I was impressed how orderly everything was, even though close to 15,000 people (mostly fan girls) packed the cavernous Brisbane Entertainment Centre that night. The opening acts were this Kiwi artist named Zowie and DJ Skeet Skeet from California. I thought their numbers dragged long (or was I just excited to see Katy live?) Then finally, after one hour, she was ready to roll.

The concert had a storybook, Boy meets Girl concept. When the stage opened, I can’t help but gawk at how awesome the set design was: lollipops, a giant cupcake by the side, multi-colored stairs and projector screens that looked like cotton candy. The dominating color was pink!

Katy’s opening song was Teenage Dream and everyone yelped. I took videos with my trusty Lumix LX3 (no DSLRs allowed) but the sound quality failed me Here’s one good Youtube vid I found:

Katy Perry in Peacock mode. It was kinda hilarious seeing her sing “I wanna see your peacock-cock-cock” while playing with the microphone. She’s one cool funny girl!

As expected, Katy sang most of her hits like I Kissed a Girl, Hot and Cold, Firework, ET. She also did covers for Rebecca Black (Friday), Whip My Hair (Willow Smith) and even Whitney Houston ( I Wanna Dance with Somebody). Her last song was California Gurls which featured gingerbread men on stage, confetti and colorful beach balls thrown at the audience!

One impressive note: Katy’s dancers swinging from a trapeze, like Cirque de Soleil.

The California Dreams Tour is indeed an example of how concerts should be done: fun, fearless and fantabulous, with everything laid our perfectly…. from the musicians to the props to the stage design, and of course the artist herself.

Thanks to Warner Music and Windows Live Hotmail for giving us first dibs to the ultimate Katy Perry Concert experience. We enjoyed it every step of the way! Moral lesson: I will not wear heels in a Standing Room Only gig again

P.S. It’s not too late to join my Katy Perry Teenage Dream CD giveaway. Deadline is May 15. Until then folks!

But it was all worth it because as you well know….. Katy Perry rocks!

Can’t blame the young fans for having their own culture of Katy Perry adulation. On May 5, 2011, the big concert date in Brisbane, the adoring fans of the California Gurl came to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre all dressed up for the part : cupcake bras, candy dresses, blue wigs, and all…. KP’s trademark is to wear them with all the colors.

This photo via Save Social Energy on Facebook

The lady in the dice dress told me she made her own costume for the occasion.

More cuteness…..

Did I say blue wig? Count in the pink wigs too:)

It seems the average age of Katy’s fans are from 13 to 15 years old. I wished the Philippine fans dressed up like this, if not for Katy then for Justin Bieber

A stylish mom in LV even brought along her ten-year old daughter.

The lucky winners of the Katy Perry contest in Asia who were flown to Australia by Hotmail and Warner Music rejoice before watching the concert: Sonny with partner Cheng Cheng, Lynn with daughter Sydney, and Joy with good friend Yvonne. Now I realize, it really pays to join these online contests… you never know if you might win

… and am shown here with fellow bloggers Budiey, the Sensasi Selebriti, from Malaysia and Adrian Seet of Superadrianme in Singapore with our uber-nice host Tamara Yee of WindowsLive/Hotmail (not in photo is the energetic Amy Kurian). It was a pleasure meeting you guys!

This picture says it all… what a fun night we had! Till the next time KP… hopefully in Manila:)

Like most Sex and the City fans, I simply had to watch The Movie. Never mind if it was such a tall order for its makers to compress six seasons into two and a half hours of musings on love and watching the four ladies sashay in their designers fashions. Except for some very funny moments, the movie places a good second to the TV show, in my humble opinion. Still, the SATC spirit lives on!

Here are some notes:

The ladies get to tame down, with Charlotte and Miranda settling to their domestic duties,and Samantha staying in one place, for once. She resists her attraction for the hunky LA neighbor by ‘overeating.’

Our friends will tide us through the worse times, and if all else fails, buy a dog.

It is not too late to read to each other … in bed. That’s what beds are for

Carrie did marry Mr. Big, even if he stood her up on their church wedding day. What is it with bad guys?? My favorite Carrie boyfriend has always been Aidan.

I doubt if there’s a movie sequel, but hey, we can always watch all of them TV reruns

I am not joining the great debate between Jesus’ humanity and divinity as I don’t anymore have the time, energy or sufficient knowledge to do that. The public would be better off reading the book, seeing the movie and judging for themselves.

The same could not be said of our politicians who have taken it unto themselves to impose their hypocrisy on their constituents, notably the City Council of Manila which banned the film’s showing in their domain. Sus! Don’t you think the people will just as easily flock to Quiapo to get their bootleg copies since the multi-million peso piracy business there is something you have tolerated Your Honores? At least it was understandable for the Church to take their stand since Da Vinci… strikes at the dogmas they’ve been preaching for ages. But SM too joining the fray??? The SM of our shopping life who does not regularize the Pinoys they employ after six months and buys Made in China instead of Filipino. Da Vinci it seems has just convinced everyone to hop on this carousel of madness.

In the meantime, everyone’s talking about it – which is how Dan Brown and the movie’s producers want it to be in the first place.

My own take on this matter is that censorship is so passe in this day and age when everything can be accessed with the click of a finger. Protecting our young from the seemingly blasphemous notions of Da Vinci Code seems futile when they can read, hear, watch it on the TV, web & other forms of high-tech media.

Religiosity is a matter of upbringing. Faith is faith. Just because one reads Dan Brown does not mean one will have the compulsion to go up the mountains and establish his own sect espousing Hieros Gamos. Devout Marians would have to draw the line if someone starts saying the Virgin Mary isn’t as virginal as she’s depicted to be. But the idea of Christ’s “humanity” is an interesting , rather than revolting, concept which does not encroach at all on the all-encompassing concept of God’s salvation.

Am getting carried away. I did say I didn’t want to debate on this, remember?

I’ve heard from a friend last week about this couple who separated because of Smart’s Where-Is locator. The wife tweaked her(sleeping) husband’s phone so that she’ll know where he is at any given point in time.. on her cellphone. Unluckily for the hubby, he was caught lying several times (possibly at the following locations: Pasig, Pasay & Sta. Mesa, hehe). A married close friend of mine also finds the Where-Is function handy and am glad that as a single unattached Globe user, am spared from such unnecessary intrusions into my privacy.

(Okay, the Globe signal didn’t work in most of the remote islands I’ve been to, but that’s another story)

The purpose of this post really is to mention the high-tech gadgets used in Mission Impossible 3, which I watched yesterday. As usual, it was characterized by pulse-pounding, heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping action. Particularly impressive was the Vatican operation and the jumping through those tall buildings in Shanghai. It was clear that gadgets shared stellar spotlight in the movie and some of these were:

the Face Mask – Foam cartridges reproduces any face with 100% accuracy.Time and temperature can affect the duration of the mask.

IMF Communicator – Miniaturised communication device that doubles as a database with info about the mission in progress.

IMF Field Scanner – A small wrist-worn scanning device , can pinpoint people , locations or objects tagged with special CIA homing beacon.

Electro-Stunner – Sends 40,000 volt shock that will positively electrify recipient. Leaves victim unconscious but doesn´t kill.

Culled from this site.

I still liked the first MI but with the use of global positioning system and other whatchamacallits in the movie, you can just imagine how sophisticated the technology they’re using now in the CIA and other agencies. It makes me wonder though why they can’t trace good ol’ Osama Bin Laden.

Was just leisurely reading today when I heard the following news:

Leggings are making a comeback ~ especially as stores like Nordstrom are now carrying them in their shelves.

Phoebe Cates is alive and kickin’. She has just opened a high-end boutique in Manhattan called Blue Tree.

Leggings and Phoebe Cates..what could be more 80s than these?

Back in the 80s, I remember having a girlie crush on Phoebe, who is of Filipino descent. More known for her roles in Gremlins 1 & 2 as well as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, I simply found her charming. Apparently, she remains oh-so-lovely at 42, married for the past 17 years to award-winning actor Kevin Kline with whom she has two grown-up children, a boy and a girl. More interesting bits in this USA Today article.

Watched Brokeback Mountain last Sunday and Crash scored an Academy Award upset since. I have not watched the latter yet butI remember the former for its memorable line “I wish I knew how to quit you.” Hmmm, how many times have we said this to our most tempting vices, ranging from coffee, to cigarets to casinos or simply that beguiling lover who rocked our world?

I am sure a lot of straight heteros had funny feelings watching the movie but since gay relationships are a reality in this world, there’s nothing preventing us from looking at “the other side.” Although I supposed that Brokeback was more of a long-running melodrama on the dynamics of a passionate yet forbidden gay love, the movie can be credited for deviating from the usual “screaming faggot” stereotypes. The lead characters were after all a couple of cowboys who fell in love while on a herding expedition. This has made me wonder how many of the “real men” out there who have normal families are gays and carrying the burden??

Which brings us to the hypothetical question: if you were married to a man and found out he was gay, how would you take it?

My answer is that I will still be committed. After all, I have married him and so I will let him be. Surely, this person has outstanding qualities which I have learned to love, regardless of whether he was gay or not. Provided of course that he is discreet and not kissing his lover under the staircase, as in the movie. But a woman who takes stock of the situation and then accepts it should realize that this is no longer a normal relationship, therefore has an uncertain future and she should be prepared for the worst.

Second query: what if you find out your son was gay, how would you take it?

I will probably be unnerved at first but then, being my beloved son, I will just tell him “Go ahead son, take fashion design if you must. Pursue your passions wherever it leads you.” (Hah! Thankfully my son doesn’t want to have anything to do with his sisters’ dolls so at least I can heave a sigh of relief there!)

I dunno, I am probably too much of a liberal and a homophile to care. I’ve got a few good gay friends and I love them so dearly. After all it was from them that I learned how to cook my first carbonara, execute a mind-altering blowjob, do the helicopter technique, master the male anatomy and perfect other frivolities that are not even worthy of seeing print here, LOL.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger should be lauded for taking on otherwise difficult roles. In the beginning of the movie, I was actually choosing on who among Jake (Jack) and Heath (Ennis) was more delicious. But then, as their characters sank on me and the movie wore on, my dear Jake assumed a terrifyingly gay aura and I no longer desired him as before. Funny.

And this is why I said the movie left me in a daze. I am just glad that being gay is no longer taboo in our present world. May they find true happiness:)

Sorry, I simply had to post this since it’s not everyday that I get to be in the same room with Imelda Marcos, the great poker legend Jack Binion (third from right) Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino president Tim Poster (second from left) plus some other Las Vegas moguls I can’t identify for now. Taken at my present homebase Hyatt Manila during a recent company gathering.

imelda2

These are my officemates/friends (from right) Yayot, Shar & Toni having their pic taken with La Imelda as well.

It’s true what they say: the former First Lady is larger than life. Not even Cory Aquino has earned the popularity she has in the international community for owning those 1,000 or so pairs of shoes. There’s something about her that lights up a room when she enters: probably because she’s tall, makes herself up like a queen (just look at her jewelry in the pic) and her aura (she’s past 70 already) doesn’t reflect the ignominy of having been deposed of the Marcos conjugal dictatorship two decades back.

Anyhoo, am just reading an issue of the StopOver magazine now and couldn’t resist scanning the page for those memorable Imeldific quotes:

On her beauty secret: ” I don’t watch what I eat. I don’t sleep. And I don’t drink enough water. But I try to visualize beautiful things when I meditate.”

On how she feels about the word Imeldific: ” I used to think the word was an affront because it meant vulgar. But I looked up the word vulgar in the dictionary and found it also meant excessively beautiful. Why, that’s not so bad.”

Love her or leave her.

Maybe this poor blogger doesn’t watch movies every so often or maybe because it was simply good. Whatever the reason, I thoroughly enjoyed watching “The Chronicles of Narnia” at SM Megamall over the weekend. Oftentimes, I get to read the book before watching the movie but this is one instance when I now want to buy the book just because I enjoyed the movie.

Narnia is a captivating tale of treachery, ambition and greed and how righteousness rules above it all. The cinematography and special effects were simply excellent. My favorite characters in the movie were the child Lucy, the White Witch played by Tilda Swinton and all those talking animals. Of Lucy, I said to my seatmate “meron din palang foreigner na pango,” (hehe) and the White Witch was such a class act in portraying herself as a villainess that she almost looked like a rock star.

I don’t know what the movie’s rating was but I almost thought of bringing my son. It turned out there were some violent scenes. Gladly, my friend N was willing enough to accompany me to the movie screening ~ may movie companion at free dinner na, may driver pa, haha. Thanks, N!

Some excerpts from our conversations:

N (on the scene where Peter, Susan and Lucy swim together on the river on a rock of ice): Awshucks, ang lamig nyan!
Ajay: “Hindi malamig yan. Pelikula lang yan eh.”

Ajay: Naku, pag nabuhay pa uli ang patay na yan, Pinoy movie na ito.”
N: Ganun din naman sa Lord of the Rings me nabuhay na patay.
Ajay to herself: ohwell, at least ito may rationale kung bakit risen from the dead, unlike Pinoy movies na ridiculous ang dahilan ng pagkabuhay (aaargh)

N: what’s your favorite quote from the movie?
Ajay: I like the White Witch’s one-liners,especially “shave him!”

Just finished reading “Memoirs of a Geisha” today which is not really much of a feat considering that many of my friends have devoured this a looong time ago. After trying in vain to borrow a copy, I finally bought one as a Christmas gift to myself (along with the Altec Lansing comp speakers, hehe)This novel by Arthur Golden is simply written and provides an interesting peek into the lives of Japan’s geishas, who are misunderstood by some as ‘glorified prostitutes.’Yet, not many people know that it takes a rigid, lifetime of training to be one, a geisha I mean. I did find most amazing the ritual of mizuage, or the men’s bidding for a young woman’s virginity and the geisha’s common aim of taking on a danna who will provide for her needs. Even though the book drones on in some parts, I loved it overall especially because am a lover of all things Oriental, especially Japan. And because this fictional story of Sayuri, the successful geisha is an enthralling account of true love.

Verdict: Now that I’ve read the book, I can’t wait to watch the movie!