Om

(after my wordpress widget struggle)

no mind, no wants for widgets

no stress 

no widgets, simple blogface

no stress, but ugly blogface

(now im starting to get pissed again with the thought)

namaste….

Madamot wordpress

I am not a computer wizard, i am not. I painstakingly learn, study and try to understand the intricacies surrounding the blogging world and step by step, patiently, I think I am learning. But frustration creeps in when I find the shittiness of wordpress who wont allow almost all the good widgets, gadgets, or whatever fuck they call those things that make one’s blogspot more pleasing to the eye. Shit this wordpress is so madamot. Putang ina, ive discovered the magic of that “you might like these…” picture that you see in those cool blogs under their posts that you can click then be brought to the suggested posts? Well, hell fuck, wordpress wont accept it. Puta talaga!!! AAAAAHhhhhh!!!!! Sakit sa mata!

Looking for Leigh-Cheri

Nabiktima rin ako ng pagpasok ng tubig sa aking kabahayan pero hindi dahil sa bagyong si Ondoy kundi dahil naiwang nakabukas ang gripo sa taas ng bahay at tumulo ito hanggang paliguan ang buong bahay na naglubog (kanya-kanyang alat lang talaga), nanlunod kay Leigh-Cheri.

May katagalan na ring nakababad sa aklatan ang libro ni Tom Robbins na “Still Life with Woodpecker” at napagtripan ko itong basahin. Sobrang tagal na nga itong nakatengga at halos balutan na ng alikabok katabi ng mga Carlos Castaneda at Ken Wilber na nahihilo akong basahin hindi dahil sa hangover kundi talagang di kaya ng powers ko.

Kaya nung binuklat ko ay agad naman akong naaliw at ginanahan kung magpapaiskor ang bidang babae kay Ralph Nader na nakalaban na yata ng lahat ng naging presidente ng Amerika simula ng pinanganak ako.   

Ang galing ng pagkakalatag ng mga karakter ng istorya, Ang tatay ni Leigh-Cheri na dating hari ng isang bayan na na-exile dahil sa laos na ang pagiging hari o dahil “stand in the corner” siya ng CIA.  Kakatawa tatay niya kasi may pacemaker na kapag na-excite ay pumapalo ng malakas eh poker player pa naman siya.  Ermat naman niyang si Queen Tillie ay isang mahilig sa opera singing that reminded me of Madame Castafiore from the Tintin Comic series.

Pero si Leigh-Cheri ay isang liberal, environmentalist, na cheerleader na  kickout dahil sa pangalawang beses niyang pagpapalaglag ng bata. Interesting character…hhhmmmmm..Kaso nalunod nga kaya naghahahap ako ng magpapahiram sa akin ng kopya. Kahit arkilahin ko, isang Generoso kapalit ng pahiram.

a book to make it through the day

When I say make it through the day, I literally mean to “make it through the day” shit where I can get my food and fare money to get to school where I work.

Good thing an angel teacher I met two days ago liked my book deal and sold her a Margaret Atwood “Blind Assassin” book  for P130.  A good buy I think if I’ll base it on its cover design.  I have no idea though what the book is all about.

My reality that I know at the moment is that the money is all gone, again.  With P130 minus P25 for the trike to LRT, then a four piece siomai snack for P25, then, a P30 trike ride to my place, then a P12 barbeque and P20 chicken and squid balls.  That leaves me fucking P18.

Money earned from a book sale should remain in the coffers of my book sale trade to “paikot” the puhunan.  But with the chronic crisis crippling the country because of bad economic policies and endless political bickerings among the bourgeois compradors and feudal landlords, I get to spend my hard earned P130 for fare and street food because I have no money in my pocket.  Shit.

We badly need a revolution.

Lost in the wide book yonder

Nakakaluga ang Manila International Book Fair 09! Putang ina ang daming libro! Just seeing millions and millions of books stockpiled in neat rows and creative presentations of different book dealers and publishers made my heart go fucking a fluttering, again.

The Adarna Publishing House booth brought me back when I tried storytelling for children. It was fun then seeing snotty-nosed children mesmerized by the story and hopefully not because of my fat face bouncing as I read to them the magical books. Andres and Ponso listened to the storyteller relate one of my all time favorites , the story of the gas guzzling, freak-out punk-assed Kas in “Ang Kaskaserong Bus.”

I also bought The Cat Painter by Becky Bravo for P50. A good P15 discount from the list price in bookstores. I first read the story when it was still in the drawing boards before the final printing as we tried reading it to our co-storytellers to check its impact and possible effect to the audience. It was hilarious seeing them laughing out loud as I read them the story.

At the UP Publishing booth, I curiously asked why a book I bought for P100 in the past book fair is now worth P400. Even Jun Cruz Reyes’ “Etsa Pwera” is sold at its original price when I got it at a bargain price two years ago. The bookseller said ‘some’ people complained of the low prices pegged on such books. I agreed slowly nodding my head and holding my chin in the most intellectual looking pose I can think of .

As I try my best to do my poser act as an intuitive and intellectual book freak, Andres and Ponso was trying the mind boggling science exhibit of Diwa Publishing House. They have a machine that can make your hair stand using some magical science shit that remains a mystery to me.

Then as Andres tried his hand on the laser harp, Ponso is nowhere to be seen. So I relaxed, calmed my nerves and acted like everything was normal as I scanned the place for the smart-assed three year old running around the exhibit area. After five minutes, and just standing in front of the UST Publishing House booth where Thelma was chatting with the Thomasians, I heard a loud bawl emanating from somewhere between the Diwa Science booth and the religious OMF Literature. It was Ponso carried by a barong clad security officer! He cried for a good 3 minutes as the security man interviewed us to check the veracity of our claim that Ponso, the smart-assed punk boy, was indeed our son. After 3 minutes, he went back to his devil may care running on empty in the corridors.

I went home with a good P200 worth of postcards and bargain books. Two hundred pesos worth of postcards and bargain books! From a once a year International Book Fair! Pathetic. . .

Manila International Book Fair 09′

Adik ka ba sa libro? Tipong kahit brand new at sobra sobra ang halaga dahil bagong bago ito at parang wala pang nakakahawak kundi makina ay kaya mong bilhin at i-display sa bahay mo o sa opisina mo at tititigtitigan mo ang pabalat at minumuni kung kailangan mo ito babasahin?

Well, mapalad ka kaibigan! Manila International Book Fair 09′ na mula Sept 16-20, 2009 sa SMX, Mall of Asia. Dito malalanghap mo ang mga libro na mas bago pa sa mga libro sa National at Fully Booked! Tipong mainit-init pa!

Ngayon, kung gusto mo magkaroon ng libreng tiket para makapasok, hindutin lang ang link at i-print sa printer, at ilagay sa bulsa o bag, tapos iprisinta sa gate ng SMX sa mga takdang araw at, voila! Libre ka na!

At ang putang inang link eh ayaw mai-link dito sa lecheng wordpress na ito. Kaya puntahan na lang ang

http://www.manilabookfair.com/ para makadugtong sa libreng tiket.

Vonnegut’s Bluebeard

I just finished the wasak book “Gerilya” by Norman Wilwayco after setting aside The National Kurt Vonnagut Bluebeard (as the old book’s cover would show) for a day to savor the fast-paced near to my heart story of a petty bourgeois trying hard to be an intellectual in the arena of armed struggle and revolution in the Philippines.

Anyway, I got interested with Kurt Vonnegut after scanning one of his book “Breakfast of Champions” and enjoyed the way his words weave with his ideas that captures the craziness of his moment and society.  His tone encapsulates the off-beat ramblings of viewing and interpreting the ways the individual interacts with society and its dynamic interaction creating new thoughts and paradigms to be tested through time.

Anyway, “Bluebeard” represent another of Kurt Vonnegut’s take on the chaos that shapes our world. Its main character,  Rabo Karabekian, the 71 year old painter who just wants to enjoy what the world still has  in store for him, was bullied by a young widow to write his autobiography that brought him back to places and events he has been while grappling with the complexities, imagined or real, caused by the present set-up he is in with the bullying widow, who turned out to be a celebrated author.

I am not finished with the book but it intrigued me to check on abstract expressionism and if there is a painting material called sateen dura-luxe which I am not even sure if it is even real.

(Jackson Pollack’s abstract expressionism)

I still plan to sell the book after reading it but with its continuing deterioration brought by natural and not-so natural causes,  my plan might all come to naught.

Gerilya

 Sa kaliwa ang paling ng litrato ng libro ni Norman Wilwayco na “Gerilya” sa blog na ito sapagkat kaliwa ang tono ng kuwento at kaliwa ang landas na tahak para sa tunay na kalayaan at demokrasya ng ating bayan.

Wala pa akong kopya ng libro na nagkakahalaga mula P180 – P230 depende sa tindahang nagtitinda pero halos patapos na akong basahin ito mula sa na download ko na kopya na pinamimigay ng libre sa mga interesadong basahin ito.

May mga ilang mga sipi na talagang nakakahalagpak dahil sa talim ng katotohanang ipinararating ng kuwento mula sa kung ano ang tumatakbo sa isipan ng mga personahe ng isyorya sa mga nagbabasa.

“Kami ang hari ng Angat Dam, motherfuckers!” Ngayon subukan ng kaaway na umatake nang maranasan naman niyang mapulbos sa mga bala ng galit na mamamayan. Bwahahahaha!!! (habang iniisip ng personahe na NPA ang tibay ng kanilang puwesto laban sa reaksiyunaryong AFP) Isa lamang iyan sa mga sipi na napailing ako at napangisi habang nakatingin sa akin ang kasamang guro at tinanong kung nahihibang daw ako.

Nasa ilang huling pahina na ako at talagang wasak nga itong libro ni Norman Wilwayco. Asteg!

Reading is Freedom

Love libraries! Libraries exude an air of sacred space for knowledge to freely move and enter the individual and collective minds groping to understand the mysteries surrounding our life. Entering a library, one feels the solemn ritual of a person trying to gain new insights and absorbing what the world offers. Silence pervades the hall lulling sleepyheads that use meditation as an excuse to occupy cubicles and try to sleep in a half erect sitting position as others refer and discuss notes in a hushing manner lest the librarian slash your hush with some tongue lashing.

A library in the traditional sense is a place where books are kept for use but not for sale. It has expanded its scope in present times to include musical, artistic, or reference materials that people can use for whatever purpose they have in mind. It is in this place where you can find the literary works of the communist Karl Marx, the fiery philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the capitalist Ross Perot serenely stand side by side in the shelves without the usual debate on class struggles and the correct social system.

But it is always the books that fascinate the imagination as it stands quietly in the shelves waiting to share knowledge and share stories to the next person. Reading books gives an individual the experience that transcends one’s physical boundaries by leafing through the pages and absorbing the magical letters transformed into words that breathes life, stories, and knowledge to the readers. To read is to add up to the cumulative learning of every individual giving each one the chance to absorb wisdoms culled from the experiences of individuals and societies. It’s a fascinating trip that can bring one from the apex of happiness to the abyss of gloom and misery depending on one’s whims and mood at the moment.

In the era of fast food and high speed communication technology where our basis of efficiency and effectiveness lies on how we can accomplish tasks at hand with the least time expended, we are expected to speed up whatever we are doing to get to other tasks diminishing our mindfulness in the present moment.

Reading slows down the pace as one discovers the thoughts and minds of authors putting us back into the mindful state of sitting still and quiet solitude that creates space for creativity. As one saying goes, Revolution begins in quiet places.

Steinbeck under Shock

Part of my work brings me to various institutions that caters to the less and underprivileged strata of our society in Manila. When I went to a boys’ home to accompany my students, I saw a corner they call “the library” in their social hall. It has around three shelves stuffed with brown leafed used text books donated for the boys’ use.

I checked on the shelves and was shocked seeing an Alvin Toffler “Futureshock” book in the book pile.

Not that it is a shocking thing but I just like the shocking of the ryhme.

Then I saw two boys rummaging though the pile

then sat and browsed a celebrated author known to write and represent the struggles and aspirations of the marginalized peoples.

Read on, boys.