Visit to an Art Gallery

... ONLINE. I've been looking at artworks for the past hour. It's my kind of rest after hours and hours of article-writing slash struggling. I stumbled upon DeviantART and here are my favorites so far.
This is Joker, the archenemy of my hero. I've always loved Joker's character especially when Jack Nicholson played him opposite Michael Keaton in Batman, and I'm such a fan. I actually think I'm Batgirl, only a little less goth. Art by Foursyte. I posted without permission, please don't sue me.
This one's by John Suguitan entitled "Kapitan." It's illegal for a real person to wear the Philippine flag unless it's for a serious cause so I guess it stays on paper (and on screen too for that matter). But doesn't this look great? I've never seen a guy figure wear the flag before. And I also love that look on his face and tatooes on his arm. Very native. The concept is not very Filipino though, but who cares? Define "Filipino" and it would take the most elite intellectuals forever debating.
Darth Maul and Obi-Wan bubbleheads by a guy named Jeff Victor, a non-deviantARTist. I used to visit his blog and in the early days he created Star Wars bubbleheads and then some Batman stuff. Now he covers a broader range - King Kong, 300, Hellboy etc etc.
"Dirty Works" by Foursyte again. Geez, I'm such a guy sometimes. Looky this on close-up. Very well done, like an egg and a steak.ROM Crystal Interior by photographer Sam Javanrouh, from his website A Daily Dose of Imagery. And I tell you, it's an insane dose for daily intake.
Very self-explanatory. I don't have to say why I like this. Look at the detail on this work, and The hair The hair! You the girl, Edith Parra! And I'm the Star Wars fan.
A portrait of Brendan Fraser by JekyYoung. I like the style he used on this, I can't point it out. It looks European - maybe French. But then again, everything looks French to me. Hello to Toulouse Lautrec.
Love Himself, as a young boy. The best ever. Great work, Katerina.

Next time, Batman galore. The best Batman artworks ever. I'm excited.

The Js of My Life

I love my college track and I'm still learning to love it more. But love is more than just feelings. It is conviction. It is sacrifice. It's sticking it out till the end.

J121 aka The Newsroom is pretty exciting. I have one of the top investigative journalists as a teacher, and some of the brightest students in the College as classmates. I'm serious.
First meeting equals a pop quiz on current events and a diagnostic test which requires us to know those bloody copywriting symbols by heart plus a nerve-racking newswriting exercise that made us type as fast as idiots would run after a bunch of chickens plus two events we have to cover, to wit: Jaime V. Ongpin Awards and Gawad Plaridel plus a three-point homework we have to finish by ceaseless searching through a newspaper issue for parts and pieces and labeling all those plus plus plus readings and handouts and online updates. I swear I could swear now.

J195 aka Culture and Entertainment Reporting is not the piece of cake that comes into your mind when you hear it. It's actually a very delicate, very sumptuous, very expensive piece of cake. Okay, so I'm officially exaggerating. But seriously, I should be happy about this course considering my favorite people are with me and ze Prof made us watch The Devil Wears Prada full length in class for motivation.
But I'm not a feature writer. I don't even know if I can still write at all. My last J102 Newswriting class was pretty decent, and so I just have to draw my strength and courage from that. If I did it before, I could do it better this time. And hey, I also ranted like this last semester. Remember this post? "Newswriting is the subject I'm most afraid of. I'm not a newswriter. In that area, I suck like a lachrymose leech. Make me write five sestinas and I'd do it. Make me write a 500-word news story and I'd stare at a black page for five hours."
But in the end, I hit it on pretty okay so I'm hoping to have improved this time.

I love my college track and I'm still learning to love it more. But love is more than just feelings. It is conviction. It is sacrifice. It's sticking it out till the end.

Mean Green Machines

Time.com: Several recent surveys show that workers, especially from the generation that grew up separating paper from plastic, don't want to work for big fat polluters. One-third of workers would be more inclined to work for a green company ... and more than half wish their employers would be more environmentally friendly.

I guess I belong to that generation, but I still don't separate paper from plastic. Maybe I'll start with my notebooks for the new school year. Good idea.

U.S. firms are going green. Even Rupert Murdoch already announced News Corp's greening by next year. Wal-Mart has solar panels to power "wall stuff." Companies are beginning to purchase hybrid cars for their employers. And all this is not only because of Al Gore's beautiful, big PR campaign. Going green is more a business strategy than genuine concern for the environment, methinks.

And when will my beloved country follow suit? Efficiency and the environment are not the priority. Roll in those hybridity autos but I don't think they could neutralize the pollution caused by gas-guzzling Ford Expeds and carbon-generous jeepneys which populate the streets.

P.S. I just read this morning, solar-powered jeepneys will be in the streets of Bacolod. Well, my hope is still there, even though only two of these babies will be born. Maybe in the future they could add, uhm, two more. Way to go.

My Next Digital

If one day I decide to take photography (or photojourn) more seriously, I will eventually need a dSLR. Since I won't be able to spend thousands-$$$ for big shot dSLRs, an entry-level digital single lens reflex cam can be useful. And I found the perfect model.

Presenting the Canon EOS 350D.


It's a little compact for a dSLR, and if I become really really good, I might already find this limited. But hey, for starters this is the real deal. It's lightweight. Its flash is useful even without purchasing an extra built-in. It's way cheaper than pro-SLRs. It handles noise well and has an excellent image quality at all ISO (light sensitivity) settings. But because it's "cheap," I may need to buy extra lens aside from the one that comes with the box.

As if I'm already really going to buy it.

But this dream is not so hard-to-reach anyway. Just a few hundred dollars more when I get a job. Which is like two years from now, ehem, If I graduate on time. In my university, there's no knowing for sure. Also in two years this model would be passé. I will have to dream again.

For now, I should start learning photography. There's still so much to know. I still can't make timpla speed and F-stops. I've been groping and that I should first get rid of. I also abhor the flash, while it's so essential in many photo opportunities. I also don't know how to handle lighting. Sometimes it looks natural, but when I overdo some settings it looks sloppy. So before I dive into the dSLR pool, I have to learn how to maximize semi-SLR and compact d-cams first. Ayayay. So much to do, so little time.