Miss Universe Plus One

Posted on November 9, 2013 by heavenliner

miss philippines (ariella arida); 3rd runner up in the miss universe 2013

Congratulations to Miss Philippines for being in the top 5 again in the recently concluded Miss Universe Pageant. This is the 4^th consecutive year a beautiful and smart Filipina placed the Top Five. This definitely sealed the concept that Philippines is a first-rate powerhouse in the world of international beauty pageants.

I am not complaining that it has been four consecutive years that the Philippines almost took the coveted title. It has been said that our country’s major movers on international pageants already has the correct formula for winning. But I beg to disagree because there is one ingredient missing in their formula. And that would be a Pageant Interpreter.

the brilliant philippine senator, miriam defensor santiago

the brilliant senator, miriam defensor santiago

May our candidate possess a sharp and perfect command of the English language or not, we should still have the component called Pageant Interpreter. It’s the missing element for geeze sakes! And these brilliant movers must give in to the enduring clamor of the Filipino people that Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago be our candidate’s Pageant Interpreter.

donald trump

As for this year’s winner, let me extend my warm congratulations! As for the owner of the Miss Universe Organization, Mr. Donald Trump, let me remind you that would have to shell out more than just what Miss Venezuela has won. You would now have to add an additional pax in the budget of Miss Universe 2013 for her every trip, meeting, function or social engagement that she would have to attend. It would be additional expenses for plane tickets, meals, clothing, room accommodations and the likes. This would obviously be for the essential and necessary Mr. or Ms. Interpreter.

last year, venezuela missed the "translator" element that is why they lose

last year’s venezuela candidate was more stunning than this year’s winner, but they missed the “translator” element that is why she lose

I always believe that a Pageant Interpreter can actually make a beauty contestant sound intelligent. It has been an accepted fact that a translator’s skill and proficiency in integrating the idea of another person’s thought spoken in a different language through the usage of flowery expressions, momentous terms and big words can make a lot of difference. Hence, let me also congratulate Mr. Interpreter for also winning the coveted crown!

Si Miriam talaga ang kulang. Pag hindi pa din tayo nanalo papagalitan nun si Donald Trump.

Megan Young BBC Interview

Posted on October 6, 2013 by heavenliner

miss world 2013

Upon knowing that we were Filipinos, the local Starbucks crew inside Siam Discovery Center in Bangkok told us that Ms. Philippines who won the Ms World 2013 pageant was indeed beautiful. We left that coffee shop proud and with a smile on our respective faces.

I have seen a couple of YouTube clips of the pageant and saw how stunning Megan Young strut her stuff. She was undeniably elegant and was no doubt a standout among all the candidates. It seems that all stars and heavenly bodies connived and has preordained that Miss Philippines will be crowned as this year’s Miss World.

This pageant’s question and answer portion though was a bit floppy. It is because all the finalists had ample time to think of the best philosophical answer that they could give on why they should be the next Ms. World. They were even given the opportunity to listen to the answer of other candidates, thus, a lot of cerebral reckoning and calculations can be done before you are given the chance to answer the same question. It was therefore not surprising that all the finalists gave superlative answers.

Miss Philippines winning the crown absolutely made all Filipinos proud. But what made me more impressed about Megan Young was not her performance during the pageant per se but the interview she had with a BBC correspondent. Her being level headed, articulate and impressive bearing during the whole interview reaffirmed, showed and validated that she unquestionably deserves the title. Also, the interview makes you glad and appreciate that we Filipinos knows without effort the powers of speaking the universal language, that is, English.

It was an effortless eloquence from this year’s Queen Of The World.

Nowsblid ako…

Serenity of the Stone Faces

Posted on August 31, 2013 by heavenliner

The Bayon Temple located at Angkor Thom, approximately 1.5 kilometers away from Angkor Wat is one of the two wondrous bonus sites I did not expect me and my sister would visit when we toured Siem Reap, Cambodia.

After visiting Angkor Wat, our hired driver cum tour guide drove and brought us to this equally spectacular ancient capital city of Khmer Empire. The excitement started when our driver suddenly stopped and asked us to get out of the car and told us to walk our way at the south entrance gate of Angkor Thom. He told us the he would drive ahead and meet us at the other side of the ancient yet massive gate.

Upon approaching the south gate of the walled-city, we were greeted by fascinating giant statues lined up along the both sides of the causeway wearing assorted facial expressions. My sister Joy immediately noticed that the statues at the left side of the land bridge looked more pleasant while at the right side were scary. Upon my research the left side were considered gods (or devas) while the right side statues were demons (or asuras).

asuras…

excited at angkor thom south gate

Before entering the massive stone gate in which the peak has four massive faces gazing into four cardinal directions, we could not resist taking our respective photos. We saw our driver, got in the car and continued our journey inside to see and feel for ourselves the iconic Bayon Temple.

the bayon… a bizarre bonus treat

wow!

serene enigmatic smile…

my sister Joy… channeling the inner Lara Croft in her… hahaha!

feeling!!!

There are diverse versions on why Bayon was built. Some say that it is because of the overblown ego of the King who ordered that it be built and the massive stone faces with enigmatic smile be based on his own facial features. Others believe that the King dedicated Bayon to the universal god of compassion Avalokitesvara, thus, a testament of his deep spirituality. I would like to believe it’s the latter.

Moreover, the sheer scale and intricacy of the bas-reliefs found on the walls of this temple is also something to marvel at.

i actually wanted to bring this home to nengkoy
and hang it inside her house!

intricate…

Whatever the real purpose in the building of this bizarre temple, the fact remains that gazing unto those stone faces some strange serenity, calmness and quietude is emitted beneath my being.

Pag ako yumaman, magpapagawa din ako ng ganyan. Por shur…

Khmer Cuisine at Café Indochine

Posted on August 30, 2013 by heavenliner

When my family tours out of the country, it has been a habit that at least one of the meals to munch must be at a local high-end restaurant. My family has always been a believer that one of the best ways to see the uniqueness of a country and its citizens are through its food.

In tow with this habit and belief, me and my sister tried Khmer (Cambodian) cuisine as our first adventure lunch in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We simply found ourselves stepping up the sturdy wooden ladder of Café Indochine which is just across the street where our lovely hotel was located.

a very interesting water fountain… me and my sister Joy were laughing when we noticed it! she actually wants to kiss it! hahaha!!!

use of natural light makes this restaurant have a very relaxing ambience

use of natural light makes this restaurant very laid back and relaxing

lovely interiors

The inviting restaurant building actually looks like an old wooden Khmer ancestral house with beautiful Asian settings. The overall ambience is laidback, relaxing and quite elegant.

Me and my sister ordered the table d’hôte menu at $15 per person. These multi-course meals included the following…

A beautiful salad…

pomelo salad with crab meat

A soup made in Cambodian heaven…

hot soup with mekong lobster

The hearty main course… Surprisingly, me and Joy actually preferred the Amok Fish than the stir fried chicken considering that both of us are chicken lovers. The Amok Fish made with aromatic kreoung sauce was light yet very tasty!

amok fish (right) and stir fried chicken with kampot black pepper (left)

The exciting tropical dessert… I have munched on alcoholic cakes and chocolates as desserts in the past. But this was my first time to try and taste an alcoholic ice cream. It was such a delightful and unique experience. Who ever thought of this deserves a medal.

mango ice cream with apple liquor

Two more things that pleasantly surprised me was that the portions were excellently sized and the courses were served at an impressive timing. Overall, everything served to us was beautiful and brilliant. I and my sister concluded that Khmer cuisine is not intended to be spicy but instead crafted to be fragrant, zesty and flavorful.

May kanin yan, di ko na sinama sa piktyur. Kakaiba di ba???

The Word of the Day is UMAY

Posted on August 21, 2013 by heavenliner

Living in a scorching and humid tropical country, I love it when it rains. Rain is like a sweet dessert after a damn hot meal. But being subjected to constant raining for the past five days is too much. It’s no longer sweet and pleasurable. It’s already like the horrible sickening feeling you get after a nasty food binge.

Thus, my word of the day is “UMAY” pronounced as “ooh-mai” meaning cloy or cloying. After raining for almost a week this has been my general feeling. No thanks to typoon Maring and the monsoon wind for being so stupefying.

It’s already nakakaumay, umay-peg and umayness. But for the sosyal, classy and ostentatiously wealthy the feeling is nakaka-cloy, cloying-peg and cloyingness.

stuck and stumped inside my unit
due endless raining for the past 5 days

I definitely miss looking at the moon and at the stars. And I hope the dark clouds would give us a break and the great sunshine would finally show up tomorrow.

Sana bukas umulan… Umulan ng pera…

Mixed Feelings For The Inevitable Fashion Expansions

Posted on July 7, 2013 by heavenliner

When Cotton On of Australia and Uniqlo of Japan almost simultaneously opened their respective first branches here in the Philippines, I had mixed feelings.

I was happy that these very affordable clothing lines will now easily be accessible. And I do not have to go out of the country or ask favor from friends whom I learned will be vacationing abroad to grab me a piece or two of these clothing brands.

leather jacket from bershka

But at the same time learning that these retail stores are now in the Philippines, I can’t get over the thought of everybody will now be wearing what I was once uniquely wearing in the past. Yeah, call me madamot (translation: selfish douchebag) but in the past when only few Pinoys were wearing these brands, it made me feel a bit privileged in the unique yet obtuse sense of it.

That is why when I went to Osaka Japan last spring, the majority of my fashion-acquisition ventures were from clothing stores that are not yet selling and retailing in the Philippines. I had Bershka, GU and H&M.

bershka in glorietta

However, mixed feelings came over me again when I learned that Bershka of Spain is now here in the Philippines. I guess, Philippines truly is one massive market that must be tapped by these trendy global retail clothing stores to grow and expand. It’s the inevitable. This is even precluding the fact that Pinoys are starting to become trendy, hip and stylish.

Thus, to show my appreciation that Bershka is now in the new Glorietta in Ayala Center Makati, this is where I had my last week’s retail therapy. Though Bershka is a bit too young for me, I was nevertheless happy with my loot.

Madamot na kung madamot!

A Massive Thanks To A 70’s to 80’s OFW: A Father’s Day Special

Posted on June 9, 2013 by heavenliner

Thanks to an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), at a very tender age I know the taste of Baby Ruth and Hershey’s chocolate bars. Thanks to an OFW, I am one of those young lads who owned a Japanese electronic game set called Atari. Thanks to an OFW, my pubertal apparel includes United Colors of Benetton shirts, Swatch watches and Adidas shoes.

Thanks to an OFW, my taste buds are no stranger to the savoriness of Spam and imported corned beef. Thanks to an OFW, at an early age I was exposed to a wide range of cassette-tape music from sweet soothing tunes of Carpenters to pop-beats of Boney M. Thanks to an OFW, even before the existence and coining of the words “balikbayan box” I know the epidermal comforts brought about by Ivory bath soap and Jergens body lotion.

An enormous thanks to my father for all these.

tatay joe in saudi arabia

I know these are all mundane worldly materials and I should instead thank my father for giving me an urbane civilized life. He may have passed away a long time ago but I know my father knows that I’m thankful for that already. So I’m giving myself a chance to express my deep gratitude regarding these specifics.

Hapi Paders Dey Tatay! Misyumats!

Rare Photos: A Mother’s Day Special

Posted on May 11, 2013 by heavenliner

Unless done and taken by a well-known or critically acclaimed photographer, a photo is often appreciated on what it contains. Unless you tell that it’s shot by a popular photographer, only few or even no one would ask who took your photo. May it be a good angle of your face, a suddenly slim-looking body or a surprisingly sweet smile it’s always the person on the photo who receives raves and praises and never the photographer.

So to appreciate a work done by a nonentity in the field of photography, let me post two rare photos taken by her. These photos are preciously exquisite because the one who took it is often the one photographed and never the one behind to click the camera. These photos are so rare because she never shoots photos for she doesn’t know how to operate a camera.

These photos were taken from our recent trip abroad. In our trip to Japan, I and my family were able to accumulate more than a thousand images and snapshots to chronicle our delightful adventures. And out of these voluminous shots, only four photos were made by her. I will post only two of these four shots since the “qualities” and “characters” of such photos are basically the same. Again and let me reiterate that she is always the one photographed and never the one who photographs.

no. there's nothing wrong with your vision. actually, it's very artistic.

no. there’s nothing wrong with your vision.
it actually looks very artistic.

love this shot! “may nginig paktor!!!”

These rare photos were taken by Nengkoy.

These photos are stupendously extraordinary because it took us long arduous minutes to prolong our smile, held our breath and stay motionless on a pose. We need to stay still and wait for Nengkoy to peep through the narrow viewer and at the same time find her index finger to the camera’s shutter to shoot these atypical pictures. The waiting to hear the clicking camera to shoot these motionless moments were so gruelingly prolonged, all of us in the photo kept quiet which made the room so silent it hurt my ear.

After four shots, we gave up, no one complained and quietly proceeded to call a waiter to order our dinner. Actually after these shots were taken, I felt exhausted!

Happy Mother’s Day Nengkoy!!!

Kakaibang talento hatid sa inyo ni Nengkoy sa araw ng mga Maders…

Kamehameha Powers Of My Monster Nieces & Nephews

Posted on April 14, 2013 by heavenliner

These photo memes are starting to become so popular here in Japan. Since me and my family have limited time, I and my silly nieces and nephews might as well do what typical Japanese are doing. It`s called Kamehamehaing. This photo technique is based on Dragon Ball Z`s kamehameha powers.

inside the fukoshima inari shrine (with monster nephew dennis, photo taken by monster niece thatcher)

kobe tower as the background (with monster nephew luis and niece erika, photo taken by monster niece kim)

erika kicking my butt in kobe harbor (with monster niece erika, photo taken by monster nephew luis)

In the western world the photo meme that is starting to become viral is called Vadering, based on Star Wars` character Darth Vader.

our vadering version… (with monster nephew dennis, photo taken by monster niece thatcher)

Both are basically the same, but I like the drama of Dragon Ball Z better.

I`d rather do this than the silly planking or the catatonic like owling…

Nakikiuso…

Panlakad

Posted on February 20, 2013 by heavenliner

I don’t know what’s the English translation for the Tagalog word panlakad. Maybe there is no single English word for it. With my limited English know-how, the best translation I can give is that panlakad are social clothes and apparels worn for an occasion, an event or by simply being out of the house and in a public place.

sporting my nengkoy shirt. di ko pa napang simba yan!

Back in the days when table salts are not yet iodized, inhabitants in the Philippines would make sure that their newly sewn or purchased panlakad must first be worn to attend a Holy Sunday Mass. Although this rare custom and tradition has long been gone, I can still remember people’s line of questioning to folks they saw sporting new clothes. They would ask, “Pinang simba mo na ba ‘yan?” (“Have you worn those in a Mass?”) It’s as if wearing new clothes that has not initially been worn in a Sunday Mass celebration is such an abomination and is a wicked habit of the devil.

The socio-anthropologist in me dictates that this not-so-ancient unorthodox yet dissipated belief may be a progeny of Filipino’s robust Catholic faith that owning and wearing new clothing is a gift from heaven, thus, it would be most appropriate to first wear it inside the house of God. Or this belief has been generated from Filipino’s long running tradition that they should wear new clothes during Christmas Day and it is a must to go hear a Holy Mass during this Holy day.

I don’t know if I should be thankful or resentful that this tradition is no longer observed. Thankful because with the volume of clothes I own, I cannot imagine how many times in a year would I be required to attend the Holy Mass. Resentful because this tradition could have at least given me another reason to attend and hear the Holy Mass.

‘Yang suot mo ngayon, Pinang Simba Mo Na Ba Yan?

Nengkoy

ruminations & travesties of the favorite yet naughty son of Nengkoy

Tag Archives: style