| kawaii not #308 |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|04:46 pm] |
Merry Christmas! Let's all jingle those bells!
And here's two icons to celebrate:
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| Arthur at four and a half: a retrospective |
[Dec. 22nd, 2009|07:43 pm] |
So, today is not only the day after the winter solstice, but the day after Arthur’s half-birthday. Arthur’s Grammie sometimes celebrates half-birthdays, and while I’m certainly not getting him a present three days before Christmas, it seems like a fitting time to look back at this small person who inhabits my house. If one were to look at all my various Arthur-related posts, you would correctly conclude that Arthur is a linguistically-prodigious kid. But you wouldn't learn much about what kind of kid he is - the things he likes (in the longer term, not just the desires he has from moment to moment), the way he behaves, and so on. And if you wouldn't know, well, then it's a pretty safe bet that I won't remember in a couple of years, once he's moved on to bigger and better things in life. So this is a retrospective, which started out little but got out of hand, giving a general sense of the kind of person that Arthur is. Of course, if you really want to know about Arthur, then the best way to do so is to meet him in person!
I’m sure as you know, Arthur has been reading since he was two and a half, so, over two years now. It’s rare for me to be able to stump him entirely with a word, although obviously he makes mistakes when sounding out words phonetically (e.g., he pronounced ‘bullet’ as ‘byoo-let’ the other day, unsurprisingly since most kids’ shows don’t feature bullets). He’ll read anything out loud if he has an audience, and can obviously read silently since he sits at the computer and absorbs stuff without difficulty. Surprisingly, though, he’s not that keen on just reading on his own – he has hundreds of books in his room but they only get read when we read them to him, or occasionally when he’s on a long car trip.
Arthur is often a stubborn perfectionist. Getting him to do something he’s not really good at can be nearly impossible. I’m not talking about things like doing chores; he is actually very thoughtful and agreeable (for his age) when it comes to picking up toys when asked. And he’s clearly capable of serious analytical reasoning when it comes to “If you do X, then you can do Y” situations. But for things where he doesn’t have a lot of ability yet, he can be incredibly resistant to doing them unless/until he is sure he can do it right. This has really always been the case – he didn’t walk in any meaningful way until he was fourteen months old and then BLAM! He woke up from nap one afternoon and just walked, and never really had a clumsy falling-down phase.
So, for instance, he still doesn’t sing except in very unusual circumstances (like when we’re not listening) and his dancing skills are limited to imitations of Super Mario (he has a ‘mushroom dance’ and a ‘grass dance’). Actually, although he knows and recognizes a lot of songs, and certainly can rapidly recognize art, he doesn’t actually produce much music or visual art at all – again, this would make sense if his perceptual abilities exceed his fine motor control, since he wouldn’t be able to duplicate or even imitate what he sees and hears. I’m sure it will come along.
Arthur has had an acute case of cinephilia for over a year now. I don't know too many four-year-olds who have favourite directors (John Lasseter and Hayao Miyazaki). Arthur has almost 100 DVDs of his own (!!) and we've already moved him onto some of our DVDs suitable for kids (Labyrinth, Fantasia, Dark Crystal, etc.), with mixed results. We made the mistake of showing him a couple episodes of Futurama but that's just too erratic – you never can judge when so many episodes have a few seconds of something my kid really shouldn't repeat in the playground. So he's off that now. With practically any DVD these days, he insists on putting on the subtitles, and is quite enamored of 'making of' documentaries, director's commentaries, and any other special features he can get his hands on. He more or less knows how to navigate using the DVD remote now. Recently we were over at someone’s house for dinner and he raided their DVD collection for a copy of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom to ‘borrow’. Okay … well, I didn’t say he has great taste! He reports that he is going to be a filmmaker or a commercial maker when he gets older.
Arthur has been using the computer on our laps since he was 18 months old and using it on his own since he was two. For a youngster whose fine motor control in most regards is rather below average, it's quite astonishing what happens to him when you put a mouse in his hand. He's had his own computer (well, one of our old ones, a hand-me-down) for almost two years now - we just got him a bigger desk, though, as he's outgrown the little red one he sat at when he was younger. He has a very good sense of what website he wants to go to at any given moment, and often also how to get there. Lately he’s spent a lot of time watching Youtube videos of old video games, especially Super Mario Bros., to the point where I actually downloaded a freeware copy for him – but of course it’s much too hard. I may need to practice just so I can play it with him sitting on my lap. He always wants to try games that are above his ability level, then once he realizes their difficulty, asks for us to do them for him. On the other hand, he clearly remembers enjoying these games, and often returns to them six months or a year later and plays them successfully.’
Rube. Goldberg. Machines. If it is inordinately complex and involves a little ball, Arthur loves it. Some of his favourite Youtube videos are from the Japanese show Pitagora Suichi which features Rube Goldberg clips, and one of his favourite games is his Marble Run that we got a few months ago at the Detroit Science Center. When we visited the Museum of Science in Boston this summer he spent about an hour watching the giant Rube Goldberg machine there.
Arthur reports that he is / will be a scientist, presuming of course that he doesn’t become a filmmaker. Every week or so we have an ‘experiment night’ where we do some simple stuff. So far we’ve been playing around in the kitchen, cleaning pennies with salt and vinegar, boiling water and then letting steam condense on glass bowls, that sort of thing. Mostly I think he just enjoys mucking around, because, after all, he’s four. But he certainly has absorbed the idea that science is cool and interesting! I curse the folks at Scholar’s Choice, whose catalog Arthur raided for virtually any interesting-looking science toy to add to his Christmas list. Made shopping easy, though.
After an initial burst of exuberance prior to actually going to school, Arthur's first couple of months at kindergarten have been mixed. For a while there in September and October, we left him every morning in tears, practically begging not to have to go. My theory is that it is a combination of two things: more structure in the classroom than he was used to from preschool, plus not having as much access to the computers / the class Smartboard as he would like. They only use the smartboard one day a week, and boy does that get him excited! When asked what he does at school, his most common answer is ‘optimedical physics’ – he will proudly tell almost anyone that he studies optimedical physics at kindergarten.
Arthur is more comfortable with older kids and doesn’t interact too much socially with his classroom peers – he knows some of their names, but others, he claims not to know. On the other hand his teacher seems quite pleased with his progress in that regard. With older kids (like the ones at his after-school daycare) and with adults, though, he can be extremely gregarious and conversational. Certainly he remembers many of you – at least, those of you he has seen over the past year or so. And he is thrilled to visit new places and talk to new people, given the chance – as long as they’re over the age of five.
One of the downsides of having a highly verbal child is that sometimes he can be more than a little mouthy. He uses the tags ‘of course’ and ‘for obvious reasons’ in responding to questions, in a way that suggests that he finds his interlocutors to be lacking in good sense. And the phrases ‘what-ever’ and ‘boooring’ are heard fairly often. I’m pleased to say that we’ve mostly managed to keep him from saying ‘crap’ or ‘dammit’ or ‘hell’ even though he’s heard those (and certainly worse, especially when we don’t catch him quite in time when he puts on an inappropriate Youtube video). It’s a bit of a problem, though, because he loves to watch Mythbusters with us, and who am I to deny him? Back in October, he got into trouble one day for mouthing off to the gym teacher, but the time-out must have had an effect because he was obviously quite affected by it that evening, and we haven’t heard of any repeat offenses.
Over the past couple of months Arthur has acquired a much clearer gender sense, particularly when it comes to toys. I actually think this mostly is not from the playground, but rather just from commercials where he sees boys or girls playing with particular toys. Could be a bit of both, though. Certainly it doesn't help that whenever we go to McDonald's or Burger King they ask if we would like the 'boy toy' or the 'girl toy'. Fortunately (see below) most of the toys he really likes, other than Transformers, are sciency toys and are thus not strongly gendered even in commercials. His Christmas list (self-composed) is full of interesting stuff for us to get for him. In any event, just today he asked me what ‘feminimism’ is, because I was grading papers and one was on that topic, so I made a go at explaining it to him in terms of ‘girl toys and boy toys’.
At the moment I'd say that Arthur is neither excessively picky nor exceedingly adventurous with food. Vegetables are still an issue (he is quite explicit that only tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn are acceptable) while virtually any fruit is a delicacy. He has a few candies that he enjoys (Transformers gummies, e.g.) but not generally - he didn't want a lot of Hallowe'en candy and has been giving much of it away to us, and there's still quite a bit in the bowl. He doesn't have a large appetite in general - quite often he claims to be full after only a few bites even of things that he likes, and needs to be coaxed to eat. One exception is pancakes - I've seen him pack away six full-sized pancakes at one sitting. Lately he's been drinking (non-caffeinated) pop every once in a while, but mostly he's a juice man (well, at least now that he's done nursing, which he has been for over a year now, thank goodness). Like most four-year-olds who have ever been exposed to the stuff, the kid would eat fast food every day, I swear, if we let him. While he likes other restaurant food, the fact that only Burger King and McDonald’s have a playland puts them in an entirely different, and preferred, category. Someone would make a killing if they set up a sit-down restaurant with a decent play area for kids.
Sleep is still an issue for Arthur, as it really has been his entire life. I can remember when we were still living in Toronto, and us trying to get him to go down at 8:30 - 9:00, and it's still much the same. He still is sleeping through the night only sporadically – although better when he goes down at 9:15 than when he goes down at 8:30, I think. At least he isn't taking as long to go to sleep, once he gets into bed. Time was it would be a minimum of half an hour, up to 90 minutes of reading, singing, cajoling, whatever, but now that he's not taking midday naps he mostly goes right to sleep. But he really does have that much energy – he gets up at 7 (a little reluctantly) and goes more or less straight until 8:30 – not super-active that whole time, but also not especially tired. We’ve been trying to reward him with a sticker on a chart every night he sleeps through in his own bed, which has been slow and erratic, but he just got his Transformer as a reward (that I had to order for him on eBay, hmph!). But it would be an exaggeration to say that the incentive is working – more like he occasionally happens to sleep through the night.
I’m still a little perplexed by Arthur’s physical abilities. As noted above, he’s superb with his fine motor control on the computer, but only now is he starting to write recognizable letters. We’ve made a sign-up sheet so he can ‘log in’ by tracing his name on a paper before using his computer, to help with that. But he doesn’t seem overly inclined to do so. I chalk it up to his perfectionism, described above. He’s a superb climber and wrestler (I have the war wounds to prove it!), but not much for throwing and catching balls.
I guess I don’t know what too many four-year-olds are like, but Arthur seems to me to be extremely polite. He says ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ unsolicited quite often, and says ‘excuse me’ at the appropriate times. Of course, he may have taken this a little too far – he says “Excuse you, Dad” whenever I burp and don’t immediately excuse myself. And just the other day he reminded me helpfully to wash my hands after using the toilet. Of course, get him in a mood and he can be just as irritable and nasty as anyone (four or otherwise) – particularly when he doesn’t get his way. We’ll have to work on that, I guess.
So this is my guy. He’s a really neat kid – but you knew that, and in any case I’d have to think that, since I’m his dad. Hopefully this puts the little linguistic vignettes in perspective.
P.S. During the course of writing this post I informed Arthur that “I’m writing a long Livejournal post about you.” His response: “It’s called an essay!” Touché, little dude. |
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| the top fifty musical long-playing recordings of the decade 2000-2009 (part one, 50-21) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|08:33 pm] |
wow.
can't believe i actually did this.
I blame it on my obssessive-compulsive ritualistic nature when it comes to music (which I talk about at length here), because once i started i couldn't stop. as early as March I was already asking Jason and Marie "what's your favorite album of the decade?" and midway through the year I was asking Diego for stuff he felt I missed out on (like Wilco). it WAS a very long and painful process, and even though I had originally planned a list of 20, cutting out some of these gems, especially those in the 20-25 area, was just too much.
The noughties, when all is said and done, was actually quite a boring decade for music. Most of the time people were just rehashing movements like Garage or Postpunk, and towards the end the hipsters came with their brand of been-there-done-that experimental sounds that they tried to pass off as music. I was shocked to see that on this list 36 out of the 50 albums came out before 2005, and a whopping 10 albums came out in 2000 (2007 only had like two entries). It could be that as the years go by the quality of music is steadily going kaput, but then it could also just be that I'm a crotchety old man.
That having been said, the 50 you see presented here are solid. all are great albums, to the point that you could interchange the first half and i'd hardly notice.
if you pay attention (and I doubt any of you will), you may notice some discrepancies in the decade list compared to the individual years list. for example, why is Sufjan Stevens's Seven Swans way up there when it wasn't even in the 2004 list? Or why is Kings of Convenience's Riot on An Empty Street higher than Moving Units's Dangerous Dreams when it was the other way around back in 2004? My explanations:
1)things change. i could be listening to an album all year and really hate it the next. some records do get better over time, and others tend to lose their power. my number one of the decade was actually only number two the year it came out, and the number one of that year is a remote 18.
2)oversight. sometimes, especially when the album is released at the end of December (like The Stills'Logic Will Break Your Heart), i completely overlook records for my yearend lists. Other times (as with the case of Sufjan Stevens) when I like an artist I'll look at their catalog and discover fantastic albums of theirs I didn't notice.
3)i purposely spaced out albums by the same band in the list. i figure if i get really rigid about what i loved this year, the top 5 would consist of only two bands.
finally, before i continue, i would just like to take ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) eroticvulture's lead and make the disclaimer that this is an intensely personal list. so please, i don't want to hear "WHY ISN'T URBANDUB ON THIS LIST?!" I love a lot of the bands you think deserve to be on this list, but some really had greater personal impact on me than others. If you want a more objective view on the decade in music, go to SPIN or Pitchfork of something.
50.  Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008) Jersey, Peter Gabriel, the 80s and Hammer+Tongs. Lovely and amazing.
49. Juliana Hatfield - Beautiful Creature (2000) My favorite artist OAT releases a more mature but still incredibly angsty album to kick off the decade.
48. Telepathe - Dance Mother (2009) Lesbians + Electronic Music = Always Something Magical!
47.  Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell (2008) These Canadian chaps never fail to make me smile. And jump around. And play air keyboards like some nut.
46. Le Tigre - This Island (2004)Le Tigre wins over Rick "The Hand of Death" Ocasek's crappy overproduced style with their charmingly assholic punk music!
45. The Dismemberment Plan - Change (2001) The Dismemberment Plan say goodbye with one of the most masterful indierock records this decade. It's that rare record that has you liking it the more you listen to it over the years.
44.  Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene (2005) A celebration of the Toronto scene, a collaboration between all its greatest artists. Probably the last of its kind.
43.  Sleater-Kinney - All Hands on The Bad One (2000) They may have been the greatest rock band of all time the moment this was released, but really-- all they wanted to do was have fun.
42.  Sugarfree - Sa Wakas (2003) - This album sounds like 26 years worth of heartbreak. Sugarfree made some excellent records after Sa Wakas, but they were never able to replicate the sheer emotion this album packed.
41. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (2006) - My favorite Yeah Yeah Yeahs album is also probably the least popular, forsaking the garage-meets-postpunk sound they made famous and instead focusing on pure stadium rock. Hard to swallow, yes, but well worth it if you're willing to go for the ride.
40.  Blake Babies - God Bless The Blake Babies (2001). Bands reuniting usually result in fun but kinda sad (in a bad way) nostalgia trips. The return of the Blake Babies, however, found the band not mellowed out but more headstrong, mature and confident than ever before. Not to say the nostalgia wasn't there-- i still tear up when I hear "Brain Damage", the duet between two of my greatest childhood heroes Juliana Hatfield and Evan Dando.
39. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005). The album that probably changed most adolescent lives this decade. Bloc Party took the then-popular dancepunk genre and ran with it, creating that rarest thing in pop music -- a dance album that's actually touching.
38. Phoenix - Alphabetical (2004). I have a theory that your favorite Phoenix album is the one you first listened to. So yes, even though this is the one that makes them sound like a boyband, it's the closest to my heart.
37.  Moving Units - Dangerous Dreams (2004). It is still the biggest mystery to me as to why Moving Units never hit the big time. They rocked harder than any other postpunk revival band, and knew how to groove better than almost every other dancepunk collective. Alas, it's probably for the best, lest we start seeing vocalist Chris Hathwell strut around MTV in a red skintight suit with feathers on his shoulders.
36.  Death Cab for Cutie -Transatlanticism (2003) Due to a combination of The Postal Service's popularity, the rise of indie rock and of course, THE OC, the release of Transatlanticism may have been Death Cab for Cutie's most perfect moment. It's a good thing, then, that they were able to back this stroke of luck up with a solid album where every song is a gem that melts into the next.
35.  Up dharma Down - Fragmented (2006) Effervescent, atmospheric and true --these kids from UA&P slid onto the Philippine music scene like a silent killer. A strong contender for the most important Filipino album of the decade.
34.  Rainer Maria - A Better Version of Me (2000). Rainer Maria's transition album from whiny emo kids to one of the great indierock bands of this decade has just the right mix of rawness, rockin and reflection.
33.  Thom Yorke - The Eraser (2006) So Radiohead makes a solo album, and it's better than their last two releases. By this time Thom Yorke had nothing left to prove, so instead of creating another groundbreaking record (which he does the year after), he creates a dark and moody piece that takes "electronic music" to places it's never been before.
32.  Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us (2008). A testament to true love, an ode to growing up, a reflection on becoming parents; Re-Arrange Us is all of this and more. It's lush and grand and powerful. And it was recorded by only two people.
31.  Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street (2004.) Mostly two acoustic guitars and two male voices, with a sprinkling of drum, piano, viola and Feist. Easy listening of the best kind.
30.  Bjork - Vespertine (2001). Right now I'm sitting in front of the keyboard trying to find the right words to describe Vespertine. All I can come up with, really, is "beautiful".
29. The Rapture - Pieces of The People We Love (2006) A fantastic, fantastic dance album. Like I said in my 2006 list, it’s always nicer hearing smart bands dumb down than dumb bands try to sound intelligent.
28.  Spoon - Kill The Moonlight (2002). Sparse, meditative, dreamy-- Kill The Moonlight is the sort of album whose era one wouldn't be able to place. In many ways it's this decade's Automatic for The People, and hopefully it remains as timeless as that classic.
27.  Snow Patrol - Final Straw (2004). Wow. Once upon a time these guys were really great, no?
26.  Taken by Cars - Endings of A New Kind Yep, a year later and I'm still loving this album.
25.  Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans (2004). A retroactive pick. For my money Stevens still does his best stuff when not under the pressure of sticking to themes or lush orchestral pieces. Sufjan, a guitar, and his backup chick -- that's the way I like it, and this album is filled with that.
24.  The Postal Service - Give Up (2003). It's been 6 years and people are still "discovering" this album, which just goes to show how timeless it is. A lot of people attribute Give Up's success to the inimitable Ben Gibbard, but equal credit has to go to Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello, who defined a much-imitated sound for the noughties (+cough+ Owl City +cough+).
23.  +/- - Let's Build a Fire (2006). Proof that happiness and contentment are sometimes as good driving forces for musicians as anger and suffering are. This album was made by people who have just gotten married, and have just become or are about to become family men, and this celebration of life can be heard all around.
22.  Superchunk - Here's to Shutting Up (2001). It's a shame that this is the legendary Superchunk's only real album this decade, because the band was getting unbelievably better and better. Alas, this is testament that like good wine, Superchunk will only get finer in their old age.
21. Ciudad - "Is That Ciudad?" "Yes Son, It's Me" (2002) My favorite Filipino album of the decade, and for the right reasons. "Yeah right," you're thinking, "you just love that album because you named it and because Ciudad are your friends!" Not really. I must admit I'm very attached to the songs, and maybe it's because they're connected to a lot of wonderful memories. This album makes me think of college, and Keka, and the Philippine rock scene in the early '00s. Those are some of my favorite things in the world, and I think something that evokes that deserves this place in the ranks.
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003 |
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| POST NUMBER 193 |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|02:05 am] |
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I feel like reviving the resistance. ehe. |
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| Damay-damay na. |
[Dec. 19th, 2009|12:42 am] |
Nakakatawa 'yung makikita kong nagsusumbong sa telebisyon si Andal Ampatuan dahil sa gasgas na iniregalo sa kanya ng isang photographer matapos nitong pagdiskitahang ipukpok yung camera niya kay mokong! Pero mas nakakatawa naman ata 'yung maririnig kong aaray-aray siya dahil sa posas niya sa kamay. Masyado daw kasing masakit! Tanginang 'to! Balatan kita diyan ng buhay tas isawsaw sa asin e. Tignan natin kung anong masakit!
Okaya kung gusto mo ng sakit, bakit hindi natin gawin sayo, yung mismong ginawa mo, Andal, nung minsang tinopak kang pagpapatayin ang limangpu't pitong katao. Pero, wait! Dapat hindi muna ikaw 'yung unang papatayin o babalatan ng buhay at isasawsaw sa asin. Hindi muna ikaw, 'wag muna, kasi hindi patas 'yun! Dapat siguro maramdaman mo muna yung sakit na higit sa mahigpit na pagkakaposas lang.
Ganito,
bakit hindi natin isama sa eksena ang nanay mo, ang tatay mo, asawa't mga anak o lahat ng mga taong importante sayo o lahat ng taong mahal mo. Kaya kong gamitin ang salitang "mahal", dahil naniniwala akong marunong ka namang magmahal, Andal.Lahat ng tao biniyayaan ng gano'ng kakayanan. 'Yun nga lang ang sayo yata pagmamahal sa ibang bagay e. Sa pwesto, sa pera, sa kapangyarihan. Pero ang counted dito e mga mahal mong tao hindi kung ano-ano ah! Maliwanag? Osige, balik tayo sa usapan. Edi 'yun na nga, isasama natin sa eksena lahat ng taong mahal mo. Ihihilera natin sila, isipin mo, Andal, na andiyan silang lahat sa mismong harapan mo. Tapos papasok kami, may dala-dalang kanya-kanyang armas: Baril, sumpak, jungle bolo, mga bagay na matatalim at shinny na mukhang pupugot ng ulo, magpapasabog ng utak at sympre -papatay, gano'n ka simple. Tas hihilera din kami isa-isa sa bawat taong mahal mo. Aamba kami nang pwesto na parang buong buhay namin e 'yun lang ang pinag-handaan naming gawin! Ngayon ang mga baril, sumpak, jungle bolo at sharp objects e nasa parte ng katawan nila kung sa'n ang isang ugat no'n e nakakabit-diretso sa isang libong ugat sa puso! O sa madaling salita, ngayon nakaamba kami -nang sigurado. At hindi lang kami basta nakaamba ha, sinasabayan pa namin ito nang pagtawa, habang yung mga mahal mo sa buhay e nagmamakaawa at kasama nila, Andal, nagmamakaawa ka din, umiitak, ;yung iyak na higit pa sa hagulhol ng pinaghalo-halong kaanak ng mga yumao. Pero pa'no 'yan, Andal? Hindi tayo close e, kaya hindi kita pakikinggan. At kagaya mo, magiging madali lang sa'min ang lahat...
Ngayon, tignan natin kung magreklamo ka pa sa sakit na dulot ng posas! |
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| office x'mas party |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|04:06 pm] |
| [ | mood |
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As usual, we were last place again in the x’mas party dance competition and I didn’t win the raffle. Sigh.
My party get-up (btw, the theme was “Reliving the ‘80s”)
I danced MJ’s Beat It.
I watched our videos today. We aren’t that bad, (except for B who forgot her steps in "Let's Get Physical" and other members who forgot to put on their shades in "I Just Called to Say I Love You"), it’s just that the other groups really have the advantage of younger members/better dancers.
With lifting and everything! (I'm envious! I always dreamed of performing "Time of my Life"/dirty dancing with lifting, too, but I'm too heavy)
So, LUZ VALDEZ talaga! |
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| А ты? |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|09:39 am] |
А я в детстве ненавидела борщ. Собственно, я и сейчас его не слишком люблю. |
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| Encyclopedia |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|01:03 pm] |
Hindi nobela o maging mga librong pampanitikan ang una o pangunahin kong binasa noong bata ako. Kung sa oras na ginugol ang tatanungin, ang encyclopedia ang madalas kong binasa noong bata ako. Naaalala ko ang araw nang bilhin ni Dad ang isang buong set ng Grolier World Encyclopedia. Umuwi siyang may dala-dalang isang malaking kahong puno ng mga mga malalaki't mabibigat na mga aklat na matigas at kulay bughaw na pabalat. Kinailangan pang magpagawa ng isang bagong kabinet para sa mabibigat na tomo ng encyclopedia. Madalas ko iyong basahin kapag brown out o kaya may bagyo't walang kuryente. O madalas kapag wala lang talagang mapanood sa TV. At ang pinakapaborito kong tomo ang tomong naglalaman ng mga entry tungkol sa World War I at World War II. Basta naging interesado lang talaga ako sa World War. Syempre, hindi ko naman talaga binasa ang encyclopedia mula sa A hanggang Z. May mga piling artikulo lang talaga ang tinitigilan ko't binabasa. At depende lang talaga kung ano'ng makita ko at matripan. Madalas, kukuha lang ako ng isang random na tomo at magbabasa. Minsa'y ginagawa ko itong laro at magtatalon-talon ako sa mga tomo at hanapin ang mga artikulong nakapaloob sa isang tema.
At ito ang anyo ng encyclopedia, na bagaman nakaayos nang alpabetiko mula A hanggang Z, hindi naman talaga ito binabasa batay sa pagkakalatag at pagkakasunod-sunod ng mga artikulo. Isang bukas na akda ang isang encyclopedia, maaaring pasukin sa isa bahagi at matapos sa isa pa. Nagagawa ito ng encyclopedia dahil hindi natin hinahanapan ng isang malawakang naratibo ang nilalaman ng encyclopedia. Hindi lubhang natataranta ang batang isip ko noon na may kulang sa aking binasa. Hindi binabasa ang isang encyclopedia upang mabasa ang kabuuan nito kundi mabasa ang isang bahaging sa tingin mo'y mahalaga para sa iyo. Maaaring umiral nang mag-isa ang bawat artikulo ng isang encyclopedia. Kung may dagdag na impormasyon, may mga arikulong suhestiyon sa dulo ng mga artikulo. O kung may mga tao, lugar, bagay, pangyayari atbp. ang binabanggit sa isang artikulo, maaari iyong hanapin sa encyclopedia at basahin sa ibang pagkakataon. Gayundin, magkakasama sa loob ng encyclopedia ang iba't ibang larangan ng kaalaman, mula agham, matematika, kasaysayan, sining atbp. Walang nakatataas na larangan sa loob ng encyclopedia.
Kung tutuusin, isang kabalintunaan ang isang encyclopedia. Nagbibigay ito ng ilusyong nasa loob ng mga pahina nito ang kabuuang kaalaman ng sangkatauhan ngunit hindi naman talaga. Kung hahanapin ang mga partikular na artikulo tungkol sa mga tao sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, halimbawa, kulang na kulang ang Grolier World Encyclopedia namin sa bahay. At maging ang malawakang ginagamit na encyclopedia sa Internet, ang Wikipedia, ay kulang at maraming bunging pahina. Maraming mga pulang hyperlink ang ilang mga ilang mga artikulo na nangangahulugang wala pang impormasyong nakasulat tungkol sa paksang iyon. Kaya't isang ilusyon na pantay-pantay ang lahat ng bagay loob ng sistema ng encyclopedia. Kung wala ka sa loob nito, ibig sabihin lamang nito na hindi ka mahalaga o hindi ka pa mahalaga. Gayundin, masusukat din ang halaga ng isang paksa sa haba ng artikulo at detalyeng nakapaloob dito. At dito lumalabas ang politika ng isang encyclopedia, sa pamantayang ng isang partikular na grupo nakabatay ang pagpili ng mga paksang nakapaloob sa encyclopedia. Sa pamatayan ng editor at mga manunulat ang pagpili ng mga paksang isasama sa encyclopedia. Ngunit walang hanggan ang kaalaman at magiging walang hanggan ang trabaho ng isang editor at manunulat ng isang encyclopedia (kaya't idealistiko ang isang proyektong tulad ng Wikipedia) kaya't para maglabas ng isang edisyon, kailangang pumili lamang ang mga editor at manunulat ng mga partikular na paksa na sa tingin nila'y mahalaga. Gayundin, napapagaan ang trabaho sa paggawa ng isang encyclopedia dahil nariyan na ang mga naunang edisyon ng para dagdagan at repasuhin. Ngunit iyon lamang ang kayang gawin ng isang editor at manunulat ng encyclopedia, ang magsimula o kaya't magdagdag at magrepaso, hinding-hindi niya kayang buuin nang may katapusan ang encyclopedia dahil pala-palaging kulang ang ito. Hindi niya kayang sabihing "Tapos na" dahil walang katapusan ang kaalaman.
Ngunit nakakatakas ang encyclopedia sa kabalintunaang ito dahil sa kapangyarihan ng pagbubuod. Ibinubuod sa isang artikulo't sanaysay ang mga paksang pinag-ukulan ng mga libro ng mga eksperto. Sapat na ang buod upang ibahagi ang mga "mahahalagang" detalye nang walang nawawala sa pagiging "mahalaga" ng paksa. Hindi mo naman kailangang malaman ang paboritong pagkain ni Cleopatra o Andres Bonifacio pero mahalagang malaman na namatay sila sa mga panahon ng malaking pagbabago mga lipuna't bayan. Tulad ng pagpili ng paksa, isang politikal na desisyon ang pagbubuod ng mga paksa, kung ano'ng isasama o iisantabi sa artikulo.
Mahalaga para sa akin ang encyclopedia dahil, sa paglipas ng mga taon at unti-unti kong binubuo ang aking personal na estetika, tila bumabalik ako sa karanasang ito ng pagbabasa ng encyclopedia. Sa aking tinatapos na thesis tungkol sa kasaysayan ng isang fictional na bansa, malinaw sa akin ang tensiyong ito ng nakaraan, kasalukuyan at hinaharap ng aking mga kuwento. Na kahit sabihing may "katapusan" ang isang kuwento, nariyan ang katotohanang maraming mga bagay na hindi binaggit at hindi isinama sa loob ng naratibo. Kailangang tanggapin na maaaring isang pagbubuod ang bawat kuwento, ang bawat nobela at maging ang bawat tula sa harap ng kawalang hanggan ng kaalaman at karanasan. Ngunit tulad ng personal kong pinaniniwalaan tungkol sa karanasan ng panitikan (at maging ng sining), personal kong iniiwasan ang pagbubuod. At marahil nasa kalagayang iyon ng pagharap sa walang hanggan (Diyos?) nakikipagbuno ang isang manunulat sa paglikha ng kanyang mga akda. Na sa pagsusulat ng mga akda, partikular na ang mga kuwento, may pagsasaayos na ginagawa sa mga bagay-bagay na kung tutuusi'y mga bukas na mga paksa at may posibilidad ng kawalang-hanggan. At narito ba ang matatagpuan ang karanasan sa sining? Isa lamang ba itong personal na pagsasaayos? Hindi ko alam at marahil matatagalan pa ba ko malaman. Pero malay ako na ang bawat pagsusulat ay isang sandali ng pakikipagtunggalian sa alam natin at di natin alam, sa nasusukat at di nasusukat. Para sa akin, hindi na mahalaga kung palagi tayong nagsisimula o nagdaragdag lamang. Ang mahalaga, hindi natin nakakaligtaang abutin iyong walang hanggan, kung ano man iyon dahil sa pag-abot sa walang hanggan nasusukat ang kabuuan ng sangkatauhan. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 16th, 2009|09:20 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  stressed | ] |
Our workgroup’s presentation is stressing me for 3 consecutive Decembers now. Unless these people retire soon, this group will be stuck in the last place forever. Or the x’mas party organizers should stop this contest shit altogether.
Finally, my Prof replied to my email and I have my research topic approved. I’ve been so worried about it for the last two weeks.
How time flies! I’m turning 30 next year and still single (and officially an old maid, huhu! I hope this is not my bad karma).
Next year, I hope to...
- Meet a better man...so I don’t have to watch Harry Potter 7 or Eclipse with the same person. He’s a disappointment, really. He could never measure up with you, JB.
- Get that job...because I’m so sick of B and my current job.
- Graduate in October...c’mon, one is supposed to finish grad school in 2 years (ideally), not 4 years! I’m in my 3rd year now.
- Get a car, within my budget at least...because it’s about time I reward myself. And enough of that responsible eldest child drama! |
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| kawaii not #307 |
[Dec. 14th, 2009|07:40 pm] |
Happy Hanukkah, Kawaii Not style!
And here's an icon to celebrate: 
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| Виталий Кличко VS Кевин Джонсон |
[Dec. 13th, 2009|12:24 am] |
Смотрю по телеку этот, как его... не побоюсь этого слова - БОКС! Смотрю и рыдаю - зачем на цирковой арене рефери?! |
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| Promis, hindi na ako gagastos hangga't hindi ko natatapos ang aking thesis |
[Dec. 12th, 2009|07:18 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | books | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
Dahil sale sa mga press ngayon, nakabili ako ng maraming libro. Masyadong marami nga ata. At dahil may thesis ako, ewan ko lang kung mababasa ko nga ang mga iyon agad. Hay, tambak na naman.
Anyway, heto ang bili ko sa Ateneo, UP (kahapon bago mag-UP Writers' Night) at Anvil (kanina at natutuwang alam na ang daan papuntang Anvil nang nagko-commute lamang) nitong mga nakalipas na mga araw. Pinakapanalo ang Anvil sale dahil nakabili ako ng 26 na libro sa halagang 570.
Anvil Sale
Congressman Kalog - Larry Alcala
The Calling - Tony Perez
An Author's Notebook - Tony Perez
Mga Panibagong Kulam sa Pag-ibig - Tony Perez
Mga Panibagong Kulam - Tony Perez
Mga Panibagong Tawas - Tony Perez
Stories of the Moon - Tony Perez
Witch's Dance - Marra PL. Lanot
Black Silk Pajamas - Danton Remoto
Pulotgata - Danton Remoto
Sari-sari - Rio Alma
Sentimental - Rio Alma
Estremellenggoles - Rio Alma
Beyond Life Senteces - Eileen Tabios
Mga Tula sa Pag-ibig - Teo T. Antonio
Reading Korea
Sarilaysay
Ladlad 1 & 2
Conversion and Other Fictions - Charlson Ong
Love, Sex and the Filipino Communist - Patricio Abinales
Herstory - Rosario Cruz Lucero
Daisy Nueve - Menchu Aquino Sarmineto
Porn Again - Jose Javier Reyes
Latitude: Writing from the Philippines and Scotland
Apat na Screenplay
Ateneo
Pahiwatig - Melba Maggay
Theater in Society, Society in Theater - Resil Mojares
UP
A History of the Philippines - Samuel K. Tan
On Cursed Ground and Other Stories - Vicente Garcia Groyon III
Pook at Paninindigan - Ramon Guillermo
Alternative Histories - Ruth Pison
Hay, balik na pagsulat at pagbabasa. |
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| kawaii not #306 |
[Dec. 10th, 2009|06:35 pm] |
Who said the holidays have to be depressing?
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Just a reminder: Last day for guaranteed-by-December-25th domestic (U.S) shipping for button orders is DECEMBER 11th! |
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| Meron at meron. |
[Dec. 10th, 2009|03:36 pm] |
Meron pa ring mga minsan na pakiramdam mo kulang pa. Kahit isang kilong puso mo na ang nakahain sa mesa o kahit dalawang malalaking balde na ng pawis ang naipon mo sa isang buong araw o sa isang buong oras. Minsan, parang kahit anong lakbay mo, uuwi't-uuwi ka pa din kung sa'n ka nagsimula -hubad na walang dunong. At ang masklap, yung "hubad na walang dunong" na 'yon e nadadagdagan pa: "hubad na walang dunong at pagod", "hubad na walang dunong, pagod at malungkot", "hubad na walang dunong, pagod, malungkot at nag-iisa" at kung ano-ano pang kababaan na pwede mong maisip tuwing babalik at babalik ka sa simulang idinarasal mong 'wag na sana ulit magpakita. Kasi tangina, wala ng panahon para sa mga lumang simula.
Putangina, gets mo 'yon? Ako kasi medyo hindi! Wahahahaha! Itatatawa ko nalang ang mga hapon na walang magawa. Meron talagang mga hapon na ganito 'no? |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 10th, 2009|12:27 pm] |
I think I sucked in the interview because I felt bad about it as soon as I stepped out of the conference room. Now, I won't be surprised if I don't get the job. :(
I wonder why my Prof's been ignoring my emails, but replies to my classmates'. I've emailed my topic thrice already and I'm sure I got his email ad right. I can't proceed with my business plan without his approval. Or if he's going to reject it, at least I could move on and submit another topic. |
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