Gay, Fun & Sober

Many of my friends know that I am very much against the use of drugs and other substances. I just think people are just destroying themselves and not getting the most out of their lives because of these practices. At the same time, they also ruin their friendships and romantic relationships with every use.

Many of my friends also know that I can be a lot of fun in discoes and bars. I can be as loud as a banshee and hotter than Madonna (in her 20s of course) on the dance floor with just a drink of water.

That is why I started a second blog "Gay, Fun & Sober". I will be inviting some of my friends to writer here and it will be a fun orgy. The website is http://gayfunandsober.blogspot.com/

I do not need alcohol. I do not need drugs. And you do not need to rush me to the ER at the end of the night.

Can you imagine how much money you can save if you date me?

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (movie)

(spoilers warning)

The children have grown. The boys look a little bit more manly. Lucy is not that ugly anymore. And Susan has big boobs.

The plot is more exciting this time because there is more at stake and the battles are bigger. And for once, they lost. Speaking of battles, they are still sanitized so that children are allowed to go in the cinemas. The trees are fascinating to watch. It seems the trees cannot lose but then the Ents (of Peter Jackson) are more believable.

The acting is not that memorable. Anna Popplewell (as Lucy) is the best. William Moseley (as Peter Pevensie) is the new Keanu Reeves--they are both good-looking cardboard cutouts. Ben Barnes (as Prince Caspian) is annoyingly disturbing because of his accent--quite different from the rest of the Telmarines.

The music is too modern. The language used is terribly inferior compared to the Lord of the Rings screenplay. Nothing memorable--actually that is how I can sum the film: nothing memorable although it is a bit better than the first one.

Collateral (2-disc DVD)

Tom Cruise may be the most despicable person in the world but I am still in love with him. I have always fantasized him enveloping me in his arms. According to what I have heard, it is not really that impossible. Anyway, that is not the topic of this entry.

I was very surprised at how exciting this movie is. The plot is clean and not overtly manipulative. The production value was impressive. The musical score and the cinematography took me to the exciting nightlife of L. A. The editing kept to its very measured beats.

The performances were the ones who stood out though and I think this is one of the best performances by Tom Cruise. He was very believable as a killer. He knew how to throw punches and shoot like a henchman. It is not as fake as him holding a samurai in another movie. Jada Smith is extremely beautiful and very nice to watch on screen. Jamie Foxx is not as sincere though. I can still see a man acting and and not a cabbie.

Michael Mann is a perfectionist. The extras are very informative and they show how meticulous Michael is. The commentary track is full of information and I know that many parts of the commentary track were done in more than one take. Sometimes, Michael's voice actually overlaps his own. I am now curious to see his other movies.

The Smuttiest Smut

A bisexual couple (man and woman) visited me a couple of weeks ago. They are part of the active S&M community in San Francisco. Aside from their dark but exciting stories of kink, they brought me a couple of issues of the best smut I have ever seen in my life.

It is Instigator--the best magazine for pigs and perverts. The paper is very thick and the photos are well-composed. The models are not the type that you would typically see in porn but they obviously enjoy licking boots, getting a whole limb up their orifices and getting their balls injected with one liter of saline.

Aaah an escape for a pig like me who is stuck in a hypersexual but sexually conventional city like Bangkok.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (DVD)

Mel Stuart's version is definitely very different from Tim Burton's. Mel's is sweet and very childish while Tim's is very dark and wicked. I really prefer the latest version because it is more faithful to the book and the scenes are more inventive.

But there are some very good moments in the first adaptation. Gene Wilder is very sympathetic and some of the songs are really unforgettable.

The pacing is actually nicely done. It is more hopeless than Tim's.

One great thing about this DVD release is the commentary track of the four kids who are already grown ups when they recorded it. They sounded very much like the kids they were 30 years ago. The excitement in their voices is very obvious and how I wish there was a video of them talking.

Hmm...there is something convenient and sexy about Oompa Loompas...

An Open Letter of a Transgender Woman in the Philippines

From: reydante
Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2008 11:59 AM
To: tfpmanila@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [tfpmanila] an open letter from a transgender woman



PEOPLE LIKE US

An Open Letter of a Transgender Woman in the Philippines

[25 May 2008 / Sunday / 6.04 AM to 6.45 AM]


No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt


My friends and I have been made to feel inferior approximately five hours before I

wrote this letter. I'd like to sweep this incident under the proverbial rug but there is no more space to accommodate it.


On the 24th of May 2008, my friends and I were celebrating the anniversary of our organization the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the first transsexual women's support group and transgender rights advocacy organization in the Philippines. We settled to celebrate it in Ice Vodka Bar, located in Greenbelt 3, 3rd level Ayala Center, Makati City, Metro Manila. It was my first time in that bar. Two in our group have been there before and they had nothing bad to say about it.


There were five of us. I was leading the way. The bouncer stopped us. I asked why. His reason was we were dressed "inappropriately". We were rather dressed decently, tastefully, and most importantly just like any other human being who lives her life as female 24 hours a day.


I asked for the manager. The bouncer was nice enough to let me in. The manager,

Ms Belle Castro, accommodated me. I don't know if I spelled her name right. I asked for a business card but she had none available. Her telling feature though was her braced teeth.


I complained. Ms Castro listened to me. I found her sympathetic, even respectful as she addressed me all throughout as ma'am. She told me the following:


1. (Referring to my friends, and obviously to me) That "people like them" aren't

allowed in our bar every Fridays & Saturdays;


2. That that was an agreement between all the bars in Greenbelt (she

particularly mentioned their bar, Absinthe, and Café Havana) and Ayala

Corporation, the company which owns the Greenbelt Complex;


3. That the reason for this policy is: "Marami kasing foreigner na nag-kocomplain

at napepeke daw sila sa mga katulad nila." Loosely translated in English:

"There are lots of foreigners complaining because they mistake people like

them as real women"; and


4. That they have a "choice" to implement the policy.


I felt terribly hurt and uncontrollably agitated. This transphobic act is not the first time that it happened to me, to my friends, to people like us. To say that this has become almost a routine is an understatement.


I have shouted at Ms Castro several times, asking her why I'm f***ing experiencing

racism in my own country and what gave f***ing foreigners the right to demand to

block people like us to enter bars in our very own country.


Ms Castro tried to hush me by pulling the "It's our choice card" and asked me to talk decently. I am not proud at all of using the F-word as my intensifier and of letting my emotions ran raw and wild. My warm apologies to Ms Castro for losing my cool. Just like any of us, I know, she was just doing her job.


This may not be the proper forum to raise this concern. But is there any reliable legal forum to address this issue? Reality check: there is no antidiscrimination law in this country. And if you're discriminated, there seems to be a notion that you're supposed to blame yourself for bringing such an unfortunate event to yourself.


So, I'd just stand up through this open letter.


I am standing for myself. I am standing for people like us. I am standing up because I, am, very, tired of this incivility. We have long endured this kind of treatment for far too long. Enough.


I'll not go as far as campaigning for a boycott as it is definitely the simple workers

that would suffer from any loss in revenue such an act may cause.


People like us would like to be treated just like any other human being. Just like

those foreigners who complained about our existence: With dignity.


You know the civilized and ethical thing to do: Stop discrimination in your

establishments.


Bigotry is never ethical nor a sound business strategy.


Warmly

Ms Sass Rogando Sasot


Sass is one of the founding members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the

Philippines (STRAP) [www.tsphilippines.com], an Associate Member of Transgender ASIA Research Centre, and a member of Ang Ladlad Party.

To have a dialogue with her regarding this incident, you may reach her at srsasot@... or through her mobile at +639276257010.

Aussie English & the Filipino Stomach

As I attempt to conquer the Land Down Under, here a few more snippets of my conversations with the natives. I obviously have to grasp their language if I want to satisfy the worms inside my stomach.


Scene 1:

ATTENDANT: So you want value meal number 1?

DEXTER: That is right but do you have root beer?

ATTENDANT: I am sorry but we do not serve alcohol here.


Scene 2:

DEXTER: Do you have tow-may-tows in your Aussie burger?

PETER: You are in Australia, Dexter, so they are called tow-mah-tows.


Scene 3:

DEXTER: The waiter forgot to give me some ketchup for these fries.

PETER: We do not usually serve tow-mah-tow sauce with our CHIPS.


Scene 4:

ATTENDANT: What would you like to order?

FRIEND: A feel-let (fillet) please.

ME (thinking): I wonder how you guys pronounce the dance.

A Confederacy of Dunces (novel)

A more modern Cyrano de Bergerac but less appealing and less tragic, Ignatius Reilly is an intelligent beast with a quest to satisfy his ego. With the main character's flair in words, this can be easily adapted as a play although who can resemble such a grotesque physique?

The first chapters resemble an episode of Saturday Night Live. It introduces several characters that are uniquely fleshed out and involved in the world of Ignatius as the latter looks for a job, gets a job, loses a job, gets another job, organizes an uprising and finally gets involved in a scandal. Near the end of the story, it seems the hero has lost control of everything but then he is just bound to conquer another land.

Unfortunately, the author (John Kennedy Toole) killed himself before his mother convinced a publisher to print it. He could have written a sequel or sequels to this very interesting character that people would love to hate. It is very interesting to note that this book paints a very colorful and politically-incorrect (but realistic) picture of Louisiana gay life in the 60s.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (movie)

My first thought after watching the movie: "Steven Spielberg must have used a lot of stunt doubles to replace Harrison Ford in all of his bone-crushing stunts." But then viewers are given a view of his body. It was in shape and gravity has not done much effect on it just yet.

The story was exciting. It is a special treat for Indiana Jones fans because there are numerous allusions to the previous movies. At the same time, there is a sense of passing on the hat (literally and figuratively speaking). The ending is predictable of course. It still has to stick to the Spielberg-Lucas formula.

The special effects are amazing. The sound was dynamic but not overwhelming. The chase scene reminds me of the stampede scene in Peter Jackson's "King Kong" but the former is much much cleaner. The stunt people and actors look like they were in the scene. Of course, many of the stunts are ridiculous but then this is an adventure movie.

Oh I cannot help but mention the ever-glowing Cate Blanchett. She was convincing as a villain but I wish her character was more fleshed out. She alone is reason enough to watch this movie.

Thank God I Am Gay

I was able to pull myself out of my depression because of an invitation from a Filipino colleague who was celebrating her birthday today. It was a nice group of Thais, Kyrgystani and Filipinos. We went to Holiday Inn-Silom and raided the Irish pub there. Fortunately, the band was Filipino and very very good.

We had some good food (the fajitas were bad though) and great music. The girls in the band loved dancing with me so I was on the dance floor longer than at the dining table. I told that them that there are no cute people around. There was a snooker champ but he was not handsome as well.

And there was this Thai woman who was stunningly beautiful but drunk. She came to me and danced with me. She put my hands in places where they should not be but I quickly devised dance moves to avoid those parts of the female anatomy I dare not mention on this gay blog. The Filipino band and my friends were laughing their hearts out but the drunk woman could not see it. Probably, she couldn't see also that I was a flaming queen with her alcohol-laced eyes.

She gave me a drink and she was surprised that I said "no". She tried putting her triangular part on my thigh and I backed away. And the song finished. I was literally soaked in sweat so I took a tissue and watched her leave the place in a hurry.

The band told me that she is heartbroken. Thank God I am gay or else she would be in great danger right now. I hope she went straight home.

First, God created a gay man...and he was beautiful

The news about the removal of the ban against same-sex marriage is a feat for gay politics. I know I do not have a high opinion of the US but I am happy for my fellow gay brothers and sisters in California.

I, myself, would like to get married someday and have a family of my own. I would like my family to be there and share a very important moment for me. Marrying another man feels so natural to me and I would like the world to know that and accept that. I also would like to have a child and show him/her a life that is not full of guilt and self-hatred. I want to have a child who is very proud for what he/she is.

But I need to find myself a boyfriend first.

Lost Memory Cards

I brought three memory cards of my camera to work so I can edit the photo studies I took a few days ago. I already edited some of them but there are still some good ones that I have not edited yet.

Stupid me put it in his pocket where his wallet is. There were tons of times that I fished my wallet inside my pocket and the cards might have slipped out. Damn, damn, damn!

There are some good studies I have done but then I can make more. The problem is those cards are fucking expensive. I really hate myself sometimes.

Somebody Stole My Dream

Charice Pempengco is a 16-year old singer in the Philippines. In 2006, she placed third in a very big singing competition in the Philippines .

And a few days ago, she was on Oprah because she is very talented. She sang "I Have Nothing" and hugged Oprah while she was being interviewed. She can really sing!

That bitch! She stole my Oprah! Now I have to start singing so that I can go to Oprah as well.

Boundin' (short film)

This is one of my favorite short films.

I found this online as I have been feeling down lately. As the storyteller says, sometimes I am down, sometimes I am up. I only need to put one foot up and I am back up again. And I am bound to fall down again occasionally. But then I can actually do better than ever after every fall.

Many of you might remember this movie from Pixar's "The Incredibles". It is part of my collection. I hope you like it and find it as inspiring as I do.

Inspired by Kiwi!

You have to watch the youtube video first before you read my comments. Please click here if it is not loading properly.

I was browsing one of my favorite websites the other day (Youtube) and I found Kiwi!. I cried after seeing it the first time.

I think the ending is justified. There are times you have to risk everything to achieve what you want--including the things that other people think as impossible.

I have met a few people who have doubted what I can do. I got rid of them and then I was able to reach my goals. One person said I could never have the salary of a Western teacher in Thailand. I was able to prove that person wrong four days after arriving in Thailand.

Some months ago, I told another friend that I would migrate to Australia and teach English there. He said I could not do it so I got rid of him. Now I am already on my way to prove he is wrong.

3 Whores in Bangkok part 2

After my work out this morning, Thai 1 approached me with a confused expression on hi sface. He said Thai 2 denied knowing me. I thought "deceitful slut" but of course, I had to reserve my opinions for myself and thought of bitching about it on my blog.

Thai 1 then asked Thai 2 how I knew that Thai 2 works at the airport. Thai 2 replied "Well, he guessed it."

Anyway, Thai 1 is now very confused because so many people are claiming that they had sex with Thai 2 and yet Thai 2 is denying everything. But what is more interesting is why Thai 1 is taking all these lies. I am sure he is smart enough to know that it is impossible to have a relationship when Thai is planning to stay in Vancouver for at least two years and Thai 1 is going to stay here in Bangkok.

I asked Thai 1 to go out with me later this week but it might not be a good idea. He does not know what he wants from Thai 2. He knows it is not going to be fruitful but he is still attached to him. At the same time, I do not want Thai 2 to take revenge on me.

I think this story is not over yet.

Adam Waters' Blog

I was browsing some blogs earlier and I found this one randomly. It was created by Adam Waters, an English teacher in Japan. Please click

In 2006, he set a goal: get a six-pack in 84 days. To motivate himself, Adam shared his ordeal on his blog and took pictures of himself everyday. Obviously, he succeeded and he has set different goals since.

I do not promote having a 6-pack. I like his blog because it just proves that one can have a healthy body if he is really determined to do it. I have already sent him a message. I wonder if he can still reply to the hundreds of messages he gets everyday.

By the way, he is cute! What bothers me is I think he looks cuter in his older pictures.

How To Appreciate Thailand

Chard is an American in his early 70s. Everytime I see him, Chard is with a different young man. He came out when he was 45 but when he dates, it looks like he only came out yesterday.

He thinks that I am wasting my youth just because I am not having sex very often.

And then here comes a tourist from Melbourne. He loves the temples and the shopping places. He also confesses that he is not attracted to Asians and I am OK with it.

But Chard is not. He thinks that Melbourne man is wasting his time in Thailand.

I really want to shake Chard until his balls fall off.

You do not need to fuck the men here to enjoy the country!

3 Whores in Bangkok

A year ago, I dated Thai 1 and we had a fun time. He is cute and entertaining to be with. He went to Vancouver to take his masters.

Last February, I met Thai 2 and had a casual encounter with him. I went to Australia and was not able to communicate with him.

A few weeks ago, I saw Thai 1 (who is having a vacation here) and Thai 2 working out together. They both looked at me and tried to ignore me but I said "hi" to them. I thought that they were talking about me and they would think that I am a slut (who would ever think that?).

But then earlier, Thai 1 approached me and told me that Thai 2 is actually his ex and that his ex is very jealous of me. Apparently, Thai 1 admitted that we sorta dated last year but they already ended their relationship before then.

And now, Thai 1 is hounding me and asking me if I had sex with Thai 2. I refused to answer the question and the answer really should not matter to him. According to Thai 1, Thai 2 is making him feel guilty about sleeping with other men. And of course, Thai 1 wants to know if Thai 2 is doing the same thing.

Sometimes, gay men really amuse me.

Iron Man (movie)

Superhero movies are becoming grittier and grittier and "Iron Man" is one of them. By the way, who imagined Robert Downey Jr. to be a superhero anyway? He is not young anymore, not conventionally good-looking and not exactly a box-office tyrant. I guess that is the definition of "gritty".

So what is new about this movie? Nothing really. It is current though--like many Hollywood movies, it paints a very ugly picture of Middle Easterns. The only good thing about is though this phobia of Middle Easterns keep the Middle Eastern actors in the US employed.

So what is good about this movie? Well, the storyline is not as dull as the Fantastic Four series. And Stan Lee appears as one of his mastubatory fantasies, Hugh Hefner.

This is actually a great movie to watch if you are into special effects and underutilized acting of a talented actor like Terence Howard and Downey.