Ganesha, remover of all obstacles

Ganesha. Collage by Nick Bantock,
from The Venetian's Wife (1996).

"The one who moves towards knowledge of the timeless is never afraid." -- The Arthava Veda, Ganesha Upanishad

Caleruega, Trip II

On a clear day. 17 Nov., 2006

Luted Fields of Gold

Nicked for your listening pleasure, folks. Sting performing one of his most popular songs with the lute at Studio 60. There are a couple of actors from the show talking over the track though. (Filchers can't be choosers.):

Elizabethan-flavored Fields of Gold

So, did you giggle? get misty? sit aghast? Come on then, let it out!

My Zen's beauty wrap

I recently got my Zen player a beauty wrap from GMask. Lookee, it's purty. *purrs* :

The GMask wrap is not only decorative but protective as well. You can choose from a variety of designs, or if you like, you can make your own. The wrap takes 45 minutes to an hour to do. The attendants are very helpful and accomodating. All sorts of electronic gadgets can be wrapped: cellular phones, personal music players, digital cameras, PDAs, even laptops and notebooks. Learn more about GMask from their website.

(And yeah, I'm a Creative user, not iPod. Creative's mp3 players are much more functional - you have an FM tuner, recorder, and data storage in addition. Plus, with the accompanying software (Creative MediaSource), you can record audio from the web or your computer. And oh, audio quality is excellent.)

* Friendly reminder to fellow PMP users: Listening to your PMPs constantly, for prolonged periods, and at high volumes can make you deaf sooner (like at 40!). Following the 60-60 rule is recommended. Read about it here: How music to the ears is deafening for the MP3 generation.

The problem with imagining Sting in tights

The first time I read about Sting taking on Elizabethan music, as in John Dowland songs arranged for the lute, I immediately thought it would tank (sorry Stingie). And then when I heard a 30-second clip of him singing

I sit, I sigh,
I weep, I faint,
I die, in deadly pain
and endless misery

I giggled and giggled. Yeah I know, shame on me. It somehow reminded me of Panchito and Dolphy singing “Hopiang di mabili, inaamag kasi” to the tune of La donna est mobile. Or maybe I was giggling because I was imagining Sting as a traveling bard in tights and ruffly poet’s shirt (opened to the abdomen, of course).

Since then Songs from the Labyrinth topped the UK’s classical charts, and more surprisingly, reached the #24 spot in the pop charts! So here I am listening to the Englishman’s distinctive tenor crooning in time with lutenist Edin Karamazov’s string-plucking, and oy, I must say it is rather pleasant. Particularly those songs where Sting harmonizes with himself. They sound very strange at first, all those rounded O’s and sonorous notes that almost sound like wails. But once you’re used to the style, the music can be quite relaxing (very good for sleeping in fact). Interspersed between the music tracks are readings from Dowland’s letters. How can anyone not find Sting’s lovely British speaking voice appealing?

Snooping around blogs I chanced upon an audio file of Sting’s guesting at Studio 60 where he sang Fields of Gold accompanied by the lute (which he played himself; he also plays on a few tracks in Labyrinth). Like the songs in his new album, the lutenized Fields of Gold is quite soothing once you get over the shock. I will upload it and post a linkie here soon.

`Abracadabra' is the operative word

* Note: I tried to make this as spoiler-free as possible.

The film is a sleight of hand, a series of misdirections, a skillful trick. Like Cutter (Michael Caine) says at the start, as in magic, you have to watch very closely. Who needs the Wachowski brothers? I’ll take the Nolan brothers over them anytime. They are so much subtler, not as in-your- face (I am not amused by the Wachowskis’ “look at how many allusions we’ve embedded in our movie aren’t we so very smart” references particularly in the indigestion-inducing Matrix Reloaded). I love The Prestige not so much for the mystery as for the writing. The film is structured in a non-linear fashion, with 3 timelines crisscrossing each other: in the present, a fatal accident occurs and Borden (Christian Bale) is on trial. He is given Angier’s (Hugh Jackman) journal, in which Angier recounts his search to unlock the secret of Borden’s Transported Man by decrypting the latter’s notebook, which in turn recounts how they started out as assistants and eventually became the most bitter of rivals.

It is a multi-layered story that is not only about magic in the Victorian age, but is also about rivalry and revenge, about what it costs to create a grand illusion, about the thin line between driving passion and all-consuming obsession.

Some were turned-off by the (Angier-related) twist at the end. (Waaha, it's a sci-fi fantasy film pala!) For me, that wasn’t actually the major twist that viewers were being led to. (If Tesla's science, or magic depending on whose POV -- I love how the setting was in the Victorian era, at a time when rationality and intuition were starting to collide -- was meant to be the climactic twist then they wouldn’t have shown us all those hats and cats in his backyard.) Borden’s secret was the greater twist. While I suspected it earlier on, I still couldn’t be sure till the very end, for, like a good magic trick, the filmmakers left room for doubt, much like Angier’s trapdoor in his final performances. You think you know but you really can’t be sure. (And then again, if you are a smart aleck and did know for sure, it’s still a dang well-written movie!)

What does it take to enjoy The Prestige? The very thing that witnessing magic requires: suspension of disbelief. If you fail at that, then the movie will probably suck.

End note. David Bowie is in the movie. What a surprise, I didn’t know that until I checked the cast list a day after seeing it. So that’s why Tesla looked vaguely familiar. I did recognize Andy Serkis (a.k.a. Gollum) instantly though. Huh, figure that out.

Songwriting that Stings

* Originally posted in LJ on November 1. *

At a pinoyexchange (a.k.a. Pex) thread I started a few days ago (we'll get to that in the next entry), dindi mentioned one of Sting's songs from his Brand New Day (1999) album. Back then, I confess that after a couple of listens, I declared the album a dud. I didn't like any other songs apart from After the Rain Has Fallen and A Thousand Years (which really, shame on you, Mr. Sumner, I thought of only as a cheap ploy to cash in and sell the millennium its theme song. But oh, wait, it should be two thousand years then, right, not only a thousand. Ah, I remember now, it was Brand New Day which I judged to be the sell-out song.). In any case, I had basically bought the cd for Desert Rose (which, needless to say, I lurve).

Anyway, chalk it up to ADD-ishness or the fact that I loved Ten Summoner's Tales too much or the possibility that I simply did not listen to it closely enough - Ghost Story passed right over my head. So then now, dindi mentions the song in the Pex forums, and I decide to go have a listen again. I must say, I appreciate it a whole lot more now, and I think I'm beginning to love it. Some of the most poignant, moving songs Sting has ever written are in fact, about his complicated relationship with his father (the senior Mr. Sumner passed on several years ago.).

With Ghost Story, the former English teacher's writing again demonstrates an elusive, poetical quality. You may know exactly what he's talking about, or you may only sense the emotions yet not fully grasp it. In my case, the song speaks. Underneath the lyrical monologues, the graceful, cadenced musings and introspection, Sting asks himself questions which echo my own. The second half of the song goes:

What is the force that binds the stars?
I wore this mask to hide my scars
What is the power that pulls the tide?
Never could find a place to hide

What moves the earth around the sun?
What could I do but run and run and run?
Afraid to love, afraid to fail
A mast without a sail

The moon's a fingernail
And slowly sinking
Another day begins
And now I'm thinking

That this indifference
Was my invention
When everything I did
Sought your attention

You were my compass star
You were my measure
You were a pirate's map
Of buried treasure

If this was all correct
The last thing I'd expect
The prosecution rests
It's time that I confessed
I must have loved you
I must have loved you

Listen to Ghost Story here.

As simple and compelling as all that, and still it does not top another song he wrote about his father, what I think to be one of his most beautiful songs ever: Why Should I Cry for You?. I will say nothing more, just read the lyrics for yourself, or listen to it here.

Why Should I Cry For You ?

Under the dog star sail
Over the reefs of moonshine
Under the skies of fall
North, north west, the Stones of Faroe

Under the Arctic fire
Over the seas of silence
Hauling on frozen ropes
For all my days remaining
But would north be true?

All colours bleed to red
Asleep on the ocean's bed
Drifting on empty seas
For all my days remaining

But would north be true?
Why should I?
Why should I cry for you?
Dark angels follow me
Over a godless sea
Mountains of endless falling,
For all my days remaining,
What would be true?

Sometimes I see your face,
The stars seem to lose their place
Why must I think of you?
Why must I?
Why should I?
Why should I cry for you?
Why would you want me to?
And what would it mean to say,
That, "I loved you in my fashion"?

What would be true?
Why should I?
Why should I cry for you?

Aaaaam back!

Finally I can publish! Egad, that was horrible. Blogger's been having problems and I've been locked out of here since I posted that entry below. I was forced to use LJ for a while. Thank goodness I got this back. Though I've lost all my customization (check out the sidebar). Oh well, at least everything else is intact.

Look, I got me a John Legend media player. Hah! (Never mind the ridiculous juxtaposition of nearly naked women and religious iconography (blasted MTV director), that's one fabulous church!) #3 on Billboard, baby! (Will write about the album soon.)

Will have to start rebuilding little by little. I kinda like this new set-up. Nice color, clean minimalist look.

Post hiatus

So yeah, I haven’t been blogging for aeons. Haven’t been doing anything creatively for that matter, as I’ve somewhat lost my mojo. (Hello Zoloft, I’ve been thinking of you.) I still feel like I haven’t got it back yet, but perhaps blogging again can help. No book reviews like I planned a while back, as I haven’t been reading much either. My eyes, you see. I’m in uhm, transition. No, it’s not that letters have begun to blur lately, nor that tiny characters in my Zen player which I had effortlessly been able to read only a year ago have now inexplicably become unintelligible at the same distance and in the same half-light on evenings in bed when I usually enjoy my mp3s before going to La-la land. It’s that I can’t read for too long lately without being overcome with the dreadful suspicion that mis ojos may need some sort of assistance in getting my optic nerves to operate their auto focus. (Let’s leave it at that, shall we?)

Consequently, the books I’ve been meaning to read (and finish – I have been reading several at the same time) have piled up. I’ve been spending more time on tv series (on dibidi, er I mean dvd!) and music as a result. So the next few entries will probably be all about that. (Well hullo, the American Idol entries are still under this one, let me just edge those out as quickly as I can. Not that I’m completely done with the topic as I’ve since found an even more rant potential-filled topic: Philippine Idol! Yes folks, I have gone bakya. No matter, we’ll get to that soon enough. Unless I lose interest entirely. *roll eyes* And move on to Pinoy Dream Academy. Haah!)

Currently listening to: The Heart of the Matter, India.Arie

Mission NOT Impossible: Making TPTB and Simon Cowell see $$$

I haven't googled yet today because I'm avoiding American Idol results show spoilers, but if they haven't picked up on this idea yet, will somebody please talk the media into investigating this tidbit.

A spike in sales of The Donny Hathaway Collection cd at Amazon was observed immediately following Elliott Yamin's performance of A Song for You. During the pre-song interview, Elliott said he wanted to pay tribute to Donny Hathaway's music and to bring it to the forefront. Well guess what, funky white boy, I think you did just that.

When I checked last night, its sales rank was #42. Right now, as of this writing, it's #26. The day before, it was #196. Others have observed that prior to AI's Love Songs night, the rank was #2,400. Others say it was #4000+. I don't know how true the 2,400 rank is, but from #196 to #42, then #26 in a matter of two days? Man, that alone is impressive.

If anyone had access to (or could request for) Amazon's data it would be easy to track the actual sales rank from before April 25 and after, till today. Aside from sales rank, one can also check other metrics: how many times were the keywords "A Song for You" and "Donny Hathaway" used in product searches? One might also want to check how many times the song has been downloaded at iTunes and other music/mp3 sites. It's fascinating. Elliott is selling songs and cds already, and they aren't even his! What more if he gets to release his own? If this won't make TPTB* and Simon Cowell see $$$, I don't know what will.

Has anything like this ever been observed in AI history? I'm not being smug, nor am I asking a rhetorical question. I really would like to know. So will someone please put a reporter to work on this?

Gushing about performance night to follow later (maybe!) as I'm still in a daze.

* In AI speak, TPTB = The Powers That Be, i.e., the producers.

Music lovers, lend me your ears for two minutes, will you?

This is the short version. Listen up, if you love listening to a beautiful voice, scroll down to the following entry and click on any of the song links (there's jazz, standard, pop, country, and rock), each will bring you to a page where you will find a link to an mp3 of that song. Listen.

If you like what you hear, do spread the word around. If you're a Pinoy living in the U.S., I'm especially making a plea to you: because I can't vote for my favorite, I'm asking you to do it for me. Yes, I'm a dork. There you have it. It's just that I want to support talent in whatever way I can, wherever I may find it. This guy is not only talented, he is gifted.

Forward a link to this blog to all music lovers you know. Particularly those based in the U.S.. Even if they're not Pinoy.

Now scroll down, if you please. ;-)

Elliott Yamin: Half-deaf and Still Better than You

So here's the thing. I think I'm being punished for years and years of snarking on various shows on the tube. It’s pretty funny because now I’m hooked on American Idol. *blush* In past seasons I managed to catch a few episodes, usually sometime towards the end (I did see Fantasia’s seminal Summertime performance, and I did take notice of Bo Bice), but I never had the urge to watch it regularly. I even missed the hullabaloo surrounding William Hung. This season though has got me hooked because underneath all this mountain of cheese, there is a gem. And his name is Elliott Yamin. (Right, now how cheesy is that? I can’t believe I just wrote that. Anyway…)

Fellow snarkies and skeptics, bear with me please, go on reading. Forget that this is about American Idol for a moment if you have to.

I am quite capable of writing pages upon pages about what makes Elliott Yamin the best contestant of this season. I can quote music lovers and professionals from the music industry – vocalists, songwriters, music producers, DJs, etc. – but I won’t. Instead I ask you to listen to any or preferably all of his performances through the links below. Just that. His voice is incredibly soulful and unique. It has an interesting texture: smooth and velvety but with hints of huskiness. How else to describe it? Let's see, it's like... well, rich creamy chocolate ice cream with soft marshmallows, but also with yummy brownie bits and choco chips in it, `ya know? And as if that weren't enough, he has great skills (listen to Moody's Mood for Love in particular). The key points to take note of: tone, pitch, phrasing, breath control. (Ask the music experts though, because I’m not that musical myself.) Mind you, he hasn't had any formal training.

These are arranged in order of my preference (very hard for me to rank them since I have a lot of favorites). Links lead to a page where you can listen to mp3s:

Moody’s Mood for Love (Top 20)

Somebody to Love (Queen night)

Teach Me Tonight (Songs from the `50s night)

It Had to be You (Standards night)

If You Really Love Me (Top 24)

I Don’t Want to Be (Songs from the 21st Century night)

Heaven (Top 16)

If Tomorrow Never Comes (Country night)

Knocks Me Off My Feet (Stevie Wonder night)

I should note that I was surprised to find how fascinating the show is, not only in terms of what we see on the tube, but beyond it. There’s a lot of interesting psychology going on beyond the singing. Simon Cowell alone, that brilliant manipulator, is a marvel. And apart from him, it’s such fun to speculate about the various aspects of the show: voting dynamics, fanbase phenomena, the concept of popularity, etc.. Conspiracy theories abound about a myriad of things: who the TCOs (TCO = the chosen one) are, how important placement is (i.e., what number a contestant is in the line-up for a performance night), who is vulnerable to getting the boot next, and so on. Make no mistake though, this show has not made me a believer in “reality shows”. The way I see it, AI is a very clever combination of producers' machinations, reality (the voting results), and good TV. Take note that I'm not saying that votes don't count. I believe they do, especially in determining the top contestants. I am not saying the results are rigged, only that it's possible that they tweak some results to ensure good TV.

I'm lazy and I don't feel like it, so I won't get into how I came to this conclusion. But in my analysis, provided that Elliott survives this coming week (which is more likely than not), it could very well be a Taylor-Elliott finale. This scenario to me, would provide the most emotional, magical TV moment. The darkhorse getting this far, c'mon that's the best story there is right now. Not *yawn* an aforenamed TCO winning - it makes for a stale story, especially since that already happened last year (Cowell picked Carrie Underwood to win as early as the auditions round), and they have been building this season as the most unpredictable of all. Of course you can say I'm predicting a Taylor-Elliott finale because that's what I want. And you wouldn't be wrong. But it doesn't mean it can't happen. And it doesn't compel me to explain myself either, hee.

So let’s go back to Elliott. As for the issue about his lack of stage presence. I offer no argument than this: Watch his performances from the start of Top 24 until Standards week, and tell me he hasn’t improved. Anybody can see he’s come such a long way. Remember that all the others in the Top 6 had been performing for years even before they auditioned for AI. In contrast, this guy has gone from nothing but karaoke bars in Richmond, Virginia to a show viewed by millions worldwide. Who would believe that not a long time ago Elliott was so shy he’d ask relatives and friends to turn off the lights when they asked him to sing? He has grown by leaps and bounds.

As to the argument that he has no personality. Well that’s a really stupid thing to say because in the first place, hello, there’s no such thing as a person with “no personality”. Duh. I’ve got news for you: not only does Elliott have an endearing personality, he has character. Take note of his behavior, how he reacted under pressure (during the two times he hit the seal – when he stood there with Mandisa, and when they announced that he was again among the bottom 3 after Queen night), how he treats his fellow contestants, how he reacts to the judges when they comment on his performance. I’m not feeding you the data, you watch and observe, and tell me his mother wasn’t right when she said that “he’s such a good soul”.

Lastly, in case you didn’t know. Elliott has been battling with Type 1 diabetes since he was 17. And he is 90% deaf in his right ear. These are not reasons to pity him. Rather, these are reasons to admire him.

I’ve been checking some message boards in the internet, and I must say, if AI were held in the Philippines, Elliott would have been a frontrunner from Day 1. I’d like to think we Pinoys, being so used to having talented singers amongst us, know how to separate real talent from fluff. Fluff can be added later. Sheer talent has to be there to begin with.

So this is where I’m going: Since we Pinoy fans living here cannot vote, I am making a plea to Pinoy AI viewers in the US. Scratch that, make that a plea to Pinoy music lovers in the US: Please help get Elliott to the top. Philippines-based Pinoy fans, you’ve wondered how you can help him win. This is how. Make noise. Forward this to your friends and relatives if you like. Then ask them to vote. This coming week is a huge hurdle for Elliott. I am confident that if he gets through to Top 5, he’ll be well on his way to a win.

I started this meaning to be brief but what the heck. Now excuse me while I pester my brother some more to make sure he TiVos the whole thing.


* I should give credit to verly, the person who thought of Elliott Yamin: Half-deaf and Still Better than You in the infamous TWoP forums’ Name That Contestant thread. Click on that linkie and note how Elliott's is the most affectionate thread title, others are just plain snarky like TWoP itself. Note also how many pages there are in the Yamin thread compared to all others. People love talking about the guy -- and it's not all just snark.

-----------
Addendum

Here’s where we get shallow. From the start, Elliott has been called all sorts of things, from hobbit to leprechaun to Narnia's Mr. Tumnus to monkey boy with jacked-up teeth to the face that only Stevie Wonder could love. People can get really nasty unfortunately. Lots had predicted that he would get booted off very early on. But look how far he’s gone. Now his fans call him The Man, The Little Yamin Who Could, Funky White Boy, and the most endearing nickname of all, CinderElliott (or Cinderfella).

I don’t know about you, but sometime between Stevie Wonder night and `50s night Elliott crossed over from “not much to look at” (my very words when I emailed a couple of friends about him) to adorable to downright sexy. I don’t get why for some people his looks are still an issue (probably because they can’t find anything else wrong with him). Open your eyes, for crying out loud, and look at how the stylists have worked their magic on him:

2.22.2006. If you really love me, won't you tell me? And if you really need me won't you tell me, then I don't have to be messing around.

3.01.2006. There I go, there I go, there I go...Baby, you are the soul who snaps my control.

3.08.2006. Oh nothing can take me away from you...

3.14.2006. There's something about your love that makes me weak and knocks me off my feet.

3.21.2006. Did you say I've got a lot of learn? Well don't think I'm trying not to learn.

3.28.2006. I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately. I don't want to be anything other than me.

4.04.2006. If tomorrow never comes, will she know how much I love her?

4.11.2006. Can anybody find me somebody to love?

4.18.2006. With all your faults, I love you still. It had to be you, wonderful you, it had to be you.


Hnhh, say, ever heard of subliminal messages? ;-) Anyway, here's looking at you, people. Spread the word!

* Special thanks to Laclos of www.yaminions.com, Rickey of www.rickey.org, Jennifer of www.everythingelliott.com, and the TWoPers (no thanks to the doom-and-gloomers though).

V is for Vitriol

"I'm not going to claim all comic books are literate — there's a lot of rubbish out there. But there have been some very literate comic books done over the last 20 years, some marvelous ones. And to actually read a comic, you do have to be able to read, which is not something you can say about watching a film. So as for which medium is literate, give me comics any day."

--- Alan Moore rants against movie adaptations and the V is for Vendetta film, MTV interview

For the nth time, the man is not pleased. He has again asked that his name be removed from the credits and signed away his share from its earnings. Can't blame him for spewing vitriol against the movie industry. From Hell sucked majorly, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, was well, from hell. *snicker* It was just too awful. But hey, I kinda enjoyed Constantine (but then I hadn't read the comic series).

I look forward to V is for Vendetta with considerable dread, seeing as how the last Wachowski brothers production I saw gave me a splitting headache (Matrix Overloaded), but we shall see. A 70% rottentomatoes rating isn't all that bad. It only means that several critics hated it, some liked it, and some were ambiguous (rottentomatoes isn't at all accurate but it's a pretty good indicator either of unanimous praise or unanimous disgust).

Tsk tsk tsk, poor Moore, such rotten luck. Neil Gaiman mentions how relieved he is that no one has done any Sandman films. If the universe is as good to us as it is to Neil, there never ever will be a Sandman movie. (I wonder if Peter Jackson would take up the challenge? Nah, I don't think even he can pull that off, much as I love him.) I am starting to get worried about Kabuki (I don't mean Japanese theater silly, but the David Mack comic series.). Even with the Mackster himself writing the script (sorry David). I can't believe I'm thinking this but, may it never come to pass.

(Idle thoughts following Neil Gaiman's Guardian article `$1M a minute to film? No problem', on movies and comics. Thanks to G for the heads-up.)

Off the shelf: Fantastical Field Guide

A couple of the creatures found in Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, currently my favorite art book. Not that I've ever read any Spiderwick book before. When I saw this Field Guide, I just had to have it. More information and images here. For larger versions so that you can actually read the text, click here for the wood elf and here for the sea-maid. (Pardon the semi-crappy scans, I didn't want to torture my book too much.)

More info on the illustrator, Tony DiTerlizzi, can be found at his website. You might also want to check out the Spiderwick writer, Holly Black.

Cyborg name decoder, anyone?

Tried out the cyborg name decoder (got the link from Adel G's LJ), and got this:




Hmm.

Pinoy camp at its finest

Anything taking itself so seriously that it heaves under the weight of its own self-importance is not funny, and can be potentially boring. But something that revels in the glory of its own fakeness is not only funny, it's hilarious. (It's kinda like Chicago vs. Moulin Rouge.) And hilarious is what Zsazsa Zaturnnah ze Musikal is.

I had a rip roaring two and a half hour laugh-out-loud-athon last night at the CCP's Tanghalang Huseng Batute. Zsazsa Zaturnnah (hold your nose and say it people, "Zsuh zsuh Zaturn-na-ha!") ze Muzikal is an adaptation of Carlo Vergara's National Book Award-winning graphic novel, Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah. The story kicks off with Ada, a small town parlorista, finding a mysterious stone that fell from the sky while taking a shower. His spunky assistant, Didi, urges him to swallow it and shout "Zaaaaaaturnaaaah!!!" in the belief that it is a magic stone that will endow him with superpowers (sounds familiar?). Being the uto-uto that he is, Ada complies and is promptly transformed into an incredibly buxom red-haired warrior, a bona fide female equipped with super strength and agility. Zsazsa goes on to defend the town from a giant frog, a horde of spastic zombies, and a team of alien Amazonistas.

Who would have thought a comic book would translate so well into theater? Two aspects I liked best about the show: One, the excellent performances of the whole cast, led by Eula Valdes as Zsazsa (I hope no one was listening when I whispered to my companion, "Hey, she looks like Eula Valdes.", ehehe, kaya pala, it was Eula Valdes! I went in not knowing anything about the production aside from the title.). She had very strong stage presence, and mind you, it's not only because of the costume (sorry guys, I know what you're thinking, but she was wearing a body suit. Which was practical, with all the running around she had to do on stage.). I didn't realize until then that she could sing that well (si Kuya Germs kasi!), good for her! Tuxqs Rutaquio as Ada was vulnerable and naive, while Ricci Chan virtually stole the show with his feistiness and impressive lung power. Lauren Novero as Dodong, while he can use some more singing lessons, did have a rich, deep singing voice, and was quite charming (and yeah, as Didi pointed out, he did have nice noodles -- seems he was Mr. Body Shot 2001). Queen Femina was played wonderfully by Kalila Aguilos, flanked by her equally entertaining Amazonistas: Wilma Doesnt as Dina B. (I suspected it was Wilma, but didn't say it out loud; what she lacked in vocal power she made up for with sheer pizzazz), Deeda Barretto as Vilma S., Mayen Estañero as Sharon C., and Tess Jamias as Nora A..

Two, the delightfully ingenious special effects improvisations. (What's a superhero story without special effects, eh?) I don't want to spoil your fun by letting you in on all of it, but I must point out my most favorite one. During the confrontation scene between Queen Femina and Zaturnnah, both actresses wore fake legs (their real legs were covered by a black skirt above which the fake ones dangled). Assisted by meant-to-be-invisible-propspeople, this device allowed the audience to watch fabulously hilarious acrobatics and stunts. I don't know about the people downstairs, but the view from the Gallery (Batute's upper level) had us all in stitches.

There are two dramatic highpoints that I can't help mentioning. One has to do with Zsazsa talking to her long dead father (he turns out to be one of the zombies), the other is when Didi gets shot by Queen Femina. As it turns out, when he was alive, Ada's father could never accept how his son was a syoke (that's ancient swardspeak for bading, in case you're very young, or have otherwise been living under a rock). Ada now as Zsazsa, appeals to his senses, hoping his er her father (see it's kinda confusing) will finally be able to accept and love his son for what he (she?) is. Yeah right, talk sense to a zombie, why don't cha? Itay's reaction had me gasping for air. As for Didi, he almost stole the show with his faux death scene (oops sorry for letting that out, but c'mon you'll know where everything is going anyway while watching it). Wait a minute, let me rephrase that. He did steal the show. Ah, scenes like these, I just love it when they have you in tears and move you ever so subtly at the same time. As the gay would say, Nakakaloka! I hesitate to say more lest I spill all the beans in this fantastically executed production. Not at all a bad way of saying gender is an illusion. (O ha, you see, you can still use your brain and come away gigglish for the whole night, too!)

Considering how much I enjoyed the show, I gladly would have paid twice the price of the ticket (that is, if I did actually pay for my ticket, ehehe. *grin* Thanks for the libre, M!) So if I were you, I'd go catch it while it's still playing, as there are only a few playdates left: Feb. 24-25 (8pm); Feb. 25-26 (3pm); Mar. 3-4 (8pm); and Mar. 4-5 (3pm). Check www.culturalcenter.gov.ph for their contact numbers. Grab a copy of the programme, too, it's delightfully designed, and even has An Idiota's Guide to "Camp". ;)

One final note, though. To the parents: better not bring the kids (under 13 I suppose?) to this one. It's not exactly Darna. *cough*

Zsazsa Zaturnnah ze Muzikal is directed by Chris Millado and adapted by Chris Martinez. Vincent A. De Jesus is the composer, lyricist, and musical director.

Random book thoughts

Breathlessly anticipating a pearl of a book. Actually, a book of a Pearl. *smiles* After that most excellent, exhilirating literary fiction, The Dante Club, Random is soon set to release Matthew Pearl's The Poe Shadow. We don't know much about it yet except what libraryjournal.com tells us:

Trust the author of The Dante Club to turn in another stylish-sounding thriller, this one starring Poe fanatic Quentin Clark. Clark wants the real-life model for C. Auguste Dupin, Poe's fictional master of detection, to look into the author's suspicious death. But then someone else claims to be the actual Dupin. With a 14-city tour.

Ah yes, I have very fond memories of Pearl's debut novel, The Dante Club. How can one forget that graphic, heart-stopping opening chapter? Maybe I have been watching too much CSI, but I swear Gil Grissom and company would have had a field day with that murder scene. Grissom particularly, as the first victim was being gutted alive by maggots -- and if only the setting had not been 1865 Boston. The detectives of the novel are none other than the famed Boston Brahmins: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell. Picture it: a group of well-respected poets, celebrities in their own right in their heyday, running against time to find a serial killer who patterns his murders after the punishments in Dante's Inferno, a curious detail, since they themselves had been working on Longfellow's English translation of Alighieri's epic poem. Pearl ingeniously mixes historical fact with fiction, not only writing beautifully and fluidly, but pacing his story like a jaw-dropping movie. Who could have thought the novel sprang from his graduate thesis? *sigh* I'm so excited I almost feel like reading the book again, if only I hadn't lent it. Yeah, as if I didn't have enough unread books already. And why read that one again, when there's a similarly-styled second book coming soon? The Poe Shadow will be out May 2006.

Book publishing made easy. Speaking of debuts, Kabayang Kyo has come out with his first book, Chroma, produced through that marvel of a site, lulu.com. Bookmaking has never been as accessible as now. With lulu, you can publish and sell your own books for free. What's more, you have full creative control, you retain the rights of your work, and you can set your own royalty fee. Sounds too good to be true? It probably is, so read the terms carefully. (I will write more about this some time, hopefully when I've had some firsthand experience. *wink*)

Chroma is a collection of color photographs taken around the San Francisco Bay Area. Go check it out and take a peek inside the book from here. If you want to see more of Kyo's images, go visit his website.

Beam me up, Willy (eck, doesn't have as nice a ring to it as Scotty does, but you catch my drift, `ya?). And speaking of creativity. My friend Queena Lee-Chua invited me to her Irwin Chair lecture, Venturing into Science: Creative Writing by Non-specialists, on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 3:00 p.m. at the Social Sciences Conference Rooms 1 & 2 of Ateneo. To be presented during the lecture are the steps taken by her 15 students, all non-science majors, the challenges they faced and the techniques they utilized (drama, analogy, definition, process, character, scene, real-life applications) as they tried their hands at creative science writing this semester under the English Department. Excerpts from their works will be read.

Talking to Queena about this special writing class of hers reminded me of a book I enjoyed a few years ago that goes into a related topic, that is, the impact of emerging technologies on storytelling. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace by Janet H. Murray, takes off from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s notion of a holodeck: a computer’s projection of “elaborate simulations by combining holography with magnetic `force fields’ and energy-to-matter conversions”. With a holodeck, you can program any world you want into the computer, step in, and join in the creation of a story. Take it as a very high-tech virtual world that you can actually experience with all of your senses. (Needless to say, the holodeck is only one among the many reasons why Star Trek: TNG is the best ever sci-fi tv series in my book. *beams* *Oh hey, that's a pun!* *amused*)

In the book, Murray envisions the future Shakespeare as half hacker, half bard. Considering how so many more advancements have been introduced since Murray wrote it in 1997, Hamlet on the Holodeck merely touches the tip of the iceberg with its discussion of hypertext narratives, interactive fiction, electronic games (games as stories or stories as games), and various hypermedia productions. Even so, today the book still remains a compelling and relevant read.

Murray wonders about whether the world is ready for a new narrative format that is delivered in a fully digital environment. Will hypertext fiction, for instance, ever be an accepted art form? I did try a couple of hypertext stories myself, (e.g. Jackson’s The Body), but I must admit that I never got to finish any. I was thinking (at least five years ago when I first tried them), it may be that my brain had not yet evolved to the point where I could efficiently absorb and process the narrative and still appreciate the art form – heck, I couldn’t even get past a third of Danielewski’s House of Leaves, and that was in print, an experimental fiction that relied on a lot of extraneous bits of information scattered in the form of footnotes, images, lists, diary entries and such other scraps thrown into a dictionary-sized tome. It is the scourge of linear thinkers, surely! But I digress. The point is, who knows, perhaps now I’ve been able to adapt to calling up several references at the same time (e.g. opening window after window of not necessarily related webpages), processing data and filing some latent meaning into the brain that I can later appreciate and contemplate?

Taking the subject of hypertext fiction alone, think of the challenges that are posed to the author: how does one create a non-linear story that will still be coherent in the end, no matter how your reader proceeds with it? And how in heck do you still make the end surprising? Or hmm, ok, the concept of an “ending” presupposes a structure like that of the printed word. Let’s just say, how do you construct your story such that your audience will still get a satisfying revelation when they are done? One random thought: the idea of postmodern hypermedia creations is mindblowing. How can one take advantage of the nature of digital environments in creating a narrative that refers to itself? If the computer takes its position as the storyteller, in how many ways can you muck up your audience, eh?

But seriously now, beyond Murray’s discussion of the aesthetic aspect (the chapter on the characteristics of digital media is quite riveting, imo) of the digital narrative are fascinating questions that such a device raises, questions that touch on moral issues even. Since the future of storytelling increases the stakes and makes us participants, each and every format carries with it its own issues. Some questions are old, some are new. (I am now going into forms that Murray did not necessarily refer to since they either did not exist yet or were not prevalent at the time she wrote the book.) One may wonder: Are we in danger of losing our humanity in the virtual world? Does it reduce us it into nothing more than unthinking hedonistic animals? Does electronic gaming promote violence? Is blogging essentially narcissistic? Are cyber-relationships destructive? Is `social' interaction within a virtual environment as valid as human contact? Is a person being unfaithful to a real life partner if he has an online significant other? Are Mary Suisms* in virtual fan fictions potentially pathological (I mean if such existed, I just made this up; but hey, surely we aren’t far off from multi-user virtual fan fiction environments (maybe there already are MUVE** fan fictions, I haven't checked yet)? Think Counterstrike or World of Warcraft or Ragnarok meets Me-as-my-favorite-celebrity’s-lover-in-a-fan-fiction-made-
especially-for-me-cyber-novella. Yiiicks, scare you much?)?

Don’t get me wrong, Murray starts off on an optimistic note, and ends her book still hopeful. And then again, all that scary, negative stuff, it also came with the advent of the printed word hundreds of years ago. Come to think of it, they’re still the same issues, albeit draped in fancy techno-talk. But the difference, imo, is that this time around, there’s much greater risk of losing this thing we call reality.

Hmm. Perhaps that wasn’t particularly uplifting. Let me get back to this later. *sigh*

Notes:

*In fan fiction, a Mary Suism is that propensity to insert a new character into an already established fiction/world that in truth represents the fan fiction writer himself/herself. Thus, for example, a Princess Arianna can write herself into a Lord of the Rings fan fiction say as the tenth member of the fellowship, the elven love interest of Legolas. I kid you not, such things do exist on this earth and can be found in the worldwideweb. If you want to know more, google fan fiction.

**MUVE stands for Multi-user virtual environment, a.ka. MUD or multi-user domains or multi-user dungeons. Check the definition here, and its history here.

Birdspotting

European Starling, in breeding plumage
Sturnus vulgaris

“The king forbade my tongue to speak of Mortimer. But I will find him when he is asleep, and in his ear I’ll holler ‘Mortimer!’ Nay I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but Mortimer, and give it to him to keep his anger still in motion.”

--- from Henry IV, William Shakespeare

European starlings are said to have a population of over 200 million in North America today. They are considered pests which have taken over the nests of many native birds. Awww, so pretty, but what aggressive creatures, and relentless! Removal of their nests does not deter them from building it in the same spot the next day, and so on.

Whadda `ya know, it's Shakespeare's fault! Or, more accurately, his fan's. In the 1890s, a fan of the bard resolved to introduce to North America all the birds mentioned in his works. Today's European starlings descended from 100 individuals released in Central Park, New York. All because of that single mention in Henry IV. (More info for bird lovers here.)

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(Special thanks to isa for help in identifying this birdie. Didn't even know where to begin, whew!)

From my postcard collection # 2

Le Trocadéro
Vintage postcard by Cavallini & Co., San Francisco

Le Palais du Trocadéro was constructed by the architect Gabriel Davioud and inaugurated in 1878 for the Universal Exhibition. For some time it was a venue for various society events like art exhibitions, concerts and public ceremonies. It was destroyed in 1937. The Pallais de Chaillot now stands in its place. A crying shame, imo. (More images here.)

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(Special thanks to the contessa for help with the research on this magnificent structure from the past.)

Eek, davidmackguide found me!

Seems a link to my Kabuki-related entry has been posted at davidmackguide.com, here. I should've known, that David Thornton sure is very good at gathering up all Mack-related information out there in the web. Managed to escape his daily blog searches since imogenagerie isn't publicly listed, but as soon as Mr. Mack responded to my post at his messageboard, click! it was there at davidmackguide. Not that I'm complaining or anything.

Any Manila fans who happen to drop by, btw, you'll be interested to know that David Mack says he does look forward to going here sometime in the near future. Now, if only Mr. Daez and company know that, eh? Drum up support, peeps, let's e-mail (through their website), call, inform, badger, plead, beg (what do you fellas think, foot-in-the-door first or face-in-the-door? ehehe) Fully Booked to make this Mack booksigning event happen.