Jack The Scribbler

UNCONFIRMED reports indicate that the company which will own and manage the Philippine edition of Playboy Magazine has already acquired a mansion in an upscale subdivision in Manila. According to the grapevine, this will ensure that no rallies nor demonstrations will be held outside the said mansion, which will also serve as the magazine’s editorial offices. No reports yet whether the mansion will feature Playboy bunnies.

FOR a blog with significantly less hits than a porn site during Good Friday, Nothing in Particular has its fair share of readers, a number of whom, I am proud to say, are accomplished individuals.
Shortly after I began to blog regularly—an acquired taste, especially for someone inured to seeing his pieces printed on paper used for wrapping smoked fish, cleaning windows, and firing up charcoal—I discovered that there were other people, besides my wife, who were interested in what I had to say online.
So I began, however haphazardly, to indulge their fancies by contemplating my dirty navel, among other body parts susceptible to sweat and grime.
As Nothing In Particular’s hits grew—not exponentially but enough to draw an infinite supply of inspiration from—some visitors occasionally posted comments and/or sent email messages in reaction to some of my entries.
Last month, a day or two after American novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr. died, I posted entries which dealt with separate encounters of two people I knew with the author. Turned out I was just half right.
While Ibarra C. Gutierrez, the father of a friend, did have dinner with Vonnegut in New York—a privilege I envy to this day—Butch Dalisay didn’t lose a book which he asked Vonnegut to autograph, as I previously reported.
Sir Butch, who was my English college professor immediately posted a comment and corrected my facts. He said that the book he had autographed and then lost was Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
Meanwhile, a week or two ago, Pete Lacaba, another multi-awarded writer, posted a comment on an entry which said that the editor-in-chief of Playboy’s Philippine edition considered him as among those best suited to write for the magazine.
Although Lacaba raised the possibility that he knew who my source was, he nevertheless asked me where I got my information.
Lacaba, I guess, has more than a passing interest in the matter. After all, years before FHM began to publish its local version, Lacaba was all set to become the editor-in-chief of Penthouse’s Philippine edition. Unfortunately, the deal fell through.
Meanwhile, since I was sworn to secrecy, I told Lacaba in an email that I secured clearance to write about the subject—even in a trifling blog such as this one—because I promised never to mention any person nor entity nor to refer to any of their identifying characteristics.
He hasn’t replied since.
Too bad—I would have wanted to ask him who would have been Penthouse Philippines’ publisher.
But then again, I’m pretty sure that our paths will cross again soon enough.
Lacaba, together with other writers, has launched Salinawit, a project which intends to put Filipino lyrics, usually loose translations, into popular American standards. With this in mind, I’m looking forward to singing Filipino translations of Night and Day, One for My Baby (and one more for the road), and ‘Round Midnight. So how about it, Sir Pete?
But back to Playboy: the Philippine Edition.
Another Palanca awardee, Faye Ilogon, has asked me “why can’t they bring in Playgirl too to level the playing field?”
Hmm…good point, Faye.
Unfortunately, my sources aren’t that deep.
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Graphic above courtesy of www.pczaak.nl

THE Philippine edition of Playboy magazine may soon hit the newsstands. Besides spurring further competition in an already tight market, the publication’s entry into the Philippines may alter the way Filipina models charge fees for photo shoots.
Industry insiders raised the possibility of Playboy producing a local edition after an editor of a local men’s magazine resigned this week. Seeking to confirm this information, Nothing in Particular sent a text message to the said editor but has yet to receive a reply as of this writing.
Speculation regarding Playboy’s foray into the local market was heightened because the said editor, before resigning, asked colleagues who among Filipino writers would be best suited to write for the publication should the magazine decide to release a Philippine edition.
According to a source, among those considered was Pete Lacaba, a multi-awarded writer who, in the late nineties, would have been the editor in chief of Penthouse Magazine’s Philippine edition had negotiations between a local publisher and Penthouse USA pushed through. Penthouse is a rival of Playboy Magazine. According to Wikipedia, Playboy Enterprises, a company created to manage the magazine of the same name recently acquired Clubjenna Inc., the company behind clubjenna.com, the official website of adult entertainment actress, Jenna Jameson. With the acquisition, Playboy has become one of the United States largest producers of pornography, Wikipedia said.
Meanwhile, the same source said that Playboy’s local entry will change the way men’s magazine publishing is undertaken in the Philippines. Since the publication may pay for its models, especially those who agree to pose for its signature centerfold, local men’s magazines may be forced to enter into financial arrangements with models who make it to their covers.
Currently, models who are featured on the cover of any one of the two popular men’s magazines—both of which are local franchises of foreign publications—are not paid for their photo shoots since being featured in the magazine will boost their popularity further. Meanwhile, models who pose for the inside pages are paid a maximum of P2,500 (approximately $52) per shoot. The source did not give details regarding the publication date of Playboy’s local edition and the name of the cover model.