ithefuturist

[ithefuturist]

Moody Victorian home in London | more pictures here

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[ithefuturist]

(via https://open.spotify.com/playlist/13e8Dt2zKBSMDMuy1XZyRx?si=0w_rCwexS0itzSHaESb_nw)

Somewhere along the way, maybe in between Apple Music forcibly ramming Songs of Innocence down my throat and Bono’s repetitive and seemingly self serving political rants -- I lost interest in U2. 

Since high school I remember having countless daydreams about seeing them perform live in concert and I’ve had a few close chances the past 10 or so years but something always got in the way. 

Anyway, they will be here in Manila on December for their Joshua Tree tour. I am half hearted about seeing them so I created this playlist - limited it to only the top 10 songs that I love from them - to hopefully re-ignite my love for the band. Hopefully it works! Or I’ll pass on this childhood dream because what’s worse than sitting in a concert watching a band you feel disconnected with after going through horrendous Manila traffic? 

[ithefuturist]

Regine Velasquez - Sometime, Somewhere (Musicman @ 50)

Every now and then there’s that great musical moment where a masterpiece is created, unstaged, unplanned, but everything aligns and some magical moment in music is achieved and in most instances cannot be recreated again.

Glen Gould’s 1981 interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg’s Variations Aria for example, even through all his humming, hit all the perfect notes at the right wondrous pace that tells an extraordinary piece of musical story. Many gifted pianists can play this piece by Bach so well but Glen Gould was able to masterfully create that perfect moment in time that’s untouchable and can’t be recreated -- not even by Glen Gould himself.

This was exactly what I was thinking when I saw this performance by the Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez. The moment she stepped on stage in that yellow number, the way she walked, her perfectly coifed hair, her beauty and femininity all just a prelude to a story she’s about to unleash in utter perfection.

National Artist Ryan Cayabyab composed this song and I’ve seen other great artists attempt this arrangement and saw them all fall short - because it’s unimaginably difficult to sustain this level of emotion and not get drained as an interpreter and eventually get swallowed by the orchestra. In fact even at her prime Regine probably won’t be able to recreate this moment of perfection - like Glen Gould for Bach’s Aria in 1981. 

This is a very difficult piece to interpret because it moves from whimsical thoughts to pained realizations that the whimsical hopes start to wane and fade and turn into heartbreak. That same heartbreak then also becomes the same emotion that fuels Regine’s final crescendo where her voice and the orchestra’s music gradually swells in perfect unison into an explosive fight for that sometime, somewhere for the lovers - there is hope yet and that final belt, perfectly placed and perfectly necessary shows how much fight the lover still has in her. 

Bravo! 

[ithefuturist]

This was at the end of a 12-hour tour so I was exhausted and cranky. LOL! I remember telling myself, “Really? Did you really need to see a leaning tower? What does this add to you as a person?” 😂😂😂 But I smiled for a selfie anyway. Lesson learned for me is — when on vacation don’t be afraid to miss out on some sites, sights or activities in favor of additional hours of sleep or just laying in bed. OR don’t do 12-hour tours anymore. 3 to 4 hour tours, yes. Beyond that is just too much.

On another note, my favorite part of Italy is Florence! Rome was beautiful and amazing but Florence felt more refined and orderly. I think the crowds in Rome and knowing there are pickpockets around me made me feel a little uneasy even if I don’t really carry around much with me when I explore the city by foot. But the idea of losing say a Bic pen because a pickpocket got their way on me is enough to spoil my day. LOL! But I look forward to my next visit to both cities!

- Best pizza I’ve ever tasted was from a beachfront restaurant in Positano — nothing comes close even from other restaurants or pizza places in Italy or New York. Ang sarap!

- I’m lactose intolerant but I could eat crazy amounts of gelato and not get triggered! Sometimes the universe throws you a delicious bone indeed! I LOVE gelato! ♥️🇮🇹

- Milan is not a particularly impressive city but heck if all you wanna do is shop — this is where you wanna be! Best city I’ve been FOR SHOPPING!

[ithefuturist]

(via https://open.spotify.com/user/12141858416/playlist/5NnPM8CeyCijbOndtHBP3u?si=_QFmHuitSp6EHUcWZkZ4mA)

Unearthed Smithereens from 2007′s cathartic “Songs Of Mass Destruction” and I just had to create my little Annie Lennox playlist.

Annie Lennox’s voice is something else. It’s both haunting and piercing, vulnerable and angry. What an artist!

SMITHEREENS

I saw your picture It made me sorry For all the things I never said It seems that you have cause to worry It seems that you don't wish me well

Behind the (victim?) Behind the trouble Are all the things you've not expressed I see you standing behind your mother I see you hiding behind the dress

So don't make me sad I couldn't stand to watch you fall 'Cause everybody has a tender heart Remember this I didn’t mean to break it down to smithereens

I heard you crying I learned the story I saw the shadows behind the past They fall behind you and creep up slowly You're only human behind the mask

So don't take me down I couldn't stand to watch you fall 'Cause everybody has a broken heart Remember this I couldn't stand to break it down to smithereens

And you say everybody is an island of their own And you say everybody has a tender heart Remember this I couldn't bear to break it down to smithereens Woh oh yeah

I didn’t mean to break it down I didn’t mean to smithereens I didn’t mean to break it down I didn’t mean to smithereens

Everybody is an island to themselves Everybody is an island to themselves Everybody is an island to themselves Don't you know Yeah yeah yeah Yeah yeah yeah

Songwriters: Annie Lennox

Smithereens lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

[ithefuturist]

This teenage vlogger’s apartment has to-die-for (TDF) views! I initially followed her coz of her apartment tour or I think the video art/cover she uses for her vlog posts. But my gosh to have an apartment like that in NYC must feel like a dream every night when the city lights up! 

[ithefuturist]

“Groundbreaking”

The whole “Off White” trend just won’t stop that I’m starting to get tempted to get a piece but my mind is rejecting the idea that the over-usage of quotation marks is a groundbreaking idea.

I get the the irony that Balenciaga is pushing out there and I think it’s bold and the statement carries weight. But putting quotation marks on everything is not philosophical - it’s just dumb. It has the intellectual depth of a puddle of mud and somebody has to call it out and make it end.

Come to think about it, why isn’t anyone OPENLY calling out the stupidity that is “Off White”? Is it because Vuitton picked up Virgil and everyone’s scared to be on the bad side of Vuitton? 

“Aaarggh!”

[ithefuturist]

BTS Exclusive Interview #BTSonBBCR1

Probably the best quick feature about Korean Pop phenomenon BTS...

Just because it’s not English, just because you can’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s not good.

Western entertainment has been a dominant force around the world for so long, perhaps a shift is due? With the positive messaging they bring along, why the hell not BTS? 

Perhaps, once we let East Asian culture influence the world more than the West has done for so long, all that we think is wrong with our world (all the politics and social maladies included) will get fixed. 

[ithefuturist]

Will Cain: Serena Williams drama is a 'disgrace' to Naomi Osaka | Will C...

[ithefuturist]

Serena Williams claims sexism in U.S. open penalties

Surprised to see that the most unbiased analysis of the situation came from Fox News. More about this when I have time this weekend. This is a mess and the damage control that will unfold will be very telling on where tennis stands about managing top players’ egos and upholding what tennis is all about.

[ithefuturist]

[FULL] Naomi Osaka interview after defeating Serena Williams in 2018 Gra...

Great champs, Mary Jo Fernandez and Chrissy Evert (sorry, I don’t know the name of the other gracious lady) giving Naomi the credit and recognition she deserves. Almost feels like correcting the mess that Serena did. 

[ithefuturist]

2018 US Open Highlights: Serena Williams' dispute overshadows Naomi Osak...

Oh my, Serena what happened here dear? Let’s list out the points (no pun):

1. There was a record at stake - Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slam Championships.

2. There was a big build up going into this US Open Final - apparently there was even a commercial about it. In social media she was posting IG stories on how she’s also balancing being a mother while going for this championship, there’s the collaboration with Virgil Abloh of Off White for her outfits - her journey into this final was constantly on my feed.

3. Naomi Osaka, wrote a paper about Serena when she was in 3rd grade. It’s her dream to play her idol in a grand slam final. Let’s not forget there’s another player on the court in this championship even though sadly it turned out like this championship was all about just one player. 

4. Naomi Osaka outplayed Serena in the first set. 

5. Serena’s coach was coaching her - this is super common in tennis. But if they get caught they get a penalty or warning accordingly. She got a warning for this. She took it as an attack on her character like, “Excuse me, are you saying that I’m trying to cheat to win this match?” Well, one would hope that that’s how less complicated things had happened but it became this whole spectacle. At one point it became a women’s rights issue. I was so confused whether Serena was fighting to win the championship or for other things or if she was fighting for everything all at once or if it even made sense to approach things that way. 

6. In the end - this is how I saw it - Naomi Osaka’s dream to play with her idol in a Grand Slam final didn’t quite turn out to be all that dreamy. 

I’m afraid another’s person’s ego or on court antics or both took away from it all. 

This reminds me of Roland Garros 1999 - when two of my favorite tennis players were playing against each other. But it was the young petulant Hingis that was making a scene on court and Steffi Graf, the experienced champ that she is, was the one who conducted herself with grace and class - eventually winning the championship.

This is not to say that Serena shouldn’t have fought for what she thought was right. But maybe she should have said her piece, moved on and focused on playing her match against Osaka and not a match against the umpire. 

Ideally, she should have focused on winning the match. And come speech time when she’s announced as the champion that’s when she would have given her “speech” (off white pun intended) on it all. That would have made her a better ambassador for mother athletes or women in general if that’s what she was going for. For all her experience and her championships, I really believe she could have come all the way through and made things turn out that way.

 Alas, she chose not to. 

[ithefuturist]

What makes art valuable? BBC Documentary

“The price of art is not its value. Its price is what people are willing to pay to own them. Its value is what makes people want it - that could be love, a sense of family history, a status symbol, a business investment etc.” 

If I had an unimaginably vast amount of wealth the one piece of art that I would want to hang in my living room or den would be Pollock’s One Number 31 and somewhere in my bedroom would be Dalí’s Persistence of Memory, at my home office would be Van Gogh’s Starry Night and where I entertain guests will be Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. Geez, I wonder if there’s actually a person who’s rich enough to do that! 

Actually, since we’re talking about unlimited wealth in this half asleep- half awake fantasy borne out of this documentary - I’ll just go ahead and buy the whole MoMA. LOL! Yes, I will buy the MoMA and everything in it but I’ll remove all the Warhols and maybe resell them to people with a taste for that kind of “art.” 

[ithefuturist]

High As Hope

Florence + The Machine’s latest album High As Hope teems with gripping pronouncements delivered warmly through Florence Welch’s haunting voice.

At seventeen, I started to starve myself I thought that love was a kind of emptiness

I had to fight the urge to laugh when I heard those lyrics while doing weighted crunches at the gym because I was on a diet trying to shed some weight. Perfect timing Florence, I thought. Man, am I glad Flo is back with new music! 

She later on sings, “You need a big god, big enough to hold your love” powered with booming bass and cymbals in Big God. You later on realize that Florence is pontificating about her relationship with her god - a level of intimacy that you share with a close friend, for example, when the silence of the night wears out your defenses.

High As Hope is exactly that - a friend’s intimate set of stories that grip you,  make you feel uneasy sometimes and yet you won’t dare tune it out. 

I recently wondered whether we’ve had any real compelling storytelling from music this year and this album answers that with a strong: Yes. 

And it's hard to write about being happy 'Cause the older I get I find that happiness is an extremely uneventful subject

And there would be no grand choirs to sing No chorus could come in About two people sitting doing nothing

Tell me more, Florence. I’m listening. 

4/5 Stars

[ithefuturist]

Aquaman, protector of the seven seas!

[ithefuturist]

💪👟😆

[ithefuturist]

EUROPE INITIATION - PART 3: PARIS

It’s hard to pin down when my French awakening started.

It might have been in 1992 when as a  little boy I watched the Roland Garros Ladies Final on tv with my father. While watching the match I heard him cuss like like a sailor as Monica Seles and Steffi Graf slugged it out in a thrilling final set which Seles eventually won, 10-8. This match was bananas! And I also learned my first French words from the match:

Égalité = deuce, but literally “equality” or “tied” (when the game is at 40-40). This term would then later come in handy when I learn about about egalitarian societies. 

S'il vous plaît = literally means “please” or “if you would please” but in tennis speak it’s basically used by the umpire to tell the crowd to “Shut up please. And thanks!” So picking it up as a young boy whenever I hear someone being loud or plainly saying something ludicrous I would precociously say, “S'il vous plaît.” “Shut up please. And thanks!” 😁

I also learned to count in French but only with the numbers 15, 30 and 40. Teehee! 😁  

Well, on second thought, my French awakening may have happened on another occasion. It might have been through Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Mostly through the music, I must say. Tom Hulce’s version of “Out There” is a long time favorite and of course Lea’s Eponine singing “On My Own” is quite remarkable. (Side note: while I was in Paris, I stayed near the river Seine and the Notre Dame cathedral and literally heard the bells of Notre Dame and couldn’t help but hum, well,  The Bells of Notre Dame. It felt so surreal! I also imagined Quasimodo ringing the bells himself! Haha!)  

But then there was French art. Claude Monet’s work has always fascinated me. So maybe Monet was the one responsible for my French awakening.

There was also French cinema. In my teens, the Embassy of France would hold a French Film Festival at the Shang and I would queue up every year to see some of the best French movies. Three films particularly moved me: 

Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion (The Grand Illusion) probably the best war film ever made 

The wonderfully acted La Vie rêvée des anges (The Dreamlife of Angels)

Indochine starring the amazing Catherine Deneuve 

There’s a lot to draw from, and as I look back I couldn’t pin it down to a single moment in time where my deep fascination to anything French began. I can tell you this - the moment I arrived in Gare de Lyon and as I emerged from the train station and into Paris it didn’t feel like I was in a foreign city. It almost felt like I’ve been there before, many times over. It almost felt like I was coming home. 

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Picture story time! They’re not chronological - yet again - coz Tumblr.

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This was at the train ride from Barcelona’s Sant station going to Gare de Lyon in Paris. Funny story - I booked a first class seat because, well, who doesn’t wanna be comfortable when they travel right? At the train station I was asking someone where the first class lounge was and I got weird reactions or I dunno maybe somebody pointed me to a set of chairs that were in some corner somewhere - I don’t remember. But what I learned was - first class train seats in Europe aren’t any special. Also, you literally have to carry your own luggage into the train. I actually asked a fellow passenger while we were about to board if that was normal. He laughed. So to the uninitiated (me), first class train ride does not equal first class airplane ride. I got over that unmet expectation coz baby I was going to Paris! Woohoo! Nothing else mattered at that time! 😁(UPDATE: after researching this over on YouTube it looks like this depends on the train you’re taking. It’s like PAL business class (meh) vs. Qatar or Emirates BC experience (wow!)) 

This was at the summit of the Eiffel Tower. Got the “VIP skip the line” ticket but still had to queue up for hours. As far as I’m concerned, going up the summit isn’t worth it. I feel like queueing up that long for anything is a waste of time. And then going down, you still have to queue up for the elevator as well. So just to go up and down the Eiffel Tower becomes a half day affair at least. My good friend Mona told me they should have offered me the option to rappell down the tower LOL! Between wasting time and something fun/dangerous, I would have taken the latter option easily. 

My favorite piece of art from the Louvre. 

This was the Japanese garden in Monet’s estate in Giverny. It’s like being in his famous Lilies painting. It’s quite an experience. Book the trip at Viator! 

Isn’t Paris beautiful? Alex brought me here to see this view. Actually, he brought me everywhere in Paris. Memorize ko na nga ang Paris guys kasi nilakad namin lahat. Haha! But I’m glad he did coz I really now feel like I couldn’t get lost in Paris. He also taught me how to use the Metro - and if you ask me, the Paris Metro is easier to navigate (and waaaay cleaner) than the New York subway. 

Venus de Milo. In the world of art - the powers that be dictate what’s valuable. Kinda like hype machinery. Just like the Cambell soup “art” by Warhol - madami kasi syang friends na alta who backed him up and hailed his work as “art”. I think same story sa Venus de Milo pero with this one it was during a time when civilizations were upholding their cultures by amassing (and salvaging) art. The French needed to collect significant pieces of art - and if I heard the story right - when they found the Venus de Milo they declared it as “the one” - the piece of art that they have that they can be proud of. In a way, it’s significant na rin but if you ask me about its artistic value - I’ve seen a lot of better sculptures but we also have to remember that art is also something that describes a moment in history so we couldn’t deny Venus de Milo’s significance. Ok na rin. Choice naman nila yan. Haha!

iPhone only. Didn’t even get to use my G7X camera. Used and abused the portrait mode feature of the iPhone. 

Thumbs up pose again. Note to self in the next travel photos - surf’s up pose naman for variety. LOL! 

Dilaw na dilaw. 

To be fair, I like this photo from the inverted pyramid at the Louvre. Pero naka thumbs up na naman. Ugh.

When in Paris - Vuitton. 

Don’t I look giddy here? Romanticism guys. Cupid bringing Psyche back to life. The placement of the sculpture at the Louvre was perfect too coz it gets natural lighting that makes it look even more dramatic. I was totally in awe of this sculpture! 

Eiffel Tower again. Still not Facebook banner levels. Oh well, next time.

Sacre Coeur. Sacred Heart. 

I thought I was being bold when I decided to go for this shot. I would later find out that a lot of people do this. Yung nakatayo sa gitna ng daan. K. 😂

I tried doing an emotive pose here. But still not Facebook banner quality. Check out the flip flop too.  

Monet’s garden. In fact, I got to go inside his house! BFF levels! Just kidding!

This was another attempt. But so casual. Pambahay look. Hahaha!

This was taken from the window of Monet’s bedroom. Nice no?

Eiffel Tower at night taken with an iPhone. 

French countryside. Nag traditional French lunch lang. 

This window type of photo is very Paris. 

Versailles. I highly recommend going to Versailles to understand the French better and why aesthetics is an intrinsic part of their culture. Their King literally wanted the French to be the best dressed and best looking people in the world. He even cared so much about his hair - hence the pictures of people with wigs back then. And then there’s the Palace of Versailles which he wanted to be the grandest palace ever. Na achieve naman nya. Daming gold. 

Montmartre. Mainit!

Uso na pala selfie dati pa. 

Outtake at the Notre Dame. 

Dior store. Nice no?

Louvre. 

Versailles. Gold talaga yang mga yan guys. HAHA!

Seine. 

Bawal daw pumasok si Sia dito guys baka ano daw gawin at makabasag. LOL! Waley. 🤦‍♂️

And that’s all that I could share to you guys! Thanks again to Viator for helping me make my vacation seamless.