Adam David's The El Bimbo Variations

Ang Huling El Bimbo unarguably is Eraserheads' most popular heartbroken song. It is the anthem of a generation, the nostalgic Pinoy Gen X and Gen Y (Basti Artadi practically described them as teenyboppers) demographic. It's easy to see that Adam David belonged in that group and using Queneau and le Lionnais' Oulipo system as his weapon-of-choice, the author here executed a well-planned literary "heist" and ran away unscathed making us readers asking out for more deconstruction+reform, and more fun. I am actually asking  for a Shake Yer Head Variations as a sequel. I think it's more fun.

The rule of the game looks simple: focus on the first line "Kamukha mo si Paraluman, nung tayo ay bata pa" then deconstruct/revise/reform it using Oulipian constraints while anchored within the 90's Pinoy context to create a new piece of literature. Try it and you'll realize it's not so easy as it seems. At this instant I can only create a "Bullied & Spiteful Version" of it, in my own childhood context. It's far from being heartbroken literally: "Kamukha mo si Buaya, nung tayo ay bata pa..."

My most favorite constraints here are Dalit (for obvious reasons), Ad Copy, Spoonerisms, and Limerick. The end notes I think is the best and most important part of the book especially for readers with weak or zero literary background like me. I would have rated this book lower if there is no end note. Reading this without an end note is like a Martian trying to appreciate an abstract art by Henri Matisse. Adam David describes the Oulipian technique of writing constraints as a marriage of mathematics and literature. The product of that technique is this book. And since the author promotes it freely from its first public release in 2005, you can download a copy here thanks to Cloudup.

Category: Poetry
Rating: 3.5 cuts of Goat Placenta soap

GHOST IN THE WIRES by Kevin Mitnick

To a lot of people, understanding the motivation of America's most wanted hacker is always outweighed with a bucketful of doubt. Given the events that took place way before Windows 95, years before MS Office became a household name, my understanding of Kevin Mitnick's motivation is as simple as what he claims---he did it because he could and to maintain at the top of his game within the community earning the respect of his peers. He did it not really to earn but to learn more about the craft, given his childhood fascination with magic tricks and his gift of gab--talking his way out of troubles.

These days, a professional hacker is highly motivated---financially, and knowing a piece of their history is every technology consumer's first defense. In this age of the selfie and global selfishness (how ironic is that, for the I-me-myself gadget addict?) reading this book is your first defense.

This story of a phone phreaker transforming into a black hat and eventually, luckily as a white hat is very entertaining and insightful. I would consider Mr Mitnick a very lucky man for being advanced in his time in using computer and modern technology and for being skillful with social engineering. Being advanced is a singular trait of a lot of savants in technology and I can still remember the Filipino programmer who wrote the notorious "I Love You" virus and walked away from it because that time the law against coding and proliferation of a computer virus does not exist in the Philippine Constitution.  

Mitnick's insider views and exploits of the bureaucratic processes to hide his identity and land a job after another across cities before finally being caught by the FBI is highly detailed. From breaking the security codes of Nokia, to accessing the NEC servers, and using the USC servers as a storage locker, up to befriending Steve Wozniak the co-founder of Apple and meeting one of his fans the uber-geek filmmaker J.J. Abrams in the days of his captivity, watching him win, struggle, and transform with his obsession is very insightful indeed. 

An excerpt of the author's bio:

Kevin Mitnick, the world's most famous (former) hacker, is now a security consultant. He has been the subject of countless news and magazine articles and has appeared  on numerous television and radio programs offering expert commentary on information security. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and written for Harvard Business Review. Mitnick is the author, with William L. Simon, of the bestselling books The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

  

Genre: Science & Technology, History, Autobiography

Rating: 4 iterations of Purdy Polynomial

Dont Be Scared, I Wont F¤¢# You Anyway

The subtle sarcasm may be seen in that title of a fictional, twisted love song but SUPER PANALO SOUNDS! by Lourd De Veyra still reminds me more of Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool Aid Acid Test and the film Almost Famous (with ultra hot Kate Hudson as the lead groupie chick) since as soon as you begin to enjoy the rise of the greatest postmodern pinoy rock combo, you will be doused with an ice cold beer to realize that the end also, has just begun. Typical ending for a good story that would have best represented a rock n roll generation if only this book were published in the 90's.

But this central theme will probably make De Veyra's novel a distinctive one given that first; I cannot remember a great Filipino novel that centers on the life and death of a rock n' roll band and second; the obvious warning of taking the high road tells us that it's also not that different from taking the low road.

More like a period novel/historical fiction than just a cautionary tale, I can also remember Barriotic Punk by Mes De Guzman but the carrier story in that book tells us more about a group of die hard punks in the 80's as mere followers of the movement (since they can hardly be considered as artists) and not as frontliners themselves in De Veyra's story. In short, the kids of Barriotic Punk belonged to the mosh pit while the kids of Super Panalo Sounds! belonged to the stage.

The punk-jazz combo of Vic, Milo, Dax, Budik, and Zorro may never be that different from other bands but if you're a music collector, you should be on the lookout for their one and only missing album, courtesy of a man mysteriously named Malcolm. The catch is, everything exists only in the fictional world. Except for Pepe Smith himself.

Extra Joss: This book officially contains 162 pages and I tried counting the number of 'fu€k' words and its derivatives. My tally is 86. It doesn't mean anything for sure but if my count is wrong, somebody let me know.



Rating: 4 grams of "harina" out of 5
Genre: Postmodern, Filipino Novel, Music, Rock n' Roll

The Gospel of Art According to Mr Vonnegut

Source

Alan Navarra's DUMOT

Shepherds, farmers, fishermen, and other members of the self-employed profession have the best reason to be happy. They don't need to deal with an Evil Boss. They don't need to hold that anger or contain that aggression against this evil puppeteer and manipulative hog who remains a constant source of pain in the urban, corporate world.

This book by Alan Navarra is about anger and hate. I bought this one on the eve of TRESE 4's launching as a companion read to that good comic book. Another reason is the title---it caught my attention because I know what the word means due to my West Visayan roots.

Though the main character's (Michael Perez) vindictiveness against his superior is a natural reaction, me as a reader feel no sympathy nor allegiance to this corporate worker who shares the same "hole" with the boss. Considering that Michael can easily puke at the mere sight of his superior (nandidiri), I think that it's stupid to bang your boss's wife. Wala syang pinagkaiba sa boss nya.

No matter how funny and clever the writer's choice of cuss/curse words and phrases and no matter how experimental and postmodern the writer's technique here, he who paints his character as an eternal victim that whined every second and badmouths everything, unknowingly paints Michael Perez as the character who failed to differentiate the pussy from the weiner and also metaphorically becoming both. It's like an attempt to spit on God's face and realizing that your spit fell back flatly in your own face, special thanks to gravity.

By the way, I think the "crab mentality mindset" is a redundant term. Redundant as a "crisis situation scenario" or "difficult dilemma." But I'm not an English teacher nor a communications expert, I'm just a common, pedestrian reader who just inserted his 200 pesos worth of money to the writer's pocket. Once again, just a reader.

Luckily, this Visayan reader appreciates a good art when he sees one. Alan Navarra's style (ala Robert Crumb) of organic art  transmuting into different forms and symbols of Michael's own version of the alphabet as they complement acronyms of the shitty business and corporate terms became a redeeming point. Design saved the day for Navarra, prompting me to give his book a passing mark. This one is a very angry design book and it's better to view it more as a design book than as a book of complaints but at least, the aggression here is entertaining.

I'm sure Alan Navarra knows another Hiligaynon term like YAWA and if he attempts to write a book about it, I will surely look forward to read it.

ART SAVES THE AUTHOR

Genre: Postmodernist Literature, Visual Book, Mature Reading
Rating: 3 enchantments of YAWA out of 5

Rare Catch This Year

After reading a revolutionary essay about Society & Science on Adbuster Magazine (the magazine for culture jammers) I've been looking for this book for many years. Now, the long wait is over. Just got a copy this evening @ Powerbooks - Alabang Town Center.

It's not a comic book.
It's a Science Fantasy novel completely different from mainstream Sci Fi. Many consider this as the Book of Fables.

Design Faults of Human Nature

This collection of short stories published in 2005 by Penguin marks the 70th anniversary of Pocket Penguin line of books---"intelligent books at low price" as the founder Allen Lane described it. This book by Will Self (Penguin sees him as the bad boy of English literature) is one of the 70 books highlighting the best of the short story genre since 1935.

The compilation itself is composed of two independent stories but tackles the same theme or topic. Though initial phase of reading wont show it, you have to finish the whole book first but don't worry, the book is just 55 pages in total. The first story (the title carrier of the book) is titled "Design Faults in the Volvo 760 Turbo: A Manual" and the second is titled "A Story of Europe."

Both stories are complete on their own and the plots are well-executed, hinting some snippets of postmodern technique in literature. Present day readers will surely find this book relevant since it showcases the present sport in the popular media---"snogging," as the first story's main character Bill Bywater proudly calls it. Adulterous activities depicted were highlighted by Will Self's usage of industrial/political puns and erotic  word plays like "Park up a Volvo--and grab a vulva," "Serena used to be an 'it' girl--now she's 'that' woman," and "A socialite - she went to a finishing school in Switzerland where they taught her to fellate." What's not to like? You can ask Cornholio for he's the only one who knows how to properly use the TP!

The second story is an interesting depiction on how nature defeats man through age, and how the youthful stage is the best stage in life. I thought I saw magic, but later I could only sense minute traces of surrealism and now it's better to identify them wholly as pure irony and sarcasm instead. Maybe, there really is no magic in this book, only basic techniques of postmodern narrative but you cannot blame the author, not even human nature for we are all designed with unavoidable faults.


Genre: Postmodern Fiction, Short Fiction
Rating: 3 cathartic orgasms out of 5