Yap... I guess I've fulfilled my own prophecy. Just look at my last few entries! They're all about this movie and that song. This blog has become one highly subjective list of pop culture reviews! Guess I better start posting more personal stuff then. C'est parti!

It seems I'm gonna be out of job soon. But most likely I'll get the job back pretty soon as well ^_^, don't ask me.. this is how the administration work. Basically the place where I work at is run with the fund that has to be approved by the president. For the past 6 months, we have been going on a month-by-month basis since the Congress still hasn't approved the actual proposal. So at the end of each month, we would get an e-mail teling as the situation (it goes something like this: we run on this budget, the pres. has to approve it, if it doesn't get approved we might have to shut down agencies depended on it), and another one saying that the President has approved the extension for another month. What's different now is, it's already the end of the month, and we've already got the no budget e-mail, but it's 1.5 hours away from the close of business and no e-mails in sight. So, the institution I work for might not exist anymore tomorrow which also means I don't have to come in. But, apparently, this wouldn't be the first time it has happened, so the extension might get approved on Friday, then life as we know it would resume on Tuesday.

*Wait!* My co-worker just told me there's an broadcast e-mail. Everyone opened it in anticipation..... and it turned out to be just another announcement about the new building they're building at the Waterfront.

Well, well, apparently the pop/classical crossover phenomenon has indeed crossed the Atlantic. In the UK (always the first to catch American bugs), there were smash hit debut albums by Il Divo and G4 plus Charlote Church just released a pop-rock top 40 single. Now, the trend just crossed la manche for France. Florent Pagny, one of the the country's biggest male singers, just released a pop-classical album, entitled « Baryton ». Both the album and the first single « Io le canto per te (Italian for I sing it for you) » went to number one on the SNEP charts (singles, albums).

He's actually one of the senior artists in France, and he sings chanson française, the typical musical style of French singers in the 80's and early 90's. He could be called a veteran singer if he's not still so productive. I was completely taken aback when I sample his latest album (was released back in 2004 - i definitely need to get back up to date with the music industry!) because it was so different from her old musical style yet sounded so natural to him.

And of course, this discovery intitiated a string of calls to all record stores in the DC metro. And as expected, I hanged up the last call empty-handed. Neither the national chains (Tower Records, Barnes & Noble) nor the local specializing-in-imports stores have it. I guess my only option would be to order it online from Canada or France.

io le canto per te
nel paradiso degli dei / immaginarti io potrei / come colomba bianca tu / e ti amo
in the paradise of the gods / i can picture you / like a white dove / and i love you
sei sortilegio sei magia / la mia piu dolce melodia / e che ti adoro bimba mia / non é strano
you're a spell, magic / my softest melody / and how i adore you, child / it's not strange
troppo lungo questo tempo / cosi forte il sentimento / quando sei lontana / mi tormento, io
time is too long / feelings are so strong / when you are far / it torments me
le canzoni mie piu belle / sono ancora e sempre quelle / che raccontano / l'amore mio per te
my most beautiful songs / are still and always be those / that tell about my love for you
nel paradiso degli dei / cosi dipingerti vorrei / come regina sei per me / delicata
in the paradise of the gods / oh how i would like to paint you / as you are the queen for me / delicate
e la passione che ho per te / quando ti guardo e penso che / la mia bambina resti tu / la mia fata
is the passion that i have for you / when i look at you and i think / stay, child / my fairy
e oggi le canto per te...
and today, i sing this for you

I guess, it's about time I consider about going to an SA nearby. Shakiholic Anonymous that is, since it's been more than a week that I've been listening religiously to her latest album. The more I listen to, the more addicted I become. I did finally manage to open Coldplay's X&Y which I bought at the same time, even though it was a good album, but I still can't help grabbing Shakira's album on the way out instead of the Brit lads'. I still sing along to La Tortura, feel melancholic when listening the acoustic version of La Pared, and envy Antonio everytime I listen to Dia de Enero.

I know I said that Obtener un Sí was the disc's gem but lately I've found myself loving Dia de Enero more. I still think the bossanova song was a breakthrough for Shakira, but while her bebel gilberto chanelling was perfect, it didn't have the smile-inducing effect the Antonio-dedicated song has. If I were him, I would've had to hold back my tears when listening to this verse:
"Y aunque hayas sido un extranjero hasta en tu propio país / Si yo te digo ¿como dices tu? / Tu aún dices ¿que decís? / Y lloras de emoción oyendo un bandoneón"
"even if you're a stranger in your own country / when i said 'how do you say?' / you still say 'what did you say?' (argentinean accent) / and you cried when listening to the bandoneon"

Short linguistics note to explain the how do you say/what did you say thing. Like French, Spanish has two words that means you: tú and vosotros (vos) with each its own conjugation form. While all through Latin America people use tú when speaking with someone close and vosotros otherwise, Argentines use vos (a shortened form of vosotros with identical conjugation) all the time. So this is what the lyrics meant: Shakira said it using tú conjugation and Antonio would reply using vos. It might just be the linguist in me, but I think she's a genius!

obtener un sí to obtain a 'yes'

ay, ay, como muero por ti
oh, how i die for you
como poder olvidarte
how can i forget you
basta que me enamores
you only need to win my heart
o que me mandes flores
or to send me flowers
para obtener un sí
to obtain a 'yes'

ya tengo ojeras de tanto mirarte
i've already got dark circles from staring you too much
y lo peor es que aún me queden tantas ganas de...
and the worst part is that i still long to ...
esperarte
wait for you
hasta que entiendas que
until you understand that
te quiero porque eres claro, claro
i love you because you are as real as
como la planta de mis pies
the soles of my feet
como el amor después de hecho
love after making it
como tu voz y tu piel
your voice and your skin

I've finally got my hands on a copy of Shakira's latest album — the first part of her « Fijación Oral / Oral Fixation » double album. In a move that arguably the first in the music industry, she is planning to release a truly bilingual double-album. The first part (a.k.a. the Spanish part), « Fijación Oral Volumen 1» was released last week and it's a truly latin release with all the credits and prints of the album in Spanish. November will see the release of the other half — the English part — of the album, aptly titled: « Oral Fixation Volume II ».

I'm so glad that not only has she returned to her musical style before « Laundry Service » happened, she has obviously grown as a musician: proven by
the unbelievably rich collection of genres in the album. The album showcases Shakira's versatility from eighties latinpop à la Sentidos Opuestos (Las De La Intuición) to the devil-may-care style of Julieta Venegas (En Tus Pupilas) to Bebel Gilberto's bossanova (Obtener Un Sí) to classic rock ñ in a duet with Alejandro Sanz (La Tortura) to pure classic Shakira (Escondite Inglés). Fijación Oral will definitely keep you fixated on your cd player for as long as the cd is playing. If you had some interest in learning Spanish before, you'll definitely take that SPAN101 post-haste as soon as you manage to part yourself with your discman.

« Obtener un sí » is definitely the albums best cut. Although it doesn't have the in-your-face quality of « La tortura » or the catchy hook of « Las de la intuición », the airy-ness of this almost brazilian bossanova song will grow on you. Plus with the mercury hovering around 30C/80F, I can't think of better music to lounge around in the sun with.

How does 36 hours of nonstop eating in Manhattan sound? Yap, it was just as rewarding as it sounds. Devmann, Myra, Patrice, and I drove to Manhattan on Friday night and spent the following 2 days eating. Literally. Here is a recount of the gastronomically hedonistic weekend, ordered by food vendors:

We stayed at Jane's apartment at Morningside Heights, just a few blocks south from Harlem. She goes to Columbia hence the location. For lunch on Saturday morning, we (the 5 of us + Adrian, another Columbian) were planning to have shabu-shabu at Caffe Swish, but alas, they don't serve it until 4pm. But it's OK because they got Lady M Mille Crêpes: layers of extra thin crêpes stacked one on top of another with crème fraîche in between. It was was heaven.

After convincing Jane that there would always be tomorrow to study, we took the metro, i meant the subway, to Fifth Ave where this extra fancy Japanese pastry shop is located at. I don't know how did they do it but every single thing there looks too good to eat. After blowing my cd allowance on wagashi, we moved on to the next stop.



<< Patrice still wanting some more wagashi even though she got a bag full of it already

We arrived at Washington Square and the weather was scorching hot. The fountain was full of people wading and the park was so crowded and there were street performers (most notably the one singing "We are the champions" on a monocycle). And the weather forecast predicted showers for the whole weekend! Well, tant mieux, I guess. It was so warm so before going for the Belgian Fries, we decided to take a break at the Belgian Bakery, Le Pain Quotidien. And of course, being who we are, we ended up stuffing ourselves with more carbs. Well, it was a bakery, so it's rather impossible to avoid it and plus, they got g-r-r-eat bread and the jams were of Bonne Maman quality. Yum! Oh, not all was good. Do not order the Mint Lemonade, right Patrice? ^_^ It tasted more like Mint water with a dash of lemon.

A.K.A. Le Frite Knot. Belgian Fries was on top of my list this time, so I did some research on the Belgian Fries website which mentioned this one authentic place in Greenwich. It turned out they've become a beer bar now, but they still serve frites with 10 kinds of dipping sauce to choose. We ordered two medium fries and 4 kinds of sauce: Bourbon, Garlic Aïoli, Dijon Fine, and Andalouse.
My favorite was definitely the Garlic Aïoli while Dijon Fine was rather to wasabi-ish. Who knows Beer & Fries go so well together? Hahaha.. no wonder I got love handles, huh?

Post-frites, Jane decided to went back uptown with Adrian. So the four of us decided to walk around Greenwich and SoHo before having xiao long baos for dinner. Xiao long bao (a.k.a. soup dumpling) are your ordinary dumplings filled with crab, pork, or both, steamed with broth inside so you can't just bite into it. To eat it, you have to put the dumpling on a spoon, then take a small bite at the edge and sip the broth before chowing down the rest of the dumpling. Joe's Ginger is one of the sister restaurants of Joe's Shanghai the supposedly pioneer of xiao long baos in Manhattan. I've tried both and I think they tasted the same.

We finally managed to force Devmann into going to this café after he lost to Myra on an elephant-man-ant game (it's the Indonesian version of rock-paper-scissors, we use the thumb, the index, and pinky fingers instead. elephant kills man, man kills ant, ant scares elephant). ^_^;; After walking 10 blocks from Mott to Sixth Ave, we finally got there. If I have to pick one favorite café in Manhattan, I would definitely pick this. Good food, good selection of drinks, and great ambience. So perfect to jumpstart your mornings or for relaxing at the end of the day. Dimmed lighting, vintage european interior, and bossanova music.



<< Dev with his Mojito and Myr with her Capirinha

It's Sunday and the weather forecast couldn't be more wrong. Yay! They said it would rain the whole weekend but, that day was as sunny as it is possible before the asphalt starts to melt. We started the day at this homey, japanese restaurant that promises to serve authentic Kyoto peasant food. Their speciality is ramen, the curly noodle more widely available in its instant variety that I think people outside of Japan considered ramen = instant noodle.
We also met with my friends from LA, one of which happen to be Jane & Myra's friend from highschool. Yea.. this small world thing starts to get old, perhaps I should go to Iceland or Zaire or Mongolia.

While the Los Angelenos continue their shopping at Fifth Ave, the East Coasters continue their caloriefest at SoHo. This chocolaterie's subtitle was haut-chocolat and judging from the price, it was high enough! Five bucks for a hot cocoa was luxury indeed. Nevertheless, I think it was well worth the price, although I guess not everyone would concur with me ^_^. My favorite was the Bianca, it's white chocolate with Australian lemon myrtle, Provençale lavenders, and Madagascar vanilla. Ooh la la! The other interesting concoction was the Aztec Elixir. It was chocolate the way the Aztecs drank it: crushed cacao beans infused with ancho and chipotle chilies plus mexican vanilla beans, cinammon and thickened with cornmeal. Sounds adventurous enough?

We met up with Sylvia, Adrian's friend at Vosges, and surprise! she was a highschool friend of Devmann's brother. Since we already finished our drinks by the time she got there, we decide to go somewhere to sit down and talk.... over coffee and dessert perhaps? We were so close already to Balthazar so we decided to just go there. I love Balthazar for its authentic French Brasserie look: from the vintage mirror-lined wall to the hexagonal black-and-white tiles to the to-die-for crème brulées.

Well this one is neither a food vendor nor it is edible. Even so, I just have to include them on this list 'cause at the moment I'm all about Acceptance. Also, we played their cd all the way to New York, so in a way it is still part of the NY trip. ^_^
I really think they're gonna be big, if not in the US then in the UK for sure. They sound like a more mature Simple Plan or a less noisy Hoobastank, depending on which song you're listening to. Go to purevolume/acceptance to sample some of their song. Definitely listen to So Contagious and Different, both from their latest album, Phantoms.