Shirt Street Wants to Help

Help us help others by getting one of our button pins.

A lot of donations have been given to aid those affected by Typhoon Ondoy but a lot more is needed especially medicine, toiletries, and antiseptics. Part of the proceeds of our button pins will either be used to buy these things or donated as cash to one of the charities. For only P20, you can make a difference in someone's health.

We will be at the Araneta Center before the finals games today, October 1, and on Sunday, October 4. If there is a third game, we will be there too. Just look for a person wearing any one of the Shirt Street shirts. For orders and other queries, please text Steph at +639178407280.

Fashionable Wrestlers

I am so spaced out today. I had a mental note to turn the TV on by 9PM because RAW would be on then. I did, but failed to switch the channel. So for about half an hour I was on my laptop with either Disney Channel or Cartoon Network on the background. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be watching something. The show was already half done. Lol. Sometimes I just don't know where my brain is.

Anyway, I'd just like to comment about wrestlers' attires. From time to time, they come out to the ring wearing regular clothes. Only a few of them look decent in them. I don't know why but some just look awkward in regular clothes. 

Here are my top 5 best dressed WWE Superstars (because all the Divas can dress):

1. Christian - looks good in formal, casual, and ring attire

2. The Miz - probably the most fashionable Superstar, hate his ring attire though

3. Batista - when he's wearing a suit

4. Triple H - looks awesome in jeans and a t-shirt

5. Edge - next to Miz, also has the best wardrobe

Special mentions:

Randy Orton - because he looks good in anything (and nothing probably)

John Morrison - when he's not wearing pants with fluffy cuffs

Chris Jericho - looks very respectable in a suit

Evan Bourne - looks nice in casual clothing

About the Cena's gauntlet match... Well, it was fine. Orton is really funny though. I don't know why but they've got sort of a weird bromance going on. Haha.

End of September. Time to Wake Up.

So it's the last day of September and I am still two posts away from my goal. Sigh. I know I can do this. I have lots of stuff that I wanna talk about but things just got in the way.

I am trying my best not to complain right now, not after the horrible thing that happened in this country. 

Last weekend, starting Friday night, it rained nonstop. We didn't really mind because it's been raining often the past couple of months. What we didn't anticipate was the amount of rainfall. There weren't strong winds, just a whole lot of rain. Come Saturday morning, people have started calling for help because it has started flooding and the water has started to enter their houses. Not long after, reports have been received that some houses have already been submerged completely in the floodwater. The occupants climbed onto their roofs to wait for rescue. It did not come until much later. Some have already died of the cold.

This catastrophe brought out such admirable traits from Filipinos. Instantly, donations started coming in. Those with resources such as rubber boats and big trucks and helicopters offered them for the rescue missions. Everyone else anticipated the needs and donated clothes and food. By Sunday morning, the ABSCBN foundations have gotten 20M pesos worth of goods and about 10M worth of cash. 

My family and I also pooled our resources to help some relatives affected by this. I'm still planning on giving to the charities and maybe also help out in packing relief goods.

I am one of the fortunate ones that live in a place without flooding problems. I am greatly thankful for it. And now I am feeling guilty that earlier this day I felt like I had the suckiest life on earth. I really tried my best to focus on what I have and how lucky I am that I have them. But sometimes it just... I don't know. Things get to me. No matter how hard I try to stay positive and be happy, things get to me later.

Oh well. Right now I'm over it and everything's fine again. I would like to move on and post about my favorite topics now. :)

The Once and Future Queen (Merlin S2E2)

Summary: 

A grief-ridden king of another place sends an expert assassin to kill Arthur because he "murdered" his son when in reality, his son challenged the young Pendragon and lost the fight. 

Arthur, only just realizing that people give him extra special allowances because he's royalty, decides to go on a hush-hush quest to prove his worth to himself and to everyone else. He lies about going on a rescue mission somewhere north, hired a scruffy-looking farmer and made him pretend to be a knight so he, Arthur, could joust in his place at the tournament without the public knowing it was him. He planned on revealing his identity in a moment of glory afterward.

For the duration of this charade, he lived with Gwen and as his normal pompous self. Irritations brewed and ended up in a confrontation every girl would have loved to be in.

The assassin almost succeeded in his mission. Thanks, to Merlin, he did not complete it.

Ah, they have started the Arthur-Guinevere love story. I think it's sweet, but I want more Merlin action. The series is named after him in the first place. Although he had a lot of scenes and as always, ended up secretly saving Arthur's life, he looked like such a background character in this episode.

Okay, maybe it's just for this one thing. After all, last week's episode was so kick-ass! 

I wonder how they will go about this love story. Hopefully they wouldn't just drop it and pick it up some time next year. 

How do you recover from kissing a prince?!

Okay, that was me channeling a friend obsessed with Arthur. Contrary to popular opinion (which consists of a couple of friends'), I think Gwen in this series is beautiful and she and the prince look good together.

The previous week's preview showed I think snippets of the season ahead. Lancelot was there! How will Arthur deal with his reappearance? And what would he do when Gwen lends her affections to this charming new knight? They did have a brief thing last season.

The Curse of Cornelius Sigan (Merlin S2 EP1)

Merlin's back and he's kicking ass!

Well, actually, he's having his butt worked of by Arthur but that's part of fulfilling his destiny. I do wish that he gets treated better though. Well, at least last season he was saved by the future king. That was so sweet.

In this episode, Merlin goes against an ancient and very powerful sorcerer who is said to be immortal. Gaius warned Uther of this but as usual, the king brushed it aside. Morgana's nightmares resume (actually, they never really went away) and Gwen gets a new look! They've stopped making her wear her hair in a bun. And I think her corset's a little tighter. Hmm.

Arthur again showcased his undying courage, which can sometimes be to the point of stupidity. He does love to risk his life for his people, which is good, but he needs to keep in mind that his father doesn't have a spare heir. Lucky him that Merlin's always there to get his back. Hopefully this wouldn't make him think that he's invincible since he always escapes fatal situations. 

Although I wouldn't complain if I get saved by Arthur. haha. 

As for Merlin, sigh. For someone with such a great destiny, he has no choice but to take abuse from Arthur and everybody else. Oh well. At least he knows that if he does his job right, one day he will get to the top.

Oh, but I don't want Arthur to stop being a bully. It may be annoying at times because Merlin deserves better but that would suck all the fun out of the show. And Arthur would lose his angas, which adds so much to his pogi points.

It's All in Our Heads (Supernatural S5 Ep2)

I was thinking just a few moments ago about how I miss the Sam and Dean of seasons 1 & 2. I'm not saying that the intensity of their relationship has degraded; it hasn't. It's just that I miss the fun times and even though Dean is still being a smart ass, it's not the same. Of course they had to take out all the lightness. I mean, hello, they're dealing with the Apocalypse now.

The eve of separation. I will need to find a song for this.

I found this as such a melancholic image at the end of episode 2, "Good God Y'all". the surroundings is beautiful and tranquil. It's a tiny speck of peace amidst the overall chaos. My mind cannot reach the depth of love these two have for each other, which is why I also cannot fathom the hurt Dean must have felt (and is still feeling) when Sam chose Ruby over him.

In this episode, the brothers still worked together but the strain is tangible. But at least they still did their jobs properly. They really are, as Sam said, "professionals". They defeated (or merely delayed?) War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I wonder which one is next. I really liked (and am equally disturbed) by the premise of this episode: people kill each other because someone's messing with their heads. There really is no enemy. They are just made to see each other as such by some powerful man *cough cough hint hint*. Because we are so afraid, we just choose to attack and hopefully survive rather than analyze things to get the true picture. Whew.

I am glad that Ellen and Jo are back. At least there's someone else to talk to now that Bobby's all depressed in the hospital. I wonder what nerve he damaged when he stabbed himself in the stomach. Why could he not walk?

I'm eager to see the next episode just to know how they are going to deal with the brothers away from each other by choice. I'm also curious about Castiel's state. He's a fugitive of heaven. What is he exactly? 

All I'm hoping is that they tread carefully around God. I read a previous interview of Mischa Collins and he said that he thinks that they (the writers) should keep God abstract. I completely agree. This show has already reached new levels of awesomeness and I don't want it condemned as evil when it clearly battles it.

Halloween Lang Turns 4!

This is seven months late, but at least it's here. I would just like to greet my blog a happy happy fourth birthday! Man, I cannot believe that it has been four years since my first post. Four and a half, actually. Wow, it has been that long.

I kind of regret not starting my whole blogging life right here. I had 2 blogs before this (they actually overlapped for a few months). I guess this is where I really found home.

I'm planning on compiling everything into hard copy volumes. I think it'd be nice to have them hard bound by year. I will soon need an extra cabinet or something for this. Hmm.

Anyway, happy happy birthday Halloween Land!!! :)

Glee

Finally, a musical TV series! 

Before sounding off with grunts, I too have noticed the sudden upsurge of movie musicals (may it be on TV or in theaters) these past couple of years. I admit that I have seen all three HSMs (please put away the tomatoes), even the wannabe that Nickelodeon made (it was "edgy" compared to Disney's; it wasn't awful, just not that great). I'm not a big fan of this genre nor of the aforementioned movies, but I commend their dancing ability. Fine, the (selected) singing as well.

Glee, I am ashamed to say, at first seemed to me like a tremendously improved HSM crossed with Spectacular, the musical Nickelodeon made (this comment is based solely on the pilot episode). It is, of course, not even near that region; it's way way above. See, it has a show choir (same as Spectacular) that a super popular top jock (like HSM) joined where he is inadvertently paired with a "geeky" girl (again, like HSM). 

However, the similarities end there. Glee is just so much better and the singers sound at least 10 1/2 times more awesome than the fluffy teeny musicals. It's about a teacher who aims to revive the glory of the glee club because he was once a member of it. I love his passion for his students and man can he sing. 

The glee club only has six members: Finn (the jock), Rachel (the geeky girl with a superstar complex), Kurt (the metro guy), Mercedes (the Beyonce), Artie (the guy in the wheelchair), and Tina (the edgy Asian girl). 

The story starts with Mr. Schuester calling for auditions for the glee club under the new name New Directions. Only the five came; Finn was blackmailed into joining after Mr. Schuester overheard him singing in the locker room. At first he was obviously unwilling, but he remembered how he loved singing as a child and this was his only outlet for that. As all stereotypical jocks go, his teammates ridicule him for doing something they think is unmanly - and also hate that he now saves "losers" rather than take part in bullying them.

Rachel, on the other hand, loves to sing. She just loves it. She makes daily recordings of herself singing and posts it on her MySpace page. She is laughed at because of this and always gets some sort of drink splashed on her face and clothes.

As for Mr. Will Schuester, he is possibly the best teacher in the world. However, his life isn't so perfect. He has a psycho wife who would've qualified as a gold digger if only Will had any gold. She allows herself to have a room dedicated to her crafts (literally arts and crafts stuff) while Will gets an earful night after night because he's pursuing his passion by directing the glee club. He is given an ultimatum: the kids or his family. The wife discloses her pregnancy.

The show choir, after encountering compatibility problems and learning of their teacher's pending departure, finally got together and worked harmoniously, thus producing a perfectly wonderful number. Mr. Schuester, on his way out, heard an amazing sound emanating from the auditorium. He peeked inside and discovered that it was his group performing. With pride that could make people cry showing on his face, he applauded them and said, "From the top."

It was an overall heartwarming pilot episode. Some say it's underwhelming because they were so hyped up by the teasers. For me, it was just right. This show is filled with colorful characters that there is no chance for boredom to ever slip in. I'm really excited to see what would happen next. I'm especially looking forward to their performances.

The Only Straight Edge World Heavyweight Champion

WWE is blurring the lines between admirable and despicable by portraying CM Punk, the Straight-Edge Superstar, as a heel.

To be fair to him, Punk really does the whole preachy character quite well. I've become irritated by him when at first he was one of my favorites. Well, alright, I still think he's good, but he keeps on saying the same things over and over! Will someone please write him some new material? At least use different words even when stating the same idea.

What concerns me is this: Punk's clean lifestyle is the perfect thing to advocate now that they are making the shows "more PG". However, because they pitted him against Jeff who, as much as I love him, is indeed a not-so-good role model outside of the ring but possesses a charisma that Punk obviously lacks, kids would predictably take Jeff's side and view Punk as a villain along with his exemplary lifestyle. He (Punk) would now be classified as a killjoy along with their parents who are probably reprimanding them for watching such violence, even if we all know it's staged.

I love WWE and I don't want them to one day be shunned and protested against by concerned parents. I also do not want them ignoring their social responsibility by shining a negative light on someone who brings forth something worth emulating especially by kids. I grew up watching WWE but back then, the storylines didn't incorporate the wrestler's personal lives so I didn't know if one of them was a drug abuser or what. It's more dangerous now because children might not see the difference between the character/persona and the real person of these athletes.

Jeff is a tremendous wrestler and should be looked up to as such. I admire him for being able to kick the habit for over a year and I hope he could keep it up longer. It's just that his personal life gets broadcasted all over the Internet and even on TV and these news almost always put him in a bad light. His recent arrest, for example. If these things were kept from impressionable people, then I wouldn't care whatever he does because he would only be seen by the kids as a wonderful artist and a talented performer. I believe that these are the characteristics that he embodies the most and I'm a fan of his because of this.

As for Punk, he deserves better marketing. True, Smackdown needs main eventers so they are building him up. But I think this strategy is actually breaking him down. Okay, so he followed through with his promise of recapturing the title, which is supposed to add to his credibility. But he does not (yet) have that certain quality that the best heels, e.g. Edge and Jericho and Orton, have. So far I don't think this villainy is working for him. I don't know. Maybe I'm mistaken. I mean, making him look like the bad guy means making staying sober and clean attributes of a bad guy. So what exactly is WWE contributing to society?

In the End, There Will be Zombies

The End

Dean refuses Sam's efforts to help him battle the Devil, and then wakes up to find himself five years in the future, in a wasteland where Lucifer has begun his endgame by unleashing a virus that transforms humans into zombies.

This is so AWESOME! I love zombie movies (although I do not want to be one myself), and zombies plus Supernatural? Man. I can't wait to see this episode! 

I know, it's gonna be a bit difficult to watch since the brothers will be separated again (I really miss their fun bro-mance times) but hey, what better to bring them together than some good old zombie-killing spree right?

Grab some vinyl discs and a cricket bat now!