Mindanao Writers' Blogs

pandayang lino brocka

Teng — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:57:00 +0000

Deadline extended til July 7, 2009.

the last airbender teaser

Teng — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:29:00 +0000

I am so looking forward to this movie.

Behind the Scenes

coffeeshop — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:18:23 +0000

OVER THE YEARS, I’ve worked with a few video crews. From the bright and spritely members of Radio-TV Malacanang (of yesteryear) to the hugely talented duo of Ditsie Carolino and Nana Buxani, from the fledgling group of good friend Des Mendoza to another local outfit that I accompanied all the way to the rugged terrains of Zamboanga del Norte… all these have helped me view our landscapes and seascapes through a different, more focused lens.

It is true that film, as an art, imitates life, that artists strive to mirror reality however disturbing the latter may be. It seems logical, therefore, that in some way, a work of art mirrors us as well. For two days last week, I was with a crew filming a panoramic countryside, white beaches, and peaceful villagers, footages that were otherwise trite scenes in some institutional AVP. But behind each ridge captured in the half-light, each sand dune bathed in the noon sun, and each word gently uttered by the locals was the singular truth ab...

GOIN’ PLACES: Crabs in a bucket

just being... — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:31:53 +0000

THERE are more restaurants sprouting, so many choices, too darn difficult to choose. And so we decided in terms of proximity to where Dengdeng was; in this case, home.

Thus, the choice for the night was Pablo’s Steaks and Crabs at the rear portion of Metro Lifestyle Building right beside Antonio’s.

It was Deng’s suggestion and so I thought she’s as crazy over crabs as I am. She isn’t. Wouldn’t even dare a taste. Haynalang...

Anyway, since she can’t take crabs (and she doesn’t take all those antihistamines in order to be able to do so, as many friends I know do), then she opted for the “steaks” part of the name. But again, she knew she wouldn’t have anyone to share her food with -- she’s eating out with two people who were all set to crack those crab shells, she had to make do with Linguini Bolognese Style (that’s pasta with Angus meatballs) that’s listed under Chef’s Recommendations and goes for P375 per plate.

Kulas and I shared a bucket of crabs, a small tin pail of relatively small-...

They’re the kids I knew

just being... — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:18:09 +0000

THE workshop was done for the day and the children and teens were all there on the basketball court playing... everything.

Around six teens were playing basketball, fast and rough. Around them, younger kids were running at full speed and jumping around in a really exhausting and complex “chinelas” game that looked like a mixed breed of touch-ball and tumbang preso.

Let’s segue a bit to give you an idea of how complex it is. The game starts with the “it” team’s slippers scattered in the middle. There are two teams, the “it” team stays in the middle who will be made targets by the other team whose members are divided into two, flanking the “its”, and is armed with their own slippers. While doing their best to elude the flying slippers, the “it” team has to grab a pair of the scattered slippers, put this together, one on top of the other with the “thong” of the bottom slipper locking the top slipper, and drop this on the ground. Everyone in the team tries to do this without being hit by a s...

GOIN’ PLACES: Too much food

just being... — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:48:52 +0000

THERE’S a boom of sorts that hit Davao such that I can hardly keep up with all those coffee shops, restaurants, and bars that have been opening one after the other.

And so I didn’t, and just went on my own leisurely way, picking up the places that sound promising and junking the others where I wouldn’t have any good word to say about. Yep, I’m being good these days, just these days.

The in-place to check out these days is the Robinson’s Cybergate. First, because we’ve never had a Robinson’s ever, and second, because it’s new.

And so there I was, waiting for Deng to make her appearance in a tightly packed Thai resto, the Bangkok Wok. I had to wait outside because there was not a single table available inside. And I had to wait longer because no one was attending to anyone outside.

Just as we met up, Atty. Aileen Lizada-Lopez waves to use from inside, apparently taking pity on a hungry-looking editor.

We can share their table, she said, since they’re just finishing up. Wheee!

Along wi...

The saga of the steel tape

just being... — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:35:49 +0000

I’M not sure how I picked it up, my three siblings seem to have been immune to it. But I believed my dad had this special “affection” for a Stanley brand steel tape. Dad always had one that would be used until the lock would no longer function and the numbers would almost be erased. The Stanley steel tapes in their ubiquitous yellow and chrome steel design held such a high regard for him.

He’d have other steel tapes, but he would always look for that “Stanley”. And so I too wanted to have one, and more importantly, a reason to have one. Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if the reason I took up architecture in college was to have the reason to go around with a steel tape. Yikes!

But I did take up architecture, suffered through all those numerous math and math-related subjects, counting loads, computing momentums, writing down squiggles to find the area under a curve and come up how reinforcement steels are to be placed. I even tinkered with quantum physics, ended up as a journalist w...