I love Alice Feiring's Wines! :)

It felt like I toured the famous vineyards from France, to Italy, Spain and tasted all the Barolos, Riojas, Domaine de la Romanée-Contis, among other wines! Thanks to my weekend reading: Alice Feiring's book "The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization." It's a very very enlightening introductory piece on wines for someone like myself who only differentiates between red and white. :) I super love this book!

I really wish I could get to experience the vineyard visits Feiring did in this book! 

Reading the book also made me interested in the kind of wines that gets into films or films that have them in some scenes. Check this link: http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-movies-with-wine.php

 

What is Tom Hardy's Fight in "Warrior?"

Ok. Ok. There you got me. Who would have thought I'd be crying my eyes out towards the end of the sports drama film "Warrior" by director Gavin O'Connor. Tom Hardy as Tommy Riordan charging with a broken shoulder at his brother Brendan Conlon (played by Joel Edgerton) just about did it for me. WTF, UFC with a story to boot! :)

For all the high testosterone running in the film, the film surprisingly sets you up for an honest-to-goodness tearjerking moments towards the end. And it is unabashedly unapologetic for it. And one is definitely won over because of it. One's initial reaction to it would be, oh no, not another Rocky film. But no, this is definitely richer in story. If you are going to be conscious about crying openly watching it, it is best advised to watch this alone. 
Mark Isham's scoring for this hits the mark. And director O'Connor has definitely made this film, despite its drama, an ode to joy.

Joyce Penas Pilarsky's Hot Cocktail Dresses in Fashionweek Spring/Summer 2012

Last October, I watched the Ready-To-Wear fashion show during the Philippine Fashionweek Spring/Summer 2012 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia.

The show highlighted the works of twelve designers namely Emi Alexander Englis, Harley Ruedas, Jian Lasala, John Guarnes, Louis Claparols, Mike Lavarez, Nixon Marquez, Reian Mata, Ricky Abad, Simon Ariel Vasquez, Ziggy Savella, and Joyce Penas Pilarsky.

Very summer-ready and eye-catching are the 10-piece collection presented by Germany-based Filipina artist/fashion designer Joyce Penas Pilarsky. On seeing the cut-out patterns on the colorful taffetta and matte-silk cocktail dresses, I was at once reminded of Bulacan's famous pastillas wrappers. And my hunches were proven right when Joyce Pilarsky confirmed this herself after the show, saying that she has drawn inspiration from the said wrappers and its intricate designs, among others.

Joyce Pilarsky also volunteered that she used laser to cut the design patterns into the cloths. I would say that Pilarsky's adaptation of the idea of the colorful pastillas wrappers as something that one can, in fact, wear for the summer/spring, is noteworthy, ingenuously tweaking "delicateness" and "intricateness" as something one can actually slip into, adding freshness and choice to an otherwise drab wardrobe. The collection also tastefully put "pride of place" as the message of the inspiration behind the dresses, without being preachy about it. Interestingly, Pilarsky also designs her own accessories, and these accessories wonderfully accentuated each collection, with the models emerging onto the catwalk as summer/spring goddesses of sorts.

At the finale of the 12-designer RTW show, Pilarksy came out wearing a version from her collection: a cocktail dress in radiant fuchsia and lemon yellow hue. 

Email Joyce Pilarsky at jpilarsky@yahoo.com

See photos below:

Joyce Penas Pilarsky at the end of the show

In Laiya, San Juan, Batangas

This long weekend (Aug. 29 being a National Heroes Day holiday and Aug. 30, Eid ul Fitr), I had the chance to hie off to Laiya in San Juan, Batangas for a white beach experience in that area. And yes, to bond as well with my cousin Meilani and nephews.

The Rizal statue in front of the municipal building in San Juan, Batangas,
and the landmark right before you turn for the Laiya beaches.

Acuatico Beach Resort was fully booked when we got there, and so we had to find a night's accommodation at the nearby White Cove.

We had a fill of the waves by the beachfront of White Cove.

The next day, we went back to Acuatico Beach Resort (http://www.acuaticoresort.com.ph/  ) where my cousin and nephews stayed for two more nights while I headed back to Manila with my sisters.

I'd recommend Acuatico Beach Resort to anyone wanting a kind of a Boracay experience (though a quieter one) in  Batangas, that is without crossing the sea to get to an island. The travel to San Juan takes all of 3 hours, good traffic allowing.

For details on getting there and other stuff such as rates and rooms, check the Acuatico Beach Resort web site: http://www.acuaticoresort.com.ph/ 

Cagayanos' Days of Faith

MANILA, Philippines — The image of Our Lady of Manaoag in a procession with the images of Our Lady of La Naval, and Our Lady of Piat? In June this year, Cagayanos and visitors to Tuguegarao City witnessed anew the parade of 12 famous Marian icons from the northern part of the country during the “3rd Marian Voyage of Peace and Love” from June 28-30.


The said voyage was the fitting centerpiece event of the 428th “Aggao nac Cagayan” (Araw ng Cagayan) or Cagayan foundation day whose over-all celebration was presided over by Governor Alvaro T. Antonio playing up the theme “Fiesta ta Bannag,” which means “feast at the river.”


The Voyage was organized by the Cagayan North Convention & Visitors Bureau (CNCVB), the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, and the Department of Tourism (DoT), in cooperation with the provincial government, as a project to bolster Cagayan’s campaign as a pilgrimage center.


Department of Tourism, Region 2 Regional Director, Blessida Diwa said that the 12 Marian Images have been stationed at the following Tuguegarao schools and are open for public devotion: Our Lady of La Naval from Antipolo, Rizal at St. Paul University Philippines; Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage from Antipolo, Rizal at University of Cagayan Valley; Our Lady of Manaoag from Manaoag, Pangasinan at Cagayan State University;  Our Lady of Namacpacan from Luna, La Union at the University of St. Louis Tuguegarao;  Our Lady of Badoc from Badoc, Ilocos Norte at Linao National High School; Nuestra Senora del Mar de Cautiva from Sto. Tomas La Union at Tuguegarao Northeast Central School; Our Lady of Charity from Agoo at La Union- Tuguegarao East Central; Our Lady of Fatima from Valenzuela City, Metro Manila at Medical Colleges of Northern Philippines; Nuestra Senora de Caridad from Bantay, Ilocos Sur at Tuguegarao West Central School; Our Lady of Guibang from Gamu National Shrine- Isabela at Cagayan National High School;  and Our Lady of Immaculate Conception from Malolos, Bulacan at Tuguegarao North Central School.


At the helm of the Marian icons is the brown-skinned image of Our Lady of the Visitation from Piat, Cagayan, patroness of the Cagayan province (the only other popular brown Marian image in the group is Antipolo’s Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage).

Read more from Manila Bulletin where it was originally published.

Happy Feet Brothers Ramonito & Laudito Mata from Bukidnon

Theirs is a story worth hearing.

Two poor brothers from the faraway land of Bukidnon get to watch the "Happy Feet" film. They try imitating the tap dancing that they have seen, and eventually get enough courage to audition for "Pilipinas (and why does this not have an "'s" as it should have?) Got Talent." They perform without a formal knowledge of tap dancing, and worse, without the right shoes for it. One of the talent show's judges, the Comedy Queen, cries on learning the brothers' story, and promises on national TV that she will buy them their tap shoes if they get past the audition. The brothers get all three nods from the judges, and the Comedy Queen makes good her promise, flying over to Bukidnon to buy the tap shoes for the brothers herself. With the right shoes, the brothers display enough talent to proceed all the way to the grand finals. On finals night, they bag the second prize.

This is the story of Ramonito & Laudito Mata from Bukidnon. We await the next pages of their story. And, we pray, on happiest feet.

photo from http://happyfeetpgt.blogspot.com/

PHL's First Sentro Rizal Created by NCCA

On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Jose Rizal, The National Commission for Culture and the Arts formally opened the country's very first Sentro Rizal at the NCCA Building in Intramuros, Manila on June 28, 2011.

The event was witnessed by NCCA Board Commissioners, diplomats, and National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, who delivered the keynote message, said that the Sentro Rizal would greatly help Overseas Filipino Workers who are the "invisible minority" abroad.  "Sentro Rizal will be invaluable in fostering international exchange, dialogue and understanding. Today, we have the capability to bring the greatness of our heritage to the world."

Last June 12, Angara himself was in Madrid, Spain to open the first Sentro Rizal abroad. The second Sentro Rizal outside the country was opened in Prague on June 19.

The creation of Sentro Rizal is in accordance with Sec. 42 of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 or R.A. No. 10066, which specifies a center " whose main purpose is the promotion of Philippine arts, culture and language throughout the world."

The Sentro Rizal, envisioned as the Philippine counterpart of France's Alliance Française, Spain's Instituto Cervantes, and Germany's Goethe-Institut, is expected to offer Filipino language courses for children and adults, as well as exhibits, small concerts, poetry reading, Philippine cuisine lessons in all Sentro Rizal branches.

The creation of Sentro Rizal at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts building is seen to encourage the creation of other Sentro Rizal centers not only throughout the country, but also in other countries "where there are children of overseas Filipino workers who need to be educated about their roots, as well as developed countries where there are large Filipino communities."

Download the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009

A roundtable discussion followed the opening of the Sentro Rizal on the following topics: "The Role of the NCCA in the 21st Century" by NCCA Chair Felipe M. de Leon, Jr.; "The Role of the Cultural Worker of the 21st Century" by Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera; "The Role of the Artist of the 21st Century" by F. Sionil Jose.

Also, an exhibit of oil works by Filipino artist Leonardo Cruz was opened at the NCCA Gallery. The said works depict key scenes in Jose Rizal’s "Noli Me Tangere," and were originally exhibited in 2007 at the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila, during the 146th birth anniversary of Jose Rizal.

Local libraries, offices, and groups with the capacity to create a Sentro Rizal and independently undertake its stated goals are encouraged to open such a center. For details on setting up a Sentro Rizal in your localities, please get in touch with the office of Ms. Marlene Ruth Sanchez, NCCA Deputy Executive Director at info@ncca.gov.ph or at tel. (02) 5272193.