"brn2sk8"

"wild in the streets, running wild in the streets,
running wild in the streets, 
we're running wild in the streets!" - circle jerks, from the movie "Thrashin'"

a 1978 Hobie Skateboard, vans sk8-hi, aldo porkpie

it was in my fifth year in grade school, near the summer of 1977 when i saw this kid in our quadrangle riding this "blue, four-wheeled thing called skateboard" (alam ko lang kasi dati rollerskates...). this boy happens to be our neighbor, a distant relative at that, went to the exclusive, all-boys school Don Bosco Technical College, and goes by the name reynan guillartes. my first instinct was to befriend him, with "maybe-he-would-let-me-ride-his-board-kinda-thing" running in my mind, hehehe. well he did, a friendly fella he is. i gotta have one of these skateboards...

when summer did came, my father, a tennis aficionado, would tag my cousins and i along to the municipal hall tennis courts, where he would let us whack some fluorescent-colored balls past above the net. after the "tennis lessons" and out of boredom, we would go to the multi-purpose hall/events area (Mandaluyong Gym now) where an entrepreneur would rent out skateboards by the hour for ten pesos. and boy, did we enjoy this new ride!

before the summer ended, my cousins and i made sure that we were always tagged along by my father for his tennis matches at the municipal hall, not only for the tennis lessons, but for the skateboarding sessions, riding along the tree-lined park as if surfing the smooth pavement...whoooohaa!

the next summer, my father brought me to Rizal Theater at Makati, to watch "Skateboard", which starred the then teenybopper Leif Garrett. after the movie, there was a skateboard exhibition at the theater's parking lot by american skaters (blond kasi kaya american...?). ang galing nila! there was a half pipe, where the skaters did their tricks, but most of the tricks were done on the ground (flatland) mostly wheelies or manuals, board transfers, tail manual 360°...no ollies, no grinds, no airs yet, but still i was in awe, (translation : nganga!). little did i know, when we came home, my father showed me a box, wherein this yellow, with red polyurethane wheels, skateboard was neatly tucked between styrofoam boards. one happy, kinda spoiled little boy.

the next day, i showed the board to my cousins, and took turns riding the concrete "waves" of our street. lito, one of my cousins wanted to have his own, and asked his father if he could have one, too. by the weekend, two boards were now cruising our compound and the streets around our neighborhood. we hooked up with reynan so that we could skate inside Don Bosco compound, and by then we met the De Jesus Bros., alan & bobby, and the Estoque Bros., bong & ronald, all from the College grade school. every Saturday afternoon, we "thrashed" around the college grounds -- acid drop a flight of stairs near the Hanging Court, slalom down the corridors near the Clinic of the Grade School Bldg.; we even made use of an old ping pong table, took off the nets, removed one of its stand and placed a piece of plywood to its end near the floor so that we had something like this --

ang hirap mag-explain, ah...hindi kasi documented, very scarce ang camera at wala pa smartphones nu'ng time na 'yon.

by that time, we had reached neighboring San Juan in search for places to skate, specifically the Little Baguio area, where the streets are quite empty and rolling up and down up to Wilson Street and eventually inside the Greenhills Shopping Center. there we found rich kids (mga coño) with expensive boards and decked in Vans sneakers, being monitored by their nannies as they skate by the parking lot area. wow, basag kami du'n, ah! "dapat naka-Vans din tayo!" sa magazines (Skateboarder, ActionNow, Thrasher, BMX Plus) lang kami nakakakita ng Vans, wala pa kasi flagship stores dito...sa mga PX Stores lang meron.

noong nag high school na ako, may na-discover kami na overrun store -- Laureano, sa Pasong Tamo across Don Bosco Makati, there we found this "boat shoes", Tsubane Seahorse ang brand at made in Korea, mukha sya'ng Vans kaya lang ang sole para'ng sa Robertson, single colors lang, either white or light blue, mura lang kaya pinag-ipunan namin nila lito from our school allowances. we started experimenting with colors, using textile paints, we copied from magazines and tried different color combinations, even made a checkerboard pattern that was totally rad. soon my friends would bring their sneakers to me for a "paint job", syempre for a fee! then one day, somebody came, with sneakers on-hand, he was a fellow Bosconian, and went by the name Francis Magalona (R.I.P., brother) i knew that he was also from Mandaluyong and frequently joined dance showdowns in and out of town. i made him a checkerboard pattern with lightning bolts on the side, good thing he liked it...so much for that.

a new era in skateboarding, five-ply maple boards came out, new breed of thrashers were born-much daring than their predecessors, new technical tricks were invented. it was around this time that i got my very first pair of Vans sneakers - a red, black and white checkerboard slip-ons, Marlon (R.I.P., my dear friend) and i got at Virra Mall, Greenhills for ₱700.00.

movies with skateboarding theme came out - Thrashin' and Gleaming The Cube, the first being the typical boy-meets-girl, boy-must-prove-something to be part of the group ("Daggers"), and the second, boy-seeking-vengeance for his half-brother's death - 

 

but i think the movie that captures the humble beginnings of skateboarding is "Lords of Dogtown", which depicted the lives of skateboarding pioneers - Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta and Jay Adams, the original Z-Boys. it even starred Tony Hawk in a cameo role.

recently, i came across a Facebook Group named Vans Shoes Pinas'. most of the members post shoes for sale or for swap or just merely showing off their prized possessions. pero ung iba, panay ang reklamo, "ano po ang gagawin ko, kumupas po ung black gumsole ko po?", "paano po magiging mabango ang Vans sneakers?"...at nakakatuwa rin naman ang reply ng iba'ng members - "gupitin mo na lang", "kung ayaw mo bumaho o madumihan, huwag mo'ng isuot." hindi nila alam na mas cool ang Vans o anumang sneakers kung madumi, hindi ung bagong-laba look. palibhasa mukha'ng puro pa-cute ang karamiha'ng members dito sa Vans Shoes Pinas'. they never knew the history behind the brand, which started manufacturing and selling shoes since 1966...or the US punk rock movement and subculture, whose music history were tied to the Vans legacy. may mga thrashers at bmx riders din ako nakita sa mga members, meron din longboarders, o baka naman pang-profile o cover pic lang nila? eh sino pinaglololoko nila? tsk,tsk,tsk...

nowadays, when i pass by a Vans Store, i can't help but shake my head in dismay...they don't look as good as it was before...it's all made in China now, the part of the toe that runs up to the front of the sole - that's the part that they can't quite duplicate well, and the sides of the sole is not sticky anymore, well i can't compare it to the ones i grew up with, the kids today, they love it - hope they try to know the real Vans behind the sneakers, hi tops and gumsoles they have, the brand that helped create a culture with attitude and individuality...puna-puna lang, ang tamaan sapul, ang mapikon yamot - until the next post, see you guys, hang loose!

it's been years since i hit the streets, let's see what this baby can do...

my top skaters that i enjoyed watching:

tony hawk
bob burnquist
mike vallely
rodney mullen
christian hosoi
john hutson
andy macdonald
kilian martin
willy santos
jay adams

  

"teknologi"

There's a moon in the sky
It's called the moon
And everybody is there, including,
Saturn, Mercury
Saturn, Venus
Saturn, Mars
Saturn, Jupiter
The Van Allen Belt - the B-52's

it's been 46 years (July 20, 1969) since man made history when Apollo 11, manned by Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, all from the United States of America, landed on the moon...WOW!

science and technology...ang layo na ng narating natin sa larangan ng pagsulong, kung babalik-tanawin natin ang buhay dati, napakasimple lang, wala pa'ng mga makabagong kagamitan o "gadgets" na magpapabilis ng ating mga gawain. 

kung titignan natin, may mga kabutihan din naman naidulot ang mga "gadgets" na ito, 
napadali ang mga gawaing bahay ni nanay sa bahay, napabilis ang mga trabaho ni tatay,
at mas madaling natuto ang mga bata sa tulong ng mga makabagong teknolohiya sa kanilang pag-aaral.

ang nakakaalarma lamang patungkol sa mabilis na pag-usad ng teknolohiya, lalo na sa larangan ng "telecommunications" ay ang pagkakahumaling natin sa mga "smart phones",
laptops, at iba pang related na mga gadgets.

boy busy from his "tweets" / girl enjoying nature's tweets

magkaharap na nga, ayaw pa mag-usap

nawawala na ang interaction natin sa ibang tao, sa ating mga kapamilya, mga kaibigan

at pati na sa Diyos. minsan nga, habang nakasakay ako sa jeep, nag-abot ako ng bayad,

aba wala'ng pumansin -- DEADMA lang lahat; paano naman, si kuya na katabi ko, uma-ATTACK na sa kalaba'ng CLAN, si ate naman, panay wasiwas ng daliri para makabuo ng linya-linyang CANDY, at si manong naman ay busy sa panonood sa YouTube; sa inis ko,

binitawan ko 'yung mga barya na pambayad sa jeep, eh 'di nagpulutan sila lahat, HAH!

pati sa pagsakay mismo, hindi ka papaupuin, ayaw magsi-usog, busy lahat sa kung anu-anong "gadgets" na nakasakbat sa sa kani-kanilang mga katawan, FULL TANK NA NYO! painumin ng milk tea!

sorry, they're all busy...

 pati mga bata ngayon, mas gusto pa'ng magpipindot sa mga gadgets nila, kaysa maglaro ng physical na paglalaro -
mainit daw at nakakapagod.

ayos! ganda ng sunburn!

kahit saan na lang, mapabakasyon, sa opisina, sa bahay - wala na tayo'ng control sa paggamit ng teknologi. hindi naman sa kontra ako totally sa mga gadgets na ito, matuto lang sana tayo sa tama at wasto'ng paggamit ng mga ito, DISIPLINA, bigyan pansin din natin ang mga tao'ng nakapaligid sa atin, ang magandang kalikasang gawa ng ating Maykapal -
stop and smell the roses - ika nga ng mga banyaga.

okay, sana may napulot tayo aral, until then...text-text na lang o PM...mag-Shadow Fight pa 'ko.

Bakit 'di natin pag-isipan

Ang nangyayari sa ating kapaligiran

 Hindi nga masama ang pag-unlad 

Kung hindi nakakasira ng kalikasan - asin

images from 1,000,000 Artists whose webpage appears below:

https://www.facebook.com/1MillionArtists/photos/pcb.957646317600636/957644570934144/?type=1&theater

ClubSka@Mayric's

"adobo, puto, siop..."

i have this knack of editing my online friends' photos and eventually post it on their wall for their birthdays, anniversaries or just saying "hello" ( or sometimes i just wanna brag my latest "masterpiece" ).

"see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

for the past few months, i didn't realize i had tinkered with quite a lot of photos, and i just wanna share this "mini gallery" of edited photos of friends, who knows, maybe yours is included....ENJOY!

me and my wife, marie @ alabang town center

joey's daughter and fellow blogger, jamie, a.k.a. jemong

rudeboy/soulman bing austria a.k.a. papamod

my cousin wanda

my nephew, pastry chef, paul mu-chi

defacto depo/defacto industry "main man", ed paman

my wife, marie a.k.a. "mama mary"

punk icon, arnold morales a.k.a. "the guru"

bedlam's jasonoel

                                                                                            

to those whose photos, ( edited or not ), never made it to this posting, do not fret...a second installment is in the works, so better share your best photos online. who knows, maybe i'll find them interesting to "tinker" with and add them to my growing gallery of edited pics. until then...

Sam Rosenthal Photography | Blog: Night In Central Park

Sam Rosenthal Photography | Blog: Night In Central Park
photography buffs out there, check out this blog :D

"blue christmas"

"i'll have a Blue Christmas without you

i'll be so blue just thinking about you

decorations of red on a green Christmas tree

won't be the same dear, when you're not here with me."

yeah, i know...it's the grandest and the merriest of all holidays, but here i am, singing about a blue Christmas....

(i never thought i'd be able to blog again -- because of the string of sad events that happened before Christmas...)


well i got every reason to be blue -- our very dear friend, Marlon passed away, due to kidney failure, last Dec. 04, 2011, and even though it was already eight years ago when my dad died, (a week before Christmas), i still remember the sadness and the loneliness and the pain of losing someone you loved, this time of the year, when everyone is happily celebrating.

but you cannot stop it from happening, or postponing it some other time, Christmas will always be Christmas. it's the greatest birthday party in the whole wide world, so life must go on, knowing that the ones we loved will always be with us a midst the celebrations, whether Christmas, New Year, birthdays, or even simple get-together with friends.

"another year over, a new one's just begun..." we'll never forget the moments that we shared with our loved ones...their spirits live on among us....

Angelito "Tolits" Dales

Luis "Weslu" Guiang

Jay Rizal "Je" Bautista

Archibald "Archie" Camara

Marlon "Lon" Marquez

thank you for the music, the friendship, the camaraderie, the inspiration; your legacies will always be remembered --  ROCK ON!!!

"my collie (not a dog)"

"i love my collie, she makes me feel so high

she gave me deep meditation

oh my sweet collie."

so goes the Selecter song, but i don't think that song was about a dog, and ours wasn't a collie, it was a beagle and she was gone...

with pepper

a long time ago when i was still in grade school, my father brought home a mongrel puppy from Talim Island, a fishing community somewhere in the Province of Rizal, to be our pet. i was ecstatic because for the first time, my mother agreed to have a pet around the house; she was not fond of pet pooh, pee and other "clutter" a pet would bring or create around the house, but she agreed and i was so happy. we called him Tami, but unfortunately, when Tami has grown up  to an adult dog, he accidentally swallowed some chicken bones which choked him to death.


around 2002, my cousin Carmen, who owns a dog (a mongrel), who was about to deliver some pups, promised to give us one. so the dog delivered, and true to her word, Carmen gave us a female pup. we named her Mizay, and the kids enjoyed Mizay so much we even slept with her. later on we developed some sort of allergies from Mizay's ticks and fleas, so after more than a year, we decided to let go of her, we returned Mizay to Carmen, who eventually gave the dog to her boss.

...and then came Pepper -- a female tri-colored half-bred beagle, she was given to me by my sister Lilia, from her pure-bred male beagle Charlie and half-bred female Lakeisha. at first, i was hesitant to accept her, thinking that owning a pedigreed dog (even though not pure) would be of high maintenance. so after a few months of feeding from Lakeisha and the necessary "shots", Pepper was ready to be transported to Mandaluyong. 

at first, feeling alienated, she was afraid to move around the house. she would not go out on the streets even with my kids' encouragements; she would just look and sniff around. but when the time came that she had grown accustomed to her new surroundings, she would bite her leash begging me to take her out for a walk. that was every after dinner, as if on cue, whenever i stood up from the dining table, she would wag her tail and bark non-stop. what's nice about beagles is that they are affectionate and playful -- there was never a dull moment in the house when Pepper came.


but the inevitable came -- during the recent typhoon Pedring, Pepper was not in her typical playful mode, she just lied most of the time; we thought she was afraid of the rains outside or the darkness because of the power failure. we let her sleep with us upstairs that night, but when she peed, i had no choice but to let her down the living room. there was something that i noticed about her, she was panting quite hard thinking she was having difficulty to breathe, thinking it might have been a case of a runny nose, i went upstairs to sleep.


the next day when i went down, i saw Pepper panting heavily than last night, i gave her a bowl of warm milk and some bread but she only consumed the milk. i went about preparing to go to work,  checking on the dog while putting on my shoes, she was still panting and thinking it as runny nose, i went to the office; on my way out, i looked at her and she gave me that pitiful look of hers, as if trying to tell me something and even followed me to our door. at the office, i realized that she might have swallowed something foreign, so i began searching the net for solutions. i texted my wife, Marie of possible solutions and continued searching for more answers. at around 11:00 in the morning, my wife texted me to call her back, i was hesitant to talk to her, fearing what she had to say, and when the phone connected, i heard Basti and Anne in the background crying and Marie told me that Pepper blew blood from her mouth and nose and was now lying dead in the living room. i was shattered and felt sorry and helpless for what had happened to Pepper.


i have never been so affected by the loss of a pet as what i had with Pepper; it was like losing a family member...as the saying goes, "dogs are man's best friend", well, they really are, they're always there when you need them, never complain about anything, and they're great companions -- i sure miss her...Pepper.     

princess pepper

i don't think i'll be able to own another pet right now; i don't think i'm ready...it's really hard when sometimes you don't have all the means to pursue and nourish something that is valuable and vulnerable. i'm sure Nanay would have approved of her, would even like her when they meet.

"turning japanese"

1941 nang pumutok ang ikalawang digmaang pandaigdig,
kung saan nasakop ang Manila ng hukbong sandatahan ng bansang Hapon. 1945 naman ng malupig ang mga Hapon, sa tulong ng tropang Kano, sa pamumuno ni Gen. Douglas MacArthur, at tuluyang nakalaya ang Maynila sa mga Hapon...


maraming bagay din naman ang naipamana sa atin ng mga Hapones. sa "pop culture" na lamang ay madami tayo'ng nadampot sa mga Hapon -- tulad ng anime, manga, cosplaying at ang mga tradisyunal na sining ng mga Hapon tulad ng ikebana, bonsai at origami.


ang huling dalawa'ng nabanggit ay malapit sa aking puso -naks! unahin natin ang pagbobonsai --  Bonsai (help·info) (盆栽 Japanese) (lit. plantings in tray, from bon, a tray or low-sided pot and sai, a planting or plantings)^[1] is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers.

jerry with one of his bonsais



miniature bonsais



"bonsaipunk"@work

hindi ako marunong mag-bonsai, pero mahilig ako dito. ang aming kaibigan na si jerry panguito a.k.a. "bonsaipunk" ang mahilig at matiyaga at masasabing may "K" sa larangang ito. sa pagkakaalam ko ay may sinalihan siya'ng grupo upang mas matuto at maging malawak ang kanyang kaalaman sa sining na ito at alam ko na isinasapuso niya ang paggawa ng kanyang mga obra.

pag-usapan naman natin ang isa pang sining ng mga Hapon na mas malapit sa puso ko ang origami o ang "japanese art of paper folding" --

two kois on a ceramic pottery by lilia lao

rooster, crane, ganders & swans

Origami (折り紙^?, from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper"; kami changes to gami due to rendaku) is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami. 


nagsimula ang pagkahumaling ko sa origami noong namalagi ako sa aking kapatid na si lilia ng almost five months, somewhere down south. mayroon kasi siyang book on origami, "the origami bible" ni ashley wood at "complete origami" ni david mitchell. nag-umpisa ako'ng sumubok ng mga basic na project tulad ng tulip at crane at natuwa naman ako sa naging resulta. nagsimula ako sa paggamit ng mga lumang magazines bilang materyal sa pagtupi ng mga proyekto. naging challenge ang paghanap ng magandang prints mula sa mga magazines, na babagay sa gagawing origami. tulad na lang sa mga kois na nasa larawan, ang nasa ibabaw ay mula sa fashion magazine at 'yung orange naman ay gawa talaga sa origami paper. sa kakapasyal sa mga bookstores at booksales, nakabili ako ng origami book na may kasamang magandang papers, ito 'yung "zoogami" ni gay merrill gross. dumami na ang mga natutunan kong itupi, naging palipasan ko na nga ito ng oras habang naghihintay ng tickets sa mga ticketing counters ng iba't-ibang airlines, at pagkatapos ay ibinibigay ko sa ticketing agent na nagserve sa akin; 'yun ay kung maganda at maayos ang pag-serve nila sa akin, kung hindi, wala'ng origami, hehehe...natuklasan ko rin ang isang japanese store sa robinson's galleria na may tinda'ng origami paper, may two-sided na magkaiba ng kulay bawa't side, at may magagandang japanese design.

naghanap na rin ako ng mga design sa internet at marami rin naman ako'ng nadampot sa net (galing talaga ng technology!), ang iba nga ay mayroon pa'ng crease patterns na pwede'ng i-print, o 'di ba ang galing? 

seriously at work... (weh?!?)

models from the fitful flog

with "Shamcey Supsup"

kamakailan ay nagkakwentuhan kami ni jerry, nagpalitan ng kuro-kuro at may photo ops pa kasama ang kanyang obra na si Shamcey Supsup, na nanalo recently bilang third runner-up sa Ms. Universe Pageant. 














bukod sa bonsai at origami, marami pa tayo'ng nakahiligan mula sa mga Hapones -- tempura, iba't-ibang sushi at sashimi, at ang all time favorite na past time natin, -- ang karaoke! kaya sa saliw ng awitin mula sa the vapors -- "that's why i'm turning japanese i think i'm turning japanese i really think so..." hanggang sa muli... sayonara!

the artisans 

"born to be wild"

                      

"get your motor running, 
get out on the highway
looking for adventure,

four in a bike without helmets

or whatever comes our way."

sa sobrang taas ng presyo ng krudo sa world market, marami sa atin ang nag momotorsiklo na lamang papunta at pabalik sa kanilang paroroonan. tipid nga naman at mas mabilis ang biyahe, nagmura ang presyo ng mga motorsiklo, kaya lalo'ng dumami ang "riders" sa lansangan.

lately ang mga bagong sibol na "riders" ngayon sa lansangan ay may pagka-"wild",  hindi nila alintana ang tamang paglalakbay sa ating mga lansangan sakay ng kanilang mga motorsiklo, sa madaling sabi, di sila gaanong "aware" sa ating mga batas trapiko. madalas ko'ng ma-"experience" ang kanilang pagka-"wild" sa daan; kapag traffic ay lusutan sila ng lusutan sa right side ng kalye (di ba sa left ang pag-overtake?) kung saan maraming pedestrian (tulad ko) ang matiwasay na naglalakad, magugulat ka na lang at may biglang dadaan na motorsiklo. kung minsan naman ay busina nang busina sa iyo habang naglalakad ka at minsan nga ay sinasakop na nila ang mga sidewalks, GRABE!!! hindi ko malaman kung bakit nagkakaroon ng liyensiya ang mga kumag na 'to.

palagi'ng nag-aapura, hindi mo malaman kung ang pagbiyahe sa mga lansangan ay isang karera na para'ng "cannonball run". madalas tuloy na sila ang sangkot sa mga aksidente, tsk, tsk, tsk...

 naging laganap pa ang krimen tulad ng snatching, hold-up, agaw cellphone na gamit ang motorsiklo sa pagsasagawa ng kanilang modus operandi. tulad na lang ng na experience ng kasama ko'ng liaison officer na si camilo, nang may samahan siya'ng pasahero sa embassy sa paseo de roxas. natapos na ang transaksyon nila sa embassy at naghihintay na lang ng taxi papunta'ng airport ang pasahero, nang may biglang dumaan na motorsiklo sa sidewalk mismo, kung saan sila naghihintay ng taxi; hinablot ang shoulder bag ng laptop noong pasahero ni camilo, nabigla sila pareho at hindi na nagawa'ng ipagbigay alam sa mga pulis ang nangyari, dahil sa bilis ng mga pangyayari. 

may mga ilan pa rin naman na masasabi'ng matino pagdating sa pagmomotorsiklo, kaya lang ay iilan na lang sila, puro pasaway ang mga naiwan sa ating lansangan. kaya sa ating mga pedestrian, mga drivers ng four-wheeled vehicles, mag-ingat tayo sa mga "born to be wild" na riders. hasta la vista, baby, vrrrooom!