I had a wisdom tooth removed a few weeks ago so I had a fuckton of free time to do absolutely nothing. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t exercise, and I couldn’t go outside lest the world discovers my sore, swollen face worthy of a Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho feature (“Kilalanin natin si Jolens, mga kapuso, ang babaeng kalahati pisngi, kalahati noo!”).
I was stuck in bed the entire time so I plopped the laptop on my chest and did my favorite slacker hobby: I watched movies.
I couldn’t bring myself to write a proper post so I’m doing another tag that I found via the search bar. This time I’m supposed to shuffle my music library and comment on the first 15 songs that come up.
I couldn’t bring myself to write a nicer intro or a better transition either so, um, voila:
Love these lines: “all I’ve ever known is / how to be alone / it comes naturally.” Sometimes it bothers me how comfortable I am with being alone — a self-fulfilling prophecy, correct?
Mama explained this song to me when I was a kid and was way too young to understand English. Maybe this is why I never really had a problem with the phrase “love at first sight.”
I found the tag here and I thought meh why not:
Find a book on your shelves with a blue cover. What made you pick up the book in the first place?
Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. Was (still am) interested in popular science.
Think of a book you didn’t expect to enjoy but did. Why did you read it in the first place?
John Grisham’s A Time to Kill. Was intrigued by the premise.
Stand in front of your bookshelf with your eyes closed and pick up a book at random. How did you discover this book?
James Corbett’s England Expects: A History of the England Football Team. Discovered in a thrift store; bought because I love football.
Pick a book that someone personally recommended to you. What did you think of it?
Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Loved it.
Pick a book you discovered through book blogs. Did it live up to the hype?
Mia Alvar’s In The Country. Yes.
Find a book on your shelves with a one word title. What drew you to this book?
Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita. Is popular among lit kids; has one of the best opening lines.
What book did you discover through a film/TV adaptation?
Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale (translated into English by Nathan Collins).
Think of your all-time favorite books. When did you read these and why did you pick them up in the first place?
Two of many: Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and Edgar B. Maranan’s Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag. Lent to me by older high school roommates; read for the first time during sem-break of first year high school.
It’s 2am and I refuse to sleep. There’s nothing much to share, really, but here, a poem:
Flying at Night
Ted Kooser
Above us, stars. Beneath us, constellations.
Five billion miles away, a galaxy dies
like a snowflake falling on water. Below us,
some farmer, feeling the chill of that distant death,
snaps on his yard light, drawing his sheds and barn
back into the little system of his care.
All night, the cities, like shimmering novas,
tug with bright streets at lonely lights like
his.
The featured image is Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
Magpapaskil ako ng mga litrato bilang pananda sa nagdaang linggo. Maraming mga munting pighati ngunit marami ring munting tagumpay. Natutunan kong kaya ko namang kaligtaan (kahit panandalian) ang pag-inda sa mga problemang wala sa kamay ko ang solusyon. Naging mas maunawain din ako sa ibang tao, at lalo na sarili ko. Matagal ko nang ikinukumpisal ang mga pagkukulang at pagkakamali — panahon na upang patawarin ang sarili. Kaya ngayong gabi, hihinga ako. Magpapahinga ako. Kaya ko ‘to. #
Sinulat ko ‘to kagabi, Biernes. Pero Sabado na. Tapos na ang pahinga. Balik na ulit sa pag-aaral ugh ‘tang ina.
The Facebook tag goes, “List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take more than a few minutes and don’t think too hard. They don’t have to be ‘right’ or ‘great’ works; just ones that have touched you.”
I’ve done this before, here, and now here’s 10 more:
I never thought that I would end up reading (and enjoying) non-fiction without formal guidance from a prof or an editor. Reference materials, especially those that are heavy on -isms, intimidate me. I used to chastise myself for being too dumb to understand them but I’m kinder to myself now. I mean, there’s really no shame in trying, is there?
Anyway, I do want to know what other people’s “10 Books” are. This book tag was passed around my Facebook feed about five years ago and I genuinely enjoyed learning new shit about my friends (i.e. nagbabasa pala ng ano si Ano?). It’s the usisera in me, I guess. Reading other people’s “10 Books” felt like listening in to their self-curated playlists or reading their personal journals, and boy do I love reading other people’s journals.
So I’m tagging ten people — bloggers, of course — who would hopefully share their “10 Books” with us:
Alona | Bessy | Carl | DJ | Krishel | Neri | Potechibaby | rAdishhorse | Trisha | Yerxen
You don’t have to explain your choices. You can even just write them in the comments or, I dunno, make a PowerPoint presentation if you’re so bida-bida (charot). And your list can have titles from any genre, be it poetry, or comics, or even horoscope predictions from a page of Bulgar wrapped around a kilo of tinapa (it’s not a book, I know, but it sure sounds interesting).
I also initially wanted to tag all the bookish bloggers that I follow but I purposely left some people out so the others could tag them. And you don’t even have to wait for a tag — if you want to share your 10 Books, just go for it baks!
And it’s all good if you don’t feel like doing this paandar. I just wanted to give some people a nudge and possibly introduce them to other kids looking for new blogs to read. 2017 was the year when I started talking to some of the most interesting repapips here on WordPress, and here’s to hoping I discover more this year.
Happy 2018, y’all! #
Nauuso yata ang mga pelikulang lunsaran ng mga personal na danas at hanash ng mga batang direktor. Cinema as self-expression, ika nga, at ang layunin ay ang maantig ang puso ng madla dahil unibersal naman ang tamis at alat at pait ng naunsyaming pag-ibig.
Sa ganitong framework ko nakikita ang I’m Drunk, I Love You ni JP Habac. Hindi kailangan ng extensive research upang mabuo ang kwento nina Carson at Dio, matalik na magkaibigan ngunit palihim na iniibig ng babae ang lalaki.
May sariling vibe ang IDILY kahit gasgas na ang premise nito. May road trip at indie hymns na nakasalansan sa naratibo at may mga eksena ring pang-music video ang hitsura at haba. Cool at hip, pero hindi pretensyoso. Swak ang aesthetics ng pelikula sa panlasa ng target demographic nito: ang nakababatang bahagi ng populasyon na may prebilehiyong tumuntong sa kolehiyo at magwaldas ng pera sa beer.
Tipikal man ang temang tinatalakay, malay pa ring sinalungat ng IDILY ang ilang cliché na karaniwang kalakip ng Pinoy romcom. Walang obligatory happy ending at may sariling story arc din ang baklang best friend ni Carson na si Jason Ty.
Tokenistic nga lang ang kwento ni Jason. Ang pangunahing papel niya pa rin ay ang magbigay-komento sa buhay ng mga bida at magbitiw ng prompts upang ilahad ni Carson ang kasaysayan nila ni Dio. Vehicle for exposition lang si Jason kumbaga, at wala rin siyang malaking ipinagkaiba kina Nikki Valdez at Dimples Romana.
Marupok din ang karakterisasyon ng mismong mga bida. Walang malinaw na pagkatao si Carson labas sa pag-ibig niya kay Dio. Wala ring paliwanag kung bakit gusto pa rin ni Dio si Pathy, ang tauhang sobrang nipis ng pagkakasulat walang sinabi ang kamison ni Osang noong 90’s. Maging ang fixation sa extra ‘h’ ni Pathy ay naging comedic device lang at wala man lang pasakalye sa pagkatao ng dalaga.
Labas kay Pathy, matagumpay na naipinta ng IDILY ang takot at pagkalito ng kabataan ukol sa mga bagay na walang katiyakan. Tinalakay ng kwento ang pagharap sa realidad ng bukas, mula sa pagtatapos sa kolehiyo (“Anong plano mo sa future?”), pag-amin sa itinatagong damdamin (“Mahal kita, seven years na.”), hanggang sa pagpasok sa mga hindi kumbensyunal na relasyon (“Threesome?”). Inilarawan din ng pelikula ang pagnanais na manatili sa mga transisyunal na sandali habang hindi pa absoluto ang hinaharap (“Five minutes pa…”).
Instrumental ang pagtoma sa IDILY bilang paraan ng pagpapaliban sa hinaharap. Ngunit bukod sa pagiging coping device, hindi gaanong napiga ng pelikula ang complexity ng inuman at ng pagkalango sa serbesa. Sabi nga ng isang kaibigan, “Wala na ba silang ibang pinag-uusapan kundi mga sarili nila?”
“Natural” at nakakatawa ang mga dayalogo ngunit kulang ito sa laman. Uminog lamang sa internal na sigalot ang tensyon, ni walang introspection o malalim na pagkilala sa mga external sa salik na humubog sa damdamin at disposisyon ng mga bida, lalo na ni Carson.
Ang kalakasan lang ng mga linya ay ang pagsasawika nito sa pangangailangan ng kolektibong pag-igpaw sa kaisipang “hugot.” Hindi gaya ng ibang saksak-puso blockbuster, hinihimok tayo ng IDILY na umusad at umunlad — “time check,” mga baks, dahil panahon na para “grumadweyt” sa kakornihan at defeatism ng hugot attitude.
Sa huli, kasiya-siya ang IDILY bilang pelikulang nagsasalamin sa karanasan ng pag-ibig na hindi nasuklian. Marami itong kahinaan at pagkukulang, ngunit kung ang tunguhin ng manonood ay matawa, maluha, at magtuklap ng langib ng pusong minsang nasugatan — ah eh, pwede na. #
Dito ko nakuha ang featured image. At kung nagustuhan ninyo ang I’m Drunk, I Love You, subukan n’yo rin ang Drinking Buddies ni Joe Swanberg.
