A mélange of interests

There are times when my schedule is a puzzle to me. I encounter phases when I’m so busy I want to cry in infuriation and then there are periods that I’m so free I want to cry in boredom. Admittedly, while tears are just a figure of speech it does convey the fact that my life as of late has no real iron-clad structure to it. No bona fide daily routines, no 9-5 obligations. Sometimes the lack of framework is disturbing as I don’t have any regularity to focus on; but, in the end, I must say I wouldn’t trade the uncertainty of my day-to-day life for anything in the world. As I see it, this type of free-form living (like free-form poetry) is the perfect existence for someone like me.

The freedom in my schedule allows me the great joy of being able to indulge in my interests. Whether it be my intense love of extreme sports, my passion for visual arts and painting, my addiction to theater, my inclination towards music, or basically just my zeal for anything interesting and unique, my flexible timetable more or less allows me to pursue whatever I’d like even if that means something as simple as catching a movie in the middle of the afternoon. All of this and being able to do what I love most in the world – writing! As the song in Oliver goes "It’s a fine, fine life!"

Case in point: These past few weeks, though I’ve been sadly imprisoned in the city, have been filled with the most interesting hodgepodge of delights and the weeks coming are promising to be just as stimulating (additionally, I’ve promised myself I’d get out of Manila as soon as humanly possible).

Music To My Ears

Music has always been part of my life. From my first love, Tchaikovsky’s Peter and the Wolf (which catapulted me into learning how to play the oboe), to my current enjoyment of classical, Broadway, and world music (Latin, bossa nova, and lounge) whenever I need to "soothe the savage beast" within or while away some free time, I pop in a CD player whatever music matches my mood. These past couple of days, two new CDs I bought have been getting their share of playtime on my battered machine.

The first is the album "Mohicans." Admittedly, I’m rather behind on this one as it was released a couple of months ago. Produced by Fabrizio Baldoni, Pablo Re, and Gino Stefani the compilation is the product of their immersion in the Native American Indian culture. The beautiful synthesis of melodies is of particular significance to me as I spent a lot of time with the Cheyenne, Navajo, and Ute Indians in my hometown of Colorado. As a matter of fact, my Cheyenne penpal used to call me Emasetsêstahe, which basically means "friendly" in Cheyenne.

Mohicans is a beautiful fusion of Native American music with some classical and pop mixes and a signature Celtic ring. Listening to this at top volume with your eyes closed makes for great meditation. From the uplifting tune of its carrier, A New Day, to the haunting melodies of Dancing in Your Soul and World Inside My Heart the enigmatic beat of Beautiful Waves in the Sky is described by the appropriate words "They never stop… It’s constant movement everywhere. If my thoughts were the sky they would kiss the moon."

The second disc I bought was the debut album of 28-year-old Croatian pianist Maksim Mrvica aptly entitled "The Piano Player." Words can barely describe how I feel about this music. It is techno meets Tchaikovsky, a collection where pop and classical collide. And the enigmatic performer himself is a living contradiction. An award-winning classically trained musician, Maksim looks more like another Gavin Rossdale than a budding Mozart. His music, however, remains classical-based. The dynamic musician produces an original look at conventional greats that break through all existing piano norms. Tracks like Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Flight of the Bumblebee and Handel’s Sarabande are given a modern and inventive twist.

Pass The Popcorn

As the beauty of the music faded into contented silence (and I decided I needed to give my player some time to breathe) I drove myself to Greenbelt for another form of entertainment. Cinemanila opened a few weeks ago and I looked forward to catching the exciting roster of films. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and prior commitments I was only able to catch five of the featured pictures — City of God, Edi, Whale Rider, Rito Terminal, and Waiting for Happiness.

These five movies are a great mixture of different cultural genres. Poland’s Edi and New Zealand’s Whale Rider are awe-inspiring films about the resilience of the human spirit and of people’s ability to continue on even in times of great sorrow. Mexico’s Rito Terminal, on the other hand, is a dark and mysterious look into the superstitious beliefs of Mexican witchcraft. Mauritania’s Waiting for Happiness falls into a sort of purgatory film genre and is a fascinating look at reflective moods of different types of people waiting for their time of happiness. And lastly, the acclaimed City of God needs no further accolades. An intense film about living in the notorious slums of Rio de Janeiro, this bloody work of art follows the life of a man whose ambition for photography provides a look into the land where angels fear to tread. An intense cinematic experience so touching that as the credits rolled people in the theater actually applauded.

I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for an extension of Cinemanila. In the meantime, I’m eager to see Quark Henares’ new film Keka.

An Artistic Fix

Last week, a friend told me about a current exhibit being showcased in the Chinese Heritage Center at Intramuros. The exhibit was a display of famous Chinese woodprints of the 20th century. So, in between films and music and despite the rain, I managed to get myself down to Intramuros to check out the different works of art.

The woodprints, displayed in the lobby, are a testament to an ancient form of Chinese art. Woodblock prints are over 2,000 years old and date back to the first Tang Dynasty. The prints showcased now are from more recent years but I still had to marvel at the unique attentiveness to detail and the beautiful kaleidoscope of images. Some of my favorites were "Landscape" by Chen Qi, "Facism in the Magnifying Glass" by Zhao Yannian and "Crescent" by Zhang Baibo. It’s absolutely free and incredibly remarkable. The exhibit runs until the end of the month.

Home At Last

Finally, during a brief respite from the continuous rain and with my artistic itchings satisfied I made my way home. The moon smiled over me with a small red Mars clearly visible underneath (be sure to catch it before the end of the month!). And again, despite being left in Manila while my other more road-trip happy friends ventured off to Anilao, Baguio, Cebu, and Sagada, I was happy I had managed to find ways to entertain myself. And with the promise of an out-of-town trek in the works, I climbed into bed and indulged in Gaiman’s latest work "Wolves in the Walls" as I drifted off into restful sleep and enchanting dreams.