a boredom miracle.

Last October 10th 2013 I did something out of sheer boredom that early morning.

I tried sending a e-mail letter to Dr Brian May. Yes, that curly-haired astrophysicist-nature advocate-guitar hero from that band called Queen.


It was just to say hi, you know; that there are some Queen fans in the Philippines. The fans in the UK said he's very nice to them; when they send him letters, he answers them

Well, I decided to believe that always trust a real fan.

This is the *complete* letter I sent with a nice pic of a "badger of honor", respecting Dr May's advocacy for protecting animals and the environment:

Hello Dr. May,

I'm Lorayne from the Philippines and is an avid enthusiast of music and art.

I must say Queen's music is so legendary! Nowadays I prefer to listen more to music from the past decades than the current hits of now. I just read your commentary on the X-Factor system yesterday and I think the industry is going stale, but surely better talent will eventually emerge.

About your stereo photography, it's great! I just need some time to buy a viewer, really.

And your work in promoting animal rights is much appreciated, although in our country, some Filipinos like to try the "unusual" stuff, like eating dog meat, lizard, frog etc. and it's disgusting. Same in Indonesia.

Your kindness to animals, especially towards badgers, really amazes me. So I decided that I should give you a Badger of Honor (found somewhere in the Net). Hope you'll like it!

Regards and all the best!

And I sent if off at around 10 minutes before 6 AM, Philippine time.

Then I took my mind off it and did the laundry.

Only later that evening I remembered this letter, so I had to check le mailbox,

and this came up, sent earlier around 7:34 AM:

Brian's Soapbox

That's lovely, Lorayne! 

Thanks so much  -  I will treasure it ! 

I'm happy to hear we share the same feeling about how we treat animals.  We need more warriors ! 

So more power to you … 

and .. 

Thanks !! 

Bri 

X

My reaction: 

I ain't kidding man... it was Brian May

And I sent a 'thank you' reply afterwards.

So why am I sharing this, you ask?

....'cause it's his day today!

Happy birthday Dr Bri!

Patty

Moonlight Miracle!

It was last March 7. I was going home from work when I spotted what I can call a childhood dream: a Sailormoon figurine from Japan.

Cheap it was. Around Php 750.

Gosh, I was... you know... happier than the time I got that book. I always wanted to buy a Sailormoon action figure. Well you see, I had a post from last year about it. So the happy kid I am... really had my luck.


And yeah, I've got a little fun fact to go with it. March 7th 1992 was the first broadcast of the Sailormoon animated series in Japan.

And here's the Moon Princess! (sorry for the crappy background on the first one. I was trying to be as resourceful as I can, you know)

And this one... uh...please ignore the background. I made a post about it already:

The background on this pic here is from The Beatles Anthology. And a bonus Luna included. :)

And there ya have it! It's now placed quietly on a shelf here in our bedroom. And that's your happy Patty today. 

Sweet Soul Review: 40 Years Of Queen

And as a continuation of my random musings today, here's my review of that splendid-looking book titled "40 Years of Queen"

I was inspired by this post due to the nice review so it kinda got me thinking: this book is worth a read. So I reserved a copy of the book (this link is where I placed my order), did my stuff while waiting... and then I got an SMS notification saying that the order's waiting for me.



And well, dahlings, I got it! Here it is in it's royal glory:






So here's what the book has:

• Pics of the band from their photo-vaults
• Replicas of tour tickets, concert program cards, handwritten letters and song lyrics
• Promo posters
• and a CD containing a 1977 interview from BBC Radio One

Most of the written stuff in this book was written by a music journalist who's a Queen fan himself, but the book is published in the name of Queen. Nothing new to know about the guys, but what's really great is this 1976 fan club poster:

And my younger sister's only description of the book is that "it's the best fan book I've seen".

It's about Queen's history and continuing legacy (thanks to us, fellow Queenies) and of course, their epic music. I know how bad it turned out for them in 1991, but what mattered was that they lasted.

The book is very pro-Queen, with one pic of Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson and a section on Bohemian Rhapsody and their Live Aid 1985 performance. So now you see why Queen is a band not easy to get bored to or forget, especially that they have *that lead singer*. And *that bassist*. And *that lead guitarist*. And *that drummer*.

It would be much better if Dr Brian May and Roger Taylor had written in some stuff aside from the foreword, so I'm just gonna give this book a 4.5 stars rating.

Well anyways, it's a great thing to have it aside from the fact I bought from my first payslip in a year, and this book is guaranteed to increase the Queen appreciation more.

I'll be doing another review, and it's gonna be for The Beatles Anthology. Will be done most likely a few months from now, so lemme finish it first ok? 

Patty

a long time coming.

Hello. 

Right now I'll be out in a few hours, getting my pay and will be shopping for a new pair of shoes.

Patty's got a salary you ask? 

Yep, and it's like my 5th one.

Well, last January this year I decided to get a job and happened to land here and the company does outsourcing stuff mostly with well-known companies.

Right now I'm with these guys, most of them newbies to the outsourcing industry. 
Our current client is a major telecommunications company. I'm located where the purple circle is placed in this pic below:

So ever since I've had this job, I wasn't able to update this bloggy and the others as well. But the best part of me having an active worklife is that thing called salary, which aside from the slender, green one with lots of vitamins, is a good thing. 

And one thing I'm currently enjoying is this book, in which I'll do a review in a bit. 

Last thing. I've been in the workplace for almost 4 months now. It's a milestone for me!

At least I'm doing something relevant.

Patty

ehhh...

maybe I should try posting some of my MS OneNote stuff.

my first Lucky Star merch! - Kagami w/ pink pom-poms

the 1990s - used to be that figure... and up to this day

this was at the first house we lived in Paranaque City. Love that sailor collar.

this one was taken at the ice cream shop (which was run by my dad's aunt; it's not existing anymore) at Daddy's family home in Manila proper (the 'old' Manila as they say). Yes, that's the Magnolia ice cream chest since the shop was a Magnolia ice cream retailer, and the walls used to have those 'Flavor of the Month' posters. I love ice cream.

it's raining out there, and I want some apple pie

the previous week gave me this wonderful thing: apple pie a la mode. With that ice cream on top and that warmth... I swear I'd like to have one for breakfast! 

a royal rediscovery

upon my sister's purchase of a Queen DVD set last week, I found myself rediscovering these 4 epic guys:

no need for words. you know who they are.

colorizing The Beatles and stuff

 photo taken by Dezo Hoffmann. pic credit goes to  thegilly.tumblr.com

my scan from a Beatles biography by Terry Burrows 


the third one looked like it was some sort of artwork

and the last one... a perennial favorite of mine.

voting for a change

new Sailormoon figurines coming out this year! :D

Images of A Woman by The Beatles (1966)

They made this artwork during their stay in Japan in 1966.

    

  

my funny bone

I don't usually promote stuff, but here's my brand new blog for your humorous side. And yeah, the upcoming issues are still under construction, so here are the first 3 releases (hehehe!). The main blog is here: http://thedailyboogerblog.blogspot.com/

people power!

an anthem of 27 years ago: Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo

lyrics: Jim Paredes
sung by: Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit

'Di na 'ko papayag mawala kang muli. 
'Di na 'ko papayag na muling mabawi, 
Ating kalayaan kay tagal nating mithi. 
'Di na papayagang mabawi muli. 

Magkakapit-bisig libu-libong tao. 
Kay sarap pala maging Pilipino. 
Sama-sama iisa ang adhikain. 
Kailan man 'di na paalipin. 

Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo, 
Mapayapang paraang pagbabago. 
Katotohanan, kalayaan, katarungan ay kayang makamit na walang dahas. 
Basta't magkaisa tayong lahat. 

(magsama-sama tayong lahat, ikaw at ako)

Masdan ang nagaganap sa aming bayan. 
Nagkasama ang mahirap at mayaman. 
Kapit-bisig madre, pari at sundalo. 
Naging langit itong bahagi ng mundo. 

Huwag muling payagang umiral ang dilim. 
Tinig ng bawat tao'y bigyan ng pansin. 
Magkakapatid lahat sa Panginoon. 
Ito'y lagi nating tatandaan.

Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo, 
Mapayapang paraang pagbabago. 
Katotohanan, kalayaan, katarungan ay kayang makamit na walang dahas. 
Basta't magkaisa tayong lahat!

basta't magkaisa tayong lahat

It was 27 years ago today:

The George Harrison day spam!

of angry birds and The Beatles

it's so coincidental to know that there's some kind of relation between The Beatles and Angry Birds... hehe!

sorry if this sounds lame, but I know this is funny

Jerry, Vic, Ken and VanNess - F4!

THEY'RE BACK!

this was the most epic thing for Lunar New Year for me. You know, almost 12 years back, these guys were supposed to be just actors. But when Liu Xing Hua Yun (Meteor Garden) became a hit, F4 was born.

I'm sure they'll be touring again or make a new TV show or a new album; yeah! a new album! Waiting For You was the last album they had in 2007.

move over 1D!

911, B*Witched, BSB... and now it's F4!

the video below features Harlem Yu performing Qing Fei De Yi (theme from Liu Xing Hua Yun) and the epic reunion of F4. here's the translation: bubblemarai | wordpress: transcript of F4 reunion interview

what is CUTE?

illustrations and personifications of CUTE.