Sep 22, 2008

Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards!

4 comments.

Special kudos to our fellow PLU blogger Gibbs Cadiz for winning the Best Arts & Culture Blog Award! Congratulations go out as well to other PLU bloggers who've become finalists.

PLU winner at the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards:

PLU finalists at the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards:

  • AJ of Bakla Ako for the Best Personal Blog Award
  • Misterhubs for the Best Personal Blog Award
  • Dan & Rye for the Best Video/Podcast Blog Award
  • The Fabcasters for the Best Video/Podcast Blog Award
  • Enrico Dee of Byahilo for the Best Travel Blog
  • Reyna Elena for the Best OFW Blog (though [s]he does not want to have anything to do with the award basing on his/her recent spate of posts)

I'm sure I missed a few and there might be PLU finalist bloggers who are still in the closet (I know of one), but congratulations all the same! :-)

Sep 14, 2008

Adam & Steve, a fun-filled gay romantic comedy

2 comments.

Much like Boy Culture before, Adam & Steve was screened in local cinemas to very little fanfare. Thanks to websites like ClickTheCity.com, I got to learn that this American gay comedy was screening in selected Robinsons MovieWorld theaters. I was able to watch this film about three weeks ago and I must say that it's a pretty decent B movie.

To put the plot simply, the movie concerns two gay guys, Adam and Steve, who had a horrifically embarrassing one night stand in the 80s. Years later, they meet again and fall in love not recognizing that they have met each other before. One of them eventually remembers their past encounter—after numerous scenes where one or the other comes at the brink of recalling—and this is where the climax of the movie eventually leads to. Since this is the comedy, expect a happy ending. The comedy is quite campy and at times bordering on the slapstick side but it's entertaining enough. And the pivotal climax scene and the ending was unexpectedly touching, featuring a rendition of the beautiful song "I Must Have Done Something Good" from The Sound of Music.

As far as eye candy is concerned, you might want to skip this movie if a large part of your satisfaction in gay movies centers on the attractiveness of the guys. But, Steve, played by Malcolm Gets, is a pretty manly and muscular middle-aged man (if you're into that), and one of the dancers in the hilarious and utterly gay cowboy line dance scenes is pretty hot. As for sex, don't expect steamy scenes; they're there to advance the story and are not put center stage, unlike in some of the local indie films done to date.

If you're wondering, yes, the movie's title is a play on the conservative Christian argument against homosexuality: "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." This Biblical reference was actually used in pointed out in the film.

Overall, this is a pretty entertaining film. But you're not really missing anything if you haven't seen it.

Sep 4, 2008

Invoice Magazine hits the stands

8 comments.

Cover of the premier issue of Invoice Magazine. I lamented the fact that Icon Magazine was no longer being published. It left a void for the wholesome-yet-teaseful and high-end gay-oriented magazine market. So I'm understandably quite excited to hear that there's a new magazine called Invoice, published by 3rd Media Publishing Company that is out now this September in many places already.

The aims of this magazine is quite lofty if I must say so:

  1. To provide an avenue in advocating the new image of the GLBT community as professional individuals with integrity by promoting success stories of GLBT individuals' businesses and their various endeavours, and by providing articles that can be related to both business and economy and GLBT culture. This is also a call for a change in the image of the GLBT population in the Philippines.

  2. To provide an inspiration and a call for action to all readers to become entrepreneurs and help in the growth of SMEs (Small and Medium-scale Enterprises) in the country.

  3. To provide GLBT individuals with real GLBT role models whom they can relate to.

  4. To provide an awareness on various serious GLBT issues in the Philippines.

Take a look as well at the contents of the premiere issue. It's definitely quite interesting. They're covering the management and financial aspects of the several dance clubs all over the country that are frequented by PLUs such as Bed, Government, and Numero Doce. Furthermore, the issue has features on gay entrepreneurs and the business side of the local gay indie film industry.

I haven't bought the issue yet but I'll definitely blog my reaction and review of the mag when I get ahold of it. But my first impression is that it seems to be a really serious magazine. I mean, the topics are all business- and entrepreneurial-oriented. You can even see it in the name: "Invoice". I guess it's not subtitled the "GLBT Business and Advocacy Journal" for nothing. So, if you want fashion photoshoots of hunky guys wearing skimpy underwear like Icon used to do, I doubt that you'll get it from Invoice.

To celebrate the arrival of Invoice, there will be a launch party in Bed on September 19, Friday, starting at 9 p.m. and the entrance will be free before 1 a.m. If I'm feeling in the mood, I just might attend the launch. Then again, if the media will be there to cover the event, I'll probably just skip it. Hehehe. :-P

Aug 31, 2008

Discreetionary: O party

9 comments.

O party

O party [OH PAHR·tee] noun 1. euphemism for an organized sexual orgy. etymology: O from “orgy” and party, a “a social gathering”.

It’s been quite fashionable to use “O party” as an innocuous-sounding term instead of the more vulgar “orgy” when referring to multi-person organized sex events. Because of the Internet and of websites like Guys4Men, it’s has also been easier to organize such O parties, often held inside private hotel/motel rooms or condominium units. In Guys4Men, you can occasionally encounter invitations to such events posted at the site’s calendar complete with the warning: “please read our health & safety info if you are thinking of attending this event.”

I’ve personally never been to an O party, but I certainly would like to try going to one given a good opportunity. Then again, going to bath houses is almost, but not quite, the same thing, so it’s quite probable that I’m not missing anything.

Got any Discreetionary terms? Send them my way at discreetmanila at gmail.com.

Aug 26, 2008

Yossi & Jagger theme song: “Your Soul”

3 comments.

While a significant portion of the local gay blogosphere is gushing over two gay-themed Thai films released in 2007 (The Love of Siam and Bangkok Love Story), let's go back a few years earlier and to the other side of Asia for a different gay-themed film set in the military atmosphere of Israel. Yossi & Jagger is the story of two soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces (Israel's armed forces; it should be noted that military service is compulsory for all Israeli Jewish men and women). One of them is Yossi, a reserved guy who takes his duty seriously, while the other is Lior (nicknamed Jagger after Mick Jagger by his peers because of his rock-star-like charisma), who is quite romantic, playful, fun-loving, and is Yossi's subordinate. On the outside, they seem like really close buddies but in reality, they are lovers hiding their relationship while manning a border outpost near Lebanon. Unfortunately, this film embodies the usual tragic gay movie cliche.

Anyway, instead of showing you a trailer, I'll just let you listen to the English version of the movie's theme song "Your Soul," which is sung by Ivri Lider. Lider is a popular Israeli singer and is gay himself. The original Hebrew version is titled "Bo" (which means "let's" or "come") and is a cover of a song by Rita, a female Israeli artist. Listen to the song because it's absolutely beautiful. While the previously blogged "Nag-iisa, Wala Ka Na" is beautiful in a sad way, "Your Soul" is beautiful in a joyous manner. Enjoy!