Off-center, part ii

Off-center, part i

I noticed that characters in Wong Kar-Wai's movies rarely find their way to the center of the frame. Technique man yun o mere ornament (not much likely), isa lang ang sigurado ko: para sa'kin lahat ng babae sa mga works niya ay Gorgeous (partly because of my bias for women in cheongsams). Of course, credit also goes to the cinematographer, Christopher Doyle.

Kahit na cigarettes are mega cliches by now, Idol pa rin.

*images from Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love, and 2046

Seng Guan Temple hall

where a gilded Buddha peaks
behind your back
where you look
is it nowhere or nearer
still I hold this in focus, steady
it becomes. It comes to me
an aperture tunnels a surface
that peeks into itself, a bottle
mathematicians fondly name after Klein.
Not much knowing nor arrived
in mind I hold it as a calyx
having no outside or inside, just
bounded, there resides that day
closing inward how can it
not find into another, then into this
the world being tendered
the night could not but open
into its scent, collapse of light in myself
reversing in spheres until they are walls
thinned in the lost distance to be won
before the poem on love is written.

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Sunday Morning, Rain is falling... aka Son, I saw you've got rubber

So nag-aalmusal ako kanina, tapos biglang sabi ng Mom ko:
“Kahapon pala nag-aano ako tapos nakita ko sa bag mo, nakita ko may condoms. Gumagamit ka pala ng condoms? (hint of a subtly forbidding/inquiring tone)”

Ako naman pasimpleng “Oo...” ang sagot with matching tono tulad sa “Duh, obvious ba...” Hindi na ko nakapag-isip nang mabilisan, sayang tuloy ang chance na humirit ala Vice Ganda (Ay hindi Ma, hindi ko ginagamit, nilagay ko lang yan para naman may makita kang kakaiba for a change dahil alam kong ina-"ano" mo yung bag ko. Tapos lalabas si Ashton Kutcher at sisigaw ng You just got Punkd! )

Pero ganito yung lalabas na ashton kutcher haha.


Patay malisya lang acting ko pero syempre kinabahan ako, syempre hindi naman dun natatapos ang ganitong usapan. You know moms, impossible yun. So kambyo ang ermats,
“Hindi naman masama gumamit ng condoms, mabuti nga yun....
“Pero kasi hindi ka naman nag-uuwi ng girlfriend dito, baka makabuntis ka. Yung anak nga di ganyan blah blah. Kung kailangan mo ng condoms, marami kami (nurse kasi mom ko).”

Pak! Narinig ko si Buddha at lahat ng Bodhisattvas na nagchorus sa pagtatawanan at pagkanta parang Glee, oo chong, narinig ko ang halakhakan nila kahit hindi ako buddhist, ganun pala ang pakiramdam. Parang scripted ang mga pangyayari, parang play lang at sa nagsulat ng plot na ito, taena, ikaw na! Ikaw na ang witty.

Kaya naman pala kagabi panay ang text ni ermats sakin dahil gabi na daw at pauwi na daw ba ako. Aha...
Tama naman ang (unspoken) hula niya, nasa date nga ako.
So apparently:

1. Either my mom was faking it and was waiting for me to say it, or wala talaga siyang idea na bading ako. Kung sinabi ko na lang kayang wag siya mag-alala na hindi naman ako makakabuntis dahil hindi naman babae ang tipo ko? Tambling siguro sya nun. Ewan ko, para lang siguro to get it over and done with. But that’s a bit cruel, I know. Does the shock of finally hearing it change though? Can you ease that? I have no idea.

2. Pero ito ang bongga talaga: nag-offer pa siya na bigyan ako ng stash ng condoms, which means, she’s totally ok with it. Early twenties naman na ako haller, anyway. Tanungin ko kaya siya kung meron silang extra thin for maximum sensation or yung ribbed for extra pleasure?

Now I have a simple idea for a coming-out scheme. Instead of putting a burden on myself to find the right time, I’ll pass it to my mom. *Evil laftir* Iwan ko na lang ang cellphone ko at hayaan kong mabasa niya ang “suspicious” text messages. Then, either it’ll just be an open secret of the family or she asks the question when she’s finally ready to hear the answer. Or should I feel responsible and finally man up?

Fix you

It was the performance that first made me understood dance really as an art form, and I didn't expect seeing it from a TV contest. But there it is. I haven't seen much else actually so I wouldn't be able to critique refined techniques and judge according to corresponding standards. Alam ko lang tumalab sakin yung piece.

Snapshots of awesome parts of the routine:

Premise

The two pictures above and below are continuous. Beautiful arm movements. This has a symmetry I cannot put my finger on. When she emerged from the hoop of his arms with that expression and momentum, I knew right at that moment the choreography was going to special.

The climax of the music begins. Fast, fully-extended movements and the dancers pull themselves into the other half of the stage. The usage of space was subtle to me yet so amazing. It was able to delineate a different ground/span of time where the dancers then entered into a synchronized duet, suggesting a (temporary) resonance between the two characters.

What flight. Shit. Let's just call this move: So fucking amazing please teach me to dance too.

With her back turned on him, she launched herself in the air relying on him to ran forward at just the exact moment to catch her. Caught in his shoulders, the arc of her body suggested heavy burden. Now that image is already perfect, but imagine the actual requirements (e.g. trust) for the dancers to able to perform that. Ugh. Crazy people.

Ugh again, because it transitions to this immediately. This actually happened fast like a snapshot, not unlike a lapse.

The throws then become sick integral to the narrative. Look at her.

Then, the tone quiets down together with the music. Notice that the two are back again on this part of the stage, facing in that particular direction. The expansiveness we've previously witnessed deflates and the irrevocable creeps in. On the ground, with his forehead he nudged the back of her legs forward (probably, I was tearing up then for the last 30 seconds). That gesture is utterly priceless.

And then shet lang, tanginang power ending: he embraced her and slipped his feet beneath hers, he began to guide her steps slowly as they walked as one. Combined with the expression of the characters and the two performers' commitment to that final emotion (they kept on going after the music almost to the edge of the platform), its sheer impact made me reel back and blink stupidly after some time. Yung tipong parang bawal ka muna makaramdam ng kahit ano, ng iba pa for a short period.

I can't embed the video here so just check this link. May better HD versions if you search for urselves. The choreography (billed 'contemporary' btw) set to Coldplay's Fix you is by Travis Wall, performed by Robert Roldan and Allison Holker. Robert, please marry me. KThnksBye. Haha.

At dahil dito, may natutunan akong term: Negative space. In this context, from what I understand, negative space refers to when little to no motion is presented for longer-than-normal period of time. It's when the mood, facial expression or posture are highlighted, I guess. Awesum.

If you've watched Talk to Her (Hable con ella) ni Pedro Almadovar.. ang galing lang nung paggamit niya nung opening na dance na "Café Müller" by Pina Bausch. Pero ibang level na yun, di ko na yata ma-aannotate yun.

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