muni mode

CURRENT BEVERAGE: not cold water
CURRENT CHI-CHA: chocolate spread pinapapak ko
WHO I'D LIKE TO KILL TODAY: allergens
WHO I'D LIKE TO HUG TODAY: the person who invented anti-histamines

some shmuck just subscribed one of my emails to the freaking nora aunor international egroup! what the fuck!?!

then a week before that, somebody was inviting me to be a member of the vilma egroup naman. ano ba ito??? magugunaw na ba ang mundo at naghahanap na ng egroup members ang fans club na ini???

kaloka.

*

hay, in other news, i'm quite high today from my young adult lit (or YAL) novel report. i chose OCW by carla pacis. it's a good read. full of issues, compact, ganda, engaging.

sabi ni ms heidi, it looked like i was in my element during the report, whatever that means. i guess it means i was totally into the report. saksakan ko ba naman ng sandamakmak na info about child abuse and streetchildren situationers chuva thanks to my NGO training, abah, winner nga ang lola nyo. gerry lb was there nag-sit-in and he said i didn't leave no room for comments or questions kasi i covered everything. nyehehe. ansayasaya.

hm, i think i wanna stick to writing more these coming weeks. napapagod ang soul ko kasi sa production work eh. i just realized how equipment and technology have been stressing me out lately. i have no idea why. i don't think i'm turning into a technophobe -- di ba nga, gadget dyke ini -- but i dunno, i guess i just feel tired lately.

anyway, there are things that i realized lately na naman. alam nyo naman lola nyo, mahilig tumungaga sa kawalan at mag-muni-muni, especially when things get so toxic crazy.

here are some of them:

1. mas gusto ko pa ring maging sipunin kesa ubuhin. down with asthma!

2. huwag maglakad sa peyups lalu na't kauulan lang. baka mabagsakan ng higad at ng kung ano pang makakapagpakati sa balat.

3. i still don't have patience to tolerate the presence of noisy people. teach me how to be zen about this please anyone. ayudame por favor.

4. i miss the taste of my indonesian clove cigarettes and the miniscule temporary comfort that smoking brings to me.

5. WTO ministerial na sa disyembre. may magpakamatay na naman kayang farmer in protest? paano magkakasya ang sandamakmak na anti-globalization activists sa tiny hong kong? gudlak sa inyo. sarap sanang pumunta at magpiktyur.

6. nami-miss kong matulog ng 10 hours straight.

7. i still think watching PINOY BIG BROTHER is such a waste of time.

8. i love teaching pala.

9. it's official: my stage fright is gone. i love talking in front of crowds now. performance level pa!

10. ano kaya'ng gagawin ko sa mga gamit ko 'pag namatay ako? ang dami ko palang gamit.

11. parang gusto kong magpa-HIV test. wala lang.

12. i really wanna kill my neighbor's pesky cat who has been terrorizing my cats here in own garage! air gun o tirador?

13. i miss the old concon camaraderie. super.

14. i wish i had more time to just chill out and chat with my friends over coffee or alcohol.

15. KAILANGAN KO NANG MAGSAYAW! when's the next exclusive party? dance na dance na ako.

16. i enjoy being alone again. i don't feel lonely anymore. yehei.

17. gusto kong kumain ng crispy pata. kaya lang bad eh. ('sus, parang di ako nag-new york strip steak kagabi ha!)

18. i wanna swim at the beach na.

19. i miss traveling soooo much. i pity the poor souls who cannot stand to be in another land and absorb the new things nature presents them.

20. i miss 90s music. down with all these cueshe crap and whatnots. i hate fm radio now.

21. hindi pa rin ako nanonood ng harry potter. si carla nakaka-apat na nood na sa calgary haha. maybe sa linggo.

22. i want to seek refuge from this air polluted city i live in. how i wish i have a bucolic envi-friendly/preserved province i can call a sanctuary. i envy those people who have that, truly. all i have is my house and locking myself in, pathetic.

23. i just realized that i was already drawing and inventing emoticons even before they were termed as such. di ba nga may tshirt akong ginawa nung college sa fine arts (when i discovered textile paint) na puro emoticons (circa 1991)? many people wanted to buy that off my back. no way man.

24. i'm beginning to get scared of having a lifetime partner. i don't know why. the concept freaks me out lately. it must be because i don't really get to be with the one i truly love for a long time, so this might be my subconscious training me now. it's okay.

25. ang kyut kyut ng batang ito:



expect a ZORRO JUNIOR film in the near future. paging alfonso cuaron. this kid could be the next gael.

26. wala bang ikot/toki dyip na iikot lang ever sa academic oval? like a shuttle or something, parang sa ccp complex. sana they think of that soon.

27. ang sarap mag-aral sa UP. pero dapat magbabad ka muna sa labas ng akademya bago ka kumuha ng higher learning para hindi makurta ang utak mo. kaya pagtapos ng MA, di muna ko agad magpi-PhD.

28. shet so many books, so little time to read them. i still lobby for a 30-hour day!

29. ayoko na yatang ambisyunin na yayaman pa ako. hahayaan ko na lang na maging pangarap iyon ng ibang tao (tutal, sandamakmak na pilipino na naman ang nangangarap nun kaya siguro di pa umaabot sa akin ang grasya kasi ang daming nauna).

30. gusto kong mag-focus na lang sa pagsusulat.

31. gusto ko ulit bumalik at makipagtrabaho sa mga kawomenan. pero yung grassroots na this time. ayoko na ng career feministas na nagdudunung-dunungan lang. down with pseudo-advocacy.

32. what's so fucking x-rated about this poster?



nood kayo, next week, robinson's galleria at ermita lang. congrats cris!

33. no matter what i do, talo pa rin ako sa aking insomnia. truly a card-carrying nocturnal creature ini. 

34. i am alarmed at the rate my eyes are getting labo na. man.

yun na muna.

da bam

ay panalo lang kaya itong bagong formatting tools ng blog ko. just testing it. kewl.

ay may opening sa vibal publishing house for an editorial assistant in values education and christian living. mag-apply kaya ako? para matutunan ng mga hunghang ang simple valid formula na

 if: "love your neighbor as you love yourself"
and: your neighbor is homosexual
then: homosexual neighbor = yourself
thus: "love your homosexual neighbor"

devah? feel free to replace 'homosexual" with any other marginalized group (muslim, women, persons living with HIV/AIDS, etc) and dang, we're gonna be one helluva happy world, d'you reckon?

*

'ay tanga' quote of the day. pero actually luma na pero now ko lang nabasa:

"That's our challenge to filmmakers: Produce quality R-18 movies that will do well at the box office."

the context of which will be more enlightening if you read this:

"As for the mall's policy on R-18 movies--two Cinemanila entries ("Ilusyon" and "Matthew, Mark, Luke & John") were thus classified--Camaligan stressed that SM was flexible. He explained: "As of now, R-18 films are not giving us [sufficient] revenue. If things turn around, as businessmen, we will adapt. That's our challenge to filmmakers: Produce quality R-18 movies that will do well at the box office."

paano mo nga malalaman kung kikita ang pelikulang r18 kung hindi mo naman papayagang ipalabas sa sinehan mo?

TANGA.

*

i so love the new formatting tools hehe. it's da bam! :P

*

huwaw.

All-Around Smart You are all-around smart. Essentially, that means that you are a good combination of your own knowledge and experience, along with having learned through instruction - and you are equally as good with theoretical things as you are with real-world, applied things. You have a well-rounded brain. 0% applied intelligence 30% natural intelligence

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

yey. just figured out how to post these things with the new format.

i actually remember an episode from my high school life when our italian-bred pinoy school principal harped one day about how one of us had like the highest IQ and how the buffoons in our batch should emulate that high IQ person and how it would be so great for the school if everyone just behaved like that high IQ person blah blah blah and i was beginning to get iffy about the whole sermon that i started to get irritated kung sino ba kasi yung punyetang high IQ person na yun siguro yung running valedictorian namin or some grade-conscious snitchy sumbungera shmuck and how bwiset na yung whole pagsasabon thing because laging nasasabon ang rowdy batch namin dati only to find out from our guidance counselor days later that i was that high IQ person pala. a big NGYAH!

ang cinematic talaga ng buhay ko, hane? hehe. i swear, a full-length film based on my high school life will outrun lav's longest film to date. dare? :p

*

tutulog na ba ko? i'm still burping out my dinner and that ain't a good sign. second wind na ini, i know. i'm still trying to tame this tikbalang called uboubo. kaya ayun... blogosphere ever. fuck i should go back to working out. at least boxing again. lumelembot na upper body ko. that ain't gewd.

*

i don't get how inept people get away with smart things. er, something like that. basta, related to what relinqwish said about the english language, i don't just get how people who has an über-poor command of the english language can actually get away with conducting language-based workshops or how writers with über-serious pinoy-language syntax problems can get their horribly-plotted tagalog romance novels published on a regular basis.

seriously. como??? comment??? come??? wie??? (if i can write 'how' in thai, i will! nyeta)

*

yihaaa eat me. andale andale! :P 

You Are Mexican Food

Spicy yet dependable. You pull punches, but people still love you.

What Kind of Food Are You?

told you i was born in the wrong city.

Your Birthdate: April 24

You understand people well and are a natural born therapist. A peacemaker, people always seem to get along when you are around. You tend to be a father or mother figure to friends, even to those older than you. You enjoy your role, and you find that you are close to many people. Your strength: Your devotion Your weakness: Reliance on others for happiness Your power color: Lilac Your power symbol: Heart Your power month: June

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

and i share those things with barbra streisand? doubt it.

*

this sentiment i share with ARREST.

ARREST Gloria Condemns U.S. Marines' Rape of Filipina in Subic

We in the Artists for the Removal of Gloria (ARREST Gloria) condemn in the 
strongest possible terms the recent gang-rape of a 22-year-old Filipina 
by six US Marine servicemen in Subic, Zambales. The perpetrators of this 
unthinkably bestial act – Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic 
Duplantis, Corey Barris and Chad Carpenter – have been stationed in Subic for the 
past few months as participants in the joint US-RP military exercises in the 
former American naval base. 

Based on initial findings from Subic police, the victim was visiting a 
karaoke bar Nov. 1 when she met the six American servicemen, who pretended to 
befriend her and invited her to go with them in a rented van. A few hours later,
witnesses said, the young woman was seen being dumped unconscious from 
a van on the road. 

We likewise condemn President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her deafening 
silence on this atrocity against the dignity of a Filipina.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has been reported as having 
expressed "concern" about the "claims" related to this crime, and said he would 
support all efforts at investigating, prosecuting, and trying the case. Justice
Secretary Raul Gonzalez has gone public urging the US Embassy, which 
now has custody of the six US Marine servicemen, to present them once a case is 
filed against them in court. 

While whether the two Cabinet secretaries will live up to their 
seemingly bold statements still remains to be seen and there is definitely a lot 
more that they could have said, it is disgusting that two underlings have beaten
President Arroyo to the draw in issuing statements on this crime by 
foreigners against one of our own. President Arroyo, who calls herself Ina ng 
Bayan every chance she gets, carries the biggest responsibility in this issue – 
having aggressively promoted the Balikatan military exercises which brought 
the six rapists to this country in the first place. 

In late 2001 President Arroyo – who had been installed into power just 
months before through a popular uprising – was all over the papers and 
television practically pointing the dirty finger at all anti-Balikatan groups and
personalities, calling them "un-Filipino." They included staunch nationalists
Wigberto Tañada, Roland Simbulan, and Amado Gat. Inciong. 

She fabricated the belief that with not a little help from the US  troops, our
soldiers will be able to wipe out terrorists. More than three years 
after the Balikatan military exercises commenced, the Armed Forces of the 
Philippines (AFP) is all over the papers and television pushing for an 
Anti-Terrorism Bill that would supposedly help in their pursuit of the various 
groups it has chosen to label as "terrorist." We wonder what happened to all 
the help that US troops have supposedly been providing the Philippine military 
under the Balikatan. 

President Arroyo pushed for the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA),
which grants US troops the "right" to bring military equipment into the 
country from any entry point. The MLSA serves as a companion treaty to the 
Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which grants extraterritorial and extrajudicial
"rights" to visiting US servicemen. In 1998 and 1999, then Vice President
Arroyo joined then President Joseph Estrada in pushing for the VFA, even doing
a duet with him in calling its opponents the worst names. 

All these, she repeatedly said, are needed to wipe out the "terrorist" 
threat. 

In arguing thus, she ignores the fact that our supposed military allies 
from the US have a record of abandoning us in our most trying moments. In 
World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur led in the evacuation of the bulk of 
American forces from the Philippines – returning with his troops only when 
the war was practically over as our various guerrilla units had captured all 
top officials of the Japanese Imperial Army. The US similarly refused to commit 
military aid to us in the 1990s, when our claim on the Kalayaan Reef of the 
Spratlys was under threat from China – despite the continued existence of the 
Mutual Defense Treaty. 

She likewise ignores the fact that in the years when the Philippines hosted US
military bases, American servicemen would every so often prey on hapless
Filipinas and use the influence of their government to escape Philippine
justice – all while choosing to abandon the Philippines in its most trying
moments, even as they were here supposedly for RP-US mutual defense. 

This is the kind of President we now have in Malacañang – a President who
chooses to uphold a farcical RP-US military alliance at the expense of the
dignity of a fellow Filipina – all while maintaining a presidency reacquired 
in the last election by fraudulent means and driving the people into 
deeper and deeper penury by the day. The country has no need for this kind of 
President. 

Artists for the Removal of Gloria (ARREST Gloria) 
November 4, 2005

Southern Tagalog Exposure
KASIBULAN Women Visual Artists' Collective
KUMASA (Kulturang Ugnayan ng Manggagawa at Uring Anakpawis sa Timog Katagalugan)
ARTIST, Inc. (Arts Research and Training Institute in Southern Tagalog) 
Kilometer 64 Poetry Group
Tambisan sa Sining
APLAYA (Artistang Pangkultura ng Mamamalakaya sa Timog Katagalugan) 
UPLB Umalohokan

Paolo Martinez
Andrea Muñoz
Gian Paolo Mayuga
Jeffrey Ferrer
Onin Tagaro
Bobby Balingit
Winnie Balingit 
Lourd de Veyra
Dong Abay
Ninj Abay
Con Cabrera
Roselle Pineda

gives new meaning to the term fucker, no? fuckers talaga. sila kaya ang ituwad, tanggalan ng bvd briefs at saksakan ng matigas na matulis na bagay sa ASSHOLES nila ten times the size of their biggest finger without the aid of any lubrication and let them feel the friction over and over until their insides bled. then they'll know how a rape victim feels like.  and now they have the gall to character-assassinate the poor survivor. just let them feel what it's like to be raped and they'll see how they deserve not to be called HUMANS. the fuckers. it's really a crime against humanity. rape takes away a person's humanity. someone who rapes someone doesn't have an iota of humanity.

it was heart-wrenching to witness a reading of a case decision years ago which freed an idiot from being convicted of raping a nine year old girl and being slapped with a copout acts of lasciviousness "sentence." like i said, where is the humanity in this????? that made me decide not to entertain the thought of studying law and being a lawyer anymore. parang i wanted to be someone like la femme nikita na lang (shoot now, flush conscience beforehand. no remorse.) or aeon flux.

which reminds me. our favorite south african is portraying her. :) can't wait!

but i doubt that she looks pointy enuf to be aeon. wat u think? malaman si lola charlize eh. devah.



shucks. what's with me and women with weirdly-strapped gunslings? teeheehee.

and tight black outfits?

er, i want to be them? hehehehe.

okay anjan na ang araw. tulog na nga ko. isa na lang:



You have a lot going for you, but most people will
only remember you for one thing, and a lot of
them will try to copy it. They'll all suck at
it, though. Besides, you've got better stuff.

What band from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


shucks sino tong mga to? anyone?

deracinate me

Current beverage: not cold water
Current chi-cha: irish milk chocolate with praline truffle filling
Who i'd like to kill today: homophobic lawmakers in the government
Who i'd like to hug today: moist

sa wakas natapos din ang linggong ito. well, almost. i still have sunday to go, and a shoot day at that. wish me luck with that. i need it definitely.

deracinate. i like that word. it means to pull out by the roots; uproot; to displace from one's native or accustomed environment. why deracinate? kasi that's what hollywood did daw to asian horror flicks, removed them of their asian-ness and re-branded them as their own. na hindi katuwa-tuwa at kaaya-aya. well. deracinate-moi na lang. uproot me from this toxic sked i have! waaah.

dracinate. it's the term of the month for me, thanks to bliss lim dudette. she's cool. the lecture was nice and funny. a down-to-earth intellectual, a rarity these days. i'm glad we came upon her at this time. i needed to hear that kind of talk delivered that way at this point in time. hindi lang yung straight-up mega-academic-sounding theory-spewing framework-searching papers and lectures. it'll help me psyche myself up in my own talk in january. the faculty colloquium ng masscomm. sino kayang nag-imbento nun?

waah my own talk. i'm going to discuss an update of the paper i made for the TABI-TABI SA PAGSASANTABI anthology printed years ago. so i have to watch new films for that. tagalog films. wish me luck. it sounds so kewl pero at the same time, slight nara-rattle byuti ko when i know the dean and former deans will be watching me deliver that paper. ayan, saksakan kaya natin sila ng lesbian images and clips para malokah sila hane? at para yung mga di pa out sa kanila ay mag-out na. charing! hahaahha dont mind me, i'm just bitchin' because of the stress.

i have 2 MA penalty courses this sem and i'm excited and nervous about them at the same time. yeah, one subject for every year of awol. ayan, i'm paying my dues, but i like it because i only paid 116 pesos or something. faculty privileges hehe. ansarap mag-aral pag ganyan.

i have cinema and nation under sir ed piano and it looks like a promising discussion course. puro younger boylets nga lang ang kaklase ko so hm, i don't know if this'll go really far in terms of discussions. especially involving gender. let's see. i hope it does. weird lang yung time, masyadong gabi na ang 5.30-8.30pm -- and on a friday night at that! well. ayoko na naman ng klaseng ako lang at ang titser ang nagkakaintindihan most times just like what happened in a previous CL class ko years ago. frustrating sometimes to dialogue with colleagues younger than you. either they're too way behind pa or they're advance or just on the same boat but they brag about it all the time. hay peyups kong mahal... c'est la vie.

i'm pretty excited about my writing for young adults class. we're going to churn out a YAL novel at the end of the sem. at least one concrete creative output! yey. na puwedeng i-publish! yey! inspiring... slight over-acad mode ang lola nyo at nag-draw na ko ng character sketch for this novel. ansayasaya. tru. can't wait for tuesday.

hay buti na lang walang pasok sa lunes. at hindi ako papasok sa huwebes. hey, di ako nakapag-holiday ng weekly leave ko ha. will take advantage of that this week.

shyet disyembre na pala next week. damiring mangyayari. i'm laying out the stuff i'm submitting for the UP writers workshop, elite version hehe. been teasing vim about it pero may sense naman. para di mag-workshop-hopping daw mga tao. as if di namin ginawa yun anoh! iligan lang ang di ko pa narating before. ayoko yatang mag-join sa school-based lang. dapat may travel. ay yung sa bacolod pala, umatras din ako dun. sayang. oh well. there's always next year.

i miss traveling. thanks to my fellow participation and my work stint sa workshops, naka-travel ako dati. cebu, baguio, los baños, davao. saya rin. those were cool times. kaya one week in baguio in april sounds so much like a great idea at this point in time. i hope i get in.

inaayos ko rin yung aplik ko sa akdang_bayan pala. nakakaligtaan ko na. i have to prepare my manuscript for reading pala, since feb na ang booklaunch. hm... ano kaya gagawin ko? shorts? mag-tula-tulaan kaya ako? parang ayoko... bahala na. sana makasama ako sa xmas party sa tagaytay. i'm pretty excited to listen to bien lumbera's talk for us. ka-araw pala ito ng annual writer's night. well, two in one na. ka-writer-an muna aatupagin ko this december, hindi ka-film-an. except sa turo. well, bahala na si batman.

sige fly muna. have to attend emman's bday celeb at michiko's haus. hm, sana wala masyadong star-ex pips na ___, you know who they are... wish me luck.

si marlon vs. si miriam round one + hollywood-asian horror films + aCoustic Carol at Conspi + isha at mag:net

i never thought things would come to this. tsk. gender justice duking it out with lgbt social justice? araguy. sabagay, kung palibutan nga naman ng katolisimo ang kahit ano, nawawala ang justice sa big picture...

but that's just me.

good luck, marlon.

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

PRESS RELEASE
November 22, 2005 (Tuesday)
Quezon City

GAY LIBRARIAN, MIRIAM OFFICIALS FACE-OFF AT NLRC

Marlon T. Lacsamana, the gay librarian who was allegedly fired by Miriam College for having a “gay wedding” with his same-sex partner, faces his former employers whom he has charged with violating labor laws, today at 10:00 AM, November 22, 2005 (Tuesday), before Labor Arbiter Laderas of the National Labor Relations Commission.

“We admire the bravery of Marlon in fighting for equality. Discrimination exists yet only a few ever come out to complain, making it appear that it is not happening. This makes it clear that we need to pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill, which is presently pending in Congress as H.B. No. 634 of Rep. Etta Rosales, and S.B. Nos. 1641 of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago and 1738 of Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.,” said Anne Marie M. Lim, of The Rainbow Rights Project (R-Rights), Inc.

In a research conducted in 2004 by the Lesbian Advocates Philippines, (LeAP!) Inc. it was found that majority of the recorded instances of discrimination committed against lesbian respondents happened in the workplace. The research showed that no employer admitted to discriminating on the basis of the gender identity or sexual orientation of the employee or applicant. The employers would claim that they were only implementing company policies or maintaining the company image.

“We believe a worker should be measured only according to his/her talents, skills, and aptitudes, because these factors determine his/her fitness for the task at hand. A person’s sexual orientation or gender identity should not be the basis for hiring, firing or promotion. No less than the Philippine Constitution has declared that there shall be equality of employment opportunities for all; no exceptions,” said Germaine Leonin of R-Rights.

Lacsamana has previously filed with the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office a complaint against the Catholic educational institution for violation of Quezon City Ordinance No. SP-1309, s-2003 enacted on September 2, 2003, entitled “An Ordinance Prohibiting All Acts of Discrimination Directed Against Homosexuals in Any Office in Quezon City, Whether in the Government or the Private Sector, and Providing Penalties Therefor”, last Friday, November 18, 2005.

R-Rights is a group of lawyers and activists with legal background which provides the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Community with an academic think tank and legal resource center dedicated to sexual orientation law and public policy.

-30-

The Rainbow Rights Project (R-Rights), Inc.
27 Oakville Street, White Plains, Quezon City 1110
r_rightsproject@yahoo.com.
Germaine: 09192769436
Anne: 0917 8870501

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

the end of the world is near. abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

*

on the other hand, isa pang katatakutan. punta kayo.

---------

The University of the Philippines Film Institute
Presents

Generic Ghosts: Hollywood Remakes the “Asian Horror Film”

A lecture by Bliss Cua Lim
Film and Media Studies, University of California, Irvine

Thursday, November 24, 2005
1 to 4 pm
College of Mass Communications Auditorium
Plaridel Hall Lobby, UP Diliman

Since 2001, Hollywood has been in the grips of an Asian horror remake frenzy. By 2003 there were at least 18 remakes of horror films from South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong underway at Hollywood studios, among them, remakes of Hideo Nakata’s Ringu [The Ring 1 and 2], and of Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-on [The Grudge]. Why horror? Why the remake? What accounts for their new conspicuousness in transnational generic exchange between Hollywood and regional Asian cinemas? The convergence of regional “pan-Asian” cinema with global Hollywood initiatives in recent years challenge us to rethink prevailing paradigms for national cinema and its imbrication with popular genre films. This lecture considers Hollywood’s voracious capacity to deracinate Asian national cinemas and the extent to which the intertextuality of genre has been recruited to the ends of capital.

Bliss Cua Lim is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Irvine and Visiting Research Fellow at the UP Film Institute. Her research concerns third world and postcolonial studies, Philippine and Hong Kong cinemas, horror and fantastic cinema, temporality, and taste. Her articles have appeared in the positions: east asia cultures critique, Camera Obscura, Velvet Light Trap, Asian Cinema. She is currently working on a book on fantastic cinema.

----------


buti na lang hindi siya magpapalabas ng film clips kundi walk out ang byuti ko dito, kahit na ako pa ang in-charge sa pagbuo ng event na ito. nuka, baka di na naman maalis ang kahorroran images sa utak ko noh plis lang afraid.

bjelland nood ka. it's up your alley.

*

hi winterdoll! matagal ko nang nababasa blog mo noh hehe. enjoy nga ako eh. :)

hi bels. teka sino ka? :)

hi kats din. sino ka din?:)

teehee. di ko kilala mga nagco-comment dito. pero nice naman kayo lahat. :) thanks for reading ha.

*

two of my good friends who are great singers will have gigs this week. nood kayo pareho ha. will be there, too.

aCoustic Carol at Conspiracy

[English translation follows]

Narinig niyo na bang mag-acoustic folk, blues at jazz si Ms. Carol Bello ng Pinikpikan band?

Inaanyayahan niya kayong manood sa kanyang pagtatanghal sa Conspiracy Garden Bar and Restaurant sa November 22, 2005 (Martes) 9:30pm. Sasamahan siya ng Spy at Pinikpikan musical director, ang magaling na gitaristang si Mr. Sammy Asuncion. Kasama rin niya ang mga kababaihang kabataang percussion group na Sheelahnagig.

Kagagaling lang sa Limerick, Ireland ni Carol sa isang Asia-Europe Foundation workshop/music camp ng mga singer/vocalist na gumagamit ng traditional/indigenous music sa Irish World Music Academy. Ibabahagi rin niya sa atin ang kanyang mga natutunan sa workshop na ito.

Sana manood kayo. Ang entrance fee ay Php100. Ang Conspiracy ay nasa Visayas Ave, QC (katapat ng Shell Station).

Kitakits!

-------

Ms. Carol Bello of Pinikpikan band goes acoustic as she performs folk, blues and jazz tunes at Conspiracy.

The performance will be on November 22, 2005 (Tuesday) at 9:30pm. Joining her is Spy and Pinikpikan's musical director, guitarist extraordinaire Mr. Sammy Asuncion. Carol will also perform with the young all-female percussion-intensive group Sheelahnagig.

Carol just came from the Irish World Music Academy in Limerick, Ireland where she participated in an Asia-Europe Foundation workshop for vocalists who use traditional/indigenous music. She's very excited to share with us what she has learned in thisworkshop on that night so please come.

Entrance fee is Php100. Consipracy Garden Bar and Restaurant is located along Visayas Ave, QC (across Shell gas station).

See you there!

[español abajo. charing! asa pa. tinamad akong mag-traduccion sorry.]

*

ISHA! at katips

si peach abubakar quebral po ito. tutugtog siya sa mag:net gallery bookstore resto cafe sa wednesday nov23 9:30pm. punta kayo. may bago siyang album mula pa rin sa candid records jazz label at maganda ang tugtog. sasampolan niya kayo kasama ang The Look band. entrance fee is 150 pesos. ang mag; net ay nasa katipunan across miriam college at katabi ng rustan's fresh. kung trip niyo si tori amos, si peach ang tori ng 'pinas hehe.

kitakits.

*

what an event-filled week, eh? sarap.

no apologies: farewell to qaf

was planning on having a productive (work-wise) night checking papers but decided against it. after arriving from sm shopping and doing some chores here, just felt too pooped to check papers so decided to watch the last disc of QUEER AS FOLK season 5.

and i just have to do a post-mortem of that here. it can't wait, darlings.

i'm feeling mighty nostalgic because it was like i felt an end of an era when i saw the last episode of the last season. yes, this means this is it, folks. no more queers next year -- at least the ones from pittsburgh that we've fallen in love with.

there were so many changes, so many events and so many character developments but it was still well-made, i should say. of course, they faltered a bit in some areas. i, for one, still am iffy about how they handled the lesbian couple, although i think they took a page out of THE L WORD book and wrote it in here somewhere when mel and linds had some torrid sex (finally! note to gay producers: lesbians also fuck! haller. ano akala nila, we just cuddle and dream of having babies?). well. sige na nga. i watch this show for the storylines, the advocacy and the gay guys anyway.

this last season was also well-written, good story arcs. the advocacy reminded me of season three. how apt and timely. as usual, dami patama sa government. they really reflect what's going on in the USA and it was great. really. saka hindi bitin yung ending. they ended with michael's vo saying that whatever comes, we will survive or something like that. and that's so true. kahit ano pang conservatism and fundamentalism ang maghari diyan, lalabas at lalabas ang mga queers ng mundo. so there.

ang di ko magets ay hitik ang bawa't ep ng mga nilalaman. bawa't character nila, may nangyayari per ep. hindi tulad nitong kakatapos ko lang na tlw2. di ko magets kung ano gusto gawin ng mga byaning na writer na ini pero hayyyy... they're beginning to lose me, man. chaks ng mga storylines! at ang tagal ng unraveling ng characters while yung iba, pilit ang unraveling. hay. but that's another story. back to the gay guys.

gusto ko ang pagkakasulat ng show kasi buong buo ang mga karakter talaga. character-driven talaga. kaya ang ganda. wow. hay. may masasabi pa ba ako? spoilers kasi ito sa mga di pa nakapanood. pero thank goodness walang namatay, at buhay pa si brian, mari. :P muntik na kasi akong atakihin sa puso nang i-suggest niya na baka mamatay si brian. nyeta pag nangyari iyon ano. grabeh.

don't you just love brian kinney? i like his character. in fact, i want to be this character. i've been channeling him to train myself of the credo he lives by: maximum amount of pleasure, minimum amount of bullshit. i actually tried that last year but the thing is, hay honeys, i am still a freaking lesbian and drama comes with this territory, so unavoidable yun. although i think i have been able to channel a bit of him in me this year, so that's cool. especially in the work department, when i metaphorically implied to a superior to go fuck herself and when i fabulously acquired rapid, er, ascension in another and fabulously handled it well. fab. fab talaga.

thumpa-thumpa!

technicals-wise, i love the innovations in the shots and presentation. ganda. may kanya-kanyang style ang directors nila at oks siya. who could ever forget the season ender shot of season 3?

hot!

and of course, i love the way it was soooooo unapologetic when it showed sex. as in real people having sex. na alam mong nag-sex at nagse-sex talaga ang mga tao, kasi hindi sila naka-cover ng sheets pagkatapos or during, for heaven's sake. who makes love under the sheets???? saka yung maglalakad after sex na nakahubad at hindi magtatapis ng twalya o kumot. lam mo yun???? now this is accurate portrayal talaga of any sex scene out there, gay or straight! ang galing!

and to think this all started with a dorky version from the UK half a decade ago. muntik na kong bumili ng original dvd set ng uk pero buti na lang may nagpahiram muna sa akin dati. ang chaka chaka chaka ng treatment pero buti na lang at niremaster ng mga 'kano, so to speak. sabagay, dun naman magaling ang kano - sa pag-remake. but this time, the remake was waaay better than the original. the uk version was so heartless. equally daring but it had less heart. the US version had more heart - and groins and beefcakes and all the fabulous things we love.

jusme, tignan mo na lang yung version nila ng brian character, that dude on the right sa taas. i mean, haller, yan na ba ang pinakagwapo that manchester has to offer? ha? ha? please lang!

on a personal note, it was heart-wrenching to listen to most of the storylines of this last season because time and again, it hit close to home. super-close, especially when brian and justin were talking about getting together for good. brian said something like "you shouldn't change who you are or sacrifice what you want to do just because of love." man, how i could relate sooo much to that. i know how awfully hard it is for someone to sacrifice his (or her) art to be with someone lang ek. so damn hard. sometimes, you realize it too late, and the hurt gets so bad. but then, that's life. kaya it's such a grateful thing to find someone who truly understands who you are and what you do and supports you all throughout. and i am thankful for that now. saka isa pang line na sabi naman ni justin: "we don't need rings or vows to know we love each other. we already do" or something like that. again, kapow!

i've been rethinking that nga lately, e, my stand on gay marriage and my original stand on marriage per se as an institution (against). it's not really for everyone but to those who want it, i say give it to them, gay or straight. we all have the same human rights dapat kaya di dapat ito ipagkait. but as for me...hm. sometimes you find the perfect girl to marry but someone already beat you to it. parang yung kinanta ni lola alanis "it's meeting the man of your dreams and meeting his beautiful wife." isn't it ironic? more like tragic, man. more like tragic. so you just settle with what's available and make do with what you both have at the moment. if that is as good as it gets, then so be it. the important thing is, you're both happy and productive.

yeah, it's hard to decide which person you're going to spend the rest of your life with, especially in this set-up. the environ is volatile, very unpredictable. but still, life is a gamble. why waste time watching others play? get in the game. kaya game naman tayong lahat, dapat. pero dapat, kahit alam nating magiging talunan din tayo minsan, kelangan mag-effort din naman tayong manalo paminsan-minsan. patas lang.

dami kong natutunan sa show na ito. na-reinforce ang iba kong ideologies at nadebunk and ilang doubts while reaffirming things i strongly believe in (such as, lesbian and gay rights are human rights). and for that, i will forever be grateful.

strange as people

a fabulous farewell, folks. i'll miss ya lots.

tsiken!

yipee i can still eat chicken. since i've been in a cleansing diet mode thang last week pa, might as well continue with it. my body's getting back to normal na so it worked. ayuz.

no need to be scared. got this in my mail today:

(based on excerpts from www.birdlife.org)

Migratory birds have been following the same migration routes for millennia and there had been no conclusive historical records of the H5N1 flu strain in populations until the recent outbreaks. Recently recorded cases of wild bird contamination have likely originated from contact with domestic poultry, as poor sanitation and management in the poultry industry are conditions in which the disease has been found to thrive.

There is currently no evidence that H5N1 infections in humans have been acquired from direct contact with wild birds, although human infections have occurred after close contact with poultry. On the whole, the potential threat occurs only when there is physical contact between humans and infected birds. The WBCP recommends the following:

1. Do not handle sick or dying birds. Avian flu is transmitted through direct contact.

2. No hunting of wild birds whether for sport or consumption. Hunting may disperse infected birds and stress out healthy birds, making them more prone to disease.

3. Monitor airports and seaports, not only for live birds from infected countries but especially for smuggled wildlife.

4. Enforce the Wildlife Conservation Act by banning wildlife trade and penalizing offenders.

5. Monitor poultry farms and domestic pet birds including pigeons and fighting cocks.

6. Do not release captive birds as this can increase the number of potential avian flu carriers.

7. Create and maintain bird sanctuaries to keep wild birds in defined areas and reduce the possibility of contact with domestic fowl.

The hysteria pointing to the migratory wild birds as the culprit behind the spread of the avian flu could divert our attention from other more plausible sources/carriers of the infection.

-----------

yeah. fowls crying foul. devah. :P dapat lang. people are stupid sometimes. creating hysteria over nothing. paimportanteng species baga. well.

*

just declogging here with hot green tea before i sleep. as usual, my nose was ready to drop off kanina sa cine adarna because of the freaking cold aircon. nagpasikat ang bagong pagawang aircon at full-blast lamig pa rin siya kahit na dalawa lang sa kanila ang gumagana kanina. sa lagay na yon, pinatay na nila yung iba. wowee. lameg.

we watched RIGODON, sari dalena and keith sicat's film although it's really, well, how should i say this, sari-esque more than keith-ish, but i don't really know keith so well but anyway... yon.

kiri dalena showed her docu on veiled muslim women. very interesting visuals. ganda ng mga kuha kasi oks yung lugar ng shoot nila. i wish my visuals for my own muslim-themed docu will come out just as fine. i'm actually interested to edit it na e. puwede kayang skip the next shoots na lang? hehe. ala lang. tumatanda na ata ako at di ko na feel masyado ang pagshoot. ewan.

masarap yung cocktails kanina, lalo na yung chicken lollipop and garlic mayo dip. pero bakit wala yatang wine? hm. la lang. :P this is beginning to be "chicken lollipop month." kahit anong cocktail ang puntahan ko, may chicken lollipop tulad dun sa israeli filmfest sa podium. pero yun weird kasi di ka talaga makakain ng maayos dahil dala-dala ng serbidora ang pica at papakuhanin ka lang ng konti tapos iikot sila sa place. e parang ang laki ng place ano at syempre ikot lang sila ng ikot. hindi na lang ibaba sa certain tables yung trays. weird yun. sa lahat ng cocktails yata, yung ang strangest presentation ever. syempre winner pa rin ang mga bastille day celebs ng mga pranses sa haus ng amba in the late '90s. those were fun times. fun company of friends, too.

hm, i wonder how chicken lollipop was invented. maybe i should ask my culinary expert ex-colleague. panalo ang dessert blog nya eh. i get tips on where to go sometimes dito. and when we were colleagues pa nga in an IT company before, she appreciated the way i reviewed restos daw. nakakataba ng puso naman yun talaga. well, i hope she's doing fine with her family now, and her condition.

speaking of food, nagutom tuloy lola nyo. hm kaya from now on, papauso ako ng sarili kong status eklavu.

CURRENT BEVERAGE: hot green tea with muscovado
CURRENT CHI-CHA: nada
WHO I'D LIKE TO KILL TODAY: the person scaring us with bird flu ek
WHO I'D LIKE TO HUG TODAY: the dude who bothered to email us that the birds are fine

ayan. di ba, kesa sa current music, current mood thang?

*

in other news, my monday script class seems to be a fun bunch. let's hope so. the morning film language and grammar class is, well, a bit sleepy. wrong time talaga yung. next sem, iibahin ko na nga yung sked na yun.

and yipee i got reinstated sa aking MA! so enrol ang byuti ko ng penalty courses kanina. got heidi abad again, this time writing for young adults. teach ko sya sa wirting for children dati, eons ago! buti na lang kilala pa nya ko. :) tapos i enlisted sa c201 ni kate only to find out na 2 units lang ang credit nun bummer. media 210 under ms betsy sana is waaay kewl pero warak ang rest sked ko nun, sayang. kaya i opted na for the cinema and nation class ni sir edp. bat kasi yung mga keri kong course e either wed o sat? asar.

geez, now i know how my students feel hehe.

kaya ayun, acad mode ang lola 'pag tue and fri afternoons. hapi naman. :) at reduced fees akesh! hehe. plus since may opisyal na basbas ako ng dyos(a), hindi na ako ang kelangang maglakad ng chenelyn na yan pala, assessment checker etc. hay ang sarap ng perk na yun sa totoo lang. pero actually, i don't mind because that's the time i get exercise from walking around peyups.

heniwey, check out my dahondyaryo link for upcoming kewl events ha. bjelland, si bliss lim magle-lecture about hollywood remaking asian horror films. interesting ini! lalo na sa tulad mong fan ng genre. punta ka. nov24 1pm cmc audi. will post again.

perspective

just a little before i turn in.

funny how perspective makes you see things differently and reveal people's, well, skeletons instead of skins. you already know their skin. now you know their true anatomy. strange. strange world this is.

sometimes, the very label that we ascribe to ourselves betrays us when in tandem with another label. but the tandem label is actually the one that rings the most truth about someone, don't you think?

like...

                "career academicians"
                "hypocritical advocates"
                "anti-women feminists"

diba?

sometimes i think i was born in the wrong city. maybe i should be in caracas. or buenos aires. or oaxaca. not too sure about rio de janeiro. ah basta. just show me where those damn fine latina ladies are and i'll be fine. hindi yun peninsulares looking ha. :P

sorry i'm in that mode again. latina lust mode. ksalanan niya:




ah wait, she's cuter when not in dress-up mode.



damn this woman is fine!!!!!!!!!!!  [repeat with an african-american accent]
two snaps up in a circle!

i actually know someone like her. they have the same arrive (dating, baga). same aura, same body type (well, almost), same sexiness. mas sobrang perky perky lang si carmen ng kaunti.

so damn fine!



move over, shane. lumalabas ang tunay mong anyo kapag katabi mo ang isang super cutie woman of color like carmen - isa ka lang hamak na puting dugyut, piryud.

pero teka. sa dinamidami ng pinoys sa california, at sa dinami dami ng fil-am tungrils sa california rin, bakit wala pang pinoy character na naliligaw sa show na ito? unti-untiin baga ang racial representation? haller.



the second season OBB is atually way cooler. check out carmen's, er, yeah, dress! hehe :P
pssst tignan nyo si jenny mukha pa ring tanga. hehe. sama ko.

hmm, what if i dress up as carmen in this OBB capture frame? during pride march? this coming december? teeheehee. now that's a concept... :)

abangan!

cue the pulse to begin

i had a very tiring day but i don't think i want to dwell on that. it's just so weird because in all my years of working in film and video production, this was the most tiring day of shooting i have ever had. worse than when we had to hang out in cavite or somewhere out of manila to babysit some artista for premiere before. worse than when we had to stay up late all night or something to wait for the director to finish the shoot and all. worse than the most indiefilm set-up of shoot (i.e. one woman crew) i have ever had. super. but i don't think i wanna elaborate on that here, really. i just want to... hay, tune out.

tune out, and tune in to something different. so when times are rough, we always run to old reliables. take your pick: yosi, liquor, new episodes of THE L WORD and QUEER AS FOLK, talking with your mom about something irritating.

all of the above.

while shopping for production stuff yesterday in quiapo, of course it would be against my nature not to check out my suki dvd stalls. and guess what i found. yeah, TLW season 2 and QAF season 5. yehei! originally, i just went to buy SMALLVILLE season 4 but thank goodness for queerily sharp eyes, eh. sarap! :)

catching up with the TLW girls was like catching up with old friends you've missed a lot. but it also means flaschbacking to times when you were watching the first season and things in your life funnily reminded you of certain episodes. and it's still doing that now so after 2 eps, i just had to stop watching and switch to the gay guys. but then, that, too, made me flashback quite a few scenes kaya, hay... mamaya na lang ulit. after i've lubricated my brain with this writing activity. (but i still protest the lesbian couple treatment in qaf and the phenomenally bad writer storyline of freaking jenny. puwede ba. naiinsulto ako as a lesbian short story writer ha! but i'm just in ep2 so we'll see...)

so pictures na lang muna. here's the LGBT NYT SA CONSPIRACY photos or as we organizers lovingly termed it, "titi-puki-nyt" hehe (second runner up: bukas LULU-HOK ang mga tala courtesy of omeng). note that not all performers are lgbt-oriented or identified. some are lgbt-friendly lang baga. bahala na kayo maghula kung sino.


hostsss with the mostsss...

roselle and melfrench were the hosts for the evening. super low energy mag-host ang lola dahil sick siya daw. low energies pa yang lagay na yan ha. hehe. and of course, this wouldn't be conspiracy if there was no double triple bookings for the night. so there's this katribu band at the back (who sounded like they borrowed their equipment from pinikpikan, sabi ni mel hehe) na sabi nila binuk ni vim for back-up. eh????????? wotevah. at wala pa tayo sa orange and lemons set ha. after us. devah.


neil gay-man

what's an lgbt writers night without neil garcia? so there he was, punctuating his readings with "okay, that didn't happen" or "okay, that happened." haha he was cute. with the beard and all.


double the fun

cutie james doble quoted a FINDING FORRESTER quote saying people go to poetry readings to get laid. REALLY??????? in the philippines, i really doubt that. although i saw quite a few that night who seemed to be getting pretty lucky...hmm...


joey b of a_b

joey baquiran. galing niya mag-tagalog tula talaga.


ralphie

good ol' ralph galan. whatever happened between the two of us as friends before, nakaka-miss siya as a friend. miss ko days namin just hanging out and cruising at malate. guess kung sino winona lagi. at sa mga afam. syempre hindi ako. hehe. (or, hindi pa teeheehee) ah, those were the days...


francis martinez

amboy ba siya? may accent eh. anyway, it's the guys who invited him naman e. i really don't know him.


butch francisco. teeheehee.

that's guerrero for you or as we recall calling him way back in our '97 UP writers workshop in baguio, barang. bakit nga ba barang? hm. kaming tatlo nina omeng ang masipag umupo weekly over lunch at magplanu nitong gabing ito. paid off naman pretty swell, methinks.


aries atienza

suki reader nina omeng and butch. he's nice.



nori de dios

haba ng dagli ng lolo ha. kaya di tuloy ako nakabasa! hehe. nah, kasalanan yun ng orangefarts and lemonheads talaga.


chameleon dance theater

i don't really understand why trained dance gay guys seem to have the same style... reminded me of this upbabaylan dude who used to dance a lot during pride marches. and jay cruz.


aida santos, extraordinaire

yep, the one and only. i'm glad she comes out and reads a lot these days. i like hearing her tell her own pieces.



germaine leonin

reading someone else's work. i wonder when she'll read her own.



mari santiago

reading her own. at napa WHOOOAAH! ang mga coorganizers kong tibakish-nd when she titled her poem 'internationale" hehe. love in the time of rallies baga ang drama? teehee. hey mare, ring me up for any nomo ha.

onti ng L no. hay. lagi namang ganyan sa mga events. sabi nga ng ex-boss kong malaysian na si susanna, "they should rename these events man. it should be LGbt lah."

tru. lalo na pag white party weekend. pagkakamali naming lumibot kami dati sa malate ng white party weekend, i swear. and ending up in, of all places, bed!!!!! suz.


malu

lola malu marin didn't really read. i don't think she's a literary person. nag-plug lang ang lola ng upcoming pride march chuvaloo.


strap it on!

dee of the society of transsexual women of the phil read a "vagina-less monologue" hehe. ang cute.


babes and mira and dude in square drum

sabi ni babes, sorry pero di pa raw siya nagta-transform sa other side hehe. is she sure???? hehe. ala lang. you know me, lagi naghahanap ng kakampi.



danicar mariano

she sang and read some octavio paz lines yata, if i remember it correctly.


dodong and celeste

tuck and patti, kayo ba yan? char!


the owdyens

enjoy naman sila




at ang dami nila hah! tiba tiba ang conspi.


it was a good night overall. i was happy even if i didn't get to read talaga. talaga. talaga! hehe bitter. wala lang, it was just touching to hear friends say na they stuck around because they wanted to hear me read. now that's friendship lah.

chicago filmfest anyone?

nakapasok yung isang short short short shoooooooooooooooooooooort video documentary project ko sa CHICAGO FILIPINO AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL. salamat at kahapon ko lang nalaman. ganda diba. e tila november 3 to 6 na po kaya siya... ayuz.

pero keri lang. :) fame, no fortune. part of the sunday short film program that starts at 1pm. so sa mga nasa chicago, nood kayo. marami ring full-length feature films na galing dito. impressive din ang mga gawa ng fil-ams na full-length. i wish i could watch them sometime. sana mapunta ulit dito, tulad nung dinala yung THE DEBUT ni gene cajayon dati, at kasama din siya. hm sayang sana kinuha ko pala sa kanya ang number ni dante basco hehe. kukunin ko kay dante ang number ni steven spielberg hehe.

anyway, here's what it said about my chorva sa website nila (take note sa maling spelling nila hehe):

SUNDAY 1:00 p.m.
SHORT FILM PROGRAM
Short films, videos, and documentaries

DOCUMENTARY

Spotlighting (U.S.; 2005; 30 minutes)
Dir: Josh Diamond and Justin Lin
Chicago Premiere
Directors Josh Diamond and Justin Lin (director of Better Luck Tomorrow and the upcoming Annapolis) document the real-life adventures of The Sunspots, a Filipino pop group who chased the American Dream, until they ran into the British Invasion. Spotlighting follows the group from their days playing American bases throughout Asia, to a whirlwind tour through the U.S. during the 1950s and '60s, to their recent years as a Vegas lounge act. Funny and inspiring, Spotlighting tells the story of a legend that almost was.

Beyond the Streets (U.S.; 2004; 12 minutes)
Dir: Demetrio P. Paguidad and Randolph B. Maguidad
Exhibted at the 2005 Chicago International film festival, the Museum of Television and Radio's 2005 Television Documentary Festival.
Three young men growing up in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood the challenges and dreams that come with growing up in the city.

Jeep Tip (Philppines; 2005; 2 minutes)
Dir: Libay Linsangan Cantor
Libay Cantor's short documentary explains the intricate "art and skill" of using the unique and colorfol mode of transportation of the Philippines—the Jeepney.


ayuz.

dapat kasi isasali ko ito sa national geographic contest dati na tell me about your asia chuva in two minutes. which i did, pero mas type nila yung mga pa-awa asia effect o pa-profound chorva e fun kaya yang ginawa ko, so luz. kaya may-i-submit na lang sa iba. ayan, nagustuhan ng mga fil-ams sa windy city. winner. :)

yun lang.