meMap

…don’t know when I’ll be back again…

I’ll be leaving for real this time: to Hong Kong!  Guess its shopping (and eating) time for me…all the cheap, fake stuff and tasty Chinese food waiting right there.  I’ll be gone from July 13 to August 3, so I might not post as often during that time.

But…I’ll keep you guys updated on my fun and wacky adventures abroad, so stay tuned; a lot more to come after the break.

Oh, and what should I buy from Hong Kong?  Anything I need to bring home so that I can say “I went to Hong Kong”?

Ugly Betty is now some icon of the typical woman, whose integrity far outweighs the burden society has put on her.  Strangely, she’s almost the copy of that girl from The Devil Wears Prada…but no one remembers that young, good looking, and blonde? secretary’s name; I only remember her boss, Meryl Streep for being such a bitchy one in that flick.

Okay, back to the point.  Betty is the phenomenon that I have been waiting for since I was a kid.  Really.  Not that I’m fat, wear braces, or that I’m against those people; just that this character is the first that I can truly identify with.  Because it is real life; people judge you by your looks; but with a strong enough will, someone will at least see that little light in you.  The backdrop may seem a tad surreal, with her job as secretary of that hot, rich dude who was born to inherit the uber super top fashion magazine in town; don’t forget, that is the point of the story, to show how we just don’t fit in with life sometimes….or most of the time. 

By now, you guys can probably guess that I was that little boy who was bullied in Elementary School.  I was like Ugly Betty in many ways, having the traits that were undesirable for men: small, short, and anemic.  If anyone asked me for the perfect mixture, this would be it–the perfect mixture for disaster.  And now, when I see some part of myself being portrayed on screen and hearing from my friends how similar Ugly Betty has portrayed their own childhood, the first thought that came to my mind was: OH MY!  What a twisted world we have here.

Although society spends most of its time undermining the self-confidence of these people, most of us have been part of that vicious cycle–often playing the one that is hurt.  But the question remains, why then, if so many people understand the feelings of being looked down upon, then why do they do it to other people?  Humans are just demented.

I’ll try to look into some psychological explanations…more on that later…

Sorry everyone, I’m exporting all of this to “The Color of Life“, my new blog name.  My family has misunderstood meMap for something else..so…please bear with me.

From now on, meMap will be dedicated to personal matters, just the random stuff.  All of my more professional musings will go to The Color of Life.  Check out both to find which you like! =)

Oh, you can still fInd all the Time Management series HERE.

My friends have taken some time to build up the courage to say to me that my words on this WordPress blog are too “commanding” and “imperious”.  They said it was with my use of the word “you”, when giving advice to the readers of this blog.

I must apologize if all that I had written made me sound like an old hag, but I must explain that it is my sincerest good will to share my tips with you.  I have learnt so much from reading, my mentors, my great friends and family over the past years that my overwillingness to give what I think is good to others may bee too great.

From now on, I’ll try to write in first person or third person, not trying to direct you guys directly (to sound too imposing).  This blog may be better off as a journal of my experiences–a narrative on my life with 100x zoom lenses.  No problem with that.

I’ll be “out” and “away” for the next few days, so there might not be any new posts until Monday.  If you have any questions, doubts, or suggestions, just leave a comment and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Sorry, I have no secretary or voicemail, so I guess we’ll have to do it the old way.

This is one of the best amateur cover ups out there of this song..and it was released very soon after Viva la Vida made its appearance.  Very impressive.

Now the ad plus the full song running in a loop.  I really like the ad’s artistic style; really hoping that they come out will a full music video real soon.  Strangely, the commercial reminds me of Gorrilaz’s cartoonish look…don’t know why…can anyone explain my feelings for me?

Their other video, Violet Hill; it was released before Viva la Vida as a full music video.  I don’t really like this one; the music just seems too plain and the lyrics just dumb.  Guess I prefer the more abstract style of kings, queens, and missionaries.

I just bought their new album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.  This is the best Coldplay album to date, not to say that it’s the best album ever.

Listen as the crowd would sing:
“Now the old king is dead, long live the king!”

That is the irony that fills this album up to the brim: the contradicting sense of the old and new.  I must commend Coldplay for taking such a giant leap in experimenting with other genres of music, seeing that their songs in this album have widely branched out from their original pop & soft rock that had made them famous in their first three albums.

As mentioned, the strong point of this album is its variety; there’s the title song, Viva la Vida, with heavy drum beats that makes it seems like Chris Martin borrowed this from some wild African Zulu tribe.  And their other single, Violet HIll, borrows some more from electronica.  Needless to say, each song comes from a little niche of its own, and probably aimed to find a niche in the audience as well.

Sound quality and production remains the same.  Thank God Chris Martin chose not to overuse his falsetto this time, and the result is good: a richer, deeper tone instead of the weak high notes.  And for the fan girls, you just can’t miss this album because of his evermore sexy voice, which seems to be less annoying this time around.

Another thumbs up for easy listening.  I put this album on repeat for my daily run and I found myself less distracted than usual.  Although clearly not designed for those looking for heavy metal or the usual pop stuff, I’m sure that this will be a pleasure for Coldplay fans, young and old.  Also recommended to non-fans who just want to hear some new tones in music from a big-brand band.

Some YouTube videos to come after the break (seems to be a million cover ups of Viva la Vida (the cover song) out there right now, seeing that Coldplay gave a really cool, but unfinished half-minute glimpse of their music video in the exclusive iTunes ad).

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention, Coldplay is only the second artist–if I remember correctly–to do a promotional for iTunes for more than once, aside from their big brother, U2.  Well, don’t know how long before Martin rides the ranks of Bono.

I’ve officially made the long awaited transition from Blogger to WordPress.  Now, this is the crowning achievement of my life! =)

I was once addicted to the minimalist approach of Blogger’s interface.  There were just the basic buttons, and that was indeed what I needed to make my simple text posts.  WordPress seems to be much more confusing at first, but the clean layout ultimately offered much more flexibility. 

There is just one glitch; I don’t like WordPress themes.  Although a wide assortment of user-made or professionally created custom themes are available for the choosing, most of them are barely customizable.  Unlike Blogger, where there are only few main themes to pick from, but a million possibilities as to how to change them to suit my needs.  (well, I don’t really want to say too much about this, because I’m a newbie around here; not sure if there is any way to work around this problem or not)

Again, my sincerest wishes that this blog will survive for longer than a month.  I never reached that stage where you can say its a lasting relationship between my blog and my readers, merely me and my interests…few comments to spare here and there.  But now, I’m kind of free (unemployed, of course), so I guess I’ll devote much more to making you guys..and myself happy.

C’ya soon.