Bamboo during the MTV Exit gig in 2009

Ok, ok. Now here it goes again. It’s the season of popular and influential vocalists leaving bands. Although it is heartbreaking for us fans to hear this, WE MUST MOVE ON. Band vocalists have their personal reasons why they have to leave their respective bands. If it’s heartbreaking for us, it is definitely heartbreaking for them. Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you that Bamboo (the band), allegedly has called it quits as of today, Jan 10, 2011 (according to KC Montero’s tweet). On the other hand, Sugarfree hasn’t called quits yet, many say that they are not disbanding yet and that Ebe will be the only one who’ll be leaving the band. No official statement from Bamboo yet. Let’s wait and see.

I’ve been on this situation before when Ely Buendia left Eraserheads and then the band eventually disbanded. It was earth shattering, tears fell on my eyes when I learned about the news. I was young then and still hopeful that it will only be a short period of time. I was on denial. I couldn’t accept the fact it’s all over. The first few weeks and months are usually hard.  It’s not easy to move on. Same also when The Dawn first disbanded. Hearing your favorite band disband is like being told by your lover that your relationship is finally over. We have coping mechanisms and here are some tips on how to deal with a band break up:

1) Do not judge at once. One will definitely ask “Who’s the airhead this time?”. Usually, the vocalists are being blamed on being “airheads”. Pumasok na daw sa ulo ang kasikatan at nagyayabang na. Well, vocalists are the most visible and most recognizable. One can’t blame everything on the vocalists. They carry a lot of burden too in representing the band. Know your facts if you have the capacity to do it. Don’t immediately think that someone’s at fault.

2) Try to keep an open mind if the band has chosen a new vocalist or band member. In case the band decided to keep its name and find a new member, accept it wholeheartedly. We cannot say that the previous vocalist is better than the new one because they both have different vocal styles. Music is very diverse and if you only listen and don’t mind who’s singing, you’ll appreciate the song even more because you’ve discovered a different perspective in this new vocalist’s style. I know it’s hard to accept but give it a try. If you don’t like it, don’t bash right to their faces. I know, I know, we have our own opinions but at least respect them.

3) Listen to other bands. If you can avoid listening to this same band, the better. I remember crying whenever I hear an Eraserheads song being played on the radio after the break-up. There are lots of new bands who are interesting enough to watch. Try looking for another favorite. Malay mo, may mas ok pa.Leave your cassette tapes and CDs behind muna and then when you’re ready, listen to them all over again and reminisce. Listen only once in a while. Parang sarap lang na babalik-balikan.

4) Let them be. If you’re not in speaking terms with anyone with the band, don’t bug them with questions about their disbandment or if someone left. Chumempo at konting busina sa pagtatanong. Wag makulit!

We as fans need to learn how to set our limits. We do not own them although we are their direct consumers of their musical productivity. We cannot dictate them how we want them to be. Change is inevitable. We need to grow as much as the artist needs to grow.

(photo from NU 107 website)

Rumor has it that NU 107.5 will now be reformatting to become more appealing to the “masa” and bigger crowd. Will this be the start of its new tagline, “Home of Nu Pop”? Got this news from a Facebook note of a former NU 107 jock, Jaedee (which she also posted in her blog here). Hmm, was this the reason that Quark Henares was being reminiscent of previous NU Rock Awards in Facebook? It’s saddening to know that NU 107.5, the radio station I grew up with will be closing its doors now to playing purely rock tunes. This was one of the stations that gave way to local and independent rock talents. They were the ones who were shrugged by mainstream radio stations because they’re not “pogi” bands. It’s really sad to know that one by one, my adolescent favorites are beginning to disappear. This is the reason that I am sad, it’s because I am not getting any younger anymore.

I understand the struggles that NU 107 management is going through. I actually thought about the people who are currently working there. Change of management = Change of Staff. I know change is inevitable, and so I am accepting the fact that they’re reformatting. Now I’d have to find another radio station where I can be comfortable with, something to revive my adolescent past. Hay, sad.

Wish I can watch the upcoming Rock Awards, too sad that they’re not selling tickets and they’re just gonna raffle it off. Wow, the odds of me winning is so blurred and definitely me scoring tickets from someone there is way too impossible. If someone can score me two tickets I’d be more than grateful!

So good luck to the NU 107, I’ll give your new format a try on 2011. Hope that the employees will be able to cope the loss of jobs. Haha, apologies, I’m being HR again.

The 2010 Philippine elections is just 10 months away and again, we need to choose a new president for the country. No one has confirmed that they are running for the presidency; obviously, they will be filing their certificate of candidacies on or weeks before the very last day of COC filing. Even though no one has confirmed yet who will be running either for president, vice-president or senators, we are already getting the hunch on who will be aiming for public office (again).

A socio-political networking website, www.politicalarena.com, is said to enlighten us voters (and aspiring voters) to know the background of politicians who, according to “public opinion”, will run on 2010. It’s the first of its kind here but it’s not owned by the Comission of Elections (COMELEC). This project is in partnership with 88db.com, meaning they funded the whole website.

I was one of the bloggers who attended the launch of Politicalarena.com at the Manila Peninsula 3 weeks ago. Probably other bloggers were not available to attend the event (because it was at 9 am on a Thursday (?) ) and at that time I don’t have a day job yet so it’s just me and Karla who went there. Aside from the launch of the website. they also had a signing of the “anti-smear campaign” among the political figures present there such as Sen. Chiz Escudero, Hon. Gilbert Remulla, Hon. Raffy Biazon, Hon. Teodoro Casiño together with COMELEC Commissioner Jose Melo, NAMFREL Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, PPCRV’s Bro. Clifford Sorita, Fr. Anton Pascual of Caritas Manila and Reginald Velasco, Secretary-General, Kampi. Apparently, the politicians who signed the anti-smear campaign will be running for public office for their next term (or a higher position). Ex-Senator Nikki Coseteng was there also but she did not sign the anti-smear campaign MOA, does that mean that she will not be running for office again?

When the floor was opened for questions to COMELEC Chairman Jose Melo, COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez and General Manager of Politicalarena.com Racquel Cagurangan, the first media practitioner who went to the mic (I forgot who he was, I think from Business World) immediately fired one of the most controversial questions to COMELEC Chairman Melo: How come that the machines that were intended for poll automation weren’t tested? (rephrased) Inside my mind I said, “You just have to put Chairman Melo on the spot when the topic or event on hand does not even talk about poll automation.” Actually, most questions there weren’t about the website, it was more of the poll automation. It seems that most media practitioners don’t really care about how the website will be relevant/irrelevant to our voters. Good thing I was seated in a table with individuals from Radio Caritas. A little exchange of ideas and opinions about the website. Here are some of the things that seemed dubious about website:

• Funding – According to the Racquel Cagurangan, General Manager of Politicalarena.com, the funding came SOLELY from 88DB.com.
• Who initiated it? – It was 88DB who initiated this project then became “in-partnership” with COMELEC. 88DB wanted to become the pioneer in becoming the ‘first socio-political networking site’ here in the Philippines.
• Candidate profiles – It will be the duty of the candidates’ staff to update the profiles there. At the same time, the candidates themselves are expected to “reply” to the questions for each candidate. Also, the candidates that you can see on the page were based, according to Cagurangan, on the “public perceptions”. I don’t know if they did a survey for this of what but this is what bothers me because this is beneficial only for popular candidates. Now how about the aspiring candidates who don’t have money for the campaign? If politicians would like to remove their profile on the site, they may do so but they have to submit a formal letter to them. Sen. Ping Lacson already withdrew on the presidential race and had already sent a formal letter to them. Political Arena reconfirmed it to him. Why is there a need to follow up on him?
• Anti-Smear Campaign – Ideally, the website should not be an arena for destroying the reputation of another candidate. Wow, is this really gonna happen? Signing the MOA for the Anti-Smear Campaign won’t make any difference. According to Cagurangan, their job won’t go further than maintaining the website. Meaning, they take care only of the technical stuff but moderating the things that are being said there, it’s not their job anymore. They will only be moderating the comments and uploaded items when they violate the provisions in the user policy. The basic provisions are the usual ones for forums and social networking websites.

To sum it all up, I know that this is a good avenue to get to know the presidential candidates especially for the OFWs who plan to vote on 2010. The politicians I saw there are the same trapos.

I say temporary because we cannot trust GMA,or any of her allies, that this won’t be pursued again before the national elections. But nevertheless, temporary victory is better than none at all.

Photo by Karla Redor (with Sparks, me, Phoebe, Karen, Mark and Karen)

When ConAss was still ongoing, I participated in 2 of the rallies that were announced through Facebook, Plurk and Twitter. The first one I attended was the silent protest organized by Rock Ed held at Baywalk last June 7th. Different kinds of people congregated there, some of them were people I am connected with 2-3 degrees apart. There were passersby who just stared at the tarpaulin banner Rock Ed prepared which says “Explain Yourselves, Indimidation is the Way of Leaders Who are Weak” and didn’t really bother to know the issue. I heard Phoebe (a fellow blogger) ask “Why aren’t they joining us?”. We were joking that there were some television celebrities there like Pen Medina and Ronnie Lazaro (which were really present there) but people just lurked. Estimated number of people there: probably a hundred. My fellow bloggers and I got hungry after the silent protest and decided to have a dimsum and ensaymada fix after.

The second rally I participated in was at Ayala last June 11th. Not really sure on how many people attended. There are different estimations from 6,000 to 30,000. I would say 6,000 and a little bit more is the right estimate. This was much noisier and all the media and political personalities were there. Even the known ‘balimbings’ are there, riding the bandwagon. It was a peaceful rally. Then the very next day, ConAss was suddenly placed on hold by GMA.

Anti-ConAss rally at Ayala Ave.

Reading a lot of blogs about con-ass made me realize that an alternative form of activism is becoming popular and probably can be effective. Many people say that the online protests about ConAss influenced the Palace to place it on hold. Most likely, the government is already used to street protests. Even though how loud they are on the streets, it seems that the Palace wouldn’t care to listen. This alternative kind of activism, through the use of existing social networking resources in the internet, made Filipinos aware about the pros and cons of the issue.

The question is, are street rallies not enough for us to be heard? I still believe that rallying in the streets isn’t the only way to do activism. I am not saying that it’s not effective anymore but it will be effective if the message will be transmitted to a lot of people.

Shame on you. Shame on the congressmen/women who allowed the passing of HR 1109 in the House of Representatives (or you can call it Bastusang Pambansa). They have the guts to pass this bill 11 months before the national elections! A few weeks ago, the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili sex scandal being queried at the Senate and now HR 1109!

Click here to view the document of HR 1109.

See if your congressman/woman is one of the culprits then place this as a status on your Facebook, Twitter and Plurk – “I am ashamed of my [name of your congressman/woman] for supporting HR 1109″. Spread the word!

NAME DISTRICT/ AREA
ABANTE, BIENVENIDO M. “BENNY” 6TH District Pandacan
ABLAN, ROQUE R. JR \Ilocos Norte, 1st District
AGBAYANI, VICTOR AGUEDO E. Pangasinan, 2nd District
AGYAO, MANUEL, S Kalinga Province
ALBANO (III), RODOLFO T. Isabela, 1st District
ALFELOR, FELIX R. JR. 4th District, Camarines Sur
ALMARIO, THELMA Z. Davao Oriental, 2nd District
ALVAREZ, ANTONIO C. Palawan 1st District
ALVAREZ, GENARO RAFAEL M. JR. Negros Occidental, 6th District
AMANTE, EDELMIRO A. Agusan Del Norte, 2nd District
AMATONG, ROMMEL C. Compostela Valley, 2nd District
ANGPING, MARIA ZENAIDA B. Manila, 3rd District
ANTONINO, RODOLFO W. Nueva Ecija, 4th District
APOSTOL, TRINIDAD G. Leyte, 2nd District
AQUINO, JOSE S. (II) 1st District Agusan del Norte
ARAGO, MARIA EVITA R. 3rd district, Laguna
ARBISON, A MUNIR M. Sulu 2nd District
ARENAS, MA. RACHEL J. Pangasinan, 3rd District
ARROYO, DIOSDADO M. Camarines Sur, 1st District
ARROYO, IGNACIO T. 5th district Negros Occidental
ARROYO, JUAN MIGUEL M. 2nd District of Pampanga
BAGATSING, AMADO S. Manila 5th district
BALINDONG, PANGALIAN M. Lanao del Sur, 2nd District
BARZAGA, ELPIDIO F. JR. Cavite, 2nd District
BAUTISTA, FRANKLIN P. Davao Del Sur, 2nd District
BELMONTE, VICENTE F. JR. Lanao del Norte, 1st District
BICHARA, AL FRANCIS C. Albay, 2nd District
BIRON, FERJENEL G. Iloilo, 4th District
BONDOC, ANNA YORK P. Pampanga 4th District
BONOAN-DAVID, MA. THERESA B. Manila, 4th District
BRAVO, NARCISO R. JR. Masbate, 1st District
BRIONES, NICANOR M. AGAP Party list
BUHAIN, EILEEN ERMITA Batangas, 1st District
BULUT, ELIAS C. JR. Apayao Lone District
CAGAS (IV), MARC DOUGLAS C. Davao Del Sur, 1st District
CAJAYON, MARY MITZI L. Caloocan, 2nd District
CAJES, ROBERTO C. Bohol, 2nd District
CARI, CARMEN L. Leyte, 5th District
CASTRO, FREDENIL H. Capiz, 2nd District
CELESTE, ARTHUR F. Pangasinan, 1st District
CERILLES, ANTONIO H. Zamboanga Del Sur, 2nd District
CHATTO, EDGARDO M. Bohol, 1st District
CHONG, GLENN A. Biliran, Lone District
CHUNG-LAO, SOLOMON R. Ifugai, Lone District
CLARETE, MARINA C. Misamis Occidental, 1st District
CODILLA, EUFROCINO M. SR. Leyte, 4th District
COJUANCO, MARK O. Pangasinan, 5th District
COQUILA, TEODULO M. Eastern Samar, Lone District
CRISOLOGO, VINCENT P. Quezon City, 1st District
CUA, JUNIE E. Quirino, Lone District
CUENCO, ANTONIO V. Cebu City, 2nd District
DANGWA, SAMUEL M. Benguet, Lone District
DATUMANONG, SIMEON A. Maguindanao, Lone District
Dayanghirang, Nelson L. Davao Oriental, 1st District
DAZA, NANETTE C. Quezon City, 4th District
DAZA, PAUL R. Northern Samar, 1st District
DE GUZMAN, DEL R. Marikina City, 2nd District
DEFENSOR, ARTHUR D. SR. Iloilo, 3rd District
DEFENSOR, MATIAS V. JR. Quezon City, 3rd District
DEL MAR, RAUL V. Cebu City, 1st District
DIASNES, CARLO OLIVER D. (MD) Batanes, Lone District
DIMAPORO, ABDULLAH D. Lanao Del Norte, 2nd District
DOMOGAN, MAURICIO G. Baguio, Lone District
DUAVIT, MICHAEL JOHN R. Rizal, 1st District
DUENAS, HENRY M. JR. Taguig, 2nd District (2nd Councilor District)
DUMARPA, FAYSAH MRP. Lanao del Sur, 1st District
DUMPIT, THOMAS L. JR. La Union, 2nd District
DURANO (IV), RAMON H. 5th District, Cebu
ECLEO, GLENDA B. Dinagat Islands, Lone District
EMANO, YEVGENY VICENTE B. Misamis Oriental, 2nd District
ENVERGA, WILFRIDO MARK M. Quezon, 1st District
ESTRELLA, CONRADO M. (III) Pangasinan, 6th District
ESTRELLA, ROBERT RAYMUND M. ABONO Party List
FERRER, JEFFREY P. Negros Occidental, 4th District
GARAY, FLORENCIO C. Surigao Del Sur, 2nd District
GARCIA, ALBERT S. Bataan, 2nd District.
GARCIA, PABLO JOHN F. Cebu, 3rd District
GARCIA, PABLO P. Cebu, 2nd District
GARCIA, VINCENT J. Davao City, 2nd District
GARIN, JANETTE L. Iloilo, 1st District
GATCHALIAN, REXLON T. Valenzuela City, 1st District
GATLABAYAN, ANGELITO C. Antipolo City, 2nd District
GO, ARNULFO F. Sultan Kudarat, 2nd District
GONZALES, AURELIO D. JR. Pampanga 3rd District
GONZALES, RAUL T. JR. Ilo ilo City
GULLAS, EDUARDO R. Cebu, 1st District
GUNIGUNDO, MAGTANGGOL T. Valenzuela City 2nd District
HOFER, DULCE ANN K. Zamboanga Sibugay, 2nd District
JAAFAR, NUR G. Tawi-Tawi, Lone District
JALA, ADAM RELSON L. Bohol, 3rd District
JALOSJOS, CESAR G. Zamboanga del Norte, 3rd District
JALOSJOS-CARREON, CECILIA G. Zamboanga del Norte, 1st District
JIKIRI, YUSOP H. Sulu, 1st District
KHO, ANTONIO T. Masbate, 2nd District
LABADLABAD, ROSENDO S. Zamboanga del Norte, 2nd District
LACSON, JOSE CARLOS V. Negros Occidental, 3rd District
LAGDAMEO, ANTONIO F. JR. Davao del Norte, 2nd District
LAPUS, JECI A. Tarlac, 3rd District
LAZATIN, CARMELO F. Pampanga, 1st District
LIM, RENO G. Albay, 3rd District
LOPEZ, JAIME C. Manila, 2nd District
MADRONA, ELEANORA JESUS F. Romblon, Lone District
MAGSAYSAY, MARIA MILAGROS H. Zambales, 1st District
MALAPITAN, OSCAR G. Caloocan, 1st District
MAMBA, MANUEL N. Cagayan, 3rd District
MANGUDADATU, DATU PAKUNG S. Sultan Kudarat,
MARANON, ALFREDO D. III Negros Occidental, 2nd District
MATUGAS, FRANCISCO T. Surigao del Norte, 1st District
MENDOZA, MARK LEANDRO L. Batangas, 4th District
MERCADO, ROGER G. Southern Leyte, Lone District
MIRAFLORES, FLORENCIO T. Aklan, Lone District
NAVA, JOAQUIN CARLOS RAHMAN A. (MD) Guimaras, Lone District
NICOLAS, REYLINA G. Bulacan, 4th District
NOGRALES, PROSPERO C. Davao City, 1st District
OLAñO, ARREL R. Davao Del Norte, 1st District
ONG, EMIL L. Northern Samar, 2nd District
ORTEGA, VICTOR FRANCISCO C. La Union, 1st District
PABLO, ERNESTO C. APEC Party List
PANCHO, PEDRO M. Bulacan, 2nd District
PANCRUDO, CANDIDO P. JR. Bukidnon, 1st District
PICHAY, PHILIP A. Surigao Del Sur, 1st District
PIñOL, BERNARDO F. JR. North Cotabato, 2nd District
PUNO, ROBERTO V. Antipolo City, 1st District
RAMIRO, HERMINIA M. Misamis Occidental, 2nd District
REMULLA, JESUS CRISPIN C. Cavite, 3rd District
REYES, CARMELITA O. Marinduque, Lone District
REYES, VICTORIA H. Batangas, 3rd District
ROBES, ARTURO G. San Jose Del Monte City, Lone District
Rodriguez-Zaldarriaga, Adelina Rizal, 2nd District
ROMAN, HERMINIA B. Bataan, 1st District
ROMARATE, GUILLERMO A. JR. Surigao del Norte, 2nd District
ROMUALDEZ, FERDINAND MARTIN G. Leyte, 1st District
ROMUALDO, PEDRO Camiguin, Lone District
ROMULO, ROMAN T. Pasig City, Lone District
ROXAS, JOSE ANTONIO F. Pasay City
SALIMBANGON, BENHUR L. Cebu, 4th District
SALVACION JR., ANDRES D. Leyte, 3rd District
SAN LUIS, EDGAR S. Laguna, 4th District
SANDOVAL, ALVIN S. Malabon-Navotas, Lone District
SANTIAGO, JOSEPH A. Catanduanes, Lone District
SANTIAGO, NARCISO D. (III) ARC Party List
SEACHON-LANETE, RIZALINA L. 3rd district of Masbate
SEARES-LUNA, CECILIA M. Abra, Lone District
SILVERIO, LORNA C. Bulacan, 3rd District
SINGSON, ERIC D. Ilocos Sur, 2nd District
SINGSON, RONALD V. Ilocos Sur, 1st District
SOLIS, JOSE G. Sorsogon, 2nd District
SOON-RUIZ, NERISSA CORAZON Cebu, 6th District
SUAREZ, DANILO E. Quezon, 3rd District
SUSANO, MARY ANN L. Quezon City, 2nd District
SY-ALVARADO, MA. VICTORIA R. Bulacan, 1st District
SYJUCO, JUDY J. 2nd Dsitrict, Iloilo
TALINO-MENDOZA, EMMYLOU J. North Cotabato, 1st District
TAN, SHAREE ANN T. Samar, 2nd District
TEODORO, MARCELINO R. Marikina City, 1st District
TEODORO, MONICA LOUISSE PRIETO Tarlac, 1st District
TEVES, PRYDE HENRY A. Negros Oriental, 3rd District
TUPAS, NEIL C. JR. Iloilo, 5th District
UNGAB, ISIDRO T. Davao City, 3rd District
UY, EDWIN C. Isabela, 2nd District
UY, REYNALDO S. Samar, 1st District
UY, ROLANDO A. Cagayan De Oro City, Lone District
VALDEZ, EDGAR L. APEC Party List
VALENCIA, RODOLFO G. Oriental Mindoro, 1st District
VARGAS, FLORENCIO L. Cagayan, 2nd District
VILLAFUERTE, LUIS R. Camarines Sur, 2nd District
VILLAROSA, MA. AMELITA C. Occidental Mindoro, Lone District
VIOLAGO, JOSEPH GILBERT F. Nueva Ecija, 2nd District
YAP, JOSE V. Tarlac, 2nd District
YU, VICTOR J. Zamboanga Del Sur, 1st District
ZAMORA, MANUEL E. 1st District, Compostela Valley
ZIALCITA, EDUARDO C. Parañaque, 1st District

Many people were raged against this issue and felt that taxing imported books only hinder us from knowing things that are outside our boundaries. We know that the internet is already existing however most of us (including me) would still prefer to read printed materials. The quest for knowledge shouldn’t only be through one medium, the reader has the right to choose in which format he or she prefers to get information from. The BOC is being too greedy to Philippine society and they have the gall to be arrogant that they know the law. In fact, they have already been violating the Florence Agreement (United Nations Treaty) which was signed by the Philippines in 1952, stating that all nations have the right to imported information and books and other printed documents should not be taxed at all.

Having said that, Rock Ed decided to conduct a bookbigayan project as a protest to the book blockade. Passersby were able to get the books they want for free and with no taxes involved. The project was done last May 24th at Baywalk, Manila from 3 pm-7 pm. Most people there got the information about this event through the social networking websites such as Plurk, Twitter, Facebook, Multiply and many more. Just imagine how the internet can congregate people to do a worthy cause?

Gang Badoy reading a book with the statue of Mayor Arsenio Lacson (former Manila Mayor) 

Me reading with the ex-mayor

I arrived there late afternoon around 3:30 pm. I was able to help the Rock Ed volunteers set up the books. At first, the common people at the baywalk thought that the books were for sale. When they learned that they weren’t, word spreaded like fire and grabbed the books that they were interested in. The most in-demand books were children’s books and textbooks for high school. It’s good timing as well because school was about to start and with the high amount of tuition fees that they need to pay, at least they got their children’s required textbooks for free. Most of the books I donated were my old textbooks in high school and I’m glad that a child will be able to use it as reference in school.

Myrene Academia of Sandwich and Imago being interviewed by GMA news reporter

Now isn’t Manila Bay’s sunset beautiful?

The good thing is that the book blockade is over. On May 25th, President Arroyo already ordered to scrap the taxes on imported material. The viral and online protest was a success. Press Secretary Remonde said

The President wants books to be within reach of the common man. She believes reading as an important value for intellectual formation, which is the foundation of a healthy public opinion necessary for a vibrant democracy.

Now probably we should focus on the implementation of the president’s order. Some BOC Officials may still want to ‘ransom’ the books you ordered online so shove it to their face if they pursue to impose taxes on those.

Caged Prostitutes in Japan photo credit: Okinawa Soba

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is the illegal trade in human beings and their use by criminals to make money. That could mean deceiving and/or forcing people into prostitution, domestic servitude or manual labor.

It is a tragic form of modern-day slavery and is one of the most urgent human rights problems in the region.

- MTV Exit

Human traffickers target individuals who are eager to elevate their status in life. These criminals woo their targets by luring them with false promises of a bright future. The so-called “victims” are trapped in the (un)safe houses of these syndicates – controlling every move of their modern day slaves. Calling them ‘victims’ would only make them powerless and we need to also change this kind of ‘victim’ mentality.

The idea of human trafficking is rejected by many because it hinders human freedom or human emancipation. Relating it to Marx and other social theorists’ concept of human nature, humans have the capacity to realize their potential aside from being mechanical workers and be productive as human beings .  The idea is to remove the objectification of humans and realize our worth. As you can see, the concept of enslaving humans has existed a long time ago and it’s now time to realize that this kind of activity should be lessened, if not eliminated.

The Need for Global Awareness

In line with the issue at hand, MTV created MTV Exit to raise awareness against human trafficking. Last May 22, 2009, the MTV Exit awareness concert was held at SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds. The concert was absolutely free. Short films and clips about human trafficking were shown to the public to also help them prevent from being exploited. A lot of artists and bands participated in this good cause such as Christian Baustisa, Gary V, Bamboo, Pochoy Labog, Spongecola, Kjwan, Callalily, Pupil, Duster, Kitchie Nadal, Rico Blanco, Itchyworms, Kamikazee, Moy Moy Palaboy and Parokya ni Edgar.

I hope that the people who attended the event were able to understand the issue and spread the message. For more information about human trafficking and MTV Exit, please visit their website at www.mtvexit.org .

Here are some photos of the bands that performed during the event courtesy of @karlaredor.

Chito Miranda of Parokya ni Edgar and Jay Contreras of Kamikazee (performing “Ordertaker”)

Rico Blanco

Kelvin Yu and Jugs Jugueta of Itchyworms

Smiling Ely Buendia of Pupil

Gary V. and Yael Yuzon (together with the rest of Spongecola) perform their song “Ayt” live for the first time

Katwo Puertollano of Duster

Bamboo Manalac and Ira Cruz of Bamboo (last band that performed)

The night before the concert, I was up until 5 am. Supposedly, I was going to sleep early to prep up for this event but something came up. Anyway, I woke up at 11 am and headed to SM Mall of Asia with Karla. We first hung out at Bona Coffee opposite the concert grounds. Karla was wearing her Noytee shirt, the shirt I got didn’t fit me so I requested to meet up with someone from Noytee to get a larger size at 3:30 pm.

Around 4:00 pm, we headed to the VIP entrance as we are expecting that the gates would open at 3:00 pm. Apparently, they’re not letting anyone in yet. Karla and I were the 3rd and 4th person on the right side entrance (near the bay). Patricia and Gerard (newly found friends from Circus) were the 1st and 2nd on the line. We’re complete strangers but the Eraserheads binded us as if we’re already familiar with each other. The guards then were instructed to let the audience in around 4:30 pm. I was really surprised to see how near I am from the stage.

(Me and Karla posing for the cam)

(The Yellow Brigade of Bouncers. They have been there since 11 am)

(Some Circus members in the VIP section, hehe, minus me of course)

I brought a big cloth with me so that it would serve as a mat for us to sit on. Under the heat of the sun, we still managed to wait patiently. I went around to take some photographs using Karla’s camera. I just want to observe the people around. I saw lots of people that I know from Circus (the Eheads Mailing List) and had a quick chit chat with them. This event became the grand EB of Circus. I got my Circus ID courtesy of Jaz (thanks to Levan of course who really took the effort on making those for us).

Different kinds of Eraserheads shirts were worn by fans. Here are some of the pictures I took:

(Eraserheads Team Manila Shirt. Thanks Gerard for modeling for me! )

(Eraserheads Team Pupil Shirt)

(Another Eraserheads Team Manila Shirt. Thanks to Patricia for modeling!)

(Jazz Nicholas of Itchyworms (sessioning for the Eheads also) took a picture of us. I took a picture of him also )

As I was going towards the Gold section and looking at the view of the stage, I realized that the Stickerhappy piano was there. Oh yes, the ever famous piano of Ely Buendia filled with stickers. If you are familiar with the Stickerhappy album (Eheads’ 5th album), it’s on the front and album sleeve (with Joey Mead naked). I personally was able to touch it way back when it was in 70′s Bistro and during the Eraserheads Exhibit in Megamall.

(Ely playing the piano during the soundcheck last March 6, photo by Day Cabuhat)

As the sun was setting down, the concert grounds was beginning to fill up. Friends were texting and calling me to ask where I was located at the venue. Around 8:00 pm, the MTV vjs went onstage and did their hosting stints. As usual, they did their hosting stints as they are required to mention the sponsors (especially about their network, MTV). Anne Curtis, being one of the VJs, misread an Eraserheads song as “Tindahan ni Aling Nene”. What would you expect from them? It’s their job to read and make a fool of themselves in front of the crowd that nobody really cares to listen. I was getting impatient with them as they talk non-sense (promoting their shows i.e. their Paris Hilton show??); wishing that they would get off the stage at once. The people beside me were chanting “Dyosa” to Anne, she felt flattered but I know it was sarcastic. After they had their stint, it took about 10 minutes before the actual show started. I thought that the show would immediately start after their stint but apparently sponsors again flashed their ads in the big video walls. It’s business, can’t help it. Fine.

There was an Audio-Visual Presentation of old Eraserheads videos that came from MTV shows. It was like a timeline of how the band was formed and there were never before seen like the bloopers. Of course the video when they took home the Moon Man for the MTV Asia International Viewer’s Choice for Asia was shown.

“Salamat sa Diyos. Maraming Salamat to all the fans who voted for us, BMG Pilipinas, Aureus our director, Robin our producer, our crew, MTV Asia, our families and friends.
ELY: Mabuhay ang Noypi!
ALL: Bogchi!”

There was this interview with VJ KC (Montero) which he asked the Eheads “Is the Eraserheads going to disband?” and I think it was Raymund and Ely who answered “No”. The irony of it is that they are already disbanded. As one Eheads song goes “Marami ang namamatay sa MALING AKALA” .

After a few minutes, there was an alphabet countdown (yeah, this has never been done haha) and it ended up at the inverted letter E (of course as in E-raserheads). This was the cue that the concert is about to start. Fans were screaming as robotic looping sounds of “Eraserheads” were heard mixed with the sound of thumping pulse and beeping. The band was already onstage staring at the excited audience. Loop sounds of “Punk Zappa” were also played on the foreground with the pulse and beep as the background. As the looping sounds end, the outro of “Butterscotch” (the backmasked guitar riff) was also heard then BOOM! The initial fireworks lit up the stage with the word Eraserheads flashed on the videowalls. Raymund gave the cue to start the band to play “Magasin”.

(First Song: Magasin)

By the way, here is the complete setlist. Total number of songs they performed: 27. I will narrate some highlights for every set so bear with me please .

1st set:

Magasin
Walang Nagbago
Maling Akala
Maskara
Poorman’s Grave
Waiting for the Bus
Huwag Mo nang Itanong
Slo Mo
Alkohol
Insomya
Torpedo

Highlights on the first set:

1. There were fireworks after Magasin. Ely changed a line on the lyrics “Medyo pangit ka pa noon, HANGGANG NGAYON”. Well actually, he was doing that way back.
2. Ely almost forgot the intro of “Poor Man’s Grave” and took the everyone’s attention that he will do it again. (I can take over for him, hehehe).
3. Ely threw his Levi’s Denim jacket towards our direction and guess what? The 6 of us were literally holding on to the jacket. This is how we literally fought over Ely’s jacket. I wasn’t on the picture because I was dragged on the ground. Haha. The bouncer (without the cap) was already saying that the jacket should be given to the girls (i.e. MINE and the other girl!). Of course, the men wouldn’t allow it because their hands grabbed it also. And so this bouncer (with the cap) confiscated the jacket. The 6 of us were worried that he might not give it back to us. He came back to us after the first set and was asking for a bribe (pang-merienda lang daw). WOW. Of course we didn’t give in to his demands (ano ito, ransom???) and so the 6 of us decided to just divide the jacket among us just to compromise. We might be reprimanded with unruly behavior (and the concert might be stopped because of us) that’s why just to get over it (since we’re from Circus anyway), we decided to cut the jacket into parts after the concert since scissors were not allowed in the venue. The jacket became a ‘sacred object’, you know in the religious sense? It was so immature of me but what the hell, this would be the last time that i’ll be doing this. Haha.



4. During “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong”, they rearranged it into a reggae version and let Marcus do the vocals. Actually, Marcus does this during his gigs with Markus Highway. Jazz Nicholas (of Itchyworms) took over the drums as Raymund was frantically reggae dancing onstage. Marcus changed the first line of the song as “Chika ang inabot ko” and was singing “Hindi ko sasabihin sa yooooo” during the chorus. Ely also danced on stage (wahahaha), he never do that but he tried his very best (wehehe).





5. The audience were chanting “group hug” but Marcus heard it as “Bruha”. Ely then asked “Sinong bruha?”
6. The audience again chanted “group hug” he responded “Kayo muna!”. He saw us hug and he said “Eh ang konti nyo eh!”.
7. Raymund took over the vocals on “Slo Mo”, “Alkohol” and “Insomya”

   (I love this picture taken by Karla, they were asking the audience to sing the chorus of “Alkohol” with them)

8. 

   People were chanting for Buddy to sing solo; he mocked the audience by singing the first line of “Fabulous Baker Boy” -> “They come for me for doughnuts….”

There was a few minutes break. The Eheads were seen being lifted by a hydraulic stage. It was a ‘homie’ production set up with Ely seated at the sofa, Marcus and Buddy seated on high stools and Raymund of course with his acoustic drum kit.

2nd set (the Acoustic/Unplugged set)

Julie Tearjerky
Tikman
Wishing Wells
Fine Time
Pare Ko
Kailan
Back2Me (Plugged)
Trip to Jerusalem (Plugged)
Spoliarium (Plugged)
Overdrive (Plugged)

Highlights of the 2nd Set:

1. Raymund entered the stage with his skateboard.
2. Ely asked the audience “How do you like our new home?”
3. At the end of “Fine Time”, Ely gave Buddy the cue to sing the last line “Basta’t kayakap ka ay okey”
4. Ely joked “kung may gusto kyong i-request isulat nyo lang s 1/4 sheet of paper lengthwise tapos pabigay s waiter”.
5. Ely changed some lyrics of “Pare Ko” into “Yun pala, magaling na siya sa kama. Akala ko ay dehins pa”. Again, they’ve done this way back.
6. Ely stood up at frontstage right and sang “Kailan” with Jazz Nicholas playing the Stickerhappy piano in the background. This is the first time that Ely sang only with the accompaniment of a piano. Good job! While Ely was at the middle of the song, a guy near me shouted “I love you Ely” and Ely replied on the mic “I love you too pare”.
7. At the end of “Overdrive”, they played the outro of “Trip to Jerusalem” which goes like this.. “Spin, spin, gonna spin it around”. Again, this was never done before. Yipee!!
8. Ely threw his Puma sneakers to the audience. No, it wasn’t me who got it. haha.

There was a 6 minute break before the Encore Set. This was the tribute to one of their closest friends in the industry, Francis M. Kiko was supposed to appear during “Superproxy”. As we all know, this was the song they collaborated for Cutterpillow.

Encore set 1: (Tribute to Francis M)

Superproxy
Minsan
Alapaap
Kaleidoscope World (sang only the Chorus)
Ang Huling El Bimbo (The Finale)

Highlights of Encore Set 1:

1. Raymund stood up from his drum kit holding a folder with “Man from Manila” written on it. Obviously, that already hinted the audience that this will be for Francis.
2. Ely and Raymund sang the rap parts that was originally done by Francis. I still remember the rap part by heart.
3. Alapaap was rearranged. Ely was singing “Masdan mo aking mata” for about 8 times with the sound of sitar playing in the background. It was a mellow version; the other guys came in on the last chorus. This was the best Alapaap version I have ever heard before. Wow.
4. They sang Kiko’s song “Kaleidoscope World” but only the chorus. I remember they sang the whole song, together with Kiko, way back during the “Electric Fun” concert at the Folk Arts Theater.
5. They were finally able to sing the final song “Ang Huling El Bimbo”. To tell you honestly, I cried in the middle of the song. I didn’t anticipate the tears but it just fell down my cheeks. I think Buddy saw me crying. It’s really unexplainable. I know that I have already moved on. Maybe I cried because I finally saw that Ely is back. All throughout the show, he was enjoying himself and didn’t seem to be forced on doing something that he didn’t like. This was the Eraserheads that I saw way back when they were still together: joking around, didn’t care if they made a mistake on a certain part, etc. If i will be comparing it to the first, I like this one better because I know they were all enjoying.
6. The song ended and Ely said “ITO NA ANG HULING EL BIMBO”. During the instrumental, The unexpected happened. Ely lit up a piece of paper using a lighter and threw it on the Stickerhappy piano. It became a symbolism of the end of the Eraserheads. I don’t know if the other guys knew that he would be doing that. I think he just wanted to say to the fans to move on and apppreciate the present. I suddenly remembered Elton John as he did that too with his piano. Another famous singer I remembered was George Michael as he lit up his jacket to symbolize that the end of the “old” closet gay George Michael and the start of the out and proud George Michael.







(oh yeah, Karla took a picture of me crying. wahhh!!!!)

7. 

   There were fireworks again after the final song. They all bowed (and semi hugged ) and Ely said “We ARE the Eraserheads”. If you will notice, it was used in the present tense.

Encore 2:
Ligaya
Sembreak/Toyang

Highlights of the Encore 2:

1. Raymund came back onstage and asked the audience “Ano, gusto niyo pa?”. He asked the audience to call the others. Ely, Buddy and Marcus came back. I was able to read Raymund mouth, he said something like “Sorry…”. He was apologizing maybe because they weren’t prepared for anything for this set.



2. Ely changed the lyrics of “Ligaya” into “Gagawin ko ang lahat pati ang misis mo”…
3. Ely forgot some lyrics of Sembreak and immediately proceeded towards the last verse. Then he asked Raymund “tapos na?”. haha.
4. Ely went down to the audience and gave the mic to some people in the VIP section. Unfortunately I wasn’t one of the people who sang “Toyang” but I was able to hold his hand.
5. Ely gave Tim Yap the opportunity to sing “Toyang”, apparently, he wasn’t prepared. Lots of fans hated him because of that because it was a very common song. Well give him a break, he’s there to cover the event and was probably one of the ‘friends’ of Ely’s entourage.

Remember Ely’s jacket?? Here’s the documentation on how we divided the jacket. hehe. This is to be fair and square to everyone who got involved in this rowdy incident. haha. I have now realized that Levi’s is really good quality. A lot of effort was made to cut the seams dude!!

(This is my share; still have to decide what part to give Karla )

By the way, here are some additional videos or blogs you can view about the event:

Schizo’s You tube video- “Ang Huling El Bimbo” live stream

Karla ‘s blog post

Karla’s blog post 2

Nielsen’s YouTube video- Ely singing “Kailan” with piano accompaniment

http://zarathustralf.multiply.com/journal/item/36/Eraserheads_Final_Set_Experience_03.07.2009

Jake Yrastorza’s blog post

(if you have blogged about this one, just comment below and i’ll add it here )

]]> http://www.rockerfem.com/this-is-the-last-el-bimbo-my-eraserheads-final-set-experience/feed/ 72 http://www.rockerfem.com/why-do-you-want-to-blog/ http://www.rockerfem.com/why-do-you-want-to-blog/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:00:21 +0000 Sharlyne Ang http://www.rockerfem.com/?p=467 This is my commentary about Prof. Danny Arao’s blog post: Huwag Kang Magblog Kung…

Prof. Danny Arao’s blogpost about bloggers who become “sell outs” in the blogosphere is indeed thought provoking. I have been blogging for a long time but it was only until now that I get to meet some other bloggers in “real life” through the the different blogger or media events organized by different marketing or pr agencies. It’s only now I realize that there are some perks by becoming a blogger. I must admit it was fun since I get to experience things I have not done before ( especially the food that I have not tasted before). In exchange of letting me experience those perks of course I should return the favor by writing about their product or event etc. That’s ‘social exchange theory’ in real life, but it’s not being forced. Even though they feed me with all the food they want, nothing can control me on what I will say. I will still write a bad review if I didn’t like the taste of the food or if the service is bad. I make sure that it’s being done constructively and not because I am being too personal about it.

Prof. Arao’s article poses a question towards bloggers self motivation in blogging. It is a fact that there are some bloggers who are just concerned about blog monetization and not about the content. Spamming their blogs with topics that are “marketable” or has “high value” leaves the objective of the whole blog itself. I am not saying that everything should be political or highly intellectual. There are lots of things to write about not just “high valued” topics. These “high valued” topics are then translated into monetary value and that’s how the ad networks work. I learned this from Karla, who is a geek in those kind of stuff, and explained to me on how to earn money by just blogging. It was only a few months ago when I started Google Adsense and I only have a few dollars. I appreciate the dollar amount but it’s not really the end goal.

Another thing also that he mentioned was to consider our audience, i.e. our readers. Prof. Arao mentioned that we have to be responsible on the things we write or what would be the consequence and outcome of this to the audience. Yes, the blogosphere is a public domain, however this is a different kind of domain wherein audiences can create their own identity, i.e. reality. We cannot say that the intention of the blogger would reflect in what he/she writes. In this scenario, the blogger can transform his/her identity without the readers knowing it. The identity of the blogger is not attached to the article he/she wrote. As for the readers, they have their own mind as to how they will interpret the things we write. I believe that agency ( the individual) is still important and that not all human beings are always pre-determined by market forces. It is a give and take relationship. Readers will say what they want to say, or they can also re-interpret what we say and make it into their own ( like what I am doing now ).

In conclusion, I think that people have different motivations on why they blog and we should respect that. Blog monetization is not totally bad at all, being a ‘sell out’ is bad. I think that Prof. Arao’s post excludes people who really do blog monetization ( coming from the title of the blog post itself). I would like to say that they are also writers who contribute and create meaning to the blogosphere. It somewhat creates “exclusivity” among ” responsible” bloggers (as what he is imposing) vs the “irresponsible” bloggers. Does this mean that there is a distinction being made? What makes a blogger “responsible”? If there is such thing, what are the criteria on being “responsible”?

Now for you as my reader right now I pose these questions to you:

Why did you read this blog post?

(if you are a blogger) Why do you blog?

What do you think is a blogger?

You might want to read this related blog post about audiences

http://www.rockerfem.com/2008/08/20/expecto-patronum-to-the-dementors-who-want-to-stop-the-magical-mystery-tour/

dear wizards and witches

there is some disturbing news at the ministry of magic. the dementors
are doing everything they can to stop the show.

be safe

aldus dumbledore

Dare not to stop the show. It’s the law that has a flaw, Phillip Morris was able to seep into the loophole.

Now the question would be: Would you say that the fans who want this show to push through are “unintelligent” just because they don’t f*cking care whoever sponsors or ‘organizes’ the show?

I remember when I was in college, my thesis was about fandom. I wanted to do a different kind of study and portray fans as ‘intelligent’ beings in this world as opposed to the common notion of fans being the “commoners”, ” unproductive” ( meaning all they do is stalk with their idols) and justify that their idols actions are always correct.

The Frankfurt School theorists ( rooted from the believers of Karl Marx’s theories) would insist that fans are products of mass culture. As for them, mass culture is bad, monstrous and only makes people fantasize about the impossible and ‘alienates’ people from the reality of life. Mass Culture as for them operates with different apparatuses that would control the recipients of mass culture ( i.e. the fans). In this sense, we are led to have the common notion of the fan to be just mere passive audiences. If you will try to analyze it, it is somewhat a one-way relationship when fans just get pleasure from their idols and nothing can be no intellectual or cultural production can be produced from their idols. ( Try thinking about your biology in high school, it’s a symbiotic relationship called commensalism wherein only one benefits while the other doesn’t benefit at all). This kind of notion is pathological since they are the kinds of fans that media shows us.

I beg to disagree that I am like that. I am not that kind of fan. I want the show to happen.

Fans have the power to resist within their domain. Whoever the sponsor of the event is, fans will still support the show. Fans have the capability to resist whatever the motive of the sponsor is. If Phillip Morris is indeed the real sponsor ( which was by the way already confirmed), fans can still attend the event and not accept whatever Phillip Morris advocates. It’s just simple logic, it’s non-sequitur! It does not follow that if a person attends this event then people will advocate smoking. Wow, isn’t that illogical?! By the way, people have individual brains and can decide for themselves. The problem is, we are always concerned about the structural and always neglect agency ( or the individual). People are focused only on the economic structure being the big bad wolf when in fact there are other structures where we can work on. Focus on the ‘is’, capitalism or consumerism IS already here ever since and what we can do right now is to work WITHIN capitalism. Now, don’t mistake me as an elitist, I am just being pragmatic.

I understand other people’s orientation that personal is political. I accept that. But that is not always the case.

I am a fan, a logical fan.