Steve Aoki: Sailing on a Sea of Outstretched Arms

What can I say? I was truly captivated by Steve Aoki. From his entrance, accompanied by body guards into Republiq- up until he delighted the manic crowd with an encore. From what I'd heard about Steve Aoki concerts, I was promised a crazy, wild and savage wonderland. This isn't too much of a far cry of what I witnessed, and it was bliss! It had been a while since the music hit me in the way it did, where it lifts you off the ground and your body gyrates to the beat. & I think I wasn't the only one who felt it. Outcries of incomprehensible jargon surrounded me. When words truly escape you and all that's left is to dance and feel the electro beat. 

I don't know too much about Steve Aoki besides his music. I can still remember the days when I lived in California and we turned our cars into the church of electro music. We'd play his songs, along with other beats, with the bass high and every stress and ache of the day.. blasted out of the windows. 

Someone once said, "Jesus was always asian," referring to Aoki. It was on the October 4, 2012, last thursday when he finally became real for me. He was standing behind the DJ booth in Republiq spinning his tracks I'd heard a hundred times before, when he leapt over the booth and right onto it. Besides him was an inflatable yellow and blue raft boat. Hands in the crowd stretched out to embrace him as he jumped onto the crowd in his raft and rode the glorious waves of the party goers. It was a sea, and in that moment I saw how livid the crowd was, but at the same time, how united everyone was in the passion for his music. Without that passion and unity, he'd never have stayed afloat over the crowd. He rode into the crowd as if he was on water, waves tossing him, but he kept his balance and the same attitude "F*ck yeah, we came here to party."

I guess you can't have a true party without champagne showers and cake! Twice he had brought out a bottle of champagne and twice two large circle cakes, frosting and all. He shook the champagne wildly and then showered the crowd in a pale yellow mist. The people were hysterical, ferocious, wanting more.. and he gave it all. He took a large cake and threw it into the crowd. I can imagine the updated twitter statuses:

"Steve Aoki threw a cake at me.. and i loved it."

I was standing atop the ledge so I didn't get pummeled by cake or drenched with champagne, but the effect was still burned into my memory. I have so much respect for the guy. I stood in a crowd overlooking the bottom mosh pitters and raised my hands in the air. I could close my eyes, dancing with the electric sounds tickling every inch of my spinal cord, and feel the sounds pulsating in my ears. Now that's real music.

After this day, whenever I hear his music, I'll dance and think, 'Steve Aoki, you asian jesus! You got this one right.'

Steve Aoki & Laidback Luke ft. Lil Jon- Turbulence: 

The Bloody Beetroots ft. Steve Aoki -WARP:

Steve Aoki ft. Kid Cudi & Travis Barker- Cudi the Kid:

**Borrowed some of the Steve Aoki pics from my friend Paolo DLA :)<3

Treats from the US

I came home to a package full of treats from my family! Came home to so many falsies, earrings, and lip stains! They're so sweet sending me a care package from the US! Love them so much! Thank you mom, dad and Chloe! Kisses from the Philippines <3

If anyone ever came over, in my room is this extensive collection of earrings. Earrings, I think that's my mom's thing (besides beautiful dresses). She always ends up finding a couple pairs that catch her eye. 

Falsies galore! They even packed falsies with glitter on the ends, right in time for Halloween, yesssss!!!! 

Yay! Mom packed in a pair of Ferragamo shades to hide me from the sweltering heat of the Philippine sun. Revlon lip stain along with a Burt's Bees Fig tint in case the sun makes me delusional, my lips will still have color! :)

No package from my family would be complete without something over the top. I'm thinking my mom and sis picked this out so I can use it in an "everyday" outfit. They're so cute, those rascal beauty queens <3

Day 1 of October Screamfest: Silent Hill

To start the month off, I introduced my friend Nova to one of my favorite Horror movies: Silent Hill.

Though parts of the movie are either too slow or two fast, too much explanation or vagueness- what enthralls my interest for this film is the creatures, demons and damned. In a world with three dimensions: a first, normal world where we reside, a second foggy-ashy remains of a ghost town, and a third hellish dimension that is awakened when the sun blacks out; the creatures finally come out, in all their 'damned' glory.

In short, the movie is about a woman (Rose) who brings her adopted daughter (Sharon) to a ghost town named "Silent Hill" after her daughter cried out the name whilst sleepwalking. A car crash later, they are in the town, her daughter is missing, and Rose is sent on a wild goosechase through a horror maze of town to find Sharon. They encounter monsters, and a cult which later explains the connection between Sharon and the town's evils.

Silent Hill: The Movie is an adaptation of the video games. Being a fan of the video games, I remember having my character run through long stretches, randomly, a monster would pop out and scare the pants off of me. Each monster posed as an intense off the seat threat. The game had a terrible weapon selection (i once tried to kill the dogs with long tongues in Silent Hill 3 with a bottle of chocolate milk), but that was an appeal to the game- the helpless, hopeless, feeling of never going to be kill the darn things (with a rusted pipe) and feeling as if the horror would never end. That's what I missed from the movie, how the plot of the video game was perfectly woven around the creatures, and how I never knew that there was another monster, just right around the corner. All in all, the movie was a great horror film.

The monsters in the movie are compelling in the strange, limbs popping out of place, grotesque body scraping the floor, creepy crawling way. The way the creatures move at times show almost a sadness and pain in teach of them. The burnt children in the beginning are screeching in pain, a nurse is crying blood, the roaches- up close are shown to have screaming human faces. Even the positioning of bodies in the way that they are contorted. I love that the actors playing the roles of the monsters are dancers and not just pure CGI.

One of my favorite 'creatures' are the nurses. Bandages cover their faces while they are all uniformed. They are together in a horde, almost akin to zombies. Their movement is erratic, and sudden. They are drawn to the light and Rose has to make her way through them as she turns off her flashlight.

Another favorite is the pyramid head. He's a very strong, mysterious charter that wields a giant sword (almost butcherlike). The best scene he portrays is when he appears behind one of the locals, raises her off the ground, choking her. He then tears off her clothes, twists her skin around her fist and then rips her apart, into a gooey, bloody mess.

So this was just the start to Frightober! Can't wait to watch more scary movies, horror books and halloween treats! Also can't wait to watch Silent Hill: Revelation in 3D at the end of the month! :)

Welcome October!

It's finally October and I can almost smell the aroma of pumpkin spice lattes and crunched leaves in the air as the creatures of the night step out of the darkness.
Wait, what? Yes, the creatures of the night. It's the time of the year when everyone's inner demons come out to play, masked in spandex, lace and leather- comfortable with the sweet fall air.

But how is it here in the Philippines? It's my first Halloween here and haven't seen how everyone decides to dress up. Is it the scary- prosthetics covered, fake blood drenching disguises? Flamboyant, elaborate, finery? Provocative lingerie?

From now until Halloween, I'll probably have dreams of ghouls and goblins, vampires, zombies and werewolves. In my nightmarish dreams, I'll be running through the haunted mazes in Knotts Scary Farm and Horror Nights in Universal Studios. The creatures chasing me will always have the deep snarls of a beast, rattling chains, and clicking sounds.. some of which I have no idea how they're even produced, right into my ear as I hold in a scream.

This is one of my favorite times of the year, where monsters with rotting flesh and maggots peeping through broken bones are lurking in my local theme parks in the ungodliest hours of the night. Where leagues of ordinary people are transformed into the living dead for a couple of weeks.

So in honor of Halloween, which I believe should be a month long celebration: I'm going to be watching Horror/Suspense/Action/SciFi/Thriller/Mystery movies, indulging myself in halloween goodies and candy, and looking for all the spooky haunts I can find. :)

Last Trip to Redondo Beach

This was when I went back home to the states for Christmas and to visit family. It was a cold, windy night and we forced ourselves to get out of bed and visit the beach for old times sake. Driving down the familiar highways and streets, we arrived and were greeted almost instantly by the salty air. The clouds in the sky were ominous but we venutred out anyways.

We parked in a random parking lot of a boat club. When I was younger, we'd always visit Redondo beach quite frequently, weekly in fact. It became the church to our Sundays. We'd walk the pier and watch the fishermen put up their lines teeming with fish, see the tents lined up close to the railing, the pelicans scooping up the flying fish right out of the water. It wasn't a typical beach, you didn't go here to swim or come for the amusement rides, but it had an old feel and we loved it.

Spent the sunset throwing chips into the air for the hungry birds and watched as they devoured the tiny morsels. We ate at Cheesecake Factory, bought Dippin' Dots Bananana Split and went down to the pier's childs inside carnival room.

I never realized how clearly I'd be able to picture this room, though it'd been months since I've been there. Old, old, old. A word that can truly explain this room. The rides were encrusted with rust, screeching at every twist and turn and the random sudden halt. The room was abundant with a plethora of arcade games, crane games, psychic reading machines, photobooths, carnival games and the occasional shoot the star with a BB gun stall. The ceiling was strewn with various stuffed animal prizes: gorillas, fairies, inflatable dolphins, teddy bears in all sizes ranging from baby hand carry, to monstrous 'i don't want that in my home' ginormous size.

My little sister always gets her way. Period. We had just eaten a tummy filling dinner along with dessert , we were fuller than the moon that night. She said she wanted to ride the Twister ride. We did.

It was virtually the only carnival ride in the place. It was a circular platform with circles in which the riders ride in. Kind of like the tea pots in Disneyland, but not as cute, controllable or as, hmph... magical. It's a popular ride in the US and usually shows up at every festival, carnival, you name it. This one was old and rickety. Red, white and blue a la American flag. My sister, mom and I got on the ride, no one else went on. It always spins so slowly like a top and then builds momentum as the ride uses it's own gravity for speed. Rubberband effect. As you spin, the lights is the room start to blur, shoulders are mashed together as each person in the vehicle is thrown to one side or the other.

I can remember the look on my sister's face as it lit up like a Christmas tree. She took my hand and my mom's hand in hers as we screamed at the top of our lungs. My dad took this video of us. It was one of my favorite times when I came home. I can still replay the laughter and all the hair flying in the air as the three Calaguas girls rode the silly carnival ride.

We walked down the sand and onto the beach. I wore these booty heels and quickly threw them off. My dad and sister walked ahead. I found a dollar in the sand.

Then I found another dollar.

Then another.

Me and my sister tackled my dad. He held a five dollar bill in his hand. Wrestling in the sand, my sister holding down my dad's legs and I was tangled in his long arms trying to twist them. We must have looked quite a sight! My mom laughing and taking pictures with her phone, me and my sister trying to take down this large monster aka my dad. We won! By the time we had pried the money from his fingers, we were huffing and puffing, bruised, hair touseled, shoes scattered and we didn't know where my dad's hat went?! We're crazy sometimes. I love my family, we're all nuts <3

Looking up into the sky was a full moon. A large, perfect circle. A large sugar cookie I'd want to pluck out of the sky and take a bite of. It saw surrounded by a halo. Or what appeared to be a halo. On this night, the moon was surrounded by ice crystals in the atmosphere, casting a glowing halo of a ring around the moon. The crystals reflected the light from the moon. We lay on the beach, a hot mess of a family from wrestling and laughing till our ribs hurt, looking up into the sky. It was beautiful and it was every bit of magical.