Naked Kate Winslet = Naked Golden Man?

Last night, I finished reading Bernhard Schlink's international bestseller, The Reader. It's about Michael Berg and how his affair with a woman twice his age has altered his life in postwar Germany. It's a beautiful, powerful, and devastating novel filled with passion, guilt, and morals. The last third is especially emotional, playing directly to the reader's heartstrings. I am utterly haunted by Michael and his one-time lover, Hanna Schmitz, and how their lives turn out. I would highly recommend it.

I read the novel in anticipation of the new film adaptation directed by Stephen Daldry. I admire Stephen Daldry's work, especially Billy Elliot (he directed both the film and stage versions of the show). It's his work on The Hours, however, that makes me very hopeful about The Reader. The Hours, another haunting and devastating adaptation of a novel, may have won Nicole Kidman an Oscar because of her prosthetic nose, but it also sports a beautiful performance by Julianne Moore (where's her Oscar? Anyone?) and lots of vivid imagery and storytelling.

What makes me even more excited about The Reader is Kate Winslet, one of the greatest actors of our generation. She's a true chameleon, a mini-Meryl. With five Oscar nominations by the time she was 31, she is the youngest person to achieve that status and is climbing her way to be one of the most nominated actresses. However, she has yet to win the elusive naked golden man.

In The Reader, Kate portrays Hanna, a woman on trial for a crime committed in Nazi Germany. She gets to age about 30 years throughout the movie. And we also get to see her naked body yet again, something that Oscar certainly doesn't mind (she was nude onscreen in Titanic, Iris, and Little Children, three of her five nominations). But will this finally be her chance? Will nomination #6 bring her the gold?

Frankly, the only thing I can see stopping her from winning is herself. Kate Winslet has another movie coming out in December that is just as Oscar bait-y. It's a movie called Revolutionary Road, directed by her husband, Sam Mendes, and co-starring her Titanic lover, Leonardo DiCaprio. If people praise both performances, it might lead to vote splitting, and as we all know, an actor can only be nominated once per category. Kate & Co. know this very well, and if they're smart, they'll push Kate for Supporting Actress for The Reader and let her work in Revolutionary Road be considered for the Leading Actress category. Then again, will nominating committees recognize that? Or will they be confused and not know in which category to nominate her? I hope the eggs land in Ms. Winslet's basket. She could be a potential double nominee this year and finally take home the gold. Let's hope it happens. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

See the trailer that inspired me to read the novel in the first place. Thoughts? Concerns? Adoration?

Two Kates. Two Nominations? Two WINS?! Or category confusion?

~Steven

Hispanic?

Okay, let's get this straight. I am a Filipino-American. I have always lived in the United States and have never stepped outside the borders of this country. My parents were not born in this country but have lived here for most of their lives and have never revisited their mother country.

"Filipino" is the correct term for what I am. It's not "Philippine," "Philippinian," or any of those variants I have heard in the past. O yes, and it's spelled with an F.

No matter what anyone else says, Filipinos are Asian. Not Spanish, Pacific Islander, Chinese, Japanese. ASIAN. The Philippines belongs to the continent of Asia. Therefore, it is an Asian nation and its people are Asian.

My last name is Spanish. That's because the Philippines were invaded by the Spanish many, many years ago. It does not make me Spanish. Many Filipinos have Spanish last names, so I'm not alone.

I [sadly] don't speak Tagalog. Nor am I fluent in Spanish.

But why o why is there still a confusion?

Why does my mother get a magazine entitled Hispanic every month without her subscribing to it?

Why do we get telemarketers asking to speak to a Hispanic member of the family?
A phone call I once answered:
Man: Are you Hispanic?
Me: No.
Man: Can I speak to someone in your household who is?
Me: No.
He literally couldn't; I wasn't being rude. There is no one in this household who is or ever was Hispanic.

Sure, Filipino restaurants don't exist at every street corner. And the biggest Filipino celebrity is in the lowly theatre world. But Filipinos do live in America. We're not that uncommon. So why is it taking so long for us to be recognized?

That said, I will continue to exploit my ethnic ambiguity as I pursue a career in theatre. I can fall into whatever race they want me to be. Why, you say? Because show business has yet to see beyond ethnic boundaries. I am still seen as a stereotype or a person to fill a certain quota. Yes, it's true that Asians are being seen more and more in the entertainment industry. And yet more and more are being turned away because they are "not what we're looking for."

I'm sorry if your head is now spinning. No worries, mine is too. Just too many things wrong here. Double standards, irony, and head-spinning... I guess that's what it's like to be a Filipino-American.

~Steven

Please pack your knives and go

Why do I get giddy at the thought of a new season of Top Chef? I don't have a really good answer for you. It happens every year at some point, but I see the knife logo flash across my TV set and I just start jumping up and down uncontrollably, only to sulk five seconds later because it was just a teaser promo for an upcoming season of my favorite reality cooking show. Now that the new season has begun, I am sane once again (or not, depending how you look at it). And this time, the contestants are cooking it up right here in New York! How can this season not be brilliant?

I can't tell if this will be a good season just yet (it's only one episode in), but they already eliminated two people! How's that for a twist? An elimination during the quickfire challenge? I love it. I don't even care that I can't eat the food. Top Chef has always delivered wonderful entertainment accompanied by just the right amount of drama. The food is the main focus. It's very exciting to watch.

And while we're on the subject of just the right amount of drama in a reality series, I continue to love and root for The Amazing Race. Nothing motivates people more than "finish first and you'll win a million dollars!" There's absolutely no room for the unnecessary drama that reeks through all of those "real" whatevers. The stakes are too high for anyone to slow down for drama, which I love. This season is especially exciting for me because one of the racers is a musical theatre actor, currently starring in the Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks. The drama within The Amazing Race is shown through the pairs' relationships and how they deal with the pressure. It's great fun. Now if only CBS didn't air the show on Sundays, making it interfere with their football schedule and very often airing my beloved reality show (a show that has won CBS six consecutive, undefeated Emmy Awards, mind you) whenever the big men in the helmets decide to call it a day. It's pretty frustrating, especially when the DVR doesn't foresee these instances. I never liked football anyway, and this is certainly not a way to get Steven on your side.

So yeah, I guess I'm a sucker for reality shows. I should clarify... reality competition television. Well, the "good ones" at least. I love seeing what people can do, pushing them to their creative limits or to their wit's end. And then after I'm satisfied with what I watch, I pretend that it all actually happened that way, that none of it was scripted, fully knowing that much of the results and editing were manipulated by the producers. But hopefully the competition aspect reduces the fakeness. Right? I don't exactly know why I'm trying to defend my guilty pleasure of reality competition shows. Am I guilty of liking them? Yes. Do I feel guilty liking them? Sometimes. Doesn't matter now because it's all out there and my secret is out! Now who wants to talk about Runway, ANTM, Survivor, or BB? Don't get me started on American Idol, though... I just can't stand that one. Ugh.

~Steven

My thoughts you can't decode...

My first official post is dedicated to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. I promise that it won't monopolize this blog, but I thought I'd write about it since I finished the fourth and final book yesterday.

I first stumbled upon Twilight when my teenage sister began reading the series this past summer. I started reading in September and read through the four-book saga in roughly two months. Although Stephenie Meyer's writing style is sophomoric and just plain bad sometimes (there are so many typos throughout the series; a toddler could have done a better job editing), the characters both human and supernatural are just plain fascinating. Since Meyer makes up her own rules about vampires, this is a fresh take on the genre. Now, I have loved vampire stories, from one of my favorite TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to the new and erotic True Blood on HBO. Let's face it: vampires never get boring. And if that's not enough, the Twilight books have been injected with werewolves, vampires' nemeses according to Meyer.

What really draws me to the Twilight books are the various themes that are common to both the mortal and immortal. It would not be a true vampire story without passion, and there's a lot of it here. There's also the issue of control and giving into temptation, another juicy topic. But above all, there is the conscience. Meyer's characters (among them Bella, the books' teenage narrator and protagonist; Edward, her vampire lover; and Jacob, Bella's werewolf suitor) illustrate that no action is without reaction and repercussion. Blame and guilt are always on these characters' minds, and it is fascinating to see how each individual deals with it. Will they deliberately hurt the ones they love? Will they seek revenge? Will they choose to hide their true feelings as best they can? It's definitely an interesting game of chess.

Well, all of this is true about the series until you get to Breaking Dawn. Twilight is an electric jolt and a perfect introduction to the characters. New Moon is an essential, if slow, book in redefining relationships and opening up new storylines. Eclipse is a fast-paced, action-packed thrill ride from start to finish. So why not end on a high note? After all, anything that would follow these three books is bound to be disappointing. And, well, Breaking Dawn is that disappointment of a fourth book.

Yes, there are some interesting twists and turns, but ultimately, Stephenie Meyer has just created a plot with too many holes, too many unfinished stories, and too many characters yet to be fleshed out. The book introduces a new voice when Jacob (the werewolf) narrates the second of the book's three sections. However, his narration doesn't really add anything new to the story and in fact leaves many stories open-ended, never to be addressed again. Sure, it makes Jacob a more likable character after some irredeemable actions in my opinion (I've always been on Team Edward), but that's about it. What about the budding friendship/possible romance with Leah? And Seth's new power position? And where the heck are Quil and Embry, Jacob's best friends? And isn't his sister destined to be with someone he can't stand? Sadly, none of these questions are ever answered, even if they are basic issues that should be solved with Jacob as a narrator. But I guess Meyer got bored or had writer's block. Lame on you, Stephenie Meyer.

The book's conclusion with the Volturi is equally stupid. All the buildup and no final battle? With only one insignificant character dying? It made the head-honcho vampires that make up the Volturi to look like bumbling idiots. How anticlimactic. O but it doesn't matter since the series ends with a happily ever after for all. If only getting there were more interesting.

Even though the final book failed to measure up to the enthralling first three (a trilogy as far as I'm concerned), it doesn't diminish any excitement I've had for the film adaptation of Twilight. Yes, you've seen all the hype on MTV and the multiple covers on Entertainment Weekly. But none of that matters to me because the movie looks like a faithful adaptation of the first book with all the right people playing the right parts. Even its soundtrack, which premiered at #1 on the Billboard charts, is dead on. Bravo to Paramore, whose anthem "Decode" perfectly encapsulates Bella and Edward's relationship of dangerous, undeniable passion. (Paramore's other song written for the movie, "I Caught Myself," hits the mark as well.) Sure, the movie looks like it is geared towards fangirls and teenagers, but after seeing clips and interviews with the filmmakers and cast, it really looks like an honest telling of what I consider to be a legitimate vampire tale. No, I won't be one of those who is bound to scream every time Robert Pattinson is on the screen, but I probably will be on the edge of my seat. I hope Rob and Co. don't disappoint... like Breaking Dawn did.

So I do encourage you to read the Twilight saga (or at least the first three books) and to see the movie, which premieres on November 21. (Note the discrepancy on the movie poster below regarding the release date... Twilight moved up its premiere to the original release date of the next Harry Potter flick, which was pushed back to 2009.)


Now unto something totally different next time, I promise! I refuse to turn this into another Twilight blog. Until then, happy procrastinating. If you've read this post the whole way through, you've done a good job procrastinating already, and I hope you come back for more! Comment at will... and tell me what you'd like me to talk about or dish on.

~Steven

A welcome of sorts

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Steven. I like penguins and I am very good at procrastinating. But those two things will probably not be at the forefront of my posts here at Penguins and Procrastination. Here, you will find me discussing things that interest and inspire me, or perhaps things that I find amusing or repulsive. Who knows, really... I'll just let the blog lead me where it leads me. I hope you'll find some of what I say entertaining or thought provoking. And if not, so be it. Either way, please feel free at any point to comment. I appreciate any and all voices that chime in.

Enjoy!

~Steven