Never coming soon on Discovery Travel and Living

Slum tours, anyone?

It’s the proverbial pushing the boundaries thing, reality tourism, etc. etc. Some would say it’s exploitation but given the usual willingness of the exploitee (as would be usually the case except for the occasional mayor who has drawn his boundaries), everything becomes moot.

“Oh look, a man who can sleep in a two-foot square carton. Nice piece for my travel blog.”

“Hey take my pictures, will ya? See those kids sharing a tiny piece of dried fish? They call that tuyo, right? I wonder if I can get some at the farmers’ market back home.”

I’m also expecting an article on Payatas in Climbing Magazine soon.

Calling Mr. Strange

It’s already March and the magic is slowly slipping out of my hands. That’s what I’ve told a friend last week and he said perhaps the muse made tampo. Hay. But that’s really what’s going on in the past few months. A few spells of love and hate and assuming a third party position, doing nothing in short. The trifle tasted bland, the notebook’s been yellowing and blank and photographs reek of uncoordinated palettes.

Anyway. I want to run like Murakami. I want to stock up on my testosterone level and throw all the pathos that’s been on my bookshelf but jesusmio, even this statement sounds so James Morrison. You know, it’s an upbeat tempo but it’s all so sad, so sad (Barry Manilow’s Copacabana comes to mind, if I may stretch the analogy to its tensile limit).

Commercial break: I’m at this space and time (Ortigas Foundation Library, March 15 10AM). See you there.

I can smell a Pinoy even on TV

I finally decided to be connected at home. Throwing all the evils of cable TV to the wind, I knew that I’ve found a gem. It was worth skipping the NBA elims, Animal Planet and Marimar.

Renaldo Lapuz rawks!

(Video here. The awwwsum portrait I got it here.)

His costume reminded me of the comedia actors back home (hacked from Mike Mina), only fantabulouser. Could he be a townmate?

I found a Pinoy site whining how he could do this to our race (yeaaaah right–I won’t link it up because I don’t want to glorify such crap, like did Chinatown draw blood on the William Hung thing?). Lighten up guys. We’re known as one of the happiest people in Asia and we’re total entertainers.

Will somebody get his song to be the theme of the 2008 Beijing Olympics? It’s on the same level as Hand in Hand, imho.

The guy’s even got a website.

100 years and my life feels–

still, that I didn’t have the time to go to UP’s Centennial kickoff.

Well, there’s still another one a hundred years hence. But. I still had the good fortune to have a centennial moment of my own, ten years back when we were declared the Philippine centennial batch during graduation and we were obliged to attend the university graduation in our filipiniana (back then, I’m not sure now, we were only required to attend the college graduation rites).

And because our excellent firewall broke down yesterday it was all access pass to youtube. God, I was surprised to see that there were so many UP Naming Mahal videos. Goosebumps, goosebumps. I felt proud and I stared angrily at an employee down the corridor who had this arrogant shirt from some engineering school who needs validation every now and then.

You got a shirt, I got some music (which was Oranges and Lemons-y for all I care), a multiply theme and the first of a hundred years.

So there.

Naku namaaaan

The other week my host and I were discussing in his car the similarities between Taiwanese and Filipino food, which evolved into a game like how to tell a camel from a dromedary or a donkey from an ass (see what’s coming).

When he said he thinks mangoes in his country are better because there is so much to choose from than the tasteless stone he got in his hotel back in Pinas, I said the next time you go to the Philippines I’ll give you a sackful of different kinds of mangoes.

At this time when I think that I am the only Pinoy in the office, I feel that I am the country’s ambassador and letting it down is out of the question (and even back home I don’t diss Pinoyness as the ultimate in bad taste–just see my 80’s posts).

I am closely monitoring the medal tally in Channel News Asia (which seem to be Singapore-sided obviously) and I beam with pride when our country leapfrogged from the last slot to the top three.

Kaya utang na loob, Mr. Trinidad. You should have seen the Indians who dodge cars in Singapore or the Chinese who spit in Hongkong’s public spaces.

Channeling Carlos Celdran, kvetch kvetch kvetch!

Therefore I Wang

Across my cubicle there’s the nameplate of an engineer named Handsome Hung.

He’s not around but I empathize with the guy. And I don’t want to take pictures.

Great expectations, anyone?

“I will send him crying to his mother”

These were the words used by Taiwan’s education secretary to the mayor of Taipei when the latter tried to stop the renaming of the Chiang Kai Shek memorial in the city. People perceived the act as dilution of the founder’s achievements.

Wha–, I mean, can somebody use that statement in the Philippines? The second time I went here I watched a boxing match between two members of the Taiwanese parliament. Can we have that instead of monotonous privilege speeches? Miriam Santiago–oh well, what’s new?

I want to see men do it.

Barias to Trillanes: “Let me in, or I will send you crying to your mother.”

FG Arroyo to Joey de Venecia: “Back off, or I will send you crying to your mother. And your father too.”

Can’t think of a third one. Except for tidbits from Channel News Asia, I am well insulated from my country’s current events.

Why am I not packing?

In a few hours I’m flying to Kaohsiung. Oh Lordy, I’m still in the office.

Don’t misunderstand me but the first and last travel for the year (and the third time to be there) doesn’t excite me as much as going to Makati (give me a break, guys; it’s rare for me to go to Manila these days).

I’ll be writing my piece for LitCritters high above Batanes tomorrow. And I’ll miss the PSFV launch on Saturday too.

What else.

More on meeting Joel Toledo and snagging his Magic for Beginners in the next to possible update.

Move over, Paris Hilton

Perfumes based on Neil Gaiman’s characters.

I wonder how Triolet smells like.

What’s your drive?

The caption of this photo which appeared in today’s Sun Star read:

The owner of this moviehouse on Colon St., Cebu City says he wanted to send a message of peace and national unity, in a Nativity scene that features President Arroyo as the Virgin Mary and disgraced president Joseph Estrada as, well, St. Joseph. (Sun.Star Cebu/Allan Defensor)

Huzzaaaah! Given the words below it, I would say this is more than an unholy alliance.