In the rare case you were wondering or you:
1) like reading song lyrics
2) like discovering new music
3) are one of those who know AMP
4) are interested in my obsession with AMP
I have moved the AMPCast to the Scraps of Paper page.
August 31, 2006
August 30, 2006
AMPCast #001
Welcome to the AMPCast ladies and gentlemen... where, for lack of any excitement, yours truly makes a fool of herself over AMP to the tunes of whatever my IPod chooses to play while I'm in his vicinity. Today's background music to our car park encounter was *drumroll*...
Fascination
performed by Kem
taken from the OST of Take the Lead
Fascination
performed by Kem
taken from the OST of Take the Lead
It was fascination, I know
And it might have ended at the start
A passing glance, a brief romance
And I might have gone on my way empty-hearted, empty-hearted
It was fascination, I know
Seeing you under the moonlight above, baby
And I touch your hand and I kiss you
and fascination turned to love
My fascination turned to love, oh baby, yeah
My fascination, girl, ohh, turned to love
Fascination, I know
That it might have ended at the start
A passing glance, a brief romance
And I might have gone on my way empty-hearted
Fascination, oh and I know, I know babe
Seeing you under, under the moonlight, moonlight above
Baby I, I touch your hand And I kiss you baby
Oh girl And my, my fascination, my fascination
Turned to love
Fascination oh, my, my, my fascination girl
Turned to love
My fascination turned to love
Fascination
*laughs out loud*
August 29, 2006
Another 100
1. When the DJ speaks bad english, it makes me run in the other direction.
2. Truth be known, I don’t mind marrying someone who’s more than 10 years my senior. Age is just a number. He better be alive when the kids are young though.
3. I have to have three shampoos in my bath basket. I don’t know why.
4. When reading Donald miller books or listening to Imago Dei sermons, I laugh and cry a lot.
5. Channing Tatum… *Dreamy Smile*
6. I don’t wear braces anymore. I still wear thick glasses.
7. My favorite place is Lake Tahoe in the spring.
8. I think a pair of chucks is essential to one’s wardrobe. I own a black pair. I will own a blue, red, pink, and green pair.
9. Given the chance, I could blow $500 on shoes. Just shoes. I'm another Imelda Marcos.
10. I subcribe to the following podcasts: Imago Dei (an archive of their sermons), Donald Miller (includes a reading from one of his books and interview with Derek Webb), Grammar Girl (incredible help), Vogue (for the frustrated fashionista in me), MuggleCast (Harry Potter fan resource), Jason Mraz (featuring commentary, music, backstage chatter, and voice messages from Jason himself), Anna Nalick (talks about her new album), GeekCast (can't you tell?), Brain Food (explores fascinating topics from everyday life and use science and mathematics to better understand the wonders all around us), Let's speak Italian (learn italian in small packs)
11. Long sleeved polo shirts and dark jeans on a guy make me come undone.
12. I like spaghetti to be sour not sweet i.e. Italian style not Filipino style
13. I have sleep apnea.
14. Things I sleep next to: Ipod, Cellphone, my glasses and my asthma medicine.
15. I want to be taller. I'm currently 5'5". To heck with the fact that there aren’t a lot of tall guys
16. I actually like airplane food. Crazy!
17. I was un-single once in my life. I regret it.
18. I like strawberry margaritas.
19. Scratch that. I love Imran’s sacred margaritas.
20. I love Grey’s Anatomy.
21. I’m actually sad to be graduating for the first time in my life. You should have seen me in high school, I couldn’t wait to leave.
22. I practice nail bowling.
23. I wanna learn how to belly dance. Specifically, I want to know how to do the snake hips move on Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” music video.
24. I like most rollercoasters.
25. I still hate doing the laundry. I’m the kind of girl who will throw a single sock into the waching machine.
26. My eyebrows frustrate me lot. One of them involuntarily goes up when I smile making me look evil.
27. I’m an asthmatic who can’t not love cats, carpets and flowers even if they could kill me.
28. I’m a person you have to get to know to like. Maybe not even then. It sucks, I know.
29. I spend a lot on fruits shakes and yogurt.
30. I love bunnies.
31. I know how to cook sauteed vegetables and steamed vegetables. That’s all I know how to cook.
32. When I’m in charge in the kitchen, the meal ends up having a lot of onion and garlic and the fine china always gets set much to my mom’s dismay.
33. I've never stayed in a hospital for more than a day. I wish I have.
34. My blood type is B, Rh+. Just call me if you need some. I donate blood on a regular basis.
35. When I die, I’d appreciate it if the doctors harvest all viable organs.
36. I don’t like kakanin.
37. I will eat fish only if my mom threatens me.
38. I like acorns. I'm like a squirrel when they're around.
39. It takes me twenty mintues to take a bath.
40. I have four blogs.
41. You know I'm having a bad day when I eat three bars of chocolate in succession.
42. When I am able to dance Kitri’s variation in Don Quixote, I’ll know I have arrived.
43. For every thirty minutes I spend in a crowd, I need an hour alone. Yeah, I need that much downtime.
44. When I see a good book on sale, I can’t resist.
45. I want to be a flight attendant.
46. My favorite PE in elementary was swimming. I wasn't good at it and I never made it to the team but I had a lot of fun.
47. I eat cakes layer by layer. I don’t like grabbing a forkful with every layer in it.
48. If I like you and you open the door for me, smile and ask me how my day was, you’d have successfully reduced my brain to hash.
49. I’m very liberal with commas.
50. I love trench coats.
51. I bake a mean batch of oatmeal raisin-chocolate cookies.
52. I can do front splits.
53. I like it when my dad dances. It's a dance that's just so un-self-conscious (how is that supposed to be?) and hilarious that it celebrates life.
54. My brother Mikhael is okay with carrying me on his back. I like being carried a lot. Poor bro.
55. I’m terrified when a baby is put in my arms.
56. I’m not a big fan of precious stones and gold. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry and when I do, I stick to silver.
57. I love Jack Johnson’s “Better Together”
58. When I play Sims, I don’t care about the sims. I care about designing the house. When the house is done, that game’s over.
59. I don’t watch TV a lot so when I do I’m like a crazy person. I get worked up over the commercials. Drives my brothers and mom nuts.
60. I like v-necks. I like basic and plain shirts. If you see me wearing something cool, that’s because either my mom, Aunt Remy or Arman bought it for me.
61. I own two boxes of nail polish. I can’t explain why. I really don’t need them and a lot of them look almost alike.
62. Cockroaches make me cry.
63. When someone cries in front of me, my brain hangs. I don’t know what to do except hug them.
64. Snow may be overrated but I love it.
65. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skate so well that sometimes I can't help crying.
66. Every time I hear songs with the message 'I am on fire for You Lord" I have a weird compulsion to scream at the radio. (from the original list)
67. I wish I had a refrigerator in my room.
68. I don’t get anime.
69. I don’t think I could spank my kid.
70. I have a hard time describing my natural hair color.
71. I want to dance the story of the woman caught in adultery who was forgiven by Jesus.
72. I don’t like Mexican food.
73. I can’t sleep with the lights on.
74. Most of the time, I have to imagine I’m being hugged just so I can sleep.
75. I have a lot of accessories but I don’t use them.
76. I laugh a lot when I’m depressed. I can’t figure out why. I’m just like that.
77. I prefer bowls over plates, forks over spoons.
78. I don’t like banana ketchup.
79. I want a red RAV-4.
80. I like nature. I love parks and gardens. But don’t ask me to grow. I don’t do gardening. My mom is not happy about it either.
81. I’d love to sit in a ballet company’s studio and watch them rehearse.
82. It’ll be my birthday soon. I’ll be two decades and two. Cool!
83. The only time I wish I were a guy is when I like a person who doesn’t like me.
84. I like rock music now. Nellie, that’s the shock of your life and mine.
85. I tried to learn tennis when I was a kid but I was a total loser. That tennis ball had me beat just chasing it all over the court. I tried to learn it because my best buds, Allan and JP, won a lot of competitions and were popular. I wanted to be popular and important too.
86. I’ve tried the lottery once. I didn’t win. Erg.
88. When I’m nervous, I smile a lot.
89. In sophomore year, I was smiling in class and the professor called me and demanded to know why I was smiling.
90. In ballet class, I was smiling when my teacher was correcting my rond de jambe and she made me stop. She asked if I was taking her seriously or not. I shouldn’t smile when I’m nervous but I can’t help it.
91. This makes me wish I had sweaty palms instead. No one notices sweaty palms. No one associates smiling with anxiety and that's the whole trouble.
92. Sometimes I care too much about what people will think or say. Sometimes I don’t care at all.
93. Stop telling me to get a life. I have one.
94. I haven’t watched a single Star Wars movie.
95. I am a frequent social casualty.
96. Despite numerous warnings from my bestfriend, I still want a boyfriend.
97. I will probably die single. My standards are too high and too many.
98. If worse comes to worse, I’ll adopt a kid.
99. I think I drive my roommates crazy with a single sentence: “Let’s clean the room.”
100. My study break is over.
2. Truth be known, I don’t mind marrying someone who’s more than 10 years my senior. Age is just a number. He better be alive when the kids are young though.
3. I have to have three shampoos in my bath basket. I don’t know why.
4. When reading Donald miller books or listening to Imago Dei sermons, I laugh and cry a lot.
5. Channing Tatum… *Dreamy Smile*
6. I don’t wear braces anymore. I still wear thick glasses.
7. My favorite place is Lake Tahoe in the spring.
8. I think a pair of chucks is essential to one’s wardrobe. I own a black pair. I will own a blue, red, pink, and green pair.
9. Given the chance, I could blow $500 on shoes. Just shoes. I'm another Imelda Marcos.
10. I subcribe to the following podcasts: Imago Dei (an archive of their sermons), Donald Miller (includes a reading from one of his books and interview with Derek Webb), Grammar Girl (incredible help), Vogue (for the frustrated fashionista in me), MuggleCast (Harry Potter fan resource), Jason Mraz (featuring commentary, music, backstage chatter, and voice messages from Jason himself), Anna Nalick (talks about her new album), GeekCast (can't you tell?), Brain Food (explores fascinating topics from everyday life and use science and mathematics to better understand the wonders all around us), Let's speak Italian (learn italian in small packs)
11. Long sleeved polo shirts and dark jeans on a guy make me come undone.
12. I like spaghetti to be sour not sweet i.e. Italian style not Filipino style
13. I have sleep apnea.
14. Things I sleep next to: Ipod, Cellphone, my glasses and my asthma medicine.
15. I want to be taller. I'm currently 5'5". To heck with the fact that there aren’t a lot of tall guys
16. I actually like airplane food. Crazy!
17. I was un-single once in my life. I regret it.
18. I like strawberry margaritas.
19. Scratch that. I love Imran’s sacred margaritas.
20. I love Grey’s Anatomy.
21. I’m actually sad to be graduating for the first time in my life. You should have seen me in high school, I couldn’t wait to leave.
22. I practice nail bowling.
23. I wanna learn how to belly dance. Specifically, I want to know how to do the snake hips move on Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” music video.
24. I like most rollercoasters.
25. I still hate doing the laundry. I’m the kind of girl who will throw a single sock into the waching machine.
26. My eyebrows frustrate me lot. One of them involuntarily goes up when I smile making me look evil.
27. I’m an asthmatic who can’t not love cats, carpets and flowers even if they could kill me.
28. I’m a person you have to get to know to like. Maybe not even then. It sucks, I know.
29. I spend a lot on fruits shakes and yogurt.
30. I love bunnies.
31. I know how to cook sauteed vegetables and steamed vegetables. That’s all I know how to cook.
32. When I’m in charge in the kitchen, the meal ends up having a lot of onion and garlic and the fine china always gets set much to my mom’s dismay.
33. I've never stayed in a hospital for more than a day. I wish I have.
34. My blood type is B, Rh+. Just call me if you need some. I donate blood on a regular basis.
35. When I die, I’d appreciate it if the doctors harvest all viable organs.
36. I don’t like kakanin.
37. I will eat fish only if my mom threatens me.
38. I like acorns. I'm like a squirrel when they're around.
39. It takes me twenty mintues to take a bath.
40. I have four blogs.
41. You know I'm having a bad day when I eat three bars of chocolate in succession.
42. When I am able to dance Kitri’s variation in Don Quixote, I’ll know I have arrived.
43. For every thirty minutes I spend in a crowd, I need an hour alone. Yeah, I need that much downtime.
44. When I see a good book on sale, I can’t resist.
45. I want to be a flight attendant.
46. My favorite PE in elementary was swimming. I wasn't good at it and I never made it to the team but I had a lot of fun.
47. I eat cakes layer by layer. I don’t like grabbing a forkful with every layer in it.
48. If I like you and you open the door for me, smile and ask me how my day was, you’d have successfully reduced my brain to hash.
49. I’m very liberal with commas.
50. I love trench coats.
51. I bake a mean batch of oatmeal raisin-chocolate cookies.
52. I can do front splits.
53. I like it when my dad dances. It's a dance that's just so un-self-conscious (how is that supposed to be?) and hilarious that it celebrates life.
54. My brother Mikhael is okay with carrying me on his back. I like being carried a lot. Poor bro.
55. I’m terrified when a baby is put in my arms.
56. I’m not a big fan of precious stones and gold. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry and when I do, I stick to silver.
57. I love Jack Johnson’s “Better Together”
58. When I play Sims, I don’t care about the sims. I care about designing the house. When the house is done, that game’s over.
59. I don’t watch TV a lot so when I do I’m like a crazy person. I get worked up over the commercials. Drives my brothers and mom nuts.
60. I like v-necks. I like basic and plain shirts. If you see me wearing something cool, that’s because either my mom, Aunt Remy or Arman bought it for me.
61. I own two boxes of nail polish. I can’t explain why. I really don’t need them and a lot of them look almost alike.
62. Cockroaches make me cry.
63. When someone cries in front of me, my brain hangs. I don’t know what to do except hug them.
64. Snow may be overrated but I love it.
65. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skate so well that sometimes I can't help crying.
66. Every time I hear songs with the message 'I am on fire for You Lord" I have a weird compulsion to scream at the radio. (from the original list)
67. I wish I had a refrigerator in my room.
68. I don’t get anime.
69. I don’t think I could spank my kid.
70. I have a hard time describing my natural hair color.
71. I want to dance the story of the woman caught in adultery who was forgiven by Jesus.
72. I don’t like Mexican food.
73. I can’t sleep with the lights on.
74. Most of the time, I have to imagine I’m being hugged just so I can sleep.
75. I have a lot of accessories but I don’t use them.
76. I laugh a lot when I’m depressed. I can’t figure out why. I’m just like that.
77. I prefer bowls over plates, forks over spoons.
78. I don’t like banana ketchup.
79. I want a red RAV-4.
80. I like nature. I love parks and gardens. But don’t ask me to grow. I don’t do gardening. My mom is not happy about it either.
81. I’d love to sit in a ballet company’s studio and watch them rehearse.
82. It’ll be my birthday soon. I’ll be two decades and two. Cool!
83. The only time I wish I were a guy is when I like a person who doesn’t like me.
84. I like rock music now. Nellie, that’s the shock of your life and mine.
85. I tried to learn tennis when I was a kid but I was a total loser. That tennis ball had me beat just chasing it all over the court. I tried to learn it because my best buds, Allan and JP, won a lot of competitions and were popular. I wanted to be popular and important too.
86. I’ve tried the lottery once. I didn’t win. Erg.
88. When I’m nervous, I smile a lot.
89. In sophomore year, I was smiling in class and the professor called me and demanded to know why I was smiling.
90. In ballet class, I was smiling when my teacher was correcting my rond de jambe and she made me stop. She asked if I was taking her seriously or not. I shouldn’t smile when I’m nervous but I can’t help it.
91. This makes me wish I had sweaty palms instead. No one notices sweaty palms. No one associates smiling with anxiety and that's the whole trouble.
92. Sometimes I care too much about what people will think or say. Sometimes I don’t care at all.
93. Stop telling me to get a life. I have one.
94. I haven’t watched a single Star Wars movie.
95. I am a frequent social casualty.
96. Despite numerous warnings from my bestfriend, I still want a boyfriend.
97. I will probably die single. My standards are too high and too many.
98. If worse comes to worse, I’ll adopt a kid.
99. I think I drive my roommates crazy with a single sentence: “Let’s clean the room.”
100. My study break is over.
August 28, 2006
Ann!
1) went out with nellie and eigen yesterday for bowling, a movie and lunch. turns out i have to make sacrifices in the form of chipped nails to win at bowling. i also have to loose all my poise to get that ball rolling in the right direction. lots of fun though.
2) i went to bed at eight last night but was awakened by the paging system. apparently, i was needed at the counter at 10:06pm. all sorts of possibilities ran through my head as i grabbed a sweater to cover my jammies and rushed out the door still half asleep. "is it dcbc people? but why would they come? dcfers? nah. if this is about my roommates not getting home before the curfew, i'm going to kill them..." it was my roommates. they were hanging out in the dorm office, waiting for their mcdonalds delivery. they were thinking that i was getting lonely in the room so they called me. i was torn between lashing out at them for disturbing my sleep and being touched by their thoughtfulness. being touched won out in the end and i got a large pack of french fries. hehe.
3) my goodness, he looked HOT today what with a blue polo rolled up to the elbows and dark jeans... and he held the door open for me and said hello... brain almost reduced to hash and meredith grey drama of "so pick me, choose me, love me" who'd have thought?
4) belly dancing is difficult...hack...nothing ever comes easy in this life.
5) i feel like speaking about god which is weird because we're not exactly on the best of terms right now. huh?
6) blog, whatever are we going to do with us? we're getting so shallow lately, resorting to pictures in an effort to still have some value.
2) i went to bed at eight last night but was awakened by the paging system. apparently, i was needed at the counter at 10:06pm. all sorts of possibilities ran through my head as i grabbed a sweater to cover my jammies and rushed out the door still half asleep. "is it dcbc people? but why would they come? dcfers? nah. if this is about my roommates not getting home before the curfew, i'm going to kill them..." it was my roommates. they were hanging out in the dorm office, waiting for their mcdonalds delivery. they were thinking that i was getting lonely in the room so they called me. i was torn between lashing out at them for disturbing my sleep and being touched by their thoughtfulness. being touched won out in the end and i got a large pack of french fries. hehe.
3) my goodness, he looked HOT today what with a blue polo rolled up to the elbows and dark jeans... and he held the door open for me and said hello... brain almost reduced to hash and meredith grey drama of "so pick me, choose me, love me" who'd have thought?
4) belly dancing is difficult...hack...nothing ever comes easy in this life.
5) i feel like speaking about god which is weird because we're not exactly on the best of terms right now. huh?
6) blog, whatever are we going to do with us? we're getting so shallow lately, resorting to pictures in an effort to still have some value.
"Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem"
August 26, 2006
currently...(idea from amanda)
doing: class, yearbook committee work, belly dancing in private, not sleeping, not eating, not losing weight either, looking for jobs, looking for universities that offer MS biostat or health systems, crying over academic performance, trying to make mind-stunning paper that forecasts live weight prices of hogs in manila
reading: Survey Methods (for class obviously, to show my professor that i'm ready ffor the real world), 146 readings (for exam), GRE reviewer, Ballet for Dummies, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle, articles on faith and the single life on boundless.org
eating: lots and lots of mushrooms and cabbage because this is what our canteen thinks vegetarian food is. wouldn't be surprised if mushrooms sprouted on my head sometime soon
listening to: imago dei sermons, lots of saving jane, bowling for soup, all american rejects and shakira
pondering: nothing deep. nothing that makes sense. hah. except for the thoughts on the subject of me going to grad school or working and if i go to grad school where do i go?
psyched about: date with friends tomorrow, getting my grad pic prints, showing my 138 professor that i can do so much better in her class than she thinks i can, not wearing braces anymore
This week's quotes
Ann: “Ate, don’t you ever just feel terrified about your entrance into the real world after graduation?”
Me: “Right now, I only have enough sanity to be terrified about what’s going to happen next week, that paper defense and this exam. The real world and graduation? Well, they’ll have to get in line.”
------
A: “She’s **** and I’m ****. Think it will work? Would you change your religion for love?”
J: “It depends on how much your beliefs mean to you. If you’re just a nominal follower of your faith, I don’t think you’ll even think this is an issue. But if you’re the type to stake your life on your beliefs, well, then you have a problem. I would do it though. What do you think Kristina?”
Me: “Um, I don’t know what I think anymore. I used to be black and white on the issue. But it’s so tempting after a while especially when a guy who doesn’t share your beliefs shows an interest in you romantically and you like the guy, to loosen your standards, to sort of dance around a cordoned-off area.”
------
High school classmate to me: “Once, I thought of a single word to describe each person in our class. I picked bland to describe you. But you seem different now.” (rough translation of SMS)
------
B to A: You're so insensitive.
Me: Yeah, you are.
A: I knoooow. *Giggles* So many people tell me that. *goes back to reading her book*
Me: “Right now, I only have enough sanity to be terrified about what’s going to happen next week, that paper defense and this exam. The real world and graduation? Well, they’ll have to get in line.”
------
A: “She’s **** and I’m ****. Think it will work? Would you change your religion for love?”
J: “It depends on how much your beliefs mean to you. If you’re just a nominal follower of your faith, I don’t think you’ll even think this is an issue. But if you’re the type to stake your life on your beliefs, well, then you have a problem. I would do it though. What do you think Kristina?”
Me: “Um, I don’t know what I think anymore. I used to be black and white on the issue. But it’s so tempting after a while especially when a guy who doesn’t share your beliefs shows an interest in you romantically and you like the guy, to loosen your standards, to sort of dance around a cordoned-off area.”
------
High school classmate to me: “Once, I thought of a single word to describe each person in our class. I picked bland to describe you. But you seem different now.” (rough translation of SMS)
------
B to A: You're so insensitive.
Me: Yeah, you are.
A: I knoooow. *Giggles* So many people tell me that. *goes back to reading her book*
August 24, 2006
Before I doze off...
Here are some pictures from yesterday's photo shoot for grad pics. Studio Pro people, especially Tita Nikki and Kuya Rene: you guys rock!
me and anna (yeah, we're somewhere there under that ton of make-up) waiting for jen
jen swears she wasn't trying anything out even if it looks like she's trying to seduce the camera
with martine and jessa
August 22, 2006
Tutu Tales
Apple and I took a cab to hunt down PBT and arrived ten minutes later at the Meralco Theater, home to the Philippine Ballet Company. Rather intimidating place. We were wearing rugged jeans and flip-flops and the moment we stepped into the lobby we felt like we ought to have worn gowns.
I tried a blue tutu first. I liked the sleeves but it wasn't what I had in mind.
I asked for a red or black tutu. Apple tried out the black swan tutu. Looks like the real deal, right?
I tried on what looked like a pink tutu to me but they called it red. It's one they use in Paquita.
The one I came home with:
I tried a blue tutu first. I liked the sleeves but it wasn't what I had in mind.
I asked for a red or black tutu. Apple tried out the black swan tutu. Looks like the real deal, right?
I tried on what looked like a pink tutu to me but they called it red. It's one they use in Paquita.
The one I came home with:
August 21, 2006
Amusing Phone Call
Lady: Good afternoon! *Ballet Company's Name*. How may we help you?
Me: Hello. I was told that you rent out tutus. I'm interested in renting one for a pictorial.
Lady: Who is this? (in very haughty tone)
Me: This is Kristina. I'm a student at UP.
Lady: And who referred you to us? (in an impossibly haughtier tone)
Me: Miss Mylene Saldana (a former soloist of the company) told me about your costume services. She is my ballet mistress.
Lady: I see... Erm, please hold Ma'am...(said in a suddenly respectful tone)
Me: Sure.
*I stare at rain wondering if people are going to pick the phone up on the other end sometime within the next month *
Guy: Hello?
Me: Hello
Guy: Ma'am, you'd like to rent a tutu, right? (still in a very intimidating tone)
Me: Yes, I would very much like to. Can I do that? Are you renting out tutus?
Guy: Yes, but...Um, who recommended you?
Me: Miss Mylene Saldana, my ballet teacher.
Guy: And you'd like to rent ONE tutu ONLY?
Me: Yes. Is there a problem with that?
Guy: What is the purpose of the rental?
Me: A pictorial (Tempted to answer in complete sentence with sir sprinkled liberally)
Guy: Okay. The rental fee is 500... (trails off in a tone that suggests that I am out of my league)
Me: 500? Is that for a rehearsal tutu? Or is that for any kind?
Guy: Ma'am, that is the fee for any tutu you may want to rent.
Me: Why, really? 500 lang? Wow. (Tempted to counter their intimidation with a remark of how I was prepared to pay 2000 for the rental)
Guy: And you have to have it dry cleaned...
Me: Sure. No problem.
Guy: And you have to return it within a week...
Me: *Grins* Sure thing.
Guy: Okay... (in tone that suggests he's uncertain what to do next because I haven't been cowered by the intimidation at all)
Me: Okay. Is Monday good for your office? Can I drop by sometime in the afternoon to pick out a tutu?
Guy: Yes, Monday is fine (still continues to sound bewildered).
Me: Great then. Who do I look for when I come by?
Guy: Errr.... Just ask for J or H.
Me: Okay then. Thank you for your time. Have a good afternoon.
Guy: Um, good afternoon to you too... Ma'am.
*I hang up the phone giggling*
Me: Hello. I was told that you rent out tutus. I'm interested in renting one for a pictorial.
Lady: Who is this? (in very haughty tone)
Me: This is Kristina. I'm a student at UP.
Lady: And who referred you to us? (in an impossibly haughtier tone)
Me: Miss Mylene Saldana (a former soloist of the company) told me about your costume services. She is my ballet mistress.
Lady: I see... Erm, please hold Ma'am...(said in a suddenly respectful tone)
Me: Sure.
*I stare at rain wondering if people are going to pick the phone up on the other end sometime within the next month *
Guy: Hello?
Me: Hello
Guy: Ma'am, you'd like to rent a tutu, right? (still in a very intimidating tone)
Me: Yes, I would very much like to. Can I do that? Are you renting out tutus?
Guy: Yes, but...Um, who recommended you?
Me: Miss Mylene Saldana, my ballet teacher.
Guy: And you'd like to rent ONE tutu ONLY?
Me: Yes. Is there a problem with that?
Guy: What is the purpose of the rental?
Me: A pictorial (Tempted to answer in complete sentence with sir sprinkled liberally)
Guy: Okay. The rental fee is 500... (trails off in a tone that suggests that I am out of my league)
Me: 500? Is that for a rehearsal tutu? Or is that for any kind?
Guy: Ma'am, that is the fee for any tutu you may want to rent.
Me: Why, really? 500 lang? Wow. (Tempted to counter their intimidation with a remark of how I was prepared to pay 2000 for the rental)
Guy: And you have to have it dry cleaned...
Me: Sure. No problem.
Guy: And you have to return it within a week...
Me: *Grins* Sure thing.
Guy: Okay... (in tone that suggests he's uncertain what to do next because I haven't been cowered by the intimidation at all)
Me: Okay. Is Monday good for your office? Can I drop by sometime in the afternoon to pick out a tutu?
Guy: Yes, Monday is fine (still continues to sound bewildered).
Me: Great then. Who do I look for when I come by?
Guy: Errr.... Just ask for J or H.
Me: Okay then. Thank you for your time. Have a good afternoon.
Guy: Um, good afternoon to you too... Ma'am.
*I hang up the phone giggling*
August 19, 2006
Secularism and the Illusion of Neutrality
Secularism promotes freedom of religion and freedom from religion,asserting that we should be neutral in matters of faith, that religious questions are irrelevant. But Dr. Ravi Zacharias explains that in embracing secularism, we have reduced life “to temporal pursuits disconnected fromall the other disciplines necessary for life to be meaningfully engaged.”With much candor and respect, Dr. Ravi Zacharias invites everybody tojoin him as he explores these issues and more on Tuesday, August 22, atAng Bahay ng Alumni, University of the Philippines – Diliman.
DR. RAVI ZACHARIAS was born into an Indian family descended from temple priests. He struggled over the meaning of life and, at seventeen, pledged to “leave no stone unturned” in his pursuit of truth—a quest that led him to faith in Christ. Today, he seeks to have dialogue with the intellectuals and has spoken in prominent universities such as Harvard and Princeton. He received his Doctor of Divinity from HoughtonCollege, New York, and from Tyndale College and Seminary, Toronto; and his Doctor of Laws from Asbury College, Kentucky. He was the Chair of Evangelism and Contemporary Thought at Alliance Theological Seminary, New York, for three and a half years. He is presently a Visiting Professor at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University,Oxford, England.Ravi has written more than 10 books including Can Man Live Without God?,Cries of the Heart, Jesus Among Other Gods, and The Real Face of Atheism.
Sponsored by the UP Christian Community, with Diliman Campus Bible Church, OMF Literature Inc., and YMEN
August 17, 2006
Grad Pic Trials
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a bunhead so there's no surprise that I'm going for a ballet theme in my creative shot (don't you just love grad pics?). Unfortunately, I've been absent from ballet classes for over four months now so I'm not in the best of shape. I can't hold onto "stunts" for more than five seconds so I'm hoping the photographer is experienced in taking pictures of the sports sort. I've been practicing and my roommates have been so kind as to take pictures so I know what looks good and what looks stupid. Here's the latest batch of pictures. Notice that all of them are blurred or I'm not completely in the frame. Plus, the background is our messy room and I'm wearing slacks. Ignore that.
But do let me know what you think. If the stunts don't look good then I'll settle for a pose where I'm just holding the pointes. Hopefully, I can rent a tutu before Wednesday next week. If that doesn't work out, I'll just wear my ballet class uniform.
But do let me know what you think. If the stunts don't look good then I'll settle for a pose where I'm just holding the pointes. Hopefully, I can rent a tutu before Wednesday next week. If that doesn't work out, I'll just wear my ballet class uniform.
head got cut-off (the height wasn't anticipated)
something i could do if the photographer doesn't like the on pointe stunts ________________________________________________________
trying to break-dance (hip-hop?) on pointes.
it looks pretty cool for me.
would be weird to do in a tutu though. LOL
________________________________________________________
another in-case-on-pointe-stunt-doesn't-work pose ________________________________________________________
hehe...sorry, i don't plan on doing this at the grad pic shoot.i'm just excited about my extension.
August 13, 2006
Bagong Post Para Kay LG
LG,
If there was one guy
I'd want to marry right now,
that guy would be you. =)
Hey there. I just wanted to say...
If there was one guy
I'd want to marry right now,
that guy would be you. =)
*Utters same word she did when she stepped into puddle*
Okay, so only LG and Jordan will know what I'm talking about in the title. I love those guys.
I was planning to put up a photo essay of things that happened last yesterday but blogger refuses to upload my images (it says it has but they don't appear) and Photobucket is as cooperative as a kid having a tantrum. Apparently, the computer gods don't agree with my idea.
I went to church. Congratulate me. It wasn't easy but then life wasn't supposed to be easy. Jojee and LG did a lot of prodding but that's not what made me go back inside...
When someone you don't love tells you how to live your life, it's annoying. But when you love that person, you'll be more than happy to do or feel as they ask because you want them to be happy. Your happiness is their happiness. This is nothing new. I'm annoyed(at the very least) at God because I don't love Him right now. I don't love Him because I don't know Him. And I don't know Him because all I'm choosing to know right now is myself and my problems. So if I stayed outside that would amount to continuing to dig a hole when you're already in one. So I prayed that God would help me stop digging. And I headed back in to hear a message on mutual confession of sins.
That that's what happened is amazing.
The one experience of romantic love I've had so far has made me realize how much I can accomplish when I fall in love. It made me do things I never thought I'd do. In fact , it made me a bit crazy. And maybe that's what ought to happen to me with God. Because I know that when I fall in love with God, I won't care about me. I'll care about Him. I won't be so focused on me and me and me. I'll be living off whatever it is that makes God laugh His mighty socks off.
And if my one experience is right, there is nothing that can beat the sight and sound of your beloved laughing.
I was planning to put up a photo essay of things that happened last yesterday but blogger refuses to upload my images (it says it has but they don't appear) and Photobucket is as cooperative as a kid having a tantrum. Apparently, the computer gods don't agree with my idea.
I went to church. Congratulate me. It wasn't easy but then life wasn't supposed to be easy. Jojee and LG did a lot of prodding but that's not what made me go back inside...
When someone you don't love tells you how to live your life, it's annoying. But when you love that person, you'll be more than happy to do or feel as they ask because you want them to be happy. Your happiness is their happiness. This is nothing new. I'm annoyed(at the very least) at God because I don't love Him right now. I don't love Him because I don't know Him. And I don't know Him because all I'm choosing to know right now is myself and my problems. So if I stayed outside that would amount to continuing to dig a hole when you're already in one. So I prayed that God would help me stop digging. And I headed back in to hear a message on mutual confession of sins.
That that's what happened is amazing.
The one experience of romantic love I've had so far has made me realize how much I can accomplish when I fall in love. It made me do things I never thought I'd do. In fact , it made me a bit crazy. And maybe that's what ought to happen to me with God. Because I know that when I fall in love with God, I won't care about me. I'll care about Him. I won't be so focused on me and me and me. I'll be living off whatever it is that makes God laugh His mighty socks off.
And if my one experience is right, there is nothing that can beat the sight and sound of your beloved laughing.
August 12, 2006
Questioning Ballet Part II
This could otherwise be entitled, "An Attempt to to Pull My Thoughts Together and Write a Thorough Response" as I have just waded out of a swamp of statistical concepts in which I have been soaking in since this morning in preparation for an exam on Monday. Whew!
For background on the topic at hand, click here.
I'm not in total disagreement with some of the points raised by Mr Segal. I am, however, extremely turned off by the writing style. Maybe he was trying to be hip and funny but he comes across as insulting instead of exuding wisdom as an art critic and knowledge of the art form he so easily dismisses as "decaying" and "danced by the disenfranchised".
Ballet companies, from the New York City Ballet to our own Ballet Manila and PBT, are suffering from a slump in ticket sales. But so is almost any art form save for anything considered part of the pop culture. I don't see indie films making record ticket sales. So the ballet isn't exactly beating MTV. But Mr Segal writes that this is simply proof of the "intimidation factor" of ballet, of the "tutu as icon --- and armor".
Ballet and an intimidation factor? I'll admit that it does have that effect sometimes and that sometimes it's our (choreographers, dancers, balletomanes) fault. We have a tendency to let the rigorous and difficult training to get into our heads and we look down on other dance forms. (Or it could be possessiveness too. I bet any Jazz dancer would want to show off her art as we like to show off ours.) Sorry for that. Still, some of us simply can't react on other dance forms because ballet training takes up all our time and energy. Little is left in us to be exposed to other dance forms.
Most of us have a healthy respect for other dances. At the ballet school I attend, our teacher mixes in some jazz and hip hop dancing from time to time. She encourages us to try out ballroom and folk dances. Ballet academies the world over have classes in tap and ballroom for their students to participate in. The etoiles themselves immerse themselves in different dance forms as part of their training. I admire hip hop and jazz dancers and I even wish I were loose enough to do ballroom.
Ballet is also very expensive, both for those who dance and those who watch. A simple comparison of the expenses of a Jazz Dance class to a Ballet class could possibly discourage a student. Audiences in the US can pay around $300 for front seats NYCB tickets to the Nutcracker this season. Back row tickets cost $22. [Personally, that's not too high considering the amazing standard that NYCB has.] But Mr Segal fails to see how companies and dancers try to cultivate a closer relationship with audiences and students. Major companies have outreaches and dance classes for those who want to immerse themselves more in the art.
Here in the Philippines, one can watch Giselle and Swan Lake performed by the Philippine Ballet Theater for P300. You can see La Bayedere, The Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet danced by Ballet Manila [directed by Principal Dancer Lisa Macuja-Elizalde] for as low as P150. How's that compared to what you'll pay for a Backstreet Boys concert? I heard that tickets cost more than a thousand when they held a concert here.
Many artists and directors work towards the dream of bringing ballet into every person's life. Lisa Macuja-Elizalde came back to the Philippines from the Kirov Ballet (one of the world's premier ballet companies) with the dream of bringing the art into every region of the Philippines. Our ballet companies back home create masterpieces that incorporate Filipino culture and art with ballet technique.
As for its place in contemporary times, ballet is trying to move along with the times without sacrificing its form. It does not uphold its history as an excuse to replay what Mr Segal calls a "decaying repertory". Every year, artistic directors, choreographers and managers spend much time and money on finding the next new thing as the NY Times writer mentioned. My teacher said every ballet you watch offers the chance to see that ballet in a new interpretation because the dancers are seldom the same and each choreographer and ballerina will have her own interpretation of the dance. Ballet dances are like folk tales handed down from generation to generation. That over the years, choreographers and dancers alike will change how a dance is performed cannot be basis for calling today's repertories "forgeries". The structure and form remain the same even if the interpretation varies thus the credit to the original choreographer.
Segal's comment as to how ballet turns out "obedient classical atheletes" who are "forever young" is a rant one can make of gymnastics, figure skating, beauty pageants and Hollywood careers (in general) as well. Botox is in demand in Hollywood and for good cause. But no one bothers to rant over the age restriction in these fields. This is a social(?) cultural(?) thing that cannot be dumped solely on ballet. Besides, dancing six hours a day takes it's toll on the body. As I understand it,it is not for aesthetics but practical reasons that dancers and atheletes alike retire at earlier ages than most of us. It is a sad truth of ballet like it is the sad fact that many sports experts expect Michelle Kwan to give up on her Olympic dream because she will be 29 years old.
I am no professional ballerina but my teacher is, and she admits that there are problems of drug abuse and anorexia in the professional world. Dancers are under constant pressure to maintain the weight and body required for lifts and the clean lines ballet is known for. However, this problem is again a problem that runs in other sports and art forms. And modelling.
I disagree entirely with Mr Segal's point that while "Classical music still shakes us to the core" and "...classical theater speaks of the eternal issues that define our lives", ballet fails to move audiences. I watch DVDs and I am already moved to tears by particular performances. Even those who are not fanatics and those with no previous exposure to ballet appreciate the art. My mother watched the DVDs I brought home and she loved them! Even my guy cousins were astounded by the clip I showed them of Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella dancing the grand pas de deux in Don Quixote. Little kids still love The Nutcracker and a new generation of balletomanes comes alive whenever parents bring their children to the ballet. A lot of dances are stories from our childhood or stories from books that we read in high school. There is something about watching these stories come alive in a different form that will continue to draw audiences and win hearts.
The art form has persisted through difficulties and the changing times while maintaining the technique and form that makes it unique. I bet it will last longer than the chatter generated by Mr Lewis Segal's tabloid style article.
The tutu --- icon but not shield --- and pointe shoes will live on.
August 11, 2006
letting it all hang out (rants galore)
I know I said that the next post would contain my thoughts on Mr. Segal's attack on ballet, but I'm too tired for that. I'm not in the mood, don't have that kind of energy right now. So I'm sorry, but I'm taking a detour, much as I hate the lack of organization it will cause.
Since seven this morning, all I've heard from friends, tutee, classmates and professors are observations of how wan and tired I look. Man, my burnt-out condition is physically manifesting itself! And I'm merely at the gate of what looks like a very long road.
It'll be 7:00 AM again in about three hours and it's freaky people. I have this SAS thing I can't seem to jumpstart my brain. I swear, if there was just a granule of coffee in this room, I'd pick it up and put it in my mouth, and irrationally hope it'll make a difference.
But, I still enjoy it, my life as a Stat major. I know I'll be so high once I get this SAS program to actually run (and I hope it runs sometime soon or I'll die). I've been getting pretty decent exam scores back so yey, I have small packets of motivation which I hog in Smeagol-like fashion. And I just read that the US is concerned over the slump in foreign students and is taking measures to entice more like me to go over there for graduate degrees etc. Sounds good to me. Reminds me to dust off my GRE reviewers.
So, what has it been? Almost a month? Yeah. I've been avoiding the church scene for some time. Well, I did go home on that one Sunday and I got back here late so that doesn't count. I hope. Anyway, I just can't haul my butt anywhere that'll make me masochistic.
The thing is, most of the time, it really is easier this way. Selfish and very, very malicious and very rebellious, I agree. Not like agreeing is going to be the first step back or something.
I'm blabbering. Heck, it's 4AM. I have the right. It's my blog. It's my life. Or at least I choose to think so. Hah.
Good night (good morning?) all you good kids out there. You go do the sleeping for me. I have to finish this sub query thingy.
Since seven this morning, all I've heard from friends, tutee, classmates and professors are observations of how wan and tired I look. Man, my burnt-out condition is physically manifesting itself! And I'm merely at the gate of what looks like a very long road.
It'll be 7:00 AM again in about three hours and it's freaky people. I have this SAS thing I can't seem to jumpstart my brain. I swear, if there was just a granule of coffee in this room, I'd pick it up and put it in my mouth, and irrationally hope it'll make a difference.
But, I still enjoy it, my life as a Stat major. I know I'll be so high once I get this SAS program to actually run (and I hope it runs sometime soon or I'll die). I've been getting pretty decent exam scores back so yey, I have small packets of motivation which I hog in Smeagol-like fashion. And I just read that the US is concerned over the slump in foreign students and is taking measures to entice more like me to go over there for graduate degrees etc. Sounds good to me. Reminds me to dust off my GRE reviewers.
So, what has it been? Almost a month? Yeah. I've been avoiding the church scene for some time. Well, I did go home on that one Sunday and I got back here late so that doesn't count. I hope. Anyway, I just can't haul my butt anywhere that'll make me masochistic.
The thing is, most of the time, it really is easier this way. Selfish and very, very malicious and very rebellious, I agree. Not like agreeing is going to be the first step back or something.
I'm blabbering. Heck, it's 4AM. I have the right. It's my blog. It's my life. Or at least I choose to think so. Hah.
Good night (good morning?) all you good kids out there. You go do the sleeping for me. I have to finish this sub query thingy.
August 10, 2006
Questioning Ballet Part I
I received a comment on my dance blog that directed my attention to an article about ballet recently published in America: "Five Things I Hate About Ballet" by LA Times critic Lewis Segal.
"Ballet has given us visions of limitless human potential and a sense of grace as profound as anything we have ever thought, felt or believed. But all too often, it now commandeers a disproportionate amount of money and attention in the dance world and returns only an increasingly self-satisfied triviality."
"When other forms of concert dance — not to mention movies, TV or the theater — are this empty and useless, it's easy to openly dislike or even despise them. But ballet has cultivated an intimidation factor that acts like a computer firewall. If people hate ballet, they frequently feel guilty and assume that it's got to be their own fault, that they're not educated or sensitive enough. If only they went more often, read more essays and program notes, joined a company support group …"
"For beginners, the easiest thing to hate about ballet may be the way so many 19th century story ballets depict non-Christian, non-European, nonwhite people. Happy slaves, lustful Muslims, murderous Hindus: They sure don't make 'em like that anymore. But why are we watching this stuff — surely not out of nostalgia for the racism and xenophobia on view?...Classical music still shakes us to the core. Classical theater speaks of the eternal issues that define our lives. But too much antique Western classical dance... simply buttresses a sense of white Euro-privilege by dramatizing how colorfully nasty things are elsewhere."
"Thinking of dancers as beautiful children might seem harmless enough, but in ballet it's part of a system that denies young people any real choices in their lives... Ours, however, too often turn out obedient classical athletes by imposing rules about where to be, what to do, how much to eat, whom to believe in and when self-esteem is deserved or not. It's even worse for the ballet women who starve themselves to match a skeletal ideal and then stop menstruating for the length of their careers. Talk about arrested development."
"Does any star these days lobby artistic directors for better choreography or dare to say, "I just don't want to be seen in that 'Swan Lake' "? Does responsibility to the art and audience extend beyond dancing well?"
and Segal ends his piece with:
"Non-Christians and those moved to anger rather than despair by wretched ballet choreography or dancing should try staring at the top of the proscenium arch and repeating words written by George Bernard Shaw: Fall. Fall and crush."
Balletomane that I am, I am probably expected to be outraged at the article and the writer. But as I read it, I found myself only faintly annoyed and mostly amused at the diatribe. Granted, Segal does come up with some some sad truths of the art in question but the delivery is of shock-and-awe irrationality and not thoughtful insight and concern. As Kristin Sloan of The Winger puts it, "It's too bad that the shock value of these statements is more likely to get the article attention than a concerned, caring, fully realized criticism of the art and it's current place in the world."
John Rockwell of the New York Times delivers a calm and rational defense to Segal's piece in "Ballet as a Dance Form Some Just Love to Hate"
"Mr. Segal is the first to point out that his view of ballet is colored by its absence on any significant scale in the Los Angeles area... Had he written 20 years ago, Lewis Segal, a noted music critic for The Los Angeles Times, might have made a similar diatribe about the irrelevance of opera, since Los Angeles did not have a major opera company then, either."
"Mr. Segal’s low regard for ballet is not new... one explanation for his recent rant — that he was egged into it by a journalistic culture that prizes provocation over reasoned discussion — may not be entirely off the mark. He believes this stuff, but not necessarily always with the mocking, strident tone of the Los Angeles Times article."
Rockwell admits to the uncomfortable truths of the art:
"...there is something salutary about his (Segal's) position. There are so many ballet magazines and ballet Web sites out there now that simply assume the superiority of ballet to all other forms of dance that it is nice to have a corrective... To take just one example, there was Jennifer Homans’s denunciation in The New Republic a few months ago of Downtown Manhattan dance as amateurish and childish, largely, it seemed, because it was not ballet... her disdain for those who profess to be dancers without having submitted themselves to ballet training was palpable."
"Mr. Segal’s rant also has historical resonance. When George Balanchine was establishing himself in the United States in the 1930’s, he encountered resistance from those who felt that truly American dance was modern dance in the Fuller-Duncan-Denishawn-Graham tradition, and that ballet was an outmoded European import. Effete too, though the politically correct Mr. Segal does not go there. John Martins, chief dance critic of The New York Times in those years, was one who advanced that argument. Although he later modified his position to embrace Balanchine’s modernism, some balletomanes still disparage him for not immediately recognizing Balanchine’s genius."
and then addresses the reasons why ballet is to be hated:
"Does any star these days lobby artistic directors for better choreography or dare to say, ‘I just don’t want to be seen in that ‘Swan Lake’ ”? Well, yes. Carlos Acosta, the Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theater star, is only the latest to call for modernization and for a de-emphasis on 19th century story ballets. Sylvie Guillem has done the same. Dancers in Europe and the United States yearn for exciting new choreography, and artistic directors do their best to provide it. Mikhail Baryshnikov stands as a one-man symbol of ballet’s (and dance’s) quest for renewal. When it comes to new work (as opposed to fancily modernized new productions of old work), ballet is far more contemporary than opera. Ballet masters and administrators spend half their time searching for the new. Which is not to say that all new ballet is good ballet, but they try."
"Fanatic balletomanes resist such change on the very grounds Mr. Segal uses to chide all of ballet. For them anything but classroom ballet technique degrades the form, and a search for relevance is a descent into gimmickry and perversion."
"...ballet at its not infrequent best can still be beautiful and can still move the receptive soul as deeply as any other art. Even its hoariest traditions give pleasure, as in the delighted faces of audiences young and old at a good account of “The Nutcracker.” Ballet technique can speak to us today, and not just in Balanchine’s stripped-down modernist exercises, now themselves a half-century old."
Rockwell actually writes a very short response, and I can't help but feel good that he did not allow Segal's article anymore limelight (or space) in the NY Times. Haha.
My thoughts on the matter? Coming up shortly. For now, I just want to point out that Segal does not point my beloved art in any concrete direction for improvement. He just rants.
Postscript:
Halili-Cruz School of Ballet, named the best academy in Asia, just did the Philippines proud again in the recently concluded 8th CSTD Asia-Pacific Dance Competition. The 72-strong delegation of dancers brought home five of seven available Perpetual trophies. They also brought home 19 gold trophies, eight silver trophies, seven bronze trophies and 13 gold medals (honorable mention).
"Ballet has given us visions of limitless human potential and a sense of grace as profound as anything we have ever thought, felt or believed. But all too often, it now commandeers a disproportionate amount of money and attention in the dance world and returns only an increasingly self-satisfied triviality."
"When other forms of concert dance — not to mention movies, TV or the theater — are this empty and useless, it's easy to openly dislike or even despise them. But ballet has cultivated an intimidation factor that acts like a computer firewall. If people hate ballet, they frequently feel guilty and assume that it's got to be their own fault, that they're not educated or sensitive enough. If only they went more often, read more essays and program notes, joined a company support group …"
"For beginners, the easiest thing to hate about ballet may be the way so many 19th century story ballets depict non-Christian, non-European, nonwhite people. Happy slaves, lustful Muslims, murderous Hindus: They sure don't make 'em like that anymore. But why are we watching this stuff — surely not out of nostalgia for the racism and xenophobia on view?...Classical music still shakes us to the core. Classical theater speaks of the eternal issues that define our lives. But too much antique Western classical dance... simply buttresses a sense of white Euro-privilege by dramatizing how colorfully nasty things are elsewhere."
"Thinking of dancers as beautiful children might seem harmless enough, but in ballet it's part of a system that denies young people any real choices in their lives... Ours, however, too often turn out obedient classical athletes by imposing rules about where to be, what to do, how much to eat, whom to believe in and when self-esteem is deserved or not. It's even worse for the ballet women who starve themselves to match a skeletal ideal and then stop menstruating for the length of their careers. Talk about arrested development."
"Does any star these days lobby artistic directors for better choreography or dare to say, "I just don't want to be seen in that 'Swan Lake' "? Does responsibility to the art and audience extend beyond dancing well?"
and Segal ends his piece with:
"Non-Christians and those moved to anger rather than despair by wretched ballet choreography or dancing should try staring at the top of the proscenium arch and repeating words written by George Bernard Shaw: Fall. Fall and crush."
Balletomane that I am, I am probably expected to be outraged at the article and the writer. But as I read it, I found myself only faintly annoyed and mostly amused at the diatribe. Granted, Segal does come up with some some sad truths of the art in question but the delivery is of shock-and-awe irrationality and not thoughtful insight and concern. As Kristin Sloan of The Winger puts it, "It's too bad that the shock value of these statements is more likely to get the article attention than a concerned, caring, fully realized criticism of the art and it's current place in the world."
John Rockwell of the New York Times delivers a calm and rational defense to Segal's piece in "Ballet as a Dance Form Some Just Love to Hate"
"Mr. Segal is the first to point out that his view of ballet is colored by its absence on any significant scale in the Los Angeles area... Had he written 20 years ago, Lewis Segal, a noted music critic for The Los Angeles Times, might have made a similar diatribe about the irrelevance of opera, since Los Angeles did not have a major opera company then, either."
"Mr. Segal’s low regard for ballet is not new... one explanation for his recent rant — that he was egged into it by a journalistic culture that prizes provocation over reasoned discussion — may not be entirely off the mark. He believes this stuff, but not necessarily always with the mocking, strident tone of the Los Angeles Times article."
Rockwell admits to the uncomfortable truths of the art:
"...there is something salutary about his (Segal's) position. There are so many ballet magazines and ballet Web sites out there now that simply assume the superiority of ballet to all other forms of dance that it is nice to have a corrective... To take just one example, there was Jennifer Homans’s denunciation in The New Republic a few months ago of Downtown Manhattan dance as amateurish and childish, largely, it seemed, because it was not ballet... her disdain for those who profess to be dancers without having submitted themselves to ballet training was palpable."
"Mr. Segal’s rant also has historical resonance. When George Balanchine was establishing himself in the United States in the 1930’s, he encountered resistance from those who felt that truly American dance was modern dance in the Fuller-Duncan-Denishawn-Graham tradition, and that ballet was an outmoded European import. Effete too, though the politically correct Mr. Segal does not go there. John Martins, chief dance critic of The New York Times in those years, was one who advanced that argument. Although he later modified his position to embrace Balanchine’s modernism, some balletomanes still disparage him for not immediately recognizing Balanchine’s genius."
and then addresses the reasons why ballet is to be hated:
"Does any star these days lobby artistic directors for better choreography or dare to say, ‘I just don’t want to be seen in that ‘Swan Lake’ ”? Well, yes. Carlos Acosta, the Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theater star, is only the latest to call for modernization and for a de-emphasis on 19th century story ballets. Sylvie Guillem has done the same. Dancers in Europe and the United States yearn for exciting new choreography, and artistic directors do their best to provide it. Mikhail Baryshnikov stands as a one-man symbol of ballet’s (and dance’s) quest for renewal. When it comes to new work (as opposed to fancily modernized new productions of old work), ballet is far more contemporary than opera. Ballet masters and administrators spend half their time searching for the new. Which is not to say that all new ballet is good ballet, but they try."
"Fanatic balletomanes resist such change on the very grounds Mr. Segal uses to chide all of ballet. For them anything but classroom ballet technique degrades the form, and a search for relevance is a descent into gimmickry and perversion."
"...ballet at its not infrequent best can still be beautiful and can still move the receptive soul as deeply as any other art. Even its hoariest traditions give pleasure, as in the delighted faces of audiences young and old at a good account of “The Nutcracker.” Ballet technique can speak to us today, and not just in Balanchine’s stripped-down modernist exercises, now themselves a half-century old."
Rockwell actually writes a very short response, and I can't help but feel good that he did not allow Segal's article anymore limelight (or space) in the NY Times. Haha.
My thoughts on the matter? Coming up shortly. For now, I just want to point out that Segal does not point my beloved art in any concrete direction for improvement. He just rants.
Postscript:
Halili-Cruz School of Ballet, named the best academy in Asia, just did the Philippines proud again in the recently concluded 8th CSTD Asia-Pacific Dance Competition. The 72-strong delegation of dancers brought home five of seven available Perpetual trophies. They also brought home 19 gold trophies, eight silver trophies, seven bronze trophies and 13 gold medals (honorable mention).
August 07, 2006
Salon Rescue
After drying my hair this morning, I looked in the mirror and behold(!), I had a red(!) crown!!! The first two inches from the roots of my hair strands stood out in bright red while the rest of my hair length was just regular Lohan-red. Talk about a botched cello wrap! Besides the color, I'm wondering why my hair isn't shiny and silky. That's the main reason I went in for a gloss treatment. Grad pic is just two weeks away! Quelle horreur!
Okay, this is a little embarassing but, yes, I did cry over the neat little patch of red on my head. There are only two things I love about my body and one of them is my hair. So the first thing I did after my tutoring session was find a L'oreal Professionel certified salon that could fix up the mess. I stumbled upon one next to Joliibee on V. Luna St. corner Kalayaan Avenue. Metro Salon boasted cetificates, trained stylists and, best of all, they mixed the cellophane chemical in front of me so unless they tampered the L'oreal Glosse bottles, I was getting the real thing this time.
Ms. Mari, senior stylist, gently broke it to me that they couldn't give me back my natural hair color because it was impossible to do with the red tint still there but they could remedy the red patch and give me a more uniform color that was closer to my natural color. I didn't care about going back to my natural hair color. I just wanted the red out, out, out(!) and my hair replenished. So I was practically floating when I walked out of the salon with chocolate brown, soft, shiny and smooth hair:
Okay, this is a little embarassing but, yes, I did cry over the neat little patch of red on my head. There are only two things I love about my body and one of them is my hair. So the first thing I did after my tutoring session was find a L'oreal Professionel certified salon that could fix up the mess. I stumbled upon one next to Joliibee on V. Luna St. corner Kalayaan Avenue. Metro Salon boasted cetificates, trained stylists and, best of all, they mixed the cellophane chemical in front of me so unless they tampered the L'oreal Glosse bottles, I was getting the real thing this time.
Ms. Mari, senior stylist, gently broke it to me that they couldn't give me back my natural hair color because it was impossible to do with the red tint still there but they could remedy the red patch and give me a more uniform color that was closer to my natural color. I didn't care about going back to my natural hair color. I just wanted the red out, out, out(!) and my hair replenished. So I was practically floating when I walked out of the salon with chocolate brown, soft, shiny and smooth hair:
My two cents on salons and hair treatments: If you feel like something is wrong, don't go ahead with the treatment. If you don't see L'Oreal or Schwarzkopf certificates, products and signs on display, be wary. Ask for their certificates. Ask about their training. Ask if you can see the bottle of the product they're going to use on you. If you smell ammonia in a chemical treatment that shouldn't have any, tell the stylist to stop. (Actually, I feel like I should have told the MIP stylist to go to hell, but, fine. Mabait daw ako) Have them mix the stuff where you can see it.
Actually, I've found that if you're in a good salon, they'll do all this without you even asking. They'll warn you about how a certain color is going to turn out when paired with your natural hair color. They'll talk to you about your skin tone and hair condition. They'll ask you about prior treatments (one of the best salons I've been to actually made me complete an extensive survey) so that they can figure out the best treatment suited to you. They'll describe the whole process to you so you know what to expect. When you ask questions, they give clear, confident and knowledgeable answers.
It is your right to question. Do so.
I should have heeded my intuition last Friday. Just because you're a regular at a certain salon and you trust them for manicures, pedicures and hot oil treatments, it doesn't mean you should immediately trust their other services. Salons have their strengths and weaknesses too.
Thanks to Metro Salon for the hair rescue. MIP, I hate you guys right now.
Remember last post's post script?
This is an elaboration of sorts. Forgive the vanity.
Nellie's pre-Mahogany cellophane
Nellie's pre-Mahogany cellophane
Nellie kicks butt as a redhead! She looks like a lady out of an anime.
Me, pre-deep mahogany cellophane with medium brown hair.
Me, with Lindsay Lohan hair. I'm limiting my social engagements until this rinses off.
Yeah, well at least one of us looks gorgeous.
What the...
"That is another chamber of my heart that shows no electrical activity --- the chamber that used to flicker into life when I saw a film that moved me, or read a book that inspired me, or listened to music that made me want to cry. I closed that chamber myslef, for all the usual reasons. And now I seem to have made pact with some philistine devil: if I don't attempt to reopen it, I will be allowed just enough energy and optimism to get through a working day without wanting to hang myself."
Katie, How to Be Good (Nick Hornby)
Gosh. That sounds like me these days...
PS
I've gone from brunette to redhead. I hate it. Stupid impulsive decision. Bad salon. Erg. Gurg. *Yanks hair*
Katie, How to Be Good (Nick Hornby)
Gosh. That sounds like me these days...
PS
I've gone from brunette to redhead. I hate it. Stupid impulsive decision. Bad salon. Erg. Gurg. *Yanks hair*
August 03, 2006
Random Sample of Completely Random Pics
No that's not a muffin! That's something from Gee's polymer experiment, something we like to call "plastic puto".
Apple manning three laptops at our "entertainment center". Ann and Apple moved their beds together and that created a space where everyone wants to hang out, watch movies, and scream at each other during games of bridge.
Gee, Apple and me at Wok Dis Way. Try their crab omelette and sisig if you're ever around Katipunan. Oh, that's also the night I met Francis --- three times!
"I'm not abnormal. I'm just gifted." - Omar
Gurg...That made me smile bro.
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