Notes of Blue and Black

My lady sits outside and waits Coffee sips and cigarette sips and she just sits there doing nothing and I just stare at her doing nothing and I can't help but think to myself that there's nothing better than this   I walk to our table I smile and she lets me down But it's alright because I love how she frowns She sips her cup of coffee I sip my the cup that's mine I sink in this funny feeling how great that she's mine   My lady sits outside and waits Coffee sips and cigarette sips and she just sits there doing nothing and no, there's nothing better than this.   

  Recently I’ve been revisiting old passions: reading books. I remember when I was in high-school when I began to really read literature. I know, it doesn’t sound very macho , however if it was any consolation I was a part of the basketball varsity team! Haha. But I will also note that I was part also of the high school choir and theatre club, so that kind of evens my machoness out eh? It didn’t take much of literary prowess to impress me. As soon as I had access to the high-school library, I would read anything that would catch my eyes. Some books I loved; some I didn’t even finish. The point of course, I wanted to begin absorbing stories. I wanted stories that would really get me wanting to learn more about it. That was why I fell for Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Tolkien, Neruda and so many others that really embodied what story telling are all about. Love a Good Story I love a good story. I’m more proud to have a great story than with anythi...

One thing I’m really grateful for are those moments when I get stuck. I’m sure all of you writers out there know how this feels; to be on a crossroads between ideas, choosing which path leads to a better road. I get this a lot nowadays especially in the process of writing music. Although some people have the gift of seemingly never getting stuck; or when they can just write something beautiful without much thought, I on the other hand have to work hard for it. Sometimes words just flow out of the chords that I play, but sometimes they get stuck in my head. Sometimes I can just sing a whole verse without writing a single thing down first (which is rare), but most of the time I get tongue-tied and I just end up scatting or blabbering the melody; hoping that something good might come. That is something that I really find amusing as an amateur songwriter; that all music becomes a beautiful accident. Believe me I’d give anything to be a musical genius like some of the people I know. But...

It's exactly five days before my birthday and I just thought I'd write something about that. It's not that I think my birthday is a big deal; rather I did on a number of occasions try to forget about it. I don't really celebrate my birthday with much grandeur as some would. I just usually sit down with close friends and treat them to drinks or food, or whatever. It's nothing special. I just end up burning up the birthday gifts that my parents give me. They usually give me money you see, which is great for that purpose.  Anyway, this year I thought I'd do something different, or at least see things differently. I've read it somewhere that birthdays shouldn’t be celebrated out of pride but rather of gratitude for one more year of life. It's like a celebration of my one year cycle; regardless of whether or not it was substantial enough to celebrate about. It is to be grateful of what the year has brought; with all of its twists and turns, shouts of joy o...

Asleep by Fonzi Marquez Live recording in Lorie's Cafe in Davao City. Hope you like it! That's me singing and the rhythm guitar, Migz Orquina on the lead guitar and Patrick Joseph Jickain on the beat.

One thing that listening to really successful people talk does to me is that it makes me think how small I really am in the world. People like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have been my silent heroes for some time not because they are probably the most influential people in the world, but because of how much they understand about it before any of us did. Those people, these leaders and innovators, are truly inspiring human beings. I was watching a few interviews done by the creator of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg and I just remember being dumbfounded by the world that he lives in. It's really an amazing thing to behold when people with that much influence talk to ordinary people about the effects of their creations; trying to level himself with the people. It was really an awesome thing to behold how much Facebook has grown in these past few years. 500 Million Facebook Users The last time I checked, Facebook had over 500 million users who go online with active profiles....