Featured book: The Fifth Witness

...another Michael Connelly classic...this guy never disappoints!
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I've always wanted to be a lawyer - part of my childhood vacillation over being a writer, a teacher and yeah, a lawyer (why I ended up in Engineering is another story).  It is for this reason that I love shows like The Practice and Law&Order and I devour books of John Grisham and Connelly like a famished worm.If I were a first year law student, I would definitely have this book as a sort of  " Judicial process for dummies" kind. Read on and find out why....
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Summary: 
Michael "Mickey" Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home.

Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too--and he's certain he's on the right trail.

Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in. - www.goodreads.com
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This blog won't be another review of the book. You just need to google "The Fifth Witness"  and you'll see a multitude of  (great) reviews of the novel. But for me, a book is only a good read, if I ended up "educated" after reading it - which is true for this one - to say the least.

Now lets see, where do we start?

Lisa Trammel, in this novel, is the defendant and the plaintiff is "the state." She was summoned to a first-appearance hearing, which is primarily just an "official acknowledgement of the charges and the starting point of the judicial process"  where there is also an opportunity to request and argue for bail.

The bail in her case was set at two million and she would need to put up 10% of that as bond. What is interesting is that, aside from knowing how bail and bond works, I learned that bail bond agents are almost exclusively found in the US and the Philippines. Yes, THE Philippines! Interesting, isn't it!

Then there's preliminary hearing which was described as a "routine step on the way to a trial" and is 100% the prosecution's show. The state is charged with presenting its case to the court and the judge then rules on whether there is sufficient evidence to take it forward to a jury trial.

The case went to a full-blown trial where the author walked the reader through the whole process from jury selection, to reasonable doubt, alternate theory, 14th Amendment, motion to quash, fungible and opening statements.


Now, the prosecution's calls its witnesses. There's the scene setter witness, merely called to build the architecture of the state's witness and the hunter-gatherer witnesses - the crime scene technicians and so on... Then, it's the defense turn. Of course, the whole saga is peppered with objections sustained and overruled and with both camps trying to outwit each other. Verrryyy nice....

The whole trial actually climaxed to a witness invoking the Fifth Amendment, in this case, right against self-incrimination. Thus, the title. But what is interesting is that Haller, the main character, also used the witness as a "straw man" - which actually has a very complex but interesting meaning.

Of course, there was a twist at the end - that dramatic enlightenment. I sort of anticipated it, though,  and was anticlimatic for me.  Double jeopardy is of course a no, no... but there was redemption at the end!


I AM telling you this book is a literary judicial basics haven!


I first fell in love with Mickey in The Lincoln Lawyer ( now a movie starting Matthew McConaughey - note to self:  must see, must see!!) and with the new path he's taking - he is running for District Attorney - I'm sure there'll be  more great work from Connelly!

Date night: Ristorante Angelo

Its pizza night!!

The hubby and I craved for something Italian and off we went to Ristorante Angelo at the Donauzentrum in Wien. The place is not extraordinary with two gorgeous, not too amiable servers but surprisingly, the food is delish!

Here's what we had:

Forza Austria

Spaghetti Pescatore

 and he enjoyed both dishes with his beer while I sipped on my ever dependable glass of carbonated spirit - Coca cola (make that 2). Yeah, yeah, I know! We committed a cardinal sin by not having wine!

The Mr. with his Austrian beer

 He used to shun Italian food favoring Asian dishes but after 20 years of being together, he, eherrrmm,  acquired the taste.

Italians, I read, are much like Filipinos. For both cultures, food, practically plays an important part of family gatherings. We celebrate events and achievements by delighting the palate!

But I like the rituals in Italian dining. You start with antipasto (cold cuts, cheese and preserved meat). Next would be a pasta and/or a meat/poultry dish.  This is  followed by salad with oil and vinegar, which should cleanse the palate and help in the digestion process. Many also eat fruit and finocchio (fennel), whose anis taste is also supposed to aid digestion, at the end of the meal. There are even aperitifs made solely to help people get their food down easily.* 

In other words, its a complete cycle of dining pleasure - before, during and after. So, saluti to health! Buon appetito!!

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*Condensed from "Before your next meal: 4 things you should know about Italian food."

Sunday Reflections: Healing and Prayers

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Today’s Gospel (Mark 1: 29-39) is of  healing and prayers.

Simon said, “Jesus, my mother-in-law is sick in bed with a fever.”Jesus went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up.  The fever left her immediately, and she began to serve them.

“Rising very early before dawn, He left and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed.”  

Having personally experienced the power of these two words, it felt like the readings were speaking directly to me. As part of my personal reflection, I would like to share my 2011 reckoning which I wrote before the year ended and manifests much of what I feel about healing and prayers.

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While 2011 has not been particularly great for me, the events of this year have truly cemented my belief in love, prayers and second chances. These words embody most of what I am thankful for in 2011.

Love of family and friends.  I never doubted that  love strongly binds my family but 2011 was an affirmation of that love. I felt it when I marked my 40th - truly memorable gestures of appreciation from my whole family. I felt it more when I fought a "great battle". I will forever cherish the love shown by family and friends - I knew that I was fully armed to give a good fight and to finally win - physically scarred but emotionally stronger.

LOVE is the best medicine

The power of prayers. Cliche' but true. So many testimonials have been written on the subject that no further elaboration is necessary. But each case is very personal, very intimate - always between the person and the Higher Being. For me, 2011 was an opportunity to reinforce my relationship with my GOD. Along with so many wonderful people who offered their prayers, I let go and let GOD. And now, more fervently than ever,  in the happiest, saddest and darkest moments of my life, I utter a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing.

Second chances.  They say that if you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. I know that I was given a jolt but I was also offered a second chance - to do things better or differently, to treasure the littlest joys,to laugh harder, to love more, to touch more lives, TO LIVE...

Then again, we need not wait for the changing of the year to have a clean slate, a new page, a new beginning...life offers us all these at all times! What we write and rewrite onto them is entirely our choice...

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Personal prayer:

Lord, thank you for listening to us during the happiest, saddest and darkest moments of our lives. AMEN.

Date night: Ebi

The hubby and I just love Japanese food!  Even when we were just dating, our gastonomic choice on date nights would most likely be Japanese. We progressed from Tokyo Tokyo (fast food) to Saisaki (buffet style) then even tried a  Japanese fine dining experience in a 5 star hotel which we vow not to repeat after seeing the bill. :)

Anyways, he loves sashimi (yap, those thin slices of raw fish) and I can definitely eat just  sushi(s) forever!!  Tried these at the Ebi Restaurant here in Vienna…Itadakimasu!

Sushi and sashimi feast at the Ebi resto in Wien...

Then again, who would not love Japanese food?! It’s the presentation, man! Even a bento which you can buy on the streets and at any 7-11 store in Tokyo is visually enticing as well as a delight to the palate.

Typical Japanese food set - had this in Nikko, Japan

 

I had the opportunity to live in Japan sometime ago and I can absolutely claim that I had many of the best moments of my life there!! The culture, the food, the people and places – all definitely worth their own blogs!!

In my next life, if GOD wills it, I’d probably want to be a Japanese….hmmmm,  being Thai comes very, very close…but hey, don’t get me wrong, despite all the misconceptions and the (wrong) notions about my country and my people, I AM TRULY, PROUDLY a FILIPINO! 

Disappointments...

Found these blogs in my “orphaned” Multiply sites…they seem fitting with what I am feeling these days so here goes….
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Today, October 28, 2008, at exactly 11:54 AM Vienna time, I received a really disappointing news. Something that created havoc in all the plans I mapped out for the next two weeks.

Let's hear what the experts say about DISAPPOINTMENTS..

"Oft expectations fails and most oft there where most it promises, and oft it hits where hope and is coldest and despair most fits." - William Shakespeare

"There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too much; but then, if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better; we find comfort somewhere..." - Jane Austin

but there is one, I think I most subscribe to...

"SHIT HAPPENS!" - Forrest Gump

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 Dealing with disappointments.....

At 9:45 AM today, October 31, 2008, Manila time, I would have been braving the traffic of Nagtahan going home to our humble abode in Vicente Cruz. I would have been fighting jet lag but not too tired, nonetheless, to give the love of my life the kisses and hugs (and more..), oh, we two so deserved. I would have been jostling the throngs of people to haggle for flowers in the busy street of Dimasalang. I would have been feasting on Jollibee Chickenjoy with gravy brimming over...

Instead, I am in front of this inanimate thing called com-pyu-ter composing this ridiculous blog about dealing with disappointments...


But they say we have to be our bestest selves when things did not turn out as we had hoped for...


So, I am going to VENICE instead...

St Mark's Basilica, St. Mark's Square, Venice

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Dealing with disappointments part 2....

More than 3 years since, while having the time of my life in DC, I received a really disappointing news. A project which I have “nurtured” and seen through since 2009 got rejected by the funding agency because of “lack of concrete co-financing and weak baseline project that incremental cost cannot be determined”. You see in our “business” , we live and breathe co-financing and incremental costs.

So, completely reminiscent of my 2008 way of dealing with disappointments, with my bestest self revivified….

I went to New York!!!

docking at staten island...

 

Date night: Segafredo

Segafredo Carmelita

Coffee on a cold winter night...

the Mr.

 .....with the one who makes everything right! 

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There are only two kinds of conversation needed for a good marriage…
coffee talk, and pillow talk.
They should both be warm, and sweet.

Featured Book: The Sixth Man

...if you like conspiracy theories, high level suspense, espionage, mind boggling twists - this book is for you!
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The only thing potentially worse than not being able to see the forest for the trees is not being able to see the trees because of the forest. - anonymous

The Sixth Man is my first David Baldacci and I am definitely enthralled! It featured all the elements of one fine read - the conspiracy, backstabbing, hunger for power, entrenched in the relentless pursuit for national security, conflicting against the absolute limits of the human mind.

As the book description goes - THE SIXTH MAN Edgar Roy-an alleged serial killer held in a secure, fortress-like Federal Supermax facility-is awaiting trial. He faces almost certain conviction. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called in by Roy's attorney, Sean's old friend and mentor Ted Bergin, to help work the case. But their investigation is derailed before it begins-en route to their first meeting with Bergin, Sean and Michelle find him murdered. It is now up to them to ask the questions no one seems to want answered: Is Roy a killer? Who murdered Bergin? With help from some surprising allies, they continue to pursue the case. But the more they dig into Roy's past, the more they encounter obstacles, half-truths, dead-ends, false friends, and escalating threats from every direction. Their persistence puts them on a collision course with the highest levels of the government and the darkest corners of power. In a terrifying confrontation that will push Sean and Michelle to their limits, the duo may be permanently parted.

What I like about the story is that I truly learned a lot of new things. Edgar Roy possesses an EIDETIC memory which is sometimes referred to as having a  photographic memory. However, I learned that there is a difference between these two terms - while a person having a photographic memory can recall mostly visuals, those with eidetic memory  also recall the sensory information.

The book also contain some riveting facts about weapons, firearms and ballistics. I did not know that the standard issued gun for FBI agents is either a Gloc or a Sig. 'Google-ing' the difference, I was offered some technical descriptions that are far beyond my comprehension. There's also Parabellum which was derived from the Latin saying "If you wish for peace, prepare for war". What an apt name for a gun!  Beretta was also mentioned but for me, a gun is a gun is a gun.

I was also struck by another analogy in the novel of the character James Harkes' (used to be the watchdog of Peter Bunting, the creator of  the intelligence system, and provides one of the twists in the story) return to his true master like Cerberus to Hades. Cerberus, in Greek and Roman mythology,  is a multi-headed hound that guards the Underworld and Hades is the god of the Underworld. I was so fascinated by the parallelism used by the author!

There's so much more to share - like why was it called an E-program! E stands for Ecclesiastes  - yap, that book in the Bible. The 'why' I leave to your interpretation and probably give you an opportunity to discover by reading the book and share my fascination.

The book has kept me on the edge of my seat (well, of my bed, really). I am now really excited to have Baldacci sharing my nights...errr, reading his work. :)