First, on a personal note: You can say I’m greeting this Miss World season with a renewed sense of interest. Last July, I watched Miss World Philippines live for only the second time, after a prolonged 12-year gap. Coincidentally, both … Continue reading The 72nd Miss World Festival: A Prelude
#5 – Opal Suchata Chuangsri (Thailand/Universe). In all likelihood, she’ll also make next year’s list, now that she’s in India for a shot at the Blue Crown. But, looking back, her stint in Mexico was already legendary, as she did … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (5 to 1)
#10 – Ileana Marquez Perdroza (Venezuela/Universe). When the old rules were still in place, her dream ended before it began. She became a mom at 16, just two years shy of Miss Universe’s minimum age requirement. But now with those … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (10 to 6)
#20 – Bryoni Govender (South Africa/Supranational). It’s not to call Dr. Fezile Mkhize’s win win a jinx by any count – a milestone is a milestone. Though, one must admit, that doubled the pressure on this lawyer of Indian descent, … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (20 to 11)
IN THIS TIER: Russia’s revenge, a Bulacaña Black Barbie, and a living, breathing work of art #35- Axelle Rene (Martinique/World). This French overseas department joins sporadically nowadays, but this geologist won Miss World’s Top Model fast track and secured her … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (35 to 21)
IN THIS TIER: Sensational Spaniards, Powerhouse Peruvians, and a Misunderstood Burmese #50 – Priyanka Rani Joshi (Nepal/World). It’s amazing how this country started as perpetual underdog to placing consecutively since 2017. Unsurprisingly, it was the Beauty with a Purpose category … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (50 to 36)
IN THIS TIER: An “AUS“-picious return , a First Nations milestone, and an African breaking records for the third straight year #65 – Kristen Wright (Australia/World). After one edition of not seeing action, and four years, if you count the … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (65 to 51)
IN THIS TIER: Odds-breakers from Africa’s best Miss World year, a Kiwi surprise, and drought-enders half-a-century overdue #80 – Liza Gundowry (Mauritius/World). We should have underestimated her island nation’s status as Miss World’s tourism sponsor last year. But that’s just … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (80 to 66)
A few side notes, before we begin: As far as my pageant fandom is concerned, May 12 has always been momentous. While my tradition technically began on May 21, 1994, many memorable subsequent editions fell on the former. Two of … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Contestants of 2024 (100 to 81)
I once said that I may not afford to watch Miss Universe live each year, I’ll at least try to make Miss Universe Philippines an annual habit. So far, I’ve been at it since public gatherings resumed in 2022, even … Continue reading Ripe for the Picking: Watching Miss Universe Philippines 2025
“Puksaan” has obviously replaced “Bardagulan” as Pinoy pageant fans’ favorite word. With a field as formidable as this, who can blame them? It does feel more like an “elimination” than a mere “showdown”. Much as anyone from the 66 can … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2025: My Final Wishlist
ORIENTAL MINDORO to TUGUEGARAO ORIENTAL MINDORO – Rechel Hoco. As Rechel in Dubai, this content creator has quite the following. That’s bound to give her an edge in anything that involves a Fan Vote of sorts (BingoPlus, perhaps?). Not that … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Candidate Round-Up (Part Three)
IFUGAO to OCCIDENTAL MINDORO IFUGAO (FILIPINO SOCIETY OF NEW YORK) – Valerie Claire West. True, this singer’s every inch a New Yorker, with no trace of Cordillera upbringing. Then again, we don’t always see the home of Banaue Rice Terraces … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Candidate Round-Up (Part Two)
ALBAY to GUIPOS, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR ALBAY – Rani Lachmi Dado. Skipping 2023 didn’t go without repercussions for the home of Mayon as it missed the cut upon its return. Hoping to restore its fortunes is this junior architect, whose … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Candidate Round-Up (Part One)
After only five years, Miss Universe Philippines has already entered a new era. This year’s edition began with National Director Shamcey Supsup-Lee announcing her bid for Pasig councilor in the 2025 Local Elections. This left her no recourse but to … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2025: A Prelude
Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys was, in effect, one of the last great reads from the Old Normal. Published in mid-2019, the book followed two African-American boys enrolled in Nickel Academy, a reform school based on the now-defunct Dozier School … Continue reading Immersive Hidden Dread: A Review of RaMell Ross’s “Nickel Boys”
Its brilliance begins with its broad title. The British mini-series Adolescence depicts exactly what you’d associate with the word, from schoolyard bullies to grappling with repressed emotions. A quarter of it also happens on campus, which, admit it or not, … Continue reading “Adolescence”: Bound to Stun All Age Groups
Four years zoomed by since Japanese Breakfast’s happier-than-usual Jubilee earned them both Billboard and Grammy attention. It’s also been that long since their vocalist, Michelle Zauner, showcased her writing skills in her best-selling memoir, “Crying in H Mart”, which was … Continue reading Japanese Breakfast’s “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)”: A Morose Return to Form
They called the original “Walt Disney’s Folly”, because everyone was convinced that any cartoon longer than Silly Symphonies was doomed to fail. They were wrong, of course. Not only did “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” earn more than all … Continue reading Snow Woke is the Real Disney’s Folly
It’s not often that we hear of films so economically made, that no storyboards were used and no scenes had to be deleted. Yet, here we have Latvia’s Straume (English title: Flow), a hit so surprising, it’s now the most … Continue reading Festival Log: FDCP’s A Curation of World Cinema (“Flow”)
Planet Chuckie 