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This Is A Crazy Planets is a printed version of carefully chosen blog entries De Veyra wrote for Spot.ph. It was written in a mix of English and Filipino. Launched on June 23, 2011 at Route 196 Katipunan, QC.

This is a Crazy Planets book cover

How was the read?

The first and last book that I’ve read of De Veyra before this was Insectissimo. It wasn’t exactly anywhere near this because it was a book of poems. This one is a collection of well chosen blog entries from his blog of the same name.

I’ve been a follower of the blog itself so I already know most of the contents of the book but that didn’t stop me from buying the book. There were a couple of new entries that never got posted online.

The entries are random rants about random things like for instance the killer buses of EDSA or the President’s nosy baby sister (He even has two entries. Seems like he just doesn’t like her. haha.).

One of my favorites would be the entry called “Umasal Lamang Nang Ayon Sa Ganda”, where he tackles how one should act based what one looks like. A snippet from it is as shown below:

Q: Bakit kailangan nito sa mga panahon ngayon?

Dahil sa mundong pataas nang pataas ang stress levels, dala ng banta ng climate change, kriminalidad, trapik, polusyon. Wala nang mas nakakakulo ng dugo kesa sa isang taong hindi umaasal nang ayon sa kagandahan.

A couple more entries that I would recommend reading would be the ones entitled Taxi Drivers from Hell (This would actually make you realize that you’ve probably met all the types of cab drivers listed, which is in a way funny.) and Public Enemy No.1: A Tribute to Paquito Diaz (who apparently has made more movies than FPJ or Nora Aunor.).

His style of comedic sarcasm is simply intelligent. The humor that he uses is something that the regular Juan can actually relate to.

Was it worth the buy?

The book is sells for only Php 195.00 and available in most bookstores. It’s not a joke but it sure is funny. The entertainment value is priceless.

Would I recommend it to anybody?

Definitely Buy It. Now. Need I say more?!

Image from MPboxing.com

”The biggest fight of my life is not in boxing. No, the biggest fight in my life is how to end poverty in my country and this Saturday, I will wear yellow gloves (in the ring) as a symbol of unity and poverty.“

Hats off to Manny Pacquiao for this statement. How often do you hear something like this from a boxer/fighter? Not much. Well, not at all.

This must be the reason why he has earned the respect of a lot of people. He’s a politician alright, but could he have said it just because? Most likely not.

Pacquiao is a rags to riches success story. He used to and still fights to eat; just like most of the people living in the Philippines and poverty stricken places in the world.

His definition of fighting is not only about boxing. It is fighting in general. Everybody is a fighter.

People laugh at his grammar, diction and all his other unintentionally ‘funny’ feats but that really does not matter much. Thinking about it, he is a type of person that constantly tries to improves himself. He strives to get better. He is a dreamer like everyone else and now that he is living his dream, he does not hesitate to share.

Manny Pacquiao, 8-Division World Champion. A new age hero. Others should take his lead. He is an inspiration to all.

Common points for the risks in both boxing and MMA:

• There are instances when a knockout is due to a punch to the head.
• There are instances when a knockout is due to body blows, specifically kidney shots or punches to the solar plexus.

Referee stoppage is also a common ground for winning in both sports.

Here is probably the most logical reason boxing is dangerous:

• More often than not, the fighters get a lot of head blows.

Here are some points why Mixed Martial Arts is dangerous:

• There are instances when a knockout is due to a kick to the head.
• There are instances when a knockout is due to a knee to the head.
• There are instances when a knockout is due to an elbow to the face/head.

Aside from strikes, there is another safer way to win in MMA – submissions. When one fighter applies a submission move and the other fighter taps, the fight gets stopped. As simple as that.

While MMA might seem more barbaric as per the general public’s say, in my opinion it still is safer given that there is an option to finish the fight without needing to punch or kick the opponent.

Disclaimer: Written above are based on how I see it as a practitioner of both sports and as a fight fan.

Blogging seems to now be an outlet for wanna-be writers to showcase their crafts. The more common thing that the blogs contain are personal opinions about things. There’s even a money-making aspect for it now.

I came across an article by local writer Carlos Malvar – an interview with probably the most famous local writer Bob Ong. Reading through the previous entries in this blog would show how much of a fan I am of his style.

This was an excerpt from Carlos Malvar‘s interview of Bob Ong for FHM Philippines.

CM: “You’re not very fond of critics. Why?”
BO: “I have yet to hear direct negative reviews from established critics.  Right now there’s just bloggers and reviewers who need to boost their self-esteem by telling everyone that their taste is different and they’re reading books that only they read.

I think it’s counterproductive.  They are not happy that more people are now reading.  Instead of encouraging young Filipinos to enjoy books, they’re telling the new readers that they’re hopeless because they’re not reading the books that have their (‘critics’) seal of approval.

It’s basically immaturity and childishness enjoying group sex with arrogance and ignorance.   I wish somebody soon would produce the great Filipino novel worthy of critics praise and wide readership, I wish for that infallible book—no, books—to come soon.  But while we’re waiting, I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just keep our youths comfortable with reading and acquainted with books—any book.  Don’t you agree?”

I don’t fully agree with his statement. He seems to generalizing, which is unfair to some writers/bloggers.

While it is true that there are bloggers/reviewers who actually write about what they think of a certain book or product just for the sake of trying to make a name for themselves, not everybody does that. As much as I want to spend time doing some research to cite examples of bloggers who do it, I choose not to. Nobody wants to spark an online feud – it can get really dirty.

There are the ones who do it just because. If you read about something, wouldn’t you want to tell others about it?

I write reviews myself but as I mention in my entries, what I write about, I base on some facts and my opinion. After all, it still up to the person reading if he/she wants to go with what I recommended or not. It’s not like they are getting forced to read only the things that reviewers like.

They may get influenced by the reviews but I believe, the more important thing is TO GET PEOPLE TO READ MORE.

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FHM Philippines is a magazine franchise owned by Summit Media Philippines.

Bob Ong is a local writer known for his books such as ABNKKBSNPLAko?! and the more recent release, Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan.

Carlos “Siege” Malvar is a local writer known for his book Roles (A not quite unreal novel) and its follow-up Crash.

Both authors’ books are under published by Visprint, inc.

I started this blog without thinking that anybody would actually visit it but the people I know. Surprisingly, there were a few articles that gave this blog some exposure – the topic was the talk of the town for a few weeks. Even famous local bloggers talked about it. Well, not my articles but the topic itself. It gave my blog a good 5,000 views for the main article and it’s follow up. So yes talking about controversial topics can help but it doesn’t mean that you have to write about it too often.

Knowing your topic well will help a lot with getting readers. Getting your thoughts together will be necessary, unless you want to get your readers confused.

Getting paid to do this kind of thing would just be a bonus. Other blogs already have advertisers on their sites. Mine has none yet since aside from the fact that I am not able to update this as regular as I used to, the site doesn’t allow its user to put at least Google’s adsense.

This blog still has a long way to go. I’m not an expert with this. This is just my two cents.

Have a good one y’all!

Click on the link to watch the teaser.

http://sibobpo.multiply.com/video/item/13/Ika-walo

I got the news from the publisher of Bob Ong’s books.

So watch out y’all…

It was on sale for half the original price and when I bought it, mine was one of two pairs remaining.

Photo of the Zoo York Boer from www.onion.com

Yes, it might look weird because it is silver and blue. But really, it’s a nice looking pair of kicks. Between the iRobot Black Leather Chucks and this, I’ll probably still be choosing this. No bias intended. I do own three pairs of Chucks and planning to buy another one.

The overall design of the shoes is nice. It stands out, that’s for sure. Made from probably synthetic leather with silver coating. The blue soles adds up to the shoe’s attention grabbing design.

As the saying goes, don’t judge the book by its cover. This quote applies to this pair of kicks as well. Although it may be a nice looking pair, I noticed one disappointment. After all, there’s no such thing as a perfect product.

The fit. For some reason, the one that I got doesn’t seem to fit very well. Although it was of my size, whenever I walk wearing the shoes, I feel like my right pinky toe gets crushed. When I take off my shoes, it looks all read and hurts a little. I’m not sure if it really is with the kicks or it’s my foot that has the problem but it does hurt. Whether I’m wearing thick socks, thin socks or no socks at all.

But aside from that one complaint, I’m all praises for this pair of kicks.

Disclaimer: This is just my personal opinion about the kicks. If you have your own, please leave a comment and I’ll try to respond as soon as I can.

Image from The Visual Print Publishing website.

This obviously is a book review that’s way long overdue. My blog still gets a few clicks related to the book because of one posts regarding the book’s release. And apart from that, I see people who seem to be reading the book for the first time.

Kapitan Sino is Bob Ong’s 7th book. I got my copy from Pandayan Bookshop, 3 days after the book’s release.

Before dipping my toes into the pool, I took the liberty of reading a few other reviews written which can also be read online. Some were disappointed, some were “okay” with it. One was even really disappointed to the point that he found the book corny.

This book was, if I’m not mistaken, his third try with writing fiction – after Alamat ng Gubat and MacArthur.

The story was about Rogelio Manglicmot and was set in the 1980′s. An ordinary neighborhood electrician who one day discovered he had extra-ordinary powers. So yes, as the title gave it away, it’s a superhero book but not your ordinary superhero story. The protagonist didn’t have the flashy costumes or the impressive-sounding-and-well-thought-of-name just like Batman and Superman but he sure was a superhero.

How was the read?

It’s another eye-opener. Just like how he wrote his first two fiction books, he used a lot of symbolisms to portray the current situation of the Philippines. Topics from poverty to politics to corruption are tackled but in a comedic way. There are a lot of painful truths in the story which some might find offensive but as they say, the truth hurts.

Dull and boring points are almost part of every book out there. And there were quite a number of it in this book. A lot of funny lines can be found on this one and the ever infamous Bob Ong quotes are also here. There were lines that didn’t really hit it. The author was trying to get a laugh but unsuccessfully wasn’t able to.

One of the quotable lines from the book is “Hindi ka bayani dahil sa mga kaya mong gawin. Bayani ka dahil sa mga ginawa mo (You’re not a hero because of what you can do. You’re a hero because of what you have done)”. Isn’t it true?

But to sum it all up, I was entertained; which is what’s more important.

Was it worth the buy?

The book is sold for only Php 175.00 in all major bookstores nationwide. I would say yes. 166 Pages of fairly entertaining Bob Ong literature is worth the buy. If you’re a fan, buy it. If you’re not, buy it still. You’ll surely get hooked.

Would I recommend it to anybody?

Definitely. Any Bob Ong fan would want to read it. Everybody should try to read it. It’s not a Stephanie Meyer or J.K. Rowling book but if you’re Filipino, you should read this and his other books as well.

Image from the Anvil Publishing website

The book was released in 2006. I first saw it in a bookstore near my place late last year. It took me months before buying the book; just because it was politically inclined. And I wasn’t really into those types of books. This one just caught my interest. The story focused more on the characters than politics itself. I was born during the mid-80s but I was too young to be aware of the situation back then. Reading the book was like time travelling for me. I seem to have gotten stuck to that time frame while reading. I don’t know how much of the content of the book was real but it seemed so real to me.

As Former Senator Juan M. Flavier said:

The Jupiter Effect is really one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It’s uncannily timely, too, as it portrays the many compromises I still see today, first hand, in Philippine politics.

This book could actually be a classic.

How was the read? It was more than good. The story was very well written. The main characters in the story seemed to be so real. It could be because it was based on historical events, specifically the rise and fall of the Marcos regime. The book was about the experiences of the so-called “martial law babies”. The lead characters, Gaby and Kiko Contreras, and how they coped up with a time when everything they thought was good started to fall apart. While reading the book, it almost seemed like I was part of the story; like someone was telling me all the things that happened first-hand. As the author mentioned in her afterword for the book, this was actually the first book of a trilogy. Yup, I’m already waiting for the next books to come out. Seriously, the ending was sort of a cliffhanger and it will really make you wait for the next book.

Was it worth the buy? The book costs Php195.00. Yes it was worth the buy. I mean if the book was sold a little higher than what it costs now, I still would’ve bought it. Unlike some of the books that I’ve read, this one was worth the buy.

Would I recommend it to anybody? I definitely would. This book is a must read for all book lovers. It has a slice of history and it is quite nostalgic as well. If you were one of those martial law babies, this book would bring back memories. If you were one of those who were born post-martial law/post-Ninoy assassination, you’ll learn things from the book as well.