into the triangle

unlike switzerland who dabbles in chocolates, time pieces, and the export of swiss guards to the vatican, bermuda only has one industry. banking. (and while the swiss banks’ credibility went to the gutters when the US government conducted senate hearings as to the finances of the AIG executives and the failing system of mortgage, not a squeak was heard from bermuda.)

this i learned from the wife who also told me that bermuda is 100 percent tax-free. you take home whatever amount appears on the payroll and you pay whatever amount appears on the price tag. also, accountants go to work in shorts and tsinelas. at this point, i asked whether she wants to relocate and does amazon deliver over there. the answer is that they have one local bookstore. 

no answer on the relocation so maybe this is just a recon mission or a plan b if this new york scam goes to shit. and so with the heatwave over the weekend coupled with the smell of tanning oil and sun block, we arrived at a plan to spend a long weekend next month for some sand, sea, and cold beer.

i can’t wait.

thinking aloud, what i forgot to ask is that maybe she wants to get us preggers. i hope not.

beer…it’s what’s for dinner

the temperature rose to the 80s and this being a sunday, joy was kind enough to peel me away from the kitchen.

so we got bulgogi and nap ji (octopus rice) from an off the wall korean. plus beer of course. the dish was extra spicy and with the heat, i literally sweated. we cooled down with iced coffee from dunkin’ the headed off to bleecker so we can avoid sleeping like the pigs that we are.

i got *demons* by john shirley from my favorite secondhand bookstore so the trip was worth it.

joy got *great expectations* by charles dickens. and two longsleeves from uniqlo so i guess it really was worth it.

then it’s early dinner over burger and fries. and beer for me. the burgers were great, enough pickles and there’s even coleslaw ala like burger machine.

the weatherman says that the spring temperature will resume on wednesday. more time to read and watch DVDs while planning the next step for world domination.

showing winter the door

we managed to go out of the house with pizza, wings, fries, cheese, chips, vino, taboo, and cranium.

the park was packed with, aside from humans, dogs, kites, infants, frisbees, bikes, scooters, strollers. manhattan and some parts of jersey and the bronx somehow squeezed into central park – people stopped short of picnicking at the gates.

the humans were almost naked and it was camel toe galore save for the occasional old dude in a speedo. the air smelled of tanning oil and sun block. there’s even a whiff of marijuana once in a while from where we were eating.

but the spectacle went to a hawk having his early dinner of a pigeon who attracted a lot of camera toting humans, from the amateurs to the pros. the poor thing has to change his dining place twice – flying from the ground to three branches – before he was able to dine in peace.

 

the sun is out…

…what are we doing inside?

joy has been working home for the past 3 days and is now getting sick and this is one of the chicken and egg conundrum.

i used to love it when she works from home but three successive days of working more than 14 hours per day is driving me insane. going to the office at least gives her a break of peeling her eyes from the laptop and her ear from the phone as she needs to ride the subway and go out for lunch.

this is slavery.

the temperature is finally rising and there is a big chance that we will miss it this weekend when the park is finally starting to green. i would rather be having wine and eating cheese and taking pics of dry humping couples at the park than cooking for her the entire saturday and sunday.

this is really getting insane.

now i understand why my mother would have a fit whenever the food is at the table and no one’s taking their places.

the deed is done

with 7 days still on the doomsday clock, i finally sent in my palanca entry and is now hoping for the best. or at worst, to forget the damned thing.

as with some philippine publications, the peeps at the palanca are none the more professional – not a squeak when i submitted through the email when the site went down through lack of renewal at the domain registry (how very third world, the lack of renewal and the .ph extension).

so i sent it again when the site came up and now at least i have proof – although the required fields differ from the ones on the rules (file names and such). well, with nearing its 50th year, they might at some point know what they’re doing.

time for breakfast. and enjoy the sunshine.

films for the weather

winter just made a u-turn, i think.

outside, it is gloomy and windy and cold. looks like just before a storm unleashes hell.

on the screen is *the hurt locker*, probably the hugest kick-ass movie about the iraq war. the kind of movie marci and i will talk about while nursing our gouts (knock on wood) or waiting for zir at the couch to clear a pitch campaign at 4 AM.

if the weather continues tomorrow, i’ll be watching these over sinigang:

this, i just stumbled upon at blockbuster while looking for this film, which i missed at the cinema last year:

spring into summer already!

meme

i’ve just consumed a bottle of wine, a schlong of kelbasa, gods know how many pounds of cheese, and now on a bottle of beer while playing mr. big. this is what i do when i hit the end of a story. i’m thinking maybe it’s time for a meme. the shit that i’m too insecure to post on facebook. there are no numbers and shit, just stuff that would make it worthy on the cut.

 

ALCOHOL:

1. san mig pale 

2. jack on ice

3. jack on coke

4. cabernet sauvignon (pretentious. but in new york, there are times when this is all i can afford, trust me)

5. gin bilog/bulag

 

FOOD:

1. pinoy (tulingan and samaral)

2. thai (green papaya salad)

3. japanese

 

MUSIC:

1. metal (as long as it’s not “nu”)

2. goth (from *this mortal coil* to *mors syphilitca*)

3. glam (take me back to paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty…)

 

TV:

1. the deadliest catch

2. all shows by bourdain

3. fringe (as of now…this will wander off like a godsdamn blind man)

4. six feet under

 

FILM:

1. the crow (it can’t rain all the time)

2. almost famous (he’s taking notes with his eyes!)

3. 10 things i hate about you (don’t let anybody tell you different)

4. let the right one in (i’m not a girl)

5. all films by yam laranas – if not for story, by production values

 

SONGS:

1. hitherto by cocteau twins

2. saeglopor by sigor rus

3. tl ako sa ‘yo by cinderella (i know, right?)

4. hey dude by the beatles

5. fuel by metallica

6. ave maria by christina england

 

ALBUMS:

1. all albums by the beatles and metallica

2. ten by pearl jam

3. all albums by bamboo

4. the blah by the blah (free beer to anyone who’s got this)

 

SHORT STORIES:

1. heavy set by ray bradbury

2. an end to hunger by china mieville

3. a season of broken dolls by caitlin r kiernan

4. candido’s apocalypse by nick joaquin

5. his mouth will taste of wormwood by poppy z brite

 

BOOKS, FICTION

1.  tales of pain and wonder by caitlin r kiernan

2.  tropical gothic by nick joaquin

3. the scar by china mieville

4. the holy bible 

5. the house of leaves by mark z

6. the anatomist by federico andahazi

 

BOOKS, NON-FICTION

1. story by robert mckee

2. the seven basic plots by christopher booker

3. NYC not for tourists

 

ARTISTS

1. gustave dore

2. juan luna (spoliarium kicks all other paintings in the ass anytime)

3. thirasak thanapanatakul and erik vervroegen and marcelo cerpa and all other advertising art directors – at least they don’t pretend that they are NOT doing it for the fame and the money

 

COLORS

1. black

2. charcoal grey

3. grey

4. maroon

 

BATCAVE

1. sa guijo

2. mildred’s – that jewelry store/bar at palanca (only ryan rubillar and bhavna takhur know this)

3. sunny’s living room

4. KGB bar – the only bar in new york where the music is played like a whisper

5. joy’s family living room in the province

 

ACTORS/ACTRESSES

1. giovanni rebischi

2. steve buscemi 

3. paul dano

4. larissa oleynik

5. ellen page (before juno, there was hard candy. remember?)

6. drew barrymore

 

BOOKSTORES:

1. amazon

2. the strand

3. housing works bookstore and cafe @ grosby street

4. borders @ wall street

and then i came to the end

the palanca entry is almost done. one more proofreading and this fucker would be fedexed to manila. i’ll miss submitting in person at the last minute, cramming hard copies and CDs in envelopes and meeting other hopefuls.

the one-pager summary came today, thank be to gods, after a week of agony complete with a weeping and gnashing of teeth. that i used to spit out 30 seconder scripts mocked me in the face everytime i open a word file and attempt to compress 25 pages onto a page. the trick, i think, is to write it like a back cover copy, giving just a glimpse and nothing more. so i did just that, just giving the opening scene and some general directions, hiding the names, the genders, and even the point-of-view from the summary. i hope it works. 

we shall see.

borders found

recently discovered a huge border’s bookstore at wall street. two stories with a cafe. friendly staff and a meticulous arrangement of a wide selection of books that border on the obsessive-compulsive. maybe it’s the proximity to the lairs of bankers that lends it its kept, clean atmosphere. all that’s needed is the smell of disinfectant in the air and the place would be sterile.

found a book of course from the titles in the horror section, the most marginalized shelf in most bookstores.

hunt you down without mercy

the ticket arriveth. section 2 – a floor away from the headbanging crowd at the stage level.

waking up before 10 AM has its rewards.

can’t wait for november.

the summer of zero nine

self-dictated goals before fall comes:

• volunteer at central park

• walk for a cause

• watch shakespeare at the park

• watch a broadway show

• watch an off-broadway show

• start a project that’s nowhere near writing (and get ****)

• start a project that’s all about writing (and get published)

• go to the cemeteries at new orleans

one nation under surveillance

or, god is watching us…so is big brother.

at the church this morning, the closest ever we’ve been to the pulpit and lo and behold, i spy not one, but two cameras in place. these are not the broadcast kinds like at saint patrick’s for the digital broadcasting of the words of the lord but CCTV cams, the one used by our boys in blue, the NYPD, to record crimes in progress.

such a shame, how can priests fondle little boys inside the church?

kid night

kid night tonight and since there are no notable films worthy of spending 12 dolyares on, we are doing it the old-school way.

DVDs of films worth a second look with lots of popcorn, and in my case, copious amount of alcohol.

i’ve volunteered to cook sarsiadong tuna (friday and all and some of joy’s friends are fanatics to rival jihadists, i shit ye not!) and bring *boiler room* for screening. the other title *matchpoint* was rented out at blockbuster (the library is a tricky thing, some days you just can’t get what you want just like jagger sayeth).

tomorrow, more writing as the palanca deadline approaches. but only after taking a chance at exactly 10 AM at ticketmaster.com  to book the metallica ticket because as i’ve found out, these things run out fast only to be resold through other ticket sites for triple the price.

fingers crossed on both to-dos.

finds

maia’s last day and we killed time at union square, ate halal food, and roamed the strand. she bought a gazillion books while i settled for two.

my mind played tricks on me when i saw this book. i imagined that this has already been made into a film. checked today at imbd and apple.com/trailers and found none. this would make a good one. one word: zombieterrorism.

this i learned from last year. one of the readings at KGB bar, the one with my uber idol, caitlin r. kiernan. this dude also read. this is the first time i’ll be reading his novels though.

***

i want to sleep for three days straight before i do the stuff that needs doing. the post-its kept getting thicker. and the oven is cranky as shit.

the media is lying to us

so i did the churvels with that churvels that wasn’t supposed to churvels until may 1, 2009.

it was an ok film. it started with one of the most convenient plot devices that george lucas started and immortalized in the words “i am your father”. wait, there are these peeps named oedipus and electra that them anal loving greeks invented over wine and cheese. 

what’s surprising is the lack of media – traditional media –  coverage. new york times have no mention of the incident. so does avclub.

theory 1: there is a gag order and all these media outfits are having their granny panties in a twist because after all, even if they are the media, they also report to the man.

theory 2: it’s a viral effort. then again the first thing that came to mind was that heath ledger’s death was also a word-of-mouth attempt but it turned out that he is as deader as ever.

we shall see.

meanwhile, who’s doing the nazi policing to get the pirate inside fox?

find

found at the strand for only 6 dollars, about the price of stella on happy hour. first edition, hardbound. small victory.