OMFG. Guuuuuuuuuh.

1. Shooting Twilight (around April - June 2008)















2. Promoting Twilight (around November 2008)

3. DECEMBER 2008

Ohmygush (gush talaga!) Love the new hair! :-)

Because I'm Ms. Brightside

I know I promised that I'll try to be a positive thinker for the most part and find fulfillment in whatever I have now but I can't help recognizing a similar sentiment in this book I'm reading (and it isn't Twilight!).

The waitress brings his coffee. Takashi adds cream, clanks his spoon around in the cup, and drinks.

Then he says, "To tell you the truth, this is the first time in my life I've ever wanted to study something seriously. I've never had bad grades. They weren't especially good, but they weren't bad, either. I could always get the point of things where it really mattered, so I could always manage with the grades. I'm good at that. Which is why I got into a pretty good school, and if I keep up what I'm doing now, I can probably get a job at a pretty good company. So then I'll probably make a good marriage and have a pretty good home... you see? But now I'm sick of the whole thing. All of a sudden."

After Dark, Haruki Murakami

Well, I look at life as if it's a really long road trip. At one point it becomes tiring, wearying and discomforting but it's a whole lotta fun when you're surrounded by the people you love. Maybe it'll be helpful for me to forget about the destination for a while, and just enjoy the ride. I'll get there when I get there. But get where exactly? I don't know.

If people ask me how I see myself 5, 10, 20 years from now, I'll probably be able to give a rather good answer because I'm good at coming up with answers to anticipated questions (haha). 5 years from now I'll be 30, living independently, enjoying a successful career, about to start a family with a good blah blah blah

Truthfully, though, this is the only answer I can come up with right now: I don't really know where I'll be XX years from now but I'm pretty sure my life won't suck because I won't allow it.

How's that for positivism? :-)

Love Hurts

It's 2 a.m. and I'm not even sleepy at all. anyway, don't be fooled by the title. this post has nothing to do with love.


just learned that Incubus' song Love Hurts is somewhere in the top 10 of billboard's modern rock chart this week. HELLO! That song is from the Light Grenades album and it's 2 years old.

It's also one of the band's suckiest songs in my opinion. Having that song out makes them compare more with bands like the click five or boys like girls rather than the foo fighters or audioslave. Having that song also makes them unfit to play european rock festivals (which they've been playing every year). As if the crowd needs more reasons to throw stuff and boo them. they should leave the whiny, cheeseball songs to the new bands.

How can you play right before Metallica or Rage with a song that goes "Love hurts but sometimes it's a good hurt and if feels like I'm alive... without love i won't survive".

Heck, I'm finding it hard to believe that this songwriter is the same one who wrote Megalomaniac.


Brandon, may I have a word with you?

haha ang hindi makatulog, nag-rant. I just hate to see my favorite bands deviate from the very reasons i liked them in the first place.

although there's really nothing we fans can do if the band we like wants to take another direction. they're going to find new listeners that will appreciate their music and we can turn attention to other bands as well.

crap crap crappy!!!

PLDT DSL sucks! I swear! in the morning, up until mid afternoon, connection is perfect... fast and then come night time, it just stops. so what if I'm this close to finishing my downloads? i'll try apain tomorrow?

i need my internet in the evening!!! it just doesnt make sense, lalo na pag weekdays because nobody's home during daytime to use the Internet. Wtf naman kasi. ugh.

(via mobile)

----------------

Anyway, here's another something from Pareng Chuck:

"When you go out with a drunk, you'll notice how a drunk fills your glass so he can empty his own. As long as you're drinking, drinking is okay. Two's company. Drinking is fun. If there's a bottle, even if your glass isn't empty, a drunk, he'll pour a little in your glass before he fills his own.

This only looks like generosity."

--------> haha may kilala kong ganyan! and I'm not referring to myself :-)

Hysteria is just impossible without an audience.

I imagine myself being photographed in a studio.

The photographer in my head says: Give me patience.

Flash.

Give me control.

Flash.

------------------

Let me tell you a story of a girl who cried a river and drowned the whole world... well, not really.

*9 deleted paragraphs later*

I actually went out of my way to see how she was and asked if there's anything we should improve on to make things more efficient. She went to say her piece and I offered my perspective, too.

Afterwhich, I said, "I hope you understand where I'm coming from." And this girl I was talking to said, "No. I know where you are."

So now there's an issue? Well, I think I'm too old for your issues. Save the drama (for your mama).

This is on Multiply but not in Facebook.

Last week, we had the privilege of meeting (and sharing a drink with) Anthony Bourdain -- chef, writer, host and rockstar of the culinary world.

Extremely good-looking, charming, nice, smart and really funny. This didn't come up in the interviews he did here but have any of you seen the Romania episode yet? Freaky! He and his friend went to this creepy dracula-themed resto and they couldn't find anything good to eat. They also went to a cemetery where they write (and illustrate) the cause of death in the tombstones. Anobuzz. He also said that people there weren't friendly at all.

Talking about Lechon: "Pigs... they have a really sad life... The saddest lives. They're just ready to die!"

Hahahaha!

I gotta know what you think, so I can get you to think what I think.

The best way is not to fight it, just go. Don't be trying all the time to fix things. What you run from only stays with you longer. When you fight something, you only make it stronger.


Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

you, stupid shiny Volvo owner

I'll see you soon!!!

F1 will have a new champion this year.

Perhaps it's the year of historic milestones for black people. Obama could be the first black US President and Lewis Hamilton could be the first F1 champion. Then again, I'm rooting for Massa. Too bad, Kimi, I cheered for you!

Kimi Raikkonen’s battle with Robert Kubica was fought over more than just second place. Raikkonen was fighting to keep his championship hopes alive - and he lost.

Raikkonen is 21 points behind Lewis Hamilton with 20 left to be won this year. Thus his chances of retaining the crown he won in 2007 are over.

That means whichever of the remaining contenders wins the title this year - Hamilton, Felipe Massa or Robert Kubica - it will be a first time champion, and the 29th different title winner in the sport’s 59-year history.

I've always been a big Raikkonen fan dating back to the days when he was just beginning his career with McLaren and I was just starting to be fascinated by F1. Back then, he was just a newcomer who showed promise. Some people were quick to write him off, saying he was not as serious about F1 as the rest because of his unconventional and nonchalant attitude towards the sport. As he began to prove his mettle and earn his place at the podium in some races, he just couldn't win the championship for a lot of reasons. Sometimes, it was his own doing and most of the time, it was the car. He was always ALMOST there but never there. Frustration set in for the fans but I'm always rooting for the underdog. I'm probably one of the very few followers of Formula 1 who isn't a big Schumacher fan.

McLaren took really good care of him but he had to leave them. Nobody will ever be able to resist the opportunity to drive for Ferrari. Now we have a really good driver in a really fast car. In 2007, he finally got the championship albeit not so easily. But when the universe conspires, things fall into place and it just happens. This year, he tried again but guess it just wasn't his time again. It was back to the usual... just always ALMOST there. He made mistakes, his car wasn't in good shape, his teammate, Felipe Massa, just kept getting better, and the other cars and drivers were simply faster.

I remember when it was Michael Schumacher driving for Ferrari with Rubens Barrichello as support. Schumi didn't win every race and there were times when Barrichello was just better than him. There was this race (it escapes me which one) when they were #1 and 2 with Barrichello leading. At that time, Schumacher needed some points to secure the the driver's championship with just about 2-3 races to go (i think). If he won this particular race, he's a shoo-in for the championship. Barrichello was the man of that race, leading from the start. However, knowing that Schumi needed some points for the championship, they asked Barrichello to slow down as he approached the checkered flag to let Schumi pass him. How sad. Niluto. Barrichello had a career, too, you know. But he let him pass, for the sake of teammanship. They should've let Schumi work harder for that one.

Well, there was no such incident this year. Massa held his own against Raikkonen and they never figured in such a fixed strategy. I guess, all I'm saying is it was a fair fight. Kimi may have lost it at this point but I'm still a fan. And oh, I'm rooting for Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso will never get my vote.

buzz me.

Every vision has to have a plan. A vision without a plan is nothing but a hallucination.

-someone-

just blogging my way through SLEX traffic :-)

Human Shit, Loyd!

Five episodes into the new season and we're already seeing a lot of memorable moments in the lives of Vinny Chase's entourage. And of course, most of them includes Ari Gold!

Here's one where Ari and Adam Davies try to 'outprank' each other... super funny!!! And then Ari bitchslaps him. haha

Ari gets a Ferrari as a gift from the wifey and then he bumps into Davies on the street the first time he takes the car for a drive...

mobile blogging and Santogold

whee, my first blog post via mobile. Killing time at the hospital... it could be really difficult to type using touch keypad but that's what you're willing to endure to escape boredom.


so while i'm bored, let me tell you about my new fave artist - Santogold. kinda pop/r&b-ish but electronic. i'd say pretty unique for a mainstream act.

i like more than 3 of her songs which makes her qualify for album purchase. thing is the album is hard to find, well at least for us in the PHL. actually, looks like nobody i know is aware that the artist exists. they don't have it at music one yet. itunes naman doesn't let PHL users buy songs, only apps. amazon only allows MP3 downloads in the US. I really tried my best to acquire it LEGALLY but I don't have a choice now haha.

yan... sometimes i guess piracy is reasonable. eh sa gusto kong makinig eh. so by the time it becomes available here baka nagsawa nako then i wont buy anymore.

i'm also looking out for the new Bloc Party and Oasis albums, and the MUSE Live at Wembley DVD (HAARP tour). :-)

at least something nice happened this week

We are the champions, my friend!

And it feels so good! :-)

I love Chris Tiu and Rabeh, they carried the team on their shoulders and brought us to this championship but my favorite Eagle for this one is Nonoy Baclao. Sabi nga niya nung minsang nasupalpal niya si Maierhoffer, "astiiiiiiiiiig!!!"

You know when you've had a bad week (or bad couple of weeks) and you just wished something would happen to lift up your spirits? Well, well, well... this did it! I'm just so proud to be a part of the Ateneo community but it's not just because we are the champions. Even if we didn't win, which happened a lot, I'll always be proud to be an Atenean because of the seal of excellence that's attached to it. We deserve that. We earned that after four or so years of hardwork. Now that we're 'down from the hill' everybody expects a lot from Ateneo Alumni and we ought to prove ourselves everytime. It can be flattering sometimes but a lot of times it can be daunting as well. We have to live up to the name of our school and do it also for the many others who have upheld the the standards of excellence. And so far, I'd like to think that we haven't disappointed anyone yet. But ourselves (hahahahaha!). I will not get started on this.

Let's just celebrate!!! :-)

Untitled.

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Yon.

Right now, if i could i would...

Spend

my

day

at the

beach.

Guuuuuuuuh.

Danger Beach!

The new season of Entourage is up! Just saw the first episode tonight and I really missed Ari and Loyd! haha! You just can't help but feel the stress everytime... and Vinny Chase grew a mustache and a beard (ampanget!) and he's in self-exile in Mexico (where he lives like a King for $79 a day) following the bad reviews and lukewarm reception to Medellin.

Ari gets an offer for Vince to do a movie with a ridiculous title (Danger Beach) and V declines at first. He doesn't want to leave his Fantasy Island to meet with a producer who wants to do a movie with a loony name but soon, E and Ari are able to convince him to go back to LA for the meeting but they later find out that it's a set-up -- the producer is just using Vince to lock Emile Hirsch. Vince makes a resolve that he'll pick himself up and make a comeback.

Drama gets back at the producer by going to the latter's house, smashing his Mercedes (sparing the Maserati) with a golf club and putting a dead (and raw) fish on top of the hood. Turtle asks him what that was for and Drama says he's making a statement: Aquaman will be back.

Yon. That's it, don't watch it na! haha :-)

Well I knew I couldn't take all the dog food that they make.

For some reason, my week didn't start out right. Don't ask me. I really don't know why.



-------------------------------
Mood: Irritated

LSS:

Well I ain't no stupid fighter, I go for flower power
I've been running every race just to save my face, yeah
I saw it comin' around
I saw it comin' around, yeah
I saw it comin' around
So I just (yeaaaaaah) shook my head and walked away
Woo-hoo-hoo

It's all water under the bridge. haha

Last na for the day, I'm reposting lang naman eh. This one was posted by Raymund Marasigan himself on subsanwich:

skate or die 3

make no mistake. i'm not shoving my music to everybody. in fact my neighbors are probably tired of it haha. some of my closest friends and family have no desire to listen to it. my daughter didn't even know who the eraserheads were when teachers were asking about reunion rumors. as far as she knows, the good thing about that big show was trashing my hotel room with buddy and marcus' kids, the big swimming pool and the air conditioned tents backstage.

if you like what you hear , thank you. if you don't, feel free to try something else. i don't like anchovies myself.

i was admittedly hesitant about the first reunion. i was not sure if icould handle the pressure and crap that came with it.

at this very moment. i'm actually thinking of doing it again. (when ely gets well and strong of course)

i watched a kid fall after trying to kick flip a 7 step stairway in u.p. he failed 5 times. but kept getting up. dusted himself . made some adjustments until he finally nailed it. we all cheered and went home smiling.

somehow i know how it feels.

Goosebumps!!!

Still on the e-heads (can't get enough... still can't believe it happened!). Fans of The Beatles will never ever get to see or feel something remotely close to this.

This was how it should've ended (reportedly). From the MLs, apparently someone knew someone who was part of the production crew. I think it's very believable, considering the way it started, this would've been a very very good ending.

I imagine all 20,000 of us there reduced to tears, eternally grateful to the band for the music that so influenced our lives (as if we weren't yet) and for giving us one last chance to see them together. ALTHOUGH, since they're all on speaking terms again and since they enjoyed it so much, I wouldn't be surprised to see this happening again more than once in the next years. Wag lang sila mag guest sa ASAP or any noontime show.

When Magasin was to be played, the screen behind them would have montages of various news and magazine clippings of them. It would flash alternately with shots of the band and audience until the song reached the coda where Ely sings "...ay centerfold ka naaaa...woo hoo-hoo, haaa-haaa" part of the song. Then there would be fire works and a fountain of sparks, going on til the last note of the song. Then the hydraulic stage would be lowered and the band would make a "fake ending".

The lights would then go out. My sister said the band would wait til the
crowd chanted "more". "It would take two beers' worth of chanting "more" she said. Then in the darkness, a very dramatic keyboard solo would be heard, and it would be the opening chords of Para Sa Masa. The hydraulic stage would rise again and there they would be.

After Para Sa Masa, they'd switch into Overdrive. With the crowd pumped within an inch of insanity they were to hit us with Pare Ko. And then we would slow down and reminisce with Minsan.

Finally, they would perform Huling El Bimbo. Again, after the last refrain,
at the coda (la la la laaa...) the grand fireworks display would go off, fountains of light surrounding the stage. The next la-la-la parts would see
fireworks from behind the general admissions section, and as the song ended there would be a burst of confetti all over the audience. Then the hydraulic stage would be lowered for the final exit.

Those were the plans for the Ultraelectromagnetic night. It may not have
happened as planned but at least we knew they were going to give us a show we would never forget!

We asked my sister if the band knew about all these plans and she said they did. In fact they were so excited about all the gimmicks and couldn't wait to party with the audience. "Nag-usap pa nga sila kung may mga kailangang saluhin na kanta just in case (di na kaya ni Ely)," she said. "And Ely said, hindi, Kakanta ako!"

There's a fruitcake for everybody.

The band made it obvious that they preferred to minimize the drama on this one. No media coverage of the rehearsals and soundchecks, no publicized accounts of their first meeting, who was first to arrive, who was first to agree, who said what first, what was the first song they played during the first rehearsal... none of the big brother type sentimental garb on TV. The members themselves gave updates in their 'other bands' mailing lists and that was it. Just the music. For the fans. Quoting Raymund Marasigan, "Drums, not drama."

I looked forward to this event ever since I found out about it in the Internet but I almost didn't get the chance to see them live. My mom was confined in the hospital, she's recovering and we weren't sure when she's going to be discharged. So when we were told that she can already go home late Saturday afternoon, I dragged my sister in my last minute efforts to get tickets (thought I'd have a hard time just like I always did for the UAAP but turned out, the ticket supply for this was bottomless), and drove fast and furious from our house to The Fort. Parking sucked, by the way. Super sucked. Took me at least 20 minutes of going around until I decided to just park on the curb at the right side of High Street. There was no sign that I couldn't park in the area, they had no reason to tow. And what the heck, I didn't want to miss the opening. Other cars followed, too, and soon, there were more than twenty on that strip.

I didn't know what to expect of them sound-wise knowing that they hadn't played together in years. I saw them play when I was younger and I always said that they sounded better on CD than live. It seemed that, individually since the break-up, all of them have grown into better musicians, their skills honed through the years but as a collective, there were moments of uncertainty, perhaps each of them were really overwhelmed. And then there were also moments when they played and sounded really good like never before. There were no traces of Pupil or Sandwich or even Cambio.

Occasionally, though, in between songs, there's the uncomfortable silence when we just wished they said something or talked to each other. After several of those uncomfortable gaps, it kind of became very clear that their wounds have not truly healed. It was as if they still felt awkward about this but you could tell, just by looking at them play their instruments, that they were every bit excited as the rest of us. In true Eheads fashion, they looked cool about it, making it look like it's no big deal. Sometimes, the aloof frontman just smiled and let the crowd do the singing. Towards the end of the first set, though, we already noticed that Ely Buendia kind of lost the energy. I didn't see clearly but I remember him sitting down with his head bowed, resting on his guitar. At one point after he stood up, the camera focused on his pale face to which my overreacting friend shouted... Ohmygod! umiyak sha! Haha ano ka ba.

I usually don't like watching concerts in open grounds. Arena rock sets (as in Araneta) are okay for foreign bands. For local bands, I like intimate venues better but of course this was an exception, meant to be enjoyed with tens of thousands.

The set-up was reminiscent of European rock festivals. Free-standing, no chairs. We chose to stay at the back where we can roam around freely and not worry about personal space, after all, we just wanted to be there. Sorry but the eheads aren't really eye-candy for us. haha again.

They allowed smoking but didn't sell alcohol, at least where we were. Safety measures, perhaps... they allowed beer in the Incubus concert but didn't allow it here. So we just settled for hotdogs, Sunkist Iced Tea and Gatorade during the break.

While walking around, I got to hang out with eraserfans Mario and Tricia during the break. This photo was taken just minutes before they called it off (the band, not the couple). Sad it had to end that way but at least, all's well now. To be honest, Ely Buendia had every right to ask for another date and postpone the show but he chose not to. He's very professional in doing that, too bad his body didn't agree.

It was the biggest reunion concert in the Philippines, with four of the biggest rockstars getting back together for just one night. They had intended a 20minute break and during the lull, no less than the frontman was whisked away in an ambulance, abruptly putting a halt to the greatest rock act in Manila. How's that for no drama.

They really played their hearts out last night and although it ended unexpectedly, we're truly, truly grateful that they listened to their fans, set aside their differences, and got back together to bring the music :-). It's Lurve.

"The Eraserheads Reunion: One More Time." Yey.

Where are you going?

I'm so totally confused right now. I'm living in my head and I wish someone would just give me the answers, tell me what to do or at least help me figure out what to make of whatever's bothering me. I just hate NOT KNOWING how to deal and I'm so tired of thinking and thinking and thinking, and it's not like I could stop the thoughts from entering my head.



I know I'm being very vague here. You can ask me when you see me, I just might tell you. :o



----------------------------------



In other news...



Someone leaked the draft of the first 12 chapters of Midnight Sun, otherwise known as Twilight in Edward Cullen's perspective (Twilight itself is in Bella Swan's POV), and the author is really pissed because the book's not even done yet. She's very upset that she put off finishing the book and announced that it's on hold indefinitely.



Since it was already leaked online, she eventually posted the leaked version in her website for the Twilight fans. At least that will prevent people from making a profit out of it and at least now I have something to focus my attention on. Hopefully, I'll get my fill of the Cullens and take my mind off whatever it is that I'm thinking about right now (see above).



----------------------------------

Currently listening to:

Where are you going - Dave Matthews Band

Narrow Stairs

It's amazing how life kinda speaks to you in so many ways. Sometimes, messages are hidden somewhere and they kind of catch you by surprise and then you realize that it does have some meaning to you. Perhaps it was written in a totally different context but you feel like it was meant for you. Or probably not.

Today, I was searching the net for new music, reading album reviews from who-knows-whose blogs and band updates on Facebook. I was never a fan of Death Cab for Cutie but I saw that a review of their album was one of the most read on Pitchfork and I decided to read along (okay, that's more because I'm a sucker for useless information just 'for the sake of knowing'). ANYWAY (oh, that word), a part of this particular paragraph I read twice:

Narrow Stairs, Death Cab's second album for Atlantic and sixth proper LP overall, is one of the darkest and most muscular in the band's discography, but they're still aiming for the same place: your heart. It's an album about growing and changing and becoming resigned to the fact that you'll never be truly content-- not even if you quit that day job, achieve your rock'n'roll dreams, and find yourself in a loving marriage.

Hahaha WHUT. Note to self: Grab new DCFC album on the next trip to the music store and find out if this is something that can be recommended to friends undergoing Quarter Life Crisis.

Do or Die.

There are certain experiences that change a person forever such as losing loved ones, losing a battle or failing at something. And then there are also those little moments of realization, the ones that teach a lesson, the ones that leave a mark. The realization begins with acceptance - admitting to myself that I let the situation get the better of me, that I fell short, that I wasn't able to think clearly at crunch time because my mind was messing with me, that I could've done it but didn't. And then I'd look at the brighter side and realize that everything that just happened was meant to teach me a lesson, and more than that, it allowed me discover something about myself. I know we tried really hard but we kind of just totally missed out on something there. Had we looked hard enough, the solution was just right there and we would have spared ourselves one full day of trouble. I gave up so easily.

It's just so difficult to live up to expectations. On one hand, there are the expectations of people who think they deserve the best service, quality work... whoever's assigned there, me or someone else, should just deliver. There are also the expectations of people who put me in place. They'd always say there's no pressure but that's just impossible. Freakin' impossible. And lastly, my own expectations. I think I expect too much from myself and maybe that's a good thing. However, that's also what destroys me, when I think that I'm not meeting my own expectations I get very frustrated.

My philosophy has always been that teamwork isn't just a mere collective effort. It's not only about people working together, holding hands and rising above the odds. It's also about the individual effort that each member puts through, the commitment and the contribution.

This experience also showed me what a good leader is really like. He's someone who always says that he won't hold our hands but always shows up when the going gets tough, shows us how it's done, helps us see ourselves more clearly in moments of self-doubt and carries us, his team, on his shoulders in times of desperation when we think all hope is lost (and it has happened so many times).

So the simple answer to the question, "bakit hindi niyo naisip yon?" is: kasi hindi kami kasing galing mo.

Every basketball team needs a clutch shooter, and a very, very strategic and unwavering coach in do or die games. I remember how it felt like one time, in an important Ateneo game, during the last few seconds the crowd stood still, stunned and defeated. Ateneo was about to lose. We only needed the buzzer to confirm it. Then the coach called a time out. Ateneo was one point behind, one second to go. There's just one second left in the clock but Norman Black believed that Ateneo can do it. It wasn't over for him and the team. Next thing we knew, we were crying tears of Joy.

Vitamin

The thing is, I'll never tell you the things you want to hear. I'm not that kind of person. I'll tell it like it is, lay down the options and see how we can work from there. You don't just put people down even before the battle has ended. If you think that results matter to you, then at least you could've waited for the results before writing people off. I think that in times of crisis, it's best to address the issue at hand first before blaming it on others. Oh wait... I didn't think that. Everybody KNOWS that already. Oh wait... not everybody. Just the smart ones.

Honestly, I agree that we may have fallen short on some accounts. SOME of your points are probably valid. I can live with that. And I admit it.... But if you expect me to get down on my knees to ask for forgiveness, I won't do that. Once is enough but you won't hear it from me unless I really realize that I had to say it and mean it. In this case, I don't feel I owe it to you. I didn't sit on my ass the whole fucking day and waited for the Guava to fall from the tree. I planted the tree and nurtured it until it bore fruit. Pero ayaw naman natin ng hilaw. So tinawag namin ni Juan si Pedro para magdala ng fertilizer, baka sakaling mahinog agad. Shempre tumawag din kami sa poong maykapal. Natagalan lang mahinog, pero nahinog din, diba? Magaling ang fertilizer ni Pedro. So, pinitas ko na. And the thing is, di naman namin kinain. Binigay namin sayo, you dimwit. Kainin mo yang guava mo. (haha ang labo!)

More than the complaints and shortcomings whathaveyou, what I hate most was the way you made us. WE felt like shit next to you. You made us doubt ourselves. To think that you were the one who encouraged me, treated me to a drink and we had a lengthy conversation about needs, wants, career... you asked about my bosses, colleagues and all that. You said you got your eyes on me and that you believed in me. I guess now you don't.

If you think I failed you, well... you failed me, too, because I believed in you, too. PAST TENSE, take note. Yan. I usually don't harbor ill-feelings. You'd probably crack a joke that I'll find funny and that will break the ice. But then again, I'm aaaaahfraahaiiiid.... that izzz tooo late to apologihiiiiize.



----------------------------------------------
You stare at me like a vitamin
On the surface you hate, but you know you need me
I'll come dressed as any pill you deem fit
Whatever helps you swallow truth all the more easily.

NOT.GOOD.

Honestly, it didn't live up to its hype and it's so disappointing that it didn't have the smashing ending that we all expected. I think the author was so bent on pleasing people, giving what the fans want, and just tying the loose ends. In the end, it felt like the book was just written for the heck of it. Just because the author promised Book 4 and she wanted to resolve everything.

I think the problem is that the characters kind of lost their 'soul' in this book. Where's Edward? Edward was barely there. He played supporting role instead of leading man. What the hell happened to him? Where's the Edward we fell in love with in Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse? Bella Swan, lead character - the damsel in distress - ended up the strongest vampire who saved them all which is absurd. And I thought Stephenie Meyer was going to put a great deal in her transition from mortal to immortal but that was uneventful. What happened to Dartmouth? Wedding and honeymoon? Yes. And I guess that if it weren't for that part, I would have demanded a refund. Don't get me wrong, though. There's nothing explicit here, after all, it's still young adult fiction.

Carlisle Cullen is the leader of the coven. If anything is supposed to happen to them, he's the one who's expected to step up and even him got sidelined in this one. Ugggggh. Parang last minute, the antagonists just decided that okay... let's not kill them muna. and then the book ends. No action! Nothing.

The resolution was like the 'everything just fell into place' concept. All of a sudden everything's just right. No struggle for Bella Swan. No conflict, no sacrifices. Nothing. The universe conspired to make everything right. 700+ pages of nothingness. I hate it. And despite the focus on resolution, still didn't answer everything... Did Renee ever find out about her granddaughter? Who's the philandering Quileute? Why did J. Jenks exist? If you took out the chapters with him in it, it wouldn't even matter.

In short, ampanget talaga at tinatamad nako magsulat about it. They could've ended it with Eclipse. and for me, in my mind, there are no four books. As far as I know, Twilight is a trilogy. That's it.

I miss them!

Can't wait for the new episodes in September!

Nosebleed

I just had to write this down before I forgot...

Had one of those Twilight lunches with a colleague today when we talked about vampires, werewolves and such. Coincidentally, when we got back to the office, my nose started to bleed. I still don't know why, actually. It was cloudy outside so it couldn't have had anything to do with heat but there was a lot blood and it took a while before it stopped (I prayed so hard that it would because I don't want to do a conf call with my nose bothering me). Anyway, I walked out of my room and showed a bloody tissue paper to my colleague:

ME: Dude, look, my nose is bleeding.
Colleague 1: Hala! Bakit? Malamig naman sa labas... Bow your head. Wag ka tumingala, it's a myth! Ang dami! Maamoy ka ng vampires niyan!
Colleague 2: Kailangan natin ng ice. Lagyan mo ng ice!
ME: Ice? Sa ilong?
Colleague 2: Sira. Sa nape mo tapos tumungo ka.
Colleague 1: (still in Twilight mode) Oh no, hindi kayo puede magsama ni Edward (our favorite vampire) kasi papatayin ka ni Jasper! (Jasper is Edward's brother who can't control his thirst for human blood)
Colleague 3: (super super concerned look on her face) ohmygod Bestfriend! Bakit nangyayari sayo yan? Bakit ka nag no-nosebleed eh magaling ka naman mag English?

I swear, I felt bubbles in my nose when I laughed! and I thanked her for the compliment. haha

What's that... Wild Flower?

When my friends told me about this, I thought it was a joke but then I saw it for myself. OMFG. That's the former Sandwich frontman/ MTV VJ and Kjwan's lead singer. In a teleserye. In the afternoon.

Interesting and surprising twist. It's like hey, it's Jared Leto on reverse! Actors turned musicians are pretty common but some of them just don't fly and end up going back to acting, especially if they dare take the road of rock (think Jericho Rosales and Jeans, Diether Ocampo and Blow). However, musicians turned actors are another thing, especially rock musicians. I can't remember any at the moment who successfully transitioned from almost anti-mainstream to totally pang masa. Really, how would the fans take it if Dave Grohl made a movie or starred in a soap portraying a role other than 'himself'? I can't imagine! Trent Reznor, too, looks like he could be a villain in a Harry Potter movie but I guess he'd never do it.

Bono did well in Across the Universe, when he was singing in the psychedelic bus. He's not really acting though. He's just like a total hippy... but Across the Universe is waaaaaaaaaaay cool.

I heard Kjwan recently had a gig without Marc Abaya. I'm sure they did well as the other members are capable of holding out on their own but I mean, how could you be without a frontman? I wonder how this turns out for him. Ligaw na Bulaklak?

Here's a clip. Surreal. Nascent stardom at 3:01 onwards.
Wait, wait, wait... did he say CHIFF?

Incubus to go on hiatus

From Billboard.com:

Having just completed a year-and-a-half-long tour in support of its 2006 album "Light Grenades," Incubus is planning to take a break while its members pursue a variety of endeavors.

On Aug. 23, guitarist Mike Einziger will unveil an orchestral piece in concert at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles.

"He did the Time Lapse Consortium, which was a solo thing, even though most of Incubus played on it. But this one is just Mikey," frontman Brandon Boyd tells Billboard.com. "This time, the band will just go to watch. He's moving into ambitious territory."

For Einziger, the concert will serve as a precursor to his enrollment in Harvard's music school to study composition next year. But he's not the only one returning to higher education, as Boyd also plans to enroll in a university art program.

"And, our drummer is having a baby, so there's a lot of normal life stuff going on right now -- school, babies, mortgages," Boyd says.

"I'm of the mind to say it wouldn't be a bad thing to disappear for a year or two years," he says. "A lot of people would say culture moves too fast and you need to remind people, but I would argue there's not any rush. Maybe they'll be a sex scandal or an arrest or something to keep us in the news."

Disappear for a year or two years? Oh no. I'm craving for new music right now. Before this, the band released albums every two years or something and since Light Grenades in 2006, "I'm of the mind" to expect something in 2008... But they're asking us to wait for two more years. 2010? Too long!!!! But yeah, the band deserves it. They've been working really hard.

Random Ramblings

Wow. I'm drafting this via mobile now and I must say it's very difficult to do without a real keyboard. There is a good number of input options that's supposed to make it easier for me but it's not. I'm alternating between stylus and touch keypad and my eyes are tired from the glare of the screen... They want to go to sleep but my mind is so alive! Nobody's up in our house anymore and I'm too lazy to open the computer to see if any of my friends are online. So I'll just write whatever I feel like...

Just got home from a mini get-together with some college friends. I'm supposed to be dead tired after a long day at work and a late night but there must have been something in my drink that's keeping me up. This has happened before but I never figured it out... Sheez. I don't know if I had one too many (maybe I did) but I don't think quantity of intake had something to do with this seeming 'alertness'. In any case, I always feel comfortable in letting my hair down with my bestest friends because I know someone's always looking out for me.

----------------------

I don't understand why, especially for most of the older musical groups (or those who brand themselves as 'classic rock' bands), is it appealing to destroy musical instruments while performing live. Is that showmanship? Do the people who actually go to these concerts get a different high from watching things getting smashed on stage? I've seen older bands do it, like Nine Inch Nails, and it looked like it was sort of pre-orchestrated... they probably talked amongst themselves and decided hey, let's smash the guitar in this song. Then I'll grab a bottle of water, spill it on your keyboard and then splash it on myself and we all walk away. WTH. Drugs, probably.

------------

I guess the beauty of blogging is that you can talk to yourself without looking istoofid. It's just putting your thoughts out there for no one in particular unless you're blogging for revenue then you have to cater to an audience, increase traffic and attract advertisers. For me, like what I'm doing now, it's just writing whatever at 4 in the morning. Nobody really gives a damn about what music I like or what earphones I'm using but I like writing all this stuff here only because it provides snapshots of particular phases in my life. After years or months, I revisit my previous posts and I get to remember how I felt or what I did at that particular moment of my life. Like right now... talking nonsense.

-----------------------
Finally, I'm feeling it. I am finally going to sleep. yes.
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My LSS while driving on the way home...

Will I ever get to where I'm going
If I do, will I know when I'm there?
If the wind blew me in the right direction
Would I even care?
I would, I would, I would...

The Secret's in the Telling

Tagged by Ginger.
1. Each blogger starts with 10 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. Bloggers who are tagged need to blog about their own 10 random facts/habits.
3. At the end of your blog, tag 10 people and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them that they've been taggged and to read your blog.
__________________________________
Okay. Let's do this.

1. I love reading. From all kinds of books to product labels, appliance manuals, delivery flyers, even street signs, lamp post ads, jeepney and cab titles, vandalism on walls/bridges, etc... I like to be amused by the randomness.

2. I appreciate almost all types of music, I'm just more inclined to rock \m/. Speaking of music, I listen to the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, and all those cool bands but I seriously get a kick everyime I hear songs from the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys.

3. I like eating bread. And beer is just liquid bread.

4. Although I love having people around, I also sometimes prefer hanging out alone. I value the 'alone' times I spend at coffee houses tinkering with stuff (phone, mp3 player, psp, ds lite, etc..). Thanks to technology, people can hang out alone and not get bored.

5. I can fall asleep almost anytime, anywhere, in any position.

6. In relation to #5, I can't work in a quiet environment. I'd fall alseep. There always has to be some element of noise. I like to leave the media player on and when I get so caught up in what I'm doing that I'm not conscious of what song is on anymore, that's an indicator that I'm concentrating. Means I'm on a roll!

7. My staple moviehouse snack is Taters Barbecue Popcorn with sour cream dip.

8. When I don't have anything better to do, I waste my time browsing stuff at Powerbooks, Fully Booked or Music One.

9. My mind is most creative/productive at night and this is pretty tough at work when the hours are defined. Most of the time, I'd stare on a blank Word document and it would take me a while to figure out what to do.

10. I tend to over rationalize things, ideas and situations sometimes that I get exhausted thinking about the Hows and the Whys of the world. I realize it's just myself messin' with head so when it gets really stressful and frustrating, I just go to a place (like the beach) or do something (like drink?) to unwind and clear my head and I'll be back in form again.

sooner or later they'll be throwing quarters at you on stage

This morning, my 7 year-old nephew was showing me some songs which he had loaded in his PSP and I found out he likes RnB stuff like Flo Rida, Sean Kingston, and I'm surprised he also listens to Blink 182! He likes Fall Out Boy but doesn't like The Click Five. Yey! He has good taste! Or at least it's agreeable to me :-)

It got me thinking - will our kids in the future look at all the bands we love like, for example, Oasis, Pearl Jam, Muse, Incubus, Red Hot, etc... like we look at The Temptations or The Cascades or Neil Sedaka now? Are they gonna be the type of bands that we're going to go see in a concert when we're old and grey just to listen to them play their old stuff and without new material? Wait... New Kids on the Block is staging a reunion! Is there a next Kurt Cobain who will surprise the world with an untimely death borne by the Rock and Roll lifestyle? Which band will our kids in the future appreciate in the same way as our generation appreciates The Beatles? Or would it still be The Beatles? Will there ever be a band that's as phenomenal as The Beatles?

What happened to McCaulay Culkin?!

This is temporary, I hope.

From Wikipedia:

Anthony Kiedis told Rolling Stone Magazine in an interview published May 20, 2008 that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are "disbanded for the moment." Following the last leg of the tour promoting Stadium Arcadium, the band members have been on a break. Kiedis attributes this to the band being worn out from their years of nonstop work since Californication. Kiedis explained that he is currently preoccupied with taking care of his new son, while Flea is experimenting with new musical ideas, Frusciante is continuing his solo career, and Chad Smith is in Japan working with a jazz band. The band plans to remain on hiatus for "a minimum of one year." However, Kiedis has stated that he is anxious to start thinking about new material.

I recently saw a poll on the MTV website asking if people will go see the Chili Peppers if they were to perform in Manila and I got the impression that they were seriously considering it... so I guess this interview confirms that they're not. haay. I watch footages of their concert at the Slane Castle over and over again and I wish to see them live one day. At least before any of them dies of drug overdose.

That's not Kiedis in the picture. It's Flea in his favorite outfit.

She's back!

Tara shows us how to distinguish a motorcycle brand by the sound of the engines. It's not really the joke but the delivery. haha!! If you knew her you'd know why we're laughing so hard at this one. Glad to have you back, dude!

I'm sure it's definitely...

This barista is truly one of a kind. Inartehan pa niya eh. It's either:

a) he's being creative

b) he's bored so he tried to do something different from the usual

c) he's too lazy to make the extra stroke that would make a Y.

d) he inferred that if Joy rhymes with Koi then perhaps, it's spelled like Koi.

I wonder if he even thought about it, like "Is it Joy with a y or with an I? She looks like it's an I. So, Joi." haha. I would've been more impressed if he frenchified it by adding an E. Joie.

Of course, it has been done before.

yet most of you thought it's genius.

Where do you, AI boys, really get your ideas, huh?

Here's a clip of the band Simple Plan (not exactly one of my favorites) doing a mash-up of Stand By Me and Beautiful Girls sometime 2007:






And now, the crowd-favorite "Archulets" in American Idol. Cue to girls: swoon at 1:34:



So because he didn't make me swoon, I'm not a girl. And I don't know why I'm so anti-idol. Glad the show's ending! Hahaha (evil laughter). But just my two cents (of course I have an opinion about everything!), if that guy David Cook aspires to make it as a rocker, he shouldn't win this thing because then he'll be typecast... I think no AI winner will ever be appreciated as a legit rockstar. And if he wanted to be a rocker, he shouldn't have joined this in the first place. And if there were still Rockstar (INXS/Supernova), he wouldn't win it because he's bordering somewhere pretentious. Haha sorry. I look at him kasi like the Nyoy Volantes and Paolo Santoses... But David Cook does well in reviving the songs and owning them. I like his version of Hello and Hungry Like a Wolf, after some friends advised that I should check it out on youtube. I'm the only one I know who's not so crazy about the Mariah remake. It's nice, it's okay, different, great to sing along to... but I'm getting tired of it.

I also liked Daughtry but I found out he was from AI so I sort of wrote him off but I do find myself singing along to his songs once in a while. I think if he won AI, he won't receive as much attention from the listeners he's targetting. So yes, I'm biased. I'm probably the one stereotyping here but you can't blame me!

It'll be better if the other David won... then we can position him as a young achiever, teenager following his dreams... that sort of thing. It just makes for a better story. Yon. I'm not even going to make a comment on their singing skills because I don't really watch. I just get to read about it in the papers.

They're the reason I have silver chucks.

The elements that make a live performance really cool are not just a good band (with great showmanship) and really good music but also the showcase of lights and sounds. Think U2 concerts - they have floor to ceiling led screens as background, words and images flashing as they perform the songs. I've mentioned before that the concerts I had gone to earlier this year both had amazing lights, especially Incubus whose lights were so well-choreographed with the songs (mygod when will I ever stop talking about that show!). Maroon 5 brought a quite simpler set but very very lovely. However, the one that tops my list I didn't see live. In fact, I just saw it on MTV earlier tonight and I was blown away. As in woooooow. Galing! Not to mention it's by a band I really adore :-)

Here's a pixelated clip from youtube (couldn't find a really clear version) of MUSE performing Starlight at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Take note of 1:29 onwards - that's when they totally rock! Laser lights are the bomb. 2:31 - the "starlights" are truly cosmic!!!

Campeon de la liga!!!

Victory is sweet sweet sweet!!! Real Madrid are the champions of the Spanish League again!

I wasn't a fan of football before because I thought it was boring. A bunch of guys kicking the ball around... it's not as eventful as say basketball. I got to know more about it when a friend of mine explained the dynamics of the game at the poolside of the condo where we stayed at in college. It also helped that we got to hang around with the soccer varsity guys we met in one of our prod classes. Next thing I knew I was watching college football and following the leagues on TV. I was also caught in the world cup and euro cup frenzy that I'd wake up diligently in the wee hours just to catch a game or leaving my TV on at CNN waiting for updates. Except for the English Premiere League, ESPN or Star Sports doesn't show live games and I also rooted for teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid (La Liga), Juventus and AC Milan (Serie A) so I relied on the Internet a lot, CNN and BBC.

I so miss the days when I had so much time I don't know what to do with it. Hayyyy.

During that time, Real Madrid was the type of team that was always almost there but never makes it. And I always believed that one day, they'd finally emerge victorious. I mean, how could a team made up of galacticos not be able to secure a championship? They're like the dream team. Almost all of European football's superstars were in that team, at the same time. Back then, they had a formidable, supposedly unbeatable roster: Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raul Gonzales, Zinedine Zidane (!), David Beckham (he hasn't conquered America then), Iker Casillas, Michael Owen... How could they go wrong, right? Wrong. There was too much ego. They were all superstars and everybody wanted a larger piece of the pie and so teamwork suffered. There were too many poster boys, not to mention really mean crowd! Could you imagine the same home crowd cheering for you and booing you when you missed the shot? Tough love. But they've obviously figured out a way around that now... love ittttttttt.

A couple of years at work and I kind of forgot about football altogether. So when I turned to the sports section of the newspaper yesterday and saw this really big, big, victorious photo of RM celebrating... I was so happy!!! AGAIN?!!! Back-to-back?! So this all happened when I wasn't watching. Been waiting for it and didn't see it... For the past two years that I wasn't following football, they're actually winning titles.

I can hear Alanis Morissette singing... "It's a traffic jam when you're already late, a no-smoking sign on your cigarette break. It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife..."

Take me to your leader.

What if your brain, unexpectedly and suddenly, picked out things to flip around and view a lot differently?

Slip inside the eye of your mind...

My friends and I had originally planned to go to the beach over the long weekend but the odds went against us, it just wasn't meant to happen (bummer!). I needed to find something to preoccupy myself with so I went to the music store to see if there was anything new. Less than 5 minutes had passed when my eye caught the Oasis DVD, "Lord Don't Slow Me Down." Although it wasn't really new (released in 2007), I got a copy, went home and watched it.

The DVD included concert footage in Manchester about a couple of years ago. I turned up the volume of the speakers that were hooked to the TV, imagined that I was at the concert and found myself singing along to the songs I knew. I have to admit I can get pretty squishy sometimes. Wonderwall is my all time favorite Oasis song and I was so feeling it when it came on. A couple of songs later, Liam just left the stage and I actually thought he was throwing tantrums again but no... the band broke into "Don't Look Back in Anger" with Noel on vocals and I was totally floored. I got chills and teary-eyed when I heard the crowd belt out the song with so much feeling. There's just too much emotion coming from them... I can imagine the natural high that like, for 5 minutes, they're in the happiest moment of their lives. Here's the exact DVD footage from Youtube. Sound and video quality is of course much better on the disc where you can hear the crowd so well.

Definitely a classic. Priceless.

Lucky are they who know what they want.

Music has always been my back door to life. It is important for people to find something that excites them. I like the concept that if you do what excites you, you will be rewarded generously, whatever form reward takes, which is not necessarily money.

-Brandon Boyd

Incubus actually started making music some 15 years ago, when they were still highschool teenagers in California. Fast forward to now and six studio albums to their credit, they still continue to make music together. It's interesting that after all these years, they only got to top the Billboard Chart for album sales with their latest record, Light Grenades. Its precedents, A Crow Left of the Murder and Morning View, both debuted at #2.

The boys are no longer teenagers. In fact, they're in their 30s. But the celebration isn't really because of the fact that they finally hit #1. "To me, the celebration is that we're like all 30-ish and we still don't have to have real jobs," Boyd joked (during an interview with MTV).

In the same article, bassist Ben Kenney quipped, "Yeah, that's the cool thing about being a band that's been around. For new bands to be #1, they can be hot and be like a flash in the pan — that can happen. But to have been around, for this band, that's really cool. That means that people still care, and that's important."

It's one thing to make hits and another to stay relevant. And it's really amazing how some people are so passionate about the things they love to do that in a sense, it loves them back. It must be really cool to work on something and make money, and still not feel like you have a job.


Hey, just in case (just in case lang naman) there's Internet in heaven, Happy Birthday Kuya! :-)

On AI and Shiz

Long post, beware.

I was never hooked on American Idol eventhough everybody's talking about it and I also don't understand why the show draws so many people to it. Perhaps it's the idea of regular joes making it big...

I've seen a couple of recent episodes and those from way back and I agree that there is talent. It just that the concept puts me off in a way that most people probably think fame is easier achieved if you make it to these shows, that in less than a couple of months you transform from a nobody to somebody. Although I've also got to hand it down to those people who made the cut from the hundreds or thousands who auditioned, they're fortunate to be among the hopefuls and I have nothing against them. I actually admire them for going after their dreams and doing whatever it takes to fulfill them, for looking out for and grabbing these opportunities.

It just doesn't take talent or skill to make it big in the music industry (or in most entertainment/artistic fields) so to speak and joining shows like AI is no guarantee. If you don't work hard enough, get good advisers and work with the right people, chances are you'd be forgotten as soon as a new season premieres. Maybe I'm just so not into it but I can barely recall AI winners who are still as big now as they were at the height of their AI stints. There are a handful and most of the rest just faded away. It was probably worth the ride or the 15 minutes of fame... but the goal is to not just make it big, it's to sustain it and it takes more than talent / skill or charisma to achieve that. I mean, there are the one hit wonders and there are those that last and most of the latter are the ones who worked really hard, started from scratch and climbed the ladder. Then again, there are those who are simply blessed to be born with it.

Music is art and to me, more than anything else, for people to become really successful, there has to be that intense desire to create, move others, put yourself out there and express who you really are. I guess this is what I don't see in AI. I find it most of the time unoriginal, add to the fact that some of them don't even do justice to the songs and I understand that -- those are just not their songs. Some of them even get credit for covering covers (imagine how many layers there are - a cover of a cover!).

Case in point: David Cook. He did a pretty good job interpreting the songs but most of the time, the audience were under the impression that the versions he did were his own only to find out eventually that they're not. Cook did admit that his version of Billie Jean was 'inspired' by former Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell's cover but that was after people began noticing the semblance between his versions and other artists' renditions of the songs. Prior to his Billie Jean performance, he also did a rock version of Lionel Richie's Hello which some people say was copied from Incubus, and of course, a cover of Eleanor Rigby which a band called Doxology claims was their version. Cornell remarked in one of his interviews relating to this incident that he thought Cook sang the song remarkably but he also found it unfortunate that Cook did a play-by-play of his version. I mean, c'mon. If you're really that good, you could have 'cooked' something up on your own. Although I'd have to disagree with critics on the "Hello" cover. I'm familiar with the Incubus version and it's nothing like David Cook's. Cook might have been inspired by it (the idea to do a rock version) but he didn't copy it.

On the flip side, there's nothing really wrong with covering a cover so long as you do it well because by imitating, you're actually acknowledging the great work that these musicians had done. After all, this is a contest of covers. It's just so much better if you acknowledged that you're doing someone else's version everytime you do it. After all, this is a competition that focuses on your singing talent over everything else so why sweat it, right? Singing wise, you'll still get the credit for doing a good job all to yourself because those that you mimicked are not competing with you. And you also get extra brownie points for researching and finding that these versions exist.

On another note, Reynaldo Lapus may fare even better than any of the hopefuls now. Sure he doesn't have so much to be proud of singing wise but the fact that he got so many people hooked on his original song says a lot.

I remember liking Rockstar INXS back then. I know it's somehow similar to AI but the difference was with R, viewers got to see the creative process and they were even encouraged, most of the time, to create their own save for specific challenges that would require otherwise. A lot of good interpretations/renditions came out of that show and I loved that JD won. Why? One of the reasons was because among the loot, he was the one who can create the best.

I believe in shared experiences in terms of expression and original composition. Somewhere out there, someone is also going through the things that you're going through. Someone will always understand and relate to you and nothing feels better than knowing that you're not alone in your troubles (or joys) so there's no reason why we should hold back expressing ourselves. It's just that some of us are good at it while some aren't.

This is probably why I'm drawn to music. If I can't let it out myself, I find that others can speak for me and express the sentiments that I couldn't. I know we all cherish lines from a favorite song (or poem/movie, etc), lines that hit home at specific situations. I anticipate those lines in a song and with right timing, I close my eyes and sing along.

I sound like a fucking cheeseball but hey it's my blog and if you don't like it, you can read someone else's. :-)

His pen is pistola

There's a blog somewhere that's rocking society and I feel that it's just too much. There's such a thing as freedom of speech, moreso in cyberspace where where there's hardly a law anywhere that protects individuals from malicious defamation online, but I'm not a believer of abusing this freedom to the detriment of others, even if only to express one's opinion. Personal thoughts, when paraded as facts, could mislead the public into believing that they are true. And through choice of words and presentation, bloggers can also shape the mind of the unwitting reader and get him to empathize with them.

That blogger has made it obvious that his expose is an act of desperation and he has chosen a very powerful medium. He wanted to tell the world of his tales of woe so he involved the public and indulged us with generous doses of scuttlebutt. He was bringing attention to his cause through putting the spotlight on the personal affairs of certain known personalities at their expense.

The question is, do those involved, other than the primary offender, really deserve this?

and, do we really need to know?

This also puts forward an issue on trust. Scandals and exposes abound the blogosphere so you could just imagine having someone around and getting the scare of your life when the relationship turns sour. You don't want to wake up one day and find yourself the subject of such controversies.

We should all wear a pair of eyes in the back of our heads because we'll never know... but that would be tantamount to a life in paranoia. Then again, my life is too boring for me to become entangled in a mess like this so I've got nothing to worry about. I've already had my picture taken by the Associated Press and had it plastered all over the WWW and nobody gave a damn. haha.


That's just my two cents. Hugs not drugs.

Green means GO!!!

It's been 10 years and this song's still messing with my head. Sometimes it's almost like my folks talking to me... (so what's your plan? what are you gonna do now? what's next? what and when??!). But you know, it's not like you can just will something to happen overnight. There's no magic pill, no genie in a bottle and certainly no formula. Things just happen and I believe in right timing.


A certain shade of green
Tell me is that what you need
All signs around say move ahead
Will someone please explain to me
Your ever present lack of speed
Are your muscles bound by ropes
Or do crutches cloud your day
My sources say the road is clear
And street signs point the way

Are you gonna stand around till 2012 A.D
What are you waiting for
A certain shade of green?
I think I grew a grey watching you procrastinate
What are you waiting for
A certain shade of green

Would a written invitation
Signed choose now or lose it all
Sedate your hesitation
Or inflame and make you stall

You've been raised in limitations
But that glove never fit quite right
The time has come for hand-me downs
Choose anew, please evolve, take flight

What are you waiting for?
A written invitation?
A public declaration?
A private consolation?
Remember when you procrastinate you chose last

routine is the enemy.

so we should break it... break it, break it the best way we can. I think I'll go hibernate for a while, be detached from the outside world altogether. The past few days, I realized that if you get away from the media for a while, you get to focus more on the personal aspects of your life. I know that Manny Pacquiao won but I didn't feel it. I was away from it. I wasn't reading the papers or watching the news days before the fight so I wasn't 'excited' by it the way the media intended to the Filipino people. I also didn't follow through on the news, I just heard about it from some people. Didn't see any post-match interviews, commentaries or whatever. So now I'm stuck in my own little world, minding my own business, listening to the music I love or watching stuff on youtube, reading a book (which gets me lost again in a different world altogether). I listen to people talk about current affairs, Boxing, the Gucci Gang, or Amy Whinehouse, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears on the otherside of the world and find myself rather disinterested or disengaged. What the hell. I haven't been to perezhilton or tmz.com for like a month now. Wow, this is new.

I have to admit that I did keep track of F1 over the weekend. Heck, that's the first race of the season.

This morning, my colleagues told me that Andrea Del Rosario and some other celebrities got to hang out with Maroon 5 at the after party. In another space and time, I would've died of envy. But I'm so over it now, I don't care. The music goes on and on and on.

stellar

I thought I lost my love for Incubus already... but when I first heard the riffs, it all came back to me. hello. you had me at hello!!! Ethereal...

Late post, I know, but still can't get over it! Haha... Looking back, I think I enjoyed the Incubus concert here more than I did Maroon 5. Well, I mean, Maroon 5 was really good (as you may have read from my previous post) but I was in a perpetual state of trance the whole time... I was there but I wasn't really 'there'. Incubus is really better seen live - the energy, the people. Whereas Adam amused the crowd with his counting in Filipino, saying mahal kita and all that, Incubus didn't even exert the effort to make themselves endearing to the crowd (no Filipino words learned whatsoever), they just were. No talkies here. They just went from song to song to song to song...

And in comparison, Brandon Boyd really can sing! Adam Levine sounds effeminate now and I wonder why I hadn't noticed before that he sounded weird. Highlights of the concert for me (aside from when Brandon took his shirt and then his undershirt off) were when the crowd went wild with Megalomaniac (the floor vibrated because everyone jumped), when they did Oil and Water (one of my faves from Light Grenades), of course, the classics Dirve, Nice to Know You, Vitamin (my ring tone forever!), and Wish You Were Here... we also enjoyed the jam on Sick Sad Little World, Circles

My favorite part was Stellar (beginning of the encore). The stadium was dark (duh) and the lights projected stars onto the audience, the roof... everywhere. It was like a rock song on prom night. I wasn't able to take photos or videos when they were doing that song... we just kept quiet and took it all in. Lurve.

I actually resent that they didn't play some of the hits like Pardon Me and A Certain Shade of Green (reminiscent of my angsty highschool life), Are You In (trippin' in college. no dude, not that kind of 'trip') and Dig (the song that brought me back to them in 2006 so to speak hehe).


But they did sing my favorite Incubus sing-along song - Talk Shows on Mute! Uploaded the video capture, see below. Mems.

Come one, come all... into 1984. If you haven't heard it, suggest you listen to it and read between the lines. Look up the lyrics in Google.





Wish You Were Here

I dig my toes into the sand

The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds

Strewn across a blue blanket

I lean against the wind

Pretend that I am weightless

And in this moment I am happy...happy