Bookfair

It's the bookfair again!
When: Aug 27 to Sept 2
Where: World Trade, Roxas Blvd.

What I got so far:

To Lead, A cultural Revival

To lead people is no easy task. I've been there. Seen how people just want their own way.

Pops wants to lead the people of Mindanao to think for themselves, to have a strong general will and a good motivation to better themselves.

We met with two sultans yesterday. Funny thing, I didn't know some of the Sultanates in the Philippines actually still survives. Popz said they do have loyal followers.

The two sultans want to modernize Mindanao but in a way that they do not culture shock themselves. Infrastructures and organizations needs putting up. They need help but as much as possible, not ask for government help. Too much red taping and corruption.

So, Popz agrees on the task to help the 16 Sultans and be their consultant.

Popz was non-stop last night. "I'm a consultant to a sultant" Whatever! Corny!

Anyways, what would this mean for us? For me? For the country?

If this pushes through, it will show Visayas and Luzon that the People's General Will can change a nation. It is a sot of economic people's power. The aim is to help yourself, help your neighbor and help the country. There will be organizations who will help but must be guaranteed of no corruption and no daya-an.

What would it mean for me? I want to help my country and guard culture. One of the aim of inter-Kultura was to remind the people that we still have culture and we are proud of it. That Filipinoness is diverse but unique.

Perhaps all is not lost.

Perhaps cultural revival can happen and it will happen in Mindanao.

The reason why the Spanish weren't able to conquer Mindanao was because:

1. They were mainly Muslim Territory. They had cannons and guns like the Spanish.
2. Most of the people of Mindanao were seafarers. They don't get lost in the sea.
3. Culture and religion was strong. Spanish forces weren't able to use the cross until the turn of the century.
4. Political will was strong. Especially for the warriors.

If... No... WHEN this thing pushes through, it will change a lot of things.

Change... What we need now.

If the government cannot do anything, then the people must move themselves.

Dark Series Ad

I looked at Christine Feehan's Website and found out a book ad. Yes, a book ad trailer. It must really click! They got models to enact bits of the book and make an ad!

See here:
Dark Possession
The story of Manolito De La Cruz, A Carpathian living in Brazil.



Dark Celebration
Before Dark Possession- The Prince gives a Christmas Celebration to strengthen the bonds of the Carpathian people and to welcome their human families.


Dark Demon
This is just before Dark Celebration- It's about Natalya Shonski and Vikirnoff Von Shreider. Vampires and Mages team up to get stronger.


Dark Destiny
The trailer looks nice. Don't have the book though.



Dark Melody
not much to my liking. Didn't receive good reviews as a book.


Dark Celebration Behind the Trailers

Flood! Flood! More Flood!

It seems to Flood on a Wednesday for two weeks in a row.
Last week, it flooded on Wednesday. Yesterday, it flooded again, Wednesday.
I was stuck in the car for 6 hours. No bathroom break because we were stuck!!!
8:45. Left the house to go to work. Stuck in Pasong Tamo area. After 10:30, dad said, we have to turn back and use another route. We went to Villamore and then to airport road. Passable until we went to Macapagal. Go stuck there until 11:30. Texted the office to say I can't make it.
Gotta pick up Jade coz she's out. Got stuck in Taft until 1.
Heading to Buendia to pick up Aki. Got stuck and called her we couldn't make it. Take the train.
We got stuck in Osmena highway in the floody waters. 3:40, we reached Shell Magallanes. I got to eat and releave myself. Whew!
4ish, got home. Sigh.
Typhoon Egay is not leaving til Saturday according to Pag-asa.

Dark Celebration Excerpts

Here's a funny Excerpts from Dark Celebration, A Carpathian Novel by Christine Feehan.

* You should know that Carpathians do not express emotions. They try to blend with humans but are very aloof and emotionless until they find their lifemates.

Chapter 17
Gregori and Savannah’s House in the Carpathian Mountain, Mikhail is injured and is being tended by the couple.

“I did not cry over it. I told you that.” She glared at him. Don’t tell my father that. He’ll tell my mother and she’ll fell bad. And stop giving me orders. I just don’t feel like putting up with it today.

Gregori caught both her arms and pulled her to the shelter of his embrace. “You are near tears again. What is wrong with you? Is it the baby?”

“Baby? What baby?” Mikhail asked, shifting his position so he could look at his daughter’s stomach. Savannah was small like her mother. Now that Gregori spilled the news, he could see that she was definitely thicker around the waist and he found himself smiling in spite of the pain.

She gasped and hit Gregori’s shoulder with her tight fist. “You weren’t supposed to tell. I was supposed to tell them!”

“What is wrong?” Gregori demanded, catching her fist and opening it, to place a kiss on the center of her palm. “I can always remove your father’s memories.”

“Oh, I’d like to see you try that.” Mikhail scoffed. “And if you’re making my baby girl cry, you’re going to see what a prince can do when he’s angry.

“I’m having twins.” Savannah announced. “Girls.”

“We only heard one heartbeat. Felt one life.” Gregori objected, giving her a narrow-eyed glance. “She’s having a baby, a boy.”

“The other one was there hiding behind her sister. There are two of them, both girls, and I’m going to be as big as a house. And you’re going to be just awful, ordering me around. If you think he’s bad giving you orders, papa, trust me, he’s worse with me.”

Gregori shook his head. “Not girls Savannah. We need sons. Warriors. Daratrazanoff guard the prince.”

Mikhail leaned back with a satisfied smirk on his face. “And you so deserve this, Gregori. You cannot imagine how I’m going to enjoy you survive not one, but two little daughters.”

Gregori simply stood there looking as shocked as he was capable of looking. “How could I not know? I examined you myself.”

“She hid.”

His brows drew together. “That is unacceptable.”

Mikhail laughed. “I’m sure your infant daughter will do exactly as you command, Gregori. And as toddlers, they will really listen to you.”

“Savannah, I am serious. You talk to them. I cannot have one hiding from me when I make certain they are healthy.”

“Your manner was gruff and you frighten her.”

“I’m her father and I shouldn’t frighten her.”

Mikhail sighed. “I’m bleeding and I have to be up and running in a few minutes so I suggest you get over your shock that the world doesn’t do everything you dictate and get on with healing me.”

Gregori swung around, all cool elegance and danger. “you put her up to this, didn’t you, Mikhail?”

“Put her up to giving me twin girls? If I had thought of it, I would have, but my imagination doesn’t stretch quite that far.” Mikhail shifted his leg and tried not to wince.

Dark Magic

By Christine Feehan

A little bit of Dark Magic is all it takes to bring down an overbearing man...

Well, nice title but Savannah Dubrinsky's magic is nothing but dark. She is the mistress of illusions performing nightly across the world. All she wants is smiles and love.

Five years ago, she left the safety of her father and mather, Mikhail and Raven Dubrinsky, and their Carpathian home. She wanted independence and time to grow. So, at 18, after her father gave her a debut party, Savannah left and went off on her own.

She thought she had her independence for a while but something lurks in the shadows. Soemthing Vampire and Carpathians alike fear...

Gregori Daraztragonoff is a Carpathian male who is relentless as a hunter. He is known as The Dark One, the Bogeyman of the Carpathians.

Since conception, he knows Raven's child will be a girl and she will be life mate to him. So, he watched her carefully. He even became a wolf cub who was there during her lonely hours, playing with her and even saving her from her little accidents. Now, his time is nearly over. He must either face the dawn, take his life mate of risk turning into a vampire.

Savannah is reluctant to be Gregori's life mate but once she accepted it, she makes it a point that Gregori learns just what kind of woman she is.

She takes after her parents, regal, demanding but lovable.

Like her mother, she is repulsed to take blood from humans. Her mother fed her animal blood when she was young. now, she is grown, Gregori feeds her. In a way, she is partly human. She hates getting buried and hates biting.

Vampires and vampire hunters hunt Savannah. She is forced to retire from show business but not without taking vacation. Against Gregori's wishes, they travel to new Orleans to attend a Jazz festival and of course, take a vampire hunt. Ironic?

It is in New Orleans that Gregori meets his best friend, a human named Gary Jansen. They uncover a plot by the vampires that directs humans to think Carpathians are bad.

They also find out that a singer named Desari from the Dark Troubadours is a target of the vampire hunter. They send a hunter, Julian Savage, to rescue her. That would be another story.

Now, Gregori and Savannah takes on the vampire hunting society of New Orleans and take on a savage vampire too that's been in the swamp, masquerading as a legend known as Old Man Alligator.

Ending: What else! Savanna and Gregori kills the vampire. As for the Society, the Dark Series will battle them on through out.

I'm beginning to like this couple. My fave couple so far i the Dark series is Natalya Shonski and Vikirnoff Von Shreider. Dark Demon is their book. Vikirnoff dreams of a calm and tame woman but his destined life mate happens to be a badass chick named Natalya. He can't understand half of what she says. Natalya does nothing but quote old movies. She calls vampires as Troll king and Freddie. She associates herself with Xena Warrior Princess.

I want to buy more of this Dark series but maybe I should wait until Bookfair. Budget's kinda tight. Christine Feehan does have interesting ideas.

Flood

Yup, flood season again.
Wednesday, it sucks to wake up with wet floors.
We were prepared this year. All my stuffs are up bt still, my furniture can't be taken up.
Hhhhhh... (sigh)
When I move, I problably will leave all my furniture. I'll get a rooma nd a mess area that are upstairs.

The Carpathians

In Christine Feehan's Dark Series, there is a race of people known as the Carpathians. They look like humans and have existed since humans have. They were thought to be known as gypsies living in the mountains but actually, they grew more sophisticated.

For those who have not heard of Dark Series, it is a set of Paranormal Romance novels about the Carpathian Race. The Carpathians are similar to but not vampires. They can't exist in the day, they can only thrive at sun down. Blood is an essential part of living but sex with your food is taboo. Young Carpathians do take animal blood but that makes them weaker and unable to use their powers to the fullest.

They do have magic to a certain degree and have strong psychic abilities. Shape-shifting is also part of their abilities. They need soil to rest and heal. Psychic human females can be turned into Carpathians with ritual binding words and three blood exchanges.
Vampires are Carpathians who go over to the dark side. They turn ugly, bad and deranged. That is because a male Carpathian cannot survive so long without a life mate. A Life mate will bring color and emotions into their world and call them from the dark side. An instinctively, they will do everything to protect their life mates.

Dark Secret

I first encountered the Dark Series with Dark Secret. Modern day California, Colby never expected to get to know, much less sleep with a Carpathian Hunter. There is just something wicked but irresistible about the De La Cruz Brothers. The De La Cruz are supposedly from Brazil. They are protectors of the Chevez family and in turn, the Chevez protect their finances. Arrogant rich men huh? Colby Jansen is bastard but her mother's husband was fond of her. Just before she was 18, Armando Chevez died and left the ranch to Colby. None of the other Chevez family responded to her cry of help. So for 5 years, she ran her mother's ranch and took care of Paul and Ginny, her sibling (legitimate offspring of Armando and her moder). The head of the Chevez family didn't like Colby because of what she is. Now that the old Chevez is dead, Armando's brothers go to California to locate Paul and Ginny but Colby will not give them up.

Rafael's black and white world is suddenly invaded by colors and he is confused. Nicolas tells him that it means his life mate is near. It could only be Colby. so starts Rafael's seduction of Colby to try to take her with him.

Unknown to him, she was no ordinary psychic chick. She was from an ancient line called the Dragonseekers. now that Rafael won her heart and body, he wasn't going to contain her spirit especially if Rafael, Paul and Ginny were endangered by a vampire in the region.

At first I thought the rest of the Dark Series book will be about Carpathians finding their life mates then finds out they all have spunk and it would be a contest of wills between Carpathians wanting their women submissive so they can be easily protected and huge male ego blah, blah...

Well, it partly is.

Dark Demon

Next on the Dark Series I read was Dark Demon, the Sequel to Dark Secret. Vikirnoff von Shrieder gets a surprise to find his life mate is a Vampire Hunting mage named Natalya. Natalya was introduced in Dark Secret already. She has a smart-ass mouth and has major weapon issues. She actually ends up saving the day so Vikirnoff lets her do what she wants.

Dark Prince

Then I read Dark Prince. This is the first in the series. It is set about 50 years before Dark Demon. Mikhail Dubrinsky is the Prince of the Carpathian people. He has to protect the few people he has and the humans attached to them. He is a sad character in the beginning of the book but suddenly finds himself talking to a woman. Suddenly color floods in his vision. He had to find this voice.

Raven Whitney works for the FBI as a sort of consultant. With her psychic powers, she tracks down killers. Of course it takes up too much of her strength and energy so she thought a vacation int he Carpathian mountains, away from civilization, will do her good.

Until Mikhail sweeps her off her feet and into his antique palatial home, into his bedroom, into his heart then into his life.

Think she's tough. Yeah she is. She offers everything to Mikhail though because of her powerful abilities that shames the Carpathian men. Mikhail on the other hand wants to keep her in his house and away from danger. She soon lets him find out just what she can do!

Of course when she gets converted, she still has major issues human face; like drinking blood and sleeping buried under ground.

It is actually a lively series about not just a group of people or a species separate from humans. The Carpathians, their life mates and the humans attached to them are a society. They have norms, code of honors and daily struggles.

Coelacanth Fish

400 Million Year Old Fish was found in Sulawesi recently.

The fish was thought to be extinct 65 Million years ago but apparently, people are discovering that the fish has been around for quite a while. 1938, it was caught in Tanzania. After that, 30 have been found since.

Now, it was found in Sulawesi. Closer to the Philippines.

Nobody ever caught one alive. When they catch one, it dies. It was too evolve and too suited to its natural surrounding that taking it out of it will kill the fish.

Why am I interested in a fish?

First of all, I am a Pisces Child. Naturally, I'm curios about fishes and what goes on in the deep blue yonder. Second of all, I love to learn about dinosaurs. If my parents let me, I would have studied Paleontology instead. Third, it is a living dinosaur fish. Combination of my first two reasons.

A funny thing occurred to me when I saw that Coelacanth documentary in Discovery Channel. I looks like a giant Tilapia (Mud Fish of the Philippines). Apart from its enormous size and six fins, it could actually be a mama Tilapia. That got my interest going. Tilapias taste good fried or sauteed in swet sour sauce.

What if the Tilapia branched out of the Coelacanth Millions of years ago and moved to the sunny waters of the Orient Pearl. The Philippines isn't a very old country. It's less than a million year old, built by land bridges and volcanic activity. What if the Coelacanth, who lives in deep waters, ventured closer to the land. It shrunk as food became scarce and since it didn't need too much fins, it shed it off. It became the modern Tilapia of today.

It's a theory!

See articels on:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070731/sc_afp/indonesiaenvironment_070731174437
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90781/6216302.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22154993-663,00.html?from=public_rss