Auditions for Hongkong Disneyland Performers on July 16 and 17

I received this note in my email twice, so now I feel compelled to blog about it. Hahaha!

Around 5 years ago, I would have auditioned, if just for the heck of it. I did for Miss Saigon Korea, and actually got a callback. :p I sang "Why, God, Why?" I did well enough, I guess, but couldn't impress the panel for the dance auditions. Hehehe...

Now, the first time I auditioned for a play outside of UP and of the UPCC was for Repertory Philippines' "The Secret Garden." I sang "Lily's Eyes," a duet. For that, I also got a callback and a semi-compliment from the late Bibot Amador (on my way out of the theater she asked me if I was going to the "callback", and I said yes). Too bad I did poorly at the callbacks, forgot the words both times I sang it. :p Haha!

Even if I never fulfilled my dream to be a professional thespian (see Profile: "...frustrated thespian") I had tremendous fun auditioning for these plays, and now remember fondly how nervous and excited I was during the auditions and how great it was to get a thumbs up afterwards. At the end of the day though, I knew that it wasn't for me, I am happier being a nerd than a rockstar. :p So as it turned out, not being hired was perfect for me! Hehe!

But for the rest of you out there who "dream the dream", get your dancing shoes and vocal chops ready! Mickey wants you in his Kingdom!

Here are the details of the Hongkong Disneyland Auditions:

In partnership with The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab,

representatives from Walt Disney Entertainment Talent Casting will be holding auditions in Manila searching for Vocalists and Dancers to perform at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Professional performers at least 18 years old who possess both excellent musicianship and showmanship are being sought in auditions that will be held on the following dates:

VOCALIST AUDITIONS

Vocalists should bring sheet music of two contrasting songs.
Pre-recorded accompaniments in any format and a cappella are not allowed.
10:00 a.m., July 16, 2009 (Thursday)
The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab, Robinsons Galleria

DANCER AUDITIONS

Dancers will be taught a dance combination. Wear appropriate dance attire.
9:00 a.m., July 17, 2009 (Friday)
Halili-Cruz School of Ballet, 1227 Quezon Avenue


Pre-registration is now going on!!!

Please bring one non-returnable recent 2" x 2" colour photo and resume to:

The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab
Park Avenue, Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Ave. cor. EDSA, 1100 Quezon City
Telephone: 637-9840 and 914-5055 / E-mail: auditionsmanila@gmail.com

For more information concerning Hong Kong Disneyland, please visit: http://www.hongkongdisneyland.co/

ps. this is not a paid advertisement!

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Tali Beach, Nasugbu, Batangas

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If you have inquiries about the Tali Beach private resort featured here, text or call the owners at 361-7091 or 0917-8828760 or email them at talibeach[at]gmail.com - Tell them you got their contact info from Reyjr.com! :D
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It was Liz's department outing, and I was one of the designated drivers! Hehehe. The tradeoff: 2 days on a private resort on Tali Beach, Nasugbu, Batangas, with hotelier people who have great taste, great skills in the kitchen, and a ton of hilarious hotel stories. The 2 hour drive up was worth it. :D

Squeezing in some Tali Beach time

It was my first time in Tali Beach, and actually also my first time on a beach resort in Nasugbu. I know Nasugbu only for the wedding chapels, haha; a whole lot of my colleagues have gotten married in Caleruega, Chapel on the Hill and thereabouts, so I was pretty familiar with the place. :p

We were there on June 12 and 13. A sliver of one of the shortest summers I've ever experienced. During our stay, the sun was tucked away for the most part, although we did get to swim for about an hour or so. Liz's colleagues prepared several games for the group. I am always amused at how game everyone is in their team and I like it that they create the fun for themselves and for everybody. I think it's an important lesson, that even in a corporate setting, with hierarchies of positions and office politics, that it shouldn't prevent you from enjoying yourself and participating in a few games. Besides, everyone needs a bit of fun!

Tali Beach Resort - Holding Hands While Walking

At dusk, we walked around the short beach and "visited" the neighbors. We found the whole beach actually had a row of vacation houses, most probably for rent. It was a nice enough place, although if you're after sand, there's not a lot of that. It's not comparable to the white sand beaches of Boracay or Puerto Galera in the vicinity of the place we stayed at, but rather I would describe the beach as private and relaxing, very well suited for big families that are not much on swimming, but more on spending quality time together, in a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Tali Beach Resort - Non Stop Eating! 

True to form, the food was always exquisite, although I probably gained over 10 pounds in those 2 days, with nothing to do but sit, eat, drink, relax, talk, and sleep. Hehe. Well, I'm not complaining. I had a great relaxing time.Before we left, we bought ourselves some lobsters straight from the fisherman's net. It was quite pricey at Ph600 per lobster, but I figured it would probably cost a lot more at the Market in Manila.

On the way down, we stopped by Tagaytay for lunch then stopped again at Ming's garden for some Yellow Bells and some hanging plants.


Click on the photos to view full sized.

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Vote for me on MTV Blogger Contest

Sure, we want the best of both worlds: we want lots of money and musical independence. But can you have both?

Being an indie band offers freedom to decide what musical direction to take, which songs to release, how and where to promote your music. The advent of internet sites like iTunes, MySpace and YouTube have also allowed more indie artists to "earn from their living rooms" than ever before. So as an indie artist, you should first as yourself, do you really need to be under a major label..


Read the full post on the MTV.com site by clicking here: Indie artists: Pragmatism in the face of adversity!

and please VOTE for me by clicking the THUMBS UP symbol on there. Hehehe!

Thanks in advance! :D


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"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Funk" and other funky movies

A Theme Thursday post

We used to play this hilarious game where we replaced words in movie titles with the word "itlog" or "egg" in English. Now, let's try it for the word "funk", replacing words in the worldwide top grossing movies of all time (as of end June 2009!)

#1 (1997) "Titanic Funk" - hm.. it's one word!
#2 (2003) "The Lord of the Rings: Return Funk of the King" - hahahaha!
#3 (2006) "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Funk" - he's dead already!
#4 (2008) "The Dark Knight Funk" - why is it dark? on second thought, I don't want to know...
#5 (2001) "Harry Funk Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" - can you imagine if J.K. Rowling named the lead character Funk instead of Harry?
#6 (2007) "Pirates Funks of the Caribbean: At World's End" - or Punks. hahaha, maybe the writer had a bad case of "P & F syndrome".
#7 (2007) "Harry Potter and the Order of the Funk" - yah man @ Harry.
#8 (2002) "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Funky Towers" - I wonder what funky towers look like? Maybe there's a huge photo of James Brown on the facade!
#9 (1999) "Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace Funk" - it goes together right? Phantom Phunk! cool..
#10 (1993) "Jurassic Funk Park" - OK, i can't think of anything witty (and wholesome) for this one...

Other notable titles:
#12 "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Funk" - erm... eherm... this is a wholesome blog!
#38 "Kung Fu Panda Funk" - and the protagonist fights using funky dance moves lol!
#57 "WALL FUNK-E" - yeah! funky baby!
#150 "My Big Fat Greek Wedding Funk"
#176 "The Curious Case Funk of Benjamin Button"
#190 "As Good Funk as it Gets"

What's your favorite movie? Replace one word with "Funk" and see what you come up with! Share it in the comments box below!

Interested to see the full list of highest grossing movies worldwide? They're monitored by The Numbers! Check 'em out.

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Short Signatures for your BlackBerry emails

I was inspired by a quick rhyming snippet from a friend's email signature sent via BlackBerry, she wrote:

"Apologies for the brevity - this was sent on a BlackBerry"

So c'mon! Do away with the boring "Sent via BlackBerry" generic signature, and make a new signature today! Hehe. So here are few of my own suggestions for use as your Black Berry email signature. I don't have a BlackBerry myself, but am welcome to receiving one as a gift. Here goes...

1. The same message above in Haiku form:

"My apologies
for the brevity, 'tis sent

via BlackBerry!"

2. For the people on the go: "In my office, I am not. From my BlackBerry this was shot."
3. This one's a bit long.. but what the heck. If you're into Shakespear maybe?

"I shall never dare be late, answering thine mail, post haste!
So from mine fine BlackBerry, I have sent this note to thee!"

4. If you don't like work emails to follow you: "Since I got this BlackBerry, emails keep on following me!"

5. If you like hip-hop: "Sent ya this 'mail foo! From mah BB, cool!"

6. If you're a sweet little farmgirl: "Short and sweet from my BlackBerry, Lots of love from my cow, Bessy!"

7. If you're Pinoy: "Galing sa Maitim-na-Ubas, sagot ko'y maikli man ngunit makatas." wahaha! (Direct translation: "Coming from my BlackBerry, my answer is brief but juicy")

Come up with your own and post it in the comments section below! Haha!

Photo from here.
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"I miss those lovely days of..."

A Theme Thursday post

"Good day sunlight, I'd like to say how truly bright you are..."

Summer ended early in the Philippines this year. Too early! It was only the beginning of May when the first typhoon arrived and a storm warning signal was declared over parts of the Philippines. Now as I type this post, typhoon Feria (local name) is raging outside my window...

Next week it will be July. That means hoping for a bright sun shiny day is over, summer has lost to rain. This battle is now over. Soon the rains will completely take over: the skies will be dark for most of the day, the stars at night hidden by the dark clouds.

"You don't know me, but I know you, see, you're my favorite star..."

I miss the summer, when the sun is out and up. I miss the beach at summertime, when the sand and the water is warm and the nights a cool respite. I miss having ice cream and halo-halo to cool off. I miss not needing to bring an umbrella every time I leave the house (I keep losing it :p). I miss not having muddy floors to wipe. I miss jogging at sunset.

"..who needs shelter from the sun? Nothing, no, not anyone..."

What do you miss most about the summer?


Quotations are lyrics from "Who Needs Shelter" by Jason Mraz. If you like Jason Mraz, here's his blog, "Freshness Factor Five Thousand"

When I used to sing

"...biyayang bigay na galing sa Diyos..."

I stumbled upon this youtube "video" of a recording of a song I did way back when i was still in the University. It's called "Lagi na Lang" ("As Always") and was written and composed by Pastor Norman Dagdag, Drums, Acoustic Taylor guitar, and sound engineering by Mr. Ike Heredia, Mixed and Recorded @ STUDIO 7 Grand Villas, Quezon City.

Lead vocals and back-up vocals by your truly. :D
This was 2nd of 3 songs we recorded, and was the most fun to do. Haha!

Hope you watch and leave a comment!




A quick translation for non-Filipinos:

I hear your voice, and I am with you
You bring treasures overflowing
I am thankful for all the blessings that come
You show a path that is true
You care for and protect me
Day and night you love me

Your power moves my life
Your blessing are never ending
Always, for always




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First trailer! "The Last Airbender" is coming next year!

I have not been this excited for a movie in a long time. Haha! Around this time last year they announced that there will be a movie version of the Emmy award winning cartoon series from Nickelodeon, Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was really excited I blogged about it too. Now they've released the first trailer for the first movie of the trilogy! (Guys, seriously, this is sooo much better than that vampire movie thingy. Hehe!) The first movie is set for July 2, 2010. It will be titled "The Last Airbender" because some other movie was named "Avatar" already. I can't wait! This will be awesome. (Think, Lord of the Rings.)

I pray they won't make the same mistakes they made for "Dragon Ball Z" (like hire a white dude to play an asian dude). M. Night Shyamalan who will write, direct and produce, better not mess this up!

And by the way, Dev Patel of "Slumdog Millionnaire" fame will be playing Zuko. Hehe! That will be cool.

Anyway, the trailer looks awesome. Check it out here..




Woot! Woot! Excited!


Photo from here.
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Latest: The Philippines has first swine flu (Influenza A H1N1)-related fatality

About an hour ago, DOH announced the Philippines' first fatality related to swine flu or Influenza A H1N1 virus.

The 49-year-old woman from Metro Manila died from congestive heart failure (the blood passageway to her heart was blocked), but was discovered after she had died that she was infected with the swine flu virus. Her death is the first reported fatality related to Influenza A (H1N1).

Her husband and son are currently quarantined, and DOH is doing a contact tracing of the family.
Meanwhile, several more schools have suspended classes due to the outbreak. The Philippines reportedly has the highest number of infections in the South East Asian region.

Sources linked after the jump...

Sources:
GMA - DOH announces first death in RP linked to A(H1N1)
ABS-CBN - RP confirms first A (H1N1) death
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This report got me really worried. And this swine flu is really making me paranoid. Last week my girlfriend was sick, turned out it was common flu. And this weekend, my mom was bed-ridden with fever and cough. She's much better now, no more fever, but we're still monitoring it.

Stay healthy everyone.

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The politics of Political ads

I've read a lot of posts ranting about the Political ads running on TV like the one above of Manny Villar, and the one on this blog, of Mar Roxas. Bloggers like Adaphobic are lashing out at the audacity of using money for TV ads instead of for helping the poor...

Here's my 2 cents...

It's like Affiliate Marketing

Sure you, and me, and a lot of the bloggers are, as you say, "cringing every time we watch these ads", but let's keep in mind, even though we are part of the voting population, these ads are not meant for us - it is meant more so for the majority of the voting population, i.e. the people with nary a dime but have talking boxes in their 2x2 meter living rooms (which also double as a bedroom at night).

They are the people who will go, "ay, talagang para sa mahirap itong si Manny Villar!" every time they watch these ads.

And THEY have the power to put a President in office.

Now, my intention is not to demean poor people (or even those who claim to represent them), I am no way saying they are ignorant or incapable. My point is, simply, that these politicians are marketing themselves - and their target audience is the voting majority.  They are using the most powerful tools at their disposal to "sell their product", and from a marketing perspective, they are doing quite well.



We could probably guess Manny Villar is NOT the type who goes around (in full make-up) helping people on the streets, or riding pedicabs (ibang candidate yata yun?). But you would probably say, I know he is a good leader, a good man - and so let's do whatever is necessary to help get him to the Palace.

And this is it, my friend. This is it.
Imagine if your were Manny Villar or Mar Roxas' Public Relations agent or Campaign Manager - how far would you go to promote him to the public at large?

And one final disclaimer, I am NOT for Manny Villar nor Mar Roxas nor any other candidate for the moment. I'll reserve my judgment for later.


But what do YOU think?



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How far will you go to put your candidate in office?

UP is Top University in the Philippines in QS Top University Rankings 2009

No surprises there, the University of the PHILIPPINES (ehem...my alma mater...ehem) is still the top University/College in the Philippines, ranking #63 in the 2009 "Top 200 Asian Universities" of QS.com Top Universities. It is tied at 63 with Universitas GADJAH MADA of Indonesia.

Other Philippine Universities that ranked are the De la Salle University #76, the Ateneo de Manila University #84, and the University of Santo Tomas #144.

According to the site, this is the first regional ranking from QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd, the compilers of the Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings. Previously published rankings were all Global rankings. In the 2008 Global ranking, UP ranked #276, a big jump from the previous year's #398 ranking.

The 2009 Top Asian Universities are as follows...
#1 University of HONG KONG Hong Kong
#2 The CHINESE University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
#3 University of TOKYO Japan
#4 HONG KONG University of Science and Technology Hong Kong
#5 KYOTO University Japan
#6 OSAKA University Japan
#7 KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Scie... Korea, South
#8 SEOUL National University Korea, South
#9 TOKYO Institute of Technology Japan
#10 National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore, tied with
#10 PEKING University China

For the full ranking, visit QS.com Top Universities.


*A quick note on the attached video: The UP Concert Chorus singing UP's alma mater song, UP Naming Mahal. It is taken from BUKLOD TANGI VCD, produced by UP Dilliman Office of the Vice Chancellor, Chancellor, and the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA). Copyright 2001. All rights reserved.

P.S. I was part of the group that recorded it! But didn't make it to the shooting of the video. :(

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I'm on http://twitter.com/reyjrdotcom

I didn't think I would make one, but after reading an article on Time magazine, I was convinced.
So here's me:

Follow me on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/reyjrdotcom

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My (lousy) Pussycat Dolls in Manila Concert Experience

On June 11, Liz, Bing and I went to the Mall of Asia concert grounds to see us some dolls: some Pussycat Dolls.

We had scored some discounted tickets c/o Clear shampoo, went on leaves from work, rocked sexy outfits (the ladies only hehe) and made our way, (the first time for me) to the Mall of Asia. We didn't have a hard time finding it at all, it's kind of hard to miss with that huge globe. Anyway, if you need directions, just leave a comment, I give OC directions. Haha.

Anyway, we arrived at around 5 in the afternoon, already a bit late from the 3pm we originally planned. Luckily, a lot of people also had the same idea as most of them arrived at 7pm!

Not to say that there weren't a lot of people already. There were several lines already beside the entrances, one for VIP, 1 for Gold, 2 lines for Silver and one major line for Bronze. I was actually beginning to get pissed because the lines were so disorganized and the guards and the bouncers were doing nothing to organize the lot. When we were about to enter, there was this one guard who was making us separate into a line for males and a line for females. I'm like, we'll we've lined up "mixed" and nobody was organizing so don't start organizing just when we're about to enter the gates! :p Good thing Liz was there to stop me from going ballistic on the poor dude.

Anyhow, I also didn't have time to do my litany because they were letting us in already, it was just before 6pm then. We got in, picked a good spot, then I went to get us some snacks, there was Itallianis, Fish & Co. and other stalls offering finger-snacks.

I forgot to mention that this concert was the first ever concert that I watched. Unfortunately, it kind of traumatized me enough to not want to watch another concert in the near future... here's why...

We got a good place to stand, right at the barricade for "Silver", a bit on the right side, but there were no chairs, so we were standing there the whole time, being squished by people from all sides.

QYORK and the Philippine All Stars were the front act (we thought it would be Lady Gaga). They were fine, except for that one guy singing the melody, or some sort of melody which I couldn't really understand. They were a bit boring. :p The Philippine Allstars, I was already a fan of, so I enjoyed their bit even though I couldn't really see any dance moves from that far away. It was then that I realized that I wasn't going to enjoy the concert at all. We were not the farthest from the stage, but we were far enough. The PCD would be just as big as grasshoppers (not ants hehe), and we won't be able to see their sexy dance moves. Damn it. :p

At around 9PM, the Pussycat Dolls went onstage (mind you, we've already been standing for over 3 hours by then!) and they were awesome. There was one missing Doll, red-haired Jessica was in the US because of a dancing injury, but the rest of them were there in high adrenaline and giving a great show.

They sang all their hits: Don't Cha, When I Grow Up, Stick Wit You, Buttons, Beep, and loads more. I was trying my best to enjoy the concert ('coz we did pay for it right?), I tried to move with the music but couldn't because I was being squished by everyone from all sides. I was behind Liz, and we were just swaying a little bit to what the space allowed us to sway.

But the worst part of it really for me was this girl who was right behind me, singing to every song... OUT OF TUNE. I mean, c'mon, it's great that you know all their songs, and it's okay to sing because it's fun, but SHOUTING in my ear is not fun for me at all. And this went on for the WHOLE duration of the concert. She did not miss one note, not one.

On the other end, the BEST part of the show for me was the part when part-Filipino, part-German, part-Hawaiian, American Nicole Scherzinger, lead Pussycat Doll, said in a sort of teary-eyed, i-feel-a-lump-in-my-throat way, "I'm really proud to be... to be... ... Filipina.." which of course elicited cheers from the throng. It was so dramatic it was kind of hard to watch. Haha! Nevertheless, we are proud of you Nicole! We really are!

Just makes you wonder though, does she also say that when she's in Germany? heh heh heh...

After all of that was over, we were so tired we didn't even stay to watch the fireworks display. We went straight to the hotdog stand, then to the toilet, then to the car and to bed. lol.

Might be a while before I go to watch another open air concert.





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