URGENT UPDATE on Christine

Dear Friends and Family of Christine,
With time running out, our best hope of finding a donor for Christine is by testing her extended family in the Philippines. We estimate we need to raise $30,000 to have any chance of testing enough people to find a match. WE NEED YOUR HELP.
Please make a tax deductible donation today.
To register as a donor, click Order Free Self-Test Kits Now! You can even order multiple test kits for your for your friends, family, church, club or other organization.
Finally, we are urgently trying to make sure all our donors have been processed and added to the registry to make sure Christine's doctors get the information in time. If you've signed up as a donor in the last 6 months, please submit your donor information using our anonymous form.
- Jake

Daily Rant

Why is it that paychecks are always late when you need them the most? Why were my eyes so blood shot last night when I had plenty of sleep and no illicit substances in my system?

I caught Deborah S. Craig www.deborahscraig.com and her talented guitarist/collaborator, Josh at Salounge last night in NYC. They did three original songs that showcased Deborah's impressive Broadway/Rocker belt and her jazzy chanteuse abilities, as well as her gift for being witty and hialrious... She always cracks me up! Sooo funny... And how is it that she looks younger now than when I first met her a few years ago...?

http://flickr.com/photos/salounge

Sleepy, Sneezy, Sleazy, Grumpy and Doc

I have hay fever. It turns me into a combo platter dwarf, a mix of Sleepy/Sneezy/Grumpy.

I was complaining to my friend, the good Dr. Ed about this. He asked me what dosage of Bendryl I was taking. "One or two pills," I replied. He suggested that I try taking half a pill because the adult dosage is based on a one hundred and seventy-five pound man. It helped! At least I'm a little less sleepy now! Yay!

I met this Tibetan guy today who asked me to come and live with him. He wasn't a small guy or anything, but somehow in my mind I deemed him, "Sleazy."

May 23rd Benefit for Christine Info

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCREENING OF ThinkFILM'S FUCK DOCU TO BENEFIT CO-PRODUCER BATTLING AGGRESSIVE CANCER

Proceeds of May 23 Los Angeles screening go to help find a bone marrow donor for 34-year-old woman who beat cancer four years ago. Director/producer Steve Anderson (THE BIG EMPTY) announced a special benefit screening of his new documentary FUCK at Los Angeles' Fine Arts Theater, with the proceeds to benefit FUCK co-producer Christine Pechera, who is dying from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and has only a few weeks to live if she cannot find a full-match bone marrow donor. The screening will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23. Suggested donation is $20 per person (or more). A question and answer session will follow, and FUCK CANCER wristbands will also be sold to benefit The Christine Pechera Foundation. FUCK (aka F*CK) (www.fourletterfilm.com), a thought-provoking examination of the implications of free speech and censorship documentary by director Steve Anderson (THE BIG EMPTY), contains interviews with over 30 media personalities including Hunter S. Thompson, Pat Boone, Alan Keyes, Sam Donaldson, David Milch, Morality In Media's Robert W. Peters, and Judith "Miss Manners" Martin. FUCK will be released theatrically by ThinkFilm in the fall. The 34-year-old Pechera beat cancer four years ago when a rare, very aggressive form of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma gave her a tumor the size of a pineapple in her chest. She survived a devastating and extremely risky stem cell transplant, which was successful—her cancer had gone into remission. It was then that the filmmaker who first paid her dues working for Roger Corman making "rubber monster space movies" became involved with FUCK. And now the cancer is back. Initially two tumors were found, and Christine just underwent four days of intensive chemotherapy to fight off a new, third tumor. "Christine was amazing on our film." said Steve Anderson, producer/director of the film. "Her work ethic and enthusiasm was contagious. We felt this screening, to show this film she worked so hard on, was the least we could do for a member of the family."FUCK CANCER wristbands will be sold to raise money for The Christine Pechera Foundation. Of the wristbands Anderson said, "If there's a better use for the word `fuck,' I can't think of it." Thankfully, the National Marrow Donor Program has recently introduced buccal (mouth) swabs, so now getting tested is as simple as brushing a cotton swab inside your mouth for 40 seconds. Christine's best chance is to match a fellow Filipino—the odds are 1 in 20,000 for this, as opposed to 1 in 100,000 for a non-Filipino. Unfortunately, only 1% of the donors in the National Registry are Filipino, so Christine's friends (dubbed "Christine's Army") have been organizing donor drives to increase the number of Filipinos in the Registry. Christine's website, www.SaveChristine.com was set up to organize volunteer efforts to run bone marrow donor drives and help people register for self-test kits (mouth swabs). Government grants make self-tests are free for minorities. Donations can be made electronically or via mail through The Christine Pechera Foundation, which was set up to cover the expenses of testing Christine's relatives in the Phillipines (where testing is $285 per person) and defray Christine's costs.

The Fine Arts Theater is located at 8556 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, at the intersection of North Le Doux Road, one block west of La Cienega. Telephone is (310) 360-0455. For more information, call (310) 739-5178, email Save.Christine.Publicity@gmail.com, or visit http://www.SaveChristine.com

Say A One Minute Prayer for Christine

I received the message below from the Incredible Christine Pechera... There is a light in her that you can feel through her words and in her voice that is astonishing... I am praying that she has a full and complete recovery...

No miracle bone marrow donor match has been found for her, yet. If you can help in any way, please hit her site: www.savechristine.com

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox...from christine...

My dear friend Beverly asked me to post this for her because her internet is acting screwy. What a wonderful idea... this means so much...
xo,

Christine

Join us in a 'A ONE-MINUTE PRAYER FOR CHRISTINE!'

Starting this Sunday, May 21 and every Sunday to follow, please take just one-minute out of your 1,440-minute day to pray for Christine's healing. Hundreds of friends and family will pray for Christine at the EXACT same time across the country, focusing on seeing her healed and whole. Spread this loving act of a 'ONE-MINUTE PRAYER FOR CHRISTINE' to everyone you know. There will be weekly reminders on the post.

The time zones for the simultaneously prayers are as follows:

Eastern Standard Time (EST) 1:00 PM
Central Standard Time (CST) 12:00 Noon
Mountain Standard Time (MST) 11:00 AM
Pacific Standard Time (PST) 10:00 AM
Alaska Standard Time (AST) 9:00 AM
Hawaii Standard Time (HST) 7:00 AM

The power of so many praying at the same time WORKS! We'll see you on Sunday!

A Word from Christine Pechera!

Good Monday!

I need everyone's help this week to spread the word about the May 23 F-Word Screening Benefit next Tuesday. If you haven't done so already, please let all your friends know by blog, phone, arm twist and carrier pigeon.

This is going to be a fun night with myself and director Steve Anderson in attendance. I guarantee this feature documentary will make you laugh as well as make you think. It's been getting lots of kudos by pleasantly surprised critics. See it before it everyone else does! Impress the in-crowd at cocktail parties! If you see this film, you'll be the most uber cool hip of the hipsters! Oh yeah, you'll be helping me out too. :) We also plan to host a Marrow Drive where even caucasians can register with the National Marrow Donor Program for free (It is always free for ethnic minorities but not for others). This will be a perfect time for my non-minority friends to sign-up WITHOUT having to donate a pint of blood or to pay a fee. Of course, we would like as many Filipinos and Asians as possible to sign up that night. As I like to say, you may be the miracle someone is searching for. Even if your friends can't come, they can still make a tax-deductible contribution to the Christine Pechera Foundation on the www.savechristine.com website.I will be at the hospital all day today getting poked and prodded. I'm fighting exhaustion but am still determined to find my match and bring about good while doing it.

hugs hugs,
Christine

Some Things Never Change

I was doing a little spring cleaning and asked my dear pal, Wendy Ip www.wendyip.com if she might want any of the hoochie mamma "shirts" I was getting rid of. Wendy kindly declined, letting me know that she would not wear any of them because they were a bit too...

A few days ago I was wearing a shirt that was a little tight as I was walking around in Brooklyn.
A band of teenage boys rode by me on their bikes and made kissing noises at me. And here I thought I had gotten rid of all of my hoochie mamma gear...

Happy Mother's Milk of Magnesia Day!

I had the distinct honor and pleasure of working with talented singer and mom, Mrs. Erica Woods. She told me that many deodorants have aluminum in them, which is bad for your health. She also informed me that you can replace deodorant with dabbing a little Milk of Magnesia under your arms instead of commercial deodorants. Like the old saying goes, "Ya learn something new every day!" Happy Mother's Day Everybody!

Mamma Olivia Mia Oguma!

Finally caught Mamma Mia! on Broadway to see the Talented Ms. Oguma strut her stuff! I was totally impressed with Olivia's performance, and I learned that she can do the splits!

Will be anxious to see Olivia in a show that shows off her lovely singing voice a little more! This girl has perfect pitch!

The always effervescent Deborah S. Craig www.deborahscraig.com can do the splits. Stephanie Quinones was telling me that when she was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, they had to jump up in the air and land in the spilts. Holy cow!

I was trying to learn how to do the splits when I did Tae Kwon Do, but I only made it to blue belt and I never quite could get all the way down... I reckon if I tried to get to black belt I would have to -- but breaking boards and being able to do a bajillion push-ups seemed to be enough for me at the time...

I could not even do ONE real push-up when I started, so I was pleased with my progress. The way I look at it, I'm just trying to be the best Florence possible and maybe Florence won't ever be able to do the splits but I sure can do a real push-up now!

Calling All Filipinos and Part Filipino Folks!

Sweet, compassionate, talented, hilarious Christine Pechera needs a bone marrow donor now.

www.savechristine.com

I spoke with her a couple of days ago and she sounded amazing, as per usual. She has the best attitude ever. (Along with my sweet, wonderful friend and boss, John Light!)

Here is the latest message from her... (Please help spread the word to any and all Filipino friends and family that ya might have!)

As of today, WE STILL HAVE NOT FOUND A MATCH. The good news, however, is that you no longer have to travel to a marrow drive or give a blood sample to test your HLA-marrow typing. Now all it takes is a simple mouth swab! Just e-mail mramos@coh.org or call City of Hope at 1-800-535-7119, ext. 63262 and tell them you would like to have a mouth swab kit mailed to you. Don't forget to include your mailing address. Or you can click on the "Free Self-Test Kits" link on this website. Order a bunch for your friends and family! It's FREE! A little bit of your time and a commitment to donate can save someone's life!How it works: An envelope will arrive at your door. All you have to do is fill in the contact information and application, wipe the inside of your cheeks with the four swabs provided (at least one hour after eating or drinking), place the swabs back in the envelope and drop it into the mailbox (back to City of Hope). Again, it will cost you NOTHING... even the postage is paid. By registering with the National Marrow Donor Program, not only will you have the chance to save my life,you may be able to save the life of another patient waiting for the miracle of a matched bone marrow donor. If you are found to be someone's life-saving match, you can be the light of hope to a suffering family where there was once darkness.My brother met a young Filipina, a light of hope, in New York City, who had a "Swabbing Party" last weekend. After ordering a box of mouth swabs from City of Hope, she invited all her friends and family to her home for a potluck. As party-goers came through the door, she swabbed their mouths. She said it was a lot of fun with lots of giggling, and everyone feltgreat to be able to do a little bit of good for the future.And some great news- A friend of mine who signed up for me but was not my match, was contacted when she was found to be a match for another patient! She never thought she would ever donate marrow. But now she is excited to have the chance to save someone's life! All we know is that he is a middle-aged man. My guess is that his wife and children are thankful too.I also had the pleasure today of meeting Jeremy, who donated his marrow a year ago to a 2-year old girl with leukemia. Talking about donating marrow, Jeremy said "It wasn't bad at all. I'd definitely do it again." The little patient is now a little toddler and her parent's are eternally grateful for the gift that Jeremy has given them.I don't have much time left to find my miracle match before it is too late. Please, please spread the word to our extended Filipino and Asian-American Family. My family has exhausted all their efforts and now we need the help of the community to make a difference.Much love,Christine

All Liquored Up and Nowhere to Go

Okay, so I'm not really liquored up. But it sure feels that way; i.e., if you were to ask me who i'd like to get with in fantasy land, i would tell you in this inebriated state... i have spring (hay) fever and i am on a cocktail of benedryl and sudafed to function. not as fun as it may sound, i'm afraid.

random thoughts about the peach state: the georgians were as sweet as pie. au rendez vous http://atlanta.citysearch.com/profile/36426473/ and mary mac's tearoom www.marymacs.com served up my favorite eats on the trip.

make sure to leave room for the excellent crepes for dessert at au rendez vous! the greens, mac and cheese and fried green tomatoes at mary mac's were off da hook!

i met a nice woman named, carmen who told me about her nephew, a little boy of undetermined age. (she probably told me, but who knows what she said exactly. i can't be held responsible for what i can or cannot recall while under the influence of these allergy meds...)

carmen told me that this kid was eating eggs and another little boy from another table came over and picked up a handful of the eggs and walked away. The nephew pushed himself from the table, found the boy and slapped the eggs out of his tiny, guilty hand. In addition, the nephew hit the little boy in the back of the head, went back to his place at the table and continued eating without saying a word.

i was on a bus in georgia and the guy in back of me kept pushing my seat up. every time he pushed, i pushed back. after a little while, i got up and took another seat.

it now occurs to me that i should have just walked back to the guy and hit him on the back of the head. i'm a little remedial sometimes; but again, i blame the drugs...

New Way to Help Christine!

from Jake...

Hello All,
Sorry to keep barraging you with emails, but this is very exciting
news. You and your friends can now join the marrow registry without
even leaving your home. Just click the following link
http://christine.site.ph/selfreg.html
Fill out the form to request a free cheek swab test kit, which will be
mailed to you within 2 business days. You can take the test at home,
and simply mail back to Christine's hospital, City of Hope. The test
is painless, safe, quick and easy, and it's free to all minorities. So
please, if you have not registered, order the test today.
More importantly, help us spread the word. Contact Filipino
organizations, churches, clubs etc, and ask them to forward the
information to their membership. Or if you're a member of a Filipino
organization, make an announcement and send people to Christine's
website.
www.savechristine.com
Tell them to click the "NEWSFLASH! Signing up for the Registry Just
Got Easier" link at the top of the page to order a self test kit.
We only have a few more weeks to find a donor for Christine-- and this
just might be our last chance to save her life. So please, help out
today.
More information about Christine and the marrow donation process is
available on her website and forum: www.savechristine.com
UPDATE ON DONOR SEARCH IN THE PHILIPPINES
Thanks to all of you who have made donations, our search for a donor
in the Philippines is already underway. But we are still thousands of
dollars short of raising the money we need to test all of Christine's
family members there. So if you haven't given, please consider
making a financial contribution today. It's tax deductible, and it
just may save Christine's life. You can make a contribution online by
clicking the following link:
https://www.registrationfactory.com/v3/?EventUUID=59B857F6
Please note that the mailing address for check donations has been
changed. The new address is:
The Christine Pechera Foundation
PO Box 190415
Atlanta, GA 31119
Thank you again for everything you have done and are doing to help
Christine.
Jake

Hotlanta

I do declare, I didn't quite know what to expect of the Deep South, but I have been pleasantly surprised. Folks are real nice out here. Kind, Dr. Jocelyn Pechera and her nice spouse, Mr. Tinoy were very sweet and took me out to Au Rendez Vous last night. It was delicious! I am a very grateful Florence, indeed!