lent

My grandmother always said that it always rains on November 1 and will always be hot — as in extremely hot — during the Holy Week. Whereas we were hitting lows of about 60°F-70°F on average last week, I anticipated this week's temperature to really rise, on account of Grandma's constant Lent reminder as had been told us year after year, as if to stop us from complaining of the heat and take the lazy, quiet, humid afternoons as a matter of Lenten fact and of sacrifice.

Grandma, it seems, was always right about her November 1 and Holy Week declarations, while we, as always, never quite too ready for the downpour — or the extreme heat.

. . .

In a brief visit to Ilocos Sur a few days ago, I was able to successfully squeeze in a very quick ocular of the altar of St. Dominic's parish in Sto. Domingo, my Grandma's hometown, for some lighting consultancy. It's still a work in progress, but I thought perhaps if Grandma saw how her hometown altar is like now — prepped for the Easter mass — she'd be most pleased with the workmanship of Mel Andino ("ikit (ko) a taga Vigan", she referred to him with a smile, although the relation is as distant as Vigan is to Sto. Domingo).

Another nice surprise is that the church court yard has been paved as well (thanks to the uncle, my mother's brother) — so unlike two years ago when we marched Grandma out from the necro mass to the cemetery and all our footwear, for those who were shodden, powdered with dust.

. . .

So this year's Lent is like all others past, largely unchanged, except that there are malls to provide comfortable distraction, cable TV to extend some degree of pleasure, the internet for continuation of work and leisure, and the proverbial (some say Biblical*) flies in the ointment in society and other such encumbrances that get in the way of modern living. And, for those in Sto. Domingo, a newly-painted altar and church interior to welcome them on Easter, none of which provide real [body/mind/spirit] relief from the Lenten heat.

. . .

9:16 pm | Accuweather indicates a high of 91°F (low of 76°F) today, enough to fry my hard drives.

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* (search result) | (Photo of the Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur altar by clt)

hello, helvetica

irosa, friend of two decades plus, perpetual life-learner, Nu-yoker and fellow Pinoy élan vital follower, gave me this for Christmas, now among one of the very few but select movie discs I own. Salamat, kapatid. Sharing you my 'unboxing' pics.

I haven't gotten the chance to premiere this with the 'Weavers yet as I originally planned. Hopefully sooner-than-soon. Will let you know.

Anyhow, a member in one of my forums posted about seeing this film which I read today, and to which I left a follow-up comment, so I thought perhaps it's time to post about it here as well. It's nice to know of others who have seen the film.

. . .

The NYT has a review of the film Helvetica (one of many publications), but more than that, I'd like to borrow the accompanying photo to the article...

(Image by Plexifilm courtesy of the New York Times)

... and post a link about its [co-]creator, Max Miedinger:

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helveticafilm.com