A.F.P. (Ang Friend ni Pinsan)

Microdot Sleeve: The title has nothing to do with the AFP or Armed Forces of The Philippines(well, partly I guess), but you know, playing with words. Actually, I got the idea from a pair of rubber shoes(shoes supplied to military cadets) which my cousin's bestfriend(a military nurse from Fort Bonifacio) are wearing.

Well, I hope the people captured in the photoflix are enjoying this. They are my Families and along with Miss Spain(our cousin), using her CASIO EXILIM Digital Camera, they're having the best days of their lives as shown on this photos. I played around with the images in RockYou and here's the beautiful result(I guess).

Posers.....

Microdot Sleeve: What's a Poser? A poser is someone who tries to fit into a profile they aren't. People who try to give off the impression that they are one thing when they are really another. Also, a poser can be one who says they can do something that they can't. Or more commonly, a poser is someone who, when doing something successfully, takes more than enough credit for it. A poser is a girl/guy who listens to a certain type of music or dresses a certain way to impress people or to fit into a certain crowd. often times people get mixed up with those who are posers and those who are not. If you go out buy a sk8r-boi sweatshirt and a skateboard and go out on the town and ride around and some one shouts out, "Hey poser!" Are you one? NO! Come on people..you went out and bought the skateboard so you could...erm GET BETTER! Seriously how are you ever going to become a skateboarder if you dont practice and get better? *cough exactly* now in a different situation. Lets say you go out buy a skateboard...by the way you dont even know the brand of the board and you go out with your friends and just sit there while they do their little skateboarding tricks ... so basically you are just there to look cool..then are you a poser. Yah? Yes! A poser is someone who says that they are a punk because they have a CKY cd and a Ramones shirt, and dont even like the cd, and have never heard a song by the Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, or real punk music. most have liberty spiked hair or a "fohawk", and listen to Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, and Avril Lavinge, or songs about relationships(and ending them, and how bad it hurts.)

For over a week while gathering materials for this rants, I saved a lot of stories to tell. Things that triggers the memories of the past to come back. Music and stuffs, rhythms and riffs while brushing acoustic guitar necks, crossing over between frets of strings playing power chords. But first off, I have a celfon now courtesy of Miss Spain and become a total tour guide for her. Anyway, she bought herself an iPod speaker, an acoustic guitar, and lots of personals. One time she asked me, "I wanted to buy a new celfon. Can you give me a reason why I should buy that?(pointing to a 3G model.) So I said the this and the that, but I'm wonderin' why she didn't purchase it up to now. She had a card which she can slide though. Hmmmm!! Anyway, yesterday we went to a tribal shop at Megamall and got stucked for a few minutes on incubhab's Incubus on the shop's flat screen monitor. After some few more buys, we headed straight to Fort Bonifacio and met with her best friend.

(Dateline Philippines)

So, here's a rant which metalheads will likely agree because it happened during the metal era in the late 80's and early 90's. An era when metal music and dirty rap was kinda mixed up. A mixed up which started in hair styles like one length as they've called it and ends up in T-shirt wearing ignorance. It makes me sad whenever I remember those days. Metal music was kinda raped and abused in a way.

During the late 80's to the early 90's here in the Philippines, metal music was very much into its peak. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Pantera, Testament, Metal Church, Death Angel, etc. are some of the bands who made it in the ears of Filipino metalheads. Then the haircut called one length (a first step on growing long hairs) which flies-away became the trend. A haircut style which metalheads are known. Then comes the dirty rap and ride with the hairstyle. The sad thing was, you can never differentiate between people listening to metal music and dirty rap in those days because of the same hairstyles. Two different music listeners in two different types of music but the same hairstyle. It's like everybody have the same hairstylist when you look at them from behind. Then I remember one time, I've seen some kids and even adults wearing Pantera's black "Vulgar" T-shirt. Then I thought, do they know what's that image on their shirt they're wearing? Or, do they have any slight idea what's a Pantera music sounds like?

Lots of people goes with the trend but they don't even have any idea on what it is all about. Here's what, watch this videos and ask yourself, "Will I ever wear a shirt with images of this band?" Personally speaking, "I will!" Why? Because they were the best hard rockin' band of the 90's. Here's Pantera on "I'm Broken" (I was cranking this on a guitar many years ago.) Plus a bonus video of "Becoming" with Far Beyond Driven album still image. Listen closely on the guitar riffs and you will hear a cat being kicked on the butt.

I'm Broken
Pantera

I wonder if we'll smile in our coffins while loved ones
Mourn the day, the absence of our faces, living, laughing,
Eyes awake. Is this too much for them to take?
Too young for ones conclusion, the lifestyle won.
Such values you taught your son. That's how.

Look at me now. I'm broken.
Inherit my life.

One day we all will die, a cliched fact of life. Force fed
To make us heed. Inbred to sponge our bleed. Every
Warning, a leaking rubber, a poison apple for mingled
Blood. Too young for ones delusion the lifestyle cost
Venereal Mother embrace the los$. That's how

Look at you now. You're broken
Inherit your life.

Blackjack.....

It's been quite sometime since I've written something like this. I guess I'm back on the table writing stuffs about music and memories. Anyway, Miss Spain is here. I've fetched her yesterday afternoon at the airport. Actually, she's a cousin of mine who once made it as Miss Spain in kindergarten. What, you thought I was talking about the real thing like "Miss Spain or somethin'?" Nah! So, yesterday was great. A lot of stories were spilled on the table. I was asked, "Why are men in cycling wearing tights or cycling shorts which look like tights?" I said, "It's about aerodynamics. You cheat the wind while wearing body-fit clothes." Perhaps Miss Spain will stay for over a month and we're all glad that she's here because we miss her so much. Now what? D'you mean pasalubong? Okey, I got 2 baseball caps, cycling gloves, and some sweets and energy bars. My ears heard something on her iPOD though. Maybe I'll go and have a look for some materials about that matter and write it here in the future.

Anyway, this had been on the hanging for quite sometime now. The subject which I'm going to tell ended up on this blogsite's obituary sidebar panel not because he is dead, but because he's one of the many reasons why some kids listening to Pantera in the 90's picks up a guitar and form a band, because he revolutionized guitar playing techniques, because he made heavy metal real heavy, because many years ago, I was very much into his works, because bending strings and wearing a red goatie beard is cool---very cool, because when I was in the south in '97 and life back then was much better (financially) than today---I was on the verge of buying a "Dimebolt" Washburn Guitar (with a flash of lightning up front of course, but I've change my mind) along with a Pignose amp, because I once had many tabs of his guitar riffs, because his contributions (like guitar lessons) to every major guitar magazines was awesome, because he once made "Becoming" sounding like there is a cat being kicked on the butt, because I love playing "I'm Broken" on a guitar, because "Hostile" and its main riffs in a very fast rhythm sounds like the guitar is kinda broken. because Aris is reading this many reasons, because I can make this very long but stop here actually. Here's the late great Dimebag Darrell (showing some guitar lessons on harmonic squeals, one of his guitar trademark techniques) who died from a shooting spree incident in 2004 during a Damageplan (his side project) concert.

microdot sleeve: Why the title? Blackjack is a Washburn Guitar Dimebag Darrell Signature Series. I could have use "Dimeslime" or "Dimebolt" (both from that series too) for the title but I declined to do so. Or that title because Dimebag is from Texas and a real cowboy.

Click this: A bloggers tribute to the late guitar legend Dimebag Darrell Abbott.

Let the dead bury their dead (Part 2).....

Kumusta Dear?

Marami ang nagkumustahan sa araw na ito. Mga buhay at mga patay. Masarap ang naging pagbibisikleta ko kanina papuntang Mcdo. Halos walang sasakyan. Solo ko ang daan. Maraming naglalakad papuntang sementeryo. Ang ilan ay may dalang mga bulaklak na ang pangalan ay respeto. Tulad ng sinabi ko sa Part 1, aanhin ng patay yun mga bulaklak? Aamuyin kaya nila yun at sasabihin, "Wow! Ang gaganda nito at hmmmm! Ang bango!" Sana noong buhay pa yun patay dun siya nirespeto. Mga bulaklak ang nasa puntod niya, pero nung buhay siya, sinisigaw-sigawan lang siya ng asawa niya o ng mga anak niya o ng pamilya niya na ang mga ito rin ang nag-aalay ng mga bulaklak sa kanyang puntod kapag dumarating ang araw na gaya ngayon. Nakakatawang kapaimbabawan at pakitang tao. Respeto daw sa mga patay. Mga patay na wala ng malay sa mundo ng mga buhay.

Narating ko ang Mcdo ng may galak sa puso. Galak dahil alam ko, na hindi na ako nakikipagsiksikan sa karamihan ng tao para lang magdala ng bulaklak sa patay. Galak dahil alam ko, na dati akong bulag subalit ngayon ay nakakakitang maliwanag. Lumipas ang maraming oras at balita na ang palabas. Maraming pinakitang ibat-ibang mukha ang araw ng patay. Mayroong nagsamantala, may basura, may nakatiwang-wang na, may nabubulok pa, may hindi naman mabulok-bulok, may naghambalang na, may nagliyab pa, may artista at nagsasaranggola, may pulitikong namumulitika pa at nagpapamigay ng supot na may laman na rosaryo, benditadong tubig, at larawan mismo ng pulitiko, may ipinananalangin din na sana ay maligtas yun patay. Ang alam ko, wala ng maidadagdag pa ni maibabawas man ang buhay sa isang namatay na. Kung ano ginawa nung patay ng siya ay nabubuhay pa, duon siya hahatulan maging mabuti man ito o masama. Wala ng magagawa ang panalangin sa isang patay. Ang buhay ay dapat manalangin hindi para sa patay kundi ipanalangin ng buhay ang kapwa buhay, na kung masamang tao ito, sana ay bumuti pa.

Sentemeryo:

Isang pari ang nagdarasal at nagbebendisyon ng isang puntod ng biglang may dumating na ale.

Ale: "Padre, hindi po iyan ang puntod ng asawa ko!"

Pari: "Ha! Akala ko ito! Saan ba naroon ang puntod ng asawa mo?"

Tumigil na ang pari sa kanyang ginagawa at kanilang pinuntahan ang puntod na sinasabi ng ale.

Isipin: Kung talagang may nagagawa ang panalangin at bendisyon sa patay, bakit tumigil ang pari, bakit hindi na lang isama sa kanyang pananalangin at pagbebendisyon ang lahat ng patay sa sementeryo na parang, "To whom it may concern?"

Kung susundan natin ang argumento ng ibang tao, na ang patay ay bumabalik pa, na kesyo nagmumulto daw, na sila'y may bahagi pa sa mundo ng mga buhay, hindi kaya naiinggit yun patay na hindi naipanalangin at hindi nabendisyunan ng pari, at sa inis ay puntahan ang mga nabubuhay pang kamag-anak at magpakuha ng pari na magbebendisyon at mananalangin para sa kanya? Pera-pera lang kasi yan eh! May bayad kasi ang bawat kilos ng pari. Ang buhay, alam niya na siya ay mamamatay. Pero ang patay, may alam ba? Kung nag-iisip lang sana ang mga tao.

Sa katapus-tapusan ng mga detalye at pangyayari sa mga balita tungkol sa mga patay, ang sabi ng isang reporter ay kapiling na daw ng mga patay ang Maykapal. Ang alam ko, kapiling na ng mga patay ang makapal.....

.....Ang makapal na lupa.