photo by JM Chua
Thanks to Pinoy Biswal Style (who links up this 2006 entry from Pinoy Isulong), I am now fascinated by Salen Ga. I was already in my teens in the 90’s but how could I have missed out on the brilliance of Salen Ga?
If you go through the comments on the old Pinoy Isulong link, the photographer says that Salen Ga actually says, “Bakla ang North Pole.”
That’s just messed up in a great way.
Mia and I were going to the Salcedo market and art fair yesterday and we had the bright idea of bringing Ian and Jacob along. We hit the art fair first and it was great to see the kids take a huge interest in everything that they saw.
“Is that a dinosaur? Look Ninang! Look Ninong! Is that a painting of a mommy? What’s that! Why is the girl in the water? Look! Look! What’s that! That’s Jesus Christ!”
And a painting of Jesus Christ it was. It was really cool hearing the kids interpret what the paintings and prints were about. They had great prejudice-free observations and questions. We ended up in a booth where the artist made insects out of scrap metal. He said they were childproof, but that didn’t stop Mia from having a minor heart attack when Jacob took a swipe at the hanging mobile with little scrap metal dragonflies.
Speaking of Jacob, we were making our way between booths, when he blurted out something that sounded like, “I like indie rock!”
And I go: “Jacob, what? Did you say you like indie rock! Awright!”
Jacob: “No! I said I jumped in the rock!”
Mia to me: Asa ka pa.
Aww, Jacob mixes up his prepositions and smiles with his two missing front teeth.
We went to check out the market but we had to steer away from the exotic but good stuff, like the Korean or Thai food stalls. Ian and Jacob wanted tapa(!) but it was expensive (for tapa!) and didn’t sound like a great lunch idea. It was a bit heartbreaking since the kids kept mumbling, “Ninong, I want more,“ after the nice lady behind the counter gave them sample servings. So I think we bribed them with ice cream but only after a proper lunch.
We weren’t hungry yet, so we let loose the kids at the children’s park. I realized that I could be a worrier about these things. I was following Jacob around, hanging on to his collar or belt loop while he was climbing the bars. When he’d go jumping on the suspension bridge, I’d be standing nearby just in case the whole thing collapses. Mia sat on a bench and said, “Sit down, you can see the kids from here!”
Finally, after working up an appetite, the kids’ and mine, we decided to eat and ended up at Pancake House (it was just so hot and crowded at the market). Jacob wanted spaghetti, which I think is his default dish of the moment. Ian had to be convinced that there was no such thing as a chicken pancake, but that he could get fried chicken. While waiting for the food to come, Jacob wrote (not draw!) with his crayons. Ian drew on his paper place mat a really great Godzilla tableau. It should be framed. It was slightly crazy having to divide your attention between your own tiredness and the kids’ desire to explain their work.
“Look Ninang! Look Ninong! These are six Godzillas, but this one is a happy Godzilla! Color orange! J-A-C-O-B, Jacob!”
The food finally came, but before we could eat, Mia had to twirl Jacob’s spaghetti for him. I had to mince Ian’s fried chicken for him. Oh but not after having to take him to the little boy’s room so he could pee. Funny how the kids wanted real food, and Ninang Mia got a peanut butter pancake for lunch.
We were full and decided to walk back to the market/fair to work it off. Ian and Jacob, now recharged, ran around, made friends with other kids, and played in the dirt. And I mean, soil. They apparently love soil. They like touching it with their hands, touching their pants, shirts and faces. I felt that they could have rolled in it, if it weren’t for all these adults standing around trying to wipe everything off them.
Finally, we got them their ice cream, and after one last short visit to the children’s park, they were good to go. So it was an afternoon of making the kids happy. Which is, I suppose, what it feels like when you’re a parent. Now I know why sometimes, my friends with toddlers have that weary, empty look to their eyes sometimes. But I also have an inkling as to why we never want them to grow up, or move out. Or why, I suppose, we’re quite happy to spend the rest of our lives making sure that the kids stay all right.
Came across two interesting blogs today.
Pinoy Biswalstyle - I came across this blog because they featured CD, a friend of mine who just had a show recently. I’ve been wondering when someone would finally put up a site about the local art scene without sounding like a damn press release. These guys sound like they’re actually interested in finding out stuff about the artists and their work. I like their coverage too, from the conceptual to pop (like a feature of Pinoy comic artists). I’d like to see more on photography though.
The Best Part - I got an email from Jason Dean saying that I got featured. I even like his choice of photos of mine to show. I’m really flattered, especially since I think I’m second or third photographer to be featured after Ryan McGinley. I like Jason’s funny, snarky, self-depricating commentary on design in general.
A lot of weird stuff going on the past few days. I got a whole lot of bad news about people I went to college with and it was very unsettling. While at the wake, I took a call and found out that one of my high school buddies was going through some tough times, work wise. It was just an intense night. So much so that after the wake, Kara, Pia and I ended up at the most comfortable and familiar place we could think of: North Park. Things lightened up there. Dimsum and cold soya milk helps.
The bright spot of the night was seeing B and TG together. On the way to the wake, I found out that they were having a baby. I don’t know them too well but it was obvious that they were great together. Couplehood and parenthood becomes them. That was a good, comforting thing to see last night.
Also, some other good/bad news: Pia says that 80% of people who are diagnosed as brain dead or virtual vegetables are actually quite mentally and emotionally alive. They just have no way of communicating that to everyone else. So they live the final months (or years) of their lives in a very real hell, just because everybody else thinks they’re brain dead. Heavy stuff, Jesus Christ. Anyway, the good news is that some UK doctor is on to that, and with the help of some sort of specialized MRI thingie, he can find out if you’re alive inside.
Tell your loved ones that, in the unfortunate event that you go comatose, they should send for that doctor from the UK. And tell your loved ones to tell the nurses to keep you comfy with enough painkillers, liquids and everything else a normal living person should get. And your loved ones should keep talking to you, provoking you even, playing all the lame songs you hate. Because eventually, your body will find a way to respond. So don’t sign that DNR form just yet.
Anyway back to the upsetting stuff (because the thought of being in comatose hell isn’t enough), my location for this weekend’s Day 2 shoot fell through. We thought it was a virtual lock, and virtual it was. We got some bureaucratic answer to our request to shoot in that office. That took the wind out of me a bit, I have to admit. I resigned myself to postponing again and losing some important momentum.
But being the new, mature, Zen guy that I am, I channeled the frustration and disappointment into something productive. I took a couple of hours tonight to work on a personal photography project. A week ago, at CD’s show, the gallery owner offered to exhibit any work of mine, even my old, “greatest hits.” But I wanted to show something new and found time to work on this ongoing project tonight.
Then I got a call of support from my crew tonight (while I was shooting my project ). I got alternatives and good old encouragement. It was touching. Also, I was told that they might get busy with other projects soon so it’s sort of a now or never situation. Haha. That’s all good though, going indie gets you hungry. What’s important is that they were wiling to pull the stops to make Day 2 proceed as scheduled. Probably in another location we checked out before. I’m feeling upbeat again, and let’s keep our fingers crossed.
I remember Waiting… when it came out in the theaters three years ago. I remember taking a chance on a movie I haven’t heard of and being surprised by liking it a lot. I saw it again tonight, just for the heck of, and I’m glad it still works. The girls were hot and everyone was hilarious (Ryan Reynolds and Justin Long!). It was a well told story of kids not quite knowing what to make of their lives, yet making do and having some fun. It was coarse, vulgar, poignant and sweet. This was just about the time Apatow was also making a name for himself by doing coarse, vulgar, poignant and sweet, I think.
I remember that when I was writing the script for my short, I was hoping to match the tone and feel of the movie a little. They are both about kids who don’t quite know how things are going to pan out, working jobs that will do for the meantime. America has theme restaurants. We have call centers.
Thing is, I haven’t figured out how to do coarse and vulgar. Hopefully, I’m getting sweet at the least, and funny and poignant at the most (but with my luck, I might be getting pretense and melodrama). Still, there’s that chance that I do all right after all.
Day 2, if we lock our location, is on in seven days.
If anyone out there loves me, I’d like this please.
From GIZMODO. Somebody just tell me where I can get it.
I picked LA based on the fact that Boston needed seven games to beat both the lowly Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers while LA rolled over the toughest teams in the West. I picked LA because, while Boston had the big three, all of them had history of shrinking during big games. LA had the ultimate closer in Kobe, the guy you could count on to kill when you needed a win. LA was my bet because Kobe was finally trusting his teammates, and because they gave him a good reason. They weren’t extraordinary but they blossomed into excellent role players. Boston, on the other hand, was tailored to win with Garnett brought in on such a lopsided trade that Popoivich half seriously asked for an investigation. (LA did get Gasol as a “donation” of sorts, but they had less pretense about it). And then, just to give me more reasons to root for LA, Boston soundly beat my Pistons on their way to the Finals.
But in meltdown of epic proportions, LA got killed by Boston in the sixth game. A game that LA didn’t bother showing up to. Oh well. I’ll eat my crow. I said LA in 5, then 6 to give respect to Boston’s home court. Pero olats, it was Boston in 6. They deserved it.
I finally got to listen to Coldplay’s new album. It has a long title, I think it’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Or Viva la Vida for short. I really like it. Very much. I was a big fan of Coldplay. So much so that I flew to another country to watch them in 2004. But I was worried that I’d outgrown them since. I almost inevitably skip over their songs when I put my iPod on shuffle. It just sounded so old. So I’m more than pleasantly surprised to find myself really like this new one. Brian Eno helps. Markus Dravs also produces. The first track, a sort of quick preface, almost sounds U2-ish, but it works great. Then from then on, I think I liked almost every track. The sixth track’s hidden track is pretty interesting. And that was only on my first listen. I’m listening to it again now as I write this down. It’s good, it sounds both distinctly Coldplay but with more… texture, I guess. It makes me feel excited about their music again.
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I don’t know if it’s because I shoot food or if it’s because I eat a lot. Chances are that it’s both, but I’ve been really having a hard time figuring out what to eat lately. So much so that that even Chinese food hardly does it for me these past months. You’ll still find me at North Park half the time though, but only because I can get a great, juicy, lightly flavored, steamed white chicken from there. I’ve been looking for blander food lately. Or maybe just really a different taste from the usual rich stuff.
Today, after a good work out on the treadmill in the gym, I picked Pancake House for lunch. A note on the extremely bad location of the gym I go to - when I step out and look to my right, I see Pancake House and Chili’s. On my right is McDonald’s and Krispe Kreme. It’s just an awful choice to be faced with.
Anyway, so I headed, rather reluctantly, for Pancake House. As I said, I’ve been looking for blander food as of late. I was hoping I could find something on their menu. For some reason, for the past days, as opposed to spicy, sweet or salty, I’ve been craving for fruity, light and sour. I was hoping to find a salad with fruits and nuts in it, and I did. Pancake House has Fruity Salad on its menu, and its got grapes, oranges, cheese and lots of greens. Kulang nalang yung nuts, but I’ll live. It was pretty good.
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I just got home from CD’s awesome exhibit. I want to own one of her drawings, except that I can’t afford it yet, nor do I have a wall that can fit them. I like her subjects of found objects. I like the intimacy that they reveal, and the transiency of the moment. Good stuff. It opened today and is on for two weeks.
Gab and Bea, by my cinematographer, Pong.
In the “About” page of this blog, I mentioned a short film that’s hasn’t been titled. Well, it has a working title now, at least. But more importantly, it’s getting done. Yesterday (well, this morning), we finished the first day of a two-day schedule for principal photography. My feelings are as mixed as a bag of Skittles, so I’ll incoherently ramble on.
Throughout the shoot, I was wondering when I’d mess up. I’m not unfamiliar with a film set. My DOP and I speak the same language. My brother runs the art dept. I took the classes. I know how this is done, in theory. I’ve been the boss on my set before. But that was for my photography. This was my first time to be the boss of a crew of around twenty. All of them with more experience on being on a film set than their director. But I didn’t mess up. Much. I think. (I’ll have to ask my assistant director, a bona fide director himself, when I see him at the next pre prod for the next shoot.)
And then, given my propensity to take it hard when things don’t go according to plan, I’m surprised I didn’t. Especially when a lot of things didn’t happen according to plan. We started hours behind schedule. Some shots I had in my head didn’t work. Some lines I wrote were slightly changed. I had a bunch of treatments that didn’t make it. One location that gave us a prior okay took it back. I was amazed that I took all that in a stride. I suppose that means that I wasn’t naïve enough to think that I’d get everything exactly as I want it. And not to Zen out on everyone but I think it’s because I’m a bit older now, and I’m open to… change. Yikes.
In the end, we not only finished on time, we were so efficient that we were able to shoot a scene scheduled for the next shooting day. My leads were great. They took the lines I wrote and made it their own. We were slightly limited by using a last minute replacement convenience store for the one that got cancelled, but when I was writing my script, I actually had that place in mind.
There were times when I was cringing inside though. And it was when I was hearing, for the first time, my dialogue being said out loud. I felt like I wrote the lamest script ever and this whole thing was going to be my professional and personal undoing. It just felt weird but I’m hoping it’s just me. Or that it’s nothing deft editing can’t help. Or that people will be distracted by the awesome cinematography. Good God.
Then there was a part of me that saw this whole thing as work. It’s a project, we’re throwing good money at it, we have a schedule, a shot list, let’s get it done. But there’s this other feeling that I’m finally doing this. I’m on my set, directing a script I wrote, of a story I hope might be interesting to others too. Part of me knew that if I didn’t do this, it might set a precedent for my life. This short film might very well suck and suck badly, but I feel quite fulfilled in taking the risk.
Not to attach extra meaning and melodrama to things, but sometimes I wonder how I would have turned out if I were slightly more afraid. I have no idea. Probably I’d be in a cubicle somewhere or I’d be trying to sell something. These aren’t bad things to do per se, and a regular job isn’t something I scoff at, but I knew that I wanted to do other things first. I know that if there’s any courage in me to take risks like this, it has a lot to do with people in my life. My brother didn’t take the desk job too. And as a sort of post-Father’s Day thing, my dad took the job, owned it, and told us we could be anybody we wanted to be.
