I was an island

Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. I'm back after only a week of silence. I thought I should take advantage of this random bout of diligence.

This is what the world looks like now: A theater teacher shrewdly uses Joss Whedon's Firefly to demonstrate honor and principle, and is threatened with criminal charges. In the Philippines, government officials are so obtuse and out of touch, they think it's okay to Photoshop themselves into disaster photos. Yes, the world is one big facepalm.

Space Ghost is not amused. [Image source]

There was another typhoon today. I hear Baguio has been having a hard time of it. My family and many of my friends live there, and I am thinking of them. The Philippine name for Typhoon Nalgae is Quiel. It is a strange name. It's the sort of thing fantasy anime fans might name their first born.

It is quiet in the house tonight and I am looking for something to watch to ward off the blues. Earlier today, I found out that Edgar Wright has included Rushmore in his Criterion Top 10. Coolio. I have been itching to watch it since. Acquiring it now because, apparently, I do not have Rushmore among my files. I am not sure how this could have happened, and now I am worried about the state of my Bill Murray collection.

Kelly Link has been an excellent companion during these stormy days. Her stories are smart and spine-tingling, and her writing is just delicious. Really, I can't get enough of it. I am putty in her hands, dazed by her literary swag. First, she makes me laugh. Then, she makes my skin crawl so I am forced to look behind me. Then suddenly, she comes up with a paragraph that is absolutely heart-breaking, like:

Jeremy's father's office is above the garage. In theory, no one is meant to interrupt him while he's working, but in practice, Jeremy's father loves nothing better than to be interrupted, as long as the person who interrupts brings him something to eat. When Jeremy and his mother are gone, who will bring Jeremy's father food? Jeremy hardens his heart.

Kelly Link, I can't even.

In music, I have been listening to more or less the same stuff. Except I've been enjoying a lot more of Allison Weiss. I like her poetry: "I was a wolf, dear, apart from the pack/ But you answered my cries in the dead of the night/ And told me that you had my back."

My Supernatural download has finished, care bears. I'm off to commune with the boys. I'm like a Twi-hard, but for these guys. Later.

Are you a brutal heart?

I didn't much care for The Romantics, but I'll give you this: it had a killer soundtrack. I have fallen absolutely in love with this song:

Brutal Hearts by Bedouin Soundclash featuring Coeur de Pirate

Let's turn off the TV...

...it's killing us, we never speak.

The photo source here.

The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit is one of my favorite albums ever. I get the feeling that these guys are kind of self-deprecating. And well, I'm a little self-deprecating myself. It's how I roll.

Anyway, songs on the album have been the backdrop to my two-day grading marathon. At school, everyone is just finishing up with their second long exams. I have arrived at my last batch of unchecked blue books. An end is nigh.

It's only 7PM and it feels like I've been awake for two days. Later.

Scarlett Sings

One of the sexiest things about Scarlett Johansson is her voice. And that's saying something, considering everything about the woman is scorching. Here she is with Pete Yorn, singing "Relator," a track off their new album Break Up.

Inspired by the duet style of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, "Yorn and Johansson reenact the tempestuous course of a love affair on the rocks in captivating detail." (From a description of the recordings.)

Also: Pete and Scarlett talk about their stirring record on New York Magazine.

Smile Today

Attempting to describe the effects of music on one's emotional well-being would be impossible. (But you are welcome to try). Vampire Weekend is out with a new album, Contra. Its official release is on January 12th. Listening to its stream now. And just like that, all is well.

Norah Falls

Norah Jones returns this year with her new album The Fall. Here, she takes a detour and experiments with a new sound. The intro to Chasing Pirates, the first (and my favorite) track, is the fork in the road that leads to an unfamiliar neck of the woods.

Most of the tracks, collectively, feel like those home movies of beautiful women having a merry romp in a grassy field. Except the grassy field is growing on a roof in the middle of a city. We chase her, barefoot, across the green. Norah’s voice retains its grainy appeal, but the sound itself is fuller and crisper. She crackles.

It is a mischievous album, and it is apparent that this musician is truly enjoying her craft. In her last track, Man of the Hour, she teases, “And I chose you because you are sweet/ And you give me lots of loving/ And you eat meat.” Norah is light and unaffected in this record, a real joy to listen to.

Watch as she talks about making the new album. I like seeing her with short hair and a guitar.

This place is so dead

I don't know how long I'll be back this time :)

Let's see...what have I been up to?

These days, I'm mostly taking care of my wards:

I'm back in Baguio while Ma pursues higher learning in Neverland. We miss her and wish the eighteen months would go by faster.

I have been compulsively downloading music (reporting this to anyone who'll listen) and so far loving:



















One night, I couldn't sleep and watched Zombieland on Pirated Movie Channel. The zombie genre liiives!



















See you all again soon. Peace.

Here, can you handle this?

Before all the Feists and Regina Spektors, there was Alanis Morissette. Her iconic 1995 album Jagged Little Pill made her a permenent fixture in pop culture (What am I even saying? Of course you know Jagged Little Pill). She was the first singer-songwriter. Her lyrics, intelligent and razor-sharp, dissected the ails of our generation with harsh precision. Morissette dared to be honest while everyone else was just trying to be popular. She unleashed her powerful voice and gave us music we would listen to again and again. Morissette gave us poetry our souls would gravitate to and remember.

After such monumental success, she continued to make music. She played hits that would get considerable airplay, but were nevertheless forgettable. She eventually slid from the limelight. Many believed all her creative brilliance had gone into her first album.

On June 10, 2008, she released a new album Flavors of Entanglement. This undertaking was a form of therapy for the musician, whose recent split from Ryan Reynolds was a nasty kind of business (He is now engaged to Scarlett Johansson. Ooh-la-la.). She started writing to get "it out of her system." Reviews say Morissette does not repeat the anger that was so palpable in Pill, but engages in a spectrum of emotions. There's nothing like darkness to give a person inspiration.

I say, if you can find the mojo again, kudos.

P.S. If anyone has Flavors and wants to share...? Pretty please? ^__^