ghosts and lovers

The best part about working at Ayala Museum aside from working with artists and learning to develop my painting skills, is that I get to have my breaks reading and "stealing" poems, lines from writers or ideas for free at Powerbooks. (oh and i get to join the rallies at ninoy triangle which is just a few meters away).

My lunch the other day was with contemporary artists and lovers, Marina Abramovic and Ulay. Well, not really. I only just read about their phenomenal rendezvous performance called The Lovers in the middle of China's Great Wall in 1988. Ulay began his journey from the Gobi desert, while Marina journeyed from the Yellow Sea. It took them 90 days. They met on June 3, 1988.

Here is an entry from Ulay's diary:

" North is death. Desert expands. The horizon curves. Matches the eyeball. South there is life. A little. Fewer people than other places, here. The earth is yellow. Huang tu.

North is black. South is red. West is white. East, blue. From here. The centre. Yellow. The centre where I am. Yellow thus."

They each walked 2000 kilometers to say goodbye.


for G
(april 24, 2006)
i'm sorry. i hope you placed a flower for dedo for me.
it was really funny though :)

Leaving Manila First

Ariel and I were in the same org when I was in university. He's a fellow Cebuano and my fellow art and music enthusiast. The last time I saw Yel was in the hallway of ABS CBN's studios after my tv interview on ANC (naks). We had a few moments of catching up on how each one has been and all. It's funny how one always has that I wish "I've done this with that person" feeling after that person has died. Ariel passed away with cancer last December. Ah, lucky to move on. I hope you found nirvana man.


Here's an article by Ariel featured on Inquirer's Youngblood column. As a Cebuana attending university and working in Manila, I find myself sharing the same sentiments....



Youngblood : Leaving Manila First
posted 01:14am (Mla time) April 27, 2006
By Ariel Alesna-Llanto
Inquirer Editor's Note: Published on Page A13 of the April 27, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE sky was overcast. Gray fluffs of clouds loomed over the cityscape. Under them, a metropolis was going at full throttle, with automobile horns honking in crowded streets, hawkers promoting their wares, police sirens sounding from somewhere and yuppies marching to their offices. The polluted haze veiled everything, making it look as if it were late afternoon, when sunlight usually loses its vitality. But it was mid-morning, though the day appeared to have started a tad later than it normally does.This was how Manila presented itself to me, on my ride to the airport for my flight to Cebu City. These are the sights and sounds of a place, buckling under the weight of degradation, that I will carry with me, long after my feet have touched the soil of my hometown. Skies which have the clarity of a cup of espresso-that is the image that will stick in the memory of a fiercely critical Cebuano.

View the rest of the article here

what is art but to make you see otherwise?

Pakistani children ride a ferris wheel over a heap of garbage in a slum area of Karachi, Pakistan, as featured on the Washington Post. Click here to link to the original posting

The photo is an inspiring revelation of humanity amidst all the gray of depression in a dumpsite.

Here is an interesting campaign.

Child poverty awareness ads in India:

Click here to link to the original post

On the lighter side:

Click here to view an interesting propaganda site:

Know your art:

st. frances of reposo

If there is a modern day and female St. Francis, it would be Aling Silay. I had a talk with her last night and she seemed like one of those enlightened ones who has great empathy for all living things. She lives along the border of San Miguel Village and Santiago Village in Makati. She's this old housekeeper and nanny who has been feeding pigeons, abandoned cats and dogs within the village area. She would scout for lost askals (asong kalye or street dogs) that she has befriended and look for it or her all over the village until it is found. I'm sure no one else would do something like that. At around 6 am and 1 pm, she would scatter bird feed by the corner of my street and Reposo for the South Cemetery pigeons to feed on. It's a sight, I tell you. All these pigeons lined up on the electric wires and flying all over the place makes you feel like you own a piece of Trafalgar Square .

I named the first kitten I rescued, Twinkle (I think twinkle was the cookie I was eating that time when I found her at our backyard in Cagayan de Oro), when I was twelve. Later on, I never named rescued cats until i knew for sure I could keep them (attachment issues). We kept a black cat when I was in high school which my aunt named Luningning but I never endeared myself to her that time as she would always leave the house and return home late at night. I almost named a black kitten who followed me home from the library to my building when I was in college, but it attempted to jump off the veranda and I feared I could not protect him from other danger especially since I've been living alone, so I had to give him up and give him to a streetchild who wanted him. The past buildings I've lived in would not allow pets but luckily the building I've moved into last year allows pets (well there hasn't been a written rule in the contract so I suppose they're allowed... and no one has complained yet so far ;) I met Mazzy one lonely night in January, meowing from afar under a car at Reposo St., I've become "a little" responsible and stable ever since, as keeping pets are supposed to be therapeutic. It's heartwarming the way he waits for me by the stairs or by the gate, even until late at night, until I arrive, or when he has silly sleeping positions or when he would imagine playmates or enemies and attack them (perhaps they're just the ants, but I'd like to think that my cat has imaginary friends hee :) I got the name Mazzy from the dream pop band Mazzy Star. Here's Mr. Star in one of his newest sleeping positions:

Click here to check out more of Mazzy's photos

Im thinking of a spay and neuter program for my barangay. I would appreciate if someone can help me go about this. Cats and Dogs, like humans, need population control too!

PLEASE ADOPT THIS KITTEN

I found this 3 week old kitten last night by the sidewalk canal. i already have Mazzy and I doubt if my building will allow me to keep another cat. I need to find a parent for her soon. I already asked ANIMAL HOUSE and PAWS but both cannot adopt cats for now as they also get a lot of abandoned pets already. I haven't named her yet (again, attachment issues). She's got gray blue eyes and yellow and white fur. She makes silly soft freezing positions, and she looks so fragile and cute. If you know anyone who would like to adopt a newborn kitten, please email me. SOON!!!!

writing workshops by John Silva

My Destiny Internet has been down for the past 3 or 4 days in Makati so I couldnt post these on my blog for those I haven't emailed (from work) yet about John Silva's workshops. For those I've emailed, hope you were able to take his workshops :) perhaps some who haven't taken the recent grant writing workshop can still catch up for the next schedule on the 29th. The next Advocacy Writing workshop will be on April 22nd.

I've taken both classes and have found John's workshops a right of passage for those who would like to venture into development communication, those who need funding for their cause, for those who are interested in journalism, and for those are lost as to how to communicate their thoughts on social issues.

My meditations in front of a beggar, beside a streetchild, while dreaming beside an activist, in front of the television while watching the news, on the frontlines of a garbage dumpsite, on the bow of an environmental activist ship, face to face with the police during a rally, and every epiphany I've encountered have all been selfishly recorded in a language only i could understand in my notebooks or in my memory. I struggle with my image as a beatnik, as I am often labelled as one. I know that any protest or any epiphany will have no bearing if is not capable of compelling others to see what you see. That when you write, you write for those who cannot speak - the ones you advocate for. That you should, also write for those who cannot see - the ones who live unknowingly of lives that are not their own. One must tell the story well and should not just remain a witness. It was only after taking John Silva's workshops that i'm beginning to realize the importance of becoming an effective author for both reasons.

One thing I regret doing was to take a photo of him dressed with the words and photos being projected on the screen - him standing in front of the screen behind his own words, still an idealist (yet effective), impassioned for change when others at his age and decades of experience have given up. This fact, I think, gives him every right to teach you about being an agent for change.

THE ADVOCACY WRITING WORKSHOP
You have a program to announce, a press release to write, or an advocacy to present to the public. You need to write it cogently, get public support and most importantly, succeed with your objectives. I’ll share pointers and tips that will transform your writing into powerful and convincing arguments. Writing good advocacy pieces is only half the battle on. The other half is get them published, or get the media interested in covering your story. In a fairly competitive world, I’ll teach you how to make your piece shine above the rest and make the media be your ally in pushing your cause. In today’s world, an advocacy writer needs to also be an effective presenter. People are convinced when you present convincingly. Wirting workshops are included.


THE GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP
No good cause can exist and be successful without funding. I was the Fundraising Director for most of the Non-Governmental organizations (NGO’s) I’ve worked in. I saw a very important correlation between getting funds and being successful in the my work, from protecting the environment to preserving our heritage.

A winning grants proposal is dependent on good, clear, and succinct writing. I will teach you to highlight the strengths of your organization and help you articulate why yours is the most capable in achieving results.
As a program officer and funding consultant to various charities, I will share what we look for in a proposal, what are the winning points, and what type of proposal we will defend during funding decisions. Bearing in mind that funders are overwhelmed with proposal requests, I will clue you in on how to make your proposal jump out of the pile and grab the funder’s attention.

In the Philippines, many proposals are in the form of appeal letters. You will learn to write in a style that is confident, creative, brimming with enthusiasm, and with engaging prose that will melt the most hardened of funders

The workshops include a wonderful wonderful tour of the National Museum by John Silva himself. (I think every Filipino should see, or rather, be, in this museum - one leaves really proud of one's culture and heritage). Lunch and snacks are included. The workshop starts at 9:00 AM and ends at 5:00 PM.Workshop kits with a CD are provided. Each workshop is completed in one day. The next grantwriting workshop is on April 29 while the grantwriting workshop is on the 22nd. For more information, contact National Museum throug 527 5082, call or text 0917 419 5928, 0926 729 9029, or e-mail jsilva79@hotmail.com

John L. Silva has been a contributing writer to Starweek Magazine, Philippine Inquirer, Asian Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He was Fundraising Director for Greenpeace, Oxfam America, the American Cancer Society and Program Officer for the North Star Fund (New York). John was also the Associate Publisher for the U.S. based Filipinas Magazine. He is currently, Senior Consultant for the National Museum of the Philippines.