Time And The Orpheus

Chiles Samaniego, author of "The Saint Of Elsewhere" from PGS2, has his Weird Tales submission up and online: "Time And The Orpheus". Click and go read!

That Burning Sensation

No, not down there.

This just isn't my day. The noise hasn't tapered off, and now I've gone and been all stupid and clumsy and scalded my right hand with hot coffee. Really painful, sore to the touch. Red welts are forming on my fingers, but thankfully no blistering. Now I know how first degree burns look and feel like. Will keep that in mind for future use. Running water helps ease the pain somewhat, but someone here recommended toothpaste, so that's what I'm going to apply next. Or maybe I'll bury my hand in a bowl of ice.

Nope. Not my day. But let's see if I can turn it around. Funny, a certain quote comes to mind right now...

"What you need...is a prostitute!"

Heh. Just kidding. :D

Can't Concentrate

It's noisy where I am. And dusty. Add to that the heat and humidity of a tropical Philippine summer and it's suddenly very uncomfortable where I am.

The neighbors are doing some renovation work, so the sounds of drilling and demolition float here from over the wall, along with clouds of dust and debris. For some reason, the driver of a car with a busted muffler and what sounds like a mistimed engine has chosen to park his vehicle on the street outside the gate; his constant revving of his motor contributes to the cacophony. I have a carpenter or two over to do some woodwork, so sawing and hammering are part of my contribution to the local sound effects. The decibel level is quite high. Strange that I can focus and read in a noisy fast-food joint by a busy street, but I can't shut out these sounds this morning.

I have to put up with this for a while, I think. :(

Call For Submissions To Likhaan: The Journal Of Contemporary Literature Issue 3

The UP Institute of Creative Writing announces that it is now accepting submissions for possible inclusion in the third issue of Likhaan: the Journal of Contemporary Literature. Likhaan, the country's leading literary peer-reviewed journal, is funded by the Office of the UP Diliman Chancellor, and is published annually. Deadline is on May 31, 2009. Click here for more details.

Taken from The Bibliophile Stalker, who picked it up from The Spy In The Sandwich.

A Time For Dragons Book Launch (Updated)

As of this writing, I found posts and photos here, here, and here of the book launch yesterday. I'm sure more entries are forthcoming.

Illustrations from the book can be found here.

Update: More entries and photos! Here, here, here.

Storytelling In The Classroom

Just plugging for a friend:

Storytelling In The Classroom--A Storytelling Seminar And Workshop By Zarah Gagatiga, will be held on April 13, 2009 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Powerbooks, Trinoma Mall, Quezon City.

Learn the art of storytelling as master storyteller Zarah Gagatiga shares tips and techniques on how to deliver stories that kids will surely enjoy!

All PowerCard and PowerCard Plus holders are invited! Just purchase any ten (10) titles from the "Ang Mga Kuwento Ni Lola Basyang" series on the day of the event and present your receipt and PowerCard or PowerCard Plus I.D. at the registration booth for free entrance.

Zarah Gagatiga is a teacher, storyteller, writer, reading and literacy advocate, and the school librarian of Xavier School, San Juan. She is a member of Kuwentista Ng Mga Tsikiting (KUTING) and the former vice president of the Alitaptap Storytellers.

For inquiries, call Anvil Publishing's Marketing Department at (632)7471622.

The Trilogy Meter

Heh. Someone rated movie trilogies over at Tor.com, and it's pretty amusing, whether you agree with his ratings or not.

Thanks to Banzai Cat for this link.

Writers-Researchers Wanted

Posting this for a friend, who is in need of writers, and is willing to pay for the articles written.

Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran is currently undertaking a project with the Singapore Chinese Heritage Center to prepare biographies of 150 Tsinoys who had impact/influence from the 20th to 21st centuries. the country editor is Teresita Ang See.

Each entry is 1,500 to 2000 words. (approx 3-3.5 pages single spaced)

Information below to be filled up for each biography (this info is not counted in the word limit).

Birthplace
Place of death / burial
Birthday
Date of death
Citizenship
Title and honours conferred
Educational background
Organizational affiliation(s)
The people to be researched on and written about are divided according to degree of difficulty with research e.g. Lucio Tan is easy category. The fees are according to easy (P1750), medium (P2200-P2500) difficult (P3000-P3500). For the Philippine entries, we arranged with Singapore that we could put in "families" -- those whose members have a great impact on Philippine society (see Sycip entry). "FAMILY" entries get a higher rate.

Also needed are their origins in China -- the village where the migrant came from. most of the people being featured are second generation pa lang so it's their fathers who migrated from China to the Philippines. Just saying Fujian, China is not enough because 90% of Tsinoys come from Fujian. We need the village -equivalent to the barangay :-) Of course, Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran will help as best as it can e.g. setting up appointments, providing all the information it's library has on the subject.

For questions and for interested parties, please email me directly at meahsee(at)gmail(dot)com.
-Meah Ang See
Project Coordinator

Do We Need Posthumous Publication?

From Zen In Darkness, this article from The Guardian: Do We Need Posthumous Publication? An excerpt:

There is unrest in France over the posthumous publication of Roland Barthes's Journal de deuil (Bereavement Diary), which his friend and former editor, the philosopher François Wahl, told Le Monde "would have positively revolted [Barthes] in so far as it violates his privacy".

Reading extracts, it's obvious the diary is a highly personal piece of writing (and also very moving). "Sad afternoon. Quick shopping. At the pastry shop (pointlessness) I buy an almond cake. Serving a customer, the little female employee says, "Voilà." That's the word which I would say when I brought Mom something when I looked after her. Once, near the end, she half-unconsciously echoed, "Voilà" (I'm here, an expression which we used mutually during a whole lifetime). This employee's remark brought tears to my eyes. I wept for a long time (after returning to the silent apartment)."

The book's editor says it was published with the permission of Barthes's half-brother, and that Barthes had given the book a name. "There is a title, an act of naming ... it's a real literary project," he told Libération.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this particular project, it makes me wonder about the rash of posthumous publications announced recently.

I see two sides. Most readers who are fans of the deceased author would want to read the unpublished works and wouldn't mind if these texts see print. Writers, who can empathize with the deceased author's wishes for privacy, would rather that these texts never see the light of day.

Where do you stand?

Free And Legal Speculative Fiction Online

Hey, found this site, Free Speculative Fiction Online. All the links at the site, including the new additions, are legal. It was also mentioned here at SF Signal. Click already, read, and enjoy!

Obama Saga Inspires Kids--To Read

A bit of news from publishing in America: Obama Saga Inspires Kids--To Read. An excerpt:

The life of the new president has inspired kiddie titles from "Mama Voted for Obama," to "Barack Obama: Change Has Come" or "Hopes and Dreams: The Story of Barack Obama."

The new US president is shaking things up in the publishing world, with at least 30 books about him on the market in the youth-oriented titles alone -- a record for a president in his first year of office.

Children's books about presidents and other historical figures are nothing new, to be sure. There are hundreds in print about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King.

But industry insiders say it looks like Obama has quite a future ahead of him in youth-oriented books: most of the books currently on the market were written before he won the White House.

Click here to read the whole article.

Anything that gets anyone of any age to read is a good thing in my book (pun intended).

Stick Me With It--NOW!

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Researchers Find Gene That Turns Carbs Into Fat

U.S. researchers have found a gene responsible for turning a plate of pasta into fat, offering new clues about how the body metabolizes carbohydrates and how they contribute to obesity.

He said the mice who lacked this gene did not get fat when they ate high-carb food and they had lower levels of blood cholesterol, which can reduce the risk of heart disease.

Since humans have the same gene, the team thinks it may serve as a potential target for drugs to prevent obesity.

Synthesize whatever it is and stick me with it--NOW!

We Call It "Book"

From Welcome to Simpleton, this comic strip called Progress, featuring the latest technology in "wireless platforms that never need to be charged".

Har har har!

The Warren Adler Short Story Contest

Writer and playwright Warren Adler is going to sponsor another international short story writing competition.

Following the success of the Fall 2008 Warren Adler Short Story Contest, Mr. Adler is sponsoring another international competition starting in April 2009. We are fast becoming the most prestigious short story contest on the internet, thanks to the extraordinary literary quality of our submissions.

Stay tuned for complete details about this contest.

Thanks again to Breaking Camp's Twitter for this info. :D

More On The Future Of News And Newspapers

Received this private message from Welcome To Simpleton:

More on the future of news and newspapers. This time by one of my favorite writers, Steven Berlin Johnson --

http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/2009/03/the-following-is-a-speech-i-gave-yesterday-at-the-south-by-southwest-interactive-festival-in-austiniif-you-happened-to-being.html

"...there are really two worst case scenarios that we’re concerned about right now, and it's important to distinguish between them. There is panic that newspapers are going to disappear as businesses. And then there’s panic that crucial information is going to disappear with them, that we’re going to suffer as culture because newspapers will no long be able to afford to generate the information we’ve relied on for so many years."

"...there is going to be more content, not less; more information, more analysis, more precision, a wider range of niches covered. You can see the process happening already in most of the major sections of the paper: tech, politics, finance, sports. Now I suppose it’s possible that somehow investigative or international reporting won’t thrive on its own in this new ecosystem, that we’ll look back in ten years and realize that most everything improved except for those two areas. But I think it’s just as possible that all this innovation elsewhere will free up the traditional media to focus on things like war reporting because they won’t need to pay for all the other content they’ve historically had to produce. This is Jeff Jarvis’ motto: do what you do best, and link to the rest."

And also!

http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/

All this is in relation to the various links about the future of print (scroll through here).

Equilibrium, er, Equality, um, Equivalence, aw hell...BALANCE!

In my quest to regain some of my original health, I've been missing sweets a lot. It's been a long time since I've had a good piece of chocolate; I haven't had cake in months; sodas and softdrinks are now anathema (or rather, they should be, but in my soul, I still "heart" them, and I hope they understand why I have to do this); and most painful of all, I've forgotten how ice cream looks, smells, and tastes like. Ohhh...I've been thinking about ice cream a lot, let me tell you.

I've been reading up a lot on nutrition, and consequently getting lost in all the details. Frankly, I'm no dietician, and I don't need to know how everything works. We ride cars, planes, buses, and trains everyday, but we don't need to know how they go, right? We just need to know more or less that they work, get in, and ride. So to break it down into clear terms for myself without needlessly getting mired in complexities, I've come to the simple conclusion that what we were taught as kids still holds true: Milk, vegetables, and fruits are good for you; lay off as much as you can of the fats, sugars, and simple carbs; you'll need a bit of meat and some fish for the protein, especially if you can't go vegetarian; and water is the best drink around, though alternatives like tea and unsweetened fruit juices work fine in moderation.

And taking it down to the most basic tenet: if you expend more calories than you take in, you will lose weight (the transitive holds true, that if you expend less than you take in, you'll gain weight instead). So, to lose my spare tire, I've got to exert more, or take in less, or both. Since I'm very limited in how much I can exercise because of my bum knee, I'm going to have to do more of taking less in.

Which is when I thought about how ice cream is made (and butter, too!). No, not the way they're made in modern-day factories and plants, but how they were originally produced way back when. You know, before mass-produced electricity. All you had was a wooden bucket, and a hand-crank (or a churn, in butter's case). You had to turn that hand crank to mix all the ingredients before you could get your ice cream. You had to work that pole up and down before you could get your butter (oh boy, there I go being naughty again--oh behave!). In other words, you had to work those calories off before you could eat them. Those old-timers knew what for, because that's balance! You can't gain weight if you sweat the pounds off first!

A Pinoy Writer In London

Here's an article from abs-cbnnews.com: Pinoy Writer Whets Appetite Of Literary Fans In London. An excerpt:

Two charities collaborated to introduce to literary enthusiasts a young Filipino writer whose debut novel bagged prestigious awards in the Philippines.

Asia House and Philippine Generations organized a book launch for 33-year-old Miguel Syjuco in Marylebone, London last March 11 that drew a crowd of curious literary aficionado.

Syjuco’s semi-autobiographical book called "Illustrado" was the highlight of the event, which was part of Asia House’s upcoming Festival of Asian Literature.

Syjuco won the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize and a Palanca award for the book, a mystery thriller conveying a socio-political message that spans across 150 years of Philippine history.

The story, told in fragments, begins with the discovery of a dead body in New York’s Hudson River belonging to veteran Pinoy writer Crispin Salvador. His protégé, Miguel, then embarks on a journey to the Philippines to unearth the truth behind his mentor’s death and the disappearance of a manuscript exposing corruption within rich Filipino families.

The book will be published next year.

Click here to read the whole article.

Cat Rambo On Rejection

Noted author and editor Cat Rambo blogs about the editor's side of story-rejection. An excerpt from her entry:

I also know as both writer and editor that thicksinnedness and persistence help a lot. In my pre-editor days, I had submitted at least four or five stories to Fantasy Magazine before they ever took one from me. I believe I'm on my 46th submission to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction right now--but I'll still keep sending, because 1) I know I'm getting better with time, 2) I know that sometimes it's about having a story there at the right time and 3) I'll never get anything in there unless I try.

Click here to read her entire journal entry. It's worth reading. Twice, even thrice, over.

Clarke And Hugo Nominations

Here's the link to the short list for the 2009 Arthur C. Clarke Award.

And here's the link to the 2009 Hugo Award Nominations.

Thanks to Zen In Darkness for emailing these links in.

For Lord Of The Rings Fans: The Hunt For Gollum

For those Lord Of The Rings fans who enjoyed Peter Jackson's movies of J.R.R. Tolkien's books, and are eagerly awaiting Guillermo del Toro's version of The Hobbit, how about a little teaser?

It seems that some fans are making a low-budget--but what seems to be a pretty well-made and good-quality--45-minute film about The Hunt For Gollum. The film is scheduled to be released for free in streaming high-definition on May 3, 2009. Head on over to the site and the blog to see the trailers and to read about the film and its makers.

If I remember the sequence right, The Hunt For Gollum is a story that comes after the end of The Hobbit, when Bilbo Baggins returns to Bag End after the end of his adventures, and before Bilbo's party at the beginning of The Fellowship Of The Ring, the first book in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The One Ring is currently with Bilbo, and Gollum, the previous holder, has left his cave in The Misty Mountains in search of it. Gandalf, still unsure if the ring Bilbo now holds is indeed The One Ring and needing desperately to find out, enlists the aid of Aragorn and his ranger skills to track down Gollum (Gandalf also does his own sleuthing in the archives of Minas Tirith, searching for any documentation on The Ring). Of course, we know that Aragorn succeeds in finding and capturing Gollum, and brings him to Gandalf, who interrogates the creature with great difficulty. Gandalf discovers that Gollum did indeed come into possession of the artifact (or was it the artifact possessing him?) near The River Anduin, the last known place where The One Ring was ever seen, when it was still in the hands of Isildur, Aragorn's ancestor. Gandalf then leaves Gollum in the captivity of The Elves of Mirkwood, and fearful for Bilbo, rushes back to The Shire. Those of us who have read the books (or watched the movies) knows what happens after that. :)

This should make for an interesting appetizer before The Hobbit movie is released in 2012. Enjoy the site, Lord Of The Rings fans!

The Maningning Miclat Awards 2009

The Maningning Miclat Art Foundation is calling on young poets aged 28 and below to submit entries to the 2009 Maningning Miclat Trilingual Poetry Competition in three divisions: Filipino, English and Chinese.

The Maningning Award, handed out yearly since 2003, honors China-born Maningning Miclat, a poet in three languages, a published essayist, and a prizewinning visual artist who was also a teacher, translator and interpreter. Her collection Voice from the Underworld (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2000) is the first book of poetry in the world in Filipino, English and Chinese written solely by one author. Some of her poems were included in a book of top international women poets in Chinese published in China. She passed away in September 2000.

Thanks to Abo Sa Dila for blogging about this. Click here for more information.

2009 International Writing Program

There is a call for nominations for the 2009 International Writing Program to be held at the University of Iowa. Click here for more details.

Thanks to Dear Me for this information.

Crossed Genres Call For Submissions

(Sorry. Haven't updated lately. Been busy with work.)

Crossed Genres, the magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy with a twist, has made a call for submissions for science fiction/fantasy with the western genre thrown in. Deadline is on March 31, 2009.

Thanks to More Than True for pointing out this call.

Smaller And Smaller Circles Review

F.H. Batacan, guest-editor for the PGS Crime issue (and who's still unsure of which stories to place in the last few slots for the issue), has had her Palanca Award-winning book, "Smaller And Smaller Circles", positively reviewed by Nyunt Win of The Myanmar Times. Click here to read the piece. Bottom line?

Then comes the end, capping a thrilling narrative with a dazzling exposition of analytical detective work in writing so vivid I could almost smell the garbage heaps of the slums and hear the sobbing of the bereaved.

The story left me excited, relaxed, stimulated and satisfied all at once. My thoughts continued to race.

Congratulations, Ichi! Great review!

In Search Of The Comedic

"It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously."
-- Oscar Wilde

I'm still processing the reasons why, but lately, almost all the situations life is throwing at me is filled with people taking themselves so seriously.

That's one reason I like comedians. They do take themselves seriously, or you think they do, for a while, and then in a blink, they don't (or maybe they do but pretend that they don't, you can't be sure). Then you're laughing, and then you know they're right, and then you find out you're laughing not only at others, but at yourself. Insight can be redeeming. Well, sometimes, most especially if you catch it early enough.

"Why so serious?" -- The Joker, from the film The Dark Knight

"Ho, ho. Very funny. Ha, ha. It is to laugh." -- Daffy Duck

A Call For Women Pirate Stories

Mindancer Press has issued a call for women pirate stories.

A collection of short stories that features women pirates in any setting, any time period.

Editors: Andi Marquette and R. G. Emanuelle.
Publisher: Mindancer Press (Bedazzled Ink), print and ebook editions

Stipulations:

No longer than 7000 words; no shorter than 4000 words
Will consider original and previously published stories.
$35 per story, paid after contract is signed. Story rights revert back to authors 18 months after date of publication. Each contributor will receive one print copy as well as one ebook copy of the anthology.

Click here for the full submission guidelines.

Roberto Bolaño: 'One of the most important and adventurous writer of our times'

Zen In Darkness sent in this Telegraph article: Roberto Bolaño: 'One of the most important and adventurous writer of our times'.

He points out this Bolaño quote in particular:
"Deep down," Roberto Bolaño once said, "the question doesn't lie in the distinction between realist and fantastic but in language and structures, in ways of seeing."

PGMA Signs Trust Fund Law for Philippine Authors

PGMA Signs Trust Fund Law For Philippine Authors, as seen on the National Book Development Board website. An excerpt:

Now, local authors, publishers and the reading public have more cause to celebrate.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has signed into law last 5 March 2009 the National Book Development Trust Fund Act after both Houses of the 14^th Congress have approved R. A. 9521 - An Act Creating a National Book Development Trust Fund To Support Philippine Authorship. A milestone legislation in local book development authored by Iloilo City Rep. Raul T. Gonzalez Jr., Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and co-authored by several members of the House as well as Senators Edgardo Angara, Allan Peter Cayetano, and Jinggoy Estrada, this law will provide authors from all regions of the country a reasonable amount to complete their manuscripts for publication.

The NBDB Chairman, Dr. Dennis T. Gonzalez, says: “this will benefit veteran and promising authors working or researching on topics in which local books are either few or non-existent.” There are many subject areas in which local books are insufficient in number and variety, and most of the books in libraries and bookstores are foreign publications.

Free And Legal Books From Suvudu

Suvudu is offering five free books for legal download. They write that these fantasy and science fiction books are the first in their most acclaimed series. Head on over!

Link sent in by Zen In Darkness. If I'm not mistaken, The Bibliophile Stalker also linked to this site in one of his older blog entries.

Deadline For Writing Contest

From The Sumatra Woman's Brew:

Deadline For Writing Contest: This is to inform all interested readers of this blog that the deadline for the essay writing contest is extended until April 25, 2009. There are entries already and so far, they're all well written. I'm looking forward for more essays to read. The top five will be posted in this blog in May 2009.

Read the posts now! Happy writing! I will be waiting for entries!

Fully Booked Summer Workshops '09

The graphic novel and kids' comic book workshops will be headed by good friend Elbert Or, who is also the PGS layout editor, a National Book Award winner, and the artist behind the bestselling book "The More The Manyer!", among so many other accomplishments.

A Time For Dragons Artwork

Andrew Drilon, illustrator for A Time For Dragons, is putting up on his blog an illustration and an excerpt from a story in the anthology per day, in anticipation of the book's launch. Here are the first two.

Syd Field's Screenwriting Masterclass

Syd Field’s Screenwriting Masterclass will be held on March 14 to 15 at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Conference Center in Makati City.

The full article here, care of www.abs-cbnnews.com.

Interview With The Bibliophile Stalker

Here's an interview of The Bibliophile Stalker (the interviewer gets interviewed!) conducted by Matt Staggs.

Philippine Speculative Fiction In English Online

The Bibliophile Stalker continues to do readers a great service, and has compiled a list of Philippine Speculative Fiction in English Online. Makes for easy access and searching for readers of short stories. Thank you very much!

I've said it before: You really should check out his blog often, even if only for the various links and plugs he puts up regularly.

Why Stories Get Rejected

Here's a link: A Comprehensive And Totally Universal Listing Of Every Problem A Story Has Ever Had. It numbers them 1 to 25, with Problem 1 being more prevalent than Problem 25. Go on, read, and enjoy a good laugh, especially if you find problems that apply to your work!

The above link is care of Breaking Camp's Twitter.

("Breaking Camp's Twitter"?! Ever since "Frank Miller's Peanuts"--including the comments section--I've been writing phrases that just sound wrong. Must...break...pattern...somehow...naah...too...much...fun).

Gig Book Storywriting Contest

From the email inbox, sent by Zen In Darkness:

The Gig Book Storywriting Contest starts on March 9, 2009 and ends on April 9, 2009. It is open to anyone age 17 years or older. Entries must be stories written in English and intended for children age 6 to 12 years. The theme must be something that seafarers’ families – especially children – can identify with. The story must, in the judges’ opinion, resonate well with children whose fathers are mostly away at sea, and preferrably promote positive human values (e.g. love, respect, honesty, compassion, care, humility, responsibility, understanding, strength, courage, resilience, etc.). The word count must be 1,000 words or less, and the plot and sequence must be capable of sustaining a 24-page illustrated book.

There will be five (5) to 10 (ten) winners. Each winner will receive a cash prize of PhP 20,000.00, a Winner’s Certificate, and the opportunity to have their winning story published as a full-color, fully illustrated storybook.

For the complete Official Contest Rules, go to gigbookcontest.blogspot.com. To get a pdf, or for further inquiries, email gigbookcontest(at)gmail(dot)com.

Frank Miller's Peanuts

(That blog entry title sounds so wrong).

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller is one of the few graphic novels I read back in the late 80's and early 90's. Now, what if Frank Miller had reimagined not just Batman, but Charles Schulz's Peanuts? (A favorite of mine, by the way).

You get this.

Another PSF IV Launch Report, And Reviews, Story By Story

Catching The Duma Virus reports on the PSF IV Launch and gives her thoughts on each story here: Recorded: Space Launch Of The Rainbow Speculative Robot. (She really kills with her blog entry titles, doesn't she?).

Previous links here.

Watchmen Review By David Dizon

David Dizon of abs-cbnnews.com talks to Vin Simbulan (a contributor whose stories made it to PGS1 and PGS4), and gives his movie review here: 'Watchmen' To Divide Fanboy, Mainstream Audiences.

I count myself in the "mainstream". I haven't read the graphic novel, but I finally have a copy in my hands; Vin lent me his copy last weekend. I'll start on it soon. I don't know what to expect, but everyone says it's a comic classic by Alan Moore. I'll read it with an open mind, and watch it the same way when I have the time.

I bring it up 'coz a lot of PGS readers and contributors are talking excitedly about "Watchmen", and I feel left out.

Ikalimang Isyu ng Bulawan Online / Bulawan Online 5th Issue

From my email inbox:

Magandang araw!

Lumabas na po ang ikalimang isyu ng Bulawan Online, tampok ang mga tula, sanaysay, pagsusuri, at panayam nina Roberto T. Añonuevo, Romulo P. Baquiran Jr., V.E. Carmelo D. Nadera Jr., at Virgilio S. Almario.

Magpunta lamang po sa www.bulawanonline.com.

Patuloy naming hinihikayat ang mga batikan at nagsisimulang makata at manunulat na magpasa ng kanilang mga akda sa lathalaan. Nais naming magtampok ng mas maraming akda sa dalawang susunod na isyu ng BUL-OL bilang pagdiriwang sa nalalapit na unang anibersaryo ng magasin sa Hunyo.

Mula sa mga editor:

ISYU BLG. 5. Ipinagmamalaking ilathala ng Bulawan Online sa isyung ito ang katangi-tanging mga akdang pampanitikan sa mga buwan ng Pebrero-Marso 2009.

Tampok din sa isyung ito ang retrato ni Phillip Kimpo Jr., ang The Spring of Spring / Unang Sibol (Manaoag, Pangasinan).

Mga sipi mula sa mga akda:

Pag-Ibig, tulang tuluyan ni Roberto T. Añonuevo:

“Tagak sa gitna ng putikan ang maglalaro sa iyong guniguni. Lilipad ang ibon at darapo sa iyong balikat. Mapuputikan ang iyong balikat, at ang iyong balikat ay waring likod ng matandang kalabaw na nalulungkot dahil nawawala ang kaibigang kalakian.”

Lipat Ospital, sanaysay ni Romulo P. Baquiran Jr.:

“Sa matino ba ako inilipat? Bakit puro may tattoo ang mga katabi kong pasyente? Hmm. Napasok ako sa ward ng mga kasangkot sa gang. Susme, mga literary gang lang ang alam ko. Sabi agad ni Manong sa katabing kama na itago ang maganda kong cellphone at baka agawin. Sa loob ng ospital? Okey, inilagay ko sa bulsa ang phone.”

Ang Kapalaran ng Kapalaran Ayon Kay Khavn de la Cruz, pagsusuri ni V.E. Carmelo D. Nadera Jr.:

“May kalaparan ang kapalaran ni Khavn. At nanganganib nga lamang siya na maging kalat ang kanyang pagkalat, kung hindi man sabog ang kanyang pagsabog, sa kanyang mga kapangyarihan bilang artista o artiste!”

Pormula ng Romansa sa Dulang Pantelebisyon, pagsusuri ni Roberto T. Añonuevo:

“Walang pinagbago ang pormula ng romansa sa dulang pantelebisyon, lalo sa dalawang pangunahing network. Inuulit-ulit lamang sa panibagong disenyo, usapan, at artista ang lahat ng kumbensiyonal na kuwento, ngunit ang esensiya ng salaysay ay nananatiling panahon pa ng kopong-kopong.”

Katahimikan, Pagnanasa at Etika ng Babae sa ”Ang Mundong Ito ay Lupa”, pagsusuri ni Romulo P. Baquiran Jr.:

“Sa isa sa pinakahuling nobela ni Edgardo M. Reyes—Ang Mundong Ito ay Lupa—may mga puwang sa salaysay na puwedeng sinadyang ginawang gayon upang hayaan ang mambabasa na siyang maglagay ng interpretasyon. Magsisilang ito ng mga katanungan at pagpapakahulugan na puwedeng nasa mismong nobela ang kasagutan. Ngunit posible ring nasa mambabasa na ang desisyon (sa pagsulat ng akda, tapos na ang trabaho ng nobelista) kung alin ang mas angkop na pagbuo ng kahulugan.”

Saan Ba Nagmula ang Panitikan?, panayam ni Virgilio S. Almario:

“Sa katà nagmula ang makatà—ma+katà, ang ibig sabihin, “marami o mahusay sa katà.” Dito natin mauugat ang popular na haka sa makata bilang sinungaling (“manlulubid ng buhangin,” “manunungkit ng bituin”) kung hindi man mapangarapin (“lumilipad ang isip.” “laging nakatuntong sa ulap,” “lumilikha ng wala”). Sa isang bandá, isang sumpa ito sa mga mambebersong bolero at matamis ang dila at ginagamit lamang ang tula upang mang-aliw ng madla o mang-akit at manlinlang ng dalaga.”

Nilalaman din ng bagong isyu ang mga bahaging:

• Mula sa Inyo — “Nabasa ko po…ang mga panukalang batas na magpapatibay sa Ingles bilang wikang panturo sa paaralan…Nakikipag-usap po ba ang mga [kapisanan ng mga manunulat] sa ating mga mambababatas upang mahimok silang tangkilikin o, kahit man lang, kilalanin ang potensyal ng Filipino bilang wikang pangkomersyal at akademiko?”
• Rio Almanac — Alamin kung sino sa mga pinagpipitaganang manunulat at makata ng Filipinas ang isinilang sa Pebrero at Marso.
• Buklatan – Mga bagong aklat na pampanitikan o sa panitikan.

--
Phillip Y. Kimpo Jr.
pykimpo(at)gmail(dot)com

Writer, Editor, Website Manager, Website Publisher
President, LIRA (Filipino poetry group)
Member, Writers Union of the Philippines
Staffer, BulawanOnline.com (Filipino literary journal)
Batch 2006, BS Computer Science, University of the Philippines at Diliman

A Twit Am I

I registered on Twitter, giving it a try. Username: Kenneth_Yu. Leave a comment and let me know if you're on and what your username is, so we can "follow" each other. :)

Going Old School Even More

Remember my previous posts about fiddling with my old typewriters? I've taken another step backward into past decades.

I was cleaning out an old drawer last night...okay, not true. I'm a typical guy, which means I'm also a typical slob, so I don't do much cleaning out. What I was doing was desperately looking for a lost screwdriver to tighten the small screws in my eyeglasses; it wasn't in the usual place I keep it. I didn't find it in one of the drawers I turned inside out, but I did find an unused canister of camera film.

Yup, camera film! Analog, not digital; 24 shots, ASA 400. With digicams, cellphone cams, and high-end colored printers becoming ubiquitous, who uses this technology anymore? Even Polaroid's abandoning instant photography.

Thinking the film had expired, I was ready to throw it away, but a cursory glance at the expiration date informed me that it still had about a month to go before becoming useless. I didn't want to waste the film, so I ended up digging through another closet to find my old film camera, a venerable 27-year old SLR, a Canon AE-1 Program. The gadget's even older than some PGS contributors. I found it tucked away in its old black camera bag in the closet's back corner. I wondered: Did it still have the chops?

I inserted an old battery into it and tried the shutter button. Hooray! The mechanism still clicked! The battery wasn't fresh, but hey, I'll only need it for 24 shots. The separate horseshoe flash doesn't work anymore, alas, so I'll have to settle for daytime shots; but it's summer, so I'm going to have a lot of opportunities for outdoor photos.

I'm just a bit worried that even if there doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with the camera, its innards might not be calibrated anymore to the proper shutter speed or aperture settings. The viewfinder has yellowed too--at least, I hope it's only the viewfinder and not the lens, otherwise the pics might come out jaundiced. What I'm not worried about is finding a photolab that still develops film; many of those machines that print out digital files can do double duty and produce old-fashioned film prints.

I eventually found the small screwdriver in the bathroom (I must've left it there and forgotten about it--ahh, aging); I tightened my eyeglasses' screws immediately. I'm going to need it if I'm going to take photos this weekend.

This ought to be fun, for about 24 shots. :D

Rocky Road In Europe For E-Books

Different circumstances in Europe than in North America when it comes to e-books, but what I get out of this is that e-readers are coming now in various shapes and forms from different companies, sort of the same as what has happened to mp3 players. I really do feel that this development may affect somehow the way we read. Click here to read the whole article. Excerpts:

The devices are billed as less cumbersome than a laptop and said to offer a reading experience comparable to that with bound paper, even outdoors on a sunny day.

But digital publishing consultant Ralf Alkenbrechen said the American model could not be transplanted in Europe without a few modifications.

He noted that the US publishing and bookselling markets were dominated by "a few majors, meaning fewer people you have to strike deals with, more limited financial means to digitize the books and more sales volume," he told AFP.

In Europe, the sector is far more fragmented -- across national lines and among small publishing houses. In addition, mobile roaming fees make downloading a book a pricey prospect when crossing a national border in Europe.

Alkenbrecher said that even if the evolution toward virtual books is "inevitable," they will always be a mere complement to the paper variety.

He estimates that e-books will make up at least 10 percent of the market in Germany in 10 years, with interest particularly strong for scientific publications and pocket guides.
Steinhauser, for his part, is counting on periodicals to set the market alight.

"No one wants to pay to read a newspaper on his computer but you could imagine it for a personal subscription on an electronic reader," he said.

Steinhauser said the digital age could bring with it a renaissance of the serialized novel "in which you read the latest episode everyday on your electronic reader, in the subway or on the beach."

With the new devices, the publishing sector could face a wave of illegal copying that has slammed the music industry, Alkenbrecher acknowledges.

"But by refusing to sell books in an electronic form, you would only push consumers toward breaking the law," he said.

Still On PSF IV (Updated)

Here's a video from Inquirer.net on the launch of PSF IV.

Some early reviews of the anthology here, here, and here.

Update: The Bibliophile Stalker has uploaded a recording of the launch here.

Comics, Genre, And Awkwardness

Here's an article about Pulitzer-prize winner Michael Chabon and famous comic-writer Matt Fraction. They talk about the awkwardness they experienced whenever they expressed their enthusiasm for genre and comics. The article mentions the "serious literature" bias plague that Chabon had to go through when he was well into writing "The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay".

“Even writing about genre [has a bias],” Fraction commented. “Not even writing genre but about genre.”

“It was a conversation stopper,” Chabon admitted.

Click here to read the whole article.

My thanks to The Bibliophile Stalker for the link. You should visit his blog often, especially for the links he provides.

Last Saturday At The PSF IV Launch (Updated)

I just want to say that it was good and fun to see a lot of writers--and friends--at the PSF IV Launch last Saturday at Fully Booked Fort Bonifacio.

Of those I know, present were The Core Manila Litcritters (two of whom are the editors of PSF IV), Wandering Star, Sharmaine's Secret, More Than True, Breaking Camp, The Bibliophile Stalker, Image Inspiration 1's Winner, Banzai Cat, Catching The Duma Virus, Breaking The Silence, Sensibilities, Kumusta Naman?, Imagination Station, Jigsaw Joker Joseph The 3 J's, Caffeine Junkie, and Tuko's author. Met a number of other writers too, like Dumpling Press, Carl's Site, and An Exercise In Youthful Blasphemy.

The venue was filled; nice to know there are so many readers out there. Congratulations to all, most especially to the PSF IV editors! Thank you very much! (More links to other posts about the launch, some with pics, here).

Update: The Bibliophile Stalker has links to posts and photos of the launch here. Read the comments section too for more links.

The Forbidden Library

Here's a list of books that have been questioned and banned in some places because they were considered "dangerous".

Good grief, A Wrinkle In Time is on the list! So is The Egypt Game. And ironically, Fahrenheit 451.

Thanks to Dear Me for the link.