The Wheel and Axle

Continued From:

Dedz Na Si Jess, Part 1

Despite the unrelenting hilarity throughout Patay Na Si Jesus, it must be noted that this is smart humor. No, this is not a movie that’s all slapstick and puns and repetitive shallowness (I shan’t name names). This is a movie where humor is intelligent and is derived from situation and circumstance, not from tired and forced jokes that just make their way into the dialogue without really being earned. In this movie, we have real people who find laughter in real situations; we end up laughing with them and not at them because we actually see ourselves in all of these characters.

And so we also empathize with them.

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Some time last week, I saw some outraged comments on a post about the dark comedy film Patay Na Si Hesus (Jesus Is Dead), with folks crying sacrilege and blasphemy (or, in one case, “blastfemy,” true story). Never mind that these folks have not watched the movie and have probably not watched the trailer, either. The moral outrage was both funny and sad given that the movie is in no way related to Jesus Christ (except for an allusion here and there) and that the titular “Hesus” is actually the name of the main character’s ex-husband.

Of course, the makers knew what they were doing when they went with the title because not only is it catchy and very reflective of the irreverent humor that the film utilizes, it also triggers something visceral in this Catholic-majority country. And it worked.

But I expected nothing less from the genius people behind such fantastic breakout hits like That Thing Called Tadhana and Zombadings.

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Talk about amazing. These fantastic ladies may as well have have been deboned, seeing as how utterly flexible their bodies are. Just when you think they can’t go into another impossible position, they just… do. And even more. It’s like watching living marionettes take the stage, if living marionettes decided they had no joints.

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Last Monday, our vertical within my current company held a whole day team building event in Phillip’s Sanctuary in Antipolo. I’ve heard of this place before, and in fact I was considering it as a venue for my own team’s activity earlier this year (it didn’t pan out at the time), so it was a treat to actually get to experience it nonetheless.

And so it was, right at the crack of daylight, that over a hundred of us all made our way to Antipolo that Monday morning. I was lucky as it took me less than an hour; I lived in Taytay, right at the foot of the mountain, and I hitched a ride with Emily, one of my managers who brought her own car. For most of the rest who converged at our office in BGC and took the chartered bus, it was about two hours.

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It’s a big world after all.

Happy Friday, everyone!

As I’ve been doing more and more travel in the last few years, I’ve come to use AirBnB more frequently. I really only registered some time late in 2016, and so far I’ve really appreciated this as an alternative to accommodations. It doesn’t mean I’ve foregone traditional hotels and hostels, but knowing an alternative exists is great.

Last weekend, to celebrate my birthday with my besties, we decided to do a staycation just here in Metro Manila. We were considering a couple of hotels, but those we wanted were largely fully booked. I then found an intriguing listing on AirBnB, a loft unit in The Gramercy Residences, and it was a fantastic choice.

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Fifty years ago today, five nations in Southeast Asia united to promote growth of the economy, social progress, and regional stability. Now, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a ten-member rising power that’s known for progress, diplomacy, amd goodwill.

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And I couldn’t agree more.

Here are some international good vibes today for the weekend ahead: American choir boys flying from Kenya on a United Arab Emirates plane and singing a Filipino classic.

Happy weekend, peeps!

Can this couple be any more adorable?

Also, there’s really just something cute (and sexy) when a gorgeous foreigner speaks in Tagalog with a funny accent. I have no idea why. It just… is.