i completed encoding two-thirds of the choral arrangement we have of Billy Joel's "The Longest Time" into MIDI last Monday, and it sounds really cool - really hoping to get the solo part for this, though i'm a bit doubtful, since this song hits a note i can't reach with my natural singing voice, and it's always a better option to have someone comfy with the range to sing the particular parts.

my friend let me accompany her home last night, and i stayed there for a bit, mingling with her homemates. it's a nice feeling, getting to know more of her world, and i hope this trend keeps on keeping on (a phrase she coined some time back). of course, some officemates of ours saw me on my way home in the vicinity, and since they sort of know who she is and where she lives, i guess they have an assumption on why i was there that they can't go wrong on. but i'm not worried.

oh, and i've been itching to get this posted - this morning i saw a replay of GMA 7's Saksi and saw a news segment of the many guys and girls (okay, emphasis on guys here) saw the premiere of Maui Taylor and Katya Santos' "Sex Drive" at the UP Film Center. there was this part when the two were asked to comment on the movie as being pornographic, and while Maui's comment (something along the lines of "it's not that pornographic compared to other movies") was quite acceptable to me, Katya's comment surely made my head (and ears and all) turn - while i can't quote her exact lines, she did say something that pretty much went like, "at least sa movie lang, hindi sa flesh".

what the heck?

IMHO, pornography is pornography, regardless of its form. no one should justify the tolerance of pornography by its mode of delivery. but with the proliferation of such movies (being labeled as art by their producers), i'm beginning to wonder whether the whole notion of sexuality here in the country has finally broken free of its supposedly conservative chains. we are a country that, on the one hand, speaks of chastity, conservativeness, and other such "unliberated" circles of thought; and on the other, has a throbbing mass (pun intended) of single teenagers and young adults acting like liberated Westerners, who, generally speaking, treat their sexuality as just another form of feeling that they can enjoy and exploit.

an officemate of ours here succinctly said, "who knows who will define morality and ethics, five to ten years down the road?"

it looks like i'll have to share his view on this matter.