Looking Glass

A gem of a song from Nicki and Riri.

This song is not too popular, given a lot of people have never heard of it which is a shame *Insert nun from Game of Thrones*. Shame really, how most people complain that Rihanna and Nicki's music are empty, junkfood, mostly trashy and too comercial. While here, we have them doing something powerful, empowering, cool and beautiful.

The video is crazy fun. Weird but inspiring. Wishing that Rihanna would use her voice for music like this. It's really beautiful. Below is the lyrics for it (azmusic.com).

"Fly" Nicki Minaj (feat. Rihanna)

[Chorus]

Today marks a historical day in Philippine History. This is what everyone is saying and talking about anyway. This is true though. We have a new President!

 Also, we now have a President and a Vice President who both originated from the province, both didn’t have plans on running for these important positions (or so they say..) and both work to help the less fortunate people in this country, needless to say, both are lawyers.

This is what I think and what I feel as a voter, as a woman and as a Filipino. Like a wheel, everything will just spin the same way no matter who the driver is. However, there is light and hope because we live in a different time, an era of technology and of globalization. 

Duterte is no doubt an incredible man. He is a miracle worker, imagine, from a Davao City Mayor, he was catapulted to the most powerful position in the Philippines, in just one year. He didn’t even have to run for a congressional seat, a senatorial seat and a vice presidential seat, he wasn’t aiming for presidency to begin with. Based on that alone, he’s amazing. 

That miracle was brought forth by playing to the massess’ cries for help. Duterte has achieved and done so much for Davao and everyone saw that without even setting foot in the area, using that as his stage, he began to sing to the people and the media. Sing promises if the people in return, promised to vote for him. 

He sang promises of justifying workers’ problems with taxes and fixing the the majority workers’ dilemma on being contractual employees. He made promises with talking to China about the Philippine Sea dispute and in his own way, whatever that may be, settle it. He promised to make amends with rebel groups too. What I am personally most curious about and looking forward to witness done is his promise to eradicate illegal drugs, crime and corruption in the Philippines.. In six months.

Even though I’m a dreamer myself, I’m a bit skeptical on this one. We are a developing country, if the US or major powerful countries from Europe, like Britain and England, have yet to be successful in this endeavor, what motivated him to make such a heavy promise? 

Was it the shock value? So people would talk about him more? 

In this sense, people may call my skepticism as cynical or a realist’s lost faith, but I can’t fathom how he can accomplish such feat that’s been around since before I was born, since before he was born. I would love to see him accomplish everything and would help to the extent of what I can, but Filipinos have been promised less than what he promised and we all know how it all turned out. Some of those presidents were the very poster of corruption themselves.

Digong is super charismatic. I am a first time voter and I studied the candidates carefully before voting. I haven’t any interest in politics and I think the Philippine Government has yet to live up to its name. Although when I heard Duterte talk about himself, his promises and seeing the way he presented himself and carried himself had me thinking, ‘Wow, this Gramps is so cool!’, since he’s like the age of most grandpa’s and my grandpa when he died, the man is a beaming example of strength. 

Also, for a hard, iron-fisted man, he’s also forgiving. Imagine on his inauguration day he had impeached (for corruption) President Erap Estrada sitting alongside him, and the Marcos Family close to him. I wonder if he’d pardon Gloria Macapagal Arroyo too. If that’s so, Amazing! What a big-hearted man.

Despite his kind heart to those who erred, he has this attitude of talking, making promises but it’s like he’s making a joke without a punchline. I was waiting for him to expound, to explain in layman’s term how he would go about making his promises a reality but it’s like grade school and high school all over again. Wherein you just spout out just about anything to win like your words are worth gold when in truth words are not worth what they are in gold. I was so excited to hear his method, like a student waiting for a professor to provide the procedure after he just gave the flatout answer, but he didn’t provide that procedure. 

Though seemingly skeptical, I still trust him. I will trust a man who gives his word on National TV, in front of the whole nation. To be able to attain the most powerful position in the country without going through the uual ‘procedure’, straight from his respectable Mayoral Seat, President D knows what he’s doing. Maybe he has some answers us mere mortals, without the experience he’s gained in his 70 years, would ever come up with. My trust is with him and will wait for him to make Philippines a better and happy country in the the six months he’s promised.

I respect him, he quoted F. Sionil Jose for pete’s sake! Though seriously, I respect him because at his age, he is still fighting, at his age he is pursuing what he believes in and that alone is the very thing that I aspire, for myself and for the whole world, to be doing what you love even if you’re 70 or 80 years old.  

Today was also the inauguration of the Vice President. Leni Robredo’s speech was immaculate. It had me tearing up like a softy. The lady is amazing but again, you can’t judge someone just by that. Both the president and the vice president are underdogs and they both won. However it is unfortunate that the president obviously dislikes the vice president. Why? He invited Marcos to his inauguration but not Leni? As the biggest man in the Philippines he should be the better man, the gentleman and the bigger man. Lead by example. Even if something didn’t turn out how you liked it to be, work with it, work with what you have. It’s what every good parent would tell their children. 

However, I understand his mentality, older people, people who were born before 1950’s, have this hard unwavering conviction and mentality, because they saw and experienced harder times than most who were born later, they worked harder for a more fruitful generation. I don’t know what his problem with Leni is though. Wasn’t he alive during the Marcos Regime and witnessed the effects of that era on the people? He had the son of that man in his inauguration but not the woman working for the poorer Filipinos. I’m a 90’s kid but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s right from wrong. What’s fishy and sketchy from what’s straight and true.

I admire Digong for his charisma and perseverance, he delivered an amazing speech today too, but this display towards his VP sparked an image of a spiteful little boy. From Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, from a bunch of superhero movies, Digong’s actions towards Leni is not very gentlemanly. 

Watching the whole election and inauguration is like witnessing the real life GAME OF THRONES! 

All things said, they are both great leaders, they are both hard workers. President Duterte is hard and strong, it would be a picture of perfection to have Vice President Robredo beside him, anchoring him, the right mix of Yin and Yang, Hard and Soft, Brutal and Compassionate. Amazing right?! 

He can oversee the peace and defense of our country while she can take care of the softer, poorer side of the problem. 

Dear Mr. President, please be the bigger man and be a great leader. A great leader unites his members and like what Daenarys Targaryen did in the Game of Thrones, a great leader makes use of every single capable leader under his reign. 

Hey everyone, Episode 7 of Game of Thrones was aired today, The Broken Man, and here’s the verdict, it was.. fine. Not good, not bad, just barely satisfactory.

I will try not to spoil it, this review is a semi-message to the producers, creators and GRRM himself, though I think they will have millions of viewers already sharing their two-cents, if it were real money, they’d be a million dollars richer!

Here goes, the positive:

1. I’m looking forward to what role Badass Brienne of Tarth will be playing.

2. I’m looking forward to what they will be doing to ‘The Hound’.

3. I’m looking forward to Aria Stark, because they’ve been building her up since Season 2 and it’s just natural to anticipate what she’ll end up doing.

4. The effects and direction (videography/cinematography) are still TOP NOTCH, GOLDEN, SAVAGE! (and I highlight this part because the cons will balance it out.)

5. For once, after 6 seasons and many years, I finally saw the ‘Beautiful Jaime Lannister’ the producers and GRRM were talking about! For once I saw the confident and flawless (well, on one hand.. get it?!) man that the book described to be and portrayed by Nikolaj amazingly.

6. The actors are still AMAZING. No need to elaborate on this one!

Here’s the downside:

In one sentence, it’s this: “Watching Game of Thrones is like opening a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos finding out upon tasting that it’s salt-free homemade Nachos.”

The packaging, directions, actors, quality of acting, are all the same as previous seasons, but the content is bland. It’s not as ‘satisfying’ as the others. It lacks seasoning but it’s edible.

I’m used to watching GOT as a four-dimensional show, wherein there’s always something there that I’m not seeing. Now, it’s like, What You See is What You Get. There’s no wit. No humor. Dry. But since the plot’s amazing, the seed has been planted for 5 Seasons already, as a viewer, I’m already invested.

The best episode of Season 6, as of 7 episodes, was the one titled ‘HOLD THE DOOR', that was the closest to the caliber of the older episodes from previous seasons. Even Cersei taking the walk of atonement had more impact than that dry reunion from Sansa and Jon.

That moment when Ghost felt something magical was going to happen in episode 3, wasn’t that grand at all. It’s supposed to be since it’s a Jon Snow scene that everybody was looking forward to.

Most importantly, Bran’s flashbacks. Okay, the story was there but it was dry and could’ve been more.

Having said all that, I would rather have this than not having any Game of Thrones this summer! GRRM should write quicker (Please?) or just have the producers make up their own storyline. Anyhow, they’re the ones creating this show though I wish the producers will stick to what’s best for the show and just recreate the world just how it is in Martin’s mind.

credit: (http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2016/06/06/game-of-thrones-season-7-episode-6-review-the-broken-hound/#3720070d4578)

This particular scene was FLAT!! I’m expecting power, weight, instead when I remember those boring scenes like Rob Stark meeting Talisa, or Caitlyn Stark reuniting with Rob while interrupting his meeting in the tent, that had so much power compared to these scenes of recruitment combined.

I’m ending my review here. I hope that somehow, HBO will get to read this and ask GRRM for some input on delivery or writing the script.

I love GOT!

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to introduce my new fur-baby and the newest member of our family, Hiro Sebastian!

I can’t believe it. Never in a thousand years did I ever think I’d actually get my own kitten, a cat!

Obviously, he is my first official pet. My family has a dog, two hedgehogs, we have had an indoor pond filled with exotic fishes, a huge-ass parrot and lots of lovebirds, but never a cat.

To be honest, I’m one of those people who never wanted a four-legged companion, I’ve wanted to become a marine biologist, I love marine animals the best, but that won’t be happening in this lifetime.

Why did I get a kitten?

Before you guys freak out, I’m an animal lover but when I was young I was scared of dogs and didn’t bother with cats. One day last year, I stumbled upon a cat video on YouTube from a channel called “Cole and Marmalade” and it changed the way I viewed cats altogether. 

For 7 months, I researched about them and then checked out the best place I can get a kitten. I wasn’t prepared for the cost but it helped that I know some vets.

So, last April 24, the day after I turned 28, I got Hiro! He was born on February 17, 2016 so he was over 9 weeks old.

I got him from a loving home but they didn’t de-worm him nor did he get his shots yet, took care of that matter as soon as I got him home!

This is his dad!

BYE FELICIA!

Great shows with cliffhangers make viewers go: “CRAP!! WHAT HAPPENED?”, “Why did he do that?”, “They can't end it like that.. That was awesome!!!! Man I hate this show. No I love it, but...". On the other hand, The Walking Dead Season 6 Finale was not up to par.

They inflated a medium sized balloon and didn't pop it, instead, they slowly deflated it, letting the air out for 7 months, until everyone didn't care anymore. I just finished watching The Walking Dead Season 6 Finale on FOX. I am no longer expecting anything from the show and I'm just watching it because I promised myself that if they kept Glenn alive I'd continue supporting the show. So far he’s not ‘offically’ dead but for comic readers we know what’s gonna happen.

The cast, most specially the lead characters are the bread and butter of this show. First off, kudos to the brilliant cast. The actors are brilliant and amazing! They clearly understand their roles and the producers did a great job picking the main casts. Rick Grimes by Andrew Lincoln is irreplaceable, I don't know where he get the energy for those emotions and still play tough. Danai Gurira as Michonne was a brilliant pick. She makes everything look polished, she's the dark horse on the show and makes the chaotic mess that is TWD much more controlled and cooler. (This is my favorite scene from all of Season 6: property of AMC)

I can't talk about the cast enough because they are perfect and honestly, they carry the mediocre writing and sequencing beautifully.

So back to the poorly played season ending (not even gonna bother mincing words)

Fans are creating a buzz not because it was great, or something bad happened that they can't contain their emotions over, it's NOT ABOUT THE STORY anymore but how the producers and writers made the fans look forward to something and got nothing.

They made us watch those two seasons where the great scenes could be compiled in 3 episodes instead of 32.

They made viewers anticipate and sit through melancholic moods, boring horses, characters' internal conflicts and whatever dreary scene they can come up with, but in the end, when that last 10 minutes made all those 20 hours of watching the season finally make sense, it didn't.

In a nutshell the last episode went like this: (SPOILER) Roadblock, horse, roadblock, horse scene, roadblock, horse scene, a bit of action, some talking dead minute, action then the end. (End Spoiler)

Unlike Game of Thrones where the last episode of the last season left fans rioting and wild over **his** scene *wink*Ollie*wink*, at least in GOT we saw who did it, how it happened, what horrifying thing happened and at that last second we saw a clue, or did we? Amazing right? The directors got a lot of concerned mails, George RR Martin got a lot of hate for what he did and praises too.

So, What TWD Producers and writers did was a cheap blow, ergo, nothing. It's like watching a mid-season episode. They should have ended at episode 3, of season 6 where Glenn fell and fans rioted, worried if he died. At least something happened.

In conclusion, I don't know if I'll be watching TWD anymore. DEFINITELY NOT FOR THE STORY. Bravo for their symbolism but sometimes it's over the top borderline dramatic. The make-up artists should win an EMMY, because that's what’s drawing people in!

Konnichiwa Nobu!

Alone time... the architecture is so breathtaking here. That moment when you actually want to spend more time outside rather than in the actual room 🌼🐉🐾🌼 .