Prayers for Eddie Garcia: National Artist

By the time this blog gets published, Eddie Garcia would be lying in state at the Heritage Park. Now, why am I writing a few words about “Manoy.” Well, he is one of the few actors that I respect and admire. He is a legend who continued to practice his artistry and craft even into his 90s. Wikipedia says, “Manoy” garnered a total of 43 wins and 38 nominations from notable award-giving bodies. He won six FAMAS trophies for Best Supporting Actor, five for Best Actor and five for Best Director. And the only Filipino to win Asian Film Award Best Actor His roots are from Bicol, specifically, Sorsogon. Very little is known or written about his family. I believe that he has valued his privacy. Didn’t even know he had a son, until I saw a news segment about his wake over at CNN Philippines.

Photo by Mau Mauricio from People Asia Magazine. The accident could really have been avoided had the network put into place extra safety measures, specially, if there are senior citizens working around the set. And that includes both cast and crew. News about Eddie Garcia being rushed to the hospital in a taxi cab looks bad. An ambulance on stand-by at the set would have probably saved his life? Those cables locked and taped, or placed under rubber. I do hope that industry leaders would put into place appropriate measures and regulations to prevent accidents on the set. “Manoy” death brings me to recall the death of Vic Morrow while filming the movie, “Twilight Zone, The Movie” back in July 1982. He and two child actors, seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le, and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, died due to a helicopter crash. Surely, he would be missed. He died last June 20, 2019, at the age of 90, 12 days after the accident. He deserves to be “National Artist.”

MACCA and the soundtrack of our lives

Happy birthday Sir Paul McCartney. I remember when I bought "Band On The Run." It was one of the very albums that I would play from start to finish, up the last track, "1985." I think I bought that album around 1973, when I was still a freshman at UST High School. The album cover really intrigued me, specially, seeing James Coburn and Christopher Lee on the album cover. Searching around Wikipedia, I would later learn many interesting trivia about that cover. I learned that the album cover photograph was taken by photographer Clive Arrowsmith at Osterley Park, West London, on 28 October 1973.

Today, your music will always be a part of the soundtrack of our lives! And thanks to YouTube, I can always watch and listen to your many performances and concerts, as part of the Beatles, leading Wings and with other legendary artists, from Billy Joel to Eric Clapton. May you continue to share your music to your fans all across the globe.

Agency celebrate Raptors 1st NBA Champtionship

Working in an agency is exciting. Yes, there is pressure and many challenges. But also, there are many moments of celebration, from birthdays to even NBA championships. Yes, last Thursday, some members of the agency team took to KFC to celebrate the 1st ever NBA championship of the Toronto Raptors, plus enjoy Cornetto ice cream. Photo below shows Gil, Pauline General, Charity Bragan, Martin Jordana and Rafa Velez.

While a part of me wanted the Golden State Warriors to win and achieve their three-peat championship. An even bigger part of my basketball sense wanted the Raptors to win which would shift the balance of power to the East! And now, we have a whole country celebrating around the streets of Toronto. And yes, the presence of Kawhi Leonard on the court help make this championship happen for Toronto. After getting traded from the San Antonio Spurs and sitting out 22 games due to injury, Kawhi proved to many sports fans a champtionship is possible outside of the Golden State Warriors.

Congratulations #Toronto Raptors and happy 23rd birthday Pauleen!