i never thought personal computers (PC) could really be personal until i got my macbook pro. and ive been an apple fan ever since. it was just such sad news to wake up to, especially since the newest iPhone (4S) was just unveiled a day before. i was watching his keynote speech for the iPhone and in hindsight i realize it was indeed revolutionary. there are very few visionaries in the world and he was ours in this generation.
rest in peace, steve.
kuya ramon keeping the shooting dogs in line and ready for a take.
reblogging from amazingplanet.com on jamie beck’s wonderful moving gifs. just awesome:
New York City-based fashion photographer Jamie Beck, in collaboration with Kevin Burg, a web designer with a background in video and motion graphics, has created a series of gorgeous animated GIFs she calls “cinemagraphs”. A couple of them feature Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha, and these have gained quite a bit of media exposure recently. According to Rocha, cinemagraphs are “more than a photo, but not quite a video.”
Jamie Beck’s first few animated images were sequenced still shots looped in rapid succession which is a fairly common way of making an animated image. Then she began utilizing more fluid motion isolated in certain parts of an image to to capture a moment of time, but also to un-freeze a still photograph by showing that moment’s temporal movement. Says Jamie Beck:
We feel there are many exciting applications for this type of moving image. There’s movement in everything and by capturing that plus the great things about a still photograph you get to experience what a video has to offer without the time commitment a video requires.
whitney houston and her mother cissy houston
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i remember hearing this song on the radio as a kid and it was a huge hit in the 80s. it wasnt until i heard the original version that i was blown away by the power of the song. i only learned/realized this year (what?!!) that the song was from chess the musical, written by tim rice and music by benny andersson and björn ulvaeus (from ABBA, yes that group). whitney’s version is very pop, palatable to a larger audience but im starting to love the musical version more and more. chess the musical involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an american (frederick trumper, loosely based on grandmaster bobby fischer) and a russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman (florence) who manages one and falls in love with the other; all in the context of a cold war struggle between the US and the soviet union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes (source wikipedia).
let me just say, listening to the various versions of this song will overwhelm and may even confuse you. and you might even end up hating the song for too much recall. my apologies in advance 🙂
i know him so well is sung by florence, the lover, and svetlana, the estranged wife, reflecting on their relationship with anatoly (the russian chess player). the london cast version was recorded by elaine paige with siobhán mccarthy but here’s paige (florence) and barbara dickinson’s (svetlana) hit version from the original concept album (1984).
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when the show moved to broadway in 1988, judy khun replaces elaine paige as the role was rewritten to be an american. here, she sings this song with marcia mitzman. for the uninformed, judy khun played cosette in les miserables for the original broadway cast and was singing voice of pocahontas (whose version of “colors of the wind” will remain my favorite over vanessa williams’s pop take). this is such a beautiful version i never tire listening to (along with paige’s version) on loop.
listen to this again and try to imagine pocahontas singing this 😉
in 2008 a concert version was staged with josh groban (anatoly), adam pascal (from rent and aida, playing freddie) and idina menzel (of wicked and glee fame, as florence). i do think her version of “i know him so well” with kerry ellis was an abysmal performance. although i love idina as elpheba, she was just screechy in this version. kerry ellis also played elpheba on broadway.
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the always magnificent lea salonga sings the song in a tv show in the 90s (probably aired on rpn9).
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elaine paige sings along with one her biggest fans, susan boyle in this link here. we should remember susan boyle did mention her greatest idol was paige during her famous audition in the tv show, britain’s got talent. there is another version recorded by barbra streisand with richard page in 1992. of course, locally the divine kuh ledesma, with regine velasquez, covers the song here (start at 4:23 if you wanna get straight to the song). another with regine and lani misalucha here (start at 4:09). the australian pop group, steps, also performs this song (accent is heavy!). link is here.
stumbled upon an amazing male version by john barrowman and daniel boys. they didn’t bother changing the lyrics here. awesome!
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this blogpost is sort of a comparative study, if you may, on the different performances of this incredible song. ive listened to paige and kuhn’s versions endlessly i just had to blog it. it was inevitable. to lessen the blow of listening to various versions of the same song, i leave you with another beautiful song from chess the musical. this is someone else’s story, performed by judy khun (remember pocahontas?) and was only written when the show moved to broadway. first heard this song when lea salonga performed it in her broadway concert (link here). let’s listen to the original version:
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im all for im-all-alone songs from musicals (someone else’s story, aida’s i know the truth, and avenue q’s there’s a fine, fine line, etc.) but let’s save that for another day and another blog entry. cheers!
i was excited when teaser clips of this film were circulated. what’s not to love? a younger batch of x-men in the 60s? it’s like porn. and rightly so, with the magnetic chemistry and undeniable bromance between professor charles x xavier and erik lehnsherr, played by james mcavoy and michael fassbender.
this may be the best x-men film out there for me. the pacing was right and fassbenber’s performance is just killer. he owned the film actually. online reviews reflect a more mixed feedback but im all for this film. weak link was probably january jones, playing the white queen, because she doesnt seem to know how to act. she always had this blank stare and looked like she’s eternally bored and it’s not a very convincing bored look in the first place!
but the biggest selling point for me with this film is the 60s look. i thought it was an obvious route for director matthew vaughn to take this movie to that era because he also did the 60s advertising tv series, mad men. i apparently have mistaken him for matthew weiner haha. vaughn, a totally different guy, produced lock stock and two smoking barrels with director guy ritchie (ex-mr.madonna) before he went on to direct stardust and kick-ass, among others.
credit for the gorgeous set design go to the production designer chris seagers and his team of art directors led by john king and dawn swiderski plus set decoration by erin boyd and sonja klaus. costume design is by sammy sheldon. i just love anything 60s-70s. they’re so much fun to look at and do. full info at imdb.com. i do not take credit for the photos below. details on the photos were taken from architectural digest. im just a fan 🙂
more after the jump.
this is y’egas, a t’boli singer from lake sebu in south cotabato. i came across her in 2004 when i went up the area to work on a documentary (which unfortunately i didn’t finish). the first time i met her at her home and asked her to sing for the documentary, y’egas started lamenting in song about the conditions of her people and fighting for ancestral domain land titles in a largely government protected area (watershed). i gave her a token of thanks (p500) for her help and left. i later learned from my guide that she didnt like me recording her; she was saying i might exploit her and her people and all that jazz. i was oblivious because she sang in her native tongue and didnt speak a word of bisaya! i also found out my recording got corrupted (used minidv tapes and for some reason they were pixelated and “choppy”) so i had to go back and redo the footage. i braved asking her to sing again and thankfully this time she was more than helpful, smiled a lot more and sang of the beauty of lake sebu and hoped i bring with me only good memories of her and her land. she even recounted the death of a beloved datu chieftain and sang about a local epic. here is the video to that song.
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sorry, i have no way of translating this video. took me a while to find this file, one of the few scenes i was able to digitally convert and keep 5 years ago, and upload on youtube. has it been that long? i have one more of y’egas dancing and her brother, ma’afil, playing the hegolung he made for me. ill upload this vid at another time. here are my blog entries on the trip around zamboanga and lake sebu in 2004:
cruising down the freeway in the hot hot sun
more on motorcycle diaries
Kumusta naman. Weather is crazy in manila right now, dampening the long weekend plans of the general populace. I dont get to enjoy long weekends as a freelancer because every day without work is a long unending weekend. On top of that, im sick so am unable to move around. Runny nose and sore throat, im sensitive with indoor humidity, flying dog hair, dust bunnies and the storm definitely isnt helping. I want to clean the house for obvious reasons but i cant tire myself out.
I need a couch. Sitting on the bed watching movies from a laptop computer just doesnt cut it. And it puts me to sleep fast, even if im watching something exciting like top chef or daniel craig coming out of the water.
Luna, my late 2008 macbook pro is currently sluggish. im only running at 3gb of ram but i dont believe that explains why over the past year it has become increasingly slow to process some stuff. It’s old by Steve Jobs’s standard. Online forums indicate my HDD probably needs replacement. Ive only upgraded to snow leopard at the beginning of the year but i dont believe i should move to Lion because of the speed issue. I love this machine, esp its design over the unibody. My matte 15″ screen wins over the glossy glass surface any day. I dont think im open to replacing this yet so i hope it’s just the HDD.
My plans for the 2nd half of the year has not come to fruition, nor is it likely to happen. Im not gonna tell you what it is, just that it wont be happening for now. I do pray 2012 would be kinder. It should, especially since it’s the end of the world and we all have to move to China!
Random as random can be, thoughts trickle past when you’re idle. And nowadays, you process these thoughts by tweeting about it, posting on facebook or writing a blog. I decided to blog. Enjoy your long weekend.
my architecture barkada and facebook friend, amillah, posted a question on her page, “what’s your dream for manila?” a few days ago. there were a few comments and i decided to join in the fun. a few short suggestions grew to a longer list. i apparently had my bone to pick and had more things to say than i would like to admit. if you were president, or at least mayor, how would you improve things here in manila? or in the philippines, as a larger whole? here’s my random, clearly unorganized list of wishful thinking:
1. strict implementation on jeepney stops, an organized and logical pila system. what we can do in UP, we can do in the world. add to that an improved traffic decongesting scheme on top of the color-coding and a stricter anti-smoke belching campaign implementation. also we should have a centralized/unified smoke belching certificate. right now, you have to get a different one from every city –pasig, mandaluyong, makati etc and they’re not offering official receipts! read: raket! we must have more MRT train cars. and more blowers in the MRT stations! ang init kaya! and an EDSA skyway that skips cubao and mandaluyong haha 🙂
2. Save the earth, Manila! stronger better programs on recycling and campaigns on environmental awareness, privatized garbage collection, garbage cans every 100 meters, urinals every half kilometer. we should promote a greener Manila, a greener Philippines. i applaud how Bayani cleaned up Marikina (though he garnered more critics when he became MMDA chief) and how Hagedorn practiced green living in Palawan . it can be done! Cuerpo’s garbage disposal solutions in Montalban were for the books and his methane plant would have really helped. unfortunately, his detractors pushed him out of office, dont quote me 🙂 a lot more cities should adopt the no plastics/styro ordinance. please! yes to recyclable bags for groceries and to wheeled carts. we also need more trees. our urban development should include a tree plan or better yet, a park plan. more parks built = more trees planted. building codes should be revised imposing a 30% tree/park plan for every site being developed. and a 10% provision for pedestrian passageways! walang daan ang mga tao juskoday. our streets are almost not people friendly. i do commend makati with trees, the parks, the wide walkways and an elevated catwalk along dela rosa. it’s practically fun to walk in makati because you wont get run over!
3. appreciation (and preservation) of heritage structures. yun yon
4. no more billboards EVER (esp since di na pwede underwear ads hahaha). we’ll miss views like this but let’s look up to the night sky instead. no more free-standing billboards on EDSA and the major highways.
5. clean, potable water from our faucets. in my childhood, we could drink water from a hose. let’s bring that back.
6. clean fuel for vehicles. if our gasoline and diesel were processed better, there would be less carbon emissions (please correct me if i got this wrong). less soot on roadside structures, less pollutants in the air. better yet, let’s go electric! or have a hydro car or a solar-powered one.
7. building more construction of farm-to-market roads, more rewards for farmers and removal of middle men. let’s help the farmers, not the men who do less sweat and still take home the larger bulk of income. also, if we invest more in our lands, we may need not import goods we can grow ourselves.
8. subsidies and more education grants for IP youths, more lumad schools so they get educated but still maintain their cultures. land certificates for the indigenous people, more programs for training IPs to be better farmers and managers of their lands. empowerment to the people, let’s not keep them in the dark.
9. streamlined tax collection system. perhaps we can pay our taxes through online banking. or have we already started that?
10. promotion and patronizing locally produced goods. the US market is receiving flak because of high fructose corn syrup and many other unhealthy extenders in US processed foods, indirectly causing a high rise in obesity and diabetes cases in the states. we should be grateful, for example, our locally made peanut butter is unstable and has oil (check lily’s); that means it’s natural and there is less preservatives. our veggies have lesser carbon footprint since the Philippines is a much smaller country than the US. our food may not be exempted from the use of preservatives and extenders, but i think it’s way better than their US counterparts. please read food labels and their ingredients!
11. improved health classes in schools, encouraging better dental and skin health for all and providing more services for them; the passing of the RH bill. health is wealth, so they say. PEHM classes should now be more comprehensive, discussing food and diet in detail, making gym fun and accessible to even the dweebest of the dweebs. schools should teach how to read and understand labels, effects of too much sugar and salt, calorie content and how to measure their intake. kids should know which food item is healthier just by reading labels. the first three ingredients listed in any product indicate the largest components of that item. bottled iced tea lists water, sugar and tea, in that order. that means, there’s more sugar than anything (which is why i stopped drinking bottled iced teas). school programs should encourage our youth to be fit, toned and be body gorgeous! we should instill dental hygiene practices like flossing, gargling with hydrogen peroxide, the pinas is not exactly dental health conscious. the RH bill should already be put in effect 20 years ago so we can start reaping its benefits. sex education, information on reproductive health for our kids and in barrios where it is most needed. aborti-what? even the pope encourages condom use.
12. promotion of tropical design versus american/euro style homes. the greater population should understand why we cant keep having all this american style homes in a tropical country! it’s too damn hot! also, tropical design is also green architecture; design considers orientation of the house to maximize airflow and minimizing solar heat. more windows, better ventilation and lighting, lesser use of air-conditioning and lights. redirect rainwater and laundry water for washing the garage or for flushing toilets. form should follow function. bathrooms are living areas too, dont make it the size of a broom closet! we need to promote our cultural sensibilities in design! we need more kenneth cobonpues, more budji layugs and ann pamintuans, more locsins and lichaucos! more important than promoting them abroad is promoting them here in the philippines, maximizing their talents and creating awareness and more appreciation in the motherland. we tend to look up to international designers when we can do better by buying local.
13. centralized ID system, centralized banking system if possible. forget what nostradamus feared, 1 ID may be all we need.
14. cheaper unlimited data plans for mobile phones or tablets hehe or a wi-fi ready manila! how about being out in the park and bam! we got wi-fi with up to 16mbps speeds! haha
15. instill nationalism and pride in local efforts and practices (like, support pinoy movies!). no more colonial and crab mentality! please no more negativity. there should be no factor in the bakya. ok, there’s jejemon and pre-2k jologs type pero kanya-kanya lang yang trip. no need to separate yourself from the other. we’re all in the same boat, we breathe the same dirty air and hide from the same sun. japan was able to help its economy after the world war by keeping out of the world market. the japanese bought japanese. by this they were able to instill local pride. when the japanese go abroad, they still bought japanese-made products and that helped their economy a lot. since products continued to improve, the world wanted their products and so a happy cycle was established. in the same vein, if pinoys bought pinoy, quality of products would improve because tayo na nga gagamit then more would buy it. if pinoys watched more pinoy movies, im sure we’d have better fare since we’re helping the industry. if pinoys stopped heckling lower class sentiments and see the beauty in the positive, our culture would be richer and more exciting. i love what team manila is doing, maybe they should instead be called the Department of Tourism. oops.
it was only after writing my first draft that i read this other article on dreaming for a better manila. there are a lot of similar wants for manila here. goes to show a lot of people want the same basic things and changes. im sure the government would have picked up on these ideas as well. i just hope it translates to some constructive reality.
i have a camera. i can take photos. i could have used my phone’s camera or the nikon dslr i bring around. but for some greater, unknown, subconscious reason i didnt really take photos during my trip to mindanao this year. there were some photos, yes, but very few and far between.
i have been in mindanao since june 14. id be away from work for a month by the time i get back to manila next week. i have planned to do some paperwork and work out obligations but more importantly i came here to nestle with my parents and allow myself more family time. i realized i needed to invest more time with mundane but real live moments with my mother and father especially in their winter years. ordinary lunches, taking out the trash for my mom, accompanying my dad for a daytrip to iligan, merienda at chowking and desserts at candy’s with my sisters, watching documentaries with my dad and carlo on my flat screen tv that i only get to use when im in mindanao. all those sorts. they are important to me.
work is important as well. i am aware enough of the need to earn but for whom? what is life but a series of events you choose to live through. at the end of this life, you check what youve done. and at the end of my life, i would want to say that more than work, designing and earning money, the more important aspect is the people i love and to enjoy life with them, literally.
the past few weeks ive spent time with my sister and brother-in-law at the beach, buying at the wet market and at save more with my mother, taking a stroll with my dad along velez st and eating bananacue, staying home with my sister watching movies or taking a walking tour with carlo around the city and making pit stops along the way. ive gained 5 lbs from all the food, celebrated my birthday playing wii with cousins and ive taken no photos to document all this small events. nothing to post on facebook or twitter. well, maybe except for one.
i wish my parents good health, my sisters fulfilled lives, my brother-in-law security and more music, my nieces self-sufficiency, my nephew a focused life and carlo a flourishing career as a painter. i wish me a productive life so i can celebrate more life moments with my family. so help me God. cheers and may the good Lord bless y’all!
benjamin padero 