Today's Bananas TV: The O.C. (2003-2007)

I don't watch television all that much anymore, something I would never say a few years back when television and I were quasi-inseparable. I guess time became an issue when I started to be much more busier, or also because network executives just seemed to release strings of average to mediocre shows and cancel them one after another throughout the seasons. Shows went off the air on hiatus, and never came back. Some come back on different time slots and return on the air leaving the viewers with no interests to continue watching any longer. Well, that's how it is with me. Unfortunately, some actually good shows get the axe sooner than they should of. Hence why my relationship with television became a sort of bittersweet one. Not to say I have given up watching television shows anymore...I just really narrow down my favorite shows that are worth following religiously and view them online when I'm at home whilst binging on food. For me, television-watching experience isn't the same without food. Call me a fat boy. 

But during the period of time where I would never miss a show of mine (I went to great lengths to get myself out of any functions to be home on time), there's this one show that I used(still do) love. Sure, it's no ground-breaking series full of philosophical enlightment or that it's very "fresh", but it had so much heart and warmth that I can honestly re-watch it on DVD over and over again. It's a 2003 teen drama called The O.C. that aired on the Bush-endorsed FOX channel. For the non-followers, you would probably not know why the hell anyone would enjoy watching a series about young wealthy teenagers living in Newport Beach doing unrealistic things that promote superficiality . But to the followers, the show is filled with perfectly-timed comedy, endless emotion rollercoasters, witty dialogues, extraordinary music and Seth Cohen.  The first season of The O.C. was pure television gold. It had equal proportions of things that work for a primetime teen soap opera: beautiful people, charismactic characters, crazy mothers, crazy psychopath, amazing soundtrack, and most importantly, tons of drama. The acting isn't something to brag about really, but it's not bad enough to cringe your teeth to death. I can't say the whole life-span of The O.C. was good, I can only say that season 1 and 2 really marked a part of my life, and I can never forget. Two things really did it for me on The O.C., Seth Cohen/dialogue and the music. In a nutshell, Seth Cohen is a privileged kid who's not close to be the most popular guy at school, a little self-absorbed, enjoys comic books, hates his sunny hometown and wears Penguin polo shirts like it's nobody business. He's awkward yet approachable. He delivers one of the funniest lines I've heard on television with such certainty and never failed to accompany his lines with an appropriate facial expression. Albeit his geeky looks and manners, he still gets the pretty girls. So yeah, Seth Cohen is definitely a legendary television character and I think the show would have failed without him. I can't stress enough how the music on The O.C. is just simply brilliant. Every songs used for every scenes are so appropriate, clever and fits so marvellously-well with the situation that it just moves you. I sound like I'm overdramatizing it, but I'm not. I get chills everytime I watch some certain scene with that certain song playing in the background. The music is fun, lively, sunny, upbeat, sad, melancholic, it's the music that makes you want to laugh, share the sad moments, and enjoy life with the people you care most about. 

I found on YouTube a channel dedicated to the best The O.C. music moments throughout the series, and I have to show you my all-time favorite ones.

Song: Dice
Artist: Fin Quayle

Song: If You Leave
Artist: Nada Surf

Song: I'm Shakin'
Artist: The Rooney (great band!)

There you have it, these are a few of my favorite music moments on The O.C. To view more, go here, and you will have a handfull of awsome music. The O.C. was an immediate hit during season 1 which launched the young stars into fame and fortune. But unfortunately, with the lack of creative writers and involvement of Josh Schwarts the creator, the series went downhill and lost many of its viewers. With season 1 averaging 21 million viewers per episodes to averaging only around 4 million viewers by the end of season 4, FOX obviously couldn't afford to let it go on any further, especially with Mischa Barton (Marissa Cooper) off the show. Like they say, all good things come to an end. But it ended on a high note, and the finale episode to The O.C. had a well-deserved happy ending. 

Now it's time for me to digg up my DVD box set and relive the epicness that is The O.C.

Today's Bananas Charity: Fashion Against Aids

They say money can't buy happiness. Some truly believe in it, while most say it because it seems like the right thing to say, or at least the right way to think. I'm torn on that idea. I honestly can't say that "money cannot buy happiness" because I personally know that it is not completely true. I'm not saying money literally can buy happiness, but with money you can definitely be happIER, which is better than "happy" with a dried out bank account. I would love to be born in a 'old riche' family or even 'nouveau riche' ones, and live off of my family inheritance. I can honestly tell you that I would be happy because of all of the things that I can buy, do, and most importantly, give. I would never not give if I possess an abundance of wealth. But fact is, I can't buy, do and give as much as I want to because I'm not currently part of the upper-income society and neither is my family. So with that being said, when a good cause arises to which I approve, I try to give my support.

So this post is not about glorifying myself by showing off my good Samaritan spirit. It's more about a campaign that combines both fashion (which I'm an enthusiast of) and charity. The campaign is called Fashion Against Aids and is conducted by H&M and DAA(Designers Against Aids) to raise money for a charity that raise awareness and prevention of AIDS/HIV worldwide which exactly kicked off today, may 28th. 25% of every sale of that campaign is donated to that cause. The collection consists of t-shirts, tank tops, and bodysuits designed by a variety of celebrities and famous personalities that surrounds around themes of safe sex, peace, awareness, and of course fashion. This year's list of celebrities includes, Katy Perry, Dita Von Teese, Yoko Ono, Robyn, Yelle, Tokio Hotel, N.E.R.D., Estelle, Cindy Lauper, Katherine Hamnett, Roisin Murphy, Moby and Dangerous Muse. I can't personally say that *all* of the designs are nice or that some of these "celebrities" are even *that* famous, but the concept behind it is still very important. However, some designs are very nice and very fun. From what I heard, they are much cooler than the ones from previous years. In addition, all of the items in that collection are made of 100% organic cotton, which feels so so nice, and very green. It is surprisingly very affordable with everything priced at $19.90 and under. Keep in mind also that some of the designs, such as and mainly, Katy Perry's, are very limited and once flown off the shelves will not come back. The collection includes items for both women and men.

So I went and got two t-shirts, the Katy Perry and Yelle ones. Below I'm going to display my favorite picks for both genders. (there are alternative versions of these in longer t-shirts/"dresses" for women, and colors for mens and ladies)

Yoko Ono (for mens and ladies) "Imagine Peace"

Yelle (for mens and ladies) "You Enjoy Life"

Robyn (for ladies) "Diamonds"

Moby (for mens)

Katy Perry (for mens) "It's what on the outside that counts"

Katy Perry (for ladies bodysuit) "It's what on the outside that counts"

On a little note, I want to state that I work for H&M and I am not being bias or spreading H&M propanganda, but I think it's something that is really cool and that it's a good way to reach the younger audience to an issue that will never ever "go out of style" to talk about, because AIDS/HIV is still an uncurable disease that hits so many people, both in the developed and underdeveloped nations. So if like me, you do not have the means to donate millions upon millions of dollars to your favorite cause, or any charitable cause for that matter, why don't you fork out that $19.90 on a cool t-shirt to which 25% of it will go to charity! Sure it's just 5$ you're giving away in that $19.90, but think about how many 5$ can make when a lot of people join in and buy something. It's all about society's collective contribution that leads to a successful and meaningful result.

Go to your nearest H&M stores in their Divided department to grab one of these babies and check out the other designs or visit H&M and DAA online!

Worst Than The Swine Flu

Sorry. My friend Jennifer is contagious; she gave me a bad case of the Writer's Block flu. 

Be back when I have something relevant to share.

Peace Out :)

Today's Bananas Movie: Blindness

So there's this thing that I often do whenever I have spare time and am conveniently in the downtown area. It might sound a little bit geeky and not very fun, but I don't know what it is but I enjoy it. I like to roam bookstores, but especially Chapters. I actually have no intention of buying anything or looking for anything, but it is actually something that I plan of doing in advance when I know I'm going to be nearby it...and alone, most importantly. I just like the feel of new books, hardcover and paperback. I like flipping through the soft pages with the so beautifully printed words on them, with the occasional face shot of the author on the back cover that makes me chuckle and wonder why they chose this awful picture. I wander around, on all of the floors just to stare and touch the numerous books. So the other day, I had the chance to do this weird routine of mine at Chapters and I've stumble upon the wall of Awards-winning novels. There is this one called Blindness by Portuguese author José Saramago, which won a Nobel Prize for Literature. I picked it up and read the back of it, which tells the story of a world that has been plagued by the "white disease" which is essentially a contagious pandemic causing humans to lose their eyesight. Flipping through the very thick novel, I rapidly put it back on its original shelve thinking that I would never be able to read and comprehend such a high-acclaimed and complex piece of literature work. I mean, it must be some ground-breaking story-telling to be awarded a world-renowned Prize like the Nobel one. 

So story short, I did not read the book. I, however, discovered that they made a movie out of it to which I was completely unaware of. It surprisingly stars some very talented actors that I like watching on screen, namely Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal. I caught it on PaperView at home, but wasn't able to finish it in its entirety, but the 30 minutes or so of the scenes that I saw really intrigued me. So at my friend's house not long after, I was able to watch it from begining to end because she happened to have had rent it at the video store the night before. This movie honestly moved me. I can't say whether it is better or worse than the original novel (although my friend who read the book tells me the book is far more superior) since I have not read the book, but as an average movie goer, the movie really spoke to me on so many levels. It gave me chills and really got me into thinking as the end credit rolls. The content kind of scared me despite not having any purpose of scaring anyone. 

Blindness focuses on the story of a disease that spread throughout the United States (and we assume the world as well) which caused everyone to lose their eyesight, and go blind. Their blindness however is not like the usual kind where the disabled one "sees" only darkness, an obscur black like the lights have been turned off. Instead, their darkness has become a vision of whiteness. The disease is contagious and as soon as it became a situation of panik, the governmental authorities have deployed soldiers to catch the infected ones and send them to a prison-like ward for "quarantine" purposes. But as the captives will soon realize, they have been sent as prisoners shielded from the outside world. The main characters involve an eye doctor who lost his sight after being in contact with a patient that came to see him because of his eyesight lost, his wife who is immune to the disease but pretends to be blind so to take care of her husband, a few infected victims and a deranged "ward leader" that will impose his dictating ways onto everybody by distributing boxes of food in exchange for precious things the blinds own and sexual favors. The story revolves around so many human nature issues. Themes like desperation, social gangs, ethics, and most importantly, in my opinion, hope, all come into play and all tie in together to make the audience feel so compelled and involved. The content was, for me, so provocative but captivated all of my attention. Some might find it boring, but for those who are not suffering from an attention deficit disorder, it is a very exciting movie experience. 

The movie really makes me want to visit Chapters again and get the courage to actually pick up the book and purchase it. I strongly recommend either watching the movie or reading the book, because it's a remarkable and at the same time, sad tale about human behavior during an apocalyptic world. We are no more different than animals.

Today's Bananas Picture: They Start Young

I wish my parents would have dressed me like that when I was young. Hell, I don't even dress like that now. Kudos to the parents for not dressing their kid in tacky cartoon-covered retartedly-bright matching-color outfits.

Fitted denim wash jeans, check.
Trendy stripe shirt, check.
Slick navy blazer vest, check.
Too-cool-for-school white Converse sneaks, check.
West Village hipster fedora hat, check.

Coolest kid on the playground? Yep.

Picture courtesy of The Sartorialist