Disney heroines

Getting a Pocahontas result in that FB quiz made me think about what a disney heroine should represent.

Before Pocahontas, Mulan and Hercules was shown, the only Disney princesses I knew were Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Ariel (from Little Mermaid). When I was younger, the scene where Prince Charming would kiss Sleeping Beauty (thereby breaking the evil witch’s spell) made me giddy as hell. Kilig to the bones, talaga! Made me wish for my own Prince Charming too.

But as I grew older, I realized that there was something wrong about how Disney portrayed women. Sure they were beautiful and smart but they still were still damsels in distress!

I wondered why Disney portrayed Ariel as a submissive girl who failed to put up a fight when an evil Octupus-like crazy woman stole her groom on the day of their wedding!!! I mean she gave up her family for that man and yet, she mere merley cries when the wedding barge departs without her. WTF?

Hence, it was such a relief when Disney emancipated women through Mulan, Pochantas and Meg (the heroine in Hercules). I liked the idea of Mulan who decided to save her family and her father by disguising herself as a man. And how Meg epitomized sacrifice and selflessness when she decides to save Hercules by pushing him away from a falling pillar and taking the blow herself.

Cinderalla and Sleeping Beauty can definitely pick up a thing or two from Mulan and Meg.

I hope Disney continues to produce animated films with heroines who are just as witty, brave and strong as Meg and Mulan. Women who know that they are more than just a pretty face with an enviable body.

I also hope that, through Disney films, little girls will embrace the idea that they are heroes in their own right. And that they don’t need a prince’s kiss to free them from bondage.

Ang Huling El Bimbo

Indeed, The Final Set was a fitting ending to more than a decade of outstanding musical collaboration. From the opening strains of Magasin up until their very last live performance of Ang Huling El Bimbo, Ely, Raymund, Marcus and Buddy showed us why they are worthy to be called icons of Philippine Music.

Thank you, eheads, for giving us an ultraelectromagnetic night to remember. As Carrie phrased it, thank you and farewell!

I hope we could spend more time together
A few hours is better than never
If only we could make it longer
The whole day would be fine
The whole week would be fine
The whole month would be fine
The whole year would be fine
A decade would be fine
A century would be fine
A fine, fine time!

-- Fine Time, Cutterpillow

Almost two

Four days to go and our little boy is turning two!

"She discovered with great delight that one does not love one’s children just because they are one’s children but because of the friendship formed while raising them."

- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera



Looking forward to more years of memories, learnings, laughter, love and friendship with you, Anton. Happy birthday!

E-heads overdrive

Can't help it. With their songs on my playlist, I am on an E-heads overdrive. Browsed through some reviews of their reunion last Saturday and came across this article by Reggie Gulle where he wrote:

"... seemingly out of the blue, four school chums, who looked and dressed as unassumingly as the typical college-boys in tee-shirts and jeans and sneakers casually hanging out in front of dormitories after class, had a stroke of inspiration and put together an LP of their original compositions. It was titled, rather in come-what-hither fashion, "Ultraelectromagneticpop”, and credited as being presented by “The Eraserheads”.

...What was different about the sound of the Eraserheads was that it somehow had a grounding in musical forms that other Pinoy bands hadn't explored as frequently...Most noticeable about their first album was how the band didn't attempt to sound as angry or blistering as punk or thrash metal ( which Metallica allegedly first popularized ), nor did they try to ride along the remnants of the “New Wave” sound ( reduced to the generic term “alternative rock” ).

Instead, they managed to produce a distinctive amalgamation of bouncy rhythms and deceivingly simple arrangements which drove the Pinoy folk-rock-and-pop sensibility up a few hard-driving notches, together with upbeat smatterings of reggae, ska, and for the most part--yes, that unmistakeable Beatles-like energy.

“Pare Ko”, the first hugely successful single from that album, could very well epitomize the almost unexpected infectiousness of the band's musical appeal...The song is tongue-in-cheek, it never took itself too seriously despite its theme of betrayed love, it sounded Pinoy, and it was rock and roll.

..The band broke up in 2002, yet their songs still enjoy a considerable amount of airplay, and the ever-ubiquitous videoke singers out in the streets and inside smoky bars continue belting out tunes such as “Alapaap”, “Overdrive”, “Ligaya”, and that thoroughly overkilled ditty “Ang Huling El Bimbo”.

I confess that I have never been a rabid fan of the Eraserheads, but I also have to say that I could mention no other Pinoy rock act which could muster the sheer patronage which Ely Buendia, Marcus Adoro, Buddy Zabala, and Raymund Marasigan still demonstrate, even after six years of not performing together.

Because, in sum, the Eraserheads' sound, far beyond the others I get to hear from most other local bands, is quite essentially the spirit of the Pinoy. Buendia's schoolboy vocals draw in Pinoys from all walks of life because it sounds so much like everyone of us..."

my life

Two years and two days

I’ve been told one too many times that marriage is not a bed of roses. Having been married for two years and two days, I know this to be true. But I also know that it is a wonderful journey worth taking with someone you love. And for me, I can’t see myself going through this path with anyone else except with the man I married. Sure we’ve stepped on some landmines along the way, hurt each other a few times with words we never really meant to say. But I still wouldn’t trade this for the world. Ok, maybe I can consider if it’s Aga Muhlach we are talking about…but, I kid, ofcourse.

I now know that it’s actually glitches like these that makes relationships much stronger. In two years, I’ve realized that marriage is not just about the L word (I meant Love, in case you were thinking of something else). I’ve learned that the success of the marriage hinges mostly on the couple’s ability to accept each other’s difference.

In the beginning, I must admit that I resented the fact that Joel was not like me. That he didn’t talk to me about things that were important to him. That he often kept to himself during social calls. That he wasn’t comfortable about sharing his feelings, thoughts and plans. I thought that making this marriage meant molding him into the person I wanted him to be. But after two years, I realized that it really is all about acceptance. That we have to revel in our differences. That our difference is what drives our growth as individuals and as a couple.

More importantly, I realized that marriage is about partnership. That it really is important to have someone whom you can count on, someone you can trust, from the littlest of things to the most important of tasks — like taking care of the little one.

Last night, while I was attending our team dinner, Joel took over the task of putting Anton to bed. It took him awhile but he did it. I was able to enjoy the night with my team because I knew he would take care of Anton. When I went arrived home a little before midnight, I saw them sleeping beside each other — father facing son and son facing father. Watching them peacefully sleep together, I knew I married the right man. Flaws and all.




Happy anniversary to us, Joel!

my own domain!!

Guess what Joel bought me for our 2nd wedding anniversary??

My own new domain: . Yahoo!

Yey, now I can blog and do whatever I want using my own name!! Yipee. I know its babaw but for me, it's actually quite cool to see my name with a .com at the end. I decided to use my maiden name because, well, most people still know me by that name and after all, longevity wise, I have been using it far longer than my married name.

So what to do with the website with my name on it? Blog, ofcourse!!!

Joel has also helped me move all of the contents of this site to the new page so all of you who are reading this can now access the same page here. Walang labis, walang kulang.

For those who have linked me up, can you please update the links in your site as well? Thanks mucho.

I will still try to keep this site a mirror site for the new page but no, promises, ok? To be safe (and updated), just go straight to my new domain.