LIGHT

GMA has laser eyes!

by Leonard Cervantes

This article also appears in Kapisanan Blog

In a speech she made today, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) said she is “focused like a laser” on moving the economy forward, not on politics, in the wake of the ouster of her estranged ally, Jose de Venecia Jr. (JDV 2), as House Speaker in the NBN Scandal.

You might be asking yourself a few questions:

1. Why did GMA say “focused like a laser”. Man, that’s so corny pinoy it bothers me.

2. What’s this new NBN scandal again? Again!?!

3. Who is Jose De Venecia Jr. (JDV 2) and why was another person ousted from the government again?

4. Why in the blue hell are there SMA (so many acronyms)?!?!

Especially for 2nd-Gen Filipinos living abroad, navigating around the confusing and complicated world of Philippine politics is almost impossible. Even if you are brave enough to try and read an article from ‘back home’, you’ll probably be overwhelmed by all the names, terms, and system of government (or lack thereof) that so differs from what we have here.

That’s probably a good explanation why the majority of us aren’t aware of Philippine politics. How can we have an opinion if we don’t understand how it works, or how it’s supposed to work in the first place? What we need is someone to break it down.

Strap on your seat belt and concentrate really hard — I’ll do my best to make sense of it all…

My Coca Cola tastes Sour Today

by Leonard Cervantes

Today in Manila, they’ll celebrate the commemoration of the 109th anniversary of the first shot that triggered the Philippine-American War, which left at least 600,000 Filipinos dead.

Author and historian Ambeth Ocampo says the Philippine-American War is an event that young Filipinos should know about.

Don’t es-STOP. Bel-EEEBin.

by Leonard Cervantes

This is old news, but just in case you already didn’t know –

Legendary rock band Journey has a new lead singer and he’s PINOY! If you don’t know who Journey is, you are probably:

a) a youngin
b) too cool
c) too cool for school

The members of Journey ended up flying Arnel to America for an in-person audition and they signed him on the spot as their new lead singer. It’s the ultimate Cinderella rags-to-riches story and would have been the perfect ending — if not for the racist reactions of some Journey fans.

Over-Romanticizing the Filipina

by Leonard Cervantes

Woman By The River – Fernando Amorsolo 

Today I saw one of my old college classmates on the subway. He’s a Trinidadian guy and we had fun at school talking about whatever things we have in common — not much actually, but we’re both island folk in our own way.  At one stop, a pretty Filipina girl got on the train and sat next to us, then got off a few stops later. Right after, my friend turns to me and says, “GUY. I LOVE FILIPINO WOMEN.” 

My first instinct was to pummel him and I didn’t know why. As soon as I snapped out of it, my over-critical, somewhat-political mind started to swirl between replies of “Yes, they ARE great.” and “But WHY do you ‘love’ Filipino women?” 

Island Food – Filipinos in the Bahamas

Ya’ll people fan out like nobody’s business.”  

That’s what my buddy said as we waited for our order at Little Philippines Restaurant, in downtown Nassau, Bahamas.

The proprietor, Lorna, was like an auntie but I don’t think she took me for a Filipino when I walked in. Maybe its because I was dressed a little different? Or because my friend was with me?

Anyways, I pulled out my ‘rough but still admirable-for-the-effort Tagalog’ to verify my card carrying-status. If my ‘po-smattered’ conversation didn’t give it away, then surely my order would. No foreigner would walk into a Filipino restaurant and say ‘PO’… Ok, well — No foreigner would walk into a Filipino restaurant period. But really, no foreigner would walk into a Filipino restaurant and put down the following order: - Dinuguan – Pinakbet – Pork Adobo – Kare-Kare – Caldereta ng Kambing

We’re the Best! In Women’s Golf!

The ladies are elated that their Filipino flag golf shirts are a hit.

by Leonard Cervantes

It’s always nice to see Filipinos do well in sports. Makes me feel better about not having shit-all to be excited about during the Olympics (even Jamaica has a bobsled team).

Imagine my pleasure at hearing that the Filipino tandem of Dorothy Delasin and Jennifer Rosales had won the Women’s World Cup of Golf, dedicating the win to Filipinos all over the world. Finally, we win at a sport that focuses on finesse and a softer touch — by women, no less.

Renaldo — 14 minutes and counting

It’s been a week since Renaldo Lapuz shocked the world with his infectious tune and it looks like he’s already fading from view.

His ‘official’ website is up for auction and while he’s still ‘hot shet’ in the blogosphere, mainstream media seems to be on the next thing already.

I promise that this will be my last post regarding this unless something ridiculous happens next, but I did want to comment on a few keen observations since what I like to call “Lapuz-Gate”.

Renaldo Lapuz is your BRAWDER til the end of time.

by Leonard Cervantes

Since the beginning, American Idol has seen its share of Filipino contestants. Mostly a steaming arroz caldo pot of also-rans and broken dreams, it’s hard to even remember some of their names today (Camile Velasco, Sway Penala, Jasmine Trias and Canada’s own Mikey Bustos).

Last night, in one fell swoop, Filipinos all over the world finally got their wish – an Idol contestant that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression: Renaldo Lapuz.

The PinoyLife Guide to Not Being a Kuya

This actually wasn’t a BrownScene article, but an article that appeared on Pinoylife.com, which was a California-based site that really paved the way for our own online presence.

Sometimes, I wonder if the Editor, Moonie Lantion is still out there doing his thing. Moonie, if you are, holler at us.

Meanwhile, I post this article by Moonie out of nostalgia:

The Pinoylife Guide to Not Being a Kuya
by Moonie Lantion for Pinoylife.com
Disclaimer: This is not to be taken too seriously. It is not meant to put down Pinays but just to poke fun at the fact that most guys I know have been called Kuya and hated it.

I’ll make this real clear. This article is geared towards men. It is in no way meant to appease any women because it will reveal truths that are unspoken but very well known in the minds of most men. I write this to hopefully educate and enlighten my fellow Pinoy brothers in that they may minimize the amount of times they are called the evil word… KUYA.