Miscellany: While I was hiding out in Joseon-era Korea…

I’m back from Holy Week Semi-Hibernation!

Aside from participation in the usual religious ceremonies, my holiday also included a Korean drama marathon (The charming Sungkyunkwan Scandal and The-Show-That-Made-Me-Cry-For-1.5-Hours-Straight The Moon That Embraces The Sun ) and, unfortunately, much procrastinating on writing assignments.

While I was on that self-imposed internet blackout, these happened:

➳ Writer-producer-director Chris Weitz, otherwise known to me as the director who made a problematic Twilight book at least watchable (i.e. New Moon ), will soon add “author” to his résumé. Little, Brown and Company won the rights to publish Weitz’s The Young World, the first in an “epic, post-apocalyptic trilogy” set in a New York where only teenagers remained alive. [Source: click!]

It sounds a little too manufactured for my taste, to be honest. I can see where he wants to go with these teenagers who are left alone without adults and the comforts of life. I just hope it’s written well and that Weitz can bring something new to the post-apocalyptic YA sub-genre.

➳ As Lauren Oliver revealed when she visited last month, she’s writing her first adult novel. The Harper Collins website just revealed that the book will be titled Rooms, but offers no other details about the plot. (Duh.)

➳ One of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson, will release four shorts this year. I don’t know how he does it considering he’s working on other novels and is probably at the editing stage on A Memory of Light (Pub. Date: 13 January 2013). I think he’s a secret Mistborn and he must have found a previously unknown metal that can be burned to enhance writing efficiency. If so, I hope you can hear me, Brandon: will you be my Kelsier? 😛

Heuristic Algorithm and Reasoning Response Engine (with Ethan Skarstedt) will appear in the John Joseph Adams-edited military science fiction anthology, Armored. Mecha fans will probably love this! If you click on the title link, you’ll find a short excerpt on his blog.

Legion , meanwhile, is a modern sci-fi-ish mystery/thriller that will be released as a novella and e-book.

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell   is included in an anthology called Dangerous Women, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois.

The one that I’m most excited about is The Emperor’s Soul, which is set in the Branderson Cosmere (the core mythology will tie-in with the worlds of almost all of his adult fantasy novels). I love the premise of the story, and this promises to be another showcase of Brandon’s always-fresh-and-never-boring magic systems.

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Though condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Despite the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead from the attack of assassins.

Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan’s truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.

Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, Shai needs a perfect plan to escape. The fate of the kingdom lies in one impossible task. Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?

➳ In other Branderson news, Writing Excuses is up for a Hugo this year and the Mistborn movie is moving forward!

They now have a working script for Mistborn that Brandon likes, and it’s being shopped around to studios along with this “mood trailer.”

 
Note: That wasn’t an official trailer; it’s cut from scenes from different movies that were put together to show studios what kind of film Mistborn is supposed to look and feel like.

I wish I had several million dollars to put into financing this film! (Actually, I wish I had several million dollars, PERIOD. 😛 )

➳ Mina V. Esguerra’s new book, That Kind of Guy–I mentioned this in my profile story about her–will be released this month! She’s hosting a giveaway on her site. Check it out: click!

➳ Lastly, if you are wondering why I never posted about The Hunger Games after seeing the movie, well…let’s just say I had so many things to say that I didn’t know where to start. I had a LONG conversation with my friend Frankie via the comments section of her blog post (click!), but I lapsed into procrastinating and lost a lot of the words that I wanted to write into the ether.

I eventually managed to put together a coherent review, which was published yesterday on GMA News Online: (click!) I’m sure it’s evident in the tone of the article that I had more to say about the movie, but I had a maximum word count to abide by and had to choose only the points that are most important to me.

I hope I can still make myself write a proper blog post about the movie, but re-capturing my train of thought despite extensive notes is going to be an uphill battle. After a marathon of 2 Korean historical dramas, I feel like my mind is stuck in another time and place where magical english subtitles appear when people speak. 😛

I really should take Jae-Shin‘s advice, eh? Don’t procrastinate often; it will become a habit. Lesson learned! (I hope.)

Transcript and Recording of the Lauren Oliver Book Signing in Manila, 24 March 2012

Author Lauren Oliver was here in our part of the world last weekend to promote Pandemonium, the 2nd book in her Delirium trilogy! She had a Q&A and book signing at Powerbooks Live in Greenbelt 5.

My friend Leia also won a contest to be part of a private lunch with Lauren, and she asked me to be her guest. I was quite starstruck during the lunch, so I only managed to really remember this part of the conversation when we were talking about Nicholas Sparks’ visit here, and Lauren said:

Nicholas Sparks! Is he even real? I always pictured him looking like Fabio. What does he look like? Of course I could always Google him, but…

So anyway. I recorded the Q&A during the book signing event itself, which was hosted by Ms. Xandra Ramos Padilla, Purchasing Director for Books of National Book Store and Powerbooks.

If you missed the event, you can opt to listen to the recording by using the media player below, or you can read the transcript after the jump.

Recording of the Lauren Oliver Q&A: Click the green icon to play!

Re-reading “The Hunger Games”, Finale: Scripted

Chapters 17 – End

Since I’m going to watch The Hunger Games tonight, I figured I should post the last of my re-read thoughts.

Scripted Reality

The Hunger Games is as real as a reality show can get. Contestants are reaped at random, there are no set challenges, and the rules are simple. The Gamemakers occasionally get to ratchet up the action when things slow down, but the Tributes are pretty much left to their own devices. Mentors exert another level of control, but even that is actually part of the game.

And you know it’s real when things don’t go the way the Capitol and the Gamemakers want, and they have to do some serious troubleshooting: to threaten and to script what happens after the Games.

Of course, the Games are part of the Capitol’s more expansive reality show, in which they attempt to assert complete control over the other 12 districts.

In our world, no matter what they claim, most reality shows are still scripted. Producers get to choose contestants, and they choose the ones who are most likely to generate a lot of drama and excitement on-screen. Producers get to pick the challenges, and they set rigid parameters, even in a show like Survivor. There is still the matter of making sure that certain scenes are fit to broadcast, after all.

In both worlds–Panem and ours–reality is filtered through literal and figurative lenses. Reality is scripted. Even if these shows are supposedly just for entertainment purposes, this shows just how real the power of broadcasters really is.

Sometimes I’m tempted to play Real or Not Real when I watch TV, but [channels Klaus]that’s just so tedious[/channels Klaus]. I fear for my poor sanity.

Scripted Emotions

I’ve ranted before that Katniss’ indecision when it comes to her feelings for Peeta and Gale seriously annoys me.

After finishing the book at a slightly slower pace than I read it before, I realized I can’t entirely blame her because her interaction with Peeta happens during a life and death situation. Before that, there was just that one time with the bread. On the other hand, Gale has always been there.

And then there’s Haymitch, who’s ever so cryptic when he’s in front of Katniss.

And there’s Haymitch’s Star-Crossed Lovers Master Plan and his not-so-cryptic Parachute Messages.

And then there’s Peeta, who’s ever so cryptic when he talks about Haymitch’s plans, and sometimes, even his own feelings. To his credit, he’s never cryptic when it comes to his actions.

At this point, Katniss is just playing the Real Or Not Real game inside her head, so…no, I can’t blame her.

And also, I just realized that part of my annoyance stems from my own feelings for Peeta, who, as I’ve said before, is my pet character in this book. It’s very selfish of me, really. I don’t want to see him unhappy, so I blamed Katniss.

Literary gods, please don’t judge me too harshly.

♕ ♕ ♕

 
There’s this site called HungerNames.com, where you can get a THG-inspired name, and here’s what I got:

The “You were killed by jealousy” part amuses me to no end.

T minus 3 hours to the movie! Josh Hutcherson, please don’t disappoint me.

Re-reading “The Hunger Games” #04: Disturbing Behavior

Chapters 10-16

Katniss is still suspicious about Peeta, huh? I can’t blame her entirely, though, since a District 12 Tribute teaming up with Careers is indeed suspicious behavior. But then again, is it so hard to believe that Peeta will at least try to do what he can to survive? Sure, he made a big deal about it in his nobility speech on the rooftop the night before the Games, but does teaming up with a Career mean he let the Games change him? I don’t believe so. Peeta’s circumstances are more fortunate than many in District 12, but he’s nevertheless a survivor like most people there. Peeta may believe that other Tributes are more likely to survive the Games compared to him, but that doesn’t mean he’s just going to give up.

Of course, Katniss doesn’t know it, but Peeta has another agenda: to keep Katniss alive no matter what it takes…even if he has to team up with the Careers to do it. He’s always looked out for her from the time he gave her that bread, and he always will.

Yeah yeah, anyone who’s read The Hunger Games already knows this. But I had to write it out for myself because when I read the book for the first time a few years ago, I too was suspicious of Peeta’s motives at this point in the story.

And reading about her shooting Rue down about Peeta’s Lover Boy Act not being entirely an act is amusing. Denial, dudes!

Oh hey, I did say that when Katniss owns up to being a Tribute, she’s a killer, right? Our girl is now thinking of strategies and forming alliances and dropping tracker-jacker nests on people’s heads!

And Rue. Oh. I’m almost back to that awful place in the story. I think I’d better stop reading this until I’m all alone, and no one will care if I cry my eyes out because of a gorram book.

♛ ♛ ♛

 

p.s. While I continue to be able to un-imagine Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth and pretty much all the other cast members while I’m reading, I can’t help it when it comes to Cato. Alexander Ludwig doesn’t want to stay out of my head.

To be continued…

Re-reading “The Hunger Games” #03: The girl who…smoulders.

Chapters 5-9

Cinna – I can see now why they cast Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, though he still wouldn’t be my first choice. In my head, Cinna is a cross between Christian Siriano and a younger Kyan Douglas, maybe. Oh, I’m not stereotyping the stylists, but I was thinking more about Christian’s aesthetic and Kyan’s calm demeanor.

I think we all could use a Cinna in our lives!

Also, I’m excited to see Katniss and Peeta’s flaming costume on-screen! I’m not too thrilled about the glimpses we already got of Katniss’ interview dress. Somehow, it’s not as wow-look-sparkling-jeweled-gown as it is in the book. It looks too normal for Capitol Couture…unless of course there’s something more to it than just a floor-length red asymmetrical gown.

Haymitch – Haymitch, Haymitch, Haymitch. There are times he amuses me because his comments are so Meta. Suzanne Collins knows Katniss is going to exasperate some people. She acknowledges it through Haymitch, and I kinda like that. I like that Katniss is not a perfect heroine because she feels more real that way.

Haymitch is right–Katniss can be hostile and surly and petulant. From the start, she never really liked Effie or Haymitch, and she did not believe in what they can do for her. She always reverts to hostility whenever she feels that Peeta is getting under skin. It’s a defense mechanism, of course, but it is off-putting when it’s what you always see.

But to her credit, when Katniss owns up to being a Tribute, she can be a real killer. She can give a Ms. Universe contestant a run for her money with all that waving to the crowd during the Parade. 😛 Heck, even her petulance pays off when she gets an 11 for her training score. And that kiss after the Parade? *shakes head* Peeta’s right–she has no idea of her effect on people. And she isn’t even really on fire yet; she’s just…smouldering.

The panda who was on fire.

The man who smoulders.

One thing that disturbed me about Haymitch, though, is this:

You are a fool! Do you think he hurt you? That boy just gave you something you could never achieve on your own.

He made you look desirable! And let’s face it, you could use all the help you can get in that department. You were about as romantic as dirt until he said he wanted you. Now they all do.

I can’t deny that he’s right about the outcome of Peeta’s little plan, but I’m wary about the message that sends across to younger girls. Katniss later proves that she doesn’t need this kind of leverage (although much later, she uses it); I just hope that Haymitch’s speech won’t be the part that will truly resonate with audiences.

That doesn’t stop me from *squeeing* over Peeta’s interview, though, strategy or no strategy. Real or not real. 😛

I’m coming back into focus when Caesar asks him if he has a girlfriend back home. Peeta hesitates, then gives an unconvincing shake of his head.

“Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?” says Caesar.

Peeta sighs. “Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.”

Sounds of sympathy from the crowd. Unrequited love they can relate to.

“She have another fellow?” asks Caesar.

“I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her,” says Peeta.

“So, here’s what you do. You win, you go home. She can’t turn you down then, eh?” says Caesar encouragingly.

“I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning…won’t help in my case,” says Peeta.

“Why ever not?” says Caesar, mystified.

Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. “Because…because…she came here with me.”

Oh, and another crying moment: “I’m not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you.” Gorram it, Cinna.

♛ ♛ ♛

To be continued…

Re-reading “The Hunger Games” #02: Denial

There was one point I forgot to comment on from Chapter 1.

His (Gale) rages seem pointless to me, although I never say so. It’s not that I don’t agree with him. I do. But what good is yelling about the Capitol in the middle of the woods? It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t make things fair. It doesn’t fill our stomachs. In fact, it scares off the nearby game.

This resonates with me because, as I pointed out in an article I wrote recently, this is something I hear people say often. Humans value self-preservation by nature. If our survival is at stake, we don’t care about anything else. People who rarely experience being in that border between luxury and poverty, life and death, will label Katniss’ thinking as “uninvolved” or “selfish”.

We can’t really know how difficult the kind of life Katniss lives is until we experience it ourselves, but it’s also noteworthy that after she really saw what was going on in the Capitol, Katniss began to take a stand. Maybe in the real world, altruism is for those who can afford it, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Maybe, as in Katniss’ case, empowerment is key.

Chapter 3

Okay, so THG also holds the distinction of making me cry 2 chapters in a row. Congratulations, Ms. Collins!

But it wasn’t the encounter between Katniss, Prim, and their mother that made me cry. I was somehow already prepared for that scene, and I was too busy giving Katniss an imaginary pat on the back for finally telling her mother what she always wanted to say.

I didn’t cry when Gale came in either, although I added yet another notch on the scoreboard in favor of “Katniss is in denial about Gale’s feelings.” Really, Katniss, he was going to say “And remember, Katniss, I LOVE YOU.” So there.

I cried when the Baker and Madge came in. Weird, I know, considering that they’re almost strangers to Katniss. They have no emotional attachment to her whatsoever, but that’s exactly what I reacted to. These people don’t know Katniss well enough, yet they came in to give her tokens and to wish her luck. I cried thinking how difficult it must have been for the Baker to face the girl who was virtually going to become his son’s murderer.

This early in the story, we can already glimpse the kind of impact Katniss will eventually have on District 12 and the entire nation, on people who barely know her but would come to care about her fate.

Chapter 4

A kind Peeta Mellark is far more dangerous to me than an unkind one. Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there. And I can’t let Peeta do this. Not where we’re going.

It’s too late for you, girl. If at that point in the Reaping you already felt numbed by the idea of killing Peeta, then this little strategy will not work now.

It’s interesting to see that despite knowing that the likelihood of being Reaped was high for both Katniss and Gale, they didn’t seem to have a planned strategy for how they will play the Game if they were reaped. Katniss seems surprised that Haymitch has a strategy in mind after he saw what Katniss and Peeta were capable of, and she was even more surprised that Peeta was already scheming on the train. Perhaps she is in denial about her odds of getting reaped, just as she is still in denial about what Gale feels for her.

♛ ♛ ♛

To be continued…

Re-reading “The Hunger Games” #01: Katniss’ Tell-tale Heart

I’ve decided to re-read The Hunger Games before the movie is released. I know that I’ll probably regret this once I’m seated inside the cinema, but I couldn’t resist.

For this re-read, I finally opened one of my Scholastic UK paperback editions. Yay! I chose the Katniss version because I didn’t want the Peeta one to get mangled. 😛

Reading the first sentence brought back memories of the first time I read this. I remember I stayed up until 4 a.m. because I just couldn’t put it down. I still remember all the sections that made me laugh or cry.

I wasn’t on Goodreads back then, and I was maintaining a different blog, so I didn’t get to document my favorite quotes or my thoughts while I was reading. Now is a good time to start compensating for that. 😛

Safe and Sound

 
The first single off the The Hunger Games OST is Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars.

 
I like it! This is one of Taylor’s better songs, though I suspect the reason it sounds a bit different from her other releases is it was written by T. Bone Burnett, one of the men in charge of writing music for the movie.  The melody seems familiar, though I haven’t quite figured out why just yet and parts of it remind me of Rue’s Four-Note Whistle.  The sound does evoke a lot of memories of the book and how I felt about what I was reading, so that’s a good sign to me. 🙂

Also, this resonates with me today because someone I know just went through a terrible ordeal: 4 men divested her of her valuables, beat her up, and almost raped her. 😦 It’s fortunate that she managed to escape. She was just discharged from the hospital this evening, but she still has a battle to fight. You may or may not know who she is, but I hope you can say a prayer for her recovery and peace of mind, and for justice to be served.

Happy Christmas to all who celebrate it! If you don’t, then Happy Holidays! May we all be safe and sound. 🙂

In which I melt into a puddle on the floor

 
I just received a package from one awesome friend, and it contains the Best.Christmas.Gift.So.Far! Quite possibly, it’s one of the best ever!

That’s a copy of Mockingjay sign-stamped by Suzanne Collins, and an actual signed bookplate.

*insert melting-into-a-puddle-on-the-floor emoticon here*

When Suzanne Collins went on her Mockingjay Book Tour, she somehow injured her writing hand, and couldn’t sign books. She had a stamp made instead, and used that to sign-stamp the books of the people who came to meet her during her signings.

…

Before I hyperventilate, let’s move on to other things.

Ladies, gentlemen, geeks: It's time to drop whatever you're doing for a couple of minutes to watch #TheHobbit trailer! http://t.co/NtxWCGNM

— Meann (@almeldiel) December 21, 2011

 

 
It’s already been about a day since I’ve seen the first trailer for The Hobbit, and Concerning Hobbits is still playing in my head. I suspect it’s going to be the soundtrack of the weekend…or it’s going to be Gandalf’s voice rattling off the names of the dwarves: Dori, Nori, Ori, Balin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and our leader Thorin Oakenshield.

We really need a good mnemonic for those names.

Or maybe a cheat sheet when we watch the movie. We’ll probably be playing eenie-meenie-minie-dwarf in the cinema!

And holy treasure-hoarding dragons, Gandalf! IMAX 3D!

…

p.s. There’s still about a week left to send in entries for my The Scorpio Races Giveaway! Do continue to spread the word about it. 😉
 

Miscellany #02: Alternatives

 
It’s time for another “Every-Flavour Beans” post! :p
…

Alternative Alamat: Coming 14th December

Paolo Chikiamco (Hi, Pao!) is going to make it easier for me to get into more works by Filipino authors with his new anthology, Alternative Alamat. Rocket Kapre will release the book on Amazon.com, Flipreads.com, and the iTunes store.

Philippine mythology is full of images that ignite the imagination: gods of calamity and baldness, of cosmic time and lost things; the many-layered Skyworld, and weapons that fight their own battles; a ship that is pulled to paradise by a chain, and a giant crab that controls the tides… yet too few of these tales are known and read today. “Alternative Alamat” gathers stories, by contemporary authors of Philippine fantasy, which make innovative use of elements of Philippine mythology. None of these stories are straight re-tellings of the old tales: they build on those stories, or question underlying assumptions; use ancient names as catalysts, or play within the spaces where the myths are silent. What you will find in common in these eleven stories is a love for the myths, epics, and legends which reflect us, contain us, call to us–and it is our hope that, in reading our stories, you may catch a glimpse, and develop a hunger, for those venerable tales.

“Alternative Alamat” also features a cover and interior illustrations by Mervin Malonzo, a short list of notable Philippine deities, and in-depth interviews with Professors Herminia Meñez Coben and Fernando N. Zialcita.

There’s a list of stories and authors included in the anthology over at Rocket Kapre. [Link]

…

The Hunger Games movie news

Our local SM Cinemas promises they will be showing the film 1 day ahead of the US release. Apparently, this really is 1 “day and date” ahead, so it’s 22 March 2012, Philippine time.

Lookie at the cover art for all the THG movie tie-ins!
– The Hunger Games: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
– The Hunger Games (Movie Tie-In Edition)
– The Hunger Games Tribute Guide
– The World of The Hunger Games

Danny Elfman is out as one-half of the musical scoring team for the film, and James Newton Howard is taking his place. Howard joins T.Bone Burnett on board the multi-album project. While Howard is a solid alternative to Elfman (and yes, I like Howard’s work more), I would’ve liked to see Hans Zimmer or Alexandre Desplat take on something like THG. Then again, since there are roughly 4 months to go and 2 albums to produce, maybe the filmmakers prefer to play it safe.

…

More Book-to-Movie Madness: “John Carter”

The trailer is out! I saw this in 3D ahead of our screening of The Adventures of Tintin, and it looks like Pixar did a great job on the production design.

 
It needs better marketing buzz, though, to be honest. John Lasseter apparently didn’t want to use the title of the source material, John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, because JC isn’t quite “of Mars” yet in this movie. Ye-huh, but “John Carter” does not exactly pique one’s interest. It’s not as if he’s James Bond or something…even if he is played by someone like Taylor Kitsch.

At least they didn’t go with the original Princess of Mars. How about: John Carter, Princess of Mars? 😛

Okay, okay, moving on.

…

Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day!

They have one in the US! I wish we did, too. We need to change that “it’s like taking a kid to a candy store” expression to “it’s like taking a kid to a book store”. ;p

…

Other Stories:

– Hollywood’s Blood Money: Variety has a piece about Hollywood’s on-going love affair with vampires.

– Now I know how I want my book shelf to look.

– Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have released 6 tracks from their upcoming The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. For free!

– Why 3D Movies Need to Die. Until they can do better, I say Amen to that.

– JJ Abrams took it back: Benicio del Toro won’t be in the Star Trek sequel anymore. But what about Khan? *dun dun dunnnnn*
 

Published: Life is the prize for winning “The Scorpio Races”

 
My review of Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races is now live on GMANetwork.com Lifestyle section.

It’s a modified version of my original review posted here.

Miscellany #01: 24 November 2011

 
Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011)
Anne McCaffrey, a legend in the SF/F community, passed away yesterday. As someone who loves fantasy, I understand what her loss means to the genre and to the people who were inspired and influenced by her works. I must, however, take this as a cue to confess that I have not read any of her books. I know, I know. Feel free to send out your fiercest dragons to hunt me down for this blasphemy (Warning: I wear a Ring of Dragonfire Protection). Or if you don’t have any dragons to send out, maybe you can hit the comments section and send me suggestions for which of her books I should read first instead. ;p

“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” clothing line to be launched
I still haven’t managed to get past the first chapter of the book, but I’m excited to see the movie starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig. Trish Summerville, the costume designer for the film, is going to launch a men’s clothing line inspired by Mikael Blomkvist’s outfits in the movie, and a women’s clothing line inspired by Lisbeth Salander’s. This warms my little movie geek’s (and my little closet fashion fan’s) heart.

Speaking of fashion, I love Rooney Mara’s dress on the cover of Vogue. 😀

10 Themes Shared by Science Fiction and Historical Fiction
It explains a lot. 😉 [Link to article]

Also, Keith Thompson is ♥, and here’s proof:

Ronreads Interview: Junot Diaz
My friend Ron was very lucky to have interviewed Pulitzer prize winner Junot Diaz during the Manila International Literary Festival. He seems like such a fun guy to talk to (color me envious, Ron!), and I love that he’s taken the time to get to know the Philippines and the Filipinos. [Link to interview transcript]

Open Call for Submissions: “Horror: Fantastic Filipino Fiction for Young Adults”
Hit the link if you’re interested to submit something. [Link]

#bumperstickersforwriters
A couple of days ago, I stumbled upon this fun Twitter meme, #bumperstickersforwriters. Here are some of the funnier entries:
– “Support our tropes.” @3rdplacepress
– “I’m not lost; I’m procrastinating.” @katelhunter
– “I just killed someone.” @LisaDMartinez
– “Cut me off and I’ll break your fourth wall.” @IrisBlasi
– “It’s not cheating if he’s only an imaginary lover.” @EbonyMcKenna. I suppose this counts for the #bumperstickersforbookworms meme too, if ever one gets started. :p

Notable Children’s Books of 2011
The New York Times released their Notable Children’s Books of 2011 list a few days ago. Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races and Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone are on it! This makes me happy.
—

Other Stories:

Salvador Dali + Walt Disney = Destino
I just had to post this link because the short film that Dali and Disney collaborated on is made of pure awesomeness. You can spare 6+ minutes of your time to see it, right? 😉

Star Trek sequel: 17 May 2013
My Star Trek men in IMAX 3D. World, please don’t end in 2012. That is all. [Link to report + JJ Abrams is seriously considering casting Benicio del Toro]

I hate season breaks
The Vampire Diaries is on season break, so I’ve had to resort to re-watching the first 8 episodes of season 3 and some from the tail-end of season 2 (Klaus walks into a bar and confronts Damon and Alaric…) Sometimes news breaks the monotony: lo and behold, Ausiello comes through with a spoiler!

For the record, though, I see all the other characters as “somewhat less evil” than Klaus even if he is actually more complicated than just plain “evil.” So that description from the spoiler doesn’t really tell us much about Finn. The flashback occurring in the 1400’s, though, makes for more interesting Originals Speculation Fodder and also begs the question: is there a curse on the Petrova doppelgangers that has something to do with brothers falling all over or fighting over them? ;p I wonder if the writers will spin an Elijah vs. Finn angle on this one.

Enough rambling. It’s time to post a gratuitous photo of Klaus. Just because.

Please note that the caption should be read with Klaus' American accent from S03E01. :p | Image Source: The TVD Facebook App

Now, I’m gonna go open my media player and listen to some Coldplay while I work. 😉