Stumbled upon

An ad from the U.P. Alumni Association. What do you think?



So the ad is about a "wiser electorate" but what about the wisdom of the politicians themselves? How can one chose wisely during an election when there is hardly any wise choices to be made?

The future of newspapers

Photo: Freephoto.com

With news left and right of newspapers folding, consolidating or going purely online, it's hard not to wonder what the future holds for newspapers.

As journalist by training, it is a medium I hold dear. I believe in the importance of its role not just in informing the public, but in keeping, to the extent that it can, our governments and other public institutions honest.

But I also have to admit that I have not had a newspaper subscription in years. I read the Sunday paper only intermittently. By and large, I get my news online, or on TV.

So in thinking about all that threatens newspapers, I have to admit that I'm part of the problem.

What then is the solution? Ten experts weigh in here.

Of the ideas presented, this one, from acclaimed newspaper designer Mario Garcia, struck me as the most interesting and exciting:

"If I am starting a newspaper from scratch, I may consider doing a robust Sunday edition, then creating the ultimate online newspaper for daily. I may even consider a very short, one-section, printed daily edition, but acting more like a companion to the online than a self-standing newspaper. I would print it in an A4 compact format, and I would make a sort of navigational tool to [information] that readers must know that day."

I heard Garcia speak in person while attending the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Even then, his newspaper designs seemed fresh and innovative to me.

Now if only there was a newspaper around that would be brave enough to take his suggested route. I think it would make for an interesting experiment.

Of Tony, Augusto, and Filipino pride

I was enjoying a high of Filipino pride in the wake of the Philippine episode of "No Reservations" when I read this. It seems the guy Anthony Bourdain himself credited for getting him sufficiently psyched to visit the Philippines was catching flack for, of all things, not being Filipino enough.

Some background: Viewers of "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel have seen Anthony Bourdain traipse across Asia in all sorts of exotic culinary adventures. But much to the dismay of many Filipino and Filipino-American fans, he kept skipping our 7,100+ islands. Then came a contest that solicited advice, nay, enthusiastically worded and videotaped suggestions, from viewers on where Tony should head next. Enter Augusto, a young Fil-Am whose video caught Tony's eye. With his "Philippines"-emblazoned hoody and a photo of a full roasted pig, Augusto somehow gave Tony the push he needed to finally embark on a Filipino food adventure.

Tony ate sisig and taho, slurped goat bile soup, got a little education on the origins of Filipino food, and drank lots of San Miguel beer. But he also went on a journey of discovery of sorts, with Augusto, who was trying to reconnect with his Filipino roots in Cebu. A New Yorker more than a Cebuano, Augusto was, in a way, just as wide-eyed (or even more so, Bourdain being the world traveler that he is) as Tony as he coaxed the bone marrow in bulalo, or crunched on crispy lechon skin.

The criticism of Augusto seems to stem from the fact that he had only been to the Philippines one other time before coming with the Travel Channel crew. He was no expert, on the Philippines nor its food, by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, he couldn't even speak Filipino.

Thing is, he didn't need to. Anyone who's seen the episode can see that Augusto was not there to guide Tony. They had other experts (local tour guides, chefs, bloggers, etc.) for that. Augusto was there to be Tony's companion, and perhaps to illustrate the crazy, confusing amalgamation that is the Philippines, its people and its food--constantly changing, struggling to be defined, yearning to be rediscovered.

Another thing: This is not new territory for the show. In one episode, Tony goes with a Korean-American on a trip to the countryside to visit her grandfather. She too was reconnecting with her roots, dining with relatives she hardly sees and perhaps barely knows. While she seemed more knowledgeable about Korean cuisine than Augusto was of Filipino food, the storyline was essentially the same. It was a journey into a new country for Tony, made more poignant perhaps when experienced with another American finding a connection to her heritage.

Whatever the motivation, whatever Tony's reason was for picking Augusto, I think the episode was successful in giving its largely North American audience a taste of what the Philippines has to offer to travelers. We've gone unnoticed for too long, relegated to the second, if not third, tier list of people's places to visit. Seeing the show, I was reminded of the country's complexity, the noise and clamor of its city streets, against the relative quiet of what I still consider my tree-lined streets in Los Banos. It's enough to keep me going back, knowing that with every visit, there will always be something new to see and do in my old town.

As for Augusto, I say kudos to him and other Filipinos like him who desire a connection with the country of their roots. So many of us have left the Philippines, and many more will follow in our footsteps. But to those to refuse to forget, who live their new lives in new countries as Filipinos still, I say thank you. And spread the word.

In the meantime, enjoy bits of the show here:

He sings too?

Loading up on songs for an 8-hour drive. This one's catchy enough. But someone tell me why Kanye is now singing?

Fundraising season

The other day, I received in the mail a fundraising letter from my godson, Darren. Something to do with raising money to buy computers for school (that's the L.A. Unified School District for you). Instead of selling cookies or other knickknacks (so far, I've purchased gift wrapping paper, Christmas cards, chocolate covered raisins and pretzels from neighborhood kids for various school fundraisers), my godson is selling magazine subscriptions. He gets a credit for each subscription that he sells. As an incentive, if I buy two subscriptions, he gets a glow-in-the-dark Scooby Doo t-shirt as well.

The list of available magazines is long, and the prices a little elevated. And since I already have subscriptions for the ones I really want (Budget Travel, Domino, Real Simple), I can perhaps indulge in others that I'm just sorta interested in.

I was looking at Architectural Digest as my top contender. The mag is an established one, well respected, and for some, the bible on interior design and style. Remember when AD was doing a feature on Charlotte's Upper East Side apartment in Sex and the City?

While perusing some articles online, I saw that November's issue has a feature on writers and their homes. See if you think the author's writing style matches up with their taste in interior design.

Rudyard Kipling's (The Jungle Book) study in England exudes old world country charm. Seems like a cozy spot to curl up with one of his many books, though those chairs could get uncomfortable after a while.

My least favorite space of the lot is Terry McMillan's (Waiting to Exhale) house in NoCal. Something very bar-like about it. And I hate all the chairs.

The quintessential New York apartment of Neil Simon (Lost in Yonkers). Clean, contemporary, with a gallery-like quality.

Michail Crichton's (Jurassic Park) 100-year-old house in New Jersey. Love the mid-century modern touch. I'll take those Eames chairs any day, but it seems every one and their mother has a Noguchi table these days, so I'll pass on that.

Not quite The House of the Spirits, but Isabelle Allende's Bay Area home looks like Allende to me.

So order no. 1 looks like Architectural Digest. What else should I get?

Photos: ArchitecturalDigest.com

I don't know about you...

... but I thought Twilight sucked. Am I missing something here?

I have not read the book, though I have it. As soon as I get over my disappointment over the film, I might go ahead and read the book to see what all the fuss was about. Because frankly, the film version did not deliver.

Overall, I found the movie to be painfully slow moving, taking forever to set up the relationship between Bella and Edward, but falling way short of evoking the sense of deep connection between the two. Are we to take the many long, awkward looks between the two as the sign that their very souls were connecting? For all their tree-climbing and baseball-playing, Bella and Edward did not seem like the star-crossed lovers in their portrayal. Mina and the Count successfully displayed a much more authentic connection in Bram Stoker's Dracula, and did so with less screen time.

It did not help that Kristen Stewart, who played Bella, seemed incapable of any facial expression other than the scowl she had on. She literally looked like she was in varying levels of pain the whole time.

Did anyone else find the Cullens' almost ridiculous level of paleness distracting? You don't even have to look too closely to see the layers of white foundation heaped on the actors' faces, especially Peter Facinelli, who played the family's patriarch.

To me, the real appeal of any vampire flick lies in its particular take on the vampire mythology. Where do they come from? What can they do? How can you fight them? In Twilight, we got little by way of the Cullens' backstory. There was a mention of an interesting history with the Quileute people, who supposedly descended from wolves. But it stops there.

Worse, these vampires seem impotent, even ordinary, shredding any ounce of vampire mystique that the film might have had going for it.

Any good film adaptation of a book needs, at the very least, to be able to stand on it own, to be able to tell its own story. Viewers shouldn't have had to read the book to understand the nuances of the characters, nor the intricacies of their story.

Overall, Twilight left me feeling unsatisfied, with a sneaking suspicion that perhaps there was something else there that simply ended up on the cutting room floor. But to blame the film's weaknesses on the harsh reality of filmmaking also does not suffice. The movie could have been a fresh re-telling of the age old story of ill-fated love. It could have been our introduction to a modern day vampire, a contemporary Dracula, dashing and young. But it was neither. Instead, Twilight is a sappy love story told at a turtle's pace resulting in a film that is altogether unimpressive.

I'll take an episode of HBO's True Blood over this any day.

Fierce!

Say what you will, but just don't hate.

This guy is FIERCE!

As seen on today's "The View."

Reminds me of D, a guy I went to college with, who had the whole "Honey" (Mariah Carey) video down, complete with pool diving action. Hilarious!

One thing though: I think this guy can use a sandwich.

It's vampire season

I've always been afraid of vampires. In fact, I'm convinced I saw one, standing in the middle of the street in front of our house, when I was 9. Either that or it was a very vivid dream.

I've also always liked vampire movies. And while I watch the whole world, it seems, go crazy in anticipation of the "Twilight" movie, I've been getting my vampire fix from HBO's "True Blood."

With only one episode to go in the season, I must say that the show has taken some rather crazy turns. But ridiculous as it may seem to some, TB has kept me intrigued. In fact, I might be hooked. The town of Bon Temps has some real characters, including a shape-shifting bar owner, a vampire blood addicted Lothario, and a gay cook/drug dealer/homemade porn star.

Add to that the town's resident vampire, Bill (who is hip enough to play Wii in his spare time) and his heroine Sookie (who, by the way, can read people's thoughts) and you have the makings of a show that is so wacky at times, it's hilarious. But spooky enough too to be dead serious.

More than anything, it's interesting to see what a world where vampires are out and mainstream-ing could be like. And what better place to see it all unfold than the Louisiana bayou.

Did I mention the show is being executive produced by Alan Ball, the same guy who brought us another of my favorite HBO series, "Six Feet Under?"

I now know who I'm going as for Halloween next year!

The problem with 90210

Annie, Dixon and their impossibly young looking mom

I wanted to like the CW's remake of Beverly Hills 90210. I really did. But after watching a few episodes back to back on CW.com (stupid Direct TV does not carry the channel in our area. Do I really have to hook my TV up to rabbit ears just to watch Supernatural, Smallville and Gossip Girl?! Did I just admit to watching Gossip Girl?!?), I have to say that I truly am disappointed with this one.

The show's biggest problem is that it is following in some pretty big footsteps. Who does not remember, fondly or otherwise, the adventures of Brenda and Brandon as they navigate the complicated life of a Beverly Hills teen? Admit it or not, most of us who are old enough to have watched the original series found a favorite in the Walsh kids, Kelly, Dylan, Donna, Steve and even little David. They were young and beautiful, yes, but more importantly, they were all really likable. Sure, we don't all drive red BMWs like Kelly, or have a TV star as a parent like Steve, but those characters' personalities were believable enough that we somehow were able to relate to their issues. Raise your hand if you ever said the words, "Donna Martin graduates!"

The way they were

In sharp contrast are 90210's current cast of angsty teens who come off almost like caricatures of the characters they are supposed to play. Where do I begin? How about with Naomi? As the school's apparent queen bee, she would be the modern day equivalent of Kelly Taylor. But unlike Kelly, whose bitchy facade was tempered by a kind of vulnerability, there is nothing sympathetic about Naomi. She, so far, has been all about herself. Even her supposed affection for troubled friend Adrianna rings untrue. Not to mention the fact that Annalynne McCord plays the character more like a thirty-something Hollywood trophy wife rather than a high school teenager. I mean, how are we supposed to root for Naomi and on-again-off-again boyfriend Ethan when every time they're on-screen together, she looks like she could be his mom.

Ethan and Naomi

Kansas-transplants Annie and Dixon Wilson are equally disappointing. Part of why the first 90210 was successful is because you felt for Brandon and Brenda. Most of us will never know what it's like to be a Beverly Hills insider, and as the Minnesota twins made the painful adjustment to their new life, we felt their pain. Not so with Annie and Dixon, who after only a few perfunctory scenes of awkwardness between the newcomers and the locals, seem to immediately fall right into step with the kids at Beverly Hills High. Dixon had a little tussle with the a player in the hockey team, but after a orchestrating a prank involving pigs, he's suddenly best buds with everyone, scoring a skinny girlfriend (Kelly's now teenage sister Erin) along the way. And Annie, who suffered the initial rebuff of Naomi and the cruel spotlight of Erin's blog, managed to star in the school play, become BFFs with Erin, and date two of the hottest guys in school. All in eight episodes or less. I mean, where are the growing pains? How are we to grow to like these characters when we don't see them struggle at all?

Dixon and Erin

But I think the show's biggest problem is that it's not sure what it wants to be at all. The old 90210 was clearly a teen drama, at a time when teen dramas were few and far between. Times have changed. Now the new show is just one of many that feature perfectly coiffed and fabulously dressed teens. 90210 doesn't seem certain whether it wants to be the other Gossip Girl or the next 7th Heaven. For now, it lacks the appeal of either shows and as far as this viewer is concerned, falls way short of making the DVR list (Even if I could. Do you hear me Direct TV?!).

Photos: CW.com, tv.popcrunch.com

Anthony Bourdain likes pig.

I am what you would consider a culinary observer. I dabble with recipes here and there but I'm hardly a player, more a bystander.

Food shows interest me. Even more so when mixed with a good dose of travel. So imagine my delight when I found out that Anthony Bourdain has just shot an episode of "No Reservations" in Cebu.

"Best pig... EVER"

Way to reprezent, Market Manila!

But look it, it seems Tony was nervous about his visit to the P.I.

Photo: TravelChannel.com