working with illustrator CS

here's something i made with adobe illustrator. it's ogie and michael v. in their new movie. i was inspired by the awesome and stylish work of chip wass and i once asked him for advice. he said he always drew on paper and pencil first before finishing it on illustrator.

some new shirts

here are some things I've been busy with: Above is a handpainted shirt of Wonder Woman typing the very Sex & the City lines "I couldn't help but wonder..." I've gotten requests for this shirt but I think this will go to my mom.

And this is a shirt my uncle asked me to make in remembrance of the death of Tita Cory. I designed this myself and was very lucky to find a good t-shirt printer here: http://pimpmyshirtph.multiply.com They're fast and the print quality is amazingly clear. And unlike the digiprint t-shirts I had made last summer, these shirts retain their sharpness and color after washing. I'm thinking of designing a wonder woman shirt and have it printed like this na lang to accommodate my friends' orders. Handpainting just takes too long!

Mojacko recommends: Last Supper # 3

Just watched Last Supper No.3, an indie film that won Best Film at the Cinemalaya fest. It's a dark comedy that doesn't resort to slapstick like Kimmy Dora but it's still funny just the same. A critic said something about Schadenfreude, delight in someone else's misery... and this was definitely the case with poor Wilson, a naive assistant in a TV ad who went through 3 years of suffering because he lost a tapestry of the Last Supper and the owners sue him. He goes through his own Calvary as he deals with the slow machinations of the justice system , from corruption, red tape and even the death of a judge! What' s truly shocking is that this was based on a true story! I do hope more people get to watch this so they don't have to go through anything similar.

Mojacko recommends:Kimmy Dora

You'd be crazy to miss Kimmy Dora, starring the very talented Eugene Domingo in the dual role of Kimmy and Dora! Eugene is not a comedian. She is an actress! Ariel Ureta is pitch-perfect as the twins' father.And of course, Joyce Bernal is back in her element in a rip-roaring comedy with heart. I was expecting laughs but was suprised by tears, too. Eugene masterfully portrays Kimmy's pain and vulnerability so effortlessly that the audience couldn't help but sympathize with the bitchy character!

I hear the movie's a hit even if it's a small film and this is great news for Pinoys looking for good movies. Go and watch it, now na! It's the ultimate stress-buster!

visiting tita cory at manila memorial

Last Saturday, we were all at home at the same time so we decided to go to the Manila Memorial park in Sucat to at last visit the grave of 2 Pinoy heroes, Cory Aquino and Ninoy Aquino. We thought that by now, we would probably have the park all to ourselves, but when we asked for directions, the guard said a lot of people were already there. In fact, another guard said that a lot of people still come everyday!

Balikbayans were having their picture taken and while I said a silent prayer I again wondered at the simplicity of the grave where Ninoy and Cory lay. No marble, no gates.While other people would have made grand mausoleums in their own honor, the Aquinos would have gone unnoticed if not for the people gathered and the various offerings on their tombs. This was a cute drawing probably made by a schoolkid As seen on TV...a charcoal drawing...Masyado yatang pinaganda si Tita Cory kaya di na kamukha...

When we left, more people were arriving to pay their respects, to say thank you, to promise to always remember how great the Filipino can be.

Jon says there's a new meaning to T.G.I.F. = Thank God I'm Filipino!

Afterwards, we went outside the gates of the park to look at the souvenirs on sale (It's like the park had become a tourist spot!)

That's Twinx trying out a shirt...

...and us hanging out at a pizza resto, all infected by the yellow fever!

tita cory's funeral procession

it seems almost everybody was either watching tita cory's wake and funeral on TV or outside like my family did. People were genuinely eager to walk /wait under the rain for hours just to say goodbye and it fills my heart with hope. I still have a yellow ribbon pinned on my bag to remind to be kinder, more patient with everyone I meet, just like tita cory.

there was a documentary on TV last night about ninoy aquino and according to twitter, lots of young people watched it. I'm glad that the kids who weren't even alive during the People Power revolution have been inspired by the lives of these 2 heroes.

the big question now is what happens next?

Goodbye tita Cory

Yesterday former president Cory Aquino passed away ever so quietly while we slept. I felt sad that a guiding light has gone but I am also happy that she is now free from pain and at peace with Ninoy at last. My lolo also died of cancer and I prayed that he not suffer needlessly.

I never met her personally but we all knew her as tita Cory. I remember the Edsa people power revolution and waking up at our relatives' place in Pasay. Pa and Ma had brought us there before they went to Edsa to block the tanks. Pa recalled saying goodbye to our car which was one of the first in line to be crushed. My parents believed in Cory so much they were willing to die for her. That's why tita Cory has always been like family to us.

That's why I pity the young who don't see what all the fuss is about. They're so lucky they can bitch and complain about anything so freely. Back in the Marcos years, all media was controlled, suppressed. Imagine being harassed by the powers- that-be just for honking your horn twice to sound like "co-ry"? That's what happened to us during the 1986 snap election. My pa made that sound while driving in Pasay and someone snitched. The next day my aunt was summoned to Mayor Pablo Cuneta's office (Sharon's dad) to explain. Ridiculous but true!

Thank tita Cory for freedom we now take for granted. I feel sad for us because she was always the person we turned to because we knew we could trust her. She was our moral compass when Ramos tried to amend the constitution, when Erap tried to bring down the Inquirer, when Gloria (who she campaigned for) virtually admitted she cheated with Hello Garci...

Now comes the hard part. Tita Cory is gone and we only have each other now to turn to in times of crises. Let's not fail her.

I remember this song used by Namfrel...

It is better to light just one little candle than to stumble in the dark

Better far just to light just one little candle all you need's a tiny spark

If we all said a prayer that world would be free

The wonderful dawn of a new day we'll see

And if everyonelit just one little candle what a bright world this would be!

More stories from http://www.inquirer.net/

mojacko's recently viewed movies

I loved Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and I recently viewed his earlier work, The Devil's Backbone and loved it even more! It's a more straightforward ghost story with similar elements of Spain's civil war and creepy characters, human or otherwise.

T-D-B 1
Uploaded by blooppisaster. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

I wondered why we couldn't think of something like it that was intriguing, intelligent and steeped in local lore and history till I remembered we did. Before we started aping japanese horror, we had Diosa and Haplos way back in 1982! Although I was only able to watch them on TV in the afternoon during summer breaks.

Diosa starred Lorna Tolentino as a vengeful encanto whose treasures were stolen by a horny conquistador. Thereafter, every male descendant of that Spaniard was cursed to fall in love with a mysterious woman who would lead him to ruin. Brothers played by nerdy Lloyd Samartino and playboy Alfie Anido are the last generation who are ensnared by Lorna's beauty. Save for the dated special effects and some English diction problems ("What do you mean by that, huuuh?") this movie could put current films like T2 and Feng Shui to shame.


Even more haunting is Haplos, starring Vilma Santos as a modern woman caught in a truly bizarre love triangle with Christopher de Leon and Rio Locsin as a mysterious barrio lass who turns out to be a ghost who was killed by Japanese soldiers in World War 2!!! When Christopher finds out the truth he is so traumatized by it, Vilma has to ask for Rio's help as a last resort! The ending will leave you thinking of it long after the credits have faded.

I do hope we make unique movies again someday. I have heard good things about Yanggaw...

Transformers 2 in 3 words

boom! Boom!! POW!!!

mojacko's recently viewed DVDs

Since Twinx's school was shut down due to a case of the swine flu, we bought some, ehem, DVDs to pass the time. We watched Coraline, T2 and Shake, Rattle and Roll X.

I had no idea about what Neil Gaiman's Coraline was about but it was an exciting experience! This is the only movie where I don't hate that precocious Dakota Fanning! From one of the makers of "The nightmare before Christmas," Henry Selick's movie is about the adventures of a girl named Coraline who finds a door that leads to a parallel world where everything is perfect except for the fact that the people there have buttons for eyes and her "other mom" wants her to stay there and sew button eyes on her, too! Plus, I love the roles of Brit duo, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders! Hilarious and scary!




Chito Rono's T2 is not Terminator 2 but stands for Tenement 2, the setting of the climax of the latest Star Cinema horror flick. It has an interesting and promising premise about our local folklore's encantos.

(SPOILER ALERT)

Maricel Soriano is a woman whose marriage is crumbling when she decides to bring an orphan girl to her new adoptive parent in T2 but all sorts of strange beings keep following them from Samar to Manila to get the girl who is a child of a man and an encanto.

My main problem with this movie is that is seems to have confused encantos with the aswangs. Encantos are enchanted beings who can be wicked and playful but not evil. Here, encantos turn into giant black boars, rats or wall-crawling creatures with green-grey skin who are vanquished by throwing salt at them. I also find it funny that in the movies, the encantos' world looks like Hong Kong Disneyland complete with fireworks, though a very interesting blog claims that this otherworldly beings do live in a very modern world replete with golden castles and hi-tech airplanes. (But what for, when they can travel anywhere in the blink of an eye?)

While Maricel is a competent actress, Rono should have reined in the young girl's OA tendencies and take a cue from Haley Joel Osment's mysterious turn in The Sixth Sense.

Finally, while we all started giving up on the Shake Rattle and Roll franchise after the brilliant first movie featuring Ishmael Bernal's "Pridyider" and Peque Gallaga's "Manananggal," right? But every now and then a jewel rises out of the muck like Lore Reyes' "Aswang" in part 2 or part 3's "Nanay" by Gallaga.

For part 10, upon my sister's recommendation, I skipped to the third part titled "Nieves" starring Marian Rivera as an encanto-buster who retires after losing her husband(Pekto) to an encanto queen. Far from being scary, this is intentionally funny and so refreshing! Forget T2, the encantos here are naughty, seductive and speak in a weirdly familiar language. It turns out one of the encantos (Iwa Moto) spoke swards speak (gay language!)

This movie showcases Marian's true calling : comedy! Forget another remake of Darna, they should make Nieves into a TV series!

This part got such good buzz, Regal Films is turning it into a full-length movie this year!