the fantastic submarine

Journey of a Grasshopper

2010-05-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

A lot can happen in 8 years. One can see a Billy Joel concert, adopt a highly inquisitive and affable cat that crawls one day into an apartment window, get published, complete a doctorate, learn how to use a Mac, visit the trails of North Vancouver and get disoriented in the rapidly disappearing daylight as to just where exactly that bus stop going back to the Seabus was ...

Grasshopper came to the States to study perhaps a few months before Zexiv and Puff moved to the Great White North. She completely reinvented herself in the process, becoming a licensed psychoanalyst in just a few years' time. A great and admirable feat, we think, taking a risk and starting over in one's thirties, in a totally different field. Quite refreshing coming as we do from a very traditional and conservative culture that continues to steer young graduates towards supposedly stable but creativity stifling fields like banking, law, accounting and engineering. Of course it's also true that many fields are simply non-existent in the home country - if you wanted to become a toy designer for instance, good luck with that ... you would really have to leave for someplace where opportunities existed for that sort of thing. Think of all the local cartoonists who left and ended up doing great work for publications like DC, back in the 60s, 70s and 80s; it was really after they left when they became truly reknown and created their best work.

So it was quite a surprise to learn Grasshopper would be uprooting herself again, after firmly establishing herself in the vibrant, ethnically diverse and community minded neighborhood she had grown to love in Queens (Zexiv says one can find excellent coffee there, reminding me of the packet of Baruir's coffee Grasshopper had sent us not too long ago). On the other hand, home will always be home, and there is nothing like being with family or having familiar food (Alaminos longganisa, tawilis, sisig, and Shakey's garlic and cheese pizza immediately come to mind). And of course, the beaches are tops; no comparison there - white sands and clear warm water. What we would give to be nursing a San Miguel Pale Pilsen right now in some cozy dive resort in Anilao.

For the last couple of years, Grasshopper, Zexiv and Inverbras were the only siblings living in North America. It was always good to know one was just a phone call or a few hours' travel away. Good thing Inverbras and Ozaymas are still in New York.

It will be an adjustment not without difficulties - Zexiv remembers his own move many years ago from which he had to drag himself home and from which it took a couple of years to fully adjust, but knowing Grasshopper, it is something she can definitely do. We advise her, however, to expect long waits, and always bring along a good long book (we recommend Anna Karenina - 5 years later and we still aren't done) ...

Safe travels and best of luck, Grasshopper!

Lost Horizon by James Hilton

2009-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

"Cigars had burned low, and we were beginning to sample the disillusionment that usually afflicts old school friends who have met again as men and found themselves with less in common that they had believed they had."

In a gift shop at a 5-star hotel in the heart of the financial district of Makati, one can find (or used to be able to find; it has been quite a while since we have been there), a certain edition of a book by James Hilton. It is not the kind of book that would cause any kind of excitement these days - if you just like to follow the herd and read what everyone else does in the home country, you might prefer things like the Alchemist or Five People You Meet in Heaven, or other similar books which amazingly never seem to fall off local bookseller's top twenty lists. The best books in our opinion, are those by authors who have long passed out of this world (with the exception perhaps of JK Rowling, whose Harry Potter series is hands down brilliant and "magical"), and are about bygone eras and ways of life that will never be the same again. Think of Isaac Bashevis Singer, who wrote in Yiddish of the shtetls of Eastern Europe, E.M. Forster, whose A Passage to India painted a colorful picture of colonial India and expressed the futility of the idea of interracial relations. Berlin has been rebuilt and has been reunited since the 90s, but it will never be again the same city pictured in Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories. Included among these authors of note are people like Enid Blyton, who wrote, among others, of English boarding school life or Herge, who covered in his Tintin series everything from life in the Shanghai International Settlement (The Blue Lotus), to the banana republics of Latin America (Tintin and the Picarros).

The name of the book from the five star hotel shop is Lost Horizon and it was written in 1933. It has the claim of being "the first paperback ever published" but does not in any way read like a typical mass market paperback. We picked it up not in a hotel shop but in a store called Powerbooks. It is actually our second copy of the book. The first one was lost when Zexiv absent mindedly left it in a plastic bag together with a pair of pants which was picked up by his and Inverbras' favorite tailor Mang Melo for alterations (we heard not long after that the tailor passed away unexpectedly not long after that and were never able to get the book back). Set in the waning days of the British empire, it is about a group of people who are taken against their will to a place in the Tibetan mountains called Shangri La. Shangri La turns out to be a sort of utopia on earth where there are no wars, no politics, hatred, crime, or sickness. A place where people are free from the cares and worries of everyday life and have no need for anything else, but can devote themselves to music, the arts or other peaceable pursuits as they please. It is also a place where one seems to live forever, or age very very slowly. Imagine suddenly being separated from work and home, from family, friends and status, from all modern conveniences one is used to, and cut off from all communication with the outside world, but at the same time, finding yourself in a perfect world - would you prefer to go back, and take the bad and the mundane with the good, or stay where life is simpler but infinitely happier? While some in the group wisely accept their situation it is a question the others continue to ponder, and ultimately decide to act on with sad consequences.

Incidentally Shangri-La - which has since come into common usage in the English language to mean "a remote beautiful imaginary place where life approaches perfection" (according to Webster) - is also the name of the hotel where one can find (or used to be able to find) this book. Small wonder it is displayed quite prominently in its gift shop. The hotel also apparently named one of their bars after the leading character in the book. Back in the days when Zexiv was with the bank, the bar was very popular with the office happy hour crowd and local expatriates and featured a number of live bands. The name of the bar? Conway's (after "Glory" Conway). If Glory Conway were a real character and were alive today, we wonder what he would think of all this.

Yes, we may never find a Shangri-La in this world, but somehow this beautiful escapist book by Hilton does the next best thing, transporting us effortlessly and magically to another time and place, even for a few minutes at a time. This is the book that we would bring to a desert island. Or install permanently in a Kindle (we suggested this a while back for Inverbras), if we had one. Highly recommended.

The Wind in Our Faces

2009-06-14T00:25:00.000-07:00

Of the many varied interests Inverbras and Zexiv share - counting among others the gym, Asterix and Obelix comics, certain books (i.e. Catcher in the Rye), video games (Metal Gear series) and 80s music, perhaps one of the longest running is a passion for biking. From the time Zexiv first learned to ride quite by accident on Inverbras' light blue single speed bike from Patria in his pre-teen years, they have been on many two wheeled-related adventures together. This includes bike rides to the club and back during hot summer days, a two way torturous trek to hilly Tagaytay from Makati, cycling to an anti-Marcos rally in Urdaneta park, and later on, when they both shifted to the mountain bikes (more appropriate for the pothole ridden roads of Manila), exploring parts of the Fort and a nearby military base. It was many things to them - a means of getting around, a form of exercise, and most of all a highly enjoyable activity.

There is something about the simplicity of the bicycle that appeals to the kid in us. It is not that easy to describe to someone, especially to one who has never tried and developed a liking for it - and Zexiv does actually have two close adult friends who to this day cannot balance on a two-wheeled bike. It is not exactly the thrill or danger of going fast, for riding a motorcycle is definitely not the same thing, and cannot be called a simple activity. Nor is it the challenge of going beyond the burn, or over the limits of human endurance, as in no way can it be called similar to that monotonous, joint punishing activity called running. Perhaps the best analogy I can make would be comparing it to birds flying. If you have ever coasted down a very seemingly endless long hill with the wind blowing in your face, you will get the idea. It is liberating, it is invigorating, and it makes one feel ecstatic just to be alive. The bike can be compared to the wings of a bird, propelled not by an engine but by our legs, allowing us to go further than our legs intended, and not be hopelessly grounded to the same barnyard day after day in the way a flightless chicken is. We have to exert a bit (or much) effort to make it up a hill, in the same way a bird flaps its wings, but can coast on a downward incline like a bird glides effortlessly above rising winddrafts.

In their older years, Zexiv and Inverbras continued to bike regularly although not always together. Zexiv would get together with a group of similar minded friends, they would all drive to the hills of Antipolo with their bikes mounted on a rack behind the car, park somewhere, and explore the many trails. Inverbras bought a bike in the States while still a student, and used it to explore the miles of boardwalk connecting the different beaches in L.A. where he took his first post grad job. Now that he is New York based, he is very active in charity fundraising rides, sometimes taking Ozaymas along. Zexiv on the other hand, was forced to leave his bike behind, when we all relocated to Canada. He actually missed his bike more than he did his car - in fact he would rather not drive at all if he can help it, seeing driving as a relatively stressful activity - feeling very much like a flightless chicken.

Last weekend was Zexiv's first bike ride in more than five years. We walked all the way to a bike shop in the north end of Denman street, where Zexiv, Inverbras and I picked out three Dahon folding bikes with 20 inch wheels to rent. Puff, who had joined us earlier for a dimsum meal, but had somewhere to go after, went with us and looked slightly envious, seeing our excited faces. She snapped one or two pictures, and then we were off, heading towards the seawall portion of Stanley Park. It was Inverbras' first trip to Stanley Park and the seawall, and Zexiv pointed out interesting landmarks and attractions on the way - the totem poles, the nine o'clock gun, second beach, Siwash rock, The Girl in the Wetsuit statue. We saw a number of blue herons, seagulls, a racoon, people sunning themselves on the beaches, pedestrians, and many other cyclists. Inverbras appeared to enjoy it very much; Zexiv was ecstatic and deliriously happy. On a certain lengthy downhill portion somewhere along the seawall, he coasted and savored the feeling of the cold wind on his face. " There is really nothing like a bike ride", he thought, smiling to himself.

"We have to do this again before you leave", he told Inverbras afterwards.

Inverbras in Vancouver

2009-06-13T11:32:00.001-07:00

They say one only gets to fully explore and appreciate their city and its surroundings when touring around an out-of-town visitor. We tend to sometimes take the places where we live for granted, getting caught up doing the same things day after day. In the years he spent in the home country, Zexiv told me he has never been to Palawan, or Sagada, the windswept islands of Batanes, or gone diving in the protected marine-rich waters of Tubbataha. It was only in the early nineties, when his Berlin-based cousins came visiting, that he saw Boracay for the very first time, and fell in love with the place. You really need to take a step back sometimes, and take a second look around you through the curious and fascinated eyes of a tourist. We had a chance to do this when Inverbras flew into town last weekend.

It was good to see Inverbras again. I remember my first meeting with him, when he was introduced to me by Zexiv at his old camp in the Eastern Seaboard. He had taken my picture and had helped us set up this blog. We met several times since then in New York, and he has been very supportive of our efforts to re-establish ourselves here and set up a secure camp, providing us with several top secret communications devices. He appeared to have grown his hair since the last time, and put on a few pounds, not surprising owing to his long fondness for giant cans of Piknik, dating back to his college days (a close Chinese friend even gifted him with a few cans one Christmas) . On the whole though, he looked quite well.

He told us he was here for several days' meeting with several top secret operatives from different countries. We asked him what he wanted to do. "Biking", he said. We have for quite some time been wanting to explore the seawall on bicycle, but have only done so on foot, during several nature photography treks. If you have never been to Vancouver, the seawall is an amazing thing, with perhaps nothing like it in the whole world. It winds on for several kilometers, with views of the ocean on one side, and depending on where you are, views of interesting neighborhoods and Stanley Park on the other. We quickly made plans to do that in the next few hours.

Over the next few days, Inverbras, Puff, Zexiv, Mademoiselle Marie, Piper and I were able to do things we have always wanted to try but never got around to doing so like biking the seawall, eating in this Dutch pancake restaurant along Robson, and having lunch in a sunny patio of an organic foods market, which Zexiv used to always wonder about whenever he would pass it on the way to his gym - although he has bought things from there like tulips and quiche. We also brought Inverbras to some of the usual tourist haunts like Granville Island and Gastown, and to some of the different neighborhoods, shopping and people watching areas, like Downtown, Yaletown, and the West End. Of these neighborhoods he told us he liked the residential areas of the West End the best - reminded him of Maui and certain parts of L.A., according to him. He was not much into sightseeing; of all the different places he went, he told us he really wanted to do two things over and over again - bike the seawall and sit on the beach and just people-watch. I believe these reminded him of his old lifestyle in Manhattan Beach.

It was a fun visit and we look forward to Inverbras' (hopefully with Ozaymas the next time around) next one.

Indeed one sometimes needs to see his city through the unspoiled eyes of a tourist to fully appreciate it ...

Merry Christmas from Snowy Vancouver

2008-12-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

We always get excited to see snow because we don't get too much of it. A lot of rain, yes; after all this is the Pacific Northwest, but substantial snow that stays in the ground for days and days is quite unusual, especially in downtown Vancouver. At this time of the year we usually find ourselves wishing for a white Christmas, but these past two weeks have been a lot more than we wished for. Several heavy snowfalls, inches and inches of snow, several days of sub-zero temperatures - this is the first time we have seen this kind of weather in mild, rainy Vancouver. Snow is fun when it's fresh and powdery but when it piles up and turns into deep puddles of slush, it becomes a nightmare. The one good thing perhaps about all this snow is there seemed to be a lot less cars on the road for once, and pedestrians ruled. Zexiv said he imagined he was Frank Hurley, photographer of the Endurance, trudging through deep and blowing snow, trying to get to Stanley Park to get that once in a lifetime picture. He said parts of the water next to the seawall were actually frozen, and formed interesting and intricate patterns.

When things calm down a bit, after the holiday season, I hope to go through my notes and photos and tell you all about our Germany trip. Let me simply say for now it was a trip of a lifetime - perhaps comparable to our Alaskan vacation many years ago - and that Zexiv lost a bit of weight lugging around his gear everyday. If you are a photographer, a toy collector, a lover of old and historical structures, or a beer drinker, it is the place to be ...

A safe journey to all who are travelling this holiday season and a peaceful and joyful Christmas to all who read this!

How Much Can You Fit in a Small Suitcase

2008-09-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

Sometime in the fall we will be departing for the land of Steiffs, nutcrackers, beer and beer steins, rouladen, currywurst, cuckoo clocks, old castles and half timbered houses. Where the Beatles got their first big start performing and honing their craft before live audiences. No, not Liverpool, but ... Germany. Zexiv has part of his roots there, his maternal grandmother hailing from Berlin. He has been there only once before, back in the mid-nineties, to Berlin and Potsdam. Back then he was still unmarried and it was quite an experience and an adventure travelling by himself, and seeing Europe for the first time. Middle Sister was then studying in Glasgow and so he made the trip to Scotland to see her - where she introduced him to fish and chips - after spending about a week with his uncle, aunt and cousins in Germany. He has many fond memories from that European tour long ago - the delicious dinners his aunt would prepare, drinking with his German cousins, exploring the Berlin Zoo with a simple Kodak point-and-shoot he bought on a stopover in Amsterdam, going to Berliner Dom, Checkpoint Charlie Museum, and the summer palace of King Frederick in Sanssouci with his uncle who generously took the day off so he could show Zexiv Potsdam. His only regret then was that he wished he could have spent more time in the country, but 3 weeks was about the maximum leave he could take from his bank job.

For this upcoming trip Zexiv will get the chance to see more of this beautiful and fascinating country. We will be accompanied by Puff and Zexiv's mother and be travelling mostly by rail to some very interesting places - Cologne, Bonn, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It should be quite an exciting adventure - probably not the spontaneous, daring, and unpredictable sort many young people who backpack through Europe like to do, but an adventure nonetheless. The last few weeks have seen a flurry of trip related activity at camp, with Zexiv arranging rail passes and reservations, making hotel reservations, and doing exhaustive research (he decided to finally invest in a travel book after being noticed by a sales clerk in a bookstore surreptitiously copying down information, who told him that sort of thing wasn't allowed :)). And planning what to bring.

Which brings us to the subject of this post. Zexiv and Puff have never been light packers, always needing at least a standard sized suitcase between both of them plus perhaps a duffle bag, if the trip involved any shopping, and their respective carry ons (normally a camera backpack and tripod for Zexiv). Because this trip involves a lot of travel by rail, we are trying something new, limiting our luggage to one 22 inch suitcase each. We saw a number of interesting articles on the net advocating the pack-only-what-will-fit-in-your-handcarry approach (Zexiv's friend Reader has done this a number of times, never checking in luggage when he travels). It points to a number of benefits, such as not having to worry about losing your luggage when flying, being able to breeze through airports after arrival without having to go through luggage claim first, and being very mobile. Many of them have common suggestions, such as going for dark and basic colors which you can easily mix and match, packing only what you will need and not what might come in handy, bringing just a few days worth of clothing and doing at least one laundry stop during the trip, using layers during cold weather instead of going for bulky jackets, etc. All quite useful and which sound, like many things, good on paper.

Unfortunately we still have the problem travelling photographers face all the time - how much photography equipment to bring. Zexiv usually likes to bring both a digital and film slr for trips, the latter for more "serious" black and white photography, and he loves his heavy ultrawide and telephoto f/2.8 zoom lenses and Benbo tripod, if he doesn't have to lug it around with him the whole day that is. But he doesn't want to be one of those photographers who are so involved in seeing a trip through a viewfinder, that they end up missing a huge part of the trip itself. Photographers everywhere will have their own "go light" recommendations - a "do all" zoom lens, or 2 lightweight zoom lenses and one fast fixed focal length lens, or one normal fixed focal length lens - the choices are endless. On the other hand Zexiv's original photo teacher back home (now wisely switched to guitar playing) tells him to bring the usual as "you don't want to be underequipped if you come across an Ansel Adams moment". Good one :).

It is indeed a quandary ...

Francisco Tarrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra

2008-09-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Zexiv's sister Grasshopper injured her knee the other day, going down the subway steps in New York. Zexiv prescribed RICE - no, not the complex carbohydrate but the standard treatment for minor injuries which he learned in an introductory PE class at the state university long ago - Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. He hopes Grasshopper's knee is a lot better now.

Actually, there are some other remedies as well some say can help a bit in hastening recovery, such as massage and accupunture, which coupled with a good rehab exercise routine, can do wonders, as Zexiv discovered when he injured his lower back almost two years ago. And we have our own yet to be proven cure-alls, such as a bar of good chocolate (Zexiv's recommends Cadbury Fruit and Nut or Hershey's Kisses :)), a steaming mug of brewed coffee, a Peanuts comic book, and soft soothing music, like this piece Recuerdos de la Alhambra.

Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra) is a famous classical guitar piece composed by Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tarrega. We discovered it recently in YouTube (in this particular video the piece is performed by Kazuhito Yamashita), while searching for videos on Zexiv's favorite classical guitarist Andres Segovia. While Segovia is frequently cited for his contribution in bringing the classical guitar to world concert halls and making it a respectable instrument of classical music, Tarrega, who died in 1909, is known as the father of classical guitar.

A beautiful and haunting piece inspired by the famous Moorish palace and fortress in the south of Spain, it sounds like a duet but is played by just one guitar. Zexiv remarked that the tremolo reminded him of the sound of a banduria from his rondalla days. Listen to it with some good chocolate and a steaming mug of coffee. or better yet, churros and hot chocolate.

Where in the World is Inverbras' Dahon?

2008-09-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

We spotted Inverbras' Dahon Speed TR yesterday on our way to a hardware store. Inverbras used this bike for a short duration - even starting a blog on it - before he opted for a full size Canondale mountain bike. Kind of a hassle to lug up and down his brownstone walk up in the New York West Side, he told Zexiv, when asked why he decided to replace it. Plus something about having to pedal a lot more as compared to a bike with standard sized tires.

On the other hand this kind of bike does lend itself naturally to the idea of Vancouver downtown high density and low impact "green" living. We already use CFLs for a number of our lights, walk or take public transportation whenever possible, and do our part to recycle. Imagine a small folding bike you can take with you on the elevator in a bag without the neighbors making a fuss (or even knowing that there is a bike sharing an elevator with them), and then store in a walk in closet. Probably not the sort of thing you'd use to ride a century in (which Inverbras and Ozaymas just completed today), or use in technical North Shore trails, but it might be just the right thing for exploring the seawall and the outskirts of Stanley Park. In the Dahon website it is touted as the bike for those whose "idea of a vacation is heading to Croatia, Costa Rica or Vietnam to tour the local back roads".

Perhaps it is time to reexplore the idea of a "folder" again ...

Old Houses are not Forever

2008-09-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

The concept of the ancestral home is a very recurring theme in Engish literature - particularly that which is set in the Victorian era - evoking images of ivy covered walls, oak paneled drawing rooms, chandelier-lit dining halls, heavy furniture, stale air, and generations after generations of families all living and dying under the same roof. Frequently the old home is an essential element to the plot itself and provides a certain air of mystery and suspense, without which the story would not hold together so well. Think of Baskerville Hall from The Hound of the Baskervilles, Darlington Hall from The Remains of the Day, and Dunoran House from Sir Dominic's Bargain. A modern condominium filled with contemporary furniture somehow does not quite provide the same atmospheric effect.

Unfortunately, the idea of the eternal ancestral home seems to be a dying one nowadays. It is simply not practical, when the owners of an old house pass on, to keep the house going year after year. It would be a simpler matter if each couple that owned a house were to have one child, who would then marry later on and also produce one child, and so on, so that the ownership of the house would pass directly to a clearly designated successor. Or perhaps as in Baskerville Hall, if there was no direct heir, the closest surviving (and unfortunately cursed) relative would assume ownership. In the real world however, many couples have more than one child, who then move out after marrying and having families of their own. Maintaining an empty old house, particularly in the tropics, where heat, humidity, termites, and the yearly monsoon all combine to cause all sorts of upkeep problems to continually crop up, would probably be a very expensive and losing undertaking in the long run.

Zexiv has always been fascinated with his paternal grandparents' house in New Manila in the home country. His grandparents acquired the house shortly after World War II, after their old house in Sta. Mesa had been bombed during the liberation of Manila. According to stories heard from one relative, the house had at one point been owned by a lady friend of an American army general or senior officer. Zexiv's grandparents spent a few years there, and then moved in the late 40s or early 50s to the United States, staying there until most of their children had grown up in the late 60s. They then moved back to their old house in New Manila. Zexiv's parent's preceeded them in returning to the home country and lived there for a perhaps 2 years, and this was thus the first house that Zexiv knew.

The house was built in the traditional Spanish style of many pre-war houses in the Philippines, with high ceilings, rippled glass windows, patterned floor tiles, a second floor balcony, a winding wooden staircase with statues of saints on the landing, and a separate building, which contained the garage and houseboy or driver's quarters. Zexiv's grandparents stayed in a room on the ground floor, which also contained the maid's quarters, and living room or sala, and an extended room for entertaining, while the second floor contained the children's bedrooms and another room which was used as a storeroom. As a child, Zexiv was always scared of the house, particularly the second floor and would make sure that at no time he was ever up there by himself. His curiousity would sometimes get the better of him though, and he remembers discovering at one time, interesting old toys in one of the rooms used as a storeroom, which also contained an old four poster bed that Zexiv's great grandfather was supposed to have died in. Perhaps because it was a very old house, he would have recurring nightmares, long after Zexiv's parents had moved out (initially to a rented house in Sampaloc Avenue, and later to a house of their own in Makati), of hordes of snakes crawling around the garden outside and vampires trying to break into the house at night.

Later on Zexiv's uncle and aunt built a house in the adjoining compound and the extended family would come to Zexiv's grandparents' house for a delicious Sunday lunch prepared by Zexiv's grandmother and aunt. His grandparents had a huge garden (at least in the eyes of the little grandchildren) and Zexiv, his siblings and their cousins enjoyed playing cops and robbers with their toy guns, hide and seek, and at times touch football (which Zexiv played but could never quite understand). The adjoining house of his uncle and aunt added new hideouts for the kids, and Zexiv's uncle would sometimes entertain Zexiv and his cousins by twirling around their toy revolvers, just like the gunfighters did in the movies. He remembers many things about his grandparents' house from his childhood - the different dogs his grandfather kept at various times (his most memorable of them being a huge and gentle half breed poodle named Maurice), the crunching sound the cars would make when rolling up the gravel stone driveway, an old dinner bell that sat on a console table, the santol and sampaloc trees that stood near the garage, old shrapnel marks from the Second World War on the bathroom of the second floor, an earthquake that shook the house once while the family was dining there, the tv shows that Zexiv would watch as a child in his grandparents' room, a hat rack that contained a pith style helmet that his grandfather wore on trips to the fishponds in Bulacan, the Lionel train that his grandfather liked to bring out every Christmas Eve.

After Zexiv's grandmother passed on a few years ago (Zexiv's grandfather had died more than 10 years earlier), the family made the sad decision to sell the now empty house and not long after that it was torn down. Last year Zexiv went home and was surprised to see tall grass growing where the garden and the house used to be. There are sure to be a couple of snakes out there now, thought Zexiv, as he surveyed the jungle like scene. Zexiv remembers walking slowly down the driveway almost to the end and being amazed to find the foundation still there, and recognizing the familiar patterned tiles from the floor of the dining room and sala. Somehow the lot seemed much smaller now with the house gone. It was a surreal feeling and brought back many memories ...

Diamonds are forever. Old houses are not.

Farewell to the old house ...

P.S. Thanks to Zexiv's cousin for forwarding this picture taken by a photographer friend of the family's before the house was torn down. We hope to give credit once we get his name ...

P.P.S. Zexiv remembers his grandfather, whose birthday it was today.

Peaceful

2008-08-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

A sage close to us had some interesting thoughts the other day about life and trade-offs. Yes, one can't have everything but part of the the secret to being happy is learning to appreciate what we have. And we do have much to be thankful for, living asthma and allergy free in a beautiful place surrounded by nature, and being together, although Zexiv does at times miss his friends from the sea (i.e. pufferfish, lionfish, clownfish, batfish, trumpetfish, grouper, sgt. major, moray eel, etc.), family, and the antics of his little nephews and nieces. And the taste of San Miguel beer :).

This old song sung by Helen Reddy (remember her?) from the 70s seems to sum it up all. When we last heard this song, it was from a cassette player.

Thank you, Grasshopper ...

A happy (and peaceful) long weekend to everyone.

Hail to the Bike Commuter!

2008-08-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race" - H.G. Wells

Zexiv, Inverbras and I have a lot of respect for cyclists, especially those who brave it out on today's dog-eat-dog dangerous car dominated roads. Zexiv considers himself a relatively latecomer to the 2 wheeled bike, having learned at the "old" age of 11, on Inverbras's light blue bike, from Patria (or was it Atlas?). Inverbras had already been biking for a number of years and it took a number of failed attempts, most of them in grassy lots in the provinces, before Zexiv finally learned to balance. He remembers the excitement of the first ride, with the wind blowing in his face and the invigorating feeling of freedom, as he went a block around the house. His first bike, shortly after that was a red 10 speed road bike, from Atlas Bicycle Shop in Cartimar, which was a bit too big for him. Only a day or two after acquiring it, Zexiv swerved trying to avoid another neighbor heading straight for him, and ended up sprawled on the curb with a broken front tooth. Ouch!

When Zexiv was much better and had learned to stop and turn properly, he and Inverbras would explore the villages around their parents' house. Somehow biking didn't seem too popular with most teens in the home country, who seemed to dread breaking any kind of sweat and acquiring a tan and preferred being driven in air conditioned cars, even for ridiculously short distances. Zexiv and Inverbras reserved their utmost contempt however for the spoiled rich kids in the village who liked to show off and ride their expensive minitrails around the village. Nothing compared to the freedom of the bike; one wasn't limited by availability of gas but the power of ones own legs. In their later years, Inverbras and Zexiv even made the trek to Tagaytay City from Makati, which they did in about 4 hours going there.

And now on to the real subject of this post:

Zexiv's old friend, former air police squadron mate and lifting partner, Reader has just started commuting daily to work on his Specialized road bike, a very worthy endeavor, especially in today's world of high fuel prices. Zexiv first met Reader in high school, where they attended a summer class in Chemistry together, and became friends when they found out they both shared a keen interest in weight training and powerlifting. Throughout high school, Zexiv remembers Reader and him being neck and neck in weight, and having a hard time gaining mass, both being ectomorphs. It was during college years that Reader really surpassed him in strength gains and size. Reader took his love for sports and fitness further in college, majored in Physical Education, and excelled in sports such as powerlifting, weightlifting, table tennis, badminton, wrestling, and judo. He and Zexiv started to lift together early mornings in this hardcore hole-in-the-wall gym close to the university, and Zexiv remembers being impressed seeing Reader arrive in the gym on his road bike, a 5 kilometer commute, and proceed to do 20 reps of 225 lbs on squats!

Today Reader makes his home somewhere in the Midwest, where he works in the I.T. industry. He admits not having the incentive to train as much or lift as heavy as before, and actually considers himself unfit by his standards, although he continues to lift and run 2 to 3 times a week and play (and coach) badminton for fitness.

His daily bike commute covers a distance of about 7 miles, which take him through mostly flat terrain of bike paths with trees and a lake, downtown through residential and then office buildings. Yesterday he says he completed the trek in about 33 minutes, which is much better time than if he had taken the bus. Zexiv asked him how he felt and he mentioned that he was "really hurtin today" and that right now his thighs "feel like jello". He added though that the ride does perk him up for the workday, although he starts getting really tired towards the end but that he sleeps so much better at the end of the day. He told Zexiv that since he started the bike commute, he's been too tired to go to the gym but expects to start training again once his body adapts. He is looking at "rethinking his training" and "training specifically for endurance", which for him means 2 sets of 50 reps. He also just started taking glycogen supplements.

Zexiv asked him if the whole change in routine made his life more complicated. "Not really", replied Reader, although he added that it makes him too tired to do other things for now. He says he is able to get up at about the same time every day, and that he is happy being on the bike, and can even stop if he wants to watch a volleyball game, a softball match, or a soccer game.

When asked what his first day thoughts were, Reader's reply was "this hurts ... the seat, the shortness of breath, the burning legs". He says though that it is "actually nice, just physically tiring but has it's advantages. I'm not dependent on gas, bus schedules, etc.". He also said that since starting he's dropped 3 lbs. and his abs lines are beginning to show, albeit blurry for now :). He hopes to continue this onto the winter. Zexiv and I wish him a lot of luck in this.

A very worthy endeavor, Reader. There is indeed hope for mankind if we can get more adults on bicycles, as H.G. Wells says ... Ride safely.

A Comic Book Summer

2008-08-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

Ah, summer! Our favorite time of the year in Vancouver. Gelato ice cream, prettty girls in shorts, eating in restaurant patios, walking around in T-shirt and jeans and best of all, lots of sunlight - pretty much the only time of the year when we don't have days of overcast skies or rain.

For Zexiv, childhood summers bring back pleasant memories of burgers, chocolate milkshakes, exploring the village in his red racer bike, and memorable trips to Dagupan City where his maternal grandparents lived. The best part about those trips to Dagupan, he thought, were eating steamed oysters, swimming in the beach, playing with his many cousins and spending hours poring over their huge collection of ladybird books and comic books. He remembers staying up late at night reading comics such as Unknown Soldier, Sgt. Rock, Justice League, Superman, Haunted Tank, Jonah Hex, House of Secrets, House of Mystery and the Witching Hour. His cousins, thought Zexiv, had impeccable taste in books and comic books, although he would often be too scared to sleep after spending hours reading those horror comics. In the provinces, the nights seemed somewhat longer, darker, and more mysterious and the sound of dogs howling from far off would make Zexiv shiver, pull the sheets over his eyes, pray for daylight ... and resolve to himself not to read any more horror story comics. Of course this would all change when it was morning again ...

About a year ago, on a trip to New York, Zexiv discovered the DC Showcase Presents editions of comic books in his favorite comic book store, Forbidden Planet. These are comic book collections of notable silver age comics - the era Zexiv and Inverbras grew up in - and are softbound, printed in newsprint in black and white and run more than 500 pages long. Did I say black and white? Yes, they are not colored unlike the original comics but this allows DC to keep each volume at a very reasonable price (below CAD 20 in the local Vancouver stores), instead of running up to hundreds or over a thousand dollars, which is what it would cost if you were to to collect every original single comic book in the collection nowadays. The lack of color does not take away from the brilliant artwork and great storytelling. Zexiv particularly loves the war and horror comics of DC Showcase Presents. During the past year he has added more volumes to his collection such as House of Mystery 1 & 2, Haunted Tank, Sgt. Rock, Unknown Soldier, and just yesterday, Jonah Hex (thanks, Puff!).

Being of the silver age era does not make them at all "campy" in our opinion. We much prefer the way comics were written and drawn back in the "good old days" to the many so called "graphic novels" being churned out today which seem quite boring and pretentious and seem to lack great storytelling. We look forward to acquiring even more of these editions, such as House of Secrets, Enemy Ace, Batman, and the individual stories of the Justice League members.

I was pleased to discover a good likeness of myself - and Mademoiselle Marie - deep inside the pages of Sgt Rock while Zexiv was excited to find that the Unknown Soldier had his roots in the home country, where his brother Harry lost his life in the grenade explosion that also took away his face.

To Zexiv, these comic book collections bring back fond childhood memories of those long and hot summers in Dagupan. Except that now there are no dogs howling at night over here to keep him awake, just the rocket like sound of the Skytrain and police sirens ....

The World Through the Eyes of a Fish

2008-06-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

One of Zexiv's fondest memories from his scuba diving days back in the home country are the trips to this dive spot not far from the dive resort he and Puff used to frequent. It is a relatively shallow - perhaps averaging only 20 feet in most places - and easy dive, and in this particular spot, they would see things like giant clams, starfish, coral, and a school of jacks that was almost a daily guaranteed sighting. The jacks would circle around Zexiv and his dive companions, the light reflecting off their silver color, and frequently one could spot other fish like trumpetfish swimming among the school trying to blend in. It is a very calm scene, with only the sound of bubbles around you. Zexiv always wondered what life was like as a fish in the coral reef, and what it would be like to swim free in a world of color. He and Puff took Puff's brother and Grasshopper to this dive spot once, where they had their first introductory dive (Grasshopper decided afterwards she liked snorkelling better).

Yesterday we were able to develop our first roll from our newly acquired lomo fisheye camera. The camera has a view of 170 degrees - supposedly giving you the view through the eyes of a fish. It is a very simple, manual rewind, manual advance point and shoot camera, with a built in flash. There is a viewfinder but this is partially blocked by the lens so you never really know how how your picture will turn out (actually a little more than a handful from the roll were usable). It is fun though, and reminds Zexiv of those carefree days as a kid when he and Inverbras had their first Kodak Instamatic cameras. Perhaps this is the closest thing one can ever get to seeing the world through the eyes of a fish; a fish that crawled out of the water that is.

Things are getting hectic, and the cold and gray overcast days are back - unusual for this time of year. It would be nice to be back in warm and clear tropical waters again, among the corals and the jacks ...

A Birthday Greeting for Inverbras

2008-04-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Inverbras will be celebrating another birthday. Zexiv remembers one birthday of his, just a few years ago which was spent in San Francisco with the whole family. In the picture above, Inverbras is happily holding on to his latest acquisition then, a PSP console, given I believe by Ozaymas. He, Grasshopper, Zexiv, and Puff had just come from the huge Sony store downtown, and Zexiv snapped this picture with his Mamiya 645 camera.

As the only boys in a family of 5 kids, Inverbras and Zexiv shared a room for many years, just as his 3 sisters did. Zexiv remembers all the adventures they used to have growing up, exploring the roof of Redbrick, playing with fire and firecrackers, racing their Matchbox cars (Inverbras' favorite was a purple Alfa Carabo while Zexiv liked his Dune Buggy) down these twin yellow tracks, sneaking downstairs late at night to unseal Christmas presents (there were 2 plain boxes that said "Citgo Mini SSP Laker Special Red or Blue" which turned out to be sidewinders) to take a peek, playing with Inverbras huge collection of plastic toy soldiers and their air guns. Inverbras was always a natural athlete, doing well in sports such as swimming and tennis (not surprising for someone who practiced hitting balls against the parking garage everyday when the cars were gone; he later went to Harry Hopman's one summer for tennis camp), while Zexiv preferred his guitar, Beatles records and books, but they still found a lot of things in common.

Looking back further to earlier birthdays, Zexiv vaguely remembers a 10th birthday or so of Inverbras where Inverbras went with their father to the Plaza - I believe this was an old restaurant somewhere in Makati - to pick up something and Zexiv stayed behind. Still another birthday was spent in the U.S. in Wisconsin, where Inverbras was vacationing that time following his graduation from high school. Their relatives there organized a birthday party for him there and his cousins invited some of their friends. Zexiv, who had never travelled overseas, was very curious about the idea of Inverbras meeting young people, primarily of the opposite sex, from other countries, and asked him excitedly when he got back: "So what did they say?". "Happy birthday", he replied. Of course!

Yes time really does fly. Zexiv is currently reading this excellent book now where one of the characters, an old man, tells a younger friend that life is sort of like a steep hill - seems to take forever when you're going up and once you're at the top and over the peak, the descent is much faster and the years seem to pass much quicker, going downhill. It's amazing how much gray hairs have sprouted in the last year or two where, just a few years ago there were almost none (Zexiv speaks for himself here :)).

In his mind, however, Zexiv will always see Inverbras as his youthful co-conspirator in many of their adventures at Redbrick (the placing of watusi in sealed tennis cans where the lid suddenly popped out and made them both jump comes to mind) and the older brother who bought him a sandwich in the cafeteria in prep when he got left behind by the school bus. One of the "booley brothers", as a friend at the gym once nicknamed them.

Happy birthday, Inverbras! All the best from Zexiv,Puff, and all of us at Camp _____ (soon to be named :)!

It was X Years Ago Today ....

2008-03-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

On this date - March 27 back in the home country - x number of years ago, Zexiv graduated from high school. At that time he considered it the happiest, most exciting, and most memorable day of his life. This is not exactly an unusual way for an 18 year old male to think - back in the home country, even today, someone in their late teens is practically speaking, still a kid. It is uncommon to hear of one doing something significant at that age like getting married, moving into their own apartment, going off to battle, or climbing Mount Everest - at least back where Zexiv is from. Kids there generally tend to grow up and become independent at a much slower pace compared to their counterparts in certain parts of the western world.

To someone who spent much of his time in class daydreaming, however it was a most extraordinary feat. Throughout much of his high school life, and except for subjects which he really enjoyed such as English, Music, and Art, Zexiv would find his mind drifting off and he would often imagine he was somewhere else doing something much more interesting (at times he imagined he was a member of a rock band), or else he would find himself doing something completely unrelated, like browsing for sections in his history book about the Japanese Occupation during a math class. He also had this rebellious attitude about things like homework. As a result, he spent a number of summers in school catching up and doing the work he was supposed to have done during the year. One year it was the native language subject, followed by Algebra, and then Chemistry. During his senior year in high school his problem was that tiresome native language subject again, and he was fortunate to have this kind classmate and friend, who lived not far from him, who was determined that Zexiv would do well in all his quizzes in that subject in the last quarter of the year, and reviewed him instensively before each one. It worked, and Zexiv remembers being really ecstatic on seeing his name on the list of students who were qualified to graduate that year. He remembers calling his father to give him the good news and then telling his mother who was with him, to go on ahead home, so he could go out with his classmates that night to celebrate ( he remembers having a lot of beers in this place in Greenhills).

The next 2 weeks or so were a blur full of more celebrations and drinking sessions, a trip to the tailor to have a barong (formal shirt) made for the graduation, and a fund raising show his class came out with for the benefit of the high school scholarship fund. He remembers the class dedicating the show to their homeroom teacher, who sadly just recently passed on.

Unfortunately, much as he tries to rack his brains today, there is not much he can remember about graduation day itself. He remembers the date of course, and that it was held in the covered courts of the high school, and bumping into Reader in the sidelines that night, but he cannot remember anything else about the ceremony itself. What comes to mind much easier is what happened afterwards; the 4th year class marching to their respective classrooms, seeing some of his classmates being congratulated by one of their teachers, who hesitantly shook Zexiv's hand but did not smile, and later on, being approached by a former 2nd year science teacher (sadly also no longer alive) - one of Zexiv's favorites because he was probably the only teacher in the high school who lifted weights- who was a lot warmer with his congratulations and seemed sincerely happy about this significant accomplishment of Zexiv's. He also remembers seeing a family friend of theirs then, a cute girl at that time, who also wished Zexiv well, and bumping into the principal on the way to out front who shook Zexiv's hand, addressed him by his name and told him not to "sleep in class anymore".

Later that evening the family went out to celebrate (Zexiv thinks it was this Japanese restaurant Kimpura, which was a favorite of theirs at that time), and Zexiv afterwards joined a number of his classmates for a post graduation celebration at this Mexican style pub (then very popular at that time) called Jalisco. He remembers his mother lending him her expensive camera, which was a Canon, for the evening, confident that he would take good care of it, and giving him a quick crash course, basically on how to turn it on, how to focus, and how to zoom. Zexiv took this together with his yearbook which he had his classmates who were at the pub that night sign and write dedications on. He still remembers quite vividly the classmates who were there that night, and has pictures (which came out not too bad, considering the amount of alcohol that was consumed that night) from the evening stored in an album somewhere back in the home country. He promises to post these someday, if he can find them.

Many years later, today, Zexiv realizes that while it is probably not the most memorable day - after all, how can something you can't even remember that well be that - it is still counts as one of the happiest and most exciting days of his life, among a list of now many new others.

P.S. Zexiv is thinking of going to the home country this December for a major milestone class reunion. It should a very interesting experience. He wonders if members of the original Chum Family or his Air Police squadron (i.e. this means you, Reader!) will be there ...

The Fall of Grayloft

2008-03-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

11 March 2008 is a day that will forever be ingrained in my memory ...

On that day - a Tuesday - we were treacherously attacked by hordes of marauding Toyanese. The members of the crew, Zexiv, Puff, Mademoiselle Marie, Percival Piper and myself, put up a courageous and impressive defense, but our small arms fire was no match for the enemy's mechanized artillery and paratroopers, and in the end, Camp Grayloft fell in the wee hours the following morning by sheer force of numbers and superior firepower.

It started the night before with a routine reconnaisance flight by Piper over the upper level of the camp. An expedition that had been made more than a year ago had turned up no trace of the elusive Toyanese but a number of disturbing signs - abandoned campsites, booby traps, and evidence of prior habitation, followed later by cryptic messages received by the camp's radio. Worried that the camp could not be effectively defended from attack from above, Zexiv had at the beginning of the year ordered regular foot patrols and daily flights over the camp, strengthened the perimeter defenses, and came up with an evacuation plan. All had been uneventful ... until that fateful day, when everything seemed to happen all at once.

Pipers flight had been delayed and I was scanning the dark sky for signs of his battered but trusty Gypsy Moth, when I heard a drone of an approaching aircraft. It seemed to be coming down faster than usual, and part of the plane seemed to be lit up, with a plume of thick black smoke casting a lengthy tail behind it. There was no time to alert the others. I ran to the runway, grabbing a fire extinguisher on the way and expecting the worst. Piper somehow managed to bring his flaming crate down in one piece, after which the landing gear collapsed, and the plane settled on its nose. I could see as I came close that the plane was covered with holes. I saw a figure making its way out of the thick smoke. Piper was alive but understably shaken and highly excited. It took a while before I could finally make out what he was saying as I led him to a safe distance from the burning aircraft ... "Toyanese ... attacked ... flak ...forces approaching ... alert others ... ".

By this time other members of the crew had arrived and a grim faced Zexiv listened while Piper quickly told us how he had started making his usual passes over the upper level when he thought he noticed movement below ... it was a dark moonless night and it was difficult to make out anything on the ground so on the second pass he lit a flare - and sat up in surprise. The ground was alive with a number of tank and transported artillery moving ahead with infantry following close behind. Quickly ascending, he was picking up his radio when he felt his plane lurch violently. The sky quickly lit up with sounds of anti-aircraft fire and Piper sped back to camp.

The next few moments were a blur as Zexiv barked out orders and we assumed defensive positions. The attack came not long after with an extended artillery barage followed by bands of paratroopers falling out of the sky. The tanks and infantry followed not long afterwards.

The battle lasted several hours. In the early hours of Wednesday, when it looked the camp was in danger of being overrun, Zexiv ordered an organized retreat, and under cover of the sub's powerful deck gun and shielded by thick smoke we were able to escape to our vessel, having destroyed important records and left behind all non-essential gear. The camp was complately destroyed, but everyone had made it out safely. As we steamed out to sea my last sight was of flames and twisted metal where the camp had been. At last we descended to the cold murky depths.

Our beloved camp, gone! I found it hard to imagine that almost a month ago, we had celebrated Zexiv's birthday, and had been visited by Zexiv's sister Grasshopper. It had been a very memorable birthday for him, and I remembered how we all made the trip to Grouse Mountain to spend the day there. I wondered what he was thinking of now as he stood behind the wheel, with his back to the rest of the crew. Slowly he turned around, and I could see he had a steaming giant mug of coffee in his hand, like it was just an ordinary morning back in Grayloft.

"Stingray", he said slowly. "send a report to MCPO Maurice, Grasshopper, TNTD, and Reader and inform of latest developments". He closed his eyes and slowly sipped his coffee, finally setting it down, his eyes opening again and meeting mine. "And set a course for north ... Burard Inlet".

To be continued ...

Happy Birthday, Zexiv!

2008-02-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

Zexiv has always been fascinated with the story of this boy who never wanted to grow up and never did. He remembers his mother sewing him a very good likeness of a Peter Pan costume one Halloween (it might have been the same year Inverbras went as a pirate and Grasshopper went as a crepe paper flower whose colors ran when it started to rain). Later on the same costume was handed down 2 or 3 years later to Middle sister. He thought nothing ever came close or as magical to the original Walt Disney cartoon. He thought the movie Hook was silly as far as remakes go but did like the movie version that came out perhaps 2 or 3 years ago, the one that was produced by Dodi Al Fayed's father.

You know you're definitely older when you can't seem to take the taste of rum and coke anymore, or watch television lying on your stomach the whole time like you see your little nephews and nieces doing without getting a neckache or even freely break into a run whenever you feel like it.

On the other hand, while it would nice to have the carefree, secure, and simple life of a kid again, Zexiv says he wouldn't want to go through ALL of it - school, restrictions, bullies, rejections, and all that. As one of the characters in the movie "Big" told Tom Hanks, when he asked her to become a kid like him"It was hard enough the first time".

I asked Zexiv what his oldest childhood recollections were and he came up with a few:

1. Standing in a corner crying one evening in his grandfather's house and his father coming home - this was before the family had moved into a house of their own - and his father asking "what his problem was". And Zexiv not knowing what the word "problem" meant but thinking it sounded like the sound made when you knocked on one of the hollow walls of the house ...

2. His mother telling him when he was 4 years old in the kitchen table that he was too old to be using a teaspoon for eating meals and that from then on, he would be using a tablespoon, and Zexiv feeling really bad about that ...

3. Insisting on going to the beach in Dagupan when it was raining and his Opa driving him and the other grandkids in his big Chevy Impala and the car slipping on the bridge and hitting the side, and Zexiv being terrified the car would go over into the river ...

4. Looking at their new house a month or two before the family moved in, going into his soon-to-be room and looking out the window, and hearing someone go "psst!", but not seeing anyone ... he still wonders to this day if it was some ghost or evil spirit or perhaps some mischievious helper from the neighbor's house playing tricks on him ...

5. On his first day of school, making his first friend by asking his seatmate in class if he was "a car rider or bus (as in school bus) rider" (years later he would encounter the same former schoolmate, now an apparently very important stuffed shirt, on his first day at a job in a bank who would ignore him completely).

Zexiv finds it amazing he can remember all these things and not remember things like whether he locked the door to his front door or not ...

Happy Birthday old pal, from all of us here at Camp Grayloft!!!

A Wabbit in Wichmond

2007-12-04T00:35:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Beautiful British Columbia!

Zexiv and I are back after weeks away battling the evil Toyanese. Lots of battle wounds and stories to tell and since I hardly know where to begin, allow me to start with the most recent ...

We had a heavy snowfall during the weekend, with Vancouver getting 15 to 20 centimetres of snow, according to Environment Canada. It was also an extremely busy one, with Zexiv preparing a matted and framed photo for a group exhibition at the gallery opening this Friday, selecting prints to submit for an upcoming exhibition in January, squeezing in camp chores, a workout, and signing up for a new social online network.. It was nice having the first true snowfall (meaning something substantial that actually acumulated and stayed on the ground for more than a day) of the season - it seemed to add to that magical feeling that is in the air when Christmas is just around the corner. It snowed on and off almost continuously for 2 whole days.

On Saturday evening, coming back from an evening workout, Zexiv found out that the temperature had dropped quite a bit and he was underdressed in an uninsulated Gore-Tex jacket. It seemed like a real winter storm with the wind blowing the snow hard against the small group huddled at the unprotected bus stop, so he decided not to wait for the last connecting bus and walk the rest of the way home. There were few cars on the road and in the near whiteout conditions and deep snow one could barely distinguish in some parts where the pavement ended and the street began. It was good though seeing everything come to almost a complete standstill for once, especially as people tend to drive too fast in this locale. Zexiv felt like he finally had the streets to himself.

Sunday was the same with continuous falling snow, but with less wind. On our way to the mall with Puff to pick up some snacks, we bumped into this furry chap, near City Hall. There are a couple of rabbits in the area and it is always a refreshing sight to see them in hopping along freely, as these creatures are only seen in pet stores in the home country. This one didn't seem to mind the snow at all and seemed very curious about our top secret reconnaisance camera. Isn't he a cute and frisky little fellow?

P.S. Thanks to TNTD for the movitation to start blogging again. His optimism and general upbeatness is catching ...

Jacqueline Du Pre and Elgar Cello Concerto 1st Mov.

2007-10-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

If you ever saw the movie Hilary and Jackie which came out a few years ago, you might recall this piece which figured very prominently in the movie.

The movie (which Zexiv remembers seeing with Puff on the ship during their honeymoon cruise to Alaska), is based on the life of the 2 Du Pre sisters both of whom were talented musicians. One of them, Hilary (Rachel Griffiths) ends up playing flute for a community orchestra while the other Jackie (Emily Watson) continues on to become a world famous concert cellist. It shows the contrast in the lives of both; how Hilary appears happy and content in the simpler life she chose while Jackie, despite her fame and success, never seems to find real happiness. The film also shows the close relationship between both sisters; at one point Hilary apparently allows Jackie to have an affair with her husband to help her through a nervous breakdown. Later, at the height of her career, Jackie is stricken with multiple sclerosis, and soon has to stop playing the cello as the disease progresses. She dies in the end at the age of 42.

Jacqueline Du Pres was well known for her performance and interpretation of this work. It is a very moving and emotional piece. If you listen to it you can almost hear the drama of her life.

P.S. Zexiv and I start our photography for the fall this weekend, with a trip to Victoria with Puff to see the Titanic exhibit at the museum.

Hooray for the Silent Movie

2007-10-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

I found this really funny video of Charlie Chaplin - taken I believe from his 1931 movie, City Lights - in YouTube a while ago.

It reminds me of some of the old movies they used to show in this old popular pizza parlor in the home country many years ago, back in the days when birthdays were celebrated with styrofoam hats (I forget what you call them; they looked like one of those hats popular in the 1920s) and they played banjo music.

If they could only bring back the silent movie again. Like classical music, it is universal in appeal and transcends all language barriers. Much better than a lot of the trash being produced nowadays.

Acting must have been a lot more challenging then as it involved a lot of pantomine. Can you imagine a world where you were accompanied wherever you went by music (varying in tempo and mood depending on the circumstance) and you couldn't talk but had to act out everything? Maybe we're on to something ...

Thanks, Charlie Chaplin for the laughs ...

Blues in Boston

2007-09-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

A mysterious tip on the whereabouts of the 5 missing adventurers brought us to Boston, where we were treated on the second evening of our stay to a delicious meal of ribs (washed down with a couple of bottles of Heineken) at Ryles, courtesy of our hosts, Catwoman and There's No Tyler Durden.

There was no sign at all of the 5 in the historic and picturesque city, but we did have a grand time while we were there, photographing the sights on our way to the Freedom Trail with TNTD (who has been focusing on street photography for the last couple of months and come up with some amazing photos), and later meeting up with Catwoman for the rest of the day, walking around Little Italy before heading back to Cambridge to catch an unexpected performance by the Harvard Marching Band. Zexiv, Percy Piper and I all fell in love with the place. We all thought Boston and Cambridge would be a great place to live. New York is a great place to visit, and never lacks for entertainment, but the city has become too fast paced for our taste. Boston, with it's proximity to the ocean and more easy going nature, kind of reminds us of Vancouver, without the mountains and the rain. Plus Cambridge has probably the most delicious strawberry shortcake Zexiv and I have ever tasted!

Zexiv was mentioning to TNTD of how he has always wanted to go to a jazz or blues club and this is how we ended up in the ribs restaurant. The food was very good, and the peformance of the band - Nick's Mafia Blues Band - even better. Here is our first posted video made from Zexiv's top secret reconnaisance camera - unfortunately the camera lacks a zoom and this is the closest we could get but we hope you can still enjoy it. The lead singer and harmonica player, Nick, was an amazing performer and full of energy. It is a pity that this is apparently the band's last performance as they will soon be disbanding, with some members to join other bands. We were glued to our seats the whole time

After uploading this, Zexiv was inspired to bring out his sole blues CD (a joint album between BB King and Eric Clapton) in Canada again and listen to it again ... "I've got the key, to the Highway ..." ...

Thanks to TNTD and Catwoman for the great evening, and to Inverbras for this very useful reconnaisance device ...

A Great Remake to an Old Classic and Goodbye to Summer

2007-09-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Zexiv, Percy Piper and I came home a few days ago from usually hot weather in New York and Boston to find out things had gotten a lot colder here since we last left. It is hard to believe that only two or three weeks ago we were still walking around camp shirtless and in shorts and now we have started to bundle up. We will miss those endless long sunny days and summer scrabble tournaments with Puff.

In the meantime that we are figuring out where to get started on the telling of our latest adventures, here is a really great video of Zexiv's favorite singer from ABBA, Agnetha Faltskog, with her rendition of "Sealed with a Kiss". Zexiv was really excitied to discover the video in YouTube a few weeks ago as he wasn't aware of any work she had done since the days of ABBA. We have heard earlier versions done by The Lettermen and Gary Lewis and the Playboys and both agree that this is the best one. It is a fitting end to the summer sung by a very beautiful woman ...

Back from the Empire State

2007-09-27T12:46:00.001-07:00

The sub is back in Vancouver after a 10-day fun filled but hectic trip to New York.

While there, Zexiv and I attended a birthday celebration for Zexiv's mom. We were able to revisit some of Zexiv's favorite New York places such as FAO Schwarz, Central Park, American Museum of Natural History, La Caridad, Strand and Forbidden Planet, B&H, and also made a side trip to Boston to see some old friends. We'll post more details soon as we get done with unpacking our loot from the vessel.

Sightseeing in a foreign country is nice but one of the best parts of travelling is reconnecting with family and old friends. Here are a few pictures of some of the people we met up with.Next post coming very soon!

P.S. We met up with Walrus as well for a few drinks at a cozy Upper Eastside Italian cafe, but forgot to bring a camera along. No sign of MCPO Maurice however in the Lucerne Bunker ... he must be away travelling too.

Last Night's Group Show

2007-09-15T02:54:00.000-07:00

Last night's group show at the gallery's new location appeared to be quite a success and a well-attended affair, with the crowd spilling over to the sidewalk and street outside. The atmosphere was like a big party (or "like going to a club", according to a friend of Puff's). Zexiv was happy that Puff and a few of their friends were able to come and it was good to see old faces from photography school as well. The black and white photography that was featured was quite good, and covered a very broad range of subjects - street, documentary, travel, landscapes and nature. It was surreal seeing Zexiv's framed prints up on the wall (Puff's friend was able to take pictures of these and we hope to share them sometime).

I'd like to tell you more about it but the sub leaves for another voyage very soon and I am really bushed!

Till the next post ...

Happy Birthday Roald Dahl!

2007-09-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

These are the only 3 Dahl books Zexiv has with him in Canada

from the book Matilda, featured in The Roald Dahl Treasury

Today is Roald Dahl's birthday. He would have been 91 today if he were still alive.

Zexiv has a number of favorite writers, but there are only two of whose books he really goes out of his way to collect and of which he has amassed a pretty substantial collection. One is Isaac Bashevis Singer, and the other is Roald Dahl. His Roald Dahl prized collection includes compilations of short stories, novels, several "children's" stories,2 autobiographies, a book of ghost stories not written but specially selected and edited by Dahl, and a book containing a treasury of his works.

Roald Dahl is probably more well known today for his stories read mostly by children such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Witches, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda, but he apparently started out writing darker short stories for adults, the kind that typically end with a twist; these apparently became the basis for the original Tales of the Unexpected in television. In fact, Zexiv first came to know of this author after stumbling on a one of his short story collections called The Umbrella Man in a large bookstore in Manila (later on, during an evening trip to another bookstore where he picked up five other paperback collections of stories - Over to You, Kiss Kiss, Switch Bitch, My Uncle Oswald, and Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life - he remembers being approached by a wild eyed young man who gestured toward Zexiv's purchases and asked excitedly, "Where are the Dahl books?").

Dahl had quite an interesting life, spending the earliest part of his life in Norway before moving to England to attend boarding school. He first worked for Shell as an expat in Africa before becoming a fighter pilot in World War 2. After being sent home to recuperate from a plane crash, he began writing short stories.

If by any chance you haven't read any of his books, I would recommend for starters his autobiographies Boy and the sequel, Going Solo, both of which are entertaining in their own right, and can be enjoyed by adults and children alike. Or you can also check out The Roald Dahl Treasury which is a hardbound and beautifully illustrated book containing the highlights of many of his stories. Actually, you really can't go wrong with any of his books as they are all quite excellent.

P.S. I believe the time has come to fold this blog. It has been a nice creative outlet but I am starting to feel like I am talking to myself ...

The Search for the Five Adventurers

2007-09-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

The sub leaves again soon on another voyage, heading again east to Zexiv and Puff's old stomping grounds in the Empire State (or rather with our end point destination being in the east as we will definitely run aground if we travel in a straight line from here to there). On this particular trip, I will be joined by a new member of the crew, an airman who goes by the name of P. Piper.

Piper is going with a particular mission of his own, to track down 5 long lost comrades of his from various service units who have been sighted in various locations throughout the U.S. Previous followed up leads have been unsuccessful so far but we hope this one will be different. Any tips will be greatly appreciated :).

Zexiv hopes to finally finish photographing various parts of Central Park in black and white, a project that was been in the works for some time now (held up partly by a lower back injury last November). He also hopes to meet up with some family members and friends and make a trip to his favorite camera store, dinosaur museum and Cuban-Chinese restaurant. A short side trip to Boston to see some old friends is also in the plans. That should be exciting ...

Friday is the opening of Zexiv's group photo exhibition at the gallery. We'll see if we can take some pictures (possibly using our new top secret reconnaisance camera) and post them here ...

Till then ...

Zexiv's Three Favorite Sites

2007-09-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Puff Loves Lucy!

Zexiv remembers the days right before the internet first came out ...

It was the early nineties and he was in his first term of grad school. Many of his professors were agog about something called the information superhighway - apparently in its final stages and close to becoming a reality- which was expected to revolutionize and change forever the way information was communicated and exchanged and hence expected to hugely impact the business world as well. It was still quite an abstract concept for him as he had no idea how this would work. It did sound like a very good idea though and he imagined something like a giant and unlimited encyclopedia where you could get the information and all the questions you wanted answered for free. You could search events and names from a vast database of various newssources and it would all be instantly available. Later, on in an info systems class, he and his classmates had a simple exercise where they were able to send their very first email. It seemed like such an amazing thing back then but of course is something practically taken for granted nowadays.

The internet as it appears today though is a far cry from what Zexiv had imagined it would be. A lot of the information one hopes to find in the net is either not free or simply nowhere to be found. You don't have people entering data from all books, newspapers and magazines that were ever made from the time printing presses were first invented. When you do a search much of the time you end up with misleading links that contain a lot of junk (this blog could very well be a good example :)). Say you can only remember part of a plot but not the title of a book or movie that you read or saw a long, long time ago (there is a book or two that Zexiv remembers reading about as a child which featured 2 kids - sort of I guess like the Philippines' version of Hardy Boys - from Manila that matched wits with foreign spies on the eve of World War 2; he has been looking for these books for the longest time); good luck trying to find it if it was not something that was commercially successful or recently in print. Not exactly our idea of a giant and unlimited encyclopedia with the answers to all our questions as you can see. But then this could all be because there is money to be made off the internet and not many people like to do things for free nowadays. And also because people's real selves start to show once they discover they can be completely anonymous behind a computer screen. You can see this all the time in forums where you encounter a lot of quarelsome and egoistic people. It is really silly sometimes.

This isn't to say that there aren't a couple of useful sites out there. Zexiv and I have compiled a list of some of our favorites which we visit almost everyday, which provide great entertainment and/or educational value, and all for free! Here are some of them:

1. http://www.bestcrosswords.com/

A great site for crossword lovers. We like the casual interactive puzzles. There are 7 new ones everyday which update at 12am Eastern Standard Time. They provide a pretty good challenge and if you are completely at a loss for words (pardon the pun :)) you can ask to be filled in with the missing letters (with corresponding deductions of course). You do improve over time as some words are sometimes repeated. Good for brushing up and learning new words.

2. http://www.snoopy.com/

For those who love Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the characters in the Peanuts gang. There is a different comic strip posted everyday from the past. On Sundays it is a much longer colored one. If you missed a previous day you can even go back. You can forward these strips to friends and also send e-cards available elsewhere from the site, which are also free.

3. http://www.wikipedia.com/

Perhaps the closest thing to the online encyclopedia that we imagined the internet would be like. The amount of information available is amazing and it is also 100% free. Much of the time it is more or less reliable, although the ability of almost anyone to create or edit entries can lead to very biased or unsubstantiated articles. An online encyclopedia though is a very good idea, as it can be updated very quickly as news unfolds, unlike the hardbound encyclopedias that were common in the past (Zexiv's family had Compton's). If you suddenly wonder in the middle of the night what the Hundred Years War was all, about, what better place could you go to in order to find the information right away?

Those are pretty much our top 3 sites which we like to visit almost everyday (and which pretty much update everyday as well). All freely available at the click of a mouse and providing very useful entertainment and/or educational value.

Of course there are other sites we visit regularly as well, such as youtube.com (lots of good music videos and parts of movies from the past and present but you can find junk or misleading titles as well), amazon.com (great for reviews of books and videos or hassle free shopping), kenrockwell.com (free photography tips and reviews of camera equipment), and most recently, strobist.com (free courses on use of portable off-camera flash lighting).

That's about it! I hereby tag ... The Reader! Now off to the gym ...

Poseidon Adventure and The Morning After

2007-09-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

Zexiv and I found this video from YouTube last night while searching for the song The Morning After. We couldn't remember the artist at first but just the title and it was Puff who filled us in. We also didn't realize the song was from the movie and that Pamela Sue Martin (of the TV show Nancy Drew, whom Zexiv used to find pretty as a kid) was one of the characters ...

I remember seeing this many years ago on a movie channel but can only remember the basic storyline about a ship that overturned after being hit by a freak wave and the survivors inside that tried to find a way out. It looks good though - its cast includes Gene Hackman, Red Buttons, and Ernest Borgnine - we hope to rent it if we get the chance.

The theme song is a great one for optimists (and dreamers) everywhere ...

The Perfect Vehicle for Manila Traffic?

2007-08-30T12:00:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about living in Vancouver is that you don't really need a car to get by, due to the very efficient public transportation system. We have the bus, skytrain and seabus, which generally operate like clockwork and are usually on time. Zexiv, Puff, and I have actually been able to explore many of the parks around the city and travel as far as Victoria and Bowen Island without once getting behind the wheel. Planning a route is really very simple as all you need to do is check the website of Translink and enter your point of origin and destination and it tells you where and what time to catch your bus (or other type of public trasport), where you have to transfer, how long it will take and the walking distance involved.

Not so in the home country, where public transportation is not that developed (electric powered rail transport is still very limited in reach and most of the routes are being plied by smoke belching buses and jeepneys) and having a car is a necessity especially if your work involves frequent travel. Unfortunately driving there is a very harrowing and stressful experience likely to put a couple of early grays in your hair. Aside from the monstrous traffic jams one encounters frequently in many of the urban areas, undisciplined drivers seem to rule the roads. It is not uncommon to see drivers creating multiple lanes out of say one or two, disregarding lane lines completely, and driving on the opposite side of the road, forcing incoming cars off to the side. Speed limits seem to be non-existent as well and you have buses trying to push their way through, and create openings in traffic, in order to pick up more passengers. Zexiv told me of one instance where he was driving along the main thoroughfare and saw a few bolts or nuts suddenly come bouncing down the road towards him followed shortly by a rolling tire that had become detached from its car. It seemed all so surreal and he felt like he was inside the old video game Spyhunter trying to dodge all these road hazards. It is a small wonder that there are not more vehicular accidents but I guess it is because people have also learned to drive very defensively.

Zexiv and I found this video on YouTube a while ago and thought it had some interesting possibilities. We had a good laugh imagining how we would market the product ... we thought of maybe calling the company Sherman Motors, having the tanks available in different color options, and attractive saleswomen dressed up in military fatigues pitching it in the Sherman dealership. Its slogan could be something like "Driving is a pleasure when you are king of the road". It would just need a few minor improvements like maybe some airconditioning and a good sound system. Traffic, rude drivers and even parking would no longer be a problem :) ...

But then I guess if everyone had a Sherman then we would be back to square one.

Don't take this seriously! ...

Zexiv's First Group Show

2007-08-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Zexiv has 2 prints in an upcoming group show at a local photo gallery this September. He spent the afternoon today working with a brilliant young custom printer from school, a fascinating experience which has revived his interest in the possibilities of the wet darkroom.

The gallery is believed to be one of the very few in Western Canada dedicated purely to the photographic arts.

The show, featuring black and white photography, will run from September 15 to 30 at the gallery's new location in East Vancouver. Check it out ...

A Lunar Eclipse Over Grayloft

2007-08-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's not often in one's lifetime that one sees a total lunar eclipse so when Zexiv first learned from his friend The Reader of one that would occur today, we thought this might be another interesting photo opportunity. Puff had provided more details and we learned that the eclipse would start sometime after 2am, Pacific Standard Time, so we set our clocks and prepared our gear before turning in last night.

When we awoke it was a bit cold and our first thought was that we had missed the eclipse, as the moon was nowhere in sight from where we had last seen it from our window facing east. It turned out it had simply moved out of its previous position and was now slightly behind the chimney (pointed out by Puff). We made our way silently to the balcony, our senses alert for a possible nighttime attack by the Toyanese but all was still. It was a beautiful and quiet night outside and one could still see that pale glow above the horizen one often sees on summer nights.

Zexiv and I had brought just one digital camera and lens, an 80-200 zoom, and we quickly set this up on our tripod. It turned out we were a couple of minutes too early and it took quite a while before we started noticing any changes in the moon. The lens we had on was nowhere long enough and it took us a while how to figure out how to set the self timer in the dark and get the focus right, but we eventually started snapping a series of pictures. The picture shown here is the last we took, and is not exactly the kind we had been hoping to get; we realized later that we should have waited until the moon was one solid orange orb but we were getting quite sleepy and also very concious of the sound of the shutter, which seemed so much louder in the night.

The next total lunar eclipse I hear is seven years from now and we hope to try again then. Hopefully we'll have a 500mm lens and a teleconverter with us next time. Or one of those converters that attaches a camera to a high powered telescope.

P.S. Zexiv is reminded of the time he and two of his gym buddies, Platz and Segovia went up on the roof of Segovia's parent's house many years ago to get a glimpse of Haley's comet. It was a most unsuccessful sighting but the night wasn't a total waste as they probably had half a case of San Miguel Beer between them and it was fun just being up on the roof in their own world and having interesting conversation.

Memories of a Summer Road Trip

2007-08-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

A road trip we had planned for the long weekend this September to the Rockies won't be pushing through, so I decided to post some old pictures instead, from a very memorable road trip that we made to the BC Interior last summer ...

Except for short trips to the U.S., Zexiv, Puff and I don't get to leave the Lower Mainland that much. We've explored a lot of the parks here and have been to Whistler, Victoria, and Bowen island, but have not seen much of the East (or North, for that matter), so this particular trip to the Interior was really a rare treat for us.

It was great to leave relatively busy Vancouver and head out on the highway to experience a different type of scenery and topography altogether - wide open spaces and fields, mountain lakes and semi-arid country, and views of horses, tractors and wineries. During the two day trip to Kelowna, we made stops at Hope (site of the filming of First Blood), and places like Manning Park and Bromley Rock, where Zexiv and Puff's two friends stopped to have a dip in a cold lake while Zexiv went around taking pictures. We had a picnic lunch in a grassy field surrounded by gophers that kept popping in and out of their holes. We stopped many times along to way to take pictures of breathtaking scenery along the way, at one point surrounded by hordes of grasshoppers. And the winetasting at their destination was an interesting experience as well, although we wish we could have had more.

Thanks to Zexiv's and Puff's friends who helped make this trip a success. You really see different things when you are not looking out the window of a bus for a change.

We still hope for one last summer blast, before the rains start again; perhaps another trip to Bowen Island.

Those Tintin Books

2007-08-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

Zexiv and I have been following with great interest the controversy involving Herge's book Tintin in the Congo. To recall, following a complaint by a human rights lawyer who came across the book in the children's section of the bookstore chain Borders, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in the UK called on stores to pull the book from their bookshelves. The CRE said in a statement that "the only place that it might be acceptable for this to be displayed would be in a museum, with a big sign saying 'old fashioned, racist claptrap'". To their credit, Borders refused to ban the book outright, saying that they were committed to let their "customers make the choice" and subsequently moved the book from the children's section to the adult graphic novels section. And as is often the case however whenever one tries to to censor or limit accessibility to books, rather than achieving the aim of stopping the public from reading it outright, it seems to have had the opposite effect. As of this writing, Tintin in the Congo ranked 351 in sales in amazon.uk.

This book, the second of a series of adventures of the famous young Belgian reporter and his dog, has never been easy to get hold of in the first place, as is the first Tintin book by Herge, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. We first came to know about Tintin in the Congo and Tintin in the Land of the Soviets after reading Michael Farr's Tintin: The Complete Companion a few years ago. Unlike the rest of the Tintin books that followed, these are not in color and are available in hardbound only. They are not as readily available as the other more well known Tintin books - we found just one of them in a small chain of bookstores here and ended up buying both books in Strands in New York during our last trip there - and are probably something that would appeal primarily to the die hard Tintin fan and collector. The sketching of the characters is still pretty rough, especially in the first book, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, where Tintin and Snowy look unrecognizable and the storyline is nothing great, compared to the books that followed. Also we are not yet introduced to some of the other characters that formed a big part of the later adventures and whom Tintinologists have come to love and who provide at times a lot of the humor and wit in the stories, such as Thompson and Thomson, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Rastapopolous, etc.

To a Tintin collector, however, these are books worth having as they show the development of Herge and his craft and were written during a time when communism was still relatively new and feared and colonial powers still ruled a large part of the world, in effect providing an interesting snapshot of these times. In Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, for instance, Tintin travels to Soviet Russia to expose the truth about communism and the supposed red paradise and has many encounters with the OGPU, the predecessor of the KGB. He finds idle factories that are made to look like they are operating in full production and a population intimadated into voting for the one ruling party. Likewise, Tintin in the Congo has the reporter hero in the former Belgian colony battling savage beasts and evil witchdoctors and "educating" the locals on the ways of their colonizers, while simultaneously busting a diamond mine operation of Al Capone. The storylines are overly simple and it is quite obvious that Herge didn't put in much of exhaustive research on the settings of the stories he became noted for later on, as he uses a lot of cultural stereotypes.

Are these books politically incorrect? By today's standards, I would say definitely yes and Herge would probably be condemned worldwide if he released the book today for his ignorance, oversimplistic depiction of certain cultures and political systems, and racial stereotyping. But we have to understand that it was written during a very different time and Herge himself later admitted he didn't know much about the countries in which these stories took place. He tried to correct this in later books, such as in Tintin and the Blue Lotus (considered by many to be Herge's best Tintin book), which takes place in China in the period preceding and following the Mukden Incident and which seems equal in its harsh treatment of corrupt western bureaucrats and Imperial Japanese aggressors but sympathetic towards the Chinese people. The two earliest books should just be taken thus simply in this context, as a snapshot of history and of people's views in a time long gone, and as a record of Herge's development as a writer and cartoonist.

I don't believe though that these books should be banned. It wasn't too long ago that there was a clamor to remove the golliwog characters from Enid Blyton books because they were thought to be racist depictions; I'm not sure if the publishers eventually caved in to this. I found this sad, as I always thought of the golliwogs in the stories as just another one of the lovable and mischievous toy characters Enid Blyton created. And now it is happening to Tintin. If these people start banning Tintin in the Congo, what's to stop them from banning Tintin in America (which some people might say show native Americans in a bad light), or Tintin and the Blue Lotus? And if they do that, is it too far fetched to imagine these same people talking about banning classic books by Rudyard Kipling, CS Lewis, JD Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, and George Orwell, to name a few? Definitely there's someone bound to be offended by any of the books of those authors. You really can't please everybody.

Going progressive is not necessarily progress ...

The World Through a Normal Lens

2007-08-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sometime during the remaining weeks of summer, before the rains start falling again, Zexiv and I plan to go out and photograph some World War 2 tanks, with a 645 medium format camera and a 80mm f/2.8 lens.

There is something about shooting with a fixed focal length manual focus normal lens (so called because it supposedly approximates the field of view of the human eye; this would be a 80mm lens in a 645 medium format camera and a 50mm in a 35mm camera). Everything becomes much simpler as you're not changing lenses all the time and instead become more focused on walking around trying to find the most interesting viewpoint to take your picture. Not too long ago before the days zooms became standard, one's first 35mm SLR camera would usually come with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. That was how Zexiv started as well, and he remembers a fun trip to New York many years ago, exploring Central Park with his very first manual focus Nikon and 50mm lens, and taking pictures of Puff and her friends and some resident pigeons. Photography seemed so much simpler then, and more exciting as well, just like it is when you are a kid first starting to ride a bike in old jeans and sneakers, and not concerned about having the right biking shoes, helmet, shorts or front suspension, as the fun was basically about the bike and the wind hitting your face.

At the same time, shooting with a normal lens can be quite challenging, especially for someone that's used to shooting with wide angle and telephoto zooms. Composition is more difficult as you sometimes cannot get wide enough to include enough of the scene or zoom in on a particular spot to isolate all the unneeded details. I think if you keep at it though you can come out with quite good results and improve your photography in the process. Zexiv remembers maybe 1 or 2 classmates in photography school who shot with just a 50mm lens (this was with digital slrs) most of the time and came out with very good pictures. To make it work they would usually have to get very close to their subject and use selective focus (i.e. very wide apertures) to blur out the background, and be quite creative in their composition. It was quite impressive what they were able to do with minimal amount of gear.

In the next few weeks Zexiv and I hope to explore the city trying out a new kind of photography for us - call it back-to-the-basics, "normal" lens photography and our personal rebellion against the highly automated and post processing driven world of digital photography. Instead of using a 35mm camera, we'll be using Zexiv's Mamiya 645e medium format camera and just one lens, an 80mm f/2.8. The 645e is a manual focus, manual loading and manual winding camera which was phased out sometime in 2004 or 2005. It lends itself naturally to a more deliberate type of photography which will force us to slow down a bit and use a tripod most of the time. We'll try to post the pictures here as they come ...

Zexiv's Photo in Schmap

2007-08-08T17:35:00.001-07:00

We learned today that this photo of Zexiv's, taken at Granville Island Model Train and Ship Museum, was selected for the newly released 3rd edition of the Schmap Vancouver Guide.

Schmap is a leading publisher of digital travel guides for 200 destinations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Visit their website at http://www.schmap.com/.

This picture of Zexiv's was taken handheld in available light (the museum prohibits the use of flash photography), sometime in October of 2005, when he was touring his New York based friend Walrus around the city. He remembers using a fixed 24mm f/2.8 lens and his favorite black and white film, Kodak TX-400 film (also known as Tri-X Pan or simply Tri-X).

If you love model trains and ships and happen to be in Vancouver on one of those gray and rainy days the city is known for, this museum is a nice place to get away from it all. It is our favorite place in Granville Island (followed by this place in the Public Market where they serve great apple pie and the puppet store at Kids' Market). It is great for miniature lovers of all ages, although probably not recommended for very young children, who may find it fascinating at first but might not have the patience to go through the whole exhibit.

Speaking of model trains, Zexiv made a note to check out his old electric train (Atlas, HO scale) in storage in subterranean vault in the home country this Christmas and see if it is still in one piece ...

Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stores, Volume I and II

2007-07-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

"I moved my head to look at the cabinet behind me. When I turned again , Sherlock Holmes was standing smiling at me across my study table. I rose to my feet, stared at him for some seconds in utter amazement, and then it appears that I must have fainted for the first and last time in my life. Certainly a gray mist swirled before my eyes, and when it cleared I found my collar-ends undone and the tingling after-taste of brandy upon my lips. Holmes was bending over my chair, his flask in his hand."

""My dear Watson", said the well-remembered voice, "I owe you a thousand apologies. I had no idea that you would be so affected.""

"I gripped him by the arms."

""Holmes!" I cried. "Is it really you? Can it indeed be that you are alive? Is it possible that you succeeded in climbing out of that awful abyss?""

- From The Adventure of the Open House, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bantam Classics.

Many months ago, I wrote about a list of books Zexiv brought with him on the Sub on a long journey to Canada, promising to review every one of them sometime in the future. I had completely forgot about that until recently, when Zexiv and I happened to turn on the television in camp and saw the 1959 film version of The Hound of Baskervilles airing on the Turner Classic Movie channel. It was the middle of the movie and we were only able to catch parts of it, having some errands to attend to, but the bits we caught had had us for glued for a while to our seats. Being both fans of Sherlock Holmes, we knew there had been a couple of movies and TV movies made on this famous literary character, but it had been our first time to catch an actual episode on TV. We later learned that this movie version of The Hound of Baskervilles appears to be one of the best made on this character. Peter Cushing's impression of Holmes is pretty close I would say as to how we imagine he looked in the books, with his tall lanky frame, sharp features, and abrupt manner. Not having seen the entire movie I cannot say how true this is to the original story; I don't remember however Holmes having any romantic interest in this particular story.

The 2 volumes of Sherlock Holmes' complete novels and stories were an advent gift of Puff to Zexiv many years ago, when they were still living in the home country. It took Zexiv perhaps 4 years to finish the 2 books, as these are not stories you would probably want to read continuously, and so he started and finished other books in between. He would usually read the stories from this book late at night in Manila, and on rainy days here in Vancouver, and it was one rainy day that he finally came to the end of the 2 volumes featuring the 56 short stories and 4 novels of Sherlock Holmes. It is quite an accomplishment, and he was almost sorry to see it end, although he now goes back to certain parts of the books, rereads some of the stories, and recently started reading again The Hound of the Baskervilles.

What are our ideas of great books? To Zexiv and I these are the kind you would want to bring with you if you were marooned on a desert island (hopefully you would also have an unlimited supply of water, food, toothpaste and soap too :) - books with lots of adventure that you can reread again and again, those set perhaps in exotic lands, and which can magically transport you to another time and place and make you forget for a moment where you actually are. Being hopeless romantics, we also prefer books with "happy" endings, where the good guy always wins. And it helps if the main character is quite likeable, and if the style of writing is not the rambling sort that demands total concentration. There are other books, for instance, which we also consider very good, but which we would not list in the "marooned island" category, such as Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter and George Orwell's Burmese Days, both of which end very tragically, and where the good guy actually dies. Or take for instance, Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, which is also very good, but demands total concentration and a very quiet place to read, due to the very wordy style of writing , in order to appreciate it. Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I and II are 2 books we would count as one of our favorites and is something we would recommend to anyone looking for a very good read.

The books start with Watson meeting Holmes for the first time in A Study in Scarlet and becoming his flatmate and later, friend, and biographer for many of their succeeding adventures together. We see Holmes brilliantly applying his Science of Deduction to cases originating in places as far as the Wild West and colonial India, with the ever loyal and dedicated (but not so intelligent) Dr. Watson by his side. We are introduced to Holmes' arch nemesis Professor Moriarty in the Valley of Fear, and encounter him again in The Final Problem, where following a violent confrontation and struggle, they fall off a cliff to their apparent end. Apparently due to the outcry of Sherlock Holmes' many readers and fans, the character is brought back by the author a few years later in The Adventure of the Empty House. Later on we see Holmes featured in perhaps his best known adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles, which has also become our favorite among all the novels and stories. The books finally end with The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, where an understandably weary Arthur Conan Doyle makes clear to his readers at the start of his intentions not to continue with the series. We see Sherlock Holmes amd Watson age through the years, but never see their definite end which makes them truly immortal characters.

It is through the keen eyes of Watson in many of the short stories that we really get to know and appreciate the character that is Sherlock Holmes. This is what we have come to know of the greatest of detectives:

- A chemist by profession, with some informal medical studies such as in comparative anatomy

- A lover of fine music who also plays the violin

- A night owl and (usually) late riser

- Loves a good smoke with his pipe and has made an exhaustive study on the different types, makes and characterics of tobacco

- Unsentimental, abrupt and direct in his dealings, yet compassionate and humorous at times

- A firm believer in the Science of Deduction but also aware of its limitations

- A master of disguise and convincing actor

- Can spend several days in a row lying motionless on his sofa (?) and staring into space, when pondering a problem or when lacking the intellectual stimulation from new and challenging cases

- Apparently not normally armed (he relies on Dr. Watson for his revolver)

- Only known to have been smitten perhaps once in his life with one woman (someone he met in one of his cases)

- Apparently someone with a bit of an opium addiction

As you can see, definitely a very intriguing, interesting and likeable character ...

The books are very atmospheric and magically transport you to 19th century Victorian London with it's cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages, gas lights, rain and fog. Even if you never get marooned on an island, it's something we would recommend for reading on the beach or when cooped up at home on a rainy day. Very very highly recommended! ...

P.S. On another topic, Zexiv, Puff and I are also fans of the Harry Potter Books and have read all 6 books. Like many Harry Potter fans we are eagerly awaiting the last book due to come out this weekend. We wonder if perhaps Sirius Black or Dumbledore will be resurrected in the last book to fight the final battle, just as Sherlock Holmes was brought back to life after that seemingly unsurvivable fall down that cliff. Or perhaps if Harry Potter himself "dies" in the last book, will J.K. Rowling find a way to bring him back as well for his fans sometime in the future? Something to think about ...

Wanted: Four Ornery Varmints

2007-07-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

"Taft"
"Del Pilar"
"Custer"

"Thompson a.k.a. Thomson"

An APB has been issued for the capture of the above desperadoes, last known to have been sighted in Camp Redbrick. Wanted, among others, for the robbery of the Redbrick City Savings Piggy Bank and the Redbrick Chocolate Chip Bakery. Other information, gathered from our radio transmitter in Camp Grayloft is as follows:

1. All characters known to be active in daylight only, for some reason preferring to retire about 9 or earlier in the evening, especially Taft and Del Pilar. Some are also inactive for certain afternoon hours.

2. Extremely adept in the art of disguise and concealment - Thompson or Thomson, to be precise, has been seen extorting candy from several homes in Redbrick City threatening "tricks", dressed up as Fred Flintstone.

3. All are also known not to be above infiltrating establishments in the Camp Redbrick area, which have been identified by the gang as attractive targets. Del Pilar for instance is suspected of having assisted from time to time in the Redbrick Chocolate Chip Bakery, feigning interest in the art of chocolate chip cookie making.

4. Other known information about the individual gang members:

a. Taft - A child prodigy and expert swimmer who began school at the age of 2 and 1/2

b. Del Pilar - Pokemonster afficionado and car collector

c. Custer - Patron of the arts, especially the Ballet

d. Thompson or Thomson - Owner of several private armies, ceramics painter and Tintin collector

All members are suspected to be armed with water guns looted from the Camp Redbrick Armory and should be approached with extreme caution. I have alerted our comrades in the camp and in the subterranean vault to be on the lookout ...

Post no bail!!! ...

Once Upon a Time in the West

2007-07-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Zexiv discovered this movie during a trip to New York a few months ago, where he bought the DVD. He and I have watched it a number of times since then and it now ranks among Zexiv's top 5 favorites, together with A Bridge too Far, Meet Me in St. Louis, Empire of the Sun, and (he is a bit embarassed to admit this), Sound of Music.

There is nothing like a good western, and they don't make them like they used to anymore. Actually the western genre has largely fallen out of favor with many of today's moviegoers, which is a pity, as a lot of these movies have much to offer in terms of spectacular cinematography and adventure, and great lessons of moral courage, integrity and the true pioneering spirit. Zexiv remembers his father being a being huge fan as well in his younger days, and he remembers going to the movies to see Red Sun and The Cowboys (with John Wayne). Among the TV series' Zexiv used to watch as a kid were reruns of shows such as Wanted: Dead or Alive and Lone Ranger.

Zexiv recalls wearing a cowboy costume as a little kid one halloween (complete with a silver Sheriff's star) and playing Cowboys and Indians many times with some of his schoolmates. One of his prized possessions was a tepee which he got as a gift from his parents, which had canvas walls painted with animal designs and real wooden colored poles made he thinks of bamboo. He would set it up during special occasions such as birthday parties and even remembers camping in the back yard with Inverbras one night in this tent. This was back of course when there weren't that many mosquitoes yet and before the days of dengue ...

Playing Cowboys and Indians was something Zexiv and Inverbras enjoyed doing at their paternal grandparents' house as well, at their weekly visits there for Sunday lunch. Their grandparents lived in a huge compound with the adjoining house belonging to an uncle and aunt and there were many places to run around, hide, or crouch behind to get a good "shot". And having lots of cousins made for lots of action. Zexiv remembers that his uncle who lived in the adjoining house used to impress his nephews by twirling around their toy revolvers, just like the skilled gunfighters would do in the movies. And later on Zexiv and Inverbras got their own metal pump action toy rifles, which they had great fun sticking corks in, and using for target practice.

This particular spaghetti western stars Henry Fonda - who was well into his 60s at the time - as Frank, a landgrabber and ruthless enforcer of a railroad tycoon. Charles Bronson plays Harmonica, a mysterious gunfighter, who forms an unlikely alliance with the bandit Cheyenne (played by Jason Robards) to protect the recently widowed Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale). The movie starts off quite slow in the beginning, but quickly picks up. It features a dramatic cinematography (lots of the slow panning wide angles and extreme close ups Sergio Leone is known for) and a brilliant soundtrack by Ennio Morricone which goes very well with the movie (in fact Puff, on hearing a certain haunting melody repeated a number of times, asked Zexiv "if this was a love story"). It is a movie Zexiv and I highly recommend - if you could see just one western this would be it. You can almost smell the dust, smoke and the horses' sweat ...

Photography School

2007-07-06T15:51:00.001-07:00

Not a lucky number, but this became Zexiv's favorite room for the 2 darkroom courses he took.

After going through developer, stop bath and fixer, prints are brought outside the darkroom to be washed here.

The entrance to darkrooms 1-4. This room also has a dryer for prints and negatives as well.

Hallway leading to 2 classrooms at the end. Door to the left leads to darkrooms 1-4.

Being a film guy through and through, Zexiv didn't spend much time here except for the 1 Photoshop class he took. The instructor would usually sit in front.

While waiting for his turn to be called to present his portfolio to the panel for review, Zexiv snapped these pictures of a portion of the second floor of his school. He used his new top secret reconnaisance camera, which was given to him by Inverbras. The camera also functions as a communications and entertainment device, as well as an electronic black book and organizer for the increasingly absent minded Zexiv.

Originally he had planned a dramatic video of him exiting the bus, crossing the street to the front of the school, focusing on the windows with the signs and photos displayed, and then entering through the front door, climbing the carpeted steps to the 2nd floor, and pausing for a short moment, before slowly opening the 2nd door leading to the reception area (fade away to black here). Unfortunately that plan was hastily scrapped when Zexiv found out he had the camera all the while facing the wrong way, which was his shirt. It was also upside down ... the pitfalls of learning how to use a point and shoot again with a fixed lens when you have gotten so used to an SLR with a zoom. It is a very handy thing though to have around when you don't want to be lugging around your gear ...

The school is not that large in terms of size, but quite impressive with about 3 classrooms (one of which also doubles as a makeshift studio), 2 studios (which also function as classrooms), 5 darkrooms, and a computer room with a number of PCs. There is also a small reception area on the 2nd floor with a couch and some armchairs and a coffeemaker and water cooler. Having attended both large (the state university in the home country) and small schools (i.e., GBA in NYC), Zexiv was always more comfortable with smaller schools and class sizes - somehow he found this more conducive to learning. It is also easier to get to know people and form friendships in this kind of setup.

During his first few terms, when Zexiv discovered the magic of developing and printing your own black and white film, the darkroom became one of his favorite places. There is something about working with your hands in the dark with the familiar smell of developer, fixer, and stop bath, and watching an image unfold right before your eyes. More than once, Zexiv's instructor told him to go ahead and use the radio inside to play music while working, but it seemed more fun and relaxing, actually even kind of therapeutic, to just work in almost complete silence, the only sound being the swishing of water in the trays and the ticking clock on the wall.

Aside from the darkroom, Zexiv also immensely enjoyed the lectures held in a classroom at the end of the hallway, where the instructor would give lectures and show slideshows of photos of famous photographers and where the students would show their own pictures (in Zexiv's case, usually through a 35mm slide projector, or through black and white prints laid out on the table), usually after a fieldtrip or two, to get feedback. It is really the practice gained through numerous field trips and regular feedback which he thinks made him a much better photographer.

The school itself is located in a very pleasant and interesting neighborhood, with a public library, a coffeeshop, a used bookstore, a pizzeria (which makes an excellent lasagna by the way), and small bookstore nearby. There is also a major bus stop just a few steps away which is pretty convenient, especially since some of the classes can end quite late in the evening.

All in all, Zexiv took a total of 15 classes (each running for about 30 hours over a 10 week period) in a little more than 2 years. Most of these were geared towards his interests which were shooting nature and landscapes, although he did take a few courses requiring him to photograph people (either in the studio or outdoors), to round out his experience. He also shot most of his pictures during this time using either black and white negative or color slide film. Interestingly, he recalls how during his first year a lot of his classmates were still using film cameras and projecting their slides on the wall; later on he noticed that a lot had shifted to digital cameras and he was one of the very few still showing his slides through a projector. He added though that there seems to be a recent resurgence towards film among some of his classmates, particularly with those shooting with black and white. He thinks this is a very good thing ...

P.S. Zexiv passed his portfolio review ... in the end he decided to present his best wide angle shots, both for nature and landscape, and received constructive and helpful feedback. He is quite happy about how everything turned out and is now excitedly planning a list of photo projects for the summer.

Happy Birthday Canada

2007-07-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

Bowen Island
BC Interior

Canada Place

When Zexiv was a kid, he and a few schoomates used to like playing with water. One of the things they would do, while other kids their age were busy with after school sports or games was head to this hilly part of the school. They would turn on one of the water taps and watch the water as it quickly wound its way in a narrow channel down the hill, and using their imagination, would pretend it was white water rapids. They would put an ant or two on a leaf or bottle cap and watch enthralled as the makeshift boat was carried down the "river", and repeat this a couple of times. Anyone who would pass by would probably wonder what they were doing (other than obviously wasting a lot of water), but at that moment, Zexiv and his friends were lost in another world. They imagined they were somewhere in the wide open spaces of the west, where just like in the cowboy movies they used to watch, you could travel for a long time and see not a soul for miles, just endless prairie grass, desert, or pine covered mountains. Of course none of them had ever experienced anything like that, having all been raised in the city, in crowded, humid and smoggy Manila. This was all just a dream to them. The world for Zexiv was a very small place, most of the time limited to home, school, and the commercial center nearby.

Yesterday was Canada Day, and walking across Capilano Suspension Bridge, he and I got to talking about how far he had come since those days and how he never imagined he would be in a place so lush, full of the evergreen forests and mountains he used to dream about as a kid. Aside from its rich multicultural society, Canada's (and more so, BC's) most important asset is really its natural environment. He considers himself very lucky to have been able to experience this. Vancouver in particular is very ideally situated, and you can ski, hike, and walk down the beach or sail all in one day, if you have the energy for it. Since moving here we have explored many of the beautiful forested parks in the BC area, have hiked down trails lined by some ancient and gigantic trees and walked down to the edge of a river to see the rapids up close. It's a very amazing and beautiful place.

Moving to Canada also allowed Zexiv to pursue a long time dream of his, which was to study photography. He says he cannot imagine being able to do this where he came from. And nothing beats BC for nature photography ... there is really nothing like it in the whole wide world.

Of course, BC is only a small part of the enormous country (the second largest in the world, next to Russia) that is Canada and there are still many other areas which we hope to see in this lifetime. We have never been to the Canadian Rockies, and it would be nice to go up north and see what the Yukon and Northwest Territories are like. Newfoundland sounds exciting too, as well as Calgary for the rodeo.

This sure beats turning on the water in school and watching the ants go down the rapids :).

Happy birthday to our adopted home!

Stones, Snow and Needles - Part II

2007-06-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Stones at Hyde Park, 1969. No, this isn't the concert we saw; the band members are a lot older and the fashions and hairstyles have changed but the highly charged energy and excitement remain the same.

It has been a long time since my last post, and you can very well tell from the title of this entry, since we are now at the beginning of summer (and obviously haven't seen snow for some time). Also, Zexiv's nephew's birthday (the subject of the last post) was 3 months ago; since that time, Puff, another niece, a brother and 2 sisters have also celebrated their birthdays, and Puff and Zexiv and a sister and brother-in-law of Zexiv's have had their wedding anniversaries as well. I apologize once again for my very lengthy absence as the past 3 months have been an extremely busy time for Zexiv and I, and we have been engrossed in a personal project of sorts, call it a culmination of efforts over a dream we have been pursuing for the last 2 years. It would take forever to catch up on all the time that has passed, but I thought I could start by continuing a story I began some months ago, and then move on to other, newer things.

It is not easy to get tickets for any good show that comes to Vancouver. Perhaps it has something to do with the way tickets are sold online these days. I recall a day perhaps 2 years ago when Puff tried to get tickets for a U2 concert. You could only purchase tickets at a specified time and date, and competition was extremely fierce. That morning, Puff had sat by the computer waiting patiently, and finally after some time, realized she was being asked to enter her choices. She quickly roused Zexiv from his sleep, and said excitedly, "I'm in, I'm in! What do you think of these seats or prices" Which do you prefer? Quick!". "Ah ... ah ..." replied Zexiv, still half asleep, his mind still in a haze, badly needing that first giant mug of Folgers' coffee to get it started. "Uhm ... er ... ah ...". Hurry! cried Puff frantically, rushing back to the computer. "This won't last!". Finally Zexiv suggested some seats but it was too late - in the perhaps minute or two that had passed, Puff had been logged out, or the choices she had been eyeing had suddenly become unavailable. When she finally got in the site again, everything had been sold. It was extremely frustrating ...

So when Zexiv, Puff and I heard that the Rolling Stones would be coming to Vancouver on the last concert of the Bigger Bang World Tour, we jumped at this chance of a lifetime to see this great band perform. Zexiv has been an admirer of theirs since he first bought their record "Some Girls" many years ago as a teenager, and continues to listen to their music to this day. Among the CDs he brought with him on the sub when we moved here was their double CD of greatest hits from 1964-1971, which he, Puff, and I love to listen to on those lazy Saturday mornings. We also enjoyed the soundtrack of the recent remake of the film "Alfie", which featured a great song sung by Mick Jagger, "Old Habits Die Hard" (the film unfortunately though came up a bit short compared to the music). So on the weekday morning tickets were to be sold online, Zexiv and I sat by the computer waiting anxiously, with a price range in mind, and Zexiv this time fully awake and alert with his cup of coffee in hand.

Surprisingly, it was relatively easy to get seats this time, although our first choice wasn't available - we think this could be because tickets are apparently pre-sold to members of the Rolling Stones club first. So we were excited when we all got our tickets - not exactly the price we had in mind, but still very well worth it, in our opinion. After all, who knows when or if we will get to see the Stones perform again? 2 of the Beatles are gone and it seems that everyone from that era is getting on in years, although Mick Jagger and his mates don't seem to show any visible signs of slowing down. Imagine that - the Rolling Stones live! It was to be indeed the show of a lifetime and literally the show that later brought the house down.

Next: Stones, Snow and Needles - Conclusion ...

Happy Birthday, Spanky!

2007-03-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

from

and

Today (in home country time, which is 15 hours ahead of Camp Grayloft), Spanky turns 8. Spanky has been around just slightly longer than Zexiv and Puff have been married. He is the first grandchild in the family, that is, Zexiv's parents' grandchild.

Zexiv remembers that when Spanky was born he (Zexiv) was always out of the house, perhaps trying to make the most of his last few months of bachelorhood. Although he knew that his middle sister was due to give birth any day he remembers wondering where everyone in the family was one day, and getting the shock of his life when he was called to the phone in the morning by one of the helpers and heard middle sister asking in an amused tone, "Did you know I just gave birth?"

It was exciting to be an uncle for the first time. Zexiv has fond memories dating back to when Spanky was just a baby, for instance:

1. The morning of Zexiv's wedding, Zexiv's mother (Oma to Spanky) combing Spanky's fine baby's hair and speaking for Spanky, "Uncle Jack, you want me to look good for your wedding, right?"

2. Zexiv dropping by the house one afternoon (he and Puff rented an apartment after they got married) and finding Spanky sitting quietly and patiently (and with very good posture) on the bottom step of the wooden staircase all by himself, looking straight ahead, and apparently lost in deep thought. Zexiv wasn't quite sure at that time if Spanky could recognize him yet.

3. The whole family going out for lunch one day, spotting Zexiv walking near his former office, and calling out for Zexiv to join them. Spanky was looking out the window of the car at Zexiv with a big smile on his face (which made Zexiv realize happily that his little nephew did know who he was!).

4. Zexiv teaching Spanky how to pour a can of coke for his uncle, which Spanky quickly learned to do and would repeat whenever he saw his uncle with a can of coke.

And many more instances.

Spanky also came at the right time, about a year or so before Zexiv's father underwent knee replacement surgery on both legs. The family seems to agree that Spanky's many visits to see Grumpa in the hospital were really the best medicine.

After Spanky was born, a nephew and 2 nieces followed one after another, and the family dinner was never the same again. Of course, Zexiv and Puff are fond of all of them, and they are all unique and likeable in their own special ways. Cheers though to the leader of the pack!

Happy birthday, Spanky, from your pals in Vancouver! We wish we could be with you to celebrate your special day.

All the best,

Uncle Jack (Zexiv), Tita Puff, and Comrade Stingray :)

Another Great Rock Legend Passes On

2007-03-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Zexiv and I were sad to see on the news that the lead singer of Boston, Brad Delp, had died, at age 56 in New Hampshire. Brad was born in Danvers, Massachussets and joined the band in 1970. He contributed his vocals to a number of the band's hits and also played keyboards, guitar and harmonica.

You realize you are indeed getting on with age when a lot of members of bands or singers whose music you grew up with start passing on in shorter intervals one by one. Zexiv remembers buying the single 45 rpm "Don't Look Back" many years ago, and playing it with Inverbras over and over again at full blast in their room they shared in Redbrick. They had a weight set and bench in their room and this became one of their favorite workout songs. They also liked another well known hit of the band, "More than a Feeling". "More than a Feeling" was one of those great Saturday morning "wake up" songs that was played a lot by a popular local FM radio station; the perfect song to celebrate the start of a weekend, summer vacation, the end of exams, or some significant milestone. It became a favorite as well with Zexiv and his gym buddies, not just in the gym but also for the times when they would gather in each others' houses for a few beers. It is indeed the end of an era.

Here from YouTube is the video of "Don't Look Back", from the album of the same name. According to Wikipedia, the song reached number 4 in 1978 in Billboard Hot 100. It is a great song ...

Rest in peace, Brad Delp ...

A Rainbow Over Grayloft

2007-03-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

While working on the computer today trying to get started on some assignments, Zexiv happened to glance out the window and noticed this rainbow over Camp Grayloft. He pointed this out to Puff and then ran out with his camera to take a few shots. It was that time of the day when the sun is just setting and everything is bathed in a beautiful warm and golden light. It was a wonderful sight. It seems that whenever Zexiv and I happen to see a rainbow, we never have a camera between us. This was a lucky break.

Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday, with Spring beginning a few weeks after. After a long, cold and rainy winter, all of us in camp are looking forward to warmer weather, longer days, and flowers blooming again. A great time for nature photography! Definitely something to look forward to ...

Depending on how you look at it, I imagine the pot of gold must be somewhere north or south ...

My Photo Shoot, Part 2

2007-02-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

Stingray as Gulliver (concept by Zexiv's classmate, photo by Zexiv, model, Yours Truly)

Being a famous model is not easy work especially if it involves being immobile for long periods, and you feel an itch but can't scratch for the life of it because you're tied securely to the ground. And of course there is the starving of one's self to look good in clothes, the loss of one's personal privacy and being hounded mercilessly day and night by the paparazzi. However hardship is nothing new to this battle hardened old soldier, who has been taken prisoner and interrogated many many times but never revealed a thing other than name, rank, and serial number. This particular shoot was a collaboration between Zexiv and a classmate of his (who is brilliant with Photoshop and has a much better version with the chessboard converted to black and white). Anyway, here I am in their interpretation of Gulliver's Travels, showing the mighty warrior (mainly me) brought down by the little people. Hmmm ... I really should start ironing my uniform again; it looks like i went to sleep in it ...

P.S. Tomorrow is Zexiv's birthday. Happy Birthday, old pal!

My Photo Shoot

2007-02-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

"I'm king of the world!" (just like Leonardo :))

I apologize once again for my extended absence. It has been a long and cold winter, and the lack of sun in perpetually rainy Vancouver has sort of put a dampener on my creative powers. This blog I think would be best written lying on the beach in sunny Boracay, or even from a cosy room in a dive resort in Anilao, with a bottle of San Miguel beer by my side, while munching on some barbecue chips. Yes, that would indeed be the life ...

Quite a bit has happened since my last post last Christmas, and I do have lots of stories in the pipeline which I hope to post soon, once things become a bit less hectic. In the meantime, here is a photo taken of me from a recent studio photo shoot. That's a king chesspiece I am holding up and my M-1 rifle. I had wanted to wear my old regulation dress uniform and shave my beard (after all one never can tell when one might be discovered), but Zexiv convinced me this was the best "look" for the picture.

It was a fun shoot though admittedly very precarious balancing on that globe. Now I know what those models go through. I think I look quite good here . Hmmm ... perhaps I should send this to Mademoiselle Marie ...

Christmas at Camp Grayloft

2006-12-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

For the last few years Zexiv and Puff have been spending Christmas either in the home country or in Washington, DC, where Zexiv's father used to be assigned. Both places were always very busy during this particular time of year - Manila with its exciting nightlife, get-togethers with family and friends, and shopping, and Washington, DC with all the non-stop family activities that would be planned around Zexiv's little nephews and nieces. This Christmas, Zexiv and Puff decided to slow down and have a quiet celebration for a change here in BC. We decorated the camp, setting up Zexiv and Puff's collection of miniature Christmas houses and had hot chocolate and Christmas cookies while watching holiday classics like "A Christmas Carol", "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and a "Muppet Christmas", and more contemporary films like "Love Actually", "The Holiday", and "Home Alone". We also attended a very beautiful midnight Christmas service (following a delicious dinner of rack of lamb and onion soup prepared by Puff), at the Cathedral in downtown Vancouver, probably the best of its kind we have experienced so far.

Christmas also found Zexiv in much brighter spirits, having finally gotten to hit the weights at last a few days ago, after about a 6 week layoff, following his recent back injury. He has resolved to take it easy in the gym from now on and to stop working out like he is still in high school . Puff decided to help him lighten his gym bag by replacing his old and trusty but heavy discman with an Ipod, for Christmas, a very welcome gift. He has been quite occupied the last few days downloading Christmas songs from his childhood and says he has more than a hundred so far ... (I wonder if he plans to take this to the gym with him; somehow I find it hard to imagine him bench pressing to the tune of "Mele Kalikimaka") ...

Christmas is also very meaningful when spent with good friends and I received an unexpected and pleasant suprise very early in the morning when I was visited by secret agent Mademoiselle Marie, shortly after Zexiv and Puff had retired. She shared a bottle of wine with me and some stories and posed for a photo around the tree before disappearing again mysteriously into the rainy night, probably on another of her secret missions. More about her in my future posts ...

Good friends, good health, and a meaningful Christmas in a beautiful and peaceful place - indeed we have a lot to be thankful for this year.

To friends and family, especially those thousands of miles away, A Holly Jolly Christmas (to borrow the words of Burl Ives) to you all! ...

Stones, Snow, and Needles - Part 1

2006-12-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

These 3 words – not necessarily in that order - pretty much sum up what has been happening in our side of the world the past month, since my last post. Of course much more has happened since then especially as we are now in the final days until Christmas, and I have dozens of things to write about, but I feel I must start with the old before I get on with the new things …

A day before we were to depart on a short but much awaited trip to New York, (where Zexiv was to attend the induction of his father on his high school’s Hall of Fame), Zexiv decided to go to the gym to squeeze in a light leg workout. Relatively speaking, it was a light workout – Zexiv had after all been plagued on and off with lower back pain the past few months and was not exactly in the best shape of his life – and so he had resolved to take it easy that day, and not go up to the usual 4 big plates. He had just finished repping out a second set of low bar powerlifting style squats when something gave in his lower back. Zexiv being Zexiv thought he could work though the pain and thought he might as well finish the workout since he was already there. So he hung on to a bar to stretch himself out and added leg curls and leg raises until he realized he could barely walk and had to hang on to the wall to support himself, at which point he wisely decided to call it a night and take a cab home.

Upon reaching the camp the pain had gotten so bad that Puff and the crew (basically myself) had to help him walk to his quarters. The first thing he did was lie on the ground with a pack of ice on his back. The trip now looked very doubtful; after all, if the captain couldn’t take a single step, how in the world was he going to get around New York, much less lug around his gear? We decided however to defer the decision and any packing until the next morning, in the unlikely event that he would improve over the next few hours. Surprisingly the next day he was able to walk although very, very slowly, and in considerably improved spirits, decided to push through with the trip, albeit with some adjustments. For one, our long planned photo expedition of Central Park was definitely off and we were forced to cut down our photo gear to the bare minimum - a digital camera and 2 lightweight lenses for snapshots. Also, Puff and I had to do all the packing, which the captain appreciated greatly, since it involved a lot of bending.

The trip New York was a blur and seemed to end quickly almost as quickly as it began. Although we hardly took any pictures, it was nice to walk along Fifth Avenue and Union Square (the walking apparently seemed to be good for Zexiv’s back) again. That, together with the induction of his father and meeting up with the rest of Zexiv’s family and other relatives was pretty much the highlight of the trip. Unfortunately there was no time to explore our usual haunts like Central Park, FAO Schwarz, B&H, La Caridad, and American Museum of Natural History, or for Zexiv to have his usual beers with Walrus, although his sister did have beer in her fridge for him every night. But Zexiv’s siblings were very helpful with his injury, with Inverbras carrying his shopping bags for him, Crazy Lady in the Apple heating up a hot compress for him every night and helping get his medicines and snacks, and Middle Sister helping load his luggage in the taxi.

Since our return it has been a slow recovery for Zexiv. Although he is able to walk normally again (and run a few steps if the situation requires it), sitting for extended periods (such as in a bus or at a movie house) is extremely uncomfortable, and Zexiv has been resigned to sleeping on his back with a pillow or two under his knees. He has not been able to go back to the gym since, a source of immense frustration for someone who has been lifting since his high school days. Medical care here has also been a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps as a result of this locale’s largely government subsidized health care program, it takes ages to get an appointment with a specialist or for tests such as an MRI. As a result Zexiv has been experimenting with non-traditional treatment such as Alternative Chinese Medicine, specifically acupuncture and massage therapy. Both have been very useful in helping manage pain and relaxing tight muscles although it is still premature to see if there are any lasting beneficial effects.

Zexiv was quite impressed with the gear of the licensed TCM practitioner, who came with his own lightweight and portable massage table, pillows and needles. A typical acupuncture session comes after about 30 minutes of intensive massage therapy. A series of needles is inserted one by one, starting from lower neck down to the lower back, and on certain areas of the back of the legs and feet. The acupuncturist gives each needle a single firm tap, and the needle is in. Zexiv had imagined at first that it would be like literally being punctured in different parts of the body by darts (a feeling Zexiv is well acquainted with, having punctured his own thumb with a dart many years ago trying to aim at a business card of a certain fat and obnoxious banker), or by being attacked by an army of fire ants, but it wasn’t anything like that at all. There is the feeling of the needle going in, which can be more or less sensitive depending on the area where it is inserted, and also according to the TCM, to the make of the needle. When all the needles have been inserted, the acupuncturist manipulates all the needles by gently pulling and pushing them, which also creates various degrees of nerve sensations. When it is all over the needles are removed one by one.

On a recent session, Zexiv had more than 30 needles inserted in him. He reminded me a bit of that chap from Hellraiser, a very interesting sight indeed ...

The whole camp is hopeful he will be able to make a full recovery and go back to the gym again soon as this lack of physical activity is making him quite antsy.

On my next post, I will tell you about the night Mick, Keith, Ron, and Charlie came to Vancouver to play. Till then …

The German Connection, Part Two

2006-11-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

When Zexiv was a little boy, he was known in the family for being a very very slow eater. You may wonder what this has to do with the title and pictures of this post, but it actually has quite a bit of a connection, as you will see in a minute ...

Zexiv was not at all interested in meals when he was younger, and would always be the last one remaining at the table, continually frustrating his parents, who tried various methods to get him to eat faster, to no avail. His meals would usually take at least an hour, sometimes two. None of the children in the family were allowed to leave the table until they had finished everything in their plates, even if it was something commonly disliked, like eggplant, or liver. Zexiv even remembers one time it being close to Christmas Eve and, unable to finish a dinner, quickly stuffing the rest of his rice under the legs of a chair by the dining table (this was discovered on Christmas morning by Zexiv's father when he was opening some presents).

However being always the last at the table did have its advantages, one of them being that Zexiv was always there to hear all the stories of the family and and later became somewhat a bit of a storyteller himself. After every one had finished and retired upstairs to their own rooms, the hired help had cleared all the dishes away, all was quiet, and Zexiv was left chewing away, his mother would oftentimes sit with him, sometimes doing her reading or crosswords, making her lists of things to do, sewing, or oftentimes just relaxing and reminiscing about her childhood. All this was exciting and exotic to Zexiv, who never got to travel abroad until after high school, and was fascinated with anything concerning life overseas, or under the Japanese occupation or American liberation.

Zexiv's mother told him the story of how his grandfather, or Opa, a doctor of medicine by training, was appointed by then President Magsaysay to head a diplomatic legation in Germany, during the early fifties, the Philippines apparently having no embassy there at the time. Apparently Opa had done much work campaigning for his friend Magsaysay and his party either in his home province of Pangasinan or his adopted province of Zambales and Magsaysay in turn had promised him some sort of post. After Magsaysay had won and all the dust had settled, however, the plum position had gone to someone else, whom the president had also promised a favor (which is not that uncommon in politics, whatever the place and age). Opa was indignant. "You promised me!", he complained afterwards to the president. "I'm so sorry, compadre", Magsaysay said, using the familiar term meaning Godfather, or two people sharing a close bond by virtue of one of them being the Godfather to the other person's child, "But the position is no longer available. Tell me, is there anything else I can do for you?", he asked, trying to assuage his friend. "Perhaps you would be interested in ... (he named a diplomatic position in a certain country) ... or another country?". "Germany!", prompted Zexiv's grandmother or Oma excitedly, to the surprise of Opa (and probably Magsaysay as well).

And so Germany it was. As mentioned, there was no embassy or consulate in Germany at the time, and Opa, although a charming man, a brilliant doctor, and natural diplomat, knew next to nothing about being a foreign service officer. So it was decided he would head the foreign legation to Germany (Zexiv believes it was Hamburg) but that he would start at a relatively junior position, which was Vice Consul. It was also decided that Opa and Oma would make the trip first together, and that the children would follow afterwards, once things were settled.

The next few months were a whirl of great excitement for the family. Opa and Oma went ahead, making the long journey by ship, and a few months later the children followed, with the exception of Zexiv's Aunt Maly, who had recently gotten married. Zexiv remembers being glued to his seat hearing his mother talk of the trip by ship. His mother must have been in high school at that time, and all that was very exciting and new for her as well. He recalls it being sort of a cargo ship that also took passengers and stories of his mother and her siblings being befriended and entertained by the captain and his crew.

For Opa and Oma, it was a new exciting chapter in their lives as well. Oma hadn't been back in her homeland for many years and it was the first time she was reunited with her own mother and brother. Of course during those days, the world was a much bigger place than it is today, before air travel became more frequent, and before the advent of direct dial, fax, and e-mail. Opa slowly adjusted into the duties of his new job, while Oma kept busy getting the children into their new schools.

There are many stories Zexiv has heard from his mother from this time and which he hopes to tell another time. One of the stories he remembers the most is about how his youngest aunt, then a very little girl at that time, locked herself in the bathroom of Zexiv's Great Grandmother. The children were newly settled in Germany at the time, and Zexiv's Great Grandmother apparently did not speak a word of English. Zexiv's aunt, of course did not speak any German, either (although being the youngest, she would later become really proficient in this language and pick it up quickly in school), her native language or rather dialect being Pangasinan. There was no one else from the family home at the time but somehow the two were able to communicate and understand each other and Zexiv's aunt was finally able to unlock the door. But it is an interesting anecdote on how not impossible it is to actually understand each other if we make an effort, even if we speak different languages.

I hope to come out with more stories about this period in the future, once Zexiv gets hold of more pictures.

Indeed, being the last at the table does have its advantages ...

Peter O' Toole, Sophia Loren, and The Impossible Dream

2006-11-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

Zexiv and Inverbras first came across the movie "Man of La Mancha" many, many years ago. Zexiv remembers they borrowed the tape - which was in Betamax format - from their cousins who lived in the same village in the home country and rode school bus #16 with them everyday. He remembers them watching the movie over and over again and it quicky becoming one of those unforgettable classics with them, just like "The Godfather" and "The Warriors". These were movies Zexiv and Inverbras had watched so many times they could recite many lines word for word. Eventually the tape disappeared, just like so many things that passed by their room in Camp Redbrick and were lost forever in the "twilight zone".

Zexiv was thus delighted to discover this video a few days ago in YouTube, containing perhaps the most memorable scene and song from the movie. Peter O'Toole plays the role of a not-quite-all-there idealist very convincingly while Sophia Loren is likewise brilliant as an embittered woman of the night. She is very beautiful here, even dressed in rags and with her hair dishevelled, and has one of the most expressive eyes Zeviv and I have ever seen.

Almost everyone nowadays knows the story of Don Quixote and Man of La Mancha, but the movie, in Zexiv's opinion is grossly underrated. The song "Impossible Dream" is beautiful and has a wonderful melody and very meaningful lyrics but unfortunately over time has become overplayed and mangled in many a karaoke house.

Later in high school, Zexiv saw this musical performed by a very known local theatrical company in Manila, but this was nowhere as good as the movie. In fact Zexiv remembers his mother and him meeting with his high school principal to discuss his having to take summer school one day and his mother, noticing a souvenir piece from the musical, seizing the opportunity to break the ice: "Oh you've seen Man of La Mancha! It was quite good, don't you think? And the principal replying that he thought the local production was quite good but that "the actress who played Aldonza is not my idea of a Dulcinea". (Note: nothing came out of that meeting, and Zexiv did have to go to summer school, but the principal always remembered Zexiv after that).

There is really nothing like the original movie version and this is something Zexiv highly recommends for someone looking for a "feel good" but not sappy movie. Highly recommended for all the impossible dreamers, idealists and romantics out there (Zexiv naturally counts himself as one of them).

One cannot help but wonder who is the fool in the movie - is it Don Quixote, who sees dragons in windmills and a steed in his donkey, or is it the world around him, hopelessly grounded in grayish reality and drudgery?

This particular video is dedicated to Inverbras, who used to stay up with Zexiv well into the night long ago in the room they used to share at Camp Redbrick, and talk about all the things they wanted to do when they grew up ...

Books to Read on a Long Voyage

2006-10-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

People have different concepts or ideas about moving to a new place. Some like to do exactly they were doing at home, preferring the security of familiar people and things, shying away from anything new. Others like to start all over again, and this can mean completely reinventing themselves with new friends, a new wardrobe, a new accent, and a new haircolor. And there are those sentimental and nolstalgic types that like to bring their memories and a piece of home with them in their suitcase.

Zexiv learned many years ago when moving back to the home country after a 3 year absence abroad that it is really difficult to recreate your little piece of say a first world cosmopolitan city in your room in a third world tropical country. No matter how many things you can think of to bring to make for an easier adjustment in new place - old albums, new electronics, an instrument, souvenirs - eventually, you realize that this is not New York, or Boracay, or whereever it was you were previously where life seemed to be happier, and you have to go out and deal with whatever is out there. The sooner you learn to accept that the easier it will be to adjust. Still, that is a lot easier said than done.

So about 3 years ago, when Zexiv was about to make another move, he thought again of what he could bring with him. He had recently started started playing accoustic guitar again, due to the interest of a good friend and fellow gym rat, so he had to bring the guitar. And then there was the diving equipment (little did he know that while there is diving in British Columbia, it is definitely not as laid back as in the tropics, where one can lounge around in board shorts and have a beer afterwards; here the first thing you want to do afterwards is put a jacket on) , the photo equipment, a few old albums, gym shorts, shoes, and CDs. And of course, Zexiv's books.

Zexiv wishes he could have brought his whole collection, which took him a number of years to accumulate from frequent trips to Powerbooks, and to Barnes and Noble whenever he managed to make a trip abroad. While Puff cannot do without a television, Zexiv would be perfectly happy in an island somewhere with a couple of good books to read. By the time Zexiv and Puff left the home country, their books had outgrown the tall narrow bookcase and were piled one on top of another in towering heaps, on ledges and on the floor, starting to crowd them out of their small apartment. Unfortunately space on a sub is extremely limited, and so Zexiv decided to limit himself to about ten books, old friends which he hoped would keep him company, and hopefully make adjustment in their new home a lot easier. Here are the books he brought along:

1. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

2. Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

3. Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume 2 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

4. Boy by Roald Dahl

5. Going Solo by Roald Dahl

6. Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood

7. The Collected Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

9. Medium and Large Format Photography by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz

10. Reminiscences by Douglas MacArthur

I hope to review each of these books in detail sometime in the future.

Of course there were other choices; books by Charles Schultz, Hemingway, Enid Blyton, Herge, Erich Marie Remarque, and many others. Zexiv says he just grabbed the first books that came to mind, books of short stories that he was reading and would take him a while to finish, books he liked to read over and over again, books that transported him to exotic places and times.

So there you are, the 10 books that accompanied Zexiv on his and Puff's long voyage here and covering a wide variety of topics, from classics to adventure to mystery to magic to photography. Take note no boring business or self-help books here. Great companions, all of them.

Someday Zexiv hopes to bring the rest of his sizeable collection over ...

P.S. Actually there is a well stocked library close by, and Zexiv has gone there a number of times but the idea of reading books other people have read before him and which he can never own has never really appealed to him - seems like a very socialist concept, in his opinion. And there is nothing like the smell of a brand new book, which is like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. After all, there are many very reasonably priced excellent books out there such as Dover Thrift Editions.

A Walk Down Robson Street

2006-10-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Zexiv was downtown today with some fellow photographers. His assignment was to capture the sights and energy of Robson Street, which is known for its wide selection of brand name stores, tourist shops, restaurants, and bars. It also contains the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vancouver Public Library. It is also where our gym is located so as you can see we are here pretty often. The main commercial area extends for many blocks and is quite popular with locals, tourists, and ESL students. I remember reading once in a travel book that on any given day you can hear more than a dozen languages spoken here; it is kind of like a mini United Nations. It is a very good place to be if you like to people watch.

Robson Street is where Zexiv and Puff spent the first day of their honeymoon seven years ago, when they arrived in Vancouver on their way to take the Alaskan cruise. Zexiv remembers one of the things they were looking for the first day they arrived was warm clothes for the cruise. Most of their winter clothing had been stored in New York and they had been so busy with wedding preparations that they came pretty much unprepared. He recalls buying a jacket, two sweaters, and a photographer's vest (which he in fact used today) from Banana Republic and an issue of Outside magazine from Chapters. For some reason they couldn't make up their minds what to eat that day and passed by so many restaurants before finally having a very late lunch at around 5 pm.

This very popular street is also one of the places Zexiv and Puff bring many of their friends and relatives who come to visit, in aside from the other "must see" tourist spots like Granville Island, Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge, and Grouse Mountain. When his New York based very good friend Walrus visited about a year ago, Zexiv finally had an opportunity to explore some of the bars in the area. He and Walrus had a real blast, doing the rounds of tourist spots during the day and pubs at night before heading home. They even found a bar serving San Miguel Beer from the home country.

Today's experience, according to Zexiv, was quite interesting. Mainly because Zexiv and I are not really people photographers. We're more comfortable shooting pictures of things that don't move, landscapes, or nature. On occasion he does get to practice his portrait skills on his nephews and nieces, but that is so much easier than taking photos of strangers. I tell him that even if he doesn't become a Henri Cartier Bresson, at least he is getting useful espionage and reconnaisance experience.

It would be interesting to do this another time in black and white ...

The End of Summer and the Rose Garden Revisited

2006-10-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

Fall is a bit of a depressing time to be in Vancouver. This is when the rain comes and if it's not raining we have those gray, dreary and cold days when the sun never seems to come out. And then the leaves start changing color, which is actually nice to see at first, although it does not look pretty at all when all the leaves are gone. I am reminded of this tale from this book of stories edited by Roald Dahl (highly recommended, by the way; the title is Roald Dahl's Ghost Stories) where this woman would always look forward to this particular season with dread because every year would bring a ghostly street sweeper closer and closer to her doorstep. Years ago she had turned away an old beggar at her doorstep telling him if he wanted to eat he had to earn his keep by sweeping her long drive. The old beggar was weak with hunger and had no choice but to sweep and this he did until he collapsed from exhaustion. Before he died he swore to come for the woman and so every fall she would hear him sweeping, with the sound becoming closer and closer as the years passed. A bit of a morbid digression though but I guess in a way fall can be compared to the twilight of one's life, just as spring is youth, summer is a man's prime, and winter is ... well you get the point.

Somehow even after experiencing a few winters in New York, it always seems colder here, even though Vancouver is known for its mild winters. No matter how many layers I wear under my M-65 jacket, the cold seems to seep in, perhaps because it is a damp kind of cold. There are some good things about this time of year though. There is no shortage of coffee houses in the city, and if you are a coffee lover like Zexiv, Puff and I are, it's a great way to warm your bones. Also one good thing about all the rain we get in the fall, winter and spring is that it makes the place very lush and green and is partly the reason you find such gigantic trees growing in this part of the country.

Another great thing is that that as we head towards winter, the sun gradually gets lower in the horizon and this makes for much better pictures. The other week, Zexiv and I paid another visit to the Rose Garden in Stanley Park. It is one of our favorite places in Stanley Park, aside from the seawall, the Aquarium, and maybe Beaver Pond and never seems to attract too much people unlike other parts of the park. There were no roses to see at this time of the year but the place was ablaze with color. When we last visited in early summer there seemed to be bees humming everywhere and this made for great macro photography. During this visit the bees seemed to be gone but the lighting was still a bit harsh - not too good for picture taking. It was a very pleasant visit nevertheless.

Zexiv, Puff and I agree summer is really the best time of the year to be in Vancouver. The long days and usually mild weather provide lots of opportunites for long leisurely walks and picnics, window shopping, iced tea, and gelato ice cream. It is a nice to be able to walk around in just a t-shirt and jeans (and not a gore tex and fleece jacket for a change) and be able to do so much while the sun is still up. The many beaches around the area are always swarming with people soaking up the sun. If we were to pick our favorite times of the year to be in certain favorite cities, it would be Vancouver in summer, New York in fall, Manila in winter, and Washington, DC in spring.

Yes the "brr" months, as they like to say in the home country (i.e., September, October, November, etc.) are definitely here and by this time you can bet they have already started playing Christmas carols over the radio in Manila. In a few weeks we will be heading for a short trip to New York where I hope to see some old comrades, go on another photo expedition with Zexiv, and explore some of our favorite haunts - Central Park, Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwarz, American Museum of Natural History, B&H, La Caridad, and Barnes and Noble. And then just a few months after that - Christmas! That is definitely something to look forward to ...

Snoopy Come Home

2006-09-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

Fundamental Friend Dependability

One thing Zexiv and Puff share in common is their love for the comic strip "Peanuts". As a kid Zexiv would look forward to seeing the strip everyday (in addition to other popular comic strips of the time such as "Spider Man", "Dennis the Menace", and "Beetle Bailey") in the Stars and Stripes, especially on weekends when a longer strip would appear in color. In the bookshelves at Camp Redbrick one can still find a number of old dust-covered pocket book sized collections of "Peanuts", belonging to Zexiv and his siblings. Puff also is a big fan, particularly of the character Lucy. She still has this old stuffed Snoopy which her father bought her when she did really well in school as a kid, complete with different sets of outfits. And every Christmas one of the CDs Zexiv and Puff always bring out to listen to over and over again is the original soundtrack of "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

A few years ago Fantagraphics announced it would release every daily and Sunday strip of Charles Schultz over a period of twelve years in a series of hardbound editions. Zexiv has been eyeing these for some time now and hopes to collect all of these books someday. They are quite interesting for anyone who is a "Peanuts" fan as you can very well see the changes in the way the characters were illustrated and their personalities developed over the years. It is also interesting to note that some characters who were introduced early with Charlie Brown, such as Shermy, Patty, and Violet, later became minor characters as the strip progressed.

This particular cartoon brings back to Zexiv and Puff pleasant memories of lazy weekend afternoons vegging out in their old 35 square meter apartment in the home country, complete with a two-liter bottle of ice cold coke and a box of garlic and cheese pizza. They used to sometimes show "Peanuts" cartoons on TV and this is one of the ones that would come out. In the cartoon Snoopy receives a letter from a girl confined in a hospital who knew or owned (?) Snoopy when he was a puppy and he leaves Charlie Brown and goes to find her (and is captured together with Woodstock somewhere along the way). It is a bit sad but this particular scene has one of the upbeat and memorable songs from the movie.

The world just wouldn't be the same without Charles Schultz and Peanuts ...

The Great Vancouver Bear Hunt (Part Three)

2006-09-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

It was after I had walked a few steps that I realized Zexiv was not with me. I turned around and had a fleeting glimpse of him engaged in deep conversation with Darth Bear, oblivious to the sounds of the city around him . Has he been seduced by the Dark Side?

Darth Bear outside the former location of Virgin Records, now HMV. The day's work finally over, I packed my gear and started making my way back ...

Lulu Bear near the entrace of Lululemon Athletica, one of the Puff's favorite stores

After three separate expeditions downtown, I have finally given up on our attempt to document all the bears of the city of Vancouver. It seems no matter how thoroughly we try to cover the area, there appears to be a new bear sprouting up around the corner wherever we look. The captain and I have concluded that these things must be reproducing at a rate similar to Gremlins. Kind of like counting raindrops we have decided ...

The Great Vancouver Bear Hunt (Part Two)

2006-09-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Batbear

Biker Bear

" Goldilocks vs. the Three Bears? - a clear case of tresspassing, theft, and vandalism ..."

Greetings again from Camp Grayloft!

I had some trouble earlier trying to upload some pictures (I suspect our communication lines are being tapped by the elusive and fiendish Toyanese) so here is the second part of our photo expedition. Hopefully this goes through ... if not, till part three!

The Great Vancouver Bear Hunt (Part One)

2006-09-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

"Come on to the theatre ..." (IMAX that is)

"When lost I always look for the mountains which are north ..."

Civilized bear indeed ... this one came too close with his eye on my Nikon so I took out my trusty slingshot which I had concealed in my pocket ...

Hailing the Bus on Burrard

It was a sunny but cold Saturday morning a few months ago when I was roused from my sleep by Capt. Zexiv.

"Care to join me for a bear hunt, Sergeant? ... It's a nice day outside ... Why not take a break from camp and explore this exciting place?"

"A bear hunting expedition? How exciting!", I thought. Here was an opportunity to finally take that vintage elephant gun out of storage and relieve the glory safari days of that late great American president and explorer, Theodore Roosevelt. I quicky jumped up, had a quick cup of coffee, and started picking out gear that would put an Ambercrombie and Kent safari operation to shame: elephant gun ... mosquito boots ... British pith helmet ... water canteen ... bush knife ... safari vest ... Cuban cigars (like Papa Hemingway) ...

After a few minutes I had assembled an impressive arsenal and was wondering how in the world I could go about hiring porters in this place. Yellow pages perhaps?

Zexiv took a quick sideways glance at my small mountain of gear and gave me a doubtful but amused look.

"You won't be needing all of that, Stingray", he said, trying hard to suppress a smile and looking away when that failed. "These are civilized bears. Just bring a camera, lenses, and tripod".

So it was a photo expedition then, I thought, feeling slightly disappointed, my hopes for being the next great safari hunter in the wilds of British Columbia quickly going up in smoke. Well perhaps it will be a reconnaissance photo expedition, I thought to myself ...

Forty minutes later, we were in in Downtown Vancouver, having taken a surprisingly uncrowded, speedy, and relatively comfortable ride on the 98 B line bus, from Richmond. We trudged over to the coffee shop where I was introduced to a former classmate of Zexiv's, a photography buff like ourselves. Zexiv's friend was apparently quite an accomplished lensman and had lately been giving the captains loads of useful tips on digital photography.

Surprisingly we had quite a good time. It was an interesting experience for me to get acquainted with some of the local wildlife, most of whom were quite civilized, covered modestly in various attire as befitted their profession, and in general very likeable chaps. We met a judge, a professional football player, a yogi, a motorcyclist, among others. There were also one or two shifty characters, which is to be reasonably expected in any major cosmopolitan city (or anywhere in the globe, for that matter). The world is full of mostly good people, but there will always be a few questionable eggs whereever you go. I found downtown Vancouver a very interesting and exciting place, which reminded me of a cross between parts of San Francisco, Seattle, and New York.

In my future posts I hope to write more about our new home and the surrounding country, also known as Beautiful British Columbia. Till then ...

P.S. Inspired by the Rare Spirit Bear or Kermode Bear found in British Columbia's northern forests, Spirit Bears in the city is a project collaboration of various artists and sponsoring individuals or organizations, which aims to support BC Lion's Society Easter Seal Operations and the Canuck's for Kids Fund. It consists of seven-foot custom formed fiberglass Spirit Bears displayed in various prominent public areas in primarily downtown Vancouver. The bears will be on display from May to October 2006, after which they will be bidded out at the Great Bear Spirit Auction. A must see.

The Beatles are Forever

2006-09-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

something

By the time Zexiv discovered the Beatles, Beatlemania was long over ...

In fact it was the late seventies, the Beatles had ceased to be a band for more than seven years, and Zexiv must have been about eleven or twelve. Zexiv had just acquired his first record player with his earnings from a summer job and was browsing through what was then a well known place in the financial district of Makati, called The House of Stereo, looking for LPs to buy. He hadn't yet developed his own particular taste in music, although he, like his other siblings had been exposed to artists like Dione Warwick, Gloria Gaynor, Neil Diamond, and Donna Summer, whose music Zexiv's father loved to play in his car while he was driving the whole family all over the city.

We've all heard that saying "Never judge a book by its cover", but this is precisely how Zexiv picked out his first album of The Beatles. The album was entitled "Beatles: Oldies but Goldies" and there was something in the rear picture of the album which showed the members of the band smoking, hanging out, and just looking rebellious, perhaps after a late night recording session, which made Zexiv decide to take a gamble and buy it. He hadn't a clue to what The Beatles were although he seemed to have heard their name mentioned somewhere before. Later on, when he got home and played the record, he found out he had hit a goldmine. There was something about Beatles songs that made you like them after just hearing them once or twice and some songs were of course definitely very familiar, like "Yesterday". The record was also a very good choice for someone just discovering the music of The Beatles as it featured a number of their singles and the B-sides.

Later on Zexiv's mother heard Zexiv playing the record over and over again and gave him some tidbits of information about the band. She mentioned people from her generation would dance to their music. She also said that one of them was married to a Japanese, which added further to Zexiv's curiosity.

Zexiv's next record was an old LP of his father's, the American release of "A Hard Day's night" ( Zexiv remembers that one of their household help used to ask him to play over and over again two songs from this record - "I Should Have Known Better" and "I'm Happy just to Dance with You"). With these two records, Zexiv was hooked. He discovered someone who sat in front of him in the school bus was also a Beatles fan and ended up borrowing a lot of his records, amazed how easy the band's songs grew on you. He also discovered a Saturday special on this AM radio station in Manila called DWKW, where they played nothing but Beatles music the whole morning and would make sure he woke up early to catch the whole program. He also added more of the band's records and cassette tapes to his collection, buying them in this huge department store in the financial district.

For Zexiv, the Beatles were one of the greatest things he experienced at that age. It was his admiration for the band that later made him switch from the octavina to accoustic guitar in the Rondalla and beg his parents for an electric guitar. He found this huge poster taken from the front cover of The Beatles' album" Let It Be" which he hung up on the brick wall above the side table between his and Inverbras' bed. In school, a lot of his schoolmates his age were into more modern and harder rock bands like Led Zeppelin, making Zexiv sort of an oddity in terms of music taste but Zexiv was oblivious to all this. After all, was there any other band that had as many number one hits as The Beatles? He later felt secretly vindicated hearing a grade school teacher telling the class one day that they got the idea of wearing their hair long from The Beatles. He also remembers the teacher in Religion class in seventh grade telling the class to bring a picture of someone they really admired and looked up to. Zexiv proudly brought a picture of Paul McCartney, and talked about him being a brilliant composer and leader of a famous band, as well as a very talented bass guitar player.

The tragic death of John Lennon affected Zexiv immensely at the time. Zexiv was then in high school, and this came as a big shock to him. It was like losing someone he had grown up with. And aside from dashing forever Zexiv's hopes of a Beatles reunion someday, it also signified for him the end of an era - the end of carefree days of childhood and the start of the turbulent teens ...

Zexiv continued to listen to Beatles records as he grew older, gradually replacing his collection with CDs. While attending graduate school in the U.S. he had the opportunity to watch a live concert of Ringo Starr and his All Star Band and Paul McCartney's "Liverpool Oratorio" in New York. He remembers waiting outside the theatre after the performance of Liverpool Oratorio together with a small group of die hard fans and being quite overcome with awe on seeing Paul McCartney in person. He is somewhat embarassed to admit now that he was one of those shouting out Paul's name at the top of his lungs, along with others in the crowd.

He has somewhat been able to successfully convert Puff to being a Beatles fan, after they both saw a tribute performance to George Harrison, after his death a few years ago, by The American Ballet Theatre. Her favorite Beatle is George, while Zexiv's favorite members are Paul and George .

Yes, The Beatles may no longer be around as a band but their music will likely be enjoyed for many years to come. Maybe someday Zexiv's little nephews and nieces may learn to like them too ...

P.S. Incidentally,the title of the video above, "Something" (sung by George Harrison), is one of Zexiv's favorite Beatles songs. It is considered by Paul McCartney be the best song George has ever written, and by John Lennon to be the best song in the album, "Abbey Road". This is quite a tribute to the silent Beatle who was continually overshadowed by both John and Paul, but came out with some of the band's most memorable songs in their final years. The Beatles are shown with their wives then - John with Yoko, Paul with Linda, George with Patti, and Ringo with Maureen. Patti Boyd later ended up with George's friend Eric Clapton, who also wrote a song about her called "Layla". She is very pretty here ...

The German Connection

2006-08-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Whenever Capt. Zexiv hears or reads about people questioning the concept of multiculturalism, different races and religions living in peace, or even the wisdom of mixed marriages, he likes to cite his maternal grandparents as an example.

In the late twenties, Zexiv's grandfather or Opa, was sent to Germany for post graduate studies in Medicine. Opa was a very outgoing and charming man (aside from being a smart dresser), and quicky adapted himself to his new surroundings. He quickly picked up the local language and made new friends.

At a party in Berlin, he and another fellow countryman were engaged in mischievious conversation, in Engish, about one of the other female guests, which was overheard by the woman who would become Zexiv's grandmother, or Oma. Opa noticed Oma looking at them smiling and, asked her if she understood English, to which she replied, "Yes".

To make a long story short, Opa and Oma started dating and shortly afterward were married and had their first child, Zexiv's Aunt Maly, who was born in Germany. Apparently their relationship was not something that was objected to by Oma's family, although Oma's brother would tease her by asking her about that mysterious "dark man" she was going out with. Opa's family though in the Philippines would learn about the marriage much later shortly before the couple returned.

Opa and Oma returned to the Philippines shortly after the birth of their first child, making the long voyage by ship. Sadly, Opa's father never got to meet Opa's new bride, and passed away during the trip home.

The young couple settled intially in Dagupan City, which is about 4 hours' drive from Manila nowadays. Back then though, it was a relatively sleepy and unsophisticated place (even now, most places outside Manila are simply referred to as "the provinces"), with no airconditioning, or washing machines, or any of the more modern conveniences we are used to nowadays or which they would have had more of in the larger cities. Oma must have loved Opa very much and been quite adventurous, travelling thousands of miles to an unfamiliar place where she had no family and where the language, food, and climate were very different. Oma however, was of a very adaptable sort and amazed the locals by being able to get around by herself and do things like bargain in the public market in the local dialect. She bore Opa 9 children and raised them well. Later on she experienced the difficult years under the Japanese occupation and the tragedy of losing 2 young sons to polio.

Many years after, when Ramon Magsaysay became president, Opa was appointed Vice Consul to Hamburg, heading the country's first foreign legation to the country and Oma was finally able to able to return to Germany after many years' absence. They brought along almost the whole family, except for one daughter who was already married. It was a very happy time for the family. Many of the children who were of school age actually learned to speak German more fluently than English, with their first language of course being the native dialect from Pangasinan.

After Germany, Opa was posted to Vancouver, and finally to Guam, before going home to retire in Dagupan City. Througout those years, Oma was with him, watching their children all grow up, get married, and have families of their own. Oma even decided when she was already in her 50s, to study for a college degree in English in Guam while Opa was assigned there.

Opa lived until his early 80s while Oma outlived him by about 20 years, until her mid 90s. She remained very active doing her gardening and going to the market and church almost daily. She also loved doing crossword puzzles, played a mean game of Scrabble, and made really good Christmas cookies. Many of her recipes were passed on to Zexiv's mother.

Zexiv considers himself extremely fortunate to have been able to know his grandparents while they were alive. He is also proud of his German heritage, has been to Berlin once, and has met a number of his German relations (who have been to the Philippines a number of times), whom he thinks quite highly of. Although he has yet to fulfill his plan someday of taking German language lessons, he credits his German heritage for his love of beer, coffee, sauerkraut, German sausages (which Puff learned to prepare for Zexiv), roladen, and pigsknuckle. He hopes to make another trip to Germany in the near future.

There is more to this "German connection" - Zexiv's sisters and Puff all went to a school founded by German Benedictine nuns. Zexiv's brother-in-law spent a year while in high school studying in Germany. Puff has a sister working in Bonn as an environmental lawyer. And Puff's younger brother, who will this month be starting a masters program in the States, just found out he will have a German roommate ...

Yes there is indeed hope for multiculturalism, mixed marriages, understanding, and peace between different races.

P.S. Oma used to tell Zexiv and his siblings about an incident that happened when she was a little girl. Oma's father at that time ran a little inn or tavern and one day an elderly man came to visit. While being served, the customer noticed Oma and said he would tell her fortune. He said that Oma would leave her family and would travel thousands of miles away overseas when she grew up. Oma's father became upset, and said, "drink up your beer, and leave, old man!".

A Page from Zexiv's Past: Peppermint Puppet Theatre

2006-05-31T01:40:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not updating you with the current goings-on from this side of the world these past few days. Contrary to the many alarming rumors that have been swirling about as to my disappearance and feared demise, I am very much alive, kicking, and well. Truth is, I have simply not had much time to write, as I have been extremely busy trying to run the camp single-handedly while at the same time being in the middle of a very perplexing mystery. No, this is not about the elusive Toyanese as the summit attempt to Level Two has been put on hold for the moment. At the risk of jeopardizing my current mission, I can say nothing further at the moment except that it concerns a former high school air police cadet, octavina player, and Tintin afficionado. I will try to give further details soon, but in the meantime, until I get to the bottom of this, here is another page from Zexiv's past (note, MCPO Maurice, that it is indeed me, the camp has not been overrun by barbarians, and it is not some amateur impersonator writing this :) ...

As a child, Capt. Zexiv was a bit something out of the ordinary. He never took very well to sports, preferring instead quiet, solitary, introspective, and imaginative activities. This was a bit unusual at the time as almost everyone in the family seemed to be a natural born athlete. Zexiv's parents were both ranked class "A" players in the club tennis ladder and this interest and skill had been passed down with varying degrees of success among Zexiv's siblings, while older brother Inverbras and younger sister Crazy Lady in the Apple were both very strong competitive swimmers. Zexiv, on the other hand, was probably the worst athlete in the family. He recalls quitting summer judo lessons as a child after only a handful of sessions, explaining to his parents that "it just gives me a headache" (the falling, that is). He wasn't much of a swimmer either; in fact Inverbras observed with amusement many years later, while watching him do a lap or two in preparation for the swimming requirement of his open water scuba class, that he still looked like he was "drowning" (fortunately for Zexiv there exists a simple stroke called the backstroke and it was this stroke that he used to pass this requirement). He was slightly better in tennis and to his credit could at least hit the ball, but could never manage to control his swings, amusing the trainers and ballboys instead with frequent outbursts of frustration, whenever his balls would go over the walls. Clearly, sports and the captain were not meant for each other.

So, while Zexiv's parents played match after match and edged their way up the club rankings and Inverbras and Crazy Lady in the Apple represented their teams in competitions in Clark, Subic, and Hong Kong, and won dozens of medals, the captain kept himself busy reading book after book, playing with his GI Joe, his toy soldiers, blocks, matchboxes, and magnifying glass, taking guitar lessons, climbing trees, and riding his bike. He also tried his hand writing very, very short stories, coming up with "The Fantastic Submarine", "Fritz and the Three Wishes", and "I was a Fool in School". At school he hung around for many years with a close group of similarly minded friends, known as The Chum Family (please refer to earlier post). It was not surprising that Zexiv's parents were understandably concerned about this sickly, unathletic, quiet, and skinny kid and tried their best to get him interested in school sports but they needn't have worried as the Zexiv was enjoying himself immensely. In addition to the above interests, one particular activity which Zexiv has very fond memories of and which kept him pretty occupied during those years was playing with his large collection of hand puppets, which later became known to Zexiv and a few of his siblings as "Peppermint Puppet Theatre".

Capt. Zexiv doesn't remember exactly how and when he became interested in puppets. It could have been all the Sesame Street episodes he and his siblings used to watch when they were small. There weren't too many educational shows a child could watch in those days and Sesame Street was probably the best one then (of course the captain did manage to catch more than a few episodes of "Combat!", "Land of the Giants", and "Time Tunnel", as kids were not really restricted too much during those days; he considers these highly educational and entertaining as well). These were the days before the Muppet Show and Electric Company and the newer Sesame Street characters like Mr. Snuffaluffagus and Elmo. Zexiv remembers his puppet collection starting with three dwarf dolls his mother or father had purchased, which Zexiv's mother then converted into hand puppets by snipping off the heads and sewing on colorful puppet bodies (Zexiv's mother was and is still handy with scissors, thread, a pattern, and a sewing machine, having worked for a famous dressmaker during her younger years in New York) made of cloth, with openings for the hands and heads, into them. These came out quite well and Zexiv remembers naming two of the three dwarf puppets Otto and Franz.

The dwarf puppets provided many hours of amusement for Zexiv, and gradually, over the next few years, more puppets were added to the collection. An uncle gave Zexiv a monkey puppet - he believes this now to have been a Steiff - which quickly became his favorite. The monkey's name was Fritz and he had a rough furry brown body and head, mischievious glass eyes, and a cheerful expression. Zexiv specifically wrote "Fritz and the Three Wishes" during this time, for the monkey and the first three dwarf puppets and was proud to use it for a story writing assignment in school. Zexiv's father would also bring him home as gifts puppets from his business trips abroad, one time surprising the captain with a European hunter puppet - this particular one had a plastic green hat and face with a red beard and mustache and green and white clothes - which Zexiv promptly named "Hubert" (probably because the name sounded exotic to him at the time). Probably some of the most interesting ones came from a trip later on of Zexiv's mother to Europe. From this trip, among the gifts the captain received were a very realistic and grimy looking chimney sweep with a black top hat and a very scary looking devil with a fierce, beet-red face, white horns, and lifelike curly black hair. Other puppets were added as well until they eventually filled a fruit or canned goods box. The captain remembers bringing them out to play and putting on spontaneous puppet performances for his sisters and friends behind this long wooden table near the living room. For Zexiv, it was like a whole new magical world had been created, full of fascinating and exotic characters and creatures from different places and times and this provided an ideal outlet for his overactive imagination. It was sometime during those years that the captain came up with the name Peppermint Puppet Theatre. The captain cannot remember exactly how that name came about but thinks it might have had something to do with Christmas, as this is when Zexiv's mother would hang little candy canes on the Christmas tree. It was a collection Capt. Zexiv was truly proud and took good care of, meticulously returning each puppet to the box after every performance and storing them on a safe high shelf in his closet.

Sadly, we all move on and develop more "grown-up" interests as we grow older and this happened to Capt. Zexiv as well. The puppets were taken out of their box and played with less and less, as the captain discovered other toys such as GI Joes, air guns, and model planes. He had not forgotten his puppet collection entirely though and remembers feeling quite bad when he discovered one day that Fritz had lost a glass eye (this was fixed by Zexiv's mother, who found a similar looking substitute somewhere and sewed it back on ). On the rare times Zexiv took the puppets out of the box, it seemed to the him that Fritz now looked at him mournfully, as if remembering his little friend who used to spend countless hours directing his performances, who seemed to have suddenly outgrown him for a new bicycle and guitar. More years went by, the captain entered high school and gradually forgot about his valuable collection in the fruit or canned goods box stored in highest shelf in his closet. The captain became occupied with other hobbies and interests, discovering the Beatles, weight training, and girls, and like many young people his age, became obsessed with finding himself, being accepted by his peers, and growing up as fast as he could. Zexiv remembers how as a child at family gatherings he used to observe the adult relatives interacting in a separate long table, engaged in grown-up conversation and wonder how they could possibly be having fun, when they couldn't play with toys, like the young ones, and yet being fascinated with that seemingly far off world of adulthood and wanting desperately to be their age and be able to do anything and everything. However, growing up is a proces that takes place so slowly that you never actually notice it happening until one day when you look in the mirror and realize that you are not a kid anymore; but you also discover then that adults never actually stop playing with toys but replace them with more grown-up versions of them, such as cars, guns, stereos, and cameras.

Capt. Zexiv doesn't remember exactly when it happened but he was already well into adulthood when he learned from his mother that she had given away a large number of old toys of his and his siblings. One of them was that now forgotten dusty box of puppets from his closet. He remembers not being particularly concerned at that time, being occupied with so many other seemingly more practical matters. There are times though when rummaging through the back of a closet or a drawer, we discover an old notebook or toy from childhood, and become instantly nolstalgic for the past. It is like discovering lost treasure and we start looking for more. It was during one of those times that the captain realized what he had lost. He wonders to this day if Fritz, Franz, Otto, and Hubert are still in one piece, opening up new magical worlds and providing entertainment for some solitary and imaginative child somewhere. At times like these the thought of building a new puppet collection does cross his mind but then he realizes it will never be the same - there will never be another Peppermint Puppet Theatre ...

More on the Toyanese and a Survey of the Camp

2006-05-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

"The Toyanese", began Capt. Zexiv, as he poured for us two steaming mugs of black Barako coffee, "are said to be a race of fearsome, warlike, and nomadic creatures. They are also believed to be nocturnal in nature, fiercely protective of territory, and avoiding contact with all outsiders. They can be found everywhere and yet nowhere ..."

I had decided to use this fine sunny spring morning to catch Zexiv in one of his rare talkative moods and try to find out what I could about these mysterious creatures, before coming out with a suitable strategy for making my way up those ridges that have intrigued me for some time now. I also wanted to make sure I knew what I was facing and not expose myself foolishly to any dangers. The captain seemed quite obliging, volunteering whatever information he had on hand; however, I did not think I was obtaining anything really useful and pressed him for more.

"Everywhere, and yet nowhere?" I asked, puzzled. "Whatever do you mean?"

"No one has ever seen a Toyanese or if so returned to tell about it", replied the captain darkly. "Of course there have always been a few tall tales and claimed sightings here and there, but nothing solidly confirmed ... all we have are incoherent ramblings by a few drunken sailors and madmen, which is really not much to go by."

My mind was racing as I recalled the early morning hours following Puff's birthday, when I had been roused suddenly from my sleep and gone out to investigate. "Mad? Me?" I thought, indignantly. I had definitely not had a drop of alcohol that night, as all that can be found in the camp at the moment is water ... and maybe one or two bottles of Tanduay Rum but no coke to go with it. And I have not had a single bottle of beer either since I last left New York (owing mostly to the steep liquor tax in this locale). Lately I hadn't quite decided what to make of my experience that night. Unsatisfied, I decided to persist with my questioning.

"They must have come from somewhere", I said. "What would make them decide to leave, strike it out in different places, and keep to themselves?"

"Legend has it they come from an unchartered land somewhere called Toyanesia", said the captain, stirring his coffee over and over in a distracted manner. "which is supposedly some rocky and inhospitable land with few natural resources of its own. As a result, they have out of necessity become very capable seafarers and wanderers, always on the lookout for new places to conquer and settle." "Of course", he clarified hastily, "This is all purely speculation as no one has actually ever formally interviewed a Toyanese".

"So the Toyanese are sort of similar to the warlike Vikings and Vandals of ages ago? Or Alaric, who pillaged and sacked Rome?" I asked excitedly.

The captain frowned. "The Vikings? What do the Vikings have to do with it? ... and Alaric?" he added a bit testily.

I paused and decided to let the subject drop for a while, pretending to concentrate on my hot cereal as the captain lapsed into another of his reflective moods.

The morning of the day we departed on our last voyage, I had conducted a survey of Camp Grayloft's bottom level, the only portion of which we have any real knowledge of so far. About the length of two football fields, and width of one, it had a few rooms, hidden nooks and crannies to one side that I had not yet been able to enter. Looking at the vast expanse around and over me, I concluded the whole site could have been some sort of huge industrial complex in the past. From what I had seen that morning however, there did not seem to be any other way of getting to the second level except through the previously mentioned ridges, which could take many hours to traverse - and definitely even longer with the essential supplies and food I would have to take along if I wanted to do a more comprensive exploration of the area. Walking down the entire length to the far side of the camp, I could actually look up to what seemed to be a ledge or cliff of some sort; I estimated this to be perhaps eight storeys or more high. Reaching the top level could probably be done with some effort, but I was more concerned with being placed in an extremely vulnerable position and being unable to defend myself effectively. Being on a lower level as compared to one's adversary generally places the former at a disadvantage, especially if one is forced to travel with light arms and has no real cover to speak of. I had a sudden flash of inspiration and decided to interrupt the captain in his thoughts.

"What if", I asked, "What if we were to temporarily dismantle the deck gun and use it to shell the second level of the camp, and provide advance cover ... thus allowing me to advance without opposition?"

The captain sighed and slowly put down his cup of coffee, his eyes closing for a brief moment before gradually opening again and staring at me in pure amazement. "Really, Stingray", he said sternly, "you surprise me. Is that the best you can think of?" What a waste of ammunition that would be, considering we don't even know what is up there or if there is anything that needs to be shelled!" "Do you really want to bring down the whole roof of the camp over our heads", he added.

"The solution is not always a direct frontal attack", he said, rising from the table. "You must think of some other way. And now I have dozen reports to write and transmit so if you'll excuse me ..."

As I watched him walk away it occurred to me it might time to consult my old comrade and expert in covert ops, communications, and surveillance, MCPO Maurice. It has been many years now since I last sought his assistance. I slowly got up and began making my way to the communications center ...

The Joys of Unclehood (or Aunthood)

2006-05-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of being an uncle, and not a father, according to Capt. Zexiv, is getting to enjoy your very young relations without all the necessary responsibilities and duties that unavoidably come with the latter. As an uncle, one can actually be fooled at times into thinking your nephew or niece sees you as their best friend, and prefers your company to that of their peers (of course, this, if true, can only be good up to a certain age). One doesnt have to be overly concious about crossing the fine lines between friend, playmate, storyteller, racehorse, teacher, adviser, and figure of authority, knowing that in the event the kids tire you out, you can simply give them back to their parents and go back to whatever it was you were doing earlier (a similar analogy can be made in the difference between that of a girlfriend and a wife wherein a girlfriend can always be dropped off at her home when things are not going well and called after a couple of days, or perhaps after a week or two, whereas with a wife you must deal with whatever is going on between the both of you as you are married and go home to the same house; perhaps this is the reason why I have continued to remain a bachelor, however I digress ...).

Of course, there are many kids and parents who are undoubtedly very close and we have all heard young people claim that their mother or father is their best friend, or vice versa, but this is not the kind of friendship where both parties are on equal footing, can freely make contributions (and see them implemented), oppose decisions and policies that are not to their liking, and criticize each other. The reality is that a family can never be a real democracy while the kids are still growing up and are too young to make the best decisions for themselves (if this were the case, can you imagine what unfit soldiers we would have, if as kids they decided not to have anything to do with vegetables and ate nothing but chocolate chip cookies instead?), make ends meet, balance the budget, and so on. Capt. Zexiv remembers reading the "Circus Books" of Enid Blyton when he was younger and of a particular family in the books where the children addressed their parents by their first names, and thought it was really a quite novel and progressive idea at that time, but he has yet to actually meet a family like that. The closest to a democratic governing system that can be hoped for in a family is a form of benevolent dictatorship, at least while the kids are growing up and under the care and nurture of Mom and Dad.

Capt. Zexiv first became an uncle seven years ago, shortly before he married Puff. It was something that would change his life forever, as according to Zexiv, he had never had much experience with kids before and admitted he didn't even know how to talk to one. It also changed the concept of the family dinner forever, which henceforth became a lot less serious and more relaxed and with most of the attention focused on the little ones (one disadvantage of this, according to Zexiv, is that he would oftentimes feel like he was talking to a brick wall trying to get the attention of the other grown-ups). It was amazing though watching the kids grow from self-absorbed babies to sociable and playful individuals who can now join the entire family at the dinner table and carry out reasonably intelligent and witty conversations.

Zexiv recalls an intial experiment in babysitting his first nephew - hereupon to be referred to as "Spanky" - when he and Puff asked his Middle Sister to drop off her son at their apartment for a few hours. Both he and Puff were extremely excited with the idea of having their nephew all to themselves (although Zexiv had earlier made it clear to Middle Sister that he hoped Spanky had already "gone" before that as he "would not be expected to do any wiping"). An hour passed, everything was going really well, Spanky was smiling and laughing and making unintelligible sounds of delight, when Zexiv had this brilliant idea of using him as a subject for a portrait. He and Puff positioned the little guy on the futon and placed a Snoopy book on his hands as props. Zexiv then stepped back to adjust his camera and take the picture when the book fell and Spanky went after it ... head first! Zexiv clearly remembers his nephew's loud crying for a long time afterwards, which continued even after he had applied an icepack to his head (and even after he had cried himself to sleep). It was very embarassing for Zexiv and Puff to return him to his mother a few hours later with a big red bump on his forehead. Luckily, Spanky does not seem to have any lasting effects from the accident, even obtaining a "Little Einstein" award years later in kindergarten. He appears not to have any recollection of the incident as well, in fact appearing extremely fond and attached to his bumbling uncle and aunt.

During our recent trip to SFO I had the opportunity to observe Capt. Zexiv, Puff, and their young nephews and nieces as they played countless games of "donkey" (with countless instances of cheating by Zexiv), went "camping" in the hotel room, finished a large bag of greasy barbeque chips while watching late night cartoons until they dropped off one by one to sleep. I joined them as they took turns singing the "ma-na-ma-na" song (from Sesame Street) in the car. I was amused as I watched Capt. Zexiv teach Spanky the nuances of military stategy and warfare as they spread out their armies of plastic green toy soldiers and took turns firing a series of artillery barrages, using balloons as ammo. On earlier trips Capt. Zexiv told me they would have the traditional "horse races" or build entire airports or cities out of blocks during which Zexiv was alternatively given the nickname of "Engineer Uncle Jack" or "Construction Uncle Jack". I heard interesting tidbits of conversation between uncle and nephew as well, such as this one in the car on the way to Sausalito:

Zexiv (to Spanky): "If you could have another brother or sister, what would you prefer?" (Spanky does have one sibling, a five year old sister).

Spanky: "A brother ... I really wish I could have a little brother".

Zexiv (smiling discreetly at Spanky's father and mother): "A brother? What would you name him?"

Spanky (very solemnly): " If I had a little brother, I think I would call him ... (short pause) ... Robert"

Zexiv and Puff (amused): "Robert? Why Robert?"

Spanky: "I don't know ... I just like the name Robert".

Puff found this very funny as she says not many parents name their babies Robert nowadays. "Where did he get this?", she wonders. However, Spanky's father was not very surprised, relating how their entire family had gone to Build a Bear in New York a week before; this is a place where you get to build a stuffed animal almost out of scratch, pick accessories and clothes, stuff a heart inside before he is sewn up, and name him. Spanky had come up with the name "Mike" - a very undog-like name - for his new stuffed dog, dressed smartly in a New York Yankees uniform.

"I just like the name Mike", Spanky explained afterwards ...

A Trip to San Francisco

2006-05-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Capt. Zexiv, Puff, and I departed for another voyage, this time to the beautiful and historic City by the Bay, for some long awaited R & R. The real purpose of the trip was to meet up with Zexiv's parents, as well as two of his siblings and their respective families, who will soon be making their way back to the home country, having spent the last few weeks vacationing in the States. The weekend also coincided with the birthday of Zexiv's brother-in-law, the wedding anniversary of Zexiv's sister and other brother-in-law, and Zexiv and Puff's own wedding anniversary as well.

The morning of the trip was a whirlwind of continuous and non-stop activity with Capt. Zexiv and I busy loading provisions, charging batteries and purchasing diesel fuel from the nearby Husky station (a personal preference of the captain's due to their logo which he thinks resembles a long departed childhood pet) while attending to our own business - I concluded my reconnaissance of the bottom level of Camp Grayloft (a separate report on this to be filed soon), while Zexiv picked up some black and white prints and also squeezed in the standard submarine captain's pre-departure workout - a gruelling two sets of ten reps of low bar squats. Shortly after nineteen hundred hours, following a final check of camp security and fortifications and the sub's navigational and communications systems, we cast off.

The voyage itself was relatively quiet and uneventful, and following a light dinner of cold ham and cheese sandwiches and salad, the captain and I took turns manning the wheel while the other caught some sleep. I initially was dismayed by the lack of warm food, in-sea video entertainment, and reading material onboard, and made a mental note to myself to take this up with the captain. Submarine life, while seemingly an adventurous and glamorous life, is a relatively lonely and cramped life and I thought the morale of the crew would greatly benefit from these small additions. The lack of distractions however did have one unintended outcome, ensuing that all our party arrived in our destination fairly well rested and ready for the adventures of the next two days. Night had fallen by the time we arrived and we proceeded to the hotel, via the very efficient Bay Area Rapid Transit.

San Francisco was wonderful. It was great to be back in this fascinating and exciting city again, where Zexiv lived and worked for a few months back in 1993 and where the captain's late paternal grandparents once made their home for six months every year. We stayed in this old and beautiful hotel, just steps away from the Montgomery stop, called The Palace. Zexiv, Puff, and I were very much impressed and awed by the Victorian inspired architecture, richly decorated interiors, and long and endless carpeted hallways, which reminded us of scenes of the Overlook Hotel from the movie, "The Shining". Early the next morning, Zexiv, his brother-in-law, and I discovered a metal plaque on the side of the building, which noted that Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the great Philippine patriot, opthalmologist, poet, writer, sportsman, and polyglot - had stayed in the same hotel on the exact same day in 1888, on his one and only visit to the United States. The discovery caused great excitement among members of Zexiv's family, especially Zexiv's father, who wrote a personal letter to the manager of the hotel relaying his great pleasure on this find.

It was fun spending time again with Zexiv's relations and visiting some of our favorite places again. We all rode the clanging trolley down to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier Thirty-Nine, where Zexiv and Puff visited their favorite Christmas store, Department 56, and picked up some miniature houses and accessories for their growing collection. There was also a very interesting puppet store nearby, which had string, hand, and finger puppets of all kinds - knights, dragons, princesses, witches, and dinosaurs, to name a few. The kids had great fun manouvering these puppets and the captain was reminded of his own fondness and fascination for puppets as a child. Zexiv's nephews and niece also rode the popular carousel, snacked on cotton candy and popcorn, and visited the aquarium.

Other highlights of the trip included a delicious breakfast in a bright and cozy fifties-inspired diner near the hotel, where the whole family also went on a previous trip and which Zexiv's father never misses on his trips to the city (Zexiv's six year old nephew however, was apparently not very impressed, as he threw up his entire meal of pancakes and chocolate shake towards the end), hanging out with the kids playing "donkey" card games and toy soldiers, the traditional early morning photo expedition of Zexiv and his brother-in-law (and fellow comrade-in-arms), and a side trip to sunny and scenic Sausalito. It was indeed a very memorable way to celebrate a birthday, a wedding anniversary, and still another wedding anniversary, and also a fitting farewell to Zexiv and Puff's favorite little pals.

An intended visit to a Tintin store recommended by Inverbras did not materialize as planned, due to the limited time, but, as Puff likes to say, "We'll always have New York" (or in this case, San Francisco). We look forward to visiting this beautiful city again sometime in the near future.

In the meantime, it is good to be home again and I hope to resume writing my regular reports and journal entries in the coming days. The long anticipated push to level two of Camp Grayloft should be attempted any day now. I am also pleased to be in touch again with my old comrade MCPO Maurice, who has recently resurfaced after many years of being thought lost at sea. His experience in military intelligence and surveillance is vital to the success of this mission.

Till then ...

Happy Birthday, Puff!!!

2006-05-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the birthday of Capt. Zexiv's pretty and feisty wife, Puff. Zexiv and I wanted to celebrate it in style (a 30+ gun salute?) but Puff's idea of an ideal birthday celebration was relaxing at home, watching a favorite reality show of hers, and ordering in her favorite Thai food, so we settled for a quiet evening instead. Zexiv got her a dozen long stemmed red roses from the nearby greengrocer, a card from Chapters, and a shared favorite - an apple pie (unbaked) from Granville Island - for the birthday cake.

The dinner consisted of tom yum soup, boneless curry chicken in coconut milk, and seafood and noodle dishes. Afterwards, Zexiv proudly brought out the apple pie which he had baked earlier and decorated with colorful letter candles from the local dollar store. Then the crew (Zexiv and I, to be precise) gathered around and sang a boisterous and slightly off-key happy birthday while Zexiv quickly snapped a few pictures, being ever concious of the fast-dripping candles.

Both Capt. Zexiv and I thought later on it might have been a nice touch to have had a bottle of wine, but it was a weekday after all. Puff seemed happy though with the birthday arrangements and went to bed shortly after, while Zexiv and I stayed up, had another slice of apple pie, and discussed the pros and cons of diesel and nuclear powered subs, the recent Church criticisms of the Gospel of Judas, as well as ideas for future voyages.

Later in the night I jerked awake suddenly, imagining I had heard the faint chanting of the happy birthday song coming somewhere from the upper level of Camp Grayloft. I got up, grabbed my M-1 rifle, and walked around for a minute or two but everything was still and there was nothing further to be heard except for the faint hum of the refrigerator. Was it a dream, caused perhaps by eating a big dinner? Hallucinations from sleep paralysis? The last song syndrome? Or perhaps the mysterious and mythical Toyanese? I have resolved to push through with my original plans of traversing those ridges to the upper level, in the coming days. I must see what is up there ...

In the meantime, Capt. Zexiv and I raise a glass of filtered water to the wonderful and ever youthful Puff, Zexiv's favorite Anilao dive buddy and Alaskan mountain biking partner, and wish her good health, happiness, many friends, success and fulfillment in the years to come! Here's to more exciting adventures together as well!

The Gospel of Judas at National Geographic

2006-04-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things Capt. Zexiv makes it a point to see every time he is in Washington, DC - aside from the interesting shops and old homes in the Georgetown area - is the National Geographic Museum at Explorer's Hall, located at 17th and M streets, NW. The museum usually has three to four exhibitions ongoing simultaneously at any given time, which run for a number of weeks. On this particular visit, the highlight was an ancient (third or fourth century) Coptic bound manuscript containing the only known surviving copy of the Gospel of Judas, as well as three other texts.

This was the only exhibit which had a long line leading up from the reception area. It was well worth the wait though for Capt. Zexiv, Puff, his brother-in-law and seven-year old nephew to see first-hand pages of this famous manuscript, which is featured in this month's issue of National Geographic and has been making the news lately, through enclosed glass cases. The ones shown appeared not to be fully intact; Zexiv learned later on that many of the pages have in fact fallen apart from handling over the centuries and have only fairly recently been restored.

From Capt. Zexiv's understanding, the manuscript appears to represent a departure from traditional church teachings on Judas, and show him in a more favorable light, acting apparently according to instructions from Christ himself (Zexiv's seven-year old nephew, however, thought otherwise, saying, "I don't like Judas"). At the end of the display, there was a sample of a book available also for sale at the museum shop, containing the English translation and commentary on the restored pages. One line which struck a note in Capt. Zexiv went something like, "what you do not have within you will eventually kill you and what you have in you will save you".

There were other exhibits which Zexiv and company saw, such as one featuring the kimonos worn by a famous twentieth century geisha and another on color photographs from Mongolia, which were also interesting but nowhere near as fascinating as the first.

After seeing the other exhibits, the group checked out the very interesting museum shop, without which a trip to the museum would not be complete. Zexiv got a "March of the Penguins" DVD and a National Geographic cap (to wear on the boat on their future diving trips), for Puff and himself. The captain's nephew was very practical, picking out a brightly colored travel bag where he could organize and store his art materials. He also thought of his little sister, selecting for her a set of little sponges (?), which expand into trains when you put them in water.

According to National Geographic, the Gospel of Judas will run until July 9, 2006. Highly recommended for those of you who will be visiting the Washington, DC area.

Another exciting exhibition, entitled "Tut Unwrapped", opens on June 24. This should be worth seeing as well.

Tagged by Inverbras

2006-04-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have decided to devote my journal today to finally responding to Inverbras, who tagged Capt. Zexiv more than two weeks ago in his blog of notable fours. I initially had some reservations on this "tagging-tagging" business and asked Capt. Zexiv over a hot lunch of Spanish sardines in olive oil today if he thought it was just a blog version of the infamous chain letter - which must have originated with a chisel and stone, before moving on to messenger pigeon, paper and pen, typewriter, telegraph, telex, fax, and finally to e-mail. Capt. Zexiv however thought that it might be a good way for his family and friends to get to know him better, and suggested I include my own list as well, since I am currently displaced from my many relations, comrades, and unrequitted loves from all over the world, and especially since it is my blog after all, and not Zexiv's. Privately however, I am agreeing to his suggestions only out of fear that something evil and sinister may befall us if I refuse to do so (as is what is rumored to happen if you don't forward a chain letter). Blast that Inverbras! ....

Anyway, Capt. Zexiv's list first:

Four jobs I've had in my life:
- Money market trader
- Account officer
- Producer
- Transcriber, encoder, aspiring photographer, and captain of Fantastic

Four movies I would watch over and over:
- A Bridge Too Far
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Sound of Music
- Empire of the Sun

Four places I have lived:
- Metro Manila (Quezon City and Makati)
- Angeles City (a.k.a. Medieval Pampanga to Inverbras)
- New York City
- BC

Four TV shows I love to watch (all reruns):
- I Dream of Jeannie
- Bewitched
- Star Trek (Original, Next Generation, and Voyager)
- Seinfeld

Four Places I have been on vacation:
- Alaska
- Singapore
- Berlin
- Glasgow

Four websites I visit daily:
- snoopy
- wikipedia
- best crosswords
- amazon

Four of my favorite foods:
- Burgers (from Vera's)
- Beefsteak, yellow rice and black beans (from La Caridad)
- Sizzling sisig, crispy tawilis, and San Miguel Strong Ice (from Viewsite)
- Mom's apple pie

Four places I would rather be:
- Scuba diving in Anilao with Puff
- On the beach in Boracay with Puff and both our familes
- Inside the American Museum of Natural History in NYC (as a tourist, not a relic!)
- With my nephews and nieces wherever they may be

Four people I'm gong to tag:
- Crazy Lady in the Apple
- My middle sister
- My youngest sister
- Walrus

And now on to my list (Sgt. Stingray's):

Four jobs I've had in my life:
- Private
- Corporal
- Sergeant
- Navigator and first mate of Fantastic Sub and personal biographer of Capt. Jack Zexiv

Four movies I would watch over and over:
- A Bridge Too Far
- The Longest Day
- The Great Escape
- Mogambo (love that Grace Kelly!)

Four places I have lived:
- Bataan
- Corregidor
- New York
- BC

Four TV shows I love to watch (all reruns):
- Combat!
- Tour of Duty
- Rat Patrol
- Baa Baa Black Sheep

Four places I have been on vacation (and where Capt. Zexiv dreams of going someday):
- Tubbataha
- Italy
- Spain
- Kruger National Park

Four websites I visit daily:
- stripes
- gi photo joe
- tintin.com
- national geographic

Four of my favorite foods:
- K-rations
- Hard tack
- Puff's adobo
- Puff's aligue pasta

Four places I would rather be:
- FAO Schwarz
- Central Park
- Undergoing PT with the ADMHS Air Police (most rigorous in the world, according to Capt. Zexiv)
- With my comrades in the secret subterranean hideout in PPT

Four people I'm going to tag:
- My special friend helicopter pilot Jane
- My other special friend secret agent Mademoiselle Marie
- My Action Soldier comrade
- My Action Pilot comrade

And now, back to that leak! ...

Going Solo, Camp Grayloft, and the Mysterious Toyanese

2006-04-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

In between minor engine repairs and inspecting the Fantastic Submarine today for a suspected leak (yes, the sub is fantastic, heavily armed, and has gone from Alaska to Singapore but is not unsinkable) and trying to decipher the manual (anyone have an Enigma Machine in storage?) that came with the new camera, I decided to take a long walk and explore my new surroundings. My new base is apparently one and a half levels with a huge skylight casting a cheery light on almost the entire area during the day. At the bottom level I found a communications center, a mess hall, a movie viewing area for the troops, pictures of family members, and a fairly sized library containing a partial collection of Capt. Zexiv's and his wife Puff's books and photo albums. The books covered a wide range of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction, such as war, photography, children's stories, classics, and even paleontology.

I was especially pleased to find a copy of Roald Dahl's "Going Solo" and took this out of the bookcase to reread in my spare time. It's the second part of Dahl's autobiography continuing from the time he left school to work as an expat for Shell in Africa in the years immediately preceding the Second World War. Along the way, he has various adventures such as encounters with dangerous beasts such as the black mamba and air battles with the Germans over Greece as a fighter pilot with the RAF. He also becomes seriously injured when his plane crashes. All this of course happened long before Roald Dahl became famous writing children's stories such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I found it quite interesting as I am always fascinated by accounts of life in foreign lands, especially during colonial eras. It is something I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good adventure story, whether they be children or adults.

My journey to the second level later in the day was delayed by the discovery of a series of about fifteen chest-high ridges requiring specialized equipment and a lighter load to traverse so I have decided to hold off further exploration until a later time or date. I have heard rumors of a mysterious and elusive race of beings called the Toyanese who are said to occupy the upper level. In any case, night has fallen and it has become necessary to set up a security perimeter. In the meantime, I have decided to rename this place Camp Grayloft. Tomorrow I may ask the assistance of Capt. Zexiv's niece in deciphering the camera manual as I hear she is a master decoder at school - a Mata Hari in the making! ...

A Page from Zexiv's Past: The Chum Family

2006-04-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

Many years before he became captain of the fantastic and world travelling submarine, in between kindergarten and the first grade (otherwise known as "prep"), in the Jesuit-run school he went to for twelve long years, Capt. Zexiv became classmates and good friends with a small but tightly knit group, who were to become his closest friends for many years. This group, drawn together by similar interests including a love of nature and the great outdoors, a general disdain for organized sports (except for maybe one or two in the group), and some difficulty with Math and a certain required subject, called themselves the "Chum Family", and vowed to stay pals for life. They hung around places like the Rock Garden, the great rubber tree (which they fondly referred to as "Gerbie"), and the giant steel slide beside it.

While most boys their age were either playing or watching soccer (a big thing during those elementary school days), in the lunch time games between class sections that became known as "lightning football", the members of the Chum Family were hanging out in the hill above the football field, perfecting the art of catching dragonflies, red ants, and praying mantises, picking up iron filings in the soil with magnets, climbing the rubber tree, playing "lava monster" in the Rock Garden, and floating insects on makeshift boats made by leaves or bottles caps down rapids created by opening several faucets on the school grounds. They joined school clubs like the Rondalla and the Boy Scouts and went to classnights at school together, where the highlight of the night was always the trading of the ghost stories followed by a hunt for the infamous "headless woman" of the Rock Garden.

When the Chum Family weren't in school, they hung out and attended each others' birthday parties at Shakey's Pizza, went trick or treating on Halloween near the house where Capt. Zexiv's parents live, and swam at the club. They continued to remain close friends throughout the years. At one point around sixth or seventh grade, three or four of them - including Capt. Zexiv - even formed a make-believe, extremely amateurish and admittedly terrible sounding rock band, which they called "Stingray". In third year high school, by some coincidence, about five of them became classmates again, the largest number together since the third grade.

This is what I was able to piece together about Capt. Zexiv's childhood recollections of a few of his friends from that time, whom he keeps in touch with or bumps into from time to time to this day:

Wilt - Had a crewcut and wore thick glasses in his early years. Was a great storyteller - Capt. Zexiv remembers his account of an uncle getting eaten by a crocodile in Africa and wonders to this day whether he may have dreamt of the whole thing - and a basketball fanatic. Capt. Zexiv used to call him up regularly after classes during school days to chat and would think he had his full and undivided attention until he would hear the half-time (?) siren of a televised basketball game in the background (Capt. Zexiv believes it was Toyota and Crispa in those days). Capt. Zexiv used to admire the zip up leather ankle length boots he wore with his school uniform as it reminded Capt. Zexiv of the ones worn by the Beatles. A very loyal friend - Capt. Zexiv once remembers him protecting him against a fat school bully - and constant lunch companion.

Solomon - Very talented musically, could play the piano and (toy) accordion by ear, wrote screenplays (including one for the fictitious band Stingray called "The Golden Record Caper"). Solomon was the product of an American mother and Filipino father. Also a great storyteller and highly imaginative who easily aced English exams without studying. Another constant lunch companion and regular at the great rubber tree and giant slide (together with Wilt and Capt. Zexiv). Once led Capt. Zexiv into the treacherous quicksands of Pulang Bato near his house out of which they were fortunately able to escape. Sat in front of Capt. Zexiv in third or fourth year high school, was always strong for his age and would always beat Capt. Zexiv in arm wrestling. He remembers very well the first thing Capt. Zexiv said to him when they ran into each other at the state university years later: "Hey Solomon, we're college boys now!".

Atticus - One of the smartest members of the Chum Family, very funny and a good mimic. Considered "good looking" in his youth by Capt. Zexiv's parents and was one of those kids your parents wouldn't mind you hanging out with since he was also very polite and a good talker. A natural leader. Also had a wild imagination and was always coming up with new things to do. A regular lunch partner (this was to be repeated many years later sometime during their working years) in the hill above the football field. Slightly chubby but full of spunk, Capt. Zexiv remembers another school friend telling him about an incident one morning at high school where he saw Atticus and a much larger schoolmate fighting and rolling on the ground in front of the Admin building because Atticus objected to his younger brother who was cadet officer trainee being bossed around by an superior officer in a higher year (the fight was later broken up by the old schooltaker, Big Boy). Atticus became a superhero later on, fighting graft and corruption.

Belushi - Another member of Stingray - he played a huge bongo drum belonging to Capt. Zexiv's dad - Belushi used to be one of the smallest members of the group but quickly caught up in height in his high school years. Capt. Zexiv remembers introducing him to his love of the Beatles and him also becoming a Beatles fan. Lived near Manila Bay and wallking distance to Harrison Plaza. Capt. Zexiv and Atticus had really fun sleepovers in his place. Everyone had a crush on his older sister during those days :). Knew a lot of the pretty girls in high school and was one of the original class preppies. Capt. Zexiv's biking companion and "weekly brother". Went to the same state university as Capt. Zexiv and Solomon.

Juan - Very mestizo looking, Juan lived about a mile south of Capt. Zexiv's house and they rode the same school bus for a number of years. Was a regular weekend visitor to Capt. Zexiv's house during the earlier years and would many times bring his GI Joes over to play, to the delight of Capt. Zexiv, who had none at the time. A member of the hobbycraft club in elementary for many years, Juan loved building model planes and later pursued his dream of becoming an airplane pilot after college. Was a very strong runner in track and during his entire stay in high school held the school record for a long distance route.

More on the Chum Family sometime ...

Back in Vancouver

2006-04-23T21:29:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Vancouver today after a more than seven hour voyage plagued by schools of giant squid, mutinous crew members and overzealous customs authorities. Capt. Zexiv and his wife Puff are happy to be back again in Beautiful BC after almost two weeks of being away in Washington DC and New York. During this time Capt. Zexiv spent the Easter holidays with his family, picked up his first digital camera, got together with a long lost lava monster friend, watched a Billy Joel concert, ate in La Caridad, Kang Suh, and Jackson Hole, visited FAO Schwarz and Central Park, was treated to a delicious Japanese buffet by Crazy Lady in the Apple, had some beers and watched old "Combat!" episodes with his pal Walrus and brother Inverbras and attended probably the longest wedding celebration he had ever been to in his life :). Inverbras was the perfect host, giving us tips on blogging and bringing Capt. Zexiv and Puff to this great sandwich place near his office, where the sandwich of Capt. Zexiv unfortunately self-destructed. He also took a few pictures of me, some of which are posted here. At present, I am preoccupied with establishing a new base and conducting repairs of the sub but promise stories and pictures from our trip, as soon as we can both figure out how to download pictures from the new camera - didn't I tell you we are both new to digital photography?

The Fantastic Submarine

2006-04-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

In which we follow

the continuing

undersea

and topside adventures

of my friend

Capt. Jack Zexiv ...