Halloween 2010 Reading/Movie: Carrie

Forget about the diabolical clowns or creepy poltergeists. Get your popcorn, pizza and soda ready for the vintage movie from the book or the book that was made into a movie: Stephen King's Carrie.

Carrie is the ultimate pariah in the typical American highschool - withdrawn and insecure, she hides a secret power and a secret homelife and nurtures special dreams just like any other teenage girl.

When the high school hotties play a dirty trick on her, trampling on her hopes, Carrie unleashes her rage that turns a dream prom into a nightmare.

King at his early best!

Book Love: Ilustrado

I can hear the supercilious, syrupy singsong - mellifulous - lilt of the women from Manila; their Tagalog peppered with English or the other way around. The normalcy of pretense and the pronounced dysfunction in a family dinner where the protagonist guests is a total riot. The ubiquitous Filipino world-view (from my vantage point) of finding the right to be citizens of the world, finding passports from Goethe ("National literature no longer means much these days, we are entering an era of Weltliterature.") and being well-heeled and -traveled is palpable in each rich chapter of Miguel Syjuco's award winning novel Ilustrado.

The book is erudite, no doubt about it. There is a myriad of high-sounding words (get your dictionaries ready!) and intelligent jokes (deftly translated from the hysterical dialect to the equally hilarious English conversion) that lend to the true Ilustrado appeal and parody even. All in all, the book has its attraction on both the honesty and the self-depreciating quality Syjuco weaves his Filipino-universal Ilustrado story.

While it is wittily engaging, it is a modern-day exhortation of sorts for Filipinos to look at our culture straight in the eye and see it for what it is. You've got a good eye, Syjuco. Kudos! You have made this Filipino book lover proud!

Detox 1: Mindset

I've been reading about detoxifying tonight and from what I've gathered, the first two things are body and mind awareness and creating a mindset.

When one seeks out to detoxify, there is an awareness for the need. The need seeks to be met. How to meet it is another matter. It entails focus and discipline.

From Jane Alexander's "The Weekend Healer" she suggests tips on creating a holistic detox mindset:

"DETOX YOUR LIFE

This evening, write down how you could detox your life - rather than just your body. What is toxic in your life? Any people? Your work? Your home or the place where you live? What changes would ease your toxic load?"

To detox one needs to be willing and to prepare. Visualization of the steps to take is important.

1. Why detox?
2. When is the best time to start?
3. Baby steps or cold turkey?
4. What are the things you need to get (from the grocery, market, cabinet)?
5. What are the realistic and specific ways you can achieve the goal of detox?

It is well to remember that while gearing towards a healthy lifestyle is ideal, the possibility of backslide (binging on junk food or slacking off on the exercise) is real. Should this happen, it is better to be gentle on oneself (minimize self-criticism) while breathing in the life of discipline and perseverance, knowing even relapse is part of the journey.