Tita Midz migrating to Vancouver

As you can see, there’s no question mark(?) in today’s headline. Yes, Armida "Tita Midz" Siguion-Reyna is seriously planning to migrate to Vancouver, Canada, and, according to the Funfare DPA, "it’s as good as definite… maybe next year."

And here’s the catch: Tita Midz is migrating not alone but with her whole family, including her husband, lawyer Leonardo Siguion-Reyna, their children (Carlitos, Monique, etc.) and their children’s children (singer Cris Villonco, Monique and Opap’s daughter, among them).

But first, Tita Midz and some family members are going to Vancouver next year for a look-see, and at the same time to find out about business and job opportunities there. If and when, according to the DPA, "Tita Midz will go on producing movies, but this time in co-production ventures with foreign-based companies."

I can say that Vancouver is, indeed, a perfect place to migrate to and to live in. I’ve been there (in 1996) and I found the city very friendly, the people genuinely nice, and the whole place conducive for both peaceful living and making a living. Crime rate is down and the lifestyle is generally laid-back. Vancouver is as cozy as Singapore, with an almost year-round coolness to boot. Yonder, you could see from downtown the Canadian Rockies which are covered with snow most parts of the year. That’s where we (with a dozen travel agents) went in November, 1996, traveling from Calgary (plane from L.A.) and then to Banff onward to Jasper and then Kamloops, staying overnight in each stop, before we settled in Vancouver for a three-day sight-seeing.

When Douglas Qui-jano heard about the (sad) news that Tita Midz is deadset on migrating, he said, "I can’t imagine the (local) movie industry without Tita Midz." Well, neither can I, Douglas!

Now, what leads Tita Midz into making such a plan?

The worsening peace and order situation in the country, for one thing. You don’t feel safe even right in your home, do you? If an Armida Siguion-Reyna doesn’t feel safe in her own country, how about ordinary citizens like you and me?

There’s another reason, of course, according to the DPA.

"In this country, you are judged by which President you support and not by your ideas and what you can contribute to your field of endeavor," the DPA explained. "That, besides many other factors (video piracy, onerous tax on the entertainment industry, etc.), is what is stopping the growth and progress of the industry."

Come to think of it, Tita Midz does have good reasons to migrate to (especially) Vancouver which, if you ask me, is paradise on earth.

If only we can do the same…

Piolo, how could you?

Last Saturday, Piolo Pascual and his siblings left for a combined business-pleasure trip to Italy, leaving his "special friend" Judy Ann Santos somewhat "broken-hearted."

You see, a few days before Piolo left, Judy Ann wanted to have dinner with him but Piolo begged off, saying that he was leaving that night (Friday, Dec. 7), only for Judy Ann to discover that Piolo left the following night. Did Piolo have a dinner instead with, uh, "somebody else," somebody more special?

It’s not only Judy Ann who’s, uh, "broken-hearted" but also Piolo’s manager Joji Dingcong whom Piolo has reduced to a mere "booking agent." According to Funfare’s "wandering DPA," Piolo bluntly told Joji during a meeting, "Kumita ka na sa akin at kumita na rin ako sa’yo, so quits na tayo." Will Joji settle as just being Piolo’s "booking agent" when it was he who persuaded Piolo to come back from the States to resume his rudely-interrupted movie career and who paved the way for Piolo to the big time, including laying the foundation for Piolo’s movie-TV career?

It happens all the time. When an actor/actress becomes successful, the first person he/she gets rid off is his/her manager – "Dahil nanghihinayang sila (the stars) sa commission na napupunta sa manager(s)," added the DPA.

Incidentally, Piolo’s next movie for Star Cinema is not with Judy Ann but with Donita Rose, entitled Nine Mornings (referring to the nine simbang-gabi novena leading to Christmas Day).

HBO Band of Brothers promo quiz

And here are the final set of questions in the HBO-Funfare tie-up promo for the mini-series Band of Brothers which is airing its last episode (Points) tonight at 9 on HBO:

• Nixon handed Lewis a brown envelope at the lakeside. What was in that envelope? (1) a gun (2) a resignation letter (3) photographs of 506th regiment (4) a knife

• Eagle’s Nest was a mountain top retreat for Hitler. True or False?

• What does V-E Day stand for?

• Name the soldier who won the first lottery to go back home.

(1) Darryl C. Powers (Shifty) (2) Richard Winters (3) Donald Malarky (4) Carwood Lipton

What is Shifty Powers’ hometown?

(1) Georgia (2) Chicago (3) Virginia (4) Texas

• Which country did the Army post Malarky to?

(1) USA (2) Paris (3) Germany (4) Japan

• What profession did Lynn "Buck" Compton go into after the War?

(1) Doctor (2) Lawyer (3) Writer (4) Teacher

• What did Webster do after the War?

(1) Doctor (2) Taxi Driver (3) Lawyer (4) Writer

• How many Days was Easy at War?

(1) D-Day plus 230 (2) D-Day plus 434 (3) D-Day plus 30 (4) D-Day plus 600

(Note: Send your entries to: Funfare-Band of Brothers Contest, P.O. Box 512 Greenhills Post Office, San Juan, Metro Mnaila 1502. Each of the seven winners for each episode will get a beautiful Band of Brothers T-shirt.)