Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 57

Who are the worst parents on Game of Thrones? Answer this and win a limited edition Moleskine.

Jon Snow may be a bastard and an orphan, but given the state of parenting in Westeros, he may be one of the lucky ones. He was raised by the honorable Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, who was mean to him but admitted she was mean to him. Good parents are rarer than Valyrian steel […]

The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Pecs

It takes an event of seismic importance to make my sister leave work “early”—in quotes because she prepared for it by putting in 13 hours at the office the previous day. The event is Alexander Skarsgaard in The Legend of Tarzan, the upteenth retelling of Tarzan. I have been watching Tarzan in one form or […]

On leave from work, Day 1

Uro’s Gandalf pipe, now a talisman My late friend Uro once wrote a novel in one month. He did it by locking himself in his room and having his meals brought to him so he wouldn’t have to go out. I tried the lockdown method last month, and it is effective. The cats have no […]

Penny Dreadful drops the ghastliest twist of all: It suddenly ends.

Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) in session with Dr. Seward (Patti Lupone). In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dr. Seward was a man. This is my last column for BusinessWorld, and now I am on leave. For three seasons the fans of Showtime’s Victorian drama Penny Dreadful have reveled in its sumptuous Gothic atmosphere, its bloodsoaked storylines and […]

Poem to read while standing in a queue for coffee: Campo dei Fiori by Czeslaw Milosz

Giordano Bruno’s statue in Rome’s Campo dei Fiori Campo dei Fiori Czeslaw Milosz, 1943 In Rome, on Campo dei Fiori, baskets of olives and lemons cobbles spattered with wine and the wreckage of flowers. Vendors cover the trestles with rose-pink fish; armfuls of dark grapes heaped on peach-down. On this same square they burned Giordano […]

Freedom! I’m on leave from column-writing for the month of July.

Must finish novel by August. Lockdown very helpful, but having to stop periodically to meet deadlines halts my momentum, and writing a novel is all about momentum. So I have decided to take a month off from professional commitments and allow myself the luxury of doing only one thing. I am on vacation from InterAksyon, […]

Confirmed: R + L = J. Notes on Game of Thrones’ Season 6 finale

Obviously, do not read if. I preferred the Valentino-ish wardrobe. Ooh, jewelry. Tommen has been number one in our deadpool for weeks. Will he? The Walter Murch Godfather I editing. Getting dressed for the trial, getting killed by Little Birds. Glad they kept that bit from the books in, even if someone else was offed. […]

Ballet Philippines’ Master Pieces: Dancing to find ourselves

When Master Pieces—a sort of greatest hits compilation of works by Ballet Philippines—began, I settled in my seat for two hours of dutiful art appreciation. “Dutiful” in this sense can mean A. Good for you, the way leafy green and yellow vegetables are good for you. B. The responsibility of every cultured citizen. C. Showing […]

Fake or Fortune? The Winslow Homer in the trash, the fakes at the Courtauld, and other art detective tales.

Fake or Fortune? unfolds like a detective series, with a painting in the office instead of a corpse in the solarium. Each episode begins with presenters Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce taking on an art mystery: Is this a genuine Turner (or Vuillard, Gainsborough, etc)? The show derives much of its charm from the pairing […]

The Bookshelf Sale was so much fun, we’ve decided to have a part 2 on Saturday. UPDATE: We’re moving the next garage sale to a later date.

Only a dozen people turned up, but they left with cartloads of books and dvds. Our first customer was Clem, and she carted away some of the best stuff. Wait, we’re making a new flyer. UPDATE: THE BOOKSHELF SALE ON SATURDAY, 2 JULY 2016 HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE. SORRY IF YOU’VE MADE […]