Looking for love on the world wide web

Something Like Life
May 16, 2008

WHEN I interviewed them, I was almost half-annoyed as they absentmindedly gazed into each other’s eyes, held hands and gave each other affectionate pats. They playfully bantered and laughed at each other’s funny—and not-so-funny—remarks. “Inggit ka lang!” the voice in my head jeered. And I couldn’t help but chuckle myself. Cerisse and Lucas looked as though they’d been together for quite a while, as there was a certain tender acceptance of each other like a long-time married couple. I thought of my own parents, who had their own nasty spats which none of us kids could stand. But still, when it was just them alone—or so they thought—I would observe them quietly just sitting on the couch watching TV and joshing each other with affection.

As for Cerisse and Lucas, they had only known each other for a year and were already thinking of getting married as soon as Cerisse’s annulment from her ex came through. They are some of the growing number of couples who met and dated via the Internet, and subsequently gotten married or are thinking of making their relationships permanent.

Just a year before, Lucas was chilly in merry old England sitting at his computer linked to a chat application and typed: “Are there any lonely ladies out there?” Cerisse, at her own PC trying to beat the heat and humidity of Manila, responded.

I googled for data on Internet romances and cyber love, but unfortunately, couldn’t find any to show just how many have gotten hitched in this manner. However, according to a US News and World report cited by an ongoing research on online dating at the University of California-Berkeley, “In August 2003 alone, 40 million unique users visited online-dating sites in the United States alone...that’s about half the number of single adults in the US.” As of August 2005 there were about 1,000 online-dating sites with a number of them devoting themselves to specific racial types, geography and age groups. So it appears that more and more people are turning to the World Wide Web to find true love and their happy ever after.

Because of growing Internet usage, the computer has become a powerful tool enabling people from literally every corner of the globe to “connect” and carry on long conversations and even relationships with the click of a mouse. Already, certain applications enable one to “chat” via the Internet using one’s cell phone, further extending the possibilities of carrying on cyber romances.

Sixty-four and twice divorced, Lucas is giving up what many perceive as a comfortable retiree’s life in England for the smog and traffic of Manila just to be with Cerisse.

Cerisse, 14 years younger than Lucas, braved criticism from her own family, especially from her older brother who now stands as the patriarch, just to be with her man.

Lucas said he didn’t go online to land himself another wife; after all, he already had been married twice before and they ended up with a lot of heartaches. But he was thrilled at meeting Cerisse “because she was on the other side of the world.”

As for Cerisse, she was just incredibly joyful for having found Lucas because he was “so mabait.”

There was just that immediate “connection” once they started chatting online after a couple of e-mail exchanges. “I know what he’s going to say even before he says it,” laughed Cerisse.

They added that from the very beginning, they never told any lies to each other. They bared their backgrounds, told each other stories about their lives, their families, their jobs, etc.

“Cerisse mentioned something about soul-mates and after what’s happened [us hooking up with each other], I think it might be true,” Lucas added.

As with any relationship, of course, Cerisse and Lucas’ is not without hitches.

As mentioned earlier, Cerisse’s brother was initially vehemently against the relationship and even had Lucas investigated by the London police. “He thought I was after her money,” Lucas chuckled. “What money?” Cerisse said under her breath, bristling at the thought. But Lucas said he understood her brother. “Putting myself in his shoes, I would do the same,” he told Cerisse gently. “He was just trying to protect you.”

On the other hand, Cerisse’s other siblings were more supportive. They even tried to convince the eldest to leave her alone, as she was old enough to make decisions in her life. Her own son also had her back and just wanted to see his mother take another chance in a relationship she seems happy in.

When Lucas first visited Manila and met Cerisse’s family for the first time, he didn’t know what to expect. Her siblings sat him down and tried to discourage him from marrying Cerisse because of the mistakes she made, especially in her first marriage. But he remained unfazed because he already knew about all that.

He eventually got around to speaking with the family patriarch and bared his plans and his feelings for Cerisse. Grudgingly, her brother realized that his opposition to the relationship was futile. Besides, Cerisse said, “it would have split the family,” which was very important to her brother.

Back for another visit, Lucas said he hardly agonized over his decision to marry Cerisse. “I honestly believe I’ve never been in love before.”

His sons didn’t have any objections to the relationship, but it was Lucas’s sister who told him he had to be the one to make adjustments in his relationship to Cerisse because of her different cultural background. “Because she speaks English, I tend to forget she’s different. And my sister told me, for it [the relationship] to be successful, I’ve got to be the one to change.”

Of course, Lucas has already undergone his baptism by fire, getting a taste of life with the extended Filipino family. But he is accepting of this and is prepared to make the move to the Philippines.

As we walked down the street to hail a cab, I sneaked a look behind me and saw the couple holding hands and giggling like teenagers. If I could have some of that, I thought, maybe I should get on one of those online-dating sites fast. Hmmm....

(My column Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror.)

That bee is gonna sting

Sign of the times: Jollibee hiking
prices on soaring costs

By Dennis Estopace
Reporter, BusinessMirror
May 14, 2008

NOW you know times are really hard. The iconic fast food that offers “distinctly Filipino” spaghetti and fried chicken has been bitten by the inflation bug.

Jollibee Foods Corp., the country’s largest fastfood operator, would be hiking prices “any time soon,” chief executive Tony Tan Caktiong told the BusinessMirror.

However, Tan Caktiong said he doesn’t expect such increase to impact sales. (Read on at Jollibee.)

OH crap, now we're in real trouble! Various economists from different banks are already projecting a 9% inflation rate this year. With this announcement from Jollibee, that makes the inflation projection even more credible. After all, about 50 percent the consumer price index (which is the basis of the inflation rate) is composed of food, beverages and tobacco items.

Jollibee's products have become an index of sorts for the country in terms of food prices. Its burgers, spaghetti, and fries are standard fare especially for the lower middle income market. (I personally like the nacho fries.) These are the clerks, the sales ladies, tellers, patrolling cops, and janitors, etc. who comprise the bulk the of country's working force.

These folks don't even earn enough to pay for all their needs, an uptick in food prices will just burden them further. (What's more, transport groups are agitating for higher fares.) With Jollibee raising its prices, I am pretty sure other food staples like canned sardines and instant noodles will soon follow. It's bad enough we have a rice crisis and surging electric bills.

I can't imagine how we Pinoys can take more of this.

* * * *

ON the other hand, a higher inflation rate spells good news to depositors as this usually means, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (central bank) will need to increase its overnight rates to sop up the extra liquidity in the market.

This also means the rate on government securities like Treasury Bills and Bonds will go up. Depositors will be sure to check with their banker the latest rates for special deposit accounts and investment instruments.

Already I got a call from my bank which is offering 8.5% interest per annum on its Tier 2 notes. (Earlier this year, the notes were only offered at 7%.) Of course, the catch is, you have to hold on to this basically unsecured debt for 5 years and the interest is paid out every six months. But it's a good deal especially if it's a strong solid bank. Also try to look ask your bank if it offers 5-year tax-free accounts. These special accounts normally accept deposits as low as P50,000. Interest is paid every month but like the Tier 2 notes, you must keep your money in the account for five years.

And btw, just in case you've bought into the whole economic miracle that is RP crap promoted by the presidentita, a high inflation rate is one of the signs the economy is heading for the dumps.

If you found a bag w/ a million pesos, what would you do? And the best lamb adobo

Finally some good news amid all the posturing over the Meralco/high power rates issue, and rice crisis created by the presidentita herself. Ano ba 'yang babaeng 'yan, walang ginawa kundi pumunta sa DOJ at lumabas sa TV at magpa-photo op! I think she must have visited the agency like four times already to check out kuno the progress in cases against so-called rice traders. Micromanager? No, super KSP lang, graveh! Anyhoo...as promised, the good news...

Waiter returns a million pesos
ABS-CBN News online
May 12, 2008

What would you do if you discovered an abandoned bag with a million pesos in it?

A waiter at a restaurant in a mall found one on Wednesday and decided to look for the owner and give the money back.

Alexander "Stitch" Latag found the money in a blue SM plastic bag on a seat outside Cyma restaurant in Greenbelt 2 where he works. At first, Stitch thought that the bag was just trash but checked the contents first before throwing it out.

"I looked at it to check whether it was trash or a bomb," Latag said with a laugh. Latag said he got nervous when he saw bundles of P1000 bills inside the bag. When he showed it to a colleague, a lot of things played on their minds, he said. They thought it might be ransom money or for illegal purposes.

Latag said he saw the woman who left the bag outside Cyma. He waited one-and-a-half hours for her to come back and when she didn't, Stitch gave the bag to their manager, Jay Espinosa. (Read on at Waiter returns millions.)

Kudos to Chef Robby Goco and his professional and honest staff.

* * * *
Okay, the honesty part done with, but why the Eff would someone bring around P1 million in cash and in a plastic bag man din? I mean are you nuts, lady? Haven't you heard of attaché cases? Ahm chure napagalitan ka ng boss mo at ang kapal mo'ng kumain muna bago i-deposit yang pera sa bangko. Someone at POEA better check if this manpower recruitment agency even has a license! Imagine charging their clients P200,000 each?!

* * * *
Speaking of Greek food, I went to this Greek resto by the beachfront in Boracay last Saturday, and gads! that was the driest and saltiest lamb adobo I've ever tasted! (Why lamb adobo is in a Greek menu to begin with is beyond me. After all, adobo is more a Pinoy thing although technically, it's Spanish in origin, i.e. "adobar", to marinate.) Miggy and I also had the spanakopita (feta cheese in a rather thick phyllo pastry) and a Mati salata (greens, walnuts in a tart vinaigrette)...which were quite ordinary. If I may quote one respected young food writer's text message to me, the food in this restaurant is "nothing to write home about." No wonder the resto was empty except for three tables, and that included us.

Anyhoo, for the best lamb adobo, go to Bro's Mustache at Sct. Madriñan in QC. Eat it with garlic rice (or crusty bread and sop up the juices in the olive oil mix), while drinking San Mig Super Dry and listening to an acoustic Chikoy Pura sing Joe Jackson. Coolness, and yummy-ness! (Yummy lamb adobo, not Chikoy ha, although pwede na rin! he-he)

Anyway, I once asked Gigi Vinzon, co-owner of Bro's Mustache, the recipe to her lamb adobo. (Whoa, this lady can cook!) But try as might, I couldn't get it down to perfection. Ahm chure she left out a secret ingredient. Oooh Francine, I am so missing that lamb adobo now. Lesgow!

Notes on the EJAP 'Olympics'

I JUST got back from Boracay where it drizzled due to the typhoon which I heard was ravaging Mindanao. So the island and its revelers, like the usually hard-working members of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) who were there for its annual sportsfest, cooled down a bit.

For those who don't know, EJAP is the one of the oldest journalism groups in the country with its members mostly reporters and editors who give you your daily dose of stock market reports, telecoms innovations, rice crisis updates, peso-dollar rates, and investments/trade outlook from the major broadsheets, wire agencies and TV networks. I have been a member since as far back as I can remember (I joined the business media in 1987--oof! did I just date myself?) and have, on occasion, participated in its events like its awards for the best business reports, Christmas parties, and forums.

Unfortunately, I have never participated in any of its sportsfests, a recent creation, as the event usually falls on a Saturday when I would be editing my paper's business section. But I've often heard of the revelry that goes on during these games, the petty arguments that sometimes ensue from the heated competition, and eventually, the sportsmanship that the members practice. After all, these games are all done in the spirit of fun.

This year, with Donnabelle Gatdula of the Philippine Star as its president, the EJAP sportsfest was kicked a notch higher by being held outside Manila for the first time, at the Two Seasons Resort in Boracay.

Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils., now back in the fold of the Atlanta-based parent The Coca-Cola Co., sponsored the event as part of its commitment to health and wellness. So the EJAP members were continuously pumped with Coke Zero the entire duration of their stay in Boracay from May 9-11. (As a healthy lifestyle choice, I stopped drinking softdrinks years ago, but I had to make an exception this time because it was just sizzling hot in Boracay during the day and that Coke Zero really helped quench my thirst...without the fear of added calories and pounds to my otherwise svelte,ahem, frame.)

It was by far the most fun I've experienced as an EJAP member (although technically I didn't join the games...unfortunately, there is no Business/Lifestyle category, hehe), watching the various teams battle it out in the zaniest games, e.g. downing a mouthful of soda crackers then trying to whistle, or how about shuffling backward ala Michael Jackson with a colored plastic ball squeezed between your thighs and dropping it in a small plastic basket? But I clicked, clicked away and will soon post some of the photos of the action here.

While all the players gave their all in the games, there can only be one winner. The top prize went to the Banking team, whose members exhibited the most ingenious moves to win most of the games. In the game where they had to fold and unfold a streamer, the male players carried the female players on their backs, so the members' feet would not go beyond the boundaries of the streamer! Aba, aba, aba, ang gagaling talaga! Gov. Say Tetangco of the Bangko Sentral must be extremely proud of this extremely talented and united bunch.

The team also took the Early Bird prize for being first to assemble the hellish hour of 6:30 am on the day of the sports fest, and for Best Attire, sporting their blue Speedo swimsuits and matching aqua Nike skorts for the women, athletic shirts and shorts for the men.

While the awards and festivities went on throughout the night, I, on the other hand, took my leave and went up to my room for a much-needed massage from Manang Flor, my suki on the island. It was the end of a humongously entertaining day which I think, will be hard to beat in the years to come. I can only take my hat off to Donna and her tireless fellow officers and board members Lenie Lectura, Alena Mae Flores, Darwin Amojelar, Paul Isla, and Mitch Remo, and the rest, for making sure everyone had a great time. And to all the participants, cheers to a job well done!

Seair revives talks with investors

(I've been on vacation so this is another lazy post...a story I wrote for BusinessMirror for its May 9/10 issue.)

SOUTHEAST Asian Airlines (Seair) is reviving talks with international investors following the rejection of a purchase offer by the group of industrialist Alfredo M. Yao. Yao is the founder of Zest-O Corp.

A highly-placed source from the local carrier told BusinessMirror “these talks were stalled when we thought we were already going to have a deal with Yao by June. So we’re just reviving them.”

The source declined to identify the foreign groups only saying that these were “from Singapore and Brunei,” for possible “capital infusion” into the local carrier.

Seair owners headed by co-founders Iren Dornier, Nikos Gitsis and the Filipino group led by marketing guru Tomas B. Lopez Jr., declined the offer by Yao to purchase their shares for $2 million (or P84.63 million). This was $1.75 million (P74 million) lower than the “original consensus price” of $3.75 million (P159 million), before Yao’s group conducted due diligence on the airline.

Yao said he still intends to pursue the purchase of the carrier.

Sources familiar with the matter said the $2-million offered by Yao’s group will only pay for the cost of the brand and takeover of employees. The group does not intend to buy the 10 aircraft Seair is currently leasing from Dornier’s Aviation Enterprise Inc. (AEI) and spare parts. Yao’s group will also not cover the debts of the carrier including the payables on the aircraft leases to AEI. “All of the liabilities of Seair will have to be paid by Gitsis [and company],” the sources added.

In the proposed share purchase agreement, “[Yao’s group] will lease aircraft from AEI on a “power-by-the-hour” basis, the same sources added. This means that Yao’s group will pay only for the actual use of the leased aircraft, even if these are parked in the airline’s hangar. With this commitment to lease AEI’s planes, “it’s like the offer price is still the same as what we had initially discussed,” explained another source from the Yao group.

There is also a non-compete clause in the proposed share purchase agreement between Yao and Seair shareholders. This means that Dornier and Gitsis, who are both pilots and who currently own 40 percent of Seair, cannot put up another carrier to compete with Yao’s airline.

BusinessMirror sources observed that “this clause was not present in the initial agreement between Yao and Asian Spirit’s former owners.” Yao said he intends to merge Asian Spirit and Seair into one airline company.

Yao bought Asian Spirit for about P1 billion but turned over a check amounting to only P700 million because his group was taking over the debts and liabilities of the airline.

In an earlier interview, Gitsis said Seair was “open to all possibilities” in terms of investments either through capital infusion or selling the owners’ shares “lock, stock and barrel.”

“We’re still open to selling [even just the shares owned by the foreign group]. In the long run, the airline needs partners that can help in [our] growth, to keep us up with the growth opportunities that are still open in the market,” he said.

Referring specifically to the negotiations with Yao, Gitsis said: “If the need for capital and aircraft is the main motivator, [we] don’t want to sell out. Our hearts are in the company and we are more than willing to stay, and more than willing to work another 13 years. [Dornier and I] love this country and we no longer consider ourselves foreigners. On the other hand, everything has a price in business.”

He said the airline sees massive potential growth in local tourism “and we can contribute to that in many ways.” But he said he hoped the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) would allow the airline to do just that by approving its lease purchase agreement with Tiger Airways.

In January 2007, Seair signed a lease purchase agreement with Tiger Air, the low-cost carrier subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. The deal was for the lease of two Airbus 320s from the regional carrier which would enable Seair to fly to Singapore and Macau, as well as other Asian destinations. Local carriers have opposed the agreement saying the partnership would give fifth-freedom rights to Tiger Air, thereby allowing it to transport passengers to a second country and onwards to a third country.

Due to opposition by local carriers, the CAB has yet to approve the agreement, preventing Seair’s efforts to expand its routes to international destinations using the Clark International Airport as a regional hub.

“Tiger Air gave us a challenge. We thought we could live up to the challenge and we’re still optimistic that we can overcome that challenge,” said Gitsis. He admitted that the regional carrier has also expressed interest in buying into Seair, “but we [foreign shareholders] would have to sell out.”

- - - -

P.S. I flew to Caticlan and back to Manila over the weekend via Seair and noticed that the drinks served to passengers were made by Zest-O. Hmmm...

Seair ‘rejects’ Yao offer, but talks ‘active’

(Seair owners: Iren Dornier, Nikos Gitsis, and Tomas B. Lopez Jr. representing Filipino shareholders. Photos of Dornier/Gitsis from the Iren Dornier Project. Photo of Lopez from AIM.)


THE owners of Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair) said they have rejected the offer of industrialist Alfredo M. Yao to purchase the airline, but the fruit-juice king’s camp stressed the two sides are still “actively talking.”

A highly placed source in the carrier told the BusinessMirror: “The deal is off. The offer is $2 million. [It's] too low from the original consensus price [between the owners and Yao’s group].”

Contacted for comment, Yao said, “Their group and ours are still talking. Nick [Gitsis, co-founder and director of the carrier] is still in the States, so we haven’t spoken to each other.”

While Yao did not wish to confirm how much his group’s offer price was, the Seair source said the owners had agreed to sell their shares to Yao at $3.75 million (or roughly P158 million at P42.315 to the dollar).

The price only covers the cost of the airline brand and the takeover of the staff, but not the planes. The 10-plane fleet of Seair — composed of three Dornier 328s and seven LET-410s — are turboprops currently leased from Aviation Enterprise Inc., a company owned by Seair founder Iren Dornier.

The source added that the notice to formally reject the deal has already been transmitted to Yao’s group.

Yao is widely known for having developed the fruit-juice drinks under the Zest-O brand, now the largest-selling ready-to-drink fruit-juice brand in the country. His recent purchase of Asian Spirit boosts his interests in the tourism sector, where he also owns a hotel in Subic Bay. (See my profile interview of Yao in the blog entry below.)

Despite the rejection of Yao’s offer, the Seair source was confident that the airline would continue operating. “We have a good safety record. We are No. 1 in our market.” He added that Dornier will continue to infuse capital in the airline even if the local shareholders won’t.

Gitsis earlier said a deal with Yao’s group could be announced before the end of June. (See “Yao bucks tide, may buy 2nd airline,” BusinessMirror, April 14.) The two parties have been negotiating Seair’s purchase since July 2007.

(Industrialist Fred Yao)

Meanwhile, aviation analysts who requested anonymity said that with Yao’s recent purchase of Asian Spirit, he doesn’t need to purchase another carrier. “He has his own airline already, with its own staff and planes.

Both of them [Seair and Asian Spirit] serve almost the same markets, so he [Yao] really doesn’t need another airline.” The analysts added that unlike Asian Spirit, Seair does not have a congressional franchise and is not a designated flag carrier.

A source in Yao’s group confirmed this. “Strictly speaking, we don’t need them [Seair]. It’s not imperative that we buy them. But we can learn from their expertise and benefit from their niche marketing.”

Yao has already successfully lured Seair’s operations manager, Eli Tabora, to join Asian Spirit, but is still keen on recruiting Avelino Zapanta, current president of Seair and former president of Philippine Airlines, to be head of a merged airline company. Yao’s group is also impressed with the marketing savvy of Patrick Tan, Seair’s vice president for commercial affairs.

Despite the rejection of the offer, a source in Yao’s group said the businessman is still pursuing his plan to buy Seair. “The upside for us buying Seair is, they have good people, and we can do single administration [of routes and ticketing], and let’s face it, they have a good reputation in the niche market they are serving. The downside to us, of course, is there is a cost to all of that.”

The source stressed that both groups are still “actively talking. There are just some areas of confusion [with regard to the offer price]. I think it just wasn’t explained to them very well why the offer is such. They may have interpreted it differently.”

While he declined to go into specifics, he noted that since Seair’s planes are not included in the purchase price, “why should we pay for the spare parts? But essentially, our offer to them is still the same.” Other sources said the carrier also has debts which are going to be taken over by Yao’s group.

This was essentially the same tactic Yao used in taking over Asian Spirit. While the purchase price for that carrier was P1 billion, the actual check turned over to its former owners was only about P700 million because of the debts and liabilities of the carrier that Yao’s group would be assuming.

As for Yao’s offer to Seair’s owners, the source said: “We didn’t offer an inordinately low price. I think we just have to explain to them how we came up with this figure.” The offer to purchase Seair for about $2 million (or P84.63 million) was made after Yao’s group completed its recent due diligence of the airline.

In an interview on February 13, Gitsis admitted to BusinessMirror the pinch the carrier has felt with the entry of larger carriers in its major routes: “We’re still the fastest flight to Boracay (Caticlan). We still have the most modern planes. But we have felt a reduction in revenues, and a softening in the market prices.”

The Manila-Caticlan route, a major revenue earner for Seair, is now being serviced by major carriers such as Philippine Airlines through its subsidiary PAL Express/Air Philippines, and Cebu Pacific. Current fares to Caticlan have dropped to about P588, one-way, excluding insurance, taxes and other surcharges.

The carrier’s plans to tie up with Tiger Airways so it could lease two planes from the regional airline to service more domestic points, and enable Seair to fly to Macau, Singapore and other regional routes from the Clark International Airport, have also been strongly opposed by other local carriers.

“We’ve had delays with the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) in trying to lease planes from Tiger Air to put in service in the Philippines. We have had no approval for that. It’s been a long process. We’re surprised why we’re getting this reaction from larger companies when we’re a small company,” Gitsis said of the other challenges Seair has had to overcome.

Dornier and Gitsis own 40 percent of Seair while the rest of the shares are owned by a Filipino group led by marketing guru Tomas B. Lopez Jr.

(My story on Seair was published on the front page of the BusinessMirror on May 6, 2008. Blog entry contains corrections with regards to the offer price.)

Look to the sky: a profile of Zest-O's Fred Yao

ALFREDO M. Yao is a man who rarely rests.

He says the last vacation he had with his entire family was two years ago in New Zealand, and remembers a few regional cruises with his wife. He tells the BusinessMirror he would rather be on his toes, working, on the lookout for new business opportunities. “I always tell my children, ‘Never be complacent.’ Work as if someone’s burning his heels behind you. You have to keep running. That’s my business philosophy, that’s my secret. I just don’t sit down. I’m not complacent, even to this day. There should be some threat from competitors, from other brands…. You shouldn’t be able to sleep.”

For someone who stresses that “vacations are not for me,” Yao, ironically, is now Philippine tourism’s latest champion. He recently completed the purchase of Asian Spirit, a 12-year-old airline primarily flying between Manila and Caticlan, and is looking at buying another carrier, Southeast Asian Airlines, with the intention of merging both companies. He has also bought the Legenda Hotels and Suites in the Subic Bay Freeport, and is just waiting for its former owners to turn over the property to him. Last year he was appointed by President Arroyo as special envoy to develop tourism between the Philippines and China, which is why he is now looking into the possibility of expanding Asian Spirit’s regional routes to include Xiamen and Shanghai.

“I just thought it’s a good opportunity [buying Asian Spirit]. There’s a lot of room to grow here in local aviation and tourism market. There are so many unexplored areas. Our country is so beautiful, we have a lot of resources, all we need is to develop these sites, put in the infrastructure, then bring the tourists there. I think tourism will help boost the economy,” he says.

(For the rest of my interview of Fred Yao, pls. click here.)

Gov't takeover na naman?!

SO it's back to '70s are we when private companies were nationalized by President Marcos and taken over by the government? One of these companies were ABS-CBN, the broadcasting arm of the Lopez Group.

When Corazon Aquino came into power and became President of the country in 1986, her government immediately took itself out of business and returned most private companies back to their owners, ABS-CBN to the Lopezes included. As many academic studies have shown, government in business is simply, bad business. Most of these government companies are non-performing and inefficiently run. To this day, there are many government assets that are being privatized albeit ever so slowly, but because of the way most of these companies have been operating, they have become virtually unpalatable to investors.

Now comes 2008 an it must be deja vu all over for the Lopezes as President Arroyo and her minions try to take over Meralco, the largest power distributor in the country. Coincidentally (or coaccidentally?) just when news of the planned government takeover spread, a two-hour power outage hit several parts of Quezon City last night, including my village. While the cause was traced to "line trouble", as usual the conspiracy theorist in me can't help but think some sinister motive behind the blackout. Okay lang sana kung ginawa sa Malacañang noh?

Seriously, we all hate our high electric bills that's for sure. And especially this summer, my own power bill has gone up by P2,000 primarily due to the regular use of our aircons. I'm not blaming Meralco though. I'm blaming the presidentita because of her government's inability to really implement reforms in the power sector.

Like, for years, the public can have access to lower electricity costs if only we are able to tap the power generated by the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants in Batangas. But that plant's output, which is sourced from the Malampaya gas field in Palawan, is not being utilized properly. Why can't Napocor buy more of these gas plants' power output? Because they are owned by the Lopezes as well?

Not only that, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 has yet to be fully implemented. Napocor has yet to privatize many of its power plants and assets which account for about 70 percent of the electric generating capacity.

Also, the costs of crude is going about in the world market hitting over $100 per barrel. This pushes up local power costs as well. So why doesn't the government temporarily remove the tax on imported crude, as well as the sales tax on systems energy loss? I say temporarily because of course, I am aware that the goverment needs to boost its revenues (bec. it cannot stem the tide of corruption in revenue-collecting agencies), but while the economy and the public are struggling from the high costs of power, it is the government's responsibility to give us temporary relief.

Taking over Meralco is another greedy "hare"-brained (utak kuneho) scheme of the presidentita to get back at her detractors, most especially the Lopez Group whose ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. is not too sweet on her.

But just look at what happened when she forced her way into the NAIA terminal 3? Government took over the terminal which wasn't built by taxpayers' monies btw, and yet it continues to be closed...a virtual white elephant for the country. Ang galing mo talaga, GMA! Isa kang henyo!

When Love Begins: a comedy of clichés

SO I got suckered into watching When Love Begins by Ms. RP. I had just come from a high watching Iron Man so you can imagine the dread I must have felt. (Ok, the reason she wanted to watch it because our gang is going to Boracay next weekend and there were scenes in the movie that had the island as its setting. I wondered why my friends and I were not in the movie, not even as extras, after the many times we've been to Boracay. But there were a few sightings of Brian Gorrell, I thought, though not w/ DJ Montano hehe.)

First of all, Aga Muhlach has never been my favorite local actor. He talks with a lisp and has that trademark puppy dog eyes staring into nothingness. Second, except for veteran actors Ronaldo Valdez, Boots Anson Roa, and Christopher de Leon, I didn't know any of the other artistas in this film. (To their credit, Valdez and Anson Roa were the only ones who manage to pull off their roles credibly, as parents of Aga's character, inspite of the inspid dialogue handed to them. De Leon was, as usual, at his OA best. Ick.)

You can say I'm not much of a fan of local cinema. I've been disappointed many times over watching the films that all movie reviewers say are good (of course, most of them are actually paid hacks of the producers), but actually are not. The last time I really enjoyed local films was during the time of the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines (take a bow Imee Marcos) and you had masterpieces created by Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, Peque Gallaga, Laurice Guillen, Mike de Leon, Marilou Diaz Abaya, etc. I was studying for my CommArts degree then and had to watch all these films. But I enjoyed them, despite the requirement. To this day, the films produced during the ECP heyday are considered classics, mahirap pantayan. All the ingredients of a good movie were there: original screenplays with intelligent dialogue, powerful and inspired acting and directing...all the films of these directors were just creative and well-thought out.

These days, everyone panders to commercialism. I cannot imagine how Joey Reyes, esteemed DLSU professor and respectable scriptwriter/director could write such lines in When Love Begins such as: "It's better if we don't have any expectations" (Anne Curtis' character Michelle referring to her budding relationship with Aga's character Ben); "If you take me for what I am, you must also take for what I'm not!" (award!); and have scenes were Aga's character observes Anne Curtis' character sleeping. Anova! Gasgas na yan! This film was peppered w/ so many clichés in dialogue and scenery, Ms. RP and I (along with other filmgoers beside us) could not help but burst out in laughter, every 15 minutes.

As is the case in many of commercial Pinoy films today, even the characterizations were off. How could Aga's character call himself a vegetarian when he's so fat?! (Yes folks, the rumors are untrue. Aga's body is far from buffed.) And as a supposedly experienced environmentalist, how could he not know that the father of Anne's character (played by de Leon) was behind the subdivision development that Aga's character was going to file a case against? I know a lot of vegetarians and they're not fat! I know environmentalists and they do their homework well before filing cases vs companies w/c violate environmental laws.

In the film, we learn at the end that Anson Roa's character dies of cancer. But for some strange reaason, there was no mention whatsoever of what happened to De Leon's character, father of Aga's love interest, after father and daughter went to the States!

Did I have high hopes that this movie was going to be a great movie, the best produced by Philippine cinema by far? Certainly not. So why am I ranting? Because it was a waste of time and money. Sure it gave us some comic relief because of the bad acting and stupid dialogue, but it really makes me feel sad how Philippine movies, once ranked the best in Asia, and a few times in the world, have degenerated to pathetic, unthinking, idiotic productions with no redeeming values whatsoever.

This is why I only watch Ruffa Mae Quinto or Ai-Ai delas Alas movies. At least you know what you're in for – a stupid comedy – so you still get your money's worth. When Love Begins was meant to be a drama. But we left the movie theater, laughing hysterically.

Iron Man is hot! (no spoilers here)

...and so is Robert Downey Jr.!

He plays multi-gazillionaire industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man with such strength and poignancy...and we love the edgy humor, too.

Downey is obviously having fun with his character as he dishes out his snappy witty dialogues with his co-stars Jeff Bridges (as Obadiah Stane, business partner of Stark's father who helps build up Stark Industries, a weapons manufacturer), Gwyneth Paltrow (Stark's irrepressible and efficient assistant Pepper Potts), and Terrence Howard (Lt. Col. Jim Rhodes, military official/jet pilot and Stark friend). All of these actors are great on their own, and have starred in many of their own hits. So it was really very generous of them to take a backseat, and give major support to Downey Jr. instead. (There are also cute cameos from Iron Man creator Stan Lee, a lady who looks suspiciously like Hillary Swank, and Samuel L. Jackson.)

Btw, the movie premiered yesterday the same time as in the U.S., so lucky us. Cinema 5 at TriNoma was packed to the rafters despite two other theaters showing the same film. It is really one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year. I used to read Iron Man comics as a kid (borrowed them from my brothers) but they were not that many issues for me to follow. So basically, I went into the movie blind, with just the scant knowledge that Tony Stark is Iron Man. But I'm a sucker for anything that's even remotely sci-fi plus I really wanted to see Downey Jr. because this is his first major film since he got back from rehab. (He's been sober for five years.) And according to press reports, he had to audition for the role. Director Jon Favreau didn't even think Downey Jr. would make the shortlist.

The film's theme is anti-war, what with Stark trying to change the direction of his company from being a weapons manufacturer to a firm dedicated to global change and improvement. This happens after Stark sees the damage wrought by his company's products on harmless innocent people, in what is the U.S. government's war on terror. In the comics version, Stark is captured by the Vietcong. In this film, he is captured by terrorists in Afghanistan. (Btw, the Iron Man costume is really uber-cool, and the newly buffed Downey Jr. looks just amazing in it. Yummy!)

I won't spoil the movie for you guys by telling you the story line. Just go see it. It's a fun escapist film with some heart and humor. Downey is just brilliant in the role, as he always has been in his other roles (e.g. Chaplin). It was a shame that he screwed up his path to stardom with his bouts of drug taking and alcoholism. But now that he's back, I'm pretty sure Downey's going to be the actor to beat of his generation. Okay, him and Johnny Depp.

Credit also goes to Jon Favreau who made such an exciting film...at times it reminded me of Transformers, especially when Stark dons the red and gold Iron Man costume. The effects are very slick but not otherwordly, so Favreau is pretty much able to keep the film still believable.

Iron Man pretty much takes the cake as the blockbuster hit of the season. I'm gonna watch it again.

A blind date

GRACE was, as usual, suspicious of the plan.

Her sister Cynthia was setting her up for the first time on a blind date. According to Cynthia, the guy was 36, single and owned his own construction business. And they – meaning she at 35, who was at the peak of her own advertising career, and the guy with his rather impeccable background (as Cynthia claimed) – would probably hit it off.

Grace knew better than to ask whether the guy was cute, or at least presentable to her friends, the final arbiters in most of her relationships. Besides, she knew well enough that most handsome men are gay, or in love with themselves more than they could ever be with their women. Okay, that’s what her gay friends told her anyway.

The guy, Martin, was apparently a close friend of the husband of Cynthia and Grace’s cousin. Of course, Grace was supposed to accept this connection as some honorable endorsement of the guy’s supposed respectability, and genuine and sincere personality. He could not be some psycho mass murderer recently escaped from the basement of Makati Med.

Then again, as Grace anxiously waited for Martin’s call to set the date, she did recall watching a recent episode of one of those real-life investigative shows on Fox TV where a family just accepted a stranger, supposedly a victim of an airline crash who had lost his entire family, to move in with them. As she pored over the storyboards before her at work, the scenes from the TV program continued replaying in her head. The stranger helped around the house and the farm, and actually appeared to be a decent, well-meaning person. He had gotten along with the family, especially with the kids—until the family patriarch suddenly realized that his wife had fallen in love with the stranger. The husband began to feel uneasy about going home, threatened he was by the stranger’s presence. Eventually, the stranger was discovered to be on the FBI’s watch list because he had killed his own wife in another state just a few years before.

So maybe this guy Martin killed off his own wife as well and was wanted somewhere in the hinterlands of Polomolok. Okay, Grace’s imagination was running wild again. Something like that could only happen in the US.

When Martin finally called, her heart actually skipped a beat. “He sounds okay,” Grace told herself, while listening to him make small chitchat before sealing the date. They finally agree to meet on Friday at her favorite Spanish restaurant. In her mind, she had already picked out a nice flowy dress to wear for the big day.

Later at the bar, Grace met up with her buddies for drinks and eagerly told them about the forthcoming date. While Trixie was positively ecstatic and asked her what she would wear for the event, the rest of the gang—including her majesty’s gayness, Dean—wondered why Martin would still be single at 36? Such supportive friends, Grace thought, although the idea of Martin being gay did cross her mind.


Nevertheless she tried to shake off the negativity of her friends and Dean’s continuing jest of letting him date Martin instead, and asserted that she was actually looking forward to Friday. It would be fun, she said, to try seeing someone alone, at dinner, with some wine, perhaps some good polite conversation for a change, instead of being together with her forever drunk, ridiculous and raving mad friends. Talk about candidates for the psycho ward!

On D-Day, Grace couldn’t believe how nervous she was. Even as she sat through her three meetings with clients, account executives and her copywriters, she found her mind trailing off. Did she look okay today? Maybe she shouldn’t have eaten that last piece of chicharon at last night’s dinner? She felt so fat and hoped the dress she had chosen to wear for the occasion would fit. Ooof! She hoped she remembered to pack some condoms in her purse...just in case. Slut! She should take it slow this time. Just have a good time and enjoy the guy’s company, no expectations. What was his name again?

Sitting in her office, Grace could no longer contain her agitated state. She couldn’t concentrate on the documents she was supposed to read. She texted Trixie for moral support. Trixie texted back that she would be fine. Besides, if the date didn’t go through smoothly, at least Grace would get to enjoy her favorite paella, so it would still be a win-win right? “K, tnx,” Grace texted back, as she hurriedly changed into her dress. She looked in the mirror, slapped on some makeup, and headed out the door, trying to sing “Walkin’ in Rhythm” by the Blackbyrds in her head to calm her.

She instinctively knew who Martin was as she glanced through the restaurant window while parking her car. There were already other diners there, some of them alone as well, also waiting for their dates perhaps, and another table with some family. A birthday dinner maybe. Martin was dressed in a light-blue long-sleeved shirt and a necktie. His shoulders were slightly hunched over. He looked defeated. Grace wondered why.

As she met Martin at the table and handed her hand over for him to shake, she suddenly knew why he looked crushed. He was a gentleman the entire night, and flashed her his whitest Close-up smile...but the gay vibe couldn’t be mistaken. It was positively reeking through every pore in Martin’s body, even as he talked about his activities at his church. He just didn’t want to fess up to his real feelings. Grace was intrigued by the thought of a grown gay man who still didn’t want to come out of the closet. And he belonged to some fundamentalist Christian sect. How could it get any better than that?!

Admittedly, the date wasn’t half-bad. The conversation was all right, except for the religious turn it took at one point. But the rest of the discussion was actually intelligent, not even half-boring as some of her past dates turned out to be. They had even actually dissected a recent ad campaign her company had launched for a new client. But then Grace had always had a great connection with gay men. And the red wine was even better. She would need the buzz to get her through the rest of the night. But as Martin prattled on about the kind of girl he wanted to marry, she did want to scream at him a few times: “Hoy, magpakatotoo ka, sister!”

In the rest room, she checked on her cell-phone messages and found texts from her buddies with words of encouragement, and concern about how the date was going. Even bitchy Dean texted her to “just be your gorgeous self”...the queen could be sweet when he wanted to. She didn’t have time to text back all of them, lest Martin think she had been flushed down the toilet.

But as she stepped out of the rest room and made her way back to the table where a fluffy yummy canonigo and Martin’s pale smile-a-crooked face were waiting, she felt excited again. Grace couldn’t wait to get home to YM the girls and tell them about the date. Ah, yes, another anecdote to get the group rolling down the aisle with laughter. Mental note to self: Save Martin’s number for Dean.

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. Photo from BM)

Cebu Pacific causes airport bedlam

UPDATE (11 am): I got a text message from my friend Miggy who's supposed to fly to Cebu today w/ her hubby for the weekend. But guess what? All Cebu Pacific flights are delayed today because their computers melted down! The domestic terminal is just in total chaos!

I RECEIVED a text message close to 2 a.m. today from my fab ex-editor who's now based in Singapore. James was mightily pissed that he got stuck at the airport on the way home to Manila because Cebu Pacific had apparently overbooked its flight. He and 49 others. What's more, the ground crew seemed to have all disappeared with no promise of even a light snack or anything to make the unlucky passengers feel comfortable while waiting for the next flight.

UPDATE: According to James, they were just given another round-trip voucher and promised seats in tonight's flight to Manila. I guess that means another 50 booked passengers in tonight's flight will get bumped off again. Common airline practice is when a carrier overbooks or for some reason, can't make its scheduled flight, it should book its passengers on the next available flight in another airline. Why didn't Cebu Pac do this? Sobrang pagtitipid naman 'yan Papa Lance! Shouldn't customer service come first?

What's more, Cebu Pac's external PR Gatchie Reyes told James that they were told by Cebu Pac that the 50 bumped off passengers last night were booked in a hotel. O da va, nag-creative writing course pa ang mga lokah?!

This is probably the Nth time I have heard this complaint about Cebu Pac. Last year, galpal Francine also got stuck for more than five hours at the Mactan International Airport after her flight to Manila was super-delayed for undisclosed reasons. She was at airport by 5 pm but flew past 10 pm. Buti nalang pinakain sila ng isang hita ng Jollibee chickenjoy. (We learned later that one plane had engine trouble thus necessitating a scramble for aircraft plying other routes and trying to catch up with scheduled departures elsewhere. But like, this is also the Nth time I've heard this reason.)

So what's up with Cebu Pac really? It boasts of new planes and yet can't keep a simple promise of flying out all their booked passengers on time? I've been covering the business beat for the longest time, especially the travel/aviation beat, I still don't understand why airlines have to overbook their flights. Surely Cebu Pac's reservations people can see in their computers if they've reached the seating limit already for their flights? And at this time of the year, the peak of the summer season, there are just too many travelers going on vacation so it really is imperative for them to make their flights. I would understand overbooking during the lean season when flights are no longer that much in demand.

And these cases of overbooking and delayed departures are happening everywhere Cebu Pac flies. Over in Caticlan, the joke is Cebu Pac is virtually using Asian Spirit as its GSA (general service agent) because they always pass on passengers to the latter (well, so much the better for AS I suppose. This is extra income for them.) But duh, why boast about now flying to the gateway of Boracay when it can't even deliver the minimum service required of a carrier?

Sure Cebu Pac can say that passengers choose the carrier because they want to fly cheap, sans any frills. So magtiis kayo! But I think no matter how cheap or pricey a passenger's ticket is, he is supposed to be accorded some amount of courtesy and respect as a paying consumer. Porke't cheap fare, cheap service din? Ang cheap mo naman Papa Lance! Kya nga ba I don't crush you anymore e.

(Disclosure: The last time I rode a Cebu Pac flight was three years ago. Nothing untoward happened then. It's plane was old, but I left and arrived on time. No incident. Which is why it behooves me that despite its massive refleeting, the airline's service has just deteriorated instead of improved. Or shouldn't there be any correlation at all between the two?)

Black Widow on the prowl

WE'VE been told the our favorite Black Widow is at it again, preying on hapless old gents with a couple of them doddily escorting her in several recent social events. After a generous "inheritance" from her old banker beau who had passed away just last year (and supposedly where she asked for yet more goodies while he lay at his deathbed in a posh hospital south of Manila), she certainly looks as if she has moved on. (Not a few friends of this gentleman banker have remarked that he must have sadly realized, so close to his death, that the woman he loved was indeed, just after his money. Tsk, tsk.)

The latest gents seen leading Black Widow by the arm is a former court judge and a publicist with a column in a major daily. Uh-oh. How's your health, Lolo?

* * *
IT's confirmed. A company which had wanted this wanna-be socialite/event manager/publicist to be its celebrity endorser has held off its plans after the said "celebrity" (and yes we have to put that in quotes) got caught up in a scandal involving his client as well as allegations of substance abuse and drug pushing.

We don't care much for what endorsements he will soon lose. We just want him arrested for his bad hair days and hideous fashion sense.

* * *
OOF! Not only is the wife of this still-in-the-closet gay banker a lush and a fan of blue magic, we hear their son has picked up the nasty snorting habit as well. Can anyone fix this family please? Hoy lola, magpakatotoo ka na kasi!

The Courtyard Bistro Boracay

(From left: The Rib-Eye Steak, Pomelo Salad, and Oysters Rockefeller)
TO conclude my story on a couple of new flavorful discoveries in the island paradise that is Boracay, Courtyard Bistro will no doubt also titillate discriminating diners with well-loved family recipes and steak/seafood delights. The bistro is owned by Mark Santiago, former operations manager of family-owned restaurants such as Salo, and his uncle Melo Santiago’s Steak House and Steak Factory.

Tucked in a cozy corner fanned by the refreshing sea breeze from Bulabog Beach, Courtyard Bistro is an intimate gathering place offering an exquisite dining experience for food lovers. (The spot used to be occupied by the short-lived Palo Maria restaurant which had been run by two architects, ex-lovers now, but which managed to attract a loyal number of patrons with its flavorful Italian pasta creations.)

According to Santiago, Courtyard “fulfills my life-long dream of opening my own bistro and serving the dishes close to my heart,” most of which are family recipes and old favorites from his travels and life in San Francisco surrounded by food enthusiasts.

“Having lived in Boracay for a year, I also got sick and tired of the Boracay waiting time of 30 minutes to an hour for your food. Being a customer myself who expects good service, I felt it was time to give back and offer a product that I know would appeal to a certain market of travelers—people who know refined cuisine, those who would appreciate every bite, every sip of wine and the little details that make The Courtyard Bistro a special place,” Santiago continued.

So, under a very old and ginormous balete tree, we exchanged ghost stories and began our late dinner with superb Oysters Rockefeller made from freshly harvested Aklan oysters in a shell, with hollandaise sauce and topped with bacon bits, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

We were also pleased with the pomelo salad, a very refreshing dish with the sweet juicy fruit tossed with shallots, celery, shrimps, coriander, coconut milk and a delightful Asian dressing.

As I’m not really a steak eater I passed on the juicy rib eye, but the gang gave it their thumbs-up, especially because of the creamy mashed potatoes that came with it. Santiago is marketing the restaurant as “the steak authority” on the island serving only USDA-certified Angus beef. “Your steak is cut to your desired size and weight [minimum of six ounces] and served with mashed or baked potatoes and vegetable sidings. Each cut is grilled to perfection on the cast-iron grill with lava rocks.”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed with the Twice-Cooked Chicken and Pork Adobo that everyone who had eaten there had been rhapsodizing about. The meat that night was a tad too tough for my taste, which was later confirmed by a regular patron. So, perhaps, this was just a fluke, and worth another tasting trip.

But I highly recommend the exquisite Dory Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce. It is tender and flaky, with a sublimely subtle sweetness and tangy flavor.

For dessert, we capped our meal with a scoop of pistachio ice cream that helped calm our sweet tooth. With his extensive restaurant-management experience, Santiago promises consistency in quality of the dishes. “I am there to personally attend to every dish before it reaches the table, checking its quality in the kitchen, supervising its plating and constantly developing new and exciting dishes. I personally attend to our guests to find out if they are satisfied, gathering feedback to improve where we can and offering a personalized service to each one.”

The restaurant can seat up to 30 to 40 persons and accepts group bookings. It can also customize a set menu according to one’s budget.

Whatever your budget and persuasion, Boracay is definitely every foodie’s playground.

***The Courtyard Bistro is at the Lazy Dog Bed & Breakfast, Palomar, Bulabog Beach, Boracay Island. For inquires or reservations (for private or group functions), you may call (036) 288-4128 or 0915-487-4121, or e-mail thecourtyardbistro@gmail.com.

(This story was published in the BusinessMirror on April 25, 2008. Photos courtesy of Freida Dario of Courtyard Bistro)

Inkblot

I PICKED up the Philippine Star for the first time in weeks today (I usually read it online) and glanced through the news rather quickly, then the opinion pages, business, and lifestyle. The banner on the front page was especially gripping...it was about the $100-million health insurance scam allegedly participated in by some local hospitals and doctors. As is my usual habit, I saved the Sunday funnies for the last, with Calvin and Hobbes and Hagar the Horrible leaving me in stitches.

But what really caught my eye was this huge inkblot on the face of one of the paper's columnists, who's been getting a lot of ahem, unsavory press lately. I looked through all the pages and all the columnists' pieces again, and truly, it was only her column photo which had been besmirched by a black blob. As most advertisers know, the Philippine Star takes great care in printing its paper, especially its color pages. So the conspiracy theorist in me is thinking some people within the media organization itself are not liking this columnist very much either. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

* * *
BTW, you might want to check out a really moving profile story of Australian blogger Brian Gorrell in the BusinessMirror.

AI viewers gone nuts

SO...American Idol fans don't care much for Broadway tunes! Sorry Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, all they cared about was how cute David Archuleta, David Cook and JC Castro were the night of their performance.

Was anyone actually surprised? These viewers don't appreciate real talent! I mean, how could they have sent home Carly Smythson who sang Jesus Christ Superstar rather well, and for a woman, might I add? Also in the bottom two was Syesha Mercado, whose very theatrical and excellent performance of One Rock 'n Roll Too Many, was certifiably Broadway-believable?!

When the American viewers voted off Michael Johns, I thought that was just heartbreaking! He was just one of the most talented (and sexiest) contestants ever. And such an all-around nice guy even his fellow-contestants loved him. All the judges also believed he would have been one of the top three. Okay, so I thought it was a fluke. Because the viewers got it right last week when they voted off Kristy Lee Cook during Mariah Carey week. I never liked Mariah's OA style of singing (feeling Barbra Streisand ba, just like Celine Dion) and I didn't like Kristy Lee very much either because of her country style. So I thought the viewers came to their senses and made the right decision in voting off Kristy Lee.

Then the viewers went nuts again this week. How could they possibly think that Brooke White, who started, then stopped, then started her song (You Must Love Me) again, is AI-worthy? At this stage in the contest, these guys should already have some sense of professionalism to go on with the show (or song) without skipping a beat. Never mind the mistake at the beginning. And JC Castro? What the hell was that? It was a very forgettable performance of Memory (pun intended) with just dreamy eyes all over the place.

The same was true for David Cook, who unexplicably sang Music of the Night straight, and toned down. No extra effort in singing it except for another case of dreamy eyes. David Archuleta at least had the guts to sing a very different arrangement of Think of Me, which was rather interesting. Even Lloyd Webber also thought so. O sha, sha, cute kayong tatlo...so you have a big fan bases.

That still doesn't explain Brooke. Must be the awa factor.

(Sayang that cute tee – Simon loves me (this week) – Carly brandished after AI judge Simon Cowell gave her high marks for her performance. Kiss of death na pala ang comment ni Simon.)

Hooters in Manila

The ‘real’ Hooters opens at Mall of Asia
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
Special to BusinessMirror

“THE owl is landing at the Mall of Asia on April 28.”

Kaz Endo, managing director and partner of Paradise Wings LLP, a Guam-based company that owns the Hooters franchise for Guam and Asia, including the Philippines, was referring to the owl logo of the popular US restaurant chain. The Hooters logo is known worldwide as it is printed on the tight-fitting, white, spandex, sleeveless shirts of the restaurant’s buxomy wait staff.

“We are currently finishing up our plans for the grand opening, and let me just say it’ll be a blast! [There will be] live bands, free giveaways and, of course, everyone will finally be able to try our world-famous Hooters chicken wings and burgers,” said Endo in an e-mail to the BusinessMirror.

A “special VIP party” will also be held on April 26, with only select guests invited, according to the restaurant executive.

He said about $1 million will be invested to open the first outlet of Hooters right outside the Mall of Asia (MOA), reputed to be the largest mall in Asia which is owned and operated by the SM Group of Filipino-Chinese taipan Henry Sy. “Our restaurant is part of the restaurant row at San Miguel by the Bay. We are located at Building ‘D’ and have plenty of parking space in front of us, so our guests will find it very convenient to come for lunch and dinner.”

He said the originally-planned location for the restaurant at The Fort Entertainment Strip ran into some snags so the company decided to push forward with the MOA site. “We hit some delays with The Fort that was unfortunate, but we have since resolved them. When MOA became a green light, we proceeded with our plans to open it first. In hindsight, the delay at The Fort was fortunate as we have since changed our design ideas for the interiors.” The restaurant at The Fort was supposed to have opened in February. (See “Coming soon at The Fort: Hooters,” BusinessMirror, November 6, 2007.)

Hooters at the MOA is approximately 350 square meters, “but if you add the outdoor area, it becomes about 100 sqm larger,” Endo said. He said the entire area has a total seating capacity for 250 people.

Over 100 staff will be employed at the MOA site, including at least 50 female waitstaff. “We worked with MTV recently to do a ‘recruitment’ party and we will continue to work with local marketers to cast our Hooters girls,” he said.

Since news of Hooters opening in Manila was published in this paper, Filipino bloggers have been spreading the word about the restaurant’s opening. Some also wondered if the restaurant will also come out with a Hooters calendar like its US outlets.

Endo said the company is “considering” publishing a calendar and a magazine for its Filipino customers by 2009.

He added that Hooters Girls from the US will be flying into town during the first three weeks of operation at the MOA, “as they will be here as guests to help train and observe our local talent.”

Meanwhile, Endo said the company is aware of the fake Hooters restaurant along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City, which calls itself “Hooters Sports Bar and Restaurant”. He said: “Without going into detail at this time, I will just say that Hooters of America and the principles of that specific operation are currently in a legal dispute over trademark and concept infringment. Meanwhile, as the only authorized official franchisee of the Hooters brand, I encourage all customers who are curious about our restaurant concept to visit us soon! Hooters is a family-friendly environment with great food, casual atmosphere, and of course, Manila’s coldest beers!”

The fake Hooters sports bar uses a tarsier as its logo, but its large eyes are also positioned as the two “O”’s of its name, much like the real Hooters brand’s owl logo.

The Pope's red shoes

A few days ago, the crackly hosts of The View (Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbara Walters) all wore red shoes in tribute to Pope Benedict XVI who was visiting New York. Apparently they thought the Pope was being fashion forward by daring to wear red shoes which just really stand out against his white cassock.


Far from being fashion savvy (although he wore red Prada loafers a few times before), the Pope is actually just carrying on the tradition from his predecessors who all wore red shoes (except for Pope John Paul II who started wearing a red pair then later switched to brown shoes to symbolize his coming from humble beginnings).

Pope Benedict XVI just wants to show continuity in religious symbols, most especially in the manner of dress and speech for his papacy. (As Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, he often defended traditional Christian doctrine and values. Under his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI has allowed the return of the Tridentine Mass where the priest's back faces worshippers and the entire ceremony is cconducted in Latin. And just two days ago, he spoke French at the beginning of his address at the United Nations assembly. French used to be the "official" language spoken at the UN.)

There are many opinions on how the tradition of wearing red shoes started, with some saying it may be traced to Roman emperors having worn red leather sandals. Or that Pope Benedict XVI wears the color because he was a Cardinal before, and the color stands for a Cardinal's red cassocks.

In a children's book entitled, "Why does the Pope wear red shoes?", the Pope's private secretary said red is the color of martyrdom and "the color of burning love, the color of the fire of the spirit." Of course, that still doesn't thoroughly explain when the tradition started and why it was adopted in the first place.

Whatever the source of this tradition, I think the Pope does look awfully cute in those red leather shoes. And if the girls from The View thought that was being edgy, just wait 'til he pulls out his uber-cool Serengeti shades again.

If it's you they're talking about

Something Like Life
April 18, 2008

HOW many of us have been the subject of nasty rumors or malicious gossip? And how many of us knew what to do about it?

I must admit, I’ve been the subject of a few distasteful stories in my lifetime, touching on my personal life or my work, though none of them in the epic DJ Montano proportions. But then I don’t have a high-flying fast life which can open me and my actions to public scrutiny. Also, I don’t pretend to be something I’m not. (Like, I’m not above riding the MRT to Makati, but I will not shirk at an offer of a chauffeured ride home in a properly air-conditioned, luxuriously outfitted, leather-seated car.)

So what happens when you become the flavor of the month—or months—of your office or the society circle you move around in? Some of you may have been accused of sleeping your way to the top position of your company (or, worse, filching office supplies...how cheap naman!), or maybe having an affair with a married co-employee, or getting a job because of your familial connections?

Among your circle of friends, you suddenly hear that you’re supposedly a drug addict, an alcoholic, a sex pervert, are gay, or—worse—deep in debt! People begin talking about how much of a freeloader you are and how you attend events just to get hold of the goodie bag! Then your own so-called BFFs start turning on you. What to do?! What to do?!

In my own experience, I’ve realized that a lot of the gossip at work is primarily due to jealousy. Some people have a puffed-up opinion of themselves and basically think that they are better than you. And when they don’t get the promotion they’ve been secretly desiring and which was given to you instead, these losers can or will start rumors about you, or stir up critical talk about you.

Everything about you will be called into question. Nothing is safe. These inggiteros will discuss every single little detail of your life and joke about petty stuff, like the way you wear your pantyhose or that hideous dress you supposedly wore to the company cocktails last night.

But, seriously, the only way to quelch rumors of this nature is to basically shut up and continue doing your work well. True, it’s uncomfortable to be amid such unpleasantness day in and day out, especially when you’re trying to focus on doing a good job. But I am a stern believer that actions will always speak louder than words. And in the end, you will be vindicated.

The best thing to do is to play office politics. Try to get these losers on your side by involving them in projects. When they manage a good job or your projects are a success, recognize their efforts and watch them change their opinion about you. They will soon realize why the boss chose you and not them for that promotion.

I always tell my friends who are in such a bind that they are “celebrities,” and their underachieving colleagues at work will always envy them. I joke that it is a bane of their so-called celebrity status to be the subject of gossip all the time. The best thing to do is ignore the talk and just do the work.

But whether the negative issues about you are at work or touches your personal life, the best defense is really the truth. If you haven’t been seen stuffing your face with drugs or regularly beating up helpless people, then people won’t talk about it.

I remember one celebrity who was rumored to have made a punching bag of relatively unknown and basically defenseless kids, and had his friends gang up on them. I had firsthand knowledge of one of his victims as this kid was close to my friend’s daughter. My friend’s daughter told me the victim had already been beaten up by this neanderthal and his gang at school once before. And to think the goon had actually wanted to run for mayor! Ang kapal! So in his case, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

(Funny, though, how rumors about the idiocies and odious habits of several celebrities and high-society flunkies center around just one club at The Fort. Hmmm...it must be the water.)

Now what if the gossip about you is actually true? What do you do?

Well, all you have to do is grin and bear it. Nothing will ever remain a secret in this society. People in these parts treat gossip as part and parcel of entertainment. Any rumor about someone popular and his secret life uncovered is much better than the whole of Marimar.

So whatever indecent acts you’ve been practicing, or whatever odious behavior you subscribe to, you will be found out. After all, we live in a small world where the next person ready to hear some juicy stories about you is just a text or e-mail away.

And if you don’t want to be talked about in a scandalous fashion, then behave. Keep a low profile. Stop acting so foolishly and calling attention to yourself. It’s really your fault for living so large and loudly.

I recall a friend being asked by a victim of some malicious gossip, advice about what to do to handle the nasty talk about him. One of the distasteful rumors being circulated about the victim was apparently the size of his, uhm, appendage. His text to my friend went something like, “By the way, the rumors are not true. I’m a medium.” To which my friend texted back, “But (guy's name), I told everyone you’re large!” Stop being defensive!

Okay, so what if the rumor about you is totally untrue and already destroying your reputation? Then go to the source of the gossip—if you know who it is—and talk to him or her about it. Find out why he or she started this rumor about you and see how you can settle things. Don’t be confrontational or threaten to sue every bone in his/her body.

You cannot underestimate the power of communication. Sometimes all it takes is an open channel between two people and a sincere effort to settle differences. Be honest, fortright and reconciliatory.

The best way to handle gossip of course, is to avoid it. Keep your nose clean and your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Dare to unplug (after you read my blog!)

WAS trying to do my work when I stumbled onto this news story about people who have decided to switch off their electronic devices for a day.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sharon Sarmiento knew it was time to unplug when she realized she was blogging in her dreams and hearing imaginary instant messages.

For Ariel Meadow Stallings, it was the hours lost while surfing the Internet that left her feeling like she had been in a drunken blackout.

Both women are part of a new grass-roots movement in which tech geeks, Internet addicts, Blackberry thumbers and compulsive IMers are deciding to wrest back control of their lives by daring to switch off -- if only for a day.

One of the most peaceful vacations I've had was in Batanes about four years ago where there was no cellphone service. So all our phones were switched off, leaving us with a few days to enjoy the province, its vistas, and its people. (But then someone temporarily went nuts trying to look for our pregnant masahista...haha.)

Since that vacation, however, I've muted the ring tone to all my messages. I find that I'm not as attached to it as I was before that Batanes vacation when every time my phone buzzed, I would immediately look at it and answer incoming texts. It just frazzled my nerves especially then, when I was still editing the Business Section of a broadsheet everyday.

At night I also switch off all my phones for an uninterrupted night's sleep. One friend asked me what if there's an emergency? I said if it's really a life and death thing, I can always be contacted on my landline.

Thing is on vacations, I can't switch off my cellphone. There was one vacation last year in Cebu I ended up surfing the Internet on my cellphone just to check out the news in Manila. It was crazy.

Since I've started working at home though, I realize that I'm online as soon as I wake up, and way past 2 am the next morning. Though I take breaks (like for meals and wee-wee), I sometimes don't switch off as I wait for important emails to come in. Not only is that increasing my electricity bill, but it's also making me too dependent on my computer and the Internet. So what I do is basically switch off on Sundays. Of course, then I veg out on the couch and watch TV all day. So I dunno if that counts as "switching off."

Anyway, this Sunday, I shall unplug everything — the cellphones, the computer, server, wifi router and maybe the TV too — the entire day. Who knows, I might take up reading a book again.