The Widow's Best of 2023

Jane Hobson 2023: Following such a desperate year for so many in the world this quotation by Nietzsche seems pertinent. "We have art in order not to die of the truth." So, in an effort to uplift whoever might read this, here's a somewhat curtailed list of a few of our favourite things we've seen this year. It wasn't the hottest time for live shows; we walked out of five! One every few years, maybe, but five! Disappointing. However we still managed to find some wonderful things, not all of them new. Let's begin with…

MOST SPECTACULAR: Phelim McDermott's Akhnaten at the London Coliseum. We'd been asked so many times: "Have you seen Akhnaten?" No, we hadn't but now we have and, OK, it's a Philip Glass opera (pictured above and below) but really, with a set by Tom Pye and costumes by Kevin Pollard it's a full-on feast for the senses, with the ever-inventive Gandini Juggling, choreographed by Sean Gandini, doing what they do best.

Jane Hobson BEST CIRCUS SHOW: Cirque Le Roux's thrilling and ambitious Entre Chiens et Louves – staged at Le Bon Marché department store in Paris (take note Selfridges) – took our breath away even without the sublime Lolita Costet in the cast; and Circa's Humans II at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's Southbank Centre.

COMPANY TO WATCH: Hoops Désolé! A “crazy” six-strong troupe of artists drawn from the circus school in Quebec, Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Éloize.

Emma Kauldhar BEST DANCE: Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works at London’s Royal Opera House, with the mesmerising Alessandra Ferri, who at 59 was the same age as Virginia Woolf when she died. Another dancer with astonishing longevity is the Spanish Lucía Lacarra, now 48, who appeared in the Ballet Icons Gala at the London Coliseum.

BEST SHOWBIZ MEMOIR: Walking Through Walls by performance artist Marina Abramović; Do It For Your Mum by Roy Wilkinson, then manager of his brothers' band British Sea Power.

MOST TERRIFYING: He's done some daring things in his time and on World Circus Day Hungarian high-wire artist Laci Simet performed a sensational walk across the River Danube – 40 metres up in the wind – with only a balance pole to keep him safe.

BEST FILM: German film Afire or Roter Himmel by Christian Petzold (he’ll never let you down); Babak Jalali’s Fremont, set in a fortune cookie factory; and the Mexican film The Empty Hours directed by Aarón Fernández.

BEST ARCHIVE PIC: Josephine Baker and Dalida at L’Olympia music hall in Paris in 1968. A legendary pair!

LONGEST-SERVING FEMALE DJ: Texan Mary McCoy, who at 85 has been on the air for almost 72 years, and entered the Guinness Book of Records.

BEST DESERT ISLAND DISCS CASTAWAY: Actor/comedian/writer and so on, Adrian Edmondson; snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan.

MOST INSPIRING: The Maricarmen dance school in Chorrillos, south of Lima, in Peru, run by retired dancer Maria del Carmen Silva, offers free classes to girls of all abilities from low-income areas.

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Never Be a Punching Bag for Nobody by indie rock musician Naomi Yang; My Indiana Muse, in which artist Robert Townsend discovers his Kodachrome muse, Helen.

FOND FAREWELL: Actor David McCallum, who, as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s Illya Kuryakin was an enduring heartthrob for a certain generation of girls and women. Closer to home the UK lost its leading circus director, Phillip Gandey (above), at 67, whose shows – including Cirque Surreal, The Chinese State Circus and The Lady Boys of Bangkok – were always far and away the most creative and exciting; and The Circus of Horrors – a show I reviewed more times than any other, except perhaps Cirque du Soleil – lost its co-creator and frontman, Doktor Haze (below) at 66. Along with Gerry Cottle, they were notable as two of the nicest circus men I met during my reviewing years, and are greatly missed.

LAST WORD: It wouldn't be a Widow Stanton 'Best of' without some showgirls. This picture was taken by the Argentinian photographer Luisita Escarria, who with her sister Chela, documented all the artists appearing in revues in Buenos Aires from 1958 to 2009. Their story and wondrous archive might have been lost had it not been rescued by filmmakers Sol Miraglia and Hugo Manso. Their documentary Foto Estudio Luisita will warm your heart… and fortunately both the sisters lived long enough to see it.

Compiled by Liz Arratoon

“I find it most difficult to express with adequate force that flash, that shiver, that impact of passionate recognition. In the course of the sun-shot moment that my glance slithered over the kneeling child (her eyes blinking over those stern dark spectacles—the little Herr Doktor who was to cure me of all my aches) while I passed by her in my adult disguise (a great big handsome hunk of movieland manhood), the vacuum of my soul managed to suck in every detail of her bright beauty, and these I checked against the features of my dead bride. A little later, of course, she, this nouvelle, this Lolita, my Lolita, was to eclipse completely her prototype. All I want to stress is that my discovery of her was a fatal consequence of that “princedom by the sea” in my tortured past. Everything between the two events was but a series of gropings and blunders, and false rudiments of joy. Everything they shared made one of them. I have no illusions, however. My judges will regard all this as a piece of mummery on the part of a madman with a gross liking for the fruit vert. Au fond, ça m’est bien égal. All I know is that while the Haze woman and I went down the steps into the breathless garden, my knees were like reflections of knees in rippling water, and my lips were like sand, and— “That was my Lo,” she said, “and these are my lilies.” “Yes,” I said, “yes. They are beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!”

i’m only happy in the arms of men who teach me about fear, horror and gore.

ft. Doktor Haze, Tom Savini & Sid Haig.

What if I came here and asked you to do the album ask with every song from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis? :3 (please don't kill me)

Hi!! 🌷🌷 Here’s part two since I couldn’t fit all the audio into one post

I can hear a whirring sound growing near / I can see the corner of the tunnel / lit up by whatever’s coming here

The rocks in time compares your blood to oil / your flesh to coil enrich the soil / not everybody’s goal, anyway

I’m in the agony of slipper pain/ I pray my undercarriage will sustain/ the chase is on, the pace is hot / but I’m running so very hard, with everything I’ve got

Hey John! / He makes for the river and the gate is gone / Back to the void where it came from / And the light dies down on Broadway

Taken down, taken down / By the undertow / I'm spiraled down the river bed / My fire is burning low

It is walking on the moon/ Leaving your cocoon / It is the jigsaw, it is purple haze / It never stays in one place, but it's not a passing phase

Doktor, can you do something for me? If you can come down to us for just a moment, pretend the magicians don't exist, can you list for me 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you smell, and 1 thing you can taste? Focus on calming, buddy, everything will be okay. Anti isn't "bad" necessarily, that isn't what I was meaning. But he did cut you. And as a doctor, a wonderful doctor, you should know that wounds need treatment.

Dok tries to shake himself out of his haze. Tries to look at you. Tries to concentrate. He’s played games like this before. Trick plays them with him, he plays them with Trick. Fuck, he wishes his twin were here to lie beside him or rub his shoulder or guard over him as he slept. Or that Blue would come and stroke his hair and tell him he’s doing so well, tell him he’s so clever and talented and he loves him so much. Dapper could come curl up around his stomach or get him some food and water he could actually trust. Even Red... even Red would guard him. Red’s not always kind, but Red is a part of Dok’s world, and the way he acts makes sense, fits in his schema, reinforces all the things he knows to be true. He knows, he knows.

“I’m sorry, I’m sure you didn’t mean anything, I’m sorry, I can’t calm down at all,” chokes Dok.

But no, no, he can try, he can play these games, he knows how.

“I can see... the open window with all the light coming in. And the door with the ice on it. A little bed with nice white sheets, all the food I knocked over, a camera I like. Everything is blurry. I have broken my glasses. The nice glasses Anti bought me. I broke them and they took them away from me so I don’t even have the shattered ones. Red will kill me. He will have to buy me new ones. No, he will just make me wear contacts... I hate that.”

He holds onto himself, rubbing at his face.

“I can feel this stranger’s shirt. It is soft, though. And the cold stone against me. And the wood of the bed against my skull. I can feel... my head hurting. It protests at me. I want Trick to come and look after me. He fusses over me... Blue will fuss over me... maybe even Anti will, oh...

“I can hear birds through the window. Very sweet birds singing. And there’s often chattering coming by. Nobody chatters at home. We speak so quietly or so loudly, in private or for everyone to hear. Here, they just chatter, they just chatter about anything. There is rarely any urgency. I can hear the little beep-beep-beep of your messages.

“I smell flowers, lots of them. I saw a garden. Right in the middle of the building, a garden, blooming. Tropical flowers and trees. Blue would like it. I smell dust. No one has used this room in a long time.”

He is beginning to come down from the worst of it. His eyes blink slowly as he lies slumped against the bed, and you think that, perhaps, he is even a little sleepy. He has been fighting for days and days and days.

“I taste... chalky medicine. They are trying to give me so many different things. I keep trying to tell them I’m not sick. They don’t listen. I know Anti will not like it. Anti says only he and I make decisions about medicine. No one else chooses what’s in his pets... I am a good pet, I am... tell him I’m being good, I’m being so good, I’m a good boy.”

He holds his knees to his chest, his eyes drifting.

What do you think you’ll be doing in the future Henrik and Jameson?

When your feed connects, a school-uniform-clad boy is hissing a string of curses, scrambling around a cramped, sunshine-filled room and turning over boxes and jars.

“Gottverdammt!” he seethes, before continuing in German, “Where is it?”

He wanders in circles, tugging at his neatly-trimmed hair, before catching sight of the camera’s flashing red light. 

“Mama?” he asks, confusion filling his face, before turning the camera over. “Who- oh. Hallo. This is my mother’s camera, who are you?”

With his right hand, Henrik holds the camera, while his left tosses torn papers and magazines behind him. Obviously, he’s out of luck in his search for... whatever he wants.

“In the long run?” he hisses, “I want to be a chirurg, a doktor. I want to save people like my brother, and make people feel safe... But for now?”

You can’t see much through the mess of motion, but he clearly throws a book against the wall, which is painted with yellow and flowers and birds.

“I just want to find this stupid ribbon!”

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

Jameson, on the other hand, is seen through a haze of grain and black-and-white, in a room that seems very bare, aside from a few long curtains and a view overlooking the city. Absentmindedly, he taps his shoes against the floor as he sets down a broom, but you cannot hear the sound.

He finally notices your message in the reflection of the camera lens, and his eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Excuse me?” he signs, looking lost. “I am Jameson, yes, but... how...”

He squints closer, trying to find a source of the words, but comes away even more baffled. “Are you speaking to me right now? The film... the reel isn’t even...” Messily, his hands turn in circles, fingers fumbling to find the right words.

Eventually, his posture changes, and his features adopt a warm, glowing smile. “Oh, nevermind all that! Thank you for your curiosity about silly me - I’d like to be an actor someday!”

He twirls around the room, holding no one’s hand, but miming the face of someone looking upon their dearest love. Graceful, beautiful, talented... until he nearly trips on his own feet.

“Oh, dear...” he giggles, leaning to pick up the broom once again. He sweeps with it, but his mind is still elsewhere, as he daydreams and sways back and forth. 

“I really should clean better, or Mr. Charles won’t ever let me near his lovely little camera again...” he signs, clutching the broom under his arm. “... Well, what about your plans for the future?”

HEATHEN DISCO for December 15th, 2019 <-- LISTEN

New radio show is up here on Mixcloud, click it and pick it.

Tracklist below:

Klon Dump - Do the Dump

Inner City - Big Fun (12" remix)

Thule - Springtime (Etched in Ice)

Miss Nude - Taste My Acid Fruit

Sally Haze - Tell Me Everything

Hiro Kone - Shatter the Gangue of Piety

The Riders of the Mark - The Electronic Insides and Metal Complexion That Make Up Herr Doktor Krieg

Killing Joke - Requiem

K-Group - Over-Future Shop

Individual Industry - Eyes

SPK - Junk Funk

Galcher Lustwerk - Bit

Charles Rumback & Ryley Walker - Worn and Held

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Vicariously Living

The Male Nurse - Male Midwife

The Teardrop Explodes - Sleeping Gas

Dolly Mixture - Understanding

Itchy Bugger - Nothing Tougher Than Hard Yakka

The Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine

Major Stars - Elephant (live)

Pom Pomuntitled

Scott & Charlene's Wedding - Boundary Line

The Clean - Point That Thing Somewhere Else

The Method Actors - Commotion

Sauna Youth - Distracted

In Camera - Die Laughing

Club MusicImpulse CTRL

King Sunny Ade - Oremi

Fred Anderson Quartet - Era of Rocks

Burning Spear - Wailing

Steve Hauschildt - Attractor B

Richard Youngs & Raül Refree - Another Language

Dan Melchior - Happiness Is Over Rated

Kyle Hall - Nothing to Fear

The Springfields - She Swirls Around Me

“Shh, stay calm, we’re going to get you some help.” ~ps!fen

@fenchidna

The limp visage is of what one presumed was the 1st lieutenant, tears forming in her eyes as she vomited bloodied, putrid and almost blackened bile onto her lap which held her organs, disemboweled by several kicks to the stomach from the fearful Captain who had pummeled her by direct orders in one of her hazed, violent outbursts towards the crooked Doktor. This time, she had sunken her teeth into the nape of his aged neck, torn apart, spitting his own blood and flesh into his face as he had the

audacity

to call her in for an autopsy and make her a fool, after all the nights she spent hooked to machinery, after he took everything away from her, she would

NEVER

allow such vile hands to touch her without fatal consequences, monsters would come back to bite their creators in the ass eventually.

Yet she lay slumped up against the wall, pathetically in a display of her own blood, vomit, and insides. Having crawled away from the lab by just a few feet, bleeding all her troubles away until she was found by the revamped commander, he took pity upon such, that much she knew and hated even in and out of consciousness. Opening her mouth to wheeze, letting out the last few bits of bile, she gives him a small smile, shutting lifeless eyes and slowly shaking her head.

❝

Nobody..help…come for me…I’m zheir oldest model, after all.❞

she croaks, barely above a gasping whisper

❝Tch…Vhat a vaste..

❞

There could be far worse ways to go out, as panic had subsided at least an hour ago, but she sneered at the thought of the man before her being the one to watch her. Knowing in the end he’ll get what he always wanted.

​

Paghahambing

    Mayroong ilang eksena mula sa pelikulang Batch ‘81 na binago sa dulang AKO. Kabilang dito ang eksena sa pagkalat ng bidyo na pornograpiya ni Pacoy Ledesma na inilabas sa buong paaralan at hindi lamang sa pagitan ng mga miyembro ng AKO (tulad ng sa pelikula) . Nagbago ang klase ng media na ginamit upang ipalabas ito na hindi na telebisyon kundi Facebook Live. Napansin rin ng aming grupo na may mga naiwan pang buhay sa rambulan ng mga fraternity na dapat namatay nang tulad sa pelikula. Binago din ang pagganap ng AKO na ginawang “beauty pageant” sa halip na isang song number na Cabaret. Nagbago rin ang ginawa sa bangkay ni Arni. Nilagyan ng droga ang kanyang bangkay imbis na iniwan lamang at ginawa nila ito bilang pekeng ebidensya sa dahilan ng kanyang pagkamatay.

             Bukod sa mga idinagdag, mayroong mga eksena na tinanggal na hindi makikita sa dula na galing sa pelikula. Isa dito ang eksena noong binista ni Vince at Sid Lucero ang doktor [na miyembro din ng AKO] para sa isang ‘check-up’ na naging isang hazing session. Sumunod din ang eksena noong naghahapunan sina Sid at Ami kung saan pinagusapan nila dito ang pakikipagsali ni Sid sa AKO.

Madaming eksenang idinagdag sa dula upang maging mas angkop ang produksiyong AKO sa panahon ngayon. Dinagdag na gumagamit ng droga si Tina at ang eksenang nagparty siya na sa impluwensiya nito. Dinagdag din ang eksena kung saan mayroong monologue ang bawat fraternity member ng AKO. Kasama dito ang monologue ni Pacoy kung saan ipinakita siyang nagnonood ng pornograpiya sa kaniyang cellphone at nagsasalsal. Isa pang dagdag ang eksena kung saan nakipagusap si Ronnie kay Pearl, ang kasintahan ni Master Vincent, na magpanggap bilang kasintahan niya para hindi siya ma-ungguyan ng mga Master. Dinagdag din ang patama tungkol sa isyu ng Pilipinas ngayon kagaya ang tensyon sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at China sa beauty pageant. Hinggil sa mga eksena ng mga titser, nagkaroon sila ng pag-uusapan tungkol sa mga namatay na frat member kung saan ipinahiwatig ng isang propesor ang mga implikasyon ng mga aksyon ni Santi bilang miyembro ng AKO.

Sanggunian ng mga Larawan:

Gomez, Jerome. “Esquire.” Esquire, images.summitmedia-digital.com/esquiremagph/images/2017/06/27/akobatch81-screencap3.png.

“IMDB.” IMDB, www.imdb.com/title/tt0138317/mediaviewer/rm3859686144.

Katigbak, Waldo. “Evo & Grace: The Wanderlusts.” Evo & Grace: The Wanderlusts, Gomez, Jerome. “Esquire.” Esquire, images.summitmedia-digital.com/esquiremagph/images/2017/06/27/akobatch81-screencap3.png.

Magkabilang Mundo (Blog 1)

Paghahambing (AKO at Batch ‘81)

Dahil sa pangangailangang bumagay ng isang sining sa pinalolooban na panahon, nagkaroon ng pagbabago sa pagitan ng pelikulang Batch ‘81 ni Mike De Leon at sa dulang AKO ni Guelan Luarca. Mahalagang isaisip na tatlumpu’t pitong taon ang agwat ng dula sa pelikula kaya gumagalaw na sa ibang kultura at panahon ang kabuuang konteksto ng dula. Iilan sa mga halimbawa nito ang pagpalit ng naging pagtatanghal ng frat na AKO mula sa isang imitasyon ng kabaret sa “Upakan ‘81”, patungo sa isang ‘Miss Universe’ na paligsahan sa dula kung saan nanalo ang bansang Tsina, na pahapyaw na patama sa kasalukuyang administrasyon dahil sa pagpalagpas ng pag-abuso ng Tsina sa West Philippine Sea. Sumasalamin din sa kasalukuyan ang pagbago sa naging eksena nina Pacoy at Susan kung saan hinalina ni Susan si Pacoy upang magtalik sila. Sa pelikula, kinuhanan ng “video” ang dalawa habang pinapanood sila ng iba pang “neophytes” at “masters” ng AKO. Ngunit, sa dula, naka “Facebook live” ang kanilang pagtatalik kaya napanood ito ng ibang mag-aaral. Bukod sa mga eksenang binago at pinalitan, nagkaroon rin ng pagtanggal sa iilang eksena sa pelikula na hindi ipinakita sa dula. Isa na rito ang naging pag-uusap ni Sid at ng kaniyang ina. Sa pelikula, ipinakita ang isang eksena kung saan nag-uusap ang mag-ina sa loob ng kwarto ni Sid. Sinusubukang hikayatin si Sid ng kaniyang ina na lumipat at mag-aral na lang sa Amerika ngunit tumanggi si Sid dahil sa kaniyang pagnanasa na ipagpatuloy ang kaniyang pangunahing layunin na maging parte ng Alpha Kappa Omega. Ang pagbisita ng buong “fraternity” sa doktor ang isa pang eksena na tinanggal sa Batch ‘81. Dito, ipinakita ang pagpapatingin ng mga “neophyte” sa doktor ng “frat”, at ang ginawang pag-ipit ng doktor sa dibdib ni Sid gamit ang dalawang “surgical scissors”.

Isa sa makabuluhang eksenang idinagdag ang naging kabuuang papel ni Santi Santillan. Sa Batch ‘81, isang propesor si Santi sa Ateneo at ang pinakamatanda sa mga “neophytes” ng Alpha Kappa Omega. Subalit, sa dula, binigyang diin ang pagiging saksi ni Santi sa lahat ng pinagdaanan ng batch at ng “frat” sa kabuuan. Dahil dito, naging papel ni Santi ang pagiging isang tila tagapagsalaysay ng dula. Isa pang eksena na idinagdag ang pagkakaroon ng isang “party” na may kinalaman sa ilegal na droga. Dito ipinakita ang pagkalulong ni Tina sa droga kung saan sinusubukan ni Arni na patigilin siya sa kaniyang bisyo. Bukod pa rito, idinagdag rin sa dula ang eksena kung saan nagtatalik sina Pearl at Vince habang nag-uusap tungkol sa hindi paggamit ni Vince ng wikang Ingles tuwing nagtatalik sila. Dahil dito, nauwi sa isang away at sagutan ang kanilang pagtatalik na napadpad sa iba’t ibang usapin katulad ng peminismo at ang pagkukumpara ni Pearl kina Vince at Ronnie. Panghuli, ang pinakahuling eksena ng dula kung saan sina Sid, Pacoy, at Ding ang nangangasiwa na ng mga interogasyon sa mga bagong “neophytes” ang isa pang eksenang idinagdag sa. Sinisimbolo ng eksenang ito ang naging hantungan ng mga natitirang “neophytes” kung saan sila na mismo ang pumalit sa kanilang sariling “masters” na sina Vince at Gonzales at sila na rin ang namumuno sa mga interogasyon sa mga bagong “neophytes”.

Paglulugar ng Teksto

Naganap ang kwento ng pelikula sa panahon ng Batas Militar kaya’t tinawag na isang alegorya ang Batch ‘81 sa Batas Militar dahil sa pagtanghal nito sa isyu ng bansa sa pamamagitang ng mga “fraternities” bilang “campus-style fascism” (Torre, 2014). Isang malaking indikasyon ng Batas Militar sa pelikula ang paggamit ng “Stanley Milgram’s electrocution experiment” (Interaksyon, 2017) o “electric chair” sa nagkusang si Ronnie Roxas. Tinawag na “brilliant” ng direktor ng dula na si Mike De Leon ang paggamit ng “electric chair” sa pelikula dahil patama ito sa administrasyong Marcos na gumagamit rin ng “electric chair” bilang isang paraan ng karahasan sa mga nakakulong noong Batas Militar. Samakatuwid, malimit ang mga suot na polong masikip na mayroong tubong na hindi nakabutones, pantalon na maluwag sa lulod o “bell-bottoms”, at mayroong bigote at “curtain hair” o cachupoy na buhok, na mismong estilo rin ng mga aktor sa Batch ‘81. Sa dako naman ng kapaligiran ng pelikula, makikita na ginanap ang karamihan sa mga eksena sa pamantasang Ateneo, at makikita na noon, iisa pa lang ang silid aklatan nila na tinatawag na ngayon na “Old Rizal Library”. Sa unang tingin, hindi makikilala ng kasalukuyang mag-aaral ng Ateneo ang entablado kung saan nagsasanay ang AKO para sa Upakan ‘8. Sa katunayan, sa Blue Eagle Gym ito ginanap ngunit wala na ang nabanggit na entablado ngayon at “basketball court” at “bleachers” na lamang ito ngayon.

Sa dulang AKO na ginanap sa taong 2019, makikita ang paggamit ng iPhone nina Sid, Ronnie, Santi, at iba pang mga karakter kapag mayroong kailangang kausapin. Nanonood din ng pornograpiya si Pacoy gamit ang kaniyang “gadget” at ang internet, kung saan nagkalat din ang naging pagtatalik nina Pacoy at Susan sa “Facebook”. Sumasalamin ang mga eksenang ito sa kapangyarihan ng teknolohiya at ang mga posibleng pang-aabuso na maaring mangyari gamit ang mga ito. Sa eksenang pinatay si Arni, tinaniman siya ng droga sa kamay upang ipakita na pinatay siya dahil sa droga. Sumasalamin ito sa “Oplan Tokhang” ng gobyerno na pumapatay sa kahit sinong may kinalaman sa droga. Ang panahon na pinalolooban ng bawat kwento ang pinakamalaking pagkakaiba ng pelikula sa dula dahil sa pangangailangang maiugnay ang mga gawa sa manonood. Sa AKO, laganap ang “social media”, teknolohiya, at usapin sa mga suliraning panlipunan tulad na lang ng peminismo. Ang pagiging ‘pelikula’ ng Batch ‘81 at ang pagiging “dula”  ng AKO ang isa pang mahalagang pagkakaiba  ng dalawa. Pagdating sa pelikula, paiba-iba ang lugar na pinupuntahan ng mga tauhan habang sa dula, iisa entablado ang ginagalawan ng tauhan. Sa dula, labis ang emosyon at lakas ng boses ng tauhan upang marinig at maramdaman ng manonoood nito kumpara sa pelikula na hindi kailangan ang dalawang elemento dahil sa tulong ng teknolohiya. Higit pa rito, importante sa dulaan ang pagkakaroon ng koreograpia at “stage direction” sa mga eksena upang mapuno ang entablado at malinis tignan ang galaw ng bawat isa. Tungkol sa “frat” na Alpha Kappa Omega ang parehong pelikula at dula. Ngunit iba man ang ginalawang panahon ng dalawa, nanilbihan ang mga ito bilang salamin sa lipunan ng panahong kinalalagyan nila. Ipinakikita ang buhay ng mga estudyante at pati na rin guro sa isang “frat” at ang naging pisikal, emosyonal, at sikolohikal na epekto nito sa bawat indibiduwal. Sinundan ng parehong kwento ang tauhan sa mga naging implikasyon ng kanilang buhay sa “frat” tulad ng karahasan sa “hazing” at tunggalian ng mga “frat” tulad na lang sa pagpatay kay Arni at ng iba pang miyembro. Namuhay ang parehong pelikula at dula sa kasabihang “Ang simula at wakas ay kapatiran, kaya hanggang sa dulo, sa kabila ng pagkamatay ng iilang miyembro at karahasang dinanas, nagpatuloy pa rin ang sistema ng karahasan.

Ebalwasyon

Tunay na naangkop at napapanahon ang mga modipikasyon na ginawa ng Tanghalang Ateneo sa dulang Alpha Kappa Omega sa pelikulang Batch ‘81. Ang pagkakaroon ng isang manonood na nakasasabay at nakaiintindi sa mga pangyayari sa dula ang pangunahing indikasyon ng pagiging angkop at napapanahon ng AKO. Ipinakita ito ng dula sa pamamagitan ng pagpapakita ng mga samu’t saring isyu sa lipunan na hinaharap ng mga Pilipino ngayon. Isa na rito ang isyu sa ilegal droga. Bilang isa sa mga pangunahing isyu na patuloy na tumitindi at lumalawak sa mga pamantasan, minarapat ng AKO na isama sa kanilang produksiyon ang isang eksena na kung saan nakatuon sa sensitibong usapin na ito. Marahil, nais iparating ng dula ang repleksyon ng isang pangkasalukuyang realidad at kalagayan ng mga kabataan sa ilalim ng mga ilegal na gamot na mabilisang kumakalat at ibinebenta sa loob at paligid ng ilang paaralan (Grande, 2018). Nagbibigay rin ang dula ng kamalayang nakapalibot sa pisikal na resolusyon na nanghihikayat sa mga kabataan na iwasan ang lahat ng mga ipinagbabawal na produkto. Halimbawa ang paggamit ng iPhone bilang isang uri ng komunikasyon ng mga mag-aaral sa dula. Gayundin ang pagbabago na ginawa ng AKO sa pagtatalik nina Pacoy at Susan. Sa pangkalahatan, naging matagumpay ang Batch ‘81 sa layunin nitong itanghal ang mga kontemporanyong isyu sa isang masining na paraan. Kung ihahambing ang paralelismo ng kontemporanyong usaping panlipunan at ang mga isyu na tinalakay sa pelikula, angkop sa kasalukuyang panahon ang mga usapin na natalakay ng pelikula. Kabilang na rito ang sensitibong paksa ng “hazing”, at ang isyu ng mga “frat wars”, na mas lumitaw noong Nobyembre ng 2018, sa pagitan ng Upsilon Sigma Phi at Alpha Phi Beta (APB) sa loob ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (Tomacruz, 2018). Malapit sa puso ng mga Pilipino ang sining ng pinilakang tabing o pelikula, kaya naman matagumpay ang Batch ‘81 sa pagtataguyod ng isang koneksyon na umaaatake sa emosyon ng mga manonood sa pamamagitan ng pagpapalabas ng maseselan ngunit detalyadong mga eksena na nakapaloob sa isyung panlipunan kagaya ng “hazing” at “frat wars”.

Sa kabilang dako, matagumpay rin ang AKO sa pagiging isang masining na pagtatanghal ng kasalukuyang usaping panlipunan. Importanteng aspekto ng mga dula ang “live performance” ng mga aktor kaya naman kinakailagan ang malakas at malinaw na boses kada palabas. Dahil dito, mas malakas ang dating at damdamin na ipinapahayag ng mga aktor, na siya namang nararamdaman ng mga manonood. Dagdag pa rito, bilang isang dula na saklaw ng isang organisasyon sa pamantasang Ateneo, kasapi sa mga layunin ng pamantasan ang pagbibigay impormasyon at kamalayan tungkol sa usaping “hazing”, droga, isyu sa relasyon ng Pilipinas at Tsina, at iba pa. Samakatuwid, isang nararapat na sining ang pagpapalabas ng dulang AKO upang humikayat at maging malay ang mga manonood.

The Circus of Horrors LIVE at Victoria Theatre, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England - 2nd March, 2018. The Circus of Horrors is a British circus show. First seen perform at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995. Blending Horror and Burlesque with Bizarre and unbelievable acts, The show uses Goth and steampunk imagery, and references burlesque and Victorian freak shows. They were semi-finalists in Britain's Got Talent in 2011. To read more about The Circus of Horrors, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Circus_of_Horrors . This film features The Circus of Horrors live at Victoria Theatre, Halifax performing their Voodoo Show. This includes their usual performers Doktor Haze, Beelzebub, Captain Dan, The Sinister Sisters, Anastasia IV and Hannibal Helmurto. This was a really great show. The official web site for The Circus of Horrors is here: https://www.circusofhorrors.co.uk/ . Would you like £15 off of your next hotel booking with Booking.com? if so please click on this link to make your booking: https://www.booking.com/s/9bbbc531This film is a Moss Travel Media production – www.mosstravel.tv If you liked this film, please subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/stuartmoss in order to receive updates of my future film uploads. You can also find my travel films and photography updates on the following social media: Blogger: http://mosstraveltv.blogspot.co.uk  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mosstravel **please like my Facebook page**Google+ just add +stuartmoss Instagram: stumoss - https://instagram.com/stumoss/ LiveJournal: http://stuartmoss.livejournal.com/ Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/mosstraveltv/ WordPress: http://mosstraveltv.wordpress.com   StumbleUpon: http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/stumoss Tumblr: http://stuartmoss.tumblr.com Twitter @mosstraveltv or https://twitter.com/mosstraveltv VKontakte: https://vk.com/mosstravelmedia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stuartmoss I hope that you enjoyed this film and will return again in future, your support is really appreciated, by subscribing above you will be kept informed of my travel updates and new films uploaded. Thank you and bon voyage!

Solon wants licenses of PMA doctors suspended over cadet's death

#PHnews: Solon wants licenses of PMA doctors suspended over cadet's death

MANILA -- A party-list lawmaker on Monday urged the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to suspend the medical license of the doctors under investigation in connection with the hazing-related death of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadet Darwin Dormitorio.

Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, one of the principal authors of the Anti-Hazing Law, said the two doctors of the military institution were the “last lifeline” of Dormitorio, but they failed to save the cadet and stop any harm to “his tortured body and mind.”

The two doctors who will be charged for criminal negligence are Capt. Flor Apple Apostol and Maj. Ofelia Beloy from PMA Station Hospital for their alleged wrong diagnosis on Dormitorio.

“Let their peers in the medical profession weigh the facts and circumstances,” Garbin said.

“Those doctors have a whole array of administrative, professional, civil, and criminal liabilities for their acts of commission, omission, and lack of moral fiber,” he added.

One of the doctors’ official diagnoses is that Dormitorio suffered from urinary tract infection (UTI).

"Bugbog ang katawan, UTI lang ang diagnosis? Kung hindi sana nagbulag-bulagan ang mga doktor, baka sakaling buhay pa ngayon si Cadet Dormitorio (There are bruises all over the body, but the diagnosis is just UTI? If the doctors did not turn a blind eye, then probably Cadet Dormitorio would still be alive)," Garbin said.

Aside from the two doctors, Baguio City Police Office chief Col. Allen Rae Co identified the seven cadets who will be charged with violation of the anti-hazing law and murder as Cadet First Class (C1CL) Axl Rey Sanopao, C3CL Shalimar Imperial, C3CL Felix Lumbag Jr., C2CL Christian Zacarias, C3CL Julius Carlo Tadena, C3CL Rey David John Volante and C3CL John Vincent Manalo. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Solon wants licenses of PMA doctors suspended over cadet's death." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1082466 (accessed October 08, 2019 at 03:14AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Solon wants licenses of PMA doctors suspended over cadet's death." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1082466 (archived).

60 seconds with... Doktor Haze

Doktor Haze is the “undead ringmaster” and creator of The Circus of Horrors and a Parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown. from The Argus | News http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/15308318.60_seconds_with____Doktor_Haze/?ref=rss

Wait Anti a while back when you said you like own time and forced it to kiss you...ew.... were you referring to dapper?? and why do you even do that in the first place that's messed up dude just sayin

Anti crouches down beside Dapper and Doktor.

His youngest puppet is pressed back against the doctor. Someone else might mistake it for hiding, but Dapper is no longer holding Dok for the comfort. His body is in front of his brother’s. He protects Doktor. He protects Doktor from Anti.

For a long time, Anti just looks him in the eyes.

“Yes, I was referring to Dapper,” he says. “Of course I was. My little time traveler. Yes, I’ve made time kiss me. I’ve made it sing my praises and give up everything it used to love for my sake. It didn’t have much of a choice, but that is not what matters. What matters now is that it belongs to me.”

Anti sets his hand on Doktor’s thigh and leans close over the both of them, his chest flush with Dapper’s. The youngest brother can no longer bear the weight of his green-eyed gaze; flushing, Dapper turns away, avoiding the eyes of the snake.

“Doesn’t it, Jay?”

Something visceral and agonizing rises up like acid in Dapper’s throat, and in that moment he is so close to remembering everything that hovers around the edges of his time-travel-hazed mind, so close to putting back a piece of himself that he’s been trying to find for weeks now, so close to being a person who does not belong to Anti.

Fuck, does it hurt.

Memories of his lips pressed to Anti’s cheeks, his hands teasing and begging for affection, being cradled like a child to Anti’s chest, hiding behind his big brother for comfort, letting him cut into him and tie him to his bed post, a raven he loved being shoved out a window, and a half-dozen faces only vaguely familiar, stained bright in red - only some of the people Anti told him to kill, and fuck, but his knife was glad to have something to do other than sitting in that room.

“Give me a kiss,” says Anti. “And I’ll put this behind me.”

His voice is sugar-sweet and Dapper could gag. He knows he’s being mocked. He knows that Anti can feel the dissatisfaction, the revolution, sitting painful in his chest. But if he can be convinced to obey despite a little discontent, despite a little doubt, Anti will believe that he is not a threat, and Dapper can go back to playing puppet, and maybe it won’t hurt so much.

Doktor is shaking against him.

Anti grabs his chin in his hands, tight enough to bruise, and he yanks Dapper’s head back towards him, forcing him to meet endless green eyes.

“Give me a kiss,” says Anti, smiling so fucking wide, so fucking cruel, and something in Jameson’s chest hates him. “Give me a kiss and you can have a quiet night with your Dok-Dok, and nobody has to get h - ”

Dapper strikes him, hard, in the face.