the name of this survey is counting blue cars

The shuffling of my n3110c's music player was done on the 2nd of November. But i'm just going over the post and the songs now before publishing this. So there's a 12-day discrepancy. So many things have happened since then. So even if this is no longer reflective of the current state of things, i'll still post this for record-keeping (OC much)


from Farah


Directions:
1. Put your music on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag friends who might enjoy doing the meme as well as the person you got the meme from. =)


IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY?" YOU SAY ...
chasing pavements - adele
"Should I give up / Or should I just keep chasin' pavements?"


WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
slo mo - eraserheads
"Walang pakialam / Kahit anong kalabasan ... Ang daming ninanais, ang daming kailangan / Pero walang panahon"


WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY?
i love you just the way you are - billy joel
"I just want someone that I can talk to / I want you just the way you are"


HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
seasons of love - from Rent 
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand / six hundred minutes / how do you measure the life / of a woman or a man?"


WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
say you'll be there -spice girls
"I'm giving you everything all that joy / can bring this I swear"


WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
i do - lisa loeb
not a very positive this song. there's nothing here that would make a good motto. but in light of more recent events, this could fit: *grin* 
"i will be ignored / i will be denied / i could be erased / i could be brushed aside / i will get scared, and i will get shoved down / but i feel like i do beause you push me around"

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
just like heaven - the cure
"You / lost and lonely / You / Strange as angels / Dancing in the deepest oceans / Twisting in the water"


WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
runaway angel - mojofly
"Why don't you sit down and relax? / And gather up all the reasons to head back / just don't forget where you got / the soul in your art, the wings on your back ...  Don't you regret what you've done / Go pray for the fun / Enough with the hurt"


WHAT IS 2+2?
ilang alon ang dala - wolfgang
"Isang butil ng sala / Ilang alon ang dala"

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
1979 - smashing pumpkins

"and i don't even care to shake these zipper blues / and we don't know / just where our bones will rest / to dust i guess / forgotten and absorbed into the earth below"

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
houki hoshi - younha


WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
echo - incubus

"Could you show me dear / Something I've not seen / Something infinitely interesting"

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
smoke gets in your eyes - johnny mathis


WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
ni yao de ai - penny tai


WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
will you be there - mj
"everyone's taking control of me / seems that the world's got a role for me"


WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
girl anachronism - the dresden dolls

"behold the world's worst accident / i am the girl anachronism"

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
needs - collective soul
"Here I slumber to awaken my daze / I find convenience in this savior I save"


WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
hinahanap-hanap kita - rivermaya
"Adik sa 'yo"


WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
you and me song - the wannadies
"But it's you and... Me and we'll always be together" --> fail


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
kung ayaw mo huwag mo - rivermaya
"Hindi kita mapipilit kung ayaw mo / 'wag mo akong isipin bahala ka"

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
gold digger - jamie foxx/kanye west
"yeah she's a triflin' friend indeed / yeah she's a gold digger way over town / that digs on me"


HOW WILL YOU DIE?
jigsaw falling into place - radiohead
interesting idea --> "Before you run away from me / Before you start unravelling / Before you take my mic / Just as you dance, dance, dance"

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
la copa la vida - ricky martin


WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
beat it - fall out boy ft. john mayer
another FAIL


WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
just a phase - incubus
"Now my only consolation is that this could not / Last forever even though you’re singing and thinking / How well you got it made"


WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
1/3 junjou no kanjou - siam shade


WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
waka waka - shakira
"You're on the front line / Everyone's watching We are getting closer / This isn't over / The pressure is on"


DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
empire state of mind - jayz alicia keys
"These streets will make you feel brand new / Big lights will inspire you"


IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
canon in d - pachelbel canon


WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
walking after you - foo fighters

"I cannot be without you / matter of fact / I'm on your back / if you walk out on me..."

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla

Yeah! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I'm having a blast listening to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They've been around for a decade and it's only now that I discover them. WTF right? I have so missed a lot. They're amazing! Well, at least I've just been playing Fever to Tell (2003) and Show Your Bones (2006) on repeat, so I've no idea about the more recent albums. But with their talent, imagine them only a trio producing such an interesting array of sound, I'm almost sure those are going to be amazing as well. I love Karen O's energy when she's performing and the immensely interesting personality hiding behind the sort of clothes she wears and the sometimes unreadable or bland expressions on her face. (And I love how Nick looks too *grin*)

I can't describe everything about her style, being fashion jargon-illiterate, but you see how talented she is. She can be overly loud and then simple next time. In the third pic, she's wearing that see through plastic(?) over a blue skirt with matching blue stockings in their video for Zero. Nick just does amazing things with his guitar. And Brian's there supporting the great blend of her Pat Benatar-reminiscent voice and Nick's amazing concoctions  of rhythm, punk/dance beats and those amazing (sorry, can't think of other adjectives right now) wailing guitar riffs that work just right. I haven't gone into the lyrics yet but I will soon enough.

Let's backtrack just a bit. Let's go into how I got addicted to them, my second addiction since LJ this month (see previous post). Okay, so I thought I'd listen to them one day knowing that Maps has been one of their more popular songs (and they're not pop so I'd know there's substance to this band). I didn't know it's been seven years since the song was released. So I get a hold of the band's discography. And I listen. And I like what I'm listening. And then I'm talking about it to a friend, and he raved about how powerful Karen O's emotions were in the song's video. And so I track it down (thank goodness for youtube - no thanks to the content-blocking capitalist companies). And I'm blown away. And so here I am ten days later, a devoted fan. And what made me love them more is the following performance at the Reading Festival in 2006 (I wish we had things like those here, but tough luck kid!). Karen is amazing and energetic as usual, and she just seemed to enjoy performing a lot. And her voice has such that wide range; I didn't think anybody would be doing that kind of wailing she did at Gold Lion. And even if I love the original Maps, the emotion-filled acoustic version is still amazing. Hay... So am I winning you over now? Watch.

More La Tortura, SARS in China and the World Cup

The Spanish-speaking people indeed speak fast. I'm having a hard time following Shakira's enunciation of the lines

No sólo de pan vive el hombre
Y no de excusas vivo yo

 from her song La Tortura. Yep, that's my LSS for the past few days already and it's a song I just heard two days ago. Talk about obsession. And yes, those two lines are kinda like my favorites; they're the ones I sing too when it's time to sing them. I've almost memorized the first two lines of the song since I've played it many times these three days. I like the beat of the song, danceable, but still full of emotion from the vocals of Alejandro Sanz who's hot in an alternate version of the video for the song (unfortunately, my source has been taken down). I don't know why they just didn't use it for the official video release.

I love the concept, of the video, and even if you can't understand every bit or even a teeny tiny bit of Spanish in the song, you'll get an idea from watching the body language between the two. The video is just so sexy. Though I don't get why Shakira had to go smear black paint all over her body and go dancing. This video puts much more perspective into the story than the original version which uses the Shaketon remix. Okay, so we all know they're both hot in this video.

I already thought Shakira was amazing as a dancer in Hips Don't Lie, one of the very few videos I've watched of her, or in Beautiful Liar where she showcased those patented grinding belly moves. It seems it's been years since she's perfected them, since La Tortura was way back in 2005 (the years fly by so fast sometimes I no longer know where I've been all those times). Seeing her perform live is more amazing, she just does the whole thing without breaking a sweat, all the time showing the right expressions, and showing that she's enjoying everything that she's doing. I think there's something going on between her and Alejandro since they work perfectly onstage (well, in this performance particularly), or they may just be very good actors. More of Shakira in the Oral Fijacion Tour with none other than my new favorite Spanish male musician/singer (I just love how his voice soars as he sings Yo sé que no he sido un santo / Pero lo puedo arreglar, amor).





Listening to her has revived my drive to learn Spanish. I've downloaded a few of her songs, okay, almost a whole discography, and explored other current artists to brush up on Spanish.

This is part two of my La Tortura fixation. I wrote the first one only yesterday and you can read it here :D

+ + +

In between sneaking peaks at Shakira grinding her belly and admiring Alejandro Sanz as long as he's not dyed blond, I've managed to pick up China Syndrome by Karl Taro Greenfeld and continue reading where I left off. This hardbound book was a steal, having bought it atNational Bookstore in Shangri-la Mall for only Php200.00. The former Time Asia editor chronicles the beginnings and eventual spread of SARS back in late 2002. I'm not yet halfway through the book, but the retelling of the events as they unfold do make me shiver. The disease probably didn't mean much to me back then, although a few of our countrymen were affected by this disease. But it was far from reality to me since I wasn't exposed to the disease firsthand nor secondhand. Greenfeld talks about the people who have been infected, what their lives were, how China was at that time, the economic boom and how everybody wanted to be a part of it, Hong Kong and its team of medical professionals who sought to keep its poultry supply disease-free, the different specialists in different Chinese hospitals, the information hierarchy in pseudo-Communist China and why no information regarding the disease was disseminated to help control it. SARS was still unidentified in the part I'm reading, but it has already gone into a hospital and community outbreak.

The attitude of the Chinese government towards possible outbreaks is horrible to say the least. Anything that would damage the image of order, prosperity and peace that they've been trying to maintain at the expense of hundreds or thousands of lives shouldn't be reported. They'll remain as rumors; the only useful information will be known at the top. There's hardly information going down the hierarchy. And since the local doctors and hospital directors don't want to be the receiving end of reprimands front heir higher-ups, they just go about their own without reporting alarming things such as what's been happening to immunohealthy thirty-something year olds who suddenly develop fevers, difficulty in breathing and spots in the lungs. Even the press has been barred from publishing anything about it for a time, and Hong Kong which is just south of Guangdong where the disease started has been left clueless (the one nation, two systems policy failed at this).

I'm quite excited to read this through the end, as long as I get myself extricated from the computer for a reasonable enough amount of time. I'm quite curious whether the Chinese government has changed from then, and how they managed the AH1N1 influenza outbreak, which if I haven't forgotten also started somewhere in China.

All of a sudden, I feel like we're all so vulnerable, especially those who live in the cities with its polluted air and close, cramped spaces. At least there's no winter here to promote communicable diseases such as the flu, but then we have our own problems when the rainy days come.

So now I've said my bit. Glad to be writing again. Hopefully tomorrow again.

postscript...
- Italy lost 2-3 to Slovakia. What happened my dear Italians, 2006 World Cup champions? Not even advancing to the Round of 16, and doing too little too late, finishing last in what seemed to be the weakest  group of the tournament. But yay! Germany and Spain have advanced, and so has Brazil. Hooray also for Korea Republic (South Korea), the first Asian team to qualify. Korea DPR has performed well, even though this is their first World Cup. Even though you were trashed by Portugal, still kudos to North Korea and its players. France... well, there's been lots of analyses. I guess attitude begets bad fortune. I wonder though how Japan is doing. Do they have any chance? South Africa seems to be roaring. Hooray for the hosts and the vuvuzela! Although I could do away with that while watching. I wonder when I can watch the next match. Hmm, alright till next time guys. Football later.

Someone/something to turn to when the world doesn't understand you

I was reading some Neil-related posts. The last one was by Ms. Amanda Palmer and their trip through China where she joined Neil who was researching for his new half-fiction/half-nonfiction book. The entry was supplemented with many entries, and in that sense, came to understand Amanda better, even though I'm a fan of some of The Dresden Dolls's songs (and she's using the Tumblr platform for her blog). Scrolling down, I came across a post that I started to read maybe a month ago. I thought it looked promising then. But it was a bit long, and the putting off didn't happen until today, which by the way, was accidental.

So there it is, Amanda Palmer's open letter to Robert Smith . It detailed her pre-adolescent and teenage years, and how Robert Smith's words became a refuge from the world that doesn't understand her. She detailed her obsession with Robert, how she would stumble upon vinyl copies of Japanese imports which she couldn't buy because they were too expensive for a still-in-high-school Amanda, having a Robert Smith shrine in her bedroom, the most prominent of which is a wall poster of Smith with his back turned to the viewer "hiding his tears", perfecting the band name's font used in one of their albums, having relationships with guys who shared the same passion on the band with her. She lived with and in his words.

While I was reading that, what she was saying struck quite close to home. Although I've never had one favorite band that I stuck with through and through (sometimes, I would want to listen to something else; and besides, I'm not a lyrics-oriented person - melody is enough to make me a fan of a song or a band), but I believe that is how one loves a band. You do things to pay homage to the personality/group that has a big influence on you, or that in a way he/she/they only can, define you and give meaning to your life.

Before she went on with her point, she told the reader to play The Cure's Disintegration album, download if need be. The torrent file I found had 0% health (edit: or it's probably because I lost my connection that time). So I just played what was on my library, a random collection of Cure songs. The first track was Blue Monday. I read on.

She related how seeing her favorite bands in high school in a festival in Coachella where she also performed reminded her about what music is to her. She mentioned that she had been a bad fan, because she eventually forgot about Robert Smith once she was finally able to do the thing that she always wanted because of Smith - becoming a musician and speaking to people through the songs.

And I recall. Even though I didn't grow up listening to the Cure, nowadays, as I listen to tracks I've collected because they are one of the greatest musicians I keep hearing about but have never listened to (not because some magazine or chart proclaimed to be, but reading about them and their influences in the articles of Erwin Romulo (in his earlier Young Star (the Friday section of a national daily) articles and my impressionable age of 11-14 - I'm impressionable until now actually but those were the years that I believe Young Star really shined). His were the only articles I remember, I'm not sure if I've read other writers' referencing or talking about the band), I realize that the music is right. For me, for my soul. Maybe not for all, but there are some in my measly collection which cut through. Though I don't know exactly what the songs say, the melody reminds me of me. I've never been familiar with their songs, hearing them only sparingly on the radio even during my younger days, and the only song that I knew then was theirs was Boys Don't Cry because my cousin liked to sing that on videoke. Hearing their songs brought the feeling that I was already aware and listening when those songs hit the radio and became popular, making them an inseparable part of my being. But these songs were from the 80s or the early 90s, a time when I had no favorite songs, no favorite artist, even no TV viewing apart from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/X-Men/Power Rangers on Friday nights.

The yearning, angst, fear in Smith's lilting voice, the earnestness, bounciness in the melody reflect a part of me, mirroring my inner conflicts in their songs. I never thought I would feel an affinity with the Cure as I do now.

A new track played. It's If You Leave and the mp3 tag says it's from The Breakfast Club. Again, one of the rare movies that speak to me deeply emotionally. Yes, there are some movies that have made me cry, mainly because of how the characters end up. But this story about five students getting punishment because of a behavior stemming not only from their unconscious self, but as a result of years of rearing by the same persons who expect unreasonably and condemn them for not keeping up a facade that everything's alright... let's just say I haven't left teenagehood yet. Or more specifically, I haven't left my angsty self (the part so often associated with teenagehood) yet. As my friend Joyce pointed out, twentysomethings are still given to plenty of angst. Well, I think mine is angst left over (or like how others would see it, should have been left off) from teenage years. Mind, I first watched The Breakfast Club about a year ago, when I had somehow acquired a very fast access to internet and learned how Torrent works.

I'm well out of my teenage years then and I can't help identifying with everyone of them, reveling in the secrets they shared with each other, understanding, although not completely seeing as they come from different social circles, each others' plights, rendering themselves vulnerable where before they were not by allowing a peek into their innermost thoughts and feelings. I felt myself ready to cry as the track played and I replayed images from the movie in my head. Tears in understanding for all the misunderstood/boxed/much-expected-from people in the world.

In 4:13 Dream, I love the track This. Here. Now. With You. the most. It
reminds me closely of the Cure songs that I have come to associate with non-80s/early 90s me. The melody resounds of the old Cure songs that I've come to identify with.

It just somehow feels so much better when you know that you are not alone in experiencing all the stresses, setbacks and hurts in this world. You can have an anthem or a theme for a certain phase of your life, resolve or get over it, move on. And years later, a sight, sound, smell, or a certain emotion triggers a memory. And you're grateful; even if nobody you knew understand you, there is this music or this piece of art that made you feel belonged and understood. After all, it is better to choose death than loneliness.

Patungkol sa isang balikbayan box

Kapag nagsimula nang ipatugtog ang mga kanta ng Eheads sa Winamp, tiyak tuluy-tuloy na Eheads goodness na ang mapapakinggan ko. Magkakasunud-sunod kasi ang mga kanta nila dito sa Winamp playlist ng PC. At kapag nakarinig na ko ng isang awit nila, di ko na mapigilan ang sarili kong pakinggan ang mga iba pa.

Isa sa mga napakagaling na gawa nila ay ang Balibayan Box mula sa Sticker Happy. Intro pa lang -- s**t! Namamalas mo na ang pagkahenyo ng bandang ito. Hindi naman silang lahat ang gumagawa ng bawat parte ng isang kanta. Merong sumusulat, tapos ung mga iba't-ibang elemento ng musika ay nakatoka na. Pero tinuturing ko pa ring gawa ito ng buong banda dahil ang kolektiba nilang gawain ang nagbigay-buhay sa mga kantang napapaloob sa kanilang mga albums.

Di ako pamilyar sa kantang ito dati dahil hindi ata siya inirelease sa mga istasyon ng radyo. Nung makabili lang ako ng kopya ng nasabing album (na naka-cassette pa, sa AliMall ko ata ito nahanap) ca 2005 tsaka ko unang napakinggan ang awit na 'to. Simpleng melodiya, simpleng lyrics, kaya di ko masyadong nagustuhan nung una. Pero makailang kinig lang at masasabi kong isa 'to sa mga nagpapamalas ng kagalingan ng banda (ang isa pa ay Torpedo). Hindi ko pa nabubusisi ang lahat ng kanilang mga kanta dahil di ako mahilig makinig sa lyrics, kaya pagpasensiyahan na ang opinyon ko sa kantang ito.

The opening riffs of Balikbayan Box tugs at my heartstrings (bilang di ko siya maisalin sa Pilipino), kagaya ng iba pang mga bagay na nagpapaalala sa akin ng aking pagiging Pilipino. Ang balikbayan box ay isa sa mga gawaing Pinoy, at sa panimulang iyon ay dama ko ang pagnanasa ng mga nasa ibang bayan na bumalik na sa sariling bansa.

Puno ng tuwa't galak / Ang aking balikbayan box... Narito lahat ang masayang gunita ng malayong pamilya at ang pangarap na sinisikap na matupad sa pagpunta sa ibang bayan.

Umuwi na tayo / Umuwi na tayo, hey, hey, hey / Umuwi na tayo / Dahil wala ng sense ang ating mundo... Iba man ang gamit ng mga linyang ito sa kanta, di pa rin maikakaila na sa pangungulila sa tahanan, ang mga salitang iyon ang higit na nagpapahiwatig ng saloobin ng mga Pinoy na nasa ibang bansa.

May pagpapahiwatig ng pagod, pag-asa at pagmamahal ang boses ni Ely sa kantang ito. Napapaiyak ako.


Ang larawang ginamit ay galing sa archives ni Levan.

halaw

seeing "compromise" on a positive light

"Early on, from my father, I learned the necessity of compromise, which to me has never been a bad word. It makes things happen, it makes things possible. It is, in its own way, an art, a working of one's attitude and skill on the material and situation at hand. We often look at our heroes as those who never compromised their principles, and that's admirable, but not all principles are created equal. Some involve the survival of the nation, others merely the survival of the self, which is important enough on most days, especially if the survival of others depends on you."

- Sir Butch Dalisay, For Love and Living

++

opening theme song ng cartoon sa ABS dati na Julio at Julia
di ko ata nasubaybayan ito hanggang sa katapusan ng kwento dahil hindi ko alam na nagkatuluyan pala ang kambal na ito. pinag-uusapan kasi namin (maida, betang, jown at ako) sa lab ito kanina at na-curious tuloy ako sa kinalabasan ng kuwento kaya napa-research ako. nakakita ako ng lyrics, pati audio stream nung mismong opening song.

kapag umikot na ang mundo
IIkot din ang buhay ng tao
May saya at mayroong dusa
Sa mithiing pakikibaka (?)

kapag umikot na ang buwan
bago pa sumikat ang araw
bagong pag-asa'y matatanaw
tadhana na ang syang pupukaw

si julio at julia
kambal ng tadhana
di susuko
sa pagsubok


"Handa Ka na ba, Julio?"
"Oo, Julia"

http://www.esnips.com/doc/0b16acd5-bad6-49d9-855a-51fab95763dc/Julio-at-Julia,-Kambal-ng-Tadhana - for the song stream
http://peyups.com/posts.khtml?mode=viewtopic&topic=24627&forum=21/t_blank - the peyups.com thread

++

newly-discovered song by Alanis
alam mo naman me, hindi ko nagugustuhan ang mga kanta dahil sa lyrics kundi dahil sa kabuuang tunog. madalas late ko nang malalaman na higit sa magandang tunog ng kanta, maganda o may kabuluhan din pala ang sinasabi nito

Lyrics | Alanis Morissette lyrics - Forgiven lyrics

We all had delusions in our head
We all had our minds made up for us
We had to believe in something
So we did

[what has happened]

my life is such a mess, but before i depress myself which i am wont to do everytime i think about it, lemme just write about the pleasant things that i've learned or experienced these past few days or weeks. it was the thought of such things while i was walking home tonight which actually spurred me to write after months of silence (well, at least on this front - so much has happened, just wasn't in the mood to write during those times).

so, where to start...

hmmm... to fellow ft students out there, can i just say that fn (nutrition) subjects are so much fun. for those not in the know, we only have two fn subjects in our curriculum, and yet, these are the only subjects where we are able to cook meals or dishes which we get to sample for purely hedonical reasons (i.e., parameters for evaluating each dish are only qualitative such as "i like this cabbage salad in mayo with paprika extremely", or "i like this kare-kare very much", or "i dislike ampalaya in whatever preparation it is done in moderately" using the 9-point hedonic scale). this afternoon was the second session wherein we've cooked the dishes we've planned. the first one was the result of our planning for a given set of meals per day given a person's height, weight and energy requirement given his occupation. this was accomplished by using the Food Exchange List (FEL), an extremely helpful tool, especially if you're planning special meals such as when you are dieting. you are actually able to limit your calories, but then, to be able to provide more variety, you should be quite well versed in substituting food items as well as able to prepare them in a variety of ways so that you won't get bored with the usual stuff which you prepare, which i think i am wont to do since i don't have enough knowledge on cooking foods. the lesson is that with more meals per day, you are able to distribute the carbohydrate requirements in terms of food items. in our case, we only had three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner and the requirement for the normal diet for a healthy person is that a minimum of 65% of the day's energy allowance come from vegetables. therefore, for breakfast of an adult male with an activity of the typical jeepney driver, we prepared a breakfast of 2 cups of cereal with low-fat milk, a slice of Gardenia wheat bread with four teaspoons of strawberry jam and a small piece of apple. for lunch, we had one-and-a-half cup of rice, tinola (with chicken breasts and sayote), 1 serving of lakatan and two teaspoons of iced tea. dinner was fried tilapia with sauteed kangkong with soy sauce, sauteed togue and buko juice. we also got to eat among others, buttered rosemary chicken (oha oha! o di ba, something close to gourmet cooking - well, at least from my point of view, since di naman ako napupunta sa mga fine dining places dito sa metro). =)

today, we prepared low- and high-calorie dishes. our group was assigned to work with vegetables. for our low-cal, we had steamed vegetables: young corn, carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, pechay, button mushrooms with a very minimal coating of butter and salt. our high-cal dish was kare-kare, the peanut butter and fatty pork slice upping the calorie content of an otherwise very low-cal dish had we used only vegetables. of course, the peanut butter taste of it was more than what i was accustomed or else used to, especially since it's been ages since we had kare-kare with genuine peanut sauce at home. mom had resorted to using only the kare-kare mix in recent years. however, to macky, our chief kare-kare cook since it's his favorite dish, the peanut butter taste was less than what they usually prepare at their home. i also discovered a new way of slicing eggplants. haha. what joy...

other dishes called for entree, dessert and beverages, appetizers and salads and cakes. thus, today's banquet (haha! i wish) included brownies for a high-cal dessert, a low-calorie cheesecake (cream cheese was replaced with cottage cheese) which still needs freezing at the moment (tomorrow is when we get to sample it), adobo, watermelon smoothie, hawaiian lumpia, cabbage salad (with raisins, cheese, onions, mayo and paprika) and ensaladang mangga. the cabbage salad was mexican-inspired, and the mayo didn't taste revolting at all, which it usually does, with the mixture of ingredients and more importantly, the large influence due to the paprika, which lends the salad its taco-like flavor. the hawaiian lumpia was also quite an interesting dish with sotanghon, ubod, pineapple and tuna flakes, among others, inside the usual lumpia wrapper complemented by a sauce with a tart taste which, if you would believe, has fish sauce (patis) as one of its ingredients. by just stretching the imagination, and combining food items with different sorts of spices, one can actually come up with many interesting dishes. a frustration of mine, actually. i'd really like to have the knack for combining different sorts of items and subsequently, ingest wondrous flavors, much like the chefs in 5-star hotels who create masterpiecese which less than 1% of the world get to witness within a span of 24 hours and never to be experienced again. the last holiday's chef didiere of the hotel poop come to mind.

those dishes i've talked about here, except for the ones which our group prepared, are courtesy of group one's executive chef, diana dreza (dood, apprentice ako sayo!).

***

last friday, i had the pleasure of watching pinikpikan's sir sammy asuncion do a hegalong solo with a perc accompaniment (i forget the specific instrument which was used). it was my first time to see him perform, not even with pinikpikan, although they'll be performing at this week's Friday Film Bar (6.30 pm at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery (back of UP Cine Adarna) featuring student short film Sakdal Laya, the full length In The Red Korner by Dado Lumibao and Bong Ramos, a not-to-be-missed performance by Pinikpikan and free-flowing tea and coffee).

eraserheads nostalgia

when i'm here at home, the music i love to listen to is that of the eraserheads, particularly their albums aloha milkyway and natin99. the latter is my most favorite album of all. i actually have vinyl tape copies of both albums (which makes the more easily accessible ones to play in our home with no cd player) plus sticker happy. however, the tunes i like most are in the two so sticker happy gets less of airtime here. hehe... anyway, its christmas time. i feel the need to play the eheads' fruitcake album.

the eraserheads ranks on top of my list of best and favorite bands ever. listening to their songs brings memories of their genius. seriously, a reunion concert where they just play their old songs would be just a blast...

thoughts at dawn

i seem like a nocturnal animal. i get at least an hour's sleep at night, then when i wake up, it seems like daytime. i'm not sleepy, so either i watch tv or stay in front of the pc. the latter is what i've been doing most times. and i'm awake till 4 or 5 am, which time i go to bed. then i wake up around 8 or 9 am. this must be caused by all those times i've stayed awake till dawn back in up.
...
i went to the christmas party of subol. it's been awhile since i've been with the subolites. i usually see some of them around at school. anyway, we did not number to 20 this afternoon. and it's great to see how org relationships and friendships have grown. ate jhet's and july's youngest sibling, chitbog (did i spell this right?), was with us. it was quite fun having him around. it's the first time i've seen him so talkative; at least he was, on the way back home. it's also amusing to see this powerplay among siblings, with july usually at the receiving end of ministrations or threats. well, that's because you've got the older sister and the youngest sibling and they kind of gang up on july, of course, with the hand of ate jhet guiding the little one. *evil grin*
...
i got to watch the nu rock awards on myx thursday night. it was a spectacular show, though i didn't get to watch it from the beginning. if you paid the P350 ticket, i must say it was worth it. there were lots of performers, at least one after every award given out. the performances were great, and the energy in the whole place must have been awesome and overwhelming. kamikazee went home with most of the awards, including artist of the year. itchyworms bagged the album of the year award for noontime show, an album which has been given acclaim since its release during the last month of 2005. sandwich was also nominated in many categories, though i'm not sure if they won in any. but still, sandwich remains my most favorite among all the bands ever nominated in the nu rock award. their music is quite a genius, not sounding at all like their previous efforts. marc abaya's departure and the entry of mong alcaraz may have steered the band to new directions, and allowed each of the members to contribute more creatively. i definitely have to get a copy of their five to the floor. i might have to wait for awhile to ensure that no special edition comes out, what with a song they contributed to the supernoypi soundtrack. i really like the sound they've produced in this album.

i also like up dharma down, and a copy of their album fragmented nowhere can be found. i also intend to get a copy of it. i've only seen up dharma down perform once, when they have not yet attained this kind of success. they were already on their way, that i'm sure of, but still quite a nobody. it was upmc's anniversary gig at the educ theater. of course, i didn't remember the songs they performed then, but they had a really interesting sound. what label do the music critics place on their songs anyway? they were in good terms with nika, makopa's vocalist and since nika liked them, i thought they were some kind of acid jazz since makopa's main repertoire is acid jazz. i still don't know till now, but surely, one cannot deny the fact that armi millare is oh-so-talented and beautiful. great voice, great keyboard-playing skills and the looks. i remember my orgmate mia was a classmate of hers in a college of music-based ge class. i want to know what it feels like to have some famous person (for all the right reasons) as a classmate.

well, with all that's happened (i mean look at the list of nominees), i must say the pinoy rock scene is really making waves, flooding the industry with ingenuity and true pinoy sensibilities.
...

aber?

kumusta na nga ba?

isang hectic na sem coming up. naririnig ko palang ang mga kailangang gawin para sa fs 135 (physico-chem analysis of foods), fs 128 (post-harvest handling/non-thermal processing) at fs 131 (sensory eval of foods) - idagdag mo pa jan ang math 54 - at napapagod na ko. masaya pa naman. pero nafi-feel ko nang nagcri-creep up ang responsibilities sa likod ko. baka dumating iyong time na pagsisihan ko lahat ng naging desisyon ko for the past few months or so.

masaya pa naman ako. may drive pa naman for life. gusto ko nang makapaglaro ng football. sayang nung wednesday, nasugatan pa kasi. lecheng damo iyon.

gusto kong magrelax muna nitong weekend. kaya lang meron nakong dalawang exam next week, parehong araw ng july 1. math 54 at fs 135 pa naman. hay, nakakabaliw.

at least ok naman si mam dumelod. daming smiles kanina. mejo happy moments pa. wala pa naman iyong time na sobrang katakot/nakakanginig to the bones. probably later as the sem progresses.

mababasa ko na sana iyong pinapabasa ni mam luna kaya lang tong lecheng pc na to, ayaw mag-install ng adobe acrobat reader. pano yan? kainis naman tong pc shop na to.. well, assurance din cia pero essential iyong program na iyon, lalo na sa mga estudyante.

hmmm... astig iyong vid ng obs na give it. di ko pa siya napapanood/naririnig ng buo dahil patigil-tigil iyong connection. here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyvBL3gaMl4&search=out%20of%20body%20special

ayan, eto na lang muna. more next time. if, there is a next time.

nuno sa pu(n)so

i've mentioned before (or not) that proximity is a factor in the way i handle relationships with people. it's also why i get closer or more intimate with people i know and strain or lessen the intimacy with the people i've known before but with whom i haven't been in close contact with (due to the distance). many say it's a factor in romantic relationships, which i don't believe in, since love should be able to eclipse the distance; but then, that shows my immaturity as i've not been able to reconcile the two. anyhow, before i lose my point, i'm just saying that my new obsession is the result of proximity, though not in a physical manner. that is, i see most of this obsession nowadays, that it has, well, graduated into just that, an obsession. haha! now, i'm embarassing myself. but i meant to write this for my blog so i'm posting it anyway. so this time, it's a man. not just any man. i've seen him and his band thrice on cable TV, almost a half-hour straight showing of their videos (thank someone for this jap channel - yup, the website says: musicair.co.jp so i couldn't read the skeds listed up on their website). those three times were all the same of a series of the band's videos. i saw him another time on the guitar legends festival in seville, spain which, upon researching on the net, i found out to be held around 1992 or a year earlier. that's where i got to know him first (oh my, i'm talking like a infatuation-stricken highschool girl from teenage hollywood) and sigh, his silky long hair. he's from extreme, the band who shot to popularity thanks to their melodic single more than words, a song which doesn't speak for the music they usually play, but which, coming from a band that plays songs which they describe as funky metal, and one which has won accolades in the hard rock/hard metal category, is really a surprise and a treasure because you get to see the extent of their guitarist's talent and skill. i'm talking about the portuguese-born nuno bettencourt. yeah, guitar god. he's got real mean fingers strutting on the fretboard. he could really shred and then in the next song or in the ending of the same song, play some folk-sounding spanish/irish tune on a classical guitar. extreme disbanded in 1996 and nuno went solo before forming new projects - mourning widows, population 1 and now dramagods. a side note (and this is important, hehe) nuno isn't as goodlooking in his pictures nowadays as in the older ones (at least to me). there's been much change, and i appreciate the younger him better. he even had a brief acting stint, i've got some stills later. he really had very nice hair - my utter weakness, i'm sorry, and combined with those portuguese looks, i think that's my perfect physical man. yes, i've just recently realized that that kind of image is what attracts me. if i could just post some pictures of my two other objects of infatuation today, you could more clearly see what i mean. but as i don't have any, content yourself with nuno's pics of which i'm planning to put in quite a lot. and did i mention he's won the best instrumentalist for a number of times in the boston music awards (boston being the hometown of extreme)? that's not to say he's the only glowing star in the band; gary cherone is also a great vocalist, and without pat greary (drummer) and pat badger (bassist), would nuno be exposed to the whole wide world?

by the way, nuno was here in pinoy country last year, june 9, for a clinic courtesy of washburn guitars (he's been endorsing this brand since the early 90's). here's more about him from the news at the yupangco website, "During his years as a teenager Nuno began playing drums, bass, and keyboards, but ultimately chose guitar as his primary instrument. As a guitarist, one of Nuno's earliest influences was Eddie Van Halen, however, as he developed his craft as a guitarist and songwriter, his influences ran the spectrum of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Prince, Queen, The Pat Travers Band, and many more." yes, magazines have touted him as the next eddie van halen (besides the band's song jump, i know nothing else about eddie or his band van halen, except gary cherone is the new vocalist for the band).

so well, i'll stop here before i expose all my feelings to the world. here are some pics:

      Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (b. September 20, 1966)






nuno and his dog max






early ad for washburn



                 


some stills from his movie (wasn't specified which) from a site (still have to dig up which one this is) - photos courtesy of scott bernstein






and another one from a diff. movie, playing a pizza delivery guy






when he married suze from the australian band baby animals (from same guy)






nuno and extreme






Extreme






nuno and gary (this was taken from the site of krissa, from her living room daze album. she's got a few more pics of extreme there, dating back to '87






nuno and pat badger - also from krissa






at the guitar legends festival hosted by brian may with joe walsh (of the eagles), joe sat and steve vai






nuno and top choice clique, a rap band under his color blind records






Nuno appears wearing only a guitar in a four full-page photo layout in InterView magazine's Bruce Weber Issue. Bruce handpicked the subjects from people he found inspirational. -- nuno-bettencourt.com






poster for the once-in-a-lifetime extreme reunion concert coming this june






his new band dramagods --> click to see their myspace profile

so well, i'm obsessed with the 90's era nuno (that astig latino look), not the one we see today. although i'll forever be fan of his guitar-playing :)

pahabol for today

pahabol!

got this from findyourfate.com. natuwa ba? anyhoo,

DESTINY NUMBER : 3
You are always courageous to rise to great heights. But situations around you so take shape that inspite of your desire you cannot do so without facing obstacles.But your ability to prevail over your obstacles is worthy of emulation. Your creativity and talent for self expression can never be praised enough.

Generally you are not adept at handling money.Your excessive generosity may lead to financial crisis.Thus hard earned money saved and accumulated over years may be wiped out in a matter of days.Hence it would be in your own interests if you analyse the ways the money is spent and take measures to rectify your mistakes.

Healthwise you are average . You may have to suffer from belly troubles, indigestion, gastric problems etc.

You may shine well if you are aware of your talent for self-expression and the ability to think differently in any given situation.However much depends on the efforts you make to govern your temperament.


*** ang cute ng styrosnow ng eheads! - thanks juicyjulius! mukhang interesting din ang fruitcake book - salamat mortel! ***

jai guru deva ohm

hay, hindi pa rin ako recovered. hindi pa rin ako maka-focus sa dapat kong gagawin kaya ako andito ngayon sa dlrc, which is gumawa ng paper.

dahil doon, naisipan kong magpalit ng blog title. from hitchin' a ride, ginawa kong jai guru deva, from the beatles' song across the universe. buti na lang at natanong ko kung anong ibig sabihin nito. kaya off to search sa trusty wikipedia.org at eto ang nakita ko:

Jai Guru Deva Om is a mantra mostly known for being recited in the song Across the Universe by the Beatles, released in 1970 and covered by many artists since.

yup, alam na natin ito. mantra pala so parang galing sa buddhist or hindu beliefs. the beatles did spend some time in india, i believe.

Jai means "I give hope", or "thanks to" and can also mean "victory" or "salutations". "Guru" means teacher, and "Dev" means "god" or "heavenly one". The "a" on the end of the word "Dev" in the song appears to have been added by John Lennon, so "Guru Deva" is actually "Guru Dev". "Guru Dev" was mentioned in the song as he was supposed to have been the teacher of Maharishi. "Om" or "Ohm" is the sound of the balance of the universe. Its purpose in the song is to establish contact with the universe.

hmmm... ayos lang naman. so "giving thanks to the teacher". sige idadagdag ko na rin iyong "ohm." yeba!

yehey, buti naisipan kong mag-post nito. hindi na ko ganoon kalungkot. hehe :)

dizzy boy easy, you're obvious

i just needed to write. couldn't muster enough will to turn off the tv, get off the bed and start studying, for in 7 hours is the finals for math 53.

pedicab's first single has been playing in my mind for quite awhile already. i've seen the video twice. nothing really remarkable about it. just the ultra big shades the band was wearing which tey also wore on a gig, the ripe tomatoes of 99.5 RT, based on photos from the net. anyway, the recent viewing of the video has left me wanting for it more and more. i love the whole sound. it incites a certain vibe. like i'm hyperactive and free-spirited and carefree, but mysterious and wanting at the same time. does this make any sense? i love the way diego mapa voiced out (he wasn't really much singing; just voicing out the words with certain notes which could pretty much be called singing) the lines i love you / i love you forever / let's kill the dj together . yeah, those are the lines i love the most. at that point in the song, that's when i really like diego the most. he's so charming in those lines even though his eyes are hidden behind huge glasses. plus, the precocious person that he is - when he's not playing the guitar, he's singing and dancing away on the stage doing various moves with the mic - that all the more adds to his mysterious personality. i can't help but dream of him. he's not even quite recognizable at the ripe tomatoes gig because his hair has been cut very short and much of his face (like more than half of the top part) is invisible to me. so with the song playing and his image zooming in and out of my mind, i'm dreaming of him. and i had this strong urge to buy tugish takish, their album. just to know their whole sound. it also got me wondering how monsterbot sounds. but anyway, 'tis all. diego's taken. but i wanna live in the fantasy, for now, that we're in love and we're killing the dj. not much of the lyrics really make sense (to me, that is) but it's the sound plus the whole aura that counts.

when starstruck...

i came across this from the eheads ML.

iba talaga pag nakita mo iyong taong sobrang idol na idol mo. iyong tipong diyos na ang tingin mo dun sa taong iyon. shucks, pano kung makausap ko si ely? kahit na wala na eheads, taas pa rin ng tingin ko dito. here's an account, hehe.. basahin niyo na lang..

from http://www.livejournal.com/users/groovygemie/22484.html?#cutid1

Weird how my brother shifts from being the natural him to being such an Eheads fanatic in seconds! Nakakatuwa siya makita na ganon! One thing he said that made me realize how he adores the 'heads more than I do was this:: Tao pala si Ely. Kumakain din siya! kasabay ko siyasa buffet table..kumukha siya ng pagkain! kumakain si Ely!

nyahahaha. ang cute. :)

*end of quote*