Compare and Contrast

special thanks to Grace for calling my attention to these vids on Youtube. Here's Celtic Woman with their version of the classic New Age theme "Orinoco Flow"




Now, here's the original from the one and only New Age Goddess: ENYA. Listen carefully to the lyrics since a certain Visayan city is mentioned in the song (sorry, indi Bacolod hehehe)

Noticias (a.k.a Mga Nakaw Na Sandali)

hehehe had to come up with a "cute" title for these series of posts regarding the "happenings" here in Bacolod while yours truly is on vacation. I'm currently in Netopia in SM Bacolod renting a PC for 48 pesos an hour -- Mierda! That's why "nakaw na sandali" ang subtitle sang post nga ini hehehe
the phrase could mean two things: ako ang gapangawat tiempo o ako ang ginkawatan 48 pesos...

hinay aircon di SM Bacolod ah! hehehe

OK, updates, updates...

Arrival

My flight touched down at the new "Bacolod-Silay" Airport. Though I found the terminal small compared to the other terminals of international standards like in Manila and Cebu, I found the place adequate in its facilities and the location itself is indeed appropriate for an airport which I suppose in the near future could be upgraded for international service.

Upon exiting the terminal I was immediately assaulted by my nephew, Brian, screaming like it were the end of the world. My niece Irene, though initially aloof, began to warm up as we got to the car and during our dinner at Pala-pala, she was back to her normal self -- hyperactive like her brother. Mama and Nang Jenelyn were there as well but most of the time during the dinner I had to play referee to the extremely kinetic brother and sister tandem of Brian and Irene. Brian managed to lose his toy car in Pala-Pala -- accidentally dropping it into the artificial pond --and I had to play the role of grief counselor to the kid, who at first wouldn't stop crying but later calmed down well enough to occupy himself with other matters -- like testing the limits of the rotating Selecta signboard.

One interesting anecdote during my trip back to Bacolod was about my UP shirt. I wore one of the UP shirts that I bought on the day of my departure from Manila. It was a black shirt with the name and seal of UP printed on the upper left portion, small enough to remain inconspicuous to the casual observer I believe -- wrongly, it turned out. The first to notice my shirt was the taxi driver who took me to the airport. Though it wouldn't take him a lot of brain power to figure out that I came from UP since I hailed a taxi inside UP, the T-shirt I was wearing became corroborating evidence that I was a student of peyups. The taxi driver, after having received my affirmation that indeed I was studying at UP, went on a monologue about how smart and talented UP students are -- as in "alam mo, lahat diyan ng mga nag-aaral sa UP matatalino..." then mr. taxi driver then proceeded to the conclusion that I also was one of those "intellectually superior" specimens from UP. Then he commented on the way I spoke tagalog. Since early in our conversation (a taxi verion of "kwentong kutsero") I happened to mention that I was from Visayas -- Manong taxi driver was from Bohol -- he remarked that my tagalog had no "tono" unlike the other Ilonggos who were in Manila. So it is really a big deal for an Ilonggo to speak tagalog without the characteristic tono ala Miriam Defensor Santiago...hmmmmmmm

And confirming that my shirt wasn't as inconspicuous as I thought it would be, I was accosted by a security guard at the NAIA domestic terminal who had been eyeing me since I got my boarding pass. He was unusually courteous and accomodating and the reason for that was confirmed when he asked me, "estudyante po kayo sa UP, sir?" I had to suppress a smile when I answered him: "Opo..."

To which the guard said: "Matalino po pala kayo, sir..."

At that point I couldn't help but chuckle. It seems that UP still maintains a high standing in the eyes of the masses, which is a good thing.

I think I should've bought a shirt with bigger prints on them...hehehe

Haircut

Yes, people. After about ten months of boycotting the barbershops and hair salons my mother finally convinced me to get a haircut yesterday. The result of which was a not-so-astounding-or-amazing-make-over but still presentable, though. My hair is still long but I'm comfortable with the way it turned out. What was interesting about the experience was when the hairstylist started blowdrying my hair and it came out straight. I looked at myself on the mirror and nearly burst out laughing. So THAT'S how I look IF i had long, straight hair hahahahahaha

For a few hours, there was this nagging smell of toasted hair follicles hovering around me. A long bath and a few hours later, my hair was back to its old wavy self.

Lessons learned from the experience: always have an idea of how you want your hair to turn out. If possible, bring a picture of the hairstyle that you fancy. Second, I think I need to let my hair grow a bit longer so I could have several options regarding the hairstyles I want to have. The hairstylist remarked that she can't do much with my hair because "it wasn't long enough." OK, so i guess given that I just had my tresses shortened, I suppose that my next haircut would be about a year from now. I could just imagine how I'd look a year from now...

Laika y otras cosas

El nuevo perro en la casa se llama "Laika." No seguro como escribo se nombre pero mas prefiero. Laika es muy negra y muy loca, siempre corre todos los dias. Laika es muy amable y muy linda. me gusta muchisimo esta nuevo miembro mi familia. Realizo esta nombre "Laika" es de una telenovela sobre una mujer cambia al perro blanco.

No veo mucho telenovela hoy pero mucho veo documentarios en National Geographic y Discovery Channel. Me gusta mucho el serie como "Mythbusters."

Basta! No mas cosas para hablar pero otro tiempo estoy online doy mucho noticias sobre mi adventuras en la ciudad de sonreir. Adios!

Ari Utro Man...

joining the ranks of "ken lee" and "keys me" is brit pop sensation Amy Winehouse



I know firsthand that british english could oftentimes be incomprehensible, but THIS?! WTF?! hahahahaha

Listening to her sing is both amusing and painful. Sayang ang talent...tsk tsk tsk

INC

NO the title of this post does not refer to a certain religious sect who claims sole access to Heaven...

Hahahahaha it seems that I have another first to celebrate(?) here in UP. My very first "Incomplete" grade. EVER!

Now, before you go accusing me of doing some mischief here in Diliman that warranted this INC, let me explain...medyo laba ni nga ambahanon hehehe

My Kas 111 course (Colonial Phils II) exam was scheduled on March 27. Two weeks ago, I approached Ma'am Diokno (my 'terror' prof in Kas 10, Kas 199.1, Kas 111, and Kas 199.2 -- I'm a masochist) and asked her if I could take the exam earlier as I already had a round-trip ticket booked for the 19th and returning on April 7th. I admit that this was a miscalculation on my part, as I assumed that there would be exams before the Holy Week. Again, assumptions are always the mother of all f*ck ups...

Ma'am and I agreed on a date for my 'advanced' exam for kas 111: march 18 -- a day before my departure for bacolod. But last saturday, as I approached ma'am to follow-up on my scheduled advanced exam, she told me that she was finding it difficult to make the exam as she had a very busy schedule these few days. Ma'am told me that I would have to take the exam along with everybody else during the scheduled date.

this unexpected turn of events introduced a dilemma on my part. If I choose not to leave on the 19th, I would be spending Holy Week here in Manila all alone...if I leave on the 19th, then choose to come back before march 27, I would be cutting short my vacation in bacolod. You also have to take into account the cost of having to reschedule and revaldate my round-trip ticket. My reasons I admit are purely personal. The first two entirely selfish. hehe

I weighed my options:

1. insisting was out of the question since I was asking for a favor on her part. that, and the fact that I won't DARE argue with Maris Diokno...

2. in ma'am's kas 111 syllabus there was a provision for deficiencies and how to make up for them. bottom line is, you get an INC if you fail to pass a requirement or take an exam and to make up for it, you'll have to pass a research paper

I was banking on option 2 (duh!) since I figured I could spend the remaining days here in UP scouring the library for sources to photocopy and when I'm already in bacolod, I could spend my vacation time going over them and making my notes. I already had a work schedule in my head wherein I will be able to finish my research paper and pass it on May.

I planned to approach her after my historical paper presentation which was this morning. Unfortunately, I was not able to approach ma'am after my presentation as the presentations (there were three of us scheduled to present our papers) took a bit longer than expected and Ma'am had to go to a departmental meeting after the class.

So I texted her my request: Give me INC, I'll give you a kick-ass research paper. Pleeeeeeeease....*

Her response was unexpected: I give you INC, you take exam another time.

To which my reply was: OK....thank you po.

So it seems I would have to do some reading during vacation, but not for my intended research. Damn, I was so fired up with doing the research but anyway...

BTW, I bought my very own UP shirt. Not one, but TWO! Figured after surviving two semesters of UP (and Diokno), I deserved this "badge" of honor. Plus, I get to flaunt it in Bacolod...Yabang...

I also met a new friend today, el nombre mi nuevo amigo es Rodrigo -- El Diablo Rojo. Rodrigo sera mi amigo en conversaciones en español para los meses que viene. En otro tiempo, yo presentare mi neuvo amigo Rodrigo. Promiso...

Also, I would have to take a bit of a break from blogging in the next few weeks. I won't be able to make daily blog updates as I no longer have internet connection at home. On the positive side, that means I'll have lots of things to blog about when I come back to UP next month.

Sige na, break ta anay para mamalandung. hope you all have a very Holy Week...hasta luego amigos!





*not the actual text of my communication with ma'am. I had to revise them for 'dramatic effect.' Asus!

Insert (Noun/Verb/Adjectitve) here...CLASSIFIED!

another Onion video where a US Congress bill is being read for approval.

I suspect this video was contrived...



Notice how the camera focuses tightly on the "congressman" and never zooms out to reveal the surrounding areas? and the footage of the gallery could just be stock footage. But the text of the "bill" was hilarious though...

Reminded me of a game wherein you'll have to fill in the blanks with noun/verb/adjective/whatever...the part where the "congressman" said "Jesus!" made me laugh. Must be a legislation anticipating a doomsday scenario...involving irradiated CLASSIFIED air-borne CLASSIFIED flesh-eating CLASSIFIED...hahahaha

Tia Marta...la tia del infierno

señores, presento para ustedes...señora marta mendez...la tia del infierno...

the "soy una cerda" lady strikes again in another video. This time it's a MUSIC video. I actually looked her up on the internet and here's what I found so far: she's the aunt of a tv personality in Chile. If you see her other videos she keeps refering to her sobrino (nephew). She's also a member of a band, which would explain her --uh-- musical tendencies...



hahahahaha (or in spanish jajajajajaja) she's like a spanish, geriatric version of "jackass." Love it!

Soy Una Cerda

"Soy una Cerda!" (I'm a pig!)



Madre de Dios....hahahahahahahaha

Ten Steps to Becoming a Better Writer...

Ten, easy steps...

1. Write.
2. Write more.
3. Write even more.
4. Write even more than that.
5. Write when you don’t want to.
6. Write when you do.
7. Write when you have something to say.
8. Write when you don’t.
9. Write every day.
10. Keep writing.


Courtesy of http://copyblogger.com -- there's a link at the left side of this blog.

Wham-Bham-Thank You Batasan

I was back again at the House of Representatives tying up some of the loose ends in my historical research. Good thing that the materials are located at the more accessible H of R library. The place hasn't changed much in the few months I have been away...though repairs were already started on the South Entrance of the Complex -- a victim of a bomb explosion last year. Aside from the repairs being implemented, everything was where it should be...

There were a few people in the Batasan Complex today, no impromptu car show in the parking lot -- no Porsches, Lamborghinis, Jaguars, Lexus cars lying around...

I quickly made my way into the Mitra building and was about to approach the security officer at the entrance when I saw him busy with something, talking to another guy. Then a rapid succession of gunfire was heard...turned out he was testing out a rifle -- an M16 maybe -- but there were no bullets, the sound was just the gas action of the rifle being set to semi-automatic fire. No reaction on my part, since the actual sounds where muffled by the covering of the rifle. Plus I didn't see an actual rifle so all these descriptions are at best conjecture...careful...hehe

After being given my visitor's pass I made my way to the elevators. though the library was on the second floor I decided to take the elevator ride because it was way more cooler than ascending the flight of stairs -- which at that time had a squad of maintenance personnel conducting cleaning operations.

At the library, I proceeded with my data gathering. It only took less than ten minutes for me to accomplish my task inside the library. After a quick check of the information I gained -- mostly citation information like dates of publication of the books I used in my research -- I quickly made my getaway from Batasan...

Faster than a speeding bullet, I proceeded to exit the premises of the Batasan Complex...outside the main gate, I stood on the smoke-filled sidewalk, awaiting the jeepney that would conduct me back to UP...

Massive Attack

I love confusing attendants in music stores like odyssey back in bacolod. I often look for CD's of artists who are often found on the fringes of pop and/or rock. It is always a source of both irritation and amusement when I approach these hapless attendants on the CD racks and ask them if they have the albums of the artists I was looking for. Example:

Me: "Miss, meron ba kayong album ni Sinead O'Connor?"

Attendant: "Sino?"

Me: "Sinead O'Connor po..."

Attendant: (to another attendant) "Meron daw tayong album ni Shened Connor..."

hahahahahahaha....what the f*ck?

oftentimes, these searches are often fruitless and I exit the store emptyhanded and frustrated. (with a story to blog about though, so all was not lost)

Maybe I was asking for it...imposing my musical tastes on other people...weird 'ata music ko hehe

Other names that often cause music store attendant's eyes to glaze over:

Portishead
Bjork
Tori Amos
Smashing Pumpkins
Massive Attack
Faithless
Enigma
Chicane
Rammstein

If they manage to decipher what I want, oftentimes the albums would be out of stock. Konti nakakakilala -- ergo -- konti lang bibili -- ergo -- konti lang ang nasa stock nila.

Though there are times when I feel a great sense of relief that there are others aside from myself who know these artists. Like the mother of my highschool batchmate who is an avid fan of Enigma and collects their albums -- idol! hahaha Another time when I was in odyssey bacolod, I was asking around for Massive Attack and the attendants EEGs were -- as usual -- flatlining on me, when the manager of the record store suddenly asked: "Wala na tayong stock ng 'Mezzanine' dyan?" wow! mr. manager knew the Massive Attack album that I was looking for. bilib ah!

Now here's a sample of Massive Attack's music. Not really the type of music that is accesible to the usual music listener weaned on sappy pop tunes. This music is dark and brooding -- like a boogeyman hiding in your closet, awaiting the perfect moment to pounce on you from the shadows...perfect soundtrack music for stalkers and/or serial killers hahahaha



video reminds me of Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"...nosebleed?

Binobobong Pilipinas 2008 Trance Mix

I could totally rave to this sh*t hahahahaha

Food Fight! ...a Deconstructive Analysis

this is one amazing video featured in youtube. Some of the world's greatest conflicts as performed (or reenacted) by each participating nation's staple food (or a cuisine associated with that particular nation). vamos a ver, por favor...




even a history major such as myself had a hard time figuring out which nation is which based on the food featured -- since i'm not familiar with some of the cuisine featured. but here's what i've figured out so far:

1. first scene refers to WW2 -- unleavened bread (Jews), bagels(?) and sausage (Germans), sushi (Japanese), hamburgers (USA), the salad thing (Russians), something that looks like "turon" and fries (Britain; there, fries are called 'chips'). The "patty bombing" of thousands of sushi was awesome (a reference to the hiroshima bombing)

2. next scene was a reference to the wars israel (unleavened bread) fought with the arabs (the kebabs -- or barbeques) after the british (turon thingie) left palestine

3. third scene: i'm not sure about this one but I suspect this to be the iran-iraq conflict since hamburgers and the salad thingie were involved hehe.

4. fourth scene: not too sure about this also but since there's french cuisine involved this might be algeria. there's a nice bit of reference to neocolonialism here as we see fellow cuisine fighting fellow cuisine ("Lumpia" thing fighting fellow "lumpia")

5. fifth scene: the ARMS RACE! US vs. Russia amassing weapons (in this case "fillings") of mass destruction.

6. sixth scene: those kebabs again...this time it's the gulf war. red kebab is iraq and the americans are represented by burgers and chicken nuggets (Desert Storm) The satellite image of the kebab being blown to bits is reminiscent of the "smart bomb" videos

7. seventh scene: the ongoing unrest in the middle east. notice the wall of "unleavened bread" keeping out the "kebabs." The "exploding shawarma" is a reference to arab extremist suicide bombers

8. eighth scene: obvious...9-11...

9. ninth scene: the afghanistan and iraq invasion...references to nightime bombings of iraq (night vision shot of the kebabs), and road-side bombings

10: I wonder what this scene meant...what those insects cleaning up the scraps of war represent? hmmmmmm....

phew! parang gumawa ako ng thesis nito hahahaha...anyway, this is one great and thought-provoking video. whoever did the animation and effects was AMAZING! bow ako sa creators of this video! HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS VID AS MUCH AS I DID. share your thoughts on my interpretation or give your own take on the "FOOD FIGHT"

The Onion

Here are a few hilarious clips courtesy of youtube. I was surprised that The Onion had branched off into a news network. I was familiar with their news parody website which featured some of the funniest fake headlines, news, and opinion. It was even cited by a Chinese news agency as a news source for one of its reports...hahaha

Okay here's a sample of their biting humor disguised as a legitimate news broadcast...the title of the clip is "Gays too Precious to Risk In Combat."



Here's another: "How we can make the War in Iraq more Eco-Friendly" initially hilarious, I found the latter part a bit disturbing though...



Finally: "What should Animals be doing more for Animal Rights" a bit ironic if you've read my earlier post. hehe

MURDER!

I just committed an act of murder in the boarding house.

Don't worry folks, I didn't kill a person...

my unfortunate victim was a reptile -- a grass snake to be precise.


This is NOT the actual snake. Just an image I got off the net.

The circumstances surrounding the murder, however, were more comic than horrifying.

I had just returned to my room after having dinner when I heard a call outside my door...

"Kuya Michael...Kuya Michael!"

Thinking it was the helper, Arlene, I went outside into the narrow corridor of the boarding house and I saw that it was the boarder-next-door and she was telling me that Doc (the landlady) was calling for me because:

"...may ahas daw sa kwarto niya. Magpapatulong lang ho sana..."

To myself, I was going: Now wait just a damn minute! whatever made Doctora think that I had "exterminator" or "wildlife services" in my resume. Anyway, I had to come -- I wanted to see the situation for myself and offer any assistance if I can. (which I was imagining, won't be much)

As I entered the living room of Doc's house, my landlady was visibly upset. which was not surprising. What would you feel if you discovered a snake slithering around your drawers -- IN YOUR BEDROOM!?

Unsure as to what I can do to help, nevertheless, I was guided into Doc's bedroom where the helper, Arlene, and Doc's two boys were already assembled -- looking nervously at the topmost drawer stuffed with blankets and comforters.

It took us a few minutes of prodding the insides of the drawer with billiard cue sticks, gingerly removing the blankets inside, when the intruder reared its head. And boy was the snake pissed! It was assuming the stance of any angry, cornered snake, head reared, the front of its body poised to strike...was it dangerous? yeah, it looked dangerous. does it bite? it sure intends to. Is it poisonous? the first two questions pretty much summed it up so I sure hell was trying my best to stay out of "striking range." I didn't care if it was poisonous -- I didn't want to be bitten...PERIOD.

Though the danger of the snake was eminent in the minds of those assembled...I still found humor in the nervous conversation that ensued among us snake catchers.

Me: "Unang tanong, nangangagat ba yan? Pangalawang tanong, makamandag ba yan?"

One of Doc's boys: "Baka pwede tayong gumamit ng apoy?"

Me: "Gusto mo bang masunog ang bahay niyo?"

Even Doc's guests became involved in the mess. One of them got inside, took a quick look and went outside and told Doc:

"Cobra!" (I could hear Doc squealing outside)

Me: (in a low voice) "Hindi po..." (hehehehe)

So the guy, Doc's guest, came back armed with a fishing net (which was not as sturdy as we hoped) our attempts to bag the snake were unsuccessful. The only thing left was to kill the poor beast, but he was hiding way back into the farther recesses of the drawer. The snake tried to escape through a hole but it can't fit through, so I imagine it had no choice but to fight to the death. The humane approach was now out of the question. (unless someone would risk a few bites on the arms or face. that, and the possibility of the snake being poisonous -- but I doubt it. I didn't see any fangs...)

So the guy came back with a tree branch and I got ahold of a truncheon-like weapon. (don't know what it was, but it had bright colors and was made of metal)

STOP READING IF YOU'RE NOT TOO FOND OF GORY DETAILS...you have been warned...

The guy managed to prod the snake out of the drawer where it fell into the pile of blankets underneath. I immeadiately struck with my weapon. I guess I severed the snake's spine for it's body snapped right in the middle and bone popped out -- bright red blood stained the floor of Doc's bedroom.

I was going: "yung ulo, 'asan yung ulo?" The guy was prodding the blankets and finally its head was exposed. and boy the SOB still had some life in him as he was snapping at us. We immediately struck. It took me three hits before I got his head -- more blood spurted out from the snake's squashed skull. For a cold-blooded creature, I was surprised at how RED snake's blood was...manol hehehe

After a few tense moments staring at the limp lifeless snake, (it was about two and a half feet long) we were finally convinced that it was dead. I told one of the boys to get ahold of the net while I used the cue stick to lift the dead snake and deposit it into the net.

We emerged out of the room, laughing nervously. Doc was squealing and freaking out at the sight of the dead snake. She thanked us and told us to be careful in our rooms. I told her that so far the only creatures that were bugging us were stray cats rummaging through our garbage.

But then thinking about it, it wasn't surprising that snakes manage to get ito people's homes especially in places were there are vacant lots nearby with tall grasses -- the perfect place for snakes to breed and hunt.

How about you dear reader? better check your room tonight for any stray creatures that might've found their way into your abode...check your cabinets, your drawers, underneath your bed...who knows what lurks inside those dark, cozy spaces...

You have been warned...nanakot pa ako hahaha

And Lenard Spoke...

these past few days have been quite eventful for I have had several online "reunions," so to speak. My college barkada got ahold of me via friendster and we were able to catch up on what's been going on in our lives these past few years. It has been a refreshing few days of reminiscing...

Now I was able to find a high school batchmate via friendster. Though friendster may no longer be that "cool" as it was a few years ago, it still is an effective tool to reach out and create a network of friends via the internet.

I was pleasantly surprised that Lenard had just started a blog last year. There's a link at the left side of the page...it's http://holding-on-still.blogspot.com...and it seems that Lenard has found a firm voice online. His ideas and opinions are refreshing, well written, and well researched. Si Lenard pa...who often spent hours in the library poring over newspapers and reading up on current events. Fellow bookworm sang high school hahahaha

If my blog devotes itself to hagiographic, oftentimes neurotic, polemics...holding-on-still.blogspot.com reads like a reflection -- an advocacy even. Guys, get to read lenard's blog and I guarantee that not only will you get a serious dose of info, you'll find a piece of enlightenment from the thoughts of an individual that dared raise his voice in cyberspace...

Naks. Grabe ka 'Nard!...the best of luck on your blogging. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts and opinions online. Ari libre advertisement para sa blog mo para madamo pa gid ang hits sa imo page. Let's find time soon to discuss some of your posts...God bless!

Bjork has Balls...Los Grandes Huevos

naughty bjork sparks controversy during a performance in China

to think that she did this in Shanghai right under the noses of the Chinese government...ah, to be an international celebrity indeed has its perks -- one of them is to sow controversy over "political" statements



Go, Bjork! Go! raise the flag for all freedom-loving , free-thinkers of the world!

At May Local Version din Pala

Sino si Barkley? Charles Barkley? hahahaha

Ken Leeeeeeee!

Bulgarian Idol Season 2 audition. Hilarious!



Ken Leeeee tulibu dibu douchooooo Ken Leeeeee ken lee meju more

Baby Can I Hold You Tonight?

the reason why I'm featuring all these spanish songs is an activity in our spanish class where we were required to present one song in class. We had the activity this morning and all the songs presented in our class were muy triste. My group presented the song Si Yo No Te Tengo A Ti (If I do not have you) to class. Our song was the only one among those presented that was easy to sing to, and the only pop song from the 80's to be featured. (obvious sa nagpili hehe) the other songs were staple pop songs of the 90's and present which unfortunately (for me) included:

1. Heroe - Enrique Iglesias (the Spanish version of "Hero") Dios Mio...Enrique was so OA (over acting) when singing this song...and the fact that this song was sung by Enrique Iglesias makes it el peor in my list
2. Yo Te Voy a Amar - "I will Love You" by...get ready for this...N'Sync! hahahahaha! Que horror! Terible! the Spanish version of "This I Promise You"...
3. Si Volvieras a Mi (If you return to me) I'm not sure who sang this but it sounded like Josh Groban...and it seems that the only one who can sing the songs of Josh Groban IS Josh Groban
4. and finally No Puedo Tenerte (I Cannot Have You) by Sin Bandera...the song seemed unfamiliar but when it played, I realized -- holy sh*t! It's a Spanish version of "Baby Can I Hold You" by Tracy Chapman!

and it's not a good version

what's worse than hearing the songs you don't want to hear for an hour and a half is to finally get to a song that you reaaaally like -- as in one of the top twenty songs in my playlist -- but then it gets brutally murdered...and in Spanish pa! Mierda!

So instead of singing the Spanish lyrics, me and my seatmate staged our own protest -- we sang the Tracy Chapman version. So, like a man who undergoes open-heart surgery sans anesthesia, I was spacing out to dull the pain (en mi cabeza, in this case), imagining Tracy Chapman singing and not those half-assed Spanish boy bands.

But I'll spare you my suffering...here's Tracy and "Baby Can I Hold You" as it should be...



My day just got better.

Why Indeed?

here's another ely guerra song. the title is "Por que tendria que llorar por ti" which means (I think) "Why do I cry for you?" The song is muy linda and it doesn't even require one to understand the lyrics to appreciate the song. That's what I like about music, universal yung appeal -- even going beyond words. But if you do need some, the refrain goes like this para bien, para mal para la eternidad para irte de mi para estar siempre aqui -- "for better, for worse, for eternity, for you and me, forever here." Anybody out there who has english lyrics of this song? Parang awa nyo na...

The La Salle Yearbook

I recently visited the blog of an acquaintance from my La Salle Yearbook years. Seeing the new yearbooks released by the La Salle Yearbook Office always gives me an overwhelming sense of pride in being a former member of the Editorial Board. My stint as EIC was one of the craziest. And the Ed Board of 2003 was the wackiest ever! Walang tatalo sa exploits namin hahahaha!

Those were months of feverish work, seemingly insurmountable deadlines, countless challenges that hounded every step of yearbook production, countless overnights spent poring over countless lay-outs, pages, pictures, and text just to ensure that what we will be spitting out would be at least at par, if not better, than the previous yearbooks.

Those were months making new acquaintances, gaining new friends, making new enemies, seeing people in a different light. It's amazing to think that a bunch of strangers could accomplish so much working together in such a short period of time. The work was never easy. As graduating students, we were juggling classes, requirements, theses, projects and yearbook matters. As individuals, we were treading the treacherous arena of interpersonal relations -- oftentimes sparking conflicts among certain individuals. As an institution, we the Ed Board also had to contend with the complicated and sometimes frustrating process of reaching out to the other offices in the process of ensuring that our yearbook gets to be made and delivered on time. But despite the challenges though, those of us who survived emerged wiser, stronger, and closer...

Little did we know that as we were going about the task of compiling the collective memories of our batch that we would be making memories of our own...I would never forget the overnights spent playing Warcraft III rather than doing the assigned tasks for the night -- then rushing to finish whatever we had planned in the early hours of the morning. The Last In/First Out Policy applied to us. Usually Yearbook people were the last people to get inside the campus(when everyone else was leaving), and the first people to leave in the early morning (when everyone else were coming in for their classes)...Our theme became an excuse to travel around Negros, from the outskirts of towns and barrios to the foot of Mt. Kanlaon -- we were pilgrims searching for inspiration from the land that is Negros...

Indeed, the Yearbook Office became a part of our lives. It was more than just an office: it was a second home, a gaming station, a call center (no wonder our Finance Ed was fuming over the phone bills...), a conference center (whenever we felt the urge to conduct a meeting hehehe), an airconditioned sweatshop, a tambayan for a lot of staffers (and non-staffers even; it was amazing the number of people that could fit inside the office), a boarding house (Liwanaaaaaag!), a harem/brothel/motel for some (ehem), a guidance office (crying sessions!), a crisis center (shouting sessions!),an impromptu ombudsman center (secret...hehe). For a brief moment, it became a microcosm of sorts, our own little world -- our universe even -- for us who were entrusted the task of yearbook making. It was the best and the worst of times...and I would always look back at those memories with wonder and pride...

That was a brief look back at SY 2002-2003 and the memories of the Yearbook Ed BOard 2003. I could give you more juicy stories...but then I'd have to kill you hehehehe

By the way, all this ranting and raving was inspired by Daryl's blog: http://neofolio.blogspot.com and there's a link at the left side of this blog. Do check it out. Even if you're not a Yearbook "person" you would still appreciate the artistry of the yearbook lay-outs and the photos courtesy of Neominds. Samples below:

The La Salle Yearbook 2007 Interactive CD: Hues of Possibilities






A few samples of images from Neominds

Friendster! (for SUGAR)

Salamat sa friendster because I got in touch with another friend from the good old college days. I confess that I haven't seen much of my old barkada in college. The rigors of work and the various responsibilities that I faced made it harder to maintain ties and considering that many of my acquaintances often go overseas for work makes it harder to meet up and even communicate.

Pero salamat sa friendster and this one found me. hehe siya pa nagpangita sa akon...touched ko ba...

SUGAR! kamusta ka na? Are you reading this? I'm sure you are because I gave you the address to my blog. Patikal-tikal sang blog ang iban hahahaha

It has been SUCH a long time and so much has happened. Diin ka na nga sulok sang kalibutan gapanago? hehe seeing your pictures of you having a good time makes me happy for you...

Do post a message in my friendster account or even here...then let's talk about when we get to meet and talk about the good old times...miss you! miss you! miss you!

Yo Corazon Ely Guerra

I found a new muse -- a Spanish muse -- courtesy of the internet (youtube, limewire, and babelfish hehe) Ely Guerra is a musician after my own heart: an eclectic fusion of pop, rock, and alternative influences that are sometimes upbeat, gloomy but oftentimes just right. Here's a sample of one of her songs "De La Calle" medyo gloomy ito...



after a bit of babelfish translations and my own personal tweaking, the lyrics come out gloomy and morose. Summary: You cannot find love in the dark streets. there,love escapes you but pain embraces you...haaaaay, Ely mi amor you had me at "dolor" (pain)...

The song gave off the same vibe as this one, "Life in Mono" by Mono:



Teka, ba't puro na lang spanish songs ang fini-feature ko sa blog na to? Que Horror! que pasa? hay nada mas hablar?

yo hago una promesa añadar mas asuntos sobre otros cosas...yo espero hehe

Escucho una y otra vez

two spanish songs i've been listening to over and over again. In fact, I am currently looping it in my head hehehe

1. Si Yo No Te Tengo A Ti (If I Don't Have You) by Hombres G



listening to this song reminded me of Sting and The Police. Note that the lead vocalist plays bass, a rarity in bands I reckon...


2. Te Busque (Looking for You) Nelly Furtado featuring Juanes



I'm not quite sure how to go about translating the lyrics because this one's in mexican (or any of the sudamericano nations' spanish tongue) unlike the previous one which in the castillian spanish. The english part sounds so pathetic hahaha pero the beats were muy bueno. the juanes guy looks a bit like antonio banderas, que piensas?

entonces, añado estas canciones en mi playlist para escuchar todo los dias...vamos!

Shadowskill

one of the best opening themes ever...I suspect that one of the Sevaar's skills include declamation...when Elle would "charge up" for her power moves the screen usually flashes kanji which read "Martial Arts Language Comences" with typing sound effects pa na hahaha



the various names featured in this anime are really quite interesting...what were the writers smoking when they were brainstorming the story for this anime?

1. Kuruda-Style Annihilation Technique -- pangalan pa lang kurog ka na...
2. Soulfan Blitzkrieg -- how I wish we had an actual historical event with that name...
3. Faurink Maya the Plasmatizer -- she always asks the f*cking seal what it is when she made them in the first place! anyway...
4. The various techniques in Kuruda-style which are named after edged weapons like Sword, Rapier, Boomerang, Tomahawk, Katana, Saber, etc.

At Nagkita ang mga Bloggers sa Rodics hehehe...

I Alone Knew Dali and Buñuel

ditch's note: what follows is the translation of my previous post which was written in the Spanish language. translating my previous post revealed a few errors in my blog post hehe -- pagpasensyahan niyo na...that's why I have the "Sort of" caveat in my post labels whenever I post in Spanish. Pramis, I'll try to improve next semester kung natapos ko na yung elementary spanish course ko. For the meantime, read and weep...

This morning in our Spanish class, our professor was reading an article about Salvador Dali. Only a few of the people in our class know who Dali is. In the article about Dali the name of Luis Buñuel was mentioned. My classmates also do not know who Buñuel is.

I was confused about the title of Buñuel’s film but I know of one scene [in that movie] where a human eyeball was slit. The French title of the film is “Un Chien Andalou.” After the class, I remembered the title but [I also realized] that it was written in Spanish in the article [we had just read]. The Spanish title is “Un Perro de Andaluz.” [A Dog of Andaluz -- or is it Andalucia?]

I was quite surprised that UP students do not know who Dali and Buñuel are. If Pebi heard of this, she would say: “How Horrible!” Hahahahaha