by alex [*note: I have a bit of a backlog of stuff I want to write about from the past bit, but that will have to wait for the weeks ahead. This weeks been way too busy to get any writing done!] It’s been four and a bit months now and it’s time to go [...]
I’m Back From the Boondocks…
by alex It’s been awhile since I’ve posted I hope everyone is doing well. Yesterday morning I was on a bus back to Manila from the provinces and I felt something I hadn’t felt since I was a kid—carsick. I don’t get carsick, not anymore at least, so for the first while I thought I [...]
If Only I Could Vote…
by alex Nationalism. Democracy. Freedom. These are words. In the Philippines they are important words. Unfortunately more because they are reminders of what Filipinos don’t yet have. [*Current events around this election are perfect example.]
It Might Get Crazy. Real Crazy. Real Soon.
by alex The mood was kinda weird tonight at the house. We have a friend from Kapisanan in Toronto who has been here almost a week, and today his cultural adjustment just hit a major bit of Philippine political reality. We were up talking til three… and then I decided to write this. You see [...]
Principle Photography is Complete—Now What?!?
by alex So Vince and I are done principle photography on our documentary. But we still have two months left on our trip. Now what?
Characters, legends, and imagery here.
by vincent It’s been a while since I posted. I’ve really just been in a place where I’ve been taking everything in. I guess like I said before, it’s interesting to be exposed to various art work and character depictions of Filipinos, that I would never be exposed to if I wasn’t here. [...]
“Why Are You So Dark?”
by alex In a family bathroom I recently found a bar of soap that featured “WHITENING EXTRACTS” (caps theirs), that would apparently “reveal the whiter skin that glows with health.” Later that night Vince was asked “Why are you so dark?” by a well-meaning friend of a friend. Sigh.
Inside Quiapo
by alex This is an unedited vid from a few weeks back. We were with Kuya Maki of the children’s org we did some volunteering with last month and he took us to his families place down a small alleyway off one of the inner streets.
Religion, the Farming Felipe’s, and an Empty Manila Hotel
by alex It was a weekend of contrasts. I’ve been doing alot of contrasts lately. It was a weekend where I saw people beating themselves bloody for Jesus, met my paternal grandfather’s side of the family (who were mostly landless farmers), found out that a distant cousin committed suicide, and then returned to the city [...]
A Cemetery Adventure
by alex It ended with us in interrogation. Apparently they didn’t much appreciate outsiders seeing (let alone shooting photos and vids of) the random bits of human remains just lying about.
