Wait, maybe I should post something related about Halloween.

So last Sunday, me and my 3 brothers, together with father went to North for clean up and painting. I failed to take pictures, because inside is so garish, the absence of logic and sense of space astound me still. (As a side note, since the cemetery can no longer expand horizontally, it is expanding vertically.) Sometimes it is impossible to get to your destination without stepping on tombstones. Some tombs are flooded. Some mausoleums also house the living.

Since it was a Sunday, it was “delivery” day. In fact, the cemetery was so busy that MMDA should send traffic enforcers inside. The traffic was horrible that day, and I presume it is the same scene every Sunday. Too bad we don’t have the numbers; I doubt if the cemetery management even keeps tab with average interment per day. Or maybe they do.

Two years ago, on my way home after the yearly painting, I was passing by the apartment block along the A. Bonifacio Ave. side of the cemetery when I saw several kids playing with something. Looking closely, I found that they were holding skulls. Like elected officials, some plots in the cemetery have term limits, and when that time comes and the family isn’t able to get re-elected err.. renew, the remains are exhumed and placed in sacks. The caretakers just place them anywhere, and woe to those who do not take note of renewal dates.

Last Sunday, after visiting a school mate’s niche at North Green Park, I passed by the second level of the apartment block on the way to my paternal grandparent’s tomb. The walkway is rather narrow, and made more so by microtombs at the open side of the walkway (the other side is where the apartment niches are). These are tombs, two feet by two feet by 3 feet, where the bones of those who were not re-elected err… renewed are interred. I am not sure if this arrangement is permanent, but I think this adds more danger to the walkway.

To end this post, I restate what I had observed before. When you enter the cemetery, you will see the opulent tombs. When you get past the rotunda, you get the “squatters.” Yes, the cemetery is the Philippines in miniature.

MyManila

Images of old|new Manila

Theme

Manila is a glaring study in contrasts. This is where the rumble of big city traffic meets the steady clip-clop of horses’ hooves. This is where nightclubs and discos sit side by side with art galleries and museums, a place where gourmet restaurants are seconds away from roadside canteens. This is where rich tradition meets modern urban living, a city where the old blends with the new in a seamless tapestry of culture. More than its landmarks, Manila has this particular quality, a certain air, a distinct flavor that makes it like no other city in the metro.

Sponsored by Avida Towers San Lazaro, MyManila is a photography contest aimed at capturing the dynamism of Manila while showcasing the talents of amateur Filipino photographers and enthusiasts.

Official Photo Contest Rules and Regulations

1. Each contest entry or photograph must include an accomplished entry form (see link below). A contestant may submit up to a maximum of four (4) entries. Numerous entries need not be mailed in separate envelopes.
2. Entries must be delivered to the ground floor lobby guard of Avida Land Corp. Mondragon House, 324 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City) by 6 pm of November 14, 2007. Avida is not responsible for entries that are lost, late, delayed, misdirected, unintelligible, illegible, incomplete, postage due, stolen, returned, separated, damaged, or undeliverable entries or mail.
3. A model release form must accompany photos containing identifiable people. Model releases are the responsibility of the contestant and must be available in the event the photo is a winner.
4. Entries must be in colour.
5. Any point-and-shoot, SLR, DSLR, medium format camera may be used.
6. Entries must be photo lab-printed on an 8×10 in. photo paper. Digital prints should match the quality and character of the original digital capture. White borders around the image area are optional but should not exceed one (1) inch on all sides.
7. Compositional changes to digital files are NOT acceptable. Tonal or colour cast corrections are acceptable. Creative effects done within the camera at the time of exposure (e.g. multiple exposures, flash fill, lighting, filtration) are allowed.
8. For all entries, original material, including original negatives and/or capture files must be available for reproduction purposes. All entries and contest materials received become property of Avida and will not be returned.
9. All submissions must be original, unpublished photos taken of or in Manila.
10. By signing the attached entry form, the contestant grants Avida the unrestricted and exclusive rights to use photograph(s) for any purpose. This includes, but is not limited to, publishing your photograph(s) in print or electronic form for promotional purposes without further compensation, and the right to use the photographers name as a credit along with the photo. The photographer must own all rights to any photographs entered in this contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to ensure that publication of the photos raises no legal claims. Accordingly, the contestant agrees to compensate the sponsors fully regarding any claims arising out of the use of the photos. Photos previously published in full or in part in other publications, contests etc., will be disqualified.
11. Each contestant can win only one (1) prize.
12. Prior to receiving a prize, the winners will be required to sign an agreement declaring the following, among others: a) The photo submitted is his or her original work. b) The photo was taken at the location specified on the entry form.
13. The contest is open to any amateur Filipino photographer over 18 years of age, excluding Avida employees and/or their immediate family members.
14. Only the photographer has the right to submit an entry.
15. By signing the entry form, the participant consents to the entry of his or her submission and agrees to these Official Rules and Regulations and the decisions of the judges, which are final and binding in all matters to this contest.

Awards and Prizes

1st Prize: PhP12,000.00
2nd Prize: PhP8,000.00
3rd Prize: PhP5,000.00
Other minor prizes

Awarding ceremonies will be held at the Avida Towers San Lazaro activity area on November 18, 2007 (tentative). Finalists will be notified and invited to attend the event.

For More Information

Call: 753-1178 or 753-4906
Email: venturanza[dot]januel[at]avidaland[dot]com
Web: www.avidaland.com

Download the Contest Rules and Application Form (PDF).

Just want to share this. It is so cool and funny.

Introducing the Transportmers!

Coming soon…. if ever. =P

1. BAKTOL – ang ikatlong lebel ng mabahong amoy sa kili-kili. Ang baktol ay kapareho ng amoy ng nabubulok na bayabas. Ito’y dumidikit sa damit at humahalo sa pawis, madalas na naamoy tuwing registration sa school, sa elevator o FX at sa LRT.

2. KUKURIKAPO – ito ang libag sa ilalim ng boobs, madalas na namumuo dahil sa labis na baby powder na inilalagay sa katawan. Maqari ding mamuo kung hindi talaga naliligo o naghihilod ang isang babae. Ang kukurikapo ay mas madalas mamuo sa mga babaeng malalaki ang boobs.

3. MULMUL – buhok sa gitna ng isang nunal. Mahirap ipaliwanag kung bakit nagkakaroon ng MULMUL ang isang nunal subalit hindi talaga ito naaalis kahit bunutin pa ito, maliban na lamang kung ipa-laser ito.

4. BURNIK – taeng sumabit sa buhok sa puwet, madalas nraranasan ng mga taong nagti-tissue lamang pagkatapos tumae, ang BURNIK ay mahirap alisin, lalo na kapag natuyo na ito. Ipinapayo sa mga may mga BURNIK na maligo na lamang upang ito’y maalis.

5. ALPOMBRA – kasuotan sa paa na kadalasang makikitang suot ng mga tindero ng yosi sa Quiapo. Ito’y makipot na kasuotan ng paa, at manipis na swelas, mistulang sandalyas ito ng babae pero kadalasang suot ng mga lalaki, available in blue, red, green etc.

6. BAKOKANG – higanteng peklat, ito’y madalas na dulot ng mga sugat na malaki na hindi ginagamitan ng sebo de macho habang natutuyo. Imbes na normal na balat ang nakatakip sa bakokang, ito’y mayroong makintab na balat na takip.

7. AGIHAP – libag na dumikit sa panty o brief. Nabubuo ang AGIHAP kung ang panty o brief ay suot-suot na nang hindi bumababa sa tatlong araw at kapag tinapon ang panty o brief sa dingding, ito ay hindi mahuhulog pagkat dumikit na ng kusa sa dingding.

8. DUKIT – ito ang amoy na nakukuha kung kinamot mo ang pwet mo at may sumamang amoy tae.

9. SPONGKLONG – ito’y isang bagong salita na nangangahulugang isang estupidong tao.

10. LAPONGGA – ito’y kahintulad sa laplapan o kaya sa lamasan.

11. WENEKLEK – ito ang buhok sa utong, na kadalasang nakikita sa mga tambay sa kanto na laging nakahubad. Meron din ang babae nito.

12. BAKTUNG – pinaikling salita ng BAKAT-UTONG.

13. BAKTI – bakat panty.

14. ASOGUE – buhok sa kilikili.

15. BARNAKOL – maitim na libag sa batok na naipon sa matagal na panahon

16. BULTOKACHI – tubig na tumalsik sa pwet kapag nalaglag ang isang malaking tae. Nararamdaman ito kasi tumalsik sa pisngi ng pwet ang tubig sa toilet bowl.

17. BUTUYTUY – etits ng bata.

18. JABARR – pawis ng katawan.

19. KALAMANTUTAY – mabahong pangalan.

20. McARTHUR – taeng bumabalik after mong i-flush…

I had a college friend who was one of the headturners around campus. She’s no stunning beauty, but there is substance between the eyes. She found college life (to be precise, college life at THAT university, as everyone does) hard, daunting, and unforgiving. Like the others, she incurred failing grades on her very first semester; she was candidate to become an out-of-school youth if the university wishes. She shifted to an associate degree to make things easier. It was not so.

It did not help that she had family problems. She seemed cheerful enough, but as one quote says, “Laughter masks a lonely heart.” I guess her family problems complicated her college difficulties.

Before I left the university, she seemed to be on the way out. Then I had found out that she had left the university for good, beset with problems, with a bad experience from an uncaring university. I used to fear for her life, for herself. She seemed to be frail, weak, exploitable.

Then I got a letter from her. Datelined from a province, she said she went there to take stock of her life, and to explore her options. One of her options: to be a Japayuki.

(We Filipinos invented the term Japayuki as euphemism for any job that moralists among us deem as undesirable. The term is specific for Filipinas who work in Japan as hostesses. When the Brunei scandal broke out, a variation of the term was invented – Bruneiyuki.)

Several years later, she wrote me a long letter, relating her life in Japan. It was not easy, she said, but she was surviving. At least she had control over her life, and not prostituted to the whims and fancies of family members and poverty. She was earning more than she could ever earn from a desk job in Manila. Attached in the letter was a picture: there she was, in full make up, wearing a dress that your grandmother would not approve of.

Last year, she managed to visit the country. She was a changed woman, physically and emotionally. For one, she looked matronly. But her smile remained the same, her laughter retained the jolliness of the late 1990s. I had to risk being awake for more than 24 hours just to visit her and catch up on old times. What surprised me is the strength of character that showed when I saw her – as if the storms of life has toughened her.

She is now married to a Japanese, she said. Life is still tough, the husband’s family can’t accept her yet, but she took things in stride. Her family life has changed. She adores her younger brother, and she dotes on him. She probably sees in him the lost innocence of college life. She supports her family, like any other overseas Filipino worker.

I asked her about the stigma of being a Japayuki. What stigma, she retorted. She doesn’t care; what the society says can’t feed her. She’s glad that she is not a burden to the country, she’s happy to be a loving wife to a Japanese husband, she’s happy because she can support her family here. She is proud to be a Filipina and a Japayuki. The hell with stigma and moralists, she said with strong conviction.

As I left her house that day, all of my misconceptions and preconceptions were shattered. She has proven to me what a true Filipina is – proud of her country, proud of herself, strong, independent. She made me proud to be a Filipino.

Listen to a recording of this post, read by AJ Matela (thanks, AJ!):

Click here to get your own player.

Chris Benoit is dead. He is 40.

From the Edmonton Sun:

Canadian pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and son were found dead Monday and police said they were investigating the deaths as a homicide.

Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department in suburban Atlanta said the three were found at their home about 2:30 p.m., but refused to release details.

Pope said results of autopsies on Benoit, his wife Nancy, and seven-year-old son Daniel were expected Tuesday.

Will write a proper tribute soon.

UPDATE:

WWE issues this press statement. Here is a running update.

This is fast becoming a tragedy.