Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was an Abstract-Expressionist painter. He went to New York and studied at the Art Student League. Pollock was an alcoholic, and he went into therapy. However, Pollock was unwilling to share his problems with the therapist, so it had little effect in helping him. This rehabilitation experience nevertheless affected Pollock’s works. Pollock died of an alcohol-related car crash when he was 44.

Photograph of Jackson Pollock

Pollock’s works consisted of action paintings, works that are characterized by the dripping and pouring of paint directly on the canvas. He did not paint using an easel, but instead painted using the floor for which he was quoted saying that he needed the resistance of a hard surface. He also said that painting on the floor enabled him “to be a part of the painting”, because he could walk around it and paint on all four sides. The photographer Hans Namuth documented Pollock while working in his studio.

Photographs of Jackson Pollock working in his studio by Hans Namuth

It may be a good bet to say that for the casual art viewers (in contrast with art enthusiasts), deciphering the meaning of most of the abstract paintings produced is a difficult thing to do. With the artist’s philosophies, expressions, and feelings all contained on the canvas, interpreting the meaning of the work may seem like taking a look at someone’s countless and kaleidoscopic thoughts. On the other hand, representational works such as the ones in the Renaissance and Baroque Eras can easily be given an interpretation by most people.

These abstract paintings...

vs.

an image of a king

The ambiguous and vague nature of abstract-expressionist paintings allows the artist to conceal messages that people cannot easily see. Pollock might have done this to his painting entitled, Mural.

Can you see something?

The Smithsonian website has an article I have read just recently that talks about the alleged hidden name of Jackson Pollock painted in camouflage on his work, the Mural. The author of the article mentioned that it was his wife who first saw the letters “S-O-N” on the upper right area of the mural, “Then she realized JACKSON ran across the entire top. And finally she saw POLLOCK below that.”

Name of Jackson Pollock alleged to be on his painting, Mural.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/videos/Find-Pollocks-Name.html

It should be noted that this discovery is just a theory because of the lack of scientific evidences. Sue Taylor, an art historian from the Portland State University and who also has studied Pollock’s work the Stenographic Figure, said that “It’s feasible. Pollock would often begin with some sort of figurative device to which he would then respond—and eventually bury under layers of paint. Letters and numbers, moreover, frequently appear in works of the early 1940s."

It seems that there is still no scientific processes performed on Pollock’s Mural to verify this claim. It all the more adds to Pollock’s expressionistic aura as reflected on his works. Whether Pollock was just experimenting to see what he is capable of, or perhaps announcing something to the world, we cannot yet know. The only thing that is certain is Pollock is one of the best Modern artists that the world has ever seen.

The Pride of Philippine Infrastructure?

On Hilary Clinton's first time visit in Asia last year, the media (and I, myself) was quick to note that the Philippines wasn't included in her travel plans. The Philippines, together with South Korea and Japan, has a historic security alliance with the United States, and is the most committed (and one of the oldest) American ally in south east Asia. Clinton, however, visited Indonesia where there existed bumpy times between the two countries. Is the Philippines getting increasingly shunned by Western nations?

The Philippines was once poised to be an Asian power. With a promising economy after the Second World War, the Philippines enjoyed one of the highest rates of GDP growth in the world and was second behind Japan in terms of economic and social development. Things went awry during the time of Ferdinand Marcos when he embezzled public funds, giving them to his cronies or even keeping all of them just for himself, and well, Imelda. As of today, the Philippines, still paying the loans wasted and stolen by Marcos, finds it hard to recover from an economic trough as a result of the first People Power and civil unrest.
Once the richest country in south east Asia, the Philippines has continued to lag behind in developments and has now been overtaken by other SEA nations (We're number four now behind 1. Indonesia 2. Thailand and 3. Malaysia ! Vietnam's next, God!).

There are other countries out there that are more economically important to the U.S. than the Philippines, in this case, Indonesia. So it's no wonder why the U.S. (and other prospective investors) is increasingly shunning the Philippines.

Our government has developed a system of political dynasty, which proved to be a bane rather than a boon. Rampant corruption has never left the Philippine government, and with numerous unresolved government scandals of the Arroyo administration, the image of our government and the nation as well continues to be tainted. We badly need a facelift.

A national facelift can come in a variety of ways. The frequent one we're getting is when Manny Pacquiao wins a fight. But this isn't something Filipinos can benefit from economically, unless Manny donates or invest those millions of dollars in creating businesses and jobs. The other one is infrastructure development, and this is the major facelift we need.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has just recently begun construction of the Manila Bay Tourism City. This is the Philippines' take on the casino fever that is currently sweeping the world.

Park amenities include:

• The so-called Manila Eye – A Ferris wheel larger than the London eye
• A large performing arts stadium
• An Oceanarium larger than that in Rizal Park (I'm tired of Oceanariums! Scrap this please)
• Universal Studios theme park (Please, don't change this into a Super-Inggo/ Pinoy styled theme park)
• Museums (Yahoo!)
• Kidzania (have no idea what's so special about this, aside from it's a kiddie theme park)
• Large theaters
• Various five to seven stars residences
• World class hospitals (May world class doctors naman kaya? Haha. Sorry)
• Casinos
• Sports Complex
• A high speed train that will connect the Tourism City to the Philippine International Airport

Various amenities right, but the center of attraction is the proposed 2,182 ft (665 meters) Pagcor tower that will be the second tallest structure in the world (The name sucks - ang baho. Can't the name be replaced with a famous Filipino hero?).

I have been told that Pagcor tower may not be included in the overall project, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed because if they don't include it, there will not be something of a luring aspect to the Tourism City and the project will be seen as something very ordinary.

The Manila Bay Tourism City aims to compete with gaming Meccas such as those in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore. It will provide 225,000 new jobs and opportunities to Filipinos and will generate US$ 6 billion dollars in revenue. The project is worth US $15 billion and will be completely developed in 10 years with three phases. I've heard that phase two has just started, but I haven't seen any recent construction pictures near the Manila Bay area on the internet.

This could be the "it" facelift the Philippines need. With all the promises of the project Pagcor had said, this again arouses the Filipino's yearning of a better life and a better country. I am hoping that this won't become yet another politician's promise, which ALWAYS just end up being pinned on their ever expanding to-do lists. This project could bring the Philippines back again as the leader in south east Asia, or even better, bring back the good old days when we belonged to the list of the wealthiest countries in the world. Let's not let our hopes down and continue to aspire for a better Philippines.

More references:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagcor_City

Missing Out on a Backyard Sport

The sport I play is not popular. It involves a racket and a shuttle – Badminton. I am so good at it that I once made it to the JVC open badminton competition and I was like the lead player in our varsity back in my early years in high school. There are virtually no badminton aficionados here in the U.S. Oh actually, there are some…in the backyard.

Badminton is considered a backyard sport in the United States. People do not play it as much as they play football, baseball, and basketball. The most easily seen proof that Badminton isn't popular in the States as it is in the Philippines is the lack of professional badminton rackets sold at major sports shops. I remember one time going to a big and popular sports place selling easily bent with colored strings badminton rackets and with a two proudly advertised free plastic shuttles.

My initial reaction was, "Pfft". I can forgive those rackets, but as a pro-player, I can say that you can't ascend to the higher playing levels of Badminton with a plastic birdie.

This is the real thing...

...not this. :P

There are also a few badminton clubs available. The nearest badminton club from my area is still a hefty 30 miles. Back in the good old days of intense Badminton play, we would just drive 12 minutes from our home to the nearest Badminton club and challenge random players inside. The result wasn't just the one you get from a good play, but new friendships made!

Looks fun, huh? hahaha

Badminton is a good substitute for the boring hours of repetitive activities inside the gym. You can never know what may happen in a Badminton play. Because of the swift movement of the shuttlecock in just a small court, you are ought to use fast strategies, brain and body coordination, eye contact, and swift feet. In just an hour, you can burn 420 plus calories depending on the level of play. That may seem low compared to an hour on a treadmill, but you aren't tired yet in just an hour worth of Badminton play. It can get very addicting that it takes typical players 2-4 hours to get fully exhausted. That's 1,680 calories burned in a fun play! In addition, by just playing Badminton, one can increase levels of good cholesterol by 13%, helps in regulating blood pressure, improves cardiorespiratory fitness, helps regulate sugar production, improves mood, and many more!

Badminton has a lot of potential to be considered a national sport in the U.S. It just needs the media's attention. Badminton wasn't made this popular in the Philippines if it weren't because of the media. Fat Filipino celebrities shared their stories to the media on how Badminton brought them back to shape, and it instantly spread like a wildfire to the populace yearning for a fit body. If Badminton can enjoy the same media attention such as the NFL and the NBA do, Americans will soon benefit from playing this basic yet intense sport, even just in their own backyard.

PS: I'm appealing to the major sports brands out there! You could make this the new fad.

A War Inside The Bathroom

A big, scary lion lives inside me. I couldn't make it go away as much as I want to. I feed it, and I think it learned how to depend on me to live. I love feeding him, but I still wish it to go away. It growls every time I feed it – that is a growl of anger! It should have been a growl of gratitude, but I don't think lions are ever capable of doing such.

That is what happens every time I drink milk. I am lactose intolerant, but I love drinking milk! I always wake up groggy in the morning, and thinking about what to eat for breakfast. I will definitely reach for the milk bottle in the fridge and open the pantry for the cereal. Why? Because it is the easiest, most delicious, and most nutritious breakfast to prepare! After two to three hours, the lion in my stomach will start to growl. After thirty minutes, it will start scratching the linings of my stomach, which doesn't hurt much really, but enough to keep you bothered and distracted from talking to people. After another half an hour I proceed to the bathroom to finally battle the lion inside me. It's a tough battle, alright! The bathroom will sound as if it's in a nuclear battlefield – sounds of grenades, sounds of RPG's and then finally, the atomic bomb. The lion's dead, and it left a horrendous stench in the battlefield. Oh you don't want to smell a dead lion's body! But as part of the military work, a soldier has to dispose the body to the nearby creek.

So much for that! Hahaha.

It's hard being a lactose-intolerant. For many lactose-intolerant people, simply not drinking milk is the solution to their problem. But what solution can you give a problem if you love doing what causes the problem?

There aren't much lactose-free milk available to the nearest grocery stores in our area, so we just resort to the regular milk they sell. Even after numerous deadly battles inside the bathroom, I still couldn't give up my taste for milk – regular or ultra-pasteurized.

Pride That Leads to It

I am happy that I have started treating my body well. I felt the need to change from just being a couch potato, from just playing ps3, and browsing the internet with nothing in mind. Today marks my third month of hitting the gym! That's for all the days of May-June with only the weekends as my rest days. I am so proud of myself for it took me a long time to fight laziness and to bring dedication to practice.

I have had a "normal" body my entire life - meaning for my age and height I have just the right weight. I have never become fat or too thin. However, being in the country with the highest obesity rate scares me, and I don't want to appear abnormally fat before I start to work out. Though who can blame these obese people. American food tastes so irresistibly delicious!

In the beginning I couldn't allocate my time for the gym. Reasons such as studying, watching TV, talking to friends, Facebook updates and etc always overwhelm the thought of going to the gym. Then my cousin came over from Texas and one day asked me to go the gym with her. Being nice and all I agreed. Being a newbie at this time when it comes to working out, I have watched her perform extremely strenuous physical exercises, which I couldn't perform at that time. Afterwards she asked me and my mom to join her do workouts without the machines, which were much harder. After 10 counts I gave up. Talk about a guy's pride – a girl has beaten a guy. From that day on pride has become my driving force in going to the gym.

Then from just the envious type of pride burst forth a lifetime routine. I think I cannot let a day pass without at least an hour of running on the treadmill. I usually lift weights while at the gym. Gym is boring to be honest. The primary reason people have when going to the gym is to lose weight. Since I have just said that I have a normal type of body, I keep this list of reasons on my mind to keep me motivated while working out.

Benefits of Cardio Exercise:

• Weight loss
• Stronger heart and lungs
• Increased bone density
• Reduced stress
• Reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer
• Temporary relief from depression and anxiety
• More confidence about how you feel and how you look
• Better sleep
• More energy
• Setting a good example for your kids to stay active as they get old
• Appetite Control

Benefits of Resistance Training:

• Strengthens the skeletal system
  
• Improves bone density (decreases the chance of osteoporosis)
  
• Increases metabolism
  
• Improves posture
  
• Limits atrophy of the muscles
  
• Aids in hypertension control
  
• Aids in cholesterol control
  
• Aids in body fat control
  
• Increases circulation
  
• Aids in prevention of adult-onset diabetes
  
• Improves mood and self-esteem
  
• Improves quality of life
  
• Aids in the prevention of heart disease and certain cancers
  
• (In addition to this list, I have just read that doing resistance training makes the body burn more calories even when you're not working out, or even in your sleep!)
  

In just three months I have experienced some of this health benefits. One remarkable thing I noticed is that I am frequently having dreams with sweet and sometimes bizarre plots. Sweet dreams range from me and my crush happily together to me in the Philippines with my friends. Bizarre dreams range from my grandfather being a serial killer to all our neighbors turned zombies! I have been told that these are all exercise related things – that I have an improved quality of sleep. I enjoy those dreams though because I wake up rejuvenated and laughing, and able to start a conversation with people. Hahaha.

With cardio exercise and weight lifting, I can just be free to eat whatever I want ( still in moderation, of course) without worrying of becoming too fat

PS: I am so happy to have cut bil-bils (tummy fats) in three months! Now there are much less tires on my tummy! And I am beginning to have a defined body and muscle mass. Whoa.

Reference:

http://www.fantasyfit.com/view.php?page=resistancetraining

http://exercise.about.com/od/cardioworkouts/a/cardio_exercise.htm

For The Fatherland

I learned how to love books when I moved here in the U.S. There were no distractions to keep me from reading books as how it was in the Philippines. My first book was Angels and Demons. I guess Dan Brown's stream-lined, fluid, and easy to understand writing style made me love books. From Dan Brown, to Shakespeare, to Palahniuk, I enjoyed the reading experience. However, I have grown tired of their genre. It just suddenly came to me that I wanted to read something more contemporary – something that's happening in our world now. I was reading an article that mentioned North Korea, and then I thought I never really knew something about the country, aside from it is the world's most oppressive country.

I have just finished Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy. It became my window to the daily lives in North Korea. Under the Juche policy, the country is self-reliant, virtually sealing off international trade. With this ideology, the country remains poor and hungry. Despite the negative news we're hearing about the country, love still prevails in this desperate land. I have learned a lot of new information about North Korea because of this book.

It struck me how the country uses a lot of its resources to showcase elaborately its capital city Pyongyang to foreigners, while most of its citizens starve to death. By elaborate, the North Korean government would kick out a resident of Pyongyang if he/she looks thin, ugly or physically deformed just so to keep the capital city "looking perfect" to the eyes of foreigners. The roads are empty since car ownership is not allowed. Electricity doesn't exist in North Korea, except where the backbone of "The Fatherland" is, the military camps. And I really hate it that the regime is spending on nuclear weapons while the majority of the population starves. This is thievery at its best. People can't protest lest they be executed or sent to gulag camps. However, there are some things about North Korea that I think the Philippines could benefit from if it learns how to do it.

The North Korean government effectively uses the power of propaganda to lead (or fool) its citizens into supporting their endeavors. I don't know if the North Koreans are just gullible people, but I have never seen the Philippines using propaganda to gather support from the people. I think it will benefit from using it. Or is propaganda unique just in communist countries?

The satellite images at night show the saddening disparity between the divided Koreas. The South is teeming with prosperity, while the North is stuck frozen in darkness and in time. I am just really hoping for the best in Korea. I couldn't even say "two countries" because I believe the North and South are and should be one. I want to see in the earliest time in the future the historic reunification of Korea. Geez, that'll be like East and West Germany my grand-parents were telling me before. I have only been to Incheon International Airport in South Korea but just from there, I could already feel how wealthy the South is. I hope in the future the North could partake with this kind of wealth. With united people and not to mention an additional land, there will be a more prosperous and happy Korea!

Francophilia!

A new kind of wave is sweeping me these days. I remembered recently my first French teacher (who was a Filipina) telling us that the best way to acquire a new language is by learning it through songs. The tune of songs will help you remember and retain new vocabularies, as she told us. Guess what, it worked for me! Here are two songs by one French band, Archimède, and a French singer, Kenza Farah. I found six French music artists in total, but these three are my favorite! It does not just help me with vocabulary, but also in perfecting my pronunciation. If you're curious, I DON'T understand the entirety of the songs as I listen to them for my listening skills was just a flat B in my French 2 finals. I can just pick up a few verses. When I read the lyrics though that's when I pick up the "meat" of the song. If you don't know French at all just listen to the tune of it! Archimède is just like the French version of the once popular band Click 5.

(If you want to follow along, click on these links for the lyrics)

http://www.greatsong.net/PAROLES-ARCHIMEDE,AU-DIABLE-VAUVERT,106069870.html

http://lyricsv5.free.fr/index.php?ac=cha&lettre=A&ida=1301&idc=11059

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY0KxP9Ewgw]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77GCL2Wzv00&feature=channel]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT5xhgdgLDw&feature=related]

How'd it go? Just like how the Korean wave is affecting a crazy amount of people in the Philippines and in the whole world, Francophilia is affecting me like heck. My advise to Koreanophiles: don't just appreciate K-pop, learn the language. It's fun! And your listening experience will even be more fun if you know the message of the song you're listening to.

Learning a new language has many benefits. While the top reasons students say why they learn a foreign language are for economic gains and job opportunities, learning a foreign language enhances one's image and personality, opens one's door to other cultures, and helps to develop a listening ear. For many learning and acquiring a new language is a daunting task, but with practice, memorization and organization, one can learn another language in a breeze.

It does not need to be "what's practical" if you find it hard choosing which language to spend your time in learning. I chose French simply because I have long been convinced that it's the language with the most beautiful accent (And the accent indeed is gorgeous. I love flaunting my nasal and R sounds, haha). I chose French also because France is the world's largest maker of luxury goods and where most of all luxuries came from, things I aspire to have in the future. I find it funny how people OFTEN MISPRONOUNCE French luxury brands such as YSL, Yves Saint Laurent, and LV, Louis Vuitton. I didn't really see the practicality of learning French until recently (and there's tons of it). And practicality doesn't really work with everyone if you do not "feel" the language your learning. Learn a language if you like a country! Learn a language to know other cultures! Learn a language to meet new kinds of people! Learn a language to expand your horizons!

Ever since I started to have French as my elective in high school, I gained a deeper understanding of the language and the French culture. I have never been to Paris to describe its beauty, but the many accounts of the travelers I know who have been there describe it as arguably the most beautiful city in the world. I have seen Paris only on slideshows and the mini city tour videos shown to us in the classroom and upon seeing its beauty it struck me and I made it a promise to myself that I will go visit it someday. I'm now officially a Francophile.

After honors French 3 this upcoming school year, my next target language is German because I heard English is highly Germanic, so I hope its similarities with English will help me learn the language easier. Or perhaps Spanish because it is almost similar to French. Or maybe Chinese this time for practicality and challenge.

My Chinese friend's farewell message to me. Chinese is so astig!

If you love English, now is the time to learn French because 45% of the English vocabulary comes from French. It'll help you increase your vocabulary. It did to me, especially on the SATs.