Capping up February

Tunes:

Waterboys – “The Whole of the Moon”
Vintage p’ro astig. I dig the keyboard, violin and back-up vocals (by the short-haired blonde). The lyrics are also poetic and nostalgic as well. I think I’m in love with the song. ♥

Games

Fable III
In Albion, a revolution is not a picnic… because it might involve pie-making, playing pat-a-cake with villagers, killing thugs and the undead, collecting allies, and dressing up as a chicken (and I forgot to mention valor and comradeship). The graphics are great. The music is epic. The character voices were done by British actors like Sir Ben Kingsley, Bernard Hill, John Cleese, Stephen Fry and others give the game a Cockney flavor. I guess it’s adventure time whenever I’m with my XBox 360. XD

Flicks

“This Means War”
Two CIA agents (both close buddies) disputing over an attractive chick may not be my kind of movie stuff but their use of the Agency’s resources to compete for the babe seems hilarious enough. Special mention to Raph, Rhofel and Miloy for taking this senile 20 year-old along for a movie treat. 

Updates
* I’m supposed to celebrate my 20th birthday in contemplation (only 1-3 guests invited originally) but I ended up inviting the TS staff (it ballooned from one guest to nine, excluding family). Maayo lang gid kay damo maki roll, pansit, manok kag kan-on.
* I’ve been bonding a lot lately with some peepz from the high school. I’d like to acknowledge them for their pakikisama. Salamat gid kay Rhofel (Rhof-Rhof), Raphael (Raph-Raph), Mary Louise (“Nang” Miloy), kag Kurt.
* Daw mapatay ko sa film project namon sa FILLIT.
* I admit it. I’m addicted to 9GAG. ME GUSTA!
* I admit it again. I’m addicted to someone new yet familiar, if you know what I mean.
* Today signifies that we are in a leap year. Woohoo! One extra day to be Galactic President Superstar McAwesomeville (or one extra day to waste and screw up).

To finally cap up February, here’s a song from Filipino progressive rock band, The Jerks.

Mendiola After 25 years

Justice in this country is still elusive. Sigh.

Sa handumanan sang EDSA kag People Power

"PAGBABAGO" by Filipino folk band Asin

Buwan ng Pagbabago? Para Saan? Kailan? Kanino?

Just a retrospective from “Word of the Lourd”.

* * * * *

“Forgive but not forget, mga kampon ni Yamashita,
pero bakit ‘ata sa bayan namin ngayon,
may mga kamag-anak pa rin sila?”

“…Hindi mo pala kailangan ng mananakop na Kano, Hapon o Kastila
para sa bayan mo ay manira.”

“Buwan ng Pebrero, buwan daw ng pagbabago. Pero ‘ika nga ng the Jerks, ‘Anong klaseng pagbabago? Saan? Kailan? Kanino?’”

(Special acknowledgement to Lourd de Veyra, Jun Sabayton, TV5 and other peepz involved in the WotL segment.)

Birthday blues

I’m turning 20 this Tuesday.

I still have no idea of whatever I achieved in my twenty years of existence aside from:
a. getting awarded for “honors in deportment” back in Grade 2.
b. winning the Spelling Quiz Bee championship back in Grade 5.
c. becoming Managing Editor for Internal Affairs of UNO-R’s student publication, Tolentine Star.
d. becoming Dean’s Lister in the College of Education at UNO-R twice.
e. winning 2nd place in Editorial Writing during the COPRE last year.
f. overcoming cerebral palsy to some extent.
g. learning to handle rejection from people.
h. learning to mingle and socialize with people (as well as isolate myself when necessary).
i. being still in a “never-been-touched, never-been-kissed” state. (In short, a virgin)

Apparently, these things only have meaning when put in my personal context. These mean NOTHING, if not less, for other people. I’m the one who lives my life and fights my struggles after all, and not those other people.

I’ll be 20 years old by Tuesday. I’m no longer supposed to be a child or a teenager. I still have a lot to learn. I still have more truths to seek and meanings to discover.

I have some hesitations about reaching the big *two-zero* marker. I feel a cringing nostalgia of missing my childhood (both actual and extended) and I have hesitations about growing up. I’m still uncertain about the future and I fear of the harsh realities that the future holds. I’m afraid of suffering the future’s tears, toils and pains.

But people usually fear what they don’t understand and what does not kill them, may make them stronger.

It’s a dilemma. I have to live with it (and through it, if I can).

For now, I’ll just console  myself by listening to the song “20″ by Travis.

So, this is how chaos feels like.

I really can’t understand what is effing wrong with me.

I cannot find rest.

I cannot find solace.

I cannot find inner peace.

It’s like hell unleashed its mad dogs to wreak havoc upon the earth.

And so, I descend into that spiral of disorder…

Mistakes…

Excuses…

Procrastinations…

Failures…

Defeats…

Problems.

Ironic that I am not in the state that my given name suggests…

So, this is how chaos feels like.

Ordinary Tuesday

First, a word from Lourd de Veyra…

Today is Tuesday.

It seems to be an ordinary day for me, even if my eyes assimilate all sorts of red things like hearts and roses; even if my ears take in the sound of mushy and padugo love songs; even if my mouth is masticating chocolate.

I do not celebrate Valentines Day. I do not like its commercialized nature, timely hype and hedonistic approach on love. I’d rather spend my Php 150.00 for a good book or a cheeseburger with drink than for a bunch of roses or chocolate. I can get to enjoy it myself or share it with a friend. Also, why celebrate love on V-Day only? A text message from a good friend has something to say of this: “B*tch please! When there are 364 days in a year, why express love on Valentines Day only?” Another thing I detest about Valentines Day is that love becomes concretized by fireworks and earthquakes, if you know what I mean (read: putukan at alugan).

If I had it my way (and there were to be any celebrations), I would only commemorate the martyrdom of some early Christian bishop who offered up his life in defiance of some megalomaniac Roman emperor who wanted to disrupt the institution of marriage. Valentines Day used to be [St.] Valentine’s Feast Day after all.

But if society really wants me to conform, then fine. I’ll just chomp down on a chocolate heart and call it a day.

A tribute to a singer whom I think I liked at some point in my childhood…

I was in between pre-elementary and elementary when I first saw and heard this. We used to borrow this version of Cinderella on laser-disk at Quadtech.

1963-2012

Thanks for the music, Whitney. Rest in peace as the world’s problems won’t bother you anymore.

And Alas, Another Culinary Circus Draws to an End…

I was 16 when I rediscovered the beauty and awesomeness showcased by the Food Network. First, I was wowed by the culinary bravado of clashing chefs in Ryori-no-Tetsujin (“Ironmen of Cooking”, a.k.a. the original “Iron Chef”). Then, when I saw Iron Chef America, I got introduced to the gastronomical wit and kitchen know-how of Alton Brown, who assumed Kenji Fukui’s and Dr. Yukio Hattori’s posts in the American version (as announcer and commentator, respectively). Then, while I got a behind-the-scenes preview of Iron Chef America, I discovered that Alton Brown made a Iron Chef spoof/homage dedicated to pork belly (or bacon), since he also had a show on Food Network called “Good Eats”. I was intrigued.

So, I searched it on Youtube. The first full “Good Eats” episode I saw featured sushi. It was titled “Wake Up, Little Sushi” (a pun-y homage perhaps to the Beatles song). I got hooked. I wanted more, so I looked for more episodes on the Web. Ever since I realized that I became a “Good Eats” fan, I also became a foodie.

Most ordinary cooking shows usually showcase a cook (who is usually the host himself or is accompanied by a co-host). These characters are usually behind a counter-top with a stove and an assembly of ready ingredients while a kitchen (with an oven perhaps) or some other scenery provides a backdrop. What happens in those shows is that they start off with a little chit-chat, proceed to a recipe, introduce the ingredients, show the cooking process, and proceed to a commercial break when the first dish is done. Then, when the commercial break is over, they proceed again to another recipe, and when the cooking is done, they make a taste-test of the dish, say “Mmm… delicious” (or something similar), thank the audience, and all is over. From my observation, it seems like a classroom lecture; linear, tedious, and often alienating. I think it makes the audience distant from those involved in the cooking.

“Good Eats” is not a run-of-the-mill cooking show. Each episode is dedicated to the art, science and fun of food. It is not merely about how to cook a dish. It does not just tackle about making food, but it also tackles on the origins of a particular food from its history to its science. It gives tips on kitchen tools and techniques, and gives a side serving of tidbits from literature, pop culture, and what-not.

The show was hosted, written and produced by Alton Brown. He took inspiration for the show’s conception from late cooking celebrity Julia Child, science show extraordinaire Mr. Wizard and ingenious British surreal comedy troupe Monty Python. With his gastronomic know-how and charismatic wit, Alton Brown had the TV show last for 14 seasons. They even had a variety show special to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

This show stands out from other food shows due to some features unconventional to ordinary cooking shows. Some episodes have zany storylines which are often derived from famous movies or TV shows (like “Jaws”, “Sweeney Todd” and “Mission Impossible”). Some scenes make use of outrageous but outstanding props, including puppets (sockpuppet yeasts and Cookie Monster’s refined brother), models (giant tongues and pigs with detachable parts), eclectic costumes (Southern colonels and medical practitioners), and even cool kitchen toys (like his T-Rex spray bottle, which I dig a lot).

Mr. Brown also takes pride in his MacGyver-esque knack for rigs, both simple (a baking sheet lined with newspaper and a cooling rack) and elaborate (the turkey derrick which is nothing more but a ladder with a pulley on top and a turkey frier under). He adheres a lot to the principle of multitasking. I believe it was he who said, ” There is only one unitasker in the kitchen and that is the fire extinguisher.”

Even characters are essential to maintaining the sumptuously informative and humorous nature of the show. Thing, that ever helpful dismembered appendage, is an allusion to “The Addams Family”. Alton’s fictitious sister, Marsha, provides some appropriately adversarial annoyance. The Feds (a.k.a. “Food Police”) also usually make an appearance as men in black. My favorite character, however, is Kitchen gear specialist W, who happens to be a a caricature of James Bond’s weapons and gadgets specialist, Q. But not all characters are fictitious, as the presence of experts (like food scientist Shirley Corriher, nutritional anthropologist Deborah Duchon and dietitian Carolyn “The Lady of the Refrigerator” O’Neil) and family (Alton’s real mom, grandma, and daughter) shed some science and realism to the show.

And so, cameras have been shooting from the insides of ovens, fridges and pantries for 14 years. Butter has been melted, kosher salt has been pinched, and nutmeg has been grated for 14 years. Nearly a decade and a half has been devoted to the science, culture and fun of food and cooking from steak to dark chocolate, from apples to yogurt, from fish and chips to fillet mignon, from chili con carne to bouillabaise, from ice cream to baklava and even water and salt.

Alas, just as Ryori-no-Tetsujin, the original “Iron Chef”, came to an end back in 1999, so must another awesome culinary circus. At least, I was still fortunate enough to be able to tune in to “Good Eats” from Season 1 until Season 14, its final season.

Thank you, Alton Brown for the knowledge, the fun, and most of all, the food.