Rachael Yamagata

I am drowning in Rachael Yamagata's sappiness.

And I love it. Rachael's songs are always full of drama-- everything from the lyrics to the tune to her raspy voice, and that's what I love about them. Rachael Yamagata is one my best discoveries to date.

I love ALL her songs because they are just too poetic and I'm a sucker for poetic sappiness, though it's rare that I admit it (I just want to emphasize that her songs aren't stupid love songs. Haha. I hate stupid love songs). You know how there's this one artist whose songs you can just swear said everything you've always wanted? Rachael Yamagata is that artist to me.

Hmm... so anyway, enough of my blabbing. Here are some of my favorite lyrics from her songs. Grab a copy of her CD, Happenstance, if you can. If not, well, find a way to listen to her songs! Tell me what you think once you've listened to her songs!

---

Oh, the bridge is narrow
And you've got so far to fall
And you know down in dirty water's
No place for a paper doll"
- Paper Doll

You sat down next to me, like poetry to wine
Out window looked upon a yellow neon sign
I took your hand while you decided what to do
The only kiss, I ever miss, I shared with you
- I Want You

So, I will head out alone and hope for the best
We can pat ourselves on the back
As say that we tried
And if one of us makes it big
We can spill our regrets
And talk about how the love never dies
But you and I know the reason why
I'm gone, and you're still there
- Reason Why

'Cause I'm afraid, and I can't breathe,
And I'm in love with you
But you are not with me
Cause I have put so much into a life
I made too much about you now to lie
- Letter Read

--

She's releasing a new album this year by the way, and I'M SO EXCITED!

Wooden Dolls Collection Update #1

I have now decided to post regular updates (as new entries) whenever I acquire new additions to any of my collections. Links to the original entries will be found at the bottom of each update entry.

The first new addition to my collection is the one on the far right. It's actually made of paper, not wood, but paper came from wood, so meh. Don't argue with me, it's be part of my collection. Haha. So anyway, this adorable thing was a gift from my friend, Reno! His mom makes all these cute paper doll sculptures which I've always said were so amazing. I didn't know he was eventually going to give me one! And since I know that his mom doesn't just give this away that easily, I'm really really honored and thankful to have her (her meaning this dollie). I love it so much. I'm naming her Mei-Xing, which means beautiful star. Such a work of art.

Next is the one on the far left. A friend of my youngest brother went to Thailand and bought loads of little dolls to give away (beats me why he'd give away dolls to his guy friends). My brother, knowing I collected these, got me one wearing my favorite color; pink! He said the red one looked better but someone already got it, but I don't mind! This is really cute! So for a Thai name.. hmm, Isra. It actually means "nocturnal journey" according to the internet, but whatever, I don't care. Isra sounds cute. I love countries with loads of handicraft stuff.

Lastly, one of my greatest finds ever is this mother doll in the middle. I found it at a local store here in the Philippines, but it was actually made from Tibet (yes, I trust the seller that it's from there, hopefully she's not lying haha). It's one of a kind and I got it at a really low price! 150php, imagine that (around $3.5 usd). And to think that I got Chimmi (the small doll from Hong Kong, which is super cute, but not cheap) for double the price. I love bargaining. So, I'm naming the mother Tara which is the name of a female mother goddess in Tibetan Buddhism. As for the baby, well, I'm not sure if it's a girl or a boy, so I'm naming him Dawa, a name associated for both male and female, and it means "moon's child".

Link to the original entry: My Wooden Dolls Collection

Before and After Drawings

So here's another edition of my Before & After thingies! Yey! I rummaged through one of my folders labelled "Very Old Drawings" and found some ancient works (hmm.. haha)! The ones on the left are drawings from 2005 and the ones on the right were made mid 2006. Funny how, in just a year, I was able to change a lot of things ^^.

A Whole New World

This is probably my favorite of the three transition drawings (or maybe I'm just biased since Aladdin is my second all time favorite). So things that changed, well, I stopped using the stained glass effect on photoshop. I also made the carpet straighter. I know the carpet looks more stiff on the second one, but it's harder to make it all soft and moving. Haha. Hmm, what else, imrpoved on the colors as well and the palace was also more stylized now. I love Jasmine's transformation here; now she really looks cute with her poofy pants!! Heehee. I love Jasmine and all her poofiness (as you might have read in my other posts).

Cinderella & Prince Charming

Removed the ugly fountain, replaced it with an empty bird bath (HAHA). Ok, so maybe I have to improve more but that's the best I was able to do a year ago. Hmm, what else, added some cute little rosebushes, improved on their faces and clothes. Cinderella's hair is one of the hardest to do, but I'm glad of the way it came out in here. Hmm what else..? Changed the tones a bit too. ^^ Gosh that fountain is ugly... haha.

Belle and the Sheep

Honestly, I'm not happy with the second version still because of that STUPID fountain. Grr.. And actually the hoses at the back need a little work as well. This is one of my favorite scenes frfrom the movie and I remember that when I started drawing Disney (2004-2005), this was also one of those first scenes that I practiced on drawing. Sadly, until now, I haven't been able to make a great reproduction. Ah well, at least there's a challenge! Anyway, as you can see, colors changed a bit, made it warmer... I don't know, I think I like the cheescake tones better (the one on the left).

Coke Jeepney

Every time I drive to school, I see around one or two jeepneys sporting this design, and I have to say, I absolutely love them! I've been trying to get a good picture of it but I always forget to bring my camera with me, and the only time I ever DID bring my camera, I wasn't fast enough to open and shoot. Crap. So I had to settle with my camera phone, which isn't half bad, but unfortunately, the resolution isn't that good. And it doesn't capture moving subjects well. Here's the best shot I got. Crap, I need to work on my photography skills more.

Here are the reasons why I absolutely love these jeepneys. First of all, the people behind this idea are advertising geniuses. I forgot to whom, but I mentioned before that if I could change one thing in the country, that would be to remove ALL billboards (and visible phone wires, but that's a different story), and this is such a great substitute to that. I also saw those LRT trains with Milo designs and all those other companies and I think that it's such a great idea. Manila would really be ten steps towards a pretty city if only we removed those ugly billboards and ugly telephone wires. I'd like to see the sky while I"m driving, for a change. Not some stupid guy posing half naked. Ew.

I wouldn't mind having all the different jeeps in Metro Manila 'commercialized' (in design); especially not if the designs are this good. Which brings me to my next reason, and that is that the design is so pretty!!! People always said that jeepneys are a great addition to our city culture because they are bright and well designed etc. (though I've seen some hellishly ugly ones), but this one really takes the cake. It's cute, colorful, hip, it still looks like a jeep and that huge coke bottle on top! EEK!

I love the way it's so colorful... it makes the dull car-filled roads a teeny bit more interesting.

By the way, just so you know, I hate Coke. As much as possible, I try not to drink soft drinks unless I'm really really dying. But hey, I love the way they present their product anyway. Hooray for great advertising!