Protect Your Largest Organ

I got this from the San Francisco Marc by Marc Jacobs store last year for Christmas presents but decided to keep them for myself (Sorry, Tony - teehee). They still have them last weekend at $35 a pop. Some tees and totes were on sale at $5. Bili na kayo, sir!



Notice who's got the bigger "T"

An Evening With Alec Mapa

Alec Mapa had a limited engagement to benefit the Gay & Lesbian Center L.A. at the Village's Renberg Theater. Alec is a Filipino-American actor who originally replaced B.D. Wong in M. Butterfly on Broadway and also did the national tour. He has appeared in Desperate Housewives and most recently in Ugly Betty as the intrepid fashion reporter, Suzuki St. Pierre.

I thought it was going to be a regular standup routine ala Margaret Cho but he had whole production numbers and sketches lined up. He opened with "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne accompanied by the Chixie Dicks, which inspired the sketches that accompanies this entry (no photos allowed, eh). Jodi Long (all American Girl) makes a guest appearance as Mrs. Hill singing "Bali Ha'i".

The stand-up was a no-holds barred tour-de-force based on, among other things, Alec's experiences last year as a headliner in four all-gay cruises which took him around the world, in a manner of speaking. His real name is Alejandro, in case you were interested.

His "tagalog" lessons to help the passengers deal with the all-Filipino service staff on a Hawaiian cruise was hilarious. Included were basics like "Salamat" (Thank You), "Mahal Kita" (I love you - "Now you can LIE in another language!") and the always indispensable "Ay, Puki!" (O, vagina). The latter resulted in passengers greeting him in the hallways with "Ay, Puki!" - to the horror of the room attendants! Hilarious! (Well, you had to be there).

Viva, Monique!

Let me indulge in a little Philippine Pride and congratulate Monique Lhuillier on her new line of dinnerware for Royal Doulton. (Vera Wang has Wedgwood). Can you imagine if she landed Corelle or Lenox? Quelle horreur!

Notice the spread that Monique had laid out for her lovely guests. I think the caviar and blini are a bit pretentious. Why not some bagoong, pandesal, lumpia or pisi-pisi? And instead of strawberries, how about some mangoes or durian? And what party is complete without some adobo and the perennial party favorite "banana ketchup spaghetti"? And, Monique, sweetie, if you really wanna have fun with the girls, you should all run around in some of your couture wedding gowns and get really drunk and loud till the cops show up. Maybe break a couple of dishes (Vera Wang's).

Print This!

(Above: Embossed Logo Print Wallet)

I haven't seen these prints in production but it's now out in the etnies website (www.etnies.com) for Spring 08!

I created these prints with Etnies Designers, Eunjoo Kim and James Duhamel (Josh Duhamel's cousin). This is the first thing I've done for them (that I've seen produced). It looks simple but there was a lot of geometry, math and tweaking involved.


(Above: Logo Print made into a Tee)


(Above: Logo Print Hoody)


(Above: Thunderbolt Print Wallet)


(Above: Thunderbolt Print Hoody)

All photos from etnies.com
www.etnies.com

Gino Hollander

From the Jerry McLaughlin collection.




Gino Hollander is an American artist who moved to Spain in the 60's. He is an abstract expressionist and his art is in the collections of Jackie Onassis, Oscar De La Renta and Queen Sophia of Spain.

The painting above was first acquired by Jerry in, of all places, Arkansas, only to find out that Gino has moved to Aspen (a short drive from Jerry's residence in Denver).

The painting below looks like it belongs in Tim Burton's movies. There is a splash of blue on the upper left. This is typical of Gino who mostly works in acrylics.





The painting above was acquired by Jerry on ebay. The artist was unidentified at the time but based on Jerry's knowledge of Gino's work and his friendship with Gino, he bought it and asked if it was indeed one of his works. It turns out that Gino had traded this painting for a designer dress for his wife when they were in New York. I am told this is the closest thing to a self-portrait that Gino has ever made (I just noticed that the previous paragraph mentions "Gino" 4 times. I'm gunna get a tongue-lashing from Jean Edades!). He also does not name his paintings. They usually have numbers.

For more on gino, go to www.hollanderart.com

For my recent acquisition, click here.