thank you maia

so i’m doing some gunning for hire at maia’s shop. mostly print and posters and advertorials that require 3 or less studies, something that can be done while watching “glee”.

they’re happy.

i’m happy.

and with the moolah that is fair for the exchange, i can buy some stuff with what remains after i give it to my wife (every bit helps when one is trying to find a ticket to manila this december).

what i buy is mostly beer and books.

and then i decided to do some vanity shopping.

the first one is a cheap-ass military watch.

smith&wesson. how military can you get?

matte black dial and bezel. the only color that makes sense for me.

black canvas straps. interchangeable with 2 other colors: fatigue and khaki.

this unnerved me at first. and then i googled military watch straps and found out that this strap is known as the NATO strap. very world war 2. this really makes sense the way the strap is one continuous thingy and just inserted at the watch’ lug. somewhere, this is discussed at length in a manual of arms.

my third pair of docs. the first made it from my goth phase in college through basic advertising. then i got a replacement from basic to mcann, tbwa, new york. and then after retiring my glasses, i also retired the DMs. now, i have another replacement and am very ready for the winter. and also this halloween.

black greasy, the matte black of leather.

still the same shit even after the brits relinquished the reins to the chinese. i heard that some DMs are from thailand. but then again, isn’t china the new west?

let’s see how long this one will last. year 2020?

* * *

time to bake the words. but first there’s the dishes to be conquered. at least it’s friday, delivery day.

* * *

tomorrow is halloween. we hope to catch “the boondoock saints 2: all saints’ day” before heading to the village parade for more gheyness.

so here’s a thought from the crow soundtrack: it can’t rain all the time/the sky won’t fall forever.

happy halloween.

october weather

i took a walk to the park to not to feel romantic by my lonesome self but to clear my head about things that need to be written. i brought a book and the iPhone of course, set on flight mode. and it’s not trio los panchos on the headphones but helmet (played very low) and sun o))) (played very loud).

the first thing i have noticed is that there is no point of denying it. fall has arrived and will leave very soon. trees are dying and shedding their leaves in the fall palette of autumn. the grass is still green as are some resilient trees but mostly, the park is covered with brittle leaves.

there were a couple of newly weds for their post-nuptial shoots (both asian couples), one amateur film shoot (no director’s chair), one professional film shoot (a director chair plus the RVs and shit), two family portraits photo shoots (girl photog), and three fashion shoots (gay photogs).

there were no more games at the great lawn nor where there P.E. classes. the jogging path has been cordoned off for the upcoming annual NYC marathon.

only a few squirrels were gathering their stash. there were still lots of dogs though. as well as tourists.

i somehow managed to find a spot under the sun and was able to read a couple of short stories which, while extremely good, did nothing for my current plotting problem.

so i walked some more and took some pics.

tonight, the agony of the blank piece of paper and red pen. time for wrestling. i promised myself not to do this before the 15th but fuck it, the itch needs to be scratched.

 

it’s time for anne rice

this hit the bookshelves today. i rushed to the library website and reserved a copy and managed to be the 10th on the queue. not bad.

after passing on her work aside from the witches and the vampires, i think it’s time to read rice again.

let’s get the war between the mormons and catholics going.

the shortened days

in 5 days, daylight saving times will take effect, making official the unnerving phenomenon of late sunrises and early sunsets. it is 7.14 ayem and the sun is still hiding. it also does not help that god’s little demons are having a pissing contest to end all pissing contests. at least, the temperatura is at the 50s. i can still survive on a hoodie.

* * *

i’ve created a folder entitled “stories 2010″ with subfolders inside, and inside these, empty documents save for one-sentence idea lists. the time to let it rip is on the 16th of november. the day after the metallica concert.  before that date, nothing else matters. except maybe halloween, as if everyday isn’t halloween.

* * *

i hurt my right hand’s dirty finger as i did the laundry yesterday. the fingernail is 50 percent black and blue and the tip is throbbing like hell. there is a very slight swelling but at least the joint is OK (at least i hope so, there is neither a crack nor a dislocation when the laundry door slammed it). this is partly my fault and partly my neighbor’s – the cute one with a dog named maya –  who decided to do small talk. believe me, small talk over laundry is very different from small talk at the subway, the deli, the cafe. it is beyond beyond.

* * *

facebook fuckery. i always check out stati (the plural of status?) messages and and always get a kick out of cretinous comments. like: status – dante: wants more ink. comment: just came from office warehouse. status: jimmo: hates summer. comment: have you seen the movie 5oo days? whoever: is sick. comment: of what? facebook is now becoming an epidemic that it should come with a mental health warning. finally, the american fuckers have outdid themselves. i used to think that boy abunda and kris aquino are the only ones responsible for the dumbing down of the masses (of which i certainly belong). now it looks like the throne belongs to the fuckers at facebook. let’s go unleash the pixelated kraken!

addendum:

i used to think that the pictures of chicks in bikinis sipping their watered down vodka in boracay (always termed as bora, wtf? does it sound cooler, eh?) are the things that screws with my brain. it turns out that it is the stati messages. always. from people who are STILL using “epic”, “fail”, “awesome”, and “douche-whatever” in the year of the lord 2009. lords.

my inner geek

who needs an “S” on one’s chest when one could get an iron man on one’s cajones?

not only am i the king of the world, now, i am invincible.

magic and all that jazz

lev grossman’s “the magician” another novel that would kick harry potter in his well-sodomized ass, is one of those books that is best read when everyone is asleep. the magic of words.

“mind the gap” a collab between tim lebbon and christopher golden features a character named jazz who fell between the cracks of the london underground. all i know is that this isn’t going to be your garden-variety neverwhere.

and there’s louis maistros’ tome, peddled as his first novel (not, there’s “the big punch”) titled “the sound of building coffins” about new orleans during the period of the invention of jazz. there are curses and coffins, of course, and some real magic called vodou. can’t wait.

one of the best of the year

after “deadgirl”, this is fucking it.

oh, there’s also “pontypool”, ye doubters of the power of words.

live readings

maybe it’s time for KGB bar. it has been ages since i set foot in that red room.

tomorrow is fantastic fiction where michael cisco, the author that nobody has ever read, will be reading. two books (that maia bought for me during her trip, lords, the universe might really have a sense of humor) that were my plane reading two years ago on the way to nueva york is still with me and if weather permits, i might get them signed. baltica beer, here i come.

and on the 27ht, 3 days before halloween–as if everyday isn’t halloween–the anthology “lovecraft unbound” will be launched at a SoHo gallery. my favorite lesbian writer will be there to read her contribution to the collection. i hope to have her latest book, “the red tree” signed as well. if only i brought all of her books. all. of. her. books. that’s how much i worship her. this is one regret i have to live with. never mind that most of it were already signed due to a small press promo to generate more moolah (i remember paying over 50 dolyares for her first ever novel. it came signed and hardbound, but without my name). i need to make both readings small victories.

itchin’

the sun is shining today thank gods. it somehow takes the weirdness of seeing green leaves away. and in the comfort of being indoors in a fleece jacket and woolen sweat pants, i could almost forget that winter is just around the corner.

halfway into stephen king’s “just after sunset” and then it would be lev grossman’s (the only person, IMHO, that makes time magazine worthwhile) “the magicians”.

the itch to open a blank document continues but i promised myself not to touch it until all unread books are read or november 15 arrives, whichever comes first.

meanwhile, there’s some gun-for-hire writing to attend to. more money means more booze. and we all know what a drink it hand would mean during winter.

weathered

the cold continues its assault with its incestuous sister, the wind.

half the people in the neighborhood has been wearing winter gear. gloves, beanies, scarves and boots. and, i’m not making this shit up, ear mufflers.

i’m still on my hoodie and rubber shoes.

right now, the plan is to stay indoors and find some summer pics and print them via aperture and hang the fuckers on the wall.

there’s not much to do but hope.

the weather sites say that wednesday might bring the sun and the temp just might climb up to the 50s.

meanwhile, looking at bermuda and rhode island pics are small victories.

empty bottles and equally empty pages

the weather is not helping. 28 degrees of real feel without the wind. yet. and this weekend, it’s about to get worse as rain will be descending. everything is gray.

sunny and rica just left, taking the summer with them. two weeks filled with broadway and food and alcohol and shopping (at least for them) and there’s the unforgettable fire that is U2 (which i saw for free because they are the bestest of friends) and now it’s me and the empty bottles and the equally empty pages. i wanted to spend the rest of my summer, what everyone calls fall, reading and drinking outside except that winter basically crashed the party with the cold and the wind and the flurry of flakes in the early morning. it’s too early for long coats and doc martens and layered shirts. it’s also too early to create a folder and label it “fiction 2010″. and gods of gods, there’s the unfinished novel.

i feel awful. thank gods for the empty bottle of wine. a sip and i know i’ll be crying like a girl.

maia just called to say goodbye to sunny and rica. she missed by around 5 minutes but it’s good to know that the sun is up at her side of the universe.

i need to sleep and maintain some semblance of domesticity. laundry and dishes and cooking dinner.

the unread books, about a dozen of them, awaits. that will be the goal for the next few weeks until the next guests arrive. and i hope the sun comes too.

now more than ever, i am very grateful to my wife, who, aside from being very cool about the whole thing, got me into this city in the first place.

mastodons

if ever any other piece of writing gets printed and requires an author photo, i am so ready, with two to choose from.

(shot by rica l. yulo)

(shot by sunny lucero)

Nothing could go wrong today

One of the rareties where the day started perfectly and ended the same way.

We scored tickets to “a steady rain” without any hassle. Got myself two books i have been hunting for the longest time-a phenomenon these days as i’m a library patron-after having beer at bryant park.

In the end, the play was brilliant. Sunny and Rica, by the principle of divide and conquer and the inevitable learning curve, were able to get shots of daniel craig and hugh jackman unlike what happened with jude law.

I hope the play gets a tony next year.

sublime

that’s the one and the only word to describe “hamlet” portrayed by jude law.

aside from the gazillion english expressions that were birthed by that play, i even rediscovered the phrases “tears seven times salt” and “a dream itself is but a shadow”.

the art direction and the production and of course, the acting, were superb.

and did i tell you that he has no alternate and that he is doing both matinee and gala six times a week?

ibang level.

us 3

tampa was hot. hotter than manila if one factors in the humidity.

first night, rica’s friends treated us to a steak dinner and some sangria, which made a good pair and then me and sunny beered and slept and then waffled the morning after.

we had the presence of mind as only a good night’s rest can give to do a recon of the stadium, home of the tampa buchaneers.

and then the waiting began to rival pilipino time. the most that i could do is to control my breathing to avoid collapsing. thankfully, there’s beer as soon as the gates opened.

U2 proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime event and just like sunny missing portia, i really wish joy was there.

i cried when “one” was played.

the last night was spent on more beer and wine and doritos and cash cab and i read sunny’s esquire in the bathroom with what was left of the bottle of wine for about until 4 ayem. i fell in love with their fiction and their articles all over again though i am not sure the editorial board was given an overhaul – there wasn’t even a hint that they attempted to do a GQ way back before the year 2000. it’s time to subscribe.

tonight, a jazz club and maybe a strip bar.

i hope my 20 dollars multiply. but it all depends on rica.

quick bytes

• at&t OK’d VOIP for the iPhone. it seems that mobile airtime will be come free way ahead of the internet.

• nothing like a quick cynicism check to be happier. there are still people who have never been hurt. and then there are those who have been fucked and kicked in the teeth but refuses to make whatever has happened as an excuse to be evil.

• can’t wait for “hamlet”.

• can’t wait for U2.

• loved god of “carnage”.

Untitled pics

Augmented Reality

Scenes from the iPhone as I checked out the neighborhood.

10 years ago this would have been a sci-fi idea.