Pandamonium

The award for the worst comment on the Anne Rice petition goes to...

Well, the worse so far anyway. Sigh.

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Panda's Ponderings:

I normally stay neutral in stuff like these, but this whole "reviewers as bullies" thing is reaching new levels of idiocy. I'd like to see what these authors would say once they stop getting reviews--because the reviewers just got too sick of their "I'm-bullied" act.

Getting a bad review isn't the same as being bullied nor is it even on the same level as (and I cringe at the sheer cheek of it) being hunted down because of your color.

It's amazing how grown people can act so much like children.

Oh and for the record, in the Philippines, KKK stands for "Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan" (Highest and Most Honorable Society of the Children of the Nation). The KKK is a historical group of revolutionaries who fought against an oppressive society, one that was determined that they stay ignorant and uneducated. They hid behind masks not because they lynched their oppressors, but because they were afraid of identified and attacked.

Bit fitting if you ask me.

Oh and uhm... bit of a fun fact, I share the same birthday as its founder and leader.

Maybe I should've been named Andrea. 

Zane from The Well of Ascension. Definitely Zane.

I'm usually not a sucker for the whole "insane and broken and need you to fix me" character, but Sanderson writes him with such flair that I can't help but fall in love with him.

As my favorite book would've put it, "You were so easy to spot, the [only] man with [any] fire behind his eyes." 

There's a bittersweet edge to his story, you get the feeling that if his life had been a little different, he would have been a different man altogether. 

*coughs* 

Or maybe I'm just crazy. 

Did I mention that I imagined him having dark skin, a shaved head and eye tattoos? 

Yeah, definitely crazy.

Whoo hoo!

I'm offering my book "The Athena Effect" free from March 2nd to 8th in every e-book format known to mankind right here:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/223226

Click on "buy" and enter the code REW25 for a free download.  So go ahead and grab a copy! It's not complicated...

Click HERE for link:

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What's better than a free book?

Nothing. Nothing's better than a free book. 

Except maybe pandas, but that's a very big maybe. 

...I see a car covered in post-it notes. 

The person who owns this car either has some very funny co-workers or one very scary significant other.

Which makes me wonder, is it 5 1/2 months or 5 1/2 years? 

Either way, I'd be worried. 

Karate Ken.

Will the Magic Wand Weirdo.

Dan the Dweeb.

Reading all these nicknames that the two protagonists give out reminds me of the nicknames my brother and I come up with. 

The Lancer: for a kid in Kendo who accidentally stabbed me in the stomach with his shinai.

Shackles: a neighbor's dog who is almost always chained up and locked up.

The Unshackled: what we call Shackles every time his owner lets him out.

...and a whole bunch of other nicknames that aren't exactly family-friendly ;)

I love having a brother and I like how the author manages to capture the whole love-hate relationship between siblings. 

I'd like to take this moment to thank my mother, for raising me to be sort of person who'll take Kendo because I want to. Not because I'm obsessing over one of its students

Thanks, Mom. 

Seriously though, Katie's stalkerish behavior towards Tomohiro is creepy. 

Tomohiro isn't exactly Prince Charming either, off the top of my head I can name five people from my Kendo class who are way more awesome than the story's Sexy Mysterious Badass #1.

But maybe that's because I've never found assholish behavior appealing. 

Quotes:

"I didn't much mind Rowling when she was Pottering about. I've never read a word (or seen a minute) so I can't comment on whether the books were good, bad or indifferent. I did think it a shame that adults were reading them (rather than just reading them to their children, which is another thing altogether), mainly because there's so many other books out there that are surely more stimulating for grown-up minds. But, then again, any reading is better than no reading, right? But The Casual Vacancy changed all that."

I didn't much mind you before I knew you existed. I've never read a word (of anything you've written) . . . But this piece of writerly tripe and pathetic jealousy changed all that.

What's really sad, I looked at her books. I might have liked them. Except now I'll never buy them.

Panda's Ponderings:

"The book dominated crime lists, and crime reviews in newspapers, and crime sections in bookshops, making it even more difficult than it already was for other books - just as well-written, and just as well-received - to get a look in. Rowling has no need of either the shelf space or the column inches, but other writers desperately do. And now there's going to be a sequel, and you can bet the same thing is going to happen all over again."

Just because someone got famous for their work doesn't mean they have to stop doing what they love or enjoy. 

"Enjoy your vast fortune and the good you're doing with it, luxuriate in the love of your legions of fans, and good luck to you on both counts. But it's time to give other writers, and other writing, room to breathe."

*ahem*

Because it's always some other person's fault that your book is not selling, isn't it? What is with this sort of mentality? Ohnoes! Some famous author is selling books, so it's diminishing my sales! 

How about this: let your book stand on its own merits instead of blaming this or that for not selling.

But anyway, I ramble too much, the whole article can be summed up in one picture:

It's a bit too late to be jumping on the bandwagon, but I'm going to do it anyway because I love lists like this. 

1. Panda isn’t really my name, of course. It’s a nickname given to me by a friend who decided that I needed a superhero alterego, and because I was always wore a shirt that depicted two dozen pandas performing Aikido, she decided to name me Panda Girl. We went on to create two other superhero alteregos: Beerman and HalaMan (which is Tagalog for “plant”) for her and for another friend. We sometimes make up stories about our adventures and we titled the whole thing, “The Marvelous Misadventures of Panda Girl, Beerman and HalaMan”. And yes, we each have our own archnemesis…

2. I’m a college student who’s busily working her way to law school. If nothing goes wrong, I’ll graduate my pre-law course next year. But even though I’m 19, a lot of people still think I’m an elementary school student when they first meet me. 

3. I’m a PC gamer and the first thing I look for in a video game is a good plot, which is why I’m not interested in playing most MMORPGs. My to-be-played list of video games is nearly as long as my to-be-read list!

4. I have resolved to try something new at least once a week, small things like trying out a new genre, getting a new game, taking a different route home or tasting new food. I try “big” new things once every five months. These are the ones that require money and/or preparation. The last three big, new things I tried were: Kendo, lifesaving classes and then joining a student organization.Which brings us to number five…

5. I am now hopelessly in love with Kendo and have added getting a dan rank to my bucket list. Kendo was the first thing that I tried that wasn’t “expected of me” by my friends and family. Unlike the competitions I entered or the honors I received, this was something I had the option to quit, without anyone thinking the worse of me if I did. It was hard. Kendo was something that didn’t come easily to me, not after the first lesson or the third or the fiftieth. There were times that I really wanted to quit, when I wanted to cry because it seemed like I was never going to get better. Somehow, I managed to throw away that sort of mentality. I didn’t quit and instead, I learned. I’m still learning. That’s something I feel proud of.

6. Joining the student organization, on the other hand, was a big mistake. On the night of the initiation (which my friend tells me is not even a “real” initiation, as if that made it any better), the emotional and psychological vulnerability I felt was enough to trigger several memories of the day my older cousin raped me (I was eight). This was something that I’ve struggled to suppress, forget and convince myself never happened for as long as I can remember. The morning after, my brother only knowing half the story (that I went to an initiation), dragged me to Kendo classes.

Oddly enough, the presence of our sensei, the kiais from the sparring class and the physical exertion the sport required of me was a comfort. I have since then regarded Kendo classes as my “safe place”, while at the same time regarding the student organization with no small degree of apprehension.

7. No, I am not “over” the fact that I got raped. I still have to see the cousin that raped me, I still have to smile and twitter and be nice to him. Because of the nature of religious superstition and sexism in the Philippines, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell anyone without the mask of anonymity. I may not be brave enough to tell my friends and family, but I am smart enough to know that none of it was my fault and that it wasn’t something I had coming because I was being too flirty or I was being too compliant or some other crap people will try to feed me. I refuse to apologize because I have nothing to apologize for and I refuse to feel ashamed because I have nothing to be ashamed about. For now, that has to be enough.

8. Because I feel as if my last few entries were too dark, might I add that I am a terrific dancer—but only in the bathroom. A great singer too. Too bad the only witnesses are my sponge and some hair care products.

9. Since I grew up on a small island where a beach is never more than a walk away, I’m a fair swimmer but I've never taken any formal swimming lessons. I took up lifesaving as one my classes this semester and I’m feeling a bit jealous of those that have obviously had lessons. I’m planning on getting swimming lessons as my next “big” new thing.

10. I am a legendary procrastinator and I spent an hour writing this when I really should have been revising an assignment. 

There is just something that I find incredibly alluring about characters like Zane: people who are all fire and passion.

You get the feeling that they won't last long, that they'll burn out quickly. But they shine so bright that you find yourself not caring.

Besides, I've always had a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards and broken things.

This is one of those rare moments when, after spending nearly four hours reading a book, I just have to put it down to absorb the epicness of it all. 

Jackass Jackass

Ambrose's song from The Name of the Wind :)

"I shall be dumped where the weed decays

And the rest is rust and stardust."

My favorite line in the whole book. <3

I just passed my bogu evaluation in Kendo today! I can't even express how happy I am! 

Jokes aside, I was literally bouncing in my seat when our sensei announced that all of us have passed the exam. 

Victory dance! 

Now my only problem is getting a bogu. To those unfamiliar with Kendo, this is a bogu:

It costs a pretty penny at around 13-15K pesos, but that's okay. That's what I have two kidneys for, anyway. 

I always thought that one could never read too much.

The recent influx of academic readings I have to go through this week proved that to be a lie.

I'm drowning in words. HALP. 

Done for Sockpoppet’s 2014 Reading Challenge I is for Ice—this  book left me cold.

Everyone who’s read the the first three books of The Monstromolugist series knows how the series is going to end.

At the very beginning of the the first book, we already see the person Will Henry has become—he was first introduced to the reader as a deceased patient in a mental ward. He died alone and friendless, raving about imaginary monsters.

Any story that ends up with a protagonist like that has got to have a very depressing final book.

Except that this book depressed me in all the wrong ways.

Everything that I loved about the first three books were either gone or twisted to such a degree that I found them either horrifying to look at or unrecognizable.

It’s sort of like watching someone you love turn into a zombie.

Mom?

Gone was the naive, likable orphan that had me cheering for him, that made me cry when I thought of him as a demented old man.

Gone was his unbending desire to do and be good.

In his place was this unrecognizable douche with slicked back hair trying so hard to sound so cool and going all “I know so much better than you because I’ve seen monsters”.

The same boy who was horrified at the idea of killing a man in the first three books, murdered several in cold blood in the fourth.

I realize that, realistically speaking, his horrific experiences would have changed Will Henry for the worse but if we’re talking realism, both he and Pellinore should have frozen to death back in Curse of the Wendigo.

Let’s face it, we’re not reading this book for the realism.

The thing about Will Henry’s transformation was that the author did it in such a way that I could not relate to him or even recognize him.

Pellinore on the other hand, became even more pathetic.  He lost all of his good qualities and devolved into this spoiled man-child that could not even be bothered to look after himself. He wasn’t a very likable character to begin with, but now he just seemed like a crybaby.

The relationship between Will Henry and Pellinore also took a turn for the worse. I always loved this aspect of the books: the young orphan being an assistant to a cold, callous scientist. The Watson to Pellinore’s Holmes.

Will Henry, as an orphan desperate for love and affection, had no one else.

Pellinore, as a too-brilliant-for-his-own-good scientist needed someone like Will Henry to thaw him out.

In this book, they can’t even stand one another. The whole I-hate-you-but-I-really-love-you relationship was gone.

Which was a shame, I always felt as if there was one thing that could redeem Pellinore, it was his love for Will Henry.

I don’t even want to get started on the plot. What started out as a brilliant, refreshing series about a Holmesian society that eyed monsters through the lens of a scientist ended up as a pop-psychological rant about how the monsters were inside us all along.

Spare me.

Am I the only one who loves to wash down heavy, complicated books with trashy ones?

I've been reading books along the lines of Midnight's Children and Lolita lately and after watching a particularly ridiculous flick about real-life Tikbalangs, I couldn't help but remember how as a kid, I loved to read a series called True Philippine Ghost Stories. 

They usually looked like this: 

The covers were awful, the writing below-average and the stories pretty damned cliche, and those are only the top three reasons why I loved them so much. What I wouldn't give to have several issues of TPGS right now...