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

Summer Reads

With the way my schedule works this summer, I don’t think I’ll be able to read a huge amount of books. I am saying this even though I’m done with school. But at this rate, I think everything’s doing okay, it’s just that I read slower than usual. As of today, I read 20 books already for this year; manga included.

By the time I get my “real” vacation in September, I’ll be reading less. I think I have more time by the end of the year (November-December) because I practically have nothing to do there.

So… until August I’m planning to finish Murakami’s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Mishima’s The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Jose’s Tree, and Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. The latter is actually a “banned” book so I’m a bit scared reading it really. It’s a pretty big book and I was planning to bring it on my way to Manila (while on the plane), but then had second thoughts about it and decided that… nah, I’ll just read it at home. We never know, right?

I ♥ Moleskine

This is random, but I love my new 18-month Moleskine Agenda. I bought it because I heard from friends back home that the quality of paper’s good, so I decided to give it a try — first by buying a small ruled reporter’s notebook (which I used as a repository of to-do list and other random thoughts that I want to put on paper). And then I asked Lem if she could drop by the bookstore last week and get me the agenda. My current one’s about to end this July, and I need a new one (photo shown).

I know that the notebook’s claim to fame is that it is the alleged type of writing material that famous artists used (or at least, it was patterned from), I actually like this notebook because of the way how the pen just glides on the surface perfectly. It is an amazingly amazing notebook. I might get a notebook soon as a my travel companion.

Printing Monochrome

I went to school this afternoon to have my negatives printed already. They’ve been sitting here for months and I only managed to print stuff kanina. Still I wasn’t able to print one more roll (I thought there’s nothing left). Kaya sa susunod na lang.

I have a bad scanner. Or maybe I don’t know how to utilize it. It’s giving my scanned photos weird blots of shiny spots that’s why they look, well, “scanned.” More »

Sasayaki

Sasayaki / Moonlight Whisperers (ささやき ,1999)
Hindi ko ‘to na-gets. Ewan! Basta ang tingin ko sa movie na ‘to eh weird. Isa pang pumasok sa utak ko eh, “ano ba ang mga kabataan ngayon, kung ano-anong eksperimento ang ginagawa!?” kasi para sa akin, napaka-unlikely na gawin ng mga tipikal na teenagers yung ginawa nila dito sa movie. Pero naisip ko, well, eh movie ‘to eh. Walang basagan ng trip.

Pero siyempre kelangan ko guluhin yung trip ng direktor dito, kasi siyempre movie ‘to eh, kelangan may manood, ha ha!

Tungkol ito sa isang lalaking teenager na may crush sa kanyang kaibigang kasama sa kendo. Pero, hindi lang crush pala ang tingin niya sa babaeng ito. Uh… sabihin na nating may kakaiba siyang fetish, he he. So eventually naging sila nung girl at nadiskubre ng girl ang kakaibang fetish na ‘to, na eventually ay nag-ignite din sa fetish niya. Ahaha, sabi na ang labo eh.

Para sa akin, ang Sasayaki ay tungkol sa love and its forms, no matter how bizarre they are. Personally, I don’t even think na “love” yung na-feel nung dalawang bida dito. Para lang talaga silang nag-e-experiment, with disastrous results. For me it’s not about the lost of innocence, but how (young) people should weigh the consequences of their actions. Wala lang, para kasi silang may sariling mundo kaya nakakainis.

Ong-Bak

Ong-Bak (2003)
Nung binasa ko yung synopsis na nasa likod ng DVD case at tsaka yung mismong title, akala ko Ong-Bak yung name ni Tony Jaa, he he. Hindi dapat “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior” ang North American title ng movie; dapat Ong-Bak lang. Bakit pa kasi nilagyan ng second title, mali naman.

Anyway, gusto ko ‘tong movie na ‘to kahit wala naman masyadong laman yung movie. Eto yung tipo ng palabas na papanoorin mo lang siya dahil maganda siya panoorin pero hindi naman magiging sabaw ang utak mo kapag pinanood mo siya. Basically, isa talaga siyang martial-arts film — wala ka nang aasahan kundi puro muay thai. Na hindi naman masama kasi hindi naman kine-claim ng movie na artsy-fartsy siya.

Pero maganda ang Ong-Bak visually. Maganda yung tones ng sepia at brown, at saka malinaw talaga yung kuha. Very crisp. As for Tony Jaa’s performance, ang galing niya, in fairness. Hindi pa siya pa-cute (eh hindi naman kelangan). Basta, hot siya dito, he he. Natuwa ako.

Uwian na!

Nakuha ko na yung ticket (may utang pa ako sa nanay ko) at passport ko kahapon! Tuloy na ang uwi ko, yehey!

Ang Pagsundo

Sinundo namin si Sybil sa airport last Sunday ng hatinggabi (bale Lunes na ‘yun di ba?). Nagbakasyon kasi siya sa Pilipinas sa loob ng isang buwan. Ayun, para ring hindi siya umuwi kasi bihira naman din kaming lumabas dahil nga kinakain na ako ng buhay ng mga trabaho ko, he he. Tsaka lagi kasi siyang nag-a-upload ng pictures sa Multiply kaya alam din namin kung anong ginagawa niya.

Anyway, so ayun. Nagpabili ako sa kanya ng Twisted 7 at Twisted 8 ni Zafra. Babayaran ko na nga, kaso sabi ni Sybil pasalubong na lang, he he. Pumunta ako sa kanila pagkasundo tapos ayun, nag-unravel na naman sa harapan ko kung paano nagiging smuggler ang isang balikbayan (to quote Rex Navarrete).

Charlie Wilson’s War

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)
Para sa akin, crash course sa Cold War ‘tong movie na ‘to. In between watching eh tinatanong ko ‘yung tatay ko (na nakumbinsi kong manood kasama ko instead na mag-chess lang siya sa Yahoo!) kung ano ba yung nangyari nung Cold War tsaka yung mga nangyari sa bansang involved dito. Siyempre kuwento naman ‘yung tatay ko.

Hindi ako fan ng mga war films. Eh hindi ko alam kung tungkol saan ‘tong movie na ‘to kaya hiniram ko, so ayun. Okay naman siya. Gusto ko yung cinematography kasi washout yung color ng film pero crisp pa rin yung texture. Galing pa umarte ng mga artista dito.

Graduation Thanksgiving and Birthday Dinner

Nung Sabado ay nag-host ako at ang nanay ko ng simpleng salo-salo for my graduation and for our birthday (remember magkasunod kami ng nanay ko?). I invited my close friends at masaya ako since yung iba sa amin (i.e. Austine, Rei and Jona) ay matagal ko nang hindi nakikita, he he.

So ayun, hindi naman engrandeng event, maliit na dinner lang tsaka kuwentuhan; we caught up with our lives kasi hindi na nga nagkikita because of summer classes and work. More »

Universal Scent

Eto na naman ako sa mga trivial na bagay na napapansin ko, he he.

It rained last Friday and yesterday here in Winnipeg, and it just so happened that I worked at my other job where I usually walk for 15 minutes in order to get there (5-minute bus ride muna bago lakad). Since walang kuwenta ang payong sa bahay and it was raining really hard (dagdag ko na rin pala na malakas din yung hangin), I decided to hail a taxi. My work isn’t really far from my place, but since the weather isn’t cooperating, I might as well take a different mode of transportation without getting myself drenched.

Nga pala, I find the last statement weird, especially that I spent 17 years experiencing numerous typhoons back in the Philippines. But anyway.

When I took the taxi yesterday morning, I noticed something: TAXIS HAVE THE SAME SCENT. It’s weird. I took taxis in the Philippines before (when I go to Manila/Makati area) and if you just rule out the smell of air fresheners, the quality of air inside taxis is SOMETHING. Sa Pilipinas palang yan. When this thought occured to me, I realized na pareho yung amoy ng taxi na sinakyan ko kahapon at yung sinakyan ko sa Philippines.

Could someone please tell me what causes taxis to have this kind of air? Because it’s… baffling. I don’t know.