There’s an interesting event taking place this Tuesday (January 25, 7pm) at the Starbucks Drive Through (on 32nd and 7th streets) at Bonifacio Global City Taguig: a discussion with “Storyweavers” such as award winning novelist Criselda Yabes, a visiting foreign publishing executive Nick Wallwork, and–of most interest to Rocket Kapre readers I’m sure–none other than Dean Alfar.
We’ve been on break for a while but we’re back. We’re bringing more Dialogues at several more Starbucks cafes this year and we’re starting with a celebration of some of the best sort of people to have over for a cup of coffee: storytellers.
So if you’ve always wanted to know what sort of life the passionate for the written word lead, come with your own tumbler for Starbucks brewed coffee and conversation with award winning novelist Criselda Yabes, playwright and ten time Palanca awardee Dean Francis Alfar and visiting Wiley Publishing executive Nick Wallwork when they come over for coffee on January 25, 7PM at the Starbucks Drive Through on 32nd and 7th streets and Bonifacio Global City Taguig.
We’ll be posting more details on this next Dialogues @ Starbucks in the coming days; including detailed bios on our Dialogues leaders Criselda Yabes, Dean Francis Alfar and Nick Wallwork as well as more info on our friends at Writer’s Block Philippines who’ve fueled this conversation forward.
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 facilitate access to the stories of pre-Hispanic Philippines is something worth celebrating. The interface may be a bit clunky at the moment (the copyright PDF file is popping up on every page I access with Firefox, although Safari has no issues) but that’s a small price to pay for access to this in-depth archive, previously only available through a visit to Ateneo’s Katipunan/Loyola campus–not something convenient or feasible for many.
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). Even if you’re not one of the lucky folks to get a Kindle this Christmas, it’s worth downloading the Kindle for Desktop so you can read this. Mindblowing stuff from a scientist who is a true genre fan, and who is adept at making complex ideas comprehensible. I don’t know how long the book will be on sale, so best grab the opportunity now.
Launched at last year’s Komikon, the Sulyap Komiks Anthology contains samples of the works of a handful of our most successful Philippine independent comics creators: Rommel Estanislao Jr., Macoy, Gio Paredes, Tepai Pascual, Mel Casipit, Josel Nicolas, RH Quilantang, and Ian Olympia. The creators will have a pair of signings over the next 2 weeks: they’ll be at Powerbooks Greenbelt on January 22 from 4pm onwards, and Powerbooks Mall of Asia on January 29, also from 4pm. Free sketches and giveaways also await visitors, so do come down if you’re in the area.
2. Why do you think you are drawn to or are interested in the supernatural?
I grew up listening to family ghost stories when I was a kid, and our houses in Quezon City and in Naic, Cavite were said to be haunted. I was also a fan of science fiction, fantasy and horror, and already wanted to become a comic book artist early on. It was a natural inclination to want to draw these iconic creatures and collect them for reference.
I enjoy researching the supernatural, because it touches upon an emotion and a state of mind that doesn’t follow logic or common sense. These beings defy what we define as real, and are usually seen when one is alone or mentally distressed. What if there really are worlds and beings that we can’t define or understand? I think Asians and Pacific Islanders are culturally conditioned and wired to believe that they’re real, and the fact that our ancestors thought they existed gives us a remote window to our own past and what we feared in daily life.
Paman gives some very detailed answers, particularly with regard to the lengthy process the book went through before it was picked up for publication. Check out the rest of the interview here.