THE ANNIV ] A year's wealth of quips, epiphanies, inspiration and damn smart advice

From the birth of an idea to how to write a eulogy. We've covered so much, and yet still so little, the past 12 months of this blogzine's existence. Here, we gather the gems that we've harvested. Browsing through a year's worth of posts, we feel deeply proud about the names who have contributed one way or another to this humble endeavor. This doesn't mean the rest of it went in one ear and out the other, but what follows are what made us hehe, crinkle our noses, say 'Aaaaw,' and remain unplucked from our very short memory.

As far as an accessory, I still check out a man's watch. If you can't afford the expensive one, then go with something really sporty, like a Timex. It will make everyone think you're just athletic, and the good watch is at home.--The Guwapo Guide ] J.Lee Cu-unjieng on how to look good in a depression

Oh hair is so SEXY! Have you ever tried shaving a man before? That sharp object against his neck. Yummy.—The Double Life ] Christina Dy's split decisions

I think pole-dancing took the sex out of my art.—The Double Life ] Christina Dy's split decisions

“The misery of the pressure cooker can be a good thing,” says (Bogie Ruiz) this veteran of putting out several illustrations a day when he used to work as a cartoonist for the newspapers. He says the only way to deal with it is to simply do the job, one’s personal style will almost always show no matter how short the time in which the work was accomplished. What terrifies him is “how to run the machine,” to be able to make exhaustive use of the tools technology has made available for him now, “a machine that is complete” as opposed to the “incomplete” ones in his younger years. Still, he keeps at it, and is avoiding the temptation of “retirement depression.” He reminds his friends who have succumbed to it that it is a silly state, especially when, as he puts it, “You’re so much younger than the planet and it hasn’t retired yet.”—The Challenge ] The blank canvas

Appropriating your own uniform doesn’t mean you’ve given up finding your own style. Infact, it could only mean you’ve found it.—Style Suggestion ] Wear a uniform

I'm a gun for hire and anyone can do whatever I do.-The Hotshot ] Mark Nicdao

They were wearing all these colourful outfits in a very colourful world. Because that was how I thought the kids saw their world, parang ‘70s, like some wonderful acid trip.—Yellow Wristbands, Orange Chucks ] Butch Garcia on creating the Bagets world

Every year, the invite to the winners implore everyone to come in formal attire. Still, some winners attend dressed up like they came straight from 12-hours of soccer practice. Come on, people. Give the respect that the ceremonies deserve. And don’t think that we don’t know that you're excited to attend the ceremonies. Besides, you're a starving artist. You need to eat. The buffet is pretty good.—The Practical Palanca ] Nick Pichay on how to be the smart literary hopeful

It’s the Bingo socials of the literary world.—The Practical Palanca ] Nick Pichay on how to be the smart lietrary hopeful

The first thing you should do is look at the art.—Carlo Tadiar, The Advice ] How not to make a fool of yourself in an art opening

Aside from my sculptures, I also make rust paintings. I'm sort of a pioneer, if not 'the father of rust painting.' Inangkin na e no?!--Beautiful Things ] Kin Misa's functional sculptures

"What have I discovered from this inquiry? Among other things I have learned that although Digimon came after Pokemon, the latter are still valid while the former are obsolete...that the opposable thumb that has served us well in our descent from the trees has evolved into an instrument of texting and game-playing and is hard-wired to a different part of our brain in a younger generation of Homo sapiens...that manga: comicbooks as anime: cartoons...that we may never know if the graphic novel is an extended comic book or a narrative fiction with cartoons...that the impetus to play and explore remains the fundamental reason that I continue to make photographs.—Lego Memories ] Neal Oshima gets nostalgic

Simple doesn't work for simple people. They need a little bit of styling, a little upping the glamour ante. If you make a peasant wear a peasant blouse, it ceases to be a peasant blouse--it's a uniform.—The Partial Observer ] Lessons from a week's worth of occasionally glancing at the telly

"But this is a case of the chicken or the egg for me. Do I remember the smoking or do I remember her flashing her pussy? I remember both. Why are both images etched in my mind? One cannot do without the other. The scene wanted to say that Catherine was a bad bad girl, but just lighting up during an interrogation was not enough to say that she was a bad bad girl. So, uncross the legs and show the bush! Then again, couldn't she just have flashed her pussy and done away with the cig? No. That would have been crass and too "direct," if you know what I mean. Having her smoke while flashing it made it cool. Smoking was as important as the exposure of her pussy. She had to look cool about it. I'm actually rambling trying to explain something the director probably did not belabor in his mind. He was most probably ruled by his gut and told her to smoke and expose her pussy because it just looked and felt perfect."—Ricky Villabona, The Pleasure Principle ] Memorable smoking scenes on celluloid

I love the way fashion makes and remakes itself, constantly trying to make itself relevant and desirable. Clothing telegraphs in an instant certain assumptions about the wearer, sort of like subliminal calling card. I think that's powerful stuff.—The Multi-tasker ] Marlon Rivera and the story of a collection

You know you're still living in the '90s when you have...Potpourri on the breakfast counter, the coffeetable, the bath. Oh how people got carried away with the bath, especially when rose petals floated in them…Sepak takraw balls, arranged on a wide shallow bowl…an Ivan Acuna painting, or some orangey abstract…And this one takes the cake: The picture frame divider. –The Don't List ] You Know You’re Still Living in the ‘90s when…

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that you need to know about apertures and shutter speeds to take good photos. You don’t.-Aperture My Foot ] Eric Cabahug's Photography for Dummies

I get advice from my mother all the time who's also a director, pero other than her siguro ang susunod na natatandaan kong advice talaga ay galing kay Direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya. I dont remember the exact words (I'm forgetful talaga) but it was how when you write, or when you're directing a scene and you're choosing your shots, laging: "WHO do you LOVE, and what are the sacrifices you make for the one you love?" Sa akin nagstick talaga yun sa utak ko when I was making the film. Lalo na't Labing-Labing is a film about love. Siguro magkaakibat na rin ‘to at yung sinabi ni mommy kamakailan lang na, kapag wala kang malakas na mensaheng kailangang sabihin, that would be a good reason for you not to make a film.—7 Questions ] Ina Feleo on directing, bribing dad and a damn smart advice from Laurice

Piolo played a baluga in the Jaguar part. Not just a baluga but a dumb baluga. That's a little racist. A dumb baluga with a raised collar. Now that's just wrong.—View from the 4th Floor ] On the Cliff’s Notes that is Manila

We told the director Milo Sogueco a couple of months back, in La Union--we were drinking vodka, he was having wine, we were facing the dark ocean--'You have to make sure it's a good film. Otherwise, how do we face you after the premiere? How will we drink?' Because that happens quite often at the Cinemalaya screenings, people know everyone and you're bound to bump into the director whose film you just saw and abhorred. What will you tell him? How do you shake his hand?—Unang Kilatis ] The early word on Milo Sogueco’s Sanglaan

"Pag malinis ang porma mo, dapat medyo bastos ang buhok mo. Pag bastos ang porma mo, dapat malinis ang buhok mo." --Mang Artem, Rules of Style ] Damn smart advice from a barber

Because you wear it like a man: chest out and ready for battle.
Because you wear it, it doesn't wear you.
Because everything else feels like a purse.—Bring it Back ] Our pitch for the return of the knapsack

What does success taste like?
Chicken! Everything tastes like chicken!—Steaming Hot ] Chris Martinez, the writer of Kimmy Dora, and the smell and taste of success

The one who grapples with words in the face of death grapples with the difference between truth and art. Which is which, what is what? If I had the answers I would charge you for it.—The Decent Goodbye ] Carlo Tadiar on how to write a eulogy, or why bother

Kasi mura ang beer, puwedeng magyosi, disente ang pulutan, puro matatandang de-pomada ang mga kostumer, at maigsi ang palda ng mga supladang waitress na makapal ang makeup. Lalabas lang ako pag may "videoke" break na sila: 3-4 songs ng isang featured singer na bakla. Suot niya floral na dilaw na polo. Ka-boses niya si Jun Polistico.—Best Place to Write ] Lourd de Veyra for Bamboo City

But when a painting is difficult or takes time to look at, why would you buy it? Why would you own a mangy dog? Is it because you sympathize with its pathetic neediness? Or you cant stop your heart bleeding out of guilt? Or it is your compensatory act of not being a complete dick?—Lena Cobangbang, Lena on Jason ] On the occasion of the opening of his new show

There is the kind of human drama that extends beyond tragedy and plants its feet firmly in the territories of madness. In my film Mondomanila, I strived to present the truth as gleaned from the cracks in the celluloid curtain. But the “truth,” it is not "out there," as pundits from the outer realm put it, but in one’s own backyard. And backyards can shock, specially if one doesn't go out much. I believe that Mondomanila offers one of the most horrifying backyards in the tradition of films made by one of the foremost Filipino directors, the late Lino Brocka. If Brocka's films a decade ago talked about the wounds of Manila, I would like to believe that Mondomanila belongs to new breed of storytelling that makes one feel as if one has actually touched that wound, a close-up view of all that gangrene and pus.—Khavn dela Cruz, Welcome to Mondomanila ] O kung paano ginawa ni Khavn dela Cruz…

Jean-Luc said once that all a movie needs to sell tickets is a girl and a gun—a theory that somehow applies to everything.
A girl and a gun, yeah. Shooting at the walls of heartache. Bang bang.—You Don't Love Me Yet, Dodo Dayao, The New Wave at 50 ] Ricky Torre + Dodo Dayao pay homage to film's most stylish movement

I always believed gifts are born from inspiration—a shirt that reminded you of someone, a beautiful bag that so impressed you that you wanted to share it, a crafty artwork you made yourself. Inspiration, not obligation. But if you do feel obligated, it wouldn’t hurt to remember this: the thought only counts when there was actually thought put into it.—The Thought That Counts ] As we officially close the holidays, a belated note on gift-giving

What's the best thing about what you do?
R: Being able to do what we love to do everyday and seeing we can do it forever.—Ryan Vergara, Ryan+Garovs ] They Shoot Everywhere, Don’t They?