E Books for Sale

I’m putting up a Ebooks site where you can buy ebooks as low as Php5-Php10. The thing is, it’s available to the Philippine market only. because payment will be made via Gcash (Globe-cellphonenetwork) Anyway, if you’re interested but hail from another country, I could still send it but it’s going to cost more. (Well just incase you find a hard to find title and really want it). The site is not up yet but I plan to put it up at www.literaryart.multiply.com.

I plan to put in audiobooks and some music as well, if possible and some of my paintings and sketches

www.literaryart.multiply.com

My Fita Spreadz Addiction (spicy tuna flavor)

I have this latest addiction! Fita Spreadz (yes it’s SPREADZ not Spreads) in spicy tuna flavor (there’s another one in bacon, haven’t tried it I but will soon!) I love it! I ate the whole pack in two days!

A couple of months ago I tried it when it wasn’t that popular yet here in the Philippines and I thought it was disgusting then last Wednesday, I suddenly had a craving for it. Because my mother and a friend of mine said it tasted real good, I tried it. Plus I was really hungry at that time. First round biscuit then boom! Fita Frenzy! I’m starting to hate it though (just the tiniest bit) because I literally couldn’t stop eating. I feel like I’m getting bigger and bigger because of it. It’s my last thought before I go to sleep and my first thought when I wake up. My day revolves around it and every two and a half hours, I should have it. I’m in love with it. Sigh. What’s the secret ingredient anyway? All I see is a brownish cream in the middle (I want to show you guys a picture but I don’t have a camera right now and my cellphone doesn’t have a cable) but it tastes like heaven to me. I really want my addiction to stop but I just couldn’t! I feel that I’m going to be in deep Fita withdrawal for the next— oh, two minutes because it’s like four in the morning now and I just ate my last pack. Boohoo!

I just checked the ingredients. I couldn’t understand them except for the wheat flour part. Hey doesn’t wheat flour make people fat? I don’t care! I heart you Fita Spreadz and I can’t wait to open another green silver foil of yours and taste the oozing cream on your biscuit (that sort of sounds like something else) — I still don’t care! We belong to each other my Fita Spreadz! Um, marry me?

Me to Fita Spreadz: “You complete me.” ;p

National Blog Posting Month!

I recently joined this Nablopmo group in ning.com. The group has monthly tasks for members with different themes for different months and the month of July is the National Blog Posting Month (or something like that). So that means everyday, I’ll post something in my blog. Maybe it be nonsense or a matter of life and death- which will save the world type of blog. But I think more often than not, it’ll be nonsense. Ha! Ha! Just for the entire month of July though. Because I don’t know if I can keep up with the daily blogging.

Anyway so I’m still in this “too bored to function” mood of mine. I should be finishing up my third novel and starting on the fourth one but unfortunately I’m on a writer’s block and I hate it. I feel like all the ideas are drained out of me and I just want to put a straw on a gallon of coffee. I’m on the eight or ninth chapter I think— I’m even too lazy to check. I wish I could have another laptop so I don’t have to minimize my screen. Ugh! Lazy! Lazy! Lazy! I’m always either lying down on bed or munching on my *now favorite Fita Spreads tuna flavor— or both. I actually ate the whole pack for two days. I’m bloated!

REVISED REACTION to TRANSFORMERS 2

Okay, here’s what. I suddenly realized that I made a SH*TTY review about transformers in a way of not making it clear about what I liked and did not. The truth is I was only mesmerized by the effects and Megan Fox (sigh, girl crush). – Although I still do think that she pouted her way although out the movie (the whole time I was thinking- “What is up with her lips? Did she get a bee sting?)

So I got this article in Yahoo and read it. It actually made sense:

“Burning Questions: The 10 Most Confusing Things in ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’
by Matt McDaniel
June 30, 2009
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” made over $200 million last week. What it didn’t make, however, was one lick of sense.

Now, suspension of disbelief is usually not a problem for me. Tell me that a billionaire could put on a bat suit and swoop around fighting crime and I’ll buy it. Or that a different billionaire could build flying armor in his basement. Or that in the future people will beam onto spaceships with their pointy-eared best friend. I’ll accept all of it. I’ll even take your word for it that a mechanized alien race can come to our planet, scan some cars, and turn themselves into vehicles.

That being said, there were moments in this new “Transformers” movie that were so confusing, so contradictory, or so corny that they completely took me out of the movie. Even days after watching it, some new inconsistency or plot hole would pop into my mind.

I can hear it already: “It’s a popcorn movie. It’s based on a bunch of toys. It’s just supposed to be fun.” And yes, all of those things are true. But that doesn’t mean I can’t ask questions about what in the world was going on. Here are the ten that I most want answered. (WARNING: contains spoilers).
1. In “Transformers,” there was this giant battle in the middle of downtown Los Angeles — excuse me, Mission City — that was witnessed by thousands of people at the very least. But somehow the government was able to cover up the whole thing, and now the existence of alien robots is just an internet rumor? How did they do it? Pay off everyone who was there and quickly fix millions of dollars in damage? Also, didn’t Keller (Jon Voight) go on TV and tell everyone we were being attacked by “a technological civilization far superior to our own”? How did they spin that?
2. There are two pieces of the Allspark cube left: the military has one under lock and key, and Sam discovers another. The Decepticons steal one and bring Megatron back to life. But when Sam (Shia LaBeouf) wants to bring back Optimus, he has to find the Matrix of Leadership on the other side of the globe. Why not use the other piece? Mikaela (Megan Fox) has it in her backpack the whole time. It brought his kitchen appliances to life, why can’t it do the same for Optimus?

3. Speaking of Megatron’s rebirth, when the Decepticons venture deep into the ocean to revive him, the Navy crew tracking them reads five contacts. When they get down there, they tear apart one of the robots for parts to rebuild Megatron. Then as they rise to the surface, the same Navy guys say they spot six contacts. The little “Doctor” robot popped out down there, but he’s about a third of the size of a person. Would he have shown up on sonar?
4. That reminds me: even if I were to forgive the Doctor’s German accent — and director Michael Bay is asking me to forgive a lot of ridiculous accents — why would a robot need glasses? He has little lenses that flip in front of his mechanical eyes. Couldn’t he just get his eyes adjusted? You’d think with all the laser guns, someone could perform a Lasik procedure.

5. Apparently, Transformers can look like people now. How? And how is it that even though the robo-girl (Isabel Lucas) is made of metal, she can still straddle Sam without crushing him. And if Bumblebee knows something’s wrong with her, why does he spit antifreeze at her instead of telling Sam? Yes, his voicebox is broken, but wasn’t it fixed at the end of the last movie?
6. The Fallen is the last of the Primes, since they all sacrificed themselves to stop him from destroying the sun. But then he says that Optimus is a descendant of the Primes. First, Transformers have kids? And second, how could he descend from them if they were all dead? And if the Fallen could only be destroyed by a Prime, why didn’t the originals just gang up on him back in the day? And what makes Optimus so special, anyway? Megatron beat him earlier, but all it takes is a few spare parts from creaky old Jetfire for him to take out the Fallen?

7. Sam, Mikaela, and Simmons (John Turturro) go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. to find Jetfire. Then they walk out the back onto a wide open field with old planes and mountains in the distance. When did the National Mall start to look so much like to Tucson, AZ (where they really filmed that scene)?
8. The geography is just as bad when they go to Egypt. The stone city of Petra in Jordan is over 250 miles away, over mountainous terrain, with few paved roads and the Israeli border between them, so how can they drive from one to the other in a couple of hours. And the Pyramids are said to be shooting distance from the Mediterranean, but they are actually well over 80 miles inland. Even if the Navy ship had a secret rail gun, and even if the captain would take an order to fire from a former agent of a government branch that no longer exists (over a walkie-talkie that inexplicably starts working again), how could it hit a moving target from that distance?

9. Sam briefly dies and goes to Robot Heaven. Robot Heaven?!?!
10. Where does Sam’s bandage come from? What about his extra sock? Why does Sam’s roommate not contribute anything at all? What was the Fallen doing for those thousands of years Megatron was frozen in ice? How does one satellite receive transmissions from everywhere on the planet? Why does Wheelie hump Mikaela’s leg? Why do we have to see John Turturro’s thong? Why are robots who join together to become Devastator also seen fighting the Army at the same time? Why does the government want only our military fighting Decepticons when our weapons seem unable to make so much as a dent on any of them? Why did the ancient Egyptians build a pyramid around the sun-destroying machines instead of just breaking it? Why is the Matrix of Leadership bigger in the Fallen’s hand than in Sam’s? And how do Mikaela’s pants stay so clean?

OK, so I went overboard at the end, but the questions remain. And I’m sure more will pop up next time I think about the movie. But the movie did make a ton of money, and it’s earned a solid B+ rating from our users. Maybe I should go see it again. My questions probably won’t get answered in a second viewing, but if I can just clear them from my mind I can be in Robot Heaven, too.”
Source:http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/smg-transformers-10-questions.html

My mistake when I wrote my first blog about it. I was still hypnotized by the spinning cameras then

FINDING DREW (a novel)

series

(First posted on: http://sarah-land.ning.com/profiles/blogs/my-novel-finding-drew)

This is an excerpt from the Novel I’m Writing entitled Angels Fall: Finding Drew.
I’ve already told the concept of the story to somebody but unfortunately, he doesn’t like the plot. He says it’s too cheesy, like Twilighty-cheesy, but then again he’s a boy, er, a 27 year old man to be exact and I don’t think he’s the target market for my Novel. So anyway, please post comments about it, what you think about it, if you’d think it’ll be a hit or not and if you think teenage girls will like it (my target market, mainly).

Overview: It’s about a girl named Mandy who just lost her best friend Drew in a car accident the day of their highschool graduation. She goes to NYU for a start of her new life, college life, away from her home in San Francisco in the hopes to leave her past. Then she meets this guy named Sar. He’s mysterious (sort of) and there’s just something about him that draws Mandy to him.

EXCERPT: (IMPORTANT NOTE: I haven’t proofread it and yes, English is just my secondary language so I’m not so good in the grammar department either.)

The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired. by Robert Southey

College will be the start of my new life. Moving to New York will make all the difference. Some say that New York and San Francisco feel like worlds apart. My parents say it’ll be good for me. Away from the life I lived during the last semester of High School. Though in truth, I feel that the shadow of my past will forever be attached to my present.
I miss Drew. I miss him so much that my heart literally aches like it’s being cut out of its circulation. Like the air from my lungs is being drained. The only reason why my parents let me study here at NYU is because of him. Because they know I should forget him or at least the last parts of our life together. I lied to them and I know that they knew it. I lied of getting over him, that it doesn’t hurt anymore. How could I? Drew and I knew each other since third grade. He’s been my best friend ever since. He has supported me in everything I wanted in life. Even with my biggest infatuation with Michael, our High schools’ basketball team captain, up until after high school graduation.
I’m sorry Drew. I truly am. I hope you can still hear me. I hope you’re still here. By the way, I always knew you had a crush on me but you’re like a brother and a best friend all in one. Sorry I can’t return how you feel, sorry I can’t be more than a friend to you. Sorry for everything. But if only you’ll come back I’ll let myself love you more than jut a best friend. I miss you so much. It’s my fault and if I didn’t force you to drive me that night you would still be alive.
There are so many things I want to tell Drew. So many things I know I can never tell him face to face. I could never hear or see him again. Never have lunch, eat out, have movie marathons with him again. I could never lay my head on his shoulder ever again. Never mind how his family despises me now, I couldn’t care less. I just want Drew back. In fact I want to rewind everything up until the night he drove me to Michael’s party.
Michael had a graduation party at his parents’ home and for some weird reason he invited me although he didn’t really knew me. I was just the girl who would always come to his basketball game and be the loudest screamer in the crowd whenever he or his team would score a point.
I was grounded so I can’t drive my car nor get out of the house. I called Drew to pick me up. I sneaked out and there he was, outside already waiting for me by his Sentra. He refused to leave me at the party. I know we shouldn’t have drank. But the other car just came out of nowhere. The last thing I remembered were the flashing lights from the other car. When I opened my eyes, I was already at the hospital. I would never forget how the words escaped my mothers’ lips. “He’s dead. Drew is dead.” I was in shock for quite sometime before it sank in, before the tears burst, before my conscience hit me. It’s my fault. All mine.

CHAPTER 1

My first lecture for the day was on Russia’s Architecture, Between Revolution and Socialist Realism by Professor Cohen. It was pretty big to take in all at once. “New place, new life” I whispered to myself as I walked out the halls. I felt the oddity of being able to stride from one class to another alone for the first time.
I was about to consult my piece of paper where I have jotted down my subjects where my next subject would be when I heard a familiar voice over my shoulder.
“Hey! I know you!”
I turned around to see who it was. No way is he here. He can’t be. I will never be able to leave my past behind.
“Michael?” I called out in disbelief.
“You’re um…” he shook his head, “Your name is…”
I waited for him to say my name but it appeared that he couldn’t remember.
“My name is Mandy.” I finished.
“Yeah! Mandy. Yeah, sorry about that.”
“That’s alright. I actually don’t expect anybody to know me here.” I smiled ruefully.
“Well, now you do!” he smiled back then his face creased to a frown “Hey, I’m sorry about your boyfriend.” He bowed down to my eye level “How are you keeping up?”
I remembered that my mom said most of my school mates who were at the party were asked to give statements to the police after the accident. That made the news of the tragedy bigger than it already was.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” I absentmindedly answered.
Michael’s eyes squinted. “What?”
“Drew is not my boyfriend, he’s my best friend.”
“Mmm. I’m sorry I thought…” He retorted.
“That’s alright. We…I get that a lot.” I wanted to change the subject “You’re not an Arts History or an Archaeology student are you?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I am actually.” He brushed his hand at the back of his light brown hair.
“Oh?” I was dumb founded. He’s the team captain of our high school basketball team and there was no indication back then that he would be interested in this sort of thing. This is such a paradox between the arts and sports.
“Are you alright?” he put his hand on my shoulder as if to bring me back from my thoughts.
“Erm…yeah. You just don’t look like the type to…” I glanced at the wall clock just above us, “I’m going to be late. I have to go, “Catch you later…”
I walked away, not waiting for his answer. Unlike before where I hang on his every word, his every movement and every turn, I no longer want to stand being with him for his presence only reminded me of Drew and my conscience.
As I trudged to my next class, I noticed Michael still walking behind me.
I turned to stare at him, “What?”
“What? I’m going that way.” He pointed to the same lecture hall where I was going to.
“Professor de Montebello?” I speculatively asked.
“Yeah.” He amusedly answer, “Communication of Artistic Creativity.”
How did this all happen? I know I used to like him, well I sort of still do but I left San Francisco to try to forget my past. The thing is, no matter how I liked him, he’ll remind me of the life I had with Drew. How I discreetly followed him across the high school campus, always towing my best friend with me.
This leaves me no choice. I sat with him in the lecture hall, probably ‘til the rest of the semester.
The rest of the week was inevitably slow. My first week of surviving New York, I spent the night in my dorm room. I decided to spend it brushing up with my vocabulary. I need it mainly now that I’ve applied for the NYU press. I want to get the features writer position like the one I had in high school but I don’t think I’ll get it. They said freshmen don’t usually get in as a writer that fast. Maybe I can start as an assistant of some sort or as a messenger? That will do I guess. While most of the college students especially the freshmen (including my room mate Lori) chose to spend their first weekend at the NYU freshmen welcoming party, I sat alone in my room, which I have to admit is rather boring. Being alone reminds me of Drew more so what the heck am I doing here? I don’t know either. I got up, put on my sweater, jeans and boots. I grabbed my coat by the door and head off to the party.
The music was loud as I entered the hallway of the party. There were students lounging outside. I reached for my cell phone in my pocket to look at the time, it’s only 9:35 PM but they looked intoxicated already. I’m not sure if it’s the loud music, the alcohol, drugs, the smokes or something else.
So this is what a college party looks like? It’s pretty wild, compared to high school. Not that I regularly go to high school parties, but still.

Revenge of the Fallen – watched it, loved it!

Transformers

Transformers

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Last week my father surprised me by treating me to a Transformers movie. Yes, the Revenge of the Fallen! Must have been the sad puppy look on my face as I stared out of nowhere when my nephew and my sister watched it ahead of us and that I thought Leo would treat me to IMAX (that’s another story).

Anyway, all I can say is: IT IS AWESOME! Oh and that I’ve got a girl crush on Megan Fox! She’s is smokin’! – And a million other words besides that. So okay let’s just condense it so it’ll fit into my blog 

Nevermind that the cameras got my head spinning and the number of people who came to watch even if it’s the last full show had us searching endlessly for a seat (no reservations), it was all worth it! I mean the effects are awesome! (Come on! There’s no other word for it than awesome!—with an exclamation point) I have to say that as a non follower and non collector of the comic books (are there) and action figures, I found it really—here we go again—and say it with me—AWESOME!

Before I forget though, I mentioned Leo in the beginning, the name of my boyfriend. I didn’t realize that Leo is the name of the third person (second guy) in the original transformers cartoon? He’s the major comic relief in the movie and I found him actually cute because Shia La-er,-bouf?, isn’t exactly my type. No offense. But for some weird reason I liked Leo better than him. Probably because Leo is the name of my boyfriend in real life (how many times have I mentioned that already?) I don’t know.

So the finality? — It’s not the type of movie that you just watch because you have nothing to do on a Wednesday night or can’t find anything else to watch. It’s the type that you should really watch. I mean your plan should revolve around it. It is—(I’m going to say this for the very last time, hopefully) AWESOME!

And that Megan Fox is hot  I’m not a lesbian. Duh! (Leo-the boyfriend remember?)

Jacko’s Death – Truth or Conspiracy?

Jacko is dead?

So I’m not really the most hardworking blogger you know (in fact I’m the opposite: I’m sooo tamad!). Anyway, I just finished watching QTUBE at QTV channel 11(Philippines) where they discussed something about Michael Jackson. Is it true that on the day Michael died and TMZ announced it via the internet there was a pause on all Michael Jackson sites for almost one hour? I mean because of all the fans who logged on, that it just “hanged”?
Well, I must say that being born in the 1980’s and having teenage brother and sisters at that time, I was practically raised by Madonna, Cindy Lauper and Michael Jackson in the background. Although I’m not sure if the 1980’s were really the boom of their careers. Me and my siblings danced to the tune of Thriller, Smooth Criminal…the list goes on. We even have the major hits compilation DVDs (of course only bought recently last year).
Anyway on Qtube, Andy (with a Y) mentioned SOMETHING LIKE: If Michael Jackson was big when he was alive, he is colossal dead! Ha-ha! Then I had an epiphany, yes I do call it that. What if Michael Jackson really isn’t dead? That this is just a big show or PR purposes, a sham or whatever. I can’t put my finger to the actual word I would like to use for it but let’s just say it’s a conspiracy to make Michael even bigger. Come on! Maybe it’s something just like Elvis Presley? Okay, maybe not like Elvis. But man! The sales of all his merchandize just sky rocketed since the announcement of his death. I tunes, DVDs, CDs, Michael dolls, costumes- name it, as long as it has something to do with MJ, its considered sold!
The Michael Jackson fever isn’t over yet, it’s still going uphill. What do you think? So will his manager, or whoever announce on international television on of these days that it’s all a joke. Michael just wanted to have some time off (as if the last few years weren’t enough) and he’s back! Ta da! On with the Europe concert! Jokes on all of us.

-Just a thought though, I’m not claiming what I wrote is really real but think about it!

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen book review

Okay, I thought that I would never be able to write a sensible review for this book due to my being busy writing a book and finding an agent and a publisher for my own writing. Anyway, here it is:

Last year, Annabel was “the girl who has everything”—at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf’s Department Store. This year, she’s the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen’s help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

Because of this book Sarah Dessen has become an instant hit in my heart. All of my friends know that I am a true fanatic of the twilight series therefore making me a fan of Stephanie Meyer as well. They are two different authors with different styles of writing but I suddenly found myself drawn to Just Listen.

Just Listen teaches teens on how to deal with family issues and being ostracized. I must say that I undeniably loved Owen Armstrong’s personality (the only fictional character that was successful enough to tear me away from ogling Edward Cullen-but I still love Edward though). Anyway, if I was seventeen again, I would definitely fall for Owen. It’s not his looks or his size that makes him stand out of the crowd for that matter, it’s his outstanding quality to tell the truth and be sincere about it.

It’s a refreshing take on things. Especially now, in the society of teens where looking good and being popular is all that they care about (well mostly and I’m not saying all teens- don’t hate me). These days’ people talk aloud for the reason that they just want to be heard. For people to hear out what they want people to hear. But the thing is, not everything that comes out of our mouths are the things we actually talk about. Sometimes we hold back so we won’t hurt people with the truth, but think about this: Would you rather hurt someone by lying to them or by telling them the truth? Sometimes the truth can surprise us in an unimaginable way. That is what Just Listen is all about.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:
He was downshifting, the engine grinding as we slowed to take a corner. “What isn’t?” he
said.
“What you heard about me.”
“I haven’t heard anything about you.”
“Yeah, right,” I said.
“I haven’t,” Owen said. “I’d tell you if I had.”
“Really.”
“Yeah,” he said. I must have looked doubtful at this, because he added, “I don’t lie.”
“You don’t lie,” I repeated.
“That’s what I said.”
“Ever.”
“Nope.”
Sure you don’t, Ithought. “Well,” I said. “That’s a good policy. If you can stick to it.”
“I don’t have a choice,” he replied. “Holding stuff in doesn’t really work for me. Learned
that the hard way.”
I had a flash of Ronnie Waterman going down in the parking lot, his head bouncing off
the gravel. “So you’re always honest,” I said.
“Aren’t you?”
“No,” I told him. This came so easily, so quickly, it should have surprised me. But for
some reason, it didn’t. “I’m not.”
“Well,” he said as we approached another stop sign, “that’s good to know, I guess.”
“I’m not saying I’m a liar,” I told him. He raised his eyebrows. “That’s not how I meant it,
anyway.”
“How’d you mean it, then?”
I was digging myself a hole here, and I knew it. But still, I tried to explain myself. “It’s
just… I don’t always say what I feel.”
“Why not?”
“Because the truth sometimes hurts,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said. “So do lies, though.”

I downloaded the e book and I can’t wait for it to turn into a movie, if ever it does. I can’t wait how they would cast the Annabel character and especially Owen-the huge dark guy. Although, I must say that it won’ be a hit like how Twilight has been or still is. It’s a profound book telling that if we just really listen, we’ll get to hear what our hearts are really telling us. Hat’s down to you Miss Sarah Dessen, you nailed it!

Eight and a half stars out of ten

P.S. I have a book that I just finished last April. It’s a fictional one about love through reincarnation, if you’re interested, I can send you the e-book, just PM me.

What would you do if you had two best friends and they turned into enemies? -I’m there right now.

I know it’s hard and it hurts to fight with a friend but it’s harder to be the person in between. They hate each other and I know all about it. I’m the one to carry the burden of how they feel, but how about how I feel? I can’t bring up the topic of the other one to the other because I know that would only make them hate each other more. I guess time is the answer right now. Give them both time. It’s all I have…

Confessions of a Shopaholic the Movie

Unlike most books that are later turned into a movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic would not disappoint you.

It’s a lot different from what was in the book. Luke Brandon was actually Becky Bloomwoods’ editor in Successful Saving, making Philip non existent. Luke isn’t as intimidating as he was in the book and is quite friendly in the movie. There are many other things that “Confessions” fans may find as a contradiction, but is actually enjoyable. A breath of fresh air, you could say.

I have to give you some warning though if you’re the kind of person who wants everything copied from the book, then don’t watch the movie. If you’re someone who enjoys a good laugh, wants fall in love all over again and have your heart melted away by Luke Brandon’s new personality, then Confessions of a Shopaholic is the movie for you!

I loved it and I’m looking forward to the next “Confessions” movie.