"Stay Together For The Kids"
Blink 182

It's hard to wake up, when the shades have been pulled shut
This house is haunted, it's so pathetic, it makes no sense at all
I'm ripe with things to say, the words rot and fall away
What stupid poem could fix this home, I'd read it every day

So here's your holiday, hope you enjoy this time, you gave it all away.
It was mine, so when you're dead and gone, will you remember this night?
Twenty years now lost. It's not right.

Their anger hurts my ears, been running strong for seven years
Rather then fix the problems, they never solve them, it makes no sense
I see them everyday, we get along so why can't they?
If this is what he wants, and it's what she wants, then why is there so much pain?

So here's your holiday, hope you enjoy this time, you gave it all away.
It was mine, so when you're dead and gone, will you remember this night?
Twenty years now lost. It's not right.

So here's your holiday, hope you enjoy this time, you gave it all away.
It was mine, so when you're dead and gone, will you remember this night?
Twenty years now lost. It's not right.
It's not right.
It's not right.
It's not right.

Whenever I hear this song, I don't know whether to feel pissed off at the parents or to commend them for "staying together for the kids". This song was sung by a band which I thought was unlikely to make a song like this, but still a band I am a big fan of. Since Blink 182, in my eyes, is a band that has the devil-may-care attitude and the ones who could most probably get away with murder. But surprise, surprise, they can compare notes with issues like this.

I have a friend who is in the same situation as the entity in the song. She's definitely a friend, she's not me, since she's an only child and I'm the middle child (complete with middle child syndrome...)! Moving on, my friend is already expressing how painful it is for her knowing that her parents aren't happy staying together. According to her, her parents want to stay together so that she wouldn't have to go through a life of having separated parents, and well we all know how a big a deal that situation is. I'm not a big fan of separation, but what's the use of staying together if they still fight?

Their anger hurts my ears, been running strong for seven years. Rather then fix the problems, they never solve them, it makes no sense. I see them everyday, we get along so why can't they? If this is what he wants, and it's what she wants, then why is there so much pain?

No matter how sad and painful this song can be, it's still one of my favorites. I guess its honesty is part of its charm. There aren't any unfathomable words, but stringed together the words look intricate, also a lot of kids can relate to it and I like punk. Through this song, I feel as if I've gone through this, but thank goodness, I haven't. Whoever's going through this though, has all my prayers and my empathy which is the only thing I can do right now.

Credits to www.eastcorkcameragroup.ie/members/gallery.album03

America's Next Top Model Cycle 4

Do you have what it takes to be America's Next Top Model? Obviously this reality tv show is about women aspiring to become the next top model since Tyra Banks has retired. I have watched about 3 cycles of this show, cycle 3, 4 and currently watching cycle 5. My favorite is cycle 4, because I like the contestants and whenever I watch them I sometimes think of being a photographer. Moving on, every week there is definitely a photo shoot since that's what models do and in between there are catfights and the judging/criticizing, etc. Basically I guess this show was made for teenagers who wanted to see the glamour in modeling and to inspire teenagers who wanted to be models.

While watching this show, I sometimes think Tyra Banks is too much. I know that she is a great model but having this show gave me the feeling that without her the modeling industry would have a great shortcoming or something, well, this is my opinion. Anyways, I really like how the challenges Tyra and the other producers make the other models do like a photo shoot of the 7 Mortal Sins shot in a coffin. Also in when they were photographed wherein they had to be of a different race, their makeovers were amazing and I am left in awe of the make-up artists. Imagine an African American turned into a Korean, that's the power of make-up. After all it is a show involving fashion and somehow I get tips at least.

All in all what I have to say about this show is it's addicting. Also, everyone is pretty much interested about the high-fashion life and all that jazz so that's why a lot of viewers support them. Not to mention, Tyra Banks is there! So why not watch it? I may sound sarcastic but she is one the reasons why I watched the show in the first place. So thanks to media and their popular personalities I now know that if I ever go into advertising or something is that I shouldn't look down on the celebrities' power.

Credits to wikipedia.com for the image above.

Eiji Onizuka, a graduate from a third-grade university cum a gangster head, has always wanted to be a great teacher. An opportunity has come when a school is short of a teacher and he happens to get employed! Although his gangster status and attitude create lots of headaches for many, his warmth towards teaching gradually touches them and gains their acceptance.
(Summary taken from http://www.jdorama.com/)

This drama hasn't aired yet in the Philippines, but thanks to my reliable source I got to watch it. Of course, it wasn't dubbed, so I had to rely on the subs, which was fine for me since I wanted to hear how Japanese people conversed and how they pronounced their common phrases, like "Sayonara" which I have often heard in an American accent. Anyways, I found out about this series, since I saw the anime on Animax, so there.

What drew my attention to watch this show was its plot. It wasn't ordinary and it was surprising, I mean, come on! Can a gangster head really be a teacher? But I guess that's what drew me and the Japanese viewers to watch this. Well, since he is a gangster, there weren't any boring parts seeing how he used his brute force and clever tactics to show his students how much he cares for them. Like in my favorite episode wherein there was this genius student who didn't want to go to school anymore, since the lessons there for him are mediocre and out of his league. Yet thanks to Onizuka, who showed him how in school you just don't learn facts, you learn lessons in life which could not be read in books and in school you gain friends, which is one of the most important factors. Also in another episode where he literally broke the wall separating the mother and father of one of his students, which actually mended the relationship of the family, isn't he so cool?

I guess the Japanese really have a way of showing how important teachers are. The way they treat their "sensei" is already integrated into their systems but still this show has garnered a lot of attention or rather ratings. This is already part of their culture and for me it would be a good way for us to be enculturated with it. I'm not typing this to suck up or anything, but the teachers we see aren't the only teachers around. So whenever someone gave us new knowledge, learnings, etc. we should be thankful and show them respect. (Right, Miss?)

Credits to google.com for the pictures and jdorama.com for the summary.

Twins Gillian Chung Victimized by Spying Paparazzis

(Credits to Karazen Staff and Min Lee of Canadian Press)

HONG KONG (AP) Aug 24, 2006 - The cover of a Hong Kong magazine that shows a photo of a local pop star adjusting her bra while changing backstage has stirred an outcry, with critics denouncing the display as despicable.

The current issue of Easy Finder magazine shows Gillian Chung of the Hong Kong female pop duo Twins fixing her bra backstage at a concert at the Malaysian entertainment resort of Genting last week. Her breast is not revealed. The second, smaller cover photo shows Chung naked shoulder up. The headline reads, "Ah Kiu releases bra near back window," using Chung's Chinese nickname.

The voyeuristic photo has drawn protests from the government, editorialists, journalists and members of the public who filed hundreds of complaints against the cover to government regulators. Easy Finder didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

The exact situation remains unclear, what’s confirmed is that a hidden pinhole camera was planted in the changing room for TWINS concert in Genting Highland, and pictures were taken of Gillian naked without her knowing it.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said in a statement the photos violated professional ethics and "seriously" violated personal privacy. "The association believes reporters should respect personal reputation and privacy. They should avoid violating privacy when reporting on a subject's private life without his or her consent," the statement said.

The respected Ming Pao Daily News said in an editorial Thursday the cover "can only be described as dirty and obscene." "These magazines, for the sake of galvanizing readers and spike circulation, have stooped to a level where they use illegitimate means, and anything goes," it wrote.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Joseph Wong was quoted as saying in Ming Pao, "taking photos secretly is always wrong." "The wording in magazines is getting increasingly obscene and gross," Wong told a private gathering with reporters.

Chung's record label EEG is seeking legal advice, it said in a statement.

Hong Kong's in-your-face paparazzi tactics have drawn fire before. Eastweek magazine was shut down amid the backlash after publishing on its cover a photo of a visibly distressed, seminude female star, widely reported to be Carina Lau, in October 2002.

http://www.karazen.com/news/2006/AUG/gillian_08_22.php

Sometimes, people don't know what their limitations are. When I read this article, I felt pissed off at whoever took those pictures since it was a complete violation of one's privacy. Gillian Chung, whom was mentioned in this blog earlier, or at least seen, starred in the movie, House of Fury. So at least I was bit familiar of her when emphatizing, since if anyone would experience anything like this, celebrity or not, I am pretty sure they would be mortified.

People just love gossip and probably our love for gossip is what amplifies the entertainment magazines to resort to these obscene measures. People are waiting for something to stir up their lives and make it more interesting, but I hope that this predicament won't ever happen again. I have heard celebrities saying that rumors and gossip are the lower-end to their bargain but having the paparazzi while you're naked isn't such a bonus. Good thing there are people, most of them are fans, who sympathize with Gillian. Thanks to their efforts in leading a petition, the pictures were put down at least and legal actions are still being discussed. So I hope that Ms. Gillian Chung will receive due justice. So beware of changing rooms with windows!

ARMOR FOR SLEEP

"The Truth About Heaven"

Walk past my grave in the dark tonight,
Saw the stone in the note you left for me,
To answer your question I just had to leave,
I just had to leave.

But that's not why I'm here,
I came down here to tell you it rains in heaven all day long,
I wanna find you so bad and let you know
I'm miserable up here without you, miserable up here without you.

Found my way back in the dark tonight,
Couldn't wake up not right next to you
I'd trade forever to just hear you say the sound of my name.

But that's not why I'm here,
I came down here to tell you it rains in heaven all day long,
I wanna find you so bad and let you know
I'm miserable up here without you, miserable up here without you.

Don't believe that it's better when you leave everything behind,
Don't believe that the weather is perfect the day that you die,
Don't believe that the weather is perfect the day that you die.

I came down here to tell you it rains in heaven all day long,
I wanna find you so bad and let you know
I'm miserable up here without you, miserable up here without you.

Don't believe that the weather is perfect the day that you die.

Armor For Sleep is an alternative rock band whose latest album, What To Do When You Are Dead, loosely talks about life and death. The song above, The Truth About Heaven, definitely has some elements of death and the surprisingly expected topic, love. Anyways, if you just read the lyrics and without the melody and the vocalist singing, you will realize that it is so cheesy. Now I have realized why rock bands are worshipped everywhere and have their groupies, it is because they make the cheesy things sound so cool.

Ben Jorgensen, the lead singer, wrote this song and I am pretty impressed with the way he wrote it. He wrote it as if he had already experienced death. I am positively sure that he is still alive and kicking and currently he has not gone through any near-death experience, so why did he already have this idea of heaven? The good thing about it is that no one can defy him of what he wrote since no one living in this world has experienced this sort of thing. Maybe this heaven is just a hyperbole but with the way he wrote it, whenever I hear this song I visualize heaven as the dictionaries describe it. But setting aside the real meaning of heaven, this song tells how a person would rather come back down than stay in heaven where his loved one is not around. Man, it is so cheesy, but cool in a way! Whoever Ben's girlfriend is must be a pretty lucky lady since he tells her heaven is not the paradise that everyone talks about if he is there all alone.

The reason why I am so obsessed with music is that I find it amusing how people of different aspects view life in a different way. Also how rock stars get away with being branded as cheesy and how the emo genre suffers from this. Oh well, if I did not have music in my life, I guess it would not be as nice as it is now.

Thanks to azlyrics.com for providing me the lyrics and google.com for the picture.

This is another new beginning or maybe a page of my media log. I will be definitely typing about the forms of media I will encounter. I would probably type a lot since I never stop watching tv, I never get banned from using the Internet, I always have easy access to books and other reading materials and the radio is within my reach. So I will have nothing to say or rather type. I guess that's just the way I am since I am a mouthful, really.
Anyhoo, the sunshine above, which sort of looks like a sunset, is a symbol of course for a new beginning. It's not that I'm completely shunning away my former entries, but there are a lot of new things springing up from everywhere and I need to catch up. So I guess, I have to start right now... or maybe in a few days.

Thanks to sunshine_beach.com for the image above.