lost species

a kangaroo hops because it's a kangaroo. a pelican flies because it's a pelican. while a koala stares and does nothing because it is a koala. i, on the other hand, continue to hear voices.

contradicting voices.

schizo? maybe... all i know is that my head is acting up again. perhaps if i stuck it beneath the ground like ostriches do then it would cease. and all my doubts and anxieties would be muffled in the underworld.

what kind of a species am i anyway? could someone open the encyclopedia and point me out please... i wish to discover more about this life.

puta ka, jaworski

PUTA KA, DODOT JAWORSKI!

and let me say this without editing or censoring that. allow me to sin just this one time--the guy has clearly demonstrated his immaturity and lack of sportsmanship.

his behavior firms up our initial doubts of supporting him. though just to state clearly that neither did i vote for the incumbent.

his supporters are rallying (at the peak of rush hour) right smack in the middle of an ortigas artery: the intersection of julia vargas and meralco. that spot, even without rallies, can turn sour enough for motorists. the last thing it needed was a complete closure by a bunch of sore-losers who have no consideration whatsoever to the rest of the city.

DODOT, POTAH, how many people do you think: were on their way to the hospital and died stuck in traffic? had a very crucial life-changing appointment and did not get there in time? had the runs and needed to rush to a toilet very very soon? had promised to be home in time for their family's dinner but ended up disappointing the kids?

FUCK, dude, it took me 45 freaking minutes for a trip that would have otherwise taken 3 minutes! you've increased road rage by a hundred, reduced productivity fifteen fold, and have proven to the world how much of a big cry baby you are! THANK HIGH HEAVENS YOU WON'T BE OUR MAYOR!

if i had a column in the papers today, i would be writing about YOU! and all the other victory-hallucinating, egoistic, inconsiderate politicians out there! damn you all!

wet mornings

this morning, my right foot was greeted (quite generously) by a puddle of pee from our very adorable, oh-most-lovable dog, oreo. that surely roused me from my lingering daze. it was an effective combination of a cold shower, three shots of espresso and a loud horn blaring in my ears. the poor mutt must have had to go real badly and couldn't dash out of the room since everyone was asleep. (he's paper trained but no one spread out a sheet for him in the room.) haha. oh well. i paid for that.

realities of freelancing

one thing i'm (re)discovering about freelancing--as a writer or artist--is that there's no such thing as a finished 'first draft' or 'initial layout'. no matter how well-thought of your concepts are or how spiffy a job comes out the first time around, there will always be that one not-so-perfect element the client will want changed or revised. it's really mostly a matter of taste; it's that grey area that people could argue on for hours and still not arrive at a resolution, simply because each one prefers to have it done his own way.

in the end, the client is master. and one can only reluctantly oblige or face career suicide. of course, one can create for his own sake, thinking that others are not good enough to enjoy his work. but then, really, wouldn't that be a little too narcissistic?

creative obstacle

i am annoyed by the sheer lack of creative appreciation in this country.

you provide a unique solution, and authority says it's unconventional. of course, it's unconventional. it's supposed to stand out!

in other galaxies, far far away, such as australia, japan, us, and europe, designers and creative enterprises are sketching furiously. attempting to blot out the white space. (or simply keeping it blank.) figuring out alien configurations and patterns. mismatching unrelated disciplines. fusing together the craziest ideas, with the hope that in the midst of all the chaos--overloaded hard drives, paint-stained fingers, and pages and pages of crap and nonesene--beauty should emerge.

as creatives today, in this part of the boondock, we not only carry the responsibility of producing great work, we also have the duty to educate. to open the eyes of those whose sights were trained to follow, and not lead. to erase the notion that we should simply be content. and to enlighten them to discover and innovate and be pioneers.

ok, this is becoming too impassioned. anyway, here is a great ad from apple from the late 1990s. it's about thinking different -- a tribute to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels and the troublemakers.

democratic farce

today is the day kikay people fear the most -- getting their nails ruined by indelible ink. either that or they forego participating in the 'democratic' process.

i'm really not sure why i go out of my way to cast a vote... perhaps it's due to the fact that i only have to walk across the street from my house. and i don't have to fall in line. or really, i probably just have nothing to do on a monday morning.

feel good factor is low this year. maybe it's because we're not electing a president. presidential elections are always exciting. and it keeps me at the edge of my seat, fingers crossed, and cheering in front of the television for days until the protests of being cheated begin. same old, same old.

i do hope all of you voted. even if you opted to keep your ballots blank. i did. well, at least i left 5 entries blank. this time, it's no mercy. no excuse for shifting sides. no excuse for former lies. no excuse for dynasties.

here's a sms forward from a good friend who ironically missed voting. haha.

The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves - Plato

amen, plato. you rock!

god bless the philippines!

'C' is for Choking

this morning, after breakfast, i choked on a 500mg vitamin C tablet.

who chokes on vitamin tablets at this age?! that would have been such a tragic way to die.

POLICE REPORT

MURDERED... by a white, generic, ascorbic acid tablet.
500 milligrams. about a third of an inch in diameter.
available in all leading drugstores.

it was a race between cutting out my air until i passed out and waiting for the thing to melt till it slid down my throat. ok, so i exaggerate. i was still able to breathe. in fact, i did manage to walk to the fridge and fetch myself another pitcher of water. i had the intention of flooding down the freaking tablet. although, in retrospect, that would have simply drowned me instead.

so, in fits of very harsh coughing--and thanks to my dad's furious encouragement--the culprit eventually got expelled.

you know, in hindsight, this really wasn't totally unexpected. for the past two months of every single day, i would gag at that C. i mean, i had no problems with the multivitamins. nor did i have trouble gulping down the E.

it's like its been planning this moment all along... (scary music in the background)

photogenic foods

all of us have been duped at one time or another. but no one does it best--and as frequently--than the restaurant industry. there have been occasions when we've based the salvation of our starving tummies on photographs. believing that what we see is what we'll get... more often than not, those decisions have only left us grumbling with our bellies.

here are just some of those examples.

food styling should be abolished!