5 Songs for the Spirit
The biggest thing to happen to me in 2011 was the decision to take The Walk. I consider myself a progressive Christian: a lot of my views are deemed non-conventional, evidenced by my support for Mideo Cruz’s “Poleteismo”.
I believed in Christ, it was difficult to reconcile what I felt was right in conscience to what was being preached in churches I’ve attended over the years.
Then I found Church Simplified. Click the link and see for yourselves what it’s about. Maybe I’ll see you on Sunday?
The songs below are just some of the highlights of my journey through Christ thus far. For me, faith is a very personal journey, but wherever you are in your life – may these songs seek to uplift and inspire you.
After the Cut:
1) Gungor’s – “Beautiful Things”
You make beautiful things out of dust, You make beautiful things out of us
2) Sara Groves – “Painting Pictures of Egypt”
The place I was wasn’t perfect, but I had found a way to live,
It wasn’t milk or honey, but then neither is this
3) Jars of Clay – “Shelter”
May this place of rest in the fold of your journey, Bind you to hope
You will never walk alone
4) Steven Curtis Chapman – “Remembering You”
And I watch as the cold winter melts into spring, And I’ll be remembering You
and I’ll be remembering You, I’ll be remembering You
5) Jay Enrile – “Thank You”
Thank you for emptiness, thank you for rage
Thanks for confusion and the labyrinth it’s made
Thanks for denial, thank you for lust
Thanks for rejection and all the hurts from those I trust
Thank you that I haven’t heard the sweetest sound
Cause I know that’s the only way my knees will scrape the ground
A note in Z: Zsa Zsa vs. Zombadings
I can’t help but compare Zombadings to the Zsa Zsa Zaturnah adaptations.
What I liked about Zsa Zsa Zaturnah the graphic novel is how it showed a rare vulnerability through Ada, the boy who would be Zsa Zsa. That kind of vulnerability, the quiet contemplation of what it means to be gay was lost in the slapstick of the musical and movie adaptations. It’s enjoyable, but I came out of it feeling that it seemed be the only way to be gay: just be sing out loud silly.
I feel that Zombadings learned from the flaws of the Zsa Zsa adaptations. The camp is very much there, from the minute Roderick Paulate casts his curse upon Remington, to a wink-nudge at Robot Unicorn, to the “gaydar”. At the heart of it is Remington himself, a boy forced to learn a hard lesson on being careful who you pick on, and what it really means to be a man. This is a film I’d show as a way of homophobic intervention.
This time, if all they see are zombies, it’s not the film’s fault.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaWWi6oCw8E]
Tarush! Catch Zombadings now on its last run at cinemas around the Philippines.
Flower Memory: R.I.P. Sugawara-san
The first time I ate at Hana was after a very bad fight with my boyfriend at the time. Upon Khursten‘s invite, I commiserated with friends over takoyaki and cold house tea. I came home smelling, as Mom described, “Like a Japanese grill.” I replied, “But that’s how you know it’s real.”
When then-boyfriend and I made up, we continued to frequent Hana. More takoyaki and shaved ice desserts were had. Even after our break-up, Hana and Little Tokyo became a watering hole and comfort zone. Friendships were enforced and forged over umeshuu, sake, yakitori… it was the best of Japanese cuisine without having to leave the country.
The more I visited Hana, the more I got to know the Sugawara’s, especially Yue. Yue and I shared a fondness for cute toys, anime, Japanese movies, and music. Through Yue I also got to know her sister, Mom, and especially her Dad, Mr. Sugawara.
Mr. Sugawara, in particular, we joked to be “Mayor” of Little Tokyo. He got along with the shop owners, and helped keep the peace among them. I know that no trip to Hana was complete without seeing him seated at the bar, smoking and talking loudly with his friends and colleagues.
I remember the first time I met him, when Yue, Angel, and I had dinner to celebrate my purchase of a tokidoki vinyl toy. He gave us a few coupons for ice cream at Chotto Stop. “He won the coupons at a karaoke contest that he also organized,” Yue shared, “His friends thought it was strange that he organized and won it.”
I love good food, but I had a notoriously small appetite. Yue would joke, “You can never be a Sugawara!” Khursten, who spent New Year’s Eve with them, and sought to pick up a few recipes from Mrs. Sugawara in the process, fondly called them her “yakuza”. For a time, I took her literally.
It was with Mr. Sugawara’s blessing that we were able to follow the World Cup in the wee hours of the day at Hana. We joined the Japanese community of Little Tokyo in cheering their team on, and their sadness in defeat. Hana also kept their doors open for the World Cup final, which ended with our entire table singing “Ole Ole” when Spain took home the cup.
Over Holy Week, Yue and I went out on Good Friday for a tour of Intramuros and Binondo. We were stuffed with dimsum and streetfood from the tour, but Mrs. Sugawara wanted us to taste-test some new menu when we got back. It is probably the best Japanese meal I’ve had in Manila, come to think of it.
I didn’t see Mr. Sugawara then. I remember Yue mention in passing that he was sick – he loved his smoke, and he loved his drink, a bit too much.
I met up with an old college friend last Friday at Hana. It was the first time since Holy Week that I’ve visited, Mrs. Sugawara didn’t even recognize me with my short hair. We caught up a little bit in between the bustle of the dinner rush, but she made no mention of Mr. Sugawara.
I just found out a few hours ago that he had passed on.
A number of anime series emphasize that good food is made by good hearts, or something along those lines. The warmth and generosity of the Sugawara’s have always come out in their cooking, especially in Hana.
If you’re a Japanese foodie, I urge you to drop by Hana at Little Tokyo, Makati. It’s the restaurant with a takoyaki and barbeque grill in front. Great meals are served at reasonable rates starting at around P200 for a dish. More than just treating yourself to comfort food, you’ll also be helping a lovely family at this trying time.
You will be missed Sugawara-san. Thank you for everything.
Why Face the Facts?
Simple: cause almost everyone missed the point.
I’m glad that the church is challenged, I’m glad that there are people standing firm and saying that we are not the Friar state we used to be. But it really isn’t about that.
It is about the women and children who die at birth, who didn’t know the what and how to take care of themselves.
It is for an entire generation of women that were haunted by the trauma of their prom night, because they simply didn’t know any better.
It is about each scared high school girl who seriously believed that she could have an abortion by taking aspirin with coca-cola.
It’s about each teenage boy who couldn’t really understand what was happening to them, or comprehend the consequences of following what they felt.
For the parents who don’t know how to talk to their kids. For the kids who dared to ask, only to be punished.
For those who learned elsewhere but got lost in the fiction: in the magazines, the internet, urban legends, their adventurous friends.
The ones who learned in regret, in retrospect.
For lack of facts, we work with fiction and heresay.
These are the fictions that they believed in. Read it and weep.
With sexuality, ignorance is not bliss.
Add food for thought: we could get the right information out at zero cost.
Three little words: Face the facts. We need RH Bill 5043. We need to know.
Or face this fact: people will die from not knowing.
Come, explore with us!
As mentioned in a previous post, I’ll be embarking on a 2-week journey throughout the Philippines with some colleagues and friends of the press. Follow our trail throughout the Philippines on our travel blog, Whee!Explore.