Literary Cosplay Wishlist

The Stepping Out: Literary Cosplay Competition at the Manila Book Fair is turning into a highly-anticipated event (CAN’T WAIT) and Charles Tan has written about the Top 10 Characters He Wants to See Cosplayed. I don’t read much Fantasy, so most of those characters are unfamiliar, but I think it’s a brilliant idea to list down the literary characters you want to see in the flesh. At best, those people willing to enter but lacking any costume ideas would be inspired. Here is my list thus far, and I’m sure it’ll get longer:

1. Johnny Rico from Starship Troopers by Robert E. Heinlein - Because the big guns would be cool. Not the movie adaptation, please.

2. Fantomas by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre - A less well-known criminal than Arsene Lupin but you really can’t beat the costume. You can even use an unmodified Tuxedo Kamen if you already have one! Just nix the single red rose, replace it with a bloodied dagger and everything is set.

3. Cardinal de Richelieu from The Three Musketeers. Tin and Yukitsu have already professed their burning desire to see the main characters of the Alexandre Dumas novels but this one would make me SO HAPPY.

4. Marquise de Merteuil from Les liaisons dangreuses - Only if she looks like the Glenn Close version.

5. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand - Okay, I admit it, I’m pimping all the French characters because I want to people with frilly shirts walking around World Trade Center. My favorite underachiever needs love and people should oblige me.

6. Stephen King’s Carrie - WHY NOT. Fake blood and messy props aren’t allowed but a red-dyed prom dress and crazy Sissy Spacek eyes are all that you’ll ever need, really.

7. Scheherazade from Arabian Nights - Personally, it’s the Hallmark Channel’s incarnation which I find most appealing, but there are almost as many depictions of the storyteller as the tales she told.

8. Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man - I want someone to try. Please, please try. So the skin art wouldn’t move as per the description from the stories, and some people may object to partial nudity, but wouldn’t it be cool just to meet someone that looks like this in person? Just so you know, my plea does not merely extend to the yakuza crime lords out there.

9. Captain Ahab from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick - Since I’m dispensing cosplay suggestions anyway, this one goes to the POTC fans. Of course, Ahab does not have the same, er, jauntiness as dear Captain Jack Sparrow. His temperament is closer to Barbossa, I guess. Or Captain Teague. XDD

10. The Wife of Bath - Gotta represent Mr. Chaucer somehow. Lol. The dear woman has a special place in my heart and her part in Canterbury Tales is the only one I tried to read in the original Middle English.

Also, SHERLOCK HOLMES!!!!

… I think we need to make a forum thread for this.

July 27, 2007 | Filed Under Miscellany, Events | 1 Comment

Websites for the Bored

Apologies for the silence these past few days. Things have been, uh, happening for us. Anyway, while we are getting ready for real posts, I present three journals that would occupy your time.

1. StrangMaps is a blog of maps you’ll never find in your geography textbooks. Peruse these titles, if you please: a map of Stephen King’s Maine, a Tourist map of Gotham, Where on Earth Was Middle Earth?. Those are some of the more literary ones but people should check other maps of interest. I’m particularly tickled by this Map of Online Communities.

2. Giornale Nuovo, maintained by a certain man of mystery named Mr. H, is a treasure trove of information, not to mention the most sumptuous scans of manuscripts I’ve ever seen. His choice of subject matter is both quirky and erudite, ranging from the different visual representations of the Tower of Babel to an illustrated Italian cookbook featuring anthromorphic vegetables. Mr. H seems to take great pleasure in collecting miscellany (even the expensive ones, some of his books are 200 years old or more!), and the juxtaposition of various interests give this blog a special flavor. Right now, I’m in awe of the works by two artists he featured, both of them previously unknown to me: the dark and unsettling portraits by Mexican painter Remedios Varo (more examples of brilliance here), and the exuberant Arabic calligraphy of Hassan Massoudy.

I need to thank the online fantasy anthology Unlined for pointing out StrangeMaps and Giornale Nuovo.

3. This last one is for all those who stay up late at night pondering the etymology of pandemonium. XDDD More word origins than you can shake a stick at can be found at Word Detective.com where Evan Morris writes monthly columns answering people’s most mind-boggling linguistic questions. His archive go as far back as 1995 and you can comment on his most recent columns on his blog. Did you know that hoi polloi has Greek origins? Or that maverick is an eponym of a Texas cattle rancher? Well, neither did I, but I’ve decided to read through the Word Detective’s back log and ejumacate myself. I learned a new word today: Rapscallion. Nice huh?

July 13, 2007 | Filed Under Miscellany, Reading | Leave a Comment

July 25-27: Pambansang Kumperensiya Sa Panitikang Pambata

This was forwarded to me by email, I think some people might be interested.

First National Conference on Literature for Children

The UP Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas, in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), will be sponsoring the first-ever Pambansang Kumperensiya sa Panitikang Pambata (National Conference on Literature for Children) with the theme “Tungo sa Gintong Panahon ng Panitikang Pambata” (Towards the Golden Age of Literature for Children) on July 25-27, 2007 at the Claro M. Recto Hall, Faculty Center, UP Diliman. The national conference will feature paper presentations by both established and young literary critics, creative writers, and visual artists for children led by renowned UP scholar Dr. Rosario Torres-Yu. Topics include interpretation and interpellation of Filipino aesthetics, historical and regional narratologies, educational and informational praxes, the culture of reading, media, diaspora, sexual politics, folklore, ethnography, peace talks, and poverty and revolution, – all in relation to literary production for children. Keynote speech will be delivered by critic and National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario. The said conference will also feature workshop talks by illustrator Jose Miguel Tejido, Adarna House publisher Ani Rosa Almario, and renowned writer for children Prof. Rene O. Villanueva. For inquiries about conference fees, reservations and the like, contact Dr. Eugene Y. Evasco ( eugene.evascoATgmailDOTcom) and/or Prof. Will P. Ortiz ( bilogangbuwanATgmailDOTcom). You may also contact 9244899.

Kauna-unahang Pambansang Kumperensiya sa Panitikang Pambata

Iniimbitahan ng UP Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas – sa pakikipagtulungan ng National Commission for Culture and the Arts – ang lahat ng interesado sa kauna-unahang Pambansang Kumperensiya sa Panitikang Pambata, mula Hulyo 25 hanggang 27, 2007, sa Claro M. Recto Hall, Faculty Center, U.P. Diliman. May temang “Tungo sa Gintong Panahon ng Panitikang Pambata,” itatampok sa nasabing pambansang kumperensiya ang presentasyon ng mga papel-pananaliksik ng mga kilala’t bagong kritiko, manunulat at ilustrador, sa pangunguna ng kilalang iskolar ng UP na si Dr. Rosario Torres-Yu. Umiinog ang mga pananaliksik sa estetikang Filipino, pangkasaysayan ang rehiyunal na imbestigasyon, kalakarang pang-edukasyon, ang kultura ng pagbabasa, midya, migrasyon, politico-sekswalidad, folklore, etnograpiya, usapang pangkapayapaan, at kahirapan at rebolusyon. Panauhing tagapagsalita ang kritiko at Pambansang Alagad sa Sining para sa Panitikan na si Prop. Virgilio S. Almario. Ang nasabing kumperensiya ay kinabibilangan rin ng palihan at presentasyon ng ilustrador na si Jose Miguel Tejido, Tagapaglathala ng Adarna House na si Ani Rosa Almario, at kilalang manunulat ng mga panitikang pambata na si Prop. Rene O. Villanueva. Para sa mga katanungan hinggil sa kumperensiya, makipag-ugnayan kina Dr. Eugene Y. Evasco ( eugene.evascoATgmailDOTcom) at/o Prop. Will P. Ortiz ( bilogangbuwanATgmailDOTcom). Maaari ring kumontak sa 9244899.

Note: I made obvious edits on the emails mentioned here, just so spambots will not get to them.

July 5, 2007 | Filed Under Events | Leave a Comment

“Sa Bubungan ng Mundo” by Abner P. Mercado

The book’s full title, Sa Bubungan ng Mundo: A journal on the first Filipino’s expedition to Mount Everest based on the official coverage of “The Correspondents” , just about says it all, I guess. Being a fan of Abner P. Mercado’s work on the ABS-CBN show, I find that a comparison between his “documentary voice” and literary one is inevitable. He conveys an earnest, down-to-earth character in his TV reports, a type of journalism that’s factual but also emotional. This “personal” approach is present in this book as well, giving a first-person account as he participated in almost all of the Everest Team’s preparations, exerting himself physically while documenting them.

The good news, his writing for TV translates well to print. His prose is as contemplative as his voice-overs on TV, approachable and easy to read. His greatest strength, I think, is in delivering vast amounts of information without overwhelming the reader, making the impromptu geography and history lessons pleasant and enlightening. However, it is exactly this “pleasantness,” that frustrates me about this book. Let’s just say that if you’ve watched the documentary, you won’t really need to read it anymore.

The more compelling parts of the book for me are when Mercado writes about the interesting incidents surrounding the main Everest saga: a revolution in Nepal, Filipino expats living in the country, foreign mountaineers met along the way, and the popular Pinoy Expedition team doctor, Rted Esguerra. However, Mercado merely mentions them in passing, when I would have wanted him to explore them further. He adequately presents the what’s, who’s, when’s, and where’s, but fails to give deeper insights on the motivations and decisions of his subjects. Take, for example, the Filipino Everest Team Leader, DOTC Undersecretary Art Valdez. He is a crucial figure in every step of the journey, providing leadership in all aspects, from logistics to emotional support. He shows utter faith in his teammates, even a surprising amount of emotional attachment to them. But as I was reading, I began to wonder how he got into that position in the first place, how a government official like him came to be such a passionate mountaineer. That is an interesting character study right there, something that Mercado did not explore.

While we’re in the subject of facts: the long lists of “Everest Facts” listed throughout the book in little gray boxes are redundant, since Mercado repeats most of the facts written there in his narrative. It also irked me that they couldn’t find a better source than the internet for these little fact bites. Using the Web as your only source of information detracts from an image of professionalism, I’m just saying.

In conclusion: it’s a good book for what it is, a supplement to the already extensive media coverage of the first Filipino Everest expedition. But if he had gone beyond the “Correspondents” format and made an effort to hone is potential for storytelling, Abner Mercado could have made a riveting journalistic memoir, a work that could stand on its own.

I don’t have access to a scanner right now, but I’ll be uploading the books cover on this post, if anybody is interested.

“Sa Bubungan Ng Mundo” is published by Vibal Publishing.

July 2, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews, Books | Leave a Comment

lolchaucer, among other things

Someone please PLEASE tell me I’m not the only one amused by this: I Can Hath Cheezburger. The entire blog is already a thing of beauty in itself, as the entries are written by “Chaucer” and some of his characters from The Canterbury Tales, most notably Sir John Mandeville (lolknight)Edited: Sir John Mandeville is an actual person who wrote travelogues in Anglo-Norman French. Chaucer himself gave the correction, read on the comments!. All posts are written in Middle English, medievalle spellynge and alle. That’s geekery at its finest, folks. Will peruse the whole thing when I can spare a few more braincells, but Google tells me that there’s a Brokeback Mountain parody buried somewhere in those archives.

Actually, I came across this by way of LolTheorists in LiveJournal. Tin has already mentioned the lolcats phenomenon currently exploding in the blogosphere, and I swear this is the meme that just keeps on giving. The simple explanation: lolcats are picture of cats (sometimes other cute animals) with witty captions superimposed on the image. There’s a specific kitty-grammar utilized in the captions, with recent attempts at standardizing it. Now the concept has been extended to condensing and captioning theoretical paradigms, ranging from Nietzsche to Schrodinger. INORITE? It has been very educational for me, never having realized before that Michel Foucault is kind of hot.

I promise I’m not always this shallow.

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under Miscellany | 5 Comments

Dashiell Hammett’s “Red Harvest”

Red Harvest is told in first-person by the Continental Op, a nameless detective and a recurring character in many of Hammett’s stories. He stumbles into the mining town of Personville when a newspaperman contacted him for a job. The Op never finds out the nature of the job, though, as his client is murdered before they could even talk. The story then gets out of control as the Op searches for his client’s killer and he himself is sucked into the spiral of violence and corruption that gave the place its nickname ‘Poisonville.’

I found the novel enjoyable up until the last quarter of it when a plot twist completely threw me off. I won’t reveal much of the action, though, because the greatest strength of Red Harvest lies in its unpredictability. Also, the plot twist did get resolved elegantly at the end. I actually liked it more when I did a quick re-read and marveled at Hammett’s excellent plotting.

What’s neat about the plot is that it’s a series of four mini-mysteries. Every time the Op succeeds in solving one of them, a bigger one gets thrown at him. Adding to the chaos is a cast of morally suspect characters trying to kill, pay or trick him, sometimes all at the same time. All he could depend on is his cunning and his own personal brand of morality. The dialogue is top-class as well, smooth and sharp, exactly the way I like it. The Op’s voice is witty enough that it uplifted a certainly depressing portrait of the American small town, but cynical enough to remain believable. I just wish people still talk like that, all clipped and sexy.

“Didn’t I tell you not to bother me unless you wanted to talk sense for a change?”

“You did, my lad.” There was a foolish sort of triumph in his voice. “And I’ll talk you your sense. I want a man to clean this pig-sty of a Poisonville for me, to smoke out the rats, little and big. It’s a man’s job. Are you a man?”

“What’s the use of getting poetic about it?” I growled. “If you’ve got a fairly honest piece of work to be done in my line, and you want to pay a decent price, maybe I’ll take it on. But a lot of foolishness about smoking rats and pig-pens doesn’t mean anything to me.

“All right. I want Personville emptied of its crooks and grafters. Is that plain enough language for you?”

Since this is an early Hammett novel, some people say that the nameless Op is some kind of beta version for Sam Spade, his iconic character in The Maltese Falcon. I’ve not read that yet, and I’m only familiar with the Bogart movie. Still, the vulnerability buried under contempt that Bogart-Spade displays is different from the Op’s unassuming tenacity.

My final verdict: this novel is pretty good. I just wish I wasn’t befuddled by that plot twist from the left field. >_<;;

Note: This review first appeared in my bookblog Tropical Marginalia. This is an edited version.

June 25, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews | 1 Comment

Book Sales, Second-hand Books, etc.

Book sales are my (not so) secret addiction. It doesn’t matter whether I’m dead tired or late for an appointment, every time the word SALE jumps at me and the products *look* like they contain pages, I invariably get suckered into “browsing.” The scary thing is, I think I’m telepathically drawn to them. The first time I ventured into the Cubao area, I went through Fully Booked, Goodwill, Booksale AND National Bookstore’s main branch (all four floors urk), without a map and without asking for directions. I probably can’t give you proper directions to the nearest restroom in Megamall, but tell me to find their Booksale store blindfolded and high on antihistamines, I’ll most likely get there. And because I’m a busybody, my feverish scanning of books also include peeking jealously at what other people already have in their hands (and privately judging them for it haha).

Perhaps it’s a little snooty to say that there’s an art to book bargains, but it does take a certain knack to maximize the experience. Anyone can find a good Stephen King paperback at P150 or cheaper, but spotting Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers under a pile of Barabara Cartlands and Baby Name Books and snapping it up for P100? Requires skillz. Through the years, I’ve learned to familiarize myself with potential authors and titles, by sampling their works in the library or reading reviews on the off-chance that I might encounter them in one of my searches. It’s certainly easier to take a chance on an unfamiliar author when you can buy the books dirt-cheap. Case in point, my ~~loot~~ book sale purchases in the past couple of months. I’ve only read two of them, but gazing at their pretty covers and thinking how much I paid for each one make the close-fisted miser in me just cackle in pleasure:

The Black Dahlia, James Ellroy (trade paperback) – P95
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith (trade paperback) P65
The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson (mass market, near perfect condition) – P50
The War at the End of the World, Mario Vargas Llosa – P150 markdown from P700
Red Harvest, Dashiell Hammett (trade paperback) P75
The Impressionist, Hari Kunzru (hardback!!!) - P99

There are, of course, some drawbacks. Water-damaged copies, cracks at the spine, dog-eared pages, and even (gasp!) notes scribbled all over. But that’s actually part of the charm for me, knowing that the books have their own history, that they provoked a reader enough to perform the act of highlighting a sentence. I’ve had my share of books that are clearly discarded from school libraries, and the paste-mark of the library cards are all obvious. My copy of Cry, the Beloved Country looks like it was used by a college student for required reading, with notes about symbolism and themes written at the last blank page. I can’t help but wonder about the girl who first owned my copy, if the novel had the same impact on her as it had for me. There’s also a copy of Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint I remember from the UP library. On the margins, written by 3 or more different hands, was an argument about the book’s obscenity. Talk about active reading! What I’d gladly give, just to own something like that.

By the way, where are your favorite used-book haunts? I’m a regular at Booksale Megamall and UP AS Walk. There’s also a small bookstore near my house where they sell/swap Pinoy Romance novels in the front and second-hand stuff at the back. I’m good friends with the owner. XDDD My one visit to Booksale Glorietta? Ayala Center? (I forgot which building) gave me Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. It was love.

June 13, 2007 | Filed Under Books, Miscellany | 6 Comments

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