Well not really, I think I first saw his name in a piece of manila paper hastily pasted on the PUP West Wing's campus walls along with signs that read "Mga kabataan, pumunta sa kanayunan, sumapi sa CPP-NPA" and "Ramos Tuta ng Kano". The manila paper cris-crossed with black markers was advertising an upcoming event :  The Grand Finale of Uniwide Sales' Battle of the Brains, to be held at the PICC later that day.

I was a college freshie back then. Richard was already in the graduating class and he stood as our school's Grand Finalist for the prestigious event.

I never knew who he was or what he looked like but I decided to root for him anyway. The day was July 21, 1995. I was familiar with PUP quizzers like Pierre Cantillero and Oliver Tungol as I've watched them play on TV back when I was in highschool. They were pretty impressive and I remembered thinking, if this Richard guy is cut from the same mold, I knew I'll be in for a good show.

Well, I got more than I bargained for.

As history would have it, Richard steamrolled his way through the contest and emerged as the runaway victor with plenty to spare. That was the first time I felt really proud as a PUPian (the second was after Pierre Cantillero copped the Asean BOTB championship three years later) and that made me want to know the man who was one of the architects of the PUP Quizzers' Circle's meteoric rise from obscurity to almost dynastic supremacy in a few years of joining the major league of academic quizzes at the time.

After the dust of celebration settled, I decided to make my move and find a way to worm myself into the group. After joining one of the campus contests that served as a rite of passage, I got to see him up close for the first time. Boy, is he tall...and lanky too. He reminded me of Ernie Baron (God Bless his Soul) with his looks and choice of clothing (long sleeved, buttoned shirts). Tall he is indeed, but unimposing. After I formally gained entry into The Circle by topping the quiz contest for the erstwhile PUP College of Languages and Mass Communications, Richard welcomed me into the group with his deep, croaky voice.

Little by little, I got to know the man: His unholy preference for lugaw and his penchance for long sleeved shirts and once-in-a blue moon smoking (he only smokes if he's very happy or very sad, he says) though I never saw him puff a cigarette ever. He also shared some of the finer points of technique that enabled him to master the odds and emerge triumphant. If there's one thing this guy has, it's character, and a stubborn will to succeed at all cost. He viewed quizzing as an art and a science that can be mastered. He demonstrated that one need not be born gifted to make it good in this mind sport.

Before long, I found myself winning one academic quiz game after another. The most memorable of which was the KATAGA Quiz contest sponsored by the PUP Scholars' Society which I won as a Freshman. Richard told me that I was the first freshman and non-engineering student to win that contest. I don't know if he's just pulling my leg.

I was not so lucky in Battle of the Brains, however. I only reached as far as the quarterfinals but I managed to represent the school twice. I was more than grateful for that opportunity which wouldn't be possible without Richard constantly egging me to practice to join this or that contest.

This scheme of things continued long after I left college. We maintained contact - and kept our winning ways. He won contests like Game KNB and Weakest Link, both of which I joined and won too plus a few other game shows along the way. With his earnings he was able to purchase a townhouse unit in Dasmarinas, Cavite. Like Richard, I've never felt what it was to live inside a house that I own so I followed suit and bought a House and Lot unit a few months later - in the same subdivision to boot. To this day, I believe this is one of the best decisions I ever made, as the value of the property rose sharply shortly thereafter.

More than just a mentor, Richard is the truest friend one can hope to find. He is also the "kuya" I never had.  Beyond college life and gameshows, he's always been there to guide and help out during some of my most "historic" moments: He was there when I downed 13 bottles of Colt 45 in OBEERTIME along Pasong Tamo, he was the one who taught me how to chat via MIRC and use the Internet @ Bill's Gate in C.M. Recto more than 10 years ago. In short, aside from being the trivia-wise wizard that he is, he also introduced me to the lighter side of living in the metro. If you told me 10 years ago that I'll be singing in public karaoke bars I would've laughed till my jugulars burst, but I do now - without shame or second thoughts - to the detriment of the listening public, thanks to this guy.

But if there's anything that sets him apart from the rest, it's his selfless will to help other people to the furthest of his means. That makes him King not just to a "younger" generation of quizzers but to most everyone who knows him at large. Ole King Richard indeed.

The computer caught a cold last week so the kids went through withdrawls.  I was the lucky one, I always have my computer at work.   Not having the computer available at home just but everyone out of wack, and at times, a little grumpy.  S.D. (Slave Driver aka husband) dealt with it all by escaping to the favored watering hole at least once through the week.  Wednesday was "coffee hour."  The first in weeks.  It was nice to have a few minutes of girl time.  It sure helped me get to the weekend.

Now we are back to Monday.  Work, school, and football are once again on the agenda. The washer is acting up, the vacuum has thrown a belt, the grass desperately needs mowed, and the fridge is just about empty.  I am already wondering if there is Coffee Hour this week?

And this week was neither slow nor fast in its passing.

Something made me smile today; I ought to remember that feeling. There are certain people whom I will remember for nothing but laughter. Pure unstoppable laughter. Laughing about nothing till our stomachs hurt. Crazy times. Not a lot of such people, but there are. Some.

And I'm wondering where they are right now.

I don't have a single clue.

Pause?

Ok a few times I have sat back and searched high and low for the rewind button but generally that is for something really stupid that I have done or if I have hurt someone's feelings.

Pause?

For some reason I push myself harder when I am ill.  It is almost as if the buttons in my brain get confused and I speed up instead of slowing down.  You want the most work out of me, wait till I am sick and I pump it out, I am more focused and the worst? I EAT

I get the munchies like anything when I am ill, normally I don't eat much, I eat when I am hungry and that is that - one of the reasons I loved living alone so much.  When I am sick it is a whole different ball game, I crave! Today I had four slices of bread, I normally have one to none, chocolate? erm ok I had a whole slap (my bad), Cookies? erm guilty I had ginger ones CRAVED!

My body is trying to tell me so many things but I have never stopped long enough to listen to its call. It is almost as if my psyche gets scared of hearing what it's saying and speeds up in order to not hear the body's mutterings!

What is my body saying?

Slow down and feed me. 

I hate to admit it but when I am stressed I kind of forget to eat.  Food doesn't come into my thought or brain processes, I skip over that and just forget.  That might upset some but that is just the way it is.  If I don't eat then my body can't heal and fight this bug that's infected its vessel, this human.  Without that extra energy or nutrients it just feeds off itself and starts disappearing becoming weaker and weaker. 

Much like the human mind? Our souls?

If we go through our days not feeding our brains, not taking note of the bugs that lie within our recesses, what happens? Do they react like our bodies to illness and lack of food?

If we have something plaguing our hearts or souls and we leave it dormant not paying it any attention it can fester.  The longer we leave it the greater the infection and in turn pain. 

If we don't feed our minds and souls the right vitamins, the right stuff to help us grow and expand, to evolve and learn, how will we ever become who we are meant to become? whole?

Truth is, we are a running world, we see a problem we run, very rarely do we face it head on.  It doesn't matter who you are, there is always that one thing that we don't allow to surface.  Sometimes we don't even consciously know it's existence but its there. 

If we never allow ourselves the opportunity to heal, to grow, to learn, if we rebel or believe that we are above it all, what happens then?

There are no hospitals for our souls, there are no doctors to turn to you and say "You have 3 traumatic experiences that you have never dealt with, to hospital you go for 5 injections daily and bed pans". There are no hospitals for the soul, we are the only doctors that can work with what we have. 

Now those real doctors, well, they have really big needles.  Seeing one of them is still up for debate but alas, I am the only one that can mend my spirit and I am the only one that can face it. 

Sometimes our bodies just go "Pause, breathe, feel, mend" we get frustrated and push against it but it's pointless. Sometimes its not our bodies telling us to pause but our souls. Sometimes it's both, it all depends on whether you are listening or not.

Pause?

Ok just this once

Number One Songs

1956 Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
1960 The Twist - Chubby Checker
1962 Sherry - The Four Seasons
1964 Where Did Our Love Go - The Supremes
1966 Sunshine Superman - Donovan
1970 Tears Of A Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
1973 Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
1974 Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
1976 Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
1979 Cars - Gary Numan
1980 Start! - The Jam
1981Tainted Love - Softcell
1983 Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics
1984 I Just Called To Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder
1988 Sweet Child 'O Mine - Guns 'n' Roses
1995 Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio ft LV
1997 Mo Money Mo Problems - Notorious BIG ft Puff Daddy & Mase
2000 Music - Madonna
2005 Gold Digger - Kanye West ft Jamie Foxx
2006 Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake

1931

The first 33 1/3 LP is released with a demonstration in the Savoy Hotel, New York.

1957

Buddy Holly & The Crickets reach the top of the Singles chart for the only time with 'That'll Be The Day'.

1965

A van belonging to the Who is stolen from outside Battersea Dogs Home when the band go inside to buy a guard dog. The van is eventually returned but the five thousand pounds worth of equipment inside is missing.

1967

The new BBC national Pop station, Radio 1, goes live on air for the first time and begins broadcasting. The first record that plays is 'Flowers In The Rain' by The Move.

1975

Pink Floyd release 'Wish You Were Here', the follow up album to 'Dark Side Of The Moon'. The album only contains five tracks and one of them, 'Have A Cigar' is sung by Roy Harper because neither Roger Waters or Dave Gilmour can reach the high notes. It is extremely difficult for the band to get motivated in the studio. The overwhelming critical, commercial and financial success of 'Dark Side' has left the band physically and emotionally drained. They have sketches for three songs but spend most of the time in the studio going through the motions, with their minds and feelings elsewhere. Years later, they are quoted as saying:

"Wish You Were Here was a very good title for that album. I've often said what that album should have been called was Wish We Were Here because we weren't really."
- Roger Waters, 1989

"It was a very difficult period I have to say. All your childhood dreams had been sort of realized and we had the biggest selling records in the world and all the things you got into it for. The girls and the money and the fame and all that stuff it was all...everything had sort of come our way and you had to reassess what you were in it for and it was a confusing and sort of empty time for a while..."
- David Gilmour, 1992

1979

'Rapper's Delight' is released by the Sugar Hill Gang. It is the first rap song to appear in the charts, reaches Number 36 and sells over eight million copies. The band, comprised of Guy O'Brien (Master Gee), Michael Wright (Wonder Mic), Big Bank Hank and bassist Doug Wimbish is brought together by producer and label owner Sylvia Robinson in an effort to commercialise the underground Hip Hop block party scene.

1980

John Bonham of Led Zeppelin dies in Jimmy Page's house after a drinking binge. It is reported that the drummer choked on his own vomit while sleeping after drinking approximately forty shots of vodka. Despite preparing for a US tour, the band decide to call it quits following Bonham's death.

1988

'Don't Worry Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin becomes the first acappela song to reach the Number 1 spot in the US charts. It also claims Grammys for 'Song of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Performance'.

1991

Bryan Adams' song, '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You' breaks a UK record by spending it's twelfth week at Number 1 in the Singles chart. The songs sells over eight million copies during these three months.

1996

Tupac Shakur and Marion 'Suge' Knight are shot in Las Vegas following a Mike Tyson fight. Tupac dies six days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the age of 25. At the time of his death he is the biggest selling rap artist with more than 75 million records sold worldwide.

1999

The largest music bootleg bust in US history takes place. It is estimated that over 100 million dollars are lost in revenues. During the bust, more than 250,000 dollars of recording equipment, 100,000 CDs, 110,000 cassettes, 300,000 blank CDs and four million labels are confiscated.

2001

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a list of 150 songs that will be banned on US radio is generated. Songs included in the list are:

'Bennie & The Jets' - Elton John
'Get Together' - The Youngbloods
'Wipeout' - Surfaris
Every single song recorded by Rage Against The Machine

... è ora di schiacciare il tasto Play...

(I wrote this piece back in 1999, when the Estrada administration was under intense pressure and the Philippine president himself was undergoing impeachment proceedings. I'm not pro-Estrada. Let's just say I'm anti-frailocracy and hypocrisy in the government. I also hate it when whistle blowers get accorded hero status even if they're complicit for the crimes they accuse other people of committing. Most of all, I hate the stupid "People Power" mentality that has come to pervade this country. People Power has lost its meaning here. People Power now equates to a revolving door presidency if you ask me)

Revolutionary Idiocy

December 1999

The Philippines is in a funny situation nowadays.

A known lord of gambling and god-knows-what-else blows the whistle and accuses the incumbent president of accepting the bribes he himself delivered. The whistle blower is an elected public official. What a coincidence, I say. Irony is for the naïve and I’m stupid.

Then a scandal erupts. The local currency slides and all fingers point to the president for having started it all because they say he shouldn’t have accepted dirty money in the first place. That’s not funny. That’s natural. Reason is reason however brute it is. When a man’s intellect is clearly in doubt, brute reason would suffice right? Besides, we’re Filipinos.

The man in the eye of the storm is learning his lesson the hard way. Thou shall grant equal favors to thy drinking buddies to maintain their undivided loyalty. A thing as simple as a game can spell the difference especially if one game is interpreted as legal and the other is not. Pity, o pity those who lost their livelihood from such a stupid thing as legality. If you were to ask me, this thing called legality should be abolished at all cost lest drinking buddies become enemies and thus add to the mounting strife of our poor, sick nation. Sob.

Then, general sentiment snowballs until the church can’t take it anymore and joins the clamor for reforms. The steadfast church can’t take this sitting down. The great church must defend the people at all cost. The holy church must tell the head of the state to step down, even if it would have to kneel and pray 24-7 and round up private school students by the busloads and make them stand in the sun, hoist angry banners and chant anti-government slogans till they have cried themselves hoarse to make the buffoon step down from his lofty perch. That, my brethren is brotherly love as espoused by the church supposedly founded by a certain Jesus Christ 2 millennia ago. That my brethren is the essence of peace. That, my brethren is the spirit of unity, alive, kicking and flailing about in all its divinity. That, my brethren – ain’t funny.

Then, the time to jump ship comes. Public leaders resign valiantly. Waving the banner of patriotism, they pressed for the resignation of Mr. Macho man if only to save the comatose economy which was made so by the erosion of public trust on the government which was caused by a scandal which was caused by one  man’s ailing economy (or what he perceives it will be soon) which was caused by the imminent legalization of another man’s erstwhile verboten balls. But if any, consolation, the squealer is now a hero. Great! Only in the Philippines folks.

Seeing all these well-bred, refined and intelligent people resign and urge an inept president to do the same is similar to watching a bunch of sailors jump ship to prevent their own ship from sinking. As if lightening the load would stop the calamity. Cinematic huh? That’s Noy-pi idiocy at its finest. Save the economy by resigning en masse and switching loyalties! That’s new! Maybe we need a paradigm shift somewhere. Maybe new, revolutionized textbooks are in order. Who knows what’s rolling off the press today?

parole. righe. periodi... partendo da qui in un rewind.
sai perché mi piace escher? perché come guardi guardi le sue opere, c'è sempre una strada nuova da percorrere, lì. nascosta tra i tratti in litografia e che alla fine ti riporta in un posto noto o in un dejàvu... oppure... semplicemente... in un'eco familiare. in escher guardi un luogo-non-luogo. sempre lo stesso alla fine... ma da quante prospettive diverse puoi farlo? e tutte poi che convergono tra i confini di un'idea (emo) che ogni nuovo sguardo rende più soggettiva e mai uguale. è il momento a segnare la prospettiva. quel movimento limitato all'interno di prospettive illimitate.  tanti cerchi concentrici che s'inseguono facendosi eco tra loro. "un'eterna ghirlanda brillante", volendo. un ritornare di anelli. non cerchi. anelli. anelli concentrici. e di colpo ti senti a casa. in un pensiero. in un'idea di. in un lì. in quel drawing hands: una mano che disegna l'altra mano. la leggo così. tu sei le tue scelte. il che può essere un bene ma... anche no. tutto dipende dalla prospettiva del porsi rispetto al nostro momento vissuto. note stonate in prospettiva. dissonanze armoniche. oppure armonia del lì. prospettive in un istante. ora. mentre scrivo. questo istante è l'effetto di... oppure sarà causa di. qualechesia la (vera) notaritmo dell'anima.

ti stringi attorno le coperte. non fa freddo, ma hai una gran voglia di scomparire in quella coltre di amorevole sicurezza. e la tua mente non fa a meno di pensare. credi di aver trovato la risposta a... ma la risposta non ti soddisfa, è così banalmente stupida, e cercandone una migliore scivoli in un sonno senza sogni...

ché la vita è musica e danza su notertimo disegnate da un istante. di note stonate ce ne sono. non può essere altrimenti. siamo definiti dai limiti del momento che viviamo. qui la mia prospettiva.  "è tutto un susseguirsi di" ... e... via a fraintendere... perché ci sta. è che alla fine ad ogni parola-gesto-azione diamo un significato nostro no? alla fine è tutta una questione di emozioni. di momento. d'istante. e meno male! perché vuol dire che (senza pensare) parla l'anima. testa/cuore in armonia verso. non c'è nulla da far risalire se non quell'àncora di verità da affrontare. àncore!

c'è il coraggio di tirare su l'àncora...
dai a questa definizione il significato che preferisci.
punto.

I know, who could forget Britney Spears?  "... Baby One More Time" is among the best of what music videos have to offer, and arguably the most influential music video of all time.  This is the video that brought back the sexy-school-girl look.  Everyone has heard this song or seen the video.  Well, almost everyone.  But I'm not writing this edition of rewind for them (although I'm pleased to be the one to introduce you to this pop classic if you haven't seen the video before).

With all the cliché pop techniques, why does "... Baby One More Time" stand out of the pack?  Surely for some reason other than the sexy-school-girl?  In a way.  This video represents the trend in the 2000s of young women in music embracing their sex appeal and using it to gain attention from society in a whole new way.  Britney pioneered this technique, in a sense.  With the help of "Toxic", "I'm a Slave 4 U", and "Oops!... I Did It Again", Britney managed to sell more records before the age of 20 than any other artist had ever sold before.  And not only because the music is great.  Britney became an icon.  She was what every girl wanted to be, and what every guy wanted to have.  Society was enamored with this young lady.

We've decided that instead of hunting through all of the old podcasts for great moments in show history that we would just bring the good stuff straight to you each week. Each week will feature a new classic clip. Feel free to email admin@oanddworld.com with requests.

Kicking off the first Classic Rewind is definately classic; Drab's Biggest Fan....and she's his biggest fan in more ways then one that's for sure.

Check it out: Click here to download or listen

Go back to 1997, when this classic pop song came out.  Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is an awesome song—despite the boring music video.  Well, I think the music video is boring.  It did win Best Alternative Video at the 1998 VMAs.

This song is a classic.  There's not much to say about it.  The mellow tone, acoustic sounds, and meaningful lyrics will keep this song around for quiet a long time.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1532377&w=425&h=350&fv=id%3Dv2150484%26eID%3D1307409%E2%8C%A9%3Dca%26enableFullScreen%3D0%26shareEnable%3D0]

This 1999 hit is simply smashing!  They do say smashing in Ireland don't they?  Well, B*Witched, an Irish group, took the world by storm with their fun bubblegum-esque pop.  Today, almost everyone has heard this song, and for good reason.  These Irish gals put together one incredible song.  The music video is really cute, the lyrics are marginally meaningful, and honestly, who doesn't hum "Say you will, say you wont" every once in a while?  Have fun singing this song to yourself for the rest of the day, it's absurdly addictive.

The first noticeable thing about Korean Airlines is their stewardesses' uniforms. They are all bright turquoise, like a nastier version of San Jose Sharks' jerseys. But the kicker is the little scarves that they all wear. I call them little scarves but they are actually huge and are more like mutant bow ties. They kind of reminded me of the large cone things that dumb dogs have to wear so they won't bite themselves. Maybe Korean airlines was just tired of their staff nibbling on their work clothes - I don't know.

The hospitality aboard a KAL flight is second to none. They bring out all these warm towels and free wine and beer and everything. And that is even in economy - I was 1 row from the back. The only empty seat on the flight was next to me, nicely enough, and I was fortunate enough to be sitting 2 seats from a good Manitoba boy from Winnipeg. Anyone from SMOE that's reading this knows who I'm talking about - yep it was Neil. He's a stellar guy and was good to talk with during the flight. It was nice to take my mind off the Korean kids that were playing on the emergency exit door while their mother watched on. There little arms flailed perilously close to the exit handle, and one false move would have left me flying right out into the South China Sea. At least I would have had my flotation cushion. On the flight I also ate my first Korean meal - something called Bibimbap. It's basically rice with meat and vegetables, but more complicated. Once you figure out the directions that they hand out for making it, Bibimbap is pretty tasty.

For the 13.5 hour flight, I found various ways to amuse myself. I watched Charlie Bartlett, which I found to be like a modern day Ferris Bueller's day off. Not a bad flick. I also watched Kung-Fu Panda. Skadoosh is likely the best line I've heard in a movie this year, definitely the best line that isn't a real word. And finally I watched something called "Be Kind Rewind" starring Mos Def and Jack Black. It was sorta funny, but Mos Def doesn't strike me as a strong choice for a comedic actor. I had my own little screen so I could choose from a long list of movies. Oddly enough, the "Classics" category included Independence Day - something I would hesitate to call classic. Memorable, maybe, if you stretch.

I managed to not go crazy on the flight, landing in Incheon around 3:30 in the afternoon. With the time changed considered, the trip was about 24 hours in length. Now on to "Orientation Week".

While thinking about you, making me go dream chasin' baby boo,

All i need is you.

Your skin as paper, my lips as pen,

And our oceans of bloody diamond's, inside my brain.

Cause we are two groove junkies,

That move, through this concrete jungle like monkeys.

Your my escape to Zion

Cause i'm feeling trapped, in this box of iron.

Disconnected from this reality, i rewind the movie of my life,

That i've produced in my mind, scared of the atrocities that i'm seeing,

Making me wanna go deaf and blind.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1530429&w=425&h=350&fv=id%3Dv2150278%26eID%3D1301797%E2%8C%A9%3Dus%26enableFullScreen%3D0%26shareEnable%3D1]

Now, don't get me wrong.  If you watch the video (which might not actually work, I've had a bit of trouble embedding Yahoo! Music videos lately, but you can see the video on YouTube here), you might think, "this boy has talent!"  And he did.  Why did he fail?  Who knows, but nobody has wanted to get near him for years, and when now that Blake Lewis, the season 6 runner up on American Idol, has been spotted with him, the blogosphere seems to have decided: Blake Lewis is done.

The song and video are both fun.  Aaron's got some nice dance moves.  I'm not sure I buy the premise of the video—he looks no older than eleven and throws a house party—but still, when I was in fifth grade, this song was a hit.  I loved it.  My friends loved it.  We played it at parties.  The pop-with-a-hint-of-rap thing worked.  For a bit.  And then Aaron Carter disapeared, and eventually came out with a flop of a record that nobody bothered to listen to.  Oh well, c'est la vie.

M-am aflat pentru cateva clipe aproape de momentele trecute. Am simtit ca as fi putut sa schimb ceva sau ca as fi putut doar sa ma bucur mai tare si sa nu ma mai las coplesita de fobia mea ca timpul trece foarte repede.

Am simtit ca am dat drumul unor amintiri si ca mi-am luat ramas-bun.

Cateodata butonul de rewind ar trebui sa fie mai mare. Sa il apasam atunci cand vrem sa refacem un drum, o emotie, o legatura, o amintire sau doar o senzatie.

Trece vara si as vrea sa ma mai aflu in acel hamac din gradina de vara.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin was recently asked by Barcelona-based DJ collective Buffet Libre to contribute a song to BL's compilation of '80s covers. The album, called Rewind, includes artists such as Dragonette, the Paper Scissors, Social Services, Band In Box, Electric Soft Parade, FrankMusik and Anoraak, each of which contributed their own selected '80s cover song. SSLYBY's choice: XTC's "Another Satellite," which happens to be the featured song right now on the Buffet Libre website. You can stream it live or download it by clicking here.