Charice sings All by Myself on Glee

I don't have a better video yet -- so just close your eyes.(All the better to appreciate Charice's version of this Celine Dion hit song.)




Somehow though, while her singing is, as always, great -- I can't help feeling that this is no big deal.

Yes, she's the only Filipino to make it onto a current hit TV show ever (correct me if I'm wrong).

Yes, she's probably the biggest news coming out of the Philippines after Manny Pacquiao.

But really, "All by Myself" is the kind of song that EVERY Filipina diva sings. For us Filipinos, that song is normal. Heck, that kind of belting is normal too. Just watch any singing contest whether it's on TV or in a Sunday fiesta in the boondocks and you'll see what I mean.

This is not to put Charice down but rather to emphasize that there is no dearth of singing talent in this country. We have many more like her waiting to be discovered, polished and projected onto the world stage, if only we had enough Oprahs and Ellens to thrust them to.

For now though, we have but one: Charice Pempengco. Great work, Charice! You make us proud. May we have many more like you.

RPG Metanoia : A Must Watch Movie

Just came from the movies with my 8 year old daughter and I must say that RPG Metanoia is quite possibly one of the best Pinoy animated films ever made. (That's an exaggeration, I know.)

Plot-wise, it's your classic "kids saving the world" story. But the way it's put together is quite fun. Since I don't want to spoil it for you, you'll need to watch it to see what actually happens.

What I'll do share is how I enjoyed seeing Pinoy life captured on film and immortalized for this generation's kids who need to see things such as the protagonist doing his household chores (seriously, how many kids nowadays still have these?) and Pinoy games like patintero, sipa, tumbang preso, piko, taguan, agawan base (do YOU remember them?). An aside: it was also amusing to see the hero ride a tricycle and to have daing na bangus for dinner! Oh, and I almost forgot, his weapon of choice is a -- get this -- a yoyo (which depending on who you believe, is an ancient Filipino weapon.)

The animation is quite good -- which is to be expected since a lot of foreign companies actually outsource their animation to the Philippines and have been doing so since the 80's. What I didn't expect is the sheer number of scenes in the movie -- that was a lot to animate, and they didn't scrimp or cheat their way out of it. (They took four years to do it, incidentally.)

So having said that, my point is: watch RPG Metanoia with your kids. Buy the merchandise when it comes out. These kinds of efforts have to be supported.  (If you need more convincing, read this review   and this one as well.)

With a film of this level and quality coming from Ambient Media and Thaumatrope Animation, it's safe to say that I wait with bated breath for their next outing. Hopefully, it doesn't have to take another four years.