Celeb-retweeting: My Semi-Obsession

I say it’s a ‘semi’ obsession because it is not something I’m losing sleep over.  It’s more like a silly hobby really.

I think a lot of tweeps like me are also into this new silly hobby brought about by these ever-changing forms of technology.  I believe it is so novel that they haven’t had a name for it yet.  It’s about collecting replies from celebrities or what I call ‘celeb-retweets‘ (whether it be via twitter or from FaceBook)…

I already talked about it in my post about John Cusack. That one was something I was so excited about because it was the first one that came from someone I truly admire.  But I got other RTs from other celebs, too…

As I said, I know that this is just silly and fun! While others are wasting whiling away their time collecting stuff for virtual games like pet society or farmville (which I don’t do), collecting celeb-retweets is MY kind of ‘game.’ It requires a bit of strategy, wit, and luck, too.  You have to out-do your online opponents which happen to be other tweepers vying for these celebs’ attention as well.

But I don’t go around tweeting ALL the celebs just for the heck of it. I just choose those whom I like or respect the most.  Besides, not all of them tweet back. They don’t have to and you got to respect that. But how do I know if they’re the real thing, and not written by some secretary or their PAs? I guess if you read their tweets, you would know. It’s the tone that you ‘hear’ in their statements that tell you it’s them. Aside from that, if it’s a verified account, then there you go.

Here is (so far) my ‘collection’ of celeb-retweets. I show them off with the level of snooty enthusiasm that is akin to that of Sesame Street’s Bert when he showed off his shiny bottle-cap collection (Oh, Figgy Fizz! hehe):

1) Judah Friedlander: World’s “Greatest” Champ

June 19, 2009: I managed to eke out a birthday greeting from actor/stand-up comedian Judah Friedlander via FB.  Judah plays “Frank Rossitano,” the trucker-hat wearing writer of NBC’s 30 Rock.  He is swell guy who doesn’t let fame get into his head (unless when he’s boasting off his feats as the World Champ). If he had a chance to talk to his fans, he would – just like any regular guy (You could catch him online via FB and he would ‘hey’ back if you say ‘hi’).  Totally cool. Thanks, Judah. You are truly the World Champ!

2) Eoin Colfer:  Teacher to Teacher Talk

Aug. 24, 2009: Eoin Colfer is an Irish author; he was commissioned to write the 6th installment of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” but he is best known as the creator of the famous Artemis Fowl series.  Though he does not tweet as much as the other celebs, he was kind enough to take time to answer a question I posed (which he answered after the day I sent it).  I do agree with his advice. And I also admire teachers like him who became writers.  They give me hope that someday I can accomplish the same feat. Gracias, Mr. Colfer!

3) Amber Benson: An awesome Greeting from a Buffy Royalty

May 8, 2009: I already mentioned about my love for the Buffy TV series in my previous post. Even if the series was over, countless of BTVS fans like me are happy that some of its stars are on Twitter.  Amber Benson (who played Tara) was one of the first (if not, THE first) BTVS alumni who got into Twitter.  She DMed (‘direct messaged’) me as soon as I started following her with the tweet above.  Of course, I was starstruck! Imagine, Tara from Buffy? She tweeted ME, a die-hard Buffy Fan?  Not getting it? Believe me, in Buffy-verse this is something that reaches major levels of awesomeness… Thank you, Amber!

4) Julie Benz: Scoring a Scoop from a Dexter Star!

Sept. 4 2009:  Julie Benz (who played “Darla” in both Buffy and Angel; currently in the show Dexter as “Rita”) is a real sweetheart.  I like her. She’s polite and sensitive.  I was able to get a ‘scoop’ (ahem) for the upcoming Season 4 of Dexter (which will start on Sept. 27) wherein she revealed that she will be doing a bit of singing! (A week later, TV Guide magazine posted this article regarding it). But really, if you watched Angel, you would agree with me that this talented lady DOES have a pretty voice.  Frankly speaking, I don’t watch “Dexter” much but now… I will.  Danke, Julie!

5) John Cusack: No. Thank YOU, Mr. Cusack…

Aug. 23, 2009: Yes. Lightning DOES strike twice (And hopefully even more than twice).  In my second retweet from him, John Cusack thanked me… Again, let me reiterate this: He. John Cusack. Thanked. Me. For watching his HBO dramatic movie, Jack Bull.  And with three exclamation points to boot!  Sweet!  Haha!  I should be the one thanking him for coming up with Jack Bull. It’s really one of my favorites among all his movies (again, the key here is sincerity.  He knows if you’re bullsh#tting him so you better make it real if you want him to retweet back).  Too bad, Max and Get Outta the Boat are not readily available here, though.

Well, that’s my bottle-cap, I mean, celeb-retweet collection so far! Too bad, I can’t sell them on ebay. Hmm…

 

being a buffy fan means you never have to say it’s over

(Note: Click soundcloud below for heightened reading pleasure):

Every time, I catch an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer showing on AXN Beyond, I am like a deer caught frozen staring at a car’s head lights.  I just stay glued watching the entire episode, even if I have already seen it a gazillion times (I even own a complete dvd set of the series given to me by my friend, sreisaat!). That is because I’m a Buffy fan.

Why will I always love Buffy? Here are the reasons why:

1.  Buffy creator, Joss Whedon is first, and foremost, a genius.

2. Vampires are my childhood fear.  Sparkly or not, I hate them. I also hate weak-willed, pathetic, and clueless female lead characters.  Ergo, I hate Bella and Twilight. And also ergo, I heart Buffy.

3. When E! presented years ago their TV’s Top Guilty Pleasures, I was infuriated along with countless of Buffy fans when our beloved series was included in that list.  It shouldn’t have been considered a GUILTY PLEASURE BECAUSE THERE WAS NO GUILT FEELING WHATSOVER TO BEGIN WITH!  Get your facts straight, E! We were proud of being Buffy Fans. Sure, some fighting scenes with monsters and vampires can be taken as kitsch and campy for some.  But hey, it was MEANT to be kitschy (but not as the same level as Xena – sheeze! Now THAT deserved to be on the list).  Buffy somehow tastefully came into its own – thanks to the riveting story lines, the talented actors that breathed life to the unforgettable characters that they played, the directors’ creative approach, the superb and ingenious script, and of course, the magic touch of Whedon who presided over this fun-filled realm of action-fantasy. Guilty for watching it? NEVER!

4. It doesn’t get old! Even the clothes! Especially Buffy’s outfits.  Cynthia Bergstrom, and all of the show’s costume designers obviously made it a point to choose classic wear so that the show will not get stuck in some outmoded time warp. I mean, the show has ended years ago but people now can still wear most of the outfits that were shown there.  Two of my favorite Buffy-slayerwear include:

Her classic white blouse that she wore after her second resurrection (from Season 6 “After Life,” at Left)…

…and the sheer lacy top that she had on (and not for long…) when she and Spike did the Bad Thing for the first time (from “Smashed,” at Right):

5. I almost have no favorite episodes. I like them all. But of course, I concur with others that say that Hush, Once More with Feeling, Normal Again, and Forever are some of the truly best ones.  But the one I find truly memorable and that affected me the most was the one directed by Whedon himself – “The Body”.  It was the episode wherein Buffy’s mom died.  Someone mentioned that this episode simply “is more of an experience…cannot be explained… You just have to see it.” I’m telling you again – pure genius, that Whedon guy is. After watching the part wherein Buffy discovered her mom’s body and the scenes that followed thereafter, I cried my eyes out.  It was… totally heartbreaking.

There are many other reasons why I love Buffy.  But I can’t mention them anymore here.  When I underwent a ‘marathon-viewing’ of the dvd set of the series many weekends ago, I admit that I cried all over again when I reached the end.  I never realized how much I miss the Gang, knowing that there will never be anything like it ever again. I miss the fun, the action, the dustings, the laughter, the repartees, the drama, the jargon…

Nowadays, Buffy fans are settling for the Dark Horse comics’ Buffy 8 (left pic) of which I am way behind *sighs*. And of course, hairs on our backs began bristling when rumors circulated that there will be a Buffy movie remake that will star Megan Fox (Sacrilege!). Thankfully, it remains a rumor.

AND! we are thrilled to find out that some Buffy stars are on board Twitter now!  You can’t call yourself a Buffy fan if you’re not following @alydenisof, @amberbenson, @anthonyshead, @emmacaulfield, @elizadushku, @julietlandau, @tomlenk, @nathanfillion, @juliebenz, and @adambusch – all verified, genuine accounts.  Now if only Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz, James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter, Nicholas Brendon, and Seth Green would only join in… If not, oh well, there are still the occasional reunions and Comic Cons.

Buffy and the Scoobies (right): I miss u guys. Srsly.

When it comes to slaying vampires, Buffy will forever rule. It just is. Period.

 

My awesome date with NIИ

If John C. was the celebrity I had been worshipping since I was a tweener, Trent Reznor was the rock god I have adored since I was in my young twenties.  I remember when I was a DJ in a rock station, I would play his music using my own CD that I bought from the store.  Since the songs were unedited or unapproved by the programmer (meaning – not fit to play on air), I had to resort to bleeping those nasty four-letter words in the lyrics myself while they were playing on air (*sighs*—those were good times…) even at the risk of bringing on the ire of the ntc or my boss.  I did it because of my love for Trent and his music…  But as time passed, from a rocking dj, I moved on to a more conservative job and lifestyle.  Also, my taste in music changed and mellowed.  But my infatuation with Trent remained.   What sets him apart from other screaming rockers was his unique voice. His gut-wrenching screams and howls were heartfelt and real.  The belief and conviction in his lyrics and music were still there.  He wasn’t giving you b*llsh*t.  It wasn’t all flash and show.  He was real and sincere, and in that sense, he was deeply respected and admired by the old fans who remained loyal and by the newer generation as well.

NIN rockin in Manila (right)

So when I heard that NIИ would be having a concert in Araneta Coliseum on august 5, the rockgirl in me rose from its deep slumber. I immediately sprang into action and bought the necessary ticket.  I wasn’t going to hesitate to buy the seats close to the stage.  This was said to be the farewell concert tour, it has to be now or never.  It is not every day (or every year even!) that such a legendary act like NIИ comes to our humble shores – we are always being bypassed and ignored for other affluent Asian nations.

How was it? I’ll cut the story short.  The place wasn’t packed but it was ok. We had a blast and worth every centavo! Trent sang a lot of new unfamiliar songs but the ‘classics’ were there – Downward Spiral, Hurt, Closer, Afraid of Americans, The Hand That Feeds, Head Like a Hole…  and even if a lot of songs were unfamiliar, we were absolutely thrilled.  Our mouths agape almost the whole time… couldn’t freaking believe that The Awesome Man in Black was finally here… in our midst… watching him sing! Water bottles were thrown plus mic stands, guitars… Trent even threw his tambourine to a lucky person in the audience (“Ay? Panu naman kami!”)!

The Awesome Man in Black (left): I was seated at the far right of the stage. Good view. Pero sensya na. I took countless of pix but only a few shots came out well.

The next day, my friends asked me how it was. I just couldn’t describe it well enough. I was still at a loss for words… then I guess the best way to describe it was (ahem! kids, cover your eyes first): “It was like great sex!” Basta, yun na yun… haha! It was full of high energy, dripping with dark sexy testosterone… Ibang klase talaga magrakrakan ang mga kano.

But then, I also watched the 1995 Manila concert of Foo Fighters, Beastie Boys, and Sonic Youth — NIИ was never anything like that… which only meant - ibang klase talaga rumakrak si Treznor!

Treznor waves goodbye (right): No, don’t retire yet, Trent. We can’t live without you, man…

As I said, I do have pix but they’re not worth posting (only worth looking at by me) so I’ll just repost pix from nin’s website. These following pix were taken by NIИ’s art director, Rob Sheridan. Click on the pix and they will lead you to their website:

Hello, SEXY BEAST! Trent sings Heresy… He screams, yells, and sweats profusely…

“Help me… I broke apart my insides!”

Final encore song was HURT: this is the SOP concert moment wherein we hold up the customary lighters and lit up cellphones with matching swaying swaying…You can see my lit Nokia at the far left.  Ano ba. Of course I’m kiddin…

BTW, those 3 pix can also be found in nin’s wp blog.

Thank you, Trent for including us in your NIИ’s Wave Goodbye Asian Tour 2009.  We will surely won’t forget this… ever! It was superbly … asteeeg!

 

John Cusack: No Retweet, No Surrender

I first saw John Cusack in Better Off Dead.  From that moment on, I was instantly smitten.  He was funny and had that goofy, likeable charm that easily translates to a dependable bestfriend-cute boyfriend material.  And he wasn’t a bad actor, taking his craft seriously—the fact that he survived the 80’s Brat Pack was let alone a big feat, for while the careers of his contemporaries stumbled and faltered – his saw smooth sailing with occasional minor bumps along the way.  He can play the Hollywood game but he can pretty much steer his own ship, too.  He valued his privacy—something that I find truly cool and which I unconsciously emulated —one’s private life is his own business and not yours. He is not the type who would kiss and tell (especially about his current paramours) which I find extremely classy and manly.  But we do know he is loyal to his family and friends – making sure to include them in his successes, happiness, and plans.  And he’s obviously smart, too.  He is very vocal and genuinely concerned about real issues – political and social.  He just doesn’t do the talk he does them, too.  And unlike other celebrities, he does them without so much fanfare.  Can you blame me for sticking by him – through thick and thin?  There’s this FB group (of which of course I am a member) whose name sums it all up– “All Men Pale in Comparison to John Cusack.”

Just like any other normal fan – I look him up from time to time on the web but only for the purpose of getting some updates (e.g. imdb) and ‘stalk’ him in the typical kind of way – not the freaky kind.  There’s not much info on him though – I mean compared to uberstars like Pitt and Clooney.  He does have his blog in Huffington Post and his myspace site but there was no possible chance of any sort of interaction that I was wishing for.  So his recent forte into the twitterverse was something I rejoiced about (Twitter, love na kita– srsly grabe!).

Thanks to actor/comedian, Rob Corddry whose account I was following before John’s. Rob C. outed John’s supposedly ‘secret’ twittername with the tweet, “This is proof Screwheads. Cusack is @shockozulu. Now can we talk about something else? http://twitpic.com/9urha“ (You see, during that time, Rob and John were wrapping up their latest movie, “Hot Tub Time Machine”– yes, no joke, that is the actual title– in Vancouver so I do know that it was all legit).  I immediately checked it out and much to my utter delight – he was twitting back to his followers!

His tweets were typically Cusack—quick, manic and cryptic most of the time; reflective, cool and savvy on some days.  And so what if he was a bad speller (which was a surprising new thing I found out about him – dysgraphia?), it didn’t bother him… which was cool by me. Right away, I sent him messages, hoping I could get one in return.  He could be generous one day and stingy the next with his retweets.  It was clear to me that this wasn’t going to be easy.

I learned that the best time to get a retweet was when you catch him on-line.  However, I couldn’t get an opening. A lot of his fans—including me– were all vying for his attention.  And not only that, I also couldn’t catch a break — either I’m the one who was busy working or sleeping every time he was twitting or he was the one asleep when it was my turn to tweet.  He preferred to reply to quotes or tweets about Hunter T., politics and social issues (or whatever catches his whim at that moment).  But I can’t pretend that I know anything about those. That would be so fake. I didn’t want to beg either.  Or act like an annoying troll (which some pathetic losers resort into doing) to force an angry retweet out of him (lesson learned, read Trent Reznor’s bitter twitter experience).  I just have to do what I can by being myself.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to give up. My motto became Operation Qsack: No Retweet, No Surrender!

Then, one sad day, three days after Cory died, I finally got a chance.  The timing was perfect.  We were both finally on-line at the same time. He was then twitting about presidents (US’ Bill C. and Mexico’s).  I tweeted about what I was feeling at that time. Seconds later, this was what I got:

Aug. 4, 2009: JC sends his condolences via twitter…

My eyes brimmed with tears reading his 6 words.  Even if it wasn’t much, even if he already shifted his attention elsewhere, and to another fan’s twit, it was enough for me.  It was consoling at a time of grief.  It made me feel better.  Like hitting a small jackpot lotto prize.  Yay!

Now that this was over, one short term goal has finally been ticked off.  And as I told my friend sreisaat, “I can now move on with my life.” Haha!

Thanks, John.  You don’t know how much this means to someone like me. Really. And I know it might be a one in a million chance… um, ok, come to think of it — with the help of tags… make that one in a hundred thousand chance for you to be reading this but hey, who knows, right? Dreams CAN come true!

BTW, did I mention that I sooo love you, Twitter? I did but I’ll say it again- I heart Twitter! Thank you so much for making this fangirl super-duper happy!

Up next: An awesome experience with Trent Reznor!

UPDATE:

Well, what do you know? Weeks later I got a second retweet from JC… click here to read about it. 

PS. For personal reasons, there may be times my twitter account maybe on lockdown.  If it is,  sorry! I may change also my account in the near future… but I haven’t decided yet so.  Whatev.