My photography is about found stuff. I like walking around, in different places, taking pictures of things that evoke a feeling. I also like movies that give meaning to our every day existence. Nothing like finding beauty in a floating plastic bag, but everyday things people obsess about - love, work or family. I enjoy sports and war movies or books because they're about real people who lived interesting lives. A lot of things I enjoy revel in the glory of the here and now.

But there's also a part of me that enjoys the mind fuck. It's usually visual, and has the ability to blow my mind away. Like that giant robot by Rob Sato in the past entry. Click on the image. See a bigger image of that rusting monolith. Look at that world and say the title in your head. In the future's past there was a world-ending war waged with giant robots. But all that's left are these remnants, slowly being swallowed by a greening earth.

It reminded me of childhood favorites, Macross and Nausica, and how those cartoons exposed me to fantastic worlds. Worlds that were ending, and creatures, spaceships and giant robots abound.

I like to remember the feeling of how all these things were freakin' wonderful, and I hope I never forget.

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I also like funny TV shows, or talky shows about politics or crime. But now that shows are on break, I've returned to sci-fi/weird shows. I've restarted Fringe, and marathoning Lost. Let's bring fantastic back.

community

Things seem to be settling down.

Last month was shitty, as I've said. I guess emotions started going haywire in August, when Cory died and the country went into collective mourning. Then in early September, Alexis, one of the good guys, and his girlfriend Nika were killed, and I saw my close friends grieve. After that, the nice family of three who ran the cafe across the bar I sometimes hang out at were also murdered in their own apartment. And in the past week, I've had friends scampering to higher ground, losing everything to the the floods of Ondoy. Right now, Metro Manila just might be able to duck this new storm, the tragically named Pepeng. (Next time, let's stick to the international list of typhoon names.)

My almost-meltdown due to work-related stress seems trivial in comparison to it all and I'm just glad that the people closest to me are dry and safe. And happy. Right after the madness that was Ondoy, it was good to see my high school buddy, Hester, marry Tonee.

At this point, while there's a lot of things to be done, back to regular programming will be a relief.

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Take a minute to enjoy photography of David Leventi, who takes pretty good portraits of a place.

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I love Community. And I mean the TV show, not how we are all connected and shit.

I've been busy lately.

Finishing off Season 4 of The Wire. I love this show. Every time they kill off one of the main guys, I get torn up inside. After seeing Generation Kill, I see a common theme among these David Simmons/Ed Burns-produced shows: It doesn't matter if you're a player on the street, the police, or an infantry man. You'll always be a good guy. It's the bosses who are mostly fucked up.

Anyway, I like this show about a city I've never been to.

I've also been busy finishing my second reading of Chabon's Kavalier and Clay. It's even brillianter this second time around. But I always get a little bit impatient reading the last hundred pages and I rush it. I guess that means that, around a year from now, I'll re-read it again.

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Anyway, hat tip to to the blog, Slightly Lucid, for directing me to photographer, Estan Cabigas. His series, Non Places, with it's color and negative space, is pretty good.

I like watching How I Met Your Mother, not only because of the funny gags, smart narrative, the interesting pop culture referencing. I also like it because they're bunch of friends in their twenty-thirties. Like me and my friends. They deal with stuff those weird, transition years throw at you: fulfilling work, significant others or the lack of both. Like me and my friends.

Anyway, in the last episode, Murtaugh, Ted has a list of things to be done now that he's thirty: the "I'm too old for this sh... stuff" list. One item that had me especially chuckling was, "I'm too old to put off going to the doctor." Because I'm like that now. I didn't use to be that way. I didn't even medicate beyond Vitamin C. But I can't afford that now.

Which is why when I got sick some weeks back, all I wanted were those awfully powerful antibiotics. And ever since I got a bad stiff neck some months ago, I've been meaning to see a chiropractor (which got pushed back because of that weeks-long infection). I finally got to see the chiropractor twice since and every visit is like a near-death experience. Every time my spine or my neck was being re-adjusted, I kept thinking how easy it would be for the doctor (?) to slip and break something. Thus ending my, so far, fun life. I've survived, obviously, and I've been recommended to take some maintenance treatment. But I don't think I'm going back unless I've got another injury or something.

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Someone who knew I was a fan of Dumas and The Count of Monte Cristo recommended that I check out Stephen Fry's The Stars' Tennis Balls, a sort of modern retelling of the tale. I found the book at Fully Booked Rockwell last night, and I can't wait to get going.

EDIT: I also woke up today, to a nice, rainy Saturday morning. Had a great tapsilog breakfast, and a potential Easter Finals matchup on TV, Cleveland versus Orlando. Except that the Cavs tanked and got soundly beaten by the Magic. By around 30 points. A day after they lost to the NBA's worst-performing team, the Wizards. WTF indeed. Anyway, another potential playoff mathup, in the West this time, is showing now. I'm hoping this LA-Houston game turns out to be more interesting.

I finished Season 2 of The Wire. And I won't have Season 3 until for another couple of days. Suddenly I feel untethered and that my life has no meaning.

So I'm re-reading Kavalier and Clay. Or maybe Remains Of The Day. I really want a new, great book.

Speaking of Chabon, his first novel, The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh is now a movie with Sienna Miller in it. I really didn't enjoy the book much, and I'm looking forward to the Coen Brothers' adaptation of The Yiddish Policemen's Union instead. The Frozen Chosen... hehe.

Anyway here's the trailer for Mysteries, I'm not expecting much.

So I've been catching up on The Wire. And now that I'm in Season 2, I go, "Hey! Amy Ryan from The Office!" (Of course, her role in The Wire came first.)

And then I just saw Episode 18 of the current The Office season, and I go, "Holy crap! It's Stringer Bell!"

Nice. Who would've thunk to get actors to cross over from these two shows.

all day TV

I don't think I've spent this much time in front of the TV since... forever. Here's a list of what I stayed on to watch today:

1. The Pacers-Hawks game. Hawks are a good enough East team to make the playoffs again and easily handled the Pacers. But I have to say, TJ Ford is fearless.

2. The Pistons-Raptors game. Ever since Rip Hamilton was moved back to the starting spot he's always deserved, my Pistons have been winning again. That Antonio McDyess is playing like a 24-year old again is another huge factor. Good game, went into OT, with Detroit finally closing out the slumping Raptors.

3. The Benchwarmers. Rob Schneider movie, ugh, but about Little League, so cute.

4. Ghostbusters. Bill Murray, the 80s, Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man thrashing New York! Yeah!

5. Over Her Dead Body. I was bored and so was Paul Rudd making this movie, I bet.

6. Glory. Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman and Denzel are in this Civil War movie. For some weird reason, my brother and I love this movie, even if it feels a bit melodramatic now. But you gotta love the speeches about equality and freedom, and the operatic soundtrack. I think we even have it on video library, in VHS format. We've seen it so many times, we can recite the lines, and I still tear up in the same scenes. Watching it now as I type this. Hold on, they're about to attack Fort Wagner.

WAR

I've been avoiding subtitling Training. I don't know why. But that's delayed sending it out to film festivals. I haven't even begun researching on film festivals. But today, after an easy morning, a quick trip to the gym, and a spaghetti lunch from Pancake House, I went home, sat down, and watched an episode of Generation Kill.

I made a list of 25 Things About Me on FB, and I forgot to mention that I love war movies and shows. I like World War II stuff like Band of Brothers and Memphis Belle. But I like modern wars too, shows about a small group of men trying to make their way through a mission or a whole damn war, like M*A*S*H or The Unit. And then lately, because of a discussion about The Wire, I've found Generation Kill.

It all started when Zig mentioned liking the gritty, realism of The Wire over the idealistic and lofty The West Wing. And it's true, The West Wing is so noble and inspiring, you know it all can't be true. Not wanting to miss out on another supposedly great series, I planned on watchng The Wire too. But five seasons of dense material daunted me. But in Wikiing the show up, I've found out that the writers (David Simon, Ed Burns) have a new show out about a battalion in the second Iraq War. Also, it's a 7-part miniseries. Bite size.

So it's really good, and actually funny. In the way that war is absurd funny. And like Band Of Brothers, you spend the first ep figuring out who's who. But after that, it gets rolling, literally. But after five eps, I figure, the dialogue might be more street and rough, but I don't think this is how soldiers talk either. Essentially, people on TV talk a whole lot more than people in real life. In the end TV will be TV. That doesn't mean it can't be great TV though, and it only becomes a bad thing if you confuse it will real life.

Anyway, like I said, I sat down and saw an episode. I eventually got to starting on Training. But right as I was about get a lot done, I get a call from an agency contact asking for my portfolio by tomorrow morning. So I spend the next couple of hours cobbling together an updated folio, rushing off to Fuji Wilson to have it printed (traffic) and getting back in time for an 830PM shoot.

But it's all good. In between the rush print job and the 830PM call time, I've found time to have a meal at North Park, and to write this thing down.