So I’m not blogging as much as I want to. Work has been pretty steady, and the photography hobby is taking a rest. Personal matters reign now.

If you want to read a few really short fiction works done in 10 minutes, read up here, here and here. Yes, I wrote those.

Also, go through my old cross-posted (some of them are available on this blog, too) music/movie reviews on this page, I didn’t think I wrote those badly as well.

Lastly, I am counting the days until the numbers on my age equal to the last day of the longer months, only because I’ll be on vacation then, and I expect things to happen.

AFTER seven years in office, the President of the Philippines and her officials should be conducting our national affairs with greater aplomb and less bumbling. But bumble she did (and bumble they all did) as the Palace desperately sought a sign of endorsement from the American president-elect. She could have simply sent a telegram and lobbied behind the scenes for a return call. Instead, she threw herself at Barack Obama, and her subordinates threw a tantrum when she was rebuffed.

To top it all off—and this is what has caused the latest wave of national exasperation over the antics of our bumbler-in-chief—it comes at the incompetent little heels of previous, clumsy attempts at securing an Obama photo opportunity for President Macapagal-Arroyo.

Read the full article here.

Credit to MLQ3’s Plurk.

After the Tienanmen Square flag-raising cermonies in Beijing.

China National Day Festivities in Shanghai, at Nanjing Road

At the Nanhui Peach Blossom Festival. First out-of-Shanghai trip by myself with the just-bought DSLR camera.

One of the last shots of Shanghai, at the Pudong Airport.

I’m not saying my photographic sense has reached maturity already, but nowadays, before I do put my camera to my face, I would usually know what to do already.

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And here’s a photo of a Beijing skinhead band I’d like to re-edit. The highlights are just too much, but I’d like to think its a worthy candidate to include in that super awesome gig photography portfolio I’d find myself working on someday.

Life for Drinking at the 1234 Beach Rock Shanghai concert

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I said this back in 2005:

Up Dharma Down’s current single [Maybe] is good, and frantic with energy. The rest of their stuff sadly doesn’t deliver as much.

Then when Fragmented came out, I was abroad as an OFW, so I settled for one of those mp3 copies you can find over the interwebs. I proved myself wrong about my previous proclamation, forced the officemates to listen to ‘Oo‘ (which they dismissed, but got into when they became aware it was popular back home), and have made it a point to watch the band when I get back home, and yes, get a copy of their cd.

Despite their current mass appeal, I still don’t think Up Dharma Down’s music can really be that much of a major draw in the local music industry. When I got to hear their newer songs live, I honestly believed the next album would be a stretch for your casual OPM fan. I loved where they were going, with the swirly shoegazing, and post-rock power, underlined with sort of drum programming that recalls recent Radiohead. It was clearly undeniable that this was a music collective that may be too massive, too complex, not enough pop to it. I didn’t factor in Armi Millare’s singing in, because that’s one factor a listener can’t help but be in awe of; even if pogi-rock followers say her singing’s just too odd.

Ean of Up Dharma Down

Last Friday, at the launching of their second album, Bipolar, I was again proved horribly wrong. The odd choice of a venue (Hexagon Lounge, RCBC Plaza, Makati City) appeared to be the size of a normal rock club. I was lucky I belonged to the first 20 or so attendees, because less than an hour after the start of the performance, the room was packed, which was confirmed later by the band. A friend texted me saying that the line was way too long, and this was probably halfway through the gig already. They had to stop people from coming in, and that’s when I also noticed the venue’s air-conditioning probably gave up.

The performance was mesmerizing. It also helped that Armi came out stunning that night, which I believe was the collective sentiment of everyone else who watched as well.

Up Dharma Down

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It has been a long time since I took gig photos from a place I’ve never been in. I was instantly dismayed by a stage that stretched too wide, where it will be difficult to take layered images of the performers (unless you can move around liberally). I didn’t have high hopes for the lights as well, and I was right: the reason my photos are in black and white would be for consistency, since the colored lights washed the band with unflattering colors.

Anyway, it was a night that satisfied. I can’t stop listening to the album.

My seven photos of the gig can be found here.

Been a month since the last gig I shot, and the chance to cover Jack TV’s Boombox event again this year was tempting. Last year’s photos were not bad (see ‘em here), and I’m sure to get good stage lighting.

Taken By Cars at Jack TV’s Boombox 2008 event

Also, I was itching to test the Takumar 200mm f/3.5 lens that Mari Arquiza (aka redsago) gave me, along with her high school camera, a Pentax Spotmatic with a Super Takumar 55mm/f1.8 lens. Both lenses come in the M42 mount, and I already have a lens adapter for my ancient EOS 350D DSLR camera, so these vintage babies did come to a more than willing daddy to adopt them.

And there goes the challenge: can I cover a multi-band gig fiddling with the focus ring from start to finish, since Auto-focus was absent in the test lenses?

The answer: Yep.

See, my 350D has a special contraption on its viewfinder. Its called a focusing screen, which makes the chore of manual focusing in this digital age easy. It became my savior at last night’s gig, but 30% of the time, the scene’s exposure setting was just too uncooperative to see the split-focus reference, I had to guesstimate.

The Takumar 200mm f/3.5 lens (produced 1959-1961), at 750 grams, was a difficult lens to use, but when the the subject is fairly stationary, and the focus and lighting is just right, the results are short of breathtaking, for a lens of this age:

Lala at Jack TV’s Boombox 2008 event

The Super Takumar 55mm/f1.8 lens (produced 1962-1971) -which as online text states, may be single-coated (!)- was easy to focus and a delight to use. How does it compare to the infamous Canon 50mm f/1.8 MKII? The results tend to lean towards the texture of film, and since it tends to overexpose (at AV mode), you get “brighter” photos, which seems like you’re actually using a faster lens.

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How was the gig? I’m glad to see Taken By Cars and Sino Sikat? again, and I had my one-song post-rock intro dose from Typecast again. Oh, and you can definitely call me a 90s kid, but it really would’ve made my night if Datu’s Tribe did their song Praning, since it was my first time to see them.

Sino Sikat? at Jack TV’s Boombox 2008 event

View the full photoset here.

Past month or two have been different, and, for the record, I shall consider myself resting with the routine. I’m almost certain I’ll be at a gig later though, but that almost always happens during Friday or Saturday afternoons, then I change my mind.

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Thought bullets:

• For me to write anything, and not to run out of ideas and interesting quips, I really should put up an active RSS reader again.
• I’m considering switching from Smart Bro to ComClark Surestream, the same company which provides the house with cable TV. Reasons? Its cheaper, and we could pay two bills at the same time. However, I don’t think their technical or customer support is even near corporate-grade. Their site is outdated and is ridden with SQL errors, and I have not received a response from their customer support re inquiries I sent via email.
• Its shameful that I find US politics ultimately more interesting that what’s happening locally. Blame it on Huffingtonpost.
• Thoughts of travel/vacation have come to mind lately, but rather than pay for it, I really should find a sponsor again. See, I’ve only paid ONE out of my big out-of-town travels (Isla Verde, Batangas), and that wasn’t a breaking-the-bank sort of expense.
• And big news in music: I’m a proud owner of Ang Bandang Shirley’s THEMESONGS album, and my review is currently on draft mode. The third album of one of my favorite bands right now, Te’, just came out, and you can sample the songs, oh, at your usual post-rock online communities. Sigh. If only music of this caliber will ever show up in our local record stores.

Te’ - It must be called “Intelligence” if people stop when they realize they are not able to become what they are wishing to be

The Blogroll is Dead!

Google that statement, and one would be surprised as to the results. But the reason I decided to revive mine is more for personal reasons, mainly: even after being inactive in the local blogging scenes, I have been privileged to be invited to blogger events and travels, and keeping up a network, no matter how internets-primitive it is, should be practiced. It will be easier, and more substantial, to have the links work out on posts, but let’s be practical and organized here. 

Ads! Ads! Ads!

I got invited for BlogBank (thanks Markku!) and signed up for Nuffnang. Lets hope they can help me in my out-of-poverty blog-scheme. 

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Do expect regular updates from hereon, unless I decide to be a hermit again.

Also, the new design looks ridiculously plain without an embedded video/photo.

Things I think I should do:

• Blog more.
• Put up a blogroll up again. Be friendly with other bloggers.
• Advertising?

Random thought: Minimalistic-designed blogs work best with photos. I’m not in photographer mode until “some matters” get settled. These matters are filed under Positive, so no worries

Last update: Decided to use the Cutline theme, which is really a throwback to the “classic” two-column, widget driven setup. And if anyone’s seen this blog’s redesigns through the years, this isn’t a surprise: I used to always prefer the white, minimal style.

To-dos: Bookmarks/links and Archives (optional) page.

Latest update: Yesterday’s theme was admittingly ugly, so I went for ‘The Journalist‘ theme today, which is, for the lazy in me, thankfully widgetized! Let’s see how long this lasts.