Chile: "Divine" fire from 1993 resolved, inside job instead of homophobia, culprits go free

If, like me, you have kept an eye on all things LGBT and Latin America during the past two decades, there are few iconic events that stand up when you think about discrimination.

Key among them was the tragic 1993 fire at "Divine", a gay bar in Santiago, Chile, which took the lives of 16 patrons and left another 29 people hurt (archive photo to the right taken the morning after the fire).

Now comes word, after 17 years, that the fire wasn't a homophobic crime after all.

In a report released last Friday and backed by the leading LGBT rights organization in Chile, the Movement for Homosexual Liberation (MOVILH), authorities named the bar's owners as the true culprits.

According to the report, a month before the fire, bar owners Nelson Arellano and Arturo Masafierro, were seen covering the walls and ceilings of the bar with materials that had been deemed not to meet the fire hazard standards of the day. They also lined up the walls with electrical cables, television sets and stereo speakers in a way that violated fire safety guidelines as well.

Carlos Hernández, a firefighter who had visited the bar on the eve of the fire and in its aftermath, told investigators that the owners had ignored previous fire violation warnings.

"Not only did [the fire escape] have a latch; it also had a chain and lock and, worse still, it opened from the outside in, which didn't allow for it to be opened on time and forced firefighters to tear it down," he said, "as a matter of fact, Arellano was told to correct that danger and he did not".

That according to El Mercurio, which also says the investigation of the case was shut down in 1994 only to be re-opened in 2003 at the bequest of MOVILH.

The report also indicates that, when it comes to crimes committed in Chile, there is a 10 year statute of limitation law in the books which means that the owners of the bar cannot be prosecuted for their actions back in the early 1990's.  It most probably mean that they will not be held accountable for the 16 people who died at "Divine" on September 4, 1993.

As for "Divine", the tragic incident was certainly turned into legend. There even was a movie made about it...



Below, the full report released last Friday by Chilean authorities (it's only available in Spanish)...

III Informe Movilh Divine Final

On Self-Promotion

There's been a whole lot of talk the last few years about what authors need to do to promote themselves.

Well, I am now going to weigh in on this topic. I know, you readers have been DYING to hear my opinion on the subject, and you can't believe your luck. Quite honestly I'm surprised that you all have hung around reading my snoozapalooza posts long enough to hear my opinion on the subject. But now you're dearest wish is about to be fulfilled.

You are so welcome. Glad I could oblige.

I've been giving this a lot of thought. You see, I've had a lot of time on my hands as I wait to actually sell a book. So I figured I'd get an early start on the self-promotion thing and see what happens.

Well, obviously, not much. Because one thing I have learned is that it's a whole lot easier to self-promote if you have something you're promoting. You know, like a published book you've written.

But I have learned a few things that I do think are important to know. They are (in no particular order):

1. It's more important to enjoy yourself than it is to promote yourself.

Yes, I do believe this. I will let you in on a little secret: I did start this blog because I wanted to get my name out there into the world. Name recognition can be a good thing. However, I also started this blog because I genuinely like to blog. It's kinda like writing those journals I used to write when I was a teenager. (And I wrote a LOT of those. Seriously, I think I filled at least 7 or 8 in about four or five years.) And I really like the freedom of writing something spontaneously, with only a few minor edits as I go. Sometimes the constant revision process really gets to me, and this blog is a place where I can feel a little more free. (I am well aware that it is probably not a good idea to be so spontaneous on a blog, but I doubt I'll be changing that anytime soon. I'm just not very good at plotting things out beforehand. It's the process of making it up as I go along that excites me the most.)

Anyway, through that last paragraph of ramble-y randomness, I was trying to point out how much I ENJOY doing what I'm doing. I genuinely enjoy my silly tweets about my imaginary twitter empire, which is currently locked in a struggle of monumental proportions against another empire who will remain nameless as to not give that empire any leverage with which to thwart me (just check out my tweets to see this struggle in all its glory). I genuinely love reading comments from the few people who actually comment on my FB or blog. I love Verla's message boards where I hang out waaaaaay too much and lament about the weather. (Do you know it has snowed at my house this week? Seriously, what is up with the weather?)

But I also love to talk on the phone. Or hang out in person and chat with someone for hours. I like knowing things and being involved in projects. I like being in the middle of things.

So if I didn't genuinely enjoy social networking, I could self-promote until I'm blue in the face but it probably wouldn't do me any good. Because people can spot a fake a mile away. And if you aren't enjoying yourself, people will know. And they won't want to hang around someone who is such a drag. I'm just sayin'...

2. If you're going to self-promote, the best thing you can do is be approachable.

What do I mean about being approachable? Well, for one, actually reply to comments from your readers. I try to reply to every comment I get (which, sadly enough, is really easy to do since I usually have less than a dozen comments to worry about). I love it when someone takes the time to reply to my comments. I'm betting my readers feel the same way, so I want to make sure to encourage them. Plus I really really love keeping the conversation going, so it's a no-brainer for me.

But being approachable also means leaving your little blog bubble and visiting others'. I don't do it as much as I should, but it's so sad to find a blog post that I've really enjoyed and notice that there has been ZERO comments on it. Don't you think that blogger would love to know how great his/her blog entry was, or how it made me think in a new way about something, or just made me laugh? So comment widely and spread the wealth. I firmly believe that a single blog commenter can change the world for good. Plus it's a great way to enlarge your circle of "friends" while doing something enjoyable. (Well, I find it enjoyable, anyway.)

3. Whatever you do, it's enough.

I know. You're scratching your head over that one. You usually hear "there's always more you can be doing." Well, I disagree. Kinda. Well, not really. Let me explain.

Sure, there is always something more you can do to promote yourself. ALWAYS. But does that mean you should do it?

Absolutely not.

I know so many authors who have done so much to promote themselves that they've practically collapsed from exhaustion. And not a bit of it made any difference to their books' bottom lines. And I've known other authors who've done nothing and have had runaway success. I've also known some who've done a lot and it's made a huge difference in their success as authors. And I've known some who've done nothing and have had nothing happen in return.

So what do I really mean? What I'm trying to say is that you should do what you think you can. And if you do, it'll be enough. Don't feel guilty that you aren't doing more.

Do what you can. It'll be enough.

Repeat with me.

Do what you can. It'll be enough.


4. The best promotion is word of mouth.

So give those mouths something to talk about. Write the BEST BOOK you can, and then get to work on the next BEST BOOK you can write. Writing good books over and over again is the best way to promote yourself.

And if you happen to mention my blog to a friend, I won't mind. Because word of mouth really is the best way to spread the word.

TNTema - Ghost Dog

Lápis, aquarela e PS.

Offside (2006)

Offside (Jafar Panahi, 2006)

While Offside is essentially a sports film, it is, like all of Jafar Panahi's previous films, a work that is ignited from an astute observation of a prevailing social ill: gender inequality in Iran. As mentioned, it operates like a sport film, where the audience is urged to root for the Iranian team, who in that final game against Bahrain, has a chance to qualify in the World Cup. Excitement is seen in the streets, where numerous buses which are carrying hordes of shouting, swearing, and ecstatic fans are parading towards the stadium. The fans alight, brandishing Iranian flags, posters of local football stars, and other sports paraphernalia, ready to enjoy what might be a nail-biting match for a semblance of national glory.

However, the film does not actually begin with the above-described public jubilation. The film begins with tension, where an old man rushes to catch one of those buses to search for his daughter who he believes has joined the ranks of excited fans to the stadium. The film later makes its audience aware that women are not allowed to watch football games inside the stadium. Despite the rule, female football fans would risk the repercussions of breaking the law just to be able to watch the games and take part in the communal joy or frustration. The film actually follows one such female. She is a first-timer in trying to sneak into the stadium (we learn that the practice is prevalent, with some female football fans, donning boy's clothes several times before getting caught). She dons her disguise (a cap and a loose shirt, and her face is painted with the colors of the Iranian flag), but despite that, it is pretty obvious that she is not a boy. Because of that obviousness, the audience can only fear for her. There is absolutely no way that she will not be found out, and as the audience later learns of the penalties of breaking the law, the extent of the girl's irrationality --- the immensity of the sacrifice for something as paltry as seeing a game in the stadium --- is undeniable.

It is that premise of the girl's palpable irrationality that pervades the film. As the film spends most of its time in the holding bay, an area just outside the stadium, where the offenders are kept, the film slowly reveals that the girl's irrationality is hardly unique. Inside the bay is a colorful mix of offenders, and their interaction among themselves or with their captors, amidst the atmosphere of excitement brought about by the game, is portrayed, probably as a lingering joke of fate where these women are mere meters away from actually watching the football match but cannot do so because they were caught. The joke is funny only in a cruel sort of way, given the fact that the reason behind the law --- that women cannot watch alongside men to prevent them from hearing swears that may eventually corrupt them --- is hardly an act of fate, but a product of an obsolete and skewed belief that simply does not belong in the modern world. The only reason these women have become irrational is because they struggle with the irrationality of the entire system.

Panahi cleverly treats things lightheartedly. The center of all the madness is after all simply a game. Where his previous films are all depressing dramas about the current situation in Iran (notably these films are never screened in Iran because of the anti-establishment message Panahi preaches), Offside is unusually joyful and hopeful. Amidst an irrational practice that has ripened to a socially-accepted tradition, the film treats the rebellion with sympathetic eyes. These ladies, although kept and probably quite familiar of the punishment that would be dealt to them, still have the courage to joke around, to actually enjoy the game they are not seeing, and to make friends. It is that common interest, the anger accumulated towards their national team's opponent, that keeps these girls united, that keeps these girls united with the rest of the nation that scorns on their behavior. In the end, fans, offenders and guards celebrate. There is no division.

Panahi's initial message is quite clear --- that in our world, there are ludicrous norms that should be eliminated because they limit human freedoms. Panahi however doesn't just stop there. He is not content with raising a complaint. He transforms that message to one of unity, of that tying factor that all humans possess, whether one is Iranian, foreigner, male, or female. In that rare moment of joy, one cannot just hold unto formalities that mask our humanity. These masks should be uncovered. Our faces should be revealed smiling, and full of emotions. In that last scene in Offside, we, for a moment, forget what the film is trying to fight, given that the film bubbles with happiness. It's no longer about these women who disguise themselves as men just to be able to watch a football match. It is now about a country composed of both men and women who during that night when their national team won, erupt in exquisite jubilation, and start dancing in the streets to celebrate their victory. The overall message is clear: our world may be dangerously imperfect, but that doesn't mean there's no reason to celebrate.

(The film will be screened on May 6, 2010 at the U.P. Film Institute as part of the worldwide support for the release of director Jafar Panahi, who was incarcerated in Iran for simply speaking his mind.)

Latin American LGBT advocates protest the Vatican's handling of child abuse cases

A couple of weeks ago the Europe-based International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, better known for their old name and acronym International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), joined Italian LGBT advocates to call for worldwide protests against the Catholic Church and the Vatican. Their reason?

From their alert:

On April 13 the number two in the Vatican hierarchy, the Pope’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, claimed that there is a link between homosexuality and paedophilia.

The LGBT movement worldwide has risen up against this false, despicable and anti-scientific statement from the Vatican, which is trying to deflect attention from priests’ sex crimes by blaming LGBT people.

While they are trying to hide the truth about the abuses perpetrated against innocent children, by making absurd parallels between homosexuality and paedophilia, ILGA and the Italian LGBT movement has launched an appeal to all citizens and associations all over the world to join an international protest against child abuse and support for victims in front of the Vatican embassies or the main Catholic churches.

Turning the paedophilia issue into a matter of sexual orientation, as the Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone did, can only lead to failing to address the serious allegations coming from around the world. The point is not whether to identify the sexual orientation of paedophiles, but firmly prosecute those responsible for such abuses, especially if they have an educational or spiritual role.

The Catholic Church must answer to the courts and the world public opinion for the serious cover-up occurred worldwide. This is our call, to all women and men of goodwill, of any religion, who cannot be silent in front of these abuses against innocent children. Take Action Now! Contact your local lgbt association to organise a protest in front of the Vatican embassy or the main catholic church of your city.

LGBT advocates throughout the world have answered the call.  AFP reports that more than 100 people gathered in Paris on Saturday while a number of agencies reported a demonstration in Rome, Italy, on the same day.  On April 4th, Easter Day, a number of people here in New York, mostly members of the LGBT activist group Queer Rising, also protested outside New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Meanwhile, in Latin America, there were very visible reactions from advocates in Venezuela, Argentina and Peru.

Venezuela: On Friday, the Venezuelan LGBTI Network asked supporters to congregate at La Previsora tower at Plaza Venezuela in Caracas and participate in a procession to the Vatican's embassy. 

Holding signs that read, among other things, "Pedophilia is a crime, homosexuality is not", marchers arrived at the embassy and handed a statement "repudiating the discriminatory attitude of the church against the human and civil rights of gays and lesbians".

An article in Aporrea also indicates that activists in neighboring country Colombia also staged a protest on April 17th at Bogota's main cathedral but there are no other details.

Participants of the Venezuela action included renown transgender activist Tamara Adrián (holding the sing in the photo), José Merentes (standing behind her), Carlos Aray and representatives from several Venezuelan LGBT organizations. 

Argentina: The Argentinian Homosexual Community (CHA), one of the leading LGBT organizations in the country (link here), also called for a protest outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires. MDZ says it was a small group of people (so was the one at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York).  Participants carried similar signs as those carried by activists in Venezuela: "Abuse is a crime, homosexuality is not".

Another one read "We express our rejection of the abuse against boys and girls, let's denounce the Vatican's silence."

Crítica also has a report which includes an image of the protest.

Peru: "Neither prayer nor oration will stop a rapist" says the sign held by an LGBT Peruvian advocate in the photo to the right.

LGBT advocates in Lima, Peru, organized perhaps the most successful of the recent protests, at least in the American continent.  El Comercio reports that over a hundred supporters of the LGBT Peruvian Network gathered outside the residence of the Vatican's diplomatic representative in Lima (link here and photo at the top of the page).

The protest, which had been announced days earlier, also drew an estimated thirty counter-protester, says the paper.  They arrived an hour early and waited for the LGBT advocates by counting the beads on their rosaries and praying.

Once the LGBT advocates arrived, the paper reports that there were non-violent clashes for more than two hours.  It culminated when a Catholic priest named Carlos María Stiegler stepped out of the residence to shout at the activists that they were "the work of the devil".

"This manifestation is not God's work," he said, "the Devil is present here."

"To cover a crime is also a crime," responded the LGBT advocates.

Speaking for the LGBT advocates, Marbel Reyes told the EFE news syndicate that the Network had kept their protest peaceful even when Stiegler attempted to proffer his blessings upon those gathered (supposedly to drive away the devil inside them).

And, while few in the United States paid attention, the US right-wing religious right certainly did.

The US-funded and Peruvian-based ACI Prensa highlighted the good work of those who gathered to defend the Vatican's sorry record on child abuse and saluted those who would stand up to a "small group of hostile feminists and homosexuals".

They also provided the pro-Vatican video below...

TNTema fantasmas/ghosts 2

O capitão

Aquarela no sulfitão.
Para relaxar entre uma página e outra das Gutigutz.

gifts

Finally this is my last post on my Sibu trip. Phew!

Day before i came back to KL, i receive sms from STP asked me will i be at home in the afternoon he want to drop by my house. I told him, yes i will be at home, and i asked, "don't tell me you buy something for me to bring back KL? I said i got so many things already, don't buy any" He said "no, i just want to bid bye bye to you and the boys".

When he came, he not only said "bye bye" but he brought this for me and the boys......

few very yummylicious chicken pies!!! You can smell the rich butter fragrant ! At first i thought he baked it, after that he told me, he bought it from Aroma Bakery in Sibu, now that Aroma Bakery become very famous after he blog about it and make a big "huha". Everyone is going to "hunt" for that Aroma Bakery, and i give a piece for my mum to try, she is not a pies person, after she tried, she told me it taste so good!! She do go to this Aroma Bakery quite often to buy the famous swiss roll and bread but not the pies. Three days in a row she was there queuing to buy the chicken pies, it's a hot item, and the bakery owner only bake like 20 pies per day? That is how yummy the chicken pies is. I brought it back to KL and i only had it the next day, i reheat it at the toaster and go with coffee, it is so nice!!! YUM!!!! You can read STP's entry here ..

and he bought two set of clothes for my boys, how sweet right? I like what STP said about the reasons he bought this two set of Sarawak souvenir clothes, he want to remind my boys of "their heritage or where their mum originates from." Thanks again STP! Don't worry about the big size of the tee, i think they can wear it by year end, no need to wait till next year chinese new year or another 2-3 years time. hahahhahahha

In fact two of them already choose which one is belong to them, can you guess?

When i met up with STP and Superman, i give them some chinese sausage and some "cake" which made by my mum as gift. I don't know what to buy for them, since my mum was making this "cake" so i thought i can give them some to try, hope they like it. STP post it on his blog, this is the 'cake" that my mum made.....

shan yao 山藥 (picture from STP's blog)

a lot people comment it look good, and wondering what is that. It is something like yam, but this is "shan yao". Here in KL i think we can get it from market but is in white color, but in Sibu, it is purple color, so the cake in purple chunk is the original color, no coloring add. My mum told me this Shan Yao very good, if you google you can read a lot good benefit of taking shan yao, you can read it here too. Let me show you some picture of the shan yao from Sibu

this is how it's look like when u buy from market...

wash off the mud....

peel off the skin, tada.....it's purple color!!

cut it in chunk and can cook it like "yam" cake style.

Hope this can ease the curiosity of the readers who comment in STP blog. :) Those in Sibu, who like to try or taste it, let me know, i will tell you where to get. :)

TNTema - Fantasmas/ghosts

Tuesdays #12

I thought I was gonna be able to blog during the week but pagod talaga.

I just came from Naga. Went around the Bicol region with my Tito Dennis and his team who were all awesome.

Here's what my itinerary was

415am - wake up for 630am flight
745am - arrival in Naga, head straight to Naga City Hall for press con
(NO BREAKFAST :( But thankfully they got us burgers, surprise sa car, haha)
9am - Public Market / Town Visits
230pm - Lunch
330pm - Courtesy call to Governor
4pm - 1st Radio Interview
430pm - Public Market
450pm - 2nd radio interview
515pm - more town visits
815pm - Interview for Inquirer
930pm - Dinner
1115pm - tulog na!!!

6am - wake up for 750 flight to Manila
850am - head to work in Makati

The campaign is no joke. Believe me. It's hard work. The one I posted is NOTHING compared to what my Mom, my Titas, and especially my Tito Noy are experiencing.

But malapit na!!! Crunch time!!!

Working Girls (2010)

Working Girls (Jose Javier Reyes, 2010)

Jose Javier Reyes' Working Girls is a disappointment. Just like the counterfeit bags one of Reyes' characters peddles to her internet clients, the film hardly matches the 1984 Ishmael Bernal satire with the same title that it supposedly updates. Even if independently assessed of Bernal's acclaimed urban comedy, Working Girls is still an unforgivably incoherent, annoyingly shallow, and ultimately pointless exercise. In an interview, Reyes admits that this film was made as a sort of tribute to Bernal and Amado Lacuesta, screenwriter of the 1984 comedy. Given Reyes’ intentions for writing and directing this update of Bernal’s classic, I can only conclude that this films’ biggest achievement is that it will inevitably raise awareness of the existence of Bernal’s film, and hopefully gain for it more followers.

Perhaps my displeasure for Reyes’ film is a tad exaggerated. Reyes, I admit, is a very smart and able writer whose gift for gab translates very well both on the page and on screen. Also, Reyes may perhaps be one of the few Filipino filmmakers who can translate middle-class woes and aspirations into commercially accessible films. For example, Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo (2006) has a middle-class wife fitting into her husband’s affluent family. The result is probably one of the funniest and truest domestic comedies in the past few years. Unfortunately, its sequel, Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo (2007) feels more like an undercooked rehash of what made Kasal feel sincere notwithstanding its glossy mainstream trappings. Reyes’ Working Girls, I again admit, is not a total disaster. There are portions of the film that are absolutely lovely, some are even heartbreaking. However, these scarce nuggets of what Reyes’ brilliant mind can come up with are immediately drowned by the film’s tedious attempt to match Lacuesta’s inimitable wit.

In Bernal’s Working Girls, the rich and handsome boss catches his secretary (Carmi Martin, who plays a secretary who dreams of ending up with one of her wealthy bosses) talking to her best friend on the phone about how she has fallen for her boss (she screams the film’s most famous line, “Sabel, this must be love!"). Her boss calls her to his office, asks her to note down his dictations which turn out to be his declaration of love to her. When she realizes that, she throws away her notepad and pen, and jumps to her boss, now her lover, in glee. Lacuesta is undeniably gifted in conjuring these scenes that are memorable not only because of the humorous outrageousness of the situations his characters find themselves into but also because these outrageous situations actually reflect a reality Filipinos can only admit in between laughs and chuckles.

Borrowing several of the characters from the original and using them as linkages for the new women whose lives he momentarily explores, Reyes actually manages to juggle both continuity with Bernal’s film and his own authorial fulfillment together. Actually, there’s a certain enjoyment in seeing how the original characters have placed themselves more than two decades after their various escapades; however, this enjoyment is completely lost when it turns out that Lacuesta’s characters have basically turned into either caricatures (Martin’s gold-digging, Botox-addicted cougar; and Gina Pareno’s boisterous mother-in-law) or wallflowers (Rio Locsin’s token doting mother).

Reyes newly-concocted characters, unlike the original working girls who were located mostly within Makati City’s business district and occupying various positions within the corporate world, are spread throughout the metropolis and are plying different professions. Paula (Eugene Domingo) sells counterfeit designer bags through her Multiply account, in the hopes that her earnings will be enough to bring her kids to an expensive private school. Marilou (Ruffa Gutierrez) is a beauty queen-turned-trophy wife of a tycoon who is struggling to retain the very little she inherited from her husband. Wendy (Cristine Reyes) is a social-climbing promo girl who dreams of hooking up with a wealthy lawyer (Rafael Rosell). Ada (Jennylyn Mercado) is a tech support agent who is trying to get over the father of her child. Tere (Iza Calzado) is a nurse who suddenly finds herself in a difficult position when she has been assigned to take care of the dying wife (Ina Feleo) of her first love who just disappeared on her. Dara (Bianca King), a Berkley graduate, attempts to prove her mettle in the TV news industry. Finally, Cleo (Eula Valdez) is a cosmetic surgeon who is fighting off pressure from a women’s activist group headed by Rose (Maria Isabel Lopez, who played the same character in the 1984 film, and who back then was a receptionist who was subbing as an escort girl).

There basically lies the problem with Reyes’ update. Reyes’ Working Girls is a film that struggles with its own indulgences. In his reckless effort to portray the current situation of women in the labor force in all aspects and facets, mapping out each and every possible niche that women have tried to penetrate, he has achieved really nothing. This is because the film is mostly composed of skits that are tied together by a filament of a plot that is far too convoluted to be taken seriously. Sure, there are scenes which may be brilliantly written (the jeepney ride wherein Paula and her driver (Ricky Davao) start to get to know each other’s stories and slowly fall in love is a well-acted and well-directed sequence, only to be betrayed by a subversion to crass and unneeded humor; similarly, Tere’s private conversation with her patient about the latter’s sadness is somewhat touching), but the entirety of the film is nothing more than a loosely weaved collage of uninteresting curiosities and farfetched generalizations.

Bernal’s Working Girls, released during Ferdinand Marcos’ volatile regime, works because beneath its stories is a reflection of an economy that is extrinsically booming but is internally depleted, with its work force relying on other methods to escape the well-dressed and perfumed rut they are trapped in. There is nothing of that depth in this sequel. As it turns out, Reyes’ Working Girls, if I may be permitted to use the now-famous words of character actress Cherie Gil (who plays another snooty rich girl in this film) in Emmanuel Borlaza’s Bituing Walang Ningning (A Star Without Shine, 1985), is nothing more “but a second-rate, trying hard copycat.” I have a feeling, Reyes himself probably agrees.

(Cross-published on Twitch)

'We respect gays': Bolivian government responds to outrage over President Evo Morales homophobic comments

The Government of Bolivia announced this morning that it had sent a letter to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual an Transgender Federation of Spain (FALGBT) in which they wished to "ratify" the respect towards sexual liberty as established in the Bolivian constitution ("Government of Evo Morales: We respect gays" RPP/EFE, April 26, 2010).

This comes a full week after Bolivian President Evo Morales stood on a podium at an international environmental conference hosted by his country and implied that eating chicken injected with "female hormones" might cause deviations in men.

The comments, which drew gasps of surprise and laughter from those gathered for the conference in the city of Tiquipaya, were first picked up by the Spain-based EFE news agency and then quickly made the international rounds through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

For the most part, supporters of Morales on the left spent the week pointing out that he never mentioned the word "gay" or "homosexual" in his statement without quite being able to explain what he meant by the "female hormones" causing "deviance" in men. Some also claimed that the worldwide attention that the comments drew were a ploy by capitalist media in developed nations to overshadow what was supposed to be a shining moment for Bolivia and Morales: An environmental conference that drew thousands of people throughout the world to challenge inaction on environmental issues by the world powers.

In the meantime, those on the right, particularly in Spain, grabbed on to the news to paint the left as silent when it came to standing up to homophobic left-wing figures. That wasn't quite correct either. Pedro Zerolo, the leading gay figure in Spain's Socialist Worker's Party was among a number of LGBT leaders who went to the Bolivian Embassy in Madrid and handed them a letter demanding an apology from Morales.

In fact, Iván Canelas, the presidential spokesperson who announced the letter this morning, said that it had been sent as a response to Zerolo's "personal protest" [UPDATE: As of 5:30PM EST, US time, Pedro Zerolo had yet to receive the letter; on his Twitter account he writes "Protests give results. It seems that the president, Evo Morales, has sent us a message in which he ratifies' his respect to sexual identity...", I asked him if he had received the letter and he said they had not as of now].

The full text of the letter was apparently not released but Canelas said that the message in the statement was that Morales "under no circumstance" was referring to homosexuality in a speech that specifically was addressing genetically modified foods.

"It has never crossed the President's mind, from any point of view, to attack the rights of homosexuals," said the spokesperson, adding that the Bolivian President was the one who pushed the new Bolivian Constitution and language which prohibits and bans any kind of discrimination based on gender, skin color, age or sexual orientation (see my past coverage: "New Bolivian constitution bans discrimination based on sexual orientation", Feb. 7, 2009).

As for me, I actually do not think Evo Morales is a homophobe, but I do think what he said was homophobic. His silence on what he meant by his words to this day is shameful (the letter sent this morning was sent by the government and apparently not by Morales himself or carrying his signature).

It also comes a full week after the statements were made and only after media such as the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine and The Guardian had picked up on the bru-ha-ha.

Yes, those are capitalist instruments for world domination, as I am sure many will point out. But they all were pretty late to the game and by then Morales, who was probably hoping to be nominated for a Nobel prize as a result of the environmental conference, had -instead-  become the laughing stock of the world (and, guess what, his party members went ahead and nominated him anyway after the conference was over!).

In this case, he has nothing but himself to blame.

By the way, 38 different LGBT organizations which conform The TLGB Collective of Bolivia also sent a letter expressing their disappointment at their president's statements and the shock they feel that the words came from a president who they thought was friendly to their cause (Spanish-language letter below).

President Morales might consider responding to the LGBT citizens of his own country. One suggestion: Do it in your own words.
Excelentísimo+Presidente

Food i missed @ Sibu

Reminder : Ok, this is another food post, if you are on diet, then don't scroll down and read, just stop here. :)

Every time when i go back to Sibu, beside than savour my all time favourite kampua, i will also go for some other food i missed. On my first night, after morning Kampua, night time i told my mum i want to go to Bandung to have some noodles and shells. During my school time i love to hang out @ Bandung, you can read from STP's blog, he love Bandung a lot, especially the kuih muih there, but that is for morning, I'm not a morning person, so i go there during night for supper.



this is the tomatoes keow teow, taste quite good, i think this is my first time trying, after i start read STP's blog i notice that, there is a lot food in Sibu which i don't know and some places that i also don't know, sometime good to know some bloggers from your hometown, since i am away, and only go home once a year, at least i get to know where is the new place in Sibu for good food, that is the plus point. On the minus point, they always tempt me with the food that i missed!!



this is fried kampua, i know this!!!! hahahhahahhaha


i like Balitong to cook in this way, which a bit different from here in KL. KL one will be with lots of chilies. Here no one like to eat this and my hub also don't like it. :(

We only paid RM11 for the food above, that is for one person, i am the only person who eat, my mum just company me and my boys are having satay. Cheap?



take a look at the drink's bill, it's more expensive than the food i order. When we ask the owner how they charge the drinks and it come out RM.18.60? They come out with this bill, and when i question why the apple juice is so expensive, and why they don't inform me in advance that if the juice with less ice that will be additional RM1, if they let me know earlier, i don't mind to paid, then come another question, why is the apple juice add honey in it, and we didn't request that! They said all the apples juice is with honey! :( You know my big mug of teh tarik only cost me RM2!!!! Sibu folks, if you all happen to eat at Bandung, please check your drink bill before you paid!!

After read so much about Ruby Restaurant in Sibu @ STP's blog, i told myself i must try the food there.


my favourite - sea cucumber soup. You know in Sibu, most restaurant do have this soup, sea cucumber is quite common in Sibu. My boys love this soup too, something like "shark fin" soup.



Midin or fern, it's a type of vege, i don't think can find it here in KL. It's also a common dish in Sibu town, most restaurant or "tai chow" will have it. Normally it cook with foo chow red wine or with belacan. I still prefer it to cook with foo chow red wine. Yummy!!

cangkuk manis, this is also another common dish in Sibu, only different is, who can cook it better. Sweet, crispy and yummy!!! I had this few days in a row, till i told my mum i had enough. LOL!

taufu with mince meat. This is so so only, maybe the color don't look tempting.

sweet and sour meat for my boys.

cangkuk manis at one of the coffee shop, i order this just to eat for fun. >..<

dessert - something like ice kacang, but we call it "jeng lok", good to have it during hot day!!

this is another food i miss. Kompia!! Sibu famour for K & K = Kampua & Kompia!! LOL

There is few types of kompia, either you can have it with mince meat inside like picture above or kompia in 'wet" type which is with gravy. The gravy i think is something with soya sauce or sauce that use to stew the meat. Some stall they sell kompia inside stuff with fat pork meat and gravy that is another good one.

or you can have something fresh from oven with original taste like picture below. When it fresh from oven, it is yummy and soft! YUM!!!

this is where the kompia "baked" from, they use charcoal and they stick the "kompia" on the wall and baked.

someone said this picture look like a mouth with full of teeth, what do you think? :)

this is the Jason Bakery @ Rejang Park, my mum said his kompia is the best in town? If i am not wrong, there is one TV show did interview them before.

this is another soup that i like "zhou chai", i think i blog this before, if you want to see how it look like, you can read it here, which i asked my mum to bring over for me. :)

this is the shell i mention before where i bought it from the Sibu Central Market. This is how it look like after it cook. Add some water, ginger and foo chow red wine.

use the tooth pick to pick the meat up and eat it. YUM!

Ok, that is all the food i had during my one week stay in Sibu. :) Hope you all enjoy it also.

never too old for the cute stuff!

This is my first time participate the blog giveaway and i win something for the first time!!

Sasha buzzed me one day, and told me about the giveaway, as she know i like cute stuff. Very easy to participate, i just need to leave a comment and link it up i will get a chance to win. Wait no more, i quickly leave a comment and link LvBeii in my blogroll. I don't give much hope of getting it, and when browse through Beii's blog, i just love her creativeness and her patient on the hand made stuff, which I don't have patient on that. She is another young and talented mummy!


One week later, i got an e mail from Beii ( mum-to-be soon), telling me i am one of the lucky winner and she will sent the gift to me soon, i really cannot believe. I supposed to receive the gift beginning of this month, but due to my trip back to Sibu, so i told her, sent it to me after i came back from my trip.


Last week, i got my gift!! It's so lovely and cute! I cannot stop myself and start putting the two cute kitten ear on my hair and act "cute" in the office! Here is my gift.......

a cute pencil case, teddy bear pin, owl and mushroom key chain, a yellow house hair band, leaf with flower hair pin, two cute tapes and a pair of kitten ear hair clips!

This is all hand made, and it made with love!! If you're like me, like something cute, quick hop over to her blog and have a look.

Thanks again for the lovely gift, Beii!

*this is not a paid post*

San Francisco's only Latino-owned gay bar vandalized

Disturbing news from KTVU in San Francisco this week:

One of the managers of what is described as the only Latino owned and operated gay bar in the Mission District of the city woke up Friday morning to see a number of swastikas spray-painted on the club's facade.

Edgar López, manager of the gay bar Esta Noche, said that there had been other times when he'd awoken to find spray-painting on the bar's walls but never something implying hateful sentiment.

Nevertheless, instead of calling the police to report it as a possible hate crime, López decided to quickly paint over the swastikas in an apparent attempt not to raise too much attention and to avoid a police visit.

“It's a lot of problems with police," López said to the KTVU reporter, "they have many paperwork and everything".

Armando Hernandez, of the Instituto Familiar de La Raza, indicated another reason why the manager might have thought twice about drawing police attention to the bar in these days of increasing xenophobic sentiment in this country.  "That it happened in a place that attracts Latino immigrants, gay identified individuals, transgender individuals should be a big concern," he said.

The article doesn't mention how KTVU got wind of the graffiti so I assume a viewer called it in.  Facing the media attention, the two co-owners of the bar say that they might file a report after all after sitting down with the manager and discussing the incident.  They also say they will definitely report any follow-up incidents if they happen.

Police tell the channel that the incident should have been reported but that there might be a problem investigating the case since the actual offensive symbols were painted over.

[h/t for this post: Towleroad, Rod2.0]

How Much Is Too Much?

As you all probably know by now (especially if you actually read my posts), I have been hard at work with about 25 other middle grade writers creating a group blog about MG books.

We are in the final stages and we are getting things ready for our official launch (I'm still not certain of the date, but I'll announce here as soon as I know), and one of the jobs I'm doing is getting our posting schedule figured out.

So, I was wondering what people thought about how often a blog is updated. Do you like to see new content every day? Every other day? Once a week? Once a month?

How many posts per week or month do you think is too much?

Or can there ever be too much of a good thing?

Shutter Island (2010)

Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010)

“Which would be worst, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?” asked Teddy Daniels (Leonardo di Caprio) to Chuck (Mark Ruffalo), before leaving his partner befuddled by his rhetorical remark, the understated wisdom of which seems to betray the belief that would lead to Teddy’s undisclosed but obvious fate. These last words that Teddy imparted to Chuck, when read alongside the various conversations, dialogues, and revelations that happened prior, implores for a discourse on Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island that goes beyond both the director’s utilization of his undisputed mastery over the film language or the narrative twists and conceits that have been employed.

It is inescapable in this post-Sixth Sense film-going culture that Shutter Island would be met with assessments based primarily on how the reveal has been successfully or unsuccessfully pulled off. Admittedly, there’s some sort of pleasure to be derived in participating in a cinematic mind game that has been carefully laid out to leave you guessing until the end. However, to situate Shutter Island in the same level as all those films that primarily rely on their twists for novelty is to oversimplify the seductive complexities of Scorsese’s film.

Indeed, Shutter Island is a seductive film. Robert Richardson’s cinematography here --- the sun-drenched exteriors of the Ashecliff, the dimly-lit interiors of its Civil War fort-turned-mental facility, the surreal hues of Teddy’s recurring dreams and hallucinations --- is simply exquisite. While no original music was composed for the film, Robbie Robertson makes use of existing music --- anything from Gustav Mahler to John Cage --- to weirdly apt consequences, creating feelings of fear or forthcoming angst out of the beautiful images that Richardson has conjured for Scorsese. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker creates magic by weaving together these scenes to result in a strangely grandiose and operatic explicitly genre effort, and by cutting sequences, from something as unnoticeable as that scene where Chuck gives one of the patients being interviewed a glass of water cutting quickly to POV shot of the patient drinking from an invisible glass and then cutting back to the medium shot as if nothing suspicious has happened, to compound the cinematic sleight-of hand.

Simply put, Shutter Island is one glorious picture. As orchestrated by Scorsese and his immense understanding of film and film history, Shutter Island transcends the limitations of its narrative and its genre, rightfully earning its place in that prestigious line-up of films also known as Scorsese’s filmography

However, Scorsese does not only make technically proficient films. From Mean Streets (1973) to The Departed (2006), Scorsese, notwithstanding the drastically increasing budgets and their appurtenant studio interference, has never failed to imbibe his films with at least a modicum of discourse on the relationship of violence or sexuality (but mostly, violence) with humanity. Scorsese never inhibited himself in portraying violence as it should be. Unlike the multitude of directors who have made a niche in equating violence with entertainment, Scorsese does more with violence than utilize it as the end-all of his filmmaking. What I believe he does in his films is to impart a reality that our very existence as human beings has provided for us a need for violence. Violence is what situates us with nature; on the other hand, it is our capacity to control, convert or countenance violence is what differentiates us from nature. Scorsese, through his films, has explored the rudiments of man’s affair with violence, situating it within societal norms, moral codes, religious tenets, historical perspectives and cultural situations, and in turn. His films tend to push forward a calculated discourse on the functions of these man-made concepts in the midst of an uncontrollably natural urge for bloodshed.

Shutter Island, unlike Scorsese’s earlier films where the violent man is hindered by the requirements and expectations of society to the point of extinguishing it completely or rationalizing it, has violence up front and center. From the film’s opening, where booming horns accompany Teddy, first seen suffering from seasickness in the ferry’s lavatory, as he and Chuck make their way to Shutter Island, Scorsese already raises expectations of things to come, with the main character on the verge of exploding, especially with the host of events (uncooperative employees of the mental institute; the storm whether its gravity is merely an outward realization of Teddy’s internal turmoil or real; his recurring dreams and hallucinations) that only foretell fate’s invitation to react wantonly.

Thus, most of the film seems to be an awkward affair for Teddy as he becomes more and more alienated, only to be left guarded from turning uncontrollably violent by the badge and duty he possesses and the guilt he bears. Preventing Teddy from turning into a monster are the defenses he has concocted. Absent them, he is naked to his history and its repercussions, making him volatile to his humanity’s primal capabilities to destroy and fully acknowledging, comprehending and allowing them, and worse, to eliminate guilt, the element that functions as a reminder of permanent moral codes, altogether.

In a film that exploits humanity devoid of sanity and rationality, Teddy’s last statement is a refreshing moment of clear reason. It also situates the unbridled manifestations of man’s capacity for violence within the context of a revived but broken morality. Knowing fully well the extent of our capacity to be monsters, it seems that these emotions and memories which would eventually fuel our innate violent selves are nothing more than disposable components in humanity’s quixotic quest to live a life free of pain and guilt. As it seems, sanity is as much a curse as insanity has equated itself to innocence.

Puerto Rican singer Lisa M. comes out

UPDATE: I got to interview Lisa in September of 2011. For the English version of the interview click here. For the Spanish version click here.

When Lisa M. Marrero updated her Facebook status on Monday at 3pm with the words "IM GAYYY!" I'm not sure what her followers thought. Maybe that it was a joke. Twelve minutes later, Marrero once again updated her Facebook status with the words "IM GAY." The news, as it were, were first aired by the hosts of a morning radio show and eventually reached print media when Primera Hora ran an article yesterday. By then dozens of supportive messages had been left after each status update

Fans of Marrero know her as Lisa M.

Internationally, her most recognizable hit is probably her 1992 version of El General's "Tu Pum Pum" [An aside: If you click on that link you will see an interview following her performance of the song. At the 2:53 mark, Lisa M. and the interviewer start joking about the singer Cheyenne being Lisa M.'s boyfriend. The interviewer insists she wants Cheyenne all for herself to which Lisa M. replies "I'll give you Ricky Martin, I'll loan him to you". LOL].  

People en Español also picked up on the story today, but nobody seems to have been able to reach her for official comment yet.  What's striking to me is that she chose Facebook to come out.  Not some magazine or newspaper. Facebook. It speaks to the fact that long-closeted gay and lesbian stars like Ricky Martin and Rita Indiana are forgoing the usual paths to coming out and doing it on their own terms. Cut the intermediaries, press handlers or publicists.

On Wednesday, she acknowledged her fans' supportive messages by writing the following (and I have tried to translate the statement literally and save it's flavor):

I want to give thanks to everyone for your support and for accepting me just as I am, my family always have loved me as I am they have given me all the love in the world what happens is that us artists and specially in our Latino market where we are indebted to a certain image before the public they keep us from our freedom to love.

Lisa M., who says in her Facebook page that she lives in Miami, Florida, also told her fans that she is currently in Spain working on new music.

Related:

• Lisa M.'s Facebook page here
• Puerto Rican singer Lisa M. comes out lesbian on Facebook: "IM GAAYYYY!" (Autostraddle)

Previously:

• Rita Indiana comes out (March 23, 2010)
• Ricky Martin comes out (March 29, 2010)
• Guest post: Why Ricky Martin Matters (March 30, 2010)

Anyway, as I promised, something newer and hot from Lisa M., here is the video for "Hey Ladies"...

Paano Ko Sasabihin? (2009)

Paano Ko Sasabihin? (Richard Legaspi, 2009)

English Title: How Do I Tell You?

For Ehryl (Erich Gonzalez), a young TV soap writer, one of the strange pleasures of her otherwise humdrum daily commute from home to work is the opportunity to glance upon a handsome co-commuter who seems to have only one down side - he is deaf-mute. Lucky for her, because her younger brother is also a deaf-mute, she has become very adept in communicating in sign language. When the opportunity presented itself for her to get to know the guy who she believes is the mysterious man from her recurring dreams, she decides to pretend to be a deaf-mute, in the belief that the innocent deceit would facilitate what she wished was a blossoming relationship.

Mike (Enchong Dee), the commuter who Ehryl believes to be deaf-mute as well as the man in her recurring dream, as it turns out, can both hear and talk normally. He is a teacher in a special school for deaf-mute children. Believing that Ehryl is deaf-mute, he resolves to pretend to be deaf-mute. As their misrepresentations mature to become lies that are too complicated that they can only threaten the feelings that have slowly and surely developed between the two of them, they become entangled in a shared fear of being found out and eventually losing each other.

The love story is so light, it tends to dissipate in the middle of everything that is happening in Richard Legaspi’s Paano Ko Sasabihin? (How Do I Tell You?). After all, the love story’s conceit - the mismatched deceit that left what should have been a blooming romance in the throngs of uncertainty - feels more like a product of an afterthought than an actual dilemma. Legaspi, probably knowing the slightness of the romance he concocted, provides side-characters and side-stories that while inconsequential enough to be regarded as sources of drama or humor or be ignored completely, are delectable diversions that accentuate the story, creating for the purposes of enlarging the modest love story a setting that houses other tales of unrequited passions.

As a result, Paano Ko Sasabihin? feels more than just the silly romance between Ehryl and Mike. It is also a film about Ehryl’s brother whose sincere love poems are unappreciated by the girl he adores. It is also a film about Mike’s student who has already lost her sense of hearing and is defenseless to the rapid loss of her sense of sight. It is also a film about the lonely taxi driver who unknowingly bares his secret love to the two passengers he thought could not hear him. As it stands, the film is more painful than it is sweet. It sufficiently basks in both the joys and the necessary pains of falling in love.

Paano Ko Sasabihin? is a pretty, pretty film. Cinematographer Ogi Sugatan bathes the interiors of train stations, train cabins, and other locations with such luscious lighting, converting what essentially are places that have become synonymous with the dehumanized workforce into locations that are potent with romantic possibilities. In fact, the film has made the normally uncomfortable situation of being squeezed in the middle of a cramped and crowded train cabin into a climactic plot point in the romance, with only facial reactions and minute gestures as provisions for subtly heightened drama. While what feels like is an overly zealous editing style mars the narrative with questionable cuts and fades, it nonetheless showcases Legaspi’s attempt at telling his story outside the conventions of a restrictively capitalist mainstream, which I don’t doubt would be fawning over this little film with its promise of developing a love team for its up-and-coming leads.

That said, Paano Ko Sasabihin? breathes with an understated but earnest understanding of how love can be an illogical obsession, converting full functional adults into victims and victimizers whose only goal is to acquit themselves of the abject loneliness of a guarded work-a-day existence. It neither aspires for an impossible fairy tale ending nor settles for grim realism. It remains floating in mid-air, deliciously satisfied with having relayed the minute delights, the fears, and the pangs of right love imprisoned in wrong circumstances.

(Cross-published on Twitch)

Gutigutz - preview 2

Mais fotos.
Uma página que estou produzindo agora e outra que já está pronta faz um tempão.
Fazendo balões direto na arte para ir mais rápido.

sant jordi

Si mañana estáis en Barcelona, no podéis faltar.

Tendré 2 paradas donde venderé rosas rojas en ramillete (decoradas sin celofán y con puntillas!), preparadas por mí. Y también tendré expuestas algunas de mis piezas (todas con una rosa), por si algún enamorado se anima :)

Mis paradas estarán en Passeig de Gràcia, 83 (justo delante de la tienda de Hugo Boss entre C/Mallorca y C/Provença) y en C/Aragó, 257 (al ladito de la Fundació Tàpies, entre Passeig de Gràcia y Rambla Catalunya.)

Las rosas estarán numeradas, y entre todas las vendidas sortearé una joya. :)

Espero que no diluvie, como dicen, y cuando disfrutéis de la diada con vuestra pareja, disimuladamente la llevéis hasta mi puestecito, como quien no quiere la cosa. ;)

Y si queréis simplemente pasar y saludarme, también será un placer.

;)

Hasta mañana!!!