let us all... Rise!

Den Standhaftige Tinsoldat

probably the only 3 Danish words i will ever come to know... it is one of Hans Christian Andersen's many beautiful works, The Steadfast Tin Soldier.


this fairy tale is about a one-legged tin soldier, who falls in love at first sight with a beautiful paper-doll ballerina. the ballerina's leg was lifted so high up in the air that the tin soldier could not find it and thought that she too had only one leg.

the story, like many other great tales of love, progresses with the tin soldier battling with all odds just to be reunited with his love... finding himself almost helpless, as he involuntarily sets out on a hard rain cruise in the outside world.

from swirling, murky, underground sub-urban waters, corrupt sewer rats, and giant fish who do not chew their food, the tin soldier manages to get back home, shaken yet relatively unscathed, to his beloved ballerina. but just when everything seemed to be okay, the child who owned the tin soldier suddenly snatched him and for no reason whatsoever, threw him into the fireplace, sending him into a blazing grave. remaining steadfast, he could only look with the saddest eyes at his beautiful ballerina, as she at him. fate, how ever twisted it may be at times, has a way of making things happen... a swift breeze sweeps the ballerina off her one-legged stance and straight into the fire she went, reunited with her brave tin soldier.


the day after, when the ashes of the fireplace were being cleaned, found was an obviously melted object, made of tin... in the shape of a little heart.

Hans Christian Andersen's works include: Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, The Princess & The Pea, The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, and many more. truly, he is one of most celebrated authors in Denmark, if not in the world. evidenced by the celebration of his 200th year birthday in Copenhagen's Parken National Stadium on the 2nd of April in 2005... the grandest of shows that included attendees such as the Danish & English royalty, and ambassadors from all over the globe.


the celebration, of course, would not be complete without an A-list line up of artists to perform and honor the memory of Hans Christian Andersen...


and that includes Safri Duo, who did their own interpretation of Den Standhaftige Tinsoldat with one of their songs, Rise (Leave Me Alone) which features Clark Anderson on vocals...




and which also happens to be one of my FAVORITE songs!
so, go figure... hehehe!

RISE Here

Per iL Mio Muse

Holiday in Your Arms


there once was a boy,
who thought he'd seen it all...

'til he saw you and said,
you felt like white christmas morn'.

he excitedly unfastened his presents, boxed-up...
and words sprung once again from his almost-empty cup.

there was no christmas tree, no tinsel, nor fancy lanterns lit...
there was only you in his eyes, and that alone, for him was fit.

you may not know him---yet, this puppet-stringged boy, who'd want to be free...
the same boy who--- from afar admires you, this same boy would be... me.

Per iL Mio Muse

i fell for The Boy that's on TV


i am, by nature, not a man of plans...
my datebook, as wide open as a right fielder...
yet, even now i try to fill it with the hypothetical you...
to pencil you in or whatever.
the Jennifer Paige on you...

Per iL Mio Muse (a Trilogy)

i...

i wish you could'a seen me today.
i wish you'd remember me too.
i wish i had the balls to ask you out.
i wish i knew what to do...



ii...

i am technically looking up
at the same sky as you...
but, i will never get to know you like they do...
this is my "once upon a time"...
and i know not when again
your eyes shall meet mine.



iii...

i was an angel in the outfield today...
swung by and dropped a song on love...
you were there without yourself...
only a trace of you,
like book marks on a shelf...
i hope you saw me, as i sped through
and really did see...
how my fondness of you
brought me home from my misery.

Cerulean Lecture

This, STUFF? Owh! Okay... I see... You think this has nothing to do with you. You, go to your closet and you select *I dunno* that lumpy blue sweater for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back... but, what you don't know is that, that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis... it's actually cerulean. And you're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar Dela Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns and then, I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, *wasn't it?* who showed cerulean military jackets... *I think we need a jacket here* and then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers... and then it filtered down through the department stores... and then trickled on down into some tragic, casual corner, where you *no doubt* fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs... and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry, when in fact, you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room... from a pile of STUFF!

Twisted Pinocchio...

i want to be a real boy...
again.

i... supposedly, miss you.

sometimes, we say "i don't know", "maybe", or even a flat "no" when what we really mean is, "yes! but first, le'mme clean my act up... so, please hold that thought & i'll be right with ya, ASAP." it's not exactly a FedEx sales pitch, but it's a work in progress if i do say so myself.

have you ever had that amazing connection (spark -even!) with a certain someone and you just knew right in your guts that you'll be happy with that person, but for reasons beyond your control, it just wasn't a good time and/or words just got (or did not get) in the way?

why can't we just say what we mean and mean what we say? when back in the caveman days, all it took were badly drawn stick people and what pretty much looked like a wild boar to say, "the hunt is on"... maybe it is better that we draw monochromatic pictures on walls when communicating... after all, a picture is worth a thousand words and that should pretty much say a lot.

but what good is a thousand or even two thousand of these words if you don't mean them? probably worth as much as a Mona Lisa postcard in a bookstore. that's her alright... the smile, hues, sfumato, and all. but the magic of that mysterious smile... the awe and wonder of being in the presence of the real Mona Lisa... is not there. much like the words, "i miss you" that are dropped out of routine or habitual response.

it is, however, pardonable... we're programmed that way. non-physical contact for varying lengths of time deemed relatively long enough by a person triggers an auto-response, i miss you.

as equals...

this world is filled with much joy to overpower one's depression...
it is, however, complemented with much more woe so as to place one on the fence.

surreal dyad...

is morning the herald of hope?
i asked...

mornings, the songs of those who look and find hope in them,
was your reply...

to which, i said...
then why do i dread the coming of light?

and you didn't respond...

i turned and walk away, disappointed.

you only dread because you refuse it...
was your resounding answer to my back.

and under my breath, i muttered...
no, it refuses me.

Dear Africa...

never believe all the negativity you see on television shows, movies, and other media. this world is not festered with hate... nor is it dominated by those whose lust for power have cost them their souls. it is not made up of 2-faced, big-haired, backstabbing, arrogant, pompous, self-serving, sons'a bitches... no no no. heed me well my dear, Africa... it is much worse.

no more...

now, there is no reason to get up...
none to go through your routine...
not a single thing to look forward to because it is all useless...

useless, from the start...
unlike your stupidity, which has afforded you your silent pain...
it is the irony of your predicament, when preservation has become your own sweet, slow torture...

and breaking free of it, your death sentence.

for you...

wrapped in my blanket, it crossed my mind...
wondered if you're wrapped in another's arms.
under this twilight, the same as yours...
my thoughts that are yours only, take flight.
you claimed me yours, one to hold and care for...
but you're not here and my heart doesn't live here anymore.

affirming my soul

i shall not wilt like any flower, a rose...
nor fade like a fallen autumn leaf.

i shall come and go like the ageless wind
and will be as i am while in an endless dream.

hate hate hate...

i hate it when it rains...
when the world is drenched in nature's tears, overwhelming everything else.

i hate the smell of smoke in the morning...
those stupidass neighbors who think burning leaves and trash actually help the environment... ugh, newsflash you shitheads?!?! NO it doesn't!

i hate loud noises that wake me from my sleep...
like the sound of construction, a marching band, or that stupidass neighbor's scooter's horn; which they always seem to have problems with, hence, the perpetual need to test it... it's not even that nice a scooter!!! it's scrap metal, you stupid fucks!

i hate waking up in the morning, crying...
it makes my eyes puffy, my nostrils snotty, and makes me see my life shitty.

above all else, i hate my heart...
for being my heart.

august is my autumn...

and one by one, the autumn leaves have now gone...
sweeped are the cares of olden days,
this playground is silent- an empty space.

the hills still sing at sunset, all my sad songs, and a sonnet...
between the hours of sleep and wakefulness,
i await only in stillness.

show me likey!

take 10 aspiring models...

house 'em all together in South Beach Miami's beachfront...
let the flirtations fly...
as insecurities bubble up to the surface...
and rising stars shine...



take a look behind all the glamour and fame of the beauty industry...
and see that models are people too...


MTV's 8th & Ocean...

info-Blog mode...

what is Umami?

elementary science speaks of 4 basic tastes... sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. however, with advancing scientific research, a fifth (and even a sixth) basic taste has been recognized.





this is umami. coming from the japanese word, "umami", the kanji characters of which, literally mean "delicious food"...








umami corresponds to the taste sensation produced by the free glutamates commonly found in fermented and aged foods. examples include the following: parmesan and roquefort cheese, soy sauce, and fish sauce.

it is also found in significant amounts in various unfermented foods like walnuts, grapes, broccoli tomatoes, and mushrooms, and to a lesser degree in meat.

there is still much scientific dispute as to whether basic tastes exist per se or are simply an overly reductionist concept, but hey... it's food. it should be all good.


aegis ... A.E.G.I.S.


it would make much sense why the anime, Gate Keepers, has such an acronym for their organization...






in the Iliad, aegis is the shield or buckler of Zeus, which according to Homer, was fashioned for him by Hephaestus, furnished with golden tassels and bearing the gorgon Medusa's head in the center.










also appearing in other literatures such as norse, egyptian, and roman mythologies, the aegis takes several forms and shapes but still symbolizing one thing... a shield.



















as well it should, for in modern english, aegis means a shield, protection, or sponsorship, thus derived from Zeus' protective shield.







in the anime universe, A.E.G.I.S. means, Alien Exterminating Global Intercept System... the Earth's first and last line of defense against robotic aliens referred to as, Invaders.






relying on the special abilities of its agents known as Gate Keepers, who have the power to open dimensional gates of paranormal energy, A.E.G.I.S. keeps the world havoc free for mankind.






the Trigram...





a trigram may either refer to the special case of N-grams, having ordered triplets of letters... or it may refer to the ancient Chinese philosophical concept of the Bagua.








the bagua, is a fundamental philosophical concept in ancient China with an octagonal diagram having a trigram on each side.



it is applied not only to the Chinese Taoist thought and the I Ching, but also in other domains of Chinese culture, such as fengshui, navigation, martial arts, and so on.





a popular anime series nowadays has characters utilizing this trigram concept... the Hyuuga clan from Konoha. one gifted Hyuuga gennin in particular, Neji.




in the 3rd Naruto: Narutimate Hero PS2 game, Neji exhibits the Hyuuga clan's most powerful jutsu...


Hakke Sanbyaku Rokujuichi Shiki
(literally meaning, Eight Trigrams Three Hundred Sixty-One Style)


also be interpreted as,
"Divine Three Hundred Sixty-One Strikes"
and "361 Hands of Hakke".











the technique is designed to strike each of the body's 361 tenketsu (chakra holes), directed at a single, humanoid opponent, instantly killing with the final blow.







by concentrating all of the chakra into the 2 palms of the hands, the user will be able to strike each tenketsu precisely, thus, immobilizing an opponent with every hit. being an extreme jutsu on its own, the attacks in this technique are excuted with speed that could match that of the Initial Lotus'.