Monday, August 22, 2011

From strip clubs to the gym: Pole dancing in PH

Pole Academy Philippines creative director Ed Aniel (left) and instructor Merry Farnal-Ballinger. Photos courtesy of PAP

MANILA, Philippines - What would you think if you see a woman who wears sexy clothes dancing and climbing a pole?

A taboo perhaps for many, especially for Filipinos.

Contrary to what others believe, pole dancing is not just for strip clubs, said veteran dancer Ed Aniel, who aims to wipe out the stigma attached to the performance art.

Aniel, who began his dancing career at age 18, introduced pole dancing as a form of exercise in the country by founding the Pole Academy Philippines (PAP) in 2007.

He has 2 other senior instructors: Eisa Jocson and Merry Farnal-Ballinger.

Asked who can join his classes, Aniel said, "Sex, age, height and weight don't matter. As long as you are willing to learn and you are passionate about it, you can enroll in our pole dancing classes."

Pole dancing as fitness craze

Geri Gatchalian-Gil, managing director of PAP, said pole dancing is fast gaining popularity in the Philippines as a way to get fit.

She said students initially enroll in their classes as an alternative to gym sessions.

PAP associate director Eisa Jocson. Photo courtesy of PAP

"But eventually, they enjoy going to the classes especially since we don't just do tricks on the pole. We have dance numbers every night at the end of the class," she said.

Gatchalian-Gil, a 42-year-old mother of two, said she first had inhibitions in showing some skin, but this changed after enrolling at PAP.

The academy, she said, helped her learn not only to pole dance but also to express herself better.

"Some actually lose weight from pole dancing, and even tone their muscles in the arms, legs and abs," she said.

True enough, PAP students shared that attending pole classes under Aniel "brought out the goddesses in them."

With pole dancing gaining ground in the Philippines, Aniel dreams of elevating it to the stage and showing the public his "hybrid style" of theatrical pole art.

"Pole dancing is an art form. At PAP, we call our brand of pole dancing as 'Jazz Le Pole,' a combination of jazz, ballet and pole dancing, which sets our school from other pole dancing schools in the country," he said.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Taiwan hosts its biggest same-sex 'wedding' party

TAIPEI, Taiwan - About 80 lesbian couples tied the knot in Taiwan's biggest same-sex "wedding party" in a massive gesture that organizers said Sunday offered hope that the island will soon legalize gay marriage.

Many of the couples donned white dresses and veils for the "Barbie and Barbie's wedding", which was held overnight in downtown Taipei, attracting about 1,000 visitors, including friends, relatives and curious onlookers.

"I feel very hopeful that Taiwan will legalize same-sex marriage soon," said one of the brides, 32-year-old stylist Celine Chen, who plans a honeymoon in New York, which in June became the sixth US state to legalize gay marriage.

Even though same-sex unions are not legal in Taiwan, the celebrations went on smoothly without police interference or protests.

Many of the couples kissed, hugged and posed for photographs while receiving an unofficial certificate from the organizers that stated they were now "united in holy matrimony".

The event climaxed with a couple exchanging rings and saying "I do" amid roaring cheers from the crowd.

But in a brief moment of sadness, some of the participants acknowledged that the marriages were not bona fide.

"The wedding party is fun but it's not real," said Coral Huang, who has been with her partner for eight years and intends to go to Europe to wed legally.

"Getting a genuine marriage certificate is very meaningful as it shows that we are being recognized and accepted."

Taiwan is becoming more open-minded towards its homosexual population, and the island's gay rights groups last year said they had hosted Asia's biggest gay pride parade, with a turnout of 30,000.

In an opinion poll conducted in 2008 by the International Social Survey Programme, a global network dedicated to social science research, 17.5% of Taiwanese participants said that homosexual behavior was "not wrong at all".

While significantly lower than the United States, where 32.3% held that view, it was much higher than the 5.5% scored in Japan and 4.4% in the Philippines.

The cabinet in 2003 drafted a controversial bill to legalize same-sex marriages and allow homosexual couples to adopt children, the first in Asia to promise to do so.

But President Ma Ying-jeou has said that public consensus was needed to be reached before the government can move ahead with the legislation.

Cathay Pacific scandal tops PH Google search

MANILA, Philippines - Cathay Pacific caught the attention of Internet-using Filipinos last week after 2 of its employees were caught in a set of photos apparently engaging in oral sex on board an aircraft, according to Google Philippines.

Data gathered by the local unit of the Internet search giant from August 12 to 18 showed that "Cathay Pacific scandal" was the fastest rising news topic in the country after the photos were published on the Internet and in Chinese-language daily newspapers last Sunday.

The 2 members of Cathay Pacific's cabin crew who were shown in the photos have left the company. It was not clear whether the pair were sacked or if they resigned voluntarily.

The incident has caused Cathay Pacific to review a marketing campaign that bills the airline as "the team who go the extra mile to make you feel special."

Other top news topics last week include "Vietnam flag" after the country marked its veterans' remembrance day; "47.110579,9.227568," a location on Google Street View that shows a mysterious figure in the sky; and the controversial "Kulo" exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines which was recently closed down.

Below is the full list:

  1. Cathay Pacific scandal
  2. Vietnam flag
  3. 47.110579,9.227568
  4. Kulo exhibit
  5. Final Destination 5
  6. Dengue
  7. Moves like Jagger
  8. Smurf
  9. Jetstar
  10. DFA

Meanwhile, here are the country's fastest rising newsmakers from August 12 to 18:

  1. Edgar Allan Guzman
  2. Mideo Cruz
  3. Paris Hilton
  4. Kate Middleton
  5. Barbie
  6. Angry Birds
  7. WWE
  8. Starbucks
  9. Rebecca Black
  10. Solenn Heussaff

Friday, August 5, 2011

New Spider-Man is black teen from New York

NEW YORK - Spider-Man peeled his webbed mask back Wednesday to reveal a new face -- and it's black.

In a revolution for one of the most enduring characters in comic books, Marvel Comics introduced a revamped Spider-Man whose alter-ego is a mild-mannered half-black, half-Latino teen from New York.

The new Spidey is called Miles Morales and he lives in Brooklyn with his parents, at least when he's not in his famous red and blue costume and battling world evil.

The previous incarnation, Peter Parker, was white, an orphan and came from New York's borough of Queens. He was killed off in June during a fight with his nemesis Green Goblin.

"The superhero genre has been dominated by Caucasian (white) superheroes from Superman to Batman," Axel Alonso, Marvel's chief editor, told AFP.

"When Spider-Man peels back that mask, there will be a whole new demographic of kids who we'll be reaching on a new spiritual level."

Alonso said the idea of a black Spider-Man first came up when President Barack Obama, whose father was African, ran for the White House, becoming the first president with African-American roots.

But Marvel needed the right occasion to make the switch and that came when the story ended up in Peter Parker's death. "In order to kill Spider-Man, we needed to know who to put in his place," Alonso said.

The decision to go mixed-race rather than plain black -- like the Black Panther superhero in the early 1960s -- was also important.

Alonso said his own father is Mexican and his mother British, while Spidey writer Brian Michael Bendis is Jewish and has two adopted children from Africa. "So I know for him it was definitely personal," Alonso said.

Spider-Man is one of the most hallowed characters in superhero universe. In March, a copy of the inaugural 1962 comic book sold at auction for $1.1 million. Originally the comic sold to fans for just 12 cents.

In the inaugural adventure of the new Spider-Man, a slender Miles Morales takes on a fearsome thug called the Kangaroo, ultimately delivering justice, then climbing in spidery fashion up onto a New York rooftop where he pulls the mask from his sweating face.

Crowds gather to watch the fight, which leaves windows and one car wrecked as the neophyte superhero struggles to overcome the much larger Kangaroo.

There's no love from the public either, as bystanders accuse the blue-and-red suited stranger of wearing the dead superhero's costume "in terrible taste."

"I -- I thought you died," one says. "How is Spider-Man alive now?"

In the final frame, when Morales takes off the mask, there is no one there to see his surprising new face. "Maybe the costume is in bad taste," the heavy hearted-looking teen says to himself.

Long life is in the genes: study

WASHINGTON - Israeli researchers studied a population of Ashkenazi Jews who have lived to age 95 and older and found that their eating and lifestyle habits were no better than those of the general population.

In fact, men in the long-lived group drank slightly more and exercised less than their average counterparts, said the findings in the online edition of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

"This study suggests that centenarians may possess additional longevity genes that help to buffer them against the harmful effects of an unhealthy lifestyle," said senior author Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

The study involved 477 Ashkenazi Jews aged 95-122 who were living independently. A total of 75% were women. All were enrolled in an ongoing study that aims to uncover the secrets to longevity.

Ashkenazi Jews were chosen because they are more "genetically uniform than other populations, making it easier to spot gene differences that are present," said the study.

Overall, the elder group had similar habits in terms of height-weight ratio, smoking, exercise level and diet as similarly matched people in the general population.

Data on comparison subjects came from 3,164 people who had been born around the same time as the centenarians and were examined between 1971 and 1975 while participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Twenty-four percent of long-living men drank alcohol daily, compared to 22% of the general population, while 43% of the older group exercised regularly compared to 57% of regular men.

While people in both groups were just as likely to be overweight, the longer-living group was less likely to reach higher levels of obesity. But researchers cautioned that the older set's secrets are not a good fit for most.

"Although this study demonstrates that centenarians can be obese, smoke and avoid exercise, those lifestyle habits are not good choices for most of us who do not have a family history of longevity," said Barzilai.

"We should watch our weight, avoid smoking and be sure to exercise, since these activities have been shown to have great health benefits for the general population, including a longer lifespan."

Pinay author breaks into US book market

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino mom Samantha Sotto wrote her first book, Before Ever After, to kill time while waiting for her son to come out of school.

After a year, she sent her story to literary agents abroad and eventually got a deal with Random House, one of biggest publishing houses in the world.

Before Ever After was launched in New York last August 2, and is available in North America through Barnes & Noble and across the globe through Amazon and iBooks.

Currently, the book ranks fourth in Amazon's "Hot New Releases in American Literature."

Bestselling authors in the US had nothing but good things to say about Sotto's first book.

"Before Ever After is one of those books that challenges the natural laws of fiction writing, but in a frisky and highly entertaining way," said Anne Fortier, New York Times bestselling author of Juliet.

"Exquisitely written and inventively told, Before Ever After is a beautiful, moving -- and quite fun -- exploration of what you think you know about your own life," said Melissa Senate, bestselling author of See Jane Date, The Love Goddess' Cooking School and other novels.

In an interview with The Philippine Star, Sotto said she is already "80% done" with her second novel.

She gave this advice to aspiring writers who dreams of being published by Random House: "Stop dreaming and pursue what you want. The amount of creative talent in this country is huge and there is absolutely nothing that is stopping us from showing the world what the Filipino can do."

Meanwhile, Sotto will be at the Philippine Consulate in New York on August 12 to sign copies of her first book.