Brazilian Film Festival 2009 @ The UP Film Institute

This November, the UP Film Institute and the Embassy of Brazil bring you Brazilian Film Festival 2009 which guarantees a panoramic view of everything Brasil.

Four charming titles of contemporary Brazilian cinema, celebrated by local and international film festivals, will have complimentary and exclusive screenings at the UPFI Videotheque.

The festival starts November 13, screening a different film every Friday, 4PM until December 4, 2009.

Brazilian Film Festival 2009 @ The UP Film Institute
November 13 - December 4, 2009
Fridays, 4PM
UPFI Videotheque, Cine Adarna, UP Diliman, QC

***FREE ADMISSION***

BOSSA NOVA
Nov. 13, Friday, 4pm

O OUTRO LADO DA RUA
[The Other Side of the Street]
Nov. 20, Friday, 4pm

A DONA DA HISTORIA
Nov. 27, Friday, 4pm

ABRIL DESPEDECADO
[Behind the Sun]
Dec. 4, Friday, 4pm

Full synopsis after the jump.
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TV Premiere of *My Fake American Accent*

Onnah Valera and Ned Trespeces' second full-length digital film will have its TV premiere on October 28, 2009, Wednesday, 9PM, on TV5.

Following the lives of several call-center agents, this film is one of the finalists in Cinemalaya 2008. This comedy is from the same makers of *Trabaho*, and the writer of *Jologs.*

The Fool

Basic Tarot Symbols

The fool in colorful motley clothes, pack tied to a staff, a small dog, a cliff.

Basic Tarot Story

With all his worldly possessions in one small pack, the Fool travels he knows not where. So filled with visions and daydreams is he, that he doesn't see the cliff he is likely to fall over. At his heel, a small dog harries him (or tries to warn him of a possible mis-step).

Basic Tarot Meaning

At #0, the Fool is the card of infinite possibilities. The bag on the staff indicates that he has all he needs to do or be anything he wants, he has only to stop and unpack. He is on his way to a brand new beginning. But the card carries a little bark of warning as well. Stop daydreaming and fantasizing and watch your step, lest you fall and end up looking the fool.

Thirteen's Observations

In the Tarot, cards like The Magician or The Hermit can often stand for the Querent or for someone in the Querent's life. The Fool, however, almost always stands for the Querent alone, no one else. In standing for the Querent, the Fool represents a time of newness, a time when life has been "re-started" as it were. The person feels that they are back at zero, whether that be in romantic affairs, or career, at their job or intellectual pursuits. Far from being sad or frustrating, the Querent feels remarkably *free*, light hearted and refreshed, as if being given a second chance. They feel young and energized.

In addition, they likely have no idea where they're going or what they're going to do. But that doesn't matter. For the Fool, the most important thing is to just go out and enjoy the world. To see what there is to see and delight in all of it.

Unfortunately, in this childlike state the person is likely to be overly optimistic or naive. A Fool can be a Fool. This is the card likely to turn up when a Querent is thinking of investing his money in a new, "sure fire" business. Or when the Querent is sure that it's "love this time!" Like the Fool, they're so busy daydreaming of what might be that they're ignoring what is. They're about to fall right off a cliff. It's time for them to listen to that watchful little dog, which might be a concerned friend, a wise tarot reader, or just their instincts.

As a card, the Fool ultimately stands for a new start. When it turns up the Querent might be about to make a move, not just to a new home, but new job, new life. There's more than just change, renewal, and a brand new beginning in the Fool, there's also movement, a fresh, exciting new time.

Image after the jump.
Text after the jump.

Raf's Birthday

Intimate and exclusive celebration of friend / neighbor Raf's birthday, last night, at Vina's unit.

Vina, Beng, Raf

birthday boy

Cenón, Raf

Beng... ANU daw?!

pilít na ngiti ng hostess

kunwari nag-e-enjoy

heto na si kaka
... [ituloy ang bugtong]

kasama si Cleopatra bilang proxy ni Raf

ang walang kamatayang bunny ears

family portrait

family portrait ulit

family portrait na naman

habeerdi!

lumalabas na ang totoong nararamdaman ng mga bisita

parang isa lang ang totoong masaya

nguso kung nguso

Vina: Beng, gusto mong advil?
Beng: Hindi. Pengeng baril.

kumbaga sa kwento, eto ang setup...

...ang rising action...

...at ang climax / final confrontation...

...tapos ay ang dénouement.

yey... ang saya-saya ng birthday...

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I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.

Ways To Say F@(%@#$*!!!

photo by Jerome P. Pabalan

1. "Okay, okay! I take it back. Unfuck you!!!"
2. "You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing?!"
3. "How many times do I have to flush before you go away?"
4. "Well this day was a total waste of make-up"
5. "Well aren't we a bloody ray of sunshine?"
6. "Don't bother me, I'm living happily ever after."
7. "Do I look like a fucking people person!"
8. "This isn't an office. It's HELL with fluorescent lighting"
9. "I started out with nothing still have most of it left"
10. "I pretend to work, they pretend to pay me"
11. "YOU!!... off my planet!!!"
12. "Therapy is expensive. Popping bubble plastic is cheap. You choose"
13. "Practice random acts of intelligence and senseless acts of self control"
14. "Errors have been made. Others will be blamed"
15. "And your cry-baby, whiny-assed opinion would be.....?"
16. "I'm not crazy. I've been in a very bad mood for 30 years."
17. "Sarcasm is just one more service I offer."
18. "Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed"
19. "Do they ever shut up on your planet?"
20. "I'm not your type. I'm not inflatable"
21. "Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't gone to sleep yet"
22. "Back off!! You're standing in my aura."
23. "Don't worry. I forgot your name too."
24. "I just want revenge. Is that so wrong?"
25. "I work 45 hours a week to be this poor."
26. "Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it."
27. "Not all men are annoying. Some are dead."
28. "Wait...I'm trying to imagine you with a personality"
29. "Chaos, panic and disorder . . . my work here is done."
30. "Ambivalent? Well yes and no."
31. "You look like shit. Is that the style now?"
32. "Earth is full. Go home."
33. "Aw, did I step on your poor little bitty ego?"
34. "I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert."
35. "A hard-on doesn't count as personal growth."
36. "You are depriving some village of an idiot."
37. "If ass holes could fly, this place would be an airport

Emailed by a friend a few years ago. Not mine. Just sharing.
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Simpatiya Para Sa 'Yo

Kakatapos lang ng bagyong Ondoy at rumaragasa pa ang bagyong Pepeng, daan-daan ang mga namatay at nawawala, at daang-libo ang nagsisiksikan sa mga evacuation center. Patuloy sa pagtaas ang presyo ng mga bilihin dahil na rin sa pananamantala ng ilang negosyante. Buong bansa ang inilagay ni Gloria sa state-of-calamity, at maraming nagdududa kung hindi ba n'ya ito gagamitin para mapabilis ang pagnanakaw niya sa kaban ng bayan. Patuloy ang korupsyon, ang paghihirap, ang pang-aabuso...

...At ngayon ka pa talaga sumabay na humingi ng simpatiya dahil hindi mo alam kung ano ang gagawin mo sa buhay mo, kung patuloy kang mag-aaral, o kung magta-trabaho ka na, at kung anong klaseng trabaho, pagkatapos mong maka-graduate ng college?

Umamin ka-- adik ka 'no?

Valid ang takot mo, at hindi pwedeng i-dismiss 'yun nang ganu'n-gano'n na lang. At sa maniwala ka't sa hindi, karamihan-- kundi man lahat-- ay dumaraan d'yan. Pero 'wag mong isiping ikaw ang pinakakawawang nilalang sa mundo dahil hirap na hirap ka na dahil hindi mo alam kung ano ang meaning ng life o kung ano ang gusto mong gawin. 'Wag mo ring isiping walang nakakaintindi sa 'yo. 'Yung mga taong inaakusahan mong hindi nakakaintindi sa 'yo, kaya nilang magsulat ng buong libro tungkol sa 'yo.

Pero lawakan mo naman sana, kahit konti man lang, ang pananaw mo sa buhay. Tigilan mo muna ang pagtingin sa sarili mo at sa sarili mo lang. Ilagay mo ang sarili mo sa mundo, sa panahon ngayon, bilang isang mamamayan ng isang third world na bansa.

Matakot ka kung ano ang bukas na naghihintay sa 'yo. Mag-alala ka kung makakasabay ka ba sa mabilis na agos ng buhay. Pero tumingin ka rin sa paligid mo. Ilagay mo ang sarili mo sa tamang konteksto. At tigilan mo na ang kase-self pity at kaiisip na *Gaaahd! Nobody understands me! Life is useless and meaningless and everyone who thinks otherwise is stupid I'm the only one who knows the truth and I'm the protagonist and everybody else is just a prop and extra in this movie set I call life!*

Shut up ka muna kahit ngayon lang. Next week pagkatapos ng mga bagyo, kung gusto mong mag-inarte ulit at patuloy na humingi ng simpatiya, bahala ka. 'Wag lang muna ngayon. Dahil nakakairita ka.
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REPOST: DO'S & DON'TS for Helping in Times of Disasters: Psychological First Aid

The following text is lifted from a Facebook note [source after the jump]:

Sometimes, well-meaning help can do more harm than good. This article gives us DO's and DON'TS tips that could help volunteers maximize the assistance they offer.

If we have first aid for physical injuries and diseases, we also have first aid for emotional, cognitive and behavioural difficulties. Others even consider psychological distress as more painful than the physical.

First responders could be used in generic terms as those who are first on the scene of the disaster when no or few specialists are available to help survivors. As we have seen at the height of “Ondoy” and until now, this means almost anybody who extends help.

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Psychological First Aid for First Responders

When you work with people during and after a disaster, you are working with people who may be having reactions of confusion, fear, hopelessness, sleeplessness, anxiety, grief, shock, guilt, shame, and loss of confidence in themselves and others. Your early contacts with them can help alleviate their painful emotions and promote hope and healing. Your goal in providing this psychological first aid is to promote an environment of safety, calm, connectedness, self-efficacy, empowerment, and hope.

DO

Promote Safety
o Help people meet basic needs for food and shelter, and obtain emergency medical attention.
o Provide repeated, simple, and accurate information on how to get these basic needs.

Promote Calm
o Listen to people who wish to share their stories and emotions, and remember that there is no right or wrong way to feel.
o Be friendly and compassionate even if people are being difficult.
o Offer accurate information about the disaster or trauma, and the relief efforts underway to help victims understand the situation.

Promote Connectedness
o Help people contact friends and loved ones.
o Keep families together. Keep children with parents or other close relatives whenever possible.

Promote Self-Efficacy
o Give practical suggestions that steer people toward helping themselves.
o Engage people in meeting their own needs.

Promote Help
o Find out the types and locations of government and nongovernment services and direct people to those services that are available.
o When they express fear or worry, remind people (if you know) that more help and services are on the way.

DON’T

o DON'T Force people to share their stories with you, especially very personal details. This may decrease calmness in people who are not ready to share their experiences.

o DON'T Give simple reassurances like “everything will be OK” or “at least you survived.” Statements like these tend to decrease calmness.

o DON'T Tell people what you think they should be feeling, thinking, or how they should have acted earlier. This decreases self-efficacy or people’s belief about their capacity to positively deal with difficulties.

o DON'T Tell people why you think they have suffered by alluding to personal behaviors or beliefs of victims. (Note: For example, “Pinaparusahan ‘yan ng Diyos!” This also discourages people from viewing themselves as capable of dealing with their situation).

o DON'T Make promises that may not be kept. Un-kept promises decreases hope.

o DON'T Criticize existing services or relief activities in front of people in need of these services. This undermines environment of hope and calm.

Sources:
o Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the US Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS). http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/katrina/Psychological.pdf
o http://www.usuhs.mil/psy/CTCPsychologicalFirstAid.pdf
o http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/
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