Manila Gay Guy

Thanks to the organizers and judges of the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards. I just learned that MGG won in the “Ten Best Posts of the Year” via this blog post entitled “Kaya Dumarami Ang Bading Kasi…”

Maraming salamat! I share this recognition with all MGG readers, and all Filipino gay bloggers! *hugs*

P.S. Another Fabcaster, dear friend Gibbs Cadiz, also won in the same category. Congratchumelayshons `teh! Mabuhay tayong lahat!

Video snippet from Flippish.com

I have always loved this sonnet by William Shakespeare.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
– William Shakespeare, Sonnet CXVI

It speaks to me of the constancy of love, despite the ravages of time and the remorse of imperfection. And today, as I spend time reading through a bunch of comments here in my blog, I am reminded of this. Because truth be told I am saddened by the fact that some people have taken advantage of the freedom of speech here. Some are accusing me of censoring comments, others even of libel, etc. Scathing, scalding remarks here and there to innocent models, photographers, artists, and movie makers, totally undeserving of such disrespectful words. I’ve always tried to be open and accepting, in person and in this blog, but I admit to feeling sad when I see people abuse my kindness of putting out this blog, an opportunity to express oneself by commenting here. And seemingly unsatisfied with being given that opportunity, they (a motley few) even go so far as feel entitled to always being heard even if what they say are scandalous, unfair, to the point of using multiple screennames (and yes, I know because I see your IP addresses). I get disappointed, I get tired, and sometimes I am totally sickened and taken aback.

But you know guys? I’ve been blogging since 2006 — I mean, I’m not new to this thing. And I’ve struggled in the past with these same feelings, and have reacted and decided in different ways as well. Last year was a milestone, when because of the many negative comments I threw my hands up in the air and said, enough. I decided to close this blog. I did, only to reverse the decision a couple of weeks later. I realized, I love blogging. And this was the real milestone, this realization. I love blogging. I love connecting to people, and blogging is one concrete way that I express this love.

And as Shakespeare’s sonnet says, love — and I venture to say even non-romantic love — should be constant, unwavering in the face of imperfection. It “bears it out even to the edge of doom.” So while some people have maliciously been tainting my blog with their unkind comments, I celebrate my love for blogging unperturbed. I continue to feel sad for these folks, but I always remind myself that one day they will realize what they are doing. World Peace!

P.S. Some may I ask, does Migs censor comments? Only if I have time, and only if the comments are over the top in malicious or scandalous content. This is very subjective though so take it as it is.

It’s Tuesday afternoon and my 0.75HP room airconditioner is working like a full horse. It’s quite hot outside, and I can only thank Panasonic (my aircon brand) and Meralco for making me feel cool and comfy inside my room. I thought of sharing just a few tidbits today — anything I pick up here and there while hopping from one blog to another. Perhaps you can share yours too, as I assume most of you do your own merry bloghopping as well. As you may have long noticed, this blog has more content contributed by others (mostly through comments, submitted letters, and featured photos) than by the blogger himself, so feel free to comment away. Here goes my list:

1. The Dan and Rye Show is back! After a long, 7-month hiatus, my favorite blogging duo is back with their funny and invigorating podcasts! Welcome back dear Dan and Rye!

2. I’ve always been a fan of Miong. Hindi pa uso ang blogging noon, this guy has been publishing content online specifically targetting the Filipino gay community. Salamat ng marami, Miong! And guess who Miong’s favorite guy personality now? Walang iba kung hindi ang Sole Pinoy Survivor — JC Tiuseco. Tsalap!

3. Hindi na bago sa akin bilang blogger ang salitang backstabbing, especially after naively getting into this blogging thing, and having experienced the worst character assassination I could imagine happening to a nobody like me. But look, look, this Chinese blogger suffered a literal backstabbing last February! Headlines splashed: Chinese Blogger Stabbed in Beijing. Susko, naluma ang mga emo-emo-hang backstabbing sa aming mga baklang bloggers. Tunay ngang dumanak ang dugo sa isang ito. Ipagdasal natin na sana ay mas isapuso ng lahat ang tunay na diwa ng kapayapaan.

4. I received a text message from Raffy, one of the organizers of the Rainbow Bloggers Philippines (RBP), congratulating my ManilaGayGuy blog for being voted as the first RBP Blog of the Week. Antaray! Salamat mga kapatid! Pero sa totoo lang, mas gusto ko sanang manalo si Jay Vee (author of Sekreto Kong Malupit and MGG letter sender) kasi ang exciting ng mga kuwento niya sa blog niya. Congrats na rin sa ibang kandidata (kandidata daw oh!) na sina Okrayero, Truevali, at Joms Mugenblue. Mabuhay ang mga bading bloggers of the world!

5. Special feature din pala ang ManilaGayGuy sa blog ng napakasikat na si Brian Gorrell. Sabi pa niya, “Manila Gay Guy blog. He’s been on my bent culture link list for a while now and the response has been fantastic. People just LOVE his blog. MGG blog is hands down my favorite ‘bent’ blog in cyber space. I LOVE the guy responsible for it. So clever.” Thank you, Brian!

6. EXTENDED! Two great shows are having their extended runs. (a) Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal’s 7th run is extended and can be seen again on March 6, 7, and 8. (b) BARE, Ateneo Blue Repertory’s rock opera is extended too, and can be seen on March 3-7, at 8 PM. Get your tickets by contacting them here. (If you get the chance to see Bare, tell Bibo, the actor who plays Peter, he’s such a talented guy. I love his singing voice!)

7. Lastly, I saw a very intimate staging of Bent – To Heat You Up and Cool You Down by the Sipat Lawin Ensemble. It’s 2 short plays in one. Bent is gay, while To Heat You Up and Cool You Down is lesbian. Bent moved me to tears, grabe. If you hear that they’re staging it again, and you have a chance to go — go grab it. Great acting, and really, really touching story.

Now here’s an O-M-G event for those who have been regular followers of the gay blogosphere. Misterhubs, our favorite gay Pinoy legal urbanite, well-known for his driest of humor and sharpest of wit, also for his endearing love story with his long-standing hubbie Hubs, has called it quits with dear partner (or the other way around?). Yun na. As in. Nakaka-sad naman. Read his announcement here. And don’t forget to wish him a happy birthday too.

Just want to congratulate a fellow blogger, my dear Kumareng Mandaya, for his new life with Kenneth Babes. Haba ng hair mo teh, especially with your cutie Babes (see pic)! Taraaaay!

Eto pa pic ni Kenneth Babes:

To find out more about Babes and Mandaya, go read the magical blog from down under (da Pilipins).

Thank you, dear MGG readers — those who have registered and uploaded their pics especially. It’s time to get to know each other… so browse the registered list over at the MGG Profiles Page. To those who have yet to register, do so here. To those who have registered but have yet to upload their pics, do so by logging in and uploading your photo in your personal profile (admin area) page. Same goes to those who have registered but have not filled out their “About Me” profile — you may fill that out as well (under “Biographical Info”) so it gets included in your publicly shown profile.

I invite you, dear MGG loyal reader, register yourself. Why? Well, so when you comment, you are more easily identified (of course you may use an alias)… so you have character and presence here, your favorite blog (hehehe!)… so people may get to see your picture (if you want to — you may upload your pic, or at least an avatar) along with your comments (feature coming eventually)… and so you can see some “for registered users only” posts — coming in the near future. So… go register yourself. Real emails only please. World Peace, everyone! Mwah!

It’s the start of 2009 — what a great time to acknowledge the people who have made this blog so successful. Kudos to all our readers, particularly those who have actively participated and contributed to the great interaction here in this blog. Manila Gay Guy the blog has so far received more than 36,000 blog comments spread across its 1,200+ posts. This proves how vibrant the community around this blog is. Mabuhay, MGG readers! Mabuhay MGG commenters! More, more, more!

Top 25 Manila Gay Guy Commenters

1. fattyacid (273)
2. rommel (266)
3. josh (259)
4. Andrew (243)
5. michael (233)
6. eponine (223)
7. FatBoySlim (197)
8. rodier (191)
9. Mark (190)
10. LEO (188)
11. Little Fish (176)
12. jimg29 (175)
13. Isaribi (168)
14. lordmanilastone (162)
15. vince (156)
16. Ian (153)
17. neon (152)
18. eric (147)
19. anton maton (142)
20. Kaleena (142)
21. pepron (131)
22. ef (131)
23. mcvie (130)
24. Kai (120)
25. peppoi (119)

Top 10 Manila Gay Guy Most Commented Posts

1. Male-to-Male Massage – 817 comments
2. Hilom, classy spa for men – 251 comments
3. Aljur Abrenica, Starstruck chinito – 179 comments
4. Enchong Dee, cute-slash-hunk – 176 comments
5. Woman Writes MGG For Advice: “My husband has a rich gay lover.” – 159 comments
6. Quezon City Spa Escapade – 152 comments
7. Like A Hungry Serpent Searching – 132 comments
8. Nora vs. Vilma: Merry Christmas! – 121 comments
9. Brent Javier, cute but… – 120 comments
10. Albert Guinto – 114 comments

Again, to all MGG’s readers and commenters, salamat! Thank you, and World Peace!

The year 2008 is, like any other year, a colorful, colorful one. How is 2008 different from the other years? Small is big, that is how I summarize the year. Note the rise of the diminutive Davids vis-a-vis the nowhere-to-be-found giant Goliaths. In the world political arena, the relatively unknown Obama won over his more experienced, much better connected rivals. Zeroing in on our local concerns, for example, small gay indie films — so many of them sprouted this year, some really good, some not very — abound while the big production houses didn’t make as much noise. The usual scandals show up here and there, too, but note that those who figure in them are not considered big fishes. Another case in point, amateurs (not-so-well-known men) outnumber the already-famous guys as main feature in this blog. Come, I invite you to go down memory lane with me and revisit the issues, concerns, and men tackled by yours truly in year 2008. Here you go guys, Manila Gay Guy’s Best of 2008: (more…)