Sunday, February 26, 2012

Trying to have fun



My life is a disorganized mix of responsibilities and wants.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Six meters of separation from the Lilia Cuntapay

If you’ve seen a Filipino movie featuring an old witch, the face below should be very familiar to you.


Lilia Cuntapay has become a nameless figure in Philippine show business. I would identify her if I saw her on pictures and films as “that old lady”. However, in the film “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay”, the face which has terrified thousands of children and adults shines as herself.


The concept of six degrees of separation is that every person on earth is related to one another by at most six other people. For example (I am not using Kevin Beacon), Person A and Person B. Person A is a friend of Person 1, the queen of Scotland, who bought jewelry from Person 2. Person 2 was dating Person 3 who works under Person 4. Person 4 makes donuts at Person’s 5 coffee shop while Person 6 cuts the cheese. Person 6 is also the stylist of Person B. Its a beautiful concept that between every two people are only a maximum of six other connections.

In this film, Lilia Cuntapay becomes the Philippine Kevin Beacon (commonly used example as he has worked with everyone in Hollywood by at most six degrees far). Clever concept. It is a “mockumentary” so most of it is not true (but, according to the filmmakers, the character was deeply rooted on the true-to-life Lilia Cuntapay. I am guessing it was to suit attention-deficit viewers).

The film is fun and quirky. The documentary-style approach was called for because this woman is definitely an icon despite being technically unknown. There are interviews with big stars that don't even remember her name but could remember working with her if shown photos.

As the Loyola Film Circle is cool (I am an inactive part of the org; I will try better next semester!), they were able to schedule a visit from Ms. Lilia herself. She came in late from a taping for TV5 and when she finally walked in the venue, everyone rose from their chairs and clapped their hands, a standing ovation, for an awesome show of character on the film.

Sorry about the audio! Couldn't fix it.

I was clapping my hands too and was hoping she would be really pleased because at 76 years old, she should be really tired from the day’s activities. She was so overwhelmed to see everyone that she stopped a couple of times on her way to her chair and she even cried a little! Of course, I was starstruck! The woman whose face scared the pee back up my bladder in the dark of night is right in front of me.

Adorable grandmama!

When she got into her chair, she would sat down ready for questions and every time she answers she would stand up so that everyone could see her! So adorable! And she is really nice. There is excessive misunderstanding as she is often only seen upside-down with mouth wide open or hair standing on ends.

When asked if she gets annoyed by people telling her that her appearance strikes fear, she quickly replied:
“Pagnatakot ka, hindi ko kasalanan ‘yon!”

The film is a must watch and soon you will be able to! The assistant director shared with us that the film will be enjoying a commercial release. If it hits the mainstream theaters, WATCH IT!


I really wanted to have my picture taken with her, upload it on Facebook and gloat about it but I didn't have time. =((

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Ugh

I still vividly remember the days of being in my dorm room, reading a Dickens or thriving on the pages of other classics, wishing I had something else, something more social and productive to do. Now, my plate has too much and I arrive at each destination in sweat, running after my breath and fearing a systemic collapse.

But I love doing a lot of things, I just don't like getting tired. Coffee. Or a Palahniuk will shock my system back to life.
Guts by Chuck Palahniuk

Inhale.
Take in as much air as you can.
This story should last about as long as you can hold your breath, and then just a little bit longer. So listen as fast as you can.
Read more


I've been writing poems in secret for a few weeks already. You know the feeling when you're done with a test, especially the ones you are doomed to fail, and give it to your teacher then she goes through it in front of you? It is a bad feeling. You could feel every strand of your hair or every new pimple on your face.  That is why I write in secret -- but I'll be posting some soon.

I just got an impermanent tattoo on the back of my neck. It says "Ach du" which is something like "Oh, you" in German. I liked it the first time I read the line in Plath's iconic "Daddy".

Sunday, February 12, 2012

The hands you love to touch

"A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy

The bonsai tree
in the attractive pot
could have grown eighty feet tall
on the side of a mountain
till split by lightning.
But a gardener
carefully pruned it.
It is nine inches high.
Every day as he
whittles back the branches
the gardener croons,
It is your nature
to be small and cozy,
domestic and weak;
how lucky, little tree,
to have a pot to grow in.
With living creatures
one must begin very early
to dwarf their growth:
the bound feet,
the crippled brain,
the hair in curlers,
the hands you
love to touch.

Aside from attempting to read my first Dickens (Great Expectations), I also got "To Be of Use", a collection of Marge Piercy's poetry. "The Work of Artifice" is the first poem in the  compilation and it instantly hit me.

Its awesome. Subtle violence but very powerful.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Valentine cards, UP Manila and Butterflies


Ryan McGinley’s Beautiful Rebels on Nowness.com.

Today is a good day because I moved back into my own dorm room, liberated from the confines of the dormitory isolation room! Classes resume tomorrow. Thank you for Ryan McGinley for the nice video above which gives me a sense of celebration.

I participated in a tour around the University of the Philippines - College of Medicine (UP-CM) in UP Manila today. I was able to go in the Philippine General Hospital which I've been wanting to visit since my dreams of becoming a public doctor materialized. 


For the whole duration of the trip that occupied most of my afternoon waking hours, I was able to take a whooping set of 4 pictures! I wasn't in the mood. Above was taken from one of their humungous lecture halls. 

The girl wearing red is an awesome friend from high school. She is an Intarmed freshman at UP-Manila so we barely see each other anymore. Sad. 



I have to mail these stuff tomorrow! But I wonder how. One is a state-of-the-offspring address to the parental. The other three (or four) are Valentine cards because I think its kind of old school to send out cards in the mail. I love old school stuff. Hahaha

Monday, February 6, 2012

Runner's World Magazine January-March 2012

I decided to get out and buy some stuff (mostly food) for the week. I grabbed a copy of Runner's World which felt like getting my certificate for being a legit runner.


Two weeks ago I started my Smashrun.com account. I already put in 36 miles in a week but I had to stop because of this stupid infection. I was hesitating wether I should get the magazine because it might put in bitterness. I haven't been able to run for a week already!

Good thing, it comes with a free gadget strap for running! That is awesome because I've been looking for these that come at reasonable prices. Most are just outrageously expensive but this one is for free. Yay! If my foot feels fine later I might run some miles!

It fits my iPod Touch perfectly!
There are a lot of good stuff inside and is definitely a must-read for a beginner runner. Its an awesome local version of the world's biggest running magazine. I bought my copy from National Book Store for P150. A new issue comes out every 3 months. Yay!

Free shipping of books to the Philippines




There are a lot of online stores out there that distribute books but unfortunately most of them think delivering to our country is not worth the risk. Or, if we're not blacklisted, the shipping costs could buy a library. I live in Manila and it has a lot of great book stores but I'm not in the mood for exploring all the time. And there are books that are just damn too hard to find. Like Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" (the library has a copy available for lending according to the online catalogue. Been looking for it since late last year. Never found it)

The BookDepository.com offeres FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE(this time, Philippines is on their list) of all their books. They cary titles at very reasonable and sometimes even discounted prices. You need not worry about shipping because its for free. Isn't that amazing! Its a U.K. based service and is awesome. 

Here is someone's own history with the service. From what I've read, the books usually arrive within two weeks! Thats not bad. 

I haven't actually tried their service but I will. Very soon and I would be glad to share the experience.

Check out the BOOKDEPOSITORY.com

Sunday, February 5, 2012

One Day: There is this Anne Hathaway scene I will never forget

I am going to reattach myself to society again tomorrow. I will return to my room, three floors above this solitary confinement. Until then, I will watch movies in fear of ennui.


I just finished the movie above. A few months back, my friend caught a good deal on a DVD of the movie and she was elated, telling me how it had been suggested to her a couple of times. I'm not sure if she read the book but judging by her reaction, the novel was a winner (or her sources were very appreciative). Also, I am a big fan of Anne Hathaway.

The movie was ok. I am under perfect circumstances to appreciate it. Its a story of Dexter (Sturgess) and Em (Anne), two best friends and their twisted, telenovela-material love story which immediately begins after college graduation. They fall for other people when all along, they are sure they only truly love each other. This is funny. Its like looking at people trying to drink liters of Coke when all they need are two glasses of water. 

Photo from a little heartwarming interview with Anne on Elle.

Em becomes an author, of course. Dexter, I don't know. He becomes this British TV presenter then he prepares food at an organic restaurant. Symbolisms, maybe, that are yet to be revealed to me. 

Spoiler: They end up together and they live in scenic Paris, where Em has an awesome apartment. Then the most unforgettable act I have seen of Anne Hathaway so far. It involves a bike and complete negligence of "Stop, look, and listen".

Should you watch it? I am sick, alone in a cold, ground-floor room. I watched it and I don't regret it. 

******

I will be watching "Midnight in Paris". I'm seriously excited because unfortunately, this would be the first Woody Allen film I'll be watching. I probably watched several others before without knowing it was his. Obviously, I am a very ignorant movie nut. 

Too young for career choices.

Stuck in a room alone, I have plenty of hours just to think about life. Mine, in particular. While watching Serendipity and after finishing all of Friends just a few days ago, I realized how much I wanted a day job, behind a desk in New York City. Panic ensues as I remember I am pursuing a premed course.

photo from here
I heard a couple of times already that my college degree doesn't determine my future. That is not comforting at all because everyone knows its better if my years in college is spent stuffing my head with things that will land me on a chair with wheels, in front of a computer and a phone, maybe, in my own cubicle, on a two-digit floor in some company, several blocks from Central Park. The sappiness from Serendipity might have climbed my head!

This is really sad because all my ideas on living such life come from American television. As TV only produces pretty images to the pleasure of the audiences, I am highly skeptical that when I actually step into my dream middle-age life, it will be as fun as I've seen it being lived by others. In fact, this is a problem for all dreams. You will never know how it would actually feel "being there".

Then the dilemma: what am I doing now? I'm in my freshman in college -- pursuing a premed course! Even more, I'm in a room with numb fingers, completing a week-long recovery from a systemic viral infection! My life is a mess. I just want it to make sense RIGHT NOW!

People say I should relax, close my eyes, and imagine tranquilizers calming my brain. They say I must stop thinking so much and enjoy the moment as it slowly drifts along. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is my life we are talking about.  I was born imprisoned within my own point of view in this universe and I only get one uni-directional chance at observing and feeling it. 

What if I turn out homeless and a failure? What about those years in school? Well, I don't know how it actually feels like to be homeless. Who am I to judge the feeling? 

What am I doing with my life?

Friday, February 3, 2012

Still sick

One of the few benefits (huh?) of being sick is that staying inside your room and just browsing the internet is not a mortal sin. The internet is a wonderful place and below is a haunting find. A photo set by Anna Skladmann entitled "Little Adults".

Ilona and Ella in a Rowing Boat



It is a very interesting set where the subjects are the children of the elite in Russia. The little dialogues that come with the captions show how much of the playfulness and innocence are gone from this privileged bunch. 


**************

The infection in me is exceptionally bitchy. I have the worse case of lesions and bruising. My fingertips can't feel anything so no matter how smooth and silky your hair might be, it will only feel like dry paper when I touch them. I think and I hope this is just temporary.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

IDK

Tumblr, for now.

I'm sick and have been into isolation since Monday night. I have something apparently super contagious and everyone healthy must avoid any form of physical contact with me. I feel like a piece of turd with legs. Everyone, run away!

Tumblr is awesome when I want to make small, one-way talk on whatever I think everyone should know. Follow me there, please!

http://leolutero.tumblr.com