The Music of the night

The first time I watched the Phantom of the Opera is in its movie form. I am not really into musicals back then so I did not expect that I would get hooked by its plot. To be honest, what really impressed me the most is not the story, but the songs within the musical. Emma Rossum and Gerard Butler just killed it! From Think of Me to the Point of No Return, I was just amazed and captivated that these modern day artist can still produce such quality renditions of this classic musical.

To be not confused, I am talking about the 2004 edition of the movie and the 2011 musical which are both adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart Musical. Both of which is in my opinion are good adaptations mostly because of the cast.

I actually played the Phantom in our class play back in highschool. I was initially cast as Raoul but due to my Phantom-like voice quality back then :D, I became the cool Phantom we all know and love. That's why it really felt nostalgic when we watched the 2011 musical in our EEP class. I really wanted to sing along on all of the Phantom's songs,but I didnt because I dont want to brag my still awesome voice to the entire class.

From all the songs that the Phantom sang, my most favorite song is The Music of the Night. I said "most favorite" because also like the Phantom of The Opera and The Point of No Return. What I like the most about the Music of the Night is not only it is really fun to sing, but because this song best describes what the character Phantom really is. It showed that the Phantom is really a brilliant musician as described by the Angel of Music and that he emotionally connected with his passion. This song also echoes the Phantom's loneliness and struggles as he hides beneath the opera house.

I highly recommend The Phantom of the Opera if you have not seen it yet. It is a work of art that is surely be treasured decades from now. :D

Smoking Kills

Smoking contributes to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths. Why do I still smoke if I know that smoking can kill me? I dont know. But I do know why you should not smoke, to not become like me, an addicted son of a bitch. :D

First off, let me tell you my story. My I lit up my first stick is when I was still in grade 7. I got pressured by a classmate and convinced me that smoking is cool. I tried it a few more times then stopped. I didnt find any cool thing about smoking back then except that I will look mature. Then I tried it again during my high school years because of the feeling that I get when a I smoke. Its like the feeling of being sleepy with a mix of feeling light. Then fast forward to today, I still smoke. One of the disadvantages that I got from smoking is that I get tired easily. I cant play all the sports that I love the way I used to play before. Another one is that I cant sing the songs that I use to sing anymore. I cant hit some high notes the I easily hit before and sustain my voice as long as I could back then. As I think about it now, What if I did not light up my first stick when I was still in grade school? will my life be better than it is right now? These questions always cross my mind, and it makes me sad.

I dont want this blog to be a blog that will tell you like what most people tell you when they make an anti smoking campaign.(all those bad for your health and bad for your future thingy) I want you to know that even though you are sad or stressed out, dont smoke. Trust me, I've been there, and Im sad about it.

My First SoM Week Experience

2 golds, 2 silvers, that is what I took home in the recently concluded School of Management Week.

My first ever SoM Week (formerly known as SoAB week) experience was a very memorable week for me. I got to participate in most of the activities prepared and made new friends. Even though I always get home late and tired, it was all worth it.

I participated in a number of sports events; I was on the BM basketball team, I played for the MA Volleyball team even though I was lined up on team TM, played mixed doubles in table tennis with Jenny este Jelee, and I was also on the dodgeball team of TM. I placed first or second on all these events. It may seem like I am a very athletic person by always being always in the podium but the truth is that I am just really lucky, Thank you teammates. I also want to say thank you to all of the members of APJMA (Asia Pacific College Junior Marketing Association) for letting me in as an apprentice even though I am not a Marketing student and that my real purpose of joining was just to kill time while I wait for my chorale practice.(hehe) I just wished that all of your events lasted the whole SoM week rather than just a single day as it would have let me be with you (APJMA) longer. Please let me participate again as a member in all of your upcoming events in the future so that I can get to know all of you a little bit more and have fun.

Let me end my post about my SoM week experience a little bit short . I would have written a little bit more about it but I believe that if I shared all of details on how fun and meaningful my experience were during SoM week, my memories of it will have less meaning since I get to share it with others. (parang girlfriend lang yan. HAHAHAHA!) 

P.S. Shoutout to all the dormers who stayed with me til their curfew (you all know who you are) and to my Running Man compatriots. 

Pictures to be added on a later date since I am still waiting for the uploads to come.

Turn Left, Turn Right

Ever since I started this blog, I tried my best to avoid posting anything about romance. Its not really my thing to talk about it and I find it too "girly" to share my thoughts about love in the net. But since I value my readers, and I know deep inside me that this moment will come sooner or later, Ill let the inner "girly" heart in me take center stage and voice out its opinion about love and romance.

To be honest, I hate watching movies that tackles love in a very cliche manner. Its not that I am not entertained, In fact, just like most of you guys, I do giggle a little bit every time a "kilig" scene pops. What I hate is that movies like Turn Left, Turn Right portray makes most of us believe we can also have a movie-like love story. But in reality, love almost never happens like that. Remember, these kinds of  movies are almost always made up by writers. It is just there fantasy of what they want to experience in life that is put into writing, and eventually made into a movie. What I want people to know is that you cant always get what you want in love. Sure, you will experience some giggly moments like in the movies, but the journey through love will be a very bumpy ride. That is why when it comes to love, men plan ahead.

I like to continue on my rant a little bit more but I think I might get carried away and forget about the movie. So the movie Turn Left, Turn Right... I guess I kinda explained my stand on this movie from my little rant. But it is still a good movie and can be worth your time. Its approach on the plot is very original and at times extremely funny. Definitely Ill recommend it to you, my lovely reader. :D

The Bald Soprano, Adobo Style

Adobo, the unofficial national dish of the Philippines. The unofficial national dish of the Philippines is Adobo. Season it with a pinch of The Bald Soprano, you get Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo.

Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo is a play in the absurd genre and is an adaptation of The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco. I have not seen The Bald Soprano yet but basing from what I read, I think Theatre Phileo did a good job adapting it and making Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo as there own. When the play started, I thought that it will be just another boring cliche romantic comedy of some sort as it failed to capture my attention with its intro. It started to pick up steam when the other characters were introduced and with some brilliant acting by one of the characters. (the orange dressed girl) As I got the hang of the play's pacing, I craved for more laughs and gags and I glad that the show delivered. Overall, I can say the play is one of the best plays I ever watched even when it had a subpar intro, as I believe that it was necessary.

The Stage

Even though Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo is difficult to understand, you just have to take it as what you see and to not put a deeper meaning behind what it showed. I definitely recommend it to everyone specially if you want to be relaxed and entertained. I just hope that the Theatre Phileo will open its doors again to this masterpiece.

Moonlight Over Paris

A title of a love song for a blog about the movie Heneral Luna? Leave a comment below if you know the connection of the title with the movie. (have a try Ms. Eliz) Even if you did not watch the movie, you will get the idea behind the title if you know a little bit about the history of the Philippines. (or in other words, if you just listened to your Araling Panlipunan teacher) For those who have not seen the movie, I really recommend it. But please, try to obtain legal copies for you are missing out on a masterpiece. (no to piracy)

So let my start my review of the movie Heneral Luna by saying "at last, a Filipino movie worth my money". I'm not saying that our local movies are bad, its just that our local movies this past few years somewhat cannot match up with the international scene. (not just Hollywood movies but all around the world) Either it has a good story but poor production, bad story but good production or bad story and bad production. Its like the "art" was taken away and its sole purpose was to just rip us off. But that was not the case in Heneral Luna. You can say that the production was top notch because of the 60 million budget even that, Heneral Luna is still on a class on its own. Its like watching an old school The Walking Dead in some of the scenes. Story wise, even with some timeline inaccuracies, (according to my research aka Wikipedia) I think it was a necessary change in order to make Heneral Luna fitted for the big screen. Mix it up with good acting from the lead and you will get a masterpiece. With that said, I give Heneral Luna a 10/10 rating. 

I also recommend everyone to watch the 1998 movie Jose Rizal starring Cesar Montano if you got inspired by Heneral Luna to know more about our heroes for I also gave that movie a 10/10 rating. :)

Since this is my blog, I can do whatever what I want with it. (at walang makakapigil sakin) here are some pictures of me and my friends when we watched Heneral Luna.

Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden

"Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden" is a false backronym of the word GOLF which is really derived from an old world meaning "club"

I've been a fan of golf since my early "teen" years. Followed the scene, but not as a hobby since I played the sport for only about a year now, to my regret. I really wish that I picked up the game sooner, as this sport requires a lot of flexibility and dexterity (only old people can relate). It may not look like it but in my opinion, golf is one of the hardest sports in the world. I do agree that if you compare a pro golfers physique to another athlete (lets say a basketball player), it is not that gorgeously looking that you might expect from a pro with only a few with exemptions (Tiger Woods). But they make up for it with a very strong mentality on how to play the game.

The game of golf is played by hitting a ball with a variety of clubs in a series of holes with as few strokes as possible. It can be played by only one player but in my opinion, playing solo defeats the essence of playing the sport as most of the fun part comes from sharing the experience with others.

Hitting a stationary ball with a club seems like an easy thing to do as this is what you mainly do in golf. But even when you compare it with baseball in which you have to hit a fast moving ball, hitting balls in golf is way harder. You need to be consistent with your swings. And being consistent in golf is not an easy thing to do, even pros find it hard to be consistent. Things like keeping your head steady, have a soft but firm grip on the club, keep your eye on the ball, to not bend you left arm on the back swing is just a fraction of all the things you should remember in your every golf shot. To have that mental toughness to remember all of those things every time I play keeps my heart pumping for more.

 To sum it all up, the thrill and the kind of pressure it gives to yourself or even just the joy and experience all in all as soon as you walk on the first hole is what makes the game of golf so beautiful.