waiting

Manila, PH --

Tropical storm 'Ondoy' has made life uncertain for a lot of Filipino children. Thousands wait in desperation for aid to come to them. Ease their helplessness. Please give what you can.

Donations may be made to the Philippine Red Cross at www.redcross.org.ph or Lomomanila's chipin account lomomanila.chipin.com/lomoaid

give. volunteer. help.

(more photos at lomomanila's flickr page)

a lo-fi summer

summer days - phoenix

Manila, PH -- why, hello global warming! the long, hot summer on these islands has just begun. make that a long, hot, lo-fi summer. here's a preview of the next lofi issue from lomomanila, complete with soundtrack.

so nice (summer samba) - bebel gilberto

feel flows - beach boys

what i wouldn't give right now to watch bebel gilberto live, on the beach, with a cold one in my hand...

* thanks for the lomos + music, sparklemind

in this blue shade

The Huntington, Singapore-- Music for those days when you just have to wallow (but refuse to play anything that wails, drags, or just plain stretches on forever):

1. tears dry on their own - amy winehouse
2. dakota - stereophonics
3. when your mind's made up - glen hansard & marketa irglova
4. if i had eyes - jack johnson

5. feel like a woman - mary j. blige

as amy says, we should just be our own best friends. not f***ourselves in the head with stupid men.

wallowing: check.

*lomo by reese

welcome to your late twenties

Manila, PH -- hello everyone. it's christmas day & i'm trying to recover from the past weekend's late nights. i refuse to believe it's because i'm getting old. i just need to pop some multivitamins.
i literally want to count my blessings so here goes another thank-you list for what i got on my birthday:

1. a pocket calendar
2. rolls of film for my analog soul
3. home-baked apple pie, shared with pepper

lovely ladies

4. 'american psycho' by bret easton ellis (because i "will love the violence")
5. a portuguese phrase book
6. liquor

jan working it

7. cash from the 'rents
8. a nightshirt copy of my old highschool uniform (go st. scho)

dj newbie

9. ivy & bloc party cds from sparklemind (waiting for that other gift...)

10. a graphic tee that says 'i love the '80s' (from my entrepreneur brother -
he just forgot to charge me)

satisfied partygoers

11. a chocolate birthday cake
12. a nice italian dinner courtesy of our favorite bahia native, marcos
13. getting to DJ with jan for a little bit (daft punk, kala & mark farina!)
14. a staple remover (this one i'll always remember)

dj f (or how to actually spin while looking the part)

and so another birthday has come and gone. as that youngblood writer wrote before, a lot of beautiful, absurd & difficult things have come my way. i'm past the quarterlife crisis (paging john mayer) but it seems like i'm just starting.

this year sure has been one big rollercoaster ride... i hope i have enough energy for next year's theme park surprises.

merry christmas, everyone!

* lomos by pepper

lomolokal

Makati, PH -- presenting: team manila vs. lomomanila. the two recently collaborated to open the new team manila store/lomo embassy on jupiter street. it was an interesting night of oohing and ahhing over lomos (on the wall and on sale on the shelves), drinking (too much) stolichnaya and yodeling (thanks to lomo austria's pride, wolfgang). thanks to the team manila folk for the free street food (with matching team manila-clad vendors)!

friday was

the night jan went from digital..

....to analog

cherva with lomo biggie wolfgang

hamming it up for sparklemind

part of the lomo wall with my sampler shot. yay.

Lomos of Chicago

Chicago, IL -- Hey, I miss you girls and boy :). I just got back from a one-week vacay in Chicago (I know, I know, I should try other states). But it's been lonely (and cathartic) the past month that I really needed close friends around me. And since you guys are a thousand miles away, I chose the nearest place where I can find "home".

I just want to share some lomos I took. I'll tell you more about the trip next time. Right now, I really have to study. Aaaaargh....

Btw, I hope someone writes about their trip to Sagada, since some of you vehemently refused to accompany me to that majestic (and magical hehe) place. I have some friends here who would like to see more pictures of the Philippines.

rock the rehas - updated

the erstwhile ehead

Muntinlupa, PH -- i went to jail. and the dawn was there! lomomanila covered rock ed's rock the rehas project two weekends ago at the maximum security prison. props to rock ed, it was an inspired idea to have really good bands give hundreds of inmates a day to rock out.

four documentaries about philippine jails were also premiered that night. you can check them out on oct. 18 (thursday) at saguijo. bands playing include radioactive sago project, mozzie, sound, chillitees, monsterbot, jeepney joyride and possibly juan pablo dream (yay)!

more from The Luneta Rendezvous

Manila, PH -- Vintagey photo huh ? I just can't let this one go. She was like a hungry kid on a grade school excursion. I couldn't keep track of the street food she kept getting her hands on. First it was dirty ice cream, then she was munching on cheese curls, then we ate in a karinderya where she had a cup of noodles. Oh, saw her eating taho as well. She even borrowed money from me to give a couple of kids a free cup! At least she got a little fancy later in the day with ensaymada from Barbara's and dinner at SOMS. I swear, she was channeling a kid on the loose with money to spend on junk food. I guess you girls know her more than I do. Hehe.

When was the last time you went to Luneta ?

Manila, PH -- Yesterday! If you ask me and Reese. Now a certified lomographer with her wonderful Fisheye shots and after infecting the whole island of Bohol with lomo, she tagged along with the rest of lomomanila for a day in the park. Dubbed TLR, (The Luneta Rendezvous) this lomowalk was supposed to be a gathering of TLR users, TLR short for Twin Lens Reflex cameras, those box- like cameras you've probably seen in old movies. There's also one in a 500 peso bill! Go take a look!

You can also ask her the question "When was the last time you were in The Marikina Shoe Expo in Cubao ?" but that's another blog entry altogether. The weekend was like a trip back to memory lane and I was even playing 70's music in the car ( I know, i know! you weren't born yet!) We had a great time. However, the most memorable words I heard was "Parang gusto kong mag drugs!" which Reese delivered while we were listening to Black Sabbath.

Here's a nice photo of how to do lomography in style.
Reese still owes us those Fisheye photos from Bohol and should post it here. And before I forget, Jan needs to tells us about Sydney!

taken

The Fort, Taguig, PH -- Sept 10, Crap Shoot exhibit closing party, Reese and Jan had excuses not to go. Seems a lot of friends are under the weather these days. Even our friend Mutch who was supposed to play in one of the bands called in sick.

Last night was just another Lomomanila organized event, predictably well attended and interesting with the usual fanfare (drunken madness, worship of idols and sexual debauchery). With a record breaking attendance on opening night, this time I was worried with the number of people who will be attending. Not everyone is willing to party till 3 am on a Monday night. The number of band members I had to feed with alcohol was in the area of 50-60 alcoholics in denial. Oh and I even got a professional host, DJ Dylan of Nu 107/Jack TV (and my new Beagle is also named Dylan). At the end of the night, I was break even and had 500 pesos left (after giving the Mag:net crew a generous tip) for a Quick Stomach breakfast. Success!

Here's a list of those who played in order ..

1. Taken by Cars - my current favorite local band obviously, more of them here: http://www.myspace.com/takenbycars

2. Sanity Kit - they played last the last time, I asked them to play for us again

3. Nancy Drool - Mutch was absent, bummer

4. Marty Macfly - back to the future! loads of fun

5. Mercury O.D. - Our friends Anne and Inna showed us they have more talent than just putting on makeup

6. Analog - Annabel Bosch still rocks! remember Elektrikoolaid ?

7. Corporate Lo-fi - everybody went hiphop on the floor! a supergroup of some sort

8. Cambio - Cambio, need I say more ?

9. Head - another girl- fronted rock band, Head will turn heads with a pretty Anne Hyde as vocalist

10. Pasok mga Bwitre - world type music using DIY instruments like bottles of beer, a biscuit can and a water jug! they did a mean cover of Radioactive Sago's Alkohol. We hope to bring them back with the way they played..and, umm, with their pretty manager. Woohoooo!

Crap Shoot

Plug Plug Plug. Lomomanila will be having an exhibit called Crap Shoot. Launch is at Mag:net High Street this coming Monday. Reese has some photos included in the exhibit ! I hope Joy, Ditas and Justine will continue to shoot Lomo so I can have their photos part of the next exhibits. Oh, our dear friend Kate Torralba will be playing that night. A great find, this song "One Thing" will be played by new band Sanity Kit. I think I need one now.

the fountain of wealth

District 12, SINGAPORE-- So the biggest fountain in the world is at Suntec city where I work. Lonely Planet hit the mark when it described it as "the world's largest fountain is not necessarily the world's most tasteful one." As if its magnificent size wasn't enough, if you actually went around the inner core of the fountain thrice, you could make a wish and (surprise) it would come true. Seriously. But that's not my point. Every night at 8pm, the fountain is host to this laser light show. The first time I heard it, I was taken aback by the blaring rock music coming from outside my office windows. Was that an outdoor concert, thumped thumped my heart. As it turns out, it was the start of the light show. From then on, I would hear ten minutes of Hootie, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Sugar Ray and I would know that the show was going on. Anyway, I saw the show for the first time today (yes, I've been working here for 5 months now) and it is utterly disgusting. Think water show at the Bellagio (minus Clooney and the gang gazing out to the fountain) but the water only spurts in one direction (like a broken fire hose) and there are gawdy lights in blue, green and red amidst songs like How to save a life by the Fray. And the best part of it all, you can pay to have an 18m personalised message displayed on the water curtain. "Will you marry me? (but please excuse my lack of taste)" I don't think so.

p.s. there is again no connection between the pictures here and my post. moreover, i don't actually think this post has a point.

More than Meets the Eye

Quezon City, PH -- Okay, okay..I sounded like Optimus Prime but it’s what I thought of the moment I saw my first holga shots. Must be an after-effect from watching Transformers. I’m simply hooked!
This shot was taken at one of my field works in Childhope. This young man has been staying with other kids on a vacant lot. Their small house made up of scraps was demolished the night before I saw him and his friends. Many of them were suffering from pneumonia and skin diseases that most med students will only see in books. No matter how many free medications are given to them, I doubt it if it will work without a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs.

Now I have to PARTIALLY check my “list of things to do”---Learn photography and take good shots! Maybe Bono, Bill, Oprah, Angelina, or better yet, Juan dela Cruz, will see them and be moved. Naks! =)