So I won in this contest, right, and my picture found its way into the January issue of the Philippine Tatler. (Thanks to Andrea and Kate for the tip!)
I belong to a crazy department, so of course this has got to be done:
Gibo and the Na’Vi adore me, Ayuh.
#7
#8
Fell in love with the details of the room in this picture, so I just decided not to tear it up.
So pretty. ♥
These should be up on my wall in no time.
* * *
Here be a pile of books I’ve read or cannot read anymore (hello, Eden Express, hello Sleepers).
Here be my TBR pile.
Done with Ender’s Game, now reading The Likeness and Landscapes.
Check out my cool bookmark (a gift from Almi, yay!):
* * *
And on the writing front –
Copy-pasted all of my poems in a single file; will now open said file when I no longer feel like throwing up at the sight of it.
Bizaare. Last night I actually dreamt a workable opening scene for this short story that’s been bugging me for months. I’ll go back to fiction writing soon, soon.
Feminism brought us suffrage, career opportunities, awareness.
Imagine the modern woman: perfumed, confident, dressed to the nines, successful, smart. Imagine you’re an institution that will find profit, huge profit, in her destruction. How will you destroy her?
Tell her she’s ugly.
Tell her she’s too fat.
Tell her her hair’s too thick, or she’s wearing the wrong lipstick, or her boobs are too small.
Now, if you’re the woman, how do you fight back? By not believing. By not caring.
That’s easy enough to do, right? We know better, right? We’re empowered. Right?
This is quite a compelling read, and a bit of an eye-opener. Thanks to Cyril for lending me a copy. :)
* * *
I haven’t read a nonfiction book in a while, so I was glad to have been able to read this one. Some of the other nonfic books that I enjoyed, off the top of my head: Watching the English, In Cold Blood, Bully, Freakonomics, Stupid White Men, The Culture of Narcissism, Fast Food Nation, and an excellent collection of true-to-life police stories presented interview transcript-style, with no comments from the author (I cannot remember the title, gah) .
I’d like to get my reading paws on this one:
* * *
Thanks to Kenneth Yu for this FYI. :)
Some shameless self-promotion: I have a short story, “Singing”, in the January 18, 2010 issue of The Philippine Graphic. My thanks to the literary editor, Marra PL. Lanot, for taking it in.
Incidentally, in the same issue is the poem “Reportage” by online acquaintance Eliza Victoria.
Hooray. :D
I have two stories in the list, ahoy! ♥
And they’ve got nothing but kind words for the Islands:
We published the most stories by authors from the Philippines (4 stories, 3 authors) and India (4 stories, 3 authors), followed by Israel and Mexico (2-2 stories, by one author). We’ve received a lot of links and mentions from the Philippines blogosphere – we’d like to thank everyone who linked to us, and we will always remain open to great Filipino/a stories!
Much love! Thank you for publishing these stories, Expanded Horizons!
Stories are listed in the order of appearance.
The Sun Diary by Lavie Tidhar (Israeli)
A Mother’s Dilemma by Jasmin Nanda (Indian)
Memories of my Sister by Aliette de Bodard (French-Vietnamese)
King of Sand and Stormy Seas by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican immigrant to the US)
Night Out by Eliza Victoria (Filipina)
Bhima by Ajay Vishwanathan (Indian)
Slip Road by Tade Thompson (Nigerian immigrant to the UK)
Alienation and Love in the Hebrew Alphabet by Lavie Tidhar (Israeli)
Sinking Palaces by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican immigrant to the US)
The Second Mrs. Sharma by Bindia Persaud (Guyanese immigrant to Canada)
A Texture Beyond Dreams by Swapna Kishore (Indian)
Haunted Persuasion by Lilian Wu (Singaporean)
I Am the City by Eliza Victoria (Filipina)
A Memory of Ice by Bint Arab (Iraqi immigrant to the US)
Twin Cities by Catherine Batac Walder (Filipina immigrant to the UK)
The Ascension of our Lady Boy by Mia Tijam (Filipina)
Dreams by Jasmin Nanda (Indian)
And your beloved site admin is from Hungary
I spent the last night of the old year and the first morning of the new year with the family in Bulacan, then back to work. After work, I spent the first night of the new year with Jaykie’s family. Extended, as it was – when we arrived there were uncles and family friends, and cousins whose names Jaykie couldn’t even remember. Haha. Well. Food, and then a game of – wait for it – Pinoy Henyo. More like Reverse Pinoy Henyo. A category is stuck on the person’s forehead, other person gives details regarding the category, person tries to guess. That sort of thing.
We won, HEY!
(I was the one with the thing stuck on my forehead.)
Jake: Cereals.
Eliza: Breakfast? Fiber? Diet?
Jake: Crema de fruta.
Eliza: @_@ Er, dairy product?
Jake (to his sister): Bawal sabihin ‘yung actual word ‘no? (Sister says no.) Ayun. Cereal.
Eliza: @_@
Jake: Um, cereal? @_@
Eliza: Mga pagkaing nilalagyan ng gatas?
Everyone else: AHOOOOOOOOOOOOY. ^___^
* * *
His sister gave me brownies and cookies (Whee) and his mother handed me this bag before I left. (I still have work, see, so I can’t get smashed. Boo.)
Thank you, all. That was really fun. :)
* * *
In the e-mail, from Gig Book: “The ten winning stories are now in different stages of book production.”
So maybe, if everything goes well, I’ll have a book published this year?
Sweet. ♥
Since I just came back from a vacation of sorts, I arrived at the condo faced with a mountain of chores. Egadz. First up was “clean the desk”, but later on I realized that I actually liked the way my desk looked. You know, dirty and cluttered? ;)
Yes, that’s my photo in that giraffe frame from Kate. (Thank you!) Ah, narcissism. (E wala nang ibang magkasya na peechur, soreh naman. :) ) Also, spot my UP ID, hee.
No, I did not paint my walls purple, the former occupant did. And oh yes, those are my collages up on the wall. How sweet of you to ask. (Chenelyn.)
From Rocket Kapre:
Last October, I sent out a limited call for submissions for Ruin and Resolve, an ebook anthology which Rocket Kapre would put up for sale, donating any profits received to the Philippine National Red Cross. Seventeen heeded that call, and in the span of less than three months, we’ve managed to compile nineteen stories and five poems, to offer as an incentive for those who want to share their blessings, especially during the Christmas season. On December 28 (fingers crossed) the anthology will go on sale at Smashwords.com, and I’ll need everyone’s help to get the word out.
December 28, you guys. It’s for a good cause! :D
Here’s the TOC:
RUIN AND RESOLVE
Mouse and I – Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
Strange Salvation – Celestine Trinidad
Earthquake – Kate Aton-Osias
Designations – Partia Rivera
Firestorm – Erica Gonzales
Excerpt from Neomuros – Paolo J. Cruz
After the Flood – Nikki Alfar
Stairway to heaven – Patria Rivera
Wishgranters – Rod M. Santos
The Sparrows of Climaco Avenue – Kenneth Yu
Dreams after the Storm – Eliza Victoria
We End Up with the Same Thing Anyway – Crystal Koo
Before the Perfect Season – Catherine Batac Walder
Wail of the Sun – Vincent Michael Simbulan
Haya and Me – Erica Gonzales
Snippets – Kate Aton-Osias
The way a plague transforms the land – Patria Rivera
The Marriage of Sun and Moon – Sharmaine Galve
The Death and Rebirth of Nathaniel Alan Sempio – Alexander Marcos Osias
Cutis Marmorata – Celestine Trinidad
The Return of the Sun – Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
Strangelove – by chiles samaniego
Excerpt from News of the Shaman – Karl R. De Mesa
Eliza Victoria 