Book review: The Softness on the Other Side of the Hole

 

A 72 year old man, wanting to get high, goes inside the ladies room; the men's room is occupied. Smoking now, he hears a voice from the men's room. He responds through a small hole and despite his gruffy old-man voice, realizes that the man mistakes him for a woman.

The old man trolls, he becomes Rachel, a  truly lewd 24 year old Jewess, and the unknowing voice,  a 41 year old married Insurance Salesman. They begin a relationship akin to that of phone-sex partners, they do no see each other, but only hear each other's voices through a hole in between the two restrooms. But that is just the start.

In leaps and bounds outrageous and even gruesome, this 1966 stream of consciousness novel  is written in a voice of a persona who is arguably on high. One could joke that perhaps the author was (high) as well. for starters, take the premise, and the phone-sex like relationship which is just the beginning of a distorted sequence that explodes in your face.

This is quite a short book, but there were times that I had to put it down and laugh(and curse) in disbelief of what is happening. And yet this book is arresting and it is more than just a trip. It is also very slippery, just when I thought i figured out the metaphor of the whole set up, that is -their relationship is actually symbolic of relationship that is mundane. It starts off in another outrageous direction. it is funny, tragic, unbelievable but highly readable.

The novel written by Kenneth Davids deserves a spot in my list of unknown and old books that are definitely worth the read.

Reflecting on the film Pom Poko

Like many Cordillerans, we were raised to believe in supernatural beings that often appear in nature. We were told to treat these beings with enough respect and fear so that we should not suffer ugly consequences if we fail to do so or that there is a reward if we did so. It is a practical society with practical beliefs.

For example, if a snake visits your house, you should never ever harm it. You should even give it some wine and rice. If you kill it, one of your family members will die. I was told that most of the creatures that enter your house (i.e. grasshoppers) are actually visitors.

When I was young there was a lot of magical often tragic stories of distant family members who suffered the consequences of maltreating these creatures. And yet something is ironic

As I mentioned earlier, the Cordilleran society is by large a highly practical one(at least the society I know). This society favors development, it likes building and constructing things, and hunting and breeding animals for food and profit. 

This is somehow an irony shared with the Japanese society featured in the film Pom Poko. 

Pom Poko about a group of playful raccoon dogs whose home, the forest, is threatened by human development. Like most Studio Ghibli movies, this one is steeped in magic. Some of the raccoons have the power to transform themselves into  anything they can imagine. Thus they use these powers to wage a war for their survival against the humans who have the power to terraform the earth and destroy the raccoon's home.

Spoilers! 

And so the humans, mostly the construction workers, begin experiencing unexplainable accidents and visions which cause some of them to leave their jobs and some even to lose to their lives.

But the raccoons would eventually lose. They would lose more lives, their home and their very identities as some raccoons will opt to live as humans. The film ends in the usual celebratory and happy gathering of the raccoons dancing in the night in a closed golf course. 

Pom Poko manages to tip and balance its serious message and its playful voice. Presented in the trademark lushly colored art of Studio Ghibli, Pom Poko does not go overboard and be preachy with its overtly environmental message, nor does it also paint everything in black and white with the humans all evil and the raccoons all good, nothing of that. And while there is talk of death, nothing is every bloody in this animation. Even the sparse scenes of violence and a bit of love are veiled in comedy and color. It does however have a sort of pathos because the tragic fate of the raccoons and all other forest creature is just all too real when we are shown snapshots of destroyed forests, of dead raccoons run over by trucks while scavenging for food in the city that was never built for them.

This is also ironic. The magical raccoon dogs of Pom Poko are actually based on Japanese folklore, and in some scenes there was talk of how these raccoons were also feared and respected. And yet, the overall treatment of them, at least how movies shows, is quite the opposite.

In my own setting, I did wonder that if these supernatural beings are real then it would have been impossible to build so many developments, as many would have suffered those consequences.

But Pom Poko may have answered that. 

And as I grew up the, stories and talks about supernatural beings have gradually faded.We only hear them rarely these days.  Of course, one could always say that science and organized religion finally nailed the coffin of these beliefs and stories. But the fact that we no longer have grasshoppers entering our house should have made it obvious. In a city that mows its forests paves it, the creatures and perhaps their "supernatural" faded or chose to hide more than ever. That is the answer I read in Pom Poko.

Watching this in quarantine and having seen recent images of animals roaming empty streets and skies and waters getting clearer makes it harder for me to want the old normal back. I apologize to those who are eager to back to normal exactly as it was before. I can't explain.

Reading the Apocalypse, one book at a time: Age of Odin Review

Ragnarok is once again re-imagined. Odin and the whole gamut of Norse mythology returns for the famous final battle but this time it is waged with assault rifles and tanks.

It is the modern age, and one Gideon Coaxal, former solider and a failure of a father is recruited, perhaps chosen even, to join the gods, giants, and man alike in the war where the real world is at stake.

The premise where Gods of myth are somehow among us is something many might find laughable or many would eventually draw comparisons with American Gods. But while American Gods might fit into the dark fantasy genre, Age of Odin on the other hand is more of a beer and pretzel one, a term used for games that are very light on the rules and easy to understand.

Because as such, the novel is just like any action soldier film where we have shows of camaraderie, a bit of sex, fist fights, a lot of gun fights, outrageous bravado, and an anti hero.

Add in Norse Mythology and you have Age of Odin. as such, it is easy to conclude that the fantasy or the lore of the novel, already written becomes of secondary nature, it has become artificial. Only a backdrop to another action novel. I guess, i read the title and expected more of Odin but really, Odin and the rest are just backdrop to the main Protagonist, the former soldier.

Thus Norse Mythologiy afficcionados should give this a pass. But it is a good enough read for anyone wanting to see a skirmish between gods, machines, and men.

With such books, it also seems that anti heroes,  usually those who failed in "life", find redemption only in dire situations, in Ragnaroks.

2.5/5

Kingdom (TV series) Review: Will the real zombie please stand up?

(Netflix does not allow screenshots) 

Novelty or freshness, that is what Kingdom has over other popular zombie narratives. But is that enough to save to save it from it's many plot holes and lack of characterizations?

Popular zombie series/movies are set in post apocalyptic present day. A disease becomes  uncontrollable that society collapses. But there are survivors and we follow their story as they navigate dystopia, trying to find a cure or build society again.

On the other hand, Kingdom is set in medieval Korea where society has not yet collapsed. (not the 1st to do this, of course. A quick net search will yield other zombie or Z movies set in Asia, or medieval times. There is even a Z movie involving Jesus Christ!)

But Kingdom does this novelty well, the costumes and scenes of medieval Korea is refreshing in a genre that is saturated by rag wearing survivors in war torn cities who kill zombies or each other with modern tools. The series did not mince on its costume design especially when portraying the royal family or the palace, nor did it not miss the opportunity to show the wonderful scenery of feudal Korea, there were scenes that did this in the middle of a fight scene. My favorite was the top down view of the ice battle. I thought that was picture perfect.

I do wished they took more time to slow the pacing during those panoramic shots for more viewing pleasures but Kingdom seemingly wanted to do things really fast. A move that is the series' own bane and boon.

Most of the other Z stories I have watched thus far used the genre to zoom into human drama, like the Walking Dead, which has done so successfully but at times overdid it to the point of boredom. Kingdom has very little of the sort, the pacing moves too fast for any prolonged insight into the characters past, their feelings, and their motivations  or their relationship with each other. 

This was both good and bad. Good because it has allowed the story to maintain its high octane run from one event into the other, and do all that in just 6 episodes per season with only 2 seasons thus far. 

But, this was done by sacrificing the characterization and background history thus putting future seasons at jeopardy.

Tell me if you felt that the death of the Prince's body guard Mu Yeung's  death had any dramatic effect? nor the death of his master, Ahn Yeung? 

I bet you don't even know their names. We only know them for their roles. In fact, they sound and look the same at times. 

For sure, we know that the prince wants nothing more than to save the nation. Seo-bi, the medic wants nothing more than to find a cure. All others just want to follow the prince's wish and save the nation.

Yes some would argue that the prince initially acted haughty and dismissive of the poor. And that Yeun Shin, the guy good with the gun, initially wanted nothing but revenge and that he was ruthless. So there is character.

But because of the fast pacing, there was little build up to how they will eventually change. Suddenly, the prince is this virtuous guy full of knowledge, a good swordsman and tireless even. When just an episode ago, he was the one who started a conspiracy for himself, got easily tired climbing a mountain, and was afraid of being alone. Then the guy with the gun suddenly wanted to help him.

Where, how, why and when did these shifts of character happen? I do not remember. I don't even care. I care so less that if you kill them in the next episode, it would be ok.

Because for Kingdom, excitement is the name of the game and not necessarily the story.

One way that the series tried to cover these plot holes is by one or two line dialogues between the characters. The age old adage of show, don't tell would have been better. We know that the guard cares for his wife, he said it. Did he show enough? we know that Yeun  Shin wanted revenge on the people who killed his entire village, aside from spitting on a monument, he was quick to forgive the man who did so. And even Beom-Pal, the former cowardly magistrate suddenly just stood up and did the "right" thing. For countless episodes he was forgiven for his betrayals and cowardice. There was no outside force nor a show of inside pangs that we has struggling to do what is right. Nada, just suddenly he chooses the right path and says " this is wrong". It was because of him that many died including the prince's body guard. And yet, nobody gets angry with him. Especially not the prince. 

This move to skip these characterizations have led to two things. First, it created "perfect" but forgettable characters much like the zombies. They are perfectly virtuous forgiving each other's and their own faults, wanting only to save the country, they are devoid of any uniqueness. The prince even knows everything that needs to be done, with agonizing moments where the characters wait on him to decide what to do next. 

Again, this worked well because in the excitement and the speed, the audience will not have time to identify, or relate to or even be interested into the characters.

The problem arises when they would seek to extend the story beyond the little background, history, or drama they have show. or even beyond the only problem presented: How to save the kingdom?

That is why there have been many and expect more flashbacks to explain who the new character is, or what the situation is all about. 

Another way that this could have been done is to leave clues for the audience to foreshadow the coming events. What if they showed a survivor of the Japanese? or the Cho clan? or another clue, it would have explained better or left more avenues to continue the story. 

Introducing a new nemesis when they have said that the kingdom was united when the prince sacrificed his claim to the throne is a bit of a stretch for me.

Overall, while I find the series a good break from other slow paced z movies, I will stop with the second season. The glaring plot holes (esp with the characters) cannot be saved by more flashbacks or two line dialogues. The two seasons are worth watching, I am not so sure about future seasons.

Book Review: Villain by Shuichi Yoshida

What starts out as an escapade born out of online dating results in the murder of a young woman. This whodunit novel slowly reveals who the suspects are, and they are many despite the obvious ones, the two men she was supposedly dating.

 

At times the book reads like a classic, going into painful details to set up its theme of a lonely Japan full of lonely people, and dangerous ones. This was essential in its attempt to answer a question which is definitely more than the usual "who is the killer?" 

Likewise,  it maintains its pacing by shifting the viewpoint from character to character, all of whom share a link to either the dead victim or the murderer on the loose. Often this was effective, but there are characters that I wished could have spoken or appeared more as they were quite interesting enough on their own and with their connection to the main characters. This is more important if we guess at what the novel is trying to say especially since it will become obvious or not who the real villain or villains are. 

  

The exposition of the lives of the victims and the villains is a psycho-social autopsy and investigation going beyond the question of "why?" It gave off some vibes akin to that of Camus' "The Stranger" thus this may not be a good book for those who crave crime novels which feature bizarre characters(killers) and their actions. Nonetheless, it proves that behind what seems as ordinary life, there is something extraordinary.

Movie Recommendations: Loving Vincent (2017), Joker (2019)

Loving Vincent : The sight, the story, and the sound

Loving Vincent (2017) is a labor of love - how it was done and what it's trying to say. Van Gogh's paintings become the very animation itself in an investigative story about his death, commonly ruled a suicide. But did he really kill himself? 

The first of its kind, the  film made of hand painted oil paintings as panels (853 paintings, 65,000 panels) was done by over 100 artists around the world. Van Gogh's works of the people around him become the characters and the setting, the places he has painted.

And it is through these works that the film tries to unravel the unfortunate circumstances to his death and in effect, the later part of his life. While an artist, through his paintings, shows us how he views his subjects, the film turns it around and shows how Vincent's subjects may have viewed him. 

Music was by none other than Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream), with the icing- the song "Vincent" a classic by Don Mclean which you may not listen to the same way again after watching this film.

(Vincent was supposedly Tupac's favorite song and was played on his deathbed)

Joker: What is the joke?

By now widely regarded for Joaqin Phoenix's award winning performance and mined to death by meme makers who put totally unrelated motivational quotes, Joker (2019) is a must see whether you are into super hero films or not.

Still, as a super hero film, it continues the trend of making the villains much much more interesting and well rounded (think Thanos or Killmonger), and the trend of making the hero genre darker or more mature (think Logan, The Boys(TV Series), Dark Knight etc.). Likewise, it does stay faithful to the Batman lore, even showing us for the nth time how Bruce Wayne's parents are gunned down in front of him. 

Beyond that, this is an excellent psychological drama following a sort of "disgruntled citizen" genre and how a man slowly descends into madness or is pushed into it. You watch such films with empathy and pity for the character's sufferings and watch in anticipation and horror when the bomb, their own sanity, are stretched to the limit and explode in the most gruesome or just pathetic ways.

This may be the reason why so many liked the joker and related it to the current issues on mental health and illness. Building on these themes, the film also invites you to come up with more than one possible explanation or "plot twists" as the film ends.  

Regardless, it is an homage to The Taxi Driver starring Rober De Niro who also plays a role in Joker.

However, I saw how it is more like Sean Penn's "Assassination of Richard Nixon"(2004) another film I highly recommend for its stellar acting and its pathos.

I prefer waiting for movies to be available online because I want to be able to rewind or pause. Joker was the first one I watched at a cinema by myself and it may have started an "occasional" solo habit.

Book Review: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls

Romeo and Juliet meets Naruto in this novel that served as basis for the popular anime series Basilisk (2005) and the live-action film Shinobi (2007)

Having watched both the anime and the action film, I was intrigued to find out that both were based on a novel. (saw it from a seller online and it was an instabuy)

Reflections on Culture and on "Tanabata's Wife" (The Movie)

Teatro Amianan, Baguio City November 18, 2018. The film ended and there followed an awkward silence. Some of the audience looked at each other wondering and waiting. Then someone started the clap.

Was this silence from a speechless admiration for a great film? Or a silence because there was something missing and the audience was waiting for it never to come?  and what does it say to those many who watched because the film featured the Cordilleras and had Cordilleran actors? What can we say?

Review: Selda Senakulo

Selda Senakulo concluded with us, the audience together with the cast and the crew light each other's candles to place them beneath the crosses of Christ and the two criminals. In one single instance, the line drawing who was an audience and who was a performer was erased. In one single instance those who were “free” and those deprived of liberty mingled, as guests and inmates performed together whether in ritual or in theater. That was a most fitting ending.

Beyond that, was Selda Senakulo another of your usual holy week life of Christ story? and did it stand out just because it was staged inside a prison and acted out by inmates?

Review: Anatomy of An Octopus Woman

We can imprison the body. Can we imprison the mind?

Just got back from watching "Anatomy of an Octopus Woman" at the Baguio Women's Jail Dormitory, I want to give a shout out to my friend, the director and one of the performers Angelo Aurelio. Thanks for inviting me, I was speechless enough to find myself writing this.

Anime Review: One Punch Man Season 1

photo:www.viz.com

So they say, conflict is at the heart of every good story, and we say even if it is a comedy.

One Punch Man is an anime that makes you laugh about other animes. It is a brilliant parody of all that is trite about other titles.

Children's Literature Review and Reflections: The Phantom Tollbooth

Concepts become characters in this novel where everything is a pun or downright metaphorical. A cross between Alice in Wonderland(with plot) and The Little Prince (with substance), the story is replete with both fantasy and philosophy-two of my favorites. Add some illustrations on the sides and you have perhaps one of the most unique, interesting and informative Children's Literature around.

This, I believe, is what kids, young adults (and kids at heart) should be reading.

Movie Review and Relfections: Minions (2015)

2/5 stars

In a spin-off from Despicable Me, the Minions now star in their own movie which is an attempt to provide a back story about these yellow creatures(while providing their usual slapstick humor) and an attempt to sell children(and adults) more minion products. The latter is sure to be a success. The movie?

Watching it is like watching a comedy duo, without the other half of that duo. Just like the scene in the Incredible Burt Wonderstone when Steve Carell, thinking he was good enough, insisted in performing even without his partner. It was broken act- full of unanswered lines.

Book Review (and some reflections): Cloud of Sparrows - Takashi Matsuoka

Samurais = check

Ninjas = Check

Geisha = Check

Zen monks = check

Cowboy gunslingers? =check

Zen allusions, sword duels, sword vs gun duels, gun vs shuriken, ancient Japanese culture = check!

What more can I, who grew up watching anime, ask for?

I was so used with the grand number of characters any long novel has (like that of Game of Thrones) that I was unimpressed with the humble number of characters listed in the 400 page book's cast of characters.

That, however, did not matter. Matsuoka offers a league of extraordinary heroes: An enigmatic lord whose plans surprise and baffles those around him(and the reader-myself), a legendary but lunatic swordsman, a gunslinger with an equal reputation and a motley crew of geishas, ninjas, monks who may or may not be what they seem to be.

And this is perhaps the only book that features a unique style in shifting point of views. Time and again, Matsuoka would get into the head of any of the characters. He does this really often, but he does so instantly, without signals, but gracefully without confusion on who was thinking or talking. 

Divided into three books, divided into chapters divided into short sub chapters, the novel is about Lord Genji's rumored prophecies and his clan's struggle to survive despite inner turmoil and battle against outside attacks from century old enemies. This is staged at a turning point in Japanese history where foreigners and their ways of thinking threaten the samurai and their code. Thus differences and similarities are magnified e.g. those between Zen and Christianity or between unequivocal words.

Ending this with some spoilers: quotable quotes and reading comparisons.

"What does 'banzai' mean?

It is an ancient way of saying 'ten thousand years.' The true meaning is more difficult to explain. I suppose you could say it is an expression of deepest sincerity, deepest commitment. The speaker is expressing his willingness to trade eternity for this single moment"

"Kawakami went into the cottage alone. It was not much more than a simple shed in one of the smaller gardens of the vast castle. Yet it provided him with the greatest pleasure in life.

Solitude." 

Extended Reading:

The novel is often compared to James Clavell's shogun novels. Having read Shogun, I would say, that while Clavell's offers political intrigue, Matsuoka takes on philosophy, art and religion.

Not to take anything away from Shogun, it still is one of the best and most action packed reads despite bordering on 1300 pages, but I found that Matsuoka offers more details into individual encounters like scenes and dialogues. 

Fast, fun, facts and fallacies?

(bought this book from: Bookends Baguio)

1. Just how am I a junkie into Zen thought/philosophy? If I would be forced to choose any religion, then I would choose Zen(if it can be considered one).

2. What is with the samurai? That many (most men) find the warrior and the code so enticing?

Is it the artful tension between what is barbaric and what is civilized? - the blade and the killing it follows, the patriarchal status quo set against a supposed art of anything, or the supposed minimalism of movement/emotion that what could be beneath is actually an even greater emotion - the emotion to subdue, or an art that is too wasteful or a costly ceremony?

Book Review: Desire Provoked

Cliched as it is, remember never to judge a book by its cover.

I found this book from my dad's "To sell" pile as we were cleaning my grandma's workshop. I did not know the author and the book had one of the back covers that usually turn me off- a large picture of the author.

Old, to be sold(rejected), with a bad cover, with low goodreads ratings/readers, and written by an unfamiliar author, this book surprisingly turned out to be one of my best reads this month reminding me never ever to judge a book by its cover or its reviews. 

If you are into literary theory, you will mine this book for its "post"ness - rife with what is postcolonial(seen through his friend Than), postfeminist(through his wife), postmodern( through his neighbor Rosa). 

And through its main character Addams, we get to see how intelligent people do and think weird things, deal with their increasingly fragmented existence and still emerge victorious.

The story is masterfully told through a cycle of dreams, real life, maps, seances, and memories. 

Fast and fun facts:
Got it from: My dad's "To sell" pile of books
Finished: at a beach somewhere in La Union
Quotes: Saussere, Hegel and a whole lot more

ending this review with a quotable quote: 

"Attending one cause to the neglect of others inevitably foreshortens knowledge of the overall effect...the right breast is just as marvelous as the left..."

Book Review: The Seven Fires of Mademoiselle

By Aby Weygan

"The man must make the first move" so declares the unbelievably beautiful nanny Mademoiselle who finally falls in love not among with her many admirers but with a disinterested, balding fireman. Why with him when there are more handsome, and well off others? More importantly, how do you make a man make the first move?

Written by Buenos Aires born playwright Esther Vilar, The Seven Fires of Mademoiselle is a warm, funny, and instructive tale of a series of fires around Washington D.C and set against the backdrop of figures like JFK and Martin Luther King. Narrated by Carlota whose unique intellectual scrutiny misses nothing like: The hypocrisy of friendship, the hypocrisy of people who call themselves pro-poor or leftist-like her parents, the logic of crime, and the euphoria of arson. 

She is twelve years old. And has much to learn. With her diplomat parent always away, she spends most of her time with her French nanny, who in turn instructs her not only in French, as was commissioned, but also on love, courtship, manliness, and on a topic the Mademoiselle knows best, the arithmetic of beauty.

Fast and Fun Facts:
Got it from: Bookends Baguio
Relate much? I Think I too am balding :)

Book Review: Embers by Sándor Márai

From Hungarian author Sándor Márai comes a meditation on many topics: friendship, betrayal and revenge; old age, with its solitude; music and hunting; and an excursus on love and fidelity.

Two men, friends since their youth, meet again after 42 years of their own self-imposed exiles from each other and from the world. Their last meeting was with a woman, now dead.  So what happened during the last meeting that proved so detrimental it shattered all the lives of those three? why did it happen? and why after 42 years must these two friends, a General and an "Artist", meet again?

These questions were enough to keep me glued with the novel but I was exasperated since (1) while the event should be about two friends who are meeting again for one last talk, we instead get to hear almost all the supposed "talk/dialogue" from only one of them. (2) This is magnified by the fact that no other character is explored save from those mentioned by the one character who does all the talking and reminiscing-often with a matter of-factly tone.

I was not approaching the story properly.

Often, however, novels like these need be read like poems. So instead of looking at poor word choice like how in a segment, the character had to referred to time and again as "the son of the officer of the guards said.. the son of the officer of the guards, the officer of the guards", or why "Embers" in the first place? all of which becomes becomes clearer towards the end. Instead of expecting characters, , scenes, events, descriptions, and resolutions of conflicts, I was now looking at expressions, insights, and be contended with the few but cryptic scenes-especially the one at the end.

Witty, unexpected observations on the human drama, and enough questions on truth makes this 240 page novel interesting enough to finish in almost a day

Fast and Fun Facts:
Got it from: Bookends Baguio
paraphrased quote and unwarranted reflection:
Only men, never women, know true friendship. Which brings to mind the fact of fickle reasons women fight each other, and how long those grudges last. 

Anime Review: Mind Game(2004)

By Aby Yba



It is easy to mash colors together and call it "art". It is also easy to mash words and scenes together and call it a "story" or a "film". Mind Game if anything is an art film, an art anime. I won't stop there. For while it is too easy to call anything art, it is not too easy to answer the question of technique and craft and more importantly the experience.

How was this mashing up done? How was the experience?

Book Review: Anonymous Lawyer by Jeremy Blachman

(from my goodreads review)

Featuring one of the best anti-heroes you might find yourself rooting for, the novel is written in the frame of blog entries and e-mails. As I find it always refreshing to read shifting viewpoints, much less shifting frames, I enjoyed and breezed thru this hilarious novel. More so since the focus of which is the sarcastic and nihilistic anonymous lawyer who does not fail in coming up with brutal ways to treat and talk about his colleagues in the anonymous firm. And yet this was done with enough humor and a dash of humanism which, makes you realize that this is a novel, and a damn funny one at that. I am not lawyer nor a student of law and yet this book made me laugh. I was able to relate.