This may be about a fight in Las Vegas, it may be in November; but surprise of surprises, it doesn’t have Manny Pacquiao on the fight card! Come Nov. 21, the curtain is raised on UFC 106; and this is literally, the biggest heavyweight championship fight in history, as seemingly invincible Brock Lesnar defends his title in the main event, against unbeaten knockout artist Shane Carwin. You may raise your eyebrows and ponder UFC, and think ketchup and food sauces; but then, you’d be part of a diminishing percentage of sports fans who aren’t aware of, and fascinated by, the rough and tumble, “real” world of MMA (and no, the Metro Manila Aides may have a tough life, but I’m not referring to them). That’s two initialisms in one paragraph; so for the uninitiated few, MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts, and UFC is the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I should know, because my sons are avid fans, and as names like Lesnar, Carwin, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Lidell would fly during our Sunday dinners, I had to play catch up.
At a lunch held at Outback Glorietta, Colt 45 joined forces with Balls (Channel 34 on Sky Cable) in announcing that as part of its commitment to supporting MMA, Colt 45 was once again giving UFC fight fans a chance to watch UFC 106 live in Las Vegas. Aired exclusively on Balls, the channel had arranged for Colt 45 to send five lucky winners (each of the five with a companion) to Las Vegas on Nov. 21 (watch the channel or log on to the ABS website for details of this Flight for Fight promo). 106 is of special interest to UFC fans, as on the card is a light heavyweight match that marks the return of former champion Tito Ortiz, in an Octagon rematch with Forrest Griffin.
It may interest people to know that MMA is the sport that’s now the biggest single revenue earner for Pay Per View in the United States — and don’t look now, but that means roughly $40 to $50 per view, while Balls carries it “Live” and for free on Sky Cable! Sometime last year, UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta visited Manila with fighter Chuck Lidell, and he made comment on how Filipino fans were truly lucky that MMA, and UFC by extension, has more mainstream exposure in this country than even in the United States, where it exclusively remains in the domain of PPV (yes, reader, a third alphabetism!). And that this has really helped the sport gain recall and popularity was evidenced by the mall tour Chuck had at the Mall of Asia, and his after-party at Nu.Vo. It was instant recognition for Lidell, something even I was surprised by. Men, women and kids; they’d all stop and gawk, and kids would start screaming “Chuck!” At the party, while there was a limited guest list, word spread and troops of fans would stand outside, hoping for a glimpse of, a photo with, this bonafide grappler from the world of UFC. Leave it to Colt 45 and Balls to make November even a bigger month for Filipino fight fans!
Sense of urgency
The novels reviewed today all have this sense of urgency about them, with the threat of death looming in the background. In the case of Steig Larsson’s final installment of his Millenium/Salander trilogy, it’s a teary farewell to this plucky heroine. With Terry Goodkind’s The Law of Nines, science fiction and fantasy merge with the fate of the world hanging by the proverbial thread; and Muriel Barbery’s Gourmet Rhapsody is, in fact, an earlier novel, but displays some of the measured cadence that came to fruition in The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Steig Larsson (available at National Bookstore): After delivering the manuscripts for his Millenium trilogy, Larsson passed away, and we’re the sorry lot for knowing nothing follows this third installment. Crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker/social rebel Lisbeth Salander have become two of my favorite characters in contemporary fiction. More of a companion piece to the second novel, Hornet’s Nest has Lisbeth recovering in the hospital, facing charges for having driven an axe into the head of her Soviet defector/criminal father after he had buried her alive and shot her in the head. If you’ve never read his novels, start right now! And if you’ve been following the Salander saga, rejoice that we now have this Part III.
The Law of Nines by Terry Goodkind (available at National Bookstore): Known more for his work in the fantasy genre, Goodkind comes up with an action thriller that uses science fiction and fantasy elements effectively. Alex is a landscape artist in a Midwestern town, and thinks he has saved a woman from a near-accident, narrowly avoiding an out-of-control 10-wheeler. The woman in question, Jax, claims she’s from the future, another dimension, and Alex fights incredulity, as certain incidents point to the fact that there may be truth to her claim. Grisly and visceral, The Law of Nines moves at a fast pace after establishing our characters and the situation. Goodkind balances human interest and sympathetic characters with his outlandish plotline — winner!
Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery (available at Different Bookstore): Pierre Arthens is dying, the greatest food critic in Paris, and from his deathbed, he searches for that one elusive flavor that started it all for him. Various voices help us understand what sort of person Arthens is — his own perception against those of the people around him. Living in an exclusive apartment block, it’s interesting to note that the concierge is Renee — who takes the spotlight in Barbery’s next novel, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. With wit and panache, Barbery has us hearing from Arthens’ wife, his nephew, his children, the chef who Arthens helped make famous and his cat. It’s a novel about reflection and perception and the passages about food are exquisitely written.