The Secret

A new hit book called The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is in stores and is selling fast.

"As above, so below
As within, so without."
--Emerald Tablet circa 3000BC

So what is the secret? The secret is the Law of Attraction. Thoughts becomes things and so think positive thoughts because attract like. Your predominant thoughts should be all good and of prosperity.

"Every thought of yours is a real thing - a force."
--Prentice Mulford (1834-1891)

"All that we are is result of what you have thought."
--Buddha

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attraction."
--Albert Einstein

Everything is energy so everything can attract and we are the ones who act like the magnet. Beware of your thoughts, your predominant thoughts. Never forget to feel good.

The Secret to Money:

• Attract abundance
• Focus on prosperity, "Intend it"
• Give money to get money
• Think wealth

That's basic gist I got from the book. Its not so long, the layout is just spaced out and its all backed-up with quotes from experts and dead people. Its another self-help book packaged nicely. Some of the reviews weren't so nice. They say it's just riding on to the fame of the Da Vinci Code. I kinda think it is. I think its that book "Power of Positive Thinking" combined with Da Vinci Code to sell.

Have you seen the news lately...

?
Its all crap!
What kind of news do we make for our country?
Do we have one decent politician to pick from?
Honestly?
No! What can brainyards and Moviestars know about lawmaking?
NOTHING!!!

Bored...

... so I jump on the sofa...

...jumped on the bed...

...jump coz I'm bored.

DragonJourneys

I started a new blog about my love of Anne McCaffrey's Pern.

Its http://dragonjourneys.blogspot.com

Its a roleplaying where I am a journeywoman harper traeling the world of Pern while putting my thoughts on the blog. With me is my fire-lizard Alonzo.

Dragonsblood

My newest book on Pern is Dragonsblood. THis time, it is written by Anne McCaffrey's son, Todd McCaffrey.

* * *

I see a difference in the style but I like the book. Though the story did feel like it just took some elements from Anne's previous books like Dragonflight and All the Weyr of Pern.
It is set in the third Pass, 500 years after Landing on Pern. The Red Star draws near and the Weyrs thought they were prepared to fight the menacing thread. But suddenly a deseace struck the dragons. Normally, dragons don't get sick. From Benden's 300 strong dragons, they were reduced by half on the first day of Fall because the dragons got too sick.
It was up to Lorana, gold Arith's rider, to find a cure. But when she looses Arith, will she be able to save them all now? She seems to loose hope too.
450 years back in the past, two women and a boy are searching for their own answers. Wind Blossom, an Eridani geneticist who's mother genetically altered the fire-lizards to today's dragons, was faced with a question to answer. Are dragons as strong as everybody believes?
No. For Lorana's Arith was dying and went to the Between. Instead of staying, her dead body was sent 450 years to Wind Blossom's time. From there, Wind Blossom, Emora and Tieran helped to make a cure and put it in a time capsule hidden in Benden WEyr for Lorana to discover. Along with the cure and books to help her understand how to go about it, Emora plants clues within history. Songs and records were made that could only point to a healer dragonrider. Also to help her understnad DNAs and PNAs, the Harper Drum Code is actually the PNA secquencefor the dragonsblood.
I like the book. Too bad Telgar Weyr's fighting force was obliterated because of one man's pride. There are too many people and Dragons who die in this book. Beware before you read!

Dragons in the Sky

I've Finished Anne McAffrey's The Skies of Pern.
This time, the point of the story revolves on F'lessan, F'lar and Lessa's son. F'lessan is a bronze rider. He wants to make a place for the dragonriders in the new world. Tai, a gredd dragonrider helps him do that. She and her dragon Zaranth has found a new draconic ability that might save them from the comets that crashes to earth. They found out how to use telekenesis.
So now,
dragons can teleport, are telepaths and can use telekenesis. For two thousand five hundred years, nobody noticed these dragons had that ability.
In Dragonflight, Lessa found out how to travel between times. She can also talk to all dragons because she is a sstrong telepath in her own right. Now, green Zaranth teaches all the dragons to use their telekenesis. For a small dragon who is down in the caste, Zaranth herself teaches Queen Ramoth!
Its a spectacular book with spectacular flights of fantasy!
I love it! I especially love the dragons!

* * * * * * * *
I found this fansite about the dragon riders of Pern and got some quotes
You Know You've Been REading too much Pern Books...



:-)
(Ithink this quote will keep changing everytime you see it. I've placed another one on the side bar)

20 pesos

I picked up a twenty peso bill on the steps of promenade. That brought me memories of long ago. I remember I was maybe grade 2 when I first picked up my first twenty peso bill on the streets. I was so thrilled then. I never had twenty pesos. I thought a lot of things I can buy with it. I could buy a box of cereal and candies and a coke and more. Now, as I look at the twenty peso bill, I wondered if there was still things I can buy with it. Candy? A jeep ride?
I may have been thinking of petty things before but that kept me thinking of the prices today. Has it something to do with the economy? Of course it has something to do with it. The dollar vesus peso too.
The thing is, when I was grade 2, I see that twenty peso bill as something so big and now, it's something so small.　It can't even be enough to tip a cab!

House Husbands

Recent discussion at the family e-group is about house husbands and it got me thinking of things mom told me.
Is it really frowned upon in today's Philippine society? To answer that question, we must first know the definition of house husbands.
A house husband is a man married to a woman. He keeps house while the wife is one that works the nine to five job. His duties in the house includes cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children if there are some. He has to manage the house expense and make sure the house is in proper working order. Not a bad description considering being at hoe most of the time, eh? But my mother keeps telling me it is a constant challenge. Being a housewife most of our growing up years, she says it is a job with no financial rewards. Father Reuters once said in his homily that if you tried to put a price in parenting, you'd end up with figures you can't count anymore and that's only until you're 18 years of age.
There aren't much house husbands in our modern society because of the whole machismo thing we have going on. Nope, prime my dears. We have too much pride. Men are expected to be providers and women are the home makers. But in our modern setting, there are more demands for jobs relating to women that men. Look, there are more female nurses, caregivers and call center agents that males. We hire at least two maids in a house hold but not all the time a "boy". If a "boy" is hired, he doubles a driver.
Actually, a negative form of house husbands do exist. In the lower caste of Philippine society, the women work and the males stay at home. No, they do not cook, clean or manage house hold. They can't manage expenses. Such sad fate the women of the slums endure. They come home to bums. This is a grim reality we face. The women go off to work as day-time maids, secretaries, assistants or shop clerks while the males stay home, drink at night and constantly gamble. Most of the time, the women would opt for being an OFW just to bring in more income for their growing family.
No matter where in society you belong, this practice must stop. Male roles in the slums are getting worse. There is an unhealthy thrive of bad example to the youth. It promotes women oppression and laziness. While we can see a slight improvement to our economy, we are not seeing the social problems these bring.
For now, I will stop at that, for more social problems will be tackled in future posting. This entry is getting too long.

Be Proud of Your FULL Figure!

New Year, New Life, New Book

For New Year, I went to Diko's house in Greenhills. We were in Promenade and there was a FULLYBOOKED. Man, I bought the book I was looking for, Dragonquest.

Dragonquest is the story about a dragonrider's life and the complication of being tied to a dragon and his Weyr. For you see, a golden dragon's mating insticts can be very perilous and only bronze dragons mate them. the riders couple each other during the mating flight. But Brekke, rider of golden dragon Wirenth is a virgin and has very high morals. She doesn't want any bronze mating her and discarding her. F'nor rider of brown dragon Canth fell in love with her and is determined to let Canth mate Wirenth against tradition.
Tragedy struck when Wirenth and senior queen Prideth fought during a mating flight. The result killed both queens. When a rider's dragon dies, half of her soul or her very mind is gone. Brekke goes in a state of sleep. She won't wake. It took F'nor's love to bring her back from the dark tunnels of her mind.
Then, F7nor goes to suicide mission to space, he is badly hurt. He falls back to earth with Canth but they cannot fly. Brekke's love echoed to all the dragons and they left their riders to form a dragon ramp to save Canth and F'nor.
How touching.
In Anne McCaffrey's Pern, there is no wedding in the Weyrs. Holder and Craft halls have wedding with harpers to perform them. In the Weyr, the dragons share their minds and emotions with the riders. The first to break tradition is actually F'nor's brother, F'lar. F'lar is the Bender Weyrleader. He takes no other but Lessa, rider of Queen Ramoth. Ramoth will mate with no other but F'lar bronze, the large Mnementh.
I love McCaffrey's characters. They have personality. Even the dragons are wonderful. In a world wracked with problems political, social and of course environmental. They will not give up and they struggle to do more than just survive.

Happy Valentines!

Happy Hearts Day Everyone!

Whalesong

I bought a book in BOOKS & MAGS for 9.00
Yes, quite a bargain.
One man's junk, another girls's treasure
and a treasure it was!
A book entitled Whalesong by Robert Siegel. It's a classic but most importantly, it's autographed. Whoever owned it must have forgotten about the autograph.

***

Whalesong is about a humpback named Hrunakaya. Whales have their own traditions and thier own beleifs. The antagonists of the story are humans. Humans who have an insatiable appetite to consume the environment wantonly and pollute wherever they thread.
It was fortold to Hrunakaya that he was to lead his pod and save the young. He ws going to be thre greatest of humpbacks, singing the song of the sea.
Sadly, they lost whales to the whalers but the Whale of Light told Hruna not to fret. There will come a day when men will cease to hunt. With that, Hruna was given a sign. His wife gave birth to an albino humpback.

A Wizard Alone

"Honey, the dog wants to know the meaning of life!"
Kit rubbed his forehead tempted to find himself trying to hide his eyes. "Give him a dog biscuit and tell him its an allegory."
"What, life?"
***
I've just finished reading the sixth book of Diane Duane's Young Wizard Series, A Wizard Alone.

The adventures continue with Nita and Kit. After the death of her mother, Nita is in a depression. Kit on the otherhand is busy exploring the new capabilities of his dog, Ponch. He thinks there's a wizardry likeage in the house. His father could hear the DVD and the TV arguing while his mother can hear Ponch asking her about the meaning of Life. The senior wizards has assigned Kit to a new assignment. He was to investigate the disappearance of a would-be wizard who was currently taking the Ordeal, the wizard's test. Nobody's supposed to take a test that long. Something was up.
Something was. The kid, Darryl was in a school. He was there physically but mentally, not. Another thing Kit finds out, Darryl is Autistic!
How can an Autistic boy find the Winzard's Oath?
Futher more, he seems to be at two places at once. Or maybe more. While Kit searches for him in Darryl's mind, Nita is visited nightly in her dreams by Darryl himself. She finds out that he is a Pillar, a person who could or couldn't be a wizard but is given immense power by the One (God or Holy Trinity).
The Lone Power, Satan, is after Darryl. Nita must find a way to save Darryl and Kit and Ponch who were stuck in Darryl's mind with him.
It seems Darryl does possess a higher power. With a bit of encouragement from Nita and Kit, he is able to open up and accept what Wizardry is. He takes Nita, Kit, Ponch and himself out of his personal universe. Now, he is a wizard and chooses to come out of his autism. Kit and Nita gets a scolding for cutting classes and Darryl's parents gets a shock. He suddenly wakes up from his corner and demands to go home.
Lovely story. Very creative. The mix of Darryl's understanding and his autism is beautifully merged in the story. Who would have thought of it! It makes me shiver to think about the concepts in the book.
I'll leave you all to read it and find out. for now, Let me share to you some quotes from the book:

*

"We're wizards. We're supposed to get comfortable with the uncomfortable complex."
--Kit
"I never thought goodness could be so though, so strong. But then again... I think goodness isn't something I'd think about a whole lot. Nobody uses the word much unless it's in a commmercial..."
--Nita
"Virtue, the real thing, Isn't some kind of cuddy teddy bear you can keep on the shelf untill you need a hug... Virtue has its own agenda, and believe me, it's not always yours. The word itseld means strength, power."
-- Carl, Senior Advisory Wizard.
"The trouble with saints these days are the robe-and-halo imagery that gets stuck into it. People forget that robes were street clothes once... and still are in a lot of places. Halos are the fierce air of innocence what speech balloons in comics are to the sound of voice itself. But people just see an old symbol and don't bother looking behind it for the meaning. Sainthood starts to look old-fathioned, unattainable... and even repellant."
"But Saints tend to be not too obvious. For one thing, they don't want to attract the Lone One's attention to them. Also, they tend to be too busy. Mostly, Sainthood involves hard work." --Carl

Read or Die: Talecraft Promotion

Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007

In the Read or Die Convention in Intercon Manila, Komikasi has launched a promotional campaign for Talecraft. A heartfelt thanks to all those who joined and support. It was a very succeful promotion for us.
Here are some pictures of the event.





Tell your tale...
Master your Craft

Talecraft

a story creeation game!




Here are some people playing the game.
Writers, teachers, students and anyone who's anyone can play!






http://talecraft.komikasi.com
to updated with more pictures within the week!

Stereotypes in Romances

If you read romances, don't you find the hero and damsel so "the usual"?
What I mean is, in every romance story, the girl and the boy have to always be perfect. Even if it is in historical romance of fantasy romance. I'm no expert. I haven't read all that much but based on the different authors I tried, they are so typical.
The boy has to have oodles of noodles. Tall, lean, good looking no matter what age he's supposed to be in. The girl is always young. Young and very pretty. I find it strange that she should always have a great body, pettite yet full boobs.
Typical!
Once boy meets girl, some passion is ignited but they refuse to acknowledge til the very end. When they do acknowledge, the girl will then start first. The guy's response will be fondling that leads to you know what.
I read Anne McCaffrey's Restoree. Now, this guy ain't so typical. So he doesn't look so good and the girl is not blonde or exotic in appearance but ok, they're not too typical. Then again, there isn't much LOVE in their lovestory.
I haven't quite read a good love story that can make me ponder about love.

a book a day

Me and my hunger. hunger to read!

I've read at least seven book during my trip to Davao. Now that I'm back, I'm reading a book a day. Two book yesterday. What a record. But then I read my Alanna books in three days and the four Protector of the Small Quartet in another 3 days. That's a hunger for reading.
I tried to read a romance novel. Bleh! Not too interesting.
No wonder Aki wants historical or sci-fi romance. At least you learn something in historical romances. It got little interesting tidbits.
Sci-fi romance is a bit boring. Haven't seen a good blend of Romance to the sci part of it yet.
So I read about three historical romances, ok but not too ok. needs more.

***

Back to Fantasy,
I'm reading about Veralidaine Sarasri. (Tamora Pierce's the Immortals Quartet) I've first encountered her in the Protector of the Small Quartet. She helped Kell a lot. Veralidaine or Daine's story comes between Alanna and Kell's. She starts at thirteen, an orphan who thinks she's crazy because she can communicate to animals.
She finds new friends who know her worth. They believe Daine has Wild Magic. This certain type of magic cannot be learned or mastered in some university. It lives within her and nobody can take it. Her new friend and mentor, Numaire, not only treasures her but also developes some... well... I read up in Kell's book that they become lovers. Even if Daine is half Numaire's age.

Quotes from Daine
"Someday I must read about this scholar Everyone. He seems to have written so much-- all of it wrong."

Quotes from a Stormwing
"... But the wheels turn. What is up may come down; what is brought low may come down. The gods are not fickle--but they ahve been known to change their minds."

Back at Last

I'm back.
Vacation gone and I'm back home. I'm definately not going back to working for mom. It's just making my hair whitter. I'm looking for a new venture. Davao opened a lot of doors but which to take? I have to think which to enter. AS tempting as some of them might be, they still have risks attached.
Hope to make decisions na.
I do want to move back to Davao where the pace is much slower. Felt good to be nearer nature. Here in Manila, it feels too dry, dusty and dark. Sun doesn't shine as brightly. Aura is not the same.
I'm going to miss buddy. Hope she won't get too bored. It's the slow pace of Davao that drives her crazy. Don't worry, buds, I'll be there soon. Outing tayo ulit.

Si Taba!

Ai!
One thing I hate about coming home is being labeled "Si Taba."
It seems everybody --EVERYBODY-- Everybody has a diet trick or two to suggest.
What's the point? What's the deal?
Can't I enjoy life as I want it?
Why do we all have to conform to what is beautiful?
Can't I not be plus sized in my own way?
What happened to real beauty?
Everyone can say I look beautiful or that I'm talented but, there's a but to everything. I'm freaking fat.

Foreigner in Her Own Home

I'm back in Davao. My, this place changed in just a year. I remember Jaja and I were here just last year and a lot of things have certainly changed.

Dinah's here. I'm glad of that.

Davao is still relaxing and slow-paced. If I stay here long, I wonder if I would get bored? Would thing be too slow for me? But then, the fast pace od Manila is already boring me to bits. Here, nature is closer. Here, I feel a lot calmer.

Yes, the usual family dramas are still here. Then again, it's everywhere and that's not new.

I feel a bit detached here.

Is Davao a place in the Philippines?

I feel it shold be it's own country. It's so peaceful and too nice to be tainted by the political struggles happening in the north.

While I'm here, I'm also somewhere else.

Where?

Pern.

I seem to be always at two places at once.

When I was in Japan, I was in the world of Diana Wynne Jones and Tokyo. Now, I'm in Davao and in Anne McCaffrey's Pern. I bought tons of Dragon Riders of Pern books to bring here and I was thrilled when I found a ot of second hand books about Pern here as well. I couldn't put the books down. So I'm in two worlds at once.

Pern's been wonderful. Full of dragons and fire lizards. The characters are very human and they struggle with the usual human problems. Of course, they have dragons to help them.

The other day, I didn't want to get up. I think I was still asleep. I was saying in my sleep tat I could ask Lord Jaxom of Ruatha to fly me over with his dragon, Ruth. Five minutes later, I had to rush in the bathroom because there was no dragon waiting for me. I was late for breakfast.

hehehe.

My library's expanding!

Book of the Year!

By the end of 2006, I can read about 400 pages a day. Of course Diki keeps telling me to slow down. She says I must savor the book.
My fave books of 2006 are as follows:
1st place: R. A. MacAvoy's A Trio for Lute
2nd Place: Anselm Audley's Heresy
3rd Place: Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl
----------------
I bought 25 new books this season and I already read more than half. Hope to read more every day and hope to collect more soon.
I believe, reading gives makes a person smarter, calmer and more logical. So keep reading!
Gosh, I can't seem to ahve enough to read!