Ms sect b 20161030 sunday

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2016

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Opinion

EDITORIAL

POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE

HORROR-FUL WORDS FOR HALLOWEEN IT’S that most spooky time of the year again, and reading classic and contemporary tales of terror is one of the surest ways to get that delightful frisson of fear crawling up your spine. The genre is well-represented by talented writers who have managed to frighten countless readers over the centuries. The most familiar to many is Edgar Allan Poe, whose disturbing works are required reading in some literature classes. A family favorite is “The Cask of Amontillado;” my daughters and I have memorized the first few lines. A story about revenge served cold, it ends with the protagonist literally getting away with murder. Check out Youtube for readings of this story by Christopher Lee, Basil Rathbone, and Vincent Price (the latter’s maniacal laughter at the end is particularly creepy). I am also partial to the Victorian and Edwardian writers, who were among the most masterful in their handling of the genre. Foremost among the writers of that era is M. R. James, a medievalist scholar of Cambridge who redefined the ghost story by using realistic, modern settings. Drawing on his personal experiences and knowledge as a scholar, James made many of his protagonists professors, students, or other academic folk, who have to deal with cursed items—books, drawings, a dollhouse, a whistle, a crown—and shake off visitors of a demonic nature. James’ approach is deft and subtle, and thus all the more terrifying because he delivers a creeping, insidious fear without resorting to gore or violence. “Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook” summons a demon that haunts the book’s new buyer; “Lost Hearts” tells how ghostly orphans deliver an overdue comeuppance to an utterly despicable murderer; “The Treasure of Abbot Thomas” describes how the loathsome but faithful guardian of a hoard of gold torments would-be treasure hunters; and “A View From a Hill” reveals the nasty origin of a pair of binoculars that can see into the past. Another master of disaster was Sheridan Le Fanu, whose works are frequently anthologized, among them “Green Tea.” The dialect he used in “Madam Crowl’s Ghost” will take some plodding through, but the description of elite lifestyles in the 18th century and the denouement that reveals Crowl’s guilty secret are worth the effort. Those enamored of tales of the Raj should read Rudyard Kipling’s “The Phantom Rickshaw” (guilt and deception), “The Mark of the Beast” (retribution for disrespecting local religious customs), and “At the End of the Passage,” an ambiguous story that invites speculation on why one of the protagonists suffers a

CHARACTERS A

MERICANS have just over a week to make up their minds and elect their next president.

The candidates could not be more different from one another. On one hand is a lawyer, former first lady, senator and state secretary, knowledgeable, formidable, logical. On the other hand is a billionaire who has gained notoriety for his unsubstantiated p r o nouncements and sexist b e havior. He has called his opponent a “nasty woman” and often says she is all talk and no action. The results will have implications for Filipinos whether or not they have family there: For example, what will Philippine-US relations be like should either candidate win, in the light of our own President Duterte’s articulated statements against the US? Will the US economy respond to political results and how will other economies, including ours, be affected? Will we be any less, or more, secure from terror? More than these long-term implications, the campaign has been exciting even for us Filipinos because we are no strangers to personality politics. We fol-

low the debates or read up on the candidates, not so much for their positions on national and global issues but because of their colorful characteristics and checkered pasts. It’s human nature, perhaps. We here, for instance, earned the President we now have because of his maverick appeal. Rodrigo Duterte won, though not by a majority, because he presented himself to be the stark opposite of the familiar faces in politics who had said too much and done too little. We are now living with the consequence of the plurality’s choice—and we don’t know yet whether it would turn out to be good or bad. So far the signs have been unnerving: cursing indiscriminately, making enemies of old friends, trash talking just about anyone, hearing the voice of God, for crying out loud. The choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seems obvious, but it appears many are willing to take the chance. If only for the implications of electing a caricature, we wish the Americans well, and may their good sense prevail.

Turn to B2

MUSIC FOR CAUSE LONG STORY SHORT ADELLE CHUA

SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Jodeline Michaela Penson started playing the violin when she was four years old. Today, she is the concertmaster of the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra and she does not mind the long hours she and her co-

members spend together in rehearsals and performances. “We’re like one big happy family now,” she says. One such reason to spend time as family is preparing for Strings Like Teen

Spirit, the MSJO’s fundraising concert this Saturday, November 5, 7:30 in the evening at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino-CCP Little Theater. The 30 or so members of the youth orchestra are looking for a home. Proceeds

from the concert will go to the renovation of interiors of their recital hall at the Circuit Lane in Circuit Makati—what used to be the Sta. Ana racetrack. This new venue should be an improvement over their practice venues along the Turn to B2

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Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.thestandard. com.ph; e-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

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