"Jack in the Box"...

 ...four months hence.

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by PAM

One of the most important tests to establish the timelessness of a work of art is longevity. When the work remains relevant for a long time... then it becomes a classic.

Jack in the Box:  A work of art that spells daring and
stunning revelation from J-Hope.

j-hope is the first BTS member to launch his solo album, "Jack in the Box"(JITB), just a month after the 9th anniversary of their debut as a group this year. It was a daring move... but j-hope was ready. He is an epitome of hard work. He usually spends a grueling amount of time to iron out the tiniest wrinkle in his work in painstaking detail - it's just his nature. He commits to perfection with the brute force of discipline and hard work. He's got extraordinary combination of talents, too:  he writes, he raps in powerful and/or rhythmic verses, he sings and he dances like no other. Therefore, he can slay the heck out of any live performance even those that require death-defying moves!  These give him 'wings to fly'... and land on the ground solidly with both feet.

Now, four months after its launch, and inspired by the release of a behind the scene video of J-Hope's stint at Lollapalooza 2022 on Bangtan TV, I decided to revisit JITB. 

"Yeah, I'm thirsty... I want some more!"

JITB hit the ground sprinting with "More", which unveiled a completely different side of the cheerful and sunny Hobi. The opening tune is so 'menacing' that a listener's heartbeat quickened... pushing the heart on the verge of exploding by the time Hobi finished the first verse. And then, the heartbeat got into the rhythm... the senses were filled with j-jope's patent rapping in a powerfully hoarse voice... only, this time, he was 'rap ranting', luring the listener to the edge of the ledge... and by the time j-hope screamed, "I want some more!" all hell broke loose! And we jumped with him, flew with him as he took us to a different level in his musical power while opening his heart on how he views the exhilarating but chaotic success of BTS. In no time, we were all headbanging with our BTS Sunshine... commiserating with him in his frustrations, and joining him as he lets out more of himself... more, more, more! 

Whew, what a way to launch a solo album!

"Arson" is an excellent follow-up single. It kept the energy high, and the curtain that hides the other side of Hobi continued to roll down... and ripped to pieces!  My goodness, what a revelation this song is regarding the life that he leads as a K-Pop superstar. It just tears an ARMY's heart to pieces. Any ARMY who listened to this song became more understanding of his plight, and of their plight as BTS. And the admiration for them deepened as our eyes were opened to the gigantic challenges that they had to overcome... and the pain that they had to endure to keep the superstardom ablaze - mostly not for themselves anymore these days but for others. j-hope reflects, and looks into his and BTS' future in this song, and it's exciting to think what that future might be... if a future together is still in the cards, that is.  But they kept assuring ARMY that they are coming back together as a group again in 2025 after their military enlistment.  Well, we shall see then.

"My dream, done..."

JITB shows what a fantastic story teller j-hope is.  He showed this in "Pandora's Box". He revealed the origin of his 'pseudo name', j-hope, and revealed his thoughts with a beautifully made rhythm in the background.  "STOP", "Future" and "What if" are all deliciously introspective... honest, no pretenses, no annoying preaching that hides behind 'artistic license'. j-hope gave it to us raw, like a person opening up to a trusted friend. We don't usually hear the innermost thoughts of Hobi. His role in BTS allows limited chances to take a peek into his soul. In "Safety Zone", he went all out in telling his story and his thoughts regarding his celebrity world from his vantage point. It is absolutely stunning, I love it!  In the entire JITB, he invites us into his soul... and we were very pleasantly surprised!  After JITB, we never look at Hobi the same way again... especially after he performed JITB solo at the iconic Lollapalooza 2022 in Chicago..

"Music Box: Reflection" allows some respite from the stunning surprise of  new discoveries in Hobi's head. The sound of the winding music box seems to allude to a time of wait as they undergo military enlistment... a time to 'lull to sleep' professionally, but, perhaps, not artistically. But the moment we listened to "=(Equal Sign)", our 'familiar Sunshine' is back. This is where the 'longevity' of JITB is hinged, I do believe. 

j-hope with IU at "In The Palette"

JITB is the current state of mind and heart of j-hope, and it shows his depth and daring as an artist, too.  It shows j-hope as the fearless rapper and indomitable song writer, whose artistry is influenced, but not changed, by the phenomenal success of BTS.  Four months hence, it is still refreshing to listen to JITB... "More" still quickens the heartbeat, and "Arson" and "Safety Zone" still leave us open-mouthed by their honesty and openness to vulnerability.  One day, j-hope's circumstances will change... and he will have a new story to tell.  In my humble opinion though, the song that is not time-bound in JITB is "=(Equal Sign)".  The message is timeless, and the rhythm is easy and beautiful, too.  This will resonate for a long time:

"Hate'll paralyze your mind
"Gotta see the other side
"It costs ya nothin’ to be kind
"Not so different you and I
"Lookin' for love in a different light
"Until we find that equal sign"

Alright, I'm off to watch Spain vs. Germany on World Cup 2022. Will go running afterwards. I have my playlist with me, and it starts with "More" and ends with "Arson" with "=(Equal Sign)" as encore while I do final stretch.

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Image credit:  All photos are borrowed from the IG account of j-hope.  Thanks for the loan, Hobi.

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The boys who reside in my heart...

 ...and many more!

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by PAM

TGIF! 

The week has been incredible... challenging for the most part at work, but there are a lot of things that deserved to be celebrated, too.  I guess that the more challenging things are, the sweeter 'victory' tastes when it's achieved... regardless whether it's fully or partially achieved, actually achieved or merely imagined.  After all, 'victory is a state of mind', according to a World Cup-related social media post where Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are featured. I think that, for our sanity, we should always look at the bright side... of course, with our eyes wide open, too, to see the gloomy side.  When we focus on the bright side, it is easier to imagine how to extend the brightness to lighten the gloomy side.  When we see the big picture, there is always a way to do this.  When we see none, there is also such thing as 're-thinking priorities'... and 'regrouping' to plan the next best strategy.

Whatever it is... the week is over, and it's time to loosen up a bit... or, a lot!  

***

The bright side       

I had three critical meetings and an important webinar this week that went so well.  Questions in my head were answered, things that were vague were clarified; and new possibilities rose in the horizon, and, boy, don't they look amazing!  I have yet to figure out a lot of things still, and the work does not get easier... but it gets interesting - very interesting... and exciting!

But what is truly interesting and exciting was a message that I received from my youngest sister.  She sent me and our sisters photos of the art works of my nephew - the eldest of her two kids, and that boy who resides in a huge space in my heart.  Let's just call him "LA".  He is now in the first grade at the Ateneo de Manila Grade School where his own father studied, too.  He obtained straight A's in the first quarter of the School Year (SY), and we are, indeed, very proud of him!  He has always loved Mathematics since he started schooling at age 3 years... but his Mom and Dad have been doing a great job motivating him to give all subjects equal attention.  So far, so good.  But what is amazing is how he has been doing so well in his Arts subject, too!  Obviously he has such rich imagination and terrific creativity.  

LA celebrated his 7th birthday last month,
went trick-or-treating as Batman for the first time after two years
since the pandemic, and have been showing excellent job
in his art works (photos 1 to 4, clockwise starting
at the upper left hand side) besides Math and Science.  

LA is a gamer - a very good one!  Hehe...  His parents (and us, aunties) let him play because we see him gaining confidence in talking to people, suggesting creative solutions to practical problems, and strategizing to master his school works the way he tries to master his games.  His mind is fast developing to a tactical mind... strategic and naturally a problem solver.  I like that because my fervent hope is that he becomes an engineer like, uhm, ahem, yours truly (and his Dad, too, actually!).  Hahaha... I am okay that I don have kids of my own, but I cannot deny that I often wish that one of my nephews and nieces would become an engineer someday.  All are grown-up now... except LA and his younger sister.  So, my hope is alive and well!  Hehe...  #meddlingauntie mode.

Anyway, sometimes, we see LA playing online with teenage gamers as well as older gamers (including my brother-in-law, actually)... and he manages to win!  Unlike other kids, he does know when it is time to study... and to babysit her little sister, or entertain adoring aunties and uncles, and his doting grandparents!  When I got sick last year, he set aside time to pray for my recovery everyday.  His Mom would message me, and there was always a video greeting from him... always telling me how much he loved me, and that I should eat well to get well soon.  And that gave me the biggest reason to keep fighting for my life.  With God's grace, I did survive... and that deepened my love for this boy.  In a way, I owe him my life now... of course, along with other family members... and the fabulous doctors in my University.

If there is another young man that I adore more than JK (the son that I never had), it will definitely be my dearest LA - I love him to bits, and I will always do.  He speaks in almost the same manner as JK... with sweetness and in such adorable voice. I have another nephew that I love fervently, too - JPM.  He is tall, sporty, and a very good-looking young man... like JK, too, of course.  Hahaha...  but I think that he (and his girlfriend) will totally cringe if I feature him in this little blog of mine.  Hahaha...

***

'Offside'

In football, 'offside' is one of those things that we, fans, always debate about (with the referees!  Hehehe...)!  It is probably because, most often, decisions in football matches related to the offside rule tilt the favor (or odds, depending on whether you are in the losing or winning team) of the game... and often critical to winning or losing.  

So, JK has been working on the soundtrack of the FIFA World Cup 2022 (WC2022) hosted by Qatar.  He has been working on the Opening Ceremony performance on 20 November 2022 as well. Of course, there have been many issues on the supposed 'unsuitability' of Qatar to host the "Mecca of Football" that is the World Cup, in which 32 of

JK, on his way to Qatar, in preparation
for his performance at the FIFA WC2022

 the best of the best teams from about a hundred national teams advance to compete for the pride of taking home and keeping the 'holy grail' of football for four years.  People bring up Qatar's alleged human rights violations and its aversion to diversity and inclusion. I do believe that that is fair.  When something is questionable, by all means, queries must be raised and answers have to be pursued until provided, and with accuracy and clarity, too - whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  

However, the WC2022 is about football though.  The players work on the mastery of their skills in painstaking discipline and commitment as professional footballers just to be able to have the rarest chance of representing their respective countries in their lifetime in this awesome event!  Many living legends of football, such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, no matter how mesmerizingly successful they are in the football clubs where they play and played, cannot be fully considered by some passionate football fans to be 'complete' legendary footballers because they have not won the World Cup yet. And, we, football fans always look forward to watching our favorite teams and these legends of the 'beautiful game' to compete in the biggest football stage in the world... and when our teams do not win, we wait for the next four years to get yet another chance.... and the next three years and 11 months will be a long and painful build-up to the next World Cup!  

In any case, win or lose, we enjoy the process of seeing the countries come together... chant and cheer - united as one in the spirit of sportsmanship, if that is the only remaining set of virtues that this world has.  So, to disrupt this beautiful process due to political agenda is just very, very disappointing.  I believe that not everything should be turned to politics and global gatherings a venue to push for personal beliefs and agenda.  That leaves us with no space to breathe... and just enjoy life, and each other's company - as human beings... say, in this case, human beings that are enjoying the 'beautiful game' that we love. We can promote awareness of our cause while enjoying the game and observing mutual respect... but we do not need to turn it to an impassioned 'crusade' at the World Cup.  It's too stressful, and it takes away focus on the 'beautiful game'... and miss the chance of coming together peacefully, learning about each other and from each other.  Then again, that just goes to show how important the World Cup is.  People choose it as a venue to express passionate advocacy.

These days, many ARMYs (or people pretending to be ARMYs to breach this powerful fandom?) are guilty of violating the 'offside rule' in fandom etiquette

'Dreamers', soundtrack of the FIFA WC2022

as they publicly lambast JK for moving forward in his performance at the WC2022 Opening Ceremony.  I imagine it must be very toxic for JK... that can gnaw on his mental health. They compare him with artist/s who supposedly declined the invitation to perform, citing Qatar's Human Rights record in their press releases.  Everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion, of course.  And yet, this/these artist/s and the many critics of the World Cup 2022 come/s from and perform/s in countries where people are abused, disrespected and/or treated unfairly on a regular basis, if not everyday, due to the color of their skin, their gender, and/or their ethnicity, or due to the social class in their society where they 'belong' that is perceived to be inferior compared with others'.  I'm sorry, but I find the actions and the justifications to be contradicting. If we don't try to reach out to one another in peace and without judgment, cross the understanding divide and extend a hand in peace, and influence each other positively - through our reconciliatory actions, professions and/or artistry, how do we achieve harmony, peace and mutual respect?  As a football fan for decades now, for me, the World Cup is one of the global events where I can feel optimistic about us, humans.  The passion shown by the players and their coaches, their impressive skills that are mastered through hard work, the unbreakable determination to bring honor to one's country through strategy and innovation, teamwork, humor - lots of humor and camaraderie among fans and players... there are so many uplifting and inspiring things that can only be found and experienced at the World Cup.

And so, I applaud JK for his courage to 'walk the talk' in his (and his brothers' at BTS) commitment to make this world a better place - where people are united as one - through music.  Consistent to his values and his adherence to mutual respect, he did not retaliate in any way to his detractors and haters, nor did the smile on his face was wiped out by disappointment or rejection.  He 'turned the other cheek'... and just went on, and tried to create a beautiful music that he, obviously hopes others would appreciate - for its worth and message, and not for anything else. 

And so, I wait, in great anticipation of the release of his song, 'Dreamers'.  I have no doubt that it will be awesome because that's just the way he does things, the BTS way: the very best... or nothing at all!

***

Image credit:  (1) The collage of photos belong to my sister, borrowed just for this post. (2) JK, on his way to Qatar - borrowed from Big Hit IG account.  (3) As an update to this post on 19 Nov 2022, the 'Dreamers' poster is borrowed from the Big Hit IG account - thanks for the loan.

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Wednesday Happy Pill...

 ...and more!

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by PAM

Yesterday, I worked from home.  For the first time in many weeks, I let the sound of the chirping birds lure me away from my desk to wander around our little 'urban garden' at the front yard after my first cup of coffee.  It was good... it's like breathing fresh air for the first time after being in a 'processed oxygen chamber' (a.k.a. my room) for days and days... and days!

Beautiful morning... the sky was concealed by the canopy
that's the mango tree, fortune plant, and the overgrown yellow bells.

The brightness of the sky, partly concealed by the canopy of thick leaves above my head, put me in a beautiful mood.  I returned to my desk full of enthusiasm, ideas... and the determination to make the day good and productive.  I found my way back to the online library of Penn State University... and there, my enthused brain feasted on highly informative reading materials. I also visited the online reading resource of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which was teeming with very good materials, I must say.  By the middle of the day, I have browsed about a dozen journal articles, two of which I read from Abstract to References.  A good day, indeed!

I spent almost the entire daytime in front of my laptop with just a small break to eat, and play block puzzle to decompress my brain muscles. I managed to climb to #2 in the leaderboard merely one week after I joined, starting at #128!  Hahaha... yep, even my playing was inspired yesterday!  By 5:00 pm, the birds started chirping merrily again outside.  I closed my eyes... and they stung so bad!  That was it, I was done for the day.  I walked out, and saw the beautiful colors of the late afternoon sun...

My phone camera refused to re-create what my eyes were seeing,

which was a beautiful late afternoon sky.

I automatically changed into my walking shoes... I just had to enjoy the beautiful moment!  I walked along our street towards the west.  Although I was unable to see the setting sun itself, I got to see the beautiful colors it left in its wake in the sky...

My phone camera was being the smarty a*%, refusing to bear witness

to the beauty of the sunset sky... but even it was unable to 

fully resist the loveliness.

I walked about a kilometer before turning back east towards our house.  The sky was turning quite dark in that direction but, as I turned to my left in the northern direction, it was lovely, too.

The lovely northern tropical sky, echoing the beauty

of the eastern sky at sunset.

So, yeah, it was a lovely day... reminiscent of the past days that were all very productive and exciting... albeit exhausting.  At least, we have little joyful moments to cheer us up... small mercies, small surprises... we just have to pay attention, and indulge ourselves a bit - nothing wrong about taking care of ourselves especially our mental health.

As I was walking, this BTS song put a spring in my steps, "Outro: Wings" from their album "You Never Walk Alone" released in 2017. 

"Take me to the sky
If I can fly, if I can run away forever

If my wings could fly

Piercing through the air that's getting heavier

Flying, flying

Higher than, higher than... the sky."

It didn't feel like I walked alone, indeed... I had, and will always have, this loyal 2nd (or, is it 'third'?) family, always making my day good and bright... even if they are not aware that they are doing so.  They make me fly, fly... fly... higher than the sky!

***

Photo credit:  All photos in this post belong to me, and they were taken and processed for the sole use of this blog.

Video credit:  The owner of the video featured in this post is indicated in the video itself - Brilliant.  It is, indeed, a brilliant edit! Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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