Friday, November 13, 2009
Thank God
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Superwoman
Monday, November 9, 2009
This Is It: The King Of Pop Still Reigns
When I first heard he was having a series of concerts in London, I immediately computed how much it would cost me to go there and watch him. Seriously. I was willing to go on a hunger strike if it meant being in the same city as him. And when he died, I spent the weekend holding Kleenex and watching his videos on YouTube.
Five months after his untimely death, we still can't help shaking our heads in disbelief. For those of us who had spent our formative years listening to his timeless hits and dreaming of one day seeing him perform live, his death was the death of that dream.
The first thing I did after that seeming stupor over the shock with his death, I bought the Essential Michael Jackson CD. See, we had cassettes of his songs back at my parents' house but I only have MP3s of his songs in my laptop. I had to have real, tangible CD to hold. And I made Ipe promise we would watch the This Is It footage when it is finally shown.
True to his moniker, Michael still is King. I can't help but wonder at how he had managed to keep his voice in top condition - he sounded as good as when he sang Rock Your Body. And his moves are still THE MOVES. He could clearly outdance every single dancer on his team, notwithstanding the fact that they were all probably half his age. And he was such a perfectionist - the footage showing how hands on he is, from the dance step, to the beat, to the tempo, even to how each note should sound and how each number was supposed to not just look like, but how they should feel like for each member of the audience.
He didn't compromise - in one scene for Smooth Criminal, he didn't even want hand signals from his dancers to ruin the moment (he was supposed to turn around after a clip finishes on the screen behind him); he just said, I'm gonna feel that. And that was it.
I envy that back up singer who was to duet with him on I Just Can't Stop Loving You - with MJ guiding her not just on how she should sing but also how she should act on stage.
Performance-wise, I don't think MJ aged at all. Or if he did, he aged really well, like wine getting better as it gets older. He clearly had the whole concert planned right down to the minute details in his mind. And, even after singing for more than four decades, he still sounds so good. We can't say the same for Mariah or Madonna or Whitney or Celine. They all sound tired but MJ is as alive as he ever was.
However, it didn't escape my attention that he seemed to say "God bless you" an awful lot. I can't help but think that his mind is probably altered by all those drugs or whatever it was he was taking. He almost always seemed lost in his own world or speechless, or not making much sense at all. But then, he's a consummate artist and all artists have their quirks.
Whatever it is, it cannot be denied that even in death, MJ was larger than life. WhileMiley Cyrus' Best of Both Worlds opened bigger and is the current record holder for concert films at $65 million gross, MJ is surely on track to Beat It with $57.9 million on its second weekend. And you have to argue that Miley's was meant to be shown on theaters while MJ's was just a compilation of rehearsal footage.
Now, overseas, the battle is tilted already in MJ's favor, breaking the $100 million mark last week compared to Miley's $5.4 million overseas haul. How's that for a comeback? It just goes to show that no matter how weird he may have become, or misunderstood, MJ made some of the best music in our lifetime and we would all pay with our hard earned money to see and hear him even for one last time.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Shabu Shabu addiction
I know I said I'd go on a diet but how can I, when just being Ipe's wife means eating out a lot.
A few years ago, I would never be caught dead eating sushi or anything raw. Or anything Japanese for that matter. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I deal with Japanese on a daily basis in my previous assignment that I subconsciously avoid having to deal with them with my stomach as well. And I wasn't the type who would travel all the way to Malate for gastronomic pleasure.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Review: 500 Days of Summer
It was never the same after that until they eventually break-up and Summer quits her job. Tom gets all depressed, then hopeful when Summer, thinking they could be friends again, invites him to a party at her house, only to spiral downwards after realizing the party was Summer's engagement party.
It took quite a while before Tom decides to turn his life around - he quit his job, started brushing up on his Architecture knowledge. One good advice he got unexpectedly came from his little sister, who told him "Tom, I know you think she was the one, but I don't. Next time you look back, I think you should look again"; How often that this rings true in real life, when there are telltale signs that things aren't working as well as we would like to think, we just aren't willing to accept it and would rather be oblivious.
It was also during this period that he finally got the closure he needed. It also had one of the most memorable quotes from the movie:
As he discusses aspects of their relationship and comments that Summer never wanted to be someone's girlfriend but she's now someone's wife, she replies: I just woke up one morning and I knew what I was never sure of with you.
Again, this sounds all too familiar. I remember many a time when friends would ask me how I knew Ipe was the one and I would give them the same answer: I just woke up one day and realized I want to spend my life with him. Strange but that's how it goes with love - you are never sure of it until you are sure. You just know.
Summer's reply wasn't slap in your face but it was a nonrebuttable proof that Summer was never into him. And it freed Tom enough for him to risk love again when he meets - Autumn.
The movie wasn't a tearduct exercise but it was neatly done and the storytelling offers a fresh take on an otherwise been there done that plot. And while it shifts back and forth in time, it doesn't skip a beat and lose you in the process. And Zooey was perfect - vintage beauty with just the right mix of innocence and sophistication and goofiness, and Joseph was nearly perfect as well as the puppy-eyed boyfriend.
The story doesn't sugarcoat either - it's a very realistic portrayal of relationship expectations.I particularly enjoyed the shot of Tom going up to Summer's apartment and the screen shows two different scenes - one of Tom's "expectations" of getting back with Summer and the other "reality," with him finding out that the party was for Summer's engagement.
Ipe and I both enjoyed the movie. It wasn't chick flick; it had enough smarts in it to actually make you think about relationships without being campy or cliche. We had varying opinions though on Summer. He thinks she was a mean girl who broke Tom's heart. True, Tom was really broken after the split but Summer never intended it to happen as she had been constantly reminding Tom that they weren't "together" together. Tom was probably hoping that with all the time they spent together, Summer was bound to change her beliefs and fall for him too.
In any case, the movie still had a happy ending. It was a story of boy meets girl, except that they lived happily ever after with somebody else.
Monday, November 2, 2009
A Little Vanity - Paul and Joe and Mac

their Lipglass in clear gloss. To top it all off, I also splurged on Mac's retractable lip brush. 







