Short break muna from my PhilPop series.
I had not had a McDo burger in a while. Mc Donald's really has become more of my emergency go-to resto, my last resort when there are no other options. Well, this is one of those times I'm in a bit of hurry, so I just drove through for my early lunch and ordered McDonald's Big N'Tasty Burger, which some friends had recently told me about. And they were right: masarap nga siya! Definitely better than the other McDo burgers. At mabigat! Well, my appetite has shrunk a bit because of recent weight loss efforts (that have paid off - but more on this later), so maybe it's part of the reason I couldn't finish my meal. But I do think they've really put in more meat, or better meat. Tama yung description na para siyang cross between a Big Mac (its having lettuce, etc) and a Quarter Pounder, as it has just one patty, pero mabigat na patty. It can be ordered as a meal (with fries and a drink) or a la carte. I regret not going a la carte. Not because the fries and drink were bad, but because even just the small (regular) fries and drink were too much for me, given how heavy the burger was. I think for "regular" eaters though, they'll be happy that this meal won't be "bitin." The burger tastes much better, too. Next time I'll probably just go a la carte for P120 because it's all I can finish. If your appetite isn't small, it's P145 with a small drink and fries, a little more for an upgrade. Try it and see what you think.
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I bought mine the day it came out, which was the day of our technical rehearsals at PICC, one day before Finals Night. I couldn't wait to hear what songs I was up against. I'll admit I felt my chances of winning slipping away. LOL! All the songs were well written and well produced. I was so impressed with my competition! 14 good songs and only 3 winners. Having had the experience of screening songs and judging in other contests, I can be really objective and not be influenced by knowing who wrote the songs. And there were at least 6 songs other than mine that I would pick out to fill those 3 winning slots. Not a good feeling to have the day before the competition! But boy did I feel proud to be part of such a collection of new songs.
Let me say a little something about each song in the album. 3am by Keiko Necesario. 1 of only 2 English songs in the album, written by the only other female composer in the competition. Fresh, radio-friendly, current, easy on the ears and very honest. Bawa't Hakbang by Karl Villuga. Beautiful message coming from a sincere place, simple but effective arrangement by Arnold Buena, it soared at the right moment. Early on I told Karl "Afraid ako sa kanta mo." I thought it could win and I was right. Bigtime by me! Mel Villena did a fabulous job arranging this for me and I had the best vocalists (Baihana) and cream of the crop jazz musicians from the AMP Big Band record for me. A dream come true to have this under my belt now. Brown by James Leyte. Loved that it had a story/scenario that was painted clearly. Great vocals by the composer himself and wonderful reggae performance by Brownman Revival. Dulo Ng Dila by Noah Zuñiga. Well-written song that I love singing along to, and vocalists Jay R and Deejay Poblete sang so well without oversinging, I loved the stylizing they did. Clear message, great lines, one of my faves in the album. Himig Ng Panahon by Thyro Alfaro. Thyro's the youngest contestant at age 20. I thought the lyrics were very skillfully written, lots of internal rhyming, which is hard to do. Catchy melody too, great singing and harmonies. This was another song I thought could win. Kesa by Edwin Marollano. Definitely a favorite of mine from the collection. Loved the feel and groove of the song, and this Daniel Gorospe guy can really sing and put in all sorts of emotions. I love the song's positive message (and I find myself singing it to myself when having a bad day), love the production, love it, love it! If I had been one of the judges, this would have been one of my winners. Kontrabida by Soc Villanueva. Listening to the first couple of minutes of the song for the first time, I thought the song was nice at best. Well crafted, as Soc's songs always are, but so-so in appeal because I couldn't see yet where the song was going. And then I heard the bridge. "Ako ang dating bida sa puso mo/ Dahil sa pesteng bagong bida, ako ngayon ang kontrabida." Oh. My. God. "Walanghiya ka, Soc!" I told him shortly before the announcement of winners. Brilliant twist there. He deserved to win. Minsa'y Isang Bansa by Gary Granada. Well, it's Gary Granada so how can you go wrong? The guy is a genius! I must say there are other Gary G works I like better ("Saranggola Sa Ulan" is my favorite), but I love the chord progression of this song and of course the words were well-written - another Gary G masterpiece. Negastar by Mike Villegas. The first time I heard the song in full was at band rehearsals and I just had to applaud. Loved Cathy Go's raspy vocals and told Mike I loved the song's modulation. "Huwag kang Negastar" - definitely a line we'd all find ourselves telling certain people we know. Right? Piso by Krist Melecio. One of the songs with the strongest hooks. I was already singing the chorus after our Press Conference in June! I love the heavy world music drums. Joey Ayala was perfect for the song - you would think he might have written it himself. Slowdancing by Kennard Faraon. Perhaps rather simple sounding to a not-so-trained ear but I actually loved the chord progression used. It's not the usual 4 chords people pick out to loop for a song like this. Takusa by Byron Ricamara. First time I heard just the chorus at the presscon it made me laugh. And then I listened to the song in full for the first time when I bought the CD and found myself laughing again. Tayo-Tayo Lang by Toto Sorioso. I first met Toto about 12 years ago. He was a fellow finalist for Himig Handog Sa Bayaning Pilipino in 2000. Toto was a newbie then, but since that time he's won the Grand Prize in the FILSCAP songwriting contest and now 2nd Prize for PhilPop. Don't let his shy and can't-hurt-a-fly demeanor fool you. He's a force to reckon with! A great performer too! And what a song. Inspired by his experience of lonely gigs where practically everyone has already left. Beautiful song, heartfelt singing by Ebe Dancel, wonderful arrangement and production. Listen to a sampler of the whole album here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4044938434233 The album is available in Odyssey and Astro stores. You can also purchase online here: http://www.mymusicstore.com.ph/album/baihana/1019833/Philippine_Popular_Music_Festival_2012:_The_Fourteen_Finalists.html Buy a copy now and please help support OPM. This album's worth your money, I promise. I use my iPad for mainly 2 things: as a sheet music browser (particularly for choral singing) using the ForScore app, and as a tablet to scribble on, a replacement for my various notebooks (my datebook, scratch paper for minutes, writing lyrics, even sketching) using such apps as Penultimate, Noteshelf and Adobe Ideas. For this latter function (which has been life changing and a source of joy to me), a stylus has been a necessity. I had purchased the Pogo Sketch Stylus in San Francisco (even before I bought my iPad!) upon recommendation by my good friend Denise who said it was the best stylus available and I could see why she thought it was: I've seen other styli and some or most of them (including one I regret purchasing for my dad because it was the cheapest I could find) have a tip that feels like a pencil eraser which doesn't glide on the iPad surface as smoothly as that of the Pogo, whose tip feels more like mesh or a piece of foam. It's also very slim and lightweight... ...and so, although I haven't really used any other brand, I do think this is the best stylus brand.
I had gone to the Apple store in Megamall a couple or so times and found other stylus brands for sale but none of them had this foam-like tip, and I was surprised at how expensive these styli were (they cost about PhP800 or more!) I told myself I'd better take extra care not to lose my stylus. And so I semi-freaked out when I couldn't find my one and only stylus a few days ago. I've looked in the only 2 bags they could have possibly been in and couldn't find it. =( Must have dropped it somewhere after ACS rehearsals. I rushed to Google and kept my fingers crossed as I typed in the words "pogo sketch stylus sale philippines"... these words did not yield results months ago when I wanted to buy for my dad but maybe, just maybe, this time I'd get lucky. And I did! Someone from Cebu sells them for just P400 a piece! I ordered 3 pieces (2 for me, one for my dad), paid through my Paypal account and they arrived today via Air21 just 2 days after I ordered them. I can now breathe a sigh of relief. My iPad life goes on. ;-P So if any of you are iPad users and want a good stylus, I recommend the Pogo Sketch Stylus and if you'd like to purchase it for about half the price of styli sold in malls, click HERE. |
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My name is Trina Belamide and I'm a songwriter and record producer.
GreatSongsToSing is my online store and I thank you for dropping by! Do comment on my blog posts. I'd love to hear from you! Learn more about me on www.trinabelamide.com. Archives
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