Metal Migrane -> Opera Italia

I think I have to quit the metal stuff for a while.

I still love the music. However, I think my head is absorbing a little too much noise to handle.

I've been getting some bad headaches this week… migraines even… to the point that I'm not able to work anymore. Well, at least my guess is that it's the metal music, so I'm shifting away from it for the time being.

Actually, now is not a bad time at all to be shifting genres since there's this one particular style of music that has been tickling my fancy as of late: Opera.

Yeah, you read that right. Not just classical music, my friends: Opera. This is largely due to me having seen "No Reservations" a few nights ago. You know, that romantic comedy with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail "Little Miss Sunshine" Breslin? That film.

Oh, and speaking of… Aaron Eckhart - I just recently learned - is gonna play Harvey "Two Face" Dent in the next installment in the Batman franchise: "The Dark Knight". This has gotta be good. I'm betting this is gonna be the darkest and most twisted Batman movie ever. Heath Ledger as The Joker… Aaron Eckhart as Two Face… and Christian Bale reprising his role as The Dark Knight. This has got to be good.

Don't Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart look a lot alike? I mean, hindi sila magkamukha, but they have similar features…

Anyway, I digress.

As I was saying, this sudden interest in Opera couldn't have come at a better time, since my head is telling me to take a break from the \m/. So I guess it was perfect timing to have seen "No Reservations" just a few nights ago. It's a so-so movie, but it has its moments and features beautiful music. Since Eckhart's character in the film is an opera fan, that music figures largely in the movie. I think the operas from the film were by Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini.

One of my officemates, upon learning of my new interest, immediately pimped Mozart's "The Magic Flute" to me; and yes, I'll be trying that one out as well as Mozart's two other famous operas: "Don Giovanni" and "The Marriage of Figaro".

Oh, and just right now, I came across this list! Mwahahaha! I guess this is gonna be my entry into the world of opera.

1. Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini
2. La bohème by Giacomo Puccini
3. La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi
4. Carmen by Georges Bizet
5. The Barber of Seville by Gioacchino Rossini
6. The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
7. Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
8. Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
9. Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi
10. The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
11. La Cenerentola by Gioacchino Rossini
12. Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
13. Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti
14. Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo
15. Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
16. Aida by Giuseppe Verdi
17. Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi
18. Faust by Charles Gounod
19. Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II
20. L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti

Italian operas FTW!

Although on a final note, the very first opera that I set my ears on (just recently) is a german opera (which I'm listening to right now, in fact). It's by Richard Wagner, and it's called "Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)" and it's over 14 friggin hours long! If anyone's familiar with "Ride of the Valkyries" from the film "Apocalypse Now", this is the opera where that came from.

Oh, and this just added to my list of things to do: "Watch an opera… in Italy!" 

One Big Fight!

If you think that this post will be a rave from start to finish about Ateneo's win of LaSalle yesterday, then you're only partially correct. For as much as I'd like to go on and on about how great things have been for Ateneo thus far in their 4 meetings with LaSalle, you have to give credit to the Archers. I mean, seriously, what a show these two teams have put on this season!

Their first meeting saw Ateneo being forced into overtime almost singlehandedly by Jayvee Casio, which the Eagles thankfully salvaged. Ateneo by 3.

The second game was one that literally came down to the final millisecond, and wasn't decided until after the game had ended. Ateneo by 2.

The third salvo was again a nailbiter, seeing both teams being separated by a solitary point; this time, Ateneo was the one that came up short. LaSalle by 1.

Yesterday's game, as a true testament to how evenly the Eagles and Archers are matched-up this season, was decided - again - by a single point. However, this time, it was decided on Ateneo captain Chris Tiu's endgame heroics as Ateneo blew away a 6-point Archer lead it under two minutes. 65-64. Ateneo by 1.

read Rick Olivares' ADMU-DLSU 4 recap here

Game 5, the final meeting of these two teams this season, is set on Sunday. For many, Sunday's game will be like the championship. For some reason - as long as this fifth and final matchup of the season will do justice to the intensity and excitement of their previous four matchups - I wouldn't be as heartbroken on Sunday even if the Eagles lose. Of course, everything will be much sweeter if we win, but OMG what a show these two teams have put on this season!

Oh, and don't forget that the Ateneo Blue Eaglets and Ateneo Lady Eagles are in their respective finals matchups. Theirs will be on saturday.

What a season for Ateneo basketball!

Abbey Road…? *D’oh!*

oh yeah, that picture below made my day

…and just to add to it, let me just quote my favorite Beatles lyric… from the last song… on the last recorded album by them:

"And in the end
the love you take
is equal to the love
you make…"

Twisted

I swear I have such a polarized taste in music. Of course I also have a polarized personaility. but then that's another story. May bi-polar disorder kaya ako? baka kahit mild? wow… that adds to my theory that I am mildy autistic, slightly schizophrenic, and now I have a mild bi-polar disorder… anyway… I'm digressing… and getting absurd (mild bi-polar autism *raises eyebrow*).

As I was saying… I swear, I have such a polarized taste in music. As I have been blogging about recently, I'm totally into this metal phase right now, and I'm even listening to extreme metal such as death metal.

And what am I listening to right now as I type? Twee.

What is twee? Well, it's sweet and gentle music that could be characterized as being overly quaint, dainty, cute or nice.

death metal… twee… death metal… twee… death metal… twee…

Does not compute.

And throw in a healthy dose of classical to boot: some Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Wagner and the like.

If I had to do a scene in my head that would characterize the music I've been listening to right now, it would be something that sort of starts of as a cartoony sketch (cue Twee music) with the sun shining brightly up in the clear blue sky as it showers its warmth down on a calm and gentle field of green. Then there would be rabbits hopping along, some butterflies fluttering about, and other various cute animals playing around… think Bambi… but cuteified. And then, (cue Metal music) this shining silver sword would come flying, spinning out of nowhere as it slices cleanly through one of the rabbit's necks before it lodges itself firmly on the ground as the blood drips slowly down its shaft. Afterwards, as the rest of the animals scatter out, the angel of the apocalypse would come flying up, and with a wave of her hand, a thick layer of clouds form and block out the sun, covering the entire place in pale gray. Then, from either side of the horizon, an army of vikings, ghouls, demons, orcs and every scary monster from Lord of the Rings would form and charge towards each other in an epic battle until all that's left in the battlefield standing upright is that solitary sword sticking up from the ground… still with warm blood dripping from its shaft. Finally, (cue Classical music) the earth starts to mourn all the violence and death that it has witnessed; and in time, the barren land starts to wash away the gore and blood that was spilled. The clouds again thin away as they let the sun shine again. The grass grows, the flowers bloom, and the few survivors from the apocalypse start to bring life into the world once again… … … …Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

…

…

…

I don't know if it's necessarily a scary thing that I was able to whip up and type out that twisted and fucked up scene in my head in a matter of 5 minutes O.o Scary and absurd.

I read it again and yup… it does do justice to the listening phase I've been going through right now.

Fitness First

Fitness First is generally a good gym and all, but they (or at least the Ayala branch) has seriously too few lockers in the men's room! I usually get there at around 7pm, which is a peak hour, so I pretty much spend my first 20-30 minutes there just waiting for a locker to be vacated. It's really frustrating. Sometimes nawawalan ka na ng gana mag-workout dahil lang di ka makakuha ng locker. Augh.

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Hindi ako lefty. Right-side dominant ang katawan ko, and with that in mind, I can't help but notice that after months of going to the gym, the right side of my body has been developing and the left side is being left behind. Pinaka-pansin ito sa arms. I don't know if it's obvious by just looking at it, but upon further inspection, most people will notice that my right arm is noticably bigger than my left. So now, I have to exert extra effort and be doubly conscious in developing the left side of my body.

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My tummy-fats are stubborn. STUBBORN! I've been working out a lot lately, and most parts of my body have been improving (meaning increased muscle mass or decreased fats) - but not the tummy. No siree. Then, I tell theis to my mom, who just lets out a laugh and tells me the story of how when I was young, she and my dad were so worried because my tummy was protruted. So, they took me to the pedia for a checkup, and as it turns out, everything was perfectly fine with me. It's just that I have a protruted tummy. …mmmm…. Well, it doesn't help that I hate situps and I still eat a lot. But what the heck. I will not do situps, and I will eat kasi masarap kumain eh =p I will just be toned with a big tummy. LOL!

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I'm no health buff. However, working-out - aside from its health benefits - is a great stress-reliever. I'm sold.