south beach rubber necking

rubber necking, i love this term. shows you how far your head will turn when eye candy passes by. im getting neck pains from staring at these muscled types just walking along lincoln or lummus beach or ocean drive... enough talk.

old film, new technology

on the plane to miami, i was playing with my newest toy, (no i wasnt playing with myself!). got me an ipod touch, my upgrade from my 20G ipod photo bought 2yrs back. i didnt get an iphone BECAUSE 1) i didnt need a new phone 2) it needs to be 'hacked' or 'opened' to get it to work with our telcos here 3) i dont want a phone that reads 'handle with care' 4) i dont need to have all entertainment & communication needs in one gadget. i decided that i just needed a video AND a websurfing toy. SO i got the ipod touch.

i immediately downloaded an old film i have always wanted to watch "Brother Sun, Sister Moon". i remember visiting josh (mr doves) blog and viewing the u-tube there! thanks, josh! I finally have my copy! turns out my sister in ny has the dvd so i was able to easily rip it off.

so i easily passed the 2.5hr flight to miami away watching the film. still brought back some tears. i still felt moved and inspired by it, after all these years. (i last saw this in grade school! that was sooo many years back). funny how some images are retained, especially the ones tinged with sexuality (francis walking naked out of Assisi or one of his brothers staring lustfully at the ample breasts of a young mother). but by and large, the spirit of the movie remains. and this is certainly a classic Zeffirelli which i wouldnt mind watching over and over again. the other one is Jesus of Nazareth.

but i am going through hell adding more movies. like i had to download Handbrake to convert the dvd to ipod format. then when i downloaded some movies from other sources (in mpg format), i had to download another shareware ffmpegX which had quite complicated installation procedures for the Mac OS. Asus. so much trouble.

am i happy? you bet i am, especially with ipod touch because of the wifi internet access!

manhattan courtesies, latin passion

so like i'm comparing ny and miami. not totally fair. but hey, this is my blog.

one of the things i was taught by my sister is how courteous new yorkers are. they smile and say hello to each other. they hold the door for others. they say 'thank you' to the bus driver. totally new to us Filipinos to do that to complete strangers. its not because we are uncouth. i think it's simply our 'mahiyain' complex, something we share with other asians. unless we are properly introduced, we regard people as 'others'. and we keep to our own private spaces. perhaps also because of our colonial history. we were brainwashed to keep to ourselves and not speak out (look at what happen to jose, rizal that is. hehe). so it's a welcome surprise for me to actually communicate at this level with strangers. and they respond to it, not always warmly but it is certainly acknowledged!

miami south beach (the only area i know, haha) has a lot of latinos, particularly cuban. so you really feel that latin vibe around. (and curiously soooo many italian restaurants, too) the accent remains very thick. and i feel strong personalities all around. even as they serve you behind the counter, their voices are quite loud, enunciation is heavy. strong and assertive, and again that's a lot to handle for the mahiyaing Pinoy. Not necessarily combative, but just expressive. i guess its really latin passion, more than anything else. i like the way they proudly retain their cultural identity in the U.S. it also reminds me of my own sisters, who manage NOT to sound like americans when they speak in English. and i am proud of them for not super-assimilating the american culture.

bienvenida a miami

wow. so different from where i was. all warm and sunny. parang pinas pero mas maayos at malinis. and john was right! the hunks inside the clubs of new york are loitering all around here! as in! well, i guess they are all escaping the cold upper states! and boy do their flaunt their bodies here. massive yung iba sa kanila... steroid-driven, halata naman. pero talagang eye candy. will try to get some pics. nahihiya kasi ako kumuha! hahaha.

babylon ba eto?

this is babylon, as close to it, i guess. multi-level, two-in-one club. big place, ground level is the dance club. basement is the bar with its own atmosphere and music. went there quite early. place started filling up 1130pm (parang maynila). very mixed crowd. a lot less attitude than the ritz. a lot of older men. and older, fatter types. and a mix of races: african-american, east asian, south asian, latino, name it.

the attraction is really in the bar and its bartenders, and of course, the go-go boys. i was amazed to see really buffed, handsome bartenders wearing only... underwear. wow. as in, going around the bar in their skivvies, with their c**ks just hanging there. asus. ang sarap biglang hipuan. haha. i was already busog just ogling at them.

then by 1130pm, the go-go boys started occupying their platforms around the dance floor. they are dressed in their underwear or their trunks. 'boys' is a misnomer. these are men, big hunky men. just like this ad of theirs. wow. totoo palang may ganito dito. one was super gorgeous, pumped up like no tomorrow. rippling everywhere. women and the older gays couldnt help themselves. they kept on putting money, touching their privates, kissing their abs, their thighs, their butts. one had an enormous c**k, and he was wearing the skimpiest trunks. these are blue film types. i wouldnt be surprised if they are.

even the darker, more pop basement bar had a go-go boy. totally different ambiance there. just pop music. big bar in the middle.. lounging chairs in an area...

i had a nice time just ogling, seeing babylon for real. got asked to dance just once by a japanese tourist! not too many good looking patrons. more at the ritz.

MoMA dearest

i visited the Museum of Modern Art. I was just blown away with the collection they have, particularly of the impressionists. i am not much of an art fan, i confess. especially when it gets to be too abstract, i can hardly relate to it. but something about the impressionists appeal to my mundane aesthetic sense. and i truly am just speechless viewing for myself work of monet. i first encountered the artist's works in paris, at the musee d'orsay. even then i realized how different it is to actually see the art itself. i used to think that as long as there are pictures, i could already appreciate the art. how terribly wrong i was when i finally saw great art face-to-face.

and i felt it again today, viewing monet's huge mural - lilies. the feeling was just exquisite, viewing the entire panel, seeing the impressions of water, light, the flowers, the clouds. i was inside that painting. i was feeling the ripples on the pond. real yet unreal.

i just sat there, basking in this inner glow of peace. the idea is to take the panel and immerse yourself in it. get past the details and just be one with the art.