Talent manager off to the US for ‘mission impossible’

By the time you read this, the pretty talent manager should be in the States undergoing what she herself described as a "mission impossible" – yes, she (very desperately?) wants to have a baby not by the natural (and therefore more exciting and more satisfying) means but by "in vitro fertilization."

What!?! "In vitro fertilization?" What’s that!?!

Well, that was the same process through which Celine Dion had her baby and, according to some DPAs, a local actress.

As the talent manager painstakingly explained it to Funfare, "in vitro fertilization" involves a long process of injections of "fertility drugs" to increase her egg count (insertion of needle can be done in any part of the body – except where it, well, "matters"). Once an egg is fertilized, it’s taken out of the body and a sperm is extracted from the chosen donor’s body and placed together in a laboratory dish. God willing, a fetus will grow out of the union (knock on wood).

The talent manager, now into her very early ’40s, will have to be bed-ridden throughout the delicate process, just like Celine Dion who rested almost immobile in her million-dollar bed in Canada while patiently waiting for the fertilization of her egg and her husband’s sperm.

"I’ve been so busy with my career that I totally forgot one of my most important purposes in life," the talent manager said sadly, "and that’s to have a baby. I have chosen the donor already and I’m sure that he comes from a good family, with good genes."

Before she left, the talent manager arranged the shooting/taping schedules of her half a dozen talents (including a bold star) and even closed a deal for one of them with a big movie company.

"By next year," she said, again knocking on wood, "I hope to have a baby, so please pray for me. It’s a mission impossible, I know, but there’s nothing impossible with God, is there?"

Well, let’s hope she will have her, well, "impossible dream" realized in the specified period of time. Let’s hope – and pray.

Paolo-Suzi wedding

A few issues ago, Funfare enumerated the names of showbiz couples who have tied the knot this year, one of them GamePlan hosts Paolo Abrera and Suzi Entrata. Reader Yema Liosa requested Funfare to put out more information about Paolo and Suzi’s "sudden" wedding. Here are more info from one of the recent issues of Yes! magazine given to Funfare by its editor, Jo-Ann Q. Maglipon:

The wedding, one of the industry’s "well-kept secrets," was solemnized on May 6, 4 p.m., at the Colegio San Agustin Chapel in Makati City, with Fr. Faton as officiating priest. The reception was held at Sitio Victoria in Intramuros, Manila.

Only around 200 guests were invited to the event. In church, the music was provided by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Quartet. The couple’s friends Vina and Anya sang Moon River and Someone To Watch Over Me. During the reception, the air was filled with songs by The Beatles, Bob Marley and Astrud Gilberto.

Paolo, 30, is the son of Emily and Caloy Abrera; while Suzi (Suzette Ann Entrata), 26, is the daughter of Susan and Oscar Entrata. Paolo and Suzi met and fell in love on the set of GamePlan, the GMA show they’re hosting. A member of the ABS-CBN Talent Center’s Star Circle, Paolo has done movies, one of them Radio Romance.

Among their well-wishers were fellow GMA talents Ryan Agoncillo and girlfriend Nikki Yupangco, Miriam Quiambao (and boyfriend Martin Bernardo, now her "ex"), Lyn Ching and boyfriend Jappy Pascual and the couple’s friends from Ateneo.

Recalled Suzi: "I remember the priest saying that I should take care of my husband, cook for him, clean, be a good housewife… and everyone started laughing because they all knew that Pao is better at taking care of home than I am."

The newly-weds had their honeymoon in Bali, Indonesia. They’re looking forward to moving to their own home soon in Parañaque City.

Little lesson in grammar

Here’s another "little lesson in grammar" from Funfare’s indefatigable educator, reader Ramon Alfonso A. Fuentes ("A Concerned Senior Citizen"):

Greetings:

Congratulations to you! Your effort to call attention to the grammatical monstrosity of "YEAR ANNIVERSARY" appears to be bearing fruit. There have been a number of anniversary supplements that have come out in The Star that did not have the ubiquitous malalocution that such supplements carried in the past.

If you feel accommodating, I wish to mention that there is one, solitary broadcaster – ARIEL AYALA of DZNN – who, in one of his broadcasts, explained to a caller to his program that "TAONG ANIBERSARYO" is wrong and that "anibersaryo" should suffice. That was during his February 25, 1996 broadcast.

It took me this long to give due recognition to Ariel Ayala because it was only a few days ago, while rummaging through my massive files, that I finally found the note that I made when I heard him make the correction back more than five years ago.

I do not know if Ariel Ayala is still with DZNN, but I surmise that he either reads you or has friends who do.

You and I, of course, know that we need more like-minded media professionals to help us in our edification effort.

I thought you’d be pleased to know.

Mabuhay Ang Filipino – Lahing Dakila!

Answers to Sex and the City promo

Here are the answers to the final set of questions (for episode 4) in the tie-up promo between Funfare and HBO’s Sex and the City (telecast Tuesday nights at 10 o’clock on SKY Channel 31 and Home Cable Channel 27):

1. What type of a photo exhibition does Charlotte invite the girls to?

Answer: A gallery opening for an artist who photographs drag kings

2. What do Carrie and her twentysomething boyfriend do on their date?

Answer: Ice-skating

3. What is the name of the guest star whom Carrie kisses during a round of spin-the-bottle?

Answer: Alanis Morisette

(Note: Winners will get Sex and the City Martini glasses. Their names will be published in this corner soon.)