"Off World"

Mateo Guez is the director/creator and brilliant mind behind the film "Off World"


Dear Readers,

This clip from "Off World" is only the tip of this amazing film. Remarkable indeed and speaks a completely different language to my heart than what it's used to.

Mateo Guez is a wonderful french film director with a deep passion, not unlike myself, for the Philippines.

I had the immense pleasure of meeting with him along with fellow blogger Carlos Celdran last night for laughs, food and drink and of course ART!

Thanks Carlos, for inviting me to attend. I really had the best time.

Please watch Mateo's amazing film clip. Mateo is currently touring the world with his film about the Smokey Mountains.
I LOVE that so many foreigners love the Philippines and spend so much time devoted to telling their own stories about the country. Their OWN treasured experiences.


Blogger Carlos Celdran, in Toronto spreading his joy. What fun we had.


Having a great time with wonderful french film director Mateo Guez


I adored Carlos of course and we were a perfect fit.

Star Plagiarizes Blogger

Dear Readers,

You should check this out because The Philippine Star's The Freeman and philstar online is up to its old tricks again. STEALING from bloggers and blatantly plagiarizing their work.

http://www.byahilo.com/2009/05/31/philippine-stars-the-freeman-newspaper-in-cebu-used-my-blog-content-without-permission/

The Freeman, a local newspaper in Cebu owned by Philippine Star has published an article that has been ripped from his blog BYAHILO (http://www.byahilo.com)

His post, which talks about a local cake house in Bacolod city was originally published last October 29, 2006.

The plagiarized version appeared in The Freeman and in philstar.com last May 16 2009.

the philstar.com article can be found here
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=468081

try to compare the text with the original 2006 post here:
http://www.byahilo.com/2006/10/29/calea-bacolods-sweetest-pride/

I am so tired of this organization stealing from bloggers.
It's disgusting quite frankly.

The Decade List: Hukkle (2002)

Hukkle - dir. György Pálfi

Along with Lucrecia Martel's La ciénaga, Sébastien Lifshitz's Presque rien and David Gordon Green's George Washington, György Pálfi's Hukkle was certainly one of the most astonishing film debuts of the decade. Following a hiccup in La ronde style, Pálfi captures a rural village in Hungary (animals included) with an alternately twisted and playful sense of humor. Hukkle is a near-perfectly realized experiment; the only quibble I had arose during a brief sequence where Pálfi used noticeable special effects to show an X-ray view of one of the people (everyone else I know who had seen the film didn't seem as bothered as I was). Despite that (likely) singular complaint, it's hard to find anything else wrong with Hukkle, which Pálfi followed (after an omnibus film Jött egy busz... [A Bus Came...]) with the absolutely wonderful Taxidermia in 2006.

Screenplay: György Pálfi
Cinematography: Gergely Pohárnok
Music: Balázs Barna, Samu Gryllus
Country of Origin: Hungary
US Distributor: Shadow Distribution/Home Vision

Premiere: 12 September 2002 (Toronto Film Festival)
US Premiere: 12 October 2002 (Chicago International Film Festival)

Awards: Discovery of the Year (European Film Awards); New Director's Award (San Sebastián Film Festival)

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

My mama use to make this for us when we were young, and I remember loving it very much. We sisters would always fight for the last piece and hope that mum could make more.

Thus, after craving this for more than 10 years, I finally found the courage -__- to search for its recipe and try making them myself.

There were tons of recipe on this and thus I'd picked the easiest one to follow and give it a wee twick.

Ingredients:
175g butter
250g milk chocolate with nuts
280g rich tea biscuits

1. Lightly butter a square cake tin.

2. Combine the butter and milk chocolate in a bowl and melt in the microwave, or over a saucepan of gently simmering water.

3. Pop the biscuits into a plastic bag and use a rolling pin or any other objects to bash it to crumbles.

4. Stir the crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture. Mix well, spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press down lightly.

5. Refrigerate until firm and cut into squares to serve.

This recipe is super easy. No chopping or frying or baking or cooking skills required. And its super tasty. I'm gonna take a piece and bite onto it now.

Source: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/530155

The Decade List: Chi-hwa-seon (2002)

Chi-hwa-seon [Painted Fire] - dir. Im Kwon-taek

Like the antithesis of all the loathsome biopics coming out of the US (and elsewhere), Im Kwon-taek's depiction of the life of painter Jang Seung-up (Choi Min-sik) proved that films about artists can be artful on their own. It's not that it hadn't been done before (like Pialat's Van Gogh), but it felt like it had been a really long time since one as good as Chi-hwa-seon came around. With the help of Park Seon-deok's exquisite, elliptical editing, Im illustrated Jang's life outside of the expected biopic mold, a surprising feat for a subject whose turbulent life as a doubting alcoholic sounds quite similar to all the other artists whose lives have been turned into films. The French title Ivre de femmes et de peinture [Drunk on Women and Painting] is a more accurate title than the US subtitle Painted Fire (or the British one, which is called Drunk on Women and Poetry for some reason).

With: Choi Min-sik, Ahn Sung-kee, Yu Ho-jeong, Kim Yeo-jin, Son Ye-jin
Screenplay: Im Kwon-taek, Kim Yong-ok, Min Byung-sam
Cinematography: Jung Il-sung
Music: Kim Young-dong
Country of Origin: South Korea
US Distributor: Kino

Premiere: 10 May 2002 (South Korea)
US Premiere: 28 September 2002 (New York Film Festival)

Awards: Best Director (Cannes Film Festival)

The Decade List: Awards (2002)

For as wonderful of a year as 2002 was for film, I'm not sure you'd be able to gather that from the list of awards below. Other than Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her and Todd Haynes' Far from Heaven, most of the top prize-winning films left me rather lukewarm. Talk to Her and Roman Polanski's The Pianist seemed to have been the most widespread in their accolades, but I'm frankly not sold on the latter. In fact, you're likely to only see one WWII/Holocaust film on the entire decade list, and that won't be until 2006.

As I said earlier, there are still at least 15 films I want to write about from 2002. They will be unraveling throughout the next couple months as I get around to re-watching them (it's going to be easier the closer I get to December, with the later entries fresher in my memory).

Cannes

Palme d'Or: The Pianist [d. Roman Polanski]
Grand Prix: Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man Without a Past) [d. Aki Kaurismäki]
Prix du jury: Divine Intervention [d. Elia Suleiman]
Best Director: (tie) Im Kwon-taek - Chihwaseon; Paul Thomas Anderson - Punch-Drunk Love
Best Actor: Olivier Gourmet - Le fils [The Son]
Best Actress: Kati Outinen - The Man Without a Past
Best Screenplay: Paul Laverty - Sweet Sixteen
Camera d'Or: Bord de mer (Seaside) [d. Julie Lopes-Curval]


Venice

Golden Lion: The Magdalene Sisters [d. Peter Mullan]
Grand Special Jury Prize: House of Fools [d. Andrei Konchalovsky]
Best Actor: Stefano Accorsi - Un viaggio chiamato amore (A Journey Called Love)
Best Actress: Julianne Moore - Far from Heaven
Career Golden Lion: Dino Risi


Toronto

People's Choice Award: Whale Rider [d. Niki Caro]
Discovery Award: The Magdalene Sisters [d. Peter Mullan]
Best Canadian Feature: Spider [d. David Cronenberg]


Berlin

Golden Bear: (tie) Bloody Sunday [d. Paul Greengrass]; Spirited Away [d. Hayao Miyazaki]
Best Director: Otar Iosseliani - Lundi matin (Monday Morning)
Best Actor: Jacques Gamblin - Laissez-passer (Safe Conduct)
Best Actress: Halle Berry - Monster's Ball
Jury Grand Prix: Halbe Treppe (Grill Point) [d. Andreas Dresen]
Outstanding Artistic Achievment: Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant, Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux, Firmine Richard, Ludivine Sagnier - 8 femmes (8 Women)
Honorary Golden Bear: Robert Altman, Claudia Cardinale
Teddy (Feature): Walking on Water [d. Tony Ayres]
Teddy (Documentary): Alt om min far (All About My Father) [d. Even Benestad]
Teddy (Jury Award): Juste une femme [d. Mitra Farahani]


Sundance

Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic): Personal Velocity: Three Portraits [d. Rebecca Miller]
Grand Jury Prize (Documentary): Daughter from Danang [d. Gail Dolgin, Vicente Franco]
Director (Dramatic): Gary Winick - Tadpole
Director (Documentary): Rob Fruchtman, Rebecca Cammisa - Sister Helen
Special Jury Prize (Dramatic): (three-way tie) Manito, for Franky G, Leo Minaya, Manuel Cabral, Hector Gonzalez, Julissa Lopez, Jessica Morales, Panchito Gómez; Real Women Have Curves, for America Ferrara, Lupe Ontiveros; Secretary, for Steven Shainberg
Special Jury Prize (Documentary): (tie) How to Draw a Bunny [d. John W. Walter]; Señorita extraviada (Missing Young Woman) [d. Lourdes Portillo)
Cinematography (Dramatic): Ellen Kuras - Personal Velocity: Three Portraits
Cinematography (Documentary): Daniel B. Gold - Blue Vinyl
Audience Award (Dramatic): Real Women Have Curves [d. Patricia Cardoso]
Audience Award (Documentary): Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony [d. Lee Hirsch]
Audience Award (World Cinema): (tie) Bloody Sunday [d. Paul Greengrass]; L'ultimo bacio (The Last Kiss) [d. Gabriele Muccino]


Academy Awards

Best Picture: Chicago [d. Rob Marshall]
Best Director: Roman Polanski - The Pianist
Best Actor: Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Best Actress: Nicole Kidman - The Hours
Best Supporting Actor: Chris Cooper - Adaptation
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Zeta-Jones - Chicago
Best Original Screenplay: Pedro Almodóvar - Hable con ella (Talk to Her)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Ronald Harwood - The Pianist
Best Cinematography: Conrad L. Hall - Road to Perdition
Best Documentary: Bowling for Columbine [d. Michael Moore]
Best Foreign Film: Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa) [d. Caroline Link]
Animated Feature: Spirited Away [d. Hayao Miyazaki]
Honorary Award: Peter O'Toole


BAFTAs

Best Film: The Pianist [d. Roman Polanski]
Best Director: Roman Polanski - The Pianist
Best British Film: The Warrior [d. Asif Kapadia]
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York
Best Actress: Nicole Kidman - The Hours
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken - Catch Me If You Can
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Zeta-Jones - Chicago
Best Original Screenplay: Pedro Almodóvar - Hable con ella (Talk to Her)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman, Donald Kaufman - Adaptation
Best Cinematography: Conrad L. Hall - Road to Perdition
Film Not in the English Language: Talk to Her


European Film Awards

Best Film: Hable con ella (Talk to Her) [d. Pedro Almodóvar]
Best Director: Pedro Almodóvar - Talk to Her
Best Actor: Sergio Castellitto - Bella Martha (Mostly Martha); L'ora di religione (Il sorriso di mia madre) (My Mother's Smile)
Best Actress: Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant, Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux, Firmine Richard, Ludivine Sagnier - 8 femmes (8 Women)
Best Cinematography: Pawel Edelman - The Pianist
Best Screenplay: Pedro Almodóvar - Talk to Her
Best Documentary: Être et avoir (To Be and To Have) [d. Nicolas Philibert]
Discovery: Hukkle [d. György Pálfi]
Screen International: Divine Intervention [d. Elia Suleiman]
Audience Award (Actor): Javier Cámara - Talk to Her
Audience Award (Actress): Kate Winslet - Iris
Audience Award (Director): Pedro Almodóvar - Talk to Her
Life Achievement Award: Tonino Guerra


Independent Spirit

Best Feature: Far from Heaven [d. Todd Haynes]
Best First Feature: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys [d. Peter Care]
Best Director: Todd Haynes - Far from Heaven
Best Male Lead: Derek Luke - Antwone Fisher
Best Female Lead: Julianne Moore - Far from Heaven
Best Supporting Male: Dennis Quaid - Far from Heaven
Best Supporting Female: Emily Mortimer - Lovely & Amazing
Best Debut Performance: Nia Vardalos - My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Best Screenplay: Mike White - The Good Girl
Best First Screenplay: Erin Cressida Wilson - Secretary
Best Cinematography: Edward Lachman - Far from Heaven
Best Documentary: Bowling for Columbine [d. Michael Moore]
Best Foreign Film: Y tu mamá también [d. Alfonso Cuarón]
Someone to Watch Award: Przemyslaw Reut - Paradox Lake


Golden Globes

Picture (Drama): The Hours [d. Stephen Daldry]
Picture (Comedy/Musical): Chicago [d. Rob Marshall]
Director: Martin Scorsese - Gangs of New York
Actor (D): Jack Nicholson - About Schmidt
Actress (D): Nicole Kidman - The Hours
Actor (M/C): Richard Gere - Chicago
Actress (M/C): Renée Zellweger - Chicago
Supporting Actor: Chris Cooper - Adaptation
Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep - Adaptation
Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor - About Schmidt
Foreign Film: Hable con ella (Talk to Her) [d. Pedro Almódovar]
Cecil B. DeMille Award: Gene Hackman


Césars Awards

Best Film (Meilleur film): The Pianist [d. Roman Polanski]
Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur): Roman Polanski - The Pianist
Best Actor (Meilleur acteur): Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Best Actress (Meilleure actrice): Isabelle Carré - Se souvenir des belles choses (Beautiful Memories)
Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur acteur dans un second rôle): Bernard Le Coq - Se souvenir des belles choses
Best Supporting Actress (Meilleure actrice dans un second rôle): Karin Viard - Embrassez qui vous voudrez (Summer Things)
Most Promising Actor (Meilleur espoir masculin): Jean-Paul Rouve - Monsieur Batignole
Most Promising Actress (Meilleur espoir féminin): Cécile De France - L'auberge espagnole
Best Screenplay (Meilleur scénario): Costa-Gavras, Jean-Claude Grumberg - Amen.
Best Cinematography (Meilleure photographie): Pawel Edelman - The Pianist
Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger): Bowling for Columbine [d. Michael Moore]
Best European Union Film (Meilleur film de l'Union Européenne): Hable con ella (Talk to Her) [d. Pedro Almódovar]
Best First Film (Meilleur premier film): Se souvenir des belles choses [d. Zabou Breitman]
Honorary Césars: Bernadette Lafont, Spike Lee, Meryl Streep


Razzies

Worst Film: Swept Away [d. Guy Ritchie]
Worst Director: Guy Ritchie - Swept Away
Worst Actor: Roberto Benigni, Breckin Meyer - Pinocchio
Worst Actress: (tie) Britney Spears - Crossroads; Madonna - Swept Away
Worst Supporting Actor: Hayden Cristensen - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Worst Supporting Actress: Madonna - Die Another Day
Worst Screenplay: George Lucas, Jonathan Hales - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Worst Remake/Sequel: Swept Away

2 Films by Eduardo de Gregorio, DVD Update

Les Films du paradoxe are releasing two films directed by Eduardo de Gregorio, frequent co-screenwriter for Jacques Rivette, on 18 June: Sérail [Surreal Estate] and La mémoire courte [Short Memory]. I mentioned the releases before, but now I have cover artwork for both. I still can't find any specifics of the releases, but I'd expect not to find English subtitles on either one... but then again, you never know. Another notable release from Les Films du paradoxe for 2009 is Werner Schroeter's 1996 documentary Poussières d'amour, in which Isabelle Huppert and Carole Bouquet interview some of the director's favorite opera singers. Check this link for more titles; the links for the two de Gergorio films above include their trailers.

Spend ££ To Turn Presentable??

To be honest, I am a very vain person (if I have the free time to be vain). I would watch a Taiwan Beauty Show and learn all the tricks and tips to become a prettier person, be it fashion sense, skincare or social ettique...

But, now only did I know that the alternative way to eating healthy and exercise to make oneself prettier is by spending money on skincare products. And I do mean, loads and tons of money.

Let see... mmm... a gal's daily skincare routine would be 1. cleanse 2. toner 3. eye serum 4. face essence 5. moisturiser.

If one has the money to spare, she would have add in skincare-enhancing-lotion (well, its call 导入液 in chinese where the function of the lotion is by helping all those skincare product being absorb more effectively into the skin) and a daily night mask-gel.

But, those, for me, have to be put on a hold as I ain't got that much cash, as thus, the basics will do.

My beauty diary white truffle mask , £11 for 6 sheets. Its function is for whitening and brightening the face.

Kose Deep Aquary Ceramide II Moist Essence Gel Cream, £8 for 95g, could be used to moisturise the skin and act as toner and essence all at once. I would buy this to use in the day time together with my sunscreen.

DHC Platinum Silver Nanocolloid Whitening Cream, £16 for 45g. It contains platinum and silver as they act as a very good whitening element and anti-oxidant in whitening cream. I'll use this cream at night. I will buy this once I finish my current cream.

Kose Happy Bath Day Precious Rose Hair Cologne Fragrance, £6 for 30g. This is quite useful when it comes to trying to make your hair as fragrant as it can be after you cook or sweat or do any sorts of activity that enhances the production of hair oil.

Last but not least, Dariya Japan Magic Sheet, £4 for 2 piece. This sheet is used to hold those annoying fringes without having the need to clip the hair and make a mark on your fringe while applying make-up or something.

*****************************************************************************

If only, ££ in my bank account has no limit, I woulda include more items into my wishlist and I promise to be enthusiastic in using all of them everyday.

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p/s: I wanted to buy more superb and quirky and cool products from a Malaysian website, but am too lazy to convert the currency and contact the seller.

Outfit Of The Day

I'm not sure why the internet connection in my house is damn slow nowadays (nope, its not about the download), and this really encourage me to be lazy in blogging as uploading pictures are really pain the ass, therefore, the absent of post for 28th May.

But anyway, not many really reads this blog (just another way to escape the guiltiness of being a lazy bum).

OK, back to the topic... I notice that everytime when I really play dress up (or putting in any effort to stack on clothes), is when I'm going to Tesco to do some grocery shopping. And Tesco is like freaking near my house, like 5 minutes walk.

Maybe its because I could endure the pain in walking in heels and withstand the cold by wearing little in just the 5 minutes distance walk.

Necklace: Primark, Dress: FCUK, Tights: H&M, Boots: Priceless, Denim jacket: Malaysia

p/s: Denim seems to be the "in" thing now, so I'm gonna hide my denim jacket no more...

So, maybe, IFC will be releasing DVDs for purchase again

Thanks, as usual, to Eric for paying attention when I was not, but it looks as if IFC may have finally stepped away from their sinking ship of a distributor, Genius Products, as there will be three of their titles released through MPI in August. I've read no official confirmation of this, but things are looking likely in that IFC has found a home with MPI, who currently releases DVDs from both Music Box Films and Dark Sky Films. While I would have been more excited to see The Last Mistress or The Duchess of Langeais as one of the three, I'm still glad to see that (maybe) they will be making their films availablefor purchase in the US after six months of no new announcements. The three titles are Gaël Morel's Après lui (11 August), with Catherine Deneuve and Élodie Bouchez; Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig's Nights and Weekends (25 August); and Duane Graves and Justin Meeks' horror flick The Wild Man of the Navidad (11 August). I've also heard that Bruce McDonald's Pontypool will be out on 21 July, but that's from a different source that hasn't been confirmed yet.

And here are a few other DVD announcements:

- Serious Charge, d. Terence Young, 1959, VCI, 30 June
- Visioneers, d. Jared Drake, 2008, Virgil Films, w. Zach Galifinakis, Judy Greer, 21 July
- The Astonishing Works of Tezuka Osamu, 1962-1988, Kino, 28 July
- Phil Mulloy: Extreme Animation, 1991-1995, Kino, 28 July
- The Garden, d. Scott Hamilton Kennedy, 2008, Zeitgeist, 18 August
- Adam Resurrected, d. Paul Schrader, 2008, Image Entertainment, w. Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, 22 September

Hayden Protects Family

Dear Readers,

Who is Mikey Ablan?
Who is Dodie Puno?

WHY is Hayden Kho so terrified of them?

I Love New Philippine Revolution Blog so of course you'll find them on my prime list on blog left. The blog was a finalist at the 2nd Annual Philippines Blog Awards.

Today's edition is fantastic and full of rumors and speculation like only the Philippines can conger up. Below is part of the entry and I've provided the link at the bottom for the rest.
Who is the drug dealer?
The Hayden Kho circus is only going to get crazier because now they want the name of the drug dealer who supplied him with the pills on the fateful night (or fateful nights). DRUGS DRUGS DRUGS.
******************

Two things that will identify this "dealer". First, he operates within showbiz circles and high society places and second, he's well connected in Philippine society. He's a "big name", says Kho and which was corroborated by Senator Madrigal. Now, let me tell you that there are three (3) names under the PDEA watchlist and this drug supplier of Kho is the member of the Asian drug triad. He gets his ecstacy pills straight from abroad through couriers that pass thru the VIP airport passage. He's not "old" as what Madrigal believes, but in his middle thirties. He's a son of a retired PNP general. He's the one who reportedly killed a former junior golf champ sometime late 2002 and continues to operate his illegal drug trade through his Pasig city residence. He operates through his circle of friends, and these people are the same ones which Richard Brodett and the infamous "Alabang Boys" used to deal with. Now, both Chua and this Rosario reportedly know this person, and has dealt with him several times before, according to sources from PDEA. He was the one who brought those sex tapes because of Katrina Halili, whom this person reportedly wanted to go to bed with. This drug dealer also used these tapes to extort money from Belo and Kho. There were reportedly "feelers" and "pressures" coming from this dealer, that he'll release the tapes if Belo or Kho refuses to give him money. Belo reportedly resisted and that's why the sex tapes leaked out.

Another hint---he's very close to a legislator who supports charter change moves and once dealt with the wife of this legislator. The wife of this legislator reportedly used drugs (ecstacy and shabu) before. The wife continues her illegal drug use since this day. She was reportedly a party-goer before and gets her drugs from bars. The legislator also uses drugs.

There's reason for Kho to feel threatened since this drug dealer is "malakas" and "well connected" in Filipino society. The backer of this dealer is a legislator who's afraid of being jailed after this administration.

Now, again, who is this big-time drug dealer?

http://newphilrevolution.blogspot.com/
click link to read full story and a GREAT blog!






Hayden All Wet.. YUMMY!

Of Carabaos and Girlfriends

Dear Readers,

Thad Hinunagan is one of my favorite Filipino writers and well, I really think he's brilliant because he writes about REAL things and REAL feelings. He's been on my Bent Culture blog list forever. Thad's special stories are magnificent and truly touching. Visit his wonderful blog @ http://thadhinunangan.blogspot.com/

Of Carabaos and Girlfriends
by Thad Hinunangan

When asked, I only have but a few recollections of instances when I spent some alone time with my father when I was young. Being an OFW, he was always away and the man I call my father was a vague figure who was frequently overshadowed by my mom's presence.

He is a man of a few words. Simple, practical, and never really had those father and son talks with me- except I think, when it came to discussions about tuition fees and bills. In terms of life direction or career paths, my parents never really intervened, which suited me just fine since I was quite an independent kid. Among the few instances he vaguely expressed what he wanted of me- he told me one morning, he knew of a kid in his hometown about the same age as me who was good at saving money and already owned a carabao. He wanted to show me his idea of a good, stable life but probably because of my immaturity, all I could think of was this: what am I supposed to do? Get a carabao?

I realize now of course, he never intended the discussion on large mammals. It was about being thrifty and frugal, and that those were qualities he wanted me to possess. But I had other ideas which I carried over until I started working: work hard, party hard. Skyscrapers sounded more appealing than beasts of burden, but as my lifestyle came to a halt when I resigned- I realized he was right. That was the first instance I disappointed my father.

A memory had been nagging on my mind- on my sixteenth birthday, he told me a few days before the 17Th of November: if I bring a girlfriend home, he would give me five hundred pesos. I laugh at this every time I remember it. There was even an instance he brought three daughters of his kumpares from Abuyog to meet with me (I think he bragged to them I was quite the ladies man who went to UP). Naturally, all these efforts came crashing down, and after my coming out- came the second disappointment I caused.

Perhaps we will always have different ideas of who he wants me to be and who I want to be, but I do hope it would not ruin our relationship. No amount of differences can change the fact that we are father and son, and as much as I envy my straight brothers possibly fulfilling my father's dream of what kind of men they would be- I can only be myself, and that's all I can offer. I love my dad.

Come to think of it, I do remember an instance when we spent time together: it was 1994, and our house was still being constructed. My father was home for a month. I made an improvised baseball using crumpled paper and masking tape, and played catch with my brother Tye. Papa approached with a wooden stick from the construction so we could use it to play baseball. And until the sky dimmed that day, we enjoyed playing with our makeshift ball and relished the time we spent with our father, just like a regular family.

******************************

Stunning Pinoy Author Thadie Hinunagan

God Made Me Gay.. So There!

I love my mother so much. I cling to her here as a one year old.
My blond curls were legendary and mummy refused to cut them until I was three.
I was Rapunzel.


This was my favorite thing in the world. My Orbit wagon. My mother would let us play forever it seems now. She really was the best mother a kid could ask for. Always made sure we had fun things to do.


Even as a child, I was so dramatic and very happy and my mother was so wonderful to take our pictures. The three of us are grateful to have had such a sweet mummy.


I loved being a kid. I was a gentle little chap really. Pretty some say.


Thank you Mummy for letting me be me. Just a sweet gay boy who was allowed to be himself.

One Day....

I love all the celebrities in this video.
It's only a matter of time, but at least this fight is a good one.

My Gay International 2009

Beautiful Mr Gay Philippines Kris Cardenas

Name: Kris Cristopherson S. Cardenas
Date of Birth: June 16, 1984
Place of Birth: Manila, Philippines
Nationality: Filipino
Native language: Filipino
Foreign languages: English
Height: 5’10’’
Weight: 153 lbs.
Shoes:10
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Dark Brown
Education: Pamantasan Ng Lungsod Ng Maynila 2001-2006
Career:Nurse
Hobbies:Jogging, Reading Books, Working out, Surfing the Net
Zodiac sign: Gemini

I am soooo PROUD to support Mr. Gay International 2009 which takes place in Manila on June 26th 2009. I need all my beautiful gay boys to help me support this event. And all my gorgeous girls too!
Not only because the beneficiary is the AIDS Society of the Philippines, for children dealing with life with HIV/AIDS or having lost parents to it, but because the creators have worked SO very hard on this event and quite frankly, I'm really proud of them.

Check out their brilliant website where you will find everything you need to know about the global event which will take place in the Philippines. YAY!!!!!!
Participate or just donate.
100% of the proceeds will go to orphaned Filipino children who have AIDS.

http://www.mrgaycompetition.com
click to link



Please watch the beautiful clip of beautiful orphaned Filipino children battling HIV/AIDS

Weird Looking Veg

Can anyone name them?? They are so weird looking that I don't really know how to cook them or even use them...

Maybe I shoulda get use to the local veg and forget about the expensive choi sum or kai lan or kangkung. But I miss those Malaysian veg, and I'm sick of eating broccoli and lettuce almost every meal...

P/s: Night at the Musuem 2 rocks!!! My next stop would be Terminator: Salvation.

The Decade List: Dans ma peau (2002)

Dans ma peau [In My Skin] - dir. Marina de Van

After five years of collaborating with François Ozon as both co-writer and actress, Marina de Van unveiled her directorial debut in 2002 with her metaphysical horror film In My Skin. With an ode to David Cronenberg, de Van examines the final frontier of horror films, the body and its dangerous levels of elasticity. After suffering a fall at a party, Esther (de Van) discovers a fascination with her body and its threshold for not simply pain, but sustainability. What follows is expectedly grotesque and ghastly.

The parables to Esther's fascination are abundant, some surprising and others effective despite the foreseeable correlations to the subject matter. The initial flesh wound doesn't introduce itself as a physical manifestation of Esther's lifestyle as a moderately successful businesswoman in a nominally happy relationship with Vincent (Laurent Lucas), but it becomes her obsession, something that seems initially impulsive but also weirdly natural. Esther's self-mutilation evolves into a search for feeling, something of a substitute for the falseness of the people around her and even herself.

While de Van is pointedly critical of the business world Esther places herself in, its treatment of women and even the carnivorous eating habits of these people, In My Skin isn't simply leftist propaganda masking as psychodrama. Both de Van and Esther approach this fascination with that oh-so-Cronenberg clinical eye. While she never avoids the shock aspects of In My Skin, particularly in the film's nauseatingly effective sound design, the suggestions and ramifications of Esther's "disorder" cut deeper than any of her literal knives.

With: Marina de Van, Laurent Lucas, Léa Drucker, Thibault de Montalembert
Screenplay: Marina de Van
Cinematography: Pierre Barougier
Music: Esbjorn Svensson
Country of Origin: France
US Distributor: Wellspring

Premiere: 27 September 2002 (San Sebastián Film Festival)
US Premiere: 7 November 2003 (New York City)