jari m

Tag: Philippines

  • Lego x Asia

    I alone heard my internal squeeing (obviously) when I saw an exhibit that featured two of my favorite things: Lego, and Asian Appreciation. I never actually played with lego as a child; my fascination of the said building blocks stems from its use as a metaphor in one of my favorite books, Sophie’s World. In the…

  • to ask the stars

    My last-minute contribution to Buwan ng Wika (Month of the Philippine Language) this August features the ‘superstar’ José Corazón de Jesús, who was also known by his pen name Huseng Batute. Rising into prominence during the first half of the 20th century, Huseng Batute was an accomplished poet (known at some point as “Hari ng Balagtasan” or “King of…

  • Rights to Padre Faura (a rant on inconsiderate rallyists)

    Many destructive elements and relationships exist in modern Philippine society. The coercive and oppressive framework of organized religions is one of them; the muddied relationship of the State and of the Church is another (the problem is still mostly in favor of the Church). Democracy in the Philippines and the right to accessible information are…

  • I want to be a doctor (sexism in medicine is not a myth).

    Cheers to the future.

  • i’ve been thinking lately (on language, 1984 and the ‘bakla’)

    I’ve been thinking more and more lately about language, and specifically their role in the formation of ideas and the creation of avenues of discourse. This won’t be a cohesive opinion, because I just want this out of my chest. I’ve been thinking too much. In Orwell’s 1984, the idea of crimethink (which exists in vernacular as thoughtcrime)…

  • Writing Desk

    To be quite honest, I’ve got nothing. That’s all there is on my writing desk: miscellaneous poetry and lyrics, essay seedlings for some contests here and there, an empty travel blogpost. (You know, I’ll only start working on my Bali 2015 blog post after I finish the video. So I can’t do that yet, because some people…

  • a show from last night: Just The Way You Are

    A lot of people hate on the usual brand of Philippine movies, but I love it. Last night, we watched two hours of a movie so predictably cheesy that it’s good. Like, really. If I stop to think about reaction likelihoods and the story arc in general, I’d be able to predict the whole movie.…

  • An Observation

    The night before the self-styled Fight of the Century (the Pacquaio-Mayweather boxing event), I watched some of the best scenes from two of my favorite action films of all time, Ip Man and Ip Man 2. In this scene in the sequel, the humble protagonist goes against the odds and fights the arrogant and almost completely unlikable Twister. It’s a…

  • MMFF 2014 Movies: The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin, Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo, and English Only, Please

    Here I am, three MMFF movies later. :)