Music Progression

FRIENDS, I may not be writing about entertainment and music anymore but my heart will always have a big room exclusively occupied by my favorite musicians. Aside from my favorite foreign artists Kenny Lattimore, Lenny Kravitz, The Beachoys, The Beatles, Bon Jovi, The Cure, David Foster, Green Day, Toto, Lee Ritenour, Warren Wiebe, Aerosmith, Babyface, Maroon5, and Vertical Horizon among others, I will never forget the Filipino bands who stole my heart and whose music continues to linger in my system to this day.

There is just too many Filipino bands then and now that I like and love. To mention a few there’s Parokya ni Edgar, Alamid, Afterimage, Bamboo, Eraserheads, Fuseboxx, The Pin-Up Girls, Zavanna, Urbandub, and Put3ska.

Notice that they are a mixture of different genres because that’s the kind of listener I am. I don’t want to be stuck in one music category only and live the rest outside my door. I want to experience all types of music that this universe willingly offers.

I grew up listening to jazz-y ditties courtesy of my father’s records, cassette tapes and later CDs that fall under this genre. It will have to take another lifetime for me to forget George Benson, Gino Vanelli, Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, and Lou Pardini. As I got older, I gradually got intimate glam rock, alternative and progressive rock. As a matter of fact, I was introduced to the latter not so long ago and fell instantly for it. If I’m not mistaken, the first ever progressive rock number I heard was from Pink Floyd.

I see how much respect Progressive Rock artists give their listeners. When they get onto that stage, it’s no longer just about the lyrics of their song or their vocal prowess. They create music that is worth every minute of your listening time. I especially like those bands that give a moment to each instrument in their band and person handling it. Music, after all, should be free to talk. I guess, sometimes musicians and record labels should put aside the business aspect so that music can just flow out sincerely and be enjoyed to the fullest.

If you’re up for a night of Progressive Rock, check out “In Progression 3: Odd Times” slated on Sept. 26 at 9mile Bar in Kalayaan, Cubao. For more details check below.

In Progression 3: ODD TIMES
When : Sept. 26, 2008
Where: 9mile bar (Kalayaan, Cubao)
Ticket: P100.00 w/ free beer

Gate opens 9pm
Band Performers:
Drastic Measure
Fuseboxx
Cinderblock
Nimbus Crowd
Kitchen Sync (From Baguio)
Thought Prison (They were in In Prog2)

Please spread the word! The poster will be posted here as soon as it is done. for now let’s all do text brigades and email, thread, ym etc. advertisements.
Let’s support this event in preparation for a bigger and more exciting event by the end of the year!
Thanks!

-Pinoy Prog Community-

Playground

LIKE a child who’s set foot on a playground for the first time is how I describe myself at the moment. I’m experiencing a lot of new things and I love the fact that I’m learning something of importance every single day.

All the more do I understand my daughter now because we’re both on the same page. While she’s working on her ABC’s and nursery rhymes, I’m basking in a new work atmosphere. It always feels good to be around people with healthy minds and by that I mean open to new ideas and improvement.

Writing should be fun and fulfilling. Although it also falls under the category of profession, I still perceive it as an exciting activity more than a chore. Love, death, anguish, angst, sun, rain, flowers, trees, cartoons, movies, music, people, gods, gadgets, are just among the many things that trigger one to slump on his computer chair and pound on his keyboard until he finally gets his feelings and thoughts accurately out on that piece of while sheet on the computer monitor through rich text.

In my case, all it takes is contentment and a happy disposition for me to write monumental articles at work. Good thing that I have both now.

The Jungle

TRUST is something I value and don’t easily give. Most of my friends I’ve known since my childhood and even though we don’t meet often these days, an occasional text or call rekindles the friendship.

Landing on my first job exposed me to different kinds of personalities. So this is the jungle my mother has been talking about when I was still in school. Back then, she would constantly tell me to study hard and hone my skills in preparation for my journey to the jungle.

Upon reaching the jungle, I encountered two-faced individuals and they are not easy to handle or deal with. In your presence, they act and talk as though they are sincere, nice and professional but act differently when you’re away. It’s also in the jungle that I got into fights because two-faced creatures would always try to devour the unsuspecting me. I learned to care extra care of myself, to keep two-faced creatures at bay.

When I had Sonnet, I transferred to another company. I expected it to be another form of a jungle with beasts disguised as humans lurking and preparing to pounce at me at any given chance. But I was wrong. This company has more angels. Although not everybody is nice and I could still sense the agenda of omnipresent two-faced creatures, I’m lucky I get to work directly with likable people who are not only intelligent and funny but trustworthy, as well.

Aside from being excellent team players in the office, three of my office mates also happen to be rare gems in a treasure trove. I’ll forever be grateful to the friendship they shared with me, for respecting my views on life, for the intellectual conversations, and most of all for turning this jungle into a paradise.

Avi, Jane and Len, I’m dedicating this post to you. As I leave PIMS for reasons I only shared with you, let me thank you for being my kid sisters, for the love, concern and most especially for dreaming big with me:) I love you and I will surely miss you.

Image I love

I’ve been tagged by brainteaser and gmacomics.

I’m not a photographer but I’m a fan of photography and I admire people who can capture the realness of an event, a facial expression, an occasion with just a click of their cameras. This tag is a celebration of photography and poetry’s marriage and I’m glad I’m part of the gathering.

Here’s the rule:

1. Write a poem or an inspiring line based on a photo of your choice. This photo can be your own, or someone else’s. (If the picture is not yours, please ask permission from the owner when you post it, or better yet, provide only the link to the picture that inspired you, without posting it.)

2. Your poem or inspiring line may be of any length, and any genre. It can be humorous, sentimental, heart-warming, whatever. You may write in Ilokano, English or Filipino.

3. Post your inspiring line in your blog and in the comment section of this page (or just a link to your post so we could go and check it there). For poetry submissions, please indicate if you wish your piece to be posted in Bilingual Pen as an article submission.

4. The goal of this game is to get us to write, and express our thoughts and emotions.

High with Sonnet

It’s a line of truth or lie

A notion of the youth

Who think they speak of love, of life

Yet live the moment with rules

Season, theme, space and time

All these seem relevant

In a fast-paced reality

Even on times that I write lit

Then the sky whispers

An angel is coming

As told in many a song

She’s heaven’s precious gift

In an instant the moment changed

And so did the word and the world

Who’s Shakespeare to call Sonnet a poem?

I wonder who coined it from a song

Sonnet is my cotton candy

My solemn hymn in the night

Prayer answered by my beloved God

My life, my heart, all that I am

I’m now tagging Pelicarol, Lambing, Lenski, Potsquared, Kengkay, Vhincent, and Raft3r.

Manufacturing robots

WHAT do you think of a microchip being inserted into your body? Last Saturday I was tuned in to GMA 7’s “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” and got to watch the program’s segment on microchips.

At first I couldn’t believe that microchips are actually being implanted in animals and people these days. But as soon as I saw how a veterinarian injected a microchip in a woman’s poodle, I realized this is really happening. According to people who do this, having a microchip in your pet avoids the possibility of losing it to the hands of dog slayers and eaters. The owner of the dog added that with a microchip in her dog, she could now easily monitor its health.

A young woman, on the other hand, says she puts a microchip under the sole of her rubber shoes which connects to her iPod. According to her, this helps her record the gradual increase of her speed and monitors how much she has improved since her last run.

Learning from the show, however, that implantation of microchips is being conducted even on human beings enveloped me in fear. Fear of science and technology. According to a health expert, a microchip implant in animals and people can be hazardous and cause malignancy. I don’t know if this is true but I’d rather take his advice than be turned into a guinea pig.

I’m neither a fan of technology nor am I a hater of it. What I only know is that I cherish and treasure my being. I just hope this microchip implantation won’t be ruled as compulsory in the country or in other parts of the world. If that happens, I’d rather go for euphenesia.