bayli at barlaya

YEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

saw this last month:


6th Barlaya Writing for Young Adults Workshop

Adarna House, in partnership with the Filipinas Heritage Library, is now
accepting entries for the 6th Barlaya Writing for Young Adults Workshop.
All submissions must target readers within the age range of 12-18 years old.

Entries may be sent to Adarna House, 2nd floor, FSS Building, 20 Scout Tuason
corner Scout Castor Sts., Quezon City no later than 5pm on July 2, 2007.
The workshop shall be help on September 6 and 7, 2007. Only ten fellows
shall be chosen on the basis of their literary work. ...


saw this email kanina:

Hello, Libay!

Congratulations for having been chosen as one of the participants of the 6th Barlaya Writing for Young Adults Workshop.

The activity will be held on September 6 & 7, Thursday and Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm, at the Filipinas Heritage Library, Makati Avenue, Ayala Triangle, Makati City.

In line with the preparations for the workshop, may we inquire if you have preferences regarding food? Do you happen to be a vegetarian?

Please do confirm your attendance. You may reply to this e-mail or you may call me at 3723548 local 122.

Thank you very much.

ERGOE TINIO
Jr Marketing Associate
Adarna House, Inc.

Masayang magbasa!

talagang masaya!!!

achieve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! (in pong pagong tone)

pastime to exorcise a green-eyed monster

two days or two hours of no communication could either relieve you or drive you nuts.

it drives me nuts.

numbers don't matter. two minutes? two hours... two days! yes, i punctuate it like that. but it's not the same for us all. people punctuate differently when (im)properly motivated. to each their own.

panic attacks. it's common. insecurity fuels panic, and uncalled for scenarios build up in your mind. and unnecessary feelings surface to add more to the already existing surface tension. so unnecessary emotions build up. why oh why do we have to have habits of conjuring up ghosts to scare only ourselves? this is a human habit i have long wondered about. strangeness... to the max.

let me get rid of it. now na.

*

been enjoying my pack of sampoerna menthol lights, a pasalubong from my friend ging who came from bangkok where we usually get this brand. made by the same manufacturers of gudang garam, my usual brand, only better and finer and smoother.

made contact with this brand some years back, when my former malaysian boss went home for a vacation and came back with goodies in tow. that's the life in women NGOs, we share lots of stuff. and she has this habit of bringing pasalubong to everyone from her travels like all of us. it's the culture of sisterhood, i guess -- to share. and my house houses an eclectic collection of asian and western knick-knacks to prove it.

i was new then in the org, and she asked if i smoked, and said yes, and so she pulled out a pack of reds sampoerna, and i was hooked. but my palette looked for the comfort of menthol, so happy was i when i stumbled upon this specificity in one of my earlier bangkok travels. and i just had to buy one ream, man. sarap e.

nice to enjoy this again, here, now, during this time. i feel better now.

and yes, it's not an awful waste of space anymore. she made contact na.

silly praning me...

*

but wait. i hope this doesn't mean dependence. or interdependence. i am so shunning that concept. yes, this is a new social experiment. live day to day, one day at a time, and cherish every hour, and regret no bad hour passed. whatever.

*

i am saddened by some sisters' fate in the love department lately. near or far from me, relationships crumble just like that. but such is the fate of relationships nowadays. like job security, love security doesn't exist anymore. and in this day and age of multi-whatever (-tasking, -media etc), it's faster to move on. the question is, are you/we willing to move on as quickly? i hope you all are.

i feel for you gals. tomorrow will be a better day. trust me. you know that already. just one word: enact.

(((((((hugs from the leaflens))))))))

semisonic's adage still holds. every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

and we all know it.

*

segue.

got a taste of the university council meeting earlier where i joined as salingpusa. you could only join that if you already have the rank of assistant prof and above. so my instructor ass was hauled there by the dean and our director because, "unranked" as i was, i was indeed the "major author" of the curriculum revisions of my department/institute (meaning i was the major arse who culled their comments, made further studies and penned the drafts). which means it's a big deal for those in the academic circles. never did i realize its gravity until it was pointed out to me by colleagues and friends like wendell the assoc dean of cal who kept on raving about it to our fellow writer colleagues in a recent book launch (to my chagrin. who could remain anonymous in events like that if he raves like that? but his heart is in the right place so we forgive him). and yes, this from the same gay guy who ranted before that i could give angel aquino a run for her modeling money because of my very femme-y looks some one decade ako when we first met (when i was looking like a walking ad for a shampoo commercial then, yes). yeah i fooled a lot of people back then when i was/am in my "passing hetero" mode. but i digress.

so the UC meeting was so boring and full of people who are full of it. and i couldn't believe how some of them could be so plugged up their arses that i wondered if i would ever suffer the same fate if i stayed on for a decade more in this university teaching. i just couldn't believe that these people who taught/teaches the future of the country could be so stuck in the prejudices and bigotries of the(ir) past. like mr. kontra made lots of kontra about queer cinema kanina. and just hear the smirks and snickers when he started talking about the term queer. i could not believe that some of these arses have buttplugs so stuck up way way way up theirs that they would react that way. contrary to the virginia slims ad, we haven't gone a long way yet, baby. and what, it's the centennial celebs next year, right? hah.

sad. so sad.

kaya pala you never see the innovative teachers in that meeting. or in any other meeting like that, for that matter. they're out there busying themselves with finding the right teaching tools, finetuning their alternative teaching skills, researching about their more innovative teaching methods, all that self-improvement schtick. ang mga uma-attend ng mga meeting na yan ay karamihan mga naaagnas na sa unibersidad na di na lumalabas sa totoong mundo para mahawakan at maramdaman ang totoong buhay, na stuck na sa insecurities nila na kahit napakarami na nilang nakamit sa buhay ay insecure pa rin sa kalagayan nila sa buhay. sad. so so sad. super sad.

but i'm confident i'm not headed towards that direction. a lot of us young faculty still have the sense to involve ourselves in our multiple lives outside of the university. and i do mean multiple -- from the jobs to the rakets to the personal arts/advocacy/business involvements down to our multiple love lives / orgasms, we are just soooo out there. unlike these old farts, we are more concerned with what our students would learn rather than what our department would look like/project outside/within the university. quality not quantity, substance not image. no, we're not after image. we're after content. in this university of contradictions, i am discovering new things to be sad about and old things to be proud of. hope to find more of the latter. as in. now na. need it bad. as in. you have no idea.

*

cute nito no. the movie in my mind as i muni-muni this: STAND AND DELIVER starring subic-born texas-raised lou diamond phillips. na siguro ang tunay na pangalan e luis diamante. iningglis lang.

but i'd rather be pretty and spunky michelle pfeiffer in DANGEROUS MINDS. and i can rap the theme song pa of that movie! hehe. what can i say? i love old school rap. don't give me none of that materialistic misogynist hiphop shit. rap is it, baby. rap is it. good ol' fashioned beats with rhymes that comment on social issues that affect the personal and influence the political.

word up.

online slave+message from above

that's it. finally. it has happened. i have withdrawal symptoms of not being online for lotsa days. malala na to.

i remember life before internet boomed. it was more personal. but we spent more time decoding and encoding in person, face to face, breath to breath, or skin to skin. frankly my dear, i preferred those days. i prefer feeling silences from fellow warm bodies than reading them online. basta.

these days, it's just me myself and i in front of a renewed blank page made up of zeros and ones, of blinking pixels and retina-damaging rays. my veins are so plugged. so are my brain cells.

weird.

but i'll admit it. it's good to be back online again. after 5 days of absence. welcome to the newer world, me. you're not in kansas anymore toto, so stop barking.

arf.

*

EKSENANG BAHAY...

isang araw na nakaratay ako sa sala habang nagpapahinga sa sakit ng asido sa tiyan, may kumatok sa pintuan ko.

IT: [soundfx: tok tok tok]

ME: ...hm? (kagigising lang)

IT: [soundfx: tok tok tok]

ME: sino yan?

IT: ...

ME: sino YAN?

IT: ...

ME: [thought balloon: punyeta to a.] SINO IYAN???

IT: (in a deep manly authoritative voice of god-type narration) may mahalaga akong mensaheng iaabot.

ME: [thought balloon: hello hiro nakamura, ikaw ba yan? peter petrelli kaya? message from the future ba yan? save the cheerleader? ano kaya yun? creepy. sino sha??] (habang nag-iisip kung bubuksan ang door o hindi) ANO IYON?

IT: mensahe mula sa kaharian ng diyos.

ME: [thought balloon: punyeeeetaaaa, natutulog istorbooooo!] IWAN MO LANG DYAN.

after an hour, i opened the door and found one of those religious recruitment leaflets in my makeshift mailbox.

poonyetah. san nakakabili ng pepto-bismol?

asar.

walang magawa mode

was with faculty friends last night checking out housing situations in UP. and we came to the conclusion that indeed, UP has no housing plan for us. old faculty members who retire are kicked out of their UP homes. so many vacant spaces but the applications are not yet processed. gagawa nga ng dorm for junior faculty pero 3 in 1 ang room. those who availed of housing do not actually live in the houses and they rent it out because they have their own houses outside. sucks.

majorly depressing.

buti pa ateneo may pa-rent to own na pala daw. no wonder some colleagues are migrating there. hm.

hay, depressing thought...

makes me rethink of the whole system... hm.

ewan.

*

so kung depressed, mag-blogthang!

Never Date a Gemini

Uncommitted, unfocused, and more selfish than they let on - a gemini is a full time project you don't want to take on. You may be attracted to a Gemini's wit and energy, but you'll be exhausted after an hour! Instead try dating: Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, or Capricorn

What Sign Shouldn't You Date?

haha ayuz. funny ito. nakita ko sa blog ni jovan. so i should date mga ka-sign ko pala, bilang taurus? hmmm. lethal yun, lalo na't year of the ox din sila. multiplier effect ang mga toro hehe. pati torohan? nyahahahaha. chos.

cancer yata di pa ko nakaka-date...o di ko maalala. yeah, scorpio and capricorn na-try na pero no luck. mahirap for a beast of burden like my sign...trust me. pero dapat ang award dito ay pisces. dated a piscean before and it was the worst of all time. swear. masyado silang...matubig. sa hindi magandang paraan.

figure that one out.

hm bigla ko tuloy tinext yung dine-date ko lately at tinanong ang sign niya hahaha. natawa ko. sinagot naman niya. so i explained why when she asked why i wanted to know. and i like what she said "so we're okay."

hahaha yeah, we are. we truly are.

*

naaaliw ako sa feedback sa NAPOLEON DYNAMITE review ko. daming nag-defend. yeah, kia i think it's more of a cultural thing. at that point in time, i wasn't really looking for a film like that. pero what made me stick was i wanted to see what kinds of characters they will become. yeah geeky mode na simple na patawa nga siya, pero i guess wala ako sa mode na yun when i watched it. okay naman.

as for KALELDO or summer heat, maganda siya. yung slowness there worked well. parang na-capture niya ang mood sa semi-rural pampanga during summer at nag-a-unfold ang mga pangyayari sa isang patriyarkal na pamilya. interesting, not to mention good cinematography. i think so far, this is the filmmaker's best film yet. although i have a beef about the staging of the lesbian sex scene, pero i forgive the gay guy. pero magaling si cherry pie dito, at saka revelation lang si criselda volks. i knew this gal way back sa premiere productions pa before in '96, artista namin siya, mga starlet on the side baga. pero okay siya dito sa film na to, pero ayoko ng naging character development niya.

try catching ROME AND JULIET there mare. and let's exchange notes hehehe.

*


haha funny ito o, bagsak ako. mula sa blog ni ene.

52%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews

sobrang trivia naman na kasi, as in OC trivia type.

*

hm, since nasimulan na, mini-review na rin.

REKADOS

written and directed by paolo herras, this is a film about women's containment in philippine society as represented by their usually designated societal role of being cooks in the household kitchen. spans three generations of cooks, from lola boots anson roa to daughter eula valdez to apo meryll soriano.

three great actresses from three generations of philippine cinema and media. i'm impressed. i just love eula's kikay mode here. pero i always love eula anyway kahit ano'ng gawin niya. hello sa BAGETS pa lang inlab na ko sa kanya no as the palengkera gf ni uber-cleancut-siguro-gay-sha raymond lauchengco. sayang lang at na-trap siya sa mga roles na kapatid ng bida, tita ng bida o kaya kontrabida. love to hate her sa BUKAS LULUHOD ANG MGA TALA nung winawarla-warla niya si megastar. achieve! kaya labs ko mga nakaisip na gawins iyang amor powers sa PANGAKO SA YO soap which relaunched her career in a way. achieve! at pretty pa rin siya! tanga tanga tanga tanga ko lang dahil hindi ko pa rin napapanood siya sa stage musical adapatation ng ZSA ZSA ZATURNNAH.

meryll naman is good here. her character is good. hindi siya jaded (sa overall way that life is treating her), hindi siya cynical (dahil sa poor siya at hindi bombshell), hindi siya apologetic (sa mga decisions niya sa pang-araw-araw na pamumuhay), hindi siya damsel in distress at lalong hindi siya nahihiyang kamutin ang libog. i love the characterization. she carries it well. at maganda ang acting-sparring nila ni mario magallona dito ha. for the first time, i like this dude on cinema. chaks kasi ng iba niyang nilalabasan e. pero bet ko siya ever sa mga teatro stagings.

at syempre walang ibang maasabi kay miss BAR kundi galing. okay din yung character niya, simpleng lola na naghirap etc. maganda ang treatment niya, subtle at hindi siya hysterical whatsoever. okay din yung development ng character niya mula pa nung younger days na si ana capri ba yun ang nag-portray. ayuz din. although kadiri lang yung magluto ng dinuguan na hahaluan ng patak ng unang regla niya ha. kakaibah! only in da pilipins... peo okay ang uniqueness na yun. kaya siguro nagustuhan sa india. may sasalihan kasi si pao na fest doon.

ang beef ko lang dito ay yung overall story treatment. okay yung may magic realism touches siya minsan a la COMO AGUA PARA CHOCOLATE saka yung ie-enumerate yung ingredients ng dishes sa screen. pero i'm not sure if the voice overs work. i don't think it does. i think he has to rewrite it in such a way na it won't appear like the characters are overly-intellectualizing or "over-philosophizing" (kung may word mang ganto) yung state nila sa life at the moment. insights ito oo pero awkward yung pagkakalagay e. feeling ko if it remained as a quiet movie, baka mag-work pa better than have the characters narrate to us their inner thoughts chenes. look at what happened to BLADERUNNER when ridley scott scrapped the VO totally. nag-iba yung mood and mode! baka it'll work din with this film. awkward kasi minsan e. pilit baga. but well, knowing pash, ganyan siya minsan kasi.

pash is pao's pseudonym sa '98 o '99 ba yun na UP writers workshop. met him there the first time i worked as a "workshop slave" doing photo and video doc. he's but, what, 17 ba o 16 at that time? the kid's totally gifted. and i'm glad he's writing still, and continues his art now in this medium. happy for him.

more digifilms next week at the cinemalaya. kitakits.

*

more of these thangs

Your Social Anxiety Level: 12%

You have low social anxiety. You don't have any social anxiety. In fact, you love being social. You're well adjusted and likely quite outgoing. Your social skills put others at ease.

Are You Socially Anxious?

hahaha sabi nga ng friend ko, minsa kelangan ko nga ng preno. socially. hahhaha.

again, the golden rule lang ang aandar diyan: kung diva ka, mas diva akoooo!

at eto pa

You Should Be a Painter

You have the vision, patience, and skill to bring your unique visions to canvas. And you're even tempered enough not to cut your ear off in the process!

What Sort of Artist Should You Be?

hahah ayuz. matagal ko nang tinago ang mga paintbrushes ko at watercolors kaya masaya na ako sa occasionaly doodlings ko with my pen and ink. lights and shadows are my new tools kaya i do photography na lang as a visual art release.

an exercise in procrastination

ngyar.

whenever i'm supposed to do some work i'm opposed to doing, this is what i do first. procrastinate. well... la lang. na-miss ko ring mag-blog so here we are. heniweys...

i'm okay now. the past two weeks have been so-so for me, mainly because i had on-and-off hyperacidity attacks. and for an avowed gourmand like me, that sucks to high heaven, because i can't eat anything but safe (read: sick) food. bad trip. i swear steak ang reward dito in two weeks' time. pramis. hay...

hirap magkasakit. i miss out on a lot. buti na lang flexi pa ang weeks na ito for classes. nareremedyuhan naman. so oks pa ang lyf.

anyway, on and off din naman ang pagpapahinga at on and off din ang pagkabagot. so kung bagot, of course walang ibang gagawin kundi manood ng sine.

some snapshots.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

or subtitled "hindi happy si harry huhuhuhuhu..."

yeah, this film didn't fly. as in. no nimbus 2000 broomsticks will help the film. no matter how much you shout "wingardium leviosa" wala pa ring lulutang diyan. hay. super. kainis.

i guess it has something to do with the writing and the directing, combined. the usual suspects were okay naman, especially the actors. the kids are now teenagers with throbbing libidos overtly shown (eg harry with cho chang) or subtly implied (eg hermione being seduced by being an outlaw). the usual crop of good british actors are in good supply (esp the ones we heart the most, emma "sense and sensibility" thompson as the divination teacher, gary "immortal beloved/bram stoker's dracula" oldman as sirius black, and helena "mary shelley's frankenstein/hamlet" bonham carter's bellatrix lestrange).

but maybe we have to backtrack a bit. have you read the book? it's freaking thick. as in the thickest piece of young adult literature i've read. and it's hard to pick the best parts to translate into film, because each chapter was written as a coherent unit that gets better as it develops. so if you just lift the essence without mentioning some details, hm...doesn't work well e. iba ang essence na mabubuo ng libro. like ni hindi nga na-establish masyado ang importance ng order of the phoenix, for one. and then yung family relations and angsts nina bellatrix at sirius. saka yung angst ni harry about family units, as usual. basta, ang dami. pero okay yung nag-focus sila sa training ng dumbledore's army. i think that's the only portion that worked well without having prior knowledge of the book's content. pero kung di mo nabasa ang book, baka feeling short-changed ka. well, lalo na kung nabasa mo, i suppose...

and the directing? well, the brit tv director is good with small, intimate scenes but not big ones, especially the ones with special effects and sa overall na pagtatahi ng mga eksena para maging cohesive unit ang buon pelikula. malabo men. brilliant moments naman niya ay napaka-british lang, i think. yung bang kind ng british scene na di mo alam kung drama ba yan, dramedy, heartwarming o comedy. yeah, brit cinema could have this quality madalas e. para bang guess the genre ang game, not unless overt ang artista mo na alam mo ang ginagawa like mr. bean's films. one nice scene is the one with the 3 kids in front of the fireplace at the griffindor lobby. the one where it just faded out with them laughing. ang natural lang ng approach. pero the rest, like the one na tinira ni voldemort si sirius at nung natamaan si sirius, hindi maganda ang framing at hindi nagawan ng sfx ng remedyo. kapag may special effects talaga ang eksena, mas mahirap i-shoot especially kung di mo alam ang hitsura ng effects na kalalabasan ng eksena. so kakulangan talaga ng direktor ito.

hay. i could go on and on about why i don't like this film. pero i won't na lang. i think you get the picture. but of course, like the rest of the world, i'll still read the next book and watch the next film. i want to know what happens next kasi.


NAPOLEON DYNAMITE

during one of my sleepless bouts with sickness, i caught this stupid film produced by mtv films on hbo. punyeta nakakainis. lahat sadyang nang-iinis -- yung storya ng isang parang simple minded pero may caustic wit na eengot-engot na loser bida na may equally nakakainis na kamag-anak, tapos static ang shots na okay alam ko sinusubukang ma-achieve ang isang comedic style pero it doesn't deliver. nagaganap lahat ito sa isang typical americanan small town. bata punyeta nakakainis siya panoorin. walang nangyayari at walang kuwenta.

so bakit ko pinanood? i still keep the thing i learned from carlitos siguion reyna years back when he said in our class na we also have to watch bad movies because we learn a lot from them, too. at tama siya doon. i wanted to see what kind of ending and story this kind of film will have. lesson learned: may reason kung bakit 2:30am ito sumasalang, so don't trust films that run at that time that much.


TRANSFORMERS

to cap my weekend, caught this one on the big screen. lesson learned: why oh why did we ever forget that if a film is directed by michael bay, we have to bring earplugs. as in. maingay siyang direktor. siguro bingi siya, like some filmmakers out there na kilala natin. ang ingay ng pelikula, considering na ang subject matter ay mga bakal na kumakalansing lagi. as in, ang ingay. tunog bakal lang.

per of course i have to see this film. it's a blast from my past, because i grew up watching the cartoon show of these characters. they got a lot of things right naman, like yung chracterizations ng robots, at panalo pala ang voice ni megatron dahil si hugo "the matrix/v for vendetta" weaving pala iyon. panalo. tapos yung special sound effects kapag nagta-transform sila, this time better version lang kasi parang nahaluan ng some kinda metallic techno sound. yun nga lang, tama sabi ng ka-date ko, na bakit di nila ginamit yung original theme song as part of the soundtrack. tama. ganda pa naman ng theme song niya, simple lang. parang like what they did with the spiderman theme song. dapat ganun.

oh well. nakakatamad lang panoorin ito kasi ang bagal ng story development. the first 40 minutes could have been chopped and reduced to 15 easy. pero they have to show a lot of the human back story crap pa. doesn't work men. plus they have to focus pa ba on a lot of the bang-klang-whoosh-blug scenes ng fight sequences? daming puwedeng i-edit, e. hay...


hm, not a good week for movie-viewing pala ini. hm. will wait for the next two weeks na lang. let's hope something nice comes out of the cinemalaya films. and some hollywood offerings.

*

some feedbacking.

thanks for the links locknlol.

thanks for the comment joyjoy. pero hm, sino si mig?

hm, thanks na rin dun sa isang comment kahit hindi ko siya ma-dig.

jojo sorry bout saturday. next time na lang coffee diyan ha.

kill me now + electric jeep + prick flick + losing isaiah

just a little before i turn in.

still reeling from the effect of hyper-hyperacidity that attacked this stomach of mine last thursday. bad trip!!!!!! now i belong to the hyperacidity anonymous club. kainis. which means no more of my usual cravings of coffee, tea or alcohol. add to that the banning of yosi pa. kababalik ko nga lang eh, aalis na agad! wah! wala nang natira! sabi ng friend ko, bawal na din ang tomato-based stuff. anubayaaaaan. basta anything acidic daw. e ako pa naman si citrus freak ever, asim lover super, basta sour is the new sweet for me. grrrrr. like, i always have orange juice whenever i remember to have breakfast, suka as sawsawan, manggang hilaw (bagoong rocks!), my love affair with kamatis (salsa rules!). bawasan din daw ang dairy products, esp cheese (au revoir camembert et brie) and ice cream! puta naman o. kill me now. wala nang natira. tangina skyflakes at tubig forever ba drama nito!!! wah i protest!

mahilig pa naman akong kumain at magsampol ng world cuisines. kainiz. hirap ng ganitong limitasyon ah... bad treef.

*

anyway, speaking of trip, i want one of these for christmas:













cute yung pink! puwede pang-pride march hehe. more at marninay's multiply.

*

and this is why we heart gloria steinem:

I propose, as the opposite of "chick flick" and an adjective of your very own, "prick flick." Not only will it serve film critics well, but its variants will add to the literary lexicon. For example, "prick lit" could characterize a lot of fiction, from Philip Roth to Bret Easton Ellis and beyond. "True prick" could guide readers to their preferred non-fiction, from the classics of Freud to the populist works of socio-biologists and even Rush Limbaugh.

Most of all, the simple label "prick flick" could lead you easily and quickly through the thicket of televised, downloaded and theatrical releases to such attractions as:

All the movies that glorify World War II. ...All the movies that glorify Vietnam, bloody regional wars, and the war on terrorism. ...All the movies that portray violence against women, preferably beautiful, sexy, half-naked women. ... All the movies that insist female human beings are the only animals on earth that seek out and even enjoy their own pain. ...

award ang lola! read her full article on alternet.

nga naman. kung may chick lit, dapat may prick lit. it rhymes!

*

while resting from sickness, i caught LARRY KING LIVE on cnn and it had isaiah washington there. tama ba name, yung guy na na-fire sa GREY'S ANATOMY (sorry i don't watch the show) kasi he used the word "faggot" sa set. this caused a great furor dahil yung isang co-star niya ay napa-out bigla, si TR Knight (tama ba sp?) and i caught his interview sa ELLEN after this incident naman. tapos nag-deny si isaiah pero inulit niya sa GOLDEN GLOBES. grabe. ibang klase.

pero in fairness to him, he made a public service tvc under glaad.org and he underwent counseling daw. sige whatever.

man, nakakatawa yung mga arguments niya. he contradicts himself every after commercial gap, i swear. sasabihin niya apologetic siya dahil sa hindi daw niya alam ang gravity ng words, tapos after a gap sasabihin niya he believes words have power, tapos after another gap sasabihin niya we have to be careful of the words we use, tapos another gap (ang daming gaps ng cnn potah) sasabihin niya nag-iiba ang context ng words depende sa gumamit etc... i lost count na sa incredulousness ng kanyang statements.

e hindi na ko magugulat na ganito siya, medyo he fits the profile pala of your typical garden-variety american homophobe -- grew up in a so-called redneck state (texas, where their idiot president is from), had military training (don't ask, don't tell?) and is a family man chenes. larry king slightly wanted to refer if there were traces of racism naman sa firing niya. hindi masagot ng diretso ng lolo. he's african american kasi. pero malabo na ito this day and age sa showbiz, not with people like oprah and the hiphop moguls ruling the airwaves. ano sila hilo?

pero homophobia, oo. ito ang hindi pa nawawala sa society at large. theirs, and even ours. the whole world's, even. ganda lang ng CSI NY yesterday when this bigot who killed a tranny said "what i see, i done the world a big favor by killing him." sabi ni detective "and i'm doing it an even bigger favor" then locked him up. kabog ka.

wala e. kahit mag-atone siya sa sins niya, nabahiran na siya nun at hindi na iyon mawawala pa sa balat niya. mahirap talaga kapag nababahiran ka ng ganito. dapat matuto na talaga ang mga tao. hay... kairita panoorin pero i just had to, just to see how he will weasel his way out of it. to no avail. kahit si larry king napapa-ismid. luz.

reminded me of that great scene sa PHILADELPHIA where tom hanks the HIV-positive gay corporate lawyer shakes hands and meets for the first time denzel washington's lawyer for hire character. when tom said "i have AIDS" denzel slowly stops shaking hands, turns a bit, his back to tom, and slowly wipes his palm (yung pinang-handshake niya) sa pants niya. beautifully acted and directed scene. subtle yet strong ang impact. para kasing ganun yung fez ni isaiah most times, like denzel's face after that handshake. classic. bigotry at its finest.

to echo the slogans, HEY HEY! HO HO! HOMOPHOBIA'S GOT TO GO!

word.

*

okay gotta rest na. ciao.

being sick sucks!

kainizzz...

Your Score: Baby Butch

Congratulations! You scored 42%!

You're getting there, just need to learn a few things before you get your butch card.

Link: The Lesbian Classification Test written by ButchBabe on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

yan ang napapala ng may sakit at baldado at walang magawa dahil ilang oras nang nakaratay sa kama... waaaah. hate this.

well, at least this next one is hopeful...

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

Skilled Worker Self-Assessment

Total Point Score

Your final score is: 79

Here is the breakdown of your total score:

Factor		Maximum Points	Your Score
1	Education	25	20
2	Language Ability	24	18
3	Work Experience	21	21
4	Age	10	10
5	Arranged Employment	10	0
6	Adaptability	10	10
Total Score		100	79

Pass Mark

The pass mark as of September 18, 2003 is 67.

Did you pass?

If your mark from this test is the same or higher than the current pass mark, you may qualify to immigrate as a skilled worker.

If your mark is lower than the pass mark, you might not qualify to immigrate as a skilled worker at this time.

However, if you believe there are other factors that would help you to become economically established in Canada, you may still apply.

Send a detailed letter with your application explaining what these factors are and why they may help you successfully establish yourself in Canada.

Include any documents that support your claim.

Final Decision

A CIC officer will make the final decision on the application you submit to a Visa Office. Make sure you fill out the application forms completely. You will need to provide documents to support your application and, if selected, to pass medical and security checks.

The results from the on-line self-assessment test are for your advice only. CIC does not keep a record of these results. If you want to keep a record, you can print or save this page from your computer.

See Immigrating to Canada as a Skilled Worker for more information on Skilled Worker immigration.

Be sure to check out the Working in Canada section for more information.

There are other programs to assist you in immigrating to Canada. See Provincial Nominations and Business Class Immigration.

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in-email ng ninang ko sa toronto ang page. pinatulan ko namang sagutin ang chenes. hm, might sound like a good idea sometime soon... or maybe not so soon... ewan ko.

my sister's oath-taking in the land of milk and honey will happen next week, i think. finally, after years of being there, citizen na siya. congrats sis. send pictures. kelangan bang kumanta ng national anthem? hm.

7am thoughts

some thoughts at seven in the friggin' morning...

"are we dating the same person?"

- from sex and the city, the episode where carrie reveals she has a fuck buddy and she tries to have a relationship with him outside the bedroom, to no avail.i like this ep because this is also where charlotte thinks of changing her dating habits as suggested by her friends, so she double-books two guys at magkakalintikan, and she concludes that she should not listen to her friends. hehehehe nakakatawa talaga yun.

but this is a good thought. it's a curious question to ask, because it forces you to re-examine the choices you have made over the years regarding your romantic partners.

i'm still re-examining. will keep you posted... but this time, i think the cycle is breaking. so i'm glad about that. i'm glad about a lot of things lately, and maybe that has something to do with the cycle... among other things.

yes, that's what you call a cyclical discussion with your self.

*

short clip on a film i saw last week...

PAN'S LABYRINTH

galing talaga ng mga mexicans mag-ilaw. di ko alam kung bakit may ganoong sensitivity. CSI Miami could actually use their services because to tell you the truth, i'm tired of their heavy-coated gradated yellow-amber tone filtering to achieve that sun-hot atmospheric sizzle. puwede kayang iba naman? just like i'm getting tired of the polarized cyan/high neutral density look of CSI New York, just to have that icey metallic detached nooyawk feel of sorts. da best pa rin mag-ilaw ang CSI Vegas, but i digress...

this mexican film is just plain excellent. storyline, acting (although the child protagonist could have used more oomph in terms of her acting projection -- kulang pa ng konti sa workshop, at sa guidance in directing). the vision is good, and to have that fairy tale thingie juxtaposed with the franco dictatorship chenes, ay caramba! perfecto. galeng! reminded me of LA VITA E BELLA (LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL) where the father told his kid a game/tale to hide the atrocities of the holocaust. tangina. yan ang konsepto! multi-layered, very textured plot, and good execution helped a lot din. pero to begin with, brilliant ang mga konsepto.

may ilang portions lang na parang slow ang dating, pero may payoff din ang style ng pagbabagal. the oveall effect was okay naman.

hm, can't wait for harry potter. the trailers are good. and we see more (well, more or less) of ralph fiennes in this one. yey.

*

pero nami-miss ko ang panonood sa teatro these months. tagal ko nang di nakakanood ng stage play. want to tonight, as two of my friends' plays are being restaged, kaya lang mga ati, hanlayoh kase ng ccp e. for a qc gal na nawalan na ng awto, e mahirap na lumipad sa maynila anytime my heart has whims of all sorts. argh. sorry ate liza, job, next time na lang... and sigrid, too. hm. sayang. kainizzz. kung wala lang lakad kinabukasan...

kaya lang gawad plaridel awarding kasi bukas e, at ang aawardan ay si ms cheche lazaro (broadcast kasi, tv, this year). so siyempre i have to be there, being cmc faculty and all, and also siyempre dahil sa nakasalamuha ko ang mga Probe-sters at si ms cheche sa bangkok before. so pay respects lang kumbaga. wanna watch? libre to. sa cine adarna gaganapin, pasok ka lang.

pero naboborlogs lang ako kanina why the peeps in charge want to set up the cams na bukas ng tanghali pa lang. i mean, hello, coverage lang ito ati, at saka video lang yan. and they won't require a whole deal of patching and laying cables and stuff for a freaking non-moving event! tapos 24-hour ahead set-up??????? e gagamitin ng lecturers namin sa class yung cam e...hay kakaibah. weird lang talaga yun. even if they're shooting using film, hindi ito magfa-fly. masyadong OC-ness lang yung early tech set-up na yun i swear. so no go.

*

and for more pictures, wala lang, share ko lang. sabi kasi ng isa diyan, hindi daw nagbago ang smile ko over the years. totoo ba? ngiti pa lang, libay na! hehe. hindi mapapagkaila...



29 years ago... (rite of passage, meaning no more red and blue crayons as writing thingies and moving on to mongol pencils! but more excitement for chinese garter games and monkey monkey anabel running games -- kasi tumatangkad na at humahaba na legs!)




and 9 months ago. (passage to righteousness, meaning starting the rebooting of grounded systems to pursue no-brainer payoffs but also let that go because of others' unmotivated hypocritical righteousness)

hm. you do the math. eh? hehe. la lang. that's called coded discombobulations hehehe. decode.

more vanity fair/fare at my multiply. link to your left.

*

and to wrap this up, yeah ly, mami-miss mo talaga ang penguin! nano-nostalgic ako doon when i think of the good ol' days of just hanging out natin nina pam. oh hey check out that digifilm nga pala ROME AND JULIET, she makes a cameo there hehe (she comes on to mylene dizon in her flowershop garden). plus a host of our other dykey friends make a cameo din dun hehe (spot the g-spotters! hahaha). watch it if only for that. forget the storyline tho.

thanks for that comment justwomyn. yeah, been accused of being a head-person din. tama ka. years of exposure will tame one down to take it easy na lang, hence my tagline sa profile.

ponpkpn, we at UP Sappho used to do a "connect the dots" game much like what alice on the l word did with her chart. mas organized nga lang sa kanya hehe. that was a fun pastime for us. at isa sa amin nga ang sinasabi mong hub hehe. pag nagsiuwian kayo ng sabay-sabay dito, ipapakilala ko kayo sa isa't isa hehehe. ay, yung isang kabanda ko, may pagka-hub ang lola hehe. kakaiba nga ang kabataan ngayon hane... hehe. at hindi ako hub. hehe. wala ko balak. i'm a private person chenes when it comes to my love life. a la jodie foster mode hahahahaha chos.

more comments! keep 'em coming.