tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63714472953164081822024-03-13T22:15:45.010+08:00opinionated thoughts of a cubicle dwellerRepository of random stuff, reviews, and <br>other knickknacksMariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-25921745349928965402015-08-15T02:59:00.000+08:002015-08-15T03:06:04.728+08:00A writing challengeFirst, some explanations.<br />
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It was almost midnight. I was hanging around with my friends <a href="https://stokedbunny.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Joko</a> and Jeeves last month in a cafe somewhere in Makati, when the topic of paranormal romance novel series came around. Joko loves these kinds of books to bits (guilty pleasures and all), and she was relishing telling us some of the ludicrous plots from such books. I then claimed that anyone can probably write a romance series (particularly one of those sub-genres, e.g. paranormal romance, horror romance, etc.) with just five set of random keywords.So Joko and Jeeves took me up to my statement, and a writing challenge was made. Here are the rules:<br />
<br />
Objective: Develop a romance story out of five random keywords.<br />
Detail #1: The keywords will be chosen by the other two participant.<br />
Detail #2: One of the five random keywords is automatically "vampire".<br />
Detail #3: You get to choose the sub-genre of your romance story.<br />
<br />
So here are the other four keywords that Joko and Jeeves chose for me: <i>El Filibusterismo , Darna, Bataan, and Benedict Cumberbatch</i>.<br />
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Needless to say, <i>nawindang ako</i>. :-P<br />
<br />
Fast forward to this week.One of my book clubs, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/480-the-filipino-group" target="_blank">The Filipino Group</a>, holds bimonthly meme challenges. And what do you know, for the first half of August, the meme challenge is called "Your Romance Novel". That is, you create your own romance novel via a writing structure provided by Tina, the meme challenge facilitator - a perfect opportunity to do Joko's bet. Two birds with one stone, <i>ika nga</i>.<br />
<br />
So here we go, my proposed romance story.<br />
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<b>Author's name:</b><i> </i>My own name. I'm going to be proud as hell if this will be published, hahaha!<br />
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<b>Your genre: </b>Fantasy Romance<br />
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<b>Your novel's romance trope: </b>Tina said to use this <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RomanceArc" target="_blank">page</a>. Browsing through it and because I'm bored with the usual tropes, I think the one that fits the most is "No Romantic Resolution".<br />
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<b>Your title: </b>Umm, "The Immortals"? Corny no?<br />
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<b>Your setting: </b>Primarily Europe, and the Philippines<br />
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<b>Your villain: </b>The fates, I guess<br />
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<b>Your main characters / lead interests: </b><br />
(I believe that romance books with one character (usually the female) pining/dreaming/pursuing the lead interest (usually the male) is old-fashioned and frankly, boring. Both should be the main characters of the story, regardless of the gender (even if both characters are of the same gender)).<br />
<br />
<i>Juan Simoun de Cordoba, Duke of Almodovar del Rio</i><br />
The son of a wealthy conquistador and a mestizo, he was born in 1650. His father died from a battle with the <i>indios</i> shortly after his birth, and his mother was forced to go back to her family. His first 18 years in the Philippines were happy despite their misfortune, and he was primarily raised by his mother and his Nana Sepang. What he did not know is that his father was the last son of an important family in Spain, and being his only known child, Simoun was his heir. He was forcibly taken from his mother and promptly shipped back to Europe. When he arrived at the Castillo de Almodovar del Rio, he has to quickly learn how to be a nobleman, including how to navigate through the dangerous waters of the royal court, and how to not get assassinated. He secretly swore to himself that he will somehow get back to the Philippines and his mother. But as the year go by, he became so comfortable with the idle life and comfort of being a duke, that he slowly forgot about his promise.<br />
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One dark and stormy night, as he got was traveling home from an all night revelry, his carriage was attacked by unknown assailants. All he saw were gleaming eyes. He felt fangs sinking painfully on his neck, then blackness overcame him. When he woke up, he was in his castle once again. During the next few days, he felt drastic changes in his body and spirit: he was becoming a vampire. To avoid suspicion, he left Spain, on the pretense of wanting to travel all over the world. In the next few years (which became decades), he learned through sheer willpower (and with the help of a mysterious mentor) how to adjust to his new life as a creature of the night, how to use his new found powers, and how to obtain some control on his now unavoidable thirst for blood. After a more than half a century he comes back to Almodovar del Rio with a new name, and pretending to be his own son. He then gathered his ducal influence, wealth, and power for a new purpose: to find a way to be human again.<br />
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<i>Bernardina Carpio</i><br />
The daughter of an <i>engkantada</i> and a <i>datu</i>, she was deliberately born to be the savior of the Filipinos against the Spanish invaders. Starting from childhood, she was trained in the art of warfare by her father, and in the art of magic and healing by her mother. She was never given a name (nor knew when she was born), and "Bernardina Carpio" was given to her by her nurse when she grew into adulthood, so that she can blend in with the population.Along with her great strength and immortality, she has the ability to change her skin, which she uses to help the oppressed by transforming herself into people we now recognize as revolutionary leaders or heroes. The downside is that she needs to "sleep" for roughly five years every half a century to recharge.<br />
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After two centuries of dedicated service to the cause, Bernardina grew restless. As she walked among the common folks, she grew envious of their freedom to choose their destinies. But she kept her quiet, since she knows her cause is too important, and the she shouldn't be so selfish. That is, until she met the strange brooding man from faraway Europe...<br />
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<b>Your one paragraph synopsis (well, in this case, multiple synopses):</b><br />
In dedication to Joko's vision of a perfect romance story, I see this as a series, at the very least, a trilogy.<br />
<br />
<i>Book 1 (1890):</i><br />
Simoun meets and befriends the young author Jose Rizal. Rizal then takes inspiration from Simoun for his books (particularly the main character of his second book, <i>El Filibusterismo</i>), in exchange for stories about the Philippines. Simoun learns about about the various Philippine folklore and mysticism, including about the legend of the mysterious but powerful Bernardina Carpio. He travels back to his birth country, intent into finding the enigmatic woman, to convince or even force her into curing him. But he did not expect beautiful, untamed and strong Bernardina to be woman of his wildest dreams and eternal longing....<br />
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<i>Book 2 (1945):</i><br />
It has been a difficult decade for Bernardina. World War 2 had taken its toll on the Philippines. With the help of her assistant, the reporter/cartoonist, Mars Ravelo (who had been secretly drawing inspiration from Bernardina for his new comics, <i>Darna</i>), she had traveled all over the country in succor to the sick, the suffering, and the dying. And she felt, a different kind of lethargy too, the one she feels when it's time to go back to the mountains of Montalban for a five-year mystical sleep. But with the US ships on the horizon, and the first blasts of the bombs on Bataan (where Bernadina had established a small secret hospital), the so-called Liberation of the Philippines went underway. In the middle of the battlefield, she did not expect to see the figure of an enigmatic man she had knew quite well, and has dearly loved, from decades ago...<br />
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<i>Book 3 (2015):</i><br />
It is the world premiere of "In Life and Death", a true-to-life action/romance blockbuster starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Set in World War Two, it is the love story of a European and a Filipina meeting in the middle of the battlefield during the deadly Liberation of the Manila. Drawn out of hiding by curiosity and perhaps by destiny, Simoun and Bernardina meets by chance on the steps of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Will Simoun be able to convince her of to take a chance on him this time around? Will Bernardina be able to be free of her chains and take a chance of happiness with Simoun?<br />
<br />
**************************<br />
<br />
Is this a go or a bust? Do you think I can dupe someone into publishing this? So what do think?Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-34079189307346319982015-04-22T20:15:00.000+08:002015-04-23T09:31:39.138+08:00Top Ten All-Time Favorite AuthorsSo how did this came about?<br />
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There's this activity in one my book clubs (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/480-the-filipino-group" target="_blank">The Filipino Groups</a> there in Goodreads), where the moderator told us to list down our top ten favorite authors of all time.<br />
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So okay, challenge accepted.<br />
<br />
I'm glad it's top ten <i>favorite</i> authors and not top ten <i>best</i> authors because it's easier to just rely on my biased opinions (from which the latter is based on), rather than try to be an objective reviewer (from which the former is based on).<br />
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So anyway, here's my top ten favorite authors (in alphabetical order):<br />
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<b>Jane Austen </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFhB4dFeV6Lfs1TOZoL-RnDLjRIeGDyfl6kd_eO4HvpjPpBbsH2YFNrfbx3a7m8VBzmwqZ85q9Uvn4CDcwC6ylBIS_eNu-S65D05y5hojBO4avYHkofNOdnEGStF70DGVbbd_Y0hSD9hv/s1600/persuasion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFhB4dFeV6Lfs1TOZoL-RnDLjRIeGDyfl6kd_eO4HvpjPpBbsH2YFNrfbx3a7m8VBzmwqZ85q9Uvn4CDcwC6ylBIS_eNu-S65D05y5hojBO4avYHkofNOdnEGStF70DGVbbd_Y0hSD9hv/s1600/persuasion.jpg" height="320" width="195" /></a>I like how polarizing Jane Austen can be. After all, most of her characters are very much preoccupied with parties, social chit chat, and other trivial matters. In a time when social standing and connection is a matter of life and death (sometimes literally), marriage is an essential undertaking, most especially for women. In a time when people are judged by their superficial looks and manners, how you bear yourself is very important, most especially for women. Austen wrote her books much like how women must present themselves in her time: seemingly modest, seemingly simple, seemingly light, seemingly trivial. To appreciate Austen, one must read deeper. Modesty belies the intensity of her drama (which, rather than explode outwards in Bronte-like bursts of passion, her characters prefer to implode inwards, with minimalist but accurate language). Modesty also veils the wit and the satirical tone of her texts, the ironies and (surprisingly for some people) the realism.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: Persuasion (then follow with Northanger Abbey) </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3oGPEdp7X44Zgk6egHsRXlU3vA-IVUAe_-gMpvXaBVma4smBLj4TX1QCBBe5qWqlXblh7A5GTNVA3GSroN2mzqjB_3DI9J7cuK9wEjJveZUnd1f2L9eZVDxTax02fk_u_M6Yy84xIT5L/s1600/themartianchronicles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3oGPEdp7X44Zgk6egHsRXlU3vA-IVUAe_-gMpvXaBVma4smBLj4TX1QCBBe5qWqlXblh7A5GTNVA3GSroN2mzqjB_3DI9J7cuK9wEjJveZUnd1f2L9eZVDxTax02fk_u_M6Yy84xIT5L/s1600/themartianchronicles.jpg" height="320" width="198" /></a><b>Ray Bradbury</b><br />
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I find it unfair when people describe Ray Bradbury merely as a science fiction writer. This is because while most of his story has some science fiction or fantastical aspects in them, it is the "heart" - the warmth, the optimism for the future, the down-to-earth human-ness - in his stories which makes them very good, and what defines them. There is a lyrical simplicity and honesty to his language. It is a language of sadness but also of hope, of kindness but also of cruelty brought simply because we are all merely human.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: The Martian Chronicles (then follow with his short stories, particularly There Will Come Soft Rains) </i><br />
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<b>Anton Chekhov </b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0OFyWVYXR7gqm-HMvMaYJ2ZgYR4mNNttjksXYkcp2Xa7fSRG9SsFGLqt05U-UYDT7uOmSegXL1pSvEMiqc7rxyIIl7lONZgLsxBQSmTh3SWJMkAJUKy1hiIVbFeG-EM5HbWSj7s5rXFW/s1600/theladywiththedog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0OFyWVYXR7gqm-HMvMaYJ2ZgYR4mNNttjksXYkcp2Xa7fSRG9SsFGLqt05U-UYDT7uOmSegXL1pSvEMiqc7rxyIIl7lONZgLsxBQSmTh3SWJMkAJUKy1hiIVbFeG-EM5HbWSj7s5rXFW/s1600/theladywiththedog.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><br />
Anton Chekhov knew people. He knew how they think and how they react. He knew that lives can be funny, melancholic, exciting, and mundane all the same time. His stories are a reflection of these. He wrote stories of characters who are both ordinary and strange. Of small dramas that have good and bad endings. He wrote of stories that are heartrendingly familiar, even to modern readers (for example, the very short story, "The Head of the Family" suddenly took me back to my childhood). He even wrote stories of oppression and cruelty, not just of the rich, but also by the poor. Rationality is seldom the focus, and his characters are primarily swayed by their emotions. No solution comes in endings, but mostly a complete presentation of the issue at hand. Life is such a complicated mess, and Anton Chekhov knew that.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories (particularly the titular story, and Ionitch) </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmGezQ8w5dE30EMXVSlAxfvamH9eqjAkDntRftvPkWWzU2V6xffrUWAAXDQInRYY4i1kyyb9i-Yo7kTFUh2J79UU_jIZ9ZxWysmK_1NkDLPVaDRUgIyBa6WsaV-95O9JsoYTsN3OA5r9-/s1600/details_a-study-in-scarlet_090839463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmGezQ8w5dE30EMXVSlAxfvamH9eqjAkDntRftvPkWWzU2V6xffrUWAAXDQInRYY4i1kyyb9i-Yo7kTFUh2J79UU_jIZ9ZxWysmK_1NkDLPVaDRUgIyBa6WsaV-95O9JsoYTsN3OA5r9-/s1600/details_a-study-in-scarlet_090839463.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><b>Arthur Conan Doyle </b><br />
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Yes, I know that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote other stories besides the Sherlock Holmes canon. Unfortunately for Professor Challenger (I swear I'll try to put his stories in my TBR), it is Sherlock Holmes that I love the most. Arthur Conan Doyle had the ability to write characters that are so well fleshed out they seem to be real people (heck, some people really do believe that Sherlock Holmes and John Watson were real as you and me). His stories are a nice blend of comfortable tropes and brilliant storytelling. They are not meant to be deep (remember that these stories were first serialized in Strand Magazine), but there is a timeless quality to them and the characters, such at more that 120 years later, people still loves everything Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: A Study in Scarlet (then follow with The Sign of the Four)</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitcd07FZGGLL2R2PAaarG4Dj1bGS633UI4TIH1lbaSzk0SeOYr9QBqnLW9QSmRK2zDGsgsKx1uJJfc0OOP4cRbrk9QidvW6VLbq7GJQtHijW72bq3duyRaAQE9fNZhDZbQJj1KXH-FLwqy/s1600/Metamorphosis+done+done+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitcd07FZGGLL2R2PAaarG4Dj1bGS633UI4TIH1lbaSzk0SeOYr9QBqnLW9QSmRK2zDGsgsKx1uJJfc0OOP4cRbrk9QidvW6VLbq7GJQtHijW72bq3duyRaAQE9fNZhDZbQJj1KXH-FLwqy/s1600/Metamorphosis+done+done+small.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a><b>Franz Kafka </b><br />
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Unsettling is the word that comes into my mind when I think of Franz Kafka. His stories are like dreams - strange things happen in it, and you recognize its strangeness, but you accept it anyway. Most of his story are familiar frustrations and anxieties: futile struggles against the bureaucracy, striving fruitlessly for one's goals, and of loneliness and alienation. I had found reading Kafka to be a personal experience - because it is useless to comprehend his stories rationally, your interpretation is as valid as anyone else's.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: The Metamorphosis (then follow with Amerika) </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhuoYuo2i82H_QTXhnnpzpDbY0Z-_HMODNImKZUENNMEBqb7fGJKvOxpcVJQybX1atE8dRVAzhZN8D6iTkGZmCIUFQ_-W2dP3-6nHXnv4ROwhvJ0WYkWRr9ucudKdG2Ai4Es-SbzOGQBl/s1600/One-Hundred-Years-of-Solitude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhuoYuo2i82H_QTXhnnpzpDbY0Z-_HMODNImKZUENNMEBqb7fGJKvOxpcVJQybX1atE8dRVAzhZN8D6iTkGZmCIUFQ_-W2dP3-6nHXnv4ROwhvJ0WYkWRr9ucudKdG2Ai4Es-SbzOGQBl/s1600/One-Hundred-Years-of-Solitude.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a><b>Gabriel Garcia Marquez </b><br />
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The same way with Ray Bradbury, I find it unfair to call Gabriel Garcia Marquez as solely a magical realist author, simply because he is so much more. The way he described scenes, places, and people are just so vivid. When he described the plantations of Macondo (for example), you can almost see the bananas swaying with the hot wind, while you shield your eyes from the unyielding tropical sun. And my God, the stories. The words present themselves as such that you feel them rather than read. You feel the slowness of time and the frustrations of the Colonel while waiting for his letter. You feel like the dread of the inevitable fate of Santiago Nasar. And One Hundred Years of Solitude is not a read, it is an experience.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: No two ways about it. Begin with the awesome One Hundred Years of Solitude. </i><br />
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<b>Vladimir Nabokov </b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyQArw2P1mnrejsb7VbqGZQBm1wT3DfQX9g6VmdkxOCKBqY8DyI65iIdJrPWYO3pyGymC-z_U7AmsRJ426n3jiEwCDGD_-PVcbLE2le7sgpDvzqrvNHuKeLS78hyzezOD1ebnJgsjEudY/s1600/lolita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyQArw2P1mnrejsb7VbqGZQBm1wT3DfQX9g6VmdkxOCKBqY8DyI65iIdJrPWYO3pyGymC-z_U7AmsRJ426n3jiEwCDGD_-PVcbLE2le7sgpDvzqrvNHuKeLS78hyzezOD1ebnJgsjEudY/s1600/lolita.jpg" height="320" width="192" /></a><br />
I was angry with Vladimir Nabokov in college. He manipulated my emotions. He made me like Humbert Humbert. Only on the second read (and with the help of my other book club) did I saw Humbert as the monster that he really is. It's not that there were no clues. It's just that Nabokov wrote Humbert Humbert with such charm that I had unconsciously ignored the alarms. Only in later years did I appreciate the preciseness of Nabokov's prose, the careful arrangement of words that had made me fall under Humbert's charm. My takeaway lesson from Nabokov is that readers should not judge books as good or bad merely from their empathetic reaction with the story or characters ("the story made me sad/the main character is a terrible person, and that is why I rate this as 0 stars"). One should also think of the way the story is made, the style, the prose, the character development, and many many more.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: Lolita (then follow with the wonderful Pnin)
</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1MMshyphenhyphenQK0Pj8cRoBmiOtz5UdZB9IT-3tSLNEJnZrT1Cx7agYAJ-nBUIWJiAWRkUQtmSfeNI31_3oFuFnWy60uC_-bPNY4hLdVTtKCedZ7lE4cHNrRNrGMWn1qXThkmPOu2o_KGT_G_No/s1600/rizalwithout+overcoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1MMshyphenhyphenQK0Pj8cRoBmiOtz5UdZB9IT-3tSLNEJnZrT1Cx7agYAJ-nBUIWJiAWRkUQtmSfeNI31_3oFuFnWy60uC_-bPNY4hLdVTtKCedZ7lE4cHNrRNrGMWn1qXThkmPOu2o_KGT_G_No/s1600/rizalwithout+overcoat.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a><b>Ambeth Ocampo</b><br />
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One day in college, despite having a report deadline in PI 100, I finished the Ambeth Ocampo book collection in the UP Main Library. That's six books in two hours. That just show how accessible and easy to read Professor Ocampo's books are. He had made history so approachable and alive, especially for the young folks (I'm not sure I'm still included in this lot, hahaha!). Personally, I like reading Ambeth Ocampo's books in between heavy fictions. They are the perfect palate cleansers, not because they are pieces of fluff (for example, Meaning and History and Bones of Contention are meaty reads), but because of the welcome change of topic, and easier pace and tone.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: Rizal Without the Overcoat (then follow with Aguinaldo's Breakfast) </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBj3oIP7I7_qCp6kqCTPeeZ5ST0fqVi3I9G8CcDhSr1doHvp49WF6Ns7oNNcDnfR7yNDTcy5q0drYIyaKwoBOiP7qDVNwvERxVUG1tgbG42w7Hm1IYj-ZUKO3bUJNhfqEv68dQT1ueHa22/s1600/cubao-perez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBj3oIP7I7_qCp6kqCTPeeZ5ST0fqVi3I9G8CcDhSr1doHvp49WF6Ns7oNNcDnfR7yNDTcy5q0drYIyaKwoBOiP7qDVNwvERxVUG1tgbG42w7Hm1IYj-ZUKO3bUJNhfqEv68dQT1ueHa22/s1600/cubao-perez.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a><b>Tony Perez </b><br />
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Tony Perez dwells in the unusual. Not just the supernatural, mind you, (although he does head the Spirit Questors) but those that are beyond the normal. I hesitate to call it bizarre, after all bizarre is in the eyes of the beholder. Take Cubao, for example. The day gives it a matter-of-fact, business-as-usual look. But at night, Cubao takes a mysterious, seductive, and dangerous sheen. Tony Perez's stories are rife with characters with subversive thoughts and intentions. His language is gritty, grimy, and disturbing, and his story are full of twists and turns, sometimes for good, but most of the times, for the worse.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: Cubao Midnight Express (then follow with Cubao Pagkagat ng Dilim) </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTwYHziWrpAtlC5lF3FRRsbjvxtRaQWRfUwYNcZ_q-nnDPfaowplCShiHKYDRGwFsEcDcwhgV82_0RgYeod0YVTY1RR3EQbs6Wh4XgX4B0kG5dpMVOwJjuXkKl7WEjg8Bw4hXdnj_0KLm/s1600/cover_The-Lord-of-the-Rings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTwYHziWrpAtlC5lF3FRRsbjvxtRaQWRfUwYNcZ_q-nnDPfaowplCShiHKYDRGwFsEcDcwhgV82_0RgYeod0YVTY1RR3EQbs6Wh4XgX4B0kG5dpMVOwJjuXkKl7WEjg8Bw4hXdnj_0KLm/s1600/cover_The-Lord-of-the-Rings.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><b>J.R.R. Tolkien</b><br />
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Finally, J.R.R. Tolkien. Many of the fantasy tropes in fiction began with him. Because of the familiarity, people tend to get bored with him. Not me. I had re-read Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion so many times that I lost count. Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, and the rest of the Fellowship had become dear friends that every read's end brings a tear in my eye (yes, literally). I'm not really sure why I love Tolkien's stories to bits. Maybe it is the comfort that chaos and evil does not last, and that order will sometimes be restored, not exactly the way it was, but at least to some satisfaction of most people. That journeys does not really end, and people return from these journeys quite changed. And that stories goes on and on, even after you had read the last page, even after you had closed the book.<br />
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<i>New readers should start with: The Lord of the Rings, (then follow with The Hobbit)
</i>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-2179639871371798842015-02-13T20:00:00.001+08:002015-02-13T20:15:53.850+08:00What the heart contains / Ang nilalaman ng puso<meta property="og:image"
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Oh, February. No time in the year can make someone assess the relationships in his or her life than in the so-called month of love. For me, the best way to celebrate February is to read a couple of books (of course!). These two anthologies focus on being human. And being human, it seems, consists of interacting with fellow humans. That can result to good things, bad things, pleasurable things, painful things, and stranger still - strange because this is where most humans naturally gravitate - a messed-up mixture of all four .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfSluAZiM0bdDOViW8lY1NUu7KhAu8vHw1jLQHQZdof4U1ogEhUdWwuEWyXubRvvXuL7A_NRz2VxbdIAPSyUcBWVCARihBmafWjRWuhKQ1kN3qlkMg_xFbslZIOywpgssrEVsAt0f1BrF/s1600/means+of+escape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfSluAZiM0bdDOViW8lY1NUu7KhAu8vHw1jLQHQZdof4U1ogEhUdWwuEWyXubRvvXuL7A_NRz2VxbdIAPSyUcBWVCARihBmafWjRWuhKQ1kN3qlkMg_xFbslZIOywpgssrEVsAt0f1BrF/s1600/means+of+escape.jpg" /></a></div>
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The first book is<b> </b><b><i>The Means of Escape, </i></b><b>Penelope Fitzgerald</b>'s last, published posthumously. I had been a fan of Ms. Fitzgerald ever since I've read <i>The Bookshop</i>. I like the elegance of her language, and the deliberateness of her words. I had often wondered how long (how many revisions, changes, editing) did it took to write what A.S. Byatt, in her introduction called her "discreet, brief, perfect tales". I'm not so sure if I can call them truly perfect, but they very much seem to be. What I love about her stories is that they cannot be spoiled. You see, I like knowing the plot of a book first before plunging into it. If the book has interesting characters, good writing, and development that is not heavily dependent on the plot, I will probably still enjoy it to the bits despite knowing the story. While Ms. Fitzgerald's stories have interesting plots, it is the astuteness of her observations of the human heart and its interaction with fate that are the crux of her tales, and what ultimately made her stories brilliant. </div>
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The stories in <i>The Mean of Escape</i> are that - studies of the sensibilities and absurdities of human behavior, as well as about the natural order and randomness of our lives. There are stories about morality ("The Prescription", "The Red Haired Girl","Our Lives Are Only Lent to Us"), while some are about social judgments ("The Means of Escape", "Not Shown","The Likeness"). There are mysteries ("Desideratus","Beehernz"), light hearted ones ("At Hiruharama"), and even a zombie tale ("The Axe"). My favorite stories are "The Means of Escape" (who is escaping from where?), "The Red Haired Girl" (kindness can save lives literally), and "Our Lives are Only Lent to Us" (so maddeningly Catholic, so maddeningly Filipino).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh922V0E6VoesP8YUaqVZLb7BZoi9eSNBj943xSDR5Bm02BxCfVQmlzZZ44V9StwESL10lV9K34VPcBNN8DVWGhQRqpSpVFkyBWLJTkZ41a8XZNj59URCERwVYuobPMzVtPwXqcoF1Hj481/s1600/cubao-perez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh922V0E6VoesP8YUaqVZLb7BZoi9eSNBj943xSDR5Bm02BxCfVQmlzZZ44V9StwESL10lV9K34VPcBNN8DVWGhQRqpSpVFkyBWLJTkZ41a8XZNj59URCERwVYuobPMzVtPwXqcoF1Hj481/s1600/cubao-perez.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a>The second book is <b>Tony Perez</b>'s <i><b>Cubao Midnight Express: Mga Pusong Nadiskaril sa Mahabang Riles ng Pag-ibig</b></i>. It is part of his Cubao trilogy. The other one is <i>Cubao Pagkagat ng Dilim: Mga Kwentong Kababalaghan</i>, which I've read in college in between required readings for PI 100 (Life and Works of Jose Rizal) in the basement of the UP Main Library. I had loved <i>Pagkagat ng Dilim</i> for all the dread that it had gave me, and it had been in my wishlist ever since. The third one is <i>Eros, Thanatos, Cubao: Mga Piling Katha</i>, which I had never seen.</div>
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<i>Cubao Midnight Express</i>
is about love. Not the “normal” one with a normal start and normal endings (i.e. the stuff romance pocketbooks are made of), but those that are unconventional. These
are stories of “hearts that are derailed by the long train tracks of love”
(gosh, I really suck at translating :-P). </div>
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Some of the stories are about people
who become twisted because of failed love (the “First Trip” stories: “Tipanan”
(Meeting) and “Pamamanhikan” (Courtship)). Some are stories about the
absurdities resulting from people's search for love, sex, or both (the “Second Trip”
stories: “Basted” (Busted), “Kaisplit” (Best Buds), and “Katalo” (Match)). And
some are tragedies, as some love stories are wont to be, not just because it is
eccentric or forbidden (“Balani” (Magnet), “Relasyon” (Relation)) because sometimes,
even regular love will lead to a devastating heartbreak (“Ligaw” (can either
mean ‘Wooing’ or ‘Lost’), and the story that distraught me the most, “Kirot”
(Pain)).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like Ms. Fitzgerald, Mr. Perez is also very much adept with his words. But unlike the former's elegance, Mr. Perez's language is gritty, grimy, and disturbing, like his muse, Cubao-by-night (to differentiate from her garish and commercial alter-ego, Cubao-by-day). We can see this adeptness in the repeating, disquieting chorus of "Pamamanhikan", the torturous English of "Basted", the colorful curses of "Katalo", and the empty idioms of "Relasyon". But my favorite story is his one of his more simple tales. As told in the point of view of a dog, "Kirot" tells of a love that is simple but true, unending and loyal - qualities that made the inevitable heartbreak so much more painful. But a dog does not know that he is heartbroken, only that he vaguely know that something is frightfully missing. The stories in the anthology, is like that - alarming in one form or the other, but each is beautiful in its own way.</div>
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</div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-63559668350759840202015-01-21T23:10:00.001+08:002015-01-21T23:21:03.717+08:00Tolkien for the Holidays<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PFTWJeoBknA4i4K5hZVt4baAHKUuc531FUGU_PofDnsf_i9rohFV4xjJk4dzmwxQ7J-jqP1eRGfRXDHQ8LmJgS0H7F3dOrfW5tz79fBxpCg9EEN3HWx2tQHz7bReHVQ5ocZlM03TIJfT/s1600/thehobbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PFTWJeoBknA4i4K5hZVt4baAHKUuc531FUGU_PofDnsf_i9rohFV4xjJk4dzmwxQ7J-jqP1eRGfRXDHQ8LmJgS0H7F3dOrfW5tz79fBxpCg9EEN3HWx2tQHz7bReHVQ5ocZlM03TIJfT/s1600/thehobbit.jpg" height="320" width="168" /></a>Christmastime is J.R.R. Tolkien.<br />
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As a kid, the holiday break has always been my chance to read <i>Lord of the Rings</i> in one go. Then in college, watching <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> film series was a December tradition with my friends, that later turned to watching <i>The Hobbit</i> trilogy post-college. I cannot remember a time that I haven't turned to Professor Tolkien for some holiday cheer. This year is no different. But this time, I'd took on Professor Tolkien's earlier works, particularly <i>The Hobbit</i> (published on 1937) and <i>Letters from Father Christmas </i>(published posthumously on 1976).<br />
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Anybody who had read <i>Lord of the Rings</i> most likely would have also read <i>The Hobbit</i> (or <i>There and Back Again</i>), or at the very least would have watched it on the big screen.<br />
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It is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a quiet, normal hobbit living in the very normal suburbs of Bag End, Hobbiton. Hobbits are a race similar to men but shorter in height. The hobbits sensibly
love creature comforts like second breakfasts and snug, comfy holes in
the ground. Bilbo was recruited by the wizard Gandalf for a quest to the Misty Mountain, to recover treasures that were guarded by the dragon Smaug. He is joined by twelve dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield, the King under the Mountain. A lot of things happened on the course of their adventures, culminating into a battle between different races, all vying for the dragon horde.<br />
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I had always read the story (yes, I forgot how many times I've reread the book) as being the tale of Bilbo Baggins' evolution from a scared, timid hobbit to a selfless hero and full-fledged leader. That a person sometimes starts his journey as one thing and comes home as another, changed irrevocably, (sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but most of the times for both) is a constant theme in Professor Tolkien's stories, not just in his Middle-earth books, but also in his other writings. In <i>The Hobbit</i>, it can be summarized by Bilbo's poem during his return to Hobbiton:<br />
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<i>"Roads go ever ever on,</i></div>
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<i>Under cloud and under star,</i></div>
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<i>Yet feet that wandering have gone</i></div>
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<i>Turn at last to home afar.</i></div>
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<i>Eyes that fire and sword have seen</i></div>
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<i>And horror in the halls of stone</i></div>
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<i>Look at last on meadows green</i></div>
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<i>And trees and hills they long have known."</i></div>
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As a veteran of the First World War, he certainly knows how war permanently changes people, exactly like how fierce battles and the death had changed Bilbo.<br />
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<i>"One has indeed personally to come under the shadow of war to feel fully
its oppression; but as the years go by it seems now often forgotten that
to be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than to
be involved in 1939 and the following years. By 1918 all but one of my
close friends were dead."</i> (Preface to the second edition of <i>Lord of the Rings</i>)<br />
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So yes, two conclusions. The first is that <i>The Hobbit</i> is not some silly <i>Lord of the Rings </i>prequel published primarily for kids; and two, that there's nothing like war and death to make you appreciate the things that you have and the existence of people who love you.<br />
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Let's now go to something lighter. In 1920, J.R.R. Tolkien's son, the then three-year-old John, received a letter from Father Christmas.<br />
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Father Christmas described in words, pictures, and even poems his house at the North Pole, his assistant, Polar Bear (or P.B.), his secretary, the elf, Ilbereth, P.B.'s mischievous nephews, Paksu and Valkotukka, and other various characters which includes snow elves, red gnomes, snow men, cave bears, and nasty goblins. For the next twenty years, these letters regularly arrive in the Tolkien household during Christmastime, while reply letters made by the children (John, then Michael, Christopher, and finally Priscilla) mysteriously vanish from the fireplace.<br />
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Throughout their childhoods, the Tolkien brood were regaled stories of the adventures and misadventures of Father Christmas, Polar Bear, Ilbereth, and the rest of his household, from the time the North Pole broke, to when they needed to move to another house, to when Father Christmas lit some of his wonderful fireworks to celebrate the holiday, to when P.B. got lost in the caves, to the times of the goblin attacks, and their successful defenses. It is very easy to note how strikingly similar Father Christmas to the wizard Gandalf, and, as you can see in the image on the right, P.B. to Beorn, the mysterious man-bear in <i>The Hobbit</i>.<br />
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The 1937 letter is funny because Father Christmas mentioned to the children that he initially though of sending them this book 'Hobbits' (which he had been sending loads to other children - mostly second editions), but he thought they might have already have many copies (duh) so he had instead sent them another 'Oxford Fairy Tale' (which I am now intrigued into finding a copy).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vJu8oRhHNJ9QRTeL_AXsfgBUAGDkbMk9AMx4Vmu7SQ_cYMFgmi26GfMmp4aSUM6SojY3_BHd-w-8W1RDDXwk5jyb57dPt6_7rOloejXbL_faoqErGu0KZAgi0eTzuiE4SRV-eKxC1sLg/s1600/letterschristmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vJu8oRhHNJ9QRTeL_AXsfgBUAGDkbMk9AMx4Vmu7SQ_cYMFgmi26GfMmp4aSUM6SojY3_BHd-w-8W1RDDXwk5jyb57dPt6_7rOloejXbL_faoqErGu0KZAgi0eTzuiE4SRV-eKxC1sLg/s1600/letterschristmas.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a>By 1943, most of Professor Tolkien's children had grown up (John is 26, Michael is 23, Christopher is 19, and Priscilla is 14). Father Christmas' missive that year was a letter of goodbye. He also notes that his messengers is calling the year "grim" (indirectly referring to World War II), but is glad that in the children's household, it is not as miserable as they were expecting it would be.<br />
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<i>"... I shall not forget you. We always keep the old numbers of our old friends, and their letters; and later on we hope to come back when they are grown up and have houses of their own and children."</i><br />
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Which the Tolkien children did. They kept the letters and, three years after Professor Tolkien's death, compiled it into a book with Christopher's wife as the editor. I personally like it. It is a testament of a father's love and willingness to provide boundless imaginative delight to his children. I am glad that the Tolkien family published it since it had now also provided joy to other children of various ages.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien#cite_note-63"></a><br />
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<br />Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-38366122598709270732015-01-09T18:36:00.000+08:002015-01-09T18:54:35.398+08:00My new year resolutionHappy New Year, everyone!<br />
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Gods, it's been awhile since I've been here. Yeah, I'm ashamed that I've neglected my blog last year. I hope to remedy that this 2015. That's my new year resolution - to blog more.<br />
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So to start with, I'd like to write about what I have been doing this holiday season. It's been two weeks of no work, so you'd think I should have been productive, right? Well, that's partially true. The first week and a half had been hectic on the home front. I've been cleaning the house, cooking for my contribution for <i>Noche Buena</i>, and cleaning a bit more (with a bit of TV watching on the side). It's just this past few days that I've have allowed myself some crafting and reading.<br />
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So anyway, here are the stuff I've found myself doing this past two weeks:<br />
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<b>Watched some old TV series.</b> This included <i>CSI</i> season 6 (2005-2006) & some of season 9 (2008), <i>Criminal Minds</i> seasons 1 & 2 (2005-2007), and part of <i>Fringe</i> season 2 (2010). Yeah, I don't really mind not watching in order. :-)<br />
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<i>Fringe</i> is the best out of the three (not surprising, as it's a JJ Abrams show) and I'd like to get a hold of the entire series (which is doable since it has only have five seasons). <i>CSI</i> is a favorite of mine so I don't really mind the plot holes, wonky technology (the things they do with images and video are crazy!), and outdated themes. <i>Criminal Minds</i> is okay but their tech girl is terrible.I don't mind the tech girls-as-weirdos stereotype but for goodness' sake, practice good internet security! Any novice techie knows you don't use computers with weak security and plug it into a high-risk network to play mmorpg. And for goodness' sake, she got to keep her job in the end?! Sheesh. :-P<br />
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<b>Caught up on some Pinoy movies.</b> Well, just two. The first one is <i>Shake, Rattle & Roll 15</i>. A decent compromise, considering my nephews watched to watch either <i>Praybeyt Benjamin</i> or <i>Feng Shui</i> (*shudder*). MMFF is the Pinoys' annual Christmas <i>perya</i> and SRR is its regular haunted house booth. This year's SRR is okay. Of the three, I like the middle one because of the ambiguity in the story and ending.<br />
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I also finally got to see<i> She's Dating the Gangster</i>, starring KathNiel (Kathryn Bernardo & Daniel Padilla to you oldies). The local movie industry has a strange way of using books for story material. To them, adaptation is synonymous to 'very loosely based', to 'somewhat inspired but not really', to even 'we just got the title to dupe the fans of the book into watching'. The result of this treatment is diverse: some were very good (<i>Hihintayin Kita sa Langit</i> for example, based on Bronte’s <i>Wuthering Heights</i>), some were very bad (<i>Once a Princess</i> which is based on Angel Bautista’s book with the same name), and some were just okay (e.g. <i>ABNKKBSNPLAko?!</i>, based on the Bob Ong book). Star Cinema’s ‘adaptation’ of <i>She’s Dating the Gangster</i> was entertaining, and was a teensy bit above being just okay. It had also helped that the original book material was very terrible (I was going to say unreadable, but then I remembered that a lot of people had bought and probably read it, making it a wtf-why-is-this-a-runaway-hit-are-they-nuts kind of thing).The liberties that Star Cinema had freely made with the material really helped. So yeah, the movie is better than the book.<br />
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<b>Brushed up on some Tolkien.</b> To me, the holiday season is the best time for reading Tolkien stories. I've decided on two books: <i>The Hobbit</i> and<i> The Father Christmas Letters</i>. I'm not much of a fan of Christmas, so reading stories from this master fantasy writer is my way of putting some magic into the season. More of this in my next post.<br />
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So that's it for now. How about you guys, how was your vacation? Has it been fun? Boring? Long? Short? Do tell me.<br />
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<br />Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-18205547965269507752014-07-28T16:35:00.000+08:002014-08-01T19:06:19.440+08:00Poster for my book discussion for TFG<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was targeting classy but obviously obscene. What do you think?</div>
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Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-81672260994972663632014-06-16T21:19:00.000+08:002014-06-17T10:14:26.346+08:00Three book choices for AugustOne of my book clubs, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/480-the-filipino-group" target="_blank">The Filipino Groups at Goodreads</a>, invited me to moderate a discussion this August. I'm quite honored to accept their invitation, especially since this is going to be my first time to host a book discussion with them. The TFG people has such refined taste in books (and no, I'm not brown-nosing or anything :-P ) so I'm really crossing my fingers they'll at least find my discussion interesting.<br />
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So anyway, TFG asked me to pick a theme and three books. Out of these three books, they're going to vote for the one they'll want to discuss in August. The theme I chose was erotica. But looking back at the books I chose, I think the better description would be "semi-autobiographies with some sex". The primary focus of erotica is, of course, eroticism - that is, to sexually arouse the readers, with some aspirations (or some say, pretensions) to look like high art. The foci of the three books go beyond eroticism, and their themes go beyond sex.</div>
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But rather than talk about each book in my own words, I rather go the pathetically easy (and a potential copyright violation) route, and quote entire entries from the book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/1001-Books-Must-Read-Before/dp/1844037401" target="_blank">"<i>1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die</i>"</a> (published by Cassell Illustrated, and edited by Peter Boxall). </div>
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(TFG peeps, this was going to be the one I would have shown you guys had I been free to attend last month's <i>To The Lighthouse</i> discussion.Sorry about that. :-P )</div>
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<b>Key event: <i>Tropic of Cancer</i> is banned in the UK and United States</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hPgaVX5lWCmGg4FBCLkdIossA_BmOx1hiaBtYhsOewkcq9eFs2LG2hlZJCkyZKg0OGp2eXlLIYneuNkUwUQPB3539GiQcYSkeaq9oL1faFMyST_raarddo1DqJpAkjhH_Bgdo4deCV8P/s1600/miller-cancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hPgaVX5lWCmGg4FBCLkdIossA_BmOx1hiaBtYhsOewkcq9eFs2LG2hlZJCkyZKg0OGp2eXlLIYneuNkUwUQPB3539GiQcYSkeaq9oL1faFMyST_raarddo1DqJpAkjhH_Bgdo4deCV8P/s1600/miller-cancer.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a>Henry Miller's depiction of his life in 1930s Paris ushered in a new way of writing about sex. Gone were the euphemism s and covert and peripheral references that had previously sufficed: now sex was a focus for discussion and a new language, direct and aggressive in tone, was evolving for the purpose.</div>
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This is a supremely misogynistic piece of writing and there is still something shockingly brutal about Miller's prose. His comments about his friend's wife Ida Verlaine are indicative of his: "I didn't give a fuck for her as a person, though I often wondered what she might be like as a piece of fuck, so to speak." This reductive and objectifying attitude is characteristic of the narcissistic and egotistical narrative voice that seems implicitly to be addressing a male reader. Women are described to be a little more than the facilitators of male desires, animalistic and available, and sunk in a base physicality without agency.</div>
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Although originally published in 1934, the novel was prohibited for decades in the United States and the UK. After its release in the United States in the 1960s, charges of obscenity were brought against the publishers, Grove Press. It went on to develop a cult following and was particularly influential for the Beat generation. Their eagerness to shun convention spawned a desire to experiment with extremes of experience and the licentious freedom of Miller's narrative appealed to this desire.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHrKcs-6LyFKqTWgDrH0-JXypSzm2lPC9BVfnm0PjFzOH1_jKrqtbgrwMIZbYclkXNi2aBhUv9U6pUv352G9Cd1luJcgQJrPuwP2B-np7pmgctn265AWGIZdRk8QfsLexxFxFaoh4zS9D/s1600/henry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHrKcs-6LyFKqTWgDrH0-JXypSzm2lPC9BVfnm0PjFzOH1_jKrqtbgrwMIZbYclkXNi2aBhUv9U6pUv352G9Cd1luJcgQJrPuwP2B-np7pmgctn265AWGIZdRk8QfsLexxFxFaoh4zS9D/s1600/henry.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a> Despite the problematic gender politics, Henry Miller's work made an important contribution to the development of modernist fiction. With its experimental mixture of confessional autobiography and fiction, and passages where the narrative constitutes a "stream of consciousness", it was both innovative and dynamic. <i>Juliet Wightman</i></div>
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<i>Date: 1934</i></div>
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<i>Title: Tropic of Cancer</i></div>
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<i>Author: Henry Miller (1891-1980)</i></div>
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<i>Nationality: USA</i></div>
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<i>Why It's Key: </i>Tropic of Cancer<i> was a landmark publication that tested the boundaries between erotica and pornography. In the 1960s it became the focus of a famous and influential obscenity case.</i></div>
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<b>Key Passage: Fear of Flying</b></div>
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"My response... was not (not yet) to have an affair and not (not yet) to hit the open road, but to evolve my fantasy of the Zipless Fuck."</div>
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Erica Jong, young, beautiful, and blonde, appeared in her publicity photographs to be the antithesis of the 1970s feminist. In fact, <i>Fear of Flying </i>could with hindsight be read as the first "chick-lit" novel; at the height of the women's lib movement its cheerful raunchiness certainly came as a shock. But it is a book which is more serious than titillating. To those women who were coming of age at the time of its publication, taking the newly-available contraceptive pill, enjoying - if that's the right word - "free" love, and struggling to be granted the same respect and freedoms as men, <i>Fear of Flying </i>and its heroine, Isadora Wing, told it like it was.</div>
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Isadora, attending a conference abroad with her emotionally cold psychiatrist husband, muses on the situation of women, the drawbacks of marriage, the nuisance of mensuration, and books, politics, travel, and sex. John Updike compared the novel to Philip Roth's <i>Portnoy's Complaint</i> for its sexual honesty.</div>
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Jong defined the famous "Zipless Fuck" as "more than a fuck... Zipless, because when you came together zippers fell away like rose petals, underwear blew off in one breath like dandelion fluff... For the true, ultimate zipless A-1 fuck, it was necessary that you never get to know the man very well... anonymity made it even better."</div>
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The serious point of the book lies in its attempt to discover a post-liberation way of living with men, while managing to retain a separate identity. In fact it is worth reading if only as a social document which describes women's experiences in the 1960s and 1970s. <i>Felicity Skelton</i></div>
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<i>Date: 1973</i></div>
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<i>Author: Erica Jong</i></div>
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<i>Why It's Key: </i>Fear of Flying<i> treated women's liberation with humor - a rarity at the time. It is also famous for the frankness of the descriptions of bodily functions, especially sex.</i></div>
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<b>Key Book: The Lover</b></div>
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Marguerite Duras' semi-autobiographical novel offers subjective and impressionistic reflections upon a precocious childhood. At 15, the narrator has an intense sexual relationship with a wealthy 27-year old Chinese man. Set during the inter-war period in Sa Dec, French Indochina, their relationship is, on many levels, taboo. The intoxicating sensuality of their heady affair transcends and disturbs the boundaries of cultural acceptability, but even in its own terms, the relationship is transgressive and disturbing. It subverts traditional assumptions about the dynamics of sexual, racial, and onetary power, which is shown to be in a state of continual flux, endlessly subject to subtle realignment. Through this unorthodox love affair, and in her depiction of a family deeply troubled by a mother's divisive behavior, Duras provides a timely exploration of France's colonial past, and subjects the nebulous notion of "otherness" to renewed scrutiny.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKy3ZjrILQhQ5mgUjne8tHX_wJEIP99oWWc0r-GEeqMMlMFQY6DZLF1phkknOCYlyIj78iHbeZO8pYy9sd45S9HAr29sjkDfVJJpK1I-RBhsd1NAg-4CpfE1fPALCKOUIaI3SCUTjkihQ8/s1600/tumblr_lssnuoyl811qk3ddco1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKy3ZjrILQhQ5mgUjne8tHX_wJEIP99oWWc0r-GEeqMMlMFQY6DZLF1phkknOCYlyIj78iHbeZO8pYy9sd45S9HAr29sjkDfVJJpK1I-RBhsd1NAg-4CpfE1fPALCKOUIaI3SCUTjkihQ8/s1600/tumblr_lssnuoyl811qk3ddco1_500.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a>The short novel is demonstrably a product of Duras' association with the Nouveau Roman, or "new novel", a French literary movement that sought to break the traditional dependence on plot, characterization, and conventional narrative modes. Critics have been divided on the novel's status as autobiography but she undoubtedly makes self-conscious use of the form, questioning the constructedness of memory, its luminescent quality, and the inevitable investments we all make, at both conscious and unconscious levels, in the process of remembering the past. The most commercially successful of Duras' works, it won the coveted Prix Goncort in 1984. <i>Juliet Wightman</i></div>
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<i>Date: 1984</i></div>
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<i>Author: Marguerite Duras (1914-96)</i></div>
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<i>Why It's Key: Remarkable for the frankness with which one of France's most respected - but difficult and avant garde - writers offers access to a sensational aspect of her past, this novel catapulted Duras from left-wing intellectual to bestselling author.</i></div>
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Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-39461994948347827302014-04-03T18:15:00.002+08:002014-04-03T18:16:31.040+08:00<h2>
My new year resolution </h2>
<b>New York Look Book: A Gallery of Street Fashion</b><br />
<b><i>Amy Larocca and Jake Chessum (Melcher Media, 2007)</i></b><br />
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The New York Look Book is a collection of articles/features in Amy Larocca's 'Look Book' section in the <i>New York</i> magazine. The magazine section features different people that Amy Larocca and her photographer, Jake Chessum found on the streets of New York. These people have different personal styles, preferences, and beliefs. The only similarity they have is their confidence and conviction of their own personality.<br />
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This is a good read to start the year. I look at this book as my New Year resolution, to develop my own chutzpah. Each look reads like their own story. If stylish means doing whatever the f*** you want, then I'm there. There's also a 'where to find it' section (that is, style shops and restaurants), in case I'll find myself in New York with a bag full of cash.<br />
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Not an impossible thing, y'know. :-)Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-74575820303310670172012-10-17T20:38:00.000+08:002012-10-17T20:38:44.946+08:00More Minds - Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman<b>More Minds - Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman; ISBN: 0-590-39469-X; Fantasy, Young Adults; Scholastics, 1998.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhM-xeGHcwGxZkYzuet1VjYbwJfmzjWSIr1N38_va7lU62ST935a-X6hTePplyqlUFp4Elqq57P0pCq-Vsl5yeDM4912RKHjUcblY_aMel6JqcZ2rxxxjuwHw0zOKOrSO-EvvIxuUs3vn/s1600/369296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhM-xeGHcwGxZkYzuet1VjYbwJfmzjWSIr1N38_va7lU62ST935a-X6hTePplyqlUFp4Elqq57P0pCq-Vsl5yeDM4912RKHjUcblY_aMel6JqcZ2rxxxjuwHw0zOKOrSO-EvvIxuUs3vn/s320/369296.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
<br /><i>(This review was <a href="http://blackbody.multiply.com/reviews/item/3" target="_blank">originally posted on my multiply page</a> on January 25, 2009.)</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i> </i></b><br />Reading
this book is like watching a full-length kiddie movie, the kind shown
on Disney or Cartoon Network. And it is fun, if a bit surreal. What
impressed me is that the premise of everybody having a too tremendous
power – being able to change reality to suit themselves –is shown as not
being the <i>deux ex machina</i> readers expect it to be (well, most of
the time anyway). Unfortunately, the reason why the story was
enjoyable, its bizarreness, is also its weakness; the story became too
confusing, with incoherent storyline shortcuts done to quickly wrap up
the plot. In short, it reads like it had been severely edited to keep it
short, presumably not to tax out the attention span its target readers –
children. It’s either that or they are planning to make a sequel.
Either way, it is a good way to spoil a decent fantasy. Way to go
Scholastic. Coupled with slightly unappealing lead characters, I give
this a 4 out of 5.Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-2298391823917445332012-10-17T20:26:00.001+08:002012-10-17T20:26:21.114+08:00Dragonhaven - Robin McKinley<b>Dragonhaven - Robin McKinley</b><br />
<br />
<i>(This review was <a href="http://blackbody.multiply.com/reviews/item/5" target="_blank">originally posted on my multiply page</a> on February 3, 2009.)<br /><br />Once upon a time, there was a prince who lived in an isolated forest/mountain kingdom. His mother had recently died thus making the king very sad and at the same time very protective of his only family. But the prince chafed and the king reluctantly allowed him for a solo trek through the realm. But whether through chance or fate, the prince had instead met a dying dragon - a dying mother dragon, with one of her dragonlet still breathing...</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEYNcgOTr1JmAHOgmDfnUpMtxNGJpnUybqRUy12qj-9mMtll03LmcGkhD6j8KL-h2UQmTP3ae3RxvZb_geD9h86N-yMCjO-HQ2xYDdscc47qo5s1OIU4ItF0s1dQDROQzHHncSfhdQRnU/s1600/51Z4hBNKqlL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEYNcgOTr1JmAHOgmDfnUpMtxNGJpnUybqRUy12qj-9mMtll03LmcGkhD6j8KL-h2UQmTP3ae3RxvZb_geD9h86N-yMCjO-HQ2xYDdscc47qo5s1OIU4ItF0s1dQDROQzHHncSfhdQRnU/s1600/51Z4hBNKqlL.jpg" /></a>Well, not really. While the premise sounds like a typical high-fantasy dish, let me assure you it is not. The "kingdom" is an American forest park - think Yellowstone - in a modern world very similar to ours. The "prince" is Jake Mendoza, the teenage son of the Park Director. And while dragons are real, they are more or less treated ordinarily, an endangered species yes, but nothing that biologists and the rest of the scientific community couldn't explain.<br />
<br />
Now if you think that is all there is to this story, then you don't know how adept Robin McKinley is in writing fantasy.<br />
<br />
The fantastic and the mundane, the magical and the normal intertwine in this wonderful story. The story of a boy and his extraordinary "pet" may had been the stuff of many children's book and movies ("Free Willy" was the first thing that came to mind, then Naomi Novik's equally wonderful "Temeraire" series was the better second) but Ms. McKinley placed a fresh new twist to it. By making dragons commonplace and familiar in Jake's world, she had instead (and perhaps deliberately) emphasized their uniqueness to us readers who are bereft of dragons in OUR world.<br />
<br />
The most contentious of the tools that Ms. McKinley used was the one many other readers claim made the book horrible - her use of the first-person narrative form. The assumption was that Jake was forced to write about his experiences with the dragons a few years back and that any way of writing his memoir will do, despite his lousy (to put it mildly) writing style. And yes, there are times that I can't blame them since Ms. McKinley might have put the laid-back tone a little too far sometimes. For example, I can't believe that a 22-year old guy (at the time of the supposed writing), someone who had supposedly aced all his high school aptitude exam, use the word "amazinger" in any way possible. Not to mention wasting a few pages botching up his explanation of how "dragon telepathy/language" works (don't ask, I don't understand it myself).<br />
<br />
Yet it was strange that many people can't get past the writing to see the gem that is the story itself (just goes to show some people can be quite anal-retentive about what they think should constitute good writing *shrug*). Despite taking me aback for a few pages at the start, I do think the relaxed tone of the first-person narrative/memoir was quite charming. And this may be because Jake is one of the most charming hero I've read in a while. In fact, all of the characters are very believable, including the dragons themselves.<br />
<br />
All in all, I've finished the book with a warm fuzzy feeling and a general goodwill of all creatures on earth - dragons or no dragons.<b> Five Stars.</b>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-66969523065097865702012-10-17T20:00:00.001+08:002012-10-17T20:00:24.316+08:00Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix<div class="bodytext" id="item_body">
<b> Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix - Charles R. Cross; ISBN 1-4013-0028; Non-Fiction, Biography; Hyperion, 2005.</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mmSangSyS69hQmGc-hjEWpSTcQoRyt-hR_q9wVQt6_kMu2LhUCapQnVxSXQTTMggGIeZOZz5S4QgyP9y5a7hQP3_H1InraAFYAt6Bmg5MbEsnOw7IxiWUWRsHJaihxlXixDaOXJQRMbw/s1600/%257BBB890715-C5F2-4A14-A3C8-C4FF8743575C%257DImg100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mmSangSyS69hQmGc-hjEWpSTcQoRyt-hR_q9wVQt6_kMu2LhUCapQnVxSXQTTMggGIeZOZz5S4QgyP9y5a7hQP3_H1InraAFYAt6Bmg5MbEsnOw7IxiWUWRsHJaihxlXixDaOXJQRMbw/s320/%257BBB890715-C5F2-4A14-A3C8-C4FF8743575C%257DImg100.jpg" width="240" /></a><i>(This review was <a href="http://blackbody.multiply.com/reviews/item/4" target="_blank">originally posted on my multiply page</a> on January 27, 2009.)</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<br />
If you're a Jimi Hendrix fan, do not to read this review.<br />
<br />
Okay, consider yourself warned. <br />
<br />
At
the end of three weeks (a long read by my standards), I have to make an
effort to finish reading this book. It was difficult to maintain
interest in that seriously stupid guy that was Jimi Hendrix.
Deliberately wasted talent, deliberately wasted opportunity,
deliberately wasted life. <br />
<br />
I would had still found the book
fascinating despite having an unpleasant anti-hero as a subject (I like
reading about the music of the 60s and the 70s, and the evolution of the
genre that we call Rock) if only Mr. Cross doesn't have a limitless
supply of <i>excuses</i> for Hendrix's failings. As an example, Mr.
Cross reluctantly reveals about Hendrix's tendency to use violence
towards his girlfriends - but, he hastens to explain, that was just the
alcohol speaking and he's really actually quite gentle. But when one
reads these sort of instances again and again and again, Mr. Cross's
protestations becomes, not just ridiculous, but insulting to the
readers' intelligence. <br />
<br />
To Mr. Cross defense, one can argue that
he have to contend not just with the entire Hendrix clan, but the
hundreds of fellow musicians, friends and fans who zealously guard Jimi
Hendrix's memory. He then has no choice but to tiptoe around; give the
truth, of course, but provide exhaustive explanations, using carefully
chosen and sometimes blandly neutral words. The general tone, therefore,
comes across as ludicrously apologetic.<br />
<br />
Not everything is bad
though. Mr. Cross is at his best when writing about Jimi Hendrix and his
band's (whether the Experience or the Band of Gypsys) professional
life. The (r)evolution comes alive that you can almost see and hear it -
the early forays of Rhythm and Blues musicians to Rock, the London Mod
culture, the parallel hippie and psychedelic culture in the US. It is
fascinating to read about Jimi's interaction with his fellow musicians,
especially my favorite ones. My favorite part of the book was on the
Monterey Pop Festival, attended by the "British delegation" consisting
of The Experience and The Who, who totally owned The Experience that
Jimi Hendrix was forced to do show gimmicks just to keep up with
Townshend's gang. <br />
<br />
Finally, the reason why I gave a good 4
instead of a mediocre 3 was that I'm eternally grateful to Mr. Cross for
giving me Jimi Hendrix the Blues man, rather than just the rock star. I
admit that I am part of the crowd that knows him by his four hits
(Voodoo Child, Hey Joe, All Along the Watchtower and Foxy Lady) - now I
love him for his less famous songs, such as Gypsy Eyes (which I thought
was an Eric Clapton original; just goes to show that even the greatest
guitarists are not immune to the temptation to steal 'n own); Castle
Made of Sand (sad and hauntingly beautiful lyrics); Angel (if there is
any theme song of Jimi Hendrix's life, this one is it); Red House (one
of his hits but is more bluesy than most); and many, many more. </div>
Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-52350132638165398232012-09-16T13:53:00.000+08:002012-09-16T13:53:02.372+08:00MIBF 2012 LootMy visit to this year's Manila International Book Fair is a restrained affair compared to the last few years.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EKdtff7xa_IK5zhPN3OiDI1XKG1iPLBmGWyemcI_iKxWIxrrOuAqweoKLAT41MFnXoihaINJ0FKOJCjz-qLT8RjmsKSZSzvi3XBRF8zzylwIscIiINh2xbgsfqctrpf6-jEQBX2gYdzp/s1600/2012-09-15+23.34.11.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EKdtff7xa_IK5zhPN3OiDI1XKG1iPLBmGWyemcI_iKxWIxrrOuAqweoKLAT41MFnXoihaINJ0FKOJCjz-qLT8RjmsKSZSzvi3XBRF8zzylwIscIiINh2xbgsfqctrpf6-jEQBX2gYdzp/s320/2012-09-15+23.34.11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My overall loot is just five titles</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I bought locally published books for this year's haul. This was purely coincidental, as all five titles are tangential buys. The only book I had in my to-buy list is Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (for my book club's online discussion; I didn't find a copy though). <br />
<br />
My first buys were from the UP Press:<br />
<br />
<b>Presenting America, Encountering the Philippines</b> is a compilation of Fulbright lectures from American literature scholar Gerald Burns, on different literary and cultural topics relating to the Philippines, the US, or both. First impression is that it's like a more academic <i>Pacific Rims</i>, one that will probably give me nosebleeds. <b><i>Target reading schedule</i></b>: This year, after or while <i>Howl's Moving Castle</i>. Would be a nice complementary read before or while tackling <i>Noli Me Tangere</i> <i><b> </b></i><b><i></i></b>for the December's discussion.<br />
<br />
<b>Memo Mulang Gimokudan: Aklat ng Tulang Tuluyan</b> is a prose-poem collection from National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario (or if you prefer his pen name, Rio Alma). I bought this because of the beautiful language. <b><i>Target reading schedule</i></b>: None. One must digest this unrushed. Best read during quiet times, and while in transit (will be placing this in my backpack, until well worn).<br />
<br />
From Anvil:<br />
<br />
<b>Sarap Pinoy: Mga Lutuing Pilipino</b> by The Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center is a promising addition to my cook books. What I like about the recipes is that they are straightforward (no strange ingredients, no cuisine fusion of any kind). Plus, every entry has notes on the different regional/cultural takes of the same recipe. I found the addendum very useful, especially if I'm going to cook for visitors. Best of all, I love it that the book is in Filipino (I don't know if it's just me, but I find most Filipino recipes written in English confusing and awkward). <b><i>Target reading schedule:</i></b> None. I'll read as I cook along, and I intend to cook every recipe in the book.<br />
<br />
From Tahanan books:<br />
<br />
Three copies of the <b>Super Boboy Adventures</b> booklet for my three nephews. I bought them a copy each last year but they misplaced it somewhere. Too bad the sequels aren't available too.<br />
<br />
<b>Inside Manila with Kids: A Travel Companion for Parents </b>by Didith Tan Rodrigo and illustrated by Robert Aguinaldo seems to be a nice little travelogue. I bought it to see if I can compare it with another <a href="http://blackbodyslists.blogspot.com/2011/01/walking-in-city.html" target="_blank">Metro Manila travelogue I reviewed last year</a>. It seems to be a good Christmas gift to expats or balikbayans who are planning to travel to the Philippines. <b><i>Target reading schedule</i></b>: Maybe next year. I'm assuming that the book will prompt me to visit the places listed in the book, and I'm anticipating that I'll have more free time next year.Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-53481374984622597612012-07-13T19:26:00.002+08:002012-07-18T15:51:55.064+08:00An unsent letter found partially burned in a fireplace: an epistolary fanfiction<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span lang="EN-PH"> Dear Mr Stevens,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span lang="EN-PH"> I will finally be leaving Darlington Hall tomorrow for a new life with Mr. Benn, and I should be resting for the long drive ahead. But instead I had lain awake for most of the night, thinking of ways to tell you things I wanted to say a long time ago. These things are, most definitely, not proper talk between professionals (as you call ourselves), and this letter might cause you some embarrassment or discomfort. For that, I truly offer my deepest apologies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span lang="EN-PH"> I would admit that my first impression of you was not a positive one. To be frank, I found you obnoxious, snobbish, and overbearing, with a tendency to find fault in everything. I was certain that you were an automaton, like the ones found in those Verne novels, with a heart made of cold steel. </span><span lang="EN-PH">I do apologize for any hurt this memory will cause you, but i</span><span lang="EN-PH">t was on your father’s deathbed that I had a glimpse of something curiously different. It was just fleeting, but I sensed then your vulnerability. That deep inside that shell of nonchalant professionalism, is a man, breathing, very much alive, and capable of feeling.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span lang="EN-PH"> Those times we were together – simple walks, chores done in silence – meant so much to me. I led a lonely life, and I believed that I found a kindred spirit in you. I will especially miss our daily meetings over cocoa. After talking about work, we’d find ourselves laughing over some silly things (which you’re probably be insisting right now only came from me), or some trivial events of the day. I wonder, did you ever realize that you unconsciously hum so softly during those rare times that you switched on the radio for a little nightcap music? I did, and I remember. What I can’t remember was when it started to shift into something else. I was surprised that you became suddenly so aloof. But then I'd catch you looking at me when you thought I wasn’t looking; or how you’d be so sullen every time I came back from my day off. You confuse me, so very much. I wanted you to tell me what you were feeling, I hinted so many times, but you refused me. Was all of it simply a figment of my imagination? But I saw you. I sensed you. Why do you always have to pretend?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span lang="EN-PH"> Have you realized that you ruined me for other men? You kept breaking my heart into millions of pieces over and over again, and I loathe you for that. You made me happy every time we are together, no matter how short or insignificant to you it may be. Then, the same night, every night, I silently cry because you did not sense my feelings, or had never bothered acknowledging it. I realize now that you don’t see me the way I see you. You called me temperamental, defiant, and impossible. I am all that because, incomprehensibly, I want you, I want to share your life, your burden. But you refused to. I thought I was coaxing you out of your shell, to see that there is life outside Darlington Hall. I was wrong. I see now that there is no shell. Your soul is embedded in every brick and mortar. You ARE Darlington Hall.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span lang="EN-PH"> I'm tired of the heart ache. I'm tired of the tears. I am leaving. And I will be happy without you, you’ll see.<br />
<br />
Yours,<br />
Emma Kenton</span></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-90676891794607588512012-06-28T12:57:00.002+08:002012-06-28T13:13:27.599+08:00My summary of The Count of Monte Cristo: An Allegory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEN_rJUbrMDamhkHDMRdn1Hx0WlT2SZLLBsGfnD5HQeZgK64LmkJBjmVtNdGEtu8IXZ7z4MS-WXZlPKnW50f_kzu6SthoJso7piTvCQkoc7hFvwt-ojl1QuBS1krJ-DdHwxMZU742MiAkv/s1600/countmontecristo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEN_rJUbrMDamhkHDMRdn1Hx0WlT2SZLLBsGfnD5HQeZgK64LmkJBjmVtNdGEtu8IXZ7z4MS-WXZlPKnW50f_kzu6SthoJso7piTvCQkoc7hFvwt-ojl1QuBS1krJ-DdHwxMZU742MiAkv/s320/countmontecristo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><b>The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas</b><br />
<b>Fiction, Adventure; ISBN 0-553-21350-4; Bantam Classic, 1844.</b> <br />
<br />
The story is about a young Idealist who had been killed by the stalwarts of Society: Government, Finance/Industry, Military, and the Common People. (The fourth one, the Common People, didn't actually participated in the slaying of the Idealist, but then again, he did turn a blind eye on the entire thing so I guess he's guilty too.)<br />
<br />
So down he went, the Idealist, into each circle of Dante's Inferno. Somewhere along the way, he met an old Rationalist, who arranged the means by which the Idealist came back to life. But the Idealist came back a twisted creature, an undead. He renamed himself Nihilist (and the Divine Providence), and swore revenge on the old stalwarts. So after much maneuvering, he tortured and killed his enemies by destroying what they treasure the most: the Military, by taking away his Honor; the Government, by taking away his Family; and Finance/Industry, by taking away his Money. (The fourth one, the Common People, had been screwed from the start by the Government, Military, and Finance/Industry, so there's nothing much to take away from him. Eventually he gets killed by his friend, the Common Criminal). Nihilist had also killed some innocent bystanders - Love, Trust, Free Will, and Youth - although he claims these were purely accidental (as the Divine Providence, he cannot make mistakes, right?). <br />
<br />
In the end, everyone died or is left suffering. That is, all except Nihilist and his teenage love slave. Rich and contented, they sailed away into the sunset.<br />
<br />
The End.Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-28081869342971098402011-12-16T14:59:00.000+08:002011-12-16T14:59:59.923+08:00Love, in all its permutations<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Fourteen Love Stories - Jose Dalisay Jr. & Angelo R. Lacuesta (editors)</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Fiction; ISBN 971-542-412-0; Flipside Publishing, University of the Philippines Press; 2004.</b></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6WGpmoV4pG4crP8iRqC-CcFmAmL_pPox2Z49uvFaDWZ17DXPSwYN2x_XWaK5x2Iux16_sG6sq9WrxjfU_ng1UvrZojPeBmSFJOl8nvZYghr5Jjztul7AOWfCUcbToTf0pQwwWVuhnNoS/s1600/9789719922438_cvr-e1320833973477.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6WGpmoV4pG4crP8iRqC-CcFmAmL_pPox2Z49uvFaDWZ17DXPSwYN2x_XWaK5x2Iux16_sG6sq9WrxjfU_ng1UvrZojPeBmSFJOl8nvZYghr5Jjztul7AOWfCUcbToTf0pQwwWVuhnNoS/s320/9789719922438_cvr-e1320833973477.jpg" width="200" /></a><i>"Which is why, perhaps, the love story is a strange affair. As affairs go, there are good ones and bad ones, the ones we forget and the ones we remember, over and over again. But the well-written love story is an enigma, a strange beauty. Like any story, a path is laid out, but like any affair, the outcome of that journey depends on many circumstances. One reads it and wonders how and why it works, why one is unspeakably drawn to an obscure unknown. One relishes it while it is being discovered, uncovered, but knows with absolute certainty it will end."</i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 94.5pt;">I'm glad that the editors of <i>Fourteen Love Stories</i> chose to present the stories chronologically because this gave me a chance to appreciate the changing regard of Filipinos on love and relationships over the decades. But in the end, I can't help but group the stories according to what I'd felt about them (not a good way to review a book, I know, but I'm not aiming for a proper critique =P).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 94.5pt;"><br />
The first group are the ones I had appreciated and enjoyed like artworks in a museum. Indeed, I found myself connecting some stories to certain artists: <i>"Dead Stars"</i> is Luna's <i>"Tampuhan"</i>, <i>"Midsummer"</i> is a sensual Amorsolo,<i>"Wedding Dance"</i> reminds me of Botong Francisco's murals, <i>"Tanabata's Wife",</i> to Bencab's sculptures, and Polotan's <i>"The Virgin"</i> to a Manansala jeepneyscape.<br />
<br />
I very much enjoyed reading this next group because they reminded me of friends or people I know. This lot includes Ford's <i>"Love in the Cornhusks"</i> (reminded me of one of my parent's <i>kasambahay</i>), Gonzales' <i>"Breathe"</i> and de Jesus' <i>"In Her Country" </i>(a college friend), Fres-Felix's <i>"Alma"</i> (my boss' mistress), and Cordero-Fernando's <i>"The Dust Monster"</i> (a book club friend).<br />
<br />
Not surprisingly, the two stories I've identified with the most were those by writers of my generation. Sitoy's <i>"Weight" </i>is about the subtle pressures of life that chips away one's idealism. It also made me miss the Quezon City of my college and post-graduate life, as well as the naive enthusiasm I had then. My favorite story in the anthology is Katigbak's <i>"Passengers"</i>. It is a story of love and loss, told through bus rides. I connected with a lot of things: the girl's fondness of commuting in dingy buses, the narrator's horror of being a new driver stuck in the hellroad called EDSA with suicidal bus drivers, Metro Manila bus routes, the 'techno-dreck' which are the official soundtrack of these buses, and even that infinite parallel universe thing.<br />
<br />
There were two I couldn't relate that well: Melvin's <i>"A Normal Life"</i> and Villanueva's <i>"How Could You Smile"</i>. The latter is a story of infidelity, something I had no personal or familial experience. The former is about a love affair between an older, more sophisticated woman and and a much younger man. I don't really know what to feel about these two stories. Do I sympathize? Or maybe abhor? But I still enjoyed reading them, though with a certain detachment.<br />
<br />
Considering that the wealth of Filipino stories written in English spanned eight decades, I’m amazed that the editors, Butch Dalisay & Sarge Lacuesta managed to choose only fourteen stories. That they limited the pick to only those about romantic love probably didn’t help much, as the Filipino is race that is in love with Love – one just have to flip the local channels or browse through the thousands of Pinoy romance pocketbooks to realize that. But chose they did, and they chose well. </div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-24528231153427280412011-09-11T03:14:00.002+08:002011-09-11T03:19:20.602+08:00Meme: My Top 10 SPTD Song list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcJS4gK0Zt4QW3dAV3-9OifI2tJrOYnX2EQ_2gJ-TXzFGg1YJywY-cPn8BBkLWCl9ZfmLmMPTmbAfoqwdQQV9rkFEucBQS-iDcxTIXG22r9T5VLVyGM0OPYd3U2v7X1wHTnLh5-5VX6wB/s1600/knife_through_the_heart.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcJS4gK0Zt4QW3dAV3-9OifI2tJrOYnX2EQ_2gJ-TXzFGg1YJywY-cPn8BBkLWCl9ZfmLmMPTmbAfoqwdQQV9rkFEucBQS-iDcxTIXG22r9T5VLVyGM0OPYd3U2v7X1wHTnLh5-5VX6wB/s200/knife_through_the_heart.png" width="115" /></a></div>This started out as a slumber party topic, as far as I remember. What I don't remember is how we came from talking about songs in general, to specifically talking about songs of pain and heartbreak. After that, in a Facebook post, Eunice called them SPTD songs ("Saksak Puso, Tulo ang Dugo", which literally means "Stabbed through the heart, with blood dripping"). Lots of songs had been thrown around sporadically, both online and offline. Then I had this lame-brained idea of each of us contributing our own top ten SPTD songs and compiling them into a CD. With <a href="http://stokedbunny.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/sptd-saksak-puso-tulo-ang-dugo-song-list-meme/">Joko contributing her own list</a>, I guess this is a go. *shrug*<br />
<br />
So anyhow, here's my own top ten list of heartaches, breakups, angst and other painful stuff like that, in no order whatsoever:<br />
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Insensitive - Jann Arden<br />
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I'll Be Okay - Amanda Marshall<br />
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Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake<br />
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Much Has Been Said - Bamboo<br />
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You Oughta Know - Alanis Morrisette<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OSfGmMmWXyA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
7 Days in Sunny June - Jamiroquai<br />
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You Got To Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jz7IjXu0DfQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
I Do - Lisa Loeb<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SM4uwLTiDPU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Out of Reach - Gabrielle<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jlRoRSaRp9M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Just My Imagination - The Temptations<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LT6kjQhVJ9Y?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-5447340457788678852011-09-10T16:04:00.002+08:002011-09-10T16:15:27.039+08:00September = MIBF!Ah, September. The month that most <i>libruwitres</i> either sings praises of... or curse to the deepest hell. It's the month you've been preparing your wallets for. It's the month of The 32nd Manila International Book Fair!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.manilabookfair.com/"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhrYF0cCvGUfnLAINE0BEj2UTyLOd76TXslcTPdEPT0v8V8SCYWJeX2rZr3prLFFZAwUGvUslMB1PKbwO1QVo91pgnXSRl7dbUUIwfADP7gWQF4fKB0x4CJeRU0qBMj6SqAZWqMlRsP6t/s320/MIBF+fb+icon.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br />
This year's MIBF is promising to be a very memorable one because of the first ever Filipino Reader's Conference!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://filipinoreadercon.tumblr.com/"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUXpvU9vLwW78GrpxmtJ9UPgeDiEmujfI8IlNuXUR625_iXFc2WAx8NFsfgFmcoNR5U-c3nzj6tt7iFMbCJVGpHy-cVmJAED_mExxyg0BihSghHi7lcsQe5dmlXdM_6sLyRGrGv4hU5CGQ/s400/tumblr_lqrr2euItm1qzy1su.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Here's the program of activities for the <a href="http://filipinoreadercon.tumblr.com/">ReaderCon</a>:<br />
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1:00 – 1:20 PM<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Registration</b><br />
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1:20 – 1:30 PM<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Welcome Remarks</b><br />
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1:30 – 2:00 PM <b>Keynote Speech: No Line on the Horizon: The Merging of Readers and Writers through Social Media</b><br />
Speaker: Carljoe Javier<br />
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2:00 – 3:30 <b>PM Panel Discussion: Putting up and Running a Book Club--for the fun of it!</b><br />
Panelists:<br />
Gege Sugue (<a href="http://www.shelfari.com/groups/12439/about">FFP</a>)<br />
Doni A. Oliveros (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/480.Filipinos">Goodreads</a>)<br />
Tata Francisco (<a href="http://exlibrisphilippines.multiply.com/">Ex Libris</a>)<br />
Facilitator: Peter Sandico<br />
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3:30 – 4:00 PM<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Snacks<br />
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4:00 – 5:30 PM <b>Panel Discussion: The Why and How of Book Blogging</b><br />
Panelists:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Tarie Sabido (<a href="http://asiaintheheart.blogspot.com/">Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind</a>)<br />
Charles Tan (<a href="http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/">Bibliophile Stalker</a>)<br />
Chachic Fernandez (<a href="http://chachic.wordpress.com/">Chachic’s Book Nook</a>)<br />
Aldrin Calimlim (<a href="http://fullybooked.me/">Fully Booked. Me</a>)<br />
Sasha Martinez (<a href="http://silverfysh.wordpress.com/">Sasha & the Silverfish</a>)<br />
Facilitator: Honey de Peralta (<a href="http://fantaghiro23.blogspot.com/">Coffeespoons</a>)<br />
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5:30 – 6:00 <b>PM Raffles and Socials</b><br />
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As you all know, I'm a member of the <a href="http://www.shelfari.com/groups/12439/about">Flips Flipping Pages </a>book club (we call ourselves Flippers - we're weird that way, hahaha), so I'll definitely be there for the sheer nerdy fun of socializing with fellow bookworms. I just hope I'll have the chance to wander through the SMX Convention Center exhibition ground. I'll probably won't forgive myself if I don't give in to the book-buying frenzy at least once (okay fine, twice). I've seen the list of exhibitors and schedule of special events, and boy, these lists are long! If you need further information on this week-long event, do check out the <a href="http://www.manilabookfair.com/">MIBF website</a>.<br />
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See you there!Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-650340234963809162011-07-12T19:45:00.014+08:002011-07-12T20:37:13.303+08:00My 2011 reading plan<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">I'll probably remember this year as the one when Jose Saramago & Christopher Priest were bitter rivals (in my mind, of course) for my literary affections.<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QBOEO_hDRMORjqFjQE4Etx-gSIG510XqF6YXId13OUz9LteO__affmTTA6xfPPzMGJfiQnLdA-bKo907ZaXlX5CPXUD0FnPaGE0fsiyPflo9tOtoLO0KUHx9RMBcnzWSf95xY81ALrAV/s400/jose-saramago1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 275px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628437672595217298" /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; ">Photo from <a href="http://bedia.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/jose-saramago-hasta-siempre-brigadista-de-la-palabra/">Brigadas internacionales</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">It started when I read <i>Blindness</i> for the March book discussion. It was a painful but satisfying read, and I liked it so much I'd promptly declared it as my best book for 2011.<br /><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWeDEfudlCqM9Ppa2X-yd-BLYJVsb78t_10SRUyrbmzSdqSciv6bcNfLMCQE6Nxxym1pyu6esQ_8W5DBb4TzYYrXWGqlavbFBCcDlavaUx6V6M0HXBQVUoS7TqofNXaV1nkTNotfpK06DE/s400/06priest_334x229.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 334px; height: 229px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628438802042340370" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; ">Photo from <a href="http://www.locusmag.com/2006/Issues/06Priest.html">Locus Online</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">But then, a fellow book blogger,<a href="http://www.shelfari.com/groups/12439/about"> FFP</a> member and friend,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><a href="http://kyusireader.blogspot.com/">Peter</a>, who was a bit concerned of my <a href="http://blackbodyslists.blogspot.com/2011/02/too-much-czgowchwzness-spoils-broth.html">earlier dismissal of NYRB books</a>, lent me Christopher </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">Priest's <i>The Inverted World </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">(thank you so much!)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><i>. </i>He was convinced that I won't just like the book but <b><i>love</i></b> it. And he was right. It was a mind-bending read but it was very, very good.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">When my ardor shifted from Saramago to Priest, I thought, this is a bit unfair of me. I can't easily dismiss someone who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. After all, I can't judge an author by reading just one or two of his creations, right? Thus, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">I made an imaginary contest between the two authors for the most-coveted prize of all: my best author & book for 2011. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">So here's the tally & the plan so far (not that I have these books right now, though I do hope I'll acquire/borrow some of them soon):</span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><b>Jose Saramago</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">Blindness (read)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">Death with Interruptions (read)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The Double</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The Gospel According to Jesus Christ</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">Baltasar & Blimuda</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><b>Christopher Priest </b> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span><br /></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The Inverted World (read)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The Prestige<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The Separation<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The Extremes<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The Affirmation<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></span></span></div></div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">I ought to post reviews for these books, no? I'll do that as I go along, I promise. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">So what do you think, guys and gals? Is best out of five fair enough? Or should I read more?</span></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-18711669183972128132011-03-28T13:07:00.005+08:002011-03-28T13:53:50.241+08:00a test of (bookish) endurance and mettleWell okay, as you know, I'm a member of this book club, <a href="http://www.shelfari.com/groups/12439/about">Flips Flipping Pages</a>. But I realize I'm nowhere as bookish as many of the other Flippers (that's what we call ourselves), who can read five to ten (or more) books per week, while I can barely finish one in a month. That I shrink at challenges is such an understatement.<div><br /></div><div>But here I am, I'm joining this year's <a href="http://ffp24hourreadathon.blogspot.com/"><b>FFP 24-Hour Read-A-Thon</b></a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3lmbndHRdcYMDhnTNpfLpP578nEtos_xuoZKPzupNUkoUKU5uSbImrP1gf2O3GoR9PmKmAiYBciE5K-x5qumDu918tsg1BWiKDEdFYnvJZqj8_UJbvl3Z74bTFWVf3fcTEOaDeNy_Xou/s400/Readathon+poster+1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588996299023139842" /></div><div><br /></div><div>That it's going to be loads of fun is assured. Man, this is an FFP event. If there's one truth in this life, this is it: <i><b>there is no such thing as a boring FFP event</b></i>. Coupled that it's going to be held in my friend Triccie's bookshop, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001749612018">Libreria</a>, the prettiest bookstore in town (I'm honestly not exaggerating) - well, I just hope it's not going to be as wild as the last party held there (two words: Mardi Gras). Besides, people are going need to buckle down and do some serious reading, so think of this as your typical book nerds' slumber party. Without much of the pajamas, pillow fights and even slumbering, of course.<br /><br />I know I won't read as much books as the top hitters of the club, but gosh! I'm just crossing my fingers I won't embarrass myself in front of my friends. At the very least, I hope I won't go to sleep and snore or God forbid, drool on Triccie's nice couch. :P</div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-79893097222229763102011-03-10T13:03:00.006+08:002011-03-10T13:32:18.582+08:00Stone Temple Pilots, March 9, 2011, Araneta Coliseum<div style="text-align: justify;">For posterity's sake, I'm throwing my dignity to the wind.</div><div><br /></div>This blurry video was taken using my phone camera using unsteady arms - not to mention we were in the general admissions section. If you hear some fangirls shrieking, that's just me and my friend <a href="http://stokedbunny.wordpress.com/">Joko</a>. :P<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy3X38kQFbX9L9LjqytspLqjycoyhrWBz6I85OMbou9f8Nau33XW1sw05P95hniSQDOz80bhtJZCWxCX22daA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-51145976686731580952011-02-24T18:55:00.011+08:002011-02-24T20:19:04.334+08:00too much czgowchwzness spoils the broth<div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Mawrdew Czgowchwz - James McCourt</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Fiction; ISBN 0-940-322-97-8; New York Review Books, 1971.</span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a story of an opera diva, impossibly named Mawrdew Czgowchwz (that's '<i>Mardu Gorgeous</i>' to you) - her debut, rise, semi-fall, comeback, and then finally happy ending. I'd like to say more, but that's all there is to the story.</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVioBazpSCJDWkSM2Au_mUE4G9QjBhiiqf_VqYDyhI7ajFk4yvCE5jhuY-qSwM597A6yAebKSX1dK7VNbfxwu0be27KF7rdF3CDxdUHAycojbeORPatfsyXb0IHOH6J_lcDJIiGzEfb5Mo/s400/mawrdew.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577224303014341218" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is my first NYRB book. Considering that many of my <a href="http://www.shelfari.com/groups/12439/discussions/275181/NYRB-Reading-Week---Nov-7-13?showall=true#5672962">book club friends love NYRB</a>, I hope I won't disappoint them too much if I said that I didn't like it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not that isn't not engaging. It is. The cast of characters is also quite lively. And there's the farce too: all those catty and humorous things James McCourt wanted to to say about high society, artsy snobbery and fanaticism, and what-have-you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's just that the book is too much: of words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and even interjections), of linguistic tricks (yesiree, this is witty, with a capital W), of characters (too many and each too colorful, like a cramped zoo cage full of peacocks).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let me pick this quote:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">"The libretto told (in details as intimate as the knowledge flesh succeeds in gaining of flesh, in metamorphic cunning transparent as windows, in plotted dramatic incident obvious as mirrors, in a denouement as inverted as words beyond mirrors) of the capitulation of twin brother and sister through a whirlwind into salvific madness, of their headlong retreat from this world of causes and effects into that silent, mute, subworld paradise where all affect is abandoned."</span></blockquote></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is it really necessary to tax the readers' patience? Do you need to make the readers work hard when all you really want to say is this: 'the libretto is about a twin's descent to madness'? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So anyway, during the course of reading this book, a half-formed suspicion germinated in my mind regarding NYRB's choice of so-called 'classics'. I'd like to be proven wrong, of course; that would mean I need to read at least one or two NYRB books again. Uh huh, my enthusiasm is killing me. -_-</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So to those who had read other NYRB books, any suggestion on which ones to get next?</div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-83797815440338469902011-02-09T17:02:00.016+08:002011-02-09T20:39:46.625+08:00pimpin' my new crib<i>This blog post is not about books. It mostly contain boring pictures of an empty house. You've been warned.</i><div><br /></div>Last year, I moved out of the city and bought a house in the countryside.<div><br /></div><div>To say that everyone was surprised is a big understatement. You see, I'm a city girl through and through. I know Metro Manila almost like the back of my hand. I never had a province to go to during the summer break. I know how to cross a street filled with vehicles by the time I was seven. By the time I was in elementary, I sometimes go to school without adult supervision via public transportation. And my school was in Tondo, Manila two and a half miles from my home in Valenzuela, near Bulacan.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>So anyway, I had always dreamed of having a place of my own, at least someplace to stash all my stuff away. The story of how I got this new house can fill out two or three long blog post, and would probably bore you to tears (actually even *this* post is probably going to bore you tears). I'm just going to show what the place looked like when I first moved in.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_KIPTMsq-LYzhdZgQ6CJz3CGb-PLM813aO9NxZctiAxFG4Glwk7jy0VoWOKU2Qn_8rep-1aIozRhYNotLAp7tlqySkjMWe4M7j3JjPAlg-1v1gIFkXkadtodh-KhJTDDWswPd1cvs5s-/s400/10222010%2528004%2529.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571656057092517106" /></div><div>The stairs and my uber-mini kitchen from the living room. And since the kitchen is small, I'm going to do my actual cooking in the dirty kitchen at the back of the house:</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOQB-b4Ga3lo-2bDb9p-JNtA-9rYNroc9mgP9WLTkpju__eQsgejqVlHvVkU7QqJsFWCqQHbTPY-B4-ZeKTMXg4uTyL8wIEZ1rL-NQnW2KuEmXht5MrLO7OjcRpET6mxkHH7v9XgK8Hj3/s1600/10222010%2528017%2529.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOQB-b4Ga3lo-2bDb9p-JNtA-9rYNroc9mgP9WLTkpju__eQsgejqVlHvVkU7QqJsFWCqQHbTPY-B4-ZeKTMXg4uTyL8wIEZ1rL-NQnW2KuEmXht5MrLO7OjcRpET6mxkHH7v9XgK8Hj3/s400/10222010%2528017%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571660800177545090" /></a></div><div>I have two toilets: one for myself and one for my cat. How cool is that? :)</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4W-zwPsG7j_LxxBO9jGph3G-4Dvn5HKpuO89K4LY0ghFHyjzjmKDcaveX31kTwUwJa3kl4e9w9_duYATpqJm3fhMBtNnhcexEGeB0bzcYjvesKJXfYL2NRPUa0H6KT0OB-K5yMG_DbCe/s400/10222010%2528016%2529.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571657018721071010" />The partial view of the living room from the top of the stairs.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJMuLMX1iWGaXlFbqBgtksXsUdEv9Py5iq_WSLlxCP_5AsJhyphenhypheneN3RUqBetqxpXVAP4aaLzSbpw6dGD9lCRgcVlc-tdn46C-958fP0oQWt0vWLb2o6I2xlceqBTolFp5-KMLyK4FSF0TlP/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJMuLMX1iWGaXlFbqBgtksXsUdEv9Py5iq_WSLlxCP_5AsJhyphenhypheneN3RUqBetqxpXVAP4aaLzSbpw6dGD9lCRgcVlc-tdn46C-958fP0oQWt0vWLb2o6I2xlceqBTolFp5-KMLyK4FSF0TlP/s400/Untitled-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571658464923940194" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmPZlPTiFn3rx4qyiQHSwz8-aax5e0EpVL00Jte-ISRsOJrYlFgkACXBnrw_0D6XudGlnI1Qdk4rG7n1P5k0NEG44zPVauWfmazEjsWBrE4l26zkMLn8NagjNCYmHCiqxOyS2B2b56Oe_/s1600/Untitled-3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmPZlPTiFn3rx4qyiQHSwz8-aax5e0EpVL00Jte-ISRsOJrYlFgkACXBnrw_0D6XudGlnI1Qdk4rG7n1P5k0NEG44zPVauWfmazEjsWBrE4l26zkMLn8NagjNCYmHCiqxOyS2B2b56Oe_/s400/Untitled-3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571659066944497266" /></a>Second floor: On the left is the room I'm using now as the main (i.e. my) bedroom. On the right is a small room that's supposed to be a guest room but I won't since it's embarrassingly tiny. I'm currently using it as a storage room. In between these two room is the stairs to the attic.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPEDG573CbREKNBOZ1nwxV_6qVHqh-yNz4lRt7eJJRJ76NYvJpLBmrkS8-Bi8SITRmovZwbpkfa4E9AXtF69pS-1HIH9-3F3ljaKyDewxh-1Q3M0-2a0KklhWT8R_8SE1TAcnAN0Nfig1/s1600/10222010%2528009%2529.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPEDG573CbREKNBOZ1nwxV_6qVHqh-yNz4lRt7eJJRJ76NYvJpLBmrkS8-Bi8SITRmovZwbpkfa4E9AXtF69pS-1HIH9-3F3ljaKyDewxh-1Q3M0-2a0KklhWT8R_8SE1TAcnAN0Nfig1/s400/10222010%2528009%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571661378832663458" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIe73aZX-2XFFY_f9TkE06JuZl27DheB0S6x3cWFPhaKTVq4ajWau8PkoLmf7qZWsB4jJ3Uf1slz50m8DtO26tEcuDpDhutiRePOyEG4dDTqUjcZI18dfMg2V9j5jjADMvwm7n5W1fSMdH/s1600/10222010%2528010%2529.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIe73aZX-2XFFY_f9TkE06JuZl27DheB0S6x3cWFPhaKTVq4ajWau8PkoLmf7qZWsB4jJ3Uf1slz50m8DtO26tEcuDpDhutiRePOyEG4dDTqUjcZI18dfMg2V9j5jjADMvwm7n5W1fSMdH/s400/10222010%2528010%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571661682870822594" /></a>The attic. Which I've now filled with books in their nice new bookshelves. After I solve the problem of making this space less stifling hot during the afternoons, I intend to stay here for the rest of my spinsterish life. Yeah, maybe I'm serious. Or maybe I'm not. Who knows?</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQKVdCmQeeN0CFr-2kl5wMhU228dkSAE3dB7OHV6R2bIxzbOAFKqI-ilIt_ALHe5xAP0_pi5AA3NAv1xkGTxa-1L_zr0glu6GOCspD35h5-Q7IEW5OJhKW5r_9XVlFaqp_8bQrIEmSi1s/s1600/Untitled-4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQKVdCmQeeN0CFr-2kl5wMhU228dkSAE3dB7OHV6R2bIxzbOAFKqI-ilIt_ALHe5xAP0_pi5AA3NAv1xkGTxa-1L_zr0glu6GOCspD35h5-Q7IEW5OJhKW5r_9XVlFaqp_8bQrIEmSi1s/s400/Untitled-4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571662754877994162" /></a>The exteriors. This is actually a duplex (if only I have enough funds to take over the other half!). Taken from the space that's supposed to be the garage. It will be filled with a brand new car, hopefully soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>I dedicate this blog post to <a href="http://sumthinblue.com/">Blooey</a> who said I should write something about my new home, sort of like a blog of the (mis)adventures of a "city girl moving to the countryside setting up a house of her own". Oh come on, I'm not anything like Max Skinner (the protagonist of Peter Mayle's <i>A Good Year - </i>I suggest<i> </i>reading the book to know the connection). And I think it's too early to say that the province of Rizal is going to be my personal Provence. </div><div><br /></div><div>What do you guys think?</div><div><br /></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-27195059488189671622011-01-20T10:54:00.016+08:002011-01-24T10:29:16.490+08:00walking in the city<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(47, 47, 47); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size:medium;"><b>Street-Bound: Manila on Foot - Josefina P. Manahan</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(47, 47, 47); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><b><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size:medium;">Non-Fiction, Travel</span></span><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size:medium;">; ISBN 971-27-1135-9</span></span><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size:medium;">; Anvil Publishing, 2001.</span></span></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(47, 47, 47); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><b style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(47, 47, 47); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><b style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">(Thank you to <a href="http://www.anvilpublishing.com/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Anvil Publishing </a>for my complimentary copy. Thank you to <a href="http://fantaghiro23.blogspot.com/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Honeylein de Peralta</a> for coordinating this. :))<br /><br /></i></b></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">(Disclaimer: In this review, I’m going to use the word ‘walk’ in every way possible, in the acceptable form as </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">noun and verb, but also as adjective and adverb. Microsoft Word tells me that it’s grammatically wrong. So sue me.)<br /><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TD9dJ86AIy2okh0frYDJe8Nl4T3C388MEnNWbBH86dF51X_ygtvFooiNknNWrnocPldhgkxvtxM4SOBu1VrwDpWBBejz0uVidhgKkUCW3QX7ErOj3-r2IxCDXatWZto9tvrRr2iDcgQJ/s320/street-bound-manila-on-foot-by-josefina-p-manahan.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564938242350717762" /></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Street-Bound: Manila on Foot</i>, Mrs. Josefina Manahan asserts that Metro Manila is a walkable metropolis. Yes, despite the dust, noise, heat, speeding vehicles, and carbon monoxide poisoning. And indeed, up to a certain point, I agree with her. So lower your eyebrows for a moment, please.<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">Like Mrs. Manahan, I do walking tours within Metro Manila too: sometimes with friends, and sometimes alone. But many of these are haphazard travels (especially the ones I do by myself), often without plans and often requiring asking for directions. This in particular is why I find <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Street-Bound</i> pretty useful. She organized the walks in such a way that next time I can go from one spot to the next in a more systematic manner.<br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">But there are also tours in Mrs. Manahan’s book that I haven’t done, mostly because I didn’t have the time, but also because I wasn’t aware of the potential walkability of the place. For every tour entry, she neatly arranged the information into the following: type of tour, duration, sights, what to wear, background, how to get there, the different sights, and the map of the place. There’s also one or two delightful pictures of what one might expect to see in that tour (the maps and pictures were illustrated wonderfully by one Ms. Joanne de Leon – kudos!).<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">The best walking tour entry in the book (for me anyway) is the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Rizal</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> walking tour(s). Mrs. Manahan realized that one cannot see everything in just one day so she thoughtfully divided the sights in two tours: the first one is touring the park itself, starting at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Halamanang Pilipino</i> and Philippine relief map from Taft Avenue, all the way to the Quirino Grandstand, to see the famous Manila Bay sunset; the second one is touring the museums dotting the park, from the National Library up to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Museo ng Maynila</i> near Roxas Boulevard. The first one I did a lot with my family when I was a kid; the second one, I’m chagrined to admit, I haven’t done yet but I’m promising to do this year.</p><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; line-height: 19px;font-size:12px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkTf2JK4hReeYSBW6c9UZr84Oz3z5HV550JnCGnIBpilpiuifAF1x0qPZQMPcw8Xl2ACIH-9BJLl_qZ_BHLIIDnwoIG8sOGebzYnksfS9wR2AcwH21C4ppjLL3NQINWJbjwP7-bGCLMbf/s400/IMG_4335.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564940243865681682" /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span">(My friends Edrose & Joseph, looking lost in Plaza Miranda, Quiapo when<br />we did a Quiapo-Binondo walking tour last year.)<br /><br /></span></i></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">Sadly, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Street-Bound</i> badly needs to be updated because I believe that some of the tours have become slightly irrelevant. Partly because a lot of tourist spots have deteriorated, disappeared, or changed completely in the past nine years since the book was published (take for example, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Greenbelt</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> which is barely a park anymore). Some, I think, are a bit redundant; there are new and even old /tours that are better representative of that type (for example, I think Divisoria is a better market tour place than Kamuning Market). Some tours I also believe that would be better grouped together into a single tour – for example, the tours around the Quezon Memorial Circle would have been better done in one go.<br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(47, 47, 47); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; ">So anyway, even if it’s outdated, the book is still pretty handy if you’re going to do walking tours in Metro Manila, just be prepared to be a bit disappointed. It’s probably going to be awesome if they brought it up to date, as well as add more tours. I suggest adding the CCP complex, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Chinese</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place>, Ayala Triangle, Divisoria, and La Mesa Ecopark. Plus, Rizal Park is currently undergoing renovations; better to update the Rizal Park entry in parallel with that. I do urge Anvil to do it soon, as Filipinos, especially the younger generation, are becoming more conscious and appreciative of our glorious but slowly vanishing heritage.</p></div></span></span></span>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-55295865386331858662011-01-03T08:01:00.025+08:002011-01-13T15:02:29.213+08:00a glimpse of the past, present and future<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Letras y Figuras: Business in Culture, Culture in Business – Jaime C. Laya</span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Non-Fiction, Culture, History, Slice-of-Life, Filipiniana; ISBN 971-27-1143-9; Anvil Publishing, 2001.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b><i>(Thank you to <a href="http://www.anvilpublishing.com/">Anvil Publishing </a>for my complimentary copy. Thank you to <a href="http://fantaghiro23.blogspot.com/">Honeylein de Peralta</a> for coordinating this. :))</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><i><blockquote>“Ordinary people live through all these grand events, against the broad sweep of history. Their names do not appear in history books, but theirs was the labor (and much of the money) that built churches and convents, roads and public works… With all of these, one can say that a town’s history can be viewed through the eyes of its residents who were players in the events of the past.”<br /><br /></blockquote></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqs9G1ti2Fxut1E15Gr8VgBDQzSrH1ectfZnO3RKiYljLu9gRbxqKANH0oanLvIuoAAQueXRpnzAJfEFRfdHnLriA15FwQmuFd09uWYzpc8dMoXJCJFUbwU0qySD_0nBTgYNZO4pgiLxF/s320/Letras+Y+Figuras.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 261px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557758874863270578" /></div><div>There is not one genre to firmly categorize Jaime Laya’s compilation of essays, <i>Letras y Figuras</i>, except perhaps under that rather too-encompassing word, Filipiniana. While he had roughly organized his articles in six chapters (<i>Times & Places; Rituals & Celebrations; Past & Present; Artists & Craftsmen; Possessions; and People, Words & Numbers</i>), the essays’ topics are very diverse. Many are about history, but there are also some about culture, about places, about people – let’s just say about everything that is Filipino. But some are also autobiographical; there are vignettes about the author’s life, his work, his hobbies, and even his ideas. It’s hard to believe that these multi-faceted pieces were written by a cut-and-dried accountant and businessman (although a very successful one) and, if one believes the blurb, a hobbist that only dabbles on the culture and arts in his spare time.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Although I ought not to, it is difficult to resist comparing his historical essays with my other favorite historian, Ambeth Ocampo. While Ambeth Ocampo writes history with the gossipy pizzazz of a teacher (which he is) that deftly knows how to grab today’s attention-deficient generation away from their cellphones, iPods and laptops, Jaime Laya writes history like a grandfather (the look-at-my-mole grandpa from a Bear Brand commercial in the 80s comes into my mind) who feigns exasperation and finally sits down to weave the stories of a younger, cleaner Philippines to his delighted grandchildren. This translates into the most entertaining and assorted Filipiniana trivia and miscellany I’ve ever read outside of an Ambeth Ocampo book. My favorite one is an entry about how people relieve themselves during the Spanish times and up to the turn of the century - apparently ladies, did the deed, when necessary and hidden under their <i>saya </i>(and need I say, free from any frilly impediments too?), standing up. Gross and tacky, yes, but it’s not something that Agoncillo or Zaide would insert in their texts, so I like it.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The heroes of Mr. Laya’s essays are the ones taken for granted: the common folk unwritten in books, the places and locations now ignored and suffocating in pollution and urban blight, the ordinary people’s rituals, traditions and heritages that are now slowly vanishing. The pieces almost lack the usual <i>dramatis personae</i> – Rizal, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo – except via passing mentions. Mr. Laya did feature known historical art personalities such as Luna, Hidalgo, Amorsolo, as well as a few lesser known artists such as Damian Domingo and Ang Kuikok. It is as expected, considering his work in various cultural, artistic and historical organizations, museums and collections. The pieces about<i> bahay na bato</i> and other traditional houses were delightful, and were begging to be read while touring that new historical resort in Bagac, Bataan (<i>Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar</i> is the name, according to Google).</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><h2 style=" color: rgb(25, 43, 70); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;color:#192B46;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></h2></span><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5euWL4uTjFshMu2iZWVVLdM0gjmbGP9eCfhewykOeKsstHWw0UA899NVogrbtAqeMueAr_WAUpbbljIOzil5Y_2yRguHWe6gO4iM3IJ6d9Zt17yL9vDmX_e8k_vv-GGRxsrpjrUB5cwmQ/s400/ilocos.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 356px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557753717025850626" /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(Image: Malacanang of the North, Paoay, Ilocos Norte)</span></i></div><br /></div><div>Indeed, the initial impression I’ve got reading the first chapter is that of a travelogue. His footnotes in his Intramuros and Malacañang essays inform us that these are abridged versions of lengthier guidebooks (of which I’m now hunting). The book is best read while traveling - I imagine myself consulting the essay in Malacañang, while walking from door to door of that palace (barring rooms unauthorized to the public, of course).</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps Anvil can release two further editions of the book? The first one is an illustrated version, in full color, perhaps into one of those pricey coffee-table books (I’ll probably see it in a bookstore and then sigh in yearning). But the version I’ll appreciate more is of a pocketbook size, as I had decided to include in my new year resolution making time to (re)visit and (re)experience those places and celebrations mentioned in his articles. </div><div><br /></div><div>His personal essays were the most lyrical. While the piece about his childhood home in Sta. Cruz was very vivid, my favorite is a short one about his wife, titled “A Valentine Story”, as this woke the romantic in me:</div><div><br /></div><div><i><blockquote> “The wind was in her hair, he remembers, as he pointed to the city, the bay and the ocean far below a high ridge. In the flood of his memories are a swan on a quiet pond, a balustraded terrace on a misty hillside, a meadow at dusk moments after a festival of fairies, startled, had fled, scattering millions of little white flowers in their haste. Later, in the chill of the evening, he could not tell where the city lights ended and the stars began.”</blockquote></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Needless to say, I highly recommend you read this book. It is my best book for 2010.</div><div><br /></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371447295316408182.post-60209220579923498822010-09-23T13:53:00.037+08:002010-10-12T16:22:51.839+08:00memories of a lazy hack(er)<img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyox3GtKdZE_ccJiLlglz-IPFAcaWCsztSHJYzUW-nyL5hgHRSPMxGwlyg2bFhn3lXMlfkCrw4J6v0puNQQ8kroDghJ5NKD0LCApESV0L8zLOKNJRVUQ2nBF6cRv4zpxtEQcc1JvT3Sq-/s320/neuromancer-br.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526745895495116338" /><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Neuromancer - William Gibson</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Science Fiction; ISBN 0-441-56959-5; Ace Books, 1984.<br /><br /></span></b></div><div><i>First, the obligatory synopsis: Henry Dorsett Case was one of the hottest console cowboy in the Sprawl. But a double-cross went awry and he found himself, a year later, on the back streets of Chiba City, Japan, with a burnt-out nervous system incapable of even logging into cyberspace. Penniless, hopeless and suicidal, he reluctantly joins Armitage, an ex-military man with a mysterious past, and Molly, a mercenary razorgirl, for a last chance run that can either be his salvation or his doom.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i></i></div><i><div><i></i></div><i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">My love affair with Neuromancer started in a night class called Computer Security. It was a last-minute addition to a fully loaded semester. Our teacher was supposed to be some top network security guru for one company on the top tier of the Fortune 500s, and the department chair (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">as we were constantly reminded</span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">) had just barely persuaded him to teach this class. Never mind </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">that the class ended exactly at midnight, and the students walked out of the classroom like brain-fried zombies.</span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">But considering all the stuff we've heard about him, the guy was surprisingly unpretentious and easy to talk to. Knowing the class barely had an iota of attention to spare him, he got rid of the theoreticals; everything was hands-on from day one. Better than that, he figured that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">the best way to learn how to protect a computer network is by knowing how to hack into them. It is (to use a Harry Potter analogy) like having a Defense Against the Dark Arts class that taught you how to do the Dark Arts itself.</span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div></i></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Suffice to say, it was the coolest class I had that semester.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Between learning how to masquerade IP addresses, how to secretly listen into someone's Internet traffic, and even how to hack an Automated Teller Machine, he told us about this book called </span><span class="Apple-style-span">Neuromancer</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span">"It's a book about hacking and you should read it - no, no, it's not a required reading </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(the rest of the class stopped listening at this point)</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> - it's just something that you guys might enjoy.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">I guess I remembered this, because I picked up a copy in a bargain bin for less than a hundred bucks at a National Bookstore branch in Katipunan. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Well, I never did became a decent hacker (I'm too lazy and I lacked finesse). I'm not much of a computer security person either (again, too lazy and lacked finesse). But I did pick up the habit of reading </span><span class="Apple-style-span">Neuromancer</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> roughly every three years since then. And it's not because of the plot, which is basically just a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caper_story">caper story</a>, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">if you take the tech mumbo-jumbo out.</span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> I reread the book partly due to professional curiosity - I like comparing the future it describes with the technological realities at that point in time - and partly due to affinity and </span></div></i></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">a sense of </span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">parallelism of my life to Case's story.</span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></span></div></i></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Sadly though, I dawned on my fourth rereading just last month that the present had, in many ways, caught up with the book. Cyberpunk culture borrowed so much from William Gibson that his visions had become dated and cliché. And as online communities became a </span><span class="Apple-style-span">de facto</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> standard, cyberspace became mundane in the twenty six years since this oft-quoted definition from the novel:</span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><blockquote><i>Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding.</i></blockquote><blockquote><i><br /></i></blockquote></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div></i></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Will I do a fifth rereading three years from now? I hope so - I'd hate to lose this 'tradition' of mine, just when everything Gibson that predicted seems to be within our grasp.</span></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09684437989174934313noreply@blogger.com0