tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110934212024-03-05T00:17:12.880-07:00RetainingMySanityThis blog kinda defies description. I write about whatever I feel like writing about.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-14972540976809334872016-04-16T09:24:00.000-06:002016-04-16T09:30:44.449-06:00Does the university culture spawn anti-social people?Something I forgot to post 8 years ago....observations around friendships in university.<br />
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Yes and no. <br />
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I accidentally sent a friend I hadn't seen in over a year a text message I had meant for another friend with the same name. Embarrassed at this realization, I quickly sent the friend I had just accidentally sent a text message to another message apologizing and explaining that I had meant the message for another person. About ten seconds later, I got a call from said friend saying that she just got a message and didn't know who had sent it. Apparently, she doesn't have caller id. I guess this is a mistake I was happy to have made in the end because we ended up talking for about an hour and a half catching up but acting like no time had passed.<br />
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We talked about so many things - what we were still doing in school, topics that would have some people screaming "nerds!" such as religion, egotistical guys, the overrated bar scene but most importantly, we vented about how difficult it is to make (and keep) friends in university. <br />
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I'm sure most people have "made friends" in some form or another whether you regularly talk to the same people in your classes or have added just about every school acquaintance on your Facebook. But there's that awful word...<em>acquaintances</em>. I truly believe there's different levels of friendship but somehow, it seems acquaintances have slithered into friendship territory. My friend and I both noticed that the trend in school, if you're lucky enough to have a friend in your classes who isn't a high school friend, is to use the classroom friend as some sort of academic tool. You help each other with notes, bitch about the prof if the prof deserves bitching, perhaps even study together for finals but beyond that, nothing happens. No weekend plans to go out, emails are exchanged not phone numbers and even after you've spent four or even eight months sitting and talking beside the same person, you end up parting ways as if the bonds that were being made over such a lengthy time were quickly undone. Like what the hell!?? <br />
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But let's back up here for a second. When the semester begins and you don't know anyone in the class, there's that anxiety that takes hold as you walk through the door and scan the room to see someone that seems worth sitting beside. Perhaps you've already taken a seat and someone decides to sit beside you. Now here's the hard part. Initiating a conversation. This isn't so hard if you happen to be in a small class that forces partner work or group discussions but when you're in a big lecture hall and have a prof that simply talks during the entire class, it's easy to stay in your own little bubble and say absolutely nothing to the people sitting beside and around you. My friend, being in the Faculty of Science, has been dealing with this for four years straight. I feel her pain because I felt the same way when I was in Sciences for a couple of years. There are labs and seminars but everyone seems too freaking competitive or anxious that responding to someone who's trying to be friendly is just simply not a priority. <br />
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Not that Arts and Science students are all that different from each other when it comes to anti-social behaviour. In both faculties, classes will inevitably get smaller as you take higher level courses. And most likely, you'll start recognizing a person here or there who've been in your previous classes. Do you acknowledge that you've been in the same class before? Unless it's a language class (and I'll get back to that in a while), most likely not. Instead, people either ignore each other or act like they've never seen each other before. But as the classes get smaller and smaller, that gets more and more awkward. Yes, I'm guilty of this but I have my reasons.<br />
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So here's a question: Why is it so hard for people to say "Hi"??? Why is it so hard to introduce yourself or initiate conversation? Why do I always find myself having to be the one to put in all the effort??? My friend and I agonized over completing this simple yet somehow horrendous task. Why?? Because people in general don't seem to be doing it! Even if you do manage to establish some sort of relationship with someone over the few months your in classes together, it rarely goes beyond the classroom. <br />
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What's even more awkward is when you see someone from one of your classes outside of your class but in such close proximity. I'll use my Italian 111 class last year as an example. Language classes are some of the easiest classes to make friends in but that's not always the case. I actually had a friend from high school in this class. When she dropped out of it two days later, I wanted to murder her but I did manage to make a friend in that class. That's besides the point, though. One of the guys in that class also happened to be part of a student group I was in. I think there were a few opportunities here and there where we could have introduced ourselves to each other but just didn't. I was waiting for him to say something but maybe he was waiting for me to do the same. Maybe I came off as a snob of sorts. Who knows? After a couple of months of no acknowledgements, I finally tried talking to this guy. I really felt like I had no choice, though. We happened to be in an elevator together and there's only so much awkwardness I can take. Another girl in my Italian class became friends with my friend but we basically never talked to each other. I guess it's that awful case of "you're friends with my friends but that doesn't make us friends". Anyway, this girl happened to take the same bus as me to school from time to time and maybe she knew it or not but she never acknowledged it or even tried talking to me. One day, I finally just asked her if she took the same route as me to school. And we got along like peas and carrots. There was this other guy in this class who almost always took the same bus as me on the way to work but I never worked up the courage to say anything...and I guess I could say the same thing about him.<br />
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Experts say that people rarely become friends with acquaintances and only stick with a small group of close friends because of time constraints and cost reasons. But doesn't our society foster such an idea? Everyone's so overworked (whether out in the real world or in school), they barely have time to meet up with friends (and if they do, schedule conflicts can become a problem) much less meet up with acquaintances to get to know them better.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-15562565769841231172008-01-18T02:59:00.000-07:002008-01-19T02:40:06.802-07:00Maida's on his own...for now<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg271kbrsXzEtMajQmqyQ0mN989v7MzqHiOkP4YSSOiVDzKDeDRacqPtgIFJyBR21mcdYm7Cx6M727KojQfFh5kn9vox82xY8nxVL3c4k5_5XS409nyamQjzdLfoQpYlWMXmQ7P/s1600-h/thehunterslullaby.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg271kbrsXzEtMajQmqyQ0mN989v7MzqHiOkP4YSSOiVDzKDeDRacqPtgIFJyBR21mcdYm7Cx6M727KojQfFh5kn9vox82xY8nxVL3c4k5_5XS409nyamQjzdLfoQpYlWMXmQ7P/s200/thehunterslullaby.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156772066263194018" /></a><br /><h1><span style="color:#000033;"><strong>Raine Maida</strong><br /><em>The Hunter’s Lullaby</em><br />(Kingnoise)<br />***½</span></h1><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><font size=2><em><span style="color:#990000;">Today I got to thinking the world's in a strange way</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">Feels like I'm in a 7-11 when a robbery takes place</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">Do I hide behind the counter</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">With my hands covering my face?</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;"></span></em></font><br /><span style="color:333366;"><em>The Hunter’s Lullaby</em> just goes to show that <strong>Raine Maida</strong> should forget <strong>Our Lady Peace</strong> and stay solo – or maybe just stick to his own label because when given the freedom to do his own thing, the man spouts off creativity in ways unseen since <strong>Our Lady Peace</strong> released <em>Spiritual Machines</em>.<br />Maida reveals that he’s been a closet fan of genres OLP wouldn’t even begin to touch including spoken word and hip hop. The experimentation is endless. Not only does Maida toy with different genres, he’s allowed his voice to wander. One minute, he’s rapping, the next, he’s singing, and the minute after that, he’s belting out nonsense syllables such as “<em>la la la</em>”s. At times, the experimentation fails. “Yellow Brick Road”, for instance, sounds like it was penned by a teenage boy out of some attempt at self-therapy. However, when Maida gets it right, he really gets it right. “The Less I Know” has catchy beats and lyrics that seem to unconsciously slide smoothly into place along with an equally catchy rap cameo by <strong>Jared Paul</strong>. The animated air of “Confessional” will have you picturing Maida dancing on the streets Broadway-style and such an image is indeed a strange one to imagine. “Rat Race” (aka the song that should have closed the album but didn’t) is the climax of the record’s innovative journey and includes an enchanting chorus by singer-songwriter wife, <strong>Chantal Kreviazuk</strong>, whose voice could essentially be the “lullaby” in <em>The Hunter’s Lullaby</em>. <br /><br />I have a friend who thinks Maida put out a really good record here but finds it too depressing. This is true to some extent. Tracks like the “China Doll” hit you with its somber beauty but eventually, one can’t help but start to feel glum listening to it. No doubt that many will be quickly turned off by Maida’s constant spats at what he considers a jaded and ignorant world. Pretentious? Perhaps. But it’s difficult not to be impressed by the innovative melodies, beats, song structures, and instrumental mixtures that Maida comes up with. <br /><br />Like a hunter who steps out into the wilderness for the first time, there are bound to be arrows that miss their targets. But for the time being, Maida’s aims aren’t too far off.</span><br /><br /><font size=2><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/6631999c494b0a/">"The Less I Know" - Raine Maida feat. Jared Paul</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/6632815d603735/">"The Snake & the Crown" - Raine Maida</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/6632952b3de450/">"Rat Race" - Raine Maida</a></font></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-91521760592415155932007-12-12T23:26:00.000-07:002007-12-12T23:27:37.161-07:00The end of a chapter<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s_362uMC-ak/R2DIl6xo6lI/AAAAAAAAAC0/kyHERjglBio/s1600-h/bamboo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s_362uMC-ak/R2DIl6xo6lI/AAAAAAAAAC0/kyHERjglBio/s320/bamboo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143331328215280210" /></a><br /><strong>Rivermaya</strong><br /><em>Atomic Bomb</em> (1997)<br />BMG Pilipinas<br /><br />I meant to write this review way back in September but just kind of dropped the bomb...err, <em>ball</em> on completing it. <em>Atomic Bomb</em> is one of those successful albums you're excited to listen to in order to see what the big fuss was all about only to be slightly disappointed when you do finally get the chance to hear it in its entirety. Actually, <em>Atomic Bomb</em> could easily be renamed <em>Trip: Part II</em> except Rivermaya by then were completely swimming in Brit pop-rock waters whereas previously, they were just carefully treading in it.<br /><br />If this record had done away with overdone, forgettable pop-rock tracks like "Elesi", "If", "Luha" (Tears) or "Fever", perhaps I might have enjoyed it more. It's unfortunate because this was probably Rivermaya's most coherent work to date. The band extended what they did on <em>Trip</em> with "Nerd Kills Goliath" by adding three instrumental tracks to help with song transitions. Songs like "Hangman (I Shot the Walrus)" showcased new approaches to writing. This song seems to be divided into three parts where the beginning sounds like post-grunge/90s alt rock, the middle is a clear ode to The Beatles, and the ending goes back to 90s alt rock with Rivermaya sounding a lot like Canada's own Moist and it worked. "Sunny Days" is another Beatle-esque song except the circus sonic instrumentals remind me of a Canadian indie band that I got to see live this past summer called The Hylozoists. <br /><br />Rivermaya, however, didn't completely go British. "Mabuhay" (Live)and "Hinahanap-hanap Kita" (Always Looking for You) are classic Filipino pop - while somewhat catchy, they're not the kind of songs I desire to listen to over and over again.<br /><br />I'm guessing the band played around with adding various sound effects to tracks in the studio but whatever that screeching playing near the end of "Hinahanap-hanap Kita" was just made my eardrums want to cry. Speaking of things tears-related, the violin part of "Luha" is rather wonderful despite what I said about this song earlier. "Tea for Two" is like <em>Atomic Bomb's version of </em> "Lost". Like the latter, there's "ooo"s here as well but instead of Bamboo's vocals rising an octave higher, they slip down an octave lower (the only contemporary vocalist I can think of who Bamboo sounds like is The Killer's Brandon Flowers but even that's not an accurate enough comparison). <br /><br />Blanco provides catchy hooks galore but it's the most evident in the sensual "Ballroom Dancing" which also happens to contain some of my favourite lyrics in <em>Atomic Bomb</em>: "<em>Don't tell me I'm crazy/I dreamt the sun was radiating blue/But doctors have cleared me/It's just a case of too much missing you"</em>. Yes, cheesy but strangely intelligent with the play on words.<br /><br /><em>Atomic Bomb</em> was both a blessing and a curse. It gave the band a chance to play in the U.S. in 1998 but it was the last one with Bamboo Mañalac. During the U.S. tour, Bamboo remained in L.A. where he stayed for five years before returning to The Philippines to form his own band (named after himself). Even with only three Rivermaya albums in his repertoire, Bamboo had quickly gained recognition for his ability to mould his voice to sing songs of any genre effortlessly. Obviously, Rivermaya survived and remained just as successful without him for years to come but I can only imagine the heart-sinking feeling that the average Rivermaya fan who associated the band with Bamboo's voice felt at the time.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/55787924b3b247/">"Sunny Days" - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/55808747c8e8a4/">"Hangman (I Shot the Walrus)" - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/55809503d458ba/">"Inst.2: The Chase" - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5581086e4537ab/">"Ballroom Dancing" - Rivermaya</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-43580212882599734602007-10-07T22:03:00.000-06:002007-10-08T00:08:28.787-06:00This upcoming civil election will be a breezeThat's partly a lie. I have no freaking clue who I'm going to vote for mayor or public school trustee nor do I particularly care. For one thing, mayors always tend to focus on the central part of the city (ie. Downtown) more than anything else and as for school trustees...I'm no longer being educated under the public school system nor do I have children so I can't say I have time to waste on something that doesn't really affect me.<br /><br />Up till this week, I had no idea what was going on with the city election. I had read <em>The Gateway</em> interviews with the Ward 5 councillor candidates but I don't live in Ward 5 (I'm in Ward 6) so those interviews, while somewhat interesting reads, aren't going to affect my vote. <br /><br />The main issue I've cared about since I started going to university (and still live in the suburbs) is transportation and even more recently with the economic boom, traffic congestion caused by both inefficient public transportation and too much construction. Not surprisingly, people are going to talk about crime in Millwoods. Personally, I think it's more of an overhyped myth than actual reality (yes, shit happens here but just as long as you don't get involved in it in the first place, it most likely won't touch you).<br /><br />Going through the list of Ward 6 councillor candidates, I immediately recognized three names: <strong>Chinwe Okelu, Amarjeet Sohi, and Dave Thiele</strong> - and that's due in part to the number of campaign signage they've sprinkled throughout Millwoods. <br /><br />Thiele's currently a councillor. I'm not exactly sure what he's done but according to his <a href="http://www.davethiele.ca/default.asp?p=Issues&o=15">site</a>, he supported the U-Pass and supports the idea of public transportation as the primary choice for urban mobility. He also wants to get rid of vehicle idling. The site overall isn't very informative. Issues are listed but not really talked about in depth.<br /><br />I got pamphlets from three candidates today. One of them was Okelu's - who I saw occasionally when I used to go to church. I gotta wonder: Is this guy so popular that he doesn't need to elaborate to get people to vote for him? His pamphlet was the most pointless to read out of the three. His family life, community service, and awards are listed as well as his campaign issues...with no further explanation. At least Thiele has a paragraph for each issue. Okelu has nada. I went to check out his <a href="http://www.okelu2007.org/chinwe/index.php?page=Chinwe_Okelu_Profile">campaign website</a> and the exact same stuff that was in the pamphlet I saw was there. Nothing new.<br /><br />The second pamphlet I went through was Sohi's. This guy is hands down the one with the best campaign. He actually <em>explains</em> why there are problems and how he wants to see them resolved. His <a href="http://www.sohi.ca/index.htm">site</a> is very well put together and it goes further to explain the issues he wants to deal with - he's practically got a mini-essay written out for each one but what he says is actually interesting. His support of rapid transit and LRT immediately makes me want to vote for him. He asks the question of why only 11.4% of Edmontonians are using public transit and attacks the lazy response of Edmonton simply being a car city by pointing out that it's because the city's public transport system, to be frank, is terrible. He also mentions the limited service on off-peak hours and weekends as well as the lengthy one hour trip from Millwoods to Downtown or the University. It's like he's read my mind! If that weren't enough, I read that he lobbied City Council to improve bus service (route 72) into Silver Berry and Mill Creek Meadows (the neighbourhood of yours truly). This really struck home to me because a few years back, I remember waiting for the bus to get me out of my neighbourhood so I could head to school to write a midterm. Basically, the bus went right past the ten people who had been waiting for it (me included). Let's just say I was not a happy camper since by then, it was past peak hours. I don't remember how I ended up getting to school in time to write the exam but I do remember calling ETS as soon as I got home and bitching about what had happened and demanding that the route 72 operate more during non-peak hours. And even though I said I'm not exactly concerned with city crime, what Sohi says about it is worth reading. Basically, he thinks that day-to-day crime needs to be dealt with if bigger crimes are to be prevented but of course, the police are more focused on the latter. <br /><br />The last pamphlet I read was <strong>Chuck McKenna's</strong>. He seems to focus a lot on youth crime and gangs. One issue he mentions that others haven't is snow removal and street repair. While not nearly as bad as Okelu, McKenna has the same problem in that he doesn't say more beyond a sentence or two on the issues he lists.<br /><br />I checked the campaign websites of the last two Ward 6 candidates, <a href="http://www.lorijefferyheaney.ca/">Lori Jeffery-Heany</a> and <a href="http://www.tomasdennisvasquez.com/index.htm">Tomas Denis Vasquez</a>. Heany, like Sohi, gives explanations behind issues but sadly, she makes no mention of public transportation whatsoever. Meanwhile, I take back what I said about Okelu having the worse campaign. I just saw Vasquez's and he doesn't even have a list of issues he plans on tackling! - just this vision: <em>"Enhancing our communities through cooperation and mutual understanding of common goals"</em> and a list of affiliations, jobs, and community service work he's done. I can say with confidence that this guy is not going to get a whole lot of votes.<br /><br />So after all that agonizing research, I'm definitely going with <strong>Sohi</strong> for one of the Ward 6 councillors and most likely <strong>Thiele</strong> for the other one.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-76734368671262203392007-09-09T00:51:00.001-06:002007-12-12T19:49:31.869-07:00The Trip which led to a jump<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxc_OmH_cfgmuEDAkt6fnfyU-PLQ3NTP7ylA_xFpmENkNsdaqB0xRaPDmV7gO4lRjAjV-57lo3ZeTLTvdXZTNACBgslzbVN9BT-3kO6L__IZuzVs2lF0W9wx4QGrs6WH5j7Uq/s1600-h/riverm2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxc_OmH_cfgmuEDAkt6fnfyU-PLQ3NTP7ylA_xFpmENkNsdaqB0xRaPDmV7gO4lRjAjV-57lo3ZeTLTvdXZTNACBgslzbVN9BT-3kO6L__IZuzVs2lF0W9wx4QGrs6WH5j7Uq/s200/riverm2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108093601058278546" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Rivermaya</strong><br /><em>Trip</em> (1996)<br />BMG Pilipinas<br /><br />First thing's first: guitarist <strong>Perfecto De Castro</strong> went bye-bye and keyboardist <strong>Rico Blanco</strong>, well, proved that he could also play guitar. If you didn't know this, however, in all likehood you may never have noticed there had been a change in the musical lineup.<br /><br />Rivermaya at first appears to continue from where they left off. There are still strong alt-rock/grunge influences interspersed with pop ballads proving that the band is not one to be pidgeon-holed into one genre. So what's different? They manage to rock harder (as well as sound creepier) than they did on their debut with the track "Sunog" (Fire). Rivermaya also becomes whinier than they've ever been with "Out of Reach". Think of some of the most ear-grating pop-punk bands that have infested the radio over the last few years and you'll get an idea of how awful this song sounds. Fortunately, this doesn't become a trend for the band. <br /><br /><em>Trip</em> also begins to introduce the band's British influences. This is most notable on "Lost" where the song begins with <em>"Oooooo"</em>s followed by <strong>Bamboo's</strong> high-pitched singing. Everytime I hear this song, I picture someone walking out of their house and onto the streets late at night to find that he/she is completely alone. That <em>is</em> what the lyrics suggest (<em>"And if you'll crash into this party tonight/in this town where there is nothing but dim lights/You may bump into somebody who's lost/Maybe that's me"</em>) but like many Brit pop songs, "Lost" only bums you out if you aren't paying attention to the melody, which is nearly impossible given how light and catchy it is. Another track that stands out is the 41-second "Nerd Kills Goliath" which sounds like the sound effects to a video game - you can actually hear the part where Goliath becomes a goner despite the subtlety of the moment (and by "subtle", that means no shooting guns or swinging slingshots are to be expected). "Panahon na Naman" (It's Time Again) is a good finish. It's a straightforward pop-rock tune that ends up sounding like something The Beatles would compose with it's <em>"Na na na na"s</em> as well as an unexpected violin part tacked on at the end.<br /><br />I have to admit I'm not a big fan of this album (although that means nothing considering how well it sold in the Philippines) but the tracks that stand out are ones I'd listen to over and over again. One that I haven't yet mentioned is "Hilo" (Dizzy) where Bamboo shows again why he's such a great vocalist (he also does the same thing when he continuously sings <em>"Someday I..."</em> near the end of "Flowers") and Blanco maintains his knack for great songwriting. This album also showed that Rivermaya was not a band to stumble when confronted with major changes (although that comes off as an overdramatic term given the <em>truly</em> major changes that would come later). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/35530882e4137a/">"Hilo" (Dizzy) - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/35531968fcfb49/">"Sunog" (Fire) - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/3553340da6700f/">"Lost" - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/35534225295f8b/">"Nerd Kills Goliath" - Rivermaya</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-16255275881392846652007-08-15T22:50:00.000-06:002007-08-16T00:19:50.755-06:00I knew this would happen sooner or laterA certain kind of musical conflict sometimes occurs between shoppers and staff - especially when the majority of shoppers happen to be middle-aged to elderly women and the staff consist of highschool and college-aged "girls". <br /><br />When I first started working where I work now, I suffered for about two months listening to "store music" (basically, albums the store sold - they ranged from 60s diva music to classic rock tunes which I originally loved but grew to hate by the 17632th time I heard them). So what one of my coworkers and I used to do was bring our own CDs to work when the manager and our older coworkers weren't around. At first, we were sure to select music that wouldn't offend and which would accentuate the atmosphere of a home decor/gift store rather than contradict it. Anything with cursing, sexually suggestive lyrics, and/or aggressive shouting were total no-nos. I think I had a post-punk album in the cd player once that actually got a complaint. My 'new' boss (fortunately with him, we didn't have to listen to store music anymore, he burned his own cds) immediately jumped to the conclusion that my music was "crap", hid everyone's cds, and for about a month or two right before school ended, we were stuck listening to the likes of Lily Allen to the point that if you liked her infectious pop tracks before, you were definitely sick of listening to them after those two months had passed.<br /><br />Eventually, we discovered the hiding spots of our beloved music so we were back to playing it when the boss wasn't around. I did learn a lesson, though and took my shouty post-punk album out and stuck to music that again, would hopefully be fine for a diverse audience. One day, I accidentally left my discs in the cd player one evening but the thing is, my boss <em>left</em> them there when he came to work the next morning. Success!<br /><br />Anyway, I'm straying off from my main point - that's just the context of the situation. Over the summer, someone brought in Justin Timberlake's <em>FutureSex/LoveSounds</em>, Timbaland's <em>Timbaland Presents Shock Value</em>, and Rihanna's <em>Good Girl Gone Bad</em>. In other words, we're listening to far more rap/hip-hop/r&b music than we ever have before. <br /><br />My favourite track off of JT's album, I think, would have to be "Damn Girl". The first time I heard it (I hadn't yet heard the album from start to finish before my coworker brought it in), I couldn't help but find it extremely funny (and at the same time, veeery awkward) to hear this song while old ladies (and sometimes, gentlemen) were shopping or worse, entering the store to hear "Damn, girl!" blasting at them. The irony is highly amusing. <br /><br />What I knew would happen sooner or later was what happened yesterday.<br /><br />While I was standing on a ladder precariously hanging chimes, this middle-aged woman came up to me and asked with a slight frown, "Who chooses the music around here?" <em>"The staff...."</em> (Yes, I know now that I should have lied and said, <em>"My boss...</em>") The lady screwed her face even more and said, "I don't think I can stand to listen to this much longer!" About two seconds later, she walked out of the store.<br /><br />I know I should feel bad when shoppers don't like the kind of music that's playing in the store - but heartlessly, I don't. If you're shopping, the longest you have to hear what, in your opinion, is horrendous music is about half an hour...two hours tops if you're one of those shoppers who <em>really</em> like to take their time. We, on the other hand, are listening to this music for seven or eight hours straight, multiple times a week. Of course, there's validity to the idea of "offensive music" but I also think some people take offense too quickly to things that aren't meant to be offensive. That's one blatant aspect of the generational gap for you. It spoke even more clearly for me early this morning when my mom exclaimed that some song playing on Joe FM (come on! <em>Joe FM</em>??) was "noise" and proceeded to ask, "How can you call this music?!" (<em>Easy...it's NOT Christian radio</em>).<br /><br />By the way, that song that lady was complaining about yesterday was none other than "Damn Girl".Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-60981562570899592132007-08-14T03:55:00.000-06:002007-09-09T03:41:03.322-06:00The album that drove the Filipino alt-rock revolution<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq6lLXzK-HDivnCxd4PsqN49Z3QYGQwYAtwzQ4ybdPyCcY23V7HJJ1F6W35M79shWWTAOimUnx_p9WGU7v4yaCQHQwpKIK2oCkY_P0CgH4YcyfayFArkg9LLEr218p4XuAo6S/s1600-h/rivermaya.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq6lLXzK-HDivnCxd4PsqN49Z3QYGQwYAtwzQ4ybdPyCcY23V7HJJ1F6W35M79shWWTAOimUnx_p9WGU7v4yaCQHQwpKIK2oCkY_P0CgH4YcyfayFArkg9LLEr218p4XuAo6S/s320/rivermaya.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098495151487404946" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong>Rivermaya</strong><br /><em>Rivermaya</em> (1994)<br />BMG Pilipinas<br /><br />While most Pinoy rock bands in 1994 kept low profiles in the underground music scene, Rivermaya decided to take a chance by releasing a record under a major label. <br /><br />The success obtained that year was only just the beginning.<br /><br />There's still some confusion (for me, at least) as to how Rivermaya was formed. Some sources say that managers <strong>Lizza Nakpil</strong> and <strong>Chito Roño </strong>were responsible for putting the band together. Others suggest that Nakpil and Roño discovered Rivermaya after some demos by the band had been sent to various record companies. Whatever the case, the fact that keyboardist<strong> Rico Blanco </strong>was the one writing the catchy hits should have done a fairly good job of keeping Rivermaya away from the manufactured music stereotypes. <br /><br />Rivermaya's self-titled debut could be seen as many things. In some ways, it was a window into their future. The album is a hodgepodge of different sounds - from the hard-edged "Revolution" to the ballad "20 Million" to the country-influenced "Gravity" - just as the band itself would later go into different musical phases. In other ways, <em>Rivermaya</em> is a mirror image of what was going on in North American rock with the grunge and alternative era. The band's vocalist at the time, <strong>Francisco Mañalac</strong> (known by many as "Bamboo"), even sported the same bald head as The Smashing Pumpkin's Billy Corgan. Songs like "Ground" were unmistakably influenced by grunge rock. Most importantly, however, Rivermaya's first record showed that rock music (in a country where pop music was "in") could be popular and cool while remaining original and credible at the same time. <br /><br />Bamboo's voice is difficult to ignore. It's as versatile as the songs themselves. Even in songs that at first appear to border on being so mellow it's boring, Bamboo's voice adds nuances you wouldn't expect. One case in point is the way he sings the outstretched "heh-heh-haaate" in "Bring Me Down". <br /><br />Meanwhile, it's easy to see how the band's first single ever, "Ulan" (Rain) became such an instant hit. The beginning of the song sounds like someone's changing the dial to a radio before finally coming across a station that is about to play a song by...guess? Blanco not only shows his stuff here through the songwriting but by the little keyboard solo he does at the bridge. He churns out a few dissonant chords and they actually sound nice. <br /><br />I think I'd have to vote "214" as the best track on this album. I'm not a big fan of pop-rock ballads but this one's so damn catchy I'll have to make it an exception. <br /><br />"Awit Ng Kabataan" (The Song of the Youth) is runner-up for best track. The way Bamboo's voice goes from calm to shouty without making the shouting headache-inducing like so many who attempt to do the same thing is a feat in itself.<br /><br />At first listen, the album doesn't seem all that extraordinary. As mentioned before, the constant change in sound throughout could make you wonder if <em>Rivermaya</em> was being marketed to please everyone or if they were simply being versatile because that's who they really were. During this time, people were still comparing them to the Eraserheads, a band that had been around a little longer than Rivermaya and which had already established a loyal following. But unlike The Eraserheads (who mainly stuck to mellow, subtle pop-rock), Rivermaya went in many different directions with their music. <br /><br />Another reason I felt underwhelmed listening to the album the first time around is because the music I was hearing was music I haven't really touched since I was in junior high. But when I took the songs at face value, I started to find more things worth praising. And when I remember the context of the album's release, I can't help but appreciate the effort even more. "Revolution", for example, isn't my cup of tea but hearing the ensemble of guitarist <strong>Perfecto de Castro</strong>, bassist <strong>Nathan Azarcon</strong>, drummer <strong>Mark Escueta</strong>, and Bamboo - it's amazing how such a classic rock sound was finally shouting out from a country that had, up to that point, a tendency to silence the rockers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/31370903bfd6d0/">Ulan (Rain) - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/31372074e43c95/">214 - Rivermaya</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/3553592e561468/">Awit ng Kabataan (Song of the Youth) - Rivermaya</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-11003236542476390512007-08-10T18:56:00.000-06:002007-08-10T20:47:58.656-06:00Coming Up: A Tribute to Rivermaya<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yxkfosKW1qA4bgs_IPiEGCw5lTVG1G2wrdXnyeJ8fhKWyenTEE2d4BfUscSJ-okyAWA8L23KsM0-zBXLurQHBah4DIigToOKCxPLAid7okHBlFl-MZXiVXaZIAx6ox4w_x1d/s1600-h/rivermaya2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yxkfosKW1qA4bgs_IPiEGCw5lTVG1G2wrdXnyeJ8fhKWyenTEE2d4BfUscSJ-okyAWA8L23KsM0-zBXLurQHBah4DIigToOKCxPLAid7okHBlFl-MZXiVXaZIAx6ox4w_x1d/s320/rivermaya2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097256306825579362" /></a><br /><br /><br />Yes, I know that the Philippine's arguably best music act in the past decade and a half hasn't broken up - its backbone only walked away. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj73RG-098vJAB1i0HSDUBHWiZoqXmTczMttdqjiaz-jx0WXnAczMlmNIdt_cZcFFkZ7ObIqOi3CkBg63NBLl9ChZIOj_NBdiW8pf93BkA2V9sQhyphenhyphen9J3PD4ivnKWMIhuVazo5c/s1600-h/ricoblanco.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj73RG-098vJAB1i0HSDUBHWiZoqXmTczMttdqjiaz-jx0WXnAczMlmNIdt_cZcFFkZ7ObIqOi3CkBg63NBLl9ChZIOj_NBdiW8pf93BkA2V9sQhyphenhyphen9J3PD4ivnKWMIhuVazo5c/s320/ricoblanco.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097257573840931698" /></a><br />Rivermaya's lineup has consisted of many changes over the years (four different guitar players, for instance) but <strong>Rico Blanco</strong>, up until two months ago, remained. Drummer <strong>Mark Escueta</strong> barely missed the birth of Rivermaya (he was part of the second line-up) and while he can now claim to be the longest bandmember standing, it was Blanco who saw Rivermaya take its very first steps. He was also largely responsible for the band's repertoire as the chief composer/lyricist, spawning out hits that will undoubtbly leave marks in the Filipino music scene. <br /><br />And by most accounts, isn't the identity of a rock band formed largely by the kind of music it produces - regardless if the music is being written by songwriters record companies hire or by one lone man who is part of the group? In Rivermaya's case, it was Blanco who defined what Rivermaya was about. In the second half of the band's tenure, he became an even more dominant presence when he took over the vocals from <strong>"Bamboo" Mañalac</strong>. <br /><br />Management tried to ease rumours of the band breaking up by saying that "No one member is greater than the whole." I couldn't disagree more. With a new vocalist and someone else taking over the reins of songwriting, Rivermaya will simply never be the same band as it was before. <br /><br />At this point, you may be wondering if this is more a tribute to Rivermaya or rather, Rico Blanco. No, it's still about Rivermaya. The real tribute comes later in the form of album reviews starting with their 1994 debut <em>Rivermaya</em>. <br /><br />In the meantime, though, I had to explain why I thought a tribute was warranted for a band that still remains.<br /><br /><center><strong>"Bye Bye Na" video</strong></center><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZrwuVEHJu1Q"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZrwuVEHJu1Q" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-57977673637760696042007-07-06T22:12:00.000-06:002007-07-06T23:14:01.309-06:00The day I waited for hoursThere have been two things I have been meaning to do for months but didn't do due to lack of time or laziness: renewing my passport and getting an RRSP. <br /><br />So during my day off on Monday, I made it my mission to, once and for all, complete these tasks.<br /><br />While I have no plans to go anywhere outside of Canada until December, word on the street is that it's taking months to get a passport now. I wasn't too sure if passport reissues fell into the same category but I wasn't going to take any chances.<br /><br />It was already 4 when I arrived at Canada Place (Passport Canada closes at 4:30). I stepped right in and was utterly confused as to where I was supposed to go. A bunch of people were sitting...obviously waiting. I saw a lineup and decided to line up as well. Guess there must be such a thing as gut instincts 'cause it turned out that that was where your application and other necessary info had to be checked out by an officer in order to be assigned a number. You know...the process would be a LOT less complicated if they actually had a sign that said something to the effect of "Obtain number here and sit down". Geez. Even the people in front of me looked a little confused. One man clearly had a problem with waiting. I know this because his wife constantly kept trying to assure him that once their info was checked, they would get to go to a booth right away. The wife was right. This couple ended up finishing over half an hour before me and even before the lady in front of them.<br /><br />I wonder if there's a list of professions that include a high percentage of uptight people. I remember having a discussion with a former coworker once about how accountants definitely fall into this list. Well, on Monday, I realized that those working at Passport Canada - specifically the ones who have to go through all the applications - should be added to the list as well. They're some of the most uptight people I've ever met - or maybe I'm just unlucky and just happened to have my info checked by the uptight ones. Some of the other checkers seemed pretty nice.<br /><br />Around 4:15, I got my number and sat down. In the meantime, I wondered what exactly was going on when people got up to go to the booths. I noticed some people took 15 or 20 minutes. Were they being bulldozed with questions? Did they not fill everything out? Finally, around 5:30, my number appeared on the screen. The lady at the booth I went to quickly checked off sections of my application. For the most part, it was silence. She asked me ONE question and that was simply to verify the name of my guarantor. After only <em>five</em> minutes, I was done! If I had to guess why, it's because I had all the requirements done but if that's the case, wouldn't people who went to the passport officer with uncompleted info be turned away? Anyway, glad that's over and soo looking forward to doing it again in five or however many years a passport is good for. Ha.<br /><br />I know I've bitched about ETS numerous times before but one thing I hate is idling. Why do busses stay at one spot for ten minutes? I know, I know. They want to arrive at the bus stops at the time mentioned on the schedules but in my dream world, they should just cut their losses (or better said, cut the gas emissions) and drive on. <br /><br />So apparently, my main TD Bank branch only has two financial advisors working evenings. With the number of people coming in literally every minute, they need way more. I arrived at the bank at 6:30ish and didn't leave until after 8. At least the lady I spoke to wasn't uptight. <br /><br />My boss once asked me, "If all the lines were long, what's the maximum amount of time you would wait in life to pay for your groceries?" <em>Ummm...25 minutes. </em> "What?? No way!!" <em>Okay, 45 minutes max!</em> He gave me another incredulous look and told me that shopping for groceries at the Superstore in Fort Mac can be a 3-hour chore. I told him that if that was the case and I lived there, I'd move to a different town (err..city). Hahaha. <br /><br />But in all seriousness, I think patience is more innate than golden for many. Sometimes you <strong>have</strong> to be patient. Just looking at the situation over at Passport Canada, only 2 people whose numbers were displayed were MIA during the time I was there...meaning, the rest stayed and <em>waited</em>. I highly doubt people were debating in their heads, "Gosh, this is taking really long. Should I stay or should I go?" I don't think it's a choice so much as it is a sense of obligation. <br /><br />Tracking back to my boss's question, I hate to admit it, but he was right. I definitely would stay more than 45 minutes in line for mandatory groceries if such a case as he described arose.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-30250372176951139002007-06-17T21:55:00.000-06:002007-08-14T02:58:14.801-06:00The beautiful disaster known as the Daytime EmmysI hate award shows in general. <br /><br />I used to look forward to watching the popular ones such as the Grammys and the Oscars. I got even more excited about those that were less known such as the Junos and the MMVAs (I caught some of it last Sunday and the nominees for Best International Group were enough for me to turn off the TV). But the Daytime Emmys are different. I ALWAYS have nominees to root for.<br /><br />No doubt that I'm in the minority but daytime television to me is far more fascinating than that of primetime and more often than not, the world of Hollywood films...that is, if you're a bigger fan of acting rather than writing. If you wanna know how good an actor <em>really</em> is, go watch a soap opera where they appear almost every day of the week for several years (some, years on end) and often, have to make subpar writing somewhat entertaining. I mean, Hollywood seems to looove Orlando Bloom. That's because viewers aren't subjected to his dry acting almost every day of the year (although nearly three hours seems torturous enough)! If they were, I'm sure critics and movie buffs alike would be singing an entirely different tune.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the voting process for the Daytime Emmys is just about as invalid as those of other awards. People don't win based on their work for the entire year but on two episodes. This year's results just goes to show how people who don't necessarily deserve a trophy can win.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48zFktbRBrHHidEm26n5w3NNUfB9QzC84htnuYD6hj3q2l8zdljquKc7gtowHZduR7tfiPgFiRcAnZm4yGqde-8zIUdIHZ6NNWIlDSXYM-f4UD3q7vkPqaoA8FDKdf50pP8VN/s1600-h/genie_francis_615.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48zFktbRBrHHidEm26n5w3NNUfB9QzC84htnuYD6hj3q2l8zdljquKc7gtowHZduR7tfiPgFiRcAnZm4yGqde-8zIUdIHZ6NNWIlDSXYM-f4UD3q7vkPqaoA8FDKdf50pP8VN/s320/genie_francis_615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078415751459511970" /></a> Of course, tapes can be disregarded altogether. As exciting as Genie Francis's (Laura, <em>General Hospital</em>) win for Outstanding Supporting Actress may have been for the actress herself and for anybody else who wished that she had won an Emmy years ago, it just wasn't fair. I caught some of GH during Francis's big return last to see what the big fuss was all about but I was underwhelmed. The win was clearly a sentimental vote. Francis's speech said it all. She mentioned how she had been waiting 31 years for that moment. What does that say about the Emmys??? Hmmm...that they should start handing them ON TIME rather than rip off other talented, well-deserving people because they want to make up for the stupid mistakes they decided not to prevent the first time!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L0k4jPRxg09rQzuv1dVBMypnjXMG1GAHeXkhhNK0I_9PZqmIotH7922rdf5UHjoW4Ou4QG_ZOeJHMPmwQ2bvv6pRa0QVuNiDCtKVvucU6zEcADTF-Z0PMYATu187qL1eQ7BC/s1600-h/ellen_615.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L0k4jPRxg09rQzuv1dVBMypnjXMG1GAHeXkhhNK0I_9PZqmIotH7922rdf5UHjoW4Ou4QG_ZOeJHMPmwQ2bvv6pRa0QVuNiDCtKVvucU6zEcADTF-Z0PMYATu187qL1eQ7BC/s320/ellen_615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078415751459511986" /></a><br />Another thing that bugs is repeat winners - who, in reality, aren't that exceptional. Ellen Degeneres's multiple wins have become tired and predictable. Is this woman really the best talk show host out there? Ellen herself must be phoning in her acceptance speeches by now. And I can only imagine how <em>the View</em> ladies must feel.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-J9Dba697n95A2pucUZ1IyVHaurtOVruuYY2xT78gURNlKW77vPWZhMHLa9Fta9oqxjzwMsxT-E51M2AWOVCKFu_aVtOn23VGqLXU7n4JArV-yVX5F6Y3NUCadXLZNZLvYPzg/s1600-h/Jennifer_Landon_615.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-J9Dba697n95A2pucUZ1IyVHaurtOVruuYY2xT78gURNlKW77vPWZhMHLa9Fta9oqxjzwMsxT-E51M2AWOVCKFu_aVtOn23VGqLXU7n4JArV-yVX5F6Y3NUCadXLZNZLvYPzg/s320/Jennifer_Landon_615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078416885330878146" /></a>Then there's the Outstanding Younger Actress category - becoming well-known for its obsession with repeat winners and even eerier, girls named Jennifer. Jennifer Landon (Gwen, <em>As the World Turns</em>) won again this year. Before her, Jennifer Finnigan (ex-Bridget, <em>Bold & the Beautiful</em>), won three years in a row. Landon, the daughter of one of TV legends Michael Landon, is currently ATWT's darling as can be seen by the amount of airtime she dominates. Sadly, I see her as daytime's version of Mischa Barton - monotonous, overexposed, and way overrated. To be fair, though, Landon had surprisingly good performances in the tapes she submitted. It's too bad that the other nominees who deserved wins for their work overall last year kicked themselves in the foot by submitted bad tapes. Julie Berman (Lulu, GH) has been the one to get the most buzz in her category but the fact that her tape would have been a better submission for Genie Francis (her onscreen mom) resulted in a loss. Stephanie Gatschet (ex-Tammy, <em>Guiding Light</em>) also made the same mistake by submitting scenes that could very well have gotten her onscreen mom, Nicole Forester, a nomination.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtWaaBCrlnZCjx5XA9jAy4K2iqZ8DbqAcSGOcYgU1FGV6tlVlwPygfc0mKNHh64LUM6hz86DaeX4EhdkWqT44S2YU3_eaTgpTWNwfOKMQcnwGryyBw8PCHRGisgURYMoRYd-9/s1600-h/bryton_mcclure_615.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtWaaBCrlnZCjx5XA9jAy4K2iqZ8DbqAcSGOcYgU1FGV6tlVlwPygfc0mKNHh64LUM6hz86DaeX4EhdkWqT44S2YU3_eaTgpTWNwfOKMQcnwGryyBw8PCHRGisgURYMoRYd-9/s320/bryton_mcclure_615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078415747164544658" /></a>I'm still in disbelief that the kid who used to play Richie on <em>Family Matters</em> won Outstanding Younger Actor. I'm usually in the camp that says, "If they submitted two great tapes, they deserve it". I don't know what Bryton McClure submitted but from the little I've seen of him on <em>The Young & the Restless</em>, the guy lacks the charisma that Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan, GL) obviously has in spades. Speaking of Pelphrey, what <em>is</em> it with him continuously losing to 'nobodies' from Y&R? In 2004, his loss to David Lago (Raul, Y&R) practically had everyone in the daytime industry in shock. Pelphrey played a huge part in rejuvenating the dinosaur that is <em>Guiding Light</em> for two and a half years. He should have easily won three years straight. And while I'm not a big fan of Van Hansis (Luke, ATWT), I think him winning would have made more sense. There's been so much talk about how his portrayal of a gay character is one of the most realistic ones ever done on television but if Reva having cancer didn't matter, if Lulu's abortion didn't matter, then Luke being gay, unsurprisingly, didn't matter. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwnBVzDLXkGrkIipK10AR6g3JAG_GjxRbltCMiB2Nf5AES1LjZT87ZVXxgU8Rnktv_fWKT7FdlOhBp4dE8l9srW8Cr4a38xjAkIEkygEknhdhJ6T1XXyoCwJ2Odve3H0HTESj/s1600-h/rick_hearst_615.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwnBVzDLXkGrkIipK10AR6g3JAG_GjxRbltCMiB2Nf5AES1LjZT87ZVXxgU8Rnktv_fWKT7FdlOhBp4dE8l9srW8Cr4a38xjAkIEkygEknhdhJ6T1XXyoCwJ2Odve3H0HTESj/s320/rick_hearst_615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078416885330878162" /></a> Ric Hearst (Rick, GH) winning Outstanding Supporting Actor was one of two acting wins that didn't make me go WTF...mainly because I've hadn't watched enough of the nominees in the category to really have an opinion as to who should win. Hearst's win, followed by Francis's, however, had me worried for two seconds that a GH streak might happen.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_But6sn_cWPH1EctHwKkDpLa9JDgH7-wyqthzuc3ArqbkKBW3K7l3RoHAbtKwTHlXfoJ7jg1ltAKQLSypQQg5hPTrOiSC7Cf8tOeJNT3DcQ9nwGrcDNhUq1hYLPaP40bI6f9/s1600-h/maura_west_615.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_But6sn_cWPH1EctHwKkDpLa9JDgH7-wyqthzuc3ArqbkKBW3K7l3RoHAbtKwTHlXfoJ7jg1ltAKQLSypQQg5hPTrOiSC7Cf8tOeJNT3DcQ9nwGrcDNhUq1hYLPaP40bI6f9/s320/maura_west_615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078418444404006642" /></a>The other acting win that I was fine with was Outstanding Lead Actress. I was praying for Kim Zimmer (Reva, GL) not to win again. She's good but she's also on my list of overrated daytime actors. GL loves her but it's become obvious in the last few months that she alone cannot carry the show. So I was happy when Maura West (Carly, ATWT) won. I'm surprised that this is actually her first win. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TfC06WpspX0_J2Qns7UBlHowzN3YkrqR2mUrjystcePtp5JB6tMg9dpvxl3en6o5jxuK9QkG9jP4RaieQmtFcT13TVycc3ZIxcD98ibh6MjNIbsyxqqpt_VC0rSBsS15fUch/s1600-h/christian_leblanc_615.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TfC06WpspX0_J2Qns7UBlHowzN3YkrqR2mUrjystcePtp5JB6tMg9dpvxl3en6o5jxuK9QkG9jP4RaieQmtFcT13TVycc3ZIxcD98ibh6MjNIbsyxqqpt_VC0rSBsS15fUch/s320/christian_leblanc_615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078417688489762530" /></a>Having only two hours to get through the awards show compared to last year's three, this year's Emmys felt very rushed. However, kudos has to be given to showing acting clips for all the acting categories. Actually, they missed one: Outstanding Lead Actor. I don't think it was so much that the technical staff forgot, but because someone wasn't timing those embarassing fan videos or Tyra Banks and Elmo's flirty conversation and cutting them short (speaking of Tyra, what the hell was she wearing??? She may have been a model, but no way could anyone pull that disaster off). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1p8BxQ2EZruOquVz2OuO-eUy5njcQk-pUX7mMUtbLnIg4QBPdZCOdNR0xH-9KEnja-LBGXDpXiCbCQdZuxhjgoIDv6FzHDZABubFnWmpJ5YqF9DsRpf6IAc_6Jyq47x3b79cU/s1600-h/image2938431.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1p8BxQ2EZruOquVz2OuO-eUy5njcQk-pUX7mMUtbLnIg4QBPdZCOdNR0xH-9KEnja-LBGXDpXiCbCQdZuxhjgoIDv6FzHDZABubFnWmpJ5YqF9DsRpf6IAc_6Jyq47x3b79cU/s320/image2938431.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078419724304260882" /></a> Nevertheless, the result was greatly disappointing. Christian LeBlanc (Michael, Y&R) over Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R) and Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus, GL)??? From what I've heard about LeBlanc's tapes, he would have been better off being in the Supporting category. I happened to watch RPG's submissions, an episode dedicated to showing his pain med-addicted character going through withdrawal, when they aired and while I didn't become an RPG fan after watching them, I was convinced that the man could really act. RPG looked a tad pissed (along with Bergman when they announced who won. Can't say I blame them.<br /><br />Bob Barker was in the same boat as Genie Francis in that he got a sympathy vote with his Outstanding Game Show Host win but unlike Francis, Barker made it more about the staff from <em>The Price is Right</em> rather than about him. The man couldn't be any classier.<br /><br />There needs to be some kind of rule to prohibit drinking before an awards ceremony. The director from ATWT who got up to make the acceptance speech for winning Outstanding Directing was sooo wasted. What was even funnier was how the camera panned to two ATWT actresses to show their "OMG..she's tanked!" reactions as the director stumbled over her speech and movements.<br /><br />Despite an overall lack of creativity and sense in GL's writing last year, I was still rooting for them to take Outstanding Writing. They submitted two very well-written episodes so I think they deserve the win if that's what the rules are.<br /><br />Ditto with Outstanding Drama Series. I was almost certain that <em>One Life to Live</em> was going to take it home (really, what beats an episode based around an innocent man's execution?). So it was definitely a shocker when Rachael Ray revealed that there was a tie. <em>Guiding Light</em> was the first one announced. Now, I admit sympathy played into this win since this is GL's 70th anniversary year but again...two well-written and acted episodes equals deserving win. It's really too bad that they had to share the spotlight with Y&R, which used the worst episodes as submissions out of the four shows nominated. What a great irony, however, that the two winners for Drama Series are the highest-rated AND one of the lowest-rated soaps. It's also very ironic that the two shows GL submitted heavily featured three of their nominees (Gina Tognoni, Tom Pelphrey, and Stephanie Gatschet)...who didn't win. It seems illogical how a show can win but lose out on all the acting awards. Doesn't a great show require great acting?<br /><br />Thanks to this <a href="http://entertainment1.sympatico.msn.ca/TV_Guide/Soaps/Features/Articles/070618_daytime_emmy_follow_NB">article</a>, I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who thought the results of this year's Emmys were seriously flawed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-6853082246015244882007-06-08T00:04:00.000-06:002007-06-09T21:51:12.578-06:00Taking a Look at Pinoy RockGrowing up, I always had this notion that Filipino (aka Pinoy) music consisted mostly of pop music - so heavily saturated with unoriginal dance tunes set to cheesy love lyrics. I'm sure if you ask any Filipino who grew up in North America to name one Filipino music artist or band, almost every single person asked would mention Regine Velasquez. She is to the Philippines as Mariah Carey is to the States and Celine Dion is to Canada. So it's not surprising as to how I formed my somewhat misinformed idea of what Filipino music is all about.<br /><br />But maybe I wasn't so misinformed. It seems that the Philippines has in the past decade experienced a resurgence of OPM (Original Pilipino Music) bands after having been dominated so long by American music. Not all of them are good. Some are quite bad, actually, and many are clones of each other just as many bands here in North America uncreatively sound like Nickelback. But there are some remarkable bands that deserve to be mentioned.<br /><br />Originally, I planned on doing a chart of what, in my opinion, are the best Filipino bands out there but that would just be just as difficult as ranking Canadian indie bands. I know far less about the former and am still just beginning to scratch its surface. So what I'll do instead is review bands/albums as I go. <br /><br />Here's review numero uno:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWHzscuUJY_SrSjYuzvOCMajEXQXcCgZuupWPiEMmY_ERoFUqCxcW3XNM4xMrA9x3osPdny1iLYBHaCSe2tqkC2ZCmmnQAlFbrtS2Lg2_UCXldzSTrFmYy54DEBgYKc2IaBZA/s1600-h/hale-twilight.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWHzscuUJY_SrSjYuzvOCMajEXQXcCgZuupWPiEMmY_ERoFUqCxcW3XNM4xMrA9x3osPdny1iLYBHaCSe2tqkC2ZCmmnQAlFbrtS2Lg2_UCXldzSTrFmYy54DEBgYKc2IaBZA/s200/hale-twilight.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073597979269406258" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Hale</strong><br /><em>Twilight</em> (2006)<br />EMI Philippines<br /><br />The sophomore album of this Manila-based quartet (Champ Lui Pio, vocals & guitar; Roll Martinez, vocals & guitar; Sheldon Gellada, bass; and Omnie Saroca, drums) is a vast improvement over their self-titled debut from 2004. While they are still injecting an overdose of romantic love themes into their lyrics (Hale, after all, has been classified in the pop-rock genre known as <em>pogi-rock</em>). the music itself has become more innovative.<br /><br />Champ is quite the lyricist, however, and it's a shame that he doesn't venture outside of his usual self-proclaimed "melodrama" and write about other topics. Really, how many times can someone sing about unrequited love? It gets old by song #4. But even with all that melodrama, his vocals do a great job of revealing genuine emotion instead of coming off as something you'd want to respond to with an eyeroll - that is, until the instrumentals are mundane enough to pull the song towards unforgettable territory. "Empty Heart, Empty Tears" is an excellent example of this.<br /><br />As catchy as "Waltz" is, Champ seems to have lost his lyrical talents when he comes up with the lines "<em>And now I am outraged/As if we were engaged</em>". What's worse than too much rhyme is rhyming without having it make much sense.<br /><br />Hale does have loads of potential as can be heard with "Hide and Seek". Champ is able to show off his vocal range and the instrumentals are interesting to listen to. There's a part in the bridge where it sounds like someone is repeatedly firing a gun. Meanwhile, "Starting Over" shows a great shift in energy as it starts off quite mellow and speeds up with its uplifting chorus. Later, the chorus itself provides the background to vocals that almost seem to bounce. <br /><br />Time will tell if Hale will grow away from its high school phase and create the kind of great music they clearly have the ability to make.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3oOC3GLCc2hMiU9k6Vea_-vdFGyrkT0DSbcdPT-5CcTEUZtIPuCMepgQme-3UguZuzm5EQ8IcKdjL0O6jnjf2ZcuFYZhuzRSFExNb526VW0OxAoUpjO7I_XjW77Nvluzesjvw/s1600-h/hale.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3oOC3GLCc2hMiU9k6Vea_-vdFGyrkT0DSbcdPT-5CcTEUZtIPuCMepgQme-3UguZuzm5EQ8IcKdjL0O6jnjf2ZcuFYZhuzRSFExNb526VW0OxAoUpjO7I_XjW77Nvluzesjvw/s400/hale.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074271430141419074" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=BE61069875F10516">Hale - Last Song</a><br /><a href="http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=A004900E0714B611">Hale - Hide and Seek</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6rdTs0Nx2g&mode=related&search=">Hale - Hide and Seek (video)</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-57880913958835732232007-05-02T01:13:00.000-06:002007-05-03T03:11:43.184-06:00The Tyde's Three's Co.<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/SpiritualJunkie/untitled.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/SpiritualJunkie/untitled.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I've actually never heard of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thetyde/">The Tyde</a> before. But just based on the band's name, along with my discovery that they're from California, as well as seeing a picture of big signs saying "swim" and "surf" on the CD booklet, I was pretty much prepared to drown miserably in sickeningly happy pop tunes. <br /><br />But this band surprised me.<br /><br />The album opener, "Do it Again Again", actually misled me to believe that my expectations were true. However, sometimes, it takes time for things to grow on you and this song has quickly transformed from a mediocre dance song into something rather catchy.<br /><br />Songs like "Brock Landers" and "Separate Cars" drive me crazy. Not because they sound horrible, but because they're eerily similar to songs I love. Unfortunately, I can't for the life of me remember which songs those are, nor can I remember what band The Tyde is channeling that it's difficult to say if it's just being an unoriginal ripoff. <br /><br />The first few seconds of the last song on the album, "Don't Need a Leash" sounds just like "Let it Be" by the Beatles only to veer off into the tune of another very familiar song...which again, I sadly can't remember.<br /><br />Ultimately, <em>Three's Co.</em> is surprising because it is an album that will make you forget that it's "music for surfers" conjured up by a band from sunny California. Instead, it will make you desperate to recall all the bands and artists you've ever listened to. And now that I think about it, maybe The Tyde doesn't just sound like one particular band but a number of bands, and possibly has influences which span more than one decade - all these aspects molded to produce a unique sound while remaining to sound strongly familiar.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-53993154717387138802007-04-30T17:11:00.000-06:002007-05-29T17:11:45.464-06:00I dunno but I'm kinda digging the new ATWT opening...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNIhQWUImJ8">New ATWT opening</a><br /><br />...and dare I say that it's actually better than the show right now? <br /><br />I don't understand what people are harping about in regards to the music. I think it's gold. It totally bulldozes the awfulness that was in the previous opening. The new sound has a classic, old-time feel to it and it ends on a really nice note.<br /><br />The folks in the forefront look a little cut-and-paste and some of the people they decided to put in shots together lead to some questions. They've made Alison & Luke and Brad & Meg look like romantic interests when the former have never had a scene together if I recall correctly (not to mention that Luke is gay) and the latter are cousins (unlike <em>Guiding Light</em>, I highly doubt that <em>As the World Turns </em> will 'go there'). Nevertheless, I think the format is nice.<br /><br />The new opening also made me laugh out loud at the 25-second mark where Brad (played by Austin Peck - some might recognize him as Austin from <em>Days of Our Lives</em>) looks like a deer caught in headlights. Hahaha! I can't believe the opening makers actually decided to keep that shot. Still, it isn't enough to make this new opening any worse than the <a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0vj395n7No>old one</a> which should win an award for Worst Cut-and-Paste Job Ever in an Opening Sequence.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-17905460291982406352007-03-06T20:48:00.000-07:002007-03-08T23:28:40.426-07:00How I loathe Edmonton's public transport systemLiving in the most southeastern part of Edmonton sure does have its disadvantages. <br /><br />It seems like everytime I get driven home by people who don't live in Millwoods, comments about feeling unsafe or "being in the 'hood'"(Millwoods...<em>Millhoods</em>..haha, yeah, I think that's a bad one, too) have to be made. To this, I simply chuckle as there are things faaar worst which accompany living where I live besides juvenile delinquents and numerous cul-de-sacs that will leave the Millwoods visitor (and resident) wishing they had been road designers. Namely, the God-awful public transport system in this city.<br /><br />On Monday, Wednesday, Fridays...I have my first class at 9am. If I were to bus all the way from my house, it would take an hour. There's a university express bus that avoids 111th street completely and gets to the university in 40 minutes but the only time I ever use that route was if I had a class to go to at 9:30am on a Tuesday or Thursday. <br /><br />Ever since I started driving, I've ditched taking the bus all the way from my house and opted to park n' ride at Southgate instead (despite the ridiculous "no park 'n ride" bylaw and having been caught twice for trying to break it). Speeding through the Whitemud (10 min.) + bussing from Southgate to the university (15-20 min. give or take) = 30 min. aka half the time that bussing all the way would take.<br /><br />Yesterday was an exception, though. I drove to Southgate and arrived at 8:40 and hopped on the 44. Strangely enough, a ton of people boarded to pack the bus. I was so sure that I arrived too late to get to school on time and so felt some relief that maybe I hadn't. <br /><br /><em>The deaf school was in sight...stop for 5 minutes...inch half a meter forward...stop for another 5 minutes...inch less than a meter forward...I start to doze off (as do others)...jerk my head back up...nooo, another red light? I'm late for sure now...wow, this is taking kinda long...really, REALLY long...</em><br /><br />At some point, I was wishing that they'd completely ban having people drive to the university altogether or at least reserve the right lane for busses and taxis during peak hours. We finally reached the University Hospital (still didn't know what time it was) but I finally found out what was dragging traffic down to turtle pace - one lane had been blocked so that there was only one lane left to use. Brilliant. I finally looked at the clock at Health Sciences to check the time...9:33am. Wait, <em>9:33????</em> I have an assignment to hand in today! CRAP!!! By the time the bus had reached the university, it was almost 9:40am. What normally is a 15 min. bus ride took an hour. The same amount of time it takes to bus all the way from my house.<br /><br />I wanted to complain. But to who? ETS? I guess I can't really blame them this time since an hour vs. 15 min. is quite a huge discrepancy. Construction or whoever else was responsible for giving us southside folks only one lane to work with?? Maybe motorists for polluting air and space instead of taking public transport? After all, I could have driven all the way to the university but the amount of gas (and money) I'd waste idling makes me shudder. And one lane or two lanes, I think it's safe to say that if less people drove all the way to the university, busses would be reaching campus faster. <br /><br />Or maybe I should blame city council for not coming up with a better public transport system. There's really no fairness when people in Clareview can reach the university in about 25-30 minutes (I'm sure that's about right) while those in Millwoods (an area with enough people to be Alberta's third largest city) have to spend twice as much time on the road to get to the same destination.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-2018189610712066022007-01-19T16:36:00.000-07:002007-02-17T21:46:51.314-07:00Foreign music does not equal bad musicThe other day, I arrived at work and noticed "Day-O" (or however the heck you spell it) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers blaring. Oohh...new song. I asked Jody (my boss) if he had made a new CD and he replied, "Yes, I did! That's because no one could understand your music! Some old lady came up to me once and asked, 'What <em>is</em> this???" Defiantly, I said, "I don't understand all my music.I just think it <em>sounds</em> good." After that, Jody admitted that to be fair, he added one French song to the new CD. Ha!<br /><br />I have one coworker who never fails to say how much she hates French music. Supposedly, it's because she hates listening to something she can't understand but for some reason, she's perfectly fine when something's sung in Spanish or Italian.<br /><br />Like I said, I don't understand every foreign song I fall in love with but some of their approaches to certain genres and some of the tunes foreign artists/bands come up with are far catchier than the mainstream coming out of North American radio.<br /><br />It's really a damn shame that albums don't make it to the Billboards or Canadian Soundscans just because they're sung in different tongues.<br /><br />Below is a list of non-English artists/songs worth checking out.<br /><br /><strong>Mickey 3d</strong> (<a href="http://www.mickey3d.com">mickey3d.com</a>) - A French band with one of the most original sounds out there...particularly their middle eastern influences which can be heard in songs such as <span style="color:#330033;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p6cPk25Xws">"Yalil"</a>. My favourite songs include <span style="color:#330033;">"La Mort du Peuple" (The Death of the People), "Les Mots" (Words)</span>, and "<span style="color:#330033;">Le France a Peur" (France is Scared).</span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"></span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"><strong>André </strong>- I came across the video to <span style="color:#330033;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrNaZUe8jCM">"Station Balnéaire"</a> when I was watching MusiquePlus in Montreal. I've just recently tried finding his other songs and I really liked <span style="color:#330033;">"Comptoir Postal"</span> and </span><span style="color:#330033;">"Tsigane et Sara".</span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"></span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"><strong>Juli </strong>- <span style="color:#330033;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFe59l-ZKrc">"Perfekte Welle"</a></span> is FAR better than most pop crap playing on the radio here at home. And I don't understand German at all!</span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"></span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"><strong>Xavier Naidoo</strong> - Again, I wish I could understand German because I absolutely love his song <span style="color:#330033;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4iBDNFdu1A">"Was Wir Alleine Nicht Shaffen"</a></span>! I haven't been this into an R&B song in so long! "Bevor Du Gehst" is also another notable song, in my opinion.</span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"></span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"><strong>Le Vibrazioni</strong> - This Italian band was introduced to me by a friend. They play rock music bordering on pop which I tend not to like but the falsettos get me everytime. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4iBDNFdu1A">"Raggio di Sole"</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pOGn1oRgjY">"Dedicato a Te"</a> are some of those inner conflicts for me.</span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"></span><br /><span style="color:#330033;"><strong>Sandwich</strong> - While doing research for a final sociology paper last semester, I came across this article talking about Korean and Russian rock. This all of a sudden got me curious to find some Filipino rock as I really know next to nothing about it except for the classic Freddy Aguilar who's best known for his song "Anak" (Child) and The Eraserheads who were huge in the Philippines in the 80s and 90s (I had tried listening to the E-heads in junior high but just couldn't get into them...I recently tried listening to them again and have come to appreciate their music more). Anyway, the guy who used to play drums in the E-heads, Raimund Marasigan, is now the lead vocalist of Sandwich. They have some rather interesting tunes including <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Tz0obGPLk">"DVD X"</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWWt7bm3dIM">"Sugod"</a>, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnmMAMOv3d8">"Walang Kadala-dala" </a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-87616188699979359002007-01-12T00:26:00.000-07:002007-01-19T16:33:00.834-07:00Winter, go awayTo travel in a snowstorm sucks but to work during one...not so much.<br /><br />So yesterday (err..2 days ago), I was running late for school - I decided to drive to Southgate and then hop on a bus headed to the university. Bad idea.<br /><br />There was what looked like a blanket of death shadowing the entire Whitemud freeway. The worst part of the Whitemud in such a snowstorm isn't even the Whitemud itself but just trying to enter it. There happened to be an accident by the intersection I was trying to make a turn in to get into the Whitemud so I was stuck on this one street for 15 minutes.<br /><br />Eventually, I get on the Whitemud and I can't even see the car ahead of me. Just its taillights. Yes...I feel totally safe driving in this condition. Anyway, I made it alive to Southgate, hopped on a bus and ended up being half an hour late for French.<br /><br />Two and a half hours later, I'm done classes and waiting for the bus to head over back to Southgate. The road by SUB loves to make people slip. The scariest being when this guy riding a bike by this bus suddenly slipped and fell off just when the bus was no where near being able to stop. The biker was only half a ruler length away from being run over. Even the bus driver admitted that if the guy hadn't gotten back up when he did, he <em>would</em> have ran him over. So lesson here is: don't ride a bike when the roads are made out of icy snow much less, in that said condition <strong>beside</strong> a motor vehicle!<br /><br />Unfortunately, I had my own little scare on the way home. I almost got into an accident when I couldn't stop at a red light and this other van was turning. I was literally 2 seconds away from crashing into it. Fortunately, that's when I managed to stop and back up. No doubt, that moment was just as frightening, if not more, than seeing a biker almost get run over.<br /><br />It was completely dead at work today. My boss gave me and my coworker a bunch of stuff to do which was good. After my boss left, there were probably only 4 or 5 people who bought something.<br /><br />Thank God for being able to bring our own music to work (no more Christmas music!). I managed to get my coworker into Pilate and Hawksley Workman. We also had a long talk about music. I always got the impression that she only listened to hip hop and r&b so it was kinda interesting to discover that she grew up listening to rock music. We happened to have both gone to certain shows such as Our Lady Peace (back in gr. 11 and which we agreed, rocked) and Sum 41 (same year, she loved it while I thought it was one of the worst concerts I had ever been to). What's even more bizarre is when I found out we shared the same birthday! She's only 3 hours older than me. Coincidence like that just never ceases to amaze me.<br /><br />Anyway, work was so dead we ended up copying Quiznos and closing 2 hours early. Probably one of the few (but more than welcome) blessings a snowstorm brings.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1164444777859162582006-11-24T23:58:00.000-07:002006-11-25T02:32:22.980-07:00Raine Maida's "Love Hope Hero" EP<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/1600/389092/rainema_lohohe_3x3.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/200/197516/rainema_lohohe_3x3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/1600/660711/rainema_lohohe_3x3.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/1600/756102/rainema_lohohe_3x3.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/1600/334927/10.jpg"></a><br /><div align="left"><em><span style="color:#990000;">Fighter planes running round my head, running round my head</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">I got to go, go, go</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">And sex, love, honey that I taste</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">Honey makes we wait</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">Honey says she's late</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;"></span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">I absolutely adore Raine Maida. The above song <span style="color:#000066;">"Sex Love and Honey"</span> is pretty worthy of adoration and admiration as well. </span><br /><br />Maida released his first solo effort, <em><strong>Love Hope Hero</strong></em>, about a week ago. There are 4 songs...I had heard the full versions of 2 of them, <span style="color:#000066;">"One Second Chance"</span> and <span style="color:#000066;">"Earthless"</span> on his myspace (<a href="http://www.myspace.com/rainemaida">http://www.myspace.com/rainemaida</a>) and there are now 2-minute samples of all the songs on his website (<a href="http://www.rainemaida.net">http://www.rainemaida.net</a>). My order of the EP finally arrived in the mail today and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there are more changes to the songs past the 2-minute mark and even more awesome is that I think they're the best parts of each song.<br /><br />I immediately like what I heard of <span style="color:#000066;">"Sex Love and Honey".</span> It was upbeat, in an indie sort of way. My only gripe is the flute...the song would sound so much better without it. Other than that, the rhyme and repetition works well (and I usually can't say that about most songs). Not in the preview is the bridge with background vocals lent by Maida's wife, Chantal Kreviazuk. Her voice has a rather creepy, haunted sound to it which really works well with this song. Without a doubt, this is my favourite track. I could listen to it on repeat for who knows how long. </div><div align="left"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/1600/609524/05.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/320/181045/05.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">"Careful What You Wish For"</span> is another exceptional piece. I love how it starts with this suspenseful, dramatic almost primal beat and later decends into this mellow, solitary atmosphere backed by the piano. Best lines of the song<em>..."I'm an Italian Catholic punk and I'm on my way</em>"..."<em>Mother, what have I done?"</em> and surprise, and surprise..."<em>I'm gonna leave California"</em> (after hearing the Red Hot Chili Peppers refer to California in just about all their songs, it's refreshing to hear someone use it without making me want to bang my head against a wall). And for opera fans, there's opera here.<br /><br />It really did take me a second chance to get into <span style="color:#000066;">"One Second Chance".</span> This was the first song Maida put out on myspace and to hear him reduce his wide vocal range to rap/talky singing took a little getting used to. At first, I could only stand the verses (the only part he sings) but now I actually like the entire song. I think he's doing well with a style he's just started to try out. This song screams political protest and is a taste of of Maida's social conscience and political activism.<br /><br />When listening to <span style="color:#000066;">"Earthless",</span> I can't help but think of <span style="color:#000066;">"Lullaby"</span> by Shawn Mullins. The song is mellow throughout and sounds rather sparse (but not in a bad way)...I think acoustic is a better word to describe it.<br /><br />Long review short...I think it's a shame this EP isn't out in stores (you can get it at <a href="http://www.werkshop.com">http://www.werkshop.com</a> or at one of his shows - he's in Edmonton Feb. 13 at the Jubilee Auditorium headlining Chantal Kreviazuk) because I think it's one of the best evolutions of an artist that I've heard in a while and as a long-time Our Lady Peace fan who's recently become disillusioned about Maida's creativity (and no, I'm not one of <em>those</em> <em><strong>Gravity</strong></em> or <strong><em>Healthy in Paranoid Times</em></strong> bashers), I can easily say that <em><strong>Love Hope Hero</strong></em> is way better than anything (except for maybe <span style="color:#000066;">"Angels Losing Sleep")</span> that OLP has done in the last 6 years.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/1600/954049/07.jpg"></a></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6673/885/320/826071/07.jpg" border="0" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1164266213135746292006-11-23T00:10:00.000-07:002006-11-23T00:16:53.146-07:00Ahhhh.......I think I'm going to have to pull my first all-nighter since first year. It seemed easier to do then, not so much now...and just like that, I've made it sound like it's been decades rather than just 2 years.<br /><br />I've got a Psych assignment that's worth 25% of my mark and a 10-page Sociology project notebook (who knows how much it's worth...) due tomorrow. I'm still working on my Psych and haven't even touched Soc yet. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to calculate confidence intervals..geez, Statistics was soo easy and was probably the best math course I've ever taken in university but I realize now that it's all gone to hell since I've forgotten a good chunk of it. I'm frantically looking through my Stats book from last year (thank God I kept it!) trying to remember..and now it's midnight. Ok. <em>Now</em> I'm freaking out. And I'm not the type (at least, not at this point) to freak out over things that are due weeks or even days away. Hours away, though..is a different story...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1163736067199872432006-11-16T20:26:00.000-07:002006-11-16T21:01:07.236-07:00The things you discover on MyspaceSo yes, I do have a MySpace account although I don't use it to the extent some people do...<br /><br />Anyway, I was curious to see who from my high school had an account (although I haven't listed my school myself) and I saw this girl I recognized. She happened to have a blog stating how she already had her two nipples pierced and how she's looking to get another piercing or tattoo done and that she was open to suggestions. To any random person, this might not seem like a big deal but having seen this girl in high school, I would have never have guessed she'd do something like that! Like..NEVER! My sister happened to be on msn the same time I was when I discovered this and when I told her, she had an "OMG!" reaction as well - so it's not just me!<br /><br />Aside from the fact that this girl, at first glace, doesn't seem at all like the type who goes for body modification, why do people feel the need to reveal this kind of stuff on myspace? If you get your d^$k pierced...greeaat..but why does everyone have to know? Do you want to implant a picture of yourself naked with said body part tattooed or pierced in the reader's mind? In that case, I don't know whether to applaud your confidence or cringe at the narcissism.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1163555122661499822006-11-14T18:21:00.000-07:002007-01-11T23:26:11.074-07:00The return from my reaaally long breakI was planning on abandoning this blog forever. Looking back at my old posts, though...I realized that writing my thoughts down really brought some organization into my seemingly chaotic and never-ending tasks.<br /><br />Today was my first day off in over 2 weeks...meaning no school, no work...just the panic of having a bunch of assignments to complete for the last month of school. This week, I have to work 5 days/35 hours (I'm sure this is payback for taking 9 days off...which really weren't "days off"). On top of that, I have school and I have a little commentary I have to do for the Gateway about what the best and worst shows are, IMO, for November Sweeps (I realize now I shouldn't have offered to do this since I watch next to no primetime TV other than the Amazing Race)...at this point, I wanna go into a little corner and sob hysterically...but somehow, I deal.<br /><br />I have a psych test I need to do for my last neuropsychology assignment and I managed to get some friends to volunteer. Unfortunately, instead of doing one big group session (which I was hoping to do), I have to do individual tests...woohoo.<br /><br />I also have a paper for my writing class. The topic's interesting (should women in western democracies be allowed to wear a veil?) and originally, I sided with the Muslim women but reading through so many arguments over a span of 3 hours on a Thursday night, I came to the conclusion that both sides just love to make each other look bad that I feel no urge to side with either. I've gotten about 450 out of 1000 words done. I'll probably write way past 1000 and have a blast trying to cut it down.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1121484905945757992005-07-15T21:10:00.001-06:002005-07-15T21:38:40.760-06:00My summer so far...Basically I went jobhunting and worked at Timmy's up until yesterday (no, didn't quit yet although I'm seriously considering it...it sucks when you hate your working condition but get along really well with your coworkers) when I went to West Ed. It was a blast.<br /><br />Me and Debbie celebrated her birthday a month early (since I'll be off to NJ by then). We pigged out at Death by Chocolate and had our nails done. Totally worth it in the end but sitting for an hour and a half got agonizing after a while..I don't know how those nails people do it. The nails took the majority of our time..4 hours. The lady that did my nails agreed that it was a ripoff that we only get 10% off sandwiches at Tim Hortons and when I told her that we eat our mistakes, she laughed so hard. The lady that did Debbie's nails looked like she was in her early 20s but she said how she thought having a kid at 27 is pretty young but she has a 7 year old daughter! So she must be in her early to mid 30s...she looks soo young! We all got into a conversation about what age women have their kids now and how bad it'd be to have a parent old enough to be your grandparent. It was funny, she was like "I hate it when women in their 30s look like their in their 40s" and then we somehow got talking about kids learning fashions from their parents and friends and she said "My daughter isn't gonna be one of those kids (the geeky ones with no sense of fashion)...I'm not the type of parent who takes their kids to <em>Northern Reflections</em>". Best quote of the day...LOL. What a diss.<br /><br />Also went to Earls for the first time yesterday. It's funny how Boston Pizza IDs you but Earls doesn't.<br /><br />And I got my ear pierced...again. I just got second piercings last week. I was seriously freaking out over the potential of pain but it didn't hurt too badly. I'm surprised my mom didn't freak. Well, she screamed "You got your ears pierced <em>again</em>???" and then moved on..haha.<br /><br />Today, I went over to Zellers to go over my job offer. It's weird how you get 10% off things like digital cameras but not food items outside the restaurant (which is 60%...waaay more than Timmy's 10%). And apparently, you can't get a discount on paper products. What <em>exactly</em> is a paper product? Books? Magazines? Stationary? Normal looseleaf paper? Cards? Wrapping?....Toilet paper??? That's a quarter of the freaking store!<br /><br />But yeah...can't wait until summer really starts when I go to NJ. No work and all play.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1116211583390559592005-05-15T20:36:00.000-06:002005-05-15T20:46:23.396-06:00Being a baker at Timmy's sucksWell, yesterday I did get trained for baking. Making the donuts and stuff is good and everything but half the job is cleaning. But that's not even the worse part. The worse part is filling all the dips. That stuff is friggin' hard! I felt like I was getting a workout doing just that. I asked Laura, "Is there an easier way to transfer these???" She gave me this "You-should-know" look and said "Your hands!!!" Like WTF? Talk about messy and a waste of good dip! But I ended up doing just that since it was less painful. Looks like I'm gonna be baking for both my 2 shifts this coming week. Ughh!!<br /><br />Today, I had a piano recital and honestly, me and my sister must both be cursed cause we BOTH stopped at one point of our performances and had to give 3 to 4 tries before being able to continue. *Sigh*..at least I got my piece memorized. I'm just jealous of all those other people who seem to have performed all their lives. Some of them did not look stressed at all! There was this one girl who kept moving around during her performance...I joked later that she must have been high. Haha..<br /><br />Heading to the university early tomorrow to try and sell my Math and Chem books back with Annie (she BETTER remember!) since I'm never taking those courses ever again. I will look back and think of Math and Chem as a complete waste of time that I was VERY lucky to have passed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1116050197876557492005-05-13T23:32:00.000-06:002005-05-13T23:56:37.880-06:00Coming back from a long break...I can't believe it's been 2 months since I posted a blog. Interesting things have happened in my life, I swear..haha.<br /><br />I love Bach. I never thought I'd say that in a million years. My music history exam was waaay easier than I thought it would be! I just finished studying Bach and the Prelude & Fugue (that I'm working on right now) an hour before the exam and guess what the topics were? Exactly what I studied! Plus the last question asked to talk about <em>Symphonie Fantastique</em> in detail and I also read that literally an hour and a half before! How lucky did I get??? The only thing I really messed up on, though was the "Name 2 specific styles for 5 composers" part. I think I was half-right for Bizet and Debussy but Vivaldi, Haydn, and some other dude...I just started making stuff up. LOL. Or I was recalling the wrong information from my head. Anyway..it only took me 2 out of 3 hours to finish that test. I'm just glad I'm done.<br /><br />Today I realized how boring Fridays can be when you don't have school or work. As much as I loathe work sometimes, I'd rather be working than doing absolutely nothing. So woohoo for work tomorrow. Mike called me a week ago to ask if I'd be okay with getting trained in baking and I said, "Sure". Mind you it's not really baking...you just pop in premade donuts and muffins in the oven and pull them out when they're done. LOL. So yay..I'll probably be learning how to "bake" tomorrow.<br /><br />The Rolling Stones are coming to Alberta! But why Calgary? WHY??? Arghh...it's likely they'll be coming over after the summer so there goes my chances of seeing them.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1110615469076240542005-03-12T00:44:00.000-07:002005-05-13T23:58:28.996-06:00Not looking forward to next weekDo you ever have those times when you have SO much to do but have no motivation to get off your ass and do those things? Well...that's exactly what I'm going through right now.<br /><br />I figured if I went through all the stuff I have to do next week it might help me get started..so here goes...<br /><br /><strong>Monday</strong><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ffcccc;"><strong>Psych midterm</strong></span> - started studying today but only got through 2 pages...there's only 3 chapters (actually...2 and a half) to study but each chapter is like 20-30 pages long..psych is one of the few courses I actually keep up on the reading for but when I started studying today, I realized how much I already forgot..arghh..I hope my freakishly smart class doesn't do so well for this midterm<br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ffcccc;"><strong>Research participation (for Psych)</strong></span> - this is just for bonus credits but hey, considering that my class is..like I mentioned earlier...freakishly smart...I'll take whatever I can get. And there goes another hour...<br /><br /><strong>Tuesday</strong><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc99;">Piano</span></strong> </span>- this is a weekly thing but considering my busy week, I feel like I don't have time for this..I haven't even had time to really for a recital taking place next week. Not to mention I gotta do some of my practice history exam questions..ARGHHH!!!<br /><br /><strong>Wednesday</strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#33ff33;">Research participation (again)</span></strong> - part 2 so 2 bonus credits all together..after this one, 2 more to go...not so bad I guess since I'm gonna have to stay until 5pm anyway for the...<br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#33ff33;">Chem lab practical exam</span></strong> - I HATE chem! And I thought Chem 30 was hard...Organic Chem 163 is just brutal! My prof (who happens to have graduated from Harvard and Columbia) acts like we know everything already (I'll give him points for giving us that much credit but really..we don't deserve it!) so yeah, I'm doing soo bad in lecture. That leaves me to depend on labs to pull my mark up but I'm pretty sure I've failed all the mini quizzes except for maybe 2 of them. I already suck at normal labs...how am I gonna get through a lab without being able to ask anyone for help?<br /><br /><strong>Thursday</strong><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ccffff;"><strong>Bio lab report due</strong></span> - I wouldn't be surprised if I handed this in one day late again...<br /><br /><strong>Friday</strong><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ffccff;"><strong>English essay due</strong></span> - Fortunately, I'm one of those people who can write an essay the night before and pull off an 80-something but this time, we have to write about KING LEAR! It's gonna be a b*tch looking for quotes!<br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ffccff;"><strong>Math midterm</strong></span> - Okay..if I end up doing the English essay at the last possible minute, I am gonna for sure fail this exam 'cause I haven't been doing any practice problems at all for math...I listen in class but for math, that unfortunately doesn't work...<br /><br />*Sigh*...I don't feel any better...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093421.post-1109490511983783472005-02-27T00:25:00.000-07:002005-02-27T00:48:31.986-07:00My concert calendar...has/is more decent than I thought it would be!<br /><br />February 17 - <strong>Limblifter </strong>- awesome show but far too late (started at 9:30pm and ended just before 1:30am)..only had 4 hours of sleep that night and had to get up for school the next morning, work on a Bio report that was one day late (10% off...crap!)..skip a few classes (by some divine intervention, Psych only lasted for about 10 min. and then the prof wished us a happy Reading Week)..quickly type up my report (spent the previous day before the concert a total of 5 hours quickly writing a rough copy)..print it at school (and look like a complete idiot having no idea how to work the printer)..and rush over to work (I was late but no one yelled at me..yay). Haha..see what I sacrifice to go see live music? It was worth it, though...if nothing else, to see the crazy dancing chick who the lead singer of the first opening band (This Civil Twilight) looked like he was TRYING to ignore. Eden knows who I'm talking about...<br /><br />March 12 - <strong>Kalan Porter</strong> - my guilty pleasure...I keep telling everyone I'm going to see him 'cause of my mom but who am I kidding, I OWN his CD and got it autographed! Plus I watched him every week on Canadian Idol (but truthfully, that was thanks to my mom and aunt who practically begged me to turn the channel to the show when I was watching something else last summer). After all..I did do a French presentation on the evils of manufactured music last year...and I'm still holding my stand..I'm not watching American Idol right now and I'm not planning on watching the next Canadian Idol unless by some chance the top 10 is full of talented, interesting people. Kalan has talent..I can't deny that. I'm just disappointed his album was rushed to produce crap pop..which was what I was afraid of..but that said, the rock stuff he wrote is sooo good! That's enough for me to be really excited about his upcoming show.<br /><br />May 19 - <strong>Greenday</strong> - Kim just told me the good news! I just wanna know where we're sitting (unless it's floor)! Haha! This is gonna be such an awesome show! I didn't really get into Greenday until last year (I didn't even like "American Idiot") with "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (they can play that song over and over again, but I will still LOVE it just the same!) but I can brag that the first song I learned to play on guitar was "Good Riddance". So recently, I've gone on a Greenday shopping spree. I bought American Idiot (GREAT album!) about a month ago and then a few weeks later, bought "Nimrod" and "Insomnia"...gotta prepare for the concert!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0