The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl by Belle Du Jour

I first heard about Belle Du Jour last year, when I was perusing books with my then Cebu-based friend P in Powerbooks (Cebu). But they only had her other titles, and being the OC-reader that I am, I wanted to read her first book before reading the other titles. I was finally able to get a copy of The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl during my last bum date with M, but was only able to finish reading it this morning. I blame work.

I found her chronicles interesting and entertaining, although there are some banal moments for which we can't really blame her. Not everyone's life is like a soap opera where drama is a constant factor. Still, apart from those momentary musings on the weather, the work as a whole was entertaining. And given that this is a true account of her life (or at least of a year in her life), she managed to maintain a climactic suspense which led to a satisfying albeit expected closure.

The advantage of anonymity is the freedom to talk about anything and everything. Belle was surprisingly and refreshingly open about both her professional and personal life - sometimes at the point of sharing too much information already. But then again it IS her diary, and if diarists don't have the license to ramble about anything they want, then who does?

One thing amusing about her diary is her penchant for lists, which is reminiscent of Bridget Jones. Only some of her lists are not exactly for those with a prudish disposition. Still, these are quite informative. ;) But this isn't to say that there are no profound insights in her chronicles. On the contrary, Belle is quite the reader of people (which is probably an asset for working girls).

All in all, her chronicles are an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Alice in Wonderland

Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?
Alice: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret - all the best people are.

I have to say that I'm not a big fan of 3D movies. Yes, the graphics are amazing, but after 30 minutes or so my eyes begin to strain and the glasses become just bothersome.

Still, I endured, all for the love of Johnny Depp.

But no, I will not blog about how entertaining Mr. Depp is when he's acting crazy. I will not blog about how gorgeous he is (especially since he looks like a deranged clown in this film).

Enough about Johnny Depp.

To say that this is a film for children is a gross oversimplification. There's a murderous and sadistic Red Queen, a Mad Hatter who's obviously suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, in addition to the very creepy host of talking animals. Indeed even the themes in this movie are surprisingly adult. It's interesting that Alice once again finds herself falling into Wonderland at a pivotal time in her life - when she's at the crossroads between adolescence and adulthood. At this point I find myself commiserating with poor Alice - when faced with a choice between marriage to a blubbering wimp and insanity, I'd gladly choose the latter too.

But then, by the end of the film, we are reminded that no matter how easy it would be to escape and shirk from the world of adulthood, it simply can't be done. It may be easier to slay monsters than face an entire crowd of people that's expecting you to do something you don't want to, but one must simply forge ahead and do what's right anyway. It's that simple - or so it seems.

For this reason, this film reminded me of Peter Pan. But unlike that story, Alice chose to grow up. At the risk of sounding like a rabid feminist, I'd just like to add that even works of fiction reflect the undeniable fact that girls mature faster than boys. Yay for Alice.

De Castro vs. JBC

9 concurred, 2 said that it was premature, 3 abstained, and 1 dissented - Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.

Makes me damn proud to be a woman.

Excerpts from the dissenting opinion of the Honorable Justice:

"xxx

That the power of judicial appointment was lodged in the President is a recognized measure of limitation on the power of the judiciary, which measure, however, is counterbalanced by the election ban due to the need to insulate the judiciary from the political climate of presidential elections. To abandon this interplay of checks and balances on the mere inference that the establishment of the JBC could de-politicize the process of judicial appointments lacks constitutional mooring.

xxx

The second ratiocination in the ponencia could thus not remove an added constitutional safeguard by pretending to have examined and concluded that the establishment of the JBC had eliminated all encompassing forms of political maneuverings during elections. Otherwise, reading into the Constitution such conclusion so crucial to the scheme of checks and balances, which is neither written nor tackled, undermines the noticeable silence or restraint exercised by the framers themselves from making a definitive analysis.

To illustrate, the instance given in the fifth ratiocination that having the new President appoint the next Chief Justice cannot ensure judicial independence because the appointee can also become beholden to the appointing authority bears an inconsistent stance. It does not admit or recognize that the mechanism of removal by impeachment eliminates the evils of political indebtedness. In any event, that level of reasoning overlooks the risk of compromising judicial independence when the outgoing President faces the Court in the charges that may be subsequently filed against her/him, and when the appointing President is up for re-election in the peculiar situation contemplated by Section 4, Article VII of the Constitution.

xxx"

Fail!

G: Hindi dapat pag-aksayahan ng oras ang mga bagay na walang patutunguhan and walang saysay.

E: Conyo ka talaga. "AT" ang tagalog ng "AND," wag na kasi mag-attempt at magpanggap. :)

Whoops.

Something to keep me sane

Like my friend P, I used to blog quite frequently about everything and anything. As P said, there was a time when blogging was fun and effortless.

Then came law school (and the bar exam), otherwise known as the 5-year-black-hole-that-consumed-my-life. I stopped blogging for a number of reasons, but at the back of my mind I always thought that I'd eventually resume writing.

Right now, I essentially write for a living. The sad thing is, despite the acres of trees that I've murdered given the amount of paper I use, I can't even call myself a writer. And as some of my friends would know, legalese English is not always grammatically correct.

Thus, inspired by P's shiny new blog, I've decided to blog anew. This is also to help keep me sane, not to mention prevent me from being too legalistic in my way of writing and/or thinking.

And no, I won't blog about work. I'm not that insane. As with my old blog, I'll write my comments on books, movies, music, etc. I won't call these reviews, as I don't want to be called a pretentious know-it-all. There will be random stuff, of course.

I aim to entertain.