Links

Got this article from Gaiman's blog several days ago. It's about the craft of SF writing.

This, on the other hand, I got from Tin's livejournal and it's a handy resource for children, horror, and SF&F writers.

Here is more Lovecraft in case you haven't satiated your fears.

Feature Writing

Had our last session of Feature Writing today. While waiting for our teacher, we were watching the original Sabrina (with Audrey Hepburn) courtesy of Elbert.

Ms. Estella also told those who were present about their strengths and weaknesses. I was surprised when she told me that I was a good writer. I mean I don't think I'm a bad writer but rather a competent writer. To be classified as a good writer (especially looking back at my writings from four years ago) was surprising.

Elbert also started calling me Tim Yap (ugh) because Ms. Estella told me that my niche usually involved the rich. Actually, my take on it that my niche is pop culture, and well, some of them involve expensive hobbies (whoever said anime was cheap?). I'm not exactly a sociable person, much less one who goes out on parties, so I'm pretty confident I won't be the next Tim Yap who writes for the society page (or who travels abroad often). I also noticed that Pulp readers are smart, considering they didn't want to read Tim Yap. =)

By the way, it's nice to know I'm channeling all these useless trivia in my head to something productive.

Another criticism on my part was that I was "pulling my punches" and playing it safe. Ha! Ma`am hasn't read my blog yet. =P

War

First off, I think war should be the last resort. And like one of my favorite SF writers said, "violence is the last resort of the incompetent". And well, US didn't need to go to war with Iraq. Iraq didn't even antagonize the US (at least as of late). And while some might say Sadam is more evil than Bush, let me remind you that the US has been imposing themselves on other countries as of late in the name of "justice" and "freedom". Anyone "different" from them automatically gets the axe. And for quite some time, Bush hasn't been giving a damn about everyone else. At the risk of sounding cliche, all it needs for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Bush lately has been doing the opposite, which shows you the other end of the coin (if Bush can be classified as "good").

And while everyone might just clamor and request Bush to stop the war, he's not the type to listen. I mean this is the guy who shredded the Kyoto Protocol for unconvincing reasons. Do you really expect he's going to listen to protesters? Bush is the type that can only be convice by hitting him where it hurts. Unfortunately, I don't think we can do that as of the moment (e.g. economic pressure for one but the Philippines has its economic roots deeply planted in the US so...).

Life goes on and for all the war that's going in Iraq (and people should indeed be concerned), we still have our own lives to run and our own problems to face. Like the epidemic that's coursing through Asia. Doesn't anyone find it weird that it coincidentally started to spread near the time war was about to break out?