November 30, 2002
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Random bloggable "discoveries" from this week's jaunts:
Cafe Bola's Quesong Puti Cheesecake. Sounds intriguing 'no? It's a bit salty but is just as yummy as your run-of-the-mill cheesecake. Don't be deceived though -- white cheese, however healthy as it may sound, is hardly diet food in cheesecake form.
The new Big Sky Mind. Not the old gallery-cum-bar at New Manila, but the exhibit space right above Furball in Murphy. Another discovery is that my former boss' cousin Katya (who I met at his party years ago, and is incidentally in need of graphic designer-lecturers for her newish Photogaphy Art Center) owns the compound pala. We also met a couple of the "resident artists" with whom, as it turns out, we share common friends with. Small world-ness galore.
Thai Kitchen, a popular eatery right smack in the intersection of Katipunan and the street in between International Center and Romulo Hall in UP. Try their tasty Spicy Mixed Seafood Topping with a generous helping of rice, all for the student-friendly price of P50. (You'll have to stand park, though.)
CCHQ's growing collection of independent titles (thanks to Ramon's recommendations, as we heard from owners Kathy and Kristine). Because of their very inviting display*, Arn and I could barely control ourselves from using up our carefully-budgeted Christmas shopping money.
*It was so inviting that I almost bought a copy of Andi Watson's Dumped, completely forgetting that I already ordered it months ago from StrangeHaven (had to text Ramon pa to confirm, heh).
Oh, can I just mention how nice the CCHQ girls are? Apparently Ramon informed them that Arn is a huge fan of Moebius so when we stopped by the other day, they readily gave him a Moebius' Death image postcard.
If you tune in to ANC 21 now (9.30am, Manila time), you'll see Arn being interviewed by Cherry Mercado on Coffee Talk. He's also in today's issue of Junior Inquirer. (:
(I was supposed to post the following entry yesterday but Greymatter wouldn't cooperate. Post-PWA kwento coming soon...)
05:53 AM
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November 28, 2002
Blogger's Block Solution #001: When at a loss for words, just post pictures*.
*click to enlarge
Arn at the Powerbooks Megamall signing.
The Adarna kids with their 2-D lookalikes (l-r) Xavier, Rachel, Honey, Jordan.
My Arn can sketch anything, including iguanadons* if you like, in 30 seconds or less.
*in reference to a request made to Marco by some fan at Angel Ace's book signing.
Friends who very nicely stayed past the end of the session *sniff*: Sam, Lizza, and Shiloah.
Happy couple Luis and Yvette. (:
Our friend Vinnie (yes, of Comic Quest) also stayed on for a while.
At syempre may group shot.
More pictures from the other launches are at the After Eden website.
We hope to see you guys at the final stop of the book tour on Saturday, Powerbooks Glorietta, 3-5pm.
06:57 AM
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November 22, 2002
1) have lunch at CASAA**
2) make tusok-tusok fishballs
* yeah we'd only see each other in hallways. Sometimes we wonder how it could've been if we were already a couple then.
**popular school canteen between AS and PHAN -- well those were what those buildings were called in our time.
It may not be that big a deal to you young 'uns, but for us who graduated 10 years ago... well nakaka-senti. We don't miss being students, but we sure miss the feeling of having nothing but midterms and finals to worry about. There's so much more to deal with in the real world, believe me.
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And of course, no trip to UP is complete without the Eraserheads' Ultraelectromagneticpop playing in the background. Ah, the memories!
Gagawin ko ang lahat pati ang thesis mo... -- sige nga, what song is that line from? This was taken sometime in '91 at Yakal Residence Hall. [Click on pic to enlarge].
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Just reminding you folks that you can still get Arn to sign your copies of After Eden. Please check the sidebar for details, thanks!
06:28 AM
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November 20, 2002
If ever you'll be at the Podium anytime soon, please check out our good friend Dulzzi's brand spankin' new silver jewelry store, Gallery 925. It's from the same people behind Ocampo's Jewelry, Silverworks, SariSari etc. (Sorry, no links yet because I'm blogging in between deadlines). The shop is more high-end compared to the other stores I mentioned and boasts of pieces by Italian designers. Dulz, who also trained abroad, also designed quite a few of the items.
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Because one of my best galpals Lizza is back home (after 5 years in NYC), Arn and I have been spending more of our free time hanging out with college friends, catching up on kwento after all these years. It's actually funny how all of us somehow ended up in the same crazy industry.
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By the way, have I mentioned that KaZaA rocks?? I feel like a kid let loose in a candy store.
08:59 AM
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November 17, 2002
Chamber of Secrets is so much better than the first movie. (Arn enjoyed it so much he watched it again with his brother.) Don't know if I enjoyed it more because it's been 2 years since I read the series, or that it simply really was better.
Goblet of Fire was just recently released in Japan, imagine that? Then I realized that it was because they had to translate all 734 pages of it, aiyah.
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Speaking of Japan, trust them to keep amazing the world with their bottomless pit of talent and energy. Must be all that wasabi. Check out Kyoko Kawasaki's whimsical cluster paintings (and more).
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Don't laugh but I only discovered KaZaA last week, primarily because I'm on a Mac and you Mac-users know how frustrating it is to download mp3s using Limewire. So as of this writing, my mom's PC is swimming in mp3 heaven.
(If you ever run into a "cbauzon", that would be me. How unimaginative no?)
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For the record, I was assigned to judge the EDUCATION, PORTALS, AND COMMUNITIES categories, so this is not my fault. I sincerely hope that this is as far as it goes. Thanks for the lovely messages though. (:
Now if it were the Cyberlions, I won't be as "reluctant" (haha, Junnie!) as I am now.
06:56 AM
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November 13, 2002
"There's a kind of joy you can only experience when you quit your job! There's a certain anxiety too that can make you desperate... but if you wanna fly you gotta think happy thoughts."
Hmm, Arnold and I happen to live by this mantra. Thanks to Ramon for sharing Quit Your Job with us. (:
(Incidentally font lovers, James Kochalka's personal font can be downloaded here.)
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Uh oh, Starbucks stands a chance to lose their female market with Caffeine Lipstick: zero-calorie coffee fix and pretty lips in a stick.
getting. so. many. ad. ideas.
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The photo album section has been replenished, by the way. More kwento about the Japan trip and other stuff are in there.
06:56 AM
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November 12, 2002
For kuya twin, et al: before I completely erase her off my world, let me just say that there was something good that came out of that 5-year, it-was-good-while-it-lasted friendship -- I met you lovely people.
Quark and Lia (who will start a blog soon, right Lia?). By golly, they're starting to look alike!
Ramon and Neva, off duty Indiefil editors and combat chefs.
Arn & I can't wait for Gamitan on DVD, kuya twin! (Especially since I was too scared to watch it on the big screen.}
All together now!
(Oops, Chris was also with us but he was probably next door when we took this picture.)
07:23 AM
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November 7, 2002
Follow-up to yesterday's entry: our friend Ramon informed me that Michel Gondry is also responsible for most of Bjork's videos. (See I didn't know these things Mon-ra, hehe. Hi Nev!) Upon further research, I also learned that he directed my absolute, absolute favorite video of all time: Sugar Water (Cibo Matto). If you haven't seen it, download it here and get ready to see a work of pure genius.
Sugar...wohter.
Speaking of video directors, I've recently been taking notice of Kiriya Kazuaki's awesome work. (Arn can vouch for that, I let him sit through the entire UH3 dvd, which he loved of course!)
Kiriya directed wife Utada Hikaru's fantastic-looking videos. He's apparently a NY-trained photographer so I guess that explains the beautiful art direction and artful cinematography found in his work.
Incidentally, I can count my favorite music videos of all time on one hand :
1. "Sugar Water" (Cibo Matto), director: Michel Gondry
2. "Home" (Sean Lennon), director: Spike Jonze (all of Spike's videos are cool, come to think of it)
3. "Une Very Stylish Fille" (Dimitri from Paris), director: Olivier Kuntzel / Florence Deygas
4. "Coffee and TV" (Blur), director: Hammer & Tongs / Garth Jennings
5. "Clint Eastwood"(Gorillaz) director: Jamie Hewlett / Pete Candeland
(Hmm maybe there are more, I just can't think of them right now.)
What are your favorite videos?
09:37 AM
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November 6, 2002
Please visit Minimum Order: Fake Maps, a cool artsy mini-site by Weaver and fellow KamonKamon© crusader BongSeg.
Oh come on, Kamon.
And speaking of KamonKamon©, cd-vcds of this Marcus Ehead-and-Arnold-powered project are available at the UP Shopping Center.
09:02 AM
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Hmm, I really like this music video.
And this could also be the only time ever in the history of the world that I can actually say "Hey, I like what Kylie Minogue is wearing."
03:53 AM
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November 3, 2002
(I bet you knew this was coming.) New mirror photos: one | two | three
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Arn & I hung out in Calvin's room last night where we discovered the silly but fun simulation game "Ka" ("Mister Mosquito" in English-speaking countries).
In the game you play a mosquito fighting to stay alive by sucking blood off people*. Sounds easy? Not really. First you have to sting their bodies in designated "hot spots" to get them to relax and become oblivious to your presence. Then you go in for the kill and suck to your heart's content, taking care not to agitate the human or else she'll go into Attack Mode and either spray or flick you to your death.
*What ever will the Japanese petty burgis think of next?
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Heey, look who's happy. (:
11:57 AM
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November 1, 2002
Banzai! I'm back home, happy and energized. Thanks for all the messages you nice people left for me and my beloved "guest blogger" and his, *ahem*, one and only entry (na-shy na daw sya). We really appreciate them. (:
I can tell you more about my Japan adventures thru the photo album (soon, I promise) but let me just list down some random notes first:
Tsukuba, aka Science City is home to Japan's brilliant minds.
ï My mom, Calvin and I stayed with my dad in Amakubo, the Foreign Scholar's Residence, located within the University Campus. Papa is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Tsukuba, where he also taught from '94-'97, and will be staying there for a couple more years. It wasn't our first time to the city so Calv and I already knew our way around and spent the past 2 weeks doing the rounds of our favorite haunts -- Ishimaru, Seibu, and Wondergoo, haha.
Papa, on his way to class.
ï I couldn't write here nor answer e-mail since the nearest net cafe requires a membership fee on top of their regular rates. My main reason for wanting to go online was so I could write to Arn, but I figured that I'd be spending almost the same amount if I talked to him for at least 5 minutes everyday using phonecards so naturally I chose the latter. (:
I so wanted to get us keitais because they're so cute, light and surprisingly much cheaper than the phones here! (A model that takes pictures is about 20,000 Yen, roughly 1/3 the price of a Nokia 7650.) Alas these beauties can't work with our local network providers, sigh.
ï Tokyo is an hour away from Tsukuba by bus (more if you get caught in rush hour traffic) and is a good place to go to only when you have lots of Yen to spare. The bus fare alone is enough to cause a dent in your budget (2500 Yen = P1250!) so going there twice was enough for us this time around. I was supposed to go a 3rd time to have lunch with my friend, Sophia Univ student Jenny but we couldn't make our schedules work (sayang ano, Jen?!).
An intersection in the busy Ginza district.
ï Because transportation (like everything else) is so expensive in Japan, most residents rely on good ol' bicycles to get around. My dad bikes to his College everyday and so did my brother when he was studying there. They used to have a spare bike that I could use but it has since been discarded so on this visit I had to rely on my poor legs and feet to get to wherever I wanted. At least the constant exercise gave me an excuse to eat all that lovely Japanese food, mmmm.
Okonomi-yummy!
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By the way, I was surprised to find out that this site somehow found its way into the PWA semis list while I was gone. Gee, thanks!!! I haven't accepted the nomination because Arnold & I were both invited to judge for the Finals and having this site in the running would make for an iffy situation, ne? Still, I really appreciate the recognition. (:
01:01 AM
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