‘Glowing’ condoms from Calvin - FUNFARE by Ricardo F. Lo

Yes, there are condoms that taste like strawberry or lemon or ice-cream or whatever sits well with your taste buds. That’s according to people who are into, ahem, "safe sex" and are therefore well-informed about this little piece of elastic joy.

But did you know that there are "glowing" condoms – I mean, condoms that glow in the dark (naturally!)? Nice idea, isn’t it (especially if the user has a penchant for doing it in the dark)?

For more information about this, well, "glowing" phenomenon, get in touch with Calvin Millado who, together with his brother Cliff, is distributing them and other products that glow through their eight-year-old business aptly called Glow Explorations.

"It’s a retail business," Calvin told Funfare. "We sell luminous products and decors, such as animal figurines and even religious items. We used to have seven outlets at SM malls (found along the corridors), but we had to close two because we lack people to maintain them. Our business is doing well. So far, so good."

Glow Explorations has been keeping Calvin busy especially during times when he doesn’t have showbiz commitments which these days have been confined to sporadic shows here and abroad, including hosting beauty pageants (like the Mutya ng Pilipinas contest of which he was a regular host until this year when the Mutya franchise was sold to GMA 7 and Calvin opted to remain with Lorraine Schuck’s company, former holder of the franchise, which put up the new beauty search Miss Philippines, winner of which will compete in the Miss Earth International to be held in November).

Calvin’s last stint abroad was the controversial Rent in Singapore which, Calvin said, "kind of revived my stagnating career." Rent is the first Broadway musical Calvin ever did and it gave him a good venue for his singing which has remained untapped so far.

"Why did I say my career was ‘stagnating’?" Calvin asked. "Well, these past months, I really had nothing to promote, so I was seldom seen on TV. Then, I bumped into Buboy (Garovillo of The APO) and he told me, ‘I never thought you were serious with your singing!’ He never knew that I was."

The good news is that Calvin has just signed a two-year/two-album contract with Viva Records, with the first slated for release sometime in October. It’s Calvin’s second wind as a recording artist. In 1991, he released his debut self-titled album under the BMG Records banner, followed in 1994 by another one (Thinking of You). He lay low from recording for seven years, but he continued singing in shows, "live."

"We are now in the process of selecting the cuts for the album which will carry 12 to 14 songs, one of them I myself will compose," said Calvin who, with his looks and physique (mucho macho, you know) could have been a bold drama-actor had he agreed to do movies at the start of his career in the late ’80s (after graduating from San Beda). "In a few weeks time, we’ll start recording. By end of July, we hope to begin our radio promo. In September, the album will be launched and by October it should be in the market."

But before that, Calvin will be leaving (anytime now) for a vacation in the US with his girlfriend who’s now in L.A. From there, they’ll go to Las Vegas, San Diego and Toronto to visit some of Calvin’s relatives. He’ll be gone for two weeks.

"No, my girlfriend is not from showbiz," revealed Calvin without identifying who she is. "Not that I don’t like showbiz girls; it’s just that masyadong complicated to get involved with somebody from showbiz. My life is complicated enough as it is. Ayoko nang guluhin pa lalo."

Meanwhile, if you need anything, just anything that glows, Calvin is ready, willing and able to be at your service – night and day.

Another Close-Up guy joins showbiz

What do Tonton Gutierrez, Gabby Concepcion, Dawn Zulueta, Robin Da Roza, Rudolf Yaptinchay, Talent Center discovery Rafael Russel (the "Filipino from Norway") and Leandro Muñoz have in common?

Well, they all starred in the Close-Up commercial before they ventured into showbiz. Close-Up is turning out to be an effective star-maker because even if a pretty face has appeared in dozens of other commercials, it’s when he or she is featured in a Close-Up commercial does he/she get the attention of televiewers, consumers, talent scouts and producers.

"That’s where I noticed Russel C. Mon, the guy in the Close-Up commercial, the recent one," said Tatus Aldana of Maverick Films which is introducing Russel in Luv Text, the reteam-up of former sweethearts Judy Ann Santos and Wowie de Guzman, directed by Rowell Santiago. "Russel is the cute guy in the rain, attracted to a pretty girl and later sharing her umbrella while they’re both waiting for a cab."

Before Close-Up, 21-year-old Russel did a few other commercials (for Ford Lynx, Pop Cola, Shark Energy Drink Downey, Globe, Rebisco and STI). He was discovered while strolling at a mall by Alberto Baligod (of Imaj Modelling and Casting Motive) who was the original manager of Diether Ocampo and an adoptive son of the Salvadors (Alona Alegre and relatives).

Russel was born in Olongapo City on June 11, 1980 and raised in Sorsogon City. At Letran College, he played point guard for the Letran Squires, shining at the Palarong Pambansa held in Bicol. Russel is currently taking up Computer Programming at AMA Computer College.

"I only have one semester to finish," said Russel who wants to be a self-supporting student now that he’s earning his keep (he’s staying alone in a rented apartment in Tandang Sora, Quezon City, having been away from Sorsogon since he was a high school senior). "Later on, I want to put up my own bar/restaurant in Sorsogon, for my mom to manage. "