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May you keep the Christmas Spirit fizzling!

Description: This tea blend accentuates the candy-like, citrus scent of Earl Grey. The combination of mint, ginger and lemongrass (optional) enhances the Earl Grey scent and taste to tea drinkers. This can be served hot or cold. In my experience, the tea that I would recommend the best is Twinings Earl Grey Tea, for the scent of the Bergamot blends in well with the spices and citrus, and it does not have a strong bitter taste. You can substitute lemon with calamansi, though it would affect the aroma and taste. Warnings: - Earl Grey has a grapefruit effect due to bergamot, therefore, do not take this under medication in which grapefruit would affect drug performance. - Do not take ginger if having heartburn, gastrointestinal upset, gallstones or 2 weeks before surgery. Use caution when combining with other anticoagulant herbs and medications including ginkgo, garlic, aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDS. Do not combine ginger with prescription anticoagulants like warfarin. - Peppermint should not be taken if you have gallbladder problems, hiatal hernia, heartburn, stomach ulcers or significant gastroesophageal reflux disease. It may influence metabolism of certain drugs (including felodipine and simvastatin), increasing pharmacologic and adverse reactions. Absorption of caffeine may be delayed by menthol. - Lemongrass is contraindicated with patients with protastic hyperplasia, high blood pressure or glaucoma. - Anyone with allergic reactions to any of these ingredients must not take this tea. Ingredients: 1 mug of hot water 1 teabag (or teaspoonful) of Earl Grey tea (black, not green) 1 teabag (or teaspoonful) of dried peppermint 1 slice of ginger, 1" thickness 1 stalk of lemongrass (removed of leaves, optional) 2 calamansi, sliced (or 1 garnishing slice of lemon as substitute) 4 teaspoons wild honey Directions: 1. Put lemongrass in 1 mug of hot water, then stir until the brew smells of it, then put away. 2. When your tea smells of lemongrass, put a teaspoonful of Earl Grey in a strainer. The tea must submerge in water. If you have a teabag, just dip it. 3. Shake the strainer/teabag until the water darkens and smells of bergamot. 4. Put away the leaf bits/teabag. 5. Slice the ginger in such a way that one side has vertical slice marks and the opposite side of the slice has horizontal marks. Do not slice it fully. 6. Put the roughly chopped ginger in the solution, then using a teaspoon, stir it then put away when it has the ginger aroma. 7. On the same tea solution, put in dried peppermint. Let it steep until there is a subtle hint of mint, then put away. 8. Squeeze in lemon/calamansi. Put a strainer on the mug to keep the seeds from going to the brew. Stir. 10. Pour in 4 teaspoons of honey, then stir.

Currently I am testing side by side the two versions of my typeface. The version in orange is the one with added curves while the blue one is the original typeface. Compare the serif on the third photo with the directional sans-serif on the fourth photo. Jos Buivenga influenced the directional serif through his typeface called Calluna while Evert Bloemsma made an asymmetrical semiserif named Avance. The influences are from Adrian Frutiger's Icone. The difference might be barely visible in the first photo, but the second photo shows how I derived the concept. The first modified square rounds the edges, reminiscent of phototypesetting. The second modified square has flares from letterpress, in which Evert Bloemsma used in his FF Balance. When combined, this can give sans serifs direction.

Guess if it's digital or film at first look. Please leave comments.

Last month, I went on a vacation somewhere in Mindanao...in Maguindanao where I saw the massacre...NOT!  I was in Northwestern Mindanao, so no need to worry. While staying in there for a month, I knew that learning a new language will make you see its thoughts, lifestyle and concepts and along with it, the speaker's sentiments about something.  I learned what foreign researchers call Cebuano. Cebuano is spoken in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, western and southern parts of Leyte, some parts of Samar, Biliran islands, southern region of Masbate island, and some parts of Mindanao. Some dialects of Cebuano give different names to the language. Native people from Bohol may refer to Cebuano as Bol-anon while Cebuano-speakers in Leyte may call their dialect Kana. Speakers in Mindanao, and Metro Manila refer to the language simply as Bisaya. If you have to go to Visayas and Mindanao, you better learn English and Cebuano, for nobody practically speaks Tagalog (or as Imperial Manila wraps the language as "Filipino"). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let me give some rant and historical context on how Philippine language policy screwed up. The Commission on Philippine Languages, located in Imperial Manila, calls all languages like Ibanag, Ilokano, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bikol-Naga, Waray-Waray and Cebuano "dialects" while these are different languages and those speaking only their languages will not be mutually understood.  Chances are they will ask "What the heck are they talking about?" if there were no common language.  Before the Spaniards came, Malay acted as the lingua franca. These speakers of "dialects" are practically different, though related peoples in the Philippines.  Their speech, their food, their clothing and even their posture, walk and facial expressions are different. Truth be told, a Tagalog can pick out a Cebuano with their more deferential smile and vice versa with the distinct Tagalog frown. During the Spanish period, the Filipinos were not given much education.  However, the good Spanish priests learned our languages and with their efforts along with our ancestors' effort, the languages were preserved.  However, since we didn't get educated with the Spanish language, many of our ancestors were in the dark on how some of the Spaniards treated us until the Spanish colonies started rebelling against Spain. During the American period, we got free and full education which boosted the morale and self-esteem of the Filipino, but unfortunately, mixed with it is pro-American, anti-Spanish, anti-European brainwashing.  The Spanish language was banned and the only ones speaking it were Chavacano speakers (strictly speaking, it is a creole) and Filipinos of Spanish descent.  This caused the decline of Spanish language, which is a shame, since many historical documents were written in Spanish. When the Commonwealth came, the language selection came.  The 2 big candidates were Tagalog and Cebuano.  If the statistics were not skewed, Cebuano would have been our official language.  However, Tagalog won out and the Cebuanophones were angry and outraged at the result and until now, some of the Cebuanos jeer at Tagalogs, particularly those from Manila, as vainglorious, cheaters and swindlers. What would have happened if Malay was used instead?  That would be an advantage for we would understand what the Malaysians, Bruneians and Indonesians are talking about.  And what if Spanish was also compulsory, to see some of their deeds and misdeeds? Or what would happen if Cebuano was used instead or alongside with Malay? And what if the language protection policy was imposed right during the Commonwealth Period so that no nation in the Philippines would be extinct? The concept of one nation, one language, one state can work in Korea and Portugal, but cannot work in Japan (the Japanese and Ainu), China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia, for these nations have more than one ethnolinguistic group and there will be many small countries that are hard to make and identify in the World Map. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Going back to the topic, I embarked in learning the language.  I had 3 advantages in learning the language.  First, I have exposure through my dad's phone and personal conversations (though he speaks English to me), and my former household help knows Tagalog though she's a native Cebuano speaker, and the native speakers are willing to help me. The native speakers are generous to a fault and they correct my poor Cebuano speech, which I take since I'm learning their language. Through my one month of stay, some conversations with my former household help were mixed with Cebuano lessons.  Nasabot ko man silang tanan sa balay. (I understood them all at home.)  Sila meant the native speakers.  I also managed not to confuse suba (their word for river) and sugba (their word for broiling or grilling, related to the Tagalog word siga, which means bonfire or waste disposal through burning). When I came back to Manila, I realized that my Tagalog is getting rusty.  From the flatter but happier intonation of the Cebuano speakers, I had to adapt my ear to Tagalog, which has more mountainous melody if it is from Manila.

At last...after more than 4 years, we all get to march...after all those hard work, some fun and a lot of trouble, we all made it. Not only do we have God and our kin who support us, but also we have ourselves and our classmates and workmates. The ceremony can be rather boring for not only the graduates, but also the parents and audiences, even they were anticipating too much and expecting a copy of the guide. Good thing they have their copy on the day itself. Going from the beginning of the day, the moment I went down the car, there were sellers of all those brooches and additional photo services. I wasn't able to notice this since I saw excited parents with their children, students clad in toga. With that, I let my guard down, which was a wrong choice... These brooch sellers were giving me 2 brooches, one for me and one for my mum. And then, there were photographers and a receipt. Good thing my mum told me not to get that service. So much for that bad judgment... One of the most noticeable aspects is the speech of Ms. Arce, Summa Cum Laude, also deaf. When she started moving her hands and giving some facial expressions, everybody paid attention. There was also an interpreter who spoke the speech. Though the text spoken might be a translation, the reader had a lot of emotion when reading it. After she gave her life as a deaf person struggling to adjust into the world of hearing people, she gave a speech which admonishes us, the hearing people, to give them a chance to prove themselves. After some of the pauses and her major points, even the hearing people are adapting the deaf clap in which one raises both arms and rotates their hands quickly, with either both palms or both backsides of the hand face each other. Her speech deserves an applause and it can make businessmen think of an idea on how they would hire deaf people. After the march, let's say to ourselves: "CONGRATULATIONS! WE'RE UNEMPLOYED!!!" :))

Some of the photos are not uploaded here due to ethical reasons. All the other photos are taken with consent.

Can someone trace some of the storyboard of an online comics?  I'll pay 180 pesos/completely traced page. The one who will trace my work must know how to use Illustrator and must have a digital stylus and tablet. If interested, please mail me as soon as possible at [email protected] for more details.

Before, I had quarrels with Flash.  Now I have quarrels with Illustrator CS3. I wonder how did this happen, but when I do some tracing in Illustrator and when I unzoom rapidly for inspection, it does an illegal operation. After sending error report, the computer f****** restarts. How do I solve this without reformatting my computer? I don't ask for much help, but when I do, I mean it.

There will be an online class by tomorrow, 15 June 2009, 8:30 AM.

In Indonesia, there is still such thing as an Imperial Jakarta, somewhat like Imperial Manila. In both places, this is where power, industry and media is placed. In Indonesia, there are more roads and most are better than SLEX or NLEX, but these also have tolls. Indonesia appears to be catching up on the Philippines. They have a bigger territory and they are rich in natural resources. By the time I am writing this, oil simply costs 22 pesos in Indonesia. They have a potential to be self-sufficient. In Indonesia, the manly sport is European football, just like in Hongkong, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei whilst in the Philippines, the manly sport is basketball. The Indonesian media is just as crappy as ours, with slapstick jokes and crappy visual effects. However, one exception is when they have to pray. There is the prayer sung in Arabic. When we see that, we pause for we can sense solemnity in it. However, a rupiah is worth nothing to the Philippine peso, whilst a Philippine peso is worth 280 rupiah. Their own beverage? Bottled tea. Tehbotol. Jasmine tea. Indonesian stores? No guards inspecting our bags. In the Philippines, you always have to open your bags and raise your hands if you've gotten any weapon in it. I admire the common Indonesian's honesty, which is nothing like the Manileño slyness. The good thing about Bali is that they preserved the Hindu culture that remains in them. The bad thing is that the sea wasn't guarded well that it became dirty. Though Boracay is said to be dirty, it still looks cleaner than southern Bali. I hope that the beaches in northern Bali are cleaner. The next time I travel to that place, I'll look for a resort in there.

In the previous album, it's all about land. This time, it's for water. What is shown here in this album is parasailing. This was the best experience we had in Bali, though it can be found in Bora. It was quite windy, though. We also had a jetski ride, but with less assholes than in Subic. The predominant tourists in Bali are Japanese, Koreans, some Chinese, Australians and some rich Russians. We spotted no Filipino, and we spotted no American. According to the driver my dad talked (he also speaks Bahasa Indonesia), tourists comprise 40% of the population. An Aussie said that they spend half a year on work, and then half a year in this island to burn their cash. It is common in Bali and even Jakarta to use hands while eating. In eating Nasi Padang, one uses their hands. We also ordered Tehbotol, which tastes like plain, sweetened Jasmine tea. With the curry, fried chicken, tempeh and rice, Nasi Padang combined with tea is one of the best lunches I ever had! By afternoon, we rode a glass-bottom boat and went snorkeling. The wave current was very strong, I was having a hard time swimming. It didn't help that I had those flippers and snorkeling gear. When I went back to the boat, I removed those weird footwear. We were hoping that we could see the fish and corals clearly, but unfortunately, we were in the Southern Bali area, which is tourist-infested and...dirty. We saw the wildlife, but the water is so full of particles. We went to Turtle Island, and in it was a zoo. There were many baby turtles and many old pawikans. What was unexpected was that there were squirrels, flying fox, an eagle and a kalaw (hornbill). The Indonesian animal caretaker in Turtle Island said that they were being preserved here. It's sad that in the Philippines, some Chinese poachers capture and kill pawikan to get turtleshells.

That afternoon, we went to a forest with Hindu temple, with precautions written in many languages on keeping cameras, glasses, metals and anything shiny. These macaque tribes have been used by some syndicates to have the theft victims retrieve the things either with ransom, or never being returned again with the loot being sold as second-hand goods. That's called GSM (galing sa magnanakaw, literally, from a thief, in Tagalog). The Balinese still retained some culture in keeping some Hindu temples. Also, cremations are done instead of burials. When one sees a macaque, one cannot always generalise them. There are good macaques, naughty ones and savage ones. By late afternoon, we travelled to another temple. Also there were precautions written in many languages on keeping cameras, glasses, metals and anything shiny. This explains the photos of having the whole family wear sarong, the offering photos and a play. I didn't like dressing on that unless I know the reason, but I just followed the tradition. In that temple was the Kecak dance, with the background sound of the play as a chant of "ke-chak", imitating macaques in the forest. What I like best about Bali is that they retained some culture, unlike many parts of the Philippines, whose upperclass culture undergoes corruption of some propagandist American media.

A Gamelan Orchestra The previous day we arrived in Bali. On that same day, I surfed with my brothers and a surfing instructor named Tion. In my previous surfing experience, the board I used made a difference. This time, the posture and position made the difference on how long I would stand. But this was the previous day's activity. The activity shown here is about the Bali land trip in the morning. About the size of Bohol, this island has preserved some of the Hindu culture Indonesia had. Majority of the Balinese are Hindus, although there are Muslims too. This is one of the last areas of Hinduism in Southeast Asia. It may have been how they worshiped before Islam spread throughout Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. This explains the photos of the play of the Rangda and Barong, the Hindu temple and the open architecture. Take a look at the palayan photos. At first, it will still look like these came from the Philippines. In there, we also explored a few things about Indonesian gold and silver. In the next album, there will be photos...about these grey, crazy animals. We saw them in the safari near Jakarta in the previous album, but there will be more of them in Bali.

A monkey... This is in Taman Safari, a safari zoo 3 hours away from Jakarta, the capital city. In this safari zoo was also a theatre, where the son of Ma's friend and I got really wet. Should have brought my raincoat! However, Indonesia still feels like home to many Filipinos, and in such a way that a foreigner can mistake them for each other. Even an Indonesian and a Filipino can mistake each other, that the knowledge of each other's language will come in handy if one will travel to Indonesia or Philippines! Despite a slightly different history and technology, an Indonesian and a Filipino are still Orang Melayu.

A one-week vacation to avoid burning me out...with family...

http://mb.com.ph/articles/203106/gma-lauds-rescue-kidnap-victim http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090420-200460/5-kidnap-suspects-killed-in-shootout Thank God, Jules has been rescued!!!  However, in the process, 5 kidnappers have been killed.  All I hope is that he goes home safely.