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The Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards 2007

2007-02-12T14:16:00.000+08:00

Ahh, it's been a while. :-) Just wanted to post the following announcement for the budding writers out there:

Palanca Awards 2007 for Literature Now Open to Entries

The Carlos Palanca Foundation announces the opening of the 57th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. The country’s premier literary awards will accept entries until the midnight of April 30, 2007.

The literary awards is open to all Filipino citizens and former Filipino citizens. The competition includes the following categories: Short Story, Short Story for Children, Essay, Poetry, One-act Play, and Full-length Play in Filipino and English divisions; Screenplay in Filipino division; and Short Story in Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Iluko regional languages.

This year’s theme for the Kabataan Essay is “The Filipino Value I Would Like to Share with the World” for the English division; and “Ang Kaugaliang Pilipino na Nais Kong Ibahagi sa Mundo” for the Filipino division. This is a special category open to persons below 18 years old.

Established in 1950, one of the objectives of the Palanca Awards is to serve as an incentive for Filipino writers to craft their outstanding literary works. It is noteworthy that more and more first-time entrants are winning in the contest.

National Artist for Literature Edith Tiempo noted that writers should take full advantage of the annual literary competition to hone their craft. “We are all privileged to have a good number of our writers and their best works being acclaimed and applauded – and we, readers and writers may well wonder about the enormity of literary expertise and craftmanship and long earnest labor that must have gone into the performing of these chosen works.”

Entries for the literary competition may be submitted in person, or sent by mail or courier service to Carlos Palanca Foundation, 6th Floor, CPJ Building., 105 C. Palanca Jr. St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Entries may also be submitted through e-mail in Rich Text Format or in Microsoft Word Document as an attachment, together with the author’s resume, official entry form and original copy of the notarized authorization form.

Complete contest rules and official entry forms may be obtained from the Carlos Palanca Foundation office or via e-mail to cpawards@info.com.ph or palancaawards@yahoo.com. For inquiries, please call 818-3681, local 31.

There are a lot of helpful links in this unofficial site.

2006-10-25T12:51:00.000+08:00

Torture and death in World War II by Ambeth Ocampo. An excerpt:

The opening statement of Maj. Pedro Lopez, the Filipino prosecutor, was long and horrendous. Atrocities were committed all over the archipelago and while he chose to highlight some cases as examples, he apologized for the use of frank and precise language. "While realizing our duty to express ourselves here in temperate and restrained terms, the crimes committed to my country and my people were so shocking, so brutal and so revolting that resort to euphemism would only do violence to the truth," he explained.

Looking for research paper topics?

2006-10-19T12:15:00.000+08:00

These articles might interest you. :-)

Human species "may split in two"
NASA studies Mars water in hope of mission
New image give insight to colliding galaxies
How Stonehenge could have been constructed
"Green manure" may protect Idaho crops
Google seeks solar power
RP mobile phone penetration growth can be replicated--Smart

More "What's your temperament?" quizzes

2006-08-23T20:30:00.000+08:00

In need of a third (fourth, fifth...) opinion regarding your temperament? You might want to take these nifty quizzes:
Quick Quiz to Identify Your Personality Type.
Keirsey Temperament Sorter II. Take this quiz only if you have all the time in the world.
What's Your Temperament? Another long quiz.

TIPS on how to ace an English essay

2006-08-22T18:02:00.000+08:00

1. Gather your thoughts before you write them down so that you won't go around in circles before making your point.

2. Follow the directions! When you're asked what a character said about something, quote or paraphrase. When you're asked to compare, find the similarities between the two or more ideas given. When you're being asked to relate your answer into your life, write about yourself.

3. Make sure that the words you write down do exist.

prejudism is prejudice (noun).
discriminize is discriminate (verb).
discriminization is discrimination (noun).
imaginate is imagine (verb).

4. Be clear about your antecedents!

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee talks about discrimination against Negroes. They discriminate them just because of their skin color.

Who are the they underlined in the above paragraph? The Negroes? Or perhaps some other people? Rewrite the second sentence so that your antecedent is clear:

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee talks about discrimination against Negroes. The whites in Maycomb discriminate them just because of their skin color.

5. Start strong and end strong! Conclude your essay. A short one, like the one you wrote for the exam, needs only a sentence that wraps up your whole essay.

Here's a good example of an essay -- it got a 10 in the exam. Note the logical flow of ideas, the ideas lifted out of the novel, the comparison between the literal and figurative mockingbirds, and the conclusion that summarized the whole idea of the short essay.

According to Atticus, it is a grave sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds are innocent creatures that do nothing wrong to humans; in fact, they are a good thing, with their wonderful song. It is wrong to kill such a peaceful and innocent creature--and Harper Lee wishes to show that. She shows the mockingbirds killed by society's hatred, biases, and fears, both literally and figuratively. One of these mockingbirds is Tom Robinson. Maycomb's prejudice against the Blacks (a prejudice very widespread during the 1900s, and alive until today) led to the injustice of sending an innocent Negro to jail, eventually ending him into the hands of death. Tom hadn't done anything wrong to Mayella Ewell, or to any white, for that matter; in fact he tried to do what was right, but the jury, with their bias against blacks, decared Tom guilty. "To Kill a Mockingbird" means to kill one who is innocent, and that is precisely what the citizens of Maycomb did -- as some did the shooting, others watched and did nothing.
Gian Dapul, 2-Camia

Congrats to Jill Lee of 2-Champaca for being the highest scorer in the English perio among the second years! ;-)

WHO'S FEELING LUCKY TODAY? :D

2006-07-13T15:18:00.000+08:00

The deadline for your storybooks is moved to Monday, July 17, until 1:30 PM.

The extemporaneous speeches will still be held on the week of July 24-28.

Langston Hughes

2006-07-07T12:16:00.000+08:00

The past has been a mint
Of blood and sorrow.
That must not be
True of tomorrow.
"History" by Langston Hughes

You can read "Salvation" by Langston Hughes here.

Read about Langston Hughes' life and works here.

Cinderella

2006-07-04T14:20:00.000+08:00

The tale of Cinderella -- that is, of persecuted heroines -- is common in many cultures around the world. The first written record of the Cinderella story appeared in The Miscellaneous Record of You Yang by Tuan Ch'eng-Shih during the 9th century AD, and the persecuted heroine's name is Yeh-hsien. It is a magical fish that helps Yeh-hsien, but it is also her little golden shoe that the Prince uses to identify her. The next earliest and the best-known version of the story is the version of Charles Perrault.

Sur La Lune Fairy Tales lists many versions of the Cinderella story with links to a few of them. This is an interesting website which includes a history of Cinderella, an annotated version, and more.

This site gives a summary of several versions of Cinderella including those from the Native Americans, Africans and the Chinese.

This site has fourteen variants of Cinderella. Two of those are by Charles Perrault and the Grimm brothers, while others are adapted from folktales in lands such as Italy, Russia, Denmark and Vietnam.

Try comparing and contrasting these stories. Do you think they stemmed out of just one story (the Chinese Cinderella, perhaps?), or did they simply appear in cultures worldwide? How do you account for the differences in the elements of these stories?

Twists on Classic Fairy Tales

2006-07-01T14:10:00.000+08:00

If you liked Roald Dahl's "Cinderella", you might like the following stories as well.

The Wolf's Postscript to 'Little Red Riding Hood' by Agha Shahid Ali
Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf by Roald Dahl
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. This book is the basis of an award-winning Broadway musical, Wicked. I uploaded a song from the musical here; it's entitled "For Good". I would suggest listening to the whole soundtrack first, though!)
Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman. Only for mature readers (which I hope you are :).
Queen of Glass by S.J. Maas, via FictionPress.com. RC pointed this out to me and I am officially hooked. :)

Things of interest re: Where the Wild Things are

2006-06-28T12:55:00.000+08:00

A live-action movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things are is in pre-production status, according to IMDB.com. The screenplay is (or will be?) written by Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and Michael Goldenberg, scriptwriter of "Peter Pan" (2003) and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007). source

The wild things in the storybook have been given names! They are Moishe, Emil, Bernard, Aaron, Tzippy and Goat Boy. Read about how Maurice Sendak came up with the names in an interesting article here.

Finally, Metallica has written a song entitled "Where the Wild Things are". It was quite difficult to find, but the Google cache is being generous today. :) Read the whole lyrics here. Wikipedia says that the song is based on the book -- but what do you think it talks about? Here's a sample of the song:

So wake up sleepy one
It's time to save your world
You're where the wild things are
Yeah, toy soldiers off to war
Big eyes to open soon
Believing all under sun and moon
But does heaven know you're here?
And did they give you smiles and tears
No, no tears
Will this earth be good to you?
Keep you clean or stained through?

And now for something quite unrelated...
J.K. Rowling talked about a death (or two) in the seventh Harry Potter book, among other things, in a recent interview. Read about it here.

printf("Hello world!");

2006-06-17T22:44:00.000+08:00

Welcome aboard! I hope you weren't too intimidated by our impromptu speeches last week. It was a getting-to-know-you activity more than anything -- you have nothing to fear regarding your grades. (Yet. :)

This blog will contain reminders, links related to our lessons, book reviews and other things you might find interesting. Do check back often!

What to expect in the next few meetings
Let's just say we'll try to be kids again. And while we're at it, we'll get our first of many chances to be creative.

If you're looking for a book, any book, to read on your spare time, try...
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
(You might opt to buy a cheaper paperback copy in Powerbooks or Fully Booked, though!)

I could tell you a lot of things about this book but doing so might ruin it for you. I couldn't even tell you its genre.

The story is set in the late 90's, where Kathy H. recounts her days in Hailsham, a boarding school in England. Kathy, her two best friends Tommy and Ruth, and their classmates were treated with respect and were brought up to believe that they were special. However, she noticed the strangeness in the way their teachers act towards them. We are under the impression that somehow, she knows why, but she couldn't comprehend what it really means to her. The reader is led to the same mindset as Kathy's -- every episode recounted by Kathy gives us a clue, but we couldn't be sure of what is happening until later in the story. Kathy tells their story matter-of-factly but the poignance is not lost on the reader. It is a tragic tale of fatalism, "about people trying to wring some happiness out of life before the lights go out" (Time Magazine).

Don't forget!
1. Reflection #1 (to be written in your notebooks)
2. The set of photocopies for each group. This is important -- our next activity will be based on this.

See you on Monday/Tuesday!

And you think "burn the bridge when you get there" is bad enough?

2006-06-15T15:12:00.000+08:00

A few teachers and I had quite a time today reading old clippings from the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star. Both clippings are advertorials by Antonio Calipjo Go, whom you may remember as the academic supervisior who caused a stir among teachers, textbook authors and parents alike with his exposé regarding errors in defective textbooks. It has been a year since these articles were published, but you can still find a sick sort of entertainment in what they revealed.

from Simply Science in the Next Century (Antonio et. al.):

Insulin: hormone that allos glucose to move from the blood to the cells during photosynthesis.
Mummification: drying process that forms fossils.
Skull: body framework in the head.
Axis: real or imaginary line extending from North Pole to South Pole.
Muro-ami: fishing method using sticks and rods.
Reflectors of bicycles are artificial sources of light.
The colors of a rainbow are the same as the colors of a white light.
Stars are arranged in an orderly way. About 88 constellations cover the sky completely.
The Philippine tarsier is the only one of its kind in the world.
Plants and animals are living things. They breathe because they have lungs. They perspire because they have sweat glands.
Without your brain, you could not read this book.
Sun: our source of light and delight.
The core of the earth is made up of boiling mud.
Very hard steel is a brittle metal.
Gold: most expensive metal.
North is necessary in using a compass.
Clean your ears with your little fingers and soapy water.
Get a partner. Feel the middle part of his or her back from the nape to the buttocks. How does it feel? Let your partner do the same to you.
Advice to Grade Five pupils: Have regular checkups for STDs even in the absense of symptoms. Learn the common symptoms of STDs. Seek medical help immediately if any suspicious symptoms develop.

from Harnessing English Arts Today (Umali et. al):

His ears got sick.
Smoothen her wounded pride.
Business is brisk and money is rolling air.
Who is the editor-in-charge in your school organ?
Have you experienced being loved by whom?
Karla exuded a wealth of manners despite her poverty.
Thoughtless earthworm.
Time has run out of me.
The children's eyes are marbles twinkling like stars.
Kill two birds in one stone.
Bearing lavender blossoms, banana plants make our roads bright.
Eye-opener: something which lightens someone.
Nose: not toes for it smells even your soles "click!" take a pose and let's have a toast!
On New Year's Day in Bulgaria, people exchange New Year presents instead of Christmas gifts.
The boys fed the monkeys and teased the whales.
Crickets creak, sheep boo, cows mow.
Whales and dolphins have short necks.
The earth is a basketball that rolls and rolls.
The news be get from radio or TV is called a radio broadcast; if the broadcast is by telephone or telegram, it is called a telecast.
He loved to play so much that he kept his toys the moment he became aware of them.
How well they danced, how suited their grace.
The hunchback could not stand straight.
Life is so much better now that I'd like to turn back the time.
Write a feeling poetry.
During the early days, the string of kites was a piece of vine.
Christmas in the Philippines' all too brief yet the longest celebration in the world.

from History of Asian Nations, Seventh Edition by Gregorio Zaide ("Dean of Filipino Historians" and Mr. History") and Dr. Sonia Magbanua Zaide

[Muhammad]'s specific mission was to deny the divinity or final authority of Jesus Christ whom Muhammad said was just another minor prophet like Abraham, David or Moses.
The main reason why Asians are the poorest in the world is that most Asians worship many gods and have false religious practices but they do not know the One True God - Jesus.
Most Arabs are poor illiterate desert nomads who do not like regular work or discipline. They are content to be dependents.
Indian religious art may be the earliest examples of pornography.
The demonstration at Tiananmen Square was inspired by the People Power Revolution [...] but the Chinese did not have the Christian spirit behind them so they failed.
A political feud has erupted in the Bhutto family. Benazir, the prime minister of Pakistan, is quarreling with her mother Nusrat.
The colored peoples of Asia have suddenly become adventurous and confident while the Westerners hae become insecure, decadent, corrupt and hardened.
The platypus lives on ants, which it catches with its long nose and sticky tongue.
The duck mole resembles a rat but has a wide nose like a duck.
Bangladesh (90% Muslim) is now experiencing a Christian revival.
APEC is best known as the annual meeting when heads of states dress up in the native costumes of their host nation and pose for a group picture.
Yak, the native goat of Tibet.

from Kasaysayan ng mga Bansang Asyano, Ikapitong Edisyon, a translation of History of Asian Nations:

Rome became the mistress of the Western world - ang Roma ay naging Kerida ng Kanluraning Daigdig
Brown bear - kayumangging oso
Buddha the Enlightened One - ang Naliwanagang Isa
Korea was called "Chosun" - ang Korea ay tinawag na "Pinili"
top man - pinakamataas na lalaki
gentle Gandhi - maamong si Gandhi
bustling metropolis - nagmamadaling metropolis
crony - katoto
Great Wall of China - Dakilang Pader
cold chills - malalamig na ginaw
treat them kindly - tratuhin ng maibigin
Water mill - gilingan ng tubig
Brain drain - pagkaubos ng isip