Don't go around breaking young girls' hearts

Thank you Michael Joseph Jackson for sharing your
gift of music to the world!

video courtesy of jwcfree

Loaded Dervish

I am in the middle of writing my latest post(s). Believe me. Long overdue.

But let me take a break and share with you the video below. For me, there are two things in this video that I call excellent - the longboarders' skills and the video capture and editing. Well, a third may be YouTube itself- arguably this generation's greatest invention.

Don't miss the video's epilogue. Enjoy.

video courtesy of LoadedNewsletter

You can't talk peace and have a gun

Ladies and gentlemen, once again I give you... Francis M.

video remix by icespaceonline

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others grieve while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate and
Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin’ round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bassline strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can’t talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don’t ask me how don’t ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Kaleidoscope world
In this kaleidoscope world

I am a fan.

A Valentine postscript

When everyone else has consumed their annual dose of Valentine indulgence and is now on their way to full recovery (if not, has already fully recovered) from the consequent hangover, I am posting a piece as my own remembrance of this 'love month' which is about to end in a few hours (at least for 2009).

The period leading to February 14th about a month ago, I thought of writing about Valentine's Day or about the things that the day wanted to celebrate (or commemorate!), or about things that relate to it one way or another. The motivations were there to do so -- it was my first V-Day since becoming a blogger (if I may say); and there was Bariles' blog contest which promised a dinner feast and free Valentine concert tickets to the winners. The push was not enough, though. For some reasons, I chose to hold back.

Now here I am, trying to make up. Perhaps, the love month of February does not deserve my snub. After all, it was in this month way back in 1986 when Filipinos demonstrated their love for their fellow so much as to prevent tanks from rolling over their countrymen and to make a dictator flee.

I asked myself ''what is my ultimate love song?". It was not difficult for me to know. Here is a video of it with along with its lyrics:

ang buhay ko ay isang ilog
umaagos tungo sa laot
sa pagdaloy ay lumiliku-liko
nguni’t dagat pa rin ang inaabot

ang buhay mo ay isang ilog
umagos tungo sa laot
sa pagdaloy tayo’y nagkatagpo
at ngayon tayo’y magkaisang tungo

lilikha tayo ng bagong daan
uukitin sa bato ang kasaysayan
at walang hadlang na ‘di malalagusan
habang tayo ay magkaisang-tunay

This song is a Joey Ayala original. The one embedded here, as indicated, is a version by Rico Blanco (Rivermaya) and Kitchie Nadal. Of course, the original is always better. The rendition by Joey A. has a more personal touch in it. Maybe because it was done with single vocal and a very simple instrumentation. There is a slight variation in the arrangement in this version of Blanco and Nadal which I assume was done by the said artists themselves. There was even an alteration of at least a word in the lyrics. The new version though has more kilig that's more attuned to the present.

Much as I wanted to post the original, I could not find one online for free. I do not think pareng Joey will also like it if I post and share an illegally cracked Ilog which I have stored in my hard drive.

When the song first came out in the late 1980's (or at least when I first heard it), it was contained in a very GND (grim and determined) casette tape album of Ayala titled Magkabilaan. The album also included the melancholic but sweet Walang Hanggang Paalam which was very popular then among political activists because... well, it's their song. Back then, lovebirds particularly among this group would argue off which was a better love song and henceforth deserved to become their "theme song": Ilog or WHP? (So now you still think activists are not that mushy?)

For my girlfriend then, the choice was hands down. Ilog even spawned a very romantic (and naturally mushy!) verse which she wrote for the two of us during one of those, you know... rough times. For me now, as I look back, this love song is really the ultimate. My girlfriend became my ex-GF and we've been blazing trails and carving history in stone together since.

A Short Love Story In Stop Motion

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

A Stateside Taste of "Buloy"

Atty. Rocker-Biker forwarded to me a link to a very heartwarming video. Here it is sourced from the site Nikko Taytay Photography. Happy watching and listening :)