Prescription The word palindrome is derived from the Greek palandromos, meaning running back again (palan = AGAIN + drom-, dramen = RUN). By etymology, a palindrome is a word or phrase which reads the same in both directions.
All palindromes are in Bold Typeface.
More often than not, the TITLES of the blogs are palindromes.
Filipinos are passionate about our balls. Before your dirty mind thinks of other things, let me explain further. We love sports!
Just recently, our very own Django Bustamante won (almost won FIRST) second place in the 2002 World Pool Championships in Cardiff, Wales. This was the same tourney that Efren "Bata" Reyes pocketed in 1999. Despite the very sad news about his 8-year old daughter, Django led 15-13, but lost on a scratch at the break on the 29th match of a First to 17 championships.
Oh well, that's what you call an unlucky break - a scratched ball.
In another sports news, Dorothy Delasin placed 3rd at the recent 2002 Giant Eagle LPGA Golf Classic held in Vienna, Ohio which she has won for the last two years. But not without a fight. She had to score a 67 to bag 3rd place. Another Filipina, Jennifer Rosales won 10th overall.
En route to the 3rd and 10th places, Both Filipinas have scored on a lot of birdies. But as Dorothy herself placed it perfectly well, "I ran out of holes (for the birdies???)"
Gig Name : UB40 - Reggae and Rhythm Gig Venue: Montreux (Switzerland) Jazz Festival
Gig T & D : 12:45 AM to 2:45 AM, Saturday, July 19, 2002
Gig Entry : 2-month old tickets with the most beautiful date in town, my wife
Gig Tracks: not in any order:
1980s : The Way You Do the Things You Do, Don't Slow Down, Red Red Wine (song that brought the house down)
1990s : Can't Help Falling In Love, Sorry, Bring Me Your Cup, Where Did I Go Wrong, Breakfast In Bed, Here I Am (Come And Take Me), Reggae Music (Rap by their Keyboardist)
2000s : Since I Met You Lady, Cover Up, and other songs I can't remember.
What made this concert unique was the fact that it started way past midnight. I was in the concert halls at 7 pm just to be informed that the concert's sked for the night includes Ike Turner and Mandrill for the first four hours, before Britain's Premier Raggae Band takes centerstage. I decided to go home and have dinner first, sleep for an hour or two and prepare for the real show.
The night was made more enjoyable as the whole UB40 decided from the git-go to make the audience have a fun time and didn't withhold their great songs, starting off with "The Way You Do the Things You Do" while the crowd would help chant the track's title refrain. "Cover Up", a song on the use of condom reeled off tracks from their last year's album and then followed up by the 80s reggae theme song - "Red Red Wine", familiar tunes "Can't Help Falling in Love" and then "Higher Ground".
Memorable? Yes, definitely! With the new sked, my wife was able to come with me and jam it up with close to 4,000 other Europeans turned rastas til 2:30 in the morning!
Concert Rating: Deserving of a red red wine toast! UB40 got me, babe!
Gig Name : David Bowie Concert Gig Venue: Montreux (Switzerland) Jazz Festival
Gig T & D : 8:45 PM to 11:15 pm, Thursday, July 18, 2002
Gig Entry : via scalper at 9:00 PM
Gig Tracks: not in any order:
1970s : Space Oddity, Changes, Ziggy Stardust, Rebel Rebel, Fame
1980s : Fashion, Let's Dance, China Girl and Blue Jean
1990s : I am Afraid of America
2002 : Sunday, Cactus, Slip Away, Afraid, I've Been Waiting for You, I Would Be Your Slave, Everyone says "Hi", Slow Burn, The Angels Have Gone
If you are given the chance to see a guy that has mastered the art of Ch-Ch-Change and Reinvention and has formed most of one's cassette or vinyl record collection, will you take it? I would, if I could. In the first place, tickets were sold out 2 hours upon opening of the box office way back in April 26. So, I never really hesitated but took my sweet time to do it. And I did, as probably 5,000 more rocking Europeans in the Auditorium Stravinski last night. Mr. Bowie was last night's most dapperdude with an aura far unimaginable this day if you happen to see his pictures being Ziggy Stardust or "Diva" Bowie in the 70s. His voice was still solid and showed his versatility as he sang his freakish 70s tracks and his present rock solid new songs from "Heathen". His most applauded numbers included, "ChinaGirl" and "Changes" and of course, taking a cue and joked about the name of the concert (being a Jazz Festival), David rendered a soulful samba-sounding introduction of "Let's Dance" and right smack as the audience have surrendered that the joke was true, the band pumped a notch higher to bring back the rocking bass and drum beating the song was known for. What were supposed to be meek Swiss people who love to frolic with their cheeses and cows were now ecstatic, short of wild beasts "putting on their red shoes" and really dancing their blues away!
I've been in and around CD Stores most of the time lately and have been a listening-section-rat for a good 15-30 minutes hopping from one CD to another listening to new releases and just discovered these three. Today, I'll start off a portion of my palindromic-entitled blog section with "DISCS I'D... (blank) - either shun, just continue listening to it or yes maybe, buy...here goes
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND - "Busted Stuff" Released : July 16, 2002
I got hooked with DMB with "Crash" and plastered with "The Best of What's Around", then cemented with "Everyday". That oh-so-familiar-timbre of a voice as cool as, yes, Sting, was enough for me to shop around for more stuff. Just last year, I tumbled upon "Lillywhite Sessions" from where-else - the Internet and thought it was a weird idea from a label to not produce the album with such great stuff and allow it to be released only in the internet. Of course, I didnt know that the screwed up producer wanted to get back at DMB and leaked samples of what could be a great masterpiece. Just the same, the South African band and their "Lillywhite BUSTED Stuff" are here to stay, not pirated, and with digitally mastered copies of the "original sessions", the 11-track album will be a good buy for any DMB fanatic like me.
This Disc, with its bonus DVD, I'd definitely BUY. I will continue to listen to it here til I get back home though. Or else I'll gnash my teeth if it won't be released in the Philippines when I go back home in August...
DAVID BOWIE - "Heathen" Released in Switzerland, July 2, 2002
Hmmmm. Let me see. David Bowie is playing tonight at the Montreux Jazz Festival - and - and - I didn't scramble for tickets...what could be the reason for such a decision? Maybe because Mr. Bowie, Ziggy himself hasn't released any respectable album of late. But this album is a reunion of sorts (just like U2) with the producer who got him out of the Stardust eras. So maybe with tracks like "Afraid", a cover of the Pixies "Cactus", "Angels Have Gone" and the title track will make me buy a ticket from a scalper? Those are 4 reasons out of the 12 tracks!
I think I'll give it a get-go. I'd try to get the ticket first, if not settle for the CD or maybe the vinyl LP (which was also released for nostalgic reasons). This disc, I'd BUY but in the Philippines, because it will surely be released there at a much lower price of Php 450.00 than its wallet-busting price of CHF 29.90 or Php 900.00. Ugh. Doble.
OASIS - "Heathen Chemistry" Released in Switzerland, July 2, 2002
Six degrees of separation. Dave Matthews to Oasis. Dave Matthews - David Bowie (both Dave's), Heathen to Heathen Chemistry, (both are CDs). Forget about the spats between the brothers. Forget about the chest-thumping ego maniacal statements the two have made but this CD is going to throw you back to the 90s, with their first two albums. Correction. It will throw you back to the 60s with the Beatles' era. Defintely, not just maybe, a good way to listen to the young John and Paul, Ringo and George. As Amazon puts it, "... if a band is going to unapologetically rip off what was unquestionably the best band in the world, no one does it better than Oasis."
This disc, I'd BUY in the Philippines for Php 450.00 and not its Swiss Price of CHF 24.50 or roughly Php 750.00. Doesn't tell you something about my taste, but tells you that I'm definitely and not maybe, saving some moolah for more European escapades!
