Vintage Audio Needs Conversion...

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This is not even half of my audio tape collection. Just thinking about converting all these into digital format gives me a headache. My partial list (in no order whatsoever):

1. Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
2. Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (Double album)
3. Artificial Joy Club - Melt
4. David Bowie - EART HL I NG
5. Fossil - Fossil
6. Seal - Seal
7. Brenda Russel - Greatest Hits
8. The Black Crowes - The Black Crowes
9. Spacehog - Resident Alien
10. Sade - Promise
11. Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
12. The Cardigans - Life
13. Live - Throwing Copper
14. Natalie Merchant - Ophelia
15. Loreena McKennitt - The Mask and the Mirror
16. Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
17. Tears for Fears - Elemental
18. The Sundays - Static and Silence
19. China Crisis - Acoustically Yours
20. Barenaked Ladies - Rock Spectacle
21. Jars of Clay - Jars of Clay
22. Sade - The Best of Sade
23. Nada Surf - High/Low
24. Everything But The Girl - Amplified Heart
25. Everything But The Girl - The Language of Life
26. Everything But The Girl - Walking Wounded
27. Madonna - Ray of Light
28. Madonna - Bedtime Stories
29. Everything But The Girl - Home Movies: The Best of Everything But The Girl
30. The B52s - Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation
31. Joey Ayala at ang Bagong Lumad - Magkabilaan
32. Natalie Merchant - Tigelily
33. Dishwalla - Pet Your Friends
34. U2 - The Joshua Tree
35. Sugar Hiccup - Oracle
36. Simply Red - Picture Book
37. John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy
38. Blessid Union of Souls - Walking Off The Buzz
39. Bettie Serveert - Palomine
40. Pineforest Crunch - Make Believe
41. The Smiths - Best II
42. Workshy - Allure
43. Level 42 - Running in the Family
44. Garbage - Version 2.0
45. The Cardigans - First Band On The Moon
46. Pearl Jam - Ten
47. 10,000 Maniacs - Love Among The Ruins
48. 10,000 Maniacs - Our Time In Eden
49. Sting - The Best of Sting
50. Morissey - Viva Hate
51. Luscious Jackson - Fever In Fever Out
52. Counting Crows - August and Everything After
53. Dinasaur Jr. - Without A Sound
54. Red Hot Chili Peppers - One Hot Minute
55. Kula Shaker - K
56. Lisa Loeb - Firecracker
57. The X-Files: The Album
58. Madonna - Something To Remember
59. The Smiths - Best I
60. Tears for Fears - Saturnine Martial & Lunatic
61. Aztec Camera - Stray
62. Crowded House - Crowded House
63. The Cure - The Head On The Door
64. Luscious Jackson - Natural Ingridients
65. Veruca Salt - Eight Arms To Hold You
66. Seal - Human Being
67. Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind
68. Garbage - Garbage
69. Jars Of Clay - Much Afraid
70. Phil Collins - ...Hits
71. Inxs - Greatest Hits
72. Sting - ...All This Time
73. Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales
74. Swing Out Sister - The Living Return
75. One Fine Day - Music From The Motion Picture
76. Super Deluxe - Famous
77. Earth, Wind & Fire - Live in Velfarre
78. Indigo Girls - Swamp Ophelia
79. Workshy - Heaven
80. Joe Jackson - Stepping Out: The Very Best Of Joe Jackson
81. Soundgarden - Superunknown
82. Fiona Apple - Tidal
83. Massive Attack - Protection
84. Placebo - Placebo
85. The One And Only Motown Album
86. Workshy - Under The Influence
87. Workshy - Soul Love
88. Workshy - Ocean
89. Workshy - The Golden Mile
90. Suzanne Vega - Nine Objects of Desire

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

Stuffy nose, sneezing, chest discomfort, sore throat, cough. Headache's gone and there's no fever. I guess this is just a plain old cold. 'Cause i'd hate it if this were the flu. If I get sick, this would be my only friend:

My home entertainment center. Please don't mind the shoes.

Wet Dreams and Ibuprofen+Paracetamol Cocktails

I had a really bad headache this morning. A head-splitting one. I'm attributing it to the weird weather were currently experiencing. I thought a cold shower would do the trick since i thought it might be the heat that's causing it. The shower did not help at all. A friend was kind enough to get me a couple of Alaxan FRs. That did the trick. I fell asleep on the couch with only a towel wrapped around me. Now here's the weird part: I figured I had fallen asleep for an hour or so. And I dreamed of something which resembled a wet dream. Now I don't remember what happened in my dream but I kind of know it was a wet dream cause when I woke up I had an erection. And some residual dream feelings indicated that I was having a wet dream. I know this isn't a case of "nocturnal emission" since it happened in the morning during a "nap" I had taken after I woke up with a splitting headache. And no "emissions" occurred since I woke up during that part of the dream prior to having an emission. Me and my dream partner were probably just "warming up" to each other. Must've been a really hot dream. Too bad I couldn't remember any of it. Scheiße! (that's "shit" in German). Now I'm way past 18 to be experiencing such a dream so what is this? Second puberty? Or maybe its just my mind telling me that I need to get laid. *sigh*

*****

I rarely take the train going to and coming home from work. Not that I hate it, no. I think its very convenient. I guess I got spoiled by taxi cabs. Always a one-way trip going to wherever you're supposed to go. The downside of it is that it's quite expensive. The fact is, its eating up a lot on my budget so I drastically need to alter my transportation habits. It's gonna be back to buses and trains for me in the coming months. Anyway, as interesting as train rides get, I took the train home the other night and it was rush hour so the train was jam packed. An elderly man in the front of the car was saying something over the din of the train and traffic. "Ako, matanda na ako pero nakatayo ako. Paupuin 'nyo naman yung mga babae. 'Yung nagpapaligaya sa atin pinapahirapan 'nyo." That was directed to a group of young men comfortably seated in the car who were obviously ignoring the old man's remark. Call me old-fashioned but I think chivalry is not dead. Men still owe courtesy to the fairer sex.

*****

Auto-Erotica. Colored pencil on sketchbook paper. June 2005. Click on image to see larger picture

Another installment to my weekly drawing post. An unfinished drawing of a young woman pleasuring herself. The blank thing draped on her left leg is supposed to be a magazine. Probably Playgirl or Abante Tonite. She probably got turned on looking at photos of naked men or from reading the Xerex column. I really don't know what got her started. For all I know that's probably Cosmopolitan and she got turned on looking at the picture of their "Hunk of the month." Or maybe it's just a hot day she felt like going out to her balcony wearing just her cutoffs and she just felt like doing "it." But she doesn't know were watching. We are all voyeurs in her private moment.

*****

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Remember that webcam girl in one of my previous posts? She still doesn't reply when I message her so I gave up on that. I guess she just enjoyed putting on a show on her webcam. So whenever she's online I just click on her cam and enjoy the show (which was mostly of her tapping away at her keyboard, occassionally smiling with the camera focused on her face). I was just a bit shocked one evening while I was viewing her cam (I just had her camera window open on one corner of my screen while I was doing other stuff) when her camera view changed. The camera was focused on her hand and it was pulling aside some fabric that looked like her shorts revealing her bare pubes and her fingers started stroking it. Then her hand moved to her lips and she puts a finger in her mouth, wetting her finger. Then her hand goes back down on her genitalia and resumes rubbing it. I was just staring. That was one hell of a show.

Remembering A Few Good Men

One of my favorite movies of all time. Not exactly laden with awe-inspiring special effects, A Few Good Men is all about good storytelling and great acting.

A FEW GOOD MEN

Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Produced by David Brown, Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinmann
Directed by Rob Reiner
Cast List:
Tom Cruise - Lieutenant J.G. Daniel Kaffee
Jack Nicholson - Colonel Nathan R. Jessep
Demi Moore - Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway
Kevin Bacon - Captain Jack Ross
Kiefer Sutherland - Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick
Kevin Pollak - Lieutenant Sam Weinberg
James Marshall - Private First Class Louden Downey
J.T. Walsh - Lieutenant Colonel Mathew Markinson Christopher Guest ... Dr. Stone

Excerpt from the final courtroom scene where Lieutenant J.G. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) questions Colonel Nathan R. Jessep (Jack Nicholson)

*****

JESSEP You want answers?

KAFFEE I think I'm entitled to them.

JESSEP You want answers?!

KAFFEE I want the truth.

JESSEP You can't handle the truth!

And nobody moves.

JESSEP (continuing) Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
(beat)
You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.
(boasting)
We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline.
(beat)
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I'd prefer you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to.

KAFFEE (quietly) Did you order the code red?

JESSEP (beat) I did the job you sent me to do.

KAFFEE Did you order the code red?!

JESSEP (pause) You're goddamn right I did!

The Power of Three

Tagged yet again by Naomi. Pangit daw kasi ang di magpapa-tag eh. :D

Three names you go by:

1. Rio
2. Dar
3. Dario

Three screen names you have had:

1. Santiago (i dont remember the year exactly but this was around the time i bought my first 28.8 kbps external modem for my Cyrix 486 DX4 100 MHz computer )
2. St.James (circa 2000-02 sa IRC)
3. migraine_man (obvious ba?)

Three physical things you like about yourself:

1. My eyes
2. My hands
3. My fingernails

Three physical things you don't like about yourself:

1. My brain (medyo lopsided... sorry. 'la nang maisip eh :-D)

Three parts of your heritage:

1. Filipino (I'm not aware if we have any other)

Three things that scare you:

1. (It's not that i'm not scared of anything.Wala lang talaga akong maisip.)

Three of your everyday essentials:

1. Wallet
2. Celfone
3. Keys

Three of your favorite bands/musical artist:

1. Sting
2. Natalie Merchant
3. Everything But The Girl

Three of your favorite songs:

1. Crash (Dave Matthews Band)
2. Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House)
3. Here's Where The Story Ends (The Sundays)

Three things you want in a relationship:

1. Lots of love...
2. Lots of lust...
3. ... and understanding.

Three truths and lies in no particular order:
(truth)

1. Mr. Practical
2. Mr. Would-rather-shut-up-than-argue
3. Attention to detail (but that doesn't mean I don't miss anything)

(lies)

1. I'm dating Anne Curtis.
2. Women beg me to marry them.
3. I'm the king of the world!

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:

1. A long, slender neck
2. Beautiful eyes
3. Luscious lips

Three of your favorite hobbies:

1. DVD marathons!
2. Blogging
3. Photography

Three things you want to do really badly now:

1. Kumain ng Ice cream
2. Manood ng sine
3. Umuwi at matulog

Three careers you're considering/you've considered:

1. Architect
2. Photographer
3. Director (Film)
   

Three places you want to go on vacation:

1. Palawan
2. Spain
3. Morocco

Three kid's name you like:

1. Samuel
2. Santiago
3. Ophelia

Three things you want to do before you die:

1. (Pass ako dito...)

Three ways that you are stereotypically a boy/girl:

1. Will not ask for directions (unless absolutely necessary...)
2. Will insist on paying for everything (on dates)
3. Attraction to hot women (it's only natural...)

Three celebrity crushes:

1. Nicole Kidman
2. Angellina Jolie
3. Scarlett Johansson

On Fortune Cookies and Watermelon Soap

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I got this from a convenience store the other night. After eating a glorious two-piece chicken meal at the posh Ministop covenience store downstairs from the office, I cracked it open. The fortune read "You should view all the uncertainties surrounding you as blessings though they don't appear that way at first." So what are the chances that a fortune cookie comes up with a fortune that could possibly have any relevance to the one who cracked it? Probably nil. It is pretty vague anyway, very much like the horoscopes that magazines and newspapers churn out. One story I heard about the people making these horoscopes in the dailies, they'd stick up random fortunes on a dartboard and wherever that dart lands, that would be that sign's fortune for the day. Clever.

Now if I were to believe the cookie, I guess I should take it as a blessing that those VCDs that I rented are forever lost to some inconsiderate schmuck who got them as a bonus after making a withdrawal at the ATM machine where I left them. I guess its also a blessing that I left them there in the first place. Wait, it said "uncertainties surrounding" me, right? Hmmm... Scratch that. I will not rant about work again. Why should I complain? I'm blogging right now. Anyway, enough about that. I have enough uncertainties surrounding me to have their blessings rain upon me. Woohoo. :-|

*****

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I know this might be too kikay for me but I just had to mention this. Back when I still had some hair on my head I loved this special edition shampoo by Sunsilk which smelled like watermelon and gives the scalp a cooling effect. Yummy. (I just sounded like a shampoo salesman). Anyway, if you like that watermelon scent, Ivory came out with the Ivory Aloe Soap. I don't know if i'm just smelling it wrong but it does smell like the watermelon scented shampoo i like. (or does aloe smell like watermelons?) It comes in a simple green paper packaging with a sort of "quote for the day" printed on it. I just like it, that's all. *Defensive* :-D

Regret...

... has nothing to do with what i'm feeling at the moment. I think its nostalgia.
I just remembered this song by New Order from their album Republic.

REGRET

by New Order

Maybe I’ve forgotten the name and the address
Of everyone I’ve ever known
It’s nothing I regret
Save it for another day
It’s the school exam and the kids have run away

I would like a place I could call my own
Have a conversation on the telephone
Wake up every day that would be a start
I would not complain of my wounded heart

I was upset you see
Almost all the time
You used to be a stranger
Now you are mine

I wouldn’t even trust you
I’ve not got much to give
We’re dealing in the limits
And we don’t know who with
You may think that I’m out of hand
That I’m naive, I’ll understand
On this occasion, it’s not true
Look at me, I’m not you

I would like a place I could call my own
Have a conversation on the telephone
Wake up every day that would be a start
I would not complain of my wounded heart

I was a short fuse
Burning all the time
You were a complete stranger
Now you are mine

I would like a place I could call my own
Have a conversation on the telephone
Wake up every day that would be a start
I would not complain about my wounded heart

Just wait till tomorrow
I guess that’s what they all say
Just before they fall apart

Fête et Father's Day

I'm in a predicament.

I think I lost some VCDs that I rented. Potah. I was trying to trace my steps back to find out where I lost it and I think I left it on an Automatic Teller Machine when I made a withdrawal. Good thing about this ATM machine is that its inside a building right across from where I live. So its possible that the night shift guards might have found it and hopefully kept it in their lost-and-found stuff. So I went there this morning to ask the guards but they had no idea. They told me to ask the night shift guards cause it happened on a Saturday night. I guess I'd just have to come back then. I just hope the guards on duty then kept the discs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Aside from the fact that the discs are way overdue, I wouldn't want it to become an unplanned expense.

*****

Saturday was mundane. I slept on the couch the previous night and when I woke up, I just sat there and looked around my place. On one corner, I saw dustballs the size of basketballs! Of course, I'm only exaggerating. They were actually the size of golf balls. But that's beside the point. My place needed some serious cleaning up. So I did, since I didn't really have anything better to do. As of this writing, I'm done cleaning the living area. Next on my list is the kitchen/dining area then the bedroom. The bathroom's partly cleaned (with the help of a friend). Tried out this product called Mr. Muscle Mold & Mildew Killer. It claims to take out stains and mildew out without scrubbing. Just spray it on, let the foam work its magic, then rinse it off with water and voila! Your bathroom tiles are squeaky clean. It does work. Doesn't really smell good though. It smelled like bleach. It probably IS bleach! Tang'nah. I think I've been had. For its price i could've bought a gallon of bleach. Oh well...

*****

Later in the evening, after having dinner with a friend, we decided to go to Fête de la Musique 2005. There were so many people! Jo had a friend who just came home from the states and they were hanging out in Chateau 1771. We sought refuge there and it was good. It became sort of like a mini eyeball for the Peyups forum residents. Jodie was the balikbayan. Then there was Vince who was very entertaining. I forgot the names of the others (sorry!). It was really nice meeting them.

All I have to show for this whole Fête thing are blurred and dark photos. It was really hard taking a good one with an SLR. The crowd was a mix of jhologz (properly spelled as "jologs" which I personally stylized to give the word some personality) and coños. There were the rakistas and the metals, the hip-hops and your typical Juans and Marias. There were even Joes and Janes, [put foreign guy's name here] and [put foreign girl's name here]. Anyway, I'm sure you get my point. But the jhologz way outnumber everyone else. And my SLR looked very conspicuous. I'm sure I would've done better with a point-and-shoot because it's much more subtle. So I didn't get to catch the jhologz when they were moshing while Kitchie Nadal sang "Same Ground." I also didn't see why they needed to jack up the PA system to deafening since the stages occupied a fairly small area. We were at the alternative music stage. I just noticed that the sound when Bridge was playing was ok, but when Kitchie Nadal played I almost popped my eardrums. Ugh.

A hundred-and-fifty bands, five stages. one night. I couldn't imagine how they'd organize a thing like this. I'm sure its an event nightmare. And I think they could've done better with the crowd control. Free concert = anybody could come and crash it (including the jhologz). I wasn't in last year's Fête so I had no point of comparison. but the Peyups people were saying that they held it in Eastwood in Libis and they got rained on. I guess the organizers should be glad that it didn't rain on them this year. Oh well, till next year's Fête.

*****

Sunday was dad's day. Went home and had lunch with the folks. Watched Sin City. My dad got confused. I guess he didn't like the movie. I thought it was cool. The storytelling was a bit Tarantino-ish and I'm really not a big fan of him. I like Frank Miller's work though. That's the treatment I had been looking for in the Daredevil movie instead of that faggoty treatment they gave that Ben Affleck flick. Anyway, after that I went to visit at my grandmother's. It was Jose Rizal's birthday and his namesake, my Tito Pepe was also celebrating his. The boys were getting drunk again. Cousin Jayjay brought a DVD for us to watch. Shutter was pretty scary. I have this feeling that Southeast Asians have an affinity for the mysterious and supernatural and it becomes apparent in the films that have been coming out for the past few years. I can add this to my favorite Asian horror movie list including Hideo Nakata's Ring, The Eye, Ju-On (The Grudge), along with our very own Shake, Rattle and Roll series specially the episodes directed by Peque Gallaga and (would you believe thsi? I actually liked it despite Kris Aquino's being in it) Feng Shui. A blast of a weekend.