K-pop megastars BTS to release memoir in July

SEOUL — K-pop megastars BTS will release a memoir in South Korea and the United States in July, its US publisher said, triggering feverish excitement from the supergroup's global fanbase.

BTS has become a global cultural phenomenon, selling out stadiums and dominating charts around the world while raking in billions for South Korea's economy.

Titled "Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS," the book was co-written by South Korean journalist Kang Myeong-seok and members of the band, according to the publisher.

"Who is excited?... #BTSbook," US publisher Flatiron Books said Thursday on its Instagram account, sharing a news article about the launch.

Online forums and social media sites had been awash with speculation about a potential celebrity book release in July, with some commenters saying that it may be authored by Taylor Swift.

The mystery book shot to the top of Amazon and Barnes and Noble bestseller lists after pre-orders by fans.

The K-pop group's 544-page memoir will be released on July 9, according to the book's Amazon page.

It is a tribute to a significant date in the septet's history: the megastars' loyal international fan base known as ARMY came into being that day, 10 years ago.

"I'm so looking forward to the book... It's so cool to be able to look back on the last 10 years with BTS," one fan wrote on Twitter in Korean.

"Will I be able to buy it since the competition is so global?" another feared.

The US edition of the book was translated by Anton Hur with Clare Richards and Slin Jung, Hur said in a tweet.

BTS is currently on a "hiatus," with members pursuing solo projects while two of the group have enlisted for mandatory South Korean military service.

All able-bodied men in South Korea must serve at least 18 months in the military and, after a years-long debate about whether BTS deserved an exemption, Jin, the oldest member of the group, enlisted last year.

BTS star J-Hope started his mandatory South Korean military service last month, South Korean media reported at the time, becoming the K-pop juggernaut's second member to enlist.

Before the pause, BTS bagged six No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 and all seven members of the boyband have reached the top songs chart with solo tracks, Billboard said.

For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the Hallyu Corner microsite.  

Agence France-Presse

James Patterson donating another $1.75 million to libraries

NEW YORK — James Patterson is ready to launch another season of giving.

The author and literary philanthropist told The Associated Press on Tuesday that for a second year he’s donating $1.75 million to the country’s school libraries.

Patterson’s School Library Campaign, in partnership with Scholastic Reading Club, gave hundreds of schools grants in 2015, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

Applications for this year can be found on www.scholastic.com/pattersonpartnership .

They must be submitted by May 31. Requests can be for anything from fixing computers to a school book program.

Patterson, who received an honorary National Book Award last year for his contributions to the literary community, has also given away millions to independent bookstores and to literacy programs. He emphasized in a statement “the vital role reading plays in children’s lives.” TVJ

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Anthony Bourdain to Release Second Cookbook After 10 Years

Heads up, foodies! After 10 long years, Anthony Bourdain will finally release his second cookbook (the first being Les Halles) entitled Appetites later this year.


The book, which will be published by Harper Collins imprint Ecco Books, will be filled with recipes that he thinks you should know how to cook, a few are inspired by his travels, and some from his home, so we’re thinking American with a touch of French techniques? I’m no cook, but I’m pretty darn excited to get my hands on this as it hits the shelves on Oct. 25.

Meanwhile, Anthony’s assistant Laurie Woolever is the co-author, and the photos inside are all by Bobby Fisher. The surprise cover, which will be revealed this April, will be done by cartoonist Ralph Steadman.

With a lineup like that, we’re really wondering what kind of recipes the culinary bad boy has in store for us. Hopefully, it trickles down to our local bookstores just before the holidays hit so that we can surprise our house guests with our new cooking skills.

[Eater]

source: preen.inquirer.net

Want a good night’s sleep? Keep a diary

Many seniors fret over their difficulty in falling asleep at night. The older we get, the less time we seem to be able to sleep — the average is just six hours for 65-year-olds. When we try harder to sleep, our sleep tends to become lighter and we wake up more frequently.

Last year, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Japan revised its “sleep guidelines,” which are designed to help people get the sleep they need for a healthy lifestyle. It was the first revision made since 2003. Packed with scientific insight on sleep, the guidelines include different words of warning for every age group.

Until the early teens, most people can get over eight hours of sleep each night. This gradually drops once we hit 20, and by the time we’re 65 we end up sleeping around six hours a night. We require less sleep for a variety of reasons, such as reduced basal metabolism — the energy we need to keep alive — and the amount of exercise we get.

On the other hand, the time spent in bed starts going up after we turn 45, climbing past 7½ hours a night by the time we turn 75.

“Unnecessarily lengthening your time in bed only makes you sleep lighter,” the guidelines say.

They also warn: “It becomes easier to wake up in the middle of the night, and harder to feel like you got a good night’s sleep. It’s important to regulate the times you go to bed and wake up, and you should design an appropriate sleep schedule for yourself.”

So how does one go about making sure they have a good night’s sleep?

Kazuo Mishima, a doctor at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry in Tokyo, recommends keeping a “sleep diary.” Recording the times you go to bed, turning off the lights after reading a book, when you get out of bed, and how long you could not sleep will help you understand exactly how much sleep you’re getting, he said.

As for the time it takes from turning off the lights to falling asleep, feel free to give a ballpark figure. The same goes for the time between waking up once at night and falling back to sleep. Keeping a diary every day for a week will reveal your average hours of sleep in proportion to hours spent in bed.

“Those for whom the proportion is less than 85 percent should try delaying their bedtime or getting out of bed when they can’t sleep, to narrow the difference,” Mishima said. For example, if you usually sleep six hours, and the time you go to sleep and waking up at night is 30 minutes to one hour, you should go to bed at 11 p.m. and wake up at 6 a.m.

Those suffering from insomnia should visit a clinic and get advice from a sleep specialist.

Avoid nightcaps since they make your sleep lighter, and try not to fall into the “nap trap” — one hour of daytime napping is said to equal two or three hours of nighttime sleep.

“If you have to give in to drowsiness,” Mishima said, “try to nap between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. which has little impact on your nighttime sleep.”

“Set an alarm to ensure you don’t sleep longer than half an hour. That way, you won’t enter a deep sleep,” he said.

Hideki Tanaka, a professor of psychology at Hiroshima Kokusai Gakuin University, recommends light exercise in the early evening. “Take a walk, stretch and try abdominal breathing around 5 o’clock in the evening,” Tanaka said.

Taking a catnap in the evening means it will be more difficult to fall asleep at night, so exercise is a great way to stay awake. Keep it light, though, since intense exercise will only make you sleepy immediately afterward.

For abdominal breathing, place both hands on your belly, drawing breaths slowly through your nose as you expand your abdomen. Pucker your lips and slowly exhale, deflating your abdomen. Repeat three times.

“You can even do abdominal breathing right before going to sleep,” Tanaka said. “It helps relieve the stress that keeps you awake at night.”

Points for better sleep

— Seniors sleep an average of six hours a night. When you try to sleep longer, your sleep becomes lighter and you won’t feel like you got a good night’s rest

— Keep a sleep diary, and try to limit “time spent in bed” compared to “time slept”

— Limit naps to 30 minutes, and aim for between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

— Fight off drowsiness in the early evening with light exercise and abdominal breathing

source: technology.inquirer.net

King of Pop’s words still reverberate

Has it already been six years since my idol, Michael Jackson, moonwalked into heaven on June 25, 2009? For MJ diehards like me, it seems like he never really died. The King of Pop’s music still reverberates in my heart.

To pay homage to MJ on his sixth death anniversary, allow me to share with you some of his personal musings.

These words are from the rare book he wrote, “Dancing the Dream: Poems & Reflections,” which is part of my collection.

It was published by Doubleday in 1992 and reissued by Transworld after MJ’s demise.

The book is a must-have for every MJ fanatic. It contains fabulous photographs of the King of Pop and it will give you a peek into his private world.

I will never get tired of reading the book over and over again.

It feels like MJ is whispering his deepest secrets to me each time I skim through the pages. “Dancing the Dream” makes you privy to MJ’s vulnerable side.

Six years, 60 years or even 600 years after his death, the world will still mourn, but it will also celebrate MJ’s incredible legacy.

No other artist can keep the music scene alive the way MJ does long after his passing.

The King of Pop will never be dethroned in our hearts.

‘God’

“It’s strange that God doesn’t mind expressing Himself/Herself in all the religions of the world, while people still cling to the notion that their way is the only right way. Whatever you try to say about God, someone will take offense, even if you say everyone’s love of God is right for them.

“For me, the form God takes is not the most important thing. What’s more important is the essence. My songs and dances are outlines for Him to come in and fill. I hold out the form. She puts in the sweetness.

“I’ve looked up at the night sky and beheld the stars so intimately close, it was as if my grandmother had made them for me. ‘How rich, how sumptuous,’ I thought. In that moment I saw God in His creation. I could as easily have seen Her in the beauty of a rainbow, the grace of a deer bounding through a meadow, the truth of a father’s kiss. But for me the sweetest contact with God has no form. I close my eyes, look within, and enter a deep soft silence. The infinity of God’s creation embraces me. We are one.”

‘Courage’
“It’s curious what takes courage and what doesn’t. When I step out on stage in front of thousands of people, I don’t feel that I’m being brave. It can take much more courage to express true feelings to one person.

“That takes real courage, the courage to be intimate…It’s being accepting and true to your heart, whatever it may say. When you have the courage to be intimate, you know who you are, and you’re willing to let others see that.

“It’s scary because you feel so vulnerable, so open to rejection. But without self-acceptance, the other kind of courage—the kind heroes show in movies—seem hollow. In spite of the risks, the courage to be honest and intimate opens the way to self-discovery. It offers what we all want, the promise of love.

‘The Elusive Shadow’

“Even though I traveled far

The door to my soul stayed ajar

In the agony of mortal fear

Your music I did not hear

Through twisting roads in memory lane

I bore my cross in pain

It was a journey of madness

Of anguish born in sadness

I wandered high and low

Recoiled from every blow

Looking for that stolen nectar

In my heart that long-lost scepter

In all those haunted faces

I searched for my oasis

In a way it was in a drunken craze

A cruel hysteria, a blurry haze

Many a time I tried to break

This shadow following me I could not shake

Many a time in the noisy crowd

In the hustle and bustle of the din so loud

I peered behind to see its trace

I could not lose it in any place

It was only when I broke all ties

After the stillness of the shrieking cries

In the depths of those heaving sighs

The imagined sorrow of a thousand lies

I suddenly stared in your fiery eyes

All at once I found my goal

The elusive shadow was my soul

Fresh music

I can’t get enough of the song “Pagka’t Ikaw” by Jacob Benedicto. The velvety smooth voice of the “Pinoy Big Brother” alumnus has been echoing in my head for days now.

Jacob was launched as one of Star Music’s newest singers on the compilation album, “OPM Fresh.”

It is available to download or stream on iTunes, Spotify and StarMusic.ph. The album is also available in record stores for only P199.

Simply ear-esistible!

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Jennifer Lopez shares journey to self-acceptance

NEW YORK—Jennifer Lopez wants to share a life lesson with her fans: Learn to love yourself first. “I promise that if you tap into it, it’s going to make your life better,” she assures.

The actress, singer and producer sat down for an interview about “True Love,” her new book that was originally intended to be a piece of memorabilia about the 2012 Dance Again World Tour that she embarked on in the wake of her split from husband Marc Anthony. Then, it became much more.

“It became evident that my songs were so autobiographical—it isn’t just the story of my relationships, but the story of my career, as well.”

Lopez, 45, recently kicked off her heels, got comfy on a couch and opened up about her own journey to self-acceptance.

You say early in the book that this is not a tell-all.

I don’t feel that it’s my responsibility to share all the intimate details of my relationships. As an artist, I do feel that it’s my responsibility to bare my soul, use my experiences and share the lessons I’ve learned through my art—that’s what this book does!

You also discussed confidence issues.

Being successful caused me to have low self-esteem. When you hear negative things about yourself, it becomes a mantra in your head: ‘You’re not good enough. You’re not a good actress, performer, person—you want candles in your room’—things that aren’t true!’ It’s the tape that plays in your head that’s dangerous, and what you want to do is reprogram that tape.

Does being called ‘Most Beautiful Person in the World’ make you feel like you need to always be on your game?

No, I don’t take it seriously. It’s flattering, but it’s going to be tomorrow’s trash. I don’t let that feed my ego in the way that some people could.

Are you gun-shy now about having a relationship in the public eye?

Right now, I just want to be on my own, have friends and get to know myself better. I have to love myself before I can love somebody else! And, if somebody comes along, that person can add to that happiness.   AP

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Know the higher calling of journalists

Media space and airtime are replete with the ordeal Vice President Jejomar Binay is going through in the hands of some Senators over his unexplained wealth. Fortunately enough, he is not faulting media for his current predicament.

Other officials who fell from grace with their falling approval ratings, however, are quick to blame media.

Business executives also have mixed views about media.

On one hand, they need media to enjoy the “multiplier effect” of their marketing messages. If they rely on their door-to-door salesmen or their delivery trucks, they cannot cover the marketplace with the speed necessary to outpace competition—if not simply achieving their sales targets.

On the other hand, they hate or fear media when an error, misdemeanor, or an insensitive statement is picked up by the press, and is kept burning in the news for some time.

Recently, I got hold of a book, titled “In Media Res”— subtitled “In the Middle of Things”— from the Popular Bookstore and it helps shed light on the work of journalists.

It is authored by a respected journalist and academic, former Dean and currently a co-faculty member in the UP College of Mass Communication—Luis V. Teodoro.

The book is a collection of essays, lectures, papers and speeches of Dean Teodoro over the years—and yet his comments are not dated.

He cites, for example, the virtues a journalist must possess if he is to be respected and trusted. “At the core of the best practice of journalism are the basic values and principles of truth-telling, freedom, justice, humanness, and stewardship.”

To executives listening to the Dean of Journalism in the Philippines, these are reassuring. He continues: “These are ethical principles from which the professional standards of accuracy, fairness, and autonomy cannot be separated.”

Truth-telling, he explains, is achieved through factual and contextual accuracy. Freedom is manifest when the journalist exhibits independence. Justice is realized when the reporter practices fairness and balance.

And, hear this, coming from a respected authority on Philippine journalism: You achieve “humanness” through the protection of the vulnerable and the powerless.”

So, if journalists are taking up the cudgels for the victims of the Ampatuan massacre, they are simply protecting the vulnerable and the powerless.

The theme of press freedom rings and shines through this book, even as it tackles other topics clustered under three key parts—“The Teacher Taught,” “The Terrors of a Free Press,” and “The Fourth Estate.”

Dean Teodoro points out: “Journalism teaching is about teaching skills, but it is also about teaching the kind of respect for the facts that drives the best journalists to scour musty libraries and to go over government archives, to spend hours surging the Net, and to interview dozens of people to obtain information—and then to double check its accuracy.”

Any leader-executive who reads this will have a newfound respect for the media person interviewing him or her.

And yet, that media person must seriously consider following the “Louie Teodoro Imperative, if I may say so.

One observer commented: “Nowadays, we have “press conference journalists”—they rely on the press kits, pick up some points from prepared statements —and they submit their story. That wouldn’t pass— with Dean Teodoro.

In an extended discussion on the “Terrors of a Free Press,” the Dean pointed to scary statistics on journalists killed in various parts of the country, while many more of them are threatened with being jailed or oppressed. “Living dangerously” has come to describe the journalistic profession, and Dean Teodoro underscores the need for government for a tough policy to protect journalists.

The book covers academically preparing journalists, empowering them for practice, and protecting them as they do their alternately interesting and dangerous jobs.

The book criticizes government and state policies that continue to be ambivalent about fully supporting the Fourth Estate.

The book frowns on censorship of any kind from the ruler, and cites the threats to press freedom by the conglomeration of ownership by businessmen.

Journalists are not your usual employees who churn out and sell products; render professional services.

They are workers all right, and yet their purposes and mission are latched on to the higher ideals of a democracy where freedom is defended, not by the sword but by the pen.

This book’s essays are clear-minded, lucid and honest simply because the author is a high-caliber writer and thinker whose passion and love for journalism rings true in every page.

Don’t believe your PR man who tells you how easy it is to get your story published, because he holds these journalists by the neck.

These journalists, with some exceptions, love and are always ready to defend their higher calling.

source: business.inquirer.net

Branding should ‘pull,’ not ‘push’

Within marketing circles—in the real rough and tumble world and the laboratory called MBA classes—strategies usually fall under “push” and “pull.”

In the same way that marketers have to choose between getting more market share by pricing low and increasing profit margin by pricing high, what marketing strategy to adopt is left to the judgment call of the chief marketing officer or no less than the CEO.

However, this book, “What Great Brands Do,” challenges many assumptions among marketing people.

Author Denise Lee Yohn dishes out earth-shaking ideas—like these: “ignore trends,” “don’t chase customers,” “sweat the small stuff” and “never give back.”

These are actually culled from the titles of the eight chapters that are full of success stories—many of which are inside track accounts of very successful brands. Yes, because they continue to perform well in the marketplace.

“Just Do It,” the long-running tagline of Nike is a highly successful branding statement. What’s behind its phenomenal success?

Yohn explains in the book: “Nike’s Wieden+Kennedy agency had a series of simple ads that showed athletes of all kinds doing what athletes do – sweating, straining, running and jumping… All of them spoke about what they do, and why they do it, followed by the on-screen invitation: “Just Do It.”

As the author narrates it, Scott Bedbury, Nike’s marketing chief in 1987, declared: “It is not about products; it is about a brand ethos.”

The point is to establish an “emotional connection” with all types of customers.

“We make our purchase decisions based on how products promise to make us feel,” says the author.

Another case involves Pampers, Europe’s top-selling disposable diaper that was rapidly losing its market share to a close competitor in 1997.

Pampers marketers convened focus groups—and one insight emerged.

Pampers was focusing on “dryness” and yet the mothers were more concerned about their babies’ “health and development.”

Yohn says it aptly: “The organization morphed from a narrow focus on product benefits to a broad focus on delighting moms and enhancing their babies’ ‘development.’”

Even Pampers’ office was transformed into having “baby-friendly color schemes.”

What business is our brand in?

Yohn advances this question – a question we at the Asian Institute of Management asked over 30 years ago, inspired by the ground-breaking article of Theodore Levitt published by Harvard.

Yohn says Levitt’s observation “made more than a half century ago, is more relevant today than ever.”

It is called “positioning.”

She asks: Are fast-food brands in the drive-through business or are they in the good-food-fast business?

Are airline companies in the transportation business or are they in the business-productivity business?

Before building our brand, she advises, the question “what business are you in” must first be settled. And don’t forget to “develop deeper, richer, stronger connections with customers and sustain their claims to strong and differentiated value propositions.”

Great brands challenge trends. Yohn has many market histories and examples to prove the point that getting out of the pack will spell success.

Oprah Winfrey did not follow trends, unlike Martha Stewart, Yohn reveals.

“Unlike many other talk shows, she took herself off the air when her show was still successful and one of the most effective branding platforms ever created,” she says.

She adds: The concept of not following the trend “is very similar to the ideas advanced in the seminal best-selling book “Blue Ocean Strategy.” “Companies grow best when they leave existing market spaces that are bloody with cut-throat competition (red oceans) and create instead uncontested market spaces (blue oceans).

Branding is also about not being afraid of polarizing your would-be customers.”

“Red Bull,” the strong drink that artists, journalists and truck drivers drink to keep them awake—had an equal number of customers who love it and customers who avoid it like a plague.

“If you stand for something, some people will love you and some will hate you,” said Thomas Grabner, then CEO of Kastner & Partners, Red Bull’s advertising agency.

The book values “customer experience” beyond a so-called great brand. What is the use of  a great brand when delivery is bad? “Sweat the small stuff,” says Yohn. Every detail is important.

“Your brand is a magnet,” she concludes.

It pulls, not pushes—and does much more besides making your customers love you. What’s true in real life, not pushing yourself, is true in the business world. The principles are actually LIFE principles.

dmv.communications@gmail.com

source: business.inquirer.net

A book called ‘Tim’

There’s been a book sitting on my night table for the last two years. I’ve been meaning to give it a good read, but other things always seemed to get in the way. Before I knew it, the book had found itself beneath a stack  I’m still working my way through.

Will I ever get around to reading it?

It isn’t like I don’t know the story; if anything, I know the story pretty well. I know every thought behind every word written. I know the characters a little more intimately than I should. I know how it starts and I know where it ends. But even then, I still haven’t read the book.

I mean, why should I? I wrote it.

Like most of my favorite pieces of art, I wrote my book because of a girl. In fact, I started writing it the moment she told me  that I should write one. Looking back now, I’m pretty sure the reason she suggested I write a book was so I’d be distracted enough to leave her alone!

But it didn’t matter. Something was lit inside me and I was hell-bent on dashing off a classic.

It was going to be my “High Fidelity.” It was going to be my answer to Liz Phair’s “Exile in Guyville.” It was going to be my “Clerks.”

I was Lloyd Dobler, and this book was going to  be the boombox over my head, serenading the girl on the other side of the window.

As far as plot goes, I did nothing new: a directionless 19-year-old hooks up with a girl who’s as big a nerd and outcast as he is, and somewhere along the way, he starts to grow up and take charge of his life.

Romantic comedy

It’s the classic ’80s romantic comedy set in Manila, and the only thing setting my story apart from “Say Anything” or “Some Kind of Wonderful” was that this was going to be my story.

I loaded it up with a soundtrack of 14 of my favorite songs and little references in the pages that alluded to a time in alternative rock I wished I was old enough to have lived through. The title character was to be named after a Replacements record, “Tim.” And yes, I did imagine him being portrayed by a young John Cusack.

I used Facebook and DeviantArt to announce my scheme to the world, and almost instantly I was bombarded with well-wishes that were criminally negligent, now that I think about it.

Yeah, writing a novel is a big, exciting thing that hardly anyone seems to have the nerve for, but what people fail to see is that writing a story of that length and proportion is a really maddening thing.

For the better part of one year, I chipped my way through “Tim,” completely driving myself to the point of insanity. The art of writing is by nature solitary; I can’t even count the number of nights I stayed up until 7 in the morning, hopped up on coffee, just chipping away at this epic piece of writing I was sure would change the world.

I was lucky I had a strong support system of friends, who cheered me through the finish line, and by the time I got there, I was completely exhausted.

I can’t even begin to describe how exhausted I was by the time I finished “Tim.” With all the support I had, I (foolishly) believed that the world was ready to take a look at my manuscript and that, in a matter of months, I’d be able to walk into Fully Booked and buy my book.

But no, that didn’t happen. When it was all said and done, hardly anyone wanted to read “Tim.” It was incredibly disheartening. I didn’t even want to prove anything to the girl I wrote it for anymore—I just wanted someone to tell me if I did  a good enough job.

It would really grind my gears whenever someone came up to me, asking me to judge their stupid photo or whatnot, but paid hardly any mind when it came to my work. As if writing isn’t respected enough as an art.

I’m sorry to say this, but any idiot with the right tools can take a good picture, but it takes a completely different kind of beast to string words together into a cohesive sentence  and create a story, let alone a book.


Swimming along

As much as it sucked, I had to remember that the world kept on moving, and I was better off swimming along. After working on  “Tim,” letting go was the sanest thing I could give myself.

Life went on. I kept busy by playing in a couple of short-lived bands, and with my new love for fanzines, I self-published two of my short stories.

And to my surprise, a couple of friends took the time to read “Tim.” My buddy Claire told me you could actually make a drinking game from all the kissing in the book. Awesome! While JD Salinger inspired a generation  of teenagers  to call each other “phony,” I’d be inspiring a new generation of teenagers to fall in love and make out.

Another friend told me that this was the kind of story that should have been made into a movie years ago.

I’ll be honest, it was nice to hear all this about something I spent a year working on. At the very least, this was all I could ask for, really.

I decided to take “Tim” and give it a proper read; close by was a red marker, ready for any corrections and changes that must be made.

I’m reading it now, but there’s something a little bit different as I go through it this time.

I can’t quite place my finger on it—but it kinda sucks.

From a narrative standpoint, my writing now is a lot stronger (and more respectable), and I’ll be damned, there is a lot of kissing in this book—scratch that, there’s too much kissing!

What the hell was I thinking?! These characters don’t need a book—they need a motel room!

Regardless of the parts which do remain strong, the whole thing needs a complete rewrite, and as I let things sink in, I’m starting to wonder if this was what I should have done from the moment I finished the story.

I’m glad only a handful of people bothered to read it. Imagine if I picked this up at  Fully Booked right now. I’d be standing there, holding my book with an unshakeable cringe! Not only would I want to burn my own hard work, I’d feel compelled to run off to a different city under a new name.

So I’m letting things sink in, and over a warm cup of coffee and a good smoke, I thought about “Tim,” the reason I wrote it,  and the time I spent writing it.

I was 21; hardly any of my favorite writers made anything worth reading at that age.

At 21, I was naive and completely taken by the sight of the world and everything it had to offer me. I was drunk on love and I would have gladly taken the chance to prove myself to any worthy girl that came my way.

Maybe in the end, that’s what “Tim” is supposed to be: a reflection of myself at 21. And given how jaded I’ve become, there’s a lot for me to learn in his story.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

“The Fifth Estate” — Timely Thriller Based on Real Events

The First Estate: Clergy/Government. The Second Estate: Nobility/Wealthy Elite. The Third Estate: Commoners/Workers. The Fourth Estate: Press/Media. The Fifth Estate: Those who aim to keep the other estates in check, recently defined as whistleblowers, watchdogs, citizen journalists . . . and WikiLeaks.

In 2010, a website dedicated to protecting whistleblowers released an avalanche of classified US documents that triggered a new age of high-stakes secrecy and explosive news leaks. Now, in a dramatic thriller based on real events, DreamWorks Pictures’ “The Fifth Estate” reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned this Internet upstart into the 21st century’s most fiercely debated organization.

The story begins as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) team up to become underground watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create an online platform that allows whistleblowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world’s most legendary media organizations.

But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they find themselves at odds as they struggle with a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society—and what are the costs of exposing them?


“The Fifth Estate” is presented by DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment in association with Participant Media and is produced by Steve Golin and Michael Sugar, with Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”) directing.

“It may be decades before we understand the full impact of WikiLeaks and how it revolutionized the spread of information,” believes director Bill Condon. “With events still unfolding, this film does not aim to be the conclusive statement on the topic. Instead, we set out to create a drama that explores the challenges of transparency and that, we hope, enlivens and enriches the conversations WikiLeaks has provoked.”

The screenplay is by Josh Singer (“Fringe,” “The West Wing”), based on the book “Inside WikiLeaks” by Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and the Guardian book “WikiLeaks” by David Leigh and Luke Harding.

“The Fifth Estate” also stars Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Alicia Vikander, with Stanley Tucci and Laura Linney.

Opening soon across the Philippines, “The Fifth Estate” is a DreamWorks Picture distributed by Walt Disney Studios International.

source: movies.inquirer.net

‘Paranoia’ exposes underbelly of corporate world

The corporate world may not be as glamorous as it seems. In fact, it may be deadly ground.

Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Joseph Finder of the same name, “Paranoia” explores the dirty playground of powerful corporations and the sleazy tactics of its players.

Directed by Australian Robert Luketic, the film tells the story of Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth), an entry-level employee in a large and powerful corporation who makes a deal with the CEO (Gary Oldman) to spy on his rival and former mentor (Harrison Ford) to secure for themselves a multi-billion-dollar deal.

In the film, the two most powerful tech billionaires in the world are bitter rivals with a complicated past who will stop at nothing to destroy each other. Seduced by unlimited wealth and the promise of power, Adam becomes trapped in the middle of the twists and turns of a life-and-death game of corporate espionage.

It is only after a while that Adam realizes he has found himself in a rabbit hole and  there is no going back.

The New York Times best-selling techno-thriller  has all these questions to deal with: Has corporate power grown out of control? Where is the line between mining digital data and dangerous, invasive surveillance? What happens when CEOs operate outside the law?


While researching for the novel, Finder encountered a world where multinational companies now have more riches and wield more political influence than entire nations.

“I started thinking what would happen if a corporation needed a piece of transformational technology that they knew their competitor had,” Finder said. “How far would they go to get it? That’s how I came up with Adam Cassidy.

“In some ways, he’s the classic guy who is forced into being a spy. But his story also takes on the whole idea of identity, about people forming relationships that are based on falsehoods and impersonation, about conscience and about doing the right things—all of which is happening underneath the fun and suspense.”

Producer Alexandra Milchan read the book and was inspired to bring the story hurtling into the even starker realities of the 2013 corporate world, where a savvy, wired youth culture at the bottom rung is confronting a changing digital reality and tough economic times.

Luketic, who directed “Legally Blonde” and “21,” was especially intrigued by the challenge of mirroring the title and evoking the sense of paranoia of modern life, where almost everywhere cameras surround us and privacy is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

“Adam is in the world where we all live now—a world that is all about data mining, and where everyone leaves all kinds of trails they don’t even realize they are leaving,” Luketic said. “Never before in history have we had so much of ourselves so accessible to the world. That was a lot of the inspiration for what we present on the screen. Ultimately, nowhere is safe for Adam because there is nowhere he can hide out of view. He is being surveyed from cameras hidden in walls and people are tracking him through his phone. It goes to the question of whether there’s a danger to having all this information about ourselves out there for the taking.”

Finder was thrilled when he read the movie adaptation of his novel,  written by Jason Dean Hall and Barry Levy.

“The screenplay makes the story a kind of generational statement,” he said. “It’s about what it’s like right now to be in your 20s entering the working world and watching the whole structure crumble. I think it gets to the alienation that a lot of kids feel when they realize the corruption, and the amount of gamesmanship, that are all part of today’s corporate life.”

“Paranoia,” distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures, opens on October 2.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Hailee Steinfeld hopes to visit Bohol

LOS ANGELES—Hailee Steinfeld has done seven films, including “Romeo and Juliet,” since her Oscar-nominated feature-film debut performance in “True Grit.” So, the talented 16-year-old, pretty in a pink printed blouse and miniskirt, said in my recent chat with her, she has not seen much of her family, including Filipino relatives.

“Not as often as I’d like to,” Hailee said. Her mom, Cheri, who was in the back of the room, traces her roots back to Bohol. Hailee fondly calls her maternal grandpa, Ricardo Domasin, “Papa.” Her great grandfather, Peter Domasin, was the one originally from Bohol. Hailee’s dad is also named Peter.

“I have been traveling so much lately,” Hailee added. “But when the family does get together, it’s definitely an occasion.”

I took the chance to give copies of my book, “My Filipino Connection: The Philippines in Hollywood,” to Hailee, who quickly noticed that Darren Criss was one of her fellow Fil-Ams featured along with her on the cover. Cheri said she looked forward to showing the book (available at National Book Store in the Philippines and on amazon.com) to her family.

In the book, I mentioned that Hailee’s uncle, Larry Domasin, was a child actor whose credits include costarring with Elvis Presley in the 1960s film, “Fun in Acapulco.” I asked Hailee if her uncle Larry’s acting stint somehow inspired her to become an actor, too. “It’s interesting because I [can’t really say I] come from a family of actors,” she replied. “There have been a few [relatives] like my uncle Larry, who has done a few things. The thing I admire the most is that he did [some acting] because he loved it and had a great time. He did it as long as he wanted to. And he has a great life now. I love seeing him. He’s great.”

Been busy

Hailee said she still dreamt of seeing the Philippines, especially Bohol. In fact, with a blooming career, she hopes to make a film in the Philippines. “Every place I want to go to is a place where I hope to shoot a film,” she said.

(After the interview, we chatted briefly about Filipino food. Saying she was picky, Hailee singled out one good meal she had in a Filipino restaurant—in Glendale or Pasadena, she was not sure.)

“I have been busy,” she said with the sweetest smile. Quite an understatement. “I have done ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Ender’s Game.’ Two of my films, ‘Can a Song Save Your Life?’ and ‘Hateship Loveship’ were bought in Toronto. I have a few more—I am losing track!—‘Three days to Kill’ and ‘The Keeping Room.’” Add Tommy Lee Jones’ “The Homesman” to that list.

Hailee said she would always be grateful for her major break in the Coen brothers’ acclaimed “True Grit.” “I always refer back to my experience on ‘True Grit.’ That was my first film and every single thing that I learned in those three months has traveled with me everywhere. I have since had the opportunity to work with so many incredible people. In ‘Can a Song Save Your Life?’ I worked with Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley, whom I admire and look up to. They were so supportive and helpful—like everyone else I have worked with. In ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ my experience with Lesley Manville (who plays the nurse) sticks with me.”

Huge honor

Landing the Shakespearean heroine was a coup for the young actress. She plays against Douglas Booth’s Romeo in director Carlo Carlei’s retelling of the classic story, as scripted by Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”). “The casting came about very quickly. I received a phone call and, I remember thinking, to even be considered for a part like this is such a huge honor.

“After that, I went immediately into dialect training. We spent a week or two in Italy before we started filming. That always helps so much—immersing yourself in the culture and working with the wardrobe, locations. Everyone and everything has such an impact on my performance that I am truly thankful for.”

I urged her to talk some more about her coming films. She obliged: “‘Ender’s Game’ is an epic adventure. I play a character named Petra Arkanian, the only girl in the army that Ender is placed into. They become really good close friends, and help each other out in that world.

“In ‘Can a Song Save Your Life?’ I play Mark Ruffalo’s daughter, a lost teener trying to fit in—she basically does what she can. Her dad comes into her life at a time when she really needs him. They rekindle their relationship. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age story.

“In ‘Three Days to Kill,’ I play Kevin Costner’s daughter. In some ways, she is similar to my character in ‘Can a Song.’ This is a girl who is, again, trying to fit in. She has moved to Paris with her mom. It’s a whole different world. She takes the Metro to school. She is trying to make it as if it’s normal for her.  She puts on a façade until the end of the movie, where you see her for who she really is. She reconnects with her dad. It’s a really beautiful story.

“‘The Keeping Room’ is about two sisters and their female slave during the Civil War. I play the younger sister to Brit Marling. It’s about these women who are by themselves on their property. Two Union soldiers who have broken off from the war come to invade their space. It’s a really beautiful story of three powerful women fending for themselves.”

Back to “Romeo and Juliet,” Hailee said filming in Italy was quite a contrast from acting in front of a green screen in “Ender’s Game.” “Very different,” she stressed. “It was one of the most interesting things I’ve done—going from filming a story in the actual location it was set in to going in front of a green screen for three months. So that was definitely a departure, really opposite sides of the spectrum but it was really interesting.




“I really enjoy doing period pieces like ‘Romeo and Juliet’ because you have everything there around you to use and take advantage of. But I’ve also learned that I really enjoy doing a film where I am required to use my imagination. That was really fun for me, a new experience that I really enjoyed. ”

The teenage actress admitted that she had never fallen in love. “I can’t really say…I would be able to tell you if I knew, but I haven’t. I have to agree with Julian (Fellowes) that ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a symbol of first deep love. Obviously, the way that story is told is very dramatic. Everything, apart from their love—the inner conflict, the feuding families, and just everything going on makes it so exciting when they are together. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, that no matter what anyone is telling you on the outside, you should love who you want to love. But I’m 16 and I don’t really know much about love.”

Social media

Poised and articulate, Hailee is growing up into a young lady. On how she kept herself solid in a profession where drugs and alcohol claim many young lives, Hailee explained, “I owe my parents a lot, the way they brought me up. It was sort of a strict household, where I learned right from wrong. I am home-schooled. It’s interesting because, as much as I feel that I am not part of that stuff, I do see it happen all the time. I am actually fascinated by it because I don’t really understand it.”

Hailee has taken to social media, especially Twitter, very well. “I recently became very big in the social media. It’s so interesting to me that I will get a message from somebody on the other side of the world, saying that they are so excited to see ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ It’s so crazy because, first of all, I always think, how do they know? Other than that, it’s incredible to connect with your fan base and talk to people who are excited about and admire your work. It’s always really flattering. I have yet to have one of those crazy fan experiences.”

On being the face of the fashion house, Miu Miu, Hailee recalled, “I did a campaign for them a couple of seasons ago. It was a wonderful experience. After I was flown to Paris to see the Miu Miu fashion show—t was my first fashion show, my first Fashion Week, it was unreal. The designers, models and the shows—they put on such a production. It’s so incredible. I really felt like I was introduced to fashion on another level. Fashion has become a really big part of my life.”

Day by day

As Hailee plunges from one film project into another, does she have time to map out the kind of future she’d like to have? “I have moments where I will sit and think about what I will be doing in a couple of months or years from now. But because there is so much going on right now, I find it easier to take it day by day. Before you know it, you will find yourself thinking about many months and years into the future so I think it’s less stressful to take it day by day. It’s easier to take it all in that way. But I definitely have times where I am really interested in what the future will be like but there’s only so much you can do thinking about that.”

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Tim O’Brien wins $100,000 military writing prize

NEW YORK — A $100,000 prize for military writing has been awarded to an author of fiction.

Tim O’Brien, known for such books as “The Things They Carried” and “In the Lake of the Woods,” has received the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award.

The honor, announced Tuesday, has previously been given to such acclaimed historians as James McPherson and Rick Atkinson. O’Brien is the first fiction writer to win.

The 66-year-old O’Brien served in the Vietnam War from 1968-70 and often draws directly on his experiences as a soldier.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Rockin' Garages

Love cars? Love rock n' roll? This book is for you...




If you've ever wondered which cars are sitting in your favourite rock star's garage, then this book is the answer to your prayers.


Authors Tom Cotter and Ken Gross have spent time with some of the UK's most legendary performers and charted the reasons behind their fascination with cars; finding out what has made them as passionate about their motors as they are about their music.


Artists covered include Nick Mason, Brian Johnson, Mick Fleetwood, Brad Whitford and more.

Delve into the world of rockstar motors with Rockin' Garages!

source: planetrock.com