less than three weeks after i visited the fair city of chicago, i'm back. it's work-related again and i'm with my boss.
it's the asian american advertising federation conference. stayed at the nice, luxuriously modern and chic swissotel, where lake michigan and chicago river meet.
did some touristy stuff i never did during my past 7 or 8 travels here. took the cruise and sailed along the lake and the river. also took the architectural tour of chicago. the city is really nice.
i wish i could say the same for its people.
file this under bitter. hahaha.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
back in chicago
Thursday, September 16, 2004
cold
i flew to chicago earlier this week to cover the national federation of filipino americans' 6th empowerment conference. i've been regularly covering this group's events, the last national one was in las vegas a couple of years ago. in two year, it'd be honolulu. that is something to look forward to.
the organizers built an amazing array of speakers and special guests, among them man of the hour, gen. antonio taguba. he's a filipino guy born in hawaii and rose from the military ranks to become a general. he led the investigations in abu ghraib, where they exposed the abuses by american soldiers. he's the event's keynote speaker.
during the press con, i was surprised to see a person i would rather have not seen at all. it's been years and the woulds are still pretty fresh.
i decided to play cold, just like the weather.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
tuesday
i wish i could regularly write on this blog. wishful thinking. oh well. last weekend was great. it was sharon and melvin's wedding. thirteen years as a couple. they became bf/gf when they were still in high school. sigh. romantic, huh? 13 years! 13 frikkin' years. a friend's dad passed away. my heartfelt condolences jojo. regine and ogie's concert on saturday night. watched only half of it because of sharon's wedding. saw a lot of people i haven't seen in ages. had two friends visit us from up north. went clubbing friday night, after a long, long, time. i hate it when i oversleep. i do. it gives me this terrible headache and it doesn't make me sleep even if i badly want to already. this morning i was able to sleep around 4:00 am. beat that.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
untitled
it's been awhile. nine days. a lot has happened the past nine days. most recent ones: went to vegas over the weekend to attend/cover the international franchising association convention at mgm grand. stayed at the excalibur on night one. watched zumanity. stayed at the paris on night two. what else? went back monday night. it's wednesday afternoon and i am waiting for my dummy...
Monday, March 01, 2004
ides of march
i didn't even notice. it's monday, the first day of the week, the first day of the month.
it's the day after the lord of the rings swept 11 of 11 academy awards. amazing. for the first time, i was 4 on 4 on the acting categories. part of me wanted johnny depp to win but sean penn was the better actor this time. he should have won for dead man walking, and again for i am sam. anyway.
i'm rambling again. incoherent thoughts.
my friends and i watched the passion of the christ last friday night. screenings have been sold out since it opened last ash wednesday. it's a very, very, very good movie. not for the faint-hearted though. i was sobbing in some of the scenes.
i wanted to bawl. the graphic scenes were indeed, very graphic but i think they were very essential to the movie. it was as if mel gibson wanted to get a message across, and he did, very effectively.
i dunno if the movie affected my being religious. maybe. given the chance, i'd watch it again.
saturday. i just stayed at home. just like any other weekend. watched bowling for columbine on showtime in the morning. cried again. what's with me and movies lately? my tear ducts are drying up. maybe, that's what i needed. a good cry. everyone needs it, i guess. as much as we need a good laugh.
i had a weird dream. it involves a wedding, a limousine and people falling off that limousine while it was moving. i know one person who fell off. i was just looking at it while the killer limousine just spewed people as it sped off. sigh.
i dunno what that means.
sunday. oscar day. went to costco to pick up photos. these were from 3 disposable cameras from more than a year ago. i didn't want to have them developed since the memories from those photos were, well, devastating. to my heart, at least. i mustered enough guts last week to have them developed. and yesterday, i mustered enough guts, too, to pick them up.
i reacted in a way that would have bothered me if i were me a few years ago. did that make sense? anyway, i thought i'd react in a much more dramatic way but i did not. did i want to react in a much more dramatic way? maybe.
i opened the packaging slowly and looked at every single picture. the setting then was cold, it was the height of winter. snow was all over the place. we were bundled up in layers of clothing. there was one picture that caught me, and i gave it a long, hard look. it was cold, and i was feeling it.
funny how we create things in our minds, or re-create things as they happened. photos preserve memories. as i looked at the photos, it seems that i was transported back in time, to a place thousands of miles away. no matter how good we are at stamping a certain moment in our brains, hoping that they would stay there forever, we can only do as much.
i looked at the photos one last time before i went to sleep, and wished that somehow, some other thing happened.
Thursday, February 26, 2004
ramblings on a cold tuesday afternoon
i have no idea if another storm is coming, it has been raining hard lately. i don't like the rain. it dampens my spirits. last weekend, it was just rain, rain, rain.
i just finished eating my lunch. i've been eating thai food since saturday night. strangely though, i've been ordering the same stuff: garlic and pepper beef, from three different restaurants. could garlic and pepper beef be my comfort food? could be.
i'm waiting for my dummy, i dunno what time they will give it to me.
i feel kinda sleepy again. i slept around past three this morning because i read the sunday paper. yes, the sunday paper. i watched will and grace and the apprentice (i taped them thursday, and i haven't found time to watch them, until last night).
my boss called me up last night to give me the go-signal to book my airfare and hotel for the international franchising association expo in las vegas from march 6 to 9.
couch kamote
have i told you that i am a slave to my tv set? yes, i am. and i am admitting it. it's 2:30 am and i just finished watching american idol 3 (the results show) and the o.c. (thank god for the vcr) and i am not yet sleepy. could it be the caffeine i had from my humongous mug at 4 pm? or the tall glass of diet pepsi twist a couple of minutes ago?
where was i? oh, about my addiction. (i am distracted by britney's toxic video currently playing on mtv). the rain hasn't stopped pouring since this afternoon. looks like we're in for a storm. which is the perfect segue to where we ate for dinner: typhoon. it's a chic, classy restaurant in santa monica. it's by the airport, you won't miss it. they serve pan-asian food. i counted at least five filipino items on the menu: filipino fried squid (calamari), pollo adobo (chicken adobo for the uninformed...they had to use pollo, i wonder why), filipino bar-b-que, pancit guisado and pancit molo.
for appetizers, we ordered crickets. no typos there. c-r-i-c-k-e-t-s. as in the flying ones. they were fried though, and served with potato strings. i grew up in the philippines and not once did i try eating those. but then, this time, i had to do it. for adventure's sake. it wasn't bad. wasn't bad at all. it was crispy. i actually kind of liked it. whoa.
we also had frog's legs. yum. i've eaten frogs when iw as small. my mom used to cook them in different ways. deep fried and crispy, adobo (better if the frog had eggs) or cooked like chicken. i forgot how it's called but it has bittermelon and tomatoes and clear soup. my mom makes the best frog dishes. i used to look forward to the rainy days so our friendly tindera would have frogs the next day. and we would buy them by the stick. anyway, not good for the squeamish.
i was ok to eat the crickets. i wasn't prepared to eat manchurian ants and white worms. maybe next time. for a while there, while we were eating crickets, i thought i was transported to the set of fear factor.
we also had pollo adobo, kalbi (i can make an entire entry about kalbi and how much i have been craving for this for weeks now), garlic fried rice and pancit guisado. the adobo was good (mom's adobo still better, though) and the kalbi was very, very good. better than some of those sold by korean restos themselves. could it be the marinade? the pancit...let's just say that i've had better pancit before. the garlic fried rice was yummy.
for dessert, we had garlic creme brulee and this malaysian dessert similar to the filipino turon. only difference? a sprinkling of powdery sugar and chocolate syrup. for drinks, i ordered vodka and cranberry juice. i got it. that's probably why i am still up.
i got home past ten and my roomies and a couple of friends were at home watching captain barbell (part of the set of videos we rented yesterday). i was curious about the whole movie so i sat and watched. it was okay. predictable. the movie was done around past 12. time for my soaps. (this can also be another entry). then i went up to my room around 1:00.
i watched ai3, the results show, even if i already knew that latoya and amy were in. i also watched the o.c. just an observation: luke and mrs. cooper hooking up is just wrong. does this happen in real life? a few months ago, luke was banging mrs. cooper's daughter and now he's banging her. what the hell. anywa. i get affected.
it's almost 3 am.
[epilogue: i tried to 'publish' this entry but my computer doesn't seem to want to. so i sent everything thru my ym. some stuff were missing but i was able to reconstruct it somehow. what the hell is wrong with my computer? why can't i send emails from it? and why can't i publish my blog from home? sigh.]
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
reconnecting
i just finished chatting with two of my closest friends from the past. one is in virginia and the other one is in sydney right now. technology can really be an amazing thing. it's 5:30 pm here, 8:30 pm in virginia and 12:30 pm (wednesday) in sydney. we chatted for about an hour and reminisced on the good old days.
we've been friends for almost ten years now. actually, we're celebrating the tenth year anniversary of our friendship this year. thanks to abs-cbn, our paths crossed and we became really good friends. these are the women who might as well be the sisters i never had. god, i miss them.
half an hour before six. i need my dummy for the las vegas edition. otherwise, i'd finish everything tomorrow. i want to go home, and rest, watch tv.
i forgot to share: last friday, my friends and i went to arclight in hollywood to watch crying ladies, the best picture in last year's manila film festival. it was good, it was funny. laugh out loud funny. but i guess, the mere fact that it won the best picture award made me expect something more -- not monumental, not epic. just something more. sure it is different. and sharon cuneta is not in her usual sweet role. anyway, i had a good time watching it. it's the first tagalog film i've seen on the big screen in years. (after american adobo, the debut, flipside and munting tinig).
Monday, February 23, 2004
monday blues
it's monday again. i love mondays, that's because i am not usually busy on mondays. i was literally dragging my body to the bathroom, so i can take a bath and prepare to go to work. i couldn't seem to do that. i couldn't seem to summon the strength to get up and go to work. i linger a bit, for a little while. until i dozed off again. i woke up a few minutes before 12:00 noon.
i'm at work now and it's past five. i've had a huge mug of coffee. done with a big meeting. i had an ensaymada imported from the philippines for lunch.
i came across a blogdrive site because i was following a trail. i forgot which trail i was following. i'm actually bothered by that. i easily forget. but i forget those stuff that maybe helpful to me in the future. i don't easily forget some stuff that are forgettable.
now, i'm here. i'm actually doing my first ever blog. i've always wanted to do this, i just didn't have enough time or guts to make one. now that i've started, i hope i could at least do regular entries. i hope.
i'm going home in a few. i might do another entry later. that is if i don't get consumed by my tv set.
Monday, December 15, 2003
slain fil-am soldier - asian journal article
Slain Fil-Am Soldier Laid to Rest
By Momar G. Visaya
APPLE VALLEY - Lanny and Remy Davis clasped their hands and held each other during the final moments of their only son's funeral Saturday, December 13. Flanked by their daughter Lisa, the couple stared at their fallen son's silver casket as it was lowered down. It was a long moment of silence, broken only by intermittent sobs coming from family, friends and relatives who were mourning the untimely and senseless death of Richard Thomas Ong Davis.
Davis was a 25-year-old Filipino-American who served in the military and engaged in some of the worst battles in Operation Iraqi Freedom earlier this year. He fought through 25 days of continuous combat in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable.
More than a hundred relatives and friends gathered at the Sunset Hills Memorial Park to say their final farewell to the slain soldier. Sixteen soldiers from his unit, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, including his Commanding Officer, Capt. David Taylor, flew in from Georgia to pay their last respects to their comrade. They carried his flag-draped casket and fired a 21-gun salute.
"I really had a hard time accepting the news," Davis' mother Remy, a former medic at a military hospital in Washington, D.C. told the Asian Journal, while recalling those days when they first found out that Richard was missing. It was a lot harder when they were informed that police have found his decomposing body.
Spc. Richard Davis survived the war in Iraq. He did not die in combat. What he did not survive was a fellow soldier's attack on him moments after they were thrown out of a club.
Authorities say Davis was stabbed to death in Georgia by fellow soldier Alberto Martinez days after their mid-July return to the United States from Iraq. Three other soldiers - two from Texas, one from Florida - are accused of concealing Davis' death.
Investigators say the group, while celebrating their homecoming, went to a topless bar but were kicked out after Davis supposedly insulted one of the dancers. The soldiers began fighting, and Martinez allegedly pulled out a knife he used to kill Davis.
Army investigators found Davis' beaten, stabbed and charred body in a wooded area on Nov. 7.
In an earlier interview with the Associated Press, Lanny Davis, Richard's father said, "I want him remembered as a war hero, not as someone killed as part of some bar fight. He should be remembered as a hero because he earned it."
Richard did not call his parents when he made it to his home. "He wanted to surprise us,"Remy said, while telling stories on how Richard would just knock on their door and surprise everyone that he's already home.
'A Dreamer, A Creator'
News reports have said that in Missouri, he was tormented and taunted in high school because of his mixed-race appearance - his father is white, his mother Filipino. Richard Davis by most accounts found acceptance in the military.
He "was a dreamer, a creator," Army Sgt. Matthew Delisle said in eulogizing the man he served with in Iraq. "He was a man who saw things differently from the rest of us."
Case in point: During the U.S.-led march to Baghdad, Delisle said, Davis concocted an elaborate stove system to cook everything from foods to coffee. He gave away his last cigarette to a fellow soldier he thought would enjoy it more.
He often spoke of his father, a retired military policeman. To Delisle, Richard Davis was the good son and soldier, the kind of guy "who covered you on the left and on the right." And when the bullets flew and tensions flared, Delisle said, Davis had a knack for levity.
"In times of stress, he was the one you could always count on," Delisle said on a day his dead friend was awarded a commendation medal that an Army lieutenant gently placed on the closed casket.
No Bad Blood?
The alleged soldier-on-soldier slaying has put the Army on the defensive. Davis' family accuses Fort Benning of writing him off as AWOL and failing to investigate his disappearance until the fall.
And some question the investigators' conclusion that the killing was simply the result of a brawl gone bad, wondering if traumas from the battlefield led to bloodshed at home.
''All of the evidence says there was no bad blood'' between the soldiers, said Mark Shelnutt, a defense attorney for Pfc. Douglas Woodcoff, one of the accused men. ''They've all been to Iraq, they want to have a few drinks. ... You can't help but wonder. If this had happened a week before they deployed, would the result have been the same?''
Davis returned from the Middle East on July 12 from his second deployment since May 2002. His unit - 1st Battalion, 15 Infantry Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division - had spent most of the past 14 months in the region training, fighting and waiting to go home.
Davis never called his parents to tell them he was back. He had no wife or girlfriend in Columbus. So he piled in a car with four other soldiers from his company for a night out to celebrate.
They headed to the Platinum Club, a topless bar about seven miles from Fort Benning, where mirrored walls reflect women dancing around a rickety poll wearing only G-strings, high heels and various tattoos.
The soldiers had a few drinks. They got kicked out of the bar.
''It's in the evidence that Richard Davis said an inappropriate remark to one of the employees of the club, a dancer," said Lt. Steve Cox, head of major crimes for the Columbus Police Department.
Davis's fellow soldiers later told police getting bounced from the bar made them angry. They started brawling in the parking lot. They left, but kept trading punches in the back of the car.
The soldiers drove about three miles from the club before Pfc. Alberto Martinez pulled his car over by the woods next to Cooper Creek Park.
Two of the men, Pvt. Jacob Burgoyne and Pfc. Mario Navarrete, got out and continued to fight Davis with their fists. They told police that Woodcoff, the fifth soldier, watched without joining the brawl.
Davis' Last Moments
Then Martinez pulled a knife, stabbing Davis several times, Burgoyne and Navarrete told investigators.
The four soldiers left Davis' dead body, drove to a convenience store and bought lighter fluid. They came back, doused the bloodied corpse and tried to burn it. They left the body concealed in the woods.
The account of the deadly brawl came from Burgoyne, Navarrete and Woodcoff in interviews with police following their arrest Nov. 8, the day after Davis' body was found.
Cox said police don't believe the soldiers' combat experiences were a factor in the killing. ''There are murders committed every day and most murders are committed by people who know you,'' Cox said. ''We see best friends killing each other all the time - civilians, military, all walks of life.''
Davis' father doesn't buy that argument. He's not sure why his son was slain, but insists it wasn't a simple, perhaps drunken, argument.
'You don't go out and stab a guy and set his body on fire after you beat him half to death because you got kicked out of a bar,'' Lanny Davis said. ''You don't go out and kill your buddies. There was something else that happened.''
Lanny Davis didn't find out his son had come back until a soldier from Fort Benning called him in Missouri ask if his son had come home. The father replied he thought his son was still at the Baghdad airport.
Murder Indictments Sought
Lanny Davis traveled to Fort Benning a month later to ask about his son. The Army had listed him as AWOL, absent without leave, though he'd left his toothbrush and new clothes bought at the post exchange in his barracks.
Fort Benning didn't investigate Davis' disappearance until the fall, after Lanny Davis sought help from his congressman, Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Missouri.
'The unit conducted an investigation and apparently they turned up some soldiers who implicated the four,'' said Fort Benning spokesman Rich McDowell, who said the questioning took place ''shortly before the body was found.''
Col. Steven Salazar, brigade commander for the 3rd Infantry at Fort Benning, has said Thursday the Army ''followed all procedures necessary ... and even took additional measures'' to find out what happened to Davis. After discovering his death, the Army reinstated Davis for his family to be able to receive his death benefits.
But the slain soldier's father remains angry.
''I've been screaming ever since that lieutenant colonel came and told me they found my son's skeletal remains,'' Lanny Davis said. ''We don't even have the chance to see my son's face ever again.''
Investigators still aren't sure exactly what day Davis was killed, though they know it was within three days of his return. It may have been less than 24 hours after he got back, Cox said.
Burgoyne of Middleburg, Fla., Navarrete of San Juan, Texas, and Woodcoff of San Antonio, Texas - all 24 - last week had their charges reduced by a judge from murder to concealing a death, a felony. District Attorney Gray Conger said he may still seek murder indictments for all four soldiers, but declined to comment further.
Davis attended schools in Kansas, Missouri, and California. After high school, he joined the US Army training in 1998 at Fort Sill, OK for basic training and field artillery. He was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas shortly thereafter.
The young soldier continued serving his country when he was sent to war-torn Bosnia. He decided to leave the army after September 11, 2001 but rejoined three months later. He was sent to Kuwait for Operation Desert Spring in 2002 to prepare for the war in Iraq.
Born in Germany to parents who both served in the military, Richard Davis was a dedicated man in uniform. On the day of his funeral, his parents gave him one final salute. (with AP wire reports)
Friday, November 28, 2003
indebted but happy
it's the day after thanksgiving and i'm at work. hah! not doing the usual black friday stuff.
i'm deep in debt but i am happy. i have a new iMac! yey! now i can edit stuff. probably go to press at home?
Type rest of the post here
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
california recall elections - balitang america
Candidates in California's recall election continued to court voters, in the two weeks before the reinstated October 7th recall election date, and with all legal challenges swept aside.
In Los Angeles, Filipinos believe that the federal court’s decision to reinstate the recall election is right because there is no need to further prolong the uncertainty. A number of Fil-Am voters are not afraid of being disenfranchised due to punch card voting machines, which research points to being error-prone.
Los Angeles County is one of six counties with this voting machinery, which prompted the litigation. The others are the counties of Mendocino, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Clara and Solano. These counties represent about 40 percent of the state's registered voters.
In the 2nd debate of the election, held in early September, 3 of the frontrunner replacement
candidates answered questions on issues affecting California’s minorities, including Filipino Americans.
Armed with graphs and tables, Green Party candidate Peter Camejo explained to Balitang America why California’s state budget is in the doldrums, when it should be enjoying a surplus instead.
[CAMEJO: This is at the most that could possibly be needed to maintain a balanced budget. In the history of California, a 6% compounded, this is the general fund money; this is how much money came into the state of California.//CUT HERE.]
Camejo also proposed reversing the cutbacks in services and education along with calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, who, according to him, have not been paying as much taxes as they should have been.
[CAMEJO: …this is the poorest 20% in our state. They pay the highest tax rate, 11.3. The wealthiest 1% pay the lowest tax rate, 7.2.//CUT HERE]
Gabriel Lerner, one of the event’s media panelists and the State and National news editor of La Opinion, the country’s largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, felt that there was not enough time for each and every candidate to fully expound on their answers.
[INSERT LERNER INT HERE]
Jay "Stone" Shih, anchor of China Crosstalk over KTSF says....
[INSERT JAY SHIH'S INTV]
For Balitang America, Momar G. Visaya in Los Angeles.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2003
father tanilong story - balitang america
Filipino Priest Pleads Not Guilty on Molestation Charges
A FILIPINO American priest assigned to the Parroquia De Nuestra Senora De
Guadalupe in Santa Ana, California pled not guilty during his arraignment
at the North Orange County Court last August 12.
71-year-old Father Gerardo Tanilong was arrested last July for allegedly
molesting a 15-year-old girl.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Fr. Tanilong will next appear
in court on September 19th for pre-trial and October 1st for the
preliminary hearing.
Fr. Tanilong was interviewed on July 14th at the Anaheim Police Department.
He was arrested at the conclusion of the interview for charges of child
molestation.
Fr. Tanilong was booked at the Anaheim Police Department and later
transferred to the Orange County Jail. The priest posted $50,000 bail the
next day and moved in with relatives.
The Philippine-born priest was ordained in 1962. He moved to Orange County
in 1986 and has served in various parishes. He has served at Our Lady of
Guadalupe, a largely Spanish-speaking congregation in Santa Ana, since
1999.
Reporting for Balitang America, this is Momar G. Visaya in Los Angeles.
Type rest of the post here
Thursday, August 14, 2003
lionizing trillanes?
weeks ago, some military men took over glorietta and mounted a siege. they were led by an officer named antonio trillanes.
a lot has been said about the uprising. my 2 cents' worth? they should not have done it. they should not have made a fool of themselves. oakwood? what were they even thinking?
my favorite writer jessica zafra wrote something about the putsch. i agree completely.
TWISTED
By JESSICA ZAFRA
On one hand, it's touching to see that ideals still count for something in this cynical world, and that soldiers will risk their careers and maybe their lives to denounce corruption and deceit.
On the other hand, their methods are unpardonable, their grip on reality is tenuous, and they do not have the guts to finish what they started. In standing up for their principles, they only managed to squish our economy.
Thanks to these drama queens in fatigues, no one will ever take Pinoys seriously again. I'd like to shake their hands and then kick them in the head. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!? Were you even thinking?
Here are some things the aspiring plotter should bear in mind.
1. Just because we took to the streets to overthrow governments twice before doesn't mean we'll automatically do it again, even if you are cute.
2. If your group has actually met with the President and been in the headlines for two weeks, you cannot convince people that you have no other way to air your grievances.
3. A coup d'état is "the violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group." A press
conference is a meeting called for the purpose of making a statement to the media. It is not necessary to occupy a building to get reporters to show up. Sometimes a phone call and drinks will suffice.
4. Do not contradict yourselves by announcing, "This is not a coup," then declaring that you are prepared to die fighting. Press conferences do not usually have a body count.
5. If you cannot string three words together without faltering, you should probably get someone else to be the spokesman.
6. When choosing a reason to overthrow a government, make sure it is significant, compelling and fairly recent. Yes, it' s terrible that the military sells bullets to rebels (as alleged), but in the light of the other stuff we've heard and are ready to believe, it's piddling. Also, Fr. Cirilo Nacorda in Lamitan, Basilan, made those same accusations over a year ago.
7. Rumors of the impending declaration of martial law are not likely to freak out people who not only survived 14 years of it but also hear such rumors on a weekly basis.
8. Lining up and doing snappy quarter-turns before the cameras reminds people of beauty contests, and should probably be avoided during a military rebellion.
9. When you take over a hotel or a full-service apartment building, you' re supposed to take hostages, not send them away, especially if these include ambassadors of other countries.
10. Send your parents out of town so you are spared the agony and embarrassment of seeing them on TV, beseeching you to give up.
11. Of course it' s all right for guys to cry in public; we like sensitive males. However, we would
prefer that you cry after you've actually done something. Otherwise you just look like a wuss.
12. Don't say "microcosm." Just don't.
13. If you want the citizens to rally to your cause, do not alienate their affections by barring access to the mall.
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Sunday, July 06, 2003
on the friendster train
nasa friendster na ako!
my friends have been bugging me to join this new site called friendster and today, i did.
i'm looking forward to reconnecting with old friends i have not seen in ages and to make new ones in the process.
why did i not think of this? hehehe.
Type rest of the post here
Thursday, May 22, 2003
epiphanies
woke up quite early today. this is another attempt at having/maintaining a journal - something that i've been doing on and off since i was in grade school.
so what's up? i've been having some epiphanies lately but i don't think it is the right time to discuss them. :D
clay aiken lost to ruben studdard at the season finale of american idil last night. damn. we had a bet/pool in the office. i was the only one in the clay train, against four who thought that ruben was the man. oh well. there goes lunch for 4 people. bad gambler!
got an email today from an x friend. j greeted x a happy birthday. he thanked josaw and sent the reply to all of us. wala lang. still hate him. sagad to the bones.
looking forward to the long weekend. i hope it will be a blast. reno, here we come.
i have stuff to do. can't find the time to do them.
Monday, January 27, 2003
ping lacson report - balitang america
> BALITANG AMERICA - PHONE PATCH REPORT
> MOMAR VISAYA - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
>
> STORY: Lacson in US to Appeal Court Order
>
> Philippine Senator Panfilo Lacson stated in an interview last week that he
> is going to appeal a California court's prior ruling that had declared him
> in default of the cases filed by handcuffs supplier Blanquita Pelaez.
>
> The case, filed against Lacson before the Superior Court of California in
> Alameda County stemmed from the balance nonpayment of some 41,000 handcuffs
> ordered in 1996 by the Philippine National Police from US-based Smith and
> Wesson Company. Pelaez was the exclusive supplier. Lacson was then the
> chief of the Philippine Police.
>
> On Jan. 10th, Judge Julie Conger ordered Lacson to pay more than 3 million
> dollars in damages to Pelaez after Lacson failed, despite several
> summonses, to answer a civil suit Pelaez had filed. He now has until March
> 5th of this year to file an appeal. On that day, he is scheduled to appear
> in court to present proof of his US assets to the plaintiff and her
> lawyers. This will enable Pelaez to get the 3 million dollars that Lacson
> has not paid yet.
>
> Lacson said during the interview that revisions in the business contract
> with Pelaez made the PNP responsible for paying Philippine customs and
> duties. These were supposed to be paid by the supplier instead. he
> therefore considered the deal grossly disadvantageous to the Philippine
> government
>
> A potential presidential candidate in the 2004 elections, Sen. Lacson also
> clarified during the interview hat there is "no formal declaration" yet
> from the opposition that he will be the party¹s official standard-bearer in
> the 2004 presidential elections.
>
> While he announced as early as November last year that he will seek the
> presidency, Lacson, in the interview was a bit coy, saying that he does not
> want to sound presumptuous and that the ultimate decision to run in 2004
> rests with his political party. He added that there are talks but nothing
> is official yet.
(Full Disclosure: The preceding report was what I filed for The Filipino Channel's Balitang America when they requested me to be one of their correspondents in California. A week earlier, I had the opportunity to interview Sen. Ping Lacson exclusively for the Asian Journal. It was held at Picanha, a Brazilian restaurant in Burbank, CA. Lacson was with his lawyer Siegfred Fortun.)
Friday, July 20, 2001
To Hell and Back
my saga continues. the negotiations fell through and as my title goes, i’ve been to hell and back.
let’s just say i’ve never met a guy so vicious, so mean, so bad. and i mean bad. he could put the meanest, baddest movie contravida out of business. hell, for a while in that short meeting, i thought i was in hell, face to face with THE one, the evil one.
his booming voice still haunts me up to now. his piercing eyes still slice through my heart. his words, god, his words, still swell up my eyes when i remember them. golly, what i have done to deserve this guy’s anger?
when some of my officemates asked me how the meeting went through, i gave them one curt reply, “I wish you won’t ever have to go through my experience in your lifetime.” heck, i won’t even wish it to happen to the person i dislike the most.
he was so menacing and threatening at the same time. i managed to record the meeting, but what i did was illegal so if ever we file a case against him for extortion, my little tape won’t even be admissible in court. he let go of such words like “i can shut down your business tomorrow,” or “i have more money than all of you combined.”
god, i wanted to get up of my seat and strangle him till kingdom come. even animals don’t deserve to be treated that way.
we did not consult our lawyers first because we thought that the meeting was a negotiation. it was in no way a negotiation. the guy did not even give us the chance to talk. it was like he put on a show, and the three of us—me and my publishers—were there to watch him perform. it was even my boss’ birthday, for crying out loud.
in the afternoon, we headed to the headquarters of the law firm that my office hired. it is in the beverly hills/century city area. the firm’s name is mcdermott, will and emery, and apparently, they are one of the biggest law firms in the world.
their offices on the 38th floor of the century park plaza was overlooking los angeles. we were ushered in to a conference room with a conference table so long it could accommodate around 30 people on each side. and that was just a small conference room. a senior counsel met us and because a signed a confidentiality contract, i won’t even be able to divulge what transpired in our meeting. di ba naman? let’s just put it this way: this guy cannot harass us anymore with his phone calls. “don’t talk to me, talk to my lawyer!”
i feel better now. but it ain’t over yet. laban kung laban. if this would eventually lead to the court, then so be it.
someone once told me, that a libel case filed against an editor/writer would mean that he or she is made. if going through my experiences since last monday would mean that i’d be made, i think i’d rather be NOT made.
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
My 15 Minutes of Fame
Just got back from a couple of bowling games with some friends, followed by a late dinner at our favorite Thai resto in Hollywood.
I have also just finished watching and rewinding and rewinding and rewinding (you get the idea) a tape of last night’s 11 o’clock news on CBS. That’s where my ‘15 Minutes of Fame’ story (more like 3 minutes, so i still have 12 reserved somewhere in time) comes in.
At 5:00 pm kaninang hapon, i got a frantic call from CBS News. [CBS is one of the top 3 broadcasting cosporations here in the US. The other two are NBC and ABC.] The guy on the other line told me that they are doing a story for the 11 pm news and they need a resource person. Say again, sir? They need daw someone to interview for the Abu Sayyaf story that they are doing. They have searched and asked people and I was recommended daw. Ah-huh, yeah right!
I asked them if they think I’d be ‘credible’ enough to talk about the Abu Sayyaf and they said, “We’ll see when we get there...” with matching laugh, it looks like they were bent on going to my office to get the interview even if I don’t permit them to. Sabi ko, I’ll ask permission first from my publishers if it is alright with them. “I’ll call you in a couple of minutes,” sabi ko.
My publishers agreed, so I called them back. One ring. “CBS News.” Sabi ko, “Yes, I’d like to speak with John please.” “Momar! So what time are we coming over?”
I know how hard that person’s job is (he’s probably a PA or an Associate Producer) so hindi na ako nagpatumpik-tumpik. “You can come here anytime.” “We’ll be there in forty five minutes.”
In less than 45 minutes, the cameraman arrived. This was already around 7:00 pm. Chuck, the cameraman told me, “Hey Momar. The reporter will be here in a few minutes. He’s coming from the studio, he just did the 6 o’oclock news. His name is Jonathan Elias.”
Freeze frame. I have been watching this guy for the longest time. His reports are incisive, he is good in what he does and well, he looks good. Hahaha. He has won Emmy awards for his newscasts and reports, he even has a George Peabody award. The only word I could muster then, “Uhm, okay.”
So he set up, took establishing shots and sitners (situationers, yung casual shots baga). By 7:30 pm, Jonathan Elias arrived. Face to face with that face I always see on TV, I immediately got tense, I got flustered. After a short exchange of hello’s and how are you’s, he asked me backgrounders. Then they made me stand in front of the cam, gave me a lapel mike and the cameras started rolling.
After what seemed like an eternity, (office-mates would later tell me that the interview took almost 20 minutes) the interview was over. Off-cam, he continued asking me questions about the Philippines and about Abu Sayyaf.
His on-cam questions were well thought of, well analyzed and he shot them like I was in a firing range. Some of the questions were easy to answer but I got stumped by a couple. He asked me the amount, in US dollars, that the Philippine tourism industry is getting from tourists who are from the United States.
Obviously, I didn’t know the answer. Not even a ballpark figure. I answered the question vaguely, trying to evade a possible follow-up. “I don’t have the figures, but it’s huge.” Then I said, I was so unsure but I said this confidently, “Next to the Europeans, the Americans are the most frequesnt visitors of the Philippines.” I may have interchanged the facts, and I have no way of knowing at that exact time if what I said was factual.
The next question that stumped me. “What is the Philippine government doing to make sure that this won’t happen again.” Uh-oh. Goddamnit, I am not the Philippine government. I had no idea. This happened last year and it has happened again. What assurance do we have that this won’t happen again? Lord of the rings, I was grasping for an answer. Not for the righta nswer but for any possible answer. Dead air, for about 5 seconds. Maybe he thought I didn’tget his question. I beat around the bush, you know blah-blah-blah yada-yada-yada, until I, myself got tired of beating around the bush. I told him that the government is intensifying its efforts to make sure that this does not happen again. Goddamn.
After the interview, time check: 8:30, we proceeded to the bowling lanes. I called my flat-mate so she can program my VCR. I had no plans of telling my relatives but then my cousin called me up, I had no choice but to tell him to wait for the 11 pm news on CBS.
11:10, i got three text messages. My cousin left a voice mail. An office-mate called. They saw me on TV. They fucking saw me on TV. 11:30, my boss called me up, asking me if I saw the news. I told her that I was still out bowling and she told me that it came out good. Those were the lead stories of the newscast last night (it was a twin bill because the other one was an interview with the neighbors of the American that the Abu Sayyaf beheaded) and I was in there for a good three to four minutes of it.
I almost had a turkey (three strikes in a row) after I found out about it. It was well close to a turkey because I hit two strikes and a nine. I could’t get the fucking last pin to drop. My weakness.
We had dinner around 12:20 and got finished around 1:00 am. Three games of bowling can be tiring.
In my room, at 1:15 am. I opened my TV and there was David Duchovny on the Craig Kilborn Show. I watched it for almost ten minutes. My flat-mate got impatient. “Aren’t you watching the tape?” she asked me. “I told her that I was watching David Duchovny first.” “David can wait, watch yourself first,” she told me.
I rewound (rewinded? hahaha) the tape. Hit stop, and hit play. Sumobra. Forward. Then the news. “Tonight on CBS News... A California man is said to be beheaded by terrorists in the Philippines, who exactly are the members of the ABu Sayyaf and what do they want?”
After around four minutes of backgrounders, my face appeared. “Oh God, I look so big.” I almost forgot, the camera adds 10 pounds. I looked like i was 160. Hell, I am lying. I have a friend who is 140 and it’s just mathematically impossible for me to be 150 if I compare my frame with his. Hahaha.
After watching myself for about 15 times, I decided to write this.
Monday, January 01, 2001
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