The Piscean and the Sea

Summer is not summer unless there is beach involved.

Finally, after two years of not feeling the waves crash upon my legs and feet, I went back to the sea. It wasn't easy to come near the beach at those years, as I have worked abroad for a long time and travel wasn't much given a chance. So right then after I arrived back in the country, I immediately planned out how to get to the nearest sea to swim in. See how water-deprived this Fish was? Haha. But that didn't work out either, and I have to wait for a month to finally able to swim. The opportunity opened up when a Bicol trip was planned.

It was amazing. I haven't been to Bicol for about six years, so this travel was like a shot on two chances. I spent more than a week there, enjoying the current festival for Mayon in Albay, and then then going for a boat-ride and island hopping at the tip of Luzon in Sorsogon. I was also inspired enough to capture every moment in my camera. (That video posted up there says it all.) Definitely one good summer story.

Let the Fire bounce

He’ll eat you with his beats, and drown you with his rapid lyrics. And that will feel good.

Presenting the second single from LEO37, one of my top followed artists on the web (since I can’t watch his show live), from his upcoming EP. He’s back with some electrifying-con-jazzy words and sounds, things that has caught my attention since hearing his song Icarus and Morning. This fascination I once wrote on a blog post last year. Now with Fire Dance, he brings back the same energy, something that will fascinate your ear if you’re not a usual listener to his genre. But hey, it’s all good, it’s all cool, and moments later you’ll never know that you’ll be head-bobbing to his music. That’s how this song reached me after I fed it into my system.

Not your ordinary cosplay: Awesome fan-made short films

We’ve seen a lot of popular comics and cartoons these days turned into big budgeted live-action movies by Hollywood. Examples are of course the upcoming movie of the Avengers, Transformers, Superman and a whole lot more. Not anymore strange, since television in the 60’s had been already showing series about the Green Hornet and Batman. Also is a typical scenario in Japan, where the sequence begins with stories in manga form, turned into anime and lastly played in live form by local actors (Death Note, Beck, Sailormoon to name a few).

However, one can find greater delight in watching movies made by hardcore fans themselves. Not just the typical cosplayers on conventions doing a specific scene or portraying their character’s signature moves. I’m talking about fans (or a whole mob of them) who used their talents to create breathtaking independent short films based on their favourite cartoons or games. Watching their works can make you sense their passion and eagerness to bring into life the icons that are part of their lives. Even better, they spark more inspiration to their fellow fans.

I’ve picked out the best independent live action short films uploaded over the Internet. Thanks to YouTube, their works can be seen online and is going viral already, reaching other fans across the globe.



Naruto Shippuden: Dreamer's Fight (created by RivenX3i)

This is video that sparked the interest to write this article. It is just spectacular. At first I thought it was just centered on drama between Rock Lee and Naruto. But after the opening dialogues, and the fighting scene comes in, it just took my breath away. Brilliant martial arts sequence, superb camera angles, and special effects staying true to the anime style. And hey, that Rock Lee actor's really got the moves of Bushy Brows! Since the title says Part 1, expect more Naruto movies from the creators of this one.

Hungry for more? Check out more fan-made videos after the cut!

Mistress of Art: DAKIE SEGURA

Ever get that feeling of seeing artworks over the Internet so polished and neatly done, you think the artists behind them are already gods? Then and now, I still get excited seeing these fantastic artworks, even if I know a lot of my friends are on that kind of artistic level already. One of them I know is Darlene Segura, our featured artist for this edition of Mistress of Art, and even by staying simple, she can rock your world through her creative prowess.

I’ve known Darlene, or commonly known as Dakie to her friends, since around 5 years ago. We met online through the deviantArt community chat, she being a moderator for an all-Filipino chatroom and I was a beginner in the dA world. I then began visiting her exhibits and became friends, sharing interest not just on art but with music and other things. I’ve always considered her works as cute and colourful.  Or moreover, having a lot of that fantasy flavour. The characters on each of her creations are eye-candies for both kids and adults.

Dakie is not just an artist with a talent; rather, she has this large passion for almost anything creative: from simple doodles and graphic designs to photography to art with advocacies. She already has a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Advertising, and has worked, exhibited and did a lot of art gigs after college, but still, she pursues on discovering and going beyond her limit. Dakie is currently on her last year being a student again and completing her thesis in Multimedia Arts. If she can excite you with her vector works, wait till you get to see her traditional ones, being a skilled user of the watercolour medium. All I can see for her is a bright future ahead, full of more wonderful stuff akin to her wonderful works.

Presented here are some of her works I’ve personally picked from her dA account. Be sure to check out her other portfolios for more creative pieces!

Bakit kaya ang hirap magsulat sa sariling wika?

image via Philboxing.com

Bakit ang hirap magsulat sa Tagalog?

Ilang linggo kong pinag-isipan kung ano ang sunod kong ilalagay sa blog na to. Nagkataon kasi na dahil buwan ng Agosto ngayon, at kung huli ka na sa balita, ay Buwan rin ng Wika, at napagkasunduan na sa Filipino nakasulat ang mga ilalagay na post. Kaya para sakin, nadalian lang ako. Tagalog, diba? Sariling wika. Madaling magsulat gamit ang sariling wika.

Yun nga lang, mali pala ako. Inabot ako ng lagpas ng tatlong linggo kaka-isip ng magiging topic ng isusulat ko. At nang maka-isip nga, parang hindi ko masyadong ma-isulat sa Tagalog. Para bang masyado na akong nag-iisip ng Ingles kaya ngayon di ko mailabas sa sarili kong wika ang gusto kong sabihin.

Kahit ngayon, nahihirapan pa rin akong buuin ang artikulong ito. Masyado akong nag-aalala. Tama ba ang ginagawa ko? Ewan. Teka ano nga ba ang gusto kong sabihin?

Bakit ang hirap magsulat sa Tagalog?

O siguro kulang lang ako sa praktis. Sa tingin ko rin, hindi lang ako ang nagkakaganito. Malamang marami rin ang dumadaan sa ganitong pagsubok. Nung bata pa ko, madali lang magsulat pag sinabi ng guro ng Filipino. Sus, kayang kaya. Pero ngayon, patay. Mukhang babagsak ako sa asignatura. Kasi naman, sa kakaisip ko at kakawika sa Ingles, natabunan ang pagiging natural na Filipino-speaking ko. Or writer. Minsan din kasi kapag sinabi sakin na magsulat ako sa sariling wika, hindi ko alam kung papano. “Pwede po bang pagsalitain nyo na lang ako?” Isa pang nagiging problema kapag nagsusulat ako sa wikang Tagalog, di ko maiwasang gumamit ng malalim na mga salita. Dahil pa sa tubong Batangas ako at ang pag-bigkas at pagwika namin doon ay talaga namang kalalim, ah ah. Kapag nagsimula akong magsulat ay mga malalalim na salita ang mailalagay ko, na kahit sarili ko’y hindi ko maiintindihan. Kaya rin siguro marami ang nawili nang lumabas ang mga libro ni Bob Ong dahil bukod sa nakakatawa ito ay simple lang ang mga nakalagay na salita. Hindi pang-zarzuela level. Pero papano na siguro sa hinaharap? Mawawala kaya ang pagkalalim ng mga salita natin? Hindi naman siguro. Marami pa rin ang magtatanggol para mabuhay ito.

Mistress of Art: MAI EVANGELISTA

For avid Internet users, everyday would be like an unexpected treasure hunt. In my case, I have this habit of clicking anything worth viewing, mainly on the art section. I check on various images on a lot of websites to start the morning and to inspire me to be creative throughout the day (mostly haha). Good thing Tumblr was invented, because it was the best site to keep track on a lot of creative people on the web, much less to discover pure Filipino artists as well. And there I discovered the first to be featured on this Mistress of Art topic. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the pop-fazed wonderful artworks of Mai Evangelista.

To be honest, I have zero knowledge about the artist. When I landed upon her Tumblr blog, I just let the images do the talking. I was mesmerized, so to speak. I’ve seen quite a few artists from my country with this caliber of talent and creativity, and her works are just as inspiring as it can be. It’s vector art but not just plain vector art. Viewers and visitors can really see the details and effort on each piece. I myself find stories on most of her works. Mai Evangelista sometimes includes vignettes about how she made or what was the inspiration behind a piece. I guess that’s how she captures a lot of audience and inspire them. Simple yet elegant artworks.

So as I said earlier, let the images do the talking. Here are more of her works.

An interesting story about Mr. Nobody

Mr. Nobody (2009)
Movie Review

What if you have been given the gift to see the future of each life-altering decision before you decide? What if you can experience them all first before picking the right one? For a certain man named Nemo Nobody, it wasn’t a gift he asked for. He never wished for the power to see the future. Like everybody else, he just wanted to love, and live a happy life.

He did get what he wanted, although the life he lived was a tough one. Welcome to the complicated world of Mr. Nobody.

The movie: Mr Nobody is a 2009 science fiction movie by Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael, and features Jared Leto playing the title character. Diane Kruger plays Anna, one of the three love interests of Nemo (and the one he truly loves), along with other actresses Sarah Polley and Linh Dan Pham. The story opens in the year 2092 where we see Mr. Nobody as an 118 year-old man, and the last living ‘mortal’ as all the people in the world have been ‘telomerized’, explained as making a person quasi-immortal and living with ageless beauty. As Nemo is being interviewed by his doctor, and then with a reporter later in the movie, he recounts his life from three major stages in his life: at aged 9, while 16, and at 34 years old, with a non-linear sequence in the movie. As it progresses (and while the watchers of this film go confused at why the events are happening), the main purpose of Nemo’s existence will be revealed. The film also integrates its views on scientific elements like the Big Bang Theory, parallel dimensions, etc and how it is related to Nemo’s life as it ages.

New Music Discovery: Happy Boy + LEO37 + Balance and the TravellingSounds

I was planning to write this piece last weekend but due to the current situation of Japan where I am right now, things kind of got off schedule. So before things get worse, I’m going to post this one already! The last week was full of new discovery on arts, music and designs, and for now I’ll be sharing these wonderful artists I found out while flying out on the Internet cyberspace. These are sure tune-shakers! Check ‘em out!

Happy Boy
Manila, Philippines

One talented music-man I found shared on the Facebook dashboard by a friend of mine. I clicked the link, played the button on soundcloud, and what came next was bliss. It was heavenly. I don’t even know this guy’s real name, but it didn’t matter. His samples are great. Amazing. I got fond of lyric-less music when I started listening to Caspian and El Ten Eleven, and this music creations of Happy Boy gave me a smile. Simple tunes, simple beats, simple cutesy notes. Perfect when you want to relax and want to travel in space or swim under the sea while lying in bed. Treat yourself also to some poetry reading on some of the tracks.

Here’s a sample from one of his creations. Check all of his tracks on his Soundcloud account. You’ll also get to download some of them for free.

Let Darna fly once again!

Darna Lives! via darnalives.blogspot.com

Darna Lives!
darnalives.blogspot.com

It was only last week that I came across this blog about a one-shot resurrection comic for the iconic Darna, the Philippines' famous classic super heroine. At first, I was hesitant to look into the fan fiction since media had already given me a bad impression of Darna through the recent years (will talk about this in a while). But knowing that it's a project by two of these generations' comic foundations, Gerry Alanguilan and Arnold Arre, one must not ignore the treasure they are digging and bringing back to us.

A quick rundown on its history: Darna is a fictional character popular in Filipino comics, created by komiks legend Mars Ravelo. It is a story of a girl named Narda who, after swallowing a magical stone from outer space, becomes  the amazon-like super heroine Darna. Along with her sidekick Ding, she fought numerous evil embodiments including the serpent-headed Valentina, some aliens and some bad guys. She first appeared in print in 1950. Since then, it was adapted into new forms of media, from comics to television series and movies. Notable actresses that played the super heroine were Vilma Santos, Lorna Tolentino, Sharon Cuneta and Anjanette Abayari.

7 Tips to Having a Hangover-free Morning After a Party

Tagay na mga brad! via bargainmugs.com

For the party-lovers out there like me, how typical is this scenario: You and your friends attended a party where there was loads of booze which you drank the entire night, and also hit on those nachos and pizzas served on the table while playing around. Indeed it was a fun night, everyone got drunk, and everyone had a blast. You were so happy you eagerly slept already to preserve the memory. Turns out, you woke up in the morning not recalling what happened the night before, and instead ended up with a throbbing ache running around your head. You’ll then recognize you’re under the punishment of the hangover.

Everyone probably must have experienced the agony of a hangover scene (or if you haven’t and want to see the major consequences, watch the Hangover movie). We know it’s a headache (figuratively and literally), but we still want to enjoy and have fun when there’s alcohol around. I too have the same dilemma, so what I did was to ask around for the best tips to lessen or even not to get any hangover by the morning. I’ve collected a handful of tips to bust that hangover before it even hit you. See if it can help you deal with it.

Drinking lots of water. This was the most suggested answer from the survey I made. In case you haven’t noticed, drinking beer and alcohol will leave you totally dehydrated. And thus, the best way to keep hydrated is to drink plain water. It smoothens your throat, keeps the oxygen pumped up inside your body, and your blood circulating. This is your best bet to a hangover-free morning the day after. I drink 2-3 glasses of water before dozing off.