53. Review: LAND OF THE MORNING: The Philippines and Its People

Genre: History 
Author: David Henkel, Julius Bautista et. al. Publisher: Singapore: Asian Civilization Museum, 2009, 173 pp. 

This slim, but large page book is actually the companion guide to the Philippine exhibit staged at the Singapore Art Museum, with over 14,000-sq m dedicated to showcases of Philippine cultural artifacts from the precolonial era until today. It explores the identity of the Filipino people, described as “warm, resilient and synonymous with the People Power movement.” The exhibit ran from October to January 2010.

The exhibit book documents, in rich, color photographs, a lot of the stunning items loaned from prominent collectors like Paulino & Hetty Que, the Lopezes, Ramon Villegas and Dr. Teyet Pascual and from private corporations like the Ayala Museum and Intramuros Adminsitration. Highlights include Philippine colonila ecclesiastical arts.An exhibit on Philippine culture is not complete without a look at the influences of Roman Catholicism.

On display is a 19th-century carroza made of silver sheets and adorned with mother-of-pearl flowers. Atop is an image of Mary and the Infant Jesus in ivory with silver gilt, velvet gown and gold threads. Ivory Ninos, folk santos, relieves, a Leyte gilt altar and other outstanding religious carvings like a folk belen and God the Father retablo, are featured in this section annotated by Dr. Julius Bautista, a Filipino professor working at the National University of Singapore. (I had the pleasure of meeting Julius in Pampanga, when he came over to research on the province's Lenten neitential rites last April.)

The book also explores ethnic arts, fashion and even the 1986 People Power with political memorabilia like Ninoy pinbacks, headbands, yellow ribbons and other EDSA mementos. Interesting too are the gowns created for former First Ladies, including the Valera-designed balck and white terno made for Imelda Marcos. Page after page of beautifully photographed pictures of colonial paintings, Lozano letras y figuras and hand colored antique prints of Philippine costumes are virtual eye candies for collectors and art historians alike. The book, a bit pricey at Php 1200, is available at National Book Store, but copies are very limited.

51. Star Shrine: THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY

 MEET THE PARTRIDGES! Fan photo of the Patridge Family, inspired by The Cowsills, a real family band that performed in the 1960s. Back Row: Mom Shirley (Shirley Jones), manager Ruben Kincaid (Dave Madden), guitarist and vocalist Keith (David) Cassidy and organist Laurie (Susan Dey)/ Front Row: drummer Chris (Brian Forster), bassist Danny (Danny Bonaduce) and tambourine-playing (Suzanne Crough).

C’mon get happy!

Thus sang the Partridge Family, a family of pop musicians led by widow Shirley Partridge and her brood of 5 children: Keith, Laurie, Danny, Tracy and Chris (played by Jeremy Gelbwalks/ Brian Forster) . I was 13 when this hit U.S. sitcom series debuted on Philippine TV.

WHATTA DOLL! A paper doll box of the Partridges, musical residents of Sycamore Rd. San Pueblo, California.

TOPPS TRADING CARDS. Star photos on the front and lyrics of their hit songs at the back. Your collect a whole set of these cards and then you figure out what to do with them.

I became a fan in 15 minutes, and avidly followed their funny adventures as they went on a musical tour aboard their funky Mondrian-painted bus. Each episode was punctuated by their (lipsynched) songs that topped the billboard charts: “I Think I Love You”, I Can Feel Your Heartbeat”, “Looking Through the Eyes of Love”, “I”ll Meet You Halfway”.

CAUGHT ON TAPE. VHS Copies of the Partridge Family episodes.

 70s MOST FAMOUS TEEN STAR. Lion-maned David Cassidy, on the cover of LIFE Magazine, was already 24 years old when he starred as the 16 year old Keith in the TV series.

 Clearly, the star of the hit series was the moptop David Cassidy—today’s Zac Efron-- who played 16 year old Keith to Shirley, played by Shirley Jones, his real-life stepmother.

 PARTRIDGE COMICS. Had a bunch of these comic books which were so difficult to find at the local book shops, because they were so expensive and came in limited number!

Everyone in high school tried so hard to copy his signature hairstyle—parted in the middle, fluffy and wind-blown—but we could never get our hair to behave like his mane.

PARTRIDGE OUT TO LUNCH. My tin lunchbox featured the singing family on the thermos and the Mondrian-painted school bus that the Partridges drove when on tour.

PARTRIDGE FAMILY GAMEBOARD

Of course, as a rabid fan, I never failed to watch the 30 minute episode after school each week-end—which had guest stars like Farrah Fawcett, Mark Hamill, Jodie Foster and Jaclyn Smith—long before they became stars in their own right.

PARTRIDGE FAMILY BOOK SERIES. To keep your parents spending, paperbacks of the the TV series were also published detailing the band's hilarious adventures and misadventures on the road and at home.

PARTRIDGE FAMILY CD ALBUMS. My long playing albums of the Partridge Family have long since gone to vinyl heaven, but I have replaced them with these new CD reissues.

But my attention span have always been short, so after a year or two, I just lost interest. Besides, there were new TV series that have started catching my fancy--Six Million Dollar Man, Charlie’s Angels and the Man from Atlantis. The Partridge Family was good for just four years, but long enough for me to amass a dizzying array of merchandise and mementos spawned by the hit show. I had coloring books, lunch boxes, board games, comics and TV-tie in books. Not to mention their long playing records and VHS tapes.

THE TELL-ALL BIO BOOK OF DAVID CASSIDY. David wrote his Partridge remembrances in 2000, detailing all the sordid happenings on and off the set. Tabloid news at its sleaziest!

And whatever became of the Partridge kids? Well, 58 year old David Cassidy went solo and enjoyed success as a rock star. He married twice and found later fame in Broadway, starring opposite half-brother Shaun Cassidy in Blood Brothers. He has written a tell-all book about his Partridge Family days, “C’mon Get Happy: Fear and Loathing in the Partridge Bus”.

NOT EXACTLY A DOLL, SUSAN DEY IS. Susan Dey was an aspiring model when she was cast as Laurie in the hit series. She found greater fame in L.A. Law (1986-92) as district attorney Grace Van Owen.Today, she refuses to be interviewed about her Partridge days.

Susan Dey (56 yrs. old) went on to appear in the immensely-popular TV series, L.A. Law but has practically disown the TV series, refusing to be interviewed about it. Child star Danny Bonaduce (49) became a DJ and had many publicized run-ins with the law. Suzanne Crough (45) is a college graduate, married with 2 kids. Jeremy Gelbwalks (46) works for a computer company while Brian Forster (48) became a race car champion.

ALL DOLLED UP FOR FAME. Unused paper doll boxed set of the Partridges. The adults in the show have also moved on to other pursuits. Mom Shirley, now 74, divorced Jack Cassidy after the series ended, and is married to comic Marty Ingels. Dave Madden, who played their befuddled manager, Reuben Kincaid, is retired in Florida and wrote his memoirs in 2007.

THE OFFICIAL GET HAPPY GUIDE BOOK TO AMERICA'S GROOVIEST TV FAMILY. By Joey Green, published in 1994.

This year, I ordered a complete DVD set of The Partridge Family from amazon.com-- just for kicks. I found myself laughing not just at the punchlines but also at the sight of people wearing bellbottoms, psychedelic shirts and lion-cut hairstyles which were the trademarks of our generation. Sad and troubled the lives of the actors may have been years after the series went kaput--on these DVDs, they are one happy, musical bunch again—the Partridge Family!

(11 December 2008)

46. HIDDEN TREASURES: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture

Category: Books 
Genre: Arts & Photography 
Author: Leigh Keno and Leslie Keno 

Since childhood, these identical twins have been antiquing like crazy--going to flea markets as teens and re-selling their finds for a profit. It was but natural that as adults, they went into the antique business, and have now become even more familiar with their appearances on the "Antiques Roadshow", a popular U.S. TV show. In this book, they recount their early fascinations for old things, and from there, as they acquired sophisticated knowledge about American antiques, they narrate their fabulous finds--from a pair of 18th c. chairs found in a chicken coop...to a stunning silver-mounted secretary-bookcase uncovered in Paris, to the small mahogany card table bought at a yard sale for 25$ that turned out to be a masterpiece of American furniture worth hundred of thousands of dollars!

Lots of great color pictures, "before and after" restorations and personal archival documents from the authors. Though the examples shown are American (not exactly my taste), the stories resonate with the same feeling of excitement brought about by the thrill of a serendipitous find that any antique collector can relate to. Why, I even see a lot of myself in the Keno brothers (except that they both are blond, blue-eyed and have more greenbucks). Get a copy of "Hidden Treasures" today! Where? At your nearest Book Sale, of course!

(15 July 2009)

41. Review: GLIMPSES OF OLD CEBU

Category: Books 
Genre: Arts & Photography 
Author: Lucy Urgello Miller University of San Carlos Press 
276 pp. Hardbound

When I got hold of this book from La Solidaridad and saw the author's name, it rang a few bells in my head. After leafing through the pages, I realized that this was the same Lucy Miller that I had frequently bidded against on ebay, especially when the items up for bid were Manila Carnival photos. Her old photo collection about her province has suddenly become a handsome picture book.

Around 700 of her choicest postcards and photos are included here, depicting everything Cebu--from Magellan's cross, magnificent residences, modes of travel, public places to scenes from the Cebu carnivals and other historic events. Captions, anecdotes and engaging stories accompany each photo--like the murder of a Cebuano couple, the visit of Taft and the killing of 4 American teachers by bandits. This book is of particular interest to me as it is a perfect combination of local history (which I have always been partial too) as well as colonial photography (read: nostalgia! antiques!). I am glad I found this copy--the last one, in fact--in Manila. When this goes out of print, expect "Glimpses of Old Cebu" to be a valuable collectible too.

 (Thanks to Mr. Louie Nacorda for tipping me about this book)

(9 June 2010)

28. Book Review: LA CASA DE DIOS

Category: Books
Genre: Religion & Spirituality
Author: Fr. Rene B. Javellana, SJ The Legacy of Filipino-Hispanic Churches in the Philippines
By Ortigas Foundation, Inc.(c) 2010 Hardbound, 344 pp.

 Twelve years ago, Rafael Ortigas Jr., a successful businessman and a collector of rare books, started an ambitious project--that is, to document all Spanish era built churches in the Philippines--from the Metropolitan Cathedral to provincial parishes. Unfortunately, he died in 2009 before the project was completed, but not before assigning company photographers to shoot over 300 churches, using the Catholic Directory as their guide.

Ortigas Foundation decided to carry on with the project and "La Casa De Dios: The Legacy of Filipino-Hispanic Churches in the Philippines", is a realization of Rafael Ortigas' dream. In this book, we are treated to an overview of Catholic religious life and history, accompanied by snapshots of many beautiful churches--some rarely seen or visited--and which serve as great examples of this rich and formative period in Philippine religious history as well as our evolving ideas of architecture.

At Php3,500, this autographed book carries a hefty price tag, but is well worth the price, as it is packed with well-researched accounts about the character of our colonial architecture and comes with a diverse visual catalogue of Hispanic age church photos.

Fr. Javellana, who also authored books about Bohol churches and colonial architecture, sure knows his turf, ably analyzing art styles, building lay-outs and town plans, while providing commentaries on the contribution of Catholicism to the building of Philippine culture. "La Casa de Dios" is a "good-to-have" book and hopefully will inspire ordinary folks to value their places of worship and preserve their cultural identity for years to come. Mr. Ortigas, bless him, would be happy with the way his dream project turned out to be.

(2 January 2011)

17. Review: COMFORT WOMEN: Slave of Destiny

Category: Books
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Author: Maria Rosa Henson

Maria Rosa Luna Henson burst into the national consciousness in 1992, when she broke half-a-century's silence to talk about her ordeal as a ‘comfort woman’ in a World War II rape camp.

In April 1943, then 15 year old Rosa was taken by Japanese soldiers and forced to render sexual services to the military. In this moving autobiography, she recalls her childhood as the bastard daughter of a rich Angeles landowner, her wartime experience and her decision to go public with a secret she had kept for 50 years. She wrote her memoirs by hand, often crying as she remembered. ‘Comfort Woman’ is a story of a young woman’s survival, but it is also an account of her extraordinary courage which moves and inspires us all.

Her example encouraged other women to come out with their own stories, belying earlier claims that the Japanese forces did not set up ‘comfort stations’ in the Philippines as they did in Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia. Lola Rosa overcame great odds to become a champion of justice for the most secret and silent victims of World War II. Sadly, her personal crusade went unfinished when she died of a heart attack at the Pasay City hospital on the night of August 18, 1997. She was 69. The book was a finalist for Best Biography in the 1997 National Book Awards.