Sticking to Stargirl

It's so easy to say that being different from the rest of the crowd is liberating and a cause for exultation. That we must always embrace our uniqueness. That being normal is simply too boring.

Basically and as of now, I have no problem being "weird" and having extremely different tastes and habits from most of the people my age I know. And so one friend's reflections on being "tired" of being singled out her entire life because of her "weirdness" kind of unnerved me. Easily one of the biggest non-conformists I know, she is a kindred spirit when it comes to disdaining mainstream pop crap, social stereotypes, and all that jazz. And yet that day, she admitted that she wished she was more "normal."

I think it's about this innate desire to be with people. Humans are conditioned to be social animals. Despite preferring solitude over personal social interaction, I do recognize that being with people is a need. And I think, whether we are deemed "normal" or not by the society, we do wish we could just fit in, somewhat somehow.

But then, over my bowl of teriyaki, her plate of spaghetti and roast chicken, and the sound of a furious rainfall, I said I don't think it's wise to wish to be someone you're not. Nor will it be any better to change just to fit some people's expectations. So what if someone doesn't "get" you? There are people who would and who already like you as you are--complete with all your quirks and varying levels of sanity.

Wasn't it Leo's loss that Stargirl was Stargirl and not Susan?

A debut party for twins

My aunts and uncles chided me because I opted not to bring Kazu to take photos of the debut party of my lovely twin cousins last Saturday. I didn't want to embarrass myself by bringing the camera and not taking photos worthy of being taken by such a camera. Haha. So I made do with my tito's pink point-and-shoot one. Hehe.

I thought the twins, who both have Bea in their names, truly deserved such a celebration--both are talented, God-fearing, dutiful daughters and good girls. And I'm glad I decided to come. Not only did I become a witness of the celebration of their 18 colorful years, but the event was fun because most of our other cousins were there, too. Raucous boys they always were, it was fun being in their midst again--just like when we were kids. 

Instead of the traditional 18 candles or wine, they had 18 chocolates and 18 shoes and dresses. If I would actually care to have had such a celebration for myself, I would have requested guests to give 18 books instead. My sister said, "I'd rather have them give me 18 gadgets." My other sister supplied, "I want 18 merch--albums, posters, and concert tickets." Haha.

And there were lots of pastries made by my aunt, the mother of the debutantes herself. You can never have too much blueberry cheesecake, butterscotch and chocolate tarts in life, you know. 

On that day, that not so distant day~

I can't believe I've finally got to see "The Phantom of the Opera" live and I was so near I could touch Messieurs André and Firmin and La Carlotta and Christine and... and The Phantom of course. I even felt the heat from the fire and blastings during "Bravo, Monsieur!" on my face. It felt so surreal--I kept telling myself that it's The Phantom in the flesh that I was seeing and not a screen projection. Oh my God. It happened. It actually happened, a dream come true.

I believe it was folly on my part that I have literally memorized the filmed 25th Anniversary Performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Throughout the show last night I can't help but compare almost every scene. The element of surprise was almost lost on me--"Oh, Raoul will come from that side," "Piangi wil say this," "I know what's under Firmin's cloak," "Phantom will do such and such," "'Christine, I love you...'"

 And yet I have been entranced to a whole new level by this World Tour production. The Christine (Emilie Lynn) was as beautiful as she was amazing. There was youthfulness in her expressions and yet her strength reverberated in her scenes opppsite Raoul (Anthony Downing) and the Phantom (Jonathan Roxmouth). I was looking for more... angst, perhaps, in her Wishing You Were Somehow Here again. But it's a tiny concern really. (It's probably only because I kept thinking of Sierra Boggess.) Now the Phantom is another thing. Roxmouth was utterly awesome! His is the voice that brings chill to one's spines right at the very first note. I kept comparing him to Ramin Karimloo but Roxmouth was so different in many ways. I can't decide if it was the physical grit of Phantom's raw energy that we felt or his overflowing frustration and anger and passion gushing forth all at the same time. His would prolly be on of the best Phantoms I'd ever hear and see (and I've seen a handful of videos and seriously plan to see a lot more live). I didn't cry during The Final Lair scene (I truly thought I would, prolly my tears had dried up with the many many times I've watched the 25th anniversary performance), but Christine and Phantom's final encounter was as heartwrenching as it could be.

The CCP's main theater was tranformed into the Opera Populaire and the way every bit of space was utilized truly amazed me. One special trick during the Apollo's Lyre scene had me gaping at the stage muttering, "U...so! Uso! Uso deshou?!" Yes, the whole performance was the spectacle it was promised to be. It was all I could do not to take my phone out and take photos of Christine in her Hannibal costume or The Phantom in his lair beyond the lake or glorious masquerade ball at the grand staircase or the Don Juan Triumphant montage or... all of it really.

I know it's the way of theater productions but I wish recordings and photos of that night would be available. What a waste to leave everything to the fragile storekeeper that is memory. Still, I think it's what makes theater extraordinary--the transience and uniqueness of each and every performance. And that night of September 20th in the CCP was ours and ours alone. Seriously, it was worth all the months of anticipation and saving up, and the planning and the queasy feeling that we won't be able to make it and the wishing for a perfect weather that day and the pagluwas pa-Maynila.

The Phantom's fans since circa 2006. XD

One down, five, perhaps six, more in my musicals-to-watch list. Next stop: West End.

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade.
Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you.

The sure-fire way to making me happy

A day before my friend and I trooped to the Mall of Asia for the 33rd Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), I bought myself a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Children of Hùrin" from the bookstore in the mall nearest to where I live. It shames me to admit that despite a handful of tries to get through "The Lord of the Rings," I never got to finish the books, although I loved the films. However, I couldn't just leave the copy of "The Children of Hùrin" in the bookshop. I bought it even if I still haven't read the series it was derived from because I was not able to resist the relatively cheap price and the perfect condition (and stunning cover) of the copy.

And the next day, to MIBF we go!

Because I was kind of restricting myself on spending, the book fair was such a treat and torture. The walls and the aisles were filled with books, and my friend and I were beside ourselves from all the choices available. I believe almost everything there were marked down, but the limited amount I had in my pockets then left me helpless.

I saw one of the books my cousin illustrated! *proud*

I had to settle with Ramon Bautista's debut book (with free "artista notebook") and his autograph (which took us almost three hours on the line to get and terribly reminded us of our "training" for patience during  long lines, i.e. our enrollment process at the University especially for prerog for PE and other highly in-demand subjects). 

Three loops of this is the line for the booth where Tado Jimenez, Stanley Chi, and Ramon Bautista were holding their books' launch and signing event

With most of our afternoon spent at the book-signing event, my friend and I had at most a couple of hours left to wander and visit the rest of the booths. The venue was big, so we just chose one bookstore to scour, and there we meandered and searched for titles we wanted to buy.

The "A Song of Ice and Fire" series on display seemed to mock me and Claire, saying "Come get me if you can."

I decided to buy George R.R. Martin's "A Dance of Dragons," the fifth and latest in the series "A Song of Ice and Fire." My friend, on the other hand, bought the first ("A Game of Thrones"), and the second ("A Clash of Kings"). I think it's odd that it's the fifth book that I decided to buy, instead of the first book or the third one which is what I'm reading at the present. My reason was that I needed the map, because I only have the e-books currently and the maps don't show properly, and the illustrations on the fifth book are more comprehensive than the others'. Either way, we both decided that sooner rather than later, we would be able to complete our copies of the series. Because Winter is Coming.

So here goes the latest addition to my books. (RB's book cover is superb and panalo. XD)

I have heard of MIBF only last year, and was not able to attend then because of school and work. This year, I was not able to prepare so I only had a couple of take-home volumes and the new experience of attending such a huge event made for the love of books. Nonetheless, MIBF made the bookworm in me truly happy. Next year, though, I swear my haul will be definitely bigger.

And finally, some words of wisdom from Ramon "The Dragon" Bautista himself. :))

Wagas

One morning, I saw my photojournalism professor on TV. The program's segment was about the trade of sports photography and a couple of the photographers who made their mark in the field. Sir Dennis, my prof, gave an advice to the aspiring photographers:

"Basta gawin niyo ng mahusay. Kungbaga kay Goku, ilabas niyo na ang isandaang porsyento niyo."

I muttered to myself then, "Sir! Nakalimutan mo na ba? Si Taguro yung naglalabas ng isandaang porsyento. Energy ball ang ginamit ni Goku."

That brief feature on Sir reminded me of one of the best courses I took in college. The weekly meetings were something I had always looked forward to because Sir Dennis is a very engaging teacher and downright hilarious in his lectures inside and outside the classroom. Every week, we were given a subject to take photos of, and we would present them in class for Sir's evaluations and tips. And every week, the subject got more and more difficult to accomplish. Not only did we learn how to operate our cameras and know the correct settings, we also learned to push our limits and be determined to accomplish the task given to us--be it from convincing models to pose nude to pushing our way in a frenzied crowd for some shots of the action happening. We were made to see the potential of photography as a vital instrument for social development, and the camera as both an artistic and scientific tool for information and expression.

I learned to appreciate the craft and understand the ethics and principles in the discipline, largely due to the guidance and funny anecdotes from Sir. I think it's one of the perks of studying in the State U--not only do we have the opportunity to be under the tutelage of the nation's best in the academe, we also get taught and trained by the top-calibre practitioners themselves. These anecdotes were mostly from his years and years worth of experience as a seasoned and renowned photojournalist. These stories of shutterbugging across the globe he willingly shared and I could see that each one of us in the class hung on to every word Sir said. I could say his method of teaching is not one that I encountered often; his rapport with us failed to fall into the teacher-student category. However, extremely close to his students he might be, I could still feel overflowing respect for him, and I know my classmates do, too, for his sheer excellence and laudable desire to impart knowledge.

My photojournalism class was exciting and taxing, but also truly inspiring. I have experienced and tried so many new things in my quest to be even just a beginner in photography. Sir, despite his seemingly carefree and comic disposition, taught me that anything can be possible if you have the guts to push forward and set aside any form of hesitation. He kept reminding us to just love the craft, and while taking things seriously could well put you ahead of the game, we still have to make sure to enjoy what we're doing. Otherwise, photography (or anything else we cared to to do) will just end up being a troublesome burden we would have to carry. "Third World na nga tayo, magpapakalungkot pa kayo? Enjoy niyo lang," I remember him telling us more than once.

I know I have a lot to learn still, and I am glad to have a head start courtesy of the awesomeness of Sir Dennis, amid his jokes, taunts and wagas na kapilyuhan.

Past the point of no return!

My former officemate and I decided to catch up on each other's lives and watch free films courtesy of Cine Europa screening at the Shangri-La Plaza while we're at it. We were able to see the Belgian film "Turquaze" and the Austrian family drama "Atmen (Breathing)."  I met up again on another day with another friend and was able to catch the Dutch movie, "Hæven (In a Better World)." All three movies were vastly different from the ones I'm used to seeing, and events like Cine Europa really help raise awareness both on the aesthetics of these foreign cinemas as well as the social realities and ways of living of the European people.

I also finally got to by our tickets for "The Phantom of the Opera." I would be going with my senpai and her friend, and a couple of my friends from high school.Eight days to go, and I couldn't wait. It's what I've been saving up for for the past months and it's finally coming true! I had told myself that there won't be another chance. The next time would be on London's West End. Hehe.