Shelf Life

Still Life with Woodpekpek

Posted in book review, books, booksale, used booksale by Shelf Life on November 3, 2009

Yum – it’s a fucking love story

Still Life with Woodpecker is not just “a sort of a love story” as suggested by its writer, Tom Robbins. It is a love story through and through as it threads the overflowing love of individuals expressing and experiencing it in different ways and in different circumstances.

The story revolves around two characters that came from opposite sides of the life spectrum in almost all aspects of their mortal life and the itsy bitsy idiosyncrasies of freaky individual characters in the sidelines of their world stage.

Leigh Cheri Furstenberg-Barcelona, a princess whose exiled parents, King Max and Queen Tilli, does not give her much choice but adapt to the American way of life. Leigh Cheri, the exiled princess who learned her life lessons quite early experiencing two abortions and being kicked out from school that led her to a celibate life and offered her service to help mankind through alternative lifestyle and being a future Ralph Nader groupie. (I have always been fascinated with Ralph Nader, the forever alternative candidate for the U.S. presidency. Last time I saw his shit was on MTV typing in an old school typewriter.)

Then there is Bernard Micky Wrangle, a.k.a The Woodpecker. The all-black clad Bomb expert. Anarchist. Outlaw extraordinaire. Lover of life and what ever it has to offer. The two met in Hawaii when Leigh Cheri’s lady-in-waiting Guiletta saw Bernard a.k.a the Woodpecker lit the dynamite fuse that wrecked a portion of the place where they were to attend a hippie cum new age type of conference. It was there where love struck them both melting their cold articulation of what love is into a “Love Kills” segue that made Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen get-off their fucked up world.

The Woodpecker sharply articulates his anarchist view of causing incidents, explosive most of the time, literally, to forward his protest against anything that has to do with what is happening in the world. His dynamite talks and the woodpecker walks. That’s what made Leigh Cheri unlock her chastity belt and offer everything she can offer the outlaw.

The outlaw can light his dynamite stick, shove it up his ass for show, but not to out mind his heart over what he felt and what he wanted, and that is not just Leigh Cheri’s ass, but her heart as well. He pursued her, just as she wanted him to be beside her all the time that led to his arrest. Wanted by the pigs, Bernard wanting to make love stay brought him to the pigsty.

It was during the times when Bernard was in the lam that made Leigh Cheri discover her potential for thinking freaky thoughts and theories by her meditating on a pack of Camel cigarettes. As a sign of her truthful love to the outlaw, she carbon copied her outlawed lover’s jail cell and lived just like a convict inside a cell, not going out, not going in, not going anywhere except inside her mind, and heart.

Just as Princess Leigh Cheri was planning to save Bernard the outlaw, she received a letter from the motherfucker spouting shit on her alleging that she capitalized on their love relationship as love struck people would also lock themselves up in clear imitation of what Leigh Cheri, the heir to the throne of the Furstenberg-Barcelona royalty, did for the sake of love.

A pissed Princess can do crazy stuff and that she did. She went out for her billionaire admirer and asked that a pyramid be made in honor of her before she weds him. Of course it was not a platonic relationship, dimwit. She learned to use her beauty and sex machination to maintain the steady flow of money, and liquid sex juice she deeply yearn to cum from the woodpecker. She was able to separate sex from what love really should be until she learned the death of the woodpecker that was able to leave prison by virtue of her lady-in-waiting Guiletta’s whim to release him. Guiletta by twist of fate was actually the next-in-line to the throne of the small kingdom! She is the older daughter of the King from his chambermaid or something. Anyway, Woodpecker was apparently killed somewhere in Algeria when he tried to follow Leigh-Cheri and rescue her from her vicious tragedy.

But it was not the case. By some dumb luck, the Woodpecker was actually alive and even met Princess inside the deepest chamber of the Pyramid on the eve of her wedding. No shit! Of course they tried to argue about the letter, about the camel pack, about the pyramid, but love, ah, love made them see through each others’ bullshit and made them hug. Then the jilted Arab saw them, and locked them inside the pyramid. They escaped in the end. Thanks to the ever present dynamite the outlaw carries almost wherever he goes.

Tom Robbins’ novels always, always reminds me of Ely Buendia and the Eraserheads’ witticism in writing lyrics to their songs. Almost all the Eheads album had that hippie flair consistent with Tom Robbins’ books. Both Robbins and the Eheads’ playful psychedelic shit bring thoughts of mescaline peyote induced hallucinations. Even Ely Buendia changed his name to Dizzy Ventura for sometime, a very suitable name for a Tom Robbins book. But it’s not about the Eheads, or the music scene. I just don’t know how to end this spiel, so here it goes motherfuckers.

Looking for Leigh-Cheri

Posted in Uncategorized by Shelf Life on October 6, 2009

Nabiktima rin ako ng pagpasok ng tubig sa aking kabahayan pero hindi dahil sa bagyong si Ondoy kundi dahil naiwang nakabukas ang gripo sa taas ng bahay at tumulo ito hanggang paliguan ang buong bahay na naglubog (kanya-kanyang alat lang talaga), nanlunod kay Leigh-Cheri.

stlMay katagalan na ring nakababad sa aklatan ang libro ni Tom Robbins na “Still Life with Woodpecker” at napagtripan ko itong basahin. Sobrang tagal na nga itong nakatengga at halos balutan na ng alikabok katabi ng mga Carlos Castaneda at Ken Wilber na nahihilo akong basahin hindi dahil sa hangover kundi talagang di kaya ng powers ko.

Kaya nung binuklat ko ay agad naman akong naaliw at ginanahan kung magpapaiskor ang bidang babae kay Ralph Nader na nakalaban na yata ng lahat ng naging presidente ng Amerika simula ng pinanganak ako.   

Ang galing ng pagkakalatag ng mga karakter ng istorya, Ang tatay ni Leigh-Cheri na dating hari ng isang bayan na na-exile dahil sa laos na ang pagiging hari o dahil “stand in the corner” siya ng CIA.  Kakatawa tatay niya kasi may pacemaker na kapag na-excite ay pumapalo ng malakas eh poker player pa naman siya.  Ermat naman niyang si Queen Tillie ay isang mahilig sa opera singing that reminded me of Madame Castafiore from the Tintin Comic series.

Pero si Leigh-Cheri ay isang liberal, environmentalist, na cheerleader na  kickout dahil sa pangalawang beses niyang pagpapalaglag ng bata. Interesting character…hhhmmmmm..Kaso nalunod nga kaya naghahahap ako ng magpapahiram sa akin ng kopya. Kahit arkilahin ko, isang Generoso kapalit ng pahiram.