Mitsuru

I took these footage clips of Lea Salonga signing autographs after her Les Miserables performance outside the Broadhurst Theater . It was way, way past 11 in the evening and yet a lot of her fans waited for her to emerge from the backstage door just to catch a glimpse of her, have her autograph and have their pictures taken with her to cap their wonderful evening and complete their Lea’s Miz Memories. There were a lot of Filipinos in the audience and Lea was mobbed by the crowd wherein majority of them were Pinay nurses. Cameron Mackintosh should thank Lea Salonga for helping the show draw more crowds from the Filipino community who usually come in droves night in and night out. This was taken on April 10, 2007 the night where I watched the show. Talasan n’yo ang mga mata n’yo at baka may kilala kayo sa mga “magugulong” Pilipino sa Broadway! The next two flicks were taken on Friday the 13th after watching the Mel Brooks musical, The Producers at the St. James Theater which is just ac

Yoyoy Villame (1938- 2007) His music was part of my youth when childhood friends in the province would sing his songs over bottles and bottles of the Philippine National Drink , the stainless Ginebra San Miguel in endless drinking sessions that would last until the wee hours of the morning. His Philippine Geography, Magellan, Hayop na Combo, Butsekik and many others once ruled the cold and dreary nights of Tiwi, Albay wherein intoxicated young men would play his music on their heavily- bandaged Lumanog guitars under the streetlight by the dusty roadside that would always elicit good- natured laughter from the usual kibitzers and passers- by. Although I never really learned the entire lyrics of his songs but during those times it was fun and a necessary break from our usual stuff of slow rock and new wave music. Let’s give Yoyoy another round of applause and let him entertain us one more time. Visit Unchanged Melodies for more of Yoyoy's Pinoy Music

Since I am still on the recovery mode “mojo-wise” I’ll just post here some old published poems that I have written in the past while I am laboring for my latest post for this blog that I have been neglecting lately. Actually I’ve been working on some stuffs that I have set aside for a long time. Just some old crazy stories from way back. I’ll let you take a peek of some of them here in the near future. But for now bear with me and my 'makata' side. I have written these poems nearly after more than a decade of self- imposed hiatus which lasted from 1991 to 2002 when I finally emerged from my funk and got my groove again and began submitting poems for publication. Come to think of it, I lost more than a decade writing- wise, beat that! Now, I thank the geeks and the Mighty One up above for the internet and computers for without them, I will not be able to write again ‘coz every time I try to put my thoughts on paper, my mind is running so fast that my hand can’t keep up with all

Spring is here… And the trees are turning evergreen and the flowers are all in bloom. Yet for the past four days, I can’t will myself to spring into action. I am just too lazy these days… Too lazy to cook-- For four straight days now, I’ve been on a very unhealthy diet-- I've been gorging on McDo McGriddles or Burger King Angus meal for Breakfast, the $5 Chinese Buffet for lunch and Applebees New York Strip for dinner. Yes, I am gaining some weight and my belly is growing on a daily basis. But what can I do? I am just a sloth nowadays too crazy to go on a diet, holding on to the false belief that I can get rid of the love handles faster than I could swallow a piece of a hot Burrito. Well, maybe I’ll start pumping some iron again and do that Navy SEAL workout that I’ve been planning to do for the longest time and maybe succeed in having rows of "pandesals" in my lousy abs. Too lazy to get out of bed-- The early bird gets the worm? Nah, I’d rather

Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco de Mayo! Contrary to popular beliefs, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day rather it is the commemoration of the victory of the Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin over a superior French Occupational Forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Like St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo has crossed cultural boundaries in the United States wherein the celebration is wildly observed not only in areas where there is a large Hispanic population but also in areas where diversity is encouraged. Also the fact that in Capitalist America, every entrepreneur or businessman worth his money would do everything to concoct every gimmick and opportunity to lure party-going people into their business establishments for a good time. Thus, you can see an Irish Bar advertising a Cinco de Mayo night wherein Guinness and Jameson have been edged by Corona and Cuervo from its traditional place. Or steaks and burgers gave way to Fajitas, Tacos and Burr

Yes, Aaron and Alexander... Les Miserables Broadway Revival stars Aaron Lazar who plays the flag- waving revolutionary student leader Enjolras and sings- "Red, the blood of angry men. Black, the dark of ages past. Red, a world about to dawn. Black , the night that ends at last." in one of the highlights of the magnificent show and Alexander Gemignani (left, seen here with Norm Lewis a.k.a.Inspector Javert) who portrays Jean Valjean one of the main characters in the Broadway musical adaptation of the Victor Hugo Classic Novel. I Caught them on cam while signing Playbill programs at the backstage door of the Broadhurst Theater 4.13.2007. P.S. Aaron Lazar like Norm Lewis (Javert), Celia Keenan- Bolger (Eponine)and Jenny Galloway (Madame Thenardier) left the show last April 22 and were replaced by Max von Essen, Ben Davis, Mandy Bruno and Ann Harada respectively. Watch them perform here: Norm Lewis "Stars" Celia Keenan- Bolger &q

Some of my Filipino friends have experienced being “questioned’ in the gym, at the YMCA and other public places by some people who are obviously ignorant and guilty of stereotyping people from other races as one and the same based on the color of their skin, facial features, etc. etc. etc. Two of them were Pinoys of Chinese descent and on separate occasions were asked by a group of men in places where they usually go for their daily work out/ exercise. And the exchange goes like--- “Hey, are you Korean?” said one of the man in a group playing basketball to Juan. “No, I’m a Filipino,” Juan answered. “Oh, you Orientals, you all look the same!” said Sam the obvious leader of the group as the others laugh in unison. Juan just kept mum and let the obvious slur passed and continued with his business. This is just one of the fall- outs of the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech just weeks ago. I have told several friends to expect about this kind of things to happen especially when the med