did you know CORITHA???

that's my intro-question for my friends upon knowing that coritha is still very much alive and that she will perform as part of the LEGENDS SERIES of conspiracy cafe (07/22/10. 10pm). answers varied from 'what's that?' to 'what is she famous for?" (all those other types in between). as for me, she's one those few beautiful pinay voices that have molded my 'musical being' when i was a very little girl. hearing her 'sierra madre' still gives me that ever-familiar feeling of sadness and longing for some place to call 'home'.

here are some of the 'internet-generation's little known facts' that might answer all (or some) of my friends' questions about coritha (thank you http://www.coritha.com/) : did you know ---

1. that coritha is the Philippines' foremost singer-songwriter-performer, recording artist and pioneering OPM advocate? known as the PEOPLE'S SINGER, coritha's songs have stood the test of time and have touched, inspired and entertained audience in countless ways.

2. that as the world sang and partied to Al Gore's Live Earth 24-hour musical extravaganza (to combat global warming), several patriotic-earth-loving Pinoys made sure the Filipinos would not be left behind? led by her, the Filipinos' presence was felt via a music video entitled "One Earth".

3.that the song "Lolo Jose" was first submitted as an entry in a Metro Pop (that famous songwriting contest) but never made it? however, in 1982, it won two Cecil awards: 1) "Best Folk-Pop Song", 2) "Best Folk-Pop Vocal Performance."

4. that she wrote and sung her super-dooper-mega-over hit song "Sierra Madre" as her tribute to the Sierra Madre Mountains, the largest and longest mountain range in the Philippines?

5. that she was the first (musical) artist in the history of pop-pinoy music to experiment with Philippine native instruments in her music? rondalla instruments such as the Banduria, Octavina and Laud were used in the songs "Awit Kay Leandro," "Bilanggo" and one of her biggest hit songs "Oras Na".

6. that she was the first singer-performer and recording artist to work alongside blind musicians with their talents as banduria players for her live performances and recordings during the early part of her career?

7. that despite the low turn-out (of audience) of her show with the rock 70s band last night, she was ever dynamic and ever strong in her rendition of parokya ni edgar's harana, a playful mix of pinoy pop-rock bongga ka day, jeprox and beep-beep (rock 70s rocked the night with horse with no name, and smooth) and the soulful interpretation of her timeless songs- kaibigan, sierra madre, lolo jose and oras na. i was seated just few inches away from the pinay pop-rock legend and i never regretted a single moment of it.

PS. special thanks to dear friend roy llenos for footing the bill and being my as-usual 'fairy god-driver'. my!!! was i one lucky fan!

[coritha's b&w pic above is from
http://www.singerpictures.com/coritha-pictures.html]

a life in seven words

the following words and quotes are all from the book (of the same title) by carlos g. valles sj. i must have loved reading the book so much that i took time in noting these words in my diary --- my diary of more than a decade ago, which i surprisingly found in between piles of magazines i'm supposed to throw away last night...there must be reasons why i found it...and maybe this (sharing to you some) is one of them.

WORDS ... words are lovely seductress with their feminine charm and lexical elegance. they are irresitable temptress of subtle ways and hidden harmonious.

TRANSPARENCY... may it fill the air with its sound while it fills my soul  with its meaning. there is health and life and spirit and innocence in it...to be clearly and plainly what i am. without disguise, masks or cosmetics. it seems so simple. and it is so hard.

CREDIBILITY... credibility does not mean that people should believe what i say, but that they must see i believe in what i say...not to convince...but to let them see i am convinced of what i say..

CREATIVITY... that is the salt of life and the breath of the spirit. the divine touch that brings light out of darkness and order out of chaos...creativity is the divine spark in the midst of human heart.

INTIMACY... what matters in life is friendship, and the human soul rests ultimately in love...the most delicate lesson in living...is the one we are less taught.

WONDER... it is the virtue of the child. the innocence of life. the ability to see and learn, to be. the open face...the unspoilt memory...everything is new...everything is marvelous...everything is seen for the first time.

EARTH... i was an ecologist before i knew it...love of nature, neighborliness with the environment, devotion to water and caresses to rocks, reverence to mountains and contemplation of the sea were all parts of myself ever since i have known myself. mother earth. salute to the sun. friendship with the stars...citizens of the universe.

YES!... it is music on your life, it is a burst of life, it is generous and joyful expression of all that you are and want us all to be with the courageous openness and that spontaneous originality that are your own life and your gift to us all. it is a swift syllable, a sharp note, a shooting spark. it is an act of faith.

mother earth: 8 months ago i bugged you, what now my dears?

NGOfficers, students and other members of the academe gathered on November 18 and 19 at TARC Auditorium, UST, Manila to hear presentations of different resource speakers regarding Climate Change. more than 500 participants have attended the two-morning symposia, which is among the highlights of the week-long University Research Week.

lecturers (Ms. Menchie Flores-Obanil of Focus on the Global South; Mr. Larry Lohman of The Corner House; Ms. Flaviana D. Hilario Ph. D. of  PAGASA; and Lt. Gen. Ernesto G. Carolina AFP (Ret), Department of National Defense and Administration Undersecretary) shared information for the participants to learn, adopt and/or to be inspired.

that was about 8 months ago. the symposia aimed to provide information to faculty, research practitioners and students from higher education institutions on climate change and disaster preparedness and mitigation. sounds good, right?

have those 500+ participants learned something and shared it around at the least? have they adopted anything from the lectures? were they inspired? what's next? i could just imagine mother earth asking me: what now my dear? uh-oh ...

wishing he'd say goodbye to swimming... (at least for now)

it seems like just yesterday when i was home for a vacation and is lazily accompanying my boyman wowa to his swimming training. there's this 7-foot pool for pros and reserved for members of the torpedo club (gensan) and advanced swimmers that we go to almost every day. it took wowa several months to advance (others said he advanced faster than usual) and by merely watching him, you can tell he is loving the sport. his papa even spent quite a lot (membership and coaching fee, swim wear, goggles, fins, kickboard among others) of hard-earned money to support this almost-daily routine.

when i went back to manila, i was informed by wowa's doctor (bless doc sheena for being ever-so-caring) that she just checked on wowa who has been complaining of pain in the ear and that she found out that wowa had a case of ear infection. i was worried 'coz she also said she gave him antibiotics (he had just finished his round of meds for severe cough). she explained i need not worry 'coz the stronger antibiotics will do the job. in three days at most, pain will be gone but the antibiotics will be taken for a week plus a strict instruction : no swimming yet.

that was a sad news for both the father and the son. they have been trying to fix their skeds to squeeze in the beloved routine, and my my my if you could see those kids swimming, you would really feel proud and envious of their skills. they're learning discipline, they're breathing well - less asthma attacks, they're meeting new friends and they're having fun! but i myself, knowing ear infections and a worrier, had it in me (to wish)for them to say goodbye to swimming for good. ouch! was i that cruel? i guess not.

the alternative? biking! the first bike he had was when he was about three years old, and when he had to have a couple of stitches on the forehead after a minor accident, i wished then that he'd stop biking... now i'm wishing he'd return to biking (he had been saving for it, only needs few more hundreds to buy a good bike) and stop swimming. i'm one confused mama!!!

now, he has a new bike (haven't seen it yet) - his papa filled in the lacking-hundreds and bought it as a birthday gift (he turned 8, whew!).  i heard he has been biking ... few minutes in the morning  and an hour or two at sundown. both he (wowa) and his papa (jovit) doesn't say anything about going back to swimming lately--- maybe they were too sad to bring it up or... (fingerscrossed) perhaps they're weighing it against biking. ahhm lemme help, (if recreational swimming won't do 'coz it's always exciting to dive and swim real fast- haay) ---with proper protective gears, biking is a good exercise...less expensive too! now there goes my vote for now. oh, if only he would not dare go too far..haaaayyy :)

my first taste of eiga sai : GLASSES

japan foundation, shangri-la plaza and UP film institute
present this year's japanese film festival - eiga sai 2010 (in celebration of the philippine-japan friendship month). as always, my newfound movie buddy - irene sy never hesitated to inform and update and ask me to see at least one of the many japanese films to be shown from july 1st to the 11th in shangri-la cinema 4. so i did. and GLASSES (megane) there was.

'the title is a whimsical touch on a whimsical film' so i quote from the flyers given. it was only when i finished watching that i realized why 'glasses' was its english title. all the major characters (taeko: kobayashi satomi, yuji: mitsuishi ken, haruna: ichikawa mikako, yomogi: kase ryo and sakura: motai masako) wear prominent eyeglasses... they looked at the place (a small island in the south of Japan, where there's no cellphone reception) and did their 'twilighting' through it (their eyeglasses).

the story is about a stressed-out career woman who leaves her city life for an island vacation. she brought with her a suitcase of books to be read but she ended up knitting... she expected to be left alone but she ended up lovingly disturbed by the kindness, country-style warmth of the people in the beach hotel - the fresh food eaten by guests and hosts altogether, the famous shaved-ice as a pre-requisite to really being good at 'twilighting' (imho, this is their nickname for daydreaming or reflecting or meditating or just being nothing but one with the sea), the 'merci-exercise' (intriguingly funny and worth trying), and more.

while some of the audience felt the movie was boring, i enjoyed every scene. perhaps it is because i easily have placed myself as one of the characters and already imagined being there--- seeing the sea, tasting the shaved ice (with slow-cooked kidney beans beneath and sugar syrup on top), chatting with them and feeling the the peace and the mystery of it all. i'd keep sakura's words to my heart forever, remember: "it is important not to rush"...the movie was neither heavy nor light (a minimalist even) ...and should i decide to see it again, i'm sure there will still be questions that will be left unanswered in the end.

glasses (megane - japanese title) was nominated for the grand jury prize at the sundance film festival and won the manfred salzgeber award at the berlin international film festival in 2008. as for me, i'm giving the movie-glasses my 3 out of 3 shares of frozen yogurt for a score (or in case, shaved ice *winks*).

(picture from www.asianmediawiki.com and www.baf-bcn.org)

mantra: ganda-ever-so-much I AM!

i have always been a wannabe-writer. but since (then president) fidel ramos wanted me (and other iskolars ng bayan) to study economics, i did. i figured i could still be a writer (in my own time/ in my own way) and an economics professor if i so think and want it that way. 'organized' as i am (no violent reactions please), i alloted to spend some of my free time online -- sharing my thoughts (even tutoring for free) to my students and friends. i even junked my old diary and shifted to this page... and sometimes i do what teeners call "surfing". oh my, that surely beats library time!!!

one fine day, i spotted a page with a picture of someone who looked familiar. was he the manager of my bank (well, not actually MY bank, but i have an account there!)? oh yes, he is the 'orman manasala'! he was all candid in his shots and ever darlingly-frank in his words. he was all he is even when i see him in my miga anji's office.

so i 'favourited' the page and since then have been craving (pardon my word) for not just his personal thoughts but of the happenings of my ever-beloved-adopted-hometown gensan (he's the usual fairy behind the fests).

fast forward: i got to know him better and somehow up-close (as with http://www.gandaeversomuch.com/)  when his ever-active kuya avel made me an official member of the soccsksargen bloggers, even as i am miles away from gensan (hopefully temporarily). the two sure is the duo that completes the circle of gensan living (huh, that line has a spark of genius!). thanks heavens for them!

super fast forward: i intended (for days now) to make a tribute entry for the blogpage that has been amusing and informing me for so long (it's the blogoversary!!!) but so oh oh, here goes the dreaded 'block' again (excuses, excuses)... so what i did was visit the page once more...and...woot! contests to the max! prizes-ever-fabulous-to-be-given-away. what a way to celebrate! ganda-ever-orman-style! beat that!

will i join? do i know how to? oh well, tech-idiots sure do know how to find ways. now, if only this tech idiot can find a way to at least make the page orman/lyle-readable before this week's contest ends . oh well, whatever happens, as inspired by ganda-ever so much --- ganda-ever-so-much-i am! (how's that for my new mantra?)

CONGRATULATIONS GANDAEVERSOMUCH!!!

pixs you see in this entry is my weird-almost-futile-attempt to promote myself to a tech-slowlearner from a tech-idot. (doh) failed!

100 philippine pesos (US$2.2+) for today

* breakfast on impulse : baconsilog -40 php

      (bacon, fried rice and sunny side up - egg)

* lunch : oatmeal, soda crackers - 15 php

* dinner : instant pancit canton & siomai -20 php

* prepaid load - 20 php (80 short messages

       to the same network, 20 minutes airtime,

       20 sms to other networks)

* savings : 5 php (for a movie soon, i'd need 160)

       but i may be tempted to buy chocnut :)

whew! that's 100 pesos well-spent!