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because to me the ultimate kabastusan, what is truly disgusting, is to pretend to be of the marginalized, when you are so obviously already in prized posts in Malacanang, and at this point are coming off as a presidential sister, too. you might imagine your kabastusan the acceptable kind, but you are no better than Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo making her son and allies run for partylist rep. for all your anti-GMA rhetoric PNoy, you are becoming like her in many ways. complete… Continue reading »
when my friend TJ Dimacali asked if i had seen this rappler piece, my response was a resounding “no” just because i keep from going to rappler when i can. in the past month or so though, people have been alerting me about certain articles and kinds of writing that point precisely to its, uh, identity crisis? or just its biases (kayo na ang nagtitinda ng magnum at coke at naglalagay ng obvious PR pieces under “lifestyle” and “business” instead of… Continue reading »
two weeks since the discussion that had most everyone ganging up on UST and Lito Zulueta and siding with Marites Danguilan Vitug ang rappler.com, where is the discourse on media (online and otherwise) at this point? rappler has quietly revealed itself to be about helping out government instead of being a critical voice that at the very least asks: how much was paid BBDO for this campaign and is it worth it? i guess no questions like that for “uncompromised journalism” now tagging… Continue reading »
while i try and wrap my head around the mere existence of this movie, here’s a male voice i trust and love because it is consistent and self-conscious and always intelligent, even as it is Pinoy male macho. Ang tunay na lalake ay walang abs (At iba pang komento sa pelikulang Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story) ni Yol Jamendang Eto ang lagay – matagal na, matagal na matagal na akong hindi nakakakita ng trailer ng pelikulang Pilipino na may… Continue reading »
By Joel Santiago I practically exhorted my Mom into writing in fairness to the president. “This is a show of force, a fierce display of political will,” I said. This is how he’ll get things done in Philippines politics — with change happening so fast it’ll make the trapos’ heads spin. And isn’t this how you’d want it? The only possible way it can happen? The only way to dig out of our entrenchment in the status quo? (Yeah, I was… Continue reading »
because i’ve been thinking about, which is to say struggling with, writing and self-centeredness, this can only be serendipitous: a piece on poetry, but which is really about writing, from mabi david: To write is to come to an awareness, says Carolyn Forché, which I believe wholeheartedly. I write because it is the way available to me of thinking about the world, of apprehending experience. Thus is the self implicated in the poem. We must write with vigorous self-reflection and… Continue reading »
<…> as with many women, Callas also just wanted love. And this apparently, was her failing. Seeing her teach this master class though, is a testament as well to her spirit. She was stereotype, yes, she was diva, as expected. But too, she’s a woman who knows not to rest on her laurels, and instead actually wants to share it. That soft spot is what’s startlingly overwhelming about her persona. Cherie portrays Marie One realizes two things in watching Master… Continue reading »
“Ninoy’s Testament From A Prison Cell and other writings might enlighten Noynoy a little about the Left. if there were no poverty and oppression, there would be no Left; snubbing and demonizing the Left (instead of finding a way for Left and Right to work together for the good of the whole) would not have been Ninoy’s way, is no way to honor Ninoy’s legacy, in fact it dishonors Ninoy’s legacy.” And while Stuart Santiago seems to have decided, I have yet… Continue reading »
my friend Andrea Teran wrote and posted this on her Facebook account. absolutely worth reading, and just so goddamn true it’s crazy that we have yet to hear/read speeches such as this. just missing a section on freedom of expression and extrajudicial killings, pero winner pa rin. and presidenteng papatol/gagawa/maniniwala sa speech na ‘to. at si Drey of course. :) ****** For This and No Other Or, A Draft Campaign Speech for Any of the Next Possible Philippine Presidents, Provided… Continue reading »
a version of this was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Arts and Books section, October 26 2009. She was obviously overwhelmed silly by the fact that she was chosen as one of ten most exciting young artists. Which is no surprise really. Dina Gadia is the youngest of the group at 23, and just might have more going for her other than her age: she has a clear sense of what it is that interests her, where her art… Continue reading »
a version of this was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer‘s Arts and Books section, October 26 2009. Kiri Dalena looks at me and acknowledges familiarity – here was no high and mighty, isolated and removed artist. After establishing the lines that bound us, she jokingly whispers a rhetorical question, “I am not young or exciting … why am I here?” There is nothing here in fact but self-deprecation, and a whole lot of humility. Kiri talks about her art, diverse… Continue reading »
from stuartsantiago, after a lot of research, and yes, a lot of common sense. i understand the need to focus on relief, but please, let us be clear about who’s at fault here other than nature, other than the lack of urban planning, other than squatters (na tanging salarin, sabi ni Bayani Fernando). there were those dams, and there was someone responsible for releasing water from all two (or three!) at a time when yes, the rains were enough to… Continue reading »
i say plagiarism, at the very least, is a shameful display of one’s inability to write. and think. my nanay speaks: while it was great that upon cory’s death pinoy tv was swamped with docus that revisited her exalted place in philippine history, one docu, Laban ni Cory, produced and aired many times by ABS-CBN 2 from august 2 onward, raised my ire and my eyebrows. my ire because some of karen davila’s narrative spiels covering the period of the… Continue reading »
hindi ko mapigilang magkomento sa ilang mga naging pahayag hinggil sa note na ito. una, sa pamantayan ng ‘preferable’ o hindi, totoo namang mas maganda sana kung hindi “umatras” si nicole at ang kanyang pamilya. kung hindi sana sila napagod at nagtuloy-tuloy na lang sa laban. sa anumang punto de bista — bilang kapwa babae, bilang kapwa Pilipino, o kahit pa bilang biktima — walang puwedeng magkaila na mas maganda at kaayaaya sa mata ng publiko kung hindi inexecute ni… Continue reading »