I know you can't save me.

After Life

Oh dears, you have to read the latest issue of BtVS' eight season . I know a have very limited exposure to comic books, but I must say that the experimental, almost innovative storytelling style (narrator boxes mingle with dialogue bubbles, in one scene involving Giles; Andrew's TV advertisement about the slayers' support group), and the inspired lines ("I tried to feel it. I tried to face the darkness like a woman and I don’t need anymore than that. You don’t have to remember me. You don’t even know who I am but I do."), will just blow you away and change the way you look and appreciate comic books. Whedon's masterpieces are slowly becoming classics of the genre.

The weight of the world

Lately I noticed how everyone's been using the term "bayani" in the same breath as "ano" or "tsaka". I originally thought it is only used to refer to someone who has offered the greatest possible sacrifice for a cause greater than him- or herself. I even thought it is reserved only to those who have given up their lives for others, otherwise there sure are other things greater worth sacrificing. Living heroes sound oxymoronic, more so partying, decadent heroes.

It began when my colleagues and I passed by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani memorial along EDSA near Quezon Avenue, depicting a woman raising one of her arms while the other is holding on to a slumped (unconscious?) man. The first thing that came to mind are our dometic workers abroad, majority of whom are female. Despite the glaring sexism and whether my interpretation was correct or not, what bothered me most is the labelling of Filipinos seeking greener pastures abroad as "bayani". While I certainly agree that they help a great deal in keeping our ailing economy from complete collapse, I doubt whether we should apply to them the greatest title a country can give its citizen. For one, they're probably in a much, much better place and condition than where we currently are, save for the many DHs who work under abusive and oppressive employers. And even if they don't exactly enjoy where they are right now, I doubt if it was the greater good that brought them there. I have never heard of a hero even from another country who's ticket to the history books is the burning desire to buy his or her family their own townhouse or a brand new car.

I mean let's thank them with all our hearts for sending us dollars, and let's sympathize with them that they have to leave their families behind just to earn a living. But I think "bayani" is more fitting a title to those who choose to work their butts off in this God-forsaken country, not because there is no way out, but because they simply want to.

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Just imagine my irritation upon seeing ordinary Ateneo students wearing t-shirts with a really humble and unmistakably modest print saying "Bawat Atenista, Bayani." I swear I could have laughed my shallow brains off, but annoyance engulfed me faster than I could muster enough courage to point to that Atenista and laugh at him while at, where else, what they call quad.

Since when did students who give a token what, semester or two, in the company of maralitas and then proceeding with their capricious and decadent lives after receiving their class cards ever qualified for the term? I sure didn't mean to generalize, as I have very good friends and relatives who are Atenistas, but the idea does. Notice the "bawat"? So pardon me if I do, too. I doubt whether these students really are up to offer anything for something greater, seeing how reluctant they are to give up even a few minutes of their sorry lives to vote in their student government elections.

It still amazes me where this institution - where I'm currently working - gets its school spirit aside from playing really good basketball. Sure, if I'm a university I would certainly get it from really good research outputs, which they don't really put out. I hardly saw any citation from this school by ISI-indexed journals when I was still doing coursework in my MA and undergrad research, and haven't read any studies from this school making it to the dailies' headlines. Spirituality- and formation-wise (I'll give this to them, even if I don't think any decent university here or abroad would really care that much about their students' beliefs), I don't see it as well, judging by its "exclusivity" and stratospherically high fees. I don't think Jesus would ask me eighty grand per sem just to hear his teachings. And then of course, there is the general snotty feel of the place.

I wish UP had great basketball players, too.

I must admit though, they produce really good talkers. And I must stop my envious blabbering before it turns into serious school bashing. Advanced happy sesquicentennial, ADMU!;-)

Desktop Monster

This video, forwarded to me by a friend, is weirdly hilarious. While I love trying out new applications and pimping out my desktop, I wouldn't want this guest on my PC. In the end though, it might actually prove to be useful.

Shangri-La

Photos taken from me and my parents' Mindanao trip. I originally wanted to visit Camiguin and Siargao (places everyone I know has been to and hyped up), but the trip became some sort of a homecoming for the Quina clan - many of whom flew in from abroad that week. So I decided to scrap my itinerary and tag along with my relatives.

These photos were taken from and on our way to visit Tinago Falls along the border of Marawi and Iligan City. It was literally "tinago" as one could imagine - we had to go off-road and use dirt tracks to reach the descent point, and we had to go down 300+ steep and jagged steps to reach the base of the falls. The older folks were complaining, but realized it was worth every joint pain upon seeing the falls in its pristine glory. In contrast to the Maria Cristina falls which we also visited, Tinago was not as crowded and not as developed; there was only another group when we visited, of about 5 people.

Visit my Multipy site for more pictures.

Original sin

My issue with Joss Whedon is that he's beginning to be too much of a fanboy himself.

For those who aren't in the mix, Joss (yes, we're on a first name basis) continues the eight season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comicbook form. The storyline quite literally follows where the show we religiously, obsessively followed for 7 years left off, except now budget constraints are no longer an issue. Now he can make Buffy flykick and do midair roundhouse even while falling from a glass roof, without having to concern himself with its choreographic or logistic (im)possibility (or deal with Gellar's tantrums). In fact, the darkly cute Willow and Amy - her former pet (literally) and witch-bitch - can be seen engaging in a spectacular magical fight that can rival Dumbledore's and Voldemort's in issue 4. Hmm, I would like to test that theory. ;-)

But Joss heavily invests on how the slayerverse played out in the last two seasons of the show, which is understandable, but can be quite disappointing for the fans. Yes, I do love dikey Willow, and I have no problems with one-eyed Xander. I must admit though that activating slayers the world over spoiled the whole drama. It was a resolution that fans knew was coming, but fervently hoped Whedon wouldn't allow because admit it or not, the drama ergo the story is all about the one girl in all the world who will stand against vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. In walks Faith in season 3, and I wanted post-Buffy slayerville to be about her, standing against vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness, alone. It also helped that Joss' writing of Faith is just too interesting and the casting, hot.

SPOILER

Joss however refused to fail popular expectations, and decided to end Buffy's TV run with an army of slayers that the now uber-powerful Willow activated. So we see that Buffy is given a chance to lay her arms down. And then we are told that he spent his post-Buffy break writing The Astonishing X-Men.

Being a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, as well as being impressed with Firefly and his turn in Stan Lee's iconic mutant characters, it is no question to me that Joss is a genius of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. But working on multiple storylines must have taken its toll, and it appears that he is now jumbling everything up. With thousands of slayers running around, the latest season shows the government and some demonic order conspiring to destroy the slayer population out of fear that they might eventually take over the world given their inhuman abilities. In fact, as of issue 5, it appears to be about slayer-discrimination/fear, the same way X-Men was about mutants and mutant hate/fear.

I hope season 8 doesn't turn out to be that derivative. It's too early to judge anyway. And I will love slayerverse, bad or good season notwithstanding.

Hardwork

Last night my colleague forwarded to me what she claimed was a leaked copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I asked her to send me a copy after she casually mentions that she had already read it, a revelation which caused me shock and awe beyond Bush's firepower. While I know how badly every literate people the world over want to get their hands on the series' finale first, it is this same realization that tells me there's no way in the world that the publishers would be too careless to leak a copy of its manuscript prior to the release date. That and of course, capitalist motivations.

So I opened the file and began reading the first sentence. The thing with the leaked version is that anyone who took at least introductory college lit will know the first sentence alone is not publishing-worthy. I am amazed at those who actually took the time to read it for having the tenacity to go through almost 700 pages of bad writing. But I feel more sorry for the admirably dedicated HP fan - possibly an avid fanfiction writer - who wrote it and who will never be acknowledged for his/her work, which will forever be known as piffle and which will be subjected to endless ridicule by his/her fellow HP fans.

So JKR would begin what could be the most anticipated piece of literature in modern history with "Harry slowly raised his head and stared morosely at the familiar visage of number four, Privet Drive"?

Yeah. Right.