Music for a cause

With so many noble efforts out there, it may at times be difficult to highlight or earmark one particular effort, and make claims that it stands heads and shoulders above the rest. The inescapable truth is that in these troubled times, there are so many causes and charities that all have merit and nobility stamped on them. What can differentiate one from the other is the personal involvement. In the case of the new Healing of Pain and Enlightenment (H.O.P.E. Volume 2) CD, this involvement became truly subjective, as the architects behind the CD, Pinky Tobiano, Lorna Tolentino and Annabelle Regalado-Borja (Star Records) are all friends or acquaintances, and it was my introduction that brought Pinky and Annabelle together last year when Pinky created the H.O.P.E. Volume 1 CD. This is a CD that recently won a Catholic Mass Media Award for Best Inspirational Album in the Secular category.

For this year’s Volume 2, the new element is the participation of Lorna Tolentino, fresh from the “trial” she underwent as her husband, screen icon Rudy Fernandez, succumbed to cancer. As with last year, the proceeds of the sale of this CD will do its bit in helping cancer awareness and support groups raise much needed funds for their programs and initiatives. I Can Serve and Bosom Buddies were each gifted P500,000 earlier this year by Pinky, and Star Records is again going the full mile in promoting the Volume 2 CD. Today, a segment of the Sunday noontime show ASAP will be devoted to giving due recognition to the award garnered by the first H.O.P.E. CD; and some special guests will perform the numbers they recorded for the second CD. As can be expected, with Lorna’s involvement, a number of Rudy’s close friends, and those from the film industry, pitched in and made their services available for the songs and spoken passages that all hold special meaning for those whose lives were touched by Daboy (Rudy). Bibeth Orteza Siguion-Reyna helped create the liner notes and spoken passages, and the “usual suspects” of really close friends all provided special numbers. The likes of Sharon Cuneta and Piolo Pascual also pitched in, and the continuity of the CD’s special theme is provided by Lorna herself.

My mother passed away in 1996 from cancer, and my elder sister had her own scare a few years ago. My sister is doing fine now, but as we know only too well, the shadow of the ordeal lingers, and there is always the fear of its recurrence. One would be hard-pressed nowadays to find someone who has not been affected in one way or another by cancer (a loved one, family member or even a friend who had fallen victim); so when we go to the mall and pass by a record store, one will hopefully keep one eye out for the CD jacket, and appreciate how a simple purchase of the CD can go a long way in the cause that Pinky and Lorna are championing.

Early detection

With these three novels, the science and art of detection are thrust into the spotlight. In The Black Tower, we’re whisked to the early 1800s and meet the man considered as the pioneer of detection, the legendary Vidocq. Lost Girls is the third installment of the series featuring psychic Sherry Moore, while Mine All Mine has a “pulse” (highly specialized security guards) as its main protagonist.

The Black Tower by Louis Bayard (available at National Bookstore): In his previous novel, Pale Blue Eye, Bayard gave us historical fiction in the guise of a thriller, with his main character being Edgar Allan Poe as a young sleuth in military school. This time out, detection and a mystery are again at the core of his novel. The legendary Vidocq — first Director of France’s Surete Nationale — is drawn into a story that has to do with the mistaken identity of the son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, who may or may not have perished in prison during the era right after the tumultuous Reign of Terror. The narrator of this tale is one Hector Carpentier, a doctor of sorts, whose name is found in the pocket of a murdered man, a member of the conspiracy to bring this royal son back to his rightful throne. Fast-paced and filled with the atmosphere of 1818, the novel is a screenplay waiting to happen.

Lost Girls by George D. Shuman (available at Fully Booked): This is Shuman’s third thriller featuring the blind psychic, Sherry Moore. Sherry touches a person and “sees” the final seconds of a dead person’s life, what he (or she) was thinking of before their demise. From Alaska, to the United States, to Haiti, this is a thriller that puts a human face to the illegal white slave trade that traffics women and condemns them to a life of prostitution and degradation. What’s also unique with how Sherry is presented is the notion of her trying to lead a regular life despite her physical disability and her burdensome gift. This is also Shuman’s way of making a statement about the fact that this white slave trade flourishes and there’s not much being done to stop it, as most international laws do not have any “teeth” to really prosecute or put an end to the practice. From drugs to women, there’s dirty money, and people want that money.

Mine All Mine by Adam Davies (available at Fully Booked): After The Frog King and Goodbye Lemon, novels I enjoyed, Adam Davies is back with a heist/art theft novel that also deals with strange love and identity. At the center of Mine All Mine is Otto Starks, a pulse (security guard with a difference) and the woman he loves, Charlie Izzo. There’s a rat burglar who seems to pattern his crime career with the sidebar of embarrassing Otto, and it’s into this intricate interplay that the novel exists. Otto is a wonderful creation, quirky and given to moody introspection. He regularly pops toxic pills in order to build immunity to lethal or paralyzing substances, and his rants and raves with fellow pulse Herk, are priceless. There’s a lot of social commentary built into the dialogue, with notion of morality, and the shades of gray in right and wrong. What’s amazing is how Davies manages all that, and still makes it a fun read.