I remember being given an assignment for the holidays back in High School. We were (t)asked by our Homeroom adviser to list down all of the thing we wanted to improve on ourselves for the year 199?. In simpler words, make a New Years Resolution. Back then, I thought it was a silly thing to do. Not anymore. Now that I have grown a little older and a little wiser (hopefully), I actually like making these so called "resolutions." I know a lot of people gave up on it. Like they are resigned to the fact that they will break one or two or all of 'em before even thinking about February. So what's the point? Well, the point is trying at all and getting back up again if we happen to fail. And we WILL fail. We we're built that way, like it's hard-wired into our very system. That is being Human. And part of being human is the desire to constantly improve ourselves over and over again. Who was it that said, "We will keep on changing until we can no longer change." I think it was from a movie I saw when I was young... or not. These memories are all a jumble to me.
Anyway, Here's to a better you and a better me this 2008! Cheers!
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The title says it clearly. I'm not a big Christmas fan so this will be the closest thing to a christmas blog entry I can come up with.When I was a kid, I loved the christmas season for the long holiday it came with but I totally dreaded the school christmas parties and the family reunions that I just HAD to go to only because it was the normal thing to do for a kid. It may sound extreme but think of it this way. It is never fun to be meeting old relatives when their idea of catching up is a "your cousins are better than you" sermon. The line "What can you expect from (insert absentee aunt or uncles name here)'s kids?" has burned it's marks in my young mind. After the sermon, we have to swallow what is left of our pride and line up for our annual Quezons, Osmenas and occassionally, Roxases. Talk about power tripping. I wished the ground would swallow me up and spit out my bones. The queasy feeling I had in my guts during the ride to the place is akin to knowing you are on your way to getting your ass kicked in a school yard brawl with the judo club captain. Speaking of school, Im glad I'll never get to open up another stupid picture frame as a christmas gift from someone in my class. I mean, a picture frame is something you give to someone you know nothing about... someone who is just a little better than a complete stranger, not someone you've been in class with for the past year or three. Come on! It would have been special had they put our photos in it instead of some blonde guy with perfect teeth. And what's with the fashion show? Where was it written that you HAVE TO wear the latest in kiddie fashion on primary school christmas parties? It was strange to me when I was nine... I wouldn't tell you what I think of it now.
The truth is, I don't hate Christmas. What I hate is how cheap we have made it to be. I am in no position to tell you what Christmas is about but I know what it isn't. Families don't come together on this day to put each other down. Ninongs and Ninangs arent cash machines to take money from. Christmas is not about parties. It's not about the Noche Buena or the gift giving or the new clothes.
well, that's it for this months rant. Reading back on what I wrote, I may have been unfair in describing our family reunions or the christmas parties in school. I have always been the odd one in the bunch. I must have been just looking at it wrong. I might just be an Ebenezer Scrooge after all. Except that I ain't an old miser, and I don't believe in ghosts.
I am a big fan of free stuff. Especially if its really good free stuff. I have already featured some in past entries and I wanted to kick myself for not posting this gem sooner. Jodie Coston's lessons over at morguefile.com is the perfect starter guide to newbie digital photographers. As a "newb" myself, who didn't even know what aperture means. I found Coston's lessons to be novice friendly and considerate of her readers skill level, practically breaking down each "Photographese" term into plain old English. The assignments at the end of each lesson also challenges the reader/student into applying her lessons in real world settings. There is also a discussion for each lessons. Even though this had been online three years ago, there are still a lot of new readers/students who discuss the lessons and critique each others assignments. Perfect for the budding digital photographer... at least for the cheap ones like me. Seriously, you can use this as a crash course and then pursue more serious training through real seminar workshops. More of that in the coming weeks. Now, if only i could find my assignment photos when I tried Jodie's lessons last year...
Ever since Baby magazine started seeing print in 1996, the Baby Gallery section has always been the first pages readers look into. Especially if they sent photos of their little angels over to be published in said pages. Some parents send photos of their kids religiously every month that we could probably put together a photo album of their kids. Unfortunately, we can only handle so many. There are loads coming in every month that we wish there could be more pages to showcase the lovely tots. This January, we are giving the gallery a makeover (being the first need not mean looking like the oldest) and instead of the usual 3 to 5 pages of over the top cuteness, we are giving you SEVEN (7) pages, yes! seven whole pages. That means more pictures, more chances of their babies getting printed in the country's first magazine for parenting. Happy days for the Stage Moms and Dads and I meant that in a good way. I love my job, especially in times like these.
Not one to be put down easily by one bad opinion, I decided to channel my attention (and frustration) on to something useful... making my own shirt. I've wanted to do one shirt featuring my little corner of the cloud for half a year now. But it always stuck in the back of my mind that it would seen kinda vain. And when I somehow got myself to work on it, I would be my own worst client and criticize everything. Believe me, I'm a bitch of a customer when I do something for myself (probably the reason why I can't seem to get anything done for myself.) This time, however, everything seemed calm. I found myself getting rid of everything unnecessary in the design and came down with only the bare essentials. There were no kicking and screaming arguments. There were no battles in my mind. It was so refreshingly simple and I don't care if it looks overly simplistic. It's a simple solution and it makes me happy. Isn't that how design is supposed to beAnyway, Ill probably wait till the holidays are over before printing the shirt... Going to DV to buy supplies right now is suicide...
Another gem of a read... and a lot of fun putting it together too. Isabel Limbo was so much fun during the cover shoot and photographer, Ralph Alejandrino did a stellar job bringing out our Christmas baby's best features to light. Don't you think she looks like she has some sort of hypnotic powers? No? I could swear I felt like I was floating.
For subscription inquiries, you may contact Baby magazine through the following:
Phone: (+63 2) 728.36.55
Email: babymag@globelines.com.ph
Baby Magazine, the Philippines' first parenting magazine is now in its 12th year of service to Filipino parents.
This illustration was used as main visual for an article for the November 2007 issue of Baby magazine titled "The shortened childhood: Kids and the media" written by Joyce Marion Petiza. The article generally talks about how mass media is making "little customers" of our children by introducing diluted mature ideas into advertising and program content.The illustration was something I had in my mind for over a decade ever since I became aware of the debate whether fashion dolls (or supermodel icons) have anything to do with teenage girls starving themselves to death. Do not get me wrong, Although I believe there is an indirect connection, the parents are primarily responsible for their children's choice of role models. It is because they are not around that poor substitutes are favored by their kids. As parents we can only blame ourselves first before pointing our fingers on the convenient scapegoat. But that is just my opinion.
An editable copy of this illustration is available for FREE... BUT! only if you are subscribed via email, that is, and remember to ask nicely and since I was so busy (read lazy) to post this last month, you can now just probably get a copy of the November issue by calling the Baby magazine office at (+63 2) 728.36.55 and ask for that issue. I think there's a couple more lying around under the ED's table.
Indesignsecrets.com is dubbed as "...your one-stop shop for all things InDesign" and that is an accurate way to describe it. Aside from a few people I know that still can't let go of their Pagemakers and QuarkXpresses, Indesign seem to have made its way into becoming every layout artists' preferred layout tool. And with good reasons. It is by far the most feature-packed, intuitive, and most powerful page layout tool in the market today. Being such, there are a lot of things a rookie like me need to learn about this gem and Indesignsecrets.com really saved me a lot of time in getting my self acquainted with the juicy stuff.
Indesignsecrets.com is the companion web site for the Indesign secrets podcast hosted by David Blatner and Anne-Marie Concepcion, two of THE world’s top InDesign gurus. The credentials on these guys are stellar but interestingly enough, Blatner and Concepcion make learning Indesign fun through their light banter and comic exchange of tips and techniques.
Indesignsecrets.com is also home to the Indesigner video podcast which showcases the power of InDesign to automate repetitive tasks, improve productivity and build unprecedented flexibility into the design process. Hosted by Michael Murphy, a veteran art director and Adobe Certified Expert for Indesign CS2 who has written for InDesign Magazine and presented before the New York and Milwuakee InDesign User Groups.
I suggest subscribing to Indesign Secrets and The InDesigner podcasts through iTunes. They're free anyway.
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Indesignsecrets.com is the companion web site for the Indesign secrets podcast hosted by David Blatner and Anne-Marie Concepcion, two of THE world’s top InDesign gurus. The credentials on these guys are stellar but interestingly enough, Blatner and Concepcion make learning Indesign fun through their light banter and comic exchange of tips and techniques.
Indesignsecrets.com is also home to the Indesigner video podcast which showcases the power of InDesign to automate repetitive tasks, improve productivity and build unprecedented flexibility into the design process. Hosted by Michael Murphy, a veteran art director and Adobe Certified Expert for Indesign CS2 who has written for InDesign Magazine and presented before the New York and Milwuakee InDesign User Groups.I suggest subscribing to Indesign Secrets and The InDesigner podcasts through iTunes. They're free anyway.
