Detroit Metal City [Live]

Ken’ichi Matsuyama as Johannes Krausser II and Souchi Negishi

Instead of working in my report before doing anything else, I decided to watch Detroit Metal City Live, starring the very talented Kenichi Matsuyama, and indeed, it was time well spent!

Souichi Negishi is a timid bloke from the province. He went to Tokyo to study, bringing with him his intense desire to be a pop/oshare (fashionable) musician, wishing to create sweet –cheesy- love songs. Indeed, he has the talent, and people around him told him so. He strived hard to achieve this dream, but “dreams won’t pay the bills.” One day, he just saw himself as the front man of the death metal rock band Detroit Metal City (DMC) as the vocalist Johannes Krauser II. He never imagined nor wanted to be one who makes such horrendous and “disgusting” music, but his *demonic* manager and rather manic fans demand him to play his part as Krauser, the terrorist from hell. When he isn’t the long-haired, white-faced death metal rocker (with the kanji “death” painted on his forehead), he returns to being Souichi playing his sweet love songs (*cheese tart!*) with the hope of being the oshare singer he had always wanted to be. As he plays this double-life, he is reunited with Aikawa Yuri (Rosa Kato), his college love interest who is displeased with DMC’s brand of music.

He then feels he has to choose because DMC’s music was never the type that the dreamed of making. However as Krauser, he, together with his two band mates, gives the fans a place in the society, since death metal rockers had always been deemed as outcasts. This dilemma and a lot of hilarious oddities made DMC the first film in months that made me laugh so hard. Kenichi Matsuyama once again showcased his knack for portraying the “weird” but sympathetic guys. I admired him more upon learning that it was really him singing the songs (of DMC)! How cool is that! [I’m a bit fond of rock songs, and I did like the rhythm and sound of DMC’s songs, although the lyrics shouldn’t be taken seriously. Haha.]

And interestingly enough, too, that the day before I watched this movie, I saw the logo of the rock band KISS printed on the side of a jeep. I once saw a feature on TV about this band (from the _0’s), and then I have learned that their trademark of white face paint was the basis of Krauser’s look. Moreover, KISS’s bassist Genne Simmmons played a cameo role in the movie as the legendary death metal rocker Jack IL Dark who challenges the becoming-more-and-more-popular band DMC.

Whether you’re a rock music fan who would want a good take on the genre; or someone who want a real good laugh from the live version of the phenomenal anime and manga of the same title; or whether you want another proof of Kenichi Matsuyama’s brilliance in acting and (more importantly) in singing, then Satsugai is the way to be, and Detroit Metal City is the place to be!

I guarantee you’ll most likely end up chanting, “Go to DMC! Go to DMC! Go to DMC!”

La Pluie

I used to love rainy days. I love the sound of the rain drops while I’m snuggling my pillows and comfortable in bed in the early mornings with the luxury of not needing to wake up early. I love the pleasant breeze and chill it brings during afternoons while I fill myself up with my father’s delectable homemade chicken noodle soup (mami!). I love its incessant rhythm while I lie reading a good book until the wee hours of the night. I love the idea of the heaven-scent showers which regularly cleanse this world. I love the quietness the rain seems to bring about. I love the feel of droplets precariously reaching me. I love the shadiness of it all.

But too much of a far-fetched fantasy land. As if a bubble pricked by something sharp, my misgivings about the rain started to flow. It’s not because I get dripping wet when I’m outside, nor because it gets muddy all over the place nor because the traffic jam worsens tenfold when it rains. I just suddenly wondered what a good dose of rain means to most of the people. I imagine the winds and rainfall could entail wreckage of properties of our brothers and sisters living in the other side of the country, or even just at the other end of the municipality I live in! The various, and many, street vendors wouldn’t be able to make a living for the day. The children, who live in distant villages and who need to walk miles of rugged terrain just to reach their school would find the hardship of merely going to their classes disheartening.

I don’t want to sound noble or something. It’s just that these things really cross my mind whenever another stage of the water cycle takes place.

Maybe if my country could progress, better infrastructures and effective flood control would be available, then I could go back to enjoying the sound of raindrops against the roof while being the bum that I am.

Kolektibismo dapat, diba? :D

 August 20.

I always have free Thursdays, but his semester I actually wanted to attend an Alternative Classroom Learning Experience (ACLE). For one, it’s been more than a year since I last attended an ACLE, And also, one of my professors said, “You should come. During our time, we fought for that.” Another one said, “As a journalism student, you should attend. You need it, and it’s actually a privilege.”

I was about to ask people for suggestions, but one of my friends’ post containing “Ramon Bautista” made me automatically promise to come to his org, UP Praxis’s ACLE called “Ako Mismo o Kolektibismo.”

As of this writing, I never had the interest even just to visit Ako Mismo’s site. In fact, aside from catching my attention the first time I saw the commercial on TV, I had become indifferent and suspicious of the campaign’s motives. So to learn more about the rhyme and reason behind Ako Mismo’s popularity, I decided to attend the symposium.

I’m not a fan of those dog tags a lot of people are now sporting. However, Sir Ramon Bautista explained that those tags are supposedly given/sold only to those who gave pledges and promised to remain true to them. He said that its main aim was to conquer social apathy especially that which is prevailing in the Filipino youth. Naturally, the campaign has its critics. To present the other side of the story, Rolando Tolentino (CMC’S Dean! O_O) showed the different aspects of the campaign approach to the youth, including the campaign’s timing (nearing elections), celebrities involved, the target market, language used and so on.

It was really an enlightening experience. I was able to see both sides. I was able to learn more about the issues in the society, about the attempts to get the youth involved and active in addressing these issues.

I’m still not enthusiastic about it all. Because of more than two years of listening to the various talks and discussions about social issues conducted by different student groups, I did realize that to make a significant change in the society, we should have a  collective effort. Certainly, Ako Mismo’s ideology of individualism would not be of any significance, would it?

Sir Ramon cleverly answered this question. It was actually one of the things that stuck in my mind. He said that, as we all know, the Philippines is suffering from a cancer of the society (since Rizal’s time, actually). He said that Ako Mismo’s role then is to act like a vitamin supplement, a small dose taken everyday. It doesn’t provide a drastic remedy, but still it does good to the body. He said that the goal wasn’t really to bring a huge and dramatic change in the society–it just wanted the Filipinos, particularly the neocolonialized, technology-savvy youth to have the initiative and desire for improvement and for them to participate in social issues. The student reactor in the panel (I forgot his name) then pitched in on the analogy saying that this cancer can possibly be cured by chemotherapy–a radical, painful, and costly process.

Indeed, it takes more than a dog tag, a pledge (eg. “Ako Mismo ay hindi na mang-aaway ng kapatid.“/”I myself will not fight with my sister/brother.”) and rock concerts to advance social change this country badly needs. It would take a collective effort, compromising, Divine guidance, effective and honest leaders, a lot, lot more. And just like a chemotherapy procedure, the patient is bound to lose cells and be on the brink of death. But this option is probably better than to rot helplessly in this sick state.

PS: I think Sir Ramon Bautista is really cool and funny. Haha. Astig.
“People thought Ako Mismo will be used for the political motives of three people–Edu Manzano, Manny Pangilinan, and…. me.” (:

Haha I’m such a Brewster. XD

[01] Favorite Lines

I’m really sad that I am not able to stay true to my New Year’s resolution. One of them was to read at least one classic (novel) each month. The last one I read was “The Secret Garden” which I was able to purchase in March, I think. Sigh

Well, anyway, here are some quotes I took note of from some of the books I read. (I’m rather fond of taking down excerpts.XD)

How could I even know that modern medicine in a jungle village was better than the old way? How could I know the education given a jungle child spelt happiness for it? How could I know that any of this was worth the loss of myself? How could I make myself care whether it was or not! That was the horror.”

“So we reach into the raging chaos, and we pluck some small glittering thing, and we cling to it, and tell ourselves that it has meaning. And that the world is good, and we are not evil, and we will all go home in the end.”

- from The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

What really knocks me out is a book, that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you feel like it.”

“Just because they’re crazy about themself (sic), they think you’re crazy about them, too, and that you’re just dying to do them a favor. It’s sort of funny, in a way.”

“The one thing I hate to do is go to bed when I’m not even tired.”

“Goddam money,. It always ends up making you blue as hell.”

“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed where it was. Nobody’d move… The only thing that would be different would be you.”

“All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.”

“The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. the whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time of other in their lives, were looking for something they thought their own environment couldn’t supply them with. So they gave it up before they even got started.”

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you’ll start missing everybody.”

- from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

 Only recently have I discovered that humanity, that large, solid body which seems so steadfast and strong, is actually nothing but a soft, flabby object, easily ruined under pressure–like when it’s stabbed or run into.

“This thing we call humanity, soft and as fragile as an uncooked egg, manages to survive each day, unscathed. Human beings function together and carry on separate lives, each and every one of us. All people–the people that I know and the people that I love–manage to go through life one day at a time, despite the fact that we do it holding weapons that could easily (destroy) us at any moment. Everyday brings a new miracle.”

“I’m always amazed at how many different hobbies there are in this world. It seemed that everyone has something to keep their thoughts occupied.”

“It’s easy to become hopeless. Everything inside you is trying desperately not to fall victim. “

“Daily life was filled with dozens of special things. It felt like a faraway dream.
So simple it felt foolish.
So cursed it was beautiful.”

“Life isn’t just that way. There are times when I get tired of it all and feel like I just want to die. But there are also times when everything is so amusing I want to go on living forever… My will to live and my desire to die were the same as the angel and devil–it was a fifty-fifty tug-of-war raging in my soul. Gravity seemed to be the only thing holding me down. “

“That resplendent space created by a piece of fiction can really expand the width of time.”

- from Amrita by Banana Yoshimoto [Highly recommended!]

So why did I end up being here? XD

While on a ride home, I had two high school teachers as co-passengers. They were tired, and they were exchanging stories about their respective classes. Listening–erm, eavesdropping more like, made me remember my first dream profession when I was a kid. It was to become a teacher. It was during the time when you realized there are a lot of  other people out there, and that going to school each day seemed like a new adventure–new friends, nursery rhymes, new school things, and teachers to look up to. 

 And then, when I was growing up, I saw how hard it could be being a teacher with those bratty students, meetings, books, and all the bothersome things which go with formal teaching. And so I changed my dream profession. I suddenly wanted to be an accountant. Why? I don’t know. Except for the fact that my aunt is one, I didn’t know anything about it. =))

Then, Sophie Neveu came along. If you don’t know her, I’m not telling, it’s quite pathetic. XD Because of her, I wanted to learn French, and go to France. For what purpose, who knows? I just wanted to be like her. Yikes. XD

Some time later, after I’ve read a novel about  a brilliant  female doctor, I felt the urge to be a medical practitioner. Haha. Dr. Paige Taylor was a beautiful, kind, strong, intelligent, and compassionate physician, with a charming love story, and quite an eventful practice during her first few years as a doctor in the midst of male chauvinism. Tsk. 

But after I discovered the pleasure of reading, I found writing as the best way to be me. I could keep silent for all I care, I didn’t need to talk much, since I’m not really very sociable (even with friends I’m close to). The pen and paper suddenly became my companions. I started writing notes, pathetic poems and other life-is-so-boring-I’m-no-good whatnots. Fortunately, our school paper accepted me as a writer, and I found something I enjoyed doing. I had friends with me who joined as well, but it was something I could call my own. And despite the presure, I was happy. :]

However, I didn’t think I would be doing such for a career in the future. In fact, I don’t know what to do in college after those years in high school. My first two years in the university were such confusing and troubled times. I really didn’t know where to go. They said, “Just do what it is that you want.” But, wth, I’m not good at anything, where am I suppposed to be?! I don’t have all the time and the resources in the world to dilly dally as I wanted. I was really desperate, I was looking for signs. Well, either I’m too dumb to “see” them, or they didn’t come, I was confused until the last minute.

But I believe, God came to my aid then. I came to think, “Hey, it wouldn’t be so bad to take Journ, since you loved it, right?” Yeah, well, I had to make myself believe it, or else I’ll be doomed. So I took the test, and for some two or three weeks, I waited for the results with bated breath. It was really make or break. And, well, I got accepted. HE’s just so wonderful, and I’m thanking Him ever since. ;]

Now, it’s been almost two months since I left my old home (my former college) for this new one. I’ll have to admit, I definitely miss CAL, especially the couple of good friends I’m fortunate to have there. (Oh, and I miss the library!) I still feel very out-of-place, it seems like everybody knew each other. And they all look so confident. Gah. Or maybe I just have a bad case of inferiority complex. 

 Either way, I’ll have to do my best now. I can’t fail again.

Twice and it still feels heavy

The moment I read the news, I felt my heart skipped a beat. I had let out a gasp, and then an “Oh no, this can’t be true.”

Maybe it was a tasteless joke of a trickster who mistook August 9 as the April Fools’ Day. Maybe it was  promotional scheme. Maybe he’s still there, playing his bass, donning his hair with curls and peacock feathers. Maybe we’ll still see Versailles live. Maybe it’s a lie. maybe scribbling his name over and over will make it unreal. It’s just so hard to believe, let alone accept. I didn’t imagine something like this. The death of a performer I’ve never even seen in person has made me depressed.

Even from the start I viewed their claims of being vampires and immortals as something irrational, a part of the facade, an added ingredient just for the fun of it. But maybe somehow, subconsciously, I believed it. I believed that they’ll always be there, that the aesthetics, talent, charisma, glamor, and music I admire them for will last a long, long time, and would not just pop and vanish away this abruptly.

If I could grieve for the deaths of fictional (anime) characters I’ve come to love, what more for the loss of a real person, a musician loved by fans from the world over for real talent and will, and (as I’ve read) kindness and a smile he could easily give them.

I just feel an overflowing sadness, somehow indescribable as my friends and I sent messages to one another filled with “waa’s” — a wail, a scream, a deep sigh, a helpless cry. They could be anything. I wasn’t personally  a huge, huge fan. But still we loved their music and style. Attending even just one of their concerts was one of the things I dreamed of doing (hearing Kamijo’s opening trademark, “Bonjour, Honey!”) if I will be able to go to Japan. It’s just really sad that the quintet would never be the same again. It must have been unbearable to Kamijo, Hizaki, Teru and Yuki. Of the five, he was the witch of the story. What would a medieval fairy tale be with its vampire, queen, a distressed boy, and a hunter, without the witch? And as Bjorn said, “Ano na ang mundo kung wala ang Versailles?”

I do wonder what it really would be. They’ve started making their name not only in their country but in Europe and US as well. A few years in the future, maybe, they wouldv’e reached the shores of this countyr. But perhaps, it’s just a faraway dream now.

One jrock angel has gone back to where he was sent from.

So long, Kageyama Yuuichi / Jasmine You…

Here’s a translation of an interview with Versaiiles. It was evident how fun everybody has being in the band. Sigh. Jasmine…

 ——-

Yes, I had to write this to lighten the feeling… I hope it will.  

The Jrock World Mourns

 RIP, Jasmine You.

You were a great bass player, a musician admired by fans for the humor and showmanship you got. My friends and I instantly fell in love with you, even though our self-esteem leveled down a bit, haha. Because, come on now. You’re a man, and you’re that pretty.

One of my ambitions will never come true, that is to see you, Kamijo, Hizaki, Teru and Yuki on a concert stage, with your grandiose costumes and make up, and playing the hypnotic music we’ve been enamored with.

 Versailles, and the Visual Kei world, would never be the same without you.

 Ja. Oyasumi, Jasmine-sama. T.T

A tremendously sad thing still feels sad even after experiencing it three times…

Roy Mustang on Maes Hughes death…

:)

AGREE!

When you get smaller, does the evil embedded in you also get smaller? Some people would say that was impossible. But if we suppose there are people who are enthusiastic about becoming great, there are people who find peace in being small. It’s the common notion that becoming great is always a worthwhile goal, the only good thing there is. But the opposite of that idea can give pleasure as well. In the last moments of my life, I will recall the smell of the sea, no matter how remote and isolated the place of execution might be, or how cruelly dark man-made place is. And when I think of the sea, I will become so very small.

– from No Reason for Murder (Tenjo no Ao/Heavenly Blue) by Ayaka Sono