Friends, Romans, and Friendster friends with ears,
Hear ye all... (hehe)
To those of you who have been reading my updates as toilet reading material, i apologize for the lack luster details that is my life for the past weeks, life after the New Year sucketh much ;p
Alright, for security reasons, I have started using vox's privacy settings.
It's not that i stopped blogging. I have locked some of my blogs to one of the following: family,friends, friends and family, neighborhood, and public.
So, if you want the JUICY, JUICER,JUICIEST or ultra-JUICIESTdetails of me, get a VOX
Maybe because it is the beginning of the year, but I am so busy these days (primarily because of January 2007 issue of the PJR Reports and updating the site of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility or CMFR) that I was unable to post something new here for the last few days. (Oops, that reminds me: Sorry for the delay in the uploading of the December 2006 issue of the magazine. For those who haven't received or bought a copy of the December issue of the PJR Reports, wait for the online edition -- the issue was a great one, I'll guarantee you that.)
My head is full of serious issues these days -- heck, even during the Christmas break we were so busy with the action suit filed by journalists and media organizations against presidential spouse Mike Arroyo. As you might have known, CMFR is a petitioner to the suit. From the looks of it, 2007 is going to be a busier year for the press. Which means including us. Sigh.
But before I go back to my regular posts on media issues and while I am doing my stories and monitors for the January issue, let me share you something hideous, a travesty If I may claim, to the OPM music industry.
Personally, I do not like this current trend of bands churning out covers of yesteryear's hit songs one after the other (and please, let us rest the case of the pogi-rock bands -- I'm just praying that this fad will fade away for the rest of my lifetime). If there are three babies born every minute in this country, it's like bands are coming out with a new revival every five minutes. I'm exaggerating of course, but band revivals are everywhere -- in the music channels, TV programs, radio stations, in almost every corner of the streets, heck even in this blog. Thanks (or is it no thanks?) to the wildly successful album Kami nAPO Muna - Tribute to APO Hiking Society, now every band in town -- either a new or a top band today -- wants to join the bandwagon.
Of course, this current trend -- of giving new versions to old reliable hit songs -- goes a long way back (The more current ones include mainstream pop/acoustic artists like Regine Valesquez, Paolo Santos, Nina, etcetera etcetera). So, it seems like this fad among bands is going to stay a little longer.
That's fine with me. But if you're in a band who is doing or plans to do revivals, please, please, please: Do not MURDER the song. Do a revival, but please make sure that when you do, you're giving justice to the song. Do not just give your fans crappy covers, hoping that they will not mind the injustice you did to the songs, and that your album will reach double-platinum status just by banking on your band and cover songs' popularity.
Okay, let me make this straight first: I like Spongecola, especially when they came out with the hit songs Lunes, Jeepney, and Gemini. Quite good melodies, I say. The lyrics, great. Compared them with what, the allegedly braggart and the country's previous top band (are they now officially a has-been band?) Hale or that cheating Orange and Lemons crew? Or worse, the overrated and ultimate pa-cute band Cueshe? God, I'll pick Spongecola anytime.
But this is simply hideous. This is an act of murder. APO Hiking Society should sue the band for giving injustice to the song.
Just what happened to you, Spongecola?
Sugarfree also did an APO Hiking Society cover, but it was simply amazing. APO Hiking Society can no longer claim this is their song. It's now Sugarfree's.
And since we're talking about Filipino bands, here's wishing for the full recovery of former Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia. Sigh. If Eheads were still here, they'd be rocking the town with their music, showing their wannabe successors what music is all about.
Well, after ten hours of not eating, drinking and everything else man made to shut out hunger, I was allowed to eat after my blood was sampled. Hmm... This happened last week too. Only this time, the amount of blood was around ten times more. Seriously, it was kind of unnerving seeing yourself getting impaled by a needle and seeing your blood slowly filling up the syringe. Naturally, I did get
Finally decided on getting a separate blog after a while... Gave up on the idea of making my own site. (For now) Hope I get this one right anyway...
A couple of nights ago was the Jammin' General Assembly of the ECES. As usual, it was held at the William Shaw Auditorium. Not that I mind though, its actually not that bad.
Before the assembly, I was bored. Who wouldn't be? During lunch, the
I always read and hear good things about our governor Josie dela Cruz. Here's someone who is an example of a sensible and wise leader, I thought. With this news, I'm not sure about this anymore. Provincial governor warns journalists Source: Freedom Watch
Governor Josie Mendoza dela Cruz of Bulacan, a province north of Manila, warned journalists on 22 January 2007 that she will file libel charges against them if they report “unsubstantiated news to malign her reputation.”
“Anticipating various tactics of political mudslinging pending the coming May elections dela Cruz declared that she would file charges against members of the press who… write or report unsubstantiated news to malign her reputation,” a report from the provincial public affairs office of Bulacan said.
Dela Cruz made the announcement before provincial government employees in the provincial capital’s gym.
“It’s like prior restraint. We already know those things. Do we still have to be told? It’s threatening the media,” Jose Pavia, executive director of the Philippine Press Institute and editor of the Bulacan-based newspaper Mabuhay said.
I'll forgive Spongecola for participating in this one. So for Eraserheads fans out there (like me and Francis whose nicely written article about Ely Buendia was posted here recently), here's a chance to help Ely.
More than 20 artists and bands will do a fund-raising concert for singer-composer Ely Buendia, who had undergone two angioplasty operations after having a heart attack.
The concert is scheduled for Sunday, January 28, at the Eastwood Central Plaza, Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City.
More musicians had volunteered to perform for free, but the organizers had to turn them down because of the limited time allotted them for the use of the venue, which they also get for free.
So from the original plan of starting the concert at 4 p.m., organizers decided to start earlier at 2 p.m. to accommodate all the bands.
With a combination of popular acts like Parokya ni Edgar, Kamikazee, and Rivermaya and talented performers like Cynthia Alexander and highly praised groups like Makatha, I hope this one's going to be a great hit. For Ely!
As odd as it sounds, sometimes our logical minds can hold us back. Have you ever wanted to attempt a new career, run a marathon, or start your own business? Our brains might scream at us that it is safer to do what has been tried and true in the past, but don't let the fear of the unknown stop you! We all spend a lot of time worrying and little time examining the calling of our own hearts. What are you passionate about? Is there a way that you can honor these feelings in a responsible way? Trying new things can be terrifying, but following our passions can make us feel alive and become some of our most memorable moments in life. The thrill of love, the depths of grief, and the joys of a new career...all would be impossible without passion.
My Dad gave me an 8-inch portable DVD player. Its one of the coolest gadgets I have so far. Batteries can last up to three hours and can be charged for only an hour. Included in the pack are headphones which have impressive sound quality, an ac ...
My Dad gave me an 8-inch portable DVD player. Its one of the coolest gadgets I have so far. Batteries can last up to three hours and can be charged for only an hour. Included in the pack are headphones which have impressive sound quality, an ac adapter and an adapter for cars. Also there's a remote control. Coolness!!!
I'm now in the middle of
Lost Season 2. I missed this whole season on TV last year. Im a beach bum and miss the beach very much. So aside from the fact that watching the characters stranded on a beautiful beach makes me weirdly happy, this series is totally addictive. My Gadd! Sometimes I stay up to 3 a.m. because I can't stop watching. Now I find myself sleepy in the afternoon during work hours. That would be now. *yawn*
Anyway, thanks Fatherhood! I really like it! Now can I ask for a coffee maker :-)
I have taken down the Christmas lanterns from my site now that Christmas season is officially over. At home, the task was more backbreaking (okay its exaggerated, but partly true). I don't know why when the decorations were set-up, I haven't noticed that it was a tiresome task. In fact, it was even enjoyable. But the cleaning-up after is another matter. It took twice as long to get the decorations and the lights back to their boxes than to put them up the tree. I can not understand why I seem to put items in the wrong boxes. Its frustrating actually. Okay, maybe in truth I am just lazy. hehehe... But my mother has this knack of not only matching items to their boxes, but she can even return them properly as if they have never been taken off from their individual boxes. Yeah, thats right. Much as I admire her for that, no please, I am happy being myself.
The year 2006 was good for me, but the opening salvo of 2007 was not quite welcoming. An earthquake in Taiwan brought havoc to internet connections, and our connections went dead. As of writing, although there have been sporadic connections and seeming normalcy, connecting to sites is still much slower than the usual normal speed. I have called Globelines probably a million times to air my frustrations, and switched back and forth from being glumly despondent to being a raving lunatic. I realized, Ahaa! these reactions clearly pointed out that my addiction for internet surfing and blogging is probably deeper than I thought. Got me into thinking that maybe it is time to re-evaluate my fondness for the wide world web. It is not my intention to go overboard. Therefore I decided to include in my new year's resolutions (there are none actually) to go easy on surfing and blogging. Thats all that I can say for now.
Do you have any phobias? Submitted by Amirul B Ruslan. Elevators -- I'm claustrophobic. I have difficulty breathing when I get on elevators specially when I'm alone. Humming a favorite tune helps. The scariest is getting trapped in one during ...
I have difficulty breathing when I get on elevators specially when I'm alone. Humming a favorite tune helps. The scariest is getting trapped in one during a power interruption. O gosh!
Don't judge the series by its title. This Christmas break of sorts I just hid at home and watched DVDs. I finally finished watching season 1 of The Closer. I never thought I'd like it but I did. In fact I loved it. It took a while for me to figu...
This Christmas break of sorts I just hid at home and watched DVDs. I finally finished watching season 1 of The Closer. I never thought I'd like it but I did. In fact I loved it. It took a while for me to figure out what the title meant haha! Its a little language barrier, I guess. Around here we don't use it as a noun :-)
