There’s a subtle moment, a turning point in time when a chapter of memorable firsts transformed one’s period of youth into an age of maturity—the time when a first heartbreak, first love, and first dream were more than just parts of a story, they were beginnings. With arms opened wide and eyes closed, the first…
Author: Danielle Arcon
There are viral fads that come and go, and then there are those that linger, even changing the scene entirely. If you’ve been one of the 81 million viewers of the spectacle that is Coldplay’s recent Up&Up music video, then you’ve borne witness to a photomontage in motion. Whereas photomontage has been a surrealist technique…
If the restoration of the Manila Metropolitan Theater were a song, it’s the renaissance of a timeless kundiman that endures on the airwaves long after its notes were composed. It begins with a slow pull, its facade greeting you with a lyrical prelude and inviting your steps into the cadence of a pianoforte’s tempo. From…
In celebration of the University’s Vision-Mission Week and the never-ending love for Original Pilipino Music (OPM), Animusika, the awaited culmination night concert, was held at the Henry Sy Sr. Hall Grounds last June 16. Pursuing its annual tradition of promoting the local sound, Animusika featured musical acts such as Parokya ni Edgar, Sponge Cola, SUD, Imago,…
It’s the golden age of unexpected twists, and in an era when many are comforted by what’s traditional for its default familiarity, the unconventional provokes: relentlessly evocative of something distinctive, gripping, and different. Carving a name for itself, it’s a mixed bag of both surprise and flavor. And perhaps, in its compelling case of paradoxical…
From sentiments of surprise, skepticism, and even wonder, near death experiences are labeled with a wide spectrum of reactions, but easy to dismiss is not one of them. The tales of those who’ve died, been to the other side, and came back are plenty. And it’s often met with an assorted mix of responses. Some…
Minimalism just might be the new black. More than just being the opposite of hoarding, the minimalist lifestyle is at once vivid and monochrome, striking and humble. In a time of luxurious imaginings and gluts of clutter, screaming the word “more” in flashing neons, still there are those who remain steadfast to the lifestyle of having few…
Mow’s comedy bar, a faintly lit room nestled inconspicuously within the basement of a Chinese restaurant, houses a crowd of about twenty people hoping to have a few laughs. Huddled around wobbly steel tables and equally flimsy bar stools, they make attempts at conversation as The Strokes’ Reptilia blares through the speakers set up in…
You step out of the church and it all hits you. The bright lights—red, green, and yellow—twinkle around the windows of every house. Some are slowly fading in and out, some seem like they are dancing to the tambourines and the choir singing Joy to the World, echoing from inside. The midnight air embraces you,…
Halfway through one of Philippine cinema’s most memorable films, Anak, Vilma Santos and Claudine Barretto find themselves in the middle of a confrontation; Barretto sobs as the scene unravels unspoken tensions and escalates to a climactic mother-and-daughter conflict. “Siguro ang talagang gusto kong sabihin, mas malaki ang nawala sa amin noong iniwan mo kami,” she…