February 4 to 10: Jaime Licauco, Danton Remoto, Joe D'Mango, Carl Balita, Radio High 105.9, BR 104.3, Magic 89.9, Easy Rock 96.3, RJ 810 AM The Voice of the Philippines, 92.3 NewsFM, Pinas 95.5 FM.

February 4 to 10 issue

Stories & Videos: Jaime Licauco, Danton Remoto, Joe D'Mango, Carl Balita, Maricel Halili, Radio High 105.9, BR 104.3, Magic 89.9, Easy Rock 96.3, RJ 810 AM The Voice of the Philippines, 92.3 NewsFM, Pinas 95.5 FM.

Videos: Corona Impeachment Trial Days 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

 More Videos: Qui gong from the National Geographic, Madonna’s Causing A Commotion, Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Toto Sorioso’s Stay, Lisa Loeb’s Stay, Reality Bites, The Knack’s My Sharona

 Even More Videos: Duran Duran's New Moon On Monday; OMD's If You Leave; Pat Benatar's We Belong; REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling; John Denver's Autograph. Tito Mina's Both In Love; Ric Segreto's Lovin' You; Odette Quesada's Friend of Mine; Kuh Ledesma's 'Til I Met You; Starship's Sarah; Industry's State of The Nation; Irene Cara's What A Feeling; Spandau Ballet's Round and Round;.The Boyfriends' Nais Kong Malaman Mo

 Artists of the Week

 English OPM: Cacai Velasquez

Tagalog OPM: Toto Sorioso

Beyond OPM: Jim Croce

 The Corona Impeachment Trial

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

See Day 4 and 5   and Day 1, 2 and 3

Huggybear Goes Up Close and Paranormal

Qui gong instructor and numerology expert Nicholas Packard was the guest two weeks ago on  Inner Mind On Radio, hosted by the country's foremost paranormal expert Jaime Licauco with Charmaine Cruz. Thanks Jimmy for reading my SMS on air!

"Is there a specific breathing pattern in chi gong? I do an inhale-hold-exhale with a 1-4-2 count ratio. Is there a specific diet for chi gong? What are you supposed to think of when you perform chi gong? More power Jimmy, Charmaine and Nick. Thank you and may the chi be with you. Sincerely yours, Huggybear."

Nick says qui gong breathing has no hold, just straight in & out. I'm starting to learn qui gong, and he said I'm not supposed to think of anything at all. Just focus on the movement

"I got the moves baby, you got the motion," sings Madonna, "if we get together we'll be causing a commotion!"

Tis presumptious to think we are alone in the universe. Here's my text message for the September 25, 2011 episode of Inner Mind On Radio, (DzMM 630 khtz AM, Sundays, 8 pm) when the guest was Tony Israel, president of the Philippine-based UFO Society.

The show has a live telecast on cable channels DzMM Teleradyo and The Filipino Channel. 

Jaime Licauco himself read it on air and I'm glad that it made him laugh:

I don't blame superior beings for not wanting to have anything to do with our primitive race. If the nearest alien specie is worse than humans, then that's really scary!

Kailanman, Saan Man, Huggybear!

On the night of January 8, 2012, I was tuned in to Ibayong Pinoy, the OFW-oriented show on 92.3 NewsFM, hosted by MaricelHalili and Atty. Mike Templo, where I got this fascinating tidbit:

Tarsier monkeys, found only in Bohol, apparently have suicidal tendencies. In this country, animals as neurotic as humans!

It's more fun in the Philippines!

During the fireworks and dragon-dance celebrations on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year on January 22, 2012, Maricel read my message on air.

"From Jonathan Huggybear Aquino: Remember the controversial transfer of OWWA funds to PhilHealth? Was there any concrete benefit to OFWs? Where are the funds now?"

She said they'll invite officials from PhilHealth and the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration so they can shed light on the matter on a future episode.

Thanks Maricel and Kiung Hei Wat Chai!

Pansit Danton: Celebration of Pinoy Pop Culture

I came across Danton Remoto's on 92.3 NewsFM show while radio surfing. * I admire him for promoting Filipino culture. Around 10 p.m. on January 20 2012, Friday, I learned it was the birthday of artist Malang, lawyer and TV personality Dong Puno, revolutionary hero Graciano Lopez Jaena and writer and political leader Leon Ma. Guerrero. 

Danton, a prolific writer and Ateneo University professor, also gave a lot of Filipino riddles which gave me nosebleed.

Here's my SMS read by Danton sometime on January 23. Thanks Prof!

"It's nice to take pride in one's cultural heritage. Your show is a celebration of Pinoy pop culture and that's cool."

Messages are 160 characters max, so I wasn't able to tell him that I'm doing the same thing through 2Rivers.

Huggybear’s Love Notes To Joe D’Mango

Say "Love Notes" and the first thing that comes to mind is "Joe D'Mango." From Magic 89.9 to Wave 89.1, Joe D' Mango is now in DzMM Teleradyo, the cable TV & AM radio channel ABS-CBN.

Joe D'Mango is still reading the letters sent by his legion of listeners, giving advice and playing the best of timeless love songs.

Joe has a groundbreaking segment, Midnight Serenade, where new and established musical artists sing live at the studio. I salute Joe D'Mango for shining the spotlight on promising talents.

On the January 17, 2012 episode, the guest was acoustic singer-songwriter Toto Sorioso, whose version of Stay wowed even Lisa Loeb. "Amazing," she had tweeted.

Here's my text message to Joe D'Mango, who, God bless his sweet and sentimental soul, read it on air.

"Hello Joe! Midnight Serenade is definitely one of the best shows on air! Kudos to promoting original Filipino music! Congratulations, Toto! Can I request Is It Okay If I Call You Mine? Thanks! Sincerely yours, Huggybear."

Who Are Better Entrepreneurs, Men or Women?

Entrepreneurship guru Carl Balita has empowered thousands of Filipinos to build their own businesses through livelihood seminars, business franchise opportunities and of course, by the insights and inspiring stories of the guests in his Radyo Negosyo show on DzMM.

On January 14, 2012, it was Girl Power with the exuberant founders of the Network For Enterprising Women.

Carl Balita likened the difference to the way people engage in, I knew it was coming, sex. Women go for foreplay, men go for orgasm. I know I do for the latter, and it depends on my partner for the former. There was a mock debate where everybody was invited to send their two-cents via SMS, all in the spirit of fun. Thank you Carl for reading my message on air!

"From Jonathan Huggybear Aquino, Manila. Carl, men are better than women in cooking, what more in business? The world's most successful entrepreneurs are men. Bill Gates has already been mentioned. So let's cite Rockefeller and Carnegie during the birth of the industrial age. Locally, there's Enrique Zobel, Vicente Madrigal, Andres Soriano, the Elizalde brothers, Geny Lopez. Then again, no man can be successful without a woman behind him, be it wife, mother, sisters, cousins and friends. PS: I love love your sex analogy. More power to you and your happy guests! Sincerely yours, Huggybear

See more DzMM stories: Huggybear's Favorite Broadcast Journalist, Huggybear, The DzMM Baby,  My Sundays with Tita Boots and Tito Willie, What Do You Do On Saturday Nights?

High On The Holidays

In the days leading to Christmas 2011, I tuned it regularly to the Christmas songs marathon on Radio High 105.9 (which is different from the kudos-deserving jazz station 105.1 Crossover). What I enjoyed most are the acapellas and choral songs. The most beautiful musical instrument is still the human voice.

Also on December 2011, my morning background became 104.1 BusinessRadio. I like the easy-listening baby-boomer groove, and the temporary change because I always tune in to DzMM 630 AM.

Listening To The Voice of The Philippines

Turning the dial, I would tune in to the English shows in DZRJ 810 AM -which should not be confused with their FM station RJ 100.3 The Voice of The Philippines.

Wanting to hear English shows, I got into the habit of tuning in to Johnny Midnight's back to back Bizarre Bar and Midnight Connection programs. One of my earliest memories are the satanic rumors about him. (See also Thank God No Ghost) 

After that, from midnight to dawn, it's the live telecast of the BBC World Service.

Retropolis

While writing articles on December 23, I tuned in to Friday Magic Madness, the weekly retro extravaganza of Magic 89.9 FM. The deejay was Tyler, who consecutively played

Duran Duran's New Moon On Monday;

OMD's If You Leave;

Pat Benatar's We Belong;

REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling;

and Restless Heart’s When She Cries.

The Ol’ Reliable

The FM station I love most is 96.3 Easy Rock, used to be W-Rock. Its selections is the soundtrack of my life. I call it the Old Reliable.

In a world of constant change, it's comforting to know that I can just tune in and hear the same intelligent less-talk format and my favorite timeless songs.

That same afternoon, I swung by. What came on, after the station ID sung by Erik Santos, was one of my all-time favorites:

John Denver's Autograph,

Next was Crystal Gayle's A Long and Lasting Love. I was overjoyed when they played original Filipino songs 4-in-row:

Tito Mina's Both In Love;

Ric Segreto's Lovin' You;

Odette Quesada's Friend of Mine;

and Kuh Ledesma's 'Til I Met You

Always Nice To Hear

Raymond Stone was the deejay when I tuned in to Pinas FM 95.5. On Fridays, they go retro. Some of the songs they played are

Starship's Sarah,

Industry's State of The Nation

and Irene Cara's What A Feeling, the theme from Flashdance.

At 10:41 a.m., Friday, January 20, 2012, the song was Spandau Ballet's Round and Round.

Then there's The Boyfriends' Nais Kong Malaman Mo.

It's always nice to hear original Filipino music!

Artists of the Week

English OPM: Cacai Velasquez

Tagalog OPM: Toto Sorioso

Beyond OPM: Jim Croce