September 2011
3 posts
Recordings from the 1st Pinoy Reader Con
The first Filipino Reader Conference took place last Wednesday at the SMX, Mall of Asia, and it was a resounding success. For those who weren’t able to attend in-person, or for attendees who want to relive the event, Charles Tan has uploaded audio recordings of the talks and panels. You can find them here. Here’s a list of the speakers/panelists and participants, with links to their...
2011 Komikon Awards: Open for Voting
The voting period for the 2011 Komikon Awards, which has been rolling out nominations for the past few weeks, has officially begun and will last for one month, terminating on October 15, 2011. You can click here for instruction on how to register/vote, and go here for the actual casting of your virtual ballots. Here are the links to the categories and their respective nominees: BEST FILIPINO...
Filipino Reader Fridays: Philippine Literature
As part of an event to promote the upcoming Filipino Reader Conference, I’ll be participating (or trying to) in Filipino Fridays, where Filipino readers discuss a weekly topic. For this week, I’m going to talk a bit about my favorite books by Filipino authors. Well, my biases are certainly going to be evident in this post. As may be obvious to visitors of the site, I make it a point to...
August 2011
5 posts
Filipino Reader Fridays: Being a Filipino Reader
As part of an event to promote the upcoming Filipino Reader Conference, I’ll be participating (or trying to) in Filipino Fridays, where Filipino readers discuss a weekly topic. For this week, I’m going to talk a bit about advantages and disadvantages to being a reader in the Philippines. I can only speak as to the advantages and disadvantages to being a reader in Metro Manila, and what...
1 tag
Filipino Reader Fridays: How I Became a Reader
As part of an event to promote the upcoming Filipino Reader Conference, I’ll be participating (or trying to) in Filipino Fridays, where Filipino readers discuss a weekly topic. For this week, I’m going to talk a bit about how I became a reader. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t always been a reader, that I didn’t spring forth from the womb with my nose buried in a...
PGS Online: "Fragrant Blood" by Elyss Punsalan
The third set of stories for PGS Online, this batch co-edited by Dean Alfar, has begun to roll out, kicking off with “Fragrant Blood” by Elyss Punsalan of Pakinggan Pilipinas. Expect stories from Alexander Osias, Vincent Simbulan, and Dean himself in the coming weeks.
Filipino Reader Fridays: Introduction
As part of an event to promote the upcoming Filipino Reader Conference, I’ll be participating (or trying to) in Filipino Fridays, where Filipino readers discuss a weekly topic. For this week, I’m going to talk a bit about who I am as a reader. People talk all the time about “literary snobs”, those who read only literary fiction and look down on anything else, particularly...
Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Campaign Kicks Off
Sometimes, the most informative part of my work day comes from simply passing through the lobby (one of them) of the House of Representatives. Groups take advantage of that high traffic space to set up exhibits that aim to raise awareness about various issues. It’s not always as exciting as Philippine-made robot overlords, but it’s always educational, and sometimes even something...
July 2011
2 posts
Flipside Ebook Publishing Webinar
Flipside Digital Content, the Philippine company responsible for publishing books such as Carljoe Javier’s “Geek Tragedies” and—through their Flipside Komix imprint—komiks titles such as Kubori Kikiam, Tabi Po and The Long Weekend, will be holding a free Webinar on Ebook Publishing for those who want to learn more about the business (or, to be more specific, to learn...
Podfiction: "New Toy" on Pakinggan Pilipinas
Pakinggan Pilipinas, which recently celebrated its first birthday, continues to place Philippine stories on the podfiction map. For July, they’ve released an audio rendition of “New Toy” by Joseph Anthony Montecillo, which was published in Philippine Speculative Fiction volume V. Joseph is a shining example that it is never too late to become a writer [/sarcasm]. The youngest...
June 2011
6 posts
Market! Market! Book Fair: Mad About Books
Via the Filipino Book Bloggers Facebook page (c/o The Book Fancier), I’ve learned that there is an ongoing book fair at the Market! Market! Mall called “Mad About Books”. I’m not sure how good the spec fic pickings will be this year, but the book fair Marker!Market! had two years ago had quite a few hardbound SF books I’d never seen anywhere else. so it may be worth a...
Review: "When Britain Ruled the Philippines,...
I know that a lot of Rocket Kapre readers and Philippine speculative fiction writers are fans of Philippine history, so I thought I'd point you all to my review of Shirley Fish's "When Britain Rules the Philippines: 1762-1764 (The Story of the 18th Century British Invasion of the Philippines During the Seven Years War)" over at Filipiniana.net. For those looking to skip to the bottom line, here's my conclusion, which should show the book's appeal to those with a speculative point of view:
But these are relatively minor quibbles in the face of what the book has accomplished, which is to serve as a very well-researched account of a specific period of our history that other texts gloss over. Even more than that, however, is the fact that in developing the characters of many of the principal players in the conflict, Fish has tailored her account in such a way as to feed the imagination: What if Drake had not been given "complete control of the government and the military"? What if Anda had agreed to an alliance with the conscripted Sepoys? When a work of history has you musing about what might have been, you know that it has succeeded where lesser works have failed: it has avoided the trap of making history seem inevitable. In some other universe, we're watching the Royal Wedding with an entirely different set of emotions… and thanks to Fish's book, I have a greater understanding of why that universe isn't this one.
One thing I forgot to mention in the review: the book can be hard to find, but I did see several copies available for purchase at the Frank Lynch Library of the Philippine Social Science Council Building. Of course, that was months ago, but even if they don't have Fish's book, a trip to the library should be worthwhile to any history fan--they have a stock of Filipiniana books that I haven't seen available anywhere else.
RP612Fic 2011: The Stories
So… RP612fic 2011. Let’s crunch the numbers. 427 stories. Four hundred twenty seven stories were contributed this year (and that’s not even taking into account the forty-nine sent on the 8th for Philippine corals blog action day) and as someone who laments the lack of Philippine alternative history fiction—that brings a smile to my face. Some may quibble about the...
Launch: "Geek Tragedies" by Carljoe Javier
Carljoe Javier—friend of the site, head honcho of UST Publishing House and all around uber-geek—will be having a simultaneous launch of the print and digital editions of his newest book “Geek Tragedies”. You can read a sample here and pre-order the book for the Kindle at a discount. Here’s the announcement: Geek Tragedies will be officially launched on July 1! The...
2 tags
Celebrate Independence Day 2011 with Twitter...
This year, everyone was treated to a special edition of RP612fic during the June 8 Blog Action Day to save Philippine corals, but don’t forget that the annual celebration of Independence Day through twitter fiction is still pushing through on June 12, and on to June 13 as well, because the 12th is a Sunday, and we all tweet more when there’s work ^_^. For anyone lat to the party,...
3 tags
RP612Fic: Corals and Reefs Edition
Yesterday was a Blog Action Day to save Philippine corals, in light of distressing revelations regarding the extent of illegal coral/turtle harvesting and export. To participate in the attempt to raise awareness, I sent an open invitation to Filipino authors to participate in a special edition of the event, and tweet micro fiction stories with a coral/marine theme. (Note: We’ll still be...
May 2011
8 posts
Call for Submissions: Philippine Speculative...
Fresh from the launch of the sixth volume of the anthology, submissions are now open for volume seven of the Philippine Speculative Fiction anthology. You can read the guidelines over at the blog of Kate Aton-Osias, who will be co-editing the next volume with her husband, Alex Osias. The most important bit of data of course is the deadline: The deadline for submissions is midnight, Manila time,...
PSF6 Launch Photos
The launch for the sixth volume of Philippine Speculative Fiction took place last Saturday, with the inimitable Dean Alfar once again serving as master of ceremonies and all-around entertainer—the PSF launches usually turn into roasts for the editors and contributors (and being absent is no defense) and a grand time was had by all. I’ll have videos from the launch and the earlier...
“Pericos Tao”
– by Andrew Drilon
PGS: "THe Departure" and "Kapre: A Love Story"
Charles Tan’s third solicitation for his run as PGS Online sub-editor is up” “Kapre: A Love Story”, written by Erin Chupeco. Here’s the first paragraph: This is the tale of Kapre, who lived in ancient trees tangled in shadow. Massive, stubbed fingers the color of faded coffee, scrabbling at tree trunk and bark for sustenance. Irises the color of twin moons, mouth the...
4 tags
Summer Komik Review Link Roundup
With both the Metro Comic Con and Summer Komikon behind us, the two biggest komik-centric events of the summer (note that the Toycon, while larger, has had a small komiks presence in the past), a slew of reviews, long and short, have been popping up on the Internet, and I thought that now would be a good time to round them up: EK Gonzales: Reviews of The Filipino Heroes League book 1 (paolo...
Redstone SF Interviews Charles Tan (Part 1)
Redstone Science Fiction has part one of a two part interview with Charles Tan. For those who don’t know Charles, he’s an author, editor (Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler; Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction 2009), Philippine spec fic advocate and prolific blogger (he runs Bibliophile Stalker , and contributes to SF Signal and The World SF Blog, amongst others). The interview...
RK Recommends: "Starve Better" by Nick Mamatas
[New section time: I won’t bother putting up reviews of non-Filipino books which I wouldn’t recommend, or even those which are merely adequate, but now and then I’d like to recommend something worth reading, especially if there’s a digital edition available. Hence, “RK Recommends”] Nick Mamatas’ “Starve Better” (Kindle version) is a collection...
Podfiction: "Reunion" by Eliza Victoria
Pakinggan Pilipinas recently released their May story: “Reunion” by Palanca Award-winner (and Usok contributor) Eliza Victoria. You can find the story here. Here’s some background to the story, from the author herself (from the Pakinggan Pilipinas Facebook page): I remember I was ironing my clothes one day and, as what usually happens during empty, boring hours, I began thinking...
April 2011
3 posts
Launch: Philippine Speculative Fiction 6
I’ve just received word that the sixth volume of the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthology, edited by Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton-Osias, and published by Kestrel DDM, will be launched on May 28, 2011, Saturday, 5PM at the UView Theater, Fully Booked at Bonifacio High Street. If you’re at all interested in science fiction, fantasy, and horror written by Filipinos, do try to come...
Summer Komikon 2011 Impressions and Photodump
The 2011 Summer Komikon took place yesterday at the Bayanihan Center. I didn’t have enough time to go around as much as I usually do, but here are a few pictures and some thoughts on the event. The turnout seemed about equal to what it was at the Bahay ng Alumni, which was a pleasant surprise and is a testament to a bang up job that organizers and advocates did getting the word out. I found...
Filipinos Nominated for the 2011 Eisner Awards
Komix 101 has a post up listing the Filipinos with work that has been nominated for the prestigious Eisner Awards for this year. The big news of course is the nomination of Gerry Alanguilan’s “Elmer”, but other Filipinos have made the ballot this year, and Komix 101 also lists those who, as Gerry pointed out, have made the ballot or won the award in the past. Congratulations and...
March 2011
2 posts
Petron Book Donation Drive
Received this via email and I thought I’d pass it on. Participating in book donation drives is always a great way to share the things we love.
Digital Cartoon Contest - 15th Seoul International...
Before I went on the baby-hiatus (a.k.a. Parenting-is-Hard), I received an email from Jin Woo Choi, manager of the International Digital Cartoon department of the upcoming 15th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival. Jin Woo wanted me to pass along an invitation for Filipino creators to submit entries to the 6th International Digital Cartoon Competition which will be held at the...
February 2011
2 posts
“Skygypsies”
– Free Philippine SF Comic, Now Online
Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics: Free for...
As part of the Art Access promotion, the Rothledge/Taylor and Francis Group will be giving free online access to their complete range of visual arts journals throughout February 2011. Of particular interest to Rocket Kapre readers would be the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics - you can browse the articles from the journal’s first two issues (there have only been two so far) online, or...
January 2011
4 posts
Philippine Speculative Fiction 6 Table of Contents...
The lineup for the next volume of the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthology (this time edited by Nikki Alfar and Kate Osias) has been announced. I’m happy to say that my story, “On Wooden Wings” (set in the same world as the Kataastaasan comic) made the cut. Here’s the entire table of contents, as announced at Kate’s blog, Wishcatcher (head there for more...
Ateneo's Philippine Epics and Ballads Archive is...
This morning, on the first day of the “Songs of Memory” international conference on epics and ballads at the Ateneo de Manila, the university launched the online version of its Philippine Epics and Ballads Archive. I’ll have more about the conference in the next week or so, but I wanted to get the word out early about the new site, because anything that helps promote and...
Ebook Deal: Physics of the Impossible
The kindle edition of one of the best books available for writers of science fiction—or anyone at all interested in science—is on sale right now on Amazon.com: Michio Kaku’s “Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel” for the criminally low price of USD1.99 (region dependent assume)....
1 tag
Victoria, Eliza
Eliza Victoria was born in 1986. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in various publications based in the Philippines and abroad, most recently in High Chair, elimae, The Pedestal Magazine, Expanded Horizons, Philippine Speculative Fiction V, and Usok Her children’s book, Jeremy’s Magic Well, is one of the ten winning stories of the Gig Book story-writing contest and is now available from GASFI....
December 2010
5 posts
Movie Review: RPG: Metanoia
There’s a lot to like in Thaumatrope Animation’s first film, RPG: Metanoia, the first full length computer generated animated film to be both created and commercially released in the Philippines. It’s also the first animated film to be produced in 3D, but since I only caught the 2D edition (not a huge 3D fan anyway), there’s not much I can say about that aspect of the film. What I can say is that...
Bewildering Stories' Mariner Awards 2010
Bewildering Stories just held their Annual Review and released the list of Mariner Award winners for 2010, which includes stories by our very own Filipino authors Dean Alfar (“In the Dim Plane”), Nikki Alfar (“Adrift on the Street Formerly Known as Buendia”), and Elyss Punsalan (“Pursuit of the Litaniera”). Check out their stories if you haven’t already,...
Eliza Victoria in Stone Telling #2
Stone Telling is an online speculative poetry magazine, released quarterly, and the second issue has a poem from our very own Eliza Victoria. You can read her poem, “Archaeology”, and the other contributions, for free at the site. She also participates in a roundtable discussion. Congratulations once again to Eliza!
Rocket Kapre's Budjette/Kajo Interview in the...
Today’s 2BU Section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer has republished, online and in print, my post National book Award interview with Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. Glad to see the Trese creators getting more much deserved exposure—though I do wish they’d spelled my name right ;)
Komik Review: Marco's Delivery Service by John...
Judging by “Marco’s Delivery Service”(written and illustrated by John Carreon) and its previous production, “My Falling Star Girlfriend”, Ravencage Studios (Facebook page) understands that while you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, it’s important to assume that many of us will do just that. The front and back cover of “Marco’s...
November 2010
7 posts
Komik Review: Askals by Dodo Dayao and Bong Leal
The POC’s Metakritiko section has my review of “Askals” by Dodo Dayao and Bong Leal. Here’s an excerpt: What makes Askals more than the sum of its parts for me is that it achieves a sense of time and place that is absent from many other works. The problem with some stories (komiks and prose) is that they never seem to feel like they’re occurring in a real place, even...
Visprint Launches Naermyth, Kikomachine Komix 6,...
This coming Friday, November 19, Visprint will be having a book signing/ launch for three of its newest titles: Karen Francisco’s Naermyth, Karl de Mesa’s News of the Shaman, and Manix Abrera’s Kikomachine Komix Blg 6. Also in attendance will be Kajo Baldisimo-Moring, Siege Malvar, Eros Atalia and Alan Navarra. The event will be at 53/600 pm at Quantum Cafe, FERON Building,...
An Assessment of Komikon 2010 on the POC
My first article on the recently concluded 6th Komikon is now up on the POC. It’s a general overview of my impressions of the event (not focused on the komiks content, that comes later) with a video of the last ten minutes of the second Sulyap contributors panel with Rommel Estanislao, Tepai Pascual, Macoy Tang, and Josel Nicolas. (Man, I wish some other enterprising soul recorded the panels...
Komikon 2010 Photodump
Maybe it was the size of the venue, or the tiny ingress/egress points, or the fact that so many people were standing still as the waited in line to meet Manix Abrera, but this year’s Komikon felt positively packed. I’ll save my impressions and reviews for future articles, but for now, here are a few photos from the event: Mervin Malonzo, of Tabi Po and the Quarterly Bathroom Companion,...
Komikon 2010 is This Saturday
In case any of you needed reminding, the 6th annual Philippine komiks convention, or KOMIKON, will be taking place this Saturday, November 13, from 10 in the morning to 7 in the evening. Keep in mind that this year’s event is a one day only affair, and will be held at Starmall Trade Hall, 2nd Level, Starmall EDSA (not at SM Megamall as in previous years, or at UP—that’s the...
Folk Tales Interview on SLIA Blog:
Zarah Gagatiga did a couple of interviews in preparation for her upcoming book Tales From the 7,000 Isles: Filipino Folk Stories (co-authored with Dianne De Las Casas), including one with yours truly. She posted my answers on her blog, School Librarian in Action, so head on over if you’re curious. (Let me take the chance to remind everyone that I’m no expert when it comes to Philippine...
1 tag
Usok 2 is Live
The second issue of Usok is now live! I’ll post my introduction here, but you can also see it on the front page of the new issue itself. I hope you enjoy the stories and the art, and if you do, please comment and encourage the creators, because feedback is sweet ambrosia for writers and artists. For those who are looking for Usok you can get a PDF of the illustrated edition in the Past...
October 2010
5 posts
Usok #2 Release Date: 3 November 2010
The wait is over. Be here on November 3, 2010 for the launch of the second issue of Usok, the webzine of Fantastic Filipino Fiction. Three all new stories, each with a custom piece of art by some of the best digital painters in the country, with a cover by CG Pintor founder K. Lapeña. Please spread the word! Table of Contents: 100% of Me by Kate Aton-Osias Elsewhere by Eliza Victoria The Widow and...
PICCA Fest 2010
The 2010 Philippine International Cartoons, Comics, and Animation festival, affectionately known as the PICCA Fest, opened today at SM City North EDSA. You may have already heard of the festival because the organizers have visited your school, or because of the other pre-events they did to promote the event, but today marks the start of the festival proper, with an exhibit at the Block (2nd floor)...
Teen Read Week 2010: My Top Ten Teen Reads
Philippine Board on Books for Young People chair Zarah Gagatiga asked me if I’d like to help raise awareness for Teen Read Week by providing a list of “Top Ten Books I Read When I Was a Teenager” (so no, this isn’t a “Books With Beat” theme post). I made an earlier post on my old blog about books I treasured early in my life as a reader, and it seems fitting to...