The Emmys opening act

IN case you didn't watch the Primetime Emmy Awards this morning, this is what you missed:



Coolness di ba? ;p

It was great that three of my favorite TV shows won as best in their respective categories: Mad Men (Drama), Modern Family (Comedy), and The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart (Variety). Too bad for Glee, it was in the same category as Modern Family which is really, such a smart and hilarious show. But no matter, 'cos Glee Director Ryan Murphy won as best director while the brillian Jane Lynch won as best supporting actress in a comedy, proving that Glee is one of those rare TV gems.

What the Awards revealed to me though was that there is a whole slew of great TV shows and mini-series we are missing out on! Well, EZTV here I come.

The complete list of Emmy Awardees here.

Hotel-booking cancellations start

AN official of The Peninsula Manila confirmed that the hotel has already received a number of booking cancellations from Hong Kong residents.

Joseph Arias, Peninsula PR manager, said the cancellations were “immediate. For most hotels in Manila, most of the business within Asia comes from Hong Kong because we’re very near them. We’ve been selling Manila to them [Hong Kong residents] as a weekend destination.”

While he declined to give an exact number of cancellations, he expressed optimism that the Hong Kong travel advisory would be “temporary. This is not the first time we’ve experienced a crisis. So we hope this problem will not linger.”

At the Mandarin Oriental Manila, four guests from Hong Kong had canceled their travel plans to the country. (Click BusinessMirror for the rest.)

The Family Guy

(Ferdie Ong is grateful his parents showed him the value of money.)

WALKING into Ferdie Ong’s home in Forbes Park is like walking into what I imagine is everyone’s idea of a dream house. Aside from being spotlessly clean, the home comes alive with ultra-luxurious furniture that not only makes for great conversation pieces but also is actually comfortable enough to lounge on.

Ferdie is general manager of Living Innovations Corp., a seven-year-old company that has been bringing to Manila what can be described as the Rolls-Royce of furniture. Its roster of furniture brands for kitchen and living spaces reads like a photo shoot straight out of Wallpaper, the premier magazine for interior design: kitchens by Bulthaup and Gaggenau, living room sets by Minotti, bathroom fixtures from Agape, chandeliers from Lolli e Memmoli, outdoor furniture by Dedon, lamps by Martinelli Luce, stainless-steel office furniture from La Palma, just to name a few. All of these brands are considered global leaders in interior design.

Needless to say, these pieces come with quite hefty price tags that only the discerning handful can appreciate. In fact, as we settle in for our interview in an enclosed patio, I casually ask how much the five-piece set of woven furniture we were seated on cost. After quickly calculating each individual piece, Ferdie unblinkingly replies, “P800,000,” while the chair I had parked my butt on was P100,000. Hwat?!?! (Click Something Like Life for the rest. Photos courtesy Bridges@com)

(Minotti Wearing Bed designed by Rodolfo Dordoni)

(Dedon lounge furniture is a favorite among local hotels and resorts.)

One indulgent afternoon

ALL too often when we think of vacations, we think of grand productions where we bundle up the kids in the car and hie off to any beach south of Manila. Or if you’re like me, you look through tons of resort web sites, travel packages offered by airlines, or start calling our favorite travel agents to give us the best, low-cost but high-value destination packages money can buy.

But you really need not travel far to relax and forget the pressures of one’s family and career. At Sofitel Philippine Plaza, all it took was just one afternoon of unwinding with a few choice buddies. (Click BusinessMirror for the rest.)

Resolving workplace conflicts

ON A flight to Vancouver from Newark, New Jersey many years back – it was during those earlier tries by Philippine Airlines to fly that route – I was chatting with the flight attendant and telling her about how I was going to visit my Aunt and Uncle who was living in Oak Harbor, Washington.

I told her that I would have to spend the night at the Vancouver International Airport, then take an Alaska Air flight to the Seattle Tacoma airport the next morning. There was still no Internet then, so I’d probably just have to read the entire Mabuhay magazine just to fall asleep.

The flight attendant left me to go back to work, and I went back to my movie. But as we neared Vancouver, the same flight attendant came back, two paper bags in her hand, and told me to take them as baon. I opened the bags, and in them were two trays of food, some rolls, butter and utensils. (Click Something Like Life for the rest.)