Thursday, June 30, 2005

IN MY CRAFT OR SULLEN ART

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In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

FLASHBACK c. 1976

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Dylan Yap Gozum, 4/F Harvardian University Malvar Street, Davao City (c. 1976)


Recently found a photo of myself at 1 year and 2 months. Yep, nobody had the inkling I'd grow up looking so different from when I was a kid. I mean, look at that: long straight brown hair and pale-looking skin (read: young).

Now? Sigh. I definitely bear signs of years of neglect.

The painting on the upper corner has just been reframed a week ago, thanks to the amazing handiwork of Recto framers (got lost in Manila looking for their shops), 24 years after we kept it rolled in a Staedler canister when we left Davao for Pampanga.

Will upload a photo of that painting later.

HELLO GARCI RINGTONES

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Just taking a break. So tired.

By the way, just in case you're dying to hear what the Hello Garci ringtones sound like, here's a link courtesy of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

Right. So sue me.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

LOST AND RETURNED

I hate it when I lend books. Some of them never return. This is one of those which did.


NONREQUIRED READING by one of my favorite female authors, Wislawa Szymborska of Poland, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Literature "for poetry that, with ironic precision, allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality".

Photo courtesy of the Polska Institutet
Information provided by the Nobel Prize Committee

Friday, June 24, 2005

5J'S NEWEST MACHINE

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(Courtesy of Paul Dospon of Airliners.net)

Cebu Pacific (5J), the Philippines' 2nd flag carrier, takes delivery of its newest workhorse. To be used on its Manila-Cebu and Manila-Davao routes. Now, more than ever, there's no more reason why we should suffer the crampy 737s of Philippine Airlines. Look at the refreshing mix of colors. Awesome.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

THIS WRITER...

...is a proud contributor to The Reviewer Magazine.

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Two articles of mine on Cable Car and Banana Leaf appear in this issue (June 2005).

Friday, June 10, 2005

MY CURRENT STATE OF MIND

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Dear God, please lead us all out of our rainy days. Amen.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

RETURN OF THE SH*T (with apologies to George Lucas)

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THE RACE BEGINS

The race to host the Olympics in 2012 has begun, with four European cities competing against USA's New York. We all already know that only cities, not countries, are allowed to host the Olympics.

Who's going to win? Abangan!

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IF I HAD MORE-THAN-ENOUGH MONEY...

...I wouldn't even have time to blog. But really, if things were really so different as they are now (could be worse, I know), I'd definitely have my hands full with loads of stuff, some of which I will attempt to list here.
1.) Open a clinic. Was thinking of calling it The Purple Room, but it targets a very specific clientele. Some of the sample tests we'd be making include the ELISA, and if commerially viable, perhaps even the Western Blot.
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Now, that already gives you a clue. No, there'd be no flag waving outside the main door. Discreetness as a policy will be strictly observed.
2.) Open a Design Company. Although I just started one with a friend, VATEL Manila, this will basically cater to event needs like weddings and debuts (I call it my "creative investment"). Creative juices flow best during crunch times. Souvenirs will soon be added to the line-up of services.
3.) Pursue many other commercial concepts I have long been drawing up in my mind: NOTORIOUS, Cibreo, La Almohada and then some.
4.) Complete the Sandman series of comic books.



5.) Wipe out all debts. Such an emotional burden, really.
6.) Invest on Second Chance, a business venture I've been toying with in my mind after my Mom had mastectomy. The rise in the incidence of Breast CA has taken life, so to speak, from so many women all over. I have a friend - all of 28 years old and just starting her career as a physician - who had one of her breasts removed because of a tumor. She's never had a boyfriend. Now she has to adjust all of her clothes to make it appear like nothing's happened to her.
Mom hated her wig so much. But what's sad is that she'd never be able to wear many of her clothes again. There's the need to hide that empty space where a full breast used to be - scarves, looser blouses, the works.
I was thinking of customizing breast "replacements" in the form of padded bras (yes, bras, ladies and gentlemen!), designed to make it appear like what once was. We have to accept the fact that not many women can afford breast reconstruction. The operation and chemo alone will cost an entire family their fortune that aesthetics take a back seat. As long as you are alive, that's fine.
But women think differently than men. There'd always be the social cost of mastectomy. Why can't we help them deal with life's challenges in a manner that allows them to move on as well? Second Chance will surely help. I hope.
6.) Invest in an Asthma and D.O.T.S. Center. A lot of poor patients with asthma and tuberculosis have very little access - if at all - to nebulizer machines. At Php 2,800 per, not many families with asthma patients can possibly afford a machine of their own. If they were to rely on the lone machine in DOH Health Centers (which only open for 8 hours a day), we'd find more and more patients suffer further.
The concept: a walk-in center. At least 5 machines. Minimal rent per use. Nebules will also be made available in the clinic. In May 2000, a study in the US predicted that nebulizer machines will be outdated and will be replaced with handheld inhalers with large spacer tubes, especially in the treatment of smaller children. This may spell d-e-a-t-h to the machine.
Note, however, that the study noted that for test groups using the machine and the inhaler, "There were no differences in improvement or side effects between the two groups." At any rate, I can see that the nebulizer machine will remain to be the standard mode of treatment for asthma patients in the Philippines.
As to the D.O.T.S. concept, that's something that has to be done in coordination with the local DOH office.
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It appears that having more-than-enough money is, well, not enough. Sigh.