King Rat

King Rat by James Clavell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I compare to Tai-pan and Shogun, this book, King Rat, would be my least favorite. There is a restrictive feeling about it since it is a World War II POW camp in Singapore: Changi. The first two books had an epic nature about them, one was control on Imperial Japan and the other was control of East Asia by means of trade by the English.

Shogun

Shōgun by James Clavell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Chinese philosophy the Yin and Yang are the two opposing forces beneficial to the well being if there is harmony. In the book Shogun harmony is Wa. While I sound philosophical let me be clear that Shogun is not a philosophy book. The best modern pop culture analogy I can give would be Game of Thrones only here you have the real world of samurais.

The harmony or the Wa I speak of is to the quality of the book. James Clavell has mixed east and west elements often opposing into a seamless story worth 1,000 pages long.

Tai-pan

Tai-Pan by James Clavell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tai-pan is another East and West tale in the quality of Shogun, Clavell’s other popular book. Though in the later there is more versus between East and West, in Tai-pan there is more “diplomacy”.

For one reason the story of Tai-pan is more economic and business in nature. There is more subtlety in business than there is with the story of the samurai.

Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To think of Hollywood westerns is to set oneself up for wrong expectations in this book. Hollywood or the movies for one is a visual medium and books are never made into movies as they are written.

I fell into that expectation at the beginning of the book almost always expecting gunfights every few pages. After finishing a few chapters I thought writing gunfights every so often will ultimately be boring. The scene was best if it was watched with its quick draw and the gunfighters just flipping their guns into their holster.

Then we go into the genius of the book of moving to and from the concept of boring to epic. My only complaint of the author is that he uses euphemisms for anything sexual even rape. I had to read that paragraph twice at that rape section to understand and feel pity for the character. It was a weird choice to use indirect words when overall the author has been so vivid in describing the life in the old west.

Brooklyn (2015)

Reading letters is a plot device. 

However in the 2016 Best Picture nominee Brooklyn directed by John Crowley reading letters – this is snail mail mind you – was more than a plot device but was also the visualization of a heartbreak and thus highlight of my watching experience. They act as my goal posts wherein I could judge what condition Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) was in and where she was going.  The letters or rather the reading of it was what hooked me.

Rogue One (2016)

It seems reviews today need to come with a disclaimer in the beginning as to whether there are spoilers or not so in compliance with the requirement I'd say yes there are spoilers. There are spoilers even though I tried to be as vague as possible but its impossible to describe what I like or don't like without giving even just a little.  My advice as someone who tries to avoid spoilers every so often it is best not to read anything at all.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is better than the prequels (The Phantom Menace, Attack of theClones, and the Revenge of the Sith) especially if you see it side by side with A New Hope.  It is even better than the newest sequel the Force Awakens which felt like a rip off of A New Hope.

Start-up Nation

Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle by Dan Senor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As Asian whose culture is subscribe to elders, seniors, people of title it is a big surprise for me that Israelis with a prominent military culture can still have a culture of openness and reject the rigidity that comes with hierarchies. Telling your leaders they are wrong is frowned upon in other cultures.

Actually every entry about the military is an eye opener for me. Perhaps it is only real in the Israeli context but before reading this book when I thought of armies I thought rigid and closed. Here it’s a springboard. There’s team; it’s one of the most important social glue in the country. There’s intermixing of disciplines including high tech.

I also like the part of clusters. I always thought about that subject in a smaller sense (an office) wherein it’s not always about the infrastructure and the systems, there is an informal social glue or links you have to consider, and you can’t just manufacture.

There are also parts about Israeli history, explanations of how they became that way or like in the kibbutz, how they overcame challenges. The book is quite comprehensive. A must read.

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The Judge (2014)

“[My father] loved me tenderly and shyly from a distance, and later on took a naive pride in seeing my name in print.” ― Arthur Koestler

Jarvis said it was refreshing to see a video of Tony Stark in clothing being that there were so many of them in armor.

Felt the same for a while watching The Judge.  It was refreshing to see Tony Stark in another movie. He talks smart; he had fancy clothes, he had swagger.  No doubt Tony Stark or Robert Downey, Jr. can play a great lawyer as required.

Person of Interest (CBS)

image from Hello, Tailor

Reading the news makes one think that the Orwellian Big Brother is already a reality. Abroad, the all-seeing eye of the National Security Agency is an issue among Americans and allied nations, meanwhile in local news the Philippines, always a copycat for hot items abroad, wants an all-seeing eye of its own.

I didn’t give Person of Interest a second glance when I first saw it.  Jim Caviezel never attracted my attention even when he was Jesus Christ and Michael Emerson was a weird match for him as a partner.  The series had technology and some kind of surveillance going on in the mix but as a magic formula, it didn't pop out. What crime fighting series doesn't have surveillance? Cops do surveillance.

Can the Avengers survive?

Can all the ego; all the differences in personalities and skills, inherent in a large group of people, a team, be properly addressed in a forced ranking system such as the Performance Based Incentive System?

Be Sad, Be Angry

“Sa bawat estudyanteng mulat sa mga napapanahong isyu sa lipunan, at sa halip na magreklamo lang sa Facebook ay nagmumungkahi ng solusyon: SONA mo ito.” – President Benigno S. Aquino III, SONA 2013

Be sad to see that a President of a country is so bothered by students that he recited a small paragraph in the 2013 State of the Nation Address just for them.  

World War Z (2013)

Movie gross notwithstanding Z trumped S. S of course refers to Man of Steel which came a week before World War Z. 

In writing this I had second thoughts about comparing a superhero story and a zombie apocalypse story.  Should I?   I couldn't help it in the end after feeling pleasantly surprised at how World War Z turned up.  The story didn't leave an empty feeling in the mouth, walking corpse or whatever notwithstanding.

Magic 76

According to survey there is a magic 76 percent who have found their calling. 

These employees as the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development (CORD) defines it see, “work as an endeavor one engages in for the satisfaction of doing it, a lofty, nonmaterial goal or a sense of self, and feels highly energizing and fulfilling.”  

Where's the Water Gonna Go?

Saved by Jobless Growth

Since 2010 the Department of Budget and Management has lost: An Assistant Secretary to resignation. An operations director to the Office of the President.

Another Two operations director to resignation.  They are now consultants somewhere else. Another operations director to, I am not sure, optional retirement or resignation.  

Is there a really difference, either way they are no longer with the Department.

Tagging makes Clark Kent obsolete

“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.” Marianne Williamson

The most famous underwear in comics is that of Superman.  There are two reasons. One, because it is red and two, for some reason he does not wear it under the blue tights.

When I saw the publicity shots of Man of Steel I thought finally the franchise found people with good taste.  Then I finally learned where the underwear came from.  In a featurette Man of Steel director Zack Snyder states the inspiration for the famous red underwear were those of Victorian era strongmen.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

If there is any doubt in your mind that the White House can be taken, then that doubt is all you need to avoid the film Olympus Has Fallen.

I had my doubts and it made the first few scenes hard to swallow and predictable.  In real life the White House would be hard to capture, to consider it possible still limits you to a few possibilities.  And to watch in unfold on film makes those choices even fewer and apparent snuffing out the excitement. 

Inspire, Motivate, what?

Money can motivate.  Exemplary employees will stand out and get rewarded for the fruits of their hard labor, sure that’s possible. Nurture team spirit?  Sure, everything is always possible.

However it is wishful thinking or maybe delusional is the word to think that money alone especially money with extra added baggage an inverted pyramid would be the magic bullet in solving employee motivation. 

After 7 Months...

217 days or 31 weeks or 7 months and 5 days since Deputy Presidential Spokesman Abegaile Valte announced a story about 3 bonuses for government employees coming December 2012: the 13th month pay, the Productivity Enhancement Incentive, and the Performance Based Bonus.

How much can Employees see?

Employees can always see each other and judge the Performance Based Incentive System from there.  Are their co-employees as productive as the money and rating implies or are they just better at kissing ass?

It still begs the question how much of the other bureau’s performance can they see and accept.