rebelpixel productions

Rico Blanco leaves Rivermaya

Published at around evening time of May 28, 2007

It’s now confirmed, Rico Blanco has left Rivermaya.

The news has been buzzing for a few weeks now, though never confirmed until just recently. According to The Dawn’s JB Leonor in an email to their official mailing list:

We had a gig in Metrowalk last Friday and Rivermaya was there - they
played before us.

It started out as a rumor. Someone text Kiko something crazy that I
didn’t know if I’d believe it or not.

We played in Big Sky Mind after Metrowalk. Kiko didn’t ride with me
home. He told me he was going to Metrobar to check out Rivermaya.

Kiko text me when he got there. Confirmed! It’s Rivermaya’s last
gig!!! They’re breaking up!

They’re not breaking up, Rico just left. Rico left Rivermaya!

I rarely blog about the local music scene now, okay I rarely blog, but to go back to the topic, Rivermaya is one of the pillars of OPM for the past decade, surpassed only by the now defunct Eraserheads, so this is big news! Rivermaya without Bamboo was news, but Rivermaya without Rico Blanco — is — not Rivermaya. Without any disrespect to the remaining members, the band will never be the way it was without the man behind the music. He played the keyboards, then played the guitar after Perf De Castro left (or was he booted out?), then fronted the band after Bamboo Manalac left. They marched on without Nathan Azarcon, regrouped to capture the label “Ang Banda Ng Bayan” as they produced rock hits that continue to be anthems in the local rock scene.

It’s sad to see a legend break apart, but some good things are not meant to last. Remember the Beatles? The Eraserheads? So what happens now?

Heto na ang gabi na ikaw ay aalis
At iiwan mo ako
Sa lahat ng gabi ito ang ayaw dumating
Sana ay umaga na

Tatawagan mo pa rin ba ako
Susulatan mo pa ba ako
Tayo pa rin bang dalawa kahit…

Babye na
Aalis ka na
Babye na rin ba
Sa ating alaala

155 Replies· 2007.05.28

Five on Friday: A gentleman should…

Published in the wee hours of May 28, 2007

In today’s ever so changing times, men should still:

1. Open the door for a lady. I guess this is one of the rather important acts of chivalry, and should never be taken for granted. When with a lady friend, or when entering a door alongside another person, especially a lady, open the door for both of you.
2. Offer a seat for a lady. In a meeting or just about any group where all of you are seated, and a lady comes along with no chair to sit on, offer yours. Then you can try to find one for yourself, or just go through the ordeal standing, or you could just lean on something, or maybe you could share. Hah! My brother though begs to differ when it comes to ladies who insist on taking the men’s coach in the MRT despite the fact that they have a coach reserved for the female population, which usually isn’t full. I’m not sure we agree, I don’t take the MRT.
3. Cross the street with the lady on the safer side. You should always keep a lady safe at all cost, and sometimes just because they’re not too keen with the crossing the street roulette here in our country.
4. Carry a lady’s bags and things. Unless your hands are already preoccupied with carrying heavier things, you should offer to carry a lady’s things, be it a bag or boxes of shoes. Despite the supposed “mockery” that comes along with carrying your girlfriend’s bag as she does her shopping routine, it’s the only right thing to do.
5. Take a lady home safely. A man should take a woman home safely. You don’t even have to be romantically involved with the girl; this tip also applies to all lady friends. All the more if you have a car. But if you’re in a bind and the schedule wouldn’t permit, you should at least accompany her get a ride home.

I got thinking about this while recalling several occasions where I had dinner with a lady friend, or just any form of non–fastfood dining with ladies. For some time now, I learned (or at least try) to ask my lady companion what she’s having so I could place the order for both of us, instead of her having to talk directly to the waiter. I think it’s the courteous thing to do, regardless of gender equality or women empowerment debates which I’m not even sure applies to the situation I’m trying to disect now. So what do you think?

It wouldn’t be hard to notice that this is part of my Five on Friday series which I religiously miss almost every week, FoF on a Sunday Monday. I know I won’t be running out of ideas anytime soon; just too many things to worry about at the moment. I’ve got around a dozen photo sets to work on, a few crazy ideas, and a career I don’t know where I want to take. Or I know but I refuse to see. I don’t know, but I’ll keep on blogging, and do the things I currently, passionately care about.

12 Replies· 2007.05.28

Photographers in action

Published in the early afternoon of May 23, 2007

Remember the Intramuros shoot I mentioned last week? What Jayvee thought would be a small group of enthusiasts turned into a mini photo org of sorts, with around 40 people turning up for the event. Fourty!

The tireless Jerry Polence gamely posed for every single photographer, trying to give each one some eye time. Good thing my Pisay batchmate Tubay arrived with a few sets of costumes as well, somehow giving Jerry some time to rest in between costume changes. With all those costumes, makeups, and other things, we now know having a cosplayer for a girlfriend is no joke! Hah!

The photographers came in droves, coming from various photo orgs and online communities that me and Jayvee were wondering how the idea turned itself into a successful idea virus. Joey, Juned, and Eric were very helpful in facilitating the activities and talking with everyone, and the whole group itself was one very nice lot.

I’m sure I’ll have a hard time matching all the names with the faces I remember, I couldn’t even type the two–page attendance sheet that we almost completely filled! Definitely though, I’ve met new friends who I’m sure I’ll be shooting with again, soon. We have more in store, Jayvee’s doing his magic for our next activities. See you all next time. Until then, happy shooting!

7 Replies· 2007.05.23

Five on Friday: What I hate about the iPod

Published in the early evening of May 18, 2007

Everyone loves Apple’s iPod, or at least pretends not to hate it. I’ve got one, though there are things I just wish it wasn’t.

1. It takes a lot to shuffle. Go pick a playlist, an artist, or an album. Then suddenly decide that you want to shuffle the tracks instead of listening to them sequentially. You can’t do it with a button, not even with a few keypresses. You’re at least several clicks and wheel movements away. Can’t we have it like a traditional CD player?
2. You need iTunes to add media, and you can’t just copy them back. Well, at least officially. Of course there are unofficial solutions like my favorite yamipod but it would’ve been nice to do everything with a simple file explorer.
3. It can’t play just any movie. The iPod requires specific encoding parameters and formats to play a video file. It would’ve been nice if it could deal with DivX and MPEG directly, right?
4. Photo storage is a joke. Keeping photos in your iPod is a joke more complicated than it sounds. The files take more space in the iPod than they would in your PC. Now where’s the sense in that? And you can’t just store them directly, instead mimicking a mirroring of sorts that further wastes storage space.
5. Digital music isn’t only MP3 or AAC. Why can’t we have ogg vorbis, flac, and all the other philosophically, legally free formats?

I’m sure you have something against your favorite gadget.

11 Replies· 2007.05.18

Fun shoot @ Intramuros

Published in the early evening of May 18, 2007

Jayvee arranged a fun shoot with members of the Pinoy Cosplay community this coming Sunday (May 20) at Intramuros. Jerry Polence is one of our confirmed models, and she hopes to have other cosplayers tag along as well.

This is the first time for us local blogger–photographers to arrange a shoot like this, so I share Jayvee’s worries regarding the turnout of photographers and models, specifically the ratio of shooters to models. We just want everyone to be doing what they’re primarily there for. Certainly though, this will be a fun event to meet new (and old) friends and learn a trick or two from fellow enthusiasts.

Bring your toys, bring your cameras. Club Intramuros Golf Course @ around lunch time.

7 Replies· 2007.05.18

Five on Friday: Why vote?

Published in the early evening of May 11, 2007

Come Monday, we take another step towards another chapter in Philippine history. Though many would believe that the coming elections would not result in significant change, there is something you can do. What you choose to do determines your fate.

So why vote?

1. You don’t want celebrities for a leader. Or you simply don’t want a public official elected solely because of the warmth of their smile, the cheerfulness of their dancing, or the beauty of their endorsers.
2. You want stop feeling robbed through income taxation. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at your monthly pay slip with a smile, knowing that every peso taken from your income is paying responsible leaders committed to true public service, and that your money is in essence, serving you?
3. You love your children. Every election is a decision we make for our children, for our children’s children. What you do now is what makes the Philippines they will live in, many years from now.
4. You want a morally responsible citizenry. Responsible people breed responsible leaders, and responsible leaders breed responsible people. Chicken and the egg, or so they say. But today, we can choose who starts this supposedly endless loop of a cycle. Let’s take the first step, choose wisely.
5. You want to stay in the Philippines. I don’t want to leave the country just to live the good life. Or the simple life. I want the Philippines to be every reason for us to stay. The Filipino was born to live in the Philippines, to serve other Filipinos.

To borrow and twist JFK’s famous quote: stop asking what the Philippines can do for you, instead ask what you can do for this great country.

But you already know that. Vote wisely. Vote.

And stop whining if you can’t be bothered to make a stand.

7 Replies· 2007.05.11

6 Weird Things About Me

Published mid-afternoon of May 10, 2007

I’m not a fan of memes but Karla tagged me, so I guess I’ll have to take on this:

Each player of this games starts with 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

So here are six weird things about me:

1. I hate talking to telephone operators/agents. It’s not that I’m anti–social — I’m not. I just find it weird, especially during the days when the beeper was still the cool gadget and you talk to someone you hardly know to leave personal messages for people you actually know. Also, when I need food delivery, I get someone else to actually do the calling and all that, and then I pay.
2. I always do the things I’m not supposed to do right now. I think I have this escapist tendency to work on other things except the one that needs to be done immediately. Like right now, I’m supposed to be coding but I’m blogging.
3. I’m left–handed but sometimes right–handed. I do pretty much everything left–handed, except eat, and play the guitar. My dad though is left–handed but writes with his right hand. And then there’s this girl I know who’s right–handed but writes with the left and takes photos with her left eye to the viewfinder.
4. I can sleep almost anytime during the day. I think this may be narcolepsy, or I’m just plain bored doing work. Or I have a very short attention span. I don’t know.
5. I find joy in helping people I don’t know, more, than helping those I directly interact with. Not that I don’t take pleasure in lending a hand for friends and family, but the beauty of touching souls you may never see again is immeasurable.
6. I love technology though I think it is man’s downfall. Weird. Everyone is now many times more impatient than they were five years ago, just because technology spoiled us with the “on–demand” mentality.

I found out I have an older entry somehow related to this, you can read it to discover more weirdness. Or just for laughs.

This time I’m tagging others: Joey, Mic, Soul Hunter, Rico, Sasha, and Aileen. Can’t wait for their weirdness list. Hah!

19 Replies· 2007.05.10

Five on Friday: In My Pocket

Published at around evening time of May 7, 2007

This edition of Five on Friday is ridiculously late it isn’t even within the week it’s supposed to be in! But pardon me, I had too much fun playing with Marc’s Xbox 360 paired with Abe’s 32–inch LCD I totally lost track of time, getting home just minutes before Saturday’s sunrise. Well, the boys were just too preoccupied we didn’t notice pretty much what the girls were doing. I would’ve published this entry yesterday but I was working with Karl & Mimi (with Dax and King) manning the crowd–pleasing clique photobooth.

I’ve been at a lost thinking what topic I’ll be writing on for last Friday’s list (this list you’re reading now), unable to find something not commonly blogged about. So I’ll just talk about things in my pocket!

1. Vicks inhaler. If you’ve met me before, you’d have notice that I always have an inhaler in my hands, sniffing at my secret concoction every few minutes. Seriously, I just love the scent of Vicks that I use it even when I don’t have a cold or any other need for it. When I was just a few years old, I used up one large bottle by spreading the gooey stuff all over my parents’ bed! Yes I know, it’s supposedly unhealthy — but what enjoyable thing in life isn’t?
2. Lip balm. Working in an air–conditioned office and alternating that with our country’s ever warm and humid weather, my lips are never in their perfect health. Oh I know this sounds metro–sexually vain, but lips always hurt as they dry up quite easily. I’m currently looking for medicated lip balms since regular ChapStick doesn’t help. Anyone?
3. Pen. Even in today’s electronically–driven world, you never know when you’ll be needing a good ol’ pen. That’s why I always keep one handy. I used to have a classic Cross and then some Parker ballpoints, but I can’t stop losing them. For some time, I loved the Pilot G–TEC C4. Extra fine tip yet still producing very even black strokes. Recently though, I’m using more of the Pilot G–2 and the G–2 ex (Q7 in other markets), and also the Uni–ball 207 which is comparably good, but seems to use a lighter pigment that results in gray writing, unlike the Pilot’s dark blacks.
4. Swiss knife. Being a big MacGyver fan, a swiss army knife is an essential in my lifestyle. Kuno. I use mine everyday to open my can of tuna for lunch. I also attached a button–type LED flashlight at its end so its more useful than it typically is. I use the Victorinox Tinker which has the exact tools I frequently use.
5. Mobile phone. These days, who doesn’t keep a phone in their pocket? I still thrive on my beat–up Nokia 6230i though regularly think about going back to Ericsson mobiles. The T68 immediately comes to mind. Unfortunately, no specific model is good enough for my needs. Everything is at least 10,000 pesos away yet still a compromise in terms of features.

How about you, what do you usually have in your pocket?

13 Replies· 2007.05.07