A stumble... and a restart

I admit that lately I haven't had much practice in taking pictures.  Personally, the last good pictures I took were when I was still with Pixela.  And even before that, I've always been proud of my skills and knowledge in using an SLR on manual settings. Either with natural light or with flash, modesty aside, I know I was good.  I was good because I took the time to study my SLR and photography in general.  I took the time to compose pictures.

 

Right now I am "recalibrating" and would be studying this camera more and studying photography techniques which are significant or specific to the camera.  I am not happy with the pictures I've taken so far.  It would take me some more time to get used to this.  Maybe another 100 pictures, and with constant practice.  I have to be patient and learn to compose pictures again.

 

The learning continues then.

--andoy

26 Sept. 2007 
 

Set Pictures: odd objects

Some days I just want the time to pass me by.



Kenneth borrowed the bag, and hasn't returned it yet. These are Darwi's new glasses. Red frame.



Darwi's red framed glasses set against one of her bags.

--andoy
25 Sept. 2007

Candid shot: Marikina soldier statue

Statue of a soldier located along Bayan-Bayanan Ave. in Concepcion, Marikina.

Candid photos (24 Sept 2007)

Photo taken from inside the project room of the Philippine flag. Drenched and left on the site. The window was dirty. I had no polarizer with me. No photo editing clean up.

--andoy
24 Sept. 2007

Changes: from words to graphics

I am planning to steer this page from one end of the spectrum to another:  from words to pictures.  Hopefully, I would be successful enough to show something for it.

 

Next!!! 

-- andoy
Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax
and get used to the idea.  - R. Heinlein

Multiple Intelligence Test

You're a Linguistic Intelligence!


The Multiple Intelligences Test

Brought to you by Tickle

-=0=-

Wala lang. Just wanted to post the result of the multiple intelligence test I took from Tickle.com.

--andoy
29 June 2007

The words are there but...

The words still ramble in my head, but I don't write them down any
more. I am waiting for the words to tone down and to disappear into
the background of my consciousness. The poems wanting to be written
are still there. But I am not letting it reach the hand. And the
hand is not poised to write or type the poem. The mind tries to steer
away from the poem waiting to be written. A reason and a thousand
others do not need to intervene, no reason is needed. I don't want to
write the poem. Not "not yet" just simply "not." Maybe just "not
today" but I know it won't last forever.

Another time then. Meantime, another kind of pining and spacing out.

-- andoy
26 May 2007

Hiatus

I have not posted anything on this blog for a long while. Mainly because I have not posted any poems with PinoyPoets. And that because I have gone into a leave of absence with the group. Was very disappointed for a long, long while. I know I tried my best to contribute. Though after a while, any contribution which is not acknowledged would make you feel left out and unwanted.

Maybe my fault. I didn't try to educate the members enough of the necessity of what I did. All background work and technical.

Definitely my fault.

Will be posting more on this blog. I don't know what, but I would be changing directions on what this blog is. I will let it evolve on its own.

More from me soon.

--andoy
16 April 2007

[Poem] 20 Senryu (Call Center Series), Andoy Castellano, 18 September 2006

20 Senryu (Call Center Series)
Andoy Castellano, 18 September 2006

Stepping out into the night
a virtual world of phone calls
the call center agent

wondering what to eat
lunch break at two in the morning
counting eating places

grinning TCPA [1]
after a hurried disclosure [2]
lang bang disposed [3]

"That is good to hear," agent says
about the latest high-end camera model
and clueless user

"Dispose!" coach shouts
agent jumps
woken from sleep

english as a common language
spanish-speaking agent
and italian caller

"Do you speak the Queen's English?"
"No sir, only the King's spanish"
the spanish-speaking agent

Energy drink
and then a cup of freshly-brewed coffee
palpitations, to the clinic!

at end of shift
walking straight to a lamp post
a bloody ear

sweater and shorts
alone at the office receiving calls
weekend day shift

fifteen minute break
hurrying out the office
for a nicotine fix

a glance and a wink
mic adjusted to eye-level [4]
another sale

talking rapidly
to hang-up phones
TCPA close [1]

talking slowly
to irate cardmember
DNC verbiage [5]

veteran agents
standing up like ostriches
ogling newbies

clients on the floor
jackets with hoods answering phones
freezing agents

"yes sir, you are free to complain
to the Better Business Bureau"
-- about the free software

5AM break
for irate female agent
a chocolate sundae

shaking head
agent quietly listens
another irate caller

complaining on break
"my ears hurt from listening to calls"
and increases iPod volume

Notes:
[1] TCPA, "Telemarketing Consumer Protection Act", an exit spiel where
the telemarketer has to state the toll-free number of the company he
represents whenever he makes a call and introduces himself by name or
the company he is representing; this verbiage is stated even if the
other person at the end of the line has hung up;
[2] Disclosure, recorded part of the telemarketing call where the
seller discloses the pertinent parts of the product or service being
sold, including a short summary of features and the cost;
[3] Lang Bang, a language barrier sale, where the buyer does not
understand english enough to know that he is buying a product or sale;
[4] some telemarketers change the mic volume, adjust the mic, or
otherwise slur their words so that the buyer would not understand some
parts of the script;
[5] DNC, short for "do not call", a list of phone numbers which a
telemarketer is not supposed to call; if the other person on the line
requests this (including the answering machine) the telemarketer is
supposed to add the phone number to the DNC list, and to read a DNC
script as well; this verbiage is stated even if the other person at
the end of the line has hung up;

---

This was first posted with Pinoy Poets groups.

--andoy
18 September 2006

"Disjointed Images, Unfinished Poems", andoy castellano, 31 August 2006

Disjointed Images, Unfinished Poems
Andoy Castellano, 31 August 2006

I

I could not write the poems in my head
vivid images, negatives turning to light
whispers blasting out of drums rousing me from sleep
baby powder scent pressing recent memory to fore

II

Pendulums oscillating
keeping time
like a door's creaking
gently closing and opening
to the gathering breeze
and closing the door on its own

III

A faucet leaking
slowly dripping
loud echoing in the silence nobody hears
playing with straw and frostee
waiting to pour out, spew and shower
globs turning to drops
thick turning thin
with each succeeding instance

IV

tweaking and twiddling knobs
trying to find the music playing in your ear
of softness laced with grunts
moans and whimpers

V

wooden toy tops bouncing against one another
spinning in tandem like dance sports competitors
always pushing the other on
to keep up
in hard tapping against each other
nail head drilling incessant in play with urgency

VI

a tiny bead, a trickle, not even a rivulet
from nape rolling slowly down
tracing kiss-hungry skin, under shallow sleep
sweat-drop travelling
following where a finger traced
contour-like lines on a map
to where everything starts and ends
a finger tracing a path on a map nobody reads

VII

masked moans layered under laughter
whimpers and grunts as white noise
under blaring radio rock
and clocks ticking moments passing by
and vehicle traffic plying trade
and children playing, laughing and crying
whispers, whimpers, moans and grunts
hidden in plain hearing

VIII

the tree shakes in the gentle wind and shower
a drizzle falling to a downpour
a slight breeze growing to a gale
and like a leaf clinging precariously to branch
you gasp holding on to your breath and inhale deep
the leaf sways
eyelids flutter and your breath catches
the leaf snaps of from the tree taken by the wind
your eyes grow wide, tense
the leaf falls in slow motion corkscrewing down
flying up with the wind and rain
in stormy chaos, down and up, at random
till it dips into the mud
sopping wet, still and resting on water
floating downstream
you catch your breath as the storm subsides

IX
memories flashing past
like a basin of water down the drain
swirling faster and faster
tighter and smaller
to a singularity of moment and meaning
of nothingness

X

like an album closing on itself
pictures are hidden
to be reminisced with friends at leisure
and behind closed doors

-------------------

Note: I doubt if I can finish this poem (or poems). But the images
have been there for a while. And there are more images where these
came from.

-----

First posted with Pinoy Poets yahoo groups.

--andoy
31 August 2006

[poem] Lost Roses, Andoy Castellano, 19 August 2006

Lost Roses
Andoy Castellano, posted with Pinoy Poets 19 August 2006
written 2 December 1987

Days passed
I don't remember when
Though
Black roses
linger
for me
in misty dreams

Roses I see
In
every day
red and red
but I gasp
puzzled
of roses black
lost

lost and lost
in hapless
time
merciless
time

I cry

I have forgotten you

=====

This was written December 2, 1987. I present it as it was. "Pining"
is a tough word, but after twenty years, it's the only word I know to
describe it. Admittedly, the poem is not tight (enough). Again,
another of the poems which I cannot edit.

Regards,
--
--andoy
19 August 2006

[poem] White Roses, Blue Roses, Andoy Castellano, 19 August 2006

White Roses, Blue Roses

I

White roses
never fade

Rather
wilting
but naturally
turning to gray
Dying
pure

II

Blue roses
Blue
pristine blue

Wilting
becoming
blue
bluer
Dying unchanged

III

Blue roses
Childish
babyish
enchanting blue

White roses
forever
white
comely
immaculate white

IV

Which then
shall it be

Enchanting
Enthralling
Enticing blue

Immaculate
Immortal
Imaginary white

Roses are roses
not blue
not white

V

Roses
held in a bunch
Wrapped
Gauzy
gaudy

Roses in tender hands

Roses
Blue
White

=====

Another of the Roses series of poems I wrote. This one was from
September 12, 1985. No edits or revisions. I don't know how. hehehe

Regards,
--
--andoy
19 August 2006

[poem] Black Tears and Dark Blood, andoy castellano, 19 August 2006

Black Tears and Dark Blood
Andoy Castellano, 19 August 2006

Black are tears of uncommon pain
Dark blood of deepest anger
Heavy colors of brooding

Closed shut and wincing are my eyelids
over empty glazed orbs
pushing out of their sockets

No joy, I shake my head, no joy and none
All is sadness
trying hard to forget and not trying
and not forgetting

I close myself
shaking my head and remembering
and walk off
to where all tears are black
and blood are deepest dark

============

The original poem was written September 14, 1991. One of the last
poems I wrote before I went on hiatus. I edited this for posting.
Been a while since I posted a poem.

--
--andoy
19 August 2006

[poem] Black Roses I Remember, Andoy Castellano, 19 August 2006

Black Roses I Remember
Andoy Castellano, 19 August 2006

I remember
Roses are black though others are of a color
wild roses, innards of meaningless thought
from alleys smoky in air-vented steam
glorifying mist but emptiness of color
rising to forever but clouding the words
of instructions and directions
Digression in another media of stilled figures
Dark memories I gather
With roses gone
Weeds

Red roses of vague time and memory
from borrowed being
Drying to wind-blown rained-out gutted charred dust
fading from red to black

Chinese tea I serve in momoriam steep slowly
like walking past walls with picture-frames
passing one by one ominously tortously slow
like petals floating in the garden pond

Rose petals floating on shadow screen
like the brown-dark tea dregs
staining fragile porcelain of untarnished white
bone china
Hard words as I had always known

Iron floating butterfly mobile
hanging side by side with wind chimes
taunting teasing daring forgetfulness
like an opium haze

Though remembrance remains as roses stand on
vases green poised on every visible corner
of the round-eye world
Of roses black roses
Now only these
I remember

=======

The original poem was written June 1, 1986. This is part of a series
of Roses poems. I might not post all of them. I edited and cleaned
it up somewhat. Still too verbose I think. Maybe I can re-edit it
sometime soon. In another twenty years maybe.

----
--andoy
19 August 2006

[poem] Night Life, Andoy Castellano, 12 May 2006

Night Life
Andoy Castellano

Crickets chirp in the cold air outside
and there is silence
save for the radio kept on till morning
The sun has long set
and it is near and coming
walking outdoors there are no shadows
no wind but it is getting cold
Moths dance with the light
The lizards stalk prey
still the silence could not be put off
there is a variety of sounds
and there is a texture to the silence
Not eerie, but almost quaint
The night is a demure and almost prudish
This is such a time when one wonders why
man sleeps
and not make love to such beauty
as the varied silence of the night

-=0=-

I wrote the original some twenty plus years ago. I did some editing
but kept as much of it as possible.

--andoy
12 May 2006

Fwd: [poem] Tanka: Sack Cloth Bags, Andoy Castellano, 12 May 2006

Tanka: Sack Cloth Bags
Andoy Castellano

Derriere-shaped sack cloth
hanging loose from the shoulder
college coed chic
ethnic status symbol
swaying with every step

-=0=-

I edited an old poem and came up with this tanka. hehehe
It was a really old poem.

--andoy
12 May 2006

[poem] tanka, Andoy Castellano, 12 May 2006

Tanka
Andoy Castellano

Echoes of colors
Flowers light up the drab night
tickling the senses
bright hues and verdant smell
like vines creeping out to me

-=0=-
The tag line was from an old poem I wrote. I created the poem around
"echoes of colors".

--
--andoy
12 May 2006

[poem] Bolinao Vignettes 2: Lolo Agoy, Andoy Castellano, 11 May 2006

Bolinao Vignettes 2: Lolo Agoy
Andoy Castellano, 11 May 2006

I never saw Lolo Agoy get mad,
he had this lop-sided grin
which becomes a smile and a laugh
A kindly man, named after the town's patron saint
elementary school janitor he was
also, a carpenter by trade
he taught himself radio electronics
and fixed transistor radios
and quartz clocks

There's not too much to tell
about my paternal grandfather
save for one story

Lolo Agoy once walked from Bolinao
the westernmost tip of Pangasinan
to fetch his son who was with his sister in Pasay
The lad needed fetching
as there was a little problem
called a war going on at that time
Because of a fuel shortage
there were no vehicles about
and he walked
and he came back to Bolinao with his son, he did

He was a school janitor
He also helped at Church, assisted the Priest at Mass
as long as he lived
Seeing Lolo Agoy,
shrunken, wrinkled and burned by the sun
You'd never think he could have walked to Pasay
and back to Bolinao to fetch his son
with a little problem called a war going on

--
--andoy
11 May 2006

Rengga Senryu: Recipes for Suicide,Andoy Castellano and Steph Cruz, 5.10.06

Rengga Senryu: Recipes for Suicide

 

Andoy Castellano and Steph Cruz

 

May 10, 2006

 

 

suicide by coffee—

five, six mugs a day

heart palpitation by 80

 

crossing the street

thinking of hall of mirrors—

shaking stumbling

 

excruciating pain

7-11 slurpee---

blood curling brain freeze

 

bright burning ember

a very slow poison—

cigarette stick

 

daily fare of gin

balut cholesterol and alcohol—

heart, kidney, liver

 

 

man without hope

swallows several wishbones—

death by lechon manok

 

each night, a toast

to guardian angels—

death by San Miguel

 

bloodsucker

hangs himself in guilt—

death by mosquito net

 

washing first heartbreak

out of her hair—

death by shampoo

 

after the bestman

makes a monkey out of you—

death by banana peel

 

-=0=-

 

This was written as an exchange of text messages.  The haiku/senryu format lends itself well to SMS poems because if forces the writer to write in a very short format.  Each complete senryu was written on the spot by either Stephanie or me.  It was a fun exercise.

 

--andoy

10 May 2006

 

[poem] haiku: UPLB Summer, Andoy Castellano, 10 May 2006

Haiku: UPLB Summer
Andoy Castellano, 10 May 2006

under the canopy
owl silent on the ground
feasting past midnight

atop the hill
in the tree house and shouting
I hear no echoes

rain falling before dawn
thirsty thousands celebrate
frogs spawning

captive light in jars
set loose in the dorm room
fireflies dance free

wearing school shirts
"How is the carabao?"
Manila friends ask

--
--andoy
10 May 2006