Oscar winners, Daniel Day-Lewis, Anne Hathaway, Christoph Waltz, and Jennifer Lawrence

PLEASE GRAB A COPY :) !!!

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

MABUHAY !!!

to our very own STEPHANIE RETUYA,

ASIA'S NEXT TOP MODEL, 1ST runner-up

we are very, very proud of you.

This is a good start for the Philippines this year :)

source: http://www.facebook.com/StephanieRetuyaANTM/photos_stream

The Last Frontier: Disabled but Full of Promise

“I have seen everything, everything the Devil did to Bunawan”

The girl with disability, who cannot walk and weaves at the bottom of the forest and field, she is Mindanao- helpless but fighting silently on her disability to walk, always patient and calm amid pervasive wars, humble despite ethnic conflicts, bountiful and rich but struggles in economic starvation, united even if challenged by political instability and lack of opportunity. Walking and waiting for a long time under the glaring sun in the field of uncertainty and doubt. She is Mindanao, the Philippines’ last frontier, disabled but full of promise and hope.

This girl who happened to be the bestfriend of Qiyamah’s main character, is a perfect representation of war-torn Mindanao- having a life-long battle of her disease, paralyzed and disabled, dreaming to become a majorette someday, spinning her own sceptre, showcasing her exotic beauty, proudly and freely.

Young and born from reality, she has told me the synthesis of life in the land of overpowering forces of man and nature, showing the metamorphosis of its people and its quest for freedom and unity, unique to this place. People living in complete harmony and diversity, found elsewhere in the country.

This picturesque scene really captured my heart for how I compare the current situations between economically-prosperous Luzon and deeply-ignored and conflictual Mindanao- one, resting on top, one lying on the ground, left-in through decades of mismanagement and cruelty.

The scene where the protagonist and this little girl were walking in a long rice paddy, leading their way to a resting place, commonly known as pahingahan in rural folklore, in the sea of green meadow. The boy walked fast, overtaking the girl- running, smiling, climbing at the top of the kubo while her pitiful friend was just on the middle of her walk, trying hard to catch up, paddling her saklay spontaneously, moving as fast as she could to join her friend. Left out and tired, the girl hugged one of the bamboo poles constituting the very foundation of the edifice, still managed to smile while looking up her friend on top, both seeing the magnificence of the lush, evergreen expanse. Perhaps, the most dramatic moment I have ever seen in this genre. A timeless portrait, not everybody would be able to interpret the same.

Qiyamah is a story of struggle and faith, revolving around Muslim’s belief on what we know as Doomsday, and the kernel of Mindanao’s situation as a suffering land showcasing the uncertainties of their society. It leaves the audience a lucid glimpse of this place as a feared and devastated state by bread-and-butter issues that when given prior attention and opportunity, may become a land of hope and promise for its people- miles away from how it is projected by most of us.

It’s not appropriate to judge our brothers and sisters in this part of the archipelago. The fact that we are one as a country must also be felt by them. Unity and diversity as proposed by some of our ASEAN neighbors. No matter what, we are all Filipinos, Muslims and Christians, poor and rich- always involved and will always be, in the agenda-setting, and we share common goals, hope that someday, we’ll live in complete equality and prosperity- opportunity to be heard, and time to live harmoniously, regardless of differences and religion, as a nation. Hope that will never be threatened by the issue of the “end of life”.

Mindanao is a girl who walks using one foot, born in scarcity and poverty, shaped by her Islamic views- a witness of crime and reality, dreaming to become somebody someday, trying her very best to walk under the glaring sun amidst hindrances from her disability. Her journey is much longer than her life, but her hope will save her- wish that someday she and her people will also walk freely in “Daang Matuwid”.

off topic

1.)   What made it easy of difficult for you to translate your news for print to a broadcast news for radio?

As a former school broadcaster on radio, I realized that my job, same as that of a newscaster on TV, is way easier than that of a scriptwriter or editor- to write the news to be presented and read to the audience. The fact that it will be casted and heard by a lot of people is one main point that distinguishes radio news writing into writing news for the print media. The entire news, perhaps, will depend on how you will deliver it in your audience, this case, for radio listeners.

            Somehow it is an advantage for being a consistent speaker in our school programs and the experience as a radio broadcaster, way back in an interschool press conference. I had my backgrounds to the different angles in a script, and besides that I am an avid listener of radio news programs. I must say, I know a thing or two in the process of delivering news in radio. Besides that I really prefer broadcasting than journalism and/or writing. J But then again, it’s quite hard to write radio news. This time, with the help of our knowledge and mediums tackled in our lessons.

2.)   What did you realize about radio as a communication medium?

Just like any other forms of communication and media, radio is an avenue of educating people and promoting actions for social change. While newspapers are printed mediums, radio requires voice and many more things in order to be aired and convey people. You use your ability in a live-basis, very different from that of sitting in a comfortable chair in front of your computer, and start composing news for a newspaper, etc. Seated wherever, writing silently, and that’s it- you’ve done your job. So this is our work as DevCom students? We will really be engaged in all forms of media. Apparently, this is not what I really want to do- writing, but it will be worth it in the end. J

The Colonial Experience From A Globally Unique Dance

Even in international stage and foreign-based performers, Philippine dances, with a touch of our rich heritage and history, are being performed with complete passion and devotion, proving how Filipinos are uniquely global and globally unique.

There comes a point in your life that you’ll be totally mesmerized by simple things that will truly affect your life. And watching this one-of-a-kind presentation is no exception. It’ll snatch your attention from the time you sit down until you find yourself applauding to the production team at the end. You’ll hold your breath from the way the lights were projected in a silhouette, the way the actor-performer bends and shouts in front of a totally amazed crowd, and most of all, the way the entire presentation bring you back to the totality of ancientness and history. Trans-continental dance, indeed.

With complete honesty, I was never a fan of theatrical performances simply because I don’t easily get the main point of a presentation, and I seldom watch such. From the beginning I thought the presentation would be some sort of a tribal or cultural dance that would entertain the majority, the rest would prefer criticizing it. I was seated at the very front of the stage, where I’ve seen the over-all performance with ease and satisfaction. And I must say, it was a product of sweat and devotion- of bringing the best of this genre into international audience.

As the show goes on and on, I watched with complete attention and scrutiny although at some point, I got distracted by my own questions throughout the show. If there’s one thing I have to commend for its impact on me, it’s the passion and devotion shown by the sole performer- with complete professionalism for being naked at some time, and his pride for what was he doing on stage. I almost lost my senses when I heard he was raised in Canada more than the years he stayed here in the country, Canadian-born but Filipino in heart and performance. As soon as I learned about it, I felt some guilt in me for I know that I will never be able to present an equally passionate cultural dance, a presentation shouting perfection and oozing with bits of history in my entire life. The way he projects something on stage, everybody would feel nothing but complete amusement and envy- that a simple Filipino couldn’t do better. He still has Filipino blood running in his veins and he must be celebrated for it, I just comforted myself.

Now is my turn to shine. The fact that I was seated in the nearest place for inquiry, I knew it- the opportunity to be heard by hundreds of students who graced the occasion, was a way closer to me. I undoubtedly raised my question amidst the crowd about the staging of the show in my home province, Albay and asked the team about their preparations to hook up the Bicolano taste. Mr. Tolentino quickly responded by saying they have never been in my place so they will really take the opportunity to impress other audiences, including Bicolanos.

The over-all impact on me was about reimagining the past- of Philippine cultural and social landscape, and the ancestry of our race. It was about a call for returning in history and paying attention and importance to its wonders, which many of us, including my very own self, seldom does. The presentation is neither about showcasing some of the Philippines’ celebrated professionals nor flashing the images of our ancestors-it’s simply about us, of taking a quick flashback in our rich culture and identity as a free and as independent people of a resource-rich nation, that we are of international calibre, having some of the best performers and dances, elsewhere in the world.

It may not always seem to be real, but rest assured, every presentation is a product of creative and culturally-centered minds, working together for a well-defined goal-of perfection and appreciation from the viewers, things that were apparently showcased and succeeded by the team of Colonial.

Internationally performed but Filipino-claimed genre- every Filipino should be proud of. Thumbs up!

Unleashing the Reality Beyond News Stories

When I first joined a press conference, I was a news writer in English. Trying to impress my coach, it was my choice for I knew that news writing is way better than writing feature and sports articles, two of my previous categories way back in high school. To make the story quick, I lost and failed to enter the regional level of the competition. That was indeed my very first time to be in the news writing category. I asked myself many times, is it really that hard to make a straight news story that I almost run out of time composing a 2-3 paragraph-paper entry?

I couldn’t help it. In the laboratory, things went just the same as that of a writing competition, but this time, not by being a contest, but a simple exercise that truly took it all- time, words, angles. Scanning the script from our interview to spot a possible and interesting angle for a straight news story, in which may be published in any of the community papers within the LB community, is some sort of a hate-it-or-love-it story. It’s definitely hard to showcase the best angle for a news story, but I must say, it’s pretty harder to find an interesting topic in a very limited scope of an issue. Time may tell how I crafted those ideas, only to find out that they were not suited anymore for a straight news article.

Principles of good and effective writing- hmmm, I am not sure if I had applied these stuffs but I’m pretty sure I consider them whenever I write or compose something. Rules of writing for better outputs and feedbacks- check. Catch and hook readers’ attention, involvement, and relevance- my news is about how a school copes up with K-12 which, perhaps, is a big issue for everybody, check. Proximity and impact- definitely check. Identifying angles for straight news story and organizing details for it- another story, indeed.

Activities from the lab are getting tougher and harder, there’s no more doubt about it. But I found it more challenging and interesting, though. As I went to the front and discuss with the class my proposed plan for my news is one of those activities that I really look forward to. It’s as if you are speaking on behalf of those clusters of words and making everybody see it more than just as a news story.  Another stunning thing to relinquish was on how we came up into something interesting and timely news article that will cater our findings and self-obtained discoveries. It’ glad to realize that beyond the hardships in every activity is the promise of good and satisfying output. It’s really way beyond disappointment and disapproval from our instructor. To realize that we can actually do it ourselves in our own ways is more than just an exercise.

News writing is absolutely the most difficult and challenging part for amateur writers, just like us. It is everybody’s most anticipated part in any forms of publications. But beyond those stories, are of real life adventure and discovery- priceless and worth-remembering. That’s why every single statement is a product of perseverance in making the entire story, uneditorialized and unfeatured- pure reality in which the readers will become both critics and hopefully, prime movers of change and actions.