i actually have a choice now, a real one

See, most self-admitted audiophiles like me have a problem: we like to be drowned by music whenever we feel like it, wherever we feel like it. This means my music needs to follow me around, hence the need for a portable audio player.

The concept of music on-the-go is by no means a new one -- Sony and its infamous Walkman audio tape player paved the way for generation of steadily evolving micro gadgets that give you what you need. In our era, digital portable audio players (I never owned a Sony Walkman; I have owned numerous digital audio players, though) are dime-a-dozen – you picks one and you enjoys it. One brand has set itself up as a cut above the rest – the iPod.

The iPod was, and probably still remains in the minds of most people, the Michael Jordan of portable digital audio players. Steve Jobs’ ticket to the big time, his legacy to this world, was a definitive culture of tech-inspired citizens, all sporting telltale white earbuds on each side of their heads.

For an audiophile like me, the pressure to get one was considerable. I used to be content with 1 to 2 gigabyte models from an ubiquitous local gadget store whose name I refuse to mention (I am not a regular patron there – I only get stuff from them when I am in desperate need). But that was if you chose to not mind the lata(tin can) sound, resulting from reprogrammed sound firmware (oooh, those Filipinos are so good at re-programming) and even crappier earphones. But what could I do? I wasn’t going to spend that much for a portable gadget. Ano ako, hilo?

NOT.

I got my 60GB monster iPod video (it was a monster at that time) 2 years ago. I got one for the bebe too, at the constant pushing of Ailene. As a budding musician (ilang years na ba akong “budding”?), owning a portable player which could contain 60GB of songs (1 song=5MB; 1GB=1000MB therefore 2000 songs; 60GB was like… you get the idea) was mind blowing. But after a year of using it, you kinda start noticing the stuff that says, "oh well, so an iPod is not perfect." No customizable equalizer on the gadget itself – and I love my equalizers, so that was a bummer. Sound normalization from file to file was crappy – low bitrate files are very much noticeable when listening in shuffle mode. And yes, you needed the iTunes to do anything with it. But so what? It was the only one that was of quality out there. Better an iPod than nothing at all. Pogi points were still, undeniably, pogi points.

Enter (stage right) my good friend Ida. She invited me to Route196 at Katipunan, well-known music venue for people who like their music just that way – good or better. Phillips was putting out a new line of products in the market, a portable digital audio player. As I listened through the discussion of what the product was and what its features were – I was saying to myself, “Who are they kidding? The iPod was still the big dog in the neighborhood.” The features were, at that point in time I thought, a reach. Good sound engineering, full sound enhancement – if they could pull it off, maybe then it would be a good product. And yes, still a big MAYBE, at that point. But I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to try a new gadget, so what the heck, I gave the GoGear 4GB Spark a spin over the weekend, and gave my iPod a rest.

Ok, so yeah, it sounds good.

No actually, who are we kidding? It sounded great! Does it sound , dare we say, better than the iPod? Let’s get to that later.

It was a “no frills” gadget, small for a 4GB device (smaller than an iPod mini). Plug it to your USB port, drag and drop music, spin it up.

I put special attention to the tracks I put in. At first try, my iPod-drowned ears did notice a difference in sound quality, but I wanted to be sure. Maybe, Phillips’ pre-loaded tracks were digitally engineered, so yeah, let me try my own tracks. I put in a mix of RnB (to test for bass quality), jazz, and rock files. I also put in files with different bitrates, so that I could test how the device normalized the sound from track to track.

Over the weekend, I used all the "alone time" I had to test out the Spark. I was actually surprised at the sound quality. Those people at Phillips are actually daring you (the consumer) to test out your portable audio device and compare the sound with theirs. This I actually did, and I was surprised with the results.

First the FullSound feature, which was Phillips way of saying “Well, we put back into the file what MP3 and WMA compression takes away”, was undeniably better than raw MP3 sound. Even when equalized (through my now-offended iPod), FullSound still fared better at giving you the widest range of sound possible. There were a number of equalizer settings too. One caveat, though, you can’t use the FullSound feature with equalizer. It makes sense, I guess. FullSound is meant to recapture how the music was mixed down from the studio and how it was originally equalized. No sense spoiling that with other equalizer settings, eh?

While I liked the FullSound feature, I also tried the other EQ settings – and viola! – absolutely fell in love with the Jazz EQ setting. The trebles were mild (as they should be) but I was taken by the bass sound. Not the usual treble-ly bass mix from other Jazz presets, it was a full oomph! sound – very, very defined. It also wasn’t the invasive (read: gives you a headache) bass sound that pseudo-cool rich kids have playing from their Kenwood car audio systems, it was phat enough to make you bob your head, but suave enough to get you aroused by a true upright contrabass jazz sound.

For the hardcore in you, you can tweak the 5-band graphic EQ to your liking (don’t have this in your pod) – again, this is if you’re a total wiener and don’t trust me – just drown on the Jazz preset, dammit.

The sound normalization from track to track was amazing. Again, I am speaking as an unrepentant downloader – the main problem here is that the music I download comes in different bitrates and various formats. Usually, on the iPod, I notice a huge volume and tone difference from 128kbps mp3s to the ones at 196kbps – the tone jump from 96kbps, even in mp3PRO format to 256kbps is just horrendous. Not so with the Spark, I am happy to report. I don’t know if they consciously did something about this, but the volume and tone difference from 96kbps mp3PRO to 256kbps raw mp3 is pretty much negligible. There goes one of my other problems.

On the downside, the earphones that came with my 4GB Spark, although not totally crappy, I found them lacking for my purposes. Sorry, Phillips guys, for total satisfaction, you may need to put in a better pair of earphones here. In-ear models would be ideal. For my purposes, I used my own – a pair of Pioneer SE-CL21 in-ear monitors. They did just fine (fiiiiine). I’m not that rich, so I can’t afford them Sennheiser CX300s. But darnit, I think the GoGear line would sound heavenly with those.

Did I tell you it was drag and drop? Yes, no software interfaces in between. Isn’t that just great? And yes there is a sound recorder (4GB is a lot of space for that), an FM radio (but why?), and a JPEG image displayer.

So, you feel I’m totally sold on the GoGear? So maybe I am. For me, if it sounds better, it just made itself practically more viable. And yes, if it costs cheaper, that’s a bonus (I guess, hehe). Seriously though, if it sounds better AND costs cheaper, why is that not a better argument?

I, admittedly, set a very high standard for my portable music needs. I like my music to be detailed but not noisy, the bass should be persuasive but not invasive, the trebles bright but not scratchy. For all these, I actually like the sound of my GoGear Spark. Now if you are a certified audiophile, don’t take my word for it. Go to the GoGear street launch on June 6 at Bonifacio High Street. Bring your current portable audio player for comparison. Give the GoGear a spin, and hear it for yourself. Don’t take my word for it – that would just be stupid, right?

Now, as for the question, “Does it sound better than your iPod?” – my answer to that is, for the first time, I actually feel now that I have a choice in the matter of choosing my portable audio player. Now, something actually stepped up as good competition, and it might just give the people at Apple a good run.

blllp! i posted.

so ang hirap talagang gumimik pag taga-probinsya ka.

well, not really... San Pedro, is just on the outskirts of the metro. Still, it's an hour bus ride to where the happenin' places usually are -- whether it be a get-together with friends, or a movie, or goin' out to watch our favorite bands, and we don't have a car yet. (note to self: get married na, so you can get a car... or three)

with last friday's case, the reason we travelled to the metro at night was a band, or... errr, a lot of them. Earth Day Jam 08 was happenin' in Morato and the bebe wanted to see her band of the moment (more on this later). so it was a quarter after 8 when we got there, and we realized that the access to Morato coming from the rotunda (if you're coming in from GMA like we did) was closed. in fact, that portion near the circle was being used as the backstage area for the show, so we had to trek all around the block, and into a tangible wall of smell coming from the usual battalion of cute emo kids (read: punkelitos and punkelitas) just to get to our friends who incidentally wanted to jam, too -- churchmates Julie, Cathy, and Belen.

so when we got to them, their pwesto was not really good for fanboys and fangirls, so we scouted and so an almost perfect position, the veranda on the other side of the street, which belongs to Yellow Cab Pizza. the bebe and I exchanged looks. that meant we had to spend for pizza and drinks. in the end it was a no brainer. pizza and drinks WITH good music was always gonna be a winner.

so when we got to the other side, the veranda area was being used for a party, and we had to wait 'til around 10pm to get up. and so we waited. a number of jazz and folk bands played, so we were entertained while waiting anyways. when we finally got up there, the veranda was fully occupied, so we had to get a table inside, and just stand up outside when we wanted to watch a band. it was a good enough compromise, so we got ourselves the barbeque chicken pizza, soda and we were ready to rock.

as I was saying, the bebe's band of the moment is Sino Sikat?. =) this jazz-funk-rock-soul band was fronted by the gorjus Kat Agarrado, and had their own unique sound. i really like them too. good music and a hot vocalist, nice combo for me. hehehe. anyways, back to the story. so we finally got a table in the veranda area around 11:45pm, and we enjoyed the bands thoroughly. the bebe was waiting for Sino Sikat? to take the stage, 'coz it was getting late and we had to get back south pa, pero sayang naman kung hindi namin sila makita. the bebe already saw Kat in the backstage area (the view that whole area was accessible to us in the veranda), so she insisted on waiting.

i think it happened while some obscure band was playing (reggae mistress yata) when who else but the gorjus Kat walked into Yellow Cab's veranda area!!! She was with some of her bandmates. i was daring for the bebe to get the autograph she so desired. as usual, she chickened out (pis bebe), and I had to get it for her. got myself digitized with her as well. in the end, i finally convinced the bebe to get herself photographed as well. viola!

all in all, pretty much a good friday night out. =)

am i ever gonna post?

well, i'm thinking about it.


i'm not doin' so well in the "taking-care-of-this-blog" thing, but yes, I am thinking about it.


so stay tuned.

Movie Review: Batanes

Rating: Nice visuals, fell flat on it's face in execution. Not good enough.

When it comes to the Filipino movie industry, the bebe and I are at a certainly high level of tolerance these days. If the concept shows promise, if there is potential, if the preview looks good, we give it the benefit of the doubt. We find it a good thing that some (and I say "some" in the truest sense of the word) movies, directors, and producers are fighting the urge to stay stagnant and are actually moving the industry forward. And so for these people who are pushing, we patronize the movies which we think would do the industry proud.

And so from the initial scenes we saw from the preview of Batanes, an offering by Ignite Media and GMA Films for the annual December Metro Manila Film Festival, we thought "Heeeey... mukhang maayos." And so when we got the chance, we trekked to our favorite mall of the moment (SM Mall of Asia) and saw it.

It disappointed. I just want to say that right off the bat, just so you know.

It tells of a city girl, Pam -- played by the ever-wonderful Iza Calzado, falling in love with a young man (Joem Bascon) from the province of -- you guessed it. From the initial scenes, we can assume that they fell in love -- what with the girl making the trip to the faraway-paradise-slash-stormseeker land that is the province of Batanes. It might have been for a vacation, or a meet-and-greet with the parents. But with the way the film rolled it out, we were brought from vacation to meet-the-parents to proposal to wedding to marriage, so you never really get a firm idea of what initially was the situation with the lovers in the first place. But I gripe too much. Get ready for more.

So yeah, they got married. And then the Piolo lookalike guy, who understandably makes a living as a fisherman drowns (this spoiler has absolutely no effect on your enjoyment of the movie whatsoever), and so we're left with a beautiful (can you say "goooorjus?") biyuda in an island whose electricity only lasts until 12 midnight. Here comes Meteor Garden guy Ken Zhu, a shipwrecked (? - possibly, we never really know) Taiwanese, and from there, the love story rolls.

First few minutes of a movie is vital -- it shows you the character of the movie itself, the feel of it, the conversations, and generally how the movie is gonna be played out. I was sleepy the first 10 minutes of it. Well, I'm always sleepy on Sundays because of my sked, but the movie didn't give me enough motivation to want to stay awake, unlike Beowulf (which we saw in iMax a couple of Sundays back). There was general lack of "interesting" movement in the plot -- it doesn't suck the viewer into the story itself. It keeps the viewer at a distance, no involvement whatsoever.

There were a few tiny risks that the film producers took in the creation of the film, and I think that's when the tiny things caught up with whole film, which made it suck (for lack of better terms).

The director, Adolf Alix Jr., is known for his independent films. The bebe (or the film student in her, lol) has actually seen some of his works and spoke good things about him. I would have thought he would have made a positive impact on the film. As it is, his fingerprint remains small and largely unremarkable. The casting of Joem Bascon in the initial role of Rico is a bad choice, not to spite the actor himself. The character drawn up was actually interesting -- a man of the sea, superstitious, strong, light-hearted, and to top all of that - epileptic. He acting and portrayal falls short of all of these, I'm sorry to say. His initial role actually prepares the whole movie, as a number of scenes would look back to his words and statements. When he fails to bring out a strong portrayal of the man, the whole movie kinda stumbles -- for the reason that it builds him up to be the man -- Mr. Bascon may look like Piolo, but "the man" he is not.

The film tries to be poetic about the sea, or actually, the Rico character does. I understand that. Moks and I have long talked about the sea and how it grabs your heart and makes a poet out of you, so yeah, I dig that. I don't know if it was the execution/direction (that's Mr. Alix) -- the scenes and the parts of the script where the sea was portrayed as a fickle-angry-funny-friendly entity were absolutely tacky -- or the acting (again, Mr. Bascon) that made those lines a failure. There are ways to be poetic and deadpan and thoughtful about the sea, but all the film showed was how NOT to do it. I cringed everytime they waxed poetic. Add to the fact that I felt the wonderful Ms. Calzado was always carrying the burden for Mr. Bascon's inability to bring his lines to life -- she was obviously more comfortable in getting her thoughts across. *sigh* Sayang.

I read in another blog review here:

"GMA Films should have demanded more, criticized it in detail so that we could have watched a movie worth Batanes’ beautiful scenery, and worth GMA films standards..."

I absolutely agree. There were mediocre stuff in the editing, the conversation is staggered rather than flowing, some scenes were not even visually explainable. Really, there was a lot more that could have been done to make this film ready. I don't know if they were pressed for time and couldn't re-do some shots and scenes, or if the budgeting was tight, or that the execution was just plain bad. With GMA Films, I am really doubtful that this was a budget issue -- more like someone chickened out on a risk to spend more money to improve the film. As it is, the content was all potential, never realized.

A few good things, so that you don't think of me a critic who only sees bad things:

• I feel they hit it right on the head with Iza Calzado's casting. I am biased, I admit. But she delivers a well-thought of, quiet and sincere performance.


• The film also gets good strong performances from new faces Glaiza de Castro and Sid Ramirez, and veterans Bembol Roco and Daria Ramirez.


• The visuals were absolutely stunning. I feel the need to go to Batanes at least once in my lifetime.

• The bebe and I were struck by the two dominant songs in the film - both made by Noel Cabangon, the last one sung by Jolina Magdangal. We're looking for those right now for the iPods.

As we continue our support of Filipino films that will raise the bar for the industry, I was disappointed by this one. I am very particular about script writing and delivery -- I fail to see the point of coonversations in movies that never really do take place in real life. The last Filipino film I saw satisfied me more than this, even though it was a lovey-dovey flick. Films like One More Chance (see the mokster's review here)give a very real rendition of Filipino conversation, and they get my vote on that. Make the conversation something that the viewers can relate to, for crying out loud. I am encouraged by the number of new films doing this, but again, disappointed that Batanes didn't meet this standard. Hopefully, GMA Films will try harder next time if they want to be true to leading the industry out of the mud and into flight.


More pics:

For pics from the Batanes Press Conference, click HERE. (I do this for Iza, ok? So understand.)







*Some pics from: www.igma.tv
*Some pics from: www.pep.ph

a hungry boy's lunch

So if you were a hungry boy, with a bit of financial freedom on a Saturday afternoon, where in SM Mall of Asia would you have lunch and what would you eat?

I'll tell you exactly where: Kalye Juan

In fact,I'll do you one better than that. I'll tell you what to eat. (And no, the resto's not paying me for this.)

The food the resto offers is not exactly new. The menu reads as regular as classified ads on a Sunday paper. What they have been able to do is find some neat twists and tricks to the regular Filipino heartburn fare, and make everybody happy with it.

My recommendation for your lunch, as me and the bebe just had it yesterday:

1. Kare-Kareng Tiyan ng Bangus- I can't even begin to explain what "kare-kare" is to my foreign readers, but it's an experience, really. Normally, you would have pork with the kare-kare, and some... errr, more "exotic" parts of the pig in the mix. They hit the jackpot by using bangus belly. You have your extra creamy sauce, string beans, pechay stalks, eggplant, plus 3 pieces of wonderful boneless bangus belly. Yum.


2. Bagoong Lechon Kawali- Again, I know bagoong is not the most popular fare among people from other countries visiting here, but I personally love it. Let's not talk about what it is though, only what it adds to the recipe. Lechon kawali is regular heart-attack food, a slab of marinated pork deep fried in oil until it is crunchy and crispy. Then they had the idea of putting sweet-salty bagoong as a topping. Not a bad idea, but this links in wonderfully with the kare-kare, as bagoong is the traditional siding for it. As an aside, their choice for the bagoong -- whether it be branded or self-produced -- was perfect. It's no secret that you can get a jar of pre-cooked, pre-seasoned bagoong at any decent supermarket. If this was bought, then kudos on choosing the perfect one to go with the recipe (they used the same type as siding to the bangus kare-kare as well). If this was one that the kitchen staff produced, I take my hat off to them -- it was exquisite.


3. Fried Tainga- we added this as something of an appetizer, but ended up mixing in well with the whole course. It's basically crispy fried pig's ear. Doesn't sound too inviting, does it? But if you want a lighter alternative (less cholesterol) to the traditional Crispy Pata (deep fried pig's leg), this is it. It's even served with the traditional sweet crispy pata dip we all have come to love. Goes well with anything, very good as starting munchers.

Sometimes, you just get that craving for Filipino soul food -- home-made flavors, recipes you have come to love. Kalye Juan gives you that, plus the small surprises that end up putting a contented smile on your face after your meal (the bebe and I were actually grimacing, mejo mabigat talaga sa tiyan eh).

The place -- the original branch is in T. Morato -- is actually very famous for their sisig. Again, for my foreign friends, don't ask what it is. Put it in your mouth and enjoy. They do sell beer and alcohol in the evening, so this is a favorite watering hole (well, the Morato branch, that is) for yuppies in the evening. If you don't want to join the audibly noisier crown in the evening, you should have lunch, which is just as enjoyable as dinner.

The menu is worth the gander -- lots of cool things in there. There's the aforementioned sisig. Then there's the dinamita, breaded chili peppers filled with cheese with mayo dip, which you get 5 to 6 pieces for Php85. The cost is a little bit mid range, maybe a bit lower than Max's, somewhere in the area of Kenny Roger's. Our meal, with refillable iced teas (plus the 1 extra rice - hehe), cost a little over Php500 (less VAT). So if that amount does not bother you, go ahead and make it a point to try out the place in the near future.

*images from bryantonpost.blogspot.com

one more soul touched

I've had this habit for the past 2 weeks of buying a dozen munchkins (Dunkin' Donuts donut hole product, for you who just woke up from a thousand-year sleep) from the TAFT MRT station for the beginning of my shift. I was in an emotional roller-coaster the past few weeks, so I was trying to keep other things steady and constant, even if they were just munchkins.

Things are better this week, and since it was payday, I wanted to do something nice for my team, so I decided to buy a dozen Dunkin Donuts for them. Right when I was buying at the busy kiosk from my suki (Filipino consumer-vendor relationship, I think Kevin posted about this term here) , a little street boy, not even 4 years old in my opinion, tugged at my pants and with the best smile in the world at that time gleefully said "Penge!" (Can I have one?)

At any other time, I would've just turned the other way. At this particular time though, even when I thought I was surely running late, I was forced to think about the situation. I was going to spend Php120 for my teammates, all of whom got paid today and would surely be able to buy themselves P10 donuts if they wanted to. Here was a boy who was asking for a donut, maybe not even hoping for a whole donut, but just with the hope of tasting what he normally wouldn't be able to have on any other day. It's kinda hard to realize that the amount needed for his happiness at that point was merely an afterthought for me -- what's P10 pesos nowadays, anyways? That's how much a donut cost, and that's how much it would cost me to bring at least, a happiness that is so hard to come by for this kid.

I wasn't going to think about it more, but neither was I willing to let the opportunity pass me by. I looked at the choices, gestured to the kid and pointed at the candy-sprinkled one. He nodded vigorously. "Ate, padagdag naman ng isa nun." (Could you please add one of those?) My suki smiled, nodded, got one of the donuts and put it in one of their gaudy single-donut plastics.

I handed it over to him, his eyes showing the "wow! one whole donut?!? for me?!?" in his mind. No other words were said. He didn't even notice me go. I watched him as I boarded the jeepney to MOA -- he was licking the chocolate that stuck on the plastic first, before going on to the main treat. Nothing else mattered to him. Wow. Choco-Candy Sprinkle -- stuff of hope and dreams.

It's shameful to think now, keeping in mind how little I spent for the impression left with this kid (good things -- very out-of-the-ordinary for this world we live in -- still happen), that at any other day, I wouldn't have given him a second thought, much less give. What was this one about? The sincerity in the boy's eyes? The cute-and-cuddly Christmas feeling that's creeping up on me these days?

No, I think this is evidence enough that with the promised Counsellor in me, I have that distinct power to do something different for this world. Call it extraordinary, call it radical, call it against-the-flow -- but this is what we have - the Power living in us to be different.

I don't have any guilty feelings about feeling good. I know that was not about me helping the child. It was one more soul touched by my Savior's Spirit - mine.

the best. abso-freaking-lutely.

--this post has nothing to do with my emotional, spiritual, or mental state right now. this is purely physical.

ok. you're in the city. you're stomach is looking for something that not only would fill it up, but would appeal to your taste buds as well. if your looking for a hunger-buster, look no further.

[DISCLAIMER: The company who makes these did not, in cash or in kind, pay me for this here blog exposure they have. In fact, I really prefer Jollibee over McDonald's any other day. This is the exception.]


The Double Cheeseburger. (ta-dah!)









If you're talking about filling your stomach brute force with a "no frills" kinda burger that at least tastes decent, the McDonald's Double Cheeseburger is by far, in my opinion (agree with me, Leah), the best option for you.

Heck, "tastes decent"? It tastes freaking good. Whoever thought up this product should be given some sort of award for the sheer audacity of the idea -- two cholesterol-ridden, chunky-juicy-oily all-beef (or at least they claim so) patties, on a regular McDonald's burger bun, and with two slices of cheese to boot -- else it wouldn't be a cheeseburger, eh?

And the simplicity is just as inviting. I mean, I choose to eat this without the onions and the pickles -- just the patties, the cheese, the ketchup and the bun. I mean you can eat it as is, but imagine -- no lettuce, no tomatoes, not even sesame seeds on the bun. Just plain beefy-juicy-cheesy goodness. And have you noticed how absolutely perfect this goes with the salty-soggy fries and a large glass of Coke? Yeah, you have. Hungry yet?

I mean, I've never been like an "I-go-crazy" fan of McDonald's. I'm your regular Jollibee kinda guy. But there are some products that this US franchise has gotten absolutely perfect (just like the way how Chickenjoy is purrrrfect). I know, I know, you may disagree on the Chickenjoy, but bear with me. McDonald's hit the nail right on the head for me with a number of things -- McNuggets, Twister Fries, and of course, the aforementioned burger.

For a special burger day or meal, my first choice would be Jollibee's Amazing Aloha (always my choice on special occasions if asked). Then there are those expensive Wendy's burgers. But on a regular day, you just can't beat the way a Double Cheeseburger brute forces it's way down to your tummy.

Ideally, I'd have that seasonal Twister Fries with it, but well, you can''t have everything.