Happy Sad.

Do you sometimes get the feeling of being happy and sad at the same time? You can't explain it.  It's the feeling you get during Christmas Season.

You're happy buying gifts, you're joyous decorating the tree, you're giggling as you go through old pictures of Christmas past. Yet as you hear Christmas carols, you feel a tinge in the heart as you remember spouses, children, parents or siblings who've departed the earthly life, or as you reminisce about soured relationships or friendships.

It's bitter sweet.

It's like cracking open a green mango with your bare teeth, and tasting its sourness yet you love its crunchiness.

It's like reaching the end of a marathon and feeling your legs no more but ecstatic at seeing your finish time.

For mothers, it's like that last painful push in the delivery room and hearing the baby's first cry.

Ask a one- year old how s/he feels and s/he'd give you a blank stare; but carry him/her in your arms and s/he'd smile or hug you back.

Actors are portrayed as having two faces, half sad, and half smiling. It connotes versatility in acting, being able to switch to and from different roles.

Happy people give easy smiles to everyone, and encourage friendships and openness. Those who present a dour disposition sink deeper into their holes of despair and give a flashing sign to others that they should be avoided.

Into the New Year with Old Toys.

I stopped buying toys, meaning gadgets.  I'm happy with a mac laptop and a notebook which are very useful when I blog.

I stopped buying new cellphones, too.  I even stopped watching movies in the regular cinemas; I am often glued to HBO for Hollywood films, anyways.

I figured I can survive; without those new, ever changing- model gadgets, and being mugged.

I am still amazed to see people in malls, in coffee shops, working or playing with their tablets.  I told the mate who also wondered, that these people probably use the mall as an extension of their homes and offices. After all, all the malls in Manila are one big air conditioned pavillion.

Then I saw a news clip where a guy nonchalantly swiped the laptop/tablet of a coffee shop patron right in front of the victim who was busy talking on his cellphone.  The victim jumped over the fence of the sidewalk cafe but didn't catch the hoodlum.  Which reminded me of an incident wherein we were crossing the street going to Megamall when a speeding motorbike with a duo on it passed us by, then a woman was after them, screaming, because her bag had been snatched.

This morning, we went jogging/walking in a section of the village which is still practically under development, with few houses and wide, vehicle-free streets. We drove and parked the car and joined other joggers and bicyclists in their routine.

After the walk on the way to the wet market, I noticed that my wallet was missing, so I turned around to check at home. Then I saw the neighbour who lives in a nearby street and whom I casually greet whenever I see him, in front of his gate.

I rolled down the window and said hi.  Immediately he asked, "what's your surname, again?"

I gave him my last name and he said, "I found your wallet near your gate as I rode my bike this morning." I remembered I tucked it under the waistband of my jogging pants, and closed the gate.

The man let me into his house and returned my wallet. I thanked him profusely while his parting words were "praise the Lord."

Of course, I thanked the Lord.

One of the basics in life is still free: honest, decent people around.

Into the New Year with the old tunes.

One American in-law of a sister thought that the Philippines was still under the Americans.  Perhaps, she was glued in the 40's and because she saw so many Filipinos living in the U.S.A, she thought that the Philippines was still part of the U.S. commonwealth like Puerto Rico.

Frank Sinatra's Fly me to the Moon is a popular among karaoke and videoke singers

Being glued in a certain era or period happens to many.  Yesterday as we celebrated the last day of Christmas in an IHMMEC Christmas party, some young members had a hard time finding songs they knew from a karaoke song book.

Others found songs familiar to them in a breeze.

Songs by the Carpenters, Cliff Richard, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Paul Anka, Matt Monroe and Manila local singers like Sharon Cuneta, Dina Bonevie, Freddie Aguilar and Marco Sison are popular among karaoke and videoke afficionados.

Each one represents a certain decade or era. There's the jazz era, disco era, or the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and  so forth yardstick.

Filipino artist Freddie Aguilar of the internationally-acclaimed Anak

One could refuse or find it difficult to learn new songs and stick to the songs of one's teen years or early adulthood; others belt out old and new songs and some young ones try to learn the revivals. Some oldies listening to the music of their children adopt the new tunes easily.

Manila New Year Wishes.

Up near the creek shanties appear like raw mushrooms
Waiting to be plucked,
As stray dogs patrol the nearby area
Like dingo in Australian outbacks,
Pedicabs roar as backride passengers' feet
Dangle dangerously within passing cars' reach,
And "bodol bodol" gangs canvass houses
As masters of the mansion homes toil in offices at noon.

Congressmen take naps even while at sessions,
Lady senators babble at their reproductive health,
City mayors etch their names in park pots and overpass,
While Barangay heads photoshop their faces onto ambulance cars.

Soap stars sing and singers act,
Street kids gangnam their way into you tube fame,
Twelve year olds tweet while mom and dad sleep,
Sixteen year olds drown at Starbucks shops,
As Nokia and Iphone snatch at working man's paycheck.

Ivory Coast, China and Israel
Kenya and Palestine,
Egypt and Jordan,
Connecticut neighbourhood,
Iran and Iraq
Fighting erupts even at New Year.

Change should be on the way,
People must shout their dismay,
Kids and grown ups never should stray
In their focus to destroy the evil days.

Scent of a Woman.

Al Pacino is one of Holywoods' most versatile actors.  I've seen some of his best movies such as The Godfather, The Devil's Advocate, Scarface, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Frankie and Johnny, and of course, Scent of a Woman, among others.

I especially like Dog Day Afternoon and Scent of a Woman which won Pacino an Oscar award.

In the Sea of Love, Al Pacino is paired with another great actor, Ellen Barkin.  Both actors, while not really in the mold of screen gods and goddesses, can be thrown any role and they'd deliver a remarkable performance.

The famous tango dance scene in Scent of a Woman.

Scent of a Woman is a tale of a proud retired soldier, Frank, who became blind, lonely and suicidal.  He hired student Charlie Simm (Chris O'Donnell) to accompany him to New York on a weekend, and ended up being saved by the boy from a suicide attempt, and him, saving the boy from being ousted from a prep school. Both came out as survivors and changed men.

The most striking scene in Scent of a Woman is the restaurant scene wherein Al Pacino invited a woman waiting for his date to a dance of tango. Being blind, he asked Charlie the size and shape of the dance floor.

As a blind person, the most acute sense he had was his sense of smell, and this propelled him to dance with passion as he was guided and piqued by the scent of the woman.

As Michael Corleone in the Godfather

We smell all sorts of scents daily. We smell coffee in the morning, the flowers as we work in the yard, or as we take a walk, the newly laundered clothes as we walk past the lines and out of the gate, the engine oil as we tinker the car, or even the dog's breath as we give him water.

Mary of Magdala is famous for her bottle of perfume which she used in washing Jesus' feet.

A lot of times,  our memories are jogged into remembering the past through the smell or odors of things around us. A specific scent may remind us of a special event like our first dance, or a first relationship, a nice vacation or place, our  first apartment or house, where we first worked or where we met our spouse.

Joe and Jane.

We felt old.  Like when folks start addressing us as Sir, or Tito, or Manong.

Last night we were at the San Andres Apostol Parish fundraising concert which featured Bamboo and the Bloomfields.

But we didn't know who Bamboo was. We didn't even know if Bamboo was the name of the lead singer or the name of the band. 

It was our first time to see Bloomfields, too,  and liked what we saw and heard. Their selection was mostly revivals and danceable.  They had tunes from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's which radio disk jockeys would call the "oldies."

Bloomfields started off with a hit from the Moonstrucks, a band of the 60's and ended with My Sharona, a hit of the 80's but was recorded in 1979. The group also sang Beatles (Hey Jude) and Elvis Presley songs (House Jail Rock).

Then Bamboo came.  Unfortunately, we didn't know any of their songs which made the youngish among the crowd roared.

But to be forgiven is in order; we'd been away from the local scene for ages. When we left Manila, the airwaves were playing " Wake me up before you go go." Yes, that long ago.

When we came back for a long visit, we found out that the local soap stars are singers, too.  They sing and dance every Sunday at two noontime shows, ASAP and Party Pilipinas.

Then there are rock bands of varying hues. Pepe Smith of the Juan de la Cruz band is still around.

Ever durable Pepe Smith of the Juan de la Cruz Band

Then there are foreign acts that dominate the Manila hotel and casino entertainment venues.  Jennifer Lopez just finished her performance last November and Elton John performed at the Araneta last Dec. 8th.

No wonder local acts are howling foul. They're losing the audience and the business.

Fortunately, more and more local acts are discovering gold mine by bringing their show overseas, in cities in Canada, USA, Australia, in Milan and Abu Dhabi, where thousands of OFWs can afford to buy the tickets which are usually pegged from $45 to $90.

In Toronto couple of years ago, we paid $90 to see Lani Misalucha, and $45 for Side A band.

Last night was proof that oldies and newbies can be gathered in one concert after all.

We remember seeing the show Jersey Boys in Toronto a couple of years ago; the jukebox show re-introduced to the young the music of the highly successful 60's rock n' roll band, The Four Seasons.

Songs of yesterday can kick the youth back into our lives. And the new tunes can add a kick into our dance steps like what gangnam did.

Being called just Joe and for females, Jane, without those unnecessary tags, can give us back our real age.

Unfriend friend.

Social networkers amass friends on networking sites to show off to friends the numbers. A lot of times people just point and click without really thinking if someone is worth befriending.

To find and make someone a friend is easy because of the global reach of the social sites.

Getting a friend and kicking out a friend are easy does it.

But what do you do when a friend starts shouting vitriolic attacks against you, posting, as if in blind items usually done by showbiz columnists?

One, you can also deliver punches and blows on line.  Two, you can keep silent. Three, you can send and then exchange private message. Four and if the attacks get worse, you can bring the person to court. 

Friends who prowl and attack on line are cyber bullies. Friends who choose to send private messages to point out issues are prim and proper cyber netizens.

People who get hurt because you didn't buy into their financial woes, or those who dip into existing trivial spats, or those who harass out of ignorance, envy, spite, malice, and pure evilness do not deserve your attention and time, anyway. Unfriending these viles is your best and sane option.

Like Count Dracula, cyber bullies will suck you dry.