I was a guest on a podcast recently and was asked how I got into horror film. I told the hosts that I didn’t watch horror movies until I started writing horror fiction. I realize that I was wrong. The first horror “film” I saw was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” MJ is problematic now, but I […]
Read more
This is a late post since I read this book before the pandemic. Mongrels a coming-of-age story about a boy who lives with his aunt and uncle. The three of them are wanderers: always in poverty, always on the move, the adults never seeming to hold down jobs, the kid being swept along in their […]
Read more
Made gising-gising. This is a vegetarian version that uses patis and vegan bagoong for umami and chili chutney for heat because I had no chilis on hand. It’s… okay. It lacks the savory sweetness that pork offers as well as the bite that fresh green peppers can bring. But all in all, not bad for […]
Read more
A friend sent me ginataang ube made with ube halaya from Baguio, black rice from Kalinga, and kamote and bananas from Tagaytay. I’d been craving ginataan for a while so this was a lovely surprise. And it was delicious! It was still warm when I got it, just freshly cooked. I’d never had ginataang ube […]
Read more
A friend sent me a bag of produce which included these citrus fruits. I really admire their farm because, among other things, everything it grows is organic, and it really does try to give its farm employees decent wages. Agriculture and food security are big now, and a lot of people are taking advantage of […]
Read more
No one in the novel is a saint or a devil, but everyone is human.
Read more
What happens when Clark Kent is born in a world where the Superman comic exists? Where Clark is named after the fiction superhero’s alter ego, something which hounds him all his young life but also leads him to happier times when he gets older? A friend lent me this graphic novel before quarantine happened, and […]
Read more
Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to immerse myself in an activity that requires a lot of physical motion and very little critical thought. Working in the kitchen is one such activity. I made masala chai, which I like doing from scratch. Masala chai is Indian spiced tea. It’s made by brewing black tea with […]
Read more
I’ve always been interested in graphic design but also have no idea where to start. I know what I like and can usually tell when something’s off, but unfortunately do not have the vocabulary to explain why this is so. I learn best when reading about something then experiencing it firsthand after, so that I […]
Read more
This is a late post, as I read this book when I was still using this journal, which should be around April or May. Victor Lavalle’s The Changeling follows Apollo Kagwa, a man whose father disappeared when he was young and later, whose wife commits a violent act before she too, disappears. This description is […]
Read more