31.3.06

nahan si susan fernandez-magno?

The purple record tape came back to me from my brother after years of wondering who last borrowed it from me. I am talking about Ms. Susan Fernandez Magno's album. I got it from a leftist friend way back in college. I fell in love with her music the first time i played it on the delapidated Peys cassete player. My favorite is KUNG IBIG MO AKONG MAKILALA, first heard this from a Barasoain Kalinangan theater play and been looking for it since then. Then, I met and lost this song in college. Now i have the tape and the music and I won't let it go.

I am currently looking for CD audio file of the the music and looking for Miss Susan so I could ask her on matters about her music particularly this one. I am posting the song but i would suggest that you should hear it. It's a surreal poetry with haunting music.

Kung Ibig mo Akong Makilala
Susan Fernandez-Magno

Kung ibig mo akong makilala
Lampasan mo ang guhit ng mahugis na balat
Ang titik ko, ang dagat yapos kang mahigpit
Sabawat bawat saglit.

Kung ibig mo akong makilala
Sunduin mo ako sa himlayang dilim
Sa madlang pagsukol ng inunamng hilahil
Ibangon ako at saka palayain.

Kung ibig mo akong kilalalnin
Sisdirin mo ako hanggang buto
Liparin mo ako hanggang utak
Umilanglang ka hanggang kaluluwa
Hubad ako ruon mula ulo hanggang paa.

Isang pag-ibig na lipos ng lingap
Tahanang malaya sa pangamba at sumbat
May___ at ang tuwa at luwalhati
Iaalay mong lahat ito sa akin…

Kung ibig mo(3x) akong makilala.

30.3.06

Stainless Longganisa

Stainless Longganisa
Bob Ong

Bob Ong's fifth book entitled STAINLESS LONGGANISA is out now. Jo, my brother girlfriend, lent the copy to me last week but my cough and cold forbid me to finish it fast. I just finished the book 2 days ago.

Reading the first chapter, at first I thought, Bob Ong was attempting to write a sequel of Ricky Lee’sTrip to Quiapo” where the technicalities of writing were shared and discussed. But as you flip the pages of the pocket size book you’d find out that this is very different in many ways and very alternative and freestlyely written. I want to label it “cool” but trust me Bob would just argue.

The book explores the ups and downs and the struggle of being a writer here in the Philippines. In this book, Bob Ong shares his readers his writing career. Expect to read here his exciting and some time frustrating stories on making his 4 books.
Yes, STAINLESS is Bob Ong life as a "serious" writer discussing why he chose to write and why he constantly refuse to compromise on a lot of things. Why he doesn't sign his books you'll find out here.

Like those on his previous works, the funny side of Bob Ong still engrave on the pages of Stainless. If you wish to giggle and laugh aloud, the book would not dissapoint you. At the end of every chapters you will find "Gawaing Pagsasanay" and Bob Ong proposed activities or questions asked to readers will kidnap your melancholy at least for a while!

But there is more to it. It's about a struggling author typecast as funny and comical who humbly shares in this book his serious life as writer.

Would this book be the ending of Bob Ong career as a non-fiction writer? Well, Bob Ong is giving us a clue here. "Stainless" aims perhaps to prepare his audience that on his next book we will see Bob Ong as a novelist or a poet? Let's see. I can't wait to read his fiction.

Meanwhile, let's keep ourselves busy writing and reading.

24.3.06

quite a view



This spectacular view of a pond sorrounded by a well trimmed golf course grass was taken from the southeastern wall of Intramuros. Beyond the trees is Rizal Park and buildings along the strech of Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

23.3.06

learning Fort Santiago

To travel to a certain place became a habit to me and my girlfriend Nang every time we see on weekend. Perhaps, we got tired of malling Henry Sy’s commercial spaces and our eyes desire for new scenery. Our typical field trip itinerary usually include (1) walking a mile or two in a historical or just a cool place (this is our own version of working out when it's too difficult to wake up on early morning to jog in Baywalk or UP) and (2) looking for a food house that offers exotic, delicious and affordable meals.

Not minding the afternoon heat wave, we sailed to Fort Santiago (Fuerza de Santiago) last Sunday. No we were not went there riding a galleon ship but by PUJ “PIER” jeep we found in Avenida. I think Paolo Bediones show influenced my girlfriend to text me to visit the place and without thinking I said yes to her.

If I not mistaken I last descended on the old fortress located at the tip of the walled city of Intramuros when I was still in high school. Fort Santiago was a must place because its historical, therefore it’s educational.

Upon arrival and after paying P40.00 entrance fee (yes, you get a ticket and a free brochure of the place), I noticed and felt, looking at the Plaza Moriones that FS did not change so much. Same old, same old. Maybe because it's a historical place and it's necessary to preserve things as it is. But I felt something was lacking in the place and as I write this I still couldn’t figure it out. Maybe preservation of FS is not enough.

I did not feel it then but the gate of the citadel was an amazing and a wow site. It bears the wooden curved image of St. James and with a three pinnacle over the gate it made the place more sacred as if you are entering the ruins of a Roman Basilica. I thought then that the body of water before the Fort Santiago gate was a tributary of Pasig River but it’s actually a moat. Providing a moat on the entrance of your lot is an architectural feature alive during medieval period in Europe like in castles. Moat is the first line of defense against outside onslaught. If that body of water is a moat the bridge over it perhaps was a drawbridge? Hmmm.

In my first visit there, I remember going down to dungeon above Casa de Castellano where the residence of the Fort Commander once stand. Now for some reason, the gate to the dungeon has been padlocked.

I found Rizal Shrine an interesting place to visit. It houses the Dr. Jose Rizal century old attire, medical tools and other Rizal memorabilia that you'd find amaze to have a look at. Another appealing in the place was our national hero’s famous quotes translated in many languages known to Rizal engraved on metal sheets erected like columns.

There is this solace chamber in the Shrine also called "pook ng pagninilay" that will give you a peek from afar of a sitting life size statue of Rizal perhaps on a contemplating mood on what’s to write next. From a distant you feel our hero is really alive and I gave me a creepy feeling that he looks at you and trying to convey a message. Boo!!!!

The two story building we called Rizal Shrine “stands on the site of a brick barrack where Rizal was imprisoned” before he was shot in Bagumbayan in 1896.

With the presence of guardia civil bronze sculpted statues scattered in the Falsabraga de Media Naranja made the view of Pasig River meeting Manila Bay a breathtaking site. You can close your eyes and imagine the galleon ships once docked on this fort and the festivity of 16th to 20th international trading.

I learned a lot from this trip. Sometimes learning goes beyond reading book. A walk “through the walls” is an effective tool to gain knowledge of our past.

17.3.06

notes on podcast sample

heres a note to the podcast sample posted last friday.
It is the love child of my group (me, ray, councilor pete, ema, teresa). its a talkshow and yours truly nervously hosting it. during, the FNF EXPRESS URSELF workshop, we asked to produce a podcast tackling how to effectively market liberalism in the Philippines. I commend my groupmates for saying thing extemporaneously and the rest of the group for being brave on hurdling the tediousness and technicalities of voice and sound editing and podcasting in general. The experience is unique and amazing.

We hope you will spare some of your time to listen to it. This podcast may be too amateur to you but this is labored with love.

16.3.06

Amici di Don Bosco

If you and your friends are craving to have a taste of Italian cuisine and this time you want really authentic Italian yet very home made visit Amici di Don Bosco. The restaurant serves best pasta and pizza in town that if you taste their carbonara it would enchant you and somehow feel you’re dining somewhere in Rome or Florence.

Located along Pasay Road near Don Bosco Technical School in Makati, Amici di Don Bosco, translates as “Friends of Don Bosco”, is open Monday to Saturday 8am to 9pm I think. FYI: The Don Bosco community maintain Amici

The restaurant boasts no elegant and fancy interiors. The walls and ceiling are painted in off white hue which reminds me of my university canteen back in college years. But who cares, when I arrived there to eat lunch last Friday the place was pack with people ordering, eating and talking like in a fiesta athmosphere. A good plate would cost you around P150.00 or less so bring a lot of baon.

To complete your meal I would advice you to kindly have a taste of their pistachio gelato and experience the friendship of good Italian food that Amici has to offer. Ciao!

10.3.06

the podcast workshop

The second day of the EXPRESS YOURSELF WORKSHOP delved on podcasting... the communication tool of the future. Yup, we learned almost everything on podcasting. But the learning went beyond examining the uses of podcasting. With the help of our podcasts speakers, we were able to hurdle the technicalities aspects of the program and produced podcasts.

liberal podcasting samples

below is the love child of my group (me, ray, councilor pete, ema, teresa). its a talkshow and yours truly nervously hosting it. during, the FNF EXPRESS URSELF workshop, we asked to produce a podcast tackling how to effectively market liberalism in the Philippines. I commend my groupmates for saying thing extemporaneously and the rest of the group for being brave on hurdling the tediousness and technicalities of voice and sound editing and podcasting in general. The experience is unique and amazing.

We hope you will spare some of your time to listen to it. This podcast may be too amateur to you but this is labored with love.

9.3.06

Me Undergoes Blog Education


I first heard about EXPRESS YOURSELF seminar when I checked my goggle mail. I receive a lot of junk mails but whenever I got mails that banners the name FNF I saw in my pc screen the Dr. Meinardus instructing me sayin"Arch (as he fondly calls me) you better have to read this. Seriously, as a firm believer of liberalism, my respect to the foundation and to other liberal organizations is very high and so I mouse clicked the FNF inbox and read the details.

Learning that the workshop would be about blogging and podcasting, the blog addict in me felt so excited that on that day I decided that I would definitely attend to the seminar. For me, training people to be good and well equipped in this kind of media was very timely and so innovative. And so I wrote my why-do-you-like-to-join-essay, sent it and received the good news that I was selected to participate in the event. Yahoo!

I grabbed the opportunity simply because I need to be trained on this medium. Blogging is a very powerful medium to communicate to the world and I think the foundation sponsored workshop would help me to clear and define the message in my online literature. To learn something from the connoisseurs of blogging and have talk about it with other participants would really be a memorable and cool experience.

Now, with day zero one of the workshop almost done, my brain is overflowing with knowledge about the power of blogging.
hello again