Wanderlust Heaven!

I’m not really in the mood to sit here and write for hours…so will try to keep this short. Was walking over to the Internet café to write this entry and was almost bowled over by a motorcycle – on the sidewalk. And I thought that sidewalks were for pedestrians (and, of course, millions of fruit and pirated DVD vendors).

Just finished a superb book, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Finalist for the Man Booker Prize in 2004. It’s a series of nested tales which cross-reference and paint a bizarre yet compelling vision of the fall of global ‘civilization’ due to man’s hunger for wealth and power. Covers a huge amount of ground – the invasion of the Chatham Islands by the Maori (aided by the white man, of course) and their domination of the native Moriori, classical music in pre-WW2 Europe, nuclear power plant skullduggery, and so on. Mitchell shifts his voice from tale to tale, but the linkages are there. Probably one of the top ten books I’ve read. Mitchell has at least two other books – Ghostwritten and Numer9Dream – and I plan to get those too.

Went to see a gig last Friday night at Uzziah, right on Remedios Circle. I met the singer, Shane, at Ciboney a week or so before and she invited me to her show. She’s the one who sang ‘Better Days’ at Ciboney and blew us all away with her voice. Went to Uzziah and hung out for the entire 3-set show – quite good. And between sets, there were a couple Filipino comedians who regaled/tortured the audience. Both were male – one was simply fruity, the other obese, in drag, and foul-mouthed. Quite a pair. The bar was packed and the table in front of us (I took my friend Bell) comprised an entire family, with their little girl there too. I like that – you see it in Spain too, entire families going out for a drink/show, sometimes with grandparents in tow. And everyone gets into it – the song ‘I’ve Never Been to Me’ from the movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert was played, and the little girl knew all the words. I remember that moment because that song always make me think of my mother, who was known to everyone as Cooki but whose real name was Priscilla.

Was reading in the paper that there are only about 2,500 Filipinos whose first language is Spanish. Or perhaps it’s 2,500 families. Whatever. There are probably a good number in addition to those who have some familiarity with the language, but the point is that you won’t find many Spanish speakers here. Many of the words in Tagalog are loan words from Spanish – but even there, English contributes more. The Spanish were here for 350 years, we gringos for 50 – but the combination of recency and cultural juggernaut makes the USA and English the dominant foreign influence by far. But you can still find good chorizo, gambas, and rioja here, so I’m not complaining.

Went to see the cockfights last Sunday, in Pasay City Cockpit. Great name. Cockfighting is a huge deal here – the boys love it, wager a relative fortune, and hang out all day watching the birds go at it. I stayed for an hour or so and found it interesting – not so much the actual bird-fighting as the milieu and surrounding aspects. The Cockpit (every sizeable municipality seems to have one) is a smallish building with food vendors everywhere and a dirt-floor ring, much like a boxing ring, in the center. Seats and stands are packed with spectators, 95% of whom seem to bet like mad. Didn’t really figure out the system, which is entirely verbal and consists of bet-takers running around and lots of shouting – but it reminded me of tobacco auctions in the southern US. Works pretty well, from what I saw.

The ceilings and walls are festooned with adverts for various poultry feeds and medicines. Birds apparently get an impressive range of diseases – avian malaria, for one – and as with humans, the corporations have an endless range of products to sell. Here’s a couple shots:

I bet some $$ after watching a couple rounds. The relative size and speed of the two birds (roosters/cocks, technically) is critical, but I quickly observed that the real betting gets going seconds before the ‘face-off,’ when the handlers put the two birds face to face and then you can see which has the fire in the belly. In the 10-20 seconds before the fighting commences, most of the verbal bets are taken. There are signboards with names and favorites posted, and that’s another variable, but to me the crux of which bird was likely to prevail seemed very much in the moment.

When the two birds are placed on the ground by their handlers, they either fly at each other in a flurry, beaks and razor-clad claws a-flying, or they cluck around sit there until prodded to engage. You wouldn’t believe the noise – far crazier than any horsetrack (or dogtrack – don’t judge me, now) I’ve seen. Most of the fights are determined within a minute – one of the birds gets badly wounded by then. But sometimes it drags on for 5-10 minutes, until one of the birds is mortally wounded and ready for the supper pot.

Quite an experience and entire sub-culture around cockfighting. Needless to say, 99% of the audience is male. It’s difficult to describe much more than I’ve mentioned here, and still photos don’t do it justice – but I’ve posted a video on YouTube and you can access it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZqd-mV7zYA. Pretty entertaining stuff.

All this talk about chickens reminds me of the time my fraternity brother Eric Steiner and I released a live chicken in the Tufts University library. I had been walking around Boston’s Chinatown earlier in the day with another fraternity brother, Art Luckower, who told me about the time, years before, when some brothers bought several live chickens in Chinatown, took ‘em back to Tufts, starved them for a few days, then released them at the Delta Tau Delta semi-formal. Imagine the mayhem – plenty of white meat for the birds to attack. Well, Art and I were walking along and we see ‘Eastern Asia Live Poulty Co.’ We walk in, buy a live chicken, which the proprietess trusses up and sticks in a plastic sack. Which was full of bird shit by the time we got back to Tufts…

I had a class to teach – believe it or not – that evening, so after hanging out with the chicken for a while – and preventing the fraternity dogs from eating it – we stuck it behind the bar and put some tables up to keep the dogs at bay. Went over to Ballou Hall for the class…which was provocative in and of itself, one of our students came out of the closet that very evening. Our class was part of the ‘Exploratory College’ – upperclassmen taught a course of their own making to freshmen. Basically, it was a device to facilitate the freshmen in the class sleeping with each other, and with the upperclassmen instructors. Our course was called ‘Changing Times’…original title was ‘Sexuality Since Freud’ but that was deemed too lurid. Anyway, our course was about sexuality since Freud and coming out of the closet seemed a reasonable act during one of the sessions…

Got back to the fraternity house after the class. It was a cold night, and the chicken was shivering behind the bar. And the dogs were getting brazen – they really wanted a go at the chicken. Eric and I decided to evacuate the chicken straightaway. Not too sure whose idea it was to donate the bird to the school library – but the idea was enthusiastically seized and we stuck the chicken in a bagpack, brought along a couple textbooks as cover, and strolled up the hill to the library, a facility Eric and I weren’t often seen around.

Got past the guard – the chicken was restless during the short walk, but kept quiet at the entrance. Eric and I got a seat, pulled out our books, and Eric started ‘studying’ while I went over to the stacks with the pack/bird. Went deep into the stacks…glanced around…no one there. Opened the pack, dumped the chicken out, helped it onto its feet, and went back to the table and joined Eric. Sat there pretending to read for a few minutes…saw a few friends at other tables, smiled at them. Before long, the chicken sauntered out from the stacks, into the study room itself, and someone let out a scream. That opened the floodgates…people started yelling & screaming, running up to look. Tufts students don’t get to see many lives animals besides cats and dogs. The library admin. finally called Tufts Police and a sergeant took the sorry thing away…doubtless to his kitchen at home for dinner. Eric and I got some strange looks from those who knew us well…and we eventually spilled the beans later that week at a fraternity party. But we evaded immediate suspicion and punishment, and the story remains one of my schoolday favorites…

Back to the present. Was walking through Robinsons Mall the other day, doing some errands. On my way out I passed by a vendor selling her wares – she was windmilling her arms, shouting a bunch of slogans, and generally trying hard to move her merchandise. Very theatrical – not something you’d see in Western malls. As I passed her, I looked her in the eye – and we both started laughing, for no good reason other than that I’d ‘caught her in the act.’ Good-natured woman – lots of ‘em here in the RP.

Went to the Ringside Bar in Makati on Monday night. I had met the manager, Louie, at Ciboney a couple weeks back, and he told me that Ringside was starting up midget boxing on Monday nights. That was something I wanted to see – not so much for the freak value of the event, more so because years ago I went to a bar in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo and participated in ‘dwarf tossing.’ Fairly self-explanatory – involved picking up a very short person wearing a velcro suit and heaving them up a wall also covered in velcro. Highest toss won. Sounds more violent/dangerous than it really is…but I can’t imagine the sport taking off in the US. I can see the lawsuits now.

There seem to be quite a few midgets/dwarfs/hobbits in the RP, due to various depressing factors: malnourishment, inbreeding, illness, fetal smoking/alcohol syndrome. I mentioned in an entry last year that there’s an entire bar in Manila called Hobbit House, staffed by midgets and featuring heavy metal acts. Weird, but a good time. So I’ve seen my share of short people here and now was about to see ‘em lace on the gloves and duke it out.

The boxing was solid – neither of the two midgets was going for broke, but they exchanged some good blows and put on a decent show. It became more interested when a normal-sized fellow entered the ring, put on gloves, got on his knees, put one hand behind his back, and ‘fought’ the two midgets simultaneously. That was fun to watch. Again, inconclusive, but entertaining. I’ve posted two more clips on YouTube for your viewing pleasure…here’s the midgets boxing each other: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doAEXGAeXEA.

And here’s the 3-man free-for-all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFdHrTdSNY. Comments welcomed.

I’ve no doubt mentioned many times the musical culture and mentality of this country. Everyone seems to be musical – whether it’s playing an instrument or merely singing – and the RP has been called the noisiest country in the world. With just cause. The next Shakespeare is unlikely to come from here – but nearly every band across Asia is Filipino and you can find ‘em playing in the unlikeliest spots (the Qingdao, China Shangri-La Hotel, for one). So when I’m here I get caught up in the musical lifestyle, and it’s great. I hear songs I haven’t heard in 20 years, being played by a cover band in a local bar while I drink 50 cent San Miguel beers.

With that in mind, when I noticed that the movie Dreamgirls was playing nearby, I decided to go see it. I don’t catch a lot of movies, and I don’t like the blockbuster Hollywood stuff…but I had heard from my dad and stepmother that this movie was very good…and I knew (for what it’s worth) that Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for her performance. I never saw the musical on Broadway, but heard it was a popular mainstay for ages.

Enjoyed the movie. I think it’s based on The Supremes and Diana Ross, at least in a loose sense. I’ve always liked The Supremes, old fogey that I am, so I was predisposed to liking this movie. Jennifer Hudson has one mean voice…I was captivated. And what an all-star cast – Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Danny Glover, and Beyonce as the Diana Ross-like character. I’m not really up on the movies (or US pop culture, for that matter), so didn’t know that Beyonce was in this one – and didn’t recognize her at all. Only knew it was her when the credits rolled at the end.

My one criticism is a general one. Dreamgirls was originally a musical, and converting musicals to films requires massive suspension of disbelief and tone – whereas musicals are generally all or mostly music and little straight dialogue, movies are quite different. It’s jarring and odd to watch characters move from dialogue to song, and seems a bit forced and fake. I think I’d benefit from seeing the musical, to get that context. Anyway, I need to keep in mind that this is a ‘musical-movie’ and also that it’s not a literal bio of The Supremes – which is something I’d be very interested in seeing, or reading. Anyone got a book on this?

Afterward, went to the music store downstairs, and bought the Dreamgirls soundtrack (very good) and The Supremes Gold compilation (also very good). Watching this movie put me in a rhythm & blues mindset and I’ve been listening to this stuff for the past few days. Go see the movie and get the soundtrack if you don’t have it…

Seeing Dreamgirls also helped me – believe it or not – get a better sense of what makes me tick and turns me on. Watching/hearing a woman sing, belt out a tune with passion, makes me crazy. The Jennifer Hudson character, Effie, in Dreamgirls, was sexy for that reason alone. And you do see a lot of that musical passion here in the RP. I was never attracted to my female classmates in b-school, and rarely at work – just too business-minded and full speed ahead. I think I need to be with someone who’s very different from me and my experiences…someone who has a passion which might earn them no money, but which defines them and motivates others. And music is probably the area which brings the most passion – besides cockfighting, of course.

Went to get a massage yesterday. Parked on the street near the massage parlor was a ‘60s Corvette Stingray, in nice condition. Incongruous sight on Manila streets. Must investigate the classic car market here – you can probably pick up some sweet makes for good prices. And the weather makes it possible for old cars to last for decades…

Went to a karaoke joint last night. Felt like belting out some tunes, inspired by Dreamgirls and The Supremes, as well as nights at Ciboney – every night there you see a different live band (some with cute lead singers – go figure). The ‘KTV’ places are mostly the same – you pay a set cover, which gets you unlimited drinks for 60-90 minutes, then you pay a few hundred pesos if you want one of the GROs (Guest Relations Officers – young honeys) to sit with you and pour your drinks. You can buy the GRO a drink if you want – these are relatively pricey, as you’d imagine. There are lengthy songbooks, you just choose the songs you want to sing and the GRO takes the request up to the DJ/VJ. Then you’re up on stage doing your bit. Loads of fun – wish they had these places in the States when I was growing up (a continuing process, to be sure).

Japanese and Koreans tend to dominate the KTV places. They’re popular back home for them, and in the Philippines the prices are a fraction of what they’d pay at home – a huge bargain for them. Once in a while you see a white face in the KTVs…but not so often. So we’re scarce and very popular when we show up – the girls speak English and prefer to sing English songs, and generally don’t seem to like the Asian tourists. The Japanese were horrible to the Filipinos in WW2, admittedly a long time ago. And Koreans tend to be pretty rough-mannered – always smoking, red-faced, hammered, zero English, and clumsy. So an American/Brit/Aussies are in demand here – will perhaps spend a bit less than Japanese or Koreans, who pay huge sums in their home bars – but nevertheless popular. And anyway, the bar makes most of the money, the girls just see a bit of it – so most of the GROs will prefer to chat with white boys.

This night was random, largely because an ancient Japanese fellow showed up and showed a lively spirit. He was at least 70 years old, perhaps much older, and sat for a while, smoking, drinking, surrounded by a few GROs. He then got on stage and sang a few Japanese songs, none of which I knew, all of which had an old-time sound (made sense). I thought it was pretty funny – and so did Nikki, my GRO. Hard to imagine a 70+ year old Westerner showing up at a karaoke club, smoking, drinking, and singing onstage surrounded by cute Filipinas. But hey – the guy was spry and healthy, and perhaps this lifestyle had something to do with it. Far better to hang out at the club than in the hospital…more fun to sing love songs than to gulp down 5 meds/days…

Spent some time trolling bookmarked Websites this morning. Came across three beloved political comics/cartoonists – This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow, anything by Tom Toles (Washington Post), and Get Your War On by David Rees. You can find all of these online – highly recommended.

That’s about enough for now…gotta post the YouTube videos and that might take forever. Keep the faith and send me some comments, dear readers!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 11:39 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.