just got this from Jim Libiran:

“Mga Kapatid… Ikinagagalak ko pong ibalita sa inyo na ang Tribu ay nagwagi ng Youth Jury Prize (distribution in France) dito sa Paris Cinema Festival. Mamya po ang awarding” Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!”

translation:

“Brothers and sisters … I am joyful conveying the news that Tribu won the Youth Jury Prize here in Paris Cinema Festival. The awarding will happen in a  little while. Mabuhay Philippines!”

Jim texted more:

“a lot of people prayed hard for this. The Lord heard all of our prayers. the Tondo kid yearn for respect: the indie musicians, rappers, rock singers, theater actors and talented Tondo residents who joined d cast of Tribu, they all yearn for respect and recognition of their talents. The young and very talented indie film crew who shared their talent and time, they yearn to show the world how talented we are. To all of them, I say, the young culture-loving people of Paris, France, all respect, recognize, reaffirm that, yes, the music making, the film making, acting talents of Filipinos are kick-ass worldclass!”

I bumped into Jim Libiran and Mitch Moreno just before they left for Paris in Robinson’s Galleria 2 Sundays ago and I got to pray with them and I got to pray for this Film – the world needs to see what God is doing in the Philippines right now – He’s raising up a new generation of film-makers, the Libirans, the Joaquin Valdeses, the Dante Nico Garcias of this generation; that will re-interpret reality in a way that will challenge Filipinos and the world.

Tribu was the ONLY Filipino entry that competed in the full-length film category. The award is very special because the Jurors are composed of young people and also representatives from the film magazine, Positif. This year’s Paris Cinema Festival honored 40 Filipino films and it was just fitting that a Filipino film on the youth rap culture in Tondo would win the Youth Jury Prize.

Here’s the review of a juror, Raphaël Clairefond, of Tribu (it’s in French btw hehehe):

“Une guerre des gangs dans un bidonville, vous pensiez avoir déjà vu ça souvent au cinéma. C’était récemment La Cité de Dieu de Fernando Meirelles, et si vous n’en aviez pas eu assez les producteurs en ont pondu une suite (La Cité des Hommes). Oubliez tout ce que vous connaissez, le vrai film « coup de poing » (expression ô combien galvaudée) sur le sujet s’appelle Tribu et il nous vient des Philippines.

On le doit à Jim Libiran, personnage multifacettes (documentariste, essayiste, journaliste…) qui, pour son premier film de fiction, immerge le spectateur dans la vie quotidienne de jeunes membres de gangs à Tondo, bidonville de Manille. Le mode de narration se rapproche de la chronique, en donnant à voir la vie de la population du quartier dans ce qu’elle a de plus banal : parents travailleurs et préoccupés par le sort de leurs enfants, scènes de ménage, amourettes de jeunesse etc. Mais qu’on ne s’y trompe pas, en filmant les câbles électriques enchevêtrés entre les bâtiments, surplombant les ruelles, le cinéaste nous rappelle clairement que Tondo est, une immense toile d’araignée dans laquelle chacun se débat comme il peut. Plus qu’ailleurs, la vie y est bien souvent une question de survie.

Toutefois, laissons-là les métaphores car la puissance viscérale de sa fiction repose avant tout sur l’effet de réel, le style documentaire « embedded »*, qui confère au film une tension et une violence aussi sèches qu’angoissantes. Son dispositif de mise en scène produit une image sale et tremblante, plongée dans une lumière sombre et jaunâtre. Elle restitue efficacement le sentiment de peur et de danger permanent qui semble imprégner le quartier. Le choix d’un tournage économique en vidéo et en lumière naturelle produit cette impression que les scènes sont saisies sur le vif. Par ailleurs les acteurs non-professionnels ont tous fait partie de gangs à Tondo. Le réalisateur part donc, comme d’autres avant lui, d’une matière documentaire pour construire une fiction qui met en forme un réel inaccessible par d’autres moyens que la reconstitution.

Le témoin du récit, un jeune garçon de 10 ans, fait écho à la divinité du quartier, tout en permettant l’identification du spectateur à son regard innocent. Innocence toute relative cependant au regard de la dernière séquence et des autres scènes qui voient les gamins se chamailler avec des armes en plastique. De l’enfance bagarreuse à l’adolescence terrible, il n’y a qu’un pas aisément franchi : celui de la simulation au passage à l’acte. L’enfant constitue également une astuce narrative habile, en ce qu’il offre un contrepoint à la violence et à la haine des jeunes lors de leurs réunions.

Musique et haine de l’autre
Loin d’adoucir les moeurs, la musique (hip hop et slams enragés) n’est que le vecteurs de déclaration de guerre à un ennemi vague mais incontestablement en sursis, à en croire les paroles. Les séquences musicales et spontanées entre potes préparent rites initiatiques et vengeances meurtrières. La musique est toujours un prélude à la violence, de même que certains gangs n’étaient à l’origine que des groupes de rap. Tribu met à mal la croyance dans les vertus pacificatrices et apaisantes de la musique. La prose scandée qui vient se poser sur les « beats » (rythmiques vocales) est loin d’apaiser la haine. Pire, elle l’attise.

La démarche du réalisateur prend tout son sens quand on comprend que l’expérience du film propose avant tout un constat pessimiste, plus qu’une critique virulente. En effet, le film et son budget ont permis de lancer plusieurs projets sociaux parmi lesquels la création d’un studio professionnel d’enregistrement à Tondo. Ce hors-champ qui fait aussi partie de l’expérience cinématographique témoigne de l’intelligence et de l’ambition d’un cinéaste qui préfère mêler fiction et documentaire en mettant l’un au service de l’autre, plutôt que de chercher à tirer profit d’un réel sordide.

Pour ceux que l’expérience aura convaincu, rendez-vous peut-être dans un an ou deux puisque Jim Libiran a un documentaire en projet sur ce que sont devenus les acteurs du film.

Il compare le mode de tournage à un reportage de guerre. Les caméramen ne savaient pas comment allaient se comporter les acteurs à chaque scène.”

I love the last sentence. You could translate it thus:

“He (Libiran) compared the method of directing to a story of war. The cameramen didn’t know how to frame the actors in each scene.”

I read an article on the pollution of Manila Bay, which costs about Php 4 billion annually as a consequence of degradation. The major causes, as the article expounded: overfishing, pollution in coastal areas—thereby limiting tourism and other recreational uses—results in this equivalent monetary loss.

More from Thinking Aloud…

Here’s a short teaser clip of GMA7’s Signos, a localized documentary on climate change and its impacts in the Philippines. It won the Best Foreign Film Award for the 1st Lone Star International Film Festival in Texas, USA, according to GMA News.

More here…

Maybe it’s just me, but is the decade I grew in really that far off? I know I get bummed off a bit when I see the music videos I like being played on VH1 or the songs I used to listen to being played on Retro Wednesdays or something. It kind of gives me affirmation that I’m some old geezer because you know, the kids are listening to awfully cool music nowadays and that I’m stuck listening to old geezer stuff. While telling the kids to turn down that damn noise they call music. While I wave my cane wildly around. You call that music? Why in my day, we had to play with instruments. Blindfolded! And our pants’ waistlines were raised all the way up to our armpits. The wedgies were horrible, but damn, we looked snappy. More »

Do you have your dream job? How about a dream company to work with? Have you thought that after graduating from college, you’ll land a high-paying job? Will you fight or commit a crime just to be in your desired position? How far are your limits to conquer the career you ever wanted? Certainly, many would love to work at GOOGLE Company!

This is why they say Google was voted as the company most wanted to be worked for

We already knew that working for Google had certain advantages, but, believe me, this giant of the search motor takes the welfare of its employees seriously … as shown by this decompression (stress) capsule that is impermeable to sound and light …

More after the jump at http://www.obnoxiousqueer.com

Check other sites:

http://meneaters.blogspot.com

http://foodelity.blogspot.com

http://mailboxatrandom.blogspot.com

Ever wonder how much elected city councilors make?

These are the entries in my pay slip for this month:

Earnings – Monthly Salary P25,764.00; Personal Emergency Relief Allowance (PERA) P0.00; Additional Compensation P1,500 – Total P27,264

Deductions – GSIS Life & Retirement Insurance P2,318.76; Home Development Mutual Fund Premium P100.00; Medicare P312.50; Withholding Tax P3,836.60; PAG-IBIG Loan P617.46 – Total P7,185.32

Please continue here …

I never thought of blogging about movies. But, when Zen of SM Cinemas called me up and invited me to the launch of SM Digital Cinema and screening of “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, I gladly accepted the invitation.

NO SPOILERS. Just my two cents about “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D.

Continue reading here…

Won’t win me any awards but they’re not too bad, I think. Some of these drawings are from my sketchbooks when I was still in college, a time when I was more inclined to do stuff without expecting to get paid for it. Others are from my notebooks, which is why you’ll notice handwriting peering through the paper from the pages beneath it. Scanner’s dead and gone so I took pictures using my webcam instead, thus explaining the sh*tty quality. Click the pics to view the full images.

CLICKITTY CLICK HERE!

I don’t like eating at Jollibee. I am a McDonalds or Wendy’s fan and always prefer these establishments when craving for oily, fattening and unhealthy fast food. The few times you would see me at Jollibee, it was probably because of one of these: there was nothing else but Jollibee where I was; I must have been dying of hunger; my kids are crying their eyes out for Jollibee; I was forced at gunpoint to eat there (not literally).

Read more…

Okay you’ve got a blog. What’s next? It’s time to monetize it and there’s a lot of ways to do it.

Click here and learn how to find blog advertisers

Ano na nga bang oras ngayon? Sa pagkaka alam ko july na atah tayo ngayon, hindi ba? Hay naku! sa dinadami nga naman ng problema ng tao paano pa natin mapapansin na pinapansin na pala natin ang mga bagay-bagay na hindi dapat pansinin. Gulo no? Paguguluhin ko pa!. Mga simpleng katanungan at problema na simple lang pero dahil pinalalaki tinubuan tuloy tayo ng taghiyawat. Napansin ko ito ng nag karoon ako ng oras sa restroom. At doon ay nag rest ako. Pinag-isipan ko ang mga bagay-bagay na madalas pinoproblema ng madla na hindi naman talaga dapat problemahin. At pinagisipan ko rin ang mga katagang pinasikat ng mga tao kung may katotohanan o wala. Pero isa lang ang nakasisiguro ako, mabaho sa restroom. Hindi ata nilinisan ng janitor. Di bale ito yung mga isinulat ko. Read and interpret it kung ma-take niyo.

1. Alam nating lahat na ang problema ay may solusyon. Kasi naniniwala tayong walang probelamang ibinigay ang maykapal na hindi naman kaya ng ating kapasidad. Pero kung ang pinoproblema niyo ay walang solusyon, utang na loob wag niyo nalang problemahin.

continue reading>>

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, still recuperating from his recent gall bladder operation, made his first public appearance Monday to receive the city’s new police chief, PSupt. Ramon Apolinario.

Apolinario paid a courtesy call at the City Council yesterday and vowed to maintain or even “surpass” the performance of his predecessor, PSupt. Jaime Morente, who is now assigned in Region XII.

Our new police chief has a very impressive academic and service background. He hails from Manila and graduated from the Philippine Military Academy Batch 1985. He has an MBA from Ateneo and also studied at the Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge.

Please continue here …

Hey, have you seen this?

It’s the new look of Gmail called “Redesigned”, want to know more?

Click here NA!

These days, a lot of blogs are holding contests. It’s a trend that bloggers are quick to adopt because of the benefits they could get out of it. That’s because a blog contest is a powerful marketing tool to get blogs better exposure. Get more traffic, backlinks, readers, Technorati ranking, etc; it’s all about increasing blog stats to improve your blog’s authority.

What’s a blog contest?

A blog contest is just your usual online contest that is conducted by blogs to build publicity, recognition, and/or networks. A blog contest cannot be a contest without prizes. These prizes range from entrecard credits to real cash, gadgets, advertising spots, reviews, and other valuable online merchandise and services you could think of. Getting entries to win usually requires a participant to do some things that will benefit the contest host and his/her blog.

How do you benefit from holding blog contests?

Your blog can benefit from a contest in a lot of ways depending on your contest’s rules/mechanics and how well you promoted it; but generally, these are the areas where you’ll see much improvement and what most contest runners hope to improve after conducting it:

• More backlinks
• Increased Google, Technorati, and Alexa rankings
• More readers (subscribers and return visits)
• More traffic

How to Setup a Blog Contest?

Running a contest is not as easy as it looks. It requires a lot of effort to coordinate with everyone you want to get involved from its conception to the handing-over of prizes to the winners. If you’re planning of running one, here’s a guide which could help you.

read the rest of blog contest…

For ABBA fans and fans of the film alike, MAMMA MIA! is a Soundtrack must-have!

Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved musical that has been seen by more than 30 million people in 170 cities and eight languages around the world. Bringing the timeless lyrics and melodies of iconic super group ABBA to movie audiences, summer 2008 is the season for Mamma Mia! The star-studded soundtrack is the ultimate souvenir to the movie, set for a release on MCA Music.

More about Mamma Mia! The Movie and its Soundtrack at Music Picks blog!

Public service lang po. My friend asked me to spread the word.

LIFE Seminar for Women Loving Women

A talented team of women, leaders, entrepreneurs, psychologists, under the name of Quanta are producing the Ultimate Life Seminar for Women. The designated participants in the upcoming weekend experience are lesbians and women who love women. It will be held August 15 – 17 at the AIM Conference Center Manila in Makati. The object of the seminar is achieving the life balance that is just right for each participant. Each person will be led to accelerate the discovery process of “who you are and how to become all you want to become.” Each person finds their shortcut to enjoying and thriving in their chosen relationships — personal and romantic, family and business. The dynamic interactive three-day seminar has three stages beginning with the discovery stage — discovering one’s true passions, one’s really treasured values and beliefs, one’s true friends, and one’s self-imposed obstacles. The result is: at long last “you become an expert on you.” In the second stage “you become the architect of the life and life balance you have always wanted. In the final stage of the Life Seminar “you see through the obstacles” and utilize the your new insights, along with a life coach, by which you actually begin to focus on attaining the change and achieving the Life Balance in the person who will be the “new you.”

For more information, visit my blog.

It’s official, I am the 12th week top scorer of the recent Marlboro Levels game. The promo has ended and they have now posted all the winners!

Read more: waiting for my macbook

Have you recently received from the GOOGLE team informing you that you’ll be receiving a Personal Identification Number (PIN) via standard mail (snail mail) into your mailing address? It is expected that we will be receiving it within 2-4 weeks upon receipt of the email. This also depends on your location, sometimes, it may take longer. So, be aware! And for us to be eligible for payments for our adsense accounts, we have to enter the PIN. The instructions are in the mailer itself. Well, I just received mine last night so I think I have to wait for weeks. Below is an image of the Google Mail envelope that you might be receiving.

Click to enlarge

More after the jump at http://www.obnoxiousqueer.com
$6.00 Welcome Survey After Free Registration!

Recommended Sites:

http://meneaters.blogspot.com
http://foodelity.blogspot.com
http://mailboxatrandom.blogspot.com

Davao City’s A-one performance at the Philippine Cities Competitive Survey will add luster at this week’s celebration of SME Week organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council led by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

A motorcade will kick off the activities at 8 this morning with formal rites set at 10 at the NCCC Activity Center. I will be wearing two hats at the opening – represent Mayor Rody Duterte and as key partner of the SMED Council. My office provided funds for the celebration including the cash prize for the Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Please continue here …