Current mood:	hopeful
Current music:	I've Just Seen a Face - John Pizzarelli

Make Someone Happy*
Yes, I would have wanted to respond to this 'tag' earlier, if only to make him happy. Or at least remind myself of the mundane joys, the shallow, guilt-inducing pleasures.

Unfortunately, the link no longer seems to work. Bah, forget the html code or the 'fancy' tabular format; I'll write it straight out.

Culinary Guilt: Fatty and Oil-Laden Food.
Explain yourself: Actually, forget fatty--I eat the fat itself. I eat pork fat, beef fat, fried fat, crispy chicken skin, 'homemade' chicharon, bulalo (bone marrow), all kinds of fat. While other people sensibly trim the fat off their food, I actually save it. It's one of the best parts of a juicy steak, fried beef tapa, or pork or beef nilaga. I know I'm clogging my arteries and digging myself an early grave--what with a family history of heart disease. And yet, I swallow it down. Do I even sound the least bit guilty here?

Literary Guilt: Inquirer's Weekly Round-up of Tabloid Headlines.
Explain yourself: I don't know if you hate it when people sneak a peek at your copy of Inquirer 'Libre' on morning train rides. Well, whoops, I'm one of those people who try to read my neighbor's paper, be it the Xpress Balita, In Transit or Abante. Not to worry, I only want to read the showbiz columns. With my limited access to down and dirty local gossip rags, Inquirer has been kind enough to summarize it all, complete with their snarky comments. Hot topics for the week? The story of Angel Locsin's next network destination. Should anyone care? Sadly, it seems I do.

Audiovisual Guilt: (Soon to be) Marimar
Explain yourself: Seeing the billboards on the GMA-Kamuning station everyday just intrigues me and, dare I say, excites me about the prospects of this local remake. I never did follow the original show in its heyday, so this suddenly gets me curious. If this will be taking the not-too-early 'Lupin' timeslot, then I should be able to get my fix every now and then. But seriously, I can sit through far more 'inane' shows. Some sad moments of late--watching women literally endanger themselves with snakes, fire and lecherous men on The Search for the Next White Castle Girl; Willie Revillame attempting to sing 'What a Wonderful World' to his Chicago Wowowee audience; the Aljur-Kris-Mart love triangle on teeny-bopper heaven Boys Nxt Door. And the reason why I spend precious time on these? Allow me to cite the 'official' need to watch ads. Work-related. Really now.

Musical Guilt: Katharine McPhee of American Idol 5
Explain yourself: And only because I've probably listened to her album more than Elliott Yamin's (shame, shame). Yes, Elliott, the Idol we lived for in Season 5, against Ms. McPhee who went down the path of screechy performances after her stunning "Since I Fell for You". I have nothing against her music; obviously, I enjoy it. I just find it funny that she annoyed Patty and I to no end, and yet here I am singing along to such songs as "Everywhere I Go", "Love Story" and "Not Ur Girl". To those who will now accuse me of being a traitor, I promise to be present at most of Elliott's mall stops in his Manila tour next month. That I wouldn't do for Katharine. September, here I come!

Celebrity Guilt: Kris Bernal of Starstruck fame
Explain yourself: Why oh why? She's my neighbor, the other half of Starstruck's Ultimate Love Team. The girl who lives a few streets down the road. The girl who used to play 'second fiddle' to her older twin sisters who would dabble in modeling and whatnot. Now, watch her dance to 'Itaktak Mo' on SOP, and flaunt her saccharine/cutesy acting on Boys Nxt Door. Just recently, her home (emphasis on the four-poster bed) was featured on Inquirer's Living Stars. The girl has arrived. As her mom casually said to my mom once, "Naku, nagiging jologs na rin ang mga anak mo." Actually, Mrs Bernal, matagal na. Haha! If she only knew.

In light of Manila losing its bid to Spice up this city, I now invite you to spice up your lives (read: I tag you):
veganpunk_, sunm00nandstars, jody2b, koi_tattoo and anakngbuwan, it's time to make someone happy. :)

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If there's one song I'd single out from July, it would be Sophie Milman's rendition of Jule Styne's "Make Someone Happy". The title of her sophomore album, this song is pleasure through and through, no guilt involved.

My first encounter with this song was some years back--a trumpet instrumental by Chris Botti. Melodically wistful and breezy, it is beautiful without words. Recently revisited, this time with the lines, it takes on more meaning.

The lyric goes, "Make just one someone happy". If you can bring a smile to someone's face, then this should brighten your day, light up your life. If you can love just one person, then happiness is yours for the taking. The romantic idealism is the charm of it all. In her languorous manner, Sophie Milman seduces and enchants us with the idea of lasting happiness.

Listen to the song here

Make Someone Happy
Styne/Comden/Green

Make someone happy
Make just one someone happy
Make just one heart the heart to sing to

One smile that cheers you
One face that lights when it nears you
One man you're everything to

Fame if you win it,
Just comes and goes in a minute
Where's the real stuff in life to cling to?
Love is the answer
Someone to love is the answer
Once you have found him, build your world around him

And make someone happy
Make just one someone happy

And you will be happy too

Now, I don't know about finding that one someone, but I think the line could also describe what guilty pleasures are all about. The happiness is purely personal and private, an acquired taste so to speak. Of course, one day you could find that someone who shares your shallow joys or at the least, accepts your quirks without judgment. That may be the "real stuff to cling to".

Nonetheless, as a firm believer in self-induced highs, there is no better way to be happy than to choose to be so. In the end, the one person who will make you happy is yourself.


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*Smile, my dear. Chin up, cheer up :)