My site, finally! April 18, 2008
Posted by carambs in Blogging.2 comments
Testing http://www.carambs.com right now!
Have to figure out the template and how to add adsense.
Someone out there, help? 🙂
Words of Wisdom April 18, 2008
Posted by carambs in Words of Wisdom.add a comment
Happiness comes not because we do great things but because we do small things with great love. Be filled with love today and everyday.
David versus David? April 16, 2008
Posted by carambs in American Idol, TV.Tags: David Archuleta, david cook
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If I have to predict right now the Final 2 for American Idol 7, I’d say it will be David Cook versus David Archuleta. They have been both very consistent. They’ve had many good performances already, they’re good singers, and they connect to the audience.
If I have to pick right now who the winner will be, based on the performances to date, I’d say it will be David Cook. I’m a David Archuleta fan, but I’m also objective.
It’s still a long way to go though. Let’s see what will happen within the next several weeks.
American Idol 7 – David Archuleta’s “When You Believe” April 16, 2008
Posted by carambs in American Idol, TV.Tags: David Archuleta, Mariah Carey, When You Believe
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Here’s David’s performance:
American Idol 7 – David Cook’s “Always Be My Baby” April 16, 2008
Posted by carambs in American Idol, TV.Tags: Always Be My Baby, david cook, Mariah Carey
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Here’s David’s amazing version of “Always Be My Baby”:
American Idol 7 – Mariah Carey Night April 16, 2008
Posted by carambs in American Idol, TV.Tags: David Archuleta, david cook, jason castro, Mariah Carey
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I didn’t know what to expect tonight.
How will the boys perform the Mariah songs?! I was worried about little David. And I was very curious about David Cook’s song choice.
How will the girls compare ?! Well, I knew Syesha was just going to sing her heart out, without leaving a “Syesha” stamp on her performance. That’s what she does week after week. Carly will surely belt out again…
What songs will be sung? Will my favorite Mariah song be sung? My favorite song is “Underneath the Stars”. Unfortunately, no one sang it.
David Archuleta opened the show with “When You Believe”. It was definitely a typical David Archuleta song. And it was a typical David Archuleta performance. He sang it REALLY well. He pulled off the falsetto. It was a great way to start the show. It was a tough act to follow.
Carly Smithson sang “Without You” (oh dear, memories of Ken Lee…). Here’s the thing, she can sing. However, AI is not just about singing. It’s not just about reaching the high notes. Her performance didn’t connect to me. It’s like she was thinking with every note that she sang. I think she’s in danger this week.
Syesha Mercado was third and she sang “Vanishing”. So she did her Syesha thing, which means it was a boring performance. She can sing, yes. But frankly, she just doesn’t have IT. Which probably explains why she doesn’t have a lot of fans. Which probably explains why not a lot of people buy her MP3s from iTunes.
Brooke White played the piano and sang “Hero”. I don’t think “Hero” was meant to be sung acoustic. She sang well, with some glitches, she sang it with her unique style, but it didn’t work for me.
Kristy Lee Cook – ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. It was such a BORING performance. It made me sleepy. Enough said.
David Cook surprisingly chose “Always Be My Baby”. A super pop song for a rocker? How’s that? Damn, IT WAS AMAZING! David Cook can record all the songs he sang in American Idol and sell the album NOW. It will sell! It was a very interesting version. He totally reinvented the song! One of the top 2 best performances of the night
Jason Castro closed the show with his rendition of “I Don’t Wanna Cry”. It wasn’t the best vocal for the night, it wasn’t his best performance to date, but it worked for me. He made the song his own. I love Jason’s style! Very unique.
The boys owned the night.
The performances from fave to least fave:
- David Cook
- David Archuleta
- Jason Castro
- Brooke White
- Carly Smithson
- Syesha Mercado
- Kristy Lee Cook
Bottom 3 will be Syesha Mercado, Brooke White and Kristy Lee Cook. It will either be Syesha or Kristy (HOPEFULLY!).
American Idol – Idol Gives Back April 10, 2008
Posted by carambs in American Idol, TV.Tags: Idol Gives Back
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Awesome. Celebrities coming together, giving time for their chosen charities, encouraging others to donate for many good causes. It was just awesome.
Yes there were some questionable performances, but hey, they gave their time, they helped, and for this night, that’s what matters. Not the opinions of the judges, not the votes. Just the donations.
I loved Annie Lennox’ performance. It was amazing. The emotions were felt with each word. That’s what these contestants should aspire to be. And how amazing is it to have Bono and Brad Pitt within the same show, with Brad Pitt there live. WOW!
Seeing the kids in need, especially in Africa, was an eye-opener. It reminds me of all those in need here in the Philippines. I wish we had something as big as Idol Gives Back, an event that can raise millions, which will go to those in need. But it’s okay, there’s Jesus Loves the Little Children, Cancer Warriors, and Bahay Tuluyan for now. I encourage you to choose your own beneficiary, and donate regularly. There are so many out there!
Let’s all give back.
American Idol 7 – Inspirational Songs Night April 9, 2008
Posted by carambs in American Idol, TV.Tags: AI, David Archuleta, Idol Gives Back, jason castro, michael johns
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To be consistent with “Idol Gives Back”, this week’s theme is Inspirational Songs. This year though I wasn’t as inspired as the past year, maybe due to the song choices? I don’t know. Oh well… on to the performances.
Michael Johns opened the show with Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. It was actually the perfect song choice for Michael Johns, he just kind of fell short with his performance. It wasn’t a bad performance, he just didn’t do anything to OWN the song. But it was okay.
Syesha Mercado chose Fantasia’s “I Believe”. She hasn’t learned from past comments – if you choose a song originally sung by a past American Idol contestant/winner, OF COURSE you will be compared.  I agree with the judges – she sang it well, but she wasn’t able to connect to the audience. There were no emotions involved. Very unlike Fantasia – you FEEL the message when she sings the song!
Jason Castro chose the PERFECT song in Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. I ABSOLUTELY love that version! And I absolutely love his rendition. As Simon said, “fantastic!”. Jason is such a unique singer/performer, he deserves to stay.
Kristy Lee Cook sang “Anyway”. I don’t have comments because I wasn’t able to watch her performance. I just know that she should already go, no one left deserves to go before her. NO ONE.
David Cook sang “Innocent”. It wasn’t his best performance but it was still good, it still had that David Cook vibe.
Carly Smithson sang “The Show Must Go On” by Queen, and I totally agree with Simon – she seemed ANGRY while singing. I don’t think “angry” goes with “inspirational”, don’t you agree? She has to do something about her facial expressions, she can look really scary when she sings.  She will probably be part of the Bottom 3 on friday.
David Archuleta sang Robbie Williams’ “Angels”, and it was another great performance. I think he missed some notes but they were not very noticeable. David is out to win this thing!
Brooke White closed with show with James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend”. It was the perfect song choice for her! I agree with Simon though – it was NICE and PLEASANT but not much more. It was a good performance, but it wasn’t as good as her past performances. The down side to giving amazing performances is that more is expected from you.
The performances, from fave to least fave:
- Jason Castro
- David Archuleta
- Brooke White
- Michael Johns
- Syesha Mercado
- David Cook
- Carly Smithson
- Kristy Lee Cook
I think Syesha, Carly and Kristy will be part of the bottom 3. Kristy SHOULD GO HOME. I’m just not sure if that will be the result of tonight’s voting. Let’s see.
Swing Out Sister Live in Manila! April 9, 2008
Posted by carambs in Music.Tags: concerts, Swing Out Sister
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Last Monday I watched the Swing Out Sister concert at Araneta Coliseum with Jovan, Karen, Carlo (my brother in law) and his date. Let me put it this way. The first part was a disaster, but the second part was awesome. All in all, it was worth it!
Jovan was concerned with the parking so we made sure we were there by 6PM. We had dinner at Cafe Bola, went around Gateway, then we entered Araneta at around 7:45PM. Should have been perfect because the concert was supposed to start at 8PM. At 8:30PM, it hasn’t started yet. We watched the looped videos of the ads, and this Steve Tyrell guy whom they were forcing on us because apparently, they were bringing him in for a concert. Finally, the lights dimmed. People started to cheer! Then suddenly, the announcer says “Ladies and gentlemen… Ms. Faith Cuneta!”
WHAT?! Okay, so there was a front act. Which we DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT. Whose music is SO not similar to Swing Out’s music. She had lame spiels and she praised Ovation Productions several times. It was really, really pathetic. But what I liked about Faith Cuneta was that she KNEW we were all there for Swing Out, and didn’t pretend that it was about HER. She was grateful after every song because the audience was polite enough to clap each time. She made the mistake of asking “You want to hear one more song?” to which the audience replied “Nooooo!” She said “I knew it, but here’s my last song anyway…” Check out the updates on my Twitter, hehe.
Back to the ads. The audience was getting sick of them. People were clapping from time to time, hoping that the actual concert would start soon. But the ads continued. The audience started to jeer when they showed the Steve Tyrell video again. It was just too much! That was the cue for the production people to stop the video. We still had to wait for several minutes though.
Finally, at around 9:30PM, the concert started. Swing Out Sister was (were?) thrilled to have the concert at the venue of Thrilla in Manila, and so they used the usual boxing introduction music (was that for Rocky? I don’t know…) when they went on stage. End of first part.
The awesome part came next. The concert was fun! It was so nice to see many fellow 30-ish people, who surely went there to enjoy the music. The band sang a combination of songs from their new album, and hits throughout the years. The lead singer, Corinne, though older, still has the same amazing voice. She kept saying “Salamat!” and “Ayos lang kayo dyan?” She changed to a long barong paired with leggings three-fourths into the show and she looked really cute!
Except for “You On My Mind” which was sung early on, the band saved the familiar and fun songs for the end, including “Twilight World” and of course “Breakout”.
Check out their new album, “Beautiful Mess”. New songs, but still with that same familiar sound.
I’ll upload the videos soon.
Happy Tripper Updates April 6, 2008
Posted by carambs in Happy Tripper, Travel.Tags: adventure, Adventure Philippines, hiking, outdoor, Philippines, trekking
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New posts at Happy Tripper!
Recreational Outdoor Exchange: Adventure Philippines
Adventure Philippines: Trekking or Hiking 1
Caramba! 