Village Idiot Savant

Risk the Movie

2009-11-05T19:19:00.002+08:00

Risk -- yes, the board game -- will become a movie, courtesy of Sony Pictures. How they will make this work, without devolving into an outright Napoleonic shootout or a tournament movie is beyond me. But considering that the game is owned by Hasbro, the same toy company behind GI Joe and Transformers, I demand nothing less than Michael Bay or Stephen Sommers as director. And, yes, explosions, lots of explosions.

After that, I also want to see Scrabble: The Movie. Also with lots of explosions.

The High Crusade

2009-11-04T06:12:00.003+08:00

Although I was somewhere in the middle of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell", the book proved too heavy to bring with me on the flight. So I settled on literally lighter fare instead with Poul Anderson's The High Crusade. It turned out to be an extremely good choice: High Crusade was riotously funny yet at the same time thought-provoking.

Intriguing premise from the get-go: aliens land in 12th century England, to be precise, in a small barony preparing for the war in France. Lasers vs. lances, you'd think the outcome foregone. Wrong! The English slaughter the invaders! Then the baron has this brilliant idea of using the spaceship to ferry troops to France, then on to Jerusalem, but ends up conquering outer space instead. Hilarity ensues.

Behind the blustery antics and space opera lie two serious topics, and it's quite a wonder how Anderson handles them. First is Anderson's commentary on social structures; understandably, the feudalism of the English knight gets a leg up over the supposedly-egalitarian society of the Wersgorix. Wersgor society sounds a lot like the society we idealize:

But no one was born to his place in life. Under the law, all were equal, all free to strive as best they might for money or position. Indeed, they had even abandoned the idea of families... Male and female seldome lived together more than a few years. Children were sent at an early age to schools, where they dwelt until mature, for their parents thought them an encumbrance than a blessing.

However,

The Wersgorix had no special affection for their birthplace; they acknowledged no immediate ties of kinship or duty. As a result, each individual had no one to stand between him and the all-powerful central government.... The Wersgor were a lickspittle race, unable to protest any arbitrary decree of a superior. "Promotion according to merit" meant only "promotion according to one's usefulness to the imperial ministers."

Second is how Anderson handles religion. Though at first it appears that he makes fun of faith and prayers, in the end, he portrays it with deep sensitivity that's rare in scifi novels. But you'll have to read it to understand.

I picked this title up some weeks back in the Book Sale bargain bin; pretty good quality still, and at P45, a steal. And hey, it's Poul Anderson. He always delivers a good yarn, "Three Hearts and Three Lions" being at the top of my list. It will probably have to make way for High Crusade.

Nanowrimo 2009

2009-11-03T16:49:00.003+08:00

I don't quite think I have it in me to complete another Nanowrimo event anymore: 2006 was so far the only one that I actually completed. Still, I can't help but dip my fingers into the pot, so to speak; if all I can get out of this is a short story (as was the case way back when), then it would have been worth it. Going will be slow, considering my schedule over the next few weeks. In case you're interested in following my progress, or lack thereof, you can check out Mad Mechanical Monster.

At AsiaSource3

2009-11-03T16:42:00.002+08:00

Through the 13th of November, I will be attending AsiaSource3 in Silang, Cavite. AsiaSource is an event for capacity-building in open source aimed at NGOs and other community organizations. There'll be 135 participants from all over Asia; I'm in the event as a facilitator. More reports to come in the following days.

My first two books...

2009-10-30T17:33:00.002+08:00

...or, to be more precise, the first two books that I edited and produced: "Tradisyon" and "In My Own Little Corner" by Jeanne Lim.

It may anticlimactic now since I posted news of this last month, but -- darn it! -- it feels great to have them rolling out of the press in volume. I sent a hundred copies each to Manila last Saturday, and took out another fifty copies each for Davao yesterday. The bulk of the run will go to NCCA in Manila for distribution to selected schools sometime next week; that leaves us with a hundred for the Davao Writers Guild.

Along this journey, I gained many stories, some of which I'll tell when I have the leisure to compose them at length. I think I'll call it "Adventures in Publishing." Or something like that. But what I'm most thankful for in this project are the opportunities to make new friends and reconnect with old ones.

Among the new: the author, Jeanne Lim (pictured above), a truly funny lady; and Rumana Husain, all the way from Karachi, who graciously provided us with the picture that became the cover for "Tradisyon"; and among the old, family friends: Chin Bon Lu, Jeanne's good friend, who still remembers me as a young boy; and Ben and Ellen Ausin, the printers for this project, brother and sister-in-law of an Hijas de Jesus sister.

My first look at Ubuntu 9.10

2009-10-30T13:53:00.003+08:00

Unlike other folks on the bleeding edge, I waited until Ubuntu 9.10's official release before trying out the software. For some of you, this may already be old news. Regardless, here's my first look at Karmic Koala, running as VirtualBox guest.

Read more »

No money, no honey

2009-10-29T09:28:00.001+08:00

'Nuff said.

Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic Koala

2009-10-29T09:09:00.002+08:00

If the schedule holds, Ubuntu 9.10, the Karmic Koala, comes out in the next few hours. You can be sure my downloads will be running then. I've been using Ubuntu for the past four years, and I really couldn't be happier with an operating system: it's free, it's got loads of software, and it doesn't have any viruses.

With a new release every six months, Ubuntu maintains the momentum and keeps up-to-date with the most recent developments. So while Microsoft may boast that Windows 7 came out three years after Vista, the fastest Windows release ever, all I can say is:

Meh.

Batman's vanishing act

2009-10-29T06:56:00.003+08:00

So early in the day and already I'm crying from laughter. Enjoy!

Oratio Imperata

2009-10-28T22:48:00.000+08:00

Since Lent, Davao churchgoers have been praying, post-Communion, the oratio imperata issued by Archbishop Fernando Capalla. Entitled "Prayer for the Healing of Our Nation," the prayer is to be said on bended knee. This act of supplication and penance will go on until the next Lenten season.

As far as penance goes, the prayer itself serves as mortification enough. At close to 600 words -- longer than this article -- it takes four minutes to recite. It is repetitive, circuitous, evasive, whiny, and cloying.

Compositionally, it is a disaster: barely a noun or a verb escapes without an adjective or adverb, some redundant ("violent killing") and some inappropriate ("lustful greed"). It abounds with cliche ("from womb to tomb", "deaf ears", "bended knees", "hardened hearts", "socio-political system"). One line is particularly painful to the ear: "the crash taking of the law into one's hands."

Biblically, its annotation is dubious: it attributes a line to 1 Peter 2:24 instead of the original Isaiah 53:5.

In form, it sounds less like a prayer than a lurid news report: it mentions "wound" eight times, "crime" five times, "drug" five times, "pusher" and "addict" four times, "eyewitness" three times, and "kill" two times.

For all this, its main fault lies in its inability to pinpoint to the direct cause of the complaint: is the fault that of the drug addicts and the drug pushers? of the killers? of the police? of the witnesses? of the churchgoers themselves? Only the mayor, supposedly at the center of the controversy, escapes mention.

And yet, if the prayer itself sounds confused, it merely reflects our state of mind over these affairs. For instance, calling it "extrajudicial killings" or "vigilantism" merely serves to sanitize the crime of its true content. In the end, it's really murder, bloody murder.

Is murder evil? Of course, it is. But how about the murder of criminals? Is murder in the service of "peace and order" acceptable, desirable even, and worthy of export to other cities breaking down from lawlessness? Because we have to pause to think about the answer, then it's really you and me to whom the prayer is directed.

Once we entertain the thought -- even the glimmer of the thought -- of murder is acceptable, then our moral center teeters on the edge of collapse. Hence comes the need for prayer, to recover that moral center. That is why this prayer is essential at this time.

Now, if only the prayer were better written, or at the very least, shorter and to the point.

Vote Nograles...or else!

2009-10-28T18:49:00.004+08:00

Ah, election time. While you can't quite point to it as the source of all that's twisted and rotten about the country, you can bet it acts as the catalyst and focal point to bring out all the chicanery.

Today the sales assistant of a friend went on leave. She's studying part-time and she said she was going on a seminar. She does this from time to time, so that in itself comes as no surprise. When she came back late this afternoon, I asked her how the activity went:

"Oh, it was a Nograles thing." Like hundreds (or is it thousands?) of others in the city, she's a Nograles scholar.

"I hope they're not asking you to help them cheat," I teased.

"No, but they did tell us we should vote for (Karlo) Nograles."

"Really, now? And if you don't?"

"They said that if he doesn't win, we'd lose our scholarships."

"Is that so?"

"Well, they said there was always the other camp (Duterte), but we're not guaranteed to get a scholarship there."

"I see. And will you vote for Nograles?"

She just smiled.

Ah, Nograles! so loving and kind and giving, whose generosity knows no bounds.

Windows 7

2009-10-28T17:02:00.002+08:00

As it happens, I have access to the Microsoft Solution Developers Network via the Academic Alliance. On a lark, I decided to check if I could get Windows 7 there. And surprise, surprise, I could! I would get it now, except for its 2.2GB download size. Since I won't leave the office PC running through the night, I'll wait till tomorrow.

But wait...isn't tomorrow also the release date for Karmic Koala.

Whatever should I get? Decisions, decisions. ;-)

Fork marks on my forehead

2009-10-28T13:44:00.002+08:00

No, I didn't get into a fight. I stabbed myself. With a fork. In the forehead. How did that happen? I'm too embarrassed to say, so you figure it out.

And yes, it hurt. A lot. Ow.

Moneymaker configuration in PvZ

2009-10-27T15:59:00.004+08:00

Having completed the campaign, I only play Plants vs Zombies intermittently now. However, the completist in me still wants to get the gold trophy and all of Crazy Dave's stuff. To do that, I'll need to earn in-game cash. I've found the Last Stand mini-game to be ideal for this purpose.

In case you haven't reached this level yet, Last Stand starts you off with 5000 sunshine. You can plant as many seeds as you want without waiting during the setup phase. Caveat: sunflowers may not be selected. While 5000 sunshine seems like a lot, it's actually not. The configuration above shows my optimal solution. I can leave the scenario running without having to attend to it as the golden magnet automatically captures coins and diamonds. I add the coin-generating daisies after the first flag.

This configuration generates $3,000 to $4,000 in-game cash for the entire mini-game.

Vote for Best Halloween Flash Fiction

2009-10-26T22:25:00.002+08:00

My friend and editor Kyu is a finalist for Fantasy Magazine's Best 2009 Halloween Flash Fiction story. Since the winner will be decided via reader poll, please take the time to head over to the site and vote. In his words:

But please, vote for "Lost for Words" only if you think it's good enough, otherwise, vote for the better story among the other finalists (I may regret saying that...).

I might add: I did like his story best, so that's why I voted for him. (That, and the other two finalists won't buy me pizza if they win. So there.)

Writing Short Fiction

2009-10-25T11:49:00.001+08:00

Writing Short Fiction

View more documents from Dominique Cimafranca.

Presentation from a short workshop I gave for the College Editors Guild of the Philippines yesterday.

I wrote this?

2009-10-23T23:54:00.001+08:00

I'm preparing my presentation for tomorrow's talk for the College Editor's Guild of the Philippines. Since they want me to discuss fiction in two hours as part of a workshop, I thought I'd delve into flash fiction. While searching for some of my old samples, I stumbled on this story:

"Why do you spend so much time making that? Can't you just buy it from Aling Siony?"

Carding always asks me that question each time I go through my weekly ritual. It's not so much petulance, I think, as it is concern. Boiling rice over our woodfire stove, pounding ginger, adding a dash of chocolate and pinipig.... It's a long process, molded by years of tradition.

I say nothing, though, I only smile, and Carding shuffles off to another household chore, as if to show what else I could be doing. I calmly wrap the rice in the banana leaves and put it on the clay pot.

But I know in an hour's time, when the fragrance of the sticky rice wafts through the house, his mood will mellow down. When I remove my work of art from the pot, he will be at the table waiting silently.

Then he will say: "Ah, Neneng, this brings back memories of mother you know. Aling Siony could never really get it right."

And I know it will all have been worthwhile. Suman latik, just like mother used to make.

According to my blog, I wrote it back in 2005. Somehow I can't believe I did. The words just seem so different.

Villanelle for a Bumpy Ride

2009-10-20T10:59:00.002+08:00

This poem, written by Jermafe Kae Angelo of UP Mindanao, came out in the October 4, 2009 issue of Dagmay. It received quite a number of positive comments. I'm reposting a section here; you can read the rest of it in Dagmay.

All my mothers will hum your lullaby
Hold tight as we ride the habal-habal.
And they will all forgive when you first cry.
Quietness falling, not failing the skies
Hold tight as we bump along the rough road.
All my mothers will hum your lullaby.
I will not pass the Abortion Road and die,
Daddy will drive us home before midnight
And they will all forgive when you first cry.

Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity

2009-10-20T10:16:00.003+08:00

More info.

Notting Hill

2009-10-19T12:46:00.003+08:00

"Notting Hill" played on HBO last Saturday night. I caught it somewhere in the middle, and contrary to efforts to distract myself with something else, immediately got hooked all over again.

It's not easy for a guy to admit liking chick flicks, but "Notting Hill" is one of those rare chick flicks that I can't help but like. ("You've Got Mail" is the only other movie that comes to mind.) On the surface, it's unadulterated romantic fantasy: a Hollywood actress falling for an average guy? Su-uuuure.... Hugh Grant as an average guy? Ri-iiiiight.... All that is just an excuse to whip up the cheesiest lines: "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

Many years ago, when I still took the Supercat between Dumaguete and Cebu regularly, they showed "Notting Hill" on one trip. The movie ran a few minutes longer than the trip itself but for some reason the crew kept playing it right through the end. The reason might have been because all the passengers, myself included, were just so entranced by the movie we didn't want to leave till after the hotel conference scene. I seem to remember all of us cheering and leaving the ship with smiles.

But what's really carried this movie -- and what separates it from the rest -- is the interaction between William Thacker and his friends, the real average joes. It's something we hardly see anymore: pals meeting regularly for dinner and in their homes, no less; nowadays, they always meet in trendy bars to get sloshed. These fellowships generate warmth, and that's a rarity today, in film or in real life.

Harry Potter boxed set

2009-10-19T11:41:00.002+08:00

I like to think I've outgrown the Harry Potter series (somewhere around the fourth installment or so), but I still found the boxed set at National Bookstore quite attractive...attractive to look at, okay? not attractive to buy, as we already have the complete collection at home.

Seeing this makes me wonder if Potter-mania is still alive and well today. The movies don't seem to generate as much enthusiasm anymore, and the only reason I think they're made is To Just Get To The End. But I could be wrong.

Open source first-person shooters on Ubuntu

2009-10-17T10:11:00.004+08:00

These ought to whet the appetite of first-person shoot-'em-up addicts: three very nice shooters available for free on Ubuntu. While I'm not into shooters myself, I thought I'd give these a try and write them up on my Ubuntu for Games blog.

Philippine Genre Stories Horror Special

2009-10-14T11:23:00.002+08:00

From my friend Kyu I got the very good news that the Philippine Genre Stories Horror Issue is already out. It's been a long wait, roughly a year, but such are the vagaries of small publishing in the Philippines. In any case, I'm very glad it's finally seen print, and not for least because it has one of my short stories in it. Read it, and tell me what you think.

According to Kyu, it's available now from Comic Quest Megamall and SM North Edsa. It should soon be available at National Bookstore care of Anvil Publishing.

NASA slams rocket into the moon

2009-10-12T10:09:00.003+08:00

Last week, NASA slammed a rocket into the moon to check for the presence of water. The event reminded me of the above scene from Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon.

More on the LCROSS project at the special NASA web site dedicated to the project.

Microsoft Office student price

2009-10-09T09:25:00.000+08:00