Bow to Cueto.

The Cantroblog

Is it mean of me to make this?

Oh, and contributions are very much welcome.

Bands I listen to that almost no one else I know listens to

1. Scouting for Girls - These days, it's all about emo/senti alternative. So, when I heard this song on the radio, I thought to myself "ZOMG this is different!" So I went and got the whole album, and, upon finding it to be made of awsum (bright, happy piano-driven awsum, to be exact), made it one of my most-played albums on iTunes.
2. Lucky Soul - This may not be readily apparent, but I appreciate oldies(?) music. The sort that Michael Buble goes around singing now. I've also started leaning towards indie this year. So when you mix both, it gets an instant thumbs-up from me. Here's their first song that I heard.
3. Flight of the Conchords - Everyone needs a laugh. These guys give it to you, in a deadpan-with-acoustic-guitars fashion. And they give fresh laughs, too. Watch their show and you'll see what I mean. Favorite song of theirs.
4. New Radicals - The 90's are good. While they may not seem to be as full of classics as previous decades, I personally think it's just a matter of time until they get recognized as such too. This band is one of the biggest reasons for my opinion (along with Eraserheads, lol). They may only have done one album, but it's the sort of album that has no weak tracks at all. Right up there with Scouting For Girls (see #1) on my iTunes. Here's a sample.
   

Inspired by something Castro said during Chem.

New Pelicola teaser

Featuring Johnoy & Kakoy. Here.

Hit me harder than anything else, ever.

“I’ve learned in my lifetime so far that you can’t help who you fall for and no matter how hard you try and how much it hurts you everyday that you just wanna be with them or just talk to them you never stop trying to make them happy by the little things you say or do because thats what makes your life worth going on for.”

LOLOLOLOLOL.

Why I'm not here much.

Because recently I've found that I lack the energy to make the long-winded blog posts typical of me in the past. This is my new style, and I must say, it's very addicting. Might want to get one for yourself--the posts just keep on coming, haha.

LOL FREE MUSIC

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/31/35-places-to-download-free-legal-mp3s-music/

WOOHOOHOOHOO.

Why Men Die First

Here’s a hilarious e-mail I got from my dad. XD

Why Men Die First

Why do men die first? This is a question that has gone unanswered for
centuries, but, now we know. It requires a bit of explanation. First:

If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat race
… you’re a male chauvinist. If you stay home and do the housework …
you’re a pansy. If you work too hard … there’s never any time for
her. If you don’t work enough … you’re a good-for-nothing bum. If she has a
boring repetitive job with low pay … this is exploitation. If you have a
boring repetitive job with low pay … you should get off your lazy behind
and find something better. If you get a promotion ahead of her … that is
favoritism. If she gets a job ahead of you … its equal opportunity.

If you mention how nice she looks … its sexual harassment. If you keep
quiet … its male indifference. If you cry … you’re a wimp. If you
don’t… you’re an insensitive bastard. If you make a decision without
consulting her … you’re a chauvinist.

If she makes a decision without consulting you, she’s a liberated woman.
If you ask her to do something she doesn’t enjoy … that’s domination. If
SHE asks you … it’s a favor. If you appreciate the female form and frilly
underwear … you’re a pervert. If you don’t … you’re gay.

If you like a woman to shave her legs and keep in shape … you’re sexist.
If you don’t … you’re unromantic. If you try to keep yourself in
shape… you’re vain. If you don’t … you’re a slob. If you buy her
flowers …you’re after something. If you don’t … you’re not thoughtful. If
you’re proud of your achievements … you’re full of yourself. If you don’t
…you’re not ambitious. If she has a headache … she’s tired. If you
have a headache … you don’t love her anymore. If you want it too often …
you’re oversexed. If you don’t … there must be someone else.

Why do men die first? Because they want to.

Amen.

Pelicola

Back again, plugging my tito’s new project, Pelicola (coming in January next year). Pelicola is more or less the first Internet TV site in the Philippines (think Revision3), with shows such as Alive at the Womb. Here’s a description of what Alive at the Womb is, from the teaser vid on YouTube:

“Alive at the Womb” is a 20-minute live music recording show shot on Wombworks Studio Marikina (hence the “womb”) and is launching on January 2009 on Pelicola.tv-the first Internet Television Site in the Philippines. The show features selected artists performing 3 songs interspersed with inuman session discussions; it’s like seeing the band on- and off-stage.

Click here to see the teaser video.

Love Poetry

Something I wrote for Creative Writing. It’s titled “Ahhh.” Don’t forget to read until the end, too.

Curvy body,
Bright red head,
I drink her deep
upon my bed.

She tastes so sweet
upon my lips,
as I keep my hand
upon her hips.

Skin so smooth
to the touch,
I cannot help
but love her so much.

For she brings joy
to my life, you see.
Here’s a Coke bottle,
just for me.

EPIC WIN. XD

The Cloud State

Miraculously enough, there’s no homework due tomorrow, leaving me with time to write about my current state: the CLOUD STATE!

This is one of the coolest states I’ve ever been in. It’s more or less where you’re a cloud–floating around, and all your worries are clouds too, just drifting by, leaving you without anything to really worry about. You know you’ll fall eventually, but you can’t help enjoying that free feeling.

So what are those other clouds, for me?

1. Impending schoolwork doom. Everybody hates these–the long tests, the homeworks, the projects that are just far away enough to put off, but too near to forget about. It’s sort of like waking up on a school day: you don’t want to, but you know you’ll have to or else you’ll regret it. Add to that my resolve to not mess this year up (liked I messed second year up) and you have quite the cloud.
2. Body structure fail. If you know me, then you know what is arguably my single most obvious characteristic: I’m incredibly thin. I’ve learned to live with it, but that doesn’t mean I like it–I’d rather be slightly more normal. Or, failing that, I’d like to be better than normal. XD
3. Superficiality. I want a Macbook Pro. I want new books. I want a cool hat. I want a new phone. I want another Guitar Hero guitar. I want one of those plastic-melting lasers. I want faster Internet. I want more Wiimotes. I want shades. I want to be retainer-less; they are an improvement over braces however. I want pot. I want some model kits. So come on, whine with me!
4. Something missing.. Ask me about this personally, but I’m not guaranteeing I’ll give you an answer–it’s not something I really talk about.
5. Teh futurez. We all have to deal with this at one point or another. Let’s just say that right now, I’m a long way from that point, but I’m approaching fast. I’m being asked what direction I want to go in for the rest of my life, but I’m still at that place where things are still so open, or so unplanned yet. It’s pretty hard moving from that place, especially if you’ve been used to being there all your life.

I’m still in the cloud state, by the way–it took some effort for me to enumerate those clouds. Maybe I shouldn’t have given that list, since I think I’m slowly falling back to earth, haha.

Bicol Express

Summer memoirs.

I like vacations. They’re always so fun and full of things different from what you would normally go through in Manila. They’re also a good way to get rid of any kind of stress (not that I suffer from much stress or even any stress anyway). So, you can imagine how much fun I had last weekend, when I went to Donsol, Sorsogon, in the Bicol region.

We (that is, my parents, my lola, my ninong and our driver) left Manila at 11 PM on Friday night (which obviously means we traveled to Bicol overnight, which is pretty much the best way to get there, since it leaves more time to enjoy the day). The trip was relatively uneventful, except for a few parts (like when we almost ran over a cat). Other than that, I spent my time trying to sleep, but the fact that most of my body was sore and the fact that I was stuck in the back row of our car didn’t help in the slightest. We had breakfast at Legazpi City (capital of Albay), specifically in a restaurant called Graceland (which is the closest you can get to Bikolano fast-food). We then went on until we reached our main destination: Donsol.

As you may (or may not) know, Donsol is a very sleepy town (which compromises my dad’s plans of retiring there). However, that is straying from the narrative, so let’s get back to the story. First thing we did when we got to Donsol was to go to Rabulan Homestay, which is a very old house which was renovated, so it’s a pretty decent place to stay in (even without creature comforts such as cable TV and Wi-Fi. Heck, they don’t even have a phone line). We met Jun Principe there, who would have two important roles to play that day. We then quickly unpacked and geared up for the main attraction: the butanding.

First thing you gotta do if you wanna go whale shark watching is head for the butanding interaction center, which is a few minutes’ drive from the town. There, you pay the bangka fee, which also includes the fee for the spotter (whose job is to look for whale sharks from the bangka) and the Butanding Interaction Officer, more commonly known as BIO (whose job is to help you out in the water, and brief you about the modus operandi when whale shark watching). Our BIO was the aforementioned Jun Principe (who still has another role left to play, may I remind you). We then waited for a free bangka (only 25 are allowed at a time, you see, and there were a lot of foreigners there at the time), and when one showed up, we immediately got in and started looking for butanding.

Picture this: You’re in the water, and you’re cold, even though you’re wearing shorts and a rashguard and it’s summer. The water’s very murky, so you can’t see anything around you and you have no idea how deep the water is. All of a sudden, you see this huge flat mouth (about five feet wide) appear out of nowhere, and you quickly get out of the way, to make sure you don’t touch it (or to get away from it; for all you know, it could suddenly aim for you). Then, you see the rest of the whale shark’s incredibly long (think 18-30 feet long) body, and its far-reaching tail. Now, imagine going through that four times, and you get a picture of what happened to me. I could have easily seen more, though–if I didn’t decide to take a nap in the bangka after the fourth butanding (my parents and my ninong saw at least six, and my lola saw two from the bangka).

After that episode of particular interest, we had lunch (read: spicy food, lots of it–in fact, practically every dish served was spicy). We then headed back to the homestay, where I had a nice, long, nap. After I woke up (which was around 6 PM), we left the homestay and headed for a river–but not just any river, for reasons which I will get to in a bit. As soon as we got there (no easy task, I tell you–what with the sorry state of the road and all), we got into another bangka on the river and began our river cruise (courtesy of Mr. Principe, who arranged the whole thing). Guessed what we did yet? If not, be patient, I’m getting there. We then proceeded to systematically scout the river, and we eventually found ‘em: fireflies. Lots of them. Whole trees full of them. It was beautiful and magical, as said by a good friend of mine whom I described the general picture to. And that wasn’t all we saw there–remember that Donsol is not nearly as polluted as Manila, and what do you get in the night sky? Stars–lots of them, as there was nary a cloud in the sky that night.

After a refreshing night (the blackout didn’t help, but the evening walk did) with the AC trained on me (I had to wear my jacket to bed–it was that cold), we went to mass. Now, if you think it was your everyday mass in English or Tagalog, think again. It was vastly different, for two reasons: one, it was in Bikolano (which made that my first Bikolano mass), and I’m too embarrassed to state the second (you’ll have to ask me on YM for that ‘un). Then, we had breakfast, and packed up and left soon after.

The return trip was longer than the trip to Donsol, because we had too many stops on the way. I will do my best to enumerate them all, but I do apologize for not remembering the order in which they occurred (I’m not good with the geography). We stopped at Naga, for lunch at a restaurant named Bob Marlin (decent enough fare) and to check out the basilica there (which was pretty modern, and I’ve got the pictures to prove it); we stopped at Legazpi to go to the market there (my mom and my lola bought bags, and my dad any my ninong bought food mostly); we then continued on until Lucena, where we had dinner. After that, it was smooth sailing until Manila (read: I fell asleep, and woke up only when we were outside our house).

Now, I may have forgotten some things, but what I have remembered should (hopefully sound) intersting (at least in the slightest) to you–because it was definitely interesting for me, and I don’t regret any part of it, except one: the time I spent there was not enough, not nearly enough (hence the post title). I would definitely go there again, if I had the chance, and who knows–I might even see you there.

Corny Band Jokes

Q: What band is used in soccer?
A: Yellowcard!

Q: What band is ashamed of its father?
A: Son of Dork!

Q: What band is injured?
A: Fall Out Boy!

Q: What band is healthy?
A: Sugarfree!

Q: What band is physically deformed?
A: Eraserheads!

Q: What band sways in the wind?
A: Bamboo!

Q: What band is affordable?
A: Cheap Trick!

Q: What band has anger management issues?
A: Rage Against The Machine!

Q: What band is tasty?
A: Sandwich!

Q: What band is fruity?
A: Orange & Lemons!

Q: What band is affiliated with law enforcement?
A: The Police!

Q: What band is breakable?
A: Jars Of Clay!

Q: What band is getting more and more expensive nowadays?
A: Fuel!

Q: What band has oral problems?
A: Smashed Mouth!

Because I have fun wanting stuff.

I've made too many "O: WANT" lists in the past. Sadly, I have nothing else to write about: school stuff is way too long to recount, I'm not feeling particularly emo, and I haven't really done anything fun lately except go to the Eraserheads reunion concert, but I digress.

Excuse the selfishness to come: at least you get to see some pretty cool, erm, items.

Yes, I want an iPod touch. Yes, there are... well, lots of them in school. Yes, it's sort of selling out (I did think about getting a Zune, but I need the screen). Yes, I might lose it. Yes, I might break it.

Who cares, though? I still want one anyway.

I've been needing a new music player for some time now (my aging Nokia N91 has a hard enough time being both a phone and my substitute iPod), and when I got my hands on the touch (I borrowed a lot of the ones I mentioned earlier, the ones owned by my classmates), I pretty much understood why so many people had 'em. It basically did everything you would probably need a portable media player to do (it does music and video damn well, while being pocketable at the same time), and it had GAMES. Er, that's actually just a side bonus, but still. WANT.

Now, to go with the hypothetical iPod touch, I need a good pair of 'phones. The Shure SE110s look pretty good: not saying I've used 'em, but based on what I've read, I should want them (block out noise very well, fantastic sound quality, best perfomace for the price, etc). Especially attractive since my current earphones came free with a bottle of Absolut vodka. Pretty pricey, though.

The other option would be one of these babies, the Panasonic RP-HTX7PP's. Supposedly they also feel and sound excellent, but my main reason for wanting them is the retro look. Don't know why, but when I see a pic of these headphones, I immediately picture myself sitting down and listening to some Eraserheads, which of course is a plus. Cheaper than the Shures too.

I also happen to need some new footwear. Shoes take too long to put on sometimes, I can't always wear sandals, and Crocs are sellout. Therefore I turn to Sanuks, which look cool AND are easy on the feet. This time I have the benefit of first-hand experience (though sadly I didn't have enough money to buy a pair at the time) to want these. I can basically use these wherever I'd normally wear shoes or sandals, and they don't mind water either. Again, WANT.

Lastly, glasses. I'm not saying the ones I have now are crap (they've lasted longer than any of my previous pairs, lol) but I really want those glasses that turn darker depending on how much sunlight is hitting them. It's hard to live without shades sometimes, hahaha.

Meh. Time to think of something else to write about.

Edward-itis

You may or may not have heard of a recent disease that has been sweeping the globe, leaving masses of people infected. This new, yet extremely virulent disease is called Edward-itis, named so after the character Edward Cullen, appearing in a series of books written by Stephenie Meyer . This disease affects 90-95% of females who have read the books (males are extremely resistant to the disease). In fact, one interesting quality of this disease is that it not only affects individuals, it can even affect groups of people as a whole, and indirectly influence those not infected. Signs of the disease include:

1. Intense infatuation with the aforementioned Edward Cullen

2. Bearing the Mark of Edward on one’s hand (The Mark of Edward is typically the word “Edward” written on one’s hand, although it may be accompanied with other lovestruck statements.)

3. A desire to name one’s puppy Edward

4. A desire to name one’s husband Edward

5. A willingness to change one’s name to go with the surname “Cullen”

6. Fighting over Edward with other victims of the disease

7. Subconsciously inserting the word “Edward” into everyday conversation

8. Squee-ing over Edward

9. Having a preference for the color bronze

10. Adopting the catchphrase “Bite me!”

11. In text- based environments, profuse use of “<3″>

12. Having naughty thoughts about Edward

13. Writing (sometimes naughty) fiction involving Edward

14. A need to have a picture of Edward as one’s display image

15. Robert Pattinson (who will play Edward in the upcoming Twilight Movie) becoming extremely popular in a short span of time

16. Stampeding whenever Edward is out of stock

17. A sudden upsurge in the number of baby boys named Edward

18. Obssession with Edward

19. The male population marrying illiterate women, or the small percentage of girls not infected with Edward-itis

20. Books with Edward perennially being out of stock

21. Saying Edward for no reason whatsoever, and subsequently sighing

22. Considering Edward to be godlike

23. Complete memorization of books with Edward in them

24. Vehement outbursts of “You are not worthy to speak his holy name!” whenever a non-victim says the name “Edward”

25. If the sickness has worsened, victims may turn into Edwardian nerds, but unable to accept the fact that the word nerd could ever be associated with Edward

26. In especially severe cases, loss of coherent thought, with the exception of the word Edward

27. Final symptom: An Edwardian coma, from which victims emerge as Edwardian zombies, mindless slaves who serve only to obey their master’s one true love’s will

So, always be on the alert for these signs, and if you notice them, and are female, get out of the place–fast, or risk joining the legions who have already been infected by Edward-itis. (If you’re a guy, no worries, the only side-effect for guys is intense jealousy).

Hey friends!

Hello.

This is my blog.

I hope you like it very much.

Have fun!

/wrist