She moves in a happy thoughtlessness within the confined circle of her existence.
- The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Trisha Descallar is a 21-year-old misfit from Manila, Philippines. ☆
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Purple Prose: Stories and Such
Background image by Chamelle Designs. Image was slightly modified.
Seriously people, they’re not photoshopped in. It’s real. I especifically went searching for the original (which is this one) because it bothered me that someone edited them out of their own photo.
So…
-THE PHOTO IS REAL
-THE BUNNY EARS ARE REAL
-THE GIRLS ARE NOT PHOTOSHOPPED IN
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHARLEY AND DARREN CRISS NEWS, FOR CLEARING THAT UP.
Love, the other girl in the picture. ♡
Mangyari lamang ay tumayo ang mga nagmahal
nang makita ng lahat ang mukha ng pag- ibig.
Ipamalas ang tamis ng malalim na pagkakaunawaan
sa mga malabo ang paningin.
Mangyari lamang ay tumayo rin ang mga nagmahal at nasawi
nang makita ng lahat ang mga sugat ng isang bayani.
Ipadama ang pait ng kabiguan habang ipinagbubunyi
ang walang katulad na kagitingan ng isang nagtaya.
Mangyari lamang ay tumayo ang mga nangangambang magmahal
nang makita ng lahat ang kilos ng isang bata.
Ipamalas ang katapatan ng damdamin na pilit ikinukubli
ng pusong lumaki sa mga engkanto at diwata.
Mangyari lamang ay tumayo ang mga nagmahal,
minahal at iniwan ngunit handa pa ring magmahal
nang makita ng lahat ang yaman ng karanasan.
Ipamalas ang katotohanang nasaksihan
nang maging makahulugan ang mga paghagulgol sa dilim.
At sa mga nananatiling nakaupo mangyari lamang
ay dahan-dahang tumalilis papalabas sa nakangangang pinto.
Umuwi na kayo at sumbatan ang mga magulang
na nagpalaki ng isang halimaw!
At sa lahat ng naiwang nakatayo mangyari lamang
ay hagkan ang isa’t isa at yakapin ang mga sugatan.
Mabuhay tayong lahat na nagsisikap na makabalik sa ating pinagmulan!
Manatiling masaya at higit sa lahat magpatuloy sa pagmamahal.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Repertory Philippines opens its 2013 season with Boeing Boeing, a comedy set in the 1960s about an American playboy juggling an “international harem” of three fiancées all at the same time. How does he accomplish such a feat? With some very exact planning and a whole lot of gall. 
Bernard Whitford (David Bianco) is a Paris-based American architect based who transforms his bachelor pad into a love nest whenever one of his fiancées is in town. Depending on the day and time, he could be entertaining either Gloria from the USA (Jen Bianco), Gretchen from Germany (Carla Dunareanu), or Gabriella from Italy (Giannina Ocampo).
Each girl is an air hostess from a different airline with her own flight schedule. With the invaluable assistance of Bertha (Baby Barredo, with Joy Virata as alternate), his long-suffering housekeeper slash love life air traffic controller, and Robert (Topper Fabregas), his wet-behind-the-ears best friend, Bernard succeeds in maintaining a happy household thrice over with each girl none the wiser about the other.
All is well until the introduction of the new Boeing jet, which revolutionizes air travel by making flights so much faster. This innovation throws Bernard’s careful plans out the window and into chaos, hilarious, ridiculous chaos.
David Bianco makes an absolutely dapper playboy, the perfect balance of suave and sleazy. He is charming and, as his timetables go awry, is even able to elicit a little bit sympathy from an audience who thought he had it coming all along.
Bernard’s three fiancées are all one-dimensional racial stereotypes of their country of origin, and that’s a large part of what makes the play so funny. The three actresses all take their roles with no holds barred, and their committed performances contribute greatly to the success of the production.
Jen Bianco was engaging and lovable as the saucy Southern belle that takes no prisoners. She lays it on thick, like the molasses her character pours on her pancakes, and she wins the audiences’ heart when she turns some tables in the end.
Carla Dunareanu practically stole the show as the overly dramatic German. Her accent was spot on and her unpredictable swings from quiet to crazy were natural and believable. Every minute she was on stage was a treat.
Giannina Ocampo fit her part as the sweet yet sexy Italian girl with domestic dreams really well. She gave a charming rendition of the role, though her accent could have been more pronounced and her gestures, particularly her hand gestures, as to be more indicative of a stereotypical Italian background. Of the three, she was the tamest.
Baby Barredo brings a lot of sass and spunk to her portrayal of Bertha, making her less like a French made and more like a Filipino mayordomo. She’s outspoken and irreverent, and her snide remarks and biting one-liners are a great source of laughs. Truly, yaya is boss.
Topper Fabregas puts the “aww” in aww-dorable as Robert. He is absolutely endearing as a lost little boy overwhelmed by the bright lights — and beautiful girls — of the big European city.
Miguel Faustmann is the man behind the Boeing Boeing’s stage direction and set design, the seamlessness of which is made manifest as the play progresses. The story unfolds in the main living room/receiving area of Bernard’s apartment, with exits and entrances happening through seven doors arranged in a semi-circle around the stage. Careful comedic timing ensures that the doors open and close on cue, with seconds or less separating one door from the next. The unexpected entrances and the speedy door slamming is a source of laughter and suspense, especially towards the climax of the play when an early landing, a delayed take-off, and bad weather lead all the characters to converge in one place.
Fasten your seat belts and suspend your disbelief, Boeing Boeing is an enjoyable romp that starts Repertory Philippines’ 76th theater season on a sky-high note.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Boeing Boeing opens tomorrow, January 25 2013, Friday, and runs until February 17 2013, Sunday, at OnStage Greenbelt 1. Tickets are available at P1000 (Orchestra Center), P800 (Orchestra Side), and P500 (Balcony). Call 571-6926 or 571-4941, email info@repertory.ph, or log on to http://www.repertory.ph. Tickets are also available through Ticketworld. Call 891-9999 or visit http://www.ticketworld.com.ph.
My grandparents got a SeriAsia sparty (spa + party, how quaint!) package as a gift for their wedding anniversary. Naturally, as the doting and ever-present apo, I managed to squeeze myself into their little bit of home spa heaven.
As a student in my senior year of college, there’s pretty much no time to do anything outside of my academics. It’s been school for class and home to study, ad infinitum. Imagine my delight when I walked into the front door one night to see our receiving room transformed into a day spa, complete with massage beds, scattered rose petals, and scented tea candles.
SeriaAsia’s Serve The Goddess is a mobile home spa service that transforms any living space into a personal, private day spa. All the amenities and services of any day spa are made available the comfort and convenience of one’s home at virtually any time of the day.
My grandparents got the Eros Love Spa sparty package, which is essentially a romantic couple’s spa date — or, in this case, spa treatments for two senior citizens and their frazzled granddaughter. Aside from the physical arrangements, SeriAsia brought a fruit basket and red wine to complete the mood. We slipped into our very own SeriAsia robes and slippers, and we were good to go from there.
This sparty package entitled us an hour and a half of pampering with four different spa treatments. I chose my treatments to soothe specific problem areas: a foot reflexology to make up for all the BEL-CTC rushes I had to endure, a hand massage for all the pages I had to write by hand, a Swedish massage to squeeze the bad vibes out of me, and an oxygen facial to return the color to my skin and make me look like a healthy, living member of the human race once again.
All treatments were provided by SeriAsia’s licensed spa therapists - who were all very cheerful and accommodating, if I may add! - using SeriAsia’s own line of all-natural and organic spa products, from massage oils to lotions to full facial and spa kits. Included in the set-up is a small display featuring all the products used in the Serve The Goddess sparty package, which are available for purchase as well. SeriAsia aims to provide its customers with simple home spa treatments, the Serve The Goddess mobile spa just shows how easily this can be done by anyone, anywhere.
SeriAsia’s Serve The Goddess is available at a very reasonable P1,500 per head — so not bad, considering that a just single treatment elsewhere would cost about half as much, and without the factor of convenience in their favor. The privacy of the spa experience also makes it a great bonding experience between family and friends. Speaking of friends, I can’t wait to try this with them — pre-graduation kikay day, anyone? I’m looking forward to it already!
Visit SeriAsia’s official website to learn more about the different Serve The Goddess sparty packages. Don’t forget to like SeriAsia on Facebook!
The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) offers a mixed bag of films this year. From the surprisingly watchable Sosy Problems to the horrendous Sisterakas and Enteng Kabisote, Katipunan rounds up this year’s MMFF fare in eight mini-reviews.
There are still three days to go before the MMFF bids us all goodbye until next year, so there’s still time to catch one or two (or all!) of the eight film fest entries. If you, however, need to narrow down your choices, the staff of Katipunan Magazine lets you in on what’s worth the time and tickets.
Assembled as a Special Exhibit on Memory Alpha, Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years celebrates the 150th anniversary of the founding of the United Federation of Planets.
This unprecedented illustrated volume chronicles the pivotal era leading up to Humankind’s First Contact with Vulcan in 2063, the Romulan War in 2156, the creation of the Federation in 2161, and the first 150 years of the intergalactic democracy up until the year 2311. Meticulously researched, this account covers a multitude of alien species, decisive battles, and the technology that made the Age of Exploration possible. It includes field sketches, illustrations, and reproductions of historic pieces of art from across the Galaxy, along with over fifty excerpts from key Federation documents and correspondence, Starfleet records, and intergalactic intelligence.
My first contact with the Trek franchise was with Star Trek: Voyager when I was twelve years old. My formative adolescent years saw the likes of Kathryn Janeway, B’elanna Torres, and Seven of Nine as my girl power role models — Kathryn Janeway, most especially. I grew up in awe of her, that BAMF HBIC. I wanted to be her, or be like her, at the very least. I could devote a series of essays to how much she has shaped my life, but needless to say, she was my life peg before the phrase was even coined.
I found myself absolutely fascinated by the universe as imagined by Star Trek, the ideas it gave me and the questions it moved me to ask. I read books, played video games, participated in online forums, wrote a ridiculous amount of fan fiction and immersed myself in everything Trek I could get my hands on.
I recently got to watch the Voyager series again, almost a decade after the first time I did, and I’m twelve all over again. Star Trek was, and continues to be, a great influence in my life.
Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years was a book I knew I could not not have. It’s exactly the kind of book I love and have been looking for: it’s not about the Star Trek series, it’s written in the Star Trek universe.
This book reads like a historical textbook written in the 24th century, chronicling the events that led to the establishment of the United Federation of Planets. Essentially the United Nations on a universal scale, The United Federation of Planets is an interstellar republic with more than 150 member planets, all sharing the same principles of universal liberty, universal rights and equality, and the sharing of knowledge and resources in the name of peaceful cooperation and space exploration.This book looks at the events the preceded the founding of the Federation and the first 150 years of its establishment.
To its 24th century readership, however, this won’t be the first time they’ll be reading this book; this book is also a 75th anniversary edition featuring all-new and never-before seen content. In short, it’s a lot of future history.
With the all the buzz Benedict Cumberbatch Star Trek Into Darkness is generating, Federation is a timely release since it would be a great way to bring back the canon and reintroduce it to a new generation of fans. Both the history of Star Trek and Star Trek history are rich and diverse, and I’m hoping that the newer fans will use Star Trek Into Darkness as a gateway into the rest of the Trek universe.
Below the cut is a book walkthrough slash review, with almost forty photos of the box opening to the special inserts.
I bought these from the Barnes & Noble website last Cyber Monday, and the thought of cracking them open and reading them at leisure got me through the academically demanding weeks leading up to this holiday break. Finally, an RRL that stands for Reading for Relaxation and Leisure, not Review of Related Literature.
The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I fondly remember reading this and The Secret Garden when I was much younger. This particular book is the Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics edition. Fully Booked carries most titles in this series, but not this particular title.
I bought this book not for myself, but for the little princess dying of anguish inside me. The weeks prior to the day I purchased this book were characterized by inscrutable sadness and existential angst, and Cyber Monday gave me an excuse to indulge myself in a little bit of retail therapy to easy my heartache since everyone knows the best way to fill a void is with LOTS AND LOTS OF STUFF.
Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper. Dr. Leo Garcia, my professor in Ph101 and Ph102 (Philosophy of the Human Person I & II), recommended this title to the class last year, and I’ve been meaning to pick up a copy of my own ever since. This book defends the concept of leisure in relation to work. To quote the blurb:
Leisure is not idleness, but an attitude of the mind and a condition of the soul that fosters receptivity to both physical and spiritual realities. The author points out that sound philosophy and authentic religion can be born only in leisure — a leisure that allows time for the contemplation of things, including the nature of God. Leisure has been, and always will be, the foundation of any culture.
… Unless we recover true leisure — the ability for silence, contemplation, and insight; for receptivity and intuitive openness to the truth — and replace our frenetic amusements and relentless striving, we will destroy our culture and ourselves.
Truer words have never been spoken. I find this discourse relevant in today’s modern capitalist society which places great emphasis on work, work, work. Also, hello intellectually sound excuse to be lazy. Dr. Garcia bought his copy at Fully Booked, but they haven’t restocked this title in a while. Glad to finally have a copy of the full text.
Is Data Human?: The Metaphysics of Star Trek by Richard Hanley. I am a huge Star Trek nerd, and I love seeing the subject pursued in a scholarly, interdisciplinary way. I picked up this book because I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Ethics of Star Trek by Judith Barad, Ph. D., and Ed Robertson — speaking of which, that book deserves a rereading now that I’m taking up Ph104 (Foundations of Moral Value).
I’ve also been able to watch Star Trek: Voyager again, after so long, and I’ve grown to appreciate the character development of The Doctor. He was an excellently written character, and I find myself wondering about the issue of holographic rights. Sentience or subroutines? It’s an interesting topic. It’s a discourse I’m interested in pursuing when I have the time, but I think I’ll start with this book for now.
I got lazy to pick up my DSLR and take pictures, but I did make the effort to roam the beds of the house and Instagram photos of the books on coordinating sheets. Points for trying! (Also, as if I need to point this out, but the pink princess sheets are mine.) I’m @patdes on Instagram, if any of you are still on it despite their questionable privacy policy.
And yet, despite the above, I’m currently reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen on my Kindle. #nonsequitur
“Senpai, can you not increase the amount of trash here?”
“It’s not trash… It’s home for a hamster…”
“Senpai, you don’t have a hamster.”
“I’m not your senpai… I’m just someone you know.”
