Mitsuru

The Blogger is on a self- imposed sabbatical from blogging to recharge his batteries. He'll be back on the second Monday of June 2008.

Anybody who’s been here before knows that I have a huge crush on Lea Salonga since way back and you can certainly label me as a certified fanatic of the singer- actress. Ha-ha. Yes, folks all you have to do is search my archives here and you’ll know what I mean. And I do travel near and far just to watch her perform, too. So, indulge me once again as I share with you this snippet of her performance at the taping of The Sharon Cuneta Show which ABS- CBN will air on Sunday, May 18, 2008. Video: mjrodis Update Alert! --I've recently updated my other blogs/sites under the Perfect Circle category. You can visit them if you have time to spare. It's no big deal really but to quote my dear old Forrest, "It's like a box of chocolates...You never know what you gonna get!" :)

Here's a blast from the past... Summer in New York City and the heat was just unbearable. And yet we were out walking the streets and avenues, doing our own version of the Theater Tour in Broadway’s Theater District when we decided to take a breather near the historic Ziegfeld Theater at the intersection between 54th Street and 6th Avenue (a.k.a. Avenue of the Americas since 1945 but Mayor La Guardia’s ploy did not catch up with New Yorkers. Hence, 6th Avenue is still 6th Avenue until now). It was one of those days that can easily classify as a Dog Day Afternoon (No, I am not about to do a stunt ala Al Pacino in that Sidney Lumet film although I am tempted to shout “Attica!” in the midst of this August heat) and a bottle of Gatorade chased by cold water from a Dasani bottle did not help that much to quench our thirst and ignore the heat. We have been walking since 9 o’ clock in the morning from our not-so- comfy room at the Skyline Hotel, a three- star structure l...

On May 9, 2008, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) will be airing a documentary entitled- Little Manila: Filipinos in California's Heartland So, if you live in North America, check your local PBS TV Schedule for details. Here's a brief synopsis of the documentary-- "Filled with chop suey houses, gambling dens, and dance halls, Little Manila was the area in Stockton notoriously called, Skid Row, but it was also the closest thing Filipinos had to a hometown. In its heyday in the 30s, this lively area had the largest population of Filipinos outside of the Philippines. We tell the story of Jimmy Ente, Jr., a longtime Stockton resident recruited to work in the asparagus fields. Jimmy, and many other like him, faced backbreaking work, low wages, and at times extreme racism to fulfill their dreams. Narrated by famed Filipino-American producer, Dean Devlin (Independence Day, The Patriot) this documentary tells the immigrant story as Filipinos experienced it."

Six months ago, I came across an article that was published in a magazine written by a Caucasian whose name I cannot recall, wherein his observations while traveling across Asia merited a page in that sorry magazine (I will not mention the magazine, hence I will be giving them undeserved publicity) that most Asians disgustingly pick their noses in public! Although I hope that Asians are not again being stereotyped by the said article or are being singled- out because of the size of their nostrils in this case but one can’t help but think otherwise. There are a lot of advantages in having two large holes in one's nares mind you, but it will merit another post for that lest we stray from the topic. Surely Asians have bigger holes in their noses compared to Caucasians but it doesn’t equate that we are more prone to picking our noses especially in public because of that particular anatomic feature. On the contrary, this finger digging exercise isn’t confined to only one race and althou...

It’s late April and still snow continues to fall in Minnesota not surprising for the state at this time of year where the weather forecast says the region will be blanketed in thick snow anytime soon. We arrived in Minneapolis- St. Paul Airport late last night on our way to San Diego and what greeted us was the nipping wind blowing right into our faces, numbing us in the process. Our Northwest Airlines Flight 755 out of Detroit was delayed by the plane’s spoiler malfunctioning and had to endure a 4 hour flight delay, transferred to another aircraft and missed the connecting flight that will take us to California. Northwest gave the passengers $100 service recovery vouchers to appease us for the delay and inconvenience. They also booked us in some hotels in downtown Minneapolis to spend the night and catch the first flight to San Diego the next day. On our way to downtown Minneapolis, we caught a glimpse of a city that is quiet and fast asleep, which was expected though for it was alrea...

ASIMO that versatile Honda robot that you often see in Honda Commercials will be in Detroit come May 13, 2008 to be the guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the opening act that features world- renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The 4- foot tall robot which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) which was first developed by the Japanese automaker in 2000 with the objective of helping humans particularly the elderly doing their daily chores in the future can speak both English and Japanese. In addition, this latest generation robot can now recognize faces, climb up and down stairs, keep up when walking with human companions and serve tea among its many skills and capabilities. ASIMO will be at the podium for a one song performance, the special rendition of “The Impossible Dream” before relinquishing the baton to the DSO’s resident maestro Thomas Wilkins for the rest of the show. It will be ASIMO’s second high- profile appearance in the United States after the hi...

We Filipinos are unique in so many ways. Take for instance our sense of humor that always puzzles non- Pinoys. They shiver in complete horror whenever they hear or experience one of our patented not so politically- correct sense of humor. Who can forget the late Secretary Raul Manglapus when he quipped, “relax and enjoy it” when asked about what the Filipinas working in the Middle East should do if they found themselves being raped by their Arab masters? Most Filipinos are exposed to all kinds of sick jokes from the day he/ she was born until he/ she literally finds himself six feet under the ground. In fact, everything is fair game to us and our jokes can be considered as the wickedest of them all. This is again highlighted by the recent controversy involving the conduct of medical workers at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center wherein a patient was operated upon by a team of government doctors and nurses because a body spray canister was lodged in his rectal vault courtesy of a...

A very candid Q & A portion plus a cameo of her daughter Nicole. :) video credits: vaguirre

Hmmm, after months of blog inactivity which could be blamed partly to the cold, cold Michigan winter, I’m now trying to find my way back into Blogspot again and resume my writing chores at least on this particular blog since I’ve been writing and updating my other sites regularly. I’m no Rip van Winkle but I surely did sleep the winter away and finally woke up to the colors and aromas of Spring which is quite a big relief to my frost-weary body. I can now hear Vivaldi’s strings in the air as the tulips and hyacinths and such are slowly emerging from the once snowy ground. Don’t get me wrong but I love Winter for I like walking deep into the woods covered with snow where I could commune with nature; feel the cold breeze on my hair, the gentle touch of the snowflakes on my face and listen to the howling of the winds as well as the occasional chirpings of some wayward robins and cardinals in the air. It’s an uplifting experience, I tell you just walking in silence along a narrow trail am...

"Our wisdom comes from our experience, and our experience comes from our foolishness." - Sacha Guitry (1885 - 1957)

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Festival de Viña del Mar 2008 For more of Arnel Pineda's Explosive Debut with Journey Visit- Unchanged Melodies Rhapsody In Black

This novel by Ryu Murakami which explores the dark side of the human mind takes us to the edge of what a person is capable of doing just to exercise his demons. In the book, Kawashima Masayuki, a yuppie in urban Japan, is struggling to fight for the longest time the urge to stab his young daughter with an ice pick. Wrestling with his inner self, he finally decides to embark on a journey to fight the demons that have been tormenting him due to a previous experience wherein as a teenager he stabbed a stripper who turned out to be... “Only voices and images from external world could neutralize those from the inside” Kawashima Masayuki finally devises an obscene plan to kill a prostitute to liberate him and protect his wife Yoko and daughter Rie from his demonic obsession. But Chiaki, a prostitute he hired who specialized in S & M plays while holed up in a hotel room to carry out his plans, turned out to be a disturbed soul herself. Together they went deep into t...

The air is full of the music of your voice, my soul and body seem no longer mine, but mingled in some exquisite ecstasy with yours. I feel incomplete without you. Powered by Podbean.com Listen to me funeral bed, parched grass, dying love. To a new beginning Listen to me. Powered by Podbean.com Powered by Podbean.com If you were in my eyes for one day You could see the full beauty of the joy I find in your eyes And it isn't magic or loyalty If you were in my heart for a day You would have an idea Of what I feel When you hold m...

Arnel Pineda (vocals) Neal Schon (guitar) Jonathan Cain (keyboards) Ross Valory (bass) Deen Castronovo (drums)

Brandon Lee & Heath Ledger Death Masks? Heath Ledger , 28 Born: April Died: January Brandon Lee , 28 Born: February Died: March *They completed the four- month cycle: April- January- February- March and Numbers: 4-1-2-3 Or in Mathematics, Swiss Mathematician and Physicist , Leonhard Euler wrote what he admitted to be a paradoxical equation : 1-2+3-4+...= 1/4. More Numerology... The numbers 14, 10 & 11- 14 + 10 + 11= 35. If you divide 35 by 3 (3+5+3= 11)you'll have 11.66 (1+1+6+6= 14). Here's one from Wikipedia - "14 is an unlucky number to the Chinese. 14 is usually said as "shi si," which sounds like "ten die". Also, a common way to say "one" is as "yao". Therefore, 14 can also be said as "yao si," literally "one four," but it sounds like "want to die." which also have an unlucky connotation." Age: 28/2= 14 *Heath was born 14 years after Brandon (1979-1965=14) *Brandon died 14 y...

When the epic battle in the freezing weather was over, the New York Giants towered over the favored Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Wisconsin and booked themselves a seat to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona. The match tested both teams' will and grit in the freezing temperature where the mercury pegged at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit and wind chill to minus 24 in what is probably one of the coldest, if not the coldest one in Professional Football history. It was a nip and tuck battle between two highly- determined team of gladiators that wasn’t decided until veteran Green Bay Quarterback Brett Favre made an uncharacteristic mistake when his pass was intercepted by the Giants’ Corey Webster paving the way for Lawrence Tynes’ game clinching 47- yard kick for the NFC Championship with a final score of 23- 20 in overtime The Giants won their first NFC championship since 2000 behind Eli Manning’s resurgence and heads- up play in the post season, their hard work on the defensive...

This is not about Mr. James Bond’s Boss nor is it related to Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service . Rather this is a decree handed down to yours truly by Lady Steffi , High Priestess of her Middle East Queendom hidden underneath the vast arid tract of the Arabian Peninsula . Let it be for the record that in doing this Royal Decree I acted alone and of my own free- will and was not harmed, coerced nor tortured in whatever form or manner by the henchmen of Lady S from her Desert Queendom who preaches about the Art of character assassinations inherent inside us. The Edict reads-- Her Royal Highness Lady Steffi of the Middle East Kingdom of Arabia hereby command you to do the M- thing. Use the first letter of your name to answer each question. Must be places or names…Nothing made up. Can’t use own name for boy/girl’s name question. Since spies from rival kingdoms might be lurking in the dark, I deemed it necessary to do something like a Pictionary instead of the obvious ans...

Watching the movie, Charlie Wilson’s War that was based on George Crile ’s non- fiction bestseller Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History brought me back in time when as a 9- year old boy growing up in a rustic town in Albay , the Philippines , I first learned of the news of the Soviet Union ’s Invasion of Afghanistan on Christmas Day in 1979 from the pages of The Bulletin Today and Daily Express that my Gran’ Pa used to read, an event that caught the world by surprise that was soon followed by the US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics in protest of the invasion. And while people in Manila can watch the news on several TV channels, we only got two channels working at the time on our side of the planet depending on where your typical aerial TV antenna was positioned/pointed at-- we have RPN from Iriga City on our west side and GMA from Legaspi City up north. I tell you, it was a funny exercise one had to do ju...