The Wheel and Axle

Archive for January, 2017

Miss Universe 2016: Energy and Substance

by on Jan.31, 2017, under Film & TV, My Life, Queer

Dream Come True

So yesterday, I fulfilled my dream to be able to watch Miss Universe live as a member of the audience.

It was everything I hoped for and more.

From feeling the positive energy of an international audience (a true melting pot of cultures, though I must say there were especially a lot of nice Thais, lovely Indonesians, and hot hot hot Latin men) to seeing beauty queens past and present, it was an experience I want to live again and again. Steve Harvey was funny, and the guest acts were surprisingly good (I’d been afraid they were too old school). We got to see what happens when the show is on commercial break (hint: not much, really), and over-all, it was indeed worth having won those tickets last minute.

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Queen Iris

by on Jan.30, 2017, under Film & TV, Queer

Congratulations, Iris Mittenaere of France for besting 85 other worthy ladies and winning the crown to become Miss Universe 2016!

Europe hasn’t won this pageant since 2002, and moreover, this is France’s only second crown since Christiane Martel won in 1953. This is a triumph 63 years in the making.

You’re a wonderful woman, Iris! May you be worthy of your predecessor, the remarkable Pia Wurtzbach. You have big footsteps to follow, but we know you’ll make us all proud.

PS We would love a taste of your cooking!

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Queen Pia

by on Jan.30, 2017, under Film & TV, Queer, Travel & Culture

As she relinquishes her crown later today, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach ends her reign as one of the most well-loved winners of this most prestigious beauty pageant. Despite that controversial crowning moment, Pia proved that she is the one true lady who rightfully won the title and deserved her place.

She will go down in history as one of the best winners in any pageant. Ever.

You did a great job, Pia. You’ve made us proud, and you will always be queen.

Mabuhay!

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See you, Miss U!

by on Jan.30, 2017, under Film & TV, Queer, Travel & Culture

I was ready to watch this year’s Miss Universe with friends while on a mini-staycation in a nice AirBnB unit in BGC. Although we’d long wanted to watch the pageant live should it be staged here once again, circumstances prevented us from proceeding.

However, when our mini-staycay started on Saturday afternoon, my friend Bj (a.k.a. Pinoy Travel Whore, the sixth person to visit all 81 provinces of the Philippines) convinced me to join a Q&A Facebook contest sponsored by TV5 in collaboration with several popular pageant-focused social media sites. The prizes would be tickets to the coronation. On a whim, I thought, Why not? then proceeded to respond to the various questions. There were quite a few, mind you, and I had to fit it in right while I was also writing the article on my personal faves for this year’s pageant. (continue reading…)

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Miss Universe 2016: Personal Picks

by on Jan.29, 2017, under Film & TV, Queer

The Miss Universe 2016 pageant will be broadcast live from Manila tomorrow (local time), the first from the Philippines since 1994, and as the country has always been pageant-crazy, this year’s show is doubly exciting for Pinoys.

As with any enthusiast, I have my own personal picks. After seeing the social media pictures and clips as well as the preliminaries that streamed live last Thursday, I have tried my best to determine who I feel should be part of the Top 12. It was a pretty difficult task, really, as there are a lot of fierce and fabulous contenders, so I went and chose 16 ladies any of whom I think deserve to make it to the Top 12 (well, Top 13 since it’s been confirmed that the winner of online voting will be included as a 13th candidate rather than be among the twelve).

(continue reading…)

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She continues to inspire…

by on Jan.29, 2017, under Film & TV

Credits: The Hollywood Reporter

… as she celebrates her 63rd birthday today. And in her lifetime, she has become a living legend.

Who in the world by now doesn’t know the great Oprah Winfrey?

Here is a self-made icon who, through sheer perseverance and talent in an industry dominated by white male personalities, became the most powerful media mogul of all time. Beyond her talk show, she also made marks as an occasional actress and an author. She broke glass ceilings by being black, being a woman, and being the most successful amongst her peers (assuming she even has any) – hell, she’s the first black woman billionaire in history.

(continue reading…)

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Is this what you see all the time?

by on Jan.28, 2017, under Society, Travel & Culture

That seriously broke and warmed my heart at the same time.

Let’s never take for granted the beauty that we have that others do not. It’s also always wonderful to see someone experience the wonders of nature for the first time.

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The Most Magical Word

by on Jan.27, 2017, under Snark, Society, Travel & Culture

So many uses for this amazingly versatile word.

P.S. As an avowed #grammarnazi, I need to point out that (1) one of the first examples does not denote transitive/intransitive but rather active/passive, and (2) in “fucking beautiful,” it is an adverb, not an adjective. But let’s ignore me and carry on.

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Ellen at 58

by on Jan.26, 2017, under Film & TV, Queer

Ellen Degeneres has been inspiring generations of LGBT folks for about two decades now. Ever since she broke ground in 1997 by coming out as a lesbian, she has served as a role model not just for the LGBT community but for women as well. In fact, she is a role model for people in general, period.

She’s smart, hilarious, charitable, and loves to give us what we want – lots of shirtless hot men on her show! – even if she swings the other way.

(continue reading…)

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Bond. Gaymes Bond.

by on Jan.25, 2017, under Film & TV, Queer

College Humor never fails to make me laugh.

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