Apology

Oh, unattended blog! Soon.

Kaki's Revenge

Thank god for full album streams.
Here's Kaki King's Dreaming of Revenge.
And this is her new video, with a cameo from Sara Quin:

Sun and candy

Since my last post, I've been busy house-hunting (our present abode reeks of foul neighbors and such). I turned into a darker shade of brown as I've been knocking on doors with "for rent" signs in the middle of the godforsaken summer sun. But even so, we've only been rewarded with one disappointment after another. Yes, it is hard finding a reasonably-priced and yet perfectly-situated apartment here in Metro Manila. Any tips?

And since my last post, I've seen one interesting film of note: Hard Candy. This, I owe solely to K. She brought the film, and the food to match. The obsession with Ellen Page deepens hereon. Go Canadians!

And speaking of obsession, I'm still into Bon Iver, who's singing Blindsided as I write this blog.

My new favorite band

Bon Iver have such haunting music. I love. Thank you Carrie for introducing us.

Stream the entire album (For Emma, Forever Ago) here.

My favorite songs are: Blindsided, Skinny Love, Team, Flume... ok, I admit, nearly the entire album. Shucks, I'm hooked.

Revisiting Sorsogon

My aunts and cousin came home to Sorsogon for the holy week. We romped around town to visit relatives and check out some interesting spots. We saw the Bulusan Lake, Rizal Beach, Barcelona Church, San Benon Hot Spring, etc. It was fun! I actually enjoyed it even if I'm not the outdoorsy type.

More photos here.

Fort Santiago

My balikbayan relatives are here for the holy week. We went to see Intramuros, specifically, Fort Santiago. This was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century. The Philippines' national hero, Jose Rizal, was imprisoned here.

Hawkers market

I love the food markets in Singapore. It's everywhere, and it's cheap. Delicious too. This one was just a few steps away from the building where we stayed.

Craftsmen

artisans, originally uploaded by yinsu.

The guy in brown checkered shirt asked me if I have a pen. I thought he wanted to write something, so I handed him my pen. He thanked me, and said he would give it to his child who goes to school.

Nothing compares

During the presentations in Delhi for the proposed survey sites (for the research on the impacts of disasters), it was interesting to note that in Europe...
1. Two people dying from floods is unusual; and
2. Five people dying from floods is enormous! (it can already spark public outrage)

Here in the Philippines, or some other third world country, hundreds dying from floods is not unusual at all. In fact, it is "normal".

At the Delhi meeting, I noted a kind of smugness from the Asians after the Europeans presented their survey sites' disaster profiles. I guess the Asians were all thinking the same thing: "Ah, that's nothing! Back home..." Then their faces had that pitying look cast over the "poor, poor Europeans" who thought 5 people dying is already a disaster.

It was almost funny, if it wasn't so horrifying. Good god, we're actually smug about our thousands of casualties! What the hell is wrong with us?

Taj Mahal

After more or less five hours on the bus, we finally arrived in Agra where the famous mausoleum is located. The Taj is admirable for its completely symmetrical design.

Taj Mahal mosque (masjid)

Entertain

On our way to the Taj Mahal, we saw some snake charmers from the bus. But we soon discovered they weren't there to entertain us for free. Who are we kidding? Ten rupees for each click of the camera. Then another group came, this time with monkeys doing tricks. I stopped taking pictures.

snake charmers, originally uploaded by yinsu.

Then suddenly, we heard a crash. Someone threw a rock at the bus. A window was broken. Luckily, no one was harmed. "Tourist" was written on the side of the bus, perfect target, I guess. So we stopped for tea while someone cleaned up the mess. Actually, it looked more like a sari-sari store than a tea house.

A quick one on Sing and India

So, we're back in Singapore. Lou and I will do a bit of sightseeing while waiting for our flight back to Manila on Monday.

First impression of Singapore: It's absolutely criminal to be poor here. What a huge contrast to India. But in the few hours that I've been here, I'd say India is a far more interesting place. The artificialness of it all is too unsettling. I had to touch the flowers just to make sure they're real.

I bought two books of Pankaj Mishra. He writes essays and travel pieces about India. He sort of made sense of some of the stuff that I've seen there. I've been meaning to buy his books even before India (after I read an interview of him in The Believer), but they're a bit expensive back home. In Delhi, they're only 200 or so rupees each.

Tired n sleepy

Still at the airport. Still waiting for the plane. No sleep since yesterday. Dead tired. Just spent 8 freaking dollars for a not so delicious meal. Drained the camera's battery. Got nothing else to do, so this.

Blogging from Changi Airport

Lou ditched me for smokes, so here I am. Thank god for free internet. Well, It's not really too bad here at the airport. Lots of stuff to see. Huge TV screens, shops, indoor garden, etc. I might be tempted to take a few pictures to kill time. It's only noon, and our connecting flight to India is at 6pm. Argh.

Later.

Itching for these...

I haven't caught up yet with last year's best ofs, but I'm anticipating some of this year's already. My list includes Kaki King's Dreaming of Revenge and Cat Power's Jukebox.

Kaki promised more lyrics this time. Yey! Get some patikim from her MySpace page.

Still on cats (or people?)

Kitchen-Floor Conflict Intensifies As Rival House Cats Claim Same Empty Bag

This is so funny. But since it's so obviously a parody of real "people events", I'm not so sure anymore.

Hooked

Three TV shows I'm loving right now:

Burn Notice - Jeffrey Donovan is sooo adorable. So cute. So... ok, enough.

Damages - What the hell! This is so addicting! I can't wait for the next episode! I should go buy a bootleg copy. I really should.

Ugly Betty - Just FUN, fun, fun! My favorite character is Justin Suarez. Oh that gay boy!

Because I can't help it

Cats are so irritatingly cute. Always.

Smilla, The Demented Cat

demented, originally uploaded by yinsu.

Since this picture was such a big hit over at Multiply, I thought I'd post it here as well.

The Evils of Tourism

I just got the recent issue of Third World Resurgence. Great articles by the way. So anyway, their cover story is all about this monstrous thing called Tourism. Don't we all know that. Oh you don't? Well, here are some things to ponder on:

-Do you know that tourism hurts the environment? The ecosystem is thrown off balance by big tourism developments and huge tourism complexes. Local resources are depleted and pollution increases. In fact, the exponential growth in air travel contributes a lot to climate change. And I mean, A LOT. Remember that the next time you hop on a plane.

-Tourism provides employment opportunities to people? Think again. If it does, it's mostly seasonal and part-time jobs. The tourist industry takes advantage of cheap migrant labor. Think Filipinos in Europe who serves as bartenders, hotel staff, etc... Instead of creating jobs, tourism only displaces people to give way to "development".

-Tourism boosts the sex industry where women and children are exploited. Hello, Thailand! And yes, even the Philippines.

-It exploits indigenous and local communities and their cultures. They are turned into "exhibits" for tourists' entertainment. Have you heard of the "human zoo"? It's unbelievable.

There's more, but I can't enumerate everything here. I just want to remember these things so I won't be too friggin innocent when I go to India next month. Which, by the way, is one of the fastest growing markets in the tourism industry. But no, I'm not going as a tourist. I'm only attending a meeting and a conference. But just the same... I'm not exempt from all these touristy stuff you know. Shame on me. For one, I'm excited to see the Taj Mahal. Am I just being too hard on myself?

"Tourism consumes the place on which it alights, predatory, omnivorous and yet protected from any contact with disagreeable realities like poverty, squalor, crime and violence. It sanitises and cleanses, offering people an experience pre-packaged in the great factory of illusion, sensations crafted by an industry which masks real relationships in the world."

--Jeremy Seabrook, Tourism, predatory and omnivorous, TW Resurgence

mirror image

mirror, originally uploaded by yinsu.

taken during the bloggers kapihan at kape tasyo last saturday. more photos here.

Bloggers' Kapihan 3

I might go to this thingy:

Bloggers’ Kapihan 3.0
Jan. 19, 2008, Saturday 2:00-5:00 pm
Kape Tasyo (Freedom Bar)
2/F Anonas Commercial Complex
#3 Anonas St., Project 3, Quezon City

Because Ederic is desperate, and I'm a good friend. Haha!

The Isabelles

album cover, originally uploaded by yinsu.

If Isabelle had a band, this would be her album cover.

Freaky Toys

Freaky Toys, originally uploaded by yinsu.

Self Portrait

Self Portrait, originally uploaded by yinsu.