Careful, careful... ‘Big Brother’ is watching!

Curtain-raisers:
• A macho actor (often linked to another actor) maybe doesn’t know that his former gay benefactor (let’s call him "Big Brother") has rented near his new digs in Quezon City a "secret hideaway" equipped with a high-tech hidden camera to monitor the actor’s comings and goings. Their affair has ended but the gay benefactor is still pining (er, lusting?) for the actor who, if he only knew, should be careful because "Big Brother" is watching his every movement.

• A few years ago when his romance with Ara Mina started being talked about, Jomari Yllana told a friend, "Pag hinalikan ko si Ara, e di para ko nang hinahalikan si Chuck (Mathay, Ara’s biological father). Di ba magkamukhang-magkamukha sila?" That was then. Now, just when the issue involving him, Ara and ex-wife Aiko Melendez has died down, Jomari has started opening up (finally, finally!) on his relationship with Ara (at last Sunday’s S-Files) and, in the process, reopening old wounds. Shouldn’t he better just shut up?

• Asked what advice he could give former sweetheart Snooky Serna and husband Ricardo Cepeda, Albert Martinez said, "They should settle their differences in the bedroom..." and not on national television, that is. Good advice.

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A Funfare California DPA reports on a little incident at the Pistahan sa Nayon in San Francisco where Judy Ann Santos stole the thunder from Paolo Montalban without her trying nor meaning to.

According to the DPA, the mostly-Filipino crowd went wild and crazy when Judy Ann showed up as one of the star guests. She was mobbed on her way from the stage to the ABS-CBN booth to sign autographs.

The crowd, who patiently queued for Judy Ann’s autograph, completely forgot that Paolo was onstage singing to almost near-empty seats. Poor Paolo, the true professional that he is, gamely finished his song even if the fans were not there to applaud him.

The fans were impressed with Judy Ann’s honestly when, asked why she has stopped co-hosting A.S.A.P. Mania, she smiled, "Magpaka-totoo tayo; hindi po ako singer."

Added the DPA, "Judy Ann is much prettier in person. We love her for being so humble and accommodating."

Insider Is Good Viewing

ABS-CBN’s Insider (which replaced Headlines) is barely two-weeks old and already, it’s getting rave reviews. Unlike its predecessor which looked like a repetition of the 6 o’clock TV Patrol (hosted by Korina Sanchez), Insider, anchored by Karen Davila and Cito Beltran, doesn’t just report the news but, true to its title, digs deeper and goes behind the news. It’s in-depth reportage at its best, bringing televiewers behind the headlines with relentless objectivity.

Karen and Cito prove to be a perfect blend; they’re just right as Insider anchors.

Seen every night and heard on dzmm (with Vic de Leon Lima late afternoons) Monday through Friday, Karen makes people wonder how she could be so TV-visible and attend to "mothering" her five-month-old son David Joshua (by husband, David Jude Sta. Ana, also with the ABS-CBN News & Public Affairs). "Time management," said Karen. "I often bring my son to work, along with his yaya."

For convenience, David (Jude) and Karen are renting a place near ABS-CBN.

Incidentally, did you know Cito Beltran was "designated" heir to his late father Louie Beltran’s legacy as a hard-hitting journalist?

During Louie’s cremation, a relative good-humoredly asked the Beltran children to try on their late father’s sombrero – you know, like the Prince Charming in Cinderella looking for his ladylove by letting ladies in the land try a shoe she left behind at the ball the night before.

Anyway, when Cito tried the sombrero, it fitted perfectly, swak na swak, making everybody conclude that Cito was "it" (Louie’s rightful "heir").

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