The writing on the (Facebook) wall

NYT's tech guy David Pogue, a funny geek who can accompany himself on the piano (summa with distinction in Music from Yale), has written a love letter to the Canon S95. My brother has been talking about this for months. Must. Upgrade. Soon.

Why does this matter to me? Read Pogue's bio. You know I have a soft spot for former Broadway accompanists. If you haven't seen them yet, go look for his performances on TED.com.

Halloween greetings

It was crazy at the office today, but we still found time to do this.

Alone in Bora

July 2010 - Being alone in Boracay made me realize one thing: I don't want to be alone in Boracay.

the green scourge

The last five months: the food

It's my first non-working weekend in a long time, so here we go. Food shots from the last five months.

I had dinner with fellow CoMundus alumna Cheryl at a resto close to the Bund area in Shanghai. We had a lot of food for two girls, but then it's mostly chili. (Of course my nose ran afterwards.) We walked off all the pounds by the riverside, nearly end-to-end on the walkway, and back.


lumpia in Shanghai


puto in different colors


sampler at Bigby's Megamall, because the boys wanted it


Risotto at Il Pirata, Eastwood City


office food: Brooklyn pizza




a delightful eight-course Japanese meal at the exclusive Taka on Arnaiz Avenue


my first authentic Korean meal in Busan, a hot and flavorful lunch


a disappointingly tasteless lunch, also in Busan


the standard drinks in Korea


an unforgettable Japanese meal in Busan: cold gazpacho, among other things


at Thursday Party bar in Busan


Why fly PAL? The food is still good (forgot the macro, sorry)


excellent spicy mushroom noodles and cold Milo at Bedok Market, Singapore

Unfriendly

My Facebook account hit 1,000 friends over the weekend, so I thought it was time to downsize and keep only the ones I actually knew. I ended up only unfriending 13. Couldn't bear to lose more, but I wish I had the guts to remove non-friends.

What counts as a friend? Is it someone you must have met personally? No. There are people I have never met face-to-face who I consider good friends.

Is it someone you must have met more than once? No. Sometimes you get to know a person that one time as well as you do some other acquaintance over a lifetime.

And then there are people you are embarrassed to delete because you will run into them again. Distant relatives, for example. (Sorry, distant relatives.)

Now I don't feel like accepting friend requests anymore.

We all have the right to be selective. So go on, unfriend me if I don't mean anything to you. It's totally ok.

Seen on the road

What made my day yesterday? Passed by the Spacebook Internet Shop. It is beside Jollibis Tapsihan at Bulalohan, Mami at Gotohan, at Burgeran.

All these appropriations must be contagious.

Three and a Half Seconds About Life

This might be the wrong thing to post while waiting for a Category 5 storm to hit, but see how you react to it. Keep safe, everyone.

Indulge in geekiness, trivia freak

Go

Still my favorite campaign of the year

I mean the original, of course. But I do love all the parodies, too.

Here's last week's obsession. I'm naming our street's resident stray Wilson.

Solita Monsod's last lecture: Honor and Excellence

"The Philippines needs you more than you think."

You do not have to be a University of the Philippines graduate to appreciate this. You can object to what she says, but she has valid points. And a frightening threat to go with it.

Happy 10/10/10, everyone! Now I have to go back to work. Crrrunch time!

Disclaimer

Here's my answer to the question you failed to ask: no, I do not delight in breaking hearts or turning people away.

I don't see you any differently simply because I hardly know you. And I still don't.

You could not have been serious when you asked me to kill you. An emo-ment, I take it. Besides, I'm pro-life (defined as pro-choice but anti-abortion, in case you wanted to know).

It would have been wise to learn from your friends, who know me in some way or another a bit more than you do. You know me mostly from second-hand accounts, possibly like a mythical figure.

Facebook is part of my job. It counts for very little. But it's too late for this, isn't it? Un-friend me if that makes you feel better. But only if.

At times like this, paintings fail me. I am glad that for any occasion, I have both words and images at my disposal. Which brings me to what I hope this leads you to.

If there's anything I want from you to take away from this experience, it is the challenge to draw from what you feel now and do the best work you've done in years. If you think I am harsh and unfair, focus the energy on your canvas.

Go on. Paint your blues away. Then I'll see you at your show. Maybe then we can have an actual conversation.

Someday, you will look back at your message and smile at your young self. And that's just ok. :)

[UPDATE: He saw this note on Facebook and took up the challenge]

Weekend of ultimate misery

Happy 25th birthday, Les Miserables the musical!

[via Gibbs Cadiz]

Vintage outtakes