Hi. Christian. Me.

A letter to Congressman Ivy Arago

2009-04-21T03:44:00.001-07:00

Subject: Piracy

Greetings Congresswoman.

I am a concerned San Pableño and I noticed the widespread piracy in our city. Our only video rental store just closed. One music store (in San Pablo Shopping Mall) closed and was replaced by stands selling pirated CDs and DVDs. It's just a sign that people, and the local government alike, favor pirated materials over the authentic ones.

I don't know if it's appropriate to email you about this because you're a congress person and it's an issue the local government of San Pablo should be dealing with. But as a congress person, we should deal with this issue in a larger scale. I mean everywhere I go, even beyond the geographical boundaries of the third district of Laguna, I witness piracy. And what happened in San Pablo is a fine example of a dying industry.

And I'm not sure either if it's under your jurisdiction. The only committee you're in that concerns this issue is the Committee of Basic Education and Culture and according to it, one of your concern is "...the preservation and enrichment of Filipino culture."

I am an artist, a musical artist that is. I'm just starting and I don't know if I'd be successful in this field I chose. Aside from the fact that I can't please everyone, some other people who'll just copy-disk-reproduce-disk will definitely benefit from my work, crafted from talent I was born with plus the hardwork I put into it. It's hard to be a Filipino artist with this kind of climate.

I don't care about royalties. I don't put a price to my work. All I need is my capital back so I can continue making albums cos I love doing it and I can't continue making songs if I it will forever be a liability making art. Money don't grow on trees they say.

And I don't know how to make a formal letter. Sorry.

Back to Buddhism

2009-03-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Maybe some of you know I didn't have a religion.

Maybe some of you know I was a Buddhist 2 or 3 years ago.

Well I'm back to being a Buddhist. Versus having no religion, it is better having one... especially Buddhism. It makes me think more of my actions and people around me.

And while studying the religion one more time, I think I can manage pain and sufferings better than having no religion. I am becoming more selfless and forgiving, which is good thing.

Good karma, here I come.

Nine Inch Nails in Manila!

2009-03-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

August 5, 2009.

Araneta Coliseum.

Front row center ticket price: Don't know. Don't care.

See you!

An Artist's Dilemma

2009-03-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

Money.

Like Nina said, an artist can either be sitting in a 7th floor balcony or no less than a hobo living under the bridge.

I think I'm ready. I'm gonna be a hobo, fine. Or cool. I mean why am I thinking about money when in the first place I am living the "Code of Manchester '79"? I forgot what punk means. What DIY means. What would Tony Wilson do? It's not about money. It's about art. I gotta get money off my mind and focus on doing things cool and good. The Dalai Lama.

Induction Ball

2009-03-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Will be held on April 3 at Villa Eliscore (the name of the resort), Miramonte Subd., Calamba City.

It's a "White Party" so you should be wearing totally/dominantly white. Otherwise you'll be put into a jail booth so you better make sure you got a friend around. Just kidding. It's not an "Elementary School-type Fair"-themed party.

Catholics, listen!! If you don't wan't to worsen the spread of HIV, don't use condom.

2009-03-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/17/pope-africa-condoms-aids

That's what the pope said quoting, "[AIDS is] a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems".

Sweet. I don't understand how money can't stop AIDS, I mean, condoms cost less than a half pack of cigarette. Or how condoms cannot stop AIDS. But I agree with the pope with this: condoms worsen AIDS.

That's right. Adding to the pope's statement, "...cigarettes cure lung cancer, sugar prevents diabetes, fatty food won't make you fat and alcohol is good for the liver..."

Of course you can't argue with the pope. HE'S THE POPE! And if you got sex related problems, ask the pope. Noone knows shit about sex better than the pope.

Abysmal Darkness of the Spotless Mind

2009-03-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

It's funny how the doctor who does the operation in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind described it (the operation): "like a night of heavy drinking".

Though it's not, unfortunately, a painful memory. I hope Tangerine remembers Montauk. The place. What happened. Or the feeling, at least.

100+ GB!!!

2009-03-14T23:39:00.000-07:00

100+ GB of files were to be deleted, cos my laptop got a disk error message which spells F-O-R-M-A-T.

Files include:

http://phileos.org files
Movies and TV series
10 GB mp3
Ableton Live 7
Adobe Audition 3
Lots of games
And two music projects one to be moved till June, one till December. Two albums are scheduled to be released June this year.

Fuck.

LOLz... surveyz on my blogz

2009-03-09T03:23:00.000-07:00

RULES:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.

2. Press forward for each question.

3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense. NO CHEATING!

4. Bold the questions and with the answers, give your own comments on how it relates to the questions.

How are you feeling today?
The Beatles - Do You Want to Know a Secret (Lolz)

Will you get far in life?
Death Cab for Cutie - Death of an Interior Decorator (OK, that's not funny)

How do your friends see you?
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Over and Over Again (Lost and Found) (What? Maybe I'm always lost.)

Will you get married?
Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body (I think it's a positive answer.)

What is your best friend's theme song?
Built to Spill - Velvet Waltz (They know Built to Spill?)

What is the story of your life?
The Beatles - I'll Follow the Sun (Lolx, I've got a sad life)

What was high school like?
The Cure - Friday I'm In Love (Yeah... College I'm in love)

How can you get ahead in life?
The Shins - Young Pilgrims (WTF man)

What is the best thing about your friends?
M.I.A. - XR2 (They like to party)

What is in store for this weekend?
Sigur Ros - Takk (Yeah, It's gibberish)

To describe your grandparents?
Erykah Badu - The Cell (They're not criminals)

How is your life going?
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Heavy Metal (I'm rockin it! \m/)

What song will they play at your funeral?
Modeselektor - Hasir (I'll have to convert to Islam or Hinduism, I think)

How does the world see you?
The Cure - Never Enough (What?! It's against my "Less is More" principle. Lolz)

Will you have a happy life?
Maria Taylor - Hitched! (OK...)

What do your friends really think of you?
Pixies - Tame (Ok. The person described in the song... That's not me!)

Do people secretly lust after you?
DangerDoom - Space Hoes (Hoes lust after me. For what reason, I have no idea.)

How can I make myself happy?
Daft Punk - Rollin' and Scratchin' (I think, party's the answer)

What should you do with your life?
Bon Iver - Blindsided (Never be blindsided... again.)

Will you ever have children?
John Legend - Green Light (I think it's positve)

LOLZ. Surveyz on my blog

2009-03-06T00:10:00.000-08:00

- TO TAKE THIS SURVEY, SIMPLY PUT YOUR MUSIC PLAYER ON SHUFFLE -

- AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WITH THE TITLE OF THE SONG THAT COMES ON -

[it's better if you don't cheat and don't skip any songs.]

What is your name? Or what should your name be?

->Thom Yorke - And It Rained All Night

Comment: I wanna be Thom Yorke but I don't want my name to be Thom. I don't want Rain to be my name, either.

How is your life going?

->Stars - Window Bird

Comment: It's stellar!

What is your nickname?

->Death Cab for Cutie - Brothers on a Hotel Bed

Comment: Cutie. Yeah.

Feng shui tips for 2009!

2008-12-28T16:47:00.000-08:00

Gawin ang sumusunod para sa maswerteng 2009!:

1. Alamin kung ano ang pinagkaiba ng ox sa regular na cow.

2. Magpadala ng sulat sa mga kakilala. Imbis na "xoxo" ang gamitin pag nagsa-sign, "oxox" ang gamitin.

3. Maglaro ng tic tac toe pagsapit ng January 1. Hulaan nyo kung bakit.

4. Wag bumili ng kotse sa 2009. Lalo na ang mga 2009 model na sasakyan. Mauuso ang hybrid cars pagsapit ng 2010. Magcommute. Mura ang gas. O sumakay sa likod ng ox. O karitelang hinihila ng ox(en).

5. Ang pinakamaswerteng mura sa 2009 as "Holy ox!"

6. Magconvert sa Hinduism. Pwede rin ang Hare Krishna. Meron sa Alaminos, Laguna.

7. Magtanim ng kinakain ng mga ox, damo. Ilegal o legal na damo.

8. Swerteng business ang bulaluhan. Wag lang ox ang gawing bulalo. Masyadong macho ang muscles ng ox. Wag din problemahin ang pagtayo ng bulaluhan kung nag-convert ka na sa Hinduism.

9. Mag-alaga ng ox. Patabain nyo lang at wag magkaroon ng emotional attachment sa ox dahil ipapakain nyo to sa tigreng aalagaan nyo sa 2010.

Wikiality: Twilight

2008-12-14T21:28:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for the passive agressiveness I showed towards Twilight. I skimmed the whole Twilight book and it was awesome! Well, I skimmed at random pages and found kissing scenes on almost every pages I read.

This is awesome! It's the closest thing to Xerex Xaviera which was very meaningful to me. Xerex was the first newspaper article I've read. I was three years old when I first knew how to read and then there's this tabloid I found on the couch of our old house and.. you know what happened. I have no idea what hiyas really meant that time. My father caught, well found (I didn't meant to), me reading Xerex (I was reading aloud) and he just laughed and did the crossword. I just realized what really happened.

Anyway, fans of Stephen Colbert called the Colbertnation edit Wikipedia pages to support its noble cause: to create truth out of concensus thought or opinion. And guess what? I edited the novel Twilight's Wikipedia entry:

And:

And I say, you're welcome.

Hey, and did you know there's a character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer named Twilight? Is he a vampire? Cos that would be awesome. And there's a 1998 movie starring Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon named Twilight? I gotta rent that one!And a metal band named Twilight?

Boy I love Wikipedia.

Postscript literature number 1.55. I'm childish at times.

2008-12-02T02:28:00.000-08:00

This article's supposed to be posted on the next issue but I decided not to cos the first version of this article is somewhat personal slash... ok, bitter. And some other minor "accidents".

The first version contains words like "fool", "immature", "pride", "ego", etc.

This version's more light-hearted. =)

Etymology 101

Ramon Claveria

I’m fond of studying etymologies. It’s fascinating where words come from and then relating the English word from what the ancient root word meant. Sometimes you’ll find them witty and/or humorous.

You can also discover interconnections between words, which are pretty awesome when you figure them out. For example, did you know that salary and salt are related words? Turns out ancient people give salt for payrolls because salt had high value back then. And also salad. Put salt on [insert name of raw ingredient] and then you’d have [insert name of raw ingredient] salad.

Or are you aware that river and rival came from the same roots? Ancient people living on riversides fight over who owns the water. Idiot and idle… No, I’m starting to make things up (except for the salt and river parts).

Aim v. developed from esteem “calculate with a view to action”.

Free adj. from Old English freo “noble, joyful”.

Happy adj. originally means “lucky” from hap “chance, fortune”. Related to mishap.

Hope n. from Old English hopian meaning ”wish, expect, look forward (to something)”. Some suggest relation to hop on the notion of “leaping in expectation”.

Music n. from Greek mousike meaning “art of the muses”.

Muse n. from Proto-Indo-European root *mon/*men/*mn “to think, remember”.

Satire n. “work intended to ridicule vice or folly” from Latin satira “satire, poetic medley”.

Smile v. from Proto-Germanic smieron from Latin mirus “wonderful”.

Soul n. from Proto-Germanic *saiwalo. Originally means “coming from or belonging to the sea”.

Wit n. from German witz “wit, witticism, joke”.

With from Proto-Germanic *withro “against”.

Source: etymonline.com

Read... Just Because It's the Fucking Uso

2008-11-22T00:26:00.000-08:00

What's the deal? People seem to read cos they wanna look smart. You read books... just because, not to use as props for pose.

I'm talking bout this buzz surrounding the new hit Twilight, everybody's talking about it. There's lots of people claiming they love books. I do, but don't read commercially-driven/accepted books like Dan Brown and Bob Ong books to look like a critical thinker or Harry Potter and Twilight books just because it's the fucking uso or A Purpose-Driven Life to appear saintly. It's like hearing a title from alot of people makes it good, and then so you can have something to put in your Friendster profile under "Favorite books".

It's like listening to Canon in D Major and then claim you love classical music just because you heard the song in some Korean drama movie. And it's probably the only classical piece you know. Or listening to artists heavily circulating on MTV and the radio and claim you love good music.

I apologize if I sound elitist but I feel the need to extinguish the fire these books are catching. It's the mentality of fanboys and girls that feed these commercial monsters.

An apolitical blog post about movies, TV shows, comics and music.

2008-11-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

So you might be getting real tired of my blog posts with some political tone in them. I didn't mean to. I mean there's the US election and was psyched by Obama's victory cos I liked him from the very start (the democratic primaries). I just really wished Ron Paul won.

Plus, what can I say? I'm a big fan of Obama, not a big fan of the GOP (though I'm a big fan of the Libertarian Party), and a big fan of Jon Stewart. I have no intention of having political tone with my blog posts. It's just that there are some issues that concerns me, and I have to say something. I am also pissed with those bloggers saying political stuff just to look activist. They think it's cool, I don't think so.

Anyway, enough of the political shit. I don't have the intention to be a political blogger. I'm more of a pop culture blogger. :) So here's some of the stuffs I downloaded during vacation. (I wish it would be longer than less than a month).

24 Hour Party People - The movie follows Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan), the owner of the Hacienda Club and the Factory Records in Manchester. I downloaded it because it was referenced by Alfred Molina (the actor who played Doc Ock in Spiderman movies) and Steve Coogan (who played Tony Wilson in the movie) during a dialogue in the indie film Coffee and Cigarettes. Plus I'm a big fan of rave music, Joy Division and New Order.
Coffee and Cigarettes - A black and white film showing some people talking funny stuffs over, obviously, coffee and cigarettes. Stars Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes, RZA and GZA of the group Wu-Tang Clan, Steve Coogan, Alfred Molina, Iggy Pop and Tom Waits to name a few. Directed by Jim Jarmusch who will later guest on The Simpsons episode Any Given Sundance.
Who's Nailin' Paylin? - A porno movie starring a porn star who surprisingly looks like Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate and Alaskan governor. The first scene shows her helping two freezing Russian soldiers by letting him in her house when their tires went flat and then entertaining them. And to the dismay of the Democratic Party, that gives her some foreign affairs experience. *wink wink*
Dexter - A TV show which follows Dexter Morgan, a blood splatter forensic expert who has a night job of being a serial killer. It deals with social justice since he only kills criminals with cases unsolvable by Dexter's own police department, his somewhat abnormal urge to kill, acting like a normal person and getting away with being identified as the killer himself. I like the show cos I can relate to Morgan, like dating to look normal. Lolx.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - My copy of the movie was in my desktop but unfortunately, my desktop crashed. I downloaded it cos it's some hobby of mine to watch it. Over and over, and cry everytime. I'm such a pussy, I know.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - A movie about a musician who had a girlfriend who's a TV actress though he can't get over their break-up cos she always appear on TV. So he decided to go to Hawaii to clear his mind but guess what. She's in Hawaii, too. A typical Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) Jewish slacker movie.
Futurama - I don't know how I decided to or why I downloaded it. I wanna watch it. That's all
Heroes Season 3 - Spoiler alert! Sylar and Peter Petrelli are actually a gay couple. That's right. You heard it here first.
Maus - A two-volume comic book about the depression Jewish people went through Nazi Germany in the 40s. I downloaded it cos Art Spiegelman, it's creator, guest-starred in a Simpsons episode. Plus, I'm listening to a lot of Matisyahu. So that makes Jewish people close to my heart.
Outfoxed - A movie about the conservative bias the news network Fox News Channel allegedly has.
The Simpsons Season 19 - I'm a big fan. Plus, I was hyped when I read that Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart guest-starred in two different episodes.
Taxi to the Dark Side - A documentary about Afghanistan, Iraq, Abu Ghraib prison, the Guantanamo Bay prison, CIA's use of torture and the incompetency the Bush administration has done during the course of the wars.
The Incredibles - I'm a big fan of Samuel L. Jackson. I kinda liked the movie though I don't really like Disney and the whole High School Musical shit. I'm now liking Pixar movies. "It's all about distribution, it's all about distribution rights," I was telling myself allthoughout the movie.
The Daily Show - I'm a big fan.
The Colbert Report - I'm an avid viewer.
Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me - I read somewhere they've done a version of The Cure's Just Like Heaven and Robert Smith kinda like it.
Built to Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love - Cool album. I like it when I realize how bands today were influenced by albums in the past. I noticed how Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse were influenced by Built to Spill's layered vocals and catchy guitar hook.

There. You might wanna download some. Or you can ask me to burn a CD for you. They're cool. Cool. Sorry if I sounded political somewhere. Maybe the entry is political. Lolx, I fooled you with the title.

Jojo A. vs. Jon Stewart?

2008-11-15T22:42:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I get a feeling this is gonna be one-sided. This post can be highly opinionated though I assure my statements are based on facts, or statements having some essential truth in them somehow. I'm sorry I might break your might-be-nationalistic heart, but I'm on the side of the truth. Not to mention comedy.

I saw this clown on QTV named Jojo A. who seemed a bit like Conan O'Brien; which sucked in so many ways.

One: Conan's dancing sucks.

Two: imitating his dance would make it more suckier.

Three: Conan, "having a monkey who agrees to everything he says" (quoted from Craig Ferguson), sucks.

Four: imitating the monkey, would suck even more.

Five: Conan sucks (I rank him the second least funny late night show host: Jon Stewart>Stephen Colbert>Craig Ferguson>Bill Maher>Jimmy Kimmel>Jay Leno>Conan>Dave Letterman).

Six: imitating the second least funny late night show makes you the least funny late night show host. Even less funny than Letterman. And he's old.

I was browsing for Jon Stewart videos on Youtube when I found this video:

It is true, a segment by Samantha Bee made fun of the first women leaders:

So why shouldn't Jojo A. respond like that to a segment made by Sam Bee in Jon Stewart's show?

One: he doesn't know what Jon does for living. I noticed Filipinos are new to this thing called satire. Cos when I tried making one, I received negative, irrelevant comments. Just like Jojo's.

And that's it. I mean, I know where Stewart's coming from.

Compared to Sam Bee's subtle argument, which is if America's ready for a slut, a mall-whore, or any negative connotation for a woman for president; Jojo A. calling Jon Stewart "bakla" or gay is pretty weak. I have to point out that Jon Stewart insults popular figures, e.g. politicians, whether conservative, liberal, left, right, democrat, republican, pink, green, red, blue, black, white, French, German, Asian, Canadian, Filipino, slut, or male for a living.

And to add, I might say: The Daily Show is the epitomy, a hallmark if you will of how relatively democratic US is. The TV program shows us how he can say anything, make fun of anyone, reveal subtle truth to everyone without the fear of losing a court appeal to a rich man or getting shot by a pet of a powerful politician. The TV program shows us how pitiful our democracy is, if it at least exists. There is too much fear-driven politics in our country.

Now, I challenge you Jojo A. Make fun of a governor or a city mayor worth millions. Call a politician a slut. You know the political climate in our country, do you? Of course it would be unfair to call a US politician a slut cos they are.. sport I think is the word. So call a Filipino politician a slut. I dare you. Even if it's for comedy's sake I know you know what's gonna happen. It's a negative connotation which spells negative campaining which spells a bullet in your head.

US politicians: not big fans of two-faced, Filipino-style politics?

2008-11-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

I saw this headline on the Inquirer: Palace on Obama ‘snub’: A ‘naughty spin’.

The administration is a big supporter of Bush's 'war on terror' and went as far as supporting McCain... and expecting to return the favor for congratulating Obama.

I think they're not used to the balls-y US politics. Look at what happened to Lieberman. They got.. what's the word? Dignity? Professionalism?

Fuck, Obama Won.

2008-11-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

1. He's a secret Muslim.

2. If number 1 is true, thus follows that he's a terrorist. Plus, he pals around an anarcho-terrorist named Bill Ayers. Google it.

3. He wants to "spread the wealth around". He's a socialist.

4. Plus, Fidel Castro praised him. That makes him a communist.

5. He eats children. I just edited his Wikipedia.

6. The only experience he had is playing basketball and dancing. He sucks at bowling.

7. He smokes. Alot. (See my picture?)

Nicely done. U.S. Nicely done.

Experiment: Music and Basketball (and Race)

2008-10-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Many people would associate hip-hop with basketball. I did an experiment: I played albums of different music genre while playing NBA Live 08 with a team composing of players representing five continents: (against the Washington Wizards on all games)

North America: LeBron James, Paul Pierce

South America: Manu Ginobili, Leandro Barbosa

Europe: Dirk Nowitzki, Jose Calderon

Africa: Steve Nash (he's born in S. Africa), Dikembe Mutombo

Asia: Yao Ming, Jianlian Yi

And then playing the albums, relating the final scores and the player that did well. It's gonna be an interrelation between basketball, music and race. Plus some highlight reel material and fun facts

(Genre: Artist-Album)

Rave: Spank Rock - Yoyoyoyoyo
Score: 70-58 (diff: 12)
Highlight Reel Mat'l: Nowitzki shooting over 3 defenders

Hip-hop: Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
S: 74-65 (diff:9)
HRM: James went through all the defenders, finishing with a dunk with a foul

Country: Wilco - Summerteeth
58-62 (diff:-4)
HRM/Fun fact: Yao called for goaltending 2 times, Nash to James alley-hoop superstar pass

Rock: Pixies - Doolittle
57-47 (diff: 10)
HRM: James shooting over 2 defenders

Electronic: Figurine - The Heartfelt
87-64 (diff: 23)
HRM: Ginobili going for a reverse dunk and then changing his mind mid-air, went for a lay up instead

Reggae: Matisyahu - Youth
69-55 (diff: 14)
HRM/FF: Nash doing a crossover between two defenders and then finishing with a superstar lay up, Nash made 19 assists

Pop: She & Him - Volume One
64-58 (diff: 6)
HRM:Nash to ginobili alley-hoop, Yao shooting over 2 defenders

Punk Rock: New Found Glory - Catalyst
64-59 (diff: 5)
FF: Ginobili did 34 points

Funk Rock: N.E.R.D. - In Search Of...
61-67 (diff: -6)
FF: The team had 11 turnovers

Post-Punk: Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights
74-69 (diff: 5)
FF: Nash had 12 points, 19 assists, James only had 19 points

Garage: White Stripes - De Stijl
59-65 (diff: -6)
HRM/FF: Caron Butler dunking over James and Ginobili on two seperate occasions, James only had 16 points

Alternative: The Cure - Galore
76-56 (diff: 20)
FF: James is the player of the game with only 19 points 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 s without dominating the game (yao had 12, nowitzki had 12, ginobili had 16)

Trip-hop: Massive Attack - Protection
71-74 (diff: -3)
FF: My Team's FG%:66.7% vs. the other team's FG%:72.7%

Folk: Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake. It's Morning
71-65 (diff: 5)
FF: calderon was my key player at half with 9 points and 3 steals

Post-Rock: Sigur Ros - Takk..
84-78 (diff: 6)
FF: Nowitzki was the player of the game with 26 points, ginobili had 28

Is it because Ginobili's left-handed or he's an Argentinian or he loves post-rock?

Conclusions:

1. Europeans love rave.

2. Black Americans love hip-hop.

3. Country music makes Asians get hyped.

4. Electronica is the best music to listen to while playing basketball.

5. Africans love Reggae.

6. Chinese people love pop music.

7. South Americans love punk rock.

8. Funk is distracting.

9. (Former) football players love post-punk. African Americans hate it.

10. African Americans hate the whole garage rock revival shit.

11. African Americans love alternative rock. Even making them utilitarian.

12. Trip-hop is boring.

13. Europeans (Spaniards, specifically) love folk music.

14. Europeans and South Americans love post-rock.

Experiment: Music and Basketball (and Race)

2008-10-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

North America: Le Bron James, Paul Pierce

South America: Manu Ginobili, Leandro Barbosa

Europe: Dirk Nowitzki, Jose Calderon

Africa: Steve Nash (he's born in S. Africa), Dikembe Mutombo

Asia: Yao Ming, Jianlian Yi

And then playing the albums, relating the final scores and the player that did well. It's gonna be an interrelation between basketball, music and race. Plus some highlight reel material and fun facts

(Genre: Artist-Album)

Is it because Ginobili's left-handed or he's an Argentinian or he loves post-rock?

Conclusions:

1. Europeans love rave.

2. Black Americans love hip-hop.

3. Country music makes Asians get hyped.

4. Electronica is the best music to listen to while playing basketball.

5. Africans love Reggae.

6. Chinese people love pop music.

7. South Americans love punk rock.

8. Funk is distracting.

9. (Former) football players love post-punk. African Americans hate it.

10. African Americans hate the whole garage rock revival shit.

11. African Americans love alternative rock. Even making them utilitarian.

12. Trip-hop is boring.

13. Europeans (Spaniards, specifically) love folk music.

14. Europeans and South Americans love post-rock.

How I love Laguna College (the high school I went into)

2008-10-23T23:58:00.000-07:00

Did I made a sarcastic statement? I wonder how I miss my high school self: sad, pessimistic and a big fan of sarcasm and satire. I even took UPCAT cos I thought then it would be easier to join NPA, seriously. Good thing my faith to capitalism, healthy competition and laissez-faire went back even before I met a CPP member in UP.

What reminded me of this? I found the Wikipedia entry of Laguna College which we edited. It's hilarious, read it.

It also reminded me of the short story I made I intended to be the Noli and/or FIli for communists. Ma'am (Abi) Reyes gave it a grade of 84 just because she don't understand where I'm going. Fuck her. She wants cheesy love stories ala-John Lloyd-Bea's artless shit. I'll re-compose the story. I'll post it here. VACATION!!!

Me as the electronica artist

2008-10-23T04:51:00.000-07:00

Hip-hop producer slash electronica artist. Why hip-hop? Cos I suck at drumming. I know how to play the drums but if I would critic myself as a drummer, I'd be crying. I have a low self-esteem, what can I say. And because I suck at drumming, I sampled Interpol's song PDA. There, I went Girl Talk in this one.

Problem solved. But I don't have a mic. So maybe, I told myself I could go electronica in this project (Distance Over Time). And then I told RJ SxE I dunno how to play a synth. And then he said I should tingle with the controls, experiment, etc. So I did:

All I can play on the keyboard are the notes D and C. For no apparent reason. I'M JUST STARTING OK??!! If it sounded weird it's because my music's too experimental/avant-garde for your ears. It made me wonder if it's too experimental for Distance. Or too happy. I can go for a dance/party music-oriented project.

To download/stream:

Link: http://xtianlofi.multiply.com/music/item/272/This_song_is_brought_to_you_by_the_notes_D_and_C

Fear mongering in practice

2008-10-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Before the day ends, October 11, I sent a group message:

Sa mga d p bumati.. Pakyu kau.

Sa mga bumati.. Paktu p rin.. D ako nubusan ng dpt replyan.

Pakyu kaung lahat. Joke lng.ü

"To those who didn't greet yet... Fuck you.

To those who greeted... Fuck you still... I got a lot to reply to.

Fuck you all. Just kidding.=)"

And then there are 5 or 6 people who greeted me.

It's just awesome how something self-absurd (a self-absurd order) would be justified by striking fear to people. PSYCH!

How to get back in time (article ko sa post script)

2008-10-02T02:20:00.000-07:00

How to Get Back in Time
Ramon Claveria

It's funny. I'm not afraid of getting lost in space.

I'm quite an adventurous man. If I get lost I can get back; I'll just get to the nearest road where vehicles pass and then I can hitchhike. It's fun hitchhiking. I've done it two times now. One is when I went once in a super-rural area and the jeeepneys are gone by 6 PM and I had no choice but to hitch. Another is when I fell asleep in a jeepney and when I woke up, my wallet's lost and yeah, I had no choice.

And getting to experience hitchhiking makes me think that I can never get lost in space (as long as there are good-natured drivers). Except maybe when you talk about outer space which is quite unlikely to happen (how can I get lost in outer space, what the?). And even when you drop me somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, I can swim (minus the factors that I can be eaten by a shark and I get tired easily).

But there's another kind of getting lost, which is getting lost in time. Well, some philosophers, mathematicians or physicists might argue with me but I think of time and space as a box suspended on a string. And the box moves along that string continually. Space is a box or maybe any three dimensional object because the universe that we live in is three dimensional. And as you might guess, time is the string. The difference between the two is that space can be sensed. I mean, it's absolutely real. You can touch it, see it, hear it, lick on it, etc. But time can either be absolute or relative.

Absolute time is the time that had passed. Noone can measure it because noone knows when the universe started. But we use representations like 12:33 PM, AM, Monday, June, June 29, BC, AD, 2008, etc. Relative time is a state of mind. Like the time we eat, we wake up, etc.

Getting lost in time is when your state of mind is not synchronized with what's supposed to happen in accordance to the absolute time. For example you want to watch a television program say, a news program scheduled at 6:00 PM. But the state of mind of the TV network's that they need to earn more so they showed lots of commercial adverts that they don't mind scheduling the programs anymore. Another example is when you're vacant from 12-1 and it's supposed to be a lunch break but you're not hungry so it's not a lunch break anymore.

What's supposed to happen? How will I know? When I'm lost in space I'll need a map and a compass. But when you're lost in time what will I need? Or maybe 'getting lost' is just a state of mind? Yeah, maybe there's just something wrong with my state of mind... again.

Swimming pool meditation

2008-10-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

I lied down on a concrete e.g. stair steps beside the pool such that the water level don't reach my nostrils or else I drown. You won't hear a thing, except for my case (last night). I hear crisp sounds when drizzling, chimes when raining and basslines when storming. I can feel my body's light. I can smell the stench of alcohol everytime breathe which sounds peaceful. I can only hear the sounds I make myself. I then thought of singing but it was a bad idea cos it's too bass-y.

I found peace.