Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 353

Vietnam adopts the homeless Azkals

Vietnam has graciously offered to host the "home" game of the Philippine national football team, as the local venues have not been deemed fit for the AFF Suzuki Cup semifinal against Indonesia. Interesting development in an episode that has been lacking in graciousness. Homeless Azkals mired in politics on eve of semis Flush from its [...]

"Dear Jerry,"

My annual Xmas reading: The Catcher in the Rye. Lillian Ross has written a short, lovely memoir of J.D. Salinger in The Observer. He was a delight to know, as a friend and a colleague since 1950, just before the publication of The Catcher in the Rye. He figured out his personal life, winding up [...]

The deadline for LitWit Challenge 4.1: An extraterrestrial lands in Manila has been extended.

Hieronymus Bosch, The Seven Deadly Sins We don't have enough contestants, which will put the Yucch-meter in an even fouler mood than usual, so we're extending the deadline for LitWit Challenge 4.1 to Friday, 16 December 2010 at 12 noon. We assume that the contestants are (a) stuck in traffic, (b) rehearsing their numbers for [...]

Help, all my photos are blurry.

1. The still photo setting on my pocket video recorder is a little tricky. Please email me your photos of the Meet & Greet with Jon. 2. Jon is way cuter in person than in photos. 3. I am a midget. Thanks to listbonne, Elle, ifrico, Jeffrey, Ruth, jules, Watermalong, the chronicler of boredom, brewhuh23, [...]

Help, all my photos are blurred.

1. The still photo setting on my pocket video recorder is a little tricky. Please email me your photos of the Meet & Greet with Jon. 2. Jon is way cuter in person than in photos. 3. I am a midget. Thanks to listbonne, Elle, ifrico, Jeffrey, Ruth, jules, Watermalong, the chronicler of boredom, brewhuh23, [...]

Readers' Bloc 2010: Quick, repeat this 3x. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Uro de la Cruz is a director for television (Bubble Gang, Show Me the Manny) and movies (Bahay Ni Lola, Buko Pandan), photographer (RangeFinder Filipinas), screenwriter (Scorpio Nights), and fictionist (Antyng Antyng). A conversation with Uro sounds like this: - What are you doing now? - Nothing. - No Bubble Gang?! - That, but nothing [...]

Signing, signing, signing

No order, no book! We have spoken. – Saffy the accountant cat Guess what we're doing this instant. See you tonight at La Cuisine for the Meet & Greet with Jon. You can pick up your books, have a drink, and ask Jon to explain the meaning of life, the rules of rugby, the semiotics [...]

I hate you, Jean-Christophe Valtat.

I hate you because you have written a novel I wish I had written. There are many novels I wish I had written, but I do not hate their authors. There is no point in hating those authors because even if I wish I had written their novels I could not have written them. I [...]

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Appalling but strangely unsurprising.

Thanks to kumagcow for sending this in.

Readers' Bloc 2010: the Magic and Horror edition

Every year in December we ask our Readers' Bloc to name their ten favorite books of the year. Our Readers' Bloc is composed of two filmmakers, the frontrunner (technically the kulelat) in the Lifetime Underachievement Awardee rankings, one capitalist, one imperialist running dog, two advertising pros, one art professor, one visual artist/stylist, one rugby player, [...]