A Post-Mortem to CS Manila's Summer Scramble

Just before the summer ends, and exactly just before the rains come pouring in, CS Manila had its first Summer Scramble. I've always wanted to be in the Amazing Race, but this time, I had to step back and organise one for my beloved travel group.

Since I was a TAR fan, and had a pretty good idea of sights in the city, druming up ideas for the race was not as difficult as most people would thin it would be. Plus having the experience of running a virtual The Amazing Race isn't so bad in creating challenging tasks.

I'm sure people have blogged about the event, and it's really great hearing it from the racer's point of view. We've got
AJ, whose narrative was the most comprehensive I've seen yet; Greg, whose photos were just gorgeous; and Ryan, whose video blog was just hilarious.

So let's give it a different outlook - let's take it from the organiser's perspective. I must say, my photos are the worst ones, good thing my friend tagged along to be the semi-official photographer.

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Creating the challenges were easy, took me about 3 hours to write them all up in an Excel file after Lilliane mentioned the idea to me. The difficult part was testing it. Though we tested the race in parts, a full dry run never managed to be squeezed into my schedule.

* to be continued *

CS Summer Scramble: The Final Task

Your Final Task:

There are seven photos here. Arrange them chronologically, the way you visited them. You will come up with a 7-letter code (ie. BDCAFGE). Use that as a password to the file you will download below (use capital letters). Good luck!


http://rapidshare.de/files/47357918/Your_Final_Clue.xls.html

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Photo A



Photo B


Photo C


Photo D



Photo E



Photo F



Photo G

Roland Garros 2009

Women's Draw
Defending Champion: Ana Ivanovic

Quarter 1

Debuting as the top seed in a Slam, Lil Sis Dinara has made great strides the past couple of weeks in claycourt tuneups. She is definitely ripe for a major win, with two finals appearances in the past 12 months. However, the 'can-she-do-it?'' mentality can not be ignored. Her draw is littered with the dangerous Jie, Indian Wells winner Vika, and defending champion Ana. I'm betting once she survives these two tests, another final show is in the offing.

QF Match: Dinara vs Vika

Quarter 2

I would like to call this section the 'free-for-all' part of the draw. Venus' path to the final 8 is brutally difficult, plus we're playing on clay, which has never really been her strong point. She opens with Bethanie, then potentially takes on Sabine, followed by specialist Gisela, a resurgent Amelie, or last week's finalist, Alona. Either way, it's a grind through and through.

Nadia, also in a renaissance, while compatriot Vera looks like she has fully recovered from that ankle injury of hers. And did I mention someone named Maria Sharapova is unseeded in the draw? Two QF spots definitely up for grabs here with no clear favorites.

QF Match: Alona vs Nadia

Quarter 3

It would've been so easy to pick Jelena Jankovic here, if only her recent results were good. Her grinding and retrieving skills would have been fit for the red dirt, but her coach gave up all of those skills for muscle an power instead. She will be facing Caroline, my favorite rising player of the moment. Clean striker plus an excellent cross-corut drop volley. She's a looker too :)

The lower section of the draw features players I can't just reliably put my betting horse on. Daniela, Elena D, Marion and Francesca. Depends on breakfast, but it's hard to predict if any of these talented players will bring their A-game to Paris. I'll pick Elena (again!) just for sheer favoritism.

QF: Caroline vs Elena

Quarter 4

Serena hobbles into Paris, but don't let that stop her from trying to capture the title here - it's the only Slam she has won once (4xAO, 2xW, 3x US). She believes she's the best player on tour, and rankings don't really matter. It's a less humble Nadal-fortitude, but the right one. She doesn't play for show, but plays to win. She'll have to summon up all her magic to create a fantastic run in the City Of Lights, and her draw is far from easy. Flavia lurks in 4R, and perhaps an upset by Chinese Shuai is not too improbable.

My pick for RG 2009? Svetlana Kuznetsova. It's hard to put money on here (see reference to the rest of the Russian Squadron), but it's about time to pay respect to her excellent claycourt skills, plus she finally won a title in Stuttgart. That should count for something.

QF Match: Svetlana vs Flavia


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Men's Draw
Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal

Quarter 1

The introductions should sound like this: In the red corner, undefeated in Paris, with only 5 losses on clay, stands Rafael Nadal. His quest for 5 straight wins is definitely the talk of this season. He however, was not gifted with an easy draw. He gets Ferrer and Verdasco in the quarters. Then again, this is clay, and he is Nadal. Should be an easy pass into the second week.

Lone unseeded 2008 QFinalist Gulbis has had a trashy year following, and though I will be cheering for him, I don't expect that he'll get past the second round yet again.

QF Match: Nadal vs Verdasco

Quarter 2

Murray has go to be the biggest question mark to tennis quadrumvirate this Grand Slam. Nadal and Djokovic have turned out consistent results, and Federer comes from a spirited win in Madrid. Murray, whose been the star to watch since late last year, was nowhere to be found. So, where does that place him in Paris? In a really dodgy part of the draw - he faces claycourter Chela in the opening round, then Tipsarevic in or Montanes further on. It could be the on/off Gonzalez or usually off Safin later on, or French favorite Simon. Murray shouldn't really worry about the 4R/QF, it's either he goes home early, or he makes it to the semis, where Nadal awaits.

QF Match: Cilic vs Youzhny


Quarter 3

In the light of Murray's rise to #3, and Federer's slump *at* #2, it was DJokovic who was forgotten. Lo and behold who has put up a consistent (runner-up) charge this summer. Two RUs, 1 title and 1 SF. I'mm definitely impressed on how he's built up the endurance and resistance to last that long on the dirt, plus his very close SF loss in Madrid puts him in this Slam's short list. His draw is relatively easy, and wait for the fireworks to come on the second week.

QF Match: Monaco vs Djokovic

Quarter 4

As mentioned above, what does Federer's win in Madrid do? It puts the rivalry back into full swing, it puts Roger as part of the contender's list, but it doesn't change the fact that Nadal is heads-and-shoulders above the competition. Federer better save energy for that SF clash with Djokovic, and his relatively easy draw makes tennis fans salivate for that encounter. Hopefully that winner of the duel wins the whole tournament.

Oh by the way, given Roddick's good form on clay recently, I expect him to win 2 matches on clay - something he's never done since 2001.

QF Match: Melzer vs Federer

Summer Music MMIX

No, not a typo, but if you were listening to your Grade IV math teacher, that's Roman numerals for this year. What's burning up my portable music player?

1. Skeleton Boy by Friendly Fires
2. The Festival Song by Pez
3. I Love College by Asher Roth
4. Better Off As 2 by Frankmusik
5. Lovers In Japan by Coldplay
6. The Saltwater Room by Owl City
7. Fascination by Alphabeat

Suzhou In A Day

My Suzhou visit was a bit annoying on many fronts - the weather was ridiculously wet (and very cold at that) therefore making my walks in the park turn into galoshing through puddles. However, walking from the train station towards the city center I was offered a refuge from the rain - the SUzhou Museum. What was supposed to be a ten-minute toweling off turned into a two-hour stroll in their quaintly distinct museum.


Did I mention that the entrance was free? The beautiful museum was design by the renowned IM Pei, creator of Bank of China in HK, and that glass pyramid in front of the Louvre. What I liked about the building was it had empty little corridors that let light in, those pockets of water that characterise the city it represents, yet all in a modern IM Pei-kind of presentation.

I wasn't able to see much of Suzhou that day, but a rundown of the museum definitely made this section of the trip worthwhile.

Hutong Mania and the Great Duck Quest

Something must be said of the distinctive hutongs or courtyard complexes that fill Beijing. A whole lot of them are being demolished to give way to new, more dazzling complexes.



There's a whole lot of them north of the Forbidden City, just nearby HouHai Park and Drum and Bell Towers. The area has been developed to a commercial area where you can have dinner some drinks, while nestled in the hutong district. Though this may effort may sound contrived, let me point you to a more authentic hutong district that's a bit harder to find.



Searching for the best Peking Duck in town may be in the famed Quanjude Restaurant south of the Arrow Tower but there were three signs that made me veer away from the store:

1. A Lonely Planet un-recommendation for being overly hyped and frantically busy
2. It's ridiculously poncy facade
3. A McDonald's delivering food to the store - through the front entrance nonetheless

We followed hutong lanes not found in the map, but eventually found Li Qun Duck Restaurant. Why we didn't hesitate entering the restaurant despite its rather homely surroundings:



1. Well it was homely and most probably authentic.
2. In typical asian fashion, your success is measured by the photos of important visitors hanging on your wall. I saw a former Philippine ambassador and Jet Li. I'm in!





3. We were greeted by these duck drawings. Nothing says "top notch" other than having kids graffiti your neighbourhood with duck doodles.



Post duck review? It was excellent and oh-soo-hearty (dripping in fat and oil). Yaiks!

Temple Of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven obviously was held in the highest regard - with the tallest building during their days and its lavish park. Other elements Earth (where I went during the first day - see first Beijing post), Sun, were relegated to 'smaller' venues.

There's a good exhibition of how the blue temple was built and rebuilt, and rebuilt. The building was destroyed by two lightning strikes already, and since the all-wood structure further lures electricity with its golden tip, lighning is bound to strike that same place again in the future.

Looking For The Last Emperor

It's huge! The Forbidden City, or Imperial Palace as they would like to call it now (in an effort to give China an impression of being more "open") is simply massive. While I don't want this to sound like a tourist brochure (read all about it in Wikipedia!), let me just give you ample warning that the whole structure is city-like indeed. Unless you want a rough-shod sprint across the grounds, set out more than a half day for this.



The entrance of 40 CNY does not cover the side galleries, but don't forget to take a look - there are plenty of great artifacts hidden in the labyrinthine eastern grounds. Jade carvings aplenty, the finest porcelain, and other curios are on display in the grounds. I skipped the clocks display, but found this piece interesting: a golden globe, not of the earth, but of the astronomical sky with pearls as the stars. Just look at the excitement on the patrons.



If you don't like red, well, China is not the place for you, and and its centerpiece landmark is just fully cloaked in it. The Forbidden City is elegantly splashed in Chinese red, from its walls to its alleyways and hidden corners. It's great for a photo shoot that requires a red background.



There is a permanent exhibition on the western galleries with artifacts, but I would like to recommend the eastern corridors instead - they're 9 sections depicting life in the Forbidden City, on how the guards were distributed, their defense arrangements, meal preparations during festivals, and even how the concubines were, errm, housed. Plus details on how the North-South axis is important in a city laid out on a grid.



My host told me that in order to fully appreciate the purpose and significance of the grounds, I must watch Bernardo Bertolucci's epic The Last Emperor. Anybody got a copy? I couldn't find one anywhere. Anywhere cheap that is.

Beijing's Modern Playground

I wouldn't say Beijing is a very cosmopolitan city (it's almost there though), but I would like to note on how famous architects were wont to put their stamp on the reimagining of the city. While Shanghai is mostly Art Deco and Hong Kong is distinctively Norman Foster's sandbox, Beijing opened its doors to a gaggle of architects that makes the city a clever pastiche of shining new buildings.




My favorite would be Rem Koolhas' insanely playful CCTV Building. It looks like something I would've created with my Lego playset. I was pretty much fascinated by it that I think I dropped by the Guomao area thrice. Twice by chance, once by necessity.


Most tourists wouldn't probably go out of their way to drop by the CBD, so I would recommend Paul Andreu's egg-shaped building, the National Performing Arts Centre. Apart from his numerous works of gleaming glass and steel, Andreu hits closer to home as one of his early works included NAIA Terminal 1. (Just as an aside, I personally like T1 as it has a good architectural character, discounting the fact that it's quite old).



You may also chance upon the nice artsy-fartsy district up north in San Litun. They've got this quirkily colored glass compound called The Village. It's like a cathedral-inspired shopping mall.





Maybe I should do more research - I didn't chance upon an IM Pei work in Beijing...

Murdering Your Legs With Greatness

My only mistake with booking that Great Wall Hike is doing it on the first full day of my trip. I had underestimated on how taxing the trip would be, with its steep inclines, and continuous slopes. That, or I had overestimated my level of fitness (insert witty, sarcastic remark here). My BMI may not be ideal (yet), but I'm not frail nor lampa, so I expected a good workout. So, having said that, be prepared for the Jinshaling-Simatai trek, it's a tortuous ride, but an fantastic exhilarating one.



With that out of the way, here's how the trip went. I signed up a group trip in CouchSurfing and that effort netted 9 participants, including my 2 roommates. Transportation cost 115 CNY and entrance fees to the park totalled 85 CNY for Jinshaling, Simatai and the Simatai suspension bridge. Our driver dropped us off at Jinshaling, and picked us up at Simatai 5 hours later. Some things that you need prior to the climb: it's a 12km walkathon, so bring good shoes. There aren't any food stops, so make sure you have enough sustenance. Vendors will hound you as usual, and the prices aren't so bad to be honest. 40 Pesos for a bottle of mineral water may be expensive, but it'll save the 67-year old lady (and her knees) from following you. I didn't buy, as I brought 1.5 liters of water.

There will be 32 awesome towers on the trip spread across some 12 kilometers. The weather was fantastic when I got there, the wind was breezy, sun was shining, and the temperature was a reasonable 3 degrees. It was a nice crisp walk, but I was sweating buckets due to the physical exertion of climbing the steps.



So enough of the chatter, I'll just let the photos do the talking. Don't forget, this is the Jinshaling/Simatai portion, which is different from the touristy Badaling section, replete with *I Survived The Great Wall* shirts. Don't go there if you want an intimate, rustic memory of the Great Wall. The sore hamstrings, quads, knees, ankles and calves are truly worth it.

Day 1: Starting With Temples

Tropical Manila has yet to taste the wonders of a single digit climate, but don't deny it - you can barely take a bath at 6am two months ago without shivering. I liked that. I must say that I like the cold far more that the hot and humid climate we have, and not because I'm suffering from a 'grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side' syndrome. That brought me to Beijing, China where according to Google, has max/min temperatures were 8/-3. Yahoo, freezertime! If I had written this while I was in Beijing, my fingers would've fallen off, and pieces of my chapped lips would've been littering the keyboard. Yuck.

Before I gross most of the readers out (apart from showing my self-shot photos, all 174 of them), Day 1 started with an early flight to Beijing, landing at around noon time, then I proceeded to meet my host Aaron. I must say that Beijing exceeded my expectation in terms of ease of navigation. The road signs are easy to read, the city is laid out on a perfect grid, and the orientations uses the NEWS standard. Directions are absolute - bei, nan, dong, and xi. You'd never get lost as long as you now which direction you're headed. Street names are descriptive too, so that helps.



Having said that, English speakers for locals are still scarce. Good thing that I played a lot of Charades when I was in high school. I knew those board games were worth cutting class for.

More on Day 1, I decided to take it easy and just drop by the Yonghegong Lama Temple, a Tibetan lamasery (it's a real word, seriously) in NE Beijing. There were pretty cool corners in the sprawling courtyards, and I ended up taking quite a lot of solo photos. I'll spare you the agony of that, but I'll be posting some photos at the Temple Of Earth. The park may not be as impressive as the others that waited for me, but it surely gave a good preview of sights that await.

No Time To Blog Yet...

But here's what's going to be large this summer on my music player:

Frankmusik's debut album fighting off the return of Calvin Harris and Just Jack. Rounded out by indie-altronica from Owl City. That Saltwater Room is just darned cute!








In the next issue: Breaking a promise, then breaking legs.

If Anything, 2009 Will Sound Like The 80s

It's two months late, but I stumbled upon BBC's Sound Of 2009 where the pick on what critics (in the UK at least) will be this year's landmark songs/artist. They haven't been very wrong - previous choices were Bloc Party, 50 Cent, Mika, Just Jack, Corrine Bailey Rae, and last year, Adele and Duffy.

So, what will 2009 sound like? It'll sound like the 80s. It will look like the 80s, feel like the 80, and it'll be absolutely enjoyable. They've shortlisted 15 artists for the poll, and my favorites the following:

1. Florence and the Machine - She's like Feist, but her music sounds like it was raised by horses - wild, primal, stormingly powerful. She opens the year with "Dog Days Are Over"

2. Frankmusik - I'm guessing he's going to be this year's Linus Loves/Calvin Harris/Axwell, but with a throwback from two and a half decades ago. He plays frivolous electro-pop, and is working with Stuart Price. Check out "3 Little Words" on YouTube and feel the Tom Hanks love.



3. Lady Gaga and Little Boots - Actually, I found both artists quite annoying at first, but embraced it eventually for all its pop-tooth goodness. Check out how Little Boots plays a 16x16 LED instrument called a Tenori-on. That one won me over.

4. Mumford and Sons - A folksy approach to this year's playset; a little The Shins, a little The Kooks all wrapped in an 80s Everything But The Girl package.

5. Empire Of The Sun - Ever heard of fantasy pop? Well, I never. It's a concoction of synth, xylophones, and percussions that give it a dreamlike atmosphere. Plus the videos help in creating that aura. Check out their George Lucas homage in the album cover.

Lastly, they may not be new, but have a listen to Stars (remember them from The OC?). It's not a full album, but Sad Robots continues the whimsy, escapist story telling from before. Their song "14 Forever" stands out with a vividly painted picture of a field swarmed by teens at a music festival. This soundtrack is the prelude to a seemingly nostalgic year.

Australian Open 2009 - Men's Quarterfinals

Almost - for the first time ever, all Top 8 seeds make it in the final 8 of a Grand Slam. Yeah, that would've been nice, if top pick Andy Murray hadn't crashed out in the 4R against Verdasco. Oh well.

Nadal vs Simon
It has to be said - Nadal did not enter the competition as the favorite, which is a true disgrace as he is the top seed. As all eyes were heavily focused on his rivals, Nadal was quietly going through, nay, razing through his section of the draw. Time to make a U-turn, as he is most likely to wind up in the final.

Expect this encounter with Simon to be a marathon of sorts. Lots of baseline rallies from both players, and Simon risking a little bit more to out manouver Nadal. Still, the Frenchman will not have all the answers in his Grand Slam QF debut, and will fold in four sets.

Verdasco vs Tsonga
Tsonga is out there to prove his finish last year was no one-hit wonder. And Verdasco is suddenly gaining attention for slapping pundits and Andy Murray out of the tournament. I'm favoring Muhammad Ali here for a strong finish.

Roddick vs Djokovic
Hey, everyone seems to have forgotten poor Andy Roddick as a GS contender. He's been coasting like Nadal through his draw, but the draw gods were not kind to Roddick as he faces the defending champion in the QF. Nole will get through by utilising his complete game and off-balancing Andy with superior shot placement. I'd say 4 sets.

Del Potro vs Federer
That near-miss from Federer must still sting by now. When Tipsarevic tried to tug at Federer last year, King Roger was maimed and fell by the semis. This year, Roger fell behind 2 sets down but managed a glorious comeback. I think that if Del Potro nabs a set off him - Roger will go crash and burn. Not just yet, not in this round yet.


Semis and Final
Nadal over Tsonga in 5 stellar sets. I want to see Nadal win over Tsonga as revenge for last year's loss. It was so bad for Nadal that I actually had to use 'helpless' to describe him. How often does that happen?

Hopefully, another replay of 2008 semis, both with different results. No time to wast for Federer in surpassing Pete's record, but Nadal is a major threat. I'm going for Nadal to win his first hardcourt major, and Federer left following the sport's pecking order as #2.

Australian Open 2009 - Women's Quarterfinals

Women's Quarterfinals

Vera vs Marion
There's plenty to like with Marion - the quick smile, the quirky dance before serving that adoration for James Bond...but it's her tennis that stand from all of is. A weird looking double-handed forehand that produces so much spin that left two world #1s dazzled with her returns. Expect her to use these shots against an average Zvonareva, and return to the semifinal 4 in 3 long sets.

Jelena vs Dinara
Marquee match of this round. Jelena has been the darling of the crowd for the past week, after donning the Aussie flag and carrying the sentimental vote. I'd vote for her, but she's physically exhausted already from her grueling win over Kleybanova. It wasn't just the lengthy match, but the extensive amount of running done. A steady Safina who learned her lesson last year in digging dip, and creating turnaround matches will prevail in two.

Elena vs Carla
Giant-killer Carla's dream run will end here. A dominating Elena cooled off red hot winner Dominika in relentless fashion in the previous round. Just what Elena needed, a calming match just before the final barrage of matches. Dementieva in 2.

Svetlana vs Serena
Serena will out power and outplay with confidence in straight sets.

Semi finals and Final
I smell an all-Russian affair for the final, but an all-Russian affair at the semis? Quite possible, and that's with Sharapova by the sidelines. Though I picked Serena to ruin the Russian parade at the semis, a win is due for Elena Dementieva (my pick again!) with compatriot Dinara as runner-up in a replay of the Beijing Olympics.

Australian Open 2009 Fantasy League 4th Round Updates

Hot favorite Andy Murray was outgunned in the 4th round. Top seed Jankovic also dumped. Federer almost a casualty. Some of the headlines this first four rounds in Melbourne. Quarterfinal predictions to follow.

2009 Australian Open

It feels like so long ago when I watched some Grand Slam action; moreover, I'm not reporting courtside this year (It's been that long!) But tradition still calls and here's the predictions for the first week and a half of what going on in Melbourne.



Men's Draw
Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic

Quarter I
Surely Nadal is the top star in this quarter, but may not necessarily be the top draw. Watch out as local favorite Hewitt start his campaign against fellow runner up Fernando Gonzalez; definitely people will be flocking in Rod Laver Arena, or camping out in Federation Square. It doesn't get any easier for him after that, as potential foes include Gasquet, Canas, and finally the top seed.

QF Match: Nadal vs Monfils

Quarter II
All eyes are on Murray even if he trails the ranking games, he's the one blazing through the ATP Tour these past 4 months. Plus, he's put on a less surly outlook that made the crowd appreciate him. It's a fairly easy draw for him, until the quarters. Saw Murray got trashed by eventual runner up in the opening day of AO 08, and hopefully the results will be different in the round of 8.

QF Match: Murray vs Tsonga

Quarter III
Djokovic and his complete clan came in N-O-L-E shirts, and it was indeed a fairytale story for them and their home country (I'm sure some part of those proceeds went to fund Serbia's first ATP tournament). Though his hard court season was been so-so, it looks like an easy four rounds for Novak who can face Roddick in the quarters. However, Roddick's set is a mish-mash of his contemporaries (Ferrero, Nalbandian, Robredo) and throw in his conqueror last year (Kohlschreiber), it's a fairly open draw.

QF Match: Roddick vs Djokovic

Quarter IV
It's really hard to imagine the finalists not come from the quadrumvirate (I propose to use tetrumvirate, but it may mislead more than highlight the number "4"), and also hard to imagine that Federer will not be a contender for it. It's time to meet Sampras' record Roger!
Do pay attetion to Marin Cilic as he may put up a good run here - he played well last year, and a QF appearance (following his win in Chennai) is just about due.

QF Match: Cilic vs Federer


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Women's Singles
Defending Champion: Maria Sharapova


Melbourne lost a lot of star power this year with Sharapova's withdrawal. Sure, she's missed out a lot of tournaments due to that bum shoulder of hers, but it's a bit more pressure when you're the defending champion. She ascended to the championship in a fashion similar to her 06 Flushing Meadows win, let's see if someone will stamp their dominance from the opening rounds.

Quarter I
This could be the tournament that will save Jelena from all the doubts plaguing her "Slamless #1" curse. Her draw is the softest one in either men's and women's and even her QF might be easy. Anything less than last year's show might be considered as a letdown.

QF Match: Jelena vs Vera

Quarter II
Heavily stacked section of the draw, but no other contenders spring up apart from Dinara and Ana. Too bad they're slated to meet at the QF stage.

QF Match: Dinara vs Ana


Quarter III
I'll save a lot on space and replay what I predicted (hoped) for US Open 2008. Elena Dementieva. Save for a potential date with Venus Williams, she should get by this draw easily. However, 2 tournament wins will do make you a bit exhausted.

QF Match: Venus vs Elena


Quarter IV
Every other year, Serena roosts down under to pick up her Grand Slam. Not too far fetched from happening, as the sisters just stroll onto tennis majors and pick up a prize. Now that Serena is pumped, ready and on a roll, it's only a matter of time before she grabs the top ranking and reign once again as the best female player.

QF Match: Agnieszka vs Serena

So Early, So Broke and a New Year Resolution

I landed on my desk at 5 in the morning, hence this useless post. I'm actually panicking as I am broke. Broke, broke, broke and can not travel, tsk! I'll show why in a couple of days, but I'm a wee bit panicky right now.

On a lighter note, I've sworn of those useless New Year resolutions, but seem to have landed one myself. On 1/1/09, I finally gotten an earful of The Resolution by Jack's Mannequin. Now, if anyone can point me to a copy of The Glass Passenger, I'd be most grateful. It's been a very long time for me and me buddy Andrew McMahon.

The Best Music of 2008 - The Top 10

It's the last few days of the year, and it's time to give this list a wrap. I'll be posting videos/song of my favorite songs of the year, and will be updating this page everyday. Not exactly sure how it feeds into my Multiply account, so just click on this link to see the updated list.

10. Breakeven - The Script

Love it much more than TMWCBM, especially when it goes 'what am I supposed to do when the best of me has always been you?' Breakups are never mutually fair, and never fully equitable. You got that part right, mate.

9. Wow - Kylie Minogue

It's catchy, it's summery, and I can't stop bopping my head to it. Too bad I can't find the rap remix of it.

8. Mariah Carey - I Stay In Love

There's a specific memory from this song - I remember hearing it after an adreline rush of a concert called Lifehouse. It was a calming, yet interesting song that convinced me that the new album was worth a listen.

7. Calvin Harris - The Girls

Calvin Harris lands as the breakthrough dance artist this year, marginally beating Justice in the process. His 80s inspired beats is probably something we may need to hear less of, but that was a good decade for music still. Check out his video blog and find out how to make those fly shades.

6. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly

Quietly went through unnoticed, until that suprise victory at the Oscars. Poignant, sweet, and understated, it's a great movie, with a heartwarming soundtrack. Thank Ireland for producing a high ratio of wounded, broken singers per capita.

5. Taken By Cars - A Weekend Memoir (In High Definition) - Don't call it the token OPM in the list, because this one totally earned it. First heard the song at Octoberfest (in September), and then I knew, I found the best local act for the year. Bring on the shoegaze!

4. Jason Mraz featuring James Morrison - Details In The Fabric
The song is as intricate as the melody it weaves, and the fading in/out voices of the gentlemen. Morrison's raspy voice texture provides an excellent contrast to Mraz's solid voice. It's brilliant, and once again, Jason delivers another solid record.

3. Metro Station - Shake It
It's so catchy II can't take it out of my head. Forget the commercial that featured it (or the kids singing it look like mini Marilyn Manson), but you won't be able to stop moving to this song. Perfect to lift your spirits, whenever, wherever you are.

2. One Republic - All We Are
It was the year of Ryan Tedder and friends - he wrote almost every other song that was released this year, and I wonder where he gets all the energy to write all of them. This song stands out particularly in that album, as they funnel all that catharsis in one screamingly good song.

1. Lifehouse - Broken
A much much awaited concert with a heartbreaking finale all on top of a great radio remix, and a 6th Sense video. They replaced their finale song Everything, with this, and it was absolutely deserving. That alone speaks heaps. The crowning glory of my music year.

The Best Music of 2008 Part 4

The last part before the Top 10. 'Woohoo's for summer anthems from Boys Like Girls and Scouting For Girls (no relation, but they seem to have an affinity for the season). A little tribute to the poptastic songs played on Gossip Girl, and a slight note to Dashboard Confessional - two years late!

11. Dashboard Confessional - So Long, So Long
12. Boys Like Girls - The Great Escape
13. One Republic - Come Home
14. The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved
15. Vanessa Carlton - Nolita Fairytale
16. Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson - The Way I Are
17. Taken By Cars - Uh Oh
18. Jason Mraz - Make It Mine
19. Arctic Monkeys - Flourescent Adolescent
20. Scouting For Girls - Heartbeat

The Best Music of 2008 Part 3

21 Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris and Chrome - Dance Wiv Me
22 The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Your Guardian Angel
23 Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody
24 Boys Like Girls - Minutes To Midnight
25 Sara Bareilles - Love Song
26 Jesse McCartney - Leavin
27 Mariah Carey - I'll Be Loving U Long Time/Bye Bye
28 David Archuleta - Crush
29 Maroon 5 - Goodnight Goodnight
30 Athlete - Hurricane


Lots of late cather-uppers here. Glad to see that Kings Of Leon made it. Johnny Foreigner, and All American Rejects will have to wait for next year.

That Twilight Book

I'm honest enough to say that the Twilight movie was pretty decent, apart from the fact I watched it in a Makati cinema late in the evening. (Still, that didn't stop Trish from guffawing madly at the pale figures on screen). The soundtrack though was pretty awesome - yey Iron and Wine!

The next step was for me to check out the novel. A boring family reunion plus a boring road trip minus no other book on hand equals a twilight opportunity. What was the book like? It was dripping in swoon. I'm worried that at every page the book will gasp-faint-then-shriek.

Every other paragraph was peppered with "dazzling," "perfect," or "flawless". We get it Meyer, you love the vampire - I just don't get it that he has to be described everytime. I'm starting to imagine how she wrote the book - oops. I'm supposed to be writing GP here, hehehe. But it's not a bad thought...

Our Christmas Tree Screams "Ho Ho Ho!"

How does you christmas tree look like? The rest of the family spent a good day at Trinoma running through the usual holiday chores. While dear Mom shot down my suggestion of getting a new tree, she went with new, untraditional (at least for us) trimmings.

So, Mom filled her basket with red lights, red poinsettias, red christmas balls, and to top them all, a red ribbon with a bow. Mom had a field day with it, and came up with this:



My sister gasped: "Cabaret much?"
My initial reaction: "Ma, our tree looks like a hooker!"

I'm buying a new tree next year.

The Best Music of 2008 Part 2

Second installment for the list, and this batch features a very visual palette that accompanies the music. Of note is the extremely sensual heist featuring 2 lovely ladies, and a tesselation of sorts with The Ting Tings.

31 Scouting For Girls - Keep On Walking
32 One Republic - Prodigal
33 Boys Like Girls - Thunder
34 The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Cat And Mouse
35 Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
36 Angels and Airwaves- Everything's Magic
37 Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson and Nicole Scherzinger - Scream
38 The Ting Tings - Shut Up And Let Me Go
39 Mary J. Blige - Just Fine
40 MGMT - Kids

The Best Music of 2008 Part 1

In order to fill my blog with posts (I may have missed the 2008 quota), I'm doing an installment of my favorite songs from here until the end of the year. Two songs per day, for twenty days.

It's been more of a homogenuous year, and it gets a bit harder as I don't listen to radio. Don't worry, no High School Musical songs here. The songs that didn't make it:


41 Maroon 5 - Won't Go Home Without You
42 John Butler Trio - Better Than
43 The Maine - I Wanna Love You
44 Secret Handshake - I Wish
45 Feist - I Feel It All
46 Until June - Sleepless
47 Mute Math - Control
48 Emmy Rossum - Slow Me Down
49 Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
50 John Mayer - Say

A Vegan Weekend

It's really hard to go vegetarian in the Philippines, as the options her are a bit limited (plus peer pressure can bea bit overbearing at times), yet I managed this weekend of 48 hours to be absolutely meat-free.

Being fully stuffed by glorious puto from Friday afternoon, I decided to skip the meat and just have salad for dinner. Inspired by the vegan meal, I spent Saturday morning picking up random vegetables from the supermarket. Just sharing the weekend menu, you might want to cook up a veggie meal one of these days.

Zucchini and Eggplant Fusilli in Cream
Pseudo Roka Salata
Chili Tomato and Oyster Mushroom Pasta Soup
Nachos with Jalapenos
Peanut Butter and Banana Toast
Apple and Nori Salad
Stir Fried Soft Tofu and Broccoli

Sounds actually yummy. Any suggestions on what to do this weekend?

Twin CDs

Hi everyone. I think I've composed myself and this entry (Pun. Glee.)- It's interesting how I picked up 2 CDs, born 14 years apart, and they look the same save for the color:



In case you can't figure out the doodling, it's Dookie by Green Day and We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. by Jason Mraz. It's Billie Joe Armstrong and friends when they were young, just stepping out of the indie scene and into mainstream success. It's Green Day's debut album, a poppier, spunkier, neurotic sound and it definitely reflects the atttude of the early 90s (Compare that with today's kids in skinny pants, emo glasses and incessant screaming in the radio). Green Day back then was the rowdier, schizophrenic brother of the blooming alternative scene, and a tribute to the Slackers vibe of the grunge generation. I love it. And if you can remember the large noses going around the Basketcase video, then give me a high-five - you're definitely in my age group.

You know the songs in the album already, but I think I got so enticed by this album (a decade and a half late, I know), ergo, American Idiot is getting a nomination to join my album shelf.

Contrast Dookie with Jason's new album, where he trades his bebops (well, at least most of it), retreats into the cabana, and puts on his flip flops. Watch out Jack Johnson. Mraz relaxes with his latest songbook, and does away with the overture he created in Mr. A-Z, and strips it down to some fancy guitar strumming, easy melodies, and, well, a bit of the scatman thing. Did not like the collaboration with Colbie Caillat, but the subtle harmony created with James Morrison was indeed haunting. Interestingly, their voices are similar, with Mraz carrying a more fluid veneer to his melodies, and Morrison providing the coarseness to highlight the differences.

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More music news - it's November already, and the race is on for this year's most loved song. Justin Timberlake walked away with the trophy last year, and I knew it by September. This time, I can honestly say, I don't know; I don't even know what my favorite top 10 songs of 2008 will be. Any suggestions?

Pinoy Backpack Festival 2008

Would like to invite all of you to the Pinoy Backpack Festival at Alabang Town Center this 25-26 October. I wish we had one of these earlier, I think that this is the first one that's being held in the country.

If you've always wanted to travel, but don't know what the first step is (cost? where to go? how long? safety?), this 101 course suits you perfectly well. There are workshops on photography, sketching, how to pack, and other useful information. I was particulary amused by the backpacker's starter kit that they sold - it had an expense tracker, a calculator, a bandana, and a Philippine flag button. Cool.

As one of the highlights (for me of course), I'll be a resource speaker, and I'm going to talk about the CouchSurfing experience. What is it? Come over, will be happy to share the experience with you.

Formore details on the festival, drop by ROX Philippines.

New Radicals All Over!

So you've been brainwashed too - New Radicals has disbanded and will never be heard of again. I was so surprised to learn a few moments ago that Gregg Alexander has been writing all this time, and won a Grammy in the process.

My favorite songs from Texas, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor were actually written by Gregg Alexander. That's Inner Smile and Music Gets The Best Of Me. No wonder...they have that anthemic feel to it. As an added bonus, he also wrote songs for Ronan Keating, which made the former boyband member a bit more bearable. Hehe.

So, New Radicals lives! I've been mourning for 7 years already. Pop quiz: Any idea which the Grammy winnning duet is?

Random Blogging

Yup, there has been quite a lull in this blog. But for crying out loud - how was I
supposed to be blogging when I spend my days at work, and the rest of my nights still at work? The rest of my free time was spent downloading watching Tina Fey impersonate, nay, copy Sarah Palin.There was enough time to catch a movie at this year's Spanish Film Festival, where I saw La Orfanata (The Orphanage), which I did not know was a horror movie. Good thing Ididn't, and was pleasantly surprised and impressed at the storytelling capabilities of the Spanish. The downside of which, I was creeped out driving alone from Alabang to QC. Yaiks. More on this in a separate entry.

Onwards I say. I picked up two CDs last weekend, to make amends for my recent downloading spree. Not my fault the CDs I've been looking for are not available here - but I downloaded Graduation by Kanye West just to spite him (All bias aside, that record is truly meritorious of all the praises it reaped).

Still, I can't get to my point - I'm so scatterbrained lately, I can't even compose a decent, cohesive blog post. So I think I'll just stop and do this another day.