By Nestor Cuartero
JUST A THOUGHT: My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
–John Green
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MUSIC AN ADVOCACY, TOO: Music isn’t just someone’s lifeline, career or passion. For comebacking band player RJ Judal, it is also an advocacy.
Fresh from years of playing it solo on board a European cruise liner, Judal spends his downtime in Manila to play with former bandmates in an effort to help them tide over.
Judal used to play with the Hocus Pocus, a well-known band in the 70s.
Upon coming home in 2015, he met up with former bandmates, who cried out to him, mostly about how the good times escaped them. Most were down and out.
Judal set out to re-group them as he braced for a comeback in Manila’s club scene. He kicked off a return engagement at The Hobbit House in Ermita.
Guests were amazed by the musical talent of Judal, who could swing from country to folk to jazz to blues and back with such ease and confidence.
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CRUISE LINE PERFORMER: Judal himself admits that years of playing solo on board the Norwegian Cruise Line honed his talent in performing. He joined the ship in 2008 and has renewed his contract year after year.
One of his most pleasant experiences as a boatman was having to dock on the shores of Norway. The visit allowed him an opportunity to see for himself the hometown of his Norwegian grandfather, Wilson Judal.
According to this veteran player, judal in Norwegian means from the valley. ‘I felt proud seeing our family name on street signs,’ he says.
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TRENDING ON TWITTER: GMA started the year with a bang as their newest rom-com series, “The One That Got Away,” trended on Twitter during its pilot episode. As a live platform, Twitter captured the highlights of the pilot episode, with thousands of #TheOneThatGotAway conversations focusing on how audiences enjoyed the fast-paced story-telling, witty repartee, and the stunning OOTDs of some of the country’s most popular young stars. See how the conversation unfolded on Twitter below.
The newest addition to the network’s telebabad line-up; the show takes a refreshing look at love and friendship as it tells the tale of Alex (Lovi Poe, @LoviPoe), Zoe (Rhian Ramos, @whianwamos), and Darcy (Max Collins, @justmaxcollins) whose lives become connected because they share the same ex-boyfriend, Liam (Dennis Trillo, @thedennistrillo).