MEDIUM RARE In the good old days Manila’s fourth district, Malate, was where to find the friendliest coffeeshops and restaurants, just as there was a Remedios Circle that was home to the most famous fashion designers – they were called couturiers, and among them was Pitoy Moreno. Pitoy...
MEDIUM RARE In the month of hearts, congratulations to the Philippine Heart Center for Asia! The last time I had a chance to speak with Imelda R. Marcos, I thanked her for the Heart Center which, with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, may be said to be her outstanding achievements of the...
MEDIUM RARE It was 11:44 p.m. Valentine’s Day 2025. I was with my friend in his car on EDSA when I thought it was a good time — after dinner, before bedtime — to catch JPE and greet him on his 101st birthday. Seconds before I could press “send” to Katrina Ponce Enrile, a digital...
MEDIUM RARE At age 125, this newspaper was dancing, dining, enjoying the company of friends new and old and young at cocktail time. At our table at the Manila Hotel Tent City last Monday the 10th I was in good company with former chief justice Hilario Davide and former executive secretary Bert...
MEDIUM RARE With first lady Liza A. Marcos sounding the call on video to greet Sebastian Chua a happy birthday, the ballroom erupted in applause and cheers. She said it was a “little bird” who told her the magic number, 82. Where I sat facing the door, a parade of VIPs, most of...
MEDIUM RARE Imelda Romualdez Marcos, who is fond of saying “I have two presidents” and wears a pin showing a miniportrait of the two presidents, Ferdinand E. Marcos and Ferdinand R. Marcos, played hostess to celebrate the birthday of her loyal and longtime friend, Maurice Lim, last...
MEDIUM RARE Your face is your fate; in other words, your fortune. That’s what the old folks used to say. It would seem that indeed, beauties are born, not made, but that kind of thinking is so old-fashioned, given that no one dares to call anyone ugly in the age of inclusivity, good manners...
MEDIUM RARE TV news was mostly — and cheerfully — centered on celebrating the entry of the Year of the Serpent last Wednesday the 29th. Just as well, for it was a dry news day — a legal holiday — smack in the middle of the week. Who’s complaining? The air was festive enough in...
MEDIUM RARE She scoffed at self-styled feng shui “experts” who used the mysticism of mirrors as part of their tools to explain the universe. She regularly advised friends and clients, “Get out of the house. Do I have to push you out the door and tell you fortune awaits outdoors, not in?”...
MEDIUM RARE I’ve seen the future, and it is rich. In BGC, Bonifacio Global City. On second thought, it doesn’t have to be the future; it’s happening now. I was standing at the lobby of one of the buildings there, waiting to be picked up by my date, when I noticed that there were no...
MEDIUM RARE Feng (wind) shui (water) – psychology in sync with nature, or just plain superstition? It doesn’t matter if you’re a believer or not, but for those who do believe, feng shui is a charming way to connect the triad of Heaven above, Earth below, and Man in the middle. It’s not a...
MEDIUM RARE This, said the salesgirl, “is our bestseller, Christmas or after Christmas.” She was showing me a small squat bottle containing a green liquid – green as an apple – without letting me smell its contents. The price tag was P320, the brand is Aficionado, a fragrance for men,...
