Competing in London

Eleven-year-old Alex Quicho, who migrated with her parents to Vancouver, Canada almost two years ago, keeps doing them and her homeland proud.

Last year she submitted a 600-word essay as a requirement in class at Collingwood School in British Columbia, where she’s in Year 6. Obviously, her primary education at the British School in Alabang has served her in good stead. So has the close supervision provided by her mother, Rita Feliciano Quicho. Then of course there’s the smart-aleck genes passed on by her Dad, the man-about-world Bubot Quicho.

Alex’s essay was entered by her school in the Royal Commonwealth Society Essay Competition 2000-2001. Months later, Rita received a call from Collingwood, telling her that her daughter’s essay had won first prize in the province-wide contest. It had been a first for Collingwood, which was so proud of Alex Quicho’s feat that it honored her on a special day in school. Alex’s essay has since been forwarded to the finals of the Commonwealth-wide Prizes to be judged in London.

Our good friend Bubot was beside himself with the news the last time he was here in Manila. He received the good word by e-mail, and instantly shared it with us. Next time he came, he promised, he’d show us the winning essay.

Well, Bubot’s back, as always. Rather frequent has been his shuttling of late between Vancouver and Manila, we suspect for some covert international intelligence work, but which he stoutly denies when we ask. The grin that attends the denial is a live give-away, however.

His front this time is the resurrection of Giraffe, that sexy bar on 6750 Ayala Ave. which closed down last year, much to the chagrin of the dusk-to-dawn party set.

It’s changed identity, interiors, character. A partnership between Mr. Quicho, the first-ever Filipino GM of an international hotel chain (Hyatt), and Mr. Antonio O. Cojuangco AKA Tony Boy, the primus inter pares among la grande dame Imelda Cojuangco’s scions, the nightspot with the prime location has been renamed Dreambar. Officially, it’s dreambar@6750ayala. Or so says the new logo.

Well, Bubot and Tony had the smarts to select Wendy Fernando Regalado to redo the interiors, and Gerry Leonardo to execute some hanging sculptural pieces. Held last Tuesday was a soft opening of sorts of Dreambar, where Bubot Q. of the high EQ finally handed us his daughter’s winning essay.

It came with drawings that were part of the computer-designed layout. Another, recent work of hers was enclosed, a children’s story with illustrations, titled "Seven Years of Sun, Two Hours of Rain." Well, we’re impressed. The precocious and good-looking Alex certainly has a future as a writer and an artist.

Here’s sharing the prize-winning essay, "Furry Art," by Alex Quicho of Vancouver, B.C., Canada:

My hobby is drawing furry art. There are two main categories in this type of art: Anthromorphic and Redwall. I usually prefer Redwall to Anthro. Much of my art is done in voluminous sketchbooks, but occasionally I draw on plain computer paper. I also have various characters, which I role-play often.

Furry is a particularly current style of art, and was inspired by the Redwall series, which is written by the phenomenal Brian Jacques. The drawings in the Anthromorphic, or Anthro, category are furries who walk upright, have human anatomy and wear normal (or eccentric) clothing. Furries are creatures of a variety of different species that fit into the Furry Art style. The Redwall category is similar to Anthro; though furries are dressed in medieval clothing and usually carry fitting weapons. The species in this category are commonly restricted to animals mentioned in the Redwall series, or species that reside in the United Kingdom, where the series is set.

My drawings are usually done in my thick sketchbooks, or on pieces of loose paper that I file into a binder. Some of my art are done on a tablet, which is an awesome device that I connect to my computer. It enables me to draw, color and edit pictures digitally. There are several web galleries for furry artists, including the three most popular, Yerf, Side7 and the Vixen Controlled Library (VCL). I upload my best artwork onto Side7.com for the world to see!

Each furry artist has numerous characters in both categories, which they use in literature, art and on Role Playing websites. My characters are Longlegs Galewind Swiftfoot, who is a spunky, good-natured Redwallian hare, and Rippscarr the Black, a fun-loving, vermin Redwallian stoat. I use both in all three options, but mainly on Role-playing boards.

In Role-playing I simply pretend to be another character, and plunge into another world. There are Message Boards, where the Webmaster creates various settings for me to role-play my characters in, and Quest Boards, where I can embark on a glorious fictional journey, full of dangers and perils. All of this is done by merely typing, but can be entrancing if my fellow players are talented and descriptive enough.

There are various artists around the world, ranging from experienced artists to amateur drawers. Some are spectacular professionals, who work hard at a piece for days – even months! Others just do their best, and produce their rendition of a certain character. Of course, ability comes with practice. I, for one, am somewhere in between.

Furry art is not a particularly difficult form of artistry, though it has its pros and cons. It can be increasingly frustrating when I try to get the correct proportions, though I usually never bother. Headfur, or hair, is entirely optional, and I do not draw this on. A tuft of long fur on the forehead suffices. My favorite part of drawing furries is creating its personality. I can give them bold eyes, eccentric fur or a roguish smile. Sometimes I create them to fit into a story, or as a subject of poetry, but most often it’s just plain, fun randomness.

Redwallian furries often are drawn with swords, bows and other such weapons. Sometimes, it is amusing to create completely different weapons, or to draw exotic ones. Drawing their clothing is entertaining, too (from rags to tunics to robes). Sketching backgrounds is challenging but pleasurable – the vivid colors and sprawling trees suck you into the Redwall world.

Anthromorphic furries are similar, but are clad in everyday clothing, ranging from neat uniforms to scruffy jeans. Punk furries are becoming increasingly popular.

Thus, Furry Art is a world of entertainment, of the mind and imagination. It is becoming increasingly popular, and is a truly wonderful hobby!

This week, taking place in London is another competition, the International Public Speaking Contest administered by The English Union, where a couple of young Filipinos are also likely to do us proud.

Over a month ago, as you may have read in this space, the Steering Committee of the ESU-Philippines applicant chapter conducted an inter-university contest to determine our student representatives.

Copping first and second places, respectively, were 19-year-old Ryan "K.C." Buenafe of Far Eastern University and 18-year-old Mahar Mangahas of Ateneo de Manila University.

Well, thanks to a substantial grant from Ayala Corporation, a partial sponsorship from Air France, and with considerable help from Sierra Tours, both Buenafe and Mangahas are joining the international competition at Dartmouth House.

The theme for the five-minute speeches is "Ecology and Economy." Having heard both boys expound on the topic, and seeing how they’ve been trained excellently by their respective mentors in their school’s debating societies, we have reason to believe that our Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Hon. Cesar Bautista, will be sporting a wide smile by the weekend.

The Philippine Embassy’s Information Officer, multi-awarded poet-writer-dramatist Edgardo Maranan – he who’s running a race for most number of Palanca plums with playwright, scenarist and children’s story writer Rene Villanueva – has also been of great help in this our initial participation in The English Union activities.

Here’s wishing Ryan and Mahar success in representing what’s always been claimed as the third largest English-speaking country in the world, but which language standards have been falling precipitously of late, as may be gleaned from reports on the Department of Education, as well as our OFWs.

Some weeks back Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu wrote a passionate and well-articulated letter to the editor in this paper, decrying our falling standards in speaking and writing in English.

We of the Philippines applicant chapter of The English Speaking Union hope that our participation in the mother organization’s year-round activities will be a positive first step toward rectifying the situation.

Thanks again to FEU Chair Dr. Lourdes Montinola, Mr. & Mrs. Mahar Mangahas who advanced the expenses for their son, Messrs. Jaime Zobel and Jaime Augusto Zobel, Sierra Tours and Air France for their interest and assistance in making our participation in the London competition possible.