The untouchable.

How many people have you seen barenaked? I haven’t seen much but the light was cast in the right direction and it was more than enough to make me appreciate beauty.

Often times, people need an overexposure to something to get the bigger picture. I don’t think I’m one of those people even though my vision is far from 20-20. The darkness can be deceiving, yes, but my perception to it is one that cannot be taken for granted.

All the light in the world can never replace the beauty that I found in you amidst the darkness, amidst the chaos, amidst the uncertainties. I know there could have been more, but now is the time to move on, to accept the reality that yours was the only beauty cast upon by the dim light to have been truly appreciated.

I love you. I love you not.

There is always something you can do.

A friend told me a dreadful story. Last night, he was out with some friends. They were on their way home when they heard a girl screaming for help from a distance. It turned out that she was being beaten to the pulp. The guy was literally banging the girl’s head to the gate.

As my friend and his friends were approaching, the man that the girl was with called out my friend’s name and told him to back off, and that he “got this”. My friend didn’t do anything. He backed off. His friends told him that they should help but my friend told them off and said that he didn’t want to interfere. He knew the guy that was beating up the girl and he didn’t want to get involved, he didn’t want any friction between him and the guy because they were old buddies. More than that, they used to play basketball together. This is just one incident, God knows how much more of this happens everyday, everywhere.

This is what you read in Philippine literature, what you see in Filipino movies. There is always someone you know who fucks someone’s life but you choose to go blind because of “pakikisama” (camaraderie) or “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude). You may find my naivety funny but I just wish that each one of us should at least try to change this attitude. Maybe, just maybe, a little effort can make all the difference in the world.

U.P. Fair 2009

Here's the rest of the U.P. Fair Schedule (Feb 11th to 14th 2009).

February 11 (Wednesday)

AMPLIFIED (Alpha Sigma Fraternity)

Parokya Ni Edgar
Kamikazee
Slapshock
Queso
Urbandub
Chocosci
Typecast
Moonstar88
The Youth
Blue Boy Bites Back
Machine Gun Poetry
Feedback
The Ambassadors
The Out Of Body Special
Franco
Nyctinasty
Salamin
Hansom
Diary of My Last Days
United By Fate
The Haneps
Crudeoz
I-Ray
Eternal Now
Luzia
Look Out Kid
Liquid Courage
Makarel
Jejaview
Made For Midnight Movies

February 12 (Thursday)

RAMBOL (UP Brotherhood of the Filipinos 1955 aka Pinoy ‘55)

Sponge Cola
Grin Department
Join the Club
Urbandub
Greyhoundz
Typecast
Pupil
Brownman Revival
6cyclemind
Imago
Hilera
Up Dharma Down
Radioactive Sago Project
Paraluman
Giniling Festival
Mayonaise
Cambio
The Ambassadors

February 13 (Friday)

LOVERAGE (UP Pan Xenia Fraternity and UP Adelfe Enu Crea Sorority in cooperation with UP Circuit and UP Cursor)

Bamboo
Sugarfree

Urbandub
Kjwan
Itchyworms
Greyhoundz
Raorkback
Typecast
Moonstar88
Silent Sanctuary
Kitchie Nadal
Stonefree
Mayonnaise
Cambio
Hilera
Soapdish
Giniling Festival
DeLara
Valley of Chrome
Fuse
Zelle
Salamin
Fuerzza
Chubibo
Top Junk
Intolerant
Menaya
Playphonics
Sopiz
Kelevra
Check Experiment
Fireworks at midnight. (Yey!)

February 14 (Saturday)

MEANT FAIR EACH OTHER (the University Student Council)

Taken by Cars
Callalily
Sandwich
Paraluman
Duster
Reklamo
Soapdish

Tickets are for P90.00 per night and available at the venue and with the sponsoring organizations.

KITA KITS!! =)

Photos: Meiday @ Cubao Ex (Feb 07th)

This pretty much sums up everything. I'm lazy photoblogging like that. Hehe. If you're my contact on Multiply or Facebook, you can check out more photos there.

Props to JL for the photos. His shots are way better than mine. Hehe.

CS, Frances, Chelo

Is that Ciudad? Why, yes. (Haha)

Wasted.

Dizzy spell.

The happy crowd. =D

Captured. =D (Myrene and Mong of Sandwich)

No, that ain't a light saber. (Diego of Pedicab)

On the gu-gu-gutter! Hehe (With JL)

And good night. Till the next one! =D

Miley Cyrus on mocking Asians.

Random reading always leads me to OMG. Heh. And I find it hilarious every time Miley Cyrus is in it, which is, well, always. The latest about her includes another scandalous photograph where she, her boyfriend and some friends made a "goofy" face by "slanting their eyes and squinting at the camera". Yes, another mockery (the other one involving a video mocking Selena Gomez and what's-her-face goth-wannabe) but this time, of Asians.

First of all, not all Asians have chinky eyes so that was really insulting. Hahaha. And second of all, we are all aware that Miley Cyrus is the real-life Blair Waldorf, the doe-eyed girl acting all sweet and innocent when in reality, she's just downright mean. Bleep bleep.

I love "Hollywood". Yey.

Hats, hats, hats.

One accessory that I've been putting off buying is hats. They are the perfect accessory to any occasion, in any season (especially now that Summer's almost here). I have always wanted to collect them but too skeptic because I'm literally big-headed and too round-faced. Heh. Although I have had a couple of fedora and conductor hats but sold them to random people because I realized that what I bought just didn't fit me well.

Last summer though, I discovered a brand of fabulous hats from my favorite online surf shop, Swell, called Brixton and thought, hey maybe this I can pull off. When I was in the US last summer, I was too busy ogling at other stuff that I did not bother to look for hats. It's a bummer that Swell's international shipping costs are overrated at $90. I tried to look for Brixton hats at Melrose Skate Shop in Tomas, Morato (beside Chilli's) and surely, the store had them but the sad part was that they were all for men so I guess I'm going to have one of these pre-ordered again, as usual, which will take about more than a month of waiting. (Patience, my love.)

Topper (Navy Chambray) - $35

Bridge (Navy/Gray Houndstooth) - $35

Cadence (Burgundy Tweed) - $38


Fiddler (Navy Twill) - $35

Drifter (Natural Straw) - $45

Apart from Brixton, Urbanoutfitters also offers a variety of adorable women's hats. There's one I've been eyeing since the holidays and it's now on sale (Woopee!) Hehe.

Wool Fedora (Urban Outfitters) - $9.99

For a more conventional but cute fedora, you can opt for Roxy's Betty Hat ($26), which comes in colors black, khaki and orange.

So, go grab a shift dress, a pair of soft-bed flip flops, a bottle of beer, top it off with a hat and you're good to go! =D

Meiday, Meiday: I AM PARTY!

February 7, 2009

Cubao Shoe Expo, QC

FREE ADMISSION

with

SANDWICH

PEDICAB

CIUDAD

TOPJUNK

ARIGATO HATO

ANG BANDANG SHIRLEY

THE LOWTECHS
SUNFLOWER DAY CAMP

and a whole lot more!

WOOT WOOT!!! LET'S DO THIS! =D

Crazy, not bitter: A pseudo-Valentine post.

I rarely have time to blog nowadays. *sigh* Almost everything on my other blog is saved as draft because I couldn't seem to finish them with so much that's been going on inside my head, and I just couldn't find the inspiration to organize all the phrases into meaningful sentences. *blah*

We barely have two weeks before the big red day. Honestly, I'm not too psyched about it because even as a kid, I couldn't find the hype in it at all. I thought maybe "Hey, when i grow older I'll probably get the meaning of all the shaking." But then I grew older and still don't get it. What I'm excited about, though, is coming up with a good v-day blog entry. Haha! And even with that, I think I might be heading nowhere.

I asked one of my friends if he was feeling "it", with or without a date. Like, if he had a date, would he feel excited about it because Valentine's is supposed to be "special"? And if he didn't have one, would he be as miserable as the rest of us? He still can't give me a straight answer. Heh.

I suddenly remembered a line from Almost Famous that goes like this -- "Who puts such a high premium on being typical?" So much for Valentine's day dates. It feels like a rip-off of that foreign indie film or song that you totally dig since the 80's. Millions of people celebrate the joys of being in love for one excruciating day. Can't we move on and celebrate it instead for 365 days a year, 366 if you count the leap years? If it isn't love you're feeling, motels are open 24/7 all year round, you people should not panic and horde the place for only a night. Countless single people wanna get laid, too.

Another friend told me that Valentine's is a marketing tool, an advertisement gone wrong in so many levels. Don't you just wish that Valentine's was still another indie thing that the masses would just love to hate? Cos yeah, I do.

Welcome to the Black Parade.

I didn't think that anyone could really pull off the black motif in a wedding. It used to be just a running joke among friends, but hey check this out! =D This is, by far, the coolest wedding I've seen (not witnessed, just seen in Multiply hehe).

Best wishes to Mr. & Mrs. Jay Contreras!

Props to Mr. Jomal Linao of Kamikazee for the photos, thanks sir. =)

Hear To Heal: A Fundraiser Fashion Show Concert

FOR THE BENEFIT OF GAWAD KALINGA

30th January 2009, 5.30PM
WAREHOUSE135, Makati

With:
URBANDUB
Protein Shake
Aurora
Salamin
Archipelago

Fashion show sponsored by:
PLUEYS MANILA
and
HAPPY DAYS

PHP250 gets you in (inclusive of drinks)

Smell this.

I'm looking for the perfect scent to wear on Valentine's Day. Not that I have a date or anything, I would just like to smell extra special. Heh.

I'm currently using Gap Blue No. 655.

They discontinued this particular fragrance that's why I was so psyched when I found it in a Gap outlet store in Virginia which costs around $25-$30 (when the exchange rate was still $1 = Php45. Heh.) I used to wear this when I was in second year high school and I loved it so much that I had to buy it when I saw it again! I wish I bought, like, 5 bottles or more. Heh. The scent's not for everyone, though, because it's a bit strong and two sprays would suffice for a solid 8 hours.

Ah and here are other three of my favorites, for a more subtle flirty fun floral scent. =)

Summer by Burberry

Description: It has fragrance notes of mandarin, bergamot, grapefruit, green apple, water lily, freesia, rose, white musk, vanilla, green oakmoss, and precious woods.


Promesse by Cacharel
Description: It is a luminous fruity floral fragrance created for the passionate woman. It has sparkling notes of fresh citrus mingle with jasmine and orchid blossoms spiked with ripe blackberry. Cacharel Promesse finishes with a deep, sensual dry down of soft amber, musk, sandalwood, and cedar. Notes include Mandarin, Bergamot, Jasmine Sambac, Orchid, Blackberry, Amber, Musk, Sandalwood, Cedar.

Roxy Parfum by Roxy
Description: This sunny floral blends zesty citrus notes and ambery musk to create a casual yet feminine scent. A flirty first glance: a daring pink case, bold like the petals of tropical hibiscus.

I'm not sure whether I should purchase any of these or try out a new scent, like Daisy by Marc Jacobs. I read good reviews about it and had a whiff at the Landmark, Trinoma. It didn't have an impact on me at first but after a few minutes of wearing it, I kind of got excited how the scent left a more lasting impression. =)

Sweet jeezus.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so overwhelmed with excitement right now!!! My first Nike SB's are finally on their way to the PH from the US! Just confirmed from USPS. Woot woot!!! =D

Nike Dunk Low Pro SB Tiffany

Well, technically, they're my second since I ordered these first:

Nike Dunk Low CL (from Urbanoutfitters.com)

... but I pre-ordered them from a third party and they're arriving late February. I'm not in a hurry though 'cos the Tiffany's are waaaay sweeter than these! Haha.

Sike! Sike! Siiiiiike!!!!!!!!! =D

Up next on the list is this:

Nike Dunk Low 6.0 (from Sneakerhead.com)

6.0's baby! Woot woot!!! =D

Bride Wars

Bride Wars
Directed by: Gary Winick
Stars Kate Hudson as Liv; Anne Hathaway as "Emma"

I watched this two weeks ago and I only had interest in reviewing it now. Lol. The movie was kind of funny. It's a chick flick so it came with the whole package of being one. Yes, including the tears. ESPECIALLY the tears. Heh. Oh and a very unpredictable plot/ending.

It's basically about two best friends whose wedding dates got mixed up by the same wedding planner and ended up falling on the same day and time. That's when the war started.

I love Kate Hudson in some of her movies because she totally knows how to pull off both being a dumb chick and a smart one. She was funny as hell in this movie as the rich, obnoxious, pushy and narcissistic lawyer who's best friends with a low-maintenance elementary school teacher.

Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, was also great in the movie but too bad, she was overshadowed by Hudson. I only wish that they included Emma's (Hathaway) background with her fiance, Fletcher (Chris Pratt) to give the audience a clearer picture on why Emma broke off the wedding.

I didn't expect any tears but they did come in the end, during the reconciliation. Hehe.

I can't believe I'm actually doing this but I give it 4 stars -- just because Bryan Greenberg was in it. Haha. Enjoy! :D

Here's why you should check out reviews of a product first.

I was never into gadgets. I have always been content with a mobile phone that can call or text, no 8mp camera or an mp3/4 player. My mom would provide that for me because, well, she's just nice like that. Heh. I haven't had my own iPod either. The ones that I got were borrowed or hand-me-downs. Oh and don't talk to me about desktops and laptops because I wouldn't know the difference with regard to performance. I guess you can totally say that I hate compromising my brain for the technical stuff, or simply put, I hate complications. But that's an entirely different story.

October of last year, two of my brothers and I went on a short trip to Singapore to visit our eldest brother. Since it was rather short-noticed, I didn't have enough money to go shopping. Basically, this is the only thing that I bought.



A Western Digital 320GB black portable hard drive, which costs around SGD135 (PHP4,000). The thing is, I transferred ALL my documents, videos and music here because I was planning to reformat the PC. Barely four months have passed and the thing just died on me! I have no idea what went wrong. Almost all the desktops and laptops that I used this with wouldn't read the darn drive. I searched for a couple of reviews of the product and well, they were agreeable except for some who warned other people not to purchase it because its mortality just isn't tolerable enough.

I wish I could still have mine fixed. Otherwise, I guess I have no choice but to buy a new one since portable hard drives are so cheap right now. Heh.

Eraserheads Live! The Final Set

ERASERHEADS : "Live! The Final Set"
SM Mall of Asia (Ground)
March 7, 2009 Saturday; 8pm

Tickets:
P 5,000 (VIP)
3,000 (Gold)
1,300 (Silver)
300 (Bronze)

You can buy tickets online through Ticketworld.
Or call them at (02) 891-9999 for reservations.

See you!!! =D

U.P. Fair 2009

Since I missed two years of the U.P. fair, I think I'm going this year both with new, old and recurring friends (Haha).

Click here for the schedule. =)

Dead Stock Nike Zoom BB 1 US SIZE 10 FOR SALE! *PRICE UPDATED*

My brother's selling his pair of Nike Zoom BB 1's for Php5,500 (NEW PRICE: PHP4,995). This is a dead stock; considered brand new since it's still in the box and complete with tags. They're men's size 10, (US) which come in colors black, white and metallic silver. They were bought on December 2007 and was never brought out of the box again.

For more thorough reviews of this product, kindly read this (or this, for something shorter and simpler) since basketball shoes are not my forte. Heh. For interested buyers, kindly contact CJ at 0915-520 8222.

Butter up!

Let's face it, the cold weather is killing all of us. No matter how much we love having it around, especially before summer starts, sometimes we just don't know how to deal with it. Apart from getting a kick out of wearing layers and all the fabulous coats/jackets/sweaters and cardis we've been keeping at the back of our closets all year round, we still freeze our balls off. Heaters are also apparently very in demand right now.

Now, haven't you wondered why The Body Shop always have their famous Body Butters on sale? Besides being quite overpriced (Php695), I don't think that Filipinos are a big fan of loading up on greasy body products. Since we're on the topic of being cold and all, try this once not to ignore the wonders of body butters. They're on sale at The Body Shop for Php495. My personal favorite is the Shea Butter because I'm not so much into floral scents when it comes to lotions. I love how long its scent stays on and it really does hold true with its promise of moisturizing.

For those who still find this absurd, try Watson's for equally amazing body butters. =)

Postcard from UAE.

So, I've been getting friendly with a guy who's now working in Dubai. On New Year, he sent me a postcard, which I received only last week. I've been waiting for it in the mail ever since he told me about it mainly because I think snail-mails are really sweet and I kind of like him. Heh. When I got it, I wasn't expecting something sweeter than the gesture of snail-mailing itself. =D

"the postcard"

it says:
"happy new year, hope you like it, see you soon, smiley, ryan"
(yes, he knows how much i love smileys. hehe)

and here's the badge pack. =D
(and yes, he knows how much i love the ramones!!!)

Rock this one out.

If your boyfriend or girlfriend is into ehemselloutehem music and you still don't have a plan for Valentine's, head out to Araneta Coliseum on February 13th because Fall Out Boy is coming back to Manila. And yes, it's a Friday so there's no guarantee that you'll have a great time. Heh. Reserve your tickets here.

On a more interesting note, the Eraserheads' Reunion Concert: The Final Set is finally happening on March 7th (Saturday). Stand by for further details on that as the band has yet to have a presscon sometime soon, which will be on Jan 19th if I'm not mistaken. Tickets are still unavailable so don't claim that you got one already, yes? ;)

Enjoy the first quarter, boys and girls! :D

Conformity.

Because I want one of these, and I can't choose. :-S

Not everything started with rock bands.

Because I had a major surge of nostalgia when CJ redirected me to a YouTube page and showed me this.

Maaaaaaaaan!! From first grade until 2nd year high school, The UMD and Streetboys were staple sources of entertainment on Sundays, toggling between GMA and ABS (not yet known as Kapuso and Kapamilya, respectively); because masa was still considerably cool and hey, we have all gone through this phase. This phase, being one of the things we always have fun looking back on, which of course included numerous dance practices on the streets, and perfecting all da moobs to perform in a school event. I could go on with all the sweet memories I had but hey, not everything is about me, and I'm sure we all share the same sentiments whether you admit it or not. Heh.

Enjoy! =D

Happy hours are over.

Waking up early in the morning to learn of a dreadful news can seriously ruin a sunshiny day. I learned today from a friend's post in Multiply that Mayric's would be closing soon, then one of her friends who commented on the blog entry confirmed that it already is as of today. That's a total bummer.

Since I was so young when everyone else were Club Dredd-ing, I couldn't claim that Club Dredd was my live rock band sanctuary. For me, it was and has always ultimately been Mayric's. Sure, Mayric's is very low-key but I'm certain that most of us have a thing or two to share about that place. Its closure kind of seems like the loss we all felt over the Eraserheads break-up. I, for one, somehow feel betrayed and abandoned all too suddenly. There wasn't even a warning and even if there was, I realized that I was taking the place for granted, feeling all confident that it wouldn't perish.

When UST wanted it shut down before because of the bar's unimaginable influence on its students, and because UST claimed that the location of Mayric's was "illegal" (it should be 100ft away from the institution), everyone fought for it by, well, using common sense since Mayric's is farther than a hundred feet away from the Main Building, just as UST's own law states. Or something to that effect, I don't remember exactly what an older gig goer told me. Heh.

This time, I don't know the reason behind its boarded doors and windows but I'm sure that those of us who have already heard the news, and who are yet to hear it, are distraught. My setiments, as well as my friends', include solely of the tambayan-feel of the place, the butter(ed) chicken, Mang Oca (and kuya Roger and everyone), the cheap beer, and the countless friendships and drunken-but-happy moments we all shared throughout the years.

Mayric's is yet to become the biggest part of nostalgic conversations, when 10-20 years from now and we're with our friends, and one of us would go like "Eh naalala mo ba nung sa Mayric's tayo? [insert kwento here]", then everyone would laugh and just painfully sigh toward the end of the story.

I just wish this isn't final, and that something can be done. Otherwise, I guess we'll all have to settle for reality and find another place where we can truly feel that we belong. Good riddance. *sigh*

Best and Worst (from Yahoo)

Aside from the dull news about welcoming 2009 a second late, there's this bit where Yahoo! users get to rate which war movies they think are the best. Apart from wishing that it would be "Saving Private Ryan", I'm really just interested in viewing photos. My favorite still was the one from "The Pianist". I haven't seen the film (so sue me) and I just love the expression on Adrian Brody's face and his arm band. Here's the link to the Top-Rated War Movies.

Yesterday, I was also browsing through Yahoo!'s list of the Best and Worst Movie Posters of 2008. I'm not sure though why they rated the poster of Saw V as one of the worst, I think it's kind of cool. Hehe. Anyway, posters are not foolproof (e.g. Cloverfield and according to my friend, The Spirit).

Another news was about Tom Brady's proposal to Gisele Bundchen. Ho-hum.

Enjoy. :)

Music/Movie Updates.

I'll make this really quick cos I haven't had decent sleep since yesterday and my head's kind of already in a trance right now.

I came across this video. Must check it out. I hope it'll be shown here. First part's supposed to come out December of this year and the second one's on January. Benicio del Toro is the man! =D

Oh and earlier tonight, I also came across this. Sike! I can't believe I missed this! =( I was so bummed when they disbanded 3 years ago due to emo bands springing out from everywhere! Yeah, news flash, Finch is NOT emo. =P I'm just glad they're back now, along with the new bassist, Daniel. =D Nate looks older (duh!) but still hot. I hope they visit the PI soon! =D =D =D

That's all for now. Bye bye, beautiful. XD

The 2009 Starbucks Planner

What's the fuzz about Starbucks this season? The planner, of course. Got mine last week, straight from my favorite barista. Ahaha. I won't review the new planner because apparently, everybody already has. Some don't find it agreeable, the planner. It's simple but not elegant. It's low-key but forgettable. I say, it's tradition. Choose among three colors (Blue, Black and Red) and write away. At least this year, it comes with a pen and not a pencil that you will never find use for (mine's still unsharpened hehe).

Here are some photos, which WON'T help you decide whether to get it or not. Ahaha. I just enjoyed taking photos of it. :P

(Click to enlarge)

1. complimentary box
2. wrapper
3. front cover
4. front page
5. bookmark
6. back cover logo
7. pen

Anna who?

Before the emergence of the Paris Hilton's and Nicole Ritchie's of our century, let me introduce you to Anna.

Daniel Johns (Silverchair) knew her well hence, the surfacing of Anna's Song and its melancholic tune. It started with "Please die Anna/For as long as you're here we're not/You make the sound of laughter/And sharpened nails seem softer..." He sang it with the familiar sadness in his voice and yet with an obvious abhorrence for the subject. Apparently, the song ended bitterly.

"And you're my obsession/I love you to the bones/And Anna wrecks your life/Like an Anorexia life..."

A few years after dealing with the illness alone, Daniel Johns got better and lived to tell the whole world about it.

Here are videos of his interview with Andrew Denton. This is post-Anorexia and pre-Young Modern (album).

Daniel Johns Interview (Part 1 of 3)

Daniel Johns Interview (Part 2 of 3)

Daniel Johns Interview (Part 3 of 3)

***

Last Saturday, I was in Trinoma with a friend. A thought occurred to me and became an inspiration to this entry. We noticed how kids today get more and more skinny and less and less smart. Our teachers used to tell us that the brain won't generate with an empty stomach. Go figure.

During our time, we were never brought up to eat only 1/4 of what a kid is supposed to eat. Chocolates and candies were never banned but they were limited to preserve our already decaying teeth. Our parents made sure that we eat our greens and everything else that's supposed to be healthy. In addition to that, we were never exposed to reality TV where the main characters do not eat at all in order to fit in to skimpy clothes.

Whatever happened to our children? This whole Pro-Anna movement is not sexy. Being a size 0 or 2 is not healthy. You might want to rethink wearing a pair of Daisy Dukes and a tank top with the majority of your skeletal system cursing us all to hell. It's okay to keep your weight at bay but please do not overdo it. Dieting is very different from Anorexia. Anorexia does not only make you look disgusting, it also affects your brain and your whole being, and is potentially deadly. There's a joke that says when your eyes are open when you die, it means that you died hungry. Do you really want to be the butt of a joke, dead AND alive?