Jim Pascual Agustin's Blog, page 56
September 9, 2010
Bloody and Goody: Muscle and Blood Literary Journal Issue 1 Launched
Detail of a photograph by Thomas Zimmerman, Muscle and Blood Literary Journal Issue 1
The first issue of Muscle and Blood Literary Journal has just been released – online and I believe a print edition is also in the works. I love their declaration.
-o-
We hate most of the stuff that's on TV. That's why we started Muscle & Blood Literary Journal. We're sick of having our intelligence insulted by every program that comes on, or being treated like we're part of some massive cross-section of people they're trying to appeal to.
We're for everyone: working class, upper class, black, white, indigenous, male, female, early 20s, late 60s, and anyone else. The only thing our readers have in common is they're intelligent people. You'll find that kind of person everywhere, and if there's one thing we're sure of, it's that you'll find the other kind everywhere too.
Muscle & Blood Literary Journal is not TV–it's a magazine, and not the trash kind they sell on newsstands. Rather, it's a literary journal, which publishes fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and reviews. To paraphrase an oompa loompa, this means no commercials.
What kind of poetry and fiction do we feature? The good kind–the kind that sounds like the author knows what they're doing. We're not big on stories about vampires, elves, or aliens, and we definitely aren't going to publish anything hateful. Aside from that, the writing in our magazine could be about anything, as long as it's about something–we hate getting to the end of a poem or story and asking, "So?" Poems can be in any form, except haiku–really, we've had enough of those for our lifetime, and we're sure you have too.
We also publish nonfiction about the issues of modern society, which may include the problems of 24-hour news, or the implications of product placement on television's artistic merit–we really hate TV. But if you're slow (and it's OK, some of us are too), TV is a metaphor.
-o-
Go ahead, I encourage you to visit the site. Fantastic reading!
Oh, and a poem of mine – "Someone's Head" – appears in it, too. 
That shouldn't be your only reason to check out the site though. hahahahaha. Leave a comment there to encourage the excellent and friendly editors (yes, a rare breed!).
Filed under: Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry Tagged: fiction, Jim Pascual Agustin, Muscle and Blood Literary Journal Issue 1, non-fiction, photography, poetry, Someone's Head, Thomas Zimmerman
September 7, 2010
We All Fall Down
The whole family needed more than tissues in the past month. Kids were in hospital for nearly a week and the bug struck us adults soon after. Recovery time has been longer than expected, especially for creatures no longer at their peak. In other words, I am here trying to see if there are any remaining readers of this blog after my long absence.
The photo above was taken on the road a few days ago with a camera phone. Couldn't let it just be ignored by all the other drivers. I thought it was both grim and hopeful at the same time. Much like my frame of mind these days.
I am waiting for some news, hopefully good.
Filed under: Africa, Asia, environment, Fragments and Moments, Literary News & Articles, Silly Babble
