Filipino-American Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Mark Munoz Makes Professional Debut June 1st in Sacramento, CA

Pro Pinoy MMA Fighter Debuts
By Joseph Pimentel Asianjournal.com

FilAm Mark Muñoz wakes up at 7 am like any family man to start his day. He cooks breakfast for his family. He drives his four kids to school.

After he kisses them goodbye, the other Muñoz comes out. Like a superhero, Muñoz has an alter-ego - a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Standing an even 6 feet and weighing 205 pounds, the 30-year-old Vallejo resident is bigger than most typical Filipinos. And come Sunday, June 1 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Muñoz will do something that only one other Filipino has done - step into the octagon. "I’m bringing the Filipino culture to MMA," he said in an exclusive interview with the Asian Journal. Muñoz makes his professional debut for the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) organization as a light heavyweight. He faces Charles Grigsby, a 6’6" behemoth with a 13-3 record. The show will be aired on the Versus Network. The odds are against Muñoz but that’s something that he’s used to.

Early Rise

Born in Japan, Muñoz grew up in Vallejo, CA. He dreamt of playing professional football but had to reconsider after he broke his leg in a freak accident during a high school summer camp. After recovering, he found solace on the wrestling mat. He won two California State Wrestling Championships in high school and earned a full scholarship at wrestling powerhouse Oklahoma State University (OSU).

Read more here at AsianJournal.com....

Alec Mapa From ABC's TV Show Ugly Betty Talks About Gay Marriage Equality In California

Same-sex marriage has just been declared legal in California. Did you have a ceremony?

Yes, we did, and now it's legal. As of an hour or so ago. I just got (on) the phone with him right before I talked to you and he was yelling at me for not picking up the phone too. We've been together for six years; we've been married for two.

Did you get married in Canada?

No, we had a marriage ceremony here in our house. We figured, fuck it, we're not going to wait for the law. There's no law against making a public commitment to your, you know, spouse. So we did it and we registered for gifts. I've been saying that the people in retail are at the forefront in the fight for marriage equality, because we registered at Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel and Macy's and nobody batted an eyelash. On the registration forms at all three of those stores, it now says, not just "bride or groom"; it also says "registrant or co-registrant." I predict that in a couple of years it's going to say "top or pig bottom."

What of those folks who are neither?

Then we will have to come up with different distinctions.

So are you going to remarry?

I don't know. We're kind of on the fence this morning. I'm so ... I don't know what to expect. I've come to expect either thing: I would have been disheartened if the ruling hadn't passed, but I wouldn't have been surprised, because I've seen the political pendulum swing back and forth so many times; I'm thrilled that it has.

My partner and I talked about it. We've been registered as domestic partners, for I don't know how long. We've been together for 29 years in November.

Holy shit. What's your secret?

Short-term memory on my partner's part. I wake him up every morning and introduce myself.

That's good. Kind of like Drew Barrymore in "Fifty First Dates."

I did the Atlantis Cruises all last year; I did about seven of them and I met a lot of couples who have been together 20, 30 years and there just seems to be this kind of genius compatibility and the ability to forgive. The ability to kind of not ... My mom would always say when we were growing up and we were fighting, "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" So I asked my husband the other day, when we were having a spat, "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" And he said, "I want to be right!"

Read more here at Gay.com....

Arnel Pineda From Journey Appears On Ellen Degeneres Show

Arnel Pineda from Journey finally appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show. Arnel has an awesome voice. Some parts give me goosebumps just by listening to his high notes.

Rob Schneider Appearance on Jay Leno - Hillarious!

Rob Schneider recently made an appearance on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show. It's really hilarious because he doesn't hold back with his graduation class of 2008 congratulatory speech. If you watch the whole video towards the end he mentions his Asian heritage. Normally he refers to himself as a Filipino.

Eskrima Grand Master in the US

Doce pares eskrima kali
by hiholdac

By SANNY LEVISTE
Filipinas Magazine

Alfredo "Fred" Bandalan is the first Filipino American to become a Doce Pares Grand Master.

The legacy of Bandalan’s grandfather

The old man was so predictable. He would walk through his vegetable gardens, the pineapples and the fighting cocks on his way to the barn. In the barn, the young boy, Fred, would surreptitiously watch his grandfather attending to the animals. He would then pick up a stick, sneak up on the old man and poke him on the side. His grandfather would instantly spin to a defensive/offensive stance, do some intricate moves then shout at the laughing boy, "demonyo ka (you devil)!"

Fred’s grandfather, Pedro Blanco, was doing eskrima, a martial art form indigenous to the Philippines that uses sticks or swords as weapons. Though he would proudly do demonstrations during family gatherings, the old man felt that it was too dangerous for his young grandson to learn.

Little did he know that Fred was already picking up on the techniques from watching his grandfather and other Filipinos in Hawaii, young and old, who would often engage in play skirmishes using rolled newspapers as simulated weapons.

Bandalan was born in Lanai, Hawaii in 1936. His father was from Leyte and his mother, like his grandfather, was from Mandaue, Cebu.

Read more here at ABS-CBN....