Monday, December 10, 2007
We're not unreasonable
Van's out of town this week and I (foolishly) failed to make the appropriate social preparations. The last time I was out of town for a week she filled her entire calendar with parties, dinners and movies with friends.
Me? I stayed home the whole weekend recuperating from fever and flu and watching Shrek the Third.
The silver lining on all of this was threefold:
- I made further headway on Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan, the most arrogant, irritating and mind blowing book I've read in recent memory. On which, more later.
- I discovered the brilliant, and certainly somewhat insane, Jonathan Coulton, who is the songwriter I wish I became and the musician I certainly would never have become. I obtained some of his tracks (the first time I recall willingly shelling out $5 for downloaded music) for a Christmas CD to give to friends.
- I managed to get my USB Guitar cable to work, being inspired by said somewhat insane musician to write a song about... well, something.
I’d like to help you Tom, in any way I can
I sure appreciate the way you’re working with me
I’m not a monster Tom, well, technically I am
I guess I am...
Labels: books, jonathan coulton, music, nassim taleb, random stuff
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Kansulay revisited
I am re-reading James Hamilton-Paterson's excellent dissection of Philippine culture and the Marcoses, America's Boy (Unusually for Amazon.com, the reviews on this book are equally thoughtful and well-written). I'm sure I've written this before, but his pen is sympathetic and his descriptions of rural life in the Philippines ring true. Being a city boy myself, I only really absorbed a lot of probinsya influences when I started dating Van. Manila really is an imperium in imperio, a kingdom unto itself. Hamilton-Paterson spent years in the isolation of an anonymous Luzon village he calls Kansulay. His descriptions of the primitive standards of living entangled with the unbelievably complex social waters are completely believable and compelling. Van and I fell in love with this book the first time we read it; now it's like a comforting reminder of home.
* * *
Unfortunately, with all the traveling round we plan to do this year, it's looking less and less likely that I'll come home before Christmas. It's strange knowing this is the longest I've ever been away. I always say this, but I feel as though the connections to who I am are growing stronger and weaker at the same time. Like the henna tattoo I got from Dubai, sometimes it feels like I've washed away a part of me, a skin of superficial attachment to an idea of home that, maybe, I left a very long time ago. Not the happiest thought, is it?
Labels: books, philippines, random stuff
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Quicker a Golden Snitch
Van and I, without quite meaning to, have just finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which if you've just returned from Mars, was released last Saturday. It's much better than book 5, and sets up the finale nicely. That's all I'm going to say, as I'm sure 99,999,999 other blog posts will have more (and better) things to say than me.
Labels: books, random stuff
Celebrity
It's been a while since I've read Neil Gaiman's blog, but Nanet recently informed me that he'd just been to Manila, where over 3000 people attended one of his readings / signings. Gaiman is a minor deity (an American God?) there due to the overwhelming popularity of his early comic work and later novels.
The funny thing is, I remember mentioning two years ago when I attended one of his signings in London how people in the Philippines would go mad if ever he came there. His answer was, "I've never been invited". Imagine that.
I like to think that my questions to him at least brought last weekend one step closer to reality. Celebrities who've never been there are always bowled over (Pearl Jam called it their most favorite venue for the Vs. tour). Plus, apparently our calamansi juice is vastly underappreciated.
In the Tent
posted by Neil 7/09/2005 12:54:00 PM
In the Philippines, the people are enthusiastic on a level that makes the Brazilians look reserved and polite. They shout very loudly when they're happy, too. There's a noise that a few thousand of the locals make when they all shout at once to let you know they're happy to see you that made me finally understand the idea of a wall of sound...
The funny thing is, I remember mentioning two years ago when I attended one of his signings in London how people in the Philippines would go mad if ever he came there. His answer was, "I've never been invited". Imagine that.
I like to think that my questions to him at least brought last weekend one step closer to reality. Celebrities who've never been there are always bowled over (Pearl Jam called it their most favorite venue for the Vs. tour). Plus, apparently our calamansi juice is vastly underappreciated.
In the Tent
posted by Neil 7/09/2005 12:54:00 PM
In the Philippines, the people are enthusiastic on a level that makes the Brazilians look reserved and polite. They shout very loudly when they're happy, too. There's a noise that a few thousand of the locals make when they all shout at once to let you know they're happy to see you that made me finally understand the idea of a wall of sound...
Labels: books, greece, london, news, philippines, random stuff, travel, USA
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