Twilight - My Take

As is my usual reading habit, I read the "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer all through the night, stopping only when I had turned the last page, which was at about 4 a.m. the following day. The consequences were quite unhealthy. I woke up grumpy at 7 a.m. and got into an argument with my hubby who, (correctly, I admit) pointed out that my nocturnal reading lost me quality time with them (hubby and daughter) as I had to catch up on my sleep the whole afternoon. As if that was not quite a handful to deal with for a sleep-deprived person, I acquired a slight fever later in the day. All of which was reasons enough for me to make a resolution that no matter how engrossing a book might be, lights are out by midnight, or maybe 2 a.m.?

Going back to the vampire-meets-girl-vampire-and-girl-falls-in-love romance with a seemingly dark twist (what can you expect? its about blood sucking creatures for crying out loud), I found myself transported to my tween years when a "Sweet Dreams" novellete was a must-have in every girl's book arsenal (aside from the usual Archie comic books and Sweet Valley High tomes). Take away the fangs, supernatural powers and immortality and you will find the angsts exeprienced by Bella and Edward and most of the characters in "Twilight" strikingly similar to the less critically-acclaimed teen romance series. Fitting in, unrequited love (or admiration, better yet, crush as it was more colloqially termed in my time), ecstasy of realized mutuality in feelings, envy for the almost perfect girl or boy in campus and so many others all find its place in Ms. Meyer's book that's fast becoming a pop classic for this generation of teens and twentysomething (including my contempraries even). But before "Twilight" fans start throwing tomatoes at me, let me say that while this book reads in some parts like a sibling of my teen romance books of yore, it is so more and its thousand of fans that continues to grow in numbers shall fully agree. The prose is far superior and it is as engaging a book as can be with colorful characters and mythical creatures having lived more than a hundred years. As for the female protagonist, so many youngsters can empathize with her and (I suspect it is one of the reasons for the book's popularity) the story of the clumsy and can't-seem-to-fit-in-girl snagging the handsomest guy in school provides hope for some of the languishing wallflowers out there (although Bellas is no pushover in the looks department, having three other admirers apart from Edward, the main man). I particularly like the unique take on the demon-angel angle and treatment of the condemned immortals. Perfect and beautiful yet tragic in the sense that the thing that keeps them alive is what make them a most deplorable and feared creature.

Taken amidst this backdrop, the book, thus, manages, with flying colors, to rise above the usual clicheic teen romance and becomes the latest betseller's favorite with fave reviews to boot.

Charges filed against blogger...

A hazard of the trade has just become very real. Last week, a fellow blogger was charged for libel before the courts of law. That means the charges against her (she's an eighteen year old blogger) has been elevated from the prosecutor's office to the court. A full blown hearing is expected (if its not dismissed by the judge) and this blogger shall surely be watching its progress.

I cannot say much about it (the post subject of the libel case) as everything is now sub judice but in my opinion its a case of David versus Goliath. A teenager against a family of politicians and government bigwigs, but then the truth shall set you free. We call it the proof of truth and its a major line of defense in libel cases. So, whoever is telling the truth has the upper hand.

I receive this piece of news with mixed feelings. I have always been a firm believer of writing with responsibility and bloggers are not exempt. Unlike, however, with major dailies and publications, not all bloggers come equipped with a a full legal team to evaluate all articels (in this case posts) to check if its libel-free. Everything sometimes become free-wheeling and some bloggers become vulnerable to lawsuits and, worse, criminal charges. So what's the solution? Bloggers should be treated differently from the mainstream media and have a separate set of standards owing to the very unique features of the Internet which is the bloggers venue. I'm not saying that they should be treated with kid's gloves but legislation should be made recognizing that the Internet is not the mainstream media and that not all who post on the Internet are journalists. We have a lot of wise guys in government, they are sure to figure something out, meanwhile bloggers should now beware. Not everyone have a good sense of humour.

waray in the city gets published

As I've said in my other personal blog, the first is always something and it applies to everything, including getting an editor's nod for your article. You see, last night while I was buying my groceries at the local 24/7 shop, I decided to check this month's issue of the magazine to which I submitted a very short piece of mine, its not much, just your average everday musing. I browsed through it and and saw in quite large print my whole name staring back at me in one of the pages. It's not a lengthy article but seeing your byline on a national glossy for the first time drew a quite heady reaction, at least for me (last time I got a written work published, if you call it that, was way back in highschool, when my feature on graffiti got all of a one- fourth's page space in the school paper). My sister who has had her poems published before was quite amused at my really giddy reaction but I say: be it a few paragraphs, one page or ten pages, the first publication of whatever you have written is a cause for celebration. Someone, somewhere who's supposed to be the expert on this magazine thing, decides that your thoughts are worth printing and sharing to their thousands of readers. Of course, the money that you get paid for submitting the article is a much-welcome bonus (Okay, I'll be honest, the moolah was one of the reasons why I sent the piece in the first place). So indulge me dear readers just this once and take my giddiness with a touch of "gee-she's so excited-she-got-published-I understand totally-cause it's her first time" reaction. Gloating, is not my thing really, but then again, its the no. 1 homestyle magazine in the country (wink,wink, wink).

By the way, I won't be telling you where to look cause I still want to maintain my anonymity, but for those who have an eensi weensie idea already of who I am though they are not really sure, the article is the direct evidence that establishes conclusively my identity (hehehe).