"It's a damned shame that bands don't make the effort these days to have a good horn section."

...THUS says a a certain "vlunney" who commented on this video of the band Tower of Power (T.O.P.) performing their song "How Could This Happen to Me".  I happen to agree with this person, and in fact, I believe anybody who's listened to a T.O.P. album will understand where we are coming from.

          Horns add dimension, refinement and depth to any musical act.  The best bands that I know of (or, more accurately, my favorite bands) always have them incorporated in their performances - whether they are recording in a studio or performing live.  The great Steely Dan has them in its multi-dimensional repertoire.  Earth, Wind and Fire has successfully and expertly blended them with their disco tunes and ballads at the height of their fame.  And even the very modern and experimental artist Beck (whom I also admire) has a formidable horn section.

          But as far as horns go, T.O.P. are the undisputed masters of brass.  Prior to my discovery of Steely Dan, this band was my top favorite from the 70's era.  These guys have funk, soul, and power in their music - a combination I previously didn't think was possible for any one band, more particularly on the power aspect.  Most horn-intensive acts "cheat" and give the illusion of power by simply increasing their volume by means of sound engineering.  T.O.P., on the other hand, sounds as good in live performances as they are in studio recordings (i.e. if the numerous amateur videos of their live performances are of any indication).  Their sound is very fine, and the brassy music resonates in you.  That's real power.

          I first came across them through my younger cousin, Anchot (who, for someone born well into the 80s, knows a lot of excellent 70's artists.)  Their songs "You're Still a Young Man" and "So Very Hard to Go" struck a chord in me, and I immediately set off to know more about this band and finally ended up buying their "Best of..." compilation.  I wasn't disappointed, because all the songs were excellent, and well worth the hefty price tag.

          Now, this was at a time when I was naive enough to think that any song not included in a band's "Best of..." compilation probably wasn't that good.  Years later I was pleasantly surprised to hear "How Could This Happen to Me" on the radio.  "Surprised" because this song was not included in the compilation, and it was just as good if not better than some songs there.  And so I came to the conclusion that, just like Steely Dan, T.O.P. is one of those bands where you'd end up buying the entire boxed set of their albums because a "Best of..." compilation never fully captures the immensity of their greatness.

= = = = = = = = = =
photo credits:

http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drum10/davidgaribalditower.jpg

http://www.dwightmccann.com/Images/TOP02082007/TowerOfPower394.JPG

http://www.chrisfromcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/tower.jpg

From Finger-hoffer's Blog, dated September 26, 2008

Deer Blog,

          Sabi ni Kotz Frans nung Monday, we are backed in a corners kaya kailangan meron kaming bagong gameplan for game 2.  Pikunin daw namin sila, asar-asarin basta kahit anong trashtalk para mawala consentrasion nila ...lalo na yang si Rabeh Al-Sashimi saka si Chris Tiu.  Sabi ko nga, "Kotz, how can we trashtalks Chris Tiu?  Meron bang mapipintas sa kanya?  And I doesn't know how to spokening Chinese."  Hindi sumagot si Kotz, nagtinginan lang sila ni Assistant Kotz Jack tapos parehong umiling.  I dont understood why.

          Bumulong sa akin si Jayvee.  Tigilan ko na raw yung mga inane na hirit ko kasi yun daw ang reason kung bakit hindi ako sinasama sa pers five ni Kotz.  Paano nangyari yun, eh di ko nga alam ibig sabihin ng "inane".  Tinanong ko si Walsham kung ano ang "inane".  Sabi niya yun daw ang kinukulong sa mental.  Ip dats true, dapat si David Joshua ang inane. Siya kasi ang pinaka-mukhang abnoy sa amin eh.

          Enyway, sabi rin ni Kots na mas sikipan daw namin ang fool court depense namin, and it bored fruits naman kasi nag dalawang early poul si Al-Sashimi.  Kaso di namin alam na maganda ang ipapakita ni Baldos saka si Jobe Mangkokolam. Pero we never gives up, basta kung kailangan hampasin yung kamay ni Reyes, Eskweta at Salamat para maagaw ang bola, gawin daw namin.  Kung pumito yung referee ng poul, umarte daw kami na kunwari prustreyted kami, gaya ng ginagawa ni Assistant Kotz Jack.  (Assistant Kotz Jack, ip your reading this, belated happy condolence nga pala.)

          It's beened 24 hours and hindi pa din ako nakaka sleep.  I'm reely hurts kasi hindi naman talaga ako nag derty pinger pero tinawagan ako ng second tecnical poul.  Na-eject tuloy ako.  Hindi naman masama yung ginawa ko ah.  Sabi ni sir Tony Atayde, ang meedle pinger na nakataas, ibig sabihin "Animo La Salle, We are number 1".  I olweys see him doing dat tuwing kinakausap niya yung reperees.  Parehong kamay pa nga eh.  (Next time I will told sir Tony na isang kamay na lang ang gamitin niya.  Kasi I realized kung boat hands ang gamit niya, it meens "We are number 2."  Isn't I smart?)

          Dinadaan ko na lang sa blog ang sama ng loob ko kasi feeling ko talaga dis year we are the championship again.  Ito na siguro ang pinakamahabang nasulat ko sa buong buhay ko.  As a mater op pact, kahit mga essay ko sa scool hindi umaabot ng ganito kahaba.

          Ayoko na.  I'm tired na talaga.  I'm tired nang ma-emmbbarrassedd (dinoble ko yung konsonants kasi di ko sigurado spelling) dahil lagi na lang ako pinapakain ni Baculao ng bola.  Nakakahiya sa isponsors ko na Adidas saka Nike dahil ang pogi ko sa posters nila pero supalpal naman ako ebery time sa kanya.  I hates him!  (Pati nga si Buenafe nasupalpal ako. I hates him too!)

          I'm siriusly considering na mag-PBA na lang ako.  Baka wala na si Baculao pagdating ko doon.  Hindi na rin kasi nagkakasya sa pamily ko sa Mindoro yung P200 monthly sponsorship fee sa akin ng Nike saka Adidas (combined na yun.).  Nagiging milyonaryo daw ang mga player sa PBA.  Asan kaya ang Job Fare nila?  Gusto ko kasi mag-apply.

          Hanggang dito na lang.  Sana makatulog na ako.


Love,

Rico

P.S.  Napanood ko yung replay ng game.  I'm still froud of my team kahit natalo kami.  Kaso lang ang pangit talaga ng halftime cheering namin.  Bakit kasi hinayaan nilang magsayaw si Chokoleit doon sa gitna?  Ang sagwa talaga.

Cafe Ten Titas

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Asian
Location:	Gateway Mall, Cubao, Quezon City

Tine and I dined in this small restaurant at the third floor of Gateway Mall right after the Ateneo-UE semifinals game two weeks ago. All the more established restaurants like Burgoo and Cibo were packed, and so we took our chances with this one, in which neither of us have dined before.

The official word is that the restaurant serves Filipino cuisine. A perusal of the menu actually reveals that they offer Modern Filipino cuisine, with some infusion of other Asian styles. They even had funny and creative names for most of their dishes.

The waitresses were polite and attentive enough, and the food was served within a reasonable amount of time. Tine and I ordered Crab Meat Soup, Aligue Fried Rice, Gambas with Sausage, and Lechon Kawali. The food, I'm happy to say, and I dare say, is 5-star quality - The presentation was superb, the aroma was very appetizing, and the taste was great.

Everything amounted to around P750, expensive by my standards but the dining experience was definitely worth every peso. I highly recommend this place.

Bonfire na!!!

           I finally witnessed Team Ateneo winning the UAAP Championship live.  Hooray!

          Back in 2002, I had to content myself with watching the game in Moro due to the fact that I wasn't able to secure a ticket.  Araneta typically releases SRO tickets on the actual game date, and at that time I should have realized that the tickets would run out faster.  This time, I vowed not to make the same mistake and woke up early.  I arrived at Araneta around 8am today, and promptly fell in line with about a hundred people ahead of me. 

          My major mistake was my failure to eat breakfast before falling in line.  (I last ate a full meal 8pm the night before.)  You see, they were only selling Gen. Ad. tickets and we were forced to enter the premises after getting the ticket (with the condition that re-entries were not allowed).  It took 4 hours before I got to enter the venue, and another 4 hours before the game began.  Sure there was food sold inside, but they were overpriced (and if you know me, I only buy expensive food if the taste is worth it...which unfortunately, can not be said for the food sold in Araneta.)

          So there I was, starved for 8 hours and surrounded by Chris Tiu fangirls in the Gen Ad section.  I can't complain though.  A lot of those fangirls look great ...in a Nabokovian context (hehe, eeevil! )  Seriously, is it just me or have college girls gotten hotter since my time?

          Anyway, a really nice thing happened today.  I met up with my "Get That Ball" buddy Paolo Gillego, with whom I spent a lot of UAAP wars in the past, cheering our throats hoarse until until our heads hurt badly from the effort.  He introduced two of his female friends to me - Aga (a former schoolmate in UP law, I found out) and Carol (a former Guidon reporter).  Both were from ADMU batch '97.  Paolo unfortunately had to leave us in the Gen. Ad. section because he had to accompany his future father-in-law in the Lower Box.  That means I was left with my two new acquaintances.  But it was ok, they were nice to be with.

          It turns out that Aga was engaged in a continuous texting effort to get better tickets while we were already seated, and was actually able to have someone secure Upper B tickets for her right before the jump ball.  She was supposed to get tickets for herself and Carol only, but since she felt particularly generous (or she might have taken pity on me ) she asked her contact to get one more ticket for me.  (Yeheey!)  The best part of that is, it didn't cost me anything!  (Yeheey again!)

          And so, upon confirmation of the existence of our tickets, the three of us made the seemingly-ridiculous scene of leaving our "good" Gen Ad seats (which we have been occupying for about 3 hours) just when the game was about to begin.  We found good seats very near the DLSU side.  Actually, we were already in the DLSU side because, for some reason, DLSU fans were vastly outnumbered today.  The audience was around 65-70% Ateneo supporters.

          It was a good thing that DLSU gave a good fight and actually got us scared a number of times.  It made the victory all the more sweeter.  Aga and Carol proved to be formidable cheerers and we three had a great time shouting and cheering for Team Ateneo (and jeering the Greenies). 

          And when it became apparent that Ateneo was going to win, all hell broke loose.  I actually needed some space to run around, shout, and flail my arms over my head and so I did just that.    I went up to the walkway between the Gen Ad and Upper B sections and I ran around like a madman.  The last time I did this sort of thing was when Gec Chia made that miracle shot back in 2002 against UE.  It was at this point where I completely forgot about my hunger and soaked in all the great feeling of witnessing the Blue Eagles become champions.

= = = = = = = = = =

          It was only later, when I was having a hard time going home when I realized that a full 24 hours have passed without me having anything to eat.  I was craving for Taco Bell but the entire Gateway Mall was packed with ADMU and DLSU fans, and so I ended up in Goldilocks in Farmers' Plaza where I consumed Fresh Lumpia and Bola-bola Siopao.  Going back to Gateway where I intended to hail a cab, I noticed that Taco Bell had almost no more customers, and so I had a second dinner, hehe.

= = = = = = = = = =

          What a day!  I'm happy I came to watch.  I'm happy I met up with Paolo again after a long time.  I'm happy to meet two new friends both of whom I will never forget for as long as I live.  And I'm happy that the Blue Eagles finished the job!  Thank you for the great memories!

          One Big Fight!

The State of Philippine Education

THERE'S nothing more pitiful than seeing the deplorable state of Philippine education broadcast nationwide by ABS-CBN.  No, it's not due to an investigative report.  It's from an unlikely source - a noontime gameshow.

"Game Ka Na Ba?" hosted by Edu Manzano is admittedly one of my favorite local shows owing to the fact that it is a gameshow that does not exploit the poor - very much unlike GMA-7's "Eat Bulaga", or worse, Willie Revillame's "Wowowee" also in ABS-CBN.  Anyway...

Earlier today, I tuned in to GKNB and here was what I witnessed:

Almost all of the contestants were teachers, with matching uniforms (the show apparently has a regular "theme day" where there is something common in all contestants.)  The first round is designed to be the easiest, wherein Edu will ask giveaway questions in order for the lucky contestants picked from the crown to proceed to the next round.

What happened instead was that a LOT of teacher-contestants got eliminated in this round.  I watch this show almost everyday, and I'm telling you, it's difficult for someone to be eliminated in the first round.  For example: "Ano sa Inggles ang pinsang-buo?"   Easy enough, right?  For us maybe, but for one teacher she had a stumped look that made it painfully obvious she has never encountered the term "first cousin" in her life.

Here's another one.  A middle-aged teacher was asked "Anong buwan sa kalendaryo kung ang okasyon ay New Year's Eve?"  It is worth noting that Edu emphasized the word "eve", with matching facial expression.  The teacher took around 3 seconds to think (the time limit was 5 seconds) and said unsurely, "January?"

I would understand if these contestants were of the Eat Bulaga or Wowowee variety, but these are teachers who educate children. 

If you are a teacher, there's an expectation that you are at least more knowledgeable about general information than a lay person - and it does not really matter what subject you teach.  That's why it's really disappointing to hear one give the answer "Middle East?" to the question, "Saang kontinente matatagpuan ang Sahara Desert?"

It's not funny, and Edu, to his credit, did not rub it in (as he usually does whenever a contestant makes a mistake.)  It was really sad to see those teachers do their "walk of shame" when exiting the stage.  You could see the pained embarrassment in their faces after failing to answer very-easy-are-you-f*cking-kidding-me?-giveaway questions.

So there you have it, the state of Philippine education exposed by a gameshow (and not some self-serving, awards-craving investigative report.)

Oh by the way, did I mention that the contestants were private school teachers?









= = = = = = = = = =

photo credit: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a196/kren2/tv3.jpg

Comics

TAKING advantage of my few days off work, I figured I could use some of my free time by keeping myself updated on the developments in the Marvel and DC universes  (well, mostly Marvel).  It's been quite a while since I last read a genuine superhero comic book (the last I've read completely was The Age of Apocalypse), and so I indulged myself in this form of juvenile entertainment.

          At the risk of incriminating myself, I'd rather refrain from revealing my source for these voluminous comic books.  But suffice to say, my source enabled me to read the storylines that I wasn't able to follow even during my highschool and gradeschool days.  A case in point:  I've always wondered what exactly happened during the Infinity Gauntlet series when Thanos took possession of the Infinity Gems and gained omnipotence.  Now I know.    It was a series that wasn't too kind to the X-Men, what with Wolverine's adamantium skeleton being turned into rubber, or Cyclops' head being encased in a force cube, subsequently suffocating him until he dies.   And of course, who among the Earth-bound heroes miraculously survives everything after everyone else has fallen? - Captain America.  (Ugh.)

          I've also come across two storylines from Marvel that had the most impact in recent years.  The "House of M" and Civil War.  House of M follows an old Marvel formula of creating alternate histories arising from momentous, reality-shattering events.  In this case, it was the the deranged Scarlet Witch' reality-warping powers that enabled her change everything in such a way that mutants are the dominant race, and homo sapiens are a dying breed in a world ruled by Magneto.  It would have been an exciting read were it not for the fact that we've seen this sort of thing before.  At the end of it, something is bound to be done to correct the mistake and the "normal" reality once again takes place.

          Civil War is a refreshing storyline in that, while the conflict is all-encompassing, there is no resort at all to reality tampering-or time travelling.  It is also highly-political in it's approach where the world's superheroes are evenly divided in the middle between two opposing factions - one side led by Iron Man supports the government initiative of having anyone with superhuman abilities register themselves in order to be regulated state.  The other side is led by Captain America, who decries the initiative as a violation of their civil liberties.  The unfortunate conclusion of this is that the pro-registration forces won, and Captain America was later on assassinated while awaiting trial for treason.  I'm thinking that Marvel devised the Civil War plot to bring a semblance of order in their superhero universe - what with the sheer volume of super-powered beings they have produced.

          The only thing from DC that I found pleasurable to read was "Red Son" from their Elseworlds line.  In the storyline, they had the baby Superman crash-land in the Soviet Union instead of the United States.  That means Superman grew up in a farm collective, and being educated with Communist ideology.  I won't give much of the story away, except that it had a very interesting twist in the end (think along the lines of Groundhog Day - except that this one spans millenia.)

          "Death in the Family", also by DC, was a disappointment.  I was expecting more from the story (if not the artwork) becuase this was reputedly one of the most momentous events in Batman's history - where the second Robin, Jason Todd, is murdered by the Joker.  There was too little drama where there should have, and it even this bizaare ending where Joker was employed by Iran to be their United Nations ambassador.  I think I'll stick to "The Dark Knight Returns".

          Currently, I'm reading up on "Origin", which finally reveals Wolverine's origins, and how his claws first emerged in his early years.  It's interesting reading, and the artwork is superb.  For decades, the early years of Wolverine has been Marvel's best-kept ace in the sleeve.  How this will impact Wolverine's future marketability remains to be seen.

          There's a lot more out there that I'd like to read up on.  Fortunately, I have the time.

10 Years Ago today

10 years ago today would have been a Thursday.

It would have been near the close of the first semester of school year 1998-1999 during senior year in college.

I would have weighed around only 140 pounds, with a waistline that never went beyond 30 inches.  I would have remembered that the year before, it was only 28 inches, when I experimented with a vegetarian diet.

I would have woken up late, and possibly missed my first class for the day - either Bobby Guev's Theology of Liberation, or the History of Psychology under a teacher whose first name is "Gerry".

Having gone to school, I would have gone straight to the ACMG-Kaingin-LiKaS-Musmos Room in Colayco Hall, when it still existed.  I would have heard the Eucharistic song practices of ACMG members (many of whom were gay), the boisterous jokes of the Kaingin boys (most of which were green), the not-so boisterous huddles of Musmos (a number of whom were rather portly), and of course the wholesome chatter of my fellow LiKaS people (many of whom were Biology majors.  But I wasn't.)

It would have been the FInal 4 season in the UAAP, but most people in school wouldn't have really cared because at that time, the old Blue and White wasn't a basketball powerhouse yet.  (It would have been the final year of what Atenean basketball enthusiasts would later on refer to as "the dark ages".)

Visiting Austrian Professor Clemens Sedmak (from the University of Innsbruck) would have been my Philosophy of Religion teacher, and I would have thoroughly enjoyed his lectures - even though I would not have understood a good one-half of the discussions.

The Eraserheads would have still been popular at that time, but they would have also been undergoing the slow denouement that characterized their later years.  But I would not have really cared because I never was an Eraserheads fan.  This would have also been at a time when I was a sucker for 70s and 80s senti songs, which I would have pirated using cassette tapes.  (During that time, CD burning was almost unheard of.)  

This being the day before Friday, I would have earnestly anticipated the weekend - Friday being almost always reserved for some org activity or what was known then as "Coffee Nights" at Beanhoppers.  (Ah, "Beanhoppers", that's one name I haven't heard in a looooong while.)  And this anticipation would have rendered my afternoon classes a dreadful bore.

I would have spent the early hours of the evening hanging out in school or in McDonald's Katipunan, because for some reason I did not like going home early.  Speaking of McDonald's, I would have ordered my favorite meal which was the Cheese Burger meal.  And it would have cost the astonishingly low price of P50.00.

Going home, I would have ridden one of the jeeps that plied the UP-Katipunan route.  If one was not available under the overpass, opposite National Bookstore, I would have walked all the way to the jeepney terminal near Aurora Boulevard.  I would have gotten off at Nawasa, and walked towards the jeepney stop in front of Vinzons Hall in UP.  

I would have taken another jeep going to Philcoa, where I would have finally ridden a bus up until the Batasan stop in Commonwealth Avenue.  There would still have been a lot of tricycles that could take me inside the subdivision I live in.  But since this would have been at a time when I still had an inexhaustible amount of energy to burn, I would have just walked until I reached my house.

Lying on my bed at midnight, I would have wondered what I would be like 10 years from September 3, 1998.