Rin Chupeco's Blog, page 7

Yeah. DOMA, you dead.

We interrupt this broadcast for some breaking news HALLELUJAH DOMA IS FINALLY DEAD GUYS! The LGBT community can finally marry in 30% of the U.S. States – hopefully we can finally get this to 100%!

Also a very special thank you to Wendy Davis, who just spent at least 9 hours without food, water or rest defending her female constituents’ right to choose!

To commemorate, here are some of the most fabulous gifs I could find online.

 

  

Now we return to our regular broadcast…. knowing that we’re one step closer to marriage equality for all!

 

 

 

10 More Reasons You Should Read Books (Other than To Have Anticipated the Red Wedding)

In light of the internet meltdown surrounding the Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding, here are more reasons why you should read books so you can cry and get it out of the way so six years later you can watch them watch that episode /movie and then laugh at their pain cause you already got yours out of the way.

I know, I’m mean.

10. You would know the Time Traveler’s Wife actually had a cast of compelling protagonists with significant depth, instead of the weepy suckfest the movie became.

9. You would have understood any movie adaptation was bound to fail no matter how great the book for as long as the following are involved:

 

Jim Carrey

Robin Williams

 

 

Nicolas Cage

 

Uwe Boll

 

I did mention the meanness thing, right?

8. You would have actually LIKED the Golden Compass. It’s from the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, and the first book was actually called the Northern Lights, and it was glorious so I don’t care that this is a run-on sentence anymore.

7. Amazing books you would have missed out on if you only had their horrible movies for basis: I am Legend, Dreamcatcher, the Last Stand, I Robot, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version is said to be better, avoid the Daniel Craig version), Inkheart, Gulliver’s Travels, the Beach, the Percy Jackson series (Lightning Thief), The Iliad (that Troy movie, in case you’re asking), The Other Boleyn Girl, and more.

If you’d read the Hitchhiker’s Guide series by Douglas Adams, you would have understood what this picture meant.

6. Their movie adaptations would have made you love these books more: Howl’s Moving Castle, The Princess Bride, Empire of the Sun, Pride and Prejudice, Chocolat, Fight Club, Blade Runner (the book’s title is actually “Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep?“), Let the Right One In, L.A. Confidential, Jurassic Park, Silence of the Lambs, The Exorcist, Life of Pi, Lord of the Rings, The Kite Runner… I could go on. You might not have even known some of these started life as books.

5. You would have known Emma Stone’s Easy A was a far better adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s the Scarlet Letter than the actual movie adaptation of the Scarlet Letter. 

4. You would have actually understood what the hell Dune was all about.

You would have also been spared the sight of seeing what Vladimir Harkonnen actually looks like.

3. You will understand that there is more to protagonists than having white skin and an American accent. Just in case we’re keeping score: Will from the Dark is Rising should be British, not American. Robin Hood must at least have an English accent, Kevin Costner. Jennifer Connelly should have been Hispanic in a Beautiful Mind. Nora from Warm Bodies is half-black, not Caucasian. Jack Reacher should be Jack Reacher, not Tom Cruise. (sorry. biased.) You need to understand books to understand why whitewashing is not okay.Remember the outcry when a black girl was cast as Rue in the Hunger Games? (let’s not even get into the fact that Katniss Everdeen is mentioned as taking after her father and having olive skin, as well as comparing herself to a girl from District 11 in Catching Fire)

The Fox as depicted in the Wanted graphic novel (left) and The Fox in the movie, Wanted (right)

Broaden your minds, people. More ethnicity brings more flavor to a cast than just Mickey Rooney in yellowface. Can we please not have more Mickey Rooneys in yellowface? Thank you.

Mickey Rooney. The only thing wrong with the classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Which, by the way, was based on a novella by Truman Capote.

2. You would have known League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was not just about Sean Connery running around with a host of other fictional characters and being confused. Or that the only thing you’ll remember from Watchmen is Rorschach and some very weird sex. 

Just a pathetic attempt to put a Rorschach image on my blog.

1. You would have known the World War Z movie already sucks even before it comes out in theaters. You’ve been warned.

 

 

Goodreads Thingymajagger, Pinterest Thingamabobdylan, and a Giveaway!

(image taken here)

It’s been up for a couple of weeks or three, but I’ve only gotten around to announcing it here: THE UNNATURAL STATES OF DEAD GIRLS IN WELLS now has its own Goodreads page where, for some inexplicable reason, forty people say they are looking forward to reading the book once published. (thirty-nine, actually, because mothers technically don’t count. Especially mothers who call you up to ask how she can purchase your book at Goodreads, no matter how supportive said mother is.)

I get odd looks every time I tell people what my book’s title is, so here’s a confession: I didn’t know what to name my manuscript, so  THE UNNATURAL STATES OF DEAD GIRLS IN WELLS was actually a placeholder title (I summed up what my book was about in as short and as simple a phrase as I could manage, then stuck it on). I figured the chances of editors changing it would be high anyway, so I decided not to worry about it.

My agents loved it. All interested editors they pitched to loved it.

I swear, the things I come up with on the fly get better praise than those I’d worked on for years.

Next – Pinterest might be one of the most awesome things to come out of social media, which is why I’ve gotten myself an account. Now populated with a smorgasbord of pretty things, my upcoming book teasers, and a lot of good taste (and modesty, too).

And finally, OneFourKidLit is celebrating a new look with some awesome giveaways! With books! And unicorns! And magic! But mostly books!

 

 

AW Blog Chain: May 2013 – Dialogue Only

Make a post that is only back-and-forth dialogue, with no description or tags. As always, it may be fiction or nonfiction, prose or poetry, or any other form you care to use. If you want an additional prompt for your dialogue, you can use Wrong Place, Right Time,” but this is strictly optional.

Modifying this prompt somewhat for myself: select a scene from your work-in-progress and post ONLY the dialogue as an entry. The catch: dialogue must revolve around at least three or four characters (because only two wouldn’t be as much fun). No lead-ins, no scene explanations. The objective isn’t to figure out what’s going on, but to see how distinct each character’s voice is.

—————  

“My name is Hans Peets. I am General Tavenner’s attorney.” 

“And a dwarf, if I ever saw one. They call me the Sarge. Leader of the 108th Air Division, of Faer. For the last fourteen years, we were ordered to watch over you and your mother. She knew, of course. About us, about the cat lady. Nothing gets past Ettie.”

“My mother? That’s impossible, she… a-and he’s a dwarf?”

“Thort and thocky people. Alwayth mining thingth. Carrieth loth and loth of axeths.”

“Not all of us cater to stereotype.”

“Never trusted dwarfs, myself. You oughtn’t grow them so long if you don’t want ‘em mistaken for nests.”

“I hate to interrupt, but I’d really like to know what’s going on, if you all don’t mind.”

“My apologies.  I intended to wait outside, but when I saw it arriving, I could not allow it to roam where others could see.”

“So you broke in instead. Bully for you.”

“But… nobody else in school could see it.”

“It is not other humans I am worried about. People in these outlands have always been blind to what they do not believe in.”

“You worked for my father? And you’re a… you’re a…”

“A dwarf.”

“A lawyer. Several years ago, your father sent the 108th Air Division – the Sarge here, and his pigeons – to protect you and your mother. There are many who would attack the General through his army, and not all of them nightwalkers. But now your father seeks to bring you back to Faer, as you have no other living relations in the outlands. The arrival of your firebird, however, has complicated matters.”

“But I don’t have a… did you say firebird?”

“Glowy bird. Shootth fire.”

Participants and posts:

orion_mk3 – post

Ralph Pines – post

articshark – post

pyrosama – post

Sudo_One – post

Nissie – post

Angyl78 – post

Lady Cat – post

U2Girl – post

MsLaylaCakes – post

SuzanneSeese – post

LanaK – post

in_one – post

Little Tokyo: Children’s Day Festival

Smack dab in the middle of Makati (unofficial business and financial district of Manila, Philippines) lies this tiny little nook known to food aficionados as Little Tokyo, a jumble of small restaurants and izakayas surrounding a little zen garden. It serves one of the most authentic Japanese cuisines in the country, more so because these small shops are owned by an association of expatriate Japanese chefs who’d made the Philippines their home. Little Tokyo hosts a yearly Children’s Day festival, a national holiday in Japan.  This year’s festivities comes a week earlier than usual (Children’s Day is normally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month) but that just means I get to wander around sampling Japanese street fare and play Japanese games this month.

A balloon-game (called Yoyo Tsuri) where you’ll need to successfully ‘hook’ a balloon floating on water to keep it.

Goldfish scooping game (Kingyo Sukui)

Toys and Japanese candy. Dried squid flavored candy is actually pretty good.

Yakitori (skewered meats)

I think this is a kind of obanyaki, (a kind of batter cake) with a sweet filling

Takoyaki (octopus balls)

More seafood on a stick

Prepared takoyaki

Spicy tuna sashimi on a bed of coleslaw with sesame dressing

our personal favorite – okonomiyaki (this one’s got shrimp and noodles inside)

A very odd panda. All the more odd because this panda suit was on auction during the event

And of course, being a Japanese occasion, there’s karaoke.

The Foreign Writer’s Guide to Publishing House Contract Requirements

Living several continents away from your agents / publishing house / the writing majority has its share of disadvantages. You’re asleep when fellow writers / your agents are awake, you can’t participate in a lot of ARCs / giveaways because of the expensive shipping costs,  and it’s not as easy engaging in offline book promotions if your target readers live half a day away.

While we non-North American / UK based writers writing for the North American / European markets are in the decided minority, I noticed there isn’t much information out there for those foreign few of us who’d been lucky enough to take the plunge and find a great agent. My experience when it came to publishing contracts is pretty different than most given my location (schedules juggled to get agent and publisher and author available for a conference is harder, for example). There’s also a lot of things I needed that other writers didn’t.

So I decided to make a rough guide on what to expect (and the things you might need) if you’re an author living outside of North America and Europe / non-US resident and just been offered a US publishing contract. Hopefully, for the few people who belong to this category like me, you have a better understanding of things rather than heading into it floundering, like I did!

The W8-BEN Tax Form.

W8-BEN is a form you must complete in order to be exempted from the initial 30% tax required by the U.S for its residents. Your publishers will most likely be providing this form for you upon sending you your contract, or will at least provide you a link where you can download it. Publishers may vary though, so be aware that you need this form to prevent the IRS from deducting your cash advances and subsequent royalties, and to prevent being taxed twice.

The W8-BEN form, taken from the IRS website.

The form itself is mostly (see below) straightforward. Obviously, you’ll be registering as an individual, and you will need to check the part in the form that states you are a resident of a foreign country, and that therefore all beneficial treaties between your country and the United States apply to you. (I suggest reading up on any income tax treaties your country might have with the US, as country agreements will differ. To make it easier for you, here is the full list of countries included.)

However, you will still be needing a United States tax identification number even if you are a foreign resident qualifying for W8-BEN. Which leads us to the….

Employer Identification Number.

If you have a publishing contract with a United States publishing house, this is the second thing you’ll be needing. This was one of my mistakes – when I mailed back my contract, I sent in my country’s employer identification number instead of the US EIN because I didn’t know better. My rather frazzled agent emailed back to inform me of the error. This also meant I had to mail the form again, and shipping isn’t cheap. Hopefully, you guys get to learn from my blunder.

And here’s the EIN SS-4 form that you’ll be using, instructions included!

Here are the ways to get your own EIN:

1.) The IRS website has a processing form where you can fill up your EIN form online. DO NOT USE THIS OPTION, GUYS. This is only applicable for U.S. residents.

2.) You can download the form, fill it up, and then fax it to the IRS offices at 267-941-1040 or mail it to:

Attn: EIN Operation

Philadelphia, PA

3.) This is the option I took. The problem with Option #2 is that it will take some weeks for them to send you all the pertinent details, so if you need your EIN asap like I did, calling would be your best bet. It’s not a toll-free number, though, at 1-267-941-1099 (which is why having a US phone number comes in handy – see below again). I recommend filling up the form first before making your call, so that you have the answers at hand when being prompted by the customer representative on the other end.

Funny story: the operator I talked to had the thickest Texan drawl I’ve ever heard, and I had a difficult time understanding half of what he said. Which is odd because, with me living in Asia, one normally assumes it would be the other way around.

You’ll receive your EIN immediately, and they’ll also mail you your details afterward. You won’t need any other requirements other than answering the form!

A United States Telephone Number

This is more of an option than a requirement, but I’ve found it very, very very useful to have a US-based phone number rather than having to rely on an international number that can wind up being expensive in the long run. This is especially a plus if you prefer calling up your agents / publishers rather than waiting for an email.

What about using Skype, you say? Skype works as a computer-to-computer call, and won’t have any free computer-to-phone call services available. A lot of agents and publishers, especially at the start of a publishing relationship, also don’t have that option.

What Skype DOES have though, is a service that allows you to register for a US phone number, which you can use via Skype to call anywhere in the US. All calls made to this number will be routed to your Skype account.

As of this writing, you can avail of this for $18 for 3 months, or $60 for a year. This allows you to receive calls from people, but not to make calls yourself. If your agents / publishers are often the ones calling, that’s good enough.  But if you often make the call, or if your agents / publishers use a dial-in conference call service like mine does, then you’ll need to purchase some credits or a subscription, both of which are still pretty cheap.

——-

Please note that these only apply to US-based publishing houses. UK publishing houses probably follow a similar route, but with different tax forms and tax identification numbers.

I might add to this post if anything else crops up that I feel would be equally important, but I feel that this is the gist of what to expect!

Follow Your Art.

Good advice.

If you bleed in the making, then you know it’s worth it.

If it feels like your heart’s been squeezed out of every drop you can wring from it, then you know it’s worth it.

If it can make you feel like you are the most untalented snot existing in all of creation and a damned good artist at the same time, then you know it’s worth it.

 

Photo taken from Circles Hostel at Zambales. Possibly one of the best places in the Philippines to go find yourself.

 

My Debut Young Adult Novel, Sold!

This actually happened a couple of months ago, but I’ve only gotten around to officially announcing the news here.

My YA psychological horror novel, The Unnatural States of Dead Girls in Wells, has sold to to awesome publishing company Sourcebooks! This little blurb says it all:

I would like to take this opportunity to completely waste your time and my piffy bandwidth with every happyface.gif I can find on the internets within the next five minutes.

Okay, I think that’s enough.

(Or maybe one more, cause I like Toby Turner.)

Truthfully, I was too busy fretting over the panicking and the contracts and the panicking and the post office shipping (there appears to be a lot more logistics involved when you do not live in the same country as either your agents or publishing company) and the panicking, to remember to make an announcement – but better late than never, yah?

A word to most would-be writers, or writers seeking out agents and publishing companies: at this point, having patience is going to be your best trait. The process takes an inooooordinate amount of time, through no one’s fault.  I signed with an agent last July, and officially signed with a publisher last month – and it’s still considered a rather short time when compared to others in the same boat.

Not an actual representation of my agents dealing with publishing houses.

And if all goes as planned, my novel should debut in the fall of 2014! Exciting stuff!

An Introduction to Young Adult Genres

In response to a friend wanting to get into Young Adult books, but is clueless as to what to expect from the numerous genres therein, here is a basic introduction to Reading Young Adult  Books.

To serve as a common denominator among the genres, I’m using a universal theme that applies to most YA works – the typical Boy Meets Girl angle.

A note: descriptions do not apply to ALL YA series found under that particular genre, but rather to a substantial majority.

Dystopian YA: Boy Meets Girl And This Somehow Becomes a Matter of Life or Death Because the Government Sucks

Paranormal Romance YA: Strange / Supernatural Nice Boy Meets a Girl who Doesn’t Think She’s Special But He Does, Who Meets Another Strange / Supernatural Bad-Ass Boy Who Also Thinks She’s Special

Fantasy YA: Boy Meets Girl and Best Friend/s, Realizes They Are Chosen and must Save the World With Magic or All Is Doomed

Steampunk YA: Boy Meets Girl in A City That Has 90% More Clunky Machines Than It Actually Should. Also, Everybody Loves Tesla. If Biopunk, Then Possibly Everybody Loves Darwin.

Urban Fantasy YA: In An Unusual City, Girl with Special Powers Meets Boy with Special Powers who May or May Not Want to Kill Her. Or Kiss her. Whatevs.

Historical YA: In Some Distant Past Usually Involving Ball Gowns, Boy Meets Girl Snarkier Than Era Allows For

Contemporary YA: Boy Meets Girl with Issues, But Then OTHER BITCHES COME TRIFLIN’

Mystery YA: Boy Meets Girl and Solves Crimes That Baffles Police Despite No Previous Experience with Dead Bodies

Horror YA: Boy Meets Girl While in Romantic Backdrop of Gore, Blood, and Unattached Appendages. Hearts All Around, Literally.

Science Fiction YA: Boy Meets Girl in Space, Usually on a Spaceship or Tech-Savvy Planet With Parts That Will Still Somehow Malfunction Like It’s On a Windows Vista OS.

 

What I hope other people shall come away with after reading this, is this:

 

(taken from here)

And also: that I probably shouldn’t be allowed to introduce Young Adult books to newcomers.

 

(And fellow writers? No more protagonists having a gay best friend in YA novels. Please?)

I didn’t know “Offending Religious Feelings” was now a Jailable Offense.

I always wonder every time I post something here about the Philippines, if I sound like I hate my homeland, which isn’t true at all. Unfortunately, the absolutely ridiculous actions of government leaders and other aspects of authority here aren’t helping much to change the perception.

Yesterday, tour guide and activist Carlos Celdran was found guilty by a Philippine court for “offending religious feelings”, and sentenced to 2-13 months in jail. His crime? Holding up a placard that says “Damaso” on it inside a church while mass was being held. It should be noted that the judge was changed at the very last minute to one Juan Bermejo, Jr., who was sympathetic to the CBCP (Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines)’ cause. Allegedly, of course.

For those unfamiliar with what ‘Damaso’ means, this is a reference to Padre Damaso, a character from Philippine national hero Jose Rizal‘s novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and its sequel, El Filibusterismo (The Filibuster). In the novel, Damaso was a Spanish friar who constantly abuses his power as priest to further his own influence, to the point where he is more powerful than the village mayor. One of his most notorious acts in the book was to rape a Filipina, begetting the female protagonist, Maria Clara, in the process. In many ways, Rizal likened Damaso to the church during his time, who has been guilty of similar abuses in the three hundred years they have held control in the Philippines until the Spanish-American War – and in many ways, still do today.

Carlos Celdran was contesting the church’s stance against the RH Bill, which I have already mentioned rather indirectly in another post. According to the Philippines’ Revised Penal Code (created in the 1930s and unrevised till today), Article 133 says this:

“Art. 133. Offending religious feelings. — The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.”

This, however, contradicts the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which says:

“Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.”

While it can be argued that there should be consequences for his actions, holding up a placard during mass does not constitute 2-13 months in jail when a hefty enough fine seems to be most fair. Moreover, the terminology associated with “offending religious feelings” is too overtly broad, as most of Philippine law seems to be. What is the definition of “religious feeling”? No specific examples are given regarding how they can be ‘offended’. Celdran’s stance was political in nature, directed towards church meddling in affairs of state, rather than in any tenet of their religious doctrine, the only aspect this law covers.

What infuriates me most of all, is that the Philippine church is resolute when pursuing these trivial offenses, but is spending most of their church contributions on settling child molestation cases instead of charity. The Economist states that only 2.7% of overall church contributions actually make their way to charities.

The Philippines has its share of child abuse cases, the most notorious of which involves one Father Cristobal Garcia, who NatGeo reporter Brian Christy exposed as dealing in illegal ivory trade. A Philippine archbishop’s response? He wants investigative reporter Brian Christy banned from ever entering the Philippines again. Despite Garcia’s being previously investigated for a child molestation case (which the Vatican claims to be following up on despite the already TWENTY YEAR lapse) people are still flocking to his cause.

Ivory-smuggling pedophile priest? WE MUST FORGIVE HIM AS CHRISTIANS. CHARGES MUST BE DISMISSED. An activist protesting against the lack of separation of church and state? TO THE DUNGEONS WITH HIM.

Celdran disrupting mass? Reproductive Health Bill about to be passed into law? CALL FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. PILLS ARE ABORTIFICENTS. CONDOMS INCREASE AIDS AND PROMISCUITY.

Personally, I believe the Philippine Catholic church ought to be punched in the throat with a high-speeding car. They are one of the two main reasons why this country will not be achieving any kind of political or economic progress any time soon. (the other being oligarchs wanting to keep the rest of the country poor to maintain their wealth and monopoly over Philippine industries)

And yes, this IS the Philippines in a nutshell. And possibly everywhere else with an extreme sense of Catholicism, but since the Philippines has a higher Catholic population than the United States, forgive me if I claim a better right to be so. So. Furious.

Incidentally – the last famous person before Carlos Celdran to be found guilty of “offending religious feelings”? None other than national hero Jose Rizal himself. He was executed before a firing squad on December 30, 1896.

It boggles the mind, understanding how most people here claim him as the national hero, yet is willing to unfairly jail someone who did something he would do had he still been alive today.