Butchering Idol Hopefuls 5: The Verdict

I need not protest on last night's result show of Philippine Idol, because I'm seeing a glimmer of hope. Mau, Gian, Pow and Apple are still there, enough reason for me to stick still. My wish is to see them battling in the Final Four, which is quite improbable but still possible anyway. Slowly, it's getting clear who are the consistent players at the top, well - if text votes are the sole consideration. Jan, Ken and Miguel have never been in the bottom three or four even once. They clearly have a solid "fanbase" (if we can appropriately call it as fanbase, nah ... they just have the money to vote themselves).

Jeli deserved the boot despite a redeeming performance last Sunday; she should have left the competition much earlier and she didn't deserve her position in the top 12 at all. At least, for once, she had proven that she can really perform, as shown in her rendition of "You Don't Know Me." She told us in her interview that the song "You Don't Know Me" is her lucky charm. She got a job as a lounge singer after using the song as an audition piece. She wowed the judges after singing the same song in her Philippine Idol auditions. Now, she was booted out after singing the song. Well, I bet it is really her lucky charm song because she left the contest with at leat a sign of redemption. She has proven to her non-believers (including me) that she can really sing and perform well. However, we are all aware of her voice's strict limitations.

Armarie, on the other hand, is a solid performer. She has been very consistent since day one and she has projected as the contestant with the strongest aura. However for some reasons, I can't picture her to be hailed the first Philippine Idol. Maybe because she doesn't have the charisma or the x-factor. Of course, she didn't deserve the early boot. She works hard on every single performance, as evident to her performances (which actually surfaced much in her rendition of Freddie Aguilar's Anak). I wish that she had stayed longer to give a bigger ground for competition, since I'm envisaging a Mau-Pow-Apple-Gian-Arms final five. But, oh well.

Going back to the startegies of the game, let's not stop supporting the four remaining better performers (and yep, I'm going to vote). I think the voting process has improved and I still have my big hopes for the show.

Butchering Idol Hopefuls 5

No one was eliminated in last week's Philippine Idol due to network problems and two will be kicked out tonight. Despite last week's over the top, record-breaking seven ugly performances and no stellar performance at all (with just two OK performances), this week is redemption. Even the weaker singers have improved and became watchable. This is the first time that I have managed to watch Ken, Jeli and Miguel's performances from start to finish (before, I always steer my visual hunger away from the television set whenever their performances are starting to get crooked). This is enough reason to bring back this Butchering series. Enough said, let the performance rankings begin:

1. Mau ("I will Always Love You").



I think this is one of the best performances that I've seen in my Philippine Idol viewing history (alongside Gian's Himala and Reymond's Be My Lady), without minding the almost non-sense taking-off-the-coat act (she's wearing this black cloth only to reveal another black long-sleeve shirt). Nonetheless, the vocals are stellar enough to make me forget the Halloween costume.

2. Apple ("Someone to Watch Over Me").

Very Intimate. Classy. I felt the sadness and the energy of longing. The performance is very honest and could be one of the most unforgettable in Philippine Idol.

3. Gian ("Superstar").

Great come back after a triple-whammy of not-so-good performances for the past weeks. The performance is very heartfelt and emotional although a small flaw in the end somehow put him into minor jeopardy, but generally, everything seemed to be put in the right place.


4. Miguel ("Sandra").


Last night he's way good compared his past performances I don't know if I'm the only one who observed this but I find his voice different (and more listenable) when he's sitting, playing the piano. Actually, I'm dumbfounded upon hearing his voice in that state; it's very good! However the moment he stood up, started walking in the stage, everything went back to his boring normal singing voice. Oh well, I think that's only me, I guess.

5. Jeli ("You Don't Know Me"). Wow! What can I say? She proved in this episode that she can actually sing! Her voice is finally in good tune, her movements while singing in the couch project natural hotness. Sizzling! The only problem is we know that she can sing only limited types of music. Maybe she can try bossanova (but please don't try Sitti's turn to bossa because it's NOT even close to the real bossa) or any easy listening type of music (I want to hear her sing an Enya song. Hahahaha).

6. Arms ("If I Believe"). She sang one of my most favorite songs of all time and she did relatively good. I'm happy that she did justice to the song, incorporating her powerful voice (minus the anger) voice to the emotional song. However, this is not her best and not that good compared to her version of Freddie Aguilar's "Anak."

7. Pow ("For Once In My Life"). Contrary to Mr. Ryan Cayabyab's bad reviews, I enjoyed her performance. Well, that's enjoyed not in the sense that I appreciated it all the way, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I love how she sang it with energy. What put this performance down is the technical flaws e.g. sharps, flats, strays. By the way, would someone put layers of electrical tape in Pilita Corrales' mouth? She annoys me (I believe, a lot of people) everytime she choruses, asking when will Pow wear a gown in future performances. And she keeps on asking every single week! I hope it's enough to shut her up when Pow responded this: “Masaya naman po ako sa buhay ko di ba? Sana po maging masaya kayo para sa akin."

8. Ken ("Get Here"). His performance is good tonight, but not great. I think he was overpraised by the judges because for the very first time, he finally gave a performance worth listening and watching to. But as I said in my comment in Miguel, everyone eventually did good tonight that I still look at him as a very week contender.

9. Jan ("Kailangan Kita"). The only bad performance of the night. As in baaaad. Notes are thrown in the hall like pingpong balls and the beautiful song was massacred. The weird thing is that I believe his song choice is the safest among the Idol hopefuls' picks. The only good thing about this performance is the violin solo accompanying him.

So, that's the end of my Butchering episode for the day. In a perfect world, Jan and Ken will be eliminated tonight but basing upon the past weeks' results, I will not be surprised if Mau and Gian will get the boot. But since I still have my hopes for this show, I'm still looking forward to see the weaker performers to wave goodbye tonight. I hope that the results nights will be a good news.

Experimenting with Brightness and Contrast

David (yours truly), Joboy and Vanni pigging out at Makati Shangrila

There's nothing really in here. Just me.

College amigos favorite past time: pigging out

Post-IT Chestnuts

I realized sometime during the end of my first semester in my junior year college that I can't see myself as a practitioner of my undergraduate major. The fact that I'm topping my class didn't help me. During those times, I already wanted to swear off this Information Technology bandwagon and start anew. Then it hit me: shifting to another course is a very stupid move, if pursued. Only three semesters left and I'll be free... that's what's inculcated in my consciousness.

Shoot. The last three semesters proved to be a test of my perseverence and patience. It's not delightful if designing and hardcoding for our JAVA game project also means worrying what will be our thesis proposal, when will my group conduct our case studies at World Bank and Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, and how much time is left for me to review my notes in Taxation because there is a long quiz tomorrow.

In the first semester of my fourth year in college, we had 13 projects, including the implementation of our thesis proposal which we haven't finished until the midterm of my last semester in college. The only school requirement that I'd enjoyed doing the most during that time was our short documentary project for Sociology which I directed. It's a short look in the world of drugs and rock and roll. It went off to receive the highest mark.

One of the most frustrating subjects for me is programming. Programming for me is a medium of communication between a human being and a computer: a total hedious form of communication at least. You use very limited codes with a mixture of correct placements of predefined keywords, symbols and punctuation marks to convey a message. If the computer has detected something in your message (code) which is beyond its understanding then you're in trouble. You have to pave your way along the lines of codes, detect the error and fix it. If you're unlucky, the computer will spit out the same error message. Otherwise, your project's in your hands. It appears that I have this vile behavior against programming but don't get me wrong because I got a 1.00 in Advanced Java Programming (I'm very proud of this) and good marks on my other programming subjects. I have the drive to learn but NOT the interest, NOT the passion. So if anyone would dare to challenge me to a programming battle, thanks but NO thanks. I am currently making money through writing and I don't have any plans of doing JAVA, PHP or C++ again, at least this time.

Add up my nervousness during Data Communications classes because I am afraid to put my groupmates down if my name is drawn to represent my group for a practical exam. I hate mingling with hardware: anything with wires in general. Bus topology, Ring topology, Mesh topology - I know them. Just don't make me setup them.

Probably the most enjoyable major subjects for me are those involving case studies. I love doing field work - visiting companies, studying their available information systems, looking for loopholes in their system and offering them with a proposed solution (which of course, my groupmates will code ... I am obviously adept in making presentations and documents for group projects).

At least, I have managed to put some of my IT skills to work. When I was in junior college, me and nine other classmates were chosen (or hired) to become software developers for the Samsung E-learning Project based in our Center for Research and Training Department. Of course, we were paid (my first paycheck). I quit after seven months because academic works had been very demanding. My second IT job was at Sykes Asia, as a programmer. I was hired April 2006 but eventually quit after a three weeks.

Now, I'm doing what I really want for a living and in a few days I'll start with my graduate studies, pursuing the dream that I realized midway my college experience. Well I feel that my parents and professors were quite disappointed that I have decided not to use my IT skills into work (well, at least for the reconstruction of this blog) but I am happy that they are supporting me in my future endeavors. I owe my technical education to Don Bosco but I have to say sorry that I decided not to contribute anything further to the evergrowing IT world. My true calling is in the arts. Although it's a late realization (junior college), I am very secure that this is it.

CHACHA: Dumped

As an anti-Charter Change (CHACHA) advocate, I am very joyful as the Supreme Court junked the petition. CHACHA, which proposed change from a Bicameral Presidential System to a Unicameral Parliamentary system is indeed rooted from the administration's selfish interests. I don't think there's a problem with our present government. The problem lies within the people who are running the government. So the dilemma is if the same people who are pushing the CHACHA will be the same set of people who will govern the Philippines with the new parliamentary system, thus a big problem.

While Chief Justice Panganiban, who did the tie-breaker decision (that's 8-7) will be ending his term in December, then we'll be having a big problem, Then the second effort for the People's Initiative will be an impended doom once a new chief justice to be appointed by the administration will decide. God, help us.

Still, big thanks to One Voice and other organizations that have helped make this phase of hearing a success.

La Cucaracha

There was an episode in one of the evening News and Current affairs shows of GMA 7 (Imbestigador or Emergency ?) which featured families that eat COCKROACHES (ipis) and janitor fishes not because roaches and janitor fishes are part of their exotic cuisines but because they don't have any money to buy food. Is our country's issue about hunger has gone to its worst that the same vermin which we are trying to annihilate are the same creatures that provide nourishment (if we can call that "nourishment") to other people?

My mom excruciatingly explain to me the steps of cooking a cockroach, as she had seen in the show. First, you have to hunt roaches. Then, squish the roach on its lower abdomen until the white goowy liquid spurt out. Deep fry the cockroaches and voila! you have instant cockroach chips!

Only listening to it made me cringe and I felt so bad about these people because they can't find a choice. When one's poorer than a rat, acquiring things happened to be very desperate and the only way to alleviate the pain is to improvise. In this case, ipis has become the instant cuisine. This feature is very alarming and very delicate for me because I don't know how must I react.

***

I decided not to compose another episode of Butchering Idol Hopefuls (this could have been the fourth in the series) because doing such is worse than tying your own neck with a rope then hoisting your whole body in a 30-feet flag pole. Generally, the performance night of Philippine Idol is the worst by far, with only two (Mau and Arms) out of the nine performers did just good ("good" which is NOT above average but good as is, nothing notable) while the rest resembled squished banshees.

Evaluating them one by one is definitely a waste of time and energy and picking up the best performer for the night is useless since proof shows that even the best performers can be booted out mercilessly (check Reymond and Drae), while inferior unworthy contestants like Ken (whose signature voice is the ultimate SQUEAK and STRAYS), Miguel (who always emphasizes his young age of 17 as a big factor in the competition. Hello? Sarah Geronimo was only 14 when she became the Grand Champion of Star For A Night and Rachelle Anne Go was also 17 when she won Search for a Star! And these two are undoubtedly great singers!) and Jelli (whose trademark is still unclear until today but her bad performances) are still vying for the title.

Actually, I don't care whoever leaves the competition tomorrow. But, it will be a complete shock if any of the three unworthy contestants that I have listed will be eliminated. Based on the past three weeks, they are doing well in buying their way to the top.

***

Although I never made it as a Pre-finalist for the Philippine Webby, I'm very honored to see Mental Pornography as a featured site in the Bloggy Award. The review is fair enough: I received an above average remark: 7 points out of a possible 10, basing on their criteria. It is really clear that my site has a problem on its visual aesthetics and I'm currently noting in my priority list a better layout for my blog.

Bye Philippine Webby Trophy!

This is going to be the end of my journey to this year's Philippine Web Awards. The Pre-finalists were already announced and this Mental site is nowhere to be found in the list. God, there are almost thirty nominees in the Blog Category and making it to the top ten is pretty tough. I looked upon each single pre-finalist sites and their designs are breath-takingly waaay innovative and artistic than my errr, oh well , predefined layout by blogger. This is a wake-up call for me to create a design that's going to suit my personality. That will be my project.

Balikbayan Box

In today's issue of The Standard Express: The Free Paper from Manila Standard, which I grabbed from Quezon Avenue MRT Station, the following short story has captivated my attention. The author's name is kept anonymous and the paper itself claimed that the story was lifted from an e-mail. For everybody's reading pleasure, here's the story:

***

Registered nurse si Bebeng sa L.A. Kasama niya ang kanyang ina na nagpagamot doon. Namatay ang ina nito. Dahil sa kamahalan ng pamasahe pabalik sa Pilipinas, nagtipid si Bebeng. Pinauwi na lang niya ang kabaong ng kanyang ina na mag- isa.

Pagdating ng kabaong, napansin ng mga kapamilya niya na nakadikit ang mukha ng ina sa salamin ng ataul. Nagkomento tuloy and isang anak, "Ay, naku! Tingnan mo 'yan... hindi sila marunong mag-ayos ng bangkay sa Amerika! Nakudrado tuloy ang mukha ng inay."

Upang ayusin ang itsura ng bangkay, binuksan ang kabaong.Aba! May sulat na-nakastaple sa dibdib ng ina. Kinuha nila ito at binasa. Ang nilalaman ng liham na mula kay Bebeng:

Mahal kong tatay at mga kapatid;

Pasensya na kayo at hindi ko nasamahan ang nanay sa pag-uwi riyan sa Pilipinas dahil napakamahal ng pamasahe. Ang gastos ko pa lang sa kanya ay mahigit $10,000 na. Ayoko nang isipin pa ang eksaktong halaga. Anyway, ipinadala ko kasama ni nanay ang mga sumusunod...

Nasa likod ni nanay ang dalawampu't apat na karne-norte at isang dosenang spam. Ang adidas na suot ni nanay ay para kay tatay. Ang limang pares ng de-goma ay nasa loob ng dalawang asul na Jansport na backpack na inuunan ni nanay. Tig-iisa kayo.

Ang iba't-ibang klase ng tsokolate at candy ay nasa puwetan ni nanay. Para sa mga bata ito. Bahala na kayong magparte-parte. Sana'y hindi natunaw. Ang pokemon stuffed toy na yapos-yapos ni nanay ay para sa bunso ni ate. Gift ko sa first birthday ng bata. Ang itim na Esprit bag ay para kay Nene.

Ate, nasa loob ng bag ang pictures ni inay, japanese version ng pokemon trading cards at stickers. Suot ni nanay ang tatlong Ralph Lauren, apat na Gap at dalawang Old Navy t-shirts. Ang isa ay para kay Kuya at tig-iisa ang mga pamangkin ko. Maisusuot ninyo ang mga iyan sa fiesta.

Suot din ni inay ang anim na panty hose at tatlong warmer para sa mga dalaga kong pamangkin. Isuot nyo sa party. May isang dosenang NBA caps sa may paanan ni nanay. Para sa inyo, itay, kuya,dikong, Tiyo Romy.

Bigyan nyo na rin ng tig-isa 'yung mga pamangkin ko at 'yung isa ay kay Pareng Tulume.

Ang tigdadalawang pares ng Nike wristband at knee caps na suot-suot din ni nanay ay para sa mga anak mo, dikong, na nagbabasketball. Tigdadalawang ream ng Marlboro lights at Winston red ang nasa pagitan ng mga hita ni nanay.

Apat na jar ng Skippy Peanut Butter, dalawang dishwashing liquid, isang Kiwi glass cleaner at tig-aanim na Colgate at Aqua Fresh ang nakasiksik sa kilikili ni nanay. Hati-hati na kayo, huwag mag-aagawan...

Isang dosenang Wonder bra na gustong-gusto ni Tiya Iska, suot-suot din ni nanay. Alam kong inaasam-asam nyo 'yan, tiya. anim na lipstick lang ang kasya sa bra. Ang Rolex na bilin-bilin mo tatay, suot! -suot ni nanay. Nakatakip sa Nike na wristband. Kunin mo agad, Itay.

May isinisik akong zip-loc sa bunganga ni Inay na naglalaman ng 759 dollars. Hindi na ako nakatakbo sa ATM. Puede na siguro sa libing iyon.

Iyong tong na makokolekta, i-time deposit niyo Kuya para pag namatay si Tatay may pambili na ng ataul. Ang hikaw, singsing at kuwintas (na may nakakabit pang anim na nail cutters) na gustong-gusto mo, ditse, ay suot suot din ni nanay. Kunin mo na rin agad, ditse. Ibigay mo ang isang nailcutter Jay bakla sa kanto.

Tanggalin niyo ang bulak sa ilong ng inay, may isiniksik ako 3 diyamante bawat butas. Ibangon niyo lang si inay at tiyak na malalaglag na ang mga iyon. Konting alog lang siguro ng ulo.

Isang Ray Ban ladies sunglass na pabirthday ko kay Ninang Berta, hindi ko na pinasuot kay nanay. Isiniksik ko na lang sa may bandang ulunan ni nanay. Nasa pink na plastik na maliit. Mga Chanel at Champion na medyas, suot suot din ni nanay. Tig-iisa kayo, mga pamangkin ko.

Mga pampers, panty liners, cotton buds, cotton balls, table napkins at mga scotch brite na may foam ay natatakpan ng mga puting bath towels... yon bale ang pinangkutson ko sa kabaong ni nanay. Marami-rami rin iyon. Parte-parte rin kayo. Marami pa akong ipinagsisiksik kung saan-saang parte gaya ng cafe, coffee creamer, ilang vienna sausage na de lata, barbie dolls, toothbrush, paper cups, plastic spoons and forks, paper at styrofoam plates, perfume, cologne, ballpens, stationeries, envelopes, bar soaps, match box toys, used t-shirts, hand towels, CD. VHS tapes, padlock, tools gaya ng screw driver, plais, long nose, atbp. na hindi ko na na itemize dahil nagmamadali ako at graveyard shift ako ngayon.

Marami pa sana akong ipaglalalagay kaya lang, baka mag-excess at si nanay pa ang maiwan. Basta parte-parte kayo, tatay, kuya, ate, dikong, ditse. Para sa inyo lahat ito. Bahala na kayo kay nanay. Pamimisahan ko na lang siya rito. Balitaan ninyo na lang ako pagkatapos ng libing. Alam ni ate ang email ko. Paki-double check ang lista kung walang nawala sa mga ipinadala ko.

Nagmamahal,
Bebeng

P.S.
Pakibihisan ninyo agad si Nanay!

Sa takip pala ng kabaong sa may paanan, tis-tisin niyo ang tahi ng pulang sinulid at may isinisik akong mga nail polish at nipper para kay Mareng Ana sa ibayo. May mga tuwalyang puti.Iyong markang Days Inn para kay kuya, Holiday Inn kay ditse, Econolodge kay ate, La Quinta kay dikong, yung Mandalay Bay para kay itay. Mag-iipon na lang uli ako pag punta namin sa Las Vegas.

Political Tidbits

Mayor Jejomar Binay, Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado and the entire city council og Makati were issued for a 90-day preventive suspension (starting October 16) by the Department of Interior and Local Government after being accused of keeping 400-plus ghost employees. Mayor Binay won't step down thus demanding proofs of the accusations against him. Ex-president Corazon Aquino, Susan Roces, Ex-VP Teofisto Guingona and many others were in the Makati City Hall to provide their support. What's fishy is the rush of the administration for the suspension. Everything seems to be purely political and it's weird that the opposition leaders are getting the axe - one by one. The first misfortune happened to Pasay City Mayor Peewee Trinidad for alleged irregular garbage collection deals. However, it looks like the trashy claims of the administration is being left for investigation. Oh well, I wish that the GHOST PRESIDENT would be able to figure out the ghost in her.

***

On the other side of the Metro Manila, 23-year old model/TV host Borgy Manotoc will run for Mayor of Manila in the 2007 Elections. That's a good news! Good job for Congressman Imee Marcos that she has convinced his son to run and she even proudly proclaimed that his son's candidacy is like her mother (Imelda Marcos) running for the position. Wow! How apt! You have a good plan, Imee! (Thundering applause) In case Borgy wins, he will easile become an instant trophy to the Manila City Hall.

Wait. That's a double whammy in case Manny Pacquiao will also run for vice mayor position of Manila. Imagine Borgy as mayor and Pacman as his vice. Sorry, I just can't imagine it.

The Soundtrack of My Life

I need to thank Riadiosa and Erwin Rafael for posting their soundtracks of their lives. Their posts have impelled me to list the songs that have been constantly haunting me. Well, I remember myself in the past, jotting down songs in my handy notebook and dreaming to compile (in layman's term: download) and record them in a single CD. My threshold is twenty songs - flat. And it has been a very tedious act because I have a lot of favorites and the degree of a certain song's likability depends on my mood and current situation. Nevertheless, I have made a temporary final list of the soundtrack of my life, but I will only share seven as for the moment.

• "I've Seen It All" by Bjork. I am maybe one of the few people who appreciates the erratic yet impressive musical talent of Bjork. Thanks to the movie Dancer In the Dark, lest I will not hear the song that has embraced my sanity for a long time. It is a song about acceptance and contentment despite constant misfortunes. "I've seen it all, I've seen the dark / I've seen the brightness in one little spark / I've seen what I chose and I've seen what I need / And that is enough, to want more would be greed." Also check this video when Bjork, wearing the infamous swan dress, performed in the Oscars.
• "Return to Innocence" by Enigma. I first heard this song when I was just in Grade Four (1996) during the Atlanta Olympics and it has been a favorite since then. Equally enchanting is its music video where everything is featured in reverse. "Dont be afraid to be weak/ Dont be too proud to be strong/ Just look into your heart my friend/ That will be the return to yourself/ The return to innocence." I always listen to this song everytime I want to reminisce on my past.
  
• "Baby Don't You Break My Heart Slow" by Vonda Shepard with Emily Sailers of the Indigo Girls. A song which I always listen to whenever I am lonely or in the mood to be mushy. Painful but very honest depiction of love. "But I'd rather you be mean than love and lie/ I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye ... But baby don't you break my heart slow." This song was also a theme from Ally McBeal. Check this video.
  
• "Isipin Mo Na Lang" by Bayang Barrios. One of the things that will make me remember the film, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, is this song. A song about long distance relationships, the mood of cold and longingness has been perfectly inculcated by Bayang's captivating voice. "Nangangamba ka ba/Na ngayong malayo ka/Ako kaya ay magbago."
  
• "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane. Definitely, I'm a lover of songs about memories of events, of people, of feelings. When I long about the simple things - sound of water trickling down the stream, the gush of wind pushing me into wilderness, the sight of trees - this is the song that I can recall. "I walked across an empty land / I knew the pathway like the back of my hand." Check also the video.
  
• "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand" by Primitive Radio Gods. A song which is very enigmatic both in lyrical and rhythmical sense, despite being incomprehensible it's a song that remained as an all-time favorite. "I've been downhearted baby/ Ever since the day we met ... "
• "Sabi Nila" by Agaw Agimat. Age doesn't matter in terms of love ... in this case, for the love of country. Mabuhay ang kabataan! I love how QT's emotions flow in the entirety of the song. "Ang pag-ibig sa bayang kinagisnan / Ay sa puso at hindi sa isip lang /Ito'y nararamdaman at hindi napag-aaralan /Ito'y walang kinikilalang edad kailan man"
  

The Bomb

For some reasons, I am frantic to witness the driver of the shuttle I've ridden this morning to thank me for giving the interior of his vehicle a free fresh scent. Kidding aside, my perfume spilled out of its bottle, my bag drenched with the liquid while I imagine myself sitting inside the vehicle while smoke coming out of me like a skunk. Not because I stink, but because the smell of the perfume had contaminated the air-conditioned environmnent, causing the driver and the other passengers to gag and cough.

Oh God, I felt sorry about my perfume. But I'm thankful that my co-passengers weren't suffocated.

Butchering Idol Hopefuls 3: The Verdict

I have a theory formulated based upon the results of Philippine Idol from the past weeks. Those contestants who did the best performances will surely be on the chopping block while those who did otherwise will remain safe. Being good is easily becoming a liability.

I think Drae's early exit is harsh. But nothing is much more painful than seeing Reymond leave the competition despite having the BEST performance last night. His second take to the song "Be My Lady," signifying his exit, was way very intense and HAUNTING, it will grab your spirit from within. The appreciative standing ovation from the audience in his last performance showed more than a sign of bewilderness but a good signage of disgust to the voting public. It felt good to see Onyx, Ira, Suey and Drae standing and looking up on Reymond's last remaining moment in the stage. They represent the bunch of people who really deserve to stay in this chapter of competition, but have been totally neglected because of being too good. Another good performer is out, oh well, what's new?

Check out if this performance deserved the boot:




This show is way TOO MUCH to handle.

Butchering Idol Hopefuls 3

I will not spend much time on this Philippine Idol thingy because I have lost my energy typing things on my two other entries below. Well, I have to say that the show itself has improved. Thank God that Francis Magalona will be out of the show for five weeks because of a "Trip To Europe." Is it coincidental that the show has turned better without him?

Sitting on his sit tonight is Hajji Alejandro, the interpreter of the first MetroPop Song Festival winning piece, "Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika." The song is composed by none other than Mr. Ryan Cayabyab. He's one good judge! His critique are very technical - very sensible. I just wish that he will be forever in the show in the next weeks to come. But who knows, maybe the four forthcoming judges are equally as good as him? Just don't bring Francis Magalona back.

The night's theme is Metropop. The top ten will sing songs represented in the Metropop. Here's my ranking from best to worst.

1. Reymond ("Be My Lady"). This is the first time that I will give the number one spot to someone who has performed first. He nailed the performance! The singing is flawless and the emotions are flowing.

2. Armarie ("Anak"). By far, she is the only contestant that has the nerve and guts to actually experiment with a song's structure, but pulled it off anyway.

3. Maureen ("Ako ang Nagwagi"). She managed to recover from that baaad R&B performance. The dilemma for choosing this song is that it's very difficult to own on it, so the best way to sing it is to sing it the way it was sung by the original artist. It's obvious that the dilemma has stricken her, but I will give her credit for giving justice to the song. Still, it's a stellar performance.

4. Pow ("Til I Met You"). Her worst performance by far, but still good. Maybe I'm expecting a lot from her because she's been consistently on the top 3 of my list since my Butchering series started. Or is this an effect of being in the bottom four last week?

5. Jan ("Umagang Kay Ganda"). I bet Ryan Cayabyab is sleeping when he watched Jan's rendition of UKG. Although his performance is clean (that's why I still put him above my list), he messed with the true meaning of the song through experimenting with it. One should be mindful that "owning" a song is very different from "murdering" a song. I think this performance is overly praised, though undeserving to receive such.

6. Gian ("Give Me A Chance"). That falcetto pulled him down. His voice is nonetheless superb sounding, but too much of the embellishment will much of a deterrant than an advantage.

7. Jeli ("Isang Mundo Isang Awit") For the first time, I liked here performance but not in the sense that I appreciated it to a high level. At least, now I know where her voice actually fits. However, I can hear someone whispering to me: "this girl isn't versatile!" Yeah, it shows.

8. Apple ("Sometimes You Just Know"). Although she's in MY bottom three today, I still want to see her next week. It's just a bad choice of song. By the way, I realized that she looked like John Lapuz with hair extensions.

9. Miguel ("Swerte Swerte Lang"). Yeah, that luck is too much, we need to discover your bad feng shui.

10. Ken ("Magsimula Ka"). A very beautiful song. A very bad performance. Did he burped somewhere in the last part of performance? Oh! He lost in tune again? Aaaaaaaargh! Can somebody give me an axe?

***
I'm still wishing that Ken will be booted out tonight. PARANG AWA NIYO NA!!! I can stand more of Miguel, Jan and Jelli but my powers can't bear Ken anymore.

Scammer or Stalker?

In my way home to Bulacan, I received this message:

Meron akong importanteng sasabihin sa iyo. Last load ko na pala ito. Call me back or Pasa Load mo na lang ako ng 5. Eto ang bago kong number.

I assumed that a stalker has texted me, again. Someone whom I don't know kept on texting me for two straight weeks last July. He refused to give his name because he said that it isn't important. I called him once and I discovered that I have no idea who among my friends or relatives his voice belongs. I immediately replaced my SIM card.

Why wouldn't he state his name after all? I don't care how important his message is. I think the general rule in texting to friends using a new number is to state NAME. The text is too suspicious to be entertined that I deleted it. I forgot to save the number. Darn.

Then on my way home, I figured out that this whole texting thing might be a scam. Probably, somebody who's enjoying Globe's unlimitext sent messages to people with the same message above by key jamming, meaning - by trial and error. So, I am the lucky receiver. The first instinct of a receiver is: "Who might this be?" continued by "What will he/she tell me?" Then you will look at the options of contacting him since he claimed that he has zero balance: call or pasa-load. A call obviously costs more and talking time can't be predictable. Then you look at the text option, which will only cost you P6.00. Then it's possible that most of the people who were so curious decided to text load. The other line, on the other hand, will receive molto molto amounts of prepaid load.

Anyway, I don't know if the text is from a scammer o stalker. I've erased the number. In case he texted again, then he's a stalker. I will change numbers again if that hapened again.

Tease Tease Tease When The Sun Goes Down

I responded to Bikoy's announcement in his blog, looking for participants for a focus group discussion for their term paper. We exchanged numbers through the mail and gave me further information about the discussion. I arrived at UP by 2PM. The original meeting place was in the Bahay ng Alumni but was transferred to Ilang-Ilang Hall to the last minute. Bikoy said that it's too hot inside the Alumni.

The discussion is on how can movie teasers affect the movie viewers. For starters, teasers are clips with a running time not longer than 30 seconds which are shown in television as mode of advertisement for the film. The trailer, on the other hand, is relatively longer running time than a teaser.

The group's conversation is fun in general. Never a dull moment. Everyone has different and interesting insights. I have my own take for teasers. Personally, I can't find a teaser effective unless it has the following: suspense factor, showcase of filmmakers and actors and the shiny technical aspects of it. It's interesting that while I am giving more credit on the suspense factor and the film maker's brief resume, my other groupmates are more considering the casts and crisps of the teaser.

It's also a good thing that Bikoy and some of his groupmates are Film majors, I grabbed the chance to gawk for information about the two undergraduate subjects that I still need to take next semester. I asked them if Sacris (for Film 112) and Lejano(Film 100) are good and fair professors. They both said that they are both good only that Sacris gives a lot of individual requirements while Lejano gives lenghty enumeration examinations. Oh well, I need to battle things out for next semester.

Office Pic

From Left to Right: Anne, Angel, Chris, Stephen and me

Ten Things That You Do Not Know About Me Which Might Not Be Interesting To You But The Thought Of It Is Nonsense Since I Will Still Tell You Anyway

It occured that I haven't written anything about my personal pursuits for a long time. It seemed that I was engulfed by my fanaticism of television, music and movies that it seems that I missed talking about my life. I noticed that most of my personal accounts which I have recently shared here are my adventures to my admission to UP for my Graduate Studies. I think I have talked too much about it that I need to break a different stick.

Who is David Corpuz by the way? I bet you don't know me yet.

1. My full name is David Corpuz. I am an IT graduate from Don Bosco. I will be taking up MA Film at UP starting next semester. My father's name is also David Corpuz. I'm not a Junior. The only distinction between my dad and I are our middle names. My father is a civil engineer based in NAPOCOR, not a lawyer as many people guess. When I passed my forms at the UP-CMC, the college secretary asked me if I am the son of Atty. David Corpuz. No, I'm a son of an engineer, I told her. When I applied for my NBI Clearance they also asked the same question. I've been asked the same question since time immemorial and I don't even know who Atty. David Corpuz is. Perhaps he is something of significance; everybody seems to know him.

2. I graduated with Honorable Mention when I was in College, although I should have been Cum Laude if my thesis hadn't caused me trouble. My GPA is high enough - 1.61 - and it's very frustrating. As of now, I set myself apart from my four years of IT practice and decided to focus to establish a career in writing and film making. Now, I convinced myself that I should be thankful for not receiving the Latin award because it will turn as a burden in my part after I revealed to everybody that I hate the idea of working with computers, as a developer. I decided that I will forever become a user. My IT practice is hidden inside me. Maybe I will need it some other time when it comes necessary.

3. My friends find my choice of music as weird. My favorite artists are Bjork, Tori Amos, Enigma, Suede and Yiruma. Personally I don't find my favorite artists as weird. I call them geniuses of their own right. I'm still wishing that they will all pay a visit in our country and I promise that I'll watch their concerts.

4. I just started to learn to ride the jeepney when I was in first year college because for the first time in my life, I will need to commute on my way to school and back home. Remembering elemetary and high school back in Bulacan, I would always join my dad in our car so that he would fetch me to school. Going back home isn't a problem at all because it's walking distance from school so I don't need to ride a public vehicle. Well, you might think that my high school life is boring. Probably, yes but I don't regret it. The ignorance from the past made my college years more exciting.

5. I don't sit on toilet seats unless it has cloth covers. I just find the feeling of the toilet seat sticking to my butt icky and disgusting.

6. I believe in God, although a lot of people especially my college friends think that I am an atheist. Of course, I'm not. I believe that there is Someone behind order and chaos, and I will not resort to the idea of the unexplainable. I don't believe that things just poofed from where they are right now, that some things are made to promote the nonsense. I think everything and everyone have their own purposed of existence and God has all the answers. I don't believe in any organized religions. I think that different religions unconsciously promote hate, disrespect and discrimination to different groups of people despite their repetitive mantra to endorse peace to the universe.

7. I discovered that I have the ability to express myself effectively through writing when I was in first year college. I sucked big time in English way back and honestly, English is the subject wherein I got my lowest grade (I excelled in Math and Science before) in high school. When I joined the Bosconian Forum, our college magazine, I started to enjoy writing especially literary articles. My hardwork paid off when I was hailed as the Literary Editor of the magazine a year after. Most of the time I was writing in college, sacrificing programming lectures and splicing network cables. It's strange that I discovered my true calling (writing) in an overly-technical laden college.

8. I was a CAT Officer way back high school and I was commissioned Captain with the position of Company Deputy Commander. I believe that this is a feat that I can refer as one of my greatest achievements because never in my life before have I envisioned that I would survive every single day of my twelve months of Cadet Officer Candidacy Course (COCC) training doing push-ups, pumpings, and countless corporal punishments before and after class. To the majority of my batch, I am this geeky mama's boy who don't possess the needed strength to last the training for barely a month. I made it until the end and the last day of my COCC training marked the emergence of my unprojected toughness. Remembering the last day of our gala formation, I was in tears as I march away from the stage of my officers who have already graduated.

9. I don't eat fishballs not until I turned into a college sophomore. Before, my parents blackmail my thoughts of eating those streetfoods since they claim that those have E.Coli bacteria which cause fatalities. Outside Don Bosco, street foods are everywhere and not eating any one of the choices is like a digestive sin. I was still cautious as a freshman but dropped the inherited notion when I was promoted as a sophie. After years of eating fishballs, I'm still alive.

10. I have no plans of working and living abroad, yet. Maybe sometime, but that's too soon. Some people call me crazy for shooing away job opportunities and leaving my IT career into oblivion. I like here, actually. Maybe we have those potholes in our roads. Yes, they are ugly obstacles but those potholes are ours and I believe that I need to be here to help cover and flatten those holes. I have grown and lived here and I still need to leave my legacy here.

It's Merienda Time!

It's merienda time! I dragged my friends to eat in this place but they backed out without hesitations! Just kidding.

Somebody sent me this picture, I just found this bloggable. Bon Appetit!

R.P.

After Jasmine Trias emerged as the third placer in the American Idol, she finally set afoot on her motherland she had never witnessed throughout her ordinary life. Over dozens of live performances, press conferences and product endorsements, she was asked of the question: “How do you find the Philippines?” She said, “It’s nice to be home!” After three weeks, she fled back to Hawaii, the land that nurtured to what she has become today.

Isn’t it ironic how Filipinos are becoming so intrigued on how other people describe our country? If someone foreign of famous personality visits our homeland, expect Filipinos to bombard him by questions concerning his stay in the country, and always assume a rewarding answer.

Let me ask you the same question:

What can you say about the Filipinos? How do you find the Philippines?

When you were in elementary, your teacher always tells you: “Honesty is the Best Policy” and “Good always wins over evil” and soon you grew up you find yourself in a community where most of the “Honorables” are cheaters, liars and burglars. You concluded that even the evil ones could win justice, as long as they have ten-digit figures on their bank accounts.

As soon as you entered high school, you put into memory the sixteen regions of the Philippines, the names of notable heroes and the articles of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. You were informed by the declaration of Philippine Independence on 1898 and the glory Emilio Aguinaldo and the people were feeling before. The truth is, you hated our history. Not because of the dream of fleeing away from this country after college, you will not put your precious hours memorizing those names and dates that you really denounce. Who’s interested anyway?

OK, you are one of those who opposed Operation Balikatan two years ago. Praise yourself for saving the Filipino’s pride and portraying Nationalism to humanity. Then you’ll realize that you eat McDonald’s for breakfast, drink Tropicana after snack and wear Nike apparel as clothing.

You entered college to pursue Nursing although you accept the fact that the sight of blood disorients you. You gave up your ambitions of becoming the next great painter or journalist because you think that becoming a nurse means near-proximity to the pot of gold situated somewhere in the Americas or Europe. You let those whites use your knowledge and skill, leaving your homeland with almost nothing. Well, who can stop you? You are in a third world country. You wished to have a better life but you can’t find it here. The only way to achieve the dream is escaping away.

Back here, you see bigotry. No, it’s not like the Americans looking down at the Negroes and it might be even worse than that: Filipino boasting over another Filipino. You heralded in a yet another miracle called People Power 2. Then you call those poor people on the third EDSA gathering, worms. You yelled that they have not the right to be there. You were disgusted by their ignorance, their indecency, their lack of respect. You think you stand for an honest and pristine love of country, whereas you proved it through your shocking obnoxiousness. It doesn’t stop at EDSA. You look around and grasp that everyone is discriminating one another

You condemned your own people. You branded the lower class “stupid” and “scalawags”. You thought of the upper class as “corrupt” and “stone-hearted”. You found yourself in the middle, sourgraping.

You wished to become American or Spanish or Italian or Korean. You helplessly imagine yourself walking their high-standardized living but whatever you do, even if you bathed in and fragrant in your favorite colognes, how hardly you twist your tongues to speak their seemingly elegant lingoes … you’re still a Filipino! You can’t do anything against it.

If every Filipino will start accepting their mistakes, facing challenges, standing for their right and loving themselves for being a Filipino, then Philippines may deserve to grow. We cannot love our country only for its scenic sights and patronizing ambitions. We must love our country in spite and because of its problems. If you don’t know who you are and what you are fighting for, how can you aspire for a progressive nation?

Now, let me ask you again the question:

What can you say about the Filipinos? How do you find the Philippines?

(Note: This article was written January 31, 2004.)

Butchering Idol Hopefuls 2: The Verdict

Jeli, Ken and Miguel were safe while Pow and Gian were almost chopped off from the competition this night's elimination episode of Philippine Idol. Stefanie was out - a sign of relief. Drae was also eliminated; that I never saw coming. He's great in his last performance but as all we know, being good doesn't matter much in this contest where SMS and landline votes only matter. This makes this competition a very unpredictable one.

Drae after his R&B Performance. when he gave one of his best performances in Philippine Idol. Photo Courtesy: Oliver Oliveros

... but he and Pow found themselves in the danger zone. Photo Courtesy: Noemi Dado

... and it was Drae who's eliminated. Photo Courtesy: Noemi Dado

... Drae down on his knees on his last performance in the show. Photo Courtesy: Noemi Dado

I wish that the viewers will be spared with some great music in the next episodes. Oh my, they kicked out one of the greatest male performers, and one among my bets, in the show.

JP Booted Out

One at a time, the Hispanics are getting the boot in Survivor. Call it karma for wasting a challenge just to boot out an insanely in loved and sloth Billy, now they are losing the numbers. The interesting thing here is that despite the Hispanics (and the other race-based tribes) are already dispersed into different tribes, they are easily becoming the target. Sob. And I feel that if Raro will lose the next immunity challenge, Cristina is in the chopping block.

Two important rules if you want to make it in Jury stage of Survivor. 1.) Don't appear weak or your tribemates will find you as a liability on challenges 2.) Don't be too bossy or you will step into the pride of your tribemates. In JP's case, he felt very comfortable in his position because he feels that his presence is essential to win challenges causing his attitude to turn off the women of his tribe. I think, that action is too early.

Photo Courtesy: CBS

Oh well, I wish that Raro has done a good decision for booting an alpha male in their tribe. Hope they'll win the next challenges. Obviously, I'm rooting for Raro. The two Filipinos are still there. Yipee!

Butchering Idol Hopefuls 2

So here I am again using my precious time criticizing the contestants of the hottest singing contest in town: Philippine Idol. Take note that I don't have any sign of a respectable/respected critic. I just diss people for fun. And I believe that the Blogosphere is a democratic virtual area where I can express my opinions and display my tastes for music. For those people whose guts and emotions are easily barred with profane words, I recommend that you stop reading this entry now lest you want to be stabbed in the heart once you've learned that I'm murdering your idol for making me feel that he/she wasted my time seeing him/her perform onstage. But if you believe that you can handle the pressure, let's continue the butchering.

Last week, nobody eliminated because of typhoon Milenyo's destructive fury: phone lines and network signals were jarred. As a result, two performers will leave the show tomorrow. It wasn't clear if Jelli, Mau and Arms were the performers who received the lowest number of votes so it's everybody's game still.

Tonight's theme is R&B and Soul. There's an improvement in the show. The judges are starting to get harsh on their comments -especially Mr. Cayabyab - and that's a good sign. There's no time for sweet talks and euphemisms at this stage of the competition. Everyone must be hit in the head so hard so that they will force themselves to improve.

So, here are my ranking, from best to worst:

1. Apple ("Natural Woman"). Her best performance so far. I'm starting to like this girl because I saw her gradual improvements every single week and this is the perfect time that she used her alto voice to her best advantage. This is also the first time that I had my eyes and ears remained glued on her performance. She is also one of only four contenders who received perfect three nods from the judges this night.

2. Drae ("You're Still A Young Man"). A big comeback from someone who did bad the other week. I will give him a big credit for excellently interpreting a song which is very difficult to sing.

3. Pao ("U Got It Bad"). It sometimes tiring to see this girl's name consistently staying in the upper part of my weekly rankings but what can I do? She's a tough cookie to beat! We first saw her singing that funky Jackson 5 song and alas! That hiphop spirit is back! She can dance, she can sing, she managed to stay away from the Usher technique and she nailed it.

4. Armarie ("Respect"). She did one of the least worthy performances the previous week and she's back with a vengeance. Forget the old school trademark, that's her forte but we all know that she will hardly make it if she continues to be that way althroughout. Oh well, let's just mind off this factor for a while I give her the single word that describes her performance: powerful.

5. Gian ("I Feel Good"). Gian's performances are consistently over the top. He knows how use the stage and he has the confidence to do things so. However, there is a big noticeable flaw about his performance despite being the usual bubbly and energetic performer. A loud stray note was heard from him on the last part which somehow destroyed the entire piece. I gave him the credit for being a consistent good performer.

6. Maureen ("Crazy In Love"). Enough for Mau: her song choice is risky, and she went flying to the negative quadrant. Her voice is a package, that's given. However, the sight of her gyrating onstage while her face squirming badly as if the audience is getting ready to stone her to death is not pleasing. Since we are judging them according to the performance as a whole, my vote will not go for her this time. It feels like she's hesitant or plainly conscious. But I still want to see her next week.

7. Reymond ("I'd Rather"). I just think that the song is too safe and his performance is forgettable. This is bad, he gave one of the best performances last week.

8. Jan ("Could it be I'm Falling In Love"). The judges' thought that he's improving a lot. But I felt sleepy during his performance.

9. Stefanie ("Proud Mary"). For all my life I thought the title of the song is Rolling on the Radio. Thanks to Philippine Idol for educating me. OK, so the raspiness of her voice fitted the song well but watching her drove me to a coma. Zzzzzzzzz! Oh poor Stef, don't claim that you didn't imitate Tina Turner's style that's why you came up with a horrifyingly booring performance. Stef: What Mr. Ryan C is pointing out is that you should have done "Proud Mary" the way it should be performed - and he is telling that you should have more energy! Idiot.

10. Ken ("What's Going On"). At last! His performance is not the worst for the first time! But he still has the quadraple whammy of contributing to the worst performances trianggle every single week! He should be proud of that! I haven't heard a single performance of him without hitting a COUPLE of stray notes. His performances are consistently irritating.

11. Miguel ("Let's Stay Together"). This is bad. He sang out of tune in most of the song. I can't expound further. (He was totally grilled by the judges.)

12. Jeli ("Always Be My Baby"). I thought she had the chance to redeem herself for singing a Mariah Carey song, another personal favorite actually. But things happened the other way around. She sang the song as if she is in a hurry - maybe attacked by LBM or something. She is very uneasy all the way and all I can understand clearly from what she's singing are the words mmmm, ooooh, aaaaaah and baby.

***

I want to see the finalists whose names in maroon, plus Stephannie, in the chopping block tomorrow.

Who Killed Hanzel?

Having finished Lav Diaz's Batang Westside can be considered as a greatest achievement in my film viewing history. The film is five hours long and the attempt to see its entirety is a physical struggle. Actually, I failed to see it in one sitting. I walked out and went back to the theater five times to urinate, to buy foods and drinks, to breathe - not in that particular order. I even have the chance to meet Yul Servo inside the UP Film Institute's restroom. Haha, even the actors who starred in the film can't hold their kidneys.

To be continued...
Photo Courtesy: Senses of Cinema

Graduate School, Here I come.

I received the good news that I qualified for the Master of Arts in Media Studies (FILM) program of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Only eight (8) of us made it. I need to extend my gratitude to the people who have "strongly recommended" me for the program, Engr. Barcenas and Engr. Caruncho, despite my overly technical experiences in my four years of college education. And to my friends who believed that I'll make it. Thank you very much. I promise that I'll give my best. Don't worry, I won't settle for second best.

Graduate school, here I come.

Butchering Idol Hopefuls 1: The Verdict

This week's Bottom Three were Jeli, Arms and Maureen. Jeli had the opportunity to sit first (gosh), leaving Arms and Mau in the chopping block. Ryan announced the surprise of the night - no one will be booted out in Philippine Idol tonight because of the problems in telephone lines and mobile phone signals as caused by typhoon Milenyo. The votes the show managed to collect during the night will be carried over next episode's results. However, two contestants will leave the show next week. This move is fair enough, I believe.

What alarmed me is Maureen's consistent position at the back of the pack despite her great performances. Viewers need an extreme wake-up call.

Bookgasm

The past week has been a very busy one that I even failed to blog about them. Probably next time I'd have the nerve to put them here, if I am in the mood to recall them. Now, I'm spending my weekend reading books. I'm targeting five books to finish this week; I'm on my way to the finale of two books: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Strange Pilgrims" and P.D. James and Harriet Harvey Wood's "Sightlines". The other three books: Laurence Shames' "Welcome to Paradise," which I bought at Booksale last Thurday for only Php 10.00; Irving Stone's "The Passions of the Mind," a fictionalized account of Sigmund Freud's life (I'm a huge fan of Freud) which I have been reading on and off for the past two weeks - it's long: 918 pages; and Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient," which my officemate and friend, Chrissanta, gave me as a gift.

Tatah! I think I need to be buried in geekdom for a while.