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“Different strokes for different folks.”
You’ve probably read me use that phrase many a time – it’s one that I try to live by. Hokey as it sounds, it centers me, helps to remind me to respect the way other people might do things, even if it’s the polar opposite of what I’d do.
It’s a mantra, and it’s one I use every time I’m watching a movie with my folks, or my Filipino relatives in general.
I wasn’t really big into comic books when I was growing up, but Superman has always had a special place in my heart. The Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve are childhood favorites and my first Hollywood gig was writing one of the Man of Steel’s TV adventures. So I understand his appeal and why he’s such a beloved character.
However, one fan from the Philippines named Hebert Chavez has taken his love to heights that might even make the high-flying Superman dizzy. The 35-year-old Chavez has undergone multiple plastic surgery procedures over the past 16 years to make him look like his super idol:
The procedures Chavez has undergone include chin augmentation, rhinoplasty, silicone injections and thigh implants. Now, I don’t know if this guy does indeed suffer from body dysmorphic disorder or has an addiction to plastic surgery or longs to be the ultimate white guy or just loves the big guy in blue so much that if he can’t skin the Man of Steel and wear his skin over Chavez’s own skin to become one with his hero, he’ll do the next best thing—but if this is what he wants to do with his life and it doesn’t hurt anyone else, then more power to him.
Hoarding used to be a good word. It meant squirrels and their nuts and long winters and boy, weren’t those squirrels mighty smart?!
What'd I do?!
I always thought that neat and tidy houses were a New-England thing… some kind of puritanical exorcism of dust. As a child, I never held a feather duster, we just wiped everything down with a ‘basahan’ (wet wash cloth). I thought only french maids used feather dusters and only to tease penises that were naughty.
ooh la la! Let me clean that for you!
I already know the answer, but I love this Photoshop template I made so I’m gonna go ahead and ask all you Filipinos:
But honestly, what sort of self-respecting Filipino are you if you aren’t at someone else’s house, mooching off their Pay Per View this Saturday?
Not much of one, really.
The phenomenon nearly transcends stereotyping. Ask any Filipino about “The Fight.” You don’t even need to specify the pugilists involved. We just know what you’re referring to.
As far as we’re concerned, shit is like Highlander: there can be only one and at any given time, it’s gonna be the one with Pacquiao and his next victim.
Must blow for that dude.
I vaguely remember when this all started:
It’s Holy Week for Christians all around the world; accumulating this Easter Sunday with the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection following his crucifixion. Most believers will take this time to remember the excruciating pain Jesus must have suffered on the cross, but for a group of folks in Pampanga (located in the Philippines where they take their Catholicism seriously) that’s not enough. Nope, for these individuals, it has become a decades-long tradition to actual “live” the experience by willingly allowing themselves to be crucified.
Every Good Friday, dozens of these men (and some women) will flagellate themselves and even be nailed to a cross for few minutes. The nails are sanitized and medical personnel are on hand to tend to the wounds, but it can still take two weeks to fully heal so this is hardcore.
CNN’s Miguel Candela attended last year’s ceremony and returned with the following images.
Most of the people who participate in this ritual seem to have gone through a life-changing experience. In 1990, Rolano Ocampo’s wife survived a difficult childbirth and he has participated in the annual crucifixion since then as a way of giving thanks to God:
I am Filipino. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned that before, and if so, tough marbles – I just reminded you. Also, that’s why I put a picture of the Philippines’ flag up. The reason for all this fanfare is because this week, I’d like to put the spotlight on a Filipino food that isn’t fried.
Sorry, lumpia.
This special food is Ginataan.
Specifically, to Cebu, where the local airline Cebu Pacific has their flight attendants do a dance routine to a Lady GaGa/Ke$ha music mix during their safety demonstration. 
Not surprisingly that this would be from the PI, since there has already been precedent of Pinoys and music, ranging from the Jolibee mascot shaking its rump at birthday parties, to Pinoy prisoners in immense Michael Jackson dance routines as therapy.
We at YOMYOMF are enamored that Filipinos have a penchant for music, but this latest corporate stunt to have flight attendants do a dance routine on flight, is taking the happy-go-lucky attitude of other commuter airlines (Southwest employees joking around with passengers, Virgin America’s whole festive atmosphere in general), shows that Asians take it to a whole other level. Yes, it is cheesy by American standards, but if it gives people a morsel of fun during the sometimes stressful feeling of flying, then that’s good stuff.
Bullets and bombs aren’t the only weapons the U.S. military has used in its quest for victory. Ghosts, superstitions and even vampires (and not the kind that “sparkle” and won’t have sex with you) have all been employed to defeat our enemies on the battlefield.
According to this recent piece in io9, the U.S. military has used local supernatural beliefs as an ongoing part of a psychological warfare agenda against its enemies. Following are two examples of how this was done against our Asian brethren; in the Philippines during the 1950s and then again a few years later during the Vietnam War.
Major General Edward G. Lansdale spearheaded the aforementioned effort in the Philippines while fighting the Communist Huk rebels to make it seem as if an Asuang, a traditional vampire-like creature in the Filipino culture that can fly (she has wings) and has a taste for unborn fetuses, was present in the area. Yup, the big military strategy was to pretend there was a vampire lose. Here’s how Lansdale explained it:
Here’s another example that strengthens YOMYOMF’s stance that Filipinos are great at singing and dancing (check previous posts here and here). JOLIBEE, the Filipino fast food chain, and in my humble opinion, the greatest fast food chain ever, really takes the cake when it comes to entertaining at kids birthday parties. You know how families would have birthdays in a McDonalds jungle gym or party area? Well, does the scary Ronald McDonald impersonator do this???? 
Awesome, right? And his eyes are articulated too! How dope is that?
Over at this blog, we’ve run contests where a JOLIBEE meal is the grand prize. I am just thankful that I live next to a JOLIBEE. So, young parents, you know where to book your kids next birthday party. You won’t regret it.
I love it when a commercial makes me emotional and perhaps even cry. It’s really a rather hard thing to do since you only have 30 seconds to establish character, create a story, and end it in a fashion that is deeply personal. This following commercial I found pretty cool because it was in a foreign language (that I do not understand) and had no subtitles yet managed to elicit a nice emotional response. I guess McDonald’s in the Philippines is truly a universal experience. McNuggets!
As bad as it is to stereotype a whole race, there are certain stereotypes that are more rooted in reality than others. Let’s be honest—Koreans do drink alcohol like water, Chinese really will eat anything, the Japanese are all-around freaks and Filipinos love to sing. Seriously, it’s like Filipinos are born with a musical gene. I’ve only met two Filipinos in my life with no musical skills and they were looked upon as if they had the Elephant Man disease. I remember a few years ago when the film Colma: The Musical came out and someone told me it was about a gay Filipino teen who breaks out into song and dance for no reason. I assumed it was a documentary.
A lot of Asians are into karaoke, but I don’t think anyone can top the Filipinos in their passion for it. If you’ve gone out to karaoke, I’m sure you’ve experienced something like this—everyone is singing, drinking and having a good time. Then, a Filipino dude or dudette walks in. The Filipino individual acts all shy and protests when you ask them if they want a turn, but when he or she takes the mike, they have an amazing voice that could give Simon Cowell multiple orgasms and suddenly everyone else is self-conscious about their own “sucky” singing and the evening isn’t as fun anymore. Well, if you think that’s bad, today’s New York Times has a story about how picking the wrong song when you karaoke in the Philippines could get you killed. Yup, killed.
And what is this deadly song? Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”:
Just found out yesterday that a bright, young colleague of mine from the global film community had died. And I found out on Facebook, literally an hour after his death. His name was Alexis Tioseco, a laser sharp Filipino-Canadian film critic. He was a true champion of Filipino indie cinema, and his writing was vibrant and unrelenting. Alexis and his girlfriend, Nika Bohinc, also a film critic and film programmer from Slovenia, apparently were shot to death by robbers who ransacked their home in Quezon City.
