And record we did

We successfully recorded another song I wrote for the band at Major 7th recording studio last night, and the experience was nothing short of a blast.

For me, studio recording is one of the high points of the creative process and the excitement continues to build as this became a major step towards achieving our music goals.

I anticipate a very busy but productive and bodacious week ahead.

This ride is getting all the more interesting.

Sunday mornings with Garfield

One of life’s little pleasures during Sunday mornings is reading the paper and checking out the comics section to read Garfield. The punchlines are one of the funniest I’ve ever read for a comic strip, and so nothing really beats out a hearty laugh on a weekend.

It’s no surprise why Garfield stands as the world’s most widely syndicated comic strip. The bright and comic illustrations, character dynamic and most importantly, the funny punchlines are what makes this comic strip a keeper on Sundays.

Is Poetry Dead?

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” - John Keating, Dead Poets Society.

A recent listening of an audio recording of my birthday bash done years back brought upon a realization of that other means of self-expression that I used to do, and that is write poetry. My last poems were published online at the Philippine Daily Inquirer site.

It seems that poetry has been lost in this day and age, but at this point could we very well say that it is not only dying, but dead?

No, poetry isn’t dead; it is still very much alive if only we could learn to see and feel its existence. In my case, it is found in the verses of the songs I have written and will continue to write.

Makes me want to watch Dead Poets Society again for some good old dose of “Carpe Diem”.

An outing in July

Post-summer out-of-town trips don’t happen that often, but being the travel enthusiast that I am, I try as much as possible to travel to new places regardless of the season, and so yesterday was one of those times when I went out together with former officemates to attend a town fiesta in Luisiana, Laguna (where coconut trees abound). The fiesta ambiance, good food, drinks, meeting new people and of course, good old videoke singing topped the day.

Afterwards we visited the grotto in Lucban Quezon and saw the cool overlooking view once we reached the peak of the place.

Definitely a worthwhile experience as I prepare to face the interesting challenges ahead.

Another Sign

Last night I dreamt that Depeche Mode member and songwriter extraordinaire Martin L. Gore took time to pay me a visit just to hang out as we talked about life and music. A conversation between two singer-songwriters expressing enjoyment for a similar passion.

Depeche Mode happens to be my all-time favorite foreign band because of their revolutionary musical ideas, clever lyrics and cool attitude, and so you could just imagine the thrill of hanging out with one of its members and main songwriter. And even though it happened in the realm of the subconscious, I treated it as a subtle reminder and another sign to just continue what I enjoy doing right now, and that is create music once again.

Woke up refreshed and looking forward to finish what I’ve started.

Smaller and better

The good thing about advancements in technology, notably in consumer products, is that it tends improve over its older versions.

Gadgets like digital cameras and digital video camcorders for instance, are becoming better in terms of quality and are more affordable compared in previous years. A decrease in size and weight also benefits the buyer when compared to purchasing the bulkier and heavier products of old.

If you’re a budding filmmaker or music video director for example, shooting scenes and editing them is much easier nowadays because of the availability of resources within reach. And the best part about that is having that extra cash to celebrate after a full day’s shoot.

And I definitely drink to that.

The listener's listener

I just printed out the lyrics and chords of a new song I wrote for the band, when the phone rang. It was a good friend who really needed someone to talk to and confide some secrets.

For two hours we talked and I listened and gave my advice. I even inserted some trademark jokes in between serious remarks, so as to lighten up the mood a little.

At the end of the conversation she tearfully thanked me, and I was just glad to be there for her as a friend and listen.

But even this listener has a female counterpart of his own, someone who would listen to all these lifetime goals and dreams.

Call her the listener’s listener.

Maybe by now you know who she is.

Well… let’s see.

A film critic's viewpoint

The recent movie blockbuster I watched, Michael Bay’s Transformers, ended with me commenting “It could’ve been better.”

Minutes before entering the movie theater, I was already humming the Transformers theme in eager anticipation, even imagining how Optimus Prime would whip Megatron’s metallic butt back to Cybertron. Needless to say, in the movie it was Prime’s ass that got whipped.

Damn!

I checked out Yahoo movies to see if veteran film critics felt the same way. They didn’t. So after two years writing as a film critic for a popular online portal, a features writing craft that started when I got featured in The Philippine Star’s “My Favorite Movie” column, what I can say is that, at the end of the day, I write it the way I see it. That simple.

Whether movie audiences agree with my views or not, important thing is that I help create awareness in the pursuit of quality films. I can’t imagine a world where no film critics exist to safeguard the quality of movies. Cinematic mediocrity would be rampant. Not worth the merit of your hard earned one hundred forty bucks.

Oh well, there’s always the sequel to look forward to.

Entourage

The first week of August featured my completion of Seasons 1 and 2 of the HBO series “Entourage”. This viewing pleasure features the journey of an A-list actor living the life of Hollywood together with his two close friends and older brother.

In the beginning it seemed like everything is handed to them in a silver platter, until during the latter episodes of Season 2, when their friendship will be tested. The stories are riveting and offers some lessons on dealing with problems ala Jerry Maguire.

As I work my way into the month of August, I plan to start watching Season 3. Another show that I’m really excited to watch is the last episode of “Heroes” which will be showing next Sunday on RPN-9.

Filmmaking class graduation night

It was one great night, as I now officially graduated from filmmaking class at the Mowelfund Film Institute. Director Nick Deocampo announced that the night coincided with the celebration of over a hundred years of Philippine Cinema, and that our batch now heralds the new generation of filmmakers.

I got the chance to rub elbows with Direk Nick who personally congratulated me for a job well done, as well as MFI Chairperson Boots Anson-Roa, and Raymond Red, the only Filipino to have won at the Cannes Film Festival.

Looking forward to get started and pursue this passion for filmmaking.