zoraida sanchez surrenders to her battle with cancer

my mother introduced me to her as a comedienne famous because of her facial features and her unique sense of humor that complements those of whitney tyson, christopher de leon, johnny delgado, jay ilagan, edgar mortiz and al tantay in goin bananas. i did not find her extremely funny, but there were moments when she used to tickle my senses. i’ve seen her in a couple of comedy and drama shows before. yes, drama programs. if my memory serves me right, i have seen ms zoraida sanchez on a television drama program that almost put me into tears.

years back on one of my trips from manila to los baños, i chanced upon seeing her on the bus, seated on the opposite seat of the parallel row, near the window, embracing her own silence amidst the invading noise of the pirated movie played on board, the collective hushing of the repressed chats of the couples, and the mocking cries and laughs of the local snack vendors pointing fingers at her and exclaiming as loud as they can “tignan mo si zoraida oh! si zoraida oh! hahahaha! ganyan pala itsura niya talaga! ampangit!” (look, that’s zoraida! oh that’s how she looks like in person! how ugly! )

i anticipated her to fight back but she remained calm and reserved. since then, she gained more of my respect as a person. i respect those people who show grace under pressure. and i bet that aside from being really smart (as my mother used to tell me), ms zoraida has been a strong person with good heart.

a while ago, i just learned from a plurk contact that ms zoraida, the comedienne died.


The sister of actress Zorayda Sanchez has confirmed that the veteran comedian, writer and actress indeed passed away on Wednesday due to cancer.

According to Diña Sanchez, Zorayda was discharged from the Marikina Valley hospital on Wednesday after doctors said they could no longer do anything to treat her.

i felt sad upon learning this news. i do hope people could see more beyond ms zoraida's physical shell

**news snippet lifted from abs-cbn news

fade into you (photoshare of the day)

las vegas night snaps. click the image to view the full album.

minerals for the heart

“we are all victims of health lies. these lies, held with an almost religious zealotry, are quite literally killing us.”

a while ago i learned that the lack or imbalance of certain minerals from the body can explain the patterns of human behavior and emotional fluctuations. the guy from the radio talk show said that aside from treating diabetes, obesity, heartburns, hypothyroidism, ged (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) and other body illnesses, minerals and elements like iron, calcium, aluminum, carbon and copper can help condition our emotions and behavior.

for instance, kids diagnosed with adhd (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) can be conditioned by giving them the right foods to counter the imbalance of minerals in their body.

so that explains why some food makes us happy and sad.

so can love and our emotions can also be conditioned by certain amount of minerals? if that is the case, could it be possible that the gayuma (local love potion) can actually work if it contains the right amount of minerals and chemical elements that can induce the feeling of love?


**do check out calciumlie.com. the guest speaker of the radio talk show comes from that website.

why so serious?

towel

after several years of my existence, i suddenly felt afraid of the world. i felt afraid to expose myself outside so i spent my weekend at home. most of my time was spent in the shower, convincing myself that the water coming out of the sprinkler was actually rainwater trickling down my body, washing away my dirt, my sweat, my worries, my insecurities, my fears. i treat every shower experience as a spiritual journey. i find it as another effective means to commune the body with the spirit, to communicate the soul with universe. i always find it easy to think while getting soaked in the water of the shower. every time my skin touches each sprinkle of water from the showerhead, i feel wisdom coming through me. in the shower i grow older. i would stay there until the skin in my hands as well as in my feet gets crumpled like that of my grandparents. i would stay there until the muscles of my body feels soft. i would stay there until the pores become more open to breathe. i would stay there until i feel secured and fresh to face the world again.

sorry kid, you're not cute enough

as if the controversy of some of the opening ceremony’s fireworks is not enough, the world has uncovered another loophole from the seemingly flawless spectacle of the recent beijing olympics opening ceremonies. this time it’s not about faking sparks, it’s about hiding them.

earlier this morning i’ve heard from the news that the little girl singing during the opening ceremonies is not actually singing at all. she lip-synched to the voice of another kid, who, apparently was not “cute” enough to be presented on the world stage despite her talent. yang peiyi, the 7-year-old singer behind the voice of the cute girl in red during the olympics opening ceremony was hidden "… for the national interest," said chen qigang, the ceremony's musical director.

can the not-so-cute girls with exceptional talent still represent china in front of the world? how objective can beauty be (or cuteness for this matter) in china?

i still have faith over the drumbeaters and the other performers during the opening ceremonies. i do hope they are not cyborgs or superhumans conditioned to perform that day.

related story from cnn.com

the auspicious one

her deep-set obsidian eyes trace the contours of the hills of my face as she chew on the excess strap of her backpack, which is the thin polyester strap that usually extends from the shoulder strap when you tighten the bag towards your body. her mother, totally oblivious of her child’s chewing activity, swap places with her daughter to sit beside a friend for an intimate and animated chat.

she reminds me of shiva, the destroyer/transformer of the hindu gods. on each passing minute of her stare, it feels like she destroys the layers and layers of masks that i wear. no matter how i try to evade her eyes, she finds a way to catch mine. for a moment, she manage to stifle the exaggerated activities of my senses. for a number of minutes, the smell of an over-riped guava dipped in vinegar and sweat from the armpits of the people of the bus cease its attack on my olfactory nerves, the tiny droplets of sweat, saliva, bird poo and mucous stop to find its way to the pores of my skin, visions of labor layoffs and pay cuts diffuse in the clouds of my thoughts, the lust and the aura of sexual desires of the persons beside me subsided after a few hard beats of the heart, the crumbs of the slightly burnt crust of the hawaiian chicken barbecue pizza melts in my taste buds in a snap, and the collage of the images of the distant destination is shut down.

she is shiva. through her eyes i see destruction. mounts of dreams collapsing, towers of hopes crashing, structures of plans crumbling.
her gaze, like that of a judging deity, strips me of all my pretensions, apprehensions and fears. she destroys to transform.
i am changed.

now i know why she chews the strap of her bag.

art in site- design your own magazine cover

"for our first issue, we give you the cover of the magazine..."

which means you get to showcase your artwork, in whatever medium you want to use and in whatever form you like as long as it conforms to the required size, in the cover of the first issue of their magazine.
the publication will print 3,000 copies of their magazines with 3,000 unique covers which could include yours.

so if you are a filipino artist: writer, filmmaker, sculptor, painter, digital artist, photographer, jeepney painter, poet, essayist, choreographer, director, playwright, set designer, dancer, graffiti artist, novelist, composer, performance artist, or anybody with a filipino artistic soul, don't waste your time and register now.

just click on the image below to register.



_____________
super thanks to fritz @ fritzified (who rocked the recently concluded top ten emerging influential blogs of 2008 by digital filipino, by bagging the bragging rights as one of the top10. woohoo!) for informing about this opportunity to showcase my art. uber thanks!

pimpin' grandma

dear reader/s please do vote for this photo of my grandma for the 19th issue of JPG magazine



just click on the image and cast your vote.
this is her once in a lifetime chance to be published in a magazine.

help me spread the word.
let's vote for lola!

apir!

thanks mucho.

a lesson behind the spectacle of the 2008 beijing olympics opening ceremony

photo from Doug Mills/The New York Times

if there is one great thing that the latest olympic opening ceremony has proven to the modern world, it is the fact that man's reach truly exceeds his imagination. the spectacular presentation of the opening ceremony directed by famous film director, zhang yimou, whose films were once banned in China, tells the world to dream big and to make it happen. everything is possible. with today's technological advancements coupled with the talents, the discipline and the diverse cultures of the people, a grand show like the 2008 beijing summer olmpics opening ceremony is possible.





*related article: the new york times

8:08

i was probably in deep sleep, sans the rapid eye movement and the attacks of random apocalyptic imagery. the air conditioner of the bus must have frozen my nerves and prevented me from harboring thoughts about possible weekend adventures. no, i did not care a bit about the olympics, about your new boy, about the new girl, about the stench of your breath, about his new toy, about her new son. it is my eight month, and nothing spectacular have happened lately. no fireworks extravaganza, no hardcore sex, no scandal, no fistfights. nada. it was a bore, so it is better to kill the boredom away by falling under the spell of morpheus. i woke up at exactly 8:11. arms numb from the freezing ac of the bus, i chase the morning train to start my friday right.

the mummy's journey to the shang-ri la

taking it from the context of the latest the mummy movie (tomb of the dragon emperor), i’d say one of the goals of the movies made in our generation is to reach the shang-ri la; that is to go to this utopian place where one can drink from the fountain of life and gain immortality. most movies are geared towards that goal.

in one way or another, movies (especially those in installments) project the need to be immortal, to be classic, to transcend time and to influence generations of audience. most movies (in my opinion) like the lord of the rings, star wars, the matrix, and the first three installments of indiana jones have showed signs of immortality since their premiere on the silver screen. aside from the box office success, those movies have established the solid marks of its elements to the world; the interesting and engaging plot, the semiotics embedded in the frames, the moral and social values, the technicalities, the sound, the actors and actresses, everything. almost every aspect of the production contribute to the overall success of those films that may have successfully drank the water from the fountain of immortality at the shang-ri la.

obviously, the road to the shang-ri la is tough and entails the test of time and the audience’s judgment. it is the audience that determines whether a movie can actually make it to the shang-ri la or not.

unfortunately not everyone made it to the shang-ri la. the latest the mummy installment, the tomb of the dragon emperor, failed to complete the journey, and stumbled along the avalanche of the underdeveloped love angles, the bland acting of the main characters and the predictable cliché plot.

the visuals are great, but they are not enough to salvage the whole movie. the jet-li and michelle yeoh brief fight sequences did not help as well. it was as if the movie is trying to mummify itself to achieve immortality, but the cast, the plot and the love angle stripped the movie of its possible immortality. it is like brendan fraser bringing a mummy to life and then destroying it afterwards.

maybe i just missed the fun and the excitement of the previous mummy movies. though there’s not much to rave about the first two as this one. i miss rachel weisz, and patricia velasquez as anck-su-namun (the hot egyptian princess).

actually, the trailer was better than the movie.