Summer in the Philippines is here!!! We will have long break from work next week due to observance of the Holy Week, a Christian tradition.
I going home to the province, and these books will accompany me during waiting at the airport, land trip, beach frolick, and free time at home.
You, what are your summer readings?
The Oscars is done. It is time to go back to reading fiction, and continue with the unfinished business of books scattered in my bedside. I haven’t open a single book since December, and it was akin to committing a serious crime. That’s how it feels for someone who reads a lot of fiction. I miss the smell of paper, and the sound of pages as you turn a page.
I am currently reading 3 books at the same time, 2 fiction and 1 semi-autobiography. Oh well, its my comeuppance for being inactive for a long time. But I am not complaining.
For a bookworm, that’s a joy.
It was my first time to be in Tacloban, Leyte and how ironic to note that I went there not to enjoy the scenery of the place or appreciate the architecture of San Juanico Bridge, but as Guruji says, to pour forth into action the inner joy to serve.
I went on a sunny Friday weekend from Manila, together with several BeST teachers who happen to be my work colleagues. I kept my expectations low of the place, because the footage I got from the news is that the place is still in disarray and there’s still so much things to do in terms of relief and needs.
This is the worst place I have seen after a typhoon, to think that it’s been three weeks since Yolanda struck the city. The air in some area still stench of dead animals and unaccounted humans. Garbage and wastes littered the streets. There’s a semblance of normalcy in the city because local residents are doing what they can to move on—busy with cleaning and sweeping the streets, fixing roofs, laughing from their different experiences. But the fact remains that the trauma from what happened still lingers.
I am a volunteer for Art of Living Philippines, an international NGO dealing with stress elimination and inner peace. We were sent there to do Breath & Sound Therapy (BeST) for Yolanda survivors. It is a sound and breathing technique for kids and adults that can help them cope with trauma, so they can go on with their lives normally.
We were divided into 3 groups so we can maximize coverage of the area. My first BeST salvo was in the morning of Saturday, November 30. We went to Barangay Anibong, a seaside community that was heavily affected by the typhoon. Residents were temporarily housed in a school. We went there around 10AM, and a group of volunteers from a local hospital is doing a medical mission. They are using the stage of the school so we have to make use of the flat ground fronting the stage for the BeST session. With sun shining brightly, and no shelter to cover from, we have to make use of the tiny shade from the stage so we can start with the games first. Initially, I started the program with 8 kids joining, but when the Tree Pose game started (a balance game, like mountain pose but standing with one leg), more kids joined. They were smiling and enjoying the fun, even if some of them are in direct sunlight. The best thing about this group is that they are very easy to follow instructions. When I say that they will close their eyes while saying OM, they follow. Very well behaved.
My second lead of the BeST was in the afternoon in Redemptorist Church. Most of the evacuees were sent home when we got there, so we have to make do with the remaining kids who are still there. We did our BeST inside the church. I have to keep my tone a little lower because some adults are praying inside. I started with exercises and stretching, telling them that this is just the same as what they do prior to flag ceremony in school (maybe, some of them missed going to school now). It’s good to know that most of them are laughing while doing it, a reassuring sight for a teacher to see.
I am reminded that to give without expecting anything in return is the true nature of divine love which we all should aspire. The unexplainable feeling of happiness that I felt from seeing kids laughing while they are doing the activities, and thanking us when we are to leave, is a momentous treasure that I will keep for the rest of my life. Teaching BeST connects me to these kids, and makes them a part of me. This connectivity dissolves barriers that separate our happiness from their happiness.
I commit myself to doing more of this in the future, amidst busy routines, because it breaks my boundary of what love truly is; that loving every human being unconditionally is our true Self.
My perspective of things gets deeper as I practice seva regularly. As the famous saying said, we come to realize that the true measure of our lives is not how much we have gained for ourselves, but how much we have given to others.
I read one book per week. Okay, that’s a little slow versus hardcore readers out there. But for someone who has a work daily from Monday to Saturday, and who only finds the time to read in between meals and at night, one book a week is somewhat acceptable.
But the past 3 weeks, I have been shutting my eyes from browsing through pages of pulp fiction. The culprit? TV series. I know, lame. How can a reader prefer the boob-tube over books!
TV series, at least in the UK and US, has been very nice for the past several years. They are like mini-movies in terms of cinematography and production design. I don’t watch local Pinoy telenovelas.
Aside from my usual staples of TV series that I enjoy for several seasons like Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, The Killing, Homeland, The Good Wife, and Dexter there are also newly released TV shows that looks promising.
My evenings are spent on these new shows. You may also like them.
1. Orphan Black (BBC America). This is a Canadian production, and the first season (with 10 episodes) was pick by BBC America for US audience. It tells the cautionary tale of cloning humans in the modern world. It’s fast-paced, gripping and the lead star, Tatiana Maslany, is a believable character doing different roles.
2. The Bridge (AMC). After Breaking Bad ended, I was kinda looking for a TV series with the same setting—desert, drug cartel, and the like. I think that I find that association in The Bridge, the US version of a Swede tv series (UK/French has its own version titled The Tunnel). It is about a killer within the El Paso (Texas) and Juarez (Mexico) border. The first season has just ended, and I suggest you watch it.
I am currently watching Under The Dome (CBS), but these two new series are far more superior in terms of storyline. I don’t know if I will go back to reading after I finish this, but two series are lining up! The Fall and Top of the Lake.
Well, I guess I have to balance the two. Reading and watching TV series can co-exist in my busy schedule.
It’s fall season in countries with four seasons. And in Hollywood, fall season also means award-worthy films are started to be release in time for attention from award giving bodies at the end of the year—Golden Globes, Academy Awards, AFI, BAFTA, etc.
In Manila, we have been noticing good films for the past one month starting with The Butler (Lee Daniels), Rush (Ron Howard), Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve), and Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron).
This week, another foreign language entry of UK is being release in the Philippines. It is directed by a Briton, Sean Ellis, acted by Filipino actors, set in the Philippines. “Metro Manila” opens in cinemas this week, and I hope that you all catch it.
Next week, another award worthy film is about to be shown—Captain Philipps (Paul Greengrass). It stars Tom Hanks, whose acting is being touted as a contender for Lead Actor nomination.
In the US, critics are raving about the new movie from David O. Russell “American Hustle.” All its lead and supporting actors are being projected to be nominated again come awards season.
From the films I have seen, Gravity and Rush are so far my top of mind as award worthy.
It is September. And it’s been raining for the past three days. There’s not much to do, because you cannot (or tired to) go out. So just stay indoor, and grab a nice book to read.
These are my recommended books, published in the past 3 months, for your reading pleasure.
1. The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri.
One of the most anticipated books of the year, it revolves around the story of two brothers in India and their choices in life, and how it will affect them when they get old.
2. The Red Sparrow, by Jason Matthews
The author is a 33 years veteran of the CIA, it tells the story of US and Russian intelligence organizations. And if that won’t make you curious enough, how about telling you that Darren Aronofsky is turning this book into a film.
3. The English Girl, by Daniel Silva
Another thriller from a fantastic storyteller. It tells the story of a British Prime Minister after his name is drag from a missing woman in Corsica. He has to hire an Israeli spy to fix things up for him. Great read.
Happy reading!!!
When I first saw the trailer, I know right away that I will like it. True enough, when I saw it last weekend in Greenbelt during the Cinemalaya 2013 week, I immediately fall in love from the first five seconds into the film, when they are showing the different summer games played in the province like palo sebo. This is very close to home. It reminds me of my childhood days. 🙂
The story revolves around two siblings, Diana and Julian, living alone in a small hut outside a ricefield in a small district (purok) in Tarlac. It follows the experiences of Diana, as she experience to fall in love for the first time.
The most funny, and memorable scene in the movie is when Julian discovered a blood spot on his sister’s lower garment (read: first menstruation). They are about to go in the barangay plaza then to see the dance number of her crush.
They eventually catch the number, but failed to hear the speech prior to the dance number where her crush dedicates the number to her.
Set against the backdrop of family displacement due to Filipino diaspora, Purok 7 is a simple film with an affectionate longing for the audience to embrace even after they left the cinema.
Me, it’s nostalgic. Some of the funny things the two kids did in the film, I also did when I was a kid in the province. 🙂
In quantum physics, singularity is defined as a phenomenon where the past, present and future became interrelated in the space-time continuum. It was discussed in the movie, Sana Dati, and it is the backbone of the story.
Andrea (Lovi Poe) is getting married that day. A videographer (Paulo Avelino) reminds her of her boyfriend before who died. She really love that person, and she felt as if the videographer is an incarnation of the past. She cried, went confused if she wants to pursue the wedding or not.
This is one beautiful story of lost love, holding on, and moving on. I saw it twice, and the concept of singularity did happen that wedding day—the past is represented by Lovi Poe’s dead boyfriend, the present is the presence of Paulo Avelino as the videographer in the wedding, and the future is TJ Trinidad, her soon-to-be husband.
My favorite scene is the movie is when Lovi Poe is in the hotel kitchen, waiting for Paulo Avelino to meet her to elope, only to find out that he stood her up. When she is crying there, you can really feel how she is holding on and grieving inside. She was reminded of the good memories of the past by seeing someone in the present, but she know at the back of her mind that the best way to move forward is for her to let go, and embrace TJ Trinidad as her newfound love.
Bittersweet.
I really hope that this movie will have its commercial run in the cinemas at the soonest possible time so everybody can see and appreciate it.
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By the way, what is the title of the song at the end credits?
Two of my office mates has joined me in running, and we started doing outdoor Sunday runs for the last three weeks now.
We started running in the academic oval of University of the Philippines Diliman campus. We run for 5 loops within the oval. Here are some of our photos.
These two friends are Jayson and Marlan. The former already runs, so it is okay for him to run five loops in the oval. Marlan, on the other hand, did it for the first time but enjoyed the whole five loops. But we did not told him that he should have run 3 loops only as a beginner. The following day, his legs hurt. And he walks like he had just been circumcised. 🙂
The following week, we did a night run, instead. The three of us decided to run in Bonifacio Global City. We started around 7pm, and run for an hour within the new business district. It was also good to run there at night because the whole place is vibrant.
This Sunday, our third week, we decided to run from Mandaluyong (where we are all based) to Rizal Park in Manila. It is roughly 11km. These are our pictures after the run.
I don’t know where our running shoes will get us in our next Sunday habit. Watch out!
Nice teaser for HTC One Mini to be launch later this year.
My Brain Farts 