adventures in neverland

summer is nearly over; and with it, the prickly heat and the oppressive sun will also fade away. but hopefully, the scorching boys in bikini will stay. to give warmth and comfort to the coming rainy days and especially the cold, cold nights. here is hoping that the country's leading underwear maker bench, the first to offer us a glimpse of the promising paulo avelino in his tiny brief years ago that propelled him to stardom, won't stop coming up with daring print ads and hopefully huge billboards along edsa, never mind the archaic minds of some of our moralistic and hypocrite politicians and some church men. i say, let's challenge the status quo and bring back beauty into the bleak metropolitan landscape. here are some of the photos i want to see enlarged on billboards: *leggy vince ferraren - sumptuous. he is turning out to be this year's hottest bench model, eclipsing even the established ones. (not sure if this last one is from the ...

i was simmering like a dormant volcano that's about to explode when i stepped inside the restaurant, a minimalist romance at the still to be filled building located along fort bonifacio's not yet populated strip on the thirty ninth street corner eleventh avenue. (in fact, i was  a bit rude when i arrived. i did not greet anyone, even our host. i just went straight to an empty chair at the end of the table. sorry for that dahlins!) blame it on the horrendous traffic along edsa, which looked like a mammoth parking lot than the metropolis's main thoroughfare; and the lousy cab driver who couldn't hide his displeasure and kept on complaining that the longer his taxi was staying still, the bigger was his forgone revenue. this, despite my countless assurances to him that i would add a hundred to the fare to make it up to him. &&&&& the worse was yet to come. as soon as we entered the bonifacio global city via mckinley road, he already told me i...

just like the hero in my all time favourite love story -- the english patient -- i am mostly sleepless these past few weeks. reminiscing about past lovers. those whom i have trusted and loved deeply, but who still slipped away like water on my tiny hands. last night, after surrendering to insomnia at around two in the morning, i decided to watch the english patient. again. for the nth time. &&&&&&&&& i have a lot of favorite romantic movies like  breakfast at tiffany's, the roman holiday,  and  two for the road  (most movies starring audrey hepburn),  before sunrise  and its sequel  before sunset, love story with ryan o'neil,   ice castl e, to name a few. but nothing beats  the english patien t, the late anthony mighella's brilliant adaptation of the novel by michael ondaatje (a slim paperback but not an easy read mind you. it took me a month to finish it). with ralph fiennes and kristin ...

carrie bradshaw will probably chastise me for saying this. but her favourite word "fabulous" suddenly seemed inadequate to describe the magic that is michael cinco (whom i fondly call mfive) on the catwalk or runway or whatever you call it. i am, of course, referring to both the dresses and most especially the designer. now, don't get carried away. i am not a fashion expert. but i have an eye for beauty. i am an avid reader of vogue (if it helps increase my credibility) and vanity fair. and of course, i can very well tell a tulle from lace.   i know when something is divine and when it's trash. when it's classy, truly a league of its own, and when it's just a trying hard copycat. a poor imitation of the original. &&&&&&&& renowned international fashion artist (designer seems also too inadequate to describe him) mfive wowed manille again last night when he unveiled his latest creations to a stunned, enthralled, aw...

(reposting in honour of the rebirth of jay gatsby) "the road to fame (and fortune) is paved with shame." -- anna kirina landifa ( or akl. my new screen name. i am ditching chinezza del bianco vda de dubois. it's time for a jazzy, more contemporary name that will jibe with the jologs generation.) last night, as i was browsing through the unbelievably fabulous photos of the homes of the rich and famous, i was wondering how come these people, some of whom are not even as talented as moi, accumulated so much money to afford their hedonistic lifestyles that even marie (let them eat banana cake) antoinette would surely envy, enough to turn her pale, pale skin to green. i want to be them. as you know by now, i have been jobless for nearly six months and my savings are running low. in fact, it's so low that i don't know how am i going to pay for my rent next month, or how am i going to attend the coming annual ball at the met without a new michael cinco go...

not too long ago, i was floored by a question in a job interview: "so what have you been doing?" (presumably, the interviewer wanted to know how productive my days were while looking for a job.) the question was rather unexpected (i was expecting a more difficult one like what can you say about the refusal of the european central bank to further ease monetary policy? i guess it's the simple ones that get us), all i could say was : "reading books." that merited a hmm. and a few notes on his note pad. of course, i had no idea what he actually wrote. maybe, impressive? geek? a fool? stupid? or nothing at all. he was just trying to give an impression that he took his job seriously. on my way to a  coffee shop to meet a friend after the interview, i was so mad at myself. i thought i sucked big time. well i really am not good at job interviews. or at taking exams. any kind of exams. i always thought: if you want to hire me, then just hire me. fire me afterwar...

you never know what to expect from a baz luhrmann movie - you can be dazzled, electrified, enthralled and infatuated like a naive young lover; or you will be bored to death that death itself is a better alternative than watching the tedious ruckus and hocus pocus on the big screen. %%%%%%% the first time i watched a baz luhrmann movie, i was ecstatic. i was also pleasantly surprised. the film was romeo and juliet, a modern adaptation of shakespeare's beloved obra about two tragic young lovers from warring families. it starred the then gorgeous and best actor of his generation leonardo dicaprio (before he became a supernova via titanic and became obsessed with winning an oscar for best actor) and the lovable claire danes (i will always love her even when she was declared a persona non grata by the city of manille after she spoke the truth about the city's cockroaches, filth and bad smell). i don't normally read movie reviews before watching a film. so i was s...