Mad Cow Blues

You know where you have to be tomorrow: at the launch of Yvette Tan's first book, the short story collection Waking The Dead. It is a dark, dream-filled delight, with fictions about strange circumstances, bloody bargains and fiendish fates.

The cover and the interior illustrations are by the amazing Andrew Drilon (see more here!).

Yvette's stories have won two Palancas, as well as a couple of nods from the Neil Gaiman-sponsored Graphic/Fiction awards organized by Fully Booked. Her work has been enthusiastically praised by Gaiman himself, as well as local literary luminaries like Gilda Cordero-Fernando.

"Tan’s stories rise like the enchanted river to meet their readers, the words like brackish water suddenly turning clear. Something is awakened in this book, an irresistible trap of terror and talent from Yvette Tan, whose seductively scary stories will make readers glad they acquiesced when offered this fateful bargain: 'Drink, and your eyes will be opened.'" That's from the advanced review that came out in the Inquirer last Monday. Read the rest here!

The launch is this Saturday, August 15, at Powerbooks Megamall, 4 PM. That's tomorrow! See you there.

Holy crap, it's been a month since my last post! Lost internet access there for a while, and then for a while it seemed like there was too much to blog about -- Francis M's tragic and untimely passing, the Eraserheads' Final Set, even Watchmen (I am linking to my favorite review of the movie, by Thor Balanon). So of course I ended up not blogging about any of that. Also, I have not been blogging about all the fun stuff behind the scenes at UNO magazine; the ideas are flying fast and furious, and it will really be something special, believe me.

Something else that looks like it will be really special is Zach Lucero's solo album, launching tonight, March 24, at SaGuijo! Having worked with Zach on BURN I can attest without hesitation to his keen musical instincts -- plus, I heard a few snippets of the album a while back and it sounds really good. Other acts playing at the launch are Barbie Almabis, Imago, Techy Romanitics and Sandwich.The year in music is shaping up very nicely so far -- Pasta Groove, Corporate Lo-Fi, and now the fantastic Zach, with more to follow (like the new Outerhope, yay!).

UPDATE: Read my interview with Zach on my music column for the Bulletin, here.

There are a few reasons to like this shirt. One, that design is freaking great. Two, that design is freaking great. Three, did I mention that design is freaking great? I could go on, but I think you get the gist.

Anyway, it was done by genius artist Yvonne Quisumbing. Go here to check out the design -- and then please sign up and vote for it. Hurry hurry. :)

With the exception of Chris Lowe's horrendous pink wig, there is nothing about this video of the Pet Shop Boys' performance at the Brits last February 18 that doesn't make me happy. They zip through no less (and possibly a little more) than thirteen of their songs, including two from the new album Yes, and are joined onstage, appropriately enough, by Lady GaGa and Brandon Flowers of The Killers (aside from an array of costumed dancers).

The Pet Shop Boys were granted the 2009 Brit Award for Lifetime Achievement, and I say it's about time. After all, "they were to the end of the 20th century what the Beatles were to its middle." Yeah, you read that right. Read more here!

So last January I got an urgent call: something about UNO magazine and how there had been a sudden staff shakeup. The upshot was that they needed to put together the February issue with breakneck haste. It had been decided that it was going to be a Music Special, so of course, that was something I was up for. We brainstormed on feature ideas, and I was so fired up I ended up writing four articles in as many days. That includes the cover story, on the dauntless Dylan Vizcarra. Here's an excerpt:

Here are a few facts about Dylan Vizcarra, the always-articulate, tattoo-sporting, devastatingly cute host of Jack TV's lifestyle program The Peep Show:

She is a cyborg of sorts, with a metal pin in her right leg—a souvenir of a recent horrific skateboarding accident that left her with a spiral fracture, a couple of scars, and a valuable life lesson (the lesson being, well... don't drink and skate).

She is the kind of person who would use words like "tomfoolery" and "shenanigans" in her writing without seeming pretentious or raising suspicions of time travel. She has also been known to invent words like "flabberfont" when the existing lexicon is insufficient.

Her real name is Karen; she has an identical twin named Karla. (All of you reading this who just had thoughts along the lines of "Oh, boy! Twice the fun!"—just put the magazine down and walk away; we don't want your kind in here.) Once upon a time, when they were both in college, Karen in La Salle and Karla in Ateneo, they decided to switch places for a day. They look so much alike that everyone was fooled—from the basketball players wishing "Karla" a happy day-after-your-birthday to the teachers who chastised "Karen" for talking too much in class and who forced "Karla" to deliver a report that she had no clue about.

I learn a few more things about her when I meet her one drizzly Thursday evening in a coffee shop on Bonifacio High Street.

Am quite proud of the story; I think it's one of my better-written profiles. The interview itself was great fun, and so was the shoot, which we did with my favorite Quarter Pounder connoisseurs, the very talented Ryan and Garovs, a.k.a. Everywhere We Shoot.

Anyway, the point of all this is: Go and get the new issue of UNO, already! Those of you who weren't inclined to ever pick up the magazine before should check it out this time, and those of you who were UNO fans already will still enjoy this. Erwin Romulo, Ramon de Veyra and I worked on it, so, you know, it must be good, har har.

As if you needed more reasons, here's a partial list of what this issue contains: an encounter between Shawn Yao (yay!) and Spider-Dan; Cynthia Bauzon on album cover designs; King Palisoc on making music videos; an interview with Aldus Santos, singing Purplechicken and author of Repeat While Fading; and best of all, NEW FICTION FROM YVETTE TAN! Aw yeah.

I love these: covers for paperback novelizations that never were, done in a 60s graphic style, signs of wear and tear and all. I salute you, Spacesick! Visit his blog for the rest.

My other favorites include the Labyrinth cover and the Edward Scissorhands one. Fun and really really well done.

Hey, I know all those songs! This clip made me grin like an idiot. Particularly during the Sixpence None the Richer and "Rush Rush" moments. Thank you, Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, whoever you are.

Congratulations Conch! Photo stolen from Denise Mallabo, he he he.

Whatever I may say about the old PULP/MTV Ink office, I can't deny that I met some amazing people there -- and none more so than Conch, immensely talented Conch, who had perhaps the hardest job to do and yet was somehow the most reliable and least whiny of us all. (Well, she was certainly less whiny than me.) I have had the pleasure of working with her on a couple of publications now, and I would work with her again in a heartbeat. Unless it was on a job that required cleaning other peoples' toilets, in which case I might have to think about it.

Wait. What was my point? Oh yeah. Congratulations to Conch and Xandro, who got married last January 31! I wish them much much happiness together forever. :D

Up Dharma Down photographed by Everywhere We Shoot for Imagine Magazine. Taken from Mrs Supergift's blog.

Imagine Magazine #3 is out! It's the special music issue, entitled Imagine The Groove. I'm Guest Editor for this issue (my usual title on Imagine is Contributing Editor), but while I had a bit more participation this time around, the real credit, as always, goes to brilliant EIC Joyce Fernandez, as well as Kai Magsanoc and Yonina Chan and some other people who will feel like kicking me for not mentioning them by name. But you know who you are. :)

The launch is TONIGHT, January 23, at Cubao X, 7pm onwards! Do drop by.

There's a lotta stuff in this issue, but the main fashion feature has Everywhere We Shoot (Ryan + Garovs), Matt Gozun, Jujin Samonte, Jerome Lorico, Kenneth Chua, Geof Gonzales, Rcxy Bautista, Lotho, Daryl Chang, Andre Chang, and Cecile Zamora interpreting music by Radioactive Sago Project, Up Dharma Down, Drip, Ang Bandang Shirley, Outerhope, Musical O, Paramita, Swissy, Daydream Cycle, Juan Pablo Dream, and Sleepwalk Circus.

Bands were photographed by Everywhere We Shoot, Aldwin Aspillera and Richie Castro. Articles on the bands were by myself, Erwin Romulo, Sarge Lacuesta, Mookie Katigbak, Aimee Marcos and Je Bautista.

Whatta lineup, eh? See you there!

Yvette hanging out with Neil Gaiman, who is also a writer.

Award-winning writer and "undisputed horror doyenne" Yvette Tan (mwah) was featured in the Sunday Inquirer Magazine today! For those of you who want to help stave off the death of print, dash to your local newsstand and get a copy now. For the rest of you, read "Her Dark Side" by Ruel de Vera heeere! Yay!

Yvette's first collection of fiction, Waking the Dead, will be launched by Anvil Publishing this year. We were just looking at the proofs the other day and they are lovely.

"That sound? Oh, that's just the breaking of indie loving hearts everywhere."

Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard are engaged.

(Incidentally, Zooey Deschanel's album with M. Ward, She & Him - Volume One, is one of my favorites of the year.)

Happy New Year, all! :D

"The world has gone crazy. Two politicians beat up a defenseless 56-year-old father and his 14-year-old son. At a golf course. I swear to God, I thought golfers were decent people. You would think politicians were decent people. I guess not. I guess they gang up on 56-year-old men and beat up pleading 14-year-old kids."

Yesterday was the worst day in the life of young Bambee dela Paz. Read all about it on her blog, here. Go, read.

Just a bit of perspective, by the way: former President Fidel Ramos, who, as his title implies, WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE FREAKING PHILIPPINES, also plays golf, and always asked for permission before overtaking anyone on the golf course. But apparently the mayor of Masiu City, Lanao del Sur is above such etiquette. So above it, in fact, that he will beat the shit out of you -- with the aid of his goons, of course -- if you even dare to imply that he is in the wrong. Even if you are pushing sixty, or barely in your teens.

Word about the incident is spreading. From Filipino Voices: "The Philippine State needs civilizing really fast. It is currently run by barbarians, murderers and thieves who cannot even follow simple golf etiquette. What more the moral code of the country as embodied by our laws?" From A Filipina Mom Blogger: "...my heart just went out to both father and son as Bambee describes how they were beaten up. I mean, wouldn’t you feel the same way if that was your father and brother or son? Yes, it could happen to you too."

I noticed that Bambee, a young golfer who has competed in over 25 international events in the past six years, claims Caloocan City as her hometown. Perhaps former Mayor of Caloocan City Boy Asistio, who is a golfer himself and would probably be offended the behavior of these politicians, can do something to help.

Yes, we don't have the whole story yet. And the dela Paz family will have a hard time getting justice, as the witnesses are apparently unwilling to talk about what happened. But it seems clear that major assholery was afoot here.

Also, note to the management of Valley Golf and Country Club, Antipolo City: you could have stopped it. Idiots.

To everyone who plays there, if you too would like to risk getting beaten up over a misunderstanding with a power-mad politician while security guards look on without lifting a finger, by all means, continue to go to Valley Golf.

From Bizarre Adventures #34 (1983). Thank you Marvel Comics for warping my childhood.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Ho ho ho!

Also, Santa, if you're reading this, this one's for you.

Me, Yvette, and Marian standing in front of Mogwai. Picture courtesy of the talented Miguel N.

May I just say, Furball throws a hell of a Christmas party. Fun people plus loud music plus food and drink galore (including an endless supply of deep-fried squid balls and other street vendor fare, as well as some apparently infamous brownies). We had a great time. Thanks Mads Quark Lyle and all the Furball peoples! :D

QLE FTW: Photo by Arnold Arre

So the QLE -- Quark Henares, Luis Katigbak (thas me), and Erwin Romulo -- guested last night on a radio show called Headstart on NU 107. For those who were unable to tune in, the high point, for me, was Erwin declaring that even though he didn't like Rico Blanco's "Yugto," it still stuck in his head, me theorizing that Rico must therefore have cut some sort of deal with Satan, and Quark riffing that this deal involved the violent penetration of Rico's orifices by a trio of demons. "He offered his anus to Satan!" Quark said on-air, and then proceeded to sing -- along with Erwin -- the parts of "Yugto" that did, indeed, make more sense in that context. "Lumiyab ka..."

We were also interviewed by FHM yesterday, regarding the year in Pinoy pop culture. Apologies to Kim and Paul for my late late arrival; I sorely underestimated how bad the traffic out there is these days, and how long it would take me to even get a ride.

AND! The Inquirer ran a feature today on the QLE Awards Night, yay! GO GO READ IT HERE: "The point is the music." :D

Okay, this will be my last post on the QLE for a while, I think. Kind of scary that if you scroll down this first page of my blog, it's QLE this and QLE that. To be honest, like Erwin, I'm "All QLE-ed out," especially after yesterday. But it's been a blast, and I didn't think that a midnight rant about a roster of nominees seen on a web page would eventually become... well, whatever the hell it is this QLE thing has become. Thanks to EVERYONE and hooray for Ang Bandang Shirley, Ciudad, Intolerant, Itchyworms, Loss of Control, Markus Highway, Pedicab, Sandwich, Taken By Cars, Up Dharma Down, and Yosha, and all the brilliant Pinoy music-makers out there!

So it's really happening: THE QLE AWARDS will be held tomorrow, December 10, 6-9 PM, at Route 196, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City! All thanks to Gang Badoy, Rock Ed Philippines, and Samarami Asia -- and of course the bands themselves, without whom these awards would not only have been highly improbable, but also disturbingly pointless. (Btw, that's not an official poster up there; that's just something I did for funs. Japanese giant robots rock.)

We are very happy indeed that some of the bands that Quark, Erwin and I gushed over will be able to play during the awards: Intolerant, Itchyworms, Loss of Control, Taken By Cars, and Up Dharma Down, woo hoo! (And maybe even more -- we'll see.) Special guest performers will include Juan Pablo Dream and Gasulina.

See you all there! Remember, the whole thing ends at 9, so get there early. :) Admission is free!

Fans of J.D. Salinger and Batman's bare-legged sidekick, please click here. Relive Holden Caulfield's adventures -- this time with Robin as Holden Caulfield. Oddly compelling, even touching. And funny, of course.

There are quite a few good reasons to buy the recently-revamped Free Press weekly magazine, beyond the fact that VP Noli de Castro resembles a basset hound (aaaww) on the cover of this week's issue. (Spiffy cover redesign by Juan Caguicla, suckas!)

Reason #1 has to be that Erwin Romulo (former Features Editor of Rogue magazine), is now their new Associate Editor, which accounts for why the century-old publication is changing for the better, inside and out. Reasons #2 and up would be the creative people he's bringing on board -- photographers like Juan, writers like Yvette Tan, Lourd de Veyra, Alexis Tioseco, Tad Ermitano, Armi Millare, Adam David, Philbert Dy, and, ahem, myself, among others.

The new issue has my review/essay about Up Dharma Down in it. Last week's issue (Dec. 6 cover date, Alfonso Cusi on the front) has Adam's first book review for the FP, of Khavn's Ultraviolins -- and it is worth getting for that alone. It pulls no punches, and abounds in insights such as:

"It's an interesting phenomenon, these safe sanctioned transgressions, how we are "given" only a few things to complain about -- GMA, violence against women, corporate churchdom, globalization -- and how we are "given" only a few choice ways to complain about them. It's the height of absurdity, a simulacrum of a rebellion -- corporate punk."

Dig around more in the back issues and if you're lucky enough to find the recent one with the Bayani Fernando cover (mid-November, I believe), get it, because it has an amazing story by Yvette Tan called "Her Room Was Her Temple," another deft mind-mangling mashup of horror, sex and dark humor.

Erwin and I had some conversations about how to change the Free Press before his appointment as editor was confirmed. It's exciting to see these plans -- and more -- actually being implemented. (Everybody used to make jokes about how ugly the covers were -- well, now something has been done about that!) I used to buy the Free Press (and the Graphic) semi-regularly in the 90s, usually depending on who wrote the fiction feature for that week, but I stopped buying both almost a decade ago. So it's a thrill to be looking forward to finding the FP on the stands again these days.

And now I want you all to sing this song, to the tune of the chorus of "Reasons" by Earth Wind and Fire:

Free Press, the Free Press that we need
The Free Press that we read
To improve our thoughts -- and our deeds

Oooooh! And -- after a hundred years on the stands
All of the copies are now in demand
Because the Free Press is now in new hands

La la la la la, etc.

Aww yeah.

Get the October-November issue of Fully Booked online, here! (Link leads to a PDF file.) Not only does it have my feature on the legendary Alan Moore (in which he gives a shout-out to all his fanz in the Philippines -- word), but it also has a feature on the brilliant and lovely Yvette Tan, "an award-winning horror fiction writer climbing the literary ranks." :D Go go read!



NOTE: In the file I submitted to the magazine, I thanked Ramon de Veyra and Erwin Romulo for their help with the Alan Moore article. The acknowledgement is missing from the printed version, so I would like to thank them here: Erwin for suggesting one of the questions I used, and Ramon for being the biggest Alan Moore geek on the planet.

I was like she was all he was all they were like we were all like oh my God like totally

Go here for the Parry Gripp-penned fun! And here for more one-minute masterpieces. (Yup, that's the Parry Gripp from Nerf Herder.) Do not miss "Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)." (Nakaka-LSS.)