December 17, 2008

it's the day of the UP Centennial Lantern Parade. Marami bang mangyayari? I don't know. Though for a change, I would like to watch Ms. Eng'g this year. Which would mean me missing out on the final performances of the parade participants at Quezon Hall.

* * *

I just got my copies of Iwa's MondoManila and Responde yesterday. But before that, i finally saw and got to set foot on the Bookay bookstore. I've been to the Tomato Kick area many times di ko man lang siya napansin. And then now, i finally own copies of them. Glorious. Also paid for my copy of Gerilya. Sana ma-print na siya. i'm one of the first 100 who paid for a printed copy so i get to have my name printed on it. That book was what actually got me started on Iwa's books. he's got an alternative style of writing fiction, at least, that's what i gleaned from Responde and Gerilya. and he writes in Filipino, too. oh yeah, i started reading Responde just this morning. i don't know why but the urge was just stronger for me to open Responde than MondoManila, which was what won him the 2002 Don Carlos Palanca Grand Prize for novels.

* * *

speaking of reading, i have plenty still on my reading lists, many of which i have started already, or have to re-read before returning the respective materials to their owners. there's one that i'm obliged to read, being that it's about the Vision Philippines project of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). i took on the task of writing an article about it for the soon-to-be-launched brand new PFF website. and since last Saturday was the Sikad Christmas Party and New Members' Induction, the whole Sunday was spent lazing around (eating, watching movies, lying down, talking, sleeping) in Bon's room (one hell of a complete room - kaya nang mabuhay dun, internet na lang kulang) at the 3rd floor of their house, monday and tuesday were devoted to thesis lab work and then Sonic duty, i have gone home late and tired and unable to finish reading the material. so ayan, may deadline na ako. Friday. sorry talaga avie.

* * *

so what else is on the list?
- the watchmen
- tales from earthsea trilogy: a wizard of earthsea, the farthest shore, tombs of atuan
- two to go
- calvin & hobbes: the revenge of the babysat
- the shining
- go for the goal
- great expectations
- foucault's pendulum
- anna karenina
- the historian
- skeleton crew
- diez cuentos hispanosamericanos
- the once and future king
- tales of the jazz age

balak ko pang basahin uli ang harry potter and the deathly hallows na hawak ko naman sana iyong libro. and the rest of the books from 1 to 4. reading them makes me want to buy the whole series. nakyu-curious din ako sa twilight. ayaw ko namang magbasa ng ebook. sana makahiram ako. kahit di ko na panoorin iyong movie. i don't really trust movies adapted from novels.

tapos... may reprint ng fruitcake book ng eraserheads, kanina ko lang nalaman nung nagpunta ako sa pambansang aklat-pamilihan natin. pula at berde na ang kulay ng cover, ang layo sa dating off-white with black & silver prints niya dati. gusto ko rin nung the flip reader, koleksyon ng akda tungkol sa mga Pilipino at sa Pilipinas ng iba't-ibang katauhan, kabilang na si direk Peque Gallaga. inedit siya ni jessica zafra. which brings me to twisted 8. bongga! ang dami na niyang libro. pero kung bibili ka rin lang ng twisted travels at twisted flicks, mas ok nang bilhin mo na lang lahat nung walo dahil nauulit lang ung ibang mga pina-publish sa dalawang librong iyon.

gusto ko rin ng night train to lisbon. tsaka iyong bartimaeus trilogy.

kung wishlist naman ang pag-uusapan, ang naiisip ko pa lang ngayon ay isang hardcover journal of my own, with unlined paper. parang moleskin pero hindi naman kailangan singmahal. tapos iyong buong Sandman series, Calvin & Hobbes series tsaka The Far Side collection ni Gary Larson. at saka MacBook.

pag pahahabain ko pa to, ang dami mo pang babasahing wala namang kabuluhan sa iyo kaya ititigil ko na. sana lang magawa ko iyong mga dapat at kahit ilan sa mga gustong gawin sa dalawang linggong break mula sa acads.

PAHABOL:
last night got to watch two bands at college of eng'g's maskipaps this year. first was menaya. first time to hear and watch them. love their sound, love their voice. astig. missed playing the guitar. regrets on not focusing on music. but then again, i've been involved in too many things so that mastering one is quite out of the question. oh well.

mein italienisch Tage

kanina lang, LSS ako sa start of something new. of all songs, na pwede, yun pa. e ang tagal na nun. meron na ngang high school musical 3. pero wala pa kong napapanood sa mga naging sequel nung unang pelikula. pero nalalayo na ako. pa-intro lang naman kasi iyon sa totoong paksa ng post na ito. Italian Week kasi ngayon sa Departamento ng Lenggwaheng Europea sa Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura. Actually, marami pang ibang aktibidades ang Embahada ng Italya, hindi lang sa UP kundi saan-saan pa. Pero kahapon, nakapakinig ako ng talk tungkol sa mga nais mag-aral sa bansang Italya. Sinundan ito ng pagsasalita ng mga nakatanggap ng mga scholarships para mag-aral dun. Ayun, na-inggit tuloy ako. Sabi ko na nga, dapat EL na lang ang kinuha kong kurso. Nag-aaral na ako ng dayuhang lenggwahe, may pagkakataon pa akong magpunta at mag-aral sa ibang bansa. Kitang-kita na sentro ng buhay Italyano ang kanilang mga piazza. Outdoors ang orientation ng mga mamamayan. kung anu-ano ang mga ginagawa nila sa piazza. Bukod sa pagkain, pag-aaral, pakikipagkita, marami ring mga artists ang namamalagi sa piazza at lumilikha ng kung anong nais nila. Gusto ko ring makaranas ng ganoon. Dito kasi sa Pilipinas, kung hindi mainit ay umuulan kaya hindi namamalagi ang mga Pinoy sa mga plaza kundi sa mall.

Ang mga pananalita ay sinundan ng karaoke-singing contest. ang mga klase ng iba't-ibang Italian sections ay may mga kalahok para mag-interpret ng iba't-ibang Italian songs. iyong kaibigan kong si Joseph na kumukuha ngayon ng Italian 11 ay kasama dun sa representative ng klase niya. at ang kinanta nila ay Breaking Free sa Italian. ayun. hindi ko lang maintindihan kung bakit Start of Something New ang LSS kong kanta. Iba-ibang antas ng creativity ang pinamalas ng mga estudyante ng Italian. Marami sa mga klase ang may mga estudyanteng may talento sa pagtugtog ng mga instrumento kaya't maraming madalas ang mga estudyante ang tumutugtog at umaawit. Maliban pa rito ang mga pag-aarte o pagsasayaw na kasama sa kani-kanilang mga pagtatanghal kung kaya't waring naging MTV ang aming mga napapanood. naging patok sa audience ang bersyon ng isang klase ng Can You Feel the Love Tonight. meron pang nagmistulang Simba, Nala, Timon at Pumbaa. O diba, bongga? Gusto ko rin nito. Sayang last sem, walang ganitong pakulo ang Deutsch at Español departments last sem.

Pagkatapos nun, may Italian food fest. siyempre iyon talaga iyong ipinunta ko dun. di ko naman kasi akalain na karaoke contest iyong tatampukan ni Joseph. nag-enjoy naman ako dun. akala ko sila nga lang ang magtatanghal, pero ayos na rin at napanood ko iyong ibang mga klase. pinarangalan din ang nanalo sa diorama-making contest nila, tsaka iyong essay-writing contest ng Italian embassy ata. tapos ayun nga, may pagkain. kala ko naman todo italian food talaga. pero well, oks lang din iyong andun. may pesto, tapos may isa pang pasta with tomato sauce (nalimutan ko iyong tawag sa pasta), bread na mala-wheat pero moist(a cross between a pudding and wheat bread, ika nga ni joseph) tsaka small round pizzas. at hindi lang pang-isang kainan iyong stub, pwede pang magamit iyong kalahati. tapos may booth dun ang gourmet na merong herbal tea at coffee. so pwedeng isang meal at isang drink iyong isang stub mo.

nung araw ding iyon ko napagtanto na may punto nga ang mga Italyano na pataas sa point na pabagal iyong pagbigkas nila nung parte na iyon ng salita. totoo pala iyon. hehe. ayun, isang araw na napaka-enlightening. gusto ko rin kasing matutong mag-Italyano, pumunta sa Italya at makapgluto ng authentic pizza at pasta. ayan, dagdag pa sa listahan ko ng nais kong gawin.

article: the Filipinos' "diseased culture"

Balikbayan Views: A Diseased Culture

By Arlene Babst-Vokey
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 09:24:00 11/09/2008

MANILA, Philippines - I’ve lived away from the Philippines for almost two decades now. Recently, family obligations require my returning to Manila regularly. I dare say that on these visits, some of my observations on and hopes regarding the Philippines reflect those of fellow balikbayan and Filipinos living in the Philippines. The cynics cross out “hopes” and write “delusions” instead. I’m not among them. I am, however, a realist.

I wasn’t a realist in 1980, when I started writing a column that appeared whenever the Marcos censors deigned to allow its publication. Back then, I wasn’t experienced enough to understand that the growth—or stagnation—of a nation is shaped by a force more powerful than a corrupt dictatorship, malignant as that was.

That force is a nation’s culture.

Through the ’80s, I was among many Filipinos who believed that if we could just get rid of the Marcos regime, the Philippines would transform itself into the nation we dreamt of, where the law treated everyone equally whether your name was Marcos, Aquino, Ayala or Sy, or (here, fill in the name of the farmer, janitor, nurse or teacher, etc., as well as Bernabe Buscayno).

We imagined a country where valuable entrepreneurs didn’t have to pay extortion “fees” to a procession of thieves before they could get their licenses or contracts; where government officials weren’t regarded as personal attendants by their bureaucratic bosses or by the Philippine President; where kidnappings and murders weren’t so run-of-the-mill that newscasts breezily squeezed them in between gossip about movie stars, and where the average citizen didn’t harbor such deep distrust of the police, the military, the judges, and most of all, the politicians.

Many of us fervently wanted Marcos out, but we weren’t naïve enough to expect changes to happen overnight. But my exasperation gains context when you remember that hey, more than 20 years have passed! More of those changes should be in place now.

Consider what Japan accomplished between 1945—when the country was on its knees, two of its cities eviscerated by atom bombs--and the mid-60s when it had already taken giant steps towards becoming the world’s second biggest economy. Observe how Thailand tackled problems similar to those of the Philippines within the same time frame of two decades—and compare where it stands today.

What I didn’t understand then was the power of Filipino culture. More than the dictatorship— which it made possible—it is Filipino culture that keeps the Philippines down.

No one need look far to find intelligent, honest, industrious Filipinos—we know innumerable stories of self-sacrificing, courageous Filipinos who beat incredible odds to rise above the poverty and corruption that drown the rest of the country.

But neither do we have to look far to find Filipinos who think that the law applies to everyone—but them. Anyone born in the Philippines, myself included, has acquaintances, friends and relatives, who don’t pay their taxes, steal, cheat in business or elections, or even commit murder. The fact that we all know scoundrels and criminals, and let them get away with their crime, is one of the most common manifestations of the diseased culture that keeps the Philippines in a dismal state.

I use the word culture to mean that discernible pattern of behavior in a group of people or a nation, including those values that are manifested again and again by individuals and the group as a whole until they become the dominant traits, the culture, of that group.

Japanese culture values the hardworking team player. Respect for privacy and egalitarianism are prized in Swedish culture. American culture emphasizes the pursuit of happiness. Italians are proud of the gusto for style in their culture. A strong sense of individual rights and civic responsibility marks British culture.

Even with the inevitable exceptions, there is such a thing as a national culture. And the culture that most Filipinos accept as theirs is (as a much-vilified American writer once wrote) a damaged culture. I call it a diseased culture.

I don’t say that all Filipinos personify the diseased culture of the nation, or that all aspects of Filipino culture are perverse. There’s much that’s positive in Filipino culture, such as the helpfulness innate in most Filipinos; their love for the arts, especially music, dance and painting; their distaste for conflict; their ability to enjoy themselves even under oppressive conditions; and their generosity even when they have little themselves. But I do say that Filipino culture is diseased in some of its fundamental aspects.

Start with the widespread disrespect for law in the Philippines. Too many Filipinos do not hold the cultural value that abiding by the law is essential for nation building, or even for their own self-respect. To cite a common example, many Filipinos laughingly say that traffic lights “are just a suggestion.” Property and lives are endangered or destroyed by such cavalier attitudes towards even basic traffic laws, yet Filipinos don’t recognize the connection between respect for the law and fewer victims. They don’t see respect for law as each citizen’s chance— and duty—to foster the vitally needed sense of community responsibility. With corrosive, disastrous effects, the same attitude is taken towards those laws that govern the very foundation of every nation: the justice system.

Another perverted value: For most Filipinos, family, right or wrong, is more important than law, hence nepotism, political dynasties and unpunished criminal acts flourish; there’s always some relative to spring the family felon out of jail or install the incompetent in-law in public office.

What of the blind adherence to religious dictates? Too many Filipinos feel that a mawkish religiosity is more culturally important than rational, compassionate population planning. Never mind if millions of babies are born in a country without the resources to feed, clothe, shelter or educate them. Policy-makers, starting with the President, won’t put money and resources into population planning for fear of going against the cultural tradition of bowing to the Roman Catholic Church.

Ignoring the teachings of their religion’s founder—Love one another; do unto others as you would have them do unto you—the clerics and their converts condemn those advocating birth control as godless, but don’t feel responsible for the hungry, sick and doomed children.

There’s hope for change, though. Hand in hand with their counterparts working within the Philippines, Filipinos abroad fuel this change with the money they remit so their families can build houses, eat healthier, get medical care, and most of all, acquire an education. With financial relief comes the opportunity to heal those diseased aspects of Filipino culture, as millions of Filipinos abroad experience living in societies where law is actually respected; not in every single case but at least on a regular basis.

In societies where the majority of citizens abide by the law, Filipinos fall in line with the national culture and routinely pay their taxes, refrain from shooting the mayor because he comes from a rival clan, dispose of garbage properly instead of dumping it in a neighbor’s yard, and allow pedestrians right of way instead of gleefully running them down. In such societies, Filipinos experience the sanity of contributing to the community at large instead of working only for the good of those to whom one is personally related by blood or social ties.

As these experiences multiply, Filipinos will expect laws to be obeyed even when they’re back in the Philippines. Having had a taste of how real democracies work, they’ll demand that rational economic planning, not religious opinion, guide public policy. They’ll value the common good over personal gain, while respecting the rights of the individual. In brief, their cultural attitudes towards family, religion and the law will undergo that long overdue sea change.

That’ll certainly take more than 20 years; I said I’m a realist. But what are a few more decades when a nation can be healed?

POV 5: Ipasa na ang iyong obra

GOAL RUSH 5 INVITE!! :D

MAKE EVERYBODY LOVE FOOTBALL

Futbol Club SIKAD invites you to the much awaited Futsal tournament--
GOAL RUSH 5!! :D

a men's and women's futsal tournament happening on
NOVEMBER 23, SUNDAY
@ the DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM GYM (DAR).

registration fee is @ 1800php.

get a slot reserved and pay only 1500php when you attend the COACHES' MEETING
on NOVEMBER 7, FRIDAY
7PM 2 MCDO PHILCOA.

RESERVE SLOT/S through 09276478447

For inquiries contact the number above.
Attached are Goal Rush 5 invitation and Goal Rush 5 rules.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!! :D

LET'S MAKE FOOTBALL THE NUMBER ONE SPORT IN THE PHILIPPINES! ! :D

what does it feel like to be alone?

Why is the Filipino Special?

got this from an ate nex's email. a must read...

Why is the Filipino Special?
By Ed Lapiz

Filipinos are brown. Their color is at the center of human racial
strains. This point is not an attempt at racism, but just for many Filipinos to realize that our color should not be a source of or reason for an inferiority complex. While we pine for a fair complexion, white people are religiously tanning themselves, under the sun or artificial light, to approximate the Filipino complexion.

Filipinos are a touching people. We have lots of love and are not afraid to show it. We almost inevitably create human chains with our perennial akbay (putting an arm around another's shoulder), hawak (hold), yakap (embrace), himas (caressing stroke), kalabit (touching with the tip of the finger), kalong (sitting on someone else's lap), etc. We are always reaching out, always seeking interconnection.

Filipinos are linguists. Put a Filipino in any city, any town around the world. Give him a few months or even weeks and he will speak the local language there. Filipinos are adept at learning and speaking languages. In fact, it is not uncommon for Filipinos to speak at least three: his own local dialect, Filipino, and English. Of course, a lot speak an added language, be it Chinese, Spanish or, if he works abroad, the language of his host country. In addition, Tagalog is not 'sexist.' While many 'conscious' and 'enlightened' people of today are just by now striving to be 'politically correct' with their language and, in the process, bend to absurd depths in coining 'gender sensitive' words, Tagalog has, since time immemorial, evolved gender-
neutral words like asawa (husband or wife), anak (son or daughter), magulang (father or mother), kapatid (brother or sister), biyenan (father-in-law or mother-in-law), manugang (son or daughter-in- law), bayani (hero or heroine), etc. Our languages and dialects are advanced and, indeed, sophisticated!

Filipinos are groupists. We love human interaction and company. We always surround ourselves with people and we hover over them, too. According to Dr. Patricia Licuanan, a psychologist from Ateneo and Miriam College, an average Filipino would have and know at least 300 relatives.

At work, we live bayanihan (mutual help); at play, we want a kalaro (playmate) more than laruan (toy). At socials, our invitations are open and it is more common even for guests to invite and bring in other guests. In transit, we do not want to be separated from our group. So what do we do when there is no more space in a vehicle? Kalung-kalong! (Sitting on one another). No one would ever suggest splitting a group and wait for
another vehicle with more space!

Filipinos are weavers.. One look at our baskets, mats, clothes, and other crafts will reveal the skill of the Filipino weaver and his inclination to weaving. This art is a metaphor of the Filipino trait. We are social weavers. We weave theirs into ours that we all become parts of one another. We place a lot of premium on pakikisama (getting along) and pakikipagkapwa (relating). Two of the worst labels, walang pakikipagkapwa (inability to relate), will be avoided by the Filipino at almost any cost. We love to blend and harmonize with people, we like to include them in our 'tribe,' our 'family'- and we like to be included in other people's families, too. Therefore we call our
friend's mother nanay or mommy; we call a friend's sister ate (eldest sister), and so on. We even call strangers tia/tita (aunt) or tio/tito (uncle), tatang (grandfather), etc.

So extensive is our social openness and interrelations that we have specific title for extended relations like hipag (sister-in-law' s spouse), balae (child-in-law' s parents), inaanak (godchild), ninong/ninang (godparents), kinakapatid (godparent's child), etc.

In addition, we have the profound 'ka' institution, loosely translated as 'equal to the same kind' as in kasama (of the same company), kaisa (of the same cause), kapanalig (of the same belief), etc. In our social fiber, we treat other people as co-equals. Filipinos, because of their social 'weaving' traditions, make for excellent team workers.

Filipinos are adventurers. We have a tradition of separation. Our myths and legends speak of heroes and heroines who almost always get separated from their families and loved ones and are taken by circumstances to far-away lands where they find wealth or power.

Our Spanish colonial history is filled with separations caused by the reduccion (hamleting), and the forced migration to build towns, churches, fortresses or galleons. American occupation enlarged the space of Filipino wandering, including America , and there is documented evidence of Filipino presence in America as far back as 1587. Now, Filipinos compose the world's largest population of overseas workers, populating and sometimes 'threshing' major capitals, minor towns and even remote villages around the world. Filipino adventurism has made us today's citizens of the world, bringing the bagoong (salty shrimp paste), pansit (sauteed noodles), siopao (meat-filled dough), kare-kare (peanut-flavored dish), balut (unhatched duck egg), and adobo (meat vinaigrette), including the tabo (ladle) and tsinelas (slippers) all over the world.

Filipinos are excellent at adjustments and improvisation, managing to recreate their home, or to feel at home anywhere. Filipinos have Pakiramdam (deep feeling/discernment ). We know how to feel what others feel, sometimes even anticipate what they will feel. Being manhid (dense) is one of the worst labels anyone could get and will therefore, avoid at all cost. We know when a guest is hungry though the insistence on being full is assured.
We can tell if people are lovers even if they are miles apart. We know if a person is offended though he may purposely smile. We know because we feel. In our pakikipagkapwa (relating), we get not only to wear another man's shoe but also his heart.

We have a superbly developed and honored gift of discernment, making us excellent leaders, counselors, and go-betweens. Filipinos are very spiritual. We are transcendent. We transcend the physical world, see the unseen and hear the unheard. We have a deep sense of kaba (premonition) and kutob (hunch). A Filipino wife will instinctively feel her husband or child is going astray, whether or not telltale signs present themselves.

Filipino spirituality makes him invoke divine presence or intervention at nearly every bend of his journey. Rightly or wrongly, Filipinos are almost always acknowledging, invoking or driving away spirits into and from their lives. Seemingly trivial or even incoherent events can take on spiritual significance and will be given such space or consideration. The Filipino has a sophisticated, developed pakiramdam. The Filipino, though becoming
more and more modern (hence, materialistic) is still very spiritual in essence. This inherent and deep spirituality makes the Filipino, once correctly Christianized, a major exponent of the faith.

Filipinos are timeless. Despite the nearly half-a-millennium encroachment of the western clock into our lives, Filipinos-unless on very formal or official functions-still measure time not with hours and minutes but with feeling. This style is ingrained deep in our psyche. Our time is diffused, not framed. Our appointments are defined by umaga (morning), tanghali (noon ), hapon (afternoon), or gabi (evening). Our most exact time reference is probably katanghaliang- tapat (high noon), which still allows many minutes of leeway.
That is how Filipino meetings and occasions are timed: there is really no definite time. A Filipino event has no clear-cut beginning nor ending. We have a fiesta , but there is visperas (eve), a day after the fiesta is still considered a good time to visit. The Filipino Christmas is not confined to December 25th; it somehow begins months before December and extends up to the first days of January.

Filipinos say good-bye to guests first at the head of the stairs, then down to the descanso (landing), to the entresuelo (mezanine), to the pintuan (doorway), to the trangkahan (gate), and if the departing persons are to take public transportation, up to the bus stop or bus station.

In a way, other people's tardiness and extended stays can really be annoying, but this peculiarity is the same charm of Filipinos who, being governed by timelessness, can show how to find more time to be nice, kind, and accommodating than his prompt and exact brothers elsewhere.

Filipinos are Spaceless. As in the concept of time, the Filipino concept of space is not numerical. We will not usually express expanse of space with miles or kilometers but with feelings in how we say malayo (far) or malapit (near). Alongside with numberlessness, Filipino space is also boundless. Indigenous culture did not divide land into private lots but kept it open for all to partake of its abundance.

The Filipino has avidly remained 'spaceless' in many ways. The interior of the bahay-kubo (hut) can easily become receiving room, sleeping room, kitchen, dining room, chapel, wake parlor, etc. Depending on the time of the day or the needs of the moment.

The same is true with the bahay na bato (stone house). Space just flows into the next space that the divisions between the sala, caida, comedor, or vilada may only be faintly suggested by overhead arches of filigree. In much the same way, Filipino concept of space can be so diffused that one 's party may creep into and actually expropriate the street! A family business like a sari-sari store or talyer may extend to the sidewalk and street. Provincial folks dry palayan (rice grain) on the highways! Religious groups of various persuasions habitually and matter-of-factly commandeer streets for processions and parades. It is not uncommon to close a street to accommodate private functions, Filipinos eat. sleep, chat, socialize, quarrel, even urinate, or nearly everywhere or just anywhere! 'Spacelessness, ' in the face of modern, especially urban life, can be unlawful and may really be counter-productive. On the other hand, Filipino spacelessness, when viewed from his context, is just another manifestation of his spiritually and communal values. Adapted well to today's context, which may mean unstoppable urbanization, Filipino spacelessness may even be the answer and counter balance to humanity's greed, selfishness and isolation.

So what makes the Filipino special? Brown, spiritual, timeless, spaceless, linguists, groupists, weavers, adventurers; seldom do all these profound
qualities find personification in a people. Filipinos should allow - and should be allowed to contribute their special traits to the world-wide community of men - ah. . . . but first, they should know and like themselves.

Piling Obrang Video 2008 Call for Entries

PILING OBRANG VIDYO 2008
An Interschool Video Competition
CALL FOR ENTRIES

MECHANICS for UP DILIMAN

1. The competition is open to all bona fide students of the College/University of AY 2008-2009. Graduates of AY 2007-2008 may also join. Students must secure a certification of enrollment.
2. All entries should be shot on video. Entries shot on film will not be accepted.

3. Entries should have been made after June 2007. A student may submit up to three (3) entries.

4. The competition has no theme. Entries must be narrative.

5. Maximum length of entries is 20 minutes, no minimum length. Entries must be submitted in MINI-DV or DVD format and must be labeled with the TITLE, FILMMAKER/S NAME/S CATEGORY, and TOTAL RUNNING TIME. Students may get the official registration form from UP CINEMA.

6. Entries must be submitted in a short brown envelope with the following:

a. Duly accomplished registration form with conforme available at the UP Film Institute Office or from Redge Valenzuela (09158473630)

b. A one page synopsis’ of the film

c. Complete list of the cast and production crew

d. Two 5”x7” film stills (printed and soft copy, in jpeg format)

e. Registration fee Envelopes must be labeled outside with the TITLE, FILMMAKER/S NAME/S and TOTAL RUNNING TIME.

7. The selected official entry of the school shall submit a 20 to 30 second trailer of the film in mini-dv or DVD format.

8. Deadline of submission of entries is EXTENDED until OCTOBER 10, 2008, Friday. Students may submit their entries to UP CINEMA.

9. The official entry will be submitted to UP CINEMA which will then compete with other university’s official entries for POV (PILING OBRANG VIDYO) finals night at Cine Adarna (formerly UP Film Center) on December 9, 2008, Tuesday.

10. Registration fee of P100.00 for the official entry.

11. Official Entries will compete for the following awards:

BEST NARRATIVE
Php 7,000 plus trophy

2nd BEST NARRATIVE
Php 5,000 plus trophy

1 VIEWER’S CHOICE
Php 1,000 plus trophy

CITATIONS FOR
- Cinemaster's Choice
- Best Direction
- Best Production Design
- Best Performance
- Best Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Sound
- Best Editing
- Best Music

12. Entries must not have been exhibited commercially in any theater or television.

13. UP CINEMA will not be responsible for any legal complaints as a result of the filmmaker’s use of music and other copyrighted works on the film.

14. Submitted copies of official entries will be the property of UP CINEMA. Thus, no master copy shall be submitted to POV.

15. The decision of the Selection Committee and the Board of Judges during the finals night is final. The Committee and Board reserves the right not to give awards in any category should no entry merit it.


MECHANICS FOR OTHER SCHOOLS

1. The competition is open to all bona fide students of the College/University of AY 2008-2009. Graduates of AY 2007-2008 may also join. Students must secure a certification of enrollment.

2. All entries should be shot on video. Entries shot on film will not be accepted.

3. Entries should have been made after June 2007. A student may submit up to three (3) entries.

4. The competition has no theme. Entries must be narrative.

5. Maximum length of entries is 20 minutes, no minimum length. Entries must be submitted in MINI-DV or DVD format and must be labeled with the TITLE, FILMMAKER/S NAME/S CATEGORY, and TOTAL RUNNING TIME. Students may get the official registration form from UP CINEMA or the participating school’s department or sponsoring organization.

6. Entries must be submitted in a short brown envelope with the following:

a. Duly accomplished registration form with conforme

b. A one page synopsis of the film

c. Complete list of the cast and production crew

d. Two 5”x7” film stills (printed and soft copy, in jpeg format)

e. Registration fee Envelopes must be labeled outside with the TITLE, FILMMAKER/S NAME/S and TOTAL RUNNING TIME.

7. Registration fee is P100.00

8. The selected official entry of the school shall submit a 20 to 30 second trailer of the the film in MINI-DV or DVD format.

9. Deadline of submission of entries is on October 10, 2008, Friday. Students may submit their entries to their school’s official partner organization or to UP CINEMA.

10. All entries from the College/University will have its public screening to be organized by the school’s official partner organization. The College/University’s official entry will be selected by a Screening Committee. The official entry will be submitted to UP CINEMA which will then compete with other university’s official entries for POV (PILING OBRANG VIDYO) finals night at Cine Adarna (formerly UP Film Center) on December 9, 2008, Tuesday.

11. Official entries must have an endorsement letter from the school head.

12. Official Entries will compete for the following awards:

BEST NARRATIVE
Php 7,000 plus trophy

2nd BEST NARRATIVE
Php 5,000 plus trophy

1 VIEWER’S CHOICE
Php 1,000 plus trophy

CITATIONS FOR
- Cinemaster's Choice
- Best Direction
- Best Production Design
- Best Performance
- Best Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Sound
- Best Editing
- Best Music

13. Entries must not have been exhibited commercially in any theater or television.

14. UP CINEMA will not be responsible for any legal complaints as a result of the filmmaker’s use of music and other copyrighted works on the film.

15. Submitted copies of official entries will be the property of UP CINEMA. Thus, no master copy shall be submitted to POV.

16. The decision of the Selection Committee and the Board of Judges during the finals night is final. The Committee and Board reserves the right not to give awards in any category should no entry merit it.

East Asian (viewing) weekend

I watched the Death Note live action movie last night. The first part had good translation. The second part had better video quality but way lousy translation. Imagine, Light is called Moon, or sometimes monthly monarch, while when he’s called by his last name Yagami, it’s spirit of the night. But when it’s his dad, Yagami is trasnlated as supernatural of the night. Misa is sand of the sea, L is Long Qi, Ogi-san is gentleman of mould. The third Kira was high field. Oh yeah, Kira is translated as very happy. It was quite a laugh, hearing and then deciphering that those were actually their names. Talk about literal, haha. Sentence structure was also not in the best possible state. So I wasn’t able to get much of what happened in the second part, for example how things were figured out, etc. It’s good that I got to read the manga so at least, I had an idea what’s happening. There are lots of times when the characters were speaking but there’s nothing you can read. And I can’t understand much of Japanese either. Now, the story.

A lot of parts had been cut out. Although that’s not to say that the movie is not any better. There are lots of alterations although I think it is for a good purpose. There were only three people who used the Death Note whereas in the manga, there were four. The beginning was also quite clever in that it started with Light as already a university student and reports of Kira’s deeds making echoes in their society. Flashbacks gave insight as to how this came about. Although the manga was able to focus more on the quirks of their characters, especially those of Light’s and L’s, the movie was sufficiently able to give a coherent view of the relationship between the two and the challenges they posed onto one another (although I did not get to understand much of what went on between them since you can send the translation to hell). Light and L also seem more human here. Misa is also tolerable as a villain and as a wannabe-girlfriend of the former. Light’s reasons for becoming Kira seem more in touch with reality. Even though he was consumed by his thought, the live action was able to show that this stemmed from basic human goodness, although he still believed that anyone’s death can be used as a means to succeed in his purpose. His dad did not die here, although someone else close to him did. Light’s death did not make it seem as if he was insane. His parents and his sister even remember him and show grief (for their loss of him) at the end of the movie, reminding us that he was not just an intelligent kid who stumbled upon the Death Note and was controlled by its power, but he was also a gentle son, a loving brother. L is also somewhat a more endearing character, earning admiration from Chief Yagami, although his death by the Death Note was also necessary to unmask the original Kira. Watari is shown as someone who is quite dear to L, although he has shown no inclination towards such sentiments in the manga. The realizations of Ryuk and Rem in the movie are quite satisfactory. Too bad we didn’t get to see N here, but it’s alright or else, the live action would be much longer, but I’m positive they can turn it into a 10-episode live action series. The guy playing Light (also the lead male character in Battle Royale) was able to act his character well. I wanted to be more shocked, or at least, piqued by his eccentricities, when L was first revealed, but well, it seems the very first time would always be the best. So I thought L here was not really at par with L in the manga. All in all, the movie was able to satisfactorily adapt the original story, while being able to incorporate the human element in the characters. If you’re looking for story, well, here’s something you might want to look into.

After watching this, I was already sleepy so I slept for a bit. Then I woke up at around two. I prepared to go to sleep once more, but then I couldn’t (this happens every time – once I wake up from sleep, no matter how little I’ve slept, say from 10-12mn, I’ll only be sleepy come 5 o’clock). Well, right now, I’m not even sleepy. So I gave up on the sleeping around a quarter to 3. I ended up borrowing some of Ket’s DVDs (last Friday), one of which was a collection of Korean movies most of which I’ve watched (200 Pounds Beauty, My Sassy Girl, My Tutor Friend 2, He Was Cool) and the others I’ve only encountered now (She’s on Duty (Andrew from Coffee Prince is here, sporting a sort of semi-bald (semi-kalbo) cut looking really cute as an undercover yakuza underling who develops a romantic attachment with another undercover, but this time, a cop), So Cute (no energy, found it quite boring so didn’t bother finishing it), D-something Naughty Girls (the setting’s a school with everyone almost sleeping with everybody, a fact openly declared, with everyone singing with matching choreography; the movie had no single story line initially so I also didn’t bother with this) and Jenny and Juno). I had a sort of marathon yesterday, watching She’s on Duty, then My Tutor Friend 2. I didn’t really like MTF2 the first time I watched it (on crunchyroll.com, my dears), but I must be feeling too emotional and too vulnerable to love nowadays that I liked it. Originally, my objection had been that they just wanted to use the title even though there didn’t seem to be much tutoring going on. Well, now I see the love story and of course, the guy is still muy guapo. He’s also a downright goofy guy so I loved him again hehe. After this, I got curious with the series My Sassy Girl Choon-Hyang. There are 17 episodes of 17 episodes but I’m only on the 9th. Much has happened so I guess, there’ll be plenty more of struggle for Mong-Ryong and then for the both of them, since much of Choon-Hyang’s has already happened for the last eight episodes. It’s just that the disc is about used a lot so it’s been stopping every now and then, making it harder for me to finish watching it. Recently, I’ve become more easily moved to tears by what I watch. Just last week, I watched I Am Sam and cried a lot when Sam and Lucy were finally separated on court’s orders. The other romance dramas I’ve watched before only used to make me feel a pain in my breast, like I’m in the situation as the characters, but watching MSG Choon-Hyang made me cry for whatever the girl was going through. I’m currently wondering where my feeling all of these would lead to. Anyway, so this dawn, I was watching Jenny and Juno, a pair of cute high school couple on whom a lifetime of responsibility is bestowed on when the girl gets pregnant. The two looked like innocent high school kids, she – among the top five and the class president, and he – a champion cyber gamer. Her pregnancy turns their lives around, both of them determined to have the baby. Juno stays true to his word that he’ll take care of her and he was doing so wonderfully (waking up in the middle of night to answer to her whims, feeding her healthy food and both of them nourishing each other with happy thoughts). I thought I was also gonna give up on this some twenty minutes into the movie, but some scenes just make you want to go on watching, and eventually, there was no turning back. I’m glad I finished it. The movie just reminded me that there a lot of good things in life, not the least of them the people who care for you, and we just have to enjoy them. It also had a sort of sunny disposition so I feel good this sunny morning. It’s also like everything’s so clear. it was a sort of blessing that Winamp was playing the first soundtrack of Dawson’s Creek. I haven’t heard the lyrics as clearly as I had this morning (it may also be probably due to the fact that the volume is louder), reveled in their meanings and appreciated why shows such as Dawson’s Creek have soundtracks and the soundtrack itself. The movie left me hoping that I had something akin to what they have, although we can leave out the baby for now, thanks.

Well, it’s now a quarter past 7 (viertel nach sieben/las siete y quince minutos) , and the sun is so bright. I’ve got to do microbiological analysis on my beef samples all week, so gotta get ready.

Guten Morgen. Buenos dias. Magandang umaga. Masantos ya agew.

Ciao!

UP Centennial Digital Filmmaking and Photography competition

The UP Film Institute is inviting everyone to this free event.

The semi-finalists of the UP Centennial Digital Filmmaking competition will be screened starting at 2pm at the UPFI Cine Adarna building (main theater). 

The winners of the filmmaking and photography competition will be announced and awarded at the 6pm Awarding Ceremonies at the Cine Adarna (right after the semi-finalists festival screening).

The semi-finalists of the Centennial Photography competition will be exhibited at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery at the back of the UPFI Cine Adarna building. The exhibit will be opened after the awards night ceremonies.

The UP Centennial Digital Filmmaking and Photography competition showcases the best images from UP students from around the country. This is part of the celebration of the 100 years of UP.

Feel free to repost and pass on.

See you all there!

"everything you can lose" - my debut album

Got this from chard.

1. Go here. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2. Go here. The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

If you want to do this again, you'll hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will just give you the same quotes over and over again.

3. Go here. Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Go here. The first ten links you end up in (minus the .com’s) are your 10 song titles.

*

1. Extensible automorphism

2. everything you can lose

3.














4. the 10 singles from my debut album everything you can lose:
bad samaritan
jeepster
nothing but oregano
skive magazine
turkish daily news
stencil archive
how stuff works
majid info
guardian
sublime stitching

--> i liked the title of the album, had three tries on the band name because the first one i got was a scientific name and the second was a date. of the songs, i liked the title sublime stitching the best. :)

Quotable Quotes from UP Profs

1. 'The aim of policy making is to invoke action! Because action speaks louder than words! You do not just say I love you. You say: If you love me, enter me! ' -Dr. Alfonso Pacquing

2. 'Class, next week na lang ung result sa exam nyo. I am having a hard time checking it. I will seek first the divine guidance on what to do about it. Class dont worry about your grade. Let
me worry about it.' Sir de jesus,envi sci 1

3. (valentines day)
'Ano ba yan? Students ba kayo ng UP? Bakit ang bababa ng scores niyo? Siguro wala kayong date ngayong valentines kaya ganito kayo. Losers!!! When i was your age i had a date. Hindi
ba naapektuhan ng UP FAIR euphoria ng grades niyo? Parang di kayo masaya...' (sabay matching tapon ng quizzes sa sahig) 'I won't record this. Go find a date.' (sabay walk out.) -Sir Doliente,BA.

4. Ma'am: Many people believe that we, psychology graduates can read minds...
(silence) Actually, we can. Class: Weh.. Sample.. Ma'am: Right now, you think that I'm
bluffin -Ma'am Chei Billedo, Psych 

5. 'I don't give surprise long exams. all exams are announced. Halimbawa, Class, mageexam tayo, NGAYON NA!' -Ma'am Chei

6. 'The human body is 70% water. Kaya wala kayong kasaysayan lahat. Pag may kaaway ka, sabihin mo sa kanya, TUBIG KA LANG!!! -Dr. Recio

7. 'Oo, nagpapaulan ako ng uno... baket? aanhin ko ba nun? di naman ako yayaman dun.' -Sir Atoy Navarro, histo I 

8. (commenting on a thesis of a senior student) 'Yang thesis mo? .. Mamamatay ka!!
Mamamatay ka!!' - Dr. llanes, UPM.

9. 'Nasa bandang gilid ang fallopian tube. Kaya kung gusto niyong magka-anak ng asawa niyo, dapat nakatagilid kayo habang gumagawa.' -Ma'am Meggie, Zoo 10

10. 'Last sem was the first time that I gave a grade of 5, and it felt good!!!' - Prof Goldie, Comm II, circa 1998, first day of class
 
 
nung freshie ako: atheist ako, pero pag nasa bahay, nagro rosary kami ng Nanay ko, eh kung magalit sa kin yun. --Socio 11 Prof
 
 'you do not fall in love; you rise in love. That's how you love rationally.' --Dr. FG david 
 
 

'Try to die! Try to die!' - sir billones, on a student who is palpitating while taking the exam. He claims that after incident refreshed na lagi yung estudyante. If I know, pag naaalala ng estudyanteng yun yung moment na yun, kaya siya laging refreshed, kasi natatawa siya pag naaalala niya iyon.

'Anong molars? You don't say molars because it is an adjective! Do you say beautifuls?' - ma'am ilao, to a student who said 'n molars'

'Kahit magpakamatay ka pa di mo masasagot yang problem set na yan dahil pang-157 (phy chem II) yan!' - ibid

'Do not memorize! Analyze!' - doc nic, advising us, her students never to memorize reaction mechanisms

'Kaya nga ideal eh, hindi siya nangyayari sa totoong buhay. Pero an approximation is good enough' - sir engle, on ideal and real systems
 
 
'Don't take the BAR and yourselves too seriously. baka mabalitaan nalang namin na nag-o-oral summation kayo sa Luneta. O lumulutang-lutang sa Pasig River. Enjoy yourselves, relax, and read at least 15 hours a day. Nakakabobo ang sobrang tulog. MAg relax ka habang nagbabasa. Magrelax habang nagmi-memorize. '

'Pag nananaba ka sa oras ng exams, ibig sabihin di ka papasa.'

'Oh the BAR isn't scary. It's terrifying. It might even kill you.' and the unforgettable: 'Wow. Rape-able.' and 'Stand up Miss ___ so that I might see the contours of your body.'

alternately encouraging and disheartening ang drama nitong prof na'to.

Ito naman from our Prof. Ancient:
'Mga engineers? Nako. Bihira pumapasa sa BAR.'

'UP ka nag-undergrad? Bright ka ba?'

'Sa mga taga-UP lang ako bilib eh. Pagpasok nila sa lawschool, hindi sila disoriented. Bilib ako sa study habits na meron yang mga batang yan. Some of them look like they eat kamote thrice a day, pero ang utak, di ututin!' (ewan ko kung matutuwa ako dito o hindi)
 
 
sabi ng aming dean who is 80 yrs old,
'class you're laughing now, but i will predecease you all'
 
 
prof: O, meron na bang nakapunta sa inyong XXX
class: (tahimik)
prof: (medyo nadisappoint) Ano?! Puro na lang ba kayo aral? Aral na lang kayo ng aral, ha? Wala na kayong napupuntahan kakaaral niyo!


same prof: Nakita niyo na ba ang Hoover dam?
class: (tahimik uli)
prof: Hehehehe, ang yabang ko talaga!


Second day of classes
Same Prof: (kinuha ang box ng colored chalks) Ano ba naman ito... (tapos iniitsa sa lamesa yung mga dark colored chalks)
class: (tahimik na nagmamasid)
Prof: Class, sulatan niyo ang manufacturer ng chalk na ito, at sabihing tanggalin na ang mga walang kwentang kulay na ito... brown, green, violet. hindi makikita ito sa board. Convince them
class: (tahimik at gulat)
Prof: and .25 incentive sa final grade niyo!
 
 
terror prof after an exam (last day na din ng class..): ok class.. see you next sem!
 
 
'Ateneo is not a university, it's a diploma mill. Bakit ba nakangiti pa mga estudyante dyan kapag lalabas sila ng gate nila, hindi ba nila nalalaman ang nami-miss nila sa edukasyon?'
 
 
'The more wisdom you obtain, the more you shut your mouth. This is because the more that you learn, the more you realize that there are even more things that you do not know. The true mark of an idiot is a loudmouth, the true mark of a wise man is humility'
--Paraphrased galing kay PI100. Puta best prof sa CAL.

'IE? Di naman engineering yun e'
-Thesis adviser
 
 
Classmate: Ma'am, pwede po bang next week na kami mag report?
Ma'am: Alam mo, God is good. And I am God. So yes, pwede next week.
 
 
galing kay sir U eliserio during creative writing class...
'try everything once except incest'

and one day pumasok ng room, galit na galit. hinagis ang bag sa table, nagwawala sa harap ng room dahil hindi daw nasagot ng previous class niya ang question niya. kaya dapat daw masagot namin, ang makasagot may plus points. kapag walang makasagot, lagot kami.
ang tanong.... 'class, sinong lalaking artista dun sa TV show na wonder years'?
 
 
'Mamatay na mangopya...'
saka
'Ang hindi maka-100, bobo!'.
 
 
'im gay. so gay i could show you my penis because it is but an accessory to my body'
-jean navera, spcm1
 
 
FIRST DAY OF CLASSES: 'Kung may boyfriend o girlfriend kayo na hindi taga-UP, hiwalayan niyo na agad. Walang pupuntahan yan. Hindi kayo magkaka-intindihan. Tapos yung mga anak niyo, magiging bobo. Gusto niyo ba yun?'

ANOTHER PROF: 'Hoy girls, wag kayong kukuha ng boyfriend dito sa UP. Pare-parehas tayong mahirap dito. Kumuha kayo ng mayaman. 80% of the child's intelligence comes from the Mother naman eh. Kayo guys, wag kayo kukuha ng bobong babae. Kahit matalino kayo, magiging bobo anak niyo.'

'Class, Chinatown is not in China. And Ateneo de Manila University is not... a university.'
 
 
STUDENT: Sir, pwede po magpa-sit in yung friends ko?
PROF: From what school are they?
STUDENT: St. Scho po.
PROF: 'Go ahead. So they'll realize what they're missing. St. Scho, St. Scho... eskwelahan na ba yun sa inyo?!'
 
 
sa PHILO:
'I THINK THEREFORE I AM FROM UP!'
 
 
'Class, kaya mahal ang bayad sa mga professors sa ibang school kasi ang bobobo ng mga estudyante dun. Dyuskoh, I used to teach there... at lumuluha talaga ako ng dugo bago maintindihan ng mga students yung sinasabi ko. Ang mahal nga ng bayad, magkakasakit ka naman sa panga kakaulit ng lessons! Wag na lang! Dito na ko sa UP, at least nagkakaintindihan tayo. Diba?'
 
 
Dahil kami ang mga huling estudyante ni Dr. David at mahal na mahal namin siya, nag-compile kami dati ng mga quotable quotes mula sa kanya. Ito ang ilan:
'Meanings we find are the meanings we make.'
'WHAT YOU LEARN IN UP IS TO GO ON AND NEVER GIVE UP. THAT IF THERE BE ONE PERSON LEFT STANDING, LET IT BE ME. LET ATENEO FALL FIRST BEFORE UP...'
'The measure of a man is how many doors he has opened to other people, especially to those he doesn't know.'
'To be born is to die. In between they grow and multiply like flies. 6.2 billion people in the world. Kadiri, ano?'
'Why not life? Why call it soul? Call a spade a spade.'
'Earth is the only heaven we can know.'
'religion is a successful economic institution'
'Do not live long enough to be worthless.'
'Domestication of the human male is one of the greatest achievement of the human race.'
'I do not know many. I only know enough to teach my classes.'
 
 
'We do not accept anyone here in class except for those who are members of a certain minority group. For example, gays are part of a minority group, bakla ka ba? If you admit to this class that you are gay, then I'll admit you'
-Prof 'hail to the chair', to a guy student na nagpre-prerog
 
 
'kapatid ng sinungaling ang magnanakaw.
'ergo, gma's marriage to mike arroyo is null and void ab initio.'
consti law class, 1st sem, AY 2005-06
 
 
'running for summa ka? mapapagod ka lang.'
 
 
'Bilib ka kay Alan Peter Cayetano? E ambaba ng grades n'un e!'

'Si Miriam, crush ko 'yun dati. Muntikan na maging kami, kaso nasiraan ng ulo, kaya 'yun, iba ang asawa ko.'

'Class, gusto ko kayong i-train na mag-English, so when you're here in class, magsalita kayo ng English! Ako lang ang exempted dahil matanda na ako at ako ang teacher!'
 
 
Ma'am Vitriolo (2nd to the last meeting)
Okay class, next week, we start the lecture proper.
 
 
more of Ma'am Ilao
'Hindi mahirap makakuha ng UNO sa class ko. yung gumradweeeyt last year na Magna Cum Laude ng Biochem, uno siya sakin sa Chem 18'
 
 
Sabi ng Prof ko dahil may kaklase akong recite ng recite w/o raising her hand
'I think this is the first time i have a student w/ tourette in my class...'
Recite parin ng recite yung student
'Wow the ejaculatory comments just don't stop!'
 
 
from my socsci1 prof last sem: 'Birds of the same feather FLOCK together...don' t forget the L'.
 
 
'I'll strangle you, strangle you really hard, smack right in your jugular (pause ng mga 5 seconds), you do know where your jugular is?'
 
 
'Be ready with your speech because I am going to lambaste you!'
-namutla nalang yung classmate kong freshie after hearing sir navera sa spcm 1 namin
 
 
'bakit parang napakaligaya ng klase niyo? maging sad naman kayo, 5 mins.' - prof ko sa math 100.
 
 
'well of course when you sell your soul you have to make an elaborate justification to make yourself feel good.'
-Sir Walden Bello, Socio 127, this sem
^grabe ang galing ni sir bello. nakakaamaze.

'ano bang natapos mo? italian 8?'

'punyetissima! ' (sosyal pati mura italian!)

'look at me i'm 433 years old pero ang lakas lakas ko pa. eh kung walang gulay eh di kakain na lang ako ng damo. kung wala eh di tubig, kung wala mag-ipon na lang ako ng laway.'
-Sir Tiamson, Italian 11, this sem
 
 
When you graduate, then you begin to live.
-Dr. Carmen Jimenez, Psych 118
 
 
from Prof Soresca in my spanish 1 class
Prof:'Mr. Gatbunton, why are you late?!'
Student:'Sorry Mam, galing pa ako Las Pinas.'
Prof: 'Ladies, don't marry somebody from Las Pinas because they have bamboo organs!!'
 
 
'there are only two countries who still use Fahrenheit.. the United States of America and Liberia... a pathetic country in africa'
--Sir Argete
 
 
Marx is more Christian than Christ and Christ is more Marxist than Marx. - Sir Lanuza.
 
 
May kaklase ako, may jowang taga Ateneo
'Ateneo? How could you love someone from the Ateneo? '
 
 
sa geol11, ayaw mag-recite ng mga classmates ko..
sabi ni ma'am cathy
'wag na mahiya, you have nothing to lose but your face..'

si sir agapito..habang 2nd exam at malakas ang ulan..
'ang lakas ng ulan, ayos yan at least hindi halata pag umiiyak..'
 
 
Class: Sir, sa exams po ba nagbibigay kayo ng partial points?
Prof: Hmm, if I see partial wisdom.
 
 
'It's okay to smoke inside my class. As long as you don't breathe it out.' -Dr. Obsioma, Biodiversity

'Oh, this is good. It's poetic because it's perfectly stupid.' - Ricardo de Ungria last week on my classmate's work.
 
 
Prof: Did I remind the class last meeting that we're going to have an exam today?
Class: (dead air)
Prof: Ok, it seems I forgot to remind the class that we're going to have an exam today. I'm giving you five minutes then to buy a bluebook. We're going to have an exam today.
 
 
sir tiamson (span 11)
'ayan, di ka makasagot. yung bakal sa ngipin mo naapektuhan na yung pagsasalita mo'

'tis not me

This is the adrenaline talking. It is the same one that courses through my arteries propelling me to spout all these words, though I don’t know where they are gonna lead. Coming out of nowhere, probably a buildup of what the whole day has been for me, it came in bursts in the last minutes before the clock struck 10, taking over me. What I was doing was nothing like how I normally act. There was no time to think, the game was supposed to be moving fast. Instinct or adrenaline – for now, I think it’s the latter. Because after the game ended, I was still feeling high, kind of like wanting to burst out in exaggerated actions and loud words. But since I’m not normally a boisterous person, I manifested it but very little. But my mind was flowing with words. In the tricycle ride back to philcoa, I wasn’t feeling the tiredness that I normally feel after playing. My mind was floating, carrying on a conversation with Red. After he left, with no one else to talk to and spend the energy on, I was sending messages to everyone I played with. And now, I still feel like I can do my laundry. But the excitement might wear off while I do it, and then I’ll be facing a daunting task. I do feel quite sleepy. And hungry. But nonetheless, I’m filled with a sort of light happiness. Like there’s nothing else that could go wrong. Ad like I said to my teammates, ‘twas a great night.

hmm, sleepy now. ..but gotta eat first. My head’s aching a bit, probably due to hunger. This is like a night to remember for me. Anyway, enough with this postscript (I’ll just add if I can get other things in perspective for tonight). Ciao!

Futbol Club Sikad presents-- the SIKAD FUTBOL CONVENTION

Sikad Futbol Convention

A venue where futbol enthusiasts, players, and mall goers of all ages come together and celebrate as one Filipino football community.

Robinson's Metro East Activity Area
August 31, 2008
1-7PM

Featuring-- FIFA soccer video games, free film showing, games, freedom wall, exhibits, and live band performances.

See you there!!!

the Thank You Girls

Hail to the queens of the backstage!
First, they conquered Mindanao. Now, the universe.

Define darkness! Char.

Brooklyn Park Pictures

in cooperation with

Bicycle Pictures

Alchemy of Vision and Lights

and

UP CINEMA

present



Written and Directed by Charliebebs Gohetia

TYG is a Visayan film with a gay lingo twist.

Tired of losing in all the beauty competitions in Davao City, five dysfunctional gay beauty pageant veterans decide to travel north to Cagayan de Oro City, in the island of Mindanao, with a mission to conquer the grandest competition of beauty, personality and brains in the province.

They believe that being city dwellers, gays in the province will never stand a chance against them.

And who says gay films are just sex films after all?

Catch the premiere night of the gayest film of all, THE 'THANK YOU' GIRLS on August 28, 2008 at the UP Cine Adarna (formerly UP Film Center), 6:30 pm.

Tickets at P100.00

For ticket inquiries and reservations, contact UP CINEMA at 09154494547

Y'all a Neil Gaiman fan?

Well, I am. It started when my cousin ate Mai introduced me to the Sandman through a book with a collection of quotes from this beloved series - and one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. Then I sought the Sandman and found him (first, thru mikey, the rest - thru pam). Just got to finish the whole series last week. In between reading the Sandman, I also read (in this order) Stardust, Neverwhere, American Gods, Coraline and Anansi Boys. And yes, the story had to end. And what a way to end it. Lord Morpheus, a.k.a. Dream is one very interesting character - though not necessarily the most lovable (I think the popular choice is usually Death, and then Delirium). The way he sticks to his responsibility is something I can relate to, so I do side with him sometimes, just not during the extreme cases. Case in point, banishing your beloved to hell just because she refused your love. Ah well, this merits a longer post and a lot more thinking. I'm posting this because there's a contest!

See this link: http://fashion-piranha.livejournal.com/23000.html to learn how to join. these are the prizes:

- an ARC copy of Gaiman's newest book, The Graveyard Book, due to be released September 30th, 2008.
- Coraline, one of Gaiman's newest graphic novels
- Gaiman's Bath Surprise: one Stardust bath bomb and one Comforter bubble bath, which Gaiman has written about in his blog
- $25 to the charity of your choice!
- 8/5/08 - added a paperback copy of American Gods to the prize pool to mark the first 50 entries!
- 8/11/08 - added a hardcover copy of Anansi Boys to mark the 100th entry!
- 8/13/08 - added another '$25 to the charity of your choice' to mark the 150th entry!
- 8/14/08 - added Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's limited edition Snow, Glass, Apples perfume blend and accompanying chapbook to mark 200!

I. Love. Neil. Gaiman.

thoughts on a busy week

I MISS PLAYING FUTBOL. Futsal (my current pe) is not the same. Futbol is also not the same when there’s no grass. Playing at the Sunken Garden is something else. It has something to do with my futbol experience. It’s been at least two months… Darn, injured foot. *feeling nostalgic after passing thru Sunken on the way home and it’s a nice weather for playing and ther’re kids taking advantage of the field*

I am like super busy, and I have like two mega exams next week, and a mega paper, and I have to be present at the Sikad AVP shoot tomorrow. Something’s gotta suffer. I got a feeling it’s the first long exam for Physics and the Spanish paper. Aarrgghh…

I should have started on my acad work last night, but yesterday being a Friday, it seemed such a shame to just head on home without getting a bit of fun with friends (of course, this afer holing up in the CHE lab for one five straight days (from 8 to 6 or 7 pm and returning home only to sleep). I was only thinking of eating out with friends (which I got to do for free with LIRA peeps), but then circumstances arose that led me to watching The Jerks (my first time to do so) at 70’s Bistro (my first time to be there), with beer, pizza, fries and cheese sticks, and for free to boot! My thanks to Macel for being the orchestrator last night. ‘Twas a great night. Great performers they are. And there were not very many smokers, so for the most part, we were breathing smoke-free air, or at least, only very little smoke. Alcohol does contribute to a fun experience. :D

Cinemalaya goes to UP

Cinemalaya is once again coming to UP! One of the finalist is Ranchero by Maikel Christian Cardoz (UP Film Institute Graduate 05-06, UP Cinema President, 05-06)

Ranchero is the story of convicts who serve a special role inside the
jail: they prepare the meals everyday. but in a jail where some
inmates see no reason to continue living, what is the role of food? Is
the food's role to extend life or to prolong the pain of those who
don't want to to live?

Screening is on August 4, 2008, Monday at the Cine Adarna (formerly UP
Film Institute). tickets are available from UP Cinema @ 70php.

See you there!:)

ACCELER8 - A Year-Long Celebration

FC SIKAD

ACCELER8s this 2008!

Based in UP Diliman, FC Sikad is currently on its 8th year of moving towards football excellence.

Lineup of Events:

August 14 - ACLE: Futsal 101
A basic Futsal lesson for interested UP Students. Venue is still to be announced.

August 31 - Sikad Futbol Convention
A venue where futbol enthusiasts, players, and mall goers of all ages come together and celebrate as one Filipino football community. It will be held in Robinson's Metro East. This event will host different activities such as FIFA soccer video games, free film showing, freedom wall, exhibits, live bands, goal fest, juggling contest and more. It is open to everyone.

September 20/22 - Sikaran
An inter-college futsal tournament for UP Diliman students. The venue is still to be announced, but most likely than not, it will be held in the UP Diliman Campus. This is open for the teams in the Colleges.

Sembreak - La Union Beach Futbol Clinic
A Beach Futbol Clinic in one of the beaches in La Union. This is a free lesson for all.

November 23 - Goal Rush 5
An open Futsal tournament for men and women. This is going to be held at the Department of Agrarian Reform Gym. This will aslo feature juggling contest and goal fest.

March 7 - Sikaran: goes on field!
An inter-college futbol tournament for UP Diliman students. The venue is at the UP Sunken Garden. This is open for the teams in the colleges.


May 10 - Goal Rush 6
The 6th season of Goal Rush. This is open for any men and women's futsal teams. The venue is the Department of Agrarian Reform Gym.

May 17 - Sikad Cup 2
The Sikad Cup is back!! now in its second season. This is open for men and women's teams. This will be held at the UP Sunken Garden.

Please standby for further details. You may also contact Candy at 09276478447 or Cyrus at 09272960000 or email us at fcsikad@gmail.com.

UP Cinema Application Workshop 1st Sem AY 08-09

July 7-11 -Sign Up Week @CMC and AS Walk (Chem Pav)

July15 - Orientation, Venue TBA

About I-Speak

Started in 2004, this space was meant to be an online diary for the purpose of documenting my life and to serve as a repository of thoughts or whatever else one may call those myriad of things that cross my mind. so in effect, this is my blab medium.

Since others besides myself come and read my entries once in a while, there are some announcements, links and some harkening to anyone who gives a damn.

to start with...

Another sem… a protracted stay here in the more famous public university of the Philippines. I don’t really mind that I’m staying here a bit a more (although I know a lot of it is my doing). It’s my parents who are. Mostly because they believe students should finish their courses in time, particularly those who had a history of being an achiever like in high school.

The first week came and went. The weather had been so hot, I couldn’t walk to class without releasing buckets of sweat. I realized I have plenty of time in my hands. Enough, I think, to get all my experimentation and hopefully, the paper for my thesis done by the end of the semester. Yes, there is a need to graduate, since my parents can’t rest till they know I’ve got my diploma. I greeted my dad yesterday (fathers’ day) and he mentioned that hopefully I would graduate by October. Am I much too stubborn? Well, I haven’t exactly given them the whole picture during all those years. They just assumed I was doing well in all my subjects except math. Now, it’s the thesis. FT theses are not the easiest to conduct. Some even take more than two semesters to do the whole thing. But I do plan to finish this degree. I’m not just keen on rushing, since I have an idea how it is. I’ll take it in stride, but I’ll make sure I get to graduate.

So getting back, I indeed have plenty of time. but I haven’t started completing the initial manuscript and delving on my research problem. First day blues. There was the French Film Fest (gone to watch there twice), reading Contact, playing Solitaire, Spider Solitaire and Hearts on the pc, and watching Ouran High School Host Club and Gensomaden Saiyuki. I was with mom last Saturday and bought things for Kevin. Sunday saw me sleeping till noontime. I finished Contact today. Thriving on nothing but biscuits, some chips and water, I didn’t go out of the boarding house since I came back Saturday. I only went out this evening, when I bought some rice for a more fulfilling dinner. I could’ve gone to the infirmary this morning to have my foot examined but I woke up late so I’m gonna post pone going there to Wednesday. I know, this should not go on. And it will not. I’ll start reading up on my thesis, now that I’ve finished the novel.

People are making appearances at my inbox. The recent Fathers’ day got my dad many expressions of happiness thought I wasn’t able to reply to the senders.

“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. “ – Jim Rohn
- this message since to be doing the rounds since I received it twice last Saturday

There was a message from cindy inquiring about me and Diana. Kris, my high school classmate, also dropped a line, as did jajo. Got an update on the fete de la musique from joyce. Received a missent text from Sally. She was supposed to send it to her sister ronah (I didn’t know before now she had a sibling named as such) and I was thinking about all the h’s that people have affixed to my own nickname (rona) and how appalling names which originally don’t have an h now sporting it look to me – like jhimmy, or rhose. I’m sorry, but the aesthetics of such names don’t agree well with me. Then sally invited me to watch a movie - either kung fu panda or incredible hulk starring Edward Norton (now this is could be interesting but I wonder why Hollywood made another film about the green muscleman) with a number of mc peeps probably. But I need to save up. If I am going to watch, I think I’ll go to the Shang instead for free French Films. grace informed me that there’s gonna be food tomorrow at the subol tambayan (I haven’t been there for a long time). chesca says there a book sale at the college of educ the whole week. This next one’s from raine:

“Opportunity Costs:
The cost of something is what you give up to get it.”

Are you taking up econ girl? I only thought of this before in economic equivalents. when I read it now, it’s telling me what I already know. I could’ve been making headway on my thesis instead of lazing around the whole three days. And it’s been a full week since I’ve checked the internet – my mails, the posts at multiply, blogs of people I know or frequently visit.

the song

classes are over. the weather is the type that would be ideal for brooding (grey, sunless mornings which have been the norm for two weeks already). i've been awake since 6 (am i not always?) and started rereading brief lives (the sandman series is totally awesome). after the high i kinda acquired yesterday, my emoitions are so mellowed down today. but there's not much to brood. the thing i need to do is to get around to finishing the acad stuffs i've left behind to get ready for the coming sem. but well, i've decided to make use of this time to write about something that i've been meaning to write about for a long time.

nothing beats feeling depressed on what an eventual failure you might be and having the song that tugs at your emotions the most playing over and over to... make you just go over and cry. well, i didn't cry.. certainly not.

it was a saturday night, i still had my sulitxt ongoing. after forwarding some quotes, i found that i still have a globe number of my high school thesis financier (actually, partner, but financial resources was what he was able to share). i thought i'd text the number to see if it was still working and i got a reply soon after. apparently, it's now his active number. so we had a great conversation - talking about the planned high school reunion after only 5 years, mind you, and catching up on what's been going on with each of our lives. he's been working, making a 5-figure salary a month doing what he likes doing and has been doing since high school. talk about having the right resources. i was having a good time talking to him while he was finishing a project. but eventually, i fell asleep. it was already around 3 am.

i woke up that morning and fell to thinking about our conversation. and somehow, this overwhelming sense of... failure was it, draped over me. at least that's what i surmised days after that incident. i just lay in bed with plenty of thoughts and emotions going through me. eventually, i switched on the pc and tried playing some music. and then i played aimee mann's save me. and there was no getting over it. before the song was over, i had it on repeat. i was supposed to meet my sister in manila to find some apartment that we could possibly rent for kevin's imminent studying there. i had planned to be there by 9. the song played intermittently 18 more times. and i just laid there. no tears, no. just a particularly dark mood. (and i was alone in the room that time). i decided i should get going already although i found no way out of my depression yet. the feeling stayed with me on the bus. my eyes were watery already by the time i got off at taft. my sister fell asleep waiting for me so i waited for some 30 minutes outside the gate of her dorm. when she finally let me in, i still had to wait for quite awhile for her to get ready. i guess my depression was reaching its peak by then. i was close to bursting to tears, actually shedding some from time to time but i managed to control it. karen finally came down but i still couldn't stop shedding tears. at that time, there was no obvious reason why i was doing it. i told myself and karen over and over again that it was due to nothing. i thought it was probably the song. i couldn't stop playing it, and that's what's probably causing that mood at that time. i finallly stilled myself and we were able to set out on our mission. all the walking around, the need to think straight and the heat finally banished all the depressiing thoughts i harbored.

it was only later that i reailzed what it was about. i was feeling like a failure. i encouraged my "feeling down" by thinking more and more about it. and playing save me just clinched it. it's my perfect depression song. more than the words, it's the melody that completely takes me in when i'm in a vulnerable mood. well, it's not actually that my mood is vulnerable, but when i'm depressed, any thought or idea that crosses my mind could send me to even greater depths. stoking the fire, so to speak. only in this case, it's more like digging a hole deeper and deeper. the song took me in the course of its playing and bannered my emotions. in a way, it magnified what i was feeling sending me close to bursting in tears. no song has done that before. such a very simple melody. nice vocals. the opening groove played with, correct me if i'm wrong, the bass string of an acoustic guitar with a simple beat accompanying it immediately snagged me. the rest of the song played along with my emotion, complementing it, that's why i felt the need to listen to it over and over again. that's all i did, play it over and over again. with its tight grip on my emotions, i was not able to let go of the song and the feelings i had. there. a perfectly, utterly depressed me. there's no way around it. the power of that song.

it really is the song. it's my first time to encounter anything like it. i discovered years before that when i'm angry, i play loud music because well, when i'm really angry, nothing gets to me, no emotion, no other people, nothing until i've cooled off. so maybe the loudness was all that i could associate with my feelings - the aggressve thoughts forming - even though i'm not receiving anything.

so there. i've made my point. i wanted to make another entry. but i'll postpone it for another time when i'm feeling like my usual self - not so happy, not so sad - just the everyday me, because i want to talk about a fairly enjoyable experience. and all this thiniking and this weather has kinda put damper on my emotions today, but it's nothing that a good company can't erase.

about yesterday

i was with my mom this morning. she's here on one of her series of trips to get ready for my brother who's going to be studying CE in UE come june. i haven't been exactly telling the truth regarding my acads and my plans for the coming semester. she was expecting me to graduate on my fifth year, which did not happen. indeed, they'll get a surprise that inspite of not graduating, i have my graduation picture already nicely done. anyway, she asked me if i'll get to finish my thesis by first sem since that's all that's keeping me from graduating and when i said i'm not sure, that i'll see about it, she eventually said that (obviously translated) "if i can't finish my studies, then it's fine, i should just stop. it's shameful but there's nothing that can be done about it." i laughed at that.

i laughed because that thought had crossed my mind a number of times recently. i must've been deep in the thought of not being able to finish my thesis - what with a one semester deadline hanging over me and being the hopeless procrastinator and unprioritizing happy go lucky student that i am - that i didn't mind not being able to achieve a degree. although the thought of what i'd do after dropping out stilled me a bit. but i guess that wasn't going to deter me. i am seeing no hope in myself as a future food technologist anyway. and what do i really want to do? many things, but not the routinary things that one expects from a person who holds a regular job. i want to be involve in some cinematic pursuits, never mind if i'll start from scratch, be a hobbyist photographer though i've no funds yet to buy myself a decent SLR of my own, let alone a DSLR, explore the philippines' underwater life, play football, read plenty of books, watch plenty of anime and movies and earn money doing jobs on the side. and this is the philippines. one can't possibly live comfortably doing a myriad of other things while holding one part-time job here one time and then moving to another one another time. there's no stability, no hope for financial security. business may guarantee, but only after some years, and that is if it's the right business. don't have the chops for it yet, but eventually, that's what i plan on having. routine is not for me. a desk job, 9-5. nope, it wouldn't work. just like right now, here in school. you can't expect to see me diligently studying. i would prefer to be somewhere else than be stuck in my room reading or doing exercises. i can't possibly stay here in up and just study. nope, i gotta be involved in a bunch of other things. which is kinda frustrating because extra-curricular stuff tend to become prioritized over acads, over what may be my future. but i'm not saying that'll be the entirety of it. i can do transcription. i would also like to try tutoring. but the lack of proper facilities - especially if i want to tutor foreign kids living in their own countries - sets me back and hmmm, i haven't found that is quite as lucrative as of yet. so i've only tried transcription, and hmm, doing student assistantship work (the latter for P30 an hour). it's really quite hard to make a living while trying to live at the same time.

but then, entertaining these thoughts - you may think that i'm not at all entirely capable of finishing something like a thesis. indeed i can, if i only put my mind to it. i'm looking forward, thinking of the worst possible scenario. which may not be quite far from the mark given my nature. i also know that if i do not finish it, i'd just allowed myself to fail. it's something that's completely in my control. i could've started the study this summer, but i made up excuses and i have no product to show for it. and so now, i'm lamenting the shortness of 5 months. and since my parents have kinda agreed to shoulder my expenses for the coming sem, they wouldn't be so generous if i extend into the second semester. that's something which i would be able to manage, i think. call centers abound. i just have to make use of my time properly, something which i have yet to learn, given my ambition to know about many things. why, for the online enlistment for the coming sem, i enlisted for german 10-11, spanish 10-11, film 110 (basic photography), basic orienteering and futsal, on top of having to spend lots of lab hours for my thesis and possibly having to take up physics 72 again.

if only i'm as strong-willed as i would like to be.. then i could do all those and graduate on time. i'm really hoping that i could.