l b's blog

Tumblr Killed My Vox

It has been an entire lifetime!!!!!!!!

No, it's not Twitter, as I initially feared, that was going to kill my Vox blog. It's Tumblr. =(

I'm not sure if I'd completely deactivate this blog.

In the meantime, Think Less. And Riot!

http://lyndabenedicto.tumblr.com/

Red Nails

Red nails

In Case You're Planning on Dressing Up as Rainbow Brite on Halloween...

Rainbow Brite does not look like how you remember her. Hallmark made her over. See the Hallmark page here.

Rainbow brite 2

Rainbow brite 1

Which brings me to.... Dora!

Dora 2

Dora 1

And yes, Strawberry Shortcake.

Strawberry shortcake 2

Strawberry shortcake 1

Maybe it's just me, but something is lost somewhere somehow.

The Soundtrack

The thing that makes me cringe is a love song that screams, "I am a love song.". I mean, it is love. It's supposed to be sappy. But you can always, turn down the mush factor and not amp it up. You know a cake is sweet. But if you put a ton of sugar in it, it begins to confuses itself with sugar refinery. Sino may gustong kumain ng cake na may isang haciendang asukal, di ba?

Now, I understand why the new Twilight movie has such a great soundtrack. New Moon is a love story. It's supposed to be sappy, even if/ because it involves a vampire (and his clan),  a werewolf (and his pack), and a beautiful girl (and her friends). But you wouldn't want to put a Celine Dion song in it because, well, apart from the fact that she appeals to a different demographic, having her sing about Bella being torn between Edward and Jacob is just too saccharine. (Okay. Perhaps this is the reason I never empathized with Jack and Rose. Because Celine Dion was singing "my heart will go on... and on..")

But. I was never a Twilight fan. So most likely, you won't see me lining up to the theater when New Moon opens.

But. I do like the soundtrack. I liked the soundtrack of the first Twilight movie. It featured "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron&Wine. And Robert Pattinson sings "Never Think" and "Let Me sign". The boy sounds like Ray LaMontagne, I was surprised, which was good.

Listening to the New Moon soundtrack, I can't resolve how they were able to convince Death Cab For Cutie, Thom Yorke, The Killers, St.Vincent & Bon Iver, Sea Wolf, among others, to write songs for the soundtrack. You see, you have a very mainstream, blockbuster movie and your soundtrack features alternative and indie artists (I bet it took some time before these musicians said yes.). Tones down the cheesy, sappy, mushy factor, big time. And the songs still talk about love. Except it's not screaming to your face.

Think of the visuals these lines create:
"Let me give my love to you/Let me take your hand/As we walk in the dimming light/O darling understand/That everything, everything ends" (Meet Me On The Equinox - Death Cab For Cutie.)
Or these:
"Know that when you leave/By blood and by me, you walk like a thief, by blood and by me, and I fall when you leave/So tell me when you hear my heart stop, you're the only one that knows (Possibility - Lykke Li).

But. I doubt people who will sit through the movie gushing and blushing over Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart will notice how eeriely lovely "Hearing Damage" is. They'd be multitasking throughout the movie --- daydreaming they were Edward/Jacob/Bella.

Listen to the soundtrack on the Twilight MySpace page.

The Goverment Does Not Exist

Mathematical theorem: The limit of f(x) as x approaches infinity does not exist.

Philippine government fact: The limit of government inefficiency as disater approaches and strikes does not exist.

One week after making a landfall, typhoon Pepeng is still in the country, devastating the northern part of Luzon. One week. Pepeng rampaged through Cagayan, then the Ilocos Region and then exited to the South China Sea. Another typhoon, Quedan, entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility, and caused a Fujiwara effect, pulling Pepeng back to the northern tip of Luzon. Pepeng rampaged the same provinces on it's way back. This time, weaker winds, more rains, slower movement.

90% of Pangasinan is submerged. Hundreds are feared dead in landslides in Baguio. Most roads impassable. Most houses deep in flood. People stranded on rooftop. People buried in mud.

Isang linggong nasa bansa ang isang bagyo. Dalawang beses sa isang araw nagpapalabas ng advisory ang PAGASA. E bakit nabulaga na naman tayo ng bagyo at baha? Dalawang linggo pa lang ang nakakalipas nang dumaan si Ondoy, di ba?

Question: Is it possible for the government to evacuate people from flood-prone areas BEFORE there is actual flooding? Is it logistically feasible? Is it not logically reasonable?

We keep on reacting. We act only when danger is a few seconds away from staring us at our faces and actually punching us hard.

Bakit hinihintay pa natin na bumaha ng hanggang bewang bago tayo maglikas ng isang bayan gamit ang dalawang rubber boats? Hindi ba mas may sense kung palikasin mo na ang mga tao habang napakalas lang ng ulan at wala pang baha? Kasi nga, wala ka namang gamit na madami At wag ikakatwiran na matigas kasi ang ulo ng mga tao at hindi lilikas. Illustration: Sa isang pamilya, malamang naman palikasin nung tatay yung asawa at anak nya. Nakapagligtas ka na ng 4 na tao, kesa makapag-iwan ng 5 na matatrap sa bubungan ng bahay nila.

National government is caught red-handed with negligence. There is no excuse why they wouldn't know how to be efficient in times like these. Especially since all these years, they have efficiently squandered money to fund lavish trips and dinner overseas.

Kung tambay ka ng internet, sa Facebook at Twitter pa lang, mas epektibo pa ang mga ordinaryong tao sa pagkilos sa gitna ng bagyong Ondoy at Pepeng. Mas mabilis na kumilos - efficiently, effectively.

Times like these, count on Pinoys to deliver. We always do. But. Times like these, the government does not exist. So, go save yourselves, Pinoys. We're on our own.

P.S.
At dahil magaling lang ako dumada, at hindi ako magaling magdrawing, eto. Oo, drawing yan.

Rainbow and sun

Alam Nating Nandito na si Pepeng. Alam Ba Natin Ano Ang Gagawin?

Si Pepeng ay Catergory 5 Supertyphoon. Nasa Eastern Samar na, with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and gustiness of up to 185 kph. Hindi ako metereologist pero yung mga taga-PAGASA, oo.

Kelangan paghandaan ang bagyo. Pero pa'no ba maghanda?

1. Mag-ipon ng Tubig.
Hindi ito ang unang-una mong maiisip pag bumabagyo at pag bumabaha. Pero ito ang pinakakailangan. Pwede kasing di ka kumain pero kelangan mong uminom ng tubig. Kelangan mag-imbak ng malinis at maiinom na tubig. Siguro meron naman tayong mga extrang bote o galon ng mineral water. Mag-imbak kahit isang galon lang. Para kung saka-sakali, may mabibitbit.

2. Flashlight+ battery; Cellphone + extra battery; Transistor + extra battery.
Flashlight - dahil malamang mawawalan ng kuryente at pag inabot ng dilim, lalong mahirap.
Cellphone - para maipaalam mo sa mga dapat makaalam (oo, pati textmates mo) ang kalagayan nyo at pwede mong hingian ng tulong.
Transistor - kasi kelangan mong makinig ng balita. Yung mga batang di mahilig makinig ng AM radio (di katulad ko), maaapreciate nyo to pag may bagyo.
Extrang battery - life-support ng mga battery mo.

3. Alamin ang emergency evacuation plan ng iyong barangay. Eto ang mahirap. Karamihan sa mga barangay natin wala nito. Karamihan sa mga syudad/ munisipyo natin, walang gumagana at maaasahang ganito. Eto na lang. Yung mga kapitbahay na lang. Kung yung mga kalapit bahay mo man lang e may plano kung ano gagawin sa mga emergency na ganito, di nyo na kelangan alalahanin kung kaaway ba ni Barangay Chairman si Mayor.

4. Lumikas lalo na kung nakatira malapit sa ilog/creek/sapa/dam/coasta

l area. Yung mga reservoir, maskedyul ang pagpapapalabas ng tubig, gaano ka daming tubig, at san dadaloy. Halimabawa, ang tubig mula sa Angat Dam, dadaloy sa Bulacan, palabas ng Manila Bay via Hagonoy. Ang La Mesa Dam, dadaloy sa Tullahan River, puntang CAMANAVA, palabas ng Manila Bay. Caliraya Dam, lalabas ng Laguna de Bay. Ngayon, kung sa Kamuning/ Kamias ka nakatira, creek ang kapitbahay mo. At malamang maraming basura yan. At malamang din, aapaw yan. Coastal areas naman, malakas na alon at high tide. Pero alam naman na natin yan, di ba? Pero deadma lang tayo.

5. Wag nang gumalagala pa kung may parating na bagyo. Baka naman gumimik ka pa ha. Tapos pag nastranded ka sa daan o kahit sa loob ng mall, good luck. Alalahanin mong, pati malls mula SM Sta. Mesa hanggang sa The Fort binaha. Kung wala ka rin naman importanteng lakad, sa bahay ka na lang.

Eto pa, multiply ni Julius and Tintin Babao para sa mga tips. Saka eto, emergency preparedness - typhoon, flood, hurricane, tornado, etc. Emergency Preparedness Info

Siyempre kung tambay ka ng internets, alam mo na san hahanapin yang mga tips na yan. Papahanap mo kay Google. Pero pinakaimportante, pray --- kay Jesus, God, Allah, Buddah, Shiva, o kung sino mang divine entity na pinaniniwalaan mo. At oo, sa mga panahong ganito, maniniwala kang may diyos.

Ondoy

What have we learned? Frankly, we never learn.

The rains brought about by typhoon Ondoy yesterday was equivalent to a month's worth of rain. It's convenient to use this as an excuse. While I sit home monitoring the news on AM radio, I can't help but feel really sad for all those affected---those who got stuck in traffic, were trapped in their houses rooftops even, waded or even swam through flooded streets. TV showed people drenched, cold, and scared. And I'm scared too. Everyone seemed helpless.

This disaster is our collective failure. For a country in the tropics, getting typhoons and storms practically all year round, we don't have the slightest idea about disaster preparedness. Worse, we have a government that doesn't have the slightest idea about disaster preparedness and management.

I won't go about blaming anyone. Because that won't do anything good at this time. Because the most important thing right now is for all those who need help get help. Because we can help each other right now by passing on important information, donating, or just simply looking after each other. Because we can all pray. And we do need to pray.

Philippines_trm_2009270

Photo from NASA Earth Observatory"The highest rainfall amounts—more than 600 millimeters (23.6 inches)—appear in blue. The lightest amounts appear in pale green. Gray shading indicates island topography of the Philippines."

 

We can and will survive this. We, Pinoys, are genetically modified to withstand disasters and all sort of calamities, natural or otherwise. But please, let us all learn something.

Spaceboy Blue

Spaceboy blue

Rains

Their Macbooks Wanted to Shut Them Up

What's worse than sitting next to a poser rakista? Sitting right next to poser tech geeks. I swear. Two men in neatly pressed starched shirts seated at the table next to mine were using the free wifi. Gibberish posing as tech talk. Seriously, dudes, using Macbooks won't make you sound any smarted.

Macbooks

To be fair, there were in the cafe first. Clearly, I could've picked a seat six miles away. But bitching about the whole thing will be a bit tedious if I have to recognize speech in noise, even when I do have that skill. Effortless eavesdropping is one of my hidden talents. Besides, with the volume of their voices, you can be at the adjacent Japanese fastfood and still hear them.

What were they talking about? They were troubleshooting each others tech issues, which doesn't sound that tech-y at all. Maybe, I'm an ass, but talking about how many Macbooks you've owned and badmouthing Acer and Sun Broadband does not make you more knowledgable than the average free wi-fi user. Neither do you discuss the specs and sound like you just memorized the manual. And you just don't talk in elevated voice in cono accent when you look 40. Especially when you look 40.

The girl sitting right across me on the other table looked bored and pissed off. The group of girls in another table can barely hear themselves.

I left after gulping down my orange juice. They were still talking. Loudly. I wish their Macbooks would tell them to shut up.