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Showing posts from January, 2008

Some Sort of a Trying Out The Style

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The Dip

Strange. Right after my birthday comes this inexplicable dip. Some schizo Jekyll-and-Hyde turn.The kind that makes you realize that you're at your worst state, and all the evils tucked within your personality cracks are slowly seeping out. I would like to believe that this is all fatigue-induced, but a part of me doesn't think so. It's been triggered, ironically by an inconsequential event that nevertheless ticked me off. It will pass, for sure, as everything else had. But a conviction has been reinforced. Listening is a gift which, unfortunately, is not shared by all. I guess it's quiet time again.

Birthday weekend

Just a summary of what's been happening... I didn't do much last Friday, but spent it mostly feeling good. The day was bright and sunny, the kind that wasn't too hot and had a hint of dryness in the air. The morning was spent just bumming over the Web, then lunch took me to Tapa King along Pioneer where I had my usual. I walked to Dome at the Shangri-La mall to have a couple of cups of coffee. I missed being idle or, more accurately, being able to push aside urgent tasks for just one day. I brought a book along with me--one of those assembly-line self-help guides-- just in case my fingers ached for some activity, but found myself unable to go through a page. I just sat there, watching people, my mind mostly blank. The grocery store was next. I had to replenish my fruit supply. Fruits have been a major reason for my dropping by the grocery store, and have been good meal substitutes. I just pop some into a blender, add ice and a fiber and protein supplement, and blend away. T

Floundering: A Comics Conundrum

I don't know why, but my interest in reading comics has been floundering. It's not like during those bygone years when I'd eagerly anticipate--drooling and all-- the next issue of my favorite comics. I still like making them, but reading them? Well... In an effort to hopefully revive my fading interest, I registered for a one-year subscription to Marvel Digital where, for a relatively small amount, I get to read every comic book in their online archive. The P2,400 tag can only get me less than 20 printed comics at current prices, and I've already read more than that online in less than three months. In short, bawing-bawi na ako . But I'm still not solved as far as the whole comics-reading experience is concerned. There are those who may scoff at reading comics online, and I admit I was one of them. But times have changed as much as needs, and I've pretty much adapted to getting reading entertainment through the Web. Sometimes I wonder if it's the smell or t

Feel like INKing?

Just a public service announcement. :-) Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK) , an association of artists committed to the creation and promotion of illustrations for children, is accepting new members for 2008. REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION 1. Accomplished Membership Application Form. 2. Three (3) illustrations that are of the same size and medium based on the 2008 PBBY-Salanga Prize-winning story, "Naku, Nakuu,Nakuuu!" by Ernanie Rafael, available for download at: http://pbby.org.ph/downloads/pbby_naku-nakuu-nakuuu.pdf Recommended size and format: At least 8 1/2 x 11, landscape format ** Please DO NOT submit original artworks. All papers, works, and packaging submitted to Ang INK for screening will not be returned to any applicant. SUBMISSION Entries must be submitted on or before February 16, 2008, Saturday, 12:00 noon. All entries received after the deadline will not be entertained. Please send your entries to: Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK) Room 307 Ang Bahay n

Swamped Thang

Listening to: Numb/Encore, Linkin Park and Jay-Z Arrggh... I am swamped (mostly my fault). Sorry for not posting lately. 2008 kicked off pretty well for me with heavy stuff on the plate. If this is any indication of how the rest of the year is going to be, I guess that only bigger and better will come my way. Let it be so. But then it's all going to take place in a smoother fashion with the right mindset. I was talking with a co-worker yesterday and it looked like the kind of lives we led were similar. We had that safe, tentative disposition, thinking out of the box but not really stepping out of it. Though, in my case, I have stepped out a few times over the past couple of years with every good and challenging encounter. A few foibles now and then, but not bad overall. I relearned a valuable lesson from El and Jonas on separate occasions. I have to, again, put a rein on announcing anything that's not nearly done. It's that whole udlot thing, which has put me to shame

Structural Beauty

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say. Then there's that oft-mentioned "rule" that beauty can be seen in the mirror likeness of the left and right sides of the face. Then there's beauty based on the Golden Ratio, the number that's theoretically the cornerstone of every natural creation. For those who aren't aware of the Golden Ratio (represented by the greek letter phi), which is based on the Fibonacci series, you can get a primer through Evolution of Truth . A feature on the website Interactive Mathematics presents a pattern for a face that conforms to the Golden Ratio. The site even has a little interactive test where you can match this mask with the faces of Jessica Simpson, Tom Cruise, and Jessica Alba. As expected, my face doesn't match this mask. But since I'm the kind of person who likes to experiment on myself, I decided to give my picture a whirl and Photoshop my way into Golden Ratio attractiveness. The results are, well... ... para

Hardly Desparate

So Resiklo bags Best Picture at the recent MMFF Gabi Ng Parangal, thanks largely to their technical awards haul apart from substantial box office returns. Congratulations to the producers. I caught Desperadas last Friday, and the Joel Lamangan chick-flick proved to be highly entertaining for the most part. I guess leaving expectations at the parking lot does work wonders. But, truth to tell, the film was worth the watch. The plot lines between the four leads connected well. Nothing too complex or dramatic, but just enough to keep things interesting. Roy Iglesias' screenplay was clean and smooth, and Joel Lamangan's direction was confident and casual. I didn't notice any glaring on-screen product placements, except for that odd breast cancer infomercial before the end credits. (Incidentally, I was watching Cinema One at the printing press and Chito Roño's Babae sa Bintana was on, also written by Roy Iglesias. I had seen the film during its commercial run and found it

Snob

It's happened a few times to me this year, and I believe everyone has gone through this at one time or another. I was at the Gateway mall with a friend. We were having coffee at the al fresco area of a restaurant and catching up on careers, love lives, and dreams, when my attention was caught by a guy in the near distance. He was waving in my direction. In my mind, I thought that he was waving to someone inside the restaurant, but then there was a dessert bar right behind me. I froze, didn't know how to react. Was he waving at me? Was he someone I had met once? If so, did I forget? Should I pretend recognition? Gawd, I must've looked like a major snob... If there's anyone out there who in the past may have waved or smiled at me only to be met by my blank stare, I humbly apologize nang bonggang-bongga . Note that when you do this from a distance, especially if we had met once and only very briefly, a thousand thoughts can run through my head in a second. My hard drive ca