balik blogger.com

ang hirap pala mag-archive ng blogs so im back to using my old blog site. still, i wanna match the design of my hp with my blogsite pero hindi pala madali. blogger.com uses css. im still in the process of learning the language so patawad po kung may kinks itong blog page

PS. help! paano ko ba aayusin tong margin?

in my search for why

In my search for why romance fiction is getting all the flak it's getting, I came across this interesting article by Jennifer Crusie

humor coated angst

now here's what vanessa has to say about the blog...

Re: that grotesquely stupid blog from a typical gen Y konyita *hingal*

Planet Starbucks na kasi ang ginagalawan ng isang tipikal na konyita/konyito.Ibig kong sabihin, para sa kanila, para bumagay ay kailangang ikahiya ang Tagalog romance. sila ang tipong makikita mong nandidiring mapatingin man lang sa TR section sa NBS pero ang totoo, kilala naman lahat ng romance novelist ng panahon ngayon.

Kung malalaman kaya nilang ang mga librong pinandidirihan nila ay isinulat ng mga taong nagtapos sa UP, Ateneo, La Salle at mga sikat na universities, mababago kaya ang opinyon nila? Hindi na mahalaga. Hindi naman din kasi mahalaga ang eskuwelahang pinaggalingan ng isang writer. Isa lang naman ang mahalaga kung gusto mong maging writer: talent.

Iniismiran tayo ng mga `yan pero pasubukin mong sumulat ng Tagalog romance, hindi naman makakagawa.

ilalagay ko lang dito ang komento ng isang sikat na writer (hindi romance) tungkol sa libro ko.
---
"kinuwento ko sa girlfriend ko na hindi ko na inisip kung tama ang grammar, kung okay ang plot, kung may literary value--wala na ko doon... basta ang alam ko nag-eenjoy ako habang binabasa ko...


"the point is, i was already having too much fun reading the work to judge it. in short, entertaining po talaga.

"kung sakaling ibang-iba ang opinyon ng iba at mas marami sila, lalabas na nambobola ako.... pero uulitin ko: wala na ko doon."
---

siguro nga, kuwestiyonable ang literary value ng romance, pero kung gusto mo ng matinding basahan, eh, bakit ka nga bibili ng romance? pero kung entertainment value ang pag-uusapan, maging yung idol ko sa panulat, nagsasabing entertaining ang mga librong tulad ng sa atin.

nakakatawa minsan mag-isip ang ibang tao. sariling gawa ng Pinoy, nilalait.

mahirap magsulat. kung hindi ka writer, hindi mo maiintidihan. mahirap magsulat ng romance. kung writer ka pero hindi romance writer, hindi mo maiintindihan. napakaliit ng iniikutan ng romance. sa romance, bawal ang hindi happy ending. hindi puwedeng ikumpara ang romance sa love story. magkaibang-magkaiba ang dalawa. sa love story, kahit mukhang pasa ang bida mo, okay lang. sa romance hindi.sa love story, patayin mo man ang bida sa huli, walang problema, sa romance hindi. sa love story, nagkakatuluyan ang tricycle driver at isang tindera ng isda. Happy ending na kung makasal sila at makakain ng tatlong beses isang araw. Sa romance, hindi puwede `yan.

sobrang liit na espasyong maaaring ikutan ng romance writer pero nagagawa nating ibahin ang kuwento bawat libro. para magmukhang iba-iba. para may bibili ulit ng libro natin. hindi nila nakikita `yong effort doon.

at `yung nagsulat ng blog na `yon... kahit umubos siya ng napakaraming espasyo para sa mga blogs niya, hinding-hindi siya magiging isang Martha Cecilia.

yun lang yun e.

vehemence = passion

here's what eve montlibano has to say about my earlier blog...

OK, this is for those buncha hypocrites out there who try to be oh-so-cool about what kinds of books they read. ME, i read everything. I read Tagalog komiks, Marvel comics, broadsheets, showbiz mags, recipe books, hustler, playboy, docus, autobiogs, national geog, the Bible, kamasutra, homer, shakespeare, FHM, machiavelli, marx, oh there's grisham, angelu, even deepak c. and dalton trumbo, Roth, King, oh don't forget Ms. Brown and Ms. McNaught and of course PHR (lots of it), Twin Hearts (some of it), SGE (meron din) and oh i forgot to mention Abante Tonight and Bandera. Kahit wrapper ng yosi at kendi binabasa ko. Now what's wrong with the picture?

NOTHING! 'Coz I'm not a stuck-up, ksp, pa-intellectual, super-conscious-sa-twang poseur who thinks that just because she talks in oh so pa-sosyal English, punctuated with the (say-it-one-more-time-and-imma-puke! agh!) "you know", "actually", "basically", "uhmm", "naman eh", she thinks she's cool and cannot be caught dead reading a Tagalog romance novel. Gawd, how these people make me wanna "shoot myself in the head!" Right, biatch, very apt description! Your kayabangan makes me wanna hang myself sa Luneta! Okay, I guess this is a year too late for ranting.

But I couldn't help reacting to that stupid blog.

I am a romance writer. I am serious with my craft. I put blood, sweat and sleepless nights into my job and it hurts me that some people would reduce my efforts into nothing or worse, a laughing matter.

Writing romance novels is something not all writers can do. It involves a whole range of emotions, from happiness to anger to bitterness to rage to regret and forgiveness. It's not a simple task, to be able to tap into these emotions in one simple story that would be gobbled by a reader in one seating. Well it is true that you can't please everybody, but i guess we romance writers deserve more credit that what we are getting. But then on second thought, who are we getting these nasty criticisms from anyway, eh 'yong mga wala rin naman talagang alam kundi magbasa ng Vogue (nagbabasa din ako niyan).

Here's an anecdote told by no less than Bongbong Marcos. One night, he caught his Dad, yes, the strongman himself, in his study. The study boasted all kinds of books (law, theol, geog, history, philo, politics, i bet he has sun tsu's the art of war) and Apo was bent over his desk reading a tiny book. He saw Bongbong and said: "Come here son, try reading this thing. It's really cool and funny." Apo chuckled with genuine amusement and continued reading. When Bongbong looked at the book, it was a 1980's edition of Mills & Boon.

Ok, do ya get the point? Even the most brilliant man who ever held the presidential seat of this country read romance novels! It is not a question of who are reading these books. What matters is the entertainment value that we get from reading them. Hindi ibig sabihin na porke nagbabasa ka ng Tagalog romance novels eh kulang ka sa IQ. Sheeesh. Walang IQ ang nag-iisip niyan.

This is a fact. In the US, the romance genre takes 50% of the publishing market. Yup, against the likes of Clancy and Grisham and Crichton, Ms. Brown, Ms. McNaught & Ms. Joyce are quite holding their own, thank you. That's saying a lot, isn't it? It's a billion dollar biz out there. Here in our country, the publishing biz is still very young. We have plenty of room to cover yet. We have barely begun and our potentials are great.

So to all you aspiring romance writers, don't listen to Ms. Whazzername who wants to shoot her head coz she doesn't like Lorenzo Llamas. I bet she fantasizes about Tom, Vin and Keaunu. So what's the friggin' difference? We women love to fantasize about prince charming in every way. Minsan Kano siya, minsan Italian, minsan kamukha ni Aguinaldo, minsan kamukha ni Aga at Robin. Who cares? Who friggin' cares? Miz Whazzername misses the point entirely. Romance is not about the looks or riches or credentials of the hero and heroine. They are just extra frills to make the story more exciting. Hell, the hero could be as rich as Croseus or as mouth-wateringly handsome as Marcus Schenkenberg (if you're wondering who he is, he's the only male supermodel of the world) or as sinfully tempting as my local dreamboat(Victor Neri) but never had I encountered a love story where the heroine stuck with the hero because of his money or his looks alone (though it never hurts if they come with the package haha) Parang pelikula. Kelangan may props. But more than anything else, it's really their enduring love for each other that makes any romance novel a great read.

my gripe

I copy/pasted this piece from a blog site which shall remain nameless and posted it initially at the TRW mailing list. Lumang blog na ito, october 2003 pa nakita ko lang sa archives.

****start of blog****

Aagawin Kita Sa Kanya

Sorry, to all you non-Tagalog speaking readers out there, but I had to blog this in:

I was going through Divisoria.com, trying to survey the online shopping playing field in the Philippines, and I clicked into "Precious Hearts Romances". These are romantic novels by Martha Cecilia, the kind that are sold in National Bookstore and hawked in bus stops. The kind that steal foreign movie posters and turn them into watercolor covers. The kind that snooty people (who ride the bus), like you and me, wouldn't be caught dead reading.

Well, here's a synopis of one of those books courtesy of Divisoria.com. Consider being warned:

Si Allana, businesswoman sa gulang na 24. May boyfriend, si Mark. Guwapo, mayaman ay (sic) executive. Simple at tahimik ang relasyon nila at niyayaya na siya nitong pakasal. Bigla ay nauga ang tahimik niyang mundo nang minsang masira ang kotse niya at mapilitan siyang mag-jeep. Ang driver ng jeep, si Rafael, na sa imahinasyon ng dalaga ay lookp-alike ni Lorenzo Llamas.

Si Rafel (sic) na kung tumitig ay matutunaw kahit batong-buhay! Ipagpapalit ba niya si Mark kay Rafael na sa alip na modelong kotse ay jeep ang minamaneho, at sa halip na attache case ay tool box ang dala-dala?

1. Why would Lorenzo Friggin Llamas be the hunk standard-bearer among Filipino jeepney drivers? Someone give me an answer before I put a bullet in my head.

2. Makukuha kaya si Allana sa isang tingin?

3. Akin na lang si Mark.

It seems to me, after going through the other synopsis (out of investigative curiousity, clearly nothing pleasant came out of this exercise), that there are two predominant themes: some of the novels are about a Filipina on the verge of committing an act of duplicity, deceit or romantic treachery; the others, about finding true love in a most unlikely situation. Gee, I guess it's true that Filipinasnever experience unrequited love (only the men do).

****end of blog****

My take,
lahat tayo entitled sa sarili nating mga opinyon at wala namang masama kung ilalahad natin iyon. ang hindi ko lang naibigan ay kung bakit negatibo pa din ang pananaw ng karamihan sa mg isinusulat natin. kung alam lang sana nila ang hirap na dinaranas natin sa pagbuo ng isang nobela! aba, hindi yata biro ang magsulat ng 100 pages!!

nakaka-frustrate hindi ba? despite all our effort, despite our blood sweat and tears ay ganyan pa ang feedback na makukuha natin bilang kapalit. kailan kaya magbabago ang tingin nila sa genre natin? kailan kaya aangat ang imahe ng romance fiction sa bansa? sabi ng may-ari ng blog "there are two predominant themes" daw. hindi ba niya nauunawaan na kaya nga isang genre ang romance fiction ay dahil may
hulmahan tayong sinusonod? kudos to us dahil sa kabila ng kahon natin, we still
manage to be creative.

you could say im a half empty kind of person (as in, is the glass half full or half empty) alam ko namang marami din ang nasisiyahan sa mga likha natin. but still... iba pa din kasi kapag negatibo, tumitimo talaga sa pagkatao.

buti na lang at mas marami ang nasisiyahan kaysa hindi sa mga libro natin. malinaw na halimbawa na mga komento ng nakabasa ng nasabing blog na k-in-opy past ko din sa ibaba. isa lang ang negatibo, all the rest ay pabor kay MC save for one na hindi ko maintindihan... speaking of MC, kawawa naman sya, wala siyang kamalay-malay na nililbak na pala ang libro niya

****start of comments****

Pati ba grammar ng Filipino novelists, ganyan na rin? Parang tabloid, ah! Yung kwento, malalayo pa ba yan sa mga kasuka-sukang telenovelas sa TV na twing madadaanan ko sa pag-pindot ng remote eh parating may sumisigaw o nagsasampalan?
Posted by Perfectly Sassy
at October 15, 2003 11:53 AM

Nihao!
I just read this thingie posted 'bout Martha Cecilia and her books. K. M not gonna argue 'bout the grammar 'coz sometimes i get weirded out myself but you have got to try reading some more of her books. Just because you read one and thinks it's bad doesn't necessarily mean that all of her books are. Besides, so you don't like reading tagalog romance pocketbooks but somebody else likes them. And personally, i could be caught dead reading her book. At least Martha Cecilia's and Rose Tan's.
Posted by Just Me at November 10, 2003 02:53 PM

the best na author si Martha Cecilia!walang kokontra!(".)......
Posted by at August 3, 2004 05:01 AM

Ola,
Martha Cecilia is the best author of Romance pocketbooks.. That's why, i already collected all of her works, especially the "Kristine Series" from "Devil's Kiss"-Vol.1 up to "Have you looked into my Heart" -Vol.43... Superb!!!!
Posted by Piscean Girl at September 20, 2004 05:40 AM

i love reading Martha Cecilia's works. i thing they are the best. i've been reading her work since i was in my first year in college and thats 8 years ago. she's the only filipino pocketbook author that i read. i love the works of johanna lindsay and lisa kleypas and others. i collect M.C. works especially the Kristine Series. i all love the fortalejo men. i'll let you in a small secret of mine.

Bernard Fortalejo is my first love, weird? nah its just that M.C. is soooooo good in giving life to her characters that i really fell in love with my beloved Bernard. and that twist in bernard-jewel-diana love triangle, gosh for the first time in my life, i cried over reading a novel. now i have my first boyfriend (and hope he'll be the last) in one way or another he's like a fortalejo. when were talking and he's asking me where do i want to go, i always say that i love to take a vacation at Paso de Blas, Palawan and stay at Kristine Hotel. i didn't know he tried to save up for my dream vacation and tried to find the hotel to ask for room accomodations, you just know how touched i was for his gesture, and how dumbfounded he was when i told him about Paso de Blas and we always laugh about it when we reminisce about it
Posted by Yui at October 4, 2004 11:33 AM

wheew!
Its good i found this website! I red Martha Cecilia's "Someday my Prince" and the guy always enter my mind. It was written there that prince is your son's schoolmate when he was in high school. Can I know what school is it?
Posted by ehna at October 10, 2004 06:04 AM

****end of comments****

paalam superman

This just in. Earlier today, Christopher Reeve dies of heart failure.

Hindi man ako pabor sa pagiging pro niya sa stem cell research, nakalulungkot pa ding malaman na ang superhero na namulatan ko at nakasama sa paglaki ay pumanaw na.

For details, please click here.

oh my gulay!

Remember my dilemma before? kung tatanggapin ko ba offer na free CD ng acoustic reserve or not?? Well after several hours of pondering, I finally gave in. Take note, normally, I wouldn't kaya lang like na like ko talaga sound nila eh...

so anyways, this was my message

Subject: RE: you did a great great job!

Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 11:07:14 +0800

hello again acoustic reserve,

thanks so much for taking time out to reply to my earlier message. truth is, i wasn't really expecting you would and the fact that you did made me smile :) silly. thanks jim! and its sweet of you to offer sending me a copy of your CD but you're reply is more than of enough thank you for me so no need to go to all the trouble (of sending the CD, that is) ...unless you really want to, then my mailing add is: *sheepish grin*

and this was their reply

Hey there,

Chris from A.R here. Outside of Canada, I think you're the first international cd that we'll be sending! How exciting :)

I'm glad Jim got back to you.. I am not as good with email checking as often as I should, but though I fall behind I still get them done. I hope you enjoy your copy of the cd, we'll be sure to send that out this week. Jim and I are planning on finishing the writing of our second cd this week, so if you have any good ideas for songs send them on over to us.

Thanks for taking the time to email us and let us know what you think about our music. It's always encouraging that people can still find our stuff among all the other good stuff out there by other inde artists. Take care and thanks for the email. Tell your friends.

Chris

Acoustic Reserve

When life deals you lemons, cut them up and take a shot - Acoustic Reserve

Grabe, EXCITED na akong makita CD nila at madinig ang ibang songs nila!!!!! Sana signed copy...hehe humirit pa daw 'no?! Anong cover kaya ang ginamit nila?

yup, its always nice listening to indie music. mas puro kasi, although yung iba admittedly hindi kasing pulido technically, mas gusto ko pa din ang ganitong mga tugtog. alam ko kasing sila lang ito, purely the band, wala pang influence ng kung sino-sinong nakapaligid sa kanila. just
them, their music, and the message they want to convey...

enduring

talaga nga naman...ayoko talagang pasaway...sabi na ngang hindi pa ako handa sa series pero kahapon habang nag-iisip ako ng plot para sa isang independent na libro, isang series pa din ang nabuo sa utak ko...sana this time ay magawa ko na siya...i'm calling her enduring, mga kuwento tungkol sa trials and tribulations ng mga mag-asawa...i'm working on the proposal right now...below is the logo...simple lang kasi ako lang ang gumawa...hindi na ako nagpagawa kay andre...nahiya na ako dahil sa nabulilyasong lovebug...

shelf

tama! gagawa ako ng series. excited na excited ako nang unang pumasok sa isip ko ang ideyang iyan. nakabuo na ako ng konsepto, nakagawa ng series proposal, at nabigyan na din ng go signal ng publication. ayos na sana ang lahat. in fact, may logo at lay out na nga akong ipo-propose (tingin sa kanan please--gawa yan ng pamangkin kong si andre).

ang kulang na lang talaga ay ang manuscript mismo.

ewan kung bakit mahigit tatlong buwan ko na siyang ginagawa pero hanggang ngayon ni isang MS ay wala pa akong natatapos. usually sampung chapter lang ang isang MS, inabot na ako ng chapter 12 sa book1 pero hindi ko pa din siya maisara. isa lang ang maaari kong i-conclude. marahil hindi pa talaga hinog ang seryeng ito, hindi pa niya panahon. like a person trapped in an unhealthy relationship, its time for me to break free and move on. sapat na siguro ang tatlong buwang ibinigay ko sa kanya. mahirap man ay kailangan ko siyang kalimutan...pansamantala.

simula ngayon, itatago ko muna siya sa aparador

more on ar

Band: Acoustic Reserve
Place of Origin: Grand Rapids, MI
Founding Members: Chris Haughey (vocals) and Jim Hollenbach (guitar)
Drummer: Jason Davies
According to what I've searched thus far, their debut CD was set for release August 21 :) No idea if it pushed thru

hp ni b

natapos ka na din sa wakas ang homepage ni bubba.sus! ang dali dali lang naman pala kapag frontpage ang ginamit.kandahirap pa ako sa page builder ng yahoo. ngayon ang kina-career (fave term ni emma!) ko naman ay ang homepage ni emma. hindi pa sya tapos. kulang pa sa input galing sa may-ari pero may layout na

banda rito, banda roon

Sa palagay ko nagre-regress ako. During college I was a quasi-groupie to several bands tulad ng Color It Red, Tropical Depression, E Heads, at oo pati na ang After Image. Aliw na aliw ako noon kina Papa Dom tsaka kay Wency Cornejo...makulay kasi sila *sheepish grin*

Anyways, kaya ko nasabi na nagre-regress ako ay dahil mukhang magiging groupie na naman yata ako sa isang bandang nahalikwat ko sa kaka-internet ko. My last blog I was hailing this band called Acoustic Reserve. I wrote them an email. Eto ang nakasaad...

hello there!

first of, i'd like to congratulate you guys for having produced such a "super" fine album. i dont have a copy yet but i sure as hell will grab one as soon as its available here. till then ill just have to make do with what i've managed to download from the net so far *sigh*

second, i just want you guys to know that i really like your music. right now your songs rank up there among my list of favorites. besides being great to listen to, your sound reminds me of this now defunct band that i used to be crazy about (still am actually). remember toad the wet sprocket? anyways, keep up the good work and more songs to come!

your fan from manila (philippines)
- amor :)

at kanina nabasa ko ang reply nila!

Hi there,

Jim here from Acoustic Reserve. Just writing to say thanks for the email. We really appreciate it when people go out of their way to say hello. Makes us smile :). If you are looking to obtain a cd, just send us your address and we will be more than happy to send you a copy free of charge, just our way of saying thanks again.

Also, thanks for the compliment in comparing us to Toad the Wet Sproket, one of my favorite bands. Again, thanks for the email and hope to hear from you soon.

Take care,
Acoustic Reserve

When life deals you lemons, cut them up and take a shot
- Acoustic Reserve

Ngayon ang tanong, ibibigay ko ba ang addy ko at tanggapin ang alok nilang CD? Parang bigla akong nahiya...