Music of Memoirs

February 19, 2008


I finally saw Memoirs of A Geisha on HBO two weekends ago. From the night that I first watched it until now, the substance of the story and the entire cinematography never left my mind. Most importantly, the sound of the cello never left my senses.

Now I came across this very interesting clip of how its musical score came about, of course not doubting the exceptional talent of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams. Williams is most famous for his musical rendering of E.T. (Extra Terrestrial) and Superman, to name a few. And now, he recalls, he passed on scoring for Harry Potter to give way to laying the music for the biggest film of 2005.

Rob Marshall, director of Memoirs of A Geisha, says that the music seems to speak a language that is Sayuri's. The cello is Sayuri's voice. And John Williams has meticulously conceptualized this music through the cello.



Admittedly, this has climbed up the charts of my favorite movies. I had to order the video and book written by Arthur Golden. Memoirs of A Geisha is a story of Sayuri, played by Zhang Ziyi, who was taught social and artistic skills to be able to enter a world of wealth, power and political intrigue; most of all to become Japan's most celebrated geisha. The real catch in this movie for me is Ken Watanabe, the Japanese actor from the Last Samurai fame. Watanabe plays the role of The Chairman. Sayuri desperately attempts to attain the love of The Chairman and the climax of the story is whether or not she does meet her goal.

Past Weekend

February 18, 2008

After a 5-second appearance on primetime tv last Friday (which actually lasted for about 5 minutes in my interview at the taxi line in Glorietta), a few relatives immediately called to say they saw me in the news. I was interviewed about whether or not I will be joining the rally staged by the opposition last Friday, to which I said let's just stay home and keep ourselves safe.

The past week's weather was extremely cold up to the point where my son constantly wore his bonnet and avoided going out when it was night time. I was a bit scared last Saturday because my little boy had a slight fever and I suspected his tonsils were sore again, no thanks to chocolates, donuts and cake he was feasting on last Valentine's day. I brought him to the doctor and fortunately he just needed to flush it out with plenty of juice, water and his vitamins.

And so yesterday was a lazy day. My husband and I decided to drive to BF and order that Puchon (Pugon Lechon) my restaurateur friends have been so famous for. It's one of the most interesting and delectable choices in their menu of pizza, pasta, and great dishes to die for! Apple and Anton put up their restaurant along Aguirre Avenue and started operations last December. Good reviews have been posted here and there by food critics, and there's even a well-written article published in Manila Bulletin. I even heard they were full-packed last Feb. 13 and 14. So come and try out delicious food only at Chi's Brickoven Kitchen.

Deal Breaker

February 15, 2008

And the saga continues with senate hearings on the scrapped ZTE broadband deal. Yes, totally scrapped but not totally forgotten as this now transforms into an issue about kickbacks, corruption and greed.

Last Friday, I found myself glued to the television watching the star witness recount what transpired during the day he claimed to be kidnapped or "abducted" by people from the military. He says he was stopped by unidentified men at the airport, grabbed him by the arms and took his travel documents. He was brought to far and unknown places. It took a while for him to be brought back to La Salle Greenhills where he staged a press conference with nuns and priests surrounding him. Events following that were fast-paced, and before everyone could grasp what the story was all about, there he was being grilled by each of the senators. A tough price to pay when you've seen or heard so much. I have pitied Jun Lozada in the most awkward way possible that day. My heart just went out to him and his family. After briefly questioning him, Senator Chiz Escudero even told the committee that he found Jun Lozada to be innocent and honest.

And so today, a rally is to be staged here in the main commercial business district in Metro Manila. About 3,000 people are expected to attend and let their voices be heard.

According to the news on Inquirer.net, Chinese telecommunications supplier ZTE has at last broken its silence by saying investors are just being turned off with the bleak outcome of the broadband deal resulting to a "political circus."

The Makati Business Club also expressed their dismay on what has become of this anomalous project by the government. Because of this Malacanang has allegedly warned MBC in their call for senior government officials to resign, otherwise they will have BIR chase after tax evaders in big businesses.

MBC's answer to this threat: "Bring it on." Let the games begin?

Grammy Awards 2008

February 15, 2008

I haven't really seen the entire coverage of the 2008 Grammy Awards. Settling with videos of performances on YouTube, I can safely say this year has got the music industry's vamps! Beyonce singing with the legendary Tina Turner, Amy Winehouse via satellite from London, Alicia Keys side by side with John Mayer. I just loved their performances. I don't fancy Rihanna and Kanye West that much.

But with the awards won by Amy Winehouse, veteran singer Natalie Cole seemed to disapprove of it saying in People.com that Winehouse sets a bad example to the public and must not be rewarded with such recognition considering her personal issues with addiction. And to this, I humbly beg to agree. It's not only the ability or talent that is being showcased. The audience or listening public, especially the youth, often emulate the character of the artist.

Still, if only for the aspect of capability, Amy Winehouse rocks! I love her songs "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good," and "Tears Dry on Their Own." Her genre is a different kind, pop crossing over to soul, or vice versa.

The `Aifung'

Lookit, the iPhone and the aifung (iPhone clone)!



News came out last September 12 that market stalls in Taipei have started selling these knock-offs for an absolutely low price since December of last year, six months before the iPhone debuted in the United States. The Apple logo and the touch-screen functionality looks like the real thing. Apple, however, intends to offer iPhones in Asia not until 2008.

The i-clones are produced in batches of 1,000 at a factory in Shenzhen, China. This manufacturer describes that he advertises his phones over the Internet and sells them for 8,900 New Taiwan dollars, or $270.

Now Steve Jobs cut the price of the top iPhone to $399, a $200 reduction.

The i-clone maker says of his production, "The hard part is the design and the exterior." He also mentioned that his operation has sold more than 10,000 clones in Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.

But Apple is not the only victim. An analyst in London said that the fakes come with labels like "Nokian", imitating the brand of Nokia, the world's biggest cellphone maker, and "Snog Ericsson", a corruption of the Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications' trademark."

News source: Bloomberg (Photo by Ubergizmo)

All That I Am

Today while the skies are gloomy and dark
My heart beats with a melancholic spark
It hopes to be eternally serene and tranquil
As I lay everything now in God’s will

Love is blind, as Shakespeare once wrote
Three words that became my own dear quote
An expression made true by my own doing
That now I ended up believing in something

I loved, I lost, my heart forlorn beyond measure
I will get back on track I know that for sure
For loves lost are the ones forgotten and far away in bedlam
What will make me live is simply the thing that I am.

World's Oldest Blogger

She is Maria Amelia Lopez from Muxia, Spain, nonagenarian, blogger.




Her grandson Daniel introduced her to the world wide web late last year and since then, she has been writing just about everything from her trips outside Muxia, trips to the doctor, her swollen joints, and even poor broadband internet penetration in a nearby town.

She considers her Internet journal a debut into cyberspace, "a whole new universe out there."

Wow. Undeniably the world's coolest granny blogger for me, because for her, blogging has no borders or age limits.

Felicitaciones, granny!

Writer's Block

For almost two months now I have been remiss in my blogging duties. I don't know what explanation I can give except I found myself stalling in the hustle and bustle of my daily existence. Although not that busy, I was sandwiched between a backlog in household errands and chores, taking care of my son, looking into repairs in the abode, among others.

I celebrated my birthday a bit quietly, I just had my friends for dinner and that made my 32nd year. I told myself, I gotta be 32 flavors and then some. Some more passion with what I really dream of accomplishing in my life, some more time with myself, some more time with the Lord, some more peace of mind. Very wise wish if I may say.

For the time that I had a writer's block or lack of topic to write about, I come to work each day mindless of time, usually idle and running out of something valuable to do. Then I discovered there is really more to browsing the web, it seemed entertaining because now one can watch an entire movie online. From TV series to documentaries, even old flicks are all there. Name it, they have it. And there are tons of sites to be able to see these films. But that's another discovery of mine. This month, there is a handful of season premieres to watch out for, Grey's Anatomy Season 4, Ugly Betty Season 2 and Private Practice Pilot Season. I love watching these shows.

Because of the web, I also became sort of a "psychosomatic" individual (but I fear this because it might turn me into a phobe freak). Everytime I felt something was aching here and there, I would look up for causes of these so-called symptoms attempting to find a specific medical condition. And I'm telling you, this is where I encountered terminologies like "plantar fasciitis" or "myocardial ischemia" or "gastro esophageal reflux disorder"....and the list goes on. It is highly educational indeed.

Then for most of my free time I learn songs in Portuguese, Brazilian, Spanish, and French. I realized I should have taken up Foreign Languages in college instead. Songs that are hard to sing are the ones that put my in my element, giving me a different perspective, a very worldly perspective of things. Right now, I am learning to sing "One Note Samba" performed in Portuguese by Astrud Gilberto and "Samba De Mon Couer Qui Bat," a French cut by Coralie Clement from the soundtrack of Something's Gotta Give.

Then entered my interest in this DVD collection I saw one time in home tv shopping. The Hip Hop Abs is a different kind of exercise series. The trainor is Shaun T teaching weight loss buffs to groove to the hip hop sounds and swear by its engagement principle "tuck, tilt, tighten." I am now on my second week with hopefully getting the dream abs. I sure was a groovy dancer in my twenties but then again, so help me God with these workouts.

I Heart This Show

Here's an interesting teaser of what I love watching now.

The Most Powerful Documentary I've Ever Seen

This morning I saw "An Inconvenient Truth," a very insightful documentary presented by the former vice president of the United States Al Gore. For the entire 90 minutes of the film, I was practically glued to every detail he uttered about how much we are losing in our environment. Fortunately, the viewer I used on my PC was savvy enough for me to take snapshots or video grabs while it was running. I felt I had to provide this kind of information to everyone I know because I believe we owe it to ourselves to know this and awaken our sense of responsibility to our future generations.

Al Gore seamlessly elaborated on the factors for collision with preservation of the earth's atmosphere. He says one is population which is directly proportional to food and water demand; and technology, meaning the gadgets and devices we buy, the cars we drive that equate to increasing carbon emissions that trap our stratosphere. Each of us, technically speaking, is a cause of global warming or the climate crisis.

Al Gore's documentary was so stunning in that it showed the ramifications of the environmental concern we are facing. The hurricanes specifically Katrina in New Orleans; the meltdown of glaciers in many parts of the world; even stronger typhoons in Asia particularly in India, China and Japan; drought in Australia; and the increasing epidemic the most popular we know is SARS; other resurgent and redistributing diseases; all of these have posed a global warning to us.

As the film went on, Al Gore presented a wide array of elementary solutions to combat the threat to our existence. Firstly, we can utilize renewable resources to help save the artic ice cap for instance, to capture these carbon emissions, to lessen the consumption of energy, to save gas, to eradicate water and air pollution, and the list goes on.

In one part of the film was I astounded when Al Gore said "political will is a renewable resource." Yes, I truly believe that. In the U.S., they mentioned that people should write to Congress and be active in imparting this information. With new technologies coming into the fore of our present civilization, we as earth's inhabitants should submit to our moral obligation to take part in changing the way we live. This film teaches us that doing the right thing moves us forward; the solution is in our hands!



The question is are we capable of rising above ourselves and our history?

If we don't wake up and act on it now, this will be the very same question our children will ask in the more alarming future.

Let us pray that we find the strength to wake up to this moral challenge that is upon us. After all, the earth is our home.

For your interest in global warming and to take action on it, visit www.climatecrisis.net.