Wala lang. We were in Dagupan last Friday.

FOPC talk. After all the efforts, we in CAST finished with a little more than 2,000 points ahead of our competing film org. We hated the tensions this silly “rivalry” brought up but nonetheless we were motivated to compete, and we did. And we won. We assured ourselves that we will eventually get the film block, kasi we were ahead of who we thought was our only competitor.

Then came block-bidding day. I was having bad thoughts that maybe our competitor talked with other orgs who were ahead of us to get the film block before we do, but I shrugged those off because I knew we were on our way to end years-old hostilities to start with more diplomatic relationships. They just won’t do that, I thought. I have been talking with some members of the other org already and I’ve been saying that we don’t have any more reason para ipagpatuloy pa ang rivalry/hostility kasi kung anuman ang napag-awayan noon, wala na kaming kinalaman doon. Ayaw man naming isipin, pero hindi namin maiwasang isipin sa CAST na maaring may sabwatang naganap o may koneksyon ito sa kung ano ang nangyari kahapon (read below).

We were just so disappointedly surprised that CommResSoc, a Communication Research organization, suddenly got the film block. This is not a question of whether or not their bid was legitimate, because it was. Pero respeto/delikadesa naman ‘di ba? That’s what’s keeping say for example CAST, from bidding for one of the two Architechture blocks kasi alam naming meron nang dalawang orgs na kukuha ng mga ‘yon (Task Force Arki and Arki Forum). And in the first place, alam naming hindi namin masasagot ang mga tanong ng mga Archi freshies tungkol sa course nila dahil hindi namin sila ka-course. Hindi naman lingid sa kaalaman ng marami na meron nang dalawang film orgs na “nag-aagawan” sa “exlusive rights” para i-facilitate ang kaisa-isang film block. Wala dapat rason ang ibang org na makisangkot pa sa “gulo”.

Sa MCO naman, we got one of the Broadcast Communication blocks. We were planning to get a Speech Communication block too pero CommResSoc got ahead of us again and bid for it ahead of us. Hindi naman ako galit. Nakaka-inis lang kasi ang alam ko nga, last year, MCO didn’t get the sole Communication Research block even if it could, out of respect for CommResSoc because it knew na ibi-bid nila ‘yung Comm Res block.

Anyway, in the end ang nangyari, the Journ blocks went to the Film orgs, the Film block went to a CommRes org, and a Broadcast block went to a Journ org. It is kind of ridiculous talaga.

Fine, so this is not about enticing freshmen to join our respective oranizations. To the blocks we will handle, we will take care of you nonetheless, rest assured. I guess we’ll just set this is as an example of the type of org politics you might encounter once you’re in UP.

[POST-SCRIPT. June 3, 2005] To avoid further misunderstandings or hostilities, let me just say that this was just an intial reaction right after block bidding day, and things have already been talked out and tensions have subsided days after this entry was published. So, I hope nobody uses this to spark new controversies/inter-org quarrels. Peace!

Beijing Bicycle (十七岁的单车) appears to be a contemporary Chinese remake of the Italian neorealist classic The Bicycle Thief. The story is basically the same, except in Beijing Bicycle, you have a much younger protagonist, a countryside boy working as a bicycle delivery guy whose bike got stolen. Like the man in The Bicycle Thief, the boy needed to get his bike back in order to continue working, only in Beijing Bicycle, the boy also had to get it back to avoid paying his company for the lost bicycle. Beijing Bicycle deviates from the ‘original’ when the young Chinese boy eventually found his bike being pedalled by some other guy. The guy was not willing to give up the bike though because he had paid for it already, so they struggle to form some sort of ‘compromise’.

I liked the acting, the lead was really effective and natural in playing the role of a naive and desperate country boy. And following its neorealist predecessor, I liked how it managed to frankly yet discreetly illustrate the social struggles probably prevalent in fast-changing modern China.

My rating: 7.5/10

Set during Mao’s 70’s cultural revolution and beautifully shot in a small Chinese moutain village, Balzac & The Little Chinese Seamstress (Balzac et la Pettite Tailleuse Chinoise) is currently one of my favorite movies. The film is about two friends who are sent to a remote rural mountain village as part of a government program to re-educate sons of bourgeois reactionary parents. There, as part of the ‘curriculum’, they must live with the peasants for a year or so, till the soil with them, chip through the mines, immerse themselves with the plight of the workers, and basically erase all traces of Western or reactionary culture in them. They react with discreet resistance, one of them gets to keep his violin and continues playing Mozart and Beethoven. They continue reading European books. Then things get more complicated when they both fall in love with the local tailor’s granddaughter, to whom they eventually impart their ‘reactionary’ ideas and inspire to think of reaching places beyond the confines of her mountain village.

The film may come of as dull to some, unoriginal with its love triangle element, and un-Chinese with its musical score largely being of Mozart’s composition. I don’t like explaining why I like some movies (like this) despite their being critiqued negatively by some ‘expert’ film critics. For me the film was simply beautiful. The movie’s setting was breathtaking, the cinematography was beautiful, the music was expressive, and the actors were effective, the story was profound. I like it.

My rating: 9/10

Diyos ko naman, sa’n ka ba makakakita (o hindi makakakita for this matter) ng documentary/public affairs program sa telebisyon na kailangang na-screen muna ng gobyerno ang nilalaman nito bago ito makita ng publiko?!

Office of the President of the Philippines
MOVIE & TELEVISION REVIEW & CLASSIFICATION BOARD

MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 07-05

TO : TELEVISION STATION MANAGERS / BLOCKTIMERS / REPRESENTATIVES
FROM : THE MTRCB CHAIRMAN
SUBJECT : PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMS, NEWS DOCUMENTARIES, SOCIO-POLITICAL EDITORIALS, AND THE LIKE

DATE : MAY 17, 2005

We wish to inform you all of the Decision of the Third Division of the Supreme Court dated January 17, 2005, that public affairs programs, news documentaries, socio-political editorials, and all other programs of the same category, are television programs that are subject to MTRCB review and approval in accordance with Section 3 of Presidential Decree 1986.

In view of this, please be advised to submit materials of the aforementioned television programs to the Board for review and approval prior to telecast, effective immediately.

Failure to comply will result in sanctions as provided for in P.D. 1986 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

Please be guided accordingly.

Signed by:
Ma. Consoliza P. Laguardia
Chairman

Cc: RDG/RVB/JBJ/MBV/DAB/VPV/PMI/Local Prod./File

Highlight mine. From the Kontrabusal email group.

La Visa Loca. Para sa mga nalolokang mag-Amerika. Actually, para sa bawat Pilipinong nangangarap umalis ng Pilipinas. It’s really refreshing to see a mainstream Filipino movie like this which tackles a very relevant contemporary issue without coming off as ma-drama or masyadong seryoso or too preachy. What I really like about it is how it managed to deliver its rather patriotic message without losing its entertaining and comic mood. Aliw talaga. Sana ma-appreciate ‘to ng mga manonood beyond the comedy.

I really liked the idea of having the conscience pasyon chorus suddenly entering some scenes singing pasyon-like songs about Jess Huson’s (Robin Padilla) life and his failures in trying to obtain a US visa. The lyrics were profound and yet they don’t kill the comic mood at all. They actually complement each other really well. Actually I found the idea of having the entire movie set during the lenten season (with Jess’ trials in life being patterned after Jesus’) brilliant. Again, without being too serious at all.

…Isasangla ang lahat-lahat
Kapiranggot na yaman niya
Kahit na anong diskarte ay kanyang papasukin
At handang talikuran ang lahat para lang sa pera
Kikitain mo ba sa Pilipinas
Ang p’wede mong i-tae sa labas?…

…Itataya mo ba ang buhay mo
Nang ganyan-ganyan na lang
Para lang manirahan ka sa bayan ng dayuhan?
Sulit ba ang hirap, sulit ba ang sakit,
‘Di mo man lang ba itatanong kung bakit?
Bakit nga ba? Bakit nga ba?

…Ang iyo bang pagluwas
Ay ang paraan ng ‘yong pag-iwas
Sa dagok ng buhay
Ang sagot mo ay pagtakas…

One of my favorite scenes was the one right after Jess “fainted” from his “last sacrifice”, probably out of frustration he had a dream wherein he was the one denying foreigners applying for Filipino visas. It was a glorious reversal of roles feeling. But then, it was just a dream.

My rating: 8.5/10.

This is too much, all these FOPC efforts we are exerting. What makes it worse for me particularly is that two of my beloved organizations are part of the ‘competition’ and not only that, I am an officer in both groups so I had that sense of obligation to do more than others.

Today has probably been my most tiring this summer. It was bagsakan day so all the competing organizations in the FOPC queued up to submit TONS of money-generating JUNK.

I got to school around 9 in the morning. For MCO (Mass Communicators Organization), there were only around 5 to 7 of us working at one time. After tying up bundles upon bundles of newspapers, all sorts of papers and magazines and old books at the Sunken Garden grandstand, we laboriously transported all 500+ KILOS of junk up to Vinzons, which mind you, sits on top of a hill. So for one hour, akyat-panaog kami from the grandstand to Vinzons hill, carrying kilos-heavy bundles of newspapers with each trip. Oh, and let’s remind ourselves, it’s still summertime. The torrid heat made is sooo much worse.

We eventually transported all 500+ kilos of junk up Vinzons. We were all too tired after that. I was too tired so I decided to go home and excuse myself from helping my other organization, CAST (Cinema Arts Society). Unfortunately, CAST was severely undermanned, even more than MCO, so after eating at home, I decided to go back to UP and help CAST.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to do a lot of carrying for CAST. All the junk were settled at one of the Vinzons hill tambayans and I just had to guard over them.

An hour later, it started raining. Oh God, lahat ng junk ng MCO ay nakatiwangwang in open air para mabasa ng ulan. Six lang kaming MCO people ang nandoon, so I had to leave CAST immediately and help MCO save our junk. What took us one hour to transport 500+ kilos from the Sunken Garden up to Vinzons took us ten minutes to hand-transport the same 500+ kilos to the nearest roofed shelter. Adrenalin rush talaga. We had to save our junk from getting soaked in the rain.

It didn’t end there. When it was MCO’s turn to weigh in our junk, there were only five of us remaining, so AGAIN we had to transport all 500+ kilos of junk from the roofed sheds to the weighing area. Even with the help of two trolleys, it was torture talaga. (It stopped raining by then, ganyan talaga mang-inis ang ulan, titigil kapag kakatapos lang mamerwisyo).

I can’t believe we’re doing all these just to bid for exclusive rights to “take care” of freshman blocks.

I got home half past six. CAST hadn’t even gone to the weighing area to weigh in our junk. Ginabi na siguro ‘yung mga natira doon.

Actually ngayon tinatamad na ‘kong mag-type pa. Pagod na ‘ko because of MCO, down rin ang spirits namin sa CAST dahil ang daming dyaryo ng “rival” org namin. Haay nako. Talaga, ayoko na. Hindi na ‘ko makiki-involve masyado sa FOPC next year.

MCO Sem-planning
MCO officers had a sem-planning session last Wednesday at McDo Philcoa. (Being a team director, I was there). Five hours spent mostly just eating and chatting. But we did get to talk about all our plans. It appears like it’s going to be hectic and all, but I know we can accomplish everything.

So, tour guide ba ako
I didn’t have plans yesterday so after dropping off my PET bottles, and newspaper bundle at Brent’s place for yesterday’s FOPC bagsakan, I went along with Mama dropping off supplies at her stores. First we went to Manila then to Sta. Maria then back home.

Along the way Mama mentioned that she hadn’t ridden the LRT 2 yet. So I told her, why don’t we go to Cubao that day through the LRT. Anyway, commuting by the LRT is such a hassle when you have a vehicle in the first place. Why don’t we just go to Cubao with the car? But for the sake of my mom’s first LRT ride, it was alright.

So we got off at Gateway and walked around. I bumped into Raf, a high school classmate. I regret not staying longer to talk with him since I was with Mama. While walking I also saw some familiar faces, I think they were some of the 500 other high school batchmates I never got to know personally. Suddenly I reminisced about high school. Haha.

Star Wars o Bikini Open
So Mama and I were in Gateway and the plan was to watch a movie. It was Star Wars III opening and my mom suggested that we watch it together with the throngs of other people catching it on first day. I said I didn’t want to. In the first place, I’m not a Star Wars fan, and I’m not going to watch a movie just because everybody else would have done so. If it was for free (or on pirated DVD, haha), then sure why not. Gusto ko sana Bikini Open na lang eh, but I was not about to ask my mom to watch it with me. Some other time, I guess. It’s more economical/patriotic than hormonal, really. I’d rather spend my disposable income as a local expenditure (by watching Bikini Open) than contribute to outward foreign payments by the Philippines (by watching Star Wars). Haha. Don’t take me seriously.

But really, hindi lang talaga ako mahilig sa Star Wars and I can live without ever seeing Episode III.

So we decided to eat at the food court. After that, we went back to Katipunan, walked from the station to the car, then proceeded home.