Iloilo City is sweaty and dirty today with the Dinagyang Festival. I used to run around those streets as a kid, to relish that freedom from cars afforded us once a year. Back then, the city was still shaping up to be an up-and-comer, there was still an authentic rusticity in the air. Not now, when buildings are sprouting everywhere, glass and steel fast replacing stone and Spanish architecture in every corner. My father complains that what the city lacks is a skyline - he compares it too much to Manila's. But maybe that's just what we need for the time being. Hang on to that old-school feel for a little while longer before this journey of no-return into the realm of full-fledged urbanity.
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Friday night, I received what is possibly the most exciting piece of theater-related news for me this year. They are finally staging John Logan's "Red" here. Four shows only, starring Bart Guingona (superb in Rep's "Next Fall" a year ago) and Joaquin Valdes - leading man of my first ever Broadway show (in Manila). Valdes, to note, will be playing the role that won Eddie Redmayne (yes, he of recent "Les Miserables" fame) his Tony and Olivier awards.
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I have officially set a personal record: I've seen eight of the nine Oscar nominees for Best Picture - and the SAG Awards haven't even come to pass yet. What's taking so long for the decent screeners of "Amour" and "The Master" to get leaked? The theme for this weekend, it must be said, is boob exposure: Helen Hunt in "The Sessions," Marion Cotillard in "Rust and Bone," Naomi Watts in "The Impossible." I think it's time for me to start studying for Wednesday's Neuro exam.
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Holy shit, Argo just won the PGA!!!
Of things to come. #summer2013
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