Being Josh Aviñante

This article begins the first day of the next period of my life. I have begun my third career shift to culinary, from what seemed to be a glamorous but directionless Bachelors degree in International Studies and unsuccessful Master of Science degree in Marketing. I may have to contemplate a fourth if two years of kitchen science and art will only lead me to dishwashing, not to mention a heavily desecrated pair of hands. As you may have noticed in my previous articles, my early life was a struggle for glamour, for a sense of creativity, for something worthwhile. My food articles were press releases and I wrote like horse blindfolded and following the scent of a carrot, whichever direction the press release desired. My fashion articles were no different, except that I had an idea of what I wanted to wear and at least had a few droplets of my opinion. The rest, let the veteran writers be the judge of that. I was born in May 30, 1975, a decade too early. I was raised in an upper midd...

Once upon a time there lived a sea lion who had lost the sea. He lived in a country known as the barren lands. High on a plateau, far from any coast, it was a place so dry and dusty that it could only be called a desert. A kind of coarse grass grew in patches here and there while a few trees were scattered across the horizon. But mostly, it was dusty and sometimes wind, which together make one very thirsty. Of course, it must seem strange to you that such a beautiful creature should wind up in a desert at all. He was, mind you, a sea lion. But things like this do happen. How the sea lion came to the barren lands, no one could remember. It all seemed so very long ago. So long, in fact, it appeared as though he had always been there. Not that he belonged in such an arid place. How could that be? He was, after all, a sea lion. But as you know, once you have lived so long in a certain spot, no matter how odd, you come to think of it as home. There was a time, many years back, ...

I always thought that women who flirted with part-time message handlers were fugly. Well, this one wasn’t. There she was clad in her white uniform and standing between two ladies – a rose among thorns. Too good to be true. It was an ordinary day when I set the date. The campus was a romantic place with all the Romanesque architecture and its gardens. One attraction was the statue of the querubin which was said to be the patron saint of the homosexuals. The thought was disturbing but there was just the two of us surrounded by fallen leaves, a scintillating silence and the mystique of that lone statue. I could still remember the feeling. Act 1: Oh, did I mention that she had a boyfriend? Yes, she had. She said that she misses him. I could still remember the cheerless expression on her face. The thought of it was sad but not tragic. It was too early to fall head over heels. At this point, the excitement of courtship was all that mattered. One time, I forgot that the car I was driving with...

Ana Isabel Ramirez Bosch, lead vocalist of Analog, quietly passed away last January 11 from cerebral aneurism. She gave a good fight. Her ashes lies at the family compound in Pasay City. The wake will last until her birthday on January 25 during which a mass will be celebrated. She would have turned 33. After the mass, food and drinks will be served. As tribute to the rock goddess, there will be music, poetry reading and video presentations. As early as now, the Lemuria Compound where her ashes are kept has become a monument to her brief but fruitful life. Besides Analog, Anabel has also been part of Tropical Depression, Electrikoolaid, Spy and Cocojam. Her rise to fame in music is narrated in her last blog found on dizzychick76.multiply.com written in December 2008. According to this entry, she began jamming with Cocojam in her Uncle Pepito’s which was a haven for artists and home base for Cocojam. That was in 1989. She was just 13. Her music career ended at the sweet age of 32. In t...

On Baler The Movie. I must say that we are certainly getting closer to the true picture of the Philippine Revolution. There was a time when a Filipino soldier had to be barefoot, poorly clothed and very Indio looking. According to our history books, it's the other way around. Officers of the Philippine Republican Army were composed mostly of graduates of Ateneo, UST, Letran and other schools reserved for the affluent in Philippine society. A considerable number of Filipino officers were Creoles such as Col. Sityar, Col. Leyba or Major Manuel Quezon. As such, I find it unnecessary to tan our mestizo actors just to make them look "Filipino" or Indio. Andres Bonifacio himself was a Spanish Mestizo. This justifies the choice of Joel Torre and Leo Martinez as commanding officers of the Philippine Republican Army that attacked Baler. It is equally alright to choose another Mestizo in the person of Philip Salvador to play as one of the leaders of the revolution. When it comes t...

(Published in Yehey! Lifestyle) There are a couple of reasons to lambast anti-socials who are either against style because their freedom to wear hideous bugoy boots or eat cholesterol-filled Toknenes is threatened by the fashionista. For one, style is a discipline. It takes a lot of self-restrain to assert one’s disposition and talk- write- party your way into the acceptance of your radical views. For example, it would take some nerve and extra rare confidence for a man to sport red leather moccasins with matching red belt. It takes will power for a woman to sport blood red velvet boots in a humid cosmopolitan district like Ayala Center or Serendra. And finally, it takes a lot of discipline to keep you away from those irresistibly tempting fatty parts of Lechon kawali, Crispy Pata or Prime Rib Steak. In reality, an obsession in style makes a healthy balanced diet easier to follow. Fine dining involves etiquettes that minimize your servings to small bites. For example, etiquette endear...

Lately, the skinny bitch seems to have retaken the limelight from the geek. This with Sony positioning its cameras for Manila’s high society. In the posh Creole district of Rockwell, Sony Cybershot held a fabulous party attended by Manila’s hottest showbiz items. The party began an hour after its announced starting time, probably anticipating the socialite’s penchant for being late. Guests were greeted by elegantly dressed journalists gave interviews that made one feel like a star. I should have worn something more sophisticated! Kudos to that guy! Food was excellent with Friday’s serving my favourite – the Mozzarella Balls! Sony made no mistake in choosing KC Concepcion to provide a face for the brand. Possessing the marks of genuine nobility, she complimented her noble stature with noble deeds – helping fund the United Nations World Food Program in Mindanao. This she did by auctioning three of her used Sony Cybershots to the highest bidders beginning at PHP11,000 with the proceeds go...