Alice to spend 2 Christmas Days

Thanks to different time zones, Alice Dixson will be spending two Christmas Days this year. She arrived last Wednesday from Vancouver where she and husband Ronnie Miranda (a “web whiz”) have been staying for almost 10 years, which is the number of years they’ve been married. She’s leaving on Thursday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day, and she’s arriving in Vancouver also on the same day.

“So, dalawang araw ang Christmas Days ko,” smiled Alice who looked as pretty as ever, retaining her 1986 Bb. Pilipinas-International figure. (She and Ronnie don’t have a child.) “I’m spending the first Christmas Day here with my mom and the second Christmas Day in Vancouver with Ronnie. Isn’t it nice?”

The last time Alice came home three years ago, she attended to family matters (disposal of some properties, etc.) after her father died. She also didn’t stay long.

“My mom cannot travel far, so I have to be the one to come here,” said Alice.

In Vancouver, Alice works for RF/Max Advantage Realty of which she’s the (licensed) assistant. The Business Adminstration degree she earned at San Sebastian College comes in handy. But before becoming a full-time realtor, Alice for a while worked as an apprentice at a TV station in Vancouver.

Asked which is harder, being a realtor or being an actress, Alice said it’s being the former.

“As an actress, all you have to do is memorize your lines and ‘feel’ your role,” explained Alice (who got a Best Actress nomination for her performance as the title role in Regal Films’ My Other Woman, with Christopher de Leon and Lani Mercado). “As a realtor, you have to be good at convincing a client to buy, and it’s not really that easy.”

Four years ago, Alice announced that she was quitting showbiz and joining Ronnie for good in Vancouver. That was after she starred in the GMA soap Ang Iibigin ay Ikaw with Lorna Tolentino among her co-stars. The experimental set-up — Ronnie there and Alice here — didn’t work.

And what would make Alice change her mind, a juicy offer maybe?

“I will make up my mind when that situation comes up,” said Alice.

(Note: For more on Alice Dixson, The Revilla Clan and other “hot” showbiz issues, tune in to tonight’s edition of The Ricky Lo Exclusives, 8:30 to 9:30 on Q-11.)

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The poem that made Boots & Willie’s fans cry

My favorite Sunday afternoon habit is listening to the DZMM radio program Music & Memories (2 to 4 p.m., hosted by Boots Anson-Roa and Willie Nepomuceno) which brings back the good old days. I love the old, familiar songs that Boots and Willie play in-between recollection of yesteryear, shared by listeners (also including, among others, ABS-CBN PR man Bong Osorio, Pete Lacaba and Chanda Romero) who call in their own interesting in-puts, especially in the trivia portion.

Last Sunday, Boots and Willie made their listeners (this one included) cry when they read a poem titled My First Christmas in Heaven, written by a 13-year-old boy named Ben who died on Dec. 14, 1997 of a brain tumor that he had battled for four years. According to the Internet, Ben gave the poem to his mom before he died.

Because he’s grieving for his father who died a few months ago, Willie requested Boots to read the poem lest he break down on air if he did. Also still grieving over the death of her husband Pete Roa last year, Boots was herself overcome with emotion.

I promised Boots and Willie, and Music & Memories listeners, that I would print the poem so that parents who have lost a child and, for that matter, other people who have lost loved ones recently or even years ago can rest assured that their dear departed may be happier up there than they ever were down here.

My first Christmas in Heaven

By Ben

I see the countless Christmas trees

around the world below

With tiny lights like Heaven’s stars,

reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular,

please wipe away the tear

For I am spending Christmas with

Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs

that people hold so dear

But the sounds of music can’t compare

with the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you,

the joy their voices bring,

For it is beyond description,

to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,

I see the pain inside your heart.

But I am not so far away,

We really aren’t apart.

So be happy for me, dear ones,

You know I hold you dear.

And be glad I’m spending Christmas

with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift,

from my heavenly home above,

I sent you each a memory

of my undying love.

After all love is a gift

more precious than purest gold.

It was always most important

in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other,

as my Father said to do.

For I can’t count the blessing or love

he has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and

wipe away that tear.

Remember, I am spending Christmas with

Jesus Christ this year.

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Edu on ‘red alert’ vs MMFF pirates

Like last year, OMB (Optical Media Board) chairman Edu Manzano (photo) has put his office on ‘red alert’ against pirates of the eight entries of the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), namely Regal Films’ Shake, Rattle & Roll 10 and Desperadas 2, Maverick Films’ Magkaibigan, Viva Films/Bida Foundation’s Baler, M-ZET Film’s Iskul Bukol: 20 Years Later, Star Cinema’s Ang Tanging Ina N’yong Lahat, Cutting Edge Productions’ Dayo and Canary Films’ One Night Only.

‘I have mobilized my team,’ Edu told Funfare. ‘Last year, not ony of the entries was pirated during the three-week Metro Filmfest.’

However, Edu admitted that it becomes a bit hard to track the pirates once the MMFF entries are shown outside of Metro Manila, that’s why last year, barely a week after the 2007 Metro Filmfest ended, pirated copies of DVDs containing all the entries flooded the market.

‘But we will be even more vigilant this year,’ promised Edu.

And, I’m sure, until early 2010 when he will make a very important announcement. Stay tuned.

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