it has been 20 years since the first people power removed the dictator out of malacañang. 20 years! and to the day, disgruntled people are out to stage yet another people power to remove the current (p)resident in the palace. why not, para isang celebration na lang pag nag anniversary.
how sarcastic.
i was watching TFC last night when the 'breaking news' was aired. by 'breaking news' i meant gloria arroyo's announcement that she has declared a 'state of emergency'. is this 'state of emergency' aka proclamation 1017 be her version of marcos' martial law aka proclamation 1081? scary thought.
my two-cents' worth: i personally think that arroyo's economic reforms slash programs are working, which is good for the country's economy. i think nobody will argue that. until today, the peso has been the best-performing currency in asia. when i had a vacation in manila last year, a dollar was more than 55 pesos. until today, it was pegged at 51. i dunno what the repercussions of the coup rumors and rallies and rallies will be. sigh.
okay, replace arroyo!
problem is, who are you gonna replace her with?
Friday, February 24, 2006
disaster after disaster after disaster
2 out of 4
okay, so i got the first two people who were eliminated in last night's AI! woohoo. my luck's a-changing. bye becky, bye bobby!
apparently not quite.
the two other contestants who got the boot were both in my top 12! shoot. lesson learned for both. if you are a guy (patrick, listen!), do not sing a girl's song. even if it is a melissa etheridge song! if you are girl (yes, stevie, that would be you!), do not sing a guy song. of course i am kidding.
what is wrong, america? patrick was not bad. steview wasn't as bad as well. listen to it again. it was even quite refreshing for me (and i am big josh groban fan) to listen to a girl take on any of his songs. i enjoyed it. it seems america didn't.
sigh. so who's gonna fill up the posts left by patrick and stevie?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
all i want for christmas
...is my two front teeth.
unfortunately for the new james bond (daniel craig), he just lost his.
apparently, he's in the czech republic filming the new james bond film called casino royale when the film's villain accidentally knocked his two front teeth out. what's ironic is that this was the first fight scene to be shot. ouch.
and for more bad news for the man, diehard (fanatics!) fans of james bond have gone online with craignotbond.com, a website that, well, questions the producers' decision to hire the actor as the new bond. james bond.
let's see. you just lost your two front teeth in the first fight scene of the movie that you are doing. and the loyal fans of the movie that you are doing have vowed to boycott the film because you are in it.it's not going to get worse than this.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
$101,100.51
that is the final (and winning) bid for the shirts worn by jake gyllenhaal and used in the film brokeback mountain.
that's 5,257,226.50 pesos (at 52 to a dollar). five million pesos! my goodness.
i think the winning bidder just reinvented the word 'fanatic'.
Friday, February 17, 2006
say it ain't so
this piece of news bothered me.
apparently, after winning their second award at the brit awards, coldplay announced that the band is splitting slash breaking up slash putting the band on hold.
i say what? after just three albums? this fan just can't accept it. boo!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
american idol season 5 addiction starts right now
fearless prediction: top six would be ayla brown, paris bennett, kellie pickler, stevie scott, lisa tucker and katherine mcphee [holding on to the seventh spot, hopefully gunning for the sixth is mandisa]
fearless (and extremely biased) prediction: top six would be ace young, jose penala, patrick hall, chris daughtry, will makar and taylor hicks [the crucual seventh spot is shared by elliott yamin and daniel radford. sorry kevin covais. hope you do well.]
oh my goodness. can't wait for tuesday, wednesday and thursday next week. there goes my nightlife! [thanks jared for the pics]
sway, sway, sway
okay. so it's official. jose 'sway' galang penala is in. [note to dear m, maybe he's related to the galangs of cabanatuan. hah!]
i just finished watching my AI tape. this was the episode where they officially chose the top 24. and sway is one of them. yey!
last year, because of my 3-week vacation in the philippines, i did not get to watch AI as much as i wanted to. which means that i was not as invested as i was in seasons 1, 2 and 3. specially 3. hahaha. but now, i got to watch almost all of the episodes so far, including the auditions, so it is safe to say that i am on the AI season 5 train. specially since a filipino is there? hah.
dial away!
[edited to add:]
i was blog-hopping when i came across this message. the poster was listing his/her top 24, and his/her entry on jose penala was spot on. i nearly died laughing.
4) Jose “Sway” Penala — Now I put this guy here not because I particularly think that he’s great, but because he has the ethnic minority vote locked up solid. This is the same demographic crowd that took Jasmine Trias to 3rd place over the much more talented Latoya London in Season 2. And note — THEY VOTE !! He tends to oversing songs and makes too much melismatic variations for my taste. But hey, to each his own.
Monday, February 13, 2006
pink mist*
rest in peace, bomb squad guy. you will be missed.
bomb squad guy is kyle chandler. kyle chandler is the guy on this old show called 'early edition.' [photo shows him with dr. burke, the surgeon who is shagging dr. christina yang (oh, sandra oh)]
he was the bomb squad guy in the two-episode arc of grey's anatomy that started last week after the super bowl. with all my hopes (and some of my co-workers' and some friends' who are avid viewers of the show) that he is the person who's going to break the meredith grey - derek shepherd - addison shepherd love triangle went for naught when he was killed off.
it's a triangle where all the characters are likeable. like ben-felicity-noel. or dawson-joey-pacey. okay, not like dawson-pacey-joey.
it's just that it has been awhile since i screamed at my tv set. last sunday, i did that, when dylan the bomb squad guy exploded into tiny bits. pink mist, as the anesthesiologist told christina ricci's character last week.
it was a beautiful explosion. it was well-executed. way better than all the explosions they do in alias and 24. combined. the effect was just overwhelming.
grey's anatomy just overtook desperate housewives, taking the top post in my list of favorites.
(*all that is left of a person when a bomb goes off)
Friday, February 10, 2006
no to HR 4437!
more than a hundred people flocked to the democratic national committee's headquarters in downtown los angeles thursday to call on the democratic leadership to oppose HR 4437, a bill that people think is anti-human and anti-immigrant. the bill hopes to eradicate more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the united states. it's such an ugly bill i wonder why it passed the house in the first place.
i covered this rally yesterday and i felt one with the rest of the protesters. why a republican (surprise, surprise) lawmaker would come up with a bill that would criminalize people and organizations who would be helping/assisting undocumented immigrants is beyond me.
america is a nation of immigrants, deal with it!
remiss
i have not been exactly a diligent blogger lately. in fact it has been more than a week since my last post. it's just that it has been a pretty hectic week and i have been quite busy.
now that it's out of the way, what exactly happened the previous week?
first up, movies. i saw four movies last week. the eye (on dvd) at home, with P, D & T. i thought this was one of the new asian horror films. i found out later that this was done by the pang brothers in 2002! and it's being remade in hollywood, i think with renee zelwegger as the lead actress. hmmmm. i liked the movie. it was not a screamer kind of a horror flick. and i like my horror that way.
next up was a back-to-back marathon of munich and the last holiday with J. watched munich simply because i wanted to find out why spielberg was nominated for best director and the film was snobbed, as well as its lead actor eric bana. bana was surprisingly good. after watching him in the hulk a couple of years ago, i sort decided that he's a ham. this movie proved me wrong. the film was more than three hours long but i managed to watch it in its entirety without even looking at my cell to check the time. that is a good thing!
queen latifah was funny in this film called the last holiday. it was predictable, so i just went along for the ride. it had its moments and i loved the way they shot most of the scenes during her european vacation. well, the premise was simple. our heroine was told that she only had three weeks to live. what to do? well, fly to the czech mountains in the middle of winter and stay at the grandhotel pupp (pronounced 'poop'). hah. funny. film was directed by wayne wang, who also directed the joy luck club.
the last one was 'walk the line' which i saw at the arclight with T.
goodness, $14 for a movie? that's just insane for me. too much. too pricey! why arclight, why? anyway, i enjoyed the movie immensely. i really liked reese witherspoon's performance as june carter-cash. (i need to watch transamerica to see how my dear felicity huffman performed. only then can i decide on who deserves the oscar more. yes, i've narrowed the fight for best actress between the two ladies. as if my vote would matter!)
i was never a fan of joaquin phoenix but i think he also delivered a solid performance on this one. however, just like the story in the movie, he needed the radiance and support and love of june carter in order to shine himself, and face his critics. johnny cash would not be johnny cash without june carter, that's what i got from the film.
what else? next post please.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
just plain praying
for the families and friends of the people who died saturday morning in a stampede in manila.
i've been feeling sad since last night when i first heard of the news through a text message from a friend. sad because in the efforts of the people who died to find their luck in a game show, it was death that they found instead.
it was tragic. and that is putting it mildly. it's more than a terrorist attack, only this time, people cannot put the blame on a single group of people. in this day and age of finger-pointing, many will accuse abs-cbn of negligence, of not planning the logistics enough to carry out a show such as this.
biases aside, what happened was a terrible accident that could have been prevented. it has happened. no amount of talk or fighting could return the lives of the 80 plus people who have perished.
let's all move on and learn something from this.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
praying for sway
he delivered a fine audition last week in san francisco, singing 'superstar' in front of paula, simon and randy. they all welcomed him to hollywood.
but is his trip going to be cut short?
according to eonline, he 'may have sung his last note' on the talent search. uh-oh.
the article further says that he 'may have been in violation of the competition's strict eligibility rules at the time of his tryout last summer.'
In a development that does not bode well for Penala's Idol future, he was reportedly signed to E-Real Records with his band, 6th Day, at the time he auditioned for the show last August.
In September, the band released a CD titled Forever Starts Today via the site brownjungle.com, where it can be purchased for $11.99. Around the time of the album's release, a Filipino newspaper reported that Penala was still a member of 6th Day and that the band was performing mall shows in Manila.
As of this week, 6th Day was still listed on the E-Real Records roster. It's unclear whether Penala remains an active member of the band.
Controversy or no, the fledgling singer has already earned himself a dedicated network of supporters, as well as his very own fansite, www.josepenala.com, which offers music samples, photos and a biography of the "star in the making."
read the rest of the article here.
six more weeks
of winter, that is.
that's according to punxsutawney phil, who saw his shadow today, which happens to be groundhog day. oh well. what's six more weeks of biting cold? six more weeks of enjoying my winter clothes, my jackets and my sweaters.
oh carol, i am but a fool
i was on the phone with my friends J and R for almost an hour late afternoon yesterday. we hung up and went on with our lives.
i watched american idol. after the first gap, i switched channels. by the time i went back to AI, the second gap has started and J was on the phone, again.
J: Did you see Carol Banawa?
Me: No, where?
J: Are you watching American Idol? I should have asked that first.
Me: Yes.
J: You didn't see Carol Banawa?
Me: I didn't. I was channel surfing. Are you sure itw as her?
J: Yes, I am sure.
Me: Why did she audition in Texas?
J: Ay oo nga. (Pause). Walang audition dito sa LA.
Me: Uh. Ok.
Then this morning, J called me in the office.
J: I think that was really Carol Banawa.
Me: Okay, if you say so.
J: No, not just me.
Me: Okay.
J: The message boards say so.
Me: Okay
Then this afternoon, around five minutes ago.
J: Check your email.
Me: Why?
J: I sent you a link to Carol Banawa's video.
Me: Why?
J: To prove that it was her.
Me: Okay. So did she make it to Hollywood?
J: I don't know. I don't think so.
Me: Okay.
J: Check it now. Talk to you later.
So, I checked my mail. And here it is. Miss Carol Banawa. On American idol.
blogging at 3 am
why a 10-minute accidental nap (max 15) between 9:00 and 9:30 pm last night has me (still) wide awake at 3:00 am continues to baffle me. i've got stuff to do tomorrow and i need to finish them but i think i'd be way to sleepy if i don't get to sleep soon.
after watching american idol, i went up to my room. i turned my tv on, then my computer. then i went to my bed. i had no plans of sleeping yet but i crawled under the sheets nonetheless. next thing i know was that i was waking up.
reruns of sex and the city, friends, will and grace and a bunch of other documentaries on pbs hours later and i am still up. finished reading two old issues of time, cover to cover, and yes, i am still up. i stared at my bookshelf and there it was, the da vinci code, begging to be re-read. probably not a good idea, or i'll end up reading until daylight breaks.
what to do? why, turn on the computer and blog about this sleep disorder. hah. i have a sleeping disorder. i need to go see a sleep therapist. or a sleep coach. damn it, i want to sleep.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
february na!
oh gee, it's february!
it's like january passed by so quickly i didn't even notice. probably because i spent two weeks in manila, one week in haze after that and another week, well adjusting to the new year. hah!
i just read from dolly ann carvajal's column the first six confirmed housemates of celebrity big brother in the philippines. who's in, so far?
well, according to her: rosanna roces, keanna reeves, rustom padilla, chin-chin gutierrez, john pratts and bianca gonzales. interesting mix. of course, this is only half of the cast but so far it has made me wonder why they would put two sexy stars (osang and keanna...oh keanna. with a name like keanna reeves, oakay, i won't go there!) together? maybe the producers are hoping that somewhere along the way, a major catfight's gonna happen? hmmm.
among the six, it's bianca who i know the least. know is the operative word. well, it should be 'know from' TV. she's ryan agoncillo's co-host in y-speak. wait, i wonder why that show is not regularly shown on tfc. maybe because back home it has moved to studio 23. oh well.
john pratts was a toddler last time i looked. of course, that was a long time ago when he was but a tyke doing stupid and corny stuff for 'ang tv'. apparently he's all grown up.
rustom padilla. i guess it's his time to shine. and share to the entire world that he's such a happy, a very happy person. but then, maybe he'll go the uma route. ouch.
other names being thrown in the air (hey, the show's supposed to start in 4 days in manila): carlos agassi (no words for him. i am friends with his former manager) and zanjoe marudo (sp?) (i remembered his name from a long chitchat we had with R at coffee bean last november because zanjoe is R's friend. or something). speaking of R, hey, sorry i missed your wedding. i was stuck in antipolo with my boss and the rest of the crew. i hope you had a great time. congratulations and best wishes!
my only wish for now: i hope that tfc airs celebrity big brother in its entirety here in the states. otherwise, i'd be asking well-meaning friends to tape it for me. oh well, probably not.
