IT was just a few weeks ago when Ty Taylor, an African-American finalist of Rock Star: INXS, vented his frustrations about how "his people" were not given a chance to shine in the field of rock music. Given that quite a few of the most respectable names in rock are actually black, including Lenny Kravitz, Living Colour and the legendary Jimi Hendrix, the basis of Ty’s outburst was more emotion than fact. The talented singer should have also kept in mind that nine other contestants, all white, were eliminated ahead of him.

NINO Mendoza is a man of positive energy. Like on a constant sugar high his hands float, gesture and point like a swarm of insects trying to find their direction. If in doubt about Mendoza’s incomplete sentences and seemingly non-sequential asides then you merely have to observe his hands and you won’t miss the narrative thread or its points of emphasis.

UNDERDOGS tend to be excessively humble. When Hilera won the recent Nescafe Soundskool inter-school competition, Chris, the band’s soft-spoken vocalist, was apologetic as they went up the stage to receive the P150, 000 grand prize.

APANESE tobacco superbrand Mild Seven has been bringing you the most happening events, especially with their MOST SEVEN party series. Each party celebrates seven individuals who have made a mark in their respective fields, with a special photo exhibit by one of my favorite photographers, Raymund Isaac, makeup by Shu Uemura’s master artist Xeng Zulueta and Jigs Mayuga (my favorites, too!,) and murals by Epson.

LUCA Magnini hails from Modena, northern Italy where Ferraris are made but he sheepishly admits Caffe Milano was named after another famous city where a recent local film was shot to give it more recall.

MARK Twain might well be turning in his grave with the way the anti-imperialists are portrayed in The Legend of Zorro. There’s the foreigner super-villain with the funny accent, the conspiring secret society that hates America for its strength and power (gee that’s a new one), and a few redneck racists misquoting scriptures from the Bible. Basically, Anti-Imperialists: Bad. People into post-colonial theory will similarly be slapping their heads as the film rejoices in American conquest, which can be seen as thinly-veiled propaganda for the American push in the world order these days to bring freedom, order, and civilization wherever it goes. That’s a hoot, ain’t it? As far as the politics of this film go, it’s all one big hurrah for the US of A. America good, anti-American bad. People with funny accents, not all bad since Zorro has one. And, well, pretty much everyone in this movie has a funny accent, come to think of it.