The Book of Eli, a new twist on the Apocalypse

Post-Apocalyptic films don’t really interest me. Believe it or not, I have not seen any of the Mad Max movies in their entirety despite being loco (at least, for a time) over Mel Gibson. But if I’m a fan of Mel Gibson, I’m a bigger fan of Denzel Washington although his films that I like best (John Q and Man on Fire) are not ones for which he won awards. And on the strength of being a Denzel Washington fan, I watched The Book of Eli with an open mind.

The Book of Eli takes place some 30 years after the Apocalypse. Signs of destruction and decay are everywhere. The land is dry and barren. The opening scene shows a man hunting for food. Eli (Washington) is traveling on foot to the western coast of the United States. He carries a thick leather-bound book which he reads regularly. Most of the initial scenes are testaments to his uncanny survival skills — hunting, fighting, killing and, especially, his ability to “smell” the presence of threat.

Eli arrives at a town where the boss (in the tradition of a mayor with a private army) Carnegie (Gary Oldman) lives with a blind woman, Claudia (Jennifer Beals — yes, of Flashdance fame) and her daughter, Solara. Carnegie is obsessed with finding a book which, he has heard, is a source of great power. Sent by Carnegie to seduce and spy on Eli, Solara discovers him reading a book with a cross on the cover.

So, at this point, the religious theme of the film becomes evident. You start surmising whether the book is a copy of the Bible and you wonder about its legendary power that Carnegie talks about. It is also around this time when you hear fresh theories about the Apocalypse when Carnegie mentions stories that it was that very book that led to the Apocalyptic war.

A fresh approach, no doubt. Although, throughout history, religion has been the cause of war, destruction and loss of millions of lives, that religion would actually lead to the Apocalypse — at least, in the context of the Book of Revelations in the Bible — is something new.

The freshness of the perspective makes the film interesting especially when combined with bits of trivia that are both amusing and frightening. That water would be a valuable commodity in a post-Apocalyptic state is a common enough theme. But wet tissues — and with the KFC logo at that? In Eli’s time, money has ceased to be in use and people bartered with things like wet tissues. Amusing as well is Eli’s possession of an iPod which he takes pains to make sure got regularly charged.

Apart from these, you have to be a huge believer in miracles to swallow the rest of the plot. (more…)

The Arabian Nights on Kindle or iPad?

Dreamworks’ Sinbad was on Cartoon Network last night and Alex was already watching it when I entered the family room. I had never seen it before and I didn’t know whether I was seeing a scene from the first half, the third quarter or the last five minutes of the movie. I didn’t recognize the characters and Alex couldn’t believe it: Eris, you know — Eris? That’s in the story. In your book. A Thousand And One Nights — the one with BROWN paper?

Right. When I read that book, I hadn’t even met her father yet. I did remember though that when I started collecting books, A Thousand And One Nights was the second item I bought (the first was The Island at the End of the World). My copy of A Thousand And One Nights is so old that the paper has turned brown. I asked Alex if she had read all seven adventures of Sinbad in my book and she said, “No…” and the word “scary” was uttered.

“Scary?” I asked.

Alex said, “Scary… scary to read the book because every time I turn a page, it cracks.”

And that was when I mentioned Kindle. Alex hadn’t heard of Kindle and I explained that it’s a gadget for downloading books and magazines in digital format. No more brown pages that crack when they’re turned.

When Amazon started shipping Kindle to the Philippines, many of my friends ordered. I didn’t. There was a discussion on Facebook when I posted a message that I still preferred to turn physical pages of a book I can cuddle with. A friend and fellow lawyer, Frances, agreed and said she is “old-fashioned” in that way (since you don’t know her, let me just say that that’s about the only old-fashioned thing about her).

A cousin, Rinna, an Apple fan like myself, wondered if my resistance toward Kindle meant that I was just waiting for the release of the iPad. I said no. Part of it, really, is that the bibliophile in me feels comforted by the sight of walls lined with books. I’ve lived like that for as long as I can remember because even before I started collecting books, my mother collected hers. When I was old enough, I started my own collection and so did my brother.

And except for the ones that got ruined every time we moved from one house to another, I’ve kept all of my books because I always thought that I’d pass them on to my daughters someday. Well, I have. Sort of. Sam and Alex have picked up some of my books and the really old ones are just as Alex described — the pages crack as you turn them. You should see my copy of Tai-Pan with whole sections falling off the spine. (more…)

Name 5 things you can live without

Two nights ago, Speedy and I were watching TV in the family room when Alex walked in. Wearing an expression that was a picture of disgust and tension, she asked, “May utak ba ang butiki (Do lizards have brains)?”

She and I both knew it was a DUH question and she was just being sarcastic so, with a poker face, I replied, “Oo (Yes)…”

Her voice rising, she said, “Gaano kalaki (How big)?”

I said, “Maliit (Small)…”

With eyes wide in anger, and in a voice that drowned out the TV, she blurted out, “Bakit siya sunod nang sunod sa akin — hindi ba n’ya maintindihan kung bakit ako palayo nang palayo sa kanya (Why does it keep following me — can’t it understand why I keep moving away)?”

It turned out that she encountered a lizard on the stairs. I could almost picture her squeezing against the wall as she walked down with her eyes fixed on the lizard on the ceiling and panicking as it moved nearer. Okay, that might sound like paranoia but there’s an antecedent so Alex’s reaction to the presence of lizards is really the result of some kind of trauma.

When we built a second kitchen in what used to be a gazebo, I mentioned that we stopped using the gazebo as an outdoor dining area. I didn’t tell the whole story back then but it really contextualizes the dialogue from a few nights ago. (more…)

Correction, please: Supreme Court did not “uphold” journalists

Relative to the trial of the damage suit against Mike Arroyo stemming from various libel suits he had filed against reporters in the past, two news outfits reported that the Supreme Court “upheld” the journalists (here and here). That’s really misleading.

As a backgrounder, since around 2003, Mike Arroyo has been the subject of countless news reports linking him to government scams. He reacted by filing libel suits against the journalists to wrote the stories. These journalists filed a case for damages (a civil suit, not a criminal case) against Arroyo alleging that the libel cases constituted “curtailment of press freedom.”

The Makati Regional Trial Court admitted the complaint — and that is SOP if the complaint, meaning the document, contains all requirements laid by law. The original complaint demanded P12.5 million for each of the complaints (a total of P487.5 million). Thereafter, the complaint was amended and the amount was reduced to a total of P12.5 million.

Arroyo sought the dismissal of the amended complaint claiming there was an attempt to avoid the payment of the correct docket fees. The Makati RTC disagreed, Arroyo went to the Court of Appeals (CA), the CA said the Makati RTC was correct and Arroyo went to the Supreme Court. The only question brought before the Supreme Court was whether the Makati RTC was in procedural error in admitting the amended complaint. The Supreme Court said go ahead with the trial. The Supreme Court did not rule on the substance of the issue in the complaint for damages. In fact, the order is for trial to proceed. And until trial is over, no party nor their rights had been upheld by anyone.

It’s crazy for anyone to claim at this point that the Supreme Court ruling is a victory for the reporters. Trial on the merits has not even started. Of course, I understand that the word play is all propaganda and psy-war but what about the rights of the public who relies on fair news reporting? I wish that media outfits would be less misleading. The Supreme Court upheld a ruling of the Court of Appeals, not the substance of the allegations of the journalists. There is a huge difference.

Now then, if that is clear, let’s go into substance of the complaint for damages, the docket fees and why Arroyo was raising the amount of docket fees as the basis for the dismissal of the complaint. (more…)

Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood

When we went to see Robin Hood yesterday, I wasn’t expecting a lot. Ridley Scott may be Ridley Scott and I do adore Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett but after the disappointment over Iron Man 2, I learned not to set high expectations with these big-budget movies.

The curious thing is how Robin Hood far exceeded my expectations. True, there were obvious historical inaccuracies. For starters, based on what I learned in history, in school and from my own readings, Richard I of England, or Richard the Lionheart as he is more popularly known, was in fact able to return home from the Third Crusade. He was not killed by a cook’s arrow during a siege as portrayed in Ridley Scott’s film. Never mind the confusion surrounding Robin Hood’s identity — as far as history is concerned, there’s really no proof that he ever existed in the first place.

Never mind too the brouhaha over Crowe’s accent. Like I could tell if he sounded Irish or Scottish. And never mind criticisms that both Crowe and Blanchett were too old for their roles — how old should Robin Hood and Marion be portrayed anyway when they never really existed?

Yes, I enjoyed Robin Hood. Although some critics claim that the heavier and darker mood of the film took the fun out of Robin Hood’s adventures, I like the idea of a hero who got hurt and bled — unlike Kevin Costner’s portrayal in the 1991 version as well as the older swashbucklers before him including the alleged Nazi spy, Errol Flynn. You know, in the same mold as Daniel Craig’s James Bond vis a vis his predecessors who never seemed to perspire or got their hair messed up despite all the action. I like it too that the characters were not made out as caricatures.

I like it even more that the issue of abusive collection of taxes was not heaped on the shoulders of the Sheriff of Nottingham but on the king himself. Richard the Lionheart bled England to death to finance his wars and that was made very clear. The Sheriff of Nottingham was only implementing orders of the Crown. That, for me, was very important. In any story with historical references, the story teller has no license rewriting facts to turn a monster into a saint. I’ve always felt that those who went on those holy crusades were being lauded as beloved heroes only because our history lessons have been written by those who actually instigated and benefitted from those wars. (more…)

Summer used to mean outdoor activities

Over the past few months, water supply in our subdivision is cut off at night and I have been unable to invite my mother, who lives in the city, to spend a few days with us this summer as she requires running water 24/7. I told her about our water situation and, just yesterday, she offered to give us one of her overhead water tanks. She didn’t really need two tanks, she said, since she has running water 24/7. Then, she called about half an hour ago to say that she heard over the radio that rain or no rain, water rationing in Metro Manila will start next week because...  (more...

All this talk about impeaching a President-elect: are you nuts?

First of all, a person who has been elected President but who has not taken his oath and whose term has not started cannot be impeached. So, will the wanna-be legal experts please shut up already?

Second, please stop rewriting the news reports just as I wish reporters would acquaint themselves with the Constitution to contextualize reports. When Malacañang Spokesperson Ricardo Saludo mentioned “impeachment”, it was in reference to Noynoy Aquino’s reservations about accepting the constitutionality of the appointment of Renato Corona as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and NOT to Aquino’s reservations about having Corona administer his oath of office. The two issues are related but they are not the same. The first may be impeachable but only after the President-elect becomes the incumbent President and, even then, it is debatable. The second, the oath-taking thing, is not subject to impeachment, now or in the future.

Whether Gloria Arroyo could legally appoint a new Chief Justice within the last 60 days of her term has been discussed ad nauseam already (see related article). There are two seemingly conflicting provisions of the Constitution but the bottom line is that it is the Supreme Court that has the final say what the interpretation should be. And it ruled that La Gloria could legally make the appointment. Although Supreme Court justices are not exempt from impeachment proceedings (remember Hilario Davide’s case?) for violation of the Constitution and there has been talk about filing impeachment cases against them for the botched ruling on midnight appointments, at this point, the ruling stands. I don’t like it, I don’t agree with it but it is the ruling whether we like it or not and whether we agree with it or not.

The loophole is that when the Supreme Court decided the case, there was no justiciable controversy. To simplify that, it means that for a court to decide on a case, there must be a real issue. In the case of the power of the President to appoint a Chief Justice within 60 days before a presidential election, the Supreme Court rendered its decision at a time when Gloria Arroyo had not yet made an actual appointment. Ergo, there was no real controversy at the time and the decision was premature.

Those who support that decision will say that it is final and can no longer be contested but I disagree. Now that Arroyo has made an actual appointment, there now exists a real and justiciable controversy, and I believe that the matter can be attacked through the courts once more. However, whether a new case will be entertained is not really a Constitutional issue but, rather, a political issue considering the political color of the incumbent justices, a.k.a., how many will decide in accordance with Arroyo’s wishes. Ideally, the Supreme Court should be an independent body but what is in the law is not necessarily what is being practiced.

Now then, if Noynoy Aquino refuses to take his oath before Renato Corona, the man whom Gloria Arroyo appointed as Chief Justice, can someone call for his impeachment? (more…)

Before you celebrate, look at the bigger picture

It’s two days after election day. While the final result of the vice presidential race is still a question mark, it’s quite safe to assume that Noynoy Aquino will be the next President of the Philippines. Those who voted for him and those who supported him are already in a celebratory mood. Those who voted feel they have participated in a democratic process that will bring about change.

Change. That’s what everyone wants and expects. People are so doggone tired of the poverty, the hopelessness and the never-ending bickering among politicians. Well, maybe, not all. There are people and institutions that make money by highlighting the bickering. Like mass media.

Are we seeing the dawn of a new era? Is change — real change — finally imminent? Personally, I have no high expectations of Noynoy Aquino and I’ve already said my piece on that subject (in a column that I can’t find right now — basically, being an Aquino, which he has always capitalized on, is not per se a qualification).

But to further answer that question, let’s look past the presidential and vice presidential races. Let’s start with the top 12 in the senatorial elections. The topnotchers are Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada. What exceptional achievements have they accomplished as senators to deserve the most votes in last Monday’s elections?

Miriam Defensor Santiago has the qualifications and the experience but I am wary about her ability to switch political loyalties.

Then, there’s Juan Ponce Enrile, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos’ Secretary of Defense. Marcos — the man who ruled as a dictator for 20 years, the man who imprisoned so many innocent people, the man who abolished Congress, rewrote the Constitution and robbed us and our children of a comfortable future. And Enrile was part of Marcos’ administration in all those 20 years.

From 1966 to 1968, he was the Undersecretary and sometime Acting Secretary of the Department of Finance. He concurrently became acting Insurance Commissioner and Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs. From 1968 to 1970, he became Secretary of the Department of Justice.

In 1970, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense. (Wikipedia)

In fact, Enrile was Marcos’ personal lawyer before he became President. But what do people know and remember of Enrile? Only that he was part of the tandem that turned against Marcos in 1986 during the People Power Revolution. The other half of that tandem, Fidel V. Ramos, Armed Forces Chief of Staff in the Marcos administration, was elected President in 1992.

It just seems to me that men are judged by their last action. It just seems to me that people do not deem it necessary to recall what their personal roles had been in the 20 years that Marcos ruled. It just seems to me that Marcos was punished and driven out but Enrile and Ramos were rewarded because they were wily enough to know when to switch political loyalties.

It’s been 24 years since the People Power Revolution and look where we are. Fidel Ramos served his full term as President; Enrile became the 26th Senate President. And the Marcoses are back in power. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is assured of a seat in the Senate after serving as Vice Governor, Gorvernor and Representative of Ilocos Norte over the last 20 years. His older sister Imee has been proclaimed governor of Ilocos Norte. Their mother, the indescribable Imelda, has been proclaimed Representative of Ilocos Norte.

Many people think that it’s time to let bygones be bygones — that the events that preceded the People Power Revolution of 1986 are in the past and that the sins of the father should not be the burden of the son. But this is politics — Philippine politics — where personal agenda are always part of the picture. Imelda hasn’t even taken her oath of office yet but she is already talking about the vindication of Marcos. (more…)

Election Day blues

I was planning on following the news coverage of the elections but Alex is very sick and, well, to hell with the elections — I have a sick child to attend to. She’s here in my study, watching the DVD of Rent over and over. It keeps her relaxed so the TV is hers. I figured I could get whatever news I wanted from the internet.

I checked my mail and there was a press release from the EcoWaste Coalition entitled “Now that the people have cast their ballots, let the eco-cleanup begin”. How apt to talk about cleanup. I took this photo yesterday in Cubao, Quezon City, in front of the Ramon Magsaysay High School and you can see how much cleaning up will be required after the voting ends tonight.

Heck, we couldn’t even see the sky anymore — just all those posters. And it wasn’t a unique scene. Everywhere where there was a public school (a voting precinct, in other words), the posters were as thick as the face of the crassest politician you’ve ever met.

In another part of Quezon City, the posters were falling off the walls — peeling because there were layers and layers of them pasted one over the other as candidates sought to literally erase their opponents by pasting their own faces over theirs. (more…)

Extreme scenarios in the 2010 elections

Four days ago, long-time blog-friend Mike Aquino posted his fearless forecast in Facebook:

Fearless prediction – sunspots will cause PCOS machines to glitch, leading to the short-lived Madrigal administration, EDSA IV, V, VI, and the decision by the world community to nuke the Philippines from space “just to be safe”.

And I replied that I’d migrate my family to Timbuktu.

Yesterday, I decided to put up a weekend poll (on the sidebar; voting ends on Monday) just to find out how this blog’s readers regard Jamby Madrigal. The question is: “If the presidential candidates withdrew and Jamby Madrigal were the only one left, what would you do?” The answers to choose from: 1) Join a new People Power revolution; 2) Move to another country; and 3) Nothing. I posted a link both from Twitter and Facebook. Not a minute later, there was a response from Randell Benavidez.

And I added the response to the choices in the poll because, well… because it was so picturesque. I could feel the emotion emanating from the words like an unmistakable aura. The love for Jamby was overwhelming. Then, came another response. (more…)