Booze, blood and karaoke

The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.”

The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?

Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord by By NORIMITSU ONISHI – The New York Times 06 February 2010

What’s next?

The world of my student days, however, was fundamentally different from this one. It was only towards the end of my degree that a friend showed me a marvel named the internet (Him: “Type in anything, it’ll find you a website!” Me: “What’s a website?”) In the 90s, there were a mere four TV channels. Each household had a single phone-line, usable once at a time. Only geeks played “video games”. It was much easier to remove oneself completely from the world into the vast architecture of the novel. Now, the reader is under assault from hundreds of television channels, 3D cinema, a computer-gaming business so large it dwarfs Hollywood, iPhones, Wii, YouTube, free commuter newspapers, an engorged celebrity culture, instant access to all the music ever recorded, 24-hour sports news, and DVD box-sets of shows such as The Wire, Mad Men and Lost that replicate some of the scope and depth of literature. Unprecedented levels of consumer debt, and now a recession, have seen everyone working longer hours. A leisure time that was already precious has been chewed into by text-messaging, Facebook and emails. Almost everyone I speak to claims that they “love books but just can’t find the time to read”. Well, they probably could – they’re just choosing to spend it differently.

              Who stole our reading time? by Allan Bissett at Guardian

Jerome David Salinger, 1919-2010

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”
JD Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

 

Uno&Jed @ Avatar

I will remember Avatar not for its fantastic visual effects, charming computer-generated characters and tale-as-old-as-time-story but as Uno and Jed’s first movie date ever. We didn’t watch it on 3D because the cinema only offered regular screening.

The boys have been saying ‘avatar’ even before the movie was shown here because there’s a piece of toy at home borrowed from their cousins and they call it ‘avatar, avatar’. The toy loosely resembled one of the giant winged creatures in the film. I guess they must have seen the movie trailer on TV.

The film was rated PG but still I asked the usher if the boys will be allowed to watch, just to be sure. Together with my brother, we entered into the cinema where there were not so many people and we easily found nice cozy seats. I cuddled Jed because he’s too small for his seat while Uno seated at my right, beside my brother. As the boys devoured popcorn and doughnuts, the film captivated their attention on its first and middle parts. Being first time movie goers, Jed couldn’t help but say ‘Mommie, brownout’, while Uno declared ‘Mommie, ang laki ng TV’. Jed asked me twice who Jake was when he made his video log and he specifically pointed to his photo at the lower left side of the screen. Jed simply repeated the name. Uno didn’t ask anything. When Jake and Neytiri had their intimate moments, I saw Jed covered his eyes.

I missed some crucial scenes when they boys said that they’ve got to pee. I took them to the ladies room, I was just glad because the ladies room was for our selves when we entered.

When we went back to our seats, it took less than ten minutes for Jed to make his boredom felt. He stood and started pulling the empty seats beside us. Then Uno joined him. Mother’s instinct figured at once so I took the boys hand and made them seat until the movie ended.

When credits rolled and the place was lighted, my brother went to the men’s room with Uno, while Jed walked to and fro down the aisle murmuring things to himself. I took his hands and decided to wait for my brother and Uno at the side entrance. When they came, we went out together.

I asked the boys to pose in front of the Avatar poster and beside the MTRCB Rated PG sign. A Kodak moment for the first time movie goers.

We didn’t actually plan to see Avatar. We went to the mall for a specific reason. And though we somehow missed some fun for not having it on 3D, I guess the boys enjoyed their first time inside the movie house.

As the Chinese and the Russians jumped into the Avatar fray, my only take in this multi-billion enterprise is that, it’s Uno and Jed’s first movie date ever.

Yehey!

I got a great news from a dear friend earlier. And this song popped into my head.

Twenty ten

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

For your special days

What Peppermint read this year

It looks like it’s less than one book a month. I’m still halfway through the twelfth (Dan Brown’s The Lost symbol). Here is the list in chronological order.

1. The Archivist, Martha Cooley
2. Beloved, Toni Morrison
3. New Moon, Stephenie Meyer
4. Without Feathers, Woody Allen
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling
6. Pattern Recognition, William Gibson
7. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
8. The Magician’s Assistant, Ann Patchett
9. Taft, Ann Patchett
10. Exile, Richard North Patterson
11. Run, Ann Patchett

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” JD Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Ann Patchett gave me a one-two punch via Bel Canto and The Magician’s Assistant. With Taft’s jab it gained a steady pace. And Run knocked me out.