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25th Birthday Wishlist

In 28 days, I am turning a quarter of a century.

I haven’t done this the past few years, but I just thought it’d be fun to put together a list of stuff I am hankering for. I am, I admit, pretty selfish about my birthday because it’s the one day in 365 days that “everything” can be legitimately about me.

So here goes:

1. A mini oven toaster. I almost always make my own food for lunch and snacks at work. A toaster would be awesome so I can eat real hot food instead of wrapping my container in scarves and cardigans to trap the heat.  This could also mean I could eat toasted wheat pandesal with cheese on top.

2. Watson’s Wet Tissue. I cannot leave the house without a pack. I always buy three packs each month so I won’t ever be without a pack. I buy the purple ones because purple is my favorite color.

3. A REALLY LOUD alarm clock. Every one who knows me knows how hard it is for me to wake up in the mornings. I need something super effective.

4. Angry Birds plush toys. I have this inane desire to crowd my bed with Angry Birds plush toys. Especially the piggie ones.

From: http://daddyjoey.com/2011/06/angry-birds-stuffed-toys/

Review: Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (With Spoilers)

From "Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank's" Facebook page

*As of the time of writing, Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank is still showing in cinemas. Please, please do watch it. It’s awesome and you won’t regret it.

A scene where the protagonist ends up swimming in feces is not exactly new to moviegoers — Slumdog Millionaire. Jamal. Ring a bell? That scene, among many others, earned the Oscar Best Picture winning film the label “poverty porn:” the exploitation of the desperate quality of life of the poor for controversial, cinematic purposes.

The Philippine independent filmmaking industry is no stranger to poverty porn accusations. This is the theme that Ang Babae sa Septic Tank explores, armed with effective wit and brilliant acting.

Like most members of my generation, I love self-reflexivity and all things meta in art, including film. (I mean, you could probably make a case in arguing that Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank is also exploiting the exploitative nature of filmmaking.) In the deconstructive tradition of Bayaning Third World with a humor reminiscent of Adaptation, the film explores the strategic process of creating a film (titled Walang Wala) that will bait the international film festival market to shower awards on the two male protagonists, Bingbong (the producer, played by JM De Guzman) and Rainier (the director, played by Kean Cipriano).

The main strengths of Ang Babae sa Septic Tank are the writing and the acting. The screenplay, written by Chris Martinez — whose ability to hit both comic and dramatic notes has been proven in past films, Here Comes the Bride, 100, and most recently, Temptation Island — is full of astute observations about the indie filmmaking world. The cast, lead by the seriously funny Eugene Domingo, is as perfect as a cast can get, even down to the female documentary “subject” the filmmakers imagine in their heads. Apart from Eugene Domingo’s nuanced performance, Tad Tadioan as Direk Arthur Poongbato was a scene stealer. Every second of that coffee shop scene was gold.

4 reasons to read Manila Bulletin

Photo from: http://www.thefashpack.com/2011/03/style-weekend-mar-18.html

*Disclaimer: I am in no way involved with Manila Bulletin and this post is a voluntary output stemming from a real belief that the newspaper deserves more readers. 

From September 2007 to February 2010, I read nine broadsheets daily as part of my job. While Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI)  remains to be my go-to newspaper, I really enjoyed reading three other under-rated and under-appreciated broadsheets, namely: BusinessWorld, Manila Times, and Manila Bulletin. All three publications produce quality and varied content that you might not find elsewhere — notably BusinessWorld’s and Manila Bulletin’s Friday issues and the Sunday Times of Manila Times which feature fiction, poetry, and features on literary individuals.

At my current job, we just get two newspapers: PDI and Manila Bulletin (MB). And over the past couple of months, I found myself looking forward to reading MB more than PDI. I found the latter’s front page glamorization of Pres. Noynoy annoying plus the opinion writers whose work I have long loved seemed to be “soft” on the President as well. Just not what I expected of the newspaper.

Manila Bulletin gets a bad rap for being supposedly the “government newspaper” akin to being the Philippines’ print equivalent of Fox News Channel. Although I admit that I don’t read much of the main section apart from choice front page news, I think Manila Bulletin provides a lot of quality content that deserve to be read. The problem with MB is its layout. It comes across as too old-fashioned (or “traditional,” if you want to be politically correct) as thus immediately alienates its potential readers.

Here are 4 reasons why I believe you’d enjoy reading Manila Bulletin:

1. Style Weekend — Friday. Each Friday, as I arrive from work with coffee and breakfast, I look forward to reading Style Weekend. The mini-publication features food and dining, fashion, travel, weekend events, and other lifestyle topics. Liza Ilarde (previously of Mega Magazine) is the current editor and I believe she’s to be credited for the awesomeness of Style Weekend. For the last Friday of each month, Style Weekend is dedicated to men’s lifestyle features. A great thing about this supplement is that it isn’t plagued by MB’s “traditional” layout.

2. New York Times — Saturday. Manila Bulletin dedicates an entire section each Saturday to syndicated content from The New York Times. While, yes, most of NYT’s content is available online, this print version is great reading material for a lazy Saturday morning.