The Oarhouse Pub of Manila

Images as Topic : The 2011 Oarhouse Pub T-Shirt Collection

2011-05-11T11:07:00.000+08:00

The Oarhouse Pub limited edition T-shirt collection, 2011.

What makes a community pub a great conversation piece in and of itself? For our patrons we are introducing The Oarhouse Pub Limited Edition T-Shirt collection, as we've commissioned artist-illustrator-colleague Dante Perez to design our initial line of tshirts that are as uniquely individual as the people who've been our regulars and supporters. At PhP 550 each, the entire limited set in medium and small sizes (larger customized sizes can be ordered as well) are available on view and for sale, only at The Oarhouse. Look for Wilson or Jecery. :-)

The Oarhouse Pub Gallery Lounge at the Mezzanine

2011-05-11T10:52:00.001+08:00

the Oarhouse Pub Gallery Lounge at the Mezzanine

It's looking more and more like home, and we're still scheduling a good scrubdown shampoo of the carpet upstairs, but i'm proud to present a sneak preview of the new 'gallery lounge at the mezzanine', which can accommodate groups and gatherings of as many as 25 to 30 people. It's always been in the plans to make the Oarhouse mezzanine level more like an interactive multimedia lounge where art and photo exhibits, spoken word or acoustic music performances, and independent film screenings can be held aside from the regular birthday or event celebrations. Get in touch if you're interested in holding an event here at the Oarhouse Pub of Manila, at 1688-B J. Bocobo St., Malate. The landline is (63)(2) 516-7296, and ask for Wilson.

- Ben

Edd Aragon's 'Cool Men' Ultraviolet Paintographs

2011-02-21T10:13:00.001+08:00

Opening Night - Wednesday, February 23, 7:30 p.m.

Sydney-based Filipino illustrator Edd Aragon's twelve ultraviolet paintographs of men who've made an impression on the music world. This is the second of two simultaneous homecoming UV exhibits this February. Please come in dark attire so as to better appreciate the UV paintings.

The exhibit runs from February 23 to March 16, 2011.

Oarhouse Location on Google Maps, February 2011

2011-02-21T03:23:00.000+08:00

View Larger Map

Super Bowl XLV

2011-02-02T13:59:00.002+08:00

A general view of the field during Pittsburgh Steelers Media Day at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 1, 2011. (Gary A. Vasquez/NFL)

Super Bowl XLV, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers, Cowboys Stadium, North Texas, 02.06.11, 6:30 p.m. EST/7:30 a.m. Manila time, Monday February 7, 2011.

BACK on the MAP : The Oarhouse Pub of Manila, October 2010

2010-10-25T05:49:00.001+08:00

Here's the screenshot of the new Oarhouse Pub location on Google Maps -

And without fanfare, The Oarhouse Pub is INDEED back in the month of October 2010.

2010-10-24T23:19:00.002+08:00

at 1688-B Jorge Bocobo St. near the corner of General Malvar St., a block away from the Pan Pacific Adriatico and Robinsons' Place Pedro Gil, Manila.

Still and proudly, in the heart of Manila's district of Malate.

Ben

Oarhouse at dusk in its new location in Malate, Manila - 10.12.2010 © ben razon

For the latest news, inquiries and information, email The Oarhouse Pub - oarhousepub(at)gmail(dot)com

landline : (63)(2) 5167296

mobile : +639997075154
http://www.oarhousepub.com

A closing thought for now, on the temporary fate of The Oar

2010-01-06T09:53:00.003+08:00

The abrupt and sudden closure of the Oarhouse has been painful for me, especially. But at my age, I finally understand what it means to be viciously selfish in fighting for what's important to me. I will hold zero tolerance for those without a clue as to what that means. And I will hold everyone who is anyone in my life accountable to the same.

Ben
1.05.10

12.30.09

2009-12-31T10:13:00.003+08:00

What's a blogsite without a real place to drink? An OARphan, bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!
;-)

Honoring Efren Peñaflorida, CNN Heroes Award Recipient of 2009

2009-11-24T06:59:00.002+08:00

Introducing one Efren Peñaflorida, the highest and most noble of our true Filipino spirit and blood.

Pushcart educator named CNN Hero of the Year

There WILL and WAS - BLOOD.

2009-11-17T08:11:00.002+08:00

Screenshot from The New York Times, November 15, 2009

Thanks Manny. We needed that.

Images from the Victims of Ketsana

2009-10-01T08:08:00.005+08:00

'ONDOY - Images From The Crowd'

No one can tell the story better than the victims themselves.

Aftermath of Typhoon 'Ondoy' (Ketsana), Manila, 09.29.09

For contributions and donations accepted worldwide :

Website of the Philippine National Red Cross/Red Crescent to help the victims of Typhoon Ketsana -
http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/wtd.aspx

Nonoy

2009-09-28T15:42:00.001+08:00

Nonoy Tan, The Oarhouse, Malate 2004

Tatlong Tanaga Para Kay Cory ni Heber Bartolome

2009-08-04T12:42:00.005+08:00

Ang Pagdaan, August 3, 2009 © ben razon

TATLONG TANAGA PARA KAY CORY

ni Heber Bartolome

1. Dumaan ang tag-araw

Dumaan ang tag-ulan
Nang ikaw ang dumaan

Langit ay naging dilaw

2. Binti ay namimitig

Balakang nangangawit

Lahat ay magtitiis

Ikaw ay ihahatid

3. Bayan mong iiwanan

Ang pamana ay dangal

Ikaw ay halimbawa

Ng Dakilang Maylikha

and to continue the work of nationhood

2009-08-01T18:56:00.008+08:00

'Set thy heart upon thy work but never its reward.'

- Lord Krishna

Cory Aquino, 1933 - 2009

On September 18, 1986, just 7 months after she was swept to power by a popular revolt against dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino addressed the joint session of the United States Congress during her first visit to the country since she came home to bury slain opposition leader and husband, Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino, Jr. in August 1983.

Part 2 of former Philippine President Aquino's speech to the Joint Session of Congress, 1986

Part 3 of former Philippine President Aquino's speech to the Joint Session of Congress, 1986

Washington Post: D.C. Inauguration Plans

2008-11-19T16:25:00.004+08:00

D.C. Mayor Fenty Talks About Inauguration Plans

The District is expecting up to 4 million people to crowd downtown for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. The Post's Hamil R. Harris and Nikita Stewart caught up with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to talk about preparations.

'Dear Brother Obama'

2008-11-07T10:31:00.011+08:00

First press conference of President-Elect Barack Obama, November 7, 2008 (Chicago Tribune photo by Zbigniew Bzdak)

The American Presidents

The New York Times Online, November 5, 2008

An open letter from the author Alice Walker, to the 44th President of the United States of America.

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the
flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We
knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies,
but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often
fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,

Alice Walker

Illustration by Mario Mercado

Chicago congratulates Obama: Banners congratulating president-elect Barack Obama hang Wednesday outside of City Hall and the Cook County Building in downtown Chicago. Mayor Richard Daley said the flags were paid for by his campaign committee. (Tribune photo by José M. Osorio / November 5, 2008)

(Alice Walker is the author of 'The Color Purple')

Democrats Abroad Philippines - Quezon Bridge YES WE SPAN EVENT INVITATION, August 24 SUNDAY

2008-08-20T10:38:00.006+08:00

Dear Friends,

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention 2008 in Denver, you are all cordially invited to join us at our gathering this Sunday morning in Manila whose details and times are below.

Kindly forward and pass the word of this invitation on to all our friends here in the Philippines, as well as to all possibly interested Fil-Ams and US expat residents you know in Manila, for their info.

Thanks for your much-appreciated participation and support!

We'll SEE YOU on SUNDAY!

Sincerely,

Ben Razon

Democrats Abroad Philippines

Get Out The Vote Team

Americans In The Philippines For Obama

OBAMA IN TAGALOG

Filipinos For Obama

Vote From Abroad
To VOTE ABSENTEE

DEMOCRATS ABROAD Say 'YES WE SPAN'

Quezon Bridge "YES WE SPAN" EVENT -- Sunday Morning, 10:00 AM, Quezon Bridge Pedestrian Walkway and Arroceros Park, Manila

BY: David McCauley, Democrats Abroad Philippines Vice-Chair, ON AUGUST 19TH, 2008

REFERRAL: Jason Rush and Ben Razon, Democrats Abroad Philippines GET OUT THE VOTE (GOTV) Team, Media Outreach Coordinators

DATE: Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 9:30am - Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 11:00am

Obama Supporters Meeting on Sunday morning, August 24 (hand-made signs welcome!).

In timing with the kick-off of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado and the acceptance of the nomination of Barack Obama for President of the United States and to raise voter registration awareness amongst Filipino-Americans, US citizen residents here in the Philippines, this is Manila's version of more than 50 such events held around the world to mark Senator Obama's commitment to build bridges across party, ethnic and all other lines to reach solutions to our common problems in the US and around the world. Please join us to show your support!

Backgrounder:

The last two U.S. Presidential elections were decided by a few thousand voters in a few states. With over 200,000 Americans residing in the Philippines, and over 6 million Americans residing outside the United States, these voters have the power to determine the outcome of the 2008 election.

On Sunday, August 24th, American citizens living in Manila will rally in support of U.S. presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, and to encourage all Americans living abroad to register to vote. The Acting Chair of Democrats Abroad-Philippines, David McCauley – who has personally known the Obama family since the 1980s – will speak about why Senator Obama’s election is important for America, the Philippines and the world.

EVENT DETAILS, SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2008, 10:00 AM --

1) Preliminary meet-up location of participants for the Quezon Bridge Yes We Span event is at parking area of Aristocrat Restaurant at Rajah Sulayman Park, Malate Church off Roxas Blvd. Assembly time is from 9:30 AM to 10 AM after which the group is to proceed in vehicle convoy to Quezon Bridge Event site at 10 AM sharp.

For those driving from Aristocrat Restaurant meetup site to Quezon Bridge, the route is to take Roxas Boulevard straight towards Luneta (Rizal Park and Manila Hotel), turn right at P. Burgos St. through and past the National Museum and Manila City Hall taking rightmost lane until reaching Metropolitan Theater Building and Park 'N Ride on your right where group is encouraged to park their vehicles. Do not cross Quezon Bridge that heads straight to Quiapo, as there is still a corner you can make a right turnoff onto an access road before the foot of the bridge itself, behind the Metropolitan Theater, where you can also find available places to park on the side or under the elevated line of the LRT (Light Rail Transit).

2) Gathering and parking at event site for group convoy is available at side of Metropolitan Theater and Arroceros Garden, or at Park 'N Ride Parking Building just behind Metropolitan Theater (visible location is directly under LRT line between Metropolitan Theater and Pasig River at foot of Quezon Bridge where all media will be gathered for coverage start) between 10 AM to 10:15 AM. Participants will not be exposed to traffic and will remain on pedestrian walkway. Children are welcome.

3) WALK of Bridge Yes We Span group participants and media on Quiapo-bound pedestrian walkway of Quezon Bridge, 10:15 AM.

4) EVENT and PHOTO-OP GATHERING among participants and media at QUEZON BRIDGE, MANILA 10:15 AM to 10:45 AM.

5) End of event. Group returns from Quezon Bridge back to Remedios Circle, Malate for meetup and no-host brunch (for those interested) at Cafe Adriatico at corner of Adriatico and Remedios St., Malate, 10:45 to 12:00 NN.

From: Democrats Abroad Philippines

Date: Aug 20, 2008 11:24 AM

Subject: Dates to Remember – Message to Democrats Abroad-Philippines Members

Dear Fellow Democrats in the Philippines,

Our last letter went out to you in May, when we reported on the delegates heading to the Denver Democratic Convention in Denver. Well, convention time is now upon us. Georgia McCauley, Chair of Democrats Abroad-Philippines, will be representing us as an Alternate Delegate at the convention – starting next Monday, 25 August (or Tuesday morning, Philippines time). You may also catch Georgia being interviewed in the CNN biography of Senator Obama to air this week as a curtain raiser for the convention.

We are still pushing hard to get US citizen residents in the Philippines to register and vote in the November election. Please help by promoting the website www.votefromabroad.org to any and all who are interested! Please try to deliver at least 10 additional votes to get the change we need in the US and around the world.

Several events have been planned to raise awareness about absentee voting and otherwise gain support for the election of Senator Obama. You are all encouraged to join these events and bring along your friends, whether they can vote or not (limited Obama campaign materials will be available for those who join and contribute):

Sunday, 24 August, 9:30-11:30am: Quezon Bridge "Yes We Span" Event – Assemble at Aristocrat Restaurant, Rajah Sulayman Park, next to Malate Church off Roxas Boulevard between 9:30-10:00am. The group will go together to the bridge for a short rally and photo-op, followed by a no-host brunch at Café Adriatico for those interested. We expect good media coverage, tied to the start of the Democratic National Convention.

Friday, 29 August, 5:15-7:15pm: Obama Acceptance Speech Party – Meet at TGI Friday's Restaurant, on High Street, Fort Bonifacio to hear David McCauley speak from his vantage as an Obama family friend about the candidate's Asian and Pacific roots and world view, and then to view Obama's speech given earlier in the day to an audience of 75,000 in Denver. Food included (but not drinks) with a minimum donation of P1500 to support the voter registration efforts of Democrats Abroad-Philippines.

Saturday, 27 September, 8:30-10:30am: Live Presidential Debate Viewing Party – Meet at TGI Friday's Restaurant, on High Street, Fort Bonifacio to join in viewing the live presidential debate between Senators Obama and McCain. Again, food (not drinks) will be included with a minimum donation of P1500 to support the local voter registration efforts of Democrats Abroad.

Additional information on these and other events can be found at www.democratsabroad.org/group/philippines.

Don't forget that there are an estimated 100,000 potential American voters in the Philippines! Many of them have ties to key battleground states, such as Nevada or Virginia. We need your help to ensure that all eligible Obama supporters know how to register and vote – it can make the difference in a close election!! If you are willing to hand out some brochures to people you know, please contact Lisa Lumbao at lumbao@mozcom.com and she will deliver them to you.

We have been active in promoting awareness. You may have seen a public service announcement on Philippine TV encouraging Fil-Ams to vote. We have been networking with Fil-Am Obama supporters back in the US to encourage them to reach out to absentee voter family and friends here in the Philippines.

The Obama campaign has appointed a regional representative in Sydney to lend support, including providing us with Obama campaign materials and assisting with on-line outreach efforts.

Look for me and other Democrats Abroad-Philippines members being interviewed on TV or radio and being quoted in the press over the weeks to come as we increase our awareness raising efforts. If you want to give some of your time or provide much-needed financial support, please contact Larissa Bhandari, the Get-Out-the-Vote (GOTV) drive leader at labhandari@gmail.com.

You may also be hearing from us by text message when there are important announcements, and please feel free to forward this email to any other interested Obama supporters.

Sincerely,

David McCauley

Vice Chair,
Democrats Abroad-Philippines

WHERE on EARTH will YOU VOTE?

2008-08-06T08:29:00.008+08:00

American? Living overseas? YOU CAN VOTE FROM ABROAD!

On Monday, actress Gwyneth Paltrow will debut in her newest film: a two minute advertisement on behalf of Democrats Abroad, an official party organization that persuades the millions of Democratic voters living outside the country's borders to participate in domestic politics.

The spot, titled 'Where In The World Will YOU Vote?' implores expatriates to ignore the usual excuses and lethargies and cast ballots in the '08 election...preferably for Obama.

-- Sam Stein, The Huffington Post

From 'Democrats Abroad Launches Global Voter Drive For Obama' announcement --

Washington, DC (4th August 2008) - With hundreds of thousands of new or unregistered US voters living around the world, the London-based actor Gwyneth Paltrow and Democrats Abroad, the official state party representing American Democrats living overseas, are scouring the planet for every possible Obama vote with a major new campaign that launches today featuring a video and a series of events around the world.

Through the 'Where In The World Will YOU Vote?' video, which debuted today on the popular American political blog, The Huffington Post, as well as live and virtual 'Search Parties' in London, Paltrow and the group plan to deliver an unprecedented turnout for the Democratic ticket on the 4th of November. Additional 'Search Parties' are also planned for other major cities with high numbers of resident Americans in the coming weeks.

Paltrow, as well as non-celebrity voters, appear in the video to demystify the registration process and to encourage voters to engage in time to participate in the November 4th US general election. The brief video was directed by Jaci Judelson, a native New Yorker now in Paris, whose credits include international television campaigns for The Gap, Volvic, Ralph Lauren and Nokia, among others.

Democrats Abroad, the overseas branch of the US Democratic Party, will host 'search parties' in major cities around the world to identify and engage Americans through friends and family and through social network applications such as Facebook. The group also has a website to help voters navigate the registration process.

"This is a critical election, and we urge all Americans living abroad to request ballots now. We hope that this video along with our other efforts will help Americans, including over 200,000 American students studying abroad, vote for change this fall," said Christine Schon Marques, International Chair, Democrats Abroad.

Democrats Abroad Multimedia Chair and Video Producer Caitlin Kraft Buchman said: "We know the missing voters are out there, between Toronto and Timbuktu, and they can't cast ballots without registering. We won't give up until we find them - with this video, through a friend or at one of the Search Parties we'll be hosting in the run up to Election Day."

EDITOR'S NOTES:

With members in more than 160 countries around the globe, Democrats Abroad holds eight positions on the Democratic National Committee and will send a voting delegation of 22 delegates from around the world to the Democratic National Convention, August 25-28, 2008.

In 2004, Democrats Abroad helped register approximately 250,000 overseas voters in person and online.

VoteFromAbroad.org was launched in 2006 and is available in both English and Spanish.

More than 7 million Americans live overseas.

The countries with the most resident Americans are Canada, Mexico, UK and Germany.

Four of the biggest swing states (Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania) are among the Top Ten for number of overseas ballots requested.

Deadlines to register and request a ballot vary from state to state. Allowing for postal delivery, the practical deadline is around October 4, 2008.

Links:

Federal Voting Assistance Program -- To VOTE ABSENTEE
Democrats Abroad Philippines
On Blogger
Americans In The Philippines For Obama
Americans Abroad For Obama

A Homecoming and Celebration, April 6, 2008

2008-04-08T10:50:00.018+08:00

Edd Aragon, self portrait, 2007

'Sunspots' © Edd Aragon 2008

IT was a day long awaited, of two simultaneous occasions whose most personal elements of which last Sunday for me were of Sydney-based artist Edd Aragon's invitation of his old friends and classmates to his opening exhibit on digital art, and of bringing my friend and colleague Mon Acasio back to the Oarhouse after he suffered a near fatal stroke at this same time last year and for the efforts of the photographers and generous friends who pitched in to raise more than half a million pesos to take care of his medical bills and a year of physical therapy which enabled him to walk again and to continue his road to recovery.

In effect this wasn't so much about an exhibit or a birthday, but of a special homecoming welcome for an artist returning after 30 years to his city and country, and of my celebration of friendship that is as valuable as family to me.

It was not so much about Edd or me but more about how we have gotten to know people and almost unconsciously -- reconnected and consolidated many seemingly different parts and separate elements of our lives.

The true gift is how the character and spirit of a place such as The Oar has inspired a community of great human beings and the reality of last Sunday's celebration under the small modest roof of 'OUR house' on Mabini Street.

That sense of family naturally inspires a communtiy, and the community can give to the rest of those who have had neither -- that gift that we have.

Ben

4.08.08

A big SHOUT OUT and THANKS to Reg, Anabel, Wilson, Abel and the crew of The Oar. The great food and nonstop flow of drinks along with the presence of Krip Yuson, Sylvia Mayuga, Sol Vanzi, Heber Bartolome, Glenn Bautista, Tante Tagamolila, Marne Kilates, Claro Cortes IV, Jaime FlorCruz, Wally Gonzales, Willie Nepomuceno, Butch Perez, Red Constantino, Ronnie Lazaro, Dodo Lim, Apa Ongpin and the North Syquia residents of Malate out in full force coupled with the invisible spirits and vibes of Pepito Bosch and Santi Bose were all present in one way or another to sanctify the occasion.

Maraming salamat uli sa lahat. :-)

Photographs by John Javellana, Claro Cortes IV, Glenn Bautista, Constante Tagamolila

Bitch May Be The New Black, but...

2008-03-17T05:14:00.002+08:00

The Oarhouse Reopens, 1.11.08

2008-01-11T09:49:00.000+08:00

It's a story that needs a line or two from all of us. But beyond that, the Oarhouse is once again -- in its rightful place in Malate.

first there was darkness... (thanks for that initial three hour brownout, meralco)

then there was light.

the women of the japanese karaoke place next door came out and did their nightly salt-throw blessing.

anabel and reg thought that with electricity, maybe opening night was going to turn out okay after all.

then the people came, one by one and now in pairs..

in threes.

with more good welcome hugs..

and like-minded shirts...

with the smiles and the glares (stop me if this starts sounding like the star-spangled banner)

and the long sensual drag...

of tales at the bar.

Simply put, it's good to be back at OUR house. Thanks everyone.

-- Ben Razon, 1.11.08

(To the memory of Pepito Bosch and Santi Bose)

Reopening Softly, 1.09.08

2008-01-11T08:38:00.000+08:00

Images of a reopened Oarhouse from last Wednesday, January 9, 2008 --

the new manager of the oarhouse, Reg Hernandez

Lola, Ronnie, and Joel

Dodo, Anabel and Bart

eye of lazaro

WHOA -- LOVE the eyelashes, HATE the scars!
and what he would have given at the end of the day for an ice cold beer at the OAR!

It's 2008. Come Home To Us

2008-01-09T07:57:00.000+08:00

The OARHOUSE is Our House

One of the last strongholds of Old Bohemian Malate, along with Penguin Café and Hobbit House, Oarhouse first opened its doors in 1977 by retired US NAVY man Chuck Monroe. Musicians began coming in during their breaks from other bars for the cheap beer and the bumper pool table. Theater folk began coming in too, through Carrie, who eventually became Chuck’s wife. Susan Calalay, of the Metropolitan Museum also started coming, and soon the CCP artists followed, dividing their time between Penguin and Oarhouse. In the mid 80’s Jun Medina took it over from Chuck, since Chuck and Carrie had decided to move back to the States. Jun was the former manager of Channel 9 and so media people began spending time there. When Jun went back to Channel 9, his son Chino managed the place, bartending later on when bartender Wilson left. Those were the days I first stepped foot in Oarhouse - my uncle took me there as I sipped juice or soda at the bar some late afternoons and early evenings, getting fed Chino’s baked eggplant (versions of which has continued on the menu even after Chino’s time).

In 1998, Chino had to shut the doors of Oarhouse (for reasons known to him only) and everything else that took over the space (including a roast duck place and a version of it called Ore House) in the next few years – all of which failed miserably. Finally, in 2004 Nonoy Tan, who loved Oarhouse decided to bring it back- and with him came a lot of the old crowd, including former bartender Wilson who has also been a Malate fixture, having bartended as well in the old Blue Café on Nakpil Street.

Last December, Oarhouse was about to close again - Nonoy just couldn’t keep it going. The word went out on December 28 that it was Oar’s last night and the old photogs and journalists and bar regulars showed up to at least have one more San Miguel in their haunt.

A couple of the Oarhouse habitués, also concerned for the loss of Oarhouse, stepped in, and as luck would have it - Nonoy passed them the torch. Reg Hernandez and Redgie Cinco are the new managers of Oarhouse - and with them stands Ben Razon, who has been in charge of the Oarhouse Blog, and of course, yours truly and other friends who have been putting their time and even manual labor into a bar that we have loved for decades.

It is essentially the same place, standing in the exact spot where Chuck Monroe served beer. It is a tiny place, and we haven’t changed it much, but bringing new energy yet the old integrity and simple dignity the place had. It’s gonna take a lot of work, love, and patience, but slowly, I think we can do this. We’re retaining old favorites in the menu, and we will slowly be adding new things. Wilson is still the bartender, and we’re eventually going to have acoustic nights. We shall be serving you the cold beer and food ourselves, and we hope to breathe life back into a place which has been a home for many writers, photographers, artists, and thinkers. The walls will still hold exhibits- for all photographers, and visual artists. The eclectic mix of people who have been there and are part of Oarhouse include the late Santi Bose, Miguel Faustmann, Bart Guingona, Dodo Lim, Dong Alegre, Ben Razon, Julie Yap Daza, Butch Aldana, even former Congressman Bebot Alvarez (when he was still studying) and of course Pepito Bosch (to name a tiny few) as well as countless theater people, musicians, journalists, artists, photographers, bankers, students, peace corps volunteers, backpackers, and other Malate bar owners.

The Old Malate is dying, but the Oarhouse is a landmark, and we cannot -- should not -- let that happen. There is history in those walls, and there is a lot of history that has yet to be written.

Be a part of it.

-- Anabel Bosch
January 9, 2008

(Thanks to Uncle Dave Limsico, who has been part of the Malate scene forever, and has been there since the first day of Oarhouse in ’77 for sharing his memories with me.)

The Oarhouse re-opens on Friday, January 11, 2008 5pm onwards, but we will be operational on Wednesday, January 9 for our dry run. Hope to see you there.

oarhouse@gmail.com
1803 Mabini St., Malate
Manila, Philippines
(63) (2) 450-8301

Tarantadong Tarantino

2007-12-14T09:35:00.001+08:00

Hollywood Director Quentin Tarantino wears a Barong Tagalog at the Golden Globe nominations yesterday in Los Angeles.

The world is discovering the coolness of being Filipino as the shit gets worse. So in this case, the Tagalog word 'Tarantado' justly qualifies as a 'term of endearment'.

Quentin Tarantino waves goodbye at the nominations announcement for the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday morning, Dec. 13, 2007. Nominations were announced in 25 categories for the Golden Globe Awards, airing live Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

'ang mamatay nang dahil sa 'yo'

2007-10-14T07:59:00.000+08:00

translated: 'on why all filipinos should just take up boxing and beat the living shit out of each other'.

'some people weren't meant to just sell cigarettes'

now, the nike legend and 'heraldry', with his own crest insignia and ad campaign designed by the nike head office in beaverton, oregon.

International Bloggers' Day for Burma - Thursday, October 4, 2007

2007-10-04T00:00:00.000+08:00

MYANMAR is NOT free.

but on a bright distant note,
RADIOHEAD is.

neither juntas or profiteers. ;-)

Burma needs Rambo!

2007-10-03T14:46:00.000+08:00

"This is a hellhole beyond your wildest dreams, ...all the trails are mined. The only way into Burma is up the river."

-- Sylvester Stallone a.k.a. 'Rambo', in Myanmar formerly known as 'Burma', during filming of 'John Rambo' on-location with hollywood film crew at the border between Myanmar and Thailand, September 2007.

I think we've all seen this movie before. But like it or not, we're going to have to watch it AGAIN.

Remembering Macario Sakay and Lean Alejandro

2007-09-20T10:39:00.000+08:00

The Constantino Foundation is honored to invite you to the unveiling of the Macario Sakay and Lean Alejandro murals on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, September 21, 2007.

“Biyaheng Kasarinlan”

will be unveiled at 10: 30 am at the Ospital ng Makati at Pembo, Makati City and

“Daluyong”

will be unveiled at 1: 30 pm at the San Juan City Hall, San Juan City.

The murals are the result of the Foundation’s “Reclaiming Public Space, Recapturing Memory” Project. The paintings were done in collaboration with leading art group TutoK, the City Government of Makati and the City Government of San Juan.

The murals depict the aspirations and struggles of a people for genuine freedom, symbolized by Macario Sakay’s leadership of the national revolutionary movement against US colonial rule and the young firebrand Lean Alejandro’s fight against tyranny.

It is a time to remember. We hope you can join us.

"It's high time to recreate the conversation between young Filipinos today and their collective past. We intend to reclaim public space in a way that brings the memory of standing up to tyranny closer to our people," said Constantino Foundation Managing Director Renato Redentor Constantino. According to Constantino, "the paintings aim to start a national trend to transform public spaces as visual tools in recapturing national memory and history. The murals will highlight two largely neglected icons of resistance who fought for our nation's freedom."

In partnership with the city governments of Makati and San Juan, the mural "Biyaheng Kasarinlan" mural will be installed at the Ospital ng Makati in Pembo, while the "Daluyong" painting will be displayed at the City Hall of San Juan.

A strong sense of history is needed in order to achieve real and lasting independence. Thus, focus is given to Filipino revolutionary hero Macario Sakay and youth activist Lean Alejandro. Although separated by 80 years, the two lives of the heroes symbolize the aspirations and hopes of a free nation. Sakay and Lean are not larger than life heroes,though their acts of resistance are heroic. Sakay was an original member of the Katipunan who continued the struggle for national liberation against US colonial rule. Maligned by American authorities and mainstream history books, Sakay was hanged on September 13, 1907, a victim of American and local elite treachery. Considered as one of the most popular and courageous activist of the 1980s, Lean led massive rallies against the Marcos dictatorship and took part in rebuilding the democratic order after the fall of the tyrannical regime. On September 19, 1987, the 27-year old Lean was slain by unknown gunmen.

a 9/11 George Bush Tribute, Frank Zappa Style

2007-09-11T16:56:00.000+08:00

in remembrance of 9/11, and a frank zappa musical video tribute to the one american who's kept osama bin laden happy, inspired and laughing in his cave the last six years. and God Bless America.

It's That Time Again

2007-08-27T16:31:00.000+08:00

NBC's Sunday Night Football Site Screenshot

All logos are official trademarks of the National Football League, the American Football Conference, the National Football Conference, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Manila still needs a direct satellite feed of ALL the american collegiate and pro football games now that it's 'the season'. From the way I buggered people for those Nathans hotdogs last June and July, this focus now on pigskin sportsfeed is still my perennial ongoing dilemma year after year around this time with watching the games and trying to keep up here, which in spite of the actual several live telecasts available now on asian ESPN and the other local broadcaster, Solar Sports, on early monday mornings of some NFL games, is hardly adequate or nonexistent and more so when it comes to the college games. Let's face it. There's not a whole hell of a lot of good you can say about America in general right now, and who gives a shit about the latest fictional shows and movies from Hollywood and New York when nearly every imaginable existing film title and complete TV season episode DVD can be bought from our beloved muslim brothers at the nearby public market for less than a U.S. dollar. With that, who even needs cable? But really now, it's just that the NFL and the NCAA is as necessary and important as CNN or the BBC or FOX in this part of the world because certainly, unfolding action in the form of news, disasters and sports MUST be brought to the public LIVE. Denying access to live broadcasts of the gridiron merely adds to the already blatantly ignorant misconception that Americans have only basketball and baseball to offer the world. And sportswise that's a downright heretical view of the United States. The world's greatest superpower knows its game, and it didn't get that way merely on the heels of a Kareem or a DiMaggio or a Michael Jordan. It did so on the collective might, will, and physically uncompromising, strategic and decisive drives of a Lombardi, Halas or a Joe Paterno, a Brown, Hornung and a Walter Payton, a Butkus or a Joe Greene, a Namath, Landry and a Noll. The true face of American gusto and character is defined by the history of American collegiate and professional football. And if you want insight and understanding into the best and brightest of a people who call themselves Americans, you have to know THIS game. And I'm not the first one to raise this issue on a blog either, folks.

I think though that the same technology that brought cable and connectivity here will bring the coverages and broadcasts on to this part of the world eventually. And can you imagine once 'the FEED' and HDTV becomes reality here?!!?? It would be virtual TAILGATE BARBECUE every WEEKEND from September to January in 85-degree weather! Sonofabitchin' absolute football HEAVEN without having to freeze your ass off!

Another interesting phenomenon to note, that what happens around this time of year in America afflicts me too. Schedules, attention to what's going on locally or in the neighborhood, changes in waking, eating and sleeping -- all these manifest themselves as football season wears on. Short of visiting my favorite supermarkets once a week, I'm not going to give a shit about newspapers, politics, religion, santa claus, military uprisings, government, malls, movies, show business, paris hilton, the weather, hell even people around me in general -- and nearly everything that happens outside this football axis. In short, I'll effectively be from another planet and time in the next few months which you can appropriately label my 'American Football Ramadan Uranus' state.

Just so you all know where I am until this forthcoming Oarhouse Thanksgiving, the typically insufferable Manila Christmas, and the one and only climactic sports event of its kind, the Super Bowl.

(This post is dedicated to Hunter S. Thompson and that other extraordinary American, George Plimpton -- both of whom in their own participation, observance and writings on the sport -- inspired this piece.)

American Football - More amazing videos are a click away

EYE SPY - Imaginary Memories

2007-08-10T10:05:00.000+08:00

Jordan Arabejo and Photography

It was the 90s then, when Mr. Manny Ang was personally conducting what seemed to be one of his last summer photography workshops at his 'WELLS Photo' in Magallanes, Makati that I attended one of them and was forever at the mercy of the camera. This may have very well been the start of my "image-chasing" habits. But it was probably forthcoming since my uncle, Nap Jamir (who encouraged me to take the workshop and sponsored my workshop fees as well) and my grandfather Nap Jamir I, are/were both in the business.

At the time, I honestly did not 'get it', and most of the lessons came in one ear and out the other. To top it off, I think most of my photos were really bad. Fortunately, I was then attending high school at the Philippine High School For The Arts in Mount Makiling, Los Banos Laguna. Under the tutelage of Alfredo Aquilizan, our visual arts instructor, I developed a better sense of aesthetics. I further pursued this passion for visual expression as a college student majoring in painting at the University Of Santo Tomas.

I now work freelance in film and advertising, doing graphic work on the side, striving as best as I can to pursue a career in cinematography. Ironically, how I got to this point demanded a re-entry into photography, and luckily enough this process ended up being more like a "re-discovery" rather than a re-education. I had gained a magic eye. Everywhere I turned, the world appeared to me a strange, throbbing mixture of beauty and ugliness. Wonderful! All I needed now was a camera.

The first camera I had was a Nikon F ("F" probably stood for "fully-freaking manual"). The camera was originally my grandfather's. That's what you call a real family heirloom! The Nikon F was one of the few cameras that my "gramps" had passed on to his photographer son (Nap Jamir II) which was then finally passed on to me. A friend borrowed it and left it in a taxi cab. I'm still kicking myself today for having lent it.

On the selection of these images on exhibit -

Nap Jamir, Director of Photography for television commercials and films, generously helped select this photo series. He has guided my vision, skills, and appreciation for the mediums of photography and cinematography by enabling me with the tools and opportunities. Assisting him in his film and commercial shoots has taught me the nature of light and the balance of visual elements within the frame. These pictures are random applications of that honing and our collaborative efforts to showcase a window that looks out of the norm. We hope that they stimulate and encourage everyone to take a fresh look, perhaps once again, at the world we wake up in.

- Jordan J. Arabejo

August 2007

In Quest of Manila's Hotdog Valhalla

2007-08-07T19:54:00.001+08:00

GO ahead, name them all -- Purefoods, CDO, Mekeni -- when it comes to hotdogs, what these Philippine companies put out can all go straight to damnable unforgiven hell. The gas chambers of Dachau and Auschwitz were designed for these artificial, red dye-injected, oversized and skinless vienna sausages posing as anything but the real stuff. No living organism of the earth should ever be sentenced to eat these, much less feed them to children or humans. Any parent who thinks this is good for their kids should be gassed along with these fake dogs. There's no way to make these things edible regardless of whether you boil, steam or - horror of horrors - fry them (the sight of red dye mixing with the grease is just too much). And has anyone ever been repulsed by how that red coloring looks as it permeates into that undefinable mush of its interior? Worse, they've attempted to embed all the kiddie come-ons inside these things such as cheese, bacon, vitamins, VITAMINS FOR GOD'S FUCKING SAKE, and who knows what else short of antibiotics, hormones and the listeria pathogen. But that's life here, right? Worms, additives, extenders and chemical carcinogens can all be cultivated and be made to live with each other in harmony too, and they wouldn't find the complicated makeup of the philippine hotdog such a bad place to live.

But you see, a hotdog is not merely child's food. It's not about entertaining kids and making them eat shit in whatever form that's supposed to appeal. Nor is it a marketing campaign conceived by mental retardates to appease teenage adolescent psychos or spoiled fat sugar-fed brats who aren't eating right with their already screwed diet in the first place. The hotdog is a purely North American invention and product. It is essentially a medium to long length all-beef sausage wrapped inside a bun that accommodates the encased meat's shape. It was introduced at the turn of the previous century in America as a food conveniently held and consumed while outdoors or watching a sport such as a baseball game or walking through an amusement park. That is why it IS as 'american' as baseball and apple pie. To even challenge or distort the definition of the hot dog would be to question the tradition born of that particular culture, and why it wouldn't surprise me that that would be basis enough for americans to go to war over the fact. Why? They're AMERICANS, that's why. And so the same squarely, proudly and definitively -- is the HOTDOG.

So what started as an innocent postscript interjection in an email to friends who were heading to the states for summer break over a month and a half ago and which up to now and for me had evolved into an emotionally soulful holy grail quest that ended just the other day in my happy intestines: a true genuine, imported for my eating pleasure Nathan's Famous Hot Dog -- served in hotly steamed yet unassuming perfection nestled in a bun topped with a latticework of mustard spread that complemented the summer salty, meaty taste of this Coney Island New York frank.

The repository and sole custodian source of Nathan's Famous here is the 'Hotdog on Sticks' franchise that now dot most of the major malls and supermarkets in the city, and they are exactly the right kiosk entity to introduce the name and the product to Manila. They've been making their own local wieners since 1984, but they chose to start importing Nathan's only at the beginning of this year and offering them for just a few extra pesos more, not to the elite or upper classes of this town but to the general public who with their kids in tow at any given day or location treat them to hotdogs on buns or on sticks which children always like. Hell they've even got corn dogs! When I found their stall at the Glorietta in Makati yesterday, I froze and stood in glee in front of the familiar Nathan's sign, and at the vendor who before I even stopped had already yelled 'HOTDOG SIR!' at me. I stared with dropped jaw at the menu display like an anthropologist looking at egyptian hieroglyphics. It listed 'medium dog', 'jumbo dog', and 'spicy polish dog'. This was IT. I had reached my destination of frankfurter valhalla, and it felt downright euphoric trying to decide what to go for. But of course, the jumbo had to be it. 'RELISH SIR?!??' to which I instantly shouted 'NO!' and chose just mustard to grace the sacred meat. No freshly-diced onions which I wanted but that's okay. My fingers were twitching with anticipation as I watched the guy assemble my order and as he handed it over, I had to cradle it for a second to view it in its wondrous entirety before digging my front incisors on the right leading edge of the furter. Even without the diced onions but with yellow mustard squishing out the sides of my mouth, I was THE happy camper. In that moment the rest of life, consciousness, and the world faded into the background. Given my fill the past few months of dealing with difficult, old, complicated and dying people and situations, I was one again with a good and familiar thing that didn't need much else except a modest and welcoming appetite. And the whole deal was just sixty pesos ($1.25 USD) plus the worthy mention that you can get a side order of their really good french fries and onion rings for an additional thirty pesos (.60 to 70 cents).

As much as it's too easy to believe that one can have the best of anything in the West and certainly this is as far and unlike being anywhere in New York City, Manila and why I love this town is that you can have just a taste of nearly everything one's been hankering for and after the occasion of experiencing content, I can go back to the real, daily sustenance that's kept much of the center intact and an ultralight heart going. And even from across the world of its origins amidst the heathen hordes, the plain lowly hotdog must still always have its true keepers of the flame.

Ben

The Man from Tomorrow

2007-08-01T21:46:00.001+08:00

Talk show host Tom Snyder, left, gets ready to interview convicted murderer Charles Manson at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville in June 1981. © AP

On one fine spring afternoon in 1981, I chanced to sit in on a live audience taping of Tom Snyder's 'Tomorrow' show at the NBC studios in New York City during the year I was there schlepping as a photographer's assistant, and Tom's guests were none other than Ted Turner who spoke about his vision and hopes for CNN, the author Alexandra Penney, and the fusion jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr.

It was the time when his late night interview program immediately followed Johnny Carson's Tonight show with Ed McMahon and Doc Severinsen's band, and the cool adult 'sedateness' of the classic moments of the personalities Tom interviewed like Charles Manson, Harlan Ellison, the Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten and Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics were outright and simply the stuff of broadcast legend. It was the time before the rise and heyday of Letterman and Leno, before Larry King made talk TV a primetime staple, and where all any viewer would be interested in was the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee. Tom went at his guests on a straight one-on-one basis, and you had the distinct feeling and mood that you were in some big city hotel lounge as he would strike up a tasty, soft-spoken conversation that only you were privy to with him and the guest. Such was the intimate, private aura of the late night talk shows of mid-70s and early 80s television before twenty-four hour cable and bigtime celebrities and the notorieties they carried along with them on camera began to consume broadcast media itself.

Lorne Michaels' Saturday Night Live on NBC had also long immortalized Tom's interview style, thanks to Dan Aykroyd.

It was an era I have often and will continue to miss (how could an incredulous Paris Hilton interview on Larry King Live today even dare compare) and now with the passing of Tom Snyder, an absence that speaks as loudly as the personas of Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Dick Cavett and all who had gone before. It was the common but bullseyed questions he asked of his guests in this dark, late-night cavernous background setting at 30 Rock which endeared many like me to stay up that extra hour on weeknights.

The talk show and the art of conversation in broadcasting has not been and never will be like that of the man from Tomorrow.

Ben

Manila with People - Boracay without People, July 2007

2007-07-27T10:54:00.000+08:00

smokestacks under Mt. Makiling, Metro Manila and Puka Beach, Boracay , July 2007 © Ben Razon

The Tagalog word 'Suka' that rhymes with Puka - as in 'suka' translated into english would be 'vomit', and 'puka' as something, well, let just say we're not going there. ;-)

Cebu vs. Guantanamo

2007-07-22T23:00:00.000+08:00

this youtube clip is a cult classic. even my friends on the east coast of a mailing list i belong to have sent this to me. it's gotten an unbelievable number of hits.

the filipino's capacity for expression is unmatched in every respect of contemporary interpretation and context. no words adequately describe it.

still it partly explains and no wonder that we remain -- psychologically at least -- amongst the happiest people in the world. there are no serial killers, sons of sam, john gacys roaming our busy non-isolated teeming hubs of community. okay, there are your crimes of passion prisoners like your rapists, child abusers and jilted martyrs, but hey, that's old shrift compared to really mentally screwed people in the west.

and even in our orange jumpsuit incarcerated state, it'll be a cold fucking day in abu ghraib hell if this scene ever replicates itself in guantanamo.

thank you michael jackson.

Oh Say Can You See...

2007-07-06T09:17:00.000+08:00

'Toothpicks, 2007' (60 x 99") © Chris Jordan, Von Lintel Gallery - and nope, these aren't your amber waves of grain.

Images of America's waste and garbage - from paper bags to plastic bottles to cigarettes to jet trails to SUVs to pain killers to cellphones to shipping containers and to the amount of money at the rate of $12 million dollars an hour that is being thrown into the bottomless pit of Iraq and terrorism as you read this.

just in time for LIVE EARTH DAY on 7.7.07, the introduction by artist chris jordan below is a more accurate picture of america to look at after the 4th of july celebrations.

most of us reading this post can see, right? so these images of scale are always visually helpful when you are trying to see things in perspective.

aside from the more than three thousand young american lives who have perished in an endless war since 9/11, here's what's been thrown, burned, and frittered away plain and simple, and fairly soon, we'll all be choking on it.

ben

Moving Beyond Kyoto July 1, 2007 : 6:27 AM

WE -- the human species -- have arrived at a moment of decision. It is unprecedented and even laughable for us to imagine that we could actually make a conscious choice as a species, but that is nevertheless the challenge that is before us.

Our home -- Earth -- is in danger. What is at risk of being destroyed is not the planet itself, but the conditions that have made it hospitable for human beings.

Without realizing the consequences of our actions, we have begun to put so much carbon dioxide into the thin shell of air surrounding our world that we have literally changed the heat balance between Earth and the Sun. If we don’t stop doing this pretty quickly, the average temperature will increase to levels humans have never known and put an end to the favorable climate balance on which our civilization depends.

- Al Gore

LIVE EARTH -- The Concerts For A Climate In Crisis

*******************

Running the Numbers
An American Self-Portrait

This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on.

My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

My only caveat about this series is that the prints must be seen in person to be experienced the way they are intended. As with any large artwork, their scale carries a vital part of their substance which is lost in these little web images. Hopefully the JPEGs displayed here might be enough to arouse your curiosity to attend an exhibition, or to arrange one if you are in a position to do so. The series is a work in progress, and new images will be posted as they are completed, so please stay tuned.

~chris jordan, Seattle, 2007

This series will be exhibited at the Von Lintel Gallery in New York from June 14th to the end of July.

More info at www.vonlintel.com.

'Well YOU CAN'T be a PIMP and a PROSTITUTE TOO!'

2007-06-27T09:33:00.000+08:00

So goes the great new lyrics and that nice touch of those spanish subtitles in this video of Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes, and is the Oarhouse music pick for the month of July, with the release of their latest album ICKY THUMP, which has been getting rave reviews from just about everyone. By all recommendations and means, pick up the new album. If you like what you see in the video clip, you can view a live version of the title track here.

Oarhouse is one of Manila's best-kept secrets -- Sunday Philippine Daily Inquirer

2007-06-24T13:30:00.000+08:00

'Manila's 8 Best-kept Secrets', Philippine Sunday Inquirer front page, June 24, 2007

Don't say we didn't warn you, but for the regulars and the new generation of visitors to the Oarhouse for the last three years, it's really not been so much of a secret as to how much we've called this place 'OUR HOUSE' for the great encounters, conversations, events, and the company of just plain unassuming but interesting folk -- known or unknown. The list is too long to name the names, but let's just say you'll have to come over and just hang. Take the load off your feet, order that first ice cold beer of the day from Wilson the bartender, and relax. And leave all your baggage (emotional-egotistical-psychological and physical) at the door. Truth only needs a small space, people, and we're nowhere near the size of Greenbelt.

it's just a pub in Malate with decent food. ;-)

cheers,

ben

In today's Sunday Inquirer Magazine - The City's Eight Best Kept Secrets, June 24, 2007

Manila's finest places and where to find them

at no. 5 -- Best Secret Bar -- Oarhouse

Opened in 1978 by retired U.S. navyman Chuck Monroe, it is perhaps one of the last old school bars left in the rapidly changing Malate landscape. Now owned by a former regular, Nonoy Tan, the Oarhouse still lives up to its promise of serving warm food and cold beer to a new, much younger clientele. On any given night, you could catch a photo exhibit (it is a photojournalist hangout), schmooze with actors from the Cultural Center, or chat up a Peace Corps Volunteer. Wilson, a Malate bartender from the days of Blue Cafe on Nakpil, is more than ready to share a friendly word, or mix a deadly Margarita. Leave the diet at home too. Their Pork Wiener Schnitzel and Balbacua (bone marrow stew) are definitely worth the trip downtown.

-- Carlos Celdran

Bubba's Back - on kinder, healthier...carrot sticks

2007-06-23T13:18:00.001+08:00

From BAGnewsNotes -

'What was brilliant about the Clinton/Sopranos video was not so much the hype over the "campaign theme song" -- or even the parody of the Sopranos episode. What was brilliant was how the buzz over both topics provided effective cover, and a smooth entree for Bill Clinton to officially enter the campaign.'

Take it from ingenious Hillary the Hilarious to reintroduce her husband and inject him into her PAYBACK campaign, Sopranos-style. But old Bill in his relaxed mood on the video clip is especially endearing. I wished american presidents would come to work looking the way he does on this segment. Unfortunately it's all parody and fantasia, as we go from Fleetwood Mac of the Clinton-Gore campaign song to THIS godawful choice sung by Celine 'My Heart Will Go On To Help Hillary Sink the Rest of the Free World after the Titanic' Dion.

I'm going to hang myself.

The Oar when it ROCKS.

2007-06-20T15:22:00.000+08:00

The Oarhouse was rocking to the playlist last night, hooked up my iPod to the house system and played the Decemberists, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and The White Stripes. Mon was there and he was beginning to stand by himself with just a bit of assistance, but he was happy and bobbing his head up and down to the music alongside two tables of Peace Corps regulars, Jimmy, Dong, Ronnie Lazaro, Red Constantino, Butch Aldana, Carlos Celdran and the other photographers and everybody else who drifted in last night.

it was the Oar at its typical best and liveliest. and yes, no pictures while we're having fun. ;-)

ben

and some notes on the aural joys and lyrical delights of 'Icky Thump', the White Stripes' latest album just released last June 18.

Mon Returns to the Oarhouse, 6.11.07

2007-06-14T11:05:00.000+08:00

'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' -- Ey Acasio brings his brother Mon back to the Oarhouse after a month and a week since his stroke. June 11, 2007 © Rem Zamora

You won't see him everyday at the Oarhouse guzzling down beers by any stretch now and in his post-stroke recovery period, but just the mere sight of our friend Mon Acasio back and alive at the Oar and recognizing familiar surroundings in the company of friends is wonderful and inspiring to see again.

Let's keep the light on for all the good reasons, and if this inspires change in the way we've been taking so many things for granted, then all the better.

Thanks Rem, for the photo. :-)

AND on a related note at the Rock Ola Cafe (formerly the Penguin) in Malate:

EVERYONE is INVITED!

The 2nd Annual Musicfest at Rock Ola (Penguin) Cafe

604 Remedios Street, just off Remedios Circle, Malate, FRIDAY NIGHT, JUNE 15, 2007

MUSIC LINEUP starting with JFK (jazz) 9 PM / PUNY EARTHLINGS (alternative) 9:45 PM / FRONTMEN (jazz) 10:30 PM / HEMP REPUBLIC (reggae) 11:15 PM / JOHNNY ALEGRE AND AFFINITY (jazz) 12 MN / NEIGHBORS (reggae) 12:45 AM / MOBSTER MANILA (ska) 1:30 AM

Rock Ola's Butch Aldana wishes to announce that at least 10% of the house sales for the night's event will go to the physical therapy and rehabilitation fund of Mon Acasio.

So drop by, enjoy the music and have a toast for Mon!

We'll SEE YOU TONIGHT at The Penguin!

Why The World Continues to Fall Apart...part 2?

2007-06-10T19:08:00.000+08:00

Mon Acasio, April 14, 2007, attempting to lower his blood pressure by holding an ice-cold bottle of beer to his soon-to-explode head, just two and a half weeks before he had his near-fatal stroke. He survived alright, but he'll have to learn how to talk and walk again on his long hard road back to recovery. And somehow, 'normal' doesn't really sound like the right word to use.

More realistic scenarios of beer-drinking, and all other AB (alcoholic beverage) ingestion would show the consequences of drinking too much, too often: noxious, smoked-filled rooms, demented discussions, arguments, illness, smashed cars, beaten wives, abused children, and wrecked careers. Our attention should focus on AB-caused illness; to the diarrhea, dermatitis, and dementia of the alcoholic pellagran; or to the staggering and absurd mutterings of the brain-damaged alcoholic with Wernicke's psychosis.

Um, yeah folks, let's sober up a bit after the alcohol, shall we? The demented discussions and arguments in the noxious smoke-filled rooms (ok, sounds disturbingly like the Oarhouse on any given night) -- YES, BUT the illnesses, smashed cars, beaten wives and abused children part are horrible!

Why The World Continues to Fall Apart

2007-06-09T10:55:00.000+08:00

This week on 'The Simple Life' -

Thirty-five years ago, a photographer in Vietnam took this picture --

On June 8, 1972, children and their families fled the village of Trang Bang down Route-1, their bodies seared by napalm. The young girl screaming, in particular, was etched onto the world's mind by the photograph of Huynh Cong 'Nick' Ut, an AP photographer.

The photograph from the My Lai massacre showing excruciating pain and death has become a photographic icon, an antiwar rallying point and a symbol of hope. The photograph rightly stands among a few honorable and memorable images of the last 150 years of photojournalism. -- excerpt from 'The Survivor - A Young Girl's Cry for Help in Vietnam'.

And thirty-five years later on the same day of June 8, 2007, the same photographer, Nick Ut, took this image --

(AP Photo/Nick Ut))

Paris Hilton is seen from the window of a police car as she is transported from her home to court by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in Los Angeles on Friday.

Whether it's horrific Vietnam or a pretty Paris thirty-five years later, the misery index hasn't changed. And who gives a shit? Most of us are still adding fuel to our own.

Stay tuned and have a great weekend folks! :-)

A Benefit Auction on Philippine Photography, 1970-2007, Silverlens Gallery

2007-06-04T12:52:00.000+08:00

A Benefit Silent Auction

6 June 2007, Wednesday, 3pm to 6pm

Silverlens Gallery, 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Warehouse 2, Yupangco Bldg., Makati City

On Wednesday, June 6, 2007, the Silverlens Gallery will be hosting a first of its kind Benefit Silent Auction of Philippine Photography 1970 - 2007. Bidding will begin at 3pm and will close promptly at 6pm. The auction will feature prints by more than twenty established photographers of diverse reputation and renown, including Jes Aznar, Alex Baluyut, Claro Cortes IV, Albert Garcia, Nap Jamir, Ronnie Lazaro, Luis Liwanag, Isa Lorenzo, Rolex dela Pena, Ben Razon, Dennis Rito, Ed Santiago, Fernando Sepe Jr., Nico Sepe, Angelo de Silva, Jose Enrique Soriano, Wig Tysmans, George Tapan, Dennis Sabangan, Ernie Sarmiento, and Stephen Wallace. Proceeds from the auction will go to the medical treatment of photojournalist Mon Acasio.

Silverlens Gallery is located at 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Warehouse 2, Yupangco Building. Gallery hours are 10 to 7pm Mondays to Fridays and 1 to 6pm on Saturdays. For more information, call (02) 816-0044 / (0905) 52650873 or email manage@silverlensphoto.com.

To the photographers, a final reminder for you to include your one-page bio to attach to the auction catalog, and for those who have not texted or emailed me privately of their commitment to participate, please do so now as we are finalizing the list of photographers whose work will be presented on the auction day. Silverlens Director Isa Lorenzo is requesting that for each participating photographer including even those who are not, that they invite at least five of their friends or contacts who can attend the benefit auction event from 3 pm to 6 pm, to encourage the viewing and the sale of the photographs to be presented.

For everyone and especially the auction participants, please direct any last minute questions or inquiries about the auction to Rica Estrada of Silverlens, at <rica_estrada@silverlensphoto.com> or call the gallery at 8160044 / 09178170198 / (0905) 52650873 or email <manage@silverlensphoto.com>.

Let's all do our part to make this special one-time benefit auction event a success, and again, maraming salamat sa inyong lahat mula sa pamilya ni Mon Acasio.

We'll see the contributing photographers on wednesday morning, the 6th of June, from 9:30am to 11am, and welcome the bidding participants and guests at the start of the silent auction at 3pm to 6pm.

Mabuhay kayo, and with our sincerest gratitude.

Ben

WHAT: Benefit Auction/Sale of 'Philippine Photography 1970 - 2007'

WHEN: Wednesday, June 6 2007, 3PM to 6PM

WHERE: Silver Lens Gallery , 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Yupangco Bldg 2, Makati City, Metro Manila

WHY: For the proceeds of the auction/sale to help fund the physical therapy and rehabilitation of our colleague, Mon Acasio, in the aftermath of the near fatal stroke he suffered last May 4, 2007.

MAP to Silverlens Gallery, Makati:

An Exhibit to Julia's Life

2007-05-20T09:59:00.000+08:00

Sunset, La Union coastline, 1.2007, © Josh Corbett

An Exhibit to Julia, The Oarhouse, May 2007

Julia Campbell – In Memory

Julia Campbell was many things to many people. To us, she was a dear friend. Her life burned brightly and ended unexpectedly, too soon. Those of us who knew her will always remember her smile, her wit, and those thousands of memories she shared with us, big and small. This wall exhibit is a tribute to her life - a life which was, in our estimation, beautiful and truly well lived.

The Oarhouse has had long-standing ties to the Peace Corps, going back to the 70s. It has been a favorite haunt of many generations of volunteers visiting the city, in from their respective assigned sites. The Oarhouse graciously offered the space and other support necessary to put this memorial exhibit together. We are deeply grateful.

The photos and quotations on these walls are meant to celebrate the past two years of Julia Campbell’s life. The quotations are mostly taken from her blog. She chronicled her experiences masterfully. She was a writer by both profession and passion, and her own words tell her story best. The pictures were taken from various Peace Corps Volunteers.

Special thanks go out to Fujifilm for the prints, and most especially to Ben Razon, without whom none of this would have been possible. Sincere thanks.

Sincerely,

Joshua Corbett
Matt DiDio
Jody Johnson
& other friends of Julia

Chiz Takes

2007-05-03T01:10:00.000+08:00

Francis 'Chiz' Escudero with my colleagues En-Lai Yeoh, Mon Acasio and Derek Soriano at campaign headquarters, Quezon City, May 2, 2007

As Election Day for the Philippines' midterm vote of senators, congressmen, governors and local officials draws near, old friends and colleagues in media gather together again to do stories on the candidates, and just a phone call from photographer Derek Soriano and writer En-Lai Yeoh who's now in town to do a series of stories on the election for Bloomberg in Singapore was all we needed to get the ball rolling on an opening interview with senatorial candidate Francis 'Chiz' Escudero and his overview of the current political scene now playing itself out amongst both administration and opposition candidates for the May 14 vote.

I've been photographing Chiz since the start of his campaign last January for the Philippine Senate, and if there has ever been an ideal project in photography and photojournalism involving an eyewitness view of the political process in this country as it is presently unfolding, this short stint with the young Congressman from Sorsogon province would've topped all wishful considerations.

Whenever I take pictures of anyone who's so well known in the public eye, my mind and attitude towards the subject admittedly goes terribly blank. It's because I search immediately for something familiar and common almost automatically when I begin observing any person who has had as much airtime in projecting his or her public persona. This round of images I have documented of Chiz, however, has not been so much of a problem. Thankfully, my own take has corresponded and matched with his understated and pleasantly honest demeanor, whether he has exhibited that in public or towards just the inner circle he knows. What I saw was precisely what I got, nothing more and nothing less.

The scene has been consistent, as I've seen again and again. And that is why I think a certain tenet of my own photography has been proven right. It is so much harder for both photographer and camera to replicate or include what is plainly non-existent in a moment or character of a person, rather than the contradictory goals of today's digital imagery which suggest nothing but lies and more of the same stereotypical intentions.

In this case, everything remains unretouched both with the people I do know, and of a subject whom almost everyone knows.

Now if only everyone else in this country would begin to act accordingly, and work on themselves from there. Maybe that might make for the real and truthful picture.

-- Ben

Two Irish Gentlemen at the Oar and Nightfall at Vito Cruz, Malate

2007-04-28T18:24:00.000+08:00

Even if the video isn't so clear, the sound certainly was for this musical treat last night from two irish gentlemen musicians who gave the oarhouse and its patrons a great acoustic mandolin and guitar set of songs over ice cold beers. i think they'll be back. i wanted to add a special thanks to rolex and vina de la pena and especially to vina who also joined the set and graced our gathering with her own inimitable voice for our friends last night.

Nightfall over Vito Cruz

On the way to a shoot at Century Park Hotel along Vito Cruz St. in the early evening hours of 7 p.m. last monday, one finds the queue for the 'cultural center' jeepneys that traverse the length of this street in Manila from the corner of Taft Avenue all the way across Roxas Boulevard and to the famed monuments of former first lady Imelda Marcos' paeans to the 'filipino spirit' in the near-forgotten decade of the 70s and her idea of what comprised of 'culture'. But the images that any cellphone with a camera can capture today about the look of this street and its environs speak more of the real Manila and the people who inhabit it. You wait for the jeepney to fill up with passengers, and they are more often the father and daughter who just came from a Jollibee restaurant and bringing extra food for those who got left behind at home. It's the anonymity of reality in this city of countless numbers on this short but literal route where the people congregate around. The graininess you see in the image is exactly what you see in real life from a non-editing eye.

From the family of Julia Campbell

2007-04-23T06:29:00.000+08:00

The following statement is being released on behalf of the family of Julia Campbell, as posted on the U.S. Peace Corps website on April 18, 2007:

Today, we learned the news that our Julia was found. We are so very grateful to the workers and searchers who worked diligently to look for and find our daughter, sister and friend. In addition to the Peace Corps, we would like to thank the Philippine National Police, the Philippine government and the people of the Philippines, especially those in Barangay Batad, Banaue for the outpouring of support and assistance in the search.

The U.S. Peace Corps and our U.S. Embassy leadership, personnel and especially the Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines have been of great comfort to our family during this difficult time. Director Ron Tschetter and his team exemplify the sense of community Julia loved about the Peace Corps; they have and continue to show great concern for Julia and our family.

During the past two years Julia has been on assignment in the Philippines, she served in various roles in the village of Donsol (province of Sorsogon) where she worked with the local school there to rebuild and stock the school library. Since childhood, Julia was an avid reader who enjoyed great literary works; “Sophie’s Choice” was one of her favorites. Many of her friends and family helped her in a campaign she created to provide age-appropriate reading materials to the library in a project she called "A Book and A Buck". Through her efforts, she collected more than 500 titles. Julia, a passionate yoga instructor and vegetarian, also worked with the local community to launch an ecology awareness campaign and was instrumental in building an Eco Center in Donsol. Most recently, she served as a teacher at the Divine Word College in Legaspi city, where she taught English.

In her forty years, Julia lived a very full life. She loved her family and friends and is much loved. She was passionate in her journalism reporting especially the stories involving people who were able to stand and address adversity or adverse situations.

We have every confidence that the U.S. and Philippine authorities are conducting a thorough investigation into Julia’s untimely death.

Plans are still in development for a memorial service in Fairfax County, Virginia where our family lives.

--

Peace Corps Continues to Mourn the Loss of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell.

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 20, 2007 - U.S. Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter returned last evening from the Philippines where he met with officials, including President of Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, concerning the investigation of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell.

Search parties discovered Ms. Campbell’s body near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 18. Ms. Campbell disappeared on April 8 while hiking in Banaue, Ifugao Province, Northern Luzon. Her body has been flown to Manila where an autopsy will be performed by Philippine authorities in cooperation with specialists from the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Officials are also continuing to investigate the discovery site.

Director Tschetter, along with the entire Peace Corps family, continues to mourn the loss of Volunteer Julia Campbell. He said, “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. “The U.S. Peace Corps is saddened by the loss of such a dedicated and vibrant Volunteer, who so loved this country. Our hearts go out to her family and friends in the United States.”

Ms. Campbell was reported missing on April 11 after failing to show up for several appointments. She was last seen on Sunday, April 8 in the Banaue area. She reportedly intended to hike in a hilly area near Batad, 1.5 kilometers east of Banaue town, and was unaccompanied.

Ms. Campbell served in ecological and educational projects in Southern Luzon since she began her Peace Corps service in the Philippines in March 2005.

There are 136 Peace Corps Volunteers serving in the country. More than 8,000 Volunteers have served in the Philippines since 1961, making it the second oldest Peace Corps program in the world.

Contact
Press Office

Phone
202.692.2230

Fax
202.692.1379

Email
pressoffice@peacecorps.gov

Website of the U.S. Peace Corps

--

47th state

2007-04-07T15:40:00.000+08:00

and am finally getting off the damned greyhound bus before I get too old - for those who know me. i always was and always will be - a son of my native manila. :-)

Kermit's 'Hurt'

2007-03-30T17:31:00.000+08:00

Sad Kermit - Hurt

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I told that frog to lay off that heroin...

Thanks for this gem, Steve. :-)

The Opposition of Barack Obama

2007-03-27T07:11:00.001+08:00

It's BaRACK and ROLL TIME.

CHINO Revisited

2007-03-25T23:48:00.000+08:00

Wilson, the current bartender, with former Oarhouse guru, Chino Medina, February 2007.

Chino and the usual cast of characters at the bar, Oarhouse 1994

It's only once in a blue moon now that former Oarhouse manager and bartender Chino Medina drops by Malate to have a beer or two at this place he ran under his father Jun Medina's ownership of the Oar from the mid-80s to the latter part of the 90s, but when he does show up, it's always a time to strike up the unforgettable memories of conversations at the bar over continuous ice cold beers and the people he managed to introduce to each other when we were only newbies to the place then. But it was that quality of his being able to converse and make friends out of complete strangers who found themselves at his wooden altar of topical worship, and many of us still miss those times a bit when his mother used to prepare all the entrees of the Oarhouse from their home kitchen in Paranaque, and the way he would shove the small bowls of hot, freshly-popped popcorn to the regulars who came in at the faithful, usual hours of weekday evenings seeking solace and quiet time to nurse their bottles of pale pilsen like babies to pacifiers. Chino stays mostly at their home now, away from Malate and Leveriza and no longer the social and indulging barmaster he was. But we followed him like the literal pied piper he was then, and struck a bond with this elder gentle brother through some of the best and worst moments of our early, heady years at the Oarhouse. That's why we still remember why we love this place so much, and if the spirits of wisdom and excess could speak, no antidote would be available for those who'd once again be sucked into the fire and magnetic pull of what he always considered 'the great little bar' of Manila.

-- Ben

Photographs From My Friends - Patrick Lucero: 'Dreamscapes and Portraits'

2007-02-26T07:00:00.000+08:00

Patrick Lucero and son Sean, Manila, 2.20.07

***

Dreamscapes and Portraits:
14 Photographic Visualizations by Patrick Lucero

The Oarhouse, February 26, 2007

'Venus on Mars Discordant #2'

'States of Mind'
all images © Patrick Lucero 2007

When Ben Razon asked me to submit a new body of work to state where I am exactly as a photographer at this time, I had to draw deep in order to develop images of substance. As a photojournalist working in Kuwait for the US Army bases there it wouldn’t have been appropriate or interesting for myself to exhibit my work photos. What I do for work isn’t thought provoking.

With that in mind I thought of going a graphic route to expressing my thoughts on interpersonal situations which later evolved into exploring the art of portraiture to bring out different facets of a person's character using abstract graphic manipulation and the compositing of multiple images together. For the conceptual pictures I wanted to illustrate how often men and women alienate themselves from each other instead of nurturing a relationship to grow. All too often it seemed to me that good relationships go bad over time. How often do we see “the perfect couple” at odds with each other go into a slow, spiralling descent until it spins out of control and crash to earth. Communication, of course, or rather the lack of it - is the simple answer to most problems in a relationship.

All of the images have been extensively Photoshopped. It’s not traditional photography and I’m sure it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if the images make you stop and look twice at it…then I would say, “cool!”

-- Patrick Lucero

February 2007

Photographs From My Friends - Alfredo Roces

2007-02-01T10:38:00.000+08:00

"Alfredo Roces Photographs"
January 30, 2007
The Oarhouse

© Alfredo Roces

Ding Roces, Frankie and Tessie Jose, and Irene Roces at the exhibit opening of 'Alfredo Roces Photographs', the Oarhouse, January 30, 2007.

The way I came to know the artist-writer Alfredo Roces was through my photographic mentor, Dick Baldovino. It has been more than a decade that I have shared thoughts, words, and images with this great man of Philippine letters and the arts which can only be appropriately described by many of his peers as enlightening and without equal. Having based himself along with his wife Irene in Sydney, Australia for nearly thirty years now, it was a delight to have begun corresponding with the man at the onset of the internet age through the magic of near-daily email exchanges for the past eight years. From there, he rediscovered his photography where he likened the act of photographing with a digital camera everyday in the same manner as doing his usual visual exercises on a sketchpad.

I asked him last December 2006 if he would be so obliged as to share some of these personal photographic notes in a place of conversation and meeting such as the Oarhouse. And he gladly agreed to exhibit the recent imagery of his 'world' for the many who have yet to enter it.

Maraming Salamat, Tata Ding.

-- Ben Razon

January 30, 2007

Photographs From My Friends - Claro Cortes IV

2007-01-13T09:14:00.000+08:00

Claro Cortes IV: China Collection
A Photographic Exhibition
The Oarhouse, January 13, 2007

During my six years of covering various political, social and cultural events for Reuters in China, I was given an opportunity to witness first-hand one of the world’s oldest existing cultures.

Hopefully, this collection of photos gives you an insight on how humanity’s largest race faces the fresh challenges of the new century while tenaciously holding on to centuries-old beliefs and practices.

Pilgrims prostrating before the Potala Palace in Tibet, a lady preparing tea before the start of the People’s Congress in Beijing, dancers performing during a pre-Olympic event – a unique way of life still evident in today’s China.

In contrast, one can see scantily-clad models, a couple swinging away to a Western beat, horsemen playing pool outdoors. Glimpses of communism tangled with commercialism is also manifested in a few photos showing a man appreciating a painting in a modern gallery, and a man walking past a billboard for residential-cum shopping centers which are sprouting all over the country.

Enjoy the images! Huan ying can guan!

Claro

Baldovino and the New Year in Quiapo

2007-01-08T10:01:00.000+08:00

Dick Baldovino, 1937 - 2007
Photograph by Nico Sepe

Farewell dear colleague, mentor and friend - from all of us.

Maligayang Pasko (Merry Christmas)

2006-12-23T09:13:00.000+08:00

Maligayang Pasko kahit saan kayo naroroon, from the Oarhouse.
Merry Christmas wherever you may be, mula sa Oarhouse.

The Oarhouse
1803 Mabini St.
Malate, Manila
PHILIPPINES

Thanks Heber and Noel.

2006-12-11T09:33:00.000+08:00

In the time i've known Heber Bartolome and Noel Cabangon, there really hasn't been much to further add to their being the already great musicians that they are except to just sit back and watch them play their usual consistent honest best. Here are two clips I recorded in live performances from 2004 -- Heber at My Brothers Moustache in an impromptu call for his song 'Karaniwang Tao (Ordinary People)', and Noel capping off his regularly scheduled set at 70s Bistro and saying 'Good Night'.

and never mind the usual ambient noise and atmosphere of the crowd -- it's all part of being in their presence and sitting right there. :-)

ben

Thanksgiving postmortem at The Oar

2006-11-24T15:19:00.000+08:00

Ninang Sol Vanzi carving the turkey for the Oarhouse Thanksgiving line

While the turkey didn't last very long, the line kept coming.

IT was plenty while it lasted, so they say, and the amount of food was certainly more than enough to have faced the onslaught it did last night from our regulars and the visitors who searched far and wide for a more than decent thanksgiving spread in manila. For appetizing starters were the two blocks of mozzarella cheese, pate and crackers to go with the main feature of the turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans with bacon, broccoli and cauliflower quiche, german potato salad, boston baked beans, and as second backup to the turkey were two huge sweet hams which the guests barely finished off with apple pie crumble topped with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Ninang Sol Vanzi and Susan Villaroman made sure that everybody got more than their share, with ninang still daring the troops for more with her military-style approach to feeding everyone. The turkey and all the said trimmings came out well, and we'll leave it at that for however you want to interpret yesterday's successful celebration of T-Day at the Oarhouse.

We'll see you all again next year, I'm sure. ;-)

Talking Turkey

2006-11-22T09:06:00.000+08:00

Two birds and a baby, just click on either image to see where that takes you.

Maybe it's that most people in this part of the world tend to just look at Thanksgiving as a quintessentially American tradition, but something about it hasn't left me in my years of consistently marking that last thursday of November and nearing the yearend.

Here in tropical Manila, the light seems that much more brilliant and intense during morning hour and noon. The sun's dry heat of november afternoons are forgivingly brief, as an earlier call of sunset and that equally strong envelope of darkness takes over at around 5:30 pm. From there, the long cool nights set in, and you notice that you no longer need air conditioning. But it's to the ones who don't know what artificially cooled air is about that this time of year presents its gift of climate, that what one feels outside of the skin is as close to what it must comfortably be on the inside.

And that's when I look for the kind of meal that says life is ok. It's not a holiday like Christmas, and ever since I have grown up, all that senseless childish prattle about gifts and some white babe redeemer in swaddling clothes really no longer matters. A Thanksgiving meal is more of a statement. It's a moment of recognizing the human soul and the stomach as it needs to be acknowledged and fed, and it can be as lavish or as simple in preparation, all bearing the hallmarks of what seeing life at its most complex or just the essential, is. And precisely because it's only 'a meal' instead of those usual overdone celebrated days of history that silly people attach themselves to, it is as beautifully fleeting and satisfying, and never overbearing or solemn.

So fuck Christmas and all those other holidays. I like Thanksgiving better. Let's EAT.

Ben

Tata 'HELLS' Night at the Oarhouse ;-)

2006-11-21T19:28:00.000+08:00

Our ever-smiling 'Tata Hell'

Gil Nartea and Pat Roque place the finishing touches to the exhibit

Gil welcomes friends and family.

Joe Galvez, Tony del Rosario, and Heber Bartolome

Gil and Nap Jamir

What a night. One of Philippine Photojournalism's steady and consistent lights -- Gil Nartea or otherwise known in acidic but respectfully affectionate terms by colleagues and friends by the monicker 'Tata Hell', launched his long-awaited solo exhibit titled 'Children in Conflict Situations' at the Oar last night. Friends of the photographer from near and far -- Heber Bartolome, Nap Jamir, and scores more -- arrived and attended, and they need not be elaborated on in that the images in their presentation truly made another one of those classic Oarhouse nights in the company of true friends and family which you truly must experience for yourself in this place to believe.

And to which we all say -- Salud TATA HELL! Long may you live and never age, our good friend, brother, teacher, and master photographer.

-- Ben

'Children in Conflict Situations' will be on exhibit at The Oarhouse until the second week of December 2006.

Children In Conflict Situations - Photographs by Gil Nartea

2006-11-20T10:34:00.000+08:00

IN the course of being on assignment for another purpose, it occurred to me to extend the scope of my photographic documentation of war's effects on children in my travels to the ARMM (autonomous region of muslim mindanao) and the sites of MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) strongholds in Cotabato, Basilan and Sulu from 2003 to 2005.

The images from this exhibit are a result of that effort.

-- Gil Nartea

'Children in Conflict Situations - A Photography Exhibit by Gil Nartea'
November 20, 2006, The Oarhouse, 1803 A. Mabini St., Malate, Manila

Exhibition printing sponsored by The United Nations Children's Fund -- UNICEF

'My Own Mayon'

2006-11-13T21:13:00.000+08:00

My Own Mayon

P h o t o g r a p h s

EY ACASIO
EDWIN BACASMAS
NOEL CELIS
EDD GUMBAN
NINO ORBETA
TONY PIONILLA
ERNIE PENAREDONDO
MIKE PEREZ
BOBBY RANOCO
CHERYL RAVELO
LYN RILLON

REM ZAMORA

November 10 – 18 2006
The Oarhouse

Now where were we?

2006-11-07T11:51:00.000+08:00

Oarhouse, November 2006

Sorry for the long pause in postings, folks, it's just that i'd been away deconstructing my old darkroom at home lately while uncovering several decades of photographs, negatives and slides long forgotten about. It's felt oddly similar to a major archaeological digging, where images thought long gone have suddenly unearthed themselves from the dust of yore. A bunch of old party scenes at the Oarhouse during the early 90s, and portraits of friends during that time have risen to the surface, much to my sick delight.

There will be more unscheduled salvagings of classic images along this history as the past and the present of this establishment continues to collide.

Washing away Milenyo (Xangsane)

2006-10-03T09:56:00.000+08:00

As photographer Joe Galvez gently corrected me, this scene resembles a 'Vermeer' instead of a 'Rembrandt'.

For a while there in the darkness of Milenyo's aftermath, I felt I was at the set of the first Star Wars movie and was getting ready to be sent back in handcuffs to Tatooine...

AS these images above from the blackened, powerless interior of our beloved hangout will tell you, the planned big hyper-birthday bash for the september photographer celebrants was effectively neutralized and postponed by typhoon Milenyo (international code name: 'Xangsane' -- it was chinese by birth apparently, and more appropriate for a pet panda) deciding to pass by The Oarhouse through Manila on its way to the South China Sea and Vietnam, and there was little we could do about that. But the power and the lights are back on, and with twisted crossed fingers, hope that this planned rescheduling of the birthday celebration will push through finally this weekend, Saturday, October 7 here at Oar, where the wind and the waves will mercifully stop long enough for us to drink and toast a few rounds. We'll just have to keep ya posted kids!

-- Ben

The Oarhouse in SEPTEMBER 2006

2006-09-25T10:05:00.000+08:00

Um, we don't really want to keep driving home the point, but....isn't it great about the Oar bringing people together?

More images from photographer Paolo Picones' exhibit opening last Saturday the 23rd at The Oar -- click HERE.

Thanks to current Philippine Center for Photojournalism Chairman Dennis Sabangan and the generous contributions of Dubai-based photogs Bernard Testa, Joseph Capellan, Val Handumon, Ryan Hernandez, Paolo Vecina, Dennis Mallari and our Reuters Chief in Baghdad Erik de Castro -- we're planning another big ultra-birthday bash this coming Saturday the 30th, the last day of the month, for our September colleague-celebrants near and far, such as Romy Gacad, Gil Nartea, Ernie Sarmiento, Boy Cabrido, Jimmy Domingo, Joseph Capellan, Val Rodriguez, Paolo Picones and Buck Pago. Hope I haven't left out anyone.

Master DJ Aaron Favila will once again be rocking the House at the bar and we will try to hook up with our colleagues based abroad in Dubai, Baghdad, the United Kingdom, the United States, Lithuania and Beijing via wifi and broadband video connect from the Oarhouse on Yahoo Messenger and Skype. Photographers with laptops are advised to bring their webcam attachments so we can try to make this work in more ways than one.

But the ice-cold beers will be flowing, and we're looking forward to seeing everyone at The Oar!

Mabuhay ang mga Pinoy PHOTOGS!

Ruminations on Oarhouse Gastronomy

2006-09-07T15:59:00.000+08:00

Carlos Celdran holds a sampling of Ninang Sol Vanzi's 'Roman Deli' of tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella cheese slices (dog not included, whew!), and longtime Oarhouse veteran journalist Nancy Collins pops in last week from her home base in Indonesia.

'Time the Avenger', so sings Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. Well yesterday, it sure as hell felt like it when 'time plus alcohol' delivered me the hangover of the week. I must be mellowing in middle-age, since all I had the other night was, what, four measly beers? But it was punctuated with a pleasantly wicked rifle shot of Absolut Mandrin, thanks to Ronnie Lazaro's persistence as we just hung out at the bar talking about future exhibit concepts at the Oar. I was telling him how I'd come up with a new delectable meatball mix for this spanish dish called albondigas ('almondigas' in pinoy version), and he proposes out of the blue a group exhibit of photographers showing food they've mastered cooking or really considered their favorite in photographic interpretation, with the actual dishes in tow to serve and sample to everyone on the theme's opening night. Kinda like having your cake and eating it too. I guess any reason to pig out and drink is good enough but the curiously sensible option of connecting them with the visual character of the Oarhouse is a great idea. It's a new term: GASTROPHOTOGRAPHY by 'Gastrophotographers'.

Food is something not often talked about at the Oar because every diehard regular here seems to have had their own contribution or tale as they first tasted something here which they'd never had before as in the baked eggplant mozzarella (a longtime Oarhouse staple), pork schnitzel or balbacua (Cebu bulalo - bean and oxtail stew), and lived to tell of the experience. Then on occasion, someone will bring something not on the menu and everybody gets a sampling of it, from Ninang Sol Vanzi's Roman deli servings of pita bread and pecorino cheese, pancetta and pepperoni, beefsteak tomato slices and fresh basil leaves, with olives and grapes to my own family's pancit luglug from Pampanga, and the crispy danggit from Palawan and Cebu brought in by the other regulars. It's a not oft-spoken of, sudden smorgasbord treat that's always on the calendar of events here. Aside from the usual holidays like turkey on Thanksgiving and on certain birthdays, you have to be lucky to be around at the right time.

If not, there's always the good old chili or standby cheeseburger here, with hot and filling 'english chips' as the perfect complement washed down with those ice cold San Mig Pale Pilsens.

Thanks Carlos and Nancy for dropping by last week, and a happy birthday to good friend Redgie Cinco who had his birthday bash last Monday here at the Oar. I was sick that night, that's why I had to get smashed the following day, hahaha. Cheers all. :-)

Jake's Exhibit opening, DJ Aaron in the House

2006-08-25T15:05:00.000+08:00

Master DJ Aaron Favila brings the house down for the first time in the Oar's history, Jake Verzosa with friends and his exhibit pics.

It was a first-time record-breaking occasion in Oarhouse history last Wednesday night when photographers Aaron Favila and Jake Verzosa put both of their great talents together to draw friends, colleagues, and participants of the Asia Europe Young Photographers Forum currently ongoing in Manila for a sound and photo show that kept everybody going into the early morning hours of the following day with music, conversation, dancing, and drink. And no one minded working their way through the packed gathering in the 'Embassy-fication' of the Oar. The bell at the bar rang with drinks on the house courtesy of Nonoy the owner, and Wilson the bartender had to resort to cash bar basis to accommodate the numbers of people drifting in and out and spilling onto the streets of Mabini with their beers.

Oh well. It's just one of those rituals that have long been started and passed on from past generations of barflies and patrons to now, and the spirit of a decades-old fishnet that used to hang from the ceiling in an earlier decor of the place probably dusted itself off last Wednesday and re-embraced this present generation of people who'll keep the place going with new approaches and exhibits for not just a few more of the Oar's full-moon nights.

It's great to be here.

- Ben

An Oarhouse Welcome!

2006-08-25T09:08:00.000+08:00

The Oarhouse Welcomes the Asia-Europe Forum for Young Photographers in Manila

The Philippine Center for Photojournalism, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the World Press Photo Foundation (WPPF) are co-organising the Asia-Europe Forum for Young Photographers in Manila, Philippines on 21-27 August 2006, bringing together 21 photojournalists from Europe and Asia.

Magdalena Herrera, Art Director for National Geographic (France), Hans-Jürgen Burkard, photographer for Stern Magazine (Germany) and veteran Filipino photojournalists Alex Baluyut and Romeo Gacad of Agence France-Presse have been invited to facilitate the sharing of experiences, techniques and concepts amongst the young photojournalists.

This project maintains to its objectives, as an ASEF Cultural Exchange programme, of creating a network of young photographers and providing a platform for discussion on the professional commonalties and differences evident in photojournalism.

This year, 'Urban Youth' will be the focus of the two and a half day photo assignment in Manila. Members of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism are the researchers and guides for the photo assignments. The photo stories comprising of over 160 images will be shared by the young participants with the public at the SM Mall of Asia on 27 August 2007, 7 PM.

The 2006 Asia-Europe Forum for Young Photographers marks the renewal of partnership between the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and World Press Photo Foundation (WPPF), after the success of the fora organised in Amsterdam in 2003 and in Hanoi in 2004. Exhibitions following these events received more than 50,000 visitors in Amsterdam and Hanoi during ASEM5 (in partnership with Ministry of Culture and Information, Vietnam and Vietnam Pictorial).

The Tutors:

Magdalena Herrera, France
Hans-Juergen Burkard, Germany
Alejandro"Alex" Baluyut, the Philippines
Romeo Gacad, the Philippines

The Participants:

Joachim Dewilde, Belgium
Rattana Vandy , Cambodia
Liu Ke , China
Mads Nissen, Denmark
Liis Treimann , Estonia
Donang Wahyu , Indonesia
Naoko Kawamura , Japan
Nasha Lee, Korea
Valdas Kopūstas , Lithuania
Kamal Sellehuddin, Malaysia
Anaïs López, The Netherlands
Buck Harold Pago, the Philippines
Ruel Bimuyag, the Philippines
Honorata Karapuda , Poland
Gustavo Machado , Portugal
Lim Siao Lang, Singapore
Martin Kleibl, Slovakia
Elisa González, Spain
Siripong Kanjanabut , Thailand
James Barr, United Kingdom
Hoang Minh Tri, Vietnam

'Transitions'

2006-08-22T11:50:00.000+08:00

'All of these photographs were taken in a Buddhist temple in Luang Prabang, Laos as a photo essay on Eastern tradition, the Western influence and the change we all face in modern society as our constant search for meaning continues.'

-- Jake Verzosa, August 2006

'Transitions'

A Photo Exhibit by Jake Verzosa
23 August - 06 September 2006

The Oarhouse

Jazz and Vocals

2006-08-21T17:50:00.000+08:00

Carmen McRae (1986), Tony Bennett and Bill Evans (1999)

These two albums have been longtime favorites in my collection, of Carmen McRae's 1986 'Any Old Time', and the second dual collaboration of Tony Bennett and the great Bill Evans simply titled 'Together Again' in 1999. The near flawless timing and phrasing of Carmen McRae at her vocal peak backed up by a very relaxed but unsentimentally intimate quintet captured in this rare Denon digital recording session is what jazz well-sung and played should sound like in the tucked-away lounge of a big city. In contrast, what Tony Bennett does with his resonant interpretation of songs around Bill Evans' subtle but complex chords at the piano have produced one of the most soulful, communicative pieces of lyric and music I have ever heard in any genre you could compare this album to. These two recordings as listened together one after the other gives you the assurance of how life must simply be -- after having lived through much.

On Hezbollah and Israel, according to Wim Wenders

2006-08-16T23:49:00.000+08:00

I'd been meaning to say a mouthful about everything that's been happening in Lebanon since the war in the Middle East started, but I think Wim Wenders has said it best and far better, before all this even broke out.

37.

Jerusalem Seen From Mount Zion

According to the Holy Scriptures,
those Jews who have the privilege
of being buried on Mount Zion
are the first ones to rise from the dead
on Resurrection Day.
If that happened in our times,
they would have to bear facing the El-Aktza Mosque
on the Temple Mount.

35.

"The Field Of Blood", Jerusalem

The gospel according to Matthew reads:
"Judas realized that Jesus was doomed.
Overcome by remorse,
he gave back the 30 silver coins to the high priests, saying:
'I've sinned. I've betrayed an innocent man'.
They said: 'What do we care? That's your problem'.
Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left.
Then he went out and hung himself.
The high priest picked up the silver pieces,
but then didn't know what to do with them…
They decided to get rid of it by buying the "Potter's Field"
and use it as a burial place for the homeless.
That's how the field got called 'Murder Meadow',
A name that has stuck to this day."
Other translations call it "The Field Of Blood".
When I finally located the place,
south of the old city of Jerusalem,
it still seemed like the most haunted grounds
I had ever walked on.
Even the birds avoided it.

-- Wim Wenders, 'Picture Haiku's'

Alethea Abuyuan's 'Jambo'

2006-08-09T20:00:00.000+08:00

Welcome Ali, and thanks for exhibiting your wonderful images of East Africa at The Oar.

JAMBO!

East Africa through the eyes of Alethea Abuyuan

August 7-17, 2006
The Oarhouse

Alethea Abuyuan has no background in photography or the fine arts, except for a short photography course taken while she was living in Arlington, Virginia. She is just a girl who likes taking trips – and pictures. Based in Los Angeles, Alethea is a recent doctoral graduate of the University of Southern California, where her dissertation research brought her to East Africa and Europe to study secular and religious NGOs involved in environmental protection and international development. She also has a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UP-Diliman. This month she joins the Milken Institute, a California-based economics and finance think tank, as an analyst working on emerging domestic markets and environmental finance. As for future travel, her next destination is South America.

Taken in May and June of 2005, these photographs highlight Alethea’s research trip (and vacation) to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. From the Maasai kraals (villages/ camps) near Shambarai in northern Tanzania, to the traditional Swahili island of Lamu in Kenya, to the vast plains of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater, Alethea tried to capture the beauty and mystery of Africa – for if you ever set foot on this magical continent, you will instantly realize that no photograph will do justice to her splendor and majesty.

* Jambo (or hujambo) is a slang Swahili term for hello or how are you? It is usually used for and by tourists. A more proper greeting is habari and its variants.

* All the photographs were taken with a Minolta DiMage xT 3.2 MP digital camera
* Curated by Jose Enrique Soriano
* Color management and printing by The Digital Q, Fujifilm
* Special thanks to Mon Acasio and Julie Orquiza

A Newsclip from the Past, and the music of Tonight

2006-08-07T11:34:00.000+08:00

A clipping from The Manila Times, circa November 1971:

FOUR U.S. GROUPS BILLED FOR 1972 CCP JAZZ SEASON

The 1972 international jazz circuit will include Manila with four top jazz orchestras in the United States being billed for performances at the Cultural Center of the Philippines starting next January.

Duke Ellington and his 19-piece band, with two vocalists, will open the 1972 Jazz Season on January 20 in a symphonic jazz concert with the National Philharmonic Orchestra under Prof. Redentor Romero. Duke Ellington will give two concerts which will feature his own popular and symphonic works.

The other top American jazz musicians who will perform in Manila are: Charlie Byrd, classical and jazz guitarist of international renown; Charlie Mingus, the 'enfant terrible' of the '50s jazz scene; Earl 'Fatha' Hines, one of the leading American jazz pianists; and the original New Orleans Jazz ensemble.

The Charlie Byrd jazz concert is scheduled in March, while Earl Fatha Hines will give a 'Tribute to Satchmo' concert in September. Hines and Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong used to be in the same band for years and were very close friends.

A 'History of Jazz' concert by the original New Orleans Jazz Band is scheduled in September, and the jazz concert by Charles Mingus in October.

The engagements of the four top US jazz bands puts Manila in the international jazz circuit which had been on stream since 1952. While Asia and the Far East had seen and heard regular visits of American and European jazz groups, Manila was not really in the circuit except for a few stopover engagements and although several Filipinos are rated the top jazz musicians in Asia.

The 1972 jazz season will be preparatory to the first full international jazz festival in Manila tentatively set at the Cultural Center in May, 1972.

--

Well we can only harken back to the days when Manila was considered as such by the likes of 'The Duke' and Charlie Mingus -- with what must have been the very proactive participation and doing of our own Redentor 'Red' Romero, but the music is still there and playing -- on monday nights at the Oarhouse.

Tonight's featured music:

Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, 'Side by Side' (1959) -- Hodges was Duke's man on alto sax, and this recording is the unhurried, after-hours small combo setting that the Duke and guys like Ben Webster, Harry 'Sweets' Edison and Billy Strayhorn relished. To round out the night, there'll be sets from Stanley Jordan's 'Cornucopia', Rahsaan Roland Kirk, John McLaughlin's 'Electric Dreams' (1978), Branford Marsalis' jazzbluesy 'I Heard You Twice The First Time' (1992), and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' 'Midnight Session' (1957). Plus more musical gems between all that. ;-)

Jazz and Blues night TONITE at The Oar, 8 p.m.

2006-07-31T10:57:00.000+08:00

tonight's featured albums and performances, monday july 31, 2006 -

jimmy smith, 'crazy! baby' (1960)
eddie 'cleanhead' vinson and etta james, 'early show, vol. 1, blues in the night'
miles davis, 'black beauty, live at fillmore west disc 1' (1970); 'ascenseur pour l'echafaud-the paris concert'
jeff beck, 'wired'
joni mitchell, 'the silky veils of ardor'
stanley clarke, 'power'
leonard cohen, 'the land of plenty'

and plenty more where that came from. get out of the rain, drop by the Oar and chill.

Red's No-Bully Zone for People and Animals

2006-07-26T21:37:00.000+08:00

Red and Kala Constantino, The Oarhouse, July 21, 2006

Derek Soriano's dog Milo, as he usually looks after having had too much to eat or drink.

After Steve Wallace's despedida last Thursday night, Friday night at the Oar was followed up by Red Constantino's happy birthday gathering (lest this be mistaken for another coup plot meeting) wherein all that was talked about were the favorite wordplay of nicknames of longtime friends, i.e. 'Titina my Titina' (who is yes, a girl and a real person) and the plight of everybody's pets (trust me, this isn't going to get any dirtier) who've been regulars at the bar such as Milo (Derek's dog) who really pigged out the previous night on a literal Roman deli spread of grapes, sliced apples, tomatoes, pita bread, mozzarella and pecorino cheese, pepperoni slices as provided by Ninang Sol Vanzi on Steve Wallace's sendoff. I mean, this dog on Red's birthday was looking for literal SECONDS, as drunk as it was and lapping up the food people kept stuffing into its mouth. But you see, that's why the Oar is such a sanctuary for creatures and humans who've always been perceived differently by the outside world. And why the likes of, say, a Raul Gonzales - will never really need to set foot in this place because how the world perceives him is, um... exactly what he is. We'll stop with him, okay folks?

What is always an occasion for free speech, food and inebriation should remain enshrined as sacred tradition in the democratic scheme of things, most especially during these times when wherein the everyday struggling of nameless and ordinary people can be found the only traces left of insight and irony, acceptance, and humor laced with hints of hope. Hell, throw in kindness too, because that's all we have left to answer this present outside reality of political deadlock, personal agendas, and the persecution of innocents. How much more the paranoia and intrigue inflicted on just merely being known in this country.

That's what makes no-bully zones in certain parts of Manila all the more important and necessary. Here's a toast to you, Red. ;-)

The Steely Dan 'Do It Again or We'll Take Necessary Extralegal Action' Letter

2006-07-26T16:41:00.000+08:00

I haven't bothered with what my favorite musical duo of the 70s have been doing since they parted ways after their belabored 'Gaucho' album over twenty-six years ago, but a news item caught my eye about how Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have reacted to how actor Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson's younger brother, ripped off the name from their ditty of 'Cousin Dupree' to title his latest critically unacclaimed movie, 'You, Me, and Dupree'.

Now Donald and Walter are demanding an apology from Luke which they've brought to the public attention on the band's webpage and their written ten-paragraph request for the kid actor to come clean and make amends to them and the fans, Steely Dan style. And it's beautifully mindful of the lyrics they've so been used to penning, and I'm glad they still have the graceful potency of their acid cynic sarcasm to remind punks like Luke how things work in the real world. From mention of Hollywood gangsters to Zal Yanovsky to 'retrograde reality matrix' and their very own Russian Navy Seal security manhandler promising results, you'd think old Don and Walt were back in their prime.

So little hey nineteen-something slacker Luke should be shaking in his youngster jammies about now, since we all know what grownups like Fagen and Becker have always meant in their musical intellectual property hearts.

And how funny it all seems today, with an aging Michael McDonald in their current concert tow and looking like one of those Napa wine-cooking chefs nowadays. The guy still needs a job, I guess.

An Old Friend of The Oar

2006-07-26T09:33:00.000+08:00

Thanks Steve!

It's been three or so years since friend and colleague Steve Wallace was here in Manila to see the gang at The Oar, and last June he wrote that he had been thinking of making a short visit this month to spend time with Ninang Sol Vanzi upon hearing news of the passing of her husband Vic last May. Ninang Sol and Uncle Vic adopted Steve as their own in their usual generous way when he was a photojournalist based here and shooting for the Black Star photo agency in the mid 90s, and Ninang helped him make contacts and document many of the events of First Lady Imelda Marcos for which there has never, ever been a time when 'Ma'm' was not making headlines in the news of the world. So Steve dropped by two weeks ago to see Ninang and for which all of us at the bar were heartwarmed and happy to see our old drinking buddy again. Steve has shifted gears career-wise after his photojournalism stints in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Lebanon, as he's presently back in school racking up another degree in Boston after which he'll then.... as he says wistfully... have a full-time, honest to God regular JOB.

And to which we say, yeah RIGHT. The old hoot will be back because he's become as part of the Oarhouse family from those fledgling days of the early nineties when he wandered into Malate and got to know us at the bar hoisting our cameras and ice-cold beers with nary a care in the world at the end of a typical shooting day. And it's always been FUN, right Mr. Wallace?

Cheers, man. :-)

Proximities of 'Compound'

2006-07-25T13:09:00.000+08:00

Lily Chu, Jake Macapagal, and Will Fredo of 'Compound'

I don't normally comment about movies seen recently, but thanks to good friend Lily Chu's invite last week to the premiere of Fil-Am director Will Fredo's film at Cinemalaya 2006, there was plenty to mull over after seeing 'Compound'. People who live within the confines of a typical middle-class home in Manila should identify with this, and be disturbed accordingly. There is a specific type of relation amongst those who live behind the walls and gates of a housing compound which serves as a diagram of Philippine society, and the film tells it well as it dissects all the elements -- the morning news announcer on the radio, the landlord, the job, the wife, the kid, the maid, the tenant -- in a timeline of all who would seek to enter or wish to exit this tight little circle of existence. In angles of rapid-fire cuts of reality and derangement, it's no wonder why it's all so interesting that it reflects Filipino attitudes and connections on a larger scale outside of the walls. It's a nice look inward rather than the typical undone or overdone outward.

Drinking the Rain

2006-07-11T19:24:00.000+08:00

I love it when it's this time of year. It's cooler, it's the time of the afternoon monsoons, and the water comes down in sheets so thick you can literally open your mouth up towards the sky and gag on what Manila acid rain tastes like (suggestion: do NOT try this). Maybe there's a bit less traffic in the evening because everybody's scrambling to get home and stay dry. Staying up late every night gets old too. On the other hand, there are still those times on a given weeknight when a friend calls up and says, 'will you be at the Oar tonight?' And depending on who they are, it can be a very pleasant evening in conversation of just catching up on things other than talking about work, photography, and politics. There aren't so many people at the Oar on weeknights in the months of july through august, and that may not be such a bad thing. It's too easy a place to fill up with only so many people, and when it's crowded, it becomes a different scene. I'd been away the past few weeks, that's why it feels good to see the place when there's a real reason to be there, or to meet up with someone. Ronnie Lazaro closed out his successful exhibit the other week, and then last week I only went there once. That it's actually nice to welcome the rain and staying away from the familiar.

Ben

Photomontage from Tibet

2006-07-09T10:33:00.000+08:00

'Billiards on the Tibetan Plateau'
photograph by Claro Cortes IV, montage photocomposition by Glenn Bautista, 2006

The image above isn't on exhibit at the Oarhouse. They're a composite from a set of images taken recently by Claro Cortes, our friend and colleague based in Beijing and shooting for Reuters, and the deft illustrative hand of Glenn Bautista who is also a good friend and longtime established artist and mentor on the Philippine art scene. Claro writes back on his account of riding on the maiden journey of the new Beijing-Lhasa railway which finally connects Tibet to the more developed central and eastern sides of China. And Glenn's great work can be found online too.

The Oarhouse in its Nth Year

2006-06-14T11:48:00.000+08:00

A sampling of images from The Oarhouse in its earliest and most recent days. Thanks to Chino Medina, Jimmy Yang, Dave Limsico, Lyle Bautista, Tabby Sy, Joe Galvez, Pando, Dodo Lim, Wilson, Romeo Lim, Mon Acasio, Steve Wallace, Tim Alipalo, and Derek Soriano.

And of course, Manuel our late doorman. :-)

cheers peeps!

Ben

Ronnie Lazaro Photographs

2006-05-18T18:29:00.000+08:00

Ronnie Lazaro
RECENT WORKS
Photographs
May 18 - June 1, 2006
The Oarhouse

Photojournalist 'Recentisms' :-)

2006-05-15T09:37:00.000+08:00

Evelien Kunst of World Press Photo Foundation talks photojournalism with photographers at The Oar.

World Press Photo Exhibit Opening in Manila at Ayala Museum, Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Recentisms -- is there such a word? Well to bring everyone up to speed with who's been dropping by the Oar lately, the latest buzz of activity was last week when Evelien Kunst of the Education Department of the Netherlands-based World Press Photo Foundation flew into town to open the World Press Photo Exhibit presently touring worldwide, now on show at the Ayala Museum from May 11 to June 4, 2006. After the ribbon cutting ceremonies at Ayala last Wednesday night, Evelien and friends came over to the Oar for dinner, cold beers, and welcome greetings all around. Thanks to photographer colleague, friend and mentor Gil Nartea of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism for providing the event's images.

Vacation

2006-05-01T18:59:00.000+08:00

Although people in Manila have been scrambling every which way to get out of town for days on weeks to escape the heat, the Oar seems to have been packing them in recently, and that's always nice to see. I've been on the slow boat elsewhere myself the past week for a short break, so coming back rested has felt great. The city soaks up heat in the dry season like lava rocks under a volcano, and you can almost see the sidewalks and asphalt take on that unique black liquid glow in the non-shadows of noontime in the days of april and may. The Oarhouse opens at 4 pm, just the time when the blistering waves of afternoon heat make it almost compelling to seek shelter in the coolness of the bar that guarantees near-frozen cold beers. It's at that time when inhabitants of this city are also at their boiling point hothead temperature, and migraine-festered skulls turn people into short-tempered, ulcer-laden vampires of the day. If you're not in good, physical shape, you will most likely count yourself as one of these creatures in search of relief and release of these Manila summers.

That's why vacation elsewhere beckons. :)

A Remembering

2006-04-22T15:00:00.000+08:00

Thanks Red, for this. The family and friends of Arlie Nava wish to invite everyone to the Musicians for Peace tribute in Arlie's memory and honor at Freedom Bar on Anonas Avenue near the corner of Aurora, Quezon City, April 26, at 9 p.m.

ben

Sometimes we do not need to know an actual person or place in order to imagine a face or image of secret places. I wrote this yesterday for a friend and a home. I hope it's interesting enough to pass on. Comments more than welcome of course. Warm regards.

-- red constantino, april 19, 2006

PERPETUITY AND IMPERMANENCE : TO ARLIE NAVA, IN MEMORIAM

RENATO REDENTOR CONSTANTINO

ParasIndonesia.com
April 19, 2006

Death is something we do not have to fear, wrote the Spanish poet Antonio Machado. "As long as we exist death doesn't, and when it does, we don't."

Of course, death is easier said than done.

Some live each day as if it were their last. Some hope and without fanfare work for the day when even the maledictions of our time will shed the malice of its makers. Some live as if they would live forever even though perpetuity never lasts.

The Roman Empire believed it was eternal. The Ottomans thought its seed would never wither. The British held that its interminable global reign was timeless.

Sure, said Gualterio Malatesta, the sinister swordsman in Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel Captain Alatriste. "Life is long -- until it ends."

What is eternity? To the lover who has just met the woman or man of his life, forever is a moment and always too short. An ant's afternoon, according the novelist Barbara Kingsolver. It is a snapshot, or snapshots, such as the photos that line the walls of a small proud pub in Manila called The Oarhouse. The photos -- each one tremendously moving -- were shot by different Filipino photographers on the day the Arroyo administration outlawed People Power -- on February 24, 2006, also known as People Power day. The pictures tell the story of people on the streets, of power and eternal truths -- the celebration of remembrance, threats of violence; defiance; violence and blood and even more defiance. Save for a few, however, most of the pictures were not published by leading national dailies.

"Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?" Bruce Springsteen once asked. Perhaps he was speaking to Filipinos?

Springsteen would certainly be most welcome at the Oarhouse, which continues to attract its fair share of celebrities from the showbiz, political and music world. Pepe Smith nurses his beer there from time to time. So does Heber Bartolome and Elvis, who, in his most recent
incarnation as a long-salt-and-pepper-haired photographer-opossum, sits nightly on the bar stools and couches to suckle on his lager. Others disagree, however, and insist that Elvis was not the being that the nocturnal creature had previously assumed but George Brown, the foreign secretary of the UK in the 1960s who is once said to have invited a guest in flowing purple robes at a reception in Peru to dance, a bop which did not materialize: "First, you are drunk," the guest is said to have replied. "Second, this is not a waltz; it is the Peruvian national anthem. And third, I am not a woman; I am the Cardinal Archbishop of Lima."

Laughter is scripture and drink holy fare at the Oar, a house of heretics frequented by a tightly knit, hardy gang of photojournalists, correspondents and quotidian denizens.

It was at the Oar that I last saw Arlie Gideon Nava, poet, storyteller, filmmaker and friend. Arlie walked past the veil of our world on April 4, 2006. He was 35.

Arlie was a quiet man with a healthy sense of humor; silence was his sonic wash. When he giggled he would share his mirth with friends. But he would keep his worries often to himself, or talk it over quietly with friends or quietly make fun of it. All the friends and members of his family that I was able to confer with said he was a sensitive man and that he felt acts of injustice deeply, as if it were a stab at his own heart.

"We outlast the night while we winnow alms from our amassed experience," one Arlie's poems reminds us. "We keep watch over whatever it is we have buried in our senses / for the poetry that we craft is the engraving on the headstone / with which we will seal the grave of our foes."

Arlie is gone. He is sorely, deeply missed at the Oar. But each night that a drink is lifted in his honor -- which is virtually every night -- he is there and chuckles with the rest of us. He has merely moved on.

"I can remember how when I was young I believed death to be a phenomenon of the body," wrote William Faulkner. "Now I know it to be merely a function of the mind -- and that of the minds who suffer the bereavement. The nihilists say it is the end; the fundamentalists, the
beginning; when in reality it is no more than a single tenant or family moving out of a tenement or a town."

"Do we stop the clock when death surprises us?" asked the war correspondent Robert Fisk, in his magisterial memoir, The Great War for Civilisation.

If we could I think we would.

The Prelude to Easter

2006-04-15T19:33:00.000+08:00

Crucifixion Hill, San Pedro Cutud, San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines
4.14.06 (c) Ben Razon

Centurion and Flagellant, San Pedro Cutud, San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines

4.14.06 (c) Ben Razon

photos from the opening of '1017', april 6, 2006. thanks to photographers luis liwanag, bahaghari, and gari buenavista.

The thing about a bar blog is that nothing ever really happens in the way events actually unfold, so that it's now expected that even in the most dedicated effort about posting a presence online for everyone to see, it's just stupidly impossible to attempt to replicate the mood and feeling of a place in, well, cyberspace, which we all know is where we positively do NOT exist. We live in the real world of nerves, earth, and the endless attraction to fertilize our surroundings. In pub parlance -- 'excuse me, gotta take a leak', or other bodily functions that keep us breathing and going in the middle of fun and other stimulating phases of the hours.

This is why so much in actual, real life happened this past week ever since '1017' opened at the Oarhouse. Got lots of feedback, lots of people dropping by to view the show, and many said that the pictures got them all worked up about 1017 and the present dispensation in the way only photographic images can. Good. We want everyone who sees the show to be outright livid and upset over what's happening. But then again for those in a different school of thought, maybe not. The fact that these images get you to start thinking and looking at individual reality in a different light, is already enough. And as I write this on a black saturday whose translation in spanish is termed 'sabado de gloria' (eve of easter), we can only try to check if we get a similar, risen woody on a sunny easter bunny rabbit sunday. Enough of death, fake piety, and the hypocrisy we're all choking on at the moment. The Oarhouse reopens in resurrected, recleansed, repainted glory on Monday. Life goes on, and it's really HOT in Manila right now folks.

'1017' PHOTOGRAPHS, 02.24.06-03.03.06

2006-04-06T12:28:00.000+08:00

A group exhibit of 60 photographs from the week that was the State of National Emergency and Proclamation 1017 opens tonight, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. at The Oarhouse in association with Raw File Images, 1803 A. Mabini St., Malate, Manila. Everyone is cordially invited.

This exhibit has been dedicated to the memory of our colleague, Arlie Gideon Nava, 35, who passed away last April 4, 2006.

Assuaging the Schuebligs

2006-04-03T23:46:00.000+08:00

While scanning the monday columns of the 'national' broadshits, oops, sheets, sorry!@# i came upon krip yuson's wonderful rejoinder piece on this apparent firestorm over a recent column he had written over the debate between who was the apropos recipient for National Artist for Literature, with the finalists being krip's favored choice of Cirilo Bautista over Bienvenido Lumbera, both being equally worthy candidates by any measure of the Philippine literary yardstick. Just the point that krip made over announcing whom he thought deserved the award more was enough to bring on a hornet's nest of reactions from the 'nationalist' camp, which raised the buzz for the Lit Artist title to stratospheric but not surprisingly ironic levels in this usual big fish in a small pond of an artist community, and how a simple discussion of anyone worthy and deserving for the recognition tends to boil down to a kind of 'assuaging the schuebligs' situation of having to touch base again with how people of extraordinary talent and contribution to whatever field of the national culture must always undergo a brutal accounting or a politically tagged item by item list roll call of their beings -- with debate to the death amongst us of their own blood to boot. Well, we aren't nominating 'freaks' or 'people' from mars, are we? Ah, just last night I was drinking with another person whom i'd elevate to, well, fuck it, let's go straight to the top, as in BEATIFICATION of the Filipino psyche and being, as in the name of a Heber Bartolome, who essentially has sang, spoken, and has done nearly everything in his person and ability in his lifetime imaginable for defining who the Filipino is in pop (read: popular) mode. And because the last time I looked, these were just ordinary human beings who wrote, ate, drank and shat just like i did this morning, so there. Oh, but we're not talking about what's understood by the citizenry or in showbiz terms, so there....

So in this already lamentable situation of how just a few in a knowing circle can be aware of what the brouhaha over a National Artist title is about and frankly, whom the majority of the national population could care of less through no one's explainable fault of their own, it just makes you appreciate the role of sex bomb money changers more, as carlos celdran so amusingly relates.

Tanginang bayan ito, as opposed to the unfailing common, majority sensibility.

New PUB GRUB!

2006-03-29T17:22:00.000+08:00

Yehey, the sounds you hear are sizzling and newly-brewed items that have been recently added to the Oarhouse menu this week, namely --

1. Beef Pot Pie - a delectable baked deep dish of sirloin beef cubes with diced potatoes and carrots mixed in gravy, topped by a thin crust of mashed potatoes turned slightly crunchy and golden brown. the taste of this makes me remember the specialties at Roy's Bar, a landmark favorite hangout of mine during the heyday of 80's Ermita which was a bar run by a traditional gentleman brit who served great london broil and comforting english pub fare.
2. Fettucine - chicken mushroom pasta in white cream sauce sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese, where hopefully in the future this will be combined with a side dish of salpicao in garlic and olive oil which used to be a delicious Oarhouse staple of several years back. YUMMY!
3. Beer Onion Soup - yes folks it's a twist to plain old boring french onion, and this is where I prefer my beer steaming HOT with generous onion slices swimming in a bowl of beef broth, soy sauce and yes, pale PILSEN - and then crowned with french bread sealed by melted mozarella cheese. What a fantastic way to top off a night of homage to San Miguel, true to the Oarhouse tradition!
4. Korean Beef Stew - boiled tender short beef ribs in soy sauce with sugar, star anise, and ground cinnamon, sprinkled atop with sesame seed and onion leeks.
5. Japanese Fried Rice - sauteed onions and garlic in butter, ground pork in brandy and soy sauce, after which rice is stir-fried with grated carrots and fresh eggs. it's a filling, solid rice meal in and by itself.

I know some of the former regulars of the Oar have been asking for what used to be available on the menu from years back, like the ribeye steak with fettucine combination, spaghetti marinara, hungarian sausage or schublig, so in time, these will be under review for future offerings. That's why you have to keep coming back and checking in to see what's new.

So there you have it, drop by and taste what's cookin!

For additional inquiries or reservations, call Wilson or Flor at the Oar, 450-8301.

Explosions of the Eye

2006-03-23T20:43:00.000+08:00

Man I hate it when this happens. My head explodes in absolute rage and anger at what's happening, and then I wake up with the classic 'red eye'.

It's probably the combination of current events, and the massive intake of San Miguel Pale Pilsens NIGHTLY.

No, I was told, after a second opinion by an opthalmologist today. It's blood pressure.

Figures.

So I have to calm down. Or go back to the times when I didn't really have anything or anyone to take issue with. Just the plain act of simple observation should be sufficient. We are, after all, just eyewitnesses in the world, and not its judges. I remember a book I once read in my youth, called 'Mr. Blue', whose most memorable line goes 'Today we have to fight a state of mind'. It made me realize that for all the things happening and its consequences, the thing 'feared' or 'inevitable' may not necessarily have anything to do with the occurence that happens in someone's life itself. Just the lesson that it is a great mistake to think that a country is just about who its present leader is, and on a larger scale, to imagine that 'God is chiefly interested in just religion'. The great Christian writer, G.K. Chesterton wrote, 'At certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priest, called poets, to remind men that they are not dead yet.'

Yeah I know it's all deep talk. But like the eye, it's about what should be evident and visible just under the surface. About what it truly knows and sees.

The Oarhouse is now WiFi-enabled!

2006-03-21T19:39:00.000+08:00

It took many months of cajoling and pleading with our longtime friend Nonoy, but ya know, we really just had to have wifi here at the Oarhouse for the obvious reasons, and it is my pleasure to announce that the Oar is now internet-accessible from the comforts of its bar and tables, where you can set your laptop or PDA and unlike those really corny non-alcoholic hotspot establishments where only coffee and pastry are served, the ice cold bottles of beer and your drink of choice coupled with the great food from the menu of this Malate abode will accompany your browsing and web connectivity within its safe and cozy walls.

What I'll certainly enjoy doing is doing the blog entries in real time from here as I am now doing at this moment, and expect much more livelier and engaging posts and images as I will be uploading in happy and inebriated state. The words just tend to flow more smoothly somehow and in torrents as long as I'm well-fed and drinking in aid of digestion, nyuk nyuk....

The Oar opens daily except Sundays, from 4:00 pm and for as long as there are still friends and people in the wee hours of 1:30 to 2:00 am. Look for Wilson the bartender or Flor, and the Oarhouse landline is 450-8301.

In addition, there will be new items on the menu which I will list here as soon as they are officially available by the end of this week hopefully. So drop by soon!

'Bejeweled With Garbage'

2006-03-21T18:52:00.000+08:00

"I'm more bejeweled than before," she said. "Bejeweled with garbage."
-- 'The Life of Imelda Marcos, in Powerpoint and Plastic', by Seth Mydans, The New York Times, March 21, 2006

The Iron Butterfly SPEAKS. Again. But hurry! Catch Seth Mydans' story in today's Times and savor all the delectable quotes of our madame for old times' sake, before it disappears and have to start listening to a new set of utterances from - god forbid - the current megalomaniac ninny in Malacanang. Which we already know won't be as good and quotable!

Feels like a damned recurring movie, doesn't it? :)

Outcasts of Society

2006-03-21T07:37:00.000+08:00

Ahhh, that's more like it. The only thing that comforts the mind in this personality-infested, rogue of characters cesspool of the current times here in Manila is that there are far more people from different walks of life who've counted themselves as detached and uninvolved in any way, shape, or form to what is clearly a battle of politicized self-important and financially self-interested forces now manhandling it out, delightfully unmindful of how deep in the subterranean levels of third world earth they have managed to dig themselves under like a bunch of crazed coal miners looking for methane and dead canaries.

I love this place. Fun, trivial, petty, but when pushed to the brink...still forever inexplicably nailed to the mysteries of the rosary, what with this country's only visible evolution since Marcos as having become the Somalia of moralistic interpretation. Many have said, it's gotten worse. And indeed it has. The glori, or should one say - nyuk nyuk - the 'gloriafication' of money and pride by mentally impoverished, aging role players is at the center of this, and what a sordid, black holed Katrina of a tempest it is wherein one so fervently hopes that, NO ONE will SURVIVE. This is infinitely way better than watching Pinoy Big Brother. And that's exactly what watching this spectacle feels like. Yes, the true, unvarnished nature and face of the Filipino at his and her worst.

Beautiful.

Let's see more.

Thanks Colonel.

2006-03-20T07:57:00.000+08:00

'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled t-shirts yearning to be free and perhaps in need of a stiff drink....'
-- anonymous

from Romeo Lim's column in Malaya, March 20, 2006 --

My favorite watering hole in Malate is a place called Oarhouse. For those with naughty minds (like many of my dear friends), the name obviously reminds one of the tender trap.

Oarhouse was once owned by an American but when he decided to go back to the US with his Filipino wife, he sold it to a Filipino. The ownership changed hands several times until it was finally bought by a successful Filipino-Chinese businessman. The new owner bought the place not for profit but for the pleasure of having a place to sip a cold drink and relax after a hard day with good friends for company.

Today, he is in the company of not only good friends but also people from various, interesting walks of life. Lawyers from DOJ and NBI, reporters and correspondents from foreign wires, international and local photographers, politicians, cabinet secretaries, senators, congressmen including a few sexy stars and minor celebrities have been known to have a drink or two at the Oarhouse.

The place is often full except on its rest day on Sunday. As for me, I always look forward to kicking back and relaxing there with my ice-cold beer, pork wiener schnitzel and the company of friends from all political persuasions.

Cheers!

Wrong Color on St. Patrick's Day!

2006-03-18T13:40:00.000+08:00

As I walked into the Oar at around 7pm last night and expecting to just celebrate St. Patrick's Day and feeling the luck o' the Irish, Wilson the bartender greets me with news of former DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman and Black and White Movement leader Enteng Romano getting arrested just minutes hence by the police at the Roxas Boulevard baywalk crossing and were subsequently hauled to Precinct 9 for wearing black shirts marked with anti-government slogans. And as photographer Jes Aznar recounted it, the scene was an idiotically comic exchange between the 'inquiring minds want to know' stance of Soliman and Romano against the 'duh, bawal lang po kayo maglakad sa baywalk (sorry you're not allowed to walk by the bay)' position of the police officers.

Tsk tsk. A little constructive criticism from the wisdom of the leprechauns is in order here. Granted that black is an especially symbolic albeit depressing color during these times, I wonder if they would have been stopped had they worn bright Irish green t-shirts with slogans that say 'Make Gloria SEE GREEN' or perhaps an Oscar Wilde inside joke quote that goes 'Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.' (get it?!?!?) -- and in honor of the feastday of St. Patrick's at that! How about a Notre Dame 'FIGHTING IRISH' look? They could have just worn black pants too which wouldn't have been so noticeable and kept to the spirit of the protest. Yup, the leprechauns say a little more creativity could have gone into play for luck and for all we know might have worked, and whose charm level would have stood way above the pit bull canine directives of our anti-Dinky Western Police District. Well now that everybody's been released and are back out in the streets, let's continue our Irish toast (it's never too late, you know) and drop by the Oarhouse tonight for more ice cold green beer. :)

On Proclamation 1017 - Here Lies Gloria

2006-03-14T16:26:00.000+08:00

Hold on peeps, we're coming up with a 'picture show' to commemorate the week that was Proclamation 1017 while it's all still a bit fresh in our truncheoned memories. And nope, it's neither on the scale of a hollywood or broadway production because the name 'Gloria' alongside the marquee of 'Cats' or 'Phantom' just wouldn't look or sound proper for box-office entertainment purposes, right? And that would be soooooooooooo disrespectful to the President!

On a parallel side note, David Byrne, former lead singer of Talking Heads - is now in the thick of polishing a musical on another living Philippine strongwoman we all still love and admire. ;-)

'State Of Uncertainty-Fort Bonifacio:02.26.06'

2006-03-07T17:14:00.000+08:00

The most tense-filled military encounter during President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's state of national emergency ended Sunday night of February 26 at the headquarters of the Philippine Marines at Fort Bonifacio when hundreds of soldiers and their officers concluded a five-hour standoff that started when their commandant, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, was 'relieved' of duty in the face of newly appointed officer Gen. Nelson Allaga, to the reaction of confused and disbelieving men whose protest and questioning of the announcement was led by bemedalled Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, another much respected officer of the Corps.

Photographer Jes Aznar brings back the images of the standoff amongst soldiers, on exhibit at The Oar and until we say WHEN.

Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over

2006-03-06T17:31:00.000+08:00

The FUNERAL Procession of Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino, Buendia Overpass, Makati - when people in Manila had BALLS. 1983 (c) Ben Razon

ENOUGH of these past two goddamned weeks. All of my post-Super Bowl Steeler revelry and rush which spilled over into the prospect of this country returning to Martial Law had a physical, artery-clearing, adrenaline-boosting effect on my thin 45-year old frame, as my metabolism reshifted to revolution mode -- a near pure continuous carnivore diet of solid pork or beef NIGHTLY, washed down with gallons of cutting-cold San Miguel the embarrassing amount of which I used to partake of during those legendary allnighters at the Oarhouse of more than a decade back. It took me all of the past weekend's 72 hours of water therapy to detoxify and flush out the physical and mental toxins of this most recent, pathetic EDSA National Emergency cocktail. What was that? Happy Hour with video soundbites and checkpoints? The hell, what wimps, sissies, sureball sleazebags and spineless spectators this country now has. That's all the past couple of weeks have proven, in spite of and when ALL of the photographers, writers, and clowns of malate I knew were more than willing to be ARRESTED for the CAUSE.

Why didn't the PARTY last LONGER?!? But try the new items on the Oarhouse menu coming soon, like the Beef Pot Pie which is 100% completely legal and delicious!

And more exhibits coming soon, nyuk nyuk....