Finding Battlestar Galactica

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Earlier this year, I finally watched the reimagined science fiction series “Battlestar Galactica,” brought about by hours and hours (read: sessions until 4 am) spent playing the boardgame based on the show.

I don’t think there’s any other show that’s drawn so much emotion from me. All throughout the episodes I found myself alternating   upon a gamut of emotions: gnawing on my fist from the gut-wrenching moral dilemmas, crying at the utter hopelessness of the situation, heaving a sigh of relief at the many close calls, bemoaning yet another crisis, and rejoicing at the triumphs of the characters in the show.

After I had finished all  four seasons (and the webisodes), I was having a severe case of withdrawal from the series, and while counting the days until I could have a “debriefing” with friends, I was surprised to find this book at National Book Store: “Finding Battlestar Galactica: An Unauthorized Guide,” by Lynette Porter, David Lavery, and Hillary Robson.

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Philippine Style

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I’ve been reading bits and pieces of the coffeetable book Philippine Style: Design & Architecture by Luca Tettoni and Elizabeth V. Reyes over several months now, and it’s proven to be the sort of book you can get lost in for hours, with a wealth of detail to explore.

Published by Anvil, Philippine Style is a showcase of Philippine architecture and design, tracing its history from the pre-colonial bahay kubo (nipa hut) to bahay na bato, down to the contemporary Filipino home, in full color and exquisite detail.

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Little Lit Fest

Little Lit Fest

It’s been an incredibly busy summer for me, but I’d been setting aside a day for the NBDB Little Lit Fest ever since it was announced, because it’s been a while since I’ve touched base with friends in the industry.

I couldn’t attend both days, and the Day 2 sessions were better geared towards me, so I headed over to  Museo Pambata last Friday and made it in time for the first session!

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Peter Lerangis in Manila!

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Forgive me for the unexpected hiatus. This summer has been busier than I anticipated, but there was absolutely no way I would miss Peter Lerangis in Manila!

Peter Lerangis is a prolific author of over a hundred books, including three (and a quarter) books in Scholastic 39 Clues series, “The Sword Thief” (my personal favorite), “The Viper’s Nest,” one story in “Vespers Rising” (with other stories written with Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson), and “Dead of Night.” His new series, “The Seven Wonders,” ties in the Atlantis legend with the seven ancient wonders of the world, starting with “The Colossus Rises” and a second book, “Lost in Babylon” due out later this year.

What I found most interesting (and the cause of my excitement), is that before Peter Lerangis broke out on his own, he ghostwrote for many series for young readers — all the books I grew up on, in fact! — The Three Investigators (my all-time favorite kid detective series) Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley Twins, and The Babysitters Club!

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Bookish Shoes!

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I’m officially on vacation for the coming week — no work, no tutoring — and I’m basically filling the week with all the things I don’t have time for during the work week, including blogging.

Ajie, my very talented FFP ‘seezter’ (you may have seen her work here and here) has been running a successful arts and crafts business for some time now, and she does customized sneakers (among other things). I finally found a plain white pair of sneakers I liked, so I decided to get Ajie to do them (those are her preliminary sketches above).

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