I liked Metallica so much that we’ve been to see them twice now. After that experience I couldn’t bring myself to join hubby in the REM concert. I certainly didn’t enjoy the OMD (Orchestral Maneouvers in the Dark — sheesh what a name) and I sort almost liked the Cure.

I was gutted when I lost the ticket draw for Led Zeppelin. So I resolved that I will watch the music greats while they can still sing.

I failed though because Tina Turner’s concert coincided with my desire to see AC/DC.

But OH MAN! It was the best birthday present I have given myself.

I can’t believe it. These guys are old but they rocked the house. My right ear was ringing for a day but it’s worth it. The atmosphere was electric.

The crowd were superb. For a few hours, everything felt right with the world. Is that how a hippy commune feels like? Everyone’s happy, everyone’s giving way, everyone’s having super grand time. (more…

Written in 2000 while in Fargo, ND
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Nagpapasalamat ako sa mapang-aliw na musika’ng nagmumula sa speaker ng laptop ko ngayon. Nagpapasalamat akong lalo sa taong nagbigay sa akin ng MP3 ng “pizza pie”, “harana” at iba pang kabalbalan.

Nawawala ang pagkainip ko at nakukuha kong tumawa habang naninigas na ang aking kamay sa pag-gawa ng lintik na killer testcase na ito. Malaking utang-na-loob ang aking tatanawin sa grupo ni Edgar pagka’t dahil sa kanila lagi kong naaalala ang aking nobyo sa aking pag-iisa. Hindi dahil sa kamukha niya si Buloy, kundi dahil sa kanilang tortang talong.

O, kabastusan ang inyong iniisip. Kaninong tortang talong? Kay Edgar. Sabi niya “he ate the tortang talong and he grew strong.” Kita mo na! Masustansiya pala siya.

Ngayon paano ko naalala si Dyuwel dito? Dahil he is strong. Hindi lang yan, hindi na rin uso sa kanya ang harana. Tapos mahilig siya sa pizza pie, lalo na kung Shakey’s. Pero kung ako ang may dala, kahit saan galing kakainin niya.

Hay Edgar… Maraming salamat sa iyong musika. Inilalapit mo sa puson, este puso ko ang mga minamahal ko… Tortang talong, pizza, aso, bisaya…

I used to mentor an Oxford intern. We were talking about literature during downtime and she said she’s into classics. I said I was too and said Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories and the Hunchback of Notre Dame are two of my all-time faves.

“Oh I meant Austen and the like.” hehe

So I bought “Jane Eyre” and to this day it’s on my stack of “to read/finish”. Talagang natapos ko na yung Pullman trilogy (Northern Lights) but I couldn’t get past the first chapter of Eyre.

This year I have had the pleasure of accidentally catching old English films on “Pride and Prejudice” (na talaga namang halos magasgas na sa dami nang remake), “Emma”, “Jane Eyre” and last night “Persuasion”, though I missed the first 30 minutes. Since it’s not BBC, I was almost reluctant to wee in case I missed a minute of it.

Para kong tangang kinikilig. I even sigh — hhaayyy. Salamat na lang at di ko nababasa ito nung high school ako. Kundi baka wala akong naging boyfriend. Lagi na lang akong magiging sawi.

Sana next time maabutan ko naman “Wuthering Heights”.

The last british film that I enjoyed was a teen flick called Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

It’s funny and romantic and brought my own high school memories back.

At the end of the film, crush ko na din yung object of the heroine’s affection.

Who can blame me naman?

Dapat ito ang gigolo!

If you’re an 80’s child then you would really know “The Cure”. Those born after would have heard about them or their music. Hubby, the guy I live with, is a New Wave maniac. I’m not.

The day he saw an advert about the NME Awards gigs, he kept a reminder to buy a ticket for o2 Arena.

It’s now becoming unfair.

I dragged my tired and cannot-be-bothered soul to OMD’s concert in Roundhouse last quarter of 2008. China Crisis was a surprise opening act, but I couldn’t for the life of me just get into the groove of the moaning songs.

I didn’t join the REM concert because though I dance to “Losing My Religion”, I’m not really a fan and again couldn’t-be-bothered. Hubby claims he sold the spare ticket. Lout.

For the Cure, I made an effort to join because, you know, they’re legends afterall.

I gritted my teeth because hubby was 45 minutes late! I was contemplating murder but I controlled myself. The concert wasn’t too bad. I didn’t know the opening acts, they were all too young for me.

For goodness’ sake, this band called “Castles Castle” (I think) has female vocalist and I honestly thought she was just writhing on stage but the kids in the crowd were going wild. The singer apparently (to me) was attempting a Bjork-type of singing, you know? Like almost no lyrics but just eeeehhh-iiihhh–eeehhhh?

The redeeming factor was Franz Ferdinand played for almost an hour before the Cure. They weren’t too bad, but they’re not danceable and they’re certainly not Metallica.

The funny thing was hubby didn’t know most of the songs played by the Cure either! Hah!

He was hoping they would play their greatest hits but instead they (of course) played their new songs during the first half of their set! When hubby called it a night and went to loo, I stayed and watched/heard “Boys don’t Cry“!

Oh, that must hurt! For hubby at least. har har

Metallica are back this week. The only woman rocker I adore, Tina Turner, is also in O2. BUT I’m not seeing them. Why? I’ve been asking myself the same thing since last year. The cost, of course.

Hubby wants to see Morrissey in the Albert Hall this May.

And I want to see AC/DC in Wembley on my birthday!!!

Be still my heart, we don’t have the tickets yet.

Cross your fingers I get them tomorrow!!!

I’m not as busy as I was in Summer and Autumn but still busy enough to be dog-tired every day. Ugly Betty was the only show on telly I actually follow. But Channel 4’s stopped with Season 2.

Last month though, pogiBoy and I chanced upon a BBC series called Merlin. It’s shown every Saturday. It’s escapism at its best. I love the special effects.

Smallville started almost the same way, Light plots but with witty dialogue, easy on the eyes cast… Hubby said Merlin was almost a copy-cat. That maybe but I’m long over the convoluted youngish Superman.

Season 1 just ended but to those interested, you can watch all 12 episodes on BBC’s iPlayer.

Actually, you the iPlayer’s the first tax-payer-funded BBC project that I’m really happy with. You can watch segments you missed, even the US cult Heroes.

Toe was reminiscing about her childhood reads before and how she’d wish for blonde hair and blue eyes (like that UP student who won in the UK). My past was a bit different because the only reading materials I had access to growing up were comics. You know, Pinoy Klassiks, Aliwan, Liwayway, at marami pang iba na nakalimutan ko na pangalan.

My Lola in Manila used to rent comics in her sari-sari store and she’d archive the old issues in rice sacks and bring them to Nueva Ecija - for me! Nanay hated it because I won’t stop until I have read each and every issue. I’d ditch my morning baths, ignore my Saturday cartoons, zip thru my assignments & just slump on the floor next to my sacks (there’ll be 2-3 sack-full!).

Before our black-and-white television, weeknight entertainment was reserved for our transistor radio. You know the type that takes 4-6 big batteries and the back cover is made of cardboard? (more…

Scarlett Johansson said she wants to go to Iraq to entertain the soldiers. When asked what she’d do, she said she’ll probably just go on stage and “ooze sex appeal”.

How do you intentionally ooze sex appeal?

At any rate, I wish I could say the same thing & not have people throw up. You know something along the lines of:

“I’m not going to prepare for the management meeting, I think I will just sit there & ooze sex appeal”

Somehow though I get the feeling, that will not work. It doesn’t work with hubby when I want to distract him and forget about my credit card bills.

On another note…

We saw the Transformers movie last week and it was all that I dreamed about & more. It wasn’t even violent. pogiBoy was transfixed. Daddy, I think, felt left out because he’d tap either pogiBoy or myself & we’d both tell him to “shush”.

Shia LeBouf was perfectly cast. The action sequences were superb. The animation was SUPER FANTASTIC. And Bay didn’t disappoint die-hard fans like myself, he kept the well-known supporting characters: StarScream and Bumblebee. The 3D look they gave Optimus Prime had me reeling. He’s so… sexy. Did you see how he managed to “spike” one of the Decepticons? That’s the first time I’ve seen my hero become violent. In the 80’s TV version, they fly, drop bombs, chase each other & punch. No mortal combat.

The pouting girl was a distraction. I could almost forgive her skimpy top because at least she wasn’t wearing 5-in stilettos & still be driving tractors!

Some of the dialogues are pretty lame (dumbed down script?) but I’m nit-picking, the film is flawless in its genre. It’s not about Hamlet, it’s about alien life forms morphing into trucks and jets.

I came in ready to be disappointed, not wanting to get my hopes up, but at the end of the film, I wanted to jump up & clap! It was an amazing experience to see my hero on the big screen & doubly-great that my son “digs” it as much as I.

So this film is not just a must see, it’s a must see-again-and-again. I’m waiting for the DVD, or a sequel, or a TV-version?

I love you, Optimus Prime!

Who the heck are these guys? Led Zeppelin that’s who!

Some trivia first, do you know that they dropped the “a” in Lead because they fear the Americans will pronounce it as “lid” as in “Lead the Dog”.

And do you know that Jack Black produced videos of fans asking Led for permission to use “Immigrant Song” in his film “School of Rock” (which I saw & loved)?

Well I just saw the news last night that these old rockers are doing a reunion concert at the o2 Arena! Thing is the tickets are limited & are sold for £125!!! But if you think about it, this could possibly be their last concert. So I am having a go at entering the ballot.

Please, please keep your fingers crossed that I get a ticket.

Of course, I first knew of Penelope Cruz via Tom Cruise and I was in Pinas then. Since coming to London though, I’ve seen a couple of her Spanish films & I really like her now. All of her films that I saw were very well-chosen & she is an impressive actress.

I saw Volver just last week, courtesy of my Amazon DVD rental (really cheap!). If you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you do especially if you’re a woman or a mother to girls. This film revolves around women, their relationships as sisters, as mothers and daughters. It also dealt with child abuse and the twists were very well played. I guess the film did lose some “feelings” because of the sub-titles but even then you’d be captivated by the simple yet charming cinematography & flow of the whole film. It’s really a must-see!

A few weeks ago, my family and our friends & their kids went to check out the Kids AM on offer at our local cinema. There were 3 adults and 3 kids and we only paid £4.50 (est 450Php)! Really Nice. The film was “Meet The Robinsons” & it was pogiBoy’s first time to experience the “big telly”. He enjoyed it! And he was very, very well behaved! I thought he’d be scared but he was so happy he kept looking at his dad & I with a huge smile on his face. He even held our hands as if to hug us but not wanting to take his eyes away from the screen. We missed the Kids AM showing of the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles, but we’re hoping to catch Shrek 3 next week. It’s a good thing, too, because everytime pogiBoy remembers the cinema he’d smile really sweetly & then purr “muuumm big telly please”.

Well, we went back to the big telly last night, but just daddy & myself. We watched the Fantastic Four. It’s a family film & I did enjoy it with a few good laughs in-between my admiration for the sexy Silver Surfer. But I don’t think my son can sit still for 90 minutes for this film.

What I really want to talk about are two films they’ve shown on preview. This is Steve Carell, for those who don’t recognise him, he’s the uncle in another great film, “Litte Miss Sunshine”. I think the UK is behind in Hollywood films compared to Pinas so you might already know this, but I saw clips of the “Evan Almighty” & it cracked me up. So I will make sure to catch this, even if it means I will leave my hubby at home to look after pogiBoy (it’s not rated yet so I’m not sure if it’s suitable for a 3-y/o)!

And do you recognise this hunk of metal? Yes! It’s like a dream-come-true! Sad I know but hey I used to run as fast as I can just to singalong to “transformers more than meets the eye“. In fact I can still hear Optimus Prime shout “Autobots! Transform!”

Well, should I still say it? I am defintely going to see this film! By hook or by crook. And pogiBoy will not be there, it’s too violent. But mama’s cool to go! “Ride!”

Now, the “horror” bit of my entry. On our way to see Fantastic Four, we had a near-miss accident! Hubby was driving and when he turned right towards the cinema, he entered the opposite lane!!! I’ve seen this on the news countless of times and often I go “what are they thinking?!” But when I saw where hubby was going the only thing I could say was “mahal!” Thankfully, it wasn’t a busy lane. The only oncoming car managed to swerve away from a great distance & probably cursed us, too, for which I wouldn’t blame them. Then hubby managed to get on the rightcorrect lane (meaning the left lane). Only when we were “back on track” did I realise my mouth was hanging open all the time. To think our experience was probably no more than a 1 minute or 2, it did feel like forever. When we were parked, hubby was so flustered (and perhaps shaken) he nearly forgot to switch off the engine & lock the doors! Poor guy. Thank God nothing happened.