K Drama

This is funny. I did not realize that the last topic I blogged about was Three Dads with One Mommy. Now, I'm going to blog about Princess Hours (Goong, 2006). I finished all of the 24 episodes in 2 days! The last time I did was during the 2008 holy week break. (Next week is Holy Week 2012!) Only this time, I fast tracked it and watched it only on youtube. Meaning, I forwarded some of the scenes and skipped some episodes which I have scene last week when, for unknown reasons, my interest in that Korean drama sparked once more.

There are so many things to love about Princess Hours. The characters are very endearing. Great story. Right pacing, right amount of cheesiness, angst and subplots. Lots of interesting Korean royalty rituals, cinematography. It is nicely done, really. According to new articles, it is the most expensive Korean drama ever produced. It is one of the highest rating shows, too!

The Royal family in the early 1990s

The Royal family in 2006

One of the things that I look forward to after each episode are the teddy bears! They used teddy bears to depict key scenes from the preceding episode like this:

Shin (center) assaults Yul (left) in front of a shocked Chaegyong (right)

Shin went with Chaegyong to pick lettuce in the garden

The Royal family as teddy bears

Finally, the best thing about this has got to be the soundtrack. MBC produced original music for Princess Hours. The music has the traditional Korean music element but made contemporary. The result is beautiful music worthy of goosebumps. It also made the emotions in the scenes where it played stronger. I must admit though that it bears a stark similarity with traditional Irish music because of the prominence of fiddle and tin whistle. According to my research, the Korean group (described as an ethnic fusion band) Second Moon did all the instrumentals. In the Philippines, their counterpart could be Makiling Ensemble.

These 3 are my favorites (though I love all the instrumentals!).

Second Moon (Feel-good; nakakapagpa-ngiti.)

Ice Pond (Grabe, nakakadurog 'to ng puso!)

Flower Petals Fall (Mabigat din sa puso, pero may halong saya. Ito ang paborito ko sa lahat.)

***
I remember back in 2008, I watched all episodes one after the other on borrowed DVD with only brief bathroom and meal breaks. I think I did not even sleep. One episode took an hour, multiplied by 24, so that makes it 24 hours.

Surprisingly, it still has that feel-good appeal. They are the cutest couple, and I'm giggling like a high school girl. I smiled like it was my first time seeing those scenes. Now, I'm having another Princess Hours hangover!

So what happened to the lead stars since they did Princess Hours?

Ju Ji Hoon (Shin/Prince Gian) - did drugs in 2008; just got discharged from Military service in November 2011 and now making a comeback via the musical, Dr. Zhivago. (sosyal!)

Eun Yoon Hye (Chaegyong/Janelle) - did K dramas thereafter though I was never able to follow through; she was an award presenter at the 2012 Asian Film Awards where Filipina actress Eugene Domingo won as peoples' choice award best actress, she also posed for Dazed & Confused magazine where she showed off her very skinny figure!

***
It is not very timely that I took so many hours to watch this series. I am actually feeling bad that I literally did not do anything for 2 days except watch! Aaah...nostalgia is really killing me! Maybe I'll do so again after about 4 years.

Okay, back to work. So much for escapism!

On second thought, anyareee? Anech itey? Tribute for Goong? Wahaha!!!!

Three dads with one mommy

Matutulog na sana ako pero habang naliligo, nagmumuni-muni ako tungkol sa blog entry ko kanina. Naalala ko na na-hook din pala ako sa koreanovelang Three dads with one mommy noong 2008.

In fairness, medyo hindi love story kasi kahit yung 3 daddies ay eventually nahuhulog na sa mommy, hindi naman dito umikot ang buong story. Sa finale episode nalang sila nagkarera (literally) para maunang manligaw kay Liezel. Pero walang couple na nanaig. Very cute ang kwentong ito. :)

Ders no business like syowbiznes!

In fairview, ang guwapo talaga ni JM De Guzman. Ngayon lang ako ulit na-guwapuhan ng todo sa isang artista. I find Piolo very guwapo, too. But it's already a given. Unang tingin, alam mong magandang lalaki talaga (despite the gay rumors). Sabi nga ng kapatid ko nung kinuwento niya yung komento ng friend niya tungkol kay Richard Gutierrez: kaguwapuhang pang-hanap buhay. Pero naaasiwa ako kay Richard Gutierrez. He's all family name, astang alpha male and really the acting is just awful. Anyway, yung kaguwapuhan ni Piolo, dahil sobra, wala na tuloy excitement; wala nang mystic. While the others are just either too cute or too alpha male-ish. But with JM, the gwaponess kind of grows on you. He reminds me a lot of Jericho Rosales na sa tingin ko ay isa sa sa mga pinaka-guwapo. It also helps that he has a theatre background, and has roots in the indie film scene. This makes him not so all-out baduy.

JM stars in this afternoon soap called Angelito: Batang Ama. Again, ngayon lang ulit ako na-hook sa isang teleserye. Very vividly, I remember being hooked to Pangako Sayo (sometime 2000), Meteor Garden (sometime 2002), Maging sino ka man (2005), Lovers in Paris, Princess Hours (2007), Lobo (2008), Green Rose (2010).

In general, mataas talaga tolerance ko sa showbiz. Actually, na e-enjoy ko na parte ako nitong pop culture. Sa mga papers na sinusulat ko sa pag-aaral ng mass com, mas first-hand ang pagtingin ko sa pop culture. Hindi lang puro teorya ni Theodore Adorno, Walter Benjamin o Niel Postman. Ang problema kasi sa ibang academics, critique ng critique tungkol sa commodification, transference, etc. eh hindi naman pala sila nanonood ng mga teleserye. Papanoorin lang nila pag gagawa na sila ng research, o kaya base nalang sa generally accepted notions na nakakabobo ang mainstream media, na escapism lang inaalok nito, at tumutulong ito para manatili ang mga powers-that-be sa kanilang mga posisyon sa lipunan. Para bang nasa taas sila ng tore ni babel, at tinitignan nila ang masa mula dito. Sa kabila ng agwat na ito, ang dami parin nilang say tungkol sa epekto ng pop culture sa masa! Mga intellectual and academic elites nga naman talaga.

At this point, gusto ko lang i-klaro na agree ako sa generally accepted notions about pop culture. Hehe. Pero dahil iba na ang consciousness ko sa pag-konsumo ng mga ito, hindi ako nabobo nito. Lalong hindi ito escapism para sa akin. At lalong hinding-hindi ko nakikita ang sarili ko sa mga characters na napapanood ko. Haller! Ine-enjoy ko lang ito. Bakya na kung bakya! Pero grabe talaga yung fantasy na inooffer ng mga teleserye sa mga manonood. Solid na solid yung romantic love na tema sa LAHAT ng teleseye (lalahatin ko na kasi wala ako maisip na ieexcept). Para bang ang buhay ay umiikot lamang sa konsepto ng romantic love. Paghihintay, pagtitiis, paghihirap, pagsasakripisyo, kasiyahan, etc. Tapos yung iba, backdrop na lang (history of family relations - tunay na ina, tunay na anak, etc., friendships, social mobility - mahirap turned mayaman and vice versa, socio-political conditions, etc.). Tapos pag nakinig ka pa ng radyo, 10 out of 10 na kanta ay puro love song din ang tema! Teka, lumalayo na ako sa point ng kwento ko. (pero magandang materyal ito for a separate blog entry)

Going back to Angelito, na-aliw ako sa story, una dahil lalaki ang bida sa konteksto ng teenage pregnancy. Dito palang, interesting na. Pangalawa, winner yung cast. Parang walang big or small role kahit ang dami-dami nila. Pag may nawalang isa sa mga taga looban, may feeling na parang may kulang talaga dahil unique ang hirit ng bawat isa. Nung nawala si Mervin, wala na yung makukulit na hirit (Buti bumalik na siya at pinatawa niya ako noong tinawag niyang 'kumag' si Angelito. Tagal kong hindi narinig yung salitang yun. Haha!). Mga ilang weeks na ring wala na si attorney, so wala na yung mga legal chenes na mga hirit. Tapos, pag wala si Charlotte, walang bakla! And so on, and so forth. Sobrang galing din ni Elizabeth Oropesa. Kaya niyang lamunin lahat ng ka-eksena niya pag namomoment na siya bilang lola Pinang. Pangatlo, tamang-tama ang pacing. Yung ibang teleseye kasi, nagkakilala ngayon, tapos next week, inlove na inlove na. Or magkagalit ngayon, tapos next week bati na. Sa Angelito, talagang ipaparamdam sayo yung lalim ng galit and misunderstanding. Case in point, buong February nagbabangayan si Rosalie at Angelito though syempre kailangan may pasundot-sundot na kilig. Sa paraang ito, pinapakita yung proseso ng galit at paghilom. Tingin ko mas effective ito kasi pag naghilom na (pag nagkabalikan na si Rosalie at Angelito), victorious talaga ang dating kasi yung audience mismo, naging bahagi sa prosesong ito. May nababagalan, pero mostly they like being teased kesa bigay agad. Kitang-kita naman sa mga tweets ng fans ng show. By the way, ang saya rin pala maki-epal sa mga fans, at maki live tweet! Haha!

Finally, sobrang endearing ng character ni Angelito. In equal measure, nakakaawa siya, nakakatawa, mabait, mapagmahal, siga, at heroic. Lima yun ha! Yung ibang bida kasi, pwedeng hanggang 2 o 3 lang. Halimbawa si Coco Martin sa Walang Hanggan, more of nakakaawa and siga lang siya. Loving din naman siya especially to his lola, pero in a nakakaawa way.

Anyway, I think JM will really make it big. Marami narin namang nagsabi. May mass appeal kasi siya, tsaka yung pagka-pogi niya, hindi yung tipong hindi mo na siya maabot. Siya yung pwede mo pa ring makasalubong sa kalye. Na-immortalize na niya yung character na Angelito. Nagkaroon talaga ng buhay at kaluluwa yung character. Unforgettable na si JM sa role na yun. Unlike "Alyna" ni Shaina. JM and Charee really make a great looking love team. Jericho and Kristine talaga ang peg.

Wala naman akong higher expectations whatsoever. In the tradition of mainstream media, alam ko naman ang magiging ending nito. I think everybody does. Pero sabi nga diba, just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. :)

Basura at nostalgia

Punong-puno ng gamit ang kwarto ko. Kahon-kahong mga papeles mula sa ilang taong pagtatrabaho, pagtuturo at pag-aaral, mga libro, at kung anu-ano pang anik-anik. Pati yung final paper ng mga estudyante ko circa 2006 ay nandito parin. Pati mga invitations nung debut ng mga classmates ko nung 2001, tsaka mga souvenirs sa mga debut parties na ito ay nakatago parin, pati mga piling-piling memorabilia nung highschool! (remnants ng purging operations ko some 7-10 years ago). Ang pinaka-worst sa lahat, mga forced birthday card ng mga classmates ko nung Grade 6 (1995) dahil sa psycho teacher namin, at mga writing exercises nung Grade 1 (1989)! O, ha!

Kailangan ko ng box galing sa grocery store para ilagay yung mga papel na pwede pang printan ang reverse side. So kailangan kong i-sort kung ano yung mga itatago ko pa dun sa mga up for recycling. Yung mga libro naman ay kailangan kong isalansan. Yung mga DVDs at VCDs walang maayos na lalagyan. Tsk. Kailangan ko na ring magdesisyon kung ano yung mga pwede kong itapon na gamit para ma free-up ang space sa mga storage boxes ko. Pati ang cabinet ko ng damit, kailangan narin ibaba na ang mga hindi naman masyadong ginagamit, itupi ito para hindi siksikan ang mga naka-hanger. Habang ginagawa ito, kailangan ko ng basahan at Pledge.

May tendency talaga akong maging hoarder ng mga gamit, memorabilia and what have you. Noong high school, at noong wala pa akong sariling kwarto (sariling kama lang na may 2-level head board), halos katawang nakabaluktod ko lang ang kasya dahil sa sobrang daming gamit. Para mailarawan kung gaano ako ka-adik sa pagtatago ng gamit, naitago ko pa ng mga 7 years yung lamb na ginawa namin ng mga kaibigan ko nung high school noong na-assign kaming i-disenyo ang bulletin board as South Africa nung 3rd year high school (1997). Yung lamb na yun 2d lang naman pero dinikitan namin ng bulak for texture. May dedication pa yun sa likod mula sa mga kaibigan ko. Pero nung nag-purge ako noon, pikit-mata ko siyang isinama sa mga basura kasi may mga insekto nang gumagapang at naninilaw na ang bulak. Anyway, nakaligtas naman yung visual aids na ginamit namin noong report sa Noli Mi Tangere. Ang mismong chapter ay Chapter 32: Ang Panghugos. Syet, naaalala ko pa.

Sa edad na 28, napakarami ko nang naitago, naitapon, ngunit marami parin ang nananatili. Mahirap kasi pakawalan yung mga gamit na naging memorable naman talaga. Pero masasabi kong na-overcome ko na yung stage na sobrang sentimental ako. Malayong-malayo na talaga sa dati. Yun nga lang, it seems like I purge only to give way to future kalat. 

Sa totoo lang, hindi na ganoon kahirap para sa akin ang magtapon. Well, tinatamad lang talaga ako minsan magligpit lalo na pag limitado ang oras. Ang tendency kasi, habang nagliligpit, binabasa ko ulit yung mga papers, tinitignan ang mga gamit at nirerelive ang mga emotional associations ko sa mga bagay na ito. Parang ang bagay na background music dito ay "Before I let you go" ng Freestyle. Pero once nailagay ko na siya sa basura box, okay na ako. Kumbaga, na-imprint na sa utak at puso ko to the point na immaterial na yung mismong bagay na yun. Sa kabilang banda naman, pwedeng walang ni katiting na bahid ng drama. In short, walang dating. Walang pakiramdam. Ito na siguro yung sinasabi ni Michael Foucault about how our appreciation of things changes from one period to another.

Nalulula akong tignan ang tambak ng gamit ko. Hindi ko alam kung paano at saan ako magsisimula...at magtatapos. Pero sooner or later, kailangan ko rin itong gawin. Exciting rin naman ang buong proseso ng purging. Pagkatapos kasi ng nostalgia, clarity naman. Bukod sa na-iimbentaryo ang mga bagay na mahalaga at hindi mahalaga (including the unnecessary emotional association a.k.a. memory for memory's sake), literal na nagiging klaro ang mga cabinet at boxes. Lumuluwang ang espasyo. Magaan sa mata, magaan sa pakiramdam.

After 30 years, somebody answers for Maggie May

On the right corner: Rod Stewart with Maggie May

Oh Maggie, I wished I'd never seen your face
You made a first class fool out of me
But I'm as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart but I love you anyway 

On the left corner: Suzanne Vega with I'll never be your Maggie May

I'll never be your Maggie May
the one you loved and then forgot
I'll love you first and let you go
because it must be so
and you'll forgive or you will not 

No Man's Woman

This declaration of Sinead reminds me so much of 500 Days of Summer (2009) when Summer told Tom that she doesn't want to be anybody's girlfriend. However, in the end of the movie, she became somebody's wife.

But in 2000, Sinead did it better. And tougher.

No Man's Woman

I don't wanna be no man's woman
It don't make me happy this mantrolling
thing that you got for me so I become
no man's woman

I don't wanna be no man's woman
I've other work I want to get done
I haven't travelled this far to become
no man's woman
no man's woman

Cuz I'm tired of it
and I'm so scared of it
that I'll never trust again
cuz a man can fake you
take your soul and make you
miserable in so much pain

My friends think I'm alone but I've got secrets
I don't tell everything about the love I get
I got a lovin' man but he's a spirit

He never does me harm never treats me bad
He'd never takes away all the love he has
and I'm forgiven oh a million times

I'm never tired of it
and I'm not scared of it
cuz it doesn't cause me pain
Like a man can fake you
take your soul and make you
never be yourself again

I never wanna be no man's woman
I only wanna be my own woman
I haven't travelled this far to become
no man's woman

On a side note, Sinead have had 4 marriages all ending in divorce. The last one ended only after 14 days.

Time zone

Because feelings change from one minute to the other.

Finally, I have corrected the time stamp of my blog!

And then you called me

I forgot all about the promise you made when you said you'd call me to prove how noisy your floor could be, and how annoyed you could get around these rowdy co-inhabitants at the second floor. It's been a month, I think. I picked up and you said, "naririnig mo?" (can you hear it?) as if I knew what exactly you were talking about.

But we love to talk. Damn, we do!

Latins and Indians

While I am on the subject of quotes, particularly that of Coelho and his universe, let me share my favorite quote from Arundhati Roy:

“The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead. To love, to be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of the life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.” - Arundhati Roy 

But I would like to clarify thus far that I am not a Coelho basher. Neither am I a Coelho fan. I actually have not read any of his novels. I just feel strongly about this quote, which is only a speck among his undeniably large body of literary work. So Choelho fans need not hate me. As a matter of fact, I find materials written by Latin authors engaging. Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende come to mind first. With the millions inspired by Coelho's novels, I am sure to find something there to inspire me, too. Plus, the likes of Fidel Castro, Che Guevarra and the Cuban people have always been an inspiration. Finally, the fangirl in me find it necessary to mention Gael Garcia Bernal. Enough said.

Going back to Roy.

I love that it embodies 99.5% of what I believe in. It exudes both strength and gentleness. At the onset, it may have the air of an existentialist. But really it comes from a woman who have gone way past existentialism into being a woman of the world. One who is romantic but never illogical, and one who is unabashedly politicized but not to the point of alienating.

Because she is the living proof of this beautiful quote, her words doesn't come off as an empty string of words nicely put together. She is an Indian woman who broke free from the historical chain of oppression. And for many years now, she's been helping others do the same for themselves. It is only through this that her own freedom will be fully realized.

I truly have a huge respect for this woman.

Curse of Coelho

‎"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Naknamputcha eh kakasabi ko lang. Power of choice nga eh. Kung tao ang universe, jinombag na niya si Paolo Coelho at ang mga naniniwala sa kasabihan niya.

The power of choice

Just when I plan to sleep early, I always end up in high spirits at my favorite hour of the day: 2am. In the the last 5 hours, I watched "The Secret" endorsed by my Yoga instructors. It's a documentary about the "Law of Attraction". Our thoughts are so powerful that instead of the concept of the universe conspiring a grand plan for us, it should actually be the reverse. The power of our thoughts command the universe in order to attract whatever it is that we want to achieve. It talked a lot about positive thinking to attract positive events. I definitely believe in the power of the mind but not really in the context of the mystic. I'm all about logic. If you allow yourself to carry a positive and brave disposition, then you are able to communicate well, excel at work, nurture relationships and love and believe in yourself. Putting the universe in the equation is refusing to accept the full credit of everything you have worked so hard for. In the same manner, blaming the universe for bad things is also a refusal to take the full blame of making bad decisions, of a failed strategy which resulted to your own misery.

But the universe, fate and god are concepts that make life easier to swallow especially when things go awry. That's human nature. Good or bad, we don't want to admit that it is our own making. Well, more of the bad. We are either too shy to fully own an achievement, or too guilty to admit to fucking things up. And so we say the universe doesn't agree or fate has a different plan, that it's not the will of god, or simply blame other people or circumstances. What we don't realize is that every single choice, thought and action are the only factors that can make or break us as a person in this world. It is our CHOICE that is the most powerful.

Back from the dead

Wow. I almost forgot about this blog. For the past year, the 2 attempts to sign in was a failure. I realized I was using the wrong e-mail address. Now, I'm back!

Napaka-trying hard blogger ko talaga.