In My Life

1. I sent Tim an email jokingly asking if his wife, Kate, was related to the horrid Carl Paladino, and he said that distantly, yes. Yikes. I know, for a fact that Kate is a bleeding liberal. But Tim - I think in his heart he has always been a staunch Republican. It may stem from his parents, especially his mother who even volunteers for the RNC. However, Tim is the farthest thing away from being a bigot, and is one of the most homo-friendly people I know. So what was my point? It's escaping me as well.  I wish I knew more about Andrew Cuomo's platform to recommend him, but I don't, but I do trust the family name.


2.  Via Netflix saw the Queen Latifah movie "Just Wright" and it's predictable, but also adorable. Still, I never really can believe the Queen as a romantic foil. When she kissed Common, I actually cringed. Maybe because she seems to have more testosterone than....me? And why the hell isn't she out of the closet yet? I mean, seriously, is there anyone else fooled that she isn't a lezzie?


3. A friend on Facebook remembers that ten years tonight was the first night of the very first Songbirds Convergence. Has it really been ten years? I still remember that day clearly. And, yes, I kind of feel now that it has been a long time. I was a very different person from the me of today. And a lot has happened in my life since then. Time flies, but yes it also shows its age.  Maybe I will listen to Carol Sloane, to commemorate.

"If I forget, yet God remembers! If these hands of mine cease their clinging, yet the hands divine hold me so firmly that I cannot fall. And if sometimes I am too tired to call for God to help me, then God reads the prayer unspoken in my heart, and lifts my care."

-- Robert Browning

Thunder, Lightning

There has been non stop thunder and lightning for about four hours now. I know I saw it on the weather alert thingie I read but usually these things last about half an hour or so, and I must admit I am actually getting kind of spooked about it. And there was hail earlier that was really pounding on my window - I was concerned it would crash and break. This is really weird weather we are having. 


So, I just watched Week 2 of this A-List show on Logo, and even I am surprised by how I am seeing Reichen. He seems to be the sanest and most likeable person on the show. I must say that all the other cast members are so loathsome you really cannot choose who you despise the most. But, is it really sad to say that I am now hooked on this show? I really don't know why I keep on why I will keep on watching this trash - probably because of all the beefcake shots!


And this homophobic Carl Paladino character running for Governor of New York. Isn't the state one of the bluest of the blues? Why the why is the Republican party endorsing this crazy fool? I mean, even Elizabeth Hasselback seems to be against him! 

Grace comes into the soul,
as the morning sun into the world:
first a dawning, then a light, and
at last the sun in his full and excellent brightness.
~ Thomas Adams

Always Something There To Remind Of Me

Jojo was at Chang Kai Shek International Airport in Taipei - his layover was long - and took these pictures because he says they reminded him of me. Well, it is always nice to be thought of !

And how about these - the phone booths at the Sanrio store?

Status Update

At 10:10 a.m. on 10/10/10 you were supposed to jump ten times so your luck will be beter ten-fold but I missed it! I was sleeping. I wonder where all these came from, though - are they old wives tales? I suspect they are myths perpetrated by Pinoys, though, more than anything else.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Everyone and their mother seems to be raving about it (near perfect score at Rotten Tomatoes) and it seems to be a foregone conclusion that it will at the very least be nominated for the Academy Awards. What did I think? Sure, it's pretty good, but I just did not have enough emotional attachment to it to LOVE the movie. I mean, it's pretty sweet to have a blockbuster  that's action-packed without having a single explosion, but a part of me asks, "Is that all there is?" There is a lot of texture in the story, about how Facebook was created and became the global phenomenon that it is. I even confess that I use the social networking site a lot, and log on about two or three times a day. But recently, I am finding I am a little bit too saturated by it, finding it to be full of white noise.

I must single out performances, especially Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield. A lot of people single out Justin Timberlake, but found his performance to be loud and screechy, although maybe it was supposed to be. All in all, I think my expectations from the movie may be a little bit too high, that it would have bent over backwards and done triple flips to have at least met them. In the meantime, let me update my Facebook status.

Ten Ten ten

Ten, ten, ten. 10/10/10. This won't happen in another hundred years so I might as well mark it here, in my new blog.

I moved here now to Blogger. Why? Well, Typepad was bought by Say Media and I had read that they are changing their focus to blogs that are "monetized" and away from those who write "just for fun," so I thought that their service is no longer a fit for me. Also, Blogger is much better now than when I used to use it in its early days. This may stem from the fact that Google no owns Blogger, and when I saw their features and their interface it has changed for the better. Besides, this is free so why should I pay over there? The Practical Virgo in me won. So in a sense, this is a new beginning. The old blog will stil be there - frozen - it was five years worth of blogging. Time flies, doesn't it?

Jojo left last night, but during the day I gave him a "despedida" lunch. He hasn't been home in close to 20 years so I told him this would be a very important journey for him. It would be similar to my own experience in 2006, when I had not been home in 15 years. The country was so different from the one I left, and I venture he will look at everything wit the same eye I had.

What was most interesting is that we went to this new-ish Italian restaurant and they had Neapolitan Pizza, and it was pretty authentic. I even ordered the same flavor that I had in Naples (Capriciosa) and this one tasted pretty close to the original. Even though I prefer the all-crisp Sicilian style, it was funny how this dish brought me back to that day in Naples last month.  Precious Italian memories, I am glad I have them.

And here is our picture from earlier. Bon Voyage, Jojo!

"But how will I know who my soul mate is?"

"By taking risks," Wicca said to Brida. "By risking failure, disappointment, disillusion, but never ceasing in your search for Love. As long as you keep looking, you will triumph in the end."

- Paulo Coelho

The Professional

MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION, by George Bernard Shaw, was written in 1893 and was last staged in 1905, when it was banned  (The Police literally stopped the show) because of its risque topic. Mrs. Warren, was a prostitute before she ended up being a madame of sorts, managing a slew of brothels all over Europe. That's hardly a topic worth wincing about nowadays, and probably won't even grant an R rating (I could think of HBO series that are infinitely more 'offensive')  I was keen on seeing the Roundabout revival in the spirit of theatrical 'history,' and since there were cheap TDF seats, I thought to myself I might as well.

Let me just say I grossly underpaid just for the chance to see Cherry Jones essay her role as Mrs. Warren. She is a force of nature - her presence commands, her steely gaze freezes you on your tracks. When she is on stage, you cannot take your eyes off her. Too bad that she has to play against the impossibly shrill Sally Hawkins, who plays her daughter Viv. Hawkins at times literally screams her lines that you cannot understand what she is saying. I cannot say I am over-familiar with the play so I was left at times scratching my head, thereby diminishing some comprehension. I can almost sense the exasperation in Ms. Jones' face. Plus, the production seems to be encumbered by a strait-jacket. A lot of the wit is too dry to the point of being barren. I enjoyed Ms. Jones performance immensely, though I cannot say the same thing for the whole production.

Blame It On The Moon

I am having one of those nights. I just cannot get to sleep, and believe you me, I have tried everything. My sleeping patterns have been messed up lately, and I notice that this always happens at the change of seasons. Or maybe it's something with the moon. Yes, maybe it's the moon. If all else fails, blame the moon, right? I just feel so frustrated when it's 4 a.m. and I just cannot sleep. And to add to the frustration, Jojo and I have plans to go out later, and if I have not gotten enough sleep, I don't know how I will feel. I don't know if I could be on my A-game. I am wondering now when we are to set the clock back one hour. It must be pretty soon. And yes, I know I am rambling. I guess it's what I do at four in the morning.

"The world would have you agree
with its dismal dream of limitation.
But the light would have you
soar like the eagle
of your sacred visions."

- Alan Cohen

Scentfully Sartorial

I got invited by Aedes for the launch of the new Penhaligon's scent "Sartorial," which in itself is a very intriguing scent because the whole idea of the fragrance is to bottle the smell of a tailoring shop, specifically of those in Saville Row. But what was more interesting for me is that its creator, Master Perfumer Bertrande Duchaufour will be there. As far as Superstar Noses go, he is up there with Jean Claude Ellena and Olivia Giacobetti so I thought it would be an honor for me to meet him, as I have been a fond admirer of his work. Among other fantastic fragrances, he makes my most favorite incense scent, Comme Des Garcon's Avignon, which incidentally is also one of Sarah Jessica Parker's favorites. But I digress. 


Tonight's event was with cocktails, so if for anything, I brought Mike so we could enjoy the free liquor they were serving. And I did have a chance to meet Mr. Bertrande, and he was so friendly and amiable. I thought he would be one of those stuffy French gentlemen, but he is young, and so open and welcoming and so appreciative. WHen I mentioned that I like his previous work "Fleur De Liane," he related the story of his journey in making that scent: how he went to the rain forests of Panama and saw these ripe melons, and how the mixture of the humidity, and the moisture of the forest enhanced the smell of the ripe melon, and that was what he wanted to capture. It is always so interesting to see the artistic process. It was such an honor to be in his presence, and I had him sign something for me, and it was just wonderful. 


So here are some of the photos from the event:

I'm Confessin' I Love Liza

So it's been raining, it's been cloudy, and I am listening right now to Liza Minnelli's new album CONFESSIONS. I wish I had some wine with me and it would have been more perfect because as it is, it's pretty damn good!

This album is supposedly inspired by Liza and her piano parties wherein she and her guests would sit around a piano and just...sing. I have actually heard from a number of people who have been to her parties and they say that she is very much at home with intimate singing with thoughtful interpretations of the Great American Songbook. On her recent Oprah interview, she has said that she considers herself a "modern vaudevillian," and I agree but I think people forget that she is also a singer. I know her voice isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I have always loved it: it has a lot of personality, it's robust, sort of a more modern (at that time) version of her mother's. Well, nowadays , it's more old-fashioned but never dated.

She has done this kind of album before ("Gently") but this one seems more cohesive, better, just more...Liza. This stems from the perfect arrangements and accompaniment by the wondrous Billy Stritch. It's happy, melancholy, spare, trio, everything you want in an album of standards. And even though her mannerisms show up once in a while (the need to bombast, the "shhhh") it never distracts because you always feel like she feels the songs, and the lyrics. Yes, her voice isn't what it was, but this album still draws from all its strengths. And the song selection - divine! My favorite is the contemplative "On Such A Night Like This, " (where she pays tribute to her own mother) but every other song is just as great. And she proves that she can make even such an iconic song as "At Last" her own. Of course, she sings one of my favorite songs of all time, "I Got Lost In His Arms," so that's a plus.

So excuse me as I look at the cloudy evening sky, and get lost in Liza's voice, right now, I can't ask for anything more...