The A-Team’s A-List

On the occasion of the Mall of Asia Arena’s first anniversary, the Arena team rolled out its newest “baby!” This was the Arena’s A-List Lounge, and the membership card that qualifies particular personages to avail of the lounge and the benefits that accrue to the card. Naturally, the event was held at the Lounge that occupies a section of the Arena facing Diokno Avenue, with free-flowing drinks and appetizers ready to whet the appetites of the various personalities from diverse “arenas” who had been lucky to witness the launch. These “arenas” included the corporate world, politics, the diplomatic service, show business and media. In the words of the Arena team, this was one of the steps being taken to realize the words of SM’s patriarch, Henry Sy Sr., to place the “world-class Filipino in an international setting.”

After all, since it opened its doors a year ago, the Arena has hosted a variety of topnotch entertainment events of international flavor — from Cirque du Soleil to concerts of grizzled rock acts like Aerosmith to the current music of bands such as Keane, and late nights of pumping DJ music courtesy of The Swedish House Mafia’s Farewell Tour Manila stop. Fashion shows by Filipino designers who have carved enviable reputations abroad have also been held at the Arena. And don’t look now, but come October, the very first pre-season NBA game to be held in Manila as part of the NBA’s commitment to intensify its global reach will be held at the Arena. It’s a pre-season game between the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers. With ongoing talks of Dwight Howard’s possible move to Houston, that would only mean more exciting prospects of watching up close such players as James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Paul George.

Arena’s PR and social manager Stephanie Henares was eager to relay what the card membership would mean. “Limited to a certain number of people in order to maintain its exclusivity, the benefits of the membership includes complimentary use of the lounge during Arena events, or for private functions. And there are consumable amounts that card members can use around the MOA Arena and its affiliates. There are plans afoot to extend the range of benefits and these will be revealed in due time.” With the NBA game looming on the horizon, all my sons wanted to know was whether the card would mean they could meet the likes of Harden, Lin and George.

Given the limited numbers of private boxes at the Arena, I would surmise that this was one way Arena management was reaching out to worthy individuals to “feel at home” at their venue; and a worthy move it is!

Deadly mind games

The three novels today play subtle mind games with us, the readers, and put their characters in less subtle “games,” with deadly consequences. What’s interesting to note are the different approaches each author employs to “let the games begin.” Brookmyre has humor and sarcasm, while Pyper is more traditional creepy Gothic. On the other hand, Benedict has a steeped in academe, murder mystery.

Bedlam by Christopher Brookmyre (available on Amazon UK) Having established his “street credentials” with detective novels that deftly mixed humor and social commentary, Brookmyre now turns to science fiction with his breezy sarcasm intact. Taking on the world of video games, Ross Baker submits to a scan at Neurosphere, and ends up trapped inside a game he used to play as a child. With no seeming chance to escape, he’s forced to traverse between different games to seek a remedy to his plight. Yes, this may be old territory, a premise we’ve seen in treatments ranging back to Tron and Ready Player One; but Brookmyre does give it a new twist, as the novel is very character-driven, filled with angst and longing, while still providing thrills.

The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper (available at Fully Booked) Put a manic-depressive New York college professor in a situation where his marriage is unraveling, and he’s especially attached to his seemingly morose and distracted daughter, and have a strange woman come to his office and offer him a trip to Venice. Premise for the invite would be the fact that the professor specializes in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and you have the hint of what demonic forces are lying underneath this novel of discovery and reconnection. What is gripping is how Pyper weaves horror out of the humdrum and everyday, while combining insightful psychodrama in this story that’s best read in broad daylight. Creepy and disturbing!

The Beauty of Murder by AK Benedict (available on Amazon UK) An ambitious first novel that’s set in my alma mater, the University of Cambridge, Benedict isn’t content to just give us a serial murder mystery and police procedural. She tosses in a time travel premise, and gives us a conspiracy-obsessed villain who waxes rhapsodic about the aesthetics of the perfect murder and death. The novel opens with a uni-lecturer stumbling upon the corpse of a local beauty queen who disappeared a year ago, and upon alerting the police, returns to the scene of discovery to find the body has vanished. What follows with dizzying speed are chapters that follow our plucky lecturer, and those that have our tragic female investigator as the focus. An engrossing read!