The Comfort Rooms

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Everybody has got his and her own stories about the Great Flood that happened over the weekend.

Deaths, livelihoods lost, families separated, cries, frustrations, fears, rains, muds, and even dogs fighting for dear life on makeshift rivers we all used to know as roads or kalsada.

We all know that this is only temporary. The sun will always come out tomorrow. No matter how dark and dreary your storm has become, the hope of a brighter and sunnier tomorrow will keep you going.

The circumstance has left us in deep thought, contemplating on what this event has brought to each of us. I guess we are not yet in the position to answer that question. How we continue on with life in the coming days and for others, weeks and months will determine how we have coped up. Remember y'all that there is someone high above who is willing to help us out.

Look at the bright side, people are helping each other out now.

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Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, I was able to check out a ton of videos for this blog post. I have gathered here the Ten Best American Idol Performances. Everything was purely based on my opinion. No outside consultations, just which performances gave me the most chill and rank them from one to ten. My top three to five were almost given, but whichever came in from six to ten had to be reconsidered over and over again.

Some winners and other famous hopefuls didn't make my cut so some of you might think "why no Jordin Sparks or Kelly Clarkson or Clay Aiken et al"? Well guess what, it was hard not to put other really good singers inside my top ten because others were very good too! Whoever has reached the highest of octaves didn't necessarily reached my top 10. Everything was purely out of whoever gave me the most chills, and whoever had that magic based on that performance. No artist appeared twice on my list. Here it goes:


1. Danny Gokey "You Are So Beautiful" (sorry for the video quality. YouTube and this year's AI Season weren't surely the best of friends)
2. Fantasia Barrino "I Believe"
3. David Cook "Billie Jean"
4. Bo Bice "In a Dream"
5. Elliot Yamin "A Song For You"
6. Chris Daughtry "Have You Really Loved A Woman"
7. Katharine Mcphee "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"
8. Adam Lambert "One"
9. Blake Lewis "You Give Love A Bad Name"
10. Constantine Maroulis "Bohemian Rhapsody"

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I think it was last week that my boss mentioned this over lunch, about young Pinoy fags dancing to Beyonce's Single Ladies in some rural basketball court and somebody had it uploaded on YouTube. Just a few minutes ago on Facebook, another friend posted this video and there, I finally got to catch the video.

What can I say about it? Well, to be kind enough, the choreography was so precise, you would think they must have watched the video for at least a hundred times. The swivel, snap and every sway was well, let's leave Beyonce and the others to do those steps instead.

I'm sure all sane people must have had eerie thoughts once they got to mince and dice everything about the video. It was actually scary and disturbing.

Try to watch that video. And make sure, no kids get to watch this as well.

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I'm usually the last person who'd be addicted to quotes but whenever I get to catch a good one, I usually get glued to it. I don't have the memory for pretty bad quotes, I only get to recall those lines that usually make an impact or make my day great or just plain make me happy.

I have this Canadian friend named Curtis (the guy on the right) and he's got this Tumblr account and its all about quotes. If the world knows about Rockapalooza and Loveappaloza, I call his blog -Gwapo Quotes (http://gwapoquotes.tumblr.com/) Quotapalooza.

Its got all sorts of quotes, from statesmen and rockstars alike. Even sex kittens and rappers were not spared. Some quotes left me happy, others thinking, and others spaced-out. Haha!
And he needs more quotes! The site is pretty new so if you got some good ones out there, don't hesitate to visit his site and send him some!

Meanwhile, here are some of my favorite quotes from his site:

"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves."

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Newspaper would normally arrive between 8 and 9 in the morning everyday, delivered by the old man we would all lovingly call "manong diyaryo". It seems pretty late for some, although I prefer the newspaper to be delivered at around 6am. The first thing I would always wanna do once the newspaper arrives? Look for the sports section.

I read somewhere in Facebook that the reason why sports is so good is that there is not definite script. You will really not know who the winner is until the decision has arrived. Sports is very dramatic. Its got cheating, scandals, upsets, competition, training, gambling, triumph, despair, everything. Sports is life. It is both health and death.

The past couple of weeks has been very good to all sports lovers. Here are my random sports musings:

Caster Semenya
The 18-year old South African has been on the spotlight for at least month now, thanks to her 800m gold at the World Championships in Berlin not too long ago. What made this story so intriguing is that people think she wasn't a woman after all! A Hermaphrodite is what the media has been insinuating since her triumph. Her home country cried racism and other stuff in defense of their golden girl. But when you really look at, observe, and listen to her, she just talks and acts like a man as well. Could be a lesbian, but hey, it will be none of our business over what would be her sexual preference. As to her real gender, let's just shut up and wait for results. Although I would feel bad should she receive the news that she's a hermaphrodite according to gender test results.

Mayweather vs. Marquez
That fight will commence in around 2 hours and I'm predicting a Juan Manuel Marquez victory. I mean, give that guy a break. He's the only fighter I think who can give Pacman a big scare and for that, I give him the props to beat Mayweather in a 12-rounder unanimous decision. Should JMM win, then Pacman will be the second person to beat Floydie. I wonder what will the biggest ego-head of a father, Floydie Sr., would say this time after the fight? I wanna hear him react should his son lose. Hmmmm.

US Open 2009
This has been the most exciting grand slam event I can remember since the French Open of 1999. We have new stars in Melanie Oudin, Marin Cilic, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Querrey, Yanika Wickmayer and John Isner. Serena Williams' very controversial verbal with the line judge and her default of her semis match. Andy Murray and Andy Roddick's disappointing finish on what was predicted would be potential men's singles finale. Federer's upset and word war with the chair umpire. Juan Martin del Potro's coming of age as the newest major winner and of course, Kim Clijsters' amazing comeback from motherhood and back to winning the trophy.

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Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

Harana - Parokya Ni Edgar

Can't Help Falling In Love With You - Elvis Presley

The Great Pretender - The Platters

Imagine - John Lennon

I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing - Aerosmith

You Are So Beautiful - Joe Cocker

Ang Huling El Bimbo - Eraserheads

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I feel the blog blood flowing so yeah, this feels really, really good. Office doesn't allow me to blog and work is not easy. So yeah, blogging is suddenly becoming a therapy now. Man, i really feel great right now. Feels like stress coming from my brain and nerve endings deflate sporadically all at the same time.

I'm finally releasing some dormant creativity. It feels great. Hopefully, this has some weight-losing effect. Haha! Dream on!

Being so busy is much better than being at home and idle. I'd choose this life over a life confined sitting on the couch watching tv. Plus I earn money with my own sweat and not just waiting for money to be deposited on my account/s.

Blogging coupled with music is just pure bliss. One thing missing would be some cute girl cuddling with me. Haha! And oh, some helping of my favorite siomai and/or tikoy! My two favorite foods, by the way.

Here's what's on my playlist:
Cake - I Will Survive
Girlfriend - Nelly / NSync
Feels Like Home - Chantal Kreviaziuk
I Don't Wanna Kiss You Goodnight - LFO
Bohemian Rhapsody - The Braids
Take On Me - A-Ha
Say What You Want - Texas / Method Man

Meanwhile, let me enjoy myself first. Work is hard!!!

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I used to liken him to the Beast in The Beauty and The Beast. His 6'6" behemoth is beastly, add to that his always not-quite-shaven face. He's got a long wingspan which is potentially a great weapon in every tennis match. Add to that his Latino tenacity and passion which his people are so known for. Meet Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open Men's Singles Champion.

Exactly 12 months ago, he was this teenager who was just having this mean winning streak in the North American hard courts. His winning streak propelled him straight into the top 10, making everyone take notice. However, his breakout was not really the most celebrated one in tennis as another athlete in the person of Andy Murray was more celebrated by both the ATP rankings and the media.

At first it was Novak Djokovic, then came Andy Murray. Djoke was almost successful since his 2008 Aussie Open win marked the first time a non-Federer or Nadal won in 4 years. However, it proved to be not so special. He battled a then-sick Federer in the semis and finished off a then-unknown Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. Andy Murray has been all hype but no major. Though he was successful in pushing Rafael Nadal out of the top 2 since 2005, his no-major-trophy status makes him more of a pretender than a contender.

What makes Juan Martin del Potro different from the two is this -he's the first person to defeat both Nadal and Federer in a major. He downed Rafa in straight sets during their semis encounter and he came from behind to claim his first major over Federer in a 4-hour 5-setter.

At first it was the Big Three. Then came Murray, which created the Big Four. Now comes del Potro. Big Five? How about Andy Roddick? Big Six? How about Tsonga, Gonzales, Verdasco and Soderling? Nah, for the first time, the men's tennis is wide open. It's becoming a lot more exciting.

And oh, congrats Kim Clijsters for winning as well!

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This should be the line call of the decade. That one "foot fault" ended a fiercely-fought match between two of the best women tennis players of their generation. One trying to assert her position as the real world number one despite winning three of the last four grand slams, the other, a returning mother back from a 2-year hiatus.

Here was what Serena Williams said as quoted: "I swear to God I'll f*cking take this ball and shove it down your f*cking throat! Do you hear me? I swear to God. You better be glad--you better be f*cking glad that I'm not, I swear."

Sorry for the language but that was how angry she was. We often see players shouting at linesmen but this was, in my opinion, magnified into larger proportions. The lineswoman mentioned that Williams mentioned to her that she would be killing her. I felt bad for Serena there. One thing, I thought it wasn't a foot fault. Second, after losing the first set, they gave her a code violation for breaking her racket out of frustration. Seriously, how often did Serena do that and how often do they give players such violation. Federer didn't get one back in March or even Zvonareva when she had a tantrum earlier at the US Open this year. Why single out Serena?

I feel bad for Serena. I know she's a sore loser but she will never be too good for tennis. Her 11 grand slams will always lose its luster against her counterparts' lesser hauls. She would never get the respect other players get. Poor Serena.

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September 11, 2001 was pretty much a normal day at first. Be at school between 11am and 3pm. Get back home and just finish with the day's activities. I was staying with my cousins since their place offers a better commute to my school compared to the 14-mile distance from my parents' home.

We were just scanning thru CNN when we noticed the World Trade Center on fire while another plane hit the other tower. We thought it was just a movie. Not until we noticed BBC and other news channels covering the same event. H-O-L-Y C-R-A-P. Something really bad must be going on. America, of all places, has been under a terror attack. And oh, not just the World Trade Center, but also The Pentagon! And another plane going down on Pennsylvania that was intended to hit The White House. D-O-U-B-L-E H-O-L-Y C-R-A-P.

Who was the culprit? Instincts pointed me towards China, the Balkan states, and the ultra-fundamentalist Taliban regime of Afghanistan. Well one of my guesses were correct. And we know the rest on what had happened. Lives have been taken away, safety has been so much in the forefront, peace has suddenly looked like a bygone era. Lines have been drawn, money spent in gargantuan proportions, life has never been the same again.

It made the whole world a little bit more paranoid, both for its benefit and destruction. Everyone can and will at some point be suspected as the bad guy. Theories and conspiracy theories have been heard, both real and unreal. How has the world been post-9/11 attacks?

Everybody knew what happened on that fateful day. It was done. What's important is how the world reacted towards it. It's been eight years since. A lot has really happened.

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I was actually thinking of a different thing to blog about (the new iPods to be exact) but while I was holding back a runny nose, I just randomly thought of people who were once kind of famous but has suddenly just got out off radar's reach. For example, the sexy actress Rina Reyes of Seiko Films fame. Where is she now?

Do you have other celebrities in mind? Share your thoughts!

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If I were to believe what Facebook has predicted would be my own death, I would have stopped breathing on this exact date and exact minute doing this exact specific thing:I know it would be the most retarded thing ever to believe what Facebook predicted would be my death but it won't hurt either if I would take this as a health warning.

Who wants to kill himself because of too much eating? I don't. Who wants to suffer a stroke and get paralyzed sitting on a wheel chair, I certainly wouldn't want either. My maternal grandmother has been paralyzed for a good 6 years before she died 6 years ago and her suffering was not the best thing you would wanna see.

In a way, I guess people get sick so that we can learn from them. A relative died of lung cancer, thanks to his cigarette smoking. A family friend died on a car accident while being heavily intoxicated and cruising along a not-so-occupied Fort Bonifacio Global City road eight years ago.

I just had this feeling that whatever it was we were eating would determine the kind of life we will be experiencing should we hit 50 years and beyond.

I love my life, but loving it involves a whole lot of responsibility. Life is worth living and enjoying. I should take good care of it.