quickies

quick updates.

just got back from a four-day trip to the nation's capital, washington, dc. it was alright, although the first two days, i just stayed in my hotel room after all the conference sessions because of the rain.

i have tons of stuff to write, so hopefully, i can summon the energy later (tomorrow) to write. took the bus from the port authority to dc's union station. it was the express trip so it took a little over than four hours from dc to ny.

i have lots to blog about, too, including my new tv faves: dirty sexy money and pushing daisies. great shows. i missed some of my faves this week so i need to catch up.

and also high on my addiction list? pinoy big brother celebrity edition. hahaha. i don't have tfc (yet) here in ny because the cable company doesn't offer it but i really need to thank god for youtube. hehehe. and the good souls who continue to upload and upload despite abs-cbn relentlessly running after their asses, suspending accounts left and right.

i'm happy that jen and that other girl left. she's so noisy and palengkera. i don't like her. period. my faves? gabby (sp?) the race car driver; riza, will, victor and sige na nga, si ethel booba. that woman is funny.

case in point: she was pretending to be a fortune-teller, she took jon's hand and read his palm. she said, "i see it. there's a girl. her name started with letter m" as the housemates laughed. sensing an error, she said, "starting ba?". then someone said, "starts" and she just took it all in stride.

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nuclear winter

that's how people are describing the collection of brushfires that are now burning all over southern california, from tecate near mexico to santa barbara, 200 miles north. the multi-million dollar mansions in malibu, including some historic landmarks are not being spared.

while browsing the news, i saw this -


photo from flickr

also read that some areas near stevenson ranch are in danger. i have friends who live there and i am praying that the fires be put out soon so that no more damage to life, limb and property will be inflicted.

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guilty pleasure/s

i have a confession to make. hahaha. (and i am so making it a big deal)

for the past three weeks, this was what greeted me everytime i passed by times square.



that's one of probably ten billboards in mid-town Manhattan alone promoting gossip girl just before fall season started three weeks ago. out of curiosity, i recorded the show (TiVo is a God-send) and it stayed there for about a week. i was tinkering with the remote one time and i came across the recording. i played it while doing my laundry and what do you know, it got me hooked.

it's a show about high school kids - and i really thought that The OC (at least the first 2 seasons) was my last juvenile favorite, apparently i was so wrong - and the setting is New York. Yay.

Speaking of NY, there's also a new show which i am watching because i am such a big fan of Peter Krause (back when he was still doing Sports Night, then of course, who could forget, his great portrayal of Nate in Six Feet Under, and now this) and it's called Dirty Sexy Money and its location is also the city.

my take on the current season, in a nutshell...

Heroes. What can I say? I'm still a big fan. I don't know if I a liking Hiro stuck in the 1600s but I was so glad to see David Anders (Sark!) on the show. He was a great badass on Alias and he's providing comedic support to Hiro. Hahaha. What a statement.
Milo is also back, with an amnesia. I was hoping they wouldn't go this route, but after last season's explosion, he probably disintegrated and it took a while before he regenerated his body, like what happened to Claire when she cut one of her toes. Ouch. I am looking forward to seeing Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) soon.

Ugly Betty is back, and I am loving it. There's a lot of goings on, and like the season finale, it had a lot of stuff to cover - the prison escape, the accident, the death of Justin's father, a lot more - that weren't thoroughly covered in the premiere. It's also showing that Betty's not too straight-up and her character is a bit flawed, which is good. She's not just a caricature.

Grey's Anatomy. I still white Meredith's whining but I think I hate her sister's (half-) character more. I didn't really like Izzie and George hooking up last season but I have no choice, I am just a viewer. Kawawa naman si Callie. McDreamy's getting old and I'm happy that he's regaining his friendship with McSteamy after what had happened. Burke's gone (bye!) and Dr. Yang's not showing any emotion after the non-wedding last season.

Desperate Housewives. Despite the brouhaha, I think i'm still going to watch this show. ABC has issued an apology but Fil-Ams apparently want more. I'm doing yet another story on that as I covered the rally some Fil-Am groups staged at the ABC office on Columbus Ave. (Upper West Side) last Friday. One of NYC's city council members joined the rally and delivered a really strong message. Anyhow, I am not liking the Bree I-am-pregnant charade.

What else do I watch? Top Chef. sometimes CSI. Prison Break (I'm getting tired, though).

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moving on

abc has apologized. fil-ams don't think a one-paragraph apology is enough. the online petition has reached more than 85,000 signatories.

it's time to move on. we asked for an apology, they gave it. they included more, such as editing the offending part and not including it in any other platform (i.e. dvd) where it would appear (including re-runs). it is time to move on.

but apparently, some people think some more things must be done. tonight i am covering the picket outside the ABC office in manhattan. let's see what happens.

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the heat is on...

wasting no time, the consul general of the philippine consulate in los angeles has issued a statement about the issue. kudos, congen aragon.


then this afternoon, ambassador willy gaa sent his statement. i think abc has issued a statement, according to our reporter who's on top of the whole issue.

i think it said,

“Desperate Housewives” publicist Chandler Hayes issued this statement on behalf of ABC.

"The producers of ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines. As leaders in broadcast diversity, we are committed to presenting sensitive and respectful images of all communities featured in our programs."

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signatory # 4540

someone forwarded this e-mail to me and i am reprinting it in full. thank you kevin nadal for jumpstarting this. this is regarding the desperate housewives episode last sunday, yes, the one with the unnecessary dialogue between teri hatcher's character and her gynecologist. i got it this morning and when i signed, i was signatory 4540. it's now at 6,000 as i write this.

shame on you marc cherry for greenlighting this script. shame on you abc for this insensitive episode.

Dear Kababayan and Allies:

I heard through the grapevine about a remark made on an episode of
"Desperate Housewives" last night. The scene entailed Teri Hatcher's
character (Susan) at a hospital, being told by her gynecologist that she
might be hitting menopause. Susan replied, "Can I just check those diplomas
because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in
the Philippines." If you go to abc.com, you watch the full episode and
witness the scene at about 18:50 minutes into the episode.

This type of derogatory remark is not only unnecessary and hurtful, but is
also unfounded, considering the presence of Filipinos and Filipino
Americans in the health care industry. Filipinos are the second largest
immigrant population in the United States, with many entering the U.S. and
passing their U.S. licensing boards as doctors, nurses, and medical
technicians. In fact, the Philippines produces more U.S. nurses than any
other country in the world. So, to belittle the education, experience, or
value of Filipino Americans in health care is disrespectful and plain and
simply ignorant.

As Filipino Americans, we need to band together to ensure that this type
of hateful message is not allowed to continue on our television and radio
airwaves. Given the recent amounts of media attention that has been given
to Michael Richards (against African Americans), Isaiah Washington (against
gays), and Rosie O'Donnell (against Asian/ Chinese Americans), it is
ridiculous that this type of hateful speech made it through various
screenwriters, the show's producers, the show's actors, and ABC itself.
Yet, this isn't the first time that negative remarks have been made about
the Philippines or Filipinos in the past. In recent years, we've heard one
too many "dogeater" comments by "comedian" Joan Rivers on the red carpet or
in her standup act, and I believe that it is about time that we stand up
for ourselves, so that this type of hateful speech never happens again.

Please join me in expressing your concern, disappointment, and/or disgust
to the producers of ABC.com. You can sign the petition at
http://www.petitiononline.com/FilABC/
or you can reach them directly at
abc7@abc.com .

And please feel free to forward this widely to other Filipinos/ Filipino
Americans/ Asian Americans/ and other allies.

Sincerely,

Kevin Nadal,
Filipino Performance Artist/ Activist
knadal@gmail.com

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