Carpool by Jerrold Tarog

Rating: 5/5
This movie short (10 minutes long) won 1st place in the short feature category of the 19th Gawad CCP for Alternative Movies and Video. It was also an exhibition film at the 2006 Cinemanila International Film Festival. It's in Filipino but a version with English subtitles is also available. Directed by Jerrold Tarog, cinematography by Ruel Dahis Antipuesto.

After watching it, I just had this big silly grin on my face. It's just so... real! (Thanks Javi for sharing this with me!)

New music by Josh Verdes

Josh Verdes is a cross between John Mayer and Jack Johnson. Check out my favorite song of his, "Save Me". He's a Fil-American and the performers in the video below are his sister (back-up vocals) and brother (on bass).



If you liked this video, you may also want to check out Happyslip's short "Boypren" which features the song.

New music by Blue Ketchup

My sister never fails to introduce me to these fabulous new Pinoy bands. Blue Ketchup is one of them.



I specially like Indyanera which has some rhythmic pianos and a bossa-feel. There are more videos on youtube and you can download some of the MP3s from thedigitalpinoy (registration required.)

New music by Jose Vanders

I stumbled upon the music of British Jose Vanders and I think she's the female pianist equivalent of Brett Dennen.

Jose's (pronounced Josie or Jaws) myspace page lists her musical inspiration as: "...boys
who have broken my heart . and boys who have stuck it back together with pritt stick and glitter . so its kind of sticky . but still nice and shiny..." How very artsy fartsy!

Listen to her music, compare it with Brett Dennen and let me know what you think.

Animoto: Create music videos with your photos and music

I've discovered Animoto, a new idiot-proof service on the net that lets you create music videos with your photos and music.

Simply upload your photos (or have it import from flickr, picasa, etc...), upload your MP3 and within 5 minutes it will whip-up a fancy slideshow set to your music. Flashy/jazzy effects, very professional looking and very user friendly.

The trial version lets you make 30second clips for free but it's USD3 per full video or USD30 for a year's worth of unlimited clips.

I can think of so many uses for this-- prom videos, your travel photos, a gift for an anniversary or for a birthday--it's relatively cheap! Why spend Php30,000 for a slideshow of your wedding photos when this site will do it for less than php150?

Check out a quick and dirty 30sec sample I created below.


Bonus points for Animoto because the name makes it sound... oh, so Lasallian. Animo!