I know I’m 12 days late in posting this, but it is still January so it doesn’t matter. And while my life goals (I still refuse to use the word resolution although we all know it’s the same banana) are still under construction (the umbrella words being MOVE and WRITE more), at least these things I’ve already formulated

1. Write (not just microblog) what I consume – If you know me, you know I consume pop culture like I consume chocolate, and yet, after I eat them, then what? I should put down what these things have contributed to my life and how it can help (or not) other people’s pop culture education. This one also means BLOG MORE!

2. Don’t just amass, but actually consume – Again, if you know me, I hoard books, music, TV shows, movies, comic books, links to stuff, etc. But most of them, I actually don’t read/listen to/watch. So this 2012 I should be able to:
- Read at least 20 books from my backlog of 2 bookshelves
- Listen to at least half of the 100 gigs of music on my Mac
- Watch at least 1/4 of the 300+ movies I’ve “acquired”
- Read all the links I’ve favorited on Twitter or put on Instapaper and Read Later

3. Try things out of my comfort zone – I always tell my students to do this, but I seldom do it because I’ve been so used to my kind of pop culture. But for my personal growth and to maybe discover new things to love, I will try to
- listen to hiphop (not r&b, tried that never liked it)
- watch local shows (not soap operas, i dont think that can contribute to my growth)
- watch documentaries that are not mainstream
- read Christian fiction (apparently there are really good ones out there)
- go to gigs of local indie bands i know nothing about

4. Finish the two remaining books of A Song of Ice and Fire so i can move on to other things – I think I purposely read it slowly because I’m so Invested in the world of Westeros that I cannot imagine life without me reading it to and from work and while drinking coffee after a hard day’s work. But I do have to explore other worlds eventually, so I have to end my love affair with Jon Snow eventually. Well, until the next book that is.

5. Lend stuff to other people so i can share my passions with them – but only to people I trust will give them back coz I’ve lost countless books, comic books, dvds to friends who either end up not being friends anymore or have gotten temporary amnesia with regards to stuff they borrow

6. Start on that pop culture scrapbook/magazine I’ve been planning – and I do mean an actual honest to goodness scrapbook, not an app. Why? Coz I’m a geek like that

7. Get out more - My gadgets should not be my world. There are movie theaters to go to, stage plays to see, concerts to watch, libraries and museums to explore, yadda yadda yadda. And that means talking to actual people too right? Sigh

So what are your pop culture resol….I mean goals this year?

*This is my first ever blog post that I typed on Arya Stark aka the ipad2

21, Adele

Even if you got nauseous just hearing the songs covered over and over again (in varying degrees of success), you cannot deny that this was the year of Adele. And why shouldn’t it be, this album was just plain pop genius. Remove your disdain for the various covers and the ubiquitous playing in radio stations and you are left with heartfelt songs, catchy riffs and her bombastic voice. And you should most definitely watch her concert at Royal Albert Hall and you will fall even more in love with her. She cackles like a witch, curses like a beeyatch but you will just love her honesty, her passion and her eyelashes, I mean, her music.

Favorite Songs: Rolling in the Deep (of course), Set Fire to the Rain, Rumor Has It

Bon Iver, Bon Iver

This was the year that I fell in love with folk and they, particularly founder/singer/songwriter Justin Vernon, were half of the reason why. The NPR folks dubbed it as a Bruce Hornsby-ish record and for once, that is not such a bad thing. The melodies are soft, the lyrics are painfully earnest and the good vibes just seep through your veins with every listen of this album

Favorite Songs: Holocene, Calgary

Barton Hollow, The Civil Wars

This duo were the other reason why I fell in love with folk (well, the indie hipster kind of folk anyways). A lot of people are always surprised to find out that John Paul White (a Johnny Depp doppleganger) and Joy Williams (a former CCM pop artist) are actually not married to each other because the chemistry they have both in the album and in live performances is just unbelievable. I had their album on loop for almost a week and I never got tired of them, even until now. They’ve gotten a big break lately by being featured in The Hunger Games OST in a duet with Taylor Swift. So stoked more people will get to discover them.

Fave songs: Barton Hollow, 20 Years

Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay

Critics and even some long-time fans (and long time detractors) were not very happy with this album. But Coldplay is in my personal list of bands that can do no wrong in my ears. First listen it was not that bad, in fact it was more than okay. But as I listened to it more, I grew to love it to bits. They’ve perfected a sound that they know fans will love, and they stick to it. They may not be as adventurous as other bands, but why change what works for them right? The only track that I hate? The one with Rihanna. I always skip over that track.

Fave songs: Us Against the World, Don’t Let It Break Your Heart

King of Limbs, Radiohead

Another one of the bands that I will always listen to no matter what. Critics and fans were very divided in their opinion of this album. But, as with any of their previous albums, I get totally lost when listening to it. Their songs are all about atmosphere and the experience of listening, more than the actual lyrics or hooks. No particular track really stands out, not because they’re not good but because it’s one whole listen for me. But critics, even those that panned the album, had to agree that Lotus Flower was brilliant

Fave songs: Lotus Flower, Morning Mr. Magpie

Ceremonials, Florence and the Machine

No one does baroque pop like Florence. And in just her 2nd studio album, she has mastered the art of creating anthemic songs that you just want to burst out singing to, except that you don’t have her vocal chops to give the song justice. So you’ll just lip-synch and dance along to it. Oh wait, that might just be me Shake It Out is my official theme song for 2011

Fave songs: Of course Shake It Out, Breaking Down

Metals, Feist

I’m not as crazy about this album unlike her previous ones where I would just devour each and every song. Her latest one is a slow burn, where you just have to quietly listen to them to fully appreciate the whole album. I haven’t put it on loop which may be one of the reasons why I’m not as fond of it as The Reminder or Let It Die. But it still makes the list because after all, she is Feist.

Fave songs: How Come You Never Go There, Undiscovered First

Strange Mercy, St. Vincent

Annie Clark is my Zooey Deschenel/Jenny Lewis of 2011, meaning she is my indie girl crush for this year. And her new album doesn’t disappoint. In fact, this may be my favorite of her 3 albums too date. Her songs are so cheery and fun that even if she is singing about abuse or dark heartbreak, you still feel joyous and peaceful. She is also an awesome guitarist which adds to her coolness factor.

Fave songs: Cheerleader, Dilettante

Cults, Cults

Another genre that I fell in love with this year is the retro-sounding indie rock, or bands that would have been right at home in the 60s and 70s, like Real Estate, Best Coast, Phantogram, The Drums, but Cults makes my list. Just like St Vincent, there is such pep and cheer in their songs that you don’t notice that they’re actually singing about really dark things (which is sometimes bad actually). This is just their debut album and I look forward to hearing more from them

Fave songs: Abducted, Never Heal Myself

I Have a Dream, The City Harmonic 

Hands down, my worship album of the year. They describe their music as ”nostalgic Brit-pop meets campfire sing-along mix that features raucous gang vocals along with agile, soaring anthems crafted to include the listener”. “Be Still O My Soul” was the soundtrack to my faith journey of 2011

Fave songs: Be Still O My Soul, Manifesto

Other albums in my list but I’m just too lazy to write about

The Decemberists’ The King is Dead

Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues

James Blake

Yuck (yes, it’s a band)

Low’s Cmon

Real Estate’s Day

(oh, but if I do receive any of these as gifts, I will be much grateful of course)

D&G Light Blue

I HATE perfumes. They make my nose all itchy and if I haven’t eaten anything that day, they make me nauseous. But the moment I smell that citrusy aroma of Light Blue, my bad mood immediately evaporates. But because I’m a cheapskate when it comes to certain purchases, I only buy myself this once in a blue moon.

Satchel/s

It doesn’t have to be that uber expensive Cambridge satchel thingamajig. I bought my one and only for 800 bucks in Cole Vintage and it has become my current favorite. It can be both formal and informal that’s why I love it. I wouldn’t mind having two or three more of those babies

Lost Complete DVD Box Set

While I do have all the (barely legally obtained) episodes, it would still be awesome to have a complete set, complete with all the behind the scenes, easter eggs and bonus features. And it would be much easier to go through my favorite episodes whenever I feel, uhm, lost

Record player/phonograph device

Or whatever the modern term is nowadays. Although collecting vinyls is a bit expensive, nothing beats listening to records in their purest form. Plus, I like the scratchy sound it makes before each song. It brings back memories of listening to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Glenn Miller, etc on those “ancient” devices

Nestle Nespresso Machine

But before I get one, I have to make Nestle Philippines swear on their founders’ grave (not literally of course) that they will never run out of the coffee capsule thingamajigs, because otherwise, this machine will lose its sense and purpose

Hard-bound copies of the following book series (Most of these I have in e-book and actual book form, but the hard-bound ones would look really nice on my future bookshelf)

• A Song of Ice and Fire
• Complete works of JRR Tolkien
• The Chronicles of Narnia
• The Millenium Trilogy
• Complete works (so far) of Margaret Atwood
• Percy Jackson series

And in the very far future…my ultimate wish is of course to have my own, personal, private library with kick-ass shelves and all kinds of comfy seats, cushions, beanbags. It should also have an awesome surround sound system, with my aforementioned phonograph and nespresso machine. I would probably never leave that room.

What’s on your material non-grown up Christmas list?

I wish women would become more patient, considerate, polite, or even just plain human in the MRT during rush hour. No pushing, shoving, screaming, hair-pulling (yes, i did see that once)

I wish people would not hog the poles in the MRT because for vertically challenged people like me , it’s our only lifeline

I wish people actually know and honor the “keep right” principle because not every place is a one way street. Everyone’s lives would be a tad easier if we all kept right. Promise

I wish people who ride the shuttle (or bus or jeep or any public vehicle) would not talk loudly on the phone or to each other because we don’t need to know all the gory or boring details of your lives and some of us would just like to sleep or rest our ears

I wish people would actually follow the walk/do not walk lights (what are they called anyways?) when crossing the street. Unless you’re in a medical emergency,you can wait a few seconds or even minutes. And yes, it’s for our safety right? And if you get run over coz you didn’t follow, whose fault is it again

I wish pedestrians who violate rules would also be ticketed and fined. Para fair lang sa drivers diba?

I wish people who are behind me in the escalator, in the MRT ticket line and turnstile, would respect personal space. I dont want to smell what your last meal was

What are your own commuting wishes?

REVENGE 

The first time I heard about this show, I expected it to be campy and soap opera-ish a-la Melrose Place and the likes, with a character screaming “Revenge” with an evil laugh. But this has become an instant audience favorite and is actually an intelligent, self-aware, and yes still soap opera-ish show (but in a good way). My girl crush Emily Van Camp shines as a young woman wreaking subtle but deadly, uhm, revenge on a family that destroyed her father’s life. Madeleine Stow is the cunning, manipulative matriarch of said family, and there are lots of twists and turns (and beautiful people and locations) to keep you hooked

2 Broke Girls

Not to be confused with my forever girl crush Zooey’s show New Girl (which I am still not decided if I like)

The always awesome Kat Dennings is Max, a cynical, street-smart, smart-mouthed diner waitress (is there any other kind of diner waitress) who teams up with fellow waitressa fallen from grace, dumb-blonde but Ivy League educated Caroline (played by Beth Behrs) to try and save money to put up a cupcake business. Hilarity and hijinks ensue. And they have a horse in their apartment. Funny stuff

Terra Nova

Battlestar Galactica-ish atmosphere. Dinosaurs. Utopian dystopia. Dinosaurs. Jason O’Mara. Dinosaurs. Oh, did I mention there are dinosaurs? Storytelling needs to improve a bit, and some characters I don’t really care about. But it still hooks me every week, so something is working. Maybe the dinosaurs

Suburgatory

To fill the void of Awkward (my favorite US Summer show from a few months back), this snarky father-daughter comedy is a hilarious look at suburban life (with all their jumpsuits and Red Bull lite and stupid conformity), from the point of view of two die-hard New Yorkers, the aforementioned father and daughter. It’s like Everwood without all the drama. And I think Jeremy Sisto in a comedy role is a hoot, and so far from all his dark and brooding characters

Person of Interest

I would probably watch Ben Linus, I mean, Michael Emerson in anything (even Two and a Half Men, if he decides to guest there) so it’s already a given that I would like this show. It’s hard to describe this show so I’ll just paste the opening dialogue of the show, as narrated by Ben, I mean, Mr. Finch

You are being watched. The government has a secret system–a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because…I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror but it sees everything…violent crimes involving ordinary people; people like you, crimes the government considered irrelevant. They wouldn’t act so I decided I would, but I needed a partner–someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You will never find us. But whether victim or perpetrator, if your number’s up, we’ll find you.

Oh, and Jim Caviziel is impossibly handsome

Homeland

I never thought that I would actually like anything that has Claire Danes in it (I still haven’t forgiven her for ruining Stardust for me) but she nails her role to the wall in this series. Is she paranoid/insane/psychotic (probably) or are her suspicions that newly returned POW Damien Lewis is a significant threat to national security (again, a very big probably too)? It’s like 24, but without the pace and urgency, but it’s an enjoyable and thrilling slow burn

Up All Night

Christina Applegate. Will Arnett. Maya Rudolph. And a cute baby. That’s comedy gold right there. And it’s based on the creator’s real-life experiences of going back to work at Saturday Night Live after she gave birth to her first child. Chuckles and aaawwwsss, are heard whenever i watch this

Still not sure whether I will love it til the end but im enjoying it so far:

Once Upon A Time – still 3 eps in, but looks very promising

Grimm – loved the first ep, but kinda fell asleep on the 2nd

Prime Suspect – Maria Bello’s take on Jane Timmony (popularized by Helen Mirren in the BBC miniseries) is kick-ass, but the storylines are a bit blah

American Horror Story – sometimes too scary (and too needlessly raunchy)

A Gifted Man – sometimes too sappy but Patrick Wilson is just so pretty

New Girl – Zooey Deschanel, my forever girl crush, is adorkable, but the script is sometimes trying too hard

Big disappointments:

Charlie’s Angels – not even a hot Bosley can save this for me

Pan Am – Christina Ricci, what a waste

The Playboy Club – well, my expectations weren’t that high anyways, but still such a sucky show

Hart of Dixie – trying to get by on the town’s quirky charm, but not going anywhere

Secret Circle – trying to be the next Vampire Diaries but with witches, but not appealing enough for me

And these are the songs that tell you where I am at now

Shifting Sands by Caedmon’s Call

Always, I am standing on His grace. Otherwise, if I relied on my always shaky faith, I would have long been gone.

Love Will Come to You by Indigo Girls

I am always surrounded by friends whose hearts are continually broken, and I myself will always live with a cracked heart. And this song is for all of us who still nourish that sliver of hope

Awake My Soul by Mumford and Sons

“You were meant to meet your Maker” – and yet I continually live my life as if I’m meant for other things. Sigh. Everyday, I need to “awake my soul”

C.S Lewis Song by Brooke Fraser

Again, I have to remind myself everyday that I am in this world, but I am not of this world

Lost by Coldplay

In keeping with my forever theme of lostness, “just because I’m losing, doesn’t mean I’m lost”

Restless by Switchfoot

Aside from lost, restless seems to be my default mode. And when I first heard this song, I thought Jon Foreman was personally speaking to me

1. The Sound of Music

There was a time when I was young that I watched The Sound of Music almost everyday and I could quote to you every scene and I would gladly sing to you any of the songs from the movie. My mother and brother are huge fans too, and so when we heard that there was a local production (Joana Ampil!!!), we knew we couldn’t pass this up. So yeah, tickets secured and we’re good to go on Nov 20!

2. Visual/Voices at Ayala Museum

I always love attending Ayala Museum events coz they’re very informative and interesting. This time around, it’s a talk by Spanish filmmakers Carlos Casas and Martha Atienza on filmmaking and its social impact. Should be another good one and something I can use in the classes I teach. If you’re going to be there, say hi to me coz I’ll be alone

3. Stomp! Manila ’11

I’ve always been a huge fan of Stomp and I think I had around 5 DVDs of theirs (and whoever has it, please return it to me!!!) so I’m really psyched that I can finally watch them live! They’re a percussion group, but instead of using actual drums and stuff, they use everyday things like brooms, cans, barrels, etc. I can’t really explain it, but here, just watch

4. Pelicula, Pelikula: The 10th Spanish Film Festival

I know some people find it weird that I love everything Spanish (football, food, men, the country itself and of course, films) since they were our conquerors for 300 years, but I just have a fascination with them. And yes, this year’s film line-up looks great. And yes, I will probably be able to watch only 1 or 2, but that’s okay with me, as long as I get to watch!

5. Next to Normal: The Repeat

I so regret not being able to catch this the first time around, so I will take advantage of this, even if I have to watch it alone. And judging from what my friends are saying, i will probably be bawling my eyes out the first 10 minutes or so. It’s about a woman struggling with bi-polar disorder and depression, so something I can relate to somewhat. Haha. Oh and it has Jett Pangan, one of my eternal crushes

6. Lisa Macuja’s last full-length performance

Lisa Macuja in Romeo and Juliet, dancing for the last time on stage. Bound to be nostalgic and beautiful. I’m so there. Anyone want to watch with me? I will probably cry too

7. Jason Mraz Live in Manila

Even though I’m Yours was overplayed to death and made me lose a little love for him, Jason Mraz is still one of my fave pop singer/songwriters. And this concert is promising to be an intimate special acoustic evening (although how you can be intimate in Smart Araneta is another matter altogether). Again, anyone planning to go see this?

8. Walking Dead Season 2!!!

One of my surprise fave shows from last year was this post-apocalyptic romp through zombieland. I love it not just coz of its scare factor and the awesome grossness of killing zombies, but because it has heart and a great script and deep characterization. Whoever thought that zombie killing can actually make me cry? So psyched for the second season! Oh and if you didn’t know it yet, Deputy Grimes is the guy who was in love with Kiera Knightley in Love Actually

9. THE AVENGERS TRAILER!!!!

Yes, all caps! I trust Joss Whedon and all the actors to not screw this up. Oh, and Hawkeye!!! And first look at Mark Ruffalo (another eternal crush) as The Hulk. Squee!

Captain America: Big man in a suit and armor. Take that away and what are you?

Iron Man: A genius, billionaire, playboy philantrophist

Thor: Hahahahaha

10. Liverpool v Manchester United derby on October 15

Okay, not strictly pop culture, but a big deal for me. Last season wasn’t too great for Liverpool, but this season is shaping up to be a good comeback, so bring it on Red Devils! The Reds will never walk alone!

// //

Since I haven’t had proper coffee in two days, I have to rely on music to pick me up. These are my go-to songs whenever I want to wake myself up (and sometimes, it even causes me to dance my heart out – in private, of course). It might just wake you up too!

Oh right, that was all in my head

But really, ever since I could fully grasp the idea of make-believe and reality (and even before that probably), I’ve always created stories in my head, stories that kept me company on my long bus trip daily commutes, while waiting in line at school/banks/government agencies, waiting to fall asleep and yes, while sitting on the john.

One of my favorite “storylines” in all these made-up stories is a girl, usually played by Katie Holmes or Julia Stiles or Britt Robertson (Life Unexpected girl) who is a shy, unassuming girl but possesses an outstanding voice that is discovered by the whole world when she is suddenly thrust onto the stage and delivers an unforgettable rocking performance and then slowly becomes the poster girl for girrrrl rockers.

It doesn’t take a psychology degree to conclude that I am a frustrated rocker. It’s been my ultimate dream to play the guitar and sing at the same time. But given my severe lack of hand-eye-voice coordination as evidenced by my dismal back-up guitar and vocals performance of Lovely Day, I would have to live vicariously through the fictional characters in my head.

Which brings us to the Top 7 songs my inner girl rocker performs in my head. And yes, these storylines will not win any Oscars

1. Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham

Storyline: Girl who leaves home to pursue her dream coz her parents dont understand why she wants to become a professional singer, but gives up on dream until she gets accidentally discovered

2. Let This Go by Paramore

Storyline: Girl gets her heart broken over and over by the douchebag jock until she finally breaks up with him through this song and guy realizes what a douchebag he really is

3. Bitch by Plasticines

Storyline: Girl gets back at mean girls by singing this song at the school talent show

4. Taken by Plumb

Storyline: Girl meets boy. Girls falls in love with boy. Boy dies in a horrible accident. Girl performs song at boy’s funeral

5. These Boots Are Made for Walking by Nancy Sinatra or One Way or Another by Blondie

Storyline: Karaoke scene in whatever story is in my head

6.  Someone to Fall Back On by Alyson Michalka 

Storyline: The quiet girl who can write songs but never had the guts to sing on stage until that now or never moment

7. Volcano Girls by Veruca Salt

Storyline: Everyone thinks she’s a sweet, harmless, boring little girl until she takes the stage and blasts everyone away with this ong

8. Violet by Hole

Storyline: Goody goody two shoes who rebels against her straight laced parents by singing songs like this

9. Addicted to Love cover by Florence and the Machine

Storyline: Trying to catch the attention and interest of her indie-rocker crush by doing an indie-sultry version of this Robert Palmer classic

10. Only Happy When It Rains by Garbage

Storyline: No storyline, I just love imagining my character singing her heart out to this song

So what is your inner girl rocker playlist

I wish people would stop begging celebrities to re-tweet them

…and that celebrities would actually stop re-tweeting them (unless there’s an actual cause involved)

I wish some people would not retweet everything that was tweeted to them, unless it was really funny or interesting. There’s a reason why there’s a @ reply function

I wish media outlets would verify their sources first before tweeting for the sake of being ahead of all other media outlets

I wish Twitter trolls would just go away and do something meaningful with their lives instead of wasting hours just trolling and spreading hate on people they disagree with

Facebook Wishes

I wish brands and products would stop making contests where the way to win is to get the most likes (it’s actually not allowed by Facebook, in case you didn’t know)

and I wish my friends would stop begging me to like their pictures, especially if they’re not that likeable

I wish Facebook had a filter where you could automatically hide stupid and useless posts

I wish people would use Facebook to

… actually say something meaningful that can inspire others

… start meaningful discussions that might sometimes lead to a few disagreements but at least will make people think instead of just accepting everything like robots/zombies

…inform others about things they normally wouldn’t find out (because they don’t read newspapers or even websites anymore)

…share new discoveries, new joys, new creative ideas

….instead of just heaping hate, misery, cruelty to other people

Google+ Wish

I wish more of my friends would actually go there so I can just check Facebook every once in a while na lang