Monthly Archives: June 2009

rip, michael

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I remember watching my first Michael Jackson concert on TV (we couldn’t afford watching it live, and I wouldn’t be allowed inside anyway, small as I was back then) with my parents years and years ago. I remember marveling over the fact that fans actually fainted at the mere sight of him. So strange, the craziness of it, that level of worship. My parents said, in Michael Jackson’s concerts, that kind of reaction was normal.

It must have been terrifying, I thought.

I found out about his death early in the morning on Friday, when CNN was still saying that the reports were unconfirmed but flashed the news anyway: MICHAEL JACKSON IS DEAD. Before the news was confirmed I just remember finding it so surreal that CNN had a correspondent from TMZ. Look, that CNN anchor’s actually listening to the guy! She’s taking him seriously!

Then a call from the LA coroner, and it was official. Here are two articles about Michael Jackson:

“Between Ninoy’s killing, EDSA, was ‘Thriller’“

“Like Orpheus, Michael Jackson was destroyed by his fans“

This is one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs/videos. MJ having goofy fun with his sister – as good a memory as any.

transformers 2: revenge of the whatchamacallit

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The first film was fun, just the right amount of comedy and action and I think just a couple of shots of robots being torn apart (literally, the one with that Decepticon on top of the building; metaphorically, the one involving Bumblebee). This sequel, however, felt like Michael Bay charged at me at full speed and hit me across the face with a folding chair. And I didn’t even watch this at IMAX.

The quiet parts were either cheesy (Megan and Shia kissing at sunset, the sunlight bursting through their lips), or corny (Shia’s mom eating happy brownies and tackling a college boy). Gah.

If you’re planning to watch it, here’s a sneak preview -

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- and by “sneak preview” I mean “the entire film.” Just turn the sand to pavement, add some robots, some explosions, and put Megan Fox on a motorcycle for no other reason than to see her on a motorcycle.

Rainn Wilson’s in it but his character just came across as obnoxious and idiotic, or am I just being a girl? No. John Turturro’s character entered the film (and showed his butt) too late.

Photo from screenrant.com.

Roger Ebert gives the film one out of four stars. Quote: “The plot is incomprehensible. The dialog of the Autobots®, Decepticons® and Otherbots® is meaningless word flap. Their accents are Brooklyese, British and hip-hop, as befits a race from the distant stars.”

Here‘s a fun review by Jessica Zafra. Quote: “Basically this movie was directed by a dick.”

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In other news, I found out that walking aimlessly inside a BookSale branch is a fun activity. I didn’t even plan on buying a book but I saw this and I just grabbed it:

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Mark Vonnegut is Kurt Vonnegut’s son.

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Favorite things: food, books, good movies, 30 Rock and The Office.

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When my sister and I were handed our bus tickets this morning, we noticed that the punched prices seemed lower. My sister thought there was a rollback, while I thought my sister probably told the conductor the wrong stop. Then the conductor came over and said, Isn’t that your father, the one who dropped you off?

Apparently my father is one friendly discount coupon.

the big thank you

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Back home: My sister, who graduated in April and has been, um, let’s say, restless (like most recent graduates – it’s a syndrome; I’ve suffered from this, can be quite debilitating, reduced me to tears at one point), sent me a text message, asking me to take a look at her CV. A good start, I think. (She also asked me to bring home copies of the soundtracks of Phantom of the Opera and Slumdog Millionaire, and don’t I dare forget it. I’m almost afraid to ask what for.)

AND. It’s my mother’s birthday today! *dance*

Last night: I can’t remember now when I had the idea for this particular story, but I’ve been taking notes, the characters just suddenly piping up while I’m busy with laundry or the dishes or while I’m eating (which can be very annoying). Anyway, I took notes. (If you write fiction or whatever and take notes in a little, battered notebook, lord help you if you get involved in a crime and the cops take a peek into this – they’ll think you’re a nutjob. Maybe I should put a sign on my little notebook: JUST STORY NOTES DON’T PANIC.) Snippets of dialogue, plot comments, character quirks. And I ended up with what? A jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. Oh, what fun. But I sat down and began writing anyway, coughed up five pages without tripping once, and was pleasantly surprised. The beauty of a half-baked idea: you work on it long enough and before long the characters are practically dragging you to the next plot turn. It’s freaky and exciting and I hope I won’t hit a wall. I hope I’ll finish telling the story.

I’m grateful. It’s not a bad emotion to feel every once in a while, right. ;)

this close

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From the (e)mail:

Your poem made it into the final rounds of consideration, but having accepted another poem about <subject matter>, I felt that it might be too much in one issue.

I’m in love with the tone of this letter but I still went ACK!

Muntik na!

*snaps fingers*

i covet

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I didn’t read the article, I just looked at the pictures.

I want I want I want these dresses.

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The skirt in the last picture here and the blouse in the first, my goodness. So lovely.

(This may be my girliest post ever. Haha.)

mini-reviews, 4

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First, second, third,

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Film Review The Taking of Pelham 123

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Well, I didn’t know John Turturro was in this film; if I knew then I would have entered the cinema with a little more than a vague, vague curiosity. John Travolta as the crazy-ass hostage taker, with bespectacled Denzel Washington chained behind a microphone. Pelham 1 2 3, the train, comes to a sudden halt, Travolta’s Ryder gives his demand, and filmmaker Tony Scott freeze-frames every now and then to slap us with the number of minutes remaining, just in case we forget. It’s quick, it’s sleek, and it’s exactly what I needed that Friday afternoon.

James Gandolfini is in this film, too. Bet you didn’t know that.

The Green Mile (novel)

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I’ve seen the film years before, and I’ve been meaning to read the novel, but every time I dropped by the bookstore I only find the last two volumes (it was originally published as a serial novel), and what the hell was I supposed to do with that, right. Before going to the movies I passed by a BookSale branch and lo and behold, a copy meant just for me. Good, strong writing, even some lovely passages (See? Even genre readers care about language); a story I can easily get lost in. I finished it late on Saturday night. And because I’ve seen the film first I couldn’t help but hear Tom Hanks’s voice in my head as I read the words of the Narrator.

Sigh, I want to see the film again.

PS I’m pretty sure Cois will again say I should read Hearts in Atlantis, and what is wrong with me? But I’m working on it, I swear! :D

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While in Powerbooks I saw a copy of Tana French’s new book on the counter. I didn’t even know she’d already come out with a sequel!

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I really liked her debut novel, In The Woods, but originally had misgivings about the idea of a sequel. (I liked Rob more than Cassie, for one.) Then I saw the book and now I want iiiiiit.

I’ll have to save money, then I’ll come back to grab it. Hopefully by then there’ll be cheaper copies.

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During the screening I saw the trailer of Surrogates, a sci-fi flick starring Bruce Willis. Looks interesting.

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I just found out today that I was this close to winning a free book. :) Tell a mystery/romance sci-fi story in 126 characters, they said, so I sent:

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Congrats also to Celestine and Sir Kenneth. :D

just wondering

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I wonder if certain local politicians talk about what’s going on in Iran to their friends, their families, and say, That’s horrible. If certain powerful people read this and go, How awful.

Or do they read this -

Candidates naturally have more support in some provinces than in others, like their hometown for example. It’s impossible that a candidate could win by a same margin in every single province as Ahmadinejad, allegedly, has.

- and go, IDIOTS! If you’re going to cheat, make it believable!

But then I remember this -

COTABATO CITY — Defying dominant voting patterns in many parts of the country, administration loyalists are delivering the vaunted 12-0 sweep in Maguindanao province for Team Unity (TU) candidates – with Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson as the topnotcher, based on early returns.

and go, Well.

Just wondering.

mrs. dalloway, poor little alex

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Here be a couple of books that I should have read years and years ago.

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Mrs. Dalloway

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Must I add to the noise? What else can be said when so many papers have been written about this Woolf masterpiece, the novel dissected, turned inside-out like a corpse. But a corpse this is not; it is a living, throbbing wound, it is a commentary on an age summed up in an incredible account of a day, it is London filled with imagery and memories. Clarissa decides to choose the flowers herself and steps out, and we follow.

(The version I read had an introduction, and according to this, Virginia Woolf thought James Joyce was “flashy” and a “show-off”. See that? That made me love her more! Gurl tells it like it is!)

(You want to see a map of the walks of the Mrs. Dalloway characters? Check this out.)

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A Clockwork Orange

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Finally! The final chapter that Stanley Kubrick did not film, the portion removed from the US version of this novel (thank goodness I was able to borrow the English version), Alex’s “moral growth”, the picture of the baby in his pocket. I am cured all right, says our bezoomny narrator, and Kubrick’s film ends there, the US version ends there. But Alex turns eighteen, becomes restless, feels an emptiness. He enters a coffee shop and meets his old droog, Peter, and something hits home. Not every young man with Alex’s criminal history lives long enough to have this realization. He is very lucky. He walks away from the shop and does not invite us to come with him, but he promises a new life. I wish him all the best.

(In the film version, he is Alexander DeLarge, but in the book Alex’s family name is never given. However the introduction offers an interesting reading into his first name: A-lex, “without law, outside of the law”.)