It's been months since Cueshe's Stay began blaring from car stereo's in every FX I have had the chance to get into. Even those jeepneys, with their CD-ROMs mounted on the dashboards and their bass levels tastelessly pumped, have the song playing as they soar through Cainta and Marikina.

And a month before that I had the chance to watch them perform for a liquor company's event in Novaliches. I didn't like them that much because they sounded like something you'd hear when you're on your way out the door- you look back and walk away. I've never really mentioned it before, but Stay's chorus' melody is really identical to The Greatest View from Silverchair. Honestly, I don't think I need to tell you that.

And I just don't like it. Aside from that, they played three other songs during that gig. One suspiciously sounded like Sandwich's Butterfly Carnival, which I ignored comletely, and instead focused my undivided attention to gulping down a shot of liquor while unintentionally flirting with one of the the wine girls. And then they did a cover of The Reason by Hoobastank, which was standard showband-fare at the time; and also an Incubus over, which was so lame I don't even remember.

Anyway, I never liked the band, but I have to hand it to them, they've been playing in Cebu for a long time. But two songs that undeniably sounded derivative, makes you doubt the band.

I don't like them, that's all. But then again I don't like a lot of things: rainy Monday mornings, bull fights, running out of cell credits in a middle of an appointment, cold milk and soggy pulborons, among others.

No amount of dislike should be expressed in a nationwide tirade against them. I am however, paying homage to the band they sound like in the first single (although I have to stress that it's just the chorus, not the entire shebang), so I have posted The Greatest View on my Syndrome section.

Sing.

Yesterday Jopet and I went over to Furball in Cubao for our scheduled photo shoot with direk Lyle Sacris. Jopet, being the diligent photographer that he is, after much deliberation, decided with Lyle not to shoot it there. Lyle offered his house.

When I stepped into his room, I was seriously awestruck. The guy has a lot of DVDs, graphic novels, toys and novelty items, he can rival 2Rats, only he owns originals. Even his light fixtuers and the landline telephones are so [bleep]ing cool. I wonder how long I'd should work (and in what field, for that matter) before I could buy all the stuff he's got.

During the shoot, Jopet and Lyle talked about technical stuff about cameras (Lyle is a cinematographer) and laughed and talked a lot more, before the actual shot began. He's such a nice guy, makwento and you'll never get bored. They were even having fun with the camera. Meanwhile, I was staring at a big, moveable figure near Lyle's left shoulder.

It was an object of utmost fear if your grew up in Zion.
It was a Sentinel. HOLY CRAP! And now I can't stop thinking about it!

After I resigned from work, I had to drop by the Tech Dept to have my email account and my employee log in deactivated. Being the idiot that I am, I forgot to send all the important messages to my yahoo account and so all the memorable ones got deleted as well. A couple of months ago, in my Phlog account, I posted a picture of her, and people began commenting on it. Jill posted the "prose" I wrote almost two years back which even included an artwork she inspired me to finish.

-

2:00 pm
October 22, 2003
Angono, Rizal


title: Reclaiming Therese
artwork and text:

I opened my desk, pulled out my art materials and started to whet the paper's appetite for the strokes and the swirls of the pencil as guided by the moonlight of my hand. Nimbus clouds were in my eyes, as I dreamt of dust-covered pieces of t-bones; cooked medium rare, before the particles have settled in and rendered it unfit for the human consumption.

I bathe myself in bicycle wheels and envision myself as Don Juan making wild and passionate love to bone-white paper to create shapes and shades, lines and shadows.

Figures and planes.

And slowly I become the pencil and you, the paper. I stroll down your plotted surface, lose myself in your alleys and drown in your puddles.

You fold and crumple.

I need to be sharpened.

In the midst of political demonstrations regarding that damned Hello Garci tape, The Dream King, Neil Gaiman, graced the country with a tight three-day book signing schedule.

It began at the Rockwell Tent last Jul 9 where Donna and countless geeks went to. I decided to go to the last event, Monday at Fully Booked in Gateway, I easily underestimated the other fans because it was the first day of the week. “Hahaha! Everybody else would be at school or slaving in the workspaces!” The thought rattled in my near-empty skull like pebbles in a gourd, and the prospect of meeting the man himself drove me to sleep rather late.

I scampered to Gateway to find a long line waiting outside Fuly Booked. I followed the line to find the end so I could line up myself. I found it near the Aurora Blvd exit- two floors below the venue. Crap! A few minutes later I overheard some of the people in front of me saying that the management was only letting 150 people or so to have their books autographed. Double Crap!

I didn’t care, I came there to have my book autographed and to give Gaiman my Morpheus artwork…or die trying!

***

I lined up at around noon. The guy behind me starts talking to me in a slight heavy Visayan accent and his hands animatedly moving around as he talked.

HIM: This is almost like every comic book convinchun (convention) in the cantry (country).

ME: Except that it’s not really a comic book convention.

HIM: No, I min (mean) that there are a lot of attindes (attendees).

ME: And no cosplay…well, parang meron na din. I’ve seen a lot of girls dressing up as Death, only they end up looking like whores.

HIM: Horses, plural.

***
The long line to enlightenment.

***

Armed up with American Gods and waiting.

***

greyweed and the King Of Dreams

***

I will!

***

The Autographed artwork.

I was supposedly gonna give him this piece, but I saw his box -filled with stuff from fans- brimming with artwork I decided to just have it signed.

You are nurturing, kind, and lucky. Like mother nature, you want to help everyone. You are good at keeping secrets and tend to be secretive. A seeker of harmony, you are a natural peacemaker. You are good natured and people enjoy your company. You put people at ease and make them feel at home with you.

I am: Stanislav Lem This pessimistic Pole has spent a whole career telling ironic stories of futility and frustration. Yet he is also a master of wordplay so witty that it sparkles even when translated into English.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Stolen from Neil Gaiman's site:


Monday, July 11, 2005

Ten happy little fingers and they're mine all mine...
posted by Neil 7/11/2005 11:28:00 AM

There's nothing quite like coming back from a day of signing and signing and signing and talking and talking and signing, to be met with several thousand people pointing out that though my head thought "Leonard Cohen" my fingers typed "John Cale".

I do not blame my fingers. A number of times in the last two days they have happily written inscriptions for people while my head has struggled to catch up. "Gosh," I think. "It's a copy of Good Omens. What are some of the things I write in Good Omens?" while my fingers have already efficiently written most of Burn This Book. Probably they just got confused by "Hallelujah" or something.

I don't think I've ever been more exhausted at any point in a signing tour than I am right now. (Having said that, I don't remember ever having felt so loved by so many people.) But I get to sleep until I wake up and that's so good...

PS. I think I'm now addicted to calamansi juice.

You Know You're Filipino When....

Your middle name is your mother's maiden name. Your parents call each other "Mommy" and "Daddy." You have uncles and aunts named "Boy," "Girlie," or "Baby." You have relatives whose nicknames consist of repeated syllables like "Jun-Jun," "Ling-Ling," and "Mon-Mon." Mine by the way was "Che-Che." You call the parents of your friends and your own parents' friends "Tito" and "Tita." You have four or five names. You greet your elders by touching their hands to your forehead. You always kiss your relatives on the cheek whenever you enter or leave the room. You follow your parents' house rules even if you are over 18. You live with your parents until and at times even after you're married. You decorate your dining room wall with a picture of the "Last Supper." You keep your furniture wrapped in plastic or covered with blankets. You have a Sto. Nino shrine in your living room. You have a piano that no one plays. You keep a tabo in your bathroom. You use Vicks Vapor rub as an insect repellant. You eat with your hands. You eat more than three times a day. You think a meal is not a meal without rice. You think sandwiches are snacks, not meals. Your dining table has a merry-go-round (lazy Susan) in the middle. You bring baon to work everyday. Your pantry is never without Spam, Vienna sausage, corned beef, and sardines. You love to eat daing or tuyo. You prop up one knee while eating. ou eat your meal with patis, toyo, suka, banana catsup, or bagoong. Your tablecloths are stained with toyo circles. You love sticky desserts and salty snacks. You eat fried Spam and hot dogs with rice. You eat mangoes with rice--with great GUSTO! You love "dirty" ice cream. You love to eat, yet often manage to stay slim. You put hot dogs in your spaghetti. Everything you eat is sauted in garlic, onion, and tomatoes. You order a "soft drink" instead of soda. You hang a rosary on your car's rear view mirror. You get together with family at a cemetery on All Saint's Day to eat, drink, and tell stories by your loved ones' graves. You play cards or mahjong and drink beer at funeral wakes. You think Christmas season begins in October and ends in January. Your second piece of luggage is a balikbayan box. You've mastered the art of packing a suitcase to double capacity. You collect items from airlines, hotels, and restaurants as "souvenirs." You feel obligated to give pasalubong to all your friends and relatives each time you return from a trip. You use paper foot outlines when buying shoes for friends and relatives. You're a fashion victim. You can convey 30 messages with your facial expression. You hold your palms together in front of you and say "excuse, excuse" when you pass in between people or in front of the TV. You ask for the bill at a restaurant by making a rectangle in the air. You cover your mouth when you laugh. You respond to a "Hoy!" or a "Pssst!" in a crowd. You'll answer "Malapit lang!"--no matter the distance--when asked how far away a place is located. Goldilocks is more than a fairy tale character to you. You refer to power interruptions as "brownouts." You love to use the following acronyms: CR for comfort room, DI for dance instructor, DOM for dirty old man, TNT for tago nang tago, KJ for kill joy, KSP for kulang sa pansin, OA for over-acting, TL for true love, BF for boyfriend and GF for girlfriend. You say "rubber shoes" instead of sneakers, "ball pen" instead of pen, "stockings" instead of pantyhose, "pampers" instead of diapers, "ref" or "prijider" instead of refrigerator, "Colgate" instead of toothpaste, "canteen" instead of cafeteria, and "open" or "close" instead of turn on or turn off (as in the lights). You use an umbrella for shade on hot summer days. You like everything imported or "state-side." You love ballroom dancing, bowling, pusoy, mah jong, billiards, and karaoke. You have a relative who is a nurse. When you're in a restaurant, you wipe your plate and utensils before using them. You can squeeze 15 passengers into your five seater car without a second thought. You wave a pom-pom on a stick around the food to keep the flies away. You always ring a doorbell twice, assuming that the first ring was not heard. You let the phone ring twice before answering, lest you appear overly eager. Your other piece of luggage is a balikbayan box. You use a rock to scrub yourself in the bath or shower. You're proud to be Filapino - and you pass these jokes on to all your Filipino friends!

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Update

WEIGHT: dunno, but lemme say I've gained every pound I lost during my research gig.

FRIENDS: Wacko's still in Cebu. Cherry's now in Dubai. Brian brooding in his room for more than a month already. Mimay still doesn't have a landline phone and she just moved to Bulacan. Donna has started law school again and left me hanging in the air with nobody else to talk to. Elad went to our house to try to fix our computer, but was unsuccessfull. Dar got married last month.

LOVE: THE HELL? Still non-extistent, but about to get worse.

HAPPINESS: Y'know, I'm thinking that maybe I'm brewing some pathological sadness, I can be happy as in HAHAHAHA happy, but immediately after the moment I fall into some kind of abyss where I'm not even sure why I'm goomy all of a sudden. I want happiness that lasts more than a day or two.

Another supercool Hal Jordan pic. Ayuz.