So It Was A Great Episode Last Night...

.:The Telegram, The Tips, The Temerity:.

Sheer beauty.

Last night was probably one of my favorite Rowdy Empire episodes in a while, because everything about last night was just special.

It was a great episode cutting it close to February 14, and given my personal disdain for the date, it was pretty good that the whole show was an exercise in having varied topics that didn't have to deal with the day as much as other people would have pushed it.

There was, of course, an interesting conversation about satire, and how So What's News?, my favorite Pinoy fake news website, seemed to be doing satire and inflicting a lot of hatred and anger on the internet, which I pointed out was entirely depended on people who misread the satire and don't understand what it's really about.

But then, I also pointed out that saying the BIR might want to look into Michael Martinez after his skating bid in Sochi is cutting it as a little too plausible to be easily recognized as satire.

From there, we even went with an 8List about how to have a Cheapskate February 14, which I mostly wrote to poke fun at the day, really. Where else do you find tips about riding a bus with a DVD player during rush hour in EDSA to catch a cheap movie for the price of bus tickets, after all?

But the piece d' resistance of last night was absolutely the part where some students from UP Med dropped by and handed Chiqui flowers and even sang for her, as someone sent her a singing telegram by secret. We still have no idea who the guy was.

It was really interesting to see Chiqui all blushing and giddy that night, and believe you me, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving gal.

That's stylin'.

So... Death Threats

.:So... Death Threats:.

Real journalists get death threats because they try to expose the truth and fight for what's right. I get mine for writing a comedy article. Huh.

Well, maybe not entirely a comedic one, but if you read the list, you'd see that it was anything but a 100% serious article, what with the bait-and-switch I pulled on people who expected to see a bunch of sex scandals because they saw "Chito Miranda" and "scandal" in the title. It was a nice touch, got a lot of readership, and even got shared on Yahoo, where it got a whole lot of mileage.

And that's where things went nuts, because, hey, it's Yahoo, and their comments section is just a small step above YouTube's.

Anyways, at the end of the Yahoo feed of this particular list (Look for it yourself, as I'm not keen on screencapping it or linking to it here.), the comments section went abuzz with the usual homophobic, self-righteous, non-sequitur comments, especially from people who were clearly annoyed that I didn't list Hayden Kho among the scandals they were hoping to see. That's par for the course, and I'm kinda used to those comments on Yahoo, even if they haven't been directed to me in the past.

What caught me by surprise was the noticeable vitriol coming from members of "Ang Dating Daan," as they proceeded to rail against me for daring to point out a scandal that actually exists, but just so happens to involve their leader, Brother Eli Soriano. Which is mind-boggling, because for those who bothered to read, I made it a point to mention that he could very well be innocent, and that's actually my presumption.

What I do not presume, though, is that Brother Eli's dogma is not sexist or homophobic in nature. I don't care if he points to the Bible as his source for his views until he turns blue: pointing to the Bible as an inspiration for your sexist or homophobic ideas does not magically make your ideas no longer sexist or homophobic. It simply means that in a book supposedly about love, salvation, redemption, and goodness, you decided to hold onto the parts that just so happened to be sexist or homophobic to push your agenda, while conveniently ignoring the parts that happened to condemn menstruation or allowed for slavery or something. What? You can't ignore all the hateful parts?

So, anyways. The comments were mostly your usual ones, calling me a paid hack for the Iglesia ni Cristo (Newsflash: I'm a freethinker.), gay, and a bunch of other silly accusations. Then they started data mining to find out my full name and where I live, and shit got real. Thankfully, their attempts at mining data is far from accurate, but wow, that sure escalated quickly.

A few days later, I received a message from someone claiming to not be a part of ADD, but an avid viewer of their television programming. I don't know how that works, but whatever. Essentially, the gist of what he's trying to say is that I shouldn't be so shocked, and in fact, have no right to be surprised at people getting all angry at me, because how dare I insinuate wrongdoing upon Brother Eli, never mind that every single human being in this world has definitely had their share of wrongdoing. That I shouldn't bring the issue up, because it's embarrassing. Right. Because Brother Eli should never be brought up unless in a positive light, right?

So, yeah. The vague attempts at making me fear for my life, coupled with this not-too-subtle message to me annoyed me, more than anything else. Just as Brother Eli is free to remain a fugitive from the law, while an outstanding warrant of arrest is still out there for him, I am also free to point out this fact. Because it is a fact. I'm not saying he totally raped a dude, but clearly, the dude is saying Brother Eli did, and I'd be a liar if I said that never happened.

And please don't give me that crap about Brother Eli clearly being innocent since he has yet to be arrested, when here we are, still looking all over the country for Janet Napoles.

It's funny, really. I write for the 8List mostly for the lulz. Every now and then, I try to mix the lulz with some sobering commentary, to the best of my ability. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that a bunch of overly defensive people would implicitly threaten to endanger my well-being just because I pointed out some things that happened to have been in the news, even if so many of us already forgot about it.

.:Speaking Of Lists...:.

I decided that from this point on, if some of my 8List articles get rejected or taken down for being too "controversial," then I'd be more than happy to post them here. Maybe I'd post that one about annoying comments, but the one I really wanted to write was something about how Kim Chiu should fire her agent.

Fun times, fun times. Maybe at some point, I'd finally get to write a list for Cracked. That'd be the dream now, wouldn't it?

.:Well, Well, Well:.

After weeks, I finally managed to hang out with Mike Unson again, and we had a lot of interesting discussions about the state of comedy, new material, improv, and where things are headed in general. Definitely a great brain to pick, to put it plainly.

.:Ekstra!:.
Watched Ekstra, the Vilma Santos indie film from Cinemalaya, and while it was awesome, I found it a bit anti-climactic. I mentioned it in passing on the Rowdy Empire, where I will be on air again tomorrow night, from 9-12MN, and it was fun catching it with my old friend TJ, but I have to admit that I found the ending anti-climactic. The ending ticked us off so much we ended up getting detained for a while. This is why I can't bring myself to write a review about it.

The handcuffs cannot tell a lie!

.:Last Week!:.

Unless we finalize a new deal, it's our last weekend in The Fort, as the newest improv group in the Philippines, Switch, performs from 7:30 PM onwards near the Jamba Juice area, or if it rains, in the Promod walkway. This is in Bonifacio High Street Central, the one with the fountains and stuff.

See you there, I hope?      

An Update, Because It's Been That Long...

.:Life In General:.

It has been hectic. The 8List has been occupying most of my time, and in a good way. I'm very proud of what I'm doing here, so I don't see any problem in doing what I do for them.

That being said, I hope things get a little less hectic soon. I don't even know what I'm doing half the time anymore, except when I'm actually doing it. It's all just a blur, and I'm just glad I'm still functioning (relatively) intelligently as I go about it.

Watched Despicable Me 2 a second time with an old friend, as well. That was fun. But not as fun as the Best YouTube Cover Artists list Rico and I put up on the 8List.

.:The Rowdy Empire:.

Before I left for Australia a month ago, I went and introduced Chiqui to King DJ Logan, and she is tearing it up now as one of her co-hosts. Her ability to jive with KDL is just phenomenal and I couldn't be happier that she's flourishing in her role there. She is, without a doubt, awesome, and I'm glad I managed to help her blossom in this new endeavor.

Shown here, blossoming.

Well, that being said, KDL is not one to rest on his laurels, even if his show has been hitting some really amazing highs lately. Expect bigger and better things to Just suddenly Appear from the Middle of nowhere in the coming weeks.

.:On Improv:.

I've been very busy with the new improv group I'm a part of, Switch, and it's been a great experience thus far. We perform every Friday and Saturday evening in the Jamba Juice area in the Fort, and it's been an awesome opportunity for us to share the stage with so many luminaries from improv in the Manila Improv Festival last month, for that matter. 

I would have loved writing about  MIF more, but not only am I pressed for time, my head hurts. Maybe I'll cover it next time, but needless to say, improv is alive and well, and it's coursing in my blood.

Tomorrow, the world.

A Season Of Grace...

.:A Season Of Grace...:.

Now, now. It'd be a good idea to leave the puns at home over this one, though.

It's been a great week so far, even if it's been a tad stressful. Spent yesterday at the Rowdy Empire with King DJ Logan and Dani, and that was pretty interesting, and it sure made me feel very, very happy to still be in radio in some shape or form.

Pictured: JJ Abrams on radio?

Overall, it was a pretty cool show, even if we had to make a lot of adjustments on the fly. It was a fun time for everyone involved, and I must say, the sooner I can do this more often, the happier I would be, definitely. 

Tried not to tackle the downer issue about Carlos Celdran getting sentenced to jail time, as I felt that it didn't really suit the matter. We instead went and discussed how amazingly observant the PNP were when they pointed out that in their expert opinion, security lapses led to the Megamall robbery last Saturday. No, really? That's news to us!

With the explosion in the Fort today (That's like the second one since Judd and I caught one a few years back!) and the other shooting incident in Robinson's Magnolia, it seems there have been a spate of public disturbances lately that might be cause for panic for the fidgety among us.

.:The Thankless Job Of Judging:.

Las week, I actually went and judged a cosplay competition for a certain school, and sourgraping hit myself and my co-judges when the cosplayers didn't agree with our results, essentially saying behind our backs that we "had no idea how to judge." 

The funny thing? 35% of the criteria indeed went to costumes, but just as weighty was the 35% to stage performance. The thing is, none of the cosplayers saw each other perform because they were all behind the stage waiting for their turn, so unless they have X-Ray vision, they were in no position to make these claims, either.

Oh, well.

.:Wakeboarding!:.

Also last weekend, I finally went wakeboarding again after a year, and given that My Beloved and I are going to be doing it with some regularity now, you can rest assured I'm going to get the hang of it - even if I did do kneeboarding this time out.

Elegant form as I stumble while not even in the water.

Well, what can I say? With Angel going with us to Deca in Clark last Sunday, I was simply amazed at how accessible wakeboarding has ended up being for us thanks to this new venue. I bet my friends from Japan, Australia, and Taiwan would be so proud to see me finally work towards a goal I set for myself a year ago, and yes, I'm gonna be back in Clark sometime next week!

It's great in Deca Clark, and if you really want to give wakeboarding a try but have no desire to go to CamSur yet, then you should go and give this place a shot!

She is perfect.

The most important thing to note, by the way, is just today, she got the job in Australia that she wanted. I am so proud of My Beloved!!!

You know I am.

.:The 10th Kanto:.

I've been opening for the great Mike Unson for the past couple of years, so it's awesome to be a part of his 10th year anniversary show on February 9. You get to catch awesome performances all around that night, and it would really be awesome and mean so much to me if you guys could come and watch us in Gweilo's on that night.

Mike is, in my book, the premiere standup comic of the Philippines. I have nothing but good things to say about the man, and to see him still standing and an undisputed success after ten years of this is something I am honored to be a part of.

I hope to see you guys there!

Ooooh. Delinquent.

.:Well, wow.:.

It’s been weeks, and I haven’t realized how delinquent I’ve been with my blogging. It hasn’t been easy, really. Balancing writing for The 8List, dropping in on WAVE, where the one and only King DJ Logan now finds himself, and a host of other things, but most important of them all, finding time to spend with My Beloved, whether I be reading The Kite Runner to her ‘til she falls asleep, or just doing a drive-by hug for all of five minutes.

It’s been difficult, and it has made me reconsider if it’s time to finally call it a day with my blog. It’s not like I’m setting the world on fire with my blogging anyways, and unsurprisingly, I’m too busy living my life to spend an inordinate amount of time writing about it. By now, I’d have written about, say, coral reefs, or Ricky Lo’s interview, or Les Miserables itself, or even the fact that a year from now, we’re likely sending a Filipino to space, courtesy of Axe. Or the funny coincidences involving my old friend, Christine.

And yes, given that the office sponsored Les Mis for all of us and we all pretty much got to watch the same movie, it almost seemed like a sure bet that I was going to a barricaded office the next day, with my co-workers singing "Do You Hear The People Sing" while setting up the barricade. Alack and alas, this did not come to pass. 

Yes! This means I should've taken pictures with my co-workers last night! I was so negligent, and I apologize for that.

Despite all that, despite the see saw of life getting the best of me sometimes, I am happy. Immeasurably so. And that is enough to go by for now. Blogging will follow. There’s always Twitter and Facebook to put my thoughts in for now, I guess?

And yes, I’m enjoying the little gadgets I’ve purchased over the past couple of months. They have definitely served me well. Heh.

My wallet is complaining, though.

Project 52 (52/52): On The Year That Was (And Why I Hope For The Best In 2013)

.:Project 52 (52/52): On The Year That Was (And Why I Hope For The Best In 2013):.
So there I was, celebrating New Year's in Hong Kong last week, and I quickly realized that I was gonna miss out on writing this post to cap off my 2012. That's fine, really. I don't mind.

I. Am. Racoon. Man!

It was great, being in Hong Kong. Managed to really think about a whole slew of different things, and I must say that Ocean Park was still better than Disneyland, in my book. This is despite the fact that I completely missed out on riding the Abyss, but whatever. I'm just glad I managed to get in some time with the Hair Raiser, and I now know why they used to have Disneyland cast members screening souvenir photos on Space/Splash Mountain for flashers.

I'd do a day-by-day account, but I must admit that my time in Hong Kong wasn't terribly exciting. Some Toys R Us here, some Disney there, some Ocean Park on the last day, and even an adventure in Shakey's Hong Kong, which wa nothing t all like Shakey's in Manila. The pizzas were both pricier, and ultimately, despite the presence of portobello mushrooms, inferior to our local fare. Morton's was awesome, and I even tried to search for Peking duck along Peking Road to no avail. Overall, mundane stuff, and most of my highlights involved figuring out various ways to get in touch with My Beloved throughout my stay. We even did the New Year's countdown together!

If anything, my Christmas party with the RH Bill Advocates the night before I left for Hong Kong was probably more eventful, since I won the "manliest RH advocate" contest that night, which Beloved was very quick to dismiss as not authoritative whatsoever.

Blasphemy! How can I be anything but manly?!?

It was great finally meeting the likes of @mrsunlawyer nd @tetalimcangco, but of course, m achie ill probably remember best the riot we had as @supsup010 ade it a highlight that the anti-RH person on Twitter called me a "baklang virgin na abortionista," an assertion which seemed a bit ludicrous because a gay virgin would probably be the last person to want or need an abortion.

I wish I had more pictures of that event, but unfortunately, I have to make do with what I have for now.

It's been a great year, really. Better than the last, in my opinion, from January all the way to December. If I could try to recall the highlights I had each month, it would go...

January: he CJ Corona trial, which I had very strong opinions on. I was mostly focused on work, as I had a very important quarter in Nuffnang that could make or break my career there.

February: went on a Binondo food tour with a couple of friends, and spent some time making new friends in CamSur, where I tried my hand at wakeboarding. This was also the month that Maan, a friend of mine from my Campus 99.5 days, tragically passed away. As usual, my February 14 sucked. This might have been when I started doing that Street Fighter thing during Fridays.

March: falling out with several people, including someone whom I didn't expect would figure in my life again sometime the same year, only to leave it abruptly all over again. It was also at this point that I started waxing poetic about Neko-Chan. I had high hopes then, I guess. I got to see Battalia Royale and the Hunger Games this month, so it was pretty fun in the entertainment department.

April: officially left Nuffnang, ending three years with the company with my head held up high, knowing I had wider horizons awaiting me. The whole Alakim episode kinda soured me on being a magician/mentalist for a while, so I really let my performances as one fade to the background as I did standup more for the Cartel and Mike Unson.

May: I found myself joining ID8, where I felt I thrived and still do, although there's still so much room to make even more of an impact. It was a good time for me, career-wise, although I did miss Nuffnang a bit, especially... well, I'll shut up now. And, oh, I spoke for iBlog on Comedy Blogging, marking one of my best talks ever. And yeah, did something stupid that was (but should not have been) work-related. That gaffe still haunts me to this day.

June: Cleo left 99.5 RT, and the beginning of the end was in sight for the station. I was doing a lot of stuff for work, which led me to meet Jinri Park, admittedly, one of the few celebrity crushes I have. I hosted ToyCon, so yes, that gave me an infamous opportunity to get a line in on one of my closest cosplayer friends, Telly. And yes, I went viral this month.

This never gets old.

July: Went viral again, thanks to #fap2012 and the KFC Cheese Top Burger, although the latter gained steam since June. Lulz were had. I really got into SPIT at this point, especially after their international festival. Working in Makati made it easy for me to attend shows in Quantum with regularity, so I even ended up being a rookie performer one time for them, and the improv bug officially bit me. Also, Dolphy passed away. Which sucked, totally. Also, moved to Makati during weekdays. Or was it June? I forget. Probably June, though.

August: Tito Sotto and plagiarism over the RH Bill, OPM is dead. We were rife with very amazing discussions all around, and I was getting very testy on social media. I think this was the first time I noticed how very selective I now am with blogging, which kinda explains the paltry 123 posts I had in 2012 as opposed to previous years, but the countless Tweets I made in exchange. That Anna Banana thing struck a chord with me, really. And I think this was when Gangnam Style started to gain steam everywhere. 8List was born, at least via Facebook page, so the craziness ensued.

September: Had a horrible falling out with another friend, and this is made worse how much she reminds me of someone else. Butch Maniego passed away. A cosplay trademark thing. I got "married" via booth to Telly. LOL. I assembled a TV stand! Wow! More importantly, I resolved to at least try and make my birthday this year better, and I did that by attempting to patch up rifts I've had. One particular rift was fixed, and it turned out for the better as we started communicating again, at least at the time. I thought we were making headway, and at least, the friendship seemed great, because I saw a certain level of maturity that I never encountered this often before.

The real highlight of September, though, was when in the middle of hosting BOA, suddenly, My Beloved got in touch with me. I was shocked and it really caught me off-guard. Two and a half years since my world was shattered, it turns out it's her turn to feel that way, and through it all, I realized that my feelings for her barely changed, except in terms of intensity. I was still crazy about her. I still am, and I still hope we could work through all the obstacles facing us. And yes, this meant I started hitting the gym, too.

October: I celebrated my tenth year as a blogger! It was pretty fun, although the celebration was kinda marred because of the end of the Disenchanted Kingdom. It was pretty sad when that happened, but at least, I managed to have a breakout article on the Cybercrime Law, which eventually got hit with a TRO by the Supreme Court. Unfortunately for me, the friendship I mended a month before blew up in my face all over again, and all I know is I wish we could have sit down and talked about it before anything rash had to happen. It was such a waste, because I honestly believe we had something good going for us. To be honest, I'm still miserable about it. I wish we could patch things up someday, but even our common friends don't think it's a good idea.

Also, this was when I first met My Beloved in years.

November: #AMALAYER happened, and I was so busy this month. I spent probably 40% of my time on work, 40% on My Beloved, and 20% on everything else. That was pretty much how my life has been since November, and let me tell you that for the most part, I have no complaints about that. November 1, something happened I didn't expect to ever happen. Something, obviously powerful and moving to me. LOL. Logan jumped aboard to WAVE 891 where I quickly followed him as a regular guest.

December: Hong Kong, Christmas parties, everything was a blur in December. All I know is that from November onwards, since My Beloved was in town, all I could think of was her. It's a bit crazy how short my account is when it comes to November and December, but all I can say is that I've been happy to have her back in my life, and the details are sparse because they're replete with hours upon hours of conversations and insights with her. When you connect with a person on that level, it kind of feels strange to share all of that with everyone else, as they'd probably be lost.

And that's 2012 to me in a nutshell. Pretty crazy, huh? Ultimately, here's hoping 2013 is even better, and may love finally find me once again.  

My fervent hope.