Fundamentals of Creative Writing Available

My book, Fundamentals of Creative Writing, was also released by Anvil this August. Proper book launching will be scheduled when I return to the Philippines in early 2010, but the book is available from Anvilpublishing.com and from palhbooks.com.

It's a how-to-write book sharing what I've been teaching at the Writers' Program of UCLA Extension for 15 years.

The back cover blurbs say:

Fundamentals of Creative Writing is a powerful resource to encourage students and/or aspiring writers to strive for excellence in their writing skills. Not only does it guide readers through the basics of setting, scene, character, conflict, dialogue, plot, point of view, voice, style, theme and tone but it also provides useful activities that challenges the writer to get their creative juices flowing. I would highly recommend this excellent book to anyone who wants to improve and enhance their creative writing skills.
Jacqueline Gullas-Weckman
Vice-President, Academic Affairs
University of the Visayas


Cecilia Manguerra Brainard has written a wonderful resource for students of creative writing. This book, Fundamentals of Creative Writing, provides students with practical steps that truly work. The strategies presented in this book are a product of the authors 15 years of teaching creative writing. She is also a prolific writer who has written numerous short stories, novels, and non-fiction books.
Edmundo F. Litton, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Education
Loyola Marymount University

This book (Fundamentals of Creative Writing) describes the “essentials” of creative writing, not only from a technical perspective, but also by unveiling how creative writing leads us to imaginatively engage and act upon the world. Brainard’s structure reminds us that, above and beyond technique, the most important thing a writer needs is a genuine love of story and a respect for the power of words.
Rocío G. Davis
Associate Professor of American Literature, University of Navarra, Spain
Author of Begin Here: Reading Asian North American Autobiographies of Childhood

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's Fundamentals of Creative Writing is a marvelous textbook that combines useful technical advice on craft with beautiful practical examples in her own stories. Brainard's treatments of writerly voice and left brain/right brain theory as it connects to writing are among the best available in today's writing textbooks. Her story examples cover a variety of story types, techniques, points of view, and historical as well as contemporary topics and themes. This book will indeed help writing students write strong stories and improve their craft. Brava, Ms. Brainard.
Vince Gotera, Editor of the North American Review
Professor of Creative Writing, University Northern Iowa

PHOTOS FINDING GOD BOOK LAUNCH, MAKATI & MANILA

Makati seated l-r: Marily Orosa, Isagani Cruz; Standing l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Karina Bolasco

Makati, seated l-r: Brenda Arroyo, Nina Lim, Edna Del Rosario, Evelyn Bosch; Standing l-r: Mila Santillan, Maribel Alvarez, Joy Uytioco, Cecilia Brainard, Marily Orosa

Makati l-r: Marily Orosa, Cecilia Brainard

Makati l-r: Raquel Balagtas, Cecilia Brainard, Araceli Lorayes, Tessa Tan, Meng Sanico, Mila Santillan

Makati l-r: Mayen Tan, Liza Martinez, Felice Sta. Romana,Raquel Balagtas, Cecilia Brainard, Marily Orosa

Makati l-r: Marily Orosa,Mila Aguilar, Cecilia Brainard, Mayen Tan

Makati l-r: Mayen Tan, Cecilia Brainard,Brenda Arroyo, Maribel Alvarez, Mila Aguilar

Cebu l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Carlos Cortes

Cebu l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Jaime Picornell, Karina Bolasco

More photos of the book launchings of Finding God in Makati and Cebu in
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135925&id=769308553&l=2818f5b677

Report Book Launch of Finding God, National, Glorietta 5, Makati

Was the Manila launch of Finding God a success?

Oh yes!

Around 150 people attended the book launch of Finding God in National Bookstore, Glorietta 5, Makati. Mila Aguilar, Raquel Villavicencio Balagtas, Liza Martinez, Felice Sta. Maria, Mayen Tan, Marily Orosa and I shared excerpts from our pieces in the book. Good reading, attentive crowd, great food.

I'll be posting pictures later on. Cebu launch of Finding God coming up, Aug. 21, Powerbooks,SM, North Reclamation Cebu.

MARILY & CECILIA ON NBC EASY READING RADIO

Marily Orosa and Cecilia Brainard were featured in NBS Easy Reading, radio talk show, this morning. They talked about their new book, Finding God: True Stories of Spiritual Encounters.

REMINDER BOOK LAUNCH FINDING GOD

REMINDER BOOK LAUNCH OF FINDING GOD

Anvil Publishing and National Bookstore cordially invite you to the launch of

FINDING GOD: True Stories of Spiritual Encounters

EDITED AND COLLECTED BY Cecilia Manguerra Brainard & Marily Ysip Orosa

AUGUST 14, 6 to 9 pm NATIONAL BOOKSTORE GLORIETTA 5 MAKATI CITY
&
AUGUST 21, 6 to 9 pm POWERBOOKS CEBU 2ND FLOOR, SM CITY NORTH RECLAMATION, CEBU CITY

FINDING GOD: TRUE STORIES OF SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTERS - Book Launch, Aug. 14, 2009, Makati

The anthology, FINDING GOD: TRUE STORIES OF SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTERS, will be launched next month August. It's not yet confirmed and I will confirm the details as soon as I have them: FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2009 IN POWERBOOKS, MAKATI. Thie book is co-edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard and Marily Ysip Orosa, and published by Anvil.

Contributors are: Mila D. Aguilar, Raquel Villavicencio Balagtas, M.G. Bertulfo, Susan Evangelista, M. Evelina Galang, Evelyn Regner Seno, Tony Robles, Edgar Poma, Aileen Ibardaloza, Paulino Lim, Jr., Brian Ascalon Roley, Marlinda Angbetic Tan, Lisa B. Martinez, Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, C. Sophia Ibardaloza, Reme A. Grefalda. Cecilia and Marily also have essays in the book.

Blurbs:
There is one thing I am sure of, and it is that God will never do anything that is bad for us. Our puny minds often cannot understand how all our sufferings can be good for us, but if we look back at our lives, we see how everything eventually works out well in the end. This is the faith that underlies the essays in this book. It is a simple faith, but a profound one.
Isagani R. Cruz, Philippine Star

My father confessor once told me, that at times one would not be able to see God's plan until one looks back or partake in the experience of others. This book, a collection of narratives on finding God will surely uplift our faith as we learn from the experience of others.
Jocelyn B. Gerra,Ph.D, OPL, ( Lay Dominican), Executive Director, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.

Finding God on earth, next to entering heaven in eternal life is, to my
mind, the greatest gift one can experience.
I know that not everyone can be aware that he or she is finding God at
precisely the moment this experience is happening, but all the contributors are
to be envied, for finding God can be such an awesome moment whether it happens
when one is in great physical pain or in deep spiritual anguish.
I am privileged to write one of the blurbs of a book being dedicated to the
memory of my dear friend, Jose de Santos Orosa, who taught me what forgiveness
is all about.
Josefina T. Lichuaco, columnist, former Secretary of the Department of
Transportation and Communications

MORE WHEN I GET CONFIRMATION ABOUT THE BOOK LAUNCH DETAILS!

Pictures of my Women Ancestors ... and Me

Here are some of my women ancestors: GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER - Juana Diosomito Lopez from Naic, Cavite; born circa 1850, businesswoman; married a second time to a Veloso from Leyte; children were Remedios, Concepcion, Feodor and Domingo Veloso; an aunt said she "loved to dance." I have a legal document that says that in 1896, "Dona Juana Lopez Diosomito of Baybay, Leyte, purchased (for 3,000 pesos, pacto de retro) two houses in Cebu City, one in mamposteria and solar on calle de Prim, facing the Plaza de General Lono, and the other of calle de Prim, in the barrio of Maloco, from Don Prudencio Sanson Camara, negociante, married, natural and vecino of Cebu City (Cebu Protocolos, Doc 11, 1/27/1896/1411:74-77) GREAT-GRANDMOTHER - Remedios Diosomito Lopez Cuenco; born 1870; married Mariano Albao Cuenco when she was 13; bore him over a dozen children although only 4 survived to adulthood (Dolores and Jaime died young); widowed at 39; took over her husband's Imprenta Rosario making her the first woman publisher of Cebu; also invested in real estate; mother of: Archbishop Jose Maria Cuenco of Jaro, Iloilo, Senator Mariano Jesus Cuenco, Representative Miguel Cuenco, and writer Remedios Cuenco Borromeo; died in 1945 at the age of 75. GRANDMOTHER - Filomena Alesna Cuenco from Carcar; born May 1, 1882, parents: Evaristo Barcenilla Alesna and Cresencia Ynosencia Sanchez Villarosa; parents died when she was young and she and her 2 sisters were raised by 2 old maid aunts(; her older sister Placida married Mateo Noel; her younger sister Josefa married Isabelo Montesclaros; Filomena married Mariano Jesus Cuenco; they had 8 children (6 survived to adulthood: Manuel, Lourdes, Concepcion, Carmen, Consuelo, Teresita; the 2 who died were Maria and Corazon); had a stroke and died during wartime (WWII). MOTHER - Concepcion Cuenco Manguerra; born Feb.18, 1912; Carnival Petit Queen of Cebu in 1931; married Engr. Mariano Flores Manguerra from Sta. Rosa, Laguna; mother of 5 children (4 survived to adulthood: Victoria, Mariano, Ana Maria, and Cecilia Catalina; a boy was born prematurely and died during WWII); a business woman, she also invested in real estate; died in November 7, 2002 at the age of 90. She has a memorial website at www.palhbooks.com/iton.html. AND ME - please visit my official website for more information, http://www.ceciliabrainard.com

Las Vegas and Lost

We visited Las Vegas for three nights. The last time we were there was around 3 years ago. I was suprised to see many "For Lease" and "For Rent" signs. My favorite Antique Mass has closed. Decent hotels have signs offering rooms for $19.99. There's a pall over Las Vegas.

But it wasn't all gloom and doom for us. We saw the Jersey Boys and enjoyed the music and performance. We had brunch at Wynn's; the Atrium there is lovely.

We did some gambling, because who visits Las Vegas and not gamble. I lost, but fortunately Lauren won.

It's still hot in Las Vegas. Daytime temperature was around 109 degrees, and at night, even though we set the thermostat at 68 degrees, the air conditioner would kick in often to maintain that temperature.

Altogether we had a pleasant three days there.

PRAYER - "May today be all you need it to be ...."

I received this prayer from my friend, Mila Santillan. It's a lovely prayer and am sharing it with my readers:

May today be all you need it to be. May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your fears. May God manifest himself today in ways you have never experienced. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered. I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is enlarged. I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God.

Peace be with all of you,
Cecilia

CEBU PHILIPPINES' VERSION OF THRILLER (MICHAEL JACKSON)

The prisoners in Cebu have been mourning Michael Jackson's passing. View this, and be sure to view their original rendtion of "Thriller." It's a scream. Take a look at their "Hustle" and "Macarena" as well.

I think I will have to see them perform this coming January.

They practice 4 hours and day and don't have time to be mad, according to the prison officer.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=115660972779&h=4Lmig&u=ofFC4&ref=nf - This original has 27.6 million YouTube hits as we talk.

And here's their preparation for their tribute to Michael Jackson. Click here

I guess I should confess I'm Cebuana,which is why I'm so amused at all this.

SAN JUAN BATISTA FIESTA OF PARIAN, OLD CEBU

The Parian district of historic old Cebu just celebrated the fiesta of its patron, St. John the Baptist. I am waiting to hear how it turned out, but here's an early quick report from Atty. Lynley Ocampo who attended the event with the Osmena Canoys (mother and daughter). I'll continue to paste reports as they come in. The old pictures show the Parian triangle and Parian church as these once appeared. The old church was torn down and there is a small chapel that stands in its place. Now under the care of the Cofradia de San Juan Batista, the chapel was where tridium prayers and the fiesta Mass were held. Cardinal Vidal said the Mass. Knowing the Cofradia people, headed by Louie Nacorda, the chapel was decorated nicely, and the antique statues of San Juan, Jesus, and Angel held court in there.


More as news comes in.

From Lynley Ocampo:
Thank you very much for the invitation. We had a very lovely evening. It
was also very interesting to see Ng Titang Diola for the very first time.
It was a different experience for me. The Canoys also give their thanks.

During the short program, Louie told us that he petitioned San Juan if he
could please stop the rain - or not make it rain from 9am to 9pm since it
had been raining for two days already. When Louie realized that the
program started late, he asked for an extension of one hour. It hasn't
rained even up to this morning. We were unable to join the procession and
went straight to dinner. Am looking forward to next year's festivities.



From Louie Nacorda:
...we had the most grandiose feast ever yesterday! The Mass and procession were well attended; we had three carrozas, three bands, and Casa Gorordo was full house, up to the balcony! The weather was cool and dry. St. John the Baptist must have been very happy. Even the Gorordo ghosts made manifestations to some people in the azotea!

Viva Señor San Juan Bautista!

Evolution of a Book Cover - Finding God (Anvil)- w/ addendum by Marily

I've been working on 3 book projects. I thought I'd share a bit of the process of the evolution of the book cover of Finding God: True Stories of Spiritual Encounters. First, I'd like to mention that my coeditor is Marily Y. Orosa and the contributors to this anthology are: Mila Aguilar, Evelyn Seno, M.G. Bertulfo, Tony Robles, Edgar Poma, Aileen Ibardaloza, Paulino Lim, Jr., Evelina Galang, Raquel Balagtas, Brian Roley, Marlinda Tan, Lisa Martinez, Felice Sta. Maria, C. Sophia Ibardaloza, Susan Evangelista, & Reme Grefalda. Marily and I also have essays in the book.

The book cover came about this way: Marily has an original painting of a forest scene, which we decided to use for the cover. Since Marily has her own publishing house, we have an agreement with Anvil that Marily's publishing house will design the cover, even while Anvil designs the inside pages and does the final printing. Marily's artist took the artwork and designed a first draft. Marily and I gave him feedback and he came up with a slightly different version. Since we have more comments, he'll tweak the cover some more. Once the artist gets our final approval, the cover will be forwarded to Anvil who will finalize the whole thing: inside pages and cover, after which, the files will be sent to the printer's.

Book making is a slow, tedious process, from getting the contents in order, to making the book beautiful. Even the choice of paper matters. Every part of a book must be given thought.

I couldn't upload the colored pdf file so I switched it to jpg, which came out black and white. This is the second draft, so the final cover will have minor changes. And of course it will be in color - greens, and golds, very rich and florid.

The articles in this anthology are quite strong and I can't wait to see the book itself.

~~~
Here's more from Marily Ysip Orosa about the cover (Joe is Marily's husband who unfortunately passed away last January):

"The cover is an original watercolor painting by Dante Divina, my former art director now turned painter. It is a secret passage to Mt. Everest. Joe during his illness encouraged Dante to prepare for an exhibit, his first, which Joe would fully sponsor. For the next 8 months, Joe whether he was in the USA, Singapore or the phils would clip nice scenic images for Dante to paint. The cover of our book was Joe's favorite and was used as the theme painting for the exhibit held April 2008. It is entitled SECRET PLACE, and hangs in Joe's office room."

Updates Finding God, Growing Up Filipino II, and Fundamentals of Creative Writing

Here are some updates on the 3 books I'm working on, which will hopefully be released in 2009:

1. Finding God - coedited by Cecilia Brainard & Marily Orosa, Anvil Publisher
The cover is finished; it uses a lovely painting of a trail in a green quiet forest. Studio 5 Designs is doing the cover, even though Anvil is publishing the book. My co-editor informs me that the back cover will have the blurbs, and will show our picture with this beautiful scripture reading:

"For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV).

2. Growing Up Filipino II (ed Brainard)- With the help of Tony Robles, I finally corrected the manuscript for the nth time. I shared the manuscript with the contributors and there were still mistakes. Paulino Lim's "papayas" ended up as "Loloyas," for instance. How that happened, I'll never know.

3. Fundamentals of Creative Writing (by Brainard)- Since I proofed it, I haven't heard back from Anvil, my publisher so I'm assuming the book has gone ahead with production and will be released by August if not sooner. I think Anvil was trying to catch the beginning of the school year, June.

These are all the updates for now. I've been busy.

CAT TO CAT: KIKI'S LETTER TO SUNDANCE

(My cat Kiki asked me to post the following letter to Sundance. Sundance is a young cat that befriended Kiki on Facebook. Here is a picture of Sundance, and you can look her up in Facebook under Sundance Knows - Cecilia)

Dear Sundance,
I've decided to mentor you. You are young and innocent and there is much to learn to be able to survive in this world.

Perhaps the most important advice I can give you is TO BE CUTE AT ALL TIMES. This is vital to your existence. By "cute" I am referring to both external and internal cuteness.

The external is obvious. When we cats are born, we are normally cute: small, furry, fluffy, with heart-rending cries that tug at the hearts Feeders. But that kittenish cuteness does not last. Do not think that for a moment, otherwise you will be doomed!

No, we cats have to learn to groom ourselves constantly. My mother taught me that. Lick your fur, wipe your face, especially around your eyes and mouth. I do not have to mention your privates - that is obvious. And chew some grass to clean your teeth and breath. Fleas can be a problem, especially in the summer, but hopefully your Feeder uses Vantage or Frontline once a month. It's a bummer getting treated; I myself get queasy for a couple of days, but in the long run,it's worth it. You don't want fleas on you. Fleas can cause worms, and that's a whole other problem altogether, very un-cute to say the least, to have wiggly worms in your poop. Your Feeder will NOT find that endearing.

Don't forget to clean your ears, otherwise you might get ear mites,and Feeders also find that disgusting.

The other kind of cuteness I want to address has to do with making a real effort to win the heart of your Feeder - totally and completely so that he or she belongs to you for the rest of your life. Even when you become old like me, he/she will still think you are a delightful kitten.

Look at me, I'm 17, very old for a cat, but the Woman-who-opens-cans thinks I'm incredibly cute. She takes pictures of me, checks on me constantly, makes sure I have my favorite food (including people tuna, salmon, and bits of steak - really, anything I want). She is at my beck and call. This is because I won her heart completely when I was young.

I saw the picture of you on the shoulder of your Feeder. That's good. That's a start. You have to learn to climb on her lap or get into bed with her and snuggle up close. You have to purr, even when you're not in the mood. For some reason Feeders think purring is very cute. You should also bat their faces with your paws. And don't forget to lick their faces; they also think that's cute. You have to be constantly visible to them. When they walk into the room, there you are laying on the bed, softly snoring; when they walk into the kitchen,there you are looking straight into their eyes, meowing; when they are working at the desk or in the garden, there you are sidling up against their legs; when they are watching TV, there you are on their laps. It is the constant contact that makes you become so much a part of their lives that they come to believe they could never exist without you.

Once this happens, you can have anything you want. You can just about do anything you want. I say "anything" not "everything" in this case because while Feeders can forgive occasional outbursts of temper from us cats (I myself have scratched the Woman-who-opens-cats when she pissed me off), they will NOT tolerate peeing or pooping around their house. That can get you in serious trouble; in fact, that could be a death sentence.

I will close for now Sundance because I have to run to the rose garden while the sun is up. It was cloudy where I live this morning but now the sun is up and I just love laying around our rose garden.

I am attaching a picture of me on a bed, to prove my point about getting what you want when you play it right.


Yours truly,
Kiki

Excerpt from my cat Kiki's Memoirs!

(I found this excerpt of my cat Kiki's Memoirs. I knew she was working on a novel, but didn't know about her memoirs. - Cecilia)


When I think of my mother,I recall her soft belly which I loved kneading. A memory comes to me of a sunny afternoon and Mother and the six of us in the wicker basket near the kitchen door. The door was partly open and sunlight angled in, warming our basket, warming us. I was kneading the belly of my mother and she was licking me all over so that by the time I was suckling on her teat, I was damp all over. The memory of it sends shivers up my spine. Mother was white, pure white and she always smelled of milk. I don't remember a lot of details about her because we were together for only seven weeks. I know that she had long lashes because they used to tickle when she licked me. Her pink tongue felt raspy as she licked me all over and the feel of that sand-papery tongue against my tender skin was heaven. She was meticulous about keeping the six of us clean. I believe this is where I got my own meticulousness; I can spend hours grooming myself.

Mother was just a year old when she had us. She had a flighty Feeder, a student who forgot to bring her to the vet to have her fixed, and since my mother was a gad-about who enjoyed staying up late in back alleys, she quickly became pregnant. I do not know my father, but I assume he was one of those late-night encounters behind some garbage cans under the moonlight. He was no doubt a tuxedo cat like me and two of my siblings. The other three had white fur, like Mother.

Thinking of that distant past fills me with conflicting feelings of happiness and sadness. While my mother seemed to be the perfect mom - feeding us, grooming us constantly, she had a marshmallow personality. She didn't know how to handle the intense sibling rivalry that went on: the white furred ones against the tuxedo ones. Unprovoked the white ones constantly nudged us away from Mom's teats. The other two males fought back, and got their share of Mother's milk. But not me. This saddens me even now, because Mother could have done something. Certainly a little nip to the ears of those wicked siblings would have done the trick. But no, she lay there, smiling, looking content, as if we were in paradise when in fact hellish fighting went on right under her nose.

I became the runt of the litter. I looked like someone from the third world with kwashiorker, and truly,I could have died, if the student hadn't given me away to another student. I was not yet weaned and this Boy-who-opened-the-cans had to bottle feed me. In fact, he didn't do it; his girlfriend did. Bless her. By the time she was out of the picture, I was fortunately big enough to eat regular cat food, which the Boy-who-opened-the-cans used to leave before he left for school. He would be gone all day and I used to get terribly bored in his apartment, so I took to chewing and ripping apart whatever clothes and papers I could find. And I didn't always use the cat box, just to get a rise from him when he got in at night. Once I peed into his leather boot, and shortly after that, he turned me over to the Woman-who-opens-cans. At that time she had another cat, a white one whose appearance reminded me of my mother, except that this cat absolutely hated me...

(And here the excerpt ends. I'll have to hunt around to find more pages. Kiki hides them in the most unlikely places: under the sink, under the bed in the guest room, etc.)

Working for Freedom - Violence vs. Nonviolence

I've been thinking about Che Guevara (again) and how he chose to pick up the gun. I've been comparing him to people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Burma's Aung San San Kyi who have chosen nonviolence. I am not sure which is the more effective way. One wants to say that nonviolence is the way, but I wonder how many people have chosen this path and died and were never even heard of. I wonder if in some cases revolution is more effective in wresting freedom from the ones holding it.

I'm thinking about those empires in Egypt and in Turkey that swept in and replaced old empires; these did not happen peacefully. Alexander the Great, the Ottomans, and others had armies; they fought and conquered.

I agree that the more noble activity is to change the heart and mind, the actual chemistry of a human being - and this is what Gandhi, King, and Kyi have/are doing. But I think this works only with the help of the media.

When the media is repressed as in China and Burma, the world barely knows of the struggles for freedom within those countries. People die in those countries for their causes, and we don't even know of them.

Does change still happen even in these cases?

I'd read about how the anger of the oppressor is diminished when the oppressed does not fight back, but takes it. Theoretically, the oppressor runs out of anger.

Could this be true?

A Letter from my Cat Kiki

I found the following letter from my cat, Kiki:

Dear Woman-who-opens-cans,
I understand you have been writing about me and posting my pictures in cyperspace. I trust you realize you have done so without my permission. Is it true that you ridiculed a recent hunting expedition of mine? And I also understand you have been talking about my recent illness, bandying it about for the entire world to know. I do not mind so much when you say I've lost weight,but I take offense when you describe my fur as being "three-toned." I don't know if you've looked in the mirror carefully, at your own hair - "three-toned" suits you better. I have long-forgotten the original color of your hair. And talk of weight, I wish I could say that you've lost weight. Au contraire I detect some puffiness around the middle, probably from all the lokum sweets you stuffed yourself with in Turkey. Shame on you.

I will, for now, let this matter go, but I give you fair warning that I may not be so patient the next time it happens and will take proper legal action.

Truly Yours,
Kiki

ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S JACK POST QUESTION

The answer to yesterday's Jack Pot Question:

1. The Revolutionary Post is in the middle, in the back, leaning against the headboard.

2. Her name is Mila D. Aguilar, click here for more information about her

And more about Mila, click here.

3. The 4 women were being silly.

All for tonight.

MY CAT KIKI CAUGHT A BIRD!

I shouldn't be happy, I know it. The bird certainly isn't, if the poor thing survived at all. But I actually feel elated that my 16 or 17 year old cat, Kiki, caught a bird! It was a real bird, not a featherless one that fell out of its nest. This one had brown feathers and was almost adult-sized. A sparrow. I was working in my office when I heard a loud yowl from Ms. Kiki. I turned and saw her by the doorway. She had on her bratty expression, and I thought maybe she was asking for food again, or complaining about her food. It took me a split second to see the little sparrow scurrying away from her and hiding near a pile of books. I picked up Ms. Kiki and locked her up in the bathroom; she wasn't happy about that.

I opened the sliding doors wide so the bird could see the sunshine, the outdoors; usually, they fly out that way. Not this dummy. It remained huddled near the books. I poked it with a ruler and it flew the opposite way. And hid. This went on several times, until I had to move furniture away, and using a paper towel I gingerly picked it up and brought it to our thick bougainvillea bush that houses half the bird population in Santa Monica. The bird probably came from that bush in the first place. The bird didn't fight me when I picked it up. It looked dazed. I didn't see any blood. It's feathers were damp, probably from the gumming of my old cat. I placed the bird on a branch and told it to hide. It hopped away from me, vanishing into the bougainvillea, and I left it there. I waited a while before I released Ms. Kiki from the bathroom. Boy was she pissed! She yowled, louder this time, and sprinted out of my office, to show me her disgust.

I know she was showing off when she had brought the bird into my office. I know it took a lot of effort for the cat to have caught that bird. Kiki almost died in April! She had a serious allergy attack and she started ripping out her fur and lost so much weight. After treating her with antihistamine, Immugen, and using the Elizabethan collar on her, she got better. Not completely well, but better. Some days are better than others. Some days she looks like death warmed over; other days she looks almost normal.

But even during her good days, she looks ghastly. Her black fur has turned three-toned:a reddish-brown where she'd licked excessively, a lighter black, and a deeper black where the new growth has sprung up. To make matters worse in April I'd cut off some of her long fur when she had been yanking her fur out; every day is a bad hair day for her: she has long fur, short fur, and a black fuzz.

But she's alive!

And she's just proven she can still catch a bird!


~~~
The Answer to yesterday's Jack Pot question is: Back row, 6th from the left.
And here's tonight's Jack Pot Question: Where's the Revolutionary Poet in this picture? And what's her name? And what are these four women doing in bed with Eddie Quirino in that enormous four-poster bed in Vigan? (click on the picture to enlarge)

More on Facebook

I'm flexing my mind here; I feel Facebooked-out. I've put in photos, links and notes in my Facebook site, and I've learned to respond to other Facebookers' comments, but I haven't learned to come up with cute comments to post so everyone will a) Comment back; or b) click "like." Facebook another medium, entirely. Many writers like it, and I think its for networking opportunities or for simply huddling together - birds-of-a-feather.

Facebook is allowing me to connect with my in-laws, classmates, with my ex-lawyer, with writers and teachers. Even people from Cebu.

My Facebook account is "Public" so I have to mind what I post. I could make it private, but what's the fun in that? Even though I've semi-complained about it, the din is entertaining. There are the serious ones with their causes; there are the ones that diligently answer the question "What's on your mind?" which is posted right above your Profile or Home Page.

In the beginning, I took that seriously and posted things like, "I'm trying to figure out this Facebook thing." Surprisingly a number of people stepped forward to help me. Then there's the matter of posting photos, after uploading, you're prompted to publish, and I thought that meant to publish in the photo section, and I kept clicking this, after uploading pictures of our trip to Turkey, other travel trips, pictures of Filipino and FilAm writers - click, click, click...until I realized that every time I clicked, this was broadcasted and announced to all my Facebook Friends. My God, they were polite! No one complained about all those pictures. In fact, I had some positive comments and some "likes." I guess that's what friends are for. These friends, or some of them, are not old friends, but contacts, sometimes friends of friends. I've made it a point to include in my Friend List people who are in the Friend list of someone I know. But the fact remains that strangers can access this Facebook site. It's like this Blog, anyone can access it. But there hasn't been a glut of visitors, so I shouldn't worry too much about my Facebook account being public, I suppose.

Enough monologuing for now. I'm making quiche and have to check it. We're having that with still-warm French bread. Yum!
Click here to visit my Facebook site.
~~~
Jack Pot Question - Where's Cecilia in this picture? (click on the picture to enlarge it)- And don't you think the nun looks like Pat Boone?

Call for Submission from Choosingamerica.com

The Choosing America Project

America is a nation of immigrants. Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Greta Garbo, Martina Navratilova, Hans Bethe, Madeleine Albright, Gloria Estefan, Michael J. Fox ,Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carlos Santana, Sammy Sosa, Hakeem Olajuwon.
None of them was born in America. All chose America. Like you.

Whether you came from Germany, England, Italy or the Czech Republic, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, or Cuba, whether you immigrated to America as a child, a young adult, or with your own children, whether it was your decision or your parents', whether you immigrated in the 20's, 50s' the 80s' or just yesterday, you must have one special story to tell. And we want to hear it!


The Choosing America Project

We are looking for authentic dramatic anecdotes, short stories (1500-4000 words) that epitomize your experience as immigrants who CHOSE to live in America.
Think of something that has happened to you as an immigrant - We are looking for those special moments, encounters, surprises, experiences, disappointments, which vividly convey what it's like to be an immigrant in America. The good, the bad, the sad, the miraculous, the joyful— every anecdote is welcome as long as it's authentic and well told.

IF YOU HAVE A GOOD STORY – WE WANT TO HEAR IT!

The goal of our project is to turn some of these stories into short films that will be shown in the movies and broadcast on TV.

So think carefully of that special story that is worth telling the world, and share it with us.
Send your story to: stories@choosingamerica.com

We'll be glad to answer any further questions you might have.
For more details go to: www.choosingamerica.com

~~~~~
The answer to the May 29 Jack Pot Question is - Salman Rushdie

And God Shone His Grace on One Rwandan

It's Pentecost Sunday. The priest who gave the sermon at Mass was fund raising for a Kenyan high school that needs $50,000. Before he got to the "asking" part of his sermon, he talked about being born in Rwanda of a wealthy Tutsi family. In the 1960s when the Tutsi's were being persecuted, his family fled to Uganda. In the refugee camp, because of the harsh conditions, his mother and 2 sisters died within a week.

After several years, a brother who had remained in Rwanda had climbed up in social status and invited the family to return. This priest chose to remain in Uganda because he was in school. The family who returned were all killed during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. Only the brother survived, missing fingers, with cuts on his body; and this priest said maybe he survived so he could witness his becoming a priest.

Heavy stuff, very heavy... will have to think about that for days. An entire family wiped out, and he has no rancor, no bitterness. Instead of stewing over this big matter, he is taking care of his flock in Kenya - this high school that needs $50,000.

Does that kind of holiness come from the Holy Spirit? How does one keep sane? How does one be productive when one has been through all that?

~~~
On another matter, I've been working on my Facebook site, click here to visit. Facebook has nice photo features, and it's allowed me to connect with some long lost friends/acquaintances. But there's something ephemeral about these internet connections - a sentence thrown out here and there, but no deep exchange. There's a lot of "cutesy" comments posted; and a lot of self-promotion.

By the way, I found out today that Geocities is canceling their free webservice later this year. I almost panicked because my official website was directed to my geocities site. I took care of the matter by redirecting my domain name to my site in palhbooks.com. No change to viewers of my site: they still pop in http://www.ceciliabrainard.com and they go straight to my site in palhbooks.com.

The answer to yesterday's Jack Pot question: Bienvenido Santos.

Jack Pot Question #2 Philippine Literature Category

This is the second Jack Pot Question to literature buffs. Who is the man beside the younger Cecilia?



Hint: He wasn't a sinner.

Figuring out Facebook

These past couple days I've been trying to figure out Facebook. I registered and have a site there (is that what it's called, a "site"?) I was surprised to see the number of family members, friends and acquaintances who are Facebook members. I went through the whole thing of filling out their profile form, and uploading a profile picture and other pictures. And suddenly I had all these people chattering away in my "wall" - I felt as if I were in a cocktail party and surrounded by a hundred people doing mini-monologues. Obviously I don't have to "listen" to all of them, but there they are on my page, with thumbnail pictures of their lovely faces and these messages they've thrown out into the world. "I'm not feeling great today." "Life is good today." "My first poetry animation." etc. etc.

One could sit in front of the computer and answer these short messages or peek into people's profiles, photos and lives.

I know some people with Facebook accounts who say they don't really use it; I see many who seem to have it on constantly, as they cast out messages to their friends.

I am not particularly fond of these truncated messages tossed out there, and the short little messages thrown back at you. (I'm not even going to look into Twitter!) I much prefer blogging where I can write something longer than a paragraph.

To my readers who wonder if I do anything constructive aside from travelling and messing around with Facebook, let me assure you that I have three book projects in production right now: Fundamentals of Creative Writing; Finding God, and Growing Up Filipino II.

All for now,
Cecilia

~~~
Jack pot question: Who is the man beside the younger Cecilia?

Turkey Pictures Recovered!!!!!

With John Allen's help, the pictures that were deleted have been recovered! Hurrah! I had been sad believing I'd lost the pictures from the first 9 days of the trip. Some fellow travelers kindly shared their pictures, but I hankered for the pictures with us in them, and also other interesting people.

I'll be posting some favorites.
* First picture shows Lauren and me in front of the Blue Mosque. The next picture shows Nurten Hatirnaz, the editor of Bilge Kultur Sanat,the Turkish publisher that translated my novel.
* After is a picture of John Allen with a man who reportedly won the lotto twice, but also lost all his money so he's back to shining shoes; he's apparently famous in Istanbul.
*The one after shows the four of us in a cafe near the Grand Bazaar,staying out of the rain.
*The one after shows me in Asklepion, trying to look cool.
* Next is a picture of two women making their flat bread, pide. We had been watching the older woman knead the dough and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough and then using the pin, she rolled up the flattened dough, picking it up that way. She then lay it on another surface and deftly unrolled the dough. We all went, "Ahhh!" And the younger women laughed out loud at our reaction.
* Then there's the picture taken in Antalya - great sunny day, sipping Coke, raki, and beer.
* The four of us in Hieropolis.
* Next is a picture of me in Ephesus.
* Next is a picture of Lauren in the ancient Roman public toilet.
* Still Lauren in Ephesus with the amphitheater behind him. St. Paul talked to the Ephesians in that one.
* Next is Lauren in Pamukkale with the Cotton Castle behind him.
* That's me in the amphitheater of Hierapolis.
* And me again in Pamukkale with the Cotton Castle around me.



















(definitely more these coming days!)