BRAIN DRAIN

I stumbled upon Silversun Pickups by accident one afternoon while browsing through Yahoo! Music. It so happened that the video for their single Lazy Eye began to play on my laptop, and from the first few bars alone I was hooked.

Apparently, this Los Angeles-based indie band has been gaining quite a following. In truth, they remind me of the Smashing Pumpkins, but an altogether different kind of noisy. Whether more or less I haven’t quite decided, but I’m inclined towards less (that’s a compliment, by the way). Their first album, Carnavas, is well worth a listen, and at under $10 is a definite a steal on Amazon.com.

Economics can be such a humorless subject, what with endless graphs, dizzying equations, and more Greek letters than the average person knows what to do with. But it does have its moments. This is one of them, and anyone who’s ever taken an economics class will be able to relate all too well:

The speaker, Yoram Bauman, obtained his doctorate from and teaches at the University of Washington. As the title of his website indicates, he claims to be the world’s first and only “stand-up” economist (that is, he also does stand-up comedy).

One can only wonder what his classes are like.

(Thanks to Stephen for sending this my way.)

One is an ophthalmologist by training and a writer by circumstance, whose imagination spawned the world’s most famous detective and catapulted him forever into history. The other is a man of mixed heritage and humble means, an aloof lawyer that would find himself in the midst of a controversy that is by now long forgotten. That their lives intersect under truly unusual circumstances is a story just begging to be told, which is exactly what Julian Barnes does excellently in Arthur & George.

At its core is an unbelievably true story: Arthur & George depicts the events leading up to, and following, the Great Wyrley Outrages of the early 1900s. Solicitor George Edalji is convicted of a string of bizarre crimes involving the mutilation of local farm animals, despite the sheer improbabilty of his guilt. He serves part of his sentence, but is eventually exonerated after seeking help from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who goes on a crusade to prove Edalji’s innocence.

From the use of language in keeping with the period during which the events take place, to more subtle touches (for instance, the fact that the tale begins and end with a death has to be deliberate device), Julian Barnes proves himself a gifted scribe. There is an undeniably rhythmic quality to his prose that manages to draw the reader comfortably in. Yet it is this same artistry that also causes the storytelling to suffer in places. In writing what is for all intents and purposes a biography of the two title characters, there are times that the narrative would benefit from a more direct retelling of events. Further, because there is a lack of reference to source material save for a brief author’s note it is hard to shake the impression that Arthur & George is more embellishment than fact. Overlooking these excesses (if they can be called that), however, there is little doubt that Julian Barnes succeeds where most others would have failed: he takes a footnote in history and brings it to life with a flourish.

To read through Arthur & George, even knowing little more about it than the brief missives on its cover, is to delight in a story well told. It is a story of an era not too far removed from our own and from which there is still much to learn. It is a story of two men whose paths cross in the most improbable of ways. Most of all, it is a story of life imitating art: of the writer who has more in common with his characters than even he realizes, and the lawyer that has fallen victim to the very system he is sworn to serve.

I missed out on Paper Mario for the N64. Years later, after seeing the gaming goodness that was its GameCube sequel, Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door, I bought my brother a copy and spent many an envious night watching him play through one of the most amazing games I have ever seen. So when the third installment for the series was released for the Wii last April 9th, you can bet I was there at the Nintendo Store bright and early to pick up my copy of Super Paper Mario.

Oh yes.

Unless I’m mistaken, Paper Mario is the spiritual successor to the Nintendo-Square Enix (then Squaresoft) SNES RPG collaboration Mario and the Seven Stars. Unlike other Mario franchises, this one endeared itself to gamers with its unique rendition of the iconic character as an unabashedly 2-D cookie-cutter paper figure that players can fold, roll up and reshape to their hearts’ content. More, the series is also noted for providing stories that are as convoluted as they are engaging and hilarious, a match made in video game heaven.

This “super” installment of the series literally adds another dimension to the gameplay, allowing players to occassionally flip the world into 3-D in order to overcome some of the obstacles that confront the indefatigable plumber and his supporting cast of characters. It’s something that has to be seen to be believed (and for even more Super Paper goodness, Kotaku did a feature before the game’s release that perhaps says it all).

Oh, did I mention that the game begins with the wedding to end all weddings?

Need I say more?

Super! Paper! Mario!

After taking the podcast plunge, and because it was highly recommended, I now find myself one of Grammar Girl’s avid listeners. One of the top twenty podcasts on iTunes, Grammar Girl “strives to be [listeners'] friendly guide in the writing world.” Suffice it to say she succeeds quite marvelously. The charming podcast tackles many a writer’s conundrum, ranging from the seemingly mundane (single or double quotation marks?) to the subtly more vexing (the subjunctive mood). Each five- to ten-minute installment helps demistify the nuances of English grammar in a manner that is both informative and entertaining, a feat not easily accomplished.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been drawn towards such commentary on the English language. In fact, before tuning into Grammar Girl there were two books along the same vein that I found simply irresistible and would now recommend in a heartbeat.

The first of these happened to be Lynne Truss’s Eats, Shoots and Leaves. It derives its title from a joke: a panda lets loose some gunfire after eating at a restaurant because — and here’s the punch line — an encyclopedia mistakenly states that a panda “eats, shoots and leaves.”

A book about punctuation might seem like a hard-sell, but this one is a gem. Lynne Truss’s keen wit manages to keep the book interesting, and the volume is put together so well that it can serve as an informal style guide on its own. After reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves, one cannot help but be more conscious about punctuation, especially with Truss pointing out that the word punctuation shares the same etymology as punctilious, which means “polite”. Indeed, what better way is there to convince people to be meticulous with how they punctuate if not to frame it as a matter of good manners towards their readers?

Shifting gears, the other volume I would recommend is William Safire’s The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time. Those who live where the New York Times is not readily available (i.e., most readers of this blog) may not be aware that the former Nixon speechwriter is the author of the broadsheet’s popular On Language column. The Right Word is a compendium of some entries from that column, dealing with anything from the peculiar etymology of words and phrases (such as spookspeak, the jargon of professional spies) to the unexpected ways that language evolves (as in the phrase “begging the question,” which doesn’t at all mean what people think).

As the title suggests, the book is presented like a dictionary and organized around words that give Safire occasion to elucidate on the aforementioned themes. Overall, the book is certainly a tad esoteric; nonetheless, it is a worthwhile read if only to acquire some taken for granted erudition.

Any of the above can come across as the sort of thing that would appeal to the narrowest of markets, namely the hordes of closet language geeks who obsess over every bit of syntax and probably have a spelling bee or two under their belts. While there may be some truth to this (say it isn’t so!), these represent resources that provide intelligent commentary on the English language and bring to light how fascinating the language itself can be. If they accomplish anything it would be to help people better appreciate the English language, in the process furthering the cause of putting it to better use.

The saga continues:

I didn’t mention in my prior post that I will probably need not one but two visas for the upcoming getaway. Such is how things work out over across the Atlantic: if you’re lucky, you can conveniently begin at one place and easily end up in another, so long as you don’t anger the armed sentries who watch over the borders.

In broad strokes, the trip is shaping up as follows: Depart New York for Country A. Stop. Depart Country A for Country B. Stop. Return from Country B to Country A. Stop. Leave Country A and return to New York. End program.

Now it might seem like much, but in truth it all has to do with spending time within the immediate environs of a particular border. As a result, more than one visa is required, which in a perfect world would be a simple matter.

Then I am reminded that the world is far from perfect, occasionally baffling and perhaps secretly nuts. Embassy B, it turns out, would like to see my visa for Country A before they process my documents. Meanwhile, Embassy A is adamant that they cannot give me a visa until Country B issues theirs to me.

This is the proverbial chicken-or-egg conundrum, as applied to international relations.

So here I am: haven’t even left yet, and already stuck somewhere between two places!

With tongue firmly in cheek I’m very tempted to insist to either party that the chicken must have come first, and that God is responsible for the chicken. I just have no idea how this applies to my situation. But I’m working on it.

I stepped out to get some exercise…

…and came back an hour and a half later with a McDonald’s sandwich, a box of Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins, and an unbelievably large medium-sized iced coffee.

Something tells me it’ll be much healthier if I were to just stay indoors next time.

Caught Napping. New York may be the city that never sleeps, but apparently it takes naps from time to time.

It’s caught my attention lately that some stores in Manhattan don’t keep to their stated hours. Restaurants are particular offenders: on more than one occasion have I gone out of my way to drop by a place for a bite to eat — keeping well in mind what time they close — only to find the staff having called it a day.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always thought business hours meant “open for your business until the very last minute”.

***

Writing Out Loud. I’ve been geeking out on my Mac lately by having Microsoft Word read text out to me.

This is by no means the first time that I’ve heard about this feature, but it is the first time I’ve taken it for a test drive. I’m quite taken by it, particularly how the computer manages to reasonably approximate the inflection, pauses and pacing affected by punctuation. While I’m a firm believer that there is a difference between writing meant for reading and that meant for speaking, at a minimum this text-to-speech feature is a really sweet way to proofread (proofspeak?) a document, which if memory serves is a suggestion that came up in an episode of Grammar Girl.

***

Available Now, Later. Amazon.com has been sending me confusing signals lately. First, I get an email alert informing me that a book I’ve been waiting for is already available. The problem, however, is that I know that the book’s release isn’t for another month. Then I saw it: the book was available for pre-order. I may be nitpicking, but that sort of marketing is a tad misleading: would it have hurt to have an email alert with a subject heading of “Pre-order Now!” instead of “Available Now!”?

Then there’s the unavailability of otherwise available books. I’ve been awaiting the release of a couple of graphic novels which I intended to buy online. But after the release date neither are available on Amazon yet, although I am given the option to pre-order both. I suppose these are hiccups any retailer has to face, more so when you’re the world’s largest bookseller. But it does show the chinks in their armor all the same.

It’s that time of the year again when the traditional family vacation begins to take shape. Last year, I was able to spend quality time with my parents and brother because they flew in to visit. This time, it appears we’re set to take in the sights somewhere across the Atlantic, meaning that I’ll need to get a visa (or two) in order to make things happen.

For this reason, I found myself at a foreign embassy recently, right smack in the middle of New York.

I find that there’s something positively nerve-wracking about applying for a visa. Putting the paperwork together, getting the procedures down pat, making the time to show up for the interview…it’s a significant undertaking for something as trivial as the desire to “get away from it all”. It goes without saying that it can be stressful, particularly when one comes a third world country and all the more so (rightly or wrongly) if one happens to be Filipino. On top of making sure the documentation is in order comes the need to convince the requisite consular officer that, yes, this is just a short trip with the folks and, no, I don’t intend to go on the lam in your country to join the criminal element or steal jobs away from your loyal citizens.

So there I was nervously waiting in line for my number to be called and my visa application to be processed: a starving Filipino graduate student alone in a foreign land. The longer I waited, though, the more at ease I felt as the applicants before me were dispatched without incident, and several more individuals began filing in to collect their visas. Everyone I observed of the former group were promised the visa they applied for, while those of the latter sort had obtained visas valid from anywhere between thirty to ninety days.

Then my turn came, which began naturally enough with the consular officer asking me the obvious question: “So where will you be going on your trip?”

That’s when I realized I had absolutely no idea.

Of course, I knew what the trip would entail in broad strokes, but I hadn’t taken the time to look up the specifics. After making all the arrangements, my parents told me we were going on a trip and that I should apply for the necessary papers soon; responsible chap that I am I did just that. That doing so also meant reading through the itinerary was the one detail that I just happened to overlook.

It could only happen to me.

Yet the humorous incident was balanced out by the muted unpleasantness due to, well, being a starving Filipino graduate student applying for a visa in a foreign land. For one thing, I was asked to read and sign a document signifying that I have never been engaged in subversive activities, nor intend such in the future. The same document asked that I indicate if over the past two years I’d been to some twenty countries which included Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria…and the Philippines.

Ouch.

Plus there was that one other thing: unlike everyone else that morning who’d collected visas of lengthy validity, the consular officer told me that I’d only be getting a visa for exactly the length of time I specified. No more, no less. I had expected as much, certainly, but a guy can’t keep from hoping.

It’s times like these that bring home the point that, more often than not, the real victims in the broader scheme of world affairs are ordinary, well-meaning people. Between terrorists with an axe to grind or politicians that can’t get their act together to bring a better life to the people they are meant to serve (who thus seek that life overseas by any means necessary), the average guy stands helpless. Don’t get me wrong: at the embassy where I submitted my visa application the staff were exceedingly courteous and professional, and at no point did I feel discriminated against. Still, when asked the usual questions — Where are you going? How long will you stay there? Do you have a flight home? Have you been to any of these listed countries before? — it’s hard not to feel defensive, and not just because one neglected to look through the itinerary his parents sent him a couple of days beforehand.

Then again, all’s well that ends well. In a couple of days I get to go back to the embassy in question to pick up my visa, which on the whole bodes well for the vacation that will be.

And yes, I already know where this trip will be taking me. But I’m still not telling.

Yesterday, this blog was featured as a “blog of the minute”:

As a result of the mileage from every WordPress user seeing the free plug upon logging onto the service, my blog ended up with a whopping two views for the day.

There’s something apropos about the fact that this just happened to take place on April Fool’s Day.