May
23
2008
I think all of us writing fellows in the Dumaguete workshop have reached the inevitable of our literary undertakings—whether we like it or not. All of us are going to our separate ways. Mushy? Yes. Even with our three-week stay in the province just to embrace the critiques of esteemed writers from across the nation, I am glad no one has reached the physical level of a breakdown. Well, there’s one but the subtle emotional rage is not brought about by the flawed technicalities of the fellow’s work but, rather, on the reality of the story in itself.
Tonight, at Labas (just along Hayahay), we would celebrate this glorious gathering of shaping and reshaping literary practices before the inescapable breaking that will happen the following day. Also, we would be unveiling something tonight that would create an interesting dot in the history-line of this workshop. This is our anthology entitled Sea[sic]: Prose and Poetry by the Fellows of the 47th Dumaguete National Writers Workshop. Painstakingly made in one week, which was spearheaded by Dustin Celestino and Margie de Leon, the output is something we could not believe would come in actuality. We are all proud of our baby. What’s this for? Let’s just say that this project is our little token to all panelists who have endured our ignorance, our clean-slatedness as youngsters in the world of literature.
Sigh. To my fellow feelerettes who discovered the ethereal beauty of katusbong, who pranced Hibbard Avenue at 3 o’clock in the morning to the music of Total Eclipse of the Heart, who thought that the night-time security officers were Yellow Cab Pizza deliverers, and who realized that the humid charm of Dumaguete was just too hard to ignore, thanks and see you all soon. I just sincerely hope that our love for the letters will bring us back together again.
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Apr
04
2008
Here are the final contents of this literary folio:
Bitter Harvest Alfred Casipong
Mr. Sunshine Carlos Garcia
Camus Dreaming Jan Paulo Bastareche
Sweet Baby Justin Megan Yu
The First Dream Robert Jed Malayang
Until Today Marianne Tapales
Wanderers Michelle Eve de Guzman
Like A Broken Record Rodrigo Bolivar II
Damien’s Succulent Fiesta Breakfast Anthony Gerard Odtohan
Solitude John Boaz Lee
Group Study Ian Rosales Casocot
The Return Timothy Montes
The Other End F. Jordan Carnice
The Spark Sonia SyGaco
Necrolatry Jan Paulo Bastareche
Lightless Zakiyah Sidri
Instant Messages Lyde Gerard Villanueva
Picasso Bron Joseph Teves
Pulutan Celeste June Rivera
Bulsa Celeste June Rivera
Life Radio Bron Joseph Teves
Reverse Mask Primy Joy Cane
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Apr
02
2008
The
Dark Blue Southern Seas (DBSS) Literary Folio will be available soon. This 2008 issue will no longer be in a magazine form but in a 100-page book; thanks to Mr. Cleonico Fontello for approving our proposal. Though the university could only pull off 1,000 copies for circulation (which is a far cry from some university that have produced 9,000 copies!), the good thing here is that finally
the Weekly Sillimanian has been able to produce an actual literary folio—unlike Sands and Corals which has been stagnating for the past three years.
Inside the lit-folio are the works of:
Timothy Montes
Fred Jordan Mikhail T. Carnice
Jan Paulo Bastareche
Sonia SyGaco
Carlos Garcia
Alfred Casipong
Celeste June Rivera
Rodrigo Bolivar II
Primy Joy Cane
Michelle Eve De Guzman
Anthony Gerard Odtohan
John Boaz Lee
Robert Jed Malayang
Zaki Sidri
Marianne Catherine Tapales
Bron Teves
Lyde Gerard Villanueva
Junstine Megan Yu
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Oct
31
2007
After the lecture and discussions about Adobe Acrobat and Flex theres a small raffle and give-aways by Ted Padova.
Heres what i got - a Adobe Creative Suite 3 Bible Book.
I’ll read this in the coming days. This will surely help me alot in navigating Adobe CS3. I already have an installer and play with it more.
Aside from the books Ted also gives some Adobe Acrobat User Community ballpen, tshirts and flash drive. Theres more giveaways in the coming workshops.
Am i lucky or what?
Jul
20
2007
Good:
The final book of the Harry Potter series is finally coming out tomorrow morning! And I have reserved a copy at National Bookstore.
Bad:
I reserved the book, done with the necessary requirements (e.g. downpayment), at National Bookstore - Tagbilaran branch. What's more, people of Dumaguete City will be ahead of me tomorrow reading the freshest magical dillemas of this scarred hero.
Phew. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, see you soon. Hu hu hu!
May
11
2007
Just as I have thought: Time runs so fast when you are supposedly enjoying what is with you at the moment.
And what else is fast approaching but the 5th installment of the now ultra-commercialized Harry Potter movies (opening worldwide on July 13, 2007), and its dreaded final book six known by now as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
And browsing through a couple of webpages this day, I had stumbled upon a site with the poster of my most-preferred character in the novels, Sirius Black, who will eventually lost his presence in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. To avoid any biases, I’m posting the major poster as well.
For more images, click here.
Another pseudo children’s novel-turned-movie is Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass coming out very later this year--the first of the set trilogy. At the least it is a fresh attempt of changing fantasy movies’ male protagonists for in this book it showcases a little spiteful and deceiving heroine, Lyra Belacqua.
I’m calling it “pseudo” for I have just read the book last month and it just shakes me to find out that it is a confusion (okay, a mixture) of a children’s book and an adulterated read. But given to its numerous praise and critical achievements, maybe that was the charm of it all. Shrugs.
I like it.
For more images, click here.
For its official movie website, click here
and for the novels' website, click here.
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May
10
2007
As if my potency in every so-called skill that is in me has surge away from my knowing, all that I am left with is the strength in, what else but, lazing around.
What I had been trying to do since time immemorial (circa summer 2007) was read, read, and read some more. I’ve read 5 novels by now and still counting. I am not saying that this is not productive, since you get to comprehend and enrich your vocabulary, yet what I am looting for this summer is to move around and around my hometown and this province as whole like never before.
The grave thing is I have no one to spend my time with (aww). Everyone seems to be busy even in this season of re-lax-a-tion and f-u-n. Summer class, extra jobs, and even campaigning—what the...!
So here I am, slumbering with a book for the rest of the day until the blue gives way to indigo-black in covering the skies.
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Apr
10
2007
“I have never bothered before with definitions of feelings—the gross animal that I am, my motives were circumscribed by the most basic appetites but at twenty-one, having felt this unexplainable hankering, it could be no other but love, pure and all encompassing, sensual yes, but not tainted by lust. That word was alien to me and, perhaps, would always be.”
- Benjamin
“The worst enemies of the poor are the poor themselves. And never, never appear as if you are virtuous and without sin. It is the virtuous who have many enemies for they shame the many who are without virtue.”
- Francisco
With Francisco Sionil Jose's beautiful yet powerful prose, enamoring the book “Ben Singkol” will never be a fault. Though I am not yet in the near-half of the novel, it got me into straight reading even with those social and historical morsels. This specific work is artistically crafted yet it doesn't compromise the general reader. Emotions are well encapsulated that enable all kinds of readers to easily take its depth and core; effortless but never shallow.
Apr
10
2007
From his words (English translation, of course) to those books' eclectic art-designs, all I can say is that I have never been in awe with a Japanese author.
Artpaix, thanks for the hint!
Jan
11
2007
Butterflies fluttering inside my stomach could not be right; probably they are large scaly dragons breathing fire in my small intestine. Well that was how I felt when I received a text message from Sir Ian Casocot that I got a book from someone, gratis! It’s no ordinary book (well, in my case I value all books that I have) and that someone is no everyday guy either. He is no other than Dean Alfar, a multi-Palanca awardee, who gave me a copy of The Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume Two.
Next target: Kite of Stars and Other Stories, and the rest of the Siglo series. I got to have my eyes peeled when I am in the bookstores.
Dec
20
2006
Definitely the common theme for this season is to go white. Through the years, this clean and perpetual motif changed; now there’s red, green, blue, and I even witnessed a violet version. Yet, when I got back here in my hometown my eyes witnessed a blast of holy whiteness all over the house! It seems that we go back to the basics (we had blue last Christmas). The curtains, the table covers, the artificial flowers, and many more went all pallid.
Honestly, the color white is indeed elegant. Just like our aged ancestral piano’s flat keys.
And to add to our list, two new items unexpectedly came into our midst. Yeah, they came. Believe me.
First came this minute creature -and of course white- about half the size of my thumb. Well, considering that this thumb of mine is not normal as what it should be, as other people had stated.
A little rodent appeared before my eyes; thanks to my nephew who brought it close to my face showing it off while I was intently watching a video. Actually, it was all of my nephew’s juvenile acts bringing along with him this creature from school. (I wonder where he got it).
Nope. I did not shriek. I just loved watching it. The thing comfortably slept in my wrinkled shirt when I placed it near my belly. Now that’s what you call confidence.
It played around the living room (got a hard time shooing away our keen trusty cats, remember Cloudy?), had its first pictorials, fed it up with food, and left it in his new home made more comfortable after my brother decided of placing it inside a wide-rimmed flower vase.
Here it is:
Another pearly whitey is (drumroll please, after two dull years of longing for it) our high school yearbook. Don’t get squirmy here but yes, this is the week that I had finally laid my hands on the book.
I conceptualized it from the front cover to its back, I did the lay-outs, and all the necessary things to make it visually arresting, and this is the product:
Now you can truly say that we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover. And I have my affirmation to that.
I wrote the “About the Cover” for this Erudite yearbook:
Erudite.
One who is marked by deep extensive learning.
One who still stands after enduring all the necessities and tests.
Like the flame, it brightens the dark corners of a room,
giving light to those who needed it and surpassing
the depressing blankness—though the flame stands alone.
With this flame that symbolically keeps burning in the spirit of a [GCS] student,
one manages to find the right way along its brilliant guidance,
trekking with uncertain danger and confronting all fears till the end,
to be distinguished as a deserving Erudite.
With this passion that we shall call the Blue Flame.
B L F R G
I personally love it even though the writing is high schoolish (pardon and allow me to use such word) and dumb, set aside that it is white, until I took a peek of its insides. It’s a failure.
Mistakes are all over!
Pictures mismatched, nicknames exchanged, pictures so scarce, and my valuable class prophecy lost its last paragraph! What in the h…What the f...
I don’t know what to say. It has been published and I have nothing to do—unless I go chasing those people who got the book and grab it then burn it at the same time project a loud hollow deep laughter (bwahaha!).
And for approximately two years in the making, the outcome is just a mediocre. Let us call this a lampoon issue.
It just turned out that white is not at all elegant for me this month.
