Manila's Super-Blogger BryanBoy in D&G's Swide

Manila's very own super-fashion blogger, Bryanboy, gets interviewed by Dolce & Gabbana's digital arm, Swide. Well BB has been interviewed a lot in the past, but this one interview struck me as the most interesting because the questions and answers captured in part, what I wanted to know about BryanBoy, the person.

In his blogging life - fashion superblogger BryanBoy has been described as an "Internationally-loved fashion superblogger" by the New York Times/The Moment, "a cult read in fashion circles" by Style.com and "one of the nine hottest internet celebrities" by The New York Post - Marc Jacobs even went so far as to name a handbag after him (the BB ostrich bag).

Swide interviews the man behind the super-blog.

Lea Salonga at the Earth Hour Celebration in the Philippines

Filipino Tony Award winner Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Cinderella and The Flower Drum Song) performed two songs during the Earth Hour celebration in Manila, Philippines.

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

Daniel Paul Tammet is a British high-functioning autistic savant gifted with a facility for mathematical calculations, sequence memory, and natural language learning. He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy. Experiencing numbers as colors or sensations is a well-documented form of synesthesia, but the detail and specificity of Tammet's mental imagery of numbers is unique. In his mind, he says, each number up to 10,000 has its own unique shape and feel, that he can "see" results of calculations as landscapes, and that he can "sense" whether a number is prime or composite. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, 333 as particularly attractive, and pi as beautiful. Tammet not only verbally describes these visions, but also creates artwork, particularly watercolor paintings, such as his painting of Pi.

Tammet holds the European record for memorising and recounting pi to 22,514 digits in just over five hours. He also speaks a variety of languages including English, French, Finnish, German, Spanish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Estonian, Icelandic, Welsh and Esperanto. He particularly likes Estonian, because it is rich in vowels. Tammet is creating a new language called Mänti. Tammet is capable of learning new languages very quickly. To prove this for the Channel Five documentary, Tammet was challenged to learn Icelandic in one week. Seven days later he appeared on Icelandic television conversing in Icelandic, with his Icelandic language instructor saying it was "not human." Article from Oddee

The vibrant colors of Karin Zeller (Karin Charlotte)

Painting is artfully intimate - with every brush stroke, layers upon layers of colors seemingly mixed in a divine order producing a rich and vibrant picture - imagery created out of the artist's strokes, whether calculated or on a whim - translating and transcending the artist's language, character, state of mind, emotions and even intelligence - rousing the viewers analytic perception, piercing through his soul, touching what is sometimes unexplainable but real.

A painting is never produced the same way at the same time - every painting is eternity trapped, a moment preserved in every square centimeter of colors and brush strokes. Every painting is a creation, absolute and distinct and the painter, a god.

Thus, to me, painting is still the highest form of visual art. And I am and will always be in awe of the people who does them, regardless of genre, style and technique.

One outstanding artist who has greatly captivated me is Karin Zeller (a.k.a. karincharlotte) from Melbourne, Australia. Karin is one of the most gifted traditional artists in DeviantArt and it is through DA that I have discovered her beautiful work.

Karin's paintings are almost ethereal, mystical, dreamlike and captivating. Mostly dwelling on nature, animals and women, her work reflects the jubilant character of a young girl enchanted by the beauty of her surroundings and the moments and characters that make it memorable. She is never daunted by the use of colors, in fact her paintings are brought to life by the vibrancy of her palette. Her brush strokes follow an accurate direction of the shape her mind perceives without losing fluidity and tenderness.

Karin's style is reminiscent of Paul Klee's art, the Swiss painter of German nationality whose highly individual style was influenced by many different art trends, including expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Like Klee, Karin works in different media - oil, acrylic, watercolor and mixed media and her use of all these mediums are excellent.

Her work has already been featured in various exhibits in Australia and her online gallery in DeviantArt has over 23,000 views as of writing. Visit Karin's DeviantArt Gallery to see more of her works.

Chico Garcia: The photographer

I have always regarded Chico Garcia as creative, fun and quick-witted. I have regularly listened to the daily morning show which he brilliantly host alongside long-time radio partner, Delamar, during the five years that i have spent in college. As commonplace as it may be, like the many young, romantic and sometimes cynical dreamers, I am proud to admit that this daily morning ritual has made my sometimes tumultuous college life bearable. During these time as well that they have become tremendously popular, generating the kind of following tantamount to a popstar.

Now, the creativity of Chico Garcia has gone beyond words - beyond the smart friendly banters of the Morning Rush - beyond the pop star image derived from an almost cult-ish following of his fan base.

His creativity has translated into the the visible and tangible imagery of photography. Beautiful photography.

Chico Garcia: The Photographer

The photography of Chico Garcia is a magnificent and magical antithesis of the candor of Chico Garcia, the DJ.

A different side of Chico is reflected in his photographs; the part of him which may be left only to his trusted confidants and friends. His romantic spirit and zealous love for life are the only trace of the DJ personality that is reflected in his photographs. And there is nothing wrong with that at all. Because the result are photographs that are quiet, subdued, unflinching and affecting. I am totally aware and fully understand the need for every artist to sometimes step outside of his daily zone to capture and create beautiful art.

The landscapes and scenes captured by his lenses are grand and yet it is the fine details that he chooses to include that give the images their characters. While looking, you do not get lost in the grandness of the view but are drawn in the contrast of the little things; and then the landscape becomes a beautiful aggregate of these details. It is in these landscape and nature photographs that Chico visually and artistically communicates ever so effectively.

He captures people in their true light. They are not portraits but dynamic imagery of the moment and its emotions; his camera does not dictate but rather allows the ebb and flow of his subject's characters to be preserved through his lenses. Thus creating people photographs that are real and even introspective.

Through his photography, Chico Garcia allows us to take a peek at how he views the world. His beautiful and distinct photography is proof that indeed, creativity knows no bound.

Below are some of the photographs by Chico Garcia. View more in his Flicker account or visit his blog, Strange Fruit.

The journey of two faces

The first face: Everyday, for 6 years (2356 days!), from January 11, 2000 - July 31, 2006, Noah Kalina has taken pictures of himself, primarily of his face. Know more about him. Noah has gained quite a following worldwide and celebrities are more than happy to have a picture with him (along with his seemingly stoic expression). He also got featured in The Washington Post.

Noah is a professional photographer and his works have been featured/included in New York Magazine, Seed, I.D., Alarm, Interview Magazine, Blender, RollingStone.com, CMJ and Esquire, to name a few. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The music that he used in the video is entitled "Everyday" by Carly Comando and was made especially for it.

The other face: Laurel took photos of himself for 1 year, that's 365 days!

Mesmerized by BB Gandanghari

Who would have thought that this beautiful, super skinny mowdel (excuse the "w", i just have to enunciate the "mow....del!" part as it seem appropriate) of a woman was once trapped inside the hunky body of a man named Rustom Padilla who is now history (according to, yes, the mowdel herself, Rustom Padila is dead. Was he killed? Did he succumbed to a terminal illness and died?). Apparently, now, Bebe is a very happy girl. Couldn't blame the girl really. After all, this Rustom trapped her inside of him for what, almost 30 years (hmmm.... not accurate, i am not aware of his/her age). What a shame; this Rustom guy, alienating and depriving the world of her beauty and grace! Why, even some of our local actresses would look like rags beside her!

So without further hanky-panky, ladies and very gentlemen, BB Gandanghari: The artist formerly known as Rustom Padilla.