And made history.
Manny Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to win titles at seven different weights, and probably the only one to sing eight songs with his band after a bout.
Enough said.
Posted by: thelmabowlen | November 15, 2009
The Pacman: He came, he boxed, he sang
Posted in filipino | Tags: manny pacquiao
Posted by: thelmabowlen | November 12, 2009
Three Seasons in Nashville
I’ve been blogging a little too much about So You Think You Can Dance lately and neglecting the other parts that The Pseudo Expat is about: single parenting and Christianity. There was a Filipina on SYTYCD though up until last night so that sort of covered the Filipina-American thoughts.
Some things are a bit too private to talk about so I avoided it until I learned from it and can now discuss it here.
I was driving down Old Hickory Boulevard, admiring the leaves in their different stages of death — explosions of deep reds, yellows, greens, and oranges — as if holding on to dear life in bursts of color defying the inevitable, their shouts of, “We live! We live! We live! Look at us!” falling on the deaf ears of their fallen comrades littering the ground, brown and dry, when the prosaic cycle of life came to mind. It is a beautiful death, this being born a leaf: to be birthed, to live, to color, to wither, and then to die, not unlike us humans.
We come into this world, we live for but a sliver of time, bursting with life, and then we slip into eternity. Something I’ve been thinking of a lot these days. It probably has to do with my turning a new decade last July. I’m thinking more and more in terms of “the rest of my life” and “the second half of my life”; thinking more about the impact, if any, my life has had; thinking about how good, or bad, a parent I’ve been.
Posted in faith, parenting, transition | Tags: kyera
Posted by: thelmabowlen | November 10, 2009
SYTYCD Competition Night # 3
Season 6
“It’s been a sobering night,” Nigel said after Mollee and Nathan labored through their Salsa number.
They were the second to the last couple to perform tonight, as So You Think You Can Dance is down to eight couples. Karen and Kevin started off the evening with the Hustle and Karen getting a prediction of longevity from Nigel, “You are gonna go a long way in this competition!”
Mandy Moore’s jazz choreography of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax was reminiscent of her choreography of the Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams in the Sabra and Neil number from Season 3. Tonight she had Ashleigh and Jakob use a cane; Sabra and Neil used a table.
Posted by: thelmabowlen | November 3, 2009
SYTYCD Competition Night # 2
The stage is starting to grow on us. The backdrops complement the dances. Great touch!
Nigel kicked things off announcing that Fox and Dick Clark Productions agreed that Billy Bell could return next season and go straight to Vegas while Filipino Brandon Dumlao can reapply. I’m pretty sure Julliard student Billy will make it into the Esteemed 20. As for Brandon, he has time to grow as a dancer who will hopefully be a force to reckon with.
Posted by: thelmabowlen | November 2, 2009
“Diving head first”
I felt like such a grown up yesterday morning last week. I went to a Chamber of Commerce breakfast to catch Southwest Airlines’ Manager of Emerging Media, Paula Berg, talk about. . . emerging media, and how Southwest has successfully been flying through cyberspace.
At the Hilton Garden Inn Vanderbilt
Posted in nashville, social media | Tags: nashville chamber of commerce, paula berg, southwest
Posted by: thelmabowlen | October 27, 2009
SYTYCD Competition Night #1!
The new stage and audio level tonight on So You Think You Can Dance was a bit disconcerting — larger stage, cavernous acoustics, spread out audience. It’ll probably take a couple of weeks to get used to. My first reaction was that it lacks the intimacy of the previous studio setting. Maybe because it was the first episode of the competition proper in the new venue, the acoustics sounded a bit off. Either they were corrected within the first few commercial breaks or I just adjusted and didn’t notice the difference, either way, the new SYTYCD new venue felt. . . different.
So one of the stronger dancers, Billy Bell, had to leave the competition because of doctor’s orders. Sadness! He was strong and had the potential to make it all the way. I remember how Adam Shankman was moved to tears by his final solo in Vegas! I hope he goes straight into the Esteemed 20 next season.
Posted by: thelmabowlen | October 24, 2009
Filipino Care Package Goodness
You’d think that with all the typhoons that brought death and destruction to the Philippines, sending love overseas to America would be the last thing on a Filipino’s mind.
Not in our case. Two very important people in our lives sent us some things we miss from Manila.
That’s how Filipinos love.
Sent from my Ozone on Verizon Wireless
Posted by: thelmabowlen | October 22, 2009
Season 6! Season 6!
We started watching So You Think You Can Dance when it was in its third season. The one where Sabra won. We’ve been hooked ever since. We cheered Joshua on in season 4 and were a bit disappointed Brandon lost to Janine in season 5. We’re dance fans for another reason of course, but I digress.
So of course we watched the auditions for season 6 and were just as nervous about the Choosing of the 20 as the contestants were. Okay, maybe not as nervous. I’m always trying to find Filipino faces on TV and am generally happy to see Asians. So last night, I think I spied one who didn’t make it into the esteemed 20—a guy with the last name “Dumlao”— and I think one who did.
