quid pro quo: for ALA

you are second hand smoke. you are so fragile and thin. standing trial for your sins. holding onto yourself the best you can. you are the smell before rain.

i was taking a backwards journey to some old (not really, high school?) sounds this afternoon and i encountered brand new's album, deja entendu, which for me is their best. (quite incidentally this song reminded me of you. hahaha.)

the baffled king, composing hallelujah

it's been a while since i last opened that box.
your demons send their regards, by the way.

god loves his children

pride and joy is the theme of my february

if you've been reading me, you might have noticed that lately i haven't been posting photos of my own. well... tonight i had a good chance to take a photo and ironically it captures just how busy i am, and the reason why i haven't been able to photograph.

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Wednesday (25 February) @ 10PM, Surgery in Mag:Net Katipunan
Friday (27 February), Kuwago @ SaGuijo + Kuwago @ Mag:Net Katipunan (Mary Moon)
Saturday (28 February) @ 7PM, Tala-Arawan, AMP Recital featuring AMP bands and soloists in Irwin Lee Theater

guys, maraming dates 'yan. i'll be happy if you go to just one of them, but the more, the merrier. please support! i've been working very hard for all of these gigs so please support me and my bandmates. if there's one thing i know about myself, i have an ass that can work it all day and all night for the music. so please support!

the boston drama

john mayer, one of my guitar heroes, is berklee alumnus.

i have two chances to audition for a scholarship: kjwan's guitarist, jorel, is working his way into bringing the WST (world scholarship tour) here in the philippines, OR, the WST is visiting fullerton CA (28 mins away from san dimas) in april, and my parents want me to be there for summer. i'm really freaking scared. i'll cry if i pass because i'm finally going to miss manila. i'll cry if i fail because berklee has been my dream since high school.

gaaaaah. for one i'm really happy and thankful for the opportunities. but i'm actually more scared than happy. i've NEVER had formal training. NEVER had to audition for an academic scholarship. NEVER been to a music school. well. there's a first time for everything...

fly on, little wing

hesitations, confusion, reflections, illusions.
frustrations.
fly on.

now, back to the selfless act that is songwriting.

bittersweet symphony

now you get your ass on the bed, and prepare for the fuck of your lifetime because after what you put me through, i deserve it.

cruel intentions - before gossip girl, there was cruel intentions. i love the way sebastian's character shifted from mature to naive when he was in love. kathryn the queen bitch stunningly hot. one of the landmark films i grew up with, and it's amazing to know that mick jagger wrote the song "bittersweet symphony" pala. nice. the soundtrack was very fitting, too. it made the upper-east side more sophisticated with a brit-rock twist. but honestly i thought the dialogue could've been written better. i don't know. i mean, after seeing closer (which had excellent dialogue), maybe i expected much from cruel intentions. but eh, gotta understand that these characters were kids compared to the ones in closer.

p.s. that quote was lifted from one of the deleted scenes.

the universe is not playing fair

i just want a fight.

give me fuel.
give me fire.
give me that which i desire.
-metallica, fuel

"go ahead... make my millennium."

beetlejuice - i wasn't so fond of everything in it but i'm pretty sure it broke a lot of cinematic ground rules from way back. imagine, it was screened at '88, the year i was born! beetlejuice must've been cool. i understand why. the horror was just right and its balance with the film's sentimental side. and of course the part where this film tries to break away from mainstream cinema was quite a success. but honestly, i thought the script could've been improved. still, props to tim burton. and danny eflman for the fucking good music.

my favorite sequence. it was so cheesy that it was funny.

"lydia, being dead doesn't make things any easier."
(p.s. i loved winona ryder. i have a crush on her character. <3)

like fugitives

why do you run like a fugitive
when you got reasons to live
and everything you need
opposite the godspeed

if you can't find it
then don't hide
if you can't smile
you're not on trial
if you can't be
just breathe, for me
if you can't run away
it's a reason to stay.

why do i keep chasing your ghost
when i can't even float
and everything i need
is right in front of me

(i need a new amp...) listen here.

i didn't say goodbye

it wasn't so hard to cross the street after all. it all depends on who's waiting for you on the other side.

my blueberry nights - it wasn't as trashy as some people said it would be. wong kar wai's usual suspects were there - the spaghetti western whip, the cafe with a story to tell, the story-hopping, and of course, the wonderful coloring work. all of those elements remind me of chungking express, which was topnotch. the script was also appropriate. norah jones wasn't exceptional though. i mean she can act, but it wasn't anything special. at first i thought natalie portman didn't fit her part but i guess i can blame my pre-conceived notions due to her other films for that. i really liked this movie. maybe i liked it a lot because of the story's relevance.

rock on, grandma. rock on.

i watched the lit major seniors' thesis defense today and i loved this one that my friend rainey reported on - about how secondary schools should pursue the teaching of catcher in the rye. +1 for you, rainey. you're no phony.

one song glory

when lady death crowns the dawn
we are one and all
and nothing at all
as an angel, will you crawl?

can you make it on your own?
cuz im running out of answers
i know it's hard to be alone
so can you make it on your own?

download it here.

sunday bloody sunday

"We are all ordinary people. But even an ordinary secretary, or a housewife, or a teenager can within their own small ways turn on a small light in a dark room."

freedom writers: so, here's the deal. i hate hilary swank. i was especially annoyed with her in the first few minutes, but this movie sheds some new light on her - for me. if you enjoyed dead poets society, you'll appreciate the realness of the classroom setting in freedom writers. this one's like a more modern version that talks about racial slur, gang violence, etc., and how a teacher deals with that kinda stuff. it fascinates me that movies set in school always have to stir some insurgence. rebellion. change... revolution. it makes me want to teach all the more actually. haha.

so yeah,

this weekend just really fucked up.
time to kick back and watch movies.

this, my friends, is sasha grey. she's my age, and maybe yours too if you're an 88 baby. she enjoys philosophy - she

"has expressed a strong interest in existentialism while posing the question "how many 18 year-old porn stars are existentialist?"She cites either Jean-Luc Godard and David Bowie as the biggest influences on her life and career."

totally forgot to mention - she's a freaking pornstar.

it fascinates me what these people do after they take videos of themselves having sex in front of people. sometimes it's not even just sex. going by what margo stilley said - that "making films was (sic) like getting a tattoo," what more for pornstars?

"plenty of people are onto the emptiness, but it takes lots of real guts to see hopelessness."

revolutionary road - probably the most epic drama i've seen in the longest time. the script was great, cinematography was just right, tama lang 'yung timpla ng colors, and most of all, i'd have to say, the best movie of kate winslet after titanic. i fell in love with her here more than in eternal sunshine. whut. blasphemy but it's true.

i think the reason why i love this movie is because it kinda reminded me of a more two-sided mrs. dalloway. the crazy guy was like septimus smith. the brokenness of kate winslet's character resembled clarissa dalloway's share of grief from a failed marriage. and the whole 1920's setting was just so similar.

i have a date with natalie portman

movie night: darjeeling limited, closer, the other boleyn girl.

darjeeling limited - god i love this movie. the cinematography was ace, as well as the story. the story was just so fucking amazing. my favorite part was,

ex girlfriend: "whatever happens in the end, i don't wanna lose you as my friend."
jack: "i promise, i will never be your friend. no matter what. ever."
ex girlfriend: "if we fuck, i'm gonna feel like shit tomorrow."
jack: "that's okay with me."
ex girlfriend: "i love you. i never hurt you on purpose."
jack: "i don't care."
he would not go to italy.

"i love you. i love everything about you that hurts."
"lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off - but it's better if you do."
"how could one man be so endlessly disappointing?" "that's my charm."

closer - i love natalie portman's stripper scene, angas nung dialogue!

bring the noise like a robot monster

this is live radio loud and clear,
bring your demos over here
-sandwich, gripstandthrow

sometimes you gotta have faith in people

9songs

i'll be honest, the movie wasn't the best - as a movie. but it's something i can't say no to for some personal (and private, maybe) reasons. i like what margo stilley said in her interview: "doing a movie is like getting a tattoo." loved their relationship, hated the fact that the concert parts were mostly inaudible. i couldn't make anything out of the weird sound design. sayang because the music was supposed to come hand in hand with the whole story.

any given sunday

i really think cameron diaz wasn't meant to play the role of the GM. BUT. al pacino won it. his speech in this movie (before their playoff game) was one of the best. grabe. love this movie!!!also, props to aaron eckhart. man, that guy can act. loved football, of course, and sports, and al pacino once again. hated... cameron diaz.

hell ride

i'm only halfway through the movie but i can tell that quentin tarantino's had his name in the credits in way better movies. but ey, when i saw cassandra hepburn (full-body nude), i knew right away that she was filipina. true enough, read here! haha. to summarize the movie in three words, i quote the code of bikers: bikes, booze, and booty. loved the pulp fiction-esque use of the "box," and the fact that anybody could've died in any point in time because they were just fucking around with each other. hated the turns of the plot.

introducing top 3:

angelina jolie.
after watching Wanted. enough said.

i'm on a boat, muthafuckah!

he, the anchor

tonight we sleep

this shall be the last of my chain posts for tonight. my chronic headaches have again, been recurring... which tells me to wear my glasses... agk.

fate fell short THAT time

now that, is some good shit.

when i say shotgun, you say wedding

cast the first stone. and the last.

i want to play slapbet with the fates.

FUCK YOU, KARMA!

YOU WANT SOME?
THEN COME FUCKING GET SOME!!!!

i have nothing left to lose, because i don't believe in anyone's shit anymore. especially yours.

i believe in karma

you know, that hot chick that fucks you over until you bleed black and your nuts go nuts and suffocate you, you know, mortician style.

best part about it - when she makes you come like angels resuscitating your featherweight lungs.

and then she fucks you over again.

if you feel like you've seen this girl before... *y'knowhutamean.* hahahaha

let's go to the movies

there are few things as fetching as a bruised ego on a beautiful angel.
-stuntman mike, deathproof

movies i'm looking for:
1. almost famous - because of that scene where they're all in the bus and singing tiny dancer. classic!
2. the devil's advocate - "vanity. my favorite sin." well said, al pacino!
3. the doors - i just want to see how val kilmer fared with his role as jim morrisson
4. american history x - never in his career has edward norton disappointed. i wanna see how this one went.
5. a history of violence - heard a lot about it before from a, right about time for me to check it out.
6. dangerous liaisons - some people told me way back that this was the "cruel intentions" of their time. i love cruel intentions.
7. vanilla sky - i lost my freaking copy. :( but i love that movie. abre los ojos was cool, but vanilla sky had the "new york-esque" edge to it.
8. breakfast club - now, i used to have a vcd of this movie but i don't know where it is. i want a dvd. haha.

i'll see you in another life, when we're both cats.
-vanilla sky (photo from abre los ojos)

movies i'm watching out for:
1. the watchmen - alan moore hated the movie, but hey, it's not like he wasn't disgusted with v for vendetta. too disgusted that he wanted his name out of the credits. that man is an evil genius and i bet that the watchmen, despite the impending doom on alan moore's name, will deliver. zack snyder, showtime. (read the graphic novel. i saw why it's really hard to make an adaptation - complex tropes, as the new critics would call it. the devices in the movie are so out of this world. one more time - alan moore, evil genius.)
2. fanboys - finally something for star wars fans. and i heard the girl is going to wear the princess leia suit!!! gaaaaaame! anyway it's about a bunch of SW freaks trying to steal a copy of the phantom menace before it went out in the wild. should be fun.
3. coraline - neil gaiman. enough said. stardust disappointed but this one has low risk because it deals with animation and a whole different world. stardust was really hard to give justice because of its epic context.
4. the soloist - i saw the trailer in AMC while waiting for benjamin button and i must say, jamie foxx is a jewel. it's about an autistic musician who bumps into a journalist. they become friends and stuff. awesome. oh, i forgot to mention - robert downey jr. plays the journalist.

life has a mind of its own
the soloist

calling out for a movie night to everyone! i recently acquired Persepolis. i've browsed through the comic and man, i can't wait to see the movie.

just let me breathe life

into your tired lungs.
-tonight we sleep, he, the anchor

for you it's just a love song

but for me, it's now or never.
-parokya ni edgar, how to make a love song

photo by aaron.

little wing by jimi hendrix