CebuAsia.com

“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” — Leonardo

Have you ever seen a herd of cows getting their tan in some beaches?

Yes, you’ve heard me in the first shout!

For my opening salvo this March (and as a breather from “blog-seriousness”), I will take you into the far-flung places of the Internet. There are some precious finds; multi-verses unknown to us in our daily dabbling with this, arguably, the greatest (and ultimately crazy) invention man has ever come up with: The Web.

I would like to share here, with you, what I’ve browsed upon, while our sense of urgency is focused on work, relationships, and what’s basic in life… Take time to ponder with these wonderful treasures. So get entangled in your virtual steps. Thread carefully in thought. Binge from the serious to the outright disturbing and some things hilarious:

1. Life is all about creating yourself and other quotes by the world-famous Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw.

2. Ten Commandments meet Perfect Storm. Dramatic photos of man and his puny machine versus nature.

3. Brilliance, perhaps, is found in reading science fiction. Turn the pages of these must-reads: The Twenty Science Fiction Novels that Will Change Your Life.

4. Javan Ivey and his My Paper Mind — an enigmatic, experimental animation called, Stratastencil technique.

5. What’s up for breakfast? Not for the weak-hearted, though. Here’s why… Top 10 Horror Remakes of All-Time!

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Nothing to do this February 29th? Do you want to leap to SM Cebu Cinema 1 and watch the most-awaited film, “Confessional,” by Jerrold Tarog? (Tarog is a multi-awarded Philippine filmmaker from the same powerhouse talent that brought you Rhythm of the Unison, 1st Prize, 2007 Sinulog Video Documentary Competition, and other back-to-back Cinemanila / Cinemalaya awards).

Cebuasia is giving away two free tickets of Confessional (winner of 7 major awards at the Cinema One Originals 2007 Awards Night) starting today. Don’t tell us you forgot we have an extra day in February, this year…

Mechanics:

1. Comment any article posted by Cebuasia bloggers/authors since February 1, 2008.

2. I will choose two random comments left on any February post here in Cebuasia at 7:30 pm tomorrow, the 28th. Those lucky commenters will, of course, get the freebies! Very simple.

3. Applicable ONLY to either online bloggers / website owners / netizens with valid contact numbers, YM, or emails (you can, however, proxy yourself to your friends or loved ones here in Cebu if you happen to be the real website owner and may not be able to claim this physically from me) who have actively updated their blogs/sites for three months now. Must have a valid personal blog that you maintained since November 2007 (e.g., wordpress, blogger, livejournal, etc).

4. Since this is a Cebu City screening, the lucky winners should physically claim their tickets from me tomorrow, Thursday, starting 8PM onwards at Browncup Coffee Shop, St. Patrick Square, Redemptorist Church Area (St. Therese College - back gate).

5. Important: Please leave your valid contact cellphone numbers, YM or email in your comments. In the event that you cannot be reached or you fail to collect your tickets, which will expire just a few minutes before curtain time on Friday, February 29 at 9pm — with my discretion — I will dispose / hand these to the next lucky souls who might be loitering around SM Cebu Cinema 1!

I will announce the two winners here tomorrow, in the updates portion of this post.

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“Kinsay mag-tuo? Matod pa gani ninyo nga kamo gi-lantaw nga mga si-ot sa katilingban. Karon, nahimo na kamong sama sa mga humot nga halaman nga naghatag og garbo dili lamang sa lalawigan sa Sugbo, kung dili sa tibu-ok nasod sa Pilipinas.” — Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia (Oct. 12, 2007)

(Translation: Who would expect? You were treated like dirt among the community. But now, you are like beautiful flowers, which give pride and glory, not only for the province of Cebu, but the entire Philippine nation.)

That’s the beauty of music. They can’t get that from you… Haven’t you ever felt that way about music? — Tim Robbins, as Andy Dufresne, in Shawshank Redemption

Noooooo!

It wasn’t murder, stealing cameras (and kidnapping their owners), or a corpse secret of stashing ill-gotten wealth!

I’ve been hinting these a few days ago, and somehow, been drawn there with a firsthand buzz from another photographer-friend, Giovanni Omega, and my other partner-in-crime, photography award-winner Melvin Tezon. On Saturday, the 23rd this month, I’ll never thought we’d go behind bars. (Click the photos to view their large pop-in sizes.)

…that I witnessed something spectacular (again), this time. A quick bus ride from the western side of the Capitol Building to the junction of Beverly Hills and Opra was a thrill.

(Perhaps, this was to keep the notion of brewing another People Power revolution in the country.)

But another kind of revolution has invaded a prison here in Cebu City, creating a mass wave of online support – ticked at more than 12 million views in Youtube, as of this post time. You’ve got to see to believe how ready the forces of these docile and sober elements can-do once the first note hits in the air with their cool “Sister Act,” snappy “Thriller” grooves, or get drawn in an ethereal, albeit an enigmatic Sinulog beat (unbeknownst to the two million populace of the grand street parade last January 20.)

Kidding aside, I went to see the world renowned dancing inmates (and met new photographer friends including Ruben Shan and the Cebuano folk hero, Esteban Escudero and Golyat fame!)

As if the Carbon experience, in the article, “Carbon Life: Humanity’s Gritty Existence,” wasn’t enough to illicit another round of apprehensions, I feared that I might lose my camera again (or find myself fighting, bloody bones pop apart, with inmates in an unprecedented jailbreak.)

There goes a photographer’s uneasy life, you know. Perhaps, that is one definitive reason why I completely shunned my journalism career – of war-torn assignments, to see un-Hollywood kind-of-gore, where the Coen brothers staked their Oscar hearts into, in their latest, gruesome award-winning opus “No Country for Old Men.”

I gaped.

You have to consider if your life is in danger, when confronted with this sharp, silvery-edged thought.

But I digress.

So, you think prison walls are a hopeless case? Think again, inside are the best stories about hopes, families and dreams to become better persons.

There is a world inside detention cells which advocates the learning curves of slack and apathy; one that calls for total mind, body and soul renewal; a supportive environment of self-development and individual expression most sought after in honor and obligation. A world where music becomes their literal, universal language of the soul, a world of light and shadow converging to fuse “dancing as a positive expression,” where good and evil is obviously waging eternal battle, escaping into the artistic sides of these trapped souls. It is the world of the New Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC). Perhaps, this is the greatest reality show ever produced by Cebuanos from the Philippines, spearheaded by the Province of Cebu’s Byron Garcia, Consultant on Security.

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