Xocolat, eh

The refrigerator was empty and M, who is in Deutschland, forwarded me a video of Natalie a.k.a. communitychannel (the Viet-Aussie Happyslip for those who don't know what a vlog is). I had to reach for something in the cupboard.


This tin had been sitting unopened for months. I couldn't find a best-by date, but since the contents were vacuum packed it seemed ok for consumption.

Xocolat Old Fashioned Cacao is dark and not sweet, addictive with some milk. The cocoa powder is very fine, but foams at the top even if you stir like crazy. Just like Milo, Natalie, but more mature.

See Rome via Angels & Demons

No need for me to comment on the film. If you've never been to the Eternal City, think of the films as a whirlwind of a taster.

real vs. reel

Other tourist-y sites to watch out for:

Piazza Navona

Swiss guards

Pantheon

Castel Sant'Angelo

himas mas @ ArtInformal

An impromptu gallery visit led us to an artist-run space, where we saw an exhibit of pottery works (among others), by Joey de Castro, Pablo Capati III and Joe Geraldo. Curator and gallery partner Salvador Joel Alonday gave us an overview of their school and space, and told us about the backgrounds of the exhibiting artists. It's always good to listen to a practicing artist talk about fellow artists because he understands the process of making an artwork.

Masskaras en Masse by Negros artist Joe Geraldo, terracotta

Himas mas is on view until June 8 at ArtInformal, 277 Connecticut St., Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City.

And I quote...

This and more over at Fubiz.

Dahil mababaw lang ang kaligayan ko...paminsan

It's not Hay! Men! (i-google mo, kapatid--dehins ko ililink yan kahit nakakatawa), Kalokohan.com is your daily dose of.. kailangan ko pa bang ipalawanag to? Go na.

AJSS Grand Reunion

You know you're old when...

your batch is lumped with everyone from the time the program started in the 1960s

this is the first time you set foot into Leong Hall

oh no!

There were seven of us from Batch 32 who attended, fairly decent given that a lot of our batchmates are abroad. During the picture taking, the young ones clearly had a different bonding experience. Group hug? Ummm, no. But I wish Fr. Nemy was around.

At the roofdeck, we had dinner while the Blue Symphony played for us. Then there were games (Human Bingo and Jeopardy). We weren't into that so much. As I said, it has something to do with age.

In the AJSS exhibit, there was only one sportsfest photo from our batch. Clearly, we need to get together more.

P.S. I had a severe tummyache the following day which forced me to have bed rest. Did anyone else have trouble, too?

C'mon, Barbie, let's go party

It's her 50th birthday this year, an event quite interesting from a women's studies perspective. Think about how much of women's conceptions of their bodies are affected by their childhood playthings. But having been a Barbie doll owner at some point makes me feel that I spent some time with her and she was a part of my childhood, so let's give her props for aging gracefully. After all, plastic will outlast us all...

The exhibit is on until today at the SM Megamall Atrium.

The 50th Anniversary Barbie retails for P3,299.75

The bride in Carolina Herrera

Regine Tolentino's designs

"She has a serious thing for pink." Obviously!

Film Studies For Free

Since it's the last day of the Cannes Film Festival, I thought it would be worth pointing out a way to get through films studies without paying tuition and writing papers. Film Studies For Free is Catherine Grant's great blog with extensive links and scholarly works (hurray for Open Access!).

Film students don't only watch a lot of films, they also read a lot about film, so do your bit, movie fan. There's Star Trek studies, too, you know.

A for a-ffort

Death Cab for Cutie - Little Bribes from Ross Ching on Vimeo.

Ross Ching's fan-made video for Death Cab for Cutie's Little Bribes is hard to ignore. Somebody hire this guy!

[via Stereogum]

Au Pinoy

My friend R has taken up the issue of Filipina au pairs in Denmark. He wrote to me on Facebook recently. An extract from his message:

Sometimes,

I become angry. Or sad. Or something inbetween.

When I look at how the different Filipino organizations here in Denmark are working against each other. Competing. All wanting to be "alpha male", so to speak. So they don't share information easily. And the only real losers are the members of those organizations, or, more acutely, those who are Outside those organizations. Who don't belong to any of those networks.
...

Sometimes I wonder why they seem to be so focused on the church (im Not against the church), or their karaoke, or their social meetings, when so many other things - the very foundation for their visa here in Denmark, or, rather, those who come here after them - is all in the air.

Messages went back and forth. I tried to explain the fatalistic attitude, even the gap between Pinoy students and au pairs. I want to be involved in the discussion. If you also do, visit Au Pinoy to know more.

Are you an AJSS alum?

Ten years ago, I spent my summer at a university and became dead sure that it was where I wanted to go for college.

Being invited to the Ateneo Junior Summer Seminar is an honor for any high school junior. It means that you will take the ACET a year ahead of your classmates. It means that you will get college-level instruction and study during vacation. It means that you are among the top high school students in the country.

For someone coming from an all-girls school, it meant getting a taste of the co-ed environment. Issues!

Many of my batchmates are working or pursuing further studies abroad. I'm happy to have met them and I hope they will come back to transfer their knowledge to our countrymen.

AJSS ka rin ba? Please read the letter from Fr. Nemy below:

8 May 2009

Dear AJSS Alumnus,

Peace!

This year, 2009, marks the Sesquicentennial of the Ateneo de Manila University. Together with the whole Ateneo community, we are commemorating 150 years of celebrating excellence, deepening spirituality and building the nation.

As a graduate of the Ateneo Junior Summer Seminar (AJSS), you have become an integral part of this celebration of excellence. Back in your junior year of high school, you were selected as one of the top students of the country to experience a truly memorable summer. To some of you, that summer was your first taste of the demands of university life. To others, it was perhaps the summer where true and lasting friendships began. Let us relive this high school summer!

We invite you to join us as we bring together 42 batches of the best and the brightest in one unforgettable Grand Reunion on May 23, 2009, Saturday, 4:00 pm. We will begin with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at the Church of the Gesu followed by a program and dinner at the Ricardo and Dr. Rosita Leong Hall Auditorium and Roofdeck, Ateneo College Grounds, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Up to this date, only the Ateneo has a program like AJSS. Be counted as an alumnus. If you have not registered yet, please sign-up and confirm your attendance by registering online (http://ls.ateneo.edu/ajss_regform.php) or by calling Kamille Tabalan, the Assistant Coordinator for AJSS, at (02) 426-6001 loc. 5152.

This is a night you will truly not regret. It is about time that we rekindle the ties made, and find out where time has brought each one to excel in their own fields. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet older and younger batches of AJSS who continue the tradition of the Ateneo way.

See you there!

Sincerely,

Fr. Nemesio S. Que, S.J.

Director

Subprime animation

subprime from beeple on Vimeo.

It doesn't explain what happened to the market; it only reminds me of The Sims.
[via Submarine Channel]

How does it make you feel?

I subscribe to Opsound, which has CC-licensed music for downloading. But I got bothered by a few of Ethnomite Pux's recent mixes, although they're rather tame. A lot of Pinays online are on the webcam scene for the money. I don't know how far they go and what exactly they do, but I still wish they could find another way to survive.

Run (from) DMC

I would not have watched Detoroito Metaru Shiti (2008) if not for Kenichi Matsuyama. DMC is juvenile fun. The lead actor's performance (Kenichi is awesome at playing quirky characters), cheerful pop music and the cute vector Burton-esque opening credits cannot save the movie, but the plot remains interesting.

The nicest tapsilogan in town

Tapsi ni Vivian and Bulaluhan on Gil Fernando (A. Tuazon) used to be one of those nipa hut eateries, but now it's in a tall building with its own security guard and security camera. How many non-aircon establishments can boast that? There's a fifth floor roofdeck bar and grill. That's where the search light is coming from.

Tapsilog, the all-day breakfast that is their specialty, is not as perfect as that of Max's because there is still some litid (connecting tissue) that makes the beef jerky chewy. But go for the price (around P150 per head) and the piping-hot bulalo soup that goes with the meal.

Cleanliness is similar to fastfood outlets. Dresscode: shorts and slippers. Don't wear pink because that's the color of the crew uniform. There's so many of them that you might be mistaken for one. That said, service is prompt.

Taking an extended weekend off for out-of-town work. See you again soon!

Tapsi Ni Vivian At Bulaluhan, HDR Building, 32 Gil Fernando Avenue. (T) 645-0125.

A little slower

I'm a city girl; living in the country bores me. But painting is teaching me how to live at a slower pace. At the end of the day, I can see what happened to my canvas, but sometimes (especially when I'm finishing a piece) I doubt my parents see the difference.

Slowing down is good. It doesn't mean doing less: I'm glued to my work a lot longer than when I'm writing. It's just that there's less stress.

We need to slow down and consume less if we want to do some good for the planet. The economy will suffer, yes. But take a look at slow food and other slow movements and tell me if they're doing anything wrong. I just don't know how these can catch on. For starters, these tips for slowing down should do.

La Môme (La Vie En Rose)

When La Môme was shown at Cine Europa, my mom had nothing but praise for the film. She said the audience stood up to applaud when it ended. Marion Cotillard is truly unbelievable and deserving of the Best Actress Oscar. This is the role of a lifetime. Her performance did not remind me of Ma Vie En L'Air. I feel the movie could be more powerful, but maybe I was doing too many other things while watching. The one-take in the apartment is a great actor's piece. The back-and-forth storytelling confuses me, but it's still close enough to her Wikipedia bio.

Reporter: Are you afraid of death?
Edith: Less than solitude
Reporter: Do you pray?
Edith: Yes, because I believe in love.

Catch the movie at the free screening at the Alliance Ondeo Auditorium tomorrow (the 13th) at 830pm. [via Artpipe]

Inspiring Filipino Ingenuity

I'm surprise I had not heard of the Why Not? Forum earlier. The presentations and videos of the talks are available on the site. It would be cool to catch the next forum.

Coelho's problem with Facebook

I haven't read a Paulo Coelho book since college, but the Internet Books at the Pirate Coelho (which has the author's blessing), might change that. (Then again I'm still taking an online course on Napoleonic paintings and reading Thoreau's Walden via email and I still haven't finished The Future of Ideas e-book...)

More than his books, what I love about Coelho is how he embraced the Internet and continues the conversation with his readers. Here he is admitting his "problem" with Facebook:

For Mother's Day, how about Stories for Parents, Children and Grandchildren Volume 1 and Volume 2?

Star Trek 11: The Reboot

Did not recognize Eric Bana.

Would like to be Zoe Saldana.

Thinks Spock is attractive (who knew?) despite the Oedipus complex. Perk up those ears of yours, Zachary Quinto. Take me, I'm logical.

So confuse me

The reason why you should not put certain signs together.

Seen on Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes Parañaque.

Meal plan

Breakfast: horned bread topped with sugar from the Camillian Sisters

Mid-morning drink: Starbucks Hot Chocolate

Lunch appetizer and dessert: Poppadom and Kulfi at The Kebab Factory

Firekites:"Autumn Story"

This chalk animation music video speaks to me, as my paintings are chalk-like.

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

[via New Art]

The new No.5

J'aime bien le nouveau film avec Audrey Tautou pour Chanel No.5. C'est très, très beau et très, très français.


Mais j'adore le pub avec Nicole Kidman.

Things you notice on a rainy day

Just noticed these accents inside the restroom of a church. Too cute for the toilet.


Payong kaibigan. My umbrella with my editors'.

Bread and yogurt

Bread disguised as fruit. Innovative of the nuns to do this. One wonders what they will do next. As always, the orientation of that photo is Picasa's fault. Google, please do something!


More pagkaing Pinoy. Pugon pandesal that looks like a mushroom.


Three of them in a paper bag.


Not Filipino food: frozen yogurt with almonds and kiwi from Red Mango SM Megamall.

The chicken went "tweak, tweak"

I'm such a sucker for "new" even though we know it's just the same ingredients put together in a slightly different way. Plus a new vegetable. I don't understand why there's an eggplant, but it does make people think that they're eating healthy.

KFC Supreme Bowls in Roma (top) and Imperial (bottom). P100 as combo meal with regular drink. P135 with brownie and mushroom soup as part of NBA promo.

Roskilde headliners 2009

Two months to go before Roskilde 2009! And it's not just rock anymore: Lily Allen, Coldplay, Fleet Foxes, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Oasis, Oh No Ono, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Pet Shop Boys, Slipknot, Trentemøller, M. Ward, Yeah Yeah Yeahs...

P15,000 buys you a festival ticket (without a tent). But unless you're already in Denmark you'd need to shell out a lot more for the visa, airfare and food allowance. Oh, and rubber boots, too.

I will probably never go back to RF in this lifetime, but I'll always feel part of it somehow.

when the purple settles

I keep bruising my legs when I hit wooden chairs and tables. Maybe I'm predisposed to it.

If the title strikes a different chord, drop me a line. Labor Day seems a good time for it.