A tip for US visa applicants

The ceiling fans are swirling like electronic grasshoppers, ventilating this section of the US Embassy, where I am sitting in one of the benches similar to the ones you see in school gymnasiums except that these ones are well scrubbed and nicely painted. They are hard and temporary refuge to fidgety, excited, nervous assess who all want to go to the US. Overeager eyes are glued to the electronic billboard where numbers are flashed to signify that one can proceed to the next stage which is finger scanning.

A big guy in black polo shirt is yawning beside a bored wife. The wife is mindlessly reading all the numbers that come out of the electronic billboard. A young couple was fighting boredom with jack en poy to the consternation of a very nervous elderly lady who was praying the Holy Rosary and coiffed like a Hermana Mayor. Her perfume wafted in the air like the devil’s wrath. It kept me awake as a nasty migraine was surreptitiously creeping into my head.

Most people are nervous when applying for a US visa. Horrible stories about people selling ancestral properties, chicken and the greenest sitaw at ampalaya to be able to come up with "enormous" savings account. Some even borrow money for a day or beg banks for certification to certify that they have money but can’t have the money that they have just to secure a US visa.

Some people even rehearse interviews. What are the possible questions and how does one answer them properly. If there were leakages available, I am sure they’d sell like hotcakes, and cellphone cards. And the Senate and Congress would be investigating in aid of legislation the nervous, the weak of hearing when talking to American consuls who can hardly be understood sometimes. Not their fault, but when one is nervous, he doesn’t hear a thing, except a buzz that seems to come from limbo or hell. I think people should realize that applying for a US visa, one has to be true to himself. "Be natural," Nanay would say. And she is right, she’s got a five-year visa.

Unforgettable musical scores

One of the most interesting things about watching a movie is listening to its musical score. Who can forget the film scores of Star Wars, Deer Hunter, Godfather, The Thomas Crown Affair, Love Story, Dr. Zhivago, Chicago, The Sound of Music, Ghost, The Graduate, etc.? These movies are unforgettable and so are their music. Dr. Zhivago had Somewhere My Love, Ghost with Unchained Melody, The Thomas Crown Affair with Windmills of Your Mind, The Sound of Silence for The Graduate. And one of the most successful composers of film scores ever produced in the history of movie making is French composer Maurice Jarre. Jarre made impressive music scores which eventually won for him the Academy for Best Music Score for the movies, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago and a Passage to India.

Lately, I watched again Dr. Zhivago by British director David Lean. I was not born yet when the book authored by Boris Pasternak was released and became a best seller. Dr. Zhivago is one of the best films I have ever seen. It is long (close to four hours) but watching the film is very engaging. And since it is a lengthy movie, it was but nice and appropriate to have an intermission. And during this period theme song from the movie is played.

Long ago, watching movies was different. After the first reel of film which was close to one hour is shown, people would leave their seats to go to the bathroom. And at the lobby, music of the film was played. And once the music was finished, it was time to go inside the theater again.

Jarre wrote music mainly for the orchestra. He has also been nominated for several Academy awards (aside from the three that he won) in the movies, Ghost, Gorillas in our Mist, and The Message. He has also won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for A Walk in the Clouds and Best Original Musical Score from the British Academy for the movie Dead Poets Society that starred Robin Williams and the young Ethan Hawk.

Tony Orlando Greatest Hits Live

Tony Orlando, the singer whose signature hit Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree which became the theme song of the Cory Aquino years and the EDSA 1, is coming to Manila for a concert on Oct. 20 at the Araneta Coliseum. Billed as the Tony Orlando Greatest Hits Live, the concert will officially kick-off the nine-nation Asian tour that also covers Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul.

Tony Orlando started his musical career with Five Gents, a group he organized. And while working as vice president of CBS Records, he was asked to put his voice on a demo record for a song entitled Candida. The song was released under the band named Dawn and became a big hit. It was followed by Knock Three Times which became No. 1 in the US and UK and the top song in the Billboard Hot 100 list of 1971. Orlando then gave up his career with CBS to launch his pop group called Tony Orlando and the Dawn. He recorded Tie A Yellow Ribbon which became a phenomenal hit. And the rest they say, is history. For tickets, call Ticketnet at 911-5555.