I've been a homebody all year, so I'm happy to ride a plane again today. I'll be on blog hiatus until the first week of August, so I leave you with the Pinoy pride series, free music from the QED Records netlabel. If that's not enough, head over to my photolog, which will continue to have a new photo or two daily. Do leave a note on your favorite shots. It's awfully lonely over there.
I haven't followed a TV series for more than a year now, so when J mentioned Zettai Kareshi, I looked it up in a heartbeat. It's another manga-based Japanese dorama, with shades of Kimi wa petto. I think Mocomichi's supposed Filipino blood is his edge over other actors, even if he reminds me of Romnick Sarmenta.
I've only seen one episode but I feel like buying a cream puff from Beard Papa already. In other news...
Tony Leung and Carina Lau got married in Bhutan. Altogether now: "Finally!" [via mystarhill.com]
Diana DeGarmo will appear alongside my favorite singing chimneysweep Gavin Creel in Godspell on Broadway this autumn. [via The Sun NY]
This year's Global Pinoy Bazaar will be on September 20 to 21 at the Rockwell Tent. [via Flair in the City]
Metrobank is giving away a sako bag of Jack n Jill items and C2 iced tea for a minimum purchase of P1,500 at Robinsons supermarket. I just happened to look at the nutrition information and was shocked at the saturated fat content of a tiny one-serving Chiz Curlz pack: 50% of RDA! Regardless of whatever micronutrients they put in there, you're asking for a heart attack.
Which brings me to question of "healthy" spreads. I know Dari Creme Lite is not as "evil" as regular butter and margarine, but 20% of the saturated fat RDA for one tablespoon is still not healthy.
A show of fingers from the film dudes. The line producer, dozens of tickets in hand, holding a phone and a purse, as producers always do. And then there's the groupie (me), happy for the photo op.
Congrats to Dan V. (right) who won Best Cinematography for Huling Pasada (Last Stop) in the Cinemalaya awards last Sunday. Thanks to Jess, the silent editor, for this awesome shot of us at the CCP main lobby. Last stop: if you look around Jess's Multiply site, you'll find me in a dated cameo. Note the hair.
I stepped into the store and admired the clothes. Good fabrics, rich colors, reasonable prices for the quality (not-cheap prices for not-cheap stuff). The salesgirl said some of the clothes were from Thailand, but some were designed and produced here. Some styling is required to achieve the full effect, but I could imagine Preview mag getting away with a shoot entirely from the line. If only I had a reason to dress up...
Frank Gehry designed this year's Serpentine Pavilion in London's Hyde Park, which opened to the public yesterday. An excerpt from his interview in the FT the other Friday:
"In the last year four of my buildings have been torn down," he responds,"and I've been asked to defend them. I don't. A building refers to its time, to the things it was responding to, the people, the place. It's either useful or it's not. And sometimes they're not. The reality of our lives is that you respond to things which become absolute. You react to the problems of the world."
The best news photos taken last year by photojournalists from all over the world will be on exhibit in Manila for three weeks in August.
Winning works from the 2008 World Press Photo competition, touted as the world’s largest and most prestigious annual contest in press photography, will be on display Aug. 1 to 7 at the Podium in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Aug. 8 to 13 at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and Aug. 14 to 22 at The Block at the SM North EDSA.
The 2008 World Press Photo Exhibition in Manila will be hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo (ACFJ). It is also supported by the Embassy of The Netherlands in Manila and global multi-brand company Unilever.
The show is topbilled by the work of British photographer Tim Hetherington. His picture of a U.S. soldier who had collapsed appearing exasperated on a bunker after intense fighting in Afghanistan was awarded the Photo of the Year.
A record number of 5,019 photographers - up 12.5 percent over the immediately past year – vied in the 2008 competition. A total of 80,536 images were submitted.
Amsterdam-based media NGO World Press Photo has run the competition annually since 1955.
The exhibit that follows the competition is “a showcase for creativity in photojournalism and a platform for developments in the profession - part of World Press Photo's aim of encouraging and stimulating the work of press photographers around the world,” the World Press Photo, said in its website.
Last year, the Manila leg of the exhibition was also held in the three same venues. The show drew huge numbers of viewers including journalists, media professionals, students, teachers and professionals. Nearly 200 comments and testimonials were made by viewers in guest book entries.
The forthcoming Manila show is expected to attract as broad an audience as it did in May 2007.
Each year, the winning images in the competition go on a roadshow after the exhibit’s official opening in Amsterdam as part of the prize-giving ceremony in April. It is shown until March of the following year in venues around the globe.
The Manila leg of the exhibit will open with a press preview on the first day. Guided tours for students, and academic and professional organizations are set for the succeeding days.
In a two-year program, the World Press Photo has worked with the ACFJ for the successful offering of the Diploma in Photojournalism course. This is crafted for Asian photojournalists and media professionals who want to sharpen their technical skills and be better in their profession. At least 15 students have so far graduated from the program.
And what a fine platter it was. Was I really not in a Mediterranean country?
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If you haven't heard of Dr. Horrible yet, you're missing out. Hurray for Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris and this musical penned during the WGA strike!
The web series is a great new form for the media/cultural studies scholar to look at. Here's an excellent example: The Guild (also with Felicia Day). Gamers can be too immersed in their WoWorld.
My Chinese "little brother" Li successfully defended his memoire in Grenoble. I didn't expect to encourage friends to undertake Internet research, so I was touched by the mention in his acknowledgments.
Years from now, I'll be laughing at this first serious (meaning finished with certainty) attempt at watercolor since starting to learn it last month. Yes, that's me, aged five.
My classmate T: "Cute ka pala nung bata ka." Those were the days!
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I first saw Matt Harding's old video some time ago. Glad he's updated it and that people are still talking about it. His website FAQ is a great read. Case in point:
Why is the world so screwed up? Men. How do we fix it? Women.
Jollibee's new La Paz Batchoy style noodle soup (P28 solo, P25 with value meal) introduces La Paz Batchoy to a generation unfamiliar with Filipino noodle soups. The serving is small, not much bigger than a cup of rice, but the presentation is effective because of the specially designed serving bowl. The requisite slice of egg is there, along with a good amount of chicharon bits. I wouldn't say it's much different from the instant variety taste-wise, but it beats boiling water and waiting for three minutes. One look at it and you will already feel warm, a nice treat for a cool rainy July day.
Hurray for Robert McChesney, CTW and Indymedia for being named Media Heroes by Reclaim the Media! There must be more new media heroes waiting in the wings. And while you think of a media hero to nominate, scan their reading list of interesting titles.
In the last couple of weeks, I've received an unusual number of compliments from friends of different genders, supermarket baggers and security personnel. My favorite moment was what the cafeteria server said after he nearly gave me french fries with salad when I asked for half rice and mixed veg: "Sorry, ma'am. Natulala lang sa iyong kagandahan." (Lame excuse? He certainly looked like he won some kind of jackpot when he was preparing the food.) Then I realized that the song from Annie is true: you're never fully dressed without a smile. Don't leave home without it.
Celebrate Philippines-Japan Friendship Month through film.
Shangri-La Plaza Cinema 3, Edsa, Mandaluyong City July 9 to 13, 26 and 27 CCP Dream Theater, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City August 7 to 10 2pm UP Film Institute, Diliman, Quezon City August 11 to 14 and 16
Finally used the blank postcards my Secret Santa gave me last Christmas. Any takers for the striped ones? Email me your postal address and I'll send you one. Good while supplies last (I can still make a few more).
A quick but pleasant walk along the Megamall art corridor.
The Crucible Gallery organized Homage to Malang at the Art Center. I was too fascinated with the on-the-spot still life session by The Saturday Group that I failed to jot down the artworks I liked most. The session had six women artists (or perhaps one or two more), which made me happy. It's not even one-fourth of the total number, but it was a better ratio than the last sitting I saw. There was a lot of bread to paint and to eat, courtesy of The French Baker. Mental note: muffins are better eaten than painted.
Pacing down the hallway, the gallery that sucked me in for all of two seconds in was the big & small art co., which had Froilan Calayag's Here Comes the Black Clouds [sic]. Whimsical and dark. Or maybe if I wasn't in such a hurry, I'd stay longer and say more.
Do you still have yesterday's Inquirer? Turn to page A11.
The bad: I reveal my age. The good: I am still young enough for Youngblood.
I didn't think it would see print, but as it seems, they must have timed it to coincide with the festivals in Europe this week. Not exactly op-ed material, more like to 2bu! or Super, but worth telling anyway. Thanks, PDI!
It has been two years and one week since I started this blog. In the beginning, it was meant to chronicle my postgraduate journey, but it grew to have a life of its own. Now that my studies are over (for now) and I'm starting a new chapter, I feel that perhaps I can let go. I can un-learn the blogging habit, but only if I want to. Do I? I can always start over, but I know it can never be the same again if I stop now. Let me think about it.
You can now listen to all the songs without leaving this page. Just click the play button and the media player will automatically move on to the next song and skip over broken links. Check back on the other music posts. Yay!
I'm not going (to London this year). Perhaps next March for the presentation ceremony, but even that is doubtful. I'm actually relieved with the turn of events because the developments of the past two months would have given me a massive headache if I had to leave. At the same time, it bugs me that I have to break the news to so many people who were expecting me to go and they will be disappointed. But I'm not losing out at all-quite the contrary. Something similar happened years ago, and it turned out to be for the best. I'm still living my dreams. And I am telling you... that I'm still very lucky and I am thankful.
I will admit it: the opinion leader when it comes to soundtracks is my brother. When he loves a song, I start to love it too because he keeps playing it over and over. When I heard that In the Heights won Best Musical in the recent Tonys, I asked him to find me the cast recording. "I've only heard two songs, but I like it already," he said. Latino Rent, he called it. A song with numbers, a character named Benny, many people with dreams. You get the picture.
Composer Lin-Manuel Miranda is reported to have made a Filipino song for Marie-France Arcilla in the reworking of, er, Stephen Schwartz's Working. I think it's exciting news because one, it's in our language, and two, I've always liked Marnie. Yes, since her Ang TV, A Date with Jao Mapa and Twelfth Night days (hindi ko raw sinundan ang career niya, no?).
A show of fingers from the film dudes. The line producer, dozens of tickets in hand, holding a phone and a purse, as producers always do. And then there's the groupie (me), happy for the photo op.
near Katipunan/Aurora
roti, rice, pineapple chutney, mixed vegetables korma, red lentils
[Click to view flyer]
Bufi:"Homeless Hero"-favela indiedance
Frank Molder:"Orbital Movement"-earth-centric turns
le zero:"can you hear the distant call?"-dancing in the sunlight
Nuuro:"Waiting"-more mature than most
The Wind Whistles:"Man by Name of Denver"-the chorus line
