Doo bee doo bee doo… August 27, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Reviews.add a comment
For the lyrics and tabs: http://www.tabs-database.com/48065.Kamikazee%20-%20Doo%20Bidoo%20Tab.html
For the Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHRxCjDN1Bs
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Kamikazee sure knows how to push the envelope. The band’s cover of Apo Hiking Society’s Doo BiDoo is currently circulating in FM radio, and is one of a few notable songs (Orange and Lemon’s cover of Yakap sa Dilim is another one) in a rather half full half-empty tribute album “Kami nAPO Muna.”
Kamikazee’s version strays far from the original in terms of approach and execution. The original by Apo was done in a laid back, harmonious (albeit quite chirpy), rythmic manner which was for all intents and purposes a song about making songs with one’s friends on a lazy weekend. On the other hand, Kazee’s was a trash-punk piece of chaos and notoreity. And compared to Apo’s original meaning, this one’s about making songs with one’s friends on a lazy weekend WHILE YOU AND YOUR CLICK ARE HIGH ON MARIJUANA! Or atleast that’s how I process it… and I like it =)
Kamikazee goes back to their punk roots on this one… Jay’s “Doo bidoo” shouts reminds me of the days when they were UP Diliman’s most notorious college band as their acts were full of expletives, references to vaginas and penises (especially Ariel Rivera’s)… and they’d rock the Sunken Garden even though they were the last band for the night and it was 4am.
I just saw the video and it was the first mtv I laughed at since Eminem and his crew, D12 (well they are…), released the video of “My Band.” The video for Doo Bidoo had all the elements of “low budget local” videos (cheap props, cheap camera, repetitive camera angles) but that didn’t stop it from becoming the gem that it is. In fact it was funny and entertaining because it was very low budget. With little gimmick and props the band used themselves. It starts with the front man in a stupid look shouting “Eto na!” then two guys pop into the frame also with the same stupid look and they also shout “Eto na!” and the last 2 members of the band pop up and follow suit.
Masters of double meaning… Kamikazee used an american indian concept to get away with tons of references to pot use in both the video and the song. Smoke filled rituals were on the video… and the band members really looked like they were getting high on the smoke.
The funiest thing about it is that I don’t think any moralista would dare censure the song or the video… because the original was a timeless piece by a legendary group in Philippine music and Kamikazee’s version had lyrics that stayed true to the first
On the Da Vinci Code (finally) August 13, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Musings / Random Thoughts, Reviews.add a comment
One night at a local Booksale outlet I had tumbled across Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum which was priced at a lowly Php 95.00. Always the thrifty book collector, I purchased the book. I’ve been curious about his work, ever since I saw his books besides Coelho’s, which a few friends of mine liked. To my dreaded surprise, Pendulum was about the templar knights, and more. Hmmm… Haven’t I been a little disjointed about the controversial The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown?
I wanted to write a kind of review/reaction on the Da Vinci Code for a while now, not because I find it a fascinating read, but that I find it strange that a lot of people are affected by it. I guess in our country, majority of the people do not know the Templar stories… and Dan Brown’s “revelations” are very intriguing to a lot of Filipino Catholics, most of which have not taken a critical examination of their faith, or carry the skepticism left by the demonization of Spanish Friars in Rizal’s novels (which we are forced to read in secondary school as part of our academic readings).
Filipinos, you see, are a people with a great interest in rumor… Too much interest that we have Showbiz tabloid shows (which is much more vulgar than anything E! can throw) on two consecutive days. The problem is, as a rule of thumb, we have this uncanny principle to believe that a rumor exists because there is always some truth in it. There are almost no false rumors in the Philippines, every famous movie star has a sex scandal video, and our actresses regularly go to the USA to get abortions.
But I’m going off topic. What I wanted to point out was that some people have been heavily influenced by watching The Da Vinci Code, the tindera at our pharmacy being one of them. But before the code, they were the type of Catholics that say amen to everything the priests say… or as I had (somewhat?) said in an intellectual discussion with some of my renegade friends in college at the tambayan (or the CASAA), these are the faithful zombies. These people, who go to church at Sunday because the catholic church said so, who pray the rosary during October because the church said so, follows and adheres to catholic dogma and traditions because the church said so… without questioning and without thinking. They believe that religion and faith are the same… and the traditions should not be questioned as doing such would be heresy. They were either very devote or very lukewarm religiously, because their beliefs were imposed on them by family, society, fate, and history.
Thus, when a big thing like Dan Brown’s the Da Vinci Code creates some buzz because it challenges their concept and beliefs on religion… It becomes something like Marx’s Das Kapital. They don’t call for outright liberation from Catholic thought, but they begin to challenge it… albeit with little intelligence involved. I have been tired of telling some people that The Da Vinci Code is classified under FIction, because a few people I know have taken Brown’s inane rantings and almost abusrd (cabalistic?) reasoning and relationship fishing as fact. I never thought the novel could be significant enough to challenge one’s faith (or lack thereof) but I have observed that mere mention of the extra hand at Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting can evoke forceful reactions from these faithful zombies.
I have seen more fact about the Templar Knights, Freemasonry, the Rosicrucians (simply put, something like relatives of the templars…) in Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum but Eco’s work never achieved the media and religious hoopla that The Da Vinci Code had. This and wikipedia-ing Dan Brown’s biography has led me to the conclusion that Brown’s just in it for controversy, fame ( infamy) and of course money. He’s as legit on the subject as Vanilla Ice is as legit a rapper, incidentally both have had short musical careers (Dan Brown released two musical albums, one of which had the songs “Happy Frogs” and “Suzuki Elephants” – how legit is that?). One of the things that threw me off from liking The Da Vinci Code was his dramatic ramblings about the sacred feminine… borderline fanaticism on his “consequential” factoids similar to the paranoia of Mel Gibson’s character in Conspiracy Theory, to show that he came up with some research to back up his novel (and wikipedia hints that he might have had alot of help on the research). What he presented was anything but new and had been written in countless works both fiction and non-fiction. I even watched some of it on a Discovery Channel documentary on the Templar Knights when I was in high school (afterwhich I created my first email address , inspired by templar lore: soultemplar@yahoo.com – it doesn’t work anymore). The million dollars and a movie deal difference though, was his sensationalist writing style, the book read like a tabloid on the history of the Catholic Church. And again incidentally, he lived in Hollywood from 1991-93, so Mr. Brown’s sensationalism should have been nurtured by Lala land. In showbiz controversy sells and Brown used that in his 4th book.
And by the way, for all the reason’s wrong and right, Eco did reveal that the Templars kissed each others asses during initiations… Following Dan Brown’s reasoning on one of my favorite subjects: wrestling, it is my theory that Mr. McMahon knew that, was an astute follower of (maybe he is a freemason?) and wanted to inculcate the templars’ teachings… so he formed the Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club. And maybe,just maybe, the WWE was founded by the Templar Knights… =P
Malen’s – Revolutionary Cuisine June 24, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Cavite Adventures, Reviews.4 comments
In the coastal town of Noveleta, there is an old restaurant in a new building. A few meters from the McDonalds outlet in the town proper, there is a single storey structure near the bridge, with simple transparent glass outer walls and plain white inner walls having some wooden architectural touches, and cars crowding the front parking lot.That's the view you'd see outside Malen's new location. Once inside, the place is like a museum, old swords, revolvers, army gear, medals, newspaper about the wars, and countless other war memorabilia adorn the glass cabinets and walls of one of the food wonders of Cavite I recently discovered.
Malen's in Noveleta, Cavite is a Katagalugan history themed restaurant that serves great Filipino food and for some strange reason, pasta. The interior of the restaurant chronicles the history of our country like it was a hall ripped out of the national museum. Artifacts from the Philippine Revolution to the second world war are everywhere. The ambiance is like Max's, but with a revolutionary twist and the Filipiniana and chicken references stripped down.
The menu is also revolutionary, literally! A quick glance of the menu would have you wide eyed and thinking about their Revolutionary themed meals: Kaldereta ni Sakay, Menudo Ricarte, Revolucionario, Propagandista, Filibustero, Armas blancas (the invisible man – like the vertigo comic book), independencia, Filipino Cowboy pork chops, Filipino Warrior pork ribs… and more. Revolutionary twists on Filipino delicacies. They serve good pasta, but these babies take pinoy cooking to a whole new level.
Unfortunately I have only been here once (due to my hectic schedule), we ordered their Kare-kare and roast beef (I forgot the "Revolutionary term" for them). for drinks we had green tea which tasted quite funny but nonetheless tasted good. The price is typical for a mid-market fine dining resto, the meals are priced from around 90 pesos to 200. The roast beef is at par with Dad's and Cravings, it was soft, mildly cooked, with a gravy sauce which didn't overpower the taste of the beef.
However, the one thing I loved about the resto is their kare-kare. The Kare-kare is sooo tasty I swear I haven't eaten such great kare-kare as theirs. For you non-Filipinos, Kare-kare is a soup based viand. The common ingredients are pork, sometimes pork intestines and other innards which I do not think icky American's would try, some green veggies, with the soup based on ground peanuts. The orange coloured soup is poured onto rice, and the meat is dipped in shrimp paste (the infamously smelly Bagoong) Normally the soup is thin, but Malen's version is quite thick with probably powdered peanuts and one can't get enough the rich peanut taste. I can eat rice with only the sauce and bagoong and I'd be in gastronomic heaven =)
There are a lot more revolutionary cooking which I plan to try on my future visits to Malen's and I'm planning to go back soon and try something new, for those people trying to find an interesting affordable fine-dining restaurant in Cavite (and you're bored with Max's hehe) I suggest you check this place out. They are open Tuesdays to Sundays I think from 10 am till 10pm.
X3 Marks the Spot, Finally! June 3, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Reviews.add a comment
Surprised with the story, I really was.
I didn't like the first x-men movie, in fact I can bluntly say that it was a very big disappointment, which thankfully, I didn't waste my lunch money for due to warnings from x-men fans all over the net. I did get to see the movie on VCD though (which confirmed the bad reviews), before X2 was released in the theatres. only the sexy Mystique was worth watching in X1. X2 was a little better than the first movie, the kid mutants were used more in the story, especially Pyro who was portrayed as a freak in the comics but had a make-over as an angstful teenager (and who isn't) which any teenager with problems (again who doesn't) would identify with. I expected little on the third movie, especially after the crap that was Spidey 2 and in fact I didn't even plan to watch it in the movie house.
Now I'm going to discuss the movie series before I bore you with my nostalgic thoughts.
(Spoiler alert, if you haven't watched the movie and you plan to, read no further)
Last Friday night, I was tired and resting at home when I got a text message and then a call from a friend, I was bored and had nothing to do so we went and watched it. I was really shocked that Marvel had the balls to come up with the story for X-Men III: The Last Stand. True to the title, the movie had the story that ended the X-Men Professor X vs Magneto universe. All the boring inactivity which killed X1 and X2 were trimmed-skin head trimmed- in X3. In fact I think that X3 is more similar in structure to the Blade movie series. The plot of the movie revolved around the discovery and application of a cure for mutation (which was processed from the cells of a mutant who had the incredible but uncontrollable power to remove mutant powers and mutations in general if a mutant gets near him) similar to the Silver Nitrate and UV rounds in Underworld.
Marvel didn't spare the most popular characters from being killed! Main characters in the x-men universe died left and right in the movie like they were extras in a Tarantino film.
Cyclops was the first casualty… he was smoked by his beloved Jean, who was possessed by her powerful subconscious (can the subconscious possess the conscious… more philosophical debate may be needed) the Dark Phoenix. Then Jean goes to kill Xavier with her mutant powers fully unleashed… Even Prof. baldy (and a dumbstruck Magneto) with all his power can't prevent Jean Grey from turning him into mutant juice, literally liquefying Xavier’s frail body. Wolverine had a killing fest as he invaded the rebel mutant camp run by Magneto… No blood and gore though as the producers deliberately shunned away from making this movie a slasher flick. Mystique was turned to human as she was hit by a dart containing mutant cure serum… so we get a peek at Rebecca Romjin ex Stamos lovely naked figure – for the first time in the movie without the blue make-up. Juggernaut even made an appearance, and parodied Dave Chappelle with the line “Do you know who I am? I’m Juggernaught, Bitch!” which got me laughing (I think I’m only the one in the movie house that did). Lots of mutants were included in the movie, like Colossus, Shadow Cat, Ice Man, Angel, Beast (is this the first time he appeared in the movie series?), Multiple Man (but he was a villain in the movie) as well as introducing some mutants with interesting abilities I never heard or read of. Night crawler, the German teleporter/gymnast in X2 that almost killed the president wasn’t included in the movie though…and so was Gambit who is, in my opinion, the coolest X-men character ever created.
The climax, first with Hank McCoy/Beast stuffing Magneto with mutant cure serum, and then Wolvie using every bit of his healing ability to get near Jean/Dark Phoenix (who created a field which atomized everything that went near her), kissing her and then thrusting those adamantium blades through her gut… was just amazing! Rarely do I get to see a superhero movie that ends with superheroes getting killed (obviously because doing such will pose a lot of continuity issues and kill the movie franchise) and I salute Marvel for having the guts to end the X-Men movie franchise with their third installment.
Growing up on X June 3, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Musings / Random Thoughts, Reviews.add a comment
I've been a big fan of the comic book series, especially during my late primary schooling. My biggest collection and addiction has been the X-men and Superman comics which I've read since I was a kid. In the early 90s, Marvel trading cards were printed locally (and illegally). It became popular in the Philippines and every middle class kid was drooling over the Infinity Gauntlet, Adam Warlock, and Thanos. The children of the ninetees had a crash course on the Marvel Universe, and we knew more about superheroes than elementary Geography.
Then the X-men trading card set followed and every kid discovered Wolverine, Cyclops, Arch-Angel, Magneto, Domino (strangely there was a lot of printed Domino cards even though she was a 6 Pack/X Force minor character) and the rest of the X men family. Like every kid I wanted to be Wolverine, with the bling bling adamantium claws (beat that 50!), bad-ass looking beard, a costume which, even if it was collored yellow (nice fashion statement Logan…), was still tougher looking than Batman's armor (complete with detailed tits) and a "dont mess with me boy I'm gonna gut you" attitude.
I grew up reading the comic books, I collected the X-Men series (as opposed to the Uncanny X-men series), and it had a lot of influence in the formation of how I think. The science fiction in X-men really intrigued me, I've been interested in science since I was a toddler, and the X-men's explanations/theories on mutation, new (fictional) technologies, other planets (Shi'ar mainly), parallel dimensions, and the scientific treatment of paranormal things (such as ISP and telekinesis) amazed my young mind. My adolescence was even guided by the X-men, the "Generation X" line, which was about forming a group of young mutants which will eventually become X-men, gave me ideas (or fantasies) as to how to cope up with the problems of growing up. I was so addicted on the X-men that even now when office talk involves stories about the X men I can hear the organ heavy theme song of the cartoons in my mind (now I really dig the psychedelic new "The Batman" opening theme.)
Now that I just watched the new X-Men movie, I can't help but feel nostalgic.
Budget Internet Cards May 22, 2006
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Thanks to PLDT's very slow activation of our DSL line, I've been forced to use pre-paid dial-up cards. So far I've tried three 100 peso denomination cards, I-republic, Go!, and Edge Master, all of which have been disappointments – which even got me angrier with PLDT.
The biggest disappointment of the three was Edge Master, with two dial-up numbers which are mostly busy, frequently dropped connections, very slow internet speed, and support staff who are very incompetent technically (well atleast you can ask them for the dial-up numbers… which are not even indicated on the card!) I wanted to just shred the damn card even if it there was a free additional 25 hours after the card's credits have been spent.
I-republic and Go! could've been decent, if not for some flaws which still still frustrated me. I-republic has 30 hours worth of internet in a 100 peso card, it has three dial-up numbers, of which 2 are working but can get clogged during peak hours. The username and the password are pretty hard to type and almost impossible to remember. Once connected the speed is quite ok, in fact I use this card for chatting and playing trivia on MIRC against players w/ DSL and Wifi (I still get beaten but atleast I always have the "this is a bandwith handicap match" excuse). The biggest drawback to i-republic is the frequent disconnections… So if you are chatting and it looks like you hit the jackpot (an eb?) and then you got disconnected… all that countless minutes (hours?) of chat will be for naught (so u should ask your chatmate his or her number early… directly after the exchange of pics).
As for Go!, it is the easiest ISP to connect to, but only has one dial-up line and I've had 2 occassions that Go! (from eastern telecom) had problems with the dial-up number and they didn't have any alternates… During peak hours there have been some problems with the number being clogged but it isn't as bad as the other two. The real downside has been their limitation on bandwith. If you are an ordinary net user you wouldn't really mind it, but for us who frequently download files (and browse picture galleries…) it is a big letdown.
So what card will I recommend among the three? I really don't want to endorse any… although I would tell you to stay away from edge master. As for the other two, pick your own poison.
Now PLDT, where the fcuk's my DSL?!
