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Showing posts with label valentines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label valentines. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2026
happy valentine's!
Saturday, February 13, 2016
family comes first
Joy and not duty. Contentment and not perfection. I believe these are the few core ideals that constitute the many variations of love, especially when it comes to family. That is why on pre-Valentines night, I met my mother, some of my siblings, and pamangkins. We spend each other’s company over good food and funny stories. Finding love this February is as simple as going back to your roots. There’s no hurting this time.
Thursday, February 07, 2013
original judgment
I’ll write you a poem
that praises you so well
it’ll glow in the dark.
—from “Cliff Top, East Coast,” Norman MacCaig
You and I are made
To judge each other:
Your lips are unbeautiful,
Away from mine.
And you would say,
Your face is no light
Without my sun of a heart,
One that will make you
Glow, burn restless
Like ember. I will hate you
For this, hate you
Like arrows, points sleek
Dug deep in targets
Crimson red and round.
I could say that everything
Of you is a wilted petal,
A disappointment
To the promise of blossoms.
You could hate me next,
Bring fire and brimstone
To the filth of my words.
But I could not muster
The strength of stones
To break us apart.
Because, still, you and I
Are made to judge each other:
You do not deserve this.
You deserve neither praise
Nor poem but a truth like love
That cries and glimmers for you.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
mandatory post-valentine blog entry
This is not supposed to be an obligatory post, especially about that date when bouquets of flowers are much more expensive than my workday lunch, but seeing that I haven’t written anything in here for a long time I might as well get into the fair.
If there’s anything significant on the 14th of February, it is simply the fact that it follows my father’s birthday. He’s turned 56 today. And on the fourteenth itself, it is also the birthday of someone I know who I’ve tagged along with to participate in a college Valentine songwriting competition three years ago only to fail right at the very start of the screening period. Aside from these, there’s nothing else I could think of.
I am neither dense nor jaded not to notice its sugary presence with Hallmark messages crisscrossing the country (or all over the world), or tearjerker primetime telenovelas raking up ratings from the masa with their supposed universal theme, or endless songs of lost and newfound love serenading many jeepneys. Heck, it is even linked to “Up to 70% Off” mall sales and discount packages in hotels (and motels).
My nonchalance to the whole festivity is a—hold your breath for the coming word—choice.
Yes, it is my choice not to entertain sudden appearances of “attic acquaintances” (people casually linked to your social web for a while then left in a corner for good out of ennui) in my inbox, unanswered calls and messages in my phone, or even seedlings of short talks in some gatherings. Someone might call me lackluster, or even conceited, but I guess I am through with those things. For me, they are like rain in a sunny morning; they are arresting at first and instantly draining next.
As the last ray of light from the sun took its last wave yesterday in the horizon, I left the open window and went downstairs to watch Simpsons. It was just another day, only a little bit different because many people were just too caught up with Cupid’s consumerism. As to how an acquaintance puts it, the 14th of February might as well be Singlehood Awareness Day.
I know what I’ve said may paint a bad picture of me but, I like to share, I still keep them coming: the appearances, the messages, the calls, the short talks.
No harm’s done anyway.
If there’s anything significant on the 14th of February, it is simply the fact that it follows my father’s birthday. He’s turned 56 today. And on the fourteenth itself, it is also the birthday of someone I know who I’ve tagged along with to participate in a college Valentine songwriting competition three years ago only to fail right at the very start of the screening period. Aside from these, there’s nothing else I could think of.
I am neither dense nor jaded not to notice its sugary presence with Hallmark messages crisscrossing the country (or all over the world), or tearjerker primetime telenovelas raking up ratings from the masa with their supposed universal theme, or endless songs of lost and newfound love serenading many jeepneys. Heck, it is even linked to “Up to 70% Off” mall sales and discount packages in hotels (and motels).
My nonchalance to the whole festivity is a—hold your breath for the coming word—choice.
Yes, it is my choice not to entertain sudden appearances of “attic acquaintances” (people casually linked to your social web for a while then left in a corner for good out of ennui) in my inbox, unanswered calls and messages in my phone, or even seedlings of short talks in some gatherings. Someone might call me lackluster, or even conceited, but I guess I am through with those things. For me, they are like rain in a sunny morning; they are arresting at first and instantly draining next.
As the last ray of light from the sun took its last wave yesterday in the horizon, I left the open window and went downstairs to watch Simpsons. It was just another day, only a little bit different because many people were just too caught up with Cupid’s consumerism. As to how an acquaintance puts it, the 14th of February might as well be Singlehood Awareness Day.
I know what I’ve said may paint a bad picture of me but, I like to share, I still keep them coming: the appearances, the messages, the calls, the short talks.
No harm’s done anyway.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
some similarities
It sure is funny seeing these two giant magazines having the same (well, not exactly the same) concept and theme for their covers. Perhaps love makes us all think sympathetically alike. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun reading them especially Reader’s Digest article, “What They Did For Love”; and Time magazine's "Why We Love" by Jeffrey Kluger and "Are Gay Relationships Different?" by John Cloud.
_______________________________________________________
Sunday, February 10, 2008
strange coincidence
Heart
A heart
can only be a heart
if it knows
how to maintain
the blood that lives to it
and let go
of the same fluid
when needed
or when it is ineffective.
Anytime.
It must accept that
it can never keep
anything
that enters into its
walls perpetually.
-written last Feb. 14, 2007 (2:24pm)
I made this poem last year, on the month of February. Well, I just made it up for the sake of flowing along with the whimsicalities of the season, the sweet-nonsense flittering in the air. That was it—no more, no less. It must be the loss of the “advantage” of not having someone to celebrate the date with that I suddenly came up with this poem but, nevertheless, it was a fair work. But upon further studying this work today, as I stumbled on this old post when I scanned this blog, I just realized I must be a seer. Right now, I have to fully internalize that the heart “can never keep anything that enters into its walls perpetually.”
Yes, I do believe that pain is inevitable and misery is only optional but how do you determine which is which when everything in you is so blurred? As of the moment, I am still looking forward to that day when smiles are supposedly meant to be used for its appropriate purpose. Advance Valentines, everyone.
_______________________________________________________
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
the vsc and beyond
-due to some circumstances, this article should have been posted last last week
The Valentines Songwriting competition (VSC) in the 1990s was held at the Guy Hall’s music sala, with only a grand piano for accompaniment. The winner then was given a Php300 prize.
VSC’s humble beginnings pale in contrast to these past few years’ excellently extravagant preparations: the Luce Auditorium, the band and back-up singers, the outfits.
The dream just keeps getting better and better as the VSC sticks to its commitment to discover and showcase new talents, celebrating the universality of music. The entries were certainly testaments of how musically inclined we are.
Raul Navarro, chairperson for conducting at the University of the Philippines School of Music and chair of the board of judges in the February 13 VSC, commented, “It confirms that the Filipinos are very creative and musical, and that we are up to par with international standards.” He further stressed, “It also shows that we are good in interpreting the song, not just [composing it.]”
“To improve this competition for the coming years, I think the marketing strategy of the event should be much well-planned. Hopefully, a lot would join next year,” Navarro said.
This year, the song that bagged first prize was “Solace,” from mass communication junior Primy Joy Cane. The song pertained to her angst when her parents separated, and her finding comfort and assurance in her boyfriend. It was a quick favorite of a giggling crowd that night.
“I am very thankful to my boyfriend for being my solace at that time,” she said before her winning performance.
However, the chance for Sillimanians to express romantic odes didn’t come at an easy price.
The competition itself has had its own share of angst through its entire history. The years 2003 and 2004 left excited would-be participants with their hopes swirling down with the last note.
“The Sigma Mu Lambda, which organizes the VSC, during that time weren’t able to come up with a concrete goal to maintain working on the competition,” said Sigma Mu Lambda adviser Jomar Abrio. Apparently, one of the reasons production was halted in those years was that the student body didn’t work well together for it.
“Another reason for its sudden halt was the dissemination processes. There was a time when the extended deadline came; there were only six to eight entries. There was a unanimous decision not to continue with it,” Abrio added.
When it comes to future VSCs, Abrio suggested that maybe they could tap the university’s student government.
With the SG’s extensively influential arm it could reach more and more students in the campus, especially with the Council of Student Organizations.
“The music is definitely star quality and this must be the reasons for its staying power. I am sure record companies would find the songs appealing enough to mass produce,” said Noel Vallente, a mass communication junior and a disc jockey of the radio station Killerbee. “To gain more appeal to the public, the committee should hold promotional tours, let’s say, for a cause.”
Moreover, tWS writer and 2nd-runner up “Dreams” co-composer Aiken Emmanuel Quipot said that VSC could also increase its level of participation from the community.
“I would be very glad to know if COPA would open the VSC to the Dumaguete community. With this, Silliman can build relationship between other schools in the city,” Quipot expressed. “It could provide an avenue for musically-inclined students, not only Sillimanians, to share their talents.”
Learning from the lessons of the past, it’s all uphill from here for the VSC.
VSC’s humble beginnings pale in contrast to these past few years’ excellently extravagant preparations: the Luce Auditorium, the band and back-up singers, the outfits.
The dream just keeps getting better and better as the VSC sticks to its commitment to discover and showcase new talents, celebrating the universality of music. The entries were certainly testaments of how musically inclined we are.
Raul Navarro, chairperson for conducting at the University of the Philippines School of Music and chair of the board of judges in the February 13 VSC, commented, “It confirms that the Filipinos are very creative and musical, and that we are up to par with international standards.” He further stressed, “It also shows that we are good in interpreting the song, not just [composing it.]”
“To improve this competition for the coming years, I think the marketing strategy of the event should be much well-planned. Hopefully, a lot would join next year,” Navarro said.
This year, the song that bagged first prize was “Solace,” from mass communication junior Primy Joy Cane. The song pertained to her angst when her parents separated, and her finding comfort and assurance in her boyfriend. It was a quick favorite of a giggling crowd that night.
“I am very thankful to my boyfriend for being my solace at that time,” she said before her winning performance.
However, the chance for Sillimanians to express romantic odes didn’t come at an easy price.
The competition itself has had its own share of angst through its entire history. The years 2003 and 2004 left excited would-be participants with their hopes swirling down with the last note.
“The Sigma Mu Lambda, which organizes the VSC, during that time weren’t able to come up with a concrete goal to maintain working on the competition,” said Sigma Mu Lambda adviser Jomar Abrio. Apparently, one of the reasons production was halted in those years was that the student body didn’t work well together for it.
“Another reason for its sudden halt was the dissemination processes. There was a time when the extended deadline came; there were only six to eight entries. There was a unanimous decision not to continue with it,” Abrio added.
When it comes to future VSCs, Abrio suggested that maybe they could tap the university’s student government.
With the SG’s extensively influential arm it could reach more and more students in the campus, especially with the Council of Student Organizations.
“The music is definitely star quality and this must be the reasons for its staying power. I am sure record companies would find the songs appealing enough to mass produce,” said Noel Vallente, a mass communication junior and a disc jockey of the radio station Killerbee. “To gain more appeal to the public, the committee should hold promotional tours, let’s say, for a cause.”
Moreover, tWS writer and 2nd-runner up “Dreams” co-composer Aiken Emmanuel Quipot said that VSC could also increase its level of participation from the community.
“I would be very glad to know if COPA would open the VSC to the Dumaguete community. With this, Silliman can build relationship between other schools in the city,” Quipot expressed. “It could provide an avenue for musically-inclined students, not only Sillimanians, to share their talents.”
Learning from the lessons of the past, it’s all uphill from here for the VSC.
(photos taken by Leon Medado)
Friday, February 16, 2007
vessels of love
It is the month of February and obviously red will be splashed all across business establishments, shirts, and even food! Aside from the overly rated color, couples stick together and flaunt to all people who are deprived of being bitten by the love bug; smooching and caressing for the world to see how loved each other are.People will express, distress, and exhaust passiveness in this occasion—and I choose the latter. There’s nothing wrong with it anyway, as long as the mind, body, and soul is intact, my day should go on.
Yet, this said occasion I did not mind in totality of course. In lieu with the month of hearts, Silliman University Campus Ambassadors together with the Weekly Sillimanian organized a camera-photo competition with the theme: “Sillimanians: Vessels of Love.”
Out of absolute boredom—fortunately with a new phone at hand—we went to Quezon Park in the last weekend of January and there I found the perfect subject for my photo.
And in the following weeks, the winner is announced, published in February 14 issue of the Weekly Sillimanian.
I won! Not that the competition had great prizes in store for me but, huh, I won!
Rodrigo insisted that he took this picture—nah, it is me Dirgy! It’s mine! Ha ha ha. And by the way Claudine, where are my rewards?
Rodrigo insisted that he took this picture—nah, it is me Dirgy! It’s mine! Ha ha ha. And by the way Claudine, where are my rewards?
Thursday, February 15, 2007
losing the fairytale touch?
Could it be true that our first major encounter with “happily ever after” started when Aladdin and Jasmine flew on a magic carpet?
We look at our peers and see that they have this idea of what romantic love should be. Some rebel from it; some don’t. But in one way or another, fairytales have unknowingly modified our ideal version of couples and relationships.
Each fairytale is singularly unique the whole world over. Their only similarity is they hope to teach valuable lessons through entertaining others, mostly kids, as they employ the oh-so-familiar plot. The heroine with stupefying beauty is introduced, and antagonists set up a living hell for her. Prince charming comes to the rescue, and they live happily ever after. Colors burst as love blooms to the merry chirping of birds. Dreamy? Or sickeningly cliché?
Whatever it is, we still ask: where did the fairytales go? When did our kindergarten, fanciful bedtime stories take on a good-versus-evil leave?
Lately, we’ve been enjoying the likes of “Shrek” and “Hoodwink”, which merely lampoon the fairytales we’ve grown up with. We wonder if the classical and the traditional have lost that magic touch, and are unable to touch hearts in today’s world.
“Fairytales are for kids. That’s why they mostly have happy endings,” said nursing sophomore Luther Ocampos. “And in order to gain appeal to the mature audience, varieties were made to suit the changing preference of the populace.”
In fact, according to www.imdb.com, “Beauty and the Beast” was the last hand-drawn fairytale Disney animation. Released in 1991, it was the first, and so far the only, animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Belle descended from a line of princesses that could be traced all the way back to Snow White in 1937. Do the math and you’ll find that Snow White’s 70th anniversary is actually this year.
“Whenever the guy rescues the damsel in distress, it’s obvious that they would end up living together forever. Fairytales may be old, but they are still charismatic,” said Fiona Jade Lim, an entrepreneurship sophomore.
Www.wikipedia.com traces these stories’ origins to word of mouth, children’s story writer Hans Christian Andersen, and particularly to the Brothers Grimm. In the late 1700s, Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Karl Grimm, rendered fairytales too ghastly and grim, not to mention gruesome, for children. Disney apparently offers distilled versions of these.
And now that being said, with the concept of faraway places with spectral beings possessing remarkable skills and abilities in the midst assisting the handsome prince and the beautiful princess, surely the mind a child wanders to something flattering and lovely.
Former tWS features editor Easter Lois Marigza expressed, “Love presented in fairytales is unrealistic. They’re what make people today delusional; these fairytales embed in their heads the notion that there are Prince Charmings and damsels in distress when in fact they don’t exist. Fairytales are not love stories for the young but for the disillusioned.”
Well, we know she is not alone. But for the rest of the hopelessly romantic, go ahead. Make your fairytale Wednesday today. Just watch out for those evil witches and petulant stepsisters in the sidelines.
We look at our peers and see that they have this idea of what romantic love should be. Some rebel from it; some don’t. But in one way or another, fairytales have unknowingly modified our ideal version of couples and relationships.
Each fairytale is singularly unique the whole world over. Their only similarity is they hope to teach valuable lessons through entertaining others, mostly kids, as they employ the oh-so-familiar plot. The heroine with stupefying beauty is introduced, and antagonists set up a living hell for her. Prince charming comes to the rescue, and they live happily ever after. Colors burst as love blooms to the merry chirping of birds. Dreamy? Or sickeningly cliché?
Whatever it is, we still ask: where did the fairytales go? When did our kindergarten, fanciful bedtime stories take on a good-versus-evil leave?
Lately, we’ve been enjoying the likes of “Shrek” and “Hoodwink”, which merely lampoon the fairytales we’ve grown up with. We wonder if the classical and the traditional have lost that magic touch, and are unable to touch hearts in today’s world.
“Fairytales are for kids. That’s why they mostly have happy endings,” said nursing sophomore Luther Ocampos. “And in order to gain appeal to the mature audience, varieties were made to suit the changing preference of the populace.”
In fact, according to www.imdb.com, “Beauty and the Beast” was the last hand-drawn fairytale Disney animation. Released in 1991, it was the first, and so far the only, animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Belle descended from a line of princesses that could be traced all the way back to Snow White in 1937. Do the math and you’ll find that Snow White’s 70th anniversary is actually this year.
“Whenever the guy rescues the damsel in distress, it’s obvious that they would end up living together forever. Fairytales may be old, but they are still charismatic,” said Fiona Jade Lim, an entrepreneurship sophomore.
Www.wikipedia.com traces these stories’ origins to word of mouth, children’s story writer Hans Christian Andersen, and particularly to the Brothers Grimm. In the late 1700s, Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Karl Grimm, rendered fairytales too ghastly and grim, not to mention gruesome, for children. Disney apparently offers distilled versions of these.
And now that being said, with the concept of faraway places with spectral beings possessing remarkable skills and abilities in the midst assisting the handsome prince and the beautiful princess, surely the mind a child wanders to something flattering and lovely.
Former tWS features editor Easter Lois Marigza expressed, “Love presented in fairytales is unrealistic. They’re what make people today delusional; these fairytales embed in their heads the notion that there are Prince Charmings and damsels in distress when in fact they don’t exist. Fairytales are not love stories for the young but for the disillusioned.”
Well, we know she is not alone. But for the rest of the hopelessly romantic, go ahead. Make your fairytale Wednesday today. Just watch out for those evil witches and petulant stepsisters in the sidelines.
Note: In the February 12 Philippine Daily Inquirer issue, Walt Disney animators announced they would bring back the hand-drawn films to the big screen. One wonders what plots Disney can come up with using the traditional 2D approach.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
heart
A heart
can only be a heart
if it knows
how to maintain
the blood that lives to it
and let go
of the same fluid
when needed
or when it is ineffective.
Anytime.
It must accept that
it can never keep
anything
that enters into its
walls perpetually.
_______________________________________________________
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