Mitsuru

Yes, it was a great show indeed, the attempted power- grab headlined by aspiring action- drama star Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and his sidekick cashiered Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in the Philippines’ Financial district last Thursday morning. It began as a promising day of film shoot in a very nice location for them, complete with a script that will give Hollywood movies a run for their money; From the synchronized court room walkout to their dramatic march under the rain towards their objective in Makati , ably backed by a supporting cast of personalities from the Left, Right, Clergy, Civil Society and even the Senior Citizenry. Their fans applauded on the sidelines as every thing seems to be working according to plan and the show is destined to be a box office hit with no less than a glorious romp in the mecca of make believe that is Malacanang as a fitting award. The supporting casts were no pushovers either. They were the crème de la crème of the politica...

The Wisdom of Jonathan Livingston Seagull according to Richard Bach -- "How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!" “Don't believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you'll see the way to fly.” So, Come Fly With Me... n.b. The Oracle Challenger Bi-plane piloted by Sean D. Tucker was one of the attractions in this year's edition of Thunder Over Michigan. I took this video with my Sony Handy Cam DVD and just learned the other day how to convert them for uploading by using Roxio . :)

Look into the picture and tell me what you see? This painting entitled Innocence is the work of Fil-Am painter Fred DeAsis currently on exhibit at the Arlington Heights Heritage Museum until January 2008 in Arlington Heights, Chicago, Illinois . The artist and the museum are now embroiled in controversy after so-called “members of religious- rightist group” asked the museum to shut down the exhibit because they are against the said art work and its message. The artist said that Innocence is “supposed to describe the pain and isolation of child and spousal abuse” and I can’t understand for the life of me the logic behind the uproar with some people going to the extent of calling the painting, “totally disgusting and shameful.” As for me it is just the product of the artist’s perception and imagery of the subject and nothing more. It is not even a great painting if we follow the usual standard but it is in no way near the description that some people have hurled at the art work. From...

Awkward landscapes and distant crooked buildings Bathing nudes and aquamarine rivers Calloused eyes and women of style Deadly venomous asps and orange fruitcakes… Eager brushes by the pale trembling hands Pained strokes on moldy canvasses Propped on broken easels in a grey-wallpapered studio Showcasing the best works that I can do… Blue trees on emerald forests Overlooking the impressive blotchy- paintings Inside the soft iodine-colored show room Waiting for the chance for the final slap on the chin! Resplendent smiles from the eyes of a mad man Standing up against the world in soiled ragged clothes Trying to savor the taste of yellowed moments In hushed phantasmagoric silence… I dreamed of Cézanne But the colors and stars are far from anything, And the people are not themselves So, I wept in throbbing shame and heartfelt sorrow... note: 1st published in Two Moon Quarterly c.2002 Voices.Net Anthology c. 2002

Today is the 10th Anniversary of the “mysterious” death of the flamboyant front man, Michael Hutchence of the Aussie band INXS . Although they were not that “big” in the Philippines during that time as they were more famous Down Under and Europe, I was familiar with some of their songs like Original Sin, Disappear and The Stairs just to name a few because I’ve read about them in those small Php 5.00 “Song Hits“ (Yes, fellow music freak, Jingle and Moptop were long dead in the late 80s and early 90s) and of course, with the help of that FM radio from far away Naga City. Come to think of it, the FM stations from Naga have a better and stronger reception in Tiwi to this day than the radio stations from Legaspi for Tiwi is actually located in the “other” Albay- Camarines Sur Provincial Boundary wherein the farthest barangay, Mayong is just separated by a bridge from the Partido area which comprises the towns of Sangay, Goa, Tigaon, San Jose, etc. and also the home of the Fuentebella...

Serendipity 3 , that high- end restaurant in the Upper East Side of Manhattan famous (?) for its extravagant and expensive desserts that could make even the most impatient New Yorker to toe the line, I mean to queue for hours for the chance to have a seat in its luxurious chairs and a chance to taste its world- famous desserts was ordered closed by the health authorities until they can literally clean up their act and place to satisfy its stringent guidelines. Yes folks, this is the same restaurant that offers a $1,000 sundae named Golden Opulence that requires a 48- hour advance notice from patrons and also the world record holder in Dessert-land as far as the people in Guinness (yup, not the beer) are concerned with its $25, 000 Frrrozen Haute Chocolate that has edible gold, top- grade cocoa and shavings of a luxury truffle among its “secret” ingredients. But it seems that the secret is out with regards to the restaurant’s mouth-watering chocolate desserts. Some of the tightly guarde...

The past days, I’ve been following the news on the Batasan bombing which killed several people including somebody I know from the past and injuring many others but I couldn’t help but notice something--- ISN’T IT FUNNY OR IRONIC that whenever a tragedy or any cataclysmic event occurs, our government officials and politicians alike are scrambling on their heels in a mad dash to have their nonsensical piece of the issue and a shot at the so- called 15 minutes of fame? Add the Police, Religious Leaders and every Juan & Juana de la Cruzes to the list too. Here are just some of the examples of how these people can concoct theories that would put Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to oblivion… GABRIELA ME A BREAK The Gabriela women’s party Thursday said its representative, Luzviminda Ilagan, could have been the real target of the Tuesday night explosion at the House of Representatives, and not Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar, as the Philippine National Police had theorized. In a statement...

Despite having to run almost two miles from the other end of the Terminal to catch the Northwest Airline Flight from Detroit- Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to La Guardia having missed our original morning flight earlier, we were still in a very good mood. And flying all the way from Michigan 2 days before the event and then “hitching” a ride from the Bronx to Tarrytown, New York on the day of the concert with old friends in tow in exchange for the promised prime concert seats, we were in cruise control. The uneventful 30- minute trip on the slow, lazy road to this little picturesque village on the eastern shore of the Hudson river did not dampen our enthusiasm a bit. We arrived at historic Tarrytown at quarter past seven of a cool and chilly evening of November 2. We were in high spirits in anticipation of a wonderful evening of music at the Tarrytown Music Hall. Yes, we traveled far for the much- awaited concert of Broadway Star and Tony- Award Winner Lea Salonga in this side...

From the Tarrytown Music Hall Website: Celebrated Tony-award winning Star of Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Flower Drum Song as well as the singing voice of Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin ("Whole New World")and in Disney's Mulan ("Reflection"), Lea Salonga's smooth, perfectly modulated singing voice has mesmerized audiences worldwide since that famous day when she walked into the auditions for Miss Saigon as an unknown 17 year old, blew the competition out of the water and instantly became one of mega-producer Cameron Mackintosh's favorite performers. She is also considered by many as the best Eponine in Les Mis ever. We are incredibly excited to be able to offer our patrons this very rare opportunity to experience Ms Salonga in a solo concert. She will be accompanied by a group of her favorite handpicked musicans. 8 p.m. Tarrytown Music Hall