Summer Soul rules
Now on its fourth year, Lifestyle Network’s annual Summer Soul weekend remains one of the highlights of my work-related life at ABS’ Cable Channels and Print Media Group. Think about it, sure I have to help take care of our advertisers and sponsors, make sure our honorees and their friends are well attended to, and yes, I have to ensure that Metro Society’s EIC Raul Manzano stays relatively sober (or at least, keep the microphone far away from him if we’ve failed on the first count); but it is three days at Discovery Shores on Boracay, and thanks to the likes of Mrs. W (Annabelle Wisniewski) and Discovery Shores’ Jun Parreno and Gemma Batoon, the three days feel like a trip back “home,” like spending time with “family”— that’s how much Discovery Shores has made this weekend of work such an undisguised pleasure! And while several new, top-flight hotels and establishments have sprouted on the island, the standards, efficiency, amenities and service at Discovery Shores keep them at the top tier of what’s available on the sunny island.
Summer Soul and Lifestyle Network have always been about women, driven to succeed, achieve, and/or make a difference; while not forgetting about the finer things, “smelling the roses” and enjoying life. This year had Lifestyle Network honoring Women of Passion Isabel Roces, Candice del Rosario and Marissa Lopa, and as per Summer Soul rules, each of the girls brought one companion, Isabel bringing work-out mate Chyll Ramirez, newlywed Candice accompanied by husband Avery, and Marissa had to literally “drag” one of her best friends, Vina Monasterio. As Marissa puts it, Vina was initially such a reluctant companion, worried as to whether she’d have a good time. And in typical Summer Soul fashion, when departing on Sunday, Vina readily agreed that it wasn’t so much of a good time, as it was a “great time!” New friendships forged, days spent bonding and enjoying the relaxed pace of the substantive activities arranged for the group.
For Marissa Lopa, her current passion would be NVIRO, the “green” paint line she’s championing for homeowners ready to blend aesthetic considerations with environmental concerns, while Candice is a known figure among soccer moms, thanks to the indefatigable efforts she’s put in over the years in promoting health and wellness among young children via the well-organized training programs and leagues she’s been part of. As for Isabel, her espousal for a healthy lifestyle via her strict vegetarian diet and fitness regimen is coupled with a fierce dedication to the protection of animal rights. The sponsors of the event joined us at Discovery, and while too numerous to mention, they all were one in enjoying the great repasts the hotel would create for the welcome dinner and awards night. Like me, they enjoyed the three days of genuine work, combined with “working on our tans,” and we’d talk about how we had to do something bigger and better come the fifth year of Summer Soul!
Weird rules!
If you’re searching for something offbeat, something strange, weird, yet eminently readable, you’d do well to consider the three novels featured today. One comes from a tried and true “old master,” one from the son of an old master, and the third from one of the new, exciting voices of Afro-American Literature.
Bite Me by Christopher Moore (available at National Bookstore): Ridiculous and goofy, yet always entertaining, Christopher Moore is one of my all-time favorites, ever since I read Practical Demonkeeping. Bite Me is Part 3 of a series, and while it helps to have read the first two, there’s enough of an intro at the start of the book to allow us to enjoy this third installment on its own merits. Set in a seedy San Francisco underbelly we don’t regularly encounter as tourists, this is an absurd vampire saga that if life was fair, would have us forgetting Twilight. This one is played for laughs, and if you had read Moore’s previous novel, Fool, his take on Shakespeare, you’ll know just how teary-eyed with mirth we can get while reading his books. Once again, Moore delivers!
Horns by Joe Hill (available at National Bookstore): Hill doesn’t make much of it, but he is the son of Stephen King, and it would seem suspense writing is something that can be passed on between generations! This is Hill’s second novel, and it’s got a great premise: Ig (Ignatius) wakes up one morning and feels stubs beginning to grow out of his forehead. The people he encounters have no choice but to blurt out their innermost feelings and deep held secrets. Ig’s love of his life, Merrin, has been brutally raped and murdered and Ig is the main suspect. Suspension of disbelief is required but we willingly surrender it with this fast-paced tale of young love, friendship and camaraderie, and the inner evil that lies in everyone of us. Plot twists galore, and most work like a charm!
Big Machine by Victor LaValle (available at National Bookstore): Hailed as one of the “stars” of the current crop of Afro-American writers, the great thing about Victor LaValle is that while his Black experience is at the core of his writing, his novels read like they could be about anyone, the American Everyman. This one is about a band of down-and-out misfits and heroin addicts, the type of people you see handling jobs like cleaning toilets in train stations. For some inexplicable reason, they’ve been banded together because at one time or another, they’ve heard the Voice. Known as the Unlikely Scholars, and hell bent on their supernatural, paranormal mission, LaValle uses the odyssey as a chance to cast a keen, judgmental eye on contemporary America.
