Sine Lang Pala ang Katapat or Twilight, My Ass

I almost forgot the wonders watching a movie could do to a stressed-out person. Thus...



The movie's a prequel to the first Underworld movie and presents the doomed Lucian-Sonja romance, and the eventual rebellion of the Lycans against their anemic and UV sensitive masters. The movie is short and sweet - did not aim more than just provide the backstory to all the allusions made in the two Underworld movies. This is a good thing though, in my opinion, as the movie still delivers the things that made the Underworld franchise such a hit. Leather clad vixens swinging swords, menacing hirsutes eager to rip anything to shreds, Viktor, the film-noir effect which made watching in SM North Cinema 12 difficult since their projection is not that good, and of course the gratuitous blood and gore...

All those graphic violence - the decapitations, dismemberments, maulings and mutilations...seem to have a relaxing effect on me.

There goes the Lycan's head...*sigh* life is good.

Is it just me or do the vampire covens only have one female deathdealer every 1000 years? All the other female vampires seem to be either Morticia Adams/Elvira Queen of Darkness cast-offs or skinny runway models who badly need an appointment with a tanning salon. Buti pa ang Blade nag-feature ng overweight na vampire (which is rare considering vamps are supposed to be oozing with sex appeal - Twilight? hahaha never watched that one) Oh well, we have Selene...now Sonja seems to be a pretty fine addition to the kick-ass deathdealer line-up

Pahimuyong

Pahimuyong ta anay...

Surf ta anay internet

Pamati ta anay music

Relax ta anay

buwas lang ko manglaba

bwas lang ko maninlo kwarto

bwas ko lang liwat atipanon ang gina-atipan ko halin pa sg nagligad nga semana

bwas na ang iban nga palibugan

Pahimuyong ta anay...

Pahuway

Kakapoy sagi giho wala man sweldo

hehehe

Remembrance of Things Past

Eto dagdag sa post on F*cking Amazing Songs. Ngayon lang ako nakaalala ng isang OPM song na makapanindig-balahibo ang vocals.

"FIVE YEARS" by SUGAR HICCUP



The song reminded me of my High School days. Second year yata ako nang sumikat ang bandang ito. Uso pa yung bandang galing sa mga universities in Manila. UP had Eraserheads, Sugar Hiccup was from UST. Taga-Ateneo ba (o may Atenista) ba sa Parokya ni Edgar? hehe di ako sigurado eh.

BTW, mas malala pa ang bandang ito kesa kay Tori Amos. This band sang in gibberish for crying out loud. Pero maganda pa rin...

The video, meanwhile, reminded me of the MMORPG I got hooked on during my post-collegiate, early teaching days. Imagine, after MA classes in UNO-R sumasakay pa ako ng Shopping-Libertad jeep para makagaming lang sa La Salle Avenue. Now, that's addiction - este - dedication pala...

Por supuesto, estoy un Dark Wizard en el juego. tengo un blindaje de color azul como que ves en la video. No recuerdo mi level pero estas muy alto porque tengo las alas del angeles. And now I'm trying to relive those days with Cabal. Osmium armor na ang wizard ko. hehe

Shadowing Sir Castro

Those three words sum up my day. Buntot nang buntot kay Sir at kung saan kami nakakarating sa pag-aasikaso ng Pasig exhibit. In fairness, andaming 'milestones' akong naexperience in just one day:

1. sat a few inches away from an original Amorsolo painting na nasa bahay ni Sir. also managed to get my hands on a 19th century dictionary written by Los Ordenes Religiosos del Agustinos Calzados.

2. also saw DVDs of some movies that I just heard of but never watched: the 'notorious' Caligula and Godzilla vs. Gidhora. Pahiram! hahaha

3. while we were cooling our heels at SM Pasig: Sir was leafing through souvenir programs featuring the festivities of Pasig. I, on the other hand, was gleefully devouring a Calvin and Hobbes book. I never realized that childhood could be so stressful. Looking back on my own childhood...oh, wait - stressful nga ang childhood. hehehe Na-amuse ako sa duplicating machine and the transmogrification machine.

4. co-directed a photo-shoot at Nipa Hut restaurant. Eto para macapture ang pagpapalayok in a contemporary setting. Parang na-relive ang "feeling MassCom days" ko sa Bacolod na nagproproduce din ng AVP at ako at mga kasama ko walang formal training sa video production, scriptwriting, videography, or photography. Lahat natutunan during our Yearbook-making days. hahaha

5. naglibot sa palengke ng Pasig for tikoy, sandok, and gugo. Don't ask.

Shoutout to Prof. Castro who told me that he 'discovered' my blog. hahahaha Pasensya na po sa mga ramblings ko dito. Like I told you, majority of the posts are "inner voice rantings" and should not be taken seriously.

At para makahuli pa ng ibang taong connected sa Pasig Exhibit:

PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG EXHIBIT PASIG POTTERY PASIG POTTERY PASIG POTTERY PASIG POTTERY PASIG POTTERY PASIG POTTERY ETOARKEOLOHIYA NG PAGPAPALAYOK SA PASIG ETNOARKEOLOHIYA NG PAGPAPALAYOK SA PASIG ETNOARKEOLOHIYA NG PAGPAPALAYOK SA PASIG ETNOARKEOLOHIYA NG PAGPAPALAYOK SA PASIG

tingnan natin kung hindi dumami ang "hits" dito...

One Reason to View our Pasig Exhibit

In fairness, ang ganda ng picture frames namin hahaha

F*cking Amazing

The vocals in these songs are AMAAAAAAAZING! makapanindig-balahibo! Tang-ina! hahaha

1. "TROY" by Sinead O' Connor. This song just builds up its emotion until it comes crashing down like a sledgehammer. Bow tayo kay Sinead...bow...



2. "GRACE" by Jeff Buckley. Never thought a male vocalist could achieve such vocal heights until I listened to this song. Diyos ko...parang walang bukas ang hiyaw...



3. "INTO THE WEST" by Annie Lennox. Panalong combo: LOTR + Peter Jackson + Annie Lennox sings the theme song



4. "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT" by Tori Amos. Now this is how you re-invent a rock classic. Golden rule when listening to Tori - never mind figuring out the lyrics, just listen to her sing and you'll understand...



5. "I GRIEVE" by Peter Gabriel. I already posted this song. and I'm posting it again. and I'm pretty sure I'll come up with another reason to post this song again and again. hehe




6. "I WANT TOMORROW" by ENYA. The Goddess herself...hay naku, if ever I learn to play the guitar eto yung isa sa mga guitar solo na gusto kong ma-master....kung sa panaginip lang...hay...



7. "PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE)" by U2...one moooooore in the name of looooooove!



8. "ALONE" by Heart. hahahaha from the 80s yata to? Celine Dion's version sucks. The original's the best! walang papantay sa hiyaw ng babae dito! those were the days of big hair, theatrical set-ups, air-guitar choregraphy (with guitar yan ha) and...what the f*ck is that horse doing there?!




O, kayo meron ba kayong fave songs na award-winning ang vocals? I'm not talking about "birit" factor only, mas bilib ako sa "evocative" na pagkanta. Wag na kayong mahiya...

Hindi ako si Michael Tan

Weird day today. Weirdly funny, irritating and also weirdly nice.

?

Just this morning I met with two hyper-MassCom students. They were bugging me since last night, asking for an interview on "the history of Pottery in Pasig." I had an inkling that they were barking up the wrong tree but nevertheless, I conceded to meet them so I could get to the bottom of the matter.

In the middle of my Spanish exam, my cellphone suddenly sprang to life - vibrating incessantly in my pocket. Despite several attempts to reject the call, the anonymous caller was persistent. Punyetang caller na 'to...I had to step outside for a few minutes and take the call. It was one of the hyper MC kids who contacted me last night. In short, terse phrases I reiterated that we were set for the meeting at 2 pm and then I quickly hung up and went back to deciphering the mess that was my Span exam...

hay naku...mapapa "Ay Caramba!" ka sa exam namin sa Span. Ewan ko kung ano ang kahihinatnan nun. haha

The set meeting with the hyper-MC kids was at Sir Castro's office at Palma Hall. Opening lines pa lang ng mga bata alam ko nang mali ang pakay nila saken...

HyperMC kid: "Sir, bilang isang propesor ng antropolohiya sa UP ano po ba ang masasabi mo tungkol sa blah-blah-blah kasaysayan ng pagpapalayok sa Pasig blah-blah-blah..."

Ditch: "aaaah...mukhang may miscommunication or misunderstanding tayo..."

I clarified that my connection to the Anthropology Department was only as a student of Prof. Castro in a graduate class. I am also not employed as a professor as I still am a graduate student - of HISTORY. I told the HyperMC kids that if they wanted an expert they should interview Prof. Castro or ask the Anthropology Department chair, Mr. Michael Tan, to which the Hyper MC kid asked...

"Hindi po kayo si Sir Michael Tan?"

To which I replied...

"Michael ang pangalan ko, but I am not a Michael Tan..."

HyperMC Kid: "Kasi akala po namin yung number na ibinigay sa amin kay Mr. Michael Tan po eh..."

Ditch: (exasperated) "Darling, I'm just the guy mounting photos for the exhibit, OKAY? Now, begone from my presence! Marami pa akong gagawin!"

hahaha joke lang yung last remark. Hindi ko na sila tinarayan kasi parang narealize din nila ang katangahan nila. They just mumbled their apologies, saying that they should have "confirmed their sources" prior to meeting for an interview.

I was thinking: Duh?! Sige na...humayo na kayo't may mga deadline pa tayong hinahabol...

Now if only they had the common sense to ask this question FIRST last night:

Ditch: (nasa gitna ng paglamon ng kanyang pagkain sa UP Coop Canteen) Hello?

HyperMC Kid (who's confirming her source): Good Evening po, is this Prof. Michael Tan of UP Anthro Department?

Ditch: Sorry, wrong number...(quickly hangs up. patuloy ang paglamon)

TAPOS ANG PROBLEMA!

In other news:

Nilibre kami ni Ma'am Camagay ng pizza sa Kas 208 namin. hehehe

I'm Working My Ass Off and all I Get...

are two job offers? seryoso kayo? hahahahahaha

in fairness, hindi ko pa ginagamit ang isang-daang porsyento ng aking lakas (Ghost Fighter), hindi ko pa nire-release ang aking zanpaktuo (Bleach), at hindi pa ako "Sage Mode" (Naruto Shippuuden) nyan ha...

seriously though, they were just off hand, informal comments regarding my work on the exhibit and I just take it with a "thank you" and my best Close-up smile. I honestly am flattered but I don't think I can take on a commitment employment-wise as of this moment. Though in fairness, makakarinig ka ba naman ng good comments from "the people who matter"...how fattening - este - flattering pala...

I think I'm fine concentrating on my commitments as a student for now. Andami ko pang mga utang (Sir Jose). And I'm still enjoying being an ISKOLAR NG BAHAY. hahaha

Basta, I'll concentrate on doing my job and hope everything turns out well come Opening Day, that's were everything's gonna take shape and people are gonna behold the fruit of our efforts in all its beauty...Wish us luck...

Places I Wouldn't Have Considered Visiting While Here in Manila but Did Because of The Damn Pasig Exhibit

Kung saan-saan ako nakakarating sa pag-aasikaso ng Pasig exhibit namin. Anyway, masaya naman ang biyahe at marami din akong natututunan at nakikita. This is additional experience to my ever-expanding knowledge of Manila's geography.

Here are the places I have been to since last week. Some of them I visited thrice and in one instance I went to two (very) separate places on the same day. Whew!

1. Cubao - truth be told, I dreaded setting foot on this place based on what I experienced in the MRT. Kadalasan, eto ang scenario: kung sasakay ka from North Station papuntang Taft, andaaaaaming sumasakay once you get to Cubao. Kung from Taft ka naman going North Station, andaaaaaming bumababa. Given na siksikan yung mga tao from both Taft and North Stations, isa lang ang conclusion -- andaaaaaami talagang tao sa Cubao. hahaha I've also heard that traffic is hell in this place. But I've been to Cubao thrice taking both the MRT and traveling by jeepney. Marami ngang tao, ergo marami ding malls. The malls/establishments I've been to (or passed by) in this area are:

Ali Mall - may magandang shop dito na nagbebenta ng pirated and hacked software. so far walang mintis yung Photoshop atsaka yung RPG na binili ko. And a book on the display window of National Bookstore seems to be beckoning to me...a Spanish Grammar book. Since Spanish naririnig ko siyang sumisigaw ng "compra me! compra me!".

Farmers' Plaza - just passing through, although nalibot ko yung mall...wala lang hehe

Gateway - dito yung talagang passing through lang...in fairness, malamig yung airconditioning nila compared sa ibang malls May libreng wi-fi daw sa foodcourt nila. Sosyal!

Araneta Center - sa harapan lang ako dumaan na para na ring mall sa dami ng kainan...may concert raw yung Fall Out Boy. If they sing their damned version of "Nothing Compares to U" again bobombahin ko yung Araneta! hahahaha joke lang! wala akong perang pang-concert no!

Shopwise - affordable daw ang products dito. I would agree since this is where I found the cheapest large print photo developing evah! Would you believe 11x14 goes for 100 pesos and 11x17 goes for 125 pesosesoses? matte paper na yan with photo tac pa ha...Amaaaazing.

SM Department Store - found picture frames that fit our required dimensions - and more importantly, also fit our small budget. hehe

2. Brgy Holy Spirit - along Commonwealth Avenue naman ito. walked the looooong stretch of AFP Road looking for a house number. Akala ko nag-ooffer sila ng frames pero photo panels lang pala. Professional-looking, versatile, durable, but NOT affordable. Babalik lang ako dun kung may budget kami na 5000 sa photo panels lang hehe

3. Pasig City - duh! I remember a poem by someone named Browning: "How often have I visited thee? Let me count the ways...by jeepney and bus and on the MRT I have ridden just to visit thee...have suffered through traffic most wretched...two hours from 9 to eleven to traverse the EDSA road...but I expect to visit thee again regularly...or at least, until the end of the month of February."

Bow. hahaha

4. UP Diliman - usually diretso ako sa office ni Sir Castro to follow-up a few things or report on my progress. Para akong Punong Ministro na humaharap sa Hari hahaha. The weird thing about my travels is that I never got lost in Cubao or in Holy Spirit, even in Pasig. Dito ako sa UP nawala sa kakahanap ng College of Fine Arts! hahahaha

Summary: So far so good. Hindi pa naman ako na-pickpocket, nahold-up, nasaksak, na-kidnap or na-rape sa kakagala ko sa Manila.

Bienvenidos a mi Habitacion!

This is a first in a series of posts which will feature the results of me getting my hands on a digital camera for one week. First up, MY ROOM!


Entra a mi habitacion...



Hola! Kenshin Himura and the Elric Brothers bid you all welcome to my humble abode...


This what you call an "all in one reach" set-up. Don't worry, there is order in all this chaos...


Featuring...my trusty laptop...and the tastiest pair of legs ever to grace cyberspace! hahaha

Note: pasensya na with the pesky dates in the photos. I cannot figure out how to adjust the settings, and since the cam's not mine I don't dare tinker with the settings...just ignore the numbers. Tutal, mali-mali naman yung date eh. hehehe

Pasig, Pasig, Pasig...

Everything's about Pasig and the museum exhibit this week. Won't have time to post the pics from my shooting frenzy this week. Patience, patience...

All The Single Ladies....Ladies?!

Guess who's dancing at the extreme left of the screen? hahahaha

Have Camera, Will Shoot...

Oftentimes in my stay here in the heartland of Manila (hehe), I would encounter things and incidents that often make me go:

"I wish I had a camera around..."

But since in my 'past' life the bulk of my resources is often invested on my PC and my mini-library, I never got around to purchasing a digital camera...or even a cellphone with camera.

BUT!

Things are about to change as a kind-hearted individual lent me the means to render my visualizations onto paper (or is it pixels?) Regina lent me her trusty digital camera for a week since we will be taking some shots of the exhibit area at the Pasig Museum in order to figure out how to situate our bountiful (huwaw) collection come February...

So while we are still yet to visit the museum, I indulged myself and took the liberty of capturing some sights in sonofaditch's universe.

Meaning, more proofs of life to come...

This blog is about to become a photo blog soon...

But take note, ha...there will be no JUMPING or any attempts at simulated flight or weightlessness featured in my pics. hehehe

More Proof of Life

The 2008 UP Lantern Parade, December 17, 2008


At tinubuan na nga ako ng sungay sa Diliman...

UNO-R Grade School Batch 1995 and High School Batch 1999 Reunion, December 27, 2008 at Chicken House Mandalagan, Bacolod City. Mas marami, mas masaya...









Part 2 of GS/HS Reunion at the MO2 Annex, Goldenfield Complex. Bring out the drinks!


Photos courtesy of the friendster accounts of Kayzer and UNO-R HS 1999. Madamo nga Salamat...

Must Be The Weather...

It's been a few days since I returned and I feel that I have yet to reaccustom myself to the peculiarly cold weather here in Manila.

The rain that poured yesterday made things much worse for me. I had a pounding headache yesterday after doing my grocery shopping and I was generally lethargic -- the cold weather does make warm-blooded mammals slow down a bit in order to conserve energy and heat. Simply put, nakakatamad talaga kung maginaw...brrrrr

Thus this morning I missed my Span 11 class. I set my cell phone to go off at 9:30 am but when I woke up, it was 11:00! Holy Syet!

And since I'm a warm-blooded mammal...nagpadaig na rin ako sa katamaran and decided not to attend class. Puro na lang past tense and no lo he recibido... pwes aun no lo he comido...at di pa ako naliligo...hehe

I imagine Prof asking me:

Por que no has asistido a clase?

Sagot ko naman:

No me he levantado temprano porque me duele la cabeza y estoy muy cansado...

Take that, Romanillos! wahahahaha!

To make up for my intransigence, I condemned myself to spend the entire afternoon in the main lib going over my readings. So from 1 pm to 6 pm nandoon ako sa lib, binabasa si Majul. In fairness, naka 200 pages ako atsaka andami kong notes hehehe

May hang-over pa yata ako sa bakasyon...

Hallelujah...

I have this song playing on my playlist and I'm looping it. Since my initial response to things I like is to conduct research on it...here's the evolution of the song via selected versions and their videos on youtube...

1. The original Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen the Great. 80s yata 'to...



2. K.D. Lang's version. Babae po siya mga kids hehehe



3. The late (as in dead) Jeff Buckley's version. The one I have on my playlist. IMHO the best of the lot.



His album "Grace" is highly recommended. Probably God heard this and decided to promote Buckley to immortal status...


4. Credit goes to Jessica Zafra's blog post for reminding me that I have Jeff Buckley's album in my laptop. Read it here And since she prefers John Cale's version...



The words "This song was written by Leonard Cohen" should be enough to catch one's attention. That is, if you know who Leonard Cohen is...

Vacation Report Card

1. Played the role of "child minder" (sosyal na version ng yaya haha) to my pamangkins when they dropped by the house. If ever they would spend the night there, my room became the default kid center since my PC has a number of games that would serve to distract them for hours on end. Pwede nang tatakan ang mga noo ng mga kids ng "This Sleep-over was brought to you by...Blizzard and Microsoft Games..."

2. My long-delayed 226 report finally is on its way toward completion. Conclusion na lang ang kulang, atsaka footnotes. I can finally show my face to Prof. Jose very soon...

3. The last few days of my vacation was spent poring over readings for my classes. I finished Cesar Majul's Apolinario Mabini: Revolutionary. I thought that the book was my assigned reading for my book review. Turns out that it was another Mabini book by Majul - Mabini and the Philippine Revolution. So ang ending, magbabasa ulit ako! Hay buhay!

4. The Pasig Museum Project is gathering steam. I was able to keep myself abreast of the updates online despite the lack of internet connection at home. Meron namang internet cafe sa mga malls atsaka sa halos bawat sulok ng Bacolod City... Hope everything goes well in the following weeks...good luck na lang sa atin...

5. I finally knew who the Eva Fonda is...hahahahaha matagal na din akong di nakapanood ng TV...

6. TV programs I developed an "addiction" for during my vacation(NOT Eva Fonda!): Mythbusters (duh!), and Bull Run, a reality show/racing show/car show which featured several racing teams, their unique cars (one team had vintage Chevy, anothers had a Lamborghini, while another team had a vintage Oldsmobile that is one of ony a handful in the world), and a grueling race across several states in the U.S....may isang team na composed ng mga Fil-Americans...the eight-rayed sun design on their shirts was a giveaway. Plus they voluntarily pulled out of the race because of a death in the family - Pinoy nga sila...