the addiction continues...

Just when I thought I am running out of television series to satiate my viewing pleasures, that is when I discovered a faster and more convenient way of downloading from file-hosting sites. The days of using torrent files and purchasing of low-quality pirated DVDs to fulfill the urge are long gone. The emergence of HDTV and Blurays and the fact that they can be ripped and upped made the addiction even worse. There is no stopping now.

Currently, I'm having weekly doses of One Tree Hill, Grey's Anatomy, House, and Chuck (I've given up on Glee. The story is just spinning out of control and writers are stuffing it with celebrity guests which in my opinion is really sucking the potential out of the material. And Smallville too. Is it on its 100th season already? Well, I've lost my appetite for it since Lana Lang got erased from the script). You may think that's too much television... but not for me. My shortening attention span compelled me to start the following series:

DEXTER

If you're feeling squeamish in the sight of blood or mutilated bodies, this show is not for you. The series centers on Dexter, a forensic expert on blood spatter analysis (which I think is a very cool job by the way) for the Miami Metro Police Department, living a double life as a law enforcer during the day and a vigilante who kills at night. The dynamic of the story is how he struggles to balance these two sides of his life. I was really surprised that I could easily relate to Dexter's character (Nope. I am not a killer. I'm a pacifist I assure you). I mean, each of us has a dark side right? And we're doing everything we can, struggling to hide it in plain sight. I'm done with the first two seasons. Three to go :P

THE BIG BANG THEORY

I love geeky comedy and so the reason why I like it is a no brainer! This series is about this four scientists--Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Rajesh, whose geekiness is contrasted to the social skills and common sense of Penny, a beautiful aspiring actress. I'm still on the first season though.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Urgh! Need I say more? This is the most emotionally captivating series since One Tree Hill. It's like OTH except the sport is football, it's more dramatic, and everybody speaks with a southern accent. One more thing that did it for me was the music. I can't get enough of the post-rock musical score! I am now on it's 2nd season and they just won the State Championship! :P Clear eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose! Go Panthers!

THE WALKING DEAD

Yep. It's a zombie series. I didn't expect to like this but it turned out to be really amusing and simply way better than all zombie movies I've seen put together, except for Zombieland (2009) maybe. That falls into a completely different genre). It is well-acted and its production value for a TV series is quite astounding and great make-up too. They're now on hiatus and will resume airing probably this month.

MODERN FAMILY

It's on the news. It's on blogs. And it won an Emmy and a SAG awards for Best Comedy Series. It's a comedic mockumentary about this three unconventional families. I'm now half-way through the first season and I enjoyed every second of it. I think it's the best comedy series since Friends. I got teary-eyed laughing on an episode where everybody got hung up with Dylan's song for Haley, In The Moonlight, which is needless to say my current LSS! :P

Baby, baby. I just wanna do you, do you.

Baby, you can do me, do me

Hahaha! I'm gonna shut up now. :P

hollow peace

Truth comes from a place of silence. I don't get it because I thrive in chaos. When the loud sounds and the echoes they made finally dissipate, it's like dusts are settling from everywhere. A black night cracks, light seeping through them and revealing the real once concealed. It is in that gap that you can really see, and hear the resounding growls and endless murmurs within. The haunting thoughts sharpen, blades ready to slice through exposed weakened flesh. I'd have to deal with them. But I don't want to. I am too afraid.

And so I would fill my head again with anything to scramble the images, to complicate things, to hide what's really should have been on the surface. It's like throwing paint over a graffitied wall. The walls thicken as a result of the routine leaving splotches everywhere. On the ground. On me. On the people that face the same wall. They don't have the slightest clue of what's really on their faces. And in an act of pathetic display of cowardice, I would shout as loud as I can on the inside, the noise breaking through me and into the unknown leaving in its tracks a buzzing sound of hollow peace-that fragile moment where a strong wind troubles the fine grains of dust back into the air blocking every ugly figment of conscious thought. It is when the eyes lose focus turning everything into bokeh lights, well-disguised and beautiful. A conflicted moment when time stops and days pass in just a few beats of a troubled heart as years grow shorter including life itself and the promise of relief from such misguided deed.

the backbeats breakeven

They may be only third best on the latest season of The Sing-Off but they were definitely my favorite. Well known for their emotionally riveting renditions of melancholic songs, The Backbeats set the bar with this a capella take on The Script's hit, Breakeven. Well, they're the primary reason why I would suddenly, out of nowhere blurt the line "I'm falling to pieces" in falsetto whenever my consciousness blur towards nowhere.

The strength of the team, besides their tight vocal harmonies, lies in the voice of its lead, Joanna Jones. It's really amusing to encounter such amazing talent. She can belt it all out but still has great control over the lower notes. I really do hope she'd be a given a break.

voices worthy of a golden ticket, week 3

Idol features the Austin auditions this week and there were really promising voices that stood out from the lot:

JOHN WAYNE SHULZ, 23. His voice is as natural as him being a cowboy. Still lacks a little power but has really great potential.

NICK FINK, 19. I like the soothing and suave voice; sounds really classy. He has this Michael Buble-thing going on.

JANELLE ARTHUR, 20. Her voice is a little generic, but you've got to be impressed by her falsetto runs.

CASEY ABRAMS, 20. I have a theory: If you see a guy with an overgrown beard and an unkept hair, there's a 70% probability that he has an amazing voice. Take Damien Rice for example, and Ray Lamontagne, and William Fitzsimmons, and Wakey! Wakey!'s Mike Grubbs.

I am quite disappointed with the Los Angeles auditions in general. I mean, it should be a pool of talent, right? I guess not this season. But's there's still flickering voices that had shone through...

TIM HALPERIN, 23. This hardcore J-Lo fan can sing! Smooth and well-controlled. I like the tone and his falsetto is commendable.

JUSTIN CARTER, 27. He sang just a couple of lines but enough to showcase the quality of his RnB pipes.

KAREN RODRIGUEZ, 21. Her personality oozes out through her voice, I can tell. She reminds me of the singer from the old Freestyle band. What's her name again?

In general, I am a little tentative about the talents this year, but I am sure they'll develop through the course of the season. One city to go and then Hollywood Callbacks which starts next week!

i took the exit through the gift shop

Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010) is a documentary directed by the well-known and very elusive graffiti artist, Banksy. Hilarious and informative, the film gives a firsthand look into the underground world of the movement known as street art and aims to validate it as a legitimate artform. It garnered a 98% rating in Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer.

The film centers on Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant who has an obsession of carrying a handheld camera wherever he goes. A series of events led him to some world-renowned street artists such as Invader and Shephard Fairey and many others who thrive in danger of expressing their passion for their craft. But Thierry finds a new obsession when he met Banksy.

Banksy is a British political activist and painter, infamous for his satirical street art and subversive epigrams that combines with dark humor and crafted using distinctive stenciling technique. His true identity is still unknown till today. His face is blurred and voice altered throughout the movie.

What I love about Banksy's film besides the amazing craftwork from some of the world's finest street artists, is how it manages to conjure humor and yet brings up intellectual questions regarding the true nature of art; What could be considered art and what is not? In a way, the film takes the audience to that fine blurred line and let them decide for themselves...

Exit Through The Gift Shop is nominated in this year's Oscar for Best Documentary Feature together with its rival Waste Land (2010) which also deals with art. I hope Banksy wins because that would be really interesting. I mean, would he personally receive the award if he wins?

I got all the photos from Banky's site. I encourage you to visit to see more of his works.