Star Studded

Na-Stress Drillon akiz dahil ang Mahalia Jackson ng ticket papuntang Dubai. Eh gusto ko sa Majinit Jackson na lugar kasi Haggardo Versosa na akiz sa sobrang Julanis Morisette dito sa Maynila. Afraidie Aguilar na akiz sa baha, nakaka-Irrita Gomez! Tapos na-Julie Yap Daza ko ang housemate ko na pilit suotin pa rin ang kanyang ‘di-pa tuyo na medyas; eh amoy-kulob, kaya ang Smellanie Marquez! Ewww, kadiri. Cynthia Patag, ka’mo? Yung guwapo kong housemate, yung mahilig magsuot ng Skimpee De Leon na mga outfits. Huy ha, hindi ako Bitter Ocampo sa kanya dahil ayaw niya akong patulan! Che! Hay naku, makahanap na lang nga ng may lighter at Makikicindy Kurleto ng yosi, kahit papaano ay makaranas ng konting Anjinit Agbayari.

Video Of The Week

Holy effing shit! OK Go makes the coolest music videos. Watch this one!

The Age-Old Issues

Picking up D at his dorm, I asked the receptionist to buzz him in his room. Because the dorm intercom was busted, the receptionist asked the lady guard to go upstairs and knock on his door. I sat on the sofa at the reception area and played Stupid Zombies in my iPod Touch while waiting.

After a few minutes the lady guard went down and took her place again beside the reception desk. She must have felt the need to engage me in conversation, because as soon as she sat at her chair she asked me,“Bumaba na ba siya?”

“Ah hindi pa,” I answered.

Then she asked, “Anak mo siya?”

Toinkz!

I smiled and said, “Ah hindi po.”

To be perfectly honest I just found that particular question funny. It doesn’t bother me that I’m old enough to be D’s dad. D and I never had an issue over the age difference; if we did, we wouldn’t even be together in the first place. In fact, I do take some kind of pride in the fact that despite the age difference, we can and do work things out.

What surprised me more was that I now look like a dad. Oh dear. After years of people getting surprised and telling me, “What?! You’re already 40-plus years old?!” I now have to get used to the fact that I’m now beginning to look my age.

Along with this obsession with looking young, I’m also letting go of this unhealthy desire to be borta-licious. I just don’t want to be too fat as to be unhealthy; otherwise, I’ve never sought the (un)Holy Grail of most gay men: a six-pack. When you really think about it, how much love can a six-pack give you?

I see all these tweets and Facebook messages of people obsessing to be borta. For guys who are still quite young, I guess it’s understandable. Still, to them and the rest I say, good luck! I hope you find happiness in your obsession with the physical; may your physical goals fill up your life with meaning and joy.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Pesos (And More)

Want to have a picture worthy of your Facebook profile, Twitter account and your numerous other accounts in your different social media sites? (This may also include your accounts in Planet Romeo, Manjam, Grindr and the like, although after finishing reading this post, you may decide it inappropriate for those site. Or maybe not, hehehe.)

Thanks to ubiquitous cameras, whether the point-and-shoots or in-phones, camera whoring has turned us into nano-narcissists. But what if that selfish act is used for a selfless cause?

Then consider joining the Love Yourself Charity Photoshoot on Sunday, Aug. 14, from 10am to 10pm. For a Php1,000 donation, you get (1) one Love Yourself t-shirt; (2) grooming services for the shoot; and (3) one digital photo layout, in the style of “Love Yourself.”

Do something for yourself as well as for others. How’s that for dual motives?

For more information and to register, click the link here.

Pioneers And Inspirations, Now On YouTube

Because lately I’ve been fooling around more with iMovie, I decided to place on YouTube our Fabcast sessions with Dan & Rye. Wala lang. Because I can.

A Backlash Against The Baklas!

I read with interest Michael Davis C. Tan’s article “An open letter to the people behind Zombadings 1: Patayin Sa Shokot si Remington” in Outrage Magazine. Read it first here before proceeding.

So, is Zombadings a comedic exercise in self-hatred? Is it a satirical, self-aware attempt to poke fun at gay issues? Or is it a reprehensible, irresponsible movie that pushes the gay agenda seven (or more) years back?

What I find interesting in Mr. Tan’s point-by-point analysis of the movie is how careful, how serious, how politically correct each point is. Which is expected of an advocate, I agree (he doesn’t hide his pink advocacy colors anyway).

But this film is a comedy. And if there’s one thing I realized, advocates and comedians will often be at odds with how comedy works. Comedians are serious about not taking things seriously; advocates are serious about taking their causes seriously. For comics, making fun of things is acceptable; nothing is sacred. For advocates, making fun of a sacred cause is, well, a mockery; worse, they fear such mockery can easily be misinterpreted by the audience, making it all the more dangerous.

You know, for the longest time now I’ve not found anything funny with this whole political correctness thing, especially when it’s quite rigid and demanding. And I suppose that’s where the road really diverges, eh? “Being gay is not a sumpa.” But of course! It is obvious that the filmmakers know this to be true. And herein lies the difference: while the filmmakers are fairly confident that no one who watches their film will afterwards drag their gay son to an arbularyo and expect macho dancers to appear during a seance, Mr. Tan seems to fear that there will be those in the audience who will take the whole sumpa thing seriously (“Eh sabi kasi sa pelikula!”). Movies and their audiences do not exist in a vacuum; if someone does take the movie too literally, there will always be another person who will end up whacking him on the head. My mom always has a favorite phrase to put us children in place whenever we got carried away by a movie: “Hay naku mga anak, it’s just a movie!” And that, dear folks, is a healthy sense of perspective. That Mr. Tan believes that “this film believes homosexuality is curable is ignorant” is, well, silly. And, as the cliché goes, silliness has to be excused.

Mr. Tan also makes an interesting case of acceptance versus tolerance: “LGBT advocates do not exist because we want to be tolerated – we actually already are. We exist to push for acceptance.” That I understand; someone must fight the good fight.

But maybe therein lies the rub. Maybe seven years later, despite what we see in the news, there are now gays and gay-friendly people who can actually make fun of themselves and the gay situation. What advocates see as self-hatred, others see as having a sense of perspective and (dare I say it?) maturity. And maybe in their militant push for the kind of acceptance they want, these advocates fail to realize that, in certain cases, what they deem as mere tolerance is actually another form of acceptance by society.

Pioneers And Inspirations

Gibbs so aptly put it. Back in 2007 there was a Pinoy pink podcast that captured the ears (and hearts and funny bones) of Pinoy bekis both here in the country and abroad. The podcast was The Dan & Rye Show, featuring two of the pioneering Pinoy cast members of the (then) newly-opened Disneyland Hong Kong. Their hilarious chit-chats, recorded without editing, revealed a friendship and a chemistry that was engaging, endearing and highly entertaining. They tackled anything and everything they felt like tackling, from silly in-house blind-item chismis to gay rights to the lives of OFWs.

Migs, Gibbs and I stumbled upon their podcast online. After hearing their podcasts, Migs said, “Hey, we can do a podcast too!” Thus was born the Troikasters; after several episodes, the original three expanded to become the Fabcasters.

After a few years the contracts of Dan and Rye weren’t renewed by Disney, and they both went their separate lives. And we never heard of the two together in a podcast again.

Until now.

Pardon the delay in posting, our day jobs have been quite busier than usual of late. Still, hearing the two once again in a podcast is a joy, especially for this particular fanboy. Their laughter is infectious, and they’re my sure-shot mood-lifters. I’ve always believed in their tandem; heck, I even fantasized one time that they have their own television show. That may just remain a fantasy; but at least for now we have the chance to hear them once again.

So to the fans of The Dan & Rye Show, as well as fans of gay podcasts in general, this one’s for you!

Part 1:
       

   
   

Download Part 1 (right click and save)

Music credits:
“Remember The Time” by Michael Jackson / “Yesterday” by The Beatles / “Only Yesterday” by The Carpenters / “Turn Back Time” by Aqua
“All The Lovers” by Kylie Minogue
“Get Outta My Way” by Kylie Minogue

Part 2:
       

   
   

Download Part 2 (right click and save)

Music credits:
“Don’t You Remember” by Adele / “Don’t Forget To Remember Me” by The Bee Gees / “Get Back” by The Beatles
“Run The World (Girls) by Beyonce
“Miss Claire Remembers” by Enya
“October Wedding” by Montreux
“Sa Aking Pag-iisa” by Cinderella Feat. Yolly Samson
“One” by The Bee Gees
“Baby Elephant” by Rene Touzet
“Frenesi-Twist? by Les Elgart & His Orchestra
“Careless Whispers” by Wham!
“If I Loved You” by Barbra Streisand
“Wannabe” by The Spice Girls
“Shadowlands” by George Fenton