Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 6 will be launched on May 28th, a Saturday, 5 pm, at the U-View Theater, Fully Booked, at the Fort. I have a story here. See you at the launch! :)
Day: April 25, 2011
stilts
Maundy Thursday’s the only day the entire department is available to go anywhere as a group (no newspaper for Good Friday so the office is closed), and this year we grabbed the opportunity.
We went on a daytrip (8 am to 6 pm) to Stilts in Calatagan, Batangas. Left Makati at 4:30 a.m. We were able to arrive and leave on time, it was ridiculous. On the itinerary: lunch on the beach, swim, camwhore, dinner on the way home. Special thanks to Boss Kate for making it all happen.
Her notes: “Technical notes re this trip: Entrance to Stilts was at P350/head (daytour). Since we brought in our own food and drinks, we also had to pay corkage of P100/head. (Food at the resort was around P300/meal). We also rented an open hut good for max of 15pax for P850. How to get there:View map here. Rented a van for P3,500, excluding gas and toll fees.”
Photos from Ate Julie, Andrea and Kate, Almi, and my camera.
I was happy to see that the beach wasn’t crowded at all. (Even though we ran out of parking space.)
We were given green mango juice as a welcome drink. Sour and yummy.
Lunch was Andok’s chicken!
Stilts also has a pool –
and a raft, to fulfill your camwhoring needs.
I have never been in a successful jump shot before. UNTIL NOW BWAHAHA.
Final pose before packing up:
Wheeee wiiiiind.
The water was cold and the beach was stony but the weather was fine and the company was great and the place was beautiful. I had fun! Next year uli!
reviews galore
Vacation = DVD marathon.
1. The Rite
I’ve seen The Exorcist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, but when the trailer for The Rite appeared in cinemas I decided to skip watching it during its run because I have had enough of exorcism films. What else can they possibly say that haven’t been said?
But I enjoyed The Rite because it is filled with believable people, and it argues with exorcism while also taking it seriously. The exorcism professor in Rome mentions psychosis and psychiatric measures, and I am pleased with the show of logic. The protagonist himself is a skeptic. “You should fear me, mortal,” says the demon inside the possessed girl, and exorcism student Michael Kovak replies, “How can I fear you when you don’t even exist?”, which understandably shuts the demon up.
Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) is the funniest exorcist I have ever seen in a film. He’s quite a character. During an exorcism his phone rings and he says into the receiver, “I’m in the middle of something right now.” Exactly what I’d imagine a long-time exorcist would say, if his cell phone’s ringtone suddenly cut through the Latin prayers. If I ever met Father Lucas, I’d have a chat with him.
2. The Roommate
A straightforward, no-frills, psychological suspense film. What makes it disturbing for me is that I actually like the roommate character. Not a bar person, silent, good listener, understands and appreciates art, and has heaps of clothes you can borrow. Too bad she’s insane.
3. 21
A group of MIT students are recruited by their professor to count cards at Blackjack. I still don’t understand the Math (“the simple Math”) but this film is enjoyable.
4. House
Finished Season 6. The plot’s going everywhere now but I still love you, Dr. House.
5. Burn Notice
Finished the latest season. A covert-ops spy receives a burn notice and finds himself with no job, no money, and no clue as to what happened to his records. If you want something fun and light, watch this.
‘reunion’ recorded
I am happy to announce that Pakinggan Pilipinas will be featuring my story “Reunion” as its eleventh podcast on May 1st. Click here for the teaser. :)
You may download previous podcasts for free here. (My favorite is Episode 2, “Ghost Between Moments” by Kate Aton-Osias, read by Elyss Punsalan.)
According to podcast goddess and fiction writer Elyss:
Pakinggan Pilipinas is a website that features Filipino short stories in audio/podcast form. The aim of the site is to promote homegrown fiction in a fresh new way to new audiences -primarily fellow Pinoys who are not into reading Filipino fiction. The site comes out with a podcasted story every month, read by a narrator who is not the story’s author. The intention is to encourage readers to be creative and more involved with the author’s work.
All rights to the stories are owned by authors themselves, and are produced here in audio form with the authors’ expressed permission. The audio files are property of Pakinggan Pilipinas. These may be shared freely, but cannot be sold or altered in part or in whole, without permission.
Contact us by emailing PakingganPilipinas(at)gmail(dot)com. You can help support this site by clicking here.
Eliza Victoria 
