Love Affairs

1. with Kate Bush.


Everytime I close my eyes, I see your face, your --- yaaaaaaaah! WTF?!


actually matagal na 'to. Listening to "The Sensual World" non-stop for days roused my slumbering poet hehe



2. The New Yorker. Eto ang bago. Just discovered this brilliant magazine at the foreign serials section of UP Main Lib. Got interested because of a Philippine Daily Inquirer article on alcoholism which cited an article from The New Yorker.


Two Bottles. One Girl.

Malcolm Gladwell on the sociology of drinking from The New Yorker website.

Reads like Reader's Digest with high IQ -- minus the fixation on health articles and debt reduction; and emotionally draining short stories about stray cats and puppies [sniff, sniff].


Stop Looking at me like that!

Browsed through their previous issues and the first thing I found was an article on Tori Amos and Bjork! The title of the article "Army of Two" is a reference to one of Bjork's songs. Wow! Holy Shit! I think I'm in love [again?]...

Where else can you find articles on two of the greatest contemporary female musical artists of my generation? or a piece on Greek archaeology discussing the Antikythera Mechanism? or an essay on Historiography and epistemology?

3. The library/archive/books



Hello there, I missed you so much. We'll have lots of fun together from now on...

One Down...

I just submitted my Anthro 292 exam via email to Dr. Tan. Salamat at pinagbigyan niya yung revision ko sa isang topic. Thanks Sir!

Tomorrow I'll be submitting my long-delayed Kas 208 paper to Ma'am Camagay. Here's hoping makapasa sa panlasa ni ma'am...

On to other stuff...what happens when one of my favorite actors join forces with one of my favorite shows?



Olivia Munn subjects Jim to a "nerd lore" exam...click here

A Long Hard Road...This First Sem*

Relatively speaking, I had it easy compared to the iskos and iskas in peyups.

I'm currently haunting the shelves of the main library looking to complete my term paper for Kas 204. Para wala na akong INC this sem, ano ba...

Good news: I finally finished my Kas 208 (that's the Fil-American War course, I think I confused my Ma'am Camagay courses in a previous post) paper and it is now awaiting printing. I'll be submitting it to Ma'am this Wednesday.

Good news, na medyo bad news: Finished my Anthro Theory take home exam - only to realize later that I had an incorrect definition of the 'ukay-ukay' trade. Malayo pa naman ang deadline so I'm petitioning Prof Tan if he would allow my concept of 'alternative trading systems which is akin to the ukay-ukay' (basta). I am awaiting his approval.

It's the start of exams next week so sa lahat ng iskolar ng bayan out there, good luck sa puyatan at kung anu-ano pa dyan. hehe

Kung si Eli pa -- SEMBREAAAAAAAAAAK!


*pasintabi kay Marilyn Manson

Surviving

I was one of the lucky few who were unaffected by the intense flooding brought about by "Ondoy". But elsewhere, there is chaos and the unfortunate loss of lives. Let's do what we can to help those in need...

One good thing about being disconnected to the internet in the boarding house is that I was able to devote time for my papers in Anthro. Take home exam was completed yesterday after three nights working feverishly on the theoretical analysis of selected aspects of Philippine culture using various anthropological viewpoints. If there was a time that I came closest to having a "nosebleed", this is it. Whew

Stay safe everybody and make adequate precaution as another storm is making its way to our shores.

Updates

Kas 208 paper almost finished. Ilang paragraphs na lang and the rest will be editing, tweaking, and formatting. Sigurado this week tapos na ito.

Anthro 292 take home exam finally unleashed! hahaha I'll be having fun with this one.

Kas 204 paper still hovering in limbo. May konting research. Next week masisimulan na talaga ito, or else patay tayo...

Finished Crane's Red Badge of Courage and Well's The Time Machine. Pahinga muna from the Necronomicon. whew...

I finally watched the 2nd season of True Blood yipeeeeeee!

The Sun Still Shines

After two weeks of incessant rains and overcast clouds, I could finally taste sunlight once again.

And so life here at peyups seem to be returning to its normal routine. I am now back haunting the shelves of the main library tracking down books for my 208 paper. The 204 paper is still in the works, but I'm confident that I will be able to finish it this month.

It took me two weeks to shake off the lingering lethargy from my recent vacation...heh.

Trimming The Fat

editing...
copy reading...
rewriting...
copy/pasting...
deleting...
reconsidering...
un-deleting...
oh, wait...
deleting...
staring...
pondering...
head scratching...
sighing...
web browsing...

paper's doing fine.

Pushing Daisies

Still finishing the 208 paper. This week i'll be done. I hope. Here's my new distraction this week...



the chair...it moved! it MOVED! hahaha

Done

Kas 205 paper is finished. I will pass it tomorrow and await judgment. Whew...one down.

Update

Last night I survived a night of nvoluntary confinement in my room. The faulty doorknob has breathed its last, and what better way to signal its demise than to lock me up indefinitely in my room? fortunately the bar examinees next-door were able to extricate me from my involuntary detention in my "selda".(as they are now joking, but still - I owe them one)

The reflection paper is done. and now I have to turn my attention to my long-neglected Kas 205 paper. Just a few more paragraphs to go. C'mon!

Pasintabi sa Mastercard

Price of jeepney fare (2 rides sa UP Campus-Katipunan): P 14.00

Total cost of photocopy for 2 "hard to find" journal articles: P 10.00

Outside researcher's fee (one day only) at the Rizal Library, ADMU: P 100.00 (Pakshet! kinarir ko na rin ang pagbabasa sa loob ng lib ng Ateneo, sayang naman ang bayad atsaka dapat samantalahin ang centralized airconditioning! wahahaha!)

Knowing that I'm a few steps away from completing my Anthro reflection paper: PRICELESS

Looking for Lieban

Medyo frantic ako ngayon. I'm looking for articles by this guy named Richard Lieban for my anthropology class next week. I'm assigned to react to our discussion on Functionalism and Structural-Functionalist theory and I'm feeling out-of-sorts because of my damn allergy. Cough syrup and antihistamines are a combination that renders me a bit stuporous but I was able to read through Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown yesterday.

This morning I was scouring through the periodicals section of the library looking for Lieban's articles on the engkanto, and kulam (sorcery). Parang ako ang kinukulam since I wasn't able to locate the articles. Yung isa in American Anthropologist was ripped from the journal, leaving only one page. The deed apparently was done waaay back in 1985 kasi may notation sa naiwang pahina - 'missing since 1985'. The other one from the Southwestern Journal of Anthropology nawawala yung mga journals pero sa OPAC lumilitaw. Nyak!

The only recourse suggested was online resources. So I went to the Electronic Resources at the main lib only to find out that the articles could be found in an online resource which is accessible in another library - the Econ lib. So martsa naman tayo sa Econ library. Ang siste, may babayaran ka pang P100 for a card to gain access to computer lab and the printing. So bayad na ako at pagkakuha ng green card pasok ng Computer Lab ng Econ. Problema, their subscription apparently gives them access to a limited number of journals, AA and SWJA were not among those serials available.

OK, now anybody out there na gusto ng green card for Econ Computer Lab?

Now, the final option is Ateneo Library. I checked their online OPAC and they have both journals on their stacks as well as in their online resources. Sige, para makapunta na ulit sa Ateneo. May bayad nga lang for outsider access - 100 pesos.

Fast Track (Again?)

I'm currently busy with my Kas 204 book reviews. I'm doing the last one (four out of four! yipee!) so that I could get bak to my 205 paper this week. I hope to present my paper to Sir Jose at the end of July. Malapit naaaaaaaa...

Here's a clip from "Chuck" one of my new favorite series (the other being "Reaper" but that has already been cancelled, sayang) Trust me, this series has a LOT of knee-slapping, laugh-out-loud funny moments. like this, for instance...

Background: The title character, Chuck, is in a room filled with people infected by a highly deadly strain of influenza. Casey (the guy who's lying on the floor) is one of the infected and is telling Chuck to "figure something out" since Chuck has been injected with the anti-virus. Now, how do we pass on the antiviral without a syringe?

Mga Pinagkakaabalahan

1. Two - no, three - book reviews for Ma'am Camagay. The early bird gets a LOT of worms, it seems. hehe

2. Readings for our Anthro 292. Hindi pa kami nagkikita ni Prof Tan but from what I can glean from his essay, magaling na tao ito...at may sense of humor pa...

3. Eto pa ibang pinagkaka-abalahan natin. hehe



Trinity Blood: the DVD I bought had some defect with the encoding or rendering since it was playing at twice the speed. On a positive note, that means I was done with the series in one day. Unfortunately, now I'm stuck with the memory of all the Trinity Blood characters being dubbed by Alvin and The Chipmunks. I liked the Italian Renaissance references and the primordial siblings. Pinaka-astig na pangalan ng character - VACLAV HAVEL! hahaha and he happens to be a real historical figure.



Gunslinger Girl: The instant I heard the opening song, I fell in love with this anime. Little orphan girls modified physically and mentally to be lethal assassins. So far I find this series generally depressing but there are light and even touching moments. Now if the damned DVD behaves itself and plays properly, I could continue watching this anime...

Taking Shape...

A "skeletal (skeleton?) draft" of my Kas 205 paper is finished. "Skeletal" in the sense that it would serve as the basic structure for the final paper. Some additions and deletions will follow but at least I have the "bare bones" of the paper already.

Medyo obvious naman na hindi pa ako masyadong busy dahil nakakapag-isip pa ako ng term na "skeletal draft". hehe

From One Starbuck to Another...

Just finished the Season 4 DVD of Battlestar Galactica. Grabe! Truly, one of the most thought-provoking sci-fi series ever made - or remade. This video features the song "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan but this remake gave me the frakking goosebumps...



Now I'm immersing myself in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. From one Starbuck (Kara Thrace) to another (Captain Ahab's first mate, and I believe the inspiration for the Starbuck of BSG). I'm a bit lost with the whaling terms, but so far I am still afloat and enjoying the ride with Ahab and his crew. The book got me thinking on predestination, free will, salvation and vendetta as a driving force in one's life. hmmmm...

I'm currently consolidating my Kas 205 notes. This should've been done a long time ago but I was still busy enjoying my summer (read: the BUM life). I should complete my notes this weekend.

Progress Report

Natapos ko na yung Book du Jour ko -- yung Mitrokhin Archives. The Philippines was only mentioned once. hehehe

Umuusad ang Kas 208 Paper kahit papano. Next week sisimulan na yung Kas 205, kasi ito next sem na talaga yung deadline. brrrrrr...

Kakabagot walang magawang intellectually stimulating. I am beginning to understand Pebi's complaint with jobs that do not make her 'think'. hehe Kaya kanina pumunta akong lib at nagbasa ng doctoral dissertation ni Milagros Guerrero. Yung Luzon at War. Of course, kuha tayo ng notes parang nagre-research sa paper - pero in truth - light reading na talaga 'to...Diyos ko.

Naubos na ang mga komiks sa Powerbooks. Kakabasa hindi kakabili. Eto capsule reviews ko sa mga nabasa ko:

TRESE - Astig...female version ni Constantine humahanting ng lahat ng uri ng maligno, laman lupa, ligaw na kaluluwa, aswang, elementals, at kung anu-ano pa sa kalakhang Maynila. Anu ba talaga yung mga kambal, ha?

ANDONG AGIMAT - Visually stunning...conceptually superb...reminded me of the movies "Nightwatch" and "Daywatch". In fairness, kinilabutan ako sa part na naghasik na ng lagim si Mariang Makiling. Wow!

KIKO MACHINE KOMIKS - Taga-UP ang gumagawa nito. Rakenrol!

LIFE IN PROGRESS - Revenge of the Nerds...and Dinosaurs...I still want the artist to feature the Smashing Pumpkins in Zeke's shirt...

And regarding my dilemma...I have already made up my mind. Period.

Page One

Well, after a few days of just being plain LAZY, I finally started tapping on my laptop and squeezing out a few words for my Kas 208 paper.

Just finished ONE page.

Yep, ONE FRAKKING PAGE.

That's where all the trouble started.

I'm not too happy with the way I started my Introduction. Placing a quote without any context to it resulted to a very loooong explanation on the first paragraph providing said context. Better revise this one tomorrow. But I'm happy with using the headline as the centerpiece of my Introduction. Emulating Leon Wolff, I guess...hehehe

Writing the second paragraph...

Sh*t. Where did I get this? [scans notes] must be from Welch...wait a minute...yeah, I read it from Welch but I didn't put it in my notes....huh?!...WTF?!

Third paragraph...

Should I read Foucault? [scans notes] Yep, I think I need to. Him or the other structuralist/postmodern guys...

[ditch scratches head, remembers something, winces]

Oh, Sh*t...Reading E. San Juan, Jr. almost gave me a headache and now I have to tackle postmodernity? F*ck!

Page One is done.

TTDTS

Things To Do This Summer:

1. Continue writing my Kas 208 paper

2. Continue writing my Kas 205 paper

3. Knock a few points off my IQ by watching videos on these websites:

www.fndfilms.com
www.britanick.com

You've already seen a sample of the vids from FND (The "Plate" Video). Here's something from britanick

To INC, Or Not To INC

...whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer,

the slings and arrows of outrageous --

RESEARCH?!

WTF? LOL


I'm almost done with the notes consolidation phase for my Kas 208.

Now I'm wondering if I could spit out a decent historical paper in just five days.

Hmmmmmm...