Shoutouts

• Long live the memory of Corazon Aquino. It's too bad that she did not stay with us long enough to see the Philippines reach the height of greatness. Over 20 years after EDSA, we are still a damaged society. Let her story, that of a simple housewife who decided to bear the weight of a nation, remind as all that true change starts with the individual.
  

• Carlo J. Caparas ought to say, "Thanks, but no thanks." Caparas can be credited with significant contributions to Philippine pop culture, but not the visual arts, and the artistic merits of his film work are highly debatable. If any comics personality should be given the title National Artist, it should be those who have established the trademark "Filipino komiks art style," a style which eventually gave these thespians recognition abroad. For film, we have a lot to choose from--Dolphy, Gloria Romero, Mike de Leon, etc.
  

• Another person who ought to say, "Thanks, but no thanks," would be Lani Mercado, who was recently appointed into the Board of Directors of San Miguel Corporation. The dramatic actress is one of five government-appointed board members, as the Philippine government apparently owns a 27% stake in SMC. Her father-in-law, Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. submitted Mercado's name to Malacañang for consideration two years ago, and only told her after the fact. According to a report by the Philippine Entertainment Portal, the salary of an SMC board member would amount to P2.7 million a year.
  

• Madonna will release her new greatest hits compilation "Celebration" in late-September, and you can listen to one of the three new songs on PopSugar.com. (As it is, the song doesn't break any new ground. Has the reinvention ended?) Meanwhile, Whitney Houston teams up again with hitmaker-producer Clive Davis on her comeback album "I Look To You," which will be unleashed on August 31st.