movie marathon, anyone?

This is a repost from Kukay's Multiply Blog. I have always been amazed by Geng's dad, with all the artsy-bitsy thing that he is. Dyan mana si Geng e.

I'll find time to check these movies out sometime. (And I better publish this ASAP, before I kill myself. I am supposed to be studying, you see?)

________

This article will see print on People's Journal (ata) within the week. Column ito ng tatay ko and i'm sharing it here.
My kuya, who is working in the Middle East, usually emails my dad about trivial stuff and my very sweet poodrahbel includes some of their email conversations in his column. Kuya writes and Poodrah reacts.

Listahan lang ‘to ng mga pelikulang astig

Ulat ng anak:

JOY gave me this website so as to combat boredom and to watch movies even before they are shown on the big screen... She knows that I am a movie buff and I love remakes, not to mention my knowledge of books turned into movies.... I usually watch movies and TV series in this site. My current series favorite is Prison Break (adapted from Clint Eastwood's Escape from Alcatraz) and Smallville (I am a superman fan ever since kaya hilig ko ito). Downloading these movies for, well, pirating (yari pag nalaman ito ng OMB) is a different thing and be sure you have Quickplayer, Flashplayer and DIVX since most of these movies are rip offs (not to mention illegally taken).

If you want to watch old movies that have better quality... Maraming old movies dun as well as new ones and rip offs. Dito ko napanood ‘yung old movies ni George Romero and yung The 300 Spartans (mas maganda pa rin ang 300 ni Frank Miller) but you have to have the mentioned programs in the PC before you can watch. Ask assistance from Aaron or Arjuna (for sure ikatutuwa din ito ng dalawa).

Ulot ng kulamnistang ama:

ADD this to an arbitrary list of must-see films— with the most memorable lines or silences I can reckon:

(1) Kazuo Mori’s Zatoichi at Large had the blind swordsman protagonist hemmed in an orchard by a tangle of peach tree branches groaning with the weight of ripe fruits. Protagonist sniffs at the deluge of sweet ripe scents, plucks out a fruit, and trudges on—why, he could have plucked a lot or gorged himself but didn’t. Too bad movies don’t come with aromas to touch our noses. That silent scene had me chewing a lot of cud about taking only the needful burden on one’s body.

(2) Yoji Yamada’s The Twilight Samurai had the dirt-poor retainer telling the samurai he was ordered to kill that all he had on himself was a bamboo sword—doomed samurai villain’s gaunt face manifests a chiaroscuro of emotions before going berserk at what he deems was an insult at his swordsmanship. That’s a scene packed with pregnant silences before the bloodbath— but the movie is all about a hard-up petty samurai trying to raise two kids and an elderly mom, something too close to a Pinoy’s heart.

(3) Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai had this peasant character mawkishly, awfully, woefully holding back his tears as he stares at an empty rice bin—its contents filched the previous night. The film in all its show of martial strategy, tactics, and no-holds-barred brutality is a fight for RICE…

(4) The Christian Bale-starrer American Psycho starts out with a passionless monologue that sounds like a Dr. Vicky Belo advertisement of skin-care products. The horror of a hollow life is probed to its marrow in this novel-turned-film.

(5) Nagisa Oshima’s In the Realm of the Senses has a solemn, silent foreshadowing scene which limns the woman protagonist—she has no undies on and lets out a dark eyeful in her romping moments-- with two giggling kids in a sitting room. Scene ends as femme fatal grabs the young boy’s crotch, boy cries but she holds on to his penis.

(6) The Rosauro de la Cruz scenario Scorpio Nights opens with panoply, unrelenting, all-out assault of maddening din that defines the microcosm of an urban poor setting—no let up to the noise that invades even the nooks and crannies of even clothed crotches. So it’s no shock that the Anna Marie Gutierrez character whispers to her lover within her husband’s earshot, “Kantutin mo ‘ko.”

(7) Ken Kesey’s novel-turned-movie metaphor for an authoritarian regime One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has this finale in which the supposedly mute character Big Chief grunts then heaves off a drinking fountain, and as water geysers out, he smashes the lunatic’s asylum windows with the fountain, then, flees.

(8) The 1954 Gary Cooper-starrer High Noon packs taut tension in a no-dialogue panning shot of the protagonist trudging through the streets of his town, seeking out volunteer deputies for his noon showdown with a convict who swore to kill him. It’s an emotional tug-of-war between shirking from social responsibility and heeding duty’s call.

(9) Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane paints the portrait of a ruthless media mogul who barks this unforgettable line to a correspondent sent off to cover a war that never was, “You write the news, we provide the war!”

(10) Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner had this wry line spouted off by a replicant, “We came to meet our maker” that sums up a creature’s undying yearning to interface with his creator, superhuman seeking a not-so-puny god.

(11) A Viet movie, The Scent of Green Papayas had a sigh, a reverie smack in hard-nosed reality, a pause for a sequence featuring the female protagonist listening to her pet cricket in a tiny bamboo cage…

flickr and double C

I have just recently revived my Flickr account, which I have finally decided to be the repository of most of my amateur shots as a budding photographer (/lawyer). Most of those are random shots while some are documentation of my adventures with nature.

I have always loved taking pictures (and being taken of, as well. Hehe!) and most of my friends tell me that I have perspective. Guess, it is a flair. My works aren't as good as those which I have seen but I am happy when I see them.

Although back in college I have already wanted to get myself to get hold of a camera and shoot around, I refused to indulge. Back then, the SLR's are manual which work for films. I decided that it'll be too costly for me to spend on rolls and rolls of it. So randomly, I just took bits of photography advice from those who have decided to embark on the pricey hobby. And I noted. Most are about framing and focus. I tried using them everytime I get the chance peak through the lens.

In the advent of digital cameras, I took the pleasure of taking as many shots as I can with the little gadget that I used to borrow from friends. Until my dad brought home one pocket digital cam to my delight! My pocket digicam went with me to the mountains I've climbed to the bars with friends and to a city outside the Philippines. I took all the pictures I can. (This even caused my mom and I to fight. She accused me of being a photo addict. O yes, I am. Hahaha!) The pocket digicam later evolved to a DSLR. Woohoo! Although, it is a communal among all the family members, only one of my brothers and I use it most of the time.

This year, I will spend more time learning more of photography. The artsy side of me will be blooming once more.
---------------------------------


"Some rights reserved", hailed Creative Commons.

This afternoon, I attended the launching of Creative Commons and Creative Commons Philippines Philippines V. 3.0 (CC-PH) at school. It is a non-stock, non-profit organization worldwide which seeks to liberalize (according to the discretion of the author of the work) the use, distribution and exercise of all other rights of any created work without any legal repurcussions. Creative Commons provides creators with the option of acquiring licenses that defines which freedoms they want their works to carry.

Copyright immediately attaches to any person's created work. It can be a song (which may pertain to the melody or the lyrics together or separately), a book, a script, an article (which includes this blog entry), an artwork, a photo, maps, sketches, etc. Thus, the author of the created work is attributed as the rightful owner of the work and he/she can exercise all the rights attached to it. The symbol of depicting an encircled C serves as notice that the owner of the work reserves all his rights over the created work and excludes the whole world from exercising such. Although Copyright is protective, it may also be restrictive. CC provides for an option to make it less restrictive considering the proliferation of lots of created works in the Internet.

On a personal note, I find this initiative very good. It encourages freer exchange of works, promotes collaboration (which can lead to improvement of craft) and a maximized exercise of one's freedom.

Image on left:© 2008. Berne Guerrero. Some Rights Reserved. Except when otherwise noted , this work is licensed under
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ph/

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

What Ma. Fatima Gimenez De Chavez Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are loving, compassionate, and ruled by your feelings. You are able to be a foundation for other people... but you still know how to have fun. Sometimes your emotions weigh you down, but you generally feel free from them. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are incredibly wise and perceptive. You have a lot of life experience. You are a natural peacemaker, and you are especially good at helping others get along. But keeping the peace in your own life is not easy. You see things very differently, and it's hard to get you to budge. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are very hyper. You never slow down, even when it's killing you. You're the type of person who can be a workaholic during the day... and still have the energy to party all night. Your energy is definitely a magnet for those around you. People are addicted to your vibe.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

adieu, oh-seven

I wasn't particularly in the mood to put down stuffs on my blog, especially lately. I'm enjoying much of "me" time and keeping things to myself. I've been spending more time on my paper journal than here.ü

But I do want to post something before the New Year goes in full swing. Haha!Maybe just to remove some cobwebs in here. (Uh-huh. OC-OC me... Hahaha!)

A few days before 2008, I started asking myself what are the things I want to work on, change, try for the first time, do-all-over-again and all those New Year resolutions thing that you can think of. Then it dawned to me, that New Year isn't as monumental as it really is. Truth is, it is just another day. Nothing different from all the others, except that the multitude of people think that it is. Tradition perhaps. But come to think of it, it really isn't anything special after all. In fact, we can even set a date other than January 1 to reckon a period.

So, what is my point in stating that observation? Wala lang.

Seriously, I felt that I got in more practical view of life that the externals of life remain to be such. It is only us who impress meaning on things. We want certain days to be special; we build momentum; we create traditions. WE. If that is the case, then the January 1 is just another day still, but we can use its momentum to put meaning in our mediocre existence.

Everybody wishes everyone a Happy New Year.

In my case, I continue hoping that each day unfolds to be better for me, and everyone that is dear to me (and hopefully to others as well), not only every start of every Gregorian Calender year but in our entire stay on Earth (and beyond). I look forward to each day filled with bounty, love and peace. I expect little surprises that will blow me away and make me stand in awe on how things fall in their proper places according to the Higher Power that coordinates things for our good. In each day, I look forward to daring myself, learning new things, growing and constantly letting go of those which aren't beneficial after all.

During New Year's eve, we let off fireworks to brighten the dark sky with fancy shapes and colors. This year, I will paint my own dark sky and let the light stay.



------------------

For this year, I have decided to list down stuff that would want to accomplish, rekindle and try. Here's a sneak peek. I'll keep most to myself.

1) Rekindle my romance with my Camera and Languages (either I polish my Spanish or formally learn French)
2) Travel more. (How about another out of the country trip? Mwahahaha!)

....and a lot more.