We watched The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, a few days after Laneway. I had second thoughts, but I’m glad I let their performance sway me into seeing them again. They were just really so fun to see live, and what more with a lot of other Filipinos.

Funny, right after they performed “Young Adult Friction,” Kurt mouthed to Alex and Connor that they should have played it last. The crowd really went nuts, it was really something else. I wish I got it on camera.

Most of the performance was super energetic, but for the first song of the encore, Kip performed a quiet, solo version of “Contender,” which Sarie thankfully got to film. Here it is, it’s quite beautiful:

See the rest of photos

I was going to make a post on The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s Manila show (finally!) but I had some shots of Bee Eyes, and I decided I didn’t want the both of them to be in one post.

Anyway, this was a really good set by them. I’m not the biggest fan of their live gigs (the little that I’ve seen), but this set was a really, really good one. I got a free EP, too! I think I might be a convert.

Click for the rest of the photos

On February 27, Winston kindly invited me and Sarie to a soft opening of The Mind Museum in Taguig. It was a great experience, but I don’t know if I’m willing to shell out Php 750 for it. I think it’s probably more worthwhile to check it out if you have children, or if you can avail of the student’s and/or teacher’s discounts, which is a dramatic decrease from the price.

I’m in love with the design and the structure itself, but there’s a lot of improvements they can still make (i.e. displays, readability/copy, screen presentations, etc) for it to be truly “world-class.” It was still pretty fun to see all the displays, though. I wish I paid more attention in science when I still had school.

The Mind Museum opens on the 16th of March. Book tickets here now: http://www.themindmuseum.org/

We were greeted by this robot-type thing named Aedi. I don’t actually know if she functions via a motion sensor because she was already talking when we got there and then she kind of stopped mid-sentence.

After an informative (but pretty text-heavy) display on The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments, there’s a “fork in the road.” To your left is a Filipino-centric area where you can learn more about native animals and the state of the environment in the Philippines. It’s more concentrated on biodiversity and ecology. It’s kind of sad to see how it doesn’t seem like the right people are focused on the conservation of our natural environment. We have so many beautiful animals that I’d never even heard of and I probably won’t be able to see them either, since they’re habitats are continuously destroyed.

Read more about our trip to The Mind Museum

Film photographs I took at Laneway. Mostly multiple exposures of The Drums, honestly. Agh, I want to go back. My brain does not want to accept that I should no longer be in Music Festival Mode.

For a personal recap of the bands and the festival, click here. Film used: Fuji Supreria 400 (redder tones) & Ferrania Solaris 400.

Yuck.

The Drums.

Setting up.

Twin Shadow.

Evee.

Zaxx, Karen, Sarie.

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February was absolutely horrible for this Goals project of mine. I don’t think I got anything done from that list. However, maybe it’s a sign that I need to revise and re-evaluate what my goal-making scheme is of late (which, to tell you the truth has been No Scheme).

Anyway, here’s what I’ve come up for March. I think, as much as I want to do eleven million things each month, I need to concentrate on just a few key priorities.

• Solid idea or concept for June show
      — at least 3 pieces done
      — PR and invite stuff done
• Read 7 books
• Learn a new recipe a week (0/4)
• Monitor expenses better (i.e. rigid, detailed accounting)
• Spring cleaning
• Write one short story

Anyway, I think I’m up for it this time.

Tiong Bahru, Kodak Pro Image 100

I learned to love Singapore again last month. I’ve always been in a weird relationship with the country, and maybe it’s wrong to ascribe how I feel about an entire country on the state of highly personal things, but that’s how it keeps working out. After the first time I visited Singapore, I vowed never to return again, only to be proven wrong when my family hauled ass over there to visit an art exhibit (!). And then we sort of became regulars.

Kodak Pro Image 100

It’s funny how that happened. Perhaps it was because Singapore began changing as I did, maybe not. All I know is that I’ve found reasons to love it again. Despite the heat and everything else.

On the way to Laneway, Fuji Supreria 400

These are stories, I guess. Small snippets of the trip with photographs that are, truthfully, pretty blurry. I was reacquainting myself with the focus meter of the LC-A+. I don’t think I’ve gotten the hang of it yet, but I’m getting there.

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