Contemporaries

Tell me if this makes sense (article for AP project):

And who is Jan van Eyck's modern equivalent? It would be easy to answer that based on the number of times a painter's name appears on Google. To whittle down the search, it is better to ask: who is Jan van Eyck's local contemporary? Local, meaning in this country. And in this country, it has been drilled time and again that Luna, Amorsolo and Francisco, are the greatest Filipino painters in history. In those terms, it certainly would be easy to put them on par with van Eyck; I myself would dearly love the idea of our own art titans standing beside Renaissance gods. But it would be unfair to compare them on the strength of their names; if it's style that we're talking about, I could simply pick out Nemiranda, Dante Castillo, Carlo Magno (among others), artists that seem to follow the style called Realism. (Or maybe "realism" from the way I understand it; afterall, I’m only peering into a vast tunnel called The Art World And The Science of It All.) Or if we need to compare on the basis of perspective, William Gacad used just that in his painting, The Church of Sta. Rita, Pampanga: the lines seen on the pavement in front of the church gradually seem to converge, but not totally so, which means that the subject is far away, but not really.

Looking at the paragraph I've written so far, this comparison seems like a gigantic task to accomplish, that is, assuming that it is possible to make the correct assessment about such finicky matters; one cannot really decide by just relying on the look of one painting per artist while flipping through an art book. I think being compared to another artist would be a compliment for some, and a source of chagrin for others. It is a double-edged sword. In an "industry" that demands the breaking of clichés and stereotypes, it seems like artists run in the direction which allows them to stand out, be unique and defy convention. It’s the only way to survive, as the pupils of Francisco know, whose styles resonate deeply with that of their maestro's; Jose Blanco eventually broke away from the shadow of his master, and is now hugely successful today.

Art is dynamic, and will continue to move in other directions: cubism, impressionist art, neo-realism, etc... "When we see artists discarding old ways as fast as they can and blazing new trails, then we can say that all is well," says a book. But, as Manuel Duldulao writes, "Variation of themes and mediums, or combinations of these will recur again and again, if we take Eugene Delacroix’s word for it, when he said, 'Genius lies not in having new ideas, but being possessed by the idea that what has already been said is not yet enough.'"

Jan van Eyck is a genius because of this. And the Filipino painter who shows an understanding of this idea, though not van Eyck’s contemporary (we can't see that far ahead), can at least lay claim on sharing a common tie with him (which says a lot in its own right). Answering the question posed at the start is highly subjective. Having briefly skimmed the surface of this topic, I now leave the rest of the thinking to you.

Sources:

Duldulao, M.P. (2005). The Art Collector’s Guidebook. Dagupan City, Philippines: University of Pangasinan.

Duldulao, M.P. (2000). Twentieth-Century Filipino Artists (Volume III). Legacy Publishers.

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http://sc2lliving.blogspot.com/

Blog ni Michelle Mendoza. Remind me to link her.

Ibuhos na ang beer sa aking lalamunan

November-- still no prom date.

Shit. What a mess.

I used to have this rational plan of asking The One... that is, all I had to do was ASK really. Ask it in a nice, point-blank and blunt way: "Wanna be my prom partner?" [Partner... what a word for it. I don't want to use date.] Whatever. I had this notion of doing it with the no-strings-attached guarantee, because I don't really know how guys feel about being asked out of the blue. If I could, I would've put it down in a contract to be signed by now. Gah. Who else does that? I guess I really am weird this way.

Asking someone you're not romantically involved with, and with no plans to do that in the future whatsoever, means holding back that proud creature, Pride. Or maybe I'm presuming too much that 99% of the male population are jerks who get their intrinsic worth from the number of girls begging to be their date.

Sigh.

I just have to ASK. Why is it so hard?

Maybe because I don't trust anybody enough to give them control over my happiness for a night...

That sounds wrong.

Okay, it's because maybe I don't trust anybody enough to make me happy for a night...

Geez, it still sounds wrong. What the hell.

I just want to see the prom decorations! That's all!

And I don't want to slow dance either. Just the thought of doing that with a friend, my no-strings-attached friend, makes me imagine a weird scene, with me looking slightly horrified and adamant, saying a slow, no-way-jose(!!!) "No."

Maybe it's because all the other giggly teenagers out there are looking forward to a star-filled, glittery night, full of... romance? Ew. The trouble is, I don't expect that at all (oh gross)! Would it be weird to say so? That I'm not really the giggly type with the blushy cheeks and shiny eyes?

But then.

It could be worse. I might as well be different, and love it.
---

Amazing Race update:

The Barbies are still in the race. Tsk. Die Barbies die! After the Cho brothers got eliminated, I didn't really feel like rooting for anybody anymore. I'd want the two model guys to win, but only because I don't like the other teams anyway.

Backtorealityzip

Wala na.

Tapos na yung fair.

Shit. Eto na. IP na yung sunod na agenda.

But while it's Sunday, magliliwaliw muna ako hangga't kaya pa.


I really like the MSN homepage. It's pretty interesting. They're got this article on the best killer Bondisms. I liked this one:

Moonraker (1979)
(As Bond undertakes zero-gravity sex)
Minister Of Defense: My God! What's Bond doing?
Q: I think he's attempting re-entry sir…

Okay, it's gross, I know, but it made me laugh. Here's the link to the others: http://movies.uk.msn.com/features/Bondisms2006_article.aspx

And here's another site worth visiting: http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/moomin/index.php?id=1&

Moomin is so endearing.

Puri

Nov 25, 12:13 am

Fair was boring. Battle of the Bands was great.

Coalesce-- you so rock it!!! I'm so proud of you guys (yak, FC)!! Grabe si Sabu-- singing, dancing, student leader, athlete, best friend ng lahat ng tao, as in wow, wala na ko masabi. To take a line from Fat Boy Slim: "I wanna praise you like I should". Of course, super duper duper duper galing din ng ibang Coalesce people: Joanne, Dani, Muriel, Koji, Cibbie and that other guy (saw his name on the registration sheet but can't remember it now).

Wandering around in the backstage was wonderful, by the way. Ahlavet. So mucho.

And finally, I totally figured out how to toggle the under/over-exposure meter on the digicam! I just didn't know that function existed. But reading all those photography books finally made me think about the little numbers that appear at the bottom of the screen when I press the left and right buttons. Oh. So that's what they do. I didn't think it applied to digicams as well-- fortunately it does, and it just opens up a LOT more options in taking pictures than using the autoflash. (Flash sometimes creates hard shadows behind the object, or illuminates it completely at the front, making the subject look flat as opposed to round.) The under/over-exposure makes it easier to adjust the brightness or darkness of a picture. Wow.

It doesn't seem much, but to me it's like tantamount to a milestone, because I can't usually make any sense out of those manuals. Thank you digicam! Now I realize that you are also a point-and-shoot camera, only digital. I finally see the connection, which is encouraging. So maybe I am making progress! I hope the digicam has some hidden autofocus function somewhere, as well as other features I'd love to try out before playing around with film. Pagpraktisan ko muna.

I'll try to post the pictures here when we revive the battery. Hay nako, love ko yung digicam, pero hayop yun kung kumain ng baterya!!!

Bagbagtulambing

It was nearly 6 when we got home from school last night. It's strange to come home around that time when you live just twenty minutes away from school, traffic permitting. In any case, I suppose I should be glad that we did come home at least: Dad was asking us if we wanted to come with him to the Philippine-American Jazz Festival's Opening Night at the RCBC Plaza. Our neighbor had invited us (well, just my parents, actually) and tickets were free. I was still a little cranky from being asked at such short notice. I mean, you still have to dress up, look presentable, contend with traffic and forget about sleeping. I originally didn't want to go, but there was nothing to lose (except sleep, maybe): the ride was free (we were going there with our neighbor), the tickets were free, and the experience is very rare indeed. So I grudgingly agreed to go.

The traffic was mind-numbing.

But we got there anyway. I saw Ate Kit there. Yay! She works there, so she decided to watch the show too.

The buffet was great! Actually, it was just cocktails-- you know, finger food and all that. The Vietnamese Spring Rolls were awesome, as well as the potato skins (with the dip), and the mini-taco things. There were brownies and two fondue fountains, one chocolate, the other caramel. I skipped the dessert part, because I felt that eating anything that sweet would make me pass out.
After the description of the food, I suppose you could tell that I was pretty hungry to take note of EVERYTHING I ate. Such a pity I was hungry-- when your stomach is grumbling you can't concentrate on the actual taste of the food. I think tasting is a cultural experience, a different kind from eating. I neglected to do that.

It was a little awkward standing around there with small plates with sauce and all, using your fingers. Well, of course, it was called FINGER FOOD to begin with, but I wish I had used the forks, which I didn't know were available until much much mucho later. Gawd, I must've looked like some sort of primitive caveman resisting the urge to lick my fingers. Nuts. And it was a semi-formal event!! The horror. Ack.

The show was very good, four stars out of five. It started off with the Hangad choir, singing an African song, among others. It was a fine execution-- I think they would've done the Africans who sang in Congo Square proud. There were bits of "How Jazz came to the Philippines" history. They were okay, but I felt sleepy during those parts. The Executives Band played next (they're called that because they really are the top honchos of their companies). Go Tito Hector! He's on the sax. Former First Lady played with them on the keyboard, meaning that yes, Former President Ramos was there. (Wow. To think that I was in the same theater with the Former President FVR! I was breathing the same aircon as he was! How cool is that?! Nyaha.) They played Ragtime and Dixieland jazz, if I'm not mistaken-- hah, so I did get something from the historical segments afterall!

The UP Jazz Band played after that. I think I like them the best, because they showed the most variety of jazz (though that doesn't mean the other two groups weren't good-- they were). I just loved the part when they started playing the instruments one by one: clarinet, then the drums, then the double bass, then the keyboard-- it was just... WOW. They also showed us the evolution of jazz, and how it changed. When it got to the rock era... GRABE!!! That drum beat was the sexiest I have ever heard. *swoon* Coupled with the brass, it just blew me away. And it was just so utterly cool. I love it.

Hay. Ayun. I'm running out of eloquence in expressing my thoughts.

Ky, I recommend the UP Jazz Band for the prom, hahahaha. Ang dami nga lang nila (babae nga pala tenor sax nila. Ang galing!). But they can play a lot of things-- chacha, rhumba, progressive jazz... I think it would be fun. Wehehe. I'm so glad I went.

Sleepy.

Cheerio.

Hah! Huzzah.

Kuya Benj just informed me that my art is called "oekaki". Huzzah! My art has a name! Good to know I'm not so far OUT THERE.
---

I saw my report card. 89 in Filipino! WAHAHA! I PASSED THE DARN THING! EVEN IF I GOT 75 IN THE QTs!!! All other grades are okay. (Okay=mediocre; I could've done better) Parang hindi sila umurong. It's still in the same 89-94 grade range. Gash. Di man umabot sa 95.

Gah.

Itala niyo na sa bato: magkaka-95 din ako next quarter!!! (haha, gumagaya kay Julie)
---

I think I got a perfect in my Written Compo for English, which is the newspaper article. And I got a 24 (everything is over 25) for my bonus WC. I nailed it. For the second time! Maybe I'm not such a worthless writer afterall.

I LOVE YOU MIZ M! You give such high grades!
---

And if I have my highs, I also got my lows:

I think my love-hate plot with Debate is happening to my EventsCom story.

Haaay.

I've got SEVEN tickets to sell. Buy them from me. Please?

Art-ificial Intel

ADVANCED HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENINAAAA!!! *dance dance*

---
Grabe, ang tagal magconnect ng Internet kagabi. So I doodled around... and came up with this:



Done in Paint, as usual. I can't handle anything more intelligent than that, so yes, I'm Photoshop-illiterate. Sort of enjoyed doing it.

When you do something on this kind of limiting software, you just have to get around the barriers. I suppose that's how I'm able to utilize Paint pretty well. Takes practice, I guess.


It looks like that dude in the Sprite commercial. This one's pretty plain, but it's cute somehow. I originally planned to draw myself another wallpaper (yak, eto naman yung sobrang bored), but I ended up scrapping the whole thing.

Oh yeah, there's this essay writing contest sponsored by Meg Magazine and other groups. It's worth a shot: first prize is p20k, second is p15k, and third is p10k. Not bad. I'd try it out, but the topic isn't my forte: "Is the Pinoy Teen Emotionally Ready for Sex?"

Uhhh...

Personally, I have no opinion about the darned thing, though of course I wish they'd stop doing it at such a speedy rate-- no wonder there's a perpetual population boom! Malay ba. I don't really care... Well, actually, naiinis lang ako. But I want them to ruin their lives first, so they can cry about it afterwards. Yak, ansadista. I just want to kick these people for being stupid. In my opinion, they aren't ready (there may be casual sex, there definitely is NO SUCH THING as a "casual baby"!). Ack, there's a reason why people of the right age, financial security and mature thinking are the ones permitted to go and make wonderful gene combinations.

I want a crack at the money, but writing for the wrong reasons makes you miserable in the creative process. For anyone else, feel free to join; afterall, there's something to gain and nothing to lose. Look for more details online-- well, at least I'm assuming there are.

I'd like to add that the deadline is this Friday, so chop-chop.

My opinion shall not harm the world.

Not that it matters much, from the way I see it.

The only show I've ever felt like watching these days is the Amazing Race. Go Cho Bros!!! They're so darned nice that you just want to kick them for impracticality, and hug them because they're just so thoughtful and everything. You don't see people like that often, especially not in a race where there is a million dollars at stake. I dunno... the way they go about their principles just moves me. It moves me every Monday. Haha okay... That sounds wrong.

Rummaged around in Wikipedia--



Beetlejuice! I fleetingly remember watching this when I was a tiny kid. I also remember mom discouraging us from watching the series-- I suppose the show offended her delicate sensibilities, and she assumed it would damage our fragile little membranes as well. As a result, we haven't learned to make a hobby out of making farty noises with our armpits. Thanks mom.

I'm supposed to post a picture of Zatana here as well-- she's a member of the Justice League, and just recently, I decided that I liked her very very much, so I'm adding her to my roster of Favorite Superheroes. I also came across her while I was reading The Books of Magic. Her coolness is at par with Death.

Anyway, the computer is hyperventilating and going nuts, so I'd rather not be here when the volatile situation explodes.

[12 hours later]

Good thing I was somehow able to save the text in Wordpad, so I'm continuing this.



This is Zatana. She is busty to an obscene extent-- I can't really figure out why she has those things up there. I don't see how she can run around with those without hitting someone with them. I'm guessing a guy drew this, so go figure. At least she's more proportioned in the JLU series.

Yak, ang geeky. Wala lang. Feel ko lang magpost tungkol sa paborito kong cartoons. Which reminds me-- Dad told me the quickest way to a man's heart is to either bribe him with food, or talk his language... meaning that if he's obssessed with basketball, then you update yourself on the NBA, or if he's a comics junkie, you inform yourself on the superheroes and etc etc. Oi, Melinda ayun na cue mo. Ayon sa research ko (yak, stalker na raw), mahilig yung guy mo sa comics.

---


Gerard Way looks better with blonde hair. Definitely.

I watched The Making of the Black Parade a while ago. It was pretty cool. Collen Atwood is such a superb costume designer. I think she did Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow. Hehe, kaya pala bagay sa video.

Speaking of Sleepy Hollow, it was showing last night.

I hate the fact that I still can't watch it in any time other than broad daylight.

Incidentally, accidentally

I got sick. Again. On the day of the Math Camp.

Darn. Why do these things keep happening to me? It's the kind of sickness that bashes you in and out for 24 hours, then leaves you like nothing happened after a day of rest. It goes away that fast. And then you're left wondering if taking a day off is justified. I was feeling rather guilty this morning for not going-- after having skipped the second day of Intrams, I thought that I owe it to my RHGP to go to this activity. Anyway, it's mandatory, because it's still officially a school day. Now because I didn't go, I'm starting to look like a flimsy delinquent who doesn't care a whit about Good Manners and Right Conduct. And what sensible third year student can risk taking even that?!

Hay. Kick me. My headache's gone anyway.

---

I took a look at the Fantasy Forum, a subforum of the Lit Network: http://www.thefantasyforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=216

It's so... hard-core FANTASY. Even I'm overwhelmed, though I like the fantasy genre a lot. The forum obviously caters to a younger audience-- or maybe those still young at heart. It's a little tricky going around and posting, because you have to be cautious not to sound like one of those immature geeks. Sorry, they really are geeky and dorky, in a way, from their usernames down to their topics. I think I like the LitNet better; I'm more comfortable with the classics, though I haven't read half of them. Fantasy nowadays... it's one big BLUR. You mash 'em all together and voila! You've got pretty much the gist of it. It's either Harry Potter or some other thing; if you've read one, you've read them all. There are some exceptions of course, but you have to be really picky to discern the better ones from the insubstantial ones.

That said, I think my bookcase needs restocking. I'm outgrowing my books.

Down and down

I think I just realized that Andante Religioso is a hard piece. Its technical difficulty is average to above average, but the level needed for interpretation... it just struck me how much I need to work on. The melody keeps shifting from left to right, and most of the time it's tucked away somewhere, requiring extra special finger control to lift it out of obscurity.

To breathe life into a piece of music can't be done in a cinch. It has to resonate somewhere. Unfortunately, most of the time I'm not even sure of what I'm doing. How discouraging. Half-pedal here, accents there, modification of speed, tempo, mood, LEGATO, ritardando-- garh, it's easier to simply bang away on the keys.

Or maybe I'm a dog confronted by a rainbow?
---

I think Ms Manahan is simply the most wonderful English teacher in third year. Of course, siya lang naman yung ok e. I'm glad our class isn't being taught by that painfully anal teacher who made the test (somebody shoot her for that).

We played "The Boat is Sinking" (which is pretty violent, you know, and as tense as Simon Says) during English, then found out that the people we were clinging to would be our new groupmates for the 3rd Quarter. Huzzah! Who else does that as a method of grouping people? Wahaha. I'm glad I was sucked into a group of people I get along well with. Hehe, medyo stunned nga lang yug mga taong bigla na lang humagilap ng random people. Just so the boat wouldn't sink.

It's cute. It's a good thing our imaginations still work.

Cheerio

This never fails to cheer me up

http://farlane.wordpress.com/2006/07/20/steve-nash-haircut-triggers-panic/#comment-1548

Shouting it out

This is a shout out.

Hello world! I nearly failed my Filipino QT!!!

And by golly, it's a damn close shave!

Hay.

Mistakes I regret, mistakes I shouldn't have made, mistakes that were sitting on the paper dancing naked. Mistakes I still-didn't-see! What luck. No, wait. What great smartness. It's stupid. I want to kick myself.

My highs, my lows. It's a weird year this time around. I never seem to get my bearings right, and though I may seem unruffled on the surface, there's a tiny lump forming in my throat, as my lungs begin to close themselves down, and deep inside I'm a little shaken at the endless possibilities that could happen to me in highschool... Is this the end, UP dream? IS IT???

Umuwi ako ngayon. Durog.

Must get my act together.

Yesterday

Went out with Melinda, Zarah, Jenina, Puping, Missy and Girlyn to watch The Grudge 2 yesterday.

For a lily-livered wuss like me, I think I handled it pretty well. I closed my eyes most of the time, and laughed the rest of it; try doing that in a packed theatre, then wait for the satisfying shrieks. It IS pretty hilarious once it happens and it lightens the mood for people like me who don't really WATCH it. As a result, I swear I can't remember anything from the tangled plot-- except for horrified faces and squelchy music. The only image I have of the creepy ghoul is that kid on the poster of Scary Movie 4, and then I'm told that it was a female ghost that was chasing them. Alrighty. Talk about confusing.

Maybe I threw a hundred bucks down the drain (I closed my eyes 90% of the movie), but I had a blast all the same. It's the price of bonding-- literally. Melinda was clutching me half the time, hahaha, and I was pestering Puping during the scary-scene aftershocks.

We came in the middle of the movie, so we had to watch the end before we understood the beginning. We were scared all the same. And we still didn't get the plot after finishing it properly, so no loss there.

I don't know why people like scaring themselves. Isn't it tiring to hold all that tension for 2 hours? I was actually getting sleepy from decidedly closing my eyes shut. Energy drain? Dunno, but I snap awake once I hear the silent, suspenseful music coming on. I think I have a knack for sensing the scary parts (kaya nagkakataon na hindi ko napapanood). The only rush I get comes from hearing the female population scream. Hahaha, benta parin pag nagsisigawan na.

I loved watching the trailers though. I'm a trailer addict! I'd rather watch those than get popcorn. Happy Feet is coming up, which seems cute (main penguin is voiced by Elijah Wood. Hmm... Explains the blue-eyes on a penguin), though I do hope this one actually has a story. All of the animated films seem to be about animals nowadays (Finding Nemo, Shark Tales, Madagascar, The Wild, Chicken Little, Open Season, Over the Hedge...) Maybe this one's riding the penguin bandwagon, spawned by the raved-about March of the Penguins (did I get that right?).

I also saw Eragon's trailer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eragon_%28film%29). I'm still scratching my head at it; I didn't necessarily ENJOY the book. It felt as if it dragged on and on, and it was scaling an all too-familiar magical landscape. As I say, leave it to Tolkien, Le Guinn and the rest of the masters; I think there's enough of Elvish languages and magic and wars and fancy names. I'd want to watch it though, just to see if it has more to offer than the book (though I'm annoyed at the fact that they tried to get Elijah Wood as Eragon, and Ian Mckellen as Brom. Too many attempted crossovers. Rarrrr).

There was one more trailer that claimed to have a story of the same format: Zu Warriors. Or was it Fu Warriors? Whatever. Wikipedia can't seem to find it. I hope it really doesn't exist. It had this statement at the start of it, "The Asian version of 'The Lord of the Rings'." What the--?! How irreverent. You CAN'T make an Asian version of LOTR, you just CAN'T, even if all characters are chinky-eyed and all. I'm not against Asian films, but I am against creating your own "version", which doesn't seem to be a creative process at all! I hope it really isn't what it claims to be, that the blurb is all WRONG, as much as I'd like to hope that the white-haired, long-bearded, wise-looking old fellow really isn't "The Asian version of 'Gandalf'". Kzztfg.

Other than that, horror films seem to abound these days, particularly Filipino ones. I could mash up their trailers and it would still seem the same. Spiderman 3 is coming soon on May 2007. Yay.
---

NBA season has started!!! HUZZAH!!!

I watched (or rather, SAW-- lagi kasi akong inuutusan e!) the Suns' game versus the LAC. I think they lost, but it was great seeing all them again! Nash has a bit of his hair back; it looks better on him. I think he should keep the length that way. Good-bye alien likeness! He now has enough hair to stop looking like ET's brother. I wish Kaman (sp?) would follow suit; his long hair rather emphasizes his bald spot on the middle of his head, and he looks like a sickly old blond RAT, the kind you'd avoid like the plague.
Dad told me the season just started last Nov 1, which is good, cause it means I haven't missed half of it yet. Watching it, he (Dad) kept exclaiming at times, "Kita mo yun! Ang galing ng pasa ni Nash!"

Of course. He isn't my favorite player for nothing. :D

As luck would have it

Uy, Jen, Za, gusto niyo mag-adopt ng dog/cat for Christmas? We could, like, share it, hahaha, parang yung bunny plan...

I've been really wanting a cat lately, ever since I saw this stray black-and-white kitten (I wanted to name it Panda), to the point that I've actually been looking at "How to take care of stray kittens" webpages. Haaaay. But I can't have one, because I'm not home 80% of the time during schooldays. And Mom doesn't like cats (though I think it would be good for the house, seeing as there have been horrifying rat attacks lately).

I looked over at http://www.pitstopit.com/paws3/parc.htm, and as luck would have it, PARC is pretty near! I really really really really really want a pet (which is impractical of me, but still!).
It's gonna be that wonderful bit of responsibility that I can play with and photograph. But maybe now isn't the time for pets...

Dogs, cats, flowers

We went to visit my departed relatives on my mother's side. While walking around, she found this on a tree:

RARRR!!!

Lo and behold, it is a real incarnation of a Pokemon-like plant thing!! It looks like the kind of flower with fangs that would run around, chasing you on its rooty legs.

It looks more menacing with the flash on. I took a picture of it just in time; I didn't bring the camera to the cemetery, so this flower has been dead for 9 hours before I caught it on camera, and right after I was done, the head FELL OFF. Aw. I had to hold its head up so it could look decent. It was actually prettier during the first hour (try to imagine it), with a live bee buzzing around it. It smelt like bubblegum, by the way, though the scent rather gets dizzying after a while.

And then I took this yesterday morning:

I suddenly have the urge to own a cat (between cats and dogs, I think they're the artsier, broodier specie). This one is one of the many orange cats that have proliferated over time, thanks to leftovers and healthy breeding habits. It really is a nice picture-- parang ang sarap matulog.

And finally:

It's mummy and Ozzy-- or Udie-- Oooodeee; Whichever (who is wearing Pooch Couture and a sturdy leash, to combat his sugar-high energy). My cousin babies her dog to the point that she uses baby wipes to clean his butt. I dunno, it's a little crazy (but don't let her hear me saying that).

This was taken at La Pieta, the cemetery in Pampanga, last Sunday. It's a nice place.