Sugar Origins

I discovered this song a couple of years back via Coldplay's cover.  Hence the name of this blog.  Also, a free sugar packet goes out to whoever guesses what Coldplay song "nothing matters except life and the love you make" comes from.

Peaces!

Now here is Echo & The Bunnymen with "Lips Like Sugar".

Hots for Teacher

There's news today of three (!) teachers who allegedly had sex with their students.  This is coming from Tampa, Florida where another similar incident occurred a while ago.

As a teacher (currently unemployed) it bugs me out a little that this is going on.  The high school kid in me is thinking "Hey, why didn't I go to school in Tampa?", but the more reasonable person in me is thinking "I have to be careful when I go back to work".  I know I have my quirks and eccentricities, but I pray-- I seriously hope, that something like this isn't one of them.  Sure, when I was in school there may have been, at most, one teacher I found attractive, but it's not like I felt like acting on it.  I think every male student who has ever had a "cute" teacher has had those thoughts.  But this is ridiculous.

I should have deleted this 10 years ago.

How long has it been seen we first met? More than a decade? I know I'm too young to be remembering these things. You don't know these things. Of course. I never told you anything. Not even in that book. What was I to do? Was I supposed to? Everyone was going to read it, and I have not been known to be so open. So I wrote this and I wrote that. I used the word "swell" to describe something that meant much more to me. Sure I was young and I didn't know any better or didn't feel anything else. But for better or for worse, I really did feel those things. Or maybe I'm putting her on a pedestal. Others have told me I tend to do that. So let me try to change that as I type this. I can speak to you now that we're on the floor. You don't have to stay here long. Just long enough so that your last memory of me isn't polite conversations and the top right corner of a page in that book. I'm doing this in hopes of not shaking whenever I hear your name. It's not even your name. You don't own it. I'm doing this so that I don't have to keep writing these things. I thought I was done. There's a paper ball somewhere with writing that should have been the last. Yet I find myself writing again. This will have to be the last. It has to.

I hope you know how I felt about you then. I'm not going to say it now. That was over ten years ago. Normal people have moved on. I wish I could be clearer. You will always be that beautiful girl. Not Swell. Even if we aren't friends (were we ever?), you will still mean something to me after another 10 years. For my sake, I hope you won't, but the last ten years has left a precedent.

Sayaw, Mamay, Sayaw

This Lips Like Asukal post is a response to the (apparently real?) FOBs versus Fil-Ams debate.

With all the other issues that are going on in the world, I am a little surprised that Filipino-Americans and Filipinos have a little spat going on. Can we please just squash this? Maybe I'm just blowing it out of proportion just because I came across this video on youtube, but just the fact that there might be tension between these groups is annoying. I'm sorry, but I can't describe it any other way because it's too stupid an issue to describe with words.

In a nutshell, immigrant Filipinos in the U.S. and Filipino-Americans (American born) have an issue with each other. From what I gather, it mostly has to do with Fil-Ams who ridicule these Fresh-Off-the-Boathers (FOBs) because they do not behave the way other Filipinos do (i.e. FOBs do not act Fil-Am, they have accents, they have different customs). Likewise, there's also the immigrant Filipinos who put down the Fil-Ams for acting white or not being Filipino enough.

Just describing this is making me gag. (Tastes like chips and southwester dip-- my gagging, not the issue, or is it?)

Just so you know, I am a Filipino-American, but I have a good idea of what Filipino immigrant is: my family. I think the whole issue comes down to people finding their identity in a diverse culture. Some people feel the need to put down other groups in order to build their identity. They do this to show that they are dissociating themselves from such groups. Fil-Ams feel the need to separate themselves from immigrant culture, while Filipinos feel the need to dissociate themselves from a dilution of their culture.

Gagging some more. (Tastes the same as before but now it has a citrus tang to it.)

Now this division is more pronounced in the west coast of the U.S., because of the greater population of Filipinos and Asians in general. Because there are a fewer number of Filipinos in the east, Filipino-Americans gravitate towards the immigrants to gain more knowledge and keep in touch with Filipino culture. Actually, I got this idea from the video. As a Fil-Am, had there been other Filipinos in my school when I was growing up, I am sure that I would have associated myself with them. But regardless of coast, this division is really stupid. Just stupid.

Both sides need to clear their heads. Yes, I wish I knew how to speak Tagalog. I understand like many Filipino-Americans, but unfortunately, when I try to even say the most simplest things like "Grandpa, you'll have even more difficulty sleeping if you drink coffee", I sound like a chicken being punched in the gut while trying to read a book of syllables with a couple of k's and ng's. But, I also understand that my parents felt that I would not be successful in school if I did not learn English first. They thought speaking to me in Tagalog would prevent me from learning English. In reality, children of non-English speaking families eventually acquire English through the school system. Many of my friends who were not Filipino but grew up in immigrant households learned to speak their family's language first and did just find in school (Hey, they were in the accelerated class with me so so much for that advantage).

If I don't speak tagalog, does that make me not Filipino? Well, how do I say this: bullshit. Translate for me my Filipino friends (tae ng kalabow?). If that were the case, then we would not even be considered Americans because we speak English. Are we English then (Mornin' Guvna!)? How about my uncle's family who only speaks Cebuano? You should get the point. If Filipinos in the Philippines cannot even decide to speak one language, you cannot expect Filipino-Americans to have their Filipino club in high school be conducted in the Pinoy mother tongue. Honestly, I wish I could speak tagalog, but that does not make me any less Filipino.

This works both ways. Just because an immigrant comes to America and does not speak the language, does not make them illiterate. So why do some people insist on making fun of other people who speak English but with accents. This is addressed in the video when a Filipino-American girl explains who hurtful it is when others think her father is dumb because he has a rich accent when he speaks English. First of all, Americans, most people in the world are multi-lingual. English is not the be-all-end-all. Just the simple fact that someone is speaking to you with an accent should show you how smart they are. They are able to converse, to whatever degree, with you in a language that is not their native. Think about it. Can you speak to them in their language. I don't think so. I shouldn't even have to explain anymore-- in fact, if you hear an accent when anyone speaks to you in English, bow down. Salute them for even learning to say 'screw you' when you laugh at them, and all you can do is give them the finger because you have no room left to learn three new words in your ignorant, small brain.

As a Filipino-American, I just happen to identify myself as being both American and Filipino. American because I grew up here in this lifestyle with American ideals and dreams. Filipino because I grew up with their values and customs. (My parents were not American and did not completely assimilate into American culture, you know. Even if they are Republicans now. Hehe. Ouch, I'm crying a little.)

I really hope that I do not come across as one of those arrogant Filipino-Americans to Filipino immigrants. Both groups can learn from each other. There's already so much discrimination between ethnic groups and cultures in America that Filipinos cannot survive if they cultivate hate amongst themselves.

Peace, I'm Outtie.

They Brought Their 'A' Game

The 2008 Top 10 Idol contestants brought their 'A' game tonight.  I've said it before and I'll say it again-- this season is the strongest season of Idol.  It's getting really difficult to pick the bottom performer and you know I've been looking carefully at the performances.  It's definitely going to go down, as usual, as a popularity contest rather than a singing competition; so the ones who stay have to have an extra edge in personality and likability.  Let's start off in order (as best as I can remember).  Disclaimer:  I am awesome and therefore you should only read if you can handle awesome.  Okay?  Begin.

Ramiele, my secret girlfriend (shhh!) and part time lover (double shhh!):  

I'm a little biased here.  I'm going to like her pretty much no matter what, but she did have a really strong performance.  It was just unfortunate that she had to go on first.  I've been reading round the web, and many will agree that the first slot on the show tends to be the death slot.  If you want a contestant out of the show, just put them in the beginning.  I'm hoping that this week breaks the trend.  Ms. Malubay is just too good to go home right now.  Plus, she's a cute Pinay (Woot!).

Jason Castro the one who phones in all his performances (That's a bad thing):

Jason should be in the bottom three, but he probably won't be.  He still has all the girls' hearts a twitter.  Getting tired of his non-singing and just guitar singing.  You could barely hear him over the back-up singers tonight.  I really hope he's close to done if  not tonight.

Syiesha Mercado (Strong Singer, Forgettable everything else):

Sorry if I spelled her name wrong.  She's still a strong vocalist and performer, but I just can't get pass her averageness.  It seems contradictory.  How can such a good singer be average.  Maybe her personality isn't interesting.  All I know about her is that she makes this annoying impersonation of a crying baby.  I am really sorry for this, but she might have to go bye bye soon.

Chikezie the orange tux guy:

Sorry about the spelling (see a pattern here?).  I really wanted to root for this underdog, but his song choice was horrible this week.  He needed to modernize his performance.  I supported him when he did the oldies a couple of weeks ago, but now it's time to show that he can put his strong voice behind a contemporary performance.  I would not be surprised to see him in the bottom three.  If Castro does not leave, then Chikezie will have to do.  But if Cheesy stays, then he needs to heed my advice.  I want to support him.

Michael Johns the Aussie:

Finally, this Aussie belts out a song like I knew he could.  At least no one can say he peaked in Hollywood week.  After tonight, I'd have to say Queen is his bread and butter.  He should definitely stick to rock ballads and stadium ballads.  You know, the type that gets your lighter out and swaying from side to side.  My gut instinct feels that he should be in the top three.  Hopefully, America doesn't forget about him and he gets stuck in the bottom.

Carly the Irish lass:

Love this girl, but not in the way I love Malubay.  I really liked Carly's performance.  Still one of the better singers in the show.  I really hope she's not in the bottom three again this week.  America messed that one up and she deserves to be on American Idol.  Plus, I loves me some Irish.

David the evil one:

Sorry that I'm hating on Archuleta.  I just feel that many people have prematurely crowned him this season's winner.  Yes, Imagine was a great performance, but he definitely slipped in his other performances.  The disastrous Stevie Wonder performance the other week should have put him in the bottom three and at least on notice.  But no!  His minions of tweens and teens are texting and phoning him all the way to the top.  I guess it's his personality and I'm also just a hater.  But you have to agree that there are other people on the show who deserve more credit once in a while and not just Arch who sounds out of breath from being son damn humble all the time (nothing wrong with humility except when the girls in the front row keep screaming).  Well, he's still gonna be here until the end so I don't know why I'm even talking.

Brooke White the girl next door:

I love this girl too.  Her modesty and humility might start to get on my nerves, but luckily she toned it down slightly.  She messed up the beginning of her performance and had to restart immediately.  Should she be ousted for that?  No.  If the evil one gets a free pass, surely Brooke should be free from that criticism.  I actually agreed with the judges that she should have played solo throughout the whole song.  She didn't blow me away but you already know who I think should be gone this week.  Ms. White should be safe for a while longer.

Kristy the southern gal:

You might think that I love this gal too (yeah, she's cute), but I already have my top three girls.  But tonight, based on her previous performances, Kristy did a decent job.  It's a little unfair to everyone else that she's still on the show week after week of mediocre performances, but she at least had this good performance to justify her staying on another week.  If for some reason she gets in the bottom three and is sent home, she at least goes home on a good note.  God Bless America and Ramiele.  (I had to.)

David Cook the rock guy who takes 80s songs and does weird things to them:

I have to say, I actually really enjoyed Cook's performance.  I never thought Billy Jean could become a slow rock song, but he pulled it of nicely.  I will have to say that he seems to be a little too smug here and there.  It's as if he thinks he's the shit and that he can take any song and turn it into rock gold.  What save him, to me, from becoming a douche was that he actually smiled and showed some emotion when he got positive reviews from the judges.  Thank God.  I didn't want to hate him like I did with Amanda Overmeyer (the girl with the rock voice).  I mean, yes American Idol is a cheesy competition, but most talent/popularity shows are.  Enjoy it a little more even if you feel you're too cool for the show.  No one is above Idol.  If Cook turns into Amanda, then he should be punched in the tight pants.  Enjoy.

Who Should Go Home?  Tie between with Castro and Chikezie.

I Remember Little Foot

Like many people who grew up in the late 80s and most of the 90s (some of us have yet to grow up *ahem* moi *ahem*), I developed a liking to animated feature films. When you hear those three words, you might immediately associate those cartoon movies with Disney. Well, I do too. But there were a couple of movies that were not part of the Disney Canon, back in the day, that have fonder memories of than of big D's. I am referring to Don Bluth's movies of the 80s, specifically An American Tail and The Land Before Time (Ducky!).

In the 90s, maybe because I was older and more aware of the world, I was able to mark the passage of time with the annual releases of Disney films. I can recall the timeline starting with The Little Mermaid all the way up to Tarzan. Each film uniquely reminded me of where I was in my life. (Hey, weren't you just a kid? How different could each year be besides going from grade to grade in school? Score one for you, I guess.) I loved loved loved Disney's musical format. I thought every animated film would have their characters at one point spontaneously combust (boom!) into song. I remember there was a time when I could not wait for my parents to get me the new Disney sing-a-long book which I would read along and spoil the movie ahead of time. No worries, because I would at least know the words to the song. No one can knock Lion King off of any list, ever. Finding Nemo comes close, but I am biased a little towards the musical format of the 90s. Also, I am glad that Disney's animation studios are going back to drawings rather than CGI films (See: The Princess and The Frog).

Recently, I started wondering what existed before 1989's Mermaid. Why does my timeline of animation (tanlinimation?) begin on 1989 when I had a couple of years under my tiny baby belt? Sure I was young, but I should at least have memories of merchandise in later years. Well, I do remember Oliver & Company ("Why Should I worry!") which pre-dated Mermaid, but only because of a picture book that I had. But that's it.

But sure enough that's where An American Tale and The Land Before Time fit into my tan-line-imation. You see, after doing a quick Wikipedia search of those movies, I have discovered that the creator/animator of those films, Don Bluth, was an ex patriot of Disney. Those two films actually fared better than Disney's films in the 80s. Talk about a shift in power. I really do believe those films were and are on par with the 90s films of Disney. I do not remember much about An American Tale, but I have home video evidence that The Land Before Time was to me then what The Lion King/Finding Nemo is to me now. I do not think I can watch TLBT today because it would make me cry. It would make a grown man cry. I cannot express how much that film turns me back into a little kid. Every weekend or any slow afternoon, my brothers and I would be rolling around in the carpet with that tape on in the background. It's a small gem from my childhood.

I propose a toast to Don Bluth. Cheers!

Better Than A Lost Flashback

If you enter any elementary school today and look at posters inside classrooms, you are more than likely to see posters and projects exalting the benefits of reading. Reading, reading, and more reading-- not to be confused with the three R's of environmentalism in my school: reduce, recycle, and reuse (I love those R's. I still try to live by them). However, it is has dawned on me how contradictory my elementary school operated. You see, when it was lunch time, my school had the option of letting the children play outside (recess) or have them sit down in the school auditorium for some random movie. Recess does wonders for school children. As a teacher, I love when I get my students back from recess because they are often closing in on a food coma. (That's almost a lie. My students go bonkers regardless of the time of day, except when they're still asleep in the morning.) You would think the school would let us play. And they did, but sometimes the weather would not cooperate, so we had to resort to the musty, rusty, and dusty auditorium.

Imagine me, around seven, eight, or nine years old, discovering these films that the lunch monitors would put on to try and appease the kiddie masses. My question is where did they get their material? I can tell you the four movies I remember being forced to watch in my five years in elementary school. Wait for it...Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Never-ending Story, Feivel Goes West. See! I can't even remember four movies. The fourth movie was some live action film that had a blue monster (costume form) who would pretend to be a statue when the kid star would turn around. (Points if someone can give me the name, Please!)

This was torture. Though I am a huge couch and theater seat potato, I hated those days of non recess. The auditorium had wooden chairs that would squeak a sound that only you could hear. It hurt my bum. The most annoying thing was that they would never play the films completely or even in order. Tomorrow's lunch day would have the movie on some other scene. If you were lucky like I was, then the next day there would be an entirely different movie instead of the one you were trying to piece together. You were just left on your ass with a cliff hanger. So the Never-ending story literally never ended. (I actually rented it via Netflix just recently. Pure crap. But Nostalgic Crap nonetheless.)

Oh Loh'. (Points for whoever can tell me who says that. Hint: On American Idol.)

10 Questions Science (and Politics and Human Nature . . .) Should Answer First

This post is a direct response to the youtube video of "10 questions every Christian should ask themselves". I suggest you look it up and then read my attempt at a defense for my belief in God.

First, a little background on myself. I am a college educated American who grew up in a devoutly Catholic family. Trust me. My Mom was and still is seriously devout. I happen to still follow certain practices but not everything by a long shot. You may say I was "enlightened" or that I have "strayed" depending on your viewpoint. In college, I studied the sciences, specifically, biology and chemistry. Though I may be really rusty, I believe I have a strong grip on the scientific way the world works (e.g. evolution). Of course, this post is biased, but that's just par for the course. Everyone has their point of view and I will try to defend why I still practice (some) parts of my religion.

Religion (or Catholicism) is NOT a rational belief system. We humans are rational beings but at our current state, we have some understanding of how the world works. People have taken in experiences from their lives and have formed educated guesses as to how previously unknown experiences my work. By trial and error and the empirical method, a lot has become clearer to us. How doe we breathe? What is the air made of? Why is the sky blue? We use science via our senses to understand our surroundings. Then we build upon each new piece of knowledge and still refine other pieces until they fit our experiments or experiences. This is the rational or what others would say is the intelligent aspect of people.

But there is one question that has not been answered: Why are we here? Sure, there are those who will say that we are here because of probability. That after the big bang, all the possible criteria and factors aligned by chance to create the possibility of life. I think that's what they would say is the reason we're here. We are all here by chance. A mathematical anomaly. We got lucky and that's all there is to it.

I do believe it took so many factors for life to occur. That if one minute thing changed in the beginnings of the universe, we may not be here. But this does not satisfy why we are here. We are an accident? Okay, maybe those people could be completely right. But what about before the big bang? What started it? Was it just the big bang? (I must admit. I am sure there is literature out there that addresses my issue with this, but I have not read it and as of this writing, I have not tried looking for it.)

Now, I am not saying that God or the big J-dog himself decided to just make this all happen all of the sudden. This is hardly proof. But I do believe there was a creator, not necessarily a God, but some entity that initiated this whole mess. This being or thing that allowed for all these factors to a come together and allow for life on Earth. It's worth a thought.

So then one might argue that I'm really not a Christian then. Well, if you believe that label doesn't fit me then okay. I just decided that if I'm going to believe that something started all of this, that we are here not by accident, I'm going to believe that a god did this. Oh and that J-dog happened to be his son.

It this area that is not bound by rationale. Religion will always be irrational. That means it is not governed by reason and therefore cannot be subject to questions or experiments. I don't mean for people to follow their religion blindly. No. They should derive some sense of direction if they are struggling to seek meaning in their life. If they can find meaning elsewhere, then that's great for them. Science and religion exists separately but cannot be without each other.

So when someone asks me why won't god heal amputees, I will answer that god falls under religion and religion is not rational. I won't try to explain why he won't do certain things. How do I know? I use science to explain how things work. I'm still trying to use god to figure out why we're here. Am I still a rational being? I think so. I use science to explain the world and I use religion to explain the things that have yet to be explained by science.

Einstein quoted something to that effect, and I am too lazy to look it up. Science will explain how the universe works and I will forever love it for that. Religion does its best to explain why. It can't be as clear and reasonable as Science, but what it lacks in brain power, it makes up for it with hope and love. It's only people who sully both science and religion. It is these few who use science to beget selfish and blind atrocities using religion to justify their evil.

I Remember Her From Fifth Grade

Ah, the train never ceases to amaze me.  I was coming home from class last night and saw someone who I think was my 5th grade classmate's hot sister.  Well, back in the day, before I evan began to pubesce  (wha?), I firmly remember her older sister.  I think those were the first "strong" thoughts of a girl I ever had.  But, my classmate wasn't half bad either.  Actually, now that I think of it, I think my classmate was my first pseudo-crush.  I say pseudo because I really didn't like her I just wanted to get in her pants.  Of course I wasn't thinking those things exactly when I was in 5th grade, but I did feel that way about her.  And wouldn't you know it, I happened to see her on my way home that same night.  She probably didn't recognize me because of my long beautiful (read: ugly) locks, but I recognize her from the way my . . . [edit].  Hell, she probably wouldn't have recognized me even back in the day.  She brings up those evil feelings.  Not the feelings of wanting to date or get to know someone, but those other nice feelings.

Just an interesting thing that happened in my oh so awesome life.  She's probably dating some classmate of mine who's in med school (How did he ever get into medicine?  He was so Guido and Douchy in high school.  Meh, I 'm just jealous).

On another note, I guess attracting women with my huge wallet ain't happening as a teacher.  I'm sure living at home to save will help.  Hopefully that sarcasm translates through.  The living at home part is true though.

Esteban! Donde Estas?

Will I regret getting hooked on the Lost phenomenon?  Though I have only recently jumped on the bandwagon, I am questioning that decision due to a few others falling (or purposely jumping) off.

The main reason I question this devotion is the theory that the Lost guys have no frackin' (Go, Battlestar Galactica!) clue as to what is going on.  Scratch that.  It's not that they don't know; It's more that they are pulling ideas and mysteries out of their collective ass.  I can imagine the Lost's writers room full of guys and gals literally spewing out ideas in a manner that needs medical attention (Hey maybe there's this weird smoke that floats around and sounds like a machine!).  I'm pretty sure if someone randomly used a dictionary to choose any three words, the Lost writers might actually consider and actually be able to insert those "ideas" into the show.  Seriously.  Ghosts and Polar Bears.  How about how Hugo doesn't lose any weight period?

Argh.

I am still a huge fan.  How can I not be, I've only started watching and catching up on Lost last year.  My biggest fear is that after the next final two seasons the show will not have a satisfying conclusion that answers every single little thing Lost.  I really hope the writers do some serious researching about their show's mythology.  I don't want the show to end and some fan picks up some inconsistencies.

In some ways, even as bad as I feel the second season of Heroes was, it at least answered questions without too many other questions.

Score 1 for the Affleck Brothers

It's been a while, but I almost cried watching a movie. That almost-honor goes to Gone Baby Gone. I'm too young to know what it's like to lose a child, but I seriously almost cried watching. I closed my mouth and it felt like someone was gently nudging my eyeballs from inside my head. I felt the stinging sensation around my nose. Really powerful stuff. My kudos goes out to Casey Affleck and especially Ben Affleck. Though everyone else hated Jersey Girl, I think Ben deserves some credit. He is actually quite talented. So, Ben, I can't hate you anymore. Just don't get too smug just cause you made an awesome film. Giving the lead to your brother could have been a bad move, but Casey is also awesome. I just don't know if I ever want to go to Boston, ever; what with this movie and Departed totally killing the mood.

For the rest of the cast: kudos too. There's this one scene with Ed Harris which really got my hair up. So much conviction in his performance. I have to find some movies he's in on Netflix. Mr. Freeman was not utilized too much in this film, which is actually a good thing. Oftentimes, a film floods the scene with stars and detracts from the overall product. Again, pretty good choice in casting Casey. We should see more Casey in movies.

My mom watched Gone Baby Gone before I did. She sort of mentioned in passing how she wished movies had no "Eff this and Eff that" and violence. I guess it was in response to GBG. Well, mom, sorry that this movie was next in my queque, but the real world, which most movies are based on, has F bombs. Still Love ya, but I don't think I'll be renting The Notebook.

I'm starting to think I enjoy movies that deal with the ambiguity of the gray area of morality. Gone Baby Gone has violent moments, but it also is touching. You will almost cry.

Donkeys, Melons, Yogurt, and Mothballs.

Those words were actually said in last night's American Idol episode and were not in fact said by any of the contestants.  Leave it to the three caballeros Randy, Paula, and Simon to make a singing competition into a sitcom.  The judges were so all over the place most especially Paula.  Although I liked how Seacrest noticed how quickly things were getting out of hand and reminded the judges and the audience that the show is about the performers.

But let's review the performances of the top eight girls.  I think I've said it once and I'll say it again this season: "Can we keep all the girls on this week and retire two extra boys?"  All the girls were on top of their game and it's hard to pick one, much less two girls to kick off.  I have said my favorites before, but I'm not so sure Malubay should be safe from elimination.  She picked a lackluster song that has been played out so many times on Idol (and in this household).  It's really upsetting since she has one of the stronger voices.  Plus, it was the 80's.  Have some fun.

I would say Buh'bye Malubay, but I feel she has a strong voting block:  Asians and Short folks.  (Would you look at that?  I fit both categories.)  Someone should smack Ryan for his smack about Malubay's short legs.  I think it's cute that's she's pocket-sized or, in my case, human-sized.

Kristy Lee Cook had a strong performance for her ability.  I enjoyed it and I agree that it could be a hit in the Country genre.  Having said that, she's definitely an underpowered singer compared to the sirens this season.  She should be voted off just based on her ability, but I have a feeling her voting block (red-blooded Americans who like hot blondes) will keep her on.

If I had to bet, I think Kady Malloy will be voted off.  Do I think that's the right choice? No.  She has a strong voice despite her song choices.  Ironically, I think she displayed her powers last night, but again it was a slow song and, in a way, Simon's critique that she has no personality might be true.  She might have had better reviews from the judges if she sang an upbeat song with one or two "big money" notes.  If Kristy or Ramalamadingdong (Can Randy get her Ramamolies name right?) don't get voted off then Kady will take their place.

Who do I want off?  That's tough, but I've been tired of Amanda's voice for the last two weeks.  I definitely thought she had an enjoyable and strong performance last night, but I don't know what else she can do with her voice.  Whenever she sings, it's like I'm hearing the same damn song again.  Sorry.

On the other hand, Brooke White has been one of my other favorites since day one (no R movies, nice girl).  She's also one of the under-powered singers this year, but she did have a good interpretation of a Pat Benatar song last night.  She should stay on for a couple of more weeks until she gets boring.  Sorry too.

Ms. Mercado has a strong voice and deserves to be moved on next week.  Decent performance last night, but predictable as Simon said.  It's unfortunate that her vocals won't just sail her on through, so she definitely needs to spice it up so that the audience doesn't get bored.  She still deserves to be on American Idol.

I enjoyed Asia'h's Whitney Houston performance.  Very upbeat which matches Asia'h's bubbly cheerleader personality.  I'm just surprised I enjoyed something a cheerleader did (I'm looking at you Hayden P.).  Hopefully, she'll be on next week.  She might be in danger because I don't know where her votes come from (cheerleader fans?)

Last but not least (again?), the Irish gal herself, Ms. Carly Smithson.  I'll keep it short and to the point:  Knocked it out of the park.  I would pay see her in concert instead of downloading her stuff illegally.  It's just too bad that all the girls in the world and their moms and their gay friends have already decided that David Archuletta is the American Idol.

I'm not hating. ;)

On the Stanford Line

My iPod is getting old. Lemme explain. Usually my posts on this blog are premeditated. But I have increasingly been really lazy. (I'm not even going to check whether my adverbs were placed correctly in the previous sentence. Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?) So I'm going to go on a nice little rant in hopes of getting inspired into writing a review about tv's Dexter.

Since I've been unemployed and only going to classes part time (Gosh, I still have no real responsibilities), I've been using my iPod alot. You know, It keeps me company while I use public transportation. Well music on my 30 gb 5th generation iPod can get old quickly. While I have been surprised by new music like Vampire Weekend, all my songs are getting old. I like to think I have an eclectic taste, but there's just so much Eisley I can handle. I need to find new music.

So I've tried joining Last.fm, but it hasn't turned out as awesome as I had hoped. It's more of a social networking site that uses music to get people together. I don't know about you, but I don't really like social networking sites (I think I might not even like people?). I just wish that Last.fm would just let me know what's good to listen to. I guess I could always just go rely on good ol' Pandora. At least they showed me all about We Are Scientists. By the way, I cannot frickin' wait for their upcoming album this March. It's sad though that only the Brits get it while us Yanks have to wait (Down with the Queen!). I predict WAS's new album will be for 2008 what Bloc Party's was for 2007.

Quick note: The 80's had the best music. Just pop in Grand Theft Auto Vice City and almost every station just bursts with bubbles of awesome. (K-dizzle, this is for you: "I, I just died in your arms tonight. Must've been some BIOCHEM! I should've walked away.")

Best Idol EVAR Question Mark

Let's talk about the American Idol Top 24 of 2008. I would like to talk about my current favorites for the girls. (For the guys, there's only one I really like and he's an Aussie. There's also another one, but it's too early to tell.) First off, with the exception of that one guy, the girls really have a strong bunch this year. They're all pretty much, well, pretty. That's nice, but can they sang? Most can sing and that's good enough for me.

My first favorite is Brooke White. Ever since I found out she has never seen a rated R movie, I thought 'wow, how interesting'. That in itself should not be the basis of me liking her, but there's something that gravitates me to her. It's probably because she's made of sunshine. Very pretty sunshine. However, I really like her auditions. She can sing really well, but I was not wowed by her first top 24 performance this week. She was still attractive and she sung it well enough, but it does not keep her safe from elimination. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

There's also Ramiele Malubay. I don't think I have to explain why? I'm going to anyway: she's Filipino and she's short. Why do I care that she's short? Well, I'm short and I think I've developed a complex about my height. No, actually I now I have. So it's nice to know there are decent-sized people out there. The fact that she's Filipino makes me proud, but there have been other Pinoys in AI before. It's just that Malubay is way better than any of them. I can actually root for her and not feel ashamed that I'm doing it for her ethnicity, because she can sing too. I'm just hoping that she does not get voted off before she can show her chops.

Nice tidbit: Apparantly, my neighbor's friend's son is Malubay's boyfriend. Gossip that I shouldn't be spreading? Hearsay you say? Maybe. But that sorta makes me famous. And Jealous. More jealous, though. I guess Malubay is just going to have to break his heart when I win her over with my pure awesomeness.

Make up your mind! Brooke or Ramiele! Easy. (Pikachu, I choose you!) Alaina Whitaker, I choose you, but you're only 16 so I choose Kady Malloy instead. I was pleasantly surprised by her performance her vocal ability. I thought she would be your typical good-looking-but-average singer. Turns out her performance was more than above average. Judges didn't like it one bit, but who cares. Malloy did have a killer Britney Spears impersonation, my friends. (Is there anyone else?)

And to round out the really strong (and did I mention pretty?) top 12 girls is Carly Smithson. She did some damage control by telling us that she was signed by a record label when she was younger, but they became defunct before anything good could come from it. What does she have going for her? I believe she has the strongest voice of any of the girls. Plus she's 24 years-old, which makes me happy because if there's another complex I have aside from my height, it's my age. Let's just say, Smithson and I could almost be in the same grade. Almost. Back to her performance. I thought it was strong and almost at the level of 'blowing-houses-down', but I will save those descriptions for future performances when the competition gets real hot.

What have we learned? The girls are pretty and they can sing. I'm gonna call the American Idol producers and ask if they could vote two more guys tomorrow night instead of two girls.

Phat Phantom Beatz (with a Z)

Maybe I was just really sleepy, but I could not fall asleep in my own bed last night.  When I laid down to sleep, I heard this muffled thumping beat.  It wasn't loud enough to wake up my brothers, but it was loud enough to annoy me.  The weird part was I only heard it when I was in my bed.  When I got up to search for the sound it stopped!  I know what a vibrating phone sounds like and it was not that.  Even that would have been better sleep music (like a trapped robot mouse trying to escape a desk drawer).  Nor was it someone blasting "awesome" beats out of their pimped-out auto.  I opened the window to give the owners a piece of my mind, but I didn't hear it.  

Eventually I gave up.  I cursed my bed and took my sheets to the basement.  I ended up sleeping on the uncomfortable couch-- not the nice leather one in the living room (the room has funny shadows).  On the way down I almost fell down the stairs and I'm pretty sure I saw a ghost.  Note to self:  sleep early next time to avoid poltergeists.

It was 4 am when I woke up to go back to my own bed to avoid my aunt from waking up and seeing me on the couch.  I think I dreamed that I was back at work again.  The funny thing is I felt peaceful knowing I was employed, even though I left that hell hole that had been stressing me out ever since.  Maybe being unemployed has made me develop calluses towards teaching.  Hopefully I'll be back on my feet sometime before living at home isn't cute anymore.  Maybe then I can escape these phantom beats.

And dream about not working.

Quick: Lost Heroes Push Daisies

Oh Em Gee.  How good is this 4th (shortened) season of Lost?!  Just finished watching the third episode when it aired tonight.  All I have to say is, I feel bad for people who have not seen Lost from beginning all the way up to now.  I don't think I've spoken much about Lost on Lips Like Asukal, but this third episode of the 4th season has pumped me up.  The first two were great, but wow, the flash forwards elevate this show to another level.

Props to Sayid's character though.  He has to be one of my favorites, and I'm glad they focused on him this episode.  Of course most of the characters in Lost are complex, but having an Iraqi of the former Republican guard deal with getting off the island (via flash backs) adds to his stern nature.  Don't Eff with Sayid.  But then you get to the cliff hanger and, not to spoil anything, but you have to wonder how evil (or Not) is the guy that Sayid works for.

Hooray for the writers coming back.  Supposedly, they're going to pop out 5 more episodes to make the total season four episodes reach a mini-season of 13 episodes.  Whatever.  It's not the 16 episodes originally plan, but hopefully the things that get cut out are just fillers.

In Heroes news, volume 3, which was supposed to be the second half of this season, will be returning this fall instead of this spring.  Surprisingly, I am not upset about it.  I'm still pretty bummed by volume 2.  I feel like they should just kill off annoying cry babies like Claire.

Pushing Daisies won't be back this Spring, but at least it's been picked up for this Fall.  I guess fans can consider this season like mini-pies that Chuck, I believe, mentioned on the show.  I don't know what's sweeter, the show, pies, or Charlotte.  The DVD set, which will be smaller than a full season, should at least come with a free pie.

Ciao for now.

Writer's Guild of America, Deactivate!

Just some thoughts on the impending end of the writers strike:  okay, can we get on with our real lives?  I am 100% in support of unions, but I usually associate them with workers of the middle to working class.  I am pretty sure these writers aren't struggling.  The worst thing that can happen to them is writer's block.  It's actually a little unfair that the writers guild of america gets all this publicity when real unions like the united federation of teachers (workers who matter?) do not get as much support.  Sure I'm a little biased (as a former and future teacher), but in general, I just hope other unions will get the same support as the writers did.  That's just in case I go on strike in the future for a little more cash-- I will have the future of America's youth in my hands.  So pay up.

Go, unions!

As for the writers, well, why do I have to wait for a new Pushing Daisies?  And it's not fair that Lost's story will have to be adjusted.  Couldn't have the studios just waited for next season so that we could have a full season, instead of this 8 episode tease?  The show doesn't even have any reveals anymore.  I can't keep track of all these questions.  Though Pushing Daisies did have a nice cliffhanger, which will have to suffice.

By the way, I heard Kristen Bell will be filming a romantic comedy (ugh) soon.  I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and let the world see me watch one of "those" movies in public. (What can I say that I haven't already said about my VM obsession?  Just don't tell everyone that I'm still in the middle of season 2. ;))

Juno Review

I am so glad I did not see Juno weeks ago when it was the "in" thing to do. It's not because I try hard to go against the grain (trust me, I am more pop and straight edge than most guys). It's mainly because I refused to watch a movie that potentially looked great but was being marketed as a Michael Cera film. Folks, if you think Juno is a Superbad, then you will be extremely disappointed, and rightfully so. Juno is not one of those movies. But since I have been in an extended vacation (i.e. resigned months ago from work), I have begun consuming large amounts of movie mush (that, and also I eat too much ;)).

So I just saw Juno sans the hype (I was bored this Friday night) and I was nicely blown away. I won't herald it as being one of my top favorite movies ever, but it is definitely highly recommended. I must repeat: I am glad that this movie was not like Superbad (though I did love Superbad). Juno is a very character driven movie-- a nice change of pace from your popcorn movies (gotta switch'em up every now and then). I could not predict what was going to happen next because it played slow in the beginning, but I was still very interested in the characters.

I did laugh outloud a couple of times (5 or 6 times?) and I smile alot too. But I was really impressed that Juno got a little serious towards the end (take that, stupid marketing ploys). Hallelujah, the story became juicy. There was some tension all thanks to the great roles of Jason Bateman and Jennifer Gardner. First off, yay for Arrested Development alumni! But I have to say that Bateman and Gardner really stole a part of the movie. I really did feel weird from the relationship that developed between Bateman and Ellen Page (Juno). I am convinced that Bateman can act in a drama. Cool bonus. Also, I never really liked anyting Garner was in. Maybe I just haven't watched enough of her movies, but she played a great weird baby-loving mother-to-be. Really great casting all around. J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney were solid too.

There was actually some meaning in this movie and tugged on some heart strings. (Again, glad that Juno was not the comedy that it was marketed as.)

Enjoy Juno.




Big ups to Cera and Bateman. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that AD movie rumor.

Marlena Diamond

Just saw Cloverfield tonight. I have to say that I really enjoyed it, despite the huge drop in its second week earnings. (It can be expected for movies to drop 40 to 50%, which is pretty bad, but from some accounts, Cloverfield dropped in the 60% range.)

Cloverfield is definitely your popcorn, super-action type of movie, but it's not the glossy over-produced type like Transformers. This is mainly due to the guerrilla style that it's shot in a la Blair Witch. But at the same time it does have great production values. If you combine the effects with the hand held style of shooting, you really feel as if New York is being attacked by some monster. Also, since the first twenty minutes or so of the movie is dedicated to building up the setting and characters, you feel a connection with some of them. While there is very little character development (understandably because it's supposed to be from the point of view of a guy who was filming while in the thick of things), there is enough to enjoy the being with the characters. I liked the character of Hud the most. He was the one filming the action, and he surprisingly provided the comic relief part of the movie.

If you even think about making movies at all, it's so interesting to see how J.J. Abrams fit in the necessary criteria that makes a movie, especially in this documentary style format. Just feeling the flow of things-- it's supposed to be recovered footage, but it thankfully still feels like a movie, or else there would be no movie to enjoy. There are ups and downs, appropriate pauses so that you can take it all in. Sure, you have to suspend your beliefs many times for the sake of enjoying the movie (how long does the battery last?), but it is a science-fiction movie after all. Maybe it's because I analyzed the movie making aspect of Cloverfield, but I really enjoyed the devices employed in this movie. You can see the product tie-ins and, you will see, even the clever way they got to show the back-story of some characters (involves old footage left in the camera while they were taping the current monster problem). It really is impressive to think that the makers of Cloverfield could create a movie that is in hand-held footage and still give you a movie experience. It's pulled off better than The Blair Witch Project (probably not too hard of a feat).

Cloverfield is highly recommended for fans who love going to the movies. I can't believe it has made me excited for Star Trek (J.J. Abrams next project). J.J. and Cloverfield is that good.

By the way, since this is Lips Like Asukal, I have to talk about a girl. While Cloverfield has no big-name stars (although I do know two actors, one of whom is from my sadly-cancelled The Black Donnellys), I have to mention Lizzy Caplan. You may know her from Mean Girls as Lohan's friend who was friends with that gay dude. Lizzy looks really good in Cloverfield. It would not be fair to call her an almost crush of mine, because I've always found her attractive even back in Mean Girls (when she was supposed to be the "ugly" friend). She also plays a sarcastic girl in Cloverfield, probably ups her hotness in it.

Love those eyes.

Date Material

I know readers may think I may possibly be a chauvinist because of all the rebel yells of "she could get it!", but in reality I'm really the antithesis. Do not get me wrong. Some people can attest that I am a fully red-blooded American male. So it makes sense when I tell you that I do like to indulge in proclamations about the current cutie in my mind. Maybe in the future I will refrain from getting too racy (I don't think I have been too bad though).

But this post is dedicated to one of the most attractive girls I've seen in a while: Kristen Bell. I'm too lazy to see if I've excessively carried on about her in other posts, but I think I have spoken about her in some length. Of course you may know that I am a huge fan of the tv show Veronica Mars of which Bell is known for. It's possible that I may just be attracted to the character she plays (Veronica Mars), but there are photographs of Kristen that show that she may have some of that sass that Mars has. I'd like to say she's cute like a button but how asexual can you get? But that's not to say that when I see pictures of Kristen Bell that I immediately devolve into having carnal fantasies. Actually I probably never had an impure thought about her (Sorry to the straight male population). There are few girls in show biz that I would consider being date-able, but Bell is one of them (Even off the top of my head I can't think of the other girls I would put on that list, which is saying something).

Anyway that's my rant on Kristen Bell. This post was mostly a product of me surfing a questionable gossip site that showed that particular photograph of Ms. Bell (with the scarf/hat). I wonder if someone could put their two cents and tell me whether they think she has make-up on in this photograph? She probably does and it's just put on very well. These type of candid photographs are much better gauge of cuteness than those fake photoshopped (pixelmated) pictures of people. Yeah I think she looks really good. Plus, me being a short guy, it's not a bad thing that she's short as well.

My only wish is that my image of her doesn't get shattered. I hope she doesn't go all Hollywood and become tabloid fodder.






C'mon, camouflage has never looked this cute.