Wheels

Life is best viewed from the top. That's why there are ferris wheels.

Yokohama Harbor

Odaiba

Fujikyu Highlands

Lullabye Me Please...

The entire night has passed by and I have yet to fall asleep (it's almost Sunday noon as I am writing this).

My head hurts like crazy and I'm in no mood to do anything but curl in bed until i cross the dark side. That I await now very, very impatiently.

I remember I used to have bouts of sleeplessness before, but those were during the most trying times of my life. Those were when problems came aplenty and sleep was but a barrier to doing the immediate solutions. It was then that I have proven that sleep-inducing medication are no match to an hyperactive brain. I tell you, I've tried them all without success.

But this time it's different. There was nothing bugging me except the desperate call for sleep to swallow me. And yup, the more I focus on it, the more difficult it seems. Darn!

* * *

I'm now listening to an internet feed of DWRR, hoping that the music will soothe my nerves and lull me to sleep. But no such luck. The corny deejay kept dishing her moronic jokes and irritates the listeners with her indulgent laughter. And everytime, after her senseless attack on the eardrums, the advertisements that follow are just as inane, inconsiderate and assaulting - they're either shouting or repetitive.

Why can't they just leave the FM airwaves to pure music?

(pic randomly lifted from the net)

WTF! Gokey is Out?

I'm mad. Very, very mad. Utterly disappointed.

America just voted Danny Gokey out of American Idol. And I know who to blame.

Paula Abdul, you screwed up. Or maybe you did it on purpose. You and the rest of the judges, were all like giggly school-girls rooting for Lambert, just like that Katy Perry who-the-hell was she?

Gokey is a balladeer - and that by now should have been crystal clear except for a dreamy judge deep on drugs (is it true what they say?). To ask him to sing a two-tone dance song on the most critical AI eve (while Cowell pushed and shoved for Lambert to sing U2), was to me plain sabotage. Unforgivable.

Nope, I am not much of a Gokey fan - my favorites have all lost steam. But if a choice was to be made between the three remaining contenders, I am pretty sure where to place my bets.

So now, Adam Lambert and Chris Allen will have to fight for AI glory. I hope Allen gets it, if only America stands up and prove that it knows its music. I've always believed AI is a singing contest, not a screaming competition. The moment Lambert gets the nod would be very, very sad (indulgent nonsense, remember?)...

At least for me. And I couldn't care less if others say otherwise.

(slowly, I am putting my last beer down....)

A Concert I'd Die To Watch

Cook and Archuleta in Manila?!!!

Somalosep! Why not last December? Or any time when I would be in the Philippines? Why oh why?!

He he. I just feel bad missing this big event. I admit these two are my favorite Idols, arguably two of the best graduates of the show. Until now, I still have their AI performances in my ipod playlist. And I have downloaded their recent tracks from all sources possible.

But that's life. Some good things are meant to be missed. Makikibalita na lang ako sa mga swerteng makakapanood.

And hopefully, both artists will stage a concert in Tokyo. While I'm here, of course.

Where Happiness Lies

"Research done in Mexico, Ghana, Sweden, the U.S. and the U.K. shows that individuals typically get richer during their lifetimes, but not happier. It is family, social and community networks that bring joy to one's life".

My sentiment exactly..

Now bring me home... :-)

full article here.

Zandra: A Model Photoshoot

It may sound to be the most defiantly unnationalistic thing to do - but we did forego Pacquaio in exchange for a model photoshoot. This was under the tutelage and direction of pro photographer Lenard Po, from whom I hoped to learn more about photography (I did, thanks Lenard!)

So while the entire Philippines and half the world were getting hoarse egging the pugilists to crush each other, we were on the other hand nonchalantly riding trains to the venue.

And there we met Zandra Fieg, an American student and part-time model. She agreed to pose for us in exchange for the photos that she could use for her portfolio.

I don't know with you, but all the fotogs there agree that she was a knock-out. Her brown-greenish eyes were so expressive and her face is classic. And above that, she was a fun subject - her impression of japanese girls floored us!


Maybe, missing the very moment Paquiao brought Hatton to sleep wasn't really that bad afterall. :-)


More of her here.

Out of the Frying Pan?

I had the chance to chat with a Filipino priest during my recent visit to Korea. He said that in one of the parishes where he celebrates mass, ninety-nine percent of the flock are women.

Asked where the church is, he said it's near a US Military Base and the nightlife area.

Further conversation confirmed a previous information I received that many of our women are now "touring" Korea. Apparently, majority of them are former "japayukis", who had to find work after the government decided to stop the deployment of performing artists to Japan.

The priest's account also reminded me of one time when a Filipina "mama-san" claimed that her former wards who transfered to Korea experienced working conditions far hellish than Japan's as pictured. Of course, I wouldn't know how valid the assertion was, but if my few visits to "omises" would be my gauge, I saw indeed, that Japanese men were usually just having fun singing while the ladies serve them wine. But accounts in Korea say that the treatment they get from the locals and the foreign military personnel is different.

All these are hearsay of course, and I hope that government will address this issue soonest. If indeed we tried to protect our women in Japan, it would be sad to find one that we actually brought them out of the frying pan and into the fire.

(May we, laborers, have a fruitful observation of our Day.)

(pic freely lifted from the web)