e mails from Van

one view of the interior of the Asingan RC church
( photo was taken last April 2009 )

I am sharing with you a letter from Van, who reads my Blog regularly...

Vic,

The Asingan church is huge with its tall bellfry.I could hear the chirpings of the birds with that choral rendition in the background. Ah !! again a very Filipino scenery with the church as focal point.It reminds me of the baptism of my kids and of course my hometown, sweet hometown.

Thank you again for sharing, Vic.Regards to your family.

Van

&&&

The old Catholic Church as shown in the old video is already gone. During the great earthquake of 1990, much of the interior and exterior of this church, toppled to the ground like a deck of cards. It took several years and several thousands of dollars before this new edifice rose up from the ruins.

The new church is now something to be proud of. It shows the unity of the Asingan people, both local and those staying in other countries when they are involved in a worthwhile project...

I remember seeing the Mass celebrated outside of the church everyday while the church is being cleaned up and reconstructed. I spent several years in the old church. It was in there that I learned my music reading and writing, and also my keyboard and writing harmony for easy songs..

I am still using these skills helping out a Senior's home near my house..

Below is another e-mail...

What you are doing is giving PEACE.It is for the glory of GOD.It is a precious time of your life spent for sharing joys. God delights in all your email.I love listening to music.My dad always say "Music is the language of the soul".

He loves music.I attempted to hire thepianist who always play in our clubhouse to perform in our house last Father's day but too bad he was fully booked.You must be a very brotherly and friendly person!!!!You seem to be into music and nature.

It is OK for you to share my responses to our dearest Pangasinense in Asingan.Belated Happy Father's day to you with warmest kumusta.

Van

fixing the digital painting

I finally was able to fix the strong lines in the nude painting..

I am sharing you the technique on how I did it..

First, I blew up the image to 400 %..Then I took the PICK COLOUR tool. I picked a colour that is a bit darker than the actual colour skin of my model. Then I selected the PENCIL tool. I TRIED TO DO A PIXEL BY PIXEL RETOUCHING OF THE LINES. Not blotting them entirely but just leaving some lines to denote the spinal column of the back. The equivalent of this technique is the use of the fine tip of say No. 1O Grumbacher sable brush to produce a very fine line...

Black and line sketching is simpler, compared to colour work using coloured pencils. Lines and values you are trying to express to the viewer ( assuming he/she has an eye for art ) are used differently.

Some PC art software have the smudge tool, the equivalent of your forefinger being used as a brush.

The airbrush tool of the Paint is good for creating tree foliage. Just use a heavy green colour then high it with yellow or ochre..Then use a pencil tool to colour a few cluster of pigments with contrasting hues ( blue or red, very sparingly ) to give it a nice efect to the beholder's eyes..

As one writed said "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!"

Will drink a toast to that!

To close this entry, I want to share an incident in the life of a classic artist famous of his nude paintings..

A patron asked him.."How do you produce the beautiful skin tones of your nudes?"

The artist answered: " I keep on trying every possible skin tone, and when I feel like pinching the painting, then I know I found the right one!"

vic

a digital painting

A NUDE AT REST

This picture is purel;y digital because I did not use any conventional medium: pen, ink or any kind of colours used by artists. For my brush, I use the mouse, and for the art software I use the common software called PAINT.

First, I outlined my figure on paper ( just the key lines ) ..Then I scanned it and opened the scan with the PAINT software..From that point, I used the different kinds of tools in the software.. I sometimes magnify my work to 400%, then use the pencil, brush or airbrush tool to fill in the renderings.. The PICK COLOR tool is very useful because you can mix whatever colour you need without mixing colors; a very messy and time consuming process...

The work is not quite finished..It is really time consuming. From my point of view, I am finished with the lower torso, but I still do not like those strong lines on her back..

This is just like opening a covered easel to reveal what I worked on so far...

In this kind of artwork, sometimes you have to stop and go back to it some other day when the mood for working hits you again...

letters from Van

Sharing two e-mails....

Thank you, Van!

Mabait,Thank you!.Picnic by the creek beside the cute hut and the food set up on an old bamboo bed, the trees and the dogs roaming around in the backyard, the animated chats with relatives most likely reminscing old time memories.

In this picnic it is purely Filipino rural ambience--i can relate very well to this picnic scene.I love it! The nipa hut .--the background music.you can't beat that.

This is a real broadway show in a natural setting with no directors nor actors or actresses. Very nice video!

van

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Thank you again, mabait, for sharing memories.Our roots have some kind of magnet in it.It pulls us gently to it.It is , indeed, a joy of ambivalence when we see our roots--relatives, friends, neighbors, fellow co-workers and yes even the the trees , weeds, the dusts, the rocks,the old utensils, the broken pavement of many years ago now covered with grasses,the olds post of that long gone ancestral house.

Darn even the air.This thing called roots is so powerful.honestly at the moment I long for my roots with sadness and joy mixed with a very exhilirating delight.

Thank you mabait for the this fleeting PEACE you sent.GOD is Peace and PEACE IS GOD..

Van

ASINGAN REVISITED - THE VIDEO

ASINGAN REVISITED - the CHAPTER TITLES

1. Beginning title - Francisco Pre and Florante deVera talk briefly about the Asingan Municipal Office.... link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMTBPiv8QFc


2. VISITING SANCHEZ, BANTOG, ARISTON - Me and some members of class '58 visit Roger Agpaoa.
From his house, we proceeded to Ariston to check up on Rudy's Farm..
link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meNekMRN6hc


3. RUDY'S FARM - We spent an hour or two in Rudy Manuel's farm ( circa 1988 ). We went back to
Poblacion early evening. ....
link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq507sAg6QY


4. A PICNIC LIKE NO OTHER - We planned this picnic a couple of days before hand. It was a potluck affair.
My kids came also with Carl Edwin Millano Jr. ....
link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvicTCwy1HA


5. VALENTINE'S PARTY - a supplement to chapter 6..


....link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgOu_mCo4Ho


6.DANCE NIGHT AT THE PSU - My kids attended a dance at the old PSU Campus right in the Luciano Millan
High school ( formerly the Asingan School of Arts and Trades ) .....
link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-GKI2_lfv8


7.RA FOUNDATION Day, the beginning - The beginning of the Rizal Academy Foundation Day activities...
link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jQ_G2NABAY


8. Rizal Academy Students - Continuation of Chapter 7 ......
link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daF_0keYCaY


9. Rizal Academy - continuation of Chapter 8 and conclusion of the video... ..


link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obs4MixgNOY


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A MUSICAL GROUP

A MUSICAL GROUP...

Mia, during a rest in the musical passage.....

Raul, Christine and...ummm THE PHANTOM?...:D

Emma's voice has now grown mellower . She is now ten........

Victor, your grandkids are amazing. The three of you provide a delightful gift to one another.

You three remind me a little bit of Sound of Music.

Your little grandkid has the voice of innocence with great potential.

She sways her body to the tempo and knows how to raise her pitch even to the point of tip-toeing.

It is a sight and sound to behold.

These are signs that her musical talent is in her DNA.Thank you so much for sharing a joy again.I wish my kids could sing.Too bad they can't, like their Dad.

Regards to you, their pianist.

Van

more photos at the SM Baguio

Nothing like the company of old friends

There is a saying: "New friends are like Silver, Old friends are like Gold,
Let us keep the silver, but let us not forget the gold.."

Look at all those yummy goodies, I hate to leave Baguio for the third time...Coffee any one?

"Coffee, tea or me?" says an apron I once saw in a shop..Isn't the answer obvious?

My friend, looking very, very serious..A penny for your thoughts!!

Looks like I am aboard the TITANIC..Help me, I am falling!

a walk to SM...

SM Baguio, that is......

Notice something different about me?..My new hair cut, of course!



I was visited by a long time friend, an SLU classmate and who is now an Engineer..




The view from SM looking at Baguio landscape at night is simply breathtaking..My house was near SM, so we just walked..just like the good, old days...







And the weather is cold like Vancouver.....The only difference is that I
do not have to work...:D

--Rain

SOME PHOTOS FROM RAIN ( at Dahman's party )

A CLOSE UP OF RAIN AND OSANG'S PHOTOGRAPH, THE ONE BELOW..


Could you have closed the door behind you Rain, then the flash of your camera could have kicked off and your features could have been illuminated..There is always a next time! She said Dahman's house is huge..How huge was it?

The Singers for Dahman's Party..That party must have been something, huh? Hope some more photos are on the way...

"FAME" IS THE NAME OF THE GAME....

More photos from the Delmendo family party....

Zenie and Susan turned on the heat with the song FAME.
Like, not that we need more heat. It is so hot that afternoon so hankies wont do the job, you have to use towels, the bigger, the better. By the end of the day, the laundromat is full of towels to wash..
Zenie, the lady with the striped tee, started the song, then the mike was tossed around like a hot potato.
Guests kept coming and going that day..The young looking man in a beige shirt is the town's Parish Priest. Oh yes, he also did a rock song. He was wearing no collar, no tonsure. Nobody would know he is a man of the cloth.
Another public figure to show up was Mayor Carlos ( Caloy ) Lopez Jr. Before he left, he sang CONSTANTLY, made popular by Sir Cliff Richard.
I also had a hasty exit ( while the hosts were busy doing some games ) because it was time for my nap. It was 2:00 pm. I took the scenic route, via the backstreets of Calawagan. The sun was mercilessly hot.Those streets are now concrete. People just stared as I pass by.
I do not know them, they do not know me.
That made us quite even.---#

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TO WATCH THEIR SINGING, CLICK..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS5x2YlQZD0

the upcoming independence day

We are preparing for JUNE 12...

..which is our Philippine Independence Day celebration here at the Humber Heights. It is that retirement home where I volunteer some piano playing services every Monday ( except when a Holiday falls on that day ). Because if it is a holiday, the staff and volunteers are off and nobody would be able to bring down the patients into the Recreation room..

Well last Tuesday, I visited the home, bringing with me a DVD copy of an Australian made documentary entitled: PHILIPPINES:PEARLS OF THE ORIENT SEAS. It is a decently made docuvideo about our country, starting with a legend about the Sarimanok, the mythical bird which brought about the formation of our Islands. Then it went on to do a short but meaty account from the discovery of the country by Ferdinand Magellan, his death at the hands of Lapu-Lapu ( yes, photos of these two protagonists were shown ) and it went on to the WW II events, the granting of Independence by the Americans. The only President shown here was Apo Marcos, his proclaimation of the Martial Law ( PD 1081 if I am not mistaken ) , the exile, return and execution of his political nemesis, Sen. Benigno Aquino. The political scenario drifted to that fateful snap election which he announced just to prove that he was still in control ( of election returns i. e). However, surprise, surprise: the people revolted, Ramos and Enrile staged the coup and Da Apo ( and entourage ) went on exile to the Hawaiian Islands.

The rest of the movies are cultural and business aspects of present day Philippines ( I mean the year that the video was made which was about 1995 )..

Well, I handed the DVD to Sharon the coordinator of the event. This movie has to be shown around 10:00 am June 12 at the media room. Mind you, this is a first class Senior's Home, looking more like a 5 star Hotel.

I wanted her to preview the film because part of it showed Faith Healings. There was this local faith healer who performs surgery without knives. Just his bare hands. He has this gift he claims, that his hands could rearrange the molecular structure of the stomach of the patient. Then his hands would sink into the belly of the patient, just down to half of his fingers. Blood comes out, he would pull out something from inside the belly, wipes the blood and the "wound" heals itself in seconds. Wonderful. Some minor wounds like a sore in my foot takes days before I could put my shoes back. Anyway, the sequence of this "bloody " part takes about one minute, might be even less...

"See if this is not scary to the Seniors, " I told Sharon.

"Good idea," she said.."You see, one time there was this movie we showed to them. I left the media room for a few minutes, when I came back, the room was empty and the movie was still on!"

"Why??" I asked.

Sharon said: "There is this part in the video where a bloody killing took place. Some blood splatteiring. One Senior could not take it. He stood up, left the room. Then the whole Senior gang stood up and followed seconds later..!"

I told her the docu I am showing has no murder scene. Might be okay, she said.

Some of the final scenes of the movie will be the well known Filipino recipes: boiled crabs, shrimps, noodles ( oh yes ) . This is timely because right after the movie, lunch will be served

And I think there is no dinuguan ( blood pudding ) shown in the movie. Although I do wish a Filipino worker in the Facility would bring in some dinuguan on June 12 because I have not tasted this favorite for a long long time.

I forgot to order this at a Dagupan restaurant when I was there.---#

vic

nympha's page


theme from titanic................ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8sqNXi88Cw

dancing queen ..................... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVr3_O4QVZM

i will always love you .......... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8PE7aca37E

FINAL SEGMENT: ASINGAN PASSION PLAY

( NOTE: This segment of the Asingan Passion Play depicts in part, the lines from the Gospel of St. Matthew )

MATTHEW : CHAPTER 27

33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36 And sitting down they watched him there;
37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

watch the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgtrpj2VOlA

THE MJ DANCING GIRLS...

Dancing with the Mammy Juanitez Orchestra and Dancing Girls..

All the girls, I noticed have very long hair..wonder why?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o04LAy9x6kA

A page for Queen Beatriz...

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27qXZqRXaV8 ------ PART ONE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWnQY2bjMDs ------PART TWO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPbzzhosYxc ---------PART THREE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtruKmhNmf8 ------PART FOUR

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a photo and a short poem...

One Photo, one poem ( about Rain )

Look at Rain

She is having some fun,
She beats some skins with her sticks
And jams with her youngest son...

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