Gymnastics: My Dream Olympic Event

alexei nemov

Now that the London Olympics is on, have you ever wondered what your Olympic event be if you were an athlete?

Only now that it dawned in me that the Olympic event I would be in if I were an athlete is men’s gymnastics.  At a very limited chance that I got to catch a men’s gymnastics game on TV, I am always at awe with the combined strength, form and acrobatics of these athletes.

I guess for me this is one complete sport and besides no one in my country has been sent to compete in gymnastics event in the Olympics (my country with a population’s average height of 5 feet 5 inches is so obsessed with basketball).  Also no male gymnast has been chosen as the Athlete of the Year by ESPY.

Yeah, I have always been a fan of tennis but I will leave that sport to my idol Federer besides everybody can whack a ball with a tennis racket. For me it is easier to swim, dribble a ball, punch an opponent, throw a discus, shoot a target or dash to a 100 meter distance.  But not everybody can twirl with flair on a pommel horse, hang like a monkey on a high bar, fly and twist from a vault, do intricate tumbling passes on the floor, swing and spin on still rings and defy gravity on the parallel bars.

Gymnastics is not considered an extreme sport but through the years of its evolution through discoveries and inventions of various intricate moves I do consider it as one.  Modern acrobatic styles are very risky it can actually result to broken bones or torn muscles.  It takes a lifetime to achieve the form, strength, agility and discipline to perfect this sport.

So to those male gymnasts competing may it be in your local school event or in the high and mighty Olympics I have nothing but high regard for the sport you have chosen.  In case the sport become famous or remains mediocre in popularity I will always be at awe every time I will get the chance to watch a game.

Perpek ten ang skor ko sa sport na ‘to!

The Pressures Faced Yet Outshined By Jessica Sanchez

If you are a contestant in a singing competition and you are to follow a stratospheric vocal delivery of a contender dubbed by the judges as the greatest live performance in the history of any singing contest, what would you do?

If you are the next contestant to perform in a singing competition and you heard for sure the rendition of your opponent who just sang which was truly amazing and one of the judges announced that he wanted to go home already like announcing to the whole world that the contest is already finished, what would you do?

If you are the person who will sing next in a singing competition and you heard the judges giving the most superlative accolades that a judge could say about a contestant and this contestant was the person who just sang before you, what would you do?

If you are the contestant who was told by the stage director that you should just stand don’t walk around the stage nor go near the live audience and do nothing but sing and you knew that the competitor before you received the most number of standing ovations bestowed by the judges during the elimination process of the contest, what would you do?

Could you still sing with all these chock-full of pressures at hand? This is what Jessica Sanchez was faced with during the top 4 elimination round of American Idol Season 11.  If I am in the shoes of Jessica Sanchez at that very moment, I for sure would just be compelled to step back, shut my mouth, pack my bags, go home and never sing a single song ever in my life.

Before Jessica Sanchez sang, I wondered what song was she gonna sing to topple down the performance of Joshua Ledet to prove to the judges and the viewing public that they were wrong.  I even thought to myself that I would totally understand with full compassion if the host Ryan Seacrest will announce that Jessica Sanchez has decided not to sing and just backed out from the contest.

But that is not what Jessica Sanchez did.  She actually sang one of the most difficult songs on the planet and simply gave her all!  After seeing and hearing Jessica Sanchez sang her second song entitled And I Am Telling You, I hated her.  I hated her because I wanted to smack her down, rip her throat open and put her vocal chords into my body and use them!

Jessica Sanchez seemed not shaken by the pressure for she was fabulous and was flawless.  I don’t know where she came from!  It’s absolutely insane!  She is so great! I don’t even think she’s from planet earth!

What she just did and overcame was simply a mark and testimony of a true IDOL!

Galing mo neng!

The Super Powers of Anne Curtis

anne curtis

Without doubt, fear and hesitation let me declare that the most powerful human being in the Philippines in this present time is none other than Anne Curtis.  Why?  If Curtis with her enigmatic charm, gorgeous face and drop dead body will just live with her most popular spoken lines on television “I may be a slut, but I’m the best slut in town”, she can easily swoon all the chauvinist public officials (both in politics and in the armed forces) as well as the dirty richest men in the country.  She can effortlessly mesmerize these men to fall unto her prey to instruct them on whatever she may want them to do.

You can never get rid of her in this country.  Curtis nowadays is everywhere.  She’s on the façade of your favorite malls, she’s on the cover of your glossy magazines, she’s on the huge billboards of the major thoroughfares, she’s in the stories of your newspapers, she’s singing on your radio, she’s hosting on TV, and she’s even at the back of your commuter bus.

Ironically, Curtis has yet to be named and ranked #1 as the sexiest Filipina by the most popular male magazine of the land.  Maybe because Curtis has gone beyond just being sexy, Curtis is a goddess.

Nowadays, whatever thing, event or person that Curtis is associated with seems to spell out nothing but success.  Just like the recently concluded Philippine Fashion Week which actually became fashionable because Curtis was there.  Riding the metro has also been a hip thing to do after the news broke when Curtis took the train ride twice: to catch the Kylie Minogue concert on time and to report to her TV studio recently.

She was also in the headlines when her photo on a magazine cover smoking a cigarette created a huge buzz among the medical practitioners, in which the issue she shared with was with no less than the prime actress and superstar Nora Aunor.

Unlike Aunor, Curtis can hardly sing.  She actually laughs at herself when she does.  When Curtis sings, people surprisingly stop to listen for it will result to a vivacious laughing moment.  But when she recorded and sold an album it turned multi-platinum.  The last time I heard, people will again catch this lady via her mall shows and mini-concerts all around the metro.

And most recently, to everybody’s surprise, her movie entitled No Other Woman just broke the record for being the highest grossing film in the Philippine movie industry history.  One thing though.  I don’t seem to have the chutzpah to watch this movie and would rather settle to be one of the few souls who failed to see it in a movie theater.  This is because I disagree with the story-line.  Curtis played the role of a mistress while her co-star Christine Reyes played the role of the legal wife who expectedly went on a meltdown, turned sad and miserable but later on fought for the man that she loves.  I disagree with the story line of Christine Reyes going depressed and miserable because for me if a woman learned that her husband’s mistress is Anne Curtis then she must instead celebrate and be in good spirits.  This only confirms that her husband got some impeccable taste.

Anyway, maybe the reason why Curtis is so powerful is because she can project various personas effectively.  She can be highly fashionable, she can be extremely sexy, she can be flirtatious and liberated, she can be subtle and delicate, she can be fun and bubbly and she can be silly yet strong-willed.

Paki-bagayan ang di pagsang-ayon base sa iyong kagandahan.

The Tsunami Walk

I noticed for the past few days Shamcey Supsup, the reigning Ms. Philippines-Universe 2011 is constantly among the top trending name/topic in Yahoo Philippines.  This prompted me to seek out how did Shamcey performed in Brazil during the pageant’s preliminary run.

I was surprised to learn that the charming Filipina is considered a top contender for the crown.  She is absolutely stunning!  In almost all Brazilian news features that discusses about the upcoming Ms. Universe pageant, Shamcey seem always included.  I suppose this may signify that she is one of the favorites and may actually be the lady to beat.  So much so, the beautiful and now elegant Shamcey actually possess a unique way of walking, now tagged as The Tsunami Walk.

http://youtu.be/lDPZUuKiJNc

Those swaying hips can actually create waves of mass destruction!

The Tsunami Walk is an elegant way of gaiting with unique swaying of the hips that result to distinctive poise, bearing and attitude, in which, in the upcoming Ms. Universe pageant, only Shamcey Supsup can deliver.

If Shamcey Supsup lands the title of Ms. Universe 2011 – which I predict is very likely to happen – I won’t be surprised if upcoming patimpalak ng kagandahan (beauty pageants) during town or barrio fiestas participated by pretty ladies or Bekinese speaking population of the land will strut ala The Tsunami Walk.

Para kang SM Shamcey… “Yu gat it ol!” 

Pinoys Moving Gaga

It is so amazing to know that the most powerful woman in the world can easily be moved by the Filipinos.  Lady Gaga in 2009 during one of her first arena solo concert (in 2009 she would go on tour to sing and dance as an opening act for somebody more popular to follow).  Obviously, she was moved with the warm reception she received and even announced during the concert that she grew up in New York with a best friend from the Philippines.

Early this year, as everybody knows, YouTube sensation Maria Aragon (a Canadian with Filipino descent) impressed Lady Gaga with her rendition of Born This Way.  Aragon even had the chance to perform in Gaga’s concert in Canada.

Just this week, another Filipino moved Lady Gaga to tears with his contemporary dance rendition of a Sonya Tayeh choreography in the TV show So You Think You Can Dance.  Marko Germar, the Filipino contender based in Guam is the guy responsible for making Lady Gaga gone gaga.

I won’t post the goose-bump-popping rendition here (you can check it out on You Tube) but instead place my personal favorite dance routine of this amazing Pinoy with his partner Melanie Moore.  Marko and Melanie have done fabulous and chilling numbers in the show week after week, but this is my favorite!

I hope this deserving guy wins the contest.  I’m a fan!

Nagagaga ang gaga sa atin!

The Eyes and Tongue of Aljur Abrenica

New King of Pinoy Camp Movies

As promised, here is my personal analysis why Aljur Abrenica was the saving grace in the remake of the Pinoy cult classic movie Temptation Island.  (Press this LINK to read on my previous post about the movie.)

Aljur Abrenica was a big revelation in the movie Temptation Island 2011.  Abrenica who played the role of Alfredo originally played by the late Alfie Anido was in his comfort zone.  Not because of great acting ability and not because he was able to duplicate Anido’s coniotic stature and presence but because he fits well on being so campy for such a campy movie.

Aljur is a walking camp.  I would like to believe that he is the male version of Alma Moreno, the Queen of Pinoy Camp Movies.  He perfected the “twinkling-of-the-eyes” movement.  In the movie, no matter what emotion he wants to convey, he only has one obscure style of stare. This guy is so funny for he never wink nor blink in the film because his eyes is constantly twinkling.

In the original version, Anido – a natural conio, who perfected the art of mixing and interchanging English and Tagalong in a chic and sophisticated manner – never got the chance to make me laugh.  But in the remake, Aljur never failed to give me a chuckle.  This is especially true when he utter his lines in the English language.  Every time he speaks in English, me and my friends who were watching the film would whisper and ask each other “Ano daw?” (What did he say?), then laugh so hard other viewers thought Abrenica just delivered a hilarious line.

The portrayal of Abrenica in the film was so mediocre but it resulted to being so appealing in an ironic sense.  With his enigmatic twinkling eyes and ambiguous delivery of lines that emerged into an unintentional comedic performance, Abrenica was able to achieve his goal of making Temptation Island 2011 (The Remake) a passable campy film.

Si Aljur malamang ang tatanghaling Hari ng Pinoy Kamp Mubis…

Relaxing With Andrew Lloyd Webber

The venue was relaxing, the cocktail was sumptuous, the music was pleasing to the ear, the crowd was elegant, the lighting was keen, the stage design was remarkable and the performers were impressive.

Due to this, my whole experience watching and listening to The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber held last Tuesday night (June 28) at CCP’s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo was simply outstanding.

Aside from the praises I indicated above, the best thing about the show is that it need not require its viewers to bring along their brain in the theater. The musical does not have a usual story line to think and analyze about.

The show was great but it could have been better.  The program was an extravaganza of  compiled great works of Andrew Lloyd Webber but it was not structured in a way that would generate and give birth to a different story similar to that of Mama Mia (the compiled songs of Abba) or The Boy From Oz (the compiled songs of Peter Allen).

Or maybe it was really intended this way so that the viewers would go home relaxed and unwind-ed.  It was simply a chill-out type of revue.  It was so relaxing, I wanted to sleep and suspend my sensory activities during the program!  By the way, my top three favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber compositions were included in the program – Love Changes Everything (from Aspects of Love); Tell Me On A Sunday (from the show of same name); and, No Matter What (originally sang by Boyzone).

With story or not, overall, I had a rather enjoyable time at the theater that night…

Kinigkinig lang…

The Boy From Pasay Met The Boy From Oz

I along with Nengkoy and a few members of our family are excited to see the spectacular Lion King – The Musical in Singapore this coming weekend.  But before I write, praise or critique this tuneful show, let me reminisce the experience I had watching an enjoyable musical which, I fortunately saw when I was in Sydney a couple of months ago.

me inside capitol theatre in sydney

Australia’s iconic stage musical The Boy From Oz had a limited run at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney.  I and my friends were auspicious enough to have caught it.  The two-week run featured the amazing Todd McKenney who reprised his role as the legendary Peter Allen.  It was like watching Lea Salonga reprising her original role of Kim in Miss Saigon.

I did not expect too much from this musical but the spectacular show and the main character’s perfect high-kicks with poise and precision captured the bright spirit in me.  I was actually silently singing along while the show was running because almost all popular mainstream Peter Allen compositions were featured – Don’t Cry Out Loud; I Honestly Love You; Everything Old Is New Again; and, I’d Rather Leave While I’m In Love.

But personally the song I enjoyed most was not sung by McKenney but instead sung by the young Peter Allen played by Blake O’Leary entitled When I Get My Name In Lights.  While hearing the young thespian brilliantly sang and impressively struts his feet on the stage, it made me realize that I would definitely enjoy watching the rest of show as it progress.

The three Aussie friends I was with – Jesse, Jericho and Joesel – turned amazed and felt the ultimate Australian pride when the song I Still Call Australia Home was performed.  I could actually feel rare goose bumps were swelling out from their goose bumps.  While the same song was being sung by the ensemble and the high-spirited audiences were singing along, I on the other hand went so vulnerable for I wanted to rush to the nearest embassy to process the immediate conversion of my citizenship from gorgeous Pinoy to audacious Australian.  Good thing I did not have the time since I wanted to see how the story would end.

In a nutshell, the show was great, fantastic and very enjoyable.  I, the boy from Pasay had a pleasant experience seeing and meeting the Boy From Oz.

Aym impresd!!!

Giordano

Giordano as we all know is a Hong Kong giant retailer of men’s, women’s and kids’ apparel.  Their store is literally everywhere.  But when in Hong Kong, aside from the usual key chains and ref magnets that a typical tourist buys, a trip to a Giordano store is inevitable.

But with my recent trip to Melbourne I found a different Giordano.  Surprisingly, it is not a clothes store located along the sassy streets of Australia’s fashion capital but it was right inside the National Gallery of Victoria.  (Since Melbourne is considered the “cultural capital of Australia” let me be culturally-inclined in this particular writing)

I found a painting that enormously roused the synaptic vessels of my brain.  Executions of the visual elements as well as the symbols for each character portrayed in the painting were just overwhelming.  A great deal of metaphoric stories – may it be compassionate or evil – can be depicted and interpreted from this cunning work of art. It precisely fits its title “Allegory” a genius oil in canvass painting of Italian painter Luca Giordano.

Wow, ang sosyal ko na! Ching!!!