A Brazilian Hottie!

Make way for another Brazilian god, Bernardo Velasco!

Flip it, pass: bernardo

Thank You: Marcio del Nero (Photography), Revista Junior, Made In Brazil

Dont’ask, don’t tell

If not for a photo of a cute soldier, then I will not know more about Mr. Joseph Robinette Biden.  I think my memory is starting to lapse that I sometimes forget who he is , considering that I lived in Delaware area in the last quarter of 2008. Biden is a Democrat from Delaware, and the current US Vice President under the Obama Administration. He has been serving the US government as a Senator since 1973 with a proven track record. His numerous achievements will be tiresome for me to discuss, but, it is good to learn more about him and his stance on LGBT issues.

“I’ve been to Afghanistan, I’ve been to Iraq seven times, I’ve been in the Balkans, I’ve been in these foxholes with these kids, literally in bunkers with them. Let me tell you something, nobody asked anybody else whether they’re gay in those foxholes. Our allies — the British, the French, all our major allies — gays openly serve. I don’t know the last time an American soldier said to a backup from a Brit, ‘Hey, by the way, let me check. Are you gay? Are you straight?’ This is ridiculous.”
- Joe Biden

Below is a video during VP debate in 2008:

Sources: Wikipedia, LGBT for Obama, 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College Jun 3, 2007 , Youtube

My favorite blog (for now) in Pinoy blogosphere

It’s a fact! Pinoy blogs are all over the internet. When did this happen? What was i doing then? Where was I when they created the Blogosphere?These are the questions floating in my mind.

I know about blogs because I had one 5 years ago, but i never thought it reached this kind of proportion. I re-started blogging last month after I read my cousin’s blog but still, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I am currently discovering secrets in blog territories I never knew before and it has improve my knowledge about the blog universe.

Dahil choosy ako, pipili ako ng favorite ko, and of course excluded ang mga personal blogs ng triplets – bubbles, blossom and buttercup! kerihin nyo na sisters because you have no choice! ECHOS!

Ladies let’s welcome:

The Professional Heckler – Winner of Philippine Blog Awards for Best Entertainment 2008 and Best Humor 2009.

The Professional Heckler

This blog made me laugh so hard that I refuse to answer any calls  including calls from mother nature. My house mate was wondering why was I laughing continuously and loudly. He thought I was flippin’ out. More to his amazement when he found out that I was reading a Pinoy Blog. This blog aims to amuse everyone and specializes in making “fun” of political figures, government officials and celebrities. It’s  distinctly Pinoy humor in its highest form. I strongly recommend it!

Room mate:  kawawa naman sila!(politicians and celebs)

Blossom: dedma and care ko!

I  discovered The Professional Heckler while browsing blog sites yesterday and accidentally clicked  on a Word Press link. When I saw the picture of a beach on Gimme A Break, I thought, omg! it’s another travel blog. So, I did not read it! The tag line, The problem with political jokes is they get elected, caught my attention. But, the word political made me raise my eyebrows so high it made my scalp itch! I thought this will be another political column with pointless discussion of political ideologies and endless comparison and critiquing of political figures. I almost vomited just with the thought of politics. However, I’ll give it one last chance to convince me …I clicked the link to read About the Heckler.

Aayyy!!!  Keri na!

Sisters!!! Gwaping! gwaping si Heckler (Heckle o Hefner). Kahit di ko na basahin blog nya , winner na cya!!!

Bubbles: Sigurado kang picture nya yan?

Buttercup: The picture looks authentic! And he looks like an Authenthic Cuisine

The Professional Heckler

I was trying to behave, even restraining me on my chair. For official reasons, I need to complete reading his profile so i can defend him from my sisters’ scrutiny. My sisters are very critical of me and my choices, specially when it comes to boys  (echos again!). But, how he writes  his blog articles are commendable and very impressive. I admire his wit and candid humor including his vast interests, from Eraserheads, LA Lakers, Grand Slam Tennis to European Football Clubs – Manchester United and Real Madrid, even if he is wearing a red T-shirt with Portugal Football Federation logo. But, I hope he really shares his readers interests and not just wrote those words so they can identify something common with him. Need I say more? Choks na ba Bubbles?…keri!

As of press time, I just read Gimme a Break, Silicone Valley and some comments, which I think is enough to vote The Professional Heckler as my current favorite Pinoy blog. Why? Because, he made me smile.

I hope you continue blogging cause I will definitely keep reading! (familiar?)

p.s.kung di pa ma-impress ang mga sisters  ko eh tatalon din ako sa San Juanico Bridge tulad ni Tito Dante Varona.

LGBT advocacy soaring in Europe and Asia

“I will never understand those who proclaim love as the foundation of life, while denying so radically protection, understanding and affection to our neighbors, our friends, our relatives, our colleagues” ~ Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain

It’s just the beginning of April and LGBT advocates are winning their battles, and looks like they are taking the brighter path towards the vision of achieving equality and gay rights. Firstly, the highest court of Portugal have ruled in favor on the enactment of a bill for same-sex marriage. Secondly, Nepal will be the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage once the government release their new constitution very soon. And in South East Asia, the Philippine’s Supreme Court have granted Ladlad, a LGBT advocate group to participate in the May 2010 elections. Bonnga di ba!

portugal pride logo 2010

Of course it’s time for me to explore Portugal as destination for my next adventure. What do you think Bubbles? Buttercup? Parabens Portugal! The wait is over for our Portuguese brothers and sisters.  The bill was approved by the Portuguese Parliament in March and was just waiting for President Anibal Cavaco Silva’s signature for enactment.  But the conservative president was apprehensive to sign the bill instead he elevated it to the Constitutional Court, their highest court.

After 25 days of supposed deliberation, the Highest court have ruled in favor of the enactment of  the same-sex marriage bill, and again, it just needs the signature of the President to be official. Darn it ! Mr. President sign the bill! According to some web friends, the approval of this law is a political strategy since the Portuguese Presidential Election will be on January 2011. In addition, the law also left out adoption as one of it’s clause.

Blue Diamond Society

Badaai Nepal! (Baday, as in) The new constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (jusko) which will come into effect soon will legalize same-sex marriage. This is a big leap for a conservative and predominantly Hindu country, when five years ago there have been brutal attacks against homosexuals in the streets of Kathmandu. It was in 2008 when the highest court of Nepal scrutinized LGBT issues and decided to form a committee to draft a bill regarding same-sex marriage including their protection.

Thanks to Sunil Pant, a gay activist, and his gay rights group, Blue Diamond Society for spearheading LGBT advocacy in Nepal. Mr. Pant is also a member of their parliament, and the business man who founded the Pink Tour Company which organizes tours for gays and gay couples who wants to explore and cruise Mt. Everest. Whatever his business motives may be, he still gave Nepalese LGBT community a place in the sun.

Congratulations Ladlad and to Danton! You made us all proud! I won’t write more about Ladlad because my sister Buttercup already broke the news 2 days ago. Even though i see the late decision of  the Supreme Court (SC) as a delaying tactic for the election campaign, one thing is for sure, I am really glad that SC have kicked the COMELEC’s stinking ass.

Ladlad

They are lucky because Bubbles is missing (she might be in Rio) or else, he already did his fatality move against them. I hope Ladlad will win so they can start solidifying LGBT advocay in the Philippines and i bet they will. Thus, friends, countrymen and lovers, spread the word, spread the love, and spread about Ladlad.

Bubbles in Rio?

I refused Hades offer of marriage. I told him I am not ready to commit to a serious relationship specially as a second wife. He already got Persephone and I can’t betray the trust of a lady I have considered a friend. He threatened me. He told me that he will feed me to the Krakken…again!!! Echos!!!

photo by Beto Padilha

I was checking out some of my favorite blogs last night and I was devastated by the news of flood and landslides in Rio..what’s happening with this world? Surely, Bubbles has nothing to do with this, even if he knows that i adore Brazilian men. But, knowing him i can not be too certain. He knows that i love Evandro Soldati, Marlon Teixeira and Reymond Caua – and three of them are Brazilian. I am not following the footsteps of our icon Madonna for admiring Brazilian men but I look-up to her as a role model after snatching Jesus Luz from all the young and sexy Supermodels. Who will not want a young, studly, gorgeous guy? heck, as I have written before, I will sell Bubbles to the devil in exchange for a Brazilian hottie.

captured by David A. Slade

Yes, last Tuesday, it rained almost 24 hours in Rio displacing thousands, if not millions, of residents. They already announced state of emergency and the government already started to manage the situation. Most of my web/net friends in the affected area were all fine but according to some, the situation was getting worst because most establishments were closed, electricity were out in some areas and no potable water available. I hope the Brazilian government have already looked into these concerns. My friends have not updated me yet as of press time but soon. You might ask me, why am i so affected with this disaster in Brazil? HELLO!!! as I’ve said I love Brazilian men. Why? We’ll,  I wouldn’t want them if I have not tasted one of them

photo by Marino Azevedo

Olympics Logo for Rio De Janeiro 2016

Come 2016 Rio de Janeiro will host 2016 Summer Olympics.  They will recover from this test but its a long time for that event and many things will  happen, but i hope there will be no more catastrophes like this and if ever there is, they will be prepared . They should learn from this and from all other disasters in other areas. As they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. I hope the gay community in Rio are all okey and hopefully they will receive help from LGBT organizations.  I also pray for all the hotties in Rio to be safe and to continue their pursuit for bodily excellence. But,  please don’t tell me that Bubbles is in Rio and behind all these disasters.

[ Thank you to Beto Padilha, David Slade, and Marino Azevedo for allowing me to post above photos respectively ]

Life, according to Sally Field

‘Life is like a box of chocolates,’ Sally Field’s character in ‘Forrest Gump’ wisely told her simple-minded son, ‘because you never know what you’re gonna get.’ True, life is full of surprises, pleasant and otherwise. Just a few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to the sound of rain, something that has not happened in months. I looked out my window and saw that the clay-tiled verandah is wet and slick with rain. So I promptly went out of my room, stripped off my shirt and frolicked in the rain, by myself.

Mind you, this is not the first rain of the year but this is special because it came in the middle of summer. I guess I have global warming to thank for this: freaky weather has become sorta the norm these days. Gone were the days when you can count on the calendar to anticipate weather. In any case, there I was, at seven in the morning, prancing on the verandah, unmindful that I might at any moment slip and break my head on the clay tiles. The rain brought back a deluge of happy memories, enough to wash away the taint of ennui that seems to hang over me like, well, heavy rain-clouds.

For a few minutes I was unaware of time, and of the fact that my neighbors, whose houses tower over our own, might be looking down on me and my ample body, perhaps wondering if they were indeed seeing what they were seeing. A beached whale or something to that effect. I only stopped when I saw the tips of my fingers were wrinkled; a sign–learned from childhood that I had bathed enough. I showered in my real bathroom before heading downstairs for coffee and breakfast.

A few hours ago, while I was awaiting for Ibuprofen to take effect on my aching head, I saw a change in a friend’s FB status. I clicked on the link that came with it and was pleasantly surprised (and relieved, actually) to learn that the Philippine Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) regarding Ang Ladlad, the LGBT partylist, who was rejected months ago by the COMELEC on moral grounds.

Moral grounds my ass. Whatever happened to the separation of the church and state? And the fact that morality cannot be legislated by the state? If I weren’t too busy here in Cambodia, I would’ve hailed Blossom and the other Pagoda Girls so we could storm the COMELEC and make them pay for such libelous pronouncements! So unbecoming of government officials! Tse!

Fortunately, the Supreme Court adheres to lucidity in thinking when they decided on this matter. I quote: “As such, we hold that moral disapproval, without more, is not a sufficient governmental interest to justify exclusion of homosexuals from participation in the party-list system.  The denial of Ang Ladlad’s registration on purely moral grounds amounts more to a statement of dislike and disapproval of homosexuals, rather than a tool to further any substantial public interest. Respondent’s blanket justifications give rise to the inevitable conclusion that the COMELEC targets homosexuals themselves as a class, not because of any particular morally reprehensible act.”

Congratulations to the LGBT advocates who tirelessly worked to achieve this. Life is full of surprises, indeed. Sometimes we need to have darkness so we can better appreciate the light. The pink lights of Ang Ladlad. Together, we can take Ang Ladlad to congress. After congress? The Senate? Ay andami na bading at biyaning doon! And who knows, maybe the Presidency itself.