PNoy eats a NY dog

Didn't your mother tell you not to talk when your mouth is full? hehe. But this is nice, if only to show how down to earth President Aquino really is. (His yaya has been quoted as saying that PNoy is not a fussy eater at all.) And yes, there's nothing like a New York dog, especially the ones at Gray's Papaya. Yum.

Who really rocks though is Chief of Protocol Miguel Perez Rubio, who at 84, can still keep up w/ all this presidential business.

Btw, in case you guys are interested, on Sept. 22 (NY time), PNoy had lunch at Serafina restaurant and then a steak dinner at the moderately-priced Keens restaurant. Malacañang is apparently making sure the public knows exactly where and how we, the taxpayers, are feeding the President. Check out the President's Day at the Official Gazette.

Congen tries, but fails, in defending GMA

SORRY to interrupt your weekend, folks, but this story caught my eye today...

(RP Consul General to New York Cecilia Rebong. Photo from The Filipino Express.)

Apparently, New York Consul General Cecilia Rebong says the Le Cirque banquet story of the presidentita and her loyal band of sipsips, is false and cites a news report of the Filipino Reporter, just one of the dozens of newspapers/tabloids catering to Filipino-American communities in the United States.

According to the scanned report posted online here (thank you to whoever posted this upon the prompting of Manolo Quezon), the "contact manager" of Le Cirque, one Mario Wainer, was quoted saying: "President Arroyo had dinner here just like everyone else." (Now, what exactly does that mean? That she and her gang of thieves ate there as lavishly as its other patrons usually do?)

When asked if reports were true that the tab of the presidentita's party reached $20,000, "Wainer became furious and said it was not true." Of course, the reporter could not exact the real amount of said dinner from the manager, w/c begs the question, was he furious because the bill was too high, or too low from what was actually paid? And btw, was he referring to the first or the second dinner, bec. apparently, there were two held at said restaurant?

The story doesn't really say much and in fact, may be considered a dud, by journalism standards. It really isn't a credible defense for the presidentita either. How laughable and amateurish as usual, for GMA's minions to even quote a newspaper to protect her honor!

(Now, what's up with ANC and its North American bureau? Or the U.S. correspondents of the major Philippine broadsheets? Shouldn't they be snooping into this? Why so slow in getting to the bottom of this Le Cirque story?)

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Btw, if Rebong's name sounds familiar, it's because she was the Filipino diplomat who was exposed in 2005 for leasing a two-bedroom flat in Trump World Tower for $10,000 a month. Of course, NY apartment rentals are not the cheapest in the world. But I'm pretty sure, w/ more patience and a lot more looking, Rebong could've gotten a better deal for us Filipino taxpayers who are paying her salary and that lease. (At the present conversion rate, that is P500,000 a month.) Besides, the bulk of Fil-Ams in NY do not live in Manhattan, but in Queens!

With this kind of decadent lifestyle led by Rebong, I wonder if she was in the dinner party of the presidentita at Le Cirque. Hmmm...question is was it dinner 1 or dinner 2?

U2's song of praise

I was watching Good Morning America two days ago and when Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer announced that U2 was going to perform, I just had to stay up! (GMA is shown at 1 a.m. on Velvet TV.) U2 has been promoting "No Line on the Horizon", the band's new album (strange to call it these days considering these no longer come in LP form, haha) in the U.S. and its first public stop was Fordham University in the Bronx. Gads, these kids are soooo lucky! What an experience to be watching U2 perform live, huh? Kakainggit!

Anyhoo, here's a clip of that "Magnificent" performance on this great Sunday, and I'm so glad Bono isn't ashamed of his faith. This is the kind of uplifting music we all need these days.



I was born to sing for You
I didn't have a choice
But to lift You up
And sing whatever song You wanted me to
I give You back my voice
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise...
Justified until we die
You and I will magnify
Magnificent.

Jollibee invades New York!

“This is the taste of my childhood,” said Emma Ilagan, a 36-year-old customer service representative for Verizon Wireless who left the Philippines when she was 21.

“Until now, you have to go to California for Chickenjoy,” she added, referring to the chain’s popular dish of fried chicken, gravy and rice.

Or as Natasha Starkey, a conservatory student, said last month when she dropped off an application for a part-time job, “This is Filipino soul food.” (Read the rest at NYT)

I dunno about it being Pinoy "soul food", but Jollibee is truly a phenomenon. You have to hand it to Tony Tan Caktiong, beginning with just two ice cream parlors back in 1975, Jollibee now has 600 stores nationwide and 30 overseas. It also owns Deli-France, Greenwich Pizza, and Chowking. It is only here in the Philippines where McDonald's has been beaten by a homegrown burger company.

And while I'm not a total fan of Jollibee's food, it still makes me proud that a purely Pinoy brand, has just landed in New York. What a great way to start the week, isn't it? Clap for them!

People are still talking about...

...the Miracle on the Hudson, or how Chesley B. Sullenburger III, the pilot of the US Airways flight which suffered two bird strikes that knocked out the plane's engines, expertly guided his plane to a safe water landing in the Hudson River yesterday afternoon (New York time).

(Photo by Janis Krums, a California businessman who was on one of the ferries which came to the rescue of the passengers of US Airways flight. Click here for the full shot.)

I read about it last night as the news started coming off the wire, and I could only marvel at how that huge piece of machinery was still relatively intact even after landing in the water. Apparently, Capt. Sullenberger, "Sully" to his friends, was a former fighter pilot, and runs his own safety consulting firm.

He also chairs the safety committee of the ALPAP, an international organization of airline pilots. On top of that, Capt. Sullenberger also owns a glider, which is probably why he was able to land that Airbus A320 so smoothly. Passengers of that flight said Capt. Sullenberger, walked the aisle of the plane twice to make sure no one was left behind, before leaving the aircraft for safety. He and his co-pilot also gave their shirts off their back to passengers who were shivering because of the cold water from the river. In all, 155 passengers were saved, with only one suffering a broken leg, and the rest mild hypothermia. What a guy!

What was even more amazing is that only a few minutes into the water, the plane was almost immediately surrounded by ferries – the ones which carry passengers back and forth from New Jersey to New York and vice versa – their crew and passengers even helping the US Airways flight passengers to safety and into the boats. One of the ferry captains interviewed on Good Morning America said the timing couldn't have been better...most ferry captains and crew were just beginning to assemble at their respective docks in preparation for rush hour, as office workers in New York would be going home to New Jersey. So the moment everyone saw the plane going down, all ferry operators went into action. Wow!

(Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberg III photo from the Safety Reliability Methods Inc.)

You can't help but marvel at how heroic Capt. Sullenberger and his co-pilot were, landing their plane like that, and how the ferry operators, U.S. Coast Guard, NY Fire Dept. and NY Police Dept. could work so fast together on an emergency such as that. There's something about Americans that always makes me in awe of them...how they are always ready to volunteer to help others, unmindful of the danger to their own selves. They immediately spring into action, no matter what the occasion. It is one of those character traits that we Filipinos could learn to emulate.

No media outfit has yet been able to interview Capt. Sullenberger. He looks like a man who doesn't want any fuss and would probably say, he was just doing his job. To him we raise a glass of wine and say "Cheers" for a great job.

Guess who's going to the States after all?

SO the Presidentita has decided to go to New York after all to speak before the United Nations General Assembly. Sure you can argue your eyeballs out why it's an important forum and all, but that's why we have Ambassadors, a Foreign Secretary, and other Cabinet Secretaries or diplomats to make the Philippines' case be heard. That's their job. Now that the global financial system is being shaken to its knees, I think it's more important that the Presidentita stay here to give an image of calm and stability to us Filipinos, dontcha think?

My bet is she's having a heart-to-heart with former AIG chair Hank Greenberg to consult him what to do w/ her own personal investments after the financial bloodbath in New York. Greenberg, as you all know, is an "adviser" to the Presidentita, supposedly to guide her administration on its economic policies. Kuno.

And of course, there is that sale at Barneys. (Well, hell yeah, the Christian Loubotins are down to $300!)

9/11...seven years after

WHERE were you when two planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001?

I was in the office, at Manila Standard, past 9 pm, advancing a special page so I wouldn't have to rush about the next day trying to beat the paper's deadline for the page to go to the printers. As is the usual in most newspaper offices, the TV was switched on, and stuck on CNN.

While buried nose deep in the stories I was editing, I heard a commotion in front of the TV set with most of our late-night staff chattering loudly about. "Ma'am me nag-crash na eroplano sa World Trade Center (Ma'am an airplane crashed into the World Trade Center)," was the response of one of the staff, when I asked what was happening.

So I approached the group and watched as black smoke was spiralling from one of the Twin Towers, a familiar landmark in New York. (It annoyed me some months after that when I had visited New York, I didn't even bother to tour the World Trade Center, as I wasn't much of a fan of skyscrapers really. I was more engrossed in the museums, Barnes & Noble, and watching plays on Broadway.)

Then CNN replayed the video of what looked like small plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. I swear, my nape and arms got all clammy as a single thought popped into my head, "terrorists." I don't know what it was that made me immediately think it, because there have been accidents in the past of small-seater planes crashing into buildings. But maybe because it was New York City, and it was a beautiful sunny day, with the grey-colored Twin Towers standing tall in contrast against the azure sky. It could have been just another lovely day in the city, but cynic that I am, I just knew it couldn't be that perfect.

Soon after, as I continued monitoring CNN, another plane crashed into the other building. It looked like a jet. My hairs just stood on end, as I watched in horror like the other staff. This was real. It confirmed my notion that this was a terrorist attack. I immediately conferred with our night editor to remat the front page of next day's paper. Then our publisher and editor-in-chief came rushing in a few minutes after to oversee the paper's revision. It was back to business for us. As the night wore on, news about similar plane crashes came in, one in Pennsylvania, another at the Pentagon. We gathered all the wire stories and photos on the crashes. It was going to be a long night for us at the office.

When I finally got home, still fully wired from what had just happened, I switched on the TV set and tuned in to CNN. I just sat on my bed, transfixed at the images of the buildings, billowing smoke, and people falling out the windows. Not long after, the Twin Towers just collapsed like a house of cards. And I just sobbed in frustration, anger, and sadness. I prayed for those who died from the attacks, and beseeched the Lord's protection on those of us still living.

Seven years after, as I look back at the photos and watch the special news reports reflecting on that dreadful day, there is still a catch in my throat. More than 2,900 people died that day, most of the victims' bodies were never found. These tragedies may not have happened here in the Philippines, but we have all been affected by those terrorist acts. Our lives, habits, and customs changed almost instantly after that fateful day. We are reminded of 9/11 every time we go to the mall, ride the rail, or travel by plane, arrive in another foreign land.

Despite the heightened security during these dangerous times we're in, we are still here, soldiering on, and moving forward. That takes courage. And I am thankful that despite 9/11, we have not lost our nerve for living.