OMG. Dream come true. Mandisa, Chris Sligh, and Amy Grant, paying tribute to Michael W. Smith! I’m tearing up right here at my computer. Bad trip nga lang, putol sa dulo. (Sorry, Phil.)

Agnus Dei! Lord, we should do Agnus Dei in church! Dang!

Candice has tagged me.

The rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to Candice’s blog (she’s the one who tagged me) once you’ve posted your three sentences.

I wanted to be strict about this, but as it turns out, the nearest book, Jealousy: 99 Tips to Bring You Back from the End of Your Rope, a gift to Cathy, isn’t long enough. So the book after that is Daily Readings from ‘Your Best Life Now’ by Joel Osteen.

Page 123 is taken from the No Fear chapter. Sentences 6 to 9 read:

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 NLT) Rather than thinking the worst when you hear that siren, dwell on the fact that God has promised He will give His angels charge over your family. Say something such as “Thank You, Father, that your angels are protecting my family members. Thank You that my children are safe and sound in the palm of Your hand.”

And now, to continue the game, I am tagging

• Tina at RefineMe.org
• Anj at ImpulseBlogging
• Marian at hellobebe
• Joni at TaintedSong
• Romela at Roaming Around With Romela

On February 25, 2008, one of my best friends, Jay Tan, joined our Heavenly Dad. On April 4, his family and friends celebrated his 40th day. (I’m not exactly sure why we do this. Is it rooted in Catholic theology? Can someone tell me?) So I joined my very good college friends Danny, his girlfriend Michelle, and Mic, for the celebration at his home.

The first thing I thought to myself upon reentering the Tan residence was this: Wow, how often am I going to visit this place now? While I spent a lot of time there in the course of Jay’s and my almost decade long friendship, I’m not exactly sure how to feel about going there now that he’s gone. Unlike Mic and Danny, who were really tight with his family, I was just, well, Ganns, the guy who writes songs with Jay and takes him to the car wash.

Anyway, I came in and saw his urn. It was this white marble jar-type thing, and it was elegant and beautiful. On top of it, a rosary. Beside it, para hindi naman lumampas ng langit si Jay - ay, teka, nanjan na pala siya - were cigarettes and chocolate. I put a lollipop on top of his urn as a present from Nathan.

Of all the strange things to happen, I then ran into Architect Rose Marie Bautista, former dean of the DLS-College of Saint Benilde’s School of Design and Arts. Architect Bautista and I worked together for five years before I left DLS-CSB; she retired soon afterward. She was looking extremely well, and was there because she and Jay’s mother, Tita Evelyn, were schoolmates at Saint Theresa’s. (Lord, I hope I got their school name right.)

Shortly afterward, I sat down with Mic, Danny, and Michelle. Jay and I used to poke fun at Danny and Michelle, he for his awful singing voice and she for being taciturn verging on wallflower. Now that Jay was gone, I sure as heck wasn’t going to heckle Michelle alone, so I resigned myself to liking her. Hahaha. Truth be told, I think she’s perfect for Danny. (Of course, if Jay were here, we’d both laugh at their expense.)

After dinner, we escaped to Jay’s room. It was eerily clean. (His last few days had him confined there, so naturally, it had to be kept in immaculate condition so he wouldn’t get infections and stuff.) His DVD collection was still there, his magazines, his colognes. It was as if he’d just stepped out to smoke a cig on his balcony, or head off to the radio station for a Saturday night gig.

We were there reminiscing about our times with Jay - no tears, thank God! - when Danny and Mic announced they brought along the DSWS logbooks. I begged Danny to get them so we could reminisce further, and for thirty goshawful minutes, we were taken back to a time of innocence and virginity. (Well, at least for me.) The highlight for me, of course, was the comic series I created titled Kelvin and Rob, a spoof of Calvin and Hobbes, in which Jay featured prominently.

The night ended with us going our separate ways, and I drove home in silence. Upon my arrival at home, it was then that the floodgates opened. Heaven had Jay, and now, Mic, Danny, Michelle and I have each other. I said a quick prayer for the three of them, and asked Jay to keep an eye out for us. It was time to let go, and that night, I did my best to do so.

Mic, Danny and Ganns

Mariah Carey’s new album, E=MC2 is available at record bars everywhere. We bought our copy of Carey’s E=MC2 two days ago - album launch worldwide - at the Odyssey branch at Market! Market!

The version of Mariah Carey’s E=MC2 that we bought is a limited edition copy, one that comes with a Mariah Carey E=MC2 skin for I-Pod, as well as a poster. In total, E=MC2 contains a total of 14 songs, including the #1 hit Touch My Body, and the new single Bye Bye. There are four photographs: the cover featuring Carey lifting her arm up and clothed in what appears to be the carcass of a prehistoric duck; the back CD cover which shows her from the back, lifting her arms up and not wearing any bra; and two photos on the inside, which features a closeup, and one where she’s stretched out on the floor. Classy, Carey, real classy.

I’m now saving this spot for my review of E=MC2. Meanwhile, the lyrics of Mariah Carey’s Bye Bye, reputed to be her next single since she promoted it on American Idol, are available after the jump. (Still confirming the legalities of posting Bye Bye here as a stream; may just pop a snippet in to avoid copyright violations.)

“Always Be My Baby” by David Cook is arguably the best performance this season on American Idol. I don’t think anyone could’ve taken this Mariah Carey chestnut and turned it on its head so completely and successfully, but David Cook did, and I am blown away.

Thanks to Rickey, here’s a live David Cook Always Be My Baby mp3, taken from his April 17 American Idol performance. I don’t make David Cook mp3s available for download on GannsDeen.com; instead, I encourage you to get the Always Be My Baby mp3 by David Cook from I-Tunes. Update: I’m streaming the David Cook Always Be My Baby studio track mp3 for your consideration. Please purchase a copy from I-Tunes! It’s now #1!

The studio Always Be My Baby version from David Cook

The awesome live Always Be My Baby mp3 performance by David Cook! David Cook for the win!

I haven’t blogged much about this season of American Idol, but I just caught David Cook’s performance of Always Be My Baby and it just blew me away. This competition is suddenly wide open. I am not a fan, but that he could pull off a Mariah Carey chestnut and give it an edge is just beyond me. The string section during the chorus, the power notes towards the end, and the angst-ridden finish just sealed this guy’s ridiculously strong potential. David Cook for the win!

Four days ago, I visited a modeling agency as part of a casting call for a television commercial. I was told they were looking for chinito-looking men to play a dad. I figured, hey, I’m chinito, and I’m a dad, nothing to lose, right?

Well, I lost. Or at least, I think I lost.

The minute I stepped through those doors, I knew I was in for a rough time. I promised myself I’d walk in and be friendly and confident, and I was. It’s just that the male receptionist looked me up and down with this look of disdain on his face, and when the female receptionist came in, she spoke to me as if I were the last person on Earth who would get this job. (Which I probably was.)

Well, regardless, I was there, so I decided to push through with it. The lady receptionist called me into this room - she actually just said my name out loud, without really coming to get me - where she would shoot my VTR. After a few questions, she took the full shots, and I knew my prospects weren’t good when she panned the full-body shot and smirked. They had tons of beautiful people working there; I was some Joe off the street who thought he had what it took to at least play a role he essayed daily in real life.

I was determined to walk out of there with dignity, which I did. After I exited the agency, I walked to my car and comforted myself with the thought that while I may never be a star in the media sense of the word, I was a star to God. God told me in Jeremiah, “before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5).

God knew me well before this receptionist, before Cathy, before I knew myself. I am important to Him, and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I may not meet the standards of these commercial makers, but in the eyes of God, I am a star.

God, You’re awesome. Thanks for loving me. You rock my world, Lord, yeah, You do.