An Audible Dose of Nostalgia

After a long, long search, I have finally found it. Call me corny, but this is the fondest song from my childhood. I think I accidentally kicked one of my friends in the face while fooling around and hyper on this song. I also might have fallen a flight of stairs. Kids who grew up in the Philippines in the 80's, I've got a super treat for you. Put your headphones on full volume and get ready for a mega-dose of nostalgia. Press play.



And just so not to spoil the effect of the song , I'm not embedding this YouTube video as you would instantly know which song/movie it is. I'm just linking to it, if you're ready for another shot, click here. This is one of my all time favorite movies ever! My friends and I were talking about this movie for months after seeing it. Of course it was merely following a trend at the time it was released and capitalizing on the success of movies like KK and KK2. But hey! We were kids, we didn't care. Mahiwagang Gusi!

Update: A couple of people have chimed in. I guess I have to emphasize that this is for people who grew up in the 80s, not born in the 80s. Wow, now I feel old.

Beauty and Prosthetics

Before I knew of Sarah Connor or Hellboy, there was Catherine (Beauty) and Vincent (Beast). One of the first "grown-up" (i.e. none cartoon) shows I got into when I was young was the live action TV series Beauty and the Beast. I have memories of lying down at the foot of my parent's bed watching Vincent running off to save Catherine from some danger. You know, cause women are always getting into trouble, fictional or otherwise (kidding!). This show was probably one of the things that introduced me to the beauty of poetry and fostered my reverence for books. A lot of poetry and prose is entwined into the series and it seemed all the characters loved to read and were always carrying books. Those scenes under the city in the tunnels seemed to me what poetry would look like; sepia, soft focused, deep, dark and peaceful. Here's the intro to the series:



What inspired this entry is the theme song to the show. I've had The First Time I Loved Forever in my play list ever since I knew what a play list was. It was one of the first songs that went into my MP3 collection and it's never been off it ever since. Click play below to listen to the song:



I never get tired of listening to it. It was sung by Lisa Angelle. The poem read by Ron Perlman was written by E.E. Cummings, entitled Somewhere I Have Never Traveled. The song itself was written by Melanie Safka. There is an interview of her at this link where she briefly tells the experience of writing the song. She deservingly won an Emmy for it.

I guess the reason why the song recently resonated with me more than usual is the fact that our wedding anniversary is coming up (Sept 18). And to my surprise, when I was writing this and doing some fact checks, I found that the show is going to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The show premiered on September 25, 1987. Fans have put together a series of documentaries where they share their love for the show. You can find them all on YouTube, here's a link to the play list. Didn't realize that Beauty and the Beast had an annual convention.

I remember having a crush on Catherine (Linda Hamilton) at that time. See how I had to qualify that statement with "at the time"? Men, that's what being married does to you. Of course, even if I met the 1987 Linda Hamilton now, I wouldn't flinch. Cause I love my wife very much and she's way more beautiful than Linda Hamilton (now Mrs. Cameron). The fact that my wife reads this blog has nothing to do with why I felt it necessary to make that statement. Nothing at all. Honest. (*love you!*)

Hey, speaking of Hellboy, Hellboy 2 (The Golden Army) is already filming. Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair are all back. Also, according to IMDB, del Torro turned down directing Halo (offered by Peter Jackson) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince so he can direct Hellboy 2. Wow, I can't wait. Loved the first one. Guillermo has mentioned that he wanted Hellboy to be a trilogy.

When I was writing, I was thinking to myself "Ron Perlman should do book tapes". Well, apparently he's been doing that for awhile and he does a lot of voice acting too. He's done several popular DC and Marvel characters. Here's a list of his credits on Wikipedia. It's far from complete. Here's a link to Amazon.com for a list of his book tapes.

Also, remembering watching this series when I was young also brought back memories of my favorite snack: Munchies! It was made by Jack & Jill snacks, if I remember correctly. I used to go to our neighbor's sari-sari store and get it along with a Coca-cola 500ml. Of course, I didn't carry any money back them, so I just tell the person minding the store to put it on my mom's tab. My mom tells me that I use to bring all my friends at that store and get everyone something and also put it on her tab. Sometimes she tells this story fondly and other times she gives me a stare down afterwards.

Does anyone remember Munchies? It was a cheese snack, a wavy zig-zag shaped thing. I remember the pieces being big. It made Chiz Curls snackers look like wimps. I loved it! I think it was phased-out in the 90s. I wonder why. It wasn't doing well? I don't see any Munchies mutant babies around, and I'm perfectly normal (hold the objections). Hey, if some rookie working in URC food corporation is looking for a good idea to make his career, here 's one: bring back Munchies! I tried to look for relevant content on Munchies on the websternets. I was saddened to find nothing but brief mentions. I was expecting to find tribute sites and all those kinds of things. You have failed me Internet! I thought you to be the compendium of all things good in the world (as well as a generous amount of really nasty and outright horrible things).

"DAMN YOU INTERNET! DAMN YOU!!" he shouts as he shakes his fists at the computer. He runs out of the room, crying like a little girl, into the rainy dark night. After a few minutes of running (well it was actually less than a minute, cause he's fat and all that) he stops and leans against the brick facade of an old neighborhood store (it was a pizzeria, he went in that direction by instinct). He tries to catch his breath between the sobs (you know, cause it's the most work-out he's had for months). It was then that he noticed a silhouette in the dark alley beside the store walking slowly towards him. The figure is wearing a hood, which made its presence even more ominous. Fear grips him. He is frozen and too tired to run again (fat!). Just before the stranger stepped into the beam of light coming from the street light, it stops. His heartbeat skips, and his breath quickens. The figure moves and reaches inside its cloak. Light hits his face when he moves his head to gaze at the man. It is Vincent!

He looks down at the stiff and silent man cowering underneath the weight of his stare. He speaks to the man "I know what it is you're searching for." The familiarity of Vincent’s voice soothes him and he remembers to draw breath. Vincent continues "It is a hard life, living under the city. We cannot farm and grow our own food. To live the life we chose, we must forget pride. Or at least the type of pride that those who live above espouse. We scavenge. We take what the city discards, we take what you forget. So it was with what you search for. It was forgotten. Unceremoniously purged from memory. Only small voices inquired where it had gone, only small voices uttered its name. But small voices are fickle, they learn to love other things quickly and they soon forget. Thus it was for this thing, and the memory soon faded."

Listening distracts him from his fear and he manages a question, "This is how it was forgotten, but how was it lost?". Vincent answers "There was no great love among the people here for this thing even at it’s birth, when it initially came to be among you. So it was that its makers stored it away. This away place we found as it was connected to one of our passages. We waited weeks, months, for we do not take anything that might create attention. No one came, so we took a few. Still no one came. So after another long wait, we took a few more, and then again. This we did until nothing was left, but still no questions were asked and no one looked for them. It was a long while before we saw somebody again in that place. But they did not come to look for what we took. They came to store new things, new things that we did not touch for men came often to take away and store these things."

This revelation overwhelms him, he asks "So you have all the Munchies in the world?!" Vincent smirks "Look at my fingers, and my lips, they are yellow". He was shocked "I thought that was because you were the same shade as the lions of far away Africa!". Vincent laughs "My fur is naturally a darker brown, I'm just covered in cheese and that makes me look golden. We've lived off Munchies all these years. Man, I tell you. You do not want to be caught down in the tunnels at night. That's not fog you're seeing. Flatulence down there is so thick it started diffusing light.

Man: Wow, brings a whole new meaning to cutting the cheese huh?
Vincent: You're telling me.
Man: Can I have some Munchies?
Vincent: Nope, we have to ration it so that it lasts a few more years.
Man: Please!
Vincent: Well, you can lick my fur!
Man: Thanks man! You're the beast!

So what do you think? Season 4 episode?

Thank You Come Again!

I've been hearing about the Harold and Kumar sequel for awhile now and guess what?! Just came across the trailer!


If you haven't seen the first film. Here's a trailer.


Not exactly life changing films, but fun all around.

We Remember Thee Weng Weng

Omigod! This is just too cool...



I make it a point not to re-blog but this was just way too good to resist. I remember seeing the Weng-Weng movies when I was very young. It must have been on Piling Piling Pelikula (PPP) or one of movie showcases during Saturday afternoons. How wonderful is it that somebody wrote a rap and video tribute to Weng-Weng? It's just too much.

Also found that there's a bunch of other Weng-Weng clips in YouTube, here's a link.

The original post is from Boing Boing:

Weng Weng tribute rap video

Longtime BoingBoing readers will recall previous posts hereWeng Weng, the short-statured pulp action star from the Philippines who vanquished many a villain and broke many a broad's heart. about

Some guys have produced a new tribute rap video, and lo, is it awesome. Video Link.

Track credited to The Chuds, video editing credited to John R (Thanks, world-famous Canadian illustrator Graham Roumieu!).

A Validation of Truth

I'm really glad that An Inconvenient Truth won best documentary.



So go out there, get a copy (ask me about it). It has one of the most important messages you'll ever hear. Here's the trailer.



Also, I Need To Wake Up by Melissa Ethridge won best Original Song. She wrote it for An Inconvenient Truth. It is very heartfelt and a truly inspired song. I love it and hum it all the time. Give it a listen.

Melissa Ethridge - I Need To Wake Up

Getting Rid of the Old

I'm down to the last year of my 20s. I feel like I should be rushing for some deadline. I wanted to do something to calm me down. Hold your breath people this is a dozy - we went to Luneta Park. Yep, couples gone wild we are. Huddled together and sat on the grass by the Rizal Monument. Spent the day reading, watching kids play, people walking their dogs and posing for pictures in front of the monument. Nothing voyeuristic you understand. Those photographers offering to take pictures for a fee are apparently still there. They get into very spirited political discussions in between taking pictures - photographers/political pundits.

Its been long known that the QWERTY layout for keyboards is highly inefficient. The most frequently used letters are spaced out so that type bars in typewriters don't get tangled. Since we no longer mechanically hammer letters into pieces of paper, the format really no longer serves it purpose. But we still use it. Cause we're all basically whinny little kids inside. "I have to learn to type all over again?! Awww!" Honestly, I wouldn't be too excited going through the process myself. That means reverting to the chopstick style of typing again until I get a hang of it. It just bothers me in the way a painting hanging unevenly on a wall bothers me. You know, you're just aching to fix it. I'm a bit OC that way. A lot of layouts have been introduced that are supposedly more efficient. One of them is the Colemak layout, apparently better than Dvorak. Here's a link to a document discussing QWERTY and the alternatives. I didn't bother to read it, but you might :P

Who Killed the Electric Car is a documentary that shows another situation where something better is not being adapted. But in this situation, there's a little more sinister influence repressing it: Big Oil. Here's a link to the official website. Why was the EV1 discontinued in 1999 when they received such good feedback from the owners? Here's a trailer for the documentary. I've been looking for a copy in the local video stores but they're not really big on stocking documentaries. If anyone can lend me a copy, that would be awesome.

Quite Random Things

Kim Lee at the Penn
Nope, it's no Korean pop idol concert, but it might be close. Congratulations to my good friend Kendy! It was a beautiful wedding! Although I wish I could have gotten smashed like in any good wedding. But it was a Sunday night and coming to work with a hangover is never a good thing. It was the Kim - Lee nuptial in The Penn. I just have one advice, if you ever decide to put up a restaurant together, don't use your surnames in naming it - it's a copyright minefield. Best wishes!

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Blog Matters
This blog has reached a couple of milestones this week. First, it is now 4 months old. Second, we're now at over 1,000 visits. Yey! Never mind that probably half of those visits is just me checking how many visits I've had. Yup, it's a pretty vain exercise. Just like the way McDonald's kept count of burgers. Of course, I intend to stop way before I reach a billion :P

Check it out, I'm the primary resource for "Pulis Oysters" in Google. Ha! At least this blog is good for something.

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Quite Interesting
I discovered a new show through YouTube. It airs on BBC2 and the name of the show is QI: Quite Interesting. It's a combination of my two favorite things: trivia and comedians. As the English would say - fantastic! Since almost nobody gets the right answer every time, they just give out points depending on how interesting your answer is, whether or not it directly relates to the question is irrelevant. An interesting answer gets higher points than the right answer :P It's funny watching comedians try to make-up something interesting on the spot. Here a clip from the show.

Cause We're Sly

As if not hearing them when they're pretending isn't annoying enough, somebody invents this. And the researchers have pictures of a demonstration here, just so you can see how 'cool' they are. Great. Can you imagine being in a train with a guy wearing 'em?

So they've started promoting the Rocky Balboa movie that is coming out Dec. 22, 2006 in the US. Wow. The original Rocky movie came out in 1976. Imagine that, Rocky VI. Stallone's not done though. They've already started work on Rambo IV: The Serpent's Eye and it is scheduled to come out next year. So all the old movie series is coming back I guess. This after Terminator 3 and the Star Wars prequels came out in recent years. How about Police Academy 7? You never know.

For those who hate making excuses (pun, yes), there's a new service out there that will make them for you: The Alibi Network. Here's Top 3 of my favorite services:

Having a Discreet Affair?
We invent, create and provide customized alibis and excuses for attached adults involved in discreet relationships.

Rescue Call Services
The phone call from us to communicate any information you desire or to help you escape any situations such as dull meetings, bad dates or other unnecessary commitments that need to be cut short or cancelled.

Virtual Employment
Are you embarrassed to be unemployed? Do you have a critical life situation that requires you to have a job? Would you like to create an impression that you have your dream job? With your own virtual office, executive assistant and business cards?

You know, if you need help lying to your wife, you might not be smart enough to have an affair. Oops, just in case the missus is reading this, let me re-phrase that: You shouldn't be having an affair in the first place. That is a bad bad thing. You shouldn't even be thinking or looking at other women. In fact, all the women in the world were taken by aliens when you got married, except your wife. Oh yeah, and you should never lie to your wife. I myself have never done it, because I love her very much and not because I fear physical and mental punishment. Clear? Right. Glad we got that straightened out.

An Inconvenient Truth

I've been looking for "An Inconvenient Truth" since earlier this year, when I first heard about it. I wanted to get it on DVD when I was back in Colorado through Amazon but found that it was not released at the time and was still running in limited theaters. Well, they're finally releasing it this November.

Global warming is fact, not a theory. The consequences are dire, maybe especially more so for us Filipinos. We live in an archipelago, a lot of people live in the coast, and a majority of our people depends on agriculture for their livelihood. In a decade our proud number of 7,107 islands might have to be revised and our Miss Universe contestants will have to learn a new number. See the film and spread the message. It might be the most important film you'll ever see. For those who need opinions other than mine, here's a link.

"Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced."

Sounds like something you would see in a movie poster doesn't it? Nope, this is reality folks. You can forget about the popcorn when this show starts.