My women's tennis album - August 2010

White hair chronicles XXXI - White hair is in

Early this year, more mature models starred at previews of fall fashion - chic, retro styles. Consider this line up in recent fashion shows: 45 year old and grey haired Kristen McMenamy; '90s models and now mothers – Stella Tennant and Kirsty Hume; 47-year-old Elle Macpherson. We also still see other models like 41-year-old Christy Turlington and 39-year-old Claudia Schiffer in print ads.

Now Kristen McMenamy appears on the cover of a magazine with her striking silver locks proudly on display. She stopped dying her hair six years ago and will flaunt her tresses in the August issue of Vogue. She says 'You can get older and still be rock 'n' roll. I thought all that grey hair would make a beautiful picture.'

Younger celebrities have gone grey too. Lady Gaga, Kelly Osbourne, Kate Moss, Pixie Geldof and Pink sport silver locks, aided by hair dye.

White hair chronicles XXX - The Youth Pill: Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution

David Stipp's The Youth Pill is now a hot topic. Much more so, I guess, in the health, wellness and ageing conscious age bracket of white hair chroniclers. Stipp says “Gerontologists sense that their field is finally in a position to develop medicines that truly slow aging. This book is the story of how it all happened”.

From Gilgamesh to Ponce de Leon to modern day Belo clients, man has always been on the lookout to forestall the inevitable. Stipp's book chronicles the advances made by science in the study of ageing.

Lab tests show that giving near-starvation diets to lab animals can extend their lifespans by 40% or more. In human terms, our lifespan could reach 150 years. Stipp theorizes that low-calorie diets activate genes designed to help animals endure hard times, which boost cellular repair mechanisms. Proponents of this theory are searching for drugs that can produce these effects without years of non-stop dieting. The new science gives hope to some white hair chroniclers that these advances could indeed lead to increased longevity.

Things Pinoy in Hollywood movies

I watched some DVDs over the weekend and I found some curious references to Filipino things. In the movie Kick-Ass, a character named Hitgirl brandished a balisong. She deftly played with it like a Pinoy thug in those FPJ movies. Her father in the movie, played by Nicholas Cage, gave it to her as a present. She said "it's a... Filipino..."

In the movie Grownups, Rob Schneider, a part Filipino in real life, played a character with long brushed up hair ala the Fonz. His friends call him a "Filipino midget Fonzie".

And in the Denzel Washington starrer Book of Eli, the fight scenes looked very much like arnis fighting with blades/swords (eskrimahan). Word is out that a Filipino trained Denzel in the art of kali fighting.

Who's in the MWSS board?

Kung mayroon pa silang kahit kaunting hiya na natitira – sana kusa na lang silang magbitiw sa puwesto. - PNoy referring to the MWSS Board of Trustees in his 1st SONA

GMA appointed her political adviser, Gabriel Claudio, to head the MWSS Board last May. The midnight appointment was immediately met with criticism not just because of the nature of the appointment but because Claudio apparently lacks qualifications. The law creating the MWSS requires every board member to be a duly licensed professional with competence in engineering, business management and finance, or in law and with at least 10 years’ distinguished experience in his or her field of expertise. Claudio has a degree in AB Communication Arts from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Another members of the board is Ferdinand Mahusay. He is the brother of Udong Mahusay of the Jose Pidal controversy. In 2003, Udong alleged that then First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo signed a check as Jose Pidal. He later retracted it.

Other members of the Board are Albert Balingit, Aurora Arnaez, and Raul Ragandang. They too are  reportedly friends of Ms Arroyo and her family. They too, according to MWSS insiders, are not "licensed professionals'. (source: the Inquirer, MWSS website)