Quick Poem For Pacquiao…

 

So the thing I want to write about this week is Manny Pacquiao. For those that don’t know who he is, he’s a professional boxer and he had a big fight this weekend… and won! He became the first boxer to win a championship in 8 different weight classes and has put him amongst the greatest boxers off all time… and the great thing about this is the fact he’s Filipino.

You have to understand why this is important to me and my whole community… He’s become the most famous Filipino ever! I mean the last time our community was getting any shine in the world media was because of Imelda Marcos and her shoe collection… that wasn’t something you can necessarily be proud of. When I came to this town of Hollywood, I would audition and casting people would ask me what ethnicity I was, and when I would tell them I was Filipino, there would be a blank expression on their face… they didn’t even know what that was. And of course there were no roles for Filipinos. My career and resume was built on playing everything from every kind of Latin to every kind of Asian. Being Filipino is made up of both the Latin and Asian culture I was able to relate to both and play both well on camera… and believe me, I’ve always been thankful for that.

But now that a Filipino has risen to true greatness in the world, I am proud. It’s no secret that growing up in America and in the American media and entertainment, were living in a white world (or more politically correct, Caucasian world). Were bombarded by white images, but also other communities have their stars, Black and Latino stars. There of course are great movie stars and athletes, and have rightfully become American heros… I’m just happy to see one of my community rise to greatness and be amongst the best that ever were. I know in my own way I’ve been pioneering in the entertainment field and hope to succeed more throughout my career, but I have to applaud the man for all he’s accomplished.

I wish my grandfathers were alive… They were both proud men… I would have really liked to watch a Pacquiao fight with them and see how they would root on their countryman…. they’re kababayan.

A Poem Called Give

A Poem Called Give…

 

Here’s a poem for you all to check out. You can pick up a copy of my book “Dante’s Poetry Lounge” at dantebasco.com

The New Avatar Series!!!

For all you Avatar: The Last Airbender Fans… I’m talking about to the ones who love the animated series. I just want to give you a heads up… I just recorded an episode today in which I play a character that is a big surprise… (at least it was to me) & I must say it was so great to be back in that world and seeing a bunch of the old crew, including the Director Andrea Romano, the creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko… I love you guys. Even seeing our sound engineer, Justin and Shannon in casting was great. Its like a family reunion. I did miss Mae Whitman and sent her a text from the sound booth.

But to the die hard fans, I don’t think you will be disappointed with the new series… I think its going to be amazing and I’m just honored to be apart of it again.

Long live the Benders from all Four Elements… but especially the Fire Nation!

Been Neglecting the Blog…

OK, it seems like I haven’t been blogging for a while… Yeah, I’ve been a bit busy lately. Haven’t written since August when I was in Hawaii. I have a goal to keep up on this thing, I’m going to be throwing up new blogs every Monday. Problem is, sometimes I don’t know exactly what to write about, call it writers block if you want, I just don’t want to write about aimless things. So if your reading this and you have any ideas of what I should write about, let me know. It can help inspire me. Truth is, I love writing and I can use all the help I can get, even if it’s a topic we don’t agree on, I’m down for a good discussion about it all.

So let’s catch up on what’s been going on with me. I shot a film in Hawaii called, “Broke”, in which I play the lead, an amateur pimp in streets of Waikiki. Its film about the dark side of paradise. The experience of shooting in Hawaii was amazing, it really felt like home away from home. The people treated me like a local boy and the crew of the film was top-notch. The local crew was headed by a local director named James Sereno, we had a great time in shooting what I hope to be the first of many films out there. When I got home I changed agents and immediately booked a guest starring role on CSI:Miami… Shooting that show was a trip. I have to admit I had a great time. My first day on the set I get welcomed by being chased through the streets, slammed on the ground with guns to my neck, man, Caruso is intense. David Caruso has quite a reputation around town, one thing I can say is he is an intense guy and intense actor. I’ve been a fan of his from his “King of New York” days, if you haven’t seen that film, it is a must see. Not only do you get to see Christopher Walken in a classic performance, you get to see Caruso, Wesley Snipes and Laurence Fishbourne as young actors tearing it up. So, coming on the set of CSI, I definitely respected the guy and he showed me love. Yeah, he rewrote the scenes and fought to change some of the set ups, but it was all to improve the story. All I can say is it was memorable… and I am honored to have shot the 200th episode of the show as well as getting the chance to work with a true icon. For me Caruso is an iconic television actor up there with likes of television icons I got to work with like, Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven, Will Smith on Fresh Prince, and I even got to work with John Ritter when we both guest starred on Touched By an Angel.

There’s great television these days, right now as I’m writing this blog, I’m watching “Boardwalk Empire”… brilliant show, I haven’t missed an episode yet. The shows I’m watching right now besides that are “Bored to Death”, “Eastbound & Down”… I got some other guilty pleasure shows, but I rather not say them for fear of embarrassing myself.

Beyond that, I think were caught up… It’s the end of the year and were starting the Holiday Season… I’ll see you next week.