Wearing Your Music on Your Gown

by Maureen Buja, Intrlude

The 2023 Met Gala brought out all kinds of dresses, including Karl Lagerfeld’s 40-year-old violin dress, designed in 1983 for Chloé, worn here by Olivia Wilde.

Olivia Wilde in Lagerfeld

But Lagerfeld wasn’t the only designer to find his inspiration in the instruments of music. Viktor and Rolf used pink violins to great effect in 2008.

Viktor & Rolf, Spring 2008 Ready-to-Wear (photo by Marcio Madeira)

In fact, if we go back to 1939, we have Elsa Schiaparelli’s music dress in white organza and gloves, embroidered with coloured metallic threads.

Elsa Schiaparelli, 1939 (Met Museum)

In 1988, Yves Saint Laurent’s Spring collection used Braque’s musical instruments as its inspiration.

Michael G. Cunningham: Free Designs: IV. Georges Braque (Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra; Vit Micka, cond.)

Yves Saint Laurent, Braque, Spring 1988 Couture

In their Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection, Threeasfour used parts of real instruments in their design, such as this violin body.

Threeasfour, Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear, Violin

Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli created Valentino’s Spring 2014 show completely based on opera, including this dress based on La Traviata that was later worn by Katy Perry to the 2014 GRAMMY Awards.

Giuseppe Verdi: La traviata – Act I: Dell’invito trascorsa e gia l’ora (Rosanna Carteri, Violetta; Rome Opera House Chorus; Rome Opera House Orchestra; Pierre Monteux, cond.)

Valentino, La Traviata, Spring 2014 Couture

Katy Perry at the 2014 Grammy’s in Valentino

For the Spring 2017 Ready-to-Wear collection, Dolce & Gabbana used the familiar keyboard design for a very short skirt, worn under a highly elaborate jacket.

Dolce & Gabbana, Spring 2017 ready-to-wear

For the Spring 2020 catwalks, Jeremy Scott for Moschino also dipped into Braque’s cubist instruments.

Yellow Violin, Moschino

Pink Guitar, Moschino

And Kerby Jean-Raymond for Pyer Moss used not only the familiar piano key pattern but also the shapes of instruments, such as the curve of an electric guitar on a lapel.

Pyer Moss, Spring 2020, Ready-to-Wear – Piano top

Pyer Moss, Spring 2020, Ready-to-Wear, Piano bag

Pyer Moss, Spring 2020, Ready-to-Wear Piano – Red with Keyboard

Pyer Moss, Spring 2020, Ready-to-Wear – Guitar Lapel

If all this is just a bit too high-style, then we can look at the new villain character for next season’s Doctor Who. Played by actor Jinkx Monsoon, the character’s costume not only has a piano keyboard extra- extra-wide lapel but also a piano keyboard lining to her ominous cape.

Jinkx Monsoon, 2023

And all of this is just a small part of how music has become part of couture.

Public Weather Forecast issued at 4:00 AM | May 19, 2023

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Rep. Duterte tells 40 new PNP leadership course graduates to use acquired knowledge to better serve public

 

  

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DAVAO CITY – First Congressional District Rep. Paolo "Pulong" Duterte encouraged the police personnel who graduated from the Public Safety Senior Leadership Course to remember their lessons to serve better and protect the public.

RIGO Duterte (Ivy Tejano)

Congressman Pulong Duterte was represented by his son, Rodrigo "Rigo" Duterte II, who delivered the legislator’s message and welcomed the 40 graduates of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) leadership course at the National Police Training Institute, Regional Training Center 11 (RTC-11), here, on Wednesday, May 17.

“After the celebrations and as you return to your respective units and stations, always remember the teachings you learned in the past six months, for sooner or later, you’ll apply such knowledge,” Rigo said in behalf of his father, who was on duty during the event.

Rep. Duterte reminded the graduates to use the knowledge they have gained to serve and protect the constituents in their respective areas of responsibility, to continue having a better place to live, and that the towns/cities they belong to be the most livable in the country.

“Congratulations on a job well done to each of you for completing the mid-level management course and training on responsible leadership,” Rep. Duterte said.

“You have all the reason to be proudly sitting there beaming with pride as you accomplished a remarkable deed worth another feather in your cap,” he added.

RTC-Davao  chief Police Col. Marvin Fontalva  congratulated the graduates and declared that he is proud of the milestone that they have reached.

“These policemen went through such a leadership course to improve their competence and skills in handling their respective duties, given they are now on a managerial level. We expect that upon their return to their units, they could apply what they have learned,” Fontalva said.

Fontalva encouraged the graduates to share what they learned from the training and apply them to improve the services in their respective offices and to the public

The police graduates endured six months of being away from their homes and families to complete the course, Rep. Duterte said, adding that everyone expects them to be fully equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for management and leadership.

Rep. Duterte thanked Fontalva for inviting him to be part of such a remarkable success of the police force in the Davao region.

The 40 police officers will soon return to their respective units in Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, and Davao Oriental.

CAB lowers June fuel surcharge

BY EMMIE V. ABADILLA

  

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AT A GLANCE

• The Civil Aeronautics Board’s (CAB) on Thursday (May 18) lowered the applicable fuel surcharge rates for domestic and international flights by another notch, from the current Level 5 to Level 4, effective June, 2023.

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The Civil Aeronautics Board’s (CAB) on Thursday, May 18, lowered the applicable fuel surcharge rates for domestic and international flights by another notch, from the current Level 5 to Level 4, effective June, 2023.

The move is expected to bring down air fares and boost travel demand.

Under the Level 4 matrix of the CAB, passengers buying tickets in June will only be charged P117 to P342 for domestic flights.

Under the current Level 5 matrix, passengers incur an additional surcharge of P151 to P542 for domestic flights.

On the other hand, international passengers originating from the Philippines, will be charged P385.70 to P2,867.82 next month, depending on the distance.

At present, international passengers are paying surcharges ranging from P498.03 to P3,703.00.

Airlines wishing to collect yhe fuel surcharge from June 1 to 30, 2023 must file their application with the CAB on or before the effectivity period, according to the agency's advisory.

The CAB has been steadily bringing down the fuel surcharges from Level 6 in April and Level 7 in March with the decline in the price of jet fuel prices, which account for 50 percent of the airlines' costs.

However, airlines can collect fuel surcharge rates that are lower than the CAB matrix level, or they may not impose it at all, depending on how they want to compete with other carriers.

Travel demand is sensitive to pricing and any form of reduction in air fares can encourage more people to fly.

Xiandi Chua exceeds own expectations with strong SEAG showing

BY MANILA BULLETIN SPORTS

May 18, 2023 01:55 PM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• Chua had a good medal haul, bagging a gold, a silver and two bronze medals in the 32nd SEA Games. However, the 23-year-old said that she went through some tough moments before the biennial meet.

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By BRIAN YALUNG

Filipino swimmer Xiandi Chua admitted that her performance in the recent Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh exceeded her expectations after a string of disappointments along the road.

Xiandi Chua is one the country's top performers in the recent Southeast Asian Games.

Chua had a good medal haul, bagging a gold, a silver and two bronze medals in the 32nd SEA Games. However, the 23-year-old said that she went through some tough moments before the biennial meet.

The DLSU Green Tanker admitted going through rough patches, especially after her performance in the last SEA Games where she was unable to bring home a medal. It came to a point where she thought of quitting the sport and not swimming anymore since she felt she was not good enough to compete in high-level swimming performance.

“The people around me who supported me throughout my swimming career, they always talk to me, especially my coach [Pinky Brosas]. He talked to me about just enjoying the process and to keep moving forward because he feels my potential has not been maximized yet and that there are more things to work on. It will be just a waste to leave everything behind because of that failure,” Chua shared.

“To walk away from a sport, on a bad note, is something that I may regret in life later on,” she added.

Heading into this year’s biennial meet, the 23-year-old set a modest goal – which is to bring home at least a bronze medal.

“For this SEA Games, I just wanted to come home with a bronze [medal],” Chua stated.

But to her surprise, Chua ended up getting something bigger – a gold medal and shattering a SEA Games record after clocking 2:13.20 in the women’s 200 meter backstroke event besting the previous record of 2:13.64 set by Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Anh Vien in the 2017 SEA Games.

“So as I touched the wall and saw that we broke the SEA Games record, I was really happy. More so, I was with Chloe Isleta who won the silver as well. In the history of the Philippines, the women's team never won as a one and two finish. So, me and Chloe were really happy and we celebrated. We we’re so happy that we couldn’t sleep that night. It was just a very fun experience and we’re very grateful for the results,” Chua said.

After going through a rough patch, Chua admits that she now has a different and better outlook as far as competing is concerned.

“Right now, I’m more positive with the way I approach my races. It’s not like before [when] I used to lack confidence. Never believed I can do it. I realized that I proved to myself that I am very much capable of being able to compete with other countries and that is something I also wanted to show homegrown talents back home – that local talents have what it takes to win as long as you put in the work that is required,” Chua explained.

Looking ahead, Chua is now shifting her focus on two potential stints – the World Aquatics Championships - Fukuoka 2023 in July and the Asian Games in September.

“We are looking into the Fukuoka World Championships in July. But as of now, they have not yet released the final lineup of swimmers who will be competing. And then in September, we also have the Asian Games,” the 23-year-old swimmer ended.

Public Weather Forecast issued at 4:00 AM | May 18, 2023

Public Weather Forecast issued at 4:00 AM | May 18, 2023 DOST-PAGASA Weather Specialist: Benison Estareja

Petal power - An ode to the flowers of May

 BY AA PATAWARAN

May 17, 2023 08:35 PM

  

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SEASON OF BLOOMS Flowers give the browns and beiges, the tans and taupes, the off-whites and ochres of Cappadocia's volcanic landscape in central Turkey in May (Photos by author)

I will take inspiration from a flower, in eternal bloom, for if it has wilted, is it still a flower? The remains of a flower, a dead flower maybe, but is it still a flower when it is no longer in bloom?

I say flower—and you think petals unfurled, in vivid reds, or blushing pinks, or virgin whites, or sunshine yellows, sometimes blue or violet or orange, the full spectrum. We don’t think brown and brittle like fallen leaves that we can crush to bits, crackling like crackers, when we hold them in our hand or step on them as we walk down the street strewn with poetry in deep caramels and delicate beiges under an arch of slumbering trees.

In her wake flowers shoot forth, a dance bursts out, harmonies awaken, and choirs of devils, nymphs, satyrs, spirits, country maidens, angels, and shepherds dance, shake tambourines, gesticulate wildly, and lay tribute at the goddess’s feet.
—Jose Rizal, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not)

Flowers are forever. In their period of wilting, their colors remain ablaze in our mind’s eye, their petals soft and velvety, their scent lingering. A short memory is all we need for in the nature of flowers life follows death follows life follows death follows life... whether in the cultured gardens, or in our potted paradise, or in the wild. Everlasting is the woman who walks with a spring in her step—and a garland of daisies in her hair.

Little wonder a single long-stemmed rose can perk us up as much as a bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley, as much as lavender buds and chamomile flowers sprinkled on top of the water in our bathtub or a carpet of rose petals on the walkway. There is a sonnet tucked in a crystal vase on the corner table. There is a rainbow perched on the windowsill. There’s a burst of sunshine climbing the fence. There’s hibiscus flowering in your teacup. Between the pages of your chosen novel, pressed hydrangeas and Queen Anne’s lace bookmark your progress, dead as in dead, but alive and abloom as you remember them.

Carry, carry, O flowers,
my love to my loved ones, peace to my country and its fecund loam, faith to its men and virtue to its women, health to the gracious beings that dwell within the sacred paternal home.
—Jose Rizal, ‘To the Flowers of Heidelberg

Were they an expression of love? Were they a note of tenderness? Did you pluck them out of a wreath delivered by courier in a tribute to your achievement? Did someone sling them over your head in a lei that tickled the back of your neck? Or did you pick them off the tree or the plant or the shrub on an afternoon walk, pressing them gently on your nose to get a whiff of the wonderful world? Ah, the language of flowers! How articulate is beauty! How eloquent is silence! Hushed as baby blue eyes in the meadows. Magniloquent as a bird-of-paradise.

A flower holds the answer: He loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, he loves me not... Like a symbol of faith hung like a sampaguita chain on the statue of a saint. All the secrets of the universe are embodied in a single bloom that draws its revelations from light that travels 169,600,000 kilometers from the sun and from the water of life deep in a primeval pool underground. It is speckled with stardust, colored by the entire history of the planetary system, nourished by the good Earth, and worshipped by the birds and the bees on a nectarine feast. Was that the guru Deepak Chopra who said, “In this rose, behold the universe!” as he raised a rose to the view of his audience in Manila decades back, just as we began to embrace New Age lessons as children of a loving, forgiving, generous God who was not above us but within us?

But don’t expect thanks and laurels, crowns of flowers and laurels are the inventions of free people. But perhaps your children may gather the fruit of what the father planted.
—Jose Rizal, Letter to Blumentritt

People are like flowers—we bloom, we wilt, we live, we die. Unlike flowers, however, we can bring as much darkness as we can bring light to Earth’s every corner, death as much as life, mourning like white chrysanthemums at a funeral or bright and cheery like sunflowers at a baby shower. But unlike flowers, there is a chance some of us cannot fully unfurl who we are, unfolding like petals the outside of us to bring out the inside that needs sunshine, moonbeams, and starlight, earth, wind, water, and fire. All in a clamor to return to Eden, which is, in fact, what life is like even now, if we only learn to stop and smell the flowers.

(These photos have been taken during the author’s ongoing exploration of springtime in Türkiye.)

OPM stars shine for children with critical illnesses

 BY MANILA BULLETIN ENTERTAINMENT

May 17, 2023 10:14 PM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• Every year on April 29, the Make-A-Wish community in over 50 countries celebrates World Wish Day to commemorate the anniversary of the first wish that inspired the creation of the organization more than 40 years ago in Arizona, USA. Make-A-Wish Philippines is celebrating it this year by holding its first-ever Wish Ball in the country.

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When a wish is granted, everything aligns to shine hope, strength, and joy. The Make-A-Wish Philippines Wish Ball, entitled “Where Stars Align," prepared a magical evening!

Last April 29 at The Peninsula Manila Hotel, the Philippines’ brightest music stars – Jamie Rivera, Basil Valdez, and other surprise guests – came together to help raise funds to grant the wishes of children with critical illnesses.

Video to teaser: https://youtu.be/QXBCeQZUMoU

Co-presented by Blogapalooza and Wish FM 107.5, this formal charity gala was hosted by Teresa Herrera and Rovilson Fernandez. It featured inspiring stories from wish kids, as well as performances from Auriz Llorens, Rox Puno, Justin Taller, and Danimei Everett with the Make-A-Wish PH Kids & Genies Choir. In addition, there was a special Blue Carpet pre-show by hosts Chal Maling and Ryan Tresplacios live on
Make-A-Wish Philippines; Facebook page. Guests enjoyed a special four-course dinner prepared by The Peninsula Manila.

Every year on April 29, the Make-A-Wish community in over 50 countries celebrates World Wish Day to commemorate the anniversary of the first wish that inspired the creation of the organization more than 40 years ago in Arizona, USA. Make-A-Wish Philippines is celebrating it this year by holding its first-ever Wish Ball in the country.

For more information, and to book your tickets, please visit www.wishes.ph, scan the QR codes, or contact 09159573020.

Truth is not just about facts and data

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

MUCH less is truth about a certain view or choice that may be supported by a majority of the people. Truth can only be found in God when the Spirit of Truth shows us what truth is.

We are reminded of this very important aspect of our life when in the gospel of St. John, Christ said that the Spirit of Truth “will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming.” (Jn 16,13)

To know the truth and to be in the truth are a matter of being discerning of what the Holy Spirit tells and shows us. In short, we cannot know and be in the truth unless we follow what the Spirit tells us. 

We just cannot rely on facts and data and a majority vote to be in the truth. Understanding truth that way, without the inspiration of the Spirit, would just lead us to be deceived in a way that can be most subtle and convincing. But the result or the effect of such misunderstanding of truth would only be greater division among us or some harm. 

Somehow, we can verify the effect of such misunderstanding of truth just by looking at how there is now a lot of division and misunderstanding among ourselves in spite of the tremendous developments we have in the sciences and the technologies. We can have a glut of facts and data and we can make choices by majority vote, and still the truth would elude us.

Facts and data need a proper spirit for them to serve the cause of truth. We need to realize that truth in the context or setting of our human condition needs a proper spirit. Without considering the proper spirit, they can only be used—or misused—by all sorts of possible human motives that in the end may not be right for us, or may just be self-serving to some of us but harmful to others.

The truth that comes from the Spirit of truth obviously can make use of facts and data and the results of some majority vote, but it will always be a dynamic one that in end would lead us to our ultimate goal in life—our own salvation, our attainment of the fullness of our human dignity as children of God, sharers of his divine life and nature.

We can ask the question: how can we see the truth amid our unavoidable biases and other conditionings that affect how we see, judge and react to things? The simple answer is to be like Christ who himself said that he is “the way, the truth and the life.” 

Thus, in the gospel cited above, Christ clearly said that the Spirit of truth “will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason, I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” (Jn 16,14-15)

We obviously need to adjust our understanding of what truth is and of how we can be in the truth. To know and to be in the truth need to be pursued in the context of our relation with God through Christ in the Spirit. They just cannot be achieved through pure science or reliance on facts, data and majority vote!

Sicherung der Rente: Die Spielräume werden kleiner - aber es gibt sie noch

Politik-Redakteur Sebastian Horsch über die Rente: Die Spielräume werden kleiner © agefotostock/Imago/Montage

Von: Sebastian Horsch, Merkur

Das Rentensystem steht unter Druck: Auch wenn der demografische Wandel doch günstiger ausfällt als bisher erwartet, so wird er dennoch zur schweren Aufgabe - und fordert ein Handeln der Politik, meint Politik-Redakteur Sebastian Horsch.

Neue Zahlen machen der Rente Mut. Die Bevölkerungsentwicklung könnte günstiger ausfallen als lange angenommen. Kommt es so, wäre der demografische Wandel zwar immer noch ein Problem – aber eines, das man einschätzen kann. Alles würde auf einen erneuten Alterungsanstieg herauslaufen, wie ihn die Rentenversicherung schon zwischen 1990 und 2010 überstanden hat.

Sind all die Diskussionen über höhere Beiträge oder ein späteres Rentenalter damit hinfällig? Zur Wahrheit gehört: Spurlos am Land und am Rentensystem vorbeigegangen sind derartige demografische Veränderungen auch in der Vergangenheit nicht. Ganz im Gegenteil. Zwischen 1990 und 2010 lag neben anderem die Einführung der Riester-Rente und die Absenkung des Rentenniveaus – es wurden neue Abschläge eingeführt und der Steuerzuschuss des Bundes erhöht. Dazu kommt, dass sich auch die positive wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der vergangenen Jahre samt stetigem Beitragszahlerzuwachs wohl nicht einfach so unbegrenzt fortsetzen lässt.

Die Spielräume werden also kleiner. Aber noch gibt es welche. Bei der Beschäftigung Älterer ließe sich zum Beispiel mit klug gesetzten Anreizen noch mehr erreichen, um das System zu entlasten. Auch mit einer strukturierteren Zuwanderungspolitik, die vor allem darauf ausgelegt ist, diejenigen zu uns zu holen und in den Arbeitsmarkt zu integrieren, die unsere Wirtschaft braucht, könnte die Politik viel in die richtigen Bahnen lenken. Ob sich die Ampel dazu durchringen kann, ist offen.