A Night of Mariah

I know a couple of friends who are fanatics of Mariah Carey and for good reason. She's got multiple hit songs (more than Elvis Presley) and was recently one of the artists to be featured in the American Idol. Her latest album, E=MC2 ("squared"), hit gold within 8 days of release here in the Philippines and garnered awards too in other countries.

MCA quickly put together an "E=MC2 Victory Party" which was promoted through word-of-mouth and the internet (yup no tri-media ads!). The party was packed!

Anyway, I was feeling sheepish with my Blogger t-shirt and jeans outfit since I did not expect that there would be a red carpet thingy (beauty angst alert!) and that everyone seemed to be dressed up and all dolled-up. Anyway, good thing Sweetie and I found seats, so I just kept myself invisible the rest of the night.

MCA artists performed the whole evening, starting off with Zoo (the band which Arnel Pineda was part of) and they sang "Always Be My Baby". Miguel Escueta looking a bit peeved followed, and then came Diane Elise, Pedicab, Chicosci and Richard Poon. Each gave their own rendition of a Mariah Carey song. (I'd like to add that I think singing her songs is really difficult, much more when one sings it in a different version).

Chicosci's "jam-like" rendition of Hero was notable (they were just actually playing around). It was extremely hard to take photos of Chicosci since the lead singer moved around a LOT. It was a good thing I thought of putting my cam on "sports mode" and it worked!

t was Richard Poon though who sang the best Mariah Carey song. He did his own version of "My All" and I would like to believe he floored the audience. He's come a long way since he launched his album last February and is just getting better and better. Here's his version of Mariah Carey's "My All".

At the ToyCon

I was excited to attend the ToyCon after attending the Mangaholix a few weeks ago. I've been seeing a lot of talk about it especially from Azrael and my boys were set on going. Miguel and I tried to find something we could wear, but lost time since school started already. Anyway, as Miguel and I approached the Megatrade Hall we saw a looooot of people lined up dressed up for the cosplay event. There were even boys dressed up as girls (too bad I got shy to take a photo).

Anyway, here are the photos I took yesterday -



Photos available for download in my Multiply site.

Nyoy Volante Launches Heartstrings

I met Nyoy about 15 summers ago. We were kids having fun in a theater workshop in our community and that's where we became tinikling partners! LOL. I'd never forget that day because my foot got caught in the bamboo while we were performing. A painful experience I'd never forget, but I smiled through that since we were, uh, performers that night. Even then Nyoy had a golden voice. He was the rave in the community and nearby communities.

After that summer most of us went our own way. Went through college. Started working. Some went abroad. One thing though for those who stuck together - we surely were Nyoy's fans. He doesn't know it but we've watched some of his concerts, but were too shy to say hi. I bumped into him a couple of times through the years, but I never expected to come face-to-face again with him since we're obviously in two different worlds.

Sweetie surprised me with a copy of "Heartstrings" a couple of weeks ago. We both didn't expect that there would be an album launch, but I made an album review anyway for Titikpilipino.com. Another surprise, Sweetie got invited to attend the album launch and guess who tagged along? Me! Too bad my best friend's in Cebu, he would've wanted to go as well.

I felt quite sheepish when Nyoy suddenly waved at me while he was being interviewed on-cam. Entertainment media icon Mario Dumaul even looked back to check who Nyoy saw. Meeh. Hehe (covers head with a paper bag). Anyway, I must say that Nyoy is still very much the same guy I met when we were kids and I'm so proud that he continues to produce great music. In this video he talks about his new album "Heartstrings".



And below is the carrier single of his album, "Because". I asked Nyoy if he were to choose one song from the album that would describe his life now what would it be. He chose "Because" coz he thinks that's what one should do, "to love and just make someone happy". In love? Yihee. Anyway, he knows where I live, so before he comes and bonks my head for that quip here's the video:



For more info about Heartstrings and to order online please go here. My album review can be found here.

A couple more songs I got during the launch:

No More Lonely Nights
more coming!

Plurk, Plurk-Plurkan Na!

I received an invitation to join the newest craze in the blogosphere - Plurk.com - through a Twitter message (thanks Rom!). I tried signing up immediately but for some strange reason it wouldn't accept my registration, so I let it stew for awhile until I got an email invitation from AJ.

I'm now "plurking"!


So does this mean I'm going to abandon Twitter? Hmmm, I'm not really sure yet though a lot of my friends from Twitter have signed up on Plurk as well.


I've just been using Plurk for a couple of hours but it's been fun so far and here are the things I like about it:

1. It's easy to catch up if you went offline for a couple of hours.
2. You can just scroll through the plurks and you see it on a timeline.
3. Like Gmail, plurk-back (or answer backs) are threaded together.
4. I like the interface, it's not boring.
5. It's easier to add/remove friends.

So what do you think of Plurk? And what do you call people who Plurk? Plurkers? Plurkaholics? Plurkanoids? Plurkees?

Maybe if I get a new set of hamsters I'm going to name them "Twitty" "Plurkee" and "Jaikee". Heh.

Miguel Wins the Dr. Heartbeat NXT Robot Competition

I am one super duper proud momma! My 13-year old son, Miguel, won first place in the Dr. Heartbeat NXT Robot Competition. This is the very first non-sport competition he has joined (most were in school during intrams).

Here's my vlog post about it -



I just couldn't describe how happy I am! I felt my heart was about to burst when he finished first three times in a row during the elimination round. I felt like crying since just yesterday we were both hesitating to join since he has not completed all the lessons at the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Center, but thought that he should still join for experience. Just before he went in the Lego room I wished him luck and told him to just enjoy himself. I was awed with the results of the first round.

Manabat - 125
Salvador - 175
Apolo - 400
Dee - 125

Miguel had a big smile when he went out of the room. I asked him how he felt and, as usual, he just gave a big smile and said he was happy about it. I was feeling really mushy and wanted to give him a long big bear hug, but he was reading so I just left him alone and watched the second batch. The second elimination round was pretty intense. These were the kids who went to a summer robotics camp in their school so I know how important the competition must be for them.

The third round had the top two winners in the previous elimination rounds. I hugged Miguel before he went inside and reminded him to just have fun. The contestants were put under time pressure to complete a task. Miguel was the third one to go up and successfully completed the task with the least amount of time. Here's the result of the final round -

G. Salvador - 3 balls 3 mins. 20 sec.
V. Salvador - 1ball, 4 mins.
M. Apolo - 3 balls, 2 mins 50 sec.
C. Pambuan - 2 balls, 3 mins.

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

Here's a list of the winners for the two divisions:

Division 1: 6 to 11 years old
1st Place: Antonio Sales
2nd Place: Christian Ayala
3rd Place: Mildred Saquing

Division 2: 12 and up
1st Place: Miguel Apolo
2nd Place: German Salvador
3rd Place: Christian Pambuan

Special Awards
Mr. Congeniality: Marco Ayala
Most Patient: Joseph Tamayo
Most Inquisitive: Daryl Tongson
Best Engineer/Programmer: Alfonso Sales
Most Enthusiastic: Christian Ayala

I appointed myself as Miguel's personal paparazzi so here are the photos:



It's downloadable at my Picasa Web Album.

This definitely tops Miguel's summer vacation.

Thank you Lord! =)

Filipino Indie Film: Gusto Kita Too

I managed to watch Rica Arevalo's short film "Gusto Kita Too" the other day with Sweetie. The film is bundled with "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa". Rica said that it's the first time in Philippine cinema that a short film is featured with a full length film.

Anyway, after watching "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa" we had to wait awhile to see "Gusto Kita Too", so make sure you stick around after the main film. The film was spunky, cute and straightforward. It successfully managed to fit in a lot of noteworthy messages in less than 10 minutes.

Fil-ams feel disjointed about not knowing how to speak Tagalog.

I have a lot of friends who were born and bred in the US and don't speak Tagalog. It's a wonder that most of them are enrolled in speak-Tagalog classes. There's also a strong feeling of being "incomplete". They are aware of their heritage, but know nothing of it. My niece in the US is bent on learning a lot about her heritage and is a better tinikling dancer than me now.

Parents of Fil-ams want them to hook-up with non-Filipinos.

"Sorsi ikaw ba ito?" Just read her blog and you'll know what I mean. I guess there is that preference among those who toiled hard to be able to migrate to the US. I just noticed though that a lot of my Fil-Am guy friends prefer homegrown Pinays. Mas maalaga daw kasi.

Anyway, the short film shows us a glimpse of what it is to be Filipino born and bred in another country. The fact that they long for home is undeniable and a stark reality. It's sad, but you know we can always bridge the gap by providing them with Filipino culture rich content (that's what I'm trying to do with my blog). O dibah?

Here's the interview I did with "Gusto Kita Too" writer and director, Rica Arevalo -

What inspired you to do this film?

I took a one-month vacation last December in California just to enjoy and explore the entertainment scene there. At the back of my mind, there was this yearning to do a short film. I purchased a Sony HDV camera but I was not yet sure of what story to tell. So I just immersed myself with the "culture" there. I had some cool cousins there who are Fil-Ams and cannot understand Tagalog. One of their angsts was their parents spoke in English while they were growing up (for them to adjust since they are immigrants) and they took their native language for granted. They regret not speaking in Filipino now.

Everyone falls in love so I wanted a story that most people can relate with---light, fun and entertaining. Since we are Pinoys, I wanted to incorporate the old/modern Pinoy style courtship.

How long did it take for you to do this film? What was your thought process in doing it?

I shot my short film, two days before I flew back to Manila. I asked some relatives and friends to be my actors. So all of them are first-time actors! It was labor of love for everyone. I never imagined that our theatrical run at Robinson's Indiesine would be extended!

I wanted to interview Rica on-cam, but she said that I'd never see her in front of a camera. Anyway, if you watch the film you'll get to see a glimpse of her, well not her, but her twin. I also interviewed her for You Got Tech about video blogging, so watch out for that post too.

"Gusto Kita Too" as I said is spunky and straightforward. I am sure a lot of people would be able to relate with it. And for the Pinoys, I'm sure the torpes would be able to pick up some tips on how to make ligaw. It's still showing together with "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa". Here's the schedule :

June 4-10 IndieSine, Robinson's Galleria
June 11-17 Robinson's Ermita

Dali! Nood na!

Mangaholix (MangaMania 2008)

Miguel and I went to the Mall of Asia for his lessons at the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Center and wondered why there were quite a number of people dressed up in costume. I thought that there was probably a cosplay photo-shoot or something by the bay area. After his lessons we saw more and more people dressed up in costume and eventually Sweetie asked someone if there was an event at the SMX. We had planned to go to the World Trade Center after having lunch to take a peek at the trade event, but upon hearing that there was a huge "Mangaholix" event at the SMX we decided to spend sometime there before going to WTC.

I've never experienced this kind of event since I only experience manga through some friends and Miguel's stories. I was already dazed even before we entered the hall. I've never seen so many people dressed up as manga/anime characters in my whole life. And well it was a totally different experience for me. My boys were simply in heaven ha-ha. They both got some comic books and I was so green since I left empty handed. (I should've bought a character hat! I could wear it during ToyCon, oh well... I'm trying to convince the boys to wear costumes during ToyCon... asa pa ako). It was mighty fun and here's my vlog about it -




Photos available at my Multiply site.

We did go to the trade event at the WTC. The event was zzzzz... so let's not talk about that anymore coz we were sorely disappointed with it. We caught the first part of the World Pyrolympics on the way home and decided to park first and watch. Here's a bit of what I managed to capture on video using my mobile phone: