It’s not a secret that I’m a sucker for cool t-shirts. I visit Threadless weekly for new killer designs that are up for purchase. Most of the time I can’t buy because I can’t choose. I have TVJ shirts that I can find when I go home to the Philippines or have my aunt buy if she finds any. The most recent shirt order I had were Francis M’s 3 Stars & A Sun FMCC shirts. Not the best fabric, but it’s very Pinoy. I received a newsletter from Divisoria and in that newsletter, they were advertising t-shirts produced by ASTIGSHIRTCO. and I found them really cool designs. My favorite so far is the image I’m attaching with this entry. It’s flagrantly offensive, but a brave design.
August 15th, 2008
Tomorrow I’m supposed to join the whole family to go out of town. The destination is New Jersey and the first stop is Six Flags. I haven’t been in the said theme park. This weekend is supposed to be my first time. We will be at the Hurricane Harbor because of it being summer and all. I’ll try to ride everything, but I’m guessing I won’t be able to handle it. I have a serious fear of height and most of the time not because I’m afraid of falling and dying, but it’s the fear that I might jump. I’ve always been curious of how free fall feels like. I should go sky diving, right?
Going away also means I’m going to miss the greatest performance night of Pinoy Idol. I’m really excited to see the performance because I saw Ram’s rehearsal and it’s amazing. I hope the weather won’t act during my absence so that the DVR behaves properly and I can watch the recorded show when I come back.
Today, I saw someone riding my Ducati bike. I really need to get my driver’s license before the summer ends. I’ll start reviewing so that next Friday I can take the exam for a permit. Then schedule a lesson at the end of August.
My silence starts here and I will end it with a recap of my weekend getaway.
July 25th, 2008
Good riddance to him (from Pinoy Idol). But I’m sure we’d be listening to him in the future because he’s got a beautiful voice. I’m hoping he’d go solo as a rock artist. It wouldn’t be wise for him to form a band. He needs an image change and make good music because I’m pretty sure there’s a hit in him. You’re the second idol finalist who has been booted that’s deserving an entry in my site. Idol is not a place for a rocker, but it’s a very good exposure, so it’s good you’re out. Rock on!
July 20th, 2008
Another finalist who did not deserve to be booted out of the contest is a goner. Mae Flores who is one of the better contestant did not receive enough text votes. I’m not going to complain…I just needed to give Mae a special mention.
June 29th, 2008
I couldn’t deliver a promise to myself that I would write each day of the weekdays. I was too busy at work that I lost so many blogging hours. I am writing this entry aboard a Continental Airline flight. So what thoughts have accumulated this past week?
Firstly, my attempt to move my router failed. I’ll figure it out when I return.
The first Gala Night of Pinoy Idol was held this weekend and I was fortunate to watch the performances. The show has put a limit on the number of text votes per SIM; the maximum is 200 text votes per SIM. My guess was correct because I guessed an average of 100 per SIM.
Eat Bulaga’s first E-Banda Eskuwelahan came into existence this weekend also. Out of four bands, I enjoyed two. It was a good contest.
At work, I ordered tons of computers. I realized that I’m too slow setting them up. When I say setup, it means uninstalling pre-installed software and installing my own software. One PC per hour is quite slow. Alongside that, I was also multi-tasking — programming and other operational work. Joking around has to be there also to take away all the pressure.
June 22nd, 2008
The weekend was dismal. Rain was pouring most of the time, but that didn’t ruin my fin de semana. I finally got a new pair of jeans. The only “decent” pair I had is no longer decent, so I had to buy a new pair. I also went to see Kung Fu Panda which I rate 2.5 stars out of 5. I was thinking of checking out The Incredible Hulk but I opted out at the last minute. I also had a couple of rounds inside a batting cage. I’m kind of getting a hang of hitting them softballs. I kind of bruised my ring finger because I was wearing a ring while hitting. It’s not a good idea. I’ve been hitting the balls where I want them, but I wasn’t getting strikes and that’s the downside of the rounds I had. I wasn’t also able to watch the performances of the boys from Pinoy Idol because the weather wasn’t so good that we lost all satellite signal. I was really looking forward to the performances because I saw a couple of good ones from the girls. I hope I can find streams online.
I’m on the ferry this early because I have to change router at work. I hope it’s successful so that I can do other things. It’ll be a busy week for me because I’ll be out of the country in the next week. Once successful, I will immediately post a documentation of the steps I took for my own perusal.
June 16th, 2008
A pure democratic state is defined to be a state of the people, for the people, and by the people. Obviously, this form of government is inexistent therefore I’m not talking government politics in this entry. I’m speaking of Pinoy Idol (Philippines’ installation of “… Idol” reality show). This kind of contest shouldn’t be allowed in a country where text messaging is a way of life, not a necessity. “… Idol” is a singing contest where the winner is decided by the masses. I am not saying that voting in an installation like the American Idol has a 1-1 vote/person ratio, but the sampling is closer to the actual number. In the Philippines, one out of five texter could (a hypothesis) vote at least 100 times for his contestant and that clearly manipulates the curve which then yields a non-democratic politics. What’s worst is that (again I’m hypothesizing) the multi-voting texter does not know about the talent. However, that doesn’t matter because as far as the show is concerned, they are just counting the number of text votes.
Why am I getting so hyped up about this? I have been hyped up about this, but I’m only writing about this now. Last night, the viewers eliminated deserving candidates and kept mediocre talents. The judges even agreed with my thoughts. I know that one of them will eventually win, but if the deserving candidates are not permitted to compete (because they were kicked out) then what’s the using of discovering new talents. The viewers who care about a talent are left frustrated because the majority of viewers who don’t know what a talent is voted out the talented ones. Eventually, the show will have talents that aren’t up to par. The show must start rigging the votes. It’s nothing new in the Philippines anyway.
I’m done criticizing the system, now it’s time to criticize some contestants…
Sue Ellen - you’re a trying hard fashionista. If it doesn’t suit you however trendy the dress is, don’t wear it. I’m begging you in the name of all Ilonggos.
JJ - You should have been sacked this week, but I guess you’re too pretty for that.
Jeni - Excellent performance this week, but I’m worried you’re only restricted to a genre. If ever you’re voted out, make a jazz album and make sure to write your original music.
Ram - You have to be original, but keep rocking! I hope you win the shit.
Topher - Nice voice, but work on the image.
Warren - Be original; love the voice.
Obviously, I don’t pay attention to the girls. I want the contestants to ROCK and the boys are the only ones capable of doing that in the current season. I can’t sing, but I yap a lot, don’t I? Get used to it!
June 9th, 2008
I want to follow the Pinoy Idol season. I won’t be following the TV schedule, so I will be relying on Pinoy Idol Blog for supplement. I don’t have any bet yet because they’re just starting. It should be fun.
June 2nd, 2008
Yesterday I went to the festival with four colleagues. We arrived at the expo center a little after 1. There weren’t too many people. When we entered the expo, we were greeted by WU exhibitors. So fun begins. We did everything so that we each get a souvenir from WU. Then we roamed around the expo and found the MG booth. We again asked for souvenirs. The result is the photo below. These two companies are the competitors of the company we work for — that’s why it’s fun. Needless to say, we also acquired a few souvenirs from X (another competitor) later that day.
The entrance was fun, now to the show. Firstly, since it was a Filipino event, the Filipino time has to play a role. The show started an hour late, so that means we have to leave an hour late. Papa Sam (Milby) is the last performer which is at 9:30 (adjusted due to Filipino time). MYMP is to perform before him, that means we have to wait at least until 9:30 before leaving. We sat down to watch the show an hour before the bandfest which we were counting on.
The bandfest bored us to death. I almost fell asleep. Only one band got me excited and only for one song out of three that they performed. The band is called The Grudge and the song is incidentally called Hoy! Gising! Only two bands sang Filipino songs and they were the bands that didn’t advance to the finals. Judges of the contest didn’t know what they were doing. I think they weren’t so broadminded judging the talents. I confess, The Grudge didn’t know how to perform on stage, but the bands who advanced were the same and I couldn’t even make out their lyrics because their vocals are so bad. All bands weren’t original with their music that’s probably why I got bored. They will always remain in the local scene.
The festival showcased a couple of comic act. They were funny, but were rated-R. A few performances that led to MYMP were terrible because they simply are not my type.
MYMP — Make Your Mama Proud — should only perform in cafés because that is the only environment their genre can handle. I will not intentionally go to an MYMP gig again unless I’m in a restaurant having dinner and they’re playing. I’ll just listen to them on the radio because it’s better to listen than to watch them play. The performance has no life and is to be expected because again of the genre of their music. The voice of Juris is there, but I’m supposed to be watching a gig, not listening to my iPod.
In conclusion, the festival was dismal. The journey to and fro the center was fun though — tiresome for me because I was driving. We had a good chat in the car, but what happened with Papa Sam stays with Papa Sam.
May 18th, 2008
A few days ago I was watching Wish Ko Lang from GMA Pinoy TV wherein they covered the life of an old couple living in an island in Surigao. It is a small island and only the couple live there. They have the whole ocean providing them food. WKL covered this couple’s life because to them, these people live without electricity in a house without a dining table making them very unfortunate. I was at awe. This is exactly the life I dream of. Far away from the chaotic society living the simplest form of living one can imagine.
One might say that it is not an easy task catching fish for food, but it’s not like the couple don’t know how to catch fish or cook food. They lived their whole lives together in that island and I’m pretty damn sure they have encountered life threatening experiences and survived.
I’m not a beach person, so I might not fit in that situation, but the point is living detached from society, yet still living healthy is quite a setup. If I am to live alone deep in the mountains, far away from people, abundant in food, then it would be paradise. They say “no man is an island.” I somewhat disagree with that because with self control, one can live by himself peacefully without worries. Nick Hornby justified the phrase in his book About A Boy saying that no man really is an island because even islands are connected underneath the ocean. It may be a story I look up to, but I disagree.
December 27th, 2007
