Heel, Tiger, (Mic)heel

Right after the improbable Ben Curtis triumph at the British Open, I wrote something about how inspiring that victory should be for unsung golfers everywhere. His first major, and Ben walks away with the Cup. Little did we know that last Sunday’s PGA would make this the first year since 1969 that all four majors would go to first-time Major winners.

Shaun Micheel (yes, Shaun Who?) completes this year’s cast, and like Ben, this was the first time Shaun had competed in a Major. On top of that, getting his name on the Wanamaker Cup is his first Tour win. Mike Weir (the Masters) and Jim Furyk (the US Open) at least had the luxury of having won on the tour previous to their Majors victories. I’m sure the last round’s final pairing of Micheel and Chad Campbell had even my father scratching his head, wondering if it was worth waking up at 3:30 in the morning.

And it’s official – the Tiger has been tamed, heeled, defanged and domesticated by the no-namers. For the first time in what seems forever, we have a year where Tiger Woods did not win a single major. He’s still ahead in 2003 with four tournament victories. But in the world of golf, greatness is defined by the Majors. For not ever having won one, someone like Phil Mickleson, is considered "very good," but falls short of "great." We all know Tiger is still lurking out there and he will be back. It’s not like we can now speculate he’s won his last Major. But I do think that glassy-eyed, faraway look the pros used to have whenever Tiger’s name was mentioned is now a thing of the past. Despite his name, he is human after all.

Stuck In The Laundry Blues... Again

What a week it’s been for usiseros and kibitzers. The Ping Lacson exposé had a good number of people smugly wearing their "I knew it all the time" or "Are we even surprised?" faces. Reminds me of how if we say a lie often enough, it becomes truth. Without judging one way or another the veracity of what Ping had to reveal, it was just interesting, from a human behavior point of view, to see people scrambling to look like they were very aware of the Incredible Bulk’s (sic) shenanigans, and that this was all yesterday’s news, but no one could ever talk about it publicly.

Yes, more criminal than crime itself in this information-crazy city of ours, is looking like you’re not "in the loop." If Public Official A has released a statement in Quezon City, it affects Private CEO B’s financial forecast for 2006, and Military Aide X, whose wife works in B’s company, had the flu last week, and dropped off his dog at the Vet; if one does not know how often she sneezed while at the vets’ – hey! you’re not in the loop. Really, that’s how absurd it can get; just witness the recent Oakwood and subsequent Erap witchhunt.

And so now, it bounces right back to the Palace, via the LTA Building in Makati. For all the laundering being placed at Mr. Mike’s feet, I hereby anoint him Mr. Laba Dami, and yes, the pun of "Love a Dummy" is very much intended, given the alleged proliferation of Pidal accounts.

And to think we even have to import soap operas from Taiwan and Mexico? All we really have to do is shift the Political Channel to a prime time slot, and use Game Ka Na Ba? as the "breaker."

The Art Of Eating

If there’s something that’s very much in the air nowadays, it’s restaurants going that extra mile to provide us with something different. Perhaps it’s the market forces dictating that, with what really is a limited market, so many restos have sprung up, competing for a crowd that in no way has increased in proportion to said number of eating establishments.

As far as the public is concerned though, it’s well and good that this has happened, as options and choices have opened up and we only hope that the truly deserving survive.

Over at "12," the Organic Fresh Festival began last Friday the 22nd. Coming on the heels of Tina Pamintuan’s stellar turn as guest chef, we now have Jacqueline Haessig-Alleje manning the kitchen. Known as the founder and chef of Petra’s Naturally Organic Café and Deli. Jacqueline comes up with very imaginative twists on Swiss and French cuisine, courtesy of Filipino ingredients and produce. My only concern was whether the Filipino palate was really ready for free-range chicken; which I know to be a tad more wiry, lean and, you can read, tough, than what we’re used to.

(E-mail me at peopleasia@qinet.net)