a series of unfortunate events

1. papunta ako ng airport para sa flight papuntang cebu at P400 lang pala laman ng wallet ko
2. kinain ng atm machine ang aking atm card dahil sa 3x wrong pin
3. naubos oras ko sa proseso ng pag-retrieve ng atm card kaya hindi na ako umabot sa flight ko
4. dahil hindi ako naka-withdraw ay hindi ako makapag-rebook ng flight
5. naisipan kong mag fund transfer sa isa pang atm account pero ayaw tanggapin sa machine ang atm card dahil sa magnetic strip problem
6. takbo ako sa isa pang expressnet machine na tumatanggap sa aking flip na atm card pero 2x nag-wrong pin
7. nag fund transfer na lang ako sa e-cash card ni ayi pero hindi ko siya ma-text o matawagan dahil biglang ayaw gumana ng asterisk key sa aking cellphone na kailangan para ma-unlock ang keypad
8. kinailangan kong puntahan sa muntinlupa si ayi at gisingin sa pagtulog at biglain sa landline na nasa labas na ako ng kanilang subdivision at kinakailangan ko siyang dalhin sa festival mall para magamit ang e-cash card niya
9. pagkatapos ma-withdraw ay kailangan ko pang magbayad ng P350 para lang maayos ang keypad ng cellphone para makapagtext sa nasa cebu na hindi ako makakarating sa araw na iyon
10. umasa pa akong maaalala ko ang pin ng aking atm card kaya hindi ko pa linabas lahat ng laman ng account, ang pagkakamaling ito ay nagdulot ng isa pang serye ng mga malas na pangyayari apat na araw pagkatapos nito

read book

module making 101

somebody told me that by using the learning objective "...to raise awareness and understanding " i was insulting my participants by assuming that their awareness and understanding are much lower than my own. ooooooooooh!

"b"

tequila sunrise

Sent : Tuesday, August 29, 2000 9:35 PM
Subject : If it's Sunday, it must be Vangroovy.

After Sunday, my details are as follows (see handy attached map for planning your holiday on the left coast). For those to whom I owe money, none of the following applies...

610 Jervis Street, Apt. 704Vancouver, B.C.V6E 3M4tel. (604) 729-7957birthday Sept. 10 (enough said...)Sayonara, sweethearts.

Lindsey

"He killed them all. He killed their wives and their families; he killed their neighbours; he killed their enemies; he killed people who owed them money. And then just like that, *poof*, he was gone."- Kevin Spacey, "The Usual Suspects"
================================================
Sent : Sunday, September 10, 2000 11:47 PM
Subject : Re: oh, you know

27, baby. Thanks for you birthday messsage!

So today is the big day and I am out at my parents' place getting spoiled. It's been a long time since I was in the same city as the parental units on my birthday...

Vancouver is beautiful, but lonely. Last year at this time I was also in a new city - Ottawa - and also without friends, so I know that I will make friends in Vancouver and that it will become home, but part of me also wonders what in hell made me think that it was a good idea to move to a new city AGAIN?

I think that I might have a bad case of New City Ennui....Bar school is tough. 9 more weeks of it to go. I love my new apartment - I can see the ocean. I will write more soon - my Mum i scalling me for breakfast at the moment!

Love an older (and hopefully wiser) Lindsey
=============================================
Sent : Saturday, October 14, 2000 6:47 AM

hiya, Romel.Sorry for the radio silence. Mostly, it is borne of the fact that I haven't been doing anything interesting lately, so I don't have much to write about!

I go to bar school classes every morning and for part of every afternoon, and then I just go to the office and work on my readings and assignments. I don't like the course very much because it takes up all of my evenings and weekends - it is much worse than just having a regular job. Sigh.

There was an article on the front page of the paper here yesterday about Estrada's gambling problem. There was an accompanying picture, and I have to admit to being a bit suspicious of any head of state who looks so much like Elvis Presley.

Anyway, I hope that you are having a good time in Ph. (not even attempting to spell such a tricky word today - I am pretty tired...) and that all is well at work.Have a great weekend!Lindsey
============================================
Sent : Friday, October 27, 2000 9:03 AM

hiya, Romel.How are things in hard-to-spell-places? Things on the West Coast are v. stressful as I have less than 2 weeks to go before exams. This course really bites, I have to say. I am out at my parents' place today so at least I am getting proper food and my laundry is done, however...

I have no interesting things to tell you because I do nothing except study and go to class...

Except did I tell you that I saw Gunilla? She was at a conference for the Special Rapporteur on Migrant Workers. In fact, she was lecturing the Special Rapporteur in a manner that I associate only with Gunilla. The Special Rapporteur looked pissed off. I hope that she recommends to the UN that Canada be sanctioned for having such an obnoxious citizen...

love Lindsey
===============================================
Sent : Friday, November 24, 2000 7:34 AM

hiya, Romel.Guess what? I passed my bar exams! (Insert victory cheer here)

I am pretty relieved because the last exam was pretty difficult and there was a big section on mortgages where I crashed and burned. So now I can clear all the paper and binders and texts out of my apartment and forget everything I learned in the last ten weeks!

What are you up to these days? How is work? How is Ayi?

Love Lindsey
=======================================
Sent : Saturday, January 13, 2001 1:38 AM

Happy Birthday, man!How does it feel? Are you having a bash to celebrate? My friend Paula just had her thirtieth birthday in October and she threw a party with the theme "Three Decades of Mediocrity". I thought it was pretty funny....

I am doing some volunteer work for an NGO in town: the Vancouver ASsociation for Survivors of Torture. It's actually a lot less depressing than it sounds.... Lots of migrant stuff, so it keeps me interested.

Have a great birthday, Romel

:) love Lindsey
=================================================
Sent : Wednesday, January 17, 2001 1:52 AM
Subject: Re: kubrick

Glad to hear that you're doing well (in the midst of chaos, as usual) and that someone threw you a birthday bash.I saw the movie "Traffic" last night and was totally thinking of you. One of the characters was played by an actor named Benicio Del Toro and man, did he remind me of you. Very weird. Is this movie out in the Philippines?

I am still working my ass off at the firm. But now I also go snowboarding occasionally, so life is good.

Lindsey
=========================================
Sent : Tuesday, March 13, 2001 5:21 AM
Subject Re: ode to joy

hiya, Romel!How are things?

I have finished my litigation rotation and am now in the corporate department. I am really working for the man now, baby! But I'm balancing things out after hours volunteering for the Vancouver Assoc. for Survivors of Torture, so I think I still have a tenous hold on my soul.....

I'm planning a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia for August (maybe...) Do you have any conferences or workshops in that neck of the woods? So far my planning has been all about buying a guidebook, but I will throw myself into it later in the month (work is sucking up all of my energy right now.....)

Vancouver is growing on me, though. Especially now that spring has sprung. The cherry trees are all in bloom and the weekend was sunny and warm, perfect for reading my book by the water, which was exactly what I did on Saturday. But still perfect for snowboarding, which is what I did on Sunday!

Tell me what you are doing, especially if it involves tequila :) Lindsey ================================================

i'll bring the lemons lindsey, miss you much, i'll see ya in your happy place. - romel

MPL wins 1st under-17 girls football title
Saturday, May 13

SAN CARLOS CITY—Boosted by an inspiring performance from its skipper, Muntinlupa-Parañaque-Las Piñas overcame Iloilo, 2-1, to capture the first PFF National Under-17 Girls Football crown before a big crowd at the SJRI ballfield here.

MPL Football Association president Cathy Revilla said their club is overwhelmed with the distinction as the first girls’ Under-17 national champion.

MPL, Iloilo booters arrange title clash
Friday, May 12

SAN CARLOS CITY — Playing with more spunk and energy despite poor weather conditions, Muntinlupa-Parañaque-Las Piñas and Iloilo came through with runaway victories to set up a titular showdown in the 1st PFF National Girls’ Under-17 Football Championships here.MPL regained its aggressiveness in the second half to beat Negros Oriental, 5-1........

"Endurance was the key to our win. The girls are peaking at the right time," said MPL coach Ernie Nierras, whose team drew goals from five different players, including two substitutes.

Striker Cristina de los Reyes, 12, set the MPL attack in motion with her 5th minute goal but Negros Oriental forged a 1-all tie in the 19th minute with Danillyn Lasin’s 18-yard free kick.

MPL, however, came out with more energy after the re-start. Defender Mica Suarez and striker Isabel Kilayko typified MPL’s ferocious second half assault by scoring from close range in the 46th and 53rd minutes, respectively, while substitutes Leah Cruz and Ayi Mondragon sealed the rout with their goals in the final three minutes.

bend it!!!

gma loves mang tomas

yong si gloria sa bagong tv advert ng mang tomas, si jazer yon na nanay ng inaanak kong si julia na siya namang bata sa huling tv ad ng gain plus advance!

great shakes

sa magdalena's bakeshop sa gilid ng simbahang katoliko sa sentro ng siyudad ng san carlos ay may tig beinte pesos lang na ube shake at pineapple shake. hmmmm, good stuff.

me and the devil sandwich

spread three chords over twelve bars
top it with longing and infinite sadness
dash it with a little bile from your gut
garnish with soulful licks
be sure to pay your dues

enjoy your blues

X-Men III

i just saw the preview of x-men 3, kasama na sina beast, angel at juggernaut! galeng!

mormon jazz

ever noticed na parating may basketball court sa labas ng chapel ng church of the latter day saints?

....and that it seems na wala namang naglaro sa mga basketball courts nila ever?

so what's with basketball and the mormons anyway? the only possible koneks i could make is that mormon state utah has a great basketball team in the NBA, yon ba iyon? sana istatwa na lang nila malone at stockton, pero malamang tanggalin din nila iyong kay malone dahil lumipat ng lakers sa huling hirit nila ni payton para maka isang championship ring man lang bago mag-retire.

so malamang istatwa na lang ni kirlienko ang ipalit sa istatwa ni malone katabi ng istatwa ni stockton na maikli ang shorts.

pinatay nila

...si ka eric ng unorka

pagsanjan semana santa

puno ng acacia

ilang taon na kaya yong puno ng acacia sa gitna ng quadrangle ng ating elementary school? kahit nuong nag-aaral pa tayo doon eh parang ang tanda tanda na niya.

inisip ko dati merong isang super mother higad iyong puno ng acacia na kasing edad nito na pinang-gagalingan ng sangkatutak na higad na maya't maya ay nahuhulog sa nagkakatihan at nagpupulahang batok, braso at noo ng mga batang mag-aaral. kahit na hindi ako nabiktima ng mga falling higad ay nakaka-relate ako sa hirap at pagkagitla ng mga nag-ngangatihang mga bata na sasabihan ng mga titser na kanilang lalapitan bilang pangalawang magulang sa paaralan para sa kanilang suliraning kahigaran ng -> "HUWAG MONG KAMUTIN AT KAKALAT!!!"

kung hindi ako nagkakamali ay hindi lang higad ang nahuhulog mula sa acacia kundi mga dahon din. walang patid na naglalaglagang dahong dilaw, mala dilaw na mala brown, mala brown na mala orange, at kahit mga berde pa. inakala ko dati na kagagawan ng mga walang magawang mga higad ang pagkatanggal ng mga dahon sa puno at dahil sa excitement nilang magtanggal ng mga dahon ay nahuhulog ang ilan sa kanila diretso sa mga batok ng kung sino pang mga iyakin na mga bata.

inisip ko noon na bakit ang laki laki ng acacia tapos ang liit-liit naman ng mga dahon niya. ang nararapat sa ganon kalaking puno eh yong dahon ng puno ng saging di ba? kasi kapag ganon kalaki ang dahon niya eh mahihirapan na yong mga higad na tanggalin ito at kung mahulog man ay hindi siya makalat dahil hindi siya matataboy ng hangin habang winawalis ng janitor at sa totoo lang kung kasing laki nga ng dahon ng saging ang nakakalat sa quadrangle ay pupulutin na lang yon kaysa walisin.

ang hinihintay kong bumagsak mula sa acacia eh yong mga sipa na kinoconfiscate niya sa mga batang naglalaro kapag recess at lunch break, sinasalo niya ang mga ito at hindi na ibinabalik. hindi na ako nakakakita ng sipang tingga at sako tulad ng mga ginamit natin noon, siguro ay dahil bago na ang style ng mga bubong ngayon kaya hindi na pamilyar sa tingga ang mga bata dala na rin siguro nagtatanggalan ang mga yero ng bubong ng mga bahay noong panahon natin dahil sa mataas na demand ng tingga para sa sipa.

siguro bukod sa sipa ay marami pang ibang bagay na kino-confiscate ng punong acacia sa gitna ng ues noon dahil madalas-dalas ang kaganapang nagkukumpulan ang mga bata sa ilalim nito at nakatingala't may itinuturo na kung anong bagay sa mga sanga ng acacia. ang madalas na ituro at pagkaguluhan ay kapag may pusang naligaw sa mga sanga nito.

pero kahit wala namang ibang bagay sa sanga ng acacia bukod sa higad at maliliit na dahon nito ay parang milagrosang puno ito na kung anu-anong aparisyon ang nakikita ng mga bata kapag tumingala sa punong ito.

humila ka lang ng isa o dalawang walang magawang mga kaklase o kaibigan (parang marami nito nuong panahon natin) para tumayo sa ilalim ng acacia at pare-parehong tumuro sa mga sanga nito ay siguradong mag-kukumpulan na maya maya ang mga batang grade 1 at grade 2 para tingnan kung ano ang itinuturo ng unang tatlong batang walang magawa pagkatapos kumain ng baon. mga batang grade 3 at 4 ang unang makakapagsabi kung anong hinahanap ng mga batang grade 1 at 2. maya maya ay mga batang grade 5 at 6 naman ang nag-uunahang makakita at pagtalunan ng kung anumang bagay na sinasabi ng mga batang grade 3 at 4 na nasa puno ng acacia.

tiyak tuwang tuwa si super mother higad.

tequila mockingbird

From : Lindsey Cameron
Sent : Monday, January 10, 2000 3:55 AM
Subject : Re: start the year right

hiya, Romel. My New Year's was spent with friends from undergrad at a party in Vancouver. Nothing to crazy, but good fun all the same. Otherwise, I had a great visit with the parental units and with a few other friends on the West Coast.

I did have one funny thing happen to me: Since everyone was having Christmas at our house, my father decided that it would be fun to serve oysters as appetizers. We had some leftovers because one of my uncles doesn't like shellfish, and my mum made a nice oyster soup. Anyway, as I was eating my soup, I found a pearl! This must be a good omen for the new millennium...

Happy Birthday! What will you do to celebrate?

:) Lindsey
========================================
Sent : Monday, February 7, 2000 5:48 AM
Subject : Re: the revolutionary

hiya, Romel. Glad to hear that your Dad is in a healthier climate. And hey, some of us bourgeois-types can be a lot of fun!

Any job involving responsibility is going to be tough, especially when money is on the line. Don't quit just because your co-workers are acting like assholes.

Now I am back at the office, plowing through more work than any one woman should have to do. I ran into my judge as I was coming into the building and he was going to the parking garage after having been out on the canal - at least he had the grace to look embarassed that I was working on such a beautiful day!

Had lunch with Bing last week (yummy sushi). The CHRF is doing an initial publication of our summer project next month, and a final publication in June, because it was well-received by the workshop people who met with Bing in Manila. If you promise not to make fun of it, I will send you a copy...

:) Lindsey
=======================================
Tuesday, February 29, 2000 3:09 AM
Subject : radio silence

hiya, Romel. Ottawa is going through an unseasonable warm patch. Only two weeks ago it was -40, now it is 10. So all the snow is melting and I practically have to swim to work.

I have been very busy at the office, but it all paid off on Friday when I met with the judge and he said that everything I gave him was very useful. He is such a charming man and always makes me feel like he appreciates the hours I put in! I will miss him in the fall.

;) Lindsey
=========================================
Sent : Tuesday, March 14, 2000 10:59 PM
Subject : Re: A true revolutionary is someone who is moved by the heart - che guevara

Things here are crazy as usual, and I have the additional chaos lately of a new boyfriend. His name is Joseph and he works on Parliament Hill (in Ottawa, there are only men who work on the Hill, and men who are techies...) He is fun and smart and cute, so I am pretty pleased with myself for finding him :)

My Mum is also visiting right now so I have been working weird hours so that I can spend my afternoons with her.

This Friday is St. Paddy's day, so there will be drunken mayhem I am sure. Can you tell that I have finally settled into Ottawa with a vengeance? And of course I move to Vancouver in 6 months, where I will have to make friends all over again!!

Lindsey
=====================================
Sent : Thursday, March 16, 2000 9:56 PM
Subject : Re:

My mother was just here for a four-day visit. It was great to see her but also exhausting to be entertaining for that long. Last night after she left I just vegged out on the couch reading a trashy magazine and eating junk food. I guess that part of it was MY vacation!

Lindsey
======================================
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2000 9:54 PM
Subject : Re: Hope is the denial of reality...Raistlin the mage

hiya, Romel. Sounds like you are busy as usual. It must have been nice to have Ayi for such a long visit, are you missing her?

This past weekend was the first one spent out of the office since the end of January. So I tried to take advantage of my relative freedom, but almost didn't know what to do with myself when I wasn't working. I settled on gardening in the end: lettuce, cucumber, leeks and a ton of flowers. So hopefully next time I have a free weekend, I can spend it sitting out in the yard enjoying te fruits of my labour!! Of course, after I did all this yard work, the temperature plummeted, so I was outside last night with a flashlight checking to see if everything was surviving the cold. I'm not sure what I would have done had the answer been "no", dug it all back up again and brought it inside? hmmmm.

In addition to being busy, I have been having a miserable time of it with Joseph, which is the other reason I have been out of touch. Not enough good news to impart, I suppose. Boys, blech.

Lindsey
=====================================
Sent : Tuesday, June 13, 2000 11:45 PM
Subject : Re: surreal pillow

hiya, Romel. Sounds like you had a great vacation with Ayi and your cousins.

Thanks for the hair clip thought, but actually my hair is so short now that I'm not sure I can even wear them! I look like a boy, according to my father. Sigh.

I broke up with Joseph (of the amazing technicolour complications) and am now dating a very nice cute boy named Jason (I am going with a "J" theme in the new millenium...). He works for CIDA and is also from Vancouver.

I will probably go down to Montreal for the Jazz Festival at the beginning of July, however, because all work and no play sucks.

:) Lindsey
========================================
Sent : Thursday, July 6, 2000 9:20 PM
Subject : Re: learn the rules

good morning, Romel. I have a terrible awful horrible no-good very bad cold. Argh. But I am still planning to go to Montreal this weekend to see the Jazz Festival.

I talked to Gilbert on the phone when he was over at Bing's on the weekend and he sounds well. He doesn't mention religion very much in his conversation except to say "God bless" instead of "good-bye" so it is a funny contrast to his e-mail.

Lindsey
=======================================
Sent : Tuesday, July 25, 2000 10:33 PM
Subject : Re: bkk

Jason went to London (Ontario) with his ex- last weekend. Guess who just got dumped for her boyfriend's ex-? Definitely, no more J- boys...

======================================
Sent : Thursday, August 3, 2000 2:42 AM
Subject : Re: ian

hiya, Romel. Things here are pretty crazy - With the help of a friend, I found an apartment in Vancouver and I am moving there on Sept. 3. On Monday (Aug. 7) I am going to Madrid for a week and then to Paris for a week. I am staying with friends in both places and am looking forward to a lot of good wine, stinky cheese and yummy chocolate!

WEirdly, after being pretty pissed off for a couple of days, I am not mad about the Jason thing anymore. I went to Toronto to hang out with a friend and the whole thing just fell out of my mind. Does this mean that I am getting jaded?

:)Lindsey
====================================
Sent : Tuesday, August 29, 2000 9:35 PM
Subject : return to the 'Wa

hiya, Romel. Got back from my vacation last week and have been getting ready for my move to Vancouver ever since. I will send out my new address etc (etc) later today.

My trip was amazing - I spent a week in Madrid with a good friend from high school, Cassandra. Madrid turned out to be a perfect base for visiting a few of the surrounding cities - Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial. Then I spent four days in Reims, in Champagne) with some friends from university (where I toured all the champagne houses and drank A LOT) and a few days in Paris with my old housemate. The weather was fantastic everywhere I went, people were friendly and I enjoyed being outside and active (i.e., the opposite of my normal life in the office....).

Right now I'm staying with a friend from work since I moved all my furniture to Vancouver at the beginning of August. I leave on Sunday, move into my new apartment on Monday and start bar school on Tuesday. Argh. In mid-September, I fly back to Toronto to be in a friend's wedding - what a production. Being involved in this wedding has convinced me that I will elope.

What are you up to? Lindsey

kalye quezon

either sa mini-stop ng ceres o sa rebulto ng kalabaw ka bababa sa poblacion sa guihulngan, kapag gusto mo ng bibingka na may buko ay sa terminal ka bababa, kapag gusto mo makakita ng palaisipan ay sa doon ka sa rebulto ng kalabaw na nasa gitna ng dalawang malaking letrang "A" na pinagsasabitan ng logo ng munisipyo na nakapasok sa isang malaking gear na nasa ibabaw ng kalabaw, nasa harap ng dagat itong kalabaw na ito at nasa gilid ng bulwagan ng katarungan. merong christmas lights na nakasabit sa kalabaw.

ang kalye katapat ng kalabaw ay pinangalang quezon. kapag binaybay mo ito galing sa kalabaw ay may limang panaderya at limang sanglaan ito sa loob lamang ng dalawang kantong ilang metro lamang ang layo sa isa't isa.

katapat ng kalabaw sa kaliwang kanto ay ang stop over bakeshop, ang pinakamurang panaderyahan sa kalye quezon, pagtumawid ka sa kanan at naglakad hanggang sa dulo nito ay golden glo mts bakeshop na pinakamalaki naman ang matutumbok mo, meron ditong freezer ng selecta.

pagtawid galing golden glo ay bunggo mo kaagad ang park and go bakeshop na may upuang pang tatlong tao na matatapat sa malaking salamin, ilang metro lang ang layo nito sa canadian bakery and sari-sari store kung saan di pa ako bumibili ng tinapay dahil nakakalungkot ang itsura, mukhang dekada 50 pa. katapat nito sa tawid na kanto ang bagong bake easy bakeshop na tatlong linggo pa lamang ito pero marami na itong suki at mga kabataang dumadaan para sumigaw ng i love you sa long hair na bading na empleyado dito kapag gabi.

nagsiksikan katabi ng mga panaderyang ito ang cebuana lhuiller (your number 1 pawnshop), m lhuiller (numero uno ng bayan), palawan (with branches nationwide to serve you), rd (pawnshop and jewelry) at maria gracia (since 1983).

gorillaz!!

they are showing brocka

.............insiang sa gateway, a las nueve mamayang gabi.

tequila letters from 1999

From : Lindsey Cameron
Sent : Wednesday, July 14, 1999 11:21 PM
mailto: romeltfd@hotmail.com
Subject : Undercover Mountie

Yeah, seems I read something in the paper about the Filippino (spelling? One 'p'? Two? Your country is hard to spell...) President calling in a death row inmate's reprieve about thirty seconds too late... Perhaps an effective NGO strategy to combat the death penalty might be to distribute more exact time pieces to politicians.

Or would that be a tactic? But seriously, are you working on this? Or your organization generally?

Gilbert stayed at my place again last night. We had a good chat about some of the cases he has tried and his plans for Columbia. But he is definitely not a tequila drinker, that boy. And I noticed that he avoided the tea at breakfast. He seemed OK with the bagels, though, so he should fit right in in NYC. Oh, and he shaved off his beard. Too bad.

Speaking of staying places, Gilbert tells me that you LIVE IN YOUR OFFICE?!! Excuse me?

I'm heading to Ottawa this afternoon to look at apartments (because I certainly do not intend to live in MY office) for a few hours. Apparently, one of my future housemates, Gonzalo, found a couple of nice places. Gonzalo MAKES HIS OWN BEER. I have selflessly volunteered to be his official taste-tester.

It's going to be a fun year. M-J-M and I saw The Red Violin yesterday and it was fantastic: go go go. It's a Canadian-Italy production, set in Italy, Germany, Oxford, Shanghai and Montreal. So it's also in five languages, which is neat. It's the story of a violin and how it travels from place to place across the centuries. Very cool, and fabu sountrack. Jacques was supposed to meet us, but he was a no-show.

Lindsey, beer taster, apartment hunter, movie-goer, hostess

===================
Sent : Tuesday, July 20, 1999 1:04 AM
Subject : Apply what you learn

Hey, are you questioning my apartment-hunting tactics? The apartment we signed for on Wednesday was the first one I looked at, but about the tenth one Gonzalo had seen.

Security risk: Not only have I not fixed the lock on the back door, but that door no longer even shuts properly. Good thing I have that hockey stick.

Dad announced yesterday that he and Mum want to move to Sydney, Australia for at least four months out of every year. I hope their move isn't inspired by me telling him about your Dad. Maybe I made him feel unexciting.

Oh man. But maybe it's just a phase that will pass. Two years ago Dad was thinking about moving onto a ship and just sailing around so as to become an 'international citizen' and avoid paying taxes. But he abandoned that idea when he realized that he'd lose his medical coverage.

Lindsey

======================
Sent : Thursday, July 22, 1999 12:05 AM
Subject : Re: Heaven is where Jimi Hendrix is

Convent-boy: Yes, that would be the storm I was caught in on my way to a barbequeue, of all things. Unbelievable weather. But the ice storm still wins.

Park near my house: Carre St-Louis.

I'm ignoring the question because you're making fun of my project.

So Mathieu and my other friend Mike and Jacques and I went to the comedy fest last night. Pretty cool, albeit funny converstaion between Mike, who barely speaks French, and Jacques, who refuses to speak English. Saw an ice sculpteur (in July!) and the fastest painter in the world (landscape in 15 min). Also, 'the woman with the body of steel' who lay on a bed of nails while some guy broke a cement block on her stomach with a mallet. And the world's smallest singer. What a night!

Oh! Almost forgot. A Filipina (note my correct spelling) domestic worker facing a deportation order is holed up in a church in Edmonton. She is being deported for failing to inform immigration authorities that she was changing employers. But she says her first employer, a lawyer, dismissed her (breaching her contract) and then told her it was ok to take a job with someone else. The nanny is credible and made the front page of the national newspaper yesterday (big picture of her, too). Back to work (on my secret , but suddenly headline-making, project),

Lindsey

=======================

I am quite excited to go West. A good friend, Sandy, is getting married (to a guy named Andy!) and I am going to the wedding with my friend Brent, who I have not seen since I was living in Japan three years ago. He has been living in Osaka for 5 years but now is moving to the States to do his MBA. I can`t wait to see him! And I figure that the wedding is the perfect place for us to catch up, what with the open bar, buffet and the fact that neither of us will really know anyone else there (except for another good friend of mine from Toronto, Christine, who I haven`t seen in a while and who is also coming out for the ceremony).

Actually, how I met Sandy is a funny story. I was on a train to Quebec City about 7 years ago and met Christine when we both discovered that our luggage had been unloaded at the wrong stop. Anyway, we became good friends and when her best friend Sandy moved out to Vancouver she asked me to take her to lunch (I was at UBC). So Sandy and I ended up becoming quite good friends (shared love for margaritas and salsa dancing). So now we all live in different cities but will be together again for Sandy`s wedding!

Which reminds me that I don`t have a gift yet. I was thinking of getting a froth machine i.e. for frothy coffees etc. It looks like kind of a cool kitchen thing that most people wouldn`t normally have, but I don`t know, it might be totally useless. Not that I have time to go shopping this week anyway.

love Lindsey

=============================
Sent : Thursday, August 5, 1999 4:31 AM
Subject : Cry me a river

hiya, Romel. So you're bailing out the office, eh?

I am in sunny Vancouver, enjoying my parents' hospitality and their beautiful flower garden.

My flight over was quite an adventure. The woman sitting behind me was a psychopath: she attacked the back of my seat with her fists and feet when I tried to recline it and then, when the flight attendant told her to stop, she started shoving his beverage cart. He wrote up an "air rage" report on her, so I guess that she won't be flying the friendly skies again any time soon.

:) Lindsey

==================
Sent : Friday, August 13, 1999 12:02 PM
Subject : beach boy

hiya, Romel.

sorry about the floods. Here we may also have a hell of a flood as there is too much snow in the mountains this year. We shall see.

So the big headlines this week are all about Chinese migrants. In the last two weeks, two ships have dropped migrants off the coast of British Columbia. The first ship contained 125 migrants in abosolutely squalid conditions. The second ship was spotted by the coastguard as it approached shore, so its crew forced the "cargo" of 123 migrants into the water and they had to swim for the beach. Not funny in the Pacific at this time of year. Luckily, no one drowned. A third ship was spotted this morning in the economic zone and is believed to be carrying more migrants.

Enough said... I just got back from a camping trip with the parental units. We went up to a lake that is just southeast of Whistler. It was beautiful and warm and we swam and read our books and drank a lot of wine. And we saw a bear. It was all very Canadian and bourgeois. Tomorrow

I have two job interviews, cross your fingers for me! Then on the weekend I am meeting a long-lost friend for a walk along the waterfront. Her name is Sarah and we were friends at University, then in Japan, and now she and her husband are moving to France. It will be nice to see her.

love Lindsey

=================
Sent : Saturday, August 28, 1999 9:02 AM
Subject : Bullseye

hiya, Romel. Last day of my holiday: too bad, so sad. Although going back to work does mean that I will have a computer again and can put an end to my radio silence.

The interviews went well. I got a job with a firm I like. Starts in one year, i.e. after my contract in Ottawa ends. The firm has a pretty large Japan practice (good), an office in Tokyo (better), also an aboriginal practice (even better) where they actually represent bands rather than just industry (best). I was impressed with the people I met out here and with the work they are doing. So I will try it out. Beats the hell out of Montreal and separatist politics, that's for sure.

How is Niza's job in east Timor for the referendum going? It is not so much in the news here - just bits and pieces. No one likes to discuss independence movements in Canada, surprise surprise. I hope that Jose Antonio et al. are safe and well.

Met with the Philippine Women's Centre the other day. Also SIKLAB, a group representing Filipino Migrant Workers in Canada. Very interesting people, but HOSTILE. Holy shit. Apparently, the CHRF did not invite them to some conference last year so they are bitter. Enter Lindsey Cameron, Target. Whew! :)

Lindsey

=========================
Sent : Wednesday, September 1, 1999 11:13 PM
Subject : Re: Bullseye

hiya, Romel. I hope that by now you have both recovered from your hangover and heard from Niza. I saw bits and pieces of the referendum on the news, but not much more than that. I guess I ought to buy a paper at lunch...

Anway, I started my new job in Ottawa on Monday, so it's been a stressful couple of days. I sort of moved into my new house this morning. Only "sort of" because I don't get my furniture until the weekend so I have to sleep on this mat-thing for a couple of days. Very nice. The job seems ok. I am panicking about how much French stuff I am going to have to write, but that's all I'm going to say about it because it gives me a stomach-ache even to think about it.

Otherwise, I am adjusting to post-vacation life. I miss my mum's cooking!

Love Lindsey
==========================
Sent : Wednesday, September 8, 1999 1:22 AM
Subject : Love me, love my letters

hiya, Romel. Thanks for the birthday greetings. You are actually the first person to send me some. It is so cheerful to start the morning off that way.

I am throwing myself a party on my birthday since I don't really have anyone in Ottawa to throw one for me. It is doubling as a housewarming party so as not to look too much like a desperate plea for attention. I will be sure to have a bottle of tequila on hand...

Is it a bad sign that I have already considered killing one of my housemates? Gonzalo told me he was going into work for three hours yesterday (it was a holiday) so I told him I would wait at home during that time for the guy coming to install his phone line. But Gonzalo stayed at work all day so my holiday was wasted because the phone guy didn't come until almost 5. Man, was I pissed. Now I think that he might be a bit scared of me, since he was very quiet at breakfast.

Glad to hear that Niza returned safely from East Timor. El Obaid is also back. What a mess. I agree with you that they should send in a peacekeeping force. I hope that Juan Antonio is ok.

:) Birthday girl
==========================
Sent : Thursday, September 23, 1999 8:54 PM
Subject : fall back

hiya, Romel. Summer is definitely over in thi spart of the world. Only four degrees when I woke up this morning, brrrr!

Work is busy as hell. I haven't had a weekend off since I started, so this weekend I am going to Montreal to take a break. I am doing a lot of writing in French, which I am slow at. The other people in my office are still nice, although one of the guys that I thought was cool turned out to be quite the slimeball after he'd had a few drinks. Oh well, on to better things.

What are you up to these days? Lindsey
=====================
Sent : Friday, October 1, 1999 12:57 AM
Subject : Re:

hiya, Romel,

I am getting along great with my housemates Matias and Gonzalo although they are a bit messier than I am used to. Sometimes I feel like their Mom, like when Matias asked me the other day if he should start the dishwasher (I think he got the message when I answered, "Use your judgement, dear.") But they cook and they rent movies, so it all balances out.

I have been invited to a party tonight that is UNRELATED TO WORK. Not that the people at work aren't great, it's just that the geek factor is pretty high. I can be a nerd too, but at least I like to party. My friend Paula in Montreal introduced me to this friend of hers who works for Foreign Affairs and, apparently, throws a lot of parties. I am actually very excited to go, which gives you an indication of how desperate I am to socialize.

love Lindsey
===========================
Sent : Saturday, October 30, 1999 1:38 AM
Subject : Happy Hallowe'en

Boo! I am off to a weird party this year - instead of just wearing costumes, we have to wear costumes that make up a word or an expression. So I am pinning autums leaves and lines from my favourite poems onto my clothes and I will have to keep walking around the party. Can you guess my costume? It is "poetry in motion"! I hope that other people can guess it, or I will feel like a dork...

Sounds like you have been crazy busy. I hope that you had a nice visit with your daughter. You sounded a bit worried (?) about not having seen her and her mother getting married.

Work is good. I have been working on a lot of applications by refugees for judicial review of negative decisions by the Immigration Board. The lawyers on both sides submit some pretty bad arguments and poorly organized work. Very disturbing. But not disturbing enough for me to want to become an immigration lawyer.

:) Lindsey

==============
Sent : Tuesday, November 2, 1999 10:23 PM
Subject : Re: Future immigration lawyer

hiya, Mel. Sounds like you are having a good visit with Ayi. Sucks that you don't get to see her more though... I am sporting a lovely black eye from a weekend game of pick-up soccer. Some guy planted his elbow in my face. Very nice. But it was a fun game - it is Indian summer here (is that politically correct? Aboriginal Peoples' Summer? First Nations Second Summer?) and nice and warm.

Re my hair: Short short short as usual.

:)Lindsey

==============================
Sent : Monday, November 22, 1999 10:18 PM
Subject : re: down from the mountain

hiya, Romel. You're a hard guy to keep track of - it sounds like you never stay in one place for very long!

Bing is in Manila now presenting the project I was working on in the summer. I hope that you are in town and easy to find, because I have sent her with your office phone number and a cadeau... :) Lindsey
======================
Sent : Friday, December 3, 1999 10:32 PM
Subject : Re: WTO

hiya, Romel.

Glad to hear that the Tequila actually made it to you! Don't drink it all in one place (or do, perhaps...). I hope that Niza wasn't badly hurt at the ASEAN protest. The "Battle in Seattle" has been big news here, since there were thousands of Canadians who went down to participate. So much for freedom of assembly, I guess.

Lindsey
========================
Sent : Saturday, December 25, 1999 9:22 AM
Subject : Step into Christmas

hiya guys,

At the moment, I am in Vancouver. My brother is here too, so it is the first time in almost a year that we are all together. Of course, we have all fallen into our usual roles. I suppose that my brother and I will bicker our way right through adulthood into old age! :)

By the time I get back to Ottawa, the canal should be frozen and I will be able to go skating at lunch. I am also taking up snowboarding, and have found some cheap lessons at Mt. Fortune in Gatineau Park. My lesson-taking partner-in-crime, Jeff "Rider B" Brown, is trying to convince me that we can't just learn how to snowboard, we have to BECOME boarders. Right. I can just see myself around the office remarking, "Your reasoning in that last judgement was sick, Your Lordship."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, love Lindsey

mass transit

"Well I’m waiting down this train station
Waiting for that train, waiting for the train
Take me from this lonesome place"

-hear my train coming, jimi hendrix

“You like trains?” Niza asked, the last time I was with her. I was looking at her reflection on the train glass door. She had what seemed like a handbag but was really a small backpack. We were passing round a bend to the central station from petaling jaya, the KL night lights swirling outside the window.

“I like trains,” she said, flashing a toothy smile and nodding her head, agreeing enthusiastically with what she just said.

I then remembered the pictures that she took on her train trip to Geneva, hazy renderings of the German countryside, like smudged glassy prints they use on gloomy motion blur filtered European film posters. They contrasted with the flying gestures and wide smiles with which she recounted that trip, exactly the way she told me about the Grand Central station in New York.

I once took the train in Copenhagen to have a Filipino lunch in the house of a young couple that I introduced myself to when I heard them speak Tagalog near the Vietnamese eatery where I was eating curried bean sprouts. That was one peculiar Sunday, by the time I was eating adobo in their place, they already had me swim in a topless beach and raise my hands in a Christian charismatic mass.

I also rode the Toronto train from Montreal to have a weekend rendezvous with my US relatives at the border in Niagara falls. I had fun riding the subway trains of Montreal, straining my ears at the French station names, “Place des Artes! Place des Artes!”, and getting off at underground shopping malls that felt like how it must be in Asimov’s central planet in his Foundation series where nobody lives in the surface anymore, just like in one of the underground centers in Osaka, only I did not get to use the subway there because all the signs were in Japanese and directions really seem to get lost in translation.

It’s easier in Thailand, going to Silom is such a breeze taking the BTS. The last I was there the subway was finally operational and we took it going to the blues bar near Banglampoo where Niza brings her friends to. About a decade ago we asked each other how we see ourselves in about ten years. She said by that time she will be traveling abroad attending international conferences,while I said I might still be what I was then, penniless and “nakikitulog kung saan saan.” A counselor told me to be careful of self talk because it tends to find a way to fulfill itself.

In the KL skytrain with Niza, I remembered another train we rode in Malaysia before, the overnight train we took from Bangkok to Butterworth on our way to Penang in one of her previous visa runs, where the train guy would pull out the bunker beds way before anybody was really sleepy. On the ferry to Penang we befriended a young Japanese from the same train we had who told us Sony and Aiwa have the same owners. We had a picture taken with him. He was with us when we went to a restaurant in the Indian neighborhood where there was this chubby kid at the cash machine, not more than twelve, who, with a wave of his right hand and a twinkle in his eye, told us, “Oh I give you discount!”

I remembered how it was, I smiled at Niza and told her, “Yeah, i love trains.”

moves you more than the movie

"Later, that dozy embrace solidified in his memory as the single moment of artless, charmed happiness in their separate and difficult lives. Nothing marred it, even the knowledge that Ennis would not then embrace him face to face because he did not want to see nor feel that it was Jack he held. And maybe, hethought, they’d never got much farther than that. Let be, let be."

-Anne Proulx

go west

if you wait to see the sun set over the sea across dumaguete boulevard, you'll wait forever.

another year

happy birthday ayi!

with them kids screaming bloody murder i remember...

...blockout...digger...prince of persia...tetris...where on earth is carmen san diego...family feud...

happy days

dispersing a rally intended to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the edsa people power revolution because it did not have a permit? that's oh soooooo the president's state of emergency!

really old and the feeling old

as usual lost command na naman ako noon, di ko alam kung nasan ang mga tibak sa kolehiyo, kaya kasama ko tatay ko na ngayon ko lang napag-iisip na lost command din nuong mga panahon na iyon, dahil bakit di siya nakahanay sa lugar ng mga titsers noon, bakit dalawa lang kaming nagpunta sa edsa noon, hindi kasama mga kasams?

nmiss ko ang aksyon at drama sa mendiola noon, kaya ang nangyari lang sa akin ay natulog sa edsa at pag-gising ko eh umalis na si makoy, kaya pinagtawanan ng nanay bko ang kumplikadong rebolusyon na pilit pinapatanggap sa kanya ng mga aktibista.

yon lang ang ala-ala ko noon, at yong nakaupo kami ni larry, na kasama kong tibak sa high school, sa ilalim ng puno sa malacanang na kumakain ng mami noong panahon na bukas pa ang palasyo pagkatapos ng looting doon at bago ito gamitin ni cory. malamang di na naman kami pumasok sa klase non para lang makatambay sa malakanyang. daming tao noon.

masarap yong mami na yon, naalala ko.

burger fries tapsilog at siopao

bakit kailangang mag bayad ng fine ang late renewal ng driver's license?

madaling intindihin na kailangan kang magbayad kapag gusto mong magkalisensya para mkpg-drive pero bakit ka magbabayad sa panahong hindi ka nag-renew ng lisensya eh hindi ka nga nag-nagmaneho non? ikaw nga talo nong panahon na iyon dahil hindi ka mkpg-maneho kaya fucker bakit ka sisingilin ng fine?

hindi ka na ba pwedeng umayaw sa pagmamaneho once na kumuha ka ng lisensya? kahit ayaw mo mg-drive dapat me lisensya ka sa pag-drive? di ba dapat kung kelan mo lang trip magmaneho uli eh saka ka lang mgpp-renew ng lisensya at wala nang pakialam ang kahit sino sa panahong ayaw mo magk-lisensya magmaneho? demet!

i luv yah martina!!!!

returning hingis won over 4th seed sharapova, wohohohoh! go martina!!!

feb 10 brokeback zsazsa

mula sa cinemanila:

Sa Biyernes (Feb. 10) na ang simula ng pagpapalabas ng dulang Zsazsa
Zaturnnah ng Tanghalang Pinoy sa CCP. Totoo bang sold out na ang
tickets for its opening night?

Di bale, every weekend ang palabas nito hanggang Marso 5.

Malaking atraksyon ang cast nito -- si Eula Valdez bilang Zsazsa at
si Tuxqs Ronquillo ang alter ego niyang bading, si Ada. Kung si
Darna may kapatid na Ding, ito naman si Zsazsa ay may "delicious"
lover na si Dodong.

Naging kontrobersyal ang kuwentong komiks na ginawa ni Carlo Vergara
noong 2002 dahil tila lumabag ito sa Golden Code ng publishers at
editors dito sa atin na nagbabawal ng "profanity, obscenity, smut,
vulgarity and for sanctity of marriage." Kaya dapat walang "gay"
themes.

Nang lumabas ang comic book na Ang Kagila-gilalas na
Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah, nagdagdag ito ng buhay sa
naghihingalong industriya ng komiks sa bansa. Bading ang bida na nagiging babae dahil sa paglulon ng isang bato. Na-inspire si Vergara ng Darna ni Mars Ravelo.

Hindi nagtagal, napili ito ng Manila Critics Circle na National Book
Awardee for Best Comic Book of 2002. Ngayon, isang musical na ang Zsazsa Zaturnnah sa CCP sa direksyon ni Chris Millado, na 2002 Aliw Awardee for best stage director dahil sa
trabaho niya sa Insiang.

Si Zsazsa ay bagong gay icon sa ngayon. Ayon kay Didi na sidekick
niya? "Ada, tayo ay bading. Para sa karamihan, nakahihiya na tayo
anuman ang gawin natin. Kaya huwag natin silang biruin. Lingid sa
kinalaman nila, nakukuha natin ang ating tanyag na lakas sa
pagpapakapal ng mukha. Itaguyod ang bandera, sis."

eto pa isa:

Cinemanila International Film Festival and Sky Films present the
much-awaited Philippine premiere of Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain"
at Robinsons Galleria on February 10, 7:30 p.m.

A leading contender at this year's Academy Awards, "Brokeback
Mountain" won the Golden Lion (Grand Prize) at the prestigious
Venice International Film Festival last year and Best Picture-Drama,
Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Song at the recent
Golden Globe Awards.

Based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie
Proulx and adapted for the screen by the team of Pulitzer Prize-
winning author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, the film tells the
story of two young men - a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy - who meet
in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection,
one whose complications, joys and tragedies provide a testament to
the endurance and power of love.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon") comes up with an epic American love story set against the
sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas. Strictly for mature viewing
with sexuality, nudity, language and some violence, "Brokeback
Mountain" is topbilled by Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne
Hathaway and Michelle Williams.

The dramatic film has also been named the year's best by leading
critics groups such as the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the
New York Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics,
the Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics Association, the San Francisco
Film Critics Circle and the Southeastern Film Critics Association.

Other awards and distinctions include the Satellite Awards from the
International Press Academy for Outstanding Motion Picture-Drama,
Outstanding Director, Outstanding Film Editing and Outstanding
Original Song in addition to bids for top honors of such major
Hollywood guilds as the Directors Guild of America, the Producers
Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, the American Society of
Cinematographers, the American Cinema Editors and the Writers Guild
of America.

patterns in popular culture

kahapon naalala ko si benson, na sa totoong ispeling ay vinzon, vinzon na buong buo at malinaw na malinaw sa pagbibigkas ng nanay niya kapag kausap siya, pero kahapon benson ko siya naalala. pero hindi buo ang pagkaalala ko sa kanya dahil hindi naman siya ang inaalala ko kundi yong librong hindi niya nanenok sa library ng PUP na maya't maya'y nagdulot ng malaking pagsisisi sa kaniyang pag-iisip lalo na kapag nakainom hanggang sa mabagok ang kanyang ulo dahil sa kabadtripan sa kanya ng ibang nakainom din sa mayric's isang dekada na ang nakalipas. iba na ang maya't maya niyang pinagsisisihan pagkatapos non.

sa mga kwento, awit, tula, dula, sining biswal at iba pang porma ng kulturang popular may patterns na parating sumusulpot, mga elemento na binabalik-balikan. tulad ng the shadow, maaari ito ang alter ego o katapat na karibal ng bida, si clark ni supe, si bizzaro ni supe, korni kapag walang itinatago ang bida, walang dark side o kaya ay napaka-husay na nilalang na walang sinumang makatatapat na kontrabida. kaya nga mas magandang basahin si batman kesa kay superman. si batman si ang psychologically twisted na si bruce na sa totoo lang ay wala namang super power samantalang si superman ay si SUPERMAN! ano pa bang magagawa mong kwento sa isang nilalang na magtanggal lang ng salamin at magladlad ng kapa ay nagiging SUPERMAN kundi ay patayin siya kunwari at buhayin sa iba't ibang katauhan bago ibalik uli sa dati ng SUPERMAN!

parati ring sumusulpot ang trickster, ang helpful animal at ang wise old man. mga elementong gamit na gamit ni aesop at brothers grimm na patuloy na nagpaparamdam sa anyo nila joker, gughead, yoda, gandalf, r2-d2, si father francis, si cassiopea, ang narrator ng kantang the gambler ni kenny rogers o father and son ni cat stevens. minsan para maiba naman ay batang babae ang wise old man, pero wise old man pa rin yong elementong yon. pwedeng gawing contest yan kapag nanonood ng sine o tv, paunahang hanapin ang wise old man!

parati ring naririyan sa iba't ibang anyo ang "the quest", para sa dragonlance, para sa one ring, para sa punyetang diary, para sa holy grail. hindi rin nawawala ang seductress, ang mother, at iba pa. may pattern, palaging may pattern, minsan naiisip ko sana hindi ko na lang nabasa yong librong yon.

jowa in d palas

pinatay nila si lady han! fuckers!

nyanyak

that kid in the new gain plus adverts....inaanak kong si julia yon!

C.S. Lewis

i never had the chance to meet aslan when i was young, i got acquainted with screwtape and his nephew wormwood though, hmmmm....typical. screwtape letters, a must read for novice demons, in the service of "our father below".

bueno nuevo ovo

pakikiramay sa inyo christy burnie, sa pagyao ni tatay, bago magbago ang taon. tiyahin ni che di naman nagpaabot ng pasko, big fat oroquieta christmas wake.

taho

may gulaman ang taho sa davao, sa bandang west minda pwede mo naman itong palagyan ng gatas sa nagtitinda.

the petronas

filipinovelas

i saw pinoy faces at the tv monitor of a video store inside a mall in petaling jaya. not pinoy looking faces but definitely pinoy faces.

it wast the most curious thing, in front of posters of malaysian movie and pop stars was this footage of nestor de villa eating a mango. what surprised me more after entereing the store was the number of pinoy dvd movies in the store, and more curiously that it was of the kristine hermosa - jerico rosales variety.

turned out that pinoy soap is a big hit in malaysia, especially 'sana'y wala nang wakas'. it's being shown on free tv and has a regular following. it's not dubbed though but they use subtitles instead.

what struck me was that i don't remember having seen any malaysian movie, not even in asian film festivals, and that i don't think i'll ever see any malaysian soap played in a pinoy video store.

i mused over this in between swigs of guinness, sometimes i'd return to the drone conversation- IT use by advocacy groups - then slide back to thoughts of asian cinema and tv again, went back....nope... haven't seen any malaysian film.

'the pillow book' at the UP film center ... must!

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the ties that bind

anak ni mistique si nightcrawler at naging foster mother ni rogue, x-men pareho sila nightcrawler at rogue habang nakahanay kay magneto si mistique.

anak naman ni magneto si quicksilver at si scarlet witch na mga miyembro ng avengers. asawa ni scarlet witch si vision na kasama niya sa avengers.

si vision ay ginawa ng kalabang robot ng avengers na si ultron. si ultron naman ay likha ni hank pym na miyembro ng avengers bilang ant-man at giant-man.

do i move you

hindi ko napakilala sa yo si nina simone ano siya yong kinukwento ni julie delpy sa last scene ng before sunset yong ginagaya niyang kumanta ng naglalakad at nagyoyosi habang kausap ang audience

I get along without you very well
Of course, I do
Except when soft rains fall
And drip from leaves then I recall
The thrill of being sheltered
In your arms
Of course, I do
But I get along without you very well

matagal tagal yong conversation na yon pero sa totoo lang isa lang ang kanta ni nina simone sa before sunset eh

I wish I could share
All the love that’s in my heart

ginagaya ni julie si nina simone nuong matanda na sa france kung san siya tumira pagkatapos niyang nilayasan ang estados unidos dahil di na kumportable ang mga kinakanta niya para sa mga puti don nagiging parang anthem daw ng black panther ang mga kanta niya

My father was rich and white
He forced my mother late one night
What do they call me
My name is siffronia
My skin is brown
And my manner is tough
I’ll kill the first mother I see
Cos my life has been too rough
I’m awfully bitter these days
Because my parents were slaves
What do they call me
My Name Is Peaches

kahit kantang pangbroadway di mo alam kung malulungkot ka, maiinlab, o magagalit kapag siya na ang kumanta

I loves you, porgy,
Don’t let him take me
Don’t let him handle me
With his hot hands
And drive me mad
If you can keep me
I wanna stay here with you forever
I’ve got my man
Someday I know he’s coming to call me
He’s going to handle me and hold me
So, it’ going to be like dying, porgy
When he calls me
But when he comes I know I’ll have to go

me eksena din don sa palabas ni bridget fonda na the assassin nung naghiwalay sila ni gabriel byrne at sinigurado niya na sa kanya mapupunta ang plaka ni nina simone

So black is the color of my true love’s hair
Black is the color of my true love’s hair

ngayon kinakategorya ang cds niya sa jazz pero hindi naman talaga me mga albums nga siya ng pop standards ne merong my baby just cares for me na sumikat ulit nitong nakaraang dekada dahil ginamit sa isang commercial pero hindi din lang ganon ang kinanta niya

When I touch you do you quiver
From your head down to your liver
If you like it let me know it
Don't be psychic or you'll blow it
The answer better be (Yes, yes)
That pleases me

dahil sa distinct style at delivery niya akala mo puro original ang mga kanta niya pero marami ay cover songs pero super version niya kaya di mo halos makilala sabi nga niya oh to be young gifted and black

If morning echo says we've sinned
Well, it was what I wanted anyhow
And if we're the victims of the night
I promise you I won't be blinded by light
There is no need to take me home
I'm old enough to face the dawn
Just call me angel of the morning
Just touch my cheek before you leave me baby

mukhang paborito din niyang i-cover si bob dylan e siyempre late 60s early 70s non pero di na folksie ang tunog kapag rendition na ni nina

They say everything can be replaced
Yet every distance is not near
So I remember every face
Of every man who put me here
I see the light come shining
From the west unto the east
Any day now any day now
I shall be released

pati blues mhen ang galing niya mag blues kahit kantang hindi 12 bar na I-IV-V progression ay kaya nyang gawing blues

I put a spell on you’
cause you’re mine
You better stop the things you do
I ain’t lyin’ No I ain’t lyin’
You know I can’t stand it
You’re runnin’ around
You know better daddy
I can’t stand it cause you put me down

yon ang lawak ng catalogue niya kaya kapag nagbasa tungkol sa female jazz vocalists ay minor lang ang listing niya kesa kina ella, billie o sara pero sa totoo lang mhen siya ang pinaka-magaling kumanta sa lahat ng mga yon paniwalaan mo ako kahit hindi ko napakilala sa yo si nina simone

Baby, can you understand me now
Sometimes I feel a little mad
Don't you know that no one alive can always be an angel
When things go rough I feel real bad
I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
Baby, sometimes I'm so carefree
With a joy that's hard to hide
And othertimes it seems that, all I have to do is worry
And then I know you're bound to see my other side
I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
If I seem edgy, I want you to know
That I never mean to take it out on you
Life has its problems and I get my share
But that's one thing that I would never do'
cos I love you
Oh... Don't you know I'm human
I got my faults like any other one
Sometimes I find myself, Lord, regreting
Some foolish thing - some simple thing I've done
But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

the tipping point

huwag sumubok sumakay ng MRT ng may dalang kahit anong de-lata

charles baudelaire

Get drunk! One should always be drunk. That's all that matters;that's our one imperative need. So as not to feel Time's horrible burden one which breaks your shoulders and bows you down, you must get drunk without cease. But with what? With wine, poetry, or virtue as you choose. But get drunk.

from Be Drunk

And softly she decended her staircase of clouds and, noislessly, passed through the window-panes. Then she stretched herself out over you with the supple tenderness of a mother, and laid down her colors on your face. Ever since, the pupils of your eyes have remained green and your cheeks unusually pale. It was while comtemplating this visitor that your eyes became so strangely enlarged; and she clasped your neck so tenderly that you have retained for ever the desire to weep.

from The Favours of the Moon

cable guy

bakit regular na ang pag-mimisa sa loob ng mall kapag sunday? ok lang ba sa kanila kung mag ukay-ukay naman sa loob ng simbahan kapag monday to saturday?

pre-game and watch

non-electronic mind puzzle that drove me nuts!

maxi

nanalo ang "pagdadalaga ni maximo oliveros" sa montreal filmfest!! yey!!!!
yey din kila pepe, mike at bayang!!!!

'Maximo' to the max in Montreal
Sept 08, 2005 Updated 05:44pm (Mla time) Raymond Lee Inquirer News Service

(Inquirer Entertainment received this euphoric letter on Sept. 6, 10 p.m. Manila ime, from Raymond Lee, line producer of "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros [The blossoming of Maximo Oliveros]."

MONTREAL--We won! Twelve hours ago at the closing ceremonies of the 29th Montreal World Film Festival, our little movie was proclaimed winner of the Golden Zenith award for Best First Fiction Feature.

The jury, composed of Godfrey Cheshire (United States), Loic Magneron (France) and Paul Toutant (Canada) announced the prize, saying: "For its impressive quasi-documentary style and its spirit of humanity and tolerance, the jury unanimously awards the Golden Zenith to "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" from the Philippines."

They also said they were bowled over by the music. They kept asking about Pepe Smith (musical scorer), Mike Villegas (who wrote the love theme) and Bayang Barrios (who sang the love theme).

pilmpes

ayi and i saw three excellent films last weekend. puro festival films. the first one was part of the belgian filmfest in megamall, ma vie en rose (my life in pink), which i had already seen sa isang european filmfest before.

it's a gift din pala to be forgetful kasi i get to enjoy books and films several times over. kaya, i again enjoyed the story of seven year old girl-boy ludovic who claims to have been given a y chromosome at birth by mistake. hats off to georges du fresne who was a natural as ludovic fabre.

i told ayi that the indie film mga pusang gala which was shown at the pink filmfest earlier this year has been released commercially and was actually being shown na sa gateway. speaking of indie films, ayi said she wanted to see ang pagdadalaga ni maximo oliveros which was previewed in the tv ad of the recently concluded cinemalaya independent film festival.

buti na lang, i was reading the news dun sa coffee shop sa araneta while ayi was reading neil gaiman's coraline, there were three screenings pala of ang pagdadalaga ni maxi that day at the UP film center and we still had time to catch the last one at 7:30. special screening daw to support the film in its participation sa film festival in montreal, pakiramdam ko special screening para sa amin ni ayi.

she was thrilled pink pa kasi she got our pagdadalaga ni maxi postcards signed by nathan lopez who was given a 'Special Citation for Best Performance by an Actor' at the cinemalaya awards night for his performance as maximo oliveros. The whole cast was actually good, kahit si pepe smith, even if it's second nature na siguro for him to portray an old drunk. Great story by michiko yamamoto who wrote magnifico which is now added to my list of must check out films.

the next day, we completed our own mini pink filmfest weekend by seeing mga pusang gala sa gateway mall. we progressed from 7 year old girl-boy ludo to 12 year old queer maiden maxi and then finally to gay mang boyet portrayed by ricky davao. superb acting din in this film, especially by irma adlawon who played marta, boyet's neighbor. the storyline of pagdadalaga is definitely superior but watching mga pusang gala made me start to want to try to think to want to start to try to write a story for film, again. it's that good.

the best part of that weekend...was that i spent it with ayi.

powerbooks sale til the end of the month

book discount color guide:

5% - yellow sticker
10% - violet sticker
30% - blue sticker
40% - red sticker

20% - on books without stickers
50% - on bargain books area

lena baker

"pardon for maid executed in 1945"

As Baker sat in the electric chair on March 5 1945, she said: "I am ready to meet my God." Moments earlier she had said: "What I done, I did in self-defence or I would have been killed myself. Where I was, I could not overcome it."

in limbo

i bought myself an umbrella last friday.
top ten things i always lose because i misplaced them.

1. pens
2. hankies
3. diskettes
4. umbrellas
5. books
6. slippers
7. socks
8. coins
9. receipts
10. jackets

aceh

it's happy news that GAM and the indonesian government had reached a peace agreement. i hope it would last this time, and if it does, i pray that the island be spared the fate of east timor after the 1999 referendum.

make poverty history

if you missed it the first time, here's click! and the other videos watch these now.

st. ives

friday na, di pa ako nakakain ng munggo.

pero palabas pa rin ang CRASH. pwede pa humabol ang di pa nakakapanood.

balik na ako sa national center, mula tuesday ng hapon eh sa eurotel ako nagtrabaho, ginawa kong office ang rm. 525 na me view sa farmer's plaza na inuulan ng tatlong araw.

me natutunan akong masarap gawin, magshower na nakahiga sa bathtub. actually kwela rin na nakalubog sa bathtub tapos nakabukas yong shower.

channel 100 ang asian adult channel sa eurotel, channel 106 naman ang american/ european. yong channel 100 eh naka-connect sa PC kasi me cursor pa. minsan kapag tamad yong operator eh nakaminimize yong screen at makikita mo pa ang desktop screen.


me libre na namang live jazz mamaya, mishka adams and the blue echoes uli. pero sa gateway naman, hehe kaya libre pala kapag tumambay ka lang na nakatayo, mapapa-gastos ka din kapag gusto mong umupo kasi sa cafe havana o sa italiani's ka uupo. sayang yong aug 27 cookie chua with infinity, demet, me kasabay na prosecution conference sa ilo-ilo.

meron ding screening sa bukas ng hapon ng willy wonka and the chocolate factory, yong naunang version na si gene wilder ang gumanap ng willy wonka.

yong DEKALOG ni kryzstof kieslowksi ay palabas pa rin sa sm megamall. 10 storya na base sa ten commandments na ginawa ng direktor ng bleu, blanc at rouge. bale 5 films na me tig 2 storya.

wish ko lang makapanood ako eh hanggang leeg ko ang kelangan ko pang isulat na trabaho. hintayin ko na lang lumabas kopya sa quiapo. mamaya maghahanap ako ng munggo.

thank god it's munggo

naghanap ako ng munggo kanina sa turo-turo na katabi ng 7-11 malapit sa lrt 2 station sa cubao, sa kanto ng st. mary at aurora na kapag gabi ay sangkatutak na babae ang nakatambay na iaalok sa akin ng kanilang bugaw, na madalas ay matandang babae, bakla o babaeng tomboy ang itsura, "chicks sir?" "kuha ka ng babae?" "sir ilan?", marunong din sila dahil kadalasan akong maalok kapag galing ako sa atm ng bpi na katabi ng 7-11, sigurado nga namang me pambayad ang bagong withdraw don, minsan naringgan namin ni cheryl magsigawan yong mga bugaw ng "hoy dito na yan, tatlo ang kelangan dito!" "ah hinde, nauna na dito", kahit nga iyong turo-turo na sinasabi ko eh inuman talaga yon na nagtitinda lang ng ulam kapag tanghali, pagkatapos non eh patuloy ang pagiging inuman niya na me bidyoke, na me mga babaeng pan-table, hindi ko pa nakitang magsara yong puwestuhan na iyon, gabi, madaling araw, umaga at hapon bukas siya, hindi nawawalan ng customer na naghahanap ng ka-table, napansin ko din na mga kuwarto kuwarto pala ang itaas ng lugar na iyon kapag tumingala ka sa labas, kamot din ako ng ulo ko na bakit matagal kong inisip na apartment ang asa bandang taas ng maliit na building na iyon, syempre kwarto kwarto, bakit ko inisip na pang-table lang ang ka-table, kapag gabi me manang don na me isawan, na kapag maaga aga pa eh yong mga babaeng nakatambay sa kalye at pang-table na wala pang ka-table ang kumakain ng mga binabarbekyu niya, kapag bandang hating-gabi na ay hapo nang nakakatulog si manang na nakasandal sa pader na hawak ang pamaypay niya para sa isawang uling na unti unti nang namamatay sa pagmadaling araw.

bakit kaya biyernes nagluluto ng munggo ang mga turo-turo at karinderya?

CRASH

i got this in the e-mail last thursday:

"CRASH" Excellent film.
No further explanation needed.
In cinemas now.

NIZA

i saw it last night, and i so very much agree, if you are to watch only one film until the end of this year, let it be CRASH.

happy birthday....

...richiekins!!!

war of the skies

i saw mishka adams and her band sa bistro 70s two tuesdays ago, galeng. jazz na pala ang tuesdays ng bistro. we should count our blessings pagdating sa accessibility ng world class music acts sa atin. for P150 pesos pwede ka nang makarinig ng live jazz, sus me consumable amount pa para sa pagkain.

ang mahal kaya ng kelangang ibayad sa north america at europe para makarining ng kasing calibre ng the jerks. eh dito P100 entrance lang. ganun din dati nung pinanood ko ang lampano alley, shites, ang mahal kaya pumasok sa blues bars sa ibang bansa.

another thing that we should be thankful for - the price of beer. magkano lang dito sa mga pwestuhan, P35 ang pale, kahit light. eh sa bangkok nga 90-150 baht ang isang bote ng beer. at...AT san miguel pa ang beer natin!!

galing ng live jazz, demet. to the uninitiated: what the musicians do is go through the regular rendition of the song and then lalarga na sila isa-isa sa pag improvise, halos di mo na makikilala ang song pero yon pa rin yon, parang platform lang yong song para lumipad sila, and then after nilang pumunta kung saan saan they all go back to the song. clap clap clap!!! whew.

outrage!

i usually don't do this in my blog but i think you may be interested in reading this urgent action from AI:

IRAN EXECUTES GAY TEENAGERS

Two gay teenagers were publicly executed in Iran on 19 July 2005 for the 'crime' of homosexuality The youths were hanged in Edalat (Justice) Square in the city of Mashhad, in north east Iran. They were sentenced to death by Court No.19. Iran enforces Islamic Sharia law, which dictates the death penalty for gay sex. Shocking photos of the execution are at the links below

http://www.outrage.org.uk/imagezoom.asp?file=37 http://www.outrage.org.uk/imagezoom.asp?file=38 http://www.outrage.org.uk/imagezoom.asp?file=39

One youth was aged 18 and the other was a minor under the age of 18. They were only identified by their initials, M.A. and A.M.

They admitted to having gay sex (probably under torture) but claimed in their defence that most young boys had sex with each other and that they were not aware that homosexuality was punishable by death.

Prior to their execution, the teenagers were held in prison for 14 months and severely beaten with 228 lashes. Their length of detention suggests that they committed the so-called offences more than a year earlier, when they were possibly around the age of 16. Ruhollah Rezazadeh, the lawyer of the youngest boy (under 18), had appealed that he was too young to be executed and that the court should take into account his tender age (believed to be 16 or 17). But the Supreme Court in Tehran ordered him to be hanged. Under the Iranian penal code, girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 can be hanged.

Three other young gay Iranians are being hunted by the police, but they have gone into hiding and cannot be found. If caught, they will also face execution. News of the two executions was reported by ISNA (Iranian Students News Agency) on 19 July. A later news story by Iran In Focus, allegedly based on this original ISNA report, claimed the youths were executed for sexually assaulting a 13 year old boy. But the ISNA report does not mention any sexual assault. A report of the executions on the website of the respected democratic opposition movement, The National Council of Resistance Of Iran, also makes no reference to a sexual assault.

The allegation of sexual assault may either be a trumped up charge to undermine public sympathy for the youths (a frequent tactic by the Islamist regime in Iran). Or it may be that the 13 year old was a willing participant but that Iranian law (like UK law) deems that no person of that age is capable of sexual consent and that therefore any sexual contact is automatically deemed in law to be a sex assault. If the 13 year old was sexually assaulted, why was he not identified and also put on trial (under Iranian law both the victims and perpetrators of sexual crimes are punished)?

"This is just the latest barbarity by the Islamo-fascists in Iran" said Peter Tatchell of the London-based gay human rights group OutRage! "The entire country is a gigantic prison, with Islamic rule sustained by detention without trial, torture and state-sanctioned murder. "

According to Iranian human rights campaigners, over 4,000 lesbians and gay men have been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979. "Altogether, an estimated 100,000 Iranians have been put to death over the last 26 years of clerical rule. The victims include women who have sex outside of marriage and political opponents of the Islamist government. "Last August, a 16 year old girl, Atefeh Rajabi, was hanged for 'acts incompatible with chasity.' "

Britain's Labour government is pursuing friendly relations with this murderous regime, including aid and trade. We urge the international community to treat Iran as a pariah state, break off diplomatic relations, impose trade sanctions and give practical support to the democratic and left opposition inside Iran," said Mr Tatchell.

Protest to the Iranian Ambassador: info@iran-embassy.org.uk Tel: 020 7225 3000 Fax: 020 7589 4440 Iranian Ambassador Embassy of Iran 16 Prince?s Gate London SW7 1PT If you live outside the UK, protest to the Iranian Embassy in your country, and press your government to break off diplomatic relations and impose trade sanctions against Iran. Email this news release and photos to your friends. Urge them to protest.

songer-guitarers

galeng kagabi, enjoy ako na nag-gitara si k-anne, kumanta si che at gumitara't kumanta si dburns.

sona

sona mob na naman, tulad nung nakaraang taon, next year uli, kitakits na lang.

hard core poetry

coming back from nepal, i kept thinking if i gave a satisfactory answer to why human rights organizations in the philippines do not document human rights violations by both government and the maoists.

at first i could not understand why they had a problem with the 'mouse' in nepal until i got accustomed with how english sounded there. but i digress, i still want to know if i am still enamored with 'the revolution' to think that we have better maoists here, real genuine true blue maoists in fact, serve-the-people-never-take-a-single-strand-of-thread-from-the-masses maoists.

or maybe i just need to think that way of my dad.

when i was still in pre-school he used to have these bulky eight track cartridges that he played in the living room on a car stereo connected to what i remember to be turntable speakers. we lived in the visayas then, when he still worked as a medical detailman (now called med reps) for united laboratories.

i would know dad was home when chicago's colour my world would drip from the make-shift stereo system to wherever i was playing in what seemed as an endless stream of houses we moved in and out of then. i get vague recollections of distant corridors, hazy rooms, stuffy closets, forgotten hiding places and sepia toned playgrounds whenever daniel is leaving at night on a plane and the red tail lights are heading for spain and one can see him waving goodbye.

coming back from nepal, and thinking about the end of relationships, my friends' and mine, my dad's eight track stereo again comes to mind. i didn't know emily dickinson then nor read robert frost, but it sang to me then...and I only kiss your shadow, i cannot feel your hand, you're a stranger now unto me...lost in the dangling conversation, and the superficial sighs, in the borders of our lives.

the maoists ain't so bad if they have people with so much music in their hearts. to my dad who would now like to encircle the cities from the countryside i hum hardcore poetry.

'coz there's music in the city
if your ear is to the ground
only non-believers never hear a single sound
this is a song not necessarily sweet
i pass it on to folks i never will meet
and if my words don't make history
just call it hard core poetry

xty at dburns

kathmandu you

i'll be in nepal on sunday. this is what the lonely planet has to say about the place:

Warning

Nepal has plunged into a constitutional crisis following the dissolution of the Nepalese government by King Gyanendra. Long-standing tensions between government forces loyal to the King and Maoist rebels have resulted in sporadic violence across the country.

While the safety of travellers isn't directly under threat, the tense environment could deteriorate rapidly and leave visitors stranded. A recent state of emergency saw the King invoke eergency powers including complete censorship of the media and the suspension of civil rights. Some travel advisories are urging travellers to avoid going to Nepal until the political situation is resolved, however, tourist numbers are on the rise.

A Maoist 'people's war' was declared in 1996 in response to government corruption. A ceasefire temporarily halted hostilities, but negotiations faltered and on August 27, 2003, the ceasefire was called off. Bombings, including several on the same day, have hit Kathmandu and the surrounding valley.Maoists have threatened tourist facilities throughout Nepal, and Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai warned travellers that they could be 'caught in the crossfire of the contending armies', while perversely encouraging them to visit anyway. Travellers to Nepal are urged to remain vigilant, keep a low profile and avoid demonstrations.

Check travel advisories for possible bandhs (strikes) that may be called at short notice. If a bandh is called, do not travel during it and keep an extra low profile until it is over.

Official curfews can be declared at short notice, in the capital and towns throughout the Kathmandu valley. Soldiers loyal to the King have the authority to shoot those disobeying curfew. Army and police checkpoints can make travel slow, and there are reports that rebels threatening violence - and bandits posing as rebels using actual violence - are sporadically targeting travellers for revenue-raising purposes. The districts of Banke, Dang, Syangja, Surkhet, Rukum, Kalikot, Jajarkot, Rolpa, Salyan and Gorkha are considered especially dangerous.

spank it!

what you could do for peace.
what you could do with your phone.
what to do at home.
what they do.
what to call what you do girl.
what to call what you do man.
what you do could kill you.

sorry

when i was still small, i thought i was a kind kid. now i remember throwing sand at the face of this new kid who tried to talk to me while i was making sand castles in a playground sandlot in one of the thousand places we lived in that time.

whoever you were, wide eyed kid with straight hair and a kind face, i'm very very sorry.

monkey versus penguin

just thought you'd like to see the screen saver of my phone, voila! penguin didn't stand a chance, tsk tsk tsk.

sige pakasal ka

just the other day i read sa amnesty international egroup newsletter that canada became the 3rd country to allow same sex marriages. great news, but still, nagulat ako that canada was still just the 3rd pa lang after netherlands and belgium.

isip ko ang bagal naman ng gulong ng sibilisasyon, tapos this morning nabasa ko as inquirer "Spain's parliament approves gay marriage". i went like...ha? hanep! spain? ang nagdala ng katolisismo sa pilipinas? asteeg!!