Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 378

You have 10 hours to write the ending of the Hunger Games.

The Weekly LitWit Challenge: Mockingjay Edition ends at 11.59 pm. What a relief: we have contestants. LitWit Challenge 3.5 goes online tomorrow. Here's a clue: The Weekly LitWit Challenge is brought to you by our friends at National Bookstore. The paperback edition of Andre Agassi's autobiography Open is now available at National Bookstore branches.

It's Orwell's world: We're all in the cast of Big Brother.

The eyes of the world are on the cat-bin lady — and on you too. Mary Bale thought no one would see when she dumped Lola in a trash can. But the Internet found out and got mad. Andrew Leonard in Salon. Obviously the cat-bin lady is not my favorite person, but I don't like [...:]

Hi, Shanghai

Photo from the PRFU Facebook page On Wednesday I went to the official presentation of the national men's 7′s rugby team at Murphy's Bar. PSC Commissioner Chito Loyzaga the former basketball star presented their team jerseys. Matt Cullen is the team coach. Observant readers will note that this is not the exact same team that [...:]

Insanity vs. misery

We were having a post-movie coffee and dessert. There was a party at the next table—cake and champagne, someone was having a birthday. They were foreigners with different accents; we gathered that they were based in Manila. Then three of the women at that table got up and went to the bathroom, which could accommodate [...:]

And there is great gnashing of teeth as Jacob takes up his light saber

"This time they've gone too far!" Din cried. "They've turned the Bible into a role-playing game! "Granted, the Bible is full of action, adventure, sorcery and drama, and best of all, it's in the public domain. That means no licensing fees for a proven brand with historically demonstrated earning power. But methinks this is going [...:]

"If it's from Seiko, it must be nude."

To my great disappointment I find that the new Robert Rodriguez movie Machete starring Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson is not a remake of the Seiko Movie from the 90s in which Cesar Montano plays a wooden Igorot warrior statue who comes to life and turns into the neighborhood [...:]

Here's some good cheer before you go back to work

After last week, we all need it. L-R: Matt, Oliver, and Ben Saunders Oliver, Matt and Ben Saunders are members of the Philippine men's rugby team. Their mom is from Pangasinan, their dad is British, they were born in the US and raised in Australia where they live to this day. They've been coming to [...:]

The winner of LitWit Challenge 3.4: I love the movies is. . .

kurokuroko. I wouldn't have thought that seeing Engkantandang Kangkarot in an SRO movie theatre where he could only catch glimpses of Roderick Paulate's face from between the heads of the people standing in front of him would trigger a lifelong passion for the movies, but that's how love is. This essay is honest, serious without [...:]

D'Expendables: Fun with steroids and botox!

My sister made me watch The Expendables. She did not mention that it was an action-horror movie. Every time there's a close-up of Stallone or Lundgren: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Cautionary tale about mixing steroids, botox and cosmetic surgery. Or very white people not wearing sunblock in LA. The Expendables opened in the US on the same week [...:]

Irony roundup: How the mistake of claiming no mistakes trumps a victory, ergo it is not a mistake.

Miss Philippines Venus Raj has gotten more worldwide notice for the mistake that may have cost her the Miss Universe title than if she had given a perfect answer and won the crown. More attention, in fact, than the contestant who was proclaimed Miss Universe. Perhaps not the kind of attention we would've wanted, but [...:]