The Carver's House

The statement, "Back at' ya!" took a profitable meaning when Filipino-American Elizabeth Tagle won an anti-defamation case against Guess co-founder Georges Marciano. Tagle, along with five former Guess employees which Marciano had previously fired, had been sued for embezzlement. Tagle walked away from the courtroom $74 million dollars richer. Read the Northwest Asian Weekly news report. Last August 4, the American Psychological Association adopted a resolution that reparative therapies that purport to "cure" homosexuality do not work, and advised practitioners not to lead patients into believing otherwise. This is after over four decades of peer-reviewed studies. Read the Washington Post report . Speaking of homosexuality, Harry Potter star Danielle Radcliffe recently donated a huge sum to The Trevor Project, a homosexual support group for young people. Radcliffe calls homophobes "disgusting and stupid." Read the report at The Hindu . In local enterta...

1) So couples can't kiss each other on the cheek when they're near a Mormon church? Security guards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asked gay couple Matt Aune and Derek Jones to leave Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City soon after catching Aune giving Jones a kiss on the cheek. Church spokesperson Kim Farah said the couple was "asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior just as any other couple would have been." When the couple became argumentative, they were detained. Read the full story in the Salt Lake City Tribune . 2) New words, such as carbon footprint, shawarma, webisode and frenemy have been added to the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Strangely, the word missalette --that booklet we've been using for ages in church ceremonies-- gets its first appearance since the dictionary was first published at the turn of the 20th century. See 25 of the new words through Merriam-Webster Online. 3) New reports reveal ...

I loved him in I Am Sam , Carlito's Way , The Assassination of Richard Nixon , Mystic River , and Dead Man Walking , because there's always something new and fresh in his performances. Already with two Oscar noms plus one win, Penn's been my hands-down favorite Hollywood actor. Now Sean Penn has taken another Oscar-worthy role in Milk, directed by Gus van Sant. Penn portrays Harvey Milk , who in the 1970s became the first openly gay man elected to a major political post. To be released later this month in the US, Milk couldn't be any more timely with the recent passing of Proposition 8, which effectively limits the California constitution's definition of marriage as exclusive to heterosexuals, thus voiding thousands of already existing gay marriages in the state. Do watch the trailer of Milk.

This I'm definitely curious about. INVOICE is a new GLBT magazine that seeks to break the mold when it comes to Philippine GLBT publications. Instead of focusing on lifestyle and scantily-clad hunks, INVOICE turns towards business, promising to advocate "the new image of the GLBT community as professional individuals with integrity." (On the Web, other gay business publications include Echelon and GayBusinessWorld .) It also seeks to "provide an inspiration and a call for action to all readers to become entrepreneurs and help in the growth of SMEs (Small and Medium-scale Enterprises) in the country." Refreshing, I say. INVOICE is produced by 3rd Media Publishing , and the maiden issue is currently available at the following stores: National Bookstore C. Raymundo Caniogan, Gerald magazine Shop - Rustans Supermarket Mercedes Ave. Pasig city National Bookstore Megamall Bldg.A, National Bookstore Shangri-La, National Bookstore Bestsellers Robinsons Galleria and Be...

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela , helmed by Icelandic Olaf de Fleur Johannesson and starring Raquela Rios, received an average rating of 57/100 from seven critics reviews over at Metacritic.com. Queen Raquela is about a Cebu-based transsexual, who dreams of living an ultimate transsexual fantasy--to meet Mr. Right and live happily ever after in a faraway land. The film already bagged the best gay/lesbian feature film award at the recent Berlin International FIlm Festival. Speaking of international awards, Dante Nico Garcia's Ploning will get a chance at Oscar glory, the film having been chosen as our representative in the foreign language category. The Judy Ann Santos-starrer beat out Chito Roño's Caregiver by votation. While I didn't like Ploning as much as I wanted to--it was just okay to me--I'm glad it was chosen over Caregiver . The latter film, while engaging (I loved how it ended), looked rushed and felt too safe. By the way, is Thank You Girls still ...

Sometimes I'd check out my previous works and wonder, "How the hell did I do that?" I guess practice not only makes perfect--it makes consistent. For the past few posts, I've been doing mostly pinups, but then that's different from rendering a situational, much more a set of sequential pages. I have to slowly bring myself back into full drawing mode if I'm to be satisfied with any major comics project I'm going to do. Click the image to enlarge. Doing this image was fun, though took longer than I had hoped. I've been visiting Digital Webbing of late, and posting some stuff on the boards for a light bashing on the head. Of course, some critique has to be taken with a grain of salt, but others are worth considering, especially when I get hit with comments about my lack of coloring skills. Anyway, I hope you like this piece. Those in the know, constructive feedback would be nice. Thanks.

In English, "Comic Connect," "Comicon Connection," etc. It would make a nice name for a Pinoy Comics Consortium, eh? Anyway... During the past Komikons, parati akong late. Kaya this time, pinagsikapan kong gumising nang maaga kahit tatlong oras lang ang tulog ko. Okey lang 'yun dahil minsan lang sa isang taon ang Komikon. Sinigurado kong gawing sleeveless ang aking suot, dahil base sa experience sa mga nakaraang Komikon ay pagpapawisan ako ng katakut-takot. Pagdating ko sa UP Bahay Ng Alumni, ang itinanghal na "Hall of Justice" ng iilang taga-UP, agad-agad kong hinanap si Jonas Diego dahil ipinagkaloob niya sa amin ang bahaging espasyo sa kanyang malawak na mesa. Thanks a million, Jonas! Ang guwapo mo! Tamang-tama at nandoon si David Hontiveros, ang manunulat ng Penumbra novellas. Dalian naming isinet-ap ang aming bilihan. Maya't-maya'y sinamahan kami nina Marco Dimaano (Angel Ace) at Elbert Or (Bakemono High), pati na rin ni Steven Pabalina (D...

Newsbits have come up reporting Daniel Craig as being interested in having a gay scene in the next Bond movie, apart from being prepared to go full frontal. Now I've no problem with a full frontal, or even a suggestion of homosexuality, in a Bond film. Think Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon in Wild Things (1998). But a gay scene involving Her Majesty's foremost spy? Umm... that would certainly make for more interesting and convoluted plots, and I can imagine it would sizzle onscreen, but it doesn't float my boat. Maybe that's the purist in me, and I'm not a Bond fan to begin with. Gay.com recently had an online survey, asking who'd be the best "gay Bond." It became a toss-up between Jude Law and Rupert Everett. Everett came out on top. No surprise there.

Gay stuff Soon after Mexico City legalized gay partnerships last Thursday, South Africa takes its turn in allowing homosexuals to tie the knot. As expected, church leaders were up in arms against the legislation. Mexico is the second larget Catholic nation in the world. Its gay union bill is patterned after that of France, allowing inheritance and co-parenting right among others, though stopping short of adoption and the benefits of a full marriage. On the other hand, while homosexuality is illegal in many African nations, South Africa was the first country to enforce laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is the fifth country to legalize gay marriages after the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Canada, allowing the same benefits given to heterosexual couples. In the Philippines, three bills have been filed to quell the same-sex union movement. Rep. Rufino Biazon and Sen. Rodolfo Biazon filed House Bill No. 1245 and Senate Bill No. 1575, respectively, which seeks...

ICON Magazine: Career Congratulations to the hardworking folks of ICON magazine as they release their 2nd anniversary issue. Dubbed "Career," the issue puts its own stamp on the phrase "working hard for the money." Apart from the arresting bevy of boys on the cover, you'll get: an insider's report on three Filipino representatives to the recently-concluded Gay Games in Chicago ; profiles of transwomen who brave opposition in the name of a decent career; a closer look at the opportunities and challenges of men whose looks are their top investment; and more! Get the latest ICON! Now na!

Straight Talk You have to admire Isagani Cruz for being so bold despite his being paranoid and contemptuous, particularly in his PDI column yesterday entitled, "Don we now our gay apparel." I feel bad for his gay friends, assuming he has any. I won't go into the details of what he wrote, since my gay and straight friends have already dismissed Cruz as an angry old-timer who's viewpoints are stuck in the 1930s. As for me, he's simply making an opinion. An arrogant opinion, yes, but that's why he's a columnist--he gets paid to cook up occassional drivel. I honestly don't care about him taking stabs at gay people, particularly at the publicly loud and crass ones. Because, indeed, there are some members of the homosexual communty (like some of their heterosexual counterparts) who choose to attract attention in a crowd by being less than appropriate in their speech and manner and need to be a little more considerate in public. He even makes a disclaimer in...

Having older brothers a factor in boys becoming gay Men's Health News Published: Tuesday, 27-Jun-2006 New research says that boys have a greater chance of becoming gay if they have older brothers. Anthony Bogaert, of Brock University, Ontario, Canada, says a man's sexual orientation may be determined before he is born by the maternal response to carrying male foetuses. Bogaert says the research provides the strongest evidence yet of a biological basis for male homosexuality and supports the theory of a pre-natal origin to sexual orientation development in men. A decade or so ago researchers discovered that the more older brothers a boy had, the greater chance he had of being homosexual. This was put down at the time to the psychological effect of having older brothers on the family dynamics, which possibly affected sexual orientation. According to the Canadian researchers for each brother that precedes him, a boy's likelihood of growing up gay increases by a third. Read mor...

The Horror! Last week, the lesbian vampire flick Eternal opened surreptitiously in one U.S. theater, taking in a measly US$4,100 despite a rather titillating trailer. I guess the horror that befell New Orleans proved to be a bigger draw for U.S. currency. On the other end of the spectrum, the gay slasher flick Hellbent will see release on the 16th this month, hoping to scare up some receipts before the big Hollywood frightfests, whatever those may be, hog the Halloween season. Here at home, about the only Filipino film that's been making its presence felt is Star Cinema's Dubai, complete with a "world premiere" tag at the end of its trailer. If this film succeeds, following the footsteps of Milan , who knows what'll come next? Hongkong ? Taiwan ? Brunei ? (This reminds me of that time back when television had such monumental soap hits as Boracay , Cebu , and Davao. ) But overall, the movie industry's lifeline has been reduced to a cat's whisker, and ...

Queers of Pop Aren't they gorgeous? In 1999, Boyzone 's Stephen Gately announced to the public that he was gay, eliciting mixed reactions from the Irish heartthrob's fans. Yet, he got the support of family, friends, and his band fellows which, I suppose, is especially important when one reaches a ridiculous level of stardom. When Boyzone first stepped into the limelight, I must confess that I found Gately the cutest of the five. And whaddaya know? As one stand-up comedian had said, birds of the same feather have the same bird... When Westlife 's Mark Feehily did the Gately just last week, it reinforces that unwritten law that at least one member of any boyband is homosexual. It would be wise, then, for female fans to screen new bands via world-standard gaydar to avoid disappointment later on. Gately's admittance included having a relationship with Eloy de Jong, the towering member of the long-defunct Dutch boyband Caught In The Act . (The relationship ended nearly t...

Olfactory Gaydar When a gay man says, "May naaamoy akong malansa," it's in reference to someone in the immediate area who's probably gay, too. It's one of those classic gay one-liners. Then there's this report from the Hindustan Times... Philadelphia scientists collected samples of underarm sweat from 24 donors of "varied gender and sexual orientation" and then asked 82 heterosexual and homosexual men and women to test these for any potential appealing qualities. According to the researchers quoted in the Guardian Unlimited, homosexual men and women showed preferences that were not those of heterosexual people of either sex. Gay men preferred the scent of gay men and heterosexual women, they said. But the scent of gay men was the least preferred by heterosexual men and women and by lesbian women. "Our findings support the contention that gender preference has a biological component that is reflected in both the production of different body odour...

Go Go Stop Maybe it just ain’t my thing. Last week, I went to the launch of Icon’s third issue (with no other than Borgy Manotoc on the cover) at Government Bar along Makati Avenue. As expected, the place was slowly filling up with gaggles of gay guys and a sprinkling of other orientations, but the proceedings hadn’t started yet. I was bored out of my wits. So I took off for an hour, visiting the nearby Music 21 and braved the string of high notes in Sheryn Regis’ Come In Out of the Rain . With vocal chords stretched, I went back to Government and was informed that the party had started. I stepped into the smoky interiors and was greeted by the thump-thump of techno and shifting beams of green laser light. The place was packed, but it was still easy to move around. The dance floor was boiling with stylish partyphiles, and up on the ledges were some nicely-built and scantily-clad go-go boys showing off their terpsichorean skills on the ledges. I stood just at the edge of the dance floor...

First up, congratulations to Oliver Pulumbarit for finally releasing his fringe sex-pop graphic novel Lexy Nance and Argus (LNA). The book is slowly getting attention and positive feedback. Way to go, Oliver! You may have encountered Oliver through the numerous pop culture articles he’s written for the Philippine Daily Inquirer , but he’s always wanted to show the world that he can be a bad-ass grafictionist as well. And his LNA is definitely bad-ass of the coolest kind. (I’ve only read the original version serialized in Pulp magazine; I have yet to read through the new material in the compilation.) Mind you, LNA is definitely the kind of book you wouldn’t want the young’uns to savor. It makes One Night In Purgatory look like a Cartoon Network feature. I mean…erect penises?! Threesomes? Generous servings of skin and sweat? Its racy visuals, however, serve to complement Oliver’s in-your-face writing, deliciously revealing his takes on the complex realm of alternative sexuality...