The 260 of 365 in 2011 Project Challenge

objectives:

1. to track all the movies i watch throughout the course of the year.
2. watch a movie for every weekday of 2011

a few rules

1. you don’t have to watch on a weekday, you just have to reach at least 260 movies. this means, you can watch multiple movies in a day (even on weekends) if backlogged.
2. no repeat counting. if you’ve seen a movie more than once, it only counts as one.
3. short films are not counted (although, this is still debatable)
4. old films are counted as long as they’re not repeats from this year’s list
5. write a short and simple review or description of the movie (cause everybody knows i can’t write as well as the folks over at Pelikula)
6. must post the intertitle or the poster along with your review
7. post on Tumblr and with “260 of 365” as a tag

i’m doing this really, because i love watching films. however, i do have problems with sticking with a plan (last years project 365 ended at post number 2) which is why i’m calling it a challenge. in 2010, i think i saw about 100-150 movies. i don’t think that’s enough to actually call myself a movie enthusiast.

so, how about it?

Obligatory Year-End Blog Post

I can't think of anything, so here's a photo of me and my Taxi ni Vivian band mate, Tin. She was the first of a slew of new friends I've met this and was integral in meeting them. 2010, for me, was about new things and staying the same old me.

Starbucks Terminologies

If you've never been to a Starbucks before, you'll probably have the same problem I had when I purchased my first ever cup of coffee: their naming convention. Well, that and besides their lack of seats (maybe there's just too many folks hanging out there).

I got strange looks from strangers when I was asking for a medium sized Caramel Frappe. "Ah, 'Grande' sir." "OK, whatever you say."

At first, I thought it was crazy to call the smallest cup "Tall", the medium one "Grande" and the tallest cup "Venti". Not until I Googled it that I realized there was a smaller cup they called "Short" (thus, explaining Tall). Grande is Italian for big (which only makes sense when you compare it to Tall), and Venti means 20 ounces. Those pretentious muthers.

Anyway, 'tis the season for yuppies to be enslaved by these pretentious a-holes. For every purchase, earns you a sticker. Get enough stickers, you get a slick Starbucks Planner in exchange. And if Starbucks wasn't pretentious enough (seriously, 'pretentious' is the only word I will be describing them), they also named the colors of their planners differently:

• Red = Velvet
• Gray = Metallic

So why are they calling their product a very ordinary 'planner'? Let's take it up a notch and list down a few possible names for the planner:

• Starbucks Agenda Rememberer
• Starbucks Unimportant Events Logbook
• Starbucks Circumstance/Excuse Recorder
• Starbucks Chronology of Affairs Lister

Those are just some of my ideas (thesaurus.com helped). What are yours?

Creativity

Last night, I saw a cab named after me. Jeez. You'd sometimes think that you've created something that's so original that nobody else thought about it then one time this shows up.

Here's Plan B

The first time I ever saw The Purplechickens play was when they played with my cousin's band, Giniling Festival, in one of their first gigs I attended. This was probably in Mayric's (now Sazi's) circa 2003. Giniling Festival was fairly new, so they played last (I think) and unleashed one of the greatest local performances I've ever seen (before they started, Jeje shouted "ANG UMUWE, MAMAMATAY". golden.)

Anyway, one of the bands that night was, well, Purplechickens. I remember my cousin remarking, "galing nila 'no?". And I agreed completely. Like a small town boy getting told what to do.

After a year, the Purplechickens released their album Here's Plan B. Naturally, my cousin bought one out of admiration for the band and naturally, he shared the love.

And love I received. The album was smashing. Brilliant. Remarkable. Outstanding. I found myself listening to the album on a loop while playing NBA Live 2003. It was one of those records you'd love from start to finish. Just like the other 4 of my top 5 OPM albums (no order):

• Cambio - Derby Light
• Sugarfree - Sa Wakas
• Itchyworms - Noon Time Show
• Eraserheads - Natin99

A few years passed, I lost all data from my old PC. I was contacting the band about getting their last copy, but for some reason, the idea drifted. Recently, I was asking them again about it but they already have sold it.

So much for musical cravings.

One day, Kathy G., tweeted that she won P2,000 from the local lottery. And you just know I was gonna joke about getting balato. Instead of letting me in for free at her production that coming Saturday, she gave me a couple of links that literally made me want to cry. One of them was the record I've been craving for for the last 4 or so years.

Suddenly, I feel like one of the Survivor players where food was scarce and really cherished it when they won food rewards. It was amazing. I'm still listening to the album as of this writing. And yes, hints of tears.

The Home of NU Rock

In a few hours, we'll be saying goodbye to one of the Philippine's iconic FM stations, NU 107.

I'm not gonna lie to you. I haven't been listening to a hint of radio since 6 years ago. I have shunned it for principle reasons (in other words, I watched Fight Club). But before that period, nothing else was playing in my ears but NU.

It's where I learned what good music really was. It's where I made ironing my own clothes not feel like a chore. It's where I drown all my problems away. It was the home of new rock. A sudden influx of youngsters who instantly dreamed of being on radio too. That's why our current music scene is so rich right now. No, it's not because of technology, it's because something inspired us who we wanted to be. It stared right into our eyes and pointed out what our passion should be.

Music. Music not heard by many. Music not heard by your parents, your siblings even. Music that, because you're listening to it, made you feel really cool and really good about yourself. It was new rock.

It had a home and now it passes it on to our hearts. Long live NU 107. Long live music.

Sedentary Lifestyle

A.K.A. slacking off, couch potato person, sofa spud.

In other words, my life.

I bet, from those first two sentences, you'll know exactly how I learned the term Sedentary Lifestyle. Yes, from browsing the internet too much.

Here's another term to ponder on: Visceral Fat. It really sounded catchy, which is why I googled it as soon as I read it. In layman's terms, it's fat on your belly. Fat you get for having a sedentary lifestyle.

Cool. Now I can stop wondering why I have a big belly despite not drinking alcohol at all.

Go read up on them yourself. I feel too lazy (even on the internet) to explain, darnit. Too lazy. Even on the internet. Probably why I'm blogging like this right now. Laziness.

So now I'm planning on maybe playing basketball again to burn all the 'potential energy' stored in my mid-section. Well, at least that's the plan. You all know how I am with execution.

Birthdays

as posted on wecomeofage

I’ve never celebrated birthdays like a normal person does. The cynic inside me tells me that nobody really likes me anyway; nobody will go to my party if I ever hold one. Except maybe my parents and my siblings. Which sucks, ‘cause although you need to be surrounding yourself with people who trust and love you, you get sick of them anyway.

Another part of me just wants to celebrate it by rewarding my body something it doesn’t normally get: long sleep. Maybe I’m too busy with work. Maybe I’m too busy with the Internet or television or the movies. Maybe I’m an undiagnosed insomniac. Who knows? I just couldn’t get sleep for more than six hours — even if I spend 12-14 hours in bed.

The wise person inside me never wants to celebrate it on any significant date. It says it doesn’t make sense. It says I don’t look that much different from myself exactly a year ago which means I really haven’t age. Unless of course you compare me to myself five years ago, which is stupid. What are you celebrating for? You’ve just gotten fatter. You want to eat on your birthday? It’ll just make you even fatter. Get some sense to yourself.

Wise person can really be cruel. But he tells the truth. He’s wise. Who am I to challenge his authority? He tells me the only way you could have aged is when you learn something new or different. Something that will make you a better person. Better human being.

I used to hate the rest of the world. As I’ve said earlier, I have this feeling that nobody really ever liked me which makes me not like them either. Everybody’s a jack-ass. Then, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I somehow learned (maybe through the internet, I’ll never be sure) that, yeah, including myself, everyone is going through something in their lives. Something probably makes them feel depressed — even the rich ones. And you’ll never know what will push them over the edge. Since then, I tried very hard not to snap at anybody, cause you’ll never know. You just won’t. Until you talk to them and maybe help them with it.

I am 26 now, I turn a year older every December and I still think most of the people I know don’t like me as much as I like them. But I learned not to care enough to confront them about it. In it’s stead, I just surround myself with people who like me enough to spend some time with me on the day I remind myself that only my body gets old, my thoughts are still childish.

For Laur'n

dreary grim black
sorrowful blue drab
drearisome uncomfortable wintry
austere dejected mopey
 
miserable woeful desolate
dolorous jarring disconsolate
in the dumps joyless dispiriting
melancholy oppressive dejecting
 
mournful gloomy dismal
woebegone funereal dull
sullen despondent comfortless
somber bleak depressed
 
sad
sad
sad
sad
sad.

The Morning Wood

the morning wood:
   comes out in the morning
     comes out to play
       is stiff and unbending
         is here to stay

the morning wood:
         likes the great outdoors
       likes building a tent
     likes baiting and fishing
   likes cleaning the vent

the morning wood:
   hates chores and vegetables
     hates noon and lunch
       hates people and meetings
         hates juice and punch

the morning wood:
         is high and fixated
       is too jack to call
     is boss and elated
   is too tall to fall

for Polin, my dear friend

Pauline, the Anti-Jet Set
Ice cream is part of her diet
She likes it when the ice cream is wet
You can even smell aroma on her breath

Her favorite flavors are lemon and maple syrup
She won't notice you no matter what stir-up
As long as she's eating her ice cream
She'll only spot you in a dream

Pauline, the Anti-Jet Set
I'm so sorry you don't know her yet.
Pauline, the Anti-Jet Set
The day will come, when you will have met.

I Feel You, Andy. I Feel You.

WHY?

This is The Office's Andy. I make the same forlorn, dejected face whenever I feel like I lost something that I'm emotional about. That exact same face. Looking down. Almost smiling, but never really. Hints of getting ready to scream and cry "WHY?" out loud.

I really felt Andy in the latest Office episode. It has happened to me a million times, and I don't think things will ever get tired of doing it to me. I sometimes think that it's just the way it's supposed to be. Melancholy and infinite sadness, referencing the ever morose Billy Corgan.

To make matters worse, they end the episode with Andy singing the Macy Gray song, I Try. Truly one of the saddest lyrics ever.




Here is my confession
May I be your possession
Boy, I need your touch
Your love, kisses and such
With all my might I try
But this I can't deny
Deny
I play it off, but I'm dreaming of you
(but I'm dreaming of you babe)
And I'll keep my cool, but I'm feenin'
I try to say goodbye and I choke (yeah)
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
(when you are not near aahh)
Goodbye and I choke (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I try to walk away and I stumble (hey, hey, hey)
Though I try to hide it, it's clear (say it Lord)
My world crumbles when you are not here
Goodbye and I choke (I'm choking)
I try to walk away and I stumbe
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
(when you are not near, yeah, yeah yeah)
Yeah, yeah..
Anyway, I'm a bit teary-eyed right now and felt like writing this down real quick. Just to let everybody know at at exactly 2:58PM on a rainy Saturday afternoon, Charles is as sad as Andy.

Captain Planet and the Planeteers

Go get your rings ready, it's time to combine our powers and shout "GO PLANET!"

*Queue in Captain Planet's theme song

I think one of my fondest memories as a child was watching the first Captain Planet series (not the lame one by Hanna-Barbera) anchored by a mullet-wearing green-colored super-man named Captain Planet. Friday nights, 7pm. My full attention shifts to watching 5 randomly cool teenagers from all over the world with extra cool powers with even cooler rings.

You can totally trust the mullet guy. I mean, he's flying.

The 5 teenagers, or planeteers, have these powers to control an element of nature given to themby Gaia, spirit of the Earth. The 5 are Kwame (from Africa, controlling Earth), Wheeler (from North America, controlling Fire), Linka (from the Russian Federation, controlling Wind), Gi (from Asia, controlling Water), and Ma-Ti (from South America, controlling the extra element of Heart). I would describe these characters more but I'm too tired to type. They're on Wikipedia anyway. What I know that's not in their wikipage is that I always wanted Wheeler and Linka to be together.

Anyway, there's been a villain lurking our planet right now called Global Warming. It's up to us prevent it using our own magical rings. Our element being heart.

Heart? You mean we can talk to animals and be almost telephatics? No. Of course not. That one's taken already. When I say heart, I mean, won't your prying heart be a little bit concerned about what's going on with our ridiculous weather? Aren't you feeling sympathetic for our bare-treed forests? Aren't you sick of the horrible humidity? Listen real close, 'cause your heart is telling you something.

Do something.

Join me, and a few thousand people, and take part in UNTV's Isang Araw Para sa Kalikasan campaign through different critical watersheds nationwide. We're planting around 50,000 seedlings and will take care of it for at least 3 years (so you know I'm not kidding around). The cause will be held on October 10, 2010 while celebrating Ang Dating Daan's 30th anniversary on the air.

10.10.10. How cool is that? Do something historic on a historic date.

What, your fat-surrounded heart is too lazy to move on a sluggish Sunday morning? You can do other stuff of course. Click through this link and see. Most of them, you can do in the comfort of your own room.

Listen to what your heart says. It's the purest of all the elements. It's been planted with the seeds of love, caring, and compassion. Unless you're Duke Nukem of course.

Duke Nukem was an environmental douche. You don't want that label, yes?

How I Got to Know About Terry Fox Through Bill Simmons

As most of you don't know, I'm a big fan of Bill Simmons. I've been following him since the 2006 NBA Finals when I read a Mark Cuban blog post where he claimed that Simmons has become his new favorite sports writer.

I couldn't blame Cubes. He wrote masterfully with a lot of pop culture reference and most importantly, made me laugh (aside from the fact that he rooted against the Heat because of poor officiating. Finally, I favorite writer of my own.

I followed him since then, listened to 25% of his podcasts, bought both his books, RSSed his Twitter account, and even watched the TV shows he watched. I'm such a big fan of his. So just like Cuban, you can't really blame me if I watch the TV show he produces, 30 for 30. I'd totally go Senor Chang to be one of his friends.

One time, he tweeted about a 30 for 30 episode that everybody needed to watch. I didn't know anything about what the document was about, all I knew was Bill Simmons told me to watch it.

A few seconds into the program, they showed Steve Nash which I thought was favorable to me cause it was about basketball (I admit, the only 30 for 30 episodes I ever saw was anything that had to do with basketball and/or the NBA). Then Steve Nash starts talking about when he was just 6 years old back in 1980 when a young man who was running across Canada on one leg became one of Canada's national heroes.

Here's the summary from ESPN.com

In 1980, Terry Fox continued his fight against bone cancer with the pursuit of a singular, motivating vision: to run across Canada. Three years after having his right leg amputated six inches above the knee after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, Fox set out to cover more than a marathon’s distance each day until he reached the shores of Victoria, British Columbia. Anonymous at the start of his journey, Fox steadily captured the heart of a nation with his Marathon of Hope.  However the 21-year old BC native's goal was not fame, but to spread awareness and raise funds for cancer research. After 143 days and two-thirds of the way across Canada, with the eyes of a country watching, Fox’s journey came to an abrupt end when newly discovered tumors took over his body. Two-time NBA MVP, proud Canadian, and first-time filmmaker Steve Nash will share Fox’s incredible story of perseverance and hope.

I won't dig into it any further; all I'm gonna say is go watch it. It's very inspiring and tear-jerky. I'm telling you. You need to see it. It'll make you realize how everyone is going through something in their lives but the real problem is: how you're going to face it. How are you going to handle every single hardship that comes your way. Terry Fox, needless to say, handled it like a hero.

Deepression

I've spent the last couple of days feeling really out of it. Think of any word that's synonymous to sad, that's me. I feel like somebody close to me died and I've been moping around like Charlie Brown. Sometimes I think I AM Charlie Brown. I mean, we already have the same name and we're bummed out most of the time. The only difference between us is he's bald and I don't have a dog.

Why not just keep myself busy? I've been watching a bunch of TV programs despite planning not to. Good thing a lot of comedies are coming out this fall: How I Met Your Mother, Weeds, Modern Family etc. These should lighten up my mood while I'm at home until I pass out.

I've also finished a bunch of Louis C.K. specials which got me a bit more depressed about where my body is headed. I mean, if I keep eating a bunch of junk, my body will look exactly like his. Seriously. I need to stop. At least for the time being. So far, I've denied my body of ice cream, chocolate, and an extra serving of rice. So, the diet has been going well since the week started. I guess that's something to be happy about. Or not. Maybe food will make me happy. I mean, the diet is one of the two things that changed this week. Maybe I should just stop. I really want that piece of chocolate from the ref.

Anyway, there's this girl. End of story. That's all you need to know about that... is that she's a girl.

Girls confuse me all the time. One minute, they're all over you. Next thing, they're ignoring your IMs. Such puzzles, these creatures.

One good thing I got from all this melancholy, is I've had name ideas for my solo project thing (and I totally have a private gig on Saturday btw). Here's three of them:

• Bummer Man
• A- (as in, A Negative, the blood type)
• Mope Head

I need people to suggest me a few more. Something catchy and will make you think of depression the instant you hear it.

And now, it's raining outside. Perfect.

Plan: Read Books

Last friday, my friend Erwin made a comment about my lack of enthusiasm/enjoyment for reading comics and books, he said I watch too much TV.

Now, this is true. I do watch a lot of TV. In fact,  75% of the time I spend on the computer is either watching some TV series or downloading it. What can I say, while I like books, watching movies and television is so much easier and less time consuming specially for a person who's as busy as I am.

Which brings me to my plan: cut back on the TV and spend more time on books. I just downloaded episode 1 of the new Survivor season, but I'm no longer watching it because of this plan. I also already stopped watching Rubicon (but still downloading it just in case), House, Chuck and a bunch of other dramas. Comedy, I can't stop watching them, sorry.

Anyway, here's a list of books I'm planning to read or re-read or finish:

• Bill Simmon's Book of Basketball (to finish)
• J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye (re-read)
• Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower (re-read)
• Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (to read)
• J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey (to read)
• Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club (to read)
• Chuck Palahniuk's Rant (to read)

Of course, and as always in my case, planning is just one thing. Execution is a whole 'nother playing field.

Of Independence

As most of you probably don't know, I just moved back to Cainta from Cubao due to crappy circumstance. I shall provide the details 'cause I'm tired of talking about it.

Rojo, my roommate who asked me to move in to the extra room in his apartment, has been living in the apartment for 3 years. He and his friends rented that apartment under his friend's name. His friend moves out 3 years ago leaving Rojo handling everything in the apartment (e.g. bills, maintenance). In the 3 years that Rojo has been living there, the sh*tty landlord and him would get in to different kinds of squabbles. Water, electricity, and noise are 3 of the most disputed topics they have. Rojo never misses a payment for the apartment though.

A few weeks ago, our toilet developed a really bad plumbing problem (read: we had to defecate somewhere else). So, naturally, Rojo would ask assistance from the sh*tty landlord, like any normal tenant would do. However, the sh*tty landlord denies assistance and tells Rojo to f*ck off. Livid, Rojo gets into a word war with the sh*tty land lord. Let's just say mild-mannered adults within 10 feet would feel uncomfortable hearing their phone conversations. Two weeks later, we receive a notarized letter from the sh*tty landlord's attorney, his brother-in-law (no pun intended), basically saying we're trespassing his property because Rojo isn't the original tenant.

So here I am, back in Cainta, convincing myself that this is a good thing. Because I'm no longer paying rent and whatever, I'll be saving a lot more money for a Singapore migration or maybe get myself a vehicle of some sort (I'm leaning towards a Honda Jazz, or VW. Something a hipster would drive. A bike perhaps). I'll have the opportunity to hang out with my old friends as well. Also, a lot of hometown girls I've been noticing on Facebook (I had to).

I do miss, however, the sense of independence I've longed for during my teens. The thought of independence really turns me on and I could probably ramble about it for a solid hour or so. I'll try my best to enumerate the best things about living off your parents:

1. Living off your parents. Listen, I love my parents. I really do. But I can't handle 24 hours of them anymore. The constant bickering, the awkward cuddling, it's a f*cking mess (at least for me). The biggest difference between 26-year old Charles and 16-year old Charles is 26-year old Charles can finally afford to live without them. Yes, I would've moved out when I was 15 or 16 if I could.
2. DIY. It stands for do-it-yourself which means no more home cooked meals (unless you can cook yourself), and free laundry. No more made-bed after getting home from wherever and no more room cleaning itself. I had to eat in carinderias (I can't cook), and have my laundry done for an average of Php180 for the last 2 years. My bedsheets are changed whenever I get rashes from how dirty it is, and you can plant potatoes and other underground-vegetables in my room. I don't clean my room. I never clean my room. But still, I had the option to do it myself anytime I thought about it. When my electric fan broke, I had to buy another one cause daddy is no longer around to fix it.
3. Be hungry all the time. Probably my favorite part of living alone. You're experiencing what it was like when the rock stars of today felt when they were starting out. For you to win some, you have to lose some. You lose weight as well.
4. No rules. Probably your favorite part of living alone. You are your own boss and nobody else (unless you have a possesive significant other). Un-curfewed nights. Hang out with your friends whenever. Bring friends over. Watch television all the time. Walk around naked in the house (come on, let's be honest here). Eat Chinese food five days straight. Have different girls over (okay, totally made that up). But you get the point.

Those are what I can think of on the top of my head right now. I'm pretty sure there are other perks. Something that you totally dreamed about. I miss it already.

P.S. I just ordered -- yes, ordered -- my little brother to get me a soda and he did. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing after all.

Eraserheads Part I

Well my friends already blogged about how to get the Heads Set and what it's like so I won't bother writing about that. They're better bloggers than me anyway.

What I'm going to write about are my personal experiences when it comes to the greatest local band ever.

1995 - Overdrive
It started when I was in the 6th grade. My then best friend (I really don't know what happened to us) bought the Cutterpillow album and invited me to listen in his house. All I can remember now is that I literally rolled on the floor laughing during the Overdrive's epilogue. After that, I told my mother what I wanted for my birthday. Do you remember how it feels like to get something you really want? Do you remember not getting disappointed at all? That's how I felt when she handed me the cassette tape. I listened the crap out of that cassette every morning. If last.fm existed in the mid-90s, the bar beside the Eraserheads would look like the Empire State building if you put it in Makati.

1998 - Saturn Return
Three years later, in high school, when we thought we were the coolest people on earth, my best buds went on a trip to Antipolo by ourselves and brought along the whole Eheads discography up to that point (Aloha Milky Way was the latest release that time). So there we were, beside a 4 ft swimming pool, sucking at pool, drinking lemonade, blasting all 50+ Eraserheads songs. If the internet existed back then, I'd be tagging my blogpost "THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST".

2000 - Southsuperhighway
Natin99 had just come out and it was the balls. At least that's what I thought. My dad, upon hearing Southsuperhighway, went bananas and father-preached about what good music is. He says the dude ain't singing (he's shouting), and is disgracing the art of singing. To be perfectly fair, that song wasn't really supposed to attract a normal person's ears. A lot of noise and a lot of things going on in the song, so I can't blame him really. I think he pulled the living-under-his-roof card so I had to stop listening for a while.

2001 - Maskara
I saw it on MYX and I remember telling myself "wtf is this crap?" I also remember blaming Raimund for forming Sandwich and thanking him at the same time cause Butterfly Carnival was an absolute beast in my ears and apparently in the charts.

After that, for some reason, they just faded in my world. Like an hourglass, the sand just kept trickling down until I flip the whole thing...

Part II sometime next week.

Forever Alone

I've been pondering about my relationship life ever since Chui tweeted this meme with the #foreveralone hash tag. Don't get me wrong, it's as funny as any meme out there, but whenever a joke hits you dead in the chest, you're bound to lament over your current status, former romances, and past decisions. Also, seeing your contemporaries be happy as f*ck won't help either.

Are you doing the right things? Am I good enough? Will I ever good enough? You're not annoying, are you? What went wrong? What happened? She wasn't so bad. Did you handle that right? Did you ever handle anything right? These are some questions that come to mind, shattering your self-esteem in the process.

However, it's still nice to look at things on the brighter side. (hello, chance-to-use-bullets)

• I do enjoy watching TV/Movies by myself. I save myself from being bombarded with silly questions whose answers stares you in the face.
• I can write more songs and do other projects/hobbies.
• More internet time.
• More time with the family.
• I save more money to buy stuff.
• No birthday/anniversary gift idea pressure.
• No worrying about your significant other's whereabouts and vice versa.
• You can go out with absolutely anybody you're interested in.

Anyway, I've searched my Facebook photos, and found two pictures for your photo-shopping pleasure. Enjoy.

Download a full Radiohead concert from Prague

contagiousstereo:

Radiohead decided that giving away free music wasn’t enough. So they decided to give away a free dvd online. The dvd is of a show they did in Prague, and the footage is shot by the people in attendance. So it’s kinda like that Daft Punk music video. Neat. The site is running very very slow though. So be warned. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of downloading it, all the songs are on youtube.

so i was having a conversation with this co-worker of mine about radiohead. he claims they became “weird” after ok computer. i was all “are you f*cken serious? they got better! and you call them your favorite band? asshole.” ok, so i made up the last two sentences and may have exaggerated certain adverbs/adjectives, but still. he even told me that their last album release was this year and that they had an album before pablo honey.

number 1, i’d believe him that there was a demo before pablo honey, but i’d never call it an album.

number 2, i didn’t believe for one second that they released something this year. i’d have known about it for sure. but i wasn’t sure, so i had to come home to check the internet. wikipedia says no. and we all know if it doesn’t say it in wikipedia, it’s not true.

so, f*ck you co-worker. i knew right from the start you were full of crap.

anyway, here's the link for downloading the dvd.

Issues at Sonic Boom's 4th Anniversary

I wasn't even planning on going in the first place. Yet my cousin successfully dragged me to WhiteSpace Makati with hopes another epic night much like what happened to the 2nd (Rico Blanco's first ever solo gig) and 3rd (Sheila and the Insects' reunion) anniversaries -- I wasn't there for the 1st one.

I also had hopes of changing my opinion about Franco, a "super" band fronted by Franco Reyes. I say super band cause they're made up of 2 Urbandubs including frontman Gabby Alipe, Parokya ni Edgar's Buwi Meneses, Queso's 8 Toleran, and of course Franco himself. I also used quotation marks cause after hearing their album, I honestly thought they could've done better (or could they).

Franco has 3 guitarists and they never fully utilized them. All you hear is a bunch of over distorted guitars on top of each other and minimal guitar riffs. I'm not a music genius or anything, but I know great guitar playing when I hear it. And mediocre guitars from 3 guitarists who come from 3 separately successful bands is just not acceptable.

My cousin probably gave me the best excuse so far, baka minadali kasi yung recording kaya ganon. At some level, I believe him. The recording process is very tedious and hard. I know this because I recorded a song with a professional friend of mine, and it was no joke. I mean, I only did the vocal parts and it still took a lot from me. However, for 5 very experienced music veterans, I don't care if you've had time constraints, you should've been able to produce a great guitar solo during the writing process.

Anyway, that's just me bitching and moaning cause I'm really disappointed and a bunch of my friends really like them. Which is cool, cause we're allowed to have our own music preferences and whatnot.

I can't believe I just used 4 paragraphs to explain why I don't like Franco. Moving on...


Here are my other issues, in bullet form:

• It's in WhiteSpace. Too far.
• No Nictynasty, which is one of the really underrated local bands.
• Paolo Valenciano cut off his 'fro. What, is he trying to look pogi? Cause he already was with the 'fro and all. Lol.
• Marc Abaya is becoming a really big douche with the way he performs. Not saying he's a douche, only when he performs. Sobrang rockstar niya, ok.
• Taken by Cars is losing their mojo. People were literally sitting down during their set. How disappointing was that for them?
• Typecast's played a half-hearted set. I still love 'em though.

My last legitimate beef, is that nothing special happened that night. Last year, I discovered a nice, down-to-earth, Singaporean post-hardcore band (A Vacant Affair) which triggered my desire to move to the mighty mighty SG. I think 3 foreign bands played last year, plus a tear-jerking reunion set Sheila and the Insects. Two years before that, Rico Blanco's first solo gig gave me the chills. This year, this year was mediocre at best. They didn't even have Faspitch.

I wouldn't leave you without highlights:

• My friend Jewel was one of the two hosts and she was amazing. There were technical difficulties at some point in the middle of the event (the other stage wasn't working), and no dead air in between. Which made me realize that hosting these events is much like improv.
• The Line Divides set was amazing. Their singer is how every singer should perform. Also, they were flying to Davao after the event for another event. Now, that's what I call lagare.
• Salamin also had a nice set.
• My friend Goldie was there. She was so pretty that night. Too bad she has a boyfriend lol.
• My cousin introduced me to this really hot model friend of hers. Hot hot hot. My only words.

In retrospect, if my cousin, whom I haven't seen in a year, wasn't going, I probably wouldn't have gone as well. I'd have been at Last Home for another friend's birthday gig, or at Cubao X. However, my only regret was wasting 500 bucks for it.

A Mark Zuckerberg Post

(Dude, this is Blogspot. What are you doing writing LiveJournal titles?)

As many already know, Mark Zuckerberg is Facebook's creator, owner, and whatever-it-is-as-long-as-the-word-facebook-is-in-it-thats-him.

I recently learned, though, that he recently made himself un-blockable on his site.

What a douche.

So, I Facebook-searched him with the hopes of adding him or just find out for myself that he can't be blocked. Turns out, he can't be added either.

Seriously, Zuck? Seriously?

Since I can't do much about it, I just examined his profile. So, like everyone else, I go to his photos first.

What a self-centered b-tch. Random Press photos? Who manages his Facebook account, his mother? Believe me, only mothers, and to a small extent, fathers, takes clippings of his son's press photos. I know this cause it kinda happened to me. Back when I was hosting a children's show, my parents, when they'd introduce me to somebody, would tell these folks that I'm hosting X show and doing Y thing. It was crazy.

***Funny how the way they express that they're proud of you, is also the most embarrassing thing they do. Don't worry, they don't read this. Lol.

Next: About Me

Dear Zuck, your bio sounds like a mission/vision statement. Also, if the word bio means life, does this mean you're trying to make every thing public? Are you trying to uncover the secrets of the White House?

***President Clinton: Just had amazing head from Nicky. Lol.

And now that you've launched Facebook places, the world seems to be getting smaller and smaller, Zuck.

You know what my theory is? My theory is that Zuck is trying to get revenge from the people who've rejected him during his formative years. You know, jocks, cheerleaders, every cute girl ever, and he just wants them to know how successful he is right now. So he's using whatever information former-highschool-crush-who-didn't-want-to-go-out-with-him-cause-he's-a-geek puts in her Facebook to his advantage. Like if she has kids, he kidnaps them. Or if captain-of-the-football-team-who-humiliated-him-in-front-of-everybody ever goes to work (at the gasoline station), he sends in his Facebook goons to beat the guy up to a lump.

I bet that's what's happening here. Cause, hey, if I manage to turn a college thesis into a global success, I'd do it. I'd rub it on everybody-from-my-highschool's face. It's revenge of the nerds, billions of dollars edition.

P.S. Mark Zuckerberg, if you've accidentally stumbled upon this site after your mother sends you the link after googling your name, please know that this is just fun. Nothing serious. I love Facebook (cause I'm totally doing every thing in that paragraph). Please don't kick me out of the internet.

The Moment Everything Stopped and Continued in Slow Motion

Tumigil ang buhay. Parang slomo, makulay.


Arguably my favorite lyrics ever, by one of my favorite local indie acts, Ang Bandang Shirley.

It's hard to keep chasing something that don't want to be chased. Think of it like a dog chasing a mechanical rabbit. The dog, well, he just wants to catch that rabbit. I don't care what it wants to do with the rabbit, but you can really see the determination the dog has for the rabbit. The rabbit, meanwhile, is mechanical, thus, don't feel anything, except where the control takes it.

While I learned this a few years ago, I'm gonna tell you a story, about how the world stops, turns upside down, goes in slow motion, and finally decides to go back to the speed of things, leaving you with a mild concussion. Actually, I'm gonna tell you a story of when this happened to me. Which is why those lyrics have become so dear to me.

It was noon. A lot of people going to and fro and I was one of them. There I was, my mind wandering with my feet, like a bottle floating in the sea, I didn't mind where the current takes me. Anyway, while I was staring blankly to a sea of people, a proverbial lady in red appeared out of nowhere. And just like in The Matrix, Morpheus (my attention) called me out for wondering about the lady and when I looked again, Agent Smith (shock, awe, whatever) is pointing a gun at me, as time froze.

And I wondered: was it really her? Somebody I haven't seen in months, but still manage to catch my attention even with the last strand of hair? It was her. Oh my dear crap she's so pretty. So, do I chase her and have small talk? IT REALLY IS HER! WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO?

After about 8 seconds of standing in the middle of a crowd, I find myself some place else like I was narcoleptic or something. It was really weird, what happened.

Alas, a few months later, I learn she's a lesbian and dating another girl. They're pretty serious right now, so there's really nothing much I can do about it but to accept and let it go and keep walking in a sea of blurred out people until I find another woman in a red dress.

*sighs*

Vacation Week

The past week in bullets:

• Monday - did nothing.
• Tuesday - did nothing
• Wednesday - watched Mad Men. Did nothing
• Thursday - played badminton with my youngest brother under the rain. Stayed there maybe for an hour and finally sighed, "I'm too old for this shit."
• Friday - this day deserves sub-bullets
• Met up with my high school teacher and classmates
• Realized once more that I've changed a lot.
• Brought a striped hoodie out of impulse; seriously, never do that.
• Met my bestfriend's wife. Meh.
• Saw his son's pictures. Yeah!
• Had dinner with other highschool batch mates. I wasn't surprised at all that they all own motor bikes. My bestfriend didn't like the idea of me getting a vintage scooter. She thinks it's stupid making me realize again how much I've changed.
• Went back home to Cubao and arrived at around 12am -- an hour before my friend's farewell party in my former office.
• I took a nap, and missed it by 4 hours.
• Saturday - well the last two bullets were on a Saturday.
• Saturday night - one of the best nights ever!
• Sunday
• swore to clean my room.
• I didn't do it. Instead, watched some more Mad Men until I caught up with the current season.
• Cheered Don Draper.
• Wished the week didn't end cause I'm going back to work on Monday.

Charles, the Happy Fan

On my way home from Tapsi ni Vivian last night, I kept thinking about how I was going to write about the events of the epic epic night. The night has been marked in my calendar since I first saw this poster and have been looking forward to it like a spoiled brat waiting for Christmas.

Anyway, the bottom line is, I can't put anything to words. Amazing would be an understatement so I'll just post some pictures.

If there is one thing I really love about Ciudad, it's that they never changed since day 1. Their first single gets on top of the charts, they're still the same. 10 years later, they still set up their own gear, add you on Facebook instead of sending you a message to like their fan page instead, and since that album is no longer available, they burn copies and give them out for free. I think I just described what an Indie band is.

Why I Don't Have a Child Yet

Charles Dumaraos, 2009

Why don't I have a child yet?

I'm 25 years old

and I still don't have those little bundles of joy

40% of my old classmates have at least one

braggig their moments, stories, and pictures

while I have none

My mother has been going crazy on me

Pressuring me to get her a grandchild

But all I can do is smile and try to ignore her

because right at this moment, i'm thinking-

this idea is wild!

Sure, babies are cute

Until you wake up 2 in the morning

and clean up their poop

Crying tirelessly like there's no tomorrow

By the end of the night, you wish there's

Somebody's time you can borrow

Then on Saturday and Friday nights

You can't go away

To party, get drunk, have fun and play

Because of your little darling who

Can't feed itself and will probably pee itself

you need to stay

And now you wish you had a condom when you got laid

after 3 or 4 years, somehow, you get past that

by now, you're praying this child won't turn into a brat

because this toddler will ask for everything

from barbie dolls to spiderman action figures

all harry potter books and stephenie meyer releases

an annual party and inflated allowance daily

and everything they don't have

that their classmates do maybe

such a pain in the rear, these children are

when you travel by commute

or even when you have a car

it's like two pet mice

got out of their cage

and you're trying to put em back on the leash

to shut down the chaos and rage

when they grow up tp be adolescents

full of angst and rebelious thinking

reminds you of yourself, when you were a teen

but probably a lot mellower or maybe the other way

you also won't know what they're up to

despite the internet superhighway

thinkin bout drugs and sex and crume and such

they might end up using a crutch

and that's not all, it's not all

if somehow you keep them off these bad things

you still need to worry about the direction and path they'll take in life

what are they good at?

what could they be?

where could they enlist?

be a doctor, a teacher or a scientis?

or maybe the worst profession of all,

become a non-profiting kind of artist

and your job as a parent doesn't really end after they graduate

or when they have a career of finiding guys, for a fee, to felate

you need to keep supporting them

and teaching them

until the day you die

cause you want to make sure on your funeral

somebody will at least cry

anyway, you probably think i'm selfish

a pessismist and my reasons are all absurd

i just don't like the idea of bringing an infant into this world

a world of pollution, corruptness

and war and hatred

a world where crume is happening

right in our basements?

a world without cory, jacko or freshly squeezed lemonade

a world of peer pressure, hipocrisy, and electrolit powerade

so right now, i'd rather live by myself and die alone

without anybody to see whenever i go home

but at least i'm doing the world a favor

and i hope that everybody realizes and see

that i didn't have a child because i don't another one of me

Everyday Drive

This Sheila and the Insects song will forever be etched in my mind and my heart. I will tell you why exactly.

It all started when I was on my way to work, on my last day there (Thursday). I restively woke up in the bus a few seconds before my stop. I promptly got up from my warm seat, and walked the isle that lead to the bus door, wobbly. While I was standing there, waiting for the bus to stop, I felt a man behind me, so I instinctively frisked my hind pocket to see if my wallet was still there.

"It's still there. Nothing to worry about." I claimed to myself.

As I stepped down the foot of the bus, the music stopped. "Coming home one day I'd have to go, like everyday" ended. Yes, Everyday Drive was the last song I heard on my iPod.

Apparently, the guy behind me swiftly took my iPod while I was stepping down. Professionals. Basta, a professional pick-pocket jobbed me, and that's all I'm gonna say about this incident. It's really too hard and too painful to talk about it. This iPod was the thing I bought for my very first bonus check and I thought I was gonna have it for the rest of my life. Well, maybe my life ended that day.

Fast forward to Saturday: the Sheila and the Insects in Manila gig. After an emotional, 8-song set, Sheila played Everyday Drive. While I was singing and dancing to the song, I'm thinking about Karla. I'm thinking how my rhetorical future offspring could inherit this from me and learn how awesome their dad's music taste is. I'm thinking about the countless times it has accompanied me during lonely travel times to the office or everywhere else. I'm thinking about the times when I study music for a song idea. I'm thinking about all those times while Everyday Drive was being performed.

Anyway, I'd like to think that I made a family happy that night. Somebody brought home the bacon. Somebody's stomach got filled with cheap pancit. Somebody's debt got fractionally paid. Somebody didn't have to worry about rent.

This is how I'll remember Everyday Drive for the rest of my life.

P.S.
After the show, I got to hang out with the band. Bisoy (Orven, the singer) told me that they weren't full-time musicians anymore and they crammed 3 hours of re-learning their songs and how my video helped them. Ian (the lead guitarist) who was really drunk, started comparing the letters to Cubao and Cebu. Jai (the drummer) who answers "ho!" (Jai-ho, get it?) every time his name is called. Sorry Gaizka and Marty, you guys should have stayed a while longer.

A New Hope

Although I vowed long ago to quit talking about things too personal, I felt compelled to announce the world that I have quit work to become a full-time songwriter.

Psych!

Yeah, I'm a wuss. I need financial security. I need something to keep me alive (read: keep myself from returning to my parents' house) and pay the rent. Something that will show up in my bank account every 2 weeks.

Yes, I have quit my current job for a new, better paying one. Not that my current one isn't paying me good enough already, but, you know, I just don't like it there. I feel like it's been sucking my brain for the past year. It's that bad. I can't believe I stayed there for a year.

So, when the opportunity presented itself, I naturally grabbed it -- for 30% more money! Who would pass up more money? Let me rephrase that. Who would pass up an opportunity to leave a miserable life at work? For more money?

I sound like I love money. I don't, but I don't hate it either. I need it for stuff (tickets to Singapore!) and some other stuff (an electric guitar!) and even more stuff (more hoodies!).

Anyway, I would gladly treat anyone for ice cream when I get my first paycheck. Just leave a comment here or something.

Can't Sleep, Fantasizing.

I've been trying to blog about my unholy career lately, but nobody cares about call centers and my career in it. Even I don't care, so who the heck wants to know, right?

The career I want is rockstar musician. I've been obsessing about this since I was in high school but my horrible work ethic has been public enemy no. 1 for my aspirations. However, after a weird experience with life (read: quarter-life crisis), I find myself having the needed push to start my own band, write more songs and actually record them for a demo. I might even go as far as begging people to let my band play in their productions or birthday parties.

Anyway, this morning, one of my favorite bands at the moment, Empire! Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate) had been recruiting for a new bass player. Apparently, their drummer, Jon, has been messaging people from their facebook fanpage, looking for a new bass player. I (naturally) replied back saying I'm in the Philippines but would really (I mean, REALLY) love to audition and wished them luck on the search.

I've never wished I lived in the states before, but after that, you won't believe how much this fantasy played in my head. In fact, I'm supposed to be sleeping right now. Instead, I'm blogging and even summed to gusto to actually write something with coherence.

P.S. There's a girl who's been meandering my thoughts and I just can't get off my head right now. She's cute, funny, extremely smart, writes the most amazing short fictions (now, I don't really read that much, but I can tell they're great), and did I mention she's cute? Too bad she's in the states right now (well what do you know, my urge to live there just got tripled) and will probably stay there for another year. Just my luck. I can tell I really (I mean, REALLY) like a girl when she somehow influence my music reference. Let's just say I got introduced to some new music that I liked. Anyway, I hope I don't blow anything. Act right on things. Ultimately, not piss her off.

Attention Span

How can a person increase his attention span? (it took me 5 minutes to write another sentence after that one). In the years that I've known myself, I rarely read books or even comic books. Things seem to get boring for me so I move to another thing. Do I need to be really interested to do something that requires a lot of attention? Or am I just lazy? Cause I like watching movies -- that I like. It really just seems I'm doing what I like and enjoy doing.

Recently, I tried listening to FS Fritzgerald's The Great Gatsby for my friends' Tumblr book club. After the first chapter, I can't seem to grasp anything anymore. It really sucks. I mean, what happened, not the book. The book seems nice. The author has a great way of describing things (which is what I need to get out of this reading/listening to books business) which is kind of how most writers write (which is kind of how I'd like to write cause writing like a 12-year old really isn't the way to go no more; being 26 and all).

Bottom line: I don't like reading and I don't know why. I'd love to love to read, though.

Love or Loneliness

A couple of weeks ago, a song from Math and Physics Club's new record caught my eye. This band called out a lot of my issues with it's title alone: Love or Loneliness. Made me think up to this day if my romantic decisions were triggered by love or loneliness.

If you know me personally, you'll observe (if I hadn't told you yet) that I'm a bit of a loner. I just like doing some things alone. Watch movies and TV shows, go to gigs and shows, I even live by myself (my roommate and I have little in common). I like eating alone and taking a long walk afterwards while sporting my iPod, Karla. Really, everything that a loner's supposed to do.

But sometimes, one can't help but yearn for human friction, attention, and affection. So I go out with my friends at least once a week, acquire lunch buddies in the office, or maybe go on a date sometimes. However, I still can't help but feel really different, so I end up being alone again.

I think I've lost my train of thought there. What I'm trying to say is, I looked back on all my failed relationships and think about why I even started them. Was it love or was it loneliness?

Anyway, if I ever happen upon real love. I wish to read this poem (taken from one of the Harold and Kumar movies) to her:

The Square Root of Three

by David Feindberg

I’m sure that I will always be

A lonely number like root three

The three is all that’s good and right,

Why must my three keep out of sight

Beneath the vicious square root sign,

I wish instead I were a nine

For nine could thwart this evil trick,

with just some quick arithmetic

I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321

Such is my reality, a sad irrationality

When hark! What is this I see,

Another square root of a three

As quietly co-waltzing by,

Together now we multiply

To form a number we prefer,

Rejoicing as an integer

We break free from our mortal bonds

With the wave of magic wands

Our square root signs become unglued

Your love for me has been renewed

Bored to Death

While effectively dying of boredom in the office, I started to read The IT Crowd episodes I had seen earlier. One of them was "Moss and the German" where Moss enrolls for a German cookery class only to find out that it was actually an ad for a German cannibal seeking for a willing victim (a parody of the Armin Meiwes incident).

Wait, what?

A parody? Of a german cannibal cook who invited willing-to-be-killed-and-devoured-guests-over-the-internet?

The curious person screamed "YOU HAVE GOT TO READ UP ON THAT" and clicked the Armin Meiwes link before finishing the original article I was reading. So there I was, learning about this German who achieved notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim whom he had found via the internet. But this is not what this entry is about.

After skimming throughout the page, in the "See also" section of the article says "Internet homicide". I remember asking myself, "there's more?"

The internet: never ceases to surprise you. I feel like it's a giant jigsaw puzzle and I've only been piecing the corner.

Anyway, after clicking on Internet homicide and learning about various internet related crimes, right down at the "See also" section, I see "Internet suicide". By this time, one would expect to be prepared for anything. But I end up asking typical ol' me, "there's more?"

So yeah, internet suicides, most of them happening in Japan (not surprised at all), or cybersuicides is where individuals meet on the internet and eventually agreeing to end their own lives. Pretty simple and straight forward.

I skim through the whole thing, and as you'd expect, right at the See also section are two links: Internet homicide, and Online predator. These don't appeal to me anymore since I just read Internet homicide and I thought that Online predators are just a bunch of pedos trying to lure teens to go to one place and rape them.

What caught my eye was this once incident where a person was sentenced to death by hanging because he allegedly murdered three participants in their suicide pact. What amuses me, is that it could've been really his plan for his own suicide afterall. I mean, if he really wanted to murder people and kill himself, why not let the world know, right? So he killed those three idiots (really, someone beat you to killing yourself?) and got himself executed. It will all make sense in 5 minutes.

I clicked on "death by hanging" which had a wikipedia page of its own. Two pages, actually. The other is a 1968 film by Nagisa Oshima (now, I gotta see that).

So there I was, learning about one of the most famous lethal executions (around this time, I was reminiscing the time when I saw Saddam's execution. It was camera phone footage and it made me feel cool that I was seeing that. I even posted it, privately, in one of my multiply accounts. But that's not what this is about.

I happen to the right of the page and see "Part of a series on CAPITAL PUNISHMENT". Oh my word. It was getting darker and darker by the minute.

Never in my life did I think that I would know that Saddam had 12 Milky Ways before his death. One con had seconds of his special meal. One had a bucket of KFC Originals. One guy's special meal was "Justice, Equality, World Peace." you had a hint that that guy was a lunatic. One planned to eat so much that he wouldn't fit the electric chair. Genius? Nope, didn't work. One requested for a large vegetarian pizza to be given to a homeless person ni Nashville, Tennesse but was denied by the prison. However, it was carried out by others across the US. Imagine you are sitting on a stool hours before your death, and all you can think of was the hobos of Nashville. But this is not what this is about.

This is about one of the cruelest capital punishments I've ever read about. All my life, I thought that it was just death by hanging, lethal injection, electric chair, fire squad, and beheading. There were other capital punishments, but one really stood out in my imagination -- death by boiling.

Death by boiling is a method of execution in which a person is immersed in a boilingliquid such as water or oil.

Imagine yourself getting some hot water from the dispenser to make coffee. Then you accidentally splash some hot water on your hands. If that hasn't happened to you because you're too careful, well, you know why you're being too careful.

Imagine yourself under a shower and you accidentally switched the hot water too hot. Remember that feeling?

Now, imagine a person, who is alive, sitting on a giant pot or a reservoir of some sort. The water, or oil, starts getting warmer. Heating up minute after minute until you see little bubbles emerging from the bottom of the pot. The small bubbles turn into big ones bursting once reaching the surface. By this time, if you're the person sitting there, you're probably already screaming in pain, like a million pins are pricking your skin, or as if you were rolling in the Sahara or something.

I won't continue anymore cause I'm running out of things that would compare to being boiled in hot oil. But you get the point, right? This must be the cruelest of all punishments -- ever. And I've read about Disembowelment and Stoning. Whoever the recepients of such probably did something really wrong, like piss off a king or the pope or something.

Whatever they did, I still think it's too much.