In the blogosphere, not blogging for about three days could be considered a "hiatus" already (ain't it?).

Okay let's cut to the chase. I won't be posting for a long while-- that is, until August 14.

Why? I'm preparing for the Geology Board Exam, which is on August 12, 13 and 14.

So I could coax you to continue visiting this site and/or dropping your Entrecards, I will give a FREE AD SPOT FOR A MONTH on this site to the one who visits this site the most during the hiatus. If you check out this site on Entrecard, it has an average price of 64-128 EC per day of advertising. I'm giving away an AD SPOT FOR A MONTH.

I will be checking out my drops inbox at the end of this hiatus.

If you're not Entrecard (why aren't you?), you could just leave a comment on this post with your name and site/email so I could contact you later.

The one with the most visits and/or drops wins.

BTW, if you're on EC, just drop, and if you leave a comment, just state that you've dropped your EC today, so double-counts may be avoided.

Also, in case of ties, I'll give the ad spots to those who are tied.

Thanks!

Why should I care if Toffer Rei got voted off Pinoy Idol? I don't even get to watch it in its entirety.

Jurors: Louie Ocampo, Gerard Salonga, Vina Morales

Theme: Sensual Songs

Miguel - You've Lost that Loving Feeling (The Righteous Brothers)

• Louie: You were off tonight.
• Me: Technicallly good, inappropriate antics. Why does he always seem angry when singing?

• Gerard: Hard performance to judge; I can see the effort, but I'm not sure if there's enough ability to be a singer.
• Me: Sharp, some moments of disconnection, uncomfortable.

• Vina: You did a good job, sexy performance.
• Me: Surprisingly confident, less mistakes, only diction needs improvement.

• Louie: I saw some sensuality. I was bothered by the notes and your diction.
• Me: Big mistake at the start, effortless projection, too many wrong notes.

• Vina: The sexiness showed at the end. It's good to see you're losing weight. Your voice needs more "coolness"
• Me: Bad singing, good performance.

• Gerard: You were overqualified for the song. It was a good performance.
• Me: Needs a little bit more focus, but is sexy nonetheless. Cool voice.

• Louie: You were not in good shape tonight.
• Me: Nice effort, but still kinda lacking.

• Vina: Maybe this is not the right song for you.
• Me: Off-rhythm and awkward

• Louie: Okay. I saw the sensuality, but you were kinda "running" in places.
• Me: Cute, confident. Off-tempo near the chorus.

• Gerard: Off-tempo in some parts, but I was yours the whole performance.
• Me: Confident. Some eye movements were distracting, though.

• Vina: You have a great voice, but your performance needs more sensuality
• Me: Nice tone, distinct style.

• Gerard: Great performance, but you have some problems with the low notes. Be careful not to move the microphone too far from your mouth.
• Me: Kinda awkward. It was on pitch, but the low notes were unclear.

• Miguel - 74.85%
• Bea - 25.15% - Expelled

• Bunny - 6.03
• Miguel - 6.27
• Christian - 6.33
• Iñaki - 6.33

If you pay close attention to your browser address bar, the-then rakerzzz.blogspot.com is now Pinoyfries.com! Thanks a lot to Philhosting.net and Zoneedit.com.

Spread the word! Pinoyfries.com. Update your link lists, etc.

Aiza Seguerra wins 2 Million Pesos on The Singing Bee
Video sent by spife1

Aiza Seguerra wins a million pesos for the second time on ABS-CBN's The Singing Bee. She continued the lyrics to Layla Kaylif's "Shakespeare in Love". After winning 2 million pesos, she bowed out of the competition to make way for other contestants.

Judges: Jimmy Antiporda, Nina, Jeffrey Hidalgo (Pisay pride!)

Who got a "Needs Improvement" grade: Kelly and Shane

Why is the voting period so short? To avoid powervoting? I don't think it will.

Theme: Smokey Mountain Songs

Angelo - Da Coconut Nut

Jimmy: The singing was on pitch, you were confident.
Me: Once again, cute! His moves are really fit for a child performer. He really gets into it.

Wow, he was given a Superman toy for his outstanding performance last week. :)

Shane - Bestfriend

Nina: It was beautiful and on pitch.
Me: Just okay.

Kelly - Kahit Habang Buhay

Jeffrey: Take care of your notes and your movements. Just enjoy your youth.
Me: Very shaky and nervous.

Risie - Kailan

Jimmy: You are great for a young age. You hit the high note.
Me: I seem bothered by her low notes, but her high notes are okay. Quite uninspired at times.

Cristina - Mama

Nina: You seem to understand the song you're singing.
Me: Eeek, a very long off-pitch part! Her diction still needds improvement. Her high notes were good, however.

Jerome - Nahan

Jeffrey: I got the chills.
Me: Stage presence seems to be lacking, making the performance seem uninspired.

Amy - Sabi Mo

Jimmy: The singing was great, but sometimes you sing faster than the music.
Me: The song seems too grown-up for her. Why is the arrangement too short?!?! Anyways, her stae presence is great.

Dean - Street People (?)

Nina: You're a total performer. Your voice quality is great.
Me: Okay.

Leon - Better World

Jimmy: Just take care of your pitch.
Me: Nasal tone bothers me. Quite shaky. Lots of sharps.

Aubrey - Can this Be Love

Jeffrey: Just take care of your breathing. You have a great voice quality.
Me: Reminds me of Sarah Geronimo's version. Nice and on pitch. Some vowels seem too "rounded", though.

Nikki - Ligaw Tingin

Nina: The song fit you because of your stage movements.
Me: Air control needed.

Philip - Sama na Kayo

Jeffrey: I'm lost for words because of the greatness of your performance.
Me: Wow, talk about saving the best for last. Great performance and energy and charisma.

Outstanding Little Dreamers: Angelo and Philip

Voting Results:

Kelly (53.96%)
Shane (46.04%) - Voted Off

Ako si Chris needs to make more videos like this and the Sugarfree cover I recently posted. He's a natural. And he does it well in a very humble way. See? More reasons to love OPM. More, more more. I hope he becomes viral with the Pinoy Youtubers.

Here's his cover of Parokya ni Edgar's Sayang:

Are you Filipino? Are you Filipino but don't like OPM? Well, this video might change your mind. Ako si Chris is from New Jersey, but he loves OPM! He describes his music as "White Boy OPM ROCK ...armed with an acoustic guitar and inspiration!"

In this video he covers Sugarfree's Dear Kuya. Gotta love the accent and the heart. He sings as if it was his own language.



Here's the original by Sugarfree for your reference:



If you don't love your local music, well someone else who has a different nationality than you does!

Okay, I first encountered this band years ago after searching for "Math Rock" and wow, what a listening experience. But what's better is the music video for their single Typical, which was filmed backwards. I know, Coldplay's The Scientist have done this before. But this is live performance, baby. Not impressed? Check out the live version on Jimmy Kimmel!

Here's the music vid:



Live videos after the cut:



Okay, the video was recorded backwards and then showed in reverse. Here's the original video.



Amazing? You bet!

The well-off couple in the Academy is bound to be split this weekend as one of them will be voted off this Saturday.

Miguel and Bea, along with Cris and Sen, were put on probation after the gala night featuring duet performances. Miguel and Bea sang Araw-Gabi (Regine Velasquez) while Sen and Cris performed Burn (Tina Arena)

Cris was then saved by the jurors, and Sen was saved by the scholars.

Bugoy and Liezel got the highest marks for the night by singing If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys.

To save either Bea or Miguel, text PDA BEA or PDA MIGUEL and send to 231 for Smart and Talk n' Text and to 2331 for Globe, TM and Sun subscribers.

I don't usually do basketball posts but here I go anyway.

This is not up to par to the Pistons-Pacers brawl years ago, but it's quite exciting in its own right.

It all starts when Terence Leather, the Talk n' Text import, is called for a foul while guarding Jondan Salvador. Salvador shoves the ball into Leather, then Leather suddenly throws the ball at Salvador. Ooops! Temper temper. Then James Yap (the husband of a former Philippine president's celebrity daughter), kicks Leather at the back of his knee (perhaps). A chase! Suddenly. Then all pandemonium breaks loose. Just watch.

BTW, James Yap already apologized to the masses for his child-like(?) behavior.

The Little Dreamers, new additions to Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2, held their first gala night at the PDA Concert Hall. It was quite amusing and interesting to see these kids do their best. I don't think they assigned a theme for the night, for it might be too pressuring for the kids to stick to a theme.

Sorry I didn't catch the duets of the grown-up scholars last time.

Philip: Michael Jackson - Music and Me

He was on pitch, although his vocals lacked some dynamics.

Aubrey: Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within

The song was too grown up for her. Maybe because of her vocal tone, she lacked air in some parts.

Leon: Lea Salonga - Tomorrow

He has a nice range, though he goes sharp on the high notes sometimes.

Shane: Irene Cara - Fame

She was confident, although I don't personally approve of changing the "fame" in the song to "Shane". Kinda amateurish in parts, and her diction needs improvement.

Dean: Avril Lavigne - Complicated

This was the wrong song for him. He was shaky throughout the song.

Amy: Whitney Houston - The Greatest Love of All

She was cute and had a very nice range. Her diction is the only thing to be improved.

Cristina: Diana Ross - If We Hold On Together

She also has a wide range. But she needs improvement in singing the low notes.

Risie: Regine Velasquez - Tuwing Umuulan

She is pitchy, and she needs some more confidence.

Jerome: Smokey Mountain - Paraiso

He was charismatic, though there is nothing more to say about his performance.

Nikki: Lea Salonga - I Am But a Small Voice

Good. Nothing special, though.

Kelly: Mariah Carey - Hero

She needs more stage presence.

Angelo: Queen - I Want to Break Free

He was charismatic and cute. His stage presence is perfect for a kid. The audience totally loves him, that's why he was also awarded Outstanding Little Dreamer for the night.

I don't even wanna talk about it. Just watch. I know, they're a bunch of young kids, but why video them like that?!?!?! Well, I've been in a couple of awful covers myself, but I don't get publicized like this. Haven't heard the original? You must be young! I'll also include it here.

The original:



The cover!!!

Damn it! Why did youtube erase those Bunny videos? Now to lament the loss, I'm sharing the pilot episode of Untalkative Bunny, which was first shown on MTV. In this episode, Bunny talks to the telemarketer.



What do we do now?

They were one of the finalists in the 2007 Red Horse Muziklaban Rock Challenge, and they are now making waves in several gigs around the metro. Can you say "chills"? Oh yeah. If this girl's voice doesn't amaze you, I don't know what else will. And did I mention she's only 21? Just watch their carrier single and music video.

"What a difference a smile makes," they say. But what if you had to smile all day even if you don't want to? In this episode, Bunny tries out a brace that forces him to smile. Hilarious results.

There's no better way to go viral than to reference all the virality out there. Weezer = genius. The official video on Youtube got 3 million hits in 3 days!

I wish I had a viral video so I could have been featured on this video. BTW, if you don't get the stuff referenced here, this blog post explains it all.

Since I'm tired of Pinoy Idol's lackluster everything, I'm gonna describe what happened in one word.

Theme: Song of Your Life

• Kid Camaya - Warrior is a Child (Gary V): Amateurish
• Daryl Celis - Kung Kailangan Mo Ako (Ray Valera): Flat
• Robby Navarro - The Greatest Love of All (Whitney Houston): Lackluster
• Toffer Rei - It's My Life (Bon Jovi): Copycat
• Jayann Bautista - Better Days (Dianne Reeves): Trying-hard
• Gretchen Espina - Follow Your Road (Pauline Wilson): Mumbly
• Penelope - This is My Now (Jordin Sparks): Okay
• Ram Chaves - Yugyugan Na (POT): Scary!
• Sue Ellen - Jesus Take the Wheel (Carrie Underwood): Ridiculous!
• Warren Antig - Balong Malalim (Juan de la Cruz Band): Good

Bunny and Squirrel go out on a "blind date" set up by a cat. What happens? Why are there homosexual references? Just watch.
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BTW, sorry for the lack of updates. Kinda busy.