"Rehearsals start at five. Be there, no excuses. We only have a week for this." Ruthie's message was clearly posted on the classroom board. Damn.. I wish I didn't have to do this but I'll fail freshman English if I don't. Why should "participation" form a big part of our grading system. I can't imagine myself acting in front of an audience... let alone in front of my schoolmates. Worse yet, I'm playing a secondary role with much speaking lines. My guts are all in knots and I feel sick... I have a feeling this will not be a good memory...
Although I'm not at all thrilled about this, I know that I have to do my best not to mess this up. My rep needs a lot of boosting already. I had all my lines memorized and I'm all psyched up to play a convincing antagonist. I'm gonna blow 'em all away.
8:00 pm. Ruthie's eyes are red and I can understand why. Any saint tasked with helping me learn to "act" would die of frustration. Ruthie is no saint. Soon, I find myself in the receiving end of a vicious tongue-lashing from our diminutive class leader. I can't help it. Even in this small group, raising my voice to barely audible is a herculean task. I am too conscious of every set of eyes and ears in the room. I have awkward movements that make walking seem like a strange dance. I blew them away alright... laughing. I made a fool of myself today... again... I fear for the fate of Ruthie's play...
Somber Concessions in the Short Life of Gary Gray: Ruthie's Theatre project
Posted On 9:45 AM by nerdluck | 0 points of view
This months Graphikapinoy- Robert Alejandro
- Electrolychee
- Avid Liongoren
- Heavyhitterz:Manila
Graphikapinoy is a free downloadable pdf magazine in support of the Filipino creatives. A convergence of best talents from all aspects of the design industry whose works shall be showcased in every issue.
Pecha Kucha Night!!! What on earth is Pecha Kucha Night?! I found myself asking this question when I saw an email from behance network alerting me (and all those in Dan Matutina's creative circle) of a new entry in Dan's übercool portfolio. Well, it turned out I've been living under a rock all this time to have not heard about this innovation in multi-media presentation. According to the Pecha Kucha Manila site:
Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham architecture), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.
But as we all know, give a mike to a designer (especially an architect) and you’ll be trapped for hours. The key to Pecha Kucha Night is its patented system for avoiding this fate. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.
Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. This is a demand that seems to be global – as Pecha Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 100 cities across the world. Find a location and join the conversation.
The presenters for the First PKN-Manila includesGRAFIK SALAD is an all-Filipino design team based in Cebu. They are involved in graphic design, illustration, fashion, art direction, and advertising work showcasing local art and culture.
PILIPINAS STREET PLAN is a group of artists expressing their passions through grafitti art. They have been colouring not only the streets of Metro Manila but also all over the Philippines, and other parts of the globe.
JIN JOSON is a Fine Arts major at the University of the Philippines. She is an avid anime/manga fan, and cosplayer.
WHAM BACABAC is an illustrator, graphic designer, motion graphics artist and animator with a distinct style. He is noted for the tattooed portraits from his joint exhibit “Skins and Needles.”
LEEROY NEW is a sculptor with an affinity towards grotesque forms. His recent works include the Psychopompous! and Anarchophobia exhibits.
LEO ABAYA is a painter, and production designer for film and theater. He has exhibited work for award-winning films such as Rizal, Muro-ami, and Kubrador, wherein he expresses how in his art “design and painting inform each other.”
INKSURGE. Brewed in Manila, Philippines 2002. A design studio concocted by digital baristas and authentic coffee junkies Jois Tai (she takes it w/ milk) and Rex Advincula (he takes it w/ sugar).
VISUAL POND Artspace, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to the visual arts. Based in Manila, Visual Pond aims to be a dynamic player in the Philippine contemporary art scene through projects that engage and promote local artists both here and abroad.
NICKY SERING is a commercial and travel photographer. He is currently working on a personal project documenting the lives of boxers who have struggled to find glory.
JONI CAPARAS is currently the head of art at BBDO-Guerrero-Ortega. Over the past year, her work has been recognized at The One Show, Cannes Lions and D&AD.RAYMOND RED is a noted filmmaker. He is the first Filipino to have won the Palme D’Or award at the Cannes Film festival 2000 for his short film Anino. For Pecha Kucha Night, he’ll share more about his other passion: collecting old toys.
KAIE ENCANTO is an art director for Ace Saatchi & Saatchi. She which won Second Prize in the Poster Category of Adobo Magazine for her work “Tabi Tabi Po: Eto na Ang Aming Mundo”. She is also part of The Cheshire Cat, a team of local young designers specializing on graphic design.DOMINIQUE MARIE TIU is a 19-year-old undergraduate student at the Ateneo de Manila University and founder of Mann for Every Woman, an online-based clothing retail business that will be launched this June.
DONNA MIRANDA of Green Papaya Art Projects, is a contemporary dancer and choreographer who is a member of Dance Forum Myra Beltran. She was last year’s recipient of the Jury Prize in Solo, Duo and Group Division of Yokohama Dance Collection, and the recipient of Rimbun Dahan Choreographer’s Residency in Malaysia.
JAN VINCENT ONG is a writer who prides himself in also “judging books by their covers.” His website Read Now features blogs about his “adventures” in the writing world, as a literary enthusiast and a book critic.
For more information. Drop by at http://pechakuchamanila.com
Many thanks to Mon for posting a heads up over at his blog at Hazy Reality. I wouldn't miss this for anything. I just wish tickets are still available when I get to the venue.
Finally... I see an end to the bane of "Death by Powerpoint"
The image above and all information regarding the event was taken from the Pecha Kucha Manila website. This blog claims no ownership and is not connected to the organizers of PKN Manila aside from sublime admiration.
The Nikon Photo Contest International has been held by Nikon Corporation since 1969 to provide an opportunity for photographers around the world to communicate and to enrich photographic culture for professionals and amateurs alike."At the heart of the image" is not only the brand statement of Nikon Imaging Company, but it is also the theme for the 32nd contest, in which entries are invited in two categories. The first category is free subject and the second is entitled "My Planet," and entries to each category are accepted as prints sent by conventional mail or as JPEG images sent via the Internet. With this theme and these categories, we look forward to receiving expressive images from around the world that are true to people's emotions.
The Nikon Photo Contest International aims to create an occasion for photographers around the world to communicate and exchange their photographic vision, irrespective of professional or amateur status. It is our hope that this event will further enrich and broaden global photographic culture.
The above information are taken from the Nikon website. This blog claims no ownership of any images or text above this line.
For more information, visit the official Nikon Photo Contest International microsite and read about the contest details.
Sometimes, I am still awe struck with how much technology has changed our lives over the last 20 years. At the same time, I feel worried that my children would not experience the same kind of fun games I used to play as a child. These days, you hardly see children play outdoors. The younger ones play with their animated "friends" in the small screen while the older kids play with their cyber "friends" in virtual landscapes. It seems that this is where it is all heading and there's no escaping it, ...or is there? In this month's Babymag, meet parents who "took control" of technology by taking it by the horns and beating it to submission. No, really! Setting the rules and sticking to them is really the only way to tame this unwieldy beast.Because June is also the month when Father's day comes along. Babymag features a cheatsheet for fathers facing their greatest challenge ever: Mastering the science and art of changing nappies. An illustrated step by step guide to a fathers rite of passage. Flip the pages to Fatherspeak, a monthly column that breaks down every issue that comes with fatherhood and highlights the joy of being "there" for your kids. This month, Manny Escasa of EduChild writes about what sports can do for your children. Read about a very special dad who's getting back on his feet after the loss his wife in a tragedy. Also, fatherhood is all about responsibility and Family Planning is a responsibility for BOTH husband and wife. So be responsible, read and learn about the Billings Ovulation method. There is so much more for dad in this issue. Hey! whoever said Babymag is a women's magazine?
The strapping young "pirate" on the cover is Boston Ryan Phillips through the lenses of George Cabig. Many thanks to Spin for the denim jumper.
Baby Magazine, the Philippines' first parenting mag is now in it's 12th year of service to Filipino parents. For subscription inquiries, you may contact Baby Magazine through the following:
Phone: (+63 2) 728.36.55
Email: babymag@globelines.com.ph
Somber Concessions in the Short Life of Gary Gray: Little 'ol Karl
Posted On 12:36 PM by nerdluck | 0 points of view
They say time slows down when you know you are about to die... It is so that the scenes that matter can pass before your eyes and you can see how you have lived your life. Probably to give you a chance to be happy about it somehow.
Well, I didn't die. Not in the real sense of the word.
I always hated Karl's guts. For a boy of small stature he thinks highly of himself. He walks around with a swagger that seem to say he's better than everyone else. Or maybe just me and a bunch of others like me. He snapped at me on the fist day of our sophomore year in High School 'coz I was tapping my pencil too loud. He was the heckler, a year before, who got the class in a laughing fit on a school play at my expense. The year before that, he got the other guys to roll me up in a gym mattress and piled up on top of me. I had a growth spurt during last summer and I noticed he was now just about the height of my shoulder. . I thought to myself, I could probably take this guy if I had to. Then it happened...
Ironically, we were paired up in a science project where we had to slice up a frog. Our frog got messed up and for some reason, it became all my fault. I told him to shove it and before I know it, our "date" is set. 4:00 behind the east wing. At last, I have the chance to put this mouse in his place. At 4:15, I found myself sitting against the wall of the gymnasium behind the east wing with a bloody nose, torn shirt and a broken spirit. I just lost a school yard brawl against a shrimp.
'A great designer has to know everything while an artist doesn't have to know anything.' -Richard Tuttle
Don't get the above statement wrong. This is not an Artist versus Designer debate. There are more appropriate forum for that. Besides, I have no authority in a matter of this magnitude. What this [blog] is, among a lot of things, is a record of my thoughts and learnings as I pursue knowledge in Graphic design and the business of selling this design service. But some questions comes to mind. How much can one person learn? Do we really need to learn so much?
In his book, Design, Form and Chaos, Paul Rand said:
"Design is one of the most perplexing pursuits in which to excel. Besides the need for a God-given talent, the designer must contend with encyclopedic amounts of information, a seemingly endless stream of opinions, and the day-to-day problem of finding "new" ideas (popularly called creativity)."
This was in 1993. Nowadays, with information easily available on the net. It has become virtually impossible for any one designer to know all there is to know about his craft. I mean, there is probably a thousand ways to do a book cover from the same design brief and another thousand ways to interpret Market Researches and probably more than a few thousand different opinions on the same draft. A fledgling designer would be intimidated about the how much field he should cover. I know I am, even after some years of actual industry experience. Scared as I am with the vastness of the (unexplored) knowledge base that is the Internet (or "the cloud" as I referred to in this blog a couple of times) I am always excited to learn new ways of making things work together from the designer circles I move around in. Even though sometimes these guys make me look at my work and want to hide them where they can't be seen. But I digress... Being a designer means creating solutions... and if we want to grow, we will always search out new design problems to solve, messages to deliver creatively and figure out design trends. Whether these trends are for good design or otherwise doesn't matter. But that is for another rant altogether... So for you budding design superstar... soak up everything you can... Be the sponge!
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Don't get the above statement wrong. This is not an Artist versus Designer debate. There are more appropriate forum for that. Besides, I have no authority in a matter of this magnitude. What this [blog] is, among a lot of things, is a record of my thoughts and learnings as I pursue knowledge in Graphic design and the business of selling this design service. But some questions comes to mind. How much can one person learn? Do we really need to learn so much?
In his book, Design, Form and Chaos, Paul Rand said:
"Design is one of the most perplexing pursuits in which to excel. Besides the need for a God-given talent, the designer must contend with encyclopedic amounts of information, a seemingly endless stream of opinions, and the day-to-day problem of finding "new" ideas (popularly called creativity)."
This was in 1993. Nowadays, with information easily available on the net. It has become virtually impossible for any one designer to know all there is to know about his craft. I mean, there is probably a thousand ways to do a book cover from the same design brief and another thousand ways to interpret Market Researches and probably more than a few thousand different opinions on the same draft. A fledgling designer would be intimidated about the how much field he should cover. I know I am, even after some years of actual industry experience. Scared as I am with the vastness of the (unexplored) knowledge base that is the Internet (or "the cloud" as I referred to in this blog a couple of times) I am always excited to learn new ways of making things work together from the designer circles I move around in. Even though sometimes these guys make me look at my work and want to hide them where they can't be seen. But I digress... Being a designer means creating solutions... and if we want to grow, we will always search out new design problems to solve, messages to deliver creatively and figure out design trends. Whether these trends are for good design or otherwise doesn't matter. But that is for another rant altogether... So for you budding design superstar... soak up everything you can... Be the sponge!
Everybody's favorite girl is in for a treat! Mommies of all shapes and sizes are invited to jump in and take part in the Mother's Day Giveaway promo and win stuff. As with every Baby that we put out, our Mommy month issue is the meatiest read. Five "mom-preneurs" tell the story of how the mottos "family first" and "follow your dreams" can come hand-in-hand in "Taking care of business." Baby sends mall scouts to check out how baby-friendly the malls are in "It's a mall world after all." We feature 3 malls every month starting this issue.
Have you heard of Human Milk Banks? Do you know why you must remove your nail polish before going into labor? What do you tell your child when he sees a child with special needs for the first time? How do you help your child learn not to be pikon? Did you know you need to start caring for your child's teeth before he's even born? How? You can find out about these and a whole lot more in this issue right here.
Cover photography by Ralph Alejandrino and the happy angel is Claudia Sofia Marchan Bozgan having loads of fun with bubbles.
Baby Magazine, the Philippines' first parenting mag is now in it's 12th year of service to Filipino parents. For subscription inquiries, you may contact Baby Magazine through the following:
Phone: (+63 2) 728.36.55
Email: babymag@globelines.com.ph
That means colorblind for the rest of us. And my monitor won't be too since I got myself this baby. I had been pining for one of these ever since I saw it in action at the Power Mac center's seminar on Color Management for Photographers (read here). Although what I saw in that seminar was this guys younger (read: sleeker, newer, more expensive) brother, I am nonetheless happy with my new pet.
Now, why do I need this? Well, I work with a lot of images for the magazines I work on and I have to make sure that what I see in my screen is, at least, in close color proximity to what it will look like on paper. That is called monitor calibration. The Spyder also comes in handy whenever I have some digital photos that I want to get printed. Imagine the disappointment I get whenever I edit some pictures and have them digitally printed only to have our faces printed a little too yellow... It was THAT bad.
The Spyder Pro is the leading monitor calibration tool. It is named like so because it looks like a spider hanging in front of the monitor. Cute...
Thanks to Aries for selling me this wonderful thing. It was great doing business with you. Now, how much are you charging for that PrintFi-Whoops! My spider sense is tingling... time for another calibration.
