St. Francis: Or how remembering a song will change my life

I first heard this the Saturday before the first Sunday of the bar. I fell in love with a song, with a prayer. I attended an anticipated mass. An obligation i had to do before i could take the exam. A choir from the province visited Remedios Church. After the mass, they performed this song. Although, i was really apprehensive and wanted to go back to my hotel, read and attend the lectures, i stayed. I stayed, in spite of the fact that there were tons of things to read for the first Sunday. But i'm glad i did.

Perhaps it was faith, or even fate. But i think, this will have a strong resonance in my life. I will be an instrument. Wherever my profession would take me, whatever happens, i will be an instrument.

Bar Results; Or Why It Was Difficult to Watch America's Next Top Model

Half of the fight for the bar exams is actually waiting for the results.

Kahit gaano na katagal mo narinig ang huling bell ng hulong sunday, the bar exams never really leave you. You take it with you, you sleep with it, you eat with it, you even pray with it. The only few times i was not thinking of the results was when i was sleeping, but then again, my subconscious seems to be punishing me for thinking about it all the time, that when i do go to sleep, i dream about the results. At times i pass, at times i don’t. The mind is a tricky, tricky thing.

The only way i get to relax is when i do something, most often it’d be in front of the TV watching, TV shows and DVDs i collected through the years. I did realize one thing, though, it was very difficult to watch reality shows, competitive reality shows.

Given that when i was waiting for the bar exams, it was in a constant state of nervousness. There wasn’t a time when i wasn’t feeling anxious or nervous. And watching reality shows simply amplifies that feeling. and i mean AMPLIFIES!!!

Every time someone is at the judges table or running for the pit stop, i feel like i am having a massive heart attack. I could not take it. i could actually feel my blood pressure rising. Problem is, i do love those reality shows. So every time someone is about to be sent to the workroom, or about to pack their knives, or when the tribe is about to speak, or seeing Phil on the mat, or like in fashion, someone is about to be out, and when two gorgeous girls are standing in front of Tyra.. my heart palpitates like a MoFo.

But… i am glad TV kept me company on those nerve-wracking months. Thank you reality TV!

Alexis Tioseco and love we share.

Alexis Tioseco memory. Nagsisismula pa lang ako manood ng mga pelikula. Taking films seriously, na hindi lang pampalipas oras. And would stalk film festivals around the metro. and i would always see him. My friend who works for an airline company knew him, well, knew his name. Got Curious, googled it and that was how i stumbled upon Criticine...then i discovered the world...in Cinema.



That is also how i knew Noel Vera, Richard Bolisay, Oggs Cruz and Dodo Dayao. How i discovered Raya Martin, John Torres, Khavn Dela Cruz.

From then on, i can't help but be starstruck when i see him. When i see him in events, it was like an imprimatur that this is an important film event, that it is legit. An EVENT! Then i got to listen to him in RockEd Radio then TV guestings on TV like Media in Focus. He was the face of Film for me, for a long time... maybe even right now.



But one lazy afternoon, on my way to school, decided to listen to radio (which i didn't do anymore) then turned to NU Rock (which i didn't do anymore) and then Francisbrew said it..."In memory of Alexis Tioseco who was murdered last night...one of those useless deaths" - i did not believe it. but i know franicsbrew is not one person to make jokes about that. I texted my friend, and another confirmed it to her. The face of film was murdered in a robbery gone bad, with his girlfriend Nika Bohinc.



I didn't know how to react, still don't know how. His death affected me, even the only thing we shared was a carpet and oxygen in the same theater.



I guess that is a testament to his contribution to the Philippine Film Industry and World Cinema in general. If people like me whose only connection to him was a shared passion for film would be so moved by his death, then he must have been a great person, an important person. i know, how he is being remembered today, that he was. and probably the best that ever lived.



And for that, i am forever grateful to Alexis Tioseco for having a part in my discovery, appreciation and love for Cinema.



I still have a copy of his wishlist on Philippine Cinema plastered on my wall to remind me that there was once a person who loves the cinema so much it made others love cinema as well...

Money, Politician, Bishops – The New Holy Trinity

I have seen it, as a Catholic who goes to church every Sunday and even during Wednesdays for my Mother of Perpetual Help Novena, i was offended. I am offended how CBCP, Inquirer, and the rest of these zealots keep on insisting that the whole of Christianity is offended. I am not.

I cannot say i know my religion, but i know my faith. And i know that what i saw wasn't offensive, not to me, not to my faith, and especially not to my God, who is, according to my religion teachers, is most understanding and forgiving. I know my God is not a wooden statue. And I know my God is not a crucifix.

I do not think i know anything about art to criticize the art piece of Mideo Cruz and will not defend it. My beef in this is that CCP, who is supposed to be protecting out artistic freedom buckled down against pressure. From Money, Politicians, Church. The realization is that maybe Mideo Cruz's installation “Poleteismo” was a foreshadowing of who is truly god and worshipped in our society.



Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYQZSDOWwww&feature=grec_index

Mario O'Hara was sitting.
went up to him.

Me: Sir, pwede po mag-papicture?
Mario: Oo, naman

Nag squat ako. Sabi niya

Mario: Hindi, tatayo ako.
Me: (nagulat...speechless)
Me: Sir, dahil tumayo kayo, nag-ka-Diyos ang Tatlong Taon.
Mario: (laughter) ano sabi mo? (laughter)
Me: Sir, salamat po.
Mario: Anytime.

Fanboy pa rin. Bow.

Close Encounters of the American Idol Kind

Goodness, i have the timing of the devil.

Decided to have late lunch, because, i was to get my reserved Cinemalaya tickets.

When i got to greenbelt 3, throngs of people were outside Powerbooks. the last time i checked, the Philippines is not yet a reading country, so i know for sure they are not there for the books. Turns out, i was wrong. They were there for books, no, for A book. The very early autobiographical book of David Archuleta.



Here is the the catch, David Archuleta was there to sign them books.

not a fan, and would have even voted for the the other David given the chance.



But lo and behold, as i was walking towards the Cinemas, came from the second floor of Powerbooks, David Archuleta, my view not even blocked by his bodyguards or entourage. a fate many of his fans did not share, as they were blocked by everyone and everything.

Cinemalaya 2011: Dahil isa akong FANBOY. hindi ko ito itatago o ikakahiya. hahaha

Opening Night: andun si Ate Vi, marami nagpapapicture, nagpapa-autograph. i may be a Vilmanian, but not as much as my mother. Wala ako camera, (so hindi ako "umaalata-sosyodad" hahahaha) feeling ko naman hindi ma-aapreciate ng nanay ko ang isang papel na may pangalan ni ate vi. kahit pa ngipin ni ate vi ang nagsulat nun. nung paalis na si ate vi, tinawagan ko nanay ko, sabi ko "ma, may ipapakausap ako sa iyo" bigalang talikod, harap kay Ate Vi at sinabi kong "ma'am, could you talk to my mom, and tell her you're VILMA SANTOS! putangina, pumayag, sabi pa sa akin, what's her name? sabi ko Nini Quejano, sabi niya "tita nini, si Vilma Santos po ito, opo si Ate Vi" Bingi si mama, so hindi niya naririnig, nung narinig na niya, hindi siya naniniwala, so si Ate Vi, tawa lang ng tawa. ako? talon lang ako ng talon! as in. yung mga tao nakaikot sa amin, pinagtatawanan ako. (wala ako pakialam sa inyong lahat...hahaha) humarap sa akin si Ate Vi, sabi niya, hindi siya naniniwala! fan boy ako. bow.

Last Night: Gala ng Amok. (great film) dumating ang "illonggo mafia" led by it's Godfather Peque Gallaga. wait, what i meant was PEQUE FREAKING GALLAGA!!! super star-strucked ako! after the flm, marami pa rin nagpapapicture, wala pa rin ako camera. sabi ko, mahawakan ko lang, i was to grab his shirt, kaso everyone, and i mean EVERYONE was talking with him. lahat, artista, producers, lahat! so nahirapan ako hawakan siya, biglang may moment, malapit siya sa akin. sabi ko, "sir, can i just touch you?" nagulat si Direk! he shook my hand. and rubbed it as well, and said "feels good" when yes, i shook his hand! when he left, he tapped me on my shoulder. THRICE! when he went to Dencios after, he was passing by, i placed my hand on the glass, he saw it and drummed his fingers (which was covered in green nail polish, by the way) on the glass. so yes, my hand shook the hand that made SCORPIO NIGHTS! ako na! ako na ang fanboy! bow.