I’ve been so delinquent in updating that — I have to admit — I’ve forgotten how to do this. And then I remembered that lists are always foolproof. So here are some random things that I’ve either recently discovered or am currently into that I would like to share with you:
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FRIENDLY FIRE – I really loved Sean Lennon‘s debut album “Into The Sun” ((And I have to credit an old …friend for giving me that album as a birthday gift hence introducing me to Sean’s music.)) when I first heard it in it’s entirety about eight years ago. It was so good from start to finish that I thought there was no way his next album can possibly be more beautiful. So I was wrong. “Friendly Fire” serves up a more mature sounding Lennon and musical growth is apparent in the more complex and experimental instrumentations right down to the heart’s-been-broken and world-weary subtext in his lyrics. Consider the first track “Dead Meat“.

Dead meat, don’t you know you’re dead meat?
You just messed with the wrong team
Better not try and fall asleep now.

Watch the video here or download the mp3.
At first glance ((and if you don’t follow his career like fans (like me) do)) and maybe because of his trademark mellow vocals, it seems like a harmless albeit angry letter to a person who wronged him. It turns out that the song is addressed to an ex-girlfriend ((Not Yuka Honda. I’m talking about the more recent ex, Bijou Phillips.)) who cheated on him with his childhood friend who subsequently died in an accident before he and Lennon could reconcile. Yep, heavy stuff, a big departure from the easy, breezy, crashing-on-Yuka Honda ((Don’t get me started on Yuka, she’s another musician I greatly admire. It broke my heart when she and Sean broke up.))’s-couch days of old. With that back story in mind, give it — and the entire album — another listen. It just brings a whole new dimension to it. As for my favorite tracks, everything sounds fabulous really but I like listening to “On Again, Off Again”, “Spectacle”, and “Tomorrow” over and over.
I think what I especially admire about Sean Lennon is that he struggles to make the music he wants without resorting to the obvious (i.e. going the POP music route and capitalizing on his larger-than-life surname).
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SCRUBS ((I know, I know, I’m 6 seasons late in the game!)) – Because of the void left by “Heroes” and the demise of a certain feisty little blonde girl’s tv series, I had to look elsewhere for entertainment. I remembered that Budz & Nest told me that it was a good show so I decided to check it out. Suffice it to say that now, a day is not complete if I don’t get to “spend time” with JD and company. I think it’s also because I’m reminded of when I wanted to be a [insert gasp here] doctor when I was 5 ((My mom’s a pediatrician and I used to tag along when she did her rounds/attended to her patients in the hospital. My bubble burst when I didn’t make the cut to enter PSHS by a mere 4 points — I passed the screening to take the test though. On hindsight, I think pursuing the arts instead did me good.)). It also doesn’t hurt that a lot of Felicity alumna appear in the series from time to time.
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HARRY POTTER 7 THEORIES AND WHATNOT (SPOILER ALERT). In anticipation of the final book of the series, fans all over the world — yours truly definitely included — have been speculating: Will Harry survive the final battle with old Voldy? Will Hogwarts reopen? What or where are the remaining horcruxes and will some of them represent the 4 Hogwarts founders? Will Harry reconcile with Ginny? Will Ron & Hermione end up together? Will Dumdledore reappear ala Gandalf or Obi Wan? Was Snape ordered to do the deed (see book 6) by Dumbledore himself? Alas, only she knows. Incidentally, with regards to the last speculation — I personally believe that Snape was under Dumbledore’s orders and that he is not evil.
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I seem to be getting quite a number of hits for the following terms: “Arnold Arre” (ahem, my hubby), “Andong Agimat“, and “movie”. So… is there anything you guys would like me to confirm?
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Sorry I have to cut this short, work awaits. Follow my tweets, if you will. 🙂

I have a confession to make: ever since Twitter invaded my life, I’ve been too lazy to update the normal way. But rather than let this webspace go to waste ((And yes, it’s been paid for til the end of the year.)), here’s one big fat update coming up.

So since my last entry,

1. we’ve come out with a special issue of WE called Wedding Essentials Destinations.

It’s still the same, good ol’ WE but it’s a stand-alone issue that features dream wedding and honeymoon destinations in the Philippines: Baguio, Boracay, Batangas, Palawan, Tagaytay, Cebu, Tarlac, Quezon, Davao, and Cavite plus real destination weddings, fashion spreads and articles on planning out-of-town weddings. The magazine is available at all leading bookstores and mag stands for P200. Click here for a larger image of the cover.

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2. I opened my new shop, The Paper Basket ((using some of the earnings from Poptastic. Cafepress is so very worth it, the shops actually pay for themselves)). Paper Basket sells pretty patterned notecards & journals, funky wall clocks and other cool gifts that are unique to the store.

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Be sure to check back every once in a while because new items and designs are being added all the time! 🙂

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3. Arn and I went to Singapore with his family and stayed there for a week.

More photos here.

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My dear friend Neva is behind skin care line Leyende and she makes the decadent skin care products herself from organic and all-natural ingredients from all over the world. Isn’t that amazing? She’s a writer too so expect nothing but the most creative product names: No Rumple Silk Skin Butter, Smoothie Operator bath & shower creams, Kiss, Kiss, Balm, Balm Lip Balm, and many more. I personally use Smoothie Operator in “Norte” and Clean Slate Multitasker ((Thank you dear Nev!)) everyday and I’m addicted to them! They smell heavenly and they leave my skin soft and clean without the greasy feeling. I actually can’t wait to use them up so I can try the other scents and products. 😉 For details on how to order, please visit the site.

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I’ve also been staying up late the past months watching all the seasons of Felicity ((I’ve missed this show!)), episodes of Veronica Mars ((officially on it’s last season *sob*)), and Heroes <-- OMG did you watch the finale? Wasn't it awesome? "Call me Noah", woot! Leave a message to discuss if you like. 🙂

Since my last entry…
* …PLDT-DSL has gone from bad to worse. Is it just ours or do the lines really fluctuate for one to two hours during off-peak hours? It’s been like this for two weeks now. We’ve reported it 3x but the rep only keeps saying that “they will look into it”. (Boo!)
* …two of my favorite TV shows (1, 2) have gone on hiatus. What do you do when your favorite shows go on hiatus? Why, go bananas of course.
By the way, I got this from Nest:

Aww! Hopefully there’ll be a season 4. The shot is from the episode “Mars Bars”
Regarding Heroes, what an awesome mid-season ender that was, huh? ((Oh no, Peter’s trademark “bang” (singular of bangs) got cut off! I don’t think it’s the end of him though.)) I don’t want to put spoilers here so if you’d like to discuss, leave me a note.
* …I’ve been working on the next issue of WE double time. ((Also because I’ve been glued to the TV and my deadline is looming and on top of that Arn and I are FINALLY going away on vacation again next weekend)).
* …I’ve discovered iLike. Take a look at the nifty widget below and you will see what my iTunes is playing right now. The smart sidebar it comes with will also recommend tunes that sound similar to what you’re playing so it’s a great way to discover new music plus it’ll show you what your friends are listening to and vice versa so in a way, it’s like Friendster for music lovers. Also, if you’ve been wondering all this time where my subject headers are coming from, you’ll find the answers for sure in my Recently Played list. 😉

* …I retired my phlog ((it’s still accessible though)) and will be posting new photos on my Multiply account from now on.
* …we attended the wedding of Arn’s Korea travel buddy and Cast comic partner (and my VM co-fan) Jamie Bautista. Pictures here.
* …Carlo introduced me to Twitter, a quick way of telling the world what I’m doing at the moment ((like the world cares, right?)). I can enter one-line updates via IM and they will show up on my profile. It’s very much like a blog except that it’s more spontaneous. So in case I don’t get to update again within the next few weeks, just check my wall and see if I’m *really* hard at work or just puttering around online.