raindancer's map of memories

2008-02-18T02:02:00.001-08:00

These days, I'm mostly posting over at Minimal to the Max.

2007-12-15T06:33:00.001-08:00

Posted an article written by Mary de Muth to the minimalmax blog. Enjoy the read.

2007-12-10T07:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to the Hope Away from Home blurb: http://www.omflit.com/home/events.php?i=17

Yayness :)

2007-11-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Good Neighbours
for Mieke from Chie

1.

Mieke's in my garden
patting down earth
around

late winter violets
and a sprig of aster

It'll grow, she says.

It's small now, but it'll grow.

And I stand beside her
arms dangling at my sides

not knowing how to say
thank you.

2.

There's a sign outside her door
that says

"Sold".

In the spring
she'll be moving house

and I wonder what it will be like
to live without

the sound of her son
playing clarinet

in the upstairs bedroom.

3.

I think of all the seasons of the year
of all the days that have turned
into weeks and months

I think of Mieke's arm around my shoulders
and her voice
telling me
it's all right to cry

and I think
of asters

and violets
and

how all things bloom again
in spring.

some fotos

2007-11-25T13:21:00.000-08:00

On birthday morning, Joel had to go treasure hunting for coins strewn among the decorations along the window ledge and hidden underneath the breakfast placemats.

Dear folks at home -- There's that lovely capiz lamp I told you all about. Fancy finding one in Laura Ashley's (Utrecht).

Our two boys in the pen ;) Secretly put on the blog while Joel wasn't looking.

Joel's birthday cake.

Joel and Mieke on his birthday. Joel's enjoying some of that Mama-made fried chicken a la KFC.

2007-11-23T01:37:00.000-08:00

I'm off to The Hague today. Spreading the Hay(na)ku love--I'm going to give UK based writer/poet Crista Ermiya a copy of the first Hay(na)ku Anthology.

wat ik eigenlijk wou zeggen. . .

2007-11-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

I've posted something on minimal to the max which has to do with my own struggle with the culture. If you want to read it, go there.

what we find when we rummage through old files

2007-11-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

I recently read and reviewed a huge book of poems for Munting Nayon. Looking through old files, I found this poem from so many years ago and can't help but think of how poetry captures emotion and can carry us back to where we were when the words came to us.

If I, with the power of my pen,
could bring you
from distant land
from a foreign clime
to this country I belong to
to this cradle that is mine.

I would hold you
in the warmth of a love
only I can know how to give…

If I, with the strength of my yearning,
with all the fury that is mine…
could travel across space
could tread galaxies and time…

I would go
to be held safe
in your arms forevermore...

2007-11-07T02:09:00.000-08:00

Minimal to the max is the title of my new blog. What? Another blog?

Minimal to the max is probably boring, as it's basically a documentation of adventures in budgetting, cultural adjustments, and life in general. It's more like an experiment...to see whether I really am progressing in terms of budget.

I'm not good at keeping a ledger, but I keep thinking of how all our addictions have root causes somewhere. I'm hoping this blog will help me lose weight (not just physically, but materially as well). So there...

Putting google ads on that blog seemed appropriate, as to me it makes a statement about maximizing minima.

2007-10-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

Joel's got a new message on his blog at: http://mooie-woorden.blogspot.com. Photos on there from his trip on the ICE train.

Short post...as usual...life is just too hectic. Sorry for delayed correspondences everyone. I'm catching up...I really am. Expect mail from me any day soon :)

2007-10-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Luisa Igloria blogs about the slur against the Filipino people on the show Desperate Housewives. I signed the petition after reading about it on Luisa's blog, and it's interesting to read about the influence of protests against slurs like this.

I'm posting the link to the BBC article (originally posted on Luisa's blog) so you can read what it's all about.

I find myself wondering who watches shows like this one anyway? I mean, I don't watch this show because the few occassions when I zapped by, it seemed to me that these housewives must be just about the saddest people on the planet. Okay... I confess to being a non-lover of soap opera and drama series. I confess to not even watching the famed Sex in the City. Why shows like these are considered entertaining are beyond me. I often find myself moaning about the stupidity of the characters and so instead of wasting my energy on that...I'd rather be doing something productive like reading a book...or updating my blog ;)

Anyway, the reason I'm thinking of this issue comes from searching for a column to replace last week's column on Haruah. Searching through columns submitted, I came across Selena Thomason's column on Diversity. I found it engaging and timely and thought I'd do some plugging and prompt readers to go over and check it out. Any thoughts on the topic are welcome in our forum.

Writing about Haruah and columns reminds me of my intention to post a call for voluntary one-time submissions of reviews to the column list. If you've read a book which you'd like to share with other readers, why not write a review and send it in as a column submission to Haruah. While we don't pay for columns, we do offer the opportunity for exposure.

And...last but not least...

I thought I'd post a reminder to vote for Maria Zannini's blog over at http://www.fictionaddiction.net/vote.html

You can vote once a day, so the more votes coming in the better :) I've got to go. I still have a column that needs to be written and sent in before midnight tomorrow.

2007-10-12T02:51:00.000-07:00

Brothers :)

And now, the real work begins. Move over, Mr. Mozart ;)

Some Pics...

2007-10-12T02:29:00.000-07:00

Cousins on the rooftop of NEMO. Science Museum in Amsterdam, late August.

Samuel in the playpen

See, I told you I'd be standing soon :)

Okay, I'm posing already.

vote for fiction

2007-10-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

At http://fictionaddiction.net/vote.html you can vote for the best site run by an author to promote their writing.

I've been voting for Maria Zannini, and if you like her blog you can vote for her too. Maria posts articles and tips on writing, does interviews with other authors, and posts regular markets to send your work to. I think you'll enjoy visiting both her blog and her website.

**

I'm off to take care of my boys now. Our pet rabbit died yesterday and Joel is still quite upset about it. He didn't get to sleep until late at night from crying over his dead rabbit.

Joel: Mama, is it okay to cry? You do cry when someone you care for dies, don't you?

Me: Of course, it's okay to cry.

Joel: I miss Friend(the rabbit).

posted while waiting for eldest son to come home

2007-10-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

The October issue of The Orange Room Review is now online. Congratulations are also due to editors Corey and Rachael who became parents on the 19th of September. Welcome to the chaotic life of writer parents.

Also online is Byzarium's October Issue with Six Events in a Love Story. I just went over and read this fantastic science fiction tale written by Gareth Powell, and if you have time, I highly recommend that you read it too.

I haven't had time to read this month's Interzone yet, but I am looking forward to reading Gareth's story which has been receiving some really great reviews.

Eldest son has come home and second son has sounded the alarm. So the post ends here for now.

2007-09-28T11:58:00.001-07:00

On Monday, Byzarium will be releasing its October issue. "Six Events in A Love Story" is my third Remedios Varo inspired piece to be published. I love the way Byzarium invites response to art and to me this ezine is a gem because of the way art and words are intertwined. It's a wonderful symbiotic relationship where the one nurtures the other. I think this has to do with Leigh Dragoon's personal engagement of art. It's more than a superficial thing and her passion for art and for words is expressed through the ezine.

I've been rereading Janet Kaplan's "Unexpected Journeys", and I find myself reflecting on the affinity I feel towards Remedios Varo's work. I wonder if it has to do with the many migrations she experienced, and the migrations I have experienced.

I think of my migration from the province to the city suburbs, from the city suburbs to the city itself, and from the city to a country outside of my home country. While my own migrations were not as intense as Remedios Varo's own migrations, I do recognize how these upheavals influence the way I look at my own work.

Somehow, I keep having this feeling of wanting to press beyond and to look on the other side of the page where worlds and possibilities exist.

In a sense, my writing of speculative fiction is a product of my migrant experience. From childhood, the sense of not really belonging or not really being part of "a culture" has pursued me. I remember my own intense desire to fit in with the culture of the mountain provinces, only to be reminded that I did not belong to this minority because my parents weren't from Ifugao. Spending all of my childhood years in the mountains still didn't make me Ifugao, and no matter what I did or how much I wanted to belong, nothing would change that.

When we left Banaue and moved to the city suburbs, the sense of uprootment and non-belongingness intensified. Maybe it would have been different if my parents had opted to send us to a semi-public school instead of to the exclusive private school they sent us to. How to write about those painful first years in High School when I could not even speak Pilipino properly because in Ifugao, folks don't speak tagalog. We spoke either English, Ilocano or Ifugao.

Early on, I learned the importance of wearing a smiling mask when inside I felt like crying. It didn't help that the first friend I had turned out to be someone who wanted me to give her all my lunch money and to give her the answers to tests or assignments until at a certain point, I didn't have any lunch money left and so she left and found someone else to get lunch money off and to copy answers from. Which made me feel at that time that Ifugao folks were very justified for not trusting city dwellers. Of course, I did eventually hook up with some fabulous folks who were true friends and remain true friends to this day.

Following the links on Dean Alfar's blog which leads to interesting debates on what makes certain stories Filipino, I find myself wondering at this obsession we folks seem to have with labels. I remember this discussion on the Online Writing Workshop list about what makes specfic what it is and why is it that some literary works still are literary when they employ genre stuff.

I have no answers to what makes a piece of specfic Filipino. None at all. I do believe in creating the best possible work I can create and pushing myself to be better than myself. In the end, one must be faithful to the muse and to what one is called to write. I also believe that all arguments as to what belongs to where are fruitless. Perhaps all this desire to categorize and labellize stems from our own need to belong and to be part of a culture.

I'd rather adhere to what Eileen Tabios says in reply to my question about genres in this Interview on The Sword Review:

Eileen: I no longer distinguish between forms (e.g. poetry vs fiction). I think all of what I do is a poet's practice -- or my poetic practice. That not only includes what I write (and in what form) but how I relate to other people, how I vote, how I blog, how I try to respect the mountain on which I'm blessed to live, how I cook (or not cook), how I watch TV (or not watch TV).... Because I wish to live my poetry vs trap it on the page, this kind of focus on genre is, for me, amateur hour.

It feels very weird for me to be thinking aloud like this on the page, and I wonder what this all means in relationship to what I'm working on and how I'm working on it.

Saving Leonardo and The Bodegraven Autumn Fair

2007-09-18T02:37:00.000-07:00

Before all else, I thought I'd post a picture of "the red chair". I got this chair during the Bodegraven Autumn Fair, at the church shop where folks bring stuff they don't want anymore. I saw this chair, fell in love, and bought it. It looks like no one's ever sat in it before, there's not a single spot or a single stain...no signs of wear. Some folks will discard at will...some folks (like me) are glad there are folks like that.

(It was the Annual Autumn Fair with the Cheese Queen Parade and all the hoo-hah that comes with that, and if you want to see fotos you can click on the link. It is all in Dutch except for the fotos. )

Anyway, the church shop takes this opportunity to sell whatever they've got and whatever doesn't get sold lands in the scrapheap. After rescuing the red chair and a couple of lovely rotan chairs, Joel Jan and I headed for the bookstands. Joel Jan bought books about the moon landing and an annual on the year 2000. Samuel got a thick carton book on trains, and I rescued Leonardo. Here's a little whimsy that resulted from that:

*****

Saving Leonardo

by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz

I saved Leonardo da Vinci from the scrapheap. It was two in the afternoon, and the bookstands were crawling with people scrabbling about for books and things. I spied Leonardo hiding under a pile of books—red leather bound spine peeked out at me, with “The World of Leonardo” printed in faded gold.

Lo and behold, here was Leonardo in his glory days, with the kneeling angel, the half completed almost surrealistic Saint Jerome, and other works that made me say yes to parting with a couple of euros in exchange for a peek into the great man’s brain.

I spotted Van Gogh and Michelangelo on the stand after I’d gotten my hands on Leonardo, but I waffled a bit as the man watching the stand was not willing to negotiate on the cost of both books. Later, I regretted not taking them home with me and decided to go back for them. Too late though, by the time I arrived at the church, the scrapheap men had arrived and I could hear the crash of glassware, the solid thunk of furniture and was just in time to see the remains of what used to be the bookstand being poured into the maw of the devourer.

Dear Vincent, I hope you’ll forgive me for not being on time to rescue you. I hope it comforts you to know that I do have a replica of you on my bookshelf, and someday, I’ll probably find another book bound example, with a red spine and faded gold letters that read: The World of Vincent.

today...

2007-09-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days when being far from home really bites. It's on days like these that I struggle with my emotions and struggle to keep from questioning God on his reasons for bringing me to this place. I know he's got his purposes and I know he never fails to keep his promises, but there's something heartbreaking about seeing your eldest child grow up too fast and take on responsibilities quickly because he has too.

I suppose I could see this as being a blessing. For his age, Joel Jan is quite mature, and while he has his moments of daydreaming, I see him shedding bits of his childhood as he realizes that we've really only got each other over here.

I mean, we do have good neighbours and good friends, but still when it boils down to the nitty-gritty we've only got each other.

I do realize how blessed I am to have a caring and thoughtful son. With Sam still not well enough to brave the chill of an autumn evening, Joel's gone off to football practice alone (for the first time). I couldn't keep from being emotional about it. I suppose I could have asked if he could bike with someone, but at this time of year, everyone goes with a car except for carless folks like me...and there is this fear of being a burden that still plagues me somewhat.

I'm thinking of how easy it is to surrender to resentment and depression. And while I write this, I'm only thankful I can pray for my son and commit him into God's hands. Sometimes, I just forget that we don't just have each other...more than any other, we have the Lord.

2007-09-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Last week's flash entry to the Liberty Hall flash challenge was voted as best flash in my group. It didn't win best of the best, but it was pretty cool being best flash in the group, esp. as flashes are pretty rough.

I flashed tonight (without feeling guilty) as Jan is off to France and isn't peeping from behind the door saying "I'm off to bed, good night." Yes, Jan, if you are reading this, I do feel guilty about writing into the wee hours while you drop off to sleep. This week's flash entry is very grounded in the Philippines. I'm curious how readers will respond to that. So far, the response to my other piece which is out and out Filipino has been great. Lots of readers gave me positive feedback and helpful hints on how to make the story stronger.

Both boys are in bed, safely and soundly tucked in. Nothing down here but me and the click-clack of the keyboard. I know there are ergonomic keyboards that don't make a sound, but I think the click-clack sound inspires me. Reminds me of when I used to type out those silly rhyming poems on my Dad's ancient typewriter. There was also that ka-ching when you hit the end of the margin...and for some reason, I never could seem to make a straight margin even if the typewriter was set to make a straight margin. I always had words that needed to extend beyond the margin. Thank goodness for computers.

Do not ask me about how I did in essay writing when I was in grade school. Do not ask about the red marks and the minus points on my essays because my margins looked like slanted corridors growing closer towards each other at the end of the page.

I'm going to try and complete the final rewrite to the piece I wanted to submit to PSF III. It's been great to read the feedback on the piece . I do need to rework the tragic ending to a more hopeful ending.

So, Jan, if you're reading this, that is what I'll be doing on the nights when you aren't here .

I have been taking a poll as to whether people will be interested in attending a reading, and the response is good. Next thing on my agenda is looking for a venue. I was thinking of hosting the reading here in my house, but a friend suggested asking their church if they had room available...so we'll see if I can arrange something. That will be exciting :)

2007-09-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

Copied from the list. News of Madeleine L'Engle's death.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books/07cnd-lengle.html?ref=arts

She was one of the family's favorite authors, and this news makes me very sad. A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, A Wind in the Door, Meet the Austins, A Ring of Endless Light...

Her books have touched the lives of many young readers. She lives on through her stories...

in the meantime...

2007-09-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Crossposting from my lj as this offered some food for thought:

I cam across this link through a mail sent by an OWW list member that made me go...oh my, and uh-oh. Some interesting discussion going on regarding SFWA's recent boo-boo.

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/30/science-fiction-writ-1.html

John Phy Cooke of Ray Gun Revival has also written about this on his blog.

http://phywriter.com/archives/2007/08/28/sfwa-issues-misguided-rgr-takedowns-at-scribd/

I'm rather late on this as I confess to being a slacker.

**

In the meantime, I've been offered a gift of time. Tomorrow, while Joel is at school, Samuel is going off to a good friend who will be babysitting him while I work on stories, polish up submissions, and iron the clothes (oh so mundane that last one ).

2007-09-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

Copying this invite on the blog. It's at times like these that I wish going home was as easy as opening a door and stepping through into our living room back home. Wishing Dean a happy, happy launching. Kite of Stars still is one of my top favorite reads of all time.

Me and my boys

2007-09-03T10:21:00.001-07:00

I should ask for more fotos of me and my boys. This is one of the rare ones. Taken sometime in April.

Things to look forward to...

2007-09-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

The big boys went to the Feyenoord vs. Willem II football match, baby boy went to sleep, and I decided it was "me" time, and did some surfing, checking of mails and updating of blogs.

Last year, Byzarium published my flash fiction piece, Mistress Vogel. I haven't yet had the guts to send them another submission, but early this week, I sent them another Varo inspired piece entitled, Six Events in a Love Story, and today brought me this wonderful acceptance email from Leigh Dragoon.

So, I will be in Byzarium again this coming October. I'm quite pleased about Six Events being in the magazine that introduced me to Remedios Varo and a number of artists whose works I love. Pretty cool too as this story is definitely with a filipino setting, what with the lead character living in a nipa hut and the town elder bearing the name Juan. How much more Pilipino can a person get?

Our wedding anniversary is coming up in September. I can hardly believe we'll be celebrating our 9th anniversary this year. One more year to go and we'll hit the big 10... Good news, guys, we've made it past the seven year itch . Hubby and I have agreed that we will celebrate by visiting this year's "WoonBeurs" (Living Fair or Home Fair) which will be held in Amsterdam's RAI center. Last year was pretty cool and I came home with a number of magazines I bought simply because the pics were mouthwatering . Yeah, I shall probably be on the lookout for the architecture magazine stand and I shall probably buy myself not one but two super thick glossy MARK mags because if a person writes science fiction, a person has to know what the future will probably look like, right?

The one I bought and still read for inspiration has these amazing buildings in Tokyo designed by poets. Very cool indeed. Much food for thought. I hear the big boys arriving. Here's a short list of things I'm looking forward to:

1. The OMF Lit book release
2. The Orange Room Review --October Issue
3. Byzarium --October Issue
4. My Wedding Anniversary (oh wait, that should be number one)
5. and the Home Fair (buy, buy, buy)

Partisans and non-partisans

2007-08-31T06:46:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow brings on the much awaited Feyenoord vs. Willem II game. Joel's tickets arrived a couple of weeks ago and while the game isn't a major one (according to Jan) it should be interesting enough to keep young footballers interested and inspired as fans of one of the biggest clubs in The Netherlands.

My brother-in-law (an avid footballer) contends that my son's football club is brainwashing these kids and training them to be fans of a club that can't compete with Ajax (the other huge football club). I suppose you could say there are more Ajax fans in our circle of friends than there are Feyenoord fans, but at 7 years old going on 8, my son just doesn't care about all that. All that matters to him is that they're all playing football, and if he had his say, everyone would win and no one would lose.

I have to smile after reading through that because it reminds me of watching the gladiator fight in Archeon. It was a fake fight with fake swords, but to Joel it must have seemed very real because after they dragged away the "dead" gladiator, he turned to me and said : "It's all fake, isn't it?" He wasn't saying that because he knew it was fake, rather he wanted to know for sure that it was fake.

Once out of the "arena", he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw both gladiators standing outside waiting to greet their "fans". He rushed towards the bloody gladiator (the one who'd died) and told him how relieved he was that the man wasn't dead at all. Afterwards, I asked him who he'd been rooting for, and he said..."both of them". I didn't want either one of them to die or to lose.

On their first football competition, I remember laughing so hard because Joel was cheering not only for the goals his team made but also for the goals the other team made. Each time, he would shout..."goal!" and he'd do a little dance singing "ole, ole". It's a good thing his teammates were all six years old (like him) and didn't have the slightest idea that the goal made was one against them.

I think this phase of non-partisanship embodies the wonder and the awe and the innocence of childhood. Wasn't there are time when we were all for everyone winning and we thought the world was this ideal place bathed in green and gold sunlight? That passes too quickly, I think. I'd like to hold my son in this moment when he's still brimming with innocence and love and friendship for everyone...it's just too sad that it has to go because the world isn't kind to innocents anymore.

"Don't talk to strangers," I tell him. "Don't talk to strangers, don't go with strangers, and on no account are you to get into a car or take a piece of candy from a stranger."

"But I can smile and say good day, can't I?" he asks.

Well, that just confirms it...

2007-08-31T06:43:00.000-07:00

Your Brain is Purple

Of all the brain types, yours is the most idealistic. You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense.Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries.
You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

What Color Is Your Brain?

2007-08-30T12:40:00.001-07:00

Adding Maria Zannini to the blogroll.

2007-08-29T23:46:00.000-07:00

Byzarium is one of my favorite Webzines. It was through their flash fiction contest that I found out about the artist, Remedios Varo. Last year, they published my flash piece, Mistress Vogel, and visiting the webzine recently, I found out they'd created an audio file to go with the piece. It was pretty cool hearing Mistress Vogel read aloud.

Here's the link in case you want to hear it:

http://www.byzarium.com/april2006

Which brings me to this idea of creating more audio files to load onto the blog sometime in the future. I shall have to do some more technical experimentation, but I think it will be fun.

Inspite of the mix-ups, I now know how to change columns on Haruah, set illustrations to proof, and I think next time I'll be able to link photos to poems/stories with less mixups and booboos.

A reprint of my Sunflower poem is now up on Haruah, so you can visit at leisure if you wish.

2007-08-29T03:00:00.001-07:00

Have corrected the broken link to where Eileen plays Angelic Poker.

Adding OMF Lit Editor, Beng Alba, to the blogroll.

Poet and Liberty Hall Founder, Mike Munsil.

Liberty Hall.

Copple's Creations (Haruah's Managing Editor does have a blog)

Galatea Resurrects, seventh issue is online

2007-08-29T02:14:00.000-07:00

GALATEA RESURRECTS (A POETRY ENGAGEMENT) is pleased to release its seventh issue.

You can access the issue at http://galatearesurrection7.blogspot.com. For convenience, the Table of Contents is also featured below. Please note we are always looking for reviewers and review copies; information about review submission is at http://grarchives.blogspot.com .

GALATEA RESURRECTS, ISSUE NO. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS August 31, 2007

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTIONBy Eileen Tabios

NEW REVIEWS

Jessica Bozek reviews AFTER YOU, DEAREST LANGUAGE by Marisol Limon

MartinezNicholas Manning reviews POEM FOR THE END OF TIME AND OTHER POEMS by
Noelle Kocot

Eileen Tabios engages THE STEAM SEQUENCE by Carly Sachs

Brian Strang reviews BROKEN WORLD by Joseph Lease

Brenda Iijima reviews A HALF-RED SEA by Evie Shockley

Patrick James Dunagan reviews A FIDDLE PULLED FROM THE THROAT OF A SPARROW by Noah Eli Gordon

Nicholas Grider reviews INSECT COUNTRY (A), INSECT COUNTRY (B), and the INSECT TUTELAGE BLOG by Sawako Nakayasu

Patrick James Dunagan reviews TRAFFIC: A PUBLICATION OF SMALL PRESS TRAFFIC, ISSUES 1 AND 2, (2005-2007) edited by Elizabeth Treadwell

Teresa Carmody reviews [one love affair]* by Jenny Boully

John Bloomberg-Rissman reviews THE BODY ACHES and NOT EVEN DOGS by Ernesto Priego

Nicholas Grider reviews NETS by Jen Bervin

Patrick James Dunagan reviews HOUSE ORGAN #58 Win/Spr ’07 edited by Kenneth Warren

Nicholas Manning reviews GUESTS OF SPACE by Anselm Hollo

Rochita Loenen-Ruiz reviews THE GODS WE WORSHIP LIVE NEXT DOOR by Bino A. Realuyo

Jennifer Bartlett reviews THE SECOND CHILD by Deborah Garrison

Eileen Tabios engages BROKEN/OPEN by Jill Jones

Laurel Johnson reviews THE ELEPHANT HOUSE by Claudia Carlson

Alysha Wood reviews a(A)ugust by Akilah Oliver, with collages by Brenda Iijima

Eileen Tabios engages BELLUM LETTERS by Michelle Detorie

Steve Halle reviews POSIT by Adam FieledPaul Klinger reviews THE BOOK OF OCEAN BY Maryrose Larkin

Michelle Detorie reviews BIRDS AND FANCIES by Elizabeth Treadwell

Eileen Tabios engages ERRATUM to and including A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF YEARS (LEVIATHAN PRESS, 2001) by Giles Goodland

Craig Santos Perez reviews NAMES ABOVE HOUSES by Oliver de la Paz

Christopher Mulrooney reviews OSIP MANDELSTAM: NEW TRANSLATIONS edited by Ilya Bernstein

Craig Santos Perez reviews ANYWHERE AVENUE by Oscar Bermeo

Christopoher Mulrooney reviews STIGMATA ERRATA ETCETERA by Bill Knott, with collages by Star Black

Nicholas Grider reviews THE STATES, Vols. 1 and 2 by Craig Foltz, designed and edited by designed and edited by Ellie Ga, and with photographs by William Gillespie, Justin Ulmer, Martin Bland, Sabra Cox, Kristina Del Pino, Simona Schneider, Florence Neal, Jon Ciliberto, Stephen Mead, Christa HOlka, Don Goede, Lyn Lifshin, Shelton Walsmith, Marie Kazalia, Rebekah Travis, Lara Khalil, Tracy Lee Carroll, Jennifer Stahl, Barbara Henning, Jade Doskow, David McConeghy, Jared Zimmerman, Alice Arnold, Robert Matson, Mary Wrenn, Julia Marta Clapp, Tina Burton, Jim Simandl, Philip Metres, Chris Hampton, Hayley Barker, Thomas Ciufo, Meredyth Sparks, Shannon Shaper, Renae Morehead, Ryn Gargulinski, Robert S. Dunn, Jen Hofer, David Gatten, Jerilyn Myran, Shara Shisheboran, Courtney Fischer, ARiana Smart Truman, Tod Seelie, David W. Lee, Katherine McDowell, Mike Mahaffie, Willile Baronet, Karen Lillis, Paul Yoo, Justin Simonsen and Elizabeth Willis.

Beatriz Tabios engages BRIDGEABLE SHORES: SELECTED POEMS (1969-2001) by Luis Cabalquinto

Carlos Hiraldo reviews THE SALESMAN'S SHOES by James Roderick Burns

Nicholas Manning reviews FOLLY by Nada Gordon

Alysha Wood reviews trespasses by Padcha Tuntha-obasKristin Berkey-Abbott reviews THE MCSWEENEY BOOK OF POETS PICKING POETS edited by Dominic Lumford

Joe LeClerc reviews THE ENEMY SELF: POETRY & CRITICISM OF LAURA RIDING edited by Barbara Adams

Hugh Fox reviews LIBIDO DREAMS: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Glenna Luschei

Laurel Johnson reviews THE MOUNTAIN IN THE SEA by Victor Hernandez Cruz

Craig Santos Perez reviews THE WIND SHIFTS: NEW LATINO POETRY edited by Francisco Aragon

Kristin Berkey-Abbott reviews PUNK POEMS by John Burgess

Julie R. Enszer Reviews SUGARING by Ann Cefola

Julie R. Enszer Reviews TEAHOUSE OF THE ALMIGHTY by Patricia Smith

Julie R. Enszer Reviews CINEPHRASTICS by Kathleen Ossip

Julie R. Enszer Reviews THE PARAGON by Kathrine Varnes

Julie R. Enszer Reviews KALI’S BLADE by Michelle Bautista

Julie R. Enszer Reviews three books by Rochelle Ratner: QUARRY, COMBING THE WAVES, and PRACTICING TO BE A WOMAN FEATURE ARTICLE"Objections to the Beauty-Object: A Reading of Two Poems by Barbara Guest" by Catherine Wagner"The Ocean At Night: An Inside Look at the Poetry Process" by Aimee Celino Nezhukumatathil

FROM OFFLINE TO ONLINE: REPRINTED REVIEWS

Catherine Wagner reviews 19 VARIETIES OF GAZELLE: POEMS OF THE MIDDLE EAST by Naomi Shihab Nye and EMAILS FROM SCHEHEREZAD by Mohja Kahf

Catherine Wagner reviews CATALOGUE OF COMEDIC NOVELTIES: SELECTED POEMS by Lev Rubinstein, Translated by Philip Metres and Tatiana Tulchinsky

Catherine Wagner engages four books by Alice Notley: DISOBEDIENCE, MARGARET AND DUSTY, MYSTERIES OF SMALL HOUSES and SELECTED POEMS"ADVERTISEMENT"Poetry Feeds The World!BACK COVER Winepoetics!

Beach photos

2007-08-24T04:05:00.000-07:00

Summer,

and the beach beckons...

Sand between your toes

Sand in your clothes

Sand everywhere

and beyond the sand--

the waves

and the cold North Sea.

I sometimes wonder

whether the call of sea

is a primal call

recorded in

mankind's collective DNA.

Joel's Sand Initiation

Brothers on the beach at Noordwijk

Our Samuel enjoys a bit of Sunbathing after four

Summer

2007-08-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

It's never easy to predict what kind of summer we'll be having. This year, we've had more rain and more gloomy days than we would have liked, but I'm not complaining as the days of sun and dry weather are such treasures, and we've been out even on gray days arming ourselves against the wind and the rain with flimsy umbrellas and praying that God will just keep Samuel dry.

This week, Joel's cousin came over and we had to dig out the tent from its hiding place in the attic and put it up as the cousins had decided they wouldn't sleep unless it was in the tent in our backyard. Thank goodness it isn't a huge thing, and Jan was able to put it up before dark. They slept in the tent on Monday night, but Tuesday was just too wet and too cold so the cousins migrated to the floor of our living room.

We have decluttered and minimalized the living room. Deciding that the area is called a living room for a purpose, we've unplugged the television(a drastic measure) and exiled it to the master's bedroom to await a more permanent fate. If I were to decide, I would just get rid of the thing. It's huge and it's black and while I've tried to reconcile myself to the television, I still think it's a noisy monster that doesn't really contribute much except noise pollution.

Maybe this is because television entered our lives pretty late. By the time we had tv in the mountains, I'd already read through my parents collection of fairytales, Bible Stories, Shakespeare, and C.S. Lewis along with a bunch of other true to life stories and Reader's Digest treasury books. Since Joel's birth, I've been trying to advocate a banishment of television and now that it's finally done, it's like being able to breath. Amazing!

Beautiful mornings waking up to the sound of Joel Jan reading from his Donald Duck comic collection...or afternoons when he reaches for a game (like the pocket money game, triominoes and chess). Yes, it's busier and much more intensive than turning on the television and sending your kid to some spaced out zone for a number of hours, but I think in the long run it allows for more creative and amazing interaction. As far as I'm concerned, the television can remain in exile until the kid reaches eighteen.

Thinking about this, I realize how easy it is to just let childhood slip away from us. I love how Jan comes home and finds himself engaged in conversation with his eldest or in some droolly brabble with his youngest son. I watch Joel with his brother and I think how precious it is to see how much Joel has grown beyond his initial jealousy and the struggle at having to share the attention. It's beautiful to watch him with his brother, and I thank God for giving us Samuel and for giving Samuel such a great older brother who doesn't hesitate to show his love and his affection.

Watching Joel Jan grow, I think of how true it is that our children absorb our values. Point of example:

A typical Dutch person who wants to get from Point A to Point B will time excursions so that in an X number of minutes whatever point of arrival or departure is achieved.

Joel, with his mix of Dutch and Filipino characteristics wants to get from Point A to Point B on time, but he will make allowances and if we are late for the bus or the train, it isn't such a huge problem because we can always wait for the next one. That means another 30 minutes to be sure, but it means we have more time to observe things around us.

Having absorbed some of this Dutch obsession with time, I've decided to leave the house at least 25 minutes ahead of whatever station we're headed for. This way, we can walk at a slower pace and chat while we walk.

I think of how the Dutch perception of holidays and vacations is so influenced by the idea of "getting away" that our staying at home doesn't seem like a real vacation to them at all. I have to smile thinking of the countless times I've had to explain that for a Filipino, just staying at home and having the luxury of not having to wake up at 6 in the morning is already a vacation. And isn't it a vacation when you aren't chasing after time but really just pacing and enjoying each moment that comes?

I honestly don't feel deprived by staying at home this entire summer vacation. Goodness knows, it's been busy enough with trips that have taken us to places in The Netherlands.

I so wish vacations could last forever...but I do know they have to end so we can appreciate them more next time they come around.

Remember the feeling you used to get when summer was coming to an end and you knew you had only a couple of days left to enjoy the freedom? I'm getting that feeling now... I so wish vacations could last as long as we wanted them to last.

Photos coming next time.

updates

2007-08-19T08:48:00.001-07:00

Samuel will soon be seven months old. Time flies, doesn't it? I think my body is starting to get back to normal and my energy and concentration level is improving. We're turning the house upside down...and oh so poetic to be minimizing and getting rid of unnecessary stuff. It reminds me of how writing involves getting rid of the unnecessary.

I am working on edits for pieces from my memoir which will be included in OMF Lit's upcoming book. I'm quite excited and a bit nervous too. I hope I'll be able to do a good job of rewriting and that this book will make a connection with readers both at home and abroad.

This week's mail brought me a lovely acceptance from Corey and Rachael of The Orange Room Review. For family back home, the poem they've accepted was inspired by memories of Uncle Estol and those nights we spent in Mayon Street. I could write tons about that apartment. So much nostalgia in those memories. It doesn't take much effort to remember the sound of jeepneys and buses outside, the black dust that stuck to our noses when we peered through the window screen, the heat at night, and the mystery of the work/sleep place where Uncles retreated to.

So many memories of Mayon. Uncle Lix's volkswagon and the endless refurbishments and repairs it underwent. Memories of Mayon are also coupled with memories of Uncle Haniel and his great booming voice. Ha, ha. Uncle Haniel with his great big bulk of a belly and his goatee that made him look so severe and so very, very impressive. My mother says: But he had a good heart.

Funny how the heart insists on missing these things that remind us of home.

Spot the Difference

2007-08-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Who does your child look like? It's a favorite game played all over the world, I think. Looking through old photos I came across these and thought I'd post them along with some new photos of my boys...who looks like whom?

Sisters

Me and my Lola

I suppose this explains why I love cake...

Because one can never start early enough

The Brothers

The Grandparents

An Interview with Mary E. DeMuth

2007-08-17T13:08:00.001-07:00

In connection with the Authentic Parenting Blogtour, I thought it would be fun to try something I've never done before. I emailed Mary and asked if she'd be willing to do a live interview with me, and she said yes. I then recorded the interview and my wonderful husband agreed to do a great deal of the technical work involved in editing the recorded file. The results are available as downloable mp3 files (quite short about 1 to 2 minutes for every file) and you can access them by clicking on the links.

Here is an Interview with Mary E. DeMuth:

Mary talks about her motivation in writing Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture

Mary talks about the challenge of writing the book

What role real life experience had in the writing of this book

Mary addresses misconceptions about her book

Closing words

Listen to Mary read a favorite passage from Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture

I hope you enjoyed listening to the interview. Do visit Mary's Blog at: http://relevantblog.blogspot.com/ where you can also purchase a copy of her book.

Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture

2007-08-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

I found Mary through a post by John Cooke on The Sword Review forum, and since then, I've followed her writing career with interest. I confess to having read a number of parenting books, and when I read about Mary's newest book, I found myself wondering what else there was to say about parenting that hadn't been already said.

In her introduction to Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, Mary writes:

...postmodernity radically affects the manner in which we parent. To prepare and engage our cildren in their postmodern world, we must embrace dialogue, community, the world. We must reorient ourselves beyond the four walls of our insulated homes. We must see our parenting as a kindred journey with our children, a coming alongside.

As I read through the chapters of this book, I found myself touched by this mom who shares her own fears, her hopes, her failures and her moments of vulnerability. I am reminded too of the strength of stories and how the sharing of life experiences can be life giving.

Later on this week, I'll be posting an mp3 interview I had with Mary. Be sure to keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, here's a list of blogs where you can find Mary's book this week:

A latte and some words
Chat 'n' Chew Cafe
~christa~
Experiencing the Journey
Fabric, Paper, Thread
Fictional Journey
Haruah - Breath of Heaven
I Wish You Enough
Leanna Ellis
lorrieorr.com
Margaret Daley
Partners in Prayer for our Prodigals
Robyn’s Ramblings
See Ya On the Net
Sometimes I Feel Like a Piece of Bologna
Sormag Online Tours
Spaghettipie
The Authentic You
The Spiritual Mom
Why Didn’t You Warn Me?
Write from my Heart

star showers and a blog tour

2007-08-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

It's almost two in the morning as I write this. Joel and I just came in from watching the skies and waiting for the Perseid Meteor Shower. We saw a number of meteors flash by...quick as an eyeblink. According to news reports the rain will be full blast between two a.m. and five in the morning, but we came in as it was getting quite fresh and it was pretty hard to ignore the yawns coming from my eldest son's direction.

Moments like these are so precious though. Here's a conversation and an overheard monologue:

Me: Keep your eyes on the sky and when you see a star, make a wish.

Joel: Can I make three wishes?

Me: Sure you can.

Joel: Okay... (whispery voice) I wish I could be a millionaire...oh wait...something better...I wish I could ... mumble, mumble...oh, that's impossible...then...I wish for a good life...yes, that's the wish...I wish to have a good life and to be able to buy another wagon for my train collection.

Listening to Joel's discussion with himself, and watching the night sky, I had to think of Mary De Muth, and the blog tour for Authentic Parenting in a Post Modern Culture, and how moments like these are priceless and worth more than anything money can buy. Mary speaks of authentic parenting from the standpoint of a parent who is just like us. I like how her openness and her honesty allow me room to admit I'm a parent in progress...a parent desiring to be the best parent I can be in the midst of a society whose culture doesn't resemble the culture I grew up in.

I'll be blogging about Mary, about Mary's book, and will be posting a live interview on this blog sometime this week. In the meantime, I'm heading out the door to watch for falling stars and make wishes for things both possible and impossible.

reader response

2007-08-06T03:04:00.000-07:00

I got this lovely email from my sister. I always like getting reader responses to my stories, and while I do inform my family whenever I have a story published, I don't often get a response and I'm never really sure if they've all gone and read it. Anyway, I thought I'd post here what my sister sent me. It was really nice to get this response to BITB, especially since it's a story close to my heart.

My sister writes:

I also reread your Boy in the Bush on the teenage website. It is a very powerful story.. Not only does it draw the reader in, it also underscores some of the problems minority groups have in the face of the dominant "majority." I must say that you have made yourself a masterpiece in this one.

Interestingly, reading your story reminds me of what Mr. Perry Hooge said during the Career Camp for the High School Graduates from SOT. In response to a question from the audience, he asked us, "How many races do you think God created? Was it one, five, ten or it doesn't matter?" After he took a poll, he then said that those of us who had chosen more than one had been brainwashed. The reason: In the Bible God created only one race: the human race. The reason why there are so many variations in color, features, characteristics, is because in one single gene, God has placed all the information that is needed to produce a person who is white, black, red, yellow, or brown. Dr. Delbert Hooge then added that if we say that there is more than one race, then we have to have a Saviour for each of the races. Jesus Christ's death would not be sufficient for all. This is something that I have did not think about. Personally, I also think that this is the reason why we have the problem of racial prejudice. We have failed to recognize that all of us have come from the race of Adam, and therefore all are equal. Someething to think about right?

This mail certainly gives me lots of things to think about. Thanks, sis, and thanks to TeenAge magazine for publishing this story.

thoughts

2007-08-06T02:49:00.000-07:00

These past two weeks have been pretty hectic with Jan and Joel both home. We've been out a lot, travelling all over on trains and busses. The train conductor actually recognized us : Hey, aren't you the family from yesterday?

Yesterday, we went to the beach at Noordwijk. It was one of the warmest days we've had so far, and everyone came up with the same idea to go to the beach. So, it was quite a tight sqeeze on the bus. Coming home, we had to fold Samuel's buggy and I had to get on the bus with Samuel in my arms. I thought I'd have to stay standing for the entire trip, but there was this really nice girl who stood up and offered me her seat. (Actually two people offered, one was an older woman and there was this girl who must have been about 18 years old). It was such a kind deed, that I wanted to say something like God bless you or Bless you, but I wasn't sure she'd be open to being blessed, so instead I blessed her silently and went and said thank you again when we got down at the Central Station.

Later, I found it worth remarking on that in a full bus the only ones to offer were women, whereas the men just sat there like lumps o'logs and looked straight ahead with this determined look that says: I don't see that Mother with her baby in her arms and if she loses her balance, that's her fault for squeezing on the bus.

I had to reflect on this culture that's so focused on the "me" aspect. Where I don't care what happens to my neighbour or to my fellowman as long as "I'm good" and "I've got my life together". It's such a selfish notion, and while Dutch folks are generally speaking quite generous when it comes to helping the poor and underprivileged, they can be pretty hard on each other. There's a shortage of lovingkindness in this culture -- I don't know if it has to do with all the freedoms folks are allowed, but I want my kids to grow up knowing that lovingkindness is a good thing and getting ahead isn't everything in life. I know it's got to begin with me, and I've started checking myself...have I shown someone some lovingkindness today?

Haruah's Fiction Contest

2007-07-23T00:55:00.000-07:00

Go here for the photo.

Haruah's second-annual contest is cranking up!This year we are limiting the contest to stories: anything from a 300-word flash to 5000-word short stories. The trigger this year will be a photo by Jan Cornelis Loenen titled "Meeting at Sunrise."

Use this photo as inspiration to let your imagination run wild. Be original, be interesting, just don't be boring or cliché. Dig out a story that not only gives us an engaging plot and attention-grabbing characters, but also subtly shows a truth through dealing with life's hardships and challenges.

Remember, we are a mainstream/literary magazine, not a speculative fiction magazine. You have from now until midnight, 8/31/07 to write and submit your story. They will be evaluated and the results posted shortly before 10/1/07. The winners will be highlighted in our October issue. The following will be awarded:

First place: - $45.00 and a contributor's print copy—The photo will accompany your story

Second place: - $35.00 and a contributor's print copy

Third place: - $25.00 and a contributor's print copy

2 Honorable mentions: - $10.00 and a contributor's print copy

To submit, access our Author/Artist tool and scroll until you see the announcement for the Haruah contest on the main page. Click the "Enter Haruah 2007 Fiction Contest" button and follow the instructions from there. Note: don't include your name or personal information in the submission as this will be an anonymously judged contest. Submissions should conform to our Submission Guidelines.

There is no entry fee for the contest. Your stories will be judged on the following:

How well the story relates to the photo trigger

How complete and believable the plot is

How well the characterizations were done

The quality of the writing prose

The overall impact of the story both to move and enlighten We look forward to reading the various interpretations of this photo.

Thanks for your participation.

Authentic Parenting Blog Tour

2007-07-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hectic days as we approach vacation time. Visiting Tina Howard's Blog, I realized this is the first week of Mary E. DeMuth's, Authentic Parenting blogtour. Mary is a fabulous christian writer. I like how she isn't so full of herself or so full of how perfectly believing and wonderfully holy she is. She's just like you and me, a person with flaws who is striving to become what the Master intended her to be.

I'll be hosting Mary on this blog on the fifth week of the tour. Have got it on my calendar that goes ping...also busy trying to master this techno stuff so I can do the recorded interview thing. That opens up a whole new world of possibilities as far as interviews go.

2007-07-17T01:10:00.001-07:00

Catching the rhythm of reading and writing, I thought I'd apply for membership to the litcritter's mailing list. I must confess to suffering from a disease called lurking, and the act of listening in on conversations is something I enjoy more than me doing the talking. Well, I do talk...but that's mostly when the "spirit" moves me.

Reading Dean's blog and his thoughts on Philippine Speculative Fiction, reminded me of a conversation I had with my writer aunt (Evelyn Miranda-Feliciano), where I defended my writing what my mom called "non-christian" themes. My point being this, that my not being preachy or moralistic doesn't mean I don't believe or I don't have faith. I write the best I can and strive to go beyond my best...isn't that already a sign of faith?

2007-07-17T01:06:00.000-07:00

Writer Interrupted:

That's the kind of life I've been living for the past week. Samuel started on solids this week, and we're trying to get him to drink from the bottle. Add to that this week is the last week before the summer break. It's been raining lots and doesn't feel or look like summer at all. I hope the weather cooperates and gives us some beach weather when hubby has his two week break.

We're planning a surprise for our train-loving son. We are going to take a two day trip to Keulen with the ICE train. It's a secret, but since he doesn't read this (he's seven and more interested in games) I can safely write about it here. I'm looking forward to it too, never having been in an ICE train. That will be an experience. Also looking forward to Keulen.

I do love to travel. I want to go back to Paris again...maybe next year. Last time we were in Paris, someone told us it's not a good idea to visit Paris in the summer months. So, I'm shooting for sometime in October next year. Joel wants to climb the Eiffel Tower again, and he still talks about how we went up to the top of Montparnasse and looked out over the entire city. I'll never forget the look of awe on his face, and these words:

Mommy, my dream of becoming a giant has finally come true.

He was so enchanted by Paris, and we hadn't seen everything yet. So, we will definitely revisit Paris someday. With all this travelling, I suppose it isn't a surprise that he's got this desire to become an adventurer someday. But I think he's got the temperament for it. He's a child of wonder.

I planned to do the flash challenge on LH, but failed again. Baby duties. Someday, I'll get my old rhythm back.These days, taking inspiration from Dean Alfar, I do my writing guerrilla style.
What I find interesting is how it's possible for me now to slip into the zone where I left the story yesterday. Currently working on a story called Cordoba's End which I've been adding a couple of hundred words per day to. I've divided it into mini-chapters between the four main characters who are appearing in this story....and I've even roughed out how I envision the story ending.

Reading through my files, I find it interesting to note that most of my stories aren't happily ever after stories....also have got a lot of open-endings. I wonder whether it's got anything to do with my frame of mind, or if it's got something to do with me knowing that beyond the fairytale happily ever after isn't something that just happens.

blogging at eleven p.m.

2007-06-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

Put the baby to bed at 9 p.m. so I could catch up on my reading, writing and do some blogging.

This Writing Life

Looking back, I have to laugh when I think about how I never excelled at essay writing. During elementary and high school, my essays came back with bold red marks telling me my margins weren't aligned. I thank God for the advent of computers. At least I don't have to fold the sides of my bond paper when I want the margins to align properly. Hallelujah for work that's automatically centered/marginated/left or right justified.

I still haven't got the slightest idea how folks manage to create headers with their names and respective page numbers on them. This is something I still do manually (because I am so lowtech and don't know where under help topics I can find this information). This also probably explains the notes I received from Ideomancer, way back when I was still submitting like crazy, telling me that I had formatting issues. I never understood what they meant, since my computer always told me my ms was properly configurated. So if someone can tell me how that almost invisible header thing works, I will be eternally grateful as I have decided I should really start thinking of sending out work again.

I sometimes wonder what it is with us writers and publication. I mean, here we write to the best of our ability, stretching our minds to the limit and then *boom*..."sorry this isn't for us" arrives. We must be masochists of a very special kind.

But when we get telephone calls from editors who have paid long distance fees in order to tell us that our work is being published and we are getting creditted as co-author of a book that's going to be sold in local bookstores where people who were our classmates in elementary, highschool and college will see it, well...I suppose that nullifies all the red marks telling me my margins are not properly aligned.

I hope my former english writing teacher gets to see that book. I really do.

Boy in the Bush, illustrated

2007-06-12T01:03:00.000-07:00

The talented Kevin Shaw has created an illustration for Boy in the Bush. You can see it here.

specfic writer hay(na)ku

2007-06-11T04:29:00.000-07:00

Found this while doing the file reorganization thing.

A week in the life of a specfic writer
by chie

monday
belongs to
scarlet dragons--flying

tuesday
to a
mysterious blue goddess

wednesday
to voyagers
from distant stars

thursday
to chocolate
covered hazelnut bars

friday
to misadventures
on unfamiliar shores

saturday
to tyrants
and willing slaves

sunday
rotates back
to monday’s madness.

Genoeg Getreuzeld

2007-06-10T01:13:00.001-07:00

In other words, enough of this dilly-dallying.

Late News:

The hay(na)ku continues to find a welcome at Dragons, Knights and Angels Magazine. My fellow Editor, Rick Copple, has been bitten by the hay(na)ku bug and has successfully placed some hay(na)ku poems with DKA. His hay(na)ku poem, Black Hole Relationships, won honorable mention during DKA's 2006 poetry competition. Yes, I'm blogging about it a bit late, but I have my excuses. In December, my mind was occuppied by things other than blogging or writing or going on the net. Rick's Science Fiction hay(na)ku, The Path of Least Resistance, was published in August last year. Danged, but I am so behind on stuff. Anyway, I thought I'd raise my glass (of water) and toast to Rick.

Haruah update:

I think Haruah is a definite "she". Her development has been a bit slow, and it's difficult to find good literary pieces that adhere to the guidelines. Could it be the name of the mag? We get loads of outright preachy pieces, when the vision of Haruah is to publish good literature and not to convert folks.

Writing News:

So, I thought it was time to stop dilly-dallying. Adopting Dean Alfar's guerilla writing method, I've managed to do some sorting and have figured out what stories still need working on, what needs to be rewritten/sent out/fine-tuned.

Working on Little Goddess, I decided to trash almost all of it except the opening and went for wacky instead of serious. He, he. So, I have a furious goddess Momma wreaking havoc on shell worlds, while little goddess takes on a literal meaning in addition to the figurative one. We'll see what happens to this tale, and whether I manage to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. *happily wrings hands together*

I've completed work on Remembrance of Griefs and Losses, my tribute to my neighbour and am now working on a Dutch translation for the family. My deep thanks to Bec for reading the piece and for her feedback.

And finally, a post about a poem I'd forgotten all about. Between Kisses (Sam's Dot Publishing) has accepted my hay(na)ku poem, How to Prepare a Head, for publication. Yayness!

Blogging is also a form of dilly-dallying. Genoeg getreuzeld! I'll be back another day.

In between...

2007-06-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

In between this posting and the April post:

--I celebrated my birthday
--we celebrated Samuel's Dedication
--Samuel turned four months
--My parents returned to the Philippines

Having my parents here was such a treasure. It was as if time stood still and I was back home again.

There are dreams that seem so real, you think you can just reach out and touch them...you want to keep on dreaming forever because that's happiness right there in that dreaming...

I have those dreams. I dream I am sitting down with my dear ones, I dream of dinners filled with chatter and laughter, I dream the bright sunlight, and the light radiating from faces so dear as we sit and talk and talk and laugh and remember all the good old days.

I think I just have to reach out a hand to touch the hand of the one next to me, and I wake up in the darkness of a Dutch dawn...and realize I'm not home but here, and while I am happy here, there is a part of me that thinks I'm dreaming this and if I just close my eyes tight enough, I'll open them and find myself waking up to the sunlight streaming in through the pale pink curtains of the room I shared with my sister...

But there's no going back, and I have to say how I would not exchange the reality of these:

--Joel Jan
--Samuel
--Jan
--family and friends I've found in this cold "kikker" land

But still, I miss...and we all miss:

--chess games with Lolo
--Lola singing to Sam
--Lola playing the piano
--football with Lolo
--stories exchanged during extended meals
--together time in the evening
--and all that...all the things that made us live inside the dream for the space of almost four months

We all live towards that moment of the next meeting...

Boy in the Bush

2007-06-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Boy in the Bush is now in print at TeenAge Magazine. TeenAge is DEP's newest publication and the editorial staff is comprised of teenage readers and writers. I'm quite curious as to the direction TeenAge will take. Considering their first offerings, it promises to provide an interesting mix of literary work as well as work geared towards the teenage reader.

Boy in the Bush was inspired by the true story of a boy I once met. Rereading the story, I find myself thinking of all the children who are victims of civil war and armed conflict. This story takes place in a mythic village, on a mythic mountain, but it is true in many aspects. So many young lives fail to reach their promise because of war, because of strife, because of violence.

I still have to catch up on a lot of things, six more weeks of school, and I hope the computer cooperates and holds out till the end of school. So many stories that need polishing and rewriting, and I am so behind with criticquing and reviewing stuff at the Shop as well as at Liberty Hall.

2007-04-19T03:50:00.000-07:00

Too many long periods in between postings. Life is hectic and busy with a baby in the house.

Baby update: Samuel's started sleeping through the night, and my brain is recovering from sleep shortage. It's something to think of how much he's grown since he was born. Hard to believe he was an itsy-bitsy baby, when he's turned into a babbling, brabbling 14 pound baby.

Thinking about Poetry, and preparing to write about it. I don't know if it's ever possible to define what it is that makes a poem a poem and what makes a poet a poet. Some thoughts passing through...

Poetry and the definition thereof is an illusive thing. Some say a poet is someone who engages the act of writing poetry, and there are those who say a poet is not a poet unless called a poet by other poets.

But what is poetry and when do we say a poem is a poem?

Someone once said to me that a true poet is an artist who sees beyond the leaf. I remember puzzling over this sentence, and desiring to live up to the person’s view of me as being a poet and an artist.

In seeking to understand poetry, I see how poetry is an art form in the sense of how it continues to speak regardless of the passage of time.

Just as works of art are sculpted out of material such as clay, rock, marble or wood; just as paintings are produced by brush on canvas or some mixed media; so, poetry is a shaping of art out of the material of words.

But how do we produce this art? How do we give birth to works that will transcend space and time? How do we sculpt words so that they become lasting works that touch the human spirit?

A poet, whose work is an inspiration, speaks of poetry as being a way of life. This same description of poetry is also applied by the true musician to his music, and by the true artist to his art. Poetry that lasts (just like art and music) proceeds from life itself.

I'm still pondering these things and wondering too why it is that some interpret christian writing as being necessarily "christian", "godly", or "evangelical".

update

2007-04-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Yay! Blogger has let me back in . Blogger weirdness is one reason why I started an lj. But I do miss rambling on blogger. Perhaps it's the blog format, or the way the letters look when I'm typing.

So, while I was absent from blogger, Chickflicks has published "Falling in Love".

Some bug attacked Haruah, managing to erase everything backwards up to January--or was it early February? Drat! I've been soooo absent from the Net. Stuff has been retrieved and rebuilt, and Haruah is back online and accepting subs again, and lo and behold, we are now a paying market.

I've also volunteered myself to write an intermittent column about poetry (what else). I'm not a major poet, but I think I've read enough good poetry to know it when I see it. Also, I thought it would be a good idea to encourage readers to go out and explore, read more, venture out into the deep, dare to read the experimental as well as the known.

Said column will bear the title "In Pursuit of Poetry". Defining poetry is illusive (hence the"In pursuit" part), so I leave defining poetry to the experts and have decided to document what it is I've learned so far, and why certain works are poetry and why some are not.

Anyway, if blogger permits, I'll be using this blog as a sort of notebook on stuff I'm thinking about before it becomes all cohesive.

I'm on Live Journal

2007-03-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

Laban for the Lolas

2007-03-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Comfort Women House Resolution110 Signatures
Created by M. Evelina Galang on Mar 13, 2007
Category: Human Rights
Region: United States of America
Target: Everyone
Web-site: http://labanforthelolas.blogspot.com

Description/History:On March 2, 2007 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted, “There is no evidence to prove there was coercion, nothing to support it (the coercion of WWII military sex slaves).” We ask Congress to urge Prime Minister Abe to look at the evidence, to see the coercion, to apologize and give appropriate reparations. The women are waiting.Please See http://www.justiceforcomfortwomen.org/?pg=home or visit labanforthelolas.blogspot.com.Petition:Speaker of the House Nancy PelosiH 232 Capitol Washington DC 20515-6501Dear Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,We the undersigned request you to support House Resolution 121-1H.

We urge you to bring the House Floor to a full vote.Historians and researchers in South Korea and Japan discovered several official war documents in the late 1980’s that established the existence and systematic abuse of WWII Comfort Women. They estimated 200, 000 young women were taken hostage by Japanese soldiers to serve as military sex slaves from all of South East Asia. After fifty years of silence, surviving Comfort Women have broken the culture of shame to document their experiences of systematic rape and sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army. Their demands are simple -- they would like a formal apology and reparations for the war crimes they suffered, crimes that continue to affect their aging bodies in physically, mentally and sexually abusive ways. The women make their demands in order to reclaim their dignity, and ensure the safety of their own daughters, granddaughters and now, great granddaughters. The surviving Comfort Women are mostly in their 80’s now. Many are dying. We urge Congress to act swiftly so that some may see justice before they pass away.

Sincerely,

(Go to http://www.gopetition.com/online/11466.html to sign)

2007-03-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

today

2007-03-02T02:27:00.000-08:00

An interesting press release

2007-03-02T00:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a book I'd like to read:

A LA CARTE FOOD AND FICTION BOOK LAUNCHED

A collection of short stories entitled A La Carte
Food & Fiction was launched last February 12, 2007 at
The Podium, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.
Sponsored by the National Bookstore at the Podium and
the book’s publisher Anvil, the event drew over a
hundred guests. The contributors who were present and
who participated in a reading of their stories were:
Dean Frances Alfar, Jose Dalisay, Jr., Margarita
Marfori, Corinna Arcellana Nuqui, Nadine Sarreal,
Janet Villa, and Marie Aubrey Villaceran. Cecilia
Manguerra Brainard, one of the editors of the book,
was also present.

A La Carte is a combination of 25 stories and recipes
that reveals Filipino culture in a unique way, with
each story introduced by a recipe. The book is like a
menu, with categories of Breads, Appetizers, Salads,
Soup, Rice, Main Dishes, and Dessert – with recipes
and stories falling under the appropriate sections.
collection of 25 short stories and accompanying
Filipino recipes.

The recipes included in the book are: Aragula in Blue
Cheese Sauce; Shrimps on Leeks; Tokwa’t Baboy; Banana
Turon; Pan de Sal; Ensaymada; Green Mango Relish;
Feta Cheese with Greens, Artichokes, and Crabfat;
Shanghai Fried Rice; Garlic Fried Rice; Pork Adobo;
Manok Inasal; Paella/Arroz; Kare-Kare; Lumpia, Laing,
Sinanglay na Karpa; Pork Sinigang; Filipino-Korean
Lumpia; Rellenong Bangus; Humba; Escabeche;
Binagoongang Baboy; Cascaron; and Halo-Halo.
The twenty-five Filipino contributors come from the
Philippines, America, the Philippines, Singapore,
Australia, France, and Germany. They are: Dean
Frances Alfar, Irwin Cabucos, Ian Rosales Casocot,
Shirley Mae Mamaril Choe, Carlos Cortes, Erma Cuizon,
Jose Dalisay, Jr., Susan Evangelista, Ma. Rowina
Gonzalez, Margarita Marfori, Reine Arcache Melvin,
Veronica Montes, Corinna Arcellana Nuqui, Oscar
Penaranda, Edgar Poma, Brian Ascalon Roley, Nadine
Sarreal, Joel Barraquiel Tan, Linda Ty-Casper, Marie
Aubrey Villaceran, Janet B. Villa, Edna Weisser, and
Alfred Yuson. Co-editors Cecilia Brainard and Marily
Orosa also have stories in the collection.
The editors of A La Carte are familiar figures in the
Philippine literary scene. Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
is the award-winning author and editor of over a dozen
books. Marily Orosa is president of Studio 5 one of
the leading graphic firms in the Philippines and
publisher of award-winning coffee table books.
Brainard and Orosa co-edited an earlier book entitled
Behind the Walls: Life of Convent Girls, published by
Anvil in 2004.

The stories in A La Carte are a mixed bag of joyful
stories as well as more somber ones; all of them
explore the dynamics of human relationships. Isagani
Cruz, of Philippine Star, writes: "Here is a book
guaranteed to satisfy even the most discriminating
taste, but also to make readers hungry for more
stories, characters, insights, and recipes. Fact,
fiction, fantasy, and food mix in a feast for the
mind, the heart, the palate, and the soul. There are
many well-known writers in the anthology, but it is
not so much who writes as what is written that makes
this book a must-read, just as it is not so much the
chef or the cook that makes a recipe to die for, but
the dish itself. Enjoy the 25-course banquet."
Culinary heritage advocate and writer, Felice Prudente
Sta. Maria writes, "A menu of stories to suit your
every craving! That’s A la Carte: Food & Fiction. This
book fills a hunger in Philippine literature for
fantasy, hyper-reality, romance, mystery … but with a
good measure of culinary flavoring mixed in."
The book, A La Carte Food & Fiction, is available in
the Philippines from Anvil (http://www.anvilpublishing.com)
and National Bookstores. In the U.S. it is available
from PALH (http://www.palhbooks.com).

##################

Another bit of news I'm happy to read about:

Salamanca, by Dean Francis Alfar is now available from Amazon.com

I did an interview with Dean Alfar while I was in the Philippines and I wrote a column on that interview which was published on The Sword Review.

Writing updates

2007-02-28T03:04:00.000-08:00

Sifting through my mailbox this morning, I found the following emails:

From Laurie O'Hare, Editor of Chickflicks Ezine .

Thank you for your submission. We enjoyed the creative prose of your nonfiction piece. We have accepted it for the upcoming issue.

This is about my non-fiction piece entitled "Falling in Love". Yayness and a big smile from over here.

The Skin Byteback book is out too. You can download it for free from Route Online or buy a hard copy of the byteback. I have a story in this book entitled, "My Skin, Us". Enjoy.

Here's the blurb:

Skin - Editor Crista Ermiya A mixture of fiction and non-fiction stories are to be found in this new byteback book edited by Crista Ermiya on the theme of skin. In her introduction Crista describes skin as 'a border frontier, the porous barrier between what's on the outside and the inside; appearance and reality.'

And on the fictional side of things, I got this email from Dark Energy SF editor, Jerry Davis

Just a quick note to let you know your story has passed the first round of readings and is in the final selection stage. 99% of the stories we receive don't make it this far, so even if we decide against it at this point, please consider this a compliment.

I'm quite pleased about this, and hope I'll have more opportunity to write and submit work soon.

In the meantime, my Being and Becoming column is up on, Haruah

And an Interview with Marshall Payne has been published at: The Sword Review .

I'm still grinning from ear to ear about the Chickflicks acceptance. Thanks to Laurie O'Hare and Stacy Taylor.

2007-02-26T03:55:00.000-08:00

This came in the mail for our Samuel. With this posting, we're saying thanks to dear friends and loved ones for the lovely cards, and presents we've been receiving in the mail.

Samuel at one month.

Samuel in the tummytub.

Samuel -- second week at home

Proud Older Brother poses with his little brother for the birth announcement.

Home from the hospital. We discovered our house had been decorated with banners welcoming Samuel home.

Updating this blog

2007-02-26T01:47:00.000-08:00

So much has happened in the past month, and it's taken me time to think of writing in this blog again.

As I've written here, Joy and Sorrow live close to each other in my heart. Samuel's birth was such a joy. He is a wonderful miracle of life, a testimony of God's goodness and grace.

Jessica's passing leaves behind a great gap only time will be able to fill. Looking at her photograph, I think that as long as we remember all the good and beautiful and joyful things about her, as long as we hold on to the memory of all that made her the Jessica we loved, she will continue to be with us.

I think of the Filipino tradition of bringing food for the dead, and I think it is not a bad tradition. In many ways, this comforts us --the living. We remember our dead and we keep them alive and keep ourselves connected to them through the traditions that keep the fire of their memory alive.

Jessica

2007-02-26T01:38:00.000-08:00

Joy and Sorrow live side by side.

Saturday, 17 February 2007. Jessica , my neighbour, died. She was only a few days younger than me.

I remember Jessica standing in the hallway on the day after I arrived in The Netherlands. She brought me a pot of yellow chrysanthemums and welcomed me to Holland. She was a good neighbour and a good friend and we all will miss her.

She would have loved Samuel, but it comforts me to think that she sees him now from her heaven.

God in his heaven keep you in peace, dear Jessica.

The day after Samuel was born

2007-02-26T01:25:00.000-08:00

Joel Jan greets his baby brother with pride. When he saw Samuel for the first time, he said:

"Is that our baby?"

When I said yes, he said:

"Oh Mama, thank you for giving me a baby brother."

It's been a month since Samuel was born. A busy, hectic, emotion-packed month with very little time in between to update blogs and write. Samuel is a beautiful boy. Quite well-tempered and easy to care for. He still sleeps a lot, but his waking hours are increasing. Two days before he turned one month, he could already lift and turn his head when laid on his stomach. He loves music and will sleep even beyond his feeding hour if someone is playing the piano.

Our Samuel

2007-02-26T01:20:00.000-08:00

Here's our Samuel at two days old. It was a lovely winter day. Cold but not too chilly. The river outside had frozen over, but the sun was shining in through the hospital window.

Samuel Hendrik Loenen

born: 23 January 2007

weight: 2780 grams (about 5.5 pounds)

length: 48 centimeters

2007-01-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Baby in position...we are counting days now...anytime within the next two weeks...

And yay! I finally found the perfect card for announcing the birth of Joel's little brother or sister :) Very pleased, I am.

2007-01-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

Got this in my mailbox today. Congratulations, Luisa! Yay!

NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW

James Hearst Poetry Prize
429 Entrants - 1914 Poems

FIRST PLACE
Luisa A. Igloria - Norfolk, VA - "Venom"

SECOND PLACE
Gail Thomas - Florence, MA - "Learning to Walk Again"

THIRD PLACE
Marianne Patty - Dunwoody, GA - "The Only Mermaid on the Moon"

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Kelli Russell Agodon - Kingston, WA - "If You Awake After I've Gone"
Daniel Lusk - Jonesville, VT - "Sabbath Fool"

FINALISTS
Robert Abbate - Concord, NC - "Tishbite Pottery Fragments"
Susan Elbe - Madison, WI - "Some Music"
Rebecca Foust - Ross, CA - "Strip Mine"
Jessica Garratt - Columbia, MD - "Woman Drives Past, Crying"
Paula Goldman - Shorewood, WI - "If Dickinson Had a Husband and Wrote Villanelles"
Cristine A. Gruber - Riverside, CA - "When the Time Comes, I Wish to Die in June"
Terry Hertzler - San Diego, CA - "Not Quite Déjà Vu"
Michael Kriesel - Aniwa, WI - "Zen Amen"
Melody Lacina - Berkeley, CA - "Copy Editing the Catalogue Raisonne of George Inness"
Karen Lieneke - Tucson, AZ - "The Memory of Water"
Mark Minster - Terre Haute, IN - "Krasnyi Ugol (The Beautiful Corner)"
Erin Murphy - Hollidaysburg, PA - "City Birds Are Losing Their Songs"
Sean Nevin - Tempe, AZ - "The Black Carpenter Bee"
Robert Peake - Ojai, CA - "Radish"
Jane B. Rawlings - Bernardsville, NJ - "Dawn, Leaving Venice"
Faith Shearin - Baltimore, MD - "Smoke"
Tana Jean Welch - Tallahassee, FL - "Locusts Are Swarming"

First place wins $1000, second place $100, and third place $50. Winners and finalists will be published in the North American Review's annual "National Poetry Month" March-April issue. Copies may be ordered by e-mail at or by FAX at (319) 273-4326. Since the prize entry fee paid for a subscription, entrants will receive this Hearst Prize issue automatically.

Judge TED KOOSER is a poet and essayist, a professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and most recently, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. His writing is known for its clarity, precision and accessibility. He worked for many years in the life insurance business, retiring in 1999 as a vice president. He and his wife Kathleen Rutledge, editor of The Lincoln Journal Star, live on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska. He has a son, Jeff, and a granddaughter, Margaret. His most recent books are Flying at Night (poems) and The Poetry Home Repair Manual (a guidebook for poets).

A renowned "farmer poet," JAMES HEARST was an NAR contributing editor and poetry professor at the University of Northern Iowa. He published many poems, stories, articles, and books before his death in 1983. His twelve poetry collections include Country Men (1937), The Sun at Noon (1943), Man and His Field (1951), Limited View (1962), Snake in the Strawberries (1979), and the posthumously published Selected Poems (1994). Hearst's definitive collection, The Complete Poetry of James Hearst, was published by the University of Iowa Press in 2001.

2007-01-12T05:14:00.000-08:00

Read Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor's, Mail Order Bride . Now up on Haruah.

waiting

2007-01-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

waiting...

tomorrow or

the day after...

pain is

part and parcel of

carrying life

birthing life

tending life

i am still waiting.

##

2007-01-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting article.

http://bostonreview.net/BR25.6/hynes.html

Exciting New Year

2007-01-08T03:55:00.000-08:00

Yippee! The computer has finally been moved back downstairs! Now, I can catch up on emails, on writing, and on a whole lot of stuff I've missed out on while the computer was up in the attic :) I am doing a happy dance.

The baby room is almost ready :) We have a new closet for our clothes...and while it's not half so luxurious as a walk-in closet, it's almost there. Jan spent all weekend putting the closet together. We love IKEA! We love their PAX wardrobe system.

Now, our bedroom is taking on a look that says, this room is also inhabited by a woman. I am very pleased about that. Pleased too that we took our time with deciding how to change things and pleased about taking the time to think over details before changing things around. I definitely am liking our bedroom's new look, and I won't mind being stuck up there for two weeks after birth.

Waiting around for that baby to come. My belly is bigger than a basketball, and it takes on odd proportions at certain times of day. Also when the baby kicks, you can see where it is kicking.

Walking is hard work. It's puff-puff-puff work. But the miraculous thing is how biking still goes pretty smoothly. So, I took Joel to school today, inspite of the rain.

I was thinking up all sorts of wise and witty things to post here, but it must be part of expectancy...all those wise and witty things just flew out the window. I'll probably have to get myself a butterfly net one of these days, a very fine one that will catch all those thoughts before they fly away.

Christmas and all that...

2006-12-22T06:16:00.000-08:00

Two rejections in my mailbox. Quite pleased about them too. I've been sending off regular subs to Glimmer Train (yes that's called being stubborn) and for the first time I got something back that was more than your automatic response saying "sorry we can't use your story at this time". Yes, I'm grinning ear to ear, and loving it.

After biting my nails for several weeks, I finally got back a response from Clarkesworld Magazine. After reading Orson Scott Card's, How to Write Fantasy and Science Fiction, I understood why the editor writes about the story not being magical enough, or if it was intended to be magical, it didn't come across as magical enough but more of something that took place inside the psyche of the main character. Overall, I thought it was quite a good rejection, listing the positive point of the story which was that it works as is, and telling me why the story wouldn't work for the publication ( too sentimental and not magical enough ). So, I'm going to do a rewrite of that one and try sending it off to Glimmer Train. In other words, I will try to make this story more mainstream as it seems to work as a mainstream story. I can't wait till January.

Finally got around to subbing another column to the list. I have been so tardy with writing, but the computer is up in the attic and for me to get up here is pretty much like the little train who tries to puff up a giant hill. Well, I did make it up here and am making time to catch up on lots of stuff which have been gathering dust in the meantime.

And I finally got my contract from Route They want to pay me thirty pounds for my story, My Skin, Us. Yay! I've printed out the contracts and will mail them off later today.

Philippine Speculative Fiction volume two has been launched. Sad to say I wasn't able to make it to the launching. Ah, it's one of those times when the distance really pinches. I am looking forward to reading all the stories in this volume.

Needless to say, it's this book that finally convince my Mom that I am a writer, and she's thinking about writing her own memoirs to pass on to her grandchildren. Yes! I am so pleased about her deciding to do that. I've been pleading with members of my family to please write about what they remember. It has to do with this inner desire I have to be able to pass on this sense of roots to my own kids when they grow up. There is so much to tell and so much to share and my memories seem so meager.

I suppose I'm feeling this more now that I'm going to have my second child. Getting bigger and bigger, and according to the doctor the baby might just arrive a few weeks earlier than expected. We are in a feverish rush to lay down new floorings in our bedroom, and to prepare a place for the baby.

Seeing it's the christmas season, my husband made a joke about if the baby gets born on Christmas Eve, we could also just re-enact the manger scene . Ha, ha.

I've missed blogging and forum surfing, but time seems to be running away from me these days. Merry Christmas everyone and if I don't get to blog before the year ends, here's me wishing everyone a wonderful New Year filled with lots of blessings and prosperous writing.

30,101

2006-11-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

Not a bad number to stop at. I´m off to bed. My butt hurts, my tummy aches, and I feel very, very sleepy.

This was nanowrimo 2007. But at least, I now know where the story starts and who the major characters are really going to be. Amazing how stories change as you write them. Didn´t get to 50,000 this time, but I think this is less of a sucky story than the one I wrote last year :)

2006-11-28T03:02:00.000-08:00

Delayed news relays (which is what happens when a person is off the net for sometime):

Inside the Writing Mind features an article on Dean Alfar and Philippine Speculative Fiction

Also got this email from Dean Alfar telling me that Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 2 will be launched on December 10, 2006 at 3:00 P.M. Venue: The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at the Promenade in Green Hills, San Juan.

My bro says he's going to be there. Don't I wish I could be there. I wish I could be there...but darned...I'm too big to get onto a plane right now. I doubt any airlines would let me fly. Not when I'm a couple of weeks away from popping.

I have over 400 emails to go through as a result of me not checking my computer since the last time I logged on here for how many days...

Waiting for results of my latest batch of submissions. I suppose that will take a while as most of them take a couple of months to respond. I-Walk is still percolating inside my head, and I'm taking a fresh new look at several stories that need to be sent out.

Purchased this week: Orson Scott Card's, How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. A good read. A great book to keep on hand and go back to every now and then. It's going right up there beside Anne Lammott's, Bird by Bird and William Zinsser's, On Writing Well, and of course not to forget, The Elements of Style, and The New York Times Handbook of Style.

Sneaking a look at Dean's list of author's to read, I got myself a copy of Kelly Link's, Magic for Beginners. A great, fun read. I bet Kelly Link had fun writing those stories.

Looking into the possibilities of getting a laptop. I realize now that I won't be able to survive those weeks when I can't climb up to the attic and write.

Turns out, laptops have been going down in price. Another attractive option is renovating our bedroom so that I can put this computer in there. Good idea to get baby used to the sound of keys tap-tap-tapping away.

Yes, dear child, Mommy can't be happy without writing. Better to live with the tap-tapping sound than to live with a Mom who snarls your head off because she hasn't written her 2000 word fix today.

Nano -- nono

2006-11-28T00:40:00.000-08:00

Well, everything's conspired to keep me from finishing Nanowrimo this year. Only two more days to go and I still have more than 25,000 words left to write before its finished.

Still, I think I'll finish this cat populated tale. It's quite fun and I've enjoyed the writing. Mommyness, fatigue, my pelvic bones, and moving the computers as well as our collection of books have kept me from writing these past days...how many days? I think it must have been more than a week.

I'm realizing now that it is true what folks say about dragging inspiration into the room by the roots of her hair does work. It works because I've had to drag myself out of the dips and have had to find the energy to climb up the stairs to the attic where our computer is housed.

Writing about 2000 words a day does get those mental juices flowing. I'm trying to figure out something for Rick's poetry challenge. Something about Inspiration...to which I have these lines:

At other times
She is a fleeing naiad
Hiding behind trees
Shorn bare of leaves

Elusive
As a fawn
Trapped in mid-flight
At early morn

I'm not so sure yet if it works the way I want it to work. Darn, but this is hard. My brain is all preoccuppied with this baby kicking inside my belly and the due date coming up in a little bit over nine weeks.

At 23,320 words on my nano project. I hope I do finish it before the baby is born.

Here's something I found really inspiring on literary mama. If I can just get that draft finished before the baby is born, I'm sure I'll be able to do something about it. Surely there must be someplace I can sent some cat fiction to .

music, babies, reading, and the nano project

2006-11-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Kristina Seleshanko, for confirming that singing is good for pregnant women and their babies :) I have three groups of singing classes and I am 27 weeks pregnant.

This article on pregnancy and music also makes a great read. I should have read this when I was pregnant with Joel. I remember Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin and Schubert were daily fare for Joel in the womb. Perhaps this explains his somewhat temperamental nature? Perhaps this explains his love for drama? Perhaps this explains the surprising bouts of poetry? All that romantic music must manifest its influence somehow.

Anyway, I've unearthed Mozart, Bach, and Haydn for this baby. My teacher used to say Bach is the music of logic. According to her, lovers of Bach are logical, orderly, and mathematical. Hmmmm...

So, I'm saying hello again to those sonatas, to preludes and fugues and the three and two part inventions. I'd quite forgotten how difficult the classical era can be. Needless to say, after years of not playing them, even the two and three part inventions are proving to be a bit of a challenge. Oh drat, but I used to play that piece just like that ( that's what I keep telling myself ). I should be able to play them again with a bit of practice, shouldn't I? Lesson learned, if you've practiced something for eight hours a day until you've got it right, make sure not to stick the piece at the back of your cupboard.

I'm wondering if the click-clack of my keyboard will also qualify as soothing music for the baby, and if the nightly reading aloud to Joel from The Chronicles of Narnia means the baby will fall asleep when I read passages from The Voyage of the Dawn Trader?

Perhaps this means, I should stop reading the wacky bits of my nano project out loud. I might find myself with a kitty baby.

Talking about kitty babies. King Rat's minions are preparing for a takeover of Overworld Amsterdam. Kitty boys, kitty girls, the tabbies and the dogs, and that one precocious hamster are going to have their hands full. Needless to say, it's time for the great Tom to come back from the dead.

But before all of these can happen, I've got to rescue one of my kitty children from the dumps. Pushing on 10,000 words. The project still sounds fun inside my head. I'm taking Dean Alfar's advice to heart, stopping when I've reached my quota because hubby and family are still number one on the priority. I need those reminders, I really do.

Otoliths

2006-11-07T01:07:00.000-08:00

I thought I could resist, but I couldn't. What is it about poetry that pulls and tugs at the heart? There's something so shivery about the way poets write.

Jump over to Otoliths. Enjoy the feast :)

remember to enjoy yourself

2006-11-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is my motto for Nanowrimo. I'm ending tonight at 8,101 words. It's fun populating Amsterdam with a treacherous army of rats and a serpent with an agenda of her own. The thing here is to relax those uptight brain muscles and enjoy the ride. I'll find out later if I've written anything salvageable here.

update on joel's blog

2006-11-06T02:37:00.000-08:00

Joel's latest story is up on his blog at http://mooie-woorden.blogspot.com

Enjoy the read.

minor things

2006-11-06T02:16:00.000-08:00

Nanowrimo. My Nanowrimo project is running away from me. These kids are developing lives of their own, and turning into kitties. As for the hamster, it talks. Hmmm...okay. Strange things are going on in Amsterdam town, and I wish I could take the train and walk through Amsterdam again, just to soak up the atmosphere. Did I mention how much I enjoy visiting Amsterdam?

But my darned pelvic bones are getting in the way of walking comfortably. I have entered the waddling duckling stage, and would love nothing more than to spend the entire day in bed, sleeping and reading and sleeping again.

God bless my hubby who's managed to clear up the attic, and soon, very soon, we're moving our little library up there. Clearing up stuff, looking through catalogues and wishing I knew for sure if the baby is a girl or a boy. It would make buying baby clothes lots easier. Creams and whites for the meantime, and I make notes like mad about shops were I saw the cutest little things for babies. Of course, they don't stay small forever. After the first week, they sort of expand and before you know it, the smallest sizes can be kept away.

Baby was acting like a drummer inside my belly last night though, and I have been having the weirdest dreams, which probably have to do with me being pregnant and a bit anxious maybe.

I'm procrastinating again. I should go back to doing what needs to be done.

Nine Children, Three Cats, Two Dogs and One Precocious Hamster

2006-10-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't been updating this blog, haven't been online much, and Nanowrimo has come up without me being aware of where the days have gone to. Nanowrimo starts tomorrow and even though I'm not sure if I'll make it to the 50,000 mark before the end of November, I couldn't help signing up.

Mommyness!

My list of things to do has grown in leaps in bounds. From creating more attic space, finding someone to help me rescue the garden from giant weeds, throwing birthday parties for one seven-year-old, and trying to catch up with reviews, I'd quite forgotten about Nanowrimo. But okay, instead of writing this really serious novel which I've been trying to catch hold of since last year, I decided to write this wacky, crazy mix-up thing entitled: Nine Children, Three Cats, Two Dogs and One Precocious Hamster.

Why?

Because...for some strange reason, the weird, off-kilter things inside my head seem to work lots better than when I am seriously trying to write something.

Darn. I am so jealous of people who neatly outline everything they write. My brain seems to be just one chaotic mess that cannot outline. Maybe because I never learned to do it? I really don't know. The Precocious Hamster is certainly in for a gigantic adventure, and I'm just going along for the ride. I'm glad I am not a hamster.

Baby Things

2006-10-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

I confess to just dashing off the last words on I-Walk and posting it to the shop. Six thousand and something hundred words and I don't have the energy to go back and edit it before posting. I'm quite curious about the feedback this time. I hope I get some really crunchy, solid feedback. Like, I have been trying to discover some facts about the soul ( weight, mass, energy levels ) but all I get on google are pages of theological stuff. Heh. Of course, the soul thing is theological, but I remember reading a couple of months back that scientists did discover that the soul weighs something. Brain on a bad run and I can't seem to locate that issue of Scientific American. Drat!

So, to cheer myself up, I took out some of the lovely little gifts we've gotten for the new addition to our family. The baby isn't born yet and everyone's determined it's going to be a girl. Here's a photo I made of the little baby things :)

I am so looking forward to Autumn Break when I can go shopping for baby things and not worry about getting back home before Joel gets out of school.

Coming soon, my list of things to buy ;)

What pregnant women do to stimulate their brains...

2006-10-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

It's quite easy to connect a camera to the computer and transfer photographs taken. I confess that I've just been lazy. However, my desire to share some scrumptious reading has gotten me off my butt long enough to connect the cable from the camera to the computer.

One reason why I decided to buy Mark #4 is this awesome quote by Andreas Angelikadas:

"Cities are always big, but a world can exist inside your closet." (Andreas Angelikadas, Mark #4)

After reading that quote, my buying this book was a done thing. Plus, of course, it's in English, which makes it easy reading. Lots of food for thought in this volume, plus there's this report entitled: "Living Dangerously", which features challenging houses in Japan, designed by the poets Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins.

Just looking at the drawings is enough to make my brain water. There's enough food for thought in there to feed an entire generation of stories built on another planet.

Certainly, our trip to the Home and Lifestyle fair in Amsterdam RAI, was well worth it.

Another really great mag ( which we got for free ) was Eigen Huis & Interior. A really posh, design magazine which features the latest wannahaves. I'm not mad enough to go out and buy thousand euro shoes, but the pictures in this mag are really stunning, and I find myself trying to imagine what a design mag would look like some hundred years from now. Considering how everything goes around in circles, and even fashion is recyclable.

Reading these mags has helped me solve one of the major dilemmas I've encountered in I-Walk. It also brought this moment of epiphany between two of my major characters:

“Their family signs a release form,” Matanya had replied. “Earth is in need of alternative energy sources, what’s the point of wasting all those souls when we can harness them and put them to good use?”

“The ultimate recycling job,” Sue commented dryly.

Matanya laughed.

“It's what we’re good at.”

“Long live Dutch thriftiness,” Sue said.

He, he. And I'm not even done yet. But the story is definitely set in Holland sometime in an improbable future.

There's this page on Eigen Huis that I couldn't resist taking a picture of and posting on here. The lights blurred the text somewhat, but it's a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson that goes: "Wine is bottled poetry."

Take an eyeful of that designer wine rack. It certainly looks poetic with all those graceful wavy lines.

columns up

2006-10-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on Christ's Compassion for the Needy now up on Haruah.

Interview with Allan Gilbreath on The Sword Review.

Baby Fever

2006-10-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

And so this blog sidetracks into Baby Fever as we prepare for the arrival of our new family member. All the things I wish I'd done before I was pregnant are coming out of the woodwork. Like how we should have moved the furniture around before I got pregnant. Uh-huh. Part of living in NL is being able to do everything yourself. For instance, when we moved this huge display case in our living room, I did that together with Jan. Yep. Feel those upper arms. That's not fat...those are muscles with a capital M.

But now that I'm pregnant, moving stuff is out of the question.

In the meantime, there's tons of stuff to be sorted in the attic. Don't even try to guess how many bags of useless stored stuff we tossed into the gray container. Dutch people are so "zuinig" (thrifty). I had a great laugh looking through the clothes my husband had kept in storage from way long ago in his bachelor days. We had to toss out a great deal of shirts which had turned yellow over time. I did let Jan keep a couple of shirts from his Delta Flying days. Well, I could sense the nostalgia there. And I think it's good to keep a souvenir or two, but good grief...and entire bag of shirts is beyond the question.

Sorting stuff up in the attic is a bit of a nightmare job. Most of it is Jan's stuff. Thank goodness I'm nearly done with sorting out our clothing and packing them into boxes. Another sentimental moment was looking through this box where I'd stored a lot of baby things. Thankfully all still in good shape, and inspite of that box being raided a couple of times by other pregnant ladies ( I thought I'd never have a second child ) it surprised me to discover we still had a whole lot of baby clothes we could put to good use...socks and little shoes...and that lovely knitted sweater my aunt made for Joel.

ME: Was he ever this small?

Afterwards, I ended up having to box up my winter sweaters, as my belly has become too big to squeeze into them. I'll probably go through that box again once the baby arrives.

In the meantime, we feel so very blessed to be receiving all sorts of lovely goodwill blessings. For instance, we're inheriting a baby bed and a changing station for the baby. We've already got a tummy tub in the house, and a child seat for baby's earliest months. Everything is a blessing.

I keep on making long lists of things to do. I keep thinking of all these books we've got to move upstairs, as well as the computer and my workstation. And I have a long list of things I really want to buy. What's it about having a baby that arouses the shopping beast in mommies? Thank goodness I don't get to go to town as often as my hormones tell me to, otherwise we'd be forever in the red. A condition I really hate.

I keep thinking of how much I've changed since I came to NL. More than anything this pregnancy shows me how much I've grown up from being a dependent girl into a mature woman. Yeah! It's a pretty cool feeling :)

Baby at 17 weeks

2006-10-10T04:27:00.000-07:00

In the meantime, we've passed the five month mark. But for friends and family who haven't seen the baby pictures yet, I wanted to show off photos from our ultrasound when the baby was only seventeen weeks old.

If you look closely, you'll see what I think are the baby's eyes. It looks a bit like a surrealistic picture, if you ask me .

Arm or leg? I can't tell.

Baby's head. According to the doctor, everything looks fine. Prima in orde.

Here's the baby's spinal cord. It's amazing to see this new life. I think the ultrasound is a miracle. After seeing these photos, it came home to me that this is really for real :)

Philippine Speculative Fiction vol. 2

2006-10-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to inform you that your story “Borealis” will be part of Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 2.

It wasn't my imagination. Visiting Dean Alfar's blog confirmed I wasn't hallucinating or suffering from another bout of pregnancy dementia. There it is, listed among the stories to be included in this up and coming anthology.

I know I'm supposed to do gentle jumping up and down, but I can't help jumping up and down .

Apex digest raffle

2006-09-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

This came up on the OWW mailing list, and I thought it was interesting. It just goes to show how way behind I am with the news, as the raffle drawing is already being held this Friday.

Nevertheless, better late than never, right?

I've managed to recover the seventh revision I did on Inhabitants of the Earth, and after not seeing that ms for two months, I must say, it's not bad. So, here's the advantage of shelving a project for some time. It allows the writer to return to it and view it with fresh eyes. I now see where I need to go back and cut out and where I need to proceed from.

Funny thing about writing is how characters will take on a life all their on and manage to confuse the story with their own demands. So, yes, I think the stepping back and giving the story a rest for a while is a good thing to do.

I've decided to keep Inhabitants on a low burn and let the ideas simmer around while I concentrate on rewriting Boy in the Bush.

On the home front: Joel Jan and I are immersed within the pages of The Voyage of the Dawn Trader. Yes, we've got another Narnia convert in that boy :) We've finished reading: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian.

If babies pick up knowledge in the womb, this baby is going to be born knowing all about Narnia too .

I'm off to do some more writing before it's time to jump up on that bike again.

getting back on track

2006-09-22T00:31:00.000-07:00

I think I'm getting back on track again. Busy addressing envelopes and I've been to the post office to mail those pesky envelopes that I manage to forget to bring with me everytime I head that way.

It's funny how the things we read do influence our lives a lot. I remember thinking that I must be in early menopause ( during the early stages of my pregnancy). My reason for thinking this came from me reading an article in one of the women's magazines my mother-in-law loves to pass on to me ( because they are good for practicing my language skills ). Anyway, this article was all about women in early menopause and all the symptoms resembled the symptoms I was having. Nausea, headaches, being tired, warm when it's cold and cold when it's warm. Since it was seven years since I had Joel Jan, I figured out it could be nothing else but early menopause. Imagine my surprise when I found it wasn't menopause but pregnancy. Well, tickle me pink. Having a baby beats going into early menopause any day :)

Babies on the mind. I have succumbed to nesting fever. Yup. I look around the house and think about all the things that have to be done and wonder why my belly is getting in the way of me doing all these things. I am looking forward to all the redecorating and rearranging that's going to take place.

During my first pregnancy I remember walking to and from the train station almost everyday. I was taking language lessons then, and this probably explains Joel's aptitude with language. Do children absorb what we learn while they are still in the womb? In any case, it amazes me how Joel Jan switches easily from Dutch to English and how he's managed to pick up some filipino words which his father still can't master .

It's fun listening to him say: What did I tell you, O di ba? See, see, O.

He says it exactly like a filipino would say it. And how come he's figured out that when he says "sige na, please", Mama sort of finds it really hard to resist him?

He's also picked up on how I use "hay naku talaga!" when I'm a bit exasperated. Like when he crosses the street on his bike, just in front of me so I have to press hard on my handbrake.

"Don't you do that again, hay naku talaga, Joel Jan!"

Later, I'll hear this repeated back at me when I manage to keep away something that's meant to not be kept away, like this lego car he's busy building.

"Mama, I was working on that. Hay naku talaga!"

These days, we have this conversations while biking home from school about what we have in the Philippines and what they have here in The Netherlands.

"The Netherlands has havens," he said to me the other day. "Do they also have havens in your country?"

"Of course we have havens in The Philippines."

"But probably not as modern as the havens in Rotterdam," he says.

Today, we had another discussion about skin color and about how I am a Filipina and not a Dutchwoman. This discussion seems to come back around every now and then. I think it's hard for him in some ways.

I remember when we came back from the Philippines. He was silent in the back of the car on the way back from Schiphol. I thought he'd fallen asleep, until I heard a sniff.

Me: Are you okay?

Joel: Yes. Except, I don't know anymore where my real home is.

A part of Joel Jan still longs to return to the Philippines and I understand how this experience of going home at this age has affected him in a deeper way than previous visits. For one, he's much more mature now and he understands how distance means him not being able to see or enjoy his grandparents and his aunts and uncles as much as he used to.

I am glad for the openness that still exists between us. Glad that he's not yet in those years where Mom and Dad come from a different planet. And I understand too how his need to feel grounded here in The Netherlands has a lot to do with him missing The Philippines and the family we've left over there.

Joel Jan: Mama, when are we going back again to the Philippines?

Yes, I know he misses home too.

machines and apes

2006-09-14T02:21:00.000-07:00

According to Dr. Jane Goodall, we are the fifth branch descending from a common ancestor. We are related to apes and chimpanzees and gorillas, but not descended from monkeys. We just all have the same common ancestor.

Okay, I've got monkeys on the brain, and in the last month since our computer crashed, Flashshots magazine published and sent out my flash piece, Primal Chess.

Well, monkeys and babies. I couldn't help thinking wacky thoughts while watching Dr. Goodall on this Dutch television show, and I wondered if I should do something more with monkeys as Primal Chess. Checking through the huge stack of emails ( mostly spam) I found a couple of encouraging mails from folks who'd read Primal Chess. I suppose I should write more flash, but I keep thinking about babies, and am having nightmares about the baby being born and the house being all topsy-turvy.

The great thing about being computerless though, is how it's given me time away from stories I'd probably have poked at endlessly. I am so thankful for the foresight that made me mail some of the really important stuff to my hotmail account. I do have a back-up but that's on a dvd that the computer I am now using can't read because this computer is a throwback from pre-pentium times. .

I am not complaining. I'm just glad to be able to check mails and get online again, even if I have to turn all the graphics off and don't have all the fancy stuff the other computer had.

Lunar Wind was published on Gryphonwood.

And I just realized I have got to get to work on those stories, poems and all the other deadlines that I really want to make before the month ends.

R.I.P. Jim Baen

2006-07-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sad news from the sffonlinewritingworkshop newsletter.

2006-07-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

Fast post from the Philippines. Internet cafes tend to put writers under time pressure :) It's very tropical over here and we'll be visiting Calapan, Mindoro as well as Tagbilaran, Bohol soon.

Thanks for all the warm wishes. I still can't get over this wonderful surprise of having a baby for the second time :)

2006-07-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

Help Wanted - To find a Hidden Trove of Philippine Treasures an essay by Lolita Delgado Fansler is now up on Haruah .

2006-06-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'm off to the Philippines :) It's not like I've been updating my blog that regularly, but who knows how much time I'll have to write blog entries in between all the reunions taking place and my parents celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.

It's going to be pretty busy, but I'll try to get online regularly.

I've got a huge surprise for my parents who've been moaning about me having only one child :) This news has been keeping me so preoccupied lately...ha, ha...so there's the explanation for feeling somewhat under-the-weather which is so unusual for me.

To top off this surprise I receive an email from the editor of Route's Skin Byteback. A piece I submitted is being considered for inclusion in this upcoming byteback. It turns out the editor for this byteback book is Crista Ermiya. I was quite impressed by her story, Surf Scoter, which appeared in Wonderwall, and remember taking note of her name and looking it up in the author listing...and being quite, quite pleased and proud to discover she is half-filipino.

It was such a wonderful surprise to find out she's editing this byteback.

I am taking lots of books to read on the trip home and to share with my dear bookwormish brothers and sister :) Oh, I am so happy to be reunited with them all again...I look forward to wonderful discussions over the dinner table...all that stimulating talk...and I am hoping to visit my aunt on her farm and look forward to meeting Dean Alfar in person.

2006-06-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

The dream is over...Netherlands loses to Portugal with a score of 1-0. Portugal scored one goal early in the first half. After that, it was hard work. Lots of yellow and red cards, according to the guy who does the voice over, this is a first in the history of the World Cup. Four red cards dealt out during a play. The game ended with nine players playing against nine.

I won't say how maddening it was the number of times the game came to a dead stop just as the Dutch team were in attack. I realized one of the things a football player needs to be is a good actor. According to Jan, a good number of the injuries that stopped the game were played out and milked for rest time and just to kill the momentum of the attacking team.

Netherlands had the most possession of the goal. In terms of statistics, was a pretty strong team. Luck just wasn't on our side tonight.

Some poignant moments...Cheering Portuguese backdropped by the disappointment and grief on the faces of the Dutch team. There was one shot of Van der Sar with tears running down his face.

All in all, quite a game. I found it quite "spannend". Rooting for Orange every step of the way...but what do you do when luck just isn't on your side?

Nevertheless, I do believe the Dutch team deserves a great round of applause for playing a good game. After all, as Van Basten says in this article , the Dutch team is quite a young team. For a young team, they made a pretty good showing. So here's to the next World Cup and here's to hoping Lady Luck will smile on Orange next time around.

Friendship and I-Walk

2006-06-24T03:11:00.000-07:00

I-Walk is one of those stories that's been sitting on my hard drive waiting for the moment when I get around to rewriting it. The thing with writing Science Fiction (something I came to realize after my Children of the Falling Stars boo-boo) is how science fiction readers do look for real and solid science fiction facts. As a friend of mine said, the science fiction publications are looking for more hard-core science fiction which is based on hard science.

It wasn't my intention to write science fiction. I was thinking more along the lines of cross-genre fantasy. However, the I-Walk took its own science wending and I ended up struggling with aspects of communication where my knowledge is practically nihil.

My Jan is a radio amateur and knows a lot about communication, but I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, until last night's get together with his friends. Peter van der Post, Jan and Nel van Ooijen and Egon Honing, you guys are super. As radio enthusiasts, it was inevitable that the conversation turned to technical details, and so I learned about PCSA and antennas and how width is just as important as height, and it was awesome hearing Jan van Ooijen talk about his experience of going up to the top of the place that inspired I-Walk.

I love how these guys have the patience to explain in layman's terms the technical aspects that I don't quite get. And which my brain is currently regurgitating. All of this will eventually find its way into I-Walk and I can visualize how the story will be changed with this information, with this talk about ether and space, and communication, analog versus digital and all that.

Hm, hm. I should tell Peter that I read the PGAZ bulletins he sends around and I found it so interesting to note how another story in the works seems to have more solid science foundation than I thought it did. *big smile*

After the guys went home, I thought of how it isn't often that we come across true friends. And I told Jan how much I appreciated his friends for taking the time to come over and spend the evening with us. Never mind that the chicken legs didn't quite work out as I wanted them to, at least the lumpia and the pancit did a good showing :)

It's funny how life seems to rush by so fast in this country. Odd how little we see of each other inspite of living not so far from the other. It could be a matter of culture, I suppose, but I would love friends to feel at home to drop by whenever they feel like it. In the Philippines, our friends become part of our extended family, and that's how I'd like our friends here to feel.

2006-06-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

Almost forgot to blog about this:

What I did this Summer (reprinted from Poetry Life and Times) is now up on Haruah. I won't be inflicting much more poetry on Haruah, I hope. We just had an infuse of great submissions :)

2006-06-23T00:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday´s Game:

Australia versus Croatia ends at 2-2. Australia is the 8th finalist for the World Cup. Guus Hiddink , Australia's calm and resolute coach, works his magic for Australia as he did for South Korea four years ago.

I like too how the present Dutch team has proven sceptics wrong. Wednesday's game was brilliant. Go, Orange!Certainly, Orange didn't make it easy for the Argentinians. That was some fantastic football played on the field. Certainly, the Dutch play more magic football than the English do...but that could be my bias speaking .

I mustn't watch too much football. I've got loads of packing to do.

2006-06-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

I stand duly corrected. It isn't Van der Saar ( common mistake apparently ) but Van der Sar. Thanks to Ton van't Hof .

2006-06-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Trying to recapture rituals observed in childhood:

Growing up in the North, it was inevitable that we heard chants in the mountains, that we should observe baki being performed, that we were be exposed to these rituals that accompany harvest and planting of rice, marriage, courtship and death.

I find it odd thinking about this and realizing these rituals would sound more fantastic and mythic than true-to-life to a western reader.

Observing this, I have to think of how it is so easy to pass off true tribal history for fantasy of the sword and sorcery type.

2006-06-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Today's poetry shot comes from this poem on Gamma Ways.

Thanks for sharing this, Mark. And I publicly admitted that I am a poetry junkie :) I confess:

Ik ben in
de ban
van

poezie
geraakt. ik
kan niet meer

zonder.

**

i have been
enchanted
by

poetry.
i can
no longer live

without.

**

2006-06-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Van-der-Saar's
golden hands
save the day

**

Van der Saar is one of my favorite Orange players. He's an excellent keeper who proves himself time and again.

Did I forget to post about Netherlands and Argentina ending in a 0-0 tie?

That was great football yesterday.

2006-06-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Something Damn Interesting . A link my bro sent to me.