1. read twitter

2. read tumblr

3. cut. paste.

4. add connectors such as “prompting Quark to say” and “the rest of her post read”

5. voila! http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/351330/quark-henares-thanks-hayden-kho

with apologies and a ;) to Julien Matabuena, who is probably just doing his job

as you go past the midpoint of September 1 in Manila, i have just started it here. it’s hard, having to go through the worst day in my personal history for an extended period of time. i still miss Alexis, and I still think about him everyday. It’s getting easier for me, though, and that’s what scares me. I’m afraid that one day I’ll forget how his deep voice ends in a high-pitched chuckle when he teases, or his punctuated go-to tagalog terms like “naku!” or olats!”.  

a few months ago, in Italy, I was being interviewed by someone from Ekran, Nika’s magazine. when I mentioned to her that I knew Nika her jaw dropped, and her eyes welled up. “did they find the murderers?” she asked, and i just looked down and shook my head. “why? why have they not found them yet?” this time it was more of a demand than a question. all i could answer was “that’s what it’s like in the Philippines.”

it’s going to be a long day. 

I always get too lazy to compile a showreel, so it’s kind of ironic that now that I’ve finally done one, I won’t really have much use for it. 

Towards the end of editing, Maui Mauricio (the fab editor) and I decided to just go for nostalgia instead of out and out corporate whoring. So here it is— a goodbye reel of sorts featuring some of my favorite clips from the movies, music videos, commercials and experiments I’ve done over the years. 2 minutes and 20 seconds is hardly enough time to encapsulate 10 years, and two paragraphs are hardly enough to thank all the wonderful and talented people I’ve collaborated on these projects with. The biggest reason I’m happy to be a filmmaker is because I became friends with people like you.

so thank you :)

we also ran into this guy at Fisherman’s Wharf. i didn’t know he was famous. there’s a crazy hobo in every block in this city. getmeouttahere.

a lady crosses the street, walking her Pomeranian, when a biker almost runs the dog over. “hey lady! watch where you’re going!” he screams.

“YOU watch where you’re going! I have right of way!” she screams back, to which he replies

“I HAVE NO EYES!”

then he looks at us, wiggles his eyebrows and smiles.

A home-recorded NUlogy for NU107 by one of its very first DJs, Tom Lupton aka Major Tom. 

Much thanks and love to Carla Vargas, a longtime NU107 listener, for tracking the very elusive and reclusive Major Tom down.

i finally say my last goodbye. the complete version of my Philippine Star article, with video.  

still grieving,  so  forgive me.  i’ll be reposting  a  lot of the goodbye’s and tributes  to  NU  for the next few days. here’s one from one of my personal favorite DJs,  joystick  jay. 

geeuh:

Today is the first day without you in my life. Today is the first Monday in ages that I didn’t have to drag myself out of bed to make it to the station before 6 AM. Today is the morning after what seemed like the longest goodbye I’ve ever had to endure.

You were an unexpected part of my life that came to be one of the most significant. I never thought you would come to mean as much to me as you did. I came to you at an unusual time in my life. I don’t think I even knew who I really was before I met you. I knew you as a big part of the lives of people close to me, people who grew up with you. You were a stranger to me all those years ago. I always felt a little undeserving to be associated with you in any way. 

As soon as you took me in, I felt like I arrived home. I was welcomed into a family that would never judge me, never tell me I had to be a certain way just to be accepted, never expect me to conform to any preconceived notion of the kind of person I was supposed to be.

Growing up gay in a conservative Catholic home wasn’t always easy. I blame myself for putting up walls over the years to keep my own flesh and blood from getting too close to me, out of fear that they would never understand who I truly am, or accept who I want to be. It’s still a struggle sometimes to fully feel at ease with showing my true self to the very people who have known me since before I could even speak.

Yet it was with you that I truly found my voice. Through the people you surrounded me with, you taught me how to believe in myself, and to let go of the fear that stifled and paralyzed me for far too long. Through the music you filled my ears with, you connected me to roots that once felt foreign to me, to a history that, in however small a way, I am now proudly part of.

I always said I would only get a tattoo if something truly meaningful happened to me. For years, I had this specific design in mind because I’ve always loved what it signified. There are a variety of interpretations for its symbolism, but my favorite one of all is that of the cyclical nature of life: for every thing that ends, something new always begins. It is my tribute to every single person who has touched my life during my days at NU: from the artists who have shared their time and tireless creativity, to all the listeners who have shared my commitment to loving the music that binds us all.

To all the people who I have laughed with, shed tears with, moved to the music with, spent sleepless nights with, and to those who paved the way for us to stand proud as the last songs played before static filled the airwaves, you know who you are and you will always be a part of me. 

The ink is beginning to even out. My skin is slowly starting to heal. And so too will the painful memory of saying goodbye to a place that was once a home to all of us. I will do my best to honor what that home stood for by living fearlessly, wherever life takes me next, whatever new cycle I find myself in. 

Thank you for all the memories. I will carry their mark on me always. 

(Tattoo by Cherokee Jean Pacete)

francisbrew:

rosarioko:

The last rock jocks…

The guys who held the fort until the very last minute. The jocks, who, after, weeks and weeks of carrying the burden of the heartbreaking news about their current jobs and the future of the music industry, tried as much as they could to smile albeit some could not help but show their hearts on their sleeves. 

If we all feel bad, please remember that they probably feel much worse. We should respect them and not demand anything to satisfy our own need to grasp at the last reminders of our youth. 

Paalam NU107, pero magkikita kita pa kami ulit ng mga to, so hindi ako sad.

They are heroes to me, pero alam ko kailangan muna ng bakasyon haha!

People will always have their perspective on who the best NU djs were, and i’m very happy indeed to have worked with some of them, and to call them my best friends even if i don’t really get to hang out with them enough.

The jocks you see on this pic will always remain close to my heart… we all worked extremely hard to keep the station’s integrity until the very last second. We all knew that the end was near, but we kept our heads above water, because like all of the best NU djs from the beginning, we believed in the station so much, because very simply, we loved it. NU107 was home to us misfits ;)

Kim, Trish, Pontri, April, Cyrus, Roanna, Jay, Shannen, Eevee, and of course the immortal Cris ‘Cruise’ Hermosisima… we made each other laugh and cry against the odds. I will miss you all :(

it’s time to come clean, everyone. after 23 years, NU107 is finally closing shop. we’re sorry it took so long for us to confirm this. we were hoping for a miracle,i guess. 

so just hear this and then we’ll go. you gave us more to live for, more than you’ll ever know. :)