Sights of the Ruins of Sutro Baths and Sutro Heights Park

Posted on April 15, 2017 by heavenliner

The only thing I know about the prominent destinations in San Francisco prior to my arrival here in San Francisco are the Union Square and the Golden Gate Bridge. I never knew that the amazing Ruins of Sutro Baths and the scenic Sutro Heights Park exists.

on my way to sutro baths…

awesome!

beautiful

if you swim that ocean, you will end up in baler quezon! hahaha!

Sutro Baths according to google is the largest public saltwater swimming pool complex that opened in 1896. The baths struggled for years due to high maintenance costs. It caught fire in 1966 and was never rebuilt. All that remains are the concrete walls and passageways. Sutro Heights Park on the other hand (meters away from Sutro Baths) is a park that offers the best scenic view of the Ocean Beach.

ocean beach!

amazing…

Though the ruins aren’t really old, but the sight and feel it offers is something sentimental to the point of being romantic. Both location offers a little history on what it was like to be in majestic San Francisco decades ago. Thanks to the front desk staff who pointed me to this amazing location.

Super nays…

A Palm Sunday in San Francisco and My Anti-Ageing Cream is Working

Posted on April 14, 2017 by heavenliner

My Holy Week last year would most probably be the holiest Holy Week I will ever have, it is because I got to spend it right where the holy Holy Week happened, in Jerusalem, Israel. This year I am in San Francisco USA. And though it is definitely less divine compared to last year, I nevertheless got to observe Holy Week here.

I got to attend and celebrate Holy Mass at Grace Cathedral last Palm Sunday. I actually arrived 30 minutes before the mass started that is why I got the opportunity to take photos and go around the holy church.

my 2017 palm sunday church

lovely

solemn…

One funny thing happened though. As I was about to leave the church after dipping my fingers into the Holy Water to make the sign of the cross, a lady approached me with the biggest smile. She expressed that she was so glad to see such a young man like me attending a Holy Mass on a Palm Sunday. She further expressed in a very gentle voice that new generation whom according to her I belong no longer attends a Holy Mass. She then uttered “God Bless you young man!”

turista…

my instagram post last palm sunday

selfie muna

eto na yun… palaspas nila… pinitas lang.

I did not say anything. I just stood there. Listened to her and smiled. If she only knew how old I am and that I may actually older than her. I decided not to correct nor rectify her statements. Besides, I don’t want to ruin her beautiful morning. I just left the church smiling and thinking how much love I have for my anti-ageing cream….

Lumelebel… o baka naman malabo lang ang mata ni Inday.

Traveling In Strange Circles by William Allan

Posted on April 10, 2017 by heavenliner

I am in San Francisco. And in keeping with my personal tradition of visiting a museum every time I travel abroad, I went to SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts). Like what I personally do in the past inside a museum, I let those pieces of art feed the cultural facet of my soul. And the one that most moved me will be featured in the Nengkoy blog.

one of the iconic works of andy warhol

I thought that it would be the works of Andy Warhol that will most fascinate me. Though seeing his works is one of the highlights of my San Francisco adventure, it was actually this that nudged a silvery spur into my little brain:

traveling in strange circles by william allan

great shot by the equally entranced lady

I was easily entranced by the work of William Allan. This big piece of acrylic painting on canvass is entitled Traveling in Strange Circles done in 1973.

An old lady who was with me inside the gallery, I guess saw some glow spilling out from my body, she involuntarily volunteered and asked if I would want a photo with the piece of beautiful art. I of course obliged. She too was so impressed by the works of William Allan it took quite a lot of time before both of us left that specific section in SFMOMA.

Before I left the William Allan gallery, I told the old lady, “I want that piece in my room!” while pointing to the great piece of art. The lady then smiled and told me,”You then need quite a lot of fortune before you can own such an excellent piece of work”. Both of us laughed and bid each other goodbye.

Traveling in Strange Circles though made in 1973 is very modern and is very on with the times. It is a happy painting. I never imagined liking a piece of painting that centers a pair of sneakers in it. Or maybe the painting in a way represents me, a person who loves to travel.

Akong ako ang peynting na ‘to. Kalyehero!

Good Art at the MET

Posted on May 14, 2015 by heavenliner

cultural day at the met

I am no authority on classifying what is good art and what is not. But good art for me is like porn. You just know it when you see it. It is the piece from across the room that is full of art pieces yet you’re attention gets sucked by it.

Good art is personal. It is the piece that commands gaze, shake your brain cells and delivers pleasant feelings even after days has passed. It is the piece that does not need your convincing by anyone to appreciate it.

These are exactly my thoughts during my “cultural day”, the day of my traditional visit to a museum every time I got the chance to travel out of my country. And during my stay in New York, my “cultural day” of course ensued at no less than the largest art museum of the United States, the world renowned, MET or the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

With the vast selection of superb art pieces featured in the MET, the pieces that commanded my gaze, sucked my attention and shook my brain cells were the following:

pix-cell deer by kohei nawa

dvarapala (doorman with a bow from pakistan)

petrus scriverius by frans hals

chinese mural with some spectators… i love my instagram shot…

Though my New York journey has concluded weeks ago, these are the very art pieces that got stuck in my brain which emits lingering feelings of pleasantness. So I guess, these are my self-classified “good art” pieces found at the MET.

Grabe! Super hay-end ang Kuchural Dey kong yan!

My Long Island City Photo Treasures

Posted on May 1, 2015 by heavenliner

No thanks to social media, we Facebook users are bombarded with photos of our friends’ recent vacation. Gone are the days when we have to go to a friend’s house before we would be able to sit through his most recent vacation because we would be shown stacks and stacks of photo albums. But nowadays, we can never totally escape from our friends’ vacations.

water front promenade with the spectacular view of midtown manhattan skyline

this shot garnered lots of fb likes!

According to a researcher on human-computer interaction issues, posting photos of oneself on vacation is like “impression management”. These people tend to paint an impression of themselves to get the positive reaction they want. These are the people with narcissistic motivation who tends to provoke envy but in fact and in my personal assessment could actually be very annoying especially when photos posted has gone too excessive. It can already be considered a bunch of uninteresting excesses of the cyber world.

Well, the person the researcher on human-computer interaction issues is talking about is so me. That is so me and I freaking don’t care! Hahaha! Yes I am narcissistic but let me just modify the issue on provoking envy. I post my photos on the net particularly my blog not because I wish people to envy me. I post them to chronicle the treasures I had amassed. It is because I consider my travels and vacations as my treasure.

feeling rich!

a super nice shot by jo dela rosa…

I actually don’t care if people hate my photos or do not care at all about what I post. My photos chronicling my travels may not have some positive cosmological effect in the universe, but these are my treasures that can never be spent away or stolen from me.

And to further prove this adverse and unflattering trait, in this blog post are a bunch of photos of me and with some New York-based friends, whom I consider as another form of treasure. These “treasures” were taken by my friend Jo Dela Rosa (who surprisingly possesses some excellent photo skills) at Gantry Plaza State Park at Long Island City during my recent NY vacation.

striking a pose with charles, mark and jhong…

Oh diba? Ang yaman yaman ko, andami kong foto.

Book of Mormons Can Never Be Imported In Pinas

Posted on April 29, 2015 by heavenliner

There have been lots of popular musicals that have been imported and graced my beloved homeland. There were even lots of these musicals in which the West End or Broadway casts were featured. And there were some musicals in which the company of actors were equally talented local Filipino artists trying their very best to sound and enunciate the American and/or English accent.

agree!

a nightly long queue at the theater…

But after seeing The Book of Mormons, I can conclude that this show, though dubbed in America as the “best musical of the century” will never be imported and shown in conservative Philippines. It is because this musical can be stunningly foul-mouthed, incredibly vulgar and breathtakingly offensive.

It pushes the boundaries of a comedic story by talking/singing about child rape, the clitoris, people with AIDS, female circumcision and even the male scrotum (with maggots). There was even a vulgar song entitled “Hasa Diga Eebowai” which features a litany of despair and anguish that culminates in the rousing chorus stating that Hasa Diga Eebowai means “F@ck you god”.

A lot of scenes and dialogues were mockeries of true human stories that transpired and continuously happen in society. There was a song in which the continent of Africa was described as definitely not a “Lion King” of a site that one can behold. And that an Ugandan town (which can represent a lot of places in the planet) is being oppressed and harassed by its leader whose name in the story is General Butt-Fucking Naked.

There was the mockery of innocent people in society which were made to seriously believe on stories that involved putting together snippets of events from the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. And that these people were so innocent, they believe that the true paradise is located in Salt Lake City (the song’s sweet rendition actually made me teary-eyed). There was even a line in one song saying that the Garden of Eden is located in Jackson County, Missouri!

where the hilarious yet smart crudeness happens…

aylavet!!!

winner!!!

But what is so amazing about this musical is that these jokes were so smart, refreshing and extremely funny without really sacrificing the kernels of life’s reality that the viewers can ponder about. And maybe the reason why these jokes and mockeries were so effective is because these were uttered and put across by the sweetest characters that a musical could ever have.

Underneath all these jokes and mockeries, The Book of Mormon is a very moral musical. If truly assessed it has a surprisingly tender core. It tackles about loyalty to friendship. It tackles the hope of discovering utopia. It tackles the beauty of innocence as well as the dangers that comes along with it. It tackles about finding love and happiness. It tackles about experiencing victory in the strangest of situations. And ironic as it may seem, it is about the pureness of the heart.

It is therefore not surprising that this musical won 9 Tony Awards including Best Musical in 2011 and continuous to draw big crowds daily. Too bad, Philippines won’t be able to see, hear and experience the pureness of the heart contained in The Book of Mormon.

Ito ang myusikal kung saan ang huling linyang sinabi kung Tatagalugin ay … “Ang Betlog Ko Pa Rin Ay May Uod!??

The Book of Mormon: An Expensive Item in My Bucket List

Posted on April 27, 2015 by heavenliner

Four years ago, when I saw the stunning rendition of “I Believe” by Andrew Ranells from the musical Book of Mormon during the 65th Tony Awards, I promised myself that when I reached New York in the future I would definitely see this musical extravaganza. This personal promise was reaffirmed a year after when I saw the opening number of the 66th Tony Awards which featured the song “Hello”. Seeing the 2011 and 2012 Tony Awards then was like listing The Book of Mormon among my life’s bucket list.

[youtube:https://youtu.be/GVJgmp2Tc2s&w=350%5D

[youtube:https://youtu.be/OKkLV1zE8M0&w=350%5D

Four years later, such personal promise came true. One item in my long, arduous and complicated bucket list was accomplished. I saw, I heard and I enjoyed The Book of Mormon!

My New Yorker friend Jhong knows that months prior to my visiting New York, the one I specifically would like to do was to see this musical. We never talked about the sites to see (except for the 66 Perry Street), the rides to take, the food to taste or the people to meet. We simply talked about the musicals that I want to see. And The Book of Mormons was right there on the top of our conversations.

my view and my playbill

Jhong somewhat discouraged me because The Book of Mormons right now is considered the “King of Broadway”. Their ticket seats are ranked among the most in demand and the most expensive musical in Broadway now. You can actually buy 2 good seats of a different musical in Broadway for the price of one mezzanine seat of The Book of Mormons. It is so in demand, viewers cannot purchase tickets on the day they want to see the show. Tickets must be purchased online days before they would like to see it.

When Jhong and my new friend Lee purchased the ticket for me and told me how expensive a mezzanine seat was, I told them to go ahead. I simply said yes, closed my eyes and changed the topic for I don’t want to ponder and go nuts on how my New York travel budget has gone bloated.

it was all worth it!

And right after seeing the show, while I was standing up, clapping my hands and was shouting “Bravo!” I knew that my purchase of such expensive ticket was well vindicated. This 4-year old item in my bucket list was one hell of a wickedly funny musical show!!!

Kahit mahal, mapapa-mura ka sa galing!

A Leisurely Walk at Strawberry Fields, Central Park

Posted on April 23, 2015 by heavenliner

In my short stay in New York, I can confirm the rich diversity of people and culture that exists in that place. No need to go to a restaurant or the high–end 5^th Avenue or even Broadway to feel this. By riding the subway you easily could witness the various race, color and ethnicities present in New York.

Because of this assortment and thick individual differences, there is no one common look for a New Yorker. Everybody looks, sounds and smells different, which is actually refreshing. The only common character that I observed among all New Yorkers is their “walk”. New Yorkers walk fast! Their gait is wide. Their stomp is strong. Their pace is fast. It is so fast I wonder if New Yorkers know the concept of strolling.

bow bridge at central park, a popular and common film setting (i love my shot! LOL)

But there is a spot in New York where leisurely walkers exist. These walkers – which includes me – however are not New Yorkers but instead the mesmerized bunch of tourists of the state. This is at the Strawberry Fields in Central Park.

Considered as Central Park’s “quiet zone” Strawberry Fields is a 2.5 hectares living memorial to singer, songwriter and Beatles member, John Lennon. The name obviously was derived from the popular Beatles song “Strawberry Fields Forever”. Also, the spot was chosen because of its proximity to Lennon’s home, the Dakota Apartments (where he was shot and died), which was just across the west side of Central Park.

quiet!!!

happy to know that my country endorses strawberry fields as a garden of piece

happy to know that my country endorses strawberry fields as a garden of peace

lucky neil

One focal point of Strawberry Fields is of course the “Imagine” mosaic, which is another tribute to the legend John Lennon. My slow paced walking in the park even becomes more relaxing, peaceful and meditative when I saw and heard a musician seated on a bench, playing a guitar and was singing a Beatles song “Let It Be”.

I was just but happy to have leisurely walked the grounds of Strawberry Fields. That part of the park indeed has “nothing to get hung about”. It was peaceful and very relaxing. It was one short diversion from the fast paced walking and full packed happenings I was having in New York.

Let mi teyk yu dawn, kos aym gowing tu… Dakota Harrison!

Times Square: The Center of the World

Posted on April 21, 2015 by heavenliner

the center of the world!

It uplifts my spirit when I am surrounded by happy folks. And this is exactly what I felt on the numerous times I was at Times Square in New York City. Times Square is one big party place! The breathtaking place is “full” in all aspects that you could think of. It is one place that will struck you with invigorating assault in all your senses.

wow

the red ladder at the center of the world

The minute I stepped in to this crowded place and saw the throngs of people walking by, it felt like I was right at the center of the world. The feeling was something so wonderful, it is hard to find words to match. Something that makes your heart beat faster or melts your heart. It is like something that tops everything else.

For being such a vibrant happy place, Times Square for me is like the Disneyland of the adult world. It is a happy place on earth without the entrance fee and the thrilling rides. Walking the colorful and glowing streets of Times Square is already a pulsating thrill by itself.

i heart times square…

some bubbly strangers at times square!

infectious energy!

Hands down, my most favorite place in New York would be Times Square. For what I personally experienced, Times Square is a very friendly place and is very open to all cultures of the world. It looks like it is where all fun, cool, vibrant and vivacious peoples of the world converge. They are the people who simply would like to see people and be with people.

Akalain mong makatapak ako dun?!

The Uncultured Me and the Sophisticated Phantom of the Opera

Posted on April 19, 2015 by heavenliner

The first Broadway show ever that I have seen in New York (as I have written in the past few days) was Les Miserables. After being so moved by this spectacular musical, I knew for a fact that it would be very difficult and challenging for the succeeding Broadway musical that I would watch for me to get so impressed. Les Miserables would be a tough act to follow.

This is exactly what I felt about Phantom of the Opera. Though it has been considered one of the longest running musicals in Broadway, I find it a little dreary. Or maybe it’s the operatic musical genre that Phantom of the Opera has that made me feel bleak. Except for the song “Think of Me”, which I prefer to be sang in a pop and non-operatic way, I am not that impressed with the line-up of songs.

think of me…

best thing about this experience was watching it and catching up with former colleague hanah, the world traveler

best thing about this gig was watching it and catching up with former colleague hannah, the world traveler

Blame it to Martin Nievera, an old and aging pop-star in the Philippines who keeps on singing the songs from Phantom of the Opera in the TV variety shows that he would appear at. Nievera’s obsolete rendition made me feel so fatigued about the songs of this musical.

Or maybe, the swanky and high-class music of Phantom of the Opera is so high-end and so classy and it’s just that I am the uncultured swine who fails to appreciate the elegance and chicness of its tunes. No thanks to my underdeveloped right brain because I have yet to find the right tools so as to appreciate such musical genre.

the orchestra! the people with sophisticated musical taste…

phantom of the opera will not be complete without the iconic chandelier

But what struck me most about Phantom is the great production design. My goodness! The spectacular drop of the majestic chandelier right over the heads of the audience at the end of the first act was breathtaking. Also, the colors of the masquerade ball number was truly outstanding. Those costumes were undeniably crazy! I was indeed transported into a different world!

Kelan ba kasi magre-retire si Martin Nievera?

Nengkoy

ruminations & travesties of the favorite yet naughty son of Nengkoy

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