Dancing With My Baby in the Summer Rain

What a week. Heat is just dang unbearable. I hated that those frigging red ants swarmed into my small cotton bud canister. I didn’t know they were into that. Uggh. Weather’s making me wanna eat and drink more. Also, just walking outside even makes your legs sweat inside your pants, so it’s really annoying. Anyway, I got a bunch of other things to post about.

Pam’s Labyrinths

Watched Mozzie’s acoustic performance at The Room Upstairs in Makati last Friday night with Mark P. (who’s introducing me to alcohol), and Benedict (who read all his comics—about 20 of them--in one sitting). Ate some pasta, and drank a few beers with Mark. We were seated at the comfy red couch, with the matching throw pillows, a nice enough spot to watch from and read comics at.

Mozzie (pronounced mot-zee) started playing 9:30-ish. I was pleasantly surprised that Pam Pastor can sing--and rock!--and that the band’s music is something that easily appealed to me. I followed many female-led bands and solo Lilith Fair folk-rockers back in the last decade, so I’m quite familiar with the sound. The band’s musical style reminds me a bit of ‘Til Tuesday, mixed with a bit of Luscious Jackson. But Mozzie’s able to pull off a range of popular songs and still sound unique.

Their covers of songs by Texas, Moonpools and Caterpillars, Alanis Morissette, KT Tunstall, Rachael Yamagata, and Edie Brickell, among other artists, were really good. I’m just as amazed by their original songs, like “Bolgia Six” and “Starf*cker,” which are unusually profound, lyrically. Pam and her bandmates will be releasing their album independently in a few months, and I can’t wait to hear more of their originals.

So maybe, that’s about ten to twelve songs. I hope they do at least two Tagalog tracks (you can’t go wrong with ‘em!), and maybe one cover, something from their sets. Oh, while I’m suggesting stuff, here’s my request list for future gigs: Luscious Jackson’s “Space Diva,” Vienna Teng’s “Shasta,” ‘Til Tuesday’s “Coming Up Close,” A Camp's "Bluest Eyes in Texas," and Dar Williams’ “What Do You Hear in These Sounds.” I’m really curious how they’d interpret them.

After the show, Pam sat down with us and gossiped a bit. She’s just as open and funny as she was on stage, where her revealing anecdotes about petroleum jelly, hypocrites, feminism and exes show just how adept she is at communicating, and telling stories. “I’m not a lesbian, at least not on Fridays,” she amusingly declared in a spiel prior to starting a Yamagata song. Heehee.

To Pam and the band, more power! I’ll buy your CD when it’s out.

Russ Rush

Thank you to Nicole of Solar for the Shooter preview. Watched it with John last Tuesday, and while waiting to enter, we ran into old friend Russell Tomas. We know him from way back; he had us help illustrate for a project back in the ‘90s. We spent many summer days working at his old Antipolo place. He’s a fun, friendly guy who always thought forward, and it now looks like he didn’t age at all from the time we were hanging out with him. He just started a new social networking site, and shared something about doing another new internet-related endeavor.

Anyway (okay, LNA comment, right about… now), he said that he was “surprised” that Lexy, Nance & Argus was “really good,” and that he even “read it four times.” Hey, I had to insert some plugging into this entry somehow, since it's been a while. But I’m thankful for that kind, gushing review, heh. He did ask me what I was currently doing, and if I was still drawing; told him I still do, from time to time. Okay, there’s my cue to mention my art blog.

Nice fella, that Russell. Glad to know that he’s still the way we remember him.

Hills Have Eyesores

Well, the sequel’s still gross and repulsive, but it’s not as sickening as the first The Hills Have Eyes, mostly because you already know what to expect. Spoilers on!

Some soldiers-in-training get picked off one by one by a community of mutant cannibals hidden in some nuclear bomb test site. It’s pretty by-the-numbers; you just wait and guess how grisly each of the good-looking cast members buys the farm. But surprisingly, it gets damn funny by the end, when the uber-freak, who cornered three outmatched and beat-up rookie soldiers in his hideout, gets his just desserts. One character is almost strangled to death, but she retaliates by going for the monster guy’s wounded head and pulls brain matter out with her hand. My friend and I were laughing hard, partly because you can’t help but mock it (the excessive gore was just… er, too much), and also because at that point, those last few scenes were indeed visceral and cathartic.

Hero High

Some comic books I read in the past few weeks:

New Avengers # 29- It’s really hard to like the Mighty Avengers team, because they’re now grade-A jerks. But I liked this issue, especially the part where Dr. Strange’s sanctum was entered by Iron Man and his stormtroopers, and their confrontation with Iron Fist’s lawyer. Nicely done.

Avengers- The Initiative # 1- Yay, Slott! New characters, underused Avengers members, and obscure Marvel characters in one ongoing book. The hero recruitment and training isn’t as simple as the winning side of the Civil War thought. I’m kinda expecting SHIELD-trained, professional heroes to bungle up a mission and create another Stamford in one of the stories one day.

Justice League of America # 7- Nice talky issue, but I believe there’s an error in the sequence of pages. The Roy-Hal talk should’ve segued to the Ollie-Hal page (starting with the “He’ll kill you” caption), but the gatefold pages and the ones near that became quite confusing.

Buffy # 1- Season 8! I’m fine with how they ended the TV series, but since Joss Whedon wanted to continue the story officially, I’m so there. Old friends and foes return! It's also been announced that Brian Vaughan will be doing future arcs. Woohoo! If only this came out weekly…

World War 3- (The last four comics titles listed here lent by Mark P.) Hmm, it was weird that Martian Manhunter took his sweet time to recover from mental trauma. And sadly, his inner monologue-narration throughout the miniseries felt quite dull. The 52 spinoff just showed an extended view of Black Adam’s rampage, and it ended so suddenly and rather weakly.

Omega Men- I kinda like this, mostly because the characters had a fight scene in Manila, specifically the Quiapo area, if I'm not mistaken. Vril Dox briefly speaks Tagalog (but his words are bracketed, not really written in the vernacular). Too bad that's the most I can remember from it. I can’t remember the Omega Men’s names right now.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters- This was a surprise. Didn't really know what to expect from the Palmiotti-Gray collaboration, but it’s actually smart and it reminds me a little of some Civil War subplots, which is cool. The characters were quite memorable, especially the new Ray.

Birds of Prey- The latest issue was great, as usual. Scandal versus Kendra? It’s pretty obvious that the ear-eating lez is more savage, pun intended, but the outcome is no less surprising. Gail Simone… please don’t leave.

Warriors Spree

It would have been great if I posed Thor properly. He kinda looks drunk in this pic. “Verily! Thor doth not handle several flagons of mead that well.”

Former Infatuation Junkies

Spent last night chatting, eating and drinking with Mark Parlade. Met him before, two years ago, at the Pinoy DC meet at Katips along with some of the Comic Brookers. But we didn’t speak with each other then. Last year, he texted me and I didn’t recognize which Mark it was at first, as most of the comic book guys referred to him as “Ike.” Turns out that he’s a Friendster friend (heheh) and meets up with the Comic Brook people from time to time, but couldn’t relate to the VS card games, like me, so he invited me to hang out with him.

We brought more than 15 comics each and met up at a Greenbelt restaurant. The guy treated me to a big serving of pasta with diced chicken that I couldn’t finish, as well as drinks called mojitos and mojichee (rum with fruits and soda?), which I enjoyed. Mmmm… yeah, they’re yummy, and made me feel a little hot and tingly shortly. Benedict joked later that I got roofied, heheh.

I discovered that Mark’s a friend of some of my friends from the paper for quite some time already, as the firm he works for handles some entertainment-centric accounts. We talked about work, comics, relatives, music, the “My Humps” parody and so on; it was kinda weird but cool to discover that there are a bunch of things I have in common with him (we studied in related schools and knew certain people; we like Alanis’ second album; we agreed that the latest Titans issue resorted to a familiar cliffhanger again, etc.). But the guy is different in many ways, as he’s a very outgoing person, a family guy and dad to the adorable Snow Pop/Noah, among other things. And he wears lense-less eyeglasses that, he admitted, have always been a conversation piece.

We walked to Greenbelt 1, where he was parked, about three and a half hours later. At the restroom upstairs, I brushed my teeth and didn’t quickly notice that a colleague, Jojo Panaligan, who writes for another paper’s entertainment section, was standing nearby. He liked what I did with my hair (I colored it brown), and briefly told me about his plans for the future before leaving for somewhere else. Outside, Mark didn’t recognize him as he walked away, but he remembers contacting him once for some old event. Yep, this guy’s practically met everyone by now. Oh, he did mention inviting old friends Gerry and Whilce Portacio for an interview that aired in channel 7 way back when.

Well, he’s recommending that I go soon to Boracay, his “spiritual home,” where he recently spent the Holy Week holidays (and got harassed in different ways, haha). Told him that I will visit, some day, just to see and experience the place for myself. The self-confessed Mozzie groupie also wants to hang out one of these days to watch Pam Pastor’s band perform. As we pretty much have the same taste in music, I’m gonna have to check them out. Pam’s been inviting me to the gigs but I have yet to see them play (sorry, miz editor!), because my sched’s often conflicted with their show dates. But now that Mark got me curious, will have to find time to watch ‘em, now.

Swell Saturday. Thanks Mark! That was different. The Mojitos made me feel a little buzzed after, which is probably the thing that was missing from my recent work-free, self-imposed holidays. I want some more.

Life Ever-lusting

Ziggy Starchilde

Two weeks back, I was able to interview Ziggy Marley, who was in the country to headline the MTV Reggae Fest that same day, as well as to promote his second CD, the indie album “Love Is My Religion.” That is one cool dude. I especially like what he said about that catchy title track: “That is the message that I’m inspired to tell the people, that it is love, and not the ideologies that we have today that must be the way to God, to spirituality, and to peace and happiness for the human race.”

In Heaven, Love Comes First

Here are some lines from a few songs that touch on faith, worship, or doubt. There are different messages, and while some of them don’t necessarily or directly talk about religion or spirituality per se, these lyrics have made me think about them.

“I drive by the homeless sleeping on the cold dark street, like bodies in an open grave, underneath the broken old neon sign that used to read ‘Jesus Saves’.”
Poison, “Something to Believe In”

“If there’s anything good that happens in life, it’s from Jesus.”
Amy Grant, “Hope Set High”

“Father, if Jesus exists, then how come he never lived here?”
Sting, “All This Time”

“There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us, and it’s a void only He can fill.”
Plumb, “God-Shaped Hole”

“If God had a face, what would it look like? And would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints, and all the prophets?”
Joan Osborne, “One of Us”

“A teardrop falls from up in the heavens, drowning the sorrow of angels on high, for the least of the helpless, the hopeless, the loveless. Your Jesus, His children, He holds in His arms.”
Jars of Clay, “He”

“Our Lord loves the sinners as long as he don’t sin. He knows the thoughts you’re thinking; He knows with whom you’ve been. And our Lord loves this country. He’s with you at the polls; He knows the lever that you pull.”
Jill Sobule, “Soldiers of Christ”

“We sit outside and argue all night long about a god we’ve never seen but never fails to side with me.”
Primitive Radio Gods, “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth…”

“Think of gentle Jesus. Think of the Buddha underneath his tree. They taught the world about love and how we all can be, how we can all be free. Open our hearts and see love shine.”
Live, “Love Shines”

“Touch the fingers of my hand and tell me that it’s me. Holding on and on to Love, what else is real? A religion that appeals to me: I believe in me.”
K’s Choice, “Believe”

Easter Edge

Everyone knows by now that Captain America’s dead. It’s a big deal for some readers, yes, as he was assassinated not long after his surprise surrender, which ended the superhero Civil War. But no, this isn’t the first time that he was killed. In fact, these superheroes are like your old mythological beings or religious messiahs, in that they have sacrificed their lives, sometimes for the sake of many. But again, death is not the end, and they can’t seem to enjoy eternal rest, long enough, either. Like Osiris, Jesus, and even King Arthur (whose legend foretells his eventual return), your average superhero has at least died once (maybe twice!) and has lived anew, with a renewed sense of purpose. In universes like DC and Marvel, there are Lazarus Pits, cosmic entities, and Hand ninja rituals that don’t let the dearly departed corpses to stay that way for long. Well, here are some formerly deceased characters I can remember right now (apart from Dead Girl, Resurrection Man, and Mister Immortal, because that’s actually their shtick).

Captain America was killed before, first by godlike Michael Korvac, along with members of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Later, he was killed, along with 20 other Marvel heroes, in Secret Wars I by Dr. Doom. Fellow Avenger Hawkeye has died three times (SW I, "Disassembled," House of M), as did Wasp (twice in SW I, and later in battle with the Legion of the Unliving in 1987). The thunder god Thor isn’t unkillable either (SW I, Legion of the Unliving, Ragnarok, etc.), but has returned accordingly. Adam Warlock, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Thing and the Silver Surfer have perished in action as well, but they always came back.

The Justice League--Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern—were brutally killed, then impaled, by Atlantis' League of Ancients, several centuries in the past. Those were Superman and Wonder Woman’s second deaths (not sure how Diana previously died, but she ascended to godhood after that, while Superman sacrificed his life to defeat Doomsday). Green Arrow, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Troia and Hal Jordan bit the dust in separate occasions, but were revived later.

The X-Men (Storm, Wolverine, Dazzler, Havok, Colossus, Psylocke, Longshot and Rogue) were magically sacrificed by Forge to defeat the Adversary, but were soon restored by the goddess Roma. It’s actually hard to keep track of Wolverine’s mortality. But Colossus? Aside from the Forge thing, there’s Secret Wars I and his Legacy Virus cure suicide/sacrifice. Jean Grey also died twice (both in Grant Morrison’s run), just like Cyclops (SW I and Infinity Gauntlet). The New Mutants were murdered and erased from existence by the Beyonder during Secret Wars II. Northstar was back in fighting form, also, not long after his demise at Wolverine's hands.

In the Whedon-verse, Buffy died twice and walked the earth again, while her vampire ex-beaus Angel and Spike experienced post-undead deaths. It looks like they didn’t survive the Angel finale, either.

Meanwhile, Ripley from the Alien movies was resurrected after her fiery “kamikaze” sacrifice, but was back in tiptop shape in the forth installment. Reviving her wasn’t easy, however, as there were many failed attempts to clone her perfectly.

Many followers of these fantasy exploits have become jaded, and might complain that some of these heroic departures are cheap ploys, were poorly executed, or just insignificant. And let’s not get started on the villains, whose real power or talent seems to be the ability to rise periodically from the grave. It feels pointless and meaningless, sometimes, and not all of the explanations suffice or are convincing.

But many have accepted that for certain heroes, some of them mentioned above, their sagas don’t have to end in death, and conquering that state of finality may lead to more interesting, recharged stories about previously unseen earthly struggles. I suppose part of the resurrected hero’s mystique is that he’s seen and experienced one of the ultimate mysteries, and seeing unusual beings with “cat’s lives” get these second or third chances probably appeals to many of us mere, escapist mortals easily.

Knew That It Was Now or Never

Glenn tagged me with this music meme, so here goes:

“If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

So here’s how it works.

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)

2. Put it on shuffle.

3. Press play.

4. For every question, type the song that’s playing.

5. When you go to the next question, press the next button.

6. Don’t lie and pretend you’re cool.

7. When you’re finished, tag some other people to do it!”

Opening credits?

Soraya, “Love in Your Eyes”- Wow. This is mellow, but kinda fitting.

Waking up?

Jeff Buckley, “Last Goodbye”- Hmm. It’s a great song, so it still works. The lyrical content’s a mite bittersweet for that part of the day, though.

First Day of School?

Nine Days, “If I Am”- Hah, how Dawson’s Creek-y. “So you’re standing on the ledge/ It looks like you might fall!”

Falling in love?

Dream Academy, “Life in a Northern Town”- It isn’t a love song, but sure, it’s breezy and anthemic enough that it can accompany sweet and sappy imagery.

First song?

Lightning Seeds, “Tingle Tangle”- “A tingle when you first look in those eyes/ leads to a tangle that hurts the more you try.” Kinda heavy for a first song, but, well…

Breaking up?

Innocence Mission, “Bright as Yellow”- And yet another song that contradicts the question. It’s optimistic, actually: “Even if I’m shattered…”

Prom?

Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”- Oh, yeah. Now this is more like it. “The light, the heat/ I am complete.” It’s the part of the movie where there’s smooching and implied nakedness.

Life?

Hall and Oates, “So Close”- Uhm, “life”? That’s too broad a period. Anyway, “Living so close/ so close, but so far away” is a line from the song that fits that part aptly.

Mental breakdown?

Belly, “Feed the Tree”- Geez, “mental breakdown”?! But anyway, the song rocks, and is mighty cathartic, too. It has bite.

Driving?

U2, “Ultraviolet”- Love this song. Actually, any upbeat U2 song does the job. You feel like you own the road with Bono and the gang playing loudly in the background.

Flashback?

Escape Club, “I’ll Be There”- It’s a touching song about a person who just died, right? Maybe the flashback has something that pertains to loss, so I guess the metaphor can be appropriate.

Getting back together?

Sheryl Crow, “The First Cut is the Deepest”- That’s nice. It speaks of heartbreak and loving again, so “Baby I’ll try to love again but I know” sounds meaningful.

Wedding?

Smithereens, “Blue Period”- Now this is a little baffling. Well, the meme is supposed to generate unexpected answers, anyway. But again, let’s see. It’s a regret-filled breakup song, so maybe this is one of those indie, arty- farty movies where the music contradicts the visuals. Which, yeah, sometimes works.

Birth of a child?

Madonna, “Dear Jessie”- Okay, this one fits perfectly. This unusual Madonna song is playful and has lyrics that could fit in an illustrated book for kids. “Sugarplum fingertips/ kissing your honey lips/ Close your eyes sleepyhead/ is it time for your bed?”

Final battle?

Eve 6, “Here’s to the Night”- Wow, my life is an epic. Yeah, right. Well, this song fits the scene, if only for the lines “Are you the now or never kind?” and “Here’s to goodbye, tomorrow’s gonna come too soon.”

Death scene?

Cardigans, “You’re the Storm”- Well, I dunno how dramatic that scene will be, but maybe it’ll fade to black just at the exact moment of my expiration, to be followed by the song’s ending line, “And if you want me, I’m your country.”

Funeral song?

Heather Nova, “Doubled Up”- Oh, oh, this is strangely apropos. It’s beautiful. “Look at the sky/ Lift off like an aeroplane, yeah/ Watch the ground come up to meet you/ Big sky above me/ a river inside me/ and I’m doubled up in love.”

End credits?

Rod Stewart, “Downtown Train”- Well, that’s the only Rod Stewart song I like. Okay, that and “Forever Young.”

Alrighty! Sky, Pam, Mark G, Gibbs, Max, and Jac, tag, you’re it! If you haven’t done this before, that is. But tag yourselves, dear people, if you wanna do it. Kill some time.

Follow the Day

It’s been a typically busy week so I’m relaxing by catching up on some shows, as usual.

Mars Attack

Season two of Veronica Mars wasn’t as consistently entertaining as the first, but it’s still smart and endearing. A few season-long mysteries get resolved satisfyingly. I was shocked when long-forgotten arcs from the first season resurfaced and tied well to the heart-wrenching season ender. Some important characters have been written off the show, so it pretty much re-sets some relationship angles. I hope Veronica’s friend, the problem-solving techie Mac (Tina Majorino), becomes a regular cast member in the next season. Wow, they’re in college in the show’s third year. I wonder how different Veronica’s cases will be, and how her detective skills will be honed this time.

Basta, Veronica and Duncan forever.

Musings on Lyrics

I was able to catch the hilarious VH-1 special 40 Most Awesomely Bad Love Songs last week over at MTV. It had a few comedians commenting on some of the lyrical content of old and recent love songs, most of which have become hits in the US. The countdown list was a mix of guilty pleasures and those that fall under the “so bad, they’re good” category of songs, and it was interesting to hear what the comics had to say about the meaning or packaging of certain sappy ones.

Pleasant-sounding ballads like Oleta Adams’ “Get Here” weren’t spared. The commenters singled out that the lines “you can reach me by caravan/ cross the desert like an Arab man,” saying that it’s “racial profiling” in a song, and that it went too far by suggesting that the guy Oleta pertained to should “windsurf into my life.” Also mocked was The Jets’ “You Got It All,” as it’s a song that, according to the commentary, kept comparing the current boyfriend with the ex, among other things. Steve Perry’s popular “Oh Sherrie” was included, and some comedians wondered why the singer was yelling his lyrics (“You should’ve been gone!”). Other songs that made it were by boy bands, hair bands, and some ‘80s and ‘90s pop chart fixtures.

Super Jock Itch

I gave up on this show long ago, but I just had to see the “Justice” episode of Smallville. Clark “Boy Scout” Kent and Chloe “Watchtower” Sullivan team up with righteous pals Green Arrow, Aquaman, Impulse and Cyborg. Quite campy but fun. They got the guest actors who previously appeared as the characters, so there’s a cleft chin overload. I dunno if a live-action Justice League series in the works (I doubt it), but it was nice to see some of DC’s superheroes gather for an episode, even if they have a clichéd scene where they’re shown walking away, calmly, from an exploding building. Gawd.

Lost in Your Isles

I’ve seen about eight episodes of the first season of Lost. I dunno. It’s okay, but It’s not that exciting yet for me. I like that it has neat twists when it comes to the many characters’ back stories, though. I’m familiar with Matthew Fox, who played Charlie Salinger from the depressing but watchable ‘90s drama Party of Five. There’s also Dominic Monaghan, of course, an ex-Hobbit sidekick, and the actress who played the blonde villain girl from Roswell, whose name escapes me at the moment. It’s a nicely cast group of castaways and all, but I do hope that the story speeds up. I hope the truth behind the mysteries gets revealed before I lose interest, and that there’s a rewarding payoff after all this buildup. Maybe I’m just getting really impatient, but so far, the building-society-from-scratch thing isn’t bowling me over.

You Can Call Her Anything You Like…

…but her name is Veronica Mars. That’s a riff on a line off of Elvis Costello’s “Veronica” (‘cause I can’t think of any other appropriate song with the name Veronica in it). Veronica and Logan are in costume for an '80s-themed party in the pic above, so no, they don't normally dress that way.

I just finished watching the first season, and I must say that I’m really digging this show right now. It’s kind of filling the void that Buffy and then Alias left, in that the title character’s an independent, intrepid young woman, but it doesn’t have the fantastical, end-of-the-world elements that those two previous shows smartly cultivated. Its contemporary high school setting allows for resonant and realistic storylines, with a Nancy Drew-ish twist. So yeah, it’s also world-shaking, but on a different level altogether.

Spunky and resourceful Miss Mars (Kristen Bell), 17-year-old assistant to her private investigator dad, takes on cases big and small, from proving the innocence of the wrongly accused, to solving secret admirers’ identities. Each of her cases has interesting personal repercussions, and re-acquaints her, and consequently, her viewers, with the good, bad and fugly characters from school and beyond. Veronica can be equally lost as the people she helps at certain times, but her persistence at getting the truth often get her incontestably good results. She’s become an unsung hero to some, and a socially unacceptable weirdo to others. She’s been called names and bad-mouthed, picked on by the cool kids, and so on, but she knows how to retaliate.

I can relate to her because she’s the inquisitive outsider, and the show reminds me that I didn’t really fit with the cliques back then. I wish though, that I was just as skilled in wisecracking retorts all those years ago. That’s how affecting the series has been for me; it brings you back to the times when you wish you were wise and had the snappy comeback for the jerk classmate or some snarkass teachers. For those who sometimes wish they could go back to school and do things differently, they’ll find the show quite appealing, escapist, and even cathartic.

Veronica is that special character, that cleverly written girl who only wishes that things were normal, but she doesn’t stand idly by when things get crazy. She gets to the bottom of things, peer acceptance be damned.