Pavarotti Dies at 71

This is a great loss to the world of Opera music. I know he's been accused of being commercial, but he's undeniably talented, personable and effervescent. His is the few Reader's Digest celebrity interviews that I bothered reading.

Farewell, Pavarotti. May you rest in peace. I hear they serve wonderful pastas in Heaven (Try their Angel Hair).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6981032.stm

Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti has died at his home in the northern city of Modena, his manager has announced.

The singer, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, was 71.

His charismatic performances - particularly alongside fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras - helped bring a new audience to opera.

Pavarotti had cancer surgery in July 2006 in New York, five months after his last performance. He had not made any public appearances since then.

He underwent five bouts of chemotherapy in the past year, and was admitted to hospital with a fever on 8 August. He was released two weeks later following diagnostic tests.

Fellow tenor Domingo said he had "always admired the God-given glory" of Pavarotti's voice.

Manager Terri Robson said in a statement that the tenor died at 0500 local time (0400 BST) on Thursday.

"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life," she said.

"In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness."

Pavarotti enjoyed 40 years on the world stage and became one of the world's biggest-selling artists.

His music reached far beyond the usual opera audience, particularly his signature tune Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, which became associated with the 1990 football World Cup.

His performances with Domingo and Jose Carerras at this time - in the Three Tenors concerts - were seen around the world.

"We've reached 1.5 billion people with opera," Pavarotti told critics of the shows.

"If you want to use the word commercial, or something more derogatory, we don't care. Use whatever you want."

In a statement from Los Angeles, Domingo said he had fond memories of the Three Tenors shows.

"We had trouble remembering we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves," he said.

Nessun Dorma was part of Pavarotti's final performance, at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006.

London's Royal Opera House - where the tenor last performed in Tosca in January 2002 - called Pavarotti "one of the finest singers of our time".

"He was one of those rare artists who affected the lives of people across the globe in all walks of life," a statement said.

"Through his countless broadcasts, recordings and concerts he introduced the extraordinary power of opera to people who perhaps would never have encountered opera and classical singing, in doing so he enriched their lives. That will be his legacy."

Pavarotti was married to his first wife Adua, with whom he had three daughters, for 35 years until they split in 1996.

He then got together with his secretary Nicoletta Mantovani, who was 26 years old at the time. In 2003, they had been due to have twins, but only one survived, a daughter called Alice.

The couple married in a lavish, star-studded ceremony later that year.

Behind the Scenes

Moment's Notice - John Coltrane

Thank God they have left!

As of writing this, the CNA crew has just scampered away. I couldn't be more relieved!

The shooting didn't turn out as I expected. It wasn't grand and the host (if any) was rather low-key. Thank goodness, because I don't want to imagine how the guys in the office will act had the host been someone like Pia Guanio or Iya Villania (though I'd love to have Sam Oh come pay us a visit. She's the coolest host ever, and we know each other). I still HATE this experience. We were taut, and it felt very unnatural and suffocating. I was right in believing all along that with cameras on, we were nothing but thespians, putting on a show that we're more productive than we really are (and I can't say I'm free of guilt, as I played my role in this stupid facade). All along, I was thinking "I can't wait for everyone to act normal again."

Going through all this only fostered my belief that Reality TV isn't real or organic. Who's buying all the notion that the participants aren't putting a show anyway?

Something’s wrong…

It appears like I have posted "A Spot of Bother" before "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". That's not true. The "Spot of Bother" entry should be from a later time.

Weird.

Anyway, this is the song that I quoted in that Television entry.

When You Are Who You Are (Gil Scott-Heron)

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Because our boss is a well-known photographer, he will be featured on a scoop. We, the employees, just received an announcement stating that CNA (Channel News Asia, a Singaporean cable channel) will be here in the office tomorrow morning.

And so we are required to be punctual and to do abso-positi-lutely nothing besides work the whole time, to project an illusion image that we are very productive.

Appearing on TV should make me as excited as someone about to give birth, but I couldn't care less even if it's CNN doing the scoop. I'm not a TV guy, and have this been local TV or Fox News, I might have erupted snide remarks, Tyler Durden style. Why do I hate TV so much? Because it's so fake! The materials there are screened, cut, edited and censored, until the only messages left are that the world is okay, the government is okay, life is one big beauty contest and that we should binge on mass-consumerism (all of these, of course, are mere skimmings of the surface). I don't need all these junk. Step into the real world and I'm always met by contradictions that are never televised.

Anyway, the last thing I need is to see my colleagues acting phony, with all these obligatory gussy-ups for a pursuit of fame. Alas, being around them has made me acutely aware of what they may do. They will dress grandiloquently and feign formality just to be mediagenic. And, of course, they'll pretend that everyone is in good terms and that there's no such a thing as cliques or demarcation - not the truth. That should be a sight to behold. Imagine, candor compromised by artificiality for the disguise of “pleasantry” (which is synonymous to “perfection”, which is always based on personal and cultural biases).

As for me, I wouldn't EVER trade my real identity for a made-for-TV mask. Lost in the marsh flooded by censorship, deception and dishonesty, I believe in sincerity, or in the immortal words of Gil Scott Heron, “You can be so very beautiful when you are who you are”. We are sheep, but let's not BAAAA to a deceitful shepherd, eh?

A Spot of Bother

You Know My Steez - Gang Starr

My prayer today went like this:

Dear Lord, forgive me for I have miscommunicated. When I posted yesterday's entry, I didn't sincerely mean I want to have another bad incident inside the bus. It was a sarcasm. 

I'm not having much luck with bus rides lately. Yesterday I was put in an awkward situation, but that's trifling compared to what happened today, which was just plain annoying.

Today's bus was quite unlike yesterday's. Each column of this one had two different chairs (there were two chairs on the left and on the right). They were comfortably spaced and had adequate leg rooms between different columns of seats. Things looked good, so I thought today's journey was going to be smooth. I was yet again proven wrong.

A person skinnier and smaller than I am took the next seat. As the bus moved, I started to notice that this guy was taking too much space. His legs were spread so wide that his knees would push mine aside, and he leaned considerably on my seat. Whenever I tried to nudge him back to his own space, he'd push me so he could be back to where he was. When I inched away from him, he'd take another mile. It's like he's totally gay for me. I couldn't even tell him to stop taking my space, because he had an earphone. To avoid body contacts with this annoying prick, I ended up being cramped way into the corner (as I was at the window seat).

What the hell is his problem? This wasn't even like a bus whose seats weren't clearly divided: as each columns had TWO chairs. I thought it should be pretty obvious how much space an individual should be occupying. Was he dense or what? If he was as big as Shaq I would understand, but he's not taller than me, so he definitely didn't need to take 30% of my space! Did he think that he was a king or something, lounging on two chairs like that? He's just plain irritating and obnoxious!

Damn, I'm so ticked off!

The Curious Incident of the Bus in the Night Time

Tuesday Heartbreak - Stevie Wonder

When riding a bus, I see a lot of oddities . For example, I am never a big fan of televisions, but constantly being on buses with built-in TV's allows me to catch the news, and they aren’t always pleasant - more often, they’re not. Also, because of the TV, I often glimpse recent teledramas. In fact I have seen snippets of Meteor Garden, and can conclude that Dao Ming Su has a bad sense of fashion (men in tight sleeveless shirt = YUCK!) and is a prick (note to self: act pissed-ly to the girl you love. She'll dig that!).

The drama that I witnessed today, however, did not require being fixated on a TV. At that moment, all I wanted to do as I got planted on the window seat of a 3-seated chair was to doze off. What followed proved that my choice of seat was the dumbest decision I've ever made.

If I am to continue this story by saying that a couple took the remaining seats from my chair, you'll have a vague idea at what all this is about. Besides me was a girl who resemble Katrina Halili, and besides her (ergo, two seats next from me) was someone who I presume is her boyfriend. For some reasons, the girl kept looking at my direction, and anyone with Lex Luthor's ego will mistake this as being taken interest of. My ego, on the other hand, wasn't enormous. I found it weird how she kept turning away from her boy. And then I realized: they had been quarreling, and was on the verge of creating a scene.

I tried to ignore them. I tried hard to close my eyes and be taken by the Sandman, but he wouldn't come. I felt that she had an aura of wrath and acerbity; so intense was it that all ebullient thoughts were suffocated. Seeing her treatment to her boy elucidated that what I felt wasn't entirely made up. She shunned when her boy tried to hold her hand in an attempted reconciliation. And to use the cliché, the silence between them was deafening. Where this left me was awake in the middle of Awkward-ville.

Another ride in the bus, another weird incident. Can I have another?

Daily crackpot insights

"Studying is a peculiar undertaking - loathed when performed, yearned when abandoned."

Meet my inbox, a repository of gut-busting hilarious e-mails such as this:

Make someone smile by forwarding this message. No, I'm not endorsing chain mails, but this one is too funny to pass up. 

We' ve been friends for a long time ago. We come from the same alma mother. Actually, our paths crossed one time on another. But it's only now that I gave him a second look. I realized that beauty is in the eyes. The pulpbits of my heart went fast, really fast. Cute pala siya. And then, he came over with me. He said, "I hope you don't mine. Can I get your number?" Nag-worry ako. What if he doesn't give it back? He explained naman na it's so we could eep intact daw. Sabi ko, connect me if i'm wrong but are you asking me ouch? Nabigla siya. Sagot niya, The! Aba ! Parang siya pa ang galit! Persona ingrata!!! Ang kapal niya! I cried buckles of tears.

Na-guilty yata siya. Sabi niya, isipin mo na lang na this is a blessing in the sky. Irregardless daw of his feelings, we'll go ouch na rin. Now, we re so in love. Mute and epidemic na ang past. Thanks God we swallowed our fried. Kasi, I'm 33 na and I'm running our time. After 2 weeks, he plopped the question. "Will you marriage me?" I'm in a state of shocked. Kasi mantakin mo, when it rains, it's four! This is true good to be true. So siyempre, I said yes. Love is a many splendor.
 
Pero nung inaayos ko na ang aming kasal, everything swell to pieces. Nag-di-dinner kami noon nang biglang sa harap ng aming table, may babaeng humirit ng, "Well, well, well. Look do we have here." What the fuss! The
>nerd ng babaeng yon! She said they were still on. So I told her, whatever is that, cut me some slacks! I didn't want this to get our hand kaya I had to sip it in the bud. She accused me of steeling her boyfriend. Ats if! I don't want to portrait the role of the other woman. Gosh, tell me to the marines! I told her, "please, mine you own business!" Who would believe her anyway?
 
Dahil it's not my problem anymore but her problem anymore, tumigil na rin siya ng panggugulo. Everything is coming up daisies. I'm so happy. Even my boyfriend said liketwice. He's so supportive. Sabi niya, "Look at is this way. She's our of our lives."
 
Kaya advise ko sa inyo - take the risk. You can never can tell. Just burn the bridge when you get there. Life is shorts. If you make a mistake, we'll just pray for the internal and external repose of your soul. I second
emotion.

I thought Jay's ex-girlfriend was really out of our lives. But heaven only goes that I was wrong. Kakakasal pa lang namin nun when Jay received a uninamous text. "Meet me at the clinic." I had a stinking feeling in my butt. I told him not to go. It might in danger him. Pero sabi niya, ok lang daw because life is what we make. Tumahimik lang ako. Sabi niya, Penny for you talks? But I didn't know what to say. Beggars can't be losers. Isa pa, worried talaga ako na baka yung girl yun. Jay said, "Can't got your tongue?" I tried to smile at him. Kahit di ako nagsalita, actions speak louder than works, di ba?

Ang ex-girlfriend naman niya at si Walter, nakakulong na.  Detention is really better than cure. So the moral of the lesson is:  if symptoms persist, insult your doctor. 

Dem Red Beans and Rice - Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Adobe Flash CS3 Impressions

Resurrection - Common

Allow me to tell you beforehand that I'm no expert of Macromedia (now Adobe) Flash; I've only started using this application three days ago, so I don't claim my experiences as basis for facts. Also, if you don't know what Flash is, please google/wiki it up.

People wondering why Flash's name has changed from Macromedia to Adobe, here's what happened: On December 2005, Adobe acquired Macromedia, therefore the rename; also, every Macromedia products are now included in the latest Creative Suite (currently CS3).

I've worked with Flash 8 and Flash CS3, and as expected, I saw a few significant changes, some good, some bad. Take the interface. I don't know if this is a result of the merger, but most of the tools in the Flash now appear in the same way as those from other Adobe softwares (such as Photoshop or Illustrator). The new look is clearly done to streamline all CS3's applications, but it may confuse those who's become very efficient with the previous interfaces (although I imagine that there are ways of switching to classic views, so it's probably just a matter of personal idiosyncrasies/preferences).

I'm most happy with the changes done to Flash's pen tool. There's no other way of saying this, but the pen tool from Flash 8 sucks. Basically, pen tool is used to create Bezier curves. The problem is that Flash 8's pen tool is ONLY capable of creating curves, so that pretty much discards conventional wisdom of what a real pen does. Speaking for myself, I like using Illustrator's/Photoshop's pen tool to create digital vector arts. But given the limited capabilities, I can only create irregular curves with Flash 8's pen; I cannot create irregular shapes with unpredictable changes in contours.

Now for the good news: Flash's CS3's pen tool has been modified to work the same way as Illustrator's, and that greatly eases drawing of irregular shapes. This is quite hard to explain without visual aids, but imagine this: I want to draw a number "2". In the previous version, I can't do that with the pen tool alone: I have to draw a reversed "S", then adjust the base into a horizontal line by using the subselection tool (a very complicated process, if I may add). With Flash CS3, by adjusting the two magnetic points (they're points that force curves, which can be modified or removed with CS3's pen) irregular shapes can be done easily with just the pen. While it may not be quite as efficient as Photoshop's pen tool (i.e. the line is immediately drawn, unlike in Photoshop where the pen only makes a path and what's done with it is exactly up to the user), the upgrade saves a lot of time and trouble. As someone who loves to draw vector arts* , it's a blessing.

In fact, with the help of the new pen tool, I have drawn a vector art of Lucy Van Pelt: 

*I've drawn Van Gogh's Starry Night with just the pen tool.

Stormy Weather

Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix

So I managed to survive the previous week, which had been tumultuous.

At least I can say today is the last day for the a week's vacation granted to students of Manila's schools. Manila, and I imagine a huge part of our country, suffered (or is it reveled? I'm confused like a new member of the puberty group) from inclement weather last week. We had typhoons for many days, and I was affected. Like how elephants hate rats, my body wasn't very receptive of the sudden changes in weather; I was afflicted with sore throat, which was then immediately followed by fever, cold and headache. Not exactly pleasant. I skipped work for a day because of my sickness. And when I had recovered, the weather hadn't; the next morning as I was on my way to the office, I got so stranded by traffics and floods that I had no choice but to call another day off. Terrific. 

I'm actually quite ticked off. I don't like spending a week not being in my optimal state, but I was weak given the circumstances within and without. And thus, I've been unproductive, and my blog has been neglected. Unhealthiness can really get on my nerves; I want to be back in the state where I can appropriately say "'Scuze me while I kiss the sky".

I'll be back. 

Kris Jou is "nightdreamer"

I didn't know how i.ph notifies people about new blog entries, so when I first tried to notify my friends about my new posts, I opened my email and saw the notification's appearance.

It looked like an email message from someone completely random. If I haven't told a few of my friends that I sent the "nightdreamer" mail, they wouldn't know. They would've thought it's another one of those mails that promises p3n1s 3nl4rgm3nt. Gee, life is like a box of inconveniences; you never know how much you'll sweat.

The reaction someone in receiving a mail from nightdreamer may have is "Who the $#@% is nightdreamer?!" I put my name in this post's header to confirm that, yes, I am nightdreamer. Now you may start screaming, "Who the $#@% does Kris think he is sending me email like that?!" *Sigh* I don't even know how to answer that besides saying "I'm an egotistic and pretentious ass and like all asses I need love. " So there.

Apologies for these inane rants. I'll post a better thought of material soon. In the meantime, you can listen to the song I've inserted at the end of this post. It's Norah Jones' beautiful rendition of Vernon Duke's standard "I Can't Get Started", from her participation as an interviewee in Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. The album is rare and also very good; she plays standards, and tells a few stories about herself in it. It's worth tracking for any Norah Jones fan or, put simply, for fans of great music. Anyway, the song is among my favorites, and it contains a line that I can relate to (that is, had I been a better poet):

You're so supreme

Lyrics I write of you, they scheme

Anyway, without further delay, here's the song. 

I Can't Get Started

How Are You?

Do Something - Macy Gray

Since I'm in yet another dry spell, I figured this is a good time to get reacquainted with my readers (if any) and start good vibes with by asking the common "how are you".

Work has been monotonous and rife with politics. I have to deal with our office becoming a tabloid rumor mill. Funny how much people judge you based on assumptions they have of you. I daresay how much do they know me ba? I'm not telling them to look at themselves before singing the Eric Clapton blues, you know, about accusing others, because I'm assuming they're smart enough to know that cliche and to put that into practice. To think that "professionalism" is such a vogue word, its principle is often elusive to those who tries to project it. And before you scream "hypocrite" I haven't criticized my boss (who doesn't belong to the rumormongers). I can't say say the same for those band of rumormongers; don't they have anything better to do? I'm sorry about letting off some steam and I'm not going to do this often, but I just needed to vent.

I find my respite, during my free time, either by blogging or by being buried in a book and being tuned out of the surroundings. This habit led me to finish many books: 7 in total since Harry Potter 7 got released, and I've yet to read Harry Potter 7.

Then there's web design, a course I take on weekends. I thought last week was the deadline for my web design projects. On Friday night I meticulously applied all finishing touches, readied the project for submission, only to learn that the instructor intended to give us a week extension. And I slept 2AM because of FINISHING ON TIME! ARGH! As a result of cramming, I felt groggy the whole weekend. On the brighter side, I'm happy to announce that I've become quite better at Photoshop than when I started. Our next subject is Macromedia Flash and I can't wait to learn that. I may even study in advance.

Among all the work, study, and community service, I hardly have time to play videogames. But when I have found the time, I play a few hours of Dragon Quest VIII (which I intend to finish) and Sam and Max (the first 3 episodes I've beaten, and I'm currently at the 4th episode). On the other hand, I'm less busy this week than the previous, so I'm trying as much as I can to make this week fun-filled. As for the  7 books I've just finished, I might write about them soon. My next book? Probably Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

So, how are you guys doing?

O Whereforth Art Thy Wisdom?

Happiness Is - Vince Guaraldi Trio

Jealousy is such a strong word, but I admire those bloggers who get lots of comments posted on their entries, and I wish to earn such privilege too on my dotph blog. It's very barren here and I could use more excitement.

Desperate for attention, I decided to add my list of contacts to the friends page of my dotph blog (this can be done on the Dashboard Tab way above) so as to be able to notify-slash-annoy my friends whenever I post new entries. Alas, because of some weird technical difficulties, I couldn't export my yahoo messengers' contact to my friend's list, so I had to type each emails individually.

Doing that was not only toilsome, but also depressing. I don't often have many reasons to look at my yahoo messenger's contacts, and I wish I hadn't looked today. Frankly the amount of contacts I have on my list is just an illusion of grandeur: I'm not close to a lot of my online friends. Only a few on my list of "friends" are people who I am willing to be stuck with in the same elevator.

Is this their fault? No. That's what makes it more painful. My immediate realization is in knowing that I don't go out enough. It's not that I don't like having fun (I do), but I am so busy it's not even funny. I keep recalling that, way back in high school, I was a more outgoing person and among the most adaptable to different cliques (cliques to me are meaningless). What happened to that time? I miss those carefree moments in my life where I can sit back, relax, kick my feet up, and have long chats with friends.

So anyway, this is my most recent blog update. Did I end up annoying you with this kind of whiny contents? My apologies. I still am trying, but it's not easy to nurture positive thoughts when I live a typical twentysomething's life that I despise. I wish I could ask someone out. The world is not a playground, but having fun every now and then isn't so bad.

In the meantime, you can brighten up my day by posting comments. 

Further Along, The Road

Legend Of The Purple Valley - Hiromi

I stated in my yesterday's post that The Road's first 100 pages didn't leave a good impression to me.

Well, because I do not jump to another novel without finishing what I'm currently reading, I forced myself through The Road. And because I was bored in scanning the book verbatim, I skimmed through it instead. I finished it, and in retrospect, the book did become better towards the middle. Although the same routine happened in the latter half of the book, the drama grew a little more intense (although it's still subdued, which was the intended tone of the book). Amidst the post-apocalyptic world's despair, the 2 protagonists (the man and the boy) did share a few happy moments, moments where all hope may not be lost. I believe that good times and hard times both reveal different dimensions of a character, and Cormac handled this pretty well in the book.

In my opinion, a reason the first half of the book was boring was because of the stagnancy. The book was expected to be depressing, and I do have high tolerance (and I actually like) reading depressing novels, but the mood was a steady state signal – without ups or downs. I didn't enjoy much of the dialogues because they repeated: the boy asked if they're going to die, the man said no, the boy asked if daddy's sure, the man said yes, and the boy ended with okay.

The latter half of the book was more refreshing, because good things happened to both leads. These happy moments became precious and cherish-worthy because they were so sparse. And like I said before, they showed different side of the leads' characters. I was moved by the heart-wrenching ending. The characters grew with the trials they face, and they learned to accept the things they cannot change. Without going to spoilers, I can say I was very satisfied with how the book ended.

Despite my praises, I still maintain that this book is flawed. The goal of going south was a red herring and I grew angry about that. I'm sure the book was rife with metaphors that require mulling, but I do not understand what going south was supposed to symbolize. And since the book's first half was a bore, I say approach the book with caution. There's a light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel went a long way. The Road may not hold up with other Pulitzer Prize winners (that I have read), but it does have its moments.

The Road

My Little Brown Book - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane

I'm currently 100 pages into Cormac McCarthy's best-selling and pulitzer-prize winning "The Road", and I haven't fallen asleep in reading a book as often as I had in reading this one.

What a listless storytelling this is! I didn't expect it to be a high-octane action-packed thriller in the same vein as Battle Royale, but gee does The Road ever make the story of survival lethargic! This is coming from a guy who hasn't fallen asleep watching movies besides The Awakenings (this isn't a bad joke! It's true!).

Grapes of Wrath, another Pulitzer Prize winner, isn't exactly the most "aggressive" novel ever, but I stayed awake reading it because of the lively character interactions and because each chapter is progressive, fresh, and eventful. While the theme of the Road (set in a post apocalyptic world where a father and a son tries to survive tribulations while traveling south) is inventive, the plot is tedious. All the father and son do (so far) is walk, sleep, scrounge abandoned homes, talk about love, safety, security and death, lathered, rinsed and repeated ad nauseum. When something interesting finally happens (like having an "enemy" show up) it is short-lived, and is afterwards followed by the tedium of their same-old "normal" traveling routine.

I'm not sure where this Pulitzer-prize distinction came from because I don't feel like reading anything classic. Last I checked, Pulitzer books aren't much of a bore. And while I can understand the beauty of understated storytelling, something HAS to happen in order for a story to be good.

At a 100 pages in, I haven't read anything happen yet.

So Far

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2

I guess my posts thus far involve me being angry at something. My apologies. I must write more positively. Happiness is two kinds of ice cream…

Anyway, I'm beginning to like this blog. I like how streamlined it is, I like the interface, I like the tags, I like the changeable background and title images (even if it is flawed), I like the uploadable music, I like the messageboard, etc.

In contrast, I'm beginning to see my friendster blog as an underdeveloped rural area. Not that I have anything against rural area. Ok, my bad, correct that. Friendster blog is more like outdated technology or a dinosaur. For all the stuff the friendster teams like to brag, they rarely ever add new features to their blog.

I hope to stay. I hope to get more readers. Maybe I should wish upon a star because after all, they're in my header image. Haha.

Oh, and by the way, the header image is something I made by myself. It's the top of my vector image version of Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Harry Potter and the Annoyed Reader

religious - musiq

What bothers me is the disturbing trend Harry Potter has started. Since its release, it’s impossible to go to any university or office without hearing conversations about Harry Potter. It’s everywhere, and it gets annoying when you’re at the restroom, only to hear someone wash his face while conversing to his friends about how book 7 ended (which I have heard several times now).

I’d like to think that one of the joys of reading a book comes from the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen (and how rewarding it could be if the denouement turns out unexpected). But these days and ages, it’s become nigh impossible to read a popular book without its details already spoiled, unless if you’re the first to have read it. Is this the reason why people line up for the new Harry Potter: so that they will be the first to know what’s happened and will spoil the story to those who haven’t read while they feel their ego boosted? Why deprive the enjoyment of those who want to read but couldn’t afford it immediately? Why all this disrespect?

Also, does everyone have to follow the media hype? Is everyone out of touch with their own preferences that they just have to keep following the trend, without discovering the gems on their own? What happened to the time when those who go to the bookstore go to different sections scrounging for the book that speaks to them, regardless of whether or not it’s popular? Nowadays, the only books that people ever buy are those humongous hyped bestsellers piled in front of a bookstore: Harry Potter, The Secret, Laws of Attraction, Da Vinci Code, Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Alchemist, etc. I’m not saying these books are inherently bad, I’m saying that it’s likely that there are other books on the similar subject matter that could be better than all these. And yet people don’t take the trouble to read Bartimaeus Trilogy, Faucoult’s Pendulum, or Siddharta.

As for my assessment in Harry Potter series, I like it. I find the concept very appealing. However, I'll be damned if I just stick to Harry Potter without exploring other works of fiction and I can't remember a book release ever reaching the anticipation level of Star Wars. This guy here prefers bookstore quiet.

For me, the beauty in reading a book comes from its giving each of us a different experience. Everyone has their own biases and interpretations. It doesn’t matter how much a book has sold, if it doesn’t communicate a message appreciable by the reader then it doesn’t serve its purpose. A book isn’t supposed to be like technology where the latest is the best; it’s supposed to be like a t-shirt, in which only the person will know what fits him/her. Old or new, it doesn't matter. It doesn’t have anything to do with what sells and what everyone else likes. Just imagine if everyone is wearing torn jeans. How crazily monotonous would the world be then?

Life in Motion Blur

Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield

I have been trying to cram several activities for a day, but I could only do so much. Work, school and church has kept me so busy and while I do appreciate how each can develop my character, I am now craving for breathing space.

Problem is, my breathing space doesn't always concur with the people who I want to spend free time with. Sometimes just reading books and doing all other solitary kind of crap can make me feel lonely and depressed, and so I'd call people up asking if we could meet.

And there's this girl who has been a long time friend of mine. I've bought her birthday gifts, and I've yet to give them to her. It has nearly been a year, and we both think it's been too long. So we planned to meet since 2 weeks ago, but we keep having to postpone this appointment because of unforeseen responsibilities popping up like an annoying Smileycentral Ad.

Gee, is life ever as unbearably fast as it is now! At this point, my life is like a photograph where I'm the lone still figure in a sea of motion blurs. People come and go very fast, I couldn't make sense of what's happening anymore.

So It Goes

If You Want Me To Stay - Sly and the Family Stone

I screamed. I was alone, unloading all my pent anger in a claustrophobic elevator. How did this happen? Why me of all people?

Although spare in luck, the morning and afternoon I spent in the office went down like a slice of pizza on a hungry stomach (though less satisfying). Today wasn’t a good day. I couldn’t finish my assigned work even if I had a solution. And I was scolded for neglecting a company policy the day before. I dissatisfyingly left the office, and hoped that I would be productive tonight by tackling my other assignment: my web design project.

Before heading home, I visited the bookstore. My creativity was dried and I needed inspirations for a web page. The origami book looked tempting (origami was my hobby in my elementary years), but the price made me hem and haw: should I buy it? After brooding for half an hour, I decided against it, and promptly took the bus home.

Ah, yes, the bus. The TV showed 24 Oras and I left just before they broadcasted their life-changing headline: Christine Reyes about to do a sexy movie. Watch as 24 Oras’ ratings skyrocket. FHM Nation rules.

My folks go out every Tuesday, and I expected to be home alone for a couple of hours. Nevermind that I bring my keys 95% of the time: even when vacated, the gates are usually unlocked, because I arrive soon after they leave and because our condominium’s security is tight. So why of all days did they lock the gate on the exact day when I didn’t bring the keys? I couldn’t get in and I’ll be spending at least 2 hours OUTSIDE!

And thus began the screaming. I was in agony, blaming myself for stupidity and blaming everything else for bad luck. Here I was, fired-up to start a web design, only to be locked outside of my shelter. What was I supposed to do in two hours? Netopia doesn’t have a Photoshop the same way as how the SONA doesn’t have an ounce of truth. My nearest best friend, the only one who lives within the neighborhood, went to Japan. All my other friends live cities, if not islands, apart. And there were no theatres nearby to make the passing of time barely noticeable.

My only choice was to stay in Starbucks, which I did. I spent the next few minutes finishing a book (Slaughterhouse Five) with only 30 unread pages, sending SMS’s, and staring at some latte-swirling customers as they yak tirelessly about their dumb colleagues. Great! And that was 30 minutes of getting preoccupied. With at least 1:30 left, I was left bored and having nothing else to do. So I sat and waited and sat and waited, and time was comatose. And I was famished yet I refused to eat.

I came back home at 10:30 PM. My suffering felt longer than that. Few days before, I bemoaned that “Free time has become an elusive luxury”. Guess what? I got more than 2 hours of free time today, and I was unprepared for it.

How did this happen? Why me of all people?

Night Dreamer

Night Dreamer - Wayne Shorter

I'm Kris; mind you, I'm not as loud as the celebrity, nor am I a girl.

Few people who read my other blog will start to wonder: why have I started another one? Surely I don't intend to abandon the former one, do I? Well, no. I could do without the ads, but I'm not willing to part ways with that blog after constantly updating it for two years (and seeing enough shares of highs and lows) .

But curiosity strikes, as I have been introduced to i.ph by my web design teacher, and after a little canvassing, I find this blog's design a lot easier to customize than Friendster's. I might want to create my own blog template in a foreseeable future, so I figure this would be as good place as any to start experimenting. Of course, what you're currently seeing in this blog are some of the defaults, as I've been too lazy to create my content as of now.

What I like most about this blog are the ability to edit the HTML codes (which is something I'd do in secret when posting in friendster) and the ability to post music. Everyone knows I have a rather weird taste of music, and I realize that this is a place where I can upload my music for everyone's aural pleasure/dismay. Lastly, one doesn't have to be a member to be able to comment on this blog. So if anyone chances upon my blog, do not hesitate to post comments.