Close encounters with the rich and famous
Hey. I'm back.
Been an atrociously crummy couple of weeks after my birthday, and I've been feeling pretty down.
To cheer myself up and conjure up a bit of fleeting esteem-by-association, I tried to remember brief and strange encounters with famous people I've had over the course of my life, while staring at the ceiling at 4 in the morning.
You might notice I'm not explaining who's who. If you don't recognize some names (like, do you know who Ben Burtt is? Shame on you!), google them; I'm not elaborating. Some of these were so brief I sometimes wonder if they really happened; I think they did - I'm not yet that far gone. And yes, I admit it. I'm mababaw and kilig with these things. So sue me.
I've had more, but only these come to mind now. Over the course of the next few months, I'll expound in more detail on some of the following incidents in the occasional post, and the others I can eventually remember. (A lot of them was when I was an FM radio DJ; I don't go around harrassing celebs visiting the country. They come visit me.)
If there are any you'd like me to make kuwento first, just holler; otherwise I'll just pick at random.
- Trying hard to explain the tragi-comedy that is Philippine politics to a curious Neil Gaiman.
- Andrea Corr putting her arm around my waist and me putting mine around her shoulders.
- David Pack explaining to me why he's got diarrhea (he had some 'bag-ong' for lunch).
- Noel Pointer destroying a chair in my booth during a radio interview by sitting on it.
- Asking Lea Salonga who this newbie Christina Aguilera was co-opting her Mulan song.
- Saving Earth, Wind & Fire's ass by explaining onstage to 20,000 angry people why their concert was starting 2 hours late - and getting hell for it.
- Telling Shaquille O'Neal to duck his head coming through my office door.
- Shooting the breeze over the phone with Tina Arena long-distance for almost an hour.
- Jewel being exceedingly rude to me in a Taipei hotel room.
- Sir Ben Kingsley brushing off my attempt to get an autograph by saying he had to pee.
- Getting Ben Burtt's autograph.
- Chatting with Patrick Stewart for ten minutes in a mall corridor in Hong Kong.
- Asking Mark McGrath if the breakfast buffet was good at our Kuala Lumpur hotel.
- Running into Quentin Tarantino on the escalator in Gateway in Cubao.
- Asking Sir Richard Attenborough a stupid question at a press conference.
- Pissing off Gloria Estefan with a rude question at a press conference.
- When forced to make small talk with Brooke Shields, asking how she found the weather.
- Asking Lisa Loeb what she looked like without the glasses - and Lisa obliging by taking them off.
- Seeing Stephen Bishop do something unspeakable in a soda glass in Megamall.
- Corinne Drewery holding my arm during their entire interview at my radio show.
- Asking Basia how the hell one pronounces her surname.
- Telling Peter O'Toole we don't normally roll up the sleeves of a barong tagalog.
- Having half a beer with Oliver Platt in a bar in Malate.
- Asking Bobby Brown to have his muscle please leave the booth during our interview.
- Almost choking on Russell Hitchcock's BO and trying not to show it.
- Almost choking on Beck's BO and trying not to show it.
- Shaking David Coulthard's hand.
- Angela Chow co-hosting an entire episode of my radio program.
Been an atrociously crummy couple of weeks after my birthday, and I've been feeling pretty down.
To cheer myself up and conjure up a bit of fleeting esteem-by-association, I tried to remember brief and strange encounters with famous people I've had over the course of my life, while staring at the ceiling at 4 in the morning.
You might notice I'm not explaining who's who. If you don't recognize some names (like, do you know who Ben Burtt is? Shame on you!), google them; I'm not elaborating. Some of these were so brief I sometimes wonder if they really happened; I think they did - I'm not yet that far gone. And yes, I admit it. I'm mababaw and kilig with these things. So sue me.
I've had more, but only these come to mind now. Over the course of the next few months, I'll expound in more detail on some of the following incidents in the occasional post, and the others I can eventually remember. (A lot of them was when I was an FM radio DJ; I don't go around harrassing celebs visiting the country. They come visit me.)
If there are any you'd like me to make kuwento first, just holler; otherwise I'll just pick at random.
- Trying hard to explain the tragi-comedy that is Philippine politics to a curious Neil Gaiman.
- Andrea Corr putting her arm around my waist and me putting mine around her shoulders.
- David Pack explaining to me why he's got diarrhea (he had some 'bag-ong' for lunch).
- Noel Pointer destroying a chair in my booth during a radio interview by sitting on it.
- Asking Lea Salonga who this newbie Christina Aguilera was co-opting her Mulan song.
- Saving Earth, Wind & Fire's ass by explaining onstage to 20,000 angry people why their concert was starting 2 hours late - and getting hell for it.
- Telling Shaquille O'Neal to duck his head coming through my office door.
- Shooting the breeze over the phone with Tina Arena long-distance for almost an hour.
- Jewel being exceedingly rude to me in a Taipei hotel room.
- Sir Ben Kingsley brushing off my attempt to get an autograph by saying he had to pee.
- Getting Ben Burtt's autograph.
- Chatting with Patrick Stewart for ten minutes in a mall corridor in Hong Kong.
- Asking Mark McGrath if the breakfast buffet was good at our Kuala Lumpur hotel.
- Running into Quentin Tarantino on the escalator in Gateway in Cubao.
- Asking Sir Richard Attenborough a stupid question at a press conference.
- Pissing off Gloria Estefan with a rude question at a press conference.
- When forced to make small talk with Brooke Shields, asking how she found the weather.
- Asking Lisa Loeb what she looked like without the glasses - and Lisa obliging by taking them off.
- Seeing Stephen Bishop do something unspeakable in a soda glass in Megamall.
- Corinne Drewery holding my arm during their entire interview at my radio show.
- Asking Basia how the hell one pronounces her surname.
- Telling Peter O'Toole we don't normally roll up the sleeves of a barong tagalog.
- Having half a beer with Oliver Platt in a bar in Malate.
- Asking Bobby Brown to have his muscle please leave the booth during our interview.
- Almost choking on Russell Hitchcock's BO and trying not to show it.
- Almost choking on Beck's BO and trying not to show it.
- Shaking David Coulthard's hand.
- Angela Chow co-hosting an entire episode of my radio program.