Lourd De Veyra: a journalist, writer, singer, commercial model, blogger. His talent for writing about almost anything with his own brand of snarky wit and sarcasm is practically the stuff of legend, and his blog, This is A Crazy Planets on SPOT.ph, proves it with its large following - composed of fans and haters alike. Love him or despise him, this second compilation of the best posts from This is A Crazy Planets is guaranteed to be an entertaining informative read.
Lourd Ernest Hanopol de Veyra is a multi-awarded Filipino musician, poet, journalist, broadcast personality, and activist who first became famous for being the vocalist of Manila-based jazz rock band Radioactive Sago Project. De Veyra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Santo Tomas.
As literary influences, de Veyra cites Beat movement writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. He explains, speaking as a fellow at the 45th UP National Writers Workshop:
“What I look for in poetry is an uneasy kind of energy. An energy that is already beyond the configuration of words and then assumes a density that is akin to music. At the heart of it all is jazz. Jazz, the manipulation of breath— the unleashing of breath, the holding of breath, the destruction of breath. The most basic unit of jazz is the swing and the breath. My primary influence is the Beat movement and I think my initial fascination for them was rather hinged on the wrong reasons: the radical visual arrangement of lines on the page, the profanity and the absurdity that struck my mind as a welcome relief from the stultifying archaisms of 17th-century English poetry force-fed on us by high school teachers. Here was, at long last, literature that spoke to me. It was in sympathy with the energy of free jazz and punk rock records that I was listening to at that time. Through the lyrics of punk rock and hardcore records, I had an inkling of how words can be more powerful than a guitar amplifier cranked up all the way to ten. My exposure to the poetry of Ginsberg and Kerouac opened me up to the world of possibilities. And I am obsessed with the idea of ‘possibility’. ‘Possibility’ is what art is all about. It is the constant wrestling with forms, styles, and structures. It is the idea that something better is always out there. It is about discontent. It is about discontent with the safe, the middling, the accepted, and the acceptable.” He has thrice been a recipient of a Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature - A Third prize in essay (English division) in 1999, a second prize in the same category in 2003; and a first prize in teleplay (Filipino division) in 2004.
When the hardcore punk band Dead Ends ended their 4 year hiatus, he became the band's lead guitarist in 1994, thus making Dead Ends a four piece band. Then, they recorded their comeback and final album, the influential Mamatay sa Ingay(1994), it was a different sound than their past materials, it was more of a crossover-thrash approach. When Dead Ends disbanded in 1996(because of Jay Dimalanta's passing). He also became a member of Al Dimalanta's new band Throw, with his brother Francis playing the bass.
ang taba ng utak ni Lourd! hanep tong librong to, may kagat, may tawa, may puso kahit sa paraan ng pagsusulat nya na parang laging may kinukutya pero tama at siguradong mapapaisip ka at sasabihing oo nga naman! lahat may punto, hindi nasayang ang bawat minuto na ginugol ko sa pagbasa ng bawat pahina! at ito ang sigurado, pupuntahan ko ang mga sinulat nya na kainan para masubukan! sana magkaroon ng book 3!
Witty, funny, sarcastic, and frank. Alam talaga ni Lourd ang mga socialo and political issues. Ang hirap mag-Tagalog, tangina, pero kakayanin ko para sa review na ito.
May mga puntong natatamaan ako sa mga ilang sinasabi niya (oo, guilty ako sa ilang sinasabi niya, eh ano ngayon?) pero sa kabuuan ng pagbabasa ko nitong This Is A Crazy Planets 2, halos magkapareho kmi ng pananaw at opinion sa mga bagay-bagay. Kaya idol ko talaga itong si Lourd eh.
This Is A Crazy Planets, kasi crazy naman na talaga ang mga nangyayari sa ating lipunan at lalung-lalo na sa buong mundo. Ayokong isa-isahin dito ang mga nakakaasar na nangyayari sa mundo. Basta basahin mo na lang 'yung libro. Mageenjoy ka pa.
Gusto ko lahat ng nilalaman ng This Is A Crazy Planets 2, pero 'heto talaga ang mga nagustuhan ko: 1. Fine Young Criminals 2. Hostage Horror: Remembrance of Things F*cked 3, Panic in the Streets of Manila 4. Da Boob Tube 5. It's the End of the Worldas We Know It (and I feel like Shit) 6. The Middle Finger Salute 7. Snappy Replies to Stupid Tweets 8. 37 Random Things I've Learned inMy Life 9. Lady Gaga, Satanista 10. Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? 11. Breaking Down 12. Selfie-Destruction 13. Maynila in the Gates of Hell 14. A Night at the Comedy Bar 15. Kadiri the Squatters!
Oo, minsan nakakabasag ng trip mga sinasabi ni Lourd. Eh ano naman? Eh yun naman talaga ang mga kapintasang meron tayo. At aminin na lang natin na lahat tayo ay guilty.
Kaya ko binili ang librong ito dahil nakita ko ito sa Book Section ng isa kong friend sa facebook na Sobrang fan ni Lourd de Veyra.
Una ang tingin ko sa kay Sir lourd ay isang komedyante, Endorser lang sa TV at musikero isang araw nakita ko sa Book store na may Libro din pala sya.
Magaling si Sir Lourd. Maganda ang laman ng kanyang Libro, witty, matalino ang pagkasulat. May ibang parte lang siguro na hindi ako sumasang ayon. Gaya ng post nya kay lady gaga (di ako fan btw) hindi ko alam pero di ko nagustuhan yun. Kung ako siguro si LG masasaktan ako at mumurahin ko sya.
Natuwa din ako sa mga opinyon/view nya patungkol sa Politika, marahil nagkakaroon din ako ideya tungkol sa Politika. Sa totoo lang wala akong pakialam sa politika. Hindi ko gusto ang politika kahit nagnanakaw pa sila, dahil nga wala ako karapatang magalit sa mga nagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan dahil hindi pa ako nagbabayad sa Tax.
Kahit siguro murahin ko si Lourd sa mga hindi ko gusto sa Libro o naisulat nya wala syang pakialam dahil yun ang opinyon nya at wala na akong magagawa dahil nabili ko na ang libro nya.
Maganda ang libro. May laman.
PS: Hindi ko pa nabasa ang ika una ng librong ito. Sana nga mahagilap ko ang Book 1.
Things I've learned after reading this book: 1. Trivia about Philippine (and sometimes world) history and literature 2. Facts about Philippine cinema, and the entertainment industry in general 3. Some stuff about Philippine politics and politicians 4. Words I will never actually use in normal conversations (e.g. porcine, recherché, schmancy, phantasmagorically, etc.) 5. How to spell Filipino words in Spanish (which is just basically changing "k" to "c," "ya" to "ia" etc.) 6. I'm not the only person who has not, and will never, read/watch the Twilight series. 7. de Veyra and I share the same sentiment about people who take photos of Every. Single. Food. they are about to eat (Like, seriously, it's annoying.) 8. I need to read This Is A Crazy Planets Book 1 9. Lists are always a stupid and lazy way to meet a deadline (in my case, to write a review) 10. This is indeed a crazy planet.
And P.S: My favorite article was 15 Ways To Spice Up the Impeachment Trial. It was so on point.
May mga pagkakataong sobra na, nakaiinis ang mga komento at paliwanag niya sa iba't ibang paniniwala niya.. pero sa pangkahalatan, makikita mo ang sense sa bawat sinasabi niya. Mararamdaman mo at itatanong mo sa sarili mo: 'Bakit hindi ko naiisip o pinag-iisipan ang bagay na ito?' na nakakahiya dahil napakaliit na bagay lang noon at hindi ka pa mulat doon.
Hindi madaling magsulat, hindi ito basta basta. Kailangan ng masuring pananaliksik tungkol sa mga bagay na sinasabi mo. At nakatutuwa dahil sa librong ito, hindi lamang perspektibo ang narinig ko mula sa kanya, kung hindi katotohanan- ang salamin ng lipunan. Walang takot, walang pag-aalinlangang sabihin ang saloobin, kahit nakakahiya, nakakatakot - ang mga bagay na wala tayong lakas ng loob sabihin, sinasabi niya.
Salamat sa isang magandang libro. Nakarating ako sa mga lugar/pangyayari at nakilala ang mga taong sinulat mo. :D
Lourd de Veyra certainly does not preach gospel truth, and he may be wrong about a lot of things. However, he seems that his blog embodies the sentiments of an urban, middle class Filipino who looks at all facets of the society and sees the cracks and links in it. And because of that, it's difficult to not love it and be skeptic about what he says, especially now that he is more convincing than ever. His posts (and thus the parts of this book) are so informative that a lazy college student can submit it as a bastardized academic work when cited using footnotes. Overall, the second volume brings out so much that one would regret missing it.
I wish that I have Lourd's vocabulary words. Mapa-english or Filipino. Tiyaka dito ata yung na-explain niyang maige yung mga tungkol sa court hearing and everything at ang saya, in super layman's term haha.
Teka nagugutom na talaga ako. Ang hirap pala pag matagal mo na nabasa yung isang book. Nakakalimutan mo yung joy/after effect na naidulot niya sayo. Pwera na lang kung series at may mga characters kang crush lol. Next time talaga after magbasa, review/rant kagad -_-
One word: GALING. In other words, it was great, superb, whatever else you could put in here. I really like this one better than the first. This is wittier, sharper, and probably set more tongues wagging but it's soooo good. My favorite piece would have to be "Dolphy: May Liwanag ang Buhay". It was so well-written and it was so real. Plus, the three end pieces were great, too. more!
uhm, i, idk what to say. I did not understand most of the arguments. The Tagalog words the author used were too deep. he could've written it in pure English. Anyway, he's a Filipino and he's proud.
So yeah. IDK what to say. it's just a gift anyway. I may call it "My Opinions about Filipino Bullshits".
I love reading Lourd's work over and over again. It really provokes your thinking, and the art also serves as references in some of my work as well. Well done. Thank God I had my copies signed personally by the author. //win #WorthBuying
you either love him or hate him...he doesn't care..he has strong opinions about all things which is more than i can say about half about the population who are only following whatever latest trend can be seen on twitter and insta..lourd sticks with his guns...niceties be damned.. :)
Hati ang opinyon ng mga tao kay Lourd de Veyra. May mga taong tuwang-tuwa sa brand ng kanyang humor, "snarky wit and sarcasm" nga raw ayon sa synopsis ng kanyang libro. Mayroon din namang napipikon sa kanya, kesyo raw siya ay hipokrito at inconsistent ang views niya bilang tao. May mga tao rin na hindi alam kung ano ang sarcasm at kaya naman parang batang nagngangangawa sa bawat opinyon niya. Lalong ayaw sa kanya ng mga tibak, panggap daw siya na progresibo.
At ok lang naman. Problema niyo na yun kung hindi kayo magkatagpo ng pananaw, pero kung ayaw mo kay Lourd, hindi mo pa rin naman basta-basta maisasantabi ang opinyon niya. Kung ayaw mo kay Lourd, at least pakinggan mo kung anong masasabi niya.
Hindi ko nabasa ang unang parte ng libro niya. Pero eto pa rin naman ay isang koleksyon ng mga talatang inilathala niya sa kanyang blog sa spot.ph. Mga kuro-kuro niya sa ilang mga isyu maliit man o malaki.
Magaling ang pagkakasulat ng bawat isang talata. Maski Filipino, Ingles, Taglish o kahit Spanish creole o conyo speak kuha ni Lourd, kumbaga hindi ipinilit, kaya naman masarap basahin.
Pasok na pasok din naman ang mga jokes, sarcasm, mga double entendre, mga in-jokes at mga cultural references. Kung madali ka pumick-up, mage-enjoy ka basahin 'to.
Malupet din ang visuals. Mayroong A E S T H E T I C S.
Pero ang pinakamahalaga ay ang mensahe ng bawat opinyon ni Lourd. Kinekwestiyon niya ang mga pangkaraniwang pag-iisip, binabalahura ang mga walang-kwentang opinyon, tinutuligsa ang kahit pinakamaliit na kagaguhan ng kasalukuyang lipunan kahit hanggang sa social media. Kaya nga THIS IS A CRAZY PLANETS ang pamagat. Dahil magulo at parang baliw ang mundo. Para sa mga hindi sumasang-ayon isang "hater" si Lourd dahil lahat inaatake niya, pero yun na nga ang punto eh, yun ang mahalaga, ang kwestyunin ang lahat ng bagay at ano nga ba ang kabuluhan at kahalagahan nito. Siguro napikon ang ilan dahil nasundot niya yung ego nung nagbabasa, siguro nainis ang marami dahil mali ang opinyon niya, pero sa tingin ko walang paki si Lourd dun, dahil hindi naman yun ang punto ng paglathala niya ng kanyang opinyon. It's his right to voice it out, kahit na mala-Mocha pa ang opinyon niya.
Sabi nga ng isang matalinong tao na hindi ko maalala kung sino at hindi siguro ito verbatim: I cannot attempt to change your mind. I can only make you think."
At yun na nga siguro ang punto para sakin ng librong 'to. Hindi mo kailangan at lalong hindi hinihiling ni Lourd ng pagsang-ayon, sapat na na makiliti ang yung utak at ikaw ay mapaisip.