Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, Dec. 5) — This week, browse through collections of self-published literary work, score some award-winning books, vintage jewelry and unique furniture, watch an award-winning Japanese film and a sustainable eco theater production, and try a new hair dye that covers up even grey hairs.
Ateneo Press is celebrating their annual harvest of books that “narrate the nation” with Golden Harvest, which includes a sale from Dec. 8 to 12 in their Lazada and Shopee stores. Photo courtesy of ATENEO PRESS
Read more books courtesy of the Ateneo Press Golden Harvest Sale
National Book Awards’ Publisher of the Year Ateneo Press is celebrating their annual harvest of books that “narrate the nation” with Golden Harvest, which includes a sale from Dec. 8 to 12 in their Lazada and Shopee stores.
The sale includes bundles such as the Philippine History Bundle (₱1,625), featuring “Brains of the Nation” and “Interrogations” by National Artist Resil B. Mojares; and “Knowledge and Pacification” by Reynaldo C. Ileto; the Novel Bundle (₱799), featuring “Tiempo Muerto” by Caroline Hau, “The Collaborators” by Katrina Tuviera, and “Kites in the Night” by Blaise Campo Gacoscos; and the Short Story Bundle (₱699), which includes “A Natural History of the Empire” by Dominic Sy, “City Stories” by Angelo R. Lacuesta, and “The Collected Stories of Jessica Zafra” by Jessica Zafra.
Ateneo Press has also launched their latest books which includes the second novel of Glenn Diaz, “Yñiga,” the short story collections “Armor” by John Bengan and “Song of the Mango and other New Myths” by Vida Cruz-Borja; and the history-memoir “Lost Graves, Found Lives” by Agapito Labalan Del Rosario with Rosario Cruz-Lucero.
Shop for zines, art books, prints, and more at BLTX 2022
Since 2010, BLTX (which stands for Better Living Through Xeroxography) has been supporting independent writers and artists from the literary underground through regular press expos held in different parts of the Philippines. On Dec. 10, they are finally staging a physical comeback featuring over 50 participants. The event will start with a town hall session on zine-making and free culture (among other topics) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., with the actual expo beginning at 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. This year’s event is a collaboration between Gantala Press, Magpies Press, Makò Micro-Press, Paper Trail Projects, and Studio Soup Zine Library. For more information, visit the BLTX Instagram. — CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF
The Holiday Pop-Up at Guava Sketches will be open on Dec. 10. Photo courtesy of SOUVENIR
Score vintage jewelry and modern furniture finds at a weekend pop-up
Furniture store Nooke and vintage jewelry shop Souvenir are known for their unique pieces, most of which can be bought primarily through their online channels. This Dec. 10, the two brands are giving customers a chance to check out their wares in person at The Holiday Pop-Up at Guava Sketches in Greenbelt 5, Makati. From 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., customers can shop Souvenir’s curated vintage finds (with new pieces from owner Sam Potenciano’s recent Thailand trip) and Nooke’s latest collection of furniture, all the while enjoying food and drinks from Bombvinos and Ijo Bakery, and music by St. Vincent and the Grenadines. — CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF
Watch "Plan 75"
Honestly, my heart was in my throat the entire time I was watching “Plan 75.” The premise is devastating enough (seniors over 75 in Japan are given an option to be euthanized) but what more to watch someone to go through that decision themselves?
Chie Hayakawa’s Cannes-winning “Plan 75” is probably the most insidiously devastating films of the recent QCinema International Film Fest. In a narrative manner that magnifies bureaucracy and spotlights it at its most violent, “Plan 75” asks: what if we force people aged 75 and over to succumb to their own death. In the film’s fictional world, a near-future Japan passes the titular law where citizens over the age of 75 have the option to be euthanized — for free and in premium packages — in order to remedy a population that’s rapidly ageing. This option is seen to be noble, as implied by a bloody opening scene, which is inspired by actual events where a man who formerly worked for a care facility went into a rampage at a care home, killing 19 disabled people. For Hayakawa, it matters that this act of violence opens the film, which unfolds so gracefully that we almost don’t realize that we’re watching people choose to die because a capitalist society has already condemned them.
The film focuses on three characters: Michi (veteran actress Chieko Baishô), a 78-year-old hotel service crew who is suddenly left jobless and soon to be homeless; Hiromu (Hayato Isomura), a Plan 75 agent whose perception of the very plan he’s “selling” is upended when he encounters a distant uncle applying; and Maria (Stefanie Arianne), a Filipino caregiver working at a Plan 75 facility.
Hayakawa asks the right questions to a society where “use” is merely the function and value assigned to a person. What happens when you are a burden? What happens when you are too old to work? Do you choose to die to unburden a younger generation? Or do you continue to live because you choose to be? — DON JAUCIAN
"Plan 75" is in theaters starting December 7. Check the TBA Studios Facebook for listings.
CNN Philippines Life copy editor Marga Buenaventura tries the Revlonissimo Hair Dye. Photo by MARGA BUENAVENTURA
Try Revlonissimo Hair Dye to cover up stubborn greys
A hairstyle I’ve often dreamt of sporting is what they call “the moneypiece:” two even chunks of blonde highlights framing your face, with the rest of your hair done in a darker or different base. Back in the ‘90s, Geri Halliwell a.k.a. Ginger Spice, had an iconic moneypiece hairstyle with blonde highlights and ginger red hair. Today, artists like Dua Lipa and Jennie Kim have brought it back, this time with ashy blonde or even black bases. It’s severe, it’s slightly unapproachable, but ultimately eye-catching. I didn’t think I had the attitude to pull it off, but I’m also turning 32 soon. I’m already getting greys at this young age. Might as well do it now while I don’t fully cringe in the mirror.
It was the style peg I brought with me when I got to try Revlon’s Revlonissimo Colorsmetique High Coverage hair dye. Revlon’s in-house stylist Mutya recommended this line when she saw that my greys were bright and almost silvery, which meant that they were more difficult to color with regular hair dye. And while there are a lot of dyes that offer grey hair coverage, they rarely ever come in “fashion colors,” or shades beyond dark brown and jet black. Mutya bleached the moneypiece and had a lovely dark ash blonde as my base. It made the moneypiece highlights easier to carry on my face because it was a softer graduation of shades. Less Asian bad girl, more X-Men Rogue. The Revlonissimo line has an anti-age care system of hyaluronic acid, soy protein, CCC prolipid, and arginine too, to prevent more premature hair ageing. — MARGA BUENAVENTURA
Revlon Revlonissimo Colorsmetique High Coverage hair dye is available in Koi Salon, Florabelle Salon, Arte Style Makati, RMES Salon-SM Tanza, San Pedro, and General Trias, Elite Salon and Body Spa, and Well Being Nature Spa.
Support sustainable eco-theater
The Sustainable Eco-Theatre team, in coordination with the Ateneo Areté Sandbox Program and Ateneo Institute of Sustainability is staging two plays at the Rizal Mini Theater at the Ateneo De Manila University: “Pagluwal ng Aswang,” concept by Isyan Sandoval, devise and direction by Abner Torres Delina Jr., with Serena Magiliw as co-director; and “Maria Isabella at ang Guryon ng mga Tala” by Carlos Palanca Memorial Award-winning playwright, Eljay Castro Deldoc and a devised play written by Isyan Sandoval.
The plays tackle the plight of two women who are longing for their own freedoms. The plays will be staged from Jan. 5 to 8, 2023 with the Ateneo Blue Repertory, Musikang Sikat ng mga Tomasino (MUSIKAT), Teatro Tomasino, The UP Repertory Company and UP Tiklado.
These plays are part of The Sustainable Eco-Theater team’s research that aims to promote ecofeminism by incorporating a more sustainable approach in terms of costume and set design in theater production.
For schedules, tickets and more information visit their Facebook page. — CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF