08.17.08
Panic at the Disco, Live in Manila, 081408
On January 9, 2008, Panic at the Disco, prior to then known as Panic! at the Disco, officially dropped the exclamation mark in their name – a supposed minor decision, nonchalantly explained by the band in the following quote from an interview by MTV: “It was never part of the name to us. (…) When we started doing new promo stuff for this album, we just told everyone not to use it anymore.”
On August 14, 2008, however, I would find out the real reason why.
Amidst a pack of overly-excited fellow PATD Discoheads waiting to burst in the dark of the Araneta Coliseum, I disappointingly watched lead Brendon Urie walk to the stage in a paisley shirt, a vest, a 60’s-style school boy haircut, a face without make-up, and an acoustic guitar.
I seriously thought I was just looking at another opening act enter the stage at that time, but no. Pretty. Odd.’s intro came into play, followed by one lame-ly done first album song after another. All in real instruments. That was the real, absolute horror – with everything playing out almost like a mockery to their original versions. I mean, holy my Lord, if I wanted to hear those masterfully done songs on plain regular instruments, I would have just turned to YouTube or played them myself.
Now don’t get me wrong – I appreciate re-invention and absolutely applaud any artist willing to delve into such a big change after a strong, original, overly-successful debut. But it was just all over the place – so much so that the songs sounded either odd or common. And that’s just the thing. The first record was so real and different, that I couldn’t understand why they would all of a sudden just willingly jump into the rest of the pool. And no, I don’t buy into that maturity crap. Bring on the immaturity. Everything sounded so much better.
The crowd was pretty into it, actually, and I did dance and sing to all the songs, like I always do – but I was all angry and frustrated the whole time. Indulge me the drama. Please. This was quite literally a band I had been waiting to see live ever since I don’t even remember. Fed more so with rumors of how great of a show the guys give live. I had always been a fan, and way, way, way, before everybody else. I even remember buying the album in Singapore because it wouldn’t arrive for another 2 or so months in Manila when I started to realize how much I liked them.
Bleberts. As a fan, I was really disappointed. Like I felt betrayed, even. I know that’s pretty lame ass, but that’s how I felt. Argh! I really hope this is just a phase.
I mean how do you go from this:
to this?
What happened to the dancing ladies? The theatrics? The drama? The eyeliner, for crying out loud!
What happened to the PANIC!??!?!
I was so frustrated, I think I might have even enjoyed the front act more. Brendon Urie, who has holy my Lord always been ga-gorgeous hot to me (and I don’t even buy into the whole emo look,) was just cute. As in bleh-cute. It’s possible that the only cool thing he did throughout the show was drink SMB in between songs.
Brendon dear, please pick up your eyeliner pencil and go set a meeting with your former hairstylist. For the sake of all true blues everywhere.
I’m not even gonna post pics of me and Mark at the concert anymore. None of my smiles were real, anyway.
*sigh*
08.16.08
Looking at You Looking at Me
the view from above…
… and down below.
Wala lang! Happy 3-day weekend!
08.06.08
Alicia Keys Live in Manila, 080508
I wasn’t really that interested in watching this one – at least not enough to pursue the usual freebie hunt – but I changed my mind when #1: i saw the set-up at MOA when Mark and I took Joko and Ezekiel to a Timezone + chicken and spaghetti trip last weekend, and wondered, “why am i not watching this again?,” and #2: they announced the move from open grounds to the well-roofed (haha) SMEX convention center. I completely forgot about freeloading it up until well into yesterday though, but after thinking and deciding that Alicia’s too big of an artist to just miss, I decided to go the traditional way anyhow and pay. :p I texted a few friends, got a yes i’m available and interested from Mon, finished my work duties and trekked to MOA. Then surprise surprise, while waiting for Mon in Kopiroti (and enjoying my long craved for kopibun and kaya toast :p), I got a text from Ate Bambs asking if I was still interested in extra tickets, which of course, merited an obvious duh. Haha :p (thanks as always, ate bambs.) So away with the cheap bronze ones I went in favor for the free gold ones (weird, no. Haha)
The concert started waaaaay late (past 9:45 pm, according to Mon, for a concert scheduled to begin at 8pm,) but the first hour or so was no less entertaining – as in literally, as we saw celebrities and entertainers scoot to their seats to our left and right. Sort of like the Beyonce concert, actually, where the first few rows were literally decked out in stars. Sarah G, for one, sat right beside us (you’ll probably see a few fan pics with her with us in the background. Haha.) So anyhow. After front acts by South Border singer #2 then #3, a few instrumental background tunes and crowd hoots, the lights dimmed and Alicia took to the stage.
The music was definitely premium, and the set-up did justice to the smooth quality of Alicia’s voice and the blues-y jazzy feel of the songs. Alicia’s surprisingly an entertaining performer, too – she moves well on the stage and does the occasional song-to-song talking bits in a way unique to her (she could do one of those alternative-art poetry reading audio books.) I also loved how the songs were rendered differently live – a salsa-sounding karma and a reggae-vibed you don’t know my name – to name a few. Galing. And she got a double encore, which I’m not sure was real, but I don’t know, I at least haven’t experienced that in a while. 
There were very few downsides – the crowd became boring at times, but oh well. Ganun talaga dito. Haha. Also, she wasn’t as gorgeous as we thought she would be. It was probably because of what she wore, though, so we’ll let it pass (a leather corset/vest top that was cut right where her shoulders break into her arms, which did not flatter at all, and a skinny pair of jeans that only showed how big her thighs were.) Haha. Ewan.
So like what I said, although we were seated relatively close to the stage, the pictures we took were horrible, since we weren’t prepared with the right gadgets. Hehe. 
To add to that, here’s a really bad video clip of her doing Tender Love (only posting this cause we were surprised at the cover, haha.)
Good concert all in all, and I’m glad I decided not to skip it. Next, PANIC. EXCITEDNESS!!!! (Hey Mark might not make it next week so let me know if you’re interested. Disclaimer: will still take Mark if he can go.)
08.05.08
On Transport Systems, Hair Products and Out-of-town Trips
I rarely work on a post without a single theme in mind, but I’ve been logging in and out of my WordPress account unable to finish a comprehensive entry for the past few days now, so I’ll just go ahead and do this quick random thoughts post. (Lame-ass introduction for a lame-ass post. I know. Haha.)
On Singapore: I know this is pretty old, but I’d still like to be able to post something more comprehensive on the experience (apart from the pictures I’ve already uploaded, that is – I’ll try to work on it over the weekend.) So it’s been a couple of weeks since we got back, but I’m still super overwhelmed at the thought of having been able to afford and gone on a trip abroad on my own (as in my efforts and my money.) Especially since I am in no means earning cash big enough to have any to waste on out-of-town getaways and whatnot, so the trip was really saved up for with absolute hard work and pure discipline (read: no shopping for months. haha.) Hopefully the ethic will stick. So yeah, apart from the trip being a huge thing for mark and myself as a couple, it was pretty significant for me as well. Yay! Next destination: Vietnam and Cambodia with Marga and Ted! (Yeah right. Haha.)
On the inefficiency of our road and mass transport system: Aside from the usual love for food and culture, fascination over others’ transport support structures is one unusual thing that I usually take home with me after visiting other countries. Now I’m no advocate of the hopelesness of many of our systems, knowing how there is often a disconnect when it comes to certain parallelisms made between older, much more developed countries, and our relatively new and progressing nation… but kakainggit lang talaga when you see how easily people go from one place to another abroad. Diba? Especially when you think of how sitting through traffic for almost three hours on a rainy monday morning here in Manila is nothing new. I mean, it’s pathetic that that sort of thing doesn’t surprise us anymore, right? 
Check out some of the basic transport systems I’ve seen:
At the MRT station in Changi (Singapore)
An arc leading to an underground station in Paris (that’s the Louvre behind it)
Train leading to Versailles in France
Tram in Oviedo, Spain
Efficient and pretty. What more can you ask for? And really, I just love love love trains and bridges and everything that supports the need to move faster than we can with just our legs and feet. Haha. I love my car, but I’d gladly take the train to wherever if it were convenient enough.
On the availability of cheaper, mass-produced care products for curly hair: I used to only be able to buy hair products in the states and local PCX stores, and they would always come with a huge price tag; until, that is, hurrah hurrah, I found a line by Pantene in the supermarket the other day. Still quite pricey, but at least I can make do without extra transpo fare. Haha. Got myself a hairspray product the other day to add to my previously bought mousse, cream and gel (all by Pantene.) Another yay!
I really don’t know what these are, but they were the only products from the hydrating curls line that I could find a decent shot of on the net. Haha.
Hmm… that’s it for now. More substantial thoughts to come. Haha.
07.23.08
For the meantime :)
I noticed my weekend blog stats went up, which I kapal-faced took as a sign that some of you have been checking and waiting for SG posts… Haha. Just spent almost an hour uploading pics on facebook (ang bagal!!!) so tinatamad pa ako. Anyhow, my mind’s pretty spent from my first day back’s work to come up with any coherent entry. Hehe. So for the meantime…
07.19.08
HELLO, LAH!
Landed way past midnight yesterday so we went straight to bed.
About to kick off a long day so we better get our fill of coffee at the brekfast table
Mark and Nikki saying hi from SINGAPORE; see you back with SG tales soon!
07.18.08
Destination: Singapore :)
I’m finally really leaving! Haha.This week was practically a blur with work-cramming to the max, with it having ended with an event and all (African Sunrise the best! Haha,) so has my mind has pretty much been all over the place… until now. Thank God for my Friday VL or else I’d be leaving tonight with either eyebags making like puffy marshmallows and the energy level of a 3 year old who just spent an entire day at the playground (read: sleepy time.)
It’s amazing what level of connectivity the internet offers these days. The only ones I’ve told about my SG trip in person are my mom, kuya, ate, and a few close friends, but everybody I’ve seen for the past couple of weeks have either asked “How was Singapore?!?” (for the time-disoriented ones – people from Ateneo lalo na, haha) have made bilin (everything from the kakapalan Crumpler gear – what the heck? to Chicken Rice, hehe) or have recommended things to do, buy and eat; and all because of what I’ve posted on the net (ang galing, diba.) No complaints, though. In fact, the last, most especially, has been super helpful. Mark and I have been researching non-stop, but bloggers, most especially, are super loaded with this kind of information. I’ve been fed little bits via different sites but it’s even better in person – yesterday at the night event I could barely take note. Actually, I wasn’t able to at all, hehe. Laksa, the Singapore version of the London eye, Chilli Crabs, Jurong east, Little India… (deng. I should have been talking to the shopping/fashion bloggers. Ok na din. Our head designer for CBTL, based in SG, gave a few tips when he visited last week. Ok na.) And of course, personal tips from my friends and family who have gone to SG (with me and/or without.) Now all that’s left is the challenge of putting things down on an itinerary. (uh-oh. haha! Honey, you’ll help me out on this one.)
So there! Asking everybody to pray for a safe and happy trip! Will definitely blog about my trip ASAP (I have what will be left of my Tuesday VL to do just that.) Hehe.
Yay!
07.13.08
Zucchini strands in olive oil and fresh basil
Before anything else, let me get this cleared up – I am in no way headed down the blogpath taken by the likes of marketman and chichajo (my favorites, by the way.) My kitchen prowess is in no means in a good enough position to transcend from the home kitchen to the upper tier of the already overly-cluttered blogosphere, as these guys have done. But I have had a few adventures to speak of, and to date, at least 3 big lunches that I’ve prepared to satisfied stomachs and happy hearts (or maybe it was just my birthday, haha.) And since this was a pretty good one to write about, I shall go ahead.
Inspired by a recipe from smittenkitchen.com, I decided to try a version more akin to my taste, substituting a few methods and ingredients to do just that. I ended up with a good first trial; probably with the ease with which it was made, and the familiarity of the dish to some pasta sets we’ve done at home in the past. Anywho. Here’s the recipe (actually, more like a rundown of ingredients and cooking methods, since I don’t really cook by measure):
Ingredients:
A handful of fresh basil leaves//1 medium-sized zucchini (cut into thin strips)//Diced garlic//Enough olive oil to cover all ingredients//Spaghetti noodles (this recipe’s good enough for around 1/4-1/2 kilo)
Instructions:
Saute garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Throw in basil leaves and zucchini. Saute in oil until zucchini gets to a soft (but not soggy) consistency.
Season with salt and pepper. Turn off fire and toss in spaghetti to get all noodles covered in sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan to taste.
That’s it! Too easy not to do, right? Simple but will definitely impress. Perfect for a light supper mid-week or a non-fancy sunday lunch. Enjoy!
Roger Finally Wins Something this Year
Posted in sports commentary tagged athletes, beijing olympics, federer, tennis at 12:54 am by nikkiverzo
My mom keeps on insisting that Roger’s my favorite tennis player. He isn’t. Really. I just happen to not be into anyone in particular this season. So rooting for Federer just turns out to be rooting for him by default, in the same way people default-ly root for the underdog. And he has definitely been the guy who’s won everybody’s pity vote this year . I mean, number one becomes underdog? That’s just weird.
Today, though, I made like an actual fan, even just for a bit. I am guilty of having let out an actual yelp (however little) when he won the Gold for doubles at Beijing.
Finally! Thank you Roger for giving us the faith back. Go grab that top spot again.
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