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FoyVance

Fine Saturday that was,the 20th of October in2007, and the Blooms-bury Festival at BrunswickSquare in London was in fullgear. The concert series atthe park, one of the mar-quees announced, featuredPaloma Fai t h, Hanne Hukkel-berg, Alexi s Taylor, ElysianQuartet, and Serafina Steer,among other live acts. But itwas Foy Vance that I walkedin on that afternoon, singingShed A Lit t le Lighton stage,live, in the flesh. It was mylucky day.

Vance is one of the whitestpeople Ive ever seen, writes

Taylor Bruce in Foy Vance: TheHomebirds Chorus (Paste Maga-

zine). Even on an island full of

white people, hes really white.Jack White white, except shiny

bald. And he digs hatsdriving

hats, newsboy hats, felt snap-brims. But when you hear him

sing, especially in person, you

swear this white-boy Irishman

belongs on some heart-pine frontporch in the Delta. Theres ablues sound lingering around the

edge of most of his songs, and

a folky spirituality runs throughhim. Taylor couldnt be more

superficial or more profound.

More than two yearslater, I got to trackFoy Vance himself,and managed to get a few words

from the man The Sunday Timescall an unbelievable voice...

in the premier league of Britishsongwriters.

Armando: Where were you

born and where do you live now?

Have you heard of General SantosCity before?

Foy: I was born screaming in

Bangor, County Down, NorthernIreland... and now live winc-

ing in London. I heard aboutGeneral Santos City about 30seconds ago.

A: What made you want to

become a singer-songwriter?F: It was a choice between this

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or being a store man in

a soon to be bankruptelectrical goods store...

Say no more...

A: What got youstarted?

F: My father. (In theint ervi ew wit h TaylorBruce, Foy reveals, My f ather was a manof huge generosi t y.Someone on t he st reetmight say t hey l ikedhis t ie, and hed t akeit off and give it t ot hem.. . He was morereal t han his reli gion

allowed him t o be.Theres something ofhim in everything I do.He was an eternallyhopeful character. Itwasnt unt il t he day he

died t hat I really st art -ed writ ing songs. )

A: What was your

first big break?

F: My front tooth in abumper car... Musically

speaking, I supposehaving a couple of

songs in the GreysAnat omytelevisiondrama series was quite

big (for me, at least).

A: What are your ca-reer highlights to date?

F: Playing in New York

City with Pete Town-shendand playing to

a full house in Belfastwith the Ulster Or-chestra. (The UlsterOrchestra, founded in1966 by t he Ar t s Coun-cil of Nort hern Ireland,

is one of UKs majororchestras.)

Always takepraisewith a

pinch ofsalt.A: What would youcall the soundtrack ofyour life?

F: Eclectic Trinkets by

Various.A: Best advice youve

ever received?

F: Always take praisewith a pinch of salt.

A: Favorite pieces of

literature and music?F: Literature: definitelyThe Out siderby AlbertCamus, and music: toohard to pin down --

sometimes its the Sex

Pistolsand sometimesits Joni Mitchellandsometimes its some-

thing in between.

A: Whats your fa-vorite holiday destina-

tion? Have you evertraveled to the Philip-

pines before?

F: I dont have one,everywhere is equally

interesting to me. Ive

not been to the Philip-pines... yet!

A: What are your

plans for the future?F: Keep on keepin on...

(Foy was last seenplaying at the Hop FarmFestival in Kent with Bob

Dylan, Ray Davis andMumford & Sons, among

others, on 3 July 2010.)

BeA

uty,BULLy,Baby

This ber ubiquitous

personality needsno introduction, butlest you mistake himfor the androgynousTrudis Liitwho didntmake it to the fi rstday of shooting of thehit day-time TV series,we present OrmanOrtega Manansala --

blogger, banker, benefactor.(We can think of two moreBs for sure, but theyre notsuitable for printing here!) Hisbeautiful brouhaha of a blog

crosses the one-year markin August, so we offer him alittle glimpse into what hesbecome since, in our eyes, atleast. GandaEverSoMuch.comneeds no introduction either.This least subtle and most un-restrained of sounding boardsin cyberspace this side ofthe planet is one of Gensansmost followed public diary ofsorts -- replete with stories ofcarnal desires, comic adven-

tures, escapades, infatua-tions, heartbreaks, gastrono-mia, canine love, scandals,politicos and what have you-- a social commentary in away, minus the preaching,pretensions and posturing.

Beauty he is indeed inthe most unconven-tional of terms. Hes

definitely not one youd callvoluptuous, and he doesntfit the height-61 chest-40waist-30 mold either, butwhat he lacked (or exceeded)in physique, he more thanmade up for with his quickand razor-sharp wit, disarm-ing charm, and unforgiving

sense of humor. He doesntreally do much, but wait tillhe parts his imaginary bangs,raises a brow, thrusts histongue in his cheek, rolls his

eyes, and drops the punchline -- his comic timing isflawless. Thats what he doesin his blog, pretty much,minus the visual cues.

Bully, yes, hes that,too. Hes swayedmany a stalwart into

his camp with his powersof persuasion, and reducedmany an opponent tocomplete submission

-- at work andin his personallife. In hisblog posts hecan be verypassionatein the out-pouring ofresentmentagainst anestrangedex-lover, forexample,so that ifyou werethe intendedrecipient of hisill will, youdprobablywish you

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didnt cross paths with himin the first place. Which isnot to say that his vindic-tiveness is misplaced, forours is a free country after

...Everyonewants to beprivy to theBig Os life

story as andwhen itunfolds.

all. Things do get blown outof proportion (such are thewonders and woes of me-dia) -- gossip, it turns out,is much sweeter in yourown backyard -- but thatonly means everyone wantsto be privy to the Big Oslife story as and when it un-folds. (Others, on the otherhand, are first in line at hisblog-knobsimply because

they do not want to be thelast to know, especially ifOrman is on to them.)

Aside from his moreI-me-minemusings (apersonal blog is mostly thatanyway), Orman, in spiteof himself, goes out of hisway to bullypeople to wakeup from their daydreaming,

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to get out of their comfortzones, to think differentlyand do something different,and to see a whole newworld through somebodyelses eyes. He can be areal pain and a nag, butin the thick of the fight,literally or otherwise, thisis one bully youd want onyour side.

Baby, ah, theres aname cross-dressingstandup comicVice

Ganda or Ganda Ever SoMuchtribute blog (searchat http://knowread-know-rite.blogspot.com) winnerGilbert Tan havent used

for Orman before. Truthbe told, here is a plus-sizegrown man, with corporatemanagement prowess andbusiness sense so precise

...Inside,this brute

of a mover,

shaker andpowerbrokeris just a littleboy lost...

that professionals, entre-preneurs, consultants andstockholders form a beeline to his office door, andsocial clout so immense

that hes got a VIP passto every single premiere,pageant and party imagin-able -- not that he hasntturned down a few of them.Afirst-class hotel suite foremceeing at a weddingreception is practicallynothing, so to speak.

But we digress. Deepdown inside, this bruteof a mover, shaker andpowerbroker is just a littleboy lost (girl, too) in theabsurdities and complexi-ties of this thing we calllife. Like every last one ofus, he, too, has insecurities(Am I too skinny? Does myintelligence turn you off?),

longings (What I wouldntgive for another piece ofthat...lechon!), fantasies(Tom Cruise? Oh, hi. Sure,7 pm is justfine. Seeya.),and the basic need to berespected and loved. (Beingknighted by the Queen ofGreat Britain and NorthernIreland, appearing in DonnaKarans fall collection, andwinning an Oscar wouldnthurt either!)

Just like you and me,hes also had a fair shareof hardships and trials(Will the cable snap? Willthe harness hold? This ismy last zip-line ride forsure!), failures (Bowling?

I think the lanes are out oforder. Lets watch a movieinstead.), and a taste of themiserable and the mun-dane. Hes been woundedin the heart department aswell, though its hard to tellwith his steady supply ofrepartees and comic mono-logues. Unless hes blabbingabout his old flame or cur-rent ex online, that is. This beauty-bully-baby

of a blogger is just gettingstarted. Stay tuned formore laughs -- chances areyoud be laughing at your-self, too. (Ortega Files)

Al Fresco, Robinsons PlaceGensan, Lagao, NationalGensan, Lagao, NationalHighway, Gen. SantosHighway, Gen. Santos(083) 5542139(083) 5542139(0923) 9289057(0923) 9289057

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