting food poisoning. Sus! Wala pa ngang Hepa non eh. LOL! I was a bit sheltered back then. Hehe! I'll post a different entry about this one. Mahaba-habang usapan to! LOL! So anyway, it was just recently, well not really recently but a couple of years back that I got to taste Scramble. I was in Puerto Galera back then and I was shocked to see a man selling Scramble. I got so excited that even if I was lactose intolerant and it was 9:00 a.m., I didn't care and got my first taste of the sweet pink drink. It tasted alright but the fact that it took me more than 20 years to taste it made it a bit special. Hehe!

What about you, care to share your Scramble moment? Teehee!

**Photo courtesy of Sapot-Litrato

Pinoy Thriller and Regal Shocker

I'm confused, was it Regal Shocker or Pinoy Thriller that played the lullaby theme song as its intro? Well whichever show it was, whenever I'd hear that theme song, I would ask someone to change the channel. You might say that I'm such a senyorita because I'd have to ask someone to change the channel but you see that time, remote-controlled TVs are non-existent yet so you'd have to go to the TV to change the channel. Eh kung ginawa ko yun eh di nakita ko up close and personal yung multo sa TV. Hahaha!

Funny story about related to this:

I was about 7 years old and was taking a bath. The bathroom door was open and the TV in the living room was tuned in on channel 13. I was shampooing my hair when I heard the volume of the TV was turned up and guess what I heard: the lullaby theme song. At the first three notes, I literally ran out of the bathroom (hair full of shampoo bubbles) and was screaming. It was my crazy brother that did it because he knew I was scared of that show. Grrr!!!

Care to share your Regal Shocker and Pinoy Thriller moments? :)

Saturday Fun Machine

Like other kids in the 80's, most of us wouldn't have a hard time waking up early on a Saturday morning. The reason is to watch the show Saturday Fun Machine in channel 9. I'm not sure how early the show started but I'm guessing it's before 8:00 am because me and my brother would be up already watching cartoons before my parents would even get back from their trip to the market.

For those who were not yet born when this show was aired, Saturday Fun Machine is a show were a lot of 80's cartoons are shown back-to-back. I'd remember asking my aunt to buy me taho from the vendor because I just couldn't bring myself to leave the television.

Correct me if I'm wrong but these are a few of the cartoons that I remember are included in the Saturday Fun Machine:

Care Bears


With the Care Bear cousins


Smurfs
It's a shame Smurfet is not in this picture. :)


Snorkels
The underwater counterparts of the Smurfs. LOL!


Rainbow Brite
I can only recall Red Butler, Lala Orange and Shy Violet. What are the names of Rainbow Brite's other friends?


Shirt Tales


My Little Pony & Friends


Gloworm
Pardon the picture but that's the only I can get here on the internet. Heee!


Pac-Man


And of course the Superfriends


Did I miss anything? Familiar with all of the cartoons? Which is your favorite?

Choose Your Own Adventure Books

I may have mentioned before in this post about one of the popular books in the 80's and 90's. Another favorite book of teens that time was Choose Your Own Adventure. Has any of you read these books? My brother was an avid reader and he would get mad at me every time I'd touch his book collection.

I really can't say much because I didn't read these books but was only able to browse through it when my brother was not around (sshh!! LOL!). I tried looking for his collection so I can take pictres but I can't find them. He was still probably hiding it somewhere from me. so I'm posting an image of the book from Google.

Sesame Street Moment #3

"Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood... In your neighborhood... In your neighborhood... Who are the people in you neighborhood... The people that you meet each day."

I just can't get enough of this song. I wish I could find the other versions.

I wonder where Bob is? You guys have any idea?

Super Book and Flying House

I have mentioned in this entry a couple of the cartoons that was so popular to my generation during the 80's. Most of the plot are laid back, there's always something to learn and the action scenes for the boys' cartoons isn't something that our parents should be worried about.

There is also one good thing that the cartoons of the 80's have taught us -- Bible stories.

Since our country's population are Roman Catholics, the kid's show Super Book and Flying House have really helped us kids (then) the different stories in the Bible.

It's just funny that both shows have a robot that somewhat resembles one another. Hahaha! Nevertheless, my brother and I love watching these shows.

Pop Swatch

They're big and chunky. You can put them on your shirt and even on your bag. I am talking about the Pop Swatch watches (Whew! Tongue twister!!! Say that 5 times... Go! LOL!). These were pop-ular during the early 90's. I remember Mikee Cojuangco as the model for this brand.

My aunt who lives in Switzerland would always give me Swatch watches and when Swatch released these chunky watches, I was one of the first wearing it in school. It just looked weird on my arm because back then I was sooo thin that the strap was too long for my arm. But I didn't care. I love those Pop watches. And if I'm not in the mood to wear them, I'd take out the strap and put them on my school bag.

These are the only Pop Swatch watches that I still have. I'm just not sure if it'll still work if I put new batteries in.

Doc Martens

The early 90's was the year of the grunge look for most. This is the time when girl would be wearing sun dresses paired with their Dr. Martens boots. As for the men, the plaid shirt tied on the waste was some sort of fashion statement (though I don't get the idea of tying the shirt when they're not gonna use it).

I am not here to talk about the grunge look as that is a whole new entry. What I would like to talk about are the favorite boots during my high school days, the Dr. Martens. I remember the "rich kids" of the school would be owning a couple of pairs of these boots. Some of them would even design them using textile paint. Most of them had either the black or the maroon-ish color. I on the other hand was left envying my classmates who had a pair. My parents, particularly my mom wouldn't want to buy me a pair because she said it looked like combat boots. LOL!