The Power of YouTube

It looks like I've been hiding under a rock for the past few months, and pardon me for that, but I only found out about Arnel Pineda today. I was watching Eat Bulaga (Philippine lunchtime tv show) with my mom when they asked who the lead singer was of the band who sang "Open Arms" on one of their segments. When the answer turned out to be Arnel, I was shocked. I knew Journey originally sang Open Arms, but who was this Arnel person? Was there a new band who covered this song? My mom mentioned him a few days earlier telling me that he was an internationally known singer and that he won 1 million pesos on Deal or No Deal (Philippine version). But aside from that, I didn't know anything else. So I Wikied (searched Wikipedia, that is) him, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found out.

Arnel is the new lead vocalist of the band Journey! That is amazing indeed, but what's interesting is how he was discovered--through YouTube. The band's guitarist, Neal Schon, found videos of Arnel and his band, The Zoo, covering old Journey songs and said, "he's the one". Arnel sounds remarkably like Steve Perry, and I think he's really, really talented, so I hope Journey will rise again. With Arnel as their frontman, that is very much possible. They have a new album out, Revelation, which topped at #1 on the Billboard charts and has already hit Platinum. Classic Rock magazine nominated this album for Album of the Year, and you can show your support to Arnel and the band by voting here.

Arnel's quick rise to fame because of YouTube reminds me of another Filipino, Charice Pempengco, the "international teen singing sensation" who was also discovered on the same site by Ellen DeGeneres, and later Oprah, who introduced her to David Foster. In the year that she's been discovered, Charice has been singing with the likes of Celine Dion, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Alicia Keys, and Andrea Bocelli.

Truly talented and hardworking people deserve breaks, and I think it's wonderful that YouTube makes that possible. If not for that, these people would never have had this opportunity to make it really big because of their nationality and location. Another thing Arnel and Charice share is a sad past. Because of poverty, they had to strive hard in order to survive (read more on their Wikipedia profiles). I can imagine what this new life must be for them. What a wonderful blessing; truly amazing!

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Parol

Parols are ornamental star-like Christmas lanterns from the Philippines. They are traditionally made out of bamboo and paper and comes in various sizes, shapes and designs, however its star-shape façade and basic design remains dominant.

Its shape is said to be inspired by the star on the Nativity of Jesus that guided the Magi to the manger. It also symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and the Filipinos' hope and goodwill during the Christmas season.

The word parol came from the Spanish word farol which means "lantern" or ilawan in Tagalog. The Parol, technically called Philippine Christmas lantern, was adapted from the Chinese lantern and the Mexican piñata to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem. Patterns of the parol evolved from the five-pointed star-shaped paper lantern that was crafted by an artisan named Francisco Estanislao in 1928. His creation was made of bamboo strips pasted with papel de japon (Japanese paper), illuminated by a candle or kalburo (carbide). This kind of lighting was adapted by barrio folks to light their paths during an annual ritual dawn Mass called Misa de Gallo, due to electricity being unavailable at the time.

Traditionally, parols are made from a star-shaped framework made of bamboo sticks which are then covered by colored pieces of either Japanese paper or crêpe paper. Nowadays, the materials range from various non-traditional materials such as beads, feathers, glass, hemp, leaves, plastic, seeds, shells, soft drink straws, wood and even metal. They usually comes in various sizes—from small, tinsel and foil lanterns to gigantic one—shapes and artistic designs where some lanterns can be electrically lit at night. Other designs include that of Santa Claus's face, angels, reindeer, huge flowers, happy faces, and Christmas trees. More complex shapes that are seen are the rose, the bromeliad, the snowflake and the sea urchin.

Recently, innovations that have originated from Pampanga include production of capiz or seashell made lanterns and electronic lights that can be coordinated to produce a dancing effect.

The star-like shape of the parol which has been its original design remains common in the Philippines and considered distinct for Filipinos. The crafts are usually made in the barrios and the poblacions and is rarely done in urban areas. On the contrary, Parañaque, a city in Metro Manila, has the largest production of Parols.

In the Philippines, the parol has become an iconic symbol of a Filipino Christmas and is as important to Filipinos as the Christmas Tree is to other cultures. Its appearance on houses and streets which usually starts in September along with other Christmas symbols signals the coming of the season. The parol is associated with the Simbang Gabi, a series of dawn masses that lasts for nine days. Parols remain until in January, usually removed by the sixth day of the month, to honor the "Three Kings" and their visit to the child Jesus.

Filipinos hold competitions to see who can make the best parol. The annual Lantern festival in Pampanga attracts various craftsmen around the country. The competition revolves around the illumination and performances of giant parols that can reach up to 40 feet (12 m) in breadth. These giant lanterns are also made to "dance" at the music of a brass band.

Although the use of the parol for Christmas celebrations are mostly in the Philippines, other countries have also adapted its use. In Austria, the lanterns are a big attraction in the annual Wiener Christkindlmarkt (Vienna Christmas Market). A ceremonial lighting of 60 parols in a "Philippine tree" was done in the Wiener Rathausplatz (Vienna City Hall square). The project was a collaboration of the Philippine Embassy in Vienna and the city's government. The Philippine embassy first introduced the parol to Vienna on 2006. In San Francisco, California, Filipino Americans celebrated their 4th Annual Parol Festival on December 2006. Filipinos in Canada hang parols in their Christmas party halls to reminisce their traditional usage of the craft during the season.

- From Wikipedia

My mom and I just put up a glittery Christmas ball on our front porch. I told my mom over and over again to put a parol there, because for some reason, I wanted to be traditional about that. She adamantly said no, "it's too common and traditional".

Isn't it weird how among the two of us, I'm the one who wants to preserve culture? I guess my mom has never really been into stuff like that.

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Yay for CS

So I did join CouchSurfing! So far, I've found 2 people from school who are also on the network. I'm actually quite excited about the people I will get to meet through this. You can see my CS profile here.

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Couch surfing, anyone?

As I was browsing through some travel blogs, I kept reading about "Couch Surfing", so I went on to check the website CouchSurfing.com to find out what this was all about.

I found out that CouchSurfing, also known as The Couch Surfing Project, is a worldwide network of people who like to travel. And when they do, they stay at other people's homes, and also offer their homes for fellow travelers. It's like eBay... but instead of buying something from someone you don't know, you stay in their homes! CouchSurfing was started in 1999 and it already has a huge network. To make sure that you don't meet people who will harm you or take advantage of you, they have a reputation system set up. So you can choose whose "couch to surf on" based on people's reputation. Like I said, you can either surf a couch, or host guests, but if you are unable to do both, you can also offer to meet people who visit your place for lunch, dinner, or even just coffee.

CouchSurfing members are raving about this network. They say that not only were they able to travel without having to pay for accommodations, they were also able to meet people who changed their lives. Meeting people of different backgrounds indeed does that to you, so I won't argue with that. What I'd like to know is, has anyone used this network? Or, would you be interested to use it? By the way, you can visit CouchSurfing.com to see and judge for yourself.

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Not For Cooking

I never realized that having pet fishes would entertain me so much; but entertained I am!

I got my fishes just a little over a month ago, and although my aquarium is not that big, I enjoy looking at the fishes, feeding them, and adding plants to the tank. I'm not a fish connoisseur yet--if there is such a term--because unfortunately, I do not know the names of the breeds of the fishes I have. But I like them because they make great pets. They are relatively easy to take care of, they're not smelly, and they don't pee on the floor!

I know I will forever wish for a Rottweiler, but for now, I'll stick with the easy and practical.

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My Wishlist

If there's one thing I know I believe in, it's that material things can never truly make a person happy. But despite that, it's still fun to think about things you want to have. So I thought I'd make a wishlist to keep track of the things I supposedly want, and update it once in a while, just to see if I still want the same things as time goes by.

So, here it goes...

1. Happy moments with the people--and person--I love (not material, but is always at the top of my wish list)
2. Roses... a poem, a letter, a DIY item or a puppy from someone special
3. Lifetime gym membership
4. Workout gear (clothes and shoes and gloves)
5. Lee tops and Mango shorts
6. Perfumes ♥
7. Unlimited supply of Nesvita Pro-Digestion and Del Monte Fit 'n Right 
8. Organic, fiber-rich granola bars
9. Sony Vaio notebook Powerful desktop PC with LCD monitor and a top-of-the-line graphics card
10. 2009 2010 Honda Civic sedan
11. The Others by David Wind book
12. Sony Cybershot DSC-W300 (purchased by my dad on Dec. 15, 2008, yippee)
13. Blow dryer
14. Tickets and accommodation for two to Santorini (ohohoho!)
15. Two years paid Flickr account (got a paid account now, but too occupied to actually use it)
16. Beach-side lot near Dumaguete
17. Knee-length boots
18. Scholarship to Europe
19. Hosting with more bandwidth for my website
20. Orange Blue Diamond Kia Picanto or a hot pink Suzuki Celerio
21. Swimming pool in our yard
22. Mitsubishi Strada
23. House and lot at El Pueblo Genovivo Sto. Rosario Heights
24. $1000 in my PayPal account
25. TOEFL reviewer (done taking the TOEFL)
26. Nintendo Wii console
27. Passport to Europe (Samantha Brown style)
28. Salary raise
29. Slacks for work
30. Lifetime membership to Audible.com
31. Tickets to watch Oprah live with my BFFs
32. Wireless router
33. Unabridged Pillars of the Earth audio book
34. Fish and plants for my aquarium (purchased on Dec. 10, 2008, haha)
35. Rose quartz and Aventurine crystals (have I passed my "crystals" phase?)
36. Free gas
37. Sony Ericsson G705 mobile phone (realized I like my current phone better)
38. BlackBerry Bold
39. Score of 700+ on the GMAT
40. Wireless telephone
41. Book about crystal healing
42. 40" Sony Bravia tv (got a 37" Samsung Full HD tv and home theater system)
43. Laser pointer pen
44. Sony Reader digital book
45. Money for our Bali trip a trip to Hong Kong/Macau
46. Shoes, shoes and more shoes
47. Coach Guess bag and wallet

...and that's all I can think of for now. Not much, eh? If you want to give me any of those, by all means, go ahead. ;)

HAHAHA.

No, scratch that. I only really need items #1, 2... and... 6! LOL.

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Oh, Well

It looks like I'm blogging again.

I am embarrassed by my inconsistency, but what can I do? Life and blogging have ways to be funny. If you're doing so many things, you can't blog because you're too busy. If you're not doing much, you can't blog because you have nothing to blog about. It's strange, but time and time again I'm surprised by how I always keep coming back to LJ. I checked my archive and saw that LJ has been chronicling my life since 2003--and that is amazing. It looks like it's this particular blog that will be able to tell my life story, except it skipped some...

For the past two years, I haven't been blogging much, and it's during this time that I've had the chance to meet some people who have made so much impact in my life--my Persian friends. For those who do not know, they are here in my city to study. And since they are only here to study, they  will be leaving soon. In fact, some have left already. And though some are still here, most are graduating. So because of busy schedules, we don't get to gather as often as before.

Now what am I getting at, you might ask.

While I was browsing my old entries earlier, I was deeply grateful because I have this blog that can help me reminisce so many wonderful memories. With my Persian friends however, and the past two years of my life for that matter, it looks like I'll have to do my best to keep memories of them on my own.

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I'm gonna be a teacher!

Yes, I have teaching load! I'll be teaching two classes in computer fundamentals. *wooooooot* I'm so excited! I wonder how it'll feel like to actually be in class and teaching students. Hmmm. I can't wait!

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Oooh

A couple of posts back, I mentioned that I really wanted to teach this second semester. I hope I'll be given the chance. I had my interview and teaching demo last week. I'm still waiting for the result. *crosses fingers*

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The Kite Runner

After reading the wonderful reviews on its cover, I finally purchased a copy of Afghan-born writer Khaled Hosseini's first novel, The Kite Runner, and boy, I sure am glad I did that!

The book is mainly a story about the life of this one Afghan boy. But aside from that, it also tells the recent history of the Afghan nation and its people. It begins with a setting in Afghanistan about 3-4 decades ago, and ends in the United States. It's unlike any book I have ever read. Of course, that's probably because I've never read a book about Afghanistan before. Although I hear a lot about this country on the news, I've never really imagined how the situation there is like. This book gave me an insight into the Afghanistan of today and its previous glory before the Russian invasion in the 70's.

The story is amazing, and very well written. I could not stop reading it, even while I was at work! Although it's quite long, I was able to finish it in just a few hours. That's how much of a page-turner it is. But although it's a fast read, the book is full of emotion and is so very moving. Haunting even. It's been 4 days since I've read it, but I'm still thinking about it.

I have a lot of favorite authors: Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, J.R.R. Tolkien, Alexandre Dumas, Jane Austen, Nicholas Sparks, to mention a few. Khaled Hosseini has been added to my list. I'm telling you, he's just as good as the most popular names in literature. Coming from me, you might not believe that, but just read the reviews on this book--they're all true. And if you haven't read The Kite Runner, you are missing a lot! So you should definitely read it. As for me, I'm just saving up so I can get myself a copy of Hosseini's new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can't wait--it's supposed to be really good, too!

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