Friday, September 24, 2004

off-topic: Head Cheese

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd see this recipe online.

Mac Envy

I've been a PC user all my life. It's cheap, upgradeable, and although we'd all like to Kill Bill at one point or another, Windows will always be there. Except for the brief blip in my career as a graphic artist where I used a mac for a year. Desipte it's wonderful display I cursed it's stupid OS and swore I would never use a mac again.

But like many a fool who's fallen for hunky good looks wrapped around an cool OS and interface, there's something about the new breed of macs and their technological turn-on that tugs at your aesthetically pleased heart and hence your purse strings.

So to make a long story short I find myself pausing at the Apple site every day and salivating- first over the i-book, then the wonderfully sleek new i-Mac G5. Not to mention the i-pod and all the cool toys and accessories that you can dress your mac-baby with. So seduced am I that I find my inner 12 year old whimpering in her best little girl voice:

"daddy I want one."


Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Childhood comics

I wonder if any of you remember the funnies that you read when you were a kid? Aside from the Bazooka Joe bubblegum strips of course.

I remember reading quite a bit of filipino comics though I don't remember the titles or the publications. I do remember My Little Pupung - our household help would buy em and pass them off to me.

I also remember the story of the Snake People - triplets born with snake properties but only Aleli, the girl who grew up in poverty was the 'good guy'. The other two, a boy and a girl, were kinda evil. It was all about them figuring out who they were, etc. etc.

I remember how well drawn these comics were though - it was relatively impressive in retrospect despite being printed on newsprint. There was sex, violence, comedy, all the stuff that people usually see in US comics, plus it was all written in filipino. I don't see how come we don't seem to have as strong a history in comics as the US does.

It makes me wonder where all these publications and people have gone.

Monday, September 20, 2004

off-topic: Baguio

Back from our company hoo-ha in Baguio.

All in all it was ok, even rather fun, despite the stressful moments we had (1) Finding ourselves lodged in a place that reeked of paint and was under renovation as well as having bunk beds with mattresses the thickness of two slices of rye bread (2) Getting lost looking for another place to stay (3) Getting lost again then stuck in traffic trying to get to Mine's View Park (4) Finding we had gone overbudget on the last day.

But hey, the weather was cold, the sunset on Saturday was absolutely perfect, the food was mostly good, and there were a number of good laughs along the way. The new SM City Baguio is admittedly the most beautiful SM branch I've ever seen, with it's white awnings silhouetted against the sky where the Pines Hotel used to stand. We could see it from the window of our apartel at Iggy's Inn, and it made a rather fetching silhouette against the spectacular sunset. You'd almost wouldn't believe it was an SM.

The thing is, although a lot of the popular restaurants and cafes have moved here, that's not why I would come to Baguio. I had said in an earlier post, the appeal of Baguio's charm has begun to fade for me despite the better accessibility. Sure, the pine trees and the mountain landscape is still there and it's enough to remind you that you're not in Manila. However you'd have to go further off towards Banaue to get away from the crowds and the traffic which used to be the primary reason I'd want to go.


Unless you've never been there, or you're on your way to Banaue or Sagada, in my opinion it's simply not worth it to spend 13 hours on the road back and forth just to be there overnight or for the weekend. If you want a break from the heat, head to tagaytay - the weather's relatively similar and it's closer and easier to get to. You can just as effectively hole up someplace, enjoy the cooler weather, eat a lot of vegetables, drink a lot of coffee, and read, draw or write in peace and quiet.




Friday, September 17, 2004

off-topic: incognito

I'll probably be entry-less this entire weekend as I'll be off on a company outing to Baguio (Boo! Hiss!).

What the hell is in Baguio?

It used to be one of my favorite places to spend the hot months of summer, but with the spike in population, pollution and the dearth of interesting places to actually go, this is all I have to say:

Ho-hum.

At least the company on the trip should be fun. And surprise, surprise, we're bringing our cat (ooh I wuv my kitty! Yey!).

For the day and night we're there however, it might be worth looking for new things to see apart from the new SM City Baguio. I'm not particulary in a shopping mood.

It is however, a great place to get a lot of sleep, read books, and it should be nice to walk around in such sweater-worthy weather.

the war on syndication?

syn·di·cate n.
  1. An association of people or firms authorized to undertake a duty or transact specific business.
  2. An association of people or firms formed to engage in an enterprise or promote a common interest.
  3. A loose affiliation of gangsters in control of organized criminal activities.
  4. An agency that sells articles, features, or photographs for publication in a number of newspapers or periodicals simultaneously.
  5. A company consisting of a number of separate newspapers; a newspaper chain.
  6. The office, position, or jurisdiction of a syndic or body of syndics.

Beeing a noob at comics compared to a lot of the guys out there, I wanted to do some research on how an artist can publish his work and make a decent living from it. There isn't much information on this for the local industry but there is a lot you can find on it specific to the US market.

This was how I stumbled upon the trouble brewing in the US comic strip industry. PVP's Scott Kurtz had plenty to say on this matter during his panel at the San Diego Comic Con.

Of course, I'm almost sure the phenomenon in question concerning newspaper syndication has primarily to do with the US market. But this was interesting to read nontheless, considering the shifting in trends towards web publishing and subscriptions and the increasing reluctance of artists to sell ownership of their copyright, merchandising, and marketing to syndicates who reap the lion's share of benefits from their creative talent without offering much in return.


MooMoo Hunters

Mango Comics is launching MooMoo Hunters on September 19, 2004 at the Museo Pambata, Roxas Boulevard, Manila 2-5 pm, Sunday.

Bring your kids, and support our local comic industry!


off-topic: quakes and remembering pinatubo

Living in the vicinity of the Pacific Ring of Fire - which means volcanos, quakes, etc. you'd think it was less of a surprise to semi-wake at 3 am yesterday to feel the floor rumbling beneath me. No, it's not my husband wheeling himself across the floor on his computer chair, it's an earthquake.

Unlike Japan though, we don't get that many noticeable quakes in the Philippines despite having a number of active volcanos and one that blew its top in the 2nd most spectacular eruption of that century. So that mild quake at 3am was a light shake compared to 1991's fiasco caused by the massive volcanic eruption that killed hundreds and changed the landscape around Pinatubo forever.

Anyway if you've ever experienced a quake like that in your lifetime, anything smaller just feels a little funny when you're only half awake and you're wondering whether you should run down to the nearest doorway or go back to sleep.

If you need any reminders of the incident, here are some images to refresh your memory.

http://randalcarr.tripod.com/pinatubo/
http://www.wtfo.com/~rodl/pinatubo/pinatubo.html

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

manga for poor otaku

Read Homanga. It rocks.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Dreaming of Book Country

Check out this neat Sandman poster for this NY book event. Dang.

http://www.nyisbookcountry.com/posters/28.html

For more stuff on neil gaiman, he's got an online journal.

Also, check out Mirrormask, a creative collaboration by Gaiman, McKean and the Jim Henson Company. Woot! News from his journal also is that there's to be a stop-motion film (think Nightmare before Christmas or James and the Giant Peach) of Coraline done by Henry Selick.

And yes, I'm yet another fangirl. Lalalalala...
Fixed up my link list.

I've organized them more sensibly (I hope). I'll be adding more as I clean up my favorites folder.


Monday, September 13, 2004

a divisive nature

We were watching Samurai Deeper Kyo over the weekend and I and my husband enjoyed it immensely - there's a lot of action, and the plot had a lot of depth that I didn't expect it to have. I highly recommend it.

We couldn't help but talk about the theme on man's fascination with power in the story - how human beings seem to crave it, no matter what race or culture and that it is ingrained in us to seek it.

To summarize, in the beginning we are introduced to Mibu Kyoshiro -- a man who is inhabited by two souls, kyoshiro who believes in bringing healing to people, and Kyo, a destructive force with the singleminded desire to be the strongest there is. Kyo eventually takes over Kyoshiro's body for the majority of the series and the entire plot is centered on Kyo's search for his body, which kyoshiro sealed away in a secret place. This body becomes an object of desire as well for other forces who wish to use it's 'perfection' for their own ends. What we find out in the end is Kyo and Kyoshiro are one and the same - that because of Kyoshiro's desire to be rid of the burden of his capacity for destructive power, Kyo came into being and true to his nature, wreaked indiscriminate havoc upon the country.

In reflection it mirrors the man's struggle with his contradictory nature, embodied in a desire for both peace and power, as symbolized by the Yin and Yang on Kyo's kimono and the seemingly polar opposites of Kyoshiro and Kyo. Forever in conflict but impossible to separate from ourselves. People want to get along but crave the thrill of conflict. We like to preach peace but there's a part of our soul that hungers for and enjoys the adrenalin that comes from pitting ourselves against each other. It's part of our nature, which is why sporting events and contests are so popular.


I believe that our desire for peace keeps our desire for power in check and it is our desire for power that allows us to advance as individuals and a society. It's a simplistic idea, I'll admit but I think that it's this balance that preserves order in society, so long as the balance of power is sensible to everyone.

However I look around me today observe a tendency to overemphasize power in an effort to prove individual or cultural superiority rather than to preserve a sensible balance. We wonder why we can't seem to come together as a country let alone a global society and the truth is there is too great a shift in power to allow peace and order to truly take hold. In the end power becomes destructive as ruling societies seem to need more and more of it to maintain order. It's the appalling discrepancy in lifestyles in our country, the flagrant wealth in the face of grinding poverty that breeds mistrust and suspicion between classes.


But before anyone pulls me down from my pulpit, the truth is I can wail and b!atch all I want but the fact remains that I AM part of this system and I'm ashamed to say I haven't done as much as I should. Maybe the answer is out there, but it's something I probably wouldn't know what to do with.

Friday, September 10, 2004

change

So much to do...so much to do...



I took my love and I took it down
Climbed a mountain and turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
'til the landslide brought it down
Oh, mirror in the sky -What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin'...ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
I don't know.....I don't know
Well I've been afraid of changin'
because I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder, even children get older
And I'm getting older too....So, take my love...take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
and if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills...
well the landslide will bring it down
The landslide will bring it down



- Fleetwood Mac

Thursday, September 09, 2004

You know you're in the Philippines when you hear christmas songs and they sell Christmas trees at National Bookstore in September.

Hay christmas.

I'm not ready. But I'm going to be a good girl and start writing my christmas list before Halloween.

my station | sept09

His dreams are like commercials
But her dreams are picture perfect and
Our dreams are so related though they're often underestimated

Check out Jack Johnson. Gotta love his groove. Check out his album, Brushfire Fairytales.

Other stuff I'm listening to:

Linkin Park: Numb.
Maxwell: Hula
Tori Amos: Ruby Through the Looking Glass
Dave Matthews: Ants Marching (Live at Red Rocks)
Sugar Ray: Is She Really Going out with Him?


happy birthday fafi

One of our friends is having his birthday today. I won't say what age he is but he's a very sweet old (omfg did I say that!!) guy. Wherever you are, have a happy happy birthday!

Vocabulary check:

Fafi:
same thing as fafa/papa. In this case it's an affectionate term for an older male friend.


bespren

I love my best friend. Hi Prixie!

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

bad news everywhere

I hate the local news these days. Nothing good seems to ever come out of it.

---

Apparently the latest craze for crime in Laguna these days is to pose as patients at a dental clinic and then hold them up for whatever cash and dental equipment they can get their hands on. Authorities believe that this series of heists is the work of one group. Which one? I guess we've yet to find out.

Have gun will run

In a place like Abra, the story is if you want to run for government, you have to get yourself an army.

To a city kid like me stories of mafia-style political activity in provincial areas seem like the stuff of someone's exaggerated spaghetti western but it's a fact of life for those who live in places where lines are drawn in the sand between families who fund standing private armies that do whatever musclework is needed to ensure their survival in the political arena.


street food

We find some of our favorite street food has invaded the malls and restaurants in various forms and are no longer the province of street corner vendors and their charcoal grills. Which is a good thing as it's probably more sanitary and easier to find when the craving hits you.

Check out Sizzling Balut at the Megamall foodcourt near the escalators or you can try Dencio's version of this cholesterol-laden yumyum.

Chicken Bacolod has isaw, gizzards and isol on the menu.

Vocabulary check:

balut: day-old duck chicks which are boiled in the shell and eaten hot from the egg or sizzling on a hotplate.

isaw: chicken intestines grilled and skwered on a stick

isol: chicken ass grilled and skewered on a stick

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Wag kang siyokoy

For those who want to learn filipino, or who ARE filipino. Wag kang siokoy!!

The Holy Kamote

kamote:

Simply put, it is a sweet potato. The philippines has a few varieties in different colors like red, violet, yellow and white. It's good boiled, eaten or cooked with sugar, turned into chips, etc.

WARNING: Do not eat before or during dates if you don't want to drive them away screaming. Shares similar properties with beans.

kamoteng kangkong:

It's the dark-green and purple vegetation growing out of the sweet potato. Leave it to us filipinos to eat every part of this plant. :D It looks similar to well, kangkong (swamp spinach) except that it doesn't grow in the water. It's sometimes made into salad with diced onions and vinegar or eaten stir-fried.

and by the way:
welcome to my blog. ^_^

identity

You can take a person out of his country but you can't take the country out of the person. In one way or another everyone has at least a passing interest in their roots, and there are always those who want to make sure you never forget where you came from. It's a common phenomenon for the displaced to cling to their roots as an anchor of identity in a sea of anonymity, and filipinos abroad are no exception.

Strangely enough, the filipino in the philippines is often engaged consciously or unconsciously with haphazardly obliterating their cultural identity. I'm not sure if it's just me but don't people find it weird that too many of us take it as a compliment that foreigners don't think we're filipino because of one thing or another?

Go figure.

I have no beef with people who learn english or other languages to be more competetive in the workplace or because they enjoy it. Heck I grew up speaking better english than filipino (although that was a product of the martial-law era's brand of education). Neither do I have any problems with people who would like to become good at arts and disciplines learned from other countries. The question really is who do we really want to become? No one can seem to agree on any answers to this.

Anyway it's nice to know though that there are people who aren't filipino out there who are fascinated with our culture to make up for the natives who are not.
Launchcast is the bomb. It really really is. :D Get it on your Yahoo Messenger.