Ambeth Ocampo's "Fernando Amorsolo" Lecture

Yes, another Ambeth Ocampo post.

This time, it's about the Philippine's first National Artist Fernando Amorsolo in Ambeth's lecture titled "Fernando Amorsolo: Portrait of the Artist as Historian".

I have to admit, I only know Amorsolo by name. I did not know much else about him, but after the lecture, I had a newfound respect for his talent.

Singing Lessons with Jeanne Velasco-Vicars of Showstoppers

Last January, Dealspot sold vouchers for singing lessons at Showstoppers Center for Music and Arts. The lessons would be handled by Ms. Jeanne Velasco-Vicars and the technique she would be using was called vocal sound management. According to the description, vocal sound management can correct vocal faults and effect vocal adjustment in the shortest possible time. So with this technique, the student can expect to learn to sing in tune, prevent getting hoarse, increase vocal range and volume, improve enunciation, enhance vocal expression, and clean up his sound.

The teacher, Ms. Vicars, is the voice coach of several celebrities such as Katryn Bernardo, Jennelyn Mercado, Sarah Geronimo, and Isabella de Leon. The office was located in Delta in Quezon City and the rate was P750 per hour per student (regular rate), P375 through the Dealspot promo. I texted Ms. Vicars to confirm if the lessons would be one-on-one and she said yes. I bought six vouchers -- three for me, three for bf. Our first lesson was done in the Delta office, the second after they moved to Timog (in the unit where Ms. Vicars also lives) due to rising rental cost in the previous office.

Bf and I both love music but we're not the singing type. We don't even like contemporary pop and Rn'B. We don't have any ambition to sing professionally. Although they're undeniably great singers, I don't dream of singing ala Charice or Regine Velasquez (my singing idols are more like Chris Cornell and Sebastian Bach, even if they're of the wrong gender). Anyway, my goal was pretty simple: I want to sing in tune. And of course, our overall goal: to try new stuff.

So how did things go? Well, both good and bad.

Food for Thought: A Celebration of Good Taste Exhibit @ DLSU Manila

I was at the De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila yesterday afternoon to view the Food for Thought: A Celebration of Good Taste exhibit honoring the late author Doreen G. Fernandez. I had not been able to visit DLSU since I graduated yearsss ago and it was nice to finally see the university again. A lot of things have remained the same but a lot of things have also changed. Back when I was still studying here, the Yuchengco Hall was still non-existent and there were no turnstiles yet at the entrance.

Who is Doreen Fernandez?

Doreen Gamboa Fernandez (born Alicia Dorothea Gamboa) was born in Manila but grew up in Silay, Negros Occidental. She graduated Cum Laude from St. Scholastica's College in 1954 with a degree in English and History. She earned her M.A. in Literature (English) in 1956 from the Ateneo de Manila University and got her Ph.D. in Literature (English) in 1976, also from Ateneo. Doreen married architect and interior designer Wili Fernandez, who shared her passion for art and good food. She wrote many books about Philippine art, culture, and food and received praises and awards for her work as a writer and as a teacher. She passed away last June 24, 2002, surrounded by family and friends.

Our First Time to Try Impressionistic Acrylic Painting @ Design Perception

There are people who say that they have two left feet. Well I guess I have two left hands. Although I liked drawing when I was a kid, as I grew older, art and I went our separate ways. I continued to admire art from afar and was perpetually jealous of artists.

I heard about Design Perception Visual Art & Creative Studio in Quezon City. They were offering basic creative art lessons. Bf and I decided to drop by for a 2-hour session. I was a little nervous, since I could only draw stick figures - my definition of 'basic' might be different from theirs.

The studio was a lot smaller than I expected. At the front was the reception area. The walls were white, made interesting and alive with colorful paintings.

reception area

counter

Behind the wall with the octopus design was the study area. Artworks, art books, and art supplies were neatly arranged, maximizing the space.

Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan: 20 Taon Art Exhibit at the Ayala Museum

I visited the Ayala Museum thrice last year for the Ambeth Ocampo lectures. After the lectures, we roamed around to see the artwork displayed on the ground floor. The Ilustrador ng Kabataan exhibit was my favorite among the three exhibits I had seen because there were lots of artwork there that appealed to my taste. I also loved the lively and fun way Ayala Museum displayed them -- brought my inner child out :)

Le Bistro D'Agathe - Authentic French Food in Makati

Admit it! When we Filipinos hear the words "French food" or "French restaurant", we form a mental image of a very upscale restaurant, with a snooty waiter and a lot of intimidating, hard-to-pronounce, not to mention expensive, food. There is this fear that we will end up looking as lost and clumsy as Mr. Bean in this infamous scene:

So when we heard about this French bistro in Makati, we decided to try it. Being a bistro, it was a small, modest restaurant with moderately priced food -- perfect for people like us who wanted to try French food but were a little intimidated. According to some blogs, the chef was very accommodating, which was a bonus.

Taste

We ordered the set dinner meal, which consisted of your choice of appetizer, main course, and dessert. I ordered terrine, lasagna, and apple pie while bf ordered cucumber soup, ox tongue with ravigote sauce, and chocolate mousse.

It was my first time to try terrine. I chose it because it was similar to pâté, which I like. The terrine was a lot bigger than I expected but I had no trouble finishing it because it wasn't too filling or cloying. The lasagna was good, the topmost layer was crustier than the typical lasagna. The cucumber soup was filling and the ox tongue was tender, with the ravigote sauce complementing the tongue's mild flavor. The apple pie was different from my expectation. I was expecting either a pocket pie with a jam-like filling or a thick pie with chunky and still-crunchy apple filling. Le Bistro's apple pie was thin and light.

terrine