Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature 2016

It's open season for hunting those award-winning ideas! I wonder if I'll find my turkey this year? I haven't been feeling so writerly lately but who knows? There's still some time.

Posting the submission link here to remind myself and everyone else that they'd better whip out those laptops (or pens) before the deadline bites. Submission Form Here

The Wisdom of Apathy

They say "Expectation is the mother of all frustration." And so a lot of advice columns say to get rid of expectations and instead, focus on what you see and take things for what they are. But the fact of the matter is that it's in our nature to expect and be frustrated. Frustration exists for a reason. Discontent pushes people to speak up, pick up the hammer and tear down the wall that is the status quo. For instance, if we just looked at how politicians steal national funds for self-gain and say, that's just how things are, what did we expect? Sure, our emotional state would be in dead tranquility. But no, a lot of us (quietly) think, that's not how things should be. If a friend or colleague is frequently late for appointments, don't we expect an explanation or apology? We expect people to fulfill their promises, else why would we even bother with plans and agreements? A lot of human society is built around these contracts. A lot of things require us to EXPECT. And there's nothing wrong with thinking ahead or wanting more out of things as long as one actually works for that vision. So tired of hearing these sorry excuses for wisdom.

"Exchange", my poem is now available at Strange Horizons

"The imaging test declares her "Tumor"— my embryologic twin. But she is my sister, with a name she once mouthed to me in dreams."--read the rest here.

Interesting Take on Cultural Appropriation

"So are Beyoncé and Coldplay bad people? No, but that's not the question. They are hugely successful musicians who may have unintentionally shed light on just how Hollywood sees India and its entertainers, which is to say not at all. Failing to meaningfully include those entertainers runs the risk of making invisible the very communities from which they're drawing their inspiration. "

-Jamilah King, article here

I posted the quote that really stuck to me the most. Instead of focusing on the nitpicky details, there could be some important benefits to hegemonic structures taking from otherwise minority cultures. Preservation, one of them.