The Sojourner

Martin Rots in Hell

Last November 16, I blogged about Ziggy Bautista to gather votes for him for Mr. Gay Hongkong Pageant.

I worked and trained beauty contestants before in my younger years in the city where I lived and holding a beauty pageant itself is a daunting task to do.

How much more for a gay pageant? It's not just daunting but controversial, physically and emotionally-draining for the participants and most especially, the organizers.

You can't, of course, please everybody---especially Martin Heyes, an ex-police officer.

Martin, the asshole, wrote a letter to the organizer saying rotten and invective words that show how disgusting bastard he is.

Read this:

For the veracity of the letter and the identity of the person, read here:
http://thedarkside.hk/2009/11/27/vassup-martin-dont-mess-with-our-gays

Martin, judging from the words you said, YOU ARE SO WORSE THAN US!

Eco-fashion Show

Closing a full week of green cross-over events, GtB'3 wraps up its 3rd year with a recycled film workshop hosted by Electric Shadows and sustainable community bizarres in the afternoon; followed by an evening with Pecha Kucha Beijing (www.pkbj.org), plus the 3rd annual Eco-Fashion Show featuring WillowWillow couture (www.willowwillow.net),DimSum all things Asian designs (www.d-sata.com), and Raffles School of Design; blowing out the goodnight-lights with Acupuncture Records (www.acupuncture-records.com) DJs and friends, guest VJs (PIEN new art media), and out of the ordinary organic performances presented by Natooke (www.natooke.com)!!!

Below are the photos from Eco-fashion show.

2010: Year of Kissing People

An Australian friend of mine, Philip, is off to keep himself busy next year by kissing people.   

Yes, you read it right!

He's on the mission to kiss people regardless of sex, race, religions and mouth shapes.

He'll start at the threshold of of 2010!

Right at the time when everybody finishes singing Auld Lang Syne and jumps and greets and kisses the person he / she is holding with and so on.

Julien, his love, is for sure, the first one to get it!

WHO IS PHILIP?
I don't wanna delve into his personal stuff I'll let him introduce himself to you.

In 2005 I composed two lines of iambic pentameter every day in order to form a poem about the year. It was called "2005: A year's work in iambic pentameter."

In 2006 I gave a flower to a different person every day and created another type of poem about it. This project was called "2006: A year of giving flowers to people."

In 2007 I adapted my life to a calendar of the saints, reacting to the lives of holy people in passionate or ironic ways. The title of this project was "2007: A year with the saints."

In 2008 I followed a different person each day and saw if I was taken to interesting places. I called it "2008: A year of following people."

In 2009 I will spend a year in relation to lemons, spending some time each day engaging the fruit in a new mode, a new action. I will call this project "2009: A year with lemons."

And in 2010: A Year of Kissing People!

So, be part of his endeavor! ;)

This is the letter of invitation from Philip, who is determined to kiss everyone and perhaps on his way to the Guinness Book of Records.

If you are in Australia, shout and he shall visit your doorsteps and be ready to gargle. ;)

==============================================

Dear Alain,

Next year I am conducting a project called “2010: a year of kissing people.” Each day I will kiss a different person on the lips – strangers, relatives, friends. Then I’ll blog about my experiences at http://thiel.livejournal.com

I’m writing in advance of this project to ask if you’d like to take part by kissing me. Kisses can be short or long, serious or silly, tipsy or sober, standard or offbeat. Should you agree, I will aim to meet you at a time and place that’s convenient for you, and to organise the kiss in a way that feels appropriate.

Please accept this note as evidence that I would like to kiss you and that if you say yes I’ll be glad.

Having said that, there is no pressure at all for you to agree, and you can simply leave this unanswered to signal your preference.

If there’s any chance at all that you would like to kiss me, please reply to this message and say so, as I won’t hassle you by asking again if you don’t reply at this stage. (Of course if you say no then change your mind I’ll be delighted to hear about it anytime from now until next December.)

Any questions? Let me know. I’ll start scheduling kisses by the New Year.

Thanks for your consideration.

Lots of love,
Philip

==========================================================================

There you go, biatches! Say YES to this invitation. Read his blog from time to time next year. Who knows, he will be visiting your city / country and give you a kiss.

Don't fret.

A KISS IS JUST KISS, right?

So, I said YES!

Beijing Improv Goes Green

The famouuuuusssss Beijing Improv showed their wacky sides once again at the Opening Night of the Anniversary of Greening The Beige, an eco-minded arts collective in Beijing founded by the Green Lady itself, (drum rolls, please.....) tadaaaa...... Carissa Welton.

Watch the group's performance here in this video.

Efren and the other side of his award

This year's CNN Hero is Efren Penaflorida!

I am not going to spoil the jubilation of the whole country and to those who voted for him.

I am, like them, in jubilant mood when I heard and read the news of him winning.

No question about that.

But, the bitchy side of me shows no mercy.

Not for him. Not for the Dynamic Teen Company.

The award also shows the recent devastating plight of millions of Filipino children who are out-of-school.

The number of these school-less kids could be prevented if the HYPOCRITE CATHOLIC CHURCH would stay out of way by telling every horny POOR families that using contraceptions is against the teaching of the hypocrites!

Raising up a child IS not EASY. How much more with 2 or 5 or 9?

I can't explain that to you as I don't have a family of my own --- but I SEE it in my totally extended family where I have aunts and uncles with 4-11 children whose don't have white-collared jobs. Their monthly paycheck is still at the poverty line.

I used to give them snide remarks about their "skill of plowing" but I'm always intercepted with remarks like, "It's not your worry. It's ours."

The most common remarks I heard from them was, "If you have many children, they can help you when you grow old."

That's security reason.

But, some of those children didn't even finish high school, only few. They are working now to help their big family.

They got married early and have many children, too.

Because village / barangay life doesn't offer much opportunity, they move to the city for "greener pasture."

And the cycle continues.

The real victims?

The young, innocent children.

From Germany to Japan

I've been emailing some of my friends to be a guest blogger in this blog.

They all said YES and I'm waiting for their articles and photos as of this writing.

And guess, who's the first guy who responded?
It's Chris.

From Germany.

I met him in Japan during the"Japan Highlights Tour" organized by a fellow couchsurfer, Mochan, of Wish Club.

We've been together for five day and it was such fun for having him and the rest of the sojourners in Japan.

Click the video. He's cute. :)

Here's what he says about his Japan trip.

It was 1998 when I started to love Japan.

I just knew it from postcards, movies, video games and - well - the Japanese soccer team and I said to myself, "Damn, one day I will go there and explore it by myself."

Eleven years later years later, my dream came true when I started my first trip alone to the other side of the world.

What I experienced was way beyond my expectations: food, freaks, friends, geishas, temples, nighlife, onsen, sake, shinkansen (bullet train), short skirts and much more!

I decided to take my camcorder and start a little diary for me to remember my trip and for my family and friends to enjoy it with me.

Besides that, I had to prove that I managed to accomplish the tasks which I asked my friends to give me before I took off. This was sometimes pretty nasty, a little bit embarrassing, but always fun as hell!

When I came back I wanted to get back there immediately to visit all my new friends and couchsurfers again!

I hope that someday our ways will cross again...

Beijing's First Ever Sing-a-long Sound of Music

Last Saturday, despite the windy and freezing weather, The Boat sailed off with the singing seven children of a widower naval commander, Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp.

And of course, Maria was aboard on it, too!

She was hard to ignore---she was the only one in a nun costume.

Boy, she (or was she a he?) behaved badly. I saw her pouring and serving alcohol to her tutees and her bitches.

If you were at Beijing's First Ever Sing-a-long Sound of Music debauchery, you were, for sure, sang a-long with the rest of the crew.

The captain's children were soooo badass (I saw you, Phil! Hahahahaha) and they can really carry a tune!

It was magical!

The crowd went gaga over romantic scenes of the Captain and the Governess.

They sang their hearts out as if to impress Simon Cowell for the next American Idol or Britain's Got Talent.

Every song from the movie was gladly sang by the pleasing hearts of men and women who cared nothing but fun sans the fear of being captured by The Third Reich.

It was a fun-filled event of enthusiastic people who are united not just for the love the 1965 film but also for the love of music.

Whether they were out of tune or not, it didn't matter.

Alcohol kept pouring in and saved their face from falsetto and unheard baritone ever.

Just like the recurring theme of the movie, which is making choices, the ones who were there made their choice: they sing and dance their way to a fun-filled life!

The SOUND of MUSIC, is heard, beyond the Alps in Switzerland.

It's beyond the Rainbow Flag that's been hanging at The Boar Bar.

It's TIMELESS.

It's UNIVERSAL.
 

Vote for Ziggy for 2009 Mr. Gay Hongkong!

A friend of a friend is competing for Mr. Gay Hongkong 2009!

And, yes, I'm pimping him to you because he is worth your VOTE!

Really.

Seriously!

 

Just look at his photos and you'll be salivating, drooling, wishing you can have a piece of that hot, six-pack abs or of him.

He is definitely ORGASMICALLY DELICIOUS! :))

That's ZIGGY BAUTISTA!

Ziggy is competing against five other delicious men who all have the potentials of grabbing the title. They are from diverse backgrounds who share one thing, aside from being fab and gay, an affinity to and a deep love for the cosmopolitan Hongkong.

But, ZIGGY is "the consumate gay man who embodies the spirit of Hongkong" and who can be a spokesperson for gay men in Hongkong and the rest of Asia. 

Who is Ziggy, you ask?

ZIGGY is a very accomplished, award-winning interior designer who works for one of the top design firms in the world. He has brought many accolades to the Filipino people through his award-winning designs, most notably, for the Llyod's of London Office in which was recognized by Contract Awards in New York City.

He has been practicing successfully in Hong Kong for several years now. He enjoys taking his canoe for marathon rows out from Stanley and beyond, and showed up at this year’s Floatilla (in HK!) as the only one-man junk!

And most of all, he promises to donate all, yes, ALLLLLLLL, of his winnings to the CHARITY.

You see, he just doesn't have a yummy physique but a BIG Heart, too!

Just like I told you, he truly DESERVES your VOTE!

So, what are you waiting for?

VOTE for ZIGGY here.

Vote for him EVERYDAY until November 28!

And when you vote, click NO to others.

YES, to ZIGGY! :))

And if you are or will be in Hongkong,  sashay down your ass and be a fab witness to the glittering pageant on November 28. Show starts at 9:00 p.m.

Lan Kwai Fong Beer Bar, G/F, California Tower,  30-32 D’Aguilar Street, Central

Dress code: Glam n’ Chic

Ticketing hotline +852 6486 9933 Noel Furrer, also available at Lan Kwai Fong Bar, Volume, W Hotel, Paul Gerrard Salon. Advance booking HK$180 inclusive of one drink; HK$220 at the door.

Vote online for your favorite Mr Gay contestant from November 13 noon to November 28 noon at www.manasiaproductions.com.

Other media articles:
* 6 strapping young men fight for human rights
* Introduction: You tube video
* Mr. Gay Hongkong website
* Photos courtesy of: http://www.manasiaproductions.com

P.S.
Now, Ziggy, if you are reading this: I want that signed / autographed pic of yours in your swim wear. Hahahaha!!!
 

Food and Wine Experience at Hilton Beijing

What can I say? 

It's past 25 hours already but my head is still spinning as of this writing.

I'm not exaggerating. I just too much, really.

True to its slogan, it's the most sumptuous, luxurious food and wine tasting event this year.


The WINE TASTING

It was a history---and I'm arrogantly proud to say, "I was there!" :)

I'm not a wine writer and a connoisseur, so pardon my poor vocab about wine and winery.

The historical event started at 11:00 in the morning and ended at 8:00 in the evening. With hundred of bottles of wines to be tasted, no one, for sure, left without a heavy head or dead brain cells.

We went there at 5:00 p.m.

As eight of my friends and I snaked through the crowded, narrow carpeted halls and bumped into strangers, conversations we heared, were, of course, about wine and other related stuff.

It was hard for us to find a glass wine since there was no direction at all where to get one. And when we finally found one, we started our wine tasting adventure.

We skipped the beer section, obviously.

My first wine was an Australian wine. I didn't like it. It tasted like sweet water. Hahahaha... Whatever.

So, I moved to the next table with lots of French wines to choose from. I told the bartender (or salesperson?) to give me his best recommendation, and he poured me...ah.... what's the name....? Grrrr.... I can't remember. But, anyway, I like it so I moved on to the next wine company and on and on and on...

Thirty minutes later, the beverage began to have an effect on me. I started to walk like a drag queen but I felt like I had to drink more.

I remember asking a guy to pour me a white wine and a red one at once to his amazement --- and he refused, of course. But, I was persistent and I told him that this is a wine tasting event so I'm "tasting" what it's like to have both mixed together.

Hell, it was digusting! Hahahahaha.....

And oh, I met and had a photo op with Jeremy Oliver, one of Australia's leading and most influential wine critics and its Wine Writer of the Year for 2005!  

I guess, I had too much Chilean wine yesterday. I didn't know that Chile is known for wines until last night. I had a French couchsurfer before who brought me a Chilean wine which he bought from Paris and I kinda liked it.


THE BUFFET DINNER

Hilton's restaurant manager, Charlie, called at 6:30 pm and told me that our table for buffet dinner was ready. With my incredible talent to organize half-drunk couchsurfers slash "connoisseurs", I texted everyone to be near the stairs in 20 minutes.

It never took me a long time to wait for them---which means that they're all hungry drunkards. So, I led them to the second floor and we were met by Charlie who stood by the door---waiting for us.  

Charlie led us to a room where ten seats were delicately-arranged. Wow! We were the only VIPs! While the rest of the crowd were in the main restaurant, we enjoyed our own exclusive place with pride and loud laughters. Hahahahahahahaha... Did you hear that? :))

The food? It wasn't that great but it was sumptuous, yes. There were not many choices. I just hated the fact that M&Ms were only there---for public display. I tried to charm the guy behind the counter to give some but it didn't work. However, my girl friend had some. Damn that guy! He's a sexist! And fugly! Hahahaha!!!


ZETA BAR

When everybody was full and heavy, we all agreed to check out the hotel's bar, ZETA. Well, all of them were actually more intrigued of ZETA's bathroom than the bar itself.

ZETA's bathroom won as the best bathroom in Beijing in a survey conducted by a magazine a year or two ago.?

 And what's the best part of the party last night? It's the FREE cocktails for every hedonist!

Yes, it's FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

The bar also auctioned some not-hot girls and two cute men.

I mean it, literally.

They auctioned them to the highest bidder, of course, for a date and they gave the pair a voucher for two dinner.

I might be gay but I am not biased to women. I know who's hot and not. The Chinese girls they auctioned were not really in a category to be called good-looking. No wonder, the highest price they could get for the girls was, like, 800 RMB? Not sure. Cheap.

But, then, real beauty is inside, right? ;) 

The boys were more expensive though but the price didn't reach a thousand RMB.

Simon, the first guy auctioned was delicious for one night but my favorite is Jonathan White, The Beijinger's Editor-in-Chief. I raised my hand for RMB300 (because that's the only cash I had at that moment). I wasn't sure if they would accept credit card. I could have stopped the bidding by saying a thousand right away. Really.

But, before you raise and arch your eyebrows, the money for the auction was donated to a charity.

So, whether the boys and girls were cheap or not, it doesn't matter. They did it for charity! ;)


AFTER ZETA

Six of us went to The Boat Bar. But, that's another story.

Another blog entry.

China’s gay community struggles to gain acceptance

I got this blog entry today from GAY.COM's blog.

I am re-posting it here to spread the word.

I personally met one of the organizers of the SHANGHAI PRIDE Week, the first one in China. 

Here's the article verbatim:

While the fight for gay marriage and full equality goes on in the United States and other more developed nations, the struggle for acceptance has only just begun for our brothers and sisters elsewhere.

Watch the story of Dylan Chen from China, one of the key organisers of Shanghai Pride, mainland China’s first ever Pride season which took place in June this year. The camera follows the young man over the course of two months, and chronicles the ups and downs Dylan and his team experienced in putting together the event.





Meanwhile, here’s another interview with Yang Yang and celebrated gay film director Cui Zi’en, masterminds of the Beijing Queer Film Festival which took place up north in the Chinese capital right after Shanghai Pride.

And I'm proud to say that I was at the Beijing Queer Film Festival, too!

Beijing Queer Festival from on Vimeo.

Other related articles in this blog:

China's First Gay Pride Evah

Beijing Queer Film Festival