Poem for Someone I Used to Know & Another I Barely Know

The Fuss & The Furious

I find all these MARIAH LIP-SYNCHING-ON-IDOL accusations STUPID. Really. Let me tell you why:

1.) As a TV producer myself, my first reaction while watching the Mariah medley real-time was “F! BAD EDIT!!!” It’s VERY simple to say so – it was widely announced a week prior that she’d do a PRE-TAPING of her Idol Performance on finale’s eve. FYI: Most, if not all, pre-taped productions make ALMOST-PERFECT outputs. If the producer making the final cut of this number was keen enough to notice in the editing computer that the AUDIO and VIDEO layers seem not synched, then there’s gotta be a BAD CALL from him/her to carelessly give it a go for airing. The most probable thing other than this technical dubbing issue is SABOTAGE. Who's not aware of the unspoken Mariah-Idol wrangle?

2.) The mere fact it’s PRE-TAPED means it’s editable/curable between the editing & airing times. Had the editor/producer, Mariah’s manager or Mariah herself double-checked through the playback monitor that something’s wrong (don’t tell us they didn’t notice ‘cause all the 14 million Idol viewers did!), they could’ve revised it or even requested Mariah to do the number again LIVE ON-AIR (“forget the logistical costs the pre-taping had incurred; it’s my a** on the line here daaahling!”) had she known there’s a huge embarrassment coming her way on national television. Such largely sets Mariah’s case apart from the alleged Milli Vanilli, Ashlee Simpson or BEYONCÉ lip-synching scandals; their performances were IRREVERSIBLY LIVE; Mariah’s was pre-taped.

3.) It’s no coincidence that minutes after/during the taping, fans in attendance at the pre-taping have taken to the social media that Mariah has done 3 TAKES, sung more fan-favorite songs in-between takes and was in tip-top vocal shape. Given Mariah is a perfectionist & granted she did MIME her performance, she could’ve done it a THOUSAND more times if theplayback kept showing her an UN-SYNCHED, “staged” live performance. The RAW AUDIO recording of the taping was even uploaded online by a crafty fan an hour after or two. Take that as reference to the TRUE LIVE performance and you can see a world of difference between what aired & the truth. Thanks to Trent for this proactive answer to future questioning: http://thelavalizard.com/2013/05/preview-mariah-carey-american-idol/

4.) Okay, granted she considers this lip-synching aid in some of her past performances (say, for more than a decade now), wouldn’t she have been a MASTER of this art by now? Again, had she purposefully planned to pull a lipped performance, she should have been keener in checking (in the monitor) if she did it perfectly or not. In fact, she herself could have told whether she missed a beat during the number itself and stopped mid-way to re-do the number. 

5.) Coming from that “3 takes” theory, the material (that aired) certainly displayed a cobbled-up number, piecing together the best points off of each take. If this was a call from Mariah’s musical director or engineer, I’m pretty sure a more masterly attention would have been paid on the final cut. If this was a call from the producer, wow, how did you achieve that position with inferior capacity?

Clearly, somebody’s gotta take the blame for all this sh**.

PS: Don't ride this castigating bandwagon if you tolerate singers who lip-synch in a couple of local variety shows.

Understanding

Whoever said

love and career 

can't go together 

is yet to find 

an understanding partner...

and thus, a healthy relationship.

USANA: A Son's Story

During my recent visit in Taiwan & Japan, vacation was my purpose but HEALTH was my priority. Winter played between 3°C and 11°C. Twas even rainy in Taipei & so cold in Tokyo my neck & lips chapped.

Best as what mothers always know, few days before my flight, my MAMA gave me powerful WEAPONS as "PABAON." Not extra scarves or money but those I was skeptic at first to bring since I've just had my share of shots I thought. It's USANA & it's MERE VITAMINS, on second thought.

Not until I got home has it dawned on me that w/o this "pabaon," I could have surely returned voiceless for a gig, throat sore, immune system impaired and all thanks to MY WEAK LUNGS. But I have coped & have been assiduously protected. Most importantly, I've got my mom. Thanks Ma. I LOVE YOU.

So long Dragon, Hello Snake

Rumors were true.

2012 would be the "end of the world."

The year was such a blast for me that I would've easily concluded I either have died in this dreamy abundance 

or just utterly lived my 2012 to its fullest. 

Or both. 

Truly, 2012 was the Armageddon of drought, fears and misfortune.

As one article claims, 

"Snake is the Yin to last year's Dragon Yang," 

I am looking forward to strike the forthcoming balance 

with equal strength, health and affluence. 

To possssssssitivity, hello Snake.

Dark, Cold Day

My Uncle Roque died 3 a.m. today.

Also today, my bestfriend Vanessa left for Singapore for, needless to say, the greener pastures and perhaps, for good.

Dark.

I'm flying to Taiwan. Today, too. For lovelier pastures.

Cold. The weather there, that is.

Such phases in life: Death. New Life. New Love.

God bless us all.

A Dose of Love

Dose - Spanish for 12.

12 days before my birthday in 

'12, at

12 a.m., I got this really special surprise.

AMALAYER

It's not how simple the situation is, not how small or big a deal a predicament appears, not who takes on the role of the underdog or the aggressor, or not who we can sympathize (or empathize) with or against in the picture.
 
Crises have their way of putting a person's character to the test. HOW WE REACT to them tells much of our UPBRINGING and of our VALUES. 

And SPECTATORS ARE NOT EXEMPTED from this measure. Why or how we share a story taken out of context likewise conveys a sense of our personal MORALS. 

While most of us detest trial by publicity, how come we, ourselves, by virtue of social networks and self-willed democracy, inadvertently seem to be a WALKING CONTRADICTION?

If you believe I am mistaken, then tell me #AMALAYER