tssmr: wall•e

there’s romeo and juliet and there’s wall•e and eve except that these duosyllabic robots’ analog amore and digital desire do not end in ill-timed suicides. 

to pee or not to pee

whoever is in charge of the rain heard my complaint about it being just a drizzle. this saturday afternoon was all about downpour. on the way to the park to get our tickets for hamlet, it was a cinematographer’s wet dream – pun intended. every street is shiny reflecting and refracting light and metaphors and symbolisms could be had by the dozen for free. thankfully, the rains stopped two hours before the performance (the back-up plan is WALL•E) and i saw the longest play of my entire life.  if it ran for another hour, it would be a lav diaz movie (note the choice of words). i know shakespeare is the man but should every line be relished? all in all, it was really good and it is something to be refreshed of the bard’s immortal words like 

    there’s the rub

    shuffling off the mortal coil

    despair, thy name is woman

etc, etc that is not a review for a quiz.

tssmr: wanted

blood, bullets, angelina jolie’s butt – who gives a shit about flaws in plot when you can have fun?

i expected wesley gibson to mutter “are you fucking darth vader?” at the train scene, but no, didn’t happen. as i’ve said, the bullet hitting bullet is enough to offset that.

new orphans

this is a 1 dollar find from the same thrift shop up the street. i’ve always wanted to read ellis after seeing american psycho. the cover looks good too. the title (embossed white on white, how very you-know-who) reads: less than zero. of course, it is set in the 90s LA.

the second, *the unblemished* by conrad williams, i’ve found at barnes 5th ave, during my friday cardio (35 fucking blocks of walking, i shit you not) as i went to joy’s office for a friday dinner and to watch wanted the movie. this, after reading *use once and destroy* by the same author last year, i have to find. the strand failed me and since this is a brit author (i’m a fan of both their humor and horror), the only hope would be the internet and a paperback reprint. the paperback came first (although i have seen this at power books before in its first hardbound edition and before it won the IHG award) and it is by, take a guess, virgin books. that man richard branson knows how to pick his titles. 

right. this post has too much fucking parenthesis already and i’ve just remembered that it is SIR richard branson.

 

“i am a false prophet and god is a superstition”

the rain, just drizzles actually that comes and goes unwanted has been at it since the weekend.

monday, there was a window of opportunity and we went to the park for the ny philharmonic orchestra. the flight of the bumblebee morphed into purple haze, ruled.

3-hour cardio is taking the backseat because of the rain and is being replaced with 3 DVDs a day, thanks to the library. recent films viewed are:

• persepholis – punk’s not dead in iran, yeah!

• untraceable – the japanese movie this have been ripped off from deserves a credit

• atonement – the typewriter score killed me

• there will be blood – haven’t read the book “oil” but this film is a beauty.

i’ve always wondered when the converse of “luke, i am your father” would be used as a final act turning point and lo and behold, we have “you are not my son. you have none of me in you. you are a bastard in a basket. i just used you to buy land.” and who can resist the destruction of eli sunday in the end?

as tomorrow is friday, i hope *wanted* won’t suck.

 

i bet my left testicle…

…that nobody’s going to jail for the ferry owned by sulpicio lines that capsized.

nobody was held accountable (both from the company and the government) when the same lines killed around 4,000 passengers, why would 800 persons be any different?

 

“i’m something of a scientist myself”

once again, the wifey have to peel me off the book for church and a much needed cardio-walk.

the church was bearable, i’m not much into religion after reading the bible and then some while in grade school (don’t ask – it’s not your sunday school variety but more of a theological course, and i must say, the book of revelations is one book that would best all other horror obras) but i adore the pomp and pageantry of the catholic mass and well as the cannibalistic metaphor of take my body and drink my blood. way better than being a scientologist, i presume and yes, i’ve also read l. ron hubbard’s *dianetics* – his most famous sci-fi tome although tom cruise would disagree with me.

so it was reading and church and reading and lunch and reading and siesta and reading and bathing and reading and then the much needed cardio. it rained a bit but we managed to do a respectable 2-hour brisk walking around the park. we saw laura linney – her face is the same on tv, the cinema and in real life. we also say the usual musicians, a bagpipe dude and the afro-dummers. there’s a pet turtle chilling near the bow bridge and a duck and her three beautiful ducklings swimming. 

and then i saw what i missed halfway into the walking – hamlet/hair by the public theater and summer stage. both for free, no less. well, there is always the next weekend, we just have to watch *wanted* on friday to maximize the coming saturday and sunday.

on the way home, we passed the carlyle where tom cruise and his family will be staying for the rest of the summer as kathie holmes does a broadway gig. 

{for some strange reason, wordpress isn’t uploading pics}

{for an equally strange reason, it just did}

 

why the library is saving me lots of dough

that’s 35 dollars plus tax saved. lingering helps, was about to check out joe hill’s *20th century ghosts*as well as his father’s *the duma key* when i saw this on the cart and before it can be shelved for all to see, managed to grab it without any incident. it’s got a three-week reading time too. coolness.

where do old men go

the contrast couldn’t be more any obvious. the way the city treats dogs and kids is the exact opposite of how it treats the old ones. every single day, i see a nearly departed hunched over a trash can looking for whatever it could scavenged. some have this little trollies, other just have a few pages of newspaper to cover their finds for a little fucking dignity. it is sad. but sadder is the fact that everyone pretends this is normal. and, i bet, if ever i get the courage to ask them if they need help, they will give me the middle finger fanfare and the fuck you felicitation. as gian would say, it makes baby jesus cry. 

barker borrowed

was looking for DVD titles i haven’t yet seen from the library when i chanced upon this book. the author alone is enough to give me goosebumps so i took it home. it has a seven day, non-negotiable deadline but i might finish it tonight. earlier this year, the best story that i’ve encountered (so far) belongs to clive barker, entitled “in the hills, the cities”. this story is up there with david j. schow’s “expanding your capabilities using frame/shift mode” and china mieville’s “an end to hunger”.

of course, edgar allan poe, the grandaddy of goth, incest, and pedophilia (not to mention absinth) still rules.

peeled from the couch

i was literally dragged out the door so that instead of watching DVDs borrowed from the library, i did some respectable cardio exercise.

here are sample pics of the ‘hood.

 

“your troubles will cease and fortune will smile upon you”

it is 2 in the fucking AM and i can’t sleep – payback time for disturbing the breadwinner as she worked from home doing what she normally does with her cellphone and laptop, except that she’s at home in her pajamas. i woke up late and slept after lunch and now i’m fucking awake while she’s embracing morpheus.

this second bottle of stella better put me to sleep. 

so.

right, the beer. as i consume this overpriced piss, i am going to list what i love and as a consequence, miss most about my former job as a creative in an advertising agency. i’ve never got to do this in my former journal (and not even in my handwritten one), so please indulge me.

• when it comes to the creative process, everyone is equal. it doesn’t matter who your parents are, how much you have in the bank, how many countries have you visited, how many pussies or dicks you’ve tasted. seriously, think about it. this is, to quote mean girls and kung fu panda, awesome. a fresh grad can trump a veteran anytime as long as he or she has an idea.

• you come to work in tee shirt and jeans and fucking tsinelas. the necktie is society’s leash, says so an ad by doc martens in the 80s and up to now, nothing could be truer. 

• alcohol can be consumed during office hours. and if situations permit, your choice of drugs can also be included, no questions asked, no judgement passed. this just made me miss marijuana and valium at the same time.

• nobody dies if you fuck up. mature agencies, those who really understand the creative process, give their staff the permission to fail. and mature creatives understand what it is like to fail and again, won’t ask questions or pass judgments. imagine the trauma surgeons and crane operators suffer every time they err.

the beer is nearly finished so let me rush off:

• surf porn/update facebook/chat during office hours. also shop, sleep, watch a movie, get a massage.

• meet real persons that could be friends for life. the number of guests when i got wed came from officemates more than relatives, i shit you not.

• you can be calloused and jaded enough that your bullshit detector can be supersensitive. i think this is self-explanatory. 

if this posts, that means, well, i need more beer.

 

relief, but not quite

the relief from the baking heat came in the form of a two-day sporadic rainfall and thunderstorms.

which means, we didn’t go to the park to catch vampire weekend but went on a movie marathon. though looking back, getting drenched in the rain listening to geek bands would have been worth it. four movies where two sucked is just like life – 50/50 chance of everything. at least the pancit before the movie ruled.

i pray to cthulhu timur wouldn’t disappoint with *wanted*.

 

tssmr: kung fu panda

dream and destiny served in a steaming bowl of LOL, seconds, anyone?

tssmr: the strangers

things can go beyond one’s expectation after a proposal as purported by this flick, so much beyond that it could involve death but then again no, keyser söze still didn’t do it.

tssmr: the happening

the abuser gets a comeuppance in this morality tale when revenge takes all of a day and a quarter and no, keyser söze didn’t do it.

one of those times when i wanna smoke a fucking cigarette

david benioff said it best:

“you know, the day I did it, I took two razorblades to the bathtub. you know why? because I knew that once I started to bleed, i’d get weak. and i didn’t wanna drop one blade and leave myself half done. can you imagine that? can you imagine hating your life so much that you’d wanna bring a backup razor?”

i’m such a coward, of course. i just when this shit to end. quick and painless. please.

tssmr: the incredible hulk

a green mass of pure heroism saves the most aggressive city in the world but begs the question: will his breathing exercises give him a chance to get laid?

something for the heat

marathon reading until the weekend before the hulk and the happening hits the screen.

done – not much to read, though.

this i have yet to read. a $1 find from SoHO last weekend.

currently reading, another $1 find from the same second hand shop.

and then they were gone

just like that, i’m all alone again (the missus is at maryland for the week) in the comforts of the airconditioner as nej left for san francisco with two luggage full of shoes, bags and dresses and a MoMA pipe with art prints.

cosico left yesterday with the same amount of bags, but fewer purchases.

i miss them already, despite the shopping spree – spree in the killing kind of sense. it’s all back to english now where my nose would literally bleed to affect the accent of helleow, how are yeow fuck.

so.

there’s the half bottle of jack and a dozen stellas.

i just wanna clean the fridge and wake up on friday the 13th for a movie night.

 

tssmr: sex and the city

a pointless, plotless product placement picture.

report in real time

 

• nej and cosico are, what’s the word? yes, grooving to U2’s *angel of harlem* while tidying up all the things they’ve shopped as i write this.

• nej brought a change of clothes, shoes, and dress for every day that she’s in new york – and also bought  the same number of equivalents. how she’s gonna fit everything into her luggage staggers the mind.

• cosico is to broadway as nej is to shopping.

• nej is to cock-grabbing as cosico is to nap grabbing.

• cosico:   beer can relax you like no other drink can ‘no?

me: correct.

• billy hasn’t lost his touch when it comes to humor. 

• robin tomas is a riot, venting punchline after punchline. and his jologs sense of referencing is cool.

• virgin records, the very first brand to have street cred  and an uber cool CEO before it became a buzzword is closing its times square and union square branches. sad.

• avenue q’s first line is “what can you do with a BA in english?”. how fucking true!

 

purely pics

visitors

the darkness is here saying “hello, hello, hello” to all afams from the house to the breakfast place to downtown. 

cosico just landed, no pictures yet until she takes a bath.

that i have to respect as she bought me a six pack of san miguel beer. yey!

did i mention that i’m wearing a red shirt?

tidbits

• there is an employee at joy’s company named bruce wayne. i am not making this shit up. he’s in the email directory.

• somebody stole our plant (i would call it a love fern except that it is not a fern) that we bought for spring. motherfucker. it was resting on the sill and when i tried watering it last night before sleeping, it’s gone.

• a pound of tilapia fillet (yes it says on the sign, same with “bangus” as seen in chinatown) can be had for 13US$. an ICB moment, indeed. it’s in pounds, and not yet cooked. 

• sometimes, a steak is nice for breakfast. sometimes.

• all registered dogs have microchip implants. this contain owner info (name, address, fone, etc.) and dog info (name, breed, health history, etc.) i’m suspecting they (for aren’t they always referred to as “they”) will do it with infants in the not so distant future.

 

do

long hair and peace – john lennon

long hair is a state of mind – henry rollins

 

my state ID arrived in the mail today and just like any other ID, the picture was as ugly as a mugshot. while i’m ugly to begin with, the hair didn’t help either. i tried tying it and it obliged. now i look like an ugly mini-goon. might grow this until next year especially that summer is approaching with all the global warming it could bring.

if ever, this would be the third time i grew my hair.

 the first was right after the mandatory ROTC in college. pantera has just released *far beyond driven* though the grunge thing was already in full swing. after four semesters of 4X2, letting hair grow is a must. half of the male class did, anyway.

the second was in basic advertising, just to prove that writers can grow hair too like them art directors. incubus has just released *a crow left of the murder*. i cut it for my brother’s wedding and never thought of growing it again.

and yet here i am. i hope i don’t get into trouble at immigration with this. 

and i don’t know what’s on the radio right now, except stone temple pilot has just regrouped again.

backlog

some photographer termed it as manhattanhenge, viewing the sunset from the street bisecting union square. it was supposed to be perfect yesterday with the sun being framed by highrises on both sides of the street. except that we never got to see it as joy complained that her shoes were killing her (been telling her for the longest time to do as the new york jologs do – come to work in power suit and track shoes). a pizza place had this idiotic logic that they would not sit us (a party of three, the third wheel is joy’s buddy from work) to two joined tables for two. i won’t even try to explain this. so no sunset, no pizza. i think this, whatever it is, started at the strand with its 18 miles of books and not-so-up-to-date online inventory. i’ve been looking for the first book zafon’s *the shadow of the wind* for quite a while. the website lists it as available. when i asked a sales staff, he said he just saw it a minute ago and told me to cross my fingers. that very moment, i knew that it’s gone. so he looked and i looked. to no avail. the last resort was barnes&noble where i only get a ten percent discount due to members (not even enough to cover the sales tax, fuckening A!). on the way back, i dropped by at virgin records and lo and behold, steve erickson’s *zeroville* is there waiting at the first shelf. this, i have been looking longer than the first book and being a small press edition, the only reason i could come up with is that the proximity of film schools (NYU and NYFA) makes this a cult object among the artsy-fartsy crowd.

the books?

*the shadow of the wind* is the spanish book most read after don quixote, according to the blurb. it stayed for 5 consecutive years on the number 1 bestseller’s list in spain. it is a book about a book, full of subplots (and even its subplots have subplots). but the thing that reeled me in is that it is a gothic story. 

*zeroville* is set where *helter skelter* is – hollywood, 1960s. it touches briefly the slayings of charles manson’s “family” then proceeds to a character who is a film buff and his downward spiral. how can i refuse?

so zero sunset and zero savings. the only logical progression is a six-pack to chase down the book i’m currently reading. i swear, i won’t go near another bookstore until i’ve finished all i’ve bought. but then again, there’s a fundraising somewhere in soho next week where books, CDs, and DVDs can be had for a dollar each.

right. below is a sausage with onions from the mini fair at our street taken today. it was closing time (5 peyem) so the dude manning the griddle gave a wiener worth of two dogs for the price of one. lord!