My Last Song Syndrome: Never Never Give Up - Thomas and Friends

My current LSS (last song syndrome) for the past month: Never Never Give Up. Another one of those uplifting songs.

FYI, this song is a throwback to the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Season 6 back in 2002. Song composed and arranged by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. The video remake itself is created by TheUnluckyTug02 for YouTube. Footage is from the Hero of the Rails and the later episodes of Thomas and Friends (2011).

Our Favorite Disney Junior Songs

If for months, you've been stuck at home with your kid and watched nothing else but Dinsey Junior, you'd understand. :)

Top 5: Jake and the Never Land Pirates Theme

Just off the shores of Neverland
A hideaway at sea
Yo Ho! Yo Ho!
Let's Go! Let's Go!
A pirate band outwits the plans
Of Captain Hook and Smee
Yo Ho! Yo Ho!
Let's Go! Let's Go!

The merry crew of Neverland Pirates
Through & Through - they're jolly buccaneers
Join with Jake and the Neverland Pirates
Come Along - We need some volunteers.

Jake - Ahoy!
Izzy - Ahoy!
Cubby - Ahoy!
Skully - Ahoy!

Yooooooo..... Yo-Ho!

Jake and the Never Land Pirates
Climb aboard, Me Hearties, and be a pirate true.
Let's go! With Jake and the Neverland Pirates
We'll set the course together - Come on and join the crew

Yo Ho! Let's Go!

Pretty edgy for a pre-schooler's show. :) You'd expect nothing less from the "flagship" show of Disney Junior.

Waiting for an Angel

I first heard this when I was listening to the House M.D. OST. Can't help myself remembering our heartaches last year...



Waiting On An Angel
Ben Harper

Waiting on an angel
One to carry me home
Hope you come to see me soon
Cause I don' t want to go alone
I don' t want to go alone

Now angel won' t you come by me
Angel hear my plea
Take my hand lift me up
So that I can fly with thee
So that I can fly with thee

And I'm waiting on an angel
And I know it won' t be long
To find myself a resting place
In my angel's arms
In my angel's arms

So speak kind to a stranger
Cause you'll never know
It just might be an angel come
Knockin' at your door
Knockin' at your door

And I'm waiting on an angel
And I know it won't be long
To find myself a resting place
In my angel's arms
In my angel's arms

Waiting on an angel
One to carry me home
Hope you come and see me soon
Cause I don' t want to go alone
I don't want to go alone
Don' t want to go
I don't want to go alone

If you're down, watch this: Star ng Pasko

And here comes another feel good song from ABS-CBN. Their official Station ID for Christmas 2009.

Just what we need to lift our spirits after everything that happened the past months.

Star ng Pasko
Performed by: ABS-CBN Artists

Kung kailan pinakamadilim
Ang mga tala ay mas nagniningning
Gaano man kakapal ang ulap
Sa likod nito ay may liwanag

Ang liwanag na ito
Nasa ‘ting lahat
Mas sinag ang bawat pusong bukas
Sa init ng mga yakap
Maghihilom ang lahat ng sugat

Ang nagsindi nitong ilaw
Walang iba kundi ikaw
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko

Tayo ang ilaw sa madilim na daan
Pagkakapit bisig ngayon higpitan
Dumaan man sa malakas na alon
Lahat tayo’s makakaahon

Ang liwanag na ito
Nasa ‘ting lahat
Mas sinag ang bawat pusong bukas
Sa init ng mga yakap
Maghihilom ang lahat ng sugat

Ang nagsindi nitong ilaw
Walang iba kundi ikaw
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko

Kikislap ang pag-asa
Kahit kanino man
Dahil ikaw Bro, dahil ikaw Bro
Dahil ikaw Bro
Ang star ng pasko

Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko

Ang nagsindi nitong ilaw
Walang iba kundi ikaw
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko

Ang nagsindi nitong ilaw
Walang iba kundi ikaw
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko

Ang nagsindi nitong ilaw
Walang iba kundi ikaw
Salamat sa liwanag mo
Muling magkakakulay ang pasko

Dahil ikaw Bro, dahil ikaw Bro
Dahil ikaw Bro
Ang star ng pasko!

Go Pinoy!

Endeverafter - No More Words

It's 2:00 PM and I just woke up and extremely hungry. It's been a gruelling week -- working 3 days and 3 night 12-hour shifts is just not that fun. This song kinda gets me in that feel-good zone. Helps me get through those tight spots. :)

Stick it the man! Yeah! Hahaha! :)) Uh ahem... Right, umm... Moving on.....



Endeverafter - No More Words

I got a sharp stick, I keep in my pocket
I speak volumes never utter a word
When you strike a match, a fire will happen
But the line between the smoke and the flames get blured

Don't you see the writing on the wall(Don't you see the writing on the wall)
You're in way over your head
You're gonna drown in the things that you said

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
But words are cheap, but lies are faint to me

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
And all your words are too big to take

It's a paradox, A mystery, A riddle
A door in your face and only I have the key
Do understand, you'll be caught in the middle
Caught in a web by being spun by me

Don't you see the writing on the wall (Don't you see the writing on the wall)
Just a victim of your own conceit
The architect of your own defeat

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
But words are cheap, but lies are meant faint to me

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
And all your words are too big to take

Never walk away from a fight that's worth fighting
Never hesitate when you know you're gonna act
Never waste your words on a fool who won't listen
Never sell your soul cause you'll never buy it... back

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
But words are cheap, but lies are faint to me

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
And all your words are too big to take

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
But words are cheap, but lies are faint to me

Time has come and gone for words
A thousands threats I've heard before
And all your words are too big to take

Note: Yeah, this is the entrance song of WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy -- one of the best high flyers in wrestling of all time.

In case you want the Jeff hardy Titantron video, check this out. It's repetitive though. The video loops after every 15 seconds or so...

Well, I better get that hokkien mee! :))

Susan Boyle - Britains Got Talent

Came across this inspiring story in the news -- i think it was CNN -- a few hours ago, courtesy of our overhanging silent TV in the office. :) (Yeah, no sounds; just watch.)

You'd be amazed by how talented this unemployed and unassuming 47-year old lady is. Everyone was very cynical and ready to laugh her off the stage. Then when she sang I Dreamed a Dream (from Les Miserables), she blew everyone's minds... The surprise in Simon Cowell's face was priceless! :)

Guess you're never too old to reach for your dreams. :)

Check out the video here. (Unfortunately, embedding was disabled by default, so, just click on the link. :)

Enjoy!

BTW, here are the lyrics, taken from the above link as well (contributed by NewHotdox).

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame.

And still
I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...

I had a dream my life would be
So different form this hell I'm living
so different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

And in case you,ve become a fan, better check out these Susan Boyle fansites:

http://www.susan-boyle.com/
http://www.susanboyle-bgt.co.uk/
http://susan-boyle.britains-got-talent.co.uk/
http://www.susanboylefansite.com/
http://www.bebo.com/WeLoveSusanBoyle
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72212861218

:)

A short note for Francis M.

Philippines mourns the loss of one of the most iconic talents of the music and entertainment industry. In case you haven't heard -- like I was because I was knee-deep on work -- master rapper Francis M dies at the age of 44 last March 6th. News here.

Shocked I was when I first heard. I guess he's one of those people you looked up to when you grew up. Being a pillar of the Philippine rap music industry, he was like one of the immortal ones who would always be there for everyone to look up to. The last thing you'd think about him is dying.

Losing someone to cancer is one of the hardest things one has to endure. Losing my mom five years ago to leakemia as well, I have a pretty good idea how his family is feeling...

To Francis M, hope you're in a better peaceful place. To his family and loved ones, hold on and give strength to each other -- guess that's what he would have wanted.

Shake It - by Metro Station

Not sure exactly what happened but for a few months earlier, I could no longer listen to RX 93.1 online. :(

Just out of the blue -- since I've finished off most of my assigned tasks -- I tried again, and voila! Rx93.1 is back! Not sure for how long, but thank God they're back!

Anyway, there's one fairly old song that got stuck in my head after hearing it one RX: Shake It by Metro Station. Too bad they disabled the embed feature for this youtube video. Here's the link.

I guess it's one of those upbeat, feel-good songs for me.. :)

SHAKE IT
Metro Station

Let's drop!
Yeah, come on

I'll take you home
If you don't leave me at the front door
(Leave me at the front door)
Your body's cold
But girl, we're gettin' so warm
And I was thinking of ways
That I could get inside (Get inside)

Tonight you're falling in love
Let me go now
This feeling's tearing me up
Here we go now

Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it

Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it (x4)

Your lips tremble
But your eyes are in a straight stare
(In a straight stare)
We're on the bed
But your clothes are laying right there
And I was thinking of places
That I could hide
(I could hide)

Tonight you're falling in love
Let me go now
This feeling's tearing me up
Here we go now

Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it

Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it (x4)

I saw you dancing
And I couldn't get you off my mind
I could tell that you could tell
That I was taking my time
But I was thinking of ways
To get you to stay tonight
Body's shaking
Tell me off so I can turn off the lights

Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it

Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it (x4)

Lyrics: Sailed Away - Saving Abel

Damn! Here's the direct result of my last post (just a few hours ago around 2AM or something). Since watching that Youtube video for Chuck and Sarah, I can't get this song out of my head. Another one of those LSSs (Last Song Syndrome).

Anyway, to cope with it, I just had to get the lyrics of the song so that I could at least sing along instead of just humming or repeating "sailed away" over and over again! Hehehe.

For those having the same "symptoms", hope this post helps:

Does it hurt to hear me say
That I never really meant to stay
I left you right where I want you
Now there's nothin' left
And not a reason
There's nothin' left to believe in
When just one remains
I've sailed away

Such a foolish game
That we have been playin'
Now you got me right where you want me
I left you in the right
But you wouldn't let me take the fall
Now you've got me right where you want me

Now there's nothin' left
And that's the reason
There's not much left to believe in
If it's all just the same
I'll sail away
You pushed so hard
You have to know that
You might just get what you wanted
And when just one remains
I've sailed away

I found out on my own
Everything that I've been missin'
Now I've got you right where I want you
Now that we're apart
I see just who you are
You're always gonna be
The one to keep hatin'
Now I've got you right where I want you

Now there's nothin' left
And that's the reason
There's not much left to believe in
If it's all just the same
I'll sail away
You pushed so hard
You have to know that
You might just get what you wanted
And when just one remains
I've sailed away

I'm not one to hide my face behind the pain
It's not like me to beg you to stay
I'll just sail away

Now there's nothin' left
And that's the reason
There's not much left to believe in
If it's all the same
I'll sail away

You pushed so hard
You have to know that
You might just get what you wanted
And when just one remains
You know I've sailed away

And when just one remains
You know I've sailed away

Does it hurt to hear me say
That I never really meant to stay

Quite a sad song, if not a bitter song, actually. But the song does say what Chuck may have felt about Sarah in the aftermath of episode 8 (spoiler!!!). Anyway, just enjoy the song. And here's the video that you can sing along with. :)

Chuck

Here in Southeast Asia, you can expect AXN to deliver some great shows. Another TV show gets in my to-watch-every-Monday-night list: Chuck (Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski).

For those who haven't heard of this yet, well here's Mr. Wikipedia for you:

Chuck is an American action-comedy television program created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world's greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain.

How's that for a gist? :)

Needless to say, if the fact that Chuck is now protected by a hot sexy bombshell of an agent who is undercover as his girlfriend does not make your head turn to watch this show, I don't know what will. :)

As can be expected, our nerdy hero is falling head over heels for the agent slash protector slash pretend-girlfriend. And so is her over him. I think they do make a good on-screen couple. Little wonder that this pair won the "Couple We Rooted For the Most" award in IGN Best of 2007.

Anyway, I was blown away by the number of Youtube videos users made for these two. Here are my favorite ones so far:


(Matt Kearney - Breathe In Breathe Out)



(Saving Abel - Sailed Away)

I guess I'll be watching the episodes again and get those memorable and quotable quotes. It's a shame that this season only has 13 episodes. Well, still they made a very good season and with the writer's guild strike over, I just can't wait for bigger and better Chuck Season 2!

"Brother"'s comeback in the finale!

The finale of this season's American Idol is perhaps the most expensive and grandest so far. (Not surprising, since votes for the final week alone totalled US$97million) So many guest artist performances on stage, plus the star-studded crowd lining the front rows...

(Not to mention, the two finalists each get their own Ford Escape Hybrid!)

Halfway through the show, just when you thought things could not get any better, he returns...



Same ol', same ol' Renaldo Lapuz is back, with his white costume, white hat, and shiny cape! And this time, with a marching band!

Oooh yeah!

Special thanks to Cocoidol08 for the amazing upload!

Trudging work with streaming radio

In case you didn't know, my job isn't exactly what I thought it was. The process (or lack thereof) definitely has room for improvement. A pseudo-team (one team leader and one team member) simply does not work for me. The organizational hierarchy is also bad, since any higher-ups can assign work to us without going through the team leader. Plus, the escalation of issues practically does not exist; most of the time, the issue goes directly to manager instead of us. (I guess, coming from a "real" technical support job, I can see clearly that the "escalation" procedure is -- well, let's just say it could use a major overhaul.... :) On top of it all, our projects are there and we get constant pings from the same manager who assigns multiple "very urgent" (but mostly trivial) tasks.

Oh well, enough of the rants... :)

Ever since my last job, I simply work better with music on. Back then, it was cellphone radios and earphones. Now, I can use that, but then again, I can only pick up SG radio stations. :( They're not THAT bad, but I comes down to cultural preferences, I guess.. Example, I just don't get a kick out of any Chinese, Malaysian, or Indian songs which get played as much as the English songs we know.

So, it's got to be internet radio! Unlike other companies here, it's a good thing that streaming (audio or video) is not blocked. Although there are days when it gets disconnected, mostly due to network issues. (They should really replace some of the devices here!) If streaming were blocked, I don't know how I would keep myself sane. Radio helps me relax back then. It's helping me relax now... or at least entertained enough to get through the day. :)

I listen to RX most of the time. :) That's were I get my daily dose of songs and news -- entertainment or otherwise. Keeps me updated on latest hits. (Che was really happy to know that Say It Again topped the top charts.)

Sadly, I don't get to work that early, so I can only hear the last hour of Chico and Delamar. I could go to work earlier, but then again, why the hell should I? :)

Okay, back to "work"! Hehehe :)

Our Marie Digby Weekend!

UPDATE: Check out Che's post on her blog.

In case you haven't been checking out Che's blog, Che is one of the biggest Marie Digby fans out there. Ever since she found out about her sometime last year in YouTube, she's always checking out her youtube for her latest music videos.

For the pictures, just check out Che's blog for any updates... That's her niche, so she gets first picks on the pictures to post. :) I guess I'll just stick with the story-telling of what went down. :)

Friday, May 9, Acoustic Session. We were outside the Zouk Velvet Underground waiting to get inside to watch Marie Digby's acoustic session. We were there around 7:30 PM, but the queue has already reached the street. Still, after a few minutes, the queue even got longer; it extended down to the tunnel to the basement parking of the hotel next door.

Around 8:00, people were let in. The place was too crowded. The front row was already full. We managed to squeeze in somewhere in the middle. To our dismay, the big taller guys are hogging the front rows. I had my doubts about us getting a decent picture or video of Marie later.

It's 8:30. She finally came out. She really is as white as in the youtube videos. She would really stood out in the middle of any crowd.

Just as I feared: we can barely get a good shot of Marie. In almost every picture, you'll see this guy's head, and this guy's Jamaican hair, and this guy's big camphone popping out from nowhere. Still, we managed to get good shots, but we had to do a lot of cropping and stuff. :)

Anyway, she was a great performer. She's good with botht he guitar and the piano/organ. She sang five songs from her new album which of course included "Say It Again" and her version of "Umbrella". I was a bit surprised though that she only sang five songs. Well, she was on a tight schedule and this was not a concert, so I guess that explains it. The session lasted around half an hour -- about half an hour shorter than the time we spent on queue. I'm not complaining, though. It was worth the smile on Che's face. I knew she was happy so I'm okay with it.

Sure, my flat feet were aching again, but it was a great show anyway. :)

Here's the video we got from our camera:



Saturday, May 10, Autograph Session. We were at GAP in the Wisma Atria along Orchard Road. The session was at 4:00 PM so we arrived 30 minutes earlier. Still, the queue was already too long and I ended up on the outside; we were like number 30 in the queue or something. I stood in the queue while I let Che and the rest of the "Batswan" inside the store to "maximize" the aircon. :)

We had everything ready: the poster, the CD label, the section of the label where we want her to sign, and a gift. [Che wanted to make sure that Marie would get something out of her visit here.]

When she finally came out and after singing two songs, the autograph signing was under way. Che promptly went to my place and we waited patiently on the queue. The rest of the "Batswan" were on the front row ready to take all the pictures they can when it's Che's turn for the autograph signing.

It took around 20 to 30 minutes before it was finally Che's turn. I guess due to the time and the still long queue, the staff there were a bit irritated: they kept saying no pictures, no notebooks, no scratch papers or the like; only autographs on posters and/or CD labels are allowed.

Despite what the staff around were saying, my gutsy wife introduced herself to Marie [they already exchanged messages in MySpace] and then gave her the gift. Then, the thing that Che was only dreaming of happened:

Marie Digby stood up from her sofa, leaned over, and gave Che a hug!

And the crowd went wild!!! Not only that, I managed to get a picture of the two of them! :)Obviously, the staff can't do anything about that. The crowd cheered as they knew that at that moment, my wife was the luckiest Marie Digby fan! :)

Needless to say, my wife was all-smiles. She has that "smile that had to be surgically removed"; she was very, very, very happy. And so was I.

Anyway, just check Che's blog to know her thoughts about her close encounter. :)

Beat It!

Almost another week has passed without any posts! Hehehe, it's been very busy the last few days. :)

Somehow, the song was very appropriate for my mood about work. Hehehe.. A very angry angry angry song! Hahaha! :)



Fall Out Boy feat John Mayer - Beat It

They told him don't you ever come around here
Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear
The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it, just beat it

You better run, you better do what you can
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it

Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it

They're out to get you, better leave while you can
Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man
You wanna stay alive, better do what you can
So beat it, just beat it

You have to show them that you're really not scared
You're playin' with your life, this ain't no truth or dare
They'll kick you, then they beat you,
Then they'll tell you it's fair
So beat it, but you wanna be bad

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it

Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it