derpinsel.com - pixels, stories and texts by angela solis

Grad ball preparations

Three days before the ball. I’ve finally got the stuff that I need. I think I need to get my date those boutonierres (sp) (or as what Jocey calls it, “Man-flowers” LOL). Photo above shows my shoes and my accessories. I’m opting for a classy yet simple look hence I think a pair of glass pearl necklace and earrings will do the trick. I won’t post the photo of the dress yet since it will totally kill the whole thing. Haha. You know the feeling when you wear something and you feel that the dress was really made for you? There you go. I guess the word is COMPLEMENT. More »

Kailangan bang may magbago?

June: buhok mu lang nagbago sa itsura mu eh
Angela: baket kelangan ko ba talaga magbago?
June: i was expecting more changes..
Angela: like?
June: hmm.. di ko lam eh.. gusto ko sana un di na kita makikilala..
Angela: Well sorry I didn’t live up to your expectation. Bakya pa rin ako.

Isang bahagi lamang ito ng pag-uusap namin ni June, dati kong ka-blockmate sa UP, noong nagpang-abot kami sa Y!M kagabi. Isa siya sa mga malapit kong kaibigan noong kolehiyo kaya naman nabigla ako noong nabanggit niya ito sa akin. Kaya naman umariba ang isang tanong: Kailangan bang magbago?

Hindi ko alam kung isa ba itong patunay sa stereotypical image na nabubuo sa isip ng mga Pilipino kapag may mga kaibigan silang nangibang-bansa o tuluyan nang nag-migrate. Anong klaseng pagbabago ba ang inaasahan nila? Kailangan bang blonde o may tina na ang buhok? Kailangan bang slang o may twang na sa pananalita? Kailangan bang hindi na matatas sa wikang Filipino?

Hindi ko alam, medyo nabagabag kasi ako sa ideyang ito. Kasi kung totoo man ito, maraming implications. Tulad na lamang na kailangang alisin ang pagiging mukhang Pilipino at kailangang maging banyaga. Para “hindi na makilala.”

Pero sa totoo lang, wala akong makitang dahilan para dumaan pa ang isang Pilipinong nangibang-bayan sa ganitong magastos na proseso para lamang “hindi siya makilala” ng kanyang mga naiwang kaibigan sa Pilipinas. Wala namang nakakahiya kung moreno ang kulay ng iyong balat (ang mga sobrang puti nga, gumagastos nang maigi sa mga tanning salons para maging kulay tan o moreno lang eh). Wala namang nakakahiya kung nagsasalita pa rin ako ng Pilipino sa loob ng bus kapag kausap ko ang mga kapwa ko Pilipino.

Mas gusto ko ang ideyang sa kabila ng matagal kong pamamalagi sa ibang bansa (at pagiging mamamayan nito), ay napanatili ko pa rin ang mga bagay na makakapagpatunay na isa pa rin akong Pilipino. Hindi iyon nakakahiya. At hindi iyon kailangang magbago.

Halos two weeks na

Out of 5 subjects, 4 na yung naka-upload sa online record ko sa school. Ang nakakaasar pa nito, isang buwan na lang before ng graduation ko. Hindi ko alam kung magmamartsa ba ako dahil nga ang tagal mag-release ng grade ng professor ko. Ang nakaka-badtrip pa, elective naman ‘yun at saka alam ko namang pumasa ako. At eto pa. Yung klaseng ‘yun, pinasa ko yung requirement a couple of days before my dreaded 3-consecutive day final exams. Tapos nauna pa ‘yung 3 final grades ko dun sa 3 klaseng ‘yon! Anakanaman.

Anyhow, grad ball ko sa Biyernes. Will upload photos siyempre. At saka may bago na naman akong trabaho. So at the moment, dalawa yung p/t jobs ko. Tamang-tama para makaipon ako at makapagbakasyon.

Eli Eli Lema Sabachtani?

Eli Eli Lema Sabachtani? (My Lord, My Lord, Why Have You Forsaken Me?, 2005)
Director: Aoyama Shinji
As far as I can remember I’ve never seen any of Aoyama Shinji’s films, so I decided to check out Eli Eli Lema Sabachtani?. After all, with Miyazaki Aoi and Asano Tadanobu in the cast, I shouldn’t be worried about the film at all.

However, I think Eli Eli is not a movie for everyone. There’s a contrast between the deafening silence (due to limited dialogues) and deafening noise (due to Asano’s and Masaya’s music) that abound the film, and before you even reach the first half of the story, you might start to wonder a.) what the movie is about and b.) is it really worth watching.

The movie’s relatively short. The only thing is that there’s a lot of mundane activities going on in the film that makes it feel really slow and dragging. I guess the director purposely did that, but I have no idea why. What I really enjoyed in this film is the cinematography. The wash-out colors suit the atmosphere of the movie.

To-watch list

TokyoxErotica, Green Minds Metal Bats, Stereo Future, Daiten…, Moonlight Whisperers, All About my Dog, Gomen, Hana-bi, Saiyuki, Calling You, Hotel Hibiscus, Onmyouji, Sway, Tampopo, Maboroshi, The Pornographers, Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me and Sometimes Dad, Shindo, Tony Takitani, Dreams, April Story

Galileo (ガリレオ)

Addicting. I guess that’s one way to describe this show. The actual format is quite predictable, as it is a detective / crime / mystery drama, but the way it was presented is a bit different. The main character (played by Fukuyama Masaharu) is actually a physicist and the female protagonist (portrayed by Shibasaki Kou) is a rookie cop. I just like the way how ‘educational’ this show is because the show is brimming with scientific knowledge.

I adored Shibasaki Kou here. I’ve seen her in Maison de Himiko before (didn’t notice her in Battle Royale though lol) and I really like the way she portrayed the role. You can actually see and feel that she internalized the role really well. Her expressions were well-shown but not exaggerated to the point that her character’s being a caricature. And of course, Fukuyama Masaharu had an amazing performance as Prof. Yukawa/Galileo.

This show will make you like physics. Seriously.

Detective Academy Q (探偵学園Q)

Ang saya ng show na ‘to. I really like detective / mystery TV series kaya I tried watching this. This time though the lead characters are teenagers. Despite that, the show emphasized the idea of deductive reasoning and investigation instead of having the kids really rely on gadgets. Even though one of them is the tech genius, he’s usually focused on programming and using the internet to investigate. Nothing fancy, but the show seemed really real.

I think the only part of the show that seemed ‘fake’ is the actual use of hypnosis. Or maybe I’m just skeptical because I really don’t believe in it.

One Pound Gospel (１ポンドの福音)

Ang weird ng show na ‘to, haha. Hindi ako sanay na perky yung character ni Kamenashi Kazuya. Tapos tungkol pa siya sa boxing, eh hindi naman ako talaga fan ng sport na ‘to (aside sa Wii kasi maganda siyang total body workout, hehe). Anyhow, okay naman yung show pero ang dami pa ring loose ends. In general nakakatawa ‘tong show na ‘to kasi may elements ng religion at… it’s like giving the idea that having a conflict between one’s commitment to the Church and to one’s personal feelings is quite easy. In short parang hindi masyado kabigat yung approach ng drama dito. Not really sure if the manga worked that way though (that’s why I’m interested in reading it). Dahil ba sa dominant religion sa Japan kaya iba rin ang approach sa Catholicism? Hrrm.

Nevertheless, ang ganda ni Kuroki Meisa dito. ♥

Suppli (サプリ)

Pinanood ko ‘to kasi binabasa ko yung manga. Ang masasabi ko? Wala, nakakairita yung character ni Ito Misaki dito. For some reason hindi ako maka-relate dun sa character niya at sa iba pang nandun sa drama, which is weird kasi sobrang hit right-on-the-spot yung plot ng manga sa akin.

I guess because I hate how she and Kamenashi Kazuya’s character ended up together in the end. Napaka-fairy tale-ish ng ending. Para sa akin things don’t really work that way in real life. Agrh. Basta. Dapat talaga her character ended up with Eita’s character. Hindi ko maintindihan, agrh. Basta nakakainis. Tapos, well, nakakainis din yung plot ng drama in general, tinapos ko lang para may basis ang pinagsasabi ko, pero well, ayun nakakainis.

Ang pangit pa ng kissing scenes, ang o-awkward, parang ewan.

First day of (permanent) vacation

Well, hopefully it’s a permanent one. I’m worried about one of my exam results. Ang haba kaya! Tapos 60% pa yung weight nun. Nakakagago.

Guess what arrived in my mail today? It’s my copy of Nachural photobook na binili ko from Jocey. Hehehehe. Ang saya ko kasi andito si Takagi Shinpei, hahaha. Hindi ko pa natitignan nang maayos pero so far natuwa ako sa mga shots. Sulit. Hindi ko pa napapanood yung DVD baka bukas na lang. More »