AHEM!

Yes, I know. It's been a while since my last post. It's just that last week somebody told me that my blog wasn't a serious one because it was just a listing of advertisements and nothing more; it just wasn't personal enough to really be a "blog". Not that I was offended, but the comment actually stopped me in my tracks and made me take some time off to think about where I was going with this thing. And after a little - not a lot, take note - of reflection, I decided that I really don't care if anyone thinks that these are all shameless plugs. At the end of the day, I don't get paid for any of these recommendations and I only endorse things that I would use myself. Because just like mega-sized celebrity Sharon Cuneta, when I say "I love eating XYZ brand of fried chicken", I really loove-to-eat XYZ brand of fried chicken, if you know what I mean. And unlike the payola free listings magazine "Time Out", most activities and products we read about in Manila's weekend newspapers are in there because some lifestyle editor got a freebie or because the event itself is covered in McCorporate slime. Besides, I really do like maintaining a bit of mystique. After all, I'm trying to change the way people look at Manila - and not the way people look at me. Why should you care about what kind of bran cereal I prefer or what cute little thing my dog did yesterday when I certainly don't care about your fiber choices or pets either.
Above: My pet dog Princess Ingrid Bergman.

AHEM! AHEM! AHEM!

Haynako. (Translation: Sigh.)
As I was flipping through the channels today, October 4, 2005, I stumbled upon ANC once again. Sadly, I felt like I was bumping into an old friend who was slowly losing his mind. The latest move in their agenda to bring down the Gloria administration is so blatantly transparent, heavy handed, and insulting to one's intelligence that I couldn't help but think "Good gosh, they've gone nuts." Tsk tsk. It's really sad to see that the station has become so desperate that it had to take a turn for the worse through their new feature, VOICELINE - a fifteen second-ish spot aired during commercial breaks where viewers can air their opinions on current events, an idea undoubtedly ripped off from CNN. But more than being unoriginal, it's also a not-so-subtle way for the station to continue fanning out incendiary pseudo-moralistic propaganda without taking any responsibility for it. For the past few days, the only recordings I have been hearing have been that of burgeois English speaking voices ranting and raving about "Gloriagate" or making cryptic/ominous statements about the eventual "comeuppance" that will be served to the incumbent. Then after fifteen seconds of sedition, the station unabashedly washes their hands off these comments by posting the words: "The opinions expressed by our viewers do not reflect the position of this station". Whatever man! If it ain't your opinion, then why did you air it in the first place? And why aren't you airing reactions to any other issues other than Gloriagate? Jeez. Not only are you insidious, but you're not even good at it. Two bit hacks. I'm onto you. No wonder I removed you from my channel listing once before. Hmph. I think I'll remove you again. There.

Oh. And don't even get me started with Cito Beltran's subliminal crusade. Cito, if you want your show to be a mouthpiece for your religion, go ahead and do it. It would be much more appreciable if you were up front about it. Really.

GMA! Please open your own news channel.

I mean the TV station, not the president.

WHEE! WHEE! WHEE!

Apparently, It's a media blitz for Manila in Germany
After NDRTV, another television program, VOXTOURS,Germany's highest rating travel show, featured our fair city - and yours truly - last October 2, 2005. Click onto the underlined words above for their webpage. Here is a translation (Thank you once again, Babelfish, for the surreal translation).

Moloch voller Überraschungen
Manila – die pulsierende asiatische Metropole ist eine Herausforderung für die Sinne. Sie ist keine Schönheit, aber voller Überraschungen - man muss sie nur zu nehmen wissen. Die Stadt wächst rasant, mit allen bekannten Problemen. Eleganz und Verfall, Pracht und Armut liegen dicht beieinander. Doch gerade das macht Manila so interessant - das meint zumindest Carlos Celdran, der als Stadtführer arbeitet und so Manila den Touristen näher bringt. Mit Witz und Charme begleitet Carlos seine Kunden unter anderem auf den chinesischen Friedhof von Manila oder führt sie in die Geheimnisse philippinischer Liebestränke ein. Manila ist bunter Mix aus vielen verschiedenen Kulturen - und auch deutsche Aussteiger hat es hierher verschlagen: Zum Beispiel den Friseur Stefan Wilczynski aus Berlin. Vor allem ist es die Herzlichkeit der Filipinos und ihre Toleranz, die Stefan fasziniert. An Mentalitätsunterschiede hat er sich gewöhnt. Entdecken Sie Manila! Am Besten mit jemanden, der sich hier auskennt:

Moloch of full surprises Manila
The pulsating asiatic metropolis is a challenge for the senses. It is not beauty, but full surprises - one must only know it to take. The city grows rapidly, with all well-known problems. Elegance and purge, splendour and poverty lie together closely. But straight makes Manila so interesting - means at least Carlo Celdran, which works as a city leader and so the tourist to Manila more near brings. With joke and charm Carlo's its customer accompanies among other things on the Chinese cemetery of Manila or introduces her into the secrets of Philippine dear watering places. Manila is more multicolored mixes from many different cultures - and also German Aussteiger has it here strikes: For example the hairdresser Stefan Wilczynski from Berlin. Above all it is the cordialness of the Filipinos and their tolerance, which fascinate Stefan. To mentality differences he got accustomed. Discover Manila! At the best one with someone, which is been versed here:

PAGING MISS PAULA GUEVARA OF THE GOETHE INSTITUTE MANILA. HELP!
Oct.4, 2005 - Ms. Paula Guevara of the Goethe Institute comes to the rescue. Danke Schein. Danke Schein. Click onto the comments below for the proper translation...

CARLOS RECOMMENDS!

BUDGET QUEENS
Good news for all vacationing students, tourists on a shoestring, and plain old cheapskates! A new publication called "Tara Cebu!" has just been published and it promises to be the new bible for those looking for a great vacation without breaking the bank. Written and edited by fresh college graduates Gabi Espaldon and Janine Yu, this guide is remarkable for it's enthusiasm and good writing - more than readable by any standards. And at a rather slim 56 pages, it still manages to be a chockful of information. It features such things as: where to rent the cheapest car and driver (for leisurely drives through the provinces); how to buy a guitar, and the best places to eat and stay in the isles of Bantayan, and Moalboal, refreshing Kawasan Falls, historic Carcar town, and the Queen City of Cebu itself. And the pedigree of the writers are also an assurance of the choices. Because if the places mentioned are safe and reasonable enough for two pretty, twenty-something, college-educated, upper-middle class southern belles, then, hey - It's safe and reasonable enough for me. Tara Cebu is also printed in full color, very up-to-date (only printed last August 2005), and all instructions are clear and detailed. It's a definite bargain and a must for the upcoming holidays.

You can contact either Gabi or Janine at: tara_cebu@yahoo.com, or call 63 917 8569795 to inquire about sending you a copy.

CARLOS RECOMMENDS!

THE CEMETERY CLUB!
Historical Tour of La Loma, the North Cemetery and Chinese Cemeteries
Fee: Php750.00 including bus ride and snacks.

An event to simply die for, come join my annual Halloween walking tour of the cemeteries. We'll visit the La Loma Church - perhaps Manila's most haunted - before paying homage to several of Manila’s prominent historical figures right where they lay. We'll drop by the final resting places of President Magsaysay, President Roxas, and President Sergio Osmena as well as other personalities like World Flyweight Champion Pancho Villa, Pancit King Ma Mon Luk, and Architects Arcadio Arellano and Juan Nakpil among many many others. So come along with us and spook yourself silly as we roam through the opulent mausoleums and tombs of La Loma, North and Chinese Cemeteries, proving once and for all that you can take it with you. A side trip to the Dimasalang Flower Markets will follow the tour. Book early. Its a small bus.

Reservations are very limited this year.
Meeting point is the Figaro Coffee shop beside the CCP.
Dates:
Oct.22 - Saturday - 1:00pm - Meet at Figaro Coffee Shop at the CCP Complex.
Oct.23 - Sunday - 1:00pm - Meet at Figaro Coffee Shop at the CCP Complex.

Above: The ultra creepy La Loma Church. Photo taken October 2004.

CARLOS RECOMMENDS!

GUILTY PLEASURE
Although I really shouldn't be promoting junk food or any of it's ilk, kindly allow me to introduce you to my latest vice: The Korean-owned 9 Pizza 7 Chicken. Available only in Ortigas Center for now, the missus and I love it so much, it's actually on speed dial for those days when we just don't feel like dealing with the kitchen. Made with 3 kinds of beans instead of white flour for it's dough, real Danish Cheese instead of those lab-tested chemical emulsions, and kneaded with mineral water instead of tap, it's definitely a healthier alternative to most of the frankenpizzas available out there. They have seafood (complete with grilled shrimp and crabstick), pepperoni, and vegetarian pizzas (our usual order) for those into missionary position style pizza, but they also offer sweet pumpkin and bulgogi selections for those who are into the more "exotic". It's a pizza, slash scallion pancake, slash hopia, slash God Knows what. All I know is that I like it. Their Spicy Chicken is also commendable for it's generous pieces and no-holds-barred seasoning. And although its main branch on Meralco Ave. (right beside the overpass) is too surreal for my tastes (what with it's country inn/ghetto/korean grocery style decor and Karaoke rooms), their food is well worth the experience if only for take out orders. Good thing they deliver.
88 Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
637-8000
636-1461

AHEM...

There. I'll say it again and I'll say it loud and clear. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ain't so bad.

Actually, I'm having great fun being a staunch supporter of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It has been making me so unpopular with my peers that for once I actually know what it truly feels like to be cutting edge. My decision to ignore the anti-Gloria movement and let the tiny tempest that is Gloriagate stew in my mental teapot of irrelevance are moves that have been called "elitist" and "immoral" by more than a few. Descriptions that I really don't mind. Morality has never been a strong point of mine and middle class sentiments (or lower) are things I have always detested in principle. And if I remember correctly, the surrealists were also called the same in their time. And at the end of the day, I'd rather keep company with them than with Cory Aquino.

Really. I wonder what it says about a society when supporting the status quo has become an avant garde activity?

Picture above: The pathetically sparse anti-GMA rally that blocked Makati traffic for hours last September 21,2005.

And although somewhere inside I'm secretly saying "Go ahead and throw their asses in jail, Tita Glo!" I know as a fact, martial law can never happen again.

Communication systems are far more superior in the civil sector than in the government one, the military is far too fragmented to implement it properly, and at the formerly fearsome military facility Fort Bonifacio, the only iron-fisted despot to be found is Aslie Aslanian, the doorbitch/dress code enforcer of Embassy Super Club. Ironically, shutting up in this country is by choice now. Such is the state of a country that often mistakes sedition for democracy.

CARLOS RECOMMENDS!

THE FILIPINO BOOKSTORE by Bookmark
264-A Pablo Ocampo Sr. Ave., Makati City
(between Metropolitan Ave. and Zobel Roxas)

tel. 895-8061 to 65
I don't usually give trade secrets away. But I'm in a good mood today, so I think I'll share this pearl of information with all of you mortals out there. Tucked away on Pablo Ocampo Sr. Ave. (also known as Vito Cruz Extension) is the best Filipiniana bookstore in the Megalopolis. From photo albums of Old Manila and Corregidor, to biographies of historical icons like Imelda Marcos and Jose Rizal, to children's books, postcards, cookbooks, and limited edition publications, The Filipino Bookstore is definitely the place to go for all publications Filipino. And the best part of it all is that they are ALWAYS ON SALE! Either that, or it's so cheap that it feels like it is. I once found a rare monograph, THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF LEANDRO V. LOCSIN for only Php3000.00. Insane. This is where I go for my Christmas shopping or for giveaways for my tours. Don't tell anyone.

ART! ART! ART!

A really interesting exhibit for those into Indie animation. Blacksoup is only open for four hours a day from Tuesday to Saturday so make sure to confirm by calling 4398838 before showing up. They also have a wine selection and workshops for video and film on weekends.

WHEE! WHEE! WHEE!

MANILA PAPER
The city was so nice, they did it twice.
After their last feature by Edward Peacock back in 1999, uber stylish wallpaper* magazine is once again featuring the City of Manila for it's October 2005 issue, this time through the words of Chris Moss and the images of Jonathan de Villiers. Published in their sister publication Navigator (which comes at the back of wallpaper* magazine every six months), the article is a wonderful analysis of the Manila's architectural cache with some brilliant insights by the writer. A special concentration is given to our fair city's modernist heritage with a mention of it's historical connection to the Marcos regime. It's rather steep Php500.00 cover price is well justified not only for it's words, but also for it's fantastic photographs of the Iglesia Ni Kristo, the Meralco Building, a particularly stunning one of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and some quotes by yours truly peppered within. So nice to see Manila being finally featured as a proper Holiday destination; especially for such a discriminating audience like wallpaper*'s readers. Now if only they didn't spell Manila wrong on the front cover...
wallpaper* magazine is available at National Bookstore, Mag:net, and most other magazine kiosks in Metro Manila.