Nap Time Rocks!

A guide to getting lost

when you read a Neil Gaiman novel, or graphic novel, or short story, or whatever, prepare to get lost.

delightfully lost, that is. you can never tell which world you’re going to end up in, once you take that plunge in the first page. and when i was asked by a ‘Gaiman virgin’* if he was any good read, i (refrained from looking taken aback that there was one such literate soul who did not know G) said the very same thing.

when you read Gaiman, there’s no such thing as clearly delineated reality and dreams. everything is surreal. what’s the term? magically real. i’m not sure where i picked up the term, probably during my Pop Lit subject in college or from my Film friends.

anyway. i’ve read American Gods (my initiate’s book, so guess what that did to my Grisham mind), Anansi Boys (a little milder, yes), The Graveyard Book (lovely, if i may borrow an english accent too), Stardust (even more delightful), Good Omens (co-written with Terry Pratchet, another good one), M is for Magic (halfway through), and Death: The High Cost of Living (i’m afraid, i haven’t been immersed in the Sandman series enough).

film adaptations of his novels/graphic novels are also strongly recommended. so far i’ve only been able to watch Stardust, Coraline, Beowulf, and Mirrormask, which are all part of my favorites list.

so if you’re in the process of forgetting the realities of life, like a ‘tiny’ glitch in the workplace or an absolutely insufferable ex, this could be your pill. swallow it whole, and don’t think to much about it.

*noun. one whose world hasn’t been invaded by kindly ghouls and semi-transparent ghosts whose nature it was to take care of a living child, or a giant floating lethargic man, or simply, by gods.

Sg Part 2: all things aquatic

hay P, if you were there, you’d love these too.

an all-Australian exhibit was setup at the Marina Square right beside our hotel, and one of them was Splatter’s. i couldn’t help but smile everytime i passed by their booth because the walls were filled with nice square paintings of comic artwork by Christopher Martin (like the one on the left).

the pop artwork were all so cute, selling for about S$40 – S$100+ per piece (which are also available to order online). if it weren’t so hard to pack them and bring them with me home (had a really small luggage), i’d have bought at least one.

but since i couldn’t, i brought Buster home instead.

(click the photo to find out what’s scaring Buster)

it’s an added bedtime reading for me and Mia. it doesn’t have anything to do with water i know, but it’s still one of those things i love.

the second day was as tiring as the first. went shopping at Vivo City at the bay area, which turns out not to be such a good idea if you’re going to Sentosa afterward. you end up riding the Luge with bags in between your legs and that’s not comfortable.

one thing i realized (no, make that several) going around Sentosa’s Underwater World are:

1. not all animals appreciate being pet. take the sting rays for example. there’s a pool area where you can touch the starfishes and the sting rays, and unlike the starfishes who are good at hiding their disapproval, some fish can actually jump out of the aquarium to tell people how irritating it is to be patted and grabbed and startled all day.
2. some people are just hardheaded as much as they are probably deaf (or blind, whichever applies). i don’t want to be racist but i just cannot for the life of me appreciate how cultural differences are nice when you’re in a looong queue, it’s scorching hot, and someone really smelly pushes their way ahead of you when there’s clearly a line to be followed. darn it. it seems to be not an isolated case since it happened to us twice in separate locations. what happened to the universal rule of order?
3. and then some people have no appreciation of other living things. they go to these attractions to satiate their curiosity and to get bragging rights that they were there. it’s sad how, within a few years, the Night Safari had become a circus and it’s so hard to keep tourists at bay. it’s obviously prohibited to use flash photography in several areas where there are animals, but like i said, there were still people who couldn’t understand.
4. sometimes attractions like the Ocean Park, the Underwater World, the Night Safari, etc. are better off unknown and unpopular. i get that they have to make money, but when it gets trampled on by many people like those described above, it feels like it’s not even worth it. the cages of the animals stink, otherwise carefree species are forced to remain in 4×5ft cells, it’s really just unfair to be prodded at and be made spectacles of sorts. it’s not really in their nature to be made captive.

about 7 years ago, i saw how nice and quiet Sentosa Island was. now, i’m not so sure i’d be saying the same thing. it’s so commercialized, they’re even building resorts and a Universal Studios park there. nothing against development but for a place so small and with such booming tourism… i just don’t know…

speaking of changes, the light and water musical show has really improved a lot. it’s still amazing, but with a lot more effects.

the fireworks are great, and i bet they really spend so much on this considering they show it about twice or thrice at night everyday. anyways, need to get to postprocessing photos now..

Nerdness to the next level [ws]

Nothing beats holing up in your room, settling with a good book on your bed by the window on a weekend, and watching Mia over the pages of your Grisham novel.

2 weekends ago I bought 4 books (Septimus Heap Book 4 not included in the photo) and it was only last Saturday that I got time to read one. And it was such a joy ripping off the plastic coverings, flipping the pages and smelling its ‘newness’.

How was your weekend?

I tried… to take pictures

Random Book Tag

I’ve been wrinkling my nose and scratching my head over what I got from Doc Claire’s book tag. I did all of these:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five people.

and got this from Og Mandino’s The Twelfth Angel (which isn’t even mine, but being a book magnet I had one in my office cube):

“Everyone was rooting for the little guy to get his first hit. He tried. Oh, how he tried!”

Maybe the fact that the book isn’t mine (it was left by a friend) would explain why it didn’t give me anything definite about my current status in life.

Or maybe it does, I just haven’t realized it yet. My first 2 attempts to answer this tag had stubborn love and murderous intent written all over them. It was pretty interesting.

Now, snag the tag those who want to!

New Photography Affiliations

I am discovering that I blog better when I take photos to go with my post. So now to force me to come up with really good ones, I joined Litratong Pinoy and Weekend Snapshots

LP is for Filipinos (whether you’re half- or full blooded) and non-Pinoys but you can speak or udnerstand Filipino who take photos professionally or not, and who would like to share their works and meet others of the same interest. The group posts photos every Thursday and displays their links to their photos in the site. Join na!

On the other hand, Weekend Snapshot is a group of photo enthusiasts all over the world that basically posts pictures of their weekend activities. Green Dip was my first entry to WS.

To read or not to read

One of my favorite websites (and stores) just got a new look.

Now I know not everyone appreciates reading as much as I do, but just let me rave over something that I reeeally love, which is reading.

I attribute to my mom my love for books. If not for her, I would not have learned to read at an early age (at about 3 years old i think), I would not have played pretend games where I was a newspaper editor/writer/publisher and that I wrote countless fictional news stories (complete with illustrations) on Grade 1 pad paper.

If she hadn’t spent enough time teaching me when I was a kid, I would not have had the patience to learn good english and be a good writer (well at least my mom and dad thinks I am) and speaker.

If not for my love of reading, I wouldn’t have known that Pisa is in Italy, Kilimanjaro is a volcano not a food, that Desire can be a person, that you can make a dish out of rose petals, or that Terry Pratchet is actually a guy. Well of course a lot of the information I’ve amassed over the years is partly due to television, but cable TV and the Discovery Channel was not uso back then.

Knowledge is power, as they say. What saddens me is that many kids and young people these days have developed an abhorrence for anything literary. It’s as if words suddenly become little gremlins with pitchfork tails and gleaming fangs. Or if they do read anything at all, they only read those 20-bucks-apiece romance novels or the Sunday paper’s comic strips.

Nothing wrong about reading those, but just those? I seriously doubt that they will get anything substantial from a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ story full of lust, jealousy, and revenge. No offense to those who read it, but I don’t have to apologize for the way I think these things affect the minds of our youths, especially if they do not have the right kind of educational support system.

Ok, so my point is, to those parents with children starting to read and explore the literary world, let them discover with you the right kinds of reading material. If you as a parent, think that a certain type will help in the emotional, psychological, or spiritual development of your child then go for it.

I’m glad my parents encouraged me to read (newspapers yeah, but I remember nothing about the violence and crime thank goodness) and write. But I’m more thankful that they were guiding me all throughout my learning.

For Kids!: Mia’s March Fab5

Presenting, Mia’s fab finds for the month of March!

1. Ants & Bees educational baby tees, P275.00 for 2

(3rd fl Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Center, Pasig City)

I like tees that have statements or cute graphics on them. I once bought Mia a shirt that has “MY MOM IS A ROCKSTAR” written on it in gold (from Havin’ A Baby). At Ants & Bees, found at the new baby lane of Robinsons Galleria, they have babies’ t-shirts that are printed with educational statements or pictures. Like the 2 that I bought for her at Galleria’s 3-day weekend sale.

(Joyce Kilmer’s Tree poem printed on one of the shirts)

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murderous intent

vannie’s currently reading tag is nowhere near that post title, but my answer to her tag is.

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

James Patterson’s Cross is just within my reach, so,

“He was considered the most successful assassins in the world, and you get what you paid for, except maybe in LA restaurants. He’d been a little surprised when he was hired by John Maggione, but it was good to be working.

The water taxi docked at Rio de San Moise, off the Grand Canal, and Sullivan made his way past narrow shops and museums to sprawling St. Mark’s square.”

hmm. that doesn’t make sense at all. this tag is supposed to be like a fortune cookie or something. but i remember i did this once before, a few years ago and it read:

“I love him so much, so keep your opinions to yourself!” – Rosie Dunne (Cecelia Ahern)

The other girl

What man in his right mind will bed a young girl of 14, flirt with with young women barely out of their teens, and all while being married to a powerful and beautiful woman? That kind of man could only be someone who can command respect rather than deserve it, have your head cut off in front of crowds, and someone who wears the royal color purple and wear something made of gold and precious jewels on his head. You’re right, it could only be a king. A king of one of the greatest political kingdoms in history, nonetheless. More »