New TV Shows to Premiere This June

I'm a man of few words. My point here is to share to you the new TV shows that I'm gonna be downloading this Summer. I'll leave the trailers to win you.

Falling Skies (Sci-fi)

Franklin & Bash (Legal Comedy)

Switched At Birth (Family Drama--ala Mara Clara)

Wilfred (Offbeat Comedy)

Love Bites (Sex Comedy)

Alphas (Sci-fi)

Platinum Hit (Reality Show)

But still, can't wait for the Fall releases. It's usually the best season for TV.

Behind the Song: DROWN

I never intended to write on this broken-relationship theme. I just wanted to write a sad song, but with a hint of hope for the people of Japan. I already made up my mind. I even inserted the sound of the March 10 earthquake as intro, fill, and outro for the song. But when I wrote the lyrics, the feel brought me to another place. This is the joy of songwriting. It will take you nowhere.

For the music, I was arranging a cover tune for our band soundcheck the other day. That song is To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra. It is so alive that it is still breathing in my blood when I began writing this new song. Resulting to using the same chord progression, but embedded a different melody.

So, hear ye.

Drown by Andy Calope

DROWN

Andy Calope

The water came right up to me

While you were leaving me for someone new

But you came back, swam back for me

Don't let me drown

Don't let me drown

Don't let me drown

Our love is breaking up in two

I thought you're gonna stay but you let go

The waves came back, came back for me

Don't let me drown

Don't let me drown

Don't let me drown

I'm a Fan

...of art. No particular genre or medium as long as it excites my sleepy soul. Once I saw one, I usually stop whatever I'm doing and just focus on it and be captivated by its grandeur.

Here's one made a few weeks ago and let it consume you whatever.

Final.

Raw.

Behind the scenes.

Now you can go back to whatever you're doing.

I Am Haunted by the Number 23

23 appears on a TV show

I can see it everywhere. Everytime I check the time, it's always 23 minutes past the hour. When I check the sports news, somebody always poured 23 points or any stat line for the matter. Even in TV shows and movies, somehow number 23 always got mentioned. I can even see 23 sprayed on street graffiti. If I were to jot down the times how it appeared the past year, then it would take me 365 pages. Twenty-three is virtually everywhere!

This haunting experience happened after your death.

After 9 months of living together, we figured it out that we were not destined to be together, so you agreeably and painfully let me kill you. Zip the veil of the future, never to attempt to catch a glimpse. Bury the past and go on living each day without any thought of you. The thing we had was the best 'thing' I had, no doubt about it. No need to embellish it. Done.

There is a fine line between being really in love, and being really stupid in love. And I believe each person is given a chance to be both for ONCE in their life. And my one chance was with you. I was 30 and you were 16 goddammit! Clearly we should not go on seeing each other. We had to dine out in places where few people go (and enjoy silly feed offs with the pizza). We spent time at private gardens and not in malls so none of our friends can see us (and witness butterflies feasting on your sweet brown eyes). We didn't take the public transport for it would be certain stone-to-death for me if we'd been caught falling in love. We took risks, but it was unnecessary. We're really not meant to spend those 9 precious months together in anybody's book. But hell we did, and I'm supposed to forget all those things but your ghost keeps haunting me.

You are 23. You were born on the 23rd day. And it's always been you. We had 23 mutual friends. The day we first met falls on the 23rd day of the month, and the day you died was a lonely Saturday night of May. You are 23.

How can I forget you if you keep haunting me? Or does this mean that I really shouldn't have killed you?

23 ver. 2 by Andy Calope

Disclaimer: This article is a work of fiction. Any related true story in full or partial is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Of People and Onions

People change. This is my sentiment when I wrote HEY LOVE. It still remains a mystery to me why the good, sweet people you know at first eventually fade away and turn into strangers. It's the greatest mystery in the world. An ugly truth. This song speaks about the truth.

I take back my opening statement.

This song is not about change. This song is about the truth. People don't change, they are just covered with mess, like onions; full of layers. When you first meet a person, she is already real. When she's nice, and all sweetness surrounds her, that's part of her outer layers. But when you get to know her deeply, you see her inner layers; monsters. Ergo we can't really say they change. It's just what they're made of. And that my friend is the ugly truth.

Hey Love by Andy Calope

Disclaimer: This post is not necessarily true.

Let's Talk About Movies, Not Ourselves

Ok, I admit. I were to introduce myself first before posting to this group blog but I'm no good in introductions. I don't like to talk about myself. So I apologize for breaking the rule here Madeleine, let's just talk about movies then.

The Oscars is just around the corner. [(Yes I'm not really gonna introduce myself. I'm intro-phobic (is there such a word?)].

Film buffs around the world are casting their bets on who's going to win. Forget the other major awards, let's focus directly to the major-major one: the Best Picture. As the changes last year, we have 10 films to choose from, you know, to make it more unpredictable (and more stars to hang out during the after-party) To help us predict on who's going to win, I found a secret not-systematically-and-scientifically-proven-formula basing on the last decade. I'm a stat freak, but not freak enough to dig in all the other previous winners.

Here's the formula on how the politics work in the Academy: whoever wins the WRITING and DIRECTING nods, bring home the statue. Well, usually.

Here's the Best Picture winners from the last decade:

2001: Gladiator. Even though Traffic won the writing and directing credits, no one actually watched that movie, right? Remember I said usually on the statement above?

2002: A Beautiful Mind. This was the year when the Lord of the Rings franchise started. But it didn't win both writing and directing awards. Better luck next time on the sequel LOTR fans.

2003: Chicago. The Pianist won the W&D nods but why did Chicago win? Maybe a lively musical is more entertaining than a mere piano. Also LOTR sequel didn't win the best film that year simply because it was not nominated for both writing and directing.

2004: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Finally. Also won W&D.

2005: Million Dollar Baby. It won best in directing, but Clint Eastwood is enough for this film to win.

2006: Crash. This is an upset. Brokeback Mountain won writing (adapted) and directing. Crash also won writing (original) but why did the homos didn't win? I don't know.

2007: The Departed. Also won writing and directing. Easy.

2008: No Country for Old Men. Won writing and directing. I was betting on Juno that year though.

2009: Slumdog Millionaire. Writing and Directing. No sweat.

2010: The Hurt Locker. Also writing and directing. The fan fave Avatar didn't win because, again, it was not nominated for it's screenplay.

For this year, there are only 4 best picture nominees that are also nominated in both writing and directing: True Grit, The Fighter, The Social Network, The King's Speech. But my vibes say it's going to be a photo finish between the Facebook movie and the stuttering king. So whoever gets both the writing and directing statues will get the last award.

But the most of me wants an upset win by Inception. It's nominated for its writing, but not for directing, which is utterly disturbing. Did the Academy think that the best movie of the year directed itself?

I am Andy Calope, and I'm not eurotophobic.