First, we had Andrew Cunanan, who was actually a spree killer and whose sole claim to fame is the murder of designer Gianni Versace.
Now, another Pinoy is trying to hone in in all the action, this time, in the very very nearby Pasig City.
I know that we haven't quite gotten over our colonial mentality, but this is ridiculous!
Monday, February 18, 2008
What are You Afraid Of?
My apologies. I was busy reminiscing and playing activist last week I totally forgot my prompt. Here it is:
moar humorous pics
Stuck on what to write? Here's a question for you: What are you afraid of?
You. Not your mother not your lola, not your boyfriend or your girlfriend. You.
It can be anything. Ghosts are what first comes to mind, but really, it can be anything from cockroaches to a dark path to the wash drying on the clothesline. The more mundane, the better. That's what you write about. The challenge is to make the reader feel your fear, no matter how irrational. You'll know you've succeeded when people start developing strange phobias, and the common denominator is your story.
moar humorous pics
Stuck on what to write? Here's a question for you: What are you afraid of?
You. Not your mother not your lola, not your boyfriend or your girlfriend. You.
It can be anything. Ghosts are what first comes to mind, but really, it can be anything from cockroaches to a dark path to the wash drying on the clothesline. The more mundane, the better. That's what you write about. The challenge is to make the reader feel your fear, no matter how irrational. You'll know you've succeeded when people start developing strange phobias, and the common denominator is your story.
Lozada Gets His Own Homily
Got this in the mail. It's by Ms. Tessie Ang Sy about the whole Lozada thing. The homily is a bit long (as most homilies are wont to be), but it shows that there are people still willing to stand for what is true. To paraphrase Kidlat, who was quoting a nun, we should back the ideals, and not the person behind them.
Incidentally, Apostol has apologized, which is a good thing. I'd have more to say about his motives for apology but I'm going to be good and leave it at that. Anyhoo, it's nice to know that there are a lot of people out there who, when it comes to being Filipino, does not distinguish between race and lineage, but count what is in the heart.
For those of you who missed the La Salle Greenhills mass, here's the entire homily.
The truth shall indeed set us free.
Im a proud owner of the T-shirt with the words: "Ang salitang Pilipino ay hindi tumutukoy sa isang pamilya lamang...Kundi sa isang Bayang Pilipino." .... Probinsyanong Intsik!!
Wow, saludo!! I will proudly wear that t-shirt to proclaim to the world that here's one brave man who lighted the candle in the darkest hours, knowing that in so doing he is burning himself to give light to others.
I was standing beside Dr Bien Lumbera and his wife shane as we tearfully sang Bayan Ko and I recalled the days when dr bien was incarcerated by Marcos and we visited them and the other prisoners at Fort Bonifacio, bringing dried shredded pork to provide them with some protein. the dried pork was bought with the very little money that we had then.
Lumuluha ang inang bayan, hinahanap ang tapat na sambayanan.
tessy
RECLAIMING OUR HUMANITY
MASS FOR JUN LOZADA
LA SALLE GYMNASIUM, GREENHILLS
17 FEBRUARY 2008
On this Second Sunday of Lent, during which we are asked to reflect on the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, I wish to touch on three themes that have to do with our moral transformation as a people: first, Ascertaining Credibility; second, Rediscovering our Humanity; and third, Witnessing to the Truth. In so doing, I hope to invite all of you to reflect more deeply on how we, as a nation, might respond to the present political crisis in which our identity and ethos, our convictions and integrity, in fact, who we are as a people, are at stake.
I. ASCERTAINING CREDIBILITY
Jun, as Sen. Miriam Santiago has grilled you to ascertain your credibility (or was it to undermine your credibility?), allow me to raise some important questions to consider in the very process of discerning your credibility. Allow me to do so by drawing on my own counseling experience.
Very often, a young rape victim initially suppresses his or her awful and painful story, indeed wills to forget it, in the hope that by forgetting, he or she can pretend it never happened. But very often, too, there comes a point when concealing the truth becomes unbearable, and the desperate attempts to supposedly preserve life and sanity become increasingly untenable.
At this point the victim of abuse decides to seek help. But even after having taken this step, the victim, devastated and confused, will tell his or her story with much hesitation and trepidation. It should be easy to imagine why. In telling the truth, one risks casting shame on himself or herself, subjecting oneself to intense scrutiny and skepticism, and jeopardizing one’s safety and those of his or her loved ones, especially when one dares to go up against an older or more powerful person.
Similarly, it is easy to imagine why Jun would initially refuse to challenge the might of Malacanang. Who in his or her right mind would accuse Malacanang of crimes against our people and implicate the First Family in a sordid tale of greed and corruption, knowing that by doing so, one endangers one’s life and the lives of his or her loved ones? We are, after all, living in dangerous times, where the government has not hesitated to use everything in its power to keep itself in power, where it has yet to explain and solve the numerous cases of extra-judicial killings.
But Jun is in his right mind. His story rings true especially in the face of the perils that he has had to face. And by his courage, Jun has also shown that it is not only that he is in his right mind; his heart is also in the right place.
Hence, my personal verdict: Jun, I believe that you are a credible witness. And if hundreds have gathered here this morning, it is probably because they also believe in you. Mga kapatid, naniniwala ba kayo kay Jun Lozada? Naniniwala ba kayo sa kanyang testimonya? Kung gayon, palakpakan po natin ang Probinsyanong Intsik, si Mr. Jun Lozada.
Jun, we hope that by our presence here, you may find some consolation. Pope Benedict XVI writes that “con-solatio” or consolation means “being with the other in his or her solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.” Jun, be assured that your solitude is no longer isolation as we profess our solidarity with you. Hindi ka nag-iisa. We are committed to stay the course and to do our best to protect you and your family and the truth you have proclaimed.
II. REDISCOVERING OUR HUMANITY
What makes Jun a credible witness to us?
I think Jun is credible not simply by virtue of his being an eyewitness to the unmitigated greed of some of our public officials. Perhaps more importantly, Jun is credible because he has witnessed to us what it means to be truly human.
Which leads me to my second theme: What does it mean to be human? How might we rediscover our humanity?
Allow me to quote Pope Benedict XVI, who in his latest encyclical, Spe Salvi, has written: “the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life becomes a lie. . . For this … we need witnesses—martyrs …. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day.”
Our Holy Father concludes, “the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity.”
Isn’t this the reason we emulate our martyrs: Jose Rizal, Gomburza, Evelio Javier, Macli-ing Dulag, Cesar Climaco and Ninoy Aquino? They have borne witness for us what it means to be truly human—to be able to suffer for the sake of others and for the sake of the truth.
I remember Cory recalling a conversation she had with Ninoy while they were in exile in Boston. Cory asked Ninoy what he thought might happen to him once he set foot in Manila. Ninoy said there were three possibilities: one, that he would be rearrested and detained once more in Fort Bonifacio; two, that he would be held under house arrest; and three, that he would be assassinated.
“Then why go home?” Cory asked.
To which Ninoy answered: “Because I cannot allow myself to die a senseless death, such as being run over by a taxi cab in New York. I have to go home and convince Ferdinand Marcos to set our people free.”
Witnessing to one’s deepest convictions, notwithstanding the consequences, is the measure of our humanity. Proclaiming the truth to others, whatever the cost, is the mark of authentic humanity.
Jun, we know you have feared for your life and continue to do so. But in transcending your fears for yourself and your family, you have reclaimed your humanity. And your courage and humility, despite harassment and calumniation by government forces, embolden us to retrieve and reclaim our humanity tarnished by our cowardice and complicity with sin in the world. You have inspired us to be true to ourselves and to submit to and serve the truth that transcends all of us.
III. WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH
This leads us to our third and last theme: witnessing to the truth. In his encyclical, Pacem in Terris, Pope John XXIII exhorts that it is the fundamental duty of the government to uphold the truth: “A political society is to be considered well-ordered, beneficial and in keeping with human dignity if it grounded on truth.” Moreover, the encyclical explains that unless a society is anchored on the truth, there can be no authentic justice, charity and freedom.
Every government is therefore obliged to serve the truth if it is to truly serve the people. Its moral credibility and authority over a people is based on the extent of its defense of and submission to the truth. Insofar as a government is remiss in upholding the truth, insofar as a government actively suppresses the truth, it loses its authority vested upon it by the people.
At this juncture, allow me to raise a delicate question: At what point does an administration lose its moral authority over its constituents?
First, a clear tipping point is the surfacing of hard evidence signifying undeniable complicity of certain government officials in corruption and injustice, evidence that can be substantiated in court.
Hence, during the Marcos Regime, the manipulation of Snap Election results as attested to by the tabulators who walked out of the PICC was clear evidence of the administration’s disregard for and manipulation of the collective will of the people in order to remain in power..
During the Erap Administration, the testimony of Clarissa Ocampo, claiming that Pres. Erap had falsified Equitable Bank documents by signing as Jose Velarde, was the smoking gun that triggered the rage of our people.
Allow me to respond to the same question by pursue an alternative track of argument: an administration loses it moral authority over its people when it fails in its fundamental duty to uphold the truth, when it is constituted by an ethos of falsehood. When a pattern of negligence in investigating the truth, suppressing the truth and harassing those who proclaim the truth is reasonably established, then a government, in principle, loses its right to rule over and represent the people.
Regarding negligence: Do the unresolved cases, such as the the failed automation of the national elections, the fertilizer scam, the extra-judicial killings, and the “Hello, Garci” scandal, constitute negligence on the part of the GMA Administartion to probe and ferret out the truth?
Regarding covering-up the truth: Does the abduction of Jun Lozada and the twisting and manipulation of his narrative by Malacanang’s minions constitute concealment of the truth? Was the padlocking of the office of Asst. Gov’t Counsel Gonzales who testified before the Senate regarding the North Rail project anomaly an instance of covering-up the truth?
Regarding the suppression of the truth: Does the issuance and implementation of E.O. 464, which prevents government officals from testifying in Senate hearings without Malacanang’s permission, constitute suppression of the truth? Was the prevention of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Senga and six other officers from testifying before the Senate with regard the “Hello, Garci” scandal tantamount to a suppression of the truth? Was disallowing Brig. Gen. Quevedo, Lt. Col Capuyan and Lt. Col. Sumayo from appearing before the Lower House an instance of hindering the truth from surfacing?
And regarding harassment of those who proclaim the truth: Are the abduction of Jun Lozada and the decision to court-marshall Gen. Gudani and Col. Balutan for disregarding Malacanang’s order not to testify before the Senate examples of punishing those who come forth to tell the truth?
By conflating one’s responses to all these questions does one arrive not at hard evidence showing culpapility on the part of some government officials, but a ghestalt, an image which nonetheless demands our assessment and judgment. I invite all of you then to consider these two methods of evaluating and judging the moral credibility of any government, the moral credibility of our present government.
Allow me to end with a few words about an Ignatian virtue, familiaritas cum Deo. To become familiar with God involves the illumination of the intellect, coming to know who God is and what God wills. But it also involves the conversion of the affect, the reconfiguration of the heart. Becoming familiar with God entails trasforming and conforming my thinking, my feeling and my doing in accordance to the Lord’s, which can only be the work of grace.
Familiarity with God thus entail rejoicing in what God delights—the truth; abhoring what God detests—falsehood; being pained by what breaks the heart of God—the persecution of truth-seekers. Familiary with God means sharing the passion of God for the truth and the pathos of God whenever the truth and the bearers of truth are overcome by the forces of the lie.
On this Second Sunday of Lent, as we contemplate the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Horeb, we pray that our hearts and minds be so transfigured and so conformed to the mind, heart and will of the Jesus, our way, our life, and our truth.
May the Lord bless and protect you, Jun, and your family. May the Lord bless and guide us all into the way of truth. Amen.
Incidentally, Apostol has apologized, which is a good thing. I'd have more to say about his motives for apology but I'm going to be good and leave it at that. Anyhoo, it's nice to know that there are a lot of people out there who, when it comes to being Filipino, does not distinguish between race and lineage, but count what is in the heart.
For those of you who missed the La Salle Greenhills mass, here's the entire homily.
The truth shall indeed set us free.
Im a proud owner of the T-shirt with the words: "Ang salitang Pilipino ay hindi tumutukoy sa isang pamilya lamang...Kundi sa isang Bayang Pilipino." .... Probinsyanong Intsik!!
Wow, saludo!! I will proudly wear that t-shirt to proclaim to the world that here's one brave man who lighted the candle in the darkest hours, knowing that in so doing he is burning himself to give light to others.
I was standing beside Dr Bien Lumbera and his wife shane as we tearfully sang Bayan Ko and I recalled the days when dr bien was incarcerated by Marcos and we visited them and the other prisoners at Fort Bonifacio, bringing dried shredded pork to provide them with some protein. the dried pork was bought with the very little money that we had then.
Lumuluha ang inang bayan, hinahanap ang tapat na sambayanan.
tessy
RECLAIMING OUR HUMANITY
MASS FOR JUN LOZADA
LA SALLE GYMNASIUM, GREENHILLS
17 FEBRUARY 2008
On this Second Sunday of Lent, during which we are asked to reflect on the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, I wish to touch on three themes that have to do with our moral transformation as a people: first, Ascertaining Credibility; second, Rediscovering our Humanity; and third, Witnessing to the Truth. In so doing, I hope to invite all of you to reflect more deeply on how we, as a nation, might respond to the present political crisis in which our identity and ethos, our convictions and integrity, in fact, who we are as a people, are at stake.
I. ASCERTAINING CREDIBILITY
Jun, as Sen. Miriam Santiago has grilled you to ascertain your credibility (or was it to undermine your credibility?), allow me to raise some important questions to consider in the very process of discerning your credibility. Allow me to do so by drawing on my own counseling experience.
Very often, a young rape victim initially suppresses his or her awful and painful story, indeed wills to forget it, in the hope that by forgetting, he or she can pretend it never happened. But very often, too, there comes a point when concealing the truth becomes unbearable, and the desperate attempts to supposedly preserve life and sanity become increasingly untenable.
At this point the victim of abuse decides to seek help. But even after having taken this step, the victim, devastated and confused, will tell his or her story with much hesitation and trepidation. It should be easy to imagine why. In telling the truth, one risks casting shame on himself or herself, subjecting oneself to intense scrutiny and skepticism, and jeopardizing one’s safety and those of his or her loved ones, especially when one dares to go up against an older or more powerful person.
Similarly, it is easy to imagine why Jun would initially refuse to challenge the might of Malacanang. Who in his or her right mind would accuse Malacanang of crimes against our people and implicate the First Family in a sordid tale of greed and corruption, knowing that by doing so, one endangers one’s life and the lives of his or her loved ones? We are, after all, living in dangerous times, where the government has not hesitated to use everything in its power to keep itself in power, where it has yet to explain and solve the numerous cases of extra-judicial killings.
But Jun is in his right mind. His story rings true especially in the face of the perils that he has had to face. And by his courage, Jun has also shown that it is not only that he is in his right mind; his heart is also in the right place.
Hence, my personal verdict: Jun, I believe that you are a credible witness. And if hundreds have gathered here this morning, it is probably because they also believe in you. Mga kapatid, naniniwala ba kayo kay Jun Lozada? Naniniwala ba kayo sa kanyang testimonya? Kung gayon, palakpakan po natin ang Probinsyanong Intsik, si Mr. Jun Lozada.
Jun, we hope that by our presence here, you may find some consolation. Pope Benedict XVI writes that “con-solatio” or consolation means “being with the other in his or her solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.” Jun, be assured that your solitude is no longer isolation as we profess our solidarity with you. Hindi ka nag-iisa. We are committed to stay the course and to do our best to protect you and your family and the truth you have proclaimed.
II. REDISCOVERING OUR HUMANITY
What makes Jun a credible witness to us?
I think Jun is credible not simply by virtue of his being an eyewitness to the unmitigated greed of some of our public officials. Perhaps more importantly, Jun is credible because he has witnessed to us what it means to be truly human.
Which leads me to my second theme: What does it mean to be human? How might we rediscover our humanity?
Allow me to quote Pope Benedict XVI, who in his latest encyclical, Spe Salvi, has written: “the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life becomes a lie. . . For this … we need witnesses—martyrs …. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day.”
Our Holy Father concludes, “the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity.”
Isn’t this the reason we emulate our martyrs: Jose Rizal, Gomburza, Evelio Javier, Macli-ing Dulag, Cesar Climaco and Ninoy Aquino? They have borne witness for us what it means to be truly human—to be able to suffer for the sake of others and for the sake of the truth.
I remember Cory recalling a conversation she had with Ninoy while they were in exile in Boston. Cory asked Ninoy what he thought might happen to him once he set foot in Manila. Ninoy said there were three possibilities: one, that he would be rearrested and detained once more in Fort Bonifacio; two, that he would be held under house arrest; and three, that he would be assassinated.
“Then why go home?” Cory asked.
To which Ninoy answered: “Because I cannot allow myself to die a senseless death, such as being run over by a taxi cab in New York. I have to go home and convince Ferdinand Marcos to set our people free.”
Witnessing to one’s deepest convictions, notwithstanding the consequences, is the measure of our humanity. Proclaiming the truth to others, whatever the cost, is the mark of authentic humanity.
Jun, we know you have feared for your life and continue to do so. But in transcending your fears for yourself and your family, you have reclaimed your humanity. And your courage and humility, despite harassment and calumniation by government forces, embolden us to retrieve and reclaim our humanity tarnished by our cowardice and complicity with sin in the world. You have inspired us to be true to ourselves and to submit to and serve the truth that transcends all of us.
III. WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH
This leads us to our third and last theme: witnessing to the truth. In his encyclical, Pacem in Terris, Pope John XXIII exhorts that it is the fundamental duty of the government to uphold the truth: “A political society is to be considered well-ordered, beneficial and in keeping with human dignity if it grounded on truth.” Moreover, the encyclical explains that unless a society is anchored on the truth, there can be no authentic justice, charity and freedom.
Every government is therefore obliged to serve the truth if it is to truly serve the people. Its moral credibility and authority over a people is based on the extent of its defense of and submission to the truth. Insofar as a government is remiss in upholding the truth, insofar as a government actively suppresses the truth, it loses its authority vested upon it by the people.
At this juncture, allow me to raise a delicate question: At what point does an administration lose its moral authority over its constituents?
First, a clear tipping point is the surfacing of hard evidence signifying undeniable complicity of certain government officials in corruption and injustice, evidence that can be substantiated in court.
Hence, during the Marcos Regime, the manipulation of Snap Election results as attested to by the tabulators who walked out of the PICC was clear evidence of the administration’s disregard for and manipulation of the collective will of the people in order to remain in power..
During the Erap Administration, the testimony of Clarissa Ocampo, claiming that Pres. Erap had falsified Equitable Bank documents by signing as Jose Velarde, was the smoking gun that triggered the rage of our people.
Allow me to respond to the same question by pursue an alternative track of argument: an administration loses it moral authority over its people when it fails in its fundamental duty to uphold the truth, when it is constituted by an ethos of falsehood. When a pattern of negligence in investigating the truth, suppressing the truth and harassing those who proclaim the truth is reasonably established, then a government, in principle, loses its right to rule over and represent the people.
Regarding negligence: Do the unresolved cases, such as the the failed automation of the national elections, the fertilizer scam, the extra-judicial killings, and the “Hello, Garci” scandal, constitute negligence on the part of the GMA Administartion to probe and ferret out the truth?
Regarding covering-up the truth: Does the abduction of Jun Lozada and the twisting and manipulation of his narrative by Malacanang’s minions constitute concealment of the truth? Was the padlocking of the office of Asst. Gov’t Counsel Gonzales who testified before the Senate regarding the North Rail project anomaly an instance of covering-up the truth?
Regarding the suppression of the truth: Does the issuance and implementation of E.O. 464, which prevents government officals from testifying in Senate hearings without Malacanang’s permission, constitute suppression of the truth? Was the prevention of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Senga and six other officers from testifying before the Senate with regard the “Hello, Garci” scandal tantamount to a suppression of the truth? Was disallowing Brig. Gen. Quevedo, Lt. Col Capuyan and Lt. Col. Sumayo from appearing before the Lower House an instance of hindering the truth from surfacing?
And regarding harassment of those who proclaim the truth: Are the abduction of Jun Lozada and the decision to court-marshall Gen. Gudani and Col. Balutan for disregarding Malacanang’s order not to testify before the Senate examples of punishing those who come forth to tell the truth?
By conflating one’s responses to all these questions does one arrive not at hard evidence showing culpapility on the part of some government officials, but a ghestalt, an image which nonetheless demands our assessment and judgment. I invite all of you then to consider these two methods of evaluating and judging the moral credibility of any government, the moral credibility of our present government.
Allow me to end with a few words about an Ignatian virtue, familiaritas cum Deo. To become familiar with God involves the illumination of the intellect, coming to know who God is and what God wills. But it also involves the conversion of the affect, the reconfiguration of the heart. Becoming familiar with God entails trasforming and conforming my thinking, my feeling and my doing in accordance to the Lord’s, which can only be the work of grace.
Familiarity with God thus entail rejoicing in what God delights—the truth; abhoring what God detests—falsehood; being pained by what breaks the heart of God—the persecution of truth-seekers. Familiary with God means sharing the passion of God for the truth and the pathos of God whenever the truth and the bearers of truth are overcome by the forces of the lie.
On this Second Sunday of Lent, as we contemplate the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Horeb, we pray that our hearts and minds be so transfigured and so conformed to the mind, heart and will of the Jesus, our way, our life, and our truth.
May the Lord bless and protect you, Jun, and your family. May the Lord bless and guide us all into the way of truth. Amen.
Jun Lozada Homily
Got this in the mail. It's by Ms. Tessie Ang Sy about the whole Lozada thing. The homily is a bit long (as most homilies are wont to be), but it shows that there are people still willing to stand for what is true. To paraphrase Kidlat, who was quoting a nun, we should back the ideals, and not the person behind them.
For those of you who missed the La Salle Greenhills mass, here's the entire homily.
The truth shall indeed set us free.
Im a proud owner o fthe T-shirt with the words: "Ang salitang Pilipino ay hindi tumutukoy sa isang pamilya lamang...Kundi sa isang Bayang Pilipino." .... Probinsyanong Intsik!!
Wow, saludo!! I will proudly wear that t-shirt to proclaim to the world that here's one brave man who lighted the candle in the darkest hours, knowing that in so doing he is burning himself to give light to others.
I was standing beside Dr Bien Lumbera and his wife shane as we tearfully sang Bayan Ko and I recalled the days when dr bien was incarcerated by Marcos and we visited them and the other prisoners at Fort Bonifacio, bringing dried shredded pork to provide them with some protein. the dried pork was bought with the very little money that we had then.
Lumuluha ang inang bayan, hinahanap ang tapat na sambayanan.
tessy
RECLAIMING OUR HUMANITY
MASS FOR JUN LOZADA
LA SALLE GYMNASIUM, GREENHILLS
17 FEBRUARY 2008
On this Second Sunday of Lent, during which we are asked to reflect on the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, I wish to touch on three themes that have to do with our moral transformation as a people: first, Ascertaining Credibility; second, Rediscovering our Humanity; and third, Witnessing to the Truth. In so doing, I hope to invite all of you to reflect more deeply on how we, as a nation, might respond to the present political crisis in which our identity and ethos, our convictions and integrity, in fact, who we are as a people, are at stake.
I. ASCERTAINING CREDIBILITY
Jun, as Sen. Miriam Santiago has grilled you to ascertain your credibility (or was it to undermine your credibility?), allow me to raise some important questions to consider in the very process of discerning your credibility. Allow me to do so by drawing on my own counseling experience.
Very often, a young rape victim initially suppresses his or her awful and painful story, indeed wills to forget it, in the hope that by forgetting, he or she can pretend it never happened. But very often, too, there comes a point when concealing the truth becomes unbearable, and the desperate attempts to supposedly preserve life and sanity become increasingly untenable.
At this point the victim of abuse decides to seek help. But even after having taken this step, the victim, devastated and confused, will tell his or her story with much hesitation and trepidation. It should be easy to imagine why. In telling the truth, one risks casting shame on himself or herself, subjecting oneself to intense scrutiny and skepticism, and jeopardizing one’s safety and those of his or her loved ones, especially when one dares to go up against an older or more powerful person.
Similarly, it is easy to imagine why Jun would initially refuse to challenge the might of Malacanang. Who in his or her right mind would accuse Malacanang of crimes against our people and implicate the First Family in a sordid tale of greed and corruption, knowing that by doing so, one endangers one’s life and the lives of his or her loved ones? We are, after all, living in dangerous times, where the government has not hesitated to use everything in its power to keep itself in power, where it has yet to explain and solve the numerous cases of extra-judicial killings.
But Jun is in his right mind. His story rings true especially in the face of the perils that he has had to face. And by his courage, Jun has also shown that it is not only that he is in his right mind; his heart is also in the right place.
Hence, my personal verdict: Jun, I believe that you are a credible witness. And if hundreds have gathered here this morning, it is probably because they also believe in you. Mga kapatid, naniniwala ba kayo kay Jun Lozada? Naniniwala ba kayo sa kanyang testimonya? Kung gayon, palakpakan po natin ang Probinsyanong Intsik, si Mr. Jun Lozada.
Jun, we hope that by our presence here, you may find some consolation. Pope Benedict XVI writes that “con-solatio” or consolation means “being with the other in his or her solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.” Jun, be assured that your solitude is no longer isolation as we profess our solidarity with you. Hindi ka nag-iisa. We are committed to stay the course and to do our best to protect you and your family and the truth you have proclaimed.
II. REDISCOVERING OUR HUMANITY
What makes Jun a credible witness to us?
I think Jun is credible not simply by virtue of his being an eyewitness to the unmitigated greed of some of our public officials. Perhaps more importantly, Jun is credible because he has witnessed to us what it means to be truly human.
Which leads me to my second theme: What does it mean to be human? How might we rediscover our humanity?
Allow me to quote Pope Benedict XVI, who in his latest encyclical, Spe Salvi, has written: “the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life becomes a lie. . . For this … we need witnesses—martyrs …. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day.”
Our Holy Father concludes, “the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity.”
Isn’t this the reason we emulate our martyrs: Jose Rizal, Gomburza, Evelio Javier, Macli-ing Dulag, Cesar Climaco and Ninoy Aquino? They have borne witness for us what it means to be truly human—to be able to suffer for the sake of others and for the sake of the truth.
I remember Cory recalling a conversation she had with Ninoy while they were in exile in Boston. Cory asked Ninoy what he thought might happen to him once he set foot in Manila. Ninoy said there were three possibilities: one, that he would be rearrested and detained once more in Fort Bonifacio; two, that he would be held under house arrest; and three, that he would be assassinated.
“Then why go home?” Cory asked.
To which Ninoy answered: “Because I cannot allow myself to die a senseless death, such as being run over by a taxi cab in New York. I have to go home and convince Ferdinand Marcos to set our people free.”
Witnessing to one’s deepest convictions, notwithstanding the consequences, is the measure of our humanity. Proclaiming the truth to others, whatever the cost, is the mark of authentic humanity.
Jun, we know you have feared for your life and continue to do so. But in transcending your fears for yourself and your family, you have reclaimed your humanity. And your courage and humility, despite harassment and calumniation by government forces, embolden us to retrieve and reclaim our humanity tarnished by our cowardice and complicity with sin in the world. You have inspired us to be true to ourselves and to submit to and serve the truth that transcends all of us.
III. WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH
This leads us to our third and last theme: witnessing to the truth. In his encyclical, Pacem in Terris, Pope John XXIII exhorts that it is the fundamental duty of the government to uphold the truth: “A political society is to be considered well-ordered, beneficial and in keeping with human dignity if it grounded on truth.” Moreover, the encyclical explains that unless a society is anchored on the truth, there can be no authentic justice, charity and freedom.
Every government is therefore obliged to serve the truth if it is to truly serve the people. Its moral credibility and authority over a people is based on the extent of its defense of and submission to the truth. Insofar as a government is remiss in upholding the truth, insofar as a government actively suppresses the truth, it loses its authority vested upon it by the people.
At this juncture, allow me to raise a delicate question: At what point does an administration lose its moral authority over its constituents?
First, a clear tipping point is the surfacing of hard evidence signifying undeniable complicity of certain government officials in corruption and injustice, evidence that can be substantiated in court.
Hence, during the Marcos Regime, the manipulation of Snap Election results as attested to by the tabulators who walked out of the PICC was clear evidence of the administration’s disregard for and manipulation of the collective will of the people in order to remain in power..
During the Erap Administration, the testimony of Clarissa Ocampo, claiming that Pres. Erap had falsified Equitable Bank documents by signing as Jose Velarde, was the smoking gun that triggered the rage of our people.
Allow me to respond to the same question by pursue an alternative track of argument: an administration loses it moral authority over its people when it fails in its fundamental duty to uphold the truth, when it is constituted by an ethos of falsehood. When a pattern of negligence in investigating the truth, suppressing the truth and harassing those who proclaim the truth is reasonably established, then a government, in principle, loses its right to rule over and represent the people.
Regarding negligence: Do the unresolved cases, such as the the failed automation of the national elections, the fertilizer scam, the extra-judicial killings, and the “Hello, Garci” scandal, constitute negligence on the part of the GMA Administartion to probe and ferret out the truth?
Regarding covering-up the truth: Does the abduction of Jun Lozada and the twisting and manipulation of his narrative by Malacanang’s minions constitute concealment of the truth? Was the padlocking of the office of Asst. Gov’t Counsel Gonzales who testified before the Senate regarding the North Rail project anomaly an instance of covering-up the truth?
Regarding the suppression of the truth: Does the issuance and implementation of E.O. 464, which prevents government officals from testifying in Senate hearings without Malacanang’s permission, constitute suppression of the truth? Was the prevention of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Senga and six other officers from testifying before the Senate with regard the “Hello, Garci” scandal tantamount to a suppression of the truth? Was disallowing Brig. Gen. Quevedo, Lt. Col Capuyan and Lt. Col. Sumayo from appearing before the Lower House an instance of hindering the truth from surfacing?
And regarding harassment of those who proclaim the truth: Are the abduction of Jun Lozada and the decision to court-marshall Gen. Gudani and Col. Balutan for disregarding Malacanang’s order not to testify before the Senate examples of punishing those who come forth to tell the truth?
By conflating one’s responses to all these questions does one arrive not at hard evidence showing culpapility on the part of some government officials, but a ghestalt, an image which nonetheless demands our assessment and judgment. I invite all of you then to consider these two methods of evaluating and judging the moral credibility of any government, the moral credibility of our present government.
Allow me to end with a few words about an Ignatian virtue, familiaritas cum Deo. To become familiar with God involves the illumination of the intellect, coming to know who God is and what God wills. But it also involves the conversion of the affect, the reconfiguration of the heart. Becoming familiar with God entails trasforming and conforming my thinking, my feeling and my doing in accordance to the Lord’s, which can only be the work of grace.
Familiarity with God thus entail rejoicing in what God delights—the truth; abhoring what God detests—falsehood; being pained by what breaks the heart of God—the persecution of truth-seekers. Familiary with God means sharing the passion of God for the truth and the pathos of God whenever the truth and the bearers of truth are overcome by the forces of the lie.
On this Second Sunday of Lent, as we contemplate the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Horeb, we pray that our hearts and minds be so transfigured and so conformed to the mind, heart and will of the Jesus, our way, our life, and our truth.
May the Lord bless and protect you, Jun, and your family. May the Lord bless and guide us all into the way of truth. Amen.
For those of you who missed the La Salle Greenhills mass, here's the entire homily.
The truth shall indeed set us free.
Im a proud owner o fthe T-shirt with the words: "Ang salitang Pilipino ay hindi tumutukoy sa isang pamilya lamang...Kundi sa isang Bayang Pilipino." .... Probinsyanong Intsik!!
Wow, saludo!! I will proudly wear that t-shirt to proclaim to the world that here's one brave man who lighted the candle in the darkest hours, knowing that in so doing he is burning himself to give light to others.
I was standing beside Dr Bien Lumbera and his wife shane as we tearfully sang Bayan Ko and I recalled the days when dr bien was incarcerated by Marcos and we visited them and the other prisoners at Fort Bonifacio, bringing dried shredded pork to provide them with some protein. the dried pork was bought with the very little money that we had then.
Lumuluha ang inang bayan, hinahanap ang tapat na sambayanan.
tessy
RECLAIMING OUR HUMANITY
MASS FOR JUN LOZADA
LA SALLE GYMNASIUM, GREENHILLS
17 FEBRUARY 2008
On this Second Sunday of Lent, during which we are asked to reflect on the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, I wish to touch on three themes that have to do with our moral transformation as a people: first, Ascertaining Credibility; second, Rediscovering our Humanity; and third, Witnessing to the Truth. In so doing, I hope to invite all of you to reflect more deeply on how we, as a nation, might respond to the present political crisis in which our identity and ethos, our convictions and integrity, in fact, who we are as a people, are at stake.
I. ASCERTAINING CREDIBILITY
Jun, as Sen. Miriam Santiago has grilled you to ascertain your credibility (or was it to undermine your credibility?), allow me to raise some important questions to consider in the very process of discerning your credibility. Allow me to do so by drawing on my own counseling experience.
Very often, a young rape victim initially suppresses his or her awful and painful story, indeed wills to forget it, in the hope that by forgetting, he or she can pretend it never happened. But very often, too, there comes a point when concealing the truth becomes unbearable, and the desperate attempts to supposedly preserve life and sanity become increasingly untenable.
At this point the victim of abuse decides to seek help. But even after having taken this step, the victim, devastated and confused, will tell his or her story with much hesitation and trepidation. It should be easy to imagine why. In telling the truth, one risks casting shame on himself or herself, subjecting oneself to intense scrutiny and skepticism, and jeopardizing one’s safety and those of his or her loved ones, especially when one dares to go up against an older or more powerful person.
Similarly, it is easy to imagine why Jun would initially refuse to challenge the might of Malacanang. Who in his or her right mind would accuse Malacanang of crimes against our people and implicate the First Family in a sordid tale of greed and corruption, knowing that by doing so, one endangers one’s life and the lives of his or her loved ones? We are, after all, living in dangerous times, where the government has not hesitated to use everything in its power to keep itself in power, where it has yet to explain and solve the numerous cases of extra-judicial killings.
But Jun is in his right mind. His story rings true especially in the face of the perils that he has had to face. And by his courage, Jun has also shown that it is not only that he is in his right mind; his heart is also in the right place.
Hence, my personal verdict: Jun, I believe that you are a credible witness. And if hundreds have gathered here this morning, it is probably because they also believe in you. Mga kapatid, naniniwala ba kayo kay Jun Lozada? Naniniwala ba kayo sa kanyang testimonya? Kung gayon, palakpakan po natin ang Probinsyanong Intsik, si Mr. Jun Lozada.
Jun, we hope that by our presence here, you may find some consolation. Pope Benedict XVI writes that “con-solatio” or consolation means “being with the other in his or her solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.” Jun, be assured that your solitude is no longer isolation as we profess our solidarity with you. Hindi ka nag-iisa. We are committed to stay the course and to do our best to protect you and your family and the truth you have proclaimed.
II. REDISCOVERING OUR HUMANITY
What makes Jun a credible witness to us?
I think Jun is credible not simply by virtue of his being an eyewitness to the unmitigated greed of some of our public officials. Perhaps more importantly, Jun is credible because he has witnessed to us what it means to be truly human.
Which leads me to my second theme: What does it mean to be human? How might we rediscover our humanity?
Allow me to quote Pope Benedict XVI, who in his latest encyclical, Spe Salvi, has written: “the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life becomes a lie. . . For this … we need witnesses—martyrs …. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day.”
Our Holy Father concludes, “the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity.”
Isn’t this the reason we emulate our martyrs: Jose Rizal, Gomburza, Evelio Javier, Macli-ing Dulag, Cesar Climaco and Ninoy Aquino? They have borne witness for us what it means to be truly human—to be able to suffer for the sake of others and for the sake of the truth.
I remember Cory recalling a conversation she had with Ninoy while they were in exile in Boston. Cory asked Ninoy what he thought might happen to him once he set foot in Manila. Ninoy said there were three possibilities: one, that he would be rearrested and detained once more in Fort Bonifacio; two, that he would be held under house arrest; and three, that he would be assassinated.
“Then why go home?” Cory asked.
To which Ninoy answered: “Because I cannot allow myself to die a senseless death, such as being run over by a taxi cab in New York. I have to go home and convince Ferdinand Marcos to set our people free.”
Witnessing to one’s deepest convictions, notwithstanding the consequences, is the measure of our humanity. Proclaiming the truth to others, whatever the cost, is the mark of authentic humanity.
Jun, we know you have feared for your life and continue to do so. But in transcending your fears for yourself and your family, you have reclaimed your humanity. And your courage and humility, despite harassment and calumniation by government forces, embolden us to retrieve and reclaim our humanity tarnished by our cowardice and complicity with sin in the world. You have inspired us to be true to ourselves and to submit to and serve the truth that transcends all of us.
III. WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH
This leads us to our third and last theme: witnessing to the truth. In his encyclical, Pacem in Terris, Pope John XXIII exhorts that it is the fundamental duty of the government to uphold the truth: “A political society is to be considered well-ordered, beneficial and in keeping with human dignity if it grounded on truth.” Moreover, the encyclical explains that unless a society is anchored on the truth, there can be no authentic justice, charity and freedom.
Every government is therefore obliged to serve the truth if it is to truly serve the people. Its moral credibility and authority over a people is based on the extent of its defense of and submission to the truth. Insofar as a government is remiss in upholding the truth, insofar as a government actively suppresses the truth, it loses its authority vested upon it by the people.
At this juncture, allow me to raise a delicate question: At what point does an administration lose its moral authority over its constituents?
First, a clear tipping point is the surfacing of hard evidence signifying undeniable complicity of certain government officials in corruption and injustice, evidence that can be substantiated in court.
Hence, during the Marcos Regime, the manipulation of Snap Election results as attested to by the tabulators who walked out of the PICC was clear evidence of the administration’s disregard for and manipulation of the collective will of the people in order to remain in power..
During the Erap Administration, the testimony of Clarissa Ocampo, claiming that Pres. Erap had falsified Equitable Bank documents by signing as Jose Velarde, was the smoking gun that triggered the rage of our people.
Allow me to respond to the same question by pursue an alternative track of argument: an administration loses it moral authority over its people when it fails in its fundamental duty to uphold the truth, when it is constituted by an ethos of falsehood. When a pattern of negligence in investigating the truth, suppressing the truth and harassing those who proclaim the truth is reasonably established, then a government, in principle, loses its right to rule over and represent the people.
Regarding negligence: Do the unresolved cases, such as the the failed automation of the national elections, the fertilizer scam, the extra-judicial killings, and the “Hello, Garci” scandal, constitute negligence on the part of the GMA Administartion to probe and ferret out the truth?
Regarding covering-up the truth: Does the abduction of Jun Lozada and the twisting and manipulation of his narrative by Malacanang’s minions constitute concealment of the truth? Was the padlocking of the office of Asst. Gov’t Counsel Gonzales who testified before the Senate regarding the North Rail project anomaly an instance of covering-up the truth?
Regarding the suppression of the truth: Does the issuance and implementation of E.O. 464, which prevents government officals from testifying in Senate hearings without Malacanang’s permission, constitute suppression of the truth? Was the prevention of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Senga and six other officers from testifying before the Senate with regard the “Hello, Garci” scandal tantamount to a suppression of the truth? Was disallowing Brig. Gen. Quevedo, Lt. Col Capuyan and Lt. Col. Sumayo from appearing before the Lower House an instance of hindering the truth from surfacing?
And regarding harassment of those who proclaim the truth: Are the abduction of Jun Lozada and the decision to court-marshall Gen. Gudani and Col. Balutan for disregarding Malacanang’s order not to testify before the Senate examples of punishing those who come forth to tell the truth?
By conflating one’s responses to all these questions does one arrive not at hard evidence showing culpapility on the part of some government officials, but a ghestalt, an image which nonetheless demands our assessment and judgment. I invite all of you then to consider these two methods of evaluating and judging the moral credibility of any government, the moral credibility of our present government.
Allow me to end with a few words about an Ignatian virtue, familiaritas cum Deo. To become familiar with God involves the illumination of the intellect, coming to know who God is and what God wills. But it also involves the conversion of the affect, the reconfiguration of the heart. Becoming familiar with God entails trasforming and conforming my thinking, my feeling and my doing in accordance to the Lord’s, which can only be the work of grace.
Familiarity with God thus entail rejoicing in what God delights—the truth; abhoring what God detests—falsehood; being pained by what breaks the heart of God—the persecution of truth-seekers. Familiary with God means sharing the passion of God for the truth and the pathos of God whenever the truth and the bearers of truth are overcome by the forces of the lie.
On this Second Sunday of Lent, as we contemplate the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Horeb, we pray that our hearts and minds be so transfigured and so conformed to the mind, heart and will of the Jesus, our way, our life, and our truth.
May the Lord bless and protect you, Jun, and your family. May the Lord bless and guide us all into the way of truth. Amen.
Final 2007 Stoker Ballot
The Final 2007 Stoker Ballot has been announced! Totoo na itech, mga kafatid!
Final 2007 Stoker Ballot
Superior Achievement in a Novel
THE GUARDENER'S TALE by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot
Publishing)
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper)
THE TERROR by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Superior Achievement in a First Novel
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
I WILL RISE by Michael Calvillo (Lachesis Publishing)
THE MEMORY TREE by John R. Little (Nocturne Press)
THE WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman (Crown)
THE HOLLOWER by Mary SanGiovanni (Leisure Books)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck
(Five Strokes to Midnight)
ALMOST THE LAST STORY BY ALMOST THE LAST MAN by Scott
Edelman (Postscripts)
GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann (Burning
Effigy Press)
THE TENTH MUSE by William Browning Spencer
AN APIARY OF WHITE BEES by Lee Thomas (Inferno)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
THE DEATH WAGON ROLLS ON BY by C. Dean Andersson
(Cemetery Dance #57)
LETTING GO by John Everson (Needles and Sins)
THE TEACHER by Paul G. Tremblay (Chizine)
THERE'S NO LIGHT BETWEEN FLOORS by Paul G. Tremblay
(Clarkesworld)
CLOSET DREAMS by Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts #10)
THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson
(Defining Moments)
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and
Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press)
INFERNO edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
DARK DELICACIES 2: FEAR edited by Del Howison & Jeff
Gelb (Carroll & Graf/Avalon)
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE edited by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery
Dance Publications)
AT EASE WITH THE DEAD edited by Barbara & Christopher
Roden (Ash-Tree Press)
Superior Achievement in a Collection
PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark
Regions Press)
THE IMAGO SEQUENCE by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
OLD DEVIL MOON by Christopher Fowler (Serpent’s Tail)
5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands)
DEFINING MOMENTS by David Niall Wilson (Sarob Press)
Superior Achievement in Nonfiction
ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA by Joshua Gee (Scholastic)
THE PORTABLE OBITUARY: HOW THE FAMOUS, RICH, AND
POWERFUL REALLY DIED by Michael Largo (Harper)
THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange &
Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F.
Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington)
STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED by Joe Nassise and David Niall
Wilson (Storytellers Unplugged)
Superior Achievement in Poetry
BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison
(Space and Time)
HERESY by Charlee Jacob (Bedlam Press [Necro
Publications])
VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee
Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press)
PHANTASMAPEDIA by Mark McLaughlin (Dead Letter Press)
OSSUARY by JoSelle Vanderhooft (Sam’s Dot Publishing)
Final 2007 Stoker Ballot
Superior Achievement in a Novel
THE GUARDENER'S TALE by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot
Publishing)
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper)
THE TERROR by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Superior Achievement in a First Novel
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
I WILL RISE by Michael Calvillo (Lachesis Publishing)
THE MEMORY TREE by John R. Little (Nocturne Press)
THE WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman (Crown)
THE HOLLOWER by Mary SanGiovanni (Leisure Books)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck
(Five Strokes to Midnight)
ALMOST THE LAST STORY BY ALMOST THE LAST MAN by Scott
Edelman (Postscripts)
GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann (Burning
Effigy Press)
THE TENTH MUSE by William Browning Spencer
AN APIARY OF WHITE BEES by Lee Thomas (Inferno)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
THE DEATH WAGON ROLLS ON BY by C. Dean Andersson
(Cemetery Dance #57)
LETTING GO by John Everson (Needles and Sins)
THE TEACHER by Paul G. Tremblay (Chizine)
THERE'S NO LIGHT BETWEEN FLOORS by Paul G. Tremblay
(Clarkesworld)
CLOSET DREAMS by Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts #10)
THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson
(Defining Moments)
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and
Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press)
INFERNO edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
DARK DELICACIES 2: FEAR edited by Del Howison & Jeff
Gelb (Carroll & Graf/Avalon)
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE edited by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery
Dance Publications)
AT EASE WITH THE DEAD edited by Barbara & Christopher
Roden (Ash-Tree Press)
Superior Achievement in a Collection
PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark
Regions Press)
THE IMAGO SEQUENCE by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
OLD DEVIL MOON by Christopher Fowler (Serpent’s Tail)
5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands)
DEFINING MOMENTS by David Niall Wilson (Sarob Press)
Superior Achievement in Nonfiction
ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA by Joshua Gee (Scholastic)
THE PORTABLE OBITUARY: HOW THE FAMOUS, RICH, AND
POWERFUL REALLY DIED by Michael Largo (Harper)
THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange &
Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F.
Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington)
STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED by Joe Nassise and David Niall
Wilson (Storytellers Unplugged)
Superior Achievement in Poetry
BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison
(Space and Time)
HERESY by Charlee Jacob (Bedlam Press [Necro
Publications])
VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee
Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press)
PHANTASMAPEDIA by Mark McLaughlin (Dead Letter Press)
OSSUARY by JoSelle Vanderhooft (Sam’s Dot Publishing)
Friday, February 15, 2008
Final 2007 Stoker Ballot
The Final 2007 Stoker Ballot has been announced! Totoo na itech, mga kafatid! Congrats to all who made it. Whatever happens,it's as if you've already won! :D
Final 2007 Stoker Ballot
Superior Achievement in a Novel
THE GUARDENER'S TALE by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot
Publishing)
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper)
THE TERROR by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Superior Achievement in a First Novel
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
I WILL RISE by Michael Calvillo (Lachesis Publishing)
THE MEMORY TREE by John R. Little (Nocturne Press)
THE WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman (Crown)
THE HOLLOWER by Mary SanGiovanni (Leisure Books)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck
(Five Strokes to Midnight)
ALMOST THE LAST STORY BY ALMOST THE LAST MAN by Scott
Edelman (Postscripts)
GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann (Burning
Effigy Press)
THE TENTH MUSE by William Browning Spencer
AN APIARY OF WHITE BEES by Lee Thomas (Inferno)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
THE DEATH WAGON ROLLS ON BY by C. Dean Andersson
(Cemetery Dance #57)
LETTING GO by John Everson (Needles and Sins)
THE TEACHER by Paul G. Tremblay (Chizine)
THERE'S NO LIGHT BETWEEN FLOORS by Paul G. Tremblay
(Clarkesworld)
CLOSET DREAMS by Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts #10)
THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson
(Defining Moments)
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and
Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press)
INFERNO edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
DARK DELICACIES 2: FEAR edited by Del Howison & Jeff
Gelb (Carroll & Graf/Avalon)
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE edited by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery
Dance Publications)
AT EASE WITH THE DEAD edited by Barbara & Christopher
Roden (Ash-Tree Press)
Superior Achievement in a Collection
PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark
Regions Press)
THE IMAGO SEQUENCE by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
OLD DEVIL MOON by Christopher Fowler (Serpent’s Tail)
5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands)
DEFINING MOMENTS by David Niall Wilson (Sarob Press)
Superior Achievement in Nonfiction
ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA by Joshua Gee (Scholastic)
THE PORTABLE OBITUARY: HOW THE FAMOUS, RICH, AND
POWERFUL REALLY DIED by Michael Largo (Harper)
THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange &
Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F.
Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington)
STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED by Joe Nassise and David Niall
Wilson (Storytellers Unplugged)
Superior Achievement in Poetry
BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison
(Space and Time)
HERESY by Charlee Jacob (Bedlam Press [Necro
Publications])
VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee
Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press)
PHANTASMAPEDIA by Mark McLaughlin (Dead Letter Press)
OSSUARY by JoSelle Vanderhooft (Sam’s Dot Publishing)
Final 2007 Stoker Ballot
Superior Achievement in a Novel
THE GUARDENER'S TALE by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot
Publishing)
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper)
THE TERROR by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Superior Achievement in a First Novel
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
I WILL RISE by Michael Calvillo (Lachesis Publishing)
THE MEMORY TREE by John R. Little (Nocturne Press)
THE WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman (Crown)
THE HOLLOWER by Mary SanGiovanni (Leisure Books)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck
(Five Strokes to Midnight)
ALMOST THE LAST STORY BY ALMOST THE LAST MAN by Scott
Edelman (Postscripts)
GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann (Burning
Effigy Press)
THE TENTH MUSE by William Browning Spencer
AN APIARY OF WHITE BEES by Lee Thomas (Inferno)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
THE DEATH WAGON ROLLS ON BY by C. Dean Andersson
(Cemetery Dance #57)
LETTING GO by John Everson (Needles and Sins)
THE TEACHER by Paul G. Tremblay (Chizine)
THERE'S NO LIGHT BETWEEN FLOORS by Paul G. Tremblay
(Clarkesworld)
CLOSET DREAMS by Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts #10)
THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson
(Defining Moments)
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and
Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press)
INFERNO edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
DARK DELICACIES 2: FEAR edited by Del Howison & Jeff
Gelb (Carroll & Graf/Avalon)
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE edited by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery
Dance Publications)
AT EASE WITH THE DEAD edited by Barbara & Christopher
Roden (Ash-Tree Press)
Superior Achievement in a Collection
PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark
Regions Press)
THE IMAGO SEQUENCE by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
OLD DEVIL MOON by Christopher Fowler (Serpent’s Tail)
5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands)
DEFINING MOMENTS by David Niall Wilson (Sarob Press)
Superior Achievement in Nonfiction
ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA by Joshua Gee (Scholastic)
THE PORTABLE OBITUARY: HOW THE FAMOUS, RICH, AND
POWERFUL REALLY DIED by Michael Largo (Harper)
THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange &
Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F.
Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington)
STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED by Joe Nassise and David Niall
Wilson (Storytellers Unplugged)
Superior Achievement in Poetry
BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison
(Space and Time)
HERESY by Charlee Jacob (Bedlam Press [Necro
Publications])
VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee
Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press)
PHANTASMAPEDIA by Mark McLaughlin (Dead Letter Press)
OSSUARY by JoSelle Vanderhooft (Sam’s Dot Publishing)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day
Today we remember the bloody St. Valentine's Day Massacre that happened in downtown Chicago during the prohibition area.
The area has been said to be haunted ever since, and even the bricks from the warehouse, which was torn down, have been said to bring misfortune and bad luck.
The area has been said to be haunted ever since, and even the bricks from the warehouse, which was torn down, have been said to bring misfortune and bad luck.
The Writer's Strike is Over
The Writer's Strike is Over
From www.poewar.com:
The WGA and the AMPTP have made nice with each other. We can now look forward to at least a few more episodes of our favorite TV shows this season. Speaking as a geek, I’m especially glad that Smallville will have an opportunity to wrap up some storylines before Michael Rosenbaum exits.
It would have been a shame to have Lex Luthor leave without a few more explosions and chewed-up scenery. I predict that he discovers Clark’s “secret” just before he “dies”. Sadly, 24 and Heroes will apparently not be seen until next season. As for the rest of the shows returning or not, it’s hard to get too concerned. As far as I am concerned, this strike uninterrupted what was already the worst TV season in several years.
Read more
From www.poewar.com:
The WGA and the AMPTP have made nice with each other. We can now look forward to at least a few more episodes of our favorite TV shows this season. Speaking as a geek, I’m especially glad that Smallville will have an opportunity to wrap up some storylines before Michael Rosenbaum exits.
It would have been a shame to have Lex Luthor leave without a few more explosions and chewed-up scenery. I predict that he discovers Clark’s “secret” just before he “dies”. Sadly, 24 and Heroes will apparently not be seen until next season. As for the rest of the shows returning or not, it’s hard to get too concerned. As far as I am concerned, this strike uninterrupted what was already the worst TV season in several years.
Read more
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
PGS4 Out Soon
Kenneth Yu posted about the upcoming issue of the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories, where yours truly is a contributor.
I had submitted a fantasy story, I know, I know, not my style but believe it or not, fantasy was what I started out with, and this is an example of my earlier work. I hope you get to read it and let me know what you think.
I had submitted a fantasy story, I know, I know, not my style but believe it or not, fantasy was what I started out with, and this is an example of my earlier work. I hope you get to read it and let me know what you think.
Rogue February 2008
Just saw the February 2008 issue of Rogue magazine, the one with KC Concepcion on the cover. Apparently, the issue is almost sold out, most probably because of the feature on photographer Shawn Yao, where she does yoga half-naked.
My article on my encounter with Neil Gaiman appears in this issue, accompanied by beautiful photographs taken by At Maculangan, who also photographed Cirio and Eddie.
My article on my encounter with Neil Gaiman appears in this issue, accompanied by beautiful photographs taken by At Maculangan, who also photographed Cirio and Eddie.
UP Fair 2008
When Luis suggested that we attend the Sandwich S Marks the Spot album launch at the UP Fair, I was more than raring to go. It's been a while since I've attended a rock gig, almost a year, in fact, since my corpie job kept me from staying up late, even on weekends. “It's going to be like Mordor,” he texted, “Dress accordingly.”
I would like to say that I donned mithril and had use of Sting, but that's not true. Instead, I found myself in jeans, my Khao San Road t-shirt, and Salomon sneakers. It's been a while since I've worn rubber shoes, having lived the past year in my Havianas because I was too lazy. I couldn't believe how much I missed my Salomons. Wearing comfortable, lace-up shoes freed my mind from worrying about my footwear. I also decided to travel light, stuffing everything into my jeans pocket instead of using a bag. The effect was liberating. I felt like I had nothing to worry about, that I could do anything.
My 0-Encumbrance essentials are:
1.Money (More than enough, so that I would not need to withdraw)
2.Keys
3.Phone (I can do most anything with my MotoMing)
4.Lip Balm (I brought my Khiels)
5.Oil Blotting Sheets (Unfortunately, I didn't have the powdered kind)
We had dinner at the Middle Eastern restaurant near the UP swimming pool, then made our way to the Sunken Garden, where the fair was being held. We could hear the concert from afar – there was Hilera and Pedicab, two bands that I like.
We bought tickets then were herded like sheep through male and female entrances, our tickets torn, our bodies lightly frisked, before being allowed to duck under an overturned soccer goal post which signaled the entrance to the fair proper.
What we saw surprised us. The UP fairs we were used to had a few people standing near the stage watching the show, with a couple hundred groups sitting on the grass while everyone else weaved through the different booths or went for the rides. This year, almost everyone was watching the show. In fact, the crowd around the stage was so thick that they reached way, way back, taking up (what looked like) half the Sunken Garden, almost touching the food booths.
We heard the Itchyworms play as we walked around, examining how the booths had changed over the years. Now, t-shirt and a henna tattoo/ body piercing booths dominated the landscape, when they only had about one or two before. Also, small but popular restaurants like Tomatokick and Cow King made their presence felt via booths. There were also an inordiante number of shawarma stands, which was surprising because I had thought that the shawarma craze had died in the 90's.
Luis got a text telling us to head backstage, so we ambled over to the side of one of the stages (there were three stages, also a first, with one of them dedicated to Sandwich). Either we look like rock stars or we look older than the college crowd or Luis has become a bigger celebrity than he already is because no one gave us any trouble while we went backstage. The guards let us through without question while keeping students at bay. When we found the person who had texted him, she informed us that we were on the guest list at the backstage entrance, which means that we paid Php85 x 2 for nothing!
It was my first time backstage at a UP fair. The atmosphere was electric. There was an open bar that served vodka-infused cocktails. Musicians and their friends hung out, with a constant stream of people coming in and out of the area.
Ace of Bagetsofonik, one of he earlier performers, described the scene best. He said, “I'm glad you guys are here because this,” he said, indicating the crowd beyond the stage, “has never happened before.” He went on to describe the three stages, the way the crowd had slowly trickled in during the afternoon until they had become the mob that we saw in front of the stages.
We stayed backstage, hanging out with Ace and Jovan, listening to Sugarfree, The Dawn, Chicosci, Urbandub, and Sandwich's one hour set, which included songs from their new album, as well as old favorites. They even played my favorite Sandwich song, “Butterfly Carnival,” with Marc Abaya, their original frontman, as guest. I have always wanted to hear the song performed live, and now I have. A tiny part of me wished that I was in the mosh pit while the song was being performed, but I was content to stand where I was and sing along.
I saw Ronnie, who had been drinking since 4pm and who made me drink one of those flaming cocktails that were being served, a yummy, guava and grenadine-infused shot of vodka lit up with a torch so that you had to drink the whole thing through a straw. It was, I think, the reason I was slightly tipsy the whole night after. So Ronnie, it's all your fault, not that I mind. :) Ran into other people too – Denise, Zach, Erwin, Quark, Nina... it was one big party and to someone (ie. me) who hadn't been to a rock gig in so long, it was as if I had been let lose from a prison, returned to a world I thought I would have to leave behind but now, thankfully, I had found again.
I would like to say that I donned mithril and had use of Sting, but that's not true. Instead, I found myself in jeans, my Khao San Road t-shirt, and Salomon sneakers. It's been a while since I've worn rubber shoes, having lived the past year in my Havianas because I was too lazy. I couldn't believe how much I missed my Salomons. Wearing comfortable, lace-up shoes freed my mind from worrying about my footwear. I also decided to travel light, stuffing everything into my jeans pocket instead of using a bag. The effect was liberating. I felt like I had nothing to worry about, that I could do anything.
My 0-Encumbrance essentials are:
1.Money (More than enough, so that I would not need to withdraw)
2.Keys
3.Phone (I can do most anything with my MotoMing)
4.Lip Balm (I brought my Khiels)
5.Oil Blotting Sheets (Unfortunately, I didn't have the powdered kind)
We had dinner at the Middle Eastern restaurant near the UP swimming pool, then made our way to the Sunken Garden, where the fair was being held. We could hear the concert from afar – there was Hilera and Pedicab, two bands that I like.
We bought tickets then were herded like sheep through male and female entrances, our tickets torn, our bodies lightly frisked, before being allowed to duck under an overturned soccer goal post which signaled the entrance to the fair proper.
What we saw surprised us. The UP fairs we were used to had a few people standing near the stage watching the show, with a couple hundred groups sitting on the grass while everyone else weaved through the different booths or went for the rides. This year, almost everyone was watching the show. In fact, the crowd around the stage was so thick that they reached way, way back, taking up (what looked like) half the Sunken Garden, almost touching the food booths.
We heard the Itchyworms play as we walked around, examining how the booths had changed over the years. Now, t-shirt and a henna tattoo/ body piercing booths dominated the landscape, when they only had about one or two before. Also, small but popular restaurants like Tomatokick and Cow King made their presence felt via booths. There were also an inordiante number of shawarma stands, which was surprising because I had thought that the shawarma craze had died in the 90's.
Luis got a text telling us to head backstage, so we ambled over to the side of one of the stages (there were three stages, also a first, with one of them dedicated to Sandwich). Either we look like rock stars or we look older than the college crowd or Luis has become a bigger celebrity than he already is because no one gave us any trouble while we went backstage. The guards let us through without question while keeping students at bay. When we found the person who had texted him, she informed us that we were on the guest list at the backstage entrance, which means that we paid Php85 x 2 for nothing!
It was my first time backstage at a UP fair. The atmosphere was electric. There was an open bar that served vodka-infused cocktails. Musicians and their friends hung out, with a constant stream of people coming in and out of the area.
Ace of Bagetsofonik, one of he earlier performers, described the scene best. He said, “I'm glad you guys are here because this,” he said, indicating the crowd beyond the stage, “has never happened before.” He went on to describe the three stages, the way the crowd had slowly trickled in during the afternoon until they had become the mob that we saw in front of the stages.
We stayed backstage, hanging out with Ace and Jovan, listening to Sugarfree, The Dawn, Chicosci, Urbandub, and Sandwich's one hour set, which included songs from their new album, as well as old favorites. They even played my favorite Sandwich song, “Butterfly Carnival,” with Marc Abaya, their original frontman, as guest. I have always wanted to hear the song performed live, and now I have. A tiny part of me wished that I was in the mosh pit while the song was being performed, but I was content to stand where I was and sing along.
I saw Ronnie, who had been drinking since 4pm and who made me drink one of those flaming cocktails that were being served, a yummy, guava and grenadine-infused shot of vodka lit up with a torch so that you had to drink the whole thing through a straw. It was, I think, the reason I was slightly tipsy the whole night after. So Ronnie, it's all your fault, not that I mind. :) Ran into other people too – Denise, Zach, Erwin, Quark, Nina... it was one big party and to someone (ie. me) who hadn't been to a rock gig in so long, it was as if I had been let lose from a prison, returned to a world I thought I would have to leave behind but now, thankfully, I had found again.
Kick Some Ice
I hate figure skating and I hate figure skating movies. It's one of those things that little girls are drawn to, like ponies and princesses and the color pink. While I haven't actively avoided figure skating movies, each time I watch one, I am reminded (usually by a wave of nausea, followed by projectile vomiting) about how useless and grossly romantic they are. And when it comes to the sport, I say, “Hello, Philippines, tropical country!” Jamaica may have a bobsledding team but at least bobsledding isn't, you know, princessy (my disdain for everything that aims to push the princess angle on unassuming little girls does not explain my love for the Princess Diary movies.) Ick. My only concession to the 'sport' of figure skating is Johnny Weir, and even he is a little princessy.
My sister is the total opposite. She inhales figure skating movies. I swear, if what you saw on screen and on TV were junk food, then my sister would be able to subsist on a diet of figure skating films and episodes of Oprah, with some Rachel Ray thrown in for variety.
So imagine how surprised I was when my sister brought home a figure skating movie that I did want to watch. You guessed it. Will Ferrel and Jon Heder's Blades of Glory.
A figure skating movie that pokes fun at the “seriousness” of figure skating movies. I'm of the belief that most sports movies (I hate sports, I love watching sports movies. In the same way I don't play well with others but like movies that emphasize team spirit. Go figure) are meant to be fun, and no, an overly romantic plotline does not give one permission to descend into the pit of psudeo-drama. Good thing there is, at this point, zero chance of this happening in a Will Ferrel or a Jon Heder movie, and even less than zero chance in a movie that stars them both.
And though Blades of Glory was meant to be one of those easily consumed, mindless brain junk, a closer look will tell you that the movie is actually cleverly thought out, easily consumed, mindless brain junk. The storyline is deceptively simple, even as comedies go, yet has seemingly random elements that later all fall into place. Unfortunately, the script isn't perfect, so some of those seemingly random events turn out to be just that – random. But that's part of the sacrifice I'm guessing the scriptwriter had to make in order to make the story flow faster.
Ferrel stars as Chazz Michael Michaels, a self-taught lone wolf star who relies on improvisation while Heder is Jimmy MacElroy, a skating protégé whose classic technique relies on constant practice. They two get into a fight on TV and are banned from skating in the single men's division forever. So they team up and skate as an all-male pair. Though the film does contain homosexual jokes, the two lead characters are always portrayed as straight. Michaels is a sex addict while MacElroy is struggling with his first crush.
Ferrel and Heder are two great actors, but in this movie, their co-stars didn't lack for talent, either. Almost all the actors in this movie played their parts very well, never going out of character and glossing each of their actions with a desperate air of trying to take oneself seriously, but not too much – just the kind of acting you need in a film that aims to poke fun at itself and the films it is spoofing.
Will Arnett and Amy Poehler, who play antagonists Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg, a brother-sister American skating duo, are fun to watch. They positively reek of sexual tension, which makes the movie even funnier. If anything, it was Jenna Fisher, who plays their sister Katie (who is also Heder's love interest) whose performance was the most lackluster and whose character was the most underdeveloped.
Everyone's acting wasn't so over the top so that you *knew* that they were conscious that they were spoofing something, and there was enough genuine feeling in the way they played their roles so that you couldn't help but feel for them anyway.
Another thing that I was impressed with was the directing, which was actually more artistically interesting than necessary for a film such as this (my favorite scene is when Fairchild destroys her necklace). The choreography was also well thought out, and made figure skating look exciting to watch.
I watched this movie three times in two days. That doesn't beat my sister, who watched it six times in the same span of time. What Blades of Glory taught me is that a skating movie need not be lame, and a movie whose premise involves two guys touching each other in strange places need not be gay.
My sister is the total opposite. She inhales figure skating movies. I swear, if what you saw on screen and on TV were junk food, then my sister would be able to subsist on a diet of figure skating films and episodes of Oprah, with some Rachel Ray thrown in for variety.
So imagine how surprised I was when my sister brought home a figure skating movie that I did want to watch. You guessed it. Will Ferrel and Jon Heder's Blades of Glory.
A figure skating movie that pokes fun at the “seriousness” of figure skating movies. I'm of the belief that most sports movies (I hate sports, I love watching sports movies. In the same way I don't play well with others but like movies that emphasize team spirit. Go figure) are meant to be fun, and no, an overly romantic plotline does not give one permission to descend into the pit of psudeo-drama. Good thing there is, at this point, zero chance of this happening in a Will Ferrel or a Jon Heder movie, and even less than zero chance in a movie that stars them both.
And though Blades of Glory was meant to be one of those easily consumed, mindless brain junk, a closer look will tell you that the movie is actually cleverly thought out, easily consumed, mindless brain junk. The storyline is deceptively simple, even as comedies go, yet has seemingly random elements that later all fall into place. Unfortunately, the script isn't perfect, so some of those seemingly random events turn out to be just that – random. But that's part of the sacrifice I'm guessing the scriptwriter had to make in order to make the story flow faster.
Ferrel stars as Chazz Michael Michaels, a self-taught lone wolf star who relies on improvisation while Heder is Jimmy MacElroy, a skating protégé whose classic technique relies on constant practice. They two get into a fight on TV and are banned from skating in the single men's division forever. So they team up and skate as an all-male pair. Though the film does contain homosexual jokes, the two lead characters are always portrayed as straight. Michaels is a sex addict while MacElroy is struggling with his first crush.
Ferrel and Heder are two great actors, but in this movie, their co-stars didn't lack for talent, either. Almost all the actors in this movie played their parts very well, never going out of character and glossing each of their actions with a desperate air of trying to take oneself seriously, but not too much – just the kind of acting you need in a film that aims to poke fun at itself and the films it is spoofing.
Will Arnett and Amy Poehler, who play antagonists Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg, a brother-sister American skating duo, are fun to watch. They positively reek of sexual tension, which makes the movie even funnier. If anything, it was Jenna Fisher, who plays their sister Katie (who is also Heder's love interest) whose performance was the most lackluster and whose character was the most underdeveloped.
Everyone's acting wasn't so over the top so that you *knew* that they were conscious that they were spoofing something, and there was enough genuine feeling in the way they played their roles so that you couldn't help but feel for them anyway.
Another thing that I was impressed with was the directing, which was actually more artistically interesting than necessary for a film such as this (my favorite scene is when Fairchild destroys her necklace). The choreography was also well thought out, and made figure skating look exciting to watch.
I watched this movie three times in two days. That doesn't beat my sister, who watched it six times in the same span of time. What Blades of Glory taught me is that a skating movie need not be lame, and a movie whose premise involves two guys touching each other in strange places need not be gay.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
More Shameless Self Promotion
Two more publications my byline appears in this month:
Homestyle (Feb 2008)
Wrote the cover story, writer and avant garde designer Cecille Zamora's wonderful glass house. Also did a piece on light sculptress Nina Laurel.
Filipinas (Feb 2008)
Wrote a piece on Fil-Am singer and all around nice guy Jay-R.
Homestyle (Feb 2008)
Wrote the cover story, writer and avant garde designer Cecille Zamora's wonderful glass house. Also did a piece on light sculptress Nina Laurel.
Filipinas (Feb 2008)
Wrote a piece on Fil-Am singer and all around nice guy Jay-R.
Boys are Stupid or It's Alive, It's Alive!
A college friend of mine, especially after a romance gone sour, is of the belief that Boys are stupid. Not a far cry from the David and Goliath Boys are Smelly t-shirts, but while the latter is cute (and more often than not, untrue), the latter does have a basis, if not reality, then in literature.
Part of my undergrad thesis involved explaining why the idea of the mad scientist is scary. The short version is this: The mad scientist, usually male, seeks to replicate the life-giving force of the fertile female via science.
Unable to accept that there's something a female can do that males can't (they've already claimed the Being Able To Pee Standing Up Award, they should be happy and let it go at that), and something so critical to the continuation of the human race, no less, he's decided to try his hand at it as well. This is where the theory branches out. If the scientist succeeds, the story is either fantasy or science fiction. If he fails, it's horror.
I had a whole paper about this but to make it short, men should not tamper with what only God (or gods, depending on what you believe in) can do. It's by playing creator that man wreaks havoc on himself.
moar funny pictures
Part of my undergrad thesis involved explaining why the idea of the mad scientist is scary. The short version is this: The mad scientist, usually male, seeks to replicate the life-giving force of the fertile female via science.
Unable to accept that there's something a female can do that males can't (they've already claimed the Being Able To Pee Standing Up Award, they should be happy and let it go at that), and something so critical to the continuation of the human race, no less, he's decided to try his hand at it as well. This is where the theory branches out. If the scientist succeeds, the story is either fantasy or science fiction. If he fails, it's horror.
I had a whole paper about this but to make it short, men should not tamper with what only God (or gods, depending on what you believe in) can do. It's by playing creator that man wreaks havoc on himself.
moar funny pictures
Realism vs. Genre (and Film vs. Literature) in the Philippines
A long flashback that I promise is related to the really short main post in the last paragraph:
The biggest problem I had when defending my MA thesis, proving that there were elements of horror in some of the canonical short fiction of our National Artists, was my film background. The panelists felt that my using film theory as part of my defense for a comparative literature thesis was wrong because they were separate mediums. Whatever. Part of my defense included a definition of what is horror. I said that it went beyond vampires and zombies, and sometimes didn't even have to be supernatural at all. My example for this was The Passion of the Christ, whose screenplay, I said, had been nominated for a Stoker Award.
One of the panel responded, rather heatedly, I remember, that “I shouldn't use film awards as basis for a thesis on literature.” It took all my self-control to tell this professor with a Ph.D. that the Stoker was *not* a film award. Another panelist wasn't sure what I had written about, so she spent the whole session nitpicking about my not following proper documentation, spacing, etc.
There were only two people in the room who knew what I was talking about. One was my thesis adviser, a lovely gentleman who not only encouraged me to pursue the topic of my choice, even though I had already been warned against it by a previous professor because genre was not academic enough, but also made sure that I finished my thesis, even if it meant barring me from going on Holy Week vacation. The other was a panelist who, for some reason, totally got what I was trying to say. Maybe she actually read my work. Hah! These two people understood that cinema and literature are intertwined, and that horror cannot be separated from “real life.” I don't know why the others didn't.
Here's the thing – the theories I used, even the way my thesis was structured, would have been old hat in any university outside this country. It would have been shot down because it was unimaginative, not because it wasn't academic.
Mixing film and literature certainly wasn't a problem in my undergrad thesis, where my adviser, a noted cultural expert and a man so brilliant I had to wear sunglasses whenever met with him (he also had his own secret fan club, of which I was a member – Hi, Sir!) seemed surprised that a. my writing was not intelligible (“You can write!” he said, shocked and surprised, after I had given him one of my short stories to read) and b. That I should choose to do a written thesis instead of making a film like everyone else. It got to the point where he'd admit to not reading the drafts and chapters I'd submit because, he said, “Ikaw naman, eh” (It's you, anyway). He liked that a thesis on film theory should include references to literature. Or if he didn't, at least I didn't get any flack for it.
I'm lucky to have had such incredible luck with my thesis advisers. It's very encouraging to know that not everyone in the academe is a stuffy old bag who refuses to change with the times. It's sad that many university professors here still think of genre as beneath them. As if realism was the only accepted mode of writing. But in a country where you have stories of alleged manananggal attacks on the evening news, what constitutes “realism”? Could this be an argument that the Philippines is incapable of spawning a tradition in horror literature because, by virtue of our culture, anything supernatural would automatically qualify as “realism”? I is befuddled.
moar funny pictures
The biggest problem I had when defending my MA thesis, proving that there were elements of horror in some of the canonical short fiction of our National Artists, was my film background. The panelists felt that my using film theory as part of my defense for a comparative literature thesis was wrong because they were separate mediums. Whatever. Part of my defense included a definition of what is horror. I said that it went beyond vampires and zombies, and sometimes didn't even have to be supernatural at all. My example for this was The Passion of the Christ, whose screenplay, I said, had been nominated for a Stoker Award.
One of the panel responded, rather heatedly, I remember, that “I shouldn't use film awards as basis for a thesis on literature.” It took all my self-control to tell this professor with a Ph.D. that the Stoker was *not* a film award. Another panelist wasn't sure what I had written about, so she spent the whole session nitpicking about my not following proper documentation, spacing, etc.
There were only two people in the room who knew what I was talking about. One was my thesis adviser, a lovely gentleman who not only encouraged me to pursue the topic of my choice, even though I had already been warned against it by a previous professor because genre was not academic enough, but also made sure that I finished my thesis, even if it meant barring me from going on Holy Week vacation. The other was a panelist who, for some reason, totally got what I was trying to say. Maybe she actually read my work. Hah! These two people understood that cinema and literature are intertwined, and that horror cannot be separated from “real life.” I don't know why the others didn't.
Here's the thing – the theories I used, even the way my thesis was structured, would have been old hat in any university outside this country. It would have been shot down because it was unimaginative, not because it wasn't academic.
Mixing film and literature certainly wasn't a problem in my undergrad thesis, where my adviser, a noted cultural expert and a man so brilliant I had to wear sunglasses whenever met with him (he also had his own secret fan club, of which I was a member – Hi, Sir!) seemed surprised that a. my writing was not intelligible (“You can write!” he said, shocked and surprised, after I had given him one of my short stories to read) and b. That I should choose to do a written thesis instead of making a film like everyone else. It got to the point where he'd admit to not reading the drafts and chapters I'd submit because, he said, “Ikaw naman, eh” (It's you, anyway). He liked that a thesis on film theory should include references to literature. Or if he didn't, at least I didn't get any flack for it.
I'm lucky to have had such incredible luck with my thesis advisers. It's very encouraging to know that not everyone in the academe is a stuffy old bag who refuses to change with the times. It's sad that many university professors here still think of genre as beneath them. As if realism was the only accepted mode of writing. But in a country where you have stories of alleged manananggal attacks on the evening news, what constitutes “realism”? Could this be an argument that the Philippines is incapable of spawning a tradition in horror literature because, by virtue of our culture, anything supernatural would automatically qualify as “realism”? I is befuddled.
moar funny pictures
Make Zombies, Not War
Heehee. When I first read the headline, I thought, “That's a pretty expensive cocktail.”
Make a zombie for $50.
Make a zombie for $50.
What Kind of Guitar God are You?
Sanya Smith sent me the what Kind of Rock God are You quiz over Facebook. She's right. It *is* eerily accurate.
My results:
Traditional Rock God
You are the Guitar God of Hard rock, Rock&Roll, Psychedelic Rock and Glam Rock. You give your audience a hell of a time by pure, undiluted riffs and traditional soloes. Your fans are most likely Slash, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, and Brian May fans. Your choice of weapon is usually a Gibson Sg, Les Paul, or a Fender Strat. People might criticize you for your repetitivenes or simpleness, but there is no doubt you are truly rocking in your heart that is unchallengeable.
Now if only I knew how to play guitar...
My results:
Traditional Rock God
You are the Guitar God of Hard rock, Rock&Roll, Psychedelic Rock and Glam Rock. You give your audience a hell of a time by pure, undiluted riffs and traditional soloes. Your fans are most likely Slash, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, and Brian May fans. Your choice of weapon is usually a Gibson Sg, Les Paul, or a Fender Strat. People might criticize you for your repetitivenes or simpleness, but there is no doubt you are truly rocking in your heart that is unchallengeable.
Now if only I knew how to play guitar...
RIP Roy Scheider
Rest in Peace, Mr. Scheider. You will be missed.
Jaws' Actor Scheider Dies at 75
Sunday February 10 11:16 PM ET
Roy Scheider, a two-time Oscar nominee best known for his role as a police chief in the blockbuster movie "Jaws," died Sunday. He was 75.
Scheider died at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock, hospital spokesman David Robinson said. The hospital did not release a cause of death.
Read more.
Jaws' Actor Scheider Dies at 75
Sunday February 10 11:16 PM ET
Roy Scheider, a two-time Oscar nominee best known for his role as a police chief in the blockbuster movie "Jaws," died Sunday. He was 75.
Scheider died at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock, hospital spokesman David Robinson said. The hospital did not release a cause of death.
Read more.
Fr. Ari Speaks Up on Apostol Remark
Uber-cool Fil-Chi priest Fr. Ari had some words to say on Apostol's racist remark. Needless to say, he was nicer about it than he should have been. But then, he *is* a priest.
Latent Racism
For several years now, the widespread celebration of the Chinese New
Year has illustrated the nation's acceptance of the Chinese-Filipino
or Chinoy community as an integral and significant part of Philippine
society. Last week, however, during the week of the Chinese New Year,
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol reacted to the Senate
testimony of Rodolfo Lozada, Jr., by calling him a "crying lady." He
is also quoted as saying, in reference to Lozada, "They say he's a
Chinese from the province. Bagay sa iyo i-deport ka. Magulo ka dito
(You should be deported because you're troublesome)."
Apostol's comments are not only ad hominem, they also show that
despite the perceived acceptance of the Chinoys in Philippine society,
old racist tags are still very much around. Apostol should realize
that he will only get as far as Bicol if he's going to have Lozada
deported. This episode demonstrates what Chinoys have often lamented,
that when their financial help is needed, the government and other
bodies are quick to acknowledge their unique place in the Philippines.
But the moment Chinoys need help or try to break free of economic
stereotypes, as in the case of Lozada, a Chinese mestizo (and proud of
it!) who is trying to set things aright in his life, then the old
prejudices emerge once again.
Apostol is not the first public official to utter a racial slur
against the Chinese during an emotional outburst. Whether he
apologizes or not, perhaps it will be a worthy Lenten exercise for all
of us to examine the latent racism that we may still harbor within our
selves--against other Filipinos, and against those who are different
from us in any way.
Fr. Ari C. Dy, SJ
Director, Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Latent Racism
For several years now, the widespread celebration of the Chinese New
Year has illustrated the nation's acceptance of the Chinese-Filipino
or Chinoy community as an integral and significant part of Philippine
society. Last week, however, during the week of the Chinese New Year,
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol reacted to the Senate
testimony of Rodolfo Lozada, Jr., by calling him a "crying lady." He
is also quoted as saying, in reference to Lozada, "They say he's a
Chinese from the province. Bagay sa iyo i-deport ka. Magulo ka dito
(You should be deported because you're troublesome)."
Apostol's comments are not only ad hominem, they also show that
despite the perceived acceptance of the Chinoys in Philippine society,
old racist tags are still very much around. Apostol should realize
that he will only get as far as Bicol if he's going to have Lozada
deported. This episode demonstrates what Chinoys have often lamented,
that when their financial help is needed, the government and other
bodies are quick to acknowledge their unique place in the Philippines.
But the moment Chinoys need help or try to break free of economic
stereotypes, as in the case of Lozada, a Chinese mestizo (and proud of
it!) who is trying to set things aright in his life, then the old
prejudices emerge once again.
Apostol is not the first public official to utter a racial slur
against the Chinese during an emotional outburst. Whether he
apologizes or not, perhaps it will be a worthy Lenten exercise for all
of us to examine the latent racism that we may still harbor within our
selves--against other Filipinos, and against those who are different
from us in any way.
Fr. Ari C. Dy, SJ
Director, Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Monday, February 11, 2008
Watershed out in Stores
Today is the day that k.d. lang's Watershed appears in stores. Correction, today is the day that k.d. lang's Watershed appears in stores in other countries. As much as I love the Philippines, it annoys me sometimes that the selection of good music in this country, while steadily growing, still remains limited, whereas if I wanted a copy of the latest brain dead pop song, all I'd have to do is stretch out an arm and I'd be sure to hit someone selling it.
Why? Why must good things be so hard to get? Why, oh why, couldn't I have been born with music tastes that were easier to cater to? I'm sure I'd have an easier life if only I liked Air Supply or the Sexbomb Girls or Edu Manzano's Greatest Hits. Naw, if I did, I think I'd shot myself. *sigh* Hay, buhay.
Why? Why must good things be so hard to get? Why, oh why, couldn't I have been born with music tastes that were easier to cater to? I'm sure I'd have an easier life if only I liked Air Supply or the Sexbomb Girls or Edu Manzano's Greatest Hits. Naw, if I did, I think I'd shot myself. *sigh* Hay, buhay.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Intsik Ako, 'Tangina Mo
Pardon my French. I don't usually swear but the amount of ignorance in this armpit-of-the-world nation can really get to me sometimes. It's amazing how prejudiced and ignorant people can be. I mean, you sort of expect this from people who have not had the benefit of education but when it's government officials making stupid, bigoted, racially hurtful statements on TV, well, you can't help but cuss.
This has to do with the ongoing ZTE scandal, whose alleged stories of bribery and corruption goes up to the first gentleman himself.
Back story: one of the guys in the deal, Jun Lozada, had been missing for a while. Rumor was that he had returned to the country after fleeing, but could not be located. He resurfaced after a while, saying that he had been abducted at the airport my four men who might have been military (he wasn't sure but they did have military haircuts). They were going to take him to Dasmarinas, Cavite (apparently a popular salvage victim dumping ground, according to my sister, who studied medicine there), except that at the last minute, his captors got a phone call telling them to turn back, as the media clamor for Lozada had reached fever pitch.
I don't watch the news, so I get all my information second hand (guiltyguilty). So I was enjoying a peaceful Sunday in church when I got this message from a Fil-Chi friend. It had been texted to him by Star columnist Ricky Lo.
It said: “When Jun Lozada said in is press conference, crying out of his sincerity that he's a “probinsyanong intsik” (provincial Chinese – intisik is a derogatory term for Filipino-Chinese) and at the Senate hearing that he is a son of poor Chinese migrants who wants this country to be a better country, SERGIO APOSTOL, a cabinet secretary of GMA, insulted him of being a crying lady & INTSIK that should be DEPORTED back to China. Hadn't APOSTOL knew that we the Filipino-Chinese contributed a lot for the growt of this country? I am proud to be a FILIPINO but I can't bear to be INSULTED of my CHINESE heritage because I am PROUD of it. I'd rather be called INTSIK than become the likes of APOSTOL, GONZALES, PUNO, ARROYO et al who runs this GOVT like a mafia. PANINDIGAN natin ang ating LAHI & be PROUD of it!”
I forwarded the text to an aunt, who is also a member of Kaisa, who said, “I agree! Tessy (Ang See) has responded to Apostol. Came out in the news last night (Ch 7). Karma-karma lang yan, pamangkin.” (loosely translated: He'll get his karma soon, my niece)
I answered: “Sana masagasaan siya ng trak na may ari na intsik.” (I hope he gets run over by a Filipino-Chinese owned truck)
She answered: 'Sana nga. Intsik din naman si FG kaya ipadeport din siya.”
I'm glad that I have at least one aunt who's up to date on the news, and who has a sense of humor, too.
Of course, one of mu friends said: “As for Apostol “instik” comment...well Lozada isn't even tsinoy...why did say that in the first place?”
To which I said, “You have to admit that it was a great way to shift the spotlight to Apostol.”
Hence, the rant.
Seriously, I don't understand why there is so much prejudice against the Chinese. Actually, I do. Before the Spanish came, there was extensive trade and diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines. There's an historical account of a Sultan who settled in China, and of Chinese men who settled with the aetas in Benguet, as well as archaeological evidence like pottery, etc. From historical accounts, it seemed that, to make a long story short, everything went well. And then the Spanish came.
The Spanish looked down on the Chinese, who believed in hard work and were willing to take on the lowest jobs to earn a living. They were barbers, snack vendors, store owners. The Spanish massacred them herded them into walled cities, regulated their way of life. In short, they looked down on them. And somehow, this way of thinking got passed on to the Filipinos, who still think like this up to this day. I' not saying all Filipinos are prejudiced against the Chinese, but I am saying that there are still a lot of people who are. For one, it's an easy thing to fall on. Intsik. Intsik beho. Sure, laugh at the guy in the wifebeater who lives above his hardware store who speaks Tagalog funny. It's easy. Sure, look down on the race that has traded with yours for centuries. It's easy to say that the Chinese have become rich off Filipino land and resources and thus should be hated. What most people forget is that these people became rich by WORKING HARD (a term a lot of people are allergic to) for it. Hello! People migrate because they are poor. Lucio Tan wasn't the son of a millionaire. He worked his way up to Taipan-hood. And let's not forget that he supports charities and has one himself, as do a lot of Fil-Chi businessmen.
Instead, most people have embraced the way of their conquerors, wanting to be like the people who sailed in, taking their crops and raping their women and sending their men to forced labor camps and promoting a culture where work is looked down on and the people who make the most money while doing the least amount of work are looked up to. I have nothing against the Spanish. Some of the coolest people are know are of Spanish descent. But I do have something against the Spanish who were alive in those 400 years we were under their rule. In fact, if I had a time machine, I would want to go back to when Magellan landed so that I could kick his country-raping ass. Uunahan ko si Lapu-Lapu, hehe.
This prejudice against the Chinese isn't just seen on TV and heard on the streets. Try registering a business in the DTI or SEC. One of the requirements is that if you have a foreign-sounding name, you have to show proof of your citizenship. What the f**k is that??! The Chinese were here even before the Spanish imposed their family names on the Filipinos, a**h*les. My grandfather was part of the guerrillas during the Japanese war. He helped save this stupid f***ing country and I have to show proof of my f***ing citizenship???!!! If I happen to forget my passport, will I be required to slit my wrist to prove that I have Filipino blood even if my last name says I don't? Besides, the Chinese have been in this country for so long I bet even the “purest” Filipino family tree has some Chinese blood running through its veins. We're that good, baby.
And what's with Chinese New Year not being a holiday? The Philippines too good to celebrate the start of the lunar year? If I recall, everyone, not just the Chinese, celebrated the last one. Not that we need another holiday. This country is so full of holidays that we might as well not work.
I guess part of the reason that the Chinese are still treated so badly is because they themselves condone it. The Chinese have always wanted to blend in. They don't like confrontations. They don't like to call attention to themselves. They don't like violence. All they want to do is earn a living. It seems that the only way to get respect in this country is to take things by force. The Spanish and Americans conquered the Philippines and are still being revered as gods here. The Muslim extremists stated bombing cities and generally making a fuss, so now Ramadan is a national holiday. So if the Chinese want to be taken seriously, they should band together and do something. I don't know, pull out all local investments or something. Threaten to feng shui the country so that it attracts bad luck instead of good. Maybe then they'll get the respect they deserve.
Like Ricky Lo says, I'd rather be called Intsik than be a stupid, ignorant, boorish, uncouth idiot who relies on stereotypes and cannot see the value of the people in front of him. So I'm saying this, and I'm saying it proudly: Intsik ako, 'tangina mo!
moar funny pictures
One day, Sergio f***ing Apostol, you or one of your loved ones is going to get run over by a ten-wheeler truck. And it's going to be owned by me.
This has to do with the ongoing ZTE scandal, whose alleged stories of bribery and corruption goes up to the first gentleman himself.
Back story: one of the guys in the deal, Jun Lozada, had been missing for a while. Rumor was that he had returned to the country after fleeing, but could not be located. He resurfaced after a while, saying that he had been abducted at the airport my four men who might have been military (he wasn't sure but they did have military haircuts). They were going to take him to Dasmarinas, Cavite (apparently a popular salvage victim dumping ground, according to my sister, who studied medicine there), except that at the last minute, his captors got a phone call telling them to turn back, as the media clamor for Lozada had reached fever pitch.
I don't watch the news, so I get all my information second hand (guiltyguilty). So I was enjoying a peaceful Sunday in church when I got this message from a Fil-Chi friend. It had been texted to him by Star columnist Ricky Lo.
It said: “When Jun Lozada said in is press conference, crying out of his sincerity that he's a “probinsyanong intsik” (provincial Chinese – intisik is a derogatory term for Filipino-Chinese) and at the Senate hearing that he is a son of poor Chinese migrants who wants this country to be a better country, SERGIO APOSTOL, a cabinet secretary of GMA, insulted him of being a crying lady & INTSIK that should be DEPORTED back to China. Hadn't APOSTOL knew that we the Filipino-Chinese contributed a lot for the growt of this country? I am proud to be a FILIPINO but I can't bear to be INSULTED of my CHINESE heritage because I am PROUD of it. I'd rather be called INTSIK than become the likes of APOSTOL, GONZALES, PUNO, ARROYO et al who runs this GOVT like a mafia. PANINDIGAN natin ang ating LAHI & be PROUD of it!”
I forwarded the text to an aunt, who is also a member of Kaisa, who said, “I agree! Tessy (Ang See) has responded to Apostol. Came out in the news last night (Ch 7). Karma-karma lang yan, pamangkin.” (loosely translated: He'll get his karma soon, my niece)
I answered: “Sana masagasaan siya ng trak na may ari na intsik.” (I hope he gets run over by a Filipino-Chinese owned truck)
She answered: 'Sana nga. Intsik din naman si FG kaya ipadeport din siya.”
I'm glad that I have at least one aunt who's up to date on the news, and who has a sense of humor, too.
Of course, one of mu friends said: “As for Apostol “instik” comment...well Lozada isn't even tsinoy...why did say that in the first place?”
To which I said, “You have to admit that it was a great way to shift the spotlight to Apostol.”
Hence, the rant.
Seriously, I don't understand why there is so much prejudice against the Chinese. Actually, I do. Before the Spanish came, there was extensive trade and diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines. There's an historical account of a Sultan who settled in China, and of Chinese men who settled with the aetas in Benguet, as well as archaeological evidence like pottery, etc. From historical accounts, it seemed that, to make a long story short, everything went well. And then the Spanish came.
The Spanish looked down on the Chinese, who believed in hard work and were willing to take on the lowest jobs to earn a living. They were barbers, snack vendors, store owners. The Spanish massacred them herded them into walled cities, regulated their way of life. In short, they looked down on them. And somehow, this way of thinking got passed on to the Filipinos, who still think like this up to this day. I' not saying all Filipinos are prejudiced against the Chinese, but I am saying that there are still a lot of people who are. For one, it's an easy thing to fall on. Intsik. Intsik beho. Sure, laugh at the guy in the wifebeater who lives above his hardware store who speaks Tagalog funny. It's easy. Sure, look down on the race that has traded with yours for centuries. It's easy to say that the Chinese have become rich off Filipino land and resources and thus should be hated. What most people forget is that these people became rich by WORKING HARD (a term a lot of people are allergic to) for it. Hello! People migrate because they are poor. Lucio Tan wasn't the son of a millionaire. He worked his way up to Taipan-hood. And let's not forget that he supports charities and has one himself, as do a lot of Fil-Chi businessmen.
Instead, most people have embraced the way of their conquerors, wanting to be like the people who sailed in, taking their crops and raping their women and sending their men to forced labor camps and promoting a culture where work is looked down on and the people who make the most money while doing the least amount of work are looked up to. I have nothing against the Spanish. Some of the coolest people are know are of Spanish descent. But I do have something against the Spanish who were alive in those 400 years we were under their rule. In fact, if I had a time machine, I would want to go back to when Magellan landed so that I could kick his country-raping ass. Uunahan ko si Lapu-Lapu, hehe.
This prejudice against the Chinese isn't just seen on TV and heard on the streets. Try registering a business in the DTI or SEC. One of the requirements is that if you have a foreign-sounding name, you have to show proof of your citizenship. What the f**k is that??! The Chinese were here even before the Spanish imposed their family names on the Filipinos, a**h*les. My grandfather was part of the guerrillas during the Japanese war. He helped save this stupid f***ing country and I have to show proof of my f***ing citizenship???!!! If I happen to forget my passport, will I be required to slit my wrist to prove that I have Filipino blood even if my last name says I don't? Besides, the Chinese have been in this country for so long I bet even the “purest” Filipino family tree has some Chinese blood running through its veins. We're that good, baby.
And what's with Chinese New Year not being a holiday? The Philippines too good to celebrate the start of the lunar year? If I recall, everyone, not just the Chinese, celebrated the last one. Not that we need another holiday. This country is so full of holidays that we might as well not work.
I guess part of the reason that the Chinese are still treated so badly is because they themselves condone it. The Chinese have always wanted to blend in. They don't like confrontations. They don't like to call attention to themselves. They don't like violence. All they want to do is earn a living. It seems that the only way to get respect in this country is to take things by force. The Spanish and Americans conquered the Philippines and are still being revered as gods here. The Muslim extremists stated bombing cities and generally making a fuss, so now Ramadan is a national holiday. So if the Chinese want to be taken seriously, they should band together and do something. I don't know, pull out all local investments or something. Threaten to feng shui the country so that it attracts bad luck instead of good. Maybe then they'll get the respect they deserve.
Like Ricky Lo says, I'd rather be called Intsik than be a stupid, ignorant, boorish, uncouth idiot who relies on stereotypes and cannot see the value of the people in front of him. So I'm saying this, and I'm saying it proudly: Intsik ako, 'tangina mo!
moar funny pictures
One day, Sergio f***ing Apostol, you or one of your loved ones is going to get run over by a ten-wheeler truck. And it's going to be owned by me.
Anatomy of a Filipino Children's Party, Take 2
Remember my earlier post about a typical Filipino children's party? I managed to go to another one, one that is also 'typical,' but is light years away than the first one I attended. The funny thing about this most recent one is that the adults had fun, too.
I was invited to attend the to-tseh (first birthday celebration) of my college friend's daughter. You know you're old when friends start inviting you to their babies' birthdays. I used to be invited to children's parties as a friend of the celebrant. Now, I get invited as a friend of the celebrant's parents. Ay-yah!
This was one of the best children's parties I have ever attended, and that includes the one's I've been to in my youth. The clubhouse it was held in was done up in a festive, Strawberry Shortcake luau theme, with the celebrant dressed in a tiny blue grass skirt to match. Her mother, my friend, was lovely, clad in asymmetrical Hawaiian-inspired dress that matched her daughter's. If you looked at her, you wouldn't think she had given birth. That seems to be the trend nowadays. All my friends who have babies are thinner than I am. Makes me think this baby thing might be worth trying, after all.
Aside from a separate buffet for children and adults, the party had a Starbucks station, where they served frappes, a Chef Tony's gourmet popcorn station, a nachos station, a chocolate fountain, a nachos station, and an ice cream station that mixed the frozen fruit of your choice with soft-served ice cream and serves the whole thing on a Champola wafer cone. I wouldn't mind having a party like that, and I'm thirty!
The kids had their own tables situated near a small stage decorated with styrofoam stand-ups of the Strawberry Shortcake gang in beach wear. When I got to the party, the kids were being entertained by an acrobat, who was busy piling boards and cups onto a small ball, where he later balanced himself and started to juggle. This was later followed by games, and then a magic act, where the magician made his assistant levitate. I have never seen this done in a children's party magic act. Sure, you can sort of figure out how it's done (it wasn't David Copperfield, after all), but to a child, it would have been... magic.
Threading the whole program together was this great host who had the ability to entertain the kids *and* the adults at the same time. He was really funny. He didn't talk down to the kids in that half-yelling, very condescending “O ano mga bata?” kind of way that used to drive me up the wall, even as a child. He talked to them as if they were people, using words that a lot of people didn't think kids would understand (but really, they do).
He knew how to NOT make a kid feel embarrassed, like when he asked the kids to come up on stage and showcase their talents, and this one little boy came up but refused to do anything. The host said, “I know what your talent is! Your talent is looking cute!” and he gave the boy a prize.
He also knew how to make kids feel good. To two tweens who wanted to sing but couldn't think of a song, he said, “You should sing songs from High School Musical because you're already in high school.”
And lastly, he had a sense of humor of someone who thinks on his feet and doesn't have to rely on a part script. To a child who needed coaxing on what to sing, he said, “(singing) Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. (to the boy) Why don't we sing that cheerful song?”
Of course, the kids themselves were sources of unlimited amusement. Apparently, all parties now include a portion where guests get to tell everyone what they wish for the celebrant. One girl wished the one-year old birthday celebrant would get “a nice cellphone,” while the other wished the celebrant “a pony.” I almost fell out of my chair laughing because the girls were totally, totally sincere.
Another thing that all parties seem to have nowadays is an overly-loud psudeo-electronica, brain-melting soundtrack. Thankfully, the ones they played at this party was a bit more upscale, so I didn't have to sit through a barrage of the Papaya Song and other similarly dubious “hits.” Also, there were no cheesy mascots (I never understood how some kids think that those things are real) and certainly no children who wanted to grow up to dance half-naked on TV. This children's party seemed to erase all the pain and trauma I've accumulated over the years of attending lackluster, condescending parties, and I hope to attend more like it in the future.
I was invited to attend the to-tseh (first birthday celebration) of my college friend's daughter. You know you're old when friends start inviting you to their babies' birthdays. I used to be invited to children's parties as a friend of the celebrant. Now, I get invited as a friend of the celebrant's parents. Ay-yah!
This was one of the best children's parties I have ever attended, and that includes the one's I've been to in my youth. The clubhouse it was held in was done up in a festive, Strawberry Shortcake luau theme, with the celebrant dressed in a tiny blue grass skirt to match. Her mother, my friend, was lovely, clad in asymmetrical Hawaiian-inspired dress that matched her daughter's. If you looked at her, you wouldn't think she had given birth. That seems to be the trend nowadays. All my friends who have babies are thinner than I am. Makes me think this baby thing might be worth trying, after all.
Aside from a separate buffet for children and adults, the party had a Starbucks station, where they served frappes, a Chef Tony's gourmet popcorn station, a nachos station, a chocolate fountain, a nachos station, and an ice cream station that mixed the frozen fruit of your choice with soft-served ice cream and serves the whole thing on a Champola wafer cone. I wouldn't mind having a party like that, and I'm thirty!
The kids had their own tables situated near a small stage decorated with styrofoam stand-ups of the Strawberry Shortcake gang in beach wear. When I got to the party, the kids were being entertained by an acrobat, who was busy piling boards and cups onto a small ball, where he later balanced himself and started to juggle. This was later followed by games, and then a magic act, where the magician made his assistant levitate. I have never seen this done in a children's party magic act. Sure, you can sort of figure out how it's done (it wasn't David Copperfield, after all), but to a child, it would have been... magic.
Threading the whole program together was this great host who had the ability to entertain the kids *and* the adults at the same time. He was really funny. He didn't talk down to the kids in that half-yelling, very condescending “O ano mga bata?” kind of way that used to drive me up the wall, even as a child. He talked to them as if they were people, using words that a lot of people didn't think kids would understand (but really, they do).
He knew how to NOT make a kid feel embarrassed, like when he asked the kids to come up on stage and showcase their talents, and this one little boy came up but refused to do anything. The host said, “I know what your talent is! Your talent is looking cute!” and he gave the boy a prize.
He also knew how to make kids feel good. To two tweens who wanted to sing but couldn't think of a song, he said, “You should sing songs from High School Musical because you're already in high school.”
And lastly, he had a sense of humor of someone who thinks on his feet and doesn't have to rely on a part script. To a child who needed coaxing on what to sing, he said, “(singing) Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. (to the boy) Why don't we sing that cheerful song?”
Of course, the kids themselves were sources of unlimited amusement. Apparently, all parties now include a portion where guests get to tell everyone what they wish for the celebrant. One girl wished the one-year old birthday celebrant would get “a nice cellphone,” while the other wished the celebrant “a pony.” I almost fell out of my chair laughing because the girls were totally, totally sincere.
Another thing that all parties seem to have nowadays is an overly-loud psudeo-electronica, brain-melting soundtrack. Thankfully, the ones they played at this party was a bit more upscale, so I didn't have to sit through a barrage of the Papaya Song and other similarly dubious “hits.” Also, there were no cheesy mascots (I never understood how some kids think that those things are real) and certainly no children who wanted to grow up to dance half-naked on TV. This children's party seemed to erase all the pain and trauma I've accumulated over the years of attending lackluster, condescending parties, and I hope to attend more like it in the future.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Dan Rhodes Reading
Attended the Dan Rhodes reading at Fully Booked with Luis. Dan was really fun and entertaining, and garnered a lot of instant fans with his readings of stories from Anthropology. He also read from Gold, his latest novel, which had already sold out before he arrived. It was his first reading in Manila, but not his first time here. His wife and (really adorable) baby were present at the reading. He brought Luis a copy of Word magazine, which Luis loved because it's one of the best music mags out there and you can't find it in this country. I tried to record some of the readings on my phone but can't post them until I've found a converter.
Dan Rhodes Reading
Attended the Dan Rhodes reading at Fully Booked with Luis. Dan was really fun and entertaining, and garnered a lot of instant fans with his readings of stories from Anthropology. He also read from Gold, his latest novel, which had already sold out before he arrived. It was his first reading in Manila, but not his first time here. His wife and (really adorable) baby were present at the reading. He brought Luis a copy of View magazine, which Luis loved because it's one of the best music mags out there and you can't find it in this country. I tried to record some of the readings on my phone and am posting them here, but they're on amr (haven't found a converter yet) so I don't know if you'll be able to listen to them.
Friday, February 08, 2008
On the Phone with History
I did a short phone interview with director Cirio Santiago today (I wasn't able to catch him at the photoshoot with Mr. Romero). It's amazing how, in just a five minute conversation with this man, I learned more about the Philippines during the American era than I did in four years of high school.
He and Eddie Romero were pioneers, even though the Philippines was too insular to notice. They thought that the local film industry was too stifling, and that there were creative opportunities available elsewhere, if they knew where to find it.
I was very fascinated by Mr. Santiago's approach to moviemaking, which he tackles from an economic point of view. I was also saddened by his statement that the movies that he really wanted to make were ones that the (Filipino) public would not want to watch. It drove home how, even after more than a century of freedom, most of us still live our lives in accordance to what we think would appeal to our colonizers. I have friends who will not read, listen or watch anything that was not a best seller, blockbuster hit or platinum-charting, and who let their in-the-loop friends dictate their tastes. It's sort of like that. Mr. Santiago mentioned something to the effect of “I'm not well known in this town.” But with Hollywood filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Jonathan Demme (and this is the important part) telling Filipinos about Mr. Santiago's influence on their filmmaking, maybe that might change.
He and Eddie Romero were pioneers, even though the Philippines was too insular to notice. They thought that the local film industry was too stifling, and that there were creative opportunities available elsewhere, if they knew where to find it.
I was very fascinated by Mr. Santiago's approach to moviemaking, which he tackles from an economic point of view. I was also saddened by his statement that the movies that he really wanted to make were ones that the (Filipino) public would not want to watch. It drove home how, even after more than a century of freedom, most of us still live our lives in accordance to what we think would appeal to our colonizers. I have friends who will not read, listen or watch anything that was not a best seller, blockbuster hit or platinum-charting, and who let their in-the-loop friends dictate their tastes. It's sort of like that. Mr. Santiago mentioned something to the effect of “I'm not well known in this town.” But with Hollywood filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Jonathan Demme (and this is the important part) telling Filipinos about Mr. Santiago's influence on their filmmaking, maybe that might change.
Watershed out in Stores
Today is the day that k.d. lang's Watershed appears in stores. Correction, today is the day that k.d. lang's Watershed appears in stores in other countries. As much as I love the Philippines, it annoys me sometimes that the selection of good music in this country, while steadily growing, still remains limited, whereas if I wanted a copy of the latest brain dead pop song, all I'd have to do is stretch out an arm and I'd be sure to hit someone selling it. Why? Why must good things be so hard to get? Why, oh why, couldn't I have been born with music tastes that were easier to cater to? I'm sure I'd have an easier life if only I liked Air Supply or the Sexbomb Girls or Edu Manzano's Greatest Hits. *sigh* Hay, buhay.
Shameless Self-Promotion, 2008!
I haven't done one of these in a while, so I the list may not be complete:
January-February 2008
Entrepreneur (Jan 2008)
Interviewed the President of the FMW Group, a group of companies who, among other things, is dedicated to helping Overseas Filipino Workers ease back into Philippine life. This particular interview is about their real estate venture.
Masigasig (Jan 2008)
Interviewed director Quark Henares about Blow Up Babies, the photography studio he co-owns. Quark had some really funny answers. Too bad they were cut out.
Burn (Jan-Feb 2008)
Interviewed Kyla and Jaime Scott on their new albums. I think I also reviewed some CDs, though I can't remember what they are.
Homestyle (Jan-Feb 2008)
Wrote about a young professional couple's oh so lovely I want to live there house.
Tulay (Feb 5, 2008)
It being the Valentines issue, I wrote about a matchmaker, a Chinese engagement planner, and a real-life “artful” wedding proposal. Guys, take notes!
January-February 2008
Entrepreneur (Jan 2008)
Interviewed the President of the FMW Group, a group of companies who, among other things, is dedicated to helping Overseas Filipino Workers ease back into Philippine life. This particular interview is about their real estate venture.
Masigasig (Jan 2008)
Interviewed director Quark Henares about Blow Up Babies, the photography studio he co-owns. Quark had some really funny answers. Too bad they were cut out.
Burn (Jan-Feb 2008)
Interviewed Kyla and Jaime Scott on their new albums. I think I also reviewed some CDs, though I can't remember what they are.
Homestyle (Jan-Feb 2008)
Wrote about a young professional couple's oh so lovely I want to live there house.
Tulay (Feb 5, 2008)
It being the Valentines issue, I wrote about a matchmaker, a Chinese engagement planner, and a real-life “artful” wedding proposal. Guys, take notes!
The Ultimate Frankenstein
Just finished reading The Ultimate Frankenstein, edited by Byron Priess for ibooks. It's filled with works from established authors such as Brian Aldiss, Charles de Lint, F. Paul Wilson, with a foreword by Isaac Asimov. As the title gives away, all of the short stories dealt with the concept of bringing life back to the stitched-up dead.
Some of the stories dealt with Mary Shelley's monster himself, while others used Dr. Frankenstein's mad science and ran with it. The results are, as one would expect form such a brilliant pool of writers, imaginative, evocative, and sometimes fun.
Some of my favorite stories in the series are:
Fortitude - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
A teleplay about a futuristic mad scientist and the elderly lady monster he keeps alive in his lab.
Monsters of the Midway – Mike Resnick
Mad science meets football meets sports rules meets Stephen Hawking's brain. I had lots of fun with this one.
Chui Chai – S.P. Somtow
Erotic and tragic, this story of an American yuppie and the Thai prostitute he falls in love in hearkens back to the dark, messed-up, AIDS-scared early 90's. This is my favorite story in the anthology. But then, Somtow is one of my favorite writers.
I, Monster – Loren D. Estleman
What starts out as a conventional Frankenstein's-monster-gone-into-the-modern-world takes on a humorous, modern twist in the last two pages. The twit may seem too abrupt for others, but I was pretty tickled by it.
Last Call for the Sons of Shock – David J. Schow
I've always loved Schow's wordplay, and this story is no different. This tale guest stars Count Dracula, remade as a drug lord and the wolf man, who is currently enjoying a career n professional wrestling. Frankenstein's monster isn't left out of the cool job department, as he's become a bartender. This is the opposite of “I, Monster,” as it starts out fun but ends on a poignant note.
The Last Supper and a Falafel to Go – George Alec Effinger
Humorously written, this dark comedy had me saying “Kawawa naman!” the whole time. It's hard to be funny and affecting but Effinger manages just that in this story. “Last Supper” made me glad to live in a 3rd world country where documents can sometimes be not so important.
Some of the stories dealt with Mary Shelley's monster himself, while others used Dr. Frankenstein's mad science and ran with it. The results are, as one would expect form such a brilliant pool of writers, imaginative, evocative, and sometimes fun.
Some of my favorite stories in the series are:
Fortitude - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
A teleplay about a futuristic mad scientist and the elderly lady monster he keeps alive in his lab.
Monsters of the Midway – Mike Resnick
Mad science meets football meets sports rules meets Stephen Hawking's brain. I had lots of fun with this one.
Chui Chai – S.P. Somtow
Erotic and tragic, this story of an American yuppie and the Thai prostitute he falls in love in hearkens back to the dark, messed-up, AIDS-scared early 90's. This is my favorite story in the anthology. But then, Somtow is one of my favorite writers.
I, Monster – Loren D. Estleman
What starts out as a conventional Frankenstein's-monster-gone-into-the-modern-world takes on a humorous, modern twist in the last two pages. The twit may seem too abrupt for others, but I was pretty tickled by it.
Last Call for the Sons of Shock – David J. Schow
I've always loved Schow's wordplay, and this story is no different. This tale guest stars Count Dracula, remade as a drug lord and the wolf man, who is currently enjoying a career n professional wrestling. Frankenstein's monster isn't left out of the cool job department, as he's become a bartender. This is the opposite of “I, Monster,” as it starts out fun but ends on a poignant note.
The Last Supper and a Falafel to Go – George Alec Effinger
Humorously written, this dark comedy had me saying “Kawawa naman!” the whole time. It's hard to be funny and affecting but Effinger manages just that in this story. “Last Supper” made me glad to live in a 3rd world country where documents can sometimes be not so important.
Happy Chinese New Year!
moar funny pictures
Kong Hee Fat Choi! Kiong Hee Hwat Chai! Sin Nien Kwai Le! Sin Nee Kwai Lok! Happy Chinese New Year! Let's usher in the year of the Earth Rat!
According to Chinese Horoscope Masters, this year is filled with opportunity and money, good things, good things. As my friend texted, (you can practically hear the Chinese accent in the message “Year of Earth Rat filled with good luck. Money come from God.”
It's only in the Chinese Zodiac where a rat is considered a “good” animal. Everywhere else, from movies to literature to history, the rat has been treated with (well deserved) hate and disgust.
Rats rarely get to be the star of movies. Oftentimes, they're part of the background, used to denote a place that's dark and filthy and not fit for humans, like the sewers or a tomb, for example.
When they are part of the main cast, they are often misunderstood creatures who side with misunderstood men. The most well-known examples of these are, of course, Ben (whose theme song takes us back to a time when Michael Jackson wasn't just young and cute, he was also black), and more recently, Willard, a remake of the 1971 movie that started it all.
If not, they're part of a rat mob, out to destroy humans. I remember watching such a movie with my cousins in my childhood. I can't remember the name of the movie, only that there were rats, and lots of them. This was your usual B-movie, filled with hormonal teenagers (who all looked like they were in their 30's. Hey, I was six. Everyone looks old when you're six.), idiotic adults, and as many rodents as could possibly fill the screen. I only remember one scene from that movie, a scene that disturbed me then and still disturbs me now. One of the teenagers was going to sleep in a sleeping bag, and for some reason, even though she was in the middle of a killer rat-infested town, she decided to do this naked. What happened was cinematically inevitable. She died in the most gruesomely disturbing way possible in her condition. Rats can gnaw through cloth easy, so guess where they went in, and guess where they came out. I don't know what the name of the movie was.
Nowadays, rats are getting an image makeover, the most recent enterprise of which is Ratatouille, the disturbing Pixar animation that did not sit well with me because one, Linguini, the main character had no redeeming qualities whatsoever (he was just a vehicle for Remy the Rat's culinary aspirations) and two, a kitchen full of rats is just wrong, even if they all washed their paws. Writer Troy Patterson lightly analyzes rats in pop culture in his review of the above movie.
He writes:
“There's a whole book for some crazy person to write about rodents in pop culture, with one chapter devoted to Alvin and the Chipmunks and another analyzing the werebeavers depicted in both Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon and Pamela Anderson's Stripperella.”
Let's admit it: to most people, rats are scary, be it a lone rodent munching on the crumbs on your kitchen floor to the flood of rats that take over your house, your town, your kitchen. But there's a certain kind of rat whose gross out factor far outweighs that of the ordinary rattus rattus. It's something we're not familiar with in the Philippines, but have sometimes encountered in books and stories, usually of European origin. I'm talking about the Rat King.
Wikepedia describes the Rat King as thus:
“Rat kings are cryptozoological phenomena said to arise when a number of rats become intertwined at their tails, which become stuck together with blood, dirt, and excrement. The animals consequently grow together while joined at the tails, which are often broken. The phenomenon is particularly associated with Germany, where the majority of instances have been reported.”
Two of my favorite authors use the Rat King either literally or figuratively in their novels. There's China Mieville's King Rat, his drum 'n' bass, jungle-fueled pied piper-inspired first novel, and Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, a book aimed at younger readers about a cat, together with his rat friends, who have a really good scam going.
On the horror front, rats, as well as other creatures like spiders, bees, rabbits, and most recently, sheep can (sometimes) be effective vehicles of fear when there are a lot of them, and if they're ready to kill. I realize that this is more often used as a cinematic convention than a literary one, but it's still an idea you can play with.
Here's to a year of joy, prosperity, and lots of ideas for us all!
I Can Has Starstruck
Got to interview National Artist Eddie Romero for a magazine yesterday. I was so starstruck I was falling all over myself, stuttering and misplacing things. Thankfully, he was really nice and jolly about everything. It's rare that I make people watch movies with me. It's usually people asking me to watch movies with them.
And of the few times I've asked (cajoled, threatened, prodded) people to watch a film with me, only two of those movies have been Filipino. One was Pare Ko, the Gwapings starrer that was supposed to be the Bagets of the 90's and Romero's Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?, which starred a very cute, very young, very innocent-looking Cristopher de Leon and Gloria Diaz, who portrayed the ultimate Filipino dream girl with her sensual yet unnerving mix of sexual eroticism paired with a face so angelic she could give Maria Clara a run for her money. Maui and Katya have nothing on her.
Thinking about it, Ganito is sort of like Forrest Gump, with provincial innocence replacing mental illness and self-discovery instead of death by AIDS. And Ganito came first. And as much as I love Tom Hanks (who is not bad looking), Christopher de Leon is much, much easier on the eyes. What I would have given to be a young lass when he still looked like that and I could call him fafa. I'd feel dirty calling him that now, and somehow, calling an elder crush tito is Just Wrong. Imagine this: Tito Sean. Tito Patrick. Tito Pierce. Eeeew.
Nowadays, Romero is known for his numerous B-movies that have influenced some of today's most popular filmmakers, one of which is Quentin Tarantino. This, I think, is a legacy just as important as his “serious” films, except that most of the Philippines think that genre has no place in history or culture.
So. Starstruck me. Amused him. I'm so overwhelmed I'm starting to speak lolcat. I can has interview! I can has picture! I can has memories! Whee!
And of the few times I've asked (cajoled, threatened, prodded) people to watch a film with me, only two of those movies have been Filipino. One was Pare Ko, the Gwapings starrer that was supposed to be the Bagets of the 90's and Romero's Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?, which starred a very cute, very young, very innocent-looking Cristopher de Leon and Gloria Diaz, who portrayed the ultimate Filipino dream girl with her sensual yet unnerving mix of sexual eroticism paired with a face so angelic she could give Maria Clara a run for her money. Maui and Katya have nothing on her.
Thinking about it, Ganito is sort of like Forrest Gump, with provincial innocence replacing mental illness and self-discovery instead of death by AIDS. And Ganito came first. And as much as I love Tom Hanks (who is not bad looking), Christopher de Leon is much, much easier on the eyes. What I would have given to be a young lass when he still looked like that and I could call him fafa. I'd feel dirty calling him that now, and somehow, calling an elder crush tito is Just Wrong. Imagine this: Tito Sean. Tito Patrick. Tito Pierce. Eeeew.
Nowadays, Romero is known for his numerous B-movies that have influenced some of today's most popular filmmakers, one of which is Quentin Tarantino. This, I think, is a legacy just as important as his “serious” films, except that most of the Philippines think that genre has no place in history or culture.
So. Starstruck me. Amused him. I'm so overwhelmed I'm starting to speak lolcat. I can has interview! I can has picture! I can has memories! Whee!
I Can Has Starstruck
Got to interview National Artist Eddie Romero for a magazine yesterday. I was so starstruck I was falling all over myself, stuttering and misplacing things. Thankfully, he was really nice and jolly about everything. He was fun to talk to and had humorous things to say.
Me:
It's rare that I make people watch movies with me. It's usually people asking me to watch movies with them. And of the few times I've asked (cajoled, threatened, prodded) people to watch a film with me, only two of those movies have been Filipino. One was Pare Ko, the Gwapings starrer that was supposed to be the Bagets of the 90's and Romero's Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?, which starred a very cute, very young, very innocent-looking Cristopher de Leon and Gloria Diaz, who portrayed the ultimate Filipino dream girl with her sensual yet unnerving mix of sexual eroticism paired with a face so angelic she could give Maria Clara a run for her money. Maui and Katya have nothing on her.
Thinking about it, Ganito is sort of like Forrest Gump, with provincial innocence replacing mental illness and self-discovery instead of death by AIDS. And Ganito came first. And as much as I love Tom Hanks (who is not bad looking), Christopher de Leon is much, much easier on the eyes. What I would have given to be a young lass when he still looked like that and I could call him fafa. I'd feel dirty calling him that now, and somehow, calling an elder crush tito is Just Wrong. Imagine this: Tito Sean. Tito Patrick. Tito Pierce. Eeeew.
Nowadays, Romero is known for his numerous B-movies that have influenced some of today's most popular filmmakers, one of which is Quentin Tarantino. This, I think, is a legacy just as important as his “serious” films, except that most of the Philippines think that genre has no place in history or culture.
So. Starstruck me. Amused him. I'm so overwhelmed I'm starting to speak lolcat. I can has interview! I can has picture! I can has memories! Whee!
Me:
It's rare that I make people watch movies with me. It's usually people asking me to watch movies with them. And of the few times I've asked (cajoled, threatened, prodded) people to watch a film with me, only two of those movies have been Filipino. One was Pare Ko, the Gwapings starrer that was supposed to be the Bagets of the 90's and Romero's Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?, which starred a very cute, very young, very innocent-looking Cristopher de Leon and Gloria Diaz, who portrayed the ultimate Filipino dream girl with her sensual yet unnerving mix of sexual eroticism paired with a face so angelic she could give Maria Clara a run for her money. Maui and Katya have nothing on her.
Thinking about it, Ganito is sort of like Forrest Gump, with provincial innocence replacing mental illness and self-discovery instead of death by AIDS. And Ganito came first. And as much as I love Tom Hanks (who is not bad looking), Christopher de Leon is much, much easier on the eyes. What I would have given to be a young lass when he still looked like that and I could call him fafa. I'd feel dirty calling him that now, and somehow, calling an elder crush tito is Just Wrong. Imagine this: Tito Sean. Tito Patrick. Tito Pierce. Eeeew.
Nowadays, Romero is known for his numerous B-movies that have influenced some of today's most popular filmmakers, one of which is Quentin Tarantino. This, I think, is a legacy just as important as his “serious” films, except that most of the Philippines think that genre has no place in history or culture.
So. Starstruck me. Amused him. I'm so overwhelmed I'm starting to speak lolcat. I can has interview! I can has picture! I can has memories! Whee!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
I Can Has Starstruck
Got to interview National Artist Eddie Romero for a magazine. I was so starstruck I was falling all over myself, stuttering and misplacing things. Thankfully, he was really nice and jolly about everything. He was fun to talk to and had humorous things to say.
Me: Which is harder, making horror films or "serious" films?
Him: If it were hard, I wouldn't do it.
It's rare that I make people watch movies with me. It's usually people asking me to watch movies with them. And of the few times I've asked (cajoled, threatened, prodded) people to watch a film with me, only two of those movies have been Filipino. One was Pare Ko, the Gwapings starrer that was supposed to be the Bagets of the 90's and Romero's Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?, which starred a very cute, very young, very innocent-looking Cristopher de Leon and Gloria Diaz, who portrayed the ultimate Filipino dream girl with her sensual yet unnerving mix of sexual eroticism paired with a face so angelic she could give Maria Clara a run for her money. Maui and Katya have nothing on her.
Thinking about it, Ganito is sort of like Forrest Gump, with provincial innocence replacing mental illness and self-discovery instead of death by AIDS. And Ganito came first. And as much as I love Tom Hanks (who is not bad looking), Christopher de Leon is much, much easier on the eyes. What I would have given to be a young lass when he still looked like that and I could call him fafa. I'd feel dirty calling him that now, and somehow, calling an elder crush tito is Just Wrong. Imagine this: Tito Sean. Tito Patrick. Tito Pierce. Eeeew.
Nowadays, Romero is known for his numerous B-movies that have influenced some of today's most popular filmmakers, one of which is Quentin Tarantino. This, I think, is a legacy just as important as his “serious” films, except that most of the Philippines think that genre has no place in history or culture.
So. Starstruck me. Amused him. I'm so overwhelmed I'm starting to speak lolcat. I can has interview! I can has picture! I can has memories! Whee!
Me: Which is harder, making horror films or "serious" films?
Him: If it were hard, I wouldn't do it.
It's rare that I make people watch movies with me. It's usually people asking me to watch movies with them. And of the few times I've asked (cajoled, threatened, prodded) people to watch a film with me, only two of those movies have been Filipino. One was Pare Ko, the Gwapings starrer that was supposed to be the Bagets of the 90's and Romero's Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?, which starred a very cute, very young, very innocent-looking Cristopher de Leon and Gloria Diaz, who portrayed the ultimate Filipino dream girl with her sensual yet unnerving mix of sexual eroticism paired with a face so angelic she could give Maria Clara a run for her money. Maui and Katya have nothing on her.
Thinking about it, Ganito is sort of like Forrest Gump, with provincial innocence replacing mental illness and self-discovery instead of death by AIDS. And Ganito came first. And as much as I love Tom Hanks (who is not bad looking), Christopher de Leon is much, much easier on the eyes. What I would have given to be a young lass when he still looked like that and I could call him fafa. I'd feel dirty calling him that now, and somehow, calling an elder crush tito is Just Wrong. Imagine this: Tito Sean. Tito Patrick. Tito Pierce. Eeeew.
Nowadays, Romero is known for his numerous B-movies that have influenced some of today's most popular filmmakers, one of which is Quentin Tarantino. This, I think, is a legacy just as important as his “serious” films, except that most of the Philippines think that genre has no place in history or culture.
So. Starstruck me. Amused him. I'm so overwhelmed I'm starting to speak lolcat. I can has interview! I can has picture! I can has memories! Whee!
Spiny Creature, I Would Date With You!
moar funny pictures
Who wouldn't date this earnest little bugger? At least you know he's putting effort into showing you a good time.
Heath Ledger: Dead by Accidental Overdose
The New York Coroner's Office released its official statement regarding actor Heath Ledger's sudden death. Apparently, it was a drug overdose. Other sites reported that Ledger was reportedly having trouble sleeping after internalizing his role as the Joker in the upcoming Batman movie. Does this mean that technically, the Joker killed Ledger?
Goodbye, Heath. We will miss you.
An excerpt:
Accidental drug overdose killed Ledger: NY coroner
By Daniel Trotta Wed Feb 6, 8:06 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of six prescription drugs, with a mix of painkillers, tranquilizers and sleeping aids found in his system, officials said on Wednesday.
Read more here.
Goodbye, Heath. We will miss you.
An excerpt:
Accidental drug overdose killed Ledger: NY coroner
By Daniel Trotta Wed Feb 6, 8:06 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of six prescription drugs, with a mix of painkillers, tranquilizers and sleeping aids found in his system, officials said on Wednesday.
Read more here.
Monday, February 04, 2008
John Carpenter and Robert Weinberg to Receive Lifetime Horror Award
The Horror Writers Association will award two Lifetime Achievement Awards at this year’s World Horror Convention and Bram Stoker Awards Banquet.
Writer/director/producer/composer John Carpenter exploded onto the horror scene with his 1978 classic “Halloween,” a film that held the title of most successful independent release for two decades. His other notable films include “The Thing,” “The Fog,” “Escape from New York,” “In the Mouth of Madness” and “Vampires,” as well as many others. Carpenter has come to be known as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time. He is currently in production on his newest project, called “The Prince.”
Eleven years before Carpenter’s “Halloween” was released, Robert Weinberg sold his first short story. He was a junior in college at the time, and hasn’t stopped writing since. A founding member of HWA, Weinberg is a two-time winner of World Fantasy Award and a renowned expert in many genres, having edited over 100 books in the fields of horror, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, western and mystery. Weinberg also has worked as a writing instructor and served as HWA vice president for two terms.
HWA President Deborah LeBlanc said, “We are proud to honor these two men with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Bob Weinberg’s contribution to the genre goes much deeper than his obvious body of published work, as he has always been a reliable, invaluable resource to HWA, and ever-willing to offer advice to our young writers.
“John Carpenter revolutionized the horror film,” LeBlanc continued. “The influence of ‘Halloween’
surpasses the boundaries of film, touching literature, comics, non-fiction, and nearly every other aspect of the horror genre. The creation of Michael Myers and his iconic theme music alone would be enough to earn him this award. The fact he has been a consistent and innovative force in the genre is just icing on the cake.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award is the most prestigious of the Bram Stoker Awards, given by the HWA in acknowledgment of superior achievement not just in a single work but over an entire career. Past Lifetime Achievement Award winners include such noted authors as Stephen King, Anne Rice, Joyce Carole Oates, Ray Bradbury, and Peter Straub. Winners must have
exhibited a profound, positive impact on the fields of horror and dark fantasy, and be at least sixty years of age or have been published for a minimum of thirty-five years. Last year’s winner was author Thomas Harris.
Writer/director/producer/composer John Carpenter exploded onto the horror scene with his 1978 classic “Halloween,” a film that held the title of most successful independent release for two decades. His other notable films include “The Thing,” “The Fog,” “Escape from New York,” “In the Mouth of Madness” and “Vampires,” as well as many others. Carpenter has come to be known as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time. He is currently in production on his newest project, called “The Prince.”
Eleven years before Carpenter’s “Halloween” was released, Robert Weinberg sold his first short story. He was a junior in college at the time, and hasn’t stopped writing since. A founding member of HWA, Weinberg is a two-time winner of World Fantasy Award and a renowned expert in many genres, having edited over 100 books in the fields of horror, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, western and mystery. Weinberg also has worked as a writing instructor and served as HWA vice president for two terms.
HWA President Deborah LeBlanc said, “We are proud to honor these two men with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Bob Weinberg’s contribution to the genre goes much deeper than his obvious body of published work, as he has always been a reliable, invaluable resource to HWA, and ever-willing to offer advice to our young writers.
“John Carpenter revolutionized the horror film,” LeBlanc continued. “The influence of ‘Halloween’
surpasses the boundaries of film, touching literature, comics, non-fiction, and nearly every other aspect of the horror genre. The creation of Michael Myers and his iconic theme music alone would be enough to earn him this award. The fact he has been a consistent and innovative force in the genre is just icing on the cake.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award is the most prestigious of the Bram Stoker Awards, given by the HWA in acknowledgment of superior achievement not just in a single work but over an entire career. Past Lifetime Achievement Award winners include such noted authors as Stephen King, Anne Rice, Joyce Carole Oates, Ray Bradbury, and Peter Straub. Winners must have
exhibited a profound, positive impact on the fields of horror and dark fantasy, and be at least sixty years of age or have been published for a minimum of thirty-five years. Last year’s winner was author Thomas Harris.
New and Improved! 7 Wonders of the World
Looks like the Philippines got tired of touting the Banawe Rice Terraces as the 8th Wonder of the World and has decided to enter another one of its tourist spots in a completely new 7 Wonders list.
I've never been to Tubbataha, but I fully support the Filipino vision to be in every international list possible (so far, we have Filipinos in the world class musicians list, the evil dictators list, and the notorious serial killers list, among others) so I'm posting the e-mail I got about our latest list:
Hi folks!
The beautiful Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines has been nominated as a candidate for the selection of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the same organization that chose the 7 wonders of the world. Selection will be on based sms, online and phone voting.
There were 10 sites nominated from our country but Tubbataha was the only entry accepted. Please visit http://www.new7wonders.com, you will see the voting page. Currently, Tubbataha is ranked 33 out of thousands of entries! We have to be included in top 21 to be considered for the final 7.
Let's vote for Tubbataha!
Yeba! :D
I've never been to Tubbataha, but I fully support the Filipino vision to be in every international list possible (so far, we have Filipinos in the world class musicians list, the evil dictators list, and the notorious serial killers list, among others) so I'm posting the e-mail I got about our latest list:
Hi folks!
The beautiful Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines has been nominated as a candidate for the selection of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the same organization that chose the 7 wonders of the world. Selection will be on based sms, online and phone voting.
There were 10 sites nominated from our country but Tubbataha was the only entry accepted. Please visit http://www.new7wonders.com, you will see the voting page. Currently, Tubbataha is ranked 33 out of thousands of entries! We have to be included in top 21 to be considered for the final 7.
Let's vote for Tubbataha!
Yeba! :D
It's Alive! It's Alive!
I'm back on line! Finally, after weeks, of not having access to the net, I've finally managed to go online. It's been hard, as I've had to frequent net cafes. Thank goodness I have my phone, which I use to send e-mail during emergencies.
So. What have I been up to lately? Trying to read as much of the Stoker entires that are up for nomination. I've gone through a few good ones. My only hope is that I read them all fast enough so that I don't miss the nomiations altogether. ;P
I've also been going to a lot of weddings. Last year, it was a lot of engagement parties, so it stands to follow that this year, it would be weddings. Last Saturday was Lianne's wedding (Lianne was a gorgeous bride!) and yesterday, I had to attend Mico's (I can't beleive he's as old as my younger brother!) with my mom. Yesterday's wedding was especially interesting because I had to sit at a table with titos and titas that I hadn't seen since high school. Nobody did the "My, how you've grown!" spiel (okay, one of them did), but -- and here's the interesting thing -- they *all* treated me like an adult. I have never had this happen tome before. It certainly wouldn't have happened with Chinese elders. Of course, the difference is that the titos and titas I sat down with weren't the ones whose kids I hung out with growing up -- those uncles and aunts still see me as a child, but that's okay because sometimes, it's great to still be seen as one, especially if you're my age.
Another interesting thing about last night's wedding was the amoutn of information I was privy to, some of them things that no parent will talk about in front of their children.
From my mom, I learned that unlike a Catholic church, a Protestant one will not chanrge you for a wedding. A great reason to switch religions, if I ever heard one. We are ready to welcome you into the fold.
From a tita, I got excellent advice on planning a wedding -- make sure that your wedding gown is easy to move in. All the beads and embriodery in the world will not mask the fact that you're stumbling the way to the altar; and also, when choosing food for the event, pick at least one that will really, really stand out, so that even if the rest of your menu is just 'good,' your guests will remember that one 'great' dish.
From a tito,I learned something even more interesting -- when eloping, be sure to have a good driver (one who knows the ins and outs and sidestreets of the city) and -- this is the important bit -- after the both of you are in the car, make sure you drop by the local Barangay office and have the girl sign a waiver that she went with the guy of her own volition, so that the guy can't be charged with kidnapping. Nobody's thought of that before!
So. Protestant church, a comfortable gown, or for cheapskates, elopement. Adults really are interesting creatures.
So. What have I been up to lately? Trying to read as much of the Stoker entires that are up for nomination. I've gone through a few good ones. My only hope is that I read them all fast enough so that I don't miss the nomiations altogether. ;P
I've also been going to a lot of weddings. Last year, it was a lot of engagement parties, so it stands to follow that this year, it would be weddings. Last Saturday was Lianne's wedding (Lianne was a gorgeous bride!) and yesterday, I had to attend Mico's (I can't beleive he's as old as my younger brother!) with my mom. Yesterday's wedding was especially interesting because I had to sit at a table with titos and titas that I hadn't seen since high school. Nobody did the "My, how you've grown!" spiel (okay, one of them did), but -- and here's the interesting thing -- they *all* treated me like an adult. I have never had this happen tome before. It certainly wouldn't have happened with Chinese elders. Of course, the difference is that the titos and titas I sat down with weren't the ones whose kids I hung out with growing up -- those uncles and aunts still see me as a child, but that's okay because sometimes, it's great to still be seen as one, especially if you're my age.
Another interesting thing about last night's wedding was the amoutn of information I was privy to, some of them things that no parent will talk about in front of their children.
From my mom, I learned that unlike a Catholic church, a Protestant one will not chanrge you for a wedding. A great reason to switch religions, if I ever heard one. We are ready to welcome you into the fold.
From a tita, I got excellent advice on planning a wedding -- make sure that your wedding gown is easy to move in. All the beads and embriodery in the world will not mask the fact that you're stumbling the way to the altar; and also, when choosing food for the event, pick at least one that will really, really stand out, so that even if the rest of your menu is just 'good,' your guests will remember that one 'great' dish.
From a tito,I learned something even more interesting -- when eloping, be sure to have a good driver (one who knows the ins and outs and sidestreets of the city) and -- this is the important bit -- after the both of you are in the car, make sure you drop by the local Barangay office and have the girl sign a waiver that she went with the guy of her own volition, so that the guy can't be charged with kidnapping. Nobody's thought of that before!
So. Protestant church, a comfortable gown, or for cheapskates, elopement. Adults really are interesting creatures.
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