or probably not.
just one quick question: where does this blistering rage in susan roces come from? i mean, did you see the news? (tfc, hello!) i caught tv patrol on tape late last night and i saw her, still regal, if i may add, and she was there, raving mad.
my goodness. and the way she treated those poor reporters? wow. i don't think that was nice, ms. roces. mrs. poe. woe to the poor reporters who asked impossibly senile and stupid questions anyway. she could've just shrugged the questions off, but now, she had to make a side comment to each and every single one of them. tit for tat?
on a totally unrelated issue...tom cruise was on the view this morning and boy were the five hosts (including barbara walters!) eating on the palm of his hands. he was in his usual self, he even tried to do what he did in oprah -- including the requisite shake, which he did to star jones. damn. makes me NOT wanna go and see 'war of the worlds.'
but then again...
Thursday, June 30, 2005
histrionics
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
not-so-blind item
A famous actor, who we’re not going to name because he likes to sue people who accuse him of what in the next paragraph we’ll accuse him of, and his recently obtained fiancée, with whom he is very, very, very much in love, have a five-year contract regarding this relationship, and she is to be paid $8 million for fulfilling her end of the contract.
The deal was arranged and the engagement announced in a very short period of time because the wife of a certain, and rather adorable, pop singer found her husband in bed with the abovementioned unnamed actor, and said actor wanted to have this new news out as soon as possible so as to overshadow any new rumors about his sexuality.
Okay, so who are the characters in the story? Hehehe. The paragraphs above pretty much summarizes the e-mail that has been forwarded like crazy in this city called Hollywood (i live three blocks down) so it was but normal that i got hold of it too.
My take on the (non-)issue? Nothing.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
white flag?
is gma-7 waving the white flag with the postponement (some say cancellation?) of its los angeles launching scheduled for july 16? this was scheduled at the forum and was to go head-to-head against asap '05 to be held at the rose bowl stadium in pasadena.
they (gma network executives) called a news conference earlier tonight to tell the local media the official reason for the indefinite postponement of the l.a. launch. the presscon was facilitated by star media, and was held at the olive garden in glendale.
among the execs who called were joseph francia. the name rings a bell, doesn't it? yes, it's the same joseph francia i met more than ten years ago when he was still connected with abs-cbn. he used to be legazpi's station manager until he became part of the regional network group. last i heard of him wat that he got married and moved to australia.
until tonight. he's now the oic of gma international. hebigat! i also got to talk to wilma galvante, charo santos' counterpart over at gma. she had some heavy words against abs-cbn. woohoo, network war is raging.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
overslept
i slept kinda early last night, hence i woke up kinda early today. knowing it was still early, i dragged my ass back to my bed and slept. woke up after two hours and slept once more. the weather was very cooperative.
with a headache threatening to take-over, i opened my eyes and forced myself to wake up. time check: 1 am. i slept for more than 12 hours. i can't believe it. everytime i do that, i know that a headache will follow. and it did. my way to cure my headache? sleep? so i slept again while watching the sunday fare on tfc. did my head-ache disappear? yes it did. but the problem was i got all the more sleepy. what the hell's wrong with me? i know that if i sleep for yet another minute, i'd end up wide awake until 5 am the next day. then i'd sleep at 6 until 12 noon. it was not gonna happen.
yesterday was cook-fest for me. thanks to the internet (and the help of some friendships), i was able to cook a mean sinigang na hipon. my first-ever attempt at cooking sinigang. i know better now.
i used two packets of the sinigang mix and i think it was not enough. hindi siya masyadong maasim. in fact, it was kinda sweet. i think i can blame the shrimps for that.
i also cooked chicken wings adobo. i haven't cooked for a while and somehow i missed doing so. i finished around 11ish and i went straight to my room to sleep. for more than 12 hours. when i wokr up, it was time for lunch.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
i love you sabado...
aren't saturdays great?
sleep till god knows what time, eat something for lunch (roomie and i tried 'karihang pinoy' along santa monica boulevard. lutong-bahay talaga. hehehe. something different from those usual pinoy fastfoods here in hell-ey), replenished our water supply (goodness, those are really heavy. i am not whining, thank you much), did our grocery (woohoo, our ref has something inside, aside from water and some left-overs from weeks ago. ewww.), bought some soda (i miss drinking diet coke. lol.) by 4 pm, i was sleepy, so i caught some zzzzzs.
i wasted an hour and a half watching this stupid film called 'a day without mexican.' how could something be so mediocre get a chance to get nation-wide release? there was nothing in the movie save for trivial bits and pieces about mexicans and how the rest of america mistake all hispanics (including guatemalans and ecuadorians) as mexicans.
now, that's 90 minutes of my life i am not getting back.
Friday, June 24, 2005
wtf?
okay, so i checked my friendster account, after quite some time. hmmm, some new stuff, new messages from friends, new requests. then, i saw this list, popular searches in my network. okay, i have 155 friends now and except for about 15, i am positive that i have met 140 of them before.
so here's my network of friends' popular searches, and my corresponding comments (or non-comments):
1. Angel Locsin- Bold Video - wow, i did not even know that darna has a bold video circulating somewhere. And people in my network want to see it?
2. Filipino Men for Men - hah! no comment.
3. Calendar men - no comment uli.
4. tips on conversation - wow. tips? like don't eat your words? be confident? make it short?
5. cute japanese ladies - why?
6. true love quiz - awwwww. can you find it in the internet? really? call me once you find it.
7. handsome filipino men - another one. makes me want to think...
8. christine reyes scandal - who's christine reyes again? hehehe.
9. find happiness - another awwww moment. happiness in the internet?
10. naughty pinay celebs - what about them?
Summary? The people in my network search (true) love and happiness in all the wrong places. Friendships, they're not in the internet. They lust after Angel Locsin and Christine Reyes, or anyone who looks Japanese. If they don't, then they're after handsome filipino men for men who have posed for a calendar. They need tips for conversation, which they hope they could use once they meet naughty pinay celebs.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
si kyla, bow!
i had a conversation with a friend over the weekend. the topic? future concerts in cali. conversation went like this:
me: yeah, i read somewhere that jay-r (a pinoy r&b singer) will be having a concert here next month.
friend: talaga?
me: yeah, kasama raw niya si kyla.
friend: (excited, surprised, lahat na!) TALAGA? KASAMA NIYA SI KYLA MINOGUE?
me: (sound of me falling off my chair)
wala lang. i miss posting humorous (at least for me) stuff here.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
rude woman
i was on my way to work this morning when a car from behind honked. i looked, and saw this white, middle-aged woman (wmw). no good mornings, no excuse mes. she went straight to what she wanted --
wmw: do you know where rowena is?
[me: concepcion? i don't know where she is but she sure knows where i am. hehehe. inside joke, sorry. moving on...]
me: yes, turn left on hoover, it's on your right, before you hit santa monica.
wmw: so i turn left, then right.
[she then continued driving. no thank yous, nothing.]
me: (to myself) thank you.
myself: you're welcome
i don't know, but i was not raised by my parents to be rude. i didn't mind (at first) that she just honked at me to get my attention but what irritated me was that she did not even bother to say thank you.
two words, rude lady, two words!
bebot
that's the title of one of the songs in 'monkey business,' black-eyed peas' latest album. a good friend (thanks, rod) gave me a copy and it has been playing semi-non-stop in my itunes since last week.
track 12 is bebot. it's an all-tagalog (filipino?) song by apl. it's a nice, catchy song. i hope they release it as a single someday so we pinoys can bombard mtv's trl so they can play it incessantly. we can dream big, can't we?
i admire apl for infusing his filipino-ness to his group's albums. the apl song from their last album elephunk was quite good, too. there, he paid tribute to asin, a band that he said he listened to when he was growing up in pampanga.
i wish i knew how my friend does it in his blog, so you could also listen to music files here.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
embarrassing moment
i am not one who finds himself stuck in sticky situations that may cause extreme embarrassment to everyone involved. say again?
i woke up this morning, hopped in the shower, picked my clothes for the day and put a little gel on my hair. as was usual, i plopped into my gray 'cariton network' shirt from spoofs and my tattered and faded blue jeans. to complete my nonchalant get-up, i decided not to wear shoes. slippers are now in, welcome summer!
while waiting for my bagel to be toasted, i got a call from my cell. it was nixon, one of our (company) drivers; he's indonesian. he asked me where i was, i said i was home. he said, "me too!" and i go, "what?" "i'm at the gate," he said.
naturally, i had to ask why. "picking you up," he quipped. "going to the office?" i asked. "you already in the office?" he asked back. "no, i'm at home," i replied. this was getting difficult.
i asked him to wait for a couple of minutes. i didn't want to leave any burnt bagels in my toaster. so i went out, and sure enough he was there.
i hopped in and we exchanged 'good mornings.' he said, "santa monica [boulevard] is there, right?" pointing to the right. i said yes. we went to santa monica blvd. and turned left, going west. we passed by vermont, then normandie, then western.
when we reached highland, i asked him. "where are we going?" "pacific design center," he replied.
me: why?
him: you have coverage.
me: i do?
him: yes
me: where?
him: iw group
me: really?
him: really.
anyway, so we reached west hollywood's pacific design center. i went into the green building and looked for iw group's office. fifth floor. and finally, i got there.
my nightmare was about to happen. i was about to enter into a room full off nicely-dressed ladies and gentlemen. i inhaled and entered the room. i picked the last chair by the edge of this really long conference table.
true enough, 20 plus people in corporate attires and power suits, plus me in tattered jeans. i looked around, desperately trying to look for someone who was not in a suit. god is good, there was one from across the table. i heaved a sigh of relief and smiled.
the speaker was late, she was, as she told us later, stuck in traffic. someone commented, 'welcome to los angeles!' there was no other space for her to squeeze her butt. she chose the space beside me. i had no choice but to give out a forced smile.
she introduced herself. she's from chicago and she's the VP for Communication of nielsen media. she then asked us to introduce ourselves and looked at me. 'i am momar and i apologize for being so overdressed today!' that broke the ice.
the meeting lasted until around noon. at least my embarrassing moment did not stretch for hours. lesson learned: was there any? at all?
food trippin' in the bay area
what's a philippine fiesta without food?
at the civic center, there were a lot of food choices, but when i am in san francisco, i make sure i find time to visit my favorite vietnamese restaurant in the bay area: la petite camille in millbrae.
why? because they serve the best porkchops ever. yum!
well, okay. noodle planet in westwood also serves great-tasting pork chops, but la petite camille's different. it's like they marinated the chops in secret sauces for a year. that's how good they taste. also, it doesn't hurt that they give you like 4 or 5 chops. not bad for $8.99!
to my vegetarian friend abe, don't you miss how good pork chops taste? inquiring minds want to know. hehehe.
[la petite camille | 170 el camino real, millbrae, ca]
summer solstice
summer officially starts tonight, at 11:46 pm. yay. summer's gonna last 93 days, according to the weatherman on tv.
also, it's the inferno II's season finale and i am happy that the good guys won over the bad-asses. sheesh, here's me being a juvie once more. damn. mtv shows are addicting. hehehe. and don't get me started on laguna beach (the real orange county! hah!).
it has been a long day. i was up as early as 5 a.m. my flight was 7ish and i had to be at the airport at least an hour and a half before the flight. went straight to the office. gee, that was one tiring weekend. i also had to finish a couple of stories. i so need a break. seriously.
i'm happy i had time to consume all the peet's coffee i could. i like their coffee concoctions. well, coffee bean's still better. i'm just saying that peet's is the one to beat in san francisco.
view from the hotel's restaurant at the lobby. planes take off and land at sfo, amidst the blue skies and the pacific ocean. 
piolo from 300 feet away. wowowee host willie revillame couldn't make it because of his wife's delicate pregnancy. ok. so piolo and martin pinch-hit for them. marvin agustina nd janelle jamer were actually good hosts. i just wish they did not go into using toilet humor. i did not find it funny at all.
Monday, June 20, 2005
catching up, really
one nice thing about this latest trip of mine to san francisco was the chance i got to catch up with an old friend (a really old friend, pun intended. hahaha. joke!) of mine. he's turning a year older (and wiser) this wednesday. happy birthday, freddie!
the last time we saw each other was almost six months ago, at keena's wedding.
we had dinner in downtown san francisco, in an italian restaurant/café called segafredo. i dunno if this segafredo's the same with the segafredo in greenbelt 4. i had carbonara and he had fettucine. yumyum. (except for the almost one teaspoon of, i presume olive, oil i drained from my spaghetti. the garlic bread was cruncy and tasty while the bruschetta were quite delicious as well.
what to do after dinner? well, coffee but of course. i was in the mood for some peet's so we scoured a few blocks of downtown sf, reaching as far as the sony metreon. it was quite a long walk and i was beginning to convince myself that there was no peet's around. we passed by a starbucks and i did not even bother to look. (the anti-starbucks in me reared its ugly head.)
twenty blocks later (okay, i am exaggerating), i started hearing mother nature's faint calls (number one, not two). rush, rush, rush but we could not find a bar/resto/coffee shop that was open. i was left with a last recourse.
yes, thank you starbucks for saving me from a future kidney operation (and the possible embarrassment of peeing in my pants). and can you believe this? after ordering my venti white chocolate mocha, i asked the barista their store hours. 'we're open 24 hours,' she said.
wow. a haven for caffeine junkies such as me. heard there's also one in the valley. thanks.
[speaking of catching up, a friend spilled to me a few minutes ago the news that he just got married. yesterday. wow. congrats and best wishes!]
[segafredo zanetti | 235 powell st (between geary and o'farrell) | san francisco]
Sunday, June 19, 2005
fiesta filipina
it has been crazy since yesterday.
i left my office with a friend a little past 4 pm to san diego to catch the 9th leg of the 'return of the champions' concert. yes, the one i missed last june 11 because i covered the independence day ball at the sheraton.
traffic on the 5 was kinda bad. we reached the san diego civic theatre a little past 7. strangely, the concert started right on the dot, at 8 pm. and it ended exactly three hours later. it was a good concert over-all. (details soon.)
the seven champions belted their way to the audience's hearts.
traffic was a breeze on the way home, except for the five miles near artesia, close to the 605, where they closed 2 out of the 3 lanes. bottomline, i got home around 2:00 in the morning.
that left me with three hours: to watch my soaps, to pack my stuff for my sf trip and to catch an hour of sleep. i tried. the super shuttle guy in charge of the reservations said that my shuttle will pick me up between 5:40 to 5:55 (that's what he said). so i set my alarm - 5:20, 20 minutes to take a shower and prepare.
but that was not gonna happen. i woke up 5:15 and lingered for a bit. at 5:20, i heard someone buzzing from the gate. i went down to see the shuttle guy there, waiting. i told him to give me five minutes. 5 minutes to get prepared. i don't know how i did it but apparently i did. with a massive headache as a bonus.
san francisco international airport, a really nice, nice airport.
plane touched down around 9ish and i called my michael, my co-worker. he was buying stuff and he was on his way to the civic center. minutes later, they arrived at athe airport and picked me up.
this was taken on saturday, the sunday crowd was more than three times bigger, thanks to wowowee
okay, so this one was taken on sunday. it was, well, very crowded.
went to our booth and stayed there the whole day. sometimes, i went around to see other folks' booths. i found some interesting ones, including this:
and this one, which sells 'bamboo plant.' bamboo? plant?
when i got hungry, i went around and looked for food. there was a lot of restos with food booths, but almost all of them were selling the same thing: pancit (either malabon or bihon) and barbeque (chicken or pork) for $6 or $7, depending on the resto. i've heard so much about kadok's, so i went there.
sige, paramihan ng mali. hehehe.
then, i strolled around and found this:
cassava padding, anyone?
Friday, June 17, 2005
say it ain't so
"Yes, I proposed to her. ... It was early this morning at the Eiffel Tower, so I haven't slept at all," said Cruise. "Today is a magnificent day for me, I'm engaged to a magnificent woman," he added. Asked why he chose the famed Paris landmark, Cruise answered: "I've never been to the Eiffel Tower. It's Paris, it's a beautiful city, it's very romantic."
Okay, so TomKat is official. I think this is how they define whirlwind romance. It's been what, two months? Hollywood people today woke up with this news being played on the radio and tv shows endlessly.
Breaking news, it is.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
tagged!
my friend of almost two decades may8 IMd me the other day and told me that i was tagged. [can you believe it? close to two decades -- that's 20 freakin years. my goodness.] so i went to to her blog to find out why she tagged me, and what she tagged me for.
What are the things you enjoy, even when no one around you wants to go out and play? What lowers your stress/blood pressure/anxiety level? Make a list, post it in your journal, and then tag 5 friends and ask them to post it in theirs.
Okay, let me think first. Here goes:
- when no one around me wants to go out and play...
read my books (or re-read them)
sound trip (and rip all my remaining CDs so that i can put 'em all in my iPod)
watch DVDs (i have unopened DVDs and some that i have not watched yet)
organize my closet (i admit, i tend to be scatter-brained at times; i need to have some sense of organization in my life)
cook some of my comfort food (i.e. dishes my mom used to cook for me; dishes that i terribly miss; and dishes that remind me of people, events or memories)
clean my room (i hang on to stuff more than i should and my apartment has become a virtual museum of what i have collected ever since the world began)
walk
- what lowers my stress/blood pressure/anxiety level
music, food, travel, sleep
and i need to tag five people: abe, ed, albert, resty, paul. go!
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
when lost is found
those, ladies and gentlemen, are my house keys. yes, the same house keys i declared missing (lost?) more than a month ago. i was right after all. it was in the innermost recesses of my messenger bag.
here's the thing. i finally decided to retire my old and trusted banana republic messenger bag (the one with plenty of pockets) in favor of a newer one -- a gift from my dear cousin from hongkong when i visited him there last march. it's a giorgio armani original, so who am i to say no? i've got to say sorry to the old br bag. thanks for the memories, but yes, i am so moving on!
so i was in the process of transferring all of its contents to the new one. last night, i decided to finish this task. i put my hand inside one of its bigger pockets. lo and behold, i fished out my missing house keys from the old bag. it was there all along. damn. (and there was a bonus: a pack of new listerine breath pads. hah!)
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
what's fate got to do with it?
a lot i guess.
when fate plays a joke, on me, specifically, i don't usually find it funny.
just when i thought i'm in a situation i think i want, i get a call from someone from a phase i was desperately trying to forget. the timing is impeccable, i can't help but wonder why. had it been three weeks ago, i would have gone all high school ga-ga over it. but not now. not now.
no calls on my last birthday. nothing last christmas nor new year. no calls on the 23rd.
but today more than compensated that. 3, 4...5 times. yet, the most pointed question's not answered. why?
i'm in a happy place. don't rock the boat. please.
Monday, June 13, 2005
back from nyc
okay, so i am back. it's monday and the weather is fine. i've got too much to blog about, so hang on.
first up: i wonder how i can remain awake the whole day. i felt i was all sleep-deprived yesterday that i spent almost the entire day sleeping. anyway, my friends picked me up for dinner and coffee -- the only time i got out of the house. got back home around 10:30 and watched some more tv. 11:30 passed, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30. no shuteye. 3:30. lord, please make me sleep. 3:58. those were the last figures i saw on my alarm clock.
surprisingly, i woke up around 8:30. wow. something's going on. i can't seem to pinpoint it.
okay, so i am rewinding now.
5.6
i was rudely awakened by a mild earthquake today at around 8:30ish. apparently, the epicenter was a town called anza, which news reports say, is about 20 miles south of palm springs. i've grown quite accustomed to earthquakes, having lived in california for almost seven years now.
sometimes, it makes you just go and wonder as to whether this is already 'the big one.' like yesterday, i was jolted by the quake, but i was sort of waiting for a bigger jolt for me to do something. i was just there, lying on my bed, waiting. thank god, there wasn't anything stronger.
overheard
i'm not one who's into gossip- and rumor-mongering but i couldn't help but share two of unrelated overheard conversations.
okay, first one:
lady a: huy, narinig mo na ba? nakita ni (name of friend) sa island (island pacific, a filipino supermarket/grocery on melrose and vermont, near my apartment) si pampi (lacson; jodi santamaria's husband; sen. ping lacson's son). nagkakaha. (manning the cash register)
lady b: o weno ngayon? sa kanila naman yun. (so what, they own the grocery anyway)
lady a: talaga?
me, moving on to the second one.
boy a: part-owner pala si antoinette taus ng davao tuna grill? (a tuna resto in glendale)
boy b: talaga? hindi ko alam.
boy a: oo, kasi nakita siya ng friend ko dun. nag we-waitress. tapos tinanong siya ng friend ko. sabi niya sa friend ko, part-owner siya.
me, moving on to better things in life. like blogging about overheard conversations.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
pinoy power
wow. there were three major filipino events in los angeles last night and every single one was packed. i decided to go to two of those major events and never have i seen such a huge group of pinoys under one roof.
first off: the philippine independence day ball at the sheraton universal. the guest speakers were senator manny villar and his wife, rep. cynthia villar. the consulate people told us earlier that according to protocol, the couple must not be called. sen. and mrs. manny villar, since the wife also holds an elected position in the government. hence: sen. manny villar and rep. cynthia villar.
how do you spell 'philippines'? ask the sheraton people. they sure know how.
the entire international ballroom was transformed into a small pinoy-town with lots of filipiniana-attired women and barong tagalog clad-men. i wore my green barong tagalog. yes, green. hehehe. a colleague complimented it. 'ang unique naman ang barong mo. nag-iisa.' just exactly what i wanted. not the compliment. but the uniqueness of it.
next: the sharon cuneta concert at the shrine auditorium. various hollywood events such as the oscar's and the emmy's used to be staged here. and i was surprised (and so was sharon herself, apparently) that sharon was able to fill the shrine up to the rafters. seriously, tons of pinoys flocked to the mega concert, the last stop of her us concert tour. and this made sharon cry like a baby. caught only the last half of the show. it was good, her sharonians made the show fun to watch. they're fiercely loyal.
heads, heads, heads...thousands of people at the shrine
which brings me to the third major event in hell-ey: the return of the champions at the grand olympic auditorium, the usual place where pinoy concerts are held. i could not possibly try to tri-locate so i asked my friend who attended to tel me what went on. apparently, the auditorium was also filled to the rafters with young, screaming fans.
this is a surprise. and it is good. at least, no producer got burned even if they put two strong concerts (plus a philippine consulate-sponsored ball) on a head-to-head-to-head collision.
no losers this time, all winners.
107
happy 107th philippine independence day!
so much in store today, like the independence day mass at the cathedral (our lady of the angels) where cardinal roger mahoney and the first filipino bishop in the us of a, bishop oscar solis.
then there's a filipino festival (sort of) at the fletcher-bowron square near city hall.
now, if only i can drag myself to go out and celebrate.
Friday, June 10, 2005
seeing stars on broadway
what's a new york trip without catching up on my broadway shows, right?
three nights, but i only got to watch two this time. and no, i did not get to see monty python's spamalot (starring david hyde pierce and tim curry) nor christina applegate's 'sweet charity'.
i was able to catch 'hairspray' starring marissa winokur (who is back to reprise her role, only for four weeks) and bruce villanch. on friday night, we watched 'la cage aux folles,' the musical where robin williams' 'the birdcage' was based on.
while on my way home after watching hairspray at the neil simon theatre on 52nd street, i started to walk back to times square. five blocks down on 47th street, i saw group of people waiting outside the barrymore theatre. curious, i looked on and lingered. first up, i saw sarah paulson, the girl on the wb's now-defunct jack and jill. then they came out.
[i was chatting on the fone with a friend when i saw them come out. i ditched my fone pal and took crappy photos. damn, there wasn't enough light.]
jessica lange, two-time academy award winner
christian slater, he of untamed heart, mobsters and bed of roses.
stars on broadway are dime a dozen this season. denzel washington is doing julius caesar. ethan hawke and company are in hurly-burly. billy crystal in 700 sundays. liev schreiber and alan alda in glengarry glen ross. delta burke and rebecca gayheart, among others in the steel magnolias. natasha richardson and john c. reilly in a streetcar named desire. kathleen turner in who's afraid of virginia woolf? billy crudup and james goldblum in the pillowman.
and guess who'll be back? nathan lane and matthew broderick in neil simon's 'the odd couple' (coming this fall, i think).
new york, new york
the ritz-carlton battery park in lower manhattan: my home for three nights. plush, posh, luxurious. at more than 700 dollars a night, it better be.
st. paul's chapel on broadway and fulton, still in lower manhattan: manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use. George Washington attended a thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Chapel after his inauguration as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789.
musicians at the 42nd street - grand central station stop
times square: nypd police cars everywhere
hairspray: marissa jaret winokur's homecoming. marissa is pam anderson's co-star in the fox sitcom 'stacked' and was hairspray's lead actress before. she won the tony two years ago for her role as tracy turnblad.
the view from the top, not really. taken from the broadway lounge, a bar located at the 8th floor of the marriott marquis.
[all photos taken by me, using my sony ericsson s700i camera phone. hehehe]
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
off to new york city
in less than a couple of hours, i'd be on my way to the long beach airport to catch an early morning flight to the big apple. i am flying jet blue. yeah, baby. hurrah for the blue chips. yes, edible blue chips + individual leather seats + direcTV on every seat + quality service. this is the third time i'm flying jet blue and boy, do i love them.
i think i'm gonna be asleep during the entire duration of the flight. i haven't slept, it's past 2:00 am and i do not feel sleepy. blame the large cup o' white chocolate latté i had a few hours ago.
the coldplay concert on mtv just ended. they did 'clocks.' i'm happy.
x and y
for the past few days, i've been drowning myself in coldplay's music, specifically their just-released third album called 'x and y.'
right now (1:15 am, wednesday), i am watching their mtv concert (taped in new york) promoting this new album. from the album, i've already picked my favorites: low, speed of sound, square one, swallowed in the sea...heck, why not the entire album!
prior to this concert, they showed 'ask coldplay,' where other artists asked coldplay questions. anyway, i caught a part where chris martin said something like 'this album is an exercise in plagiarism.' listen to some of the songs and you'll see what he means.
Monday, June 06, 2005
untitled
first, a photo together with jasmine in my friendster account. now this. hah. what's going on?
jasmine @ six flags magic mountain
jasmine signing autographs for her fans after
her magic mountain performance 
yes, she was just as excited
wide-eyed jasmine: i'm not chinese
monty python
it's the biggest winner this theater season, this monty python's spamalot. it won the coveted 'best musical' at the recently-concluded (it ended less than an hour ago, here in the west coast) tony awards.
hugh jackman returned this year to host the show (his third consecutive). he looks fine. he sang (and danced!) again. i suddenly remembered my hugh jackman moment that happened 2 years ago in new york. i'll try to search my files and look for the pictures i took of him after we watched boy from oz (where he was the lead star). for 2 consecutive nights, i was outside the theatre. (i had bad photos during the first night, so i returned the next night to get his autograph, and better pictures.
i am off to new york city this week (yes, work-related) and i hope i could catch a couple of broadway shows. i'd be happy if i'm able to see at least one of these must-see shows: monty python's spamalot, the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee (hah! spelling bee again) or sweet charity (christina applegate's in it).
when the guy from spelling bee won the featured actor in a musical award, i swear i saw someone who was in barong tagalog in a crowd shot cheering him on. and on the musical's number, i noticed jose llana was in the cast. i interviewed jose in new york three (or 4) years ago when he was still doing 'flower drum song' with lea salonga on broadway.
humor me
worth posting.
at last night's fil-am funfest show at the magic mountain, there was this filipina singer from the philippines named tootsie guevarra. she sang a couple of songs, the first one's an ogie alcasid composition (i forgot the title) and the second one was her own. well, not necessarily.
tootsie guevarra: i would like to dedicate my next song to the original singer of this hit song. the LATE tenten muñoz.
my friend nudged me, shocked and all: patay na si tenten muñoz?
me (pretending that i did not hear him): ahmmm.
my friend, unsatisfied with my response: huy, patay na si tenten?
(tenten muñoz died years ago. i dunno when. maybe ten years ago.)
Sunday, June 05, 2005
nadal who?
the 2005 french open came and went by without too much fanfare. i wanted to catch the finals between kitchie rafael nadal of spain and mariano puerta of argentina.
nadal is the new king of clay. he beat top-seed roger federer two days after he turned 19.
now, he is the youngest men's grand slam champion since michael chang won the french open at 17 in 1989.
on the women's side. justin henin-hardenne beat mary pierce. no us players emerged at the semis and quarters and finals of the french open this year.
the wimbledon will be in two weeks.
return to magic mountain
i had a slightly busy day today. a few hours after arriving from san francisco, my friends and i trooped to magic mountain for the fil-am funfest event that featured jasmine trias in a "concert" (quotes mine).
we got in around 4ish in the afternoon and we just strolled around and tried some rides. the line for deja vu and extreme were just scandalous. two hours. no way i'd waste my two hours for a two-minute something ride.
so we got in the greek theatre-like auditorium where a couple of upcoming fil-am singers were doing their groove thang.
after what seemed like eternity, jasmine came onstage. she sang around 6 songs and jammed with the audience. she even did the ocho ocho. twice. she loved the audience so much she (almost) did everything they asked her to do. she acknowledged her "street team" and her loyal fans (and she had a lot of 'em). she signed autographs after the show. since we had nothing else to do, we sorta lined up to have out autographed pics. hehehe.
i credit her for treating her fans well. i hope she's not doing this just so the fans would go out on july 12 to buy her cd at best buy. oh well. she sang songs from this album and based on what i heard, i think it's gonna be a good album. i hope. her 'sexy boy' is kinda r and b, and sounded a bit like ashanti. her pipes were okay, no more of those raspy and tired vocals i used to hear from her during the competition. she also danced! she shook her booty!
her performance during this show was -- dare i say it? -- very good. in fact, even better (way better!) than her "performance" during her first solo concert here in los angeles last year. i hope she keeps it up. go girl!
Saturday, June 04, 2005
ako ay pilipino
my co-workers and i (with another co-worker who was based in northern cali) checked in at the marriott courtyard in san bruno last thursday. there were two people at the front desk and one of us was talking with one of them.
then, i asked our co-worker who was based up there something in tagalog. the lady, her name tag says wilhelmina, looked up and said, "pilipino?"
we smiled, and said, "opo."
no offense done, no offense taken.
then she digs further. "akala ko kasi samoan..."
okay fine. samoan it is.
we smiled. and she goes, "uy, bawal ang mag pa party sa room ha? baka mapaalis kayo."
and we were like. wtf!
"hindi naman sa sinasabi ko na mag pa party kayo, pero bawal kasi ang mag party sa mga rooms eh. papaalisin talaga kayo."
we were a group of late-20s to late-30s and we did not look like your typical party-goers and we were surprised why she had to say that.
Friday, June 03, 2005
appoggiatura
that is the final word in this year's speeling bee competition covered live by the dork network espn (really now!). i am a big fan of spelling bee competitions and i was surprised to find out a couple of years ago that espn indeed covers the national spelling bee contest.
this is the reason why i bought the spellbound dvd, a nicely-done documentary that followed the lives of former contestants who were competing in the 1999 spelling bee championship. the film was nominated for best documentary in the 2003 oscar's.
anyway, an indian-american kid eight-grader won this year's contest. he won $30,000 in cash, scholarship and books. not bad.
there's a reason why i am into spelling bee stuff. ahem. when i was a kid, i used to join similar competitions and i always represented my school in the district, then in the zonals, then in the division, then in the regionals. i never made it to the nationals though. sayang.
i am a bitter loser and in one of those hotly-contested competitions, i felt so bad losing because i missed a very, very simple word. "the word," the pronunciation-defective host said, "is (and this is how she pronounced the word) va-yas. va-yas."
one f-in word and i missed being sent to the regionals that year.
i wrote. v-i-a-s. va-yas.
i dunno why some of my fellow competitors got it. she clearly mispronounced the word. but then, how could i protest when some participants got it right?
oh well. the word? it was bias. b-i-a-s. bias.
*Leaning note; grace note; note of embellishment usually one step above (sometimes, though seldom, it is one step below) the main note. Before an even or unaltered note, the appoggiatura generally receives its face value, that is one-half the value of the note that follows; before a dotted note it receives more than its face value, that is to say that it should be given two-thirds of the value of the following note. If the note is of the same pitch as the principal note of the appoggiatura, the grace note receives the entire value of its principal note, but is carried to the next note with strong portamento.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
off to san francisco
i'm flying to san francisco this afternoon for a much needed vacation something work-related.
it's been more than a year since i visited the city by the bay and i am kinda excited. babaw!
better
nothing feels better than having two fighting close friends reconcile.
for months now, two of my friends have become sworn enemies that no amount of intervention could save their relationship. finally, this week, they decided to bury the hatchet (not on each other's backs).
at least, all's well so far. thank you guys, for looking beyond the pain you've caused each other while you were enemies not friends.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
flavors of the philippines, part deux
LOS ANGELES — Consul General Marciano Paynor, Jr. and Deputy Consul Hellen Barber officially opened “Flavors of the Philippines, Part 2,” a gastronomic feast of Filipino cuisine at the New Otani Hotel in downtown Los Angeles with a simple ribbon-cutting ceremonies Wednesday.
“Flavors of the Philippines’ is yet another tribute to the sumptuous flavors that are distinctively Filipino,” ConGen Paynor said, adding, “We are doing this as a follow up to the highly successful ‘Flavors of the Philippines’ last year.”
The hotel’s Azalea Restaurant was adorned once more with posters of top Philippine tourist destinations to entice hotel guests and visitors to try the best that top Filipino chefs have to offer.
This year, the consulate tied up with Mama Sita’s (and Lola Sita’s) brand, the famous company that makes distinctively Filipino sauces and mixes. The partnership with Mama Sita’s was made possible with a big help from Chef Cecilia de Castro, a well-known chef respected in the professional food community and considered as California's foremost exponent of Philippine cuisine.
The partnership developed a special menu to highlight the finest tropical culinary traditions of the Philippines.
Because of the very good turn-out last year, this year’s ‘Flavors of the Philippines’ will be ongoing for the whole month of June. This means that food-lovers will have an eclectic mix of Filipino favorites — from soup and salad to dessert — on the restaurant’s buffet table for a month-long celebration of Filipino cuisine.
‘Soup of the Day’ varies depending on the day of your visit to The Azalea. On Monday, it’s ‘Sinigang na Salmon at Sugpo’ (Salmon and Prawns in Mama Sita’s Tamarind Sour Soup); Tuesday has ‘Sinigang na Bayabas (Prawns in Mama Sita’s Guava Soup) while Wednesday offers ‘Tinolang Manok’ (Chicken in Ginger Soup). They have ‘Ginisang Munggo’ (Sauteed Mung Bean Soup) on Thursday and New England Clam Chowder every Friday.
Mix the soup with the home-made cold salads; from Ensaladang Suha (a refreshing combination of sweet grapefruit and radish with mustard and Mama Sita’s Coconut Nectar Vinegar), to Mango and Cucumber Salad to to Ensaladang Talong (roasted eggplant with Mama Sita’s Coconut Nectar Vinegar and olive oil).
There’s also Ensaladang Gulay (garden salad served with a choice of dressing), Ensaladang Bagnet (crunchy pork crackling with tomato and anchovy sauce) and Fresh Tomato, Salted Duck Eggs & Onions.
For the hot entrées, the restaurant’s chefs led by David Botelho, New Otani’s Executive Chef, prepared delectable viands.
There’s a huge selection of grilled Lola Sita’s Meats (chicken, pork (tocino), beef tapa and longganisa); Maya-Maya Manilena (pan-fried red snapper with lemon butter and topped with fried bananas and Manok sa Gata (braised local chicken with lemon grass, garlic and coconut cream).
There’s also ‘Adobong Spareribs’ (crispy spareribs with soy and vinegar), and ‘Kalderetang Baka’ (beef stewed in red wine and tomato) and people with varied interests will surely find a dish that they would surely love.
What’s a Filipino meal without the delectable dessert? Here, you can make your own Halo Halo, a mélange of sweetened fruits. For cakes, there are a couple to choose from: mango cake and coconut cake.
Come hungry to The Azalea and enjoy the ‘Flavors of the Philippines.’
(‘Flavors of the Philippines’ will be at the center stage of Azalea Restaurant at the New Otani Hotel during lunch hours from June 1 to 30, 2004. Lunch buffet is $12.95 per person (children from 4 to 10 years old pay $7.50). The New Otani Hotel and Garden is located at 120 S. Los Angeles St. in downtown Los Angeles.)
