What’s in a name? In choosing to buy the album Radiosurfing by Kenyo, it meant nothing. Because seeing the face of Mcoy Fundales, old frontman of Orange and Lemons, was enough reason to get the album, never mind that his new band’s name did not, in any way, strike a cord, nor did it seem to work with wit or humor. Without thinking, and with memories of his creativity as part of Orange and Lemons and as housemate on last season’s Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition, the album was bought. (more…)
it was the most discomforting sight. Lorna Tolentino sitting among these singers on variety show ASAP, who she seemed to barely know, but who were paying a tribute to her husband via the theme songs of his movies, and apparently, the theme songs of his life. interspersed with clips from Rudy Fernandez’s lives on screen, Lorna could barely manage a smile – forced and otherwise throughout the 10- to 15-minute tribute. it was painful to watch, and totally unfair. and uncalled for. (more…)
It’s always a struggle, whether or not to spend good hard-earned money on OPM CDs that have no Tagalog songs in them. But then again, maybe an all-English album is but a measure of how music-making still remains a luxury, i.e., those get their albums out there are those who can afford to.
With that struggle down the drain, The Vince Noir Project’s self-titled album had much going for it. Listening to it at the music store, I cajoled my husband into getting the album, if only because I was interested in what sounded like techno music from a local band. How could I pass it up in this age of rock bands and novelty songs? (more…)
napadaan kami kahapon sa Academic Book Fair sa SM Megamall, na usually naman ay mas boring talaga – at mas mahal – kaysa sa annual Mega Book Fair na ginagawa sa far away venue na World Trade Center. parang ang market kase ng ABF ay mga libraries ng eskuwelahan na ideally ay may budget para gumastos ng libo-libo for local and imported sets of encycolopedias, journal subscriptions, and “new releases” ng mga university presses. may discount pa rin naman, na siguro’y lumalaki pang lalo kapag maramihan ang bili.
itong “new releases” ang dinayo ko dun. dahil alam kong may centennial books na ilo-launch ang U.P. Press in relation to the centennial celebrations of the University. at sa ganang gumastos na rin lang ng limpak-limpak ang admin sa mga concert at commemorative products, aba, mataas ang expectation ko na ginastusan rin nila ng limpak-limpak ang mga libro.
but no, ang unang installment ng mga librong itinuturing nilang “the most excellent of the excellent”, ay mga librong matagal ko nang nakikita sa kanilang bookstore shelves. hindi ito “new releases” kungdi old releases, na binibigyan ng bagong buhay sa pamamagitan ng pagtaguri sa kanilang “Centennial Publications”.
wala naman akong issue sa usapin ng mga lumang libro. ang librong Ang Bagong Lumipas (translation ng A Past Revisted) ni Renato Constantino, na bahagi ng Centennial Publications, ay hindi nawawalan ng bisa. at maraming librong katulad nito.
ngunit subalit datapwat! anubanamang mag-isip ng iisang theme para sa mga cover ng mga librong ibebenta sa atin bilang “landmark collection”? anubanamang i-package ng mas maganda ang mga libro, magpanggap man lang na may budget na inilaan para sa mga manunulat at librong itinuturing ng Unibersidad na kumakatawan sa kanyang isang-daang taon bilang State U? at the very least, pampalubag-loob na ito sa mga “National Scientists, National Artists, and respected scholars” na ipinagmamalaki ng Unibersidad sa pamamagitan ng pagturing sa kanilangmga akda bilang Centennial Publications.
instead of any of the above, what did the press do for this first installment of “classic” releases to pay tribute to its scholars, and its readers as well?
nilagyan nila ng sticker ang cover ng mga libro, kung saan nakasulat ang “U.P. Press Centennial Publications”. isang 2″ by 1.5″ sticker in a color that’s barely gold bilang tatak ng pagpaparangal.
it’s just one step above using a stamp and purple ink.
unless soooobrang bongga ng susunod na installment ng mga libro, and that is not just in terms of really new releases but in terms of the authors they’ll publish and the relevance of these books, then this Roman administration will just prove itself uncaring of books, scholarship, and culture altogether.
at please, wag na nilang iwagayway ang kanilang nga concerts at commemorative books bilang proof of their love for culture. the former is really just a show of Filipiniana attire (in fairness, hindi nag-uulit si Roman ng outfit ha), and the latter, an excuse for propaganda for one U.P. admin to the next cloaked by historicism and scholarship. ang literary contest, tinipid pa, at walang runner-up prizes. anuba.
ok lang sana kung ang moda ng admin ng U.P. ay pagtitipid sa panahon ng krisis at sentenaryo. but no. kumusta naman ang P5 million para sa Centennial Notes! sa konteksto ng lalabing-isang naka-bracket 1 sa STFAP, ay, kahindik-hindik! kahiya-hiya.
The Breakdown of the P150 Million Budget for the U.P. Centennial Celebrations
Item Amount in Millions (P)
1. Centennial Lectures = P 13
2. Tri Media Projection = 12
3. Centennial Concert = 5
4. Centennial Notes = 5
5. Centennial Awards = 2
6. Centennial Literary Contest = 2
7. Audio Visual Presentation = 2
8. History Project = 1.4
9. Coffee Table Book = 1.5
10. Digital Film Making Contest = .7
11. Centennial Music Video = .7
12. Centennial Address Book = .5
13. Centennial Glass Plates = .5
14. Centennial Song Contest = .4
15. Centennial Newsletter = .3
16. Events Poster = .15
17. Capital Outlay Projects = 5
18. Administrative Expenses = 5
19. Honoraria = 1.5
20. Centennial Commission
a. Operations = 1
b. Travel = 2.5
c. Contingencies = 10
Total: P147.15 milyon
*Inaprubahan sa Pulong ng UP Board of Regents September 28, 2008, UP Los Baños.
of course this president is torture enough. that grimace that she seems to always have on her face. her capacity at giggling in kilig and laughing at jokes made at the expense of a nation in calamity. and we’re not even talking about her ability to say one thing and do another. and to lie through her teeth.
and then this, a perfect example of how torture is but part and parcel of GMA’s presidency. and how people still suffer for their politics – when it’s the kind that is not one of a heckler’s, or a rightist’s, or that of an America-loving-Pinoy – in the closet and otherwise.
According to the Manila Times editorial today, the NCR director for the Human Rights Commission Dr. Renato Basas has confirmed that various forms of torture have been employed by the GMA administration. And while she has also ratified the U.N. Treaty Against Torture, the editorial also says that obviously
“The unfortunate reality is that absolutely prohibiting the police, the jail managers, the military and others charged with the duty of ensuring that law and order prevail is not among the top priorities of Malacañang.”
A measure as well of GMA’s fear in the military’s power over her, thus the decision to coddle the Palparans of this world and celebrate then as fantastic officers, despite witness upon witness saying otherwise. Proving otherwise.
i caught Storyline‘s episode on the desaparecidos of the present. And while sometimes the show’s format doesn’t work (more on this next time), last night, it just did, as it allowed King Catoy to just speak to the camera, with no real sense of an interviewer. Catoy told the story of his 2003 abduction, and spoke of the activists with him who were summarily executed: human rights worker Eden Marcellana and peasant leader Eddie Gumanoy.
what struck too close to home was the fact that he and two others had identified Master Sgt. Donald Caigas as one of their abductors. Caigas would also be the one name that would surface in relation to Karen Empeno’s and Sherlyn Cadapan’s disappearance, and apparent torture and rape. the latter story was witnessed and told by the abducted farmers who would come to be known as the Manalo brothers, Raymund and Reynaldo.
it was Raymund Manalo who claimed that he saw Palparan twice during his three-month detention, before he and his brother escaped to tell their story. in one of those instances, Palparan told him to tell his parents to stop going to protest rallies.
blindfolded, hands tied behind him, and kneeling on the ground, King Catoy was also told the same thing: stop going to rallies, stop whatever it is you’re doing with these activists. stop being yourself.
and everyday, we live through the torture of knowing that many others are disappearing and dying for doing what they do, believing what they will, living a life for justice and democracy that we all should want to live. because people are stolen, are made to disappear, are tortured and raped, and are killed, not simply for their politics. in GMA’s time (as with Marcos’), they are being made to suffer for being themselves.