A Chaster's Experience in Las Vegas

By: Lola Elrem

It was a crisp early Thursday morning, the 29th of September 2011, when I left YYZ (Pearson Toronto Intl Airport) to fly to Las Vegas not only to watch Charice sings at the David Foster and Friends Concert; but to meet with other chasters. I arrived at the McCarran Airport (LAS) at 11AM to a hot dry weather towering the 90’s. I almost fainted while waiting for a shuttle to take me to the ORLEANS Hotel -- where a good chaster-benefactor awaited me at the lobby. I was the earliest chaster to arrive in town, per Aloha-Sailor’s roster of Chasters-coming-to-Vegas-to-watch-DFF.

Evening of Thursday: while trying my luck at the nickel-slots, a miracle did happen. No I didn’t win, LOL! It was my kumare whom I haven’t seen for 23 years and she won a jackpot! She offered me to join her to the Grand Canyons on her own expense, so we could bond more. Isn’t that wonderful?

Friday the 30th, off I toured the Grand Canyons; at the same time that Aloha Sailor flew in from Seattle. He said he was hoping to barge into my hotel room; but I was not answering my hotel phone, well because I was like 250 miles away. Chasters were one by one arriving in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

Early morning Saturday, first day of October, I was down at the Orleans coffee shop for breakfast and free WIFI connections. A lady came up to me and asked, ARE YOU LOLA ELREM? She was a New York chaster! Then a group of L.A. chasters approached me, ARE YOU LOLA ELREM? And much later two ladies who claimed to be from Ohio looked at my face and asked – ARE YOU LOLA ELREM? and my reply was, how did you know it was me? And their usual answer was “BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZED YOUR FACE”. OMC .. I am famous here in Las Vegas :zap: (And mind you, each group that came up to me fed me. That was nice! J )

Thanks to the postings of Deadly Sweet on dates and venues of the Chaster meetings in Las Vegas, chasters were well informed.

First CHASTER meeting, the Raffles coffee shop at the Mandalay Bay hotel, from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M.
I warily walked into that eating crowd of seemingly chaster-looking-people; slowly I did just to make sure I am coming to the right group and not into total strangers. And even before I had figured out who was whom, thischaster-looking-people cheered – LOLA ELREM! LOLA ELREM! And a young man who looked like UCLA-JAY welcomed me with open arms and an ear to ear smile. OMC I didn’t even have the chance to introduce myself and they know me already?? :zap:

A gracious host that he was, UCLA-JAY named the chasters : TE33 of Hawaii, Sideburner Sol of LA, gussy, the L.A. girls who adopted me at the Orleans; FOGH of Denmark, ALOHA-SAILOR, EDDIE formerly of LA, EBJ of Minnesota, ATE-FE of Nevada; JAZZY of LA; this pretty Thai chaster whose name I couldn’t recall; Christine-Di of LA; Ruby of NY who saw me at the Orleans Coffee Shop; Penny of Ohio; the ever-present Angelia of RI opkors who else; NYChaster, Sweete, Doc Ed, Arz Bayani; and the big surprise of all -- the pretty ABBonita who flew in from PI!!!!

From that gathering, we trooped into the Concert Arena. Sir David Foster as usual started narrating his musical life; first introduced Kenny Loggins. Then he broke protocol by calling in whom else but our dear princess Charice. My heart leaped when Cha walked in and began singing the Power of Love by Celine. She treated the song differently and I admired the way she wove into the song; then my tears started welling.. oh my Lord my Charice is serenading me again. Cha followed it with Toni Braxton’s UN-BREAK MY HEART. David Foster explained that it was the first time Charice sang the song and called her once again a laser beam. Then Bruno Mars’ BEFORE IT EXPLODES; and ended it up with Michael Jackson’s EARTH SONG. Her finale was so powerfully sang; I was welling in tears again!

Charice had to sing earlier in the show because she had to fly to Japan, yes to the other side of the globe where she came from a day ago. Wow! I am almost tempted to think that Charice is not human LOL! What ordinary human being, much more a little girl (yeah, DF and Oprah call her THE LITTLE GIRL), that petite girl to render a flawless performance with such power and emotion – live; after flying 20 hours from the other side of the globe. Who else? No one else but our special girl that GIFT FROM GOD, our dear Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco.

The programme ended quickly, as I thought it did, because all that mattered to me was Charice. I am so biased, but indeed because no other singer had that kind of magnetic charm enough to uproot me from the comforts of Toronto and fly me into hot Las Vegas just to watch her perform. No one, and nobody else except Charice.

After the concert, the happy chasters transferred to the California hotel where we had the oxtail soup a.k.a. bulalo. Yes Virginia, we had the graveyard menu so called BULALO at midnightime. It was fun teaching the non-pinoys how to pronounce BULALO the Filipino way. More chasters joined us, Anthony and his group from Utah, Starbucks and his wife; and our beloved DJ-DRAKE!! We were one bunch of noisy ever-hungry chasters exchanging opinions of how the concert went.

We broke ranks at past 2A.M.. Eddie of now Bay Area, was very gentlemanly driving some of us back to our respective hotels, especially lola.

Sunday the 2nd, the chasters once again met at the Asian Buffet for lunch. Yes again Virginia, another eating-meeting for chasters and lotsa picture taking! LDMovies and his wife finally made it to the gathering. Some members were flying back to their respective nests hours from there but we just couldn’t bear separating ways. Our love for Charice had forged our friendship, and nothing can take us away from loving her the way we do.

For all chasters out there who were not able to join us -- you were with us in spirits. I hope this little narrative of mine would give you an idea what a happy meeting we had in that little town that literally never sleeps, that desert city called LAS VEGAS.

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The Little Dynamo from Asia - CHARICE

By: Camo

Image by α is for äpΩL † via Flickr

I am here lying in bed recovering from surgery and watching these amazing videos of Charice from her various events and cannot help but be overwhelmed how she inspires us all. this dynamo of a talent from Asia continues to wow the world with her talent and oozes the epitome of confidence and humility. Just recently she was awarded the BPNOY AWARD in her country for her philanthropic efforts and the PIs version off Hollywood star. Now she has been recognized as she should be, well its just about time.

Having said that there are still some ignorant and Pinoy haters who go out of their way to make hateful twitter, facebook accounts and every social networking site they can find to denigrate one of their own. How low these people can be. Maybe they have such miserable lives, they were not taught how to love and give love so they perpetuate the hate and became antagonists. How can they hate someone who has done something in her life to help others while those fools go around spreading hate? All we can do is pray that they will change their ways. They don’t even have to like Charice and haters please get real lives, and in the process don’t have any kids, they may just be like you who don’t know how to love and we are subject to another generation of hate.

Image by α is for äpΩL † via Flickr

Haters you can hate her all you want but Charice will be at the top for a very long time. Charice is being groomed for longevity not a one year wonder, you can’t rush greatness and she is on her way to that. Chasters just pray that she’ll remain healthy and may God give our princess the strength to go further so she can continue to share her talent to us for more years ahead.

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An Open Letter to Charice's Filipino Haters

By: Aeon Jelsey

Image via Wikipedia

I am not into celebrities until I saw and heard Charice sings. It was a curiosity at first when I heard news about this young and petite singer whose belting (BTW “belting” is different from “shouting”) difficult songs. I opened my browser turned to Youtube, search “Charice” and voila! That was the start of my never ending thirst for her performances.

I’ve been using twitter for a very long time now to promote my blog and my followers are mostly writers and poets and to avoid alienating them with my tweets about Charice, I decided to make another twitter account to tweet only about Charice. That’s when I began to see these hate tweets about her. It saddens me that while other nationals praise and rave about Charice, there are some Filipinos that keep on bashing a person who has done nothing but to work hard to realize her dreams. It’s a depressing reality that most of Charice’s haters are Filipinos bashing her looks and scrutinizing her to find even trivial things so they can just say something bad about her.

When I have the time, I analyze twitter profiles of those that are “defaming” Charice. Most are accounts that are just created to tweet nothing but hate towards her, some are students or graduates of some of the expensive private schools in the Philippines which I assume belong to the higher strata of Philippine society. Some are those with Filipino lineage living in other countries.

I am trying to understand those who “trash tweet” Ms. Pempengco because they are fans of some local celebrities but come to think of it they are not helping to promote their idols rather they unconsciously dragging them down.

In the Philippines, some of the students or graduates of “esteemed” universities which are mostly for the privileged few tend to see themselves as above the rest. To speak with them in “lame” English would mean it’s either they’ll laugh at you or ignore you. And so they bash Charice’s accent, the fillers and pronunciations as if she has done a great crime. Why would laugh at someone who can express herself with a foreign language? She may not be as good as the “set standards” made by some elitists, what matter is she’s slowly becoming more articulate. Let me quote myself below.

“ Filipinos are one of the most critical people when it comes to English grammar and sometimes fluency in it is being used a gauge of an individual’s intelligence which is so perverse, when it’s not even their native tongue after all. But when a Filipino stayed in America and would probably adopt the American accent, speaking in English with a foreign accent would invite criticism that this “fella” has forgotten about his/her roots.”

There is a figure of speech use in the Philippines “Sala sa init, sala sa lamig” which means that no matter how you will try to please everyone, they will keep on looking for faults. Charice came to America knowing only basic conversational English but she needs to learn and be fluent with it as it is required for her International career, then she learned fast adopting the accent, what does she got from Filipinos? “Lumaki na raw ang ulo, yumabang na” (she’s a swell-head and conceited) How some Filipinos can be so narrow-minded?

When it comes to musicality it’s hard to find flaws on Charice so the haters went low by criticizing her looks. The Filipino definition of beautiful is so screwed up and kinda shallow. What are the standards of beauty anyway? Is it lighter skin? Then why westerners developed tanning machine? Is it pointed nose? If it is, then majority of Filipinos are ugly. Is it the height? Then most Filipinos can never be beautiful. Charice is the epitome of a pure Filipina beauty but Filipinos are so into western kind of beauty which made them despise their own. I guess TV programs and magazines have changed the perception of the majority of Pinoys towards beauty.

Why can’t they just be happy and be proud of Charice? They don’t have to like her but they can respect her the way they want others to respect them. The problem is most of them are more updated about Charice and are always ahead on every articles and videos about her even beating the “Chasters” (collective term for Charice’s fans). They seem to have made their mission to leave defamatory comments on every articles and youtube videos of Charice. That is so pathetic!

Compilation of my tweets that lead me to write this article:

As long as there are people who love "Real Music" Charice will be in the music industry for a very long time.

All these negativities from some Pinoys are dragging me down, Wise yet ignorant, aware yet blind, critical yet dumb.

Some Filipinos are so dumb that they cannot appreciate their own beauty and the uniqueness of their own heritage. And it saddens me.

I could care less, but the thing is they're not hurting Charice, it's the image of us as a people that's being tarnished.

All things taboo before are becoming way of life these days. And kids are so wise yet ignorant.

You don't have to like her, just respect her, is that hard to do? She’s just a kid living her dreams.

There is a difference between opinion and insult. I may not like everybody but I refrain from insulting anyone.

Joke? I don't consider phrases defaming someone as jokes. Better say nothing at all if you have nothing good to say.


I never imagine this article will be this long and I haven’t said enough. I just wish that these Filipino haters will realize that they are not hurting Charice’s career but blatantly staining the image of Filipinos as a people. When asked by non-Filipino fans why some Filipinos are are so harsh on Charice? I fumble and I’m lost for words because I am asking the same question myself.

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A Chaster's Sentiments

By: Camo

Image via Wikipedia

I have been wanting to say this for some time now .we are all fans of Charice and she calls us her friends; that’s how much she loves and respect her fans. We are trying our best to promote her the best way we can, some work harder than others, but nonetheless it still counts. The Charicemania team has done a lot to make sure we are always updated on the latest events and news concerning our Princess Charice.

Some of the Chasters in the Chat room seems to think they are part of Charice’s team but they are not. We have pseudo stylist, nutritionist makeup artist and the list goes on. We are her fans and we all have opinions on how she should look what she should wear. But has it ever occurred to anyone that she is comfortable in whatever she is wearing. She is a teen still finding her way and still experimenting with her style that’s what all teens do .I have four nieces and am sure you hall have sisters and daughters who do same .

She is being bashed on youtube by the crabs for everything that she does already. This Charicemania fan site was dedicated and created for her so we the fans can come and have fun make friends and talk about Charice in a positive way. Yes we all have opinions and we all disagree at times but this is her fan site, when Chasters come to the site saying how ugly she looks in that or what the hell is she wearing and fire her stylists its deeming her. We are better than that, at the end of the day when Charice opens her laptop and take a peek at Charicemania and see those hurtful words am sure she is sad.

All am asking from Chasters please refrain from saying those things in the Chat room. If you have to vent, go on youtube, facebook, twitter or whatever medium you chose but please I am begging all Chasters please stop the negatives on Charice personal or performance's get ups, she does not need that from her fans, she has heard her entire life how she looks and she will never make it as a star. So my friends as we are in the chat room just enjoy the joy she brings us and people all over the world and not worry about the trivial stuff. She comes once in a generation so please let us show her more love than hate. Thanks everyone.

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If I were Charice

Translated in English by: Lola Elrem

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

If I were Charice here are my questions
Where were you when I was an unknown
Am I obligated to give you attention, or
ask you instead to understand my situation

If I were Charice I don’t need to explain
Even if you say -- my roots I have forgotten,
There is nothing good to remember by in my past
If I am swell-headed, I guess I have all the right to be such

If I were Charice, I should ask you this
- to our country what good did you give
Instead of appreciating all the honour I bid
And therefore help me continue my deed

If I were Charice, I will be very hurt
The treatment I receive from you in return
I carry my seal wherever I go
And proudly say to the world – I AM FILIPINO

If I were Charice, I would move to Japan
There they love and respect me, as if I am their own
Compare that to the insult and pain I get
from my own countrymen, oh it hurts truly hurt!

That is – if I were Charice – but Charice is different
Her humility is admirable, commendable, splendid
She doesn’t keep hurts that is why she is blessed

So instead of bashing Charice
we should be proud of our princess
Especially to the Filipino media, who do always say
... “yes it is our duty, the truth we propagate!”

Kung ako si Charice

Aeon Jelsey

Image via Wikipedia

Kung ako si charice heto ang aking mga tanong
Nasaan kayo ng panahong akoy’ isang hamak pa lang?
Bakit ngayon pansinin ko kayo, akin pang obligasyon?
Akin lang namang hiling pang-unawa ninyo’y lawakan

Kung ako si Charice di ko kailangang magpaliwanag
Sabihan man nila na ako ay nakalimot na
Dahil wala akong maisip na ginawa nila para ko tandaan
Magmalaki, nasa akin ang lahat ng karapatan

Kung ako si Charice ako ang manunumbat
Ano na kayang karangalan sa bansa inyong naibigay?
Dapat bang ang sambayanan sa inyo’y magpasalamat
Di kaya mas magandang tulungan nyo pa akong umangat

Kung ako si Charice sobra akong magdaramdam
Dahil kahit saan “Pilipino ako” aking pinangangalandakan
At heto pa ang aking matatanggap na kabayaran
Pilipino tayo, isang bansa, dapat magdamayan

Kung ako si Charice sa Japan na ako maninirahan
Mahal at nirerespeto ako, di man nila ako kababayan
Sa kanila tunay na pagpapahalaga aking nasumpungan
Ang sakit sa loob na ika’y saktan sa sariling bakuran

Iyan ay kung ako si Charice pero kaka-iba siya
Kababaan ng loob niyang taglay ay kahanga-hanga
Di siya mapagtanim ng galit kaya siya pinagpapala
Kaya sana imbes na siraan, ipagmalaki siya ng buong bansa
Lalo na ng mga sinasabing mamamahayag ng katotohanan

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Difference Between Insult and Opinion

By: Aeon Jelsey

People always tend to use “In my opinion” to mask their insults towards someone whom they are deliberately trying to defame. Some press or just even ordinary person who seems not to like someone will find a way to express their disgust to someone or anyone in a rude insulting manner and when reprimanded, they would just shield themselves with the phrase “Respect my Opinion”.

On this article I would try to somehow distinguish “Insults” from “Opinions” with the resources I can find on-line.

Definitions:

Insult according to Webster Dictionary means “To treat with abuse, insolence, indignity, or contempt, by word or action; to abuse while Opinion means “That which is opined; a notion or conviction founded on probable evidence; belief stronger than impression, less strong than positive knowledge; settled judgment in regard to any point of knowledge or action.”

Reasons that drive people to insult someone:

Hatred, envy, jealousy are the common reasons why people tend to insult others clearly for no reason at all but it’s their way of channeling their own frustrations towards the subject of their hate. Bad thing about it; extreme hate may consume the one hating and lead to self-destruction in some cases.

Misinformation also can somewhat cause un-intelligent assumptions leading to disgust then based on the assumptions they will tend to give insulting remarks than intelligent opinions.

Food for thoughts for your mind to digest:

"He who wishes to exert a useful influence must be careful to insult nothing. Let him not be troubled by what seems absurd, but concentrate his energies to the creation of what is good. He must not demolish, but build. He must raise temples where mankind may come and partake of the purest pleasure." - Johann von Goethe

Many people around the world are not able to understand the difference between Freedom of Speech and Insult. Some time they think that insulting someone is a freedom of Speech. Insulting or abusing someone without knowing the facts and truth shows mental disabilities of person. Abusing someone without the reason is the lowest form of human nature.

"A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me." - Frederick Douglas

Sources:
Webster on Line
Dictionary 3.0
Difference between Freedom of Speech and Insult

Conclusion:

Stating an opinion in itself is never wrong as long as you have good basis but opinions that stem out from hatred and envy is never healthy. If your intention is to make someone refrain from doing some inappropriate actions, you can always use constructive criticisms instead.

People will always clamor for “Freedom of Expression” and most believe that insulting someone is part of their freedom to express. They may have a point but if we will all think the same way I think the world is in chaos right now. Most countries came up with laws in trying to control the use of verbal abuse that sometimes lead to injuries and even death of a person. Words can be used as weapon against someone, I guessed you’ve heard about Teen suicides because they where bullied on some on-line social networks but I won’t go further on that subject.

“Being human is given, but humanity to be kept you must strive to abstain from doing inhuman acts.” – Aeon Jelsey

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Why Chasters Reacted the Way they Did

By: Aeon Jelsey

This article isn't about Charice, now that the word “Chasters” became an entity of its own I guess it’s about time to discuss what it stands for. Charice’s nickname is “Cha” and it’s a standard to use “er” to identify the “doer” so “Chasters” was coined to identify the fans of Charice. I hope I made that clear.

Chasters is more than just a fan club, it’s a worldwide community bonded by their unconditional love and support for Charice. The diversity of the members is what makes it so unique. There is no particular age bracket, social status or whatsoever. There is neither majority nor minority which makes it universal. The harmonious relationship between young and old is worth noting. Their enthusiasm to extend help or any assistance to members who are less fortunate re-invigorated my diminishing faith in human kindness and goodwill.

Unfortunately these past few days “Chasters” became the center of criticisms. It started on a social networking site twitter. In defense of their fellow Chaster who was bashed by a certain media personality in the Philippines. The issue escalated and Charice’s name was dragged by friends/followers of the reporter. Then like a wild fire it blew out of proportion. Below is a screenshot of the PI showbiz reporter’s twitter profile before he deleted the controversial tweets and made his profile private.

I will attempt to explain what transpired during those 10 to 20 minutes heated exchange of remarks. It started when a certain Charice fan tweeted her disgust over some PI Showbiz Reporter. At the bottom of the picture you can see the original remark of the fan saying “It’s very irritating that some Filipino Press members are so redundant. It’s making me dumb”. Then Mr. Diaz countered by adding “Why don’t you be the press since you are intelligent” on the original tweet. Rough translation, as it was delivered in a sarcastic Pilipino way. Then he followed it with another remark third from the bottom. “The way you say local press is making you dumb is as if you are somebody. Eh. Why don’t you stuff-in your idol into your lungs”. The last part is obscene so I won’t bother to translate. Then followers/friends of the said reporter joined in by dragging Charice’s name. Fourth tweet from the bottom “Because Charice have some international projects her head swelled.” That’s what her fans are trying to emulate, they think that they are very flattering”. And Mr. Diaz re-tweeted. For twitter users, re-tweeting means agreeing. Then the most famous remark which Mr. Diaz emphasized as the mere reason why Chasters got offended. Coming from a friend/follower of the reporter it goes something like this “ Did anyone ever mention to Charice that she don’t look good with those nerdy glasses? And again Mr. Diaz retweeted. But it did not end there. He dragged the name of Ms. Lea Salonga (Famous Broadway Filipina Actress). “I can only say one thing. The Charisma of Ms. Lea Salonga over the Filipinos is still different. She even speaks fluently in “Tagalog” so much more in English.” Probably Mr. diaz’s way of criticizing Ms. Pempenco’s fluency in English in comparison to Ms. Salonga. The said Filipina icon being as classy as she is, simply said “To say the least, I'm a bit concerned. I don't know what Charice has done to deserve the ire of Ogie Diaz.“ This is in response to someone who asked her what her reactions regarding the remarks of Diaz against Charice.

Trivia: Filipinos are one of the most critical people when it comes to English grammar and sometimes fluency in it is being used a gauge of an individual’s intelligence which is so perverse, when it’s not even their native tongue after all. But when a Filipino stayed in America and would probably adopt the American accent, speaking in English with a foreign accent would invite criticism that this “fella” has forgotten about his/her roots.

Then some Charice fans began to reprimand Mr. Diaz for his remarks which was read by other fans from around the world and Mr. Diaz “probably” realized that he was about to get caught in a bad light, he deleted his tweets to avoid incriminating himself further then apologized. A wise move on his part I may say. But a certain Mr. Mhartinn was able to save a screenshot of Diaz’s profile prior to deletion (Good anticipation by Mr. Mhartinn). The problem is the fire was already too big to be extinguished by his apologies.

What I have described was just the beginning and part only. Things that I personally witnessed during the time it was happening. On Mr. Diaz part, he was able to defend himself through the radio and television already where he is an employee.

Additional:

The worst thing Ogie have done is to apologize and attack the next morning by publishing an article with lewd content. On his article on Pinoy Paparazzi site, he mentioned that Charice having too many bodyguards and the security procedures are so tight that as if a bodyguard needs to wipe her genital after peeing.

This remark made Chasters reached their boiling point, how can Mr. Diaz have gone that low? Charice have done nothing but to give pride to our country. OFW around the world joined in the crusade by signing a petition against Ogie NO to @ogiediaz in ABS-CBN!.

Below is a tweet from an OFW ever thankful for gaining respect because of Charice being known as a Filipino. Why would someone drag Charice's image down instead of uplifting it? Charice is redefining the word Filipino and introducing the country Philippines which others haven't heard of.

"New found respect for OFWs (Filipinos) in Japan, Singapore & Hongkong because of Charice." @OfficialCharice-7307

Conclusion:

Since everyone is entitled to each own opinion, I would like to share my point of view. The fans of Charice collectively known as Chasters are being labeled as Over-sensitive, Over-protective fans and always over-reacting on issues concerning their idol. The way I see it, it was Mr. Diaz who was not able to take the criticism thrown at some PI Press where he is a member. As a professional journalist he failed by reacting the way he did. As he himself keeps on saying that he’s entitled to his own opinion, I guess the fans also have the right to share theirs.

Why keep on looking for faults in Charice, she’s just a kid living her dreams. Shouldn’t these reporters be the more tolerant of her because she is one of their own, why keep on making small things bigger like that of “snubbing” issue where all of these issues stemmed out. Why fault Charice when she was just following orders or protocols made by her handlers. Unless we all kinda agree that she should bend some rules when she is in the Philippines.

As the issue got bigger the attention of foreign reporters and fans of Charice were drawn, the issue became more complicated. The way I see it now, it’s no longer about Charice and Ogie Diaz, it became about us, Filipinos as a people.

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