BALIK TANAW: THE WRITERS GUILD REVIEWS 2006

Why Writers Guild?

Dylan Gozum: I think WG was the most reasonable club to join as I do not sing in public and I’ve stopped painting and hiking a long time ago. The only things left that I still do on a regular basis are read and write.

Pia Manzano: For me, writing is a form of silent self expression and reading (regardless of material) takes me to a more peaceful place away from the harsh realities of the world.

J.P. Canivel: When I was born, the doctor predicted that I will become a member of SPi Writers Guild, so he put me in the incubator for some time so that my father would be able to look for a name from the bible and the mythology. My existence then is a constant preparation for my pre-destined purpose. Kidding aside, WG caters to my interests. Back in 2003, Edwin Tiamzon, a Quality Assurance Specialist, invited me to join the club. I discovered then that a relative of mine was the secretary of the club.


The team to beat: JP, Rica Bolipata-Santos (our very 1st guest speaker!), Pia and Dylan. Not in the photo is Alex de Juan.

How come your team works so well?
J: It does? *laughs* At first we have so many clashes because we have different ideas and backgrounds. One time we planned a mutiny to overthrow tyrant Dylan. Either that or have him assassinated after saving enough money. It did not push through. I learned to settle our differences and being open to each others’ opinions. That could be the magic formula – having an open mind.

D: It wasn’t really like this in the beginning. We were strangers to each other. I only met JP during the debates in 2004 and Pia was just new to SPi. We’ve had many moments when we rubbed each other off in a bad way. Dhang and Ivy (of Employee Relations) are witnesses to the numerous e-mails that we’ve exchanged just arguing. Being writers, we argued a lot through e-mails!

P: It’s not so much about agreeing with each other or engaging in lengthy debates. What’s more important is respecting each other's opinions and knowing where the other comes from. Respect just makes everything run smoother.

Recall a moment in 2006 which you think defined the Guild and what it does best.
D: I cannot think of a… Wait, the fact that we managed to jump-start the Guild and brought it to a wider audience is, methinks, the best thing we ever did in 2006. Otherwise, the series of workshops would be the next best thing, followed by the blog.

P: All of the Guild’s activities define its vision and mission. Not one activity would define the totality of the Guild. It’s more of bits and pieces of its aims being achieved each time an activity is completed and yet another idea is born from the brains and hearts of its leaders.

J: Let me correct what Dylan said. The series of workshops is the best thing – all the rest follows. *laughs* Talk about taking all the credits! In truth, I think it is the blogspot maintained by Dylan and Perps Poblador (Weblog Administrator). When you say “Writers”, regardless if it they are beginners or professionals, there should be a proof of their work to have a claim.

Do you plan to pursue these things in 2007?

J: Whoever will be the next set of officers has a say on this. If they think that they have to discontinue a program or change something, then that would be their choice and they have the authority to do so. All I can advice is make a wise use of the assistance that SPi is providing us.

D: There is this thing we know as an “inherent pressure” on sitting officers to surpass the achievements of previous officers. I, however, never felt that pressure. Sometimes it does look like we want to achieve more than Gigs (Garcia) did or Allan (Palileo) before her, but I’d rather see it as a leveling up of sorts, building on what they started and improving on previous ideas. Most officers like to “start all over again” but for us, that’s not the case. In fact, the idea of a blog started in Gig’s time, and an internet-based repository of articles already existed in Allan’s time. It just so happened that a web log is today’s PR tool of choice. Next year, work would have to revolve around the concepts of “continuum” and “institutionalization”.

P: I see 2007 as a year where more creative programs will be launched that will entice more people to see that the Guild can help them better themselves. Also, to promote reading and writing to those who initially shun our activities.

What’s the Guild’s highest point in ’06?
D: Making a name for the Guild. When you mention the name, it somehow conjures certain images. I hope they are positive ones.

P: We are more visible now and appreciated by more people as they see how our activities have helped them personally.

J: Making use of the allotted budget properly and being active again. There’s no honorarium though. *Dylan pouts*

The lowest?
D: Losing Alex (de Juan). It was not our lowest point but it sure was our saddest. He was Palanca-material. He and JP add credibility to the Guild. They bridge us to the very active literary scene here in Manila. Pia naman keeps us all grounded. She brings us back to the negotiation table.

P: Going through the process of understanding how the company system works and how the Guild fits in but from that low point, it is most important to know how we stood our ground, even if our individual thoughts differed.

D: Right. Sort of like we should welcome dissenting voices. It spurs growth.

J: Pouring many efforts for an activity but ending up without or short of the desired results. Poetry in motion and SPiT, which were supposed to be our activities for the SPi Club Week, are examples. This is the reason why we dropped the ‘Be the next Nobel Laureate in Literature’ thing.

D: Oh, we had that? *laughs*


Happy times: Poetry Editor Alex de Juan with contestants in our annual Word Factory

What are you most frustrated of?
D: Plans that never see the light of day. Others consider them ideas that are ahead of their time. I simply call them missed opportunities.

P: Great ideas that the audiences in SPi were not ready for.

J: Not having enough resources to catch up with our plans. I mean all types of resources - financial, human and even environmental.

What do you plan to do about that?
D: Plan properly.

P: Slowly integrate more lofty plans into our list of programs to prepare everyone to more serious and thought-provoking activities.

J: Dylan has some plans to generate some money for both WG and SPi Foundation. For me, I’ll try lotto. Pray for me though so that I can donate something.

Among your many activities, which among them would you rather have more people getting involved in?
D: All? *laughs* Kung kaya lang sana.

P: It would be our series of learning sessions (A Series of Fortunate Events - Ed.). We really had the best of speakers and would have loved to have more people come and be part of them.

J: I agree with Pia. The workshops should have more SPi participants. This is also in preparation for the national workshops, contests and the bigger literary field.


Women power: Weblog Manager Perps Poblador and Pia during the Fun Debates we co-sponsored with Toastmasters Club in 2006

Major issues faced last year?
D: I am looking at issues that will continue to plague us this year. The level of involvement, of course, bothers me a lot. Sometimes I watch co-employees in the cafeteria and I tell someone, “We are not getting our message out to these people. We are not reaching them.” It’s like, what are we tiring ourselves for? We think too much, we worry too much, we work too much, we spend too much but people around us are completely unaware.

P: Reach. A greater reach is one of the most important aspects of any activity. We need to make people realize what they want in life and see that there are things that the Guild can do to help them achieve their life goals.

J: Ditto.

D: And we're not paid like the EC Chairpersons are given the breadth of our tasks, but that's moot and academic now. *grins* Wait, is this on the record?!


Classic: the backdrop designed by the Guild for the 2006 Fun Debates. It was used again during the Rockfest in December. That is Ivy Buenaventura of ER. She is now with Organizational Development. We will miss working with her. *sniffs*

What were the biggest surprises of 2006?
D: That we were able to make ends meet.

P: We were flat broke at the end of the year with all the activities we had though we ramped up mid-year already.

J: I was surprised by the book donations. WG did not release a teaser or invitation for such. Elaine Kunkle, CIS Director of Operations, donated 86 books. A few days afterwards, May Dizon, Corporate Communications Manager, also donated a bunch of books. Once we have the bookcase and the borrowing cards, every employee may borrow the books. (Everyone nods in agreement with JP’s comment)

D: We also received a small number of storybooks from one of our storytellers, Rose Teleron, a medical doctor. I would like to see that donation as a starter kit of sorts. I hope we grow a good collection of storybooks which parents from SPi can bring home and read to their kids.

Biggest let-downs?
D: That we cannot – or aren’t – reaching out to the Guild’s past members. I see them around, but there seems to no effort in bringing them back. I only managed to reign in 1 or 2 but the former bigwigs, for example, are just around us. For example, it took us forever to identify who (former Guild President) Allan Palileo was. *laughs* Perps (Poblador, Guild Weblog Manager) had to check out old photos and I, on the sly, checked out his I.D.! Ha ha!

P: That there seemed to be lack of support from the Employee Council on our activities and other projects.

J: That we can’t invite any National Artist for Literature for a small talk because of the small population of interested employees.

Do you find club work fulfilling?
D: People might find it akin to an ego trip. In truth, it’s more frustrating than fulfilling that I feel like giving up every single day, but yeah it could be fun.

P: Truly, especially when you hear that our activities enrich people’s lives.

J: I am used to extra-curricular activities during my study years and I love sharing my time and skills. Yes, by so doing I feel happy, but there are also times when I feel depressed especially if other people misunderstand your intentions.

So why do you do it?
D: I have messianic complex. Kidding! *laughs*

P: It gives my reading and (seldom) writing some purpose. Well, aside from the selfish ones.

J: It gives me a reason to skip suicide for some time and make something fruitful out of my life. Scary, huh? I always want to learn and experience something different.

D: Suicide is so literary, 'di ba? It has spawned many novels and films!

How is it like working with other groups like CSR, for example?
D: We were aiming at tying up with SPILA in the beginning. Unfortunately, I heard through the grapevine that HR didn’t consider creative writing as a form of formal training, that it doesn’t fit into SPILA’s curriculum; the EPP, for example. This came as a big shock to me. I can't imagine how creativity cannot enter the realm of business writing, which is normally stiff. The best thing then was to bring out my Confucian thinking cap and re-think our options then CSR came along.

P: CSR has been a staunch advocate of literacy and Writers Guild just plays its part in realizing their goals. It is good that we have CSR and even Toastmasters to join our activities, at the very least, we have an audience.

J: There are just some things which are better done in groups.

D: Yeah, that's right. CSR was like a deus ex machina, an unexpected surprise but a welcome one nonetheless.

What are you looking forward to?
D: Our 5th anniversary in 2008 and getting ourselves accredited with literary groups like Panitikan.com and Read or Die. Maybe we can submit entries to the Writers’ Bloc in CCP but that’s like dreaming big already.

P: Making the Guild an essential part of the company!

J: Winning the recognition as the Best Club in SPi. Sana may trip to Disneyland din, parang sa CIT.

Do you consider the Guild a success story?
D: Not quite. We only made a dent. The task of involving more people in joining our activities consumes us. The challenge is still finding out what goes on in an SPi employee’s mind, what makes him tick and if we get to involve him in at least one of our menu of activities, I think that’s when I’d like to call ourselves successful. The response to the M.V. Doulos trip was a positive, heart-warming start.

P: We are still a success story in the making. It’s a long and arduous travel that we are glad to be taking.

J: If you look at it on a micro level, yes it is. Little by little, we are achieving something. JP is part of it so it is bound to succeed!

TIPS TO WRITERS (# 3): SO YOU WANT TO BE PUBLISHED?

Tip # 1 – Do not write to impress your reader. Write to elevate, educate, and entertain. Your story, not you, should appear smart or sensitive or brave.

Tip # 2 – Do not write when tired, horny, angry. Write only when you are at your best.

Tip # 3 – Never be jealous. If someone else gets published first, rejoice. It only means it can be done. Give your best and gentle efforts to help a fellow writer learn, improve, and keep writing.

You can always be the next.

Tip # 4 – In the literary world, ‘no” doesn’t mean stop. It only means “not this direction.” Keep writing, learning, hoping, experiencing.

STANZAS OF STILLNESS: PRESENTING, SYRIA DEE

Poems by Syria Dee

Saranggola

Sa kinang nitong tag-araw,
lutang ang kulay kong pinatitingkad ng ulap.
Ngunit ang ganda’y sinusukat sa mas nakaaangat
Kaya iaakyat mo ako sa tayog.
Dahan-dahang palalayain ang pusod-
pising iluluwal ng iyong kamay.
Papailanlang ako sa langit—
sasabay sa lipad ng ibon at ulap
at hahagkan ko ang palad ng Diyos.

Ito na marahil ang rurok:
ang marahang paglapat ng pakpak sa hangin
alinsabay sa mahinhing pag-indak
ng pulsong hapit ng iyong posas.
Hahamunin ng pakpak ang igting ng pisi
at sasalunga sa daluyong ng kawalan.
Humigit at tumutol ka mang pusod
ay bibitaw ako’t bubulusok.

Aanhin pa ang paglipad
kung ang imahen mong kumakalinga
ay di na maaninag?


Holy Weak

You deny
that you carry me
like the world's burden
on your shoulder.
You, a brown Jesus lying
in my bed,
and all I can do
is pray.

A Fairy Tale

This dolly's eye went into the bucket
This dolly's eye dove into my tea
Your blackish hair smells burnt
You really make me happy

My door's locked again
Daddy's playing beat-mommy
Her screams are faint today
What? We have company?
A teeny-weeny Fairy!

Oh! Little fairy
Your light I envy
Your wand can grant you
Any wish you want

Oh! Little fairy
Your flight I envy
Your wings can take you
Anywhere you want

Now, come to me
I'm but a little girl
With wishes to make
Flights to take

Oh! Thank you!
Can I have your wand?
Can I have your wings?

Now, little fairy
With broken wand and broken wings
Do you dare to fly?
Do you dare to wish?

For little fairies and little girls
Are for fairy lands and fairy tales


_______

Syria Dee is the nom de plume of our new resident poet who also happens to be our newly minted Poetry Editor. She was a graduate of the prestigious national workshop for poets, LIRA, in 2005 and is currently working for Journals.

REEL REVIEW: NOBODY KNOWS

by Ed Saludes



Film: Nobody Knows
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu
Country of Origin: Japan
Website: http://www.lhp.com.sg/nobodyknows/

In 1998, four children were found living by themselves in a small apartment in Japan. Best known as the "Affair of the four abandoned children of Sugamo", it caught the attention of the Japanese and international media and made headlines all over the world.

Sixteen years later, a film was made by Hirokazu Kore-eda based on the said event. Thought the plot is based on the actual event that happened, the filmmaker informs the viewers in the opening credits that the film is not a retelling of what transpired to the four children when they were left by theeir mother for 9 months but an interpretation of what he saw on TV and read in the newspapers.

A mother (a TV host named 'You') of four moves into a new apartment with his eldest son, Akira (Yayi Yugira). The new apartment only allows one child so she smuggles her three other kids. She is afraid of attention and eviction and clearly, she has done this before with the way she smuggled the two youngest children (stuffed in suitcases and made to believe that it was just a game). Soon, the films exposes that all of her children were sired by different fathers.

The children are reminded to stay out of sight. Kyoko (Ayu Kitaura), the elder girl must do the laundry at night when no one is around. Shigeru (Hiei Kimura) and Yuki (Momoko Shimizu), the little ones, must learn to curb their outbursts. Akira, the oldest son, is tasked to do the shopping.



Not so long enough, their mother disappears. She comes back once or twice and essentially, Akira becomes the head of the household. He has to depend on the cash her mother sends him.

Before her mother's long disappearance, Akira confronts her mother. Keiko, the mother, protests and asks her son, "Am I not allowed to be happy?" Akira also asks her why they are not in school just like other regular kids in the neighborhood. In her breathy, childlike voice Keiko points out that even a famous Japanese wrestler and a Japanese president never attended school. She promises to come back for Christmas.

When the money stops coming, the children are left to forage for food and supplies. Week bleeds into weeks, month into months and the direness of the situation becomes clear.

With their utility bills unpaid, they lose their water and electricity. Eventually, they are forced to survive on their own. Most of the responsiblity falls on Akira. Forced to take the paternal role, he forages for free ramen from a local convenience store, cooks curry and finds alternative way to get free water - from a fountain in a local park.

The film took a year to make and spans a year in the children's struggle to stay afloat. Shot chronologically and quasi-documentary style, the film realistically depicted the physical changes of the children - Akira's voice becomes squeaky, his younger sister and brother grow few inches taller and Kyoko becomes a young lady.

Though the treatment is gentle and compelling, we can't deny that the film's central theme is about childhood trust being stretched until it snaps. Humanist filmmakers often use children and old people to test how vulnerable we are to the harrowing plights of humanity. Director Kore-eda belongs to that esteemed group of humanists like Ray and de Sica whose films send chills down our spines and break our heart and senses into melancholy.

The film works finely with its keen eye on small details. We see Akira choosing from a pile of dirty clothes to pick one which does not stink so as not to disappoint his crush. Later, you will see him holding the tin cap of the soda his date bought from the vendo machine. We see Kyoko's cuticles whose fading red ink denotes an impeded adolescene. We also see Shigeru carefully guarding the small plants he cultivates out of used ramen cups. His little garden thrives amidst the hunger its cultivator is suffering.

Then there's also the performances of the newbie actors. How the kids evoke so much emotions from their untrained thespic skills is a gift you often sees from previous child actors who populated the films of Ray and de Sica. Yayi Yugira, who plays Akira, bagged the 2004 top prize for acting in Cannes.

Kore-eda has been directing for two decades and has done close to ten films. Nobody Knows is his first film that I saw. But I think it suffices for me to say that Kore-eda is the most talented of contemporary Japanese directors.

Among the baby Ozus and Kurosawas bannering Japanese cinema, Kore-eda is the most truly gifted.

About the author

______________________

Ed Saludes is from Journals. He was a volunteer in the recently-concluded 8th Cinemanila and was a member of the production of the award-winning film Kubrador.

READVOLUTION RECOMMENDS

These are among the many books that READvolution — a project of the Writers Guild that promotes love for reading in the workplace — recommends for your read in the month of February.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Nicole Krauss's The History of Love is a hauntingly beautiful novel about two characters whose lives are woven together in such complex ways that even after the last page is turned, the reader is left to wonder what really happened. In the hands of a less gifted writer, unraveling this tangled web could easily give way to complete chaos. However, under Krauss's watchful eye, these twists and turns only strengthen the impact of this enchanting book.

The History of Love spans of period of over 60 years and takes readers from Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe to present day Brighton Beach. At the center of each main character's psyche is the issue of loneliness, and the need to fill a void left empty by lost love. Leo Gursky is a retired locksmith who immigrates to New York after escaping SS officers in his native Poland, only to spend the last stage of his life terrified that no one will notice when he dies. ("I try to make a point of being seen. Sometimes when I'm out, I'll buy a juice even though I'm not thirsty.") Fourteen-year-old Alma Singer vacillates between wanting to memorialize her dead father and finding a way to lift her mother's veil of depression. At the same time, she's trying to save her brother Bird, who is convinced he may be the Messiah, from becoming a 10-year-old social pariah. As the connection between Leo and Alma is slowly unmasked, the desperation, along with the potential for salvation, of this unique pair is also revealed.

"The poetry of her prose, along with an uncanny ability to embody two completely original characters, is what makes Krauss an expert at her craft. But in the end, it's the absolute belief in the uninteruption of love that makes this novel a pleasure, and a wonder to behold." --Gisele Toueg

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

According to Arthur Golden's absorbing first novel, the word "geisha" does not mean "prostitute," as Westerners ignorantly assume--it means "artisan" or "artist." To capture the geisha experience in the art of fiction, Golden trained as long and hard as any geisha who must master the arts of music, dance, clever conversation, crafty battle with rival beauties, and cunning seduction of wealthy patrons. After earning degrees in Japanese art and history from Harvard and Columbia--and an M.A. in English--he met a man in Tokyo who was the illegitimate offspring of a renowned businessman and a geisha. This meeting inspired Golden to spend 10 years researching every detail of geisha culture, chiefly relying on the geisha Mineko Iwasaki, who spent years charming the very rich and famous.

The result is a novel with the broad social canvas (and love of coincidence) of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen's intense attention to the nuances of erotic maneuvering. Readers experience the entire life of a geisha, from her origins as an orphaned fishing-village girl in 1929 to her triumphant auction of her mizuage (virginity) for a record price as a teenager to her reminiscent old age as the distinguished mistress of the powerful patron of her dreams. We discover that a geisha is more analogous to a Western "trophy wife" than to a prostitute--and, as in Austen, flat-out prostitution and early death is a woman's alternative to the repressive, arcane system of courtship. In simple, elegant prose, Golden puts us right in the tearoom with the geisha; we are there as she gracefully fights for her life in a social situation where careers are made or destroyed by a witticism, a too-revealing (or not revealing enough) glimpse of flesh under the kimono, or a vicious rumor spread by a rival "as cruel as a spider."

Golden's web is finely woven, but his book has a serious flaw: the geisha's true romance rings hollow--the love of her life is a symbol, not a character. Her villainous geisha nemesis is sharply drawn, but she would be more so if we got a deeper peek into the cause of her motiveless malignity--the plight all geisha share. Still, Golden has won the triple crown of fiction: he has created a plausible female protagonist in a vivid, now-vanished world, and he gloriously captures Japanese culture by expressing his thoughts in authentic Eastern metaphors.

The Zahir by Paolo Coehlo

The press chat cites 65 million copies of Coelho's eight previous novels in print, making the Brazilian author one of the world's bestselling novelists (150 countries and 56 languages). This book, whose title means "the present" or "unable to go unnoticed" in Arabic, has an initial staggered laydown of eight million copies in 83 countries and 42 languages. It centers on the narrator's search for his missing wife, Esther, a journalist who fled Iraq in the runup to the present war, only to disappear from Paris; the narrator, a writer, is freed from suspicion when his lover, Marie, comes forward with a (true) alibi. He seeks out Mikhail, the man who may be Esther's most recent lover and with whom she was last seen, who has abandoned his native Kazakhstan for a kind of speaking tour on love. Mikhail introduces the narrator to a global underground "tribe" of spiritual seekers who resist, somewhat vaguely, conventional ways of living. Through the narrator's journey from Paris to Kazakhstan, Coelho explores various meanings of love and life, but the impact of these lessons is diminished significantly as they are repeated in various forms by various characters. Then again, 65 million readers can't be wrong; the spare, propulsive style that drove The Alchemist, Eleven Minutes and Coelho's other books will easily carry fans through myriad iterations of the ways and means of amor.

Eleven Minutes by Paolo Coehlo

From SPi Writers Guild
Eleven Minutes tells the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heart-broken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that 'Love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer...' A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune yet ends up working the streets as a prostitute. In Geneva, Maria drifts further and further away from love while at the same time developing a fascination with sex. Eventually, Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness, sexual pleasure for its own sake or risking everything to find her own 'inner light' and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.

In this gripping and daring new novel, Paulo Coelho sensitively explores the spiritual nature of sex and love and invites us to confront our own prejudices, demons and embrace our own 'inner light'.

Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch

The mother sings to her sleeping baby: "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be." She still sings the same song when her baby has turned into a fractious 2-year-old, a slovenly 9-year-old, and then a raucous teen. So far so ordinary--but this is one persistent lady. When her son grows up and leaves home, she takes to driving across town with a ladder on the car roof, climbing through her grown son's window, and rocking the sleeping man in the same way. Then, inevitably, the day comes when she's too old and sick to hold him, and the roles are at last reversed. Each stage is illustrated by one of Sheila McGraw's comic and yet poignant pastels. (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard Farr

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

From Library Journal

While delivering a message to her father, Florentino Ariza spots the barely pubescent Fermina Daza and immediately falls in love. What follows is the story of a passion that extends over 50 years, as Fermina is courted solely by letter, decisively rejects her suitor when he first speaks, and then joins the urbane Dr. Juvenal Urbino, much above her station, in a marriage initially loveless but ultimately remarkable in its strength. Florentino remains faithful in his fashion; paralleling the tale of the marriage is that of his numerous liaisons, all ultimately without the depth of love he again declares at Urbino's death. In substance and style not as fantastical, as mythologizing, as the previous works, this is a compelling exploration of the myths we make of love. Highly recommended. Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kabbalah: A Love Story by Lawrence Kushner

Sometime, somewhere, someone is searching for answers……

in a thirteenth-century castle
…on a train to a concentration camp
…in a New York city apartment

Hidden within the binding of an ancient text that has been passed down through the ages lies the answer to one of the heart’s eternal questions. When the text falls into the hands of Rabbi Kalman Stern, he has no idea that his lonely life of intellectual pursuits is about to change once he opens the book. Soon afterward, he meets astronomer Isabel Benveniste, a woman of science who stirs his soul as no woman has for many years. But Kalman has much to learn before he can unlock his heart and let true love into his life. The key lies in the mysterious document he finds inside the Zohar, the master text of the Kabbalah.

Share your books in BOOK TALKS this February 23rd at SPi Night Cafe. HAPPY READING!

Reviews from Amazon.com, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and SPi Writers Guild .

TIKIM: SANCTUARIO CAFE & ART GALLERY, TAGAYTAY

Most people go to Tagaytay simply to take in the majestic view of the Taal Lake and that of the volcano itself. Other than that, unless your wallets are bursting with cash, there isn't much else to do other than visit the de regieur destinations like the Pink Sisters or other nearby convents and stock up on the ho-hum pasalubong regulars like cookies made out of communion hosts, ubeng halaya or what not. Surely, there must be a medium price range place where one can unwind before going back to the metro.

Enter Sanctuario Cafe and Art Gallery.

A three-floor affair with an unassuming facade (there's a Korean KTV beside it for good measure), one enters a different world the moment one steps into Sanctuario. The red walls are so inviting with several Balinese and Filipino artifacts spread all over the place like it were a home and yet not quite so. One can go up a winding staircase and get a kick out of the view (but we're already tired of that, remember?).

Downstairs, in the basement, there are more dining spaces which you can reserve ahead of your visit (if you come with a large group). There's a rather cozy nook by the window for lovers and close friends. In this level, it's the yellow-colored wall that warms the tired and weary soul. There's also a piano you can play if you wish to show off your talents. Otherwise, just stick to your trusty camera and spare everyone else the trouble of having to haul you back to the dining table.

3rd floor view. Breathtaking as always!

Start healthy! Seared salmon and greens.

Heaven on earth. Tomatoes on the pizza were sun-ripened to perfection.

Tawilis. Said to be found only in the lake surrounding Taal Volcano.

One can also try their famous raisin bread and pair it with smoked bangus pate. Not to be missed is Sanctuario's Pasta bulalo (P300) - beef marrow served osso bucco style with cream on linguine. Finish it all off with coffee or tea! Yummy!

On your way out, you may want to pick up a bottle of two of bottled tawilis and bangus (milkfish) to brag about to friends and family. Sanctuario Cafe and Art Gallery is located at the Tagaytay Rotonda (near 7-Eleven). Contact Sanctuario at +63 46 4130637, or at mobile +63 917 5404799.

Our comments:
Service: May take some time if there are only few service crews on duty. It is so pitiful to see them going up and down three floors that one is tempted to help by getting your orders yourself from the kitchen.
Food: Many food blogs have mixed reviews. If you choose well, perhaps you'd end up the winner at the end of the day. The best thing to do would be to ask the crew what items are most popular among visitors. You may also want to try out things that are peculiar to Tagaytay - or this restaurant. Fried tawilis would be a safe choice, for example.
Price: Not cheap, not very expensive either. A group of 3 can share and still get billed around P600-P1,000 depending on your order choices (and appetites). If you can do a better version of certain item at home, skip it. Be wise.

Disclaimer:
We do not know the owners personally. We just read other blogs or get info from the grapevine and go at will. Personal monies were spent on these visits.

BOOK TALKS: FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY

by Ivy San Diego

Dark.
Horrific.
Gloomy.
Brute.
Violent.
Abominable.
Gory.
Vile.

Anyone can come up with his/her own list of contemptuous description of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye. But this graphic novel is more than what is stated above. Aside from the exceptional illustrations, Frank Miller’s story line has a lot more to say.

Marv, the protagonist may be called a monster personified but behind his atrocious features, is a man who longs to be loved, a man who appreciates kindness and a man who values the people who cares for him.

Marv fell in love with Goldie a high-class prostitute who was the only person who showed him kindness and love despite who he is. Unfortunately, Goldie was murdered and this prompted Marv to carry out justice to Goldie’s murderers. He searched for the cannibal Kevin and Cardinal Roark and killed them both.

The story ended with Marv’s demise via electric chair. He paid for the crimes he did, fought for what he thought was right but he died not really knowing why he even existed.

“Hell? You don’t know what hell is. None of you people do. Hell isn’t getting beat up or cut up or hauled in front if some faggot jury, Hell is waking up every goddamn morning and not knowing why you’re even here. Why you’re even breathing”

Marv, The Hard Goodbye

And if I were to describe this graphic novel as to how it affected me, I would say that it is:

Tragic.
Poignant.
Pitiful.
Desolate.

Life is indeed a tragedy if you don’t know what you live for. It may have a dismal ending but it is an exceptional story. Again, hats off to Frank Miller.

___________
Ivy San Diego is

COMIC RELIEF: LAUGHTER, LIFE AND MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONS

By Jeanette Agati

In the beginning, some things just go awry. Like baby steps, one needs to learn which way to go, what things are wrong, and what things eventually are accepted as right. The same thing happens to medical transcription. Ears untrained to Americal slang can lead to words or phrases being misheard that when written look and read like alien messages from Mars. Here are some “best” examples of trainees hearing other things when dictator doctors actually meant something else:

1.) By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.

2.) The patient has been depressed ever since she began seeing me in 1983.

3.) The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.

4.) Discharge status: Alive but without permission.

5.) The patient has no past history of suicides.

6.) Patient has left his white blood cells at another hospital.

7.) The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.

8.) Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.

9.) She is numb from her toes down.

10.) When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.

11.) The patient had an injury on the fourth, fifth, and sixth digits of the right hand.

12.) Rectal exam revealed a normal-sized thyroid. (Note: The thyroid is found in the neck area)

13.) Diagnosis: Sick-As-Hell Disease. (Correct term: Sickle Cell Disease)

14.) The baby was delivered, the cord clamped and cut and handed to the pediatrician, who breathed and cried immediately.

15.) She has two living children, one of which has died.

16.) This is a healthy-appearing, decrepit, 60-year-old white female, mentally alert but forgetful.

17.) I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.

18.) Her husband is going to cook for her, which will be rather grotesque.

19.) She has been holding herself responsible for her mother's being raped all her life.

20.) The patient had a penile transplant.

21.) She slipped on the floor for 15 years.

22.) She notes that she has lost her lack of smell.

Fortunately for us, the great training we receive clears up the mind, attunes our ears, and our reports eventually end up 99% accurate. Sometimes it’s just so amusing to look back at how we got here.

About the author
_______________________________
Jeanette Agati is a confirmed eccentric, having had seen the light refuses to practice her profession and would rather listen and decipher the idiotic ramblings of her peers. You would normally see her smoking the day away or drinking herself to stupor with her ever loyal friends, namely, Jack, Johnny and Jim. She is from HDI.

CLUB SPiRIT: TOASTMASTERS IN FULL BLAST IN 2007

by Perps Poblador, CC, CL

The Chinese soothsayers have already said; 2007 is a good year for reaping what you sow in the past years. If this is the case, this year is meant for another Toastmasters success. And we want you to take part of this exciting journey.

The recently-concluded planning session happened last January 20, 2007 in Bayview Hotel has helped us reflect on the successes and challenges we had in the past, to reaffirm the club's strengths and direction, to renew commitment amongst officers and members, and most importantly, to partner with the right people that can mutually help us make our aspirations come true. Rest assured that Toastmasters is the perfect associate you can rely on.

To start this year right, Toastmasters club launches its activities, projects and events in store for 2007 through our launch catalogue dub as, Toastmasters in 2007: Projects & Events Catalogue. This catalogue highlights Toastmasters club as a strategic learning organization for effective communication and leadership skills, at the same time an exciting venue for personal enrichment. Download the Toastmasters club launch catalogue for free by clicking the image below. Registration form for activities and events, as well as the application form for membership, are also included.

Click this image to download the Tm club launch catalogue. For an e-copy of Tm Activities Registration Form, click here.

We have made strategic partnerships with the SPi Learning Academy (SPiLA) and the SPi Foundation (otherwise known as Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR); with the clubs like the Writers Guild and the Performing Arts; and with the Employee Council and HR-Employee Relations. At the same time, we are intending to expand Toastmasters club in second to third quarter this year to other SPi facilities (as of today, we may start expanding Toastmasters club in Laguna early on this February and in Cebu on March. So SPi Cebu and Laguna, here comes Toastmasters).

Click on the images to enlarge.

Dubbed as the most novel, out-of-the-box idea of Toastmasters club and the Writers Guild, BOOK TALKS aims to promote the love for reading in the workplace, promote Writers Guild's READvolution project, and to serve as Toastmasters club's alternative Table Topics and speech delivery activities for Toastmasters members.

Due to insistent public demand, Toastmasters club is bringing back the Roadshow Series, which aims to promote Toastmasters club in every business units in SPi and eventually will help the club create new Toastmasters group under SPi Toastmasters club umbrella.

With the emerging concerns of strengthening the English Proficiency of the Filipinos, SPi Foundation and Toastmasters club come up with an English Proficiency Program for public school teachers in Tagaytay City through the Speechcraft Program. Speechcraft is a program designed by Toastmasters International that aims to teach public speaking skills to members and non-members.

The Club Week Celebration that has been up and running for about three years, will be another success not only for Toastmasters club but also to club-colleagues as well. The Induction Ceremonies of the newly-installed Club Officers has been a tradition in the club. Yet besides this annual event, Toastmasters club will conduct its first-ever Toastmasters of the Year, an event that will recognize the graduates in the Competent and Advanced Communicator and Leader norms, as well as the best (and highly improved) communicator and leader in 2007.

We want our new members to be fully immersed to Toastmasters way of learning. So we are giving this day for them we'd call the Neophytes' Day. A walkthrough presentation about Toastmasters shall be done in this session. New members will then be inducted and will have them render their first speeches (we call the Icebreaker) as our initiation rites to them. Wouldn't this be thrilling seasoned Toastmasters *chuckles*? We assure you, no paddle, for heaven's sake!

WE WANT ALL SPEECHES! NO TO TABLE TOPICS! Well, we can forego the most feared yet thrilling Table Topics in this occasion, for now. Our 4-part Speech Marathon Series will entail a full roster of prepared speech deliveries to cater the need for members to speed up their speech project completion, as well as to others to (ahem) listen or evaluate.

Communicate with Humor will be the first learning session in 2007 that will be held during the Club Week Celebration. In line with September we christened as Media month, we will conduct a learning session entitled Communication for Television. In October, we will have a learning session, Communication by Management.

Quartethlon contests happens in mid-August to September. It is a sort of a four-in-one contest set for a single representative (sounds huge, I know). You've got to sing, do impromptu, evaluate and render a prepared speech! We've had Mark Start TM (now our Director for Operations in Journals - EDD), Mikes Sarandona CC/CL (currently Corporate Development Manager), and Remo Marilao TM (club's VP-Public Relations) in these contests. Who's next in line?

Speech contests are must see! This happens in mid-March to April. We have speech contests on the following categories:

• Impromptu Speaking


• Evaluation


• Humorous Speech or Tall Tales


• Prepared Speech

We've had Raul Escandor CC/CL (club's Past President), Molly-Corona Crisostomo TM, Perps Poblador CC/CL (club's Immediate Past President), Cliff Roperez TM (currently SPiLA's Assistant Manager) and Kehm Genito TM (club's secretary) competed in these contests. Are you next?

Toastmasters club have so many things in store this 2007! Join Toastmasters, improve your communication and leadership skills and have fun.

About the correspondent

______________________________
A Toastmaster for only God knows since really when, Perps Poblador is currently the Immediate Past President of SPi Toastmasters Club. Also a Communicator and Leader graduate, she's now in a verge of creating something crazily new and exciting in her life. You may reach her at the smoking area during breaks eyeing the good, the bad and the handsome!

THESE MONTHS OF NOVEMBER / DECEMBER IN BACKSPACE

november.december 2006 / volume 1 / issue 5

+ The Chief Editor finds himself in book heaven at the 27th Manila International Book Fair. Read more...

+ ADVICE TO WRITERS. Pia Manzano reaches out to writers. Read more...

+ SHORT STORY. We are honored to publish the short story of Alma Evita Maniago of CIS, adjudged the best among 6 other entries during our workshop on the Short Story. Read more....

+ REVIEW. Resident cineaste Ed Saludes files his first report on the recently concluded 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival. Read more...

+ TIKIM. Deng Perez discovers a new resto. Read more...

+ TIKIM. The Guild takes a peek at what's cooking along PASCOR Drive. Read more...

+ NEWS. The Guild sends its first batch of storytellers for certification training. Read more...

+ NEWS. Who's afraid of ghosts? Definitely not these kids. Read more...

+ TESTIMONIALS. Our participants gush about our workshops. Read more...

+ CULTURE EXPRESS. Here's what's happening around the metro. Read more...

+ STANZAS OF STILLNESS. Emil Bombita and WIZE dish out their November-December offerings. Read more...

COMING UP IN JANUARY 2007

+ TIKIM. Tagaytay has it's secrets. Here's one revealed.

+ REFLECTIONS. Here's looking back at the year that was 2006.

+ NEWS FLASH. Writers Guild offerings for 2007!

+ FEATURE. Samples of the funniest transcriptions from Healthcare that will surely make your day.

These and more in January of 2007. Happy New Year, everyone!

FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR (November / December 2006)

Dear readers,

Last September, we had the rare opportunity of visiting the 27th Manila International Book Fair at the very modern World Trade Center in Pasay City. We only have our Workshop Manager JP Canivel to thank for the tip. We would have missed the entire affair if it were not for his prodding, whew! By the way, you can click on the photos below to enlarge them for better viewing.

The floor space - all of 10,810 meters - was so huge that it took us over an hour to go through every booth. Well, we have our favorites and we ended up busting a little hard-earned cash on BOOKMARK, one of the Philippines' finest publishing houses. We bought several coffeetable books (at dirt cheap prices!). I was told JP bought storybooks for children from Adarna House, founded by the National Artist for Literature himself, Rio Alma. I believe some of these story books can be borrowed through the Project R.E.A.D, which will be formally launched mid-January.

We were also able to get an old, old copy of Bienvenido Santos' What the Hell For You Left your Heart in San Franciso at Php 60! Of course you recall Santos' other works - Brother, My Brother or The Day the Dancers Came, which were required reading in college. No? Hmmm...The writer from Tondo would be very sad to know that.

Here at the Guild, books and reading form the central core of our existence, together with poetry and other forms of creative writing. That is why we have soft-launched Project R.E.A.D. to make available to you several great books through which you can explore the world and help you create your own opinions about yourself, life in general, and your surroundings.

Join us as we try to make life in SPi more exciting and meaningful for you.

Welcome to our joint November-December issue. Mabuhay!

Best regards,

Dylan Yap Gozum / Editorial Director, BACKSPACE

Click poster to enlarge.

THE NEW BACKSPACE

We are proud to announce that the 'rebranding' iniative for BACKSPACE has started. First, we have moved to a new site with a new URL designed to foster easier memory recall. Second, we have a adopted a cleaner template - easier to navigate and easy to the eyes (Yes, 'easy' is the operative word here!). Third, we will be adopting the Stencil font for the headings and Verdana for text.

Also, the photos below, photographed last November, will be used alternately for the banner to properly situate the blog - that SPi is its home; the SPi employees, it's target audience. Shirts and related paraphernalia will soon be made available to further perpetuate & propagate the BACKSPACE name within the SPi Philippines system, with eventual marketing to other sites outside Manila. This is also in line with our preparations for the Guild's 5th year anniversary in 2008.

Welcome to the new BACKSPACE!

The Guild wishes to thank Perps Poblador for the great work on the new site. Photos were by Dylan Gozum.