PXC 41: The Rise of PH WMMA

November 9, 2011, Saturday is a great day for women MMA fans. Philippine Xtreme Combat (PXC) 41 has now showcased the first WMMA fight in the Philippines. An all-out war between French-American Nathalie Heidel and Filipina Gina Iniong.

For years now, Filipinas had already been fighting in men-dominated sports like boxing, however, women fighters are not getting as much publicity as the men. Probably, this is because the Filipino society still can't shake off the mentality that women are supposed to be sheltered at home and cook the meal.

Anyway what were you doing when you were 21? Partying hard? Crying over a heartbreak? Gina Iniong, a BS Criminology student from Baguio, at 21 is the first Pinay to reign in the Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) Terror Dome knocking out Heidel with accurate and explosive punches in the first round. In her post-fight interview, she said it had always been a dream to be the first Filipina fighter in the PXC. Well she had already reached that dream and this girl surely still have a very long way to go.

Photos courtesy of PXC

I remember the time both fighters met in the cage, some middle-aged man commented, "Di naman mukhang tomboy!" (They don't look like tomboys). This only shows that most men in this country still thinks that only men will be interested in such a dangerous sport and the only women who will be brave enough to do it are the lesbians.

I believe that this is the start of the journey of women in this male-dominated sport. Soon, more and more women will come out of their comfort zones and fight in the cage. Gone are the days when Filipinas only stay at home, clean the house and watch the kids. Now is the era where women goes out to the word and fight the battles, being the best possible versions of themselves.

Demi Lovato: A Disney Baby Turned Warrior

DEMI LOVATO. A Disney baby first seen as a Barney kid, a promising performer at a very young age. She started performing at 5 and had no option but to grow up fast. People's high expectations and Hollywood fame got the better of her and with no way out, she started self-mutilating at 11. Then at 17, she got to her senses and brought herself to rehab. Now she is back as a better person, a better artist far from the Disney baby she once was. 

I wasn't a huge fan, but her courage amazed me. At 20, she is now an advocate of Anti-Bullying and is giving inspirational speeches to teenagers who are going through a rough time. While the other Disney teens she grew up with remains to be boys and girls, she is now a strong woman, capable of anything. She is a warrior. 

Her new self-titled album DEMI chronicles her struggles towards recovery and Warrior, along with Skyscraper is my favorite track in the album. Every line and note of the song just touched me to the core. As a person who went through a rough teenage life myself, I can clearly relate to the emotion of every line.

"There's a part of me I can't get back

A little girl grew up too fast

All it took was once, I'll never be the same

Now I'm taking back my life today

Nothing left for you to say

Cause you were never gonna take the blame anyway

Now I'm a warrior, I've got thicker skin

I'm a warrior, I'm stronger than I've ever been

And my armor is made of steel, you can't get in

I'm a warrior, and you can never hurt me again."

"Warrior" by Demi Lovato Lyrics

In an interview, Demi said that she had songs that helped her made it through the rough days. The nostalgia started to kick in. I can clearly see my 17-year old self, going through identity issues, don't know where to go. Then I watched Camp Rock and heard "This is Me" from the soundtrack. "I've always been the kind of girl who hid myself, so afraid to tell the world, what I got to say..." And that became my anthem. It became my turning my turning point. Listening to it repeatedly is what helped me made it through. Telling myself that I don't have to please others. I got to be me, and believing in myself "is the only way".

Demi is a survivor. An epitome of a true warrior.

Charice: The 'Comin Out'

I know every Filipino can still recall how a guesting in The Ellen Show had opened doors for the then 14-year old Charice Pempengco's singing career. And we can still remember everyone's shock when he showed up on TV in 2011 with a boyish hairstyle, a totally different wardrobe and a tattoo. She never said anything about her sexual preference, but this month, on her 21st birthday, she described it as a 'coming out party'.

I was never a Charice fan but her 'coming out' had touched me. In a country like the Philippines where people of the third sex are judged as if they are not as much human as the 'straights', it must have been hard for her to come out and show who she really is. I can only imagine how hard it was for her to be the kind of performer everyone had designed her to be. It must have been hard suppressing your real identity just to please people.

I have a newly-found respect for her. Despite her increasing number of bashers because of her choice of wardrobe and hairstyle, she continues to act and dress the way she likes as if telling her haters, "This is what I'm comfortable with and I don't owe anyone and explanation". If that is what makes her happy, then who are we to judge?

I am an atheist so suffice to say I don't care about the religious bullsh*ts against the third sex. I feel happy when gays and lesbians come out despite the odds and their family and friends accepts them. For me, it means that society has matured. We can't keep on hating them. We cannot keep on denying their existence. If they are here, it means they are ought to be here. Let's embrace them just like everyone else.

"My spirit is made of Titanium. I will not break" -Charice

*Photo courtesy of Bum Tenorio and The Philippine Star.

An open letter to a friend...

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to the other, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one'."

Dear Nhil,

Guess what? I just wrote you a letter! I bet tonight, a night before the start of your journey, your friends had already been writing you letters, sending you cards, flowers and what have you. Well as you know, just like you, I'm better at writing stuff, so I guess this is my sophisticated version of saying "Bon Voyage".

When I heard that you're moving to Hawaii, I thought a lot of stuff to give to you as a "Bon Voyage Token". I thought of getting you a John Green or a David Levithan book or maybe a DVD copy of your favorite movie (not that I'm not aware that you have a copy of 500 Days of Summer on your hard drive that you've watched for the nth time) and recently, I thought of getting you an original copy of Taylor's RED Album. I also thought of making a scrapbook of our photos during training to remind you of the awesome folks you met during your first "real job" (ahem..). But then, I got a little too busy and when I realized the day is near, I became totally broke that even a book on sale at NBS is something I can no longer afford. So it goes without saying that the only awesome thing I can give you is an open letter posted on my blog for every one to see and to know just how great you are to deserve such an effort (char). 

I know I won't be seeing you anymore for the next 3 years, or maybe forever, because after 3 years, you've already became a "super awesome American guy" that you've already forgotten everything about me or your CVG friends. But nonetheless, I wanna say thank you for the short awesome moment we had as friends. You are one of those few people I can have an intelligent conversation with, who never gets bored of my ideas and philosophy. Whenever I finish a new book, I can't wait to go to work and share it with you, because no one else understands how it feels. No one else understands how it feels to be swept of your feet by a wonderful story and hoping you could write something as awesome as that. And you are the only guy I met who likes Taylor Swift. I guess it's because we are both into these true-love cliches.

So I kinda revised Tay's Tim McGraw for you. You can sing it in that tune (just please bear with it, it's inda impromptu.)

"You said your tie doesn't look that nice

and your pimpled face don't match your brushed-up hair

I said, "That's a lie"

You're just a boy in an orange jeans

That had a tendency of getting stuck to your insecurities

And I was right there with you for 3 mos long

Cramming on those exams and mock calls and making it through

Well when you think Taylor Swift

I hope you think my favorite song

Like those stories we've talked about

Like Haze and Gus and Summer and Tom

When you think happiness

Remember the scorecard you've ACEd

All the happy days we've shared

and the new things we've learned

When you think Taylor Swift

I hope you think of me"

There you go. I may be unable to give you a copy of Tay's album but I wrote you a song. And since I was unable to give you a book, I'll send you one. You were wondering about the stuff you got in your email, well that's an eBook of "Let It Snow". I know you could just easily download that since we download stuff on the same site, but it would be more dramatic if I was the one who sent it (o_O).

In behalf of Penguin Wave 54, Bon Voyage mafriend!

Hugs and kisses,

SHIENNA 

-xoxo-

Review: I Saw The Devil (Korean Thriller Movie)

As Asians, we know for a fact that Koreans are superb at dramas and romantic comedies with leads with a boy-band face. I didn't know they are good at thrillers too, not until I got hold of a Blu-Ray of I Saw The Devil starring one of Korea's most promising actors Lee Byung-hun.

I Saw the Devil is a shockingly violent yet amazingly created film. I was never a fan of gore and violent films, let alone K-Pop, but this one is just so surprising. Portraying the role of Soo-hyun, a detective who tracked down his pregnant fiance's murderer and plots an extraordinarily violent revenge, Lee Byung-hun did an amazing job. His acting was amazing. The main antagonist Choi Min-sik, on the other hand, portraying the psycho murderer is just  equally stunning. The scenes where so real that you can actually feel how painful the decapitation is. The entire screenplay is also amazing. The story is so original. It wasn't your usual vengeance film, it was violence with a taste.

Watching this makes me wanna get more of these Korean thrillers.

You guys know any other good ones? Let me know.

Dogs are Love.

Whoever said you cannot buy Happiness forgot little puppies." -Gene Hill

I really love dogs. They are just so cuddly and cute no matter how old they get. In the picture above, I am with Tyra - a one-month old American Cocker Spaniel and Moymoy - a 2-year old Japanese Spitz. Tyra is the youngest of 3 pups and is the most gentle among the three. The other sometimes bullies her inside the cage because she just sits in the corner being the center of all attention. Moymoy on the other hand, despite being aggressive in the sight of strangers, is very sweet with familiar people. He had to be tied inside the house because he tends to temperamental and noisy whenever he sees other people. But whenever someone gets home, he always welcomes us, standing up and wagging his tail waiting for his hug. He is choosy in terms of food and he only eats one kind of meal every day. But the cutest thing about him is his human-like tendency to throw tantrums if he don't get noticed on the onset. Indeed, dogs are men's best friend. If only everyone will love them the way they deserve and if only people could love others just like the dogs does, the world will be a happier place. :)

Review: Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I just finished reading the book. And I am now waiting for the train on my way to work. I decided to right the review right away, so am using my handheld (that's what they call it in the novel, right?). This is because I am such a shitty writer that once I let an idea pass, it gets lost forever.

So where are we? Oh yeah, the review..

It was somehow like "A Walk To Remember" in some ways (I consider the two 'alike but different'). On the first chapter, I was like, "Yeah, protagonists with cancer, a love story on the edge of death. So mainstream. So Nicholas Sparks." But I read it anyway, because I love 'teenager-y' stories. I finished reading it without shedding a single tear, something unusual because I am such a cry-baby over fictional characters dying, that's when I realized that this is not just your typical 'cancer-love-story'.

As readers we have this tendency to think that the emotional "effect" of a novel or work of art depends on how 'emotional' we get, or on how much we cried. I used to think so too, until my dear friend Nhil shared to me his book. I didn't cry while reading it, but it doesn't mean it didn't affect me as much.

Despite the story centered in a tragedy over the lives of two young people, there is an extraordinary humor in this John Green masterpiece. It is sad, yet fun. It is heart-breaking, yet amazing. The reason why I didn't cry is because the story has a positive aura. It focuses on happiness rather than helplessness and fear. The story is very inspiring. For me, it is not just an ordinary love story - it is a story of someone who chose to survive against all odds. A story of surviving against cancer and surviving against the pain of losing your first love.

Moral of the story: Fighting for life, pursuing a dream, loving selflessly, accepting people's flaws. What more can you ask for in a novel?

Two thumbs up!