I am not an answering machine:
a not so new year-y post

At the risk of sounding whiny at the start of 2004, but I just need to get this out there.

So the last submission for their index card outlines was the day of the Lantern Parade, but I also told them that they can reach me via e-mail. Precisely because they are students, and mostly everyone loves procrastinating, a good number of them took the liberty not to submit anything at all. I know because I was in my office until way after the Lantern Parade and there were no notes slipped under the door.

Then now I get a barage of emails all informing me of (1) suggestions/decisions which film to review and asking for approval, (2) suddenly revised topics because they decided that abortion/street children and pinoy politics and mythology does entail a lot of research, (3) they have no idea what to write about, (4) or they've thought of something to write about but wouldn't do anything until I give them a go.

One particular email had the subject heading "why didn't you reply?" which got sent to me Dec 29. It's the New Year. The entire tone of the e-mail makes like I should have replied ASAP and I wanted to scream, "Hello, I'm on frigging vacation here. I already checked tons of paper already and I've run out of red ink, do you still need me to make the outline for you?"

I said they could reach me via e-mail, yes. But I also have a life and the deadline was like 2 weeks ago and if you did your half of the job it should have been done way before right? And I don't think you should address your teacher like that and demand an instant reply? So demanding. I just want to rant because otherwise, I am tempted to take it out on those kids. But kids or no kids, I still think they're being unreasonable.

Maybe I shouldn't have checked my e-mail at all. Now it put me in such a foul mood. Dapat natulog na lang ako after my Sex and the City marathon para mas happy thoughts ang naiwan sa akin. What a way to start the new year huh?

My movie, my movie
My book, my book a not so christmassy post

Ever get that feeling? Yung people start talking about a certain something like a book or a movie or whatever like it was the greatest thing since Swiss Cheese pero actually you have been INTO this thing ten thousand years before people actually discovered it and makes you go "That's my movie!" or "My book!" and after that, parang ayaw mo na dun sa book or movie kasi everyone has discovered it at parang hindi na special? Wala lang. I remember kasi one time pumunta kami ni Pepper sa isang party and one girl I knew started gushing over Spirited Away and I couldn't help rolling my eyes kasi in my head I was going My Hayao Miyazaki, My Hayao Miyazaki. Same goes with Pepper and everyone else who talks about Chungking Express (kasama tuloy ako doon. Kasi ang bragging rights ni Pepper ay sa big screen in New York niya napanood yung movie.) anyways, ever since that, parang private joke na sa amin yung line na my movie, my movie. Well, nangyari uli. This time naman it's a book. I had this book for a long time sa akin wishlist and I got it for Christmas and finished it in one day. Actually, kinda disappointed ako kasi it didn't live up to my expectation. Anyway, someone is gushing over it na rin and I don't feel like defending "my book, my book." Parang ang feeling ko ngayon ay sige, sa iyo na lang iyan. Tse! Hindi naman ganun ka fabulous anyway! Wala lang. May bad cold ako today. Hindi ako feeling tweetums. Happy New Year!

Usapang Filmfest 03

Uy nanalong Best Picture ang Crying Ladies ng Unitel Pictures sa Metro Manila Film Festival. (At Best Actor daw si Eric Quizon? Pa-verify naman, wala pang update ang inq7 at di inabutan yun sa awards kagabi) Napanood ko ang pelikula, inuna ko nga yun dahil inisip ko na baka isa ito sa mga maunang magbabu kasabay ng Homecoming. I wanted to watch it dahil sabi isang jologs na Sharon Cuneta ang mapapanood. Sharon "the walking commercial" jologs? Syempre kailangang makita.

Sabi ng friend kong kasabay nanood, very art film daw ang dating ng pelikula. Sabi ko naman, puwedeng mag-cross over ang mga Crying Ladies sa Mano Po 2, since it's both about dead Chineses patriarchs. Although MP2 was really stagey and dramatic, at it's really making you remember that "hello, nanonood ka ng pelikula!" I liked MP2's well framed images and all the subplots have their own neat conclusions. Ang first impression ko kasi sa film upon seeing their Edsa billboard was "Hello, mukhang Guess Beijing ang poster!" Pa-model ang dating nila ha. But it was good. I liked Kris Aquino's performance there. You can still see traces of Kris Aquino's usual self pero mas tamed na. Funny si Zsa Zsa Padilla. And I still can't see why they were battling it out for the role of the third wife. Lorna Tolentino was a bit OA sa attack niya sa role. Zsa Zsa made mince meat out of that wife's character. Tapos her real life daughter was cast as her daughter, and poor little girl barely said anything, except that she stormed the house with a pick ax in her one dramatic moment. Plus yeah: Kris Aquino after 26 years does not a Susan Roces make. Pero sige na nga, suspension of disbelief na lang.

On the other hand, compared to MP2's lavishness, Crying Ladies was screaming "mas low budget kami!" But the story saves the day. Hindi rin siya gaano showy in terms of frame by frame visuals, but I really liked the opening credits. Parang katulad nung sa Waking Life, whatever the hell do you call that technique again? And is there really a real life actress named Rhoda Rivera? I had a classmate in gradeschool with a name like that, but I don't think she ever was in Darna and the Giants. It really was Stella Mate's story. Sharon still had clear skin and wasn't gritty enough, and there were product placements featuring all her endorsements, but stil good.

Next time ko na lang kuwento Bridal Shower. It's also a really good film. Cherry Pie is the greatest thing in that movie. Another aside, because I caught part of yesterday's Eat Bulaga. Is it just me, or is Ms D still blatantly kilig and getting very flirty with Vic Sotto? I mean, hello, what was that "You're the only '10' I see" bit going on there? I swear may Kris Aquino tendencies din talaga siya.

Uy friend ko na rin si Wendell. Kumpleto na ang buhay friendster ko. Hehehe.

Uuy Lantern Parade na next week. Are you guys going?

Nasa friendster na si Wendell, kumpleto na ang friendster. Pwede na itong magsara!

olats kami mga repapips

Actually, the real big gimik this Friday isn't at Writers Night or the tiangge by the Riverbanks. All the kids are in Luneta for the Myx concert. I started spotted throngs of them walking over the bridge from Quiapo to the Metropolitan Museum. I thought they were refugees from Wow Philippines and then there were more and more people just walking I was afraid it was some sort of mini-revolution already. By the time we passed the Manila City Hall, half the streets were blocked by kids waiting for jeepneys, sitting by the curbs, milling around the 24 hour burger joints. Yep, that's where the party's at. I just got home and it's starting to rain. The crowd must have dispersed a lot by now.

Well, since Astrid had already blogged about it, just want to add my two cents on the new CAL building. The gates remind me of chapels, but the popular opinion is that the gates with the shiny new logos look like mausoleums. Like this:



Di ba, tama naman?


Nyar. But still, I appreciate the Wendell Capili Hall. It's spanking new, and I don't have to hold my TF classes on the FC steps anymore.