God of Carnage Manila: An Amateur's Review

So I just got home from a trip to Manila to see God of Carnage.

Yes, I flew to Manila just to see a play.  Got a problem with that?

Relax, it's just Manila.  It's not like I went to New York to chase a show.  Well, I'm probably going to do that one of these days.  Allegiance, anyone?  Anyway, that's beside the point.

A lot of people I know frown at my vice of flying to places to see shows only to fly back home immediately afterwards.  They especially accuse me of being an addict--in that I spend money on airfare and premium tickets just to see Lea Salonga.  Let me, however, respond that if one wants to witness refined art and expect to utter superlatives about it, money ceases to matter much.  It's not a luxury because art is something very important.

Back to the play.  God of Carnage revolves around a meeting between two sets of parents who make an effort to have a civil discussion about the well-being of their sons who had recently gotten themselves in a fight.  One boy hit the other with a stick resulting in the latter losing two teeth.  This single act play kicks off with a composed (even restrained) grown-up-like exchange of words where an obvious air of nicety pervades the room.  It progresses with the niceties gradually disappearing as they get comfortable with each other.

The pivotal point is when one of the characters vomits after getting an upset stomach from eating clafouti.  From there, the situation rolls fast downhill and the four adults act increasingly like big babies.  Alcohol comes into the picture and causes the doors of decency to get completely unhinged and the sparks of utter chaos to fly free.  They steer off the grid and it gets to a point where they almost abandon the issue at hand--their sons.  The conversation jumps around from topics like the perils of marriage to misogyny to hunger in the third world.  Each person in the play fights with every other in a round robin of abusive personal attacks, no-holds-barred profanity and pillow hitting.

There is no genuine denouement but I guess that's the point.  The play was basically about how grown-up lives go on and on and on restrained by compulsory niceties imposed by social mores.  It was crystal clear to me that the play was telling the audience how everyone has to put up with everyone else's bullshit on a day-to-day basis.

And just in case people are wondering, it was an R18 show so there were no children.  You may sigh in relief now.


The production I had the pleasure of seeing featured an all-star cast with four inimitable giant names of the stage: Lea Salonga, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Art Acuña and the British-Singaporean sensation, Adrian Pang.  It was absolutely epic in every sense of the word!  Running for over 80 minutes, the script written by French playwright, Yasmina Reza, was an explosive mixture of heart attack-inducing comedy, hard reality bitchslaps and gut-wrenching drama.  That standing ovation at the end was very well deserved, to say the least.

If the only version of the text you're familiar with is the 2011 film, Carnage, with Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet and John C. Reilly, you're missing out big time and you should feel largely short-changed!  I'm telling you, the differences are vast.  The film felt like nothing more than a contrived imitation.  I'm not only saying this because I'm a theatre junkie.  Don't get me wrong; I love good films!  It's just that the play mounted on a real stage in front of a live audience is 70 times better than the film adaptation even if you put the big Oscar-winning silver screen names into account.

Here are a few snapshots from the show to give you a hint of what I'm talking about.  And, no, I didn't take these photos myself because that would have been illegal.  I believe these are official press release shots.

Photo source: Broadway's Musician (A Tumblr Page)

Might I add that I sat in the theatre preparing myself to feel awkward that the actors on stage, having musical theatre backgrounds, weren't going to be singing.  The awkwardness never came, though.  They were such naturals that I got too absorbed in their characters to even remember they were just acting.

Menchu, who played Annette, is worth special mention here.  She played piss drunk incredibly well!  The drunk image of her in my head was so difficult to remove that while waiting for her to come out of the backstage door, I was half-expecting her to be walking groggily.

Anyway, here are some of my own photos taken after the show:

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo (Annette Reille in the play)

with Lea Salonga and my cousin, Isa

Lea Salonga (Veronica Houllié in the play)

Art Acuña (Alan Reille in the play)

Behold! The Autographed Playbill!

Lea Salonga - Send in the Clowns

Here we see the great Lea Salonga sing-speak a very emotional song from Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music."

What choice does an artist have?  Everyone knows it's very hard to maintain composure when you're crying that hard and the difficulty is magnified for her because she has to sing.

Watch this video.  Listen to the song and allow every single repression you have to flow away with her voice.  Allow your emotions to soar.  When your chest starts to hurt and your eyes start to moisten, don't hold back.  Just let it go.  Let it all go!

National Heroes Day

Andrés Bonifacio

José Rizal

Lea Salonga

Vicenté Hao Chin, Jr

Karyapa

Carlos P. Garcia

I'm not sure whether or not "Heroes" actually has an apostrophe (') after it.  As far as the title of this entry goes, there isn't one because I want to write it parallel to how Rizal Day and Bonifacio Day are written.  I mean, we don't say Rizal's Day or Bonifacio's Day, do we?

Wikipedia says:

National Heroes Day

This holiday is dedicated to the memory of all the nation's heroes throughout history. Observed yearly on last Monday of August, it is a regular holiday marking the Cry of Pugad Lawin by the Katipunan, led by its Supremo, Andres Bonifacio, which began the Philippine Revolution.

Iilan kaya sa ating mga Pilipino ang nakakaalam nito?

(How many of us Filipinos actually know this?)

I had a conversation with a friend a couple of years ago during this exact holiday.  He actually thought it's written with a possessive form of Hero, as in Hero's.  I was, like, "What?"  He thought it's just another holiday made for Jose Rizal, who is recognised as the greatest national hero of the Philippines.  That, of course, I do recognise, but for the sake of education, I'm calling on every single citizen of this country to be informed!

This holiday marks the day in August of 1896 when Andres Bonifacio led the beginning of the revolution against the Spanish hegemony.  It was then that members of the secret society called Katipunan ripped their tax certificates to pieces, ceremoniously separating themselves from Spain, and the skirmish between the revolutionaries and the colonial civil guards began.

However, this day doesn't just mark that instance.  This day commemorates ALL the national heroes of the Philippines -- meaning every single one that contributed to this nation's growth from the accounted time before March 16, 1521 up to yesterday.

So, yes, this day commemorates people such as the famed Lapu-Lapu, Jose Rizal himself, Benigno Aquino Jr, Francisco Dagohoy, Biki'ng Tamblot, Babaylang Karyapa and all your personal heroes who have helped this nation grow -- including Lea Salonga herself.

As for the now-dead heroes, we take the few hours this day allots to collectively remember their stories, their lives, and their invaluable contribution to the Philippines.  Not just that, let us also consider how hard they would weep if they were to rise from the ashes and see how the motherland is now being raped and robbed and tortured by inscrutable human greed and lust for power.

Alam kong maraming mga di-kanais-nais na bagay na nangyayari ngayon ay mahirap itigil.  Isa dito ay ang mabilis na pag-halo sa wikang Ingles sa mga wika ng Pilipinas, na kung saa'y nawawala na ang kaalaman sa karamihan ng mga tunay na salitang likas sa atin at napapalitan na ng mga hiram na salitang binago lang ang pagbaybay.  Kung ipagpatuloy ng kaunti ang pagbilang, kasali na rin ang napakalaking suliranin ng katiwalian sa pamahalaan, ang walang humpay na mga madugong digmaan maging laban sa mga naghihimagsikang puwersa ng komunismo o sa timog ng ating kapuluan, at ang pagharang ng pag-unlad gawa ng mga pagtatatag na sinasaisip pa rin ang panlabing-siyam na siglo.

(I know most of these less-than-desirable things happening at present are hard to press the break on.  One noteworthy problem for me is the fast integration of English into the Filipino languages, where a lot of the original words are now being forgotten and replaced by English words conveniently spelled in a Filipino manner.  To mention a few more, major problems include the despicable corruption in the government, the endless bloody battles we have -- be it the ones against the communist revolutionaries or what's happening south in the archipelago, and the quandaries that keep progressive ideas from transforming into actual solutions, caused by institutions who do everything to keep progress at bay simply because they're stuck in the 19th century.)

Gayahin natin ang halimbawa ng ating mga bayani.  Kung tayong lahat ay kikilos ayon sa mga kanais-nais na tuntuning ating nakikitang isinabuhay ng mga taong nagbibigay-sigya sa atin, maging buhay pa o hindi na, makakakita rin ng bago at mas mabuting umaga ang Pilipinas nating mahal.

(Let us emulate the examples our heroes have set for us.  If we all live according to the positive principles that we have seen the people who inspire us live by, whether or not they are still alive today, we will all see a new and better day dawn on our beloved Philippines.)

I Rock and You Can't Contest That

See! The Goddess of Musical Theatre herself has spoken!

Oh, gosh!  I went completely crazy!

And she used my real name!

Waaaaahhhh!  When I read it I sat dumbfounded for five minutes with my mouth open!

I mean, sure, I've met her in person and talked to her, but this is different.


She said I rock!

Woooooohoooooo!

On a more serious (less fanboyish) note...

Besides the fact that she's awesome in the field of music and theater...

I look up to Lea for her firmness in upholding what she believes in-

For standing up for her advocacies and using intellectual defense against adversaries-

For never giving up on trying to educate people no matter how incorrigible the may seem-

For being AWESOME!

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Old Entry #11: Rainbow Connection - A Rant About This Severe Last Song Syndrome

Time for another one of these.

Hmmm... What have I done so far today?  Apart from studying, studying, Facebooking, Tweeting, and more studying, I don't think I've done anything else.  Oh, yeah, I ate, too.

What else?

Earlier today, I took a break from the jargon of economics and decided to watch a little local TV. I was lucky (?) they were playing a rerun of last night's Harapan debate on the Philippine Divorce Bill.  Goodness gracious!  I had my options but I chose to watch it again, anyway.  I wanted to fill myself with disgust for the opposition.  And, boy, did I succeed!  Stupid assholes!

Anyway, here's my old entry.  Enjoy!

This was originally posted on Oct 17, '08 9:54 PM on Multiply.com.

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I don't know why.  For the past several years since time immemorial (of course, take note of the fact that I'm only 18), I've had a severe case of last song syndrome.  Yes, with this song.  Hey, it's not my favorite song or anything.  It just so happens to be stuck in my head.  All these years!

Picture my late grandfather.  Back when I was 5, whenever we'd visit our ancestral home, I'd be prancing through the living room going about my business--singing the song.  It's amazing how he managed to develop such tolerance for a boy singing about rainbows taking into account that he considers stuffed Bugs Bunny toys to be sissy.  And mind you, my voice was anything but masculine back then.



Imagine this common scenario.  I'd sit in front of my PC singing the song so jovially and then poof!  The internet connection bugs down.  I'd be making horrible shockwaves on the wood-tiled floor.  I'd be swearing tri-lingually with terms ranging from the usual "shit" to the more obscene "fuck" to the rather demeaning "putang ina" to the local "bilat sa ijang ina."  And then... Surprise, surprise!  Seconds later, still steaming from the ears, I'd start singing "So we've been told..."  Isn't that rather amazing?  No?  Yes?  Whatever!

I'm not sure, though, but it probably began when I heard Lea Salonga sing it as a child.  My dad had what I used to see as a tall pile of child-singers' music album audio cassette tapes -- Lea's included.  He'd play it every morning with the volume cranked up.  It was my alarm during school days -- from my years at the local Montessori to the end of gradeschool.  On weekends, it was recreational music for me.  The only reason why I stopped hearing it regularly was because my mom moved out of the house during their break-up.  Sad days.

Of course, I've out-heighted that pile by now but it still seems pretty big of a collection.  Most of them have already accummulated moulds over the years and, naturally, the wheels don't turn anymore.  However, this marvel excludes a few.  On top of the list is Lea Salonga's "Small Voice" -- an album that I never got tired of listening to.  I even brought it with me when I left the house.

Maybe she's the culprit.  It sure wasn't Kermit the Frogof The Muppets.  I was never really fond of those silly puppets whose feet nobody ever sees on TV.  No offense meant to those who adore the green icon.  Other than his, Lea's version and the Carpenters' were the only ones available for my ears at the time and I'm sure it wasn't Karen's voice that made it stick to my head.  Back then, I didn't have much appreciation for such deep contralto vocals.  Her albums weren't off my reach but I left them just where they were.  I always used to think they were just for the grown-ups.  ABBA's songs were more appealing to me.

When Jason Mraz's version came out, it got five thumbs down from me.  Not that it's ugly.  He has a great counter-tenor singing voice.  It's just that I'm adamant against versions other than Lea's -- only for this song, though.

And, again, the most peculiar thing is that it isn't even my favorite song.  Get a load of that!  I don't listen to it anymore.  I'd rather be hearing Idina Menzel singing Defying Gravity.  And sure, I do have other songs to LSS with but no matter how long I haven't heard the song, it always keeps coming back.

Weird, no?  No?  Yes?  Whatever!

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Old Entry #6: The Perpetual Battle Between Originals and Good Covers; Covers Against Other Covers

Well, here's that day, folks!  It's the day I'm going to post another entry to follow the 5th of my Old Entries Series.  How long has it been since the last?  Three months?  Oh, it's been too long!  I know you miss reading about my old self and I know you want to read more.  Strangely enough, so do I.  It's time traveling in a unique and realistic way.

These past few days have been  filled with poetry and what not and I'd like to break away from all that for a while.  I've had an amazing week, to say the least, and my readers probably miss young adult anger so that's just what I'm going to give.  The entry we'll be revisiting is one filled with reckless swear words written by a young man angry at YouTube.  Well, you can't get mad at YouTube--just some of its users, actually.

So, yeah!  Here goes!

This was originally posted on Sep 28, '08 1:10 AM on Multiply.com.

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Imagine:  I go surfing for good Musical theatre videos on YouTube.  I click on something entitled Don't Cry for Me Argentina by Elaine Paige.  I finish watching the video.  I think to myself, "Such amazingly powerful performance," so I scroll down to type my comment but then I get distracted by something that goes, "she's absolute nothing compared to Patti LuPone."

Another scenario.  I post a video of Lea Salonga's version of As If We Never Said Goodbye.  Two days later, I get a comment saying "Elaine Paige is way better than this piece of crap!"








Again with Dreamgirls, I listen to Jennifer Hudson's version of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, but then some pathetic-lowlife-ne'er-do-well blurts out a big "she sucks compared to Holliday."


Finally, the stroke that pissed me off.  A video of Lea Salonga and Sharon Cuneta's duet of Sana Maulit Muli.  Some a**hole commented, "only an egotistical person like Sharon would think that she is better than Lea."

God!  Some people are just complete idiots!




One, why would Elaine win an Olivier and a SWET if she were nothing compared to Patti?  Come to think about it, LuPone was awarded the role as a worthy performer after Paige had garnered considerable acclaim for Evita.  For that matter, Patti became a legend without trying to bury other performers and demoralize people.  She's a star who got to where she is now by being exceptionally good - certainly without the help of the likes of you!

Two, not considering the fact that Elaine actually held the role of Norma Desmond in Broadway's and The West-End's Sunset Boulevard, we all know Elaine Paige is better than Lea at singing the song since she's been doing it her whole life.  However, Lea's version is not some piece of crap!  As if you commenting could do a-hundredth as good!  Who ever argued that Lea's was best?  Dumba**!

Three, Jennifer Hudson wouldn't be awarded an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe or a SAG if she sucked.  She's got talent that's why she got picked to play the part in the movie, you pinhead commenter.  Yes, Holliday owns the song.  She made a name for herself with that song.  Nobody could do it like her.  Nobody else has the same fire as her when performing the song.  But nobody ever posted in the video blurb saying "Hudson's is indubitably the best version!"

And, please, don't even start talking about Charice Pempengco!

Four, Sharon never said she was better than Lea and Lea never said anything like such either.  Yes, Lea has garnered worldwide acclaim.  She's won a Tony, Olivier, and what have you--but to utter demeaning comments comparing her to Sharon simply because they sang a song together is downright obtuse.  Why can't you just say "I like Lea/Sharon better"?  Or maybe something like "Sharon's/Lea's voice has a better appeal to my ears."  Why do you have to use trashy terms?  Are you as up-there as Leonard Bernstein?

And five, finally, what sort of authority are you to make such remarks, anyway?  Who the f**k do you think you are?  Ryan Cayabyab doesn't even say that!  And if you're a Simon Cowell fan, do a little reality check!  You're not Simon Cowell!  God!  You people really get to my nerves!

If you like an artist, then like him/her!  And if you don't, then by all means don't.  Nobody's forcing you to!  Close the friggin' tab.  You'd do your karmic vibes a little good by doing so.  Go eat a cork like it's a marshmallow, poke your right eyeball with a needle, jump off a window of the 79th floor of some skyscraper, chop your leg off with a spoon or peel off the skin on your face with pieces of a broken incandescent lightbulb!  Don't go demoralizing people just because they don't appeal to you.  Why bother?  Either way, they'll die rich not ever hearing about your names.

So bug off, losers!


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It Gets Better: My Tribute to Joel Burns

Earlier this morning, I was browsing for interesting videos on the internet.  I watched several versions of Andrea Bocelli's Con te partirò and The Prayer.  The linked videos in the text are my favorite versions--the first song a duet with Sarah Brightman and the second with Celine Dion.  I watched, I don't know, at least 7 versions of each song before finally deciding which ones to add to my favorites.  That's obviously not why I'm blogging, so enough about that.

I clicked the big YouTube button on the upper left corner of the last video page I was in to return to the home page.  I was kind of hoping to find an additional video or two in my subscriptions pane.  Sadly, though, there wasn't any.  I had already seen everything so I checked those recommended for me on the pane below it.  I was looking at thumbnails of pro-wrestling clips, cooking clips I had already seen, and music videos I was more than familiar with.  One video, however, stood out.  My account had recommended one entitled "Joel Burns tells gay teens 'it gets better'."  Below it was italicized text saying "Because you watched 'Lea Salonga -- Everybody Says Don't'."

I already had the inclination to watch the clip just from reading the title, but the suggestion source was a total omen telling me that it was something special.  I clicked the thumbnail and I was sent to a page where I spent 12 minutes and 55 seconds of--of--I don't know what adjective to use for those minutes.  It was an eye-opener, nonetheless.  It was also nothing short of inspiring.

Joel spoke advocating against the trend of early teenage suicide in American public schools as the result of bullying.  He ran pictures of young boys who chose to end their own lives simply because they did not know how to handle being in the identity crisis stage and being put down for showing signs of being different.

Joel, in turn, told his own story.  He was one of the lucky ones in his time.  He himself contemplated suicide at one point, but had the strength to push himself through his dilemma.  He chose to keep in mind that he had a more advanced consciousness compared to those who didn't know any better.  He made a choice to keep living.  Look at him now--a successful politician happily married to his husband, J.D.  And more than all that, by giving his brave speech which now echoes all over America, he has saved countless lives.  He is living proof of his own statement saying, "it gets better."  Mr. Burns is no longer just a politician.  He has become a hero.

It's depressing to learn that America has a very bad case of mass homophobia despite its reputation as a liberal country.  I guess different evils are found wherever you turn.  Heck, the people causing these deaths think they're the so-called benevolent forces.  I don't care if they're religiously motivated in this case.  I've always been an advocate of religious freedom, but then again I've always stressed that if your beliefs involve the degradation of women and men who identify themelves differently, I will speak up against them!

The Philippines actually has lesser cases of teenagers killing themselves because they're being bullied for their gayness despite the fact that we are a predominantly Catholic-influenced country.  If general gay population suicide incidents are all counted, the majority of cases are caused by broken hearts--and there aren't even that many.  Gay kids are celebrities here because they're always recognized for their talent.  As for the less lucky closet-pushed ones...  They don't go to extremes.  I never tried to kill myself.

What's going on in America that makes being gay in certain states so utterly daunting?  What are parents over there teaching their children?  Why is there so much hate?  Well, this just leads me to conclude that the U.S.A. is as much a medieval country as it is a modern one.  I mean, the Ku Klux Klan exists, too, doesn't it?

Why can't the world just learn to accept people for who they are and the choices they make?  Why do some have to meddle in other people's lives?  Is it because of the belief systems they conform to?  Very likely!  People should just keep their beliefs to themselves.  Not everybody has the same concept of God--even people in the same religion.

It is important for us to realize that every single one of us is special and God-made (if you will).  Why create war?  All we are tasked with in our lives is to thrive lovingly and peacefully.

And then some would retort!  What?  Biological roles?  Procreation?  Haven't you seen what too much conformity to that has done?  Hunger everywhere!  Overpopulation!  Poverty!  You name it!  These are the things that happen when people impose on each other!  Everyone should be free to make his/her own choices in life as long as no other being is harmed.  I'm not saying I'm against reproduction.  It's just that if you want to reproduce, go ahead and do it.  Don't force others to do it, too, just because you see it as the right way things should function in the world.  That's BS!  Heterosexuality is not the only right way human beings should couple, whether you accept it or not.

"I believe that every single human being has the fundamental right to marry whoever they want."

-Lea Salonga
UN FAO Goodwill Ambassador

Fuck Yeah, Lea Salonga!

You're probably wondering why I didn't write about the Chile mining fiasco and its end.  Well, a lot of people have already written about it and I've read several highly opinionated entries talking about it so I was afraid I'd pick up other writers' statements.  That tends to happen if one writes for a living.  If you write, too, you've probably noticed that at one point in your career.  Well, maybe not everyone has that dilemma, but some certainly do.  You may have had it before but never noticed that you did and now you've outgrown it.  Who knows?  Maybe this is a problem that's common for the likes of me who've just started.  Anyway, if you want to read about it, check out Gibbs Cadiz's write-up.  It's a really good one.

Okay, what did I have in mind again?  Oh, yeah!  I discovered this Tumblr blog called Fuck Yeah, Lea Salonga!.  It's a comprehensive fan page that updates all its readers of everything going on in the public life of Lea.  News articles, photos, videos - you name it!  It's just so depressing that I can't be an official follower.  I'd have to open an account with the host site and I don't really feel the necessity to.  What for?  I already have Blogger and it's serving my purpose.  Oh well, looks like I'm gonna have to manually direct myself to the site to check for anything new.  I don't mind.  Anything for Lea Salonga!

More about Lea Salonga!  She was just Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization during the World Food Day celebration held in Rome, Italy.  She--along with Celine Dion, Italian actor Raoul Bova, and Oscar winner Susan Sarandon--now carries a banner leading the rest of the world in the fight against hunger.

"As a Filipino, a mother, a wife and a woman, I have a responsibility to join this fight against hunger.  It's important because of my mother who knows what it's like to be hungry, and for my daughter who I pray will never have to know.  As UN goodwill ambassador and in spreading FAO's message, I hope that no member of the future generation will have to go through this either."

- Lea Salonga
UNFAO Goodwill Ambassador

 

 Lea Salonga singing John Lennon's Imagine

I'll share my thoughts about hunger in another post.  Maybe tomorrow or the next day.  Not today.  I have a lot of work waiting to be done.

Toodles!

Lea Salonga's "I Dreamed A Dream," Fresh From The O2

How many names can you remember when you talk about Les Miserables' Fantine?

Of course, let's start from London's original English language production since Rose Laurens did not really perform I Dreamed A Dream the way we now know it.  Although, I should say the musical we're acquainted with may not have existed if Alain Boublil had not done that.

Enough about that, though.  Let's return to the question.  First, there was the legendary Patti LuPone.  Skip... Skip... Skip...  Then, there was Ruthie Henshall.  Skip... Skip... Skip...

And then, the bar was pushed to the heavens.  Lea Salonga got to play the part.

She has had quite a history with the show.  She played Eponine in 1993 on Broadway, and again in 1995 during the show's 10th Anniversary in a Dream Cast Concert where she performed her famous rendition of On My Own.  In 2006, she was asked by the producers of the show to play Fantine in its Broadway revival, replacing Daphne Rubin-Vega.

Now, most recently and most spectacularly, she played Fantine yet again in the show's 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2, where she was said to have loftily raised the bar for her character's signature song.

In my opinion (along with others'), her rendition of this song is quite simply the most poignant and the most powerful of all.  There's just really nothing quite like it.  When she sings the song, it's quite obvious that she loses herself in it, but she still manages to do it with sheer perfection.

The stand-out performer from the principal cast was undoubtedly Les Mis legend Lea Salonga as Fantine. Salonga’s career-long type-casting role could probably be described as  ‘feisty, determined but doomed’, whether they are calling her Kim, Eponine or, in this case, Fantine then the result is always the same – a performance of the very highest order. Salonga’s belt hasn’t deteriorated over the years, and after giving that performance all those years ago to similar results, was deserving of her show-stopping ovation. Salonga was undoubtedly the finest pure performer on stage at this concert.

- Dickie and Butch

She stated a couple of times in a number of interviews that the power she gets when singing I Dreamed A Dream owes itself to the existence of her daughter.  There really is nothing more joyful in the world than to have borne life and delivered it into the world.

Here, watch this and be inspired, too...





And here's another captured scene from Fantine's Arrest.  She gets extremely emotional singing here.  I know, for a fact, that Lea always gets emotional playing Fantine, but this was almost extreme.  Her crying was affecting her singing.  She's awesome that way.  My heart sank watching this clip.

Lea Salonga & Guy Merola - The Prayer

Remember in my previous post I said I had to end it because I thought of something?  Well, this is it.  I know, I know.  I could have posted it right there and then.  But again, I already said I would never put Lea Salonga at the bottom of anything.  So, yeah.  You get it.

This morning during the moments right after getting up - after a glass of water - I noticed my roommate making sounds of joy and glee in front of the computer.  I went to check it out in an instant and I found myself doing the same thing.

Why?  We saw Allegiance: The Musical's post of a new video with Lea Salonga in it!  It turns out, after their screening in Hawaii, the host, Guy Merola, invited Lea to a good old-fashioned piano party where they did a totally impromptu duet of "The Prayer".  I was totally awestruck!  Everything about it was perfect that I had to share it right away and let all my friends experience the same joy!

Lea is the ultimate soul-soother.  She's an angel.

Anyway, here's the video.  I don't hope you'll love it 'cause I know you will.

Old Entry #3: Imagine

I woke up at 6:30 this evening and I'm not happy about it.  I didn't need to work and there were no additional reading materials for me to devour so I figured:  why not sleep the day away?  But, no, it's not turning out as "okay" as I thought it would be.  I know I'm not gonna be able to get any more shut-eye until daylight or 4AM at the very least.  Ergo, I'll wake up just about the same time tomorrow night.  The idea pisses me off - big time!

In addition to all that, I'm hungry and I don't feel like cooking.  And it's not that nobody else can cook around here.  It's just that I don't trust them.  They'd probably end up with some salty Filipino overkill I'd have a hard time swallowing.  And for some reason, Melvin doesn't cook these days anymore.

Anyway, if you caught the title, this is just an intro.

Here's the third installment of the Old Entries Series.

This was originally posted on Aug 13, '07 8:13 PM on Multiply.com.


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I just finished listening to a song.  It was entitled “Imagine”.  It was composed by John Lennon and performed by Lea Salonga.

I used to hear it all the time on the stereo but I didn’t really pay much attention to the lyrics until I heard it sang by my favorite artist.  It used to be just one of the many songs I’d change the radio channel on when I heard. But when Lea sang it with perfect pronunciation of the lyrics, the song’s meaning was just magnified.  It found its way into me.  It really moved me the way it should have before.

The first line which says, “Imagine there’s no heaven,” may sound negative and unconstructive to several people; much more with the proceeding statements where we hear the line, “above is only sky.”  But if we try to internalize it, we will find that it really makes a lot of sense.  Heaven is a communal moss of hopefulness among people.  We take comfort in the prevailing idea of its existence after this life ends.  Going further in the stanza, we will hear the line that says “no hell below us”.  The idea of hell, for me, is nothing but a human being’s self-infliction of albatross if he/she chooses to believe it actually exists.

Another line in the song says, “Imagine there’s no countries.”  [It’s grammatically incorrect. But what the heck! Songs are excluded from grammar conventions.]  Going further, we will hear the lines “nothing to kill or die for”.  Now, this speaks of reality.  We are all aware of the fact that, throughout history, people have killed and died for their countries.  Remember the Holocaust and the Tutsi genocide.  At present, this is still even happening.  Racism is still ubiquitous.  Now, imagine if all these things didn’t exist.  People would be living life a lot more peacefully.  There would be less to fight about.

The same goes with the line that says, “Imagine no possessions… No need for greed or hunger… Imagine all the people sharing all the world.”  Damn!  This just hits the spot.  Materialism and greed are the very things that make this world chaotic; they are the very things that drive people and nations to utter anarchy and turmoil.  So many rich people lavish themselves with luxuries and what not, and yet far more than a million times their number are dying of sheer poverty and hunger.  Yes, there are good people but they are not capable of saving the entire world.  There are people like Jesus of Nazareth, Siddhartha Gautama, Mohandas Gandhi, Oskar Schindler, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama.  But sadly, up until today, they are outnumbered by the likes of Adolph Hitler, Niccolo Machiavelli and Ayn Rand.  And that’s just plain depressing.  Try to lie down and ponder on this with your eyes closed.

Books such as Rand’s “The Virtue of Selfishness” and “Harnessing Zonpower” are less read than the Holy Bible, the Qur’an, and the Bhagavad Gita, but people seem to be showing traits that are more subservient to the former than what the latter books teach.  To say that it is “human nature” to be greedy is such a lame and abused excuse for sheer evil.  And also, the idea of the world being nothing but a huge arena for the “survival of the fittest” is nothing but complete gibberish.

The song tells us many things.  It speaks of an unfeasible utopia.  And it may provoke sundry reactions among different people but if you listen to it [I mean really listen to it], you will realize something you can’t quite put in words—not even inside your head.  It will get you nodding and smiling without you knowing why.  It will lead you to a new light.

Why don’t you go listen to it yourself?

Second Chances

I intended to include this in my previous entry (which I posted just minutes ago) but it would have been too far down and Lea Salonga always deserves to be seen spot-on.

For those who don't know me well enough, I am an enourmous fan of Lea Salonga and there are no words to describe her talent and sheer adeptness in her field so I won't make an attempt right now.  Enough said!  If you're wondering how huge a fan I am, think of air and how you can't survive without it.  That's how she (and her music) is to me.  Get it?

Anyway, when I opened Facebook earlier, I found the newest video of Allegiance: The Musical and it was Lea singing a song entitled Second Chances.  I played it and I felt like I went to heaven without dying.  It was superb.  It was just Lea in front of a bunch of people in Hawaii, accompanied by grand piano music.  No microphones.  Pure, raw musicality complete with her stirring expressions.  Dang!

Here, I can't end this hour without sharing it to the world: