Bent-Another Award Winning Film

Bent is a 1979 play by Martin Sherman. It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives. The title of the play refers to the slang word "bent" used in some European countries to refer to homosexuals. When the play was first performed, there was only a small trickle of historical research or even awareness about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals. In some regards, the play helped increase that historical research and education in the 1980s and 1990s. The play starred Ian McKellen in its original 1979 West-End production, and Richard Gere in its original 1980 Broadway production. In 1989, Sean Mathias directed a revival of the play, performed as a one-night benefit for Stonewall, featuring Ian McKellen, Richard E Grant, Ian Charleson, and Ralph Fiennes. After receiving critical acclaim, Mathias directed a full run in 1990, with Ian McKellen, Paul Rhys, and Christopher Eccleston, which won the City Limits Award for Revival of the Year. In 1997, Martin Sherman adapted Bent into a film of the same name, which was directed by Sean Mathias.

Eigth Exotic Filipino Dishes that I Have Tasted

Balut The Philippines have several exotic dishes not very popular to the western world. Besides the common balut( boiled fermented duck eggs) and dinugu-an ( blood pidding made from cow's internal organs, tripe etc..), I have tasted several other exotic Filipino dishes as follows:

1. Ginataang kuhol (Snail cooked in coconut milk) and Suso' ( escargo) There are varieties of snails being cooked and eaten in the Philippines. Ginataang kuhol or suso is sautéed with garlic, onion, ginger and pepper plus coconut milk. There are also other ways of cooking these snails. The creek under the bridge at the Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort in Marinduque is filled with Suso that my workers harvest for their lunch and dinner along with their steam rice.

2. Fried Crickets and grasshopper Crickets are usually deep fried.

3. Bull Testicles Soup- I tried to taste this one. I had not the courage to swallow a mouthful. It was just too rich for my taste buds. .

4. Adobong pusa or cat adobo or dog stew Do you know that even cats/dogs are eaten by people in the Philippines? They cook it in adobo style, sautéed with garlic, onion and laurel leaf seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar. This is a favorite appetizer during their drinking spree. I have tasted the dog stew but not the cat adobo. Who eat their pets anyway?

5. Kilawing bunog (raw young of a mudfish) These are eaten raw spiced up with vinegar or citrus juice, pepper, and salt.

6. Adobo o pritong palaka (adobo or fried frogs) Frogs can be cooked in adobo style or deep fried. It’s tastier than chicken. There are also some people in the Philippines that eat legs of bullfrogs cooked in the same manner. The native frogs thrived very well at the Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort in Marinduque. I have eaten frog legs in a French restaurant here in the US.



7. Adobong ahas (snake adobo This is cooked in adobo style. Snake is commonly eaten in Asia because of its medicinal value. It’s also a good aphrodisiac. I have tasted this dish when I was a little boy in the jungles of Panay Island during the Japanese-American War in the Philippines. It tasted like chicken.

8. Adobong bayawak/itlog (monitor lizard meat/eggs) It is sautéed in garlic and onion, ginger and laurel leaf with pepper, soy sauce, and vinegar or more popularly called adobo. This is perfect for “pulutan” (food appetizer while drinking wine or liquor). The eggs are usually cook by simply boiling it, it taste salty and delicious. Their eggs are considered exotic because it’s rare and hard to find. My workers here at Chateau Du Mer had caught several bayawaks about two years ago and made it into adobo for their sumsuman( appetizer during a drinking party)

Bizarre it may seem but these eight items listed here are eaten in the Philippines. There are other exotic dishes in the Philippines not listed here. If you need more information read the reference cited below. Want to try some?

Reference: http://trifter.com/practical-travel/world-cuisine/the-17-most-popular-exotic-foods-in-the-philippines/#ixzz1wqgQ1zto

Weirdest News I have read this Week

What is going on in Japan? Is the country turning on to Cannibalism? Or is this just to attract attention? Judge for yourself after reading this article from www.gawker.com this week. Penis Eating Event Under Investigation This April, Japanese illustrator Mao Sugiyama offered to cook a special meal: the illustrator's surgically removed genitals. The following month, five diners paid the equivalent of US$250 to eat Sugiyama's bait and tackle, served with Italian parsley and garnished with button mushrooms. Approximately 70 people attended the event in Tokyo's Suginami Ward on May 18 to watch five individuals chow down on Sugiyama's cooked privates. While cannibalism is not illegal in Japan per se, health officials in Tokyo are now investigating the event. According to The Mainichi, health officials are investigating to see if any food hygiene laws were broken during the event; however, the event sponsor said that no laws were broken in eating a human body part that was legally removed by a medical institution. The Mainichi does not point out that, like in most countries, it's illegal to sell one's organs in Japan, which puts this meal in gray legal territory. You cannot even sell your own blood (blood donors get free drinks, instead). But, hey, charging people to eat your body parts is cool as long as you don't break hygiene laws? Sounds like a legal cock-up. Note: This news reminds of Philippines soup # 5 made of bull's testicles and phallus.

Just a Question of Love (A French Film)

Here's another award winning film for your viewing pleasure.

This heartwarming French coming-out drama details the difficulties of love between two young gay men, one of whom is able to outwardly express his homosexuality, while the other remains closeted. Laurent, a 23-year-old college student, keeps up appearances and avoids inquiries into his private life by living with his best friend, Carole. The effortless convenience of this situation is shattered, however, when Laurent falls for Cedric, an openly gay man who is proud of his sexuality. Laurent wishes to be able to live that way, but fears the response his conservative parents would have if they knew the truth. By contrast, Cedric introduces Laurent to his supportive mother, who accepts her son as well as his new boyfriend. But although Cedric truly cares for Laurent, he is unable to live a lie, and delivers an ultimatum that will test both Laurent’s courage and the strength of his love.

Top Ten Controversial Films (US) and Its Controversy

The Passion of the Christ: Image by Phillippe Antonello The following is a list of top ten most controversial movies and the reasons for the controversy according to EW.com . How many of these movies have you seen?. I am not an avid movie enthusiast, but I have seen five of the movies on the list. I really do not agree to the list since I feel Brokeback Mountain and The Da Vince Code should be in this list. How about you?

1 THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST DIRECTED BY MEL GIBSON (2004) THE PLOT You know the part in the Bible where Jesus gets betrayed, tortured, and crucified? That's it. That's all of it. THE CONTROVERSY : Gibson's intention — born of his deep Catholic faith — was to produce an unflinching depiction of Christ's suffering on behalf of mankind. What he succeeded at best, however, was igniting a culture-war firestorm unrivaled in Hollywood history. For months prior to its release, The Passion was both denounced and defended sight unseen amid reports that the film wasn't just brutal, but compromised by dubious biblical interpretation and anti-Semitic sentiment. Gibson refused to let concerned parties view and vet his self-financed film, even as he was giving Passion previews to Christians as part of an unprecedented church-targeting promo push. Ultimately, moviegoers pretty much got the experience they were expecting, while Gibson got a $370 million gross — plus a provocative new reputation.

2 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE DIRECTED BY STANLEY KUBRICK (1971) THE PLOT Teen troublemaker/gang rapist Alex (Malcolm McDowell) gets brainwashed by a futuristic English government so that he becomes deathly ill every time he encounters violence. THE CONTROVERSY : You mean besides its irreverent use of Gene Kelly's ''Singin' in the Rain''? That the movie first landed an X rating and was deemed pornographic across the U.S. was nothing compared with its reception in the U.K.: Social uproar and reports of copycat crimes led Kubrick to withdraw Clockwork from distribution in his adopted country. It wasn't officially available there again — in theaters or on video — until 2000, a year after his death.

3 FAHRENHEIT 9/11 DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MOORE (2004) THE PLOT Dubya's multitude of (alleged) sins, including the alliance between the Bush clan and Saudi Arabia and botched chances to prevent 9/11. THE CONTROVERSY : The documentary lit the fuse of right-wing America, detonating protests and hate campaigns to ban it (no dice). Moore was the first to break the post-9/11 moratorium on Bush bashing and set off a season of brutal smack-downs among the Bill O'Reillys and Keith Olbermanns of the world.

4 DEEP THROAT DIRECTED BY GERARD DAMIANO (1972) THE PLOT Distraught over her inability to enjoy sex, a young woman (Linda Lovelace) goes to a doctor (Harry Reems), who tells her the condition can only be treated, um, orally. THE CONTROVERSY : Intellectuals championed the film for striking a blow for First Amendment rights, while conservative leaders got it banned in many places and put Reems on trial for obscenity charges. Lovelace herself later denounced the film, claiming that while filming ''there was a gun to my head.''

5 JFK DIRECTED BY OLIVER STONE (1991) THE PLOT The true story of how New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) investigated conspiracy theories about President Kennedy's assassination. THE CONTROVERSY : Some saw Stone's documentary-on-steroids-like interpretation of those theories as lending them a certain patina of truth — raising fears that moviegoers would construe it as bona fide history. One result: a 1992 congressional act to release classified documents (which revealed nothing).

6 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST DIRECTED BY MARTIN SCORSESE (1988) THE PLOT Jesus (Willem Dafoe) pursues his calling but, in a Satan-induced hallucination, dreams of a normal life that includes sex with Mary Magdalene. THE CONTROVERSY : Religious fundamentalists picketed and threatened boycotts weeks before its release. One group offered to buy the $6.5 million film from Universal to destroy it; some theaters, and later Blockbuster, refused to carry it. Oh, and the French rioted.

7 THE BIRTH OF A NATION DIRECTED BY D.W. GRIFFITH (1915) THE PLOT Griffith's epic follows the travails of two families during the Civil War and Reconstruction. THE CONTROVERSY : The film's depiction of African Americans as childlike, conniving, or rabid sex fiends, and the Ku Klux Klan as heroic saviors, sparked nationwide protests by the nascent NAACP. (It also became a KKK recruiting tool.) Censorship debates and protests have dogged the film in subsequent rereleases and when it was added to the National Film Registry in 1993.

8 NATURAL BORN KILLERS DIRECTED BY OLIVER STONE (1994) THE PLOT Homicidal lovers (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) cut a blood-soaked swath through America. THE CONTROVERSY : Though intended as a satire on the media, the film actually inspired several copycat killers to seek their own 15 minutes of fame, some even using imagery and dialogue from the film. Over 12 murders in the U.S. and abroad have been linked to Killers. One victim's family tried to sue Stone and Warner Bros.

9 LAST TANGO IN PARIS DIRECTED BY BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI (1972) THE PLOT A disaffected American (Marlon Brando) travels to Paris, where he throws himself into an affair with a young Frenchwoman (Maria Schneider). THE CONTROVERSY: Critics and audiences were sharply divided over this X-rated erotic psychodrama. The film's stark (as in naked) depiction of loveless, animalistic carnality horrified some — and landed its director and stars in an Italian court on obscenity charges.

10 BABY DOLL DIRECTED BY ELIA KAZAN (1956) THE PLOT A Mississippi cotton-gin owner (Eli Wallach) humiliates a competitor (Karl Malden) by attempting to seduce the man's still-virgin wife (Carroll Baker). THE CONTROVERSY: Written by Tennessee Williams, the film struck Catholic leaders as lewd. (A similar flap greeted 1943's The Outlaw over Jane Russell's bust.) New York's Cardinal Spellman forbade the faithful to see it ''under pain of sin.'' Some theaters pulled it, but it eventually earned four Oscar nominations.