poeta fit, non nascitur

Lent-ing

2011-04-18T10:41:00.000+08:00

We are celebrating Lent and this week is Holy Week. Five day holiday (yay!)

So, do you believe in God? Here's a story of Albert Einstein.

'Let me explain the problem science has with religion. 'The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'

'Yes sir, 'the student says.

'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely.’

‘Is God good?'

'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'

'Yes'

'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I'm evil.'

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!’ He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

‘Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'

'I wouldn't say that.'

'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?'

The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'

‘Er.. yes,' the student says.

'Is Satan good?'

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'

'Then where does Satan come from?'

The student falters. 'From God'

'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'

'Yes'

'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'

Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality?

Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'

The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'

'So who created them?'

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them?' There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.'

The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'

'No sir. I've never seen Him.'

'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'

'No, sir, I have not.'

'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'

'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'

'Yet you still believe in him?'

'Yes'

'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist... What do you say to that, son?'

'Nothing,' the student replies.. 'I only have my faith.'

'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'

'Yes. ’

'And is there such a thing as cold?'

'Yes, son, there's cold too.'

'No sir, there isn't.'

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.

'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'

'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation.. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'

'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed?

‘Can you explain how?'

'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains.

'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor.. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'

'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.'

'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean..' The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?'

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I Guess you'll have to take them on faith.'

'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'

To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'

The professor sat down.

...

2011-04-12T14:48:00.001+08:00

We're close friends. You said so yourself and I believed it. Or rather, I convinced myself to believe it. But then most of the time, when we're silent and you're in your own world where I can't reach you, I wonder what you're thinking of, who you're thinking of, and if any of those thoughts are about me.

For a laugh

2011-04-12T11:37:00.002+08:00

I found this on the net. Some called it dumb, but I kind of thought these were works of pure genius. Haha!

These are similes and metaphors gathered from HS essays. Enjoy!

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a 6'3" tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
13. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
14. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.
15. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
16. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.
17. Even in his last years, Grand pappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
18. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
19. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
20. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
21. "Oh, Jason, take me!" she panted, her breasts heaving like a college freshman on $1-a-beer night.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
26. She was as easy as the TV Guide crossword.
27. Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.
28. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
29. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

Summer Lovin

2011-04-12T09:51:00.005+08:00

Summer in the Philippines is basically this: hot. It's humid and stifling and walking even a short distance is a trial. The sun is always at its highest and the sky is at its bluest with only wisps of clouds here and there. So for Filipinos, we only have one thought during summer: the beach. The oasis and respite of the suffocating heat of the metro. But I think the best part of the summer months are the trees. All of them bloom and it's so fucking beautiful. Red, yellow, purple and red rain. When the wind blows, there is that rain. It rains flowers and it's so amazing. The yellow of the narra, the red spiky lychee-like bloom of the acacia, the flaming red of the fire tree and the colorful flowers of the kalachuchi. I think Filipinos don't get to notice this much and the metros sadly lack trees but it's there! And this year, summer is kind of different. It's cool. Still humid but sweating has been exponentially lessened. I hope summers are always like this. Sunny with cool winds and chilly nights. But summer is only beginning so let's hope I didn't speak too soon.

The never ending need to ask the question 'why'

2011-04-11T16:37:00.004+08:00

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get married or if married life is for me. True, the thought of spending the rest of my life alone scares the batshit out of me, but in a relationship full of giving and sharing and an endless committment to make something work is something I am not sure if I, myself, could commit to doing. More often than not, the urge to run has been ingrained in me. When a topic skews to feelings, first instinct is to change the subject. Deflect. Ignore. Avoid. If a guy asks me about my problem, all I can think of saying is 'I'll be okay,' 'it's not a big deal,' etc. If we're in a fight, my instinct is to walk, no, run away and go home and cry myself to sleep. In the instances a guy tells me he likes me, I pass it up as a joke and laugh and change the subject. Something must be wrong with me to always feel the need to deflect. Why can't I be a girl about my feelings and just take the plunge? Why am I so fucking scared all the time? Probably just low self esteem. Anyway, end of rant.

ER last night :s

2011-04-10T20:20:00.005+08:00

Yesterday evening I got my first dose of what is commonly called an allergy attack. Woke up around 10:30 in the evening due to intense itch all over my body. Initially brushing it off as a symptom of needing to take a shower and went about feeding the dogs. In a matter of minutes the itch trebled and got more intense all over my body and I finally panicked when my tongue, palms and the soles of my feet felt weird and itchy too. Went to the mirror and saw that my face was bloating up and when I looked down my arms, it was covered in hives. Lifted my shirt and pulled down my pants and it was covered all over too. Checked my breathing and thank god I still could but since this has never happened to me, always attributing my health as being made of sterner stuff, I started to really panic. Had celsetamine at home since my sister had bouts of allergic reactions before and took one, but then I got the intense case of stomach spasms. Half an hour of all that craziness when we decided to head to the ER. They gave me a shot of buscopan and monitored my skin and blood pressure. The nurse got slightly concerned because my blood pressure was very low. We stayed until past midnight and it got better and the doctor finally decided to send me home. He prescribed iterax and another med for the allergy. That's just about it. Panic and anxiety eventually subsided and I finally went to sleep.

To the boy who has stolen my heart

2011-04-09T11:36:00.010+08:00

Here's the thing. I like you. I like you a lot. I don't think it's love nor do I also think it's anything less. It's hard to put a label on these feelings when there are so many things not said. All I know is that what we have and what we can have together, as partners and as a couple, could be something great. Already as I write this I know I miss you. When you act cold because of some thing I did or for another reason a cloud hangs over your head, know that all I want to do is hug you and make things better. I want you to tell me things and vice versa. I love how we can laugh and tease each other and make jokes. I love when you tickle me and I act as if I hate it. I love when you are greedy for my attention and I try my hardest to act nonchalant about it. I love the moments where we do touch and I can imagine I am in this world where it's just us and we're together. I love how you want to get to know me more and when you ask me so many hypothetical questions. Basically I just love us being together.

But now, when everyhing is awkward and you stopped talking to me, the ache to touch and talk to you becomes even harder. I don't understand what is going on between us anymore. I don't know why you're mad. I already apologized and it's taking all of my will power not to beg you to talk to me again. Again, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for snapping at you that day. That Thursday was an overload of emotions. We all have our stressful days...

So now, I don't know why you are so distant and a gap is forming between us. Each day that passes where we don't talk, the fear in me that the gap will get bigger also increases. I hate that we're not talking. I hate that we are not being friends. If what is bothering you right now is this girl you refuse to admit to me when I tease you, then I need to know. My heart can't bear this confusion and uncertainty. Please know that though I may be the only one having these feelings for you, having our friendship, though it can never be enough, is at least something. I want you back in my life. I want us to laugh together and feel at ease with each other again. If you could just tell me what you are thinking and what I need to do to fix things I'd do it. I'll do anything just to have you back. I miss you. How I wish I could tell you half of these things and more. I want to put an end to this craziness so I can finally move on.

(He'll never get to read this but there is something comforting knowing that this sort of love letter is floating around cyber space, a message in a bottle floating in the sea, hoping that if the universe is perfectly aligned and the stars are right and fate is there to help, then maybe just maybe, it can reach him so he can finally understand.)

Things We Love: The "Holstee" Manifesto

2010-09-05T22:37:00.001+08:00

(Go here.)

New projects

2010-09-05T14:23:00.008+08:00

Dear All,

How have you been? Sorry for the long silence and admittedly it has been laziness on my part. For the past year I've been really busy with work! I have been a corporate drone. This month, on the other hand, promises big changes in my life. Wish me luck! I need it!

Anyway, Kookie Kulasa and I will be starting on a new project! I hope everything goes well! Stay tuned. ;)

In the meantime, I'm addicted to packaging and tags! Can't wait to have the project's "stuff" printed out!

(Thanks ffffound!)

I'm back :D

2009-07-29T00:20:00.006+08:00

It has been about six months since I last posted in this blog and I deeply apologize to everyone who has been visiting and discovering that there are no updates. How has everyone been? I believe it's summer for most countries and back to school for the rest of the Philippines. I hope everyone's doing great!

I'd like to thank those who still come and take a look at my posts. I loved the comments and messages you left while I was at my unofficial hiatus. Comments continue to make my heart go pitter patter. :D

The weather here in the Philippines has just been constantly horrid. Raining all the time and sunshine only peaks through about a few hours a day. The rainy season is officially here. And at the moment I'm watching My Fair Lady. The movie never gets old and makes me feel like a little girl again watching musicals for the first time.

2008-12-16T21:09:00.005+08:00

I was with my friend and was about to ride her car when I spotted this beautiful butterfly on the rear tire. Thanks nicole for the picture!

It did not even try to fly away but just lingered on my hand. After staring at it for quite a while, I had to let it go, though I was sorely tempted to bring it home.

this trailer made me laugh so hard!

2008-12-12T02:23:00.002+08:00

All dog lovers out there, this looks like a movie for us. Take note of the end, that just about killed me!

bestida for the holidays!

2008-12-12T00:06:00.001+08:00

Season's Greetings from me to you!

2008-12-11T23:24:00.004+08:00

May you be surrounded by love, happiness and laughter.
May you truly feel the spirit of this holiday season by forgiving and forgetting.
Use this time to show the people you truly care for how much you love them.
And may you keep in mind that Christmas is about Jesus and family.

Happy holidays everyone!

My first award! Hurray for me!

2008-12-11T17:37:00.009+08:00

Awarded by Tiffany Tree, a new blogger friend as of this morning. Anyway, here is my first award. Just in time for christmas, wrapped in a pretty pixel wrapper. :D

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceeding charming.These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement!Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut,even more friendships are propagated.Please give more attention to these writers!Deliver this award to other bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award."

I was not even aware that I was like this. I suppose I was too lazy to define myself as a blogger. Well, this kind of definition is pretty good and I'm extremely flattered. :D

~~I am mentally making a list in my head, but I'm too preoccupied to commit them down on CSS. So I hope you'll forgive me, but the list will be belated. But I promise you, it will come.~~

Finally finished the list in my head, and i'm passing the award to the following lovelies. :D

1. ŞeNaY
2. CC
3. Coccinelle
4. Girl Meets NYC

More of Emma Watson loveliness.

2008-12-08T19:29:00.003+08:00

RACISTS. god. people can be so horrible.

2008-12-08T00:01:00.008+08:00

Okay, so Manny won the fight against Dela Hoya and I was surprised on how big Manny's fan base has expanded all over the globe. So, I went on YouTube and browsed through his vids, and to my intense and most upsetting surprse, most of the comments were derogatory and racial slurs against Filipinos. Someone called us "monkeys," another said "sorry excuse of a race," and other horrendous comments you can possibly imagine.

And I'm not naive enough to think that racism is dead. But it upset so much because here I was, celebrating Filipino pride because of Manny's win, when people thought it was acceptable to bring down an entire race. To even consider saying on YouTube that we should go back to climbing coconut trees. I thought we were past that. You know, being the 21st century and all. I mean, have you heard of anyone complain when we see so many beautiful people? And are we not surprised anymore to discover in this day that they look like that because their parents had interracial marriages? Alexa Chung. Halle Berry. Alicia Keys. Kristin Kreuk. Kate Beckinsale is a quarter Burmese. God. Even the president Americans voted for is biracial. I thought we were moving along great. I guess I was wrong. VERY VERY WRONG. And the disappointment I feel is so intense that I am more inclined to think that the world is doomed. I was not even offended when someone called us midgets. Sticks and stones. We are a generally short race and we accept that.

Furthermore, I would have accepted criticism on Manny alone as an athlete. That is always the downside of sports. The competitive drive can bring out the worst in us, but it's no big deal. But they went beyond that and had the nerve to call MY race inferior. The last time massive thinking like this happened, the holocaust happened. DON'T WE EVER LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES?

For my part, sure, I indulged on the "dela homo" comments, but at least for me, it was all for fun and games. I wasn't serious about it, and behind the fun, I respect Dela Hoya's character as a boxer, person, and as a Mexican. Not once was I inclined to attack his race or his background, and even challenge all Mexicans in general. And looking back, not once did I even see a comment by a Filipino include any kind of racial slur...

So the question that is on my mind is, how come racism still exists? Why can't people just want to try and get along? Why do we always have to want to bring each other down?

Fuck. This is has upset me so much that they made me cry. Where is my 'Boy Meets World' dvd? I need some Cory Matthews to make me feel better. I hate bullies. I hope they all snuff it. Boo.

If you saw a black Kia carnival and a helpless looking woman staring at an engine in the middle of san miguel avenue yesterday, that was probably me.

2008-12-05T15:46:00.009+08:00

Since I'm bumming around while looking for the dream job and doing a lot of soul searching, I am officially my mom's driver. I had to drive her yesterday morning to the hospital to accompany my uncle who is on cancer watch. Three days ago, his nose bled non stop and filled a kidney pan to the brim, when he just came back from China where he underwent cryo surgery. It's a new treatment under alternative medicine, which was perscribed to us through a family friend. So the entire family was pretty much shocked that this is happening when the doctors in China assured us of the treatment's success.

Anyway, after dropping my mom off, I was already in one of the main avenues in Ortigas and waiting for the light to turn green when I heard a distinct pop and saw some smoke. I thought at first it was the tailpipe of the car in front of me and brushed it off, but panicked in a matter of a second when I glanced upon the pressure gauge and saw the arrow on the red! I looked up for a brief millisecond and saw clouds of smoke ensuing from under the hood. It was like watching a scene from Dante's Peak. I could even hear the steam forcing its way out. Of course, I freaked out and turned the engine off right away. I was in middle of a very busy street in a very busy city, but I had no choice. I called my mom and told her what happened and she told me that I had to wait until the engine cooled so I can open the water tank and put some water in.

Then, I began freaking out some more when a traffice enforcer began to approach me. I knew for a fact that the car was off the road that day. I purposely dropped my mom off during the 10 am to 3 pm window, but the adrenaline rendered my brain incapable of processing higher thinking so I wasn't sure if he could give me a ticket or not. If the car was allowed at all within the vicinity of Ortigas.

But to my immense relief, he was very helpful but still slightly intimidating, and asked me to pop the hood. He inspected the engine, declared it to be still too hot and stood by me the entire time. It was very comforting to have him there as I was alone, in the middle of a sea of angry motorists who kept honking their horns to the thoughtless-girl-who-should-once-in-a-while-glance-at-those-dials-behind-the-wheel. And to add to the humiliation, the weather was so uncooperative that it kept drizzling the entire time.

When the engine cooled down after a couple of minutes, the traffic enforcer opened the tank. I found a bottle of water in the car and a liter of emergency water supply which my dad keeps under the seat for emergencies such as this. The traffice enforcer discovered the tank to be completely dried up and he walked off and looked for more water to put in. He was the kindest soul ever as he went back and forth to wherever he got the water for about 3 or 4 times. It must have been nearby, but he was gone for about five to ten minutes at a time.

It is also worth mentioning the other kind soul who opened his door during traffic and gave me his own water reserve.

My faith on humanity has been strengthened, and I am so grateful to those who helped me during that very stressful time.

When the water tank was finally full, the traffic enforcer asked me to turn the engine on and rev it a couple of times to make sure. Thankfully, it was still working or else I would have had to endure one of those lectures from my dad on how careless I can be sometimes. Case in point. He closed the hood and I gave him some money as a sign of my gratitude.

After that, I drove to the nearest gas station to have the engine double checked, and then drove home very hungry and with a bad headache that lasted me until evening.

What a day. Any horrible car problem stories you'd like to share? It would definitely make me feel better if you do.

Cute.

2008-12-05T15:30:00.004+08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. My mind has been extremely preoccupied as of late, and it left little room for blog update ideas. My laptop though has enjoyed the break because it stayed shut for the past days, when most of the time I leave it open the entire day (and half the night when insomnia kicks in).

Anyway, found a new blog. I don't know how I end up finding these blogs, but Color Me Katie posts the most adorable videos.

One time she danced around with strangers, and with this one, they made a cute commercial for a contest and I just had to post it here because it is just too cute not to. :D

I am 99 percent sure that that is her in the middle box and the one in the bottom middle is Matt.

Contest! from Matt Adams on Vimeo.

désirs: mode et interieurs

2008-11-29T22:07:00.006+08:00

Don't understand? Well, I don't too. So, here is Babelfish for 'ya. :D

Desirsmagazine.com est le portail mode, design et architecture dédié à l'actualité internationale et luxembourgeoise ainsi qu'aux adresses shopping de Luxembourg et Grande Région.

Lancé en octobre 2004, désirs est un magazine bi-annuel consacré à la mode, au design et à l'architecture.

Source d'inspiration et de découvertes, il s'adresse à un lectorat qui conjugue luxe, beauté, raffinement, esthétique et dernières tendances. Une grande place est accordée à la photographie comme en témoignent les portfolios de personnalités du Luxembourg dans leur intérieur.

Discovered through the lovely Oh Joy!

Is she really as cool as she looks?

2008-11-28T22:10:00.007+08:00

Selma Blair :D

The topshop dress is so nice!!

The first two outfits from the left I have to say are my favourites. <3

twilight movie review. gimme a moment to be mean.

2008-11-27T22:09:00.002+08:00

just came home from watching the movie. one word = ick. enough said.

any thoughts you'd like to share?

and don't even get me started with jacob and that hair! gawd.

the homeless look only looks good on Robert Pattinson

2008-11-26T21:38:00.012+08:00

I despise twilight. I really do. I know there are tons of you out there who love it, but to each her own, ok?

Anyway, I love Rob. Ever since Harry Potter. Maybe because he's just soooo beautiful. Don't you agree?

I'm not sure what it is, but this guy keeps making me LOL. His out of place comments and remarks are hilarious ALL the time.

"When I read it I was convinced Stephenie was convinced she was Bella and it was like it was a book that wasn't supposed to be published. It was like reading her sexual fantasy, especially when she said it was based on a dream and it was like, 'Oh I've had this dream about this really sexy guy,' and she just writes this book about it. Like some things about Edward are so specific, I was just convinced, like, 'This woman is mad. She's completely mad and she's in love with her own fictional creation.' And sometimes you would feel uncomfortable reading this thing."

I could just imagine the eyes of the producers bugging out after this! Sigh. Rob and the foot that always gets stuck in his mouth. Hi hi hi.

Watch this. Seriously, Ellen was soooo funny here.

{Thanks JustJared for the pix!}

show 'em your legs or hide 'em in tights. whatever floats your boat. just show them!

2008-11-25T23:00:00.009+08:00

Inspiration! Inspiration! Inspiration!

The one on the right is my favorite!!

Blogger Fashionistas!

1. Only Shallow, 2. Pandora, 3. EverybodyIsUgly, 4. Music is my boyfriend, 5. The Clothes Horse

Totally random but just had to post a shoutout of support to Pacquiao.

2008-11-25T18:25:00.004+08:00

Forgive me for this post, in contrast to the usual fashion-related, life-related, characteristically girly posts, but I just had to write about this or else feel very unpatriotic.

-.-.---.-.--.-.-.-

I'm not a big fan of boxing, I find the sport quite abrupt, but this is Manny we're talking about and I must show my support. Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar Dela Hoya in 11 nerve-wracking days! I am actually tingling in anticipation!

11 days before the big day!!

If you want to post a shoutout in your blog, in support of course of Manny Pacquiao, go to this link.

A new blog to love!!

2008-11-25T00:05:00.009+08:00

I have found another blog to love! Seriously, she is a source of wonderful art and design and fashion of so many other people. I found myself clicking on older posts and older posts and older posts because the loveliness goes on page after page!

Hiroshi Nakamura & Nap Co., Ltd.

Made from broken umbrellas:

Wordplay Cushions. Stephen Reed + Alistair Willmott:

Tiago Da Foseca:

All this loveliness came from scrapbook.

to kaye who is 6,457 miles away

2008-11-24T18:04:00.005+08:00

(Not sure about the distance.) Anyway....

Maligayang Kaarawan!

Maligayang Bati! Maligayang Bati!
Maligayang Maligayang...
Maligayang Bati!

I know you're having the time of your life over there, but I hope you won't forget your friends who love and miss you back here in Manila.

Ang tagal kong ginawa tong collage para lang sayo. :D

Some of the pictures were borrowed from the birthday girl herself.

Saw this vid and i instantly knew i had to share it with you

2008-11-23T20:02:00.004+08:00

Online cuteness spreads like wild fire! So here is little Capucine from France and she wants to tell you a story about a hippo, a tiger and some other animals from her imagination.

I couldn't even focus on the story because she was just too cute! Had to watch it twice. Adorable and sooo smart! Enjoy!

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

fashionista inspiration board

2008-11-22T21:45:00.001+08:00

crappy people don't seem so bad when you've got great friends and an early season's greetings from me to you :D

2008-11-22T02:48:00.006+08:00

I posted a drama-fest a couple of days ago and I'm quite over that now. Right after the incident, I cried a bucket full of tears. I'm pathetic, I tell you! Pathetic!

But my friends were great as usual and that beat the shittiness of the day. My friend rounded them all up and we had an impromptu drinking session to make me feel better. (You know you're getting older when beer starts tasting like water. Philippine beer at that!) So amidst the cigarettes and the ice cold beer, that crappy day turned out really well.

I swear to god I don't deserve my friends. They're just too good for me. My friend even gave me an early christmas gift to cheer me up. Check out my new lighter!

So I guess, for the holiday season, that's my wish for everyone of you out there. That you'd be blessed with amazing friends who'll be as annoyingly inquisitive about your life as my friends are, because you know they're only annoyingly inquisitive because they love you so fucking much. And also it helps to have friends who loving drinking as much as you do.

Francois, Jackie and Twiggy

2008-11-22T00:57:00.000+08:00

francois, jackie and twiggy goes to the movies with me by poeta fit, non nascitur

Saw Nine Months in HBO and still LOL

2008-11-20T22:58:00.003+08:00

Dr. Kosevich: I've got it! Nurse, call the Anesthesiologist, this woman needs an enema!
Samuel, Rebecca, Nurse: An enema?!
Dr. Kosevich: No, uh, she needs a pedicure!
Nurse: This ain't no goddamn beauty parlor!
Dr. Kosevich: Epitaph!
Samuel: She's not dead, you moron!
Dr. Kosevich: Epidermis... Uh...
Rebecca: Epidural, asshole!

This scene cracks me up EVERY SINGLE TIME!

This has got to be one of the coolest weddings I've seen in a while.

2008-11-20T22:39:00.007+08:00

This is the reason why I've been a loyal follower of Oh Joy! These beautiful photos were taken by Robert Sukrachand and I'm so inspired. If I do get married, I hope it would be as cool as this. It looks so quirky and fun and laid back. And I can't help but love her green shoes! What a nice touch.

Not looking for pity. Just a space to pour out my insecurities. Or most likely a prescription for antidepressants.

2008-11-18T22:39:00.005+08:00

I'm scared. I'm terrified. So much so that my mind is thinking of a million reasons not to go. Not to face my demons. Not to face my mistakes. Because a large part of me knows that I'm not brave. That deep inside I don't have what it takes. That I am inadequate.

But then, the other part of me says, the part which is but a whisper, that if I don't begin now, what more in the future when I have to face tougher choices... much scarier people...

I guess the only thing that's stopping me, the thing I keep repeating in my head is that by going, I both have everything to gain and everything to lose. Life's choices after all are zero-sum games. Tit for tat. Win or lose. Up or down. A finality such as that always always scares me. Because what if I lose? How can I possibly deal with that? I know enough of myself to realize my weaknesses, and of all emotions, disappointment is the one which I fear the most.

Maybe just maybe if I say it as often as it takes, and loud enough that will drown the other voices in my head, I can be like the cowardly lion and realize that I had what I needed inside me all along. Courage and strength. Maybe in tiny amounts, but nonetheless still there.

It's just so hard to rely on maybes. Enough self-pity. Time to make a decision.

SPRING AWAKENING IN MANILA!!

2008-11-18T00:40:00.008+08:00

omg omg omg omg!

i'm supposed to be asleep as i have to wake insanely early tomorrow but i could not possibly go to bed without posting this!

i am jumping-in-my-seat-smiling-from-ear-to-ear-adrenaline-rush excited about this!

Auditions begin on December 9, callbacks will be on December 11! It will be directed by Chari Arespacochaga (someone who has a last name as cool as this is bound to be really cool too).

For those who are interested, prepare 16 bars of a musical theater piece or alternative rock song.

Call Atlantis Productions (892-7078) for details.

Gosh, if I had the guts, I'd march right over there and belt out Mama Who Bore Me!

Thank you, thank you Gibbs Cadiz, for this wonderful news!

-.-.-.--.-.--

For those of you who have no idea what this play is all about, click on the video and prepare yourself to fall in love with this awesome play!!!

Floppiness and loveliness

2008-11-17T21:26:00.010+08:00

I watched Chris Brown and Rihanna's concert last night and I must say, I am seriously disappointed with their fans. I only went because I got a free ticket. Their fans must either be walking zombies or walking zombies. On the brighter side, after last night, I am a Rihanna convert. Was it just me or was Chris Brown only lip synching? Tsk tsk.

-.-.-

I'm betting this week will not be a good week for me. There is this really crucial meeting I have with one of my professors this Wednesday and I'm praying that I'll have the courage enough to weather it. Last time I had a talk with him, I ended up leaving abruptly and bawling my eyes out in Starbucks in front of strangers who must have thought I had gone insane. Let's just hope there won't be a repeat performance. So wish me luck. I need it.

Anyway, isn't Keri Russell so lovely here? That is one fantastic hat!

I don't know. There's nothing great about her clothes, but she still looks so amazing.

{Photos from}

epiphany

2008-11-14T16:07:00.007+08:00

it suddenly dawned on me how amazing it is that i have an imprint of myself floating around cyber space. a hazy profile of who i am and what i'm like and exposed to an audience i have no control over. it's such a liberating feeling knowing that i can say something without dealing much with consequences because those who will see it don't really care or they don't exactly undertand. in a way, i can truly BE myself here without fear of judgement. at the same time, i can choose to be someone i'm not and pretend. for all you know, i can be the exact opposite of who i say i am.

for that matter, i can actually choose what to show. what to not reveal and what not to say. because events in the blogosphere don't happen in real time. i can rely on the delete button to erase an unseeming phrase or the fortune of forethought can make me think of what to reveal on my next post. maybe it's just me, but i find familiarity quite burdensome most of the time. i think my friends still don't understand why i prefer solitude over them. i was and always have been the black sheep in my circle of friends.

this must be what it's like to have multiple personalities. in the real world i'm known as michelle. in MY world i'm known as poeta fit, non nascitur and for now i'm quite content to have both.

Pushing Daisies <3

2008-11-13T18:45:00.012+08:00

First touch life.

Second touch death forever.

I love this show!

I love the idea that Ned has found his soulmate in Chuck but the unfortunate circumstances of his biological quirk restricts him from touching her, lest she dies. And I think that's what makes it so bittersweet to watch. I for one am a very affectionate person and the idea that you can't at least hold the hand of the person you love must be tough. Kissing, hugging, and you know what else...

Every aspect of the show I love, the Amelie color scheme, Lee Pace(!), Jim Dale's comforting narration, and Kristine Chenoweth's bursting into song moments. Though I'm a little worried on how long they can pull off the Ned and Chuck pairing without making it too cheesy as it gets further on into the show.

Oh, and of course, I love Ned and Chuck's outfits. Okay, I love Ned. Period. hihi. He's just so handsome... *blush*

I wish they'd give Olive better costumes, instead of the boring waitress dress she always wears.

a peek into my life.

2008-11-12T21:07:00.005+08:00

for the men out there ;D

2008-11-12T14:13:00.012+08:00

In the interest of fairness, I'll post for the guys out there. It amazes me still that people visit this blog and that a handful of them are guys. :D

I rarely save pictures of men's fashion in my computer. I usually save the most notable ones or the type of clothes I would want my boyfriend to where.

Yigal and Rag & Bone are always a constant when I browse the fashion week collections. I like the stylishness and the wearableness (is there such a word?) of their clothes for both women AND men. Especially because the Rag & Bone collections are so androgynous that I find inspiration in their men's clothes as well.

Spring 2009

Rag & Bone

-..-----..--.--.--.-.-.-.--.----.--.---...----.-.---.--
Spring 2008

ADAM

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Rag & Bone

Yigal Azrouël

-..-----..--.--.--.-.-.-.--.----.--.---...----.-.---.--
FALL 2008

Yigal Azrouël

Emporio Armani

ADAM

dresses dresses

2008-11-11T21:55:00.010+08:00

My abs hurt from the crunches and I can hardly walk from all the running I've been doing. Every step I take makes me more aware of all the muscles i have in my legs and it's too painful to laugh. It did not help AT ALL when my sister kept making jokes and tickling me when I got home. My body feels like a thousand pounds. I've been doing night jogging at Ateneo with two of my friends and it was doubly hard early this evening since it rained all day and the roads were slick.

I'm doing my best to quit smoking at the same time because it would just be so hypocritical to do all of these healthy things when I still do. However, the process is just so painful that I have to at least reward myself with a stick or two. The marathon is in 12 days and i'm doing my best to get into shape. What was I thinking!!

ANYWAY,

Christmas is fast approaching, therefore the subject of what to wear for the family gatherings and the parties are coming up. My friends have been emailing non-stop on what our planned theme this christmas would be. Last year we all had to wear dresses, so this year it's either we make it a tradition, or think of a new one. Hmm.... Dresses dresses.

.-.--...----..-.----.--

i never understand my dreams.

2008-11-08T14:20:00.006+08:00

most of the time i don't remember what i dream about. i would only have this awkward feeling when i wake up and try as i might to grapple on the images in my dream, they are like sand in my hands and only tiny bits remain.

i don't believe that dreams have any signficant meaning. maybe because the dreams i DO remember are just so silly and ridiculous. which comes to the point of this post. last night, or maybe this morning, (as the story lines in my dreams are so short, it feels like it only happened right before the moment i open my eyes), i dreamt about aliens. but before the aliens, i was checking my comments in this blog, and to my utter horror, one of my professors left one. and of course it was horrific to me since i'm still hiding from them, a product of a shameful thesis-related fiasco. the comment was so sweet and nice, she was asking me how i was, and telling me to come back and have a talk. it was so weird.

after that, the dream shifted to here, in my house, and an alien, who just happened to be inside zooey deschanel's body was in my room. she was not hostile, but since i knew she was an alien, she still scared the shit out of me of course! and the most ridiculous part of the dream was this - i discovered that i could put her off by sprinkling sugar on her. sugar? how terribly unimaginitive my subconscious is! anyway, so i got one of our sugar dispensers and started throwing some on her, and i remember feeling so stupid when i could have just removed the lid and tossed the entire contents on her. i don't even remember going for the sugar dispenser, it just magically appeared in my hand, i think. anyway..

there were other things in my dream which was just so ridiculous but too abstract and blurry to put into words.

maybe my dreams does mean something. maybe i'm clairvoyant and i just phrophesized the coming of aliens. they will inhabit the bodies of those people i admire and slowly colonize the earth. or we could be reasonable about this and consider my dreams to be utter failures of my subconscious to put together meaningful dreams.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..---.-..---..-.--.

my outfit for today. okay, so i don't have those chloe boots, but i have black pointy booties which will do and variants of the rest so yeah.

oversized t-shirt kind of gal:D by poeta fit, non nascitur

Czarina Villa <3 and new polyvore set

2008-11-07T14:53:00.008+08:00

Young filipino fashion designer, Czarina Villa emailed me wonderful photos of her recent fashion show :D thanks Cza for entrusting them to me!

Ironic twist that I discovered her through Sea of Shoes. I fell in love completely with her rust colored, one-sleeved design for Sea of Shoes' mother.

(.)

My favorite is the pink ensemble, third to the last photo. :D

"A collection aptly entitled "DREAM SPROUTS", I was inspired by my yo-yo circle placemat project back in 4th grade. It is a very girly collection embellished with dreamy circlettes and origami squares--all in pastels."

Chanel vs. LV by poeta fit, non nascitur

i'm too lazy to think of a title...

2008-11-06T14:55:00.007+08:00

got my unicef race kit two days ago! my cousin got me to sign up for the 5 kilometer race and i'm half nervous and half really excited about it. i'm still putting together a sports inspiration collage.

i can't run five minutes straight without sprawling like a dead monkey on the grass, but my cousins are going and five of my closest friends will be there so i bet we'll be laughing and pretending to be athletes majority of the race. we're still convincing my sister to go with us and drive the car alongside us a la olympics. harhar. i'll sound like such a girl but i'm already fretting on what i will be wearing!!

anyway, i'm in such a jeans mood now.

casual variations of jeans by poeta fit, non nascitur

Keira Knightley <3 and congratulations to President (elect) Obama.

2008-11-05T22:40:00.008+08:00

i love this woman! i like the fact that she picks (or is lucky enought to get) roles where the woman is no damsel in distress. i'm not saying that she's perfect as she can never be a Lizzie Bennet in my mind's eye, but she is someone who i admire.

i remember reading something about her when she was younger. she had trouble fitting in and kids would always bully her. she also had dyslexia so she'd cry all the time and beg her mom not to go to class. her only outlet was her art.

i love people with fascinating histories and who eventually turn out to be such incredible, admirable people. and, of course, it's a bonus that she has a great eye for fashion.

"I'm dyslexic, and at six years old they realized I couldn't read a word and had been fooling them. My mum said to me: `If you come to me with a book in your hand and a smile on your face every day through the summer holiday, I'll get you an agent."

"Katharine Hepburn and Vivien Leigh are my heroes. Not because of their ability, but because of their perseverance."

And of course, I would be remiss in not acknowledging the event that has just passed and would like to congratulate America in electing for themselves a new president. I offer you my thumb!

My sister and I were joking one time that so much is always at stake when it comes to American politics that maybe we, outsiders, ought to get some say as well during American elections.

I was actually for McCain, but I will be as gracious as him and offer my olive branch to the winners. Congratulations yet again.

We often take note during history class turning points in history. Points where crucial decisions or events take place that defined history thereafter. We do know that that has just happened, and I am excited to be at the prime of my life at this particular time in history wherein I await for this turning point to unfold.

i can hear the fates laughing at how broke i am

2008-11-04T01:41:00.004+08:00

how good would it be to say "this will be my outfit today!" but i can't, so i'll have to content myself with polyvore for now. :D

my chanel rainy day dream outfit by poeta fit, non nascitur

just got my account so i'm still figuring out how it works.

anyway, off to sleep! goodnight!

Kirsten Dunst <3

2008-11-04T00:22:00.006+08:00

I'm not sure who this guy is but his outfit is fabulous therefore I kept him. :D

- Unending Love -

2008-11-03T15:29:00.006+08:00

I found this poem when I was reading about Audrey Hepburn. This was one of her favorites, and later on, it became one of mine...

I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times,
In life after life, in age after age forever.
My spell-bound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs
That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms

In life after life, in age after age forever.

Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, its age-old pain,
Its ancient tale of being apart or together,
As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge
Clad in the light of a pole-star piercing the darkness of time:

You become an image of what is remembered forever.

You and I have floated here on the stream that brings from the fount
At the heart of time love of one for another.
We have played alongside millions of lovers, shared in the same
Shy sweetness of meeting, the same distressful tears of farewell -
Old love, but in shapes that renew and renew forever.

(.)

Today it is heaped at your feet, it has found its end in you,
The love of all man's days both past and forever:
Universal joy, universal sorrow, universal life,
The memories of all loves merging with this one love of ours -
And the songs of everypoet both past and forever.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

{Korina 742}

six unimportant things that make me happy

2008-10-31T18:33:00.018+08:00

my new blogger friend Una Bella Vita, whose blog has been a recent discovery of a treasure cove of wonderful pictures, tagged me.

the rules are, mention the person who nominated you, list 6 unimportant things that make you happy. tag 5 blogs. state the rules. notifty them with a teeny comment on their blog that they have been nominated. :D

1. (.)(.)

there's a street near my grandfather's house which at the start of the "-ber" months get lined with christmas lanterns called parol. motorists usually end up causing traffic because the lights, the designs mesmerize you as you pass.

the parol is to symbolize the star which guided the wise men to jesus. it is the tradition in Philippine culture to hang one in front of your house every christmas.

2. (.)

3. (.) (.)

it's like the natural order of things. we cut down trees and uproot plants in order to construct buildings. then as years pass, nature takes over once again and covers it with ivy.

4. (.)(.)

5. (.) (.)

6. (.) (.)

(.)

i shall tag... M
Pretty In Black
Cza
Jasmina
Vain and Vapid

a night out in the town

2008-10-31T14:05:00.011+08:00

my friend treated me out to dinner last night at a really nice italian restaurant. the night air was cool and comfortable so it was added pleasure to eat al fresco. i forgot the stuff we ordered, but they were delicious and i got a strawberry lemonde which they served in a tankard sized glass. for a small person like me, it's kinda difficult maneuvering around oversized objects.

anyway, it's not too often that nights are so pleasantly breezy. i wish it was always like that. now i'm wondering what it would be like if it snows...

to add to the charm, christmas lights were everywhere! it was pretty and sparkly i felt like a kid with the delicious anticipation of gifts and family merriment. christmas is here again..

MY STYLE INSPIRATIONS AT THE MOMENT:

for the greater good.

2008-10-30T16:29:00.002+08:00

Goodluck to me. Let us hope my cigarette filled lungs will not give up on me here.

Four things i did today... hmm

2008-10-30T00:03:00.009+08:00

The lovely CC tagged me and being a month a half old, this is my first tag!! CC has been with me since the inception of this blog and was also the first to link me. xoxo CC!

Okay, since this is my first, i'd better make this good, so here goes..

Four things i did today:

1. Visited all my favorite blogs.
2. Tried running my skirt through the sewing machine AGAIN, and failed AGAIN.
3. Learned how to use a high speed sewing machine. (scary. it acts like it wants to eat your fingers.)
4. Played with my dogs.

Four things on my to do list:

1. Update my itunes library.
2. Look for a job.
3. Remove my two week old nail polish.
4. Watch High School Musical 3. (i know, i'm so lame!)

Four guilty pleasures:

1. Cigarettes.
2. Ukay-ukay! (In the Philippines, these are basically thrift stores where you literally have to rummage through piles of crap before finding a treasure. But it's so worth it!)
3. Olives. (a very expensive snack. but i can't live without them)
4. Harry Potter fan fiction. (please don't judge me.)

Four random facts about me:

1. I love to drive.
2. I cried nonstop throughout the entire 7th book of Harry Potter.
3. I scored a 1.25 in my calculus class in college.
(My best math grade EVER! i'm actually very stupid in math. I believe most universities apply the 4.0 grading system, but in my uni, 1 is the highest with 0.25 increments. The failing grade is 3.5, but for upperclassmen it's 3.0).

4. I had a VERY big crush on my Italian college professor. To the point that I actually wanted to ask him out! I think mainly because he had impeccable fashion sense. Most notable were his tight red pants, linen suits, and suede italian loafers. Oh dear, i can't believe i'm still drooling. He's back in Italy for goodness sake!

Four bloggers that I'm tagging...

1. Danica - http://ooamouroo.blogspot.com/
2. Betsey - http://peacelovebellavita.blogspot.com/
3. The Search for Chic
4. Bettina - http://bettinastyle.blogspot.com/

in need of new music..

2008-10-29T21:36:00.006+08:00

What kind of music do you listen to? What are your favorite songs? What's your top 25 most played?

My top 25 ain't that impressive. Mostly songs that make me feel good and relaxed and happy. So far, my Top 25 most played in my itunes library are,

1. Today - Joshua Radin
2. Lullaby - Priscilla Ahn
3. Red Cape - Priscilla Ahn
4. See the Sun - The Kooks
5. I Still Remember - Bloc Party
6. Liquor Store - Devil Doll
7. 7 things - Miley Cyrus
8. Love You I Do - Jennifer Hudson
9. All My Loving - Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe OST)
10. I Wish You Love - Rachael Yamagata
11. What If I Loved You - Joey Gian
12. Debaser - Rogue Wave (<3)
13. So Sorry - Feist
14. Sunny Sunday - Leona Naess
15. Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
16. Brandy Alexander - Feist
17. Dream - Priscilla Ahn
18. Be My Escape - Relient K
19. Bond Girl - The Rascals
20. Tout Docement - Feist
21. The Shit Song - Kate Nash
22. Ain't No Way - Aretha Franklin
23. Strawberry Fields Forever - Ben Harper (I Am Sam OST)
24. The Heart of Every Girl - Elton John (Mona Lisa Smile OST)
25. Little Red - Kate Nash

(I'm surrounding myself with feel good music at the moment :D )

I am starving for new music. Right now, The Kooks, Spoon, Aretha Franklin and Bloc Party are on repeat mode and I'm starting to get really bored with them.

If you have any favorites you'd like to share... :D

{Feist picture from deviantart}

i am swooning.

2008-10-29T18:22:00.010+08:00

i adore the harry potter books. i'm no snob when it comes to things i like. i can appreciate anything, whatever form it takes, and the harry potter books delight, entertain, teach, and make laugh many times over. i think i've read and reread them so many times.

on that note, the new half blood prince international trailer is out!! the trailer is so lovely and funny and awesome and fanstastic and wonderful. from me, that's saying a lot since i'm not a big fan of the harry potter movies.

Hermione: Hey, she's only interested in you because she thinks you're the chosen one!
Harry: But I AM the chosen one.
[Hermione smacks him on the head]
Harry: Okay.. sorry.. kidding!

{i'm rolling on the ground laughing! i love funny harry.}

and does anyone know when the trailer of 500 days of summer is coming out? its zooey deschanel! because of that, i will definitely watch this. and how beautiful are the movie posters? sprinkled with love and warmth and sunshine.

My dog.

2008-10-28T19:43:00.008+08:00

"He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea.

He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile.

When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man.

With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself. He has taught me the meaning of devotion.

With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.

His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things.

He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever - in case I need him. And I expect I will - as I always have.

He is just my dog."

-- Gene Hill

These are my dogs. Both rottweilers with very different personalities. Cassie is very sweet and affectionate. She acts like a labrador and gets very demanding when ignored. Nyxie, on the other hand, is very independent and playful. Very mischievous and noisy, but obedient when scolded. They are my kids and I'm their mommy. :D

Cassie.

Nyxie.

{pixdaus for pictures.}

Halloween inspiration <3

2008-10-27T02:23:00.007+08:00

My kabarkada is back from the states so we're complete again, so yay! Me and my college friends have been together for six years running and it's so nice to know that I have this set of friends who will be with me forever. I mean, people often promise that friendships will last, but when I see my college friends, I know for certain without any doubt, that our friendships are rock solid. We will be each other's bridesmaids and bestmans and godparents and bank cosignatories. My friend came home last Saturday and we gave her a surprise dinner at her house.

So now that we're complete, all 13 of us, we're looking for excuses to see each other again amidst the busy schedules, now that majority of us are corporate people. So halloween party it is. :D

I wasn't really planning on dressing up for Halloween, but since my friends have organized one for this friday, my head is spinning with costume ideas. I don't plan on wearing something hard core, so here are a few of my inspirations. :D

Flushing and turning pale

2008-10-26T14:13:00.005+08:00

My face is like a mirror and I hate it. And since I'm no medical student, I began wondering how reflective our face can be at times, in particular when we blush or when we blanch. It is amazing that when we're embarassed, our cheeks turn red (in my case, my entire face), or we turn pale when nervous. I've always kind of understood flushing but never the other way around.

Why do we turn pale with anxiety? Why does our face drain of blood so suddenly?

There must be some quirk in my brain that I don't find any logic to it. Of course we blush because the intensity of emotions rush blood to our faces and to divert flow from our brain, it flows to our cheeks. But what is the logical explanation of blanching? What purpose is it suppose to serve? I don't see any survival mechanism that explains why we turn pale when anxiety kicks in.

I hate it when I have questions and I can't find the answer. How simple would it be if we're just as all-knowing as God.

Let us be rock 'n roll with style.

2008-10-25T18:16:00.002+08:00

Mary Kate... what can I say. She makes me fall in love with clothes over and over and over and over again. She has her own style, and in my book, that is the basis of cool.

yeah leather yeah

2008-10-25T04:20:00.003+08:00

Can't sleep so decided to update blog.

Leather jackets!!

My photoshop skills are crap so forgive the rough edges. :D

I like.

2008-10-23T21:03:00.003+08:00

There was a time Katie Holmes toned down her outfits that my inspiration wavered. But here she is now and rockin.

{Thanks justjared}

Dealing with parents.

2008-10-23T16:37:00.004+08:00

Ugh you'd think that as you grow older, parents line of thinking as well as yours would slowly merge and you'd get along better. Well, in my case, it ain't and I seem to always be fighting with them. It's like adolescence all over again! But more rational.

So compounded with the fact that I was so miserable because of the stupid sewing machine, my dad starts on me as well, so my afternoon is a bottom line bust.

Tss. Dealing with parents.

Ashley Olsen mini photo spamage Part 1

2008-10-22T18:44:00.009+08:00

Sewing classes are progressing wonderfully. My skirt is about done and I'm feeling really pleased with myself. :D I'll post pictures once I'm done with the waist part as tomorrow I'm about to run the zipper under the sewing machine, which I still fear.

In the meantime, Ashley Olsen photo spamage! Nothing is more glorious than photo spamage!

Most of the time it's more of Mary Kate who gets the spotlight when it comes to fashion, and I dig that. But I also like the simpler and more elegant styling of Ashley, while Mary Kate is grunge and deconstructed.

This is an old photoshoot with Marie Claire, but this is my blog and I can post anything I want! Right? hihi.

(Oh beware of these pix, they are EXTREMELY hi-res. so download can take forever.)

August 8, 2007, 3:15 pm, Coffee shop, classes suspended due to heavy rains

2008-10-22T00:41:00.003+08:00

~To that guy who made my heart skip~

We don't know each other that's for sure, but in that brief instant when our eyes met my heart made an uncharacteristic lurch. Tall, foreign looking, with damp and messy hair from the rain. The glass panes dividing us seemed to dissolve away. Who you are, where you're from, the indistinct and stupid details that compose our lives made me wonder about yours.

It was silly ten seconds of my life that I'll store in my little box of treasures in my heart. I can't believe you swept me off my feet. Gosh, how I'll always wonder. And to appease my soul I'll pretend that we know each other.

You entered the coffee shop where I sat. We drank ice blended coffees together. We talked about the endless pour of rain and chattered about the innocuous details of our lives.

And since my heart has a literary turn, let us continue on pretending and imagine that you are going away forever. It was to be our last chance to be together. The moments we shared were bitter sweet, and as the sun sets, it was time for you to go. A simple hug. A peck on the cheek. Eyes restraining tears. We say our goodbyes. We take different cabs.

Sigh. How I wish reality was that romantic.

And to that guy who made my heart skip, wherever you are, I hope you're doing okay, and thanks.

Awesomeness.

2008-10-21T21:36:00.005+08:00

Teen vogue is for "teens" but I still enjoy it. Their editorial team is fantastic!

The light fixtures are mesmerizing and Taylor Momsen's dress is so pretty. :D

Shadow play.

Catch me if you can!

Is somebody trying to be Mary Kate Olsen?

2008-10-21T20:28:00.007+08:00

I am not fond of Heidi Montag. And this outfit choice of hers reaffirms my point of view. Only Mary Kate can pull this off.

{Thanks justjared.com}

Happy Monday!

2008-10-20T06:16:00.006+08:00

Goodmorning people! Yes, I know the Philippines is ahead by a day, but don't worry, I won't tell you what happens here in the future. hihi. I'm cramming a 2000 word paper on the WTO's role in resolving the financial crisis so no time to dawdle. Boring. Zzzz. Just took a sanity break for the love of everything holy and for the sanity of everyone here in the house.

Anyhoo, if you haven't seen the Boom-de-yah-dah commercial of Discovery Channel, shame on you! It's creative and clever and incredibly entertaining. They even got Stephen Hawking to sing a small part with his electronic voice.

This will make you want to hug your enemies and kiss all your friends all over the world.

And here is my style inspiration for the day. :D

Mix 'n match!

2008-10-17T22:50:00.006+08:00

I was checking out Ms. Vain and Vapid's blog when I saw the goonies t-shirt and thought that I just had to check it out. I don't really wear t-shirts but now that I'm into skirts mode, pairing them with a rockin' shirt and chunky shoes, glads, or laced-up leather boots would just be the idea.

I will die with happiness if I could just have those Ann Demeulemeester boots.

{Thanks shopbop, net-a-porter, alloy, piperlime, and anthropologie}

Rocker ballerina.

2008-10-16T16:48:00.007+08:00

A slight oversight on my part as I've been busy going to job interviews that I wasn't able to check out Balmain spring '09. I've been hearing (or rather, reading) rave reviews from bloggers all over so I checked it out last night. And seriously. I was floored! Awesome collection. I will be ripping jeans and tailoring my blazers soon.

So, this is what a ballerina turns rocker will look like. Har har!

{Little girl from}
{Balmain from style.com}

Lookbook. ;D

2008-10-16T16:01:00.003+08:00

I love this site so much! Just checked them out and here are my recent faves. ;)

Zooey Deschanel

2008-10-15T21:09:00.005+08:00

I like how she just enjoys fashion. Her outfits are so fun and girly.

I want this Chloe dress so bad!!

Ooh and the "-ber" months have begun, so I guess there's nothing wrong with anticipating christmas. ;D

{Thanks net-a-porter and zooey-d.net}

Calvinisms...

2008-10-15T02:07:00.003+08:00

WAHAHAHAHAHA!

And here I thought it was only us, women, who experience double standards.

Thank you for smoking!

2008-10-14T23:04:00.012+08:00

Fashion, art, photography and smoking are sexy combinations, don't you think?

Everyone is a clever clone

2008-10-14T22:30:00.006+08:00

Since I'm trying my hand on sewing I've noticed that I tend to give clothes a closer look now.

I'm going to copy some details from Nanette Lepore's fashion line. :DD I love how detailed her clothes are. The lining of the clothes and the ruffles! How I wish I'm there already with my sewing...

{Thanks style.com}

Motorcycle Diaries

2008-10-14T15:50:00.007+08:00

I've known about the show Long Way Down but I never really got down to actually watching it. Then last night, National Geographic was showing reruns and I got the chance to sit down through the entire first episode and I just fell in love with it. It reminded me of the first chapter of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I haven't really finished that book since the only copy I have is on my laptop and I can never enjoy books the same way as holding them in my hands.

Anyway, after the show, I actually felt a physical ache to have an adventure of my own. I'll definitely add an experience like this on my list of "things to do before i get old or married." How fucking delicious would that be to have an adventure like this?

Btw, I'm so back! I'm not sharing my laptop anymore and it feels so good to have it all to myself again.

Gap Months

2008-10-05T13:55:00.013+08:00

To explain my situation now, I took a leave of absence from grad school to do a bit of soul searching. I am actually pursuing my Master's Degree. (The time I started this blog was about the same time I filed for my LOA.) I was on the verge of depression because of my thesis and I thought it high time to take a break to breath in some fresh air. I think the fault lies on the fact that I went straight to grad school after college so consequently, burn out ensued. And because thesis writing is so exhausting and I think I deserve a gap year or gap months to be lazy. :D

Anyway, I am not that totally lazy. Now that I'm not doing anything and job hunting is such a tedious process, I am spending my time going to sewing classes. I am about to start on a skirt and my teacher, Ma'am Dulce (I am loving her name), is such a lovely old lady.

This is my own handwriting. And yes, it is horrible. Admittedly, I failed with flying colors in penmanship in grade school.

I'm still learning how to do patterns and I can't wait to buy my cloth!!

This is my mom's sewing box and it's taking me forever to untangle the threads.

At the same time, I'm absorbed in books and am reading mostly autobiographies and trying to fix my french, which has deteriorated so much. (Je parle un peu francais. C'est terrible. Je suis desolee). I am open for suggestions on good books I should read. :D Please, no stephenie meyer kind of books.

One take watson and Kate Winslet as Vivienne Westwood?

2008-10-04T17:34:00.012+08:00

According to the rumor mill, whispering birds have reported that Kate Winslet might portray Vivienne Westwood for a biopic. Vivienne Westwood introduced zippers, studs, razor blades, toilet chains, safety pins and spiked dog collars into British punk. She turned rebellion into an art form, “My aim is to make the poor look rich and the rich look poor."

"I am attracted to people who make this effort in knowing what suits them - they are individual and stylish."

On another note, Emma Watson fashion update! What do you think?

And added bonus that Emma and Clemence were pictured together at the Chanel fashion show. :D

Fashion Obama?

2008-10-04T17:18:00.004+08:00

Obama was in Paris recently! Spotted in Jean-Charles de Castelbajac 2009 pret-a-porter fashion show. Interesting... But will you wear it?

{photo from, link.}

clemence oh lovely clemence on vogue

2008-10-04T16:30:00.007+08:00

Clemence Poesy for Vogue Italia.

{Photos c/o oh no they didn't!}

this is the fault of Girl Meets NYC

2008-10-03T21:16:00.007+08:00

After reading Girl Meets NYC's blog, it has put a check for now on my enthusiasm to update on anything related to fashion. It's not bad. It's healthy after all. Her blog entry was like chicken soup for the soul. A good reminder that once in a while, a good guilt trip can lead to a more harmonious life. And when she was talking about living a simple life, it got me thinking a lot of our situation here at home, and how incredibly complex the issue of poverty can be.

For those of you who think in terms of black and white, poverty can easily be solved. Support policies that enable job creation, encourage export-oriented industries, subsidize agriculture, etc., a lot of economic jargon that easily equates to prosperity. A mere 1 + 1 = 2 equation that in a textbook sounds so freakishly easy. I know what the theory says. I've studied it and it sounds so beautiful. So fucking hopeful that at moments I forget how twisted the system is in the Philippines and I find my idealism rekindled.

I think most of those who live in Western societies don't know how fucking vicious the vicious cycle is. It's so deadly and all consuming, a bottom line dead end. Did you watch Blood Diamond?

Danny: Sometimes I wonder... will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other? Then I look around and I realize... God left this place a long time ago.

That is exactly how it is here. If you don't know how evil our government is, read our newspapers, read up on how bad corruption is. People don't die from an iron fist, they die through strangulation. If the government is one giant arm, the fist is encircled around the people's necks, like a noose that gets tighter and tighter. Very slow. Very painful.

And you know what makes it even weirder? The fact that this is a democratic country. You'd think we'd be able to solve that problem by electing better people. But think of the numbers. Think of the number of poor people there are, as opposed to the middle and upper class. The upper class have no care in the world and the middle class leave and immigrate elsewhere. And all we have left to care are the poor who can't think beyond the needs of tomorrow. How can a government be built by a demographic who have little understanding of economics and bank interest rates.

The difficult part to solve is the education of the uneducated. How do you correct decades worth of thinking that has solidified into culture. Government won't fund schools, they deliver outdated textbooks, and provide computers to students who don't have qualified teachers to teach them how to use it. No wonder the ignorance of the masses continue. If you've read Anna Karenina, think of Levin and his struggle with the tenants. The constant struggle between the man who has an idea with those who don't and can't change.

The cycle of poverty is much more difficult than you think. Or maybe I have begun to think this way because my idealism is slowly fading away.

Approach a child, tell them the beauty of democracy, the elegance of the one person one vote system, and the boundless opportunities capitalism offers to the brave, and they will respond with an empty pocket, an empty stomach, and shoe-less feet.

Recently, a non-government organization donated hundreds of slippers to school children in the mountain areas. Slippers are hardly revolutionary. And yet, did you know, that by giving a poor child a pair of rubber slippers, it will help them walk the far and rugged distance from their homes to their schools? Who would have thought that a pair of slippers can help change the world. Imagine that.

You betcha, Palin!

2008-10-03T17:10:00.009+08:00

'm still confused, does she believe in dinosaurs or not??

I guess, at least we can be assured that Sarah Palin knows where Russia is on the map.

Dorian Barnes

2008-10-03T03:32:00.006+08:00

Okay, I might have gone overboard on my blog update, but I have been time-sharing my laptop with my dad, which explains why I'm making full use of my laptop while I have it.

The thing is, I felt sorry for him since he's had two major disasters recently. Other than his laptop finally going to laptop heaven, his beloved cellphone got drenched, thus going R.I.P on him as well. So to distract him from the fact that I took a leave of absence from university for no reasonable reason, I voluntarily offered the services of my laptop for him. And also because he bought this for me, which makes him owner by the fact that his money purchased it kind of thing.

Anyway, I'm so happy that there is a Ben Barnes update. A video clip has come out for Dorian Gray, and Ben is just hilarious in it. Check it out in youtube.

And for those of you who have noticed the layout change, well, its because I'm finally transforming from CSS/HTML illiterate to a not-so-much. I'm finally getting the hang of wording my questions properly in google so that I get the proper help websites. Yay!

Emma's fashion for the fashion season

2008-10-03T02:23:00.014+08:00

She is a gorgeous girl, blessed with remarkable eyebrows. Her eyebrows have that Audrey Heburn-ish thickness, which I can only hope to possess.

I'm not so keen with most of the outfits. Most of the time, there is something amiss. For me, her best look for fashion week was during the Giambattista Valli fashion show.

Other noticeable outfits:

{Photos c/o emma-watson.net, Just Jared}

On being thin.

2008-10-03T01:55:00.004+08:00

Section: Extra Stuff
For Girls Only, Probably... - Jo Rowling

Being thin. Probably not a subject that you ever expected to read about on this website, but my recent trip to London got me thinking...

It started in the car on the way to Leavesden film studios. I whiled away part of the journey reading a magazine that featured several glossy photographs of a very young woman who is either seriously ill or suffering from an eating disorder (which is, of course, the same thing); anyway, there is no other explanation for the shape of her body. She can talk about eating absolutely loads, being terribly busy and having the world's fastest metabolism until her tongue drops off (hooray! Another couple of ounces gone!), but her concave stomach, protruding ribs and stick-like arms tell a different story. This girl needs help, but, the world being what it is, they're sticking her on magazine covers instead. All this passed through my mind as I read the interview, then I threw the horrible thing aside.

But blow me down if the subject of girls and thinness didn't crop up shortly after I got out of the car. I was talking to one of the actors and, somehow or other, we got onto the subject of a girl he knows (not any of the Potter actresses – somebody from his life beyond the films) who had been dubbed 'fat' by certain charming classmates. (Could they possibly be jealous that she knows the boy in question? Surely not!)

'But,' said the actor, in honest perplexity, 'she is really not fat.'

'"Fat" is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her,' I said; I could remember it happening when I was at school, and witnessing it among the teenagers I used to teach. Nevertheless, I could see that to him, a well-adjusted male, it was utterly bizarre behaviour, like yelling 'thicko!' at Stephen Hawking.

His bemusement at this everyday feature of female existence reminded me how strange and sick the 'fat' insult is. I mean, is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be? Is 'fat' worse than 'vindictive', 'jealous', 'shallow', 'vain', 'boring' or 'cruel'? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I'm not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain...

I went to the British Book Awards that evening. After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn't seen for nearly three years. The first thing she said to me? 'You've lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw you!'

'Well,' I said, slightly nonplussed, 'the last time you saw me I'd just had a baby.'

What I felt like saying was, 'I've produced my third child and my sixth novel since I last saw you. Aren't either of those things more important, more interesting, than my size?' But no – my waist looked smaller! Forget the kid and the book: finally, something to celebrate!

So the issue of size and women was (ha, ha) weighing on my mind as I flew home to Edinburgh the next day. Once up in the air, I opened a newspaper and my eyes fell, immediately, on an article about the pop star Pink.

Her latest single, 'Stupid Girls', is the antidote-anthem for everything I had been thinking about women and thinness. 'Stupid Girls' satirises the talking toothpicks held up to girls as role models: those celebrities whose greatest achievement is un-chipped nail polish, whose only aspiration seems to be getting photographed in a different outfit nine times a day, whose only function in the world appears to be supporting the trade in overpriced handbags and rat-sized dogs.

Maybe all this seems funny, or trivial, but it's really not. It's about what girls want to be, what they're told they should be, and how they feel about who they are. I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls. Rant over.

How to choose a martial art.

2008-10-02T18:37:00.009+08:00

Browsing through my youtube favorites I got the chance to watch Eddie Izzard's videos again and his jokes will never get old!!

The pencil is a great idea. :D

22 years ago...

2008-09-29T15:56:00.017+08:00

It's my birthday today!

My day started out great since I woke up to dozens of greetings from my favorite people, so I pretty much got up from bed with a big smile on my face.

So now I'm off to spend my parent's gift to me.

The Boob Song :D

2008-09-26T03:36:00.008+08:00

I have fallen in love with Priscilla Ahn's voice. This is a radio interview that she did a while back. Check this out.

Tim Walker photography

2008-09-26T00:47:00.002+08:00

Shabby chic

2008-09-26T00:09:00.009+08:00

This small restaurant is so shabby chic. Ate lunch here when I was thrift store hunting in Manila with a friend.Their bathroom was so nice and cozy I wanted to take pictures of it, but the light was so dim inside that I couldn't take any decent picture, even though I had a SLR with me. I seriously need to figure out how to use that thing.

The restaurant is located somewhere in the jungle of Bangkal.:D

Kate Bosworth for Elle, October issue

2008-09-23T00:45:00.010+08:00

Oh, isn't she just lovely in this photoshoot?

{Photos taken from 'oh no they didn't'}

Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,Turn this stupid, fat, rat yellow!

2008-09-22T15:54:00.004+08:00

{1. Yellow linen boat neck dress with studded pockets, 'Edie Rose' for DKNY Jeans. 2. Floral print blouse, Nina Ricci. 3. Tony Burch, Spring 2009. 4. The Sartorialist. 5. Steve Madden, Kobraa. 6. Emilio Pucci. 7. L.A.M.B, Camden Scallop Open Toe Bootie. 8. 291, Let Nature Rock II Long Sleeve Pullover Hoodie. 9. Gold & Light - Iberian Hoop Earrings, link. 10. Jewelry Poetry, link. 11. Scintilla mini dress, Missoni, link. 12. French serge day coat, J. Crew.}

An Affair To Remember...

2008-09-22T02:44:00.009+08:00

I'm inlove with this photoshoot by Rodney Smith for the New York Times' fall fashion guide. It is an affair to remember with New York and fashion. Definitely a great combination. =)

{nymag.com}

more of spring 2009 :)

2008-09-22T01:54:00.007+08:00

Erdem...

... Luella

Topshop Unique.

Anyway, something new to inspire.

2008-09-17T18:56:00.005+08:00

I saw this a long time ago. J. Crew in Prague.

Today was a sad day.

2008-09-17T17:40:00.005+08:00

I was at the grocery store this afternoon doing errands for my mom and the man two rows in front of me was having trouble. Apparently, he didn't have enough money with him, and judging from his clothes, you'd understand why. He was looking through his groceries and one by one he handed it back to the scowling cashier. Most of the food items were the basic stuff: cooking oil, coffee, noodles, etc. With a lot of flair, the cashier scanned them back until almost all of his planned purchases were returned. He must not be that smart, as well, because he was having difficulty calculating the food prices to the money he had. It was the most heart-breaking scene I ever witnessed first-hand and it took a lot of effort on my part to stop myself from crying right there on the spot. Until now the scene still brings tears to my eyes. I was so pissed off with the cashier and the woman behind me who kept muttering side comments. God forbid that that ever happens to them. Poverty and its petty humiliations should always be looked on with compassion, not with contempt.

At the same time I resisted the urge to offer my money to pay for them. Looking back, I don't know what stopped me. I should have, you know. I had more than enough with me. Now, my mind is going crazy thinking of possible situations happening at his home. It's dinner time. Was that supposed to be his family's dinner? What are they going to eat now?

How to tell stories.

2008-09-16T22:58:00.008+08:00

From "What I Want To Tell"
by Michael Martone

"What is so funny is that I have, with great authority, told my students all about where to start a story, even using Latin to give it a special patina of power. In medias res. In the middle of things. I tell my students of this ancient technique. How to go backwards from there in order to go forward. Funny, then, that I have started here in this room, in the middle of things, to tell the story again, this time to you who are reading this story. Funny, too, that when I was in the doctor's office and when he asked me the question, "What do you want to tell me?" I, a person who makes a living, more or less, telling stories and teaching other people how to tell stories, was silenced for the moment by the existential nature of the task.

That is, that we must tell stories in some order since our words line up one after another and accumulate and are read here in a conventional sequence from the top down, from left to right, are followed step by step. Now, I am in this room because I am at the end of one rope of words. I wish at this moment I could tell the doctor what I have to tell all at once, simultaneously. Though it is true that the events that have led me here happened in a sequence so much of the sequence now seems repetitive, glossed, as if I have been polishing a table and a flat surface has taken on this depth. Rooms within rooms. I sit there. It is like a pen held to paper, this story I have to tell, the stain of ink spreading, the color deepening everywhere all at once. And I have no words, no means to make them tell. Not a line at all. A dark dark blot spreading."

~ Just so you know, I'm a complete dork. If I find some piece of writing that I really really like, I tend to save it on my computer. And I recently had one of my laundry days, ala Count Vronsky style, when I found certain treasures in my laptop that has been gathering dust. And something about that small snippet made me save it.

A man this beautiful ought to be made illegal

2008-09-16T19:28:00.011+08:00

hat can I say? Prince Caspian stole my heart and he never gave it back. I don't mind, he can have it for all I care, as long as he promises to father my children.

He is not even handsome. He's beautiful! Oh god, he is perfection. He definitely won the genetic lottery it's almost unfair. I have such a weakness for tall, skinny, insanely gorgeous guys.

Supposedly, my Ben Barnes craze subsided a few weeks after the hurrah over Prince Caspian. But now that 'Easy Virtue' is out, its totally back and kicking. The trailer is amazing! I can't wait to see the film. I love the part in the end when Ben is dancing and singing around with Jessica Biel - "let's misbehave..." Enjoy!

Alberta Ferreti Spring

2008-09-15T21:39:00.004+08:00

Oh, and an update of another spring favorite. Alberta Ferreti rarely does wrong in my book.

{c/o style.com}

Sunny Monday :D

2008-09-15T19:51:00.006+08:00

After days of rain and cloudy skies, today was everything sunshine. The air was clean, the sky was blue dotted with wispy clouds. Although the heat was the typical, unbearable, humid kind of heat, seeing the sun definitely made it all worthwhile, and there was the occasional refreshing breeze so it was okay.

I think Manila was at its best today. Even the pollution seemed to think that it shouldn't mess with the picture perfect, high quality resolution of the city. I felt as though I could have shook hands with everyone I met at the street while dancing along with Leona Naess's Sunday Sunday.

I hope everyone had a broadway musical-like day like I did.

{Photos: Sienna Miller, Just Jared, The Sartorialist, Hayden-Harnett 's Prisila Dress, Lookbook.nu}

yah.

2008-09-14T03:38:00.006+08:00

My left hand will live longer than my right. The rivers
of my palms tell me so.
Never argue with rivers. Never expect your lives to finish
at the same time. I think

praying, I think clapping is how hands mourn. I think
staying up and waiting
for paintings to sigh is science. In another dimension this
is exactly what's happening,

it's what they write grants about: the chromodynamics
of mournful Whistlers,
the audible sorrow and beta decay of Old Battersea Bridge.
I like the idea of different

theres and elsewheres, an Idaho known for bluegrass,
a Bronx where people talk
like violets smell. Perhaps I am somewhere patient, somehow
kind, perhaps in the nook

of a cousin universe I've never defiled or betrayed
anyone. Here I have
two hands and they are vanishing, the hollow of your back
to rest my cheek against,

your voice and little else but my assiduous fear to cherish.
My hands are webbed
like the wind-torn work of a spider, like they squeezed
something in the womb

but couldn't hang on. One of those other worlds
or a life I felt
passing through mine, or the ocean inside my mother's belly
she had to scream out.

Here, when I say I never want to be without you,
somewhere else I am saying
I never want to be without you again. And when I touch you
in each of the places we meet,

in all of the lives we are, it's with hands that are dying
and resurrected.
When I don't touch you it's a mistake in any life,
in each place and forever. ~ Bob Hicok

Spring 2009 Love

2008-09-14T01:25:00.009+08:00

Androgyny. Rag & Bone is genius.

The skirts! The colors! The shoes!

I fall in love with Yigal every single time.

{c/o style.com}