Category: write-ups on culture
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End of Facebook Deactivation and Some Questions That Baffle the Mind
Yesterday was Facebook reactivation day, and what a day it is to see the newsfeed again. Congress has voted to give the Commission on Human Rights Php1,000 or USD20 for its next year’s budget. Obviously this is because the CHR has been vocal against the extra-judicial killings of drug addicts, including so-called collateral damage, under […]
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That moment I was mistaken for a nanny in Singapore
Weeks ago, the viral “BBC Dad” interview brought to surface one of the tiredest stereotypes of Asian women – nanny. In my travels in Europe and short stay here in the U.S., my brown skin has never drawn any racist remark or other tasteless judgment so far. I’m thankful I haven’t and hopeful I never will. I had […]
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The one job in my 20s that pushed me to grow up, fast
I wanted to be an animator when I was in highschool. Someday I’ll live in Japan and join the ranks of worldclass artists who tell stories through anime or moving drawings, I’d tell myself. But then life happened, and I knew I wasn’t good enough in drawing, so I let myself pick another goal when I […]
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That iconic Japanese wave art is here in Milan and I saw the beautiful thing
Last week I saw a Michelangelo. Today, when my second cousin Kathleen took me to an art exhibition, I chanced upon the famous wave reproduced thousands of times all over the world. What is it with Italians liking Japanese art and manga and food? There are many sushi joints around this neighborhood, competing with hair […]
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Marcia Adam’s Tuscany Tagaytay
Today marks my first month in Denmark and I am missing the Philippines, so let me share a memory from back home. Marcia Adam’s Tuscany is like a secret garden of aromas and chiaroscuro. The place is so beautiful. This is the first time a place shut me up when I was hangry.
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All Colors
Bakla in the Philippines remains a derogatory term, truth be told. It’s synonymous with weakling, cowardly, parlorista. Vice Ganda may be tolerated in the country’s public airwaves and conquer blockbuster ticket sales, but “his kind” is mostly seen as no more than that—an entertainment, comic relief, a joke in the human evolution. In academic discourses, […]
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Inktober
This month, friends and I took on a challenge. It’s called Inktober. Some dude thought it’s a good idea to create ink drawings and sketches every day for one whole month of October. Instead of the Octoberfest (the beer festival that originated in Germany), here we bravely display our brewed works, but if you want to see some […]
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Why Rurouni Kenshin matters to me and other 90s kids
When news broke that the Rurouni Kenshin cast and crew were going to Manila for film promotion, I did the most logical thing to do: stood from my swivel chair, covered my mouth, and jumped thrice in a carpeted office in the tallest building of corporate Makati. My colleagues looked on with mixed expressions, probably deciding […]
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Visit to the dentist and the question Do you like your smile
I’ve never been to a dental clinic that looks like a spa, nor have I been asked if I like my smile, till I had my teeth cleaned at a dental clinic in Makati. Most Filipinos don’t quite consider oral health as top priority in their list of where to put hard-earned money. When you […]
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French fine dining in Davao
The story of Claude’s Le Cafe de Ville begins in France where Claude started training in his hometown and globetrotting to a lifetime career in the food and beverage industry, experiencing the world of 5-star chains – Hilton, InterContinental, Sofitel, and Novotel, managing a 16th century hotel in Normandy, and after more than 50 years, […]
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Food trip: Singapore in a dark corner of Makati
There’s an airconditioned ‘hawker’ in Makati, creatively called “101 Hawker,” near Chino Roces and one of my officemates treated the entire team to a feast, bringing me and Mike (my +1) back to my home for about two years some time ago, Singapore. Hawkers are Singapore’s uppity versions of Pinoy carinderia. For SGD3 one can […]
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Car review of a first-time driver, first-time owner
Not so many people in this country own a car. While researching something for work, I came across the World Bank statistics that show the number of cars per 1000 people in different countries, and the Philippines has “30 vehicles per 1000 people” as of 2010, compared with 782 in the US, 518 in the UK, […]
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Nowhere dresses
You know how some dresses or shirt of yours would just disappear and you’re not sure if it got lost in the laundry shop or the last house you stayed in and you remember them just because you’re in the mood for browsing photos of yesteryears and you feel nostalgic about those times you wore […]
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Food trip (Father’s Day edition): nilagang baka
Nilagang baka (beef nilaga) is one of those Filipino dishes that are such a pleasure to eat. From sipping the broth to chewing the tender meat, eating it with rice, and topping with saba (banana) and pechay, you could find yourself feasting on rich flavors, especially if you add a few drops of patis (fish […]
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Food trip: Don’t Eat all you can’t
How much should you eat at an eat-all-you-can? The metro isn’t short of Filipino pleasure houses we call “buffet”: Vikings, Cabalen, Kamayan, Yakimix, Red Box, Center Stage, and Tong Yang, among many others. How much should you eat to get the best value for your money? The answer is simple: it depends on how much […]
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Hired
In nine years, I have experienced being an employee, a freelancer, an entrepreneur, and unemployed. The last one beat me badly. It took me some time before landing a job, because a challenging, well-paying and reputable job in the Philippines is like ordering a choco-caramel sundae loaded with whipped cream and strawberry syrup, but zero […]
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Her
Every second of this movie is strange. I’m glad my movie buddy could get us some free Greenbelt movie tix once in a while. Right now I’m writing a movie review for worldurbanista.com and I can’t think of any nice words except I liked the musical score. And the shots. And call me equally strange, […]
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Mediterranean Pinas
Somewhere in Makati, we found a piece of the Mediterranean. He’d teach me how to eat the chewy pita bread, tearing it with fingers, dipping into yoghurt mix. I’d take a bite, too, of his chicken bursting with flavors from Turkey or Saudi Arabia, where he worked for a year and ate with the passion […]
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Games People Play (review)
Final scene: Diego’s chiseled chest is in full view, his pants pulled down, showing his boxers. Julio is kneeling in front of him, and behind Diego is Luna bending over. Games It’s startling, that final scene of Games People Play, a theater production I thought would be a highbrow mindfuck piece of art. The ending […]
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Calabarzon Film Festival 2014: call for entries
[photo: I was invited to the press con and Manila Gala Premiere of Singaporean Anthony Chen’s award-winning film Ilo Ilo at Resorts World Manila, but Mike and I had to attend his friend’s wedding, so I channeled my frustrations to goofing around with wedding photographers and videographers] *** Calling filmmakers from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon […]
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Working with Ayala
My last project with Ayala Land involves a video shoot with triathletes Dan and Ani Brown.
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Something poptastik for your taste
[poptastic: a state of happiness] One can’t be quite sure how Urban Dictionary, or humans (so to speak), come up with new words, which is probably as often as babies are popped into this planet, but this word here, poptastic, has sure captured the promise of the event below: that something good is going to happen. […]
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How not to be scared watching horror films
Horror films don’t scare me now as much as they did before. I wouldn’t say it’s because I’ve grown up or that horror films have become less effective, but it’s probably because in the past three years, I encountered so much horror and corporate stress that could equal the terror of horror films, to the […]
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Cinemalaya 2013: 25 films and some posters of art
Vilma Santos is the lead star of Jeffrey Jeturian’s Ekstra; Eugene Domingo of Leo Abaya’s Instant Mommy; Gretchen Barretto of Christopher Ad. Castillo’s The Diplomat Hotel, and Alessandra De Rossi of Gil M. Portes’ Liars.
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If the MMDA really has to write Dan Brown a letter
If the MMDA really has to write Dan Brown a letter, maybe I would volunteer as their ghostwriter and have the chair sign this: Dear author, That literature mirrors reality has long been a subject of debate among students of Art, but allow us to read your metaphor against the grain: the representation of Manila […]
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Mangoes, anyone?
Mike knows that mangoes tame my inner monsters, so since the onset of summer he’s been buying me kilos of yellow mangoes that exude that familiar smell of ripeness. One second, I could be a complete worrywart, the next minute, I am Zenlike, eating bite after bite of mangoes divine. On Sundays outside the streets […]
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No use talking about privacy in social media, says law professor
Less—not more—privacy benefits the community, said Deakin Law professor who argued that “the more we know about other people, the clearer it becomes that they are like us.” This, he said, reduces stereotypes and prejudices. Privacy, irrelevant Talks of privacy in the time of flourishing social media and technological advances are irrelevant, said Professor Mirko […]
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Sleep – an important health and beauty investment
Australian sleep expert Prof. D Hillman said sleep, like diet and exercise, is key to healthy living. One who lacks sleep experiences quality problems in thought processing, decision making, vigilance, reaction times and mood. Lack of sleep lets all ingredients in a happy, healthy life slip away. “Productivity, safety and wellbeing suffer as do other […]
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Sleep and Marcus Wayne
Having a kid at home sends waves of energy and love. Hope to crush this boy with hugs and kisses again, probably on the long weekend. And now, I go back to sleep. But very quickly, speaking of sleep, I wrote an interesting news piece the other day about it. I’ll blog the details tomorrow, […]
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An amazing dance revolution of one billion
This Valentine’s day, a billion women will rise. Every day, 2 to 3 cases of rape are reported in the Philippines. Imagine every country around the world keeping similar statistics of forced sex, of physical abuse of women, of malicious touch and looks, of hitting and , and that would be enough to join One […]
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4th annual Manila Game Jam: making games in 48 hours
Students, professionals and hobbyists create games in just 48 Hours
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Dempster
Let’s talk about Dempster. Another filmmaker with laurel leaves. Dempster directed the documentary Taguri: The Kites of Sulu, a full-length feature on the Taosug people. His replies here sound like half-jokes, but they sure are telling. 1. What’s the last movie you saw in cinema and with whom? Ruruoni Kenshin, with the wife 2. What’s the […]
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Aedrian
Let’s talk about Aedrian. He’s an advocate of children’s rights as well as the rights of the LGBT group. He wants to make films that can “break the wall of oppression,” he said, to help the marginalized. 1. What’s the last movie you saw in cinema and with whom? The last movie I saw was […]
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Teng
Let’s talk about Teng. He’s Cinema Rehiyon 5’s curator for Mindanao. Born in Cotabato City and living in Davao City, Teng is also a filmmaker and writer from Maguindanao. He has directed and produced more than a dozen short documentaries and experimental works. His debut feature Limbunan (Bridal Quarter) has been screened in more than fifteen international […]
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Bagane
Let’s talk about Bagane. 1. What’s the last movie you saw in cinema and with whom? The Hobbit! With other hobbits. I was so glad I’m still alive and was able to watch it. 2. What’s the next movie you’re going to watch on big screen? I’m definitely going to watch The Hobbit again, before […]
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Carson
Let’s talk about Cinema Rehiyon 5. The film festival for Philippine independent cinema outside the country’s capital is called Cinema Rehiyon, and the first two festivals were held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila. After that, Davao and Bacolod hosted the next ones. In 2013, it will be in Maria Makiling’s paradise […]
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Pol
Let’s talk about filmmakers. Many people love watching movies and some–like Pol here–make films. The power of independent filmmaking is in its freedom to tell stories dripping with the aspirations and perspective of the common people or voices that could have been censored by movie-producing cash cows or government censor bodies. 1. What’s the last […]
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Kei
Let’s talk about films. Many people love watching movies, some make films… and a few crazy ones, like Kei here, study them and head a cool film festival. 1. What’s the last movie you saw in cinema and with whom? Rurouni Kenshin with, uhm, you! 2. What’s the next movie you’re going to watch on the big […]
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Sweet SONA and a grain of salt: thoughts on OFWs and BPOs
The first thing I will confess is I fell asleep yesterday afternoon watching the live streaming of President Aquino’s SONA. The drift was inevitable when he was promising the police force and the military big toys for big boys. I dozed off in front of my laptop. Please excuse my untoward reaction. My brain was […]
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Get a boyfriend who can cook
The boyfriend arrived in the Philippines last month while I was still on a two-week vacation in Malaysia, so during my last week there, I wanted to re-schedule my flight to an earlier date, but since it would be more expensive, I chose to wait instead and enjoy Kuala Lumpur’s gastronomic treats and sights. Starting […]
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Floating market
Fascinating how the floating market operates. Also called the Venice of Asia, this market easily lands in travelogues and blogs about Thailand. You ride a boat and buy all sorts of products from the side of the waterways or from peddlers on boats. These photos were taken last week when C. and O. were […]
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a cabinet of wonders
There is a cabinet of wonders I rarely open, but this afternoon I remembered it when I saw my former colleague, Christian Tablazon, on Facebook liking this photo (thanks, Christian!): Christian showed me this website, and I opened it twice since then. Both times I wondered about the process of their creation (and not really […]
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iPhone 4s (technology meets art: perfection)
Once upon a modern time, before iPhone 4s was released, my game designer friend Jay warned me, in an arcane tone, that the way you look at mobile phones will never be the same again once you use an iPhone. Since I was never a techie person, that geek data he was trying to feed […]
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Myanmar, a promising country in Southeast Asia
This summer, it will be my first time to visit some Southeast Asian countries after a stressful work for Rice Today magazine. I haven’t got time to plan this “backpacking” but I’m already excited. Unfortunately, I can’t stay out roaming for too long to explore the less travelled Southeast Asian countries such as Laos and Myanmar. I […]
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Happy women’s day! –but what is this for?
Our big boss who’s in a Mekong Delta trip right now told us that flowers are filling the streets of Vietnam as men get these for women since it’s women’s day today. What’s this international women’s day for? Different organizations have different themes, just as how different schools and discourses of feminism define a woman […]
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Happy women's day! –but what is this for?
Our big boss who’s in a Mekong Delta trip right now told us that flowers are filling the streets of Vietnam as men get these for women since it’s women’s day today. What’s this international women’s day for? Different organizations have different themes, just as how different schools and discourses of feminism define a woman […]
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High risk (How I was persuaded to get a private insurance plus investment)
Insurance would probably be the last thing that many young people like me would spend money on. “Getting insured” seems apt only for the sick and aging people. In the Philippines, getting an insurance plan is the least of the majority’s concern, since many of the Filipinos would rather buy food for the table than […]
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weekend flea
Venue: Scape Flea Market Many items sold in the flea market are such a precious find like this cream vintage polka dot dress I got for only SGD3 (about a hundred pesos). Some are brand new, some are seldom used. Many are priced 5-10 dollars, others are $15-20. As closing time approaches, prices would drop […]
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Happy Diwali!
What I like about Singapore is so many nationalities and cultures are here that holidays are a many. The latest, aside from Halloween, is the Hindu’s Deepavali or Diwali (festival of lights). I like what it means to the spiritual ones: the celebration of an inner light, a self that is something beyond our bodies […]
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first timer in Vietnam (snapshots of walk trips, people, and all things lovely)
When I checked in and entered my room, I literally stopped in awe at the room reserved for me (my mind said: omigoshoigoshomigosh). Like in my other trips, I don’t expect much from the places nor do I read so many travel guides since they may spoil my own impressions. One funny habit I have […]
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I want more Vietnamese food!
Oh my. Vietnamese food is all goodness. Heaven’s delight. pho Honestly I had zero idea what specialty Vietnam has, until my co-editor at IRRI, Lanie, advised me to try pho, noodles made of rice! (they’re abundant with rice, Vietnam being the world’s second largest rice exporter (after Thailand). That advice came to me weeks before […]
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Crush of the Month: Larry, The Boss
On my last night in Boracay, I was walking down the beachfront with my relatives when a rock band seized my attention and its leader grabbed my heart: Larry of The Boss Band Boracay on Bass and Vocals I couldn’t explain what took over me that night when I heard and watched this Larry perform. […]
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Boracay's Secrets
Boracay is world-famous for its White Beach. In 1997 though, it became infamous for severe pollution in its waters, mainly because of resorts dumping its sewage waste into the sea (according to a Discovery Channel publication). Ten years after that, Boracay gradually treated its waters, and bacterial content hasn’t been as grave as before […]
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Laundry Time
Confessions: 1 When I’m home–as in my parents’ house– I don’t do the laundry. My mother washes my clothes, including my undies. 2 It’s been years since I actually did a hand wash of one laundry basket. When I was teaching, there were laundry shops. When I was in my sister’s place both in Manila […]
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worse novels make bad ones good
Last month I finished reading Norwegian Wood, Murakami’s novel that supposedly put him under the literary limelight. As a matter of preference, I didn’t like it. I’m sorry fans of Murakami. His Wind Up Bird Chronicles is to be blamed. I’ve seen what I think is his best and I couldn’t get myself into settling […]
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Departures (A Weekend of Harry Potter, some TV series and films)
This weekend’s film marathon in our friends’ house and in a 3D theater was a trip down the memory lane. We started with Eiga Sai featured film Departures, then relaxed with 10 Things I Hate About You, then saw two episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and watched Harry Potter in 3D. When did you watch these […]
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Japanese. Film Festival. Singapore. 2011.
city of curious finds Days ago, I whined about not being in Manila where the film festivals are on. After that I saw a newspaper ad announcing the opening of the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) here. Of course, I told myself, Singapore without its arts festivals is not Singapore. Gallery Theatre of the grand National […]
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my first haruki murakami experience: I wanted to throw the book away and run for my life.
Some nights, we feel we need a good movie. A feel-good movie. Some evenings, we want a companion to cuddle with. Some times, we want to be alone with a good book that does not let go of us from page 1 to last sentence, a good book with a story that haunts us wherever […]
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geek is love is music
Gino Quillamor is 93.1 dj in “The Awesome Twosome Show” and it was my boyfriend who “introduced” me to Gino, first by asking me to tune in to Rx Monster starting 4pm, then by showing me his facebook page. I wasn’t interested when he asked me to listen to a particular dj in a particular […]
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CRACKER RECOMMENDS: New York, I Love You
This is a film of short films by different writers and directors and actors, who will all make you feel that in a city of strangers such as New York, you may find yourself enjoying every moment of experimenting with life. After watching this film I asked a friend who majors in film, if she […]
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Cracker recommends "Here Comes the Bride"
Chris Martinez wrote and directed this comedy. And as my friends and I decided after seeing this film, he is one genius who is worth viewing and reviewing. The film does not bank on slapstick, which Pinoy comedy movies are known for, infamously. It plays with funny impossibilities of character switch and all the actors […]
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stingy foodies
No amount of global recession can really stop us from changing our food habits but when I dined in at Italianni’s one weekend, I felt like a well-off socialite (a cheaper version) who continually consumes wine and caviar amidst the global financial crisis, increasing job losses, reeking squalor, and unequal distribution of wealth. After picking […]
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a postmodern play*
do we love to make love or do we love …to make love? why do we suspend a part of ourselves when we love? why is everything in the wrong place when one is in love? why does everything in the wrong place fall in the right places when
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How to watch Watchmen
WHY does Rorschach have to die? Why does the movie end with a depressing note and a funny tone? Why show an 80s story in the year two thousand and nine? Why the interest on this film adaptation of another DC comic book about heroes and end of the world and the great American […]
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postmodern love
Pre-modern love is love less the romance: nothing intimate, nothing personal (“I love you because I own you, my lady), like when the German poets and minnesingers (love singers) in the early centuries perform something similar to the Filipino harana (courtly love songs) in public. Campbell narrates in his “Power of Myth” that love for […]
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a happy site by a comarts alumnus who's now with a gaming company
stolen from thesalmonellawars Jay Gavarra is a humorist, a genius, a reader, a songwriter (haha), a ComArts graduate, a professional gamer (PS3, PSP, Wii, etc), sarcasm personified,
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UST's "schizophrenia"
Europe? nah, one idyllic afternoon at UST, Manila “No class today!” This sentence always calls for a celebration–sometimes even among teachers. So when our Comp Lit 370 professor announced this via text, my classmates and I (with respectable teaching posts at the UP, Ateneo, UST) rejoiced and went on with our own Saturday plans (which […]
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how the tsinoy (not intsik, that's derogatory) celebrated new year in laloma
It was my first time to witness how a culture struggles to exist in a place hostile to their presence. On the eve of Chinese New Year, I was lying lazily on my bed in Laloma, Quezon City when drumbeats called and awakened something in me, making me want to run and dance, so right […]
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interview with Hotel Sogo staff*
Iba ang dating ng Sogo Hotel. Iba sahod dito, may benefits pa…Ang panlaban ng Sogo hindi ganda ng room o sarap ng pagkain. Dito sa’men implemented ang courtesy. Tinuturo sa staff ang Japanese bow. Administrative, employee, or staff kailangan [marunong] ng Japanese bow.
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what’s inside Sogo (and kulturang motel)*
Apparently Sogo hotels stand on areas where the masses hang around—not in Rockwell Makati but in Guadalupe, not along Roxas Boulevard but Malate, not in Filinvest but Alabang Rotonda.
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what’s inside Ayala library
Guests are prohibited from entering the Filipinas Heritage Library during inventory period. But how did I manage to get in? I just walked in, took a couple of brochures, and went straight ahead to their posh Reading Room, looked around for someone I could ask where the library itself is, then felt something is wrong. […]
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interview with a hopeless, clueless librarian
“so why put up that public library anyway?”
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