#80) Maxine Formosa Grupetta (Malta/UNIVERSE). As of this writing, her island nation now has the most Miss Universe appearances without a single placement – a distinction it inherited from The Bahamas in 2021. While the status quo remains, this model … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Candidates from 2022 (#80-#66)
Grand Slam Pageants, Alpha Pageants, The Big 4 (or 5 or 6)… Many terms have been coined for the major global pageants. Just as diverse are the opinions as to which ones are qualified. For me, it’s more straightforward: these … Continue reading My 100 Favorite International Candidates from 2022 (#100-#81)
PALAWAN – Louise Joy Gallardo. This model missed the National Costume competition in Leyte but is, thankfully, still very much in the game. While not a heavy frontrunner, she’s this year’s most competitive MIMAROPA bet and was among the Preliminary Evening … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Candidate Round-Up, Part 3 (Palawan to Zambales)
CEBU CITY – Dianne Padillo. In this contest’s existence thus far, it’s this sash that proved to hold most weight. And lest we forget, it’s this city which earned the system its best Miss Universe placement to date. To be blunt, however, this is … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Candidate Round-Up, Part 2 (Cebu City to Occidental Mindoro)
AGUSAN DEL NORTE – Jannarie Zarzoso. This accounting technology graduate from Cabadbaran has an inspiring back story as she’s been battling psoriasis for the past five years and now advocates for Filipinos suffering the same disease. As it stands, her debuting province seems … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Candidate Round-Up, Part 1 (Agusan del Norte to Cavite)
As if fans can’t emphasize it enough, a sad turn of events preceded this year’s Miss Universe Philippines pageant. Celeste Cortesi missed the cut last January, thus halting the country’s longest ever Miss Universe placement streak. While we somehow had an inkling that a blip … Continue reading Miss Universe Philippines 2023: A Prelude
I guess the confusion was imminent. As far as I can recall, Boracay didn’t have an eponymous airport. In the first place, it’s a misnomer to even call one such. Much as the island went through major overhauls recently, there’s … Continue reading Boracay Bounce, Day One
Sarah Polley started acting at age six, but it took her foray into filmmaking to finally be heard. In the mid-2000s, the Toronto native wrote and directed her first feature, the earnest indie drama Away From Her. The film made … Continue reading Dignity Over Blind Faith: A Review of Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking”
The region stands a hefty chance at regaining the title this year, with at least five contenders within striking distance. Even if the contest ran with just this group, many favorites will still be left out. That’s the Americas for … Continue reading 71st Miss Universe Candidate Round-Up: Americas
Four out of this contest’s first 10 winners may have been from Europe, but only nine more were crowned in the decades that followed. That even counts Russia‘s dethroned 2002 titleholder, Oxana Fedorova. Since the abolition of the short-lived continental … Continue reading 71st Miss Universe Candidate Round-Up: Europe
Over the last decade, half of the royal roster had been from this group, with Pinays and South Africans tag-teaming in short intervals. Last year also marked India‘s return to supremacy in first-time host Israel, which curiously opted to skip … Continue reading 71st Miss Universe Candidate Round-Up: Asia and Africa
When my health scare decimated our family savings in late 2021, it was time for regular employment again. We had to recover. So, when I learned they were reviving my former role, I had to seize the opportunity. Before my … Continue reading My Artist Relations Journey, Part 2: Sophomore Slump
I once considered it my greatest detour. Come to think of it, I always will. On paper, I was still a copywriter, confined to my desk and accustomed to the sidelines. But then came that series of assignments, where I … Continue reading My Artist Relations Journey, Part 1: The Accidental Hobnobber
It’s been more than 20 years since the original Matrix redefined the concept of being “woke”. Face it, though. That movie was really better off as a standalone. But given the magnitude of its turn-of-century success, the 2003 sequels had … Continue reading The Matrix Rectifications
The concept of alternate dimensions shouldn’t sound foreign to comic fans. Marvel alone has countless. As far as the Spider-Man movies are concerned, Into the Spider-Verse already gave us the crash course in 2018. In the animated feature, Latin teenager … Continue reading “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Scores a Sentimental Home Run
There are two ways to explain the title. As an acronym, it stands for “Child of Deaf Adults”, which obviously alludes to the protagonist. As a non-acronym, it signals the conclusion of a song. Contradicting as the two definitions may … Continue reading Silently in Tune: A Review of “CODA”
It’s established that Lin Manuel Miranda had a stellar 2021, from In the Heights becoming a movie to tick, tick…BOOM! marking his first foray into film directing. Behold his best shot at gold among that repertoire: Walt Disney Animation Studio‘s … Continue reading A Tale of Mixed Messages: A Review of Disney’s “Encanto”
Realistically, it takes more than 525,600 minutes to catch a break. One person who knew that well was Jonathan Larson. For years, the songwriter-playwright grappled with self-doubt, rejection, and writer’s block before finally scoring with Rent, a Gen-X update of … Continue reading Exultation in Chasing Time: A Review of “tick, tick…BOOM!”
I first learned about St. Vincent in 2014. I know it wasn’t the most educated observation then, but at the time, she struck me as a more adult Katy Perry, one who actually bore her angst instead of burying it … Continue reading My Monthly Dig: St. Vincent’s “Daddy’s Home”
He wanted Spectre to be his last. In a 2015 interview with Britain’s Time Out, Daniel Craig memorably did not mince words when asked about the prospects of making another James Bond film under Eon Productions. “I’m over it at … Continue reading “No Time to Die” has No Time to Waste
Planet Chuckie 