: : it is time to verb the adjective noun! : :

That's hot.

2005-08-20T22:20:00.000+08:00

Tala Shines the Brightest

Posted by elladigs at 08:25 pm on August 19th, 2005.

She is not much of a beauty, nor is she hideous

She is not intellectual, nor is she she a dunderhead

She is not a Barbie doll, nor is she a lousy princess
She is the only one in this world. She is Tala Luna
She amuses me with her biting wit
She makes my day complete
She is the muse that inspires me
She is the reason why I am writing this. She is Tala Luna
She is the star that shines
brightly even at daytime
She makes me feel that I am part of her family
Her wicked sense of humor never fails to make me cry
Her smile can sweep you off your feet. She is Tala Luna
She is now far from where I am
God bless her wherever she is
I am glad that I can still call her
She is someone worth cherishing. She is Tala Luna.
...And I am no lesbian

Isn't Ella sweet?

k i d d i e c a r n i v a l

Today was community service day. Joy, rapture, yada yada.

Really, underneath all this facade and baggage, yours truly likes kids. Loves kids. That she's not related to. Yes, even the seemingly*normal* aspects are married to the dysfunctional.

Lesson today was Jesus cares for us. I dount the little kids digested any information except:

(1) Jesus is a magician. He got two fishes and a loaf of bread and fed a couple thousand people. He also turned water into wine.

(2) Jesus is hot. The term I used is gwapo. I have issues, I know.

(3) Jesus is good, and does lots of good stuff for other people.

(4) Given 2 and 3, Jesus is like Miguel in the GMA fantaserye SUGO.

I'm sure (confident) that some day, some of these children will overcome trauma and grow up to be the movers and shakers of our country.

The kids were sweet. I was totally taken aback when a little boy suddenly put a necklace on me that said 'Love'. I felt guilty afterwards because I had nothing to give back. It was touching because I didn't even know the little boy's name, and maybe he'd forgotten mine, but he gave me something so quickly. Nicole and Minjee were teasing me about it.

t o u c h a b l e

I watched Brian de Palma's The Untouchables before dinner. Kevin Costner was so hot before; now he's just a mass of age. But Sean Connery, then and now, still sexy. It's the Scottish accent. And he got all the good lines in the movie.

j a c k

Drawn Together is so stupid (but hilarious). It's like animated Jackass with some semblance (or pathetic attempt at) of plot. I love Xandir, but he's sooooo gay.

I've finished my compo for Mr. Reyes, the one about Quezon City (initially titled QC, My QC, which just sucked. Now it's Quezon City Blues). And before Sunday too. Go me.

Amores Perros, si.

2005-08-19T21:08:00.000+08:00

q c d a y

It being Quezon City Day, I slept in.

My youngest sister, however, proceeded to wake me up at 10 am in the same fashion that Isabelle uses to wake up Matthew in The Dreamers. Gasp. Reality and film have reached a parallel.

Today was movie marathon day. It just came about because I still had unwatched movies from Alfie and Niña, and I was already feeling guilty about having them in the house for a couple of weeks. Oh yes, there's still Donnie Darko from Ina.

h e y j o e

Movie 1: The Dreamers. With commentary by Bernardo Bertolucci, Gilbert Adair, and the producer guy Jeremy Thomas. Yes, I paid attention to his name this time around. And, random bit of info. While I was watching Drew Barrymore's E! True Hollywood Story, it just so happened that they mentioned that Drew had broken up with a producer fellow named Jeremy Thomas some time ago (when she was 19. Eons ago). I wonder if it's the same guy.

After completing The Dreamers with commentary, I whored the special features. I watched Michael Pitt's music video for Jimi Hendrix's Hey Joe. It's actually thrilling to watch him go mad, almost feral, towards the end in the recording studio. It made me happy.

THEN I watched the minidocu Bertolucci makes The Dreamers, then the featurette about the history behind Paris during February-May 1968, when the protest to reinstate Henri Langlois as director of the Cinematheque Francais escalated into a revolt against the government. It was so interesting how they remade and shot the protests for the movie. It's almost freakily historically accurate, down to the film canisters where they wrote their protest statements, to the banners and flyers.

Of course I watched the trailers for The Dreamers and Garden State. I'm wondering if I should give Garden State a second chance. I remember not being overly impressed with the ending, as well as Ian Holm's American accent (Why ruin a yummy British accent with an American one, I say). But I suppose Zach Braff should be motivation enough to get me to scavenge through my shoeboxes and look for it. Hmm. I saw Natalie Portman's cleavage there. That made me smile, too. (I'm sure it made Gael Garcia Bernal happy as well)

s i e n t o mi f r a g i l i d a d

Movie 2: Amores Perros. It's been sitting near my computer for a little under a month or so now, so I decided to watch it. After all, Gael Garcia Bernal is in it (credited without the Bernal, which kind of made me raise my eyebrows). That should be a good enough motive.

It was worth every minute. It's three separate stories, three chapters. The first is about Octavio (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Susana (Vanessa Bauche), which is also my favorite of the three, mostly because it has Gael. (Aren't we close?) But I digress. Octavio's in love with Susana. Great, right? But Susana's married to Octavio's older brother, Ramiro (Marco Perez), and is the mom of his two kids. The whole story is about Octavio getting enough money through dogfights so he and Susana can run away.

The second story is about a supermodel named Valeria (Goya Toledo), who's the mistress of a magazine editor named Daniel (Alvaro Guerrero). After Octavio crashes into her car, she breaks a few bones and has to have a neck brace and move around in a wheelchair. She's got a dog named Richie, who is their 'son'. One day, Richie falls down a hole in the apartment floor, and the rest of the chapter is about them slowly destroying each other because of the dog.

This was also good, but when I watched the deleted scenes in the special features, I felt that they should have put the deleted scenes in. They told more story, and expanded on their relationship. Like the son they aborted and blamed each other for, her dislike of anyone else in the apartment except the two of them.

The third story is my least favorite. It's about an ex-radical named El Chivo -The Goat- (Emilio Echivarria) who was jailed for his beliefs (I'm doing a bit of guesswork here). He reads in the paper that his wife's died, so he visits the cemetery to watch the burial from afar. He's a dog lover, and is always surrounded by his pets, the only source of his happiness. He's estranged from his daughter Maru (Lourdes Echevarria), and is trying to tell her that he's still alived, as she was told when he was imprisoned that he had died.

My favorite scene in the WHOLE MOVIE (SPOILER ALERT) is when Lucha de Gigantes (Fight of Giants) by Nacha Pop plays when Susana succumbs to her attraction for Octavio, and they do it on top of the washing machine.

The scene is beautifully shot because there was a mirror on the wall, and I loved how Octavio could see himself while he was fucking his brother's wife, while his brother was getting beaten up by some hoods elsewhere. Vanessa Bauche looked so cute in the scene; she was wearing pigtails, and she always looked a combination of surprised and ecstatic. Adorable. If Kiju reads this, maybe she'll say something like Susana's suprised with the size.

What added to the prettiness was that the subtitles contained the English translation of the song. I only know two stanzas' worth of the song, and I'm hunting down a complete version. Lucha de Gigantes has been on repeat on Winamp since this afternoon.

Once more, I eagerly raided the special features, and watched the deleted scenes, both featurettes; one about the movie, and the other about Perros de Amores Perros (The Dogs of Love's a Bitch). I watched two music videos, and discovered two pretty songs, A Van a Mater by Julieta Vinegas, and Avientame by Cafe Tacuba. I think that Julieta Vinegas is like Mexico's answer to Bjork... but that judgment is just loosely based on that particular song and the eclectic music video.

The minidocu about the movie produced lots of quotable quotes, which I intend on 'borrowing' for our little production and inserting into Elias' character, or the theme in general. Gael Garcia Bernal describes Octavio as being "visceral... with an uncontrollable animal instinct that leads him to do some terrible things." (Visceral means instinctive, I only found out now) Someone else said that Octavio is wrongfully looking for affection that he's never had (Octavio says in the movie that his older brother is his mother's baby) through Susana.

So, we'll just take liberties... change names... Elias has never experienced real affection from his parents, and he's looking for it from Saira.

Oh yes. Notice the play on words. Amores Perros can mean Love's a Bitch (which is how it was released elsewhere), but it can also mean Love of Dogs. Appropriate, seeing as that there are dogs in each chapter of the movie.

I want to learn Spanish now. NOW.

y o u ...

Movie 3: Jackass the Movie. If you wish to call it a movie.

I don't know why. I just watched it. Some of the stunts were really funny, like when Steve-O did the alligator tightrope, which consisted of him walking on a tightrope that was over a pool of alligators. And he had to put a piece of meat in his ass and have the gator snap it off.

Some stunts I fast-forwarded, mostly stunts that included self-mutilation (Johnny Knoxville getting paper cuts in the webbings of his hands and feet) and embarrassing others (making fun of Japanese people, taking dumps in store toilets).

I don't know why Roger Ebert's partner gave this a thumbs-up. But after watching it, I sort of understood why Alfie's the way he is. ('endearing', that is)

v a m o s

I'm still wondering what to watch next. Kubrick's Lolita? Ray's Rebel Without a Cause? Donnie Darko? Jenny Juno? Polanski's Rosemary's Baby?

Mexico is calling my name. I'll work at Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna's production company, Canana. Secretary to Señor Gael doesn't sound so bad.

From her to eternity

2005-08-18T21:24:00.000+08:00

r a n d o m r a m b l i n g s

I mosied around IMDB last night.

Dammit. Sharon Tate was so pretty (did you know that one of her screen characters was the basis for Felicity Shagwell in Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me?). Why, Manson family? (Yes, because you guys are insane, I get the picture. But no need to blame it on The Beatles. I mean, please.)

I want to watch Eraserhead by David Lynch (the band Eraserheads got their name from it). Stanley Kubrick liked it, and wanted to make the cast of The Shining watch it to get the feel of it. I was planning on having a movie marathon once I got home, but I can't even finish The Dreamers (the uncut version, the real McCoy that Alfie lent me weeks ago) with audio commentary by Bernardo Bertolucci (I need subtitles for his commentary; even his English sounds Italian), the screenwriter (who also wrote the book that the movie is based on) Gilbert Adair, and the producer whose name is inessential right now.

Gilbert Adair sounds so terrible sexy (The Dreamers was loosely based on his life). I want to buy his frigging book The Dreamers... supposedly had more homoeroticism in it. I also want to read (or watch) Jean Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles, which Bertolucci read, and based The Dreamers on as well. Maybe Ginger knows the movie. I remember Wes Anderson talked about it in his commentary for The Royal Tenenbaums.

Everyone involved in the movie should watch The Dreamers. Original, uncut.

m e r d e

Fine. I got a 46/100 for my second math long test, the one which I studied like mad for. I just don't have the knack for math, although I wish I had.

d v d d r o p

We opened the pigeonhole, and my copy of The Dreamers and Lion King 1 1/2 were gone. On top of the stack of English eyewitness report outlines we left Ichi the Killer (which neither of us have seen, to date) and La Brassiere. Asian week. The note this week quoted one of the hottest hard-hitting investigative reporters (or am I being biased because of the intellectual hotness?) in the Philippines. Howie Severino said, "Be interested in everything, and nothing else." Under that was the sentence, "Please return to Alfie and/or Tala" next to a star, of course. Alfie insisted that I put my name this time, because he was already getting weird looks in class.

g e t l o s t

So says Emily the Strange. Which is exactly what happened to Alfie and I when we attempted to pay his Meralco bill (they were supposed to get cut off at 5 pm today, hence the jokes about buying candles).

The Meralco building along Commonwealth is sandwiched between two landmarks: Sandiganbayan and St. Peter's Church. The only time I remembered going to the Sandiganbayan was when the CMLI delegates went there in second year to support the passing of the Clean Air Act. We made the mistake of getting off too late, and had to ask a police officer (the second one we had bothered that day) where the Meralco building was.

And of course, when it was Alfie's turn to pay, he was short. Luckily, Prudential Bank was online. As they say, third bank's the charm.

j u s t shoot m e

Scheduled for tomorrow (supposedly) at Quezon City Memorial Circle. Enzo and Hot Angela haven't replied yet. And I feel particularly bad because Hot Angela was excited about us shooting in her house in Parañaque. I'd really love to go, but it's so far.

Okay, the trickier part will be convincing Hitler to not make it a classy movie. This time, I don't mind point and shoot. We just need to get it done.

s c r i p t i c

YES. MORE SCRIPTAGE. I WOOT YOUR ASS.

The Supreme Uberfuhrer, however, has not okayed the dialogue and scenes that I took liberties with. Neither have any of the other screenwriters.

Okay, off to watch the uncut and original The Dreamers. I am so going to milk every little special feature that's not in my pirated version.

Oh, like the line? It's from Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire.

Promo period until today, only!

2005-08-17T22:24:00.000+08:00

p r o m o

Taekwondo midterms today.

I've been through a taekwondo promotion before, several years ago, when I took it as a summer class under Sir Ian Ampongan (who to this day remains one of my favorite coaches...apart from Coach Igor and Coach Jobet).

It was at the Amoranto Stadium near Mahmah's house, and I remember being so nervous, akin to when we had to recite readings in tsong hap for Skeleton in Fookien, and when you hadn't memorized properly she'd hit your hand with a bamboo stick. Honestly, I get nervous for the strangest reasons.

I remember executing everything alright, but when it came to the Q&A, all I wanted to do was open my mouth and insert my feet. I was asked what the basic kicks in taekwondo were. I said something like, "Ax kick, roundhouse kick..." The tester looked at me and (after wondering what I had been smoking) said, "Axe kick? Are you sure?" Then he asked the guy next to me the same question, and he answered with military/surgical precision.

This year was no different. I did all the tasks the best I could, faltering a bit in some places. As usual, I couldn't answer the question asked me. I say it's unfair; I was asked two questions. What does kwon mean (the fist; to strike or destroy with the hand or fist)? What are the parts of the hand used for striking?

The answer would be, fist, hammer fist, and BACK FIST. Coach Jobet told us to look at him, but I couldn't do it at all, although I saw him gesticulating out of the corner of my eye. BACK FIST. I always expect them to ask me the tenets of taekwondo (Self-confidence, perseverance, indomitable spirit, modesty, etiquette), but they never do.

I want a high yellow belt, like last time.

Taekwondo coaches are SO hot.

t h e s e d a y s

Nico bothered (he would say that he was 'keeping me company') me while I was typing up our paper for ES Lab. Kept making jives at whatever I was typing. "Don't put stupid tasks." "You owe me food." "Guess the cup size. There's a twist." "Perez gave me a grade lower because I came late to class."

It was... interesting.

f a n t a s y a

It will become a mini-mission this week/month to look for the scripts to Julian Cruz Balmaceda's Sino Ba Kayo? and Al Santos' Fantasya.

I just finished writing my italicized-English-studded reaction paper for Filipino class. If Ms. Romero allows the term 'bonggacious' to slip, I will love her... more. And I will also try to use the word 'Imeldific' in my next paper.

Apropos of nothing

2005-08-16T23:39:00.000+08:00

w e l c o m e to the m o n k e y h o u s e

Alfie officially has his bachelor pad set up. It's the 'multimedia room', which means it's got huge-ass speakers, tons of DVDs, and a computer. Projector yet to be smuggled. I kept making fun of the wide array of floor covering: a dirty used-to-be-white Romanesque sofa, faux zebra carpeting, and a tatami mat. I commented on how zen the room was. I think he told me to shut up.

While I waited for him to pick me up from school, We watched La Brassiere since we had a free cut in Math. I was doubling over with laughter, it hurt.

The room will serve as a 'staff room', as I have no frigging clue on what to do with it for the movie. Staff lounge, rather. Ginger calls the staff 'you people'. Of course you would, Mr. AryanRaceIsFarSuperiorCueEvilLaugh.

f i r s t d a t e

I don't think Rainey and I will ever go out on an official date, when the two of us actually go out to a restaurant, sit down, order, finish the food while chatting, complain about fullness, pay, and leave.

e x c e r p t s

My gulay. We have progress. We have excerpts. We rock.

ELIAS

You know you don't have to act with me, Saira. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Saira? You just put your lips together and... blow.

SAIRA

Ha? Movie quotes na naman?

ELIAS

Anong pelikula?

SAIRA

Bwiset na film quotes na 'yan.

ELIAS

Excuse me. Movie.

SAIRA

Che.

SAIRA coughs after taking a drag on the cigarette (Marlboro Lights, his favorite), and gives ELIAS back the cigarette, a look of utter disgust on her face.

SAIRA

Kalasa mo 'yung mga sigarilyo mo.

ELIAS

Masarap?

SAIRA

Kadiri.

Hitler likes it. Good enough for me. Oh. That piece of brilliance he says to start off the conversation, sadly, is not ours. It belongs to the movie To Have and Have Not, starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. Lauren ("steel with curves") says that to Bogey. In what context, I have no clue.

Ich Mein Liebe!

2005-08-15T19:20:00.000+08:00

I saw Carissa (or rather, she saw me) as I was leaving Max's with Kat, Ginger, Brian, Dave, Maria, Hot Angela, Kickass Angela, Tina, and Michelle. She looked really astig, in the androgynous way she tends to have. They have a meeting of some sort at Red Ribbon, and she showed me her straw earrings, which I always thought cool. Except they kinda stink.

p a r e n t a l g u i d a n c e

Introduced Rainey to mama today. Yes, this is kind of a big deal, as my parents rarely see the people I tell them about.

Earlier in the evening, it just so happened that Enzo spotted me when I was walking to the library, and asked me if I'd like to meet his mom. I said sure. I'm particular about meeting parents, since I want to make good first impressions, so I made sure the bra straps weren't showing and that I could hide the syrup stains on my white shirt. His mom is cool. Of course, I couldn't go beyond polite, slightly embarrassed smiling, (hopefully) good eye contact, and, "Good evening po."

y - s p e a k (g i n g e r, n i ñ a, and tala version)

We can (almost) never agree on anything in the movie. Well, Mr. TheAryanraceissuperiorsoupyours Bruselas can't agree with what Niña and I dish out. Here are the things we've squabbled about so far (Ginger, you're still sexy despite the Hitlerish tendencies):

Character names. Ginger didn't want to be Kidlat. Neither did he want to be Elias. They were too ethnic daw. He wanted to be a James, a Jim, or something Western. I protested. His character name is now ELIAS.
Black and white VS. color. Mein Fuhrer wanted black and white because it would hide mistakes and make it not look like a point-and-shoot student movie (which is what it is). Maman and I said that it would look too pretentious/inaccessible. Color won, eventually.
Whether or not to shoot at the Katipunan LRT station. MF didn't like the idea because of all the people and the pagkamabusisi-ness of it all. T and N wanted it, of course, because the terminal was gosh pretty and deserved to be in pictures.
How Saira should die. MF wanted her to drown. I explained that the La Mesa Dam was far from Alfie's condo. And, if someone wanted to kill herself, she wouldn't drive several kilometers just to drown herself in a reservoir. He became pouty. A compromise was made, and, in the end, Saira will try to kill herself by taking pills, attempting to suffocate herself, drinking hard booze and/or shampoo, and, finally, slitting her wrists in the bathroom and/or slipping in the bathtub.
Michelle's character's name. MF wants it to be Paula or Ginger. N and I agree with AMANDA, no longer the yee-haw cowgirl Sally. Michelle, by the way, has stipulated that she will not *really* make out with Ginger. Or bare skin. Or make sex noises. Okay, not really sure about the last. Must ask.

Good gravy, that's the 'best of' the Ginger-Niña-Tala conferences. Sometimes I should post the actual stuff. Well, next time.

l o s t

Oh yes. Am meeting Uncle Achilles somewhere tomorrow in the pm to give him episodes 19++ of LOST. I love that show. They're trying to squeeze every Dominic Monaghan-Josh-Hollloway squee-inducing dollar out of it and make it long and winding and hard to follow. I hope they wrap it up in the next season.

Okay, it's America. I should be expecting up to SEASON 11 WTF of it.

s t r a n g e n e s s (excerpts from greatness)

paulbruselas: wats ap?
tala_luna: discussing?
tala_luna: any ideas?
paulbruselas: hmmm
paulbruselas: how will we show maria discovering me and michelle?
tala_luna: uh...
paulbruselas: wat are the names pala
cutiesmiley23: "Sally"
tala_luna: alfie says his bunk is bouncy.
tala_luna: michelle is sally.
paulbruselas: haha
tala_luna: paul, you're elias.
tala_luna: maria is stil saira.
paulbruselas: okie
cutiesmiley23: Much better
cutiesmiley23: OH GOD
paulbruselas: OH GOD?
cutiesmiley23: will we make alfie bounce alone on the bed?
cutiesmiley23: That will be.... special.
tala_luna: he IS a special child.
paulbruselas: what?
paulbruselas: waitttttt
paulbruselas: time OUT
paulbruselas: whats hapeening??
tala_luna: you asked how we're going to show maria discovering elias and sally.
tala_luna: what a name.
tala_luna: SALLY.
paulbruselas: nooo...u cant show that..
paulbruselas: t
paulbruselas: i mean alfie bouncing on be
paulbruselas: bed
tala_luna: okay, then we won't.
cutiesmiley23: Sally.... it's so farmer-girl-holding-cow
paulbruselas: hehe
cutiesmiley23: so how will we show maria's discovery of sally et elias?
paulbruselas: wait
paulbruselas: bsta i dont want it to be alfie bouncing on a bed.... my god
paulbruselas: let me think;
paulbruselas:
tala_luna: how about you and michelle "MAKING OUT" on the bed?
tala_luna: and bouncing?
paulbruselas: NO BOUNCING
paulbruselas: haha
paulbruselas: thats to .... im not use to it!
tala_luna: well, in delicatessen, they didn't show any skin.
tala_luna: they just showed springs bouncing.
tala_luna: then a woman beating a rug outside.
cutiesmiley23: well, ginger, you and michelle will have to make sounds. sorry.
paulbruselas: thats fine
paulbruselas: weird
tala_luna: and lots of things happening simultaneously in the apartment building that have sexual connotations.
paulbruselas: but fine... God thatL be weird
cutiesmiley23: Ahhhh
tala_luna: i don't think michelle will agree.
cutiesmiley23: Nice idea, tala
cutiesmiley23: fine
paulbruselas: i dont think il agreee
cutiesmiley23: we can get alfie to breathe heavily into a mic
paulbruselas: u know how awkard thatL bee
paulbruselas: NOOOOOO
tala_luna: i'm sorry.
cutiesmiley23: the perils of low budget films....
tala_luna: that was TOO funny.
paulbruselas: alfie not breathing into mike
cutiesmiley23: yeah, I just read it
paulbruselas: NO
cutiesmiley23: okay fine
cutiesmiley23: realisateur, what do you think?
cutiesmiley23: (that's director)
paulbruselas: realy?..hehe
cutiesmiley23: yupyup
cutiesmiley23: what do you think we should do?
paulbruselas: ahh,,, i think
tala_luna: don't want to go with the springs and the rugbeating?
paulbruselas: we should not show any sex
paulbruselas: NO Sex
paulbruselas: ?
tala_luna: it's cheap, it's effective.
tala_luna: no one gets nekkid.
paulbruselas: kasi if we show sex..... it will look like we dont know what where trying to achieve
cutiesmiley23: so how do we show the event that pushes maria into a frenzy (suicide) then
paulbruselas: kasi no one gets naked...
paulbruselas: labo
tala_luna: maria enters the room.
cutiesmiley23: we don't need to show sex! it can be what tala said, connotations...
tala_luna: she's shocked.
paulbruselas: I KNOW
paulbruselas: her face... diba...
tala_luna: the springs are still bouncing.
paulbruselas: Noooooo
paulbruselas: no sex
tala_luna: IT'S NOT SEX.
paulbruselas: springs?
tala_luna: just the suggestion of sex.
tala_luna: springs.
tala_luna: or the mattress.
tala_luna: whatever you prefer.
paulbruselas: thats obvious]
tala_luna: and maria can freak out more if you pretend to "DO IT" on her bed.
tala_luna: because it smells like maria.
tala_luna: and you're secretly a scent fetishist.
paulbruselas: ah
paulbruselas: wait
paulbruselas: we only hav bits and pieces parin.. lets start na ground up
paulbruselas: soooo
paulbruselas: game
tala_luna: okay.
tala_luna: from the start-start?
paulbruselas: yes
tala_luna: and should i be taking down notes?
paulbruselas: 12 midnight
paulbruselas: ok
tala_luna: okay, niña, what do you have planned for midnight?
paulbruselas: start of the day
paulbruselas: lets just do it in chronological order muna
tala_luna: buzz nina please.
cutiesmiley23: sorry hi
cutiesmiley23: sorry hi
cutiesmiley23: my momjust gave a lecture why I Should Be Bathing and Not Online.
cutiesmiley23: It was profound.
paulbruselas: ahhh
paulbruselas: haha
tala_luna: life-changing?
cutiesmiley23: midnight? Maybe they are readying for bed
cutiesmiley23: then they crawl in together?
cutiesmiley23: cutcutcut, the ginger mirror punching scene
cutiesmiley23: sunrise, cooking, yay
paulbruselas: start of the day
paulbruselas: midnight
paulbruselas: we hav a shot of them sleeping na?
cutiesmiley23: (Yes. I now know the value of washing the icky-wicky germs off my frail skin)
tala_luna: (i think my mom says the same thing about wearing slippers)
tala_luna: wait.
tala_luna: so, midnight?
cutiesmiley23: well, since we're putting the shot of them sleeping for early in the morning, midnight would be a good time to show them getting ready for bed
paulbruselas: my dad compared stress with a sword...hehe
paulbruselas: ah..k
tala_luna: guys... is it possible to finish the outline tonight?
paulbruselas: hahaha
paulbruselas: maybe
paulbruselas: if i choose not to sleep
tala_luna: because when we try to brainstorm out of the cyberrealm, we can't seem to get anything done.
paulbruselas: and not to do my paper
cutiesmiley23: if i bathe firstcutiesmiley23: okay i'll bathe now
tala_luna: okay.
tala_luna: maria wears your boxers when she sleeps.
cutiesmiley23: my mom will just MURDER me with her clean sanitized bare hands if i don't
tala_luna: alright?
paulbruselas: K
tala_luna: you're sexy naman e.
paulbruselas: THis will be fun
tala_luna:
paulbruselas: oh
paulbruselas: hame
paulbruselas: game
tala_luna: maria wears your boxers and climbs into your bed.
paulbruselas: then
paulbruselas: ?
paulbruselas: im asleep na?
tala_luna: your being on the top bunk symbolizes how you like to be dominant in relationships.
tala_luna: and that you're possessive of what you have.
paulbruselas: ahhhhhhh
tala_luna: o diba!
tala_luna: galing.
paulbruselas: ah in real life im oposire
paulbruselas: oposit
paulbruselas: hehe
cutiesmiley23: niiice symbolism
cutiesmiley23: okay bathe
tala_luna: maria's being in the lower bunk symbolizes that she's still an immature little brat who has her brother at her beck and call.
paulbruselas: ok
tala_luna: e di ba you like being dominant?
tala_luna: it's only for maria that you'll bend.
paulbruselas: ok
tala_luna: say gosh!
paulbruselas: gosh
paulbruselas: !
tala_luna: symbolism over.
tala_luna: how do you picture the scene?
paulbruselas: haaaaaaaaaaay..i cant wait for fred astaire movies to come out
paulbruselas: hehe
tala_luna: maria's crawling into your bed?
paulbruselas: ahhh...
paulbruselas: hmmmmm....
paulbruselas: i have an idea for the credits...
paulbruselas: diba she crawls into my bed..
paulbruselas: the credits apear while she's in teh bathroom...
paulbruselas: brushing her teeth
paulbruselas: coming out of the shower...
paulbruselas: pero shot of her feet lang
tala_luna: so, the first first scene is maria coming out of the shower.
tala_luna: wet feet dapat.
paulbruselas: the brushing teeth
paulbruselas: ya
tala_luna: pero really, she's got clothes on.
paulbruselas: pero shot of feet lang
paulbruselas: OF COURSE
paulbruselas: then we follow her feet....
paulbruselas: to her bed
tala_luna: her bunk?
paulbruselas: ya,,,then pan up to my hand with cigarette...
tala_luna: or aakyat kaagad sha to yours?
paulbruselas: no
paulbruselas: dun muna
paulbruselas: then camera pans up to my hand with cigarette
paulbruselas: im asleep
paulbruselas: cigarette falls
paulbruselas: she notices im asleep
paulbruselas: kasi she sees the cigarette fall
paulbruselas: then she climbs up
paulbruselas: gets?
tala_luna: yes.
tala_luna: pero, realistically, your cigarette would be dangerous.
tala_luna: it could cause fires.
paulbruselas: its a moviee
tala_luna: even so.
tala_luna: remember what the production designer said?
paulbruselas: when it falls we'll make sure of safety precautions
paulbruselas: what?
tala_luna: it's got to feel like real life.
paulbruselas: sus
tala_luna: attention to detail makes a good director.
paulbruselas: di yan
tala_luna: it's true.
paulbruselas: i dont like real life...
tala_luna: yes.
tala_luna: but the audience does.
paulbruselas: i watch movies to escape real life
paulbruselas: thats what people do
paulbruselas: they dont go to movies to see me sitting down for 4 hours typing a paper
paulbruselas: duh
tala_luna: yes.
tala_luna: but people with common sense know what's going to happen when a lit cigarette falls on a wooden floor.
tala_luna: people watch movies for two reasons, paul. to escape reality, or to relate to someone else's.
tala_luna: PAUL.
paulbruselas: e
tala_luna: i can hear you make that sound from here.
paulbruselas: de it wont fall on a wooden floor
tala_luna: i'm imagining it.
paulbruselas: good
paulbruselas: hehe
tala_luna: "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......"
paulbruselas: it will fall on water
tala_luna: extended for 10 syllables.
tala_luna: where's the water in alfie's condo?
tala_luna: i tell you.
tala_luna: nina will also say the same thing.
cutiesmiley23: nina is back, and I'm afraid to say that (sorry hitler ) the cigarette in bed is too blatantly dangerous
cutiesmiley23: again, compromise?
cutiesmiley23: cigarette near the bed?
cutiesmiley23: ashtray readily available?
tala_luna: OR...
tala_luna: maria puts out the cigarette.
tala_luna: and reprimands paul for it.
cutiesmiley23: OOH
cutiesmiley23: maria grabs it from between his lips
paulbruselas: wait
paulbruselas: ganito
paulbruselas: diba were tracking her feet
tala_luna: AND THEN she smokes it!
paulbruselas: until she reaches bunk bed
paulbruselas: then while shes lying down... we pan up to cgarette
paulbruselas: then pan back to her
tala_luna: (wait, does michelle look more like a jen, an amanda, a guen, or a laetitia?)
paulbruselas: then she grabes and smokes it
cutiesmiley23: (amanda!)
cutiesmiley23: waitwaitwait
paulbruselas: michelle looks like a PAULA
cutiesmiley23: where is this cigarette?
paulbruselas: or a GINGER
tala_luna: (okay, not farmgirl sally anymore)
tala_luna: (AMANDA)
paulbruselas: my fingers
paulbruselas: GINGER
tala_luna: better if it's from your lips.
tala_luna: more sensual.
paulbruselas: so we pan up to my hand muna
paulbruselas: then i put it in my lips
paulbruselas: camera movmnt is important to me
cutiesmiley23: sounds good to me
tala_luna: okay, good.
paulbruselas: then ?
tala_luna: she smokes it.
paulbruselas: so what happens now?
cutiesmiley23: would mr smoker protest, or no?
paulbruselas: she smokes my cig
paulbruselas: while shes beside me na>
tala_luna: and then dialogue about how she loves it.
paulbruselas: ?
paulbruselas: and during this time..whats the blocking?
tala_luna: and then your brain is on selective hearing mode.
paulbruselas: blocking???
tala_luna: what if she's standing on the floor, and you're sitting on the top bunk, leaning over the railing?
paulbruselas: oh okiay..
tala_luna: it could mean that no matter how she tries, you will always be superior to maria.
tala_luna: or, if it's six feet difference...
tala_luna: rampant symbolism.
paulbruselas: pero when will she climb up?
cutiesmiley23: (tala, you're pretty good at fishing symbolism out of everything, aren't you?)
paulbruselas: after she smokes it..
paulbruselas: what happens/
cutiesmiley23: She finishes the cig - not all the way, of course, brats don't like smoking it all the way - and tells you to move.
cutiesmiley23: you move.
tala_luna: (i'm not good at symbolism. i'm good at bullshitting.)
paulbruselas: then?
paulbruselas: she climbs in?
tala_luna: it'll be cold if it's december.
tala_luna: so blankets abound.
paulbruselas: so..when she climbs in
paulbruselas: what do i do?
paulbruselas: put a blanket on her?
paulbruselas: hug her?
paulbruselas: what?
cutiesmiley23: (Rampant, excellent talent for upcoming theo and religion)
tala_luna: maybe you could touch her (you have to be kilig) and tell her that she's cold.
tala_luna: touch her... i don't know... arms? thighs?
paulbruselas: touch her where?
cutiesmiley23: just on the arm
cutiesmiley23: that's enough touchytouchy for the start of the film
paulbruselas: why not i hold her hand?
paulbruselas: itL be awkward with the arm
cutiesmiley23: uhhh sure.
tala_luna: okay.
tala_luna: you just want an excuse to hold maria's hand, don't you?
tala_luna: but i digress.
paulbruselas: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
paulbruselas:
cutiesmiley23: awww it's like watching the grinch's heart grow
paulbruselas: hahahahaha! so im the grinch now? hehe
paulbruselas: i loved that cartoon
paulbruselas: hehe
tala_luna: okay so after holding her hand...
tala_luna: you both go to sleep holding hands.
paulbruselas: yes
tala_luna: or is that touching overload?
paulbruselas: nooooooooo
paulbruselas: hands lan
paulbruselas: g
paulbruselas:
cutiesmiley23: just hands touching would be fine. remember, we cut to the morning-sleepy-punchy scene, diba?
paulbruselas: ya
paulbruselas: wait...
paulbruselas: on thursday what are you guys doing?
paulbruselas: want to watch a movie in my place?
paulbruselas:
tala_luna: sometimes i want to post our conversations on my blog.
tala_luna: i'm already watching a movie, ginger.
tala_luna: at UP.
paulbruselas: do so
paulbruselas: what?
tala_luna: diliman.
paulbruselas: wag na.. mas maganda film fest ko
paulbruselas: hehehe
tala_luna: you don't have pinoy flicks, ginger.
paulbruselas: ss
paulbruselas: i have LEGENDS
paulbruselas: JAMES STEWART
paulbruselas: CARY GRANT
paulbruselas: BOGIE
paulbruselas: GABLE
cutiesmiley23: fell free to post them, talave. (tala-love. hahahahahaha my lack of wit is almost offensive.) it's a good way to chronicle for film purposes pa!
cutiesmiley23: yeah... but we can always watch that at your magic house of entertainment, paul. UP Dil doesn't always do this. (MHOE. Magic House Of Entertainment. Pronounced Muh-Hoe.)
paulbruselas: "you know how to wihstle dont you steve? just put your lips together and blow" -lauren bacall, to have and have not
cutiesmiley23: uhhh.
cutiesmiley23: "have you ever seen it aragorn? The white tower of eckthelion?:
cutiesmiley23: Yun lang.
cutiesmiley23: sorry.
paulbruselas: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
paulbruselas: hehe
tala_luna:
cutiesmiley23: Lord of the Rings is my thing. (well, mine and many many others.)
paulbruselas: hehe
cutiesmiley23: anyway. yes. tala, feel free to put this silliness (SALLY-ness) up.
paulbruselas: ya
paulbruselas: haha
cutiesmiley23: oh dear god.
tala_luna: oh maman.
tala_luna: i want you to read something tomorrow.
tala_luna: it's a pinoy version of lotr.
cutiesmiley23: Mes enfants, c'est 13 h. Je suis SLEEPY.
cutiesmiley23: OKAY
cutiesmiley23: I shall read it tomorrow
cutiesmiley23: for now, sleep
tala_luna: i'll hunt for it.
cutiesmiley23: sleeping is fun.
tala_luna: okay.
tala_luna: night.
paulbruselas: nyt
paulbruselas:
cutiesmiley23: Thanks. Anything LoTR makes me happy
cutiesmiley23: silly, crazy, over the moon happy
cutiesmiley23: my friends and i used to have fake marriages.... you can ask Ina about those. My REAL weirdness is coming out.
cutiesmiley23: bon nuit.

-To Be Continued-

jen rosendahl makes me lesboho.

2005-08-14T23:59:00.000+08:00

c i n e a d a r n a schedule, aug-sept.

I'm actually supposed to be studying for my math midterms tomorrow, but I promised I'd get this done today.

August 16 (Tuesday) 5 pm- A Very Long Engagement

August 17 (Wednesday) 2 & 5 pm- Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa
7 pm- Open Water

August 18 (Thursday) 5 pm- Diliman

August 23 (Tuesday) 5 pm- Shaolin Soccer

August 24 (Wednesday) 5 pm- Minsan Pa

August 25 (Thursday) 5 pm- The Manchurian Candidate

August 26 (Friday) 5 pm- The Iron Ladies

August 31 (Wednesday) 5 pm- Assault on Precinct 13
7 pm- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

September 1 (Thursday) 5 pm- Shutter

September 2 (Friday) 5 pm- Love Me If You Dare

September 3 (Saturday) 10 am & 2 pm- Anak Dalita

September 5 (Monday) 5 pm- Hitch

September 6 (Tuesday) 5 pm- Kung Fu Hustle

September 8 (Thursday) 5 pm- Head in the Clouds

September 9 (Friday) 2 pm- Shake Hands With the Devil
5 pm- Hotel Rwanda

September 13 (Tuesday)- September 17 (Saturday), 2, 5, & 7:30 pm- Eiga Sai 2005

September 20 (Tuesday)- September 24 (Saturday), 2, 5, & 7:30 pm- eKsperim[E]nto Festival of Film, Video, & New Media

September 27 (Tuesday) 5 pm- Carmen

September 28 (Wednesday)- September 30 (Friday)- Preview Screenings for Pelicula, Pelikula Spanish Film Festival

***

Highlighted, of course, are the stuff that looks interesting. Hitch is highlighted because I've never seen it before. Kung Fu Hustle is highlighted because I want to watch it again on the (relatively) big screen for half the theater price.

A lot of things I want to see are on Fridays at 5 (The Iron Ladies, Love Me If You Dare). Which means skipping LFC meetings. I'm sure Alfie and Ina won't really mind. And I think Ginger wouldn't mind tagging along. All in the name of film.

Finally, Love Me If You Dare has become accessible to me, after that day so many years ago when I saw it on MTV Screen. I told Ina about it before, during one of those long and seemingly endless ES discussions when neither of us were really listening. I hope she wants to watch.

I'll ask Ria if she wants to come along to watch Iron Ladies. After all, she was the one who raved to me about it. It's her birthday on the 9th (My Boss is 17... sounds like a potential title for a fluff HK movie), so maybe I could treat her to this or something. I know her sked's pretty loose on Fridays.

Lots of promising Filipino movies. I'm still kind of kicking myself because I was too lazy to check out the Cinemalaya movies. AND because I wasn't able to catch the stuff from the 2005 Digital Film Festival. Ang Anak ni Brocka by Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez looked good pa naman. So I'll try to watch at least ONE of the eKsperim[E]nto movies.

JEN ROSENDAHL MAKES ME LESBOHO. (to be expanded on when I have more time)

Now Alfie's even more scared of me. Cue evil grin.

Red Tape, Pinoy Time, and a Small World

2005-08-13T21:50:00.000+08:00

I keep forgetting which color font I use. I'm sorry for the lack of consistency. That statement, by the way, was dedicated to the one or two people who I pressure to read my blog.

migraine city

Two fucking days, two massive migraines. 12 year old-girls don't get migraines. But then again, it's only to Alfie and Niña that I am 12 years old. Okay, I don't really know if it's a migraine or your garden-variety headache. Let's look at the symptoms together, shall we?

Here are common symptoms of migraines:

Throbbing or pulsating headache on one side of your head.
Moderate to severe headache intensity.
Worsening of headache with routine physical activity.
Nausea, vomiting, or both.
Sensitivity to light and noise, and sometimes smells.

I suppose you don't have to have all the symptoms to say, "Yep. Migraine." I have 1, 2, and 3. Sometimes just bending over makes my world spin. I feel grateful to have Dave along with me when I commute home these past few days. At least someone will call the house when I faint when I get off the jeep.

production d e s i g n

I pestered everyone to take the production design and sound workshop that lfc was hosting. I told everyone I'd meet them at the library around 12ish.

I arrived at 1:08. Right on Pinoy time.

The production design speaker was late, so the LFC people handed out info sheets for the Blue Screen intercommittee competition, which, of course, we are not joining (we can't, first of all, even though our concept fits this year's theme: Guilt/Comfort. It's mainly because Ginger, our director, and Dave, our storyboardist/editor, belong to Human Resources. I don't think you can have people from different committees teaming up, although my concept's received support from some Advertising people whose names I cannot remember). And then some guy gave a talk about the guidelines. It's a ton of red tape. Call it a challenge, if you wish. It seems like a lot of creative restriction to me. Everything has deadlines which I can't make, even if I wanted to pitch a concept (due to my current load). Script's due on August 20. I'm laughing at the thought of meeting that deadline.

Well, hopefully we'll be able to get together ONE DAY and actually MAKE A SCRIPT. That'll be some day, I'm sure.

I have high hopes for the yet-unnamed incest film. Movie. Whatever. I want it to be good enough for the Isapelikula competition, I want it to be good enough so it'll be picked up next year for Cinemalaya 2006. I want to send it to Cannes, to Venice, Sundance, wherever there's a film festival. I'm sure that if we spend a lot of sleepless nights on it, it could work. We will revolutionize Filipino cinema.

(Like fun we will.)

And, thanks to my amazingly (neat) OC- notetaking, you're also going to learn something new today!

What is production design? According to the speaker named Leo who teaches Painting at UP Diliman and has a so-pretty-I-could-shit-myself Mac laptop, it is the visual art and craft of visual storytelling. And the production designer is responsible for interpreting the screenplay and the director's vision for the film.

I have the suspicious feeling that Ginger's going to be our production designer as well as director. He's so Hitlerish. And I know he doesn't mind being called that because (one of) his idol Charlie Chaplin emulated Hitler (and eventually became a Communist).

And, according to production designer/professor Leo, there are six things that a production designer can 'play around with'. Those are:

Color palette. What is the general color of the movie? He pointed out that the most obvious way you could differentiate the protagonist from the antagonist was by their clothing. Usually, villains wear black and the heroes wear white, right? But inBrian de Palma's The Untouchables, Al Capone (Robert de Niro) was dressed in white, symbollizing that the evil wasn't flagrant, that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. This is similar to the theory people have about Lost. The clothing issue. Color tells something about the character. When you rationalize your choice of color, it shows that you pay attention to detail, hindi basta-basta lang.

Architectural specifics. Alright, I didn't pay too much attention here because Ginger was bugging me to read his short story for Professor Pulan. I told him that it read too much like a script. He told me that he was trying to emulate Hemingway. I said 'okay.' Plus, it was just kinda boring.

Location. This, of course, is basically where the scenario or scene is happening. I didn't pick much up except that the speaker had to go to Cotabato, take pictures, and interview people so they could recreate a Cotabato-ish feel somewhere in the nearby provinces. They settled in Tanay, eventually. Again, I wasn't paying attention. I spaced because I was thinking of ways we could arrange things so that Alfie's apartment would look as if an angsty director and a snotty teenage girl had been living there for a long time. I thought of the pre-bald Natalie Portman posters in the common bedroom and smiled.

Props. Short for properties. There are two kinds of props: those that a character interacts with or holds, and the kind that are there in the background to prettify the place and add to the character's personality. The former are called hand props, and the latter are called setting props. Props give an idea of the people living in the house, and add to the believability of the film. Movie. Whatever.

At the moment, the common bedroom is bare, except for two mattresses, the bunk bed, a mess of clothes and assorted books (Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul among them), a night table with a cool-looking orange lamp, and four posters of a pre-shaved Natalie Portman on the wall near the door. We'll have to take out the mattresses, clean it up, and put little touches to make it realistic.

Sets. The speaker gave examples in the form of In the Mood For Love by Wong Kar Wai, which, at some point, I was interested in watching. Almost everybody had no clue what the hell that was, and I did a Ginger and whispered "Wong Kar Wai! Tony Leung! Maggie Cheung!" to Alfie and Ginger. Although at the time I wasn't sure if it was Maggie Cheung (IT IS, if you're curious). The speaker looked at everyone and said, "You're missing half of your lives." Later it was: "Isn't this the Loyola Film Circle?" How embarrassing. Ginger keeps insisting that he's above everyone. That we're above everyone. Good gravy.

Okay, it appears that digressing comes naturally to me. WELL ANYWAY. Production designer man said that in In the Mood For Love, the corridors of the apartment that Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung were living in were cramped, adding to the tension of the story. I thought that was a great idea, and that we could steal that for the film. Especially since the halls in Prince David are poorly lit and claustrophobia-inducing.

Wardrobes or costumes, makeup, and styling. If your character's a high-ranking corporate executive at some hot stuff company, you don't make them wear cheap clothes unbecoming of their socio-economic status.

Visual metaphor. Images you use to stand for something else. Like how flowers can become vaginas and hotdogs become penises.

We were shown a few excerpts from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, where the kid is peddling around the hotel on his little tot four-wheeler, and every room he passes has floors with geometric patterns and rug with intricate designs. Then the scene when the mom and the scary redrum kid go around the maze. Then a shot of scary Jack Nicholson looking down at a replica of the maze, with two small dots moving around. The Shining, so the PD says, is a study of how complex and labyrinthian the human mind is. The mazes used were to emphasize how much like a maze the human mind is. Okay, if you say so.

s o u n d

I did not learn much from the sound guy, apart from the fact that he's extremely OC, he has a great Furball shirt that I heart and jeans that I want, and he's not a visual aids person.

Alfie said it was ironic that he was there to talk about sound, yet he didn't let us listen to samples or say anything that I deemed useful enough for notes.

He had some great stories, though. When he worked with Quark Henares (my mod, gosh. He's such a teddybear. He should never read this) on Keka, he had a lot of trouble with the scene where Ryan Eigenmann beats up Katya Santos. He says he bought a huge slab of meat and kicked, slapped, and punched the meat for a week. I was wondering how he kept it fresh and decomposition-free for that long. During the part where Ryan (uy, close kami) kicks Katya in the boobs, he says he nearly died trying to find the right sound for that. And although Katya couldn't be kicked in the boobs, he bloody near wanted to. After that, they fried the meat and ate it. Cool.

The sound guy asked who were working on films, who were the directors, and, finally, who were the sound guys. I pressured Alfie into raising his hand, so now, he is the official sound guy for the incest project (TIP).

Probably because Alfie looks like someone who could be a strange and OC sound guy, the speaker sound guy asked Alfie if he was working on a film, and Alfie, of course, said yes. Then the speaker asked who was the scriptwriter, and Alfie and Ina pointed to me. Now speaker sound guy asked me what the feel of the movie was. And I stole something I saw (yes, bad grammar) from the production design man's Power Point presentation and replied, "Light progressing to dark", which I thought fricking great. People started whispering at this point. The hardcore filmmakers were probably saying, "THAT LITTLE KLEPTO BITCH." I hoped, of course, that they hadn't seen it, and instead were murmuring that I could be the next big thing in FIlipino cinema.

Then sound guy started asking me stuff. Is it a character piece or a ... [A character piece] Where is the setting? [Prince David, condo. Rooms inside the condos] Are there outside scenes? [One of the characters has to go to the Katipunan LRT] Back to Alfie. Is this set on a weekday or a weekend? [On a holiday] Snickers from the audience. Cue Ginger's voice: "We are above them..." Sound guy: You've been given clues already, what do you plan to do? [Stand outside and record the sounds on Katipunan. There shouldn't be so many cars because it's a holiday]

Stuff. In the end, Alfie wanted to ask a question, but these film guys were already buzzing around him, asking about stuff and symbolism in movies he'd done. I heard a question about TRAFFIC LIGHTS, why the traffic light turned yellow or something. Sound guy said, "Ah, symbolism. A hazard sign..." Alfie and I were looking at each other knowingly. In my opinion, dude, traffic lights turn yellow because that's one of their functions.

EVENTUALLY, Alfie was able to insert his question about where to buy cheap sound stuff for a 'low, low, low, low budget movie.' Sound guy said that he had his four-track... blah blah, movie geeks homed in for the kill and sound guy was gone. I couldn't ask him if he'd worked with RA Rivera or Ramon Victor Bautista. We could no longer extract useful information from him. We left.

s t r a n g e r s in a c a r

When I texted my father that I wished to be picked up yonder at SEC (I thought it extremely amusing that my finger missed the C key and had instead input an X), he arrived after many seemingly long minutes of standing around and looking idiotic. He didn't see me at first. I saw him. He was with a man.

In a matter of seconds upon realizing that I was his daughter, my father quickly introduced me to Allistair Israel, who was tagged as the creator of Yehey. I had heard of Yehey. As far as I was concerned (/knew), Yehey was like the Filipino equivalent of Yahoo. Not being sure, I canned my trap and said, "Hi."

When we got to the car, he opened the door to the backseat for me. I stupidly said, "It's okay, you can sit in front." He responded with, "That's the idea." Open mouth, insert feet. I got in and shut up. I'm a walking study of the hypothesis that any kind of talking with smart old men is dangerous.

Talk talk talk about Gawad Kalinga, wedding photography, IT, browsers. Merienda at Chocolate Kiss. Baked potato and iced tea. Being slightly bored, I reread my workshop notes and made corrections. My father and Mr. Israel were intrigued by my miniscule handwriting. Good gravy, what's with it? It's small and neat. Is that so strange?

Mr. Israel: Is that your handwriting?
Me: Yes.
Mr. Israel: You're scary. Your handwriting looks like it's printed. It's all the same size...

When my father excused himself to go to the bathroom, Mr. Israel talked to me about filmmaking and such. I'm sure I should have been more awestruck/in awe to be in the presence of a genius. Or someone that pioneered IT in the Philippines, in some way. Here are excerpts from a short, awkward conversation.

So you're a freshman?
Yes.

You're into filmmaking. Are you going to work for advertising, commercial...
No. I'm sorry if that's similar to what you do.

So, do you want to be the next Peque Gallaga?
I don't want to be compared to anybody. But I'm sure that if I make a film, they'll compare me to somebody.

Why aren't you in UP? Ateneo's not known for... arts.
Because I didn't pass the UPCAT.

How did you pass Ateneo if you didn't pass UP?
Speaks of the standards, doesn't it? [Followed by explanation that I was too lazy to take the talent test for Creative Writing, and that if I had taken it, I would get a certificate, not a diploma.]

You should use a Mac for all your editing.
No thanks. Windows has that. Do you pimp the Mac to everyone?

Yes. Sometimes it's style more than substance.
No thank you.

This from someone whose handwriting...
There's nothing wrong with my handwriting!

I didn't say there was. If I were your classmate, I'd borrow your notes and xerox them.
*nervous laugh*

I looked like an ass. But then again, I always do. This shouldn't feel any different.

Halfway through the meal, Mr. Israel shook hands with somebody. It was Uncle Apol and his FIANCEE. Good Lord. Small world. Uncle Apol knows him from MENSA. I'm sorry, GENIUSES. Then they talked some more about Firefox, Macs, tech blogs, websites, Manila Standard, Manila Times, some mutual friend named Rome, more mutual friends.

AHA. I have the August-September schedule for the UP Film Center. Mr. Israel told me that my dad spoils me, because he turned back so I could run in and get a copy of the schedule. I told him that I wasn't. He said I was. Talk talk talk of cameras, he loves Canons, my dad prefers Fujis, Sony could have dominated the iPOD business years ago but they gave it away, more photography, disdain for Sony Ericssons, SlimBrowser, Macs, Gawad Kalinga, etc. etc. (Must be say in Yul Brynner/Chow Yun Fat's 'etcetera, etcetera...')

We dropped him off at the GMA MRT station and I doubt I'll ever see him again. Too bad. He was quite an interesting person. Opened the door for me so I could sit in front and all.

OKAY SCREW THIS. IT IS 1 AM AND I AM GOING TO SLEEP.

Schedule tomorrow, promise. And news on the clan lauriat.

Project Spreadable.

2005-08-12T08:38:00.000+08:00

never wear a razorback in mmr without a jacket.

That's one of the moral lessons I learned today. MMR, located in the computer place near Rizal (I still have no frickin' clue what it's called), is cold. It's bloody, bloody cold. Inuits could set up igloos there.

And I had the tact to wear my black razorback because Tina, Gelo, and I agreed to wear black today. It had to be a razorback, as Operation Spreadable was to be set into motion that day. Urgh. I entered the room and all the little hairs on my arms stood up, and I rubbed them in my seat at the back of the room to keep warm, sandwiched between Bubbly and Miko.

M was amazingly gallant today, and offered me his black Adidas jacket, despite the fact that he was cold. I offered him his jacket back around 20 or 30 minutes later because I noticed that his arm hairs were standing up. He said he wasn't cold. I told him that he was freezing inside. Cue laughter.

tim tayag, humor workshops, gooseflesh, oh my.

Okay kiddies, new 'crush'. Haha.

Today was the joint humor and wit workshop for M01 and M02, and Tim Tayag, this guy who hosts a travel show on Living Asia (which I have, but don't watch) called On Foot (I think) was the guest speaker. Former Atenean (Chona was his prof before). Aside from hosting, he also writes for travel guides and has been a stand-up comedian for eight or so years.

He's bloody spreadable. Old (okay, not lolo old. That's just freaky) intelligent men are sexy, but old, intelligent, funny men are even sexier.

So he got things going with a set. He talked about how his maid was so into CSI that she put his underwear under blue lights and stuff and could tell when he wanked off. Then he said that the names of Enchanted Kingdom's 'scary' rides (i.e., roller coasters and other similar rides that whirl you around and make you throw up everything you had eaten that week) weren't really all that scary. An example of a scary ride name, he said, was 'Your Girlfriend's Pregnant.' And before the last loop or the big drop, a voice would come on and say, "I'm two weeks late."

Later on he gave examples of what Jesus would do if He were Pinoy. He'd text while carrying the cross ("Guys where u na?"), and Peter would say that he didn't know the number thrice. Mr. Tayag commented on Jesus' abs. Jesus, according to Mr. Tayag, knew that he was going to be crucified, which was why he fasted a lot and went up and down mountains. It felt just ever so slightly wrong to laugh, but I thought that maybe He thought it was kinda funny too.

Mr. Tayag asked who injected humor into their stories. To my surprise, M01 yelled out 'Tala' in sort-of unison. Me? Funny? Gosh. I'm just a sarcastic little girl. I felt kind of bad because I looked at Bubbly and mouthed, "Shut up!" without really meaning to. It's a natural instinct, I guess. Being the center of attention makes me strangely uncomfortable.

He doesn't think Maritess and the Superfriends is good because it's mostly puns, which he considers the lowest form of humor. Plus it has no redeeming value. It talks of how our main export is maids (okay, sounds like a grammatical flub), which doesn't give off a good image for the Philippines. If I may use a word that Maria taught me that Evert taught her, it's denigrate.

project spreadable.

Project/Operation Spreadable was christened this morning after the inserting humor and wit workshop.

Gelo and Tina scored; I did not. Gelo found out that C jacks off. I was not really surprised (he's a guy. Guys masturbate. Therefore he masturbates), but felt happy that Gelo managed to squeeze out the juicy details he wanted without much effort.

Tina asked C that if he saw two lesbians doing it, would he be the type to stay and watch, or the type to run away with his hands over his ears.

C is the type to stay and watch.

I like him more now.

peeping in pigeonholes

I hung around de la Costa, waiting for Alfie to come back from his condo so we could look in the pigeonhole (yes, this is just as sorry as analyzing other peoples' love lives as you have none worth mentioning).

We went, we looked. They were there. DVDs and papers.

He came back from lunch eventually, and everyone said hi. I didn't, and sort of stayed in the background. I'm pissed because he said hi to other people, like Ina, Niña, Maria, but not to me. Naturally, not I because I annoy him like whoa and become goo.

Alfie eventually told him that we left DVDs there, and he said, "I know." Hence my theory that he is ignoring me. A polite version of a flip-off. The educator version of a flip-off.

I don't want to fawn over him. Any more.

dates, oh hell.

My parents belong to the 19th century.

I subscribe to the belief that my father wants to send me off to a convent in the Himalayas once I've finished college. He's so impossible when it comes to dating (or just anything to do with men in general) it's frustrating.

I have a mockdate, a frienddate with Alfie and Niña, and I'm asking them to come over on Saturday because they have to meet my parents. And they'll be coming all the way from Parañaque pa, so I feel a little bit embarrassed because I'm so out of the way. Today, my mother informs me that my father has to okay Alfie and Niña because, according to him, I shouldn't be dating at all. Good gravy. It's not like Alfie has any *other* intentions, unless you count tickling and making fun of me when I say things like, well, things, birthday, thank you, Thursday, and words that have th in them. Who put the fork up his ass?

Maybe I should just call off the whole thing.

e r r a t u m

Correction: Ginger no longer likes Cupcake. He has moved on to Cheesecake. I think. Or he's back to loving his movies. I don't know.

n o t a b e n e

I've never realized, until now, how hard it is to name a movie, especially when you're making a 'special' movie with a touchy subject (like incest). Ginger and I were brainstorming earlier at the de la Costa benches, and he had his film book (his Bible, he says). I looked at the index of films (sorry, elitist term) and picked stuff out to suit our purposes. So far, the winners we thought of earlier were (among others):

The Life and Death of Saira de la Costa (this produced a disagreement, since I said that it's for known characters, like The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He countered with The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp)
Tomorrow (Ginger says it's ironic because they have no tomorrow. I promised to give it some thought)
Saira (in true single-character-name fashion, like Sylvia, Evita, Frida, etc.)
Saira de la Costa Goes to Hell (stolen from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
Heaven Can Wait
Moonset (as opposed to Sunset, because when the moon sets, our protagonist will have killed herself).
They Were Expendable (expendable: not worth salvaging or reusing; not strictly necessary; open to sacrifice in the interests of gaining an objective)
Saira Whom I Have Loved (stolen from Jacob Whom I Have Loved)
Moonset: A Poem of Two Children (Ginger wants it to be like the old black and white silent movies with long names)

close encounters

Saw Mai today. XD She's so hot. Heehee. I crush you Mai. Don't leave me. ;-)

l f c

Production Design and Sound workshop tomorrow at SEC LEC 3, 1- 4:30.

Kiju and Kiju Bitching Company

2005-08-11T23:59:00.000+08:00

so long and thanks for all the bitch

Alright. Long test over. Math long test on Monday, 4:30-6:20 at SECA 215. I have 2 Fs on my Filipino quizzes. AND I didn't follow instructions so I had to retype my entire Filipino paper at the computer place near Rizal and bullshit for four pages. In Filipino. It was NOT a pretty sight. I also cut P.E. (my first official college cut. Monumental. Ina said that birds would sing or something) to finish it, and convinced Jules to cut too.

Let's not dwell on academics.

i want him to want me.

Since lurve is in the air over yonder at Block B, I thought I'd dedicate one long post to it. It's so fun (and slightly shallow, and at times pathetic) to ponder, analyze who likes who in the block. There are the Pince-Nez people, like Ginger and Cupcake, and the two-month-strong Alfie and Ina. Now there's the blossoming possibility of an Enzo and Maria, the former who runs away when people try to leave him alone with the latter, and the latter who's seemingly indifferent.

Like the clouding of the mind with infatuation, love is undoubtedly funny, apart from being the ultimate secret tool of the closet megalomaniac. You can wield gross amounts of power over people who you leave gaping after you. The truly deluded (oh fine, 'in love') sacrifice and lay down their dignity, fame, fortune, and sentido common at their prospect's feet. And, in most cases, they get shot down.

Love makes people act funny and buy you things. It makes mean people nice, stingy people generous. It's like a total 'tude 180. It makes Alfie carry Ina's (and my) things and jump when she tells him to without asking why, and respond to 'pwincess'. It makes Enzo run away when people want to leave him alone with Maria, if only for a couple of minutes. It makes Ginger call Rainey 'Babes'.

In my case, it makes me retarded and resemble a silly schoolgirl (which, technically, I am still). He, his mere presence, kills my brain cells. Whatever articulation(?) and common sense I already have flies out the window and I dedicate myself to momentary stupidity and shameless gawking in his wake. By addressing him properly (i.e., by calling him 'Professor'), I hope to nip the crush in the bud. My crushes only crush me eventually. Hence the term, I suppose.

"patay na si kurt cobain?"

Bee's so sweet. He always makes a big fuss whenever I wear my razorbacks and it's raining. I never bring umbrellas (my bag strap's on the verge of breaking as it is), and I never bother shielding myself when it's drizzling, so these days, I am almost always wet. He wipes the rain on my shoulders, tells me not to stay in the rain, and pulls me under places with roofs so I don't get wet. Honestly, sometimes I can't help but wonder who's older. But when he says stuff like, "Patay na pala si Kurt Cobain?", I know the answer already.

c z e c h it out.

He still hasn't taken the DVDs out. The papers and everything are still under it. I should get Alfie to leave a bright Post-it on the door to the pigeonhole so it'll (hopefully) catch his eye. Little Otik next week if he likes the idea of us leaving DVDs in his pigeonhole and sharing our weirdness (really, The Dreamers and Lion King 1 1/2 should give you an idea of what our minds are like). It's a Czech film. I haven't even finished watching it yet.

hasta la vista, n a z i.

Alfie and I have this idea for a movie. Just a short film. We take footage of Hitler. Take out the sound. Replace it with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think this is one of the few things making us want to stick around at LFC: knowledge. I told him earlier in the library that if we don't make films, we'll have no future. It's a dead-end course (I don't want to be a teacher), but one I heart. I wouldn't mind working for B Squared productions.

t h u r s d a y s with D A V E

Dave went home with me again today. Not that I mind. I love company. Since today was my eating-out day (which just consists of me going to Topps R Us and ordering beef salpicao, an upsized iced tea, and a side order of extra veggies), he came along. He didn't eat anything (nagtitipid daw), and I felt so bad for him because I was wolfing down beef and garlic bits and rice and stir-fried vegetables. So the best I could do was keep up good conversation.

For the record, I love talking to Dave (like with Kim and Kiju). We hardly ever run out of things to say. Topics covered in the span of two or so hours were: the block, London, porn, guilty pleasures, music, arcades, weird PVs, Gackt, hentai, movies, sexual orientation, anime, malls, money, food... among others. I don't know, the Topps R Us conversation reminded me of those long convos Kim and I had at school, on the phone. Something that you wouldn't mind buying tape for and recording.

p i c k l e

Pickle has Internet again. Crappy, she says. I told her it would do. The point is, we can talk to each other without spending money (at least, on my part). I filled her in about him, and told her that I didn't want to read into anything. She told me to have fun. Both she and Kiju are in agreement that CL looks totoy-ish. Pickle says that he reminds her of the guy in My Girl, which induced laughter.

p r o j e c t || u n n a m e d. (Evelyn is seriously hawt)

Gelo and I are launching Project Unnamed tomorrow, during the humor workshop at the Rizal Mini-Theater. The plan is to sit next to him and initiate conversation. Accidentally touch his feet (and then everything else. Haha) and bump into him and such. He's spreadable and smart, and could melt chocolate and ice and various metals. Of course, as a rule, he has a girlfriend. A very pretty one at that. Again, Kiju and Pickle agree that she rates on the scale of okay-pretty.

She's pretty. But Evelyn the Belgian girl is hot like WOW.

(f i l m) s t r i p

Still no finished script. Still no skeleton. Camera angles, shots aplenty. Maybe tomorrow. I'll try convincing Ginger to take me out to a movie.

K & K

Tomorrow is also the birth of the kiju and kiju bitching company. It will rock, and it'll be all kiju all the time.

Ooh, first post.

2005-06-25T14:25:00.000+08:00

I'm not in the least bit responsible when it comes to blogs. I play around with them for a while when they're brand new, leave them when I'm bored. This is probably my 6th or 7th personal blog.

This will change (hopefully).

What to expect from future posts?

(1) Stuff about college life at The Ateneo. My profs, my honors English class, my basic Math class, the uptight library people, et. al. I will honestly try to limit the Oh my Gaaaddd I saw my crush today, he's so gwapo woot woot type of fluff. I don't type or talk like that. Promise.

(2) Books I read (currently The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, my first borrowed book from the Rizal Lib. Monumental event.)

(3) Music I listen to. I pretty much listen to everything except heavy/death/trash metal. And country music. However, I enjoy bhangra, Wake Up Your Seatmate, Splitcide, Eraserheads, The Smashing Pumpkins, Beethoven, Miyavi, Nell, Clazziquai, Dragon Ash, Ash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gackt, Joni Mitchell, Cynthia Alexander, Handel, Bridge, Zayin, Wu Yue Tian, Wang Lee Hom, Bonnie Pink, Pierrot, ART-SCHOOL, The Pillows, Cherry Filter, Rumble Fish, Death Cab for Cutie, The Brilliant Green, Neri Per Caso, The Killers, Alizee, hide, Ellegarden, Tetsu69, The Beatles, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, Shawn Colvin, Wheatus, Quruli, Squid9, Daydream Cycle, Nico, Eggboy, Warren Zevon, etc. etc. Guilty pleasures are Disney music, show tunes, and Savage Garden. It's all good and strange. Let's talk music sometime.

(4) Stuff I watch. I'm a media baby. I'm not bragging about it, but it's not something I'm ashamed of either. I dislike reality TV in general, but am sometimes suckered into watching Extra Challenge and the like. Current obsessions are Absolutely Fabulous, The Kumars at No. 42, Absolute Power, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and Koi Kaze. I love old films, I love new films, I love Asian films. I love men who love each other. I'm in love with Gregory Peck and Matthieu Kassovitz in Amelie. My NC17 arthouse fare is under my printer and hidden away in shoeboxes.

(5) Snippets of my work will also be posted. Please comment, but do not take my children.

Interested? Wonderful. Not? Leave.