The following e-mail is going around.
Since I try to spare my friends from too many forwarded e-mails I'm just gonna post the e-mail here.

It's a sincere cry for help regarding the Filipino Government and Economy. I feel sad whenever I think about the state of my old home. And I feel bad that I do not have the drive or passion to help it get better. I've always wanted to say what this letter says, but I haven't even had the time to do such a small task either.

So this is the best I can do for now.

Mabuhay.

An Open Letter to the Filipino People



Last year, Fernando Poe Jr. said he wasn't going to run for president; last December, President Gloria Arroyo said she wasn't going to run for president. I don't know how they make their decisions, but it sure sounds like they do it on a whim because today both of them are talking about their "sacrifices" - how hard the next six years are going to be for their families, how they have to give up their privacy, how they have to deal with the criticism and mud slinging and how much they love this country. Oh please. You are all beginning to sound like Kris Aquino.

Watching the news on Wednesday when FPJ announced his intention to run,I panicked when I saw Susan Roces looking alarmingly like Imelda as she cried on TV and said that her husband was running because he just wanted to help the people, so why is everybody so mean to him? I kept thinking, oh my God, is she going to break into "Dahil sa yo?".

That scared the hell out of me. That and the clip where FPJ mumbled through his one-on-one interview with ABS-CBN wearing shades. Did he perhaps misplace a wristband? Or when he was asked about his economic policies and he said...what did he say? Nothing, that's what. You'd think if you were going to announce your presidential ambitions you would have at least prepared something - anything - on how you were going to lead the country aside from the overused line about being the savior the masses need.

Now showbiz people are complaining of the criticism FPJ is receiving.Their loyalty is fascinating. I can watch their display on TV all day and be alternately amazed and confused about whether part of their brain goes on auto pilot when they're talking about FPJ. It's the same kind of loyalty for Erap, which led Senator Tessie Oreta to do that little jig in the Senate during the impeachment proceedings. Look where it got Erap.

You don't know whether their loyalty to FPJ comes from personally knowing he has the brains to lead the country or simply because they belong to the same profession. There must be something about show business that creates thi strong bond, this persecution complex that leads them to think that because they are actors, people think they're stupid. In this country that has elected showbiz people and made them mayors, councilors, governors and senators, barangay captains, and hell, even president - why do they still complain of a bias against their profession? You don't hear electricians saying, "Oh they'll never elect us into office!" And you certainly don't hear economists fanatically defending GMA just because she is one. We all know there are many accomplished actors whose achievements go beyond their profession. You see their every move in newspapers every day, for God's sake.

The biggest bias against FPJ is not that he is an actor, but that he may lack the skills, temperament, and attitude to become a leader. People say he has such a kind heart, unquestionable sincerity and that he has helped a lot of people through the years - shouldn't this be enough? No, it's not. I need my president - whoever he or she is - to be better than the average Juan. I want him to know history and poetry as well as economics, to be able to quote Shakespeare and argue with Allan Greenspan, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world's most powerful leaders, to make me proud - not to make me laugh when I see him on TV.

I want to love my president and I want to respect him. I want a president who doesn't have to surround himself with economists to know how to run the country. I want him to know these things on his own and listen to advice but not be influenced by people who have a different agenda. I want to talk about my president to foreigners without being embarrassed, without shaking my head and saying, "Well, Filipinos aren't the most mature electorate in the universe." I don't want to hear that Filipino doctors are now studying to become nurses just to apply for jobs abroad or college students choosing their courses based on what the most popular jobs are in other countries.

Sincerity is a beautiful thing, but it's not the only thing that makes a president great. In 1998, when Erap was elected, I was hoping he would succeed, that since he was wildly popular and beloved, he was going to do good. But look what he did. He surrounded himself with advisers and friends, he drank and he womanized - oh how he womanized and how they built their mansions. Does anybody remember any of this?

It was as if he was chipping away at the stature of the presidency and the country piece by piece. He said the most godawful embarrassing things at the most unfortunate moments. The things that saw print, they weren't even close to what editors wouldn't print because they were just so stupid and depressing. He didn't inspire the poor to do better he just fueled their anger and pointed it to the wrong direction. You don't have a house? Yo don't have a job? Blame the past presidents, blame the rich, blame the middle class. He never said, well, why don't you get off your asses and look for work? He didn't encourage people to work harder because he didn't improve the economy. He blamed the rich, played to the poor and completely forgot about the middle class who didn't cheat on their taxes or steal other people's land. Like Erap, FPJ polarizes people. It's the kind that creates so much anger and distrust on both sides. This early, the people surrounding him are far from reassuring. Tito Sotto? After showing his fantastic grasp of economics, of what drives foreign exchange? Hello? This is not Eat Bulaga, Sir. Nobody is laughing. Somebody should pinch FPJ and tell him this is not the movies. That he cannot fight off our Asian neighbors for measly investment with his magic sword. Erap and now Ang Panday. It's so depressing I want to cry.

A friend warned me about pissing off FPJ. She said, "Be careful what you write about him, he may be your next president."

What's he gonna do, drop an anvil on my head?

(Written by S. Almagro, forwarded to the CITAA Las Vegas International forum by Ben Almagro. Kindly pass this on as our help to enlighten our people).

i gotta take better pictures of my paintings

I've been approved by my work to receive funding for art courses!!

UC Berkeley, the place where I work, is giving me $790 dollars to take art classes this semester.

That's $490 for the class fees and $300 for art materials. $300! I get to have $300 worth of free art supplies! WOOHOO!

oh and uhm i'm getting an education too... Hopefully, after taking these classes, I will be a better artist.

Here are the classes:
Art Smart: Breaking into the Art World
SF 1044
Instructor: Dee Hibbert-Jones
Sat., March 20, 27, & April 3, 10 AM–4 PM
$160. Noncredit. Prerequisite: none.

In this course participants will learn how to package and present their work for exhibitions and work on applications to get art residencies and grants. The course covers the basics, from preparing a packet of materials and presenting one's resume in the best possible light, to writing a statement and applying for grants and exhibitions. Participants will be given the opportunity to show their work in class and get firsthand feedback and suggestions for marketing their work. Students will leave with contact names and numbers to kick start their careers and an understanding of the art market that suits their particular work. This course offers a range of tips and guidelines for being art smart and helps develop a community in which to see and promote your work. Bring to first class: paper, pen, and one to three slides or photos of your work.


Painting Studio: Materials, Process, and Content
OAK 2059
Instructor: Jamie Brunson
Mon., January 26–March 29, 6:45–9:45 PM
$300. Noncredit. Prerequisite: at least one painting class or some familiarity with oils or acrylics.

This course will focus on two major issues in painting: building technique and developing content. Weekly demonstrations of materials and processes will help students build a vocabulary of techniques. Through slides, illustrations, and discussion, the class will examine how other artists have used specific painterly techniques to define or support the content and imagery of their work. Topics covered will include canvas, panel, and polyester supports; color temperature; limited palettes; direct (alla prima) and indirect painting methods; glazing, scumbling, and impasto; properties of alkyd, acrylic, and traditional oil mediums; cold-wax formulas; silkscreening, stenciling, and rollers; projection, scaling, and other transfer techniques. Bring to first class: oil or acrylic paints (a minimum palette of titanium white, mars black, cadmium yellow, cadmium red medium, and ultramarine blue to start, other colors if you have them); brushes; oil painters should bring odorless mineral spirits, Liquin or Galkyd and linseed oil; acrylic painters should bring acrylic gloss or matte medium; rags, jars, disposable palette; primed canvas or panels.

I sold three paintings last weekend!
Sherman and Michelle bought Atari, Futbol, and Tonka (pictures coming soon) from me last Sunday.
They really liked Atari but i think they might trade in Futbol and/or Tonka for later works.

This sale is another where I've sold my paintings in progress. I just got done putting some finishing touches on Atari and was still touching up Tonka when Sherman and Michelle decided to purchase them. I was really excited to know that these paintings, especially Atari, connected memories of our childhood. This is the type of excitment that I wanted to feel when I create my paintings, and I'm happy that i was successful in this time.

As I've said in my Artist Statement, one of my goals is to provide bridges between people, so that they can feel connected even though they apreciate different things or have experienced different life circumstances. Through my "Nostalgia Series", which includes Atari, Futbol and Tonka, a caucasian high school art teacher who grew up in beverly hills can be connected with a first generation latino CEO of a law firm because a painting of a childhood toy helps them reminisce of the same memories.

I don't really know who Sherman or Michelle are, but because they appreciate a painting of a toy that I used to love playing with, I somehow feel like I do know them. This connection, that is created by a painting, is my modest attempt at helping make the world a more compassionate and enjoyable place.

By the way, I now have three Michelles (that's the female version of my name) who collect my artwork. Michelle 1 owns "subliminal". Michelle 2 (who's actually Michelline) owns "alala", "wonder", "mestisa" and "danger". And Michelle 3 now owns "Atari", "Futbol" and "Tonka".

Talk about connections huh?