Contradiction in Terms
You say to-may-toe; I say toh-mah-tah. Deal with it.
Sunday, August 24, 2003

assholes across the globe

In international news, some 6,000 people in Canada rallied together the other day to protest the legalization of same-sex marriage. 6,000 people, can you imagine? Just think what a group that size could do to help the environment, fight hunger, or alleviate poverty. But nooo, they'd rather spend their time preventing people in love from gaining rights and privileges as a legally-recognized couple. Their justification is that they are "trying to preserve the sanctity of the institution (of marriage)". As if hetero people haven't been royally screwing the institution up for years.

What's up with that?


bibliophilia

Just read Prey, by Michael Crichton. I whizzed through the book in one day, because Crichton does that to me-- his erudite scientific thrillers make me hustle through the pages until I can finally find out what the hell is going on! This one was as enthralling as the rest, a 'what-if' on the synthesis of nanotechnology and biotech. Surprisingly, it even managed to avoid Crichton's usual pitfall of vague and/or awfully pat endings. This one finished nearly as strong as it started, and was almost worth my having skipped dinner with friends to get through it. (Sorry, guys!)

Next on my list is Harem by Dora Levy Mossanen, which my doting husband bought me at The Bookstore Formerly Known As Page One (a.k.a. Fully Booked). Normally, I wouldn't risk getting a book by someone named Dora (smacks dangerously of romance novels, ugh), but this one is billed as a 'journey from the... Persian Jewish quarter to the... world of shahs, soothsayer, eunuchs, and sultanas...' Also: 'rich with myth, history, politics, fantasy...', which is so much my thing it's almost as if the book had been written with me in mind. In fact, I once upon a time wrote a similarly-themed pornographic comic titled The Harem of Ali Akbar, which may or may not still be available on the net. The characters from that story also appeared (in somewhat less risqué guise) in Dean’s comic book, The Lost.

Fully Booked is probably the best bookstore in the Philippines today, despite being overpriced and somehow rather pretentious. Its selection of titles is far superior to those of the competition (except possibly for Dymock's, which is located way out in the wilds of Manila, which is why I have yet to check it out). Particularly satisfying are the extensive sci-fi/fantasy section (much more than the usual run of gaming, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Robert Jordan books) and the eclectic range of trade paperback comics.
Nikki bit in at 9:10 PM :: ::
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illustration by El

Nikki Alfar is really not as sexy as El's illustration would have you believe... but she doesn't mind if you think of her that way.
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