This Side of Heaven... where angels love to tread!

Oh no, he didn't...

This time Christine has another video blogger, Nalts, (short for Kevin Nalty) be a part of her latest video. Christine credits him for being her role model in starting her own video blog. When I checked his site, though, he had impressive credentials. Ummmm! I'll check his videos when I have the time.

I first heard KT Tunstall on the 93.5 FM, the River, singing "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree. I thought at first that it was a strange title for a song. However, who am I to question the artist's choice of song titles or lyrics. Songs, like any other kind of art, most likely are always a form of self-expression. No wonder, once an artist starts to give in to what others think they should be doing and not follow their instincts loses their soul and their music. I just hope that these new batch of talented and upcoming artists wouldn't succumb to such pressures from recording companies, fashion and the general entertainment industry.

Songs included in this week's playlist are:

1. Suddenly I See
2. Black Horse and a Cherry Tree
3. Another Place to Fall
4. Other Side of the World
5. Under the Weather
   

This is just a quick shoutout to a former student and now a good friend, Jhun Soriano and family on the addition of a new member, a second boy. I don't know his name yet but I'm sure that he is the life of the family. Congratulations!!!

My music artist for this week is Regina Spektor whom I first heard on the radio when my husband and I were driving our daughter, Dominique, back to school at Smith College two weeks ago. Of course, when your daughter tells you of a new artist, you got to listen. Makes us cool parents to be in the know with the latest music and artists. This morning, while watching CBS's Sunday Morning, she was featured in the show. You can get more information about her from her website and from wikipedia

Songs included here are:

• Fidelity
• On the Radio
• Samson
  

I've been wanting to blog about Happy Slip Productions since I've seen her video from ituloy ang sulong's blog last November. However, since it got too hectic for me and what with the holidays also taking my attention, I really didn't have the time and the energy to do some blogging. Today, however, I just got me a message (I'm a subscriber, mind you of her site) that she has a new video out and I thought that it is high time that I blog about her.

For you who haven't had the opportunity to discover her site yet, Happy Slip Productions, Christine is a one woman wonder (I suppose) where she video blogs about her Filipino family and tries to showcase her acting talent by creating scenarios (soap operas, comedic situations, etc...) and now with the latest video, she also showed us that she can sing and play the piano too.

I think I like Christine better than that other girl blogger (#$@^&*& at 15 or something) because "lonelygirl 15" seemed creepy to me. Besides she didn't look 15 to me and then after awhile a lot of people made comments how it looked all fake. And surely enough, she finally came out of the video closet and admitted that she's an actress and her blog was created all along by professionals. I only viewed that blog once and I didn't bother going back to her so-called continuing saga of teen-age angst. The latest I've heard is that AI idol finalist, Katherine McPhee is even guesting on her video blog so it seems that they're still at it...

With Happy Slip however, you get a lot of laughs and even her boo-boos (technical stuff) on screen are taken into account so you'll know that she doesn't have any professional help at all.

Her videos were also given a review by YT Reviews(an unofficial review) and you can watch it here.



And here is the very first video that I've watched from her titled "Morning Meest". This is hilarious, I get a kick out of it everytime I watch it. Enjoy!!!

Did you know that you are like a pencil? Here's how:

1. Like a pencil, you can correct your mistakes. You can't
change the past, but you can rectify it. And though you
can't erase history, you can erase guilt and anger with
forgiveness.

2. Like a pencil, painful sharpening can serve to make you
better. Your difficult times can actually sharpen your
skills or shape you into the person you were meant to be.

3. Like a pencil, you can do great things when you allow
yourself to be held in Someone's hand.

4. Like a pencil, you can leave your mark whenever possible.
That is what you're here for -- to leave your mark. It may
be in small ways, it may be in the lives of people you have
touched or nurtured, but you must leave something good
behind whenever you can.

5. Like a pencil, it is what is on the inside that matters.
Whether it is understanding or intolerance, love or
bitterness, peace or unrest, kindness or self-centeredness,
hope or despair, courage or fear, what is on the inside
matters most.

Next time you use a pencil, pause and think about that little writing
tool. It teaches some great lessons about living.

from Steve Goodier's Life Support System
__________________________________________________________________
*Cute pencil photo from smugmug

Unedited Chicago Tribune News Video. Original News Video: Jan. 7, 2007 Chicago Tribune Update: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0701070086jan07,0,4335491.story?track=mostemailedlink or: http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2007/jan/m09-002.shtml Jan. 8, 2008 Chicago Tribune Update: http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/columnists/chi-0701080118jan08,0,4296728.column?track=mostemailedlink or: http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2007/jan/m09-003.shtml O'Hare Airport UFO Eyewitness Report (Jan.10, 2007): http://ufos.about.com/b/a/256841.htm "Around 16:30 hours, a pilot made a comment on the radio about a circle or disc shaped object hovering over gate C-17 at the C concourse in Chicago." First original report on NUFORC, Nov.13 2006: http://www.nuforc.org/webreports/053/s53392.html

WHO KNEW? Who knew that we'd all make it to the cover of Time Magazine's yearly pick for "Person of the Year". For the year 2006, the magazine decided to honor each and everyone of us who are involved and are active participants in the world of web information. These explosion of web activities has given all of us a voice and a venue to express our once voiceless selves. Nowadays, information can be obtained from anywhere in the world from the naive to the highly sophisticated. Everyone has a story to tell and surely captive readers as well.

I found out that it is highly therapeutic and most of all a way to reach out to others, known and unknown... familiar and unfamiliar. Let's give ourselves a pat in back for being part of the revolution.

Don't forget to get your copy of Time Magazine. I'm going to get mine now...

Hello All!!!!

It's been awhile since I've done anything new on my blog. My youngest daughter already complained to me recently that I haven't made any updates. This is the only way she can get more updates from us back home aside from the phone calls. Well, honestly speaking, the cold weather usually makes me want to cuddle more with a blankie and just do nothing at all but seat on the couch, watch TV, eat and sleep... Hey, don't be judging me now. Most of the animal kingdom are in hibernation at this time of the year, so why can't we humans do the same thing?


Visit one of the best source of information on nature, the Public Broadcasting Systems or PBS.org and you will learn more. And who knew that bears lose weight during hibernation. Hah! no sweat talaga. That's one exercise program that I'd like to join.

Anyways, I've found 2 cute youtube animations one to the tune of "Run, run Rudolph" by Chuck Berry and the second one is a parody of the Beach Boys "Kokomo". Hope you haven't seen these 2 yet and get to enjoy it...



Run, run Rudolph



Santa's Goin' to Kokomo

I apologized to Joy-Joy for taking me sometime to respond. The past week was kinda hectic what with "Thanksgiving" holiday celebrated here in the US and my 2 college kids were back home for a few days. But anyways, here's my response to Joy-Joy's tag:

"It is not you that is mortal, but only your body. For that man whom your outward form reveals is not yourself; the spirit is the true self..." (Cicero)

- Exploring the Unexplained: The World's Greatest Marvels, Mysteries and Myths (Time Inc. Specials)

This week I chose Jack Johnson as my music artist. I first heard his song "Flake" when one of our work-study students, Anish, would play this song repeatedly in his computer. I guess it worked cause I started liking his songs, although, there was a time there, that I would confuse John Mayer and Jack Johnson. It took me some time to tell the difference.

The songs I've chosen are:

• Flake
• Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
• Better Together
• Good People
• Never Know
• Breakdown
• Bubble Toes
• Rodeo Clowns
  

John Mayer just came out with his latest album called "Continuum". Check it out on his website with some free samplers of "Waiting on the World to Change", "I don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)" and "Belief".



For the meantime, enjoy some of his best hits here:

• No Such Thing
• Daughters
• Bigger Than My Body
• 83
• Message In A Bottle
• Your Body Is A Wonderland
• 3 X 5
  

My husband and I were channel surfing the other night and we happen to catch Tavis Smiley's show on PBS. His guests that caught our attention were the Escobar brothers, Damien and Tourie, who were trained violinists from Julliard none the less. To say that these guys are good is an understatement.

According to their story, they use to panhandle inside New York's subway not only to make a quick buck but also to test the waters. It must have been a real test to be able to be notice especially since there are also a lot of different panhandlers in the area.

If you're able to listen to their album titled "Struggle From The Subway To The Charts", it will be an experience to remember and worth listening to.

My friend Susan Boado forwarded this to me and I thought that this is one piece of writing that should be spread and shared to our fellow kababayans, the history of our "Barong Tagalog". We would also like to thank the original writer of this article. Thank you for making us proud and giving us a clear understanding of our "heritage".

I think it's nice to know :

Nobody ever told me why the barong is the national dress of the Philippines . So, I did my research. I'm sure most of you know this, but just in case...

During the Spanish occupation of the Philippines (over 300 years from 1561-1889) the barong tagalog was required by the Spanish government for Filipinos (indios) to be worn at most times to show the difference between the rich and the poor. He said that the poor who serve the rich must always be in uniform.

Take their chauffeurs, maids, and employees as examples. They are in uniform to immediately distinguish them from the employers. When the Spaniards colonized the Filipinos, they had to make it abundantly clear who the boss was through the imposition of a dress code. Men were not allowed to tuck their shirttails in. That was the mark of his inferior status.

Second, the cloth material should be transparent so that he could not conceal any weapon that could be used against the masters. Third, as a precaution on thievery, pockets are not allowed on the shirt.

By the turn of the century a new middle class began to emerge among the Filipinos. These were known as the principalia. They have mastered Spanish laws and were able to obtain title to lands. They became successful in business and agriculture and sent their sons to be educated abroad. They were privileged to build their houses in the poblacion around the plaza near the seats of power.

Only a member of the principalia could be addressed by the title DON, and only they were allowed to vote. They had all the trappings of power and status, but for one undeniable fact: they still had to wear their shirttails out, if only to remind them that they were still Indios.

What the Spanish authorities did not smother out was the Filipino's will power and determination to psychologically conquer their colonial masters, through improvisation and reinterpretation. The Filipino's stylistic bongga (flashy dresser) was a reaction against the overt discrimination and insensitive oppression of the Spaniards.

For example, Filipinos were forbidden to use imported silk and fabrics for their Barong, so they ingeniously used pineapple leaves to weave the pinya jusi cloth of the barong, turning the outfit into such delicate material, of luminous silky rich mixture much finer than silk. And to add insult to injury, they hand-embroidered the front with such exquisite abandon: Calado and hand- work all over.

Palgrave, the ethnographer noted, "The capitan's shirt was the native barong, of fine and delicate fiber, embroidered and frilled; it was light and cool and not tucked in the trousers". (Corpuz, 74)

The Barong Tagalog gained its power, prestige, and status when President Quezon, the first Filipino president, declared it the National dress. The status of the lowly inferior Barong thus became another symbol of Filipinos' resistance to colonization.

After World War II, Philippine presidents began wearing the Barong Tagalog at their installation into office and on every formal state occasion. In contemporary times the Barong Tagalog is the power dress. As an abogado de campanilla, you cannot afford not to wear the Barong Tagalog
when arguing a case in Philippine courts.

Today, every visitor and foreign dignitary invited to a Malacanang Palace state function must, by necessity, and dictated by protocol, be dressed to the nines in a Barong Tagalog. The invitations specifically say come in "Barong" instead of the traditional "Coat and Tie". Thus, every one invited to dinner at the Presidential Palace and in many Filipino homes will
unknowingly and unwittingly have to experience directly, what it feels to have to wear his shirttails out, to suffer the indignity of having the material of his barong transparent so that he can not conceal any weapon; and horrors, to be accused directly of incipient thievery by having no pockets in his barong to put the silver. So, when El Senor Spanish Ambassador is invited
to a state dinner, you can say, "Ah, what sweet revenge!" (buti nga!!! )

Very interesting no? Hindi mo akalain ganoon ka complex ang storya ng ating barong tagalog. It makes you a little bit more proud of your self and your heritage while wearing it.
************************************************************************************

*Barong Tagalog photo taken from BarongsRUs.

Hello all! got this new tool on my blog called "Buddy Mapping". Please take the time to add yourself and let me know where you're from. Thanks and I hope that you enjoy visiting my blog.

Here are photos of Jayden (as Curious George) and Zachary (Napoleon Bonaparte?) in their Halloween costumes. This is Jayden's first halloween. Aren't they cute????

Lovers of the English language might enjoy this...... How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English???

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?

Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary.

In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth.When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so ....

Time to shut UP.....!

Oh... one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?

U. P.


Photo borrowed from GrateGatsby.com

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*Thanks to Melissa for sending this to me.

I was at Borders Bookstore yesterday and as my usual practise after visiting the bargain section of the store, I veered myself towards the cds and dvds to see whats new in the store. Most of the time I'd listen to the latest music cds to come out and I think that this is one very cool marketing strategy that has proven a succes commercially so that potential buyers can listen to the music offerings in a cd before making the decision to purchase. Most of the time, I had to contain myself from dancing 'lest I cause a commotion and people thinking that I might have a seizure or something. I just had to contend with bobbing my head with a little shoulder movement. Wish I had the ability to move my head forward and backward, left side - right side the way that others can when they're "walking like an Egyptian". Youngest daughter, Dominique, can easily do such tricks.

Anyways, I listened for awhile to A.B. Quintanilla's new CD "A.B. Quintanilla III Presents From Kumbia Kings to Kumbia AllStarz".
The first selection which is aptly titled "intro" almost gave me a strong urge to dance... Thank God! I remembered that I had 2 single daughters whose future marriage potentials would be affected if I did such kind of behavior in public.... Ayoko namang tumandang dalaga ang mga anak ko, no?

I went to the Jazz section next and George Duke's new release (?) popped out. Hmmm! it's been awhile since I've listened to pareng George. So for this week, I've decided to feature him here. Two of my faves; Shine On and Sweet Baby are on top of the playlist but this doesn't lessen the value of the other songs.

George Duke playlist:

• Shine On
• Sweet Baby
• Dukey Stick
• Every Little Step I Take
• Just For You
• Lady
• Searching My Mind
• Starting Again
• Movin' On
• Life and Times

A lot of the songs here are mellow, nice music to listen to while you're in a sweet mood. So after dinner, light up the fireplace, serve your best wine, crank up the music and cuddle up with your significant other and talk sweet nothings..... If you don't have anything to say, let the "Duke" do the talking thru his music.

Karrol's glee club dressed up for Halloween '06 and this year she bought this Gretel costume but decided to represent herself as the Ricola (the cough drops) girl instead to match with the club's theme. She even had concocted a slogan, which for the life of me I couldn't remember (senior moment na naman!). But anyways, even if she didn't win the grand prize of a bag of candies for the "Best Costume" award, she benefitted from her Ricola cough drops (and also the other girls asked for some later on) coz she developed a sore throat after eating all those candies freely given and handed out in school. She knows very well that if she eats chocolates/candies more than she should, her tonsils would flare up. Kaya ayun for several days, she didn't have a voice. Mahirap talaga ang matakaw sa tsokwate!!!!