Belated

I had one Gaga Christmas.

Gift Ideas for the Rich And/Or Famous (PH Edition)

Well-to-do people typically fall under the "difficult to amuse" category -- they likely have and/or have seen them all. But certainly, as the saying goes, it's the thought that counts.

If you're a friend or a huge fan (with a budget) of the persons listed below, you're welcome.

For Manny Pacquiao:

• Prada boxing shoes

• Alexander Wang boxing gloves

• TurboTax software (kidding!)

For Korina Sanchez:

• DVD boxed set of The Men Who Built America and of Gossip Girl (which has among its characters, Cooper's fictitious relative Nate V. Archibald -- hey whatever happened to Chace Crawford?) (hihi)
• Gloria Vanderbilt Women's Sarabelle Ankle Jean (:p)

• For her hubby Interior Secretary Mar Roxas

For Janet Napoles:

• bacon ice cream

• this cookbook

For Vice Ganda:

• Akris bag -- made of fabric woven out of horsehair

• Takatak paper mache horse

• Rocky the Rocking Horse for Magis by Mark Newson

(Photos not mine)

Had I won that recent multi-million peso lotto jackpot, they had probably received the items I listed down. They're welcome. Hihi! 

Addendum Part 2

10 days to go, you guys! This Season to be jolly will be extra special since some dear relatives will be coming over to spend the Merry/Happy day with us in Baao town.

Meanwhile, since this Buzzfeed list about why people love lists inspired me to list some items (again -- this better be the last wish list I would make for this festive season), this time for the forever curious/child-at-heart me:

Books:

Christian Lacroix and the Tale of Sleeping Beauty: A Fashion Fairytale by Camilla Morton, illustrated by Christian Lacroix

Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions (Hardcover)

Collectible toy set:

Eevee + the 8 Eeeveelutions mini figures by Takaratomy

Via

Takaratomy also has versions in plush doll form (around 7"-9" tall).

Obviously my fave pokemon since forever.

An animal to become my first (ever) pet:

Either a furry cat, whose name will be -- guess it? -- E.V.

or a hedgehog

No name idea yet.

Cole More gift of books:  

Chloe: Attitudes by Sarah Mower

For its history, n.b. having Karl Lagerfeld and Phoebe Philo among its roster of designers.

The Wes Anderson Collection by Matt Zoller Seitz

For loads of things about the auteurist and his seminal style.


(Photos not mine)

Justin Bieber in the PH for Yolanda/Haiyan survivors

That's very nice of J.B.(and his handlers) to go all the way to Tacloban.

The pop mega star arrived in the country yesterday to boost international relief efforts for the areas and for my fellowmen affected by the Philippines' deadliest typhoon .

#GiveBackPhilippines

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 9, 2013

At the city central school, he held a mini-concert  ("last #believetour show. The real last one and the most important one of the tour") 

Via

Via

and sang Christmas carols to children (okay, this photo disproves what I just wrote). 

Ideas for Gift That Cares

Shopping and giving is more fun when its effect can go for some more mileage.

Try giving the following instead:

FEED Philippines tee


FEED Projects by Lauren Bush supports the United Nations' World Food Programme which has been advocating nourishment for children and adults alike.

Adding this item to the bag will provide "10 emergency meals" for the survivors, most especially the children in urgent need of nutrition.

More information here.

Or  this Tulong Na Tabang Na Tayo Na #TulongPH shirt


from the Kapamilya network for only P250. (Here or here.)


Bangon tote bags by The Goody Bag


Backpack (done using the colours of the PH flag) from Herschel Supply

(Via)

A book by one of my favorite Pinoys, the witty and cool Celine Lopez


Proceeds will fund the building of classrooms in Tacloban, Leyte.

**Oh yeah, 10 days 'till Christmas time.**

A start of something new

Via: The Philippine Star

US embassy issues 1st same-sex visas

By Pia Lee-Brago 

MANILA, Philippines - The US embassy in Manila issued last Monday its first fiancé visas to two same-sex couples.

Although same-sex marriage is not yet recognized in the Philippines, the embassy said gay Americans are now able to petition for family-based visas on behalf of their Filipino spouses, fiancés, and their children.

Noel “Aeinghel” Amaro and Robert Cotterman were the first gay couple in the Philippines to receive a fiancé visa. Cotterman serves in the US military and is scheduled to return from a tour in Afghanistan next month.

He and Amaro met online. They will be married in the US also next month.

Maria Cecilia Limson Gahuman and Maria Carla Antonio also received a fiancé visa. The couple met through a mutual friend over a decade ago.

The couple will tie the knot on Dec. 30 in California.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

The visa policy came months after a historic decision by the US Supreme Court, which struck down the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Overturning DOMA signified that the US federal government must extend all federal rights and privileges of marriage to any married couple, regardless of sexual orientation.

Currently, gay couples can marry in 16 of 50 American states, and in the nation’s capital.

The expanded rights include immigration benefits.

Advancing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality has been one of US President Barack Obama’s top priorities. Upon the first issuance of a same-sex visa in London, US Secretary of State John Kerry said one of the “most important exports by far is America’s belief in the equality of all people.”

He said the State Department, which has always been at the forefront of equality in the federal government, is tearing down an unjust barrier that for too long had stood in the way of same-sex families being able to travel as a family to the United States.

“In light of these changes, the American embassy wants to educate gay Filipinos about new visa opportunities,” the US embassy said.

Filipinos in same-sex relationships with Americans are encouraged to view the visa section of the embassy website at manila.usembassy.gov for more information.

A Month Later

It's been a month since Yolanda/Haiyan

ravaged Leyte -- most notably the hometown of Former First Lady Imelda Marcos, the Rose of Tacloban -- Eastern Samar, Cebu, and some parts of Mindoro and Palawan  and other island provinces in the Visayas and the southernmost part of Luzon.

The bad/so bad:

The aftermath


Some controversy

(Typo error)

Umm-kay


Looting of items not under physiological needs


The nice and the good:

The fortitude of the survivors


The generous hearts of my countrymen from all walks of life



and thoughtful international communities



and individuals

Of course, those shoes are meant to be sold to raise money


Numerous fund raisers


Back to Anderson Cooper: his adorableness

"Mabuhi Philipines, Maramay salama for all you've shown us. Maramay salama for showing us all how to live" @andersoncooper. #AC360
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) November 16, 2013

Me too

***

For my part, I participated in a donations drive and, despite still in recovery mode after two days of flu, sorted and packed the used clothes we collected. I know, nothing compared to volunteers ("Salama" to the AFAM nation who came to help; I read about volunteer drivers who fetch survivors in Villamor Airbase).

The most I have done is to pray at night for the survivors strength and courage.

(Photos and videos are not mine.)

Tom Daley

My tumblr and twitter know how much I fancy British platform diver (and divers, in general) and adorably hot bundle of cuteness Tom Daley.


Remember this from last year's London Olympics.

among others?

At around 2 A.M. UK time (I'm guessing before he slept), Tom Daley took to twitter to post a home video 

Got something I need to say...not been an easy decision to make, hope you can support me! :) http://t.co/oOrDEiChGd

— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) December 2, 2013

 and confess

I'm not even that surprised -- yet I'm of course happy for him.

I opened the second door on my advent calendar and Tom Daley came out. Seriously @TomDaley1994 congratulations. So happy for you.

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 2, 2013

Ugh, labels: Gay or not (Via Mirror UK last September: “I’m not. But even if I was, I wouldn’t be ashamed. It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest what people thought."),

bi ("Of course I still fancy girls") or not, he's just dating a guy, a  lucky guy, ok? Let him be. 

Oh, since there's another less lonely person in the world, let's just rejoice and be glad!

Manila is getting more spoiled

In 2008, I read an article in Philippine Star's On The Radar where Cecile van Straten a.k.a. Chuvaness opined,  "Only SM can  meet the space requirements needed by H&M."

Too late for this though

Fast forward to 5 years later: H&M will open its first store in Manila, Philippines next year at SM Megamall.

December 1st is

World Aids Day.

Photo by Oliviero Toscani

Highest monthly HIV cases recorded in October - PhilSTAR

Int’l SOS on travelers, casual sex, and AIDS - Inquirer

Suu Kyi urges 'freedom from fear' on World AIDS Day - Yahoo! PH

Addendum (25 days 'till Christmas Day)

Just another bunch of things and then some:

• 2014 Butt Calendar. Perhaps for my gay friends too. Enough said.

Via

• That or the cheeky calendar starring the Warwick University rowers (segue: rowers are easily my kind of sexy athletes -- alongside in this collective are platform divers). It's for charity -- a cause against homophobic bullying.

Both please!!!

Both please!!!

• a Canon PowerShot 
• a portable turntable (so hipster, I know!)

Via

• I really want to take a trip with friends outside Bicol and explore a new place

• I've always wanted a hedgehog

• I wish more success to Mr. Kengkoy PH and its endeavors 

• I really, really want to hear news about construction of houses for Yolanda/Haiyan survivors

Maybe the design of what's above is too much, but a city of shipping container house is better than a tent city and seems right on the budget. 

What's on your wish list?

Awww

awww 
Definition by way of Urban Dictionary: Used to express a sentimental reaction to warm fuzzy experiences. (The number of W's at the end is arbitrary, but at least two or three normally occur in this word.)

Today, I saw this on tumblr: 

Via

Congratulations are in order

Although I still couldn't believe the fact that the one who wins the crown didn't actually answer the question thrown at her.

The question was "what is your biggest fear", and her answer was "if we overcome our fear we can face any challenge" blah. Wrong! Luto!

Congrats, Ariella Arida! Keri na. She finished 3rd Runner-up.

Anyway, congrats as well to Nonito "Filipino Flash" Donaire for winning the boxing rematch against bokalbs Armenian.

Because of these two people, we were able to smile for a couple of hours. The Filipino waterproof spirit has been more uplifted.

Aftermath

I didn't realized the weight of the damages (thus the devil-may-care post) until I was eyes and ears on an ABS-CBN News Special last Saturday afternoon on the hard-to-swallow truth that has befallen in Leyte and nearby areas (directly) hit my Haiyan/Yolanda.

Quotang-quota na mukha ni Atom Araullo sa CNN. 


Seriously now, it's becoming more heartbreaking each time I switch to news channels (Aksyon, GMA News, wala pong ANC ang Caceres Cable). Some of us are just lucky that we are not in the our kababayans' soiled slippers.