Be Kind To Us Baluts

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Balutropolis/459203557424862?ref=tn_tnmn

Balutropolis centers on everything about "Balut" and the shady characters and their ideals that revolves around their neighborhood, and the rest of the world.

Balut (duck fetus egg), Penoy(milder version of the Balut - no feet, beak and feathered chick inside), Abnoy (more popularly cooked as "bibingkang abnoy"  similar to an omelette) and Pulang Itlog (aka Itlog na Maalat  or  Salted Egg in English), are the variants of delicacies you can have from cooking and preparing these duck eggs.

These posts represents the different type of Balut-related articles, blogs, images, facts, people, and imaginative stories our hero or protagonist encounters in his everyday adventure.

Each adventure exploits encounters that could be categorically branded as  simply mundane or insanely extraordinary.

Credit to the original authors and owners of the literary and art works gathered online, but would try my best to post original masterpieces.

Check out Balutropolis at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Balutropolis/459203557424862?ref=tn_tnmn

WTF Is A Balut?

How weird can a food be, you ask?

Balut is way up there in the ionosphere of weird, far past gonzo.

Balut is fear itself. Though a snack much beloved by some in the Philippines, balut to others is a torture of an item, a bizarrely-conceived if not abjectly demonic dish.

What is it? Balut is an eleven day or more old fertilized duck egg, containing the partially formed embryo of a duck, surrounded by egg. Imagine a tiny, half-formed head, a bit of a beak, formative guts and bones and the odd feather, all surrounded by egg and you’ve got balut.

It’s not a pretty sight.

Pateros Balut

Balut.

That much-loved, much-maligned Filipino delicacy: favorite of beer drinkers all over the country, degree zero for culinary nastiness, and the dreaded food test for the Kano or the sozy Fil-Am. It’s the “treat with feet” or the “egg with legs”.

This is how you say Balut: Ba-lut. Your lips gently press together at the beginning, your tongue flicks quickly up towards your palate, your lips move as one in the shape of a narrow ooo, and ends with your tongue teasingly poking behind your teeth.

This is, however, in contrast to how balut is sold in the Philippines, by ambulant vendors who yell in the streets, “Ba-luuuuuuuuuut!”

This Is A Crazy Pateros

My hometown is one crazy small town.

I spoofed Lourd De Veyra's book , "This Is A Crazy Planets", and customized it for Pateros - This Is A Crazy Pateros. Though I avoided to put in the photos of politicians that I dreaded the most to avoid any "complications" as they are very harsh individuals who will do everything to gain control of such a small pathetic town that remains the only municipality left among cities around it.

Pateros is so small yet the corruption within its local government is alarming. It may not grow anymore because its streets are filled with irregularities and violations.
I tried to do something about it. But I only got into trouble, along with my family.

Balut For Dummies

Hindi ko po maatim na kumain ng balut...
Naaawa ako sa sisiw sa loob sa sama ng kaniyang inabot
Di natuloy na paglaki at pagkabuhay
Naudlot ang kapalaran nang niluto ng buhay

Parang inapakan na pagkatao
Hinadlangan ng masasamang elemento
Napakarami kasing mga gung-gong sa gobyerno
lalo na sa lokal na munisipyo

Minsan nagtangka akong magsumbong
Mga walang sawa sa pandarambong
Kahit ano gawin kong kakangangawa
Tuloy pa rin ang kurakot kabi-kabila

Sanga-sanga na kasi ang kanilang impluwensiya
Mga kababayan koy mga pipi't bingi at nabulag na
Sa mga nakaupo ay Walang gustong kumontra
Dahil takot na maalipusta ng pangontrang demanda

Kung wala namang mahagilap na paninirang puri
Asahang may kakatok upang ikaw ay masuri
Kinabukasan ay asahan ang sandamakmak na problema
Dahil ikaw ay babagsakan ng sindak ni Kapitana

Una'y parang babasagin ang iyong marupok na shell
Para ikaw ay matakot at wag mag-"tell"
sasabihan ka ng malulutong na "Go to Hell !"
Mga pulis na kasabwat ay kakatok sa iyong doorbell.

Sadyang makapangyarihan ang mga alagad ng demonyo
dahil wala silang takot sa trabahong makamundo
gugulatin ka na lang ng mga gawa-gawang asunto
pagtutulungan hanggang magipit para lumayas kayo

Oh Diyos kong mapagmahal kami ay iyong gabayan
Milagro mo at grasya ay aming tunay na inaasahan
Kung karma ay di sapat para sila ay turuan ng leksiyon
paluin mo sila sa puwet ng iyong makapangyarihan na sinturon

Ang balut para sumarap daw ay budburan ng konting asin
Para ang lasa niya ay maging mas masarap at kaatim-atim
O Poon sana kami ay pwede mo ring hagisan ng kaunting biyaya
kaysa kami ay manatiling walang matakbuhan at nakatunganga

Sino ba ang niloloko ko, ako ba ay nawalan na ng bait
Dahil kahit ano pang ihagupit kong nagngi-ngitngit na galit
kapalaran sa mundo ay sadyang maalat at minsan ay mapait
parang tulad ng sabaw ng balot ito ay siguradong masisipsip

Hihigupin ka hanggang sa ikaw ay wala ng katas
unti-unting lalamunin ng kanilang di patas na batas
at gugulatin ng kung ano-ano pang untog at pasabog
walang matitira kundi ang mga durog na balat ng itlog

Ang Buhay Ng Isang Balut

‎"Ang Taong Ayaw Makialam O Kumontra Sa Mga Maling Gawain,
Kung Hindi Duwag, Siya Ay Kasabwat O Ganoon Din Ang Layunin" 

I've had several unpleasant personal encounters with some incumbent leaders and some of their subordinates. Again, I am not being specific to any person, at kagaya ng sinabi ko, just some of them and not all of them. Alam na nila kung sino sila. In fairness, meron din namang willing to help and I am glad they were there to offer assistance, but some just relied on a one-sided story, and some just kept quiet and minded their own business.

Anyway, you couldn't imagine the lengths I had to go through and the real reason why my family and I chose to leave our home town. We had to transfer our younger kids to another school in the middle of a school year, and had to abandon our house in Pateros. I would have fought it out until the end but my wife chose to get our kids out of harms way. I was always the stubborn one who would fight for my principles kahit sino pa ang tamaan.

It would be shameful of me if I wouldn't warn you guys of an impending storm brewing over the horizon.

Come to think of it, I should make it my advocacy or crusade to warn and inform as many people as I can in every way possible. Di ba mas nakakahiya at nakakapanghina kung mananahimik na lang ako at hahayaang mapahamak rin ang iba?

Pustahan, pag nalaman nila itong statement ko ay may panibagong "threat" na naman na darating sa amin. I could say I've been "eating death threats for breakfast" and barfing every now and then. These people would rather quickly oppose, fight back, and "character-assassinate" you than cooperate to seek the truth behind the scrutiny. And how manipulative they could be to easily twist legalities to their favor especially if they are the ones at fault. Again, I am speaking from actual experience.

I even tried running for "kagawad" just to study these people and how local politics revolve and adapt. It was just an experiment to see If I could penetrate their world. Pero masalimuot pala and you really require various "resources" to succeed....and most people are still blinded by extravagant campaigning and extensive propaganda.

I am sorry if this may not be the right venue to express my personal disgusts towards certain individuals. I just felt very irked to hear any news that should make us somehow feel grateful towards them. They are supposed to be public servants but we are treating them as if they are royalty. And it pains me so much every time I see and hear my kids wondering why we had to leave some of our personal belongings behind, including their toys and books, so that we could get away from all the harassment.

Kung alam nyo lang ang totoong nangyayari behind closed doors, you would undoubtedly sympathize with me.

Please respect my post, and I welcome all negative comments as well."