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A lesson I have to keep on reminding myself.

"We dream of and we work hard for that perfect, whistle-bait or well-chiseled, muscled body, pearly white teeth, long, smooth, and soft hair, perfect nose, eyes, lips, picture-perfect face. Even as we are able to achieve that notion of PERFECTION, the fact remains that earthly existence is NOT that perfect. The perfect body, the perfect face, and even what seems to be the perfect life sooner or later gives in to the law of its IMPERFECT nature and fades away, perhaps slowly but surely. We have to concede that earthly life is simply just the way it is --- FAR FROM BEING PERFECT."

ArchInspire #009: Local Heritage

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Our class in History has got me thinking on where to stand regarding certain issues on heritage conservation of old structures in the country. It should matter a lot to me after all as one of the young mind climbing the architectural profession. Foreign trends and styles have been a designer's aesthetic inspiration for years. And it seemed little thought has been made on keeping our own. Up until when will I join the bandwagon? Hmmm.

So here's what I got from searching over the latest news about the mother of our national hero's ancestral home in Binan, Laguna. Apparently, the present owner, Gerardo Alberto, have decided to sell the structure to Jerry Acuzar. Plans have been made to relocate the structure to the Spanish-colonial-inspired resort Ciudad Real de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan owned by the latter.

The relocation gives rise to the argument that a structure's beauty may be kept from its declining condition but its heritage and cultural intangibles can never be preserved the moment one takes it away from the original place where it stood.

Creative Juice #017: Bjorn Bedayo

We all belong to the same generation and we do love to hear from them. Check out this budding professionals profile and get inspired. Interview borrowed from Miss Rosanna Aranaz's feature article about The SDA Project on Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Bjorn Bedayo, 18
Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Arts
Personal Blog: bjornxmanila

“I want to be one of the most successful fashion photographers in the country. I also want to establish an advertising agency and a menswear boutique with my best friends.”

Describe your personal style:
I’m often seen wearing eclectic and street preppy outfits. I like to mix up vintage-looking pieces with modern ones. I also like playing with proportions, a long button-down with cropped pants for example. Lookbook is my style bible.

Style motto:
Fashion should be an expression of one’s style and individuality. Do not be afraid to express yourself, love the avant-garde and be eccentric.

Other than the SDA project, what do you do?
I’m the creative photographer of Versa-Vise Productions. I’ve collaborated with La Salle College International students, Onin Lorente of Style Anywhere, The Editions, Bespoke de Levenson Rodriguez, and Fashion Designers Alliance Manila. Recently, I was nominated in a Malaysia-based website Tongue in Chic’s Style Awards: The Face To Watch Out For 2010.”

Three Years of Blogging

Image borrowed here

Roughly over two hundred and fifty posts, I went over my early musings in this blog the other night and was completely surprised how crude my writing was back then. So I did myself a favour and made a lot of editing to save myself from being the prime suspect of a grammar law enforcer lurking somewhere out there.

The task was quite daunting yet nostalgic at the same time. I didn’t know I was that sensitive to blog about the weather, a random stranger that offered to share a smile, or simply just describing how it feels to be in that liminal state linking high school and college. Even from the most mundane and random rumination, I didn’t know I'd get something. And truly that was quite something. (I found out just now how rumination exacerbates my stress levels and how likely impulsive a person is whose overly critical and high in comparative thinking).

Maybe character is what’s missing from this cyber niche but perhaps it is only through my eyes and not just in my words one can have a glimpse of the true reflection of my soul.

ArchInspire #008

It's a ten two-letter lesson I learned from Architectural Design 7.

Creative Juice #016: Lady Gaga Parody

Many of us may not admit it but the renowned Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta more popularly known as Lady Gaga, has been one of this generations most talented and creative eye candy and entertainment guilty pleasure. Inspired by her glamorous performances and mind-sweeping yet ultimately original fashion sense, multitudes of funny parody videos came to existence from the primordial soup of her debut songs 'Poker Face' and 'Just Dance' that has continue to grow every day.

I have seen my favorites, from our very own Youtube sensation Vinzon a.k.a. Lady Gagita and his uproarious viral performances to hysterical acapella parodies, comes a new darling piece written and directed by Orcom studs of University of the Philippines in Manila. I was surprised to see my very own friend starring as the prominent singer-songwriter but was completely calmed by the long embraced inkling that she had it in her from the very first time we met. Hehe.

Well, kidding aside, I did love her performance though it seemed she's holding back a little. Even so, I am still proud of her for making us all happy. As gwingquestor said in his comment on the video, "I'll never look at Kitty the same way again. Hehe.

ArchInspire #007: Old Bus Station

My fascination for the history of the neighbourhood where I grew up probably started from an old advertisement poster featuring a newly opened public transport bus station circa date unknown I found while going over old memorabilia photos of Manila from a group in Facebook. Pantranco is the name of the place where Roces Avenue and Quezon Avenue meets. It was a common assembly place with friends and group mates back in high school and a very well-known name posted all over jeepneys routing Quezon Avenue. Aside from the old brutalist D&E Building I have admired until it was turned into a hotel frequented by Koreans learning English from a nearby Language school and local promiscuous couples looking for a place to unload their bodily tensions, little did I know that there was such a bus station near our place so renowned that after years of nonexistence its name still remains. I can only imagine how everything might have looked like during those old days.

The old poster itself was a time capsule and a looking window to the yesteryears of our neighbourhood that jerks a stream of excitement on my part as if I have unearthed a long forgotten mystery. My major subjects on City Planning with our first topic on History of human settlements and community development luckily are complementing my curiosity in this field of interest.