Today is starting out to be a great day. Witness, to wit:

I won Toni’s birthday contest! I entered a birthday contest from my good friend Toni at her website Wifely Steps, and to my utter surprise and glee, I won the randomly selected lottery contest! I never win at these things! Thank You, God! Thank you, Toni! (Now, how shall I spend my US$25 Amazon GC? Mandisa or Avalon? Argh, decisions, decisions!)

Spotlight’s breaking out! Jennifer Hudson’s Spotlight bows at #96 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, three notches ahead of fellow Oscar winner Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia) and one notch behind fellow Oscar winner Jamie Foxx (Please Excuse My Hands, on which he and The Dream are featured artists with rapper Plies). Three Oscar winners, including Jennifer Hudson, all debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time? This is the kind of chart news I really enjoy! Go, J-Hud! Go Spotlight!

Oh, and for this week, here are Jennifer Hudson’s Spotlight Billboard rankings:
Hot 100: #96 (debut)
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: #16, up four notches (bullet)
Adult R&B Airplay: #12, same as last week (bullet)

I just played Lazer Tag! Some of the pastors and staff visited Lazer Xtreme at Market! Market! for 15 minutes of lazer tag. OMG, such fun! It was my first time to play, and I finished a more than respectable 5th out of 12. More importantly, Pastor Joey Bonifacio, who trash-talked me like there was no tomorrow, finished dead last. Hahaha, take that, Sir! (Just kidding. Please don’t fire me.)

Do you feel like a winner today?

The Fully Booked High Street branch in Fort Bonifacio is holding its first anniversary sale ending August 2. Discounts as high as 90% were being slapped onto the thousands of books at Fully Booked Serendra (We’re talking four floors of books. How can you possible say “No!” to that?!)

So, yesterday, I conned convinced my wife and father-in-law to make the trek from our home in Caloocan to High Street to check out the sale. Boy, was it worth it! Among the many books we got were I Am Legend (the original sci-fi novel from the 60s), No Fear Shakespeare: Macbeth (a graphic novel adaptation of the British classic), another graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and a reprint of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. (You know who owns that last one.) For Nathan, the last copy - at PHP250! - of Maurice Sendak’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are. We would’ve probably bought a lot more had there been more time.

I had my eye on Kathy Reichs’ Bones and Ashes. think I may return tomorrow to see if it’s worth it. Also, I also a new Paulo Coelho book; I just need to confirm if it is new. (After he added me to his list of friends on Plurk, how can I turn down his latest? Woohoo!)

I also visited their fourth floor, home to CDs and DVDs, and saw the entire 10-season Friends boxed set retailing for PHP7,950. That seems like a lot, but that actually comes down to only PHP795 a season. In DVD! Plus, the two gospel CDs of Michelle Williams at PHP499 each. Gah. Kulang na lang, Calvin and Hobbes boxed set at 20% off. Hu hu hu, I wonder how much I’d get for my kidney.

Are you a book lover? Head on down to Fully Booked while the sale’s still hot. Most books start at 20% discount, that’s already reason enough!

(Listen to Because by The Katinas. You may also read The Katinas Because lyrics on this post. GannsDeen.com does not offer The Katinas mp3’s for free download or paid downloads. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

I am a Katinas fan. Ever since I heard Lifestyle, the amazing worship album on which the Katinas covered, among other amazing songs, I Love You Lord, I Give You My Heart, and Trading My Sorrows, I’ve fallen for this band hook line and sinker. The Katinas have since gone independent, but that route hasn’t shaken the band; if anything, it’s given them more resolve to make the kind of music that really glorifies God in a major way.

On Because, the first single off the Katinas’ independent release, Still, Joh Katina’s voice is in fine form. A driving praise song with a killer chorus and harmonies that are as tight as ever, Because has everything necessary to return the Katinas to the top of the charts where they belong. Rumor has it they’ll visit Manila on November 28; add me to the list of people who’re sure to line up for tickets!

Listen to The Katinas Because mp3
Lyrics to Because by The Katinas after the jump. Read more

Yesterday, the town of Molo in Iloilo celebrated its yearly town fiesta partly in honor of my great grandfather, zarzuela composer, novelist, and journalist Angel Merle Magahum. A 33-member choir, accompanied by an orchestra and organ, sang his Latin mass composition, Misa de 2 o 3 para Canto y Organo, a piece my great grandfather orchestrated for the high mass.

Lolo Angel was a champion of the Hiligaynon dialect, a Filipino language spoken by hundreds of thousands of Filipinos. In 1897, he wrote Benjamin, the first Hiligaynon novel; he was also the editor of the Makinaugalingon newspaper, the longest-running Visayan language newspaper in the Philippines.he also wrote a novel, Isa ka Bihag (The Captive); Euponiya sang Pulong Nga Binisaya (An Euphony of the Visayan Hiligaynon); and Palanganinawan (Reflection). Today, a street at the junction of Locsin-M.H. Del Pilar is named after Angel Magahum.

The Misa de 2 o 3 para Canto y Organo was the only one orchestrated during the fiesta of 13 masses he had actually written. It was first showcased during the Molo town fiesta in 1895, played by Lolo Angel himself. Thanks to the efforts of musicologist Ariel Bordon, the Misa de 2 o 3 para Canto y Organo was heard for the first time after 113 years. (According to my grandmother, it was no easy feat; Mr. Bordon has to reconstruct the libretto from Lolo Angel’s surviving pre-war manuscripts, which were given to him by my great aunt Naysol (Sol Magahum-Dideles), who saved them from the invading Japanese army’s bullets and bombs.

It was absolutely beautiful, based on what my mother said via text message. I’m glad to be his great grandson, and absolutely proud of my heritage. Mabuhay ka, Lolo Angel!

(Acknowledgement to this piece which provides the information for this blog entry.)

Here are other resources on Angel Magahum:

Ethnicity and Nationhood in the Fiction of Angel Magahum by Rosario Cruz Lucero
Ang Sampaguita (A Hiligaynon poem by Angel Magahum), Our Own Voice

A “Twilight” theme for Plurk is now blessing my Plurk page. I developed it with my “Twilight” wife Cathy - I guess this layout makes us “Twihards” now, doesn’t it? - and now it’s up and rather pretty, if I do say so myself. I also recently joined the Flickr Plurk Themes group and uploaded my Plurk “Twilight” theme onto it.

If you’re looking for a Plurk “Twilight” theme, click here to install it into your Plurk page. If you’d like to see it, click on the image above to go to the Flickr page for the image.

(Listen to We Sing Jesus Christ by  Adam Paul Williams. You may also read the  Adam Paul Williams We Sing Jesus Christ lyrics on this post. GannsDeen.com does not offer  Adam Paul Williams mp3’s for free download or paid downloads. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

I learned about Adam Paul Williams when I saw his new single, We Sing Jesus Christ, listed as one of last week’s gainers on RadioandRecords.com’s Inspo chart. After I visited his MySpace page, I was struck by the pureness and range of his voice. What I found even more impressive is that Adam Paul Williams dared take on my favorite worship song of all time, Unrestrained, and, for the most part, holds his own against the versions of vocal powerhouses Calvin Nowell, Myron Butler, and Mandisa. (I’m sorry, but the countrified version of Tony Sutherland, co-writer of Unrestrained, doesn’t do it for me.)

Williams has a Hymns album, but it’s not clear to me right now whether or not We Sing Jesus Christ is on that album. Nevertheless, it’s a straight-to-the-point worship song in the vein of Don Moen, with shades of Sandy Patti and Twila Paris. We Sing Jesus Christ has the makes of a classic song tailor-made for Inspo, and is perfect for that market.

Listen to  Adam Paul Williams We Sing Jesus Christ mp3
Lyrics to We Sing Jesus Christ by Adam Paul Williams after the jump. Read more

GannsDeen.com is now on Plurk. Come and join the fun!

Estelle Getty is dead. Goodbye, Sophia. You will always be my favorite Golden Girl.

(Listen to The Right Thing by Mandisa off the original sountrack album of Big Idea’s The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. You may also read the Mandisa The Right Thing lyrics on this post. GannsDeen.com does not offer Mandisa mp3’s for free download or paid downloads. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

I am a huge Mandisa fan, and when I heard that Mandisa was going to sing a Matthew West-penned song for the VeggieTales movie The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, I basically flipped out. I love Mandisa, I love Matthew West, and I love VeggieTales, so this is my dream come true! (Kulang na lang, Avalon singing backup!) Months later, I finally grab hold of a copy of The Right Thing, and it is everything I dreamed it would be. It’s got a message of positivity and faith that Jesus Christ can provide the strength we need to do the right thing. The Right Thing has got a killer sing-along chorus and an awesome vocal delivery. Mandisa delivered the goods yet again, and my homeboy Mathwesta (long story here) has penned yet another home run! Two thumbs and ten toes dancing!

Listen to Mandisa The Right Thing mp3
Lyrics to The Right Thing by Mandisa after the jump. Read more

I have been using Wordpress as a blogging tool for quite some time, so when I heard that the Mindanao bloggers were organizing WordCamp Philippines 2008, I was quite excited. However, I told myself I probably couldn’t go because I’m way too busy. But when Sarah said she was going, I told myself, hey, if Sarah can go, I should be able to, also. After all, what we learn can benefit the church!

So, I’m going!

Here are the details:
What: WordCamp Philippines 2008
When: Sept 6 2008
Where: College of St. Benilde Taft Ave., Manila
Registration fee: FREE

Thanks to the following for helping make WordCamp Philippines 2008 a reality:

• i.PH: the Domain for Individuals
• Free Online Flash Games
• Wazzup Manila Philippines
• Real Estate CRM
• Real Estate Website Designers
• Orange County Real Estate
• Auto Insurance Quotes
• Lane Systems Inc.
• RedMedia
• Orange County Business Lawyer
• Cebu Pacific Air
• Buddy Gancenia Reality TV
• SmartBro Wireless Broadband
• SPOT.ph
• Make Money with Performancing Ads

See you there! Fil-Christian EB!