Life Goes On, Even Without My Consent

:::New Home:::

By the next couple of weeks, I'll be transferring to a new personal website. Why? Because events conspired to 'accidentally' charge me a website name (which I totally forgot) and now I'm stuck with a two year contract (which I can't cancel, stupid credit card system). So preparations are being made to make the transfer smooth and seamless, and I'll probably import all my posts to the new site, and keep this one for redirecting purposes. 

I'll keep it simple and plain, and probably just add the bare minimum add-ons. 

:::Another Stab at Writing:::

It's that time of the year again, Philippines Speculative Fiction V is now calling for submissions. I did try to join last year, but didn't get to finish the damn story, so now I've resolved to pass at least a finished product by deadline. If you're interested, here are the details:

Editors Nikki Alfar and Vin Simbulan are now accepting submissions of short fiction pieces for consideration for the anthology "PHILIPPINE SPECULATIVE FICTION V".

Speculative fiction is the literature of wonder that spans the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror and magic realism or falls into the cracks in-between.

1. Only works of speculative fiction will be considered for publication. As works of the imagination, the theme is open and free.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. Preference will be given to original unpublished stories, but previously published stories will also be considered. In the case of previously published material, kindly include the title of the publishing entity and the publication date. Kindly state also in your cover letter that you have the permission, if necessary, from the original publishing entity to republish your work.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. In the first four volumes, we had a  good mix of established and new authors. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story’s word count must be no fewer than 1,500 words and no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: nikkialfar@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted, unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: PSF5 Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – PSF5 Submission: Meeting Makiling 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any). Introduce yourself.

12. Deadline for submissions is October 15, 2009. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email. Target publishing date is February 2010.

14. Compensation for selected stories will be 2 contributor’s copies of the published anthology as well as a share in aggregrate royalties.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups.

Thanks,

Nikki Alfar

Vin Simbulan

Dean Francis Alfar

:::Because Chemistry is Fun::

Just gotta share this one. If you're a chemistry buff, a science geek or a guy looking to score for a quick knowledge about chemistry, here's a simple video.

State of Mind: Mind Numbingly Exhausted

Song of the Day: Ten Thousand Slaves by Otis Taylor

Book of the Week: Hellboy: Odd Jobs by Mike Mignola and Various Authors

Want/Need: More Storage Space