Insightful, Hopeful

Children and Childhood Memories

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 09:55:00 +0200

I'm writing this entry to update my sis, Cat about the concert. This is the first time we are not watching a Lea concert together. She'll be going the US this Oct. 25 and I'll be missing her badly. But I do wish that she'll have a great future ahead in the land of milk and honey, and that she won't forget her friends here. We were classmates in elementary and high school, but we only became close in high school because of our fondness for anime. It's nice that through the years we have remained friends. And I hope even if she'll be away, our friendship will remain. Read on sis :)

Last Friday, October 20, I had the privilege to watch the concert "Tomorrow: A Concert For the Future" with of course no other than Ms. Lea Salonga. This is her first major concert after giving birth to Nicole. It is apt that this concert is about children. The proceeds will go to the CCP arts program for children and youth, especially to the funding of the CCP-Unicef Arts Therapy Program. This will help children that are traumatized due to armed conflicts and natural disasters.

It feels good to be able to watch a concert, at the same time help in programs like these. I am fond of children, and it was wonderful seeing Lea with children onstage. These children are part of two chorales: the Hail Mary the Queen Children's Choir and Kilyawan Boy's Choir. Also part of the show were the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Calvin Millado and renowed child singer Julia Abueva. Most of the songs from the repertoire were sung by Lea in her previous concerts. But it was nice hearing them again, and some were performed with the children like "Galawgaw".

I especially liked Lea's rendition of "Stand Up for Love". This was one of the new songs in her repertoire. It was the theme in the 2005 World's Children's Day Anthem by Destiny's Child (or was it just Beyonce?). I heard this first when it was sung by Rita Iringan, the 1st champion of Pop Star Kids. Then I heard it again being sung by the "Little Big Star" finalists in the Handog ng Pasasalamat concert (aka the Bituing Walang Ningning finale concert). Lea must have really felt the song especially now that she has a daughter. The lyrics of the song is inspiring. It asks everyone of us, to make a stand so the children, who are tomorrow's hope, may have a chance of living better lives.

Destiny's Child - Stand Up For Love Lyrics

[Beyonce]

There are times I find it hard to sleep at night
We are living through such troubled times
And every child that reaches out for someone to hold
For one moment they become my own

And how can I pretend that I don't know what's going on?
When every second with every minute another soul is gone

And I believe that in my life I will see
An end to hopelessness
Of giving up
Of suffering

Then we all stand together this one time
Then no one will get left behind
And stand up for life
Stand up for love

[Kelly]
I'm inspired and hopeful each and everyday
That's how I know that things are gonna change

So how can I pretend that I don't know what's going on?
When every second with every minute
Another soul is gone

And I believe that in my life I will see
An end to hopelessness
Of giving up
Of suffering

If we all stand together this one time
Then no one will get left behind
Stand up for life
Stand up for love

[Michelle]
And it all starts right here
And it starts right now
One person stand up
And the rest will follow

For all the forgotten
For all the unloved
I'm gonna sing this song

And I believe that in my life I will see
An end to hopelessness
Of giving up
Of suffering

If we all stand together this one time
Then no one will get left behind
Stand up for life [Kelly]
Stand up and sing [Michelle]
Stand up for love [Beyonce]
For love
For love

Enjoy each day

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 19:42:29 +0200

I've again been on a blog hiatus. There's nothing much to blog. Been contemplating on life lately. But one thing I do need to remember is to enjoy each day as it comes. Let me just share this quote from the musical Rent:

"There's only us,

there's only this,

forget regret

or life is yours to miss.

No other road,

no other way,

no day but today."

August Celebrants

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 06:07:57 +0200

I would like to take time to greet some people who are celebrating their birthdays this August. I would also give a little trivia about them, and include my greetings as well.

15th - MIKE
Mike is the friend of my classmate in college, and we were introduced via ICQ (a popular instant messenger way back late 1990s to 2002). Turns out he is the brother of one of my classmates in Grade 3. As he said, it was classic friendster example even before friendster came to be. :)
Most of the time, he is my chat buddy in YM especially during the wee hours of the morning. Or more exactly from midnight till about 1 or 2 am. He's one of the best listeners out there. Perhaps it's also that we just have these things in common - we just like to talk about life, we love watching tv (I'll wait for those Grey's Anatomy episodes ;)), love tech stuff, and we have various interests.
So Mike thanks for listening and sharing too. My chat life has become more colorful indeed hehe. Goodluck on the stuff you want to do, and your business/entrepreneurial endeavors. On your lovelife, may it be uncomplicated. Enjoy life.

19th - SARAH
Sarah is my friend from Pre-com (1st and 2nd year of college). Though some people did not like her during those days because she seemed "maarte", she proved them wrong by just being herself and winning the friendship of most. We had fun moments during those years, as our classes were only half-day so we had time to go to the mall hehe. We both love Pierce Brosnan especially in those James Bond movies. :D
She has been an achiever, in the past and in the present. She had been into debating in college, and a student council officer. Now she is a CPA, and I admire her coz she has achieved her goals career-wise. Goodluck on your lovelife girl, may you find him or perhaps you have. ;)

24th - J
J is my best friend's sweetie :)
I met him many times before because he always kinda appeared out of nowhere during those early days (just kidding :P)
He is a true music lover, and was kind enough to share some of his collections via his server. He is also an award-winning web designer and graphic artist.
Too bad I wasn't able to attend his party. I heard their band (Spelling Contest) played some of their original songs. Goodluck on your music and your work. Hopefully, you'll be able to play in the mainstream and be included in one of those tribute albums. You're one of the few people I know who followed their passion for art and succeeded. As for you and your sweetie (my cutie friend :)), may you have happiness and love that will last a lifetime.

28th - Janella aka Babes
My one and only niece. She is now 8 years old, and I'm happy that she's growing up to be a smart kid. Before, I thought I wouldn't get so close to her coz she did not live with us unlike my nephew Jonel. But at times I see myself in herself, especially her moodiness (I was like that as a child).
She also loves music, she likes those songs in Lea's "I am but a Small Voice" album. And she's getting to like books, which is really good.
Her other talents include dancing (her Chopetta dance is the best), and her ability to compute (a budding Math wizard).
To my dear niece, may you develop your talents and use it for greater good. May you be successful in what you choose to do. Enjoy your childhood, I know you do :)

Philippine Idol Top 24

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 06:06:44 +0200

After missing the succeeding episodes after the first one, I was finally able to watch Idol again. I was glad that choosing the final 24 was not over yet. I thought it was last week.
Like American Idol, the contestants were grouped into three. Some groups had some conflict, but unlike their American counterparts, I did not see any walkouts or mumbling of bad words. I saw some familiar faces, those that previously joined other singing contests: Marinel Santos and OJ Mariano (from Star in a Million 1st and 2nd season, both 2nd placers) and Jason Velasquez (from Search for a Star where Sarah Geronimo won). I was also surprised to see Divo, a local singer.
Anyway, after the room elimination, (where contestants were asked to stay in a room and only 2 out of 4 rooms would make it to the next round), the singing contest finalists and Divo were eliminated. Only 40 remained. My guess is that the judges of course expected more from these contestants who had previous contest experience. Divo was bitter, after being eliminated saying "Maraming hindi magaling" (many of the other contestants are not good). The grandson of Dolphy, was also not included.
The 40 contestants were further trimmed to 24. The contestants had to sing solo choosing one of pre-selected songs. Next Saturday is the first performance night, and people get to vote :)
My dad, however, pointed out that Smart (the cell network) was the sponsor. And no way could we use our Globe sim :( But I told him a PLDT number would sure be available. Or I was thinking, I could buy a Smart sim card :)
I have some favorites - Freddie (who reminds me of Luke Mijares), Joseph Astor (has an angle where he looks like Sam Milby though Sam still looks more cute), Erika (if I'm not mistaken, she's the girl with the hearing impairment. If all goes well for her, she could be our local Elliot Yamin), Pau (because she's true to herself) and Maureen (just saw her in the Top 40 and she was good).

Random OPM news

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 20:40:00 +0200

It was only today, that I was able to fully watch ASAP and SOP, the two Sunday variety shows on Philippine tv. During the last months, I just watched one or two segments because there was really nothing new to watch.

But today, I was excited because in ASAP, the album tribute for APO entitled "Kami nAPO muna", was featured. This album was similar to the Eraserheads Anthology album, wherein different bands and solo artists recorded their own rendition of the songs popularized by e-heads. Now, it's time to pay tribute to APO.

I've always liked APO's music. I was always contemplating on buying the Best of Apo album, but never did. Perhaps because I had mp3s of the ones I liked. My favorites are: Batang-bata Ka Pa, Paano and When I Met You.

When I saw them on tv awhile ago singing "Sa'n Na Nga Bang Barkada", I remembered my high school barkada because of our recent mini reunion (see previous post).

Some of the bands featured in the album played in ASAP. I was again disappointed why the resident talents of ASAP had to sing along the guests (SOP does this too). This affects the performance especially because the resident host/singer most of the time, fails to blend with the band. Anyway, I still liked the renditions of some songs especially the one by Imago, Spongecola and Barbie. Kamikazee's Dobeedoo was really fun, the lead singer gave it his all. But he seemed drunk hehe. I guess that's their style of music.

I thought of buying the album today, but they showed the other album which contains the cover versions and the original version on another cd but these will be in one package. I think I'll wait for that one which they said will be out next week.

While surfing, I found a good review of the album by J Panganiban, and an article on Inq7. There's also a tribute concert with the same title on Aug. 22, and APO will have a concert on Sept. 2.

Some weeks ago, I also saw a link to Jim Paredes' blog. It was exciting to read the blog of someone famous, and who is admirable. In here, you can read Jim's own thoughts on the album, and his return to Manila.

Meanwhile, on SOP, I found out that Jonalyn Viray and Brenan Espartinez won in the World Championships of the Performing Arts (WCOPA). This was the same contest where Jed Madella won last year. I'm really happy for these two singers especially for Jonalyn. I was rooting for her in the Pinoy Pop Superstar grand finals because I watched her as a contender, and liked her version of "Run to You". I knew her physical features are not the typical star-quality features that Filipino fans are looking for, that is why I was worried she wouldn't make it big. But because of these awards she got, she showed everyone that she is very talented.

The list of awards they won are in this article (note: the article is written in Tagalog).

I was also elated to know that the Cercado sisters, who were contestants in QTV11's FamJam, also won in the World Championships. I learned it from the article written by Ms. Armida Siguion-Reyna. This group of sisters were like professionals as they belted away songs like "Emotions" during their stay at FamJam. But unfortunately, they did not win the contest. Good thing, they were given opportunities like this, joining the World Championships, to showcase their extraordinary talent.

While surfing, I also came upon an article on South Border's US tour. It also told that one of their songs was being played in a radio station in the USA. The article was written early this year, on a site called Carousel Pinoy. I think this is one of the Filipino online newspapers based in the US. Well, the band is back in the Philippines because Vince and Jay celebrated their birthdays on SOP. I so admire Jay Durias because he's such a great songwriter.

Extra:

I was surprised to see that my blog was accessed through the femalenetwork website. Turns out, someone read my thoughts on Philippine Idol and posted a link to that entry. Too bad that entry was not even solely dedicated to Philippine Idol, and now people will be reading it. Oh well.

It's also unfortunate that I have not been able to watch the show recently because of my trip and today because I had some guests. Today was supposed to be the announcement of the 24 contestants.

I saw the link to Francis M's blog on femalenetwork forum.

Mini Reunion at Kathrina's Bday

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 19:38:14 +0200

Last Saturday, Cat and I went to Kathrina's house in Cainta for her 24th birthday. I was hoping there would be more of us from our barkada who would be able to come, but because of unforseen circumstances only three of us were able to attend. Well, it was more like four because Cat's brother, Ogie, was kind enough to accompany us to be our "bodyguard" hehe.

Our other friend who was able to attend was Jeanette, who lives very near the place. It was nice to see old friends again. We talked about our recent lives, our plans, and some legal issues we had in mind. This was because Kathrina (aka Cookie) is a law student, and we took advantage of her legal know-how while it's still free :P

Though we were not able to stay very long, I really enjoyed the time we had together.

More details from Cat's blog. Cat, I'll just be sending the photos through email.

The Next Net

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 06:12:40 +0200

I saw this feature article from CNN. This lists 25 sites that are leading the way for the new face of the internet, or what others call Net 2.0.
I've seen Net 1.0, which was exciting at the time. It was new, but websites were not so good to look at, because one had to have a decent knowledge of HTML to create a nice-looking site. But because of blogs, and the user friendly interface, one can easily create his/her own space. There's also podcasting (which I haven't tried), social networking like Friendster, YouTube, Google and other sites. Check it out at CNN.