FilipiKnow: Amazing Facts and Figures Every Pinoy Must Know (Book)

FilipiKnow: Amazing Facts and Figures Every Pinoy Must Know is a trivia book authored by Luisito Batongbakal Jr., Alex Maynard Castro, and Marcus Aurelian Vaflor. The book was published in 2016 by Summit Books. It was an offshoot of a popular trivia website (also known as FilipiKnow). The FilipiKnow website popularized the trivia and listicle format of online content creation in the Philippines. At the height of its popularity, the website consistently attracted hundreds of thousands of unique visitors every day. Their content also regularly went viral on social media most especially on Facebook where their posts often get hundreds if not thousands of shares.

The articles in the FilipiKnow book are accompanied by historical pictures as well as modern illustrations. Like in the website, the content featured in the book has a focus on Philippine historical events and historical figures. Many of the articles have already appeared in the website. However, most of the pieces in the book are expanded and improved versions of the articles that originally appeared in the website.

Luisito Batongbakal Jr. founded the website in 2013. He was inspired by the trivia magazine Mental Floss. Batongbakal Jr. wrote in the book's introduction: "What was Jose Rizal's favorite food? Who was the first recorded Pinoy serial killer? Who was the mastermind behind Ninoy Aquino's assassination? In 2013, these were just some of the questions that rekindled my childhood curiosity. As I searched for answers, I realized that there was no website that could satisfy my craving for interesting Pinoy facts. I was searching for a local version of Mental Floss - a repository of the most astonishing, lesser-known trivia about our history and culture.

And so a unique blog was born. Combining the words "Filipino" and "knowledge", I came up with a name I never thought in a million years would start an online revolution - FilipiKnow.net."

Here's a quick rundown of the contents of the book:

1. 15 Things You Didn't Know About Eat Bulaga
2. Philippine History Lessons Debunked
3. The Most Tragic Love Stories in Philippine History
4. This Pinoy Basketball Team is Legendary
5. Mind-Boggling Myths About Jose Rizal
6. 20 Things You Didn't Know Had Filipino Names
7. 10 Filipino Slang Words with Surprising Origins
8. Historical Facts You Probably Didn't Learn in School
9. Events from Philippine History Everyone Pictures Incorrectly
10. Famous Foreign Wars You Didn't Know Filipinos Fought In
11. Badass Facts About Antonio Luna
12. The Life and Death of Gregorio del Pilar
13. Apolinario Mabini: the Underrated Hero
14. The Mystery of Ninoy Aquino's Assassination
15. 8 Things About Ferdinand Marcos - According to Urban Legends
16. 10 Popular Urban Legends About Imelda Marcos
17. Crazy Pinoy Conspiracy Theories
18. The Chilling Story of the Philippines' First Serial Killer
19. Filipina Warriors You've Never Heard Of
20. 5 Influential Filipina Queens and Princesses
21. Local Treasures and Other Ancient Artifacts
22. Horrifying Pinoy Cannibals
23. Behind-the-Scenes Facts About Famous Pinoy Movies
24. The Millinneal's Guide to Old-School Pinoy Expressions
25. Intriguing Hoaxes That Had Us Fooled
26. The Philippine Connection to 9/11
27. Bizarre Philippine Laws
28. Kainan Na: Fun Facts About Pinoy Food
29. Surprising Facts About Death Penalty in the Philippines
30. Local Events That Had a Worldwide Impact
31. 5 Greatest Athletes You've Mever Heard Of
32. Old-School Filipino Games We Used to Play
33. 7 Famous Historical Figures You Didn't Know Visited the Philippines
34. Foreign War heroes
35. The First Igorot Beauty Queen
36. Untold Truths in Philippine History
37. Historical Bad Guys
38. Let's Play Detective: 3 Filipino Spies
39. The Great Balimbings in Philippine History
40. Notorious Pinoy Gangsters

Four Poems by Luisa Igloria That Appeared in The Missouri Review

These four poems by Luisa Igloria appeared in The Missouri Review: Editors' Prize Issue (Volume XXVII, Number 1, 2004). The Missouri Review is a literary journal published by the College of Arts & Science of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The short bio of Igloria that accompanied her published poems in the journal: "Luisa Igloria is a poet, fiction writer and essayist who has published five books under the name Maria Luisa Aguilar Carino. She is the editor of the new anthology Not Home, but Here: Writing from the Filipino Diaspora (Anvil, 2003). Luisa's work has appeared in numerous national and international journals."

The poems:
1. Field Planted to Winter Grass
2. The Return
3. Trill and Mordent
4. Mandorla

List of Books About Reddit

We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet's Culture Laboratory by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin (2018) - If you are interested in learning about the beginnings and history of Reddit, this is the book you should get. It's a detailed account of the website's humble beginnings and it's eventual rise to one of the most visited sites in the world. Brilliantly written and sharply reported, We Are the Nerds is a gripping read not only about Reddit but also about social media, digital technology, and digital entrepreneurship. This is not just a book about a famous website, how it was hatched, and how it rose to weld such immense online power. It can also serve as a guide book for people planning to build startups and organize online communities.

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, the author of the book, is an award-winning journalist who has covered entrepreneurship, emerging technologies, and culture for a variety of influential publications like the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, and Inc. Needless to say, she had the credentials to pen a book that gives justice to what Reddit is and what it represents. To gather information for the book, Lagorio-Chafkin did dozens of interviews with Reddit's founders (Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman) and employees. The book earned a Best Book of 2018 citation from the Fast Company magazine.

Without Their Permission: The Story of Reddit and a Blueprint for How to Change the World by Alexis Ohanian (2013) - What better way to learn more about Reddit than read a book about it that was written by no other than one of the co-founders. However, this book is more on how to run a website like Reddit than about Reddit itself. If you look for this book in a library or bookstore, it will be at the business section. Not history or autobiography. In fact, the book has a different title in an alternative edition. In the edition published by Grand Central Publishing, the title of the book is Without Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed. This should give you an idea as to the contents of the book.

In this book, Ohanian puts forth his business philosophies - the same exact business philosophies that enabled him and his co-founder to build an immensely popular and successful digital property. Ohanian offers his tips and ideas on how to harness the power of the internet to create communities and potentially change the world for the better. Ohanian puts on a teacher's hat and breaks down the steps on how to take an idea and turn it into a real online business. In Ohanian's own words, "I'm writing this book to inspire as much as to inform."

The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors by Spencer Jakab (2022) - The topic of this book is a perfect example of the power that Reddit holds. Within Reddit are thousands of close-knit and knowledgeable communities that can accomplish almost any goal they set their eyes on. During one crazy week in January 2021, financial traders on Reddit's "wallstreetbets" subreddit brought some of Wall Street's biggest players to their knees. This was the GameStop squeeze and it's the main focus of this detailed and riveting work of journalism by Jakab. Jakab dissects how the controversial squeeze unfolded and how it affected Wall Street in the short-term and in the long-term.

The Revolution That Wasn't isn't just a historical account of the GameStop controversy. It's also an enlightening explanation of online brokerages, investments, profit motives, financial mechanisms, and technological innovations and how all of these play a part in the game that is Wall Street.

Goodfire by Bea Mandapat (Author) and Ivan Reverente (Illustrator)

Goodfire is a children's book written by Bea Mandapat and illustrated by Ivan Reverente. The book was published in 2022. The book was an Honorable Mention awardee at the 2021 Salanga Prize, a literary prize given by the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY). The book is about the life and works of Cordilleran inventor Enrique Laguinia.

According to the Mt. Cloud Bookshop in Baguio City, Goodfire is a "beautifully-drawn book that depicts the life of Kee from his childhood in Baguio and surviving the Japanese occupation to his diligent work behind the invention of the Goodfire stove."

"Kee was many things throughout his life: a tinkerer, wormpicker, medical aide, cook, inventor, and entrepreneur. After surviving the odds during the Japanese occupation, he gathered his life experiences - from the wartime medical tents, to the back kitchen of their family restaurant - and turned these into a force for good. With an unstoppable curiosity and years of hard work, he created a stove that continues to power the livelihoods of thousands of Filipinos to this day."

Resolve: From the Jungles of WWII Bataan, the Epic Story of a Soldier, a Flag, and a Promise Kept by Bob Welch (Book)

Excerpt:

On April 3, all hell broke loose on Bataan. Some one hundred Japanese aircraft and far more pieces of ground artillery hammered American and Filipino soldiers, turning Mount Samat into a virtual inferno in the process. After a rugged battle, the "rising sun" flag now fluttered atop the mountain, an ominous sign suggesting that the Japanese now controlled the Mariveles Mountains and that the U.S. garrison on Bataan could not hold out much longer. And it didn't. By April 8, the American lines had been broken more than once.

The wounded and weary trickled south into the Little Baguio area where Conner was, first dozens, then hundreds, escaping the pursuit of the Japanese Army. Men who'd seen too much. Bloodied, Hobbled. Some without weapons, their ammo having been depleted long before.

Meanwhile, a buddy of Conner's was among a group of men ordered to fly the air corps' final four planes off Bataan and to the safety of the nearby island of Cebu. Conner hurriedly gave the man a three-word message to have sent home by telegram: "Everything under control."

Conner was ordered to report to Mariveles. Once at the town on the southern tip of Bataan, he heard the familiar thrum of plane props above. In seconds the bombs exploded right and left of him. Five navy men dove into a huge foxhole that had been dug next to one of their buildings. When a bomb landed nearby, the concussion caved in the trench, burying all five alive. Conner helped dig out their bodies.

He gathered with other officers for the hurried briefing. General Jonathan Wainwright had, that morning, ordered three battalions of infantry - about three thousand men - to Corregidor. In addition, he wanted the medical corps sent, too, including all nurses. As a result, the port town of Mariveles churned in chaos, the air thick with diesel exhaust and dust. Trucks, buses, and cars rumbled in from points north, unloading soldiers and nurses. Civilians begged for spots on boats. Children cried. Soldiers dragged bags, equipment, and whatever resolve they could muster, the black, the volcanic-ash beach littered with equipment.

All this played out to the unsettling thump of bombs, which echoed and re-echoed off Mariveles's finger-like cliffs in defeaning blasts. Amid the commotion, as if frozen within the frenetic madness beyond, a young nurse in army fatigues sobbed. It was Helen Summers, who had spent time with Conner and Rocky in the Empire Room on New Year's Eve. Only moments before, aboard a bus to Mariveles, another nurse, Hattie Brantley, had come to where Summers was sitting. A chaplain wanted to see her.

Tree by F. Sionil Jose ( a Novel in the Rosales Saga)

Tree is a historical novel by F. Sionil Jose. It's the second book in the author's The Rosales Saga series. These are also referred to as the Rosales Novels. There are a total of five books in the series. Aside from Tree, the other four are Po-on, My Brother My Executioner, The Pretenders, and Mass. Tree was published in 1978 by the La Soliradidad Publishing House, a publishing outfit also owned and operated by F. Sionil Jose himself. 

From the back cover: 

 TREE is the story of a boy growing up in a small Ilokano town, surrounded by friends below his social class, by relatives and doting servants who have served his family all their lives. It is also a story of oppression and compassion. TREE belongs to Francisco Sionil Jose's largest body of work known as the Rosales novels. Like much of his fiction, it depicts man's continuing and often futile search for justice and moral order.

Francisco Sionil José was born in 1924 in Pangasinan province and attended the public school in his hometown. He attended the University of Santo Tomas after World War II and in 1949, started his career in writing. Since then, his fiction has been published internationally and translated into several languages including his native Ilokano. He has been involved with the international cultural organizations, notably International P.E.N., the world association of poets, playwrights, essayists and novelists whose Philippine Center he founded in 1958.

Excerpt (the first three paragraphs of Chapter 1):

THIS IS a journey to the past - a hazardous trek throughbyways dim and forgotten - forgotten because that is how I choose to regard many things about this past. In moments of great lucidity, I see again people who - though they may no longer be around - are ever present still; I can almost hear their voices and reach out to touch them - my friends, cousins, uncles and aunts and, most of all, Father.

My doctor says that it is good that I should remember for in memory is my salvation. I should say, my curse. This then is a recollection as well, of sounds and smells, and, if the telling is at times sketchy, it is because there are things I do not want to dwell upon - things that rile and disturb because they lash at me and crucify me in my weakness, in my knowledge of what was. So it was - as Father had said again and again - that the boy became a man.

I am a commuter, not between the city and the village, although I do this quite frequently; not between the inane idealism of the classroom and the stifling reality beyond it, which I must do for survival and self-respect. I am a commuter between what I am now and what I was and would like to be and it is this commuting at lightning speed, at the oddest hours, that has done havoc to me. My doctor flings at me cliches like "alienation", "guilt feelings", and all the urban jargon that have cluttered and at the same time compartmentalized our genteel, middle class mores, but what ails me are not these. I can understand fully my longing to go back, to "return to the womb" - even the deathwish which hounds me when I find it so difficult and enervating to rationalize a middle-aged life that has been built on a rubble of compromise and procrastination. It is this commuting, the tension and knowledge of its permanence, its rampage upon my consciousness that must be borne, suffered, and vanquished, if I am to survive in this arid plateau called living.

Kwentillion: a Million Stories to be Told (Magazine)

Kwentillion: a Million Stories to be Told was a magazine published in January of 2012. It was edited by Budjette Tan and Paolo Chikiamco. The magazine was intended to be a bi-monthly magazine but no succeeding issues were ever produced.

Contents of the magazine:

1. The Last Datu by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo
2. Poso Maximo by Robert Magnuson
3. The Secret Origin of Spin-Man by Andrew Drilon
4. The Apocalypse Can Wait: YA Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2012 by Chachic Fernandez and Tina Matanguihan
5. I Love Fan Fiction (Or, Three Reasons Why It's Good to Muck About in Other People's Playgrounds) by Anna Sanchez
6. Interview with Manix Abrera
7. Interview with Chester Ocampo
8. High Society by Paolo Chikiamco and Hannah Buena
9. Glossary of Terms
10. Skygypsies by Timothy Dimacali and John Bumanglag
11. How to Draw a Tikbalang by Josef Rootgum and Kajo Baldisimo
12. Myth-Troduction: Philippne Folk Magic by Paolo Chikiamco and Mervin Malonzo
13. Tarie's Take: The Need for Filipino Young Adult Literature by Tarie Sabido

Here's the Editors Note for the magazine:

Past, Present, and Future

Hello there! Welcome to Kwentillion. Welcome to the future. Or at least, the future we'd like to see.

It's funny that what you have in your hands now is a little bit of our Past: both of us grew up inspired by Other Worlds, worlds of magical science and complex fantasies, worlds that could suck in young readers and ignite their imaginations. Even as adults, these are the kind of stories we love to read and create. These are the stories we love to share.

But Kwentillion is also about our Present - more specifically, what we think our book shelves could use more of, right now. The young adult market is booming, with some of the most exciting stories and certainly the most devoted set of fans -- but what publications exist that specifically cater to them? Kwentillion will fill that void, and more, serving not only as a place to discuss our existing fandoms, but a place to create new ones that will be as familiar as they are fantastic, with heroes and heroines who look like us, adventures inspired by our own unique mythology, aliens who land not in New York but in Manila, or Cebu, or Davao.

We aim to do this by tapping the great well of talented Filipino creators. And in so doing, hopefully help them connect with a wider audience.

Those are big words, fighting words - but that's to be expected. We were raised on stories where amulets can grant immortality and orphan gamers can save the galaxy. We can't help but dream big. There are a million stories - a million kwentos - out there for the telling, and we want them all.

This is the Future we wish for. With your help, it's a Future we can realize. Welcome to Kwentillion. May your monsters always fall. And your starships always soar.

EDITORIAL

Editors: Budjette Tan, Paolo Chikiamco
Art Director: Frantz Arno Salvador
Contributing Artists: Kajo Baldisimo, John Bumanlag, Hannah Buena, Melvin Malonzo, Andrew Drilon, Robert Magnuson
Contributing Writers: Andrew Drilon, Chachic Fernandez, Tina Matanguihan, Anna Sanchez, Tarie Sabido, Paolo Chikiamco, Budjette Tan, Robert Magnuson

Author Marcus Sedgwick Dead at 54; Cause of Death Not Announced

The British writer Marcus Sedgwick has passed away today. He was 54 years old. A prize-winning and beloved author, Sedgwick has penned over 40 books. These works range from books for adults, young adults, non-fiction, and academic essays. Sedgwick was also an accomplished illustrator and musician.

In a statement, Sedgwick's agency RCW said: "It is with deep regret that RCW announces the unexpected death of author Marcus Sedgwick. His family and close friends request privacy at this very sad and difficult time."

Floodland, Sedgwick's debut novel was published in 2000 by Delacorte Press. The book won the Branford Boase award. Sedgwick's books have been shortlisted for more than 30 literary awards. These include four nominations for the Guardian children's fiction prize, two for the Edgar Allan Poe award, and five for the Carnegie medal. He has also been accorded recognition by the Printz award. In fact, he currently holds the record as the most noted writer in the history of the Printz award.

Awards and Honors:

1. Won the Branford Boase Award for Floodland in 2001.
2. Won the Michael L. Printz Award for Midwinterblood in 2014.
3. Won the Booktrust Teenage Prize for My Swordhand is Singing in 2007.

Messages:

"We are very sad to learn of the unexpected death of Marcus Sedgwick. Marcus leaves an incredible legacy of award-winning, powerful writing for young readers, and we are proud to publish a number of his remarkable books on the Hachette Children's Group list. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time." - Hachette Children's Group

"I am immensely saddened and shocked by the loss of my friend, the author Marcus Sedgwick. Not only had I known him for half my life, we also collaborated on three books. Goodbye, old friend. Thanks for all the wine and laughs. And of course, for your brilliant books, which will keep you here in the world forever. Rest in peace." - Thomas Taylor, Author/Illustrator

"Stunned and devastated to hear the sad news this morning that children's book author Marcus Sedgwick has passed away at only 54 years old. He was a hugely talented writer, created a potent sense of atmosphere in his work like no other. Inspiration to many. Thoughts with his friends, family and of course his brother Julian." - Emma Carpendale

"He was a superb writer, and did things that no one else was doing in YA. I only met him a couple of times, but could see why he was so loved by his family and friends. Such a loss." - Anthony McGowan

"I'm sad to hear of the death of Marcus Sedgwick. A gentle and helpful friend and a fearless writer." - David Almond

"Hard to express how important Marcus Sedgwick was to me over the last year. He was always on the end of the phone with words of comfort and wisdom and I already miss him. A kind, funny, generous soul. He wasn't half bad at writing either. Just heartbroken." - Sarah Crossan

"My heart is completely crushed, and I'm in total shock. The loveliest, gentlest, and most talented man, who I've got to know over this last year. What a loss to all of us, and my thoughts are with everyone close to him." - Stuart White

Stephen Loman Vs. Bibiano Fernandez Results Prediction

Stephen Loman (Team Lakay) will get a chance to cement his position as the next fighter in line for the One Championship bantamweight belt when he locks horns with the division's former champion, Brazil's Bibiano Fernandez, on November 18 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. If he beats the always durable Fernandez, it leaves no doubt that he is the next fighter to get a crack at the title. The top of the division is in a bit of a quandary right now. John Lineker, the champion, recently fought the top contender Fabricio Andrade but the bout ended as a "no contest" due to an accidental knee. This means if Loman gets past Fernandez, he has some waiting to do. It's very probable that Lineker and Andrade will run it back. Whoever wins the rematch will face Loman as the next challenger.

However, the question is can Loman get past Fernandez? Let's find out.

Power - Loman has the upper hand here. His KO/TKO rate is at 38% compared to Fernandez's 8%. It's not going to come as a surprise if Loman wins via knockout. For a small guy, Loman has powerful hands. It's also worth mentioning here that Fernandez has been knocked out twice in his career. If Loman can consistently land his power punches, it's going to be a short night for him. Fernandez's last fight was back in March wherein he was brutally knocked out by Lineker. It's difficult to recover from a loss like that. Most especially if you are a 42-year old veteran like Fernandez. When it comes to power, Loman has the upper hand. [Loman]

Experience - Fernandez is older and way more experienced than Loman. He has been at the top of his division for so long so he has faced all challenges. He has fought the best and the toughest fighters out there. When you have been in the game for this long, there are certain aspects of fighting that you learn and implement within the cage. Fernandez is a very smart fighter who knows how to adjust as a fight goes on. Loman is only 30 years old and he hasn't reached his peak yet. When it comes to experience and using experience as an advantage inside the cage, Fernandez has the upper hand. [Fernandez]

Quality of opponents - Fernandez has consistently fought highly-ranked opponents. That's a given because he's been at the top of his division for so long. His list of former opponents include Kevin Belingon, John Lineker, Martin Nguyen, Andrew Leone, Reece McLaren, and Dae Hwan Kim. Loman started fighting in ONE only last year (2021). Prior to signing with ONE, he fought and became champion in Brave, a Middle East-based promotion. They have good fighters in Brave but their roster are several levels below that of ONE. So when it comes to the quality of their former opponents, Fernandez gets the cake. [Fernandez]

Wrestling and grappling skills - One of the biggest reasons why Fernandez became a dominant champion is his wrestling and grappling skills. Of his 24 career victories, 9 came by submission. That's a testament to his skills on the ground. He often outwrestles and outgrapples his opponents. Loman, on the other hand, has only won 2 fights via submission. He's still good on the ground but not on the level of Fernandez. That said, Fernandez wins in this department. [Fernandez]

Ways to win - Loman has good power so it won't be surprising if he wins via KO or TKO. This is his main path to victory. Fernandez, on the other hand, has several paths to victory. He can take the fight to the ground and outwrestle/outgrapple Loman enroute ot a decision win. Fernandez is also a submission specialist so this is another path he can exploit. If the fight remains on their feet, Fernandez still has the upper hand. Loman is not a very aggressive fighter. He often likes to work as a counter-striker. This won't be a good strategy against Fernandez. Fernandez is an expert in accumulating enough points to win a fight. [Fernandez]

Fight IQ - Both fighters are very smart fighters. They know how to exploit their opponent's weaknesses and strengths. They are both great counter-strikers. The only difference between them is that Fernandez has more experience. However, he's alsomuch older so that evens things up. In this department, it's a draw. [Draw]

With these things in mind, what is our result prediction for the upcoming bout? Here are our top predictions. 1 being the most probable and 5 being the least probable.

1. Fernandez via decision
2. Loman via decision
3. Loman via knockout
4. Fernandez via submission
5. Draw

Revisiting Marxism in the Philippines: Selected Essays (Book)

Revisiting Marxism in the Philippines: Selected Essays is a book published in 2010 by Anvil Publishing, Inc. and the University of the Philippines. It was edited by Patricio N. Abinales.

Table of Contents

Preface
Marxism Under Marcos and Beyond by Patricio N. Abinales

I. Ideologies
1. The Millenarian - Populist Aspects of Filipino Marxism by Francisco Nemenzo Jr.
2. Some Randon Reflections on Marxism and Maoism on the Philippines by Armando Malay Jr.
3. Marxism and Christianity in the Philippines: 1930-1983 by Mario Bolasco

II. Political Economy
1. Marxism and the Peasantry: The Philippine Case by Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista
2. On the Mode of Production in the Philippines: Some Old-Fashioned Questions on Marxism by Ricardo D. Ferrer

III. Strategy and Tactics
1. The Dialectics of Kaluwagan: Echoes of a 1978 Debate by Armando Malay Jr.
2. The Filipino Left at the Crossroads: Current Debates on Strategy and Revolution by Alexander R. Magno
Bibliography
References
The Authors/Editors

The Authors/Editors

1. Patricio N. Abinales is Professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Hisforthcoming book History and Orthodoxy in the Muslim-Mindanao Narrative, 1898-2008 will be published by Ateneo de Manila University Press. He is currently doing research on the politics of rats, mosquitos, pandemics in the Philippines.

2. Mario Bolasco was Philosophy Department Chair and Honors Program Head at St. Scholastica's College, Manila until the time of his sudden death in 1992. His papers were collected posthumously (1994) in Points of Departure: Essays on Christianity, Power and Social Change, edited by Edicio dela Torre.

3. Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista is Professor of Sociology, former Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman, and former Executive Director, Center for Integrative and Development Studies, University of the Philippines.

4. Alexander R. Magno is Professor of Political Science, columnist, Philippine Star and former Director, Third World Studies Center, University of the Philippines, Diliman.

5. Armando Malay Jr. is Professorial Lecturer of Asian Studies and former Dean of the Asian Center, University of the Philippines, Diliman.

6. Francisco Nemenzo Jr. is Professor Emeritus and former President, University of the Philippines.

7. Ricardo D. Ferrer is Former Associate Professor of Economics, University of the Philippines, Diliman.

Revisiting Marxism in the Philippines

Questions to Guide You When Writing a Literary Analysis

For the past couple of days, I've been reading The Book of Books: Explore America's 100 Best-Loved Novels. This is a large and thick tome that talks about the most beloved novels in America. After going through the list, it's safe to say that the titles included in the list can also be considered as the most beloved books not just in America but in the world.

Anyway, at the end of the book is a little section called "How to Read a Literary Text". It's a list of questions (and the corresponding explanations) that a reader can use to analyze and better understand a literary text. It struck me that these are also the most important questions that a reader should ask when writing a literary analysis or literary critique.

If you ever find yourself writing an analysis of a piece of writing, these questions can help guide you through the process:

1. What is the point of view? Who tells the story? Is the narrator reliable or unreliable>
2. What is the setting of the novel? What kind of world is being portrayed?
3. What's the order of events? How is the work structured? Why is the story told in the order that it is?
4. When does the action take place? Over what time period? In what era? Now, the past, the very very past? The future?
5. What kind of language is used? Descriptive? Straightforward? Plainspoken? Lofty?
6. What's the pace of the novel? Fast? Slow? Does it take place over a day, a month, a decade?
7. What form does the work take?
8. What are the key ideas or themes?
9. What are the recurring images or symbols?
10. Put yourself in the shoes of the main character. What would you do differently? How would you feel if you were put into the same situation?
11. What drives the main character? What does he or she want? What obstacles stand in the way?
12. How well do the characters understand the situation they are in? What do readers know that characters don't?
13. What is the primary conflict of the story?
14. What other books did this book remind you of?
15. If you could ask the author one question, what would it be?
16. How do the characters change? What do they learn?
17. What's the title of the work, and why does it matter? How does it set up your expectations before you begin reading? How does your understanding of the title change after you've finished?
18. What strikes you about the names used for characters and places in the novel? What kind of information or insight do you get from these labels?
19. How does the era of the book's composition play into the novel?
20. Would you want to be friends with the protagonist? Or is the protagonist unlikable? If so, why?

Moonlight on Manila Bay by Fernando M. Maramag (Poem) - Meaning and Analysis

This poem was supposedly published in 1912. It's difficult to verify if indeed this was the year that the poem saw print. If this is true, then the poem was published when Fernando M. Maramag was only 18 0r 19 years old. Maramag was born in 1893. A few years later in 1898, the Battle of Manila Bay happened. Commodore George Dewey of America decisively defeated the Spanish fleet thus marking the end of the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines.

In the poem, the narrator pays homage to a Manila Bay of old. He talks about a peaceful and innocent bay before the arrival of visitors from the East and the West. These visitors turned this peaceful bay into a tumultuous setting that betrayed what it once was.

A light, serene, ethereal glory rests
Its beams effulgent on each cresting wave;
The silver touches of the moonlight wave
The deep bare bosom that the breeze molests;
While lingering whispers deepen as the wavy crests
Roll with weird rhythm, now gay, now gently grave;
And floods of lambent light appear the sea to pave-
All cast a spell that heeds not time‘s behests.

- Here, the narrator travels back in time and takes us back to a simpler Manila Bay. A time when the breeze and the waves linger and roll without any care in the world. The moon watches over them with its beams and ethereal light. The narrator of the poem looks back at these scenes with nostalgia.

Not always such the scene; the din of fight
Has swelled the murmur of the peaceful air;
Here East and West have oft displayed their might;
Dark battle clouds have dimmed this scene so fair;
Here bold Olympia, one historic night,
Presaging freedom, claimed a people‘s care.

- In these lines, the narrator travels to the time when Manila Bay becomes the setting for events that transformed the history of a country. Wars have been fought and troubles have occurred in this little bay. The Chinese and the Japanese of the East have their fair share of moments in this bay. And of course, the Spanish and the Americans of the West have turned the bay into a battleground.

In the last two lines of the poem, Olympia is mentioned. During the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, the flagship of Commodore George Dewey was called USS Olympia. Indeed, this battle presaged freedom and captured the undivided attention and care of the Filipino people.

Other poems by Fernando M. Maramag: The Rural Maid, 

What Does It Mean to be a Rising Creator on Facebook?

I received a notification today on Facebook with regards to one of several pages that I manage. The notification congratulates the page for earning a spot in the top 1% of rising creators within a particular week. Below is a copy of the notification. The notification also came with a quick explanation as to what consitutes a "rising creator".

Congratulations, ___________, you've earned a spot in the top 1% of rising creators this week.

What's a rising creator?

*The rising creator title shows that your content has received strong audience engagement, while meeting quality, originality and integrity guidelines.

*The title now displays on your Page with your self-selected category and in creator recommendation units which may help grow your audience.

*The title is awarded for 1 week at a time, is re-evaluated weekly, and, when lost, can be earned again in the following weeks(s).

*Changing Page category may void a current rising creator title, causing its removal.

After receiving the notification, I checked the Page in question and yes indeed, it now has a Rising Creator badge.

What does this mean for your page?

It looks like there are two main benefits that a Page will reap if given a Rising Creator label. One, posts in the Page will be seen by more people. Getting the label means Facebook recognizes the content of the Page. Thus they will surely give the Page a boost in their algorithms. Another huge benefit of getting the label is that it will be easier for people to find and discover the Page. When Facebook announced the new feature, they specifically stated that the "Rising Creator Labels allow people to discover up-and-coming creators who are the best at building engaging communities on Facebook."

This is a great way to reward Page owners who work very hard to come up with original and engaging content. However, the label will only stay for a week. Facebook is basically saying that they will refresh the algorithm every week and if your Page doesn't meet whatever requirements they have, your Page will be booted out. It sounds a bit harsh but it makes sense and it's fair.

Imelda And The Clans: A Story Of The Philippines by Beatriz Romualdez Francia (Book)

Imelda And The Clans: A Story Of The Philippines is a book written by Beatriz Romualdez Francia. It was published in 1988 by Solar Publishing Corporation.

From the back cover:

Beatriz Romualdz Francia is an award-winning poet who has written a musical play, worked as a journalist, and written several columns. She has been described by Adrian Cristobal, president of the Writers Union of the Philippines, as being among the foremost women writers in the country.

Since age ten, she has been one of her aunt Imelda's closest observers and was jailed by the Marcoses in '72 for her fiercely independent writing.

She opened Cafe Los Indios Bravos, Manila's first literary cafe in the '60s, helped found a film society, ran her own art gallery in San Francisco, and was the librettist and co-producer of Mahal, a rock musical ("mind-blowing." according to one review) which ran at the CCP theatre and was televised as a TV special.

In San Francisco, Beatriz worked for a Republican think-tank, the Institute for Contemporary Studies.

Cyan Abad-Jugo Biography

Cyan Abad-Jugo is a Filipino writer, novelist, and teacher. She is the daughter of Gemino Abad (Fugitive Emphasis, In Another Light, The Space Between). She teaches Literature and Creative Writing at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Abad-Jugo graduated from Ateneo de Manila University when she was merely 19. She majored in English Literature. She has studied under Dr. Edna Manlapaz and Fr. Joseph Galdon for her writing classes. Her stay in Ateneo further developed her passion for writing and literature. During her stay in Ateneo, she was anactive member of Heights, the school's preeminent literary organization.

For her graduate studies, Abad-Jugo attended Simmons College in Boston in the United States. It's here that she earned her master’s in Children’s Literature. Her thesis adviser at Simmons College was Lois Lowry, famous American author of The Giver Quartet (The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son). She took her PhD in English Studies: Creative Writing and Anglo-American Literature at UP Diliman.

Abad-Jugo also took up writing classes taught by N.V.M. Gonzales (Bread of Salt, The Happiest Boy in the World, The Bamboo Dancers, The Winds of April). Other writers who have had an influence on her writing include Luis Katigbak (Happy Endings, The King of Nothing to Do, Dear Distance), Dean Alfar (Salamanca, A Field Guide to the Roads of Manila, How to Traverse Terra Incognita), and Nikki Alfar (WonderLust, The Mechanism of Moving Forward).

In 1996, Cyan and her father released a book they co-authored. They titled it Father and Daughter: The Figures of Our Speech. Published by Anvil, the book is a collection of stories, poems, and essays by the two Abads.

"My professors were so enthusiastic about the things that we had to read for class, that I couldn’t help but have their enthusiasm rub off on me.” - Abad-Jugo

Books by Cyan Abad-Jugo:

- Father and Daughter: The Figures of Our Speech
- Leaf and Shadow: Stories About Some Friendly Creatures
-Salingkit: A 1986 Diary
- Sweet Summer and Other Stories
- Motherhood Statements. Eds Rica Bolipata-Santos and Cyan Abad-Jugo
- Letters From Crispin
- The Earth-Healers
- The Looking-Glass Tree
- Yaya Maya and The White King
- Friend Zones: an anthology of short stories for young adults

The Martyr by Nick Joaquin (Poem) - Analysis

As per Wikipedia, a martyr is "someone that suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party". This is the general definition of a martyr. In the context of a romantic relationship, a martyr is someone who is more than willing to sacrifice everything in the name of love. This is the context that surrounds Nick Joaquin's poem The Martyr. The poem is about selfless love, blind love, uncompromising love, the kind of love that ignores everything to make the opposite party happy and free from any form of distress, emotional or physical.

The poem is about the ultimate romantic sacrifice. There's a saying in Filipino: "magpaka-martyr". This is exactly the content and theme of this poem. Now, as a reader, you can have your own opinion on the "magpaka-martyr" thing. You may think it's dangerous. Or you may think it's romantic. But it's something that exists. And very common at that. Love can enslave people. Love causes people to throw logic and reason out the window.

Being in love means never having to say you’re sorry
After all, at some point in your life
That love was the most important thing to you,
That love might be the one that you hoped would last forever,
That love made you believe that destiny does exist,
And that love made you question,
Why you were afraid to fall in love in the first place.

Lines 1-7: The speaker gushes with pride and nostalgia about falling in love, and rightly so. Everyone has been there. Meeting someone, falling in love, and believing that the universe has given you everything. According to the speaker, because of these reasons, you are not supposed to ever say sorry. Because saying sorry will be a betrayal of these things.

At that time in your life,
Everything just seemed so perfect,
Everything seemed so beautiful,
Everything seemed to glow for you,
And you were my everything.

Lines 8-12: The speaker trudges on with the superlatives he started on the first stanza of the poem. Love is perfect. Love is beautiful. Love shines on everyone. Love is everything.

I wouldn't even think twice about sacrificing my own happiness for yours,
I was even willing to bare up this walled but crumpled heart of mine,
Just so I could be with you.
All I ever did was care for you.
All I ever did was to make you happy.
And all I ever did was love you.

Lines 13-18: In this stanza, the speaker is now referring to the martyrdom of being completely and uuterly in love. A person in love will sacrifice everything for the person he loves. He is willing to be unhappy to make the loved one happy. He is willing to uncover his flaws and dark secrets just to be with his loved one. His only goal it to make the loved one happy.

Being in love means never having to say you’re sorry
But I needed to ask forgiveness from the one who was hurt the most…
Myself.

Lines 19-21: Here, the speaker divulges that there's a catch to never saying sorry to someone you love. In one way or another, there will come a time when you are going to say sorry. So if you are not going to say sorry to the person you love, who are you going to say sorry to? Your own self of course. Again, it's another sacrifice. Another show of martyrdom. You're a martyr of love. That's what martyrs do.