Dan and I are certified coffee addicts. Coffee actually brought us together! We’d usually brew our coffee at work using our own coffee press since there is no coffee maker there. We are very particular about the taste of our coffee. We’ve shared different coffee beans and discovered our personal favorites. Sometimes though, our workload does not permit us to brew our coffee. There are also times when we’re lazy to brew because it is really tedious. Whenever that happens, we’d just grab a cup from the vendo which is a very far cry from brewed coffee.
Last Wednesday, I happened to swing by Starbucks Convergys after my dentist appointment. They had a new addition to their coffee family. They just launched their Starbucks VIA™-Ready-Brew. It is their version of instant coffee. They say it tastes very much like brewed coffee. You just have to add water for black coffee or add a little cream or sugar if that’s how you want your coffee.
They had this taste test near the counter when I went there. They asked me to guess which cup was brewed and which cup was made using VIA™-Ready-Brew. There’s actually a distinct taste in brewed coffee that you can’t miss. So, yeah, I knew which cup was brewed and which was instant. I still bought a couple of sticks though. I’d have to admit that if laziness kicks in, I’d still prefer Starbucks VIA™-Ready-Brew over vendo coffee.
Too much has been said. All leads to the idea that no one wanted what happened last August 23, 2010. Still there are points that need to be reiterated over and over again.
ONE. Please stop blaming the police alone. The fact that they were there to gamble their lives is brave enough. They were there in their uniforms because they have the passion to serve and defend the people who need them. Their lack of proper equipment and training is what brought them down. They were not born with all the skills of being a policeman. They need to be trained. They need proper equipment. Sadly, our government failed to provide our cops sufficient training and equipment. And the media, ever so powerful, stirred up the heat.
TWO. Don’t speak as if the hostage-taker represents the Philippines. We are known for our hospitality and forever we shall hold such value. I strongly believe the hostage-taker himself didn’t plan everything that happened after sunset. He was just driven by his mind, operated by confusion and desperation. The authorities could have handled this situation using more logic and less violence.
THREE. To my countrymen: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Stop posting and re-posting the pictures of those teenagers posing like tourists at the crime scene. Same goes to the policemen-playing-online-games images. Do we really think we need a joke right now? We’ve done enough shameful acts for all the world to see. They already know that we are not the brightest people in this planet. Let’s not give them more justification.
FOUR. The note entitled Postscripts to a Blood Bath is a hoax. Again, we can now stop defending our title as THE World’s Most Stupid People because the runners-up are way too far from our lead. This was posted a day after the devastating incident happened. A victim of a bloody hostage-taking will not log on to the internet and type a blog entry right after his traumatic experience. In reality, he will be under the care of the people in-charge because he was traumatized and he needs a lot of rest. Also, I don’t think these people can write English that well. Not that I am judging them or anything.
FIVE. Venus Raj’s answer is the not the best. We obviously expected more. There is a reason why it's called a beauty pageant and not battle of the brains. We can’t blame her if she thinks she is Miss Perfect and she can’t blame us if our lives isn’t as ideal as hers. She is not the only one who failed to deliver a satisfying answer to this question. What matters is that at the end of the day, she’s still number 5 among the most beautiful women in the world and for what it’s worth, she picked up our flag from the dump.
I am just a nobody but I’m pretty sure that the whole country admits we made a mistake and deep inside, we all feel terrible because of what happened. We are sad too and we wish we could all just wake up from this nightmare. I wish an apology could take away all the hurt, especially to the families of those who were killed. Other countries screw up too. I guess this is our time. It is during incidents like this that our country’s esteem is beyond low. This is the kind of situation that we needed to strongly speak those words that we’ve obligated ourselves to shout whenever Pacquiao wins a fight – we are proud to be Filipinos.
When I heard Urbandub’s single “Come” for the first time on the radio, (which was a very long time ago) I never imagined they were local artists. The shock came to me when the song ended, when the DJ then had the usual spiel: “That song was brought to you by (Whatever beer) and that was the song Come from the band from Cebu, Urbandub”. Well up unto this day, five albums and a lot of hit singles after, Urbandub has never since failed to impress me and make me proud to know that they’re from the same country where I come from.
Since then I’ve come to experience the same with a lot of new artists that have emerged in the local music scene through the years. Only proves to show that OPM is in itself world-class. In this post I wouldn’t want to talk about Arnel Pineda and Charice Pempengco or Christian Bautista who’s probably more popular in Indonesia than here in the Philippines; you probably already had much of that from your entertainment news and your boring YouTube afternoons. Rather I would like to share with you some of today’s Pinoy artists that could give you similar experiences of amazement in realizing that they’re actually homegrown. And if some on this list are artists you’ve never heard before – I suggest that you start listening to them now.
The Out of Body Special – The band which can give you almost everything from its fusion of rock, deep funk, soul, R&B, jazz and latin will make you wonder how the hell they’ve managed to actually pull it off not mentioning adding to the formula the band’s front man Carlos Magno’s boastful and legit rhymes. Believe me, I’ve already tried making other people (those who’ve never heard of them before) listen to a few tracks from their 2007 release “Love Is” and then after revealing that they’re from around here: “Talaga??”
The Ambassadors- The punk rock outfit from Cebu could easily be mistaken for an American punk band. I really believe when they say Cebuanos speak better English than people from other parts of the Philippines. And they make some of the best Filipino punk music too!
The Camerawalls – If Orange and Lemons were The Beatles, then Clementine Castro was Lennon. I dunno, I just had to say that. Even though everybody knew who Clem was already even before the formation of The Camerawalls (after Orange and Lemons disbanded), when they released their first single “Clinically Dead for Sixteen Hours”, the reception was not “Oh It is Clem with his new band” but it was like “Oh this is Clem?! I knew he could do way better on his own.” But we need to admit, we all still miss Orange and Lemons.
Outerhope –I found out about Outerhope on facebook, after clicking the “Become a fan” button and then started listening to their songs, which I ultimately enjoyed. The band’s set-up (composed of siblings Mike and Micaela Benedicto) reminded me of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová in the movie Once, minus the love story and plus more enthusiasm because they’re a breath of fresh air for OPM.
December Avenue- I remember a friend who made me listen to one song of the band on his iPod and remember asking if the band was foreign or not.Listen to the band’s song “Time to Go” and see for yourself. Catchy piece of music, that song is.
Sinosikat?- I think it was the song “Turning My Safety Off” that was the first that I’ve heard from the band a couple of years ago. It reminded me of Jeff Buckley but with a female voice, and that made it more interesting. Sinosikat’s site describes their music as an orgy of jazz, soul, funk, rock, & sexy groovy beats matched with unparalleled skill. I could only copy paste it here, and say that I totally agree.
Urbandub- I don’t think I have to say anything more about the band, since y’all probably heard of them already and could not agree more. Anyway here’s their video for “Come” their first single off their first album release “Birth.”
Franco- If you weren’t born yesterday, then you’ve also probably already heard of Franco and his “superband” (composed of Gabby Alipe, 8 Toleran, Buhawi Meneses and Janjan Mendoza) and their hit single “Castaway”. Franco Reyes actually first wrote and performed this song (along with other songs from their recently locally released debut album) with his Florida based band “Inyo”. After Franco came to the Philippines and having the “superband” to session for some gigs in the metro, it eventually became for keeps. Thank Jah for that.
Up Dharma Down- not only was I amazed to realize that UDD’s a local band the first time I heard “Maybe” from Fragmented, but also felt the same for every release that followed. I hear they’re recording a single to be included in their third release!! But for the meantime.. enjoy this video I took from one of their gigs.. and let’s all patiently wait for their third album. (which is going to rock I tell you)
Drip- Some may think that Electronica music is relatively new in the Philippines, but Drip has been active since 2003. And they could definitely kick some international electronic act arses with their collections of songs courtesy of Arvin "Caliph8" Nogueras on turntables, Ian "Morse" Magbanua on beats and samples and Beng Calma-Alcazaren on vocals.
SPECIAL MENTIONS: Ciudad, Faspitch, Sleepwalk Circus, Daydream Cycle, Tonight We Sleep, Typecast, Taken By Cars, IMBUE NO KUDOS, April Morning Sky, Turbo Goth
I just watched a show by Ateneo's Blue Repertory entitled EDGES: a song cycle. My sister, Pauline Gaerlan, is a part of the cast. It's an hour full of catchy songs about relationships, dreams, and facebook!
Want to know more? Here are the details:
Who Am I? Who Do I Want To Become?
EDGES is not a traditional musical; it is an exciting new show about four bourgeoning adults asking these classic coming-of-age questions. Confronting emotions, escaping expectation, and deciphering complicated relationships -- the songs cover such universal issues as love, commitment, identity, and meaning.
EDGES wants you to explore what happens when we are teetering on the edges!
Directed by MAHAR MANGAHAS
Musical Direction by EJAY YATCO
Set Design by JJ IGNACIO
Lighting Design by TINA BARAYOGA
Created by BENJ PASEK AND JUSTIN PAUL
Showdates are from July 14 - 31 at the Ateneo Fine Arts Theater, 3rd floor, Gonzaga Hall
For ticket inquiries, contact Tine at 09174670080.
I just found out that the Robinsons Specialty Stores are having a Buy One Get One Free promo. Visit any Dorothy Perkins, TopShop, and TopMan stores from July 28 to August 1 to avail of their BOGOF sale!
Our country has developed what seems to be a symbiotic bond with cellphones. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. From children to folks in their latter years, they all have them. One especially appealing trait these communication tools emphasize is their body. They started bulky and have transformed and morphed through the years into slim, sexy, sliding, touchy-screeny machines! My favorite happens to be the qwerty/bar type that is most commonly seen in business line phones. The touch screen is also making waves with powerhouse products such as the iPhone and other media centered lines of all brands. There are old school fanatics who prefer the simplicity of the bar type cell, preferring to stick to the traditional layout of the keypad. The slim,slide phones seem to be picking quite a fanbase with the younger crowd as well. All these factors make me wonder, which style dominates our cultures aesthetic preferences. Vote now!!!
I read that starfish do not have centralized brains. Nor do they have well-defined sensory inputs. What they do have is a "primitive" brain - a kind of nervous system which makes them sensitive to touch. This is called nerve pluxus, which enables them to do certain things without having a reason. But then, it cannot be denied that starfish are one of the most used decorations to beautify things. Thus, starfish will always be pretty and cute to the naked eye but will always lack a brain to ever think of something.
I don't intend to be rude but there are a lot of times where you'll get to meet women who are like starfish. Pretty to look at. That's all. Period.
One of the industries in our society that is infected by the Starfish malady is Showbiz. Pretty girls with flawless skins, big boobs, long-straight hair, pouting lips (natural or not) with very minimal plans of finishing a degree, thrive there. Ordinary men usually look at them from afar and have a small chance of meeting them. And if they ever do, it is such a disappointment on their part when a conversation is started. I've talked to several guy friends, one of which told me that it was like receiving a gift with an enticing wrapper only to find a picture frame inside. A picture frame, dude! A PICTURE FRAME! I can just imagine the thrill in people's eyes when they receive such an overused and lame gift as a picture frame.
"Starfish" are the kind of women who live life as if beauty, and beauty alone, define their existence. In our culture, most beautiful girls are expected to be clueless because the time that they could have used in reading books or learning are spent in front of the mirror, perfecting the coordination of every strand in their hair.
Nobody likes stereotyping but this is inevitable in our culture. Of course, there are still girls who break the conventional expectations. Most of the time, the starfish are the ones who enjoy being marginalized by men. They like it when they are put into the "male-built pedestal". I guess they must think that they deserve to be treated as princesses because they look like one. Sometimes, it's sad to realize that these girls only dream of marrying their princes, rather than think of a career that could contribute to the improvement of their being. It's sad to know that these girls are enjoying the male-built pedestal too much to even think that they can do better than what society is dictating to them. And even if they begin to learn, they would still choose to act dumb and be the damsel in distress. They need to be saved by their knight in shining armor, also known as the sea high-tide. This is needed so that after a harsh wake up call, they can forget about everything, go back to the world and operate like they used to. Standing around and looking beautiful.
I am not being insecure here, it's just that I get depressed when someone with the same chromosomes as me are being laughed at when they begin talking. Often I talk to myself and would label these girls as "starfish," but I make sure no one hears it. But I don't think one will get offended if you'll say that she's a starfish right to her face; she might be unaware of what you really mean.
And you know what scares me big time? Starfish are known for their ability to regenerate.
