Okay, let’s do this in chronological order because I am so behind in my blogging duties. Sorry about that! (To the three of you who care!)
Continue reading 2013 filipino readercon + game on! + dr. who philippines party
Updates
volume 1: best new filipino fiction
Out by February 2014 from Anvil Publishing.
I have a story here called “The Missing”. Here’s an excerpt (scroll down).
UPDATED Program for the 3rd Filipino ReaderCon
Hello everyone! Two days to go before the 3rd Filipino ReaderCon!
Due to the unforeseen supervening event that caused the postponement of the ReaderCon last November 9, consequently affecting the schedules of the original speakers as previously announced, we found it necessary to make a few adjustments in the program. The schedules for all the panels and discussions are the same, but kindly take note of the new line-up of speakers.
See you there! :)
frozen
Frozen is Disney’s newest animated film offering, and its trailers are not very good. Corny, boring, and they don’t make you go I want to see that the way Pixar trailers do. This is a good thing, because once you’re in the cinema (driven by friends’ crazy-high praises) and the film starts rolling, and the music starts, you are immediately blown away. I literally sat there speechless because wow this is actually good.
Watch it for the music (this film stars Wicked‘s Idina Menzel), for the laughter (the trailers do not do Olaf justice – that snowman is hilarious), and for a different Disney princess story. Finally, Disney! Now isn’t that more fun?
new poem + new books
I have a new poem in Southern Pacific Review called “Emergency Exits”. My thanks to the editors for publishing my work. You can read it here. Feel free to share the link and leave feedback.
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Other new things: two horror collections, Demons of the New Year and Horror: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults, have been released by UP Press! I have stories in both.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the launch, but here are photos from Facebook:
If you see these two books in the book stores, send me a photo? (And buy one!) Thanks!
come watch us read some stuff
Kritika Kultura Reading Series presents Carljoe Javier and Eliza Victoria
Kritika Kultura, the refereed e-journal of language and literary/cultural studies of the Department of English, Ateneo de Manila University, presents the second installment of the Kritika Kultura Reading Series. This event, which features writers Carljoe Javier and Eliza Victoria, will be on December 9, 2013, 4:30-6:00 p.m., at the 5th floor, Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University.
The Kritika Kultura Reading Series aims to give a space for emergent writers to read from their newly published projects or works in progress. Each installment features two writers engaging with convergent themes or aesthetic dispositions. The first installment, held last November 18, 2013, featured poets Joseph de Luna Saguid and Allan Pastrana.
Carl Javier has written fiction, non-fiction, films, and most recently komiks. His books include The Kobayashi Maru of Love (Youth and Beauty Brigade, 2010), Geek Tragedies (U of the Philippines P, 2011), and a novel—an excerpt of which is available in Kritika Kultura—that he is currently revising. He teaches courses in Creative Writing and English at the Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of the Philippines Diliman.
Eliza Victoria graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2007. Her books include the short story collection A Bottle of Storm Clouds (Visprint, 2012) and the science fiction novel Project 17 (Visprint, 2013). Her fiction and poetry have appeared in several online and print publications in the Philippines and elsewhere, and have won prizes in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature and the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards. For more information, please visit her online home, http://elizavictoria.com.
I will be reading pages from my new novel. Carljoe I think will be doing the same. Exciting!
In the meantime, listen to Carljoe’s Lumpen Culturati Podcast, Episode 1, where he and guest Mikey Atienza talk about Isabel Yap’s “Sink.”
catching fire (film)
The lesson here – the lesson in life – is do not underestimate the power of word-of-mouth.
I was underwhelmed and frustrated by the first film adaptation, so despite my love of Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket/Fashion Diva, I swore not to watch the rest of the trilogy.
Because it will most likely suck, and I didn’t even like Catching Fire the book all that much, and the cinema costs money.
Then word-of-mouth. More like word of my social network feeds. I see people recommending the film, people who have not read the book, people who have read the books and hated the first (flawed, forgettable) adaptation.
Thank you, friends and your digital prodding.
Casting and cinematography are A+, but we know this already from the first film. Hunger Games’ gems (and by “gems” I mean “Elizabeth Banks”) just got buried under a ton of shaky camera work, poor characterization, and bad editing.
In Catching Fire, the filmmakers knew what changes should be made to make the story flow, to make the scenes that come after be the only scenes that can ever come after. (Even the Harry Potter films are flawed in this department, with most installments confusing non-readers and frustrating the books’ fans.)
What this produced is a highly entertaining, watchable film, effective in key moments, with a story that flows so well you don’t realize more than two hours has passed.
[Cut for further discussion and spoilers.]
Eliza Victoria 