Waterfalls in NYC

I want to share to you a site about a Danish artist who brought his vision to reality by creating waterfalls in NYC – Lower Manhattan. Who would have thought waterfalls in Manhattan? It sounds inconceivable but with hard work anything is possible. The 4 waterfalls creations are just amazing and we are lucky enough to have these views from our office building in the Wall Street area. NYC Waterfalls

Blame Game

The blame game is designed to find excuses and displacements for own social capital and political interest. The mistakes made by both parties – Sulpicio Lines and the Philippine Coast Guard – plunges our maritime into a deepest trouble. The effort to blame one group over the other seems to confuse the real issue. Nobody seems to take full responsibility and accountability of the actions or inactions of the recent sea tragic causing hundreds of deaths. Sulpicio Lines is the epitome of negligence and mismanagement for years and is still in business. It is shameful that fellow Filipinos have to suffer serious consequences by flawed management and our system seems to disregard of human lives to their own capital interest.

No Excuses

Officials of Sulpicio Lines told a marine inquiry Wednesday that “an act of God” – not engine failure that capsized the MV Princess of the Stars during last week’s raging typhoon in the Philippines causing the death of at least hundreds of passengers and crews.

While the families of the victims mourn of their deaths and seek for answers, officials of Sulpicio Lines have been docking away for days. Today I am in total shock when I read the headline on the Philippine Inquirer (inquirer.net) – “An Act of God”.

Let me put this in perspective.

Maybe it was a force of nature that sank the vessel but it was not an act of God as claimed by those morons and imbeciles of Sulpicio Lines. This was not the first time that the shipping lines – that wonders me why they are still in business – had struck tragedy. If Sulpicio management and the Philippine coast guard have reason to believe that the shipping lines have a high threshold risk, why in the first place the vessel was out in the sea? Despite of the obvious rough seas, they chose to set sail instead of to wait until the weather would get better. Have they ever learned from their three previous disasters? These irrational behaviors from the management are inexcusable and appalling. They should be held liable and accountable of the death of hundreds innocent people. And the shipping lines should be grounded indefinitely.

Sofia's Birthday at Dampa Ortigas

Photo courtesy of Nelson

From B-movie To Softball

This weekend was very busy; on Saturday I went to see the M. Night Shyamalan’s new film The Happening with my brother and on Sunday we had a family-close-friends barbeque party at my brother’s house in East Brunswick, NJ to celebrate Father’s Day.

The Sixth Sense is the only movie that I think Shyamalan nailed it and is still hanging to the all time top 100 movies in the U.S. and Canada. The rest of his films are disappointing – The Village and Lady in the Water were so and so. The Signs was just okay. Now this time, The Happening is worst than a B-movie. The directions and acting are terrible. Mark Wahlberg is a fine actor but in this film he delivers B-movie acting. I strongly suggest saving your money from seeing this non-sense-fuzzy film. Not worth a dime.

Father’s Day was also a big event for the whole family and with some friends. My brother prepared lobsters, grilled steaks, skewered shrimps, pork barbeque, and lots of grilled veggies. In his backyard we played softball – kids vs. adults. Can you guess who won? It was a fun game but adults could not seem to catch up with the kids’ energy. I supposed their arthritis slowed them down to slide in to the base.

A Thrilling Combination

Mario Lopez plays Zach

I was a college student when my first Broadway experience happened in the late spring of 1982. I remember my first time watching A Chorus Line; I was seated in the rear mezzanine looking down on an empty stage. When the curtain rose up and the lights came up, the only visible were mirrors and dancers in rehearsal clothes trying new steps.

A Chorus Line, the longest running show, ran on Broadway from 1975 to 1990, has returned to Broadway in the fall of 2006 for another musical kicks. I saw it again last night and this time I seated in the center of front mezzanine. The choreography and the music, yet it feels nothing revival, are timeless state-of-the-art. It is like a vintage wine that it gets better as it aged. After 26 years, it’s still the best Broadway musical. This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical continues to be a singular sensation.

What makes A Chorus Line the best Broadway musical ever? For it is plain and simple. No gimmick. No special technical effects. It’s just an empty theatre. On a bare stage 17 dancers audition for a chance of a lifetime to dance. The sweats, the hours of training and the lives of every dancer, they put it all on the line to fulfill their dreams.

What I did for love? is the anthem of the show, led by Morales. In the movie version it was sung by Cassie in connection to her love with Zach which diminishes the meaning of this powerful song. Yet it always works on the stage where it belongs.

Vinyl is Back

Yesterday after work, my friend from college and I scoured the east and west village looking for vinyl record of Edith Piaff. We started from 4:30 PM and we finished around 10 PM which I blamed him for missing my favorite show on TV. We found some of Piaff’s classic records but didn’t find what my friend was looking for. Then I suggested to him that go to Amazon.com. They created a special vinyl-only section last fall that got me hooked for loving back my vinyl records. In fact I still have those LPs that I bought from Amsterdam, Lisbon, Athens, and Madrid. When my turntable broke I was so dismayed that I won’t be able to play those LPs. Fortunately, I found a company on the internet that manufactures and replicates 1950's turntable. I ordered one and shipped it to my townhouse in the Philippines as well as those LPs. So when I’m in Manila, I always enjoy playing and listening those LPs. I'm not being nostalgic but I feel it has a better sound. Those i-pods where you can download thousands of music may spin you in mainstream, but there’s nothing like the sound of a vinyl record. Vinyl is back and I'm loving every groove.
Audio Critique

Not Again

As the price of gasoline per barrel soaring, we have another issue to deal with that keeps on rising. The scorching heat in the Northeast blames some outages in five boroughs of New York City. Yesterday’s high temperature in the city was not a record, but last night I feared there was another blackout when my air conditioner suddenly went out. Then it went back on after a minute. The last time we had blackout in our neighborhood was two years ago. That experience having no power for almost a week was unbearable. The food in the fridge and raw meats were spoiled. I had candle light to get around my apartment during the night. I spent every day eating out. And coming home from work was brutal.

The electric company has allocated billions of dollars to upgrade its cable. Yet the company could not explain what caused the outages where number of homes without electricity last night.

Evergreen

A dear and long time friend of mine had passed away unexpectedly on May 17th and as I promised to him I would be coming home for his funeral.

Thinking about the happy moments when he was alive and knowing that I would never see his smiles and those laugh lines on his face, it was difficult for me to get a glimpse of him lying in a coffin. The last time I saw him was in January and I want to remember him that way.

He was loved by his family, peers, friends, and even who knew him only for a short time were all there to pay their respects and show their love for him. Ronnie Cruz was an amazing and incredible person I had ever known. He was notoriously generous and his selflessness was unparalleled.

I will certainly miss him every time I come home to Manila.