The Skunkeye Consumer Guide

DC-based artist, the talented Joey Manlapaz will be opening her “Reflections” exhibit at the Zenith Gallery (901 E Street) this evening. A selection from her “Hot Dog Vendors” series was prominent in my parents’ Art-in-Embassies collection/exhibit at the Residence in Manila (the theme was Asian-American artists). She explained to us that the hot dog vendor carts in DC are what the sari-sari stores are to the Philippines. I’ll try to make the opening after work to say hello.

Speaking of Filipina artists, I was saddened to learn via Tessie Luz that Pacita Abad is quite ill (apparently she has cancer which has spread to her brain). Abad's “Circles of Mind” recently opened at The Philippine Cultural Center on Roxas Boulevard in Manila (open until October 31). Long-time DC art enthusiasts might recall Pacita Abad’s amazing installation at the National Museum of Women in the Arts and also in the Metro Center station in the nineties. I sleep beneath one of her prints and it greets me warmly each morning. Pacita Abad has one of the most generous spirits – please keep her in your thoughts.

I’ve been sitting on a draft for this entry for ages because I shot some nice photos with the new digital camera courtesy of my father's’ Samsung golf buddy and I wanted to show 'em. Unfortunately, I think my parents just killed my old laptop that they have been borrowing and my computer at work has an archaic version of Windows so I can't load them here.

Oh well, other people’s beach photos are boring anyway.

Well, it has been nearly two weeks since I got back… but my holiday was nearly pitch-perfect. The weather was less than ideal because of all the hurricanes but I did manage to get my glow back. (Absolutely gone now) There’s something bout being at my beach, when things are right, that allows me to lose myself, and relax and believe anything is possible. Riding the surf for hours, walking for miles on the beach to the pier and back, eating and sleeping well – well, I experienced clarity of mind that I rarely have here.

You know, I could totally live there year-round and ride my bike to a minimum-wage gig at the Dollar Store or Food Lion and be so content. I'm serious.

And, lord, I read so much! One or two books a day. (In DC lately I seem to have only enough focus to read magazines or the internet).

Highlights:

I polished off Oscar Hijuelos’ oevre – I hadn’t read anything of his since the mid-nineties. I really love the way his popular novels marries Latin magic/tropical-realism with the American immigrant experience - at any rate, I especially enjoyed A Simple Habana Melody, which is a mock-biography of a fictitious 20th century popular Cuban composer/band leader.

I must say I didn't really enjoy Augusten Burroughs follow-up to Running With Scissors, Dry, all that much. I hate it when writers stop drinking. I like 'em drunk. Sobriety isn’t very amusing.

I finally got through a massive Roberto Rosellini biography (and feel much wiser for it, I suppose), but the real revelation was Antoine de Baecoque & Serge Toubiana's Francoise Truffaut biography. It was extremely well written and enlightening without burying the reader in too much detail or sentimentality. Did you know that Truffaut had an affair with EVERY SINGLE ONE of his leading ladies, from Jeanne Moreau, the tragically fated Francoise Dorleac AND her sister, Catherine Deneuve, Jacqueline Bisset, Isabelle Adjani, and Fanny Ardant (who has a son by him)! And he remained good friends with all of them, including his wife. And what a legacy of film-making - he was so young when he died!

I rented Claude Chabrol's Flowers of Evil for my folks on DVD and we spent a rainy Saturday afternoon watching it. Chabrol, of course, is one of the unsung pioneers of the Nouvelle Vague and has got to be in his eighties right now - above all his peers he was most influenced by Hitchcock and has had it out for the bourgeoisie (but much less so than Godard).

We also rented Shattered Glass- which was also quite good. It was a little close to home since we have a few Stephen Glass and Jayson Blair types here at work who have been getting away with things- and promoted – for a long time.

By chance I had some friends down staying at the more crowded end of the beach for the long weekend. And I was obliged to be social even though I’m probably more content entertaining myself at the beach. In one day, we did all the tourista things I never do - hang-gliding off of Jockey's Ridge, eating loads of deep-fried seafood en masse at a popular restaurant, the outlet stores, miniature golf at "Jurassic Putt." Their rented digs were kinda Trading Spaces gone wild, replete with downstairs tiki bar and papier mache palm trees. There were about 11 of them in one small house and they managed to stain sangria and rum just about everywhere. I was so very grateful to return back to the comfort of my peaceful house.

Actually much of my stay was totally HGTV. I single-handedly dismantled and put into storage two bunk beds to make way for a study/guest bedroom. We drove to Manteo to order furniture and fabric. I did a lot of weatherproofing and staining. Also, we brought out of storage a huge Cebu-made rataan and glass coffee table that I filled with sand and tried to artfully arrange two decades of sea shell gathering. AND I installed a mailbox, which is a bigger feat and endeavor than one wants to even think about on vacation time.

Ay, it was so nice to get away.

I missed the Scissor Sisters, whom I was plugging ages ago, at 930 while I was at the beach. Here is a nice Guardian profile.

RUSS MEYER 1922- 2004

An auteur passed away today. Stumbling upon Beyond the Valley of the Dolls on late-night cable as a kid made quite an impression on me! The Carrie Nations rock!

Check out the freaky tarot cards.

I’ve yet to get into The Amazing Race, but my sister told me yesterday evening that the finale’s competition takes place in the Philippines. I jump at any opportunity to see my beloved country on TV and take particular interest in how the western media paints it. That the producers avoided the usual cliched imagery – urban squalor, street urchins, and prostitutes – pleased me greatly, and, in the all-too-brief scene setting, Manila was portrayed as the vibrant, cosmopolitan, and friendly place it really is despite its problems. Even the totally baduy Coconut Palace appeared somewhat classy (in actuality it is a rather tacky relic of the Marcos regime). And I was so thrilled that the contestants experienced, albeit under duress, beautiful Palawan – the Philippines has so much potential as a first-class tourist destination and I’m glad that American audiences got to see that.

What really cracked me up was that none of the players could identify the Philippines flag on their island-hopping challenge! They were instructed to “use binoculars provided in their boats to search the shore of three islands for three separate flags. The cluebox on the island next to the Philippine national flag contained their next clue, while the clues on the other two islands told them to try again.”

It’s hilarious, after arriving in the Philippines at Ninoy Aquino International airport (where the national flag flies everywhere), crashing at the government-owned Coconut Palace (again, flags everywhere), and then racing to Luneta Park to retrieve a clue by the Jose Rizal – the Philippines national hero - memorial and where flags are prominent – none of the contestants took note of the rather striking Philippine flag. Amazing!

At any rate, their adventure made me really miss the unspoiled beaches, marine life, bangka rides, El Nido, jeepneys, and even those small scary planes. I found myself rooting for the Soccer Moms who seemed to be participating in the race for all the right reasons (and I'm a sucker for older women). Unfortunately, Lagen Wall proved to be their undoing. I hope the producers were kind and allowed those two nice ladies relax a bit at the resort for a few days afterwards.

Update: since I had to watch Nip/Tuck (which I seriously hope isn’t jumping the shark – it is getting way too far-fetched and out-of control and all the chick sharing/swapping is grody), I missed the second hour of Amazing Race. A co-worker told me the Soccer Moms had to go straight to chilly Canada the next day with the others – I really wished they could have spent some more time at Lagen!

The Curse of The Brown Bunny (and never-ending a Donnie Darko run!)
– Visions to close …

It’s a really unfortunate loss to the neighborhood- right up the street from me and so perfect on rainy, cold days - I just wish they had varied their programming more frequently and maybe screened more current foreign films rather than political documentaries which are of less interest to me. Now, since the Janus (man, that was a crappy space and, oddly, Donnie Darko was the last movie I saw at that theater) long since turned into the United Colours of Benetton, all we have left in terms of cinema is Dupont Circle 5. The neighborhood is rapidly losing its heart and appeal.

And I noticed last month that the Outer Circle on Wisconsin closed!

If this is a trend, I wonder how Landmark E Street will fare in the coming year. I've yet to experience a full house there. I don't think their stingy matinee policy helps either - especially for those of us who like to catch one right after work.

Not at all happy to be back in DC and this news just adds to the general fug. I crash-landed into a severe bout of SAD and a stomach flu, among other unfortunate situations, upon my return from the Beach House. My vacation glow quickly faded. I’m thrilled about the weather these past two days however!
I’m still getting myself together at work and with other matters – will catch up later.

Off to the Beach House for about a week and a half. Lord I really need this holiday - things have been crazy busy. Hope the hurricane doesn't hit The Outer Banks! Hopefully I'll get the internet connection working at the house but I doubt I'll post - I'm looking forward to an uneventful stay and catching up on a lot of books rather than reading the computer all day.

*****
Gee,I just noticed this is my 200th Post. It's been a week of anniversaries - my birthday, three years at this gig, three years at my house... its gotta get better!