after...

it's been nothing but catch up work, figuring how the laptop works (having it fixed when the USB ports & flash card reader couldn't read anything for some reason).

we finally took time to go to the Manila International Book Fair, which was pretty crowded on a Saturday. because of the impending rain and distance (at the cavernous SMX next the humongous Mall of Asia), i decided not to chance possibly submerging a certain small silver car in floodwaters and we commuted via MRT/jeep instead, a pretty pleasant trip despite the crowds (hoping to get early bargains at weekend sales? most of them disembarked at the Cubao and Ayala stations).

after checking out the FB MoA sale and scoring paperbacks of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy (which the sprout finished about two-three weeks ago) and "Howl's Moving Castle" we moseyed on to SMX and wandered the aisles, getting halfway through the exhibits (and purchasing another "Trese" volume signed by the affable Budgette Tan & Kajo Baldisimo) before we got a text that our friend Aina had just arrived.

while waiting in the lobby, we noticed that the crowd had suddenly shifted and gravitated towards a man with thinning hair and eyeglasses, looking very much like Noynoy Aquino (on his way to laud some educators at a conference above the bookfair). the sprout wanted to get an autograph, i told him to just do a handshake and if he's lucky i could snap a picture with the camphone. we debated for a minute, and *poof* the moment was gone as the tide of well-wishers carried Mr. Aquino away. (Aina & the sprout spent a little time later trying to stalk the senator for another autograph/photo op --no success).

ever the expert shopper, Aina ended up buying autographed copies of Pugad Baboy from the Anvil booth and a Moleskine edition of Sense & Sensibility (she plans to get a Moleskine P&P soon) from NBS. I'd been hoping to score P&P and Zombies, or S&S and Seamonsters, but no luck. (besides, I still have a backlog of books to read, and a few others to review)

some weeks later, the sprout agreed (w/ an uncle) it was high time the fishpond was cleaned (plenty of inbred tilapia died, they couldn't take the clean and chlorinated water, hehe) and it was a good time to see how Turtlee (originally my sis-in-law's pet) has been doing.


that's the sprout's size six foot next to the very much grown up Turtlee (whose was about the size of a cupcake sometime in 2001 or 2002 when sis in law got her with a male turtle of the same size who died about a few months later. the sprout was just starting preschool then)
now he's catching up to me too (haha) --those are my Crocs he's wearing (in-arbor na nya). and that's about 2-3 inches of floodwater in the front garden during Ondoy last September. our neighborhood is pretty elevated but we had floodwaters turn our street into a river, and the drains couldn't take the volume of water raining down, so we had a couple of inches of water creeping into

(and out of the house)

compared to the others who spent the night above floodwaters in no electricity, we were pretty damn lucky, but we found out later that the sprout's school was inundated in a flash flood when the wall blocking the nearby creek gave way.

*swoosh* whatever cement/asphalt job was on the driveway, it was gone. the classrooms were in AT LEAST 4ft of floodwater (bless those volunteers who cleared the water with a bucket brigade). kids who left their schoolbags/books over the weekend found them a sodden unusable mess when the school reopened a week and a half later.


(see that brown stain on the white corkboard? that was the flood/tide line in the sprout's classroom, damp when i touched it)

even the makeshift wall bisecting the property gave way (those nasty real estate people should foot the repairs this time, i wish)


the library was a mess... bags of soaked and unusable books had to be thrown away before mold or mildew got 'em.



oh, yeah...and i got a year older (i feel that way with the back problem & the cane, but hopefully exercise, phys therapy and a couple more sessions with the chiropractor should set me straight, nyahaha).

wonky tech

the pc died, i'm getting used to this laptop (which can't read usb's for some reason) and finishing a backlog of stuff that was pending when the computer up & crashed on me (damn you mercury retrograde)
the sprout is having exams (we now have eyebags that qualify as carry-on luggage) please pray he aces all his subjects.

read-aloud time ;)

i'm still somewhere in the middle of the J&J audiobook and am really enjoying it (liberally peppered cuss words and all, hehehe) and wonder if agents or audio book editors (if there's such a thing) can tell if an author is able to read his/her own work and reel in an audience without putting them to sleep.


great examples are Neil Gaiman (who reads like he's talking to a friend or doing a bedtime story for a slumber party of 4-5 guests) and Roald Dahl (playful tone of voice when reading Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) --yes, Julie Powell is included. Honorable mention for Lynn Reid Banks for doing a colorful reading of The Indian in The Cupboard.


not so good examples are Lemony Snicket (whose reading style has been described to me as someone utterly bored with reading his own stuff --and i did fall asleep while listening to his reading of The Miserable Mill from "A Series of Unfortunate Events.") and possibly any author who's penned those entrepreneurial bestsellers or self-help titles (who fail to translate their enthusiasm from print to audio)


hence, hiring actors who have (preferably) done voicework. Tim Curry tops my list (hello, Mr. Nigel Thorneberry, or is it Dr. Frank N Furter?) as the narrator of The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket (I actually wanted to finish the whole audiobook in one sitting, never mind if it took hours)


Miranda Richardson (the Missus from Chicken Run! the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland --and let's not forget that b*tchy terrorist in The Crying Game) is nearly toe-to-toe with Tim Curry in the vocal characterization department. I love how she brings Horrid Henry (scheming and somewhat misdirected) and Perfect Peter (whiny and weak) to life.

the sprout has his favorites too: from a spectacularly-read Anthony Horowitz's Granny;


to the imaginative Dick King-Smith's The Crowstarver


Runners-up are Anthony Horowitz's Stormbreaker (Alex Rider rules for the sprout);

and the somewhat funny Viking at School.



I've yet to give this a listen, it's still in its cellophane wrapping. But I like Sue Townsend's wry wit (The Queen & I and the Adrian Mole series) so what's the harm?

eh?

...it's so boring (he says about the first chapter)

...wait till he gets to the really good parts (riches, revenge, redemption!)

small blessings

the sprout is now a year older


he won a couple of books, thanks to the book blogger challenge :D (you made his day FB! Thanks!)



Pepper Lunch Shangri-la gifted me a free Pepper Rice Meal :) (which the sprout enjoyed...and i managed to treat my mom to lunch as well out of my own pocket, hehe, worth it naman.)

i ended up with the Murakami book i (really really really) wanted, thanks to a generous author who was getting rid of part of her book collection.


an amazing book :D (still reading it)



just glad this didn't grow to the size of the garage (it's a ball of pure sticky cellophane tape i found when cleaning the sprout's junk!)

syaping-syaping

yes, it's about that four-letter word: SALE
just kidding. i love discounts, am a sucker for them, and in fact am in hot water thanks to some scam artists who decided to sell NFA rice under the guise of jasmine rice (the con-man had quick hands and almost convincing patter --and i forgot to put on my sungit face that day, dammit).

so in the span of two days i go to nbs & fb to indulge in some bargains and get what i wish for (and a discounted Steve Martin paperback, woohoo! More on that next time.)
the sprout gets his Alex Rider fix with Ark Angel (so exciting he snuck it into his schoolbag! and he's so grounded! i hate doing this but it's been impounded for the rest of the week...and i get to read it! *evil laugh* ...but seriously, i hate it when that happens)

what every nerdy parent needs to know, backed by scientific proof.

found an audiobook (battered cardboard, but otherwise scratch-free CDs) of Julie & Julia which i'm currently listening to on my mp3. Thankfully the author is no Daniel Handler (sorry man, i love your books, but your reading voice needs a lot of work, it's great that Tim Curry took over that job though), and I'm looking forward to finishing it within the week.

yes Aina, if you're reading this, this is what i'll be lending you soon (once i'm done reading it of course)

and who doesn't love an Italian man who adores wine, women and song, can solve mysteries, whips up a meal like breathing? unfortunately he's fictional, hehehe.

shhh...

some people have to hide their shopping bags of clothes or shoes from family members. i have to hide one or two (small) bags of books because i still have quite a backlog.

but i couldn't resist these (hehe)


ever since their Nov 2008 issue, I've been on the lookout for WIRED. their artists make the covers great (look at that solarized effect and oh, the metallic ink they use for the pages, lovely! the special ink use is even restrained in a Zen art sort of way --spot lamination is now so five years ago, hehehe)
also helps that this particular issue helps me jumpstart my research on an article i'm working on...


After reading Tietam Brown, I couldn't resist picking this up. Mick Foley, possibly one of the few wrestlers who do the sport with the most heart, throw everything they have into the ring, and miraculously walk out with their brain cells intact. And writes amazingly well! He can do the claw on Danielle Steel any day, hehehe (unfortunately he's too much of a gent to do so).


Never read anything by Camille Paglia, so i figured this would make an interesting start...


Same with Terry Pratchett (as a standalone author, not as co-author on Good Omens)

and...

George Carlin...nuff said :D