The Withdrawal

God Bless: God. That's right, it's Sunday. Party at Jesus' house! i hear there's music, bread, and you can drink without being carded

Aw mayn, guys...i'm starting to miss this class. i think it was the only worthwhile class i took this semester. i'm done with finals and i just finished my paper, so hopefully posting on this old blog isn't too sad. Anyhoot here's my shot at the haiku variation we heard about in class. Ahem:

this

poem is

triangle-shaped, eh?

Sorry, sometimes my Canadian accent slips when i write haikus.
Have an awesome summer everybuddy.
(Yeah, and if you're reading this then that means you kinda miss the class too. Don't lie!)

RIP English R1B Spring 2005

God Bless: us, everyone. (and high five to you, Little Timmy)
Feeling: mellow yellow

Sound the horns! Wear your Sunday's best, kids! This occasion calls for pyrotechnics!

This week marks the last round of blog posts for English R1B!
Well...except for the poor fools that haven't been keeping up with posting...but we don't talk about them.
Keeping with tradition--because a Ken-post ain't a Ken-post without an advertisment--here's one last last-minute plug:

{m}aganda magazine reception

come celebrate the release of our next issue!

choice.change.power

5-7pm Heller Lounge, MLK

free food! free entertainment!

the first...um..50? people receive free CDs with their purchase of a magazine

No worries, i'm thinking not many of you guys will show up, based on the number of (crumpled) flyers i saw on the ground after Thursday's class. It was a graveyard of flyers. Just kidding. It wasn't that bad--i guess you guys just wanted to leave me something to wipe my tears after you all left. BAH someone slap me, i'm emo!

Anyhoot, i have no idea what i should be writing about. How's everyone doing with their final papers? i should probably start mine soon. i should probably settle on a topic soon. i should probably make peace with my gpa soon.

In general, i have to admit that i really enjoyed this class. i never expected to see a class offered by the English department devoted entirely to Filipino and Filipino-American literature. Before coming to Berkeley, i wasn't even aware that Filipino-American literature (or culture, for that matter) existed. i'd never been exposed to the Filipino-American community, and i had no understanding of our history as a diaspora. Wow, this is starting to sound like an infommercial for Ethnic studies. Oh well, i guess i'm just trying to say that i really appreciated the material of this course. It's gotten a lot of advertising among Filipino undergrads here at Berkeley, so i hope that this class will be offered again in the future.

Alright, i have no idea what i'm going to do with this blog now that the semester is almost over. If it doesn't collect dust and fossilize it just might turn into another xanga (oh but how i love those eprops).

i hope all of you guys had a great semester, and it was awesome to get to know some of you. There will be tears on this keyboard Wednesday night--this paper is killin me. And on that note...

Peace out, English R1B

~kenneth tan ronquillo

The Debut: so when does the party start?

God Bless: ah, im on theatre rice withdrawl. God bless you, Cristy Dantes, for coming to see the show. it means a lot that you said you would come and you pulled through (unlike other people)
Feelin: two thumbs up

The Debut: so when does the party start?

Somewhere towards the end of the film, Lolo Carlos rebukes his son, Roland Mercado, for not affording his daughter a proper debut.

In my mind--bear with me--Lolo Carlos represents us (the audience), Roland Mercado represents the film's creators, and The Debut is the party we yell at our son for making us sit through.

Don't get me wrong. The film has some nice moments, and i appreciate the spirit of the movie. Come on, Dad wants a doctor but your heart wants you to doodle your life away? Story of my life. But beyond that, there's so much i have trouble identifying with. For instance, the whole parking lot scene. i don't remember that part of high school. But that's just me. It was an impossible task for this film to encompass completely the diverse experiences of a burgeoning youthful Filipino American generation.

i guess, then, that my criticism of the film is rooted in its execution. There's the dialogue, for instance. i would have brought some wine to class if i'd have known there'd be that much cheese. That one character's Rice-Rocket-Rant...priceless. There's also the acting, but i'll get to that later.

All gripes aside, i just want to say again that i really believe in the spirit of the film. It's really frustrating that mainstream Hollywood has yet to recognize Asian American talent, to take initiative to deconstruct stereotypes of Asians in America that Hollywood itself has historically generated and perpetuated. It's about time we saw some Filipino Americans playing Filipino Americans on the big screen. i applaud that. The film has great intentions.

i'm just cranky.

why?

i leave with one question:
Is Annabelle's character supposed to be a bad actor?

Ha. There. i said it.
Can't we get some talented Filipinos into the industry, for cryin out loud?