Oooooh, I'm scared!!! (tough ballet dancers)

Sorry, but after living in the 'hood, this photo absolutely cracks me up. I love Jerome Robbins, the NYC Ballet, and West Side Story, but ... well, picture=1000 words:

Ballet dancers hangin' tough!

NYC Ballet celebrates Jerome Robbins

Photo courtesy of NYC Ballet

Hahaha! Gotta love San Francisco ....

Here is a mock-umentary called "Lesbianfilm." This cracked me up.
I love all the Castro locations!

Simple Joys/ more about Grandma

My Grandma, who always had an immaculate house, delicious food, and was busy ALL the time, would always say "I don't know why I'm so tired... I'm just so lazy!"

Somehow she felt she had to be working constantly, and having/wanting down-time made her a bad person. Ah, the good old Protestant Work Ethic! I wish Grandma had been able to give herself a break once in a while.

I inherited that idea too. It took me years to realize it's ok to have a lazy day, and I'd still be a worthwhile and valuable person. Since I am technically unemployed, I can practice this concept a lot.

Even though she was hard on herself, Grandma always take the time to look at a blossom, or a pretty plate or enjoy a delicious meal. Following her lead, the simplest things have brought me great joy (see list below).

1. waking up in the morning (after post-Philippines jet-lag, I don't take that for granted anymore)
2. writing random fragments of songs ... none are finished yet. Oh well.
3. painting little sketches and writing accompanying poems
4. lighting a cigarette with a lighter, rather than matches. Somehow it's better. I'm also really enjoying smoking instead of judging myself for it.
   
5. food! God, I love food so much. I made a spicy lentil soup, a rice salad yesterday. Mmmm!
   
6. looking at random things on youtube.com (yesterday it was Travis Tritt's trilogy of melodramatic videos where he plays a Vietnam veteran named Mac Singleton). I'm also watching the Oprah on-line course "A New Earth" - wow!
7. cleaning my house, and rearranging the furniture and art on the walls. A mopped floor is so delightful.
   
8. going to interviews and seeing the inside of cool buildings. I also like when the hot doormen flirt with us ladies- it's SO sexy New York!
   
9. speaking of sexy, seeing pictures of Robert Downey Jr. on my way to interviews. He's in the upcoming blockbuster - Ironman - and I just think he is one fine man, and an incredible talent.Thanks to Slashfilm.com for this photo

Phone calls 25 cents again?

I went to a payphone the other day expecting that I needed to have brought the mint along with me. Instead, I found that the phone calls are only a quarter! It's one piece of good news I hadn't expected.

The best news is that Travis Tritt's song, "Here's a quarter (call someone who cares)" is no longer anachronistic.


Gotta love Travis.

Travis Tritt and Patty Loveless

After my blog yesterday about Travis Tritt, I watched a program on PBS about a dance troupe that used Patty Loveless songs for some new choreography.

Travis Tritt and Patty Loveless often sing together, and they are both some of my favorites. They tightrope on that fine line between old-time country and country rock. They keep the great bluegrass harmonies, and connection to lyrics, and often use fiddle and honky tonk piano.

Anyway, I thought I'd dedicate a blog to them. Four words for those reading on: DON'T JUDGE THE MULLETS!!

Travis Tritt
One of my favorite Travis songs is "I'm gonna be somebody (someday)" When I used to live out by the beach in San Francisco, I would go running and listen to this song, and it inspired me to keep working on music. I also enjoyed this simpler acoustic version.

"It's a great day to be alive" - It always makes my day a little better when I hear it.

Here's another live performance: Corn don't grow

Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless has had a great and varied career, bridging the gap between bluegrass and new country. She's a stellar talent, and is in demand as a harmony guest vocalist Her vocals pretty much made Vince Gill's "When I call your name" the classic it is (remember, no judging the mullet!):



A track from one of her early albums "You'll never leave Harlan alive," which was also recorded by Brad Paisley is really great. Here is a live performance by Patty:


In the tradition of Johnny and June ("Ring of Fire") - here are Patty and Travis singing "Out of control raging fire."



Patty doesn't always do strictly bluegrass. She's had quite a few new country hits. As a little bit of trivia, her hit "Blame it on your heart" was chosen by River Phoenix in his last movie "That thing called love"....

Movin' on up

I haven't thought about it much, but elevators are a way of life in New York.
Today on the New Yorker web site, I read one of the best articles I've seen in a long time ...


Up and Then Down
The lives of elevators.
by Nick Paumgarten

Pope Benedict Solves Mystery of Pedophile Priests... Sort of - Editorial by Robert Weitzel

Pope Benedict Solves Mystery of Pedophile Priests... Sort of

Editorial
By Robert Weitzel



Amen!

cat and crow ....

Clergy Sex Abuse Victims Protest ...

From NY1:

Papal Visit 2008: Clergy Sex Abuse Victims Protest For More Legal Punishment Of Abusers
April 18, 2008


Clergy sex abuse victims gathered outside St. Patrick's Cathedral Friday, warning Catholics to stay vigilant about reporting abuse cases.

Representatives from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is not over.

They feared Thursday's meeting between victims and the Pope will give Catholics a false sense of security.

"We're here today to implore the pope to force bishops here in the US to send any priest who has abused a child to law enforcement and to make sure that any bishop who covers up for sexual abuse is reprimand and removed," said Joelle Casteix, regional director of SNAP Southwest.

The group called the Pope's recognition of the abuse a step forward, but said more needs to be done.

"We think yesterday's meeting with victims and the Pope gives a green light to Catholics in the United States and around the world to start coming forward and reporting crimes against children,” said Peter Isely, a SNAP National Board member. “Anything that they know about theses crimes. We think it’s letting Catholics know that their pope is now telling them, -this is real."

SNAP also suggests their members speak at church gatherings to share tips and signs to keep children from being abused.

The Papal Visit in NYC

Let's just say that I feel like I'm back in the Philippines (ie: a Catholic country)... but I'm not. I'm in New York City.

Irreverent New York - which stops at nothing - has taken more moments to slow down for Pope Benedict's visit than it has for anything else since I've moved here. TV stations are offering round-the-clock coverage about everything from the Pope's birthday cake, his fancy red shoes, the preparations by the Jewish community, or the deaf choir performing for him. People are walking around with Pope t-shirts.

Right now I am watching the live coverage of the Kelly Clarkson concert at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers. Apparently the powers-that-be are trying to make Catholicism more hip and cool, and increase seminary enrollment.

I've seen several news anchors come close to tears describing the joyous feelings in their hearts, how spiritual the atmosphere is, or how moved they are by the importance of the occasion. Several monks and nuns have been interviewed about the profound experiences they've had seeing the Pope drive by in the Pope-mobile.

My friends and heroes at SNAP have appeared on TV also, offering an alternate view on the Pope's visit. They also helped arrange the meeting the Pope had with 5 victims of clergy abuse from Boston.

My opinion? While I am glad the Pope finally acknowledged the sexual abuse in his church, it was too little, too late. So many people have suffered already, and a culture of abuse doesn't disappear overnight. I really hope that the issues continues to be acknowledged because a few days of excitement and fun in New York don't erase centuries of abuse and betrayal, and a continued blind eye to abuse among the leadership. The problem of clergy taking advantage of their power is something that needs to be dealt with on a systemic level over a long period of time... by EVERY Faith!

We need to protect the children. I'm just sayin'.

The Haight/ blog recommendation

I stumbled upon a fantastic blog BLOG.PETAFLOP.DE.

Some German tourists took 119 days to travel across the US. They took pictures of some of my favorite places. It was a little weird because so many pictures were of places I had been. They even have a pictures of my house in San Francisco!!
On Day 70 they went to my old 'hood - the Haight Ashbury. The photos they took really captured what it's like to live there.

On days 112-115 they are in New York City, and they visited lots of my favorite haunts there as well.

I'm still scrolling through their blog. They've been to many of the most magical places in the U.S. It was almost as if I could just borrow their photo album as my own.
I feel like they took all the pictures I wish I had taken during my travels... thank you PETAFLOP!

Harlem

Gentrification is a big issue here in Harlem. Columbia University is snatching up property all over, and kicking out the residents (including me, soon) and changing the dynamic of this area. It's neo-colonialism in a way. Don't get me wrong, there are good parts of gentrification (eg: better grocery stores, safer streets, etc.), but there are also many people, cultures and industries that are dis-placed in that kind of take-over of a neighborhood. I saw this happen in San Francisco as well during the dot com era.

Olga Bloom's advice to "Be where you are" is an important piece of wisdom. I remember my first trip to New York in 1998; I took a bus through Harlem, and I was petrified. It would have been easy to move here and live in my own bubble. Instead I embraced living here and, looking back, I can't believe how far I've come. Being here has changed me forever.

Because of this neighborhood, I'm not the overly-sensitive California girl I was a year ago. I have learned to be strong, resilient and tough. I have learned to rely on my own sense of self, rather than external validation, to become self-sufficient and decisive, to be more street-wise and open minded, and to really assess people and be discerning about my choices. Being a minority, which I am here, is something that has certainly expanded my perspective on the human experience. Harlem is definitely responsible for the upgraded Greta 3.0.

Along the way, I've watched myself start listening to a lot more hip hop and R&B, and my sense of fashion is more influenced by the streets than by magazines. Below are some popular songs here in Harlem. Both include the word - "Shorty" which I had to ask someone local what it meant (I'm a nerd, what can I say!?)

1. shorty

affectionate term for a girlfriend, attractive female or concubine.

Chris Brown performing "With You" Live



Jaheim singing "Looking for Love" (lame video, cool song)

Alec Mapa

I am partial to black sitcoms...In particular I love The Parkers, Girlfriends and Half and Half. As I've mentioned on this blog, Mo'Nique is one of my favorite actors. One of the other characters that ALWAYS makes me laugh is Alec Mapa's role on Half and Half. Mapa is a Filipino American from San Francisco (like me - haha!) and has been in show biz for many years as a comedian, actor and writer.

One of his re-curring roles is on Desperate Housewives. Last year there was a controversy when Teri Hatcher's character makes a derisive remark about Filipino medical schools (remember my blog about medical tourism?)

Alec Mapa had an excellent and lengthy interview in the Philippine Inquirer, and makes some great points about casting of medical dramas on US television. Click on the link below for the full article.

Alec Mapa puts hot issue in Pinoy perspective

By Ruben V. Nepales
Inquirer
First Posted 00:18am (Mla time) 10/07/2007

LOS ANGELES—While we are energized by the lively discussion, especially in cyberspace, of the “Desperate Housewives” issue, let us pose this question: Why are there no Filipino characters in hospital drama TV shows?

As we wrote in our blog, in many US hospitals, you can’t turn a corner without bumping into a Filipino healthcare professional — doctor, nurse, therapist, nurse aide and so on. So have you, like me, wondered why there are no Pinoy characters in the main cast of these hospital drama shows? And to think there are dozens of these shows on American television.

It makes us think every time we see a new billboard or poster in LA announcing a new hospital drama. Where is the actor representing the ubiquitous Filipino doctor or nurse in the picture of the smiling cast dressed in scrubs?

The question reflects a larger issue. True, there are more actors (we’re using the term to denote thespians of both sexes, as is fashionable these days) of Asian and other racial make-up working on American TV shows these days. But we are still a long way from seeing an accurate representation of the diversity of the US population on the small screen.

We asked Alec Mapa, one of the few Filipino-American actors able to find regular work in US television, some questions on this matter. In our column last Friday, we reported that Alec has a recurring guest role as Vern (best friend of Gabrielle, Eva Longoria’s character) on “Desperate Housewives.” He shared his views on the whole brouhaha over the remark made by Teri Hatcher’s character on Philippine medical schools. See Full Article on Inquirer Web site

More New York fun ....

Ok, so my job search has actually become fun. New York is still so exciting and beautiful to me. I feel so lucky that I get to live here. It's like a big playground. I have been spending a lot of time around Grand Central Station, going to a variety of interviews. Grand Central Station has all sorts of corridors and, until this week, I had no idea how many stores are in the station. I've been able to explore more and find short-cuts to different side streets.

Closer to home, I went to the Hungarian Pastry Shop at 111th and Amsterdam last weekend. I met my friend Femi who I hadn't seen since high school. I love meeting friends from my past who have blossomed into beautiful women. We had a great time. I found the Japanese grocery store on Broadway, and bought some umeboshi plums way cheaper than at the health food stores.

Thanks to my friend Jeff (he was my MTA driver the first week I arrived in NYC), I've also been venturing to a lot of parts of Harlem I hadn't known about before. We went to the St. Nick's Jazz Club and the Magic Johnson theater on 125th. I feel like I'm really getting to know my own neighborhood much better. It's actually effecting my taste in music as well. Harlem is really amazing and tough.

Last night I saw a terrific concert at Barge Music. I LOVE that place! It feels, to me, like what a church should be - sacred and beautiful and nurturing. Olga Bloom, the founder of Barge Music, always sits in the back and greets the audience members. Every time I meet Olga, she has some words of wisdom. Last time it was "profundity is not just for the rich! Beauty is for everyone. We must be where we are."

[As a logistical aside: Ladies - if you take the A train to the Barge, make sure you wear comfortable shoes for your walk to and from the concert, and when you go up and down the subway stairs, make sure you hold your skirt down because the wind tunnel can create an embarrassing show for other passengers. If you get sea sick, take some dramamine before you arrive.]

In other news, I have several friends from California coming to visit this next month. YAY! It's amazing how much my homesickness has subsided. I am really glad that I suffered through the pain, and have embraced my NYC life. It's amazing.

The big comeback .....? (NKOTB)

Yesterday I had a job interview at the Rockefeller Center. The meeting was periodically interrupted by cheering sounds. The woman interviewing me said "Oh, it's just the Today Show" (I'm still secretly thinking "wow! I'm in New York.")

Since we were on the 20th floor, it wasn't that loud, but she told me that the crazy screaming mobs that appeared for the "New Kids on the Block" comeback appearance were definitely on a different scale.



I admit, I was a little intrigued by the big comeback. I lived through the New Kids craze, so I did a little youtube search and found this:



I guess they have been broken up for 15 years, and are returning. It probably took that many years for everyone to get their laughs and giggles out about the New Kids hysteria. Nostalgia is a powerful force. I personally don't think time has made their work more meaningful, and I still say that the New Kids were talented, but suffered from poor taste:



Still, I know that becoming an artist is a long process. The individual members of the group have done some interesting things (most notably Donnie Wahlberg who I recently saw in some episodes of "The Killing Point") and perhaps their upcoming efforts will reflect some ownership of their own artistry.

Sleep/ Time/ National self esteem

O Sleep, why dost thou leave me?
Why they visionary Joys remove?
O Sleep again deceive me,
To my Arms restore my wand'ring Love.
From Semele by G.F. Handel

In college one of my professors talked about this aria (above) a lot, and how lack of sleep can cause someone to go mad. While I've suffered occasionally with sleepless nights, jet lag from the Philippines was frightening. Last week I felt like I went a little crazy. My sleep patterns were painfully erratic. The personal anxiety this created, and the transitional nature of my life in general, contributed to the absence of new blog postings.

But I'm back!!! It seems that I went through a necessary recovery period, and now everything is coming together. Last week I worked on my job search, and some coincidences and sychronicities occurred that blew my mind. It's amazing how those kind of things really tell you that you're in the right place at the right time. I don't know that they are necessarily meaningful in themselves, but still pretty cool.

My experience in the Philippines feels so far away - both in time and distance. When I open my fridge to find dried mangoes and polveron, I am reminded of the fact that I actually spent a whole month there. This morning Jeff had an early bus to a union rally in Albany, so I woke up too and had some Hopia Mongo (Ube flavor) for breakfast with coffee. I am hooked on the Filipino American treats!! A trip to Queens to pick up certain food items is definitely in my future.

My friend Tita sent me the article (below) from the Manila Times which critiques the way that Philippine history is taught (or, rather, not taught) in the Philippines.

In Manila, I found that people were usually surprised that I was interested in the history and culture. Some people actually asked me "why would you come here? What's so interesting about this place?" Can you imagine anyone in Washington DC asking that question??!! But we Americans err on the side of arrogance. Maybe we can contribute some of our inflated sense of ourselves to the Philippine Republic, and we can both be appropriately proud of our cultures.

==============================================


What’s wrong with the study and teaching of Philippine history?
The Manila Times
Dr. Serafin D. Quiason and Prof. Fe B. Mangahas

AS in all former colonies in Asia, the history about the Filipino was written by the Spaniards and then by the Americans, resulting in the tragic alteration of the Filipino character and soul. To paraphrase Dr. Jose Rizal, the Filipino was reduced to a groveling, clinging and fawning creature without a sense of community.

For centuries our people have grievously suffered from racial slurs that our students must know about. The Spaniards called our people “Indios” and the friars often referred to them as chongos, or monkeys. Only through the correct teaching of Philippine history can we rectify these demeaning racial stereotypes.

With the advent of the Norte Americanos, the English writer Rudyard Kipling in his “White Man’s Burden” warned the new masters to be cautious in dealing with their new wards because “they are half-devil and half-child.” Up to the 1980s, James Fallows wrote that the Filipino people were victims of a “damaged culture.” What have our educators and historians done to redress these indictments of contemporary Filipinos?

In the postwar period, Philippine history at the university level was taught as a solid subject, but the textbooks remained written from the colonizers’ point of view. Only Teodoro Agoncillo became a staunch proponent of rewriting Philippine history from the Filipino viewpoint. He came out with a nationalist-oriented textbook entitled The History of the Filipino People. Renato Constantino followed with The Past Revisited. On the high-school level, commercialized Philippine history books were prescribed by the Bureau of Education.

The sad plight of the study and teaching of history continued up to the seventies and eighties when teachers recruited to teach history in high schools included physical education and home economics teachers. In today’s world, our educational planners have come out with a strange concoction in the form of a collected set of subjects called Makabayan, which is a misnorner.

Lamentably, Makabayan is the antithesis of patriotism, nationalism and one’s sense of national identity. Although the package is well intentioned, Makabayan presents Filipino culture and history in a hodgepodge fashion, void of the vital element of continuity in the study of our past.

ln the more highly industrialized countries in the West, such as Great Britain and the United States, the teaching of English history covers four years of the student’s life in college while in the US, irrespective of the student’s major or field, he or she is required to take four semesters of American history.

In the Philippines history merits one semester’s work. Just recently the University of the Philippines reduced Philippine history to an optional subject, among other social-science subjects. What a disservice to the young generation and to our students!

Philippine history is a potential tool to instill the spirit of nationalism and patriotism, especially at a time of political disunity and sluggish economic growth. What we need, to quote the economist Emmanuel Q. Yap, is “know the historical truth about what really happened to our country in how we have been exploited, divided and ruled and turned one against each other to the point of hating and killing each other for many generations.”

This echoes Rizal’s earlier observation: “In order to read the destiny of the people, it is necessary to open the book of their past.” But what sort of books shall our students open in the Makabayan class if these are bristling with half-truths and downright lies?

As a people we cannot develop or advance unless we have a clear image of ourselves, an honest understanding of our past and a collective will to resist foreign dictation and to rely on our capacity and resources to bring about social justice, peace and prosperity in our land.

——————————————————————————–

Dr. Quiason is a member of the NHI Board and its former chairman.
Prof. Mangahas chairs the Department of History, St. Scholastica College.

New perspectives/ La Boheme, etc....

Every day in New York is like living in a great drama. It is full of action, suspense, romance and possibility. I finally feel like I am truly enjoying the city, rather than just scrambling to survive in it. Getting away for a while definitely gave me a new perspective and allowed me to slow myself down a little.

While I am different/slower, New York remains the same. The "New York minute" is still faster than everywhere else. I joined my friend - a bus driver- on his route from Harlem to midtown the other night. It was a fun tour of the city. I have been noticing how CLEAN New York seems after a month in the Philippines (It's all relative!!) The freedom to walk around and hop on public transportation is such a luxury.

I am starting to realize how much I actually accomplished last year, and how glad I am that I came here. I really have a life; a place to live, favorite places, friends, and colleagues. Getting to that point was really, really hard, but it has paid off. I know it will only keep on getting better. Taking advantage of New York's magic makes me feel so blessed.

Today I got a call for free opera tickets. We hopped in a cab, and went to see La Bohème at the Met, starring Angela Gheorgiou and Ramón Vargas. It was the Franco Zeffirelli production. Of course it was FANTASTIC. Afterwards my friend chuckled and said "Greta, it's like your apartment!" It's true. I'm boho. Just call me Mimi!

Video on Jeepneys

Colorful adventures

Food

Those who know me will agree that my adventurous spirit is not reflected in my picky eating habits. In the Philippines I tried to cook my own food, or eat simple things where I knew what the ingredients were. Part of my resistance to local cuisine was not knowing what the names of the different dishes. Homecooked food that I had at people's homes were the best things I had. There is nothing like a Filipino family feast!

After 4 weeks, and maybe I just got malnourished, I decided for my last few day in Quezon City, I would try certain Filipino food I had resisted. Thanks to Tita, who explained what it was I was eating, I tried Tortang Talong, Tapsilog, Bibingka, several different Ube creations including Hopia Mongo (Ube - a purple yam - is my new favorite food!)

Mangoes will always be held to a higher standard now. I have never tasted anything so delicious. And the Green mango salad ...mmmmm! As Pasalubong I brought back Polvoron, dried mangoes, durian candies, hopia mongo, Adobo flavored cracker nuts. I was proud of all the things that I tried, and am excited to share.


Family

In the Philippines, families are always together. My neighbors at the condo (two cousins- Al and Rodney), for instance, lived in the same sized room as I did. Instead of beds, they used foam mattresses that went against the wall during the day.

During the weekends their wives would sometimes come from the province, often there were at least 2 (sometimes more) kids around, a couple of other cousins would stay, their dog, etc. I never was sure who was actually sleeping there, but their place was always clean and orderly and had delicious food. Al and Rodney were the caretakers of several units in the building, and were so friendly and nice. If I needed a can opened, or some extra drinking water, they were always happy to help. Rodney's kids were so fun! Everytime they heard me leave or enter my room, they ran out to say hello and tell me how old they were (in case I forgot...I didn't, they were 6 and 8). I will miss them.

Americans have such a different idea of family, privacy, space, etc... I was really ok with being alone, and I think for some people I met, it was quite unthinkable. Two questions I was always asked "How old are you, ma'am?" and "Are you married ma'am?"

Since I am pretty old to be unmarried, I explained that I wanted to have my own life first and that being single was my choice. Most people understood this, especially since there is no divorce in the Philippines. A lot of people get married and remain in difficult situations. Not that I believe that divorce is the answer to life's problems, but if a relationship is truly over, imagine how hard it is to always, eternally be married to someone! One man I met on the plane told me about his separation from his wife, and it totally broke my heart.


Flight

So, I am finally back in New York. The day I left I had to be at the airport at 330 am, so I didn't bother to sleep. In solidarity, my Filipino friends stayed up with me. We ate chichacorn and watched Pirates of the Carribean 3.

Ocha and Tita drove me to Ninoy Aquino airport, which launched my 30 hours or so of travel.

In Hong Kong I had a lay-over where I thought I'd have a cigarette. The smoking lounge was an all time low of human experiences. There were several of the most enormous ashtrays you can imagine that were full of smoldering cigarette ash and butts, and about 10 men looking like lost souls. I went in and smoked half a cigarette, laughed at myself, put my cigarette out, and went back to the gate. It made me feel a little pathetic, but also gave me a little levity in my journey.

Though Cathay Pacific does a really good job of feeding its travelers, the seats are insanely uncomfortable. I watched the hours go by, and it felt like interminable hell. After six whole hours passed, I realized I still had 8 to go. Oy!

Well, luckily time always passes eventually even if it feels slow. If nothing else, I have a new incentive to make lots of money and fly first class next time.

I had an "embarrassed-to-be-American" moment at US Customs when the OFW girl in front of me was bringing home her Balikbayan box full of pasalubong. The asshole bureaucrat made some comment to her, and rolled his eyes when she said she had brought home candies and food (he probably sees hundreds of those kind of boxes daily. Chill out, dude!!). She had to have her box searched, but luckily she got through ok, and later I saw her at the curb and told her how disgusted I was with the officer. Searching boxes is one thing, but nasty comments are unnecessary.

Jeff was at JFK to pick me up. What a trooper! He drove me back home where my apartment is looking great. The subletters took good care of my things, and left me some fresh food in the fridge. Today I caught up with some of my friends on the phone, and went to Fairway.

Everything is gray here, but it feels like home. The jeepney statue that Imabelle gave me as a parting gift is sitting on my window sill to remind me of all that the color and friendship I experienced on the other side of the globe that will always be with me.