Geonardesque

Miscericordia sa gitna ng usok at lindol
Bahagi ka na ng lumipas,
kalinga’t dala ang mga nagiba mong ala-ala
Miscericordia, may panahon pa ba?

Bubungang yero sa palo ng ulan
Tanaw sa loobang pader
ang pawis, luha at sayang pumatak
Mga pangalang inukit natin sa simento

Pumaroon at pumarito ang mga sasakyan
Uno biente singko, naghukay sa kalsada
habang nagliliparan ang mga dyip
At ang kalesa’y nasa ilalim ng tren

Naaalala ko ang hagdanang inuupuan
Sabi ni Men, parakyut daw ang tela
Nakayuko sa mga sundalong kahoy
Tinahi ni Tita ang butas na kamiseta

Sigaw ng magbabalot sa lalim ng gabi
Sa kamakalawa, ang walis at dustpan at
pinturadong mayang kumikislap sa umaga
Ang kulay ng Metro Aid ay dilaw at pula

Sa Piyesta ng mga tirintas at biskileta
Inabangan namin ang Papa sa may kanto
Angkas sa sasakyang salamin
Sangkatutak na kandila ng prusisyong maliwanag

Nagtalunan sa ulan ng yelo’t nabukulan
Hinabol ang snatcher ng dalawampung katao
‘Di malimot ang nagaapoy na ospital
Tatlong magkakaibigang nagkaroling na may multo

Miscericordia mula musmos sa pagsinta
Simula’t sapul hatid mo ang hangin.
kalinga’t dala ang mga nagiba mong ala-ala
Miscericordia, may panahon pa ba?

Suppose you’ll never know how
I grow restless
And I find no more meaning in
What is shallow and gray
Without you, without your warmth

And suppose you’ll never know how
Deeply and singularly
My heart beats and beats and beats
For you, for your eyes
Mostly, for your own heart

And suppose you’ll never know when
Because time is essential
It is but time is the essence to when to
How would you know then
My heart speaks when yours speaks

Suppose you’ll never know how
Softly I would have called you
All those lost words
Gets lost gets forgotten
And turn to long goodbyes

And suppose you’ll never know what
Would happen in those parts
In the mist, in the rain
In stories of old buildings
Know, you’ll never, I suppose

When I was writing for a daily newspaper six years ago, I was into politics venerably, a channel for my sensitivities, like the Almighty had given me a mission. The Daily Tribune was by large a political publication, as a presence in the media—a purveyor of the opposition’s opposition, the antagonist version of the Malaya. Erap was ousted and was being tried, only a handful of newspapers publicly tried to make any sense of it. Most of Erap’s barong-wearing supporters took office, some paid dearly and just vanished from the scene. Now, it’s election time again. As I’ve heard, the usual dramatic rush of movie personalities is at it again with no less than Goma running as senator! Add to the deluge Christopher De Leon and Borgy, who’ll probably campaign via fashionable billboards.

It wasn’t an accident that I believe Erap’s the victim of a conspiracy, I had always took to movie stars with a wacky sentimental attitude. “Geron Busabos” taught me to stick with the poor masses, to side with the “api.” So now, once more, it’s election time. Christopher De Leon might be running for local office in Lobo, Batangas, our family’s adopted province and would get a landslide win. There aren’t many celebrities in history who’ve been residents there. The Rectos sort of abandoned the place a long time ago. I remembered playing escort in a town fiesta and G.Toengi was supposedly been there too. Of course, she wasn’t somebody yet. “Si Christopher De Leon? Mananalo yun! Artista eh!,” my brother said. I have no misgivings for celebridudes running, I think they have better intentions than traditional politicians. Not only are they already rich but instant-politics seems to be an answer to a careening career.

I wasn’t in the news department of the Daily Tribune. I wrote for the Life section making small cheques with movie reviews and Hollywood-type articles on my behest. I wrote pieces and just e-mailed them and they’d print it—my library of books is full of Hollywood trivia and history, my editor during the anniversary issue called me an expert in Hollywood-isms. The articles were good, I suppose, believable and in-depth. Over the front pages, the incendiary voices led by feisty Editor-in-Chief Ninez Cacho-Olivares were hacking on the government while I was writing about a 4-part make-believe “Pinoy” Survivor with names of celebrities and politicians in them. The closest thing I could get my hands on the political drama.

There was the time the Tribune sent me to cover a celebrity launch in Makati with these unknown, young and new teenage faces from Viva. The presscon had this long white table lined with reporters and we were given a celebrity each to interview. I got this amiable guy who lives in Fairview and likes aquariums. “Sa mga artista ngayon, sino’ng gusto mong makapartner?,” I asked. “Ahh. Si Ate Maricel Soriano. Kasi, magaling siya…” He was looking at my pen and paper thinking if I was really jotting it all down. I wasn’t. I was covering the paper with my hand, I thought the whole exercise was downright silly. He never made it and he never got in camera with Maricel. There I also met the lady manager of Rivermaya and shared a smoke. I asked why guitarist Perf De Castro left the band. She painted Perf as a troublesome but gifted musician. I saw Perf once on the grounds of UST during one College summer playing guitar. He’s an amazing player with all the techniques. After the more obvious boot, he ended over RJTV doing guitar instructional programs. After our talk, the manager left with my lighter.

Then there was the stage play I attended in CCP which starred Lara Fabregas in a monologue 2-act play featuring a red telephone. Earlier, I attended a press meeting with a small cocktail. I was the only guy among several reporters who knew each other! Lara came late and was in a hurry to go. She had this glow of love that spelled Raymond Bagatsing. Introductions were given. “Lara, this is Geonard of the Daily Tribune…” She gave me a blank look. “Who?” She was really thinking “So?” Well, I got back by coming late for the play, during the intermission to Act 2. Lara was wearing a red nightgown and talking to herself onstage. I dutifully slept and snored and never absorbed a thing. I wrote the review though. Sheer bluff, tidied it up with (more than what was necessary) reference to Jean Cocteau, the author and got it published. I hated outdoor assignments and said no the next time my editor asked.

The Daily Tribune office is located in TM Kalaw in front of the National Library in a 70’s old building with a cranky elevator. They say the place is haunted. Luckily, I only went there during noons to collect my cheques and have it encashed before 3. I never met the other writers, my only friends there were Lito, the cheque release officer and Emily, the cute accounting girl. Lito used to call the house inviting me for drinks which we never did. The smiling Emily is cute in the Betty Brant way.

My two years working in the newspaper biz was a great experience. During that time, I was already moonlighting as a freelance scriptwriter for Viva Films and didn’t made much money. After 72 articles and without any real choice, my path sent me back to advertising. Thus, J. Romero. Period. Enter. Sending e-mail…

I never saw Michael Jackson, nor Bon Jovi. I regret not seeing Rage Against the Machine, and to my ultimate chagrin, Frank Sinatra. But there are ten concerts already imbedded in my brain, my ten favorite concerts…

10) Dapitan Sports Complex (1987)
The punk movement was already a revival when it happened in the mid-80s and coincided with the advent of New Wave. The record label that was Twisted Red Cross (TRC) with its black and red cross logo turned “X” to represent that generation signed 1-minute song punk bands from the Urban Bandits to the G.I. & the Idiots. D.S.C. was a frequent slam venue for second string acts with abbreviated names. We pogo danced and when elbows hit harder than deemed necessary, the mandatory peace signs prevented further fracas. People were shouting “Wag tayo magaway!” It was a hell of a night, like the EDSA rally, only the music’s better.

9) Eraserheads at U.S.T. High Foundation Day (1993)
True to legend as it is now, Eraserheads suck during live performances. The term “tunog lata” applies and they were never more raw than the year they released “Ultraelectromagneticpop.” That time, they were the hottest act in local music and their exposure included even the modest of gigs. “Ligaya” and “Pare Ko” were campus faves. I was already out of High School and crashed the old campus to see what the fuzz was all about. Eli Buendia was told not to cuss, but the crowd did the “tanginas” for him, the shocked teachers couldn’t do anything about it.
Beastie Boys/Foo Fighters/Sonic Youth at the Araneta Coliseum (1996)
Kurt Cobain is dead, along with him the career of Novoselic. And to the surprise of many, Grohl could actually play guitar and sing. I went to see what was considered the closest thing to seeing Nirvana live. I already owned a couple of Sonic Youth albums, the experience was sound, droning, close to a hemorrhage. As for the Beastie Boys, I didn’t know them from Run D.M.C. and I wasn’t a fan of scratches until Linkin Park, it was a revelation on my part they could command a pit.

7) Razorback/Wolfgang at Audio-Media Productions Inc. launch in Makati (1998)
My friend Ricky was an Audio-Media manager during which he invited us in their opening. They must have the cash since they got these two bands playing to roughly only a hundred people. We were sitting just a few feet from the stage, as if they were playing just for us. Razorback was loud. The guitars were trying to outdo each other as if the sound tech had gone off to pee.

6) U.S.T. High School Foundation Day (1986)
Okay, so this wasn’t really a concert but too memorable to let pass by for the very reason I was in it. Remember High School when there were just too many bands who wanted to play and be heard? While the seniors were playing new wave hits like the Cure and the Smiths, I only had to learn six basic chords to play the Sex Pistols “(I’m not) You’re Stepping Stone” on a four-piece band. My vocalist Elmer (who went on to be in a band called “Kabaong ni Kamatayan”) really didn’t know the lyrics but sang it word for word as he heard it. One song and what a rush.

5) Alanis Morrisette at the Araneta Coliseum (1996)
My Agatep friends and I went to the Araneta Coliseum to see Alanis who only had one album in her repertoire and she sang them all. We got tickets to seats overlooking the back of the stage, so we saw Alanis mostly with her back turned. Somehow it was better, more dramatic since she occupied the whole stage with her prancing. We got a hoot over the drummer whose butt crack was showing. Alanis’ voice reverberated in the whole arena, our throats went numb.

4) Cafapalooza, U.S.T. Field (1991)
Way back in 1991, we organized a music festival because we haven’t played in a long time. My friend Wesley Valenzuela thought of naming it after Lollapalooza and the College of Architecture and Fine Arts. It was kind of a diminutive version and we weren’t allowed to sell any beers by the friars. So, mostly people got drunk on Cali. It was a huge line-up that included Yano and so many undistinguished bands. We got pissed on the band Stormfront who opened the concert and sang way above the agreed two songs each. My band was called the Albert Fish band named after the child serial-killer and cannibal. We were practically a Nirvana band and performed “Serve the Servants” and “All Apologies.” By midnight, the powers that be stopped the concert prematurely. “Naingayan daw yung mga pari,” they said.

3) Pearl Jam at the Folk Arts Theatre (1995)
There was never a longer, winding line to a concert than this. The weather that day was hot and people needed to take off their shirts with Pearl Jam practically singing everything from their two albums. After “Jeremy,” there was a long lull near the end that some thought the concert was over and went outside. “Hindi pa to tapos,” I thought, “Hindi pa nila tinutugtog yung “Evenflow.” Pearl Jam went back on stage to sing just that and three other songs to the dismay of those who weren’t allowed to get back in. Pearl Jam with the original line-up at the height of grunge, nothing could be better.

2) Metallica at the Pasig Sports Complex (1993)
We were the first ones at the gate. Soon hordes of Metallifreaks filled the entrance and we were nearly crushed among the iron bars. There was no line, we were shouting, “Gards, gards, papasukin nyo na kami!” The stage was huge with rows upon rows of big time speakers. It was a sea of fans out there. Some dude taught me how to put out a cigarette with my tongue. Metallica started with “Battery” and finished with “One.” In between are the good stuff, a huge chorus in “Enter Sandman” and a solo guitar by Hammett. I started a riot when I cut the tethered chairs and threw one in the aisle, people followed suit and the guards arrived to keep others from pulling their chairs out. It was the biggest rock act of all time, if you discount the Beatles.

1) Pinoy Woodstock at the Amoranto Stadium (1989)
I don’t know any other concert that’s as big as what happened in Pinoy Woodstock; and yet I couldn’t find any articles written about it. The line-up was practically the who’s who of Pinoy rock: Freddie Aguilar, Banyuhay ni Heber, the Dawn, Ed Fortuno, Hotdog, Sampaguita, Joey “Pepe” Smith, even the Identity Crisis, and of course, the mind behind it, RJ Jacinto. Amoranto was an abandoned stadium and like Woodstock, the feel was love-happy freedom that total strangers could suddenly feel like old friends. They were passing grass like handshakes back then. I went there to rendezvous with friends but it took me two hours to locate them. The crowd was huge and disparate—from hippies to punk rockers to zealots. When Sampaguita played “Tao,” there was a trio of bald Hare Krishnas holding a portrait of their god to us, crying and pleading. Something I couldn’t forget. I had an instamatic and took photos of Heber, “Tayo’y mga Pinoy” made fists punch the sky, it was the best song of the event. A concert that lasted 24 hours. I don’t think anything could be as big

All we’ve ever done is all but everything
A million circles and three lines wore
Boots of leather and an anthem we sing
Oh, that old bible is like a notebook

There’s a certain message on the wall
The K-Q-B and the new anarchists say
Down with law, be abusive to the core
Oh, I always play the old gramophone

I miss the train to where I’m going
I miss the train, I miss the train

In P. Noval in Dapitan with candy fists
“Ten seconds, ten seconds” shouted
The slovenly and the fake agnostics
Oh, I stole my name from the typewriter

We were listening punk hard to the bone
Slatanic Elmer thrashes therefore in black
Singing “(I’m not) You’re Stepping Stone”
Oi! I coughed smoked a paper once

I miss the train to where I’m going
I miss the train, I miss the train

We made new friends with the Weirds
Nestor challenged Jesus in the auditorium
Kat, the lower class and some queers
Oh, I got a bloody lip from a fist fight

We hated, we ripped our ugly uniforms
While Arthur joined the Reds soon
Called on his deluded reforms
Oh, and I wore a padlock chain

I miss the train to where I’m going
I miss the train, I miss the train

The new anarchists took the jeepney home
All the way to España to E. Rodriguez to Muñoz
Indian sitting over a mad game with a large tome
Oh, the insects were hiding over the aquarium

We’re no fools but we hated the rules
Pensive but with our restlessness followed
Ike, led us beyond the rules
Oh, I gave a peace sign during graduation

I miss the train to where I’m going
I miss the train, I miss the train
With the K-Q-B and the new anarchists

In my basement room on weekends, I surround myself with music in accordance to sweeping the tiled floor and wiping dust all over. It’s a helluva thing to clean your room the moment you jump out of bed, the better reason good music should be blaring. I was ready. Recently, I compiled a sort of “Best of New Wave Hits” to remind myself of that 80s era I was in high school. No big deal. I just kinda handpicked songs out of my Itunes in the office. It’s nostalgia while I wipe each book clean of dust. Yes, I remember quite well the music of that time in my life. As follows, the tracks include:

ALREADY YESTERDAY (The Church, from 1986’s “Heyday”)
Although “Myrrh” was the best track in the “Heyday” album, this song was the one you’d irresistibly sing to. For me, “Heyday” is the Church’s finest album. My vinyl adorned my wall for a long time.

APRIL SKIES (The Jesus and Mary Chain, from 1987’s “Darklands”)
What’s a compilation without the famous Reid brothers? The chug-chugin riff was the yang to “Just Like Honey.” From high school days past, JMC was our favorite band.

BLACK MAN RAY (China Crisis, from 1985’s “Flaunt the Imperfection”)
We were pretty much overwhelmed by both JMC and The Smiths that China Crisis seemed like that band who only made “Wishful Thinking.” “Black Man Ray” is a great tune though, that opening was just should I say, so “new wavey.”

DEAR GOD (XTC, from 1986’s “Skylarking”)
Famous for being that “anti-Christ” song that scared some and was to others, a song to keep to themselves. Actually, it was an ode to atheism and opens with a boy singing seemingly prayer-like lyrics then breaks wonderfully to more adult content. A classic.

HOLD ME NOW (Thompson Twins, from 1984’s “Into the Gap”)
A seminal love song that chicks back then probably dig more than boys. Popular and makes your head swing left and right.

MORE TO LOSE (Seona Dancing, from 1983’s “More to Lose”)
It’s the staple song in every Best of New Wave compilation. Yes, its cheesy, the song many waited for to dance to during prom night. A mega reminiscing song.

MOTORTOWN (The Kane Gang, from 1987’s “Miracle”)
I’m proud to have this on vinyl. I kinda thought I was the only one who listened to them and who actually liked them. “Motortown” is basically a jazz tune, trumpets and some of those horn instruments. I remember the video well.

MAD WORLD (Tears for Fears, from 1983’s “The Hurting”)
Now, I can’t help relating the song to the movie “Donnie Darko.” One of Orzabal and Smith’s best songs. Is it because it talks about the world in general going nuts? Kinda like an anthem in high school.

ROCK THE CASBAH (The Clash, from 1982’s “Combat Rock”)
Late of the Clash’s popularity, during the time Punk Rock was trying to prove it wasn’t dead yet with the advent of New Wave. The video really kicked ass. My favorite Clash song.

SHE SELLS SANCTUARY (The Cult, from 1985’s “Love”)
This is a certified classic. My theory was, the Cult moved on to metal when they couldn’t make another “Sanctuary.” My friend’s band used to cover this song. I didn’t mind much the lyrics before, I actually thought at first the song was “seashells” something!

SOMETIMES ALWAYS (The Jesus and Mary Chain, from 1994’s “Stoned and Dethroned’)
We already moved on to metal when this song came about. Sung in duet with that talented girl Hope Sandoval. Check the video at Youtube.

TEARS (The Chameleons, from 1986’s “Strange Times”)
It’s the ultimate new wave love song because it doesn’t make you feel all daisy inside. We used to like playing the guitar intro and felt like boss. It was like, “Check this out….”

THE LAST OF THE FAMOUS INTERNATIONAL PLAYBOYS (Morrissey, 1989 UK Single)
Morrissey should be somewhere in this compilation. I didn’t pick out a popular Smiths song because I felt their songs are so different sounding—kinda like a league on their own. Had to fit one and this is just right. I really like the bass line and of course, there’s Morrissey’s fag crooning.

THE PROMISE (When in Rome, from 1988’s “When in Rome”)
Again, another song I can’t help relating to a movie. This time, the end credits of “Napoleon Dynamite.” Nice song albeit too popular with a nice vocal harmonizing and an easily recognizable piano intro you could name in six notes.

WASTELAND (Mission UK, from 1986’s “God’s Own Medicine”)
“I still believe in God…” Those first lines still send chills down the spine. So what if the only words I can make out is “wasteland,” Mission UK was our foremost experience in gothic. Great drum beat, drowning bass and wailing organ.

BEDS ARE BURNING (Midnight Oil, from 1987’s “Diesel and Dust)
The video was as popular as the song. I was a bit turned off by the bald guy though but that was before Right Said Fred. “Beds” offers a really singable chorus, fists punching the sky included.

WISHFUL THINKING (China Crisis, from 1983’s “Working with Fire and Steel”)
Some people thought there was no such thing as New Wave. Of course there was. After listening to Madonna and Jacko then suddenly hearing this song, there clearly was a difference. What’s New Wave for me? It’s this song: Talks about happy things under pseudo keyboards that make you want to frolic in the park, pull your bangs down and write curvy lines on your notebook.

CLOSE TO ME (The Cure, from 1985’s “Head On the Door”)
Everybody remembers the video. The cabinet, the water, and Robert Smith’s lipstick. Probably the most popular after “Boys Don’t Cry.” Actually, nobody then could cover the song because it relied heavily on horns and who the hell could dare clap their hands!

Long live New Wave!

The sea
I wonder about the sea like
I wonder about the heights
Though my hands are warm and
My feet adjusted to the cold

Yet I imagine the sea
As I have imagined it before
I look to the invisible depths
With my glass eyes and a heartbeat

Unto the sea
My fingers like tiny waves
Flail the wood of my boat
Make strange tiny noises
Lapping on my thorny side

Yet the sea doesn’t speak
At least, on behalf of me
Guarantee me the answers I
Bereaved so long ago

The sea
I hold my breath for the sea and
I keep myself from struggling
For the sake of love and
The demons that kept me awake

8/15/06

The third screenplay I wrote was titled “Si Kristo ng Dagat Asul” and became a finalist in the 2001 Film Development Foundation. The big winner that year If I remember correctly was “Sinungaling na Buwan” by a triumverate of screenwriters. It was a bit of a let down it didn’t win top prize because some of the judges actually were rooting for my script. And my closest friend in the business, Joey Serrato, also taught it as my best. I got to even talk to Robbie Tan of Seiko a couple of days after, but I was disappointed that he was ony interested in me being a writer in a pool, and not in my script. Years after, when I got to work with Joey Reyes for a commercial I showed him the script and began corresponding on a probable production of it. But it never took off, to my chagrin. “Si Kristo ng Dagat Asul” probably was a little controversial for taste. It’s about a tabloid newspaper reporter who is an atheist sent to a seaside province to investigate a mysterious leader of a small community who could work miracles. Rumour has it that he’s the second coming of Christ. I focused on my reporter’s skepticism and outward distrust for organized religion, put in a Batangas setting, made the disciples smoke pot, show some miracles done and finish it off with an Apocalyptic climax complete with the moon turning blood red. Probably this was the reason it didn’t won top prize since two of the judges back then were the religious couple of Laurice Guillen and Johnny Delgado. Anyway, here’s an excerpt from the script. Eddie, the tabloid reporter meets with Hannibal, the prophetic Jesus, and starts an interesting conversation in the night sea.

SI KRISTO NG DAGAT ASUL
AN EXCERPT

SCENE 52 EXT – SEA – NIGHT.

Sa Dagat: Manginginig si Eddie sa lamig ng dagat. Hindi siya halos makagalaw. Si Hannibal nama’y nakangiting lalangoy-langoy.

EDDIE
M-m-m-malamig.

HANNIBAL
(tatawa)
Pansamantala lang ang lamig. Masasanay agad ang katawan mo.

Lulubog si Eddie sa tubig. Pagtaas niya muli ay mapapatingin siya sa kalangitan na napa-payungan ng libo-libong mga bituin—mawawala siya sa sarili sa paghanga dito. May Shooting Star na tatahakin ang kalawakan ng gabi. Nawala na ang ginaw.

HANNIBAL
Ahh! Napakalaya ng pakiramdam kung ganito—
(mapapansin si Eddie, titingin din sa langit)
Kung naaabot lang ng tao ang kalawakan, marami na sanang pagbabago ngayon…at kokonting pag-aalinlangan.

EDDIE
(matatuhan sa pagkakatingin sa langit)
Ha?

HANNIBAL
Kung minsan ba’y nangarap kang makarating sa ibang planeta, malaman kung mayroon pang ibang nilalang
bukod sa tao?

EDDIE
Oo. Madalas. Tuwing nakakakita ako ng mabituin na langit, naiisip ko kung gaano ako kaliit. Gaano ako
kawalang-halaga.

HANNIBAL
Bawat isa sa inyo ay mahalaga.

EDDIE
Pakiramdam ko’y bilanggo ako ng sarili kong katawan. Gusto kong maging malaya.

HANNIBAL
Ang katawan ay bale wala, Eddie. Ito’y instrumento lamang para makipag-communicate tulad ng ginagawa
natin. Kung mag-e-evolve muli ang tao, magiging malaya siya, hindi na n’ya kailangan ng katawan.

EDDIE
Mag-e-evolve muli? Sa anong bagay?

HANNIBAL
Nilika ng Diyos ang tao, Eddie, kahalintulad ng kanyang anyo.

EDDIE
Tulad ng hitsura ko…hitsura mo…

HANNIBAL
(tatawa habang lalangoy)
Hitsura natin? Sa tingin mo ba’y ang hitsura ng Diyos ay hitsura ng tao—may mata, bibig, buhok, mga kamay—
napakaraming depekto. Ang Diyos ay perpekto. Sabihin mo sa ‘kin, Eddie, may perpekto ba sa hitsura ng tao?
Masasabi mo ba sa akin kung ano ang perpektong hugis ng kamay, ng ilong, o kung bakit may hangganan lang
ang nakikita ng mga mata. Tignan mo na lamang ang hitsura ng tenga—
(tatawa, mas malakas)
May sense of humor din ang Diyos.

EDDIE
Pero, malinaw ang sabi ng bibliya—

HANNIBAL
Naniniwala ka ba na bukod sa tao, may iba pang nilalang sa ibang planeta? Katulad din kaya sila ng tao? May
Diyos din kaya sila?

EDDIE
Kung nangyari ang mundo sa isang pagkakataon, sa laki ng kalawakan, bakit hindi? Pero, ang tiyansang
katulad sila ng tao ay malabo. May Diyos din kaya sila? Malamang.

HANNIBAL
(ngingiti)
Kahalintulad ng kanilang anyo…

Mapapaisip si Eddie sa pinuntahan ng usapan nila.

EDDIE
Kung ganon, ano nga ba ang tunay na anyo ng Diyos?

HANNIBAL
Ikaw, ano ang paniniwala mo?

Nag-iisip si Eddie—naghahanap ng ekspelansyon batay sa kanyang sariling paniniwala.

EDDIE
Naniniwala ako na ang tunay na anyo ng Diyos ay hindi nakikita, naamoy, at hindi nakapagsasalita mula sa
bibig. Tulad ng espiritu na hindi nahahawakan. Ang Diyos ay lahat, ang kalawakan—ang saysay ng bawat
bagay. Kung nilikha ng Diyos ang tao sa kanyang anyo, ang tunay na anyo ng tao’y ganito din—isang malayang
esensiya. Maaaring ang sinabi mong pag-e-evolve muli ng tao ay pagbabalik sa anyong ito…
(nakikinig na mabuti si Hannibal)
…naniniwala ako na sina Adan at Eba sa simula’y malalayang espiritu at ang pagkakaroon nila ng katawan ay
isang kaparusahan. Na ang paglabag nila sa utos ng Diyos ay higit pa sa pagkagat ng prutas. Na ang istorya
tungkol dito ay isang lamang metaphor sa totoong nangyari. Ginawa ang mundo bilang tiyansa nating humingi
ng tawad sa Kanya na ibalik tayo sa paraiso—at ang paraiso ay ang pag-iisa natin sa kalawakan. Sa
pagkakataong ito lamang tayo tunay na magiging malaya. At ‘di na tayo manliliit pa.

HANNIBAL
(impressed, satisfied)
Kung kaya’t naiiba ka, Eddie. Kung kaya’t napili ka.

FADE OUT

The lyrics we sing from the thousands of songs made in honor of love are truly universal. Men and women, God’s flightless creatures, could become so obsessed with their feelings that they have learned to master the means by which to express them in high art through words tuned to the frequency of the heart.

Love songs take us to higher ground. And they reach to those tender souls, touching them. Love is remarkably omnipresent in every type of music. Listen to jassmaster Kenny G’s SILHOUETTE and tell me if he’s not playing to love’s command. Or how about Eric Clapton’s wailing guitar—isn’t it the cry of a heart drowning in the blues? Speaking of broken hearts, what else could Garth Brooks have been referring to in his ACHY BREAKY HEART? Tchaikovsky’s waltzes, Glenn Miller’s serenades, Clayderman’s candlelight piano—they all have the same deal. From Coolio to Jimmy Durante, Queen to Nat King Cole, Hank Williams to Cypress Hill, Nazareth to the Spice Girls, Bee Gees to the Beatles, Frank Sinatra to Ozzy Osbourne, they wrote the songs that make the whole world sing.

We asked music lovers what they consider as the greatest love song ever written. Most respondents channeled their minds to the 80s. The same era that brought us Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and the beloved David Pomerantz. It was in 1981 when Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie sung in duet to ENDLESS LOVE.

“Ya, ya, baduy, but it makes you senti…” says Jojo Sansano, a Madonna-lover forever,”…specially the part where Brooke Shields’ dialogue was made an intro to the song, kakain-love!”

Nearly a hundred love songs were nominated through e-mail with nominees coming from the obscure to song hits favorites. Jon Salazar, writer, fielded in LOVE WILL TEAR US APART by Joy Division. “The song tells us the reality about love and the sad part of being in love. Anyway, at least you can dance to it.”

On the other hand, Archie de Calma defends Whitney Houston’s THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL, saying “it doesn’t just border on the lousy hopeless romantic. It’s love on the broader human perspective, given more justice by Whitney’s interpretation.” Now, who would argue with that!

“It’s definitely MAYBE by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack,” says a certain Carol. “Love is a series of trial and error. Look at the lyrics: “And if the answers don’t come quick/We’ll go with how it feels/And sometimes that’s not yes or no/But maaaybeee!”

Meanwhile, Mike Rotea prefers home-grown tunes. SANA MAULIT MULI because once is never enough and DI NA NATUTO when you’ve had enough.

The list goes on FOREVER. Just HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING on TOP OF THE WORLD? You look for the PERFECT COMBINATION with all HONESTY, because even if LOVE HURTS like a KNIFE and in REALITY, IT’S A HEARTACHE, we CHERISH those MOMENTS OF LOVE because they are UNFORGETTABLE. Stop CRYIN’ IN THE RAIN, there will be NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS because FOR ALL WE KNOW, THE SEARCH IS OVER. AFTER ALL, LOVE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY….THROUGH THE YEARS.

The following 16 songs which received the most votes did battle in a play-off style contest. They are:
1. AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW) by Phil Collins
2. ENDLESS LOVE by Diana Ross/Lionel Ritchie
3. I CAN WAIT FOREVER by Air Supply
4. IT MIGHT BE YOU by Stephen Bishop
5. LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE by Melissa Manchester
6. LOVE STINKS by Adam Sandler
7. SANA MAULIT MULI by Gary Valenciano
8. YESTERDAY by The Beatles
9. DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME by Captain and Tenille
10. HOW CAN I TELL YOU by Lani Hall
11. IF by Bread
12. KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS by David Pomerantz
13. LOVE OF MY LIFE by Queen
14. MORE THAN WORDS by Extreme
15. SOMEBODY by Depeche Mode
16. YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION by Chicago

Twenty judges will score the matches in the rounds. The losers get remade to a Stars on 45 medley, while the winners move on to the next round.

FIRST ROUND:
ENDLESS LOVE (12) vs. LOVE STINKS (8)
AGAINST ALL ODDS (11) vs. YESTERDAY (9)
I CAN WAIT FOREVER (6) vs. LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE (14)
IT MIGHT BE YOU (11) vs. SANA MAULIT MULI (9)
DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME (9) vs. MORE THAN WORDS (11)
HOW CAN I TELL YOU (9) vs. SOMEBODY (11)
KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS (12) vs. YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION (8)
IF (11) vs. LOVE OF MY LIFE (9)

The list is halved. McCartney’s YESTERDAY may be the most covered song of all time, but Phil beats the odds and advances to the next round. ENDLESS LOVE and QUEEN AND KING OF HEARTS, two all-time jukebox greats also prevail. Tes Lariosa, single, couldn’t believe the fate suffered by her favorite tune, “But HOW CAN I TELL YOU speaks volumes in terms of emotions regarding unrequited love!” Too bad. 11 judges voted collectively in five of the other songs, advancing them to the next level.

SECOND ROUND:
ENDLESS LOVE (8) vs. AGAINST ALL ODDS (12)
LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE (9) vs. IT MIGHT BE YOU (11)
MORE THAN WORDS (11) vs. SOMEBODY (9)
KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS (11) vs. IF (9)

Again, Phil was able to beat the odds, leaving behind Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie stuck in the 80s. IF bows down to the ultimate prom song while MORE THAN WORDS conquers SOMEBODY.

“Well, you can play MORE THAN WORDS anytime with the guitar everywhere!,” quips Trey, a would-be rockstar, “with SOMEBODY, you need a piano! That’s so hassle, dude!”

SEMI-FINALS:
AGAINST ALL ODDS (7) vs. IT MIGHT BE YOU (13)
MORE THAN WORDS (9) vs. KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS (11)

With the Semi-finals sounding like a horse race, the final four raced to a photo finish. In an effort to continue Phil’s winning streak, April, a student, stood up exclaiming, “AGAINST ALL ODDS! The words! The melody matches the weight of the words!” Too late, Phil Collins and Extreme are dust.

THE FINALS:
IT MIGHT BE YOU vs. KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS

MOMENT OF TRUTH by Survivor may not be a love song but here it describes perfectly what’s about to transpire. KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS and IT MIGHT BE YOU both appeared in the movies, in “Zapped” and “Tootsie” respectively. They are among the staples in karaoke bars and can be found in every jukebox and ubiquitously included in those cassette tapes from the Middle East. Everybody knows the words, these songs have been witnesses to many Valentine’s Day, printed in numerous songhits, and sung regularly in noontime shows. But only one will be regarded as “The greatest love song ever written.”

Close your eyes and give me your hand, here’s the final result:

IT MIGHT BE YOU (9) vs. KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS (11)

Now we know why Filipinos love David so much besides being a regular nice guy, he has the ability to melt our hearts with his songs. Thank you, David and hooray for KING AND QUEEN OF….

Wait, Allan Sta. Maria, up and coming screenwriter, doesn’t think so. “The greatest love song ever written? I say its GOD ONLY KNOWS by the Beach Boys performed in their 1966 album Pet Sounds which is considered the Sgt. Pepper’s album of the Beach Boys with its innovativeness and content! The lyrics suggest feelings of pure love, a little insecurity and an invocation to a higher power! Now, to simplify matters, according to Paul McCartney, GOD ONLY KNOWS is the greatest love song ever written!”

Uh-huh. We believe you.

(published February 18, 2001)

I own close to five hundred books and yet I wouldn’t consider myself a bibliophile since I never came about reading even half of them. Though I’m a writer (or was, having spent two years writing scripts and feature articles for a newspaper), my present job as Art Director could not grant me the time for a lot of reading. But who could really these days? Reading when there are so many movies to see? Even with the small percentage, I have read the books I considered mattered and which I recommend highly. Among them:

CAT’S CRADLE
by KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
Vonnegut’s novels have been made into films. “Mother Night” with Nick Nolte, “Breakfast of Champions” with Bruce Willis, and his seminal novel “Slaughterhouse-Five” sometime during the 70s. All achieved minimal success. Vonnegut possesses one of the most imaginative minds with a crack sense of humor. His field: merging science fiction with history. In “Slaughterhouse-five,” he triangulates his experience during the Dresden bombing of WW2 to his present state of reclusive writing to his dreams of cosmic sex on the moon. And he delivers with the wit of Mark Twain and Woody Allen. But it was in “Cat’s Cradle” that his imagination skyrockets into sci-fi omnipotence. If you have seen the Pacino-Farrell movie “The Recruit,” there was a reference to something called “Ice 9″—which is the whole basis of the novel. Ice 9 according to legend, is a unique way for water to freeze, as such that it could cause the end of the world. A catalytic dark comedy. He could turn your expectations upside down. Other noteworthy Vonnegut novels include “Galapagos,” “Slapstick,” and “Hocus Pocus.”

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS
by URSULA K. LE GUIN
Reading sci-fi novels well, needs a little workout on the imagination and a feeling that you understand all the technical blow-outs. Within the novel, you try to imagine how the alien looks like, how the spaceman floats in zero gravity, or the impending doom of the anti-matter. Truth be told, they are better seen on screen with the warping spaceships, the laserbeams and huge clouds of gasses spinning in Jupiter. How the story develops is another “anti” matter. Yet, for all the scientific wizardry the sci-fi writer possesses, he is not the best of story-tellers. Sagan, Clarke, just how many of them are scientists in real life? However, some of the best sci-fi novelists do possess the gift of storytelling. If “Frankenstein” is more than a monster movie, Le Guin’s “The Left Hand of Darkness,” is exemplary of the science fiction novel as not just mere speculative fiction. The story takes place in a distant planet called Winter. A place with an all-male populace in the very stage of its ice age. An Earth envoy gets caught in the internal transgression towards a conclusion that tests his human spirit and his friendship to one of the locals. “The Left Hand of Darkness” won both the Hugo and Nebula awards.

THE DOG OF THE SOUTH
by CHARLES PORTIS
Charles Portis is one of the hardest writer to track down. His availability in bookstores is like finding a Fellini film in Astrovision. But who the hell would know of Portis anyway when bookshelves are dictated by the likes of King, Brown, Ludlum, Clancy and the writer of Shopholic? All best-selling novelists. But you do know who John Wayne is, right? Wayne’s lone academy award came in 1969 playing a one-eyed tracker in “True Grit.” “Grit” was written by one Charles Portis. Like Vonnegut, Portis has a rare gift for humor that makes you feel lucky to be alive and able to read. “Dog of the South” is one of the funniest piece of American humor ever printed. It’s about a man who goes searching for his stolen car, his wife who run-off with the guy who stole his car, and maybe his sanity down South of the border.

WHITE NOISE
by DON DE LILLO
DeLillo is not as hard to find as Portis. In fact, I bought all my second-hand books over the bargain shelves of Booksale. “Libra” (about a what-if story regarding Lee Harvey Oswald), and “Underworld” (well, its harder to explain) under P300. “Underworld,” considered among the best novels of the last decade even went from P210 to P180 to P120 to P75—the price I paid for. DeLillo could be the most gifted, most exceptional, most intelligent, most beautifully-prosed writer living today. With luck, you’d find his name in Powerbooks or Fully-booked. His novels are explorative and touches all bases of the American culture captured in the poetry of his narrative. “White Noise” shouldn’t be mistaken for the Michael Keaton movie. I doubt De Lillo would ever venture into horror. His terror is more visceral because it explains the truth. And there is beauty in his truth. Wherever his story takes you, it doesn’t matter where. In the classroom, in a ballpark, or in a garage. “White Noise” is about a teacher whose specialty is Hitler studies, his family, and an incident called the Toxic Airborne Event. It won the National Book Award.

“The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.
The writer is the man or woman who automatically takes a stance against his or her government. There are so many temptations for American writers to become part of the system and part of the structure that now, more than ever, we have to resist. American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous. Writers in repressive societies are considered dangerous. That’s why so many of them are in jail. ” — Don De Lillo, 1998