The 'Diary'

Reading Hunter S. Thompson's "The Rum Diary" makes one crave for a drink in the middle of the night or even in the early hours of the morning. (I have to ransack the kitchen for a bottle of something at past 12 midnight while I was reading the last four chapters.)

For people, journalists especially, who haven't had the pleasure of losing a job, going freelance and getting drunk and scared as shit in some backward town (with a name like Josefina, Sapang Dalaga or Sumisip), the book is a must read.

The "Diary" also reminds me of those sleepless nights (and days) along Timog Avenue in the late Eighties when I drink with freelance photographers and would-be poets until seven o'clock in the morning in a hole-in-the-wall place beside an animal clinic that sells chicken innards and barbecue.

Thompson's novel, his first, is as timely as when it was first published in the middle of the last century in a country like the Philippines and at a time of this so-called economic recession, when hope is rare and bullshit is all over.

Thanks to Karl for the book, a gift during the holidays and a pleasant reminder that life can change for the better or for the worst and is as swift as a swig of cheap rum after midnight when one just wants to rush home to take advantage of the high of alcohol while dreaming.

The "Diary" is a must read for a people that needs reminding that living, through the ups and downs, the short-cuts and the long-cuts included, can be enjoyed with or without a bottle of rum, or beer for that matter in this country.

Kemp, Sala, Yeamon, Segarra, Lotterman, and the rest of the gang remind us of the good, the bad and the assholes of this world, especially in the media industry. Those in media who can still read will find themselves and their colleagues in this "crackling, twisted, searing" book.

When Karl gave me this book last December he asked me to blog about it after reading. Here it is my friend. I am taking up the challenge with all gratitude for the friendship and for your silent assurance that Chenault will be waiting for me in New York with her love and "few surprises."

Thanks for the support.

I am writing this for you Karl at two o'clock in the morning as the sounds of the city drift "through layers of humid air; sounds of life and movement, people getting ready and giving up, the sound of hope and the sound of hanging on, and behind them all, the quiet, deadly ticking of a thousand hungry clocks, the lonely sound of time passing...."

Recommended reading

Look for a copy of Boying Pimentel's "Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street" at National Bookstore or Powerbooks.

It's a good read and a good tour of the other San Francisco, where Filipino migrants make their lives colorful.

Enter the hearts and minds of Filipino migrants in the United States and experience their joys and sorrows in Boying's first novel.

Satisfaction guaranteed.

'News Media Coverage of the 2007 National Elections'

At last I got my copy of CMFR's latest study, "News Media Coverage of the 2007 National Elections."

Thanks, guys. I know, I know, this is my second copy. I gave the first copy to my boss. I hope you will be sending other media executives their own copies.

You would be happy to know that there's a temporary stoppage (at least five minutes) of work every time we in the newsroom receive a copy of CMFR publications, especially the PJR Reports.

There is always a moment of silence, then ohhhs and ahhhhs, when editors and deskpersons scan the Reports. Your "star and kalabasa" ratings section always gets the desk's attention and, I believe, is the most read part of the publication.

I hope your latest study will get the same attention from journalists, especially from media top guys.

I scanned the book and was impressed by the diligence you had in making the study. (The annexes are more reader-friendly compared to the annexes of the 2004 report, which were mostly statistics.)

Of course, there were some minor data that your researchers might have overlooked, but I'm sure the study will inspire journalists and media executives in planning and implementing future coverage.

Tama na muna ang pambobola, babasahin ko pa ang buong libro.

Fun with Neil Gaiman

After enjoying Neil Gaiman's "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Neverwhere" several months ago, I've started just this afternoon "American Gods."

I have only read the first chapter and aside from getting excited, I'm laughing my head off. The story about a man being swallowed by a woman's vagina was "too Filipino" a joke.

"This is what he sees:

"He is inside her to the chest, and as he stares at this in disbelief and wonder she rests both hands upon his shoulders and puts gentle pressure on his body.

"He slips further inside her."

"... He feels the lips of her vulva tight around his upper chest and back, constricting and enveloping him...."

"...Her labia pull slickly across his face, and his eyes slip into darkness."

I miss a dear friend who used to laugh with me when we come across books we love. Wherever you are, I will share Neil Gaiman with you someday.

'Learning from Harry'

Good will always triumph over evil, ika nga.

Isa lamang 'yan sa mga mensahe ng nobela ni J.K. Rowling tungkol sa buhay ng isang batang ang pangalan ay Harry Potter.

Katatapos ko lang basahin ang ika-pito at huling aklat ng tinaguriang Harry Potter series. Sampung taon ko ring sinubaybayan ang kwento ng batang may angking kapangyarihan ng mahika.

Subalit, higit sa mga pagsubok na kinaharap ni Harry Potter at sa mga natuklasan niyang sikreto sa buhay habang nasa Hogwarts, nakagiliwan ko ring pag-aralan ang buhay ng iba't-ibang mga tauhan sa aklat.

Pilit kong inintindi at inabangan ang paglalahad ng buhay ni Tom Marvolo Riddle na sa kalauna'y naging si Lord Voldemort. Bakit siya naging masama? Sabi nga ng isang akda: "It is difficult to know how much 'nature' rather than 'nurture' contributed to Riddle's personality."

Isipin nyo nga naman, pinatay ni Tom Riddle ang kanyang ama na si Tom Riddle Sr. at ang kanyang lolo't lola na si Thomas at Mary Riddle. Bakit niya nagawa ito?

Ambisyon at kasakiman sa kapangyarihan ang nagtulak kay Tom, mga katangiang makikita natin sa maraming tao sa ating lipunan kung hindi man sa pamahalaan.

Gusto ni Tom Riddle na maging guro ng "Defense Against the Dark Arts" sa Hogwarts, pero hindi siya nagtagumpay. Gusto niyang maging "immortal" at maghari sa sanlibutan subalit nahadlangan ang ambisyon niya ng isang batang ang hangad lamang ay hanapin ang sarili at gawin ang tama.

Isa rin sa mga tauhang may natatanging misyon sa buhay si Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Ano ang mga sikretong dala niya hanggang sa hukay? Anong klaseng tao ang gumagamit ng kapwa matupad lamang ang gusto niyang makamit o mangyari.

Sino naman si Severus Snape? Isa ba talaga siyang masamang tao o biktima lamang ng pag-ibig? Napakaganda ng "love story" ni Snape na pati si Harry Potter ay namangha. Meron pa kayang mga Severus Snape sa ating paligid na handang mag-alay ng lahat sa ngalan ng pag-ibig?

Maraming aral na makukuha sa pagsusubaybay sa buhay ni Harry Potter. Alam kong liban sa akin, at kay Pat na nagpahiram sa akin ng "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," marami pa ang "nabaliw" sa kakaabang kung ano ang mangyayari kay Harry at kay Voldemort.

Sa mga 'di nakabasa ng libro, sana napanood n'yo ang pelikula.

Sana liban sa "adventure," may matutunan din tayo sa kwento. Baka kasi ma-take over na tayo ng mga kampon ni Lord Voldemort at pamumunuan na tayo ng "Death Eaters" kung hindi tayo maging mapagmatyag.