RADIOACTIVE ADOBO*

2011-03-07T08:21:00.001-08:00

Gosh. I miss writing here.

2010-10-27T06:54:00.001-07:00

I miss writing here. I have been more active updating my business blog, but I feel that I have neglected much the things that used to make me, me. Or rather, what I thought makes me, me (geez, what is this crap I'm writing down?! Serves me right for not using my brain these past few months).

Will get back to you later.

2010-01-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

There are veritable
familiar surprises
in every
nook
and cranny
of this
everlasting
and
mysterious
city -

steamed dimsum
horse-drawn carriages
ambulant peddlers
sampaguita girls.

There are
good memories
to bring
home
from
esteros
(of all places!)

and
old restaurants
guarded by
wild pigs
(not for dinner!)

There is

family
kindred
self

in
Manila’s
every
corner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-11-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas desserts at the ILUSTRADO, Intramuros
Photos by D. Gozum (c. 2008)

ROMULO RESTAURANT

2009-10-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

Was invited to dine at this newly opened restaurant along Scout Dr. Lazcano in Timog. Currently on its soft opening (it opened only last October 5, 2009), it easily beguiles the senses with its clean lines and whimsical touches here and there. I just came from touring two German visitors all over Manila (a ferry ride down Pasig River, a walking tour of the Walled City, late lunch at Ilustrado and souvenir shopping at Silahis) and you can say that we were exhausted to the core from all the walking. A wonderful dinner would be a nice way to end the day.

You know me too well when I say that I love dining out. Be it high-end or a hole in the wall (more of the latter, of course), I take eating out as a celebration of life, love and living. Suffice to say that I totally love my Philippine history, too, so imagine my surprise when the car dropped us off here. Wow, what a brilliant idea by the grandchildren to honor the memory of such a great Filipino! To this end, I would love to try out The General's Chicken (P470) on my next visit if only to imagine how he liked his chicken.

I loved the fact that ROMULO employed yards of this lovely fabric to cover their walls instead of the usual paint. I loved the painted bricks, too, over which they placed white-framed black & white photos. I was told the private rooms upstairs were all covered in fabric (same design, different colors) so I think that's overdoing it a bit (how can these words be in the same sentence?!).

Of course you'd want to brush up on your WWII history (and the ensuing peace time) when dining here to spare yourself the embarrassment of inquiring who Romulo is (if you are below 30 years old, you can be forgiven). Oh, I love that area where the tables are on the grass but it's not nice when it rains.

You can opt to stay inside where it's comfortable or enjoy the balmy outdoors (and the sound of passing vehicles) - take your pick.

And pick we did. For this evening, we started with yummy Molo Soup (P51) and chose Chicken with Tamarind (P220) and Baby Pusit (P200) for our main dishes. I totally enjoyed the latter ("pleasant" comes to mind) but the former was nothing to get crazy over. The chicken was good, but the tamarind dip didn't make it any better.

Sigarillas in Coconut Milk with Tuyo (P150) is a delightful alternative to the usual laing, but I didn't taste the tuyo. It would have been very interesing. The Liempo in Kangkong (P100) is okay. Tasted something better somewhere else. There's so much more to try, you know, but one can only eat so much in a day! *chortle* The most expensive item on the menu is Boneless Crispy Pata (P625) while the cheapest is chicharon (P45). Did the General enjoy chicharon, too? One can only wonder.

We didn't attempt to have dessert for fear of bursting on the spot (think Orlistat moment), but would love to try their coffee next time (if they serve it). Aside from the chatty waitress who brazenly offered to sell me alkaline water when she found out I had gout (I refused to order the Monggo Soup she offered earlier), the experience was rather great. I would love to come back and explore more of this wonderful new place. Thumbs up to the owners for this brilliant idea. :-)

ROMULO
32 Scout Tuason corner Dr. Lazcano
Tomas Morato, Quezon City
Telephone: +632 332-7275
Reservations Necessary

HYPERVENTILATES

2009-10-18T19:30:00.001-07:00

From Miramax Pictures. Please remind me to read the book first.

DROOL, DROOL

2009-10-09T21:10:00.001-07:00

Kindly pass the Kleenex.

CURRENTLY READING

2009-10-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

This accompanied me to my recent trip to Cagayan de Oro. Somehow, reading it for the second time, I don't recall having read it at all.

HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE!

2009-10-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

I know that I haven't written much - nay, anything! - for so long that it's already depressing for the lack of some sort of creative output. I have forgotten to paint, draw, take photos, write. I miss my old self.

I may not have told you but I have enrolled in the gym. I did it last July (by sheer boredom, I realized I was having my precious card swiped within 10 minutes of the marketing spiel) but I think it has been one of the most important life decisions I've made lately. You know too well how long I've suffered from gout. Almost what, 8 years or so? I have decided that I will walk - and will want to continue walking - in my old age if and when I get to that point. For now, I just really want to be healthier.

Since my operation last March of 2004, I have ballooned to 220 lbs, then lost 10lbs during a recent bout with the unknown (some bloody viral infection that went away after it got a whiff of Boracay air) and then swinging back to where it was before - oh, plus interest.

Last time i weighed in at the gym, I lost 5 lbs in 2 weeks (and after 4 trainer sessions) so if my mathematics is right, there should be some form of exponential loss of 10 lbs a month if i continue to be serious.

It can get lonely just being there all by your lonesome with no rah-rah crowd so if you care to, please send me some form of encouragement. A month's supply of low-fat yogurt, perhaps? LOL.

2009-04-24T05:17:00.001-07:00

Meet TANGY, my new Mr. P desk lamp at the office. Yes, by the looks of him, he's going to get more fondling than I do.

2009-01-16T00:09:00.001-08:00

This is just to inform my readers that I am taking a sabbatical from blogging to focus on work and living. Thanks so much for visiting and hope to hear from you again. :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR INDEED!

2009-01-08T05:49:00.001-08:00

This was the event that "killed" me last December. Good Lord, am I glad it's over! (I'm still reeling from it though).

KOMIKERA, 5th Edition

2009-01-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

Some photos from the KOMIKERA exhibit at the UP Film Center. The whole coverage in Superpasyal.

MI BLOGSPOT ES SU BLOGSPOT!

2009-01-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome! Bienvenidos! Please make yourself at home.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

Jesus is the reason for the Season.

IT'S WAR! AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEE!

2008-12-14T22:47:00.001-08:00

Noche Buena is just a few days from now and the ham war has began:

MAJESTIC? ADELINA'S? EXCELENTE?

KLAATU BARADA NIKTO!

2008-12-13T06:05:00.000-08:00

Is nothing sacred anymore? How many remakes by Hollywood can actually stand up to the originals and proudly say that they were just as amazing and as brilliant? Very few. I am not fond of remakes. Methinks this is scraping the bottom of the creativity barrel, so I had second thoughts about watching the 2008 version of a 1950s classic (and Golden Globe winner for Best Film), The Day The Earth Stood Still.

In fact, I only discovered that Keanu Reeves was playing the role of Klaatu when I was lining up to buy a ticket. Suddenly, the bad taste left in the mouth by the disaster called Johnny Mnemonic (ugh, too university days!) came back like some ghost of bad movies past.

On the hindsight, the new version is visually appealing - effects and all. Honestly, I think dying by having a billion shards of metal insects fly through you is just too weird (that's it? Nothing - apocalyptical?). I like the idea of having orbs collecting several species of Earth life. There is none of this in the original, of course. What the original lacked in effects however, it made up with its brilliance.

I loved how the original Klaatu immersed himself in the human experience - renting a room and actually spending time with a family, befriending a boy, watching movies and eating ice cream. All throughout the new film, bits and pieces of the original kept creeping in every scene I got too distracted. I am really sorry I watched the new version. I shouldn't have in the same way that I skipped Wicker Park because deep in my heart I know it will never hold up against the lovely L'Appartement (1966). I mean, with Monica Belluci and all, how can the original go wrong? Right, I am biased. I lurve Belluci.

Anyhow, if you have the chance to find a copy of the 1951 version, please watch it. Let me know what you think.

ATENEO DE MANILA TURNS 149

2008-12-03T01:37:00.000-08:00

In celebration of the University’s second Sesquicentennial theme, Deepening Spirituality, the Ateneo community is warmly invited to TAKE AND RECEIVE: THE FIRST FESTIVAL OF ATENEO MUSIC

Sunday, 7 December 2008, 6:30PM
Church of the Gesù

FEATURING:

Ateneo Boys Choir (Daisy Marasigan, Conductor)
Ateneo Chamber Singers (Jonathan Velasco, Conductor)
Ateneo College Glee Club (Ma. Lourdes Hermo, Conductor)
Ateneo High School Glee Club (Jose Emmanuel Aquino, Conductor)
Dulaang Sibol (Dr. Onofre Pagsanghan, Managing Director)
Jesuit Music Ministry (Fr. JBoy Gonzales, SJ, Director): Blue Symphony, Bukas
Palad, Himig Heswita & Musica Chiesa

AND

the premiere "Take and Receive” medley arrangement of RYAN CAYABYAB

**
Take and Receive: The First Festival of Ateneo Music
Ateneo choirs to stage free thanksgiving concert for the community

On Sunday, 7 December 2008, 6:30PM, Ateneo’s singing groups will treat the community to an evening of sacred, liturgical, and inspirational music through the concert, Take and Receive: The First Festival of Ateneo Music, at the Church of the Gesù, Ateneo Loyola Heights campus.

The concert gathers Ateneo’s home grown and award-winning groups, the Ateneo Boys Choir, Ateneo High School Glee Club, Dulaang Sibol, Ateneo College Glee Club, and Ateneo Chamber Singers. They will perform with the Jesuit Music Ministry artists, Blue Symphony, Bukas Palad, Himig Heswita and Musica Chiesa.

Distinguished Filipino musician and composer Ryan Cayabyab’s medley arrangement of the different “Take and Receive” compositions by the Filipino Jesuits will be one of the highlights of the concert.

Fans and supporters of these Ateneo singing groups can expect to be regaled by the songs that have made these groups both distinct and popular,resonating Ateneo’s fine musical legacy and the unique spirituality that inspires its music.

Dulaang Sibol is the Ateneo High School theater club founded and directed by Onofre Pagsanghan. Bukas Palad, meanwhile, was co-founded by Fr. Manoling Francisco,SJ 20 years ago. The Ateneo College Glee Club, the oldest university chorale in the country and winner in the 2006 Miltenberg (Germany) Choral Competition and Ateneo Chamber Singers, winner in the 2006 Tolosa (Spain) Choral Contest,will showcase their world-class talent in polyphony and classical music.

Another highlight of the concert is a tribute by the Jesuit Music Ministry artists to Fr. Eddie Hontiveros, SJ, or “Fr. Honti,” the acknowledged Father of Philippine Liturgical Music, who passed away in January 2008. The Mass hymns that Fr. Honti composed in the 1970s, after the Second Vatican Council called for inculturation of the liturgy, continue to be sung in every parish to this day, an enduring testament to the intimacy of his music with the heart of the Filipino and the message of Jesus Christ.

Take and Receive: The First Festival of Ateneo Music marks the Ateneo’s 149th anniversary, the year of “Deepening Spirituality,” the second theme of a three-year
countdown to Ateneo’s 150th anniversary, or sesquicentennial. Ateneo de Manila
University will celebrate its sesquicentennial on December 10, 2009 with the theme “Building the Nation."

--
Mimi D. Agbay
Project Coordinator - Ateneo Sesquicentennial
Phone No.: +632 426.6001 loc. 4083
Mobile No.: +63 917.8933379
http://150.ateneo.edu/

CURRENTLY READING

2008-12-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

I have just most recently discovered Günter Grass. The Tin Drum is his first book, printed in 1959. Only last week, I found a flaky copy in a book fair in UP Diliman - for only P100! A 1963 edition. Be still, my beating heart.

JOY LUCK CLICKS

2008-11-21T20:19:00.001-08:00

How have you guys been? I haven't written anything of import lately, save perhaps for a short story I'm working on. Yes, I'm writing again! (Thank goodness.) Although a rather sad event jumpstarted this writing spree, it still matters to me that I'm doing it because the art of the short story had been very elusive for the longest time. At least to me. I am not one of those gifted with the skill to tell a story (which makes me a very bad liar) and most of the stories I have are all percolating in my mind. I must write them all down very soon before they turn stale. It does help that I'm surrounded by writers lately. I hope their talents rub off on me. :-)

So, how's life with you? I hope all is well. My new life here at the Farm is neither routine nor that exciting. It's a mix of really, really slow versus really, really stressful days. Yeah, too extreme for comfort. Oh, here's a photo of the freshly mowed avenue fronting the office. Don't you just lurve the smell of newly cut grass?

Oh, where will it end? Will it ever?

Up here, we have a love-hate relationship with the weather. In summer, we pray for rain. During rainy season when most of the weddings happen, we pray for sun. Tsk, tsk. The heavens must be so confused by now.

By late December or early January, spraying of the over 100 mango trees will commence. Flowers will start coming out by February and fruits form by March. Do visit us in April when we harvest!

The coconut trees are infested by some kind of bug which eats the leaves in a rather straight pattern. This is akin to obsessive-compulsive behaviour, methinks. WOW, O-C ang bug na ito!

When there's nothing else, there's always the wild kangkong. This grows all over the marsh area. Perfect when steamed and served with ginisang bagoong. Relish now, worry about the gouty arthritis later.

I rarely arrive at work two hours before the time but look at the benefits of doing so. A sun beam here...

a carpet of light here...

and a lovely shadowy number on the front door. *sigh*

Oh yes, even on my memorandum board. :-)

When I get tired of being in the office, all I need to do is open the door and see this...

and this...

and this. :-)

Meanwhile, thanks to friends who've taken the time to drop by, enjoy the WiFi and coffee and the 1G-worth of music I've collected for the soon-to-open coffee shop called Cafe Monogamy. That's Macel of Residencia Boracay with my dog, Turnip. The fat guy in green carrying him is a complete stranger. No idea what's he's doing in this photo or in my office. Shoo! Go away!

Currently Playing: Someone Else's Story (from CHESS); Photos taken with JOY LUCK, a Kodak Z650 Easy Share

FAREWELL, MAMA AFRIKA!

2008-11-12T23:38:00.001-08:00

Because I've been so out of touch with the world, I just found out that Miriam Makeba passed away recently. She was 76. Two of her songs, African Sunset and Pata Pata, are part of my Manager's Choice album which I always play at work. Rest in peace, Mama Afrika! You are finally coming home.

HE SAID, SHE SAID

2008-11-04T01:56:00.000-08:00

Interesting insight by Ms. Jessica Z on the film SERBIS here screened during the recently concluded Dekada Cinemanila.

This, however, won't make me change what I've already written after I saw it.

MANAGED A TROIS

2008-10-29T01:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that's a lame title for a blog entry but forgive me as I'm still reeling from my whirlwind weekend schedule. I currently have colds and a mild cough. Anyhow, I rested pretty much all Monday but decided to go out yesterday, Tuesday, after sending off BC at the airport and caught the last remaining films of the 10th Cinemanila here at Gateway. Funny how this mall is so close to where I now live yet I was still not able to attend the screenings early on. Part of the reason, of course, is Cinemanila's well-known inefficiency when it comes to organizing. They opened on October 16th with no schedule to hand out to attendees and since I do not have the luxury of visiting Gatway Mall on a daily basis, I just gave up on them. Last night, on my way up, I espied a former SPi co-worker who I know volunteers for Cinemanila and we had a long chat on the films being shown, the funding the government gave them (or the lack of it) and the scheduling. As per his suggestion, here are the three films I was able to catch in this year's harvest of films (the rest I will just have to find in St. Francis Square *wink*).

The Love of Siam (2008; Thailand) A coming-of-age film about unrequited love and survival on a daily basis. I know it's got that commercial appeal (why, I was just expecting Sharon Cuneta to bounce onto the set any time) but at 150 minutes it's painfully long - too long, in fact - and was milked for all its emotional worth. The best performance here is by Sunee, the mother played by Sinjai Plengpanich who's won Best Actress four times in Thailand for this role. Her son in the film, Mario Maurer as Tong, also gave a restrained yet natural performance and thus won for him the Best Actor award in the Southeast Asian category of the 10th Cinemanila Film Festival. Not bad for a greenhorn actor. He will surely give our biatch-ey actors a run for their money. Overall, the film is heart-felt but can be tiring after a while because it tries hard to please everybody, not to mention the repetitive issues that can't seem to find some sort of resolution. Directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul.

The Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly (2007; Indonesia) is about the experience of being a Chinese in Indonesia. The film, however, doesn't delve much into this topic. Instead, it gave us several almost-silly short footages of scenes that don't seem to add or contribute to the story. I swear I felt catatonia starting to slip in but I held my ground because I need to know if there is some sense to all this at the end (there was none). Filmed by an Indonesian Chinese by the name of Edwin, I think The Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly is one of the most boring films I've ever seen. A complete nonsense. Dousing myself with gasoline and striking a match would have been a more pleasurable optpion.

It's supposed to be some kind of a rogue film vis-a-vis the crass commercialism plaguing the Indonesian film scene but seriously, much of the material is wasted on long, slow shots that are all pointless. Ediwn should learn filmmaking from our local indie directors. Direk Tikoy Aguiluz, if you are reading this, kindly send me my ticket refund.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007; France) The former editor of the French ELLE awoke from a coma three weeks after suffering a stroke. Removed from all that is aesthetic, will he find a reason to live? Based on a true story, the film begins on a brilliant note and ends in a soaring manner. The thing with good films is that they tell a cohesive story (Edwin, are you listening?) and no amount of visuals can make up for a really good script (you know, the kind where people actually do say something). Anyhow, the film's visuals are stunning (with an almost lomo-like palette) and the lines witty and intelligent.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is based on the memoir of the same title by Jean-Dominique Bauby. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 42 which left him with a rare condition known as the "locked-in syndrome". The condition paralyzed him with the exception of his eyelids (more so of the left) so he communicated by blinking. The film was directed by painter and interior decorator Julian Schnabeland (Before Night Falls) and stars Mathieu Amalric (Antoinette, Munich, Quantum of Solace) as Bauby. It was originally to be produced by Universal Pictures and to star Johnny Depp but both withdrew from the project. The project eventually won for Schnabeland the Best Director plume at the 60th Cannes.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

2008-10-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for making my day extra special. My constant birthday wish is this: that I may be placed in a position where I can be of help to a lot of people. Amen.

A LOUD HOLA FROM THE HILLS!

2008-10-11T23:32:00.000-07:00

I'm currently nursing a headache. Got home at 2AM. I have weddings all Saturdays of this month. Why am I complaining?

Anyhow, here's a glimpse of what's been happening at my events. :-) I hope you all are well and in high spirits.

MY SASHA SHYLY PRESENTS (READ THIS VERY FAST 8 TIMES)

2008-10-03T00:59:00.000-07:00

Photos are from Sasha's first roll of Fuji Superia 400. The rest were overexposed or shot in very low light (how idiotique). Well, so much for a greenhorn. I have every intention of getting better pictures in the future.

After complaining to friends, V.L. texted back, "Ok na yan. Sa photojournalism profession, before the advent of digital, we used to say, you only get the best shot on the 36th frame. :-)" Hmmmm...

2008-09-25T01:18:00.000-07:00

You did not show up on the day
we were to meet again.
I waited in the rain
near an old, abandoned building
at the corner of Roxas Boulevard and T.M. Kalaw
hoping the rather charming setting would remind you
of Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love.

In the end, you realized you weren’t in the mood

And I, not really in love.

PAYING MY DUES

2008-09-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a short list of the books I got from the recent Manila International Book Fair at the Mall of Asia's SMX.

FROM BOOKMARK: The Filipino Bookstore

The Romulo Reader (P50)
Coconut Cookery of Bicol by Honesto General (P100)
The Philippine Cookbook (2nd Edition) by Virginia Roces de Guzman & Nina Daza Puyat (P250)
Cuaresma (P250)
Dreamweavers (P250)

FROM ANVIL

Songs of Ourselves: Writings by Filipino Women in English (P80)
Letters by Bienvenido Santos (P80)
Ang Hayop na Ito! ni Rio Alma (P20)
A Filipino Werewolf in Quzon City by Tony Perez, Edited by Jessica Zafra (P50)
Cubao-Kalaw Kalaw-Cubao by Tony Perez (P225)
Cubao Midnight Express by Tony Perez (P160)
In The Name of Democracy: Selected Speeches of Corazon C. Aquino (P125)
Spiritual Register by T.M. Kalaw (P200)
Tikim: Essays on Philippine Food & Culture by Doreen Fernandez (P395)

What I didn't buy but I should have given that I blog about historical places a lot:

ENDANGERED: Notes on the 1st International Filipino-Spanish Conference on Architecture (P400) from the Instituto Cervantes.

------------------
Thanks to Vivian Limpin for the photo. Ang cute ng baboy. Go figure. :-)

TOURS! SUPPORT!

2008-09-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

This week, I will be teaching public school teachers how to appreciate the National Museum, thanks to you all. I thank you for all your kind words and letting others know about my tours. I attach my schedules for the rest of September, October and now November. There have been some dates removed for October so please use this schedule as the latest to send to your friends. Starting September 27, our Amorsolo retrospective will be showing and you will have a wonderful experience seeing the best of this National Artist's work in the National
Museum. I have included too a tour of the new Jaime Laya and Family gallery of contemporary paintings hanging at the National Gallery of Art. So, more to enjoy and maybe repeat your visit!

Many thanks again for joining my tour and for helping our public school teachers.

John L. Silva

HEAVEN ON EARTH!

2008-09-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

The 29th Manila International Book Fair celebrates the power of literature to cross boundaries of time, place and culture, Through books, through language, we can live in a world without borders. In five extraordinary days, we present you with a series of events that expand your horizons, and enrich your ideas, each one carefully crafted and programmed.

Our celebration of books and all that it contains is one of the longest-running in Asia. It is also one of the most accessible and affordable, Through the years, we have welcomed millions of Filipinos to the Manila International Book Fair, which is for everyone of all ages, of all tastes and means and dreams. This year, we are happy to announce that the Book Fair becomes ever more international opening up to other cultures while continuing to champion the best of what Philippine publishing has to offer.

The world comes to Manila this September for the sharing of stories and the meeting of minds.

Details:
SMX Convention Center, Seashell Drive, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City
September 12 - 16, 2008 10:00 A.M - 8:00 P.M., Daily

EXHIBIT: HIS ART, OUR HEART

2008-09-10T19:15:00.001-07:00

Fruit pickers under the Mango Tree (1937)

2008 will see the coming together of the works of Fernando Amorsolo, the Philippines' first National Artist (c. 1975). Below are the schedule of events:

The Ayala Museum exhibition ‘Amorsolo’s Maidens Concealed and Revealed’ will be from Oct. 23 to March 8, 2009. It "will survey Amorsolo’s rendering of women as a means of following his career, and will draw attention to his maidens from the American period and his studies of nudes from the post-war years as a tribute to his brilliance. "

The GSIS Museum's ‘Rituals and Amorsolo’, from Oct. 2 to Dec. 20, “underlines how rituals reflect values, beliefs, and shared knowledge, how it brings about interactions among people, places and objects, how it expresses the core of social identity of communities, how it fortifies social structures and institutions, and perpetuates social values. Portrayals include baptisms, praying the Angelus, a family’s walk to Sunday mass.”

The Lopez Memorial Museum’s ‘Tell Tale: The Artist as Storyteller, Amorsolo as Co-Author’, from Sept. 24 to April 4, 2009, is illustrative of Amorsolo’s generation of artists, of how Amorsolo became subject to the workings of image-making industries central to the crafting of fictions — about what it was to be a citizen, to be learned/civilized, to be devout, to be Filipino in the transitional junctures of Spanish-American rule. Beyond looking at illustrations as potboilers, the exhibit hopes to look at how artists such as Amorsolo may have brought other layers of meaning upon texts primarily intended as didactic instruments.”

The Metropolitan Museum’s ‘Philippine Staple: The Land, the Harvest, the Maestro’ will display a harvest field of rice-related pieces and outstanding landscapes.”

At the National Museum’s ‘Master Copy’ from Sept. 25 to Jan. 15, 2009, the drawings transfigure into portraits that imagine the national self and the imperialist other, the Filipino and the American, a President like Manuel Roxas or a Gov. Gen. like Francis Burton Harrison, an elegant American lady or a nameless Katipunan revolutionary immortalized in oil after their stint in sketches.”

The Jorge B. Vargas Museum’s ‘Amorsolo: His Contemporaries and Pictures of the War, Capturing Anxieties’, from Sept. 23 to Nov. 16, will feature the works of Amorsolo and his contemporaries spanning the Second World War (1941-1945) until the immediate postwar years (1946-1947), family and official portraits commissioned by Vargas, and genre paintings. Works by peers — Manansala, Saguil, Miranda and Castañeda — will also be showcased.

The Yuchengco Museum’s ‘Mukang Tsinoy’ will be from Oct. 1 to Jan. 17, 2009. They will exhibit paintings commissioned by Tsinoy families.

Do not miss this once-in-a-lifetime art event.

BEST OF LUCK!

2008-09-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

Wala lang. Just wishing all the best to a very good friend, Nouel, on his new assignment at the Westin Beijing.

YES OR NOT

2008-09-09T00:24:00.001-07:00

I hate looking at my friends' Friendster profiles. They all look happy. Wait, let me rephrase that. They all look happily married. So, there!

Family life is scary. It scares me because I've never experienced one in a normal setting. You know the drift - both parents are there; you've got siblings you want to strangle, the works. Haaay...

I think I just want a kid, that's all. What do I name them? (them?! So more than one? Hahaha!) If it's a girl, maybe Laetitia. A boy would be named Coco. Coco Gozum. Laetitia Gozum. Maganda ba pakinggan yun?

Then we'd go on trips on weekends just like a normal family would.

*wakes up all of a sudden, sweating and breathing heavily*

REVIEW: REMINISCE

2008-09-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Lani Misalucha is one artist whose album is always looked forward to. She has come a long way indeed from being an obscure back-up singer to a diva on the Vegas strip. Unlike other local singers, she has thankfully given up the tired birit act and has become known for mature performances. She should know, having been based in Nevada for several years now, that vocal calisthenics aren’t the norm in the US music scene. Maturity - this is what we are to expect from her latest offering, Reminisce.

It can be said that this album will have to find its audience – most probably the mid-to-late 30ish crowd who tune in to radio stations at the dead of night to listen to sad, love songs (yeah, guilty as charged!). Then again, beautiful songs will always find an appreciative ear in anyone who professes to love music, which is good to know because this will ensure this album’s commercial success.

Someone That I Used to Love is appropriately melancholy with a hint of vindictiveness (this is just perfect for those who are nursing a broken heart). A complete opposite is We Could Have it All which was truly an inspired and soulful rendition. Skyline Pigeon has been rearranged to sound contemporary yet retained its soaring spirit (it was originally written as a hymn, after all) - a fresh take on a now-karaoke favorite that was popularized by Sir Elton John from his album, Empty Sky, released in Britain in 1969. Lani’s version is smooth and effortless. The same can be said of I Loved You All the Way. Bridges, originally by Dianne Reeves, is yet another late-night radio classic many listeners would be familiar with. It happily ends in a smooth finish like a really good cup of macchiatto.

Love of My Life, sadly, didn’t have the longing that was so evident in the Queen original. It was as if Lani just went through it perfunctorily. Freddie Mercury was a very passionate artist. He would pour his soul and energy into his songs hence any cover, even if they’re just that, should at the very least approximate the power and the passion that their original singers imbued the songs with. Dust in the Wind could use a little pumping up, although Lani’s version definitely has more oomph than Sarah Brightman’s take on this classic. Healing, popularized by Deniece Williams, remains to be haunting and moving. I really, really love this song. This is one song that IMHO should never be forgotten and relegated to the dust bin. It’s a song of self redemption and God knows how much we need that in this age of grace and somewhat frequent human disgrace.

There was nothing special about Get Here. It sounds like any other rendition. The same can be said of the Where Is the Love / Feel Like Making Love medley. Tin Man is a nice, groovy version compared to a somewhat serious original by America. The new arrangement gave it a bossa nova feel, a welcome change for a new generation of listeners.

I am happy that this album ended on a Donna Summer original, Whispering Waves. The upbeat version is a welcome treat for fans of Ms. Summer and a fitting end to a more or less wonderful new album.

I have no idea, however, why Daniel Tan’s Iisa Pa Lamang was included in this work as a bonus track. Probably because not one Filipino song appears in the repertoire. I am, I’m afraid, not a big fan of this particular song. It reminds of me of bad Alma Moreno films. Overall, Reminisce is a nice album to have and to hold and to keep playing over and over during windy and languid Sundays. Enjoy!

2008-08-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Is it any help that I am reading this book currently? I mean, for the 4th time? Anyway, I am reading the one translated by Princess Alexandra Kropotkin with a foreword by Leo Tolstoy's own daughter, the Countess Tolstaya. I'm doing it three chapters per day and it seems like I'm reading it for the first time. It may sound absurd, but I hardly recall having read certain parts of it (I must have read a different translation the last time). Or could it be that I may have ... fastforwarded? Egad!

AAAAAAAARRRRGH!

2008-08-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am beginning to find my day offs tiresome instead of restful. I do not know why or what's wrong. I slip and out of sleep, thoughts run through my head as I lie in semidarkness. The wind hardly moves my curtains (which are thick and not exactly sun-friendly). I am like a mole during Mondays and Tuesdays. I forage through my near-empty fridge looking for something decent to eat. I find a half-empty bottle of cucumber pickles and as I bite into one, childhood memories rush into my head like a flood. And it's not making things better. I down Royal, iced tea, water and milk like they are all water. And it's not helping me. I want to unpack my stuff, throw many things away and tie them in black plastic bags. So far, only my mind is willing. Aaargggh. What's bothering me exactly?

This entry says it was made on Wednesday, but the truth is it is 3AM (Thursday) and I'm still in the office. The event has no plans of packing up. I actually dread the thought of going home.

DREAM TEAM

2008-08-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

From top to bottom and left to right:

1. Seagull 105 TLR
2. Paper Pinhole
3. Pinhole Art DIY
4. Holga 120 CFN
5. Diana 121
6. Lomo Action Sampler Flash
7. Lomo Oktomat (one down!)
8. Lomo Super Sampler
9. Lomo Kompakt Automat (LC-A) or an LC-A with a Colorsplash Flash / Diana Flash or the LC-A + (which I personally like better)
10. Lomo Fisheye v1
11. Smena 8M
12. Kiev-4
13. FED 5B

While you're at it, why not get a Zorki 11 produced between 1964 - 1966? Russian cameras are so way cool, ano?

This one is cute, a Holga Multicolor, pero I think it's too much already.

Ah, this is really just too much! (Note to self: it also comes in green)

DIANA IS A NOT JUST A PRINCESS

2008-08-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

So here's how the story goes: back in the '60s, a small firm in Hong Kong created an inexpensive camera called the Diana. Crafted entirely of plastic, each camera cost only a dollar at the time of its release! Although it was only produced for about 10 years, Diana became a favorite with avant-garde and lo-fi photographers. They loved its soft & dreamy images, super-saturated colors, unpredictable blurring, and random contrast. Diana shots were raw & gritty, with a character all their own. They couldn't be duplicated by any other camera on Earth! But after the camera was discontinued in the '70s, functional examples became difficult to find and increasingly expensive to purchase. Dianas were in high demand! And given the cameras exceptional images and retro good looks, the fine folks at Lomo decided that it was time for a comeback!

Not satisfied with a simple reissue, Lomo decided to add something to the original. That meant adding all-new functionality to the camera and dramatically expanding its creative potential. They called it Diana+ Edelweiss. Its body was re-cast in pure white plastic using a duplication of the original mold. The lens was balanced to obtain those "perfectly imperfect" dreamy, gorgeous, color-drenched, sometimes-blurry, and often mind-blowing images. And this Diana knows a few new tricks, too! Features include 2 shutter speeds: one for day and one for night; the ability to shoot multiple or partial (overlapping) exposures; two image sizes for 12 square shots or 16 square shots on a roll of film; new Pinhole function: remove the lens, set the aperture to a super-small pinhole and shoot a super-wide-angle, severely old-school image through a tiny hole; new endless panorama function: shoot a long, concurrent, and unlimited panoramic image, with almost no space between each individual frame. Imported. Wipe clean. (Text by UrbanOutfitters)

CURRENTLY PLAYING

2008-08-22T04:04:00.000-07:00

Come In From the Rain (Words & Music by Melissa Manchester & Carole Bayer Sager, 1975; Recorded by Melissa Manchester, 1983, on "Greatest Hits")

Well, hello there, good old friend of mine,
You've been reaching for yourself for such a long time;
There's so much to say, no need to explain,
Just an open door for you to come in from the rain.

It's a long walk when you're all alone,
And someone like you will always choose the long way home.
There's no right or wrong, I'm not here to blame,
I just want to be the one to keep you from the rain,
From the rain.

Bridge:

And it looks like sunny skies,
Now that I know you're all right.
Time has left us older, but wiser -- I know I am.

And I think of us like an old cliché,
But it doesn't matter, 'cause I love you anyway -
Come in from the rain.

Repeat Bridge:

And it's good to know my best friend has come home again;
'Cause I think of us like an old cliché,
But it doesn't matter, 'cause I love you anyway -
Come in from the rain, come in from the rain,
come in from the rain.

PHOTO NA, FUN PA

2008-08-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

I've been noticing my friends' sites carrying these unusual manipulated photos and it occured to me it may be some website or program of sorts. Not to be left out (don't you just hate being left out?), I searched the sites and discovered the fun and wonder of Photofunia.com! Nakakaaliw! Obviously it's meant for people who do a lot of self worship (haha! Not guilty!). It also has effects for those who harbor delusions of grandeur or have the messianic complex bug. Anyhoo, here are my intial attempts at self perpetuation.

Technology courtesy of photofunia.com Thanks, Grace P., for the tip!

IDIOTIC, THAT'S WHAT IT IS

2008-08-06T00:55:00.000-07:00

We never saw it coming, but the establishment of the Juridical Entity in Mindanao is a slap on the face of the Philippine nation. It is spitting on our history. The long, hard work of uniting these islands and its peoples have come to naught by a mere Memorandum of Agreement.

I first became aware of these separatist moves when I moved to Cagayan de Oro to study, most especially the quest for a Mindanao state led by former City mayor Reuben Canoy but this eventually fizzled out. Establishing a separate state does not a solution make. If only local leaders know the extent of their powers under the Local Government Code, there would be no need to be so dependent on Manila. Instead, local and national leaders have focused so much on the padrino system that local managers have lost their capability for greatness and greater local development and independence.

I hope the towns which were proposed to be part of the Entity reject the agreement during the plebiscite and I hope the Commission on Elections and the Philippine National Police make sure that no coercion occurs among the residents of these areas during the voting. After the exercise, the liberation armies involved in the agreement should accept & respect the will of the people and abide by the results of the plebiscite.

There is no doubt that we owe so much to our Muslim brothers. They have been ignored for so long, but the gargantuan failures of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) authority should have served as an example of the zero capability of the liberation movement leaders for self-rule. Let's review this agreement again, please.

IT DOESN'T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST...

2008-08-06T00:39:00.000-07:00

The aim of the race was simple: establish the fastest and cheapest way of getting around the Metro. The project "would also provide the public with baseline data for comparing the costs and travel time of the various modes of transportation in the metropolis of some 12 million people."

Honestly, for a constant metro traveler like me, the answer is so simple: without a doubt, the light rail transit system is the sure winner! It costs only Php 15 from end to end in airconditioned comfort ("comfort" is a relative term here and it doesn't apply to MRT 3).

Anyway, I suppose what the Philippine Daily Inquirer's The Rush-Hour Commute Challenge really wanted to establish is a scientific proof that this is so so they let loose several teams all over the metro to take the trains, bus, jeepney, a private car and cab. Not surprisingly, Team Jeepney came in last. In Manila, the jeepneys there take their sweet time. Napaka-walang sense of urgency! In Marikina, Laguna and Antipolo, however, one has to hold on to the railings for dear life because the jeepneys hardly touch the roads - they are already flying! Is this enough proof that jeepneys should be phased out of Philippine roads and replaced with more fuel-efficient buses? I hope so. Let's give up that old, cranky thing! It should go the way of the calesa - put them on specialized routes if only for the eyes of the tourists.

let's wait for the results of the Wednesday race. Follow the race here.

WOMEN = CREATING: A SOLO EXHIBIT AND POETRY COMPETITION

2008-08-02T04:12:00.000-07:00

From the pre-colonial babaylans to the present-day career women, the Filipina has been highly regarded as leader, community organizer, setter of agenda, commander of the purse strings and source of caring and love. What beats at her very core, however, is creation – that primordial need to bring into the world forms that inspire and encourage.

WOMEN = CREATING shows us the faces – and facets – of women who have lived their dreams and impressed us with their greatness and innate humility. Our life stories are inevitably woven by the work of their hands - from the bewitching colored strings of the lumad loom, that memorable new novel, awe-inspiring pieces of art and that endearing television show we enjoy as friends or family. They write, sew, capture on film, carve & weave our history, capturing on their chosen medium all the travails and triumphs of our spirit as a people.

They may not be women of Tatarin or Darna proportions, but full of guts, grit and gumption nonetheless by setting out into the deep (Duc in altum!) in the name of creation and the practice of their craft.

Vivian N. Limpin - poet, photographer, graphic artist, writer, film director and painter - is honored to give tribute to some of our women-creators in this solo exhibit.

Women = Creating by Vivian N. Limpin
Conspiracy Garden Café
August 8, 2008 8PM
www.femlink.org

For details of the poetry competition by LIRA, click here.

CURIOUSER AND...

2008-07-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

What a coincidence. Toni Gonzaga's WE BELONG sounds almost the same as Utada Hikaru's FIRST LOVE. If the former is a version of the latter, why change the title? The chorus lyrics are different, but the melody is strangely the same. Or maybe it's just my ears.

LA LA LA LA LA!

2008-07-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

Adam and Steve
Directed by Craig Chester; USA - 100 minutes, In English

Combining irreverent humor and heartfelt romance, Adam & Steve co-opts American cinematic 'formulas', namely the romantic comedy and movie musical, and turns them inside out while paying homage to them at the same time. Adam & Steve follows the romantic trajectory of two people struggling to make love work in spite of overwhelming odds. Having met in the 80's after a disastrous one night stand, Adam (Craig Chester) & Steve (Malcolm Gets) don't recognize each other when they meet again fifteen years later. With the help of their best friends, formerly obese stand up comic Rhonda (Parker Posey) and ladies man Michael (Chris Kattan of Saturday Night Live), our protagonists fall in love only to realize, a year into their relationship, that they met before and unwittingly changed the course of each other's lives that fateful night in the 80's.

I saw this at the Cine Adarna of UP Diliman with a friend last Thursday night. I went there to interview her on her upcoming one-woman photo exhibit and also to take note of the schedule of Cinemalaya 2008 at Adarna. I never realized how cavernous the UP Film Center was until that night: an 800-seater, spacious and freezing cold theatre with somewhat bad acoustics but it had nice, clean red-faux leather seats. Anyway, if my eyes were turbines, I would have created enough electricity to power this part of Metro Manila. Adam & Steve is a tribute to all that is formulaic in American films. Just leave your life issues at home, sit back and enjoy it.

______________________________
Cinemalaya 2008 @ UP Diliman

July 28
Baby Angelo, 5PM
Concerto, 7.30PM

July 29
Jay, 5PM
Huling Pasada, 7.30PM

July 30
Brutus, 5PM
Namets, 7.30PM

July 31
100, 5PM
My Fake American Accent, 7.30PM

August 4
Boses, 5PM
Ranchero, 7.30PM

WEEKEND AMUSEMENTS

2008-07-24T21:45:00.001-07:00

Here's something really amusing from Yahoo! Movies. ^_^ Happy weekend, everyone!

We all accept that movies stretch the truth in the interest of building drama. The following ten flicks, however, treat the truth like it was Silly Putty - pulling and twisting it until it's unrecognizable.

If movies were completely scientifically accurate, they'd probably be as interesting as a Physics 101 lecture. In real life, there are no explosions in space, gas usually doesn't explode from a lit cigarette, and Bruce Willis/Jackie Chan/Will Smith would most likely be in a coma after getting kicked in the head. Some movies, though, put science front and center in the story and more often than not the science proves to be head-slappingly bad. Here are some of the worst offenders.

CINEMALAYA 2008 WINNERS

2008-07-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here are the winners of the recently concluded 2008 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival awards night held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

FULL-LENGTH FILMS

Best Actress - Mylene Dizon, “100″

Best Actor - Baron Geisler, “Jay”

Best Supporting Actor - Yul Servo, “Brutus”

Best Supporting Actress - Eugene Domingo, “100″

Best Director - Chris Martinez, “100″

Best Film - “Jay”

Audience Choice - “100″ (directed by Chris Martinez)

Best Cinematography (tie) - Jay Abello, “Brutus” and Dan Villegas, “Huling Pasada”

Best Screenplay - Chris Martinez, “100″

Best Editiing - Francis Pasion, “Jay”

Special Jury Prize - “Brutus” (directed by Tara Illenberg)

Best Sound Design - Lito Cruz, “Ranchero”

Best Original Music - Joey Ayala, “Brutus”

Best Production Design - Cristina Honrado, “Baby Angelo”

SHORTS

Best Director - Mark Reyes for “God Only Knows”

Audience Choice - “God Only Knows” (directed by Mark Reyes)

Best Screenplay (Best Short) - “Andong” (directed by Rommel Tolentino)

Special Jury Citation - “Angan Angan (Dreams)” (directed by Sheron Dayoc)

Best Special Jury Citation - “My Pet” (directed by Anna Bigornia)

YIPEEEE!

2008-07-20T01:24:00.000-07:00

WYD08 closes today in Sydney. Prayers for a safe trip home for all the young pilgrims.

LOMO IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING

2008-07-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone, please say hello to Sasha. It's currently loaded with a roll of Fuji Superia X-tra 400.

Super, super duper thanks to MS for this!

CINEMALAYA 2007 TEASERS!

2008-07-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

I miss the teasers of last year's Cinemalaya. You must admit they're brilliant!

This one by Direk Eric Matti.

This one by Direk Sockie Fernandez.

But this one was my favorite. By Direk Henry Freejas.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: STILL LIFE

2008-07-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

Katski Flores' STILL LIFE remains to be my favorite full-length film of Cinemalaya 2007. Watching the trailer still makes me teary eyed, but as JP Canivel once wrote me he thinks I have serious problems with my lacrimal glands.

REVIEW: CINEMALAYA 2008 SHORTS A

2008-07-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

At last, I finally had the gumption to attend the Cinemalaya at the CCP. I barely made it to Shorts B (at least now I know I can actually make it to Manila from Antipolo in an hour if I pass via C5 and The Fort), but the tickets were all sold out (wow) pero the heavens looked kindly upon my efforts and rewarded me with a Shorts A ticket which somebody refunded just when I was about to fume. Awww. The universe does conspire...

While killing 2 hours of my time, I found myself in an unbelievably half-empty CCP Shop. What happened? Somebody should stock the gift shop, quick! It's a national embarrassment! If you need someone to search high and low for Philippine souvenirs, you know who to call. *wink, wink* Sigh. I am so shameless. At any rate, got the two volumes of The Essential Brocka released by Unitel. They include the films Insiang, Tatlo Dalawa Isa, Ang Tatay kong Nanay, and Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang. If you buy all four, it will only cost Php 325/DVD. Individually bought, each will cost Php 450. Carrot on a stick, and I willingly bit into the offer. In fact I already saw Ang Tatay kong Nanay this dawn immediately when I got home, and I enjoyed it immensely. The social conditions have not changed at all, have they?

Now, on with the shows.

First things first. I honestly think the shorts look so much better this year. In fact, they seem to be improving in terms of technicals as the festival progresses, which I think is good. The digital age offers so much variety of technology that it would be a sin for a director not to fully tap this exciting medium. The shots are better, there's a delicious patina to every work, and the editing is more inspired. The stories (the heart of the matter), however, remain stuck to what I have dubbed as the 3 Ks of local indie cinema: Kahirapan, Kamunduhan, and Kabaklaan. How truly exciting.

ANG IBANG MGA PAMILYA (OTHER FAMILIES) by Joel P. Ruiz (Baby Angelo, Mansyon) is about a woman who overcomes the grief of losing her adopted son. Come to think of it, she never really overcame the loss. She was in perpetual grief. Ang Ibang Mga Pamilya had a very promising start. You know it's bound to be special, but it eventually gave way to cliches until it eventually fell apart (talk about unfulfilled promises). The tepid, slow progress of this film makes for a lousy opener and I think the story is nothing special and the narrative is beyond redemption. Great photography and editing though. The film is bathed throughout in a warm, comforting light which gives it the somber mood it's supposed to have. However, quoting A Chorus Line, "And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul / and cried / 'cause I felt... nothing."

DIAMANTE SA LANGIT (DIAMOND IN THE SKY) by Vic Acedillo, Jr. (Screenplay, Batad: Sa Paang Palay) is about two brothers' journey to compete in a kite flying contest. But getting there takes some time. In the end, they face something unexpected and discover something more precious than winning. Like the first short, this work had so much promise in the beginning, but it is rather predictable. You actually already know what's going to happen next. The Director's unique problem was how to attack that predictability and come up with an intelligent or, at the very least, a heartwarming ending. Diamante is another case of the writer-director now knowing when to stop while he's on top of the game. He gave in to a happy ending when he could have stopped shooting when the two boys arrived at the kite festival and realized their plastic-bag kite was no match to the other's. Long shot, fade, music. Hindi naman po ipinagbabawal ang sad endings, di ba? But he didn't because that would be fulfilling audience expectations (because we know that's how it'd turn out at the onset). In the end, it became a meandering video of two boys giving themselves a pat on the back for making it this far. And that last line about their kite being still the best one? We didn't have to hear it, really. We already know.

Nice closing shots of the Pampanga plains though with the unmistakable Mount Arayat in the background. Made me miss my childhood days except that I didn't like flying kites. I threw stones at houses instead (mamuga cung batu kareng bale bale!).

GOD ONLY KNOWS by Mark V. Reyes (Last Full Show; Best Short, 2004 Turin) focuses on the disturbing and gut wrenching tale about the realities of life in the sprawling metropolis of Manila. If this was made by a writer-director who did not grow up here in Manila then I will have to muster up the courage to forgive him (but this is not so, in fact). This film displays complete ignorance of Philippine culture (I wish to discuss a little sociology, but I'm not in the mood to educate. The director happened to be in the room when this was being viewed). Sure, paedophilia is a reality in the Philippines; sure, we have our Payatas dump (and we show it ever so proudly in our films like an old, ragged medal) but surely the writer could care to see beyond all these and find other aspects of the problem to discuss? I can tell he's after the shock value (I felt like laughing), but in this country where we eat scandals and contoversies for breakfast, lunch and heavy helpings of the same at dinner, we do not need to be shocked. We ARE in a state of shock, so much so that we've already almost lost all faculties and facilities for greatness and meaningful action and would rather wait for better times (even the Left says they had to earn a living hence they're not seen on the streets as often as before). Sure, call me manhid, but I believe in the innate goodness of men which is a great alternative to the ineffectiveness of evil forces. It's either we have to believe that we are capable of good, or we have to do actual good to overcome our predicaments, however sad and hopeless. The reason why God Only Knows won't be effective is because it is neither a condemnation nor an indictment of poverty and paedophilia. It doesn't explore the topic and it doesn't offer any alternatives. It just hints at it, and then moves on leaving the audience severly wanting a closure. The story left it all to God which is why only He knows what Director Reyes really had in mind.

ANGAN-ANGAN (DREAMS) by Sheron R. Dayoc (Trails of Water) centers on a mute nine-year-old girl named Satra, whose determination to secure a good education reverberates clearly amid the strictness of her Yakan culture. The Yakan are one of the 13 Moro groups in the Philippines. They mainly reside in Basilan, Mindanao. The technicals went haywire on this one and we saw it twice without an audio. A jury member got incensced and called up someone to fix it. While this was all happening, the Caucasian jury member sitting comfortably on the couch in front of me was already asleep (is this what one calls a "detached" view of things? Only God knows). Anyway, after a few minutes, we finally got to view Angan-Angan with full sound. I imagine Angan-Angan to have been made with funding agencies in mind (or perhaps supported by one) because if I were to see it in that light, I can say that it has achieved its mission. Otherwise, it has zero commercial value given the non-familiarity of the territory and the subject matter to most audiences in Manila. The film also assumes that you are familiar with the Yakans, the current situation in their territories, and about the Bangsamoro Movement so if you've been living under a rock, this film can be be your eyeopener. Or maybe not. As an aside, there's been a recent breakthough in the negotiations in Malaysia.

Hailing from Mindanao myself, I wish to have this work seen more in its home island where poverty and strife continue to divide its peoples. I hope it brings understanding and appreciation of how education can be instrumental in ending the root cause of all clashes in the Promised Land. Director Sheron (who also attended the Ateneo in Zamboanga like I did; think Mayor Climaco assasination) brings to fore the spirit of magis in his work. Kudos to the director for first, choosing a girl as the main subject and second, for ending the film on a positive note. Angan-Angan truly reflects the unique realities of public education in the Philippines where the girls outnumber boys (and they stay far longer in schools, too).

ANDONG by Rommel "Milo" Tolentino is a story about a six-year old boy's obsession, family dynamics, and the real value of a hard-fought twenty pesos. If there's anyone who's really got his ears close to the ground, it's Rommel Tolentino (he even got us fooled with the trailer!). Andong packs a whallop in the heart department, the only film where the audience - already sleepy from the first four offerings - finally came to life and rewarded Andong with a well-deserved round of applause (at this point, the Caucasian juror slowly came to his senses). The quirky and playful editing worked wonders for this film and the low-grade camera feel didn't even get in the way. Why, the story was very simple but the narrative was tight, witty and the children actors were very charming and natural! It was like being there yourself. Truly, a fitting ending during Typhoon Helen's last evening in Manila. Congratulations, Director Milo, for this endearing and memorable work.

(Milo said...
Hey man, Thank you for all the kind words on ANDONG, I sincerely appreciate it. Salamat.)

Proof that directors do read reviews, haha!

-----------------------------------

Tonight, July 17, I will be watching 100 by Chris Martinez (9pm). See you there! Yipeeee!

COLOR OF THE DAY

2008-07-14T00:40:00.000-07:00

I see yellow today. I kinda feel good.

LOFI, ISSUE 3

2008-07-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

I'd join Lomomanila if only to get a regular copy of their magazine. I almost died at the brilliant layout work! (and of course the photographs. Duh.) On the cover is Apple Chee Kee. Geez, the name! The name! Aaarrgh!

Special thanks to Ruby, Editor in Chief.

IT'S A FINE, FINE LIFE!

2008-07-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm quoting from the musical Oliver! on this rainiest of days. What started as an innocent rain has turned into a downpour after lunch (Typhoon Helen has arrived), so I went out and took photos of the problem areas of the farm for future reference (yes, it's called "work").

Don't you just love this photo? So enchanting (except for flooding on the Farm's newest road network).

There's a fast stream of water flowing down the pathway leading to the pavilion. Ang saya!

The strong rains and wind has soaked some of the baby cribs which I'd be using for the upcoming wedding congress during the latter part of the month.

Awwww.... Dapat talaga may ganitong shot? Feeling Guernica.

Flooding also on this part of the gazebo. The water goes down to the swamp via the pavilion pathways.

Water from the upper plaza goes down the pathway and empties into this sewer.

Water pools near the pond infront of the house.

The pond itself will begin to overflow if the rains doesn't stop any time soon.

A busted pipe confronted me this morning as I got to work. The water supply has since been restored, thanks to the caretaker, but the repairs left gaping holes in this plot.

Must. Repair. This. The. Soonest. Possible. Time. Before. Visitors. See. It. Dyahe.

Meanwhile, as all hell breaks loose, the Farm cat preens himself on the Depression-period couch in the foyer. Now THAT's a fine, fine life!

Music currently playing: Only Wanna Be With You (Dusty Springfield)

VOLTA ISN'T AI-AI

2008-07-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

Saw Björk's rendition of Declare Independence on a Later with Jools Holland DVD (courtesy of JC, thank you very much!). I know it doesn't sound like music (or anything close), but I did download it anyway and have listened to it for more than 10X now. I actually like it, hehe! It's the only third time I've seen her perform on video (the 1st was in the film Dancer in the Dark which I saw during an edition of the Cinemanila; the second was during the opening show of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and lastly in above-mentioned DVD). I admit (rather hesitantly) that I listened to Oceania over and over while I was still in my old office. Crazy, ano?

BELLY UP

2008-07-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

For the first time I am doing the market work with the cook. I am glad. At least she's always there to answer my questions re fridge and cupboard inventory, etc. This is such a domesticated life, 'no? Parang may mali, eh. I feel kinda weird.

Anyway, I had my way with the fishmonger last Sunday. I had bangus bellies in mind for lunch and to be honest I haven't the slightest idea how it is done. Anyway, when I finally saw the fish, my Don Bosco drafting skills (or whatever's left of it) came to work and I took over in instructing the guy who will be slicing my fish orders. I was a bit taken aback that he initially wanted to carve out the black fat. I mean, seriously?! Isn't that the end all and be all of bangus belly - meat and fat?! Besides, fish fat is healthy (although I want to believe milkfish is that kind of fish which has the right kind of fish oil).

Took a photo of the final product - Bangus Belly in Tausi Beans Sauce. Sliced evenly, deboned, fried crispy on the outside yet soft and tender in the inside. I lurved it!

ANOTHER LONG DAY

2008-07-11T05:17:00.001-07:00

Sorry. I had nothing better to do today. Two PCs were being repaired simultaneously so we were stuck to working via phones. I also just updated my Photoshop with the latest version, CS3. Does this mean life is better?

POST-FRANK KALIBO (SIGH)

2008-07-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

Source: Tinuom.com

Meanwhile, I am surprised na mayroon pa palang may pakialam sa Kongreso. Salamat naman!

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY

2008-07-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

If you think I have a lot of time in my hands, you're correct. I do have a film trove to last me a lifetime and if I should ever be charged for conspicuous consumption (which is now a crime given these times of expensive food, among other things), at least I spent on things that cultivate the mind and spirit (Bah, humbug!).

I don't know though if the same can be said of Jodorowsky's Fando y Lis (re cultivating the mind and spirit). I am all for surrealism and I lean towards the works of Max Ernst, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali, but as the latter once said, "There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad" and Jodorowski is a madman (when Fando y Lis was shown in 1968 in Acapulco, a riot was said to have broken out with the director fleeing the theatre for his dear life). The story follows Fando (Sergio Klainer) and his paraplegic girlfriend Lis (Diana Mariscal). It is a modern fable about two young people searching through a destroyed world for a mythic city called Tar where all their wishes will be fulfilled. Instead, they are corrupted and driven mad. I thank the heavens for giving me the patience of a camel to have seen this film through.

I am currently watching this 2-disk DVD. El espíritu de la colmena (r. 1973) is considered a masterpiece of Spanish cinema and was shot during the dying days of Franco's dictatorship. The film is bathed throughout in beautiful soft yellow light, but this adds to its gloom rather than raise its spirit (the cinematographer was said to be going blind during the filming). So far so good.

I so enjoyed this one! Super thanks to JC for letting me watch Across the Universe, a work by Julie Taymor (Titus, Frida). Rogert Ebert, in giving it four stars, called it "an audacious marriage of cutting-edge visual techniques, heart-warming performances, 1960s history and the Beatles songbook" and calling Julie Taymor an "inventive choreographer". With 33 Beatles songs woven into this rather avante-garde but touching story of life, love and living, it is hoped to bridge the generation gap across the universe.

There is something terribly wrong about Wanted. I almost died at the sight of James McAvoy's totally bad acting (especially during the car chase). Please, God. Don't turn him into another Colin Farrell. This man has so much promise in him!

I totally enjoyed Infamous. I recall the scene where Capote made a phonecall to the DA's office and the operator said, "Sorry, the DA does not entertain calls from strange women." Capote retorts in his characteristic brussel sprout voice, "Who says i'm strange?" Hahahaha! Priceless!

Again, if you have the patience of a camel, you will survive this film. Terribly quiet (akin to a long, long, long Sunday walk), it features a young - and very beautiful - Vanessa Redgrave and several other women in full frontal act, a first in British cinema. Anyway, it tells the story of a photographer, played by David Hemmings, who loves to take random photos. He came across two lovers in a park (the woman is Redgrave) and takes photos of them. Redgrave pursues him, eventually finding his apartment and desperately trying to get the film. This leads the photographer to investigate the film, making blowups of the photos (hence the title) until he realizes that he was a witness to a murder. He went back to the park and found the body, but this time he didn't bring his camera with him. Tough luck.

When I thought Delicatessen looks a little bit like Amelie in style, it's because they share the same brilliant directors, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. "It begins in a dilapidated apartment building in rural post-apocalyptic 1950s France. Food is in short supply, with grain used as currency and animal populations dwindling, having been hunted to extinction. At the foot of the apartment building is a butcher shop, run by the landlord, Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), who posts job opportunities in the "Hard Times" paper as means to lure victims to the building, whom he murders and butchers as a cheap source of meat that he sells to his tenants. Following the departure of the last worker, unemployed circus clown Louison (Dominique Pinon) arrives to apply for the vacant position. During his routine maintenance, he gradually befriends Julie Clapet (Marie-Laure Dougnac), which slowly blossoms into a romantic relationship. Aware of her father's motives and Louison's imminent death, Julie descends into the sewers to make contact with the feared Troglodytes, a vegetarian sub-group of French rebels, whom she convinces to help rescue Louison. Following their botched abduction of another tenant, the Troglodytes return as Clapet, with the remaining, cannibalistic tenants of the building, storm Louison's room in an attempt to murder him. Louison, now aided by Julie, resists and injures many of the bloodthirsty tenants by flooding his apartment. He is able to narrowly avoid death as Clapet inadvertently kills himself with Louison's weapon. The film ends with Louison and Julie enjoying each other's company on the roof of the now peaceful apartment building." (Source: Wicki) A must-see black comedy of porcine proportions.

"Set in August 1944 during the V-1 Doodlebug offensive on London, a murder takes place in Heron's Park Emergency Hospital, a rural British hospital somewhere in the South-east of England. Inspector Cockrill is asked to investigate when the head nurse is killed after revealing that the death of a patient under anesthesia was not an accident. Cockrill states at one point "My presence lay over the hospital like a pall - I found it all tremendously enjoyable." After another murder attempt leaves a nurse dangerously ill, he re-stages the operation in order to unmask the murderer." (Source: Wicki) Based on a popular 1944 detective novel by Christianna Brand. If you've seen COMA, the story is similar although the two sets of crimes have their own ends. Very witty lines. I imagine it took so much effort to make the repartee among the characters appear natural (because it doesn't). Writer-director Sidney Gilliat, together with his partner, also wrote the screenplay of Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes.

FILM REVIEW: SERBIS

2008-06-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

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.

In my craft or sullen art, Dylan Thomas

IT'S THE STORY, STUPID.
by DYG

By now the staff and crew of SERBIS are already past caring what anyone thinks of their work, but as SERBIS opened in its home country for the first time yesterday (I saw it on July 2), it opened the film – and people behind it – to critique by the local audience of both the pandering and the venomous kind. After all, not all the reviews that came out of Cannes were nice to read (or watch, as it were). I admit I was pushed to watch SERBIS because of the quite interesting trailer. I like the color green and there was this overall greenish – or rather, mocha – patina all over the film which I loved so much. Plus, being an amateur photographer, I like shots with drama and SERBIS was quite liberal in this department (among other things, but that’s getting there too early).

Mendoza’s penchant for realism find resonance in the works of Filipino film masters – Brocka, Bernal, etc., but then I recall writer Rita de la Cruz reminding a group of younger, bright-eyed writers during a workshop, ”Napaka-boring ng katotohanan.”and SERBIS has everything – guts, grit, gumption. It also has all the clichés one can possibly think of in films of this genre (they are too difficult to resist). Not only does it have the kitchen sink, it also threw in the toilet bowl for good measure.

Because of this, SERBIS’ narrative suffered terribly in the light of its turtle-paced progression. The story was sacrificed on the altar of details. Because of too many things happening on the screen at the same time (too much energy was spent on establishing the setting, for example), the writers didn’t even have the chance to develop the characters. Everyone acted on their own accord; we couldn’t even figure out who was the son, the mother, and the grandmother of who (see? We were too distracted).

Lingering shots (method acting) did not help nor did they make an impact. This makes me wonder if Mendoza has friends in the film industry who could criticize his work honestly without being afraid of losing their jobs in the increasingly contracting local film business. It is in the interest of Mendoza to surpass his more brilliant works (i.e. Kaleldo). It is useless to keep on experimenting in styles if the story does not progress. The latter should come as a surprise since the writers of SERBIS had super track records (Pila Balde & Tuhog for Amando Lao; Kaleldo for Boots Pastor). Was the material too complex to put together in a 1.5-hour film? Maybe. I recall watching a play of a similar story at last year’s Virgin Labfest and I thought it was the worse of the lot.

Anyway, the film is a visual feast (and I do not mean the gratuitous nudity which was said to have driven a wedge between the director and lead actor). Priceless were the scenes where Coco Martin was unplugging a stuck floor drain, the escaped goat against the screen, an aggrieved Gina Pareño on the toilet floor clutching her new but wet pair of shoes, Julio Diaz and that perpetual stupid look on his face, water coming out of the faucet during Gina’s bath scene (I loved the tiles!). The opening scene; what the hell was that all about? Ugh. At any rate, Gina Pareño shines in this film (but not as much as she did in Kubrador). Coco Martin and Jacklyn Jose are hopelessly trapped in mono-dimensional characters. Everyone else was forgettable.

Filipino Director Brilliante Mendoza poses in Cannes during the photocall (May 18, 2008). Photo credit: Getty Images

If it wouldn’t be too imposing, I wish to offer four alternate endings to SERBIS:

First, there was a scene where it showed the theatre in its most serene – silent and lighted. For once, there was a respite from the ambient noise that so many reviewers were complaining about (I think I liked it, actually). There was a top shot of a man sitting all alone on a bench below with the light from the afternoon sun flooding the area around him. There were lovely shots of empty halls and stairwells that were fantastic and worthy of a coffee table book. Slow music. Fade.

Second was when Gina Pareño, after taking a bath and changing into mourning clothes again (but bejeweled, as if to show pride in whatever was left of her former fortunes) manning the ticketron, her head held up high. The camera actually panned out, but didn’t fade as expected. Tsk tsk. It could have ended the film on a more positive note. I mean, after all the sad, depressing scenes earlier, perhaps there could be some form of justice in the end? Nada. None for this film. It’s too Lars von Trier for crying out loud (he did once say, “A film should be like a rock in a shoe”).

Third was when Coco Martin packed his bags and walked out of the theatre and got swallowed up in a huge religious procession. Pan out, fade, music, credits.

The fourth was a beautiful and dramatic night shot of the theatre’s façade with the huge signage that reads FAMILY (the theatre’s name; how truly imaginative. Onli in da Pilipins.) The theatre looked glorious, it’s 70’s-era architecture a stark contrast to the shabbiness around – and inside – it. Fade, music, credits.

All of the above endings are thematic and aim for positive endings, but Mendoza’s style is obviously – and continuously – changing; there are no more rules, and that creates a lot of problems. I think I also had a quick Maslow moment during the screening. “It is tempting,” says Abe Maslow, “if the only tool you have is a hammer, you treat everything as if it were a nail.” Truly, when one has high-grade cameras and great writers at one’s disposal, so many things can be done with them; otherwise, what are you a filmmaker for? To quote von Trier, “When there's nobody to enforce discipline upon you, then you have to enforce it from within. That, in return, has made me incredibly disciplined at my work today—I work all the time. But at the same time it's a tremendous source of anxiety that everything is your decision. Of course this has given me great faith in my own creativity—almost like a christening gift.”

I, too, have great faith that Mendoza will continue to improve his craft.

-------------------------------------
Anyway, after mentioning all these to a friend, he SMSed back,” Who cares about the technicalities? How was the sex?” I rest my case.

FOR THE VICTIMS OF TYPHOON FRANK

2008-06-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

RADIOACTIVE ADOBO dedicates this post to all the victims - living, missing and dead - of typhoon Frank. May the Heavens hear our prayers for peace, healing and reunion.

Photo: Dove of Peace, Pablo Picasso

JUST SHOOT ME.

2008-06-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

KATORSE SHORTS is a project of The Katorse Writers’ Group, a group of young writer-filmmakers who were part of Ricky Lee’s 14th Scriptwriting Workshop (hence 'Katorse'). I saw their ad on Philippine Star last Sunday and decided to go watch the series even if Robinson's Galleria was so way out of my usual route. Thanks to BC for giving me a tip on how to get there from Manila (if you're anywhere near the Metropolitan Theatre area, wait for a bus that goes to Taytay or Cainta).

I am a huge fan of short films. I always get DVDs of foreign shorts whenever I have the chance to come across some. Anyhoo, here's the list of shorts featured. These came from their 4th-year anniversary DVD.

Ang Kapalaran ni Virgin Mario by Ogi Sugatan
Ambulancia by Richard Legaspi
Manyika by John Wong
Puwang by Anna Isabelle Matutina
Dead Letter by Grace Orbon
Lababo by Seymour Barros-Sanchez
Walong Linggo by Anna Isabelle Matutina

Truth be told, the only film I didn't enjoy was Lababo. Paciencia, pero I really have no patience for anything that has a leftist bent. Each to his own.

Ang Kapalaran started the series on a humorous mood. This is a take on the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Concepcion (hence Virgin Mario). The story opened with two men on a bed; lovers, obviously, named Jose and Mario. One of them (Mario; Yul Servo) woke up one day to find himself pregnant. What followed next was too hilarious to even write about. The attempt to abort the child took the most part of the film: Jose (Ricky Orellana?) tried making sungkit the fetus using a wire hanger from all the possible body orifices but to no avail, until a man suddenly appeared in the room telling them to stop and announcing that the second coming was at hand. A joyful mystery indeed.

Ambulancia stars Alan Paule and Nor Domingo. Alan is an ambulance driver and Nor is a medic. The story takes a dig on the belief of ambulance drivers that animals get themselves run over by ambulances to save the dying patient being ferried to hospitals except that on this particular day, Alan didn't run over a dog but his own daughter (who eventually died to "save" the life of a tetanus patient, a friend of Nor). Coincidences can indeed be chilling.

The story could use a little tightening. Parang hindi alam ng writer kung kelan niya tatapusin ang pelicula. Short films should have the ability to leave the audience jarred, shocked or somewhere in between (think Pam Miras' Blood Bank or Raz de la Torre's Labada or Jeanne Lim-Pepe Diokno's No Passport Needed; may ooomph ang ending, gets?). Lingering shots can kill the emotional buildup and ends the film on a flat note. Nasasayang ang effort.

Set in Luneta, Manyika has a promising premise: two young meet and become a couple. Every day, the girl receives a stuffed toy from the boyfriend until her room is filled with them. She becomes inis because the boy can't seem to say that he loves her. Instead, he gives her more stuffed toys. One day, he decided to give her the largest stuffed toy ever and she throws it on the street out of sheer desperation. Boy retrieves it and gets run over. After the internment, girl comes home crying and accidentaly squeezes a toy and it says, "I love you". Turns out, all the toys will say the same thing when squeezed and the largest of them gives her the boy's final message: that he did plan to finally say it on the day he gives her this toy. Sigh. Ano ba ito?! So heartbreaking naman. I wish it could have been shot with a better camera though; plus all that ambient noise! Haay.

Puwang is too long to discuss here (they translated the word 'puwang' to "space between"; "Space" was enough na sana because the title didn't mean it to be a literal physical space. Emotional space ito, eh), but I loved the tension brought about by the confluence of events - a dying father, a son who wouldn't visit, a daughter giving birth, and another daughter who's torn between giving up and taking care of the father. Kudos to the actors and to the writer. Shots were good, never mind that the father's poop was (quite literally) in-your-face. Because of this hindi ko na tuloy matandaan ang ending (I swear!).

May ganda naman ang Dead Letter. Medyo nakakainis na nakakalungkot. I think it is pure poetry in motion. It really captured the situation of many struggling writers (the young writer's script as pambalot ng tinapa was cliche-ish but still the best way to depict things given the circumstances). A little tightening, okay na siya. Definitely not for all audiences dahil sa heavy drama. Anyway, kudos to writer and director Grace Orbon! (Was this part of the Cinemalaya Shorts A last year? Because that was what I didn't get to watch.)

Lababo. An advise to the UM Film Society: keep writing, keep watching, keep observing, keep making films.

I liked Walong Linggo because it's a fine, smooth ending to the series akin to a mug of hot coffee and chocolate cookies after a long day. I guess the official synopsis describes it best: A young man who sits alone in a café every Sunday morning suddenly finds himself strangely falling in love with a girl he doesn’t know. As he tries to get to know her, he is hindered by insecurity and fear of rejection, thus prolonging the much-awaited introduction. Cute concept by writer-director Anne Matutina. Actors Joey Santos and Jaymee Joaquin were very, very good. Mababaw ba ako to like this story? Maybe the simplest can actually be the most likeable.

A better review of the series can be found here.

In the net, the Katorse Writers' Group lives here.

JUNE 13, 1976

2008-06-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

My dear son,

We’re together once more here in Davao. We arrived yesterday at some minutes past noon. You cried a lot. You could not sleep because I’m sure you missed your “duyan”. You got used to this cradle while with Lola. You were terrible on the plane and at the airport, although you slept in the taxi. Here at home you started crying terribly again because you could not sleep! Now you are sleeping again because I made you your kind of cradle. You certainly have a very bad sleeping habit. You toss and roll in your cradle, so it’s dangerous not to watch you.

You always smile so sweetly that it makes people “melt”, but they don’t know that you scratch your face and pull your hair when you can’t get something you want, which, of course, is unbecoming of a sweet-looking baby like you! You’re only 3 days less than 8 mounts old. Some say you’re big for your age, bit I think you’re just okay. Your lola and your great grandfather didn’t want me to take you back here.

You’ve always been a happy child. Let’s pray it will be that way always because that is all that will matter. I am happy, too.

- Mommy

MALIGAYANG ARAW NG KASARINLAN!

2008-06-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the 110th year of our independence from Spain, I went on a mind-boggling three-film extravaganza of Filipino films. I started with Aureus Solito's Tuli, followed by Peque Gallaga's Oro, Plata, Mata and finally, Himala by Ishmael Bernal. First, I am thankful that these films are finally on DVD. Was so glad to have found them while browsing through Astrovision at Rob's Ermita.

Anyway, Tuli was a digital work by the indie director Aureus Solito that was shown at the Cinemanila and at Sundance. This was his second film after the celebrated Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros. I am not sure if this film ever had a local commercial run because it received an X rating from the MTRCB for a lesbian kiss, among others. I think the topic was rather risque at best, although it wasn't really the crux of the story. Artfully shot with a little sepia glow to it (or maybe that's just how most Pinoy films are when viewed on DVD), it has a rather engaging narrative. Bravo to the young actors; they really deviated much from their protected-teen images to deliver very endearing and convincing performances.

I thought I'd never ever get to see this Gallaga masterpiece. You know, in my college days, people will only get to see this film by visiting the UP Film Center in Diliman and that alone doesn't even guarantee you a screening. Nestor de Torre brought this along with him during his national speaking tour and that's when my Mom saw it in Xavier University. Now, you can own a legit copy of this obra maestra for only Php 199. So cheap for something so priceless (note the irony in this sentence).

ORO, PLATA, MATA (Gold, Silver, Bad Luck - or something like that; Mata means something else in Spanish actually and it's not "death"!) was filmed in 1982 and set entirely in Negros (where Gallaga hails from). It won in that same year the Gawad Urian for Best Picture, direction, cinematography, production design, musical score and sound. If at all, we only have the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines and the Philippine National Bank (funder?) to thank for this film. It was also shown during the opening night of the first (and last) Manila International Film Festival in 1983 at the Manila Film Center. I loved the performances of the women actors, everyone deserving of an award (if only!). I loved Liza Lorena, most especially. I have always been a huge fan of hers. Too bad she isn't given any substantial roles these days. Gossip says Mitch Valdez regretted doing the topless scene, but hey! That was integral to her role as a liberated, US-educated doctor. Kuh Ledesma's role here is weird. She appears as a diwata. She represents, of course, the innocence (and the destruction thereof) that was inherent in the national character that was left scarred by the war.

My interest in ORO, PLATA, MATA was piqued by my current interest in this Thai soap entitled Four Reigns, which came from a book written by a former Prime Minister about a woman whose life spanned four kings. I was thinking that perhaps there could be a Philippine equivalent, and I think Oro is it. Compared to Four Reigns, however, Oro has so much tension - name it, it has it - and sex and violence and intrigue, something which is sorely lacking in its Thai equivalent (which made me think Four Reigns will never make it to local television). Every Filipino cineaste worth his salt should make Oro, Plata, Mata required viewing.

Lastly, I saw Himala. By now, it was already past mignight but I've been having problems sleeping lately that I didn't even quite notice the time. I have seen this thrice, twice on ABS-CBN and last night on DVD. Yes, you can now own a copy of this precious Bernal for only Php 199! Himala premiered in 1981. Although it didn't get the elusive Urian nod, it won in the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival (Best Actress, Best Film, Screenplay, etc.) was eventually shown in Chicago and Berlin. The Manunuri, however, made up for its oversight by declaring Bernal the Most Outstanding Filmmaker of the Decade (1971-1980). He also was conferred the National Artist Award albeit posthumously. Himala was also shown, along with Oro, during the opening of the 1983 Manila International Film Festival. I don't need to mention here what this film says about the Filipino, but the need to believe in something is still a quest for so many.

EYELOVEIT!

2008-06-06T01:09:00.000-07:00

I am so loving Pinoycentric, the blog that covers everything brown and beautiful. It pretty much gives very new news from both sides of the Pacific - Manila and the US mainland, with some coming in from around the world. Why, it even incorporates articles from other blogs I read! At least kahit nakatira ako sa mountains, aware pa rin ako sa nangyayari sa world. Yun lang. Bow.

FELIZ COMPLEAŇO, DIEGO!

2008-06-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

What is a life? A frenzy. What is life?
A shadow, an illusion, and a sham.
The greatest good is small; all life, it seems
Is just a dream, and even dreams are dreams.

- LIFE IS A DREAM (Calderon de la Barca)*

I was pleasantly pleased with this Google header. They do this every so often to commemorate something (yesterday, it was about the first air balloon flight). My favorite is their Christmas series in which they add something every day until the tableau is completed on Christmas Day. I first encountered Diego Velasquez as a child while reading back issues of Reader's Digest which we had hundreds of. I have two prints of his work - Las Meninas (see below) and Vieja Friendo Huevos (An Old Woman Frying Eggs) - awaiting framing.

Las Meninas (roughly, The Ladies-in-Wating); 1656

Pablo Picasso's Las Meninas (1958); as his own tribute to Velasquez

* Did you know that the plaza fronting the Binondo Church is called Plaza Calderon de la Barca? It was first called Plaza de Binondo, then Plaza Carlos IV (whose statue stands infront of the Manila Cathedral) and was finally named after the Spanish poet. Is now known as Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz. (Special thanks to Traveler on Foot for this information.)

(SIGH)

2008-05-31T05:11:00.000-07:00

Since I am in charge of the monthly menu and the happy task of doing the marketing for the farm, I thought I found the prices of vegetables terribly expensive this morning. Last weekend, I was in Robinson's Supermarket and vowed never to buy veggies there. I mean, seriously - a bunch of local pechay for Php 11? A piece of ampalaya for Php 30? I have always enjoyed going to the market and that's what I do all the time, except for this particular visit. This morning at the Masinag Wet Market, turned out that a bunch of pechay is Php 10 already (Php 5 only a few months ago). The cheapest rice in my area sells for Php 31 and the most expensive is Php 45 (Jasmine), but in Mindanao where food is known to rot in markets because of overabundance, why did this happen? Something is terribly wrong down South.

More sad stories here, here, here and here. Sigh.

LIFE GOES ON

2008-05-23T23:17:00.000-07:00

Despite the recent news of old Arctic breaking off, life goes on elsewhere. The earth may be old and tired, but the closer you look at the ground around you life continues to blossom in oh so many ways. Now that's reason enough to celebrate. (Shot at The Mango Farm, Antipolo City with a Canon EOS 10D)

MORE! MORE!

2008-05-23T02:38:00.000-07:00

Saw the following films most recently.

Very good, but not very exciting. Emotionally confusing. Characters don't know what they really want in life, everybody except perhaps for the prostitute (Here's a snippet. Prostitute: "Humans. Chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. We talk. Why?" Will (Jude Law): "I don't know." Prostitute: "Animals don't talk. It's because they don't lie.") Awww...

Say, isn't that boy Rafi Gavron from the ROME series? How he's grown! Juliette Binoche is amazing as ever. Hope she never grows old and die. We'd be poorer for it.

Something I'm practising at the moment. It does work if you focus hard enough & thank more often.

Nicole and Daniel are working together more and more, aren't they? The Invasion has a very simple plot: a re-entering space shuttle disintegrates in mid-air unknowingly spilling onto the residents of the city a living thing that makes people look like they all had botox injections and become peace loving all of a sudden (the 'virus' caused the end of war, famine, and disease around the world, what do you know?!). I would want that virus except that I still want to be able to smile or laugh when I need to.

The Golden Compass doesn't deserve the hype it received during its regular showing. It's fun, it's boring, it's fun, it's boring, it's fun, it's boring, it's fun, it's boring. Next book please.

COMING SOON! THANK YOU!

2008-05-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn Park Pictures presents The "Thank You" Girls, a film by Charliebebs Gohetia (does this sound like a real name to you? Anyway, he's the editor of Foster Child, Twilight Dancers, and Slingshot and writer of Daybreak and one of the four founders of UP CINEMA). World Premiere schedules: July 2008 / Davao, August 2008 / Manila (during the Cinemalaya, I assume). The 'Thank You' Girls is a Visayan film with a gay lingo twist. Tired of losing in all the beauty competitions in Davao City, five dysfunctional gay beauty pageant veterans decide to travel north to Cagayan de Oro City, in the island of Mindanao. Their mission: to conquer the grandest competition of beauty, personality and brains in the whole province. They believe that being city dwellers, gays in the province will never stand a chance against them.

Hints of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert here and there, but I'm sure it'd be fun to watch.

NAMAN!

2008-05-22T04:20:00.000-07:00

Whoever released the photos of the victims of the RCBC Cabuyao massacre to the public should be fired from the police service. The photos are now circulating the internet and are posted in Yehey! and other forums. Good grief, kailangan pa bang gawin ito sa mga biktima?!

SHOOT!

2008-05-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

I'm loving it!

WHEW!

2008-05-22T03:13:00.000-07:00

For the first time, I spent my days off in total seclusion. Usually I still work during days off because there wasn't anything better to do. Tuesday, slept the whole day and then had dinner with BC at the freshly opened Pepper Lunch in Rockwell. Wednesday, watched DVDs the moment I woke up. Practically subsisted on bread, overripe mangoes (two weeks old), and pineapple juice.

Started on the first chapter already, but a throbbing headache brought about by its snail-paced setting ended my attempt at watching this 15.5-hour magnum opus by Rainer Werner. Reconstructed by the Goethe-Institut in 2005, it is based on a book by Alfred Döblin. It was reshown in the Berlinale in 2007.

My third time to see this. Known as Abril Despedaçado, it's a Brazilian production that was released in 2001. A must see. BTW, the film's star, Rodrigo Santoro, played the role of Xerxes 1 in the film 300 (bet you didn't know that!), and is currently in Cannes for the screening of Che.

Loved this one! Alfonso Cuaron is fantastic! Who could forget his Y Tu Mama Tambien and Great Expectations? This time he gets the chance to direct some of the best actors alive, Clive Owen among them. Children of Men inspects the reality of a very near future - a scary perspective of a world gone awry.

Amazing film! It really tears you apart. It makes you question your own values.

Michael Clayton won for Tilda Swinton, one of the best actress of our times, the Best Supporting Actress nod from the 80th Academy Awards and the BAFTA. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4-star rating and Richard Roeper named it "Best Film of the Year".

I ended the day with a dramedy, Steel Magnolias. Loved the one liners! Witty! Funny! The film, released in 1989, is based on the death of director Robert Harling's elder diabetic sister. He was advised by many of his friends to write about his feelings as a coping method. What started as a short story expanded into a full-length play. One will be reduced to crying and laughing during the length of the film so be forewarned.

GOOD LUCK!

2008-05-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

The cast of SERBIS (Coco Martin, Mercedes Cabral, and Julio Diaz at the 61st Cannes Film Festival. SERBIS is the first Filipino film to be in competition in 24 years after Brocka's Bayan Ko. (Top photo by AP; 2nd photo by Christian Hartmann for Reuters (www.iht.com)

"CANNES: Toward the end of Brillante Mendoza's "Serbis," the patrons of a dilapidated Manila adult-movie palace are surprised to discover that a goat has wandered in from the street, partly obstructing their view of the naked bodies on screen.

The animal's sudden appearance - which sets off one of several chaotic, hilarious chases in this rambunctious, noisy film - might be taken as a symbol. The cinema can be a place of fantasy and sometimes disreputable pleasure, but reality, as stubborn and hard to corral as that goat, has a way of intruding whether we like it or not.
At the Cannes Film Festival, however, the metaphor often works in reverse. The metaphorical goats, as it were, can be found in the screening rooms, where audiences gather, sheeplike, to witness the frustration, misery and disorder of real life in various parts of the world. The main competition (which this year includes Mendoza's film) and the adventuresome Un Certain Regard side program share a tendency to exalt seriousness and suffering, and some of the strongest entries this year plunge viewers into worlds of private pain, family dysfunction, economic deprivation and social cruelty." Read more here.

Of course not to be ignored is Raya Martin's NOW SHOWING which is featured in the Directors' Fortnight section. 4 hours and 40 minutes long, this coming-to-age narrative brings to fore the talents of this 23-year-old director. Best of luck!

YIPEEE!

2008-05-17T22:06:00.001-07:00

My favorite comic character, Tintin, comes alive on screen again courtesy of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. Filming begins September 2008. Yipeeee!

HALA!

2008-05-16T20:06:00.001-07:00

I don't know what to make of Alejandro Jodorowsky's LA SAGRADA MONTAñA (The Sacred Mountain). Somewhere in the first part of the film I realized that it was an allegory based on St. John of the Cross' Ascent of Mount Carmel which is an address to informed Christians who aspire to grow in union with God; it examines every category of spiritual experience, the spurious as well as the authentic. With rare insight into human psychology, St. John's work not only tells how to become more closely united with God, but spells out in vivid detail the pitfalls to avoid. This exactly is what Jodorowsky's film is about - supposedly.

The film revolves around a character called The Fool (later known as The Thief, who has an uncanny resemblance to modern day's imagery of Christ). It is said the George Harrisson (of The Beatles) wanted so much to play this character but protested the gratuitous nudity (a scene required that his ass be washed in front of the camera) and therefore backed off. Anyway, The Fool was introduced to several characters representing the planets but whose actual jobs were a cosmetics manufacturer, a weapons manufacturer, a millionaire, a political financial adviser, a toy maker, a police chief and an architect. All of them have contributed to the fall of mankind through the products they have mass-produced. The Alchemist (played by Jodorowski himself) asked them to come together to do a search for illumination in a holy mountain and take over the place of the 9 immortals who live there, but before this they have to burn their money and wax images of themselves (sort of dying to one's self) before they began the quest.

Once on Lotus Island (where the mountain is located), they are sidetracked by the Pantheon Bar which features, among other things, a cemetery party of people who have abandoned their quest for the holy mountain in exchange for drugs and booze. I found particularly amusing the scene where a hulk of a man claims that he can go through solid objects saying that he has conquered the mountain - only horizontally. He couldn't go through it from down up. Thankfully, the group resists all the crap going on in the party and moves on. In the end, when the group confronted the 9 immortals, they turn out to be faceless dummies and the camera pans out to reveal the rest of the crew and equipment with Jodorowski saying, "Real life awaits us." This pretty much makes one think whether Jodorowski is simply making an inspired statement there or the audience was duped into thinking the film has a mission.

La Montaña Sagrada remains to be the most expensive Mexican production to date (USD 1, 500,000). It was first shown in the Cannes Film Festival in May 1973 and re-released in the US and worlwide only last year.

OWS?

2008-05-16T02:33:00.001-07:00

"You will be given a great deal of power today, although you might not realize it at first. The amount of attention you are getting from others is about to increase greatly -- are you prepared for being in the spotlight a lot more often? Make sure you look your best, and be ready to answer questions. At first, this situation might make you nervous. But once you get going, there will be no stopping you! You were born to be a leader, so enjoy your birthright."

My horoscope for today courtesy of D.M.

AYUDARME POR FAVOR!

2008-05-16T01:38:00.000-07:00

Truth be told, we're are having problems in disposing the Farm's share of the harvest. Already, we are throwing away kilos upon kilos of these sweet things and composting them instead (from earth they came, to earth they return. Bow!). We didn't expect this much harvest. The Farm's share alone is projected to be at 3,250 kilos. Many are still on the trees. The rest are in baskets, producing their own heat enough to ensure that they ripen naturally in 6-7 days from picking. There is very minimal response, if at all, from the villagers. Something must have gone wrong with the leafleting. Anyhoo, I already have contacted my friends in the Agriculture department (Rita) and PBSP (Jerome) to assist me in looking for people who are in the same business.

We have also saved the salvageables to be made into purees, shakes, and ice candies (not sold by the farm; by the staff lang in their own homes). My Plan of Action (POA) next year is: 1.) Explore markets (i.e. hook up with mango producers associations for networking, marketing to public markets and selling at farm gate prices (win-win solution), connecting with people's orgs, open stalls in weekend markets like Salcedo in Makati or somewhere nearer to us like the Lung Center). b.) Technology transfer via trainings (TLRC?) on how to make purees that have long shelf life, production of dried mango chips and bottled pickles and jams. When the coffeeshop opens, maybe we can have mango-based pastries as well. Oh, yes! Also liqueur. 3.) Schedule the spraying of the trees in batches so they don't bloom all at the same time. This way, we can dispose of fruits in batches, significantly reduce wastage, and increase farm income from its share.

Haaay. Feeling farmer na talaga ako.

ANO BA?!

2008-05-13T21:43:00.001-07:00

Here's an email we received lately. Mapagkakatiwalaan ba ito? What do you think?

------------------------------------

DEAR COSTUMER,

We will would like to introduce to you our field of proposal. We are a developer of low-cost to medium size residential houses...maybe your interested to have a good investmetn in housing all you have to do is to wait for the monthly income of your propoerty. We accept also land without title. If your land is no land title we also arrange the papers this offer is exclusive only here in rizal, quezon and bulacan provinces. since your farm is developed i can offer you the intelligence building that means and automation for security bulgars, lighting automation, water errigation automation for the land (farm) and a lots more for the automation exlusive
under intelligence building. maybe your interested cuz this is an affordable promo inside the said three provinces, manila is (NCR) is included.

At your service,
(Sender and company names witheld)

SNIFF

2008-05-08T05:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know what hit me last night, but maybe out of desperation I decided to watch two old films - shot 6 years apart - which pretty much reduced me to mush. The first one, Meghe Dhaka Tara (which is Bengali for The Cloud-Capped Star), is a story of Neeta, a daughter of a teacher whose family lived in a refugee camp in Calcutta, now Kolkata. Her elder brother, Shankar, is a useless wrench who sings his life away (he was a student in music and had to practice for 2 years, ack!). Anyway, I loved that part when he and Neeta were talking:

Neeta: Haven't you an ego?

Shankar: Something much bigger: my music!

Awww. Anyhoo, her other sister, Geeta, flirts with her boyfriend, and her younger brother dropped out of college to work in a factory. When her father and younger brother met separate accidents and had to stop working, it was left to her to lead the family. They survived on her meager salary as a clerk in the college library, but her life was reduced to a sense of loss when her boyfriend decided to marry Geeta. She eventually contracted tuberculosis and had to be sent to the Rheid Chest Hospital which incidentally was staffed by Filipino nuns (I may be wrong, but gut feel told me they were countrymen. Besides, they were short, spoke English, and stared directly into the camera, ha ha!). Her memorable line in this film was, "Brother, I want to live!" (Dada, ami baachte chai!) which somehow made it all very depressing because in the 50's, the survival rate for TB patients was rather dismal. There are several quoatations from Keats, Yeats, and Wordsworth courtesy of the father who I suspect taught English Lit, and lots of really sad but beautiful songs. The film is very good and very sad. Oh, I thought I've already stressed that enough. Anyway, in the words of Neeta's father, "Those who suffer for others, suffer forever." Truly, Neeta was a cloud-capped star.

Directed by celebrated alternative filmaker Ritwik Ghatak. Year of release: 1960

I think I have just confirmed that I am a sadomasochist because after all the crying with the first film, I decided to end the night with yet another tearjerker, Nijushi no hitomi (Twenty-Four Eyes). Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita based on a book by Sakae Tsubo, Twenty-Four Eyes is tearjerker unparalled in all my experience of watching old Japanese films. Sabagay, wala yata akong Japanese film na hindi iniyakan. Lahat nakakaiyak! Kinoshita is considered one of postwar Japan's cinematic geniuses and one of the most prolific (42 films in 23 years). I was also somewhat surprised that Japan already produced films just 9 years after WWII. Amazing. This can be a great topic for research, methinks. It's something similar to how we survived the Japanese invasion by indulging in zarsuelas. Anyway, the film has an undercurrent feel to it that has not been well exploited, something that resembles a suggestion (a certain scene shows the teacher, Ms. Oishi, discuss certain communist concepts to her students) but couldn't discuss openly maybe out of respect for the country's very recent loss in the war. Anyway, it could have been interesting to see how this 1954 film could have furthered that topic more. This somehow reminded me, too, of Not One Less (by Yimou Zhang) and Akira Kurosawa's Madadayo (Not Yet). Twenty-Four Eyes won the Golden Globe Best Foreign Film award in 1955, which is something huge because although Kinoshita has been widely accepted by his home audience, his films have rarely been shown abroad.

YAWN...

2008-05-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

Caught my dog, Turnip, yawning. The newspapers said the hottest temperature to be ever registered in the country is expected this May. Aarrgh! As if it's not already hot as it is.

SHAME, SHAME

2008-04-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

You know, I just saw the video where a canister of cologne spray was found imbedded in a 39-year-old patient's rectum and I think it was very educational, to say the least. Medical people do this kind of thing almost all the time (the filming & taking photos, not the embedding) especially in training hospitals like Vicente Sotto. I did most of my duties there when I was a medical student in Cebu and we encountered a lot of really good (and rare) cases. In fact, if I had a camera then I probably would have amassed photos of cases by now.

The only mistake of whoever took the video was posting it on the internet. I am not quite sure if they supplied the name of the patient as well (I watched the video from Liveleak, not from Youtube) because THAT would definitly score a suspension for the physician or nurse. What if a student took the video and posted it? How will the law apply in this case?

Anyway, I admit I did smile when the surgeon, upon taking hold of the canister, opened it and attempted to spray the people around him. I don't know though if I would have done the same. It was made in jest, of course, given the, uh, weirdness of the situation before them. This isn't a rare case, of course. A similar incident happened last year in the Philippine General Hospital wherein a bottle of catsup (the story went nasty and said the brand was PAPA) was found lodged in a similar fashion.

A word of advise for those who love to experiment: DON'T DO IT. Seriously.

HMMMM...

2008-04-24T01:59:00.000-07:00

Here's my horoscope reading for April 24, 2008:

"You have been so very good at seeing to the group's needs and putting them above your own, lately. But are you going too far? You must make sure that you keep the proper balance between time spent pursuing your own interests and time spent pursuing the interests of everyone else. If you are always at the beck and call of other people, you could be sending a message that you are more of a doormat than you actually are. Giving up what you want should never be your automatic reaction."

Hmmmm....

YIPEEE!

2008-04-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

It's finally that time of the month. Harvest time has come and the first day produced 40 kaings (traditional fruits baskets) of green mangoes. This will then be treated so the sap is removed from the skin (para flawless!) and extend shelf life. The fruits will ripen six to seven days from now and will then be ready for the markets. Antipolo mangoes with Antipolo suman, yum!

The mangoes are sorted by size in separate baskets (i.e. small, medium, and large).

The leaves on top of the baskets are tags that mean that the mangoes inside are small. Each basket weighs 22 kilos.

Lunch - sinigang na isda - is cooking for the boys.

Summer greetings from the farm! My dog, Turnip, is in the background. :-)

2008-04-19T03:52:00.000-07:00

Here’s my reading list these days:

The Labor Code of the Philippines and the Philippine Social Security Act.

I am now a fan of DOLE’s website, particularly that of the Bureau of Working Conditions and that of SSS Benefits Section. That of Philhealth’s is totally moronic.

I have downloaded recently, not movies, but the Handbook on Worker's Statutory Monetary Benefits and the Safety and Occupational Safety and Health Standards.

This is going to be fun.

TOURS! TOURS! TOURS!

2008-04-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

April 18, 2008

Dear friends,

If you haven't been on a tour of the National Museum, well, here's your chance. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the museums are (the former Finance Building and the former Legislative Building) with its extensive renovation inside yet keeping with its neo-Federal Style architecture outside.

There's fifteen galleries in the Museum of the Filipino people (formerly Finance) to explore our archaeological past and our anthropological present. The highlight of is of course four galleries devoted to the 1994 recovery of the Spanish galleon San Diego. It's treasures give insights to the incredible 300 year trade that linked us to the Americas. We’ll also see the current temporary exhibits in the museum.

The former Legislative Building, now the National Gallery of Art, will be another formidable encounter as we journey through 200 years of Filipino arts and sculpture in seven galleries. The most spectacular sight is the gigantic and original rendering The Spoliarium by Juan Luna. We pause here to appreciate and learn how this masterpiece inspired our brave band of Filipino students in Madrid, including Jose Rizal, to alter their lives and helped in the formation of our nation.

John L. Silva has been Senior Consultant of the National Museum for close to ten years and has the most incredible stories and insights about the collection. He teaches arts education in an interesting and humorous manner and delights and inspires his audience to be proud of their culture and history.

Proceeds from the fees (700 pesos for adults, and 500 pesos for children up to 18 years) will go to John's I LOVE MUSEUM PROGRAM, which brings public school teachers to the National Museum and to their local museums, taught the importance of arts appreciation and transmit that information to their students. Studies show that an arts educated child raises their academic achievements, promotes love of reading, and makes them better citizens.

The tours are three hours in duration, and begins at 10:00 am sharp (ending at 1:00 pm) at the rear entrance of the Museum of the Filipino People, (former Finance Building) Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park. Attendees are requested to wear walking shoes and reservations are strongly encouraged by texting or calling John Silva at 0926 729 9029. The tours will be held April 5, 19th, 26th and May 2, 2008. (Note: Additional tour dates on May 10 & 17)

See you at the National Museum.

John L. Silva

MOOOOOOVIES! YIPEEE!

2008-04-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you have too much time in your hands. You go home at 5PM and stay up until 2AM to watch five movies on DVD. Sigh. Anyway, I totally enjoyed the selections last night. Starting the series was TICKETS, a singular work by three directors: Ken Loach, Ermanno, and Abbas Kiarostami. Of the three, I am most familiar with the works of the latter since I also have his A Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, and Ten. Anyway, TICKETS tells the story of three groups of people all of whom are on the same train to Rome. The first is about an old Italian pharmacologist who day dreams about a writing a love letter to a young woman he's met in the office; totally heartbreaking. The second is about Filippo, a ex-soldier doing community service by assisting a bossy widow on her way to her husband's memorial service (he ends up leaving her), and finally about three supermarket workers from Glasgow who are on their way to watch a match in the Eternal City. Weaved into these three stories are a family of Albanian refugees who switch trains and steal a ticket. It's a roller coaster of heavy drama and comedy, but the former on most parts. It's a seamless weave of storytelling that's worth really watching.

I don't know why I saw this again but maybe I liked it the first time and it's always a pleasure to recall how fantastic Ryan Gosling was in this drama, The Believer. Daniel Balint (Ryan Gosling) has always been known to have his own ideas. He was expelled (or shall we say, he left) from school because he believed that God was being bossy and was ego tripping when he ordered Abraham to sacrifice his favorite son, Isaac. Daniel opines that because of this singular act, the Jewish people (of which he is a member) is scarred forever. Fast forward, Daniel joins a fascist group who wants to resurrect Neo-Nazism in New York and spread hate against the Jewish community. Daniel became the groups spokesperson and fund raiser, but he is tormented by his past and sense of belonging. His Jewish friends continue to invite him to their gatherings. The film is terribly existential and requires an intelligent audience, and by this I mean those who are able to separate their faith from simple story telling without the former being tossed to the wind. The Believer won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance.

After FUR and after watching KISS KISS BANG BANG, I realized that I like Robert Downey, Jr. I totally love the lines in this film - witty and sharp. Released in 2005, it also starred Val Kilmer as Gay Perry (there's too much "gay" references but it was a delight to watch). Kiss Kiss Bang Bang reveals the scenes behind the camera in this tinsel town of Los Angeles. The title pretty much says it all. Pauline Kael, whose book's title was used as a reference for the film's own, describes it as "perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of the movies." Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey, Jr) uses the self-aware style in his narration. In short, he speaks directly to the audience. He is a small-time crook who finds himself in a movie audition by accident and was brought to Hollywood to study how a detective works for a role. This he does under the tutelage of undercover Gay Perry (Val Kilmer). He met his childhood crush, Harmony Lane (Michelle Monagham) in one of LA's many parties and both relish their past. If you think it all ends there, you're wrong. The three characters found themselves involved in a real murder similar to the stories Harry and Harmony read when they were kids. It's a nightmare come true. Data showed that this was one of America's most overlooked films and it's a pity because it's so much fun to watch! Rogert Ebert, of course, has something else to say about it.

Seriously, nothing could beat the English in wit and Gosford Park is required watching for those whose lives have been deadened flat by life's boring routines. This is a film best enjoyed with friends over red wine and cheese.

Of course, one must end with the evening with a bang and how! 2008 is the 9th year anniversary of The Pang Brothers and they are marking it with a Hollywood remake of their first film, Bangkok Dangerous. I think this was shown in Manila during an edition of the Cinemanila International Film Festival but I didn't have the chance to catch it. I am not keen on watching the new version since I am not a fan of what's-his-name, ah, wait... Nicolas Cage and also because his character is reportedly NOT deaf, which I think is the essence of the original. The original film tells the story of Kong (Pawalit Mongkolpisit) who grew up to be an angry young man since he was always taunted by the other children as being deaf-mute. By some smart design of the universe, Kong ended up being a gun for hire because he showed excellent skills in shooting (he grew up watching target practices as his mother worked as a janitor in one such shop). Together with his friends, Joe and Aom, they all exist on a rather daily basis and with almost no bright future in sight that's why it's no surprise that all of them would eventually go down in the end. Very sad. Of the Pang Brothers' other works, so far I have seen only The Tesseract (by Oxide Pang; filmed in Bangkok). Too bad that it wasn't shot in Manila which was its original setting. Anyway, I am not sure if the Brothers' The Eye was the same The Eye I've seen back in med school, but it was also in Thai. Well, what do you know? It is. Shoot.

MALAPIT NA! AYAN NA!

2008-04-13T02:48:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not having a fit or orgasm or anything. I'm just excited that summer is about to end. How do I know this? Because there's ants all over the place. Leave food on your table and come back a few minutes later and ants would have swarmed all over it. They're preparing for the rainy season already, this year being La Niña year. Let us learn from the ants.

Anyway, here's what the farm staff had for lunch yesterday which was an event day. I got home at 2AM Sunday because the couple decided to bottoms up all the wine with the rest of the gang, which included two actors. Now I leave it to you to process that useless piece of information.

Early Saturday morning, I went to the Masinag wet market to look for these beauties locally known as lumot. Weird, because lumot means seaweed. Anyway, these sell for Php 280 - 300 / kilo. I personally picked them because maraming gimik ang mga tindera when it comes to squids, eh. First, you have to make sure there's no fish inserted inside. Seriously! Some tinderas do this so the squids weigh more. Either this or they pick the squids for you but do not drain them first before putting them on the scale. Anyway, when preparing them for grilling, take out the "skeleton" which looks like a plastic kinife, pull the head off, remove the pincers from the mouth area, and take out the ink sac. Wash, wash. You might want to save the ink to make squid-ink rice. I do not like squid-ink rice.

For the stuffing, dice tomatoes and onions. Stuff them inside the cavity and put the head back on and secure with a barbecue stick (see first photo). Now they're ready for grilling. By the way, did you know that squids have three hearts? Yes, you read that right. And two kidneys. Cool, ano? Everyone in the cephalophod family (i.e. octopus) have the same features. This might be of interest to the kidney market, hmmmm.... Squid kidneys anyone?

You might want to keep the fire low because cooking squid is tricky. One mistake and they become like rubber. For the sauce, it's usually soy sauce with diced onions, tomatoes, and chili and a little vinegar. Slice the squids into rings before serving.

For dessert, I prepared minatamis na saging. You just slice saba bananas and boil it in water with brown sugar (I used muscovado) and flavor with vanilla and cinammon. If you have cinammon sticks, the better. Cool for a bit before quick chilling in the freezer. Enjoy. :-)

ASTIG!

2008-04-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Talaga naman. Congrats, Rick! Read the rest of the feature here.

AWWW...

2008-04-12T09:00:00.001-07:00

If I have the chance to have something printed on a shirt, I will want to have the above photo silk-screened onto it. 'Di ko alam why naisip ko si Laika lately (must be the recent movies i've seen - see below) but it seems quite timely as well that my own dog, Turnip, disappeared for an entire day yesterday and showed up only at night crying and jumping a lot to be hugged and carried. Imagine na lang how Laika might have felt as she swirled around in dark space as her food supply slowly ran out. Let's ignore the fact that she was a stray dog when they found her; she's still a dog who probably used to have someone who took care of her. So heart breaking. Hay, dogs. What to do, what to do, what to do.

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY

2008-04-10T20:11:00.001-07:00

When I saw this film, I vowed never to have kids even if they are as cute and lovable as Anton Ganzelius. I probably would have chucked him out the window before he could say Super Trooper. Anyway, My Life As A Dog started a series of depressing films which pretty much occupied me during my recent days off. At the end of the day, I was sobbing like hell. Filmed in Sweden in 1985, it won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1987. I like it for its sensitivity, its succint capturing of life in rural Sweden and of the pained existence of its characters. I like the way how Ingemar, the main character, philosophizes things by comparing his own existence with that of several others' - it's almost like schadenfreude but without the happiness (which in that case isn't schadenfreude, nitwit!) but he does it to alleviate his own condition, to affirm that his life is better than others'. At the very least, better than Laika, the poor dog sent by the Soviets into space aboard Sputnik 2. My Life As A Dog has a very simple plot but had enough drama to send you howling to the moon.

Roger Ebert describes this film as one of 1993's best. I agree. Map of the Human Heart is a heavy drama with lost of soft spots (I call them "Awww... moments" for the lack of a better term). I think that the characters were so much better as children than they were adults during which they seemed to have lost the magic altogether. Jason Scot Lee, who played the adult Avik, doesn't register well on camera. At the very least, his face doesn't lend itself to many expressions. He looks like a seal taken out of water. Robert Joamie, as the young Avik, was more likable, more expressive. John Cusack, who was unusually handome here, is wasted as he did practically nothing in the film. Besides, what is is about people who wouldn't fight for their love when they're still able and then later lead lives of misery and regret? Life shouldn't be this complicated. Anyway, the film is still very romantic, however, and is suggested viewing fare for those whose relationships need things like war or famine for affirmation.

From Australia comes this powerful drama of a woman (Cate Blanchett) who wants to change her life and get away from her checkered past. The problem, however, is that circumstances just won't let her. Her bank loan just wouldn't get approved, her former boyfriend returned home to work supposedly as a stockbroker (but later turned out to be a drug dealer instead and has involved her brother), and her father - a former soccer star - is experiencing terrible withdrawal symptoms from years of drug use. It's terribly depressing. It's not helping that there's a general sense of - what else? - helplessness. This film pretty much stresses that every one should be given a second chance.

Based on the book by Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl is a look into the depressing world of Henry VIII's court where the aim to produce a male heir was as desperate as families' dreams of hitting the jackpot by whoring their daughters to the king. Of course this is a coarse way of putting it, but if I had a gun I would have shot the stupid Duke of Norfolk to death. Anyway, just like other movies on royalty, this film also serves to show the precariousness of one's position in court, how one may be favored today and disgraced the next. The seeming contest to get appointed is something that still exists in our current settings most especially in our own little democratic space. Despite the fact that the film actually deviated from actual historical events, it's a good movie to show to people jockeying for positions in government. Oh, we might as well show them the ax afterwards. Natalie Portman shines as Anne Boleyn while Scarlett Johansson is perfect for the role of the hapless Mary Boleyn. Watch out for winning one-liners from Mrs. Boleyn and of course, Reina Catalina (Queen Catherine; Katharine) herself. I was told this flopped in the States but who gives a fig. I hope they film all the rest of Philippa's books. And as a side note, please work on the accents this time.

LAUNCHING NA!

2008-04-10T20:07:00.001-07:00

Sa lunes na po, April 14, ang booklaunch ng Ang Mga Kuwento ng Batang Kaning Lamig - 3PM sa Fully Booked, The Fort. Balita ko ay may ihahandang pagkain ang publisher ko kaya magpagutom kayo.

Kita kita na lang tayo roon, kabayan. Pagkakataon na ninyo para makita ang kutis betlog na amoy lupang matanda pero kyut pa rin na ex-macho dancer.

- Kuya Batjay

SUMMER

2008-04-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

You know it's summer when birds fly about freely enjoying the warm sun, the sweet fruits, gathering dried grass for the nests.

Summer also means death for some who fly blindly onto glass panes. There's nothing as sad as seeing a beautiful creature lose its life during this most beautiful of seasons.

TENCHU! TENCHU!

2008-04-01T02:44:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all those who sent get-well messages. I can start to move my left arm again. The swelling has reduced quite considerably, but the movement is still limited and slow but I can touch my face and head again, yipee!

I had my BUA done STAT yesterday at St. Camillus Polymedic Clinic in Pasig and what I've known for many years was finally confirmed: my uric acid has skyrocketed. I think the same thing is happening to The Fish Out of Water.

I am currently on Allopurinol and Cataflam and will return to see the doctor on the 16th of April. I have suffered from gout since my med school days and have kept on postponing the lab test because the drug I was taking was working anyway. Lesson learned.

Anyway, all is well. Cheers!

EYELOVEYOU, DIANE ARBUS!

2008-04-01T01:24:00.000-07:00

I am slowly recovering from my pained existence and today being my day off, I decided to stay in bed the whole morning and after having lunch, decided to watch a DVD movie. For today, I chose FUR: The Imaginary Life of Diane Arbus.

Nicole Kidman floats like a feather in this beautifully produced take on the life of acclaimed American photographer Diane Arbus. Although Nicole hardly resembles Diane (that huge Rolleiflex camera dangling from her neck looks too heavy for her fragile frame), she gives the project its much needed sensuality and coquettishness that suffuses the film with the required mystery, darkness, and loneliness that may have produced the kind of photographs that shook the world - the everyday man and the hard life that is New York.

Robert Downey, Jr. plays the role of Lionel well. A fur-covered neighbor who lives upstairs, he is responsible for opening Diane's world into the bizzare: giants, prostitutes, siamese twins, nudists and the retarded - people whom the world have chosen to ignore.

I was hoping this new life for Diane - that of taking her own pictures - would be a liberating experience for her, but she decided to end it all at 48 with barbiturates and, for better measure, by slitting her wrists (not featured in the film). This was in 1971.

I don't know what artists like Diane really want with their lives. Apparently, self-expression is never enough. There seems to be something with slitting one's wrists, shoving one's head in an oven, or filling one's pocket with rocks and sinking into a river that makes these acts so attractive. These days, in order to achieve immortality, one must be willing to give up one's life. How ironic.

HYPOGAEA IN FULL COLOR

2008-03-30T00:54:00.000-07:00

Same family of the peanut (Hypogaea sp.). This one has the same flowers, but it doesn't produce peanuts. It's mostly ornamental. The original color, of course, is yellow. It's very small (as big as our 5 -centavo coin) but very lovely.

BUCOLIC SUNDAY

2008-03-30T00:28:00.000-07:00

Took some shots around the farm after the rain. And then I played around with the photos. This is what happens when one's arm is in a sling and when one has just stepped on a nail.

NO APOLOGIES

2008-03-29T21:22:00.001-07:00

Forgive me if the entry below this one is quite long, but if you do have time to read it it will be very much appreciated. I did work with Ermin Pimentel - Kuya Ermin for the most of us - when I was still with Xavier University and this is my way of showing support to what appears to be a huge effort. We were together, along with several other volunteers, at the Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakabana (KKP) Social Involvement Office. Padayon!

Guidelines for Communal Discernment and Action

2008-03-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

Guidelines for Communal Discernment and Action
to Address the National Crisis

The Context

1. The ZTE-NBN controversy has once again raised questions about abuse of power and systemic corruption in the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). This is just the most recent in a series of events that indicates a worrisome pattern of behavior in government, particularly of anomaly and cover-up, leading to the weakening of Philippine democratic institutions. Among these are the “Hello Garci” scandal, the fertilizer scam, the promulgation of calibrated preemptive response (CPR), EO 464 and PP 1017, the unresolved extrajudicial killings and disappearances of activists and media practitioners, the undermining of impeachment proceedings, the pursuit of self-serving charter change, and the lack of a decisive response by the government to the farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon due to political compromises in the implementation of agrarian reform. Good governance and long-term reform are being sacrificed for short-term political survival.

2. Many Filipinos are outraged by this situation because of what appears to be a deliberate suppression of truth, and the refusal of the government to be made accountable. Many also feel confused and powerless, leading to a sense of hopelessness and deepening distrust of political leaders and institutions. There is a real danger that citizens will become disempowered and disengage themselves from politics. At the same time, there are also those whose frustrations have led them to join armed insurgent groups or are seriously considering insurrectionary and other unconstitutional options because of the inability of government to effectively address the issues of the poor and respond to the call for truth and accountability. Then there are some members of the economic and political elite, who out of pragmatic considerations, have adopted a “wait-and-see” position and have therefore not helped in providing clear leadership in terms of clarifying the issues and options. These include the politicians who are potential presidential candidates in the 2010 elections.

3. While there is anger and despair because of what is happening to the country, there are also possibilities that have opened up with the recent events, for bringing about serious and much-needed changes in the political and governance institutions and culture of the country. How we respond as a people to this crisis will determine whether we can make the most of this opportunity for a renewal of Philippine democracy.

Diversity of Responses

4. Part of the reality of the present crisis is the diversity of views and even division among people, across and within sectors, in their analyses of and reactions to the situation. Therefore, it is important to note the range of political positions and options among those who have responded. This range represents a continuum, that allows a capture of the essential differences across groups, while at the same time recognizing that there are real overlaps among the positions and those who represent them.

a. “The economy is good. Let’s move on.” The Arroyo government and its allies insist on projecting a picture of a growing economy, on the one hand, which is undermined by unnecessary and debilitating “political noise,” on the other hand, created by “partisan” groups whose only agenda is to unseat the President. This type of politics is seen as bad, not just for economic growth, but also for addressing the poverty problem because it is the poor who are most affected by political instability. Therefore in this view, the country must move on, since it argues that the administration has a mandate to rule until 2010. Likewise, there are those who may not explicitly support GMA, but believe that given the alternatives, the President represents the lesser evil. Effectively, they do not support any moves to hold the government accountable.

b. “All politicians are corrupt. Let’s focus on jobs, services and the poor.” Some business associations, socio-civic organizations and faith-based groups are highly cynical of national politics or have given up on it altogether, and thus do not see it as the avenue for meaningful change. They concentrate on what they see as the more important tasks of job-creation and servicedelivery (e.g., housing, health, education). They believe that what they are doing has more long-term impact because they address the more basic issues of poverty and hopelessness, which breed corruption and a culture of dependence.

c. “Let the 2010 elections resolve the crisis.” Strict rule-of-law advocates hold that President Arroyo legitimately won the 2004 elections, even if there are serious and impeachable questions of cheating. They believe in accountability through constitutional mechanisms like an independent factfinding commission, impeachment and ultimately elections. In this perspective, there is no doubt that the search for truth must be pursued, even as they believe that the crisis can only be eventually and truly resolved through the electoral exercise scheduled for 2010.

d. “Bring out the truth, hold GMA accountable, and work for reform.” There are faith-based and civil society organizations that call for “truth, accountability and reform,” emphasizing concrete measures like resolving the issue of executive privilege, calling for an independent counsel (with investigative and prosecutorial powers), pushing for possible impeachment, and advocating long-term reforms pertaining to freedom of information and transparency, electoral and civil service reform, and social justice (especially agrarian reform). These initiatives are meant to provide constructive ways for people to participate in meaningful democratic governance and institution-building.

e. “No real reform is possible under GMA.” There are prominent concerned individuals and groups who also adopt a truth-accountability-and-reform framework, but are more emphatic that a precondition for genuine long-term reform is holding President Arroyo directly accountable for the undermining of institutions. Thus, they would tend to be more explicit in taking a principled position that the government should step down, and that a succession should hew as much as possible to the Constitution.

f. “Oust GMA.” Various groups from both the Left and the Right of the political spectrum, many of them not sharing a long-term agenda, are tactically coming together on the objective of ousting the Arroyo government, even through extra-constitutional means. This may take the form of an EDSA-like people power, military withdrawal of support, a Cabinet coup, or some combination thereof. They are not in agreement on who or what should assume power in the aftermath of an Arroyo ouster. Some may accept Vice President Noli de Castro taking over, while others prefer special elections (on the premise that the Vice President will also step down or be made to do so) or “snap elections” or an interim civilian-military junta that will put key reforms in place and oversee a return to constitutional government. It is important to note that groups on the Left recognize the need for bringing in more long-term structural reform, beyond merely replacing the President.

Non-negotiable Principles

5. Given these and other options that may be taken, it is important to identify some non-negotiables, for more thoughtful and responsible communal discernment and action:

a. Uphold the truth. Truth, especially regarding cases of graft and corruption, cannot be sacrificed in the name of stability. Stability that is the product of unresolved issues tends to be shallow and short-lived, as the credibility and capacity of institutions designated to pursue the truth are weakened, and other cases of corruption surface again and again. Moreover, this situation contributes to the reinforcement of a culture of impunity.

b. Exact accountability. Government must be held accountable by the people, for all its actions and decisions, in all policy areas, and at every point of its stay in power. This means that the exacting of accountability should not take place only at the time of elections because democracy cannot be confined to the single act of casting a vote, but is a continuing process of citizen participation. Nevertheless, elections are also a core mechanism of accountability, especially since the present political crisis is linked to unresolved questions of electoral cheating. Part of the response necessary at this time involves the rebuilding of public trust and confidence in institutional mechanisms of accountability.

c. Pursue meaningful reforms. Even in situations of crisis, efforts at electoral, bureaucratic, and social reform should not cease because many of the country’s problems are really of a structural and institutional nature, needing continuing transformation. There is a need to recognize the problems and propose concrete solutions.

d. Build and strengthen democratic institutions. The country needs to establish and fortify democratic institutions, which provide consistent, organized and self-regulating procedures, applied to all citizens equally. Among these institutions are due process, civilian supremacy, rule of law, checks and balances. While Philippine democracy is still flawed, the genuine gains that came with the dismantling of the Marcos dictatorship and the restoration of democratic institutions should not be lost. The alternatives (e.g. a military junta, a civilian-military authoritarian regime, a communist government) are even more unstable, unpredictable, unsustainable, and potentially harmful. A second democratic breakdown, moreover, will be much more difficult to undo. Strong democratic institutions can likewise help address the present conditions of real divisions among Filipinos. By providing agreed-upon rules and mechanisms which are accepted as credible and fair, institutions facilitate the peaceful resolution of conflicts among dissenting positions and approaches.

e. Promote responsible and engaged citizenship. Moral outrage in the present moment is called for, and is critical for a committed response; but it must also lead to a serious and responsible consideration of consequences for the medium and long term. Hopefully, such a responsible and engaged citizenship will lead to the transformation of the present culture of one-sided dependency on leaders. The country’s problems have been reinforced by generations of patronage that have led Filipinos to depend disproportionately on those who have more resources and more power, in politics and society at large, in the Church, and even in the ordinary barrio or baranggay.

f. Champion active nonviolence and protect human rights. Action is to be guided by principles of active nonviolence. “Violence is evil… violence is unacceptable as a solution to problems…. Violence destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life, the freedom of human beings” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 496). Human and civil rights must always be respected and promoted (Centesimus Annus, 22). Any coercive means is unacceptable, including forms of harassment, detention without due process, and policies that seriously undermine the freedom of the press and the right to self-expression and organization.

g. Prioritize the poor. The real and urgent concerns of the poor should be given highest priority amidst all efforts to search for the truth and promote accountability. If many Filipinos seem to be uninvolved or uninterested, it is primarily because of an overriding concern for economic survival during very hard times. Indeed, the search for the truth is integrally linked to the fate of the poor. Corruption and dishonesty have made the lot of the poor worse. Programs and initiatives from both government and the private sector to address poverty and inequality, and to respond to the urgent needs of the poor, in fields such as education, health, housing, livelihood and the environment should continue to be supported, and indeed intensified.

h. Engage and involve the youth. It is important that all activities should seek to involve the youth, and harness their energies, especially for truly sustainable reforms and institution-building. Significantly, recent events have awakened many young Filipinos and stirred them to become more politically involved. Today, there is an opportunity to do political education and mobilization of the youth on a scale not seen for many years.

Analysis of Options

6. Given these guiding non-negotiable principles, the different positions and options presented above can now be reviewed, in order to help build common ground and move towards a consensus on how best to respond to the ZTE-NBN scandal and the broader political crisis:

“There is no problem with GMA.”

a. Business as usual, status quo. Not holding government accountable in any way is unacceptable. “Political authority is accountable to the people…. Those who govern have the obligation to answer to the governed” (Compendium, 408, 409). The nature of the allegations of corruption in this particular case is so serious, that any government with some sense of responsibility to its citizens cannot but respond, to work towards establishing the truth beyond any major question or doubt, and so confirm its legitimacy.

“Political corruption… betrays both moral principles and the norms of social justice.” (Compendium, 411) Moreover, there is much truth to the view that fighting corruption is not against the economy. Indeed, corruption is antidevelopment and anti-poor.

“GMA is not the main problem.”

b. Give up on politics. Among those who hold this position include a range that spans from the exhausted, to the cynical, to the apathetic. All of them move towards a position that views all politicians as being equally selfinterested. Effectively, none of them focuses on GMA as the problem. Such a view that disengages from all politics and does not identify concrete points of action and reform only contributes to the sense of hopelessness and paralysis. At all times, participation in the social and political realms, either as individuals or as members of organizations, is a duty to be fulfilled with responsibility and with a view to the common good (Compendium, 189).

c. Focus on the delivery of services to the grassroots. The preferential option for the poor necessitates a long-term perspective on development beyond mere regime change. It also makes the delivery of services to the grassroots essential, regardless of who is in power. Thus, those who have opted to concentrate on this course of action are to be commended. However, while citizen-involvement in particular areas of social development and local politics is a form of participation, they will always be constrained by large-scale anomalies and abuse of power on the national political level. All citizens must work towards the eradication of the evils of patronage politics and national political corruption, in order to promote the common good.

“How does one address the GMA problem?”

d. Call on GMA to resign. There are individuals and groups who have been calling for President Arroyo’s resignation since 2005 and continue to hold that position as a matter of principle. At that time, the CBCP itself recognized the call for the President’s resignation, as well as for a “Truth Commission” and impeachment, as legitimate options under the guiding principles of accountability, constitutionality, non-violence and effective governance. While the bishops did not call on President Arroyo to step down, they asked her to discern “to what extent she might have contributed to the erosion of effective governance and whether the erosion is so severe as to be irreversible.” Therefore, those who in conscience have made a decision that the President should not remain in office deserve respect. Their call for her to resign voluntarily is one of the options provided for in the Constitution. However, it also needs to be pointed out that while this position is one of principled moral conviction, it ceases to be a real political option if GMA remains resolute that she will not resign voluntarily.

e. Cabinet declaration of incapacity of the President. The Constitution provides that a majority of Cabinet members can declare in writing to the Senate President and the House Speaker that “the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his [her] office” (Article VII, Section 11). This is a constitutional way of removing a President who is seen to be physically or mentally incapacitated, but the meaning of this provision may be interpreted more broadly. This is one scenario for an “internal or Palace coup” within the GMA regime. But such decisions on regime change tend to be elitist, as they are dependent on so few people. This declaration can be challenged, however, by the President, in which case Congress may confirm the Cabinet decision by a two-thirds vote of the two houses of Congress voting separately. Note that this requirement is even more stringent than the one-third percentage required for the House of Representatives to send an impeachment complaint to the Senate for trial.

f. Oust GMA. When faced with the President’s refusal to resign voluntarily, those who are willing to push the demand for her to step down to the point of employing even extra-constitutional means must be reminded that democratic institutions may be harmed in the long-term, especially if a political vacuum is created for groups with an anti-democratic, adventurist or power-grabbing agenda to try to seize power and hold on to it indefinitely.

g. People Power. People power is a precious legacy from the struggle against the dictatorship and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. EDSA I was the culmination of a long process of political education, organization and mobilization throughout the martial law years and especially during the nearly three years after the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino. Active nonviolence was a defining characteristic of EDSA People Power. It is enshrined in the Constitution, which values initiatives from below as a way of harnessing the direct participation of the people in politics and governance. In its current usage, however, it is problematic because it is often equated with popular insurrection and takeover as a method of regime change. This creates a dynamic where crisis situations continue to be resolved through extra-constitutional means which are not predictable, weaken democratic institutions and install leaders with questionable mandates. Thus an endless series of EDSA’s spells serious instability.

h. Snap elections. Any call for “snap elections” would be extra-constitutional, since there is no such provision in the present charter. What the Constitution provides for is the holding of “special elections,” should vacancies arise in the offices of both the President and the Vice President. Therefore, those who are advocating this option presume that both the President and Vice President will step down or will be made to do so. Moreover, special elections before 2010 without meaningful preparation and electoral reforms will only lead to a contest between those already entrenched in power and thus will not produce genuine change.

i. Military intervention. Some have called for an interventionist role of the military to effect regime change. While recognizing that there are reformminded members of the military who have a genuine concern for the good of the country, military intervention in whatever form must be eschewed, especially in the present context of a weak Philippine democracy. Allowing the military to become the arbiter to resolve political conflicts and stalemates undermines civilian supremacy, long-term democratization and political stability.

j. An Independent Counsel. Some have called for an independent institution with the credibility and capacity for investigating and prosecuting government corruption at the highest levels. This proposal has been made because some see the Senate investigations as partisan, while the Ombudsman is overloaded with corruption cases and is perceived as partial to the government in power, given its recent track record. For this option to prosper, however, three difficult issues need to be addressed: (i) creating such a body through a law approved by Congress, (ii) defining the scope of its power and responsibilities, especially in relation to the Ombudsman, and (iii) giving it real autonomy, particularly from the President, who would be the appointing official.

k. Impeachment. This mechanism is provided for by the Constitution to exact accountability from the President. It is also a way by which allegations can be verified, thus giving the President a fair hearing and an opportunity to defend herself. However, impeachment will only work if people are willing to participate actively in pushing for and making sure that this process is effective (e.g. sustained lobbying, pressuring their representatives in Congress to prioritize the search for truth and accountability). Thus, it can provide excellent opportunities for active political participation, especially for citizens outside Metro Manila.

“How does one go beyond GMA?”

l. Elections. The forthcoming elections in 2010 will be critical. Not only will a new president be chosen, but this national exercise will also be crucial in the restoration of trust in the democratic system and the emergence of a new alternative leadership. It is imperative that they are conducted freely, honestly and credibly. Furthermore, there is a need for responsible citizens to organize around candidates, leaders and parties who are upright and capable, and who can contribute positively to the strengthening of weak institutions.

Action Points

7. It is precisely during times of great upheavals and crises that the call to hope becomes more urgent. Desperation and cynicism cannot be allowed to eat up people’s inner resources. To move forward from this crisis means identifying and pursuing specific forms of action, such as: (a) joining circles of ongoing reflection and discernment, and efforts at political education and organization, including training in anti-corruption advocacy (Ehem) and active nonviolence; (b) supporting institutional efforts to get to the truth and creating a broader climate of truth-telling which encourages and protects whistleblowers; (c) joining activities that promote accountability; (d) articulating long-term ideals and policies for national political reform; and (e) establishing sectoral and multi-sectoral organizations and networks to promote dialogue and concerted action. Concretely, eight action areas fall within the range of options which are consistent with the principles identified above, especially the need to build strong democratic institutions and promote engaged citizenship for socio-political reform:

a. Support for the ongoing Senate investigation of the ZTE-NBN case not only to bring out the whole truth on matters of public interest but also to strengthen the institutional system of checks and balances that seek to prevent the abuse of power.

b. Creation of a credible Independent Counsel, in order to ferret out the veracity of various allegations and promote accountability within the judicial system, in which unfortunately many of the official institutions are seen as severely compromised politically. Thus there is a need for an institutional venue and mechanism that will be viewed as autonomous of the government currently in power and free of the antics of traditional politicians.

c. Initiation of a genuine impeachment process, particularly by pressuring Representatives in the House to hold the President accountable for serious violations of public trust if there are sufficient bases for doing so.

d. Pursuit of reforms towards government transparency in all its transactions, especially in processes like procurement, decisions on loans, development projects, social reforms, and on issues such as mining, energy and land use that have a profound impact on poor communities and the environment. There is a need to ensure rigorous implementation of laws and policies, the
institutionalization of a culture of social accountability, free access to information, and the enhanced participation of civil society in governance decisions at all levels.

e. Promotion of electoral reforms to ensure the conduct of clean, honest, and credible elections in 2010, including the revamp of the Comelec, beginning with the appointment and confirmation of commissioners of unquestioned integrity and competence; the modernization of the electoral system; the eradication of warlordism; the monitoring of campaign finance and expenditure; and the continuing political education of voters.

f. Search for worthy candidates and potential leaders, parties/coalitions and platforms for 2010, through positive preparations, planning and strategizing. This would mean clarifying political values and development priorities, candidate selection and recruitment, resource mobilization, and political organizing.

g. Organization of and support for basic sectors, to enable them to have a real say in democratic processes and to address the urgent needs of economic development and social justice.

h. Engagement of the youth in current issues, through political education, organization and mobilization for democratic institution-building, lobbying for transparency and accountability, policy reform, and involvement in electoral politics.

8. These specific and concrete calls for action are not isolated and discrete but are precisely interconnected in a framework that seeks to promote truth, accountability and reform. They address gross injustices in the country through active citizen participation that will support and be supported by efforts at political education, organization, mobilization and network-building in order to strengthen and transform democratic political institutions under the Constitution.

Responding to the Call for Communal Discernment, Conversion and Action

9. We offer these guidelines as a response to the call of our bishops for “circles of discernment” to “pray together, reason together, decide together, act together.” We trust that these reflections help clarify the context, principles and options for people – especially the youth – who seek to respond in action to the current crisis rather than succumb to the temptations of despair. For as Pope Benedict XVI has said, “All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action” (Spe Salvi 35).

Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus
Commission on the Social Apostolate

Easter Sunday, 23 March 2008

Albert E. Alejo, S.J.
Xavier C. Alpasa, S.J.
Anna Marie A. Karaos
Antonio M. La Viña
Jose Cecilio J. Magadia, S.J.
Antonio F. Moreno, S.J.
Ermin B. Pimentel
Karel S. San Juan, S.J.
Benjamin T. Tolosa, Jr.
Primitivo E. Viray, Jr., S.J.
Peter W. Walpole, S.J.
Roberto C. Yap, S.J.

RADIOACTIVE ADOBO*

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

ROMULO RESTAURANT

*HYPERVENTILATES*

DROOL, DROOL

CURRENTLY READING

HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR INDEED!

KOMIKERA, 5th Edition

MI BLOGSPOT ES SU BLOGSPOT!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

IT'S WAR! AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEE!

KLAATU BARADA NIKTO!

ATENEO DE MANILA TURNS 149

CURRENTLY READING

JOY LUCK CLICKS

FAREWELL, MAMA AFRIKA!

HE SAID, SHE SAID

MANAGED A TROIS

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

A LOUD HOLA FROM THE HILLS!

MY SASHA SHYLY PRESENTS (READ THIS VERY FAST 8 TIMES)

PAYING MY DUES

TOURS! SUPPORT!

HEAVEN ON EARTH!

EXHIBIT: HIS ART, OUR HEART

BEST OF LUCK!

YES OR NOT

REVIEW: REMINISCE

AAAAAAAARRRRGH!

DREAM TEAM

DIANA IS A NOT JUST A PRINCESS

CURRENTLY PLAYING

PHOTO NA, FUN PA

IDIOTIC, THAT'S WHAT IT IS

IT DOESN'T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST...

WOMEN = CREATING: A SOLO EXHIBIT AND POETRY COMPETITION

CURIOUSER AND...

LA LA LA LA LA!

WEEKEND AMUSEMENTS

CINEMALAYA 2008 WINNERS

YIPEEEE!

LOMO IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING

CINEMALAYA 2007 TEASERS!

BLAST FROM THE PAST: STILL LIFE

REVIEW: CINEMALAYA 2008 SHORTS A

COLOR OF THE DAY

LOFI, ISSUE 3

IT'S A FINE, FINE LIFE!

VOLTA ISN'T AI-AI

BELLY UP

ANOTHER LONG DAY

POST-FRANK KALIBO (*SIGH*)

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY

FILM REVIEW: SERBIS

FOR THE VICTIMS OF TYPHOON FRANK

JUST SHOOT ME.

JUNE 13, 1976

MALIGAYANG ARAW NG KASARINLAN!

EYELOVEIT!

FELIZ COMPLEAŇO, DIEGO!

(SIGH)

LIFE GOES ON

MORE! MORE!

COMING SOON! THANK YOU!

NAMAN!

SHOOT!

WHEW!

GOOD LUCK!

YIPEEE!

HALA!

OWS?

AYUDARME POR FAVOR!

ANO BA?!

*SNIFF*

YAWN...

SHAME, SHAME

HMMMM...

YIPEEE!

TOURS! TOURS! TOURS!

HYPERVENTILATES

POST-FRANK KALIBO (SIGH)

SNIFF