2014 Book #6: FLAMES and Other Stories

FLAMES and Other Stories, Angelo R. Lacuesta

The sleeves of his sweater are tied around his neck. He wears a scowl to protect his eyes from the sun. The shadows of the afternoon show his high cheekbones, his sharp nose. I have just met him here, I think, and we have just sneaked a cigarette, one of many in my youth.

2014: Book #5: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon

And then it filled up with people and another train came with the same roaring. And it was exactly like having flu that time because I wanted it to stop, like you can just pull the plug of a computer out of the wall if it crashes, because I wanted to go to sleep so that I wouldn’t have to think because the only thing I could think was how much it hurt because there was no room for anything else in my head, but I couldn’t go to sleep and I just had to sit there and there was nothing to do except to wait and to hurt.

2014 Book #4: Imperial Bedrooms

Imperial Bedrooms is the 2010 sequel to Bret Easton Ellis's runaway hit and first book, Less Than Zero. In Imperial Bedrooms, we follow the lives of Clay, Julian, Blair, and their friends as Clay comes back to LA after spending time in New York as a screenwriter. The nihilistic teenage misfits of Less Than Zero are back as middle-aged, married savages. Unfortunately, it does not live up to the brilliance of its source, and Imperial Bedrooms can sometimes feel tedious and pointless. And not in the good Bret Easton Ellis kind of way.

"They had made a movie about us. The movie was based on a book written by someone we knew. The book was a simple thing about four weeks in the city we grew up in and for the most part was an accurate portrayal. It was labeled fiction but only a few details had been altered and our names weren't changed and there was nothing in it that hadn't happened."

2014 Book #3: O Kaligayahang Walang Hanggan, Yeh!

I'm late to the Kikomachine party, but as they say, better late than never. I found this copy of Manix Abrera's Kikomachine Komix 4: O Kaligayahang Walang Hanggan, Yeh! in Recto while I was having some portraits framed.

The book is a series of untitled comic strips, featuring nameless people, going through the daily life of being a student, and it is hilarious. Granted, I haven't experienced many of the situations, such as passing late reports, living in a dormitory, and finding innovative ways to eat lunch, but many of the story arcs also have socio-political commentary that anyone can relate to. I hope I can find other copies when I have my other prints framed!

2014 Book #2: Starck

We all know Philippe Starck as that guy who created the iconic Ghost chair. Its simple, transparent design was lauded as his attempt to democratize furniture and available for all, and for all I mean those who can afford to shell out $410 (or P17,000) for a single piece.

The iconic Ghost Chair

Beyond that, we have no idea what else Starck did. At least I didn't. I always thought he was simply a furniture designer, but this book by Taschen showed that he was so much more. Starck is a collection of his major projects in a career spanning three decades. The book reveals that beyond chairs, Starck designed houses, buildings, appliances, clothes, and even vehicles!

Starck began designing consumer goods when he realized that the items of his day had no "humor, love, or fancy." He identified the kind of things the people he would like to have as a friend to own and use. "Not necessarily beautiful objects, but good objects," he said. Good objects he called non-products for non-consumers, or people who are "alert and wary, but also open, creative, enthusiastic, and finally extremely upstream and modern."

A couch with a DVD player, projector, and speakers 

I wish I had a teddy bear like this!

Philippe Starck-designed office supplies would motivate me to go back to work 

Modern watches 

A partnership with Monnaie de Paris, the L'Ultimate Franc

What results is an amazing collection of items from French coins, Olympic torches, children's toys, and those beautiful, beautiful chairs.

2014 Book #1: Flowers for Algernon

This book was given to me by my sister for Christmas, along with a copy of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction novel by Daniel Keyes, about Charlie, a mentally retarded man who participates in a groundbreaking experiment to make him intelligent. As he reaches genius levels, he is confronted with life's complexities such as morals, ethics, and the power of love.

What struck me the most about the book was its accurate portrayal of intelligence. Of course, Flowers for Algernon stresses that intelligence is not what one learns, but one's capacity to learn, and we see Charlie develop a hunger for knowledge, whether it is about language, economics, and architecture. However, we also see him develop a superior attitude, finding professors and teachers around him to be somewhat beneath him. Unfortunately, the rapid increase of his IQ left his EQ the same level before the experiment.

This quote from Alice Kinnian, Charlie's teacher at the special education classes he takes is one of my favorites: "Being with you has undermined my self-confidence. These days I can’t talk to you. All I can do is listen and nod my head and pretend I understand all about cultural variants, and neo-Boulean mathematics, and post-symbolic logic, and I feel more and more stupid, and when you leave the apartment, I have to stare in the mirror and scream at myself: ‘Not, you’re not growing duller every day! You’re not losing your intelligence! You’re not getting senile and dull-witted!"

Of course, Charlie acts the way he does because he is discovering the world for the first time. He is learning about life, the unwritten rules of society, and more importantly, himself. And when he discovers what truly matters, it is one of the most beautiful and poignant passages of the book.

34th Manila International Book Fair

This week has been a tremendous blur for my emotions. While maintaining my precarious balance with my writing gigs, I'm experiencing something I haven't in a long while, and the experience is quite exhilarating. It's given a pep to my step and has generally made me happier. I can't talk about it yet, but let's just say this is going to provide a nice break to my usual routine.

It's this eagerness that has led me to the 34th Manila International Book Fair yesterday even though I was developing a fever. The night before, I was out for drinks with some officemates and I think I overwhelmed my body with the amount of cigarettes I smoked (I'm a social smoker). I could have stayed at home and gone to MIBF today, but I did this small test of serendipity and I had to be there on Saturday to prove it. It ultimately failed but hey, I've always been a positive person! It was also a good idea for me to visit MIBF on Saturday because the UAAP cheerdance competition was held today so I suspected that the normally packed SM Mall of Asia would be bursting at the seams.

Went a little crazy at the 34th Manila International Book Fair

Despite my failed attempt to manufacture serendipity, I did have a grand time at the MIBF. I bought 10 books and I spent only one thousand. Last year, I spent the same amount for seven books (Jessica Zafra's Twisted series and Alex Gilvarry's From The Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, which he signed). I met two of my officemates and they had a grand time as well, one of them buying a handful of books and the other having her copy of Si Amapola Sa 65 na Kabanata signed by Ricky Lee.

Here are the books I scored for this year's MIBF. I'm happy because nine out of the ten books are by Filipino authors. I also got a copy of Bret Easton Ellis's Imperial Bedrooms for P99, the sequel to his first novel Less Than Zero, which I enjoyed tremendously.

• Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis
• Waking The Dead and other horror stories by Yvette Tan
• The 500 People You Meet in Hell by Jessica Zafra
• Manila Noir, edited by Jessica Hagedorn (with stories by Lourd de Veyra, FH Batacan, Angelo R. Lacuesta, Jose Dalisay, R. Zamora Linmark, Lysley Tenorio, Rosario Cruz-Lucero, Budjette Tan & Kajo Baldisimo, and others)
• Ang Panibagong Kulam by Tony Perez
• From Coffee to Cocktails by Celine Lopez
• Paper Cuts by Pam Pastor
• Etiquette for Mistresses by Jullie Yap Daza
• Flames and other stories by Angelo R. Lacuesta
• The Aswang Inquiry by Frank Lynch, SJ (with illustrations by Gila Cordero-Fernando)

I felt like collapsing in the late afternoon, but I promised my friends from college I'd meet them for dinner. I could have easily cancelled, but I haven't seem them in ages. My busy schedule doesn't permit me to to go out with a lot of people, and I can just imagine many of my friends pissed off at me for blowing them off. We were supposed to go out last July but I ran late with an interview for the zine that I didn't make it.

It's always fun to see them because we've known each other since college, back when we were all starting out. Granted, two of them were already supporting themselves, but it's inspiring to see how far we've come since school, when we'd drink every night after class and attempt to manage our money since we weren't earning yet.

I consider them as family because they have seen me at my absolute worst - from the time I threw my legendary bitch fit at Ascend to the aftermath of my failed romances -  and have been there at my best. I think it's important to have people like them in our lives, because these are the ones who have loved you when you had nothing, and who would continue to love you when you lose everything.

My fever's still in its developmental stage, but I hope it clears soon.

Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki + Anong Pangalan Mo Sa Gabi?

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the LGBT community, thanks to My Husband's Lover. Its cultural impact is so broad that it trends on Twitter almost every night, and even spawned a proposed bill in the government (which I think is ridiculous). I don't care much for the series but I'm glad that the show is breaking stereotypes and showing that gender expression is fluid and isn't limited to effeminate types.

From a literary perspective, books about homosexuality are also enjoying the press and attention it so rightly deserves. Just recently, Rhandee Garlitos wrote Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki, the first children's book to tackle effeminacy among young boys, and the UP Babaylan, in partnership with the UP Center for Women's Studies published Anong Pangalan Mo Sa Gabi? At iba pang tanong sa mga LGBT, a photobook featuring common questions asked among the gay community.

If my memory serves me right, the last Filipino book that dealt with homosexuality was Louie Mar Gangcuangco's Orosa-Nakpil, Malate, which raised awareness on HIV-AIDS while weaving a tale of young love and heartbreak.

Like Orosa-Nakpil, both Bonggang Beki and Anong Pangalan attempts to raise awareness for the LGBT cause. Both are entertaining, but beneath that is a core that struggles for acceptance.

Rhandee Garlitos' Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki

Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki is a children's book written by Rhandee Garlitos, with illustrations by the talented Tokwa Penaflorida. It's about a young boy whose favorite color is pink, and while his sexuality is not the focus of the story, it shows the power of family and love.

The idea for a children's book to tackle this sensitive topic is great because it eases children who may feel that effeminacy is not normal, that it's something that needs to be changed. After all, we all have that one uncle who tries to "man us up" through basketball.

I interviewed both Rhandee and Tokwa for Supreme, and I got into a brief argument with someone on Twitter who felt that effeminacy automatically equates to homosexuality. I felt sorry for his misguided beliefs (his sources date back to 1963) and his insistence that there is, and should be, only black and white when it comes to sexuality. He claimed to be an expert on sexuality but it was highly doubtful so I ended the conversation.

Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki will formally launch at the Manila International Book Fair on September 11-15. Read the Supreme interview here.

The UP Babaylan and the UP Center for Women Studies' Anong Pangalan Mo Sa Gabi? At iba pang tanong sa mga LGBT

Anong Pangalan Mo Sa Gabi? (What is your name at night?) aims to address the misconceptions about the LGBT community by answering the most common questions asked of them. Some are innocent and well-meaning, but many are offensive and downright ignorant. Questions like "paano kayo dumadami?" (how do you have children?) and "paano ka umiihi?" (how do you pee?) are just some of the ridiculous questions asked, but answering them is the only way to enlighten people and inform them that gay people are exactly the same, who do the same things the same way straight people do. The answers are serious, witty, engaging, and hilarious.

Here are some of my favorites (most of them have been shortened):

Q: Anong klase kang bakla? (What kind of gay are you?)
A: Special kasi with egg. So, ikaw naman ang tatanungin ko. Anong klase kang straight? Asado o bola-bola? (Special with egg. How about you? What kind of straight are you? Asado or bola-bola?)

Q: Gay ka ba? O bi lang? (Are you gay or bi?)
A: ...para tumaas ang halaga sa pamilihan, maraming gay ang nagpapanggap na 'bi' lang sila. Hindi original pero Class A sa mga peke. (To increase their market value, many gay guys pretend to be just 'bi'. They're not original, they're Class A fakes)

Q: Sinong lalaki, sinong babae? (Who is the man and woman in the relationship?)
A: Kailangan ba laging may babae at lalaki? Hindi ba sapat na ang dalawang tao ay nagmamahalan? (Is it important to have a man and a woman? Isn't it enough that two people love each other?)

Q: Ayaw mo bang magkaanak? (Don't you want to have children?)
A: Ang pagtataguyod ng pamilya, pagpapalaki ng anak at pagiging isang mabuting magulang ay wala sa kasarian kundi ito ay nasa kakayahang magsakripisyo at magmahal. (The ability to raise children and be a good parent doesn't rely on gender, but the ability to sacrifice and to love.)

Anong Pangalan Mo Sa Gabi? is available at the UP Center for Women's Studies. Read about my article for Supreme here.

From The Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant

Author Alex Gilvarry, photo from here

I found From The Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant the same way protagonist Boy Hernandez found himself in jail: by accident - or maybe by fate. I snuck in the recent Manila International Book Fair while entertaining family friends, and while hurriedly browsing the racks in National Bookstore, a loudspeaker announced that the author, Alex Gilvarry, will be signing copies that day. I've seen his pictures, so I immediately grabbed a copy and fell in line without paying for it - defying store protocol. I was stopped by the lady handing out numbers for the signing, but I managed to charm my way.

I quickly re-touched my face to make sure I looked halfway human, and elegantly (meaning I didn't trip or make funny noises) made my way towards him. My opening line was:

"I'm also a writer, but I write for a broadsheet," mentioning The Philippine Star.

Such a fucking namedropper. He was polite enough and we spent a few minutes talking about the newspaper, his book, and his participation in Rogue's September feature on Bryanboy, the notorious fashion blogger.

Alex Gilvarry's note on my copy

The last thing I said to him was: "I hope I meet you again." Such a fucking flirt.

Anyway, the book. The book is about Boyet Hernandez, a Filipino fashion designer who tries to make a name for himself in New York, only to find himself connected to a terrorist ring. He is dubbed as a fashion terrorist and is detained, possibly illegally, at a detention camp.

I was attracted to the idea of a fashion terrorist, but the book is more terrorist than fashion. I found the premise fascinating, but I'm not well-read or interested in national security. I much preferred the times when he would talk about Boy's fashion life, which sadly, wasn't much. Of course, the title is Non-Enemy Combatant, not Womenswear Designer.

Perhaps other people would enjoy it, but I thought it was okay. At least it didn't cash in on the poverty porn prevalent in Western works set in the Philippines.

Twisted II: Spawn of Twisted

I finally got around to buying a semi-complete set of Jessica Zafra's books. I was first introduced to Zafra (her works, at least) in 2007 by an ex-boyfriend, and I was immediately hooked by her first Twisted. It was witty, sarcastic, and irreverent. It seemed to have its own writing style, by just saying what it wants, regardless of its point. Perhaps it's the frequency of its first publication in Today, or maybe Zafra just doesn't care what anyone else thinks.

During the recent Manila International Book Fair, I was fortunate enough to have bought Twisted 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and Twisted Travels, along with Alex Gilvarry's debut novel From The Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant (which I got signed). For all seven books, I only spent a few hundreds above P,1000.

As for Twisted II: Spawn of Twisted, I was reminded again of why I fell in love with Zafra. She is still snarky and insightful, and her sense of humor is just as refreshing. What I did find hard to believe are her essays on love. I have no memory of her talking about her love life in the first and third books, so I was pretty surprised. The future dominatrix still has time to fall in love.

My favorite essay of the bunch is The Vulcan Mind and Cheese Meld, where she discusses a phone call from someone attempting suicide. Given Zafra's cynical approach, I expected her to antagonize the caller. Instead, she referenced Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus, and said that "in the face of incredible, insane odds," Sisyphus kept going. She closed the essay with "This sick world is trying to break you. By sticking around, you annoy the hell out of it," which is typical for Zafra, thus making the article sincere.

Her other essays are just as enjoyable, and surprisingly timely. There were pieces on censorship, the futility of elections, and more importantly, notes on Tito Sotto. You might want to read it now.

House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival

House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival is a 2010 book by Deborah Ball about the heritage of Versace, one of high-fashion's most colorful brands, both in terms of design and background. Known for its bright patterns that border on garish, the house was thrust into a different kind of limelight when its founder, Gianni, was shot dead by Andrew Cunanan. The incident became a morbid source of pride for most Filipinos, who seemed to relish the fact that Cunanan is Filipino. The book details Versace's downward spiral, led by Gianni's sister Donatella.

The book was a terrific read. I've always been fascinated by the outre styling of Versace and the persona of Donatella. The book practically touched every aspect of the birth of the brand, from its design, finances, and its place in the fashion galaxy. I appreciated how it wasn't a fluff piece, or an ode to the label. It was honest, even brutal, especially when it described Versace as small compared to other labels like Louis Vuitton and Gucci. In the end, it wrapped with an open question, wondering whether Versace can keep up with the competition instead of harping how the world will finally bow down to Donatella.

The story itself is fascinating. Gianni rose from a poor region in Italy, and began his rapid rise in fashion, his taste for outrageous designs and crazy patterns shocking most locals, who discriminated against him because of his region. They preferred Armani, whose elegant and classy designs were reminiscent of the sophisticated haute couture of Paris. In fact, there was one saying that went "Armani dressed the wife, Versace the mistress."

For a young brand, Versace has gone through a lot of shit, losing its talented designer at the height of his fame and leaving the the house to his younger sister. Frankly, the publicity Donatella gathered for the house did a lot of good, but her excessive lifestyle almost ruined the house, which has immortalized the supermodel and created the cult of celebrity. More importantly, Versace made clashing prints and neon colors a legitimate trend, and that piling color upon color can be sexy.

What Gianni and Donatella lacked in a poor sob story, they made up for with high drama. From Gianni's untimely murder to Donatella's destructive habits and high-camp personality, it dishes up all the facts on the family without sounding dirty or sleazy. There was actually something heartwarming about the book, with the Versace siblings' strong emphasis on family.

It's a story of fashion, believing in yourself, murder, but really, House of Versace is all about faith and having a strong team behind your back, because at the end of the day, family is all you'll have. But when they're dressed in Versace from head to toe, you might as well enjoy life, too.

MV Logos Hope x Toribox x Holly's Coffee

The MV Logos Hope

Last Tuesday, Nikko and I went to the MV Logos Hope, the world's largest floating book fair docked at the South Harbor. The MV Logos Hope is a travelling book store and library that carries 5,000 books covering a wide range of topics from art, medicine, self-help, sports, travel, fiction, and many more.

The countries the MV Logos Hope has traveled to

 It is run by 408 members from 45 different countries, all volunteering without pay to "bring knowledge, help and hope to the people of the world." Eight of them are Filipinos. Aside from selling books (which are incredibly affordable), the ship aims to help communities around the world by providing aid and relief.

The ship has visited several regions, including countries in Northern Europe, the Caribbean, West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia.

The books

The selection wasn't as staggering as I thought. I expected a whole shipload of books, but the selections only took half a deck and it was very small. But what was impressive was that they were dirt-cheap. If the fair had more fiction, I probably would have cleaned out the shelves, or at least my wallet. Art books can be bought for P200-P500, while three textbooks are sold for P500, with a free bag.

The ship is run by a Christian organization so there were a lot of Bibles, inspirational books and Christian music both playing in the intercom and being sold on the rack. 

Essential Modern Art, P500

Gardening, P200 

 Art Deco, P400

I got myself a copy of Essential Modern Art, a timeline of the best pieces with a brief background of the artist. It's very informative and a must-have for a beginner. It has entries on Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock, among many others. I also got a book on gardening, which I'm planning to use to build my very own garden.

For my birthday, Nikko got me a copy of Art Deco: The Golden Age of Graphic Art and Illustration, a history of the movement, which I admire for its flirty lines and the sexy use of shapes and colors.

The three books cost P1,100, a low price considering the Art Deco and modern art books are large and hardbound.

The International Cafe

After our extensive shopping (Nikko got around six books), we hung out for a bit at the International Cafe, which isn't as impressive as it sounds. But it's run by a friendly Russian and they had good products you can't find here, like Fanta. The staff were all friendly, and I got to chat with a Chinese girl about my trip to Shanghai last summer.

The ship will be in the South Harbor until March 13, 2012. The South Harbor is located near Manila Hotel. It is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays at 10AM to 9.30PM and Sundays at 1PM to 9.30PM.

For dinner, we wanted to go to CBD at the Ayala Triangle, but the traffic caused by the INC prayer rally was so intense that we changed our mind. The trip going to the ship was just as bad and we wound our way throughout Manila, even going through Intramuros. There were so many people that it was hard to navigate around the city. We decided to have dinner instead at Toribox near DLSU. It's a Japanese place that sells really good karaage pops for less than P100. The servings are also enormous so we enjoyed our meal.

For dessert we went to Holly's Coffee, this upscale-looking coffee shop along Taft. The interiors are warm and cozy, and the staff were especially accommodating. The waffles were divine.

Kokology

Okay, so I got this book two weeks ago as a birthday present for myself. I've been hearing about Kokology since high school and had been asked several "innocent" questions I knew came from the theory so I felt it was time to get my own copy and get to the bottom of the whole thing.

So the book is divided into different situations. Each scenario is followed by certain questions like how do you feel...., how would you react...., and what would you do if... Supposedly, your answers reveal unconscious facets of your personality like your libido, self-esteem, stress, and fidelity. Knowing that each question is loaded with unconscious interpretations, I couldn't help but try to guess what each question meant. I got some right, while others were really hard to figure, which made the game more exciting, even for someone strongly involved in the field. The trick is to answer what comes to mind first, instead of trying to analyze the question. There's this whole bit in Psychological Testing where the client tries to impress the examiner with his answers.

Of course, there is the question of authenticity. Apparently, Kokology was constructed by a Japanese psychologist so I suppose these questions were carefully built using sound theories in human behavior. I noticed the writer relied heavily on Carl Jung's Archetype theory, which states that there are symbols universally recognized by all. For example, the shadow is supposed to be an individual's "dark side." Some of the archetypes mentioned in the book include whales, horses, actors, and souls. Simply put, if we react positively to a question mentioning whales (which is a mother archetype), we have a positive relationship with our mother. Makes sense, eh?

However, some of the questions are circumstantial, especially one question regarding strawberries. Supposedly, strawberries symbolized infidelity in a relationship. That might be true, but what if the person really likes strawberries? What if the person is allergic to strawberries? These things have led many to believe that Kokology is a fad much like astrology, something fun but nothing to take seriously.

Being a Psychology student, I admit I was impressed with the results (keys are provided after each situation), because many of them were accurate. Of course, there are those that didn't seem right, which I thought was understandable because even a legitimate test would require backups to test its reliability.

All in all, the book is enjoyable. The questions really made me think and it provided great insight to my self and my personality. There were things I discovered about myself, things I didn't know and things I already knew but never acknowledged. However, my advise to those who are planning to buy the book is to take everything in here with a grain of salt. In order for any Psychological test to be reliable, a series of similar tests must be taken to check its accuracy. But it's fun all the same!

The Gold Digger Manual

What every gold digger needs to get. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wills and Estates. And when you have sucked your geriatric husband dry and have turned to more subservise methods to buy the new Chanel, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Out of Debt.

The Complete Idiot's Guide. Making gold digging easy as pie.

Ghostbusters

Last night, I went to Alabang to watch a movie with Mark, a friend. There was still an hour to kill so while he checked out clothes in Rustan's, I went to Powerbooks to browse books. In the Filipino section, I saw this cool comic series by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo called Trese. It's about the adventures of a detective named Alexandra Trese who solves crimes of a more supernatural nature.

I read the first story of the first installment (Murder on Balete Drive) and it's really promising. It's about how this girl sold her first-born to an aswang barman to kill a white lady to exact revenge. It's awesome shit. The blurb of Murder on Balete Drive reads:

"When the sun sets in the city of Manila, don't you dare make a wrong turn and end up in that dimly-lit side of the metro, where aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings, where kapre are the kingpins of crime, and engkantos slip through the cracks and steal your most precious possessions. When crime takes a turn for the weird, the police call Alexandra Trese."

Of Mass Murders (third book):

"12 midnight at Metro Manila. Try to remain calm if you suddenly spot a tikbalang speeding down EDSA or a manananggal swooping across the Makati skyline. While partying at the Fort, never ever let the enkanto at the bar buy you a drink. Yet, there are deadlier things that walk the streets of this city. One of them now demands blood and sacrifice. When crime takes a turn for the weird, the police call Trese."

I am so wanting this! I like how the authors combine old-world superstitions and the modern Filipino lifestyle.

For more information, check out this site.

Are You There, Bob Ong? It's Me Koji

So I bought my first Bob Ong book last night while I was at Festival with the folks. I wasn't supposed to buy because I still have a lot to read but books published in the Philippines had discounts and I wanted to use the points in my Powercard. I bought ABNKKBSNPLAKo?! for PHP60. Not bad, eh? I'm halfway through and honestly, I'm still waiting for those nuggets of wisdom that get passed around in text messages.

So far, it's okay. But I'm not getting the whole picture about how much of a genius he is. I do find the quotes I receive witty, but I haven't found any in ABNKKBSNPLAKo?! Maybe they're in other books? This is my first taste so I don't know.

I find Jessica Zafra funnier. Maybe it's her jaded and dark sense of humor that gets me, but I still haven't lost hope on Bob Ong. Hundreds of people can't be wrong, right?

I Wanna See Your Private Parts

Finished reading my copy of Miss America by Howard Stern today. It was really good, packed with laughs, cheers, and zomg-did-he-just-say-that moments. After reading the book I wondered how he remained on air after saying all those outrageous stuff. Looking forward to buying his other book, Private Parts.

I’m in a memoir mood so the next book I’m going to read is Smashed: Growing Up A Drunk Girl by Koren Zailckas. One of the blurbs inside says: For any woman who has ever drunk too much, there will be more than one note in this compelling memoir that rings an all-too-recognisable and uncomfortable tone. Excited for those parts where I’ll be like, yeah, I know that feeling very well. The book looks really promising so I can’t wait to get started.

I have tons of homework due this week but I’ve only finished one. I was supposed to do them today but I got carried away playing Word Challenge on Facebook. I now have the vocabulary of a salesman. I’m not in the mood to wade through sites and read stuff about hypotheses and experiment plans so I promised myself I’ll do them tomorrow. I’ll be reconnecting with my love for alcohol tonight with Zailckas. Wondered if she ever had a relapse.

Where would you like me to put your high-brow? Up your ass or in your face?

I had to run errands today so I asked Bob and Kathy to accompany me to Alabang. One of the errands was to go to Powerbooks and renew my powercard, and at the same time, I had to see which books I was going to get in their VIP sale next week. I wanted to make a list of the books so that when the sale comes, all I need to do is ask them to get it for me and I can pay right away.

While writing the titles down, a thought struck me. I remember a thread I started on an online dating site where booklovers could get together to talk about their favorite books. I was hoping that gay people could meet as a group not to have an orgy but to discuss different authors and their works. It became a hit [I guess a lot of gay men were tired of the usual wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am], but I remember getting upset at the first person who posted. I don't remember who he was, but he made a snide remark about how he hoped it would be a real book club where they could talk about high-brow literature.

I don't remember how he phrased his statement, but it was just as clear. He doesn't like pop lit because he thinks it's trash. Actually, the thread got stellar ratings because of what he posted, and everybody ganged up on him and he never posted again. Currently, the thread is running without me [I had a lot of things on my plate that I neglected the thread altogether] and it's very successful.

Oddly, there are a lot of people who think that pop lit is trash. I swear, somebody even agreed with the asshole and called it pedestrian. Which is really weird because literature is literature. It's one and the same. What differs is that it's either well-written, or badly written. And I believe that just because a book is badly written doesn't mean it's not worth reading. Unlike badly written books, I don't know why those people call pop lit trash. I mean, it's popular because it's good, right? And come on, it's popular for a reason.

I don't understand why some people think they're better than others because they read Leo Tolstoy. I have no clue why they lambast those people who read Coelho's or Rowling's books. Maybe they think they're all that because they could get through half of Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. To tell you the truth, I know a lot of people who read classics so people would think they're intellectuals. I also know that they're nothing but pretentious S.O.B.s. I'm not saying that everyone who reads Hawkings works is pretentious. They're not. I'm just pointing out those who think they're better because they read "high-brow" lit. I bet even before Anna Karenina became a classic, it was considered pop lit as well.

Who cares if you don't read Virginia Woolf or Umberto Eco? Let them eat cake. To quote my world lit professor: ano naman ang gagawin mo kung may bagong kotse sila, o may bagong cellphone? Eh kung pangit sila, so? Basta ikaw maganda, okay na yun. [Why should you care if they have a new car or a new cellphone? If they're ugly, so? As long as you're prettier, then it's okay.] Of course I'm not serious about this. I was just injecting humor into an otherwise boring piece. But you get my point, right?

So today, while I was writing down the titles of the books I was going to get, I wasn't afraid to announce to everyone that I was going to get copies of Paulo Coelho's and Bob Ong's books. Why should I care? To each his own.

So if ever you find yourself at the R section looking for Rowling, don't mind those people sniggering because they're reading Ayn Rand. If they look like toads, just flip your pretty locks and go on browsing. If you have enough guts, you can even go up to them and ask where they want you put their high brow. Up their ass or in their face?