• Friends of Christine Jacob and her husband Paco Sandejas are asking me to request Funfare readers to pray for the speedy recovery of the couple’s third child, Nina Marie, who was born last week (Sept. 24). Christine’s friends said that a day after her delivery, she noticed that Nina would throw up after feeding and would not pass stool, thus the need for surgery.
•Correction please, from reader Tet Ordoño: Porsche is pronounced por-she (with a short e) and not Portia as you wrote. Porsche is named after Ferdinand Porsche, the German automaker credited for having designed the Volkswagen Beetle. In the German language, vowels are pronounced the way Spanish and Filipino vowels are – ah, eh, ih, oh, uh. Pronunciation changes only when an umlaut (the two dots on top of a, o and u) is added.
•Readers Dinna Gonzalez, Ruben Sebastian and Anna Villegas-Delgado called my attention to the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the candidates for Governor in the recall election in California on Oct. 7, cannot run for President (if he had any intentions to) because he’s not a natural born American citizen. Article II, Section 1 and Paragraph 5 of the US Constitution says so. I didn’t say that Arnold was running for President. All I wrote was that he was aspiring for the same office (Governor of California) once held by Ronald Reagan before he (referring to Reagan) became President.
That’s Douglas Quijano speaking, the manager of Joey Marquez caught in the "crossfire" between Joey and Kris Aquino (who finally filed yesterday formal charges against Joey at a Pasig court one week after the violent incident that led to their break-up).
I have my own sympathies but I’d rather keep them to myself. I’m sure that by this time, the whole world knows who’s telling the truth and who’s bluffing. The brutally-frank TV cameras don’t and can’t lie. Extreme close-ups capture every nuance of a person speaking and even by the way he/she looks straight at the camera, you can easily tell if a person is telling the truth or not, if he/she is telling all and not withholding anything or simply taking televiewers for a ride.
As I was saying, I feel for Douglas –Tito Dougs to everybody – because he’s one of the few really nice guys in the industry, very friendly and without any mean bone in his body. He has his own sympathies, of course, and it won’t be surprising if he stands behind Joey, right or wrong, because Joey is his alaga (talent). At the same time, Tito Dougs also, I know, considers Kris as his anak. He feels like a parent whose children are quarreling.
The Kris-Joey controversy came close on the heels of those involving Tito Dougs’ other alagas – Richard Gomez against Jinggoy Estrada, and Jomari Yllana (with Ara Mina) against his ex-wife Aiko Melendez. Tito Dougs was just about to heave a big sigh of relief when the Kris-Joey brouhaha broke out.
Tito Dougs is shattered, understandably, that’s why I feel for him.
To Tito Dougs, relax and keep your mind off the trouble back home and learn to relax where you are.
What is chlamydia?
Besides STD, another ailment popularized by the Kris-Joey issue is chlamydia, a kind of Sexually-Transmitted Disease (STD).
Many people have been wondering what chlamydia is. Reader Crisanto Garcia (an FEU medical graduate now based in the US) has furnished Funfare literature on chlamydia, provided by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Here it is:
What is chlamydia?
Chlamydia is a common and curable infection caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. The bacteria target the cells of the mucous membranes including the surfaces of the urethra, vagina, cervix and endometrium; the fallopian tubes; the anus and rectum; the lining of the eyelid; and less commonly, the throat.
How common is chlamydia?
In the US, chlamydia is the most common bacterial Sexually-Transmitted Disease (STD), particularly among sexually active adolescents and young adults. In 2000, 702,093 cases of chlamydia were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, it is estimated that three million cases actually occurred and as many as one in 10 adolescent females test positive for chlamydia.
How is chlamydia transmitted?
•Chlamydia is passed primarily during anal or vaginal sex. It is less likely to be transmitted through oral sex. It can be passed when the mucous membrane, the soft skin covering all the openings of the body, comes into contact with the mucous membrane secretions or semen of an infected person.
•Eye infections in adults may result when discharge carries the disease into the eye during sex or hand-to-eye contact.
•Chlamydia is not passed through things like shaking hands or toilet seats.
•Even if a person with chlamydia is treated and cured, they can be reinfected if they are exposed to chlamydia again.
•It can also be passed from mother to newborn as the baby passes through the infected birth canal. This can result in eye infections, pneumonia or other complications.
•In children, chlamydia may be a possible sign of sexual abuse.
What are the signs and symptoms of chlamydia?
Approximately 75 percent of women and 50 percent of men do not experience symptoms. If a person does have symptoms, they usually develop within one to three weeks after exposure to chlamydia. The period of infectivity is difficult to determine since so many people are asymptomatic. A person must be considered infectious (able to pass the bacteria along to others) from the time they become infected until treatment is completed. The symptoms of chlamydia are similar to the symptoms of gonorrhea and the two infections are often confused.
•Tessie Tomas’ Teysi sa CR will have another staging on Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Comfort Room, Jupiter Place, Jupiter St., Makati City, with Jon Santos as Tessie’s special guest. For tickets, call 897-9411.
•Jilmer Dy is calling all graduates of the Ramon Magsaysay High School batch ’83 to attend their grand reunion on Nov. 8 starting at 6 p.m. at the Quezon City Sports Club. For particulars, call Ric Obar at 300-2450 or Imee Reyes at 632-8279.
•It's a fun-filled night at Rockys Café, 108 Timog Ave., Quezon City, as Kaka Balagtas Entertainment presents a sexy comedy show with songs, dance and magic, featuring Sandra Amor with her original song, Sisirin, tonight at 9:30. The show is entitled Sisirin Mo sa Rockys. Also featured are comedians Ramon Zamora, Alex Montenegro and Sexbomb Junior with hosts Amay Bisaya and Resty Hernandez. Tickets at P250 are available at the gate. For details, call 928-0807 or 928-0641.