Litratong Pinoy #99: Itim (Black)

She's probably the most influential black woman in the United States (and the world). She owns her own network now, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). Everything she says is gospel, and every book she's promoted on her book club is a sure bestseller. I've seen Oprah Winfrey...but only in wax form at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York.

Another noteworthy black celebrity is Tyra Banks, famous model (especially with Victoria's Secret). Now she has her own talk show and goes on these model search shows. Plus, I heard she just enrolled in business school to put her fashion savvy to greater profitable heights, I suppose.

Both are prime examples of powerful and beautiful black women of our time. I sure am glad my camera runs on covenient AAA rechargeable batteries that let me photograph a lot of wax celebrities that day. Wax Paparazza (singular form of female "Paparazzi," just in case you're wondering) I was!

Ikaw, sinong paborito mong itim na celebrity?

Jordin Sparks Sparkled in "In The Heights!"

Last August, my then very pregnant sister and I watched the Tony Award-winning musical "In The Heights" on Broadway. We took advantage of the fact that Jordin Sparks was guest-starring in the role of Nina (until November 14th only). It was her first Broadway performance and indeed, she sparkled! The audience cheered the moment she appeared onstage. She looks tall in person! (She probably got the height from her football-player dad) She has a kissing scene, too!

Ignoring the announcement prior to the show, I was able to sneak a snapshot of the stage. Hey, we weren't the only stubborn ones in the audience! See the girl in the black outfit down there? She had her photo taken while sitting on the edge of the stage!

The musical is about the struggles of different characters in a Latino neighborhood in New York's Washington Heights. The Dominicano hero, a convenience store clerk named Usnavi (whose name has a funny etymology in the story) raps his dream of a better life by winning the lottery AND the secret love of her life (which matters more than the $96,000 lotto jackpot to him). The original Usnavi is the musical's creative genius, Lin-Manuel Miranda. His story-telling style is like a Caribbean-flavored Eminem.

Heartfelt and full of hope it was! The bilingual chatter also adds to the show's comedic factor. Each character will endear you: from the positively amusing Piragua guy to Nina's abuela Claudia. Near the end, it got emotional that you can hear sniffles across the darkened theater. Yes, I got teary-eyed, too because I remembered my deceased grandparents.

Despite the varied flags that fly on their small neighborhood in the "Heights," they all share common dreams that we can all relate to. Running a family business that may require PCI compliant hosting to keep up with the times, finding support and comfort in one's family, and that elusive, life-changing lottery prize.

Here's a clip of the "96,000" song performed during the 2008 Tony Awards in which they won multiple awards including "Best Musical."

What would YOU do if you won 96 grand dineros? Would you stay or would you go?



This inspiring musical ends its Broadway run on January 9th, 2011!

Takeshi's Tassels

I'll recognize actor Takeshi Kaneshiro's face anywhere. Here's a commercial sighting inside Taipei's Taoyuan Airport last month, while I was waiting for my connecting flight to JFK. I first got infatuated with this Taiwanese-Japanese star for his role in Wong Kar Wai's "Chungking Express." So infatuated was I back then that I scoured the show listings for Star Mandarin Channel's movies with him in it...even if the movie did not have any English subtitles ("Lavender")! For those of you who don't know, he was in that movie "House of Flying Daggers" alongside Zhang Ziyi.

He's endorsed a lot of products over the years. Here he is getting all wet and sexy for Biotherm Homme, a line of skincare products for men. Even the best acne treatments out there would probably sell better with him as the poster boy.

Gee, Your Angelhair Smells Like Giada's

Can you smell what Giada's cooking? The Food Network star with the dazzling smile is out to charm your aprons off at Target with her "gorgeous kitchen gear" and pasta products. If you ran a 1-lb. box of spaghetti noodles under a Symbol LS2208 scanner, it's $1.67. What's so special about it that it's priced like that? Well, it's made with whole grains. Oh, and the gorgeous Giada is gracing the carton, of course.

Will my food turn out "gorgeous" when I use her kitchen tools? It's the cook, not the cookware.

Lady Gaga & Lauper On Lips

It sure looks to me like Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper aren't just selling lipstick, but also lingerie. Hmmm...what about wrinkle serums? After all, it's a billboard for Sephora in Times Square (seen last month). It's a lipstick jungle out there.

When You Care Enough To Send A Taylor Swift

Imagine my surprise when I spotted Taylor Swift's own line of greeting cards inside a Carlton Cards (American Greetings) store at our local mall. The top row contains her official "Fearless" tour book. The rest are just some of her cards with some pretty pictures. That's her on that middle card there.

I didn't browse each card to check if it quoted lyrics from some of her songs, but I won't be an authority on that because all I know is "She wears high heels, I wear sneakers."

While some of you may have raised your eyebrows when she swiftly sweeped the recent Grammy Awards, you can't help how her fairytale songs stick to your brain like a storm of pixie dust. Before you know it, you're humming her song, and you startle yourself doing it.

Well, at least, she's a singer that you can safely allow your kids and tweens to idolize, unlike others that have a bad rep and are on drug rehab. Can't think of one? Clue: She has a song exactly about "going to rehab." And she said "No, no, no!"

So tell your kids it's okay to swoon over "You Belong With Me," but remind them that for now, they belong in school.

The Book of Eli Manning

Actually, I'm blogging about the wax figure of NY Giants quarterback Eli Manning which I recently saw at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York. I haven't seen the movie "The Book of Eli."

Sadly, his football team isn't playing the ACF Championship this Sunday. Instead, it's the NY Jets versus the Indianapolis Colts (Indy and the Jets! As in, Benny and the Jets!), the latter being the team in which his older brother, Peyton Manning, is a quarterback for. Whoever wins this championship gets to compete with the NCF Champion in Superbowl XLIV.

I actually know Eli Manning more for his Toyota endorsements on TV rather than his football skills. I don't watch football, that's why. But some men who worship football stars such as the Manning Brothers probably think not only of Fantasy Football but also the best muscle building supplement...it's a guy thing.

Here's one of the funny Toyota commercials that Eli Manning's in:



P.S. Eli kinda looks like Simon Cowell here...minus the scowl! Haha!

Miley's Smiley Face

Miley, Miley, quite contrary.

Miley Cyrus is among the newest additions at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York, and I got to see Hannah Montana's waxen alter-ego last week.

While other tweens worry more about zit remedies, this girl's daily concern revolves around whether or not to be a papparazzi-magnet rockstar, or Plain red-haired Jane. Her life is all about "wig-ging" it!

Depp-eche Mode

He's Mad as a Hatter, Savvy as a Pirate.

I've seen Johnny Depp in his most infamous, iconic Capt. Jack Sparrow garb last time I was at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York, which was a few years ago. Last week, I got to see him again in this seemingly new tuxedo with a shiny little skull-and-crossbones lapel pin.

Yes, I'm mighty excited to see him in the new Tim Burton movie "Alice in Wonderland" which shows in March. And that's not just because I actually went to a school named "Alice in Wonderland" as a kid!

The Hands That Rock The Pavement

In all my years of traveling to New Jersey's gambling capital by the Boardwalk, it was only in September that I noticed Resorts Atlantic City's "Entrance of the Stars," which was decked with the handprints of famous celebrities engraved in cement. Here are some I photographed:

Today's Forecast is Sunny & Cher

Mr. Ol' Blue Eyes and His Bowtie. He did it his waaaaay.

I was looking for some hot stuff and found Donna Summer's hot handprints




Barry, Barry, quite contrary. Looks like he made it!

Tom Jones' handprints are not unusual







Pavarotti: he hit the high notes and hit this cement



Stevie Wonder just called to say "Love is the Key"




Joan Rivers was a little mixed up...in cement

Litratong Pinoy #70: Amoy (Smell)

"Do you smell what The Rock is cooking?"

I know what wrestler-turned-Hollywood-star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson smells like: wax! I'm referring to his likeness at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, that is!

If The Rock went to New York's Chinatown, he might have smelled what WE were intending to cook: fish! This is the fish market we go to whenever we visit Chinatown. We bring an ice chest in our car to load the fish on.

Sinong di nakakaalam sa catch phrase na pinasikat ni The Rock nung WWF wrestler pa siya? Amoy na amoy na niya ang tagumpay sa kanyang career!

Yung pangalawang picture naman, yan ang suki naming tindahan ng isda sa Chinatown. Nanay ko yung nasa kaliwa, chinichika yung tindero sabay tawad.

Jackson Wax

I know, I know...enough Michael Jackson already. But do you really think the buzz over him will die as quickly as he did? A video of an old Pepsi commercial shoot with his hair catching fire was just released by Us Weekly online.

Anyway, I was digging up old photos in my CD archives and found this one of my cousin Irene from Chicago with a wax figure of Michael Jackson. This was from way back in 2004 when she visited us and we took her to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York City.

She just finished nursing and is now enjoying the fruits of her labor by traveling as much as she could before she starts working early next year. She actually just came back from Jamaica. Lucky girl.

from perfume princess to hollywood actress

camilla belle, that brazilian beauty who wears the purple-gemmed crown for vera wang's "princess" fragrance, has transcended from glossy magazine pages to the glittery hollywood big screen.

she stars in the new sci-fi action thriller "push," which also features a more grown-up dakota fanning.

the movie is about these people with telekinetic powers, so-called "movers", being hunted down by the government. sounds to me like a "heroes" plot (and curiously similar to this season's storyline)! i wondered if sylar would suddenly show up in any of the scenes.

so basically, it's a battle between mutants that are categorized as (aside from "movers"): "watchers," "pushers," "shifters," etc.

and where does the lovely camilla fit in? well, the story dictates that she's an escaped "pusher" who holds the "key" to defeating the agents hunting them down. typical...it's always the gorgeous girl who gets to be the "key" character that helps save the day. :P

haven't seen this film yet, but the reviews so far haven't been the "rave" kind. this movie is now playing in theaters.

[image from http://koso.jugem.jp/]

merrymixit from gap

sure, the holidays are heavily commercialized. but ads such as this one by gap give me the warm fuzzies. it's rainn wilson..the guy who plays the anal-retentive dwight schrute in the comedy tv series "the office."

he even has a christmas music video on gap's website with selma blair (who played elle woods' law school nemesis on "legally blonde", and now stars as the immature daughter on the new comedy "kath & kim") where they sing the classic and romantic song "baby it's cold outside."

you can also watch other christmas music videos "remixed" by the dixie chicks, jason biggs ("american pie"), jon heder ("napoleon dynamite") and others at gap.com/merrymixit.

p.s. sometimes it's frustrating when certain clothes look great on celebrity endorsers/models/store mannequins but look silly when worn by normal people, like me. haha.

litratong pinoy#29:maalaala mo kaya? (will you remember?)

maalaala mo kaya noong nasa rurok pa ng kasikatan si britney spears, noong hindi pa siya nagpakasal, nanganak at binatikos ang kakayahan niyang maging isang responsableng ina? maalaala mo kaya noong hindi pa niya kinalbo ang sariling ulo at nasiraan ng bait?

buti na lang at makikita pa natin ang isang paalala nang kung sino si britney noon sa madame tussaud's wax museum sa new york.

[will you perhaps remember when britney spears was in her peak of fame, when she was unmarried, had not yet given birth and then accused of her incompetent maternal skills? will you remember when she hasn't shaved her own head and went crazy? (hmmm...isn't that a song of hers, too?)

good thing we can still see a reminder of who britney was at the madame tussaud's wax museum in new york.]

oh my, it's conan o'brien!

last night, i was making my way back to the port authority bus terminal from watching a play based on alfred hitchcock's "the 39 steps" to catch the 10:30pm bus back to new jersey. times square was alive with the friday night crowd. i was walking briskly on the side of the road past the hard rock cafe when a guy from a distance yells at me, "miss, stay on the sidewalk...stay on the sidewalk!" it was then that i noticed that there was a small cluster of people on the sidewalk watching something going on. then, my attention focused on a taxi parked close to the curb with a couple guys standing and a film crew. it was then that i recognized one of the guys as conan o'brien! the late night talk show host!

i found myself looking on as the other people were. starstruck moment. these tourists morphed into papparazzi. we were being held back by some men wearing ordinary clothes and ID badges. a woman was screaming, "conan! conan!" a black lady with a camera asked one of the guys securing the area, "who's in there?" "nobody," replied the guy. "can't be nobody, i'm sure it's somebody!" retorted the lady. and with that she squeezed past me and looked for a good spot to snap a photo. a few minutes later she passes me by and triumphantly declared, "i got conan on my camera!"

my spot was this area next to a sidewalk vendor selling I♥NY shirts and cheap pashmina shawls. the guy on the left is one of the crew members keeping watch. inside the taxicab is conan, yes, i swear! i wish i had a better photo of him. he was outside the car at first talking to another guy as they were being filmed. i'm not sure if it's for a movie or a tv commercial or for a segment on his talk show.

i gave up trying to get a better snapshot of conan, knowing i still had a few blocks to walk to reach the bus terminal and make it to my bus on time. i almost missed that bus, too because i had to excavate the contents of my purse for my bus ticket. thankfully, i found it and ran towards the end of the line. so much for being a papparazzi.

litratong pinoy#12:balingkinitan

isa siya sa mga artista sa tanyag na musical na "chicago" na tinatanghal sa ambassador theatre sa broadway. nanood ako nito kamakailan lamang at nang matapos ang palabas, may ilang artista na nakihalubilo sa mga manonood--nakipaglitrato at pumirma ng autograph.

kahit hindi ko siya kilala, lumapit na rin ako at inabot ang aking playbill ng "chicago" at isang bolpen. hindi ko akalain na makakapagpa-autograph ako sa isang broadway na bituin. hindi ako handa gaya ng dalawang batang babae na naunang nagpapirma na may bitbit na pentel pen, tig-isa pa sila.

nang paalis na siya ay nakahabol pa akong kunan siya ng litrato. napakabalingkinitan ng kanyang katawan!

nang tinignan ko ang kanyang pirma sa aking playbill, nalaman ko na siya pala si dylis croman at ang papel niya sa palabas ay si "annie." isa siya sa mga babaeng kriminal na kumanta sa eksenang "cell block tango" ("pop, six, squish, uh-uh, cicero, lipschitz") at ang kinanta niyang kuwento ay yung "six."

mas bongga ang movie version ng musical na ito, pero iba pa rin ang live theatre. magaling din ang kanilang live orchesta na siyang nagbigay buhay sa mala-vaudeville na awitin ng palabas.

ito naman ang isa sa mga promo poster ng musical sa labas ng teatro. ito ang larawan ng artistang gumanap kay roxie hart--si michelle dejean. lahat sila naka-itim na lingerie. maliban kay "mama" morton, lahat ng mga babaeng gumanap ay balingkinitan ang katawan.

pero sa totoo lang, naantig ako sa pagganap kay amos hart, yung kawawang asawa ni roxie. naluha nga ako nung kinanta niya yung "mr. cellophane"...at gusto ko siya tuloy bigyan ng isang malaking bear hug! maririnig mo rin sa loob ng teatro yung pagkaawa ng mga tao sa pagbigkas nila ng "aaaaaaaawwww."

a cup of kuh

on saturday evening, we were invited by our friends of the "born again" faith to witness the immaculate kuh ledesma perform live at their church in randolph. the admission was a very affordable $15, but my parents, grandma and i ended up watching the show for free because we were given free tickets at the entrance.

the hall was filled with filipinos eager to see her live. i've never seen kuh in person, so i was also excited about this opportunity.

kuh emerged in a shiny, all-white garb with a sparkly, studded belt. along with her long, black hair--her aura simply echoed, "diva!" she opened up her mini-concert with a silky version of "i think i'm in love."

she sang some of her popular old songs such as "dito ba," "till i met you" and "bulaklak," then ended the night on a patriotic note with "ako ay pilipino."

in between songs, she would share personal bits about her life--how she went through a painful marriage broken apart by a third party. she confessed how she was a headstrong, overpowering wife, and discovered how she needed to change that attitude when a bible reading enlightened her and eventually led her to the born again fold.

she also did a little advertising for her resort in cavite called "hacienda isabela" which is open to the public for weddings, retreats and the like. a short videoclip of regine velasquez prancing through the property in a sun dress was shown to the audience.

despite the "no flash photography, no recording" signs posted at the show, i recorded a precious 13 seconds of her rendition of lara fabian's "broken vow" (my nearly-full memory stick could only allow 13 seconds of videoclip). having been through a "meteor garden" phase, that song is a sort of "historical marker" in my life. cue dao ming si running after a bus and screaming, "shancaaaaiii!"

i got to take a couple of good close range shots of the diva. now, don't you think my photos are paparazzi-quality? hehe. she looks like a goddess up close!

we bought her CD, overpriced at $20, but understandably so.

wonderful world of wax

last sunday, i met up with a former classmate who was in NYC touring with her husband and 9-month-old baby boy. the bus i rode to get there was excruciatingly slow--it took almost 2 hours when normally it should have been only half that time!

the spanish-speaking lady i sat beside with saw the time on my wristwatch and exclaimed, "oh my god! it's 3'o clock and we're still [in jersey]! when i go to work there it only takes an hour and 15 minutes!"

"maybe it's because it's a sunday?", i suggested, but secretly i was just as exasperated, since i was supposed to meet my friend at 3pm, and here i am still about 30 minutes away from the ny/nj port authority bus terminal. looking around, i saw that the bus was full, and still the driver kept picking up passengers, but advising them that it's "standing room only".

the lady then proceeded to say the exact same thing to her companions sitting in front of her, but in spanish.

i continuously texted my friend and apologized that my bus was running late, so our meeting time would be closer to 4pm. i had designated the toys r'us store in times square as our venue.

thank god it was nice and sunny that day, but there was definitely plenty of tourists milling about in 42nd street that my walking speed was slowed down.

my friend and her family had come all the way from virginia to visit manhattan that weekend, and i'm glad i was able to meet them and finally see her baby boy and husband.

to make up for my tardiness (caused mainly by lakeland bus lines), i decided to treat them to madame tussaud's wax museum, which is conveniently on 42nd street. luckily i had a $10-off discount coupon which i received in the mail for that place. the tickets cost $29 for adults now...and with the coupon, i saved $30 for all three of us (the baby was free).

the last time i went there was three years ago. since then, they've added more celebrities to their exhibit. i'm posting some of my pictures and letting the wax speak for themselves...





i must say, britney's waxy likeness climbing the rod, mimicking her previous concert (from way back when she hadn't chopped off her locks) is very impressive. other new additions in the museum were paris hilton, donald trump, bill and hillary clinton, and even that savvy pirate known as capt. jack sparrow. that one was a paid photo op, though, and my friend has that hard copy. i do hope she remembers to email it to me. haha.

i noticed, however, that the beatles were missing from the exhibit. i saw them there three years ago. perhaps they flew to the madame tussauds wax museum in london. after all, that is their native homeland.

what's so amazing about madame tussaud's is that you can actually hold the wax figures, even put your arm on their shoulder when taking pictures with them. i wince a little when i see people embracing the wax figures because they might accidentally damage them.

ayayay...it's ara mina!

my sister and i went to the philippine fiesta in meadowlands expo center in secaucus today to plunder bags of freebies from different booths and buy tagalog DVDs at a discounted price.

this was our second time to attend this yearly gathering of filipinos for roulette-spinning games, raffle promos, philippine property-selling, singing, dancing, and merchant booths.

i think we got our $15-ticket's worth when we had our picture taken with celebrity ara mina...endorsing the DIRECTV booth for the GMAPINOYTV package. i'm so glad i brought my digital camera with me.




that would be me at the left looming over miss ara's glowing beauty. beside her is my sister. her skin was really radiant, but i saw that her quiet smile was tinged with tiredness from sitting all afternoon posing with fans and autographing GMA KAPUSO pins. i hastily grabbed an autographed pin right after our picture was taken and my thumb smudged her still wet fountain pen signature.



being starstruck with a celebrity, especially when the encounter is totally unexpected, diminishes your clarity of thought. i could have whispered to ara that i went to the same elementary school in pasig as she did, just to break the monotony of her picture-posing task. but then we were just another group of starstruck fans in the queue, ushered in by the crew for the ten-second photo op. ah well.

i bought three DVDs there for only $13 each (and without the ghastly 7% nj tax): "moments of love" (romance), "mourning girls" (comedy), and "pa-siyam" (horror).

now, the program said judy ann santos and diether ocampo would be in the event, but we didn't stay around for that. we chose to leave early after we had our loot bags and then had a turo-turo dinner at a newly-opened filipino restaurant in nearby jersey city.