Saturday, August 06, 2011

Our August 6 To 12 Issue



Special Feature: What Career Advice Would You Give To Yourself?
Videos: Johnny Bunko, Alupihang Dagat, 54, Star Wars Attack of The Clones, Black Swan, Crash, Lincoln Lawyer, Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, Razor’s Edge, Rushmore, Lost In Translation, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Artists of The Week: Nelson Del Castillo, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Glass Tigers



What Career Advice Would You Give To Yourself?

 This story originally appeared July 17 in Philippine Panorama

Johnny Bunko is an aspiring artist even as he gets nosebleed from his accountant job that demands heavy-duty mathematics. 

He’s really a nice guy but his boss is so domineering so he’s burning out.
             
Thus goes the story of the graphic novel The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Advice You’ll Ever Need by Daniel Pink.



           

One day, stressed out, Johnny went to get something to eat and found a Chinese deli that wasn’t there before. Back at the office, as he split the chopsticks, a magical being, a small anime girl, appears – and manipulates events to teach him priceless lessons, and here they are:


There is no plan. We can map out our entire life but the truth is that things don’t always turn out according to plan. It’s better to know where we want to go and still be open to the possibilities of the moment. At the end of the day, what really counts is how you took responsibility for your actions.
           
         Elizabeth Oropesa started as a beauty queen then went on to establish a career as a multi-awarded actress, even using her stature to boost independent films. She is what most people aspire to be – a star.




Then the mysterious forces that govern our lives summoned her with an entirely inexplicable calling – the ministry of healing. Today, she is a full-time healer, attributing it as a gift from God. La Oropesa has become His instrument to cure hundreds of people with cancer and other fatal diseases, long after doctors have given up on them.
           

Use your strength. Using your strength is self-explanatory but some of us ignore it. It sounds easy and logical, but oftentimes we say we’ll do it tomorrow instead. In the meantime, we disperse our energy with multitasking. But think of what you can do if you focus and give it your best shot.
           
            BaltazarEndriga wanted to help shape the future, like all visionaries, and he knew his field of expertise is the academe. His background as a former president of both the University of the East and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and as Peter Denticke Fellow at the Harvard Business School, naturally led to his establishing the Meridian International, or MINT, in McKinley Hill in Taguig, known for its innovations in teaching methods and cutting edge curriculum.
           

It’s not personal. What you give is the measure of your worth, be it time, talent or services to society. In business, it’s always about the customer. People may appreciate what you have, and that’s super superb, but the bottom line is that they’ll love is you can give them what they want.
            
            Ryan Philippe shot to stardom in 54 and it seems he was the object of fantasy the world over.




He was already a shoo-in to be Anakin Skywalker for the Star Wars prequel trilogy – then that career-defining role went to Hayden Christensen.




Ryan knows the decision was nothing personal. He was gracious enough to admit that, though still young, he was too old be Anakin, who’s supposed to be even younger than Padme Amidala, played by Natalie Portman who recently won the Oscar for Black Swan.


           


Ryan has moved on and has shed his boy-next-door image to become an actor known for his talent and not just his body, appearing in noteworthy projects like the Oscar Best Picture Crash




and his latest, The Lincoln Lawyer, where he showcases his thespian skills opposite Matthew McConnaughey.


           


Persistence prevails over talent. Persistence is crucial because how can you succeed if you surrender? The men and women who changed the world, like Ninoy and Gandhi, had a vision and they never let go of that vision. That’s how they succeeded; that’s how they became heroes.
         
         Leonora Cuerpo had a dream – to earn a college degree and lift her family from poverty. So she enrolled in high school in Sual, Pangasinan, even if she is already 34 years old and the mother of six. One of her classmates is her own daughter Lorefiel. The proud mom-and-daughter team just got their diplomas and the whole school erupted with applause as they see an ordinary woman achieve something extraordinary – the fulfillment of a dream.
           

Make excellent mistakes. We all mistakes, and hopefully, we don’t do them again. But how on earth can you commit an excellent mistake? That’s an oxymoron, like “Charm offensive,” but essentially it means aiming high and although you miss, you learn from it and what you did led to a good thing, better than your original target.
            
           Bill Murray’s signature dead-pan comedy and talent for improvising dialogue while filming made him a phenomenon in Groundhog Day






and of course, Ghostbusters.






His boundless talent, however, made him feel trapped in that image, so he did straight drama in The Razor’s Edge.




The critics pounced on it but it made an impression on a young filmmaker named Wes Anderson.
           

So, years later, when Wes was filming Rushmore, he wanted no one else but Bill. The rest is history, and Bill’s reinvention was a smashing success.





Murray went on to work with Sofia Coppola in Lost In Translation, where his nuanced portrayal of a fading movie star in midlife crisis earned him an Oscar nomination.





He teamed up again with Wes in the equally multi-layered The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou with Angelica Huston, Cate Blanchett and Owen Wilson.



           



Leave a mark. It is a fundamental human need to want to be remembered, to want an assurance that our life had been worth living. Some people ignore this need, and they feel a void because they have forgotten to search for meaning. Once they find it though, then their lives become much more significant, and they bequeath us with a thing of beauty that will stand the test of time.
           
          Socorro Ramos opened a book shop and built one of the most indispensable pillars of Philippine life. We all have grown up with National Bookstore and it has become part of our lives. Just recently, “Nanay,” as she is fondly called, was conferred a doctorate of Humanities honoris cause from De La Salle University.



Our featured artists this week:: Nelson Del Castillo,  Zsa Zsa Padilla, Glass Tigers









Photos courtesy of Wikinomics (http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/index.php/2008/09/29/career-advice-via-comics-dan-pink-talks-to-us-about-johnny-bunko/) and Pinoy Exhange (http://dolores.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=470338&page=119) and Read Me Girls (http://ppgcom.blog12.fc2.com/blog-entry-2791.html)








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