Rio Alma Lecture

National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, aka Rio Alma, will deliver a lecture about literature and its primary role in the formation of Filipino identity titled “Reklamasyon ng Pambansang Gunita,” (Recuperation of the Filipino National Consciousness) . This will be held on June 7, 2008 at 1:30 pm in Room 201 of the College of Arts and Letters in UP Diliman.
Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA) sponsors the lecture as an opening event of its annual poetry workshop. LIRA, an organization of poets in Filipino, was established in 1985 and has produced respected poets like Michael Coroza, Jerry Gracio, Roberto and Rebecca Añonuevo, and Vim Nadera.This lecture is open to the public. For details, contact En Villasis at 09224596365 or visit http://liraonline. org.

The Ten Worst Moms

Time Magazine took the safe route by offering the ten worst mothers ever. The first nine are fictional and the tenth is of course, you know her. Mommy Dearest.
So lazy boy, here's your chance to greet your Mom five ways.

The Pundaquit Cookoff

I can't write. That clam I ate at the Army-Navy Club did it. And the oyster and prawns. Downed with San Miguel. I slept througout the whole trip but still remembered that dinner. Anyway, the Trouble-Frees will be having a cookoff in Zambales at the end of the month. Iron Chef and Survivor Series combined with the music of the Bolipatas. And the secret ingredient is...

It's That Time of the Year in Ilocos

Aramid

Si Bishop, Nagpapatawa

If Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales would have his way, gays or male homosexuals would not be allowed participation in the traditional Santacruzan or Flores de Mayo. According to Rosales, allowing gays to be part of the Santacruzan “defeats the real purpose of the religious procession." “Instead of giving honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary, you are destroying the devotion by having gays there instead of women. As a result it becomes a laughing matter," the Cardinal told Radio Veritas in an interview.

Without the badings, there would be no gowns, no flower decorations and the women would look like ghosts. At may mga fadirs na hindi na rin magmimisa, hala ka!

Scenes from the Festive Vigan Beating

Binatbatan is the traditional cotton ginning or beating the cotton to remove the seeds using bamboo sticks. The binatbatan dance is the replication of the binatbatan except that they just beat the road with the sticks and make a pas de deux, do the hyphenated square dance, paso doble or even cheerleading acrobatics along the streets of Vigan in tropical heat wearing inabel or the shiny Ilocano cotton cloth. You perform every 20 meters for four kilometers and you must smile as often as you can. Andy's photos were taken at the start. I will give you photos after four kilometers later.

Santiago

I was in Santiago, Ilocos Sur waiting for a northward gus. A minibus stopped in front and the konduktor shouted, Vegan. In the American pronounciation of Vey-gan. He meant, Vigan (of course). My friend said, "Pork-eating" and we let it pass.
This BTW is the 8th most emailed photo in Yahoo. You saw the joke in an earlier blog.

Dia el Libro

Instituto Cervantes celebrates Día del Libro or International Book Day, an event that aims to promote the love for reading and the written word, with a grand book sale at the Instituto Cervantes. And I need to add, mostly European titles!!! Regularly celebrated on the 23rd of April, World Book Day was inspired by a tradition from Barcelona, Spain that celebrates St. George's Day, where men and women exchange a rose for the gift of a book. Coming after last year's successful run, where guests had their pick of books and the chance to witness and participate in activities such as wine and cheese-tasting, dance classes, concerts, and free Spanish classes, the 3rd Día del Libro promises to be even grander and bigger.Opening its doors to bibliophiles, culture lovers, and the curious on April 19 from 10 am to midnight, Instituto Cervantes revives the grand Barcelonan tradition with the Día del Libro book fair.

Arts Fest in Baguio

University of the Philippines Baguio will hold its Summer Arts Extension Program featuring workshops and seminars from April 14 to 25 as part of the university's centennial celebration. The two-week extension program of UP Baguio's College of Arts and Communication (CAC) will consist of workshops for children and adults in the visual, performance and literary arts, and language and communication arts.

Workshops for children will include those on drawing and cartooning, acrylic painting, paper arts, acting, kiddie broadcasting, voice technique and song interpretation, children's creative writing and basic journalism. Workshops for adults will include those on community theater, street dance, digital photography and imaging, short film making and portraiture.

For teachers and graduate students, seminar-workshops are scheduled on teaching creative writing, theater as pedagogy, language research in teacher education and approaches to language studies. There will be a special seminar on comparative English and Korean syntax for teachers teaching English for Koreans.

As part of the program, the Cultural Center of the Philippines will bring to UP Baguio the Batang Sining, a five-day workshop on puppetry, writing for children, story telling and performance. Dean Elizabeth A. Calinawagan of UP Baguio CAC said teachers, students, vacationers and their families who wish to escape the summer heat in the lowlands may find the workshops and seminars "a fulfilling and enriching experience."

Talking with Poets and Fictionists in UP Baguio

Now's your chance to sit on the shoulders of Titans. THe UP Baguio College of Arts and Communication, in cooperation with Likhaan: UP Institute of Creative Writing invite you to a Public forum on "New Trends in Philippine Writing"

11 April 2008

1-5 p.m.

UPB Multi-purpose Hall

Speakers: National Artist Rio Alma, Jun Cruz Reyes, Butch Dalisay, Charlson Ong, Vim Nadera

The Explanation

It was supposed to be a relay race but I was the only one waiting for them. They all lost their batons. And a few meters would be the nude beach zone. So that was the dilemma. I had to help these three girls who strayed from the path

Tibet

In one guerrilla maneuver, Kawayan de Guia and I draped Tibetan prayer flags at the "dragon lamp" after Ferdi Balanag and Karlo Altomonte's Sex, Drug and Rock n Roll performance at the Cafe by the Ruins last night. Just our way of saying, Free Tibet!
Now the figurehead of all this worldwide movement is, of course, the Dalai Lama. Come to think of it, why is he so coooooooooool?
Here's the reason. Meditayshun.

Meditation may increase a person's ability to feel empathy and benevolence for others, according to a study published March 26 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Scientists asked subjects — both expert meditators and novices — to practice compassion meditation while inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (fMRI). The participants heard sounds designed to provoke an empathetic response, such as a distressed woman calling out, as well as positive sounds (a baby laughing) and neutral sounds (background noise at a restaurant).

When subjects heard the sounds, both groups experienced more brain activity in areas associated with empathy and emotions while meditating than while not meditating. The distressed sounds elicited stronger empathetic responses than the positive and neutral noises, and the brain activity in these regions was much stronger in the seasoned meditators.

The Sebadoh Gloria Concert

As a socialist eventologist, I had to come up with a disco party in Burnham Park this Black Saturday, playing the DJ/MC with a mixlist of 70s dance music to expurgate the GG. So far, it's fun. And no freebies. Kaya mo yan, Tiny Tim?

Patis and Birdman

On Saturday, April 19, 2008 Kusina Salud presents, "Bird-Man: An Earth Day Celebration" .
Bird-Man begins at 3 pm with a talk/open forum by Wild Bird Photographer Romy Ocon, entitled "For the Birds". He will also give a slide-show presentation of the numerous birds he has passionately documented in their natural habitat. This will be followed by the ribbon-cutting of Romy's exhibit in our small gallery. Please visit http://romyocon. blogspot. com for more information.

The second half of our celebration is yet untitled because it is a 15-minute performance art collaborative by multi-awarded poetess Nerisa Guevara, seasoned thespians Nonie and Shamaine Buencamino, inimitable sound designer Malek Lopez, and educator-visual designer Blums Borres. As we speak, we are setting Nerisa's poetry to Malek's music, which will be followed by Nonie and Shamaine's interpretation of the "songs" into movement. Technical Director Mark Lakay and Production Manager Perky Parong will provide the necessary support
system to ensure the seamlessness of this once in a lifetime performance.

Tickets are PHP 500 each which also includes an all-day vegetarian buffet and a raffle of 13 prizes from artists and entrepreneurs: Master Potters John Pettyjohn and Ugu Bigyan, Brass Sculptor Carlito Ortega, Manila Tourguide Carlos Celdran, Mosaic Artist Denise Celdran, Photographer Isa Lorenzo, Chef Billy King, Accessories Designer Anton Pamintuan, Casa San Pablo, Casa Rap, Earthkeepers, Pilar Antiques and Patis Tesoro.

Proceeds from ticket sales will be shared with the Philippine Bird Photography Forum and the Artists Welfare Project. Please reserve now as limited seating is available. Kusina Salud is located in San Pablo, Laguna. Call/text Apple or April at 0921.7726985 or 049.5736155. Please e-mail us at kusinasalud@ gmail.com or kusinasalud. yahoo.com

Cafe by the Ruins Turns 20

Cafe by the Ruins will be celebrating 20 years of Feeding Souls and Pleasing Palates since 1988. From March 26 to 29, there would be food and frenzied performances galore. The opening of the installation and photo exhibit would be on the 26th with Ruel Bimmuyag and friends doing the pattong. The video on Robert Villanueva, one of the founders of the cafe, would be shown at night. The Thanksgiving Canao would be on the 28th featuring performances from Karlo Altomonte and Pinikpikan. Karla Delgado will be holding a food writing workshop in the morning of 29 and at night, the Baguio Writers Group will hold a poetry reading. Nancy Pobanz would be conducting a mixed media collage workshop followed by a performance from Yazon Banal and a jamming concert from Repolyo Republic, Alikabok and Spaceflower Show.

Nothing's Gonna Change My World: Beatles, Nasa and the North Star

NASA will broadcast the Beatles' "Across the Universe" towards the North Star to mark the 40th anniversary when that song was recorded.
"The broadcast will start at 0000 GMT Tuesday and will travel toward the Little Dipper constellation's brightest star at the speed of light, or 307,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) per second."
It will reach the North Star in 431 years. Yay!
Wherever you are, here's the time to sing along with John (the composer), George, Paul and Ringo. "Amazing! Well done, NASA! Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul," McCartney said.
Here's your sked:

Feb 4th 3pm Anchorage
Feb 4th 4pm Los Angeles
Feb 4th 5pm Guatemala
Feb 4th 6pm Chicago
Feb 4th 7pm New York
Feb 4th 7pm Montreal
Feb 4th 8pm Rio de Janeiro
Feb 4th 11pm Reykjavik
Feb 5th 12.00am Liverpool & London
Feb 5th 01.00am Europe
Feb 5th 02.00am Baghdad
Feb 5th 03.00am Moscow
Feb 5th 04.00am Karachi
Feb 5th 05.00am Dhaka
Feb 5th 06.00am Bangkok
Feb 5th 07.00am Shanghai, Manila, Baguio
Feb 5th 08.00am Tokyo
Feb 5th 09.00am Sydney
Feb 5th 10.00am Vladivostok
Feb 5th 11.00am Suva
Feb 5th 12.00am Auckland
Feb 5th 01.00am Kiritimati

Here's the lyrics:

Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup. They slither while they pass. They slip away across the universe. Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting thorough my open mind, possessing and caressing me

Chorus: Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world (4X)

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes that call me on and on across the universe. Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box. They tumble blindly as
they make their way across the universe. Repeat chorus

Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing through my open ears, exciting and inviting me .
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns. It calls me on and on across the universe (Repeat chorus for 431 years)

Here's your KTV:
The Hallmark NASA version
A favorite: The Pleasantville version
The Beatles Anthology version

The song was composed by John Lennon who siad that the lyrics was among the best he made. Like some of his better songs, he wrote it in bed while ignoring his wife, Cynthia. The Sanskrit chorus means "I give thanks to Guru Dev or Teacher Dev" and is intended to lull you to higher consciousness. This song actually was released first in the World Wildlife Fund charity album. That's why there were bird chirping there.

Wanted: Author of "Requiem" Poem

This is a poem submitted to Roland T for the "Mondo Marcos." We don't know the poet and if you do, please tell us immediately or else we have no choice but to drop this poem:

Requiem

Memory is a mosaic of tongues licking dirt, of lies embroidered to protect the King of Martial Law.

He was born. He is risen. He will kill again. And his kingdom will have no end.

Memory is a 1972 machine gun fired on Sunday morning. Four bodies on the edge of a dirt road. An act of suspended drowning.

This is a cup of his blood, the new and everlasting covenant.

Memory is a woman who howls wolf past curfew. Late night dinner parties and spilled champagne.

She drinks it so that their sins may be forgiven.

Memory is a spinning bottle, a top with no base, a mad pack of white dogs eating brown tails, brown dogs eating spotted tails.

She breaks the bread, gives it to their disciples, and says, Eat this in memory of us.

Memory is an archipelago of closed-view coffins, eaten calmly like sugared fingers of bread.

Mondo Marcos Update 5

We have whittled down the shortlist into 45 contributors with some submitting 2 or more pieces. We will email those who made it.

Mondo Marcos Update

Ay! After three years, the Mondo Marcos anthology list is finally finalized (may 3 pang nangungulit). We have about 50 contributors and these are not your usual suspects. Well, some of them. But this is a great bunch of people who finally made it. From Seattle to Saudi to Batac, the home of great leaders, as the caratula said. Roland and I are still fighting who to retain and detain. The contributions are funny and tragic, ironic and hard-core, sacred and profane. FM would be so proud of His children.