iNSOYMADA » Tsinelas

Life in the margins

insoy — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:34:56 +0000

WHILE sorting donated books to be put on sale for a charity event called Their Books last week, I felt I had to post the following advisory in our event’s Facebook page:

Their Books would like to advise donors to make sure no personal documents are included in their donations. Their Books has found diaries, planners, photo albums and similar items carrying information about the owners’ finances, family woes and failed relationships. Although grieving over the death of a pet dog and having a jerk for a boyfriend are a universal experience, some people might find other uses of these pieces of personal information.

Their Books vows to help the owners of the information cope with the pain by burning the evidence. But with the volume of donations we’re receiving, it’s not impossible some love letters tucked between the pages will slip undetected and find their way to the shelves. For that we don’t want to be held responsible. At the end of the day, it’s all about the love of the written word and nothing more.

Earlier that day, fellow Sun.Star Cebu editor and columnist Mike Limpag handed me a diary he had found among the books deposited by a donor at the gate of our office building. Mike, a Their Books supporter, was protective enough of a fellow book lover to salvage the diary from the pile of Jane Austens and Julie Garwoods. The item—old, dusty and beaten—contained private information, some so painful even a stranger like me cried copious tears while reading an entry about the owner’s unmet cravings for sundae and French fries.

The next hours saw me commiserating with a single mother who had poured all her pain and anguish unto McDonald paper napkins and tucked them in the pages of her beloved romance novels. The scribbling was so heart-wrenching that for a while I saw tears when there were only ketchup stains.

Mike’s discovery had me scanning the pages of the other books piling up in my work station at the newsroom to check if their donors had not inadvertently left juicy clues about their private lives in between the pages. Most of these books were donated by people who just want to share their love for the written word with fellow book lovers and help raise funds for charity. The least I can do to repay their generosity is to make sure their grocery lists and unpaid bills don’t end up in other people’s bookshelves.

There was a ticket stub to a Pilita Corrales concert at the Cebu Coliseum; an estampita of Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the patron saint of teachers; a rose petal flattened by time; a plane ticket to Cebu in which the passenger scribbled in bold red “Goodbye Caloocan;” a bus ticket to Santander, Cebu; a doctor’s prescription for painkillers; a photo of Christine Reyes in a pocket calendar; a pink handkerchief with the word “forever;” a stick of Pall Mall; and many other items that speak volumes about their owners.

It’s amazing how a book can be a witness to one mother’s dreams of a better world for her family. In the margins of a book on motherhood, the reader poured out her love for her son: “Finally, a bicycle for you this summer, my little boy.” And in the margins of the next chapter she wrote, “Daddy, this year’s going to be better.” I was relieved the donor didn’t write her name in the book. It made it to the book sale.

We receive hundreds of books for Their Books. And as I warned, we can’t be hundred percent sure we can remove all love letters hidden between the pages.

But at one point, it got us thinking, is all this screening necessary? If the owners of these books cared about their ugly fights with their lovers so much as to document these in paper napkins, why hide them in books that they know they would be giving away in the future?

Books and book lovers never cease to intrigue us. See you in the next book sale.

SUN.STAR CEBU, SEPT. 28, 2010

Air Supply is safer

insoy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:58:57 +0000

A NEWS item that came out in this paper last Sunday had me googling the words “videoke” and “killings.” Just when I thought videoke violence is nothing but media exaggeration caused by a dearth of newsworthy events on weekends, this story about a stabbing inside a videoke bar in my hometown of Pinamungajan convinced me the Aquino administration should now create a task force to investigate videoke killings in the country.

If it happens in Pinamungajan–or Timbuktu, or Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland–it happens everywhere.

The task force should be handled not by policemen or NBI agents but by musicians, particularly lyricists. You call the police or the NBI when it’s about drugs, or alcohol, or guns, or Joavan Fernandez. But when it’s about videoke violence, call the songwriter. Unless our law enforcement institutions include “Lyrics as Cause of Violence” in their training, drug raids and checkpoints will never solve videoke killings.

This is Google Research I’m talking about, the most reliable source of information for very serious researchers, like college freshmen and humor columnists. My comprehensive Google research told me video killings are intimately linked to the lyrics of the song that caused the fight. Take “My Way” for example.

A dozen articles dissecting the lyrics of “My Way” crop up when you google “videoke killings.” If you think I’m making this up, here’s an excerpt: “The number of killings connected to singing of the song (My Way) may simply reflect its popularity in a violent environment…The song’s ‘triumphalist’ theme might also be a factor.”

“The lyrics of ‘My Way’ increase the violence,” the study continues. “The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you’re somebody when you’re really nobody…It covers up your failures. That’s why it leads to fights.” The typical Filipino irritates.

It makes sense. Remember the last time you went videoke-ing with your friends, and there’s this guy in the next table singing “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” with all the braggadocio he could muster and you were so damn annoyed by it? Of course you don’t blame the lyrics. “I know just how to whisper/ And I know just how to cry/ I know just where to find the answers/ And I know just how to lie” is down pat annoying but only because you hate Air Supply to begin with.

You want to blow Hitchcock and Russell and their legion of fans to smithereens, not that drunk in the next table. And we’re not talking about the Bee Gees yet.

Now, imagine that same guy screaming, “For what is a man? What has he got? If not himself–Then he has naught…The record shows I took the blows. And did it my way.” Man, that guy’s annoying!

In fairness to Sinatra, he didn’t write “My Way.” It was Paul Anka, who re-wrote it from the original French, which he described as “a bad record, but there was something in it.” That “something” is murdering videoke singers all over the country. Creepy.

The Pinamungajan incident offers an additional twist to the videoke rage phenomenon. The song is not “My Way,” thank God, but Fred Berame’s Cebuano classic “Samtang May Kinabuhi.” In the context of the videoke rage in the country, the song sounds equally creepy.

No, we won’t dissect Berame’s lyrics right now. We’re running out of space. Besides, I hear somebody singing “My Way” at the videoke bar outside, and I have a mission to fulfill. Give me that gun now.

By Insoy Niñal
Sun.Star Cebu, July 20, 2010

Their Books 2

insoymada — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 06:39:39 +0000

TSINELAS is now accepting book donations for the next THEIR BOOKS. THEIR BOOKS 2 will be held on the third week of September as part of the 2009 Press Freedom Week celebration. Unlike last year when most of the donors were personalities from the media, the art scene and friends of Tsinelas, THEIR BOOKS 2 will also include books donated by news sources, politicians and other prominent personalities in Cebu.

Clap clap!

insoymada — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:27:35 +0000

ug sa dihang di na ganahan manguli ang mga participants. ing-ana kanindot ang music video workshop niadtong sabado ug dominggo.

more photos

“sinesine” ni kevin

BOOKid! a success

insoymada — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:29:56 +0000

Magpasalamat ang Tsinelas sa EWIT mountaineers ug sa Lamac Multipurpose Cooperative sa kalampusan sa maong proyekto.

Ang pagkatkat dili gara-gara, dili palabwanay sa abilidad. Ang pagkatkat, gawas nga pakigsuod kini sa kalikopan, pakigsandurot usab sa mga tawo nga nagpuyo sa bukid o sa palibot niini. Ug ang gibuhat sa EWIT nagmatuod nga dili kini imposible.

(more fotos of BOOKid here)

Katkat-lakat

insoymada — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:13:52 +0000

BOOKid!
Destination Lamac
July 4 – 5, 2009
A joint project of Tsinelas, EWIT Mountaineers and Lamac Multipurpose Cooperative

Activities: Trek, donation of books to Lamac National High School in Pinamungajan, giving of seminar on environment to students/youth, trek to Linao Spring, Lamac falls and caves.

Participants: 30 to 50 trekkers from Tsinelas and EWIT

Partner organizations/groups: Hidden Valley Resort, Lamac National High School, Barangay Lamac officials

Trail: The 7-kilometer dirt road from Bunga, Toledo City to Lamac, Pinamungajan, Cebu

Itinerary:
JULY 4
6 a.m.                                      Assembly at Citilink Terminal
7 a.m.                                      Departure for Lutopan
8:30 a.m.                                 Start of trek
12nn                                        Lunch at Hidden Valley Mountain Resort
2 p.m.                                      Turnover of books and Part 1 of seminar
4 p.m.                                      Free time
6 p.m.                                      Dinner
8 p.m.                                      Part 2 of seminar
10 p.m.                                    Hagok

JULY 5
6 a.m.                                      Bangon
7 a.m.                                      Breakfast
8 a.m.                                      Preparation for trek to spring and falls
9 a.m.                                      Start of trek to Linao Spring and falls
12nn                                      Lunch
1p.m.                                       Trek back to resort
2p.m.                                       Trek back to Bunga

* Participants of seminar are students from Lamac National High School and youth members of Lamac Multipurpose Cooperative

Music video workshop – final details

insoymada — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:24:19 +0000

1st TSINELAS MUSIC VIDEO WORKSHOP
July 18 – 19, 2009
Sentro sa Katilingban Bldg.
Saint Theresa’s College
Gen. Maxilom Ave., Cebu City

Topics:

Orientation on the tools needed
Fundamentals of planning, shooting and editing
Basic work flow and techniques
Common problems and how to avoid them
Exploring alternative technology

Registration: P2,500 — 30 PERCENT DISCOUNT FOR STUDENTS (meals, snacks, workshop kit, certificate, souvenir items, giveaways)

Facilitator:
RUEL ANTIPUESTO
Ruel Dahis Antipuesto is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker whose works have been included in various local and international competitions and exhibitions, including Portugal, UK, Germany, Korea, USA, India and France. His works have received several nominations and awards including Gawad CCP, Star Awards, FAMAS, Cinemanila and Urian. Ruel runs a marketing communications company in Cebu and does audio visual reverse engineering as a hobby over a glass of cold soda.

For reservation and more info, contact secretariat at 09228243800, 09267325355, insoymada@gmail.com

THIS IS A FUND RAISING PROJECT OF TSINELAS

(help spread the news and help tsinelas. grab poster here)

Tsinelas Music Video Workshop – P2,500

insoymada — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:55:47 +0000

Ruel Antipuesto shooting MF’s Sine-sine video

Bitaw, mahal ra ang P3,500, especially for students. So we’ve decided to make it P2,500. Mahal ra gihapon? No. it’s two days, meals, snacks, accommodation, workshop kit, and it’s RUEL ANTIPUESTO! Date is July 18 and 19. Venue is Don Bosco Retreat House in Talisay. For reservation and more info, text 09228243800, 09267325355, or email insoymada@gmail.com, or leave a note here.

We’ll be posting more details this week. Thanks.

Bike and Run a success

insoymada — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:52:12 +0000

salamat jaq siwala, of cool dimensions, and the cebu city sports commission.

click THIS THIS THIS for more fotos.

Finally, a reading center!

insoymada — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:14:09 +0000

naporma na ang reading center sa colonia central elementary school sa lungsod sa tuburan. salamat sa tanang mi-donate og books ug ubang materials nga mabutang sa reading center. dako kaayo ang tabang nga inyong nahatag para sa eskuylahan ug sa mga bata.

for last wednesday’s visit to the school, tsinelas also tied up with consolacion’s our lady of joy learning center headed by mary rose villacastin maghuyop in giving reading appreciation seminar to the kids.

MORE FOTOS HERE HERE HERE.