my brother's first art exhibit (for the old and not-so-old mapera matronas out there)
My brother's gonna get sooo expensive in a few years (his works, i mean), so why not go to his first group exhibit?
Click on the large thumbnails to get the larger version. Then print it out and use it as an invite.
This is my brother's personal invite:
(Design credits for all of this exhibit's publicity materials belong to him, by the way)
The exhibit officially starts at 5p tomorrow, July 10, at the Corredor Gallery, UP College of Fine Arts aka Bartlett Hall. Cocktails will be served, of course. And, you can buy the works of the artists as well.
And make this brother dear of mine famous:
Nyahahahahahaha!
But seriously, you have to go to this gig. Just love it. :-)
xanananananana
i'm officially an udd convert!
remember my post about me loving up dharma down to shreds? (sure you have) well, i'm not officially a convert! i love them to the last bits and pieces of the shreds i shred!
i came home a little late but not too late to blog a bit and check my mail. it wasn't hard for me to decide what to wear because, for the first time in a fucking long time, i decided to repeat an outfit. well, you'll never see me wearing this old shit again (at least, not in this combination). but really, have you ever figured that some of your ensembles deserve an encore performance because they're both sexy and comfy, something you can't really achieve to the hilt these days? yea sure i did feel that. and i did feel it good!
old, old Guess? eyeglasses; old, old black Puritan camisa de chino; 522 Slim Square Cut jeans (Levi's; my favorite off-the-rack pair so far); xanana ventura cocobead bracelets (i.e., i made them); Oleg Cassini Uomo clutch; Cole Haan belt; Guess? By Marciano Combi loafers
before we made our way to mag:net katipunan for the udd gig, i confirmed my reservation with jenny, and i asked her to place us a little nearer to the front, just enough for us to see the band more comfortably (ever been through a gig where you had to stretch your neck just to see the frontman's neck? been there. many shitload of a time).
but no! when we got there, we were placed right smack in the middle, up front where we're nearer than my full arm to the band. scary? kinda. awkward? hell yea.
thank god i found rina, cat and jihan standing on a corner. no, i think they found us. (no, i think it was mutual. hehehe). at least for the rest of the night me and my brother didn't look like we were going out on a date or something.
but i was thinking it over one more time over smokes, and i figured, we did look like vip there. because when i got there, it was like, a big flaming "dano" sign taped to the napkin stand on the table. i could only guess how many people wondered who the hell that "dano" guy was until yea, we ramp-walked our way there. and somehow, we made good with the "image" anyway. little did they know that on ordinary days, i can be (and am) as grepa as i can be. nyahahahahaha!
check out our camwhore photos before the opening act:
(from left, cat, jihan [sorry dear if i spelled your name wrong], rina and wasted moi)
gawd, i look like a cokewhore.
(rina and the cokewhore)
rina, why are you laughing? is it because i look like i just got fucked up or something?
(jihan, rina, and the bitch with the steel alloy heart)
rina and jihan did major justice to this photo. i think i fucked it up a little. yea i'm wasted, and i ain't down my first beer yet!
the night was a lot of fun, did take my mind off a lot of things, including THE thesis. and it did mark one of the few but really precious moments where i did bond with my brother. remember my other post where i resolved to have a rico yan type'a relationship with my siblings? step one, done!
(brother dear, and cat)
the night started with a new terno recordings band called outerhope. their sound reminds me of a lot of the band ivy, and its sister band paco, as well as nordic duo club 8, with the jangly drums (at times) and the bittersweet happy-sad seesaw mood they generate with their songs. i particularly liked "5 miles," where the only lyric set "5 miles to go" took on different meanings in the continuum of a single song.
but up dharma down is undeniably the agenda of the night, and it's an agenda i'd like to meet over and over. i guess i'd be parroting everyone else if i said the band's just so good. but yea, i did say it. what i like about them, though, is their lack of pretension when they play (for more of my gush-gush notes on udd, read my previous post, after the big brother post. they make you feel like it's okay to relate to them, or to their songs. unlike in some gigs where people tend to get too precious with their music that they forget they have an audience to connect to. that's just bad.
what's also special about this gig is that they played a lot of songs they don't usually play in their other gigs, like "sleeptalk," "malikmata," "layag," and the new standard (in my mp3 player, that is), "hiwaga." if for that, and that alone (and you know there are a shitload of others), it's worth being a udd convert! (gawd, i never felt this way about any artist in such a long time, or maybe ever. could i, finally, be having a heart? hehehehe)
udd finished their set close to 1a, and i was supposed to catch this other band, mang temi's canteen, where my gym trainer plays the drums. but the gig's at saguijo, and qc's just too far from makati for me to be able to catch them midway through their set. so after i apologized for missing it, we headed straight home.
now, even if i have no time to do some serious writing for the magazine, and i'll only have a few hours of sleep before i get to my first appointment a few hours from today, i'd say it's really worth it. new friends, new bonidng moments, new passions. gawd, i'm no longer a cold, heartless bitch. i'm finally having a heart!
xanananananananana
pinoy big brother is a day care center and other musings
if you thought our version of pinoy big brother (at least the first season) was too racy for philippine tv (remember the sam-chx liplock?), get a hold of this story i found on the auusie big brother at theage.com.au and at
perezhilton.com (the dirt on perez hilton describes the "sexual incident" much clearer and more graphically, if there's such a word). apparently, according to perez hilton, the two guy housemates (evicted by now and under investigation by aussie police) held down a girl housemate on her bed and rubbed their penises all over her face. it's not clear whether the girl consented to it (but if had to be held down, she wouldn't have. duh), and network ten (which shows aussie big bro) won't run or promote the footage.
don't get me wrong; i hate anything that this big brother thing is trying to machinate into our collective consciousness. but really. think about it: it makes our big brother pale in comparison, and in a really good way. (this is one of the days i'd like to think philippine tv is not as trashy as what's out there, even though that might not exactly be the case)
here's the
link to the site. but in case y'all lazy to click on the link, i copied the text for you. but please, for the love of gawd, click on the link ( :-D )
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Uproar over Big Brother footageJuly 2, 2006 - 9:55PM
Footage of an incident which led to the removal of two contestants in the reality television show Big Brother will be reviewed by Queensland police, the Federal Government says.
Security guards yesterday escorted "Ashley", a pseudonym for 20-year-old Michael Cox, of Perth, and 21-year-old "John", whose real name is Michael Bric, of Melbourne, from the Big Brother house on the Gold Coast following what the show's producers said was a "breach of the rules".
It is claimed the two were involved in a sexual incident with fellow housemate "Camilla" in the early hours of Saturday morning.
"Clearly this is a matter for the police and I am advised that Network Ten has provided the footage of Saturday morning's incident to the Queensland police," Senator Coonan told reporters today.
She said it was now up to police to determine if any charges arise from the footage, but confirmed that fellow housemate Camilla had been interviewed by police.
Senator Coonan said she would seek an urgent assessment from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) which regulates television content.
"I have spoken with the chairman of ACMA this morning and he will be providing an urgent assessment about possible breaches of codes of conduct relating to television content," she said.
Senator Coonan said it was understood that footage of the incident was not broadcast on television but was streamed via the internet to an unspecified audience who logged on in the early morning of Saturday.
Queensland Police later said there was no investigation, and would not confirm if they had received footage of the incident to review.
"We have not received a formal complaint on the allegations," a police spokeswoman said.
Senator Coonan said that as a parent and a viewer she regarded the incident on the footage as very serious.
"I today have been in touch with the chief executive officer of Channel Ten and have obtained an undertaking that this incident will not be promoted or shown by the channel," she said.
"I think you have to be extremely careful about what you allow to be depicted on television as appropriate behaviour."
Although she had not seen the footage of the alleged incident, Senator Coonan said "it seemed to be very inappropriate".
"It makes me very concerned if there are these sorts of incidents on television and I do think we need to get to the bottom of it," she said.
The reality television show has had its share of controversy, with Network Ten last month withdrawing the Adults Only version of the show after complaints by government MPs.
The weekly one hour program featured footage not shown during the early evening version of the reality show.
"I am not in a position to say what might happen with the ordinary version, if I can put in that way, of Big Brother," she said.
"But I think it is appropriate if we take urgent action and have a look at it."
Ten had toned down Big Brother-Adults Only after complaints last year about its late night show, then called Big Brother Uncut.
But it axed the segment after Government MPs again complained about what a party room spokesman said was "gratuitous language and displays of sexuality".
Last year, the broadcasting watchdog found two episodes of the show's "uncut" version had breached the industry code by screening sexual antics, nudity and foul language.
"I am not at all pleased about that fact that these matters keep surfacing," Senator Coonan said.
"It's important that the producers of these shows keep within the rules and if the rules aren't sufficient to deal with matters of taste and matters that offend a lot of viewers I think it might be something we (should) have a look at."
Senator Coonan said she would hear back from the AMCA tomorrow.
"I expect to have more to say tomorrow," she said.
Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley also waded into the issue.
"If my advice is worth anything to the folk who run Channel 10, and how they choose to conduct themselves is their business, I'd say 'make this Big Brother the last'," he told journalists.
At the start of tonight's eviction show, host Gretel Killeen said it gave her "great sadness" to announce that John and Ashley were "no longer housemates" after a breach of the rules.
"Today, and presumably for the remainder of the week, you may be inundated with exaggerated ill-informed stories in the media which do nothing but perpetuate ignorance and hurt those involved," she said.
"Ashley and John were fantastic housemates, bringing joy not only to their fellow housemates but to Australia as a whole, and we're very sorry that one foolish incident on their behalf has led to them leaving."
She also wished both well for the future.#
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i figure that if they do that here, we'll either have one of many things: either we'll never from big brother again, or the "housemates" will star in their own "duda" porn flick. also some things to consider: if the future pinoy housemates who do that are goodlooking enough, they might even do a keanna reeves turnaround and be matinee idols of some sort. the church will enjoy cajoling "told you so! told you so!" in all high-ass moralist glory.
gawd, it'll be hot, if it happens. IF it ever gets off the ground.
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i just was looking at the photos of the two evicted housemates. odd that they use aliases instead of their first real names. and it's even odd that they don't look good to begin with.
they look sooo fugly, except for "ashley" (guy on the right). he looks like one of the american idol finalists, the guy with the jacked-up teeth and the disturbing jawline (i forgot his name). he looks a lot more doable than the guy on the left. but really, trailer park trash don't turn me on so much.
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at any rate, it doesn't make me like pinoy big brother any more than i like champoy for candy. ugh, iba pa rin yung first season. actually, iba pa rin yung walang big brother.
xananananananananananana
up dharma down is the new... local band i really like!
i just finished calling mag:net cafe a couple of hours ago to make reservations to catch the up dharma down show with my brother at mag:net katipunan tomorrow. grabe, this is the only time, in such an effing long time, that i officially turn myself into a fan of a local band.
not that i'm being discriminatory and stuff. but the last time i felt (and acted) this way was with barbie's cradle, back when barbie almalbis was still singing well and the band was still together. in a musical landscape where that putanginangbandcueshe and starbucksandallothercoffeehousespressreleasepaolosantos were really hogging radio airplay everywhere, i just kinda tuned out on local acts.
i mean, sure, bamboo is kinda cool. but all the kids listen to 'em. all of them would throw their undies at ira cruz, and they'd swear bamboo isn't a druggie. orange and lemons sounded kinda cool also when they atarted out, with the new wave sound and all. but the whole pinoy big brother thing just turned me off big time. now, which leaves me to sugarfree, kamikazee or parokya ni edgar, among the many bands i can choose to be a fan of. but really, they just didn't fit my personality, the way i think, and my sensibilities, whatever categories they might cover. i can feign attraction or whatever, but it's just really come off plasticky. one thing i've learned from my many trips to the record store: magic has to happen. spontaneously, that is.
which brings me to up dharma down. i didn't really dig them at first, figuring the whole "broken mirrors and screaming turtles" sounded too western and precious for my taste. but everytime my brother daniel gushes over them like they're the best band ever (aren't we all like that with the bands/artists we really love? i used to be like that in my tori amos days), i couldn't just let the opportunity pass without trying a listen.
the first song that wooed me bigtime was "pag-agos." very trip-hop, very me. that's sooo my poppy guilty pleasure, without the sour overplayed aftertaste of "oo" (which i also liked, until love radio started playing it like it was on shabu or something). my brother got the "fragmented" cd on special pre-order at tower records, and i just had to know why he'd go to that length to get a copy. sure enough, i owned "sleeptalk," "we give in sometimes," "hiwaga," and "this is our playground and we will always be home." those were my songs, ang they were speaking to me like a memento lost to convenient amnesia.
i've heard angsty music before, but not like this. they're really good. and they have this penchant for losing the western on western themes and instrumentation, which i really like. like something that borders on cultural androgyny, however politically incorrect-sounding that term may seem. (maybe magnanimous is the right word?)
i'm really looking forward to tomorrow night, my first night out officially sanctioned by the parents in a fucking long time, and my first night out with my brother. too bad my sister's too underaged to stand the smoke and beer tomorrow night. but we'll bring home an autographed cd, photos, and just a really nice vibe. hehe
right now, i'm trying to get a copy of drip's official debut. for the uninitiated, drip is an local electronica band, probably the country's first electronica act after sound, which my brother and myself also really love. and also looking out here for the new radioactive sago project cd: "tangina nagugutom ang mundo fashionista ka pa rin." or something like that. i love the title!
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for those who care to know, my thesis is still on a snail's pace. gawd, i really have to get rid of the distractions and start working. but hey, the distrations work. they help me keep tabs on myself. i just don't know when enough's enough.
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budji's pr person emailed me this weekend, marked me and photographer jay as the "quickest and most hassle-free photoshoot in budji living history." yeah!
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still haven't started official work for the magazine (i.e., drafts). i'm still trying to figure out why i'm slacking off.
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speaking of slacking off, i didn't go to the gym today (for those who care to know). not because joints ached or whatever. i just didn't want to. after doing the usual thesis rounds, i got home, slept until 9p. this is serious slacking i'm doing here. i need help, i know.
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i looove the new close-up tv ad, the one where the announcer was telling the tale of the man with two thumbs. i thought it was an ad for a nokia two-way or something, then when he said breath so fresh, i thought it was a smint ad. and then it was close-up. misleading tendencies aside, i looove it! too bad it was just an import, though. i know the european context is different from ours, but is the whole song-and-dance pa-chicks bullshit the only way for us to market vanity stuff? remember sam milby and that whole rocksteddy jingle? add the new angel locsin endorsement for head and shoulders to the mix. scary.
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i just dropped by gateway on my way to some offices in the area, and i find, in my shock and horror, redloop jeans in the gateway levi's store. i thought it was the premium line? why, oh why, do i have to see it in a mid-end mall such as gayway? shit, diesels are the only way to go. too bad i can't stomach the idea of coughing up P14,000 for a single pair of jeans when i can use the same amount to buy three (or four) equally well-fitting pairs at levi's.
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nightcap for now, got class. wish i could blog like this more often. you know, in a staccato tone and stuff. too bad i might get a reputation for sounding clipped. not that it's a bad thing, though. hehehe
xananananananananananana
the post i forgot to post (please also read the post before this, though :-) )
i now love clutch bags. the "manly" clutch bags, that is. and the real big brawny macho italian leather types. not the puny mesh-type plastic girbauds.
wednesday night, i was digging up my closet for something to wear to the jaime v. ongpin awards. the dress code's smart casual, meaning something dressy but not too dressy like prom. i was eyeing a blue/gold shimmery balenciaga shirt i just got last week to match my newly-updated levi's 522s. but when i tried it on, i just looked like a yuppie (read: pretentious minimum wager like you and me) with the wrong pants on. so i settled for a black puritan camisa de chino i found in my closet when i was doing my "spring" cleaning three weeks ago. i don't know why i fell in love with it. i guess the idea of a black camisa de chino used as a dressy top is soo new and soo untried that i jumped at it almost immediately.
when i looked at my shoe collection, i thought a little distressed brown leather would complement the blackness of the the entire outfit. so in go my classic cole haan (classic=prissy) brown leather belt, and my ol' guess combination canvas/leather loafers. my outfit's old, i know, but i need to be comfy. (and being a taurus, i hate to do anything too drastic)
the look i was putting together looked smashing enough to boost my confidence, and discreet enough to slip into the awards in case i got in late (i did, fashionably of course). i have my self-made bead bracelets on. i look like a punk with class, but there was a problem: my trusty dirty ol' vomit green jansport trinity isn't just gonna finish my outfit well. i need to get a bag to tie the entire ensemble together, but it had to be something dressy. and not too gay.
so i go to my dad's leather archives, and founf this really manly oleg cassini clutch. all four squares of it are made of brown italian leather. the base and the sides were very rigid and durable, and the leatherness of it (and just because it's from oleg cassini, one of my all-time favorite basics designers) just gives me that dignified and exclusive air. but it was so small i wasn't able to fit all my shit in. but a little creative work (from all the moving i've had to to in my life) made me fit all these. as in ALL:
1 pack dunhill lights.
zippo lighter (silver basic)
5 oz marks and spencer autograph series body spray
nivea creme
my siemens c60 (in a black samsonite stylish horizontal 1 case)
a mead brights fat li'l notebook
keys
flash drive
leather lv coin purse
my iriver ihp800 (it's really small, though, so i ended up pocketing it instead)
small mirror (clinique)
the body shop vitamin e lip balm
1 pack extra joss
lifestyles condoms (you never know)
tempra tablets (2)
eyeglass philips screwdriver (not that i'll need it that often)
parker sonnet pen
a power bar
2 bic skater pens
2 bic power grip highlighters
press id
invitation
sunscreen
(i'm describing the items i brought so you can google everything and see how much shit i was able to put into this really small leather bag)
(probably the only thing i couldn't fit in the bag was my trusty mead bungee 8 1/2 x 11 notebook. then again, i needed its pockets to keep thesis documents,org flyers, booty calling cards and stuff)
it was really small, and i couldn't really carry it any other way than to hold it like you'd hold a manila envelope, or loop the handle around your wrist and let it dangle like a handbag. but when i walked (no, swaggered) my way to aim conference center from greenbelt 4, i couldn't help but notice peopel staring at my leather bag. and then i looked around. swear to god, i'm the only one in my age bracket carrying a P15,000 brown oleg cassini men's clutch. the others were flaunting their cheap P800 mesh canvas girbaud toiletry bags and nike shoe bags (used as clutches).
i really got rave reviews from friends during cocktails, like it's soo not me to bring something like that, of that maybe i'm starting a new trend in "manbags" or something. well, not really. the next day (yesterday) i was back in my old grepa ways, carrying the vomit green jansport and wearing torn fatigues and a trashed-up blue shirt.
but really, it does feel different when you're carrying something like an oleg cassini clutch. it changes the whole look, and it changes your whole demeanor too. not only did i look polished wearing that bag, i also got preferential treatment by the guards that whisk people into the mall. i also got many flyers from outdoor publicity people desperate to sell condos, townhouses and discounted mickey d's food.
maybe i'll use the bag more often. maybe it'll be part of my permanent wardrobe (i can't leave home without at least something to carry my obligatory stuff with). maybe i'll finally go to louis vuitton and get a new one in the same tradition as my oleg cassini. maybe i'll do it sooner than i projected. who knows? i only tried it once in a long time. who knew i'd love it that much?
anyway, i miss my already-graduate friends emman and klara, who i saw at the jvos. and those who weren't there, like anna and arcie. we need a coffee night, i know. one awards cocktails ain't enough. (especially if i had to leave early to catch a margie holmes class) hehehe.
(will upload fotos in a bit. :-) )
xanananananananana
