public serbis

I'll do a Simon Cowell.

"I apologize, Coco. You have all the reasons to hesitate going to Cannes. I'm thankful that, despite the bad reviews, you, and the entire cast of the now dreadful film, are still alive. Tourists in South Africa are not as lucky. By the way, could you ask Walter Salles an autograph for me? Pati na rin si Natalie Portman and Jeanne Moreau. Thank you."

Enough of that.

Finally, I saw the poster of the much anticipated Pinoy-blockbuster-translated-into-Hollywood-flick The Echos. And I have a poster to show you.

a year older

I will turn a year older one week from now.

I wish I have a wish list this year.

A new LCD monitor? The camera that I've been obsessing about for months now?

Lemme think.

trent

Another reason to love Trent Reznor and be aware of the folly of being "human."


Pledge to Go Fur-Free at PETA.org

aiyayayyyyy!!!

And the seventh season of American Idol is finally over.

For the past three months, Wednesday evenings would be punctuated by shrieks ranging from "Kampat ang funda ni Randy!" (The foundation in Randy's face is not applied evenly) followed by calls for the swift assassination of the show's make up artist, to "Naka-droga na naman Ate mo?" an accusation that Paula is high on drugs.

The conversations were usually made between myself and myself.

I was supposed to watch the finals tonight with my cuz Phillip but he changed his mind so I was left with the usual conversation with, who else, myself.

"Oh my Gawd, a boxing match? Have they ran out of concepts? They should hire the producers of That's Entertainment. A bodabil would have been more ingenious."

"Speaking of That's Entertainment, Ramielle Malubay was so Manilyn Reynes in the show before she got booted out. From the voice to the hideous outfits. If she made it to the top two, what songs would she pick? Sayang na Sayang?"

"That is 'contrived' defined," referring to the tears in David Cook's eyes after singing the Collective Soul song.

"Himo gyud paagi na makakuhag sympathy votes." (He's so desperate to get sympathy votes.)

"Archuleta is so saccharine. Would somebody give him an insulin shot?"

the flight of songs

I have just completed my new video documentary/essay/diary The Flight of Songs. Here's the trailer.

cannes 08

There are three Filipino films (Brillante Mendoza's Serbis, Raya Martin's Now Showing and Paolo Valdez's Bulong) at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Serbis is featured on the front page of the official festival site today. Also featured are the following actors who are in attendance at the festival.

The list is composed of : Karen Allen, Aure Atika, Saleh Bakri, Guy Bedos, Monica Bellucci, Richard Bennett, Jean-Marie Bigard, Yavuz Bingol, Alessio Boni, Didier Bourdon, Dany Brillant, Nicolas Bro, Adrien Brody, Alain Chabat, Chen Chang, Lolita Chammah, Judith Chemla, Joan Chen, Arta Dobroshi, Léa Drucker, Faye Dunaway, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Eriq Ebouaney, Leif Edlund, Harrison Ford, Louis Garrel, Cate Blanchett, Vahina Giocante, Danny Glover, Judith Godrèche, Martina Gusman, Jung Woo Ha, Suheir Hammad, Rutger Hauer, Dennis Hopper, John Hurt, Gianfelice Imparato, Michel Jonasz, Jaclyn Jose, Milla Jovovich, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yoon Suk Kim, Kyoko Koizumi, Shia Labeouf, Gérard Lanvin, Jude Law, Samuel Le Bihan, Rachael Leigh Cook, Chui Wai Leung, Olle Liljas, Lu Liping, Chiara Mastroianni, Ornella Mutti, Maria Nazionale, Zineb Oukach, Gina Pareno, Elsa Pataki, Jérémie Renier, Robin Renucci, Fabrizio Rongione, Ruben Sosa, Gaspard Ulliel, Horst Westphal, Lambert Wilson, Gabriella Wright, Jonathan Zaccaï, Nina Zavarin, Tao Zhao, Elsa Zylberstein, Luca Zingaretti, Emile Hirsch, Paz Vega, Ludivine Sagnier, Edward Norton, Billy Zane, Hippolyte Girardot, Melvil Poupaud, and Salma Hayek.

Miss Jose wowed the French audience several years ago, so it comes as no surprise that she is being treated as celebrity there. But what caused my eyebrows to arch higher than Bellas Flores's is the report that Coco Martin, one of the lead stars of Serbis, reluctantly joined the Cannes contingent, deciding at the last minute after so-much undeserved prodding. Oh phluuuuuzeee!!

grey

Shadows
form a heavy veil
looming above me.

What destitution
This rage, this loneliness --
Dark and deadly
it consumes my soul.

Oh God,
shelter me from this curse.


-Verses sponsored by Remeron

chicken

Finger licking good? Yeah right!


Find more PETA videos at PETATV.com

Basmati thanks everybody for the prayers.

Photo by Coicoi Nacario

no moon over kl

Malaysian customs officials seized all copies of my book, Children of the Ever-Changing Moon, which was supposed to take part in the ongoing Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair. No reason was offered to explain this action.

What could be the reason? I'm quite sure my publisher paid custom duties. Might be the word 'Moro'? Long history starting with Jabidah Massacre where 64 trainees were killed in Corregidor Island by Philippine military officials to cover up the planned invasion of Sabah. This happened forty years ago. My entry in the book, Salam! Motherland, covered this historic event albeit briefly. But Malaysia is hosting the peace talks between the Philippine Government and the guys behind Luwaran, so that can't be the real reason.

It could be Allyson Banga-an's Pink is the Color of the Crescent Moon, a gay tale in Moroland. An Islamic country, homosexuality is taboo in Malaysia. But come on, one just has to pass by Hardrock Cafe or Shangrila Hotel in Kuala Lumpur to see its transvestite prostitutes flirting with teenage Malay boys in their convertibles.

The last thing you can call my book is subversive or radical. Believe me, I've seen far more earthshaking books at the Kinokuniya Bookstore in Suria Mall. That's where I got my Salman Rushdie books.

being maternal

I learned a new word today. It's pyometra.

Three days ago, Basmati became lethargic, spent most of her time in bed, and the voracious eater that she is, she suddenly lost all appetite. When I picked her up, she let out a soft meow. Then last night I noticed stains in my bed. I checked myself for wounds or cuts but there was none. Basmati, sitting near my pillow, stopped grooming herself and looked at me as if wanting to say, "Don't look at me." But you see reverse psych doesn't work for me. I checked her for any injuries. I lifted her tail and was shocked to see a pinkish discharge resembling strawberry shake that has been left out in the sun, oozing from her vajeyjey. The stains in my bed.

So I took her to the vet this afternoon. "Doctora is doing a house call," the assistant informed me.

"Will she take long?" "An hour I guess." "I'm willing to wait." Basmati was uncomfortable. She meowed. While waiting for the vet, I took a copy of Preview from the magazine stand. Holy Ganesh! It was the November 2004 issue. I grew impatient.

"While waiting for doctora, can you check my cat's temperature?" I asked the assistant.

"She has a fever. 40.9 degrees Celsius."

"Are you sure? Could you check again?" I was in denial. The assistant inserted the thermometer into Basmati's rectum again. The same reading.

The vet arrived five minutes before two. I told her about the loss of appetite, lethargy and the discharge. I even showed her photos of my stained bedsheet.

She examined Basmati. "She's pregnant!" the vet exclaimed. "Oh great! Pregnant?! She didn't even experience her menarche."

"I am going to give her vitamin shots. Antibiotics is not advisable because of the pregnancy."

I was silent.

"She is due in two weeks. But, if she doesn't give birth during that time bring her back to me. We'll do an X-ray."

I just nodded. She gave me a prescription for multivitamins and a can of special cat food.

I hand her my payment. "See you, doc."

In the cab, I texted my friend Alex in Manila to update him of this new development. I got Natarajan and Basmati from his cattery. "Can you call me?" he texted back.

I dialled his number.

Alex went straight to the point. "I think Basmati has a serious medical problem. I'm not questioning your vet, Teng, but would you consider seeking a second opinion?" Alex managed to say the concern I failed to raise in my visit to the vet. "You see, Teng, if Basmati has an infection, the vitamins won't stop it. Her life is at risk. You can't wait two weeks."

"I agree with you," I told Alex. "Don't worry I'll keep you updated. I'll look for a second opinion." I hang up the phone.

I was beginning to get really worried. When I reached the house, Mogley told me that there's a vet clinic nearby. "I want a clinic which has laboratory facilities," I said to him. Not wasting any chances, we were on our way to the clinic in ten seconds.

I explained the veterinarian Basmati's condition. "It's probably uterine," she told me. "Unfortunately, cats are not really my expertise."

"Do you know a cat specialist?" I asked her.

"There's one in Sales Street, in Chinatown?"

I was dumbfounded for a second. "Are you sure the vet can treat cats, not eat cats?"

The vet pretended not to hear a word. Then she handed me a small piece of paper with the address of the clinic.

The traffic was horrendous. And the heat was really something. Mogley and I scoured Sales as soon as we reached it.

Despite my impaired vision, I was able to read a sign twenty meters away. "Look, Mogley. The vet."

Mogley rang the doorbell. A minute later, a petite young lady opened the door. "Is the vet in?" Mogley asked.

"Come in." We entered the spacious reception area. The vet, a middle-age guy, emerged from one of the rooms.

"Good afternoon, doc." We greeted him in chorus. He nodded, a signal that I can narrate Basmati's medical history and the transcript of the appointment with the first two vets earlier that afternoon.

"It's pyometra." I nodded in agreement, as if I knew the meaning of the word. "It's basically a uterine inflammation. Common to dogs and cats."

"Now listen to me," he said. I looked into his Dumbledore eyes. "Chances are, she is aborting. Worse, the kittens are already dead. We can induce labor. If the problem can't be solved with that, then it is necessary to surgically remove her uterus and everything with it. Understand?" I nodded.

"The important thing now is to save your cat's life. I'll prescribe antibiotics. Give it to her as soon as you reach home." He scribbled some notes in a pad paper and gave it to me. "Now go, no time to lose if we must save a life. But I must warn you, prepare for the worst. Bring her to me first thing in the morning."

Mogley and I rushed out the door and searched the street for any signs of a pharmacy.

At six o'clock, the traffic was unbearable. Billboards, slowly being illuminated by the bath of neon lights, were starting to claim dominion over the night sky. Inside the cab, I sat silently, and, for the first time in so many months, I began talking to God.

"Please save Basmati's life. I promise I'll never eat fish and chicken again when nobody's looking." I closed my eyes and invoked the Almighty's presence.

"Miaw, miaw." It was my phone's message tone.

Could this be a message from God? Could this be Basmati's salvation?

***
Basmati is not pregnant after all, according to X-ray results. Blood tests showed decrease blood count. She was given heavy antibiotics, vitamins and amino acids through her IV drip. She is home now after spending a night at the vet hospital.

She started vocalizing this evening, but was too shy to do it loudly.

Thank you for your prayers.

Yes, I will keep my promise and be a religious vegan.

still, he's my guy

Happy 2nd birthday, Nate!

freaky friday

Mega stressful day today. Shortly before lunch, I receive a text message from Auraeus Solito saying that he is not feeling well. He asks if we could move the Forum scheduled tomorrow to May. I text him back that everything is set. He says, "OK." I negotiate a compromise. "You can just speak for ten minutes and then let the participants discuss the points you raised the whole day." It's a desperate move because I am desperate!

I eat two cups of rice for lunch. I don't give a damn if there is a rice crisis. For dessert, I empty two packets of raisins, a banana and a chocolate.

The clock is ticking. Auraeus's flight is 3:55pm. There is still a chance that he gets stuck in traffic, get sicker in the departure area, or worse, take the wrong flight to Palawan.

Meanwhile, I sit in a cafe and sip cold and creamy durian capuccino. I look at my phone every five seconds. Will it be a bearer of good tidings or bad news?

The clock is ticking. Tick tock, tick tock.

*****
P.S.
Auraeus emerged from the Davao International Airport at 6:35pm. The flight was one-hour delayed.

Long Live Auraeus!

film documentary workshop, cotabato

The Davao workshop will culminate this Sunday. One thing ends, another one starts.

I will be conducting a Film Documentary Workshop from May 9 to 11 at the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City. It's my way of giving back to the city of my birth.

Participants, however, must prepare for the physical and mental demands of this intensive program since everything is condensed in three whole days, plus one evening session of film screening and (perhaps) some booze.

Registration is PhP900 to cover snacks, modules, kits and certificates. For queries, email me at morofilm@yahoo.com.