Istimer

   Isang lutong siomai  na ako dito sa kinatatayuan ko dahil sa sobrang init at gitgitan ng mga kapwa kong siomai at siopao. Tagaktak na sa pawis ang aking likod at leeg na sinabayan pa ng nanlalagkit kong buhok. Ihahawi ko na lang ito sa aking kaliwang balikat. Ngunit dahan-dahan lang kung hindi ay magagalit si Aleng maliit na nakapila sa aking likod.

   Isang malakas na tunog ang umalingaw-ngaw, siya namang tingin ng mga ate sa kanilang kanan. Mabilis na lumalapit ang ilaw. Ayan na ang tren. Ayan na ang pwersang nanggagaling sa likod na siyang sasabayan ng aking katawan. Hindi pa bumubukas ang mga pinto ng tren sumusugod na ang mga amazona. Walang laban naman ang mga gustong lumabas mula sa mainit na istimer na ito. Ayaw kong makisali sa kanilang away. Tanging ang mga inosenteng laptop at kamera ko ang mahalaga sa akin ngayon. Hindi sila dapat bumitaw sa akin o madamay sa pangyayaring ito.

   Durog na ang ang mga siomai at siopao sa loob ng istimer. Sa bawat biglang tigil ng tren walang natutumba dahil ubos lahat ng espasyong pwedeng tumbahan nino man. Ayon lang, may na over-cook na isang siomai man yun o siopao. Hindi na kaya ni ate ang init dito sa loob ng istimer. Ngunit gusto niya pa ring ipagpatuloy ang biyahe upang makita lamang si Andres. Tulad niya may magagawa pa ba kami? May mangyayari ba kung kami ay magrereklamo? Magpapasko na. Magpasensiyahan na lang sa mga nagigitgitan at magbigayan  na lang. 

Amazing race and the spark of connection

Amazing Race in a wide campus with green grass, tall trees and fresh air? G!

This activity in our ESTHETA class is more exciting than just doing it for the sake of having class requirement.  Running, finding clues, doing what is asked in the guidelines are so much fun especially doing it with my friends. Everyone did their part in this activity: in thinking, composing answers and posing for a picture. I say that it was tiring but still the fun is exceptional.

I was really amazed in the UP Diliman’s campus because it is like a campus of the arts. There are different kinds of art you can find there especially in the UP Vargas Museum. One of the work of art there that got my attention is the Dream Girl  by  Preeyachanok Ketsuwan. 

Source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/vargas%20museum?before=1352936513

Source:http://projectglocal2012.blogspot.com/2012/10/cityzening-on-exhibit.html

I actually don’t get why the title is like that but the art works show only a long hair of a girl. According to one of source, Preeyachanok is a Buddhist. She feels that women are being oppressed in the society and do not enjoy equal opportunity as men do. In the first glance you would really feel the weakness from the art work in the way how these women hide in their long hair. But when I knew the reason why the artist did draw this I felt more of her pain and sympathy to the oppressed women.

I like this kind of art because you might not know the real reason of the artist but you will feel how the artist feels. It is like a spark of connection. 

Say "Cheese" or do the pose?

Aesthetics.

Pretty. Cool. Cute. Extravagant. Relaxing. Beautiful. Ugly.  Elegant. High-class. Cheap. Handsome.  Plain.

These are the words that most of us use when we describe or criticizing something. However if something beautiful for you it may not be that beautiful for others or if something is cool for them you might find it as something weird. Just like how the Western art is different from the Asian art or may be the same in some ways. For example in fashion, Koreans dress more to express unlike Americans who dresses more to impress. (That's how I see it.)

Source: http://media1.onsugar.com/files/2011/07/26/5/192/1922564/5d671d47b17decbf_saks2.preview/i/American-Designers-Celebrate-American-Fashion-Sakscom.jpg

Source: http://trendfashiondesign.com/2012/07/wonder-girls-fashion-style-2012-korean-girls-band-clothes/popular-wonder-girls-fashion-style-2012-korean-girls-band-trends/

They also differ in music. Most Asian songs have both sing and dance while the most Westerns’ have drama in their songs. In film, Westerns are fond of creating weird or what we call experimental films than Asians. 

“I don’t like KPop that much but I love to listen to Maroon 5 and One Direction. I don’t watch Glee or Gossip Girl but I am a fan of Full House, Princess Hours, Boys Over Flowers and other Korean drama. I used to text in jeje language, now I don’t like receiving text messages like that.”

My personal aesthetics? It is a mixture of what I get from the Western and Asian art. It is also affected by the society where I am in. My examples above are more of art and media. Perhaps because it is more close to me than artistic works in museums.   However I like something if it’s relevant to me, has meaning, can move me, can amaze me, or can even make me think or wonder. If I don’t get the point of a particular art then to me it’s just an expression of an artist that I don’t know of. Just like my examples above, I don’t like KPop (but does not mean that I hate it) because I don’t get the language of their song than Maroon 5 and One Direction’s. I like Korean dramas (Kdramas) more than Glee and Gossip Girl maybe because I used to watch Kdramas since grade six and in our province we did not have cable connections. Also the language is translated in Tagalog which I understand more than English. Lastly, I realized that when I say “So jeje”, it means so cheap or perhaps ugly. Unlike before I love to send text messages in jeje language. I think I started to stop texting in jeje language since first year college because I was influenced by my “high class environment” but later on I realized that Jejemon is actually an art because it is an expression of self.

I personally believe that aesthetics is not having standards. It is just a matter of how I can relate to the art.