Some Recurring Themes in the 1969 movie ‘A Thousand and One Nights’

Fight for love 

Aladdin immediately falls in love with Miriam and wants to win her in the bidding, however, he is unfortunate to do so. After their lovemaking, they found out they are locked up in the house of Suleiman. The minister’s son who actually has the rights for Miriam learns about this and tells the police to get her. Alladin is accused of killing Suleiman and tortured. They are apart until Miriam gives birth to their daughter, Yahliz, and soon dies right after. Suleiman manages to escape death’s door and tries to find Miriam back in Baghdad and he learns about her passing. The power of love prevails again when her daughter, Yahliz, falls in love with a shepherd Aslan and breaks the rules just to be with him. It seems that despite of their patriarchal system wherein women are treated as a commodity and they are bound only to follow, Miriam and Yahliz make a stand and fight for it.

Good fortune

Aladdin being a water seller from the start is able to save himself from all the dangers his enemies inflict. He is able to find the hideout of some thieves and is tempted to steal some of their treasure. He is also lucky to find this magical ship and becomes the richest man in their country. He challenges the king of Baghdad and wins.

Search for happiness

Aladdin wants to go to Baghdad because he knows this is the place where all good things are everywhere except the bad politics happening there. From the start, he thinks women is his happiness. He is happy when he is with Miriam yet after losing her, he meets another girl named Mahdya and wants to travel the world with her. They reach an island where amazons live and seduce him. He does not want to leave the place and let Mahdya go away. He enjoys all the pleasure and sex but then he finds out their secret. These pretty women turn to serpent at night. And he finds the magic ship and becomes rich, he becomes the king of Baghdad and asks his men to build him a tower that can reach the sun. He then realizes that power makes him a different person. He abandons the city and return to his life being a commoner to seek true happiness.

Greed and Power Hunger

This is about Badli, the police officer, who is a traitor and has his own interests to gain power in the dirtiest possible ways. He works for the minister and the thieves at the same time. He then kills the minister for his position. He also does this with Sinbad a.k.a. Aladdin. He serves him but in the end he puts him to a trial by making all the evidences ready before his eyes. He also treats women as toys and doing it with them for his own pleasure and interests.

To sum up, the movie tells about common issues we have in our society. It leaves some thoughts to ponder and learning how to deal with it on our own. Sometimes the odds can be on our side but most of times not. We should know how to use our common sense and make sound decisions. In this life, happiness is what people sought after. But to be able to conquer that, you must conquer yourself first.

Thirsty for Baby Blood

First of, I really missed this blog. I was plunged (I still am) with school and work stuff in the past few months, I owe lots of travel stories and musings. But for now let me share a story about aswang for my Mythology class.

Mang Atong told me an account of his own encounter with an aswang. It was the night when his wife delivered their fifth and last child. There was a problem with the baby’s urinary system so they had to call for ambulance to bring her to a nearest general hospital. The clinic was located in Tondo so they decided to bring her to Fabella Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila. Unfortunately, there was no available apparatus since the baby needed an immediate operation. They hurried to another big hospital nearby which is Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital. On their way, suddenly an unusual large black dog came running behind the ambulance. Its eyes were red and had voracious looks. At first he thought it was just a common street dog despite the unbelievable size but when he noticed that it never stopped following them, he became apprehensive. He asked the driver to speed up because that black dog might be an aswang. At last, they were able to make it to the hospital and lost the dog on their way. That was a night to remember for him. It made him believe about the legends of a shape-shifting evil creature who was thirsty for blood that very night. The end.

When I was child, I was sucker for horror stories. And now I grew more and more afraid I can’t even watch a horror film by myself. Up until now I can still hear stories like this from other people even in the metro. What could be the truth behind all these aswang notions? Do they really exist? Do they STILL exist? Good thing I haven’t encountered one because I wouldn’t know what to do. I just do hope they don’t EVER exist!

xx

Joycee

Weekend Hits: Art in the Park

First stop for my Go Biking Project was at an annual gathering of artists, craftsmen, art galleries, and aficionados none other than Art in the Park. First time to visit here last year and I was left in awe. Good thing Jordan and I both got ourselves bikes beforehand and some friends from Talahib Peoplesmusic invited us for a ride. Since they are also inclined in arts and crafts, I suggested to drop by the event that one fine Sunday afternoon. We rode from Paco, Manila to Salcedo Park, Makati.

art latagan

storage gone cute

I was busy snapping and rubbing elbows with acquaintances, I forgot to take note of the artists. Next time, yes!

Some of the locally renowned galleries who were present in the event were: Neo-Angono Artists Collective, Blanc Gallery, Resurrection Furniture and Found Objects Gallery, Secret Fresh, Vinyl on Vinyl, FEU and TUP Fine Arts, and many more.

I learned how to ride a bicycle when I was in grade school. I’m a self-taught and I had too many bruises and scratches before I finally made it. Though I took a break from it and I had to start all over again. This time on the open road. Considering limited bike lanes and some arrogant motorists in the metro, you can imagine how shaky I am. I’m trying to overcome being submissive on the road. My instinct, of course, tells me safety first but there are times you have think quick before situations get worse.

Back to this ride, I was not confident with my jap bike so I asked Jec to lend me her spare one. Therefore, I rode her mini velo with coaster brake and it’s new to me so we had to get along for a time. Though it didn’t let me down. I was too anxious I was checking the brake all the time. After Art in the Park, we headed for Mall of Asia for dinner then went back to Paco via Roxas Boulevard (there’s a bike lane along the bay, wee). I believed my mental awareness moved to the next level haha. It was a thrilling ride. I was with experienced bikers, they were good in maneuvering. I got inspired and decided to get myself at mini velo, too. You will see it on my next posts. My new buddy.

(Weekend Hits is a compilation of my biking adventures. I ride a bike on weekends and take snaps of fascinating things from my city (and hopefully other destinations, too). Follow my adventures here or on Instragram.)

xx

Joycee Goes Places

Traveling is one of my leisure whenever there’s a long holiday and extra bucks I have. I’m a budget traveler so I prefer DIY trips and backpacking adventures. Most of my trips take place in Luzon (biggest part of the Philippines) where I can go hiking, swimming, surfing (at times), and sightseeing. I really wish to go down south and as well as abroad. There are still plenty that I have to tick off my bucket list.

And speaking of traveling, how cannot we document it even with just phone camera? Although I usually bring a point and shoot cam, I still shoot with my phone so I could instantly share around the world through SNS. Not sure if many of you are familiar with VSCO Camera. Most probably if you’re an “instagrammer” and you are so bored with their same old filters, VSCO is another way to spice up your images with a hint of vintage-ish and hazy feels. Instant analog yo! Though I bet analog photographers would dig it, too that’s if they are not so purist.

So apparently I’m that kind of traveler who is fond of shooting sceneries, facades, odd but cute stuff, portraits of other people instead of taking selfies-with-a-little-portion-of-the-backdrop (not to mention jumpshots too) ha ha!  With VSCO, it makes my shots more interesting and memorable or I just think. And lately they established VSCO profiles where we can follow other users around the world. But of course, I had to make myself one and I ought to post my travel photos solely. Here are some of it:

More on my travel diary on VSCO or Instagram.

Check out other cool VSCO users, too: Aleyn Comprendio, Minna So, Mujipanda, and Kittsantos. 

x

joycee

 

Liwliwa Surf

There’s a light that never goes out

Make a friend

Bunk beds

Springbreaker

 

We own the sea

Surfing chicks

Second surfing trip with these girls after Baler. It’s more of beach bumming in fact because there was no swell. We just enjoyed the sea and hostel because we arrived before anyone else.

Liwliwa, Zambales

Jan.30, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

why do I get inked

I got my very first tattoo 2 years ago. It’s a charming daruma-inspired one that I stumbled upon on Google. I didn’t have the chance to reach out for the designer before having it but hopefully I could make a way someday.

Every now and then, a few tattoo ideas have been playing in my mind such as my bf’s illustration of Fertility Goddess (which was a cover photo of their indie comics) as a back piece, fertility ring by Fang-Od (the last mambabatok/traditional tattoo), and recently I got settled for something bigger than my daruma but bold (literally maybe) till I came across Stella Im Hultberg‘s works of art. I got to know her from reading Audrey Kawasaki‘s blog few years back. They make similar subject which is a girl in different poses, different emotions, both mystic. Though I have thought of getting a Kawasaki tattoo, I held back. Prolly due to scattered Kawasaki-inspired designs I see all over the web. Enter moment of clarity, I NEED A STELLA IM HULTBERG’S ON MY SKIN!

The truth is, I already asked permission to her a few days ago and she granted it right away. She said she didn’t really mind. In fact, there’s an album of tattoos of her art on her Facebook page. Can you imagine my reaction? Totally psyched now!

To recall my goals for the previous year, one of them was to reach Fang Od in the mountains of Cordillera and get a tattoo done by her. Sadly though, I only had a few days off before the year ended and it seemed unfavorable. Then I had a plan B. Yihaa! I’ll just update this blog when it’s done. I have high hopes because I know my artist can give a justice for my chosen artwork.

While pondering about getting another tattoo, this came up to me:

Why do I want another tattoo? Or more? Do I want to appear like a smorgasbord? Do I just want to look cool? Answer is a big NO, of course. People usually perceive this way. Tattoos are cool. You look cool with tattoos. Though we can never prove it wrong. As for me, I get inked because there’s a need to materialize all the pains I’ve been keeping inside me. Pains from all the heartaches, hits and misses, longing, struggling for a better future, and some more which I can never tell. I need this kind of pain which I try to overcome and after all the excruciating pain I know I get stronger than ever. Yep. I know it’s weird, too. I know emotional pain is more brutal so I need to stop it once in a while. I need to overcome it at the right time. Therefore, I don’t know how many more tattoos do I need in my life to feed this frenzy. I hope it’s not too much. I cannot simply hurt myself. I cannot simply ask somebody to hurt me. This is the only way I can get a legit pain. Yes, I’m pathetic. 

2013 has been fairly humble to me. It also marked my quarter life crisis and perhaps I am slowly figuring out the puzzle of my life. About what should I be. Where should I be. And to make it happen without any hassle, I need to end the two-year-old ache inside.

xx

joycee

UPDATE: Still on scaling phase

In the Pines

For the second time around, I capped the (previous) year in a place where the cold wind blows, where the smell of pines is typical, and your hips might complain for non-stop hiking.

Original plan was to head for Kalinga and visit Fang-Od (the last mambabatok) to have fertility ring etched on my skin in a traditional way of tattooing. Sadly, the allotted days were not enough so we decided to stay in Baguio instead.

It was too quick that all we did was to visit the parks which are less crowded, stare at the pines (or more appropriately sniff its scent), pick some fallen pine cones and twigs, and Ukay raid, of course.

We should have gone to Tam-awan Village and Bencab Museum, I know. I save it when we come back.

Hence, here are some snaps from wandering and wondering around the City of Pines!

 hundred-year-old sculpted pine tree near Mines View Park

 bb pine

along the Eco trail bookshop on the clouds .. err mountains Rizal Day commemoration at Oh My Gulay Spazzkid in the pinesIt’s always a nice way to bid farewell to a challenging but pleasant year (2013). May we all carry new hopes and become more productive and make life a lot meaningful this new year.

PS

All photos were taken using a mobile phone only. Follow me on Instagram.

xx

joycee

Strangely Beautiful Mix

I make my own mix on 8tracks.com. Follow me: http://8tracks.com/joyceechan 🙂

monsterellaplushart

Here’s a mix of what we often play whenever we work on handmade stuff. Music keeps us inspired and imaginative. We wander through the world that only Hayao Miyazaki could make with the melancholic tunes of Joe Hisaishi. Club 8‘s Strangely Beautiful album also gave us an idea of making plushies that are out of the box. Say a bunny that doesn’t really look like one. Sheep that has deer’s antlers or cat’s ears. Who cares? As long as we make them cute and cuddly.

01. Ashitaka and San- Joe Hisaishi (Princess Mononoke OST)

02. Il Porco Rosso- Joe Hisaishi (Porco Rosso OST)

03. Oka Asan- Joe Hisaishi (My Neighbor Totoro OST)

04. You’re a Beautiful Loser- Acid House Kings

05. Stay By My Side- Club 8

06. Saturday Night Engine- Club 8

07. Undertow- Ivy

08. Honey & Clover

09. Butterfly- Tornado Tatsumaki

10. Still- Moscow Olympics

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Indie Fix: Month Long Sleep Mix by Happy Tears

New mix from Happy Tears a.k.a Ge Mapa.

Month Long Sleep
/a mix by happy tears

01. Metal – Majestic
02. You Lost Me At Hello – Tesco Chainstore Mascara
03. Single Beds – Night Flowers
04. Eurostar, The Musical – The French Pop Dream
05. Our Composition Book – Wild Nothing
06. Under Water – Acid House Kings
07. A Last Minute Miracle – Kaleida
08. I’m Not Gonna Grow Old – Club 8
09. Northern Lights – Allo Darlin’
10. Jeremy (Magnetic Fields cover) – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
11. Month Long Sleep – Pups
12. The Catcher In The Rye – Azure Blue
13. Break It To You Gently – Camera Obscura
14. Camera Shy – Lockets

Download mix here.

P.S.

Geraldine Mapa, the lovely wife of Diego Mapa of Pedicab/ Tarsius, is one of my fave indie music aficionados. She also founded Roomix– all about extended versions of everyday objects inspired by both retro and futuristic visions. Music, arts, and crafts roll up in one. Most of her selected songs/bands became my fave, too. Thanks for another inspiring mix, Miss Ge!

Succulent Hunt

Made a short trip at the plant haven called Manila Seedlings recently for succulent hunt. I remembered my man brought me there during our first few dates. As an Interior Design student, he used to go there for landscaping projects and he has this wild fascination with plants.

Succulent faves

Dish garden inspirations

We’d like to grow some greens at our little space and succulents are just right. We also bought some bird’s nest hanging plants. There are more charming plants available but we need extra space for it. This kind of nature trip is best ever, isn’t it? Hope to visit there more often and buy other kind of plants or build my own pond. That’s an ultimate dream. xx