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Showing posts from September, 2007

All Dolled Up

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What do you get when you cross a beauty pageant fanatic and a doll enthusiast? You get Miss Unibarse ! It's one among a number of doll beauty pageants that have sprung up in the past few years. Click on the image to see how much love the organizers put into dressing up some of the "contestants" for the national costume portion. Winners are chosen via online votation. You can do that by clicking here . If that doesn't intrigue you enough, check out the ongoing Miss Doll Earth , complete with host Mark Nelson! Also, take a peek at our very own Miss Doll Philippines . Thanks to my dear sis for the links. (Images from missunibarse.com)

On Quality

I have yet to get myself copies of the new P10 comics, released barely a couple of weeks ago by Carlo Caparas and Sterling. But the initial feedback I've read isn't so encouraging, particularly in the area of production values. Pricing a publication at P10 brings us back to the old days in both good and bad ways. On the good side, the product becomes affordable. It's slightly more expensive than standard jeep fare, but affordable nonetheless. Bring prices down and you're almost always sure to get an initial killing. However, to get the price down to that level, dirt cheap paper is the way to go. And this is where the bad side comes in. We're back to the good old days when comics were throwaway entertainment. Worse, when they were the proverbial "pambalot ng tinapa." Some of you might have obscure hard-bound books at home published in the 50s or 60s but still occupy shelf space. How about those empty perfume bottles neatly arranged on your grandmother's

Flights

Ohhkay... There will be six shows for the Cebu leg of the Zaturnnah Muzikal over three days -- November 16, 17, and 18. No word yet as to the ticket prices, but I do know that it will be staged at one of the movie theaters of SM. A team went there two Sundays ago for an ocular. I'll miss the first two shows because of work, but I will be in Cebu on the 17th and head back to Manila after the following day's matinee. The Zaturnnah movie, meanwhile, will have its supposed North American premiere in mid-October at Reel Affirmations , an LGBT international film festival in Washington DC. Another Regal Film, Manay Po , will also be screened at the festival. Both films were helmed by Joel Lamangan with screenplays by Dinno Erece. Strangely, the Zaturnnah film is scheduled to be shown at an ungodly time of 11:15pm, at the Lincoln Theater on October 12.

Zaturnnah: No End In Sight

1. Congratulations to Vincent deJesus and Rustom Padilla for bagging Urian awards in their respective categories! I got a text saying that Rustom mentioned my name on Showbiz Central. That was sweet. 2. I gave out a copy of the first half of Zaturnnah: In Manila for script editing. It may need a bit more tweaking, but I'm pretty satisfied with it overall. I'm still writing the rest of the script in bits and pieces, but the shape is solid so far. There are a few things that have become more clear to me: Outlining the plot and breaking down the scenes make drafting a whole lot easier. Planning backstories open up interesting possibilities. When characters are well-planned, they will almost always tell you, "Can I do this instead?" More often, they're right, possibly making the story richer. You will be writing whole scenes that seem great at first, but you'll decide that these scenes don't contribute much to the entire plan. Some great ideas are best execut

The Sign: So Very High School

Most of us may have gone through that period when we'd ask for signs, particularly when it comes to matters of the heart. You know what that's like--you're aching over this one secret infatuation who either isn't aware of or is oblivious to your longing. When one night, you look up to the star-filled heavens and ask for it. The sign. The crappy thing about signs is that you have to be specific, from when's to how's, as well as the course of action to take should the sign manifest itself. There's this mystical contract that takes place, pretty much like the Law of Attraction. Unfortunately, Fate can be playful. About five years ago, I asked for a sign. I said, "If, in 20 counts, a black L300 van passes by, I'll do (insert action)." I chose a black L300 because I figured that would have been rare, and the lesser the probability of something happening, the more "meant to be." So I began counting, at first in second-long beats, only to sl

A Blur

Earlier today, I read a news article announcing the guilty verdict slapped on Joseph Estrada. I felt sad, strangely. I didn't want him to be president, but then I didn't want him to suffer a life sentence either. Such a fate isn't something I'd wish on anyone. Despite the sadness, I felt more confused. This is supposed to be a triumph of justice, right? But it seems that the verdict raises more questions than give the system, much less the people, a huge pat on the back. There appears to be a conviction that supports political maneouvering, a spice that's been used too often that the resulting dishes have begun to taste the same. So given that this is the first time the country has convicted someone like Estrada, I can only say, "Oh, okay. And then what?" It could be that I am a creature of ignorance who chose, a long time ago, to stop updating myself with what's happening in the Philippine political arena. Ask me about the significant events in govern

Where was Britney?

Seeing Britney Spears' awkward live performance (reportedly her first in six years) at the recent MTV Video Music Awards was painful to say the least. Granted, she got back a few of the curves, but I wonder where her heart was during her lackluster production number. As my co-worker Tisha said, Britney looked like she was just going through a rehearsal. Never mind that the skimpy outfit was typical and didn't flatter her in any way. The energy one would expect from her was absent. You've got to admire her, though, for enduring all the crap she's been through (though a lot of them were of her own doing). She's been trampled on from all sides, so her misfire at the VMA could simply be like a mosquito bite. Her newest single "Gimme More" didn't sound like a winner, however. It was typical Britney--I expected more from a comeback single. Perhaps something with a little more edge or maturity, a "wow" factor that tells the world how serious she i

"Umbrella" by Mandy Moore

To me, one of the best covers so far. I get irritated how some of our local covers still sound like the original. Rihanna's "Umbrealla" has been a favorite dance ditty of mine for a while--I play it almost everyday. But Mandy Moore mellows it out and makes me think about love. *sigh* Beautiful rendition!

Male-Form Superiority?

Now this didn't come from me, but I'd like to get your opinion based on your experience... A number of women I've talked to have observed that men prefer their partners to be "less intelligent," stemming from the supposedly natural male need to exercise more control/authority/dominance in a relationship. It doesn't mean that women ought to literally dumb themselves down in order to keep a mate, or withhold making statements that would zap IQ points from the guy, but more like to impress upon the guy that, well... he's the guy. You could look at it this way. Men = brains = decision making. Women = heart = nurturing and supporting. And, when in a relationship, women aren't supposed to cross into the province that traditionally belongs to men. What do you think? (Homosexuals can answer as well.)

Strange Space

I agree. Too much space has been devoted to that new diario nobela serialized in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Created by Carlo J. Caparas and Arnel A. Avetria, "To Have and To Hold" is a simple tale so far, that I wonder why the PDI would allot nearly half of a page's precious real estate six days a week for the strip. (According to PDI Classifieds , a half page black and white ad placement will shave off almost P60,000 from your budget. That's a helluva lot of money.) Shrinking the strip by 50% its size isn't going to hurt whatever storytelling impact it has, and the PDI could retain the variety of the comics page without having to bump off anybody. (I heard that seven strips had to give way.) I hope this is all temporary, that maybe the PDI is doing this "IMAX' treatment now to generate some kind of buzz and heighten the strip's visibility, only to reduce the size later on. So far, however, "To Have and To Hold" needs to get more intere

Cosmo Bachelor Bash 2007

Congratulations to Cosmopolitan Philippines for a successful event, a lot better than last year, and thanks as well for the VIP ticket! The view from the mosh pit was dizzying, eye-popping, nerve-wracking, and hot hot hot. From where I stood, I think I was the only one who was howling with a bass-baritone voice like some inebriated jock during a ball game. The video below shows the precious few seconds at show's end. Good thing my camera phone didn't run out of juice.

A Few Things

1. The nominees for the 30th Gawad Urian Awards have been recently released. The Zaturnnah film has been cited in the following categories: Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Sound, Musical Score, Screenplay, and Production Design. The Gawad Urian, to be held on September 13th at the Ateneo, is given out by the film critics group Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino. 2. I'll most probably attend tonight's Cosmo Bachelor Bash. I hope this year's hunk-a-rama will be a tad better than last year, where John Pratts' dance performance proved to be the events' highlight. 3. Negotiations are almost done for the Zaturnnah musical's first provincial performance. More on that soon.

What is mainstream Pinoy comics?

There's a discussion over at Randy's blog about "mainstream" and "indie" media. It's an interesting topic. I look at mainstream and indie from a business model side and a content side. As far as business models go, I think mainstream is the realm of the larger companies who have their tried-and-tested methods of developing and distributing their products. Indie producers, I believe, are generally those who don't like, if not abhor, the serpentine methods of their sturdier counterparts, prompting them to forge their own path toward recognition. As far as content goes, I think mainstream is akin to pop, while indie is related to alternative. This contrast has been fluid, particularly within the music scene, where formerly alternative acts have been embraced by the mainstream audience. So while the characteristics of the business models have not changed much, the characteristics of the content has. The upcoming P10 comics are by definition part of the

Real Living Space

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The official blog of Real Living magazine just went online! So if you want to check out the home decor and design scene, or at least see what's available in the local market, Real Living Space can give you that kind of fix every week. If you want to get a preview of Real Living's latest issue, you can click here . It'll also give you an idea of my approach to page design, based on the magazine's marketing brief. If there's one fine lesson that I learned from being part of this mag is that having a stylish and attractive room boils down to knowing where to look and knowing what the spending priorities are. For instance, I had spent about P900 on a human anatomy book that didn't give me much, and wished thereafter that I had yanked that gorgeous metallic modern desklamp off the Robinsons Department store shelf instead -- for almost the same price. I could've put the lamp to good use beside my drawing table.