Gastronomy: This Week's Food Trip

Mama Bet's Oreo Truffles. I felt weak in the knees after tasting this!

Mama Bet's Chocolate Layer Cake. I swear this is so delectable!

Afghan Gosh Feel

Afghan Salata

Afghan Mourg -- Grilled Chicken marinated in Yogurt.

Avocado Crazy. Sri Lankan Meal.

Kazakhstan's Kespea. Spicy Beef Noodles!

Israel's Holishkes. It has meat and rice rolled in a cabbage. It's like pastil.

Israel's Hamentaschen. Prune cookies.

Pita and Chickpeas Hummus.

Believe it or not, those Asian cuisines were cooked by my schoolmates for their Asia and the World class. That's how they spell hardwork and diligence. I have to say they did a job well done! They deserve to get a high grade for their collective effort in presenting what they have prepared for their Asian Festival final project. I wasn't able to take the photos of all the participants' dishes because people were all over them already. I love Iraq's Qatayef, Cambodia's fudge something and Sri Lanka's spicy beef curry. I couldn't get enough of them!

 I'm talking about how great they are with full conviction because my sister Janine is part of it. She's with the Afghanistan group. I heard Kazakhstan group won though. They did a wonderful cultural dance anyway. I just hated the sound system. It was awful! We weren't able to enjoy all the country's music that much. Anyway, do you wanna see how she looked like that day? Here it is.

My sister. My friend, Jael, did her make up. Isn't she lovely?

Make-Up Day Part 1

My buddy Maicie wanted to learn the know-how’s of pulling off an Afghan look for their Asia and the World class. With the aide of Ate Jael as her teacher and me as one of their “models”, she’s now adept in creating one. Their group was tasked to prepare Afghanistan food, presentation with all the costumes and whatnot. That’s how it goes here in UP Mindanao. Our GE (General Education) subjects are usually the most demanding and stressful ones. Anyway, I don’t have much to say anymore so just let me show you the finished product instead. Voila!

I’m not so sure about what Ate Jael did, but as far as I can remember, she applied Etude House BB Cream on my face before she put on the make-up. She used LA Colors and e.l.f. cream eye liner for my eyes; and Rimmel Tantrum lipstick for my lips. Tantrum is actually Reddish Pink, and my eye make-up is also dark. They looked so light in the photos. Too bad! Everything looked pale because of the bright natural lighting. It was really hot that day, so just bear with it. I’m just not into cosmetics but after this, I think I know what to collect next.

More of our make-up session pictures soon.

Must-Watch Asian Films

3 IDIOTS: As I searched about this Bollywood movie I found out that it was actually adapted from the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat.

MIND GAME: It is about the struggling comic artist Robin Nishi in his adventure with his object of affection Myon and her sister, Yan.

In the Realm of Senses: This is a true story of a Japanese woman called Sada Abe.

The Joy Luck Club: Through a series of flashbacks, four young Chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China, explore their past.

"Nanking" tells the story of the rape of Nanking, one of the most tragic events in history.

Memoirs of a Geisha: Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.

Samsara: A spiritual and sensual film which centers on the desire and destiny of a man of sacred mental disciplines who is struggling to attain enlightenment by renouncing mundane aspirations and yearning.

Here are other Asian films that I still haven't watched just yet, but I'm looking forward to get a dose of them when I have ample time for extra curricular duties:

Spirited Away: In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures.

2046: He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. This movie stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ziyi Zhang and Faye Wong

In the Mood for Love: A man and a woman move in to neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities. This movie stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung and Ping Lam Siu.

The Bird People in China: A salaryman and yakuza are each sent by their bosses to a remote Chinese village but discover more then they expected. This movie stars Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi and Mako.

The Emperor and the Assassin: In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering. This movie stars Li Gong, Fengyi Zhang and Zhou Sun.

What Asian films have piqued your interest the most?

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Daisy

A cop. A criminal. A flower.

Daisy is a 2006 co-production film of Hong Kong and South Korea directed by Andrew Lau and set in the Netherlands which top bills  Jeon Ji Hyun (My Sassy Girl), Jung Woo Sung (A Moment to Remember) and Lee Sung Jae (Public Enemy). Hye Young (Ji Hyun) is a painter who works for her grandfather's antique shop. She also sidelines as a sketch artist for tourists. She fell in love with Jeong Woo (Sung Jae), who is an Interpol agent specializing in Asian crimes, after mistakenly thinking of him as the guy who sends her daisies everyday at exactly 4:15pm. Jeong Woo couldn't admit that he's actually not her daisy guy or even lie to her, so he chose to be silent instead. Park Yi (Woo Sung) is a professional hitman who has had a secret love towards Hye Young ever since he first saw her painting daisies in the countryside. He was the real daisy guy, and not Jeong Woo. According to this film, daisies mean "secret love". Sweet!

This is another great romantic Korean film I've watched, despite some reviews saying that this flick has some flaws. I'm not that much of a hater, unless it's really that bad. I'm also not a good movie critic so I don't have the right to find fault for this well-made movie. I don't know what's with Korean films that make me cry and stuff. Maybe it's because of their melodramatic and sentimental story line that is way different from others. I especially love the music and the setting of Daisies. I love the part when Park Yi (hitman) told himself that loving Hye Young makes him feel like he has a pure soul. He's a soulful lover despite his wicked profession. He always stands by her from afar and unnoticed. He has also learned to like art and classical music because of her. One may think he's a stalker, but I think he's just too sweet to be called as such. How I wish a man like him would exist in reality. I don't know what to feel if I were in Hye Young's shoes.

I strongly believe that Guns and Roses got their concept from Daisies. They have similarity on some details. Park Yi receives black tulips when he has another assignment, while Abel (Robin Padilla) receives black dove. Jeong Woo and Aguilar (Diether Ocampo) are both detectives on a hunt for the hired killer. Hye Young and Rain (Bea Alonzo) are painters. Abel also has a secret love for Rain. I also think that Guns and Roses got the color effects of their show on this movie. I don't want to think that this is another rip-off. It's just that I can't help but notice it. Watch this film and you will see the evidence. You will love Daisies for sure.

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In The Realm of Senses: Psychotic Lust

True story of a woman called Sada Abe.

I am really honored to have the chance to watch one part of Japan’s history unfolding before my very eyes in class. I can’t imagine myself watching “In the Realm of Senses” outside the four corners of our classroom. I don’t actually feel anything bad about Sir Varquez showing the film in class, because we will be well guided especially with someone more knowledgeable around. For me, the movie was very helpful. It opened my heart and mind from different realizations. That’s what I love about UP, we can still get some significant life lessons even from the most sensitive and controversial matters.

Watching Sada Abe’s sexual undertakings made me think of many things. What if I get obsessed with my partner, will I do what she has done? Just thinking about it makes me shudder. I don’t think I can do such a cruel thing. I may sound like a typical woman-in-love, but I am someone who believes in an intimate, yet passionate kind of love conquest. Each one who participates in a romantic affair must be selfless. Selfishness of even just one party is certain to result to something chaotic, just like what happened to Sada and her partner, Kichi-san. I really pray that I shall never have to stand in her shoes. Psychotic lust is dangerous!

My heart goes out to Kichi-san. My heart bleeds seeing him suffer just as long as he could give pleasure to the woman he loves, even though he couldn’t take it anymore. Sada Abe was always asking him why his manhood gets hard that easily. Who would’ve thought that in the last part of the film, it would no longer erect, unlike what’s expected? After everything they’ve done, maybe Kichi-san has had enough. Their sex scenes had totally taken its toll on me. I got fed up just watching them do it habitually, how much more if I’m doing it as well. I don’t think I can manage getting laid ALL THE TIME.

One of the most memorable scenes in the film, aside from the part where Sada castrated her partner, was when Sada asked Kichi to choke her during sex. It may be too mushy to say, but I saw the love in Kichi’s eyes. He said he doesn’t want to see Sada suffer, but she still didn’t care. That proved his love for her, but she wasn’t mindful of it. All she minded was the satisfaction she wanted to attain from him. For me, seeing how Kichi showed his love for Sada was the turning point of the film. For almost an hour and a half, I thought what she felt for Sada was only lust and nothing more. I didn’t think he loved her that much that he sacrificed himself just to make her happy. That was the best part of the film for me.

I’ve noticed that the two main actors were really having sex. It was not fake unlike in other films. I can’t imagine what it’s like doing it in the set where there are a lot of people watching. I commend the actress who played the role of Sada Abe, because she’s not afraid to flaunt what she got. She has a great body, so she has the right to show it off. I admire her courage of not depriving herself of baring her skin in one of the Japan’s important historical movies. Her performance was also superb, because I can definitely feel that her pleasure was real. I can also feel that her craft was important to her, that’s why she gave her all. She didn’t mind what others might think about her. With that, I salute her!

The experience of watching “In the Realm of Senses” with other people was just normal. We don’t know what other people might think of doing after watching this film alone. I can’t take seeing the scenes all by myself. I want to be surrounded with my classmates who highly regard this film as something for academic context only. There was a unanimous question that has been raised while the movie was going on. Sada Abe and Kichi-san had been making love like it was their hobby, did they ever had a baby? In Tagalog, “Nagbunga ba ang kanilang kapusukan?”

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Conquering Just One: Samsara

Samsara is a spiritual and at the same time, a sensual film which centers on the desire and destiny of a man of sacred mental disciplines who is struggling to attain enlightenment by renouncing mundane aspirations and yearning. What’s striking about this movie is that, the viewers focus more on Tashi’s trials on giving up everything around him to reach Nirvana, forgetting about what sacrifices her wife, Pema, might have to do just to keep her love and life with him and their son.

As stated in the documentary The Life of the Buddha, one key cause of painfulness is our demanding desire. When Tashi began to experience profound sexual awakening because of a girl named, Pema, he also went through some distressing and unpleasant moments. Because of his unrelenting desire to have a sexual affair with Pema, he decided to forsake the restrictions of being a celibate by leaving his spiritual life behind. His pet dog even left him the moment he chose to come in contact with the world. He also lived through some sufferings like toiling for his family. His patience was even tested by people who wanted to afflict his life.

In the latter part of the story, Apo sent a letter for Tashi. One memorable and stirring hypothetical question he raised was, “What is more important: satisfying one thousand desires, or conquering just one?” If I were to answer this, I would say I would want to satisfy one thousand desires, for honesty’s sake. But of course, I know it’s always best to think deeply and seriously on what desire among those one thousand is more important. It’s not good to have all those desires satisfied, but still you know that deep down you are not contented with what you have. We must know what one thing really makes us feel complete and blissful, that even without any other things, we are still unfathomably delighted.

Samsara has a lot of metaphors that made our mind ponder. One of the metaphors that I like the most was the one written in a stone tablet in the desert, which says: How can you prevent a drop of water from ever drying up? The answer is to put it in the sea. I never thought of it. Another riddle says: What will happen to a twig if it’s thrown to the river? The answer is it will go with the flow until it gets to the ocean. Those are just simple questions that require simple answers. And yet, we think too hard that we tend to forget the little details that might help us figure things out.

If I were to choose for the continuation of the story, I would want Tashi to return to Pema. He shouldn’t just leave his wife and his son just for his selfish reason of being enlightened. He left them without a trace of where he will be, and an explanation of why he had to do it. That’s not acceptable. It’s not right to shift from one desire to another just because you feel like going back again. Tashi should not be egocentric. He must bear in mind that he should also be mindful of what others might feel towards his decisions, not just being aware of what his body wants to do.

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Eiga Sai: Japanese Movie “Mind Game”

The Japanese Film, Mind Game, is about the struggling comic artist Robin Nishi in his adventure with his object of affection Myon and her sister, Yan. This movie showed how Nishi fought off death to escape from the Yakuza with his companions.

What I like most about this film is that the action scenes carried me away. I like the scene where there was that high- speed auto chase between Nishi and the Yakuzas. Though I never really appreciate anime that much, this film caught my attention.

I actually watched The Milk Woman but I got sick with drama. Mind Game is good if you want a hearty laugh in the cinema. There were scenes that are too blunt but good enough they were only animated.

I knew Japanese animators as very detailed when it comes to the heroine’s physical appearance. Maybe they wanted to illustrate the fantasy woman of the hero as someone in good, better yet, sexy and sensual shape. That was why in this film, Myon was embodied as a girl with an emphasized huge breasts that are not appropriate for her slim body built.

Maybe the reason why Japanese animators give off their fantasies in their animations is because Japanese ladies are skinny and anorexic to look it. They are too thin to be called as sexy goddess that makes every male lead’s imagination and romance run wild.

I also approved the way this film portrayed sex when Nishi and Myon made love. It was so funny because they associated it with just normal things to depict the rise and fall, without displaying the actual sex too much.

They related the in and out throwing of charcoals in a fire place to the in and out motion of the penis to the vagina. They also related the orgasm to the fast-paced train falling all the way down a cliff.

Those amusing scenes are only superficial. What this film wants to tell us is controlling one’s destiny and realizing what our true happiness is. This film wants us to know that we should work hard on going out from the darkness and hardships, and not to lose hope whenever we feel stranded.