Manila Muse

Skarlet's New Venue

For those Makati-style sartorial swingers, feature this: Skarlet is now playing out at Nuvo. The fancy club card says something like Sulty & Sexy Jazz Music by Skarlet starts at 8:30. Apparently one can indulge in more than alliteration: red, white and sparkling wines at the open bar starting at 11pm.

Imeldific Wisdom

I'm not sure what the hell Madame Marcos is really talking about here — some kind of cosmology that comes from decades of self-rationalisation. I have managed to embed this into the Muse however, which is really a banner day for me and inaugurates my fandom for this most enigmatic of despot wives. She is really the grand dame of First Ladies.

For the full on summary of her transubstantiation into gay/pop cultural diva icon from the fearsome Iron Butterfly check the Vanity Fair interview. She is truly the emblem of the contradictions embodies in the Philippines. What's not to love!

Skarlet @ Chakik's

Thursday night is the night for unfettered music all over Manila. The gigs I get excited about always seem to be happening on Thursday. Too bad I can't get out to many of them because, given my choice, I'll be at Chakik's (on the strip of restaurants on Julia Vargas beside Ortigas Home Depot — just turn in at the Domino's and you'll have it sorted).

Think of an updated version of Harlem in the early sixties — back when Miles dressed with style. Dig the drunk Mestizos, dig the elegant beauty queens, dig the hep cat facial hair and the rockabilly dude. But mostly among the Pinoy bohemian bonhomie, dig Skarlet and her band (thanks to Aya for the gentle admonition).

Backed up by a stripped-down, take no prisoners affair of stand-up base, skins and jazz guitar played by the local practitioner Aya Yuson. The group not only offers up well-executed standards like Blue Moon (a personal fave) and Night in Tunisia, A Train, All of Me, and some tasty orginal compositions. Skarlet's mannered in an Eartha Kitt way doing Ella-style standards — all in an Asian Betty Page package.

The thing that makes Skarlet's night at Chakik's the hippest thing around is that being in the audience is like being in the middle of a jam session. The venue is ideal — intimate without being too crowded, no cover, ice cold beer, intriguing clientele... The band is hot. Plenty of music industry types to sit-in show up for tune or two.

Grab your black turtleneck and head over — Skarlet @ Chakik's on Thursday nights. Get there around 10PM.

Barcino Gourmet

Last night marked the immanent arrival of Typhoon Durian as it churnned toward Manila. Being Thursday, it also marked Chakik's Jazz Night. We were spared the brunt of Durian's force (fortunately), except that the band was concerned enough to cancel their gig.

The area around Chakik's has a fair amount of other locations for food and drink. Anyway with wind and precipitation kicking up, we weren't in a position to go searching far (as in beyond the breezeway) for an alternate venue. Fortunately the serendipity machine was impervious to soggy weather and we discovered Barcino Gourmet.

Barcino's is a small wine and gourmet shop serving tapas and libations in a cozy environment. It features three tables, cases of wine to the ceiling, gourmet foods, a cooler that keeps the hooch at the perfect temperature occupied by plenty of (Spanish) vino.

With all this, staying occupied proved to be no problem as the discussion was fueled by good companionship and a few bottles of great Rioja. This place is where you'll be able to find me when conversation and wine are on the agenda.

The Perfect Day

Thanksgiving is one of the only holidays wherein call center types enjoy a weekday (night) off. For most of us it's inextricably linked to concepts of Americana, family, and college football. None of which are in abundant supply in Manila.

So, you can: a/hang out with other expats, eat turkey and imitate our home-bound brothers and sisters b/find an American expat restaurant serving home style vittles and sit down with other expats for the Thanksgiving thing c/you can forget the Turkey and find something else to do.

My issue with A and B is that it seems a bit absurd to indulge in what is quintessentially a celebration of abundance amidst so much scarcity. The average Turkey Day repast could feed a Barangay. I'm always reminded of the Martin Sheen voice over from Apocalypse Now, "The more they tried to make it just like home, the more they made everybody miss it." Not sure I'd characterize the U.S. as home at this point, but I am given to bouts of nostalgia.

There's nothing wrong with maintaining tradition. Hell, I always enjoy the starring role in my own Norman Rockwell/Dutch Masters mash up. This year I elected to go for option C and explore Manila. This proved to be a great choice. It was the perfect day. I'll give the overview now with the expanded version to follow.

Thanksgiving 2006 began with a walking tour of Intramuros expertly delivered by Celdran Tours. Our guide, Carlos, provides a historical, cultural, and architectural tour-de-force wrapped in equal parts performance art and tour guide. His love of the city, expressed in a stream of consciousness dissertation, is nothing short of incandescent. Think of a walking history book with attitude against the backdrop of a 400 year old Augustinian church.

The second happy event was a pause at the G Hotel for tasty lychee martinis. I've been reading about the G (the home of "posh minimalism" in Manila) all week and I've been dying to check it out. The clincher came when Carlos confirmed the G's propers (you can check his take — just scroll to the Carlos Recommends section). It's like the W Hotel New York with better furniture and a kick-ass view. What's better: it's completely undiscovered to date. That is until people start reading about it on the local blogs and the hipper than thou start showing up. Of course once that happens I won't be able to get in.

The hat trick was going to Chakik's for some music. The band featured Aya Yuson (I don't know their name yet) and was definitely the best Jazz I've seen in quite some time. Blue Moon was a stand-out and their version of (Why Not Take) the A-train was great. All the more so since it was spontaneously elicited by my martini inflected request.

Graphic Designed Cool

Tucked on the second floor of Rockwell in the independent lifestyle section is a little store with cool t-shirts and things like bags and clocks along with funny little buttons that feature a light take on Pinoy culture. If you're looking for a wearable aesthetic, this is the ticket.

The group at Team Manila is creating a visual style in the form of limited edition comments on places and things that make life here intriguing. It's urbane and hip and goes a long way toward promoting Manila as a home of intelligent fashion. Check out their site for clean design and updates that reward frequent visits. You might even want to run over and grab a shirt or two for street creed.

Nuri Threads

One of those expat-in-Asia things to do is get a tailor and have clothes made — it's just so damned Graham Greene that it should be automatic. Getting suits made in Manila is a much different affair than Hong Kong where they do two fittings (instead of one) and charge more than twice the Manila rate.

Finding a good tailor in Manila is a challenge (often that one fitting can turn into many frustrating returns). I have friends that look like they have their stuff done by Frankenstein's couturier. In fact, I've used those same tailors and I have the unused items moldering in my closet to prove it.

Happily, one of the educators in my employ has a sister who is one of the owners of Nuri. Their virtual storefront is indicative of their aesthetic. Shirts have hip names like Smooth Criminal and Friendly Politician.

I'm on my second order with these guys with no buyer's remorse — they come by your office or home to measure you up and are totally accomodating. The best thing about Nuri is their choice of fabrics. Italian, stylish, impeccable.

The proprietors are Annabelle and Benjamin. Don't hesitate to give them a call.

Manila Envelope

Part of my delight careening around Fully Booked in a bibliomaniac frenzy was stumbling across Manila Envelope, a well designed and written local culture pulp. It's like Griel Marcus is Pinoy living somewhere in Malate and collaborating with a local David Carson (I'm thinking a modern, writerly version of Bowie and Iggy in Berlin).

The document is stacked under a photo (click above) taken by David Byrne during his stay in Malate. His blog is definitely worth checking out — his observations on the hip and the profane in Manila are pretty spot on. The inside is entertaining like a varied multi-course meal with great wine, which probably means I just like what the ensemble assembled inside has to say about things I'm interested in.

I just can't remember the last time I thought about Heidegger and Filipino film. This may be because my Tagalog is comically bad. It might be because my Heidegger is worse than my Tagalog. It might be because in the years since I used to pour over really sexy cultural publications with cover desgns by Bruce Mau, I've undertaken activities that are about as far from Post-modern/Post-structuralist theorizing as one can get. This issue (#2), entitled the future, is full of articles that have rekindled my original fascination with the Philippines (beyond the allure of a steady paycheck).

There is a insightful survey of the call center industry located in the islands with none of the breathless adoration that characterizes most BPO commentary. Moreover the author, Jessica Zafra, has the presence of mind to weigh the broader economic impact of the government and industry's attempts to turn academe into a vocational school for call center agents. Certainly preventing school teachers from leaving the country in droves would be a more intelligent route to global competitiveness than trying to offer occupational classes in leading scholastic institutions. What's needed is solid educational grounding in the basics of problem solving, self-expression, awareness of the world that surrounds us, and intellectual curiosity. All hallmarks of a solid education.

Manila Envelope with its tag line, dispatches from the end of the world, is certainly self-aware, but it does have a light touch. The pub begins with a discussion of Kris Aquino — one of my favorite topics. And provides a fair amount cultural and historical context for meditation.

A work of fiction, called Malthus' Nightmare, evokes (I haven't actually read this story, but I'll comment anyway) one of the aspects of life here that always startles me: the sheer number of people in one place. Manila often reminds me of Soylent Green meets Bladerunner. Not that its a bad thing mind you, but the whole Malthusian notion of geometric population growth seems to be occurring in some places not others. Without going into some tedious North/South Developed/Undeveloped tear, it would seem that there are a hell of a lot of people here. A rainy Sunday inside Megamall is enough to terrify even the most jaded expat.

Manila Envelope, just another reason to head over to Fully Booked and it makes me very happy.

Fullybooked

There are many guilty pleasures to be had here in Manila — rambling around Malate on Saturday night, cockfights, and dampa to name a few. One of my favorites is prowling Fully Booked with an armload of hip, shiny, new tomes of one sort or another. This is the place for a confirmed bibliophile.

Fully Booked has by far and away the most comprehensive selection in Manila. I'm partial to the layout of the Rockwell location. It's conducive to browsing with extensive sections for design, film, fiction, and the best range of locally produced books I've seen. Check them at one of their four locations. Do it now.

Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day as anyone with a cell phone anywhere in the Philippines or trans-Philippines locales like Dubai or Southern California can tell you. Waking up to a multitude of syrupy texts alerting me to love Pinoy-style made damned sure of that. Here's my contribution to the mix.

I am both single and an unreconstructed male so I have no odes of romance to clutter up a pretty typical day in the life. But I do have a penchant for daydreaming on the loathsome expanse that is South Super on my way to an endless night of call center work. So I stare aimlessly at billboards when I can't raise anyone for a caffeinated conversation as my driver either hurtles down the road with reckless abandon or jockeys for an extra five meters as we sit in a 20 kilometer, very narrow parking lot.

Among my favorite things to stare at is Kris Aquino (unreconstructed, remember?). She is portrayed on Greek Islands with lightly oiled hunks or as the only color image against boudoir red. These are outdoor executions for a Gap-like fashion/lifestyle store called Bench/ .

She has the kind of bawdy voluptuousness that I ascribe to a Liz Taylor meets Mae West creature overlain with all my adolescent Wahine fantasies.

Not that I know much about the cultural nuances that she has nestled into with all the subtlety of the Ninth Fleet on a Saturday night, but I have sorted out that there is absolutely nothing on the pop culture landscape that she cannot woo and then subjugate.

Kris (too familiar?) is not only the daughter of the former President Cory Aquino (remember visual impact ot the Yellow Dress and People Power?), but she has master the art of remaining in the public eye. A true creature of the post-Marcos mediascape, she appears to have been born for heady high jinx played out on billboards, endorsements, talk shows, and (ultimately) the political arena.

Kris gets my vote for the future Pinoy Cicciolina . let's hope she's planning a run for making mildly erotic outrageousness and good-natured (non-violent, nonpartisan) fun part of the national agenda.