As a writer and a slightly obsessive-compulsive note-taker, I tend to be picky with the notebooks I use. In an age where everything has become digital, barely anyone walks around with a notebook anymore. I myself prefer the sound of my fingers on a keyboard, the ease with which I can edit my work on a computer, and occasionally, shift-F7 for an instant thesaurus entry. However, once in a while, nothing beats the feeling of running a smooth flowing pen on a clear sheet of paper.

While I’ve tried everything notebook save for the one with tacky photos of local celebrities on the cover, nothing beats a Moleskine. They’re damn expensive, but with a leather cover, and a self-publicized history that includes crazy people like Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and geniuses like Ernest Hemingway and Bruce Chatwin, who can resist the lure of notebook that costs ten times more than that one with Judy Ann Santos on the cover amongst plastic flowers and a badly-illustrated landscape of rolling hills?

There’s a certain pride in pulling out a Moleskine from your pocket or bag, removing the leather strap that holds it all together, and, flipping through its yellowing pages. I can imagine finding a dusty stack of them in the future and immediately thinking they contain something of prime importance. If I find a pile of spiral notebooks with Juday on the cover, I burn them.

For the first time, popular notebook brand Moleskine, and National Book Store are bringing the My Moleskine exhibition to Manila. The exhibit showcases the talent and creativity of contemporary artists in Asia. In the interactive exhibition in select NBS stores in the metro, artists show their work in progress, giving the audience an insight into their creative process.

Presented are the works of 34 artists from the fields of design, photography, painting and music who use their Moleskine notebook as their canvas to express and showcase their inspirations and artworks. Two Filipinos, multi-media artist Justo Cascante III, and open media artist Arnel Agawin, are part of the group.

Arnel Agawin’s Moleskine notebook is on exhibit in National Book Store Glorietta 5 up to November 30, 2009 and then at National Book Store Powerplant until January 22, 2010. He had a Hokusai wave thing going on. I have no idea why there are bananas in the ocean. Justo’s Moleskine notebook is on exhibit at Bestsellers Robinson’s Galleria up to January 22, 2010.

Arnel Agawin: An open-media Filipino artist, studied arts at the University of the Philippines. His art is based on the processes (material, mental and spiritual) that manifests the exhibited objects (paintings, installations, actions, etc.) connecting his concepts with the viewer. He identifies with artists concerned with contributing their works for a peaceful, just and spiritually conscious society.

The event was hosted by Tessa Prieto Valdez and Tim Yap. It was hard to miss them.

Together with the exhibit, Moleskine and NBS are also launching the My Moleskine Open Call Manila to promote the bond between Moleskine notebooks and artistic expression. Pimp the pages of your Moleskine notebook and get a chance to win P25,000 worth of gift certificates from NBS and represent the Philippines in the MyDetour Shanghai 2010. The top entries will also have a chance to be part of the permanent roster of Moleskines being showcased around the world. This is notebook doodling to the next level. I was able to get an expanding 2010 Moleskine planner that expands to over five feet. I’m thinking of drawing a very long landscape or just something long; like a pencil. Deadline for entries is December 15, 2009.

Entrepreneur Philippines launches it’s redesign issue this November with Mang Inasal, Edgar Injap Sia II, on the cover. After a month of waiting, the management copy finally arrived this morning. In a word, it’s sexy.  The pages are thicker, the cover’s matte, and the whole look inside the magazine is more, ummm, kick-ass–not a magazine term, but it works.

The issue also has the first two articles I wrote for Entrepreneur. One on Eliz and Ethan Tour Services, a 24-hour travel agency, and what has been my most favorite (and delicious) assignment so far, El Buono’s 35-inch pan pizza. The issue also includes a recap of the ongoing battle within popular local coffee chain Figaro.

Mang Inasal has been expanding all throughout the Philippines with an energy that I can only describe as furious imperialism. Meet the real Mang Insal, Edgar “Injap” Sia II.

Darren Palanisamy of Eliz and Ethan Tour Services.

After this shoot, I brought a whole pizza up to the Summit office for everyone to devour. When I came back from an event the pizza was still there and everyone was full. Love this shoot. Love this pizza.

All is not well with your favorite coffee company.When business goes bad, it can really get ugly.

The November issue hits your favorite newsstands and magazine shops next week. Pick one up for P125. View the e-mag here.

Part of the job description as Editorial Assistant is to represent the magazine in the different events we usually get invited to but don’t have the time to attend. It sounds better in my contract. Companies usually invite the press for one simple reason. It’s not their earnest desire to spread goodwill towards all men by feeding them and giving them free stuff. If there’s one thing I learned from my Economics class, it’s that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. They all want publicity.

But in this case, I got a free lunch.

Maginhawa Street in Teachers’ Village, Quezon City is slowly becoming the strip for unique, satisfying, and affordable hole-in the-wall establishments. Pino Resto Bar (122 Maginhawa St., Teachers’ Village, Quezon City) is one of them. Operating for more than a year now, I remember going there during my third year in college, looking for a late lunch, only to find out they were closed on Mondays. I swore to return, but never had the chance, until now.

To celebrate its first anniversary, resident Chef Edward Bugia whipped up his “fusion cuisine,” combining Filipino delicacies with a refined touch, or as I would like to call it, deconstructed Filipino food with a kick.

Bored of your usual kare-kare dish? Try their Kare-kareng Bagnet. Crispy Ilocano double fried pork belly cuts in a peanut butter sauce served with bagoong rice. It’s a heart attack on a plate, but a delicious heart attack nonetheless. Tired of the usual pasta dish? Try their Seafood Gambas Aligue Pasta smothered in crab fat, topped with squid rings, and shrimp. I could feel my arteries clogging.

Chef Edward Bugia and his appetizer buffet of shrimp and pork lemongrass skewers (P175), nori cheese sticks (P165), mini sisig tacos (P185), tofu balls with cheese (P145), and tempura oysters and pearls (P185).

Owners Pj Lanot and Star

Pino also houses artwork by some local artists, painters, and photographers, as well as holds exhibits every quarter. Their walls were designed/vandalized by the people of WeeWillDoodle (weewilldoodle.com).

Kare Kareng Bagnet (P245)

Seafood Gambas and Aligue Pasta (P165)

Sisig Carbonara (P165)

Chocnut Turon (P110)

Chunky Choco Tempura (P125)

And as a treat to all customers, for this year alone, diners who order a main course (or survive the main course) can bring their favorite chocolate bar and the staff of Pino will gladly drop it in tempura batter and deep fry it, for free. Take advantage of this while you’re still alive. I’m thinking of bringing a whole bag of Hershey’s Kisses with almonds.

Pino Resto Bar is open everyday for lunch and dinner. Call 4411773 for details. Bring a defibulator.

Working at Entrepreneur for the past three months has given me a sense of loyalty to the magazine, as well as the company, Summit Media. Whenever I find myself at a grocery store, department store, magazine stand, convenience store, or any establishment that happens to be selling Summit titles, including Entrepreneur, I have always, although discreetly, always moved up our magazine up “the rack”. The rack is the official Summit Media rack that houses all the Summit titles; Entrepreneur, Cosmopolitan, Preview, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Candy, Town & Country, FHM. My Managing Editor tells me that the people at circulation rotate the titles every month on who gets to sit on the top rack. The top rack is the most coveted position it being the first place the customer sees. It’s the window seat on a plane, the cherry on a sundae, the seat with no vandalism, the the pencil with no chew marks, the girl who isn’t a slut. I digress.

After a dinner meeting–something I have to get used to saying since for me, dinner has always been dinner and a meeting has always been a meeting–with a subject the other week, I went to Fully Booked in Greenhills, Promenade to browse through some titles I want to buy but don’t have the time to read. I usually save the titles in my phone to give to my brother the next times he travels abroad. That way, I get the books I want, I read them at a later time, and I don’t pay for them. On this night, after moving all the Entrepreneur magazines on the top shelf, covering Preview in the process (I’m sure they do it too.), I saw the September issue of Town & Country sitting above the shelf with some odd writing on the plastic cover.

I moved in to get a clear view and saw this.

While I support all the titles under Summit, even the sleaziest ones (i.e. FHM), my first reaction was of amazement and awe. Whoever did this had guts. Plus he/she had to bring his/her marker pen to do it.

This prompted a lengthy discussion with my superiors in the car about Irene Araneta (aka Irene Marcos Araneta) on the way back to the office. By the way, the M that’s my middle name, stands for Marcos. Ask me when you meet me.

Relief efforts are ongoing. But this one just makes me sick.

Whose color is orange?

That guy.

Mami Villar.

In case you forget his name.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s 2009 State of the Nation Address

Jump to the 1:00 mark and try to keep your seething anger in.

“As a country in the path of typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be as prepared as the latest technology permits to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not….The mapping of flood- and landslide-prone areas is almost complete. Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with weather tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga….

We have worked on flood control infrastructure like those for Pinatubo, Agno, Laoag, and Abucay, which will pump the run off waters from Quezon City and Tondo flooding Sampaloc. This will help relieve hundreds of hectares in this old city of its age-old woe….

Patuloy naman iyong sa Camanava, dagdag sa Pinatubo, Iloilo, Pasig-Marikina, Bicol River Basin, at mga river basin ng Mindanao.”

Now where the f*ck are all those things?