Edmund

One of the boys

My complete Westlife CD collection.

Ten years ago, when boy bands were hot, I went through a “boy band” phase. I didn’t like American boy bands like N Sync and the Backstreet Boys—no! The British boy bands were better, so I listened to the likes of Point Break, 5ive and a1. My all-time favorite boy band would have to be the Irish group Westlife. I don’t think it’s proper to classify them as a boy band nowadays though. In any case, they’re one of the few (boy) bands—if not the only one—to last up until today. Their newest CD, Where We Are, has just been released. But I’m not buying any CDs from Amazon.co.uk anymore—I don’t understand why they send new discs without their protective cellophane wraps (i.e., opened!). I’ll just wait for its North American release on 6 December. I’ll always love Westlife!

Reason for the recent short posts

I’m working on a very important and very special project.

Temptation

’Tis the season when you start receiving various catalogues in the mail. I found a very interesting book in the Hammacher Schlemmer (love that name!) catalogue, but I’m not buying it. I’m broke. Besides, what I really need right now is a new digital camera that would take better pictures for this blog.

Older and aging (2)

Boggs: Did you watch the American Music Awards last Sunday?

Me: No.

End of discussion.

Lyric of the day

“I was fine before you walked into my life.” — P!nk, from U + Ur Hand.

Narnia

The view from my window:

No more posts on Friday evenings

“Remember the Shabbat, to keep it holy.” (Shemot 20.8)

Older and aging

I want the following CDs for Christmas: The Fame Monster by Lady GaGa (the 2-CD re-release of her debut album), Kris Allen by Kris Allen and Crazy Love by Michael Bublé. I have all of Bublé’s CDs, but I got too lazy to get Crazy Love when it was released last month. I think it’s a sign that I’m indeed getting old—when you don’t have that interest and enthusiasm that you had about pop music back when you were a lot younger. Back in the day, I would get the CDs I like on the very day of their release. I could even recite what’s in the Billboard Charts from No. 1 to 40. I did bother to get Britney Spears’ The Singles Collection. I bought it only to complete my Britney collection.

Flying without wings

Knox, Elizabeth. The Angel’s Cut. London: Vintage, 2009.

Disappointing is the one word I would use to describe this sequel to the beautiful The Vintner’s Luck. I found myself flipping through the pages to skip the wordy, lengthy, detailed and sometimes unnecessary descriptions of picturesque locations, uninteresting characters, accidents, aircrafts and other complicated technical stuff that contributes nothing to the development of the main plot. I couldn’t help but wonder: Is the one who wrote this the same person who wrote the very lyrical The Vintner’s Luck?

In the ’30s, the Angel Xas becomes entangled in the crazy world of Hollywood. Xas and his ambiguous sexuality are starting to become quite annoying here, and Lucifer has lost much of his mystique. The Conrad Cole character—a rather cheap parody of Howard Hughes—ruins the longing and inexplicable melancholia we were left with at the end of The Vintner’s Luck. I shouldn’t have read it.

Filipino mourning rituals

Joy, my “supplier” of Filipino DVDs, recommended that I watch Ded Na si Lolo (Grampa Is Dead), a comedy about a Filipino wake and the traditions associated with it. I almost died laughing. The story is very simple, but the very talented cast—the best ensemble ever to my mind—gave it depth and poignancy.

I heard that the film will be the Philippines’ official entry to the Oscars. I’m afraid though that the humorous Pilipino dialogue wouldn’t come out very well in English, and much nuance would be lost in translation.