2023-12-30 17:29
I’ve not been inclined to celebrate the arrival of a new year, not when Palestine continues to be under attack from Zionist Israel at the time of writing. Still, the past year has been… Read More
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Fly(er) On The Wall Blog
flyeronthewall.wordpress.com
Parenthetical ramblings on history and culture, with a modicum of wonder
2023-09-29 21:01
Opted for Oppenbarbieheimer, as one does. Had a lousy month in the middle of two spectacular months. But wait — there's more! Read More
2023-06-30 03:47
Looks like this is how it's going to be from now on. Made two trips to Bukidnon. Watched a lot of Netflix. But wait — there's more! Read More
2023-03-30 22:12
So... I've been away awhile Read More
2023-02-28 00:49
Itinerary, packing list, and more on the day hike to Mintugsok last February Read More
2022-12-31 15:37
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-Two, I — Spent the very first week of the year with an awful tonsilitis that made it difficult to breathe, and a sudden onslaught of dep… Read More
2022-08-31 02:09
This week's spotlight is on Elisa A. Bonnin's two YA fantasy novels Dauntless and Stolen City. The last in a three-part WIKATHON interview series with Filipino creators! Read More
2022-08-18 11:18
This week's spotlight is on Mae Coyiuto's international debut Chloe and the Kaishao Boys. The second in a three-part WIKATHON interview series with Filipino creators! Read More
2022-08-11 04:39
The spotlight is on Catherine Dellosa's first YA fantasy Of Myths and Men. The first in a three-part WIKATHON interview series with Filipino creators! Read More
2022-04-30 15:42
Watched a yassified retelling of an old fairy tale. Ignored bad reviews for two movies that really deserved it. Started my first actual anime in years. But wait — there's more! Read More
2022-03-30 19:31
Watched a record number of TV shows, mostly K-dramas. Read a record number of so-so books, mostly romances. (One offset the other.) But wait — there's more! Read More
2022-02-28 05:31
Read some, watched some, and doomscrolled in a single week more than I have ever doomscrolled in my entire life. But wait — there's more! Read More
2022-02-22 06:30
Chores were forgotten. Errands were postponed. By the time I was ten pages into Allison Saft’s new romantic fantasy A Far Wilder Magic, I knew I was not going to return to the real wor… Read More
2022-02-18 13:52
Ever read a cozy fantasy slice-of-life before? Here are my highlights and spoiler-free comments on Travis Baldree's first-ever novel Read More
2022-02-11 16:50
To kick off a new blog series, here are my highlights and spoiler-free comments on Nghi Vo's multi-awarded novella. CONTINUE READING Read More
2022-01-30 19:02
To catch upcoming February weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 0 1
☞ Kicked off my reading for the new year with Fonda… Read More
2022-01-28 10:58
2021 had been a gentle but eventful year for the Sunnybook Farm server. On that first year, we grew to over seventy members; had our first movie nights, sprints, and hangouts; and talked abo… Read More
2022-01-22 10:52
If there is anything I’ve learned in all my years as an educator and an all-around organization freak, it’s the power of a good spreadsheet. Last year, after a three-year ban, sp… Read More
2022-01-22 10:52
If there is anything I’ve learned in all my years as an educator and an all-around organization freak, it’s the power of a good spreadsheet. Last year, after a three-year ban, sp… Read More
2022-01-01 01:05
In hindsight, 2021 had been a good year. I like to think I had muddled through it as well as one can in one’s situation, though I exited with unmet goals, and plans that were left half… Read More
2021-12-31 15:50
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-One, I —
Underwent a massive bout of introspection about my high school experience on the first night of the year. Unearthed, but… Read More
2021-12-31 06:20
To catch upcoming January weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 4 8 & 0 4 9
☞ Continued Courtne… Read More
2021-12-30 14:18
Behold! my favorite articles, thinkpieces, and media that did not make it into the July to December wrap-ups. A girl’s got to declutter her hoard of bookmarked pages somehow.
… Read More
2021-11-30 15:40
To catch the upcoming December weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 4 4 & 0 4 5
☞ Saw the film… Read More
2021-10-31 01:29
To catch the upcoming November weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 3 9
☞ Rewatched A Cinderella Story on the very first… Read More
2021-09-30 15:57
To catch the upcoming October weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 3 5 & 0 3 6
☞ Got sad and s… Read More
2021-08-31 02:13
To catch the upcoming September weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 3 1
☞ Properly, intentionally watched the following… Read More
2021-08-29 17:49
We moved houses more than once when I was a kid. When I was much younger and far more clever, I learned to talk about experiences in relation to the home address I wrote on school forms at t… Read More
2021-07-31 06:18
To catch the upcoming August weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 2 6
☞ Saw America: The Motion Picture on Net… Read More
2021-07-23 17:53
Caravaggio, Portrait of a Courtesan (c. 1597, oil on canvas)
The Forgotten Dialect of the Heart— Jack Gilbert (1994)
How astonishing it is that language can almost me… Read More
Golden Gates Of Retreat, Asian Americans, And The Unique Wisdom Of Teen Girls — A Quarterly Digest
2021-07-01 18:05
Behold! my favorite articles, thinkpieces, and media that did not make it into the April to June wrap-ups. A girl’s got to declutter her hoard of bookmarked pages somehow.
d… Read More
2021-06-29 18:02
To catch the upcoming July weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 2 2
☞ Cracked open my copy of The Anthropocene Revi… Read More
2021-05-31 14:19
To catch the upcoming June weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 1 7
☞ Read Leigh Bardugo’s The Six of Crows&n&hell…Read More
2021-05-29 03:10
One blustery weeknight during my college sophomore year, I was out having dinner with a friend from the dormitory, at a chicken barbecue place behind Katipunan Avenue that has long since… Read More
2021-05-20 08:11
When I was a high school freshman over ten years ago, I moved on from scribbling poetry and began writing novellas — in accordance with this tweet from @LibraryLydia. Most of my works… Read More
№ 14. The April Wrap-Up — In Which Far Too Many Things Are Accomplished On Far Too Little Energy
2021-04-29 19:01
Behold! the things I got up to this month. To catch the upcoming May weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 1 3
☞ Finished… Read More
2021-04-20 04:04
One among the many reimaginings of artifacts stolen from the National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad following the US invasion in 2003. Installation by Michael Rakowitz (2019)
The American Secur… Read More
2021-04-11 04:43
On this day five years ago, I published my very first post on a free WordPress site called FLY(ER) ON THE WALL. The post was a lazily written review of the Filipino card game Politricks, whi… Read More
2021-04-04 06:29
Around two decades ago, I was in elementary and well on my way towards becoming a Best Library Borrower, a title bestowed at the end of the school year on the student who had borrowed the mo… Read More
2021-04-01 01:08
Behold! my favorite articles, thinkpieces, and media that did not make it into the January to March wrap-ups.
❝ The Marriage Law of Jane Austen’s World ❞
Jane A… Read More
2021-03-30 17:56
Behold! the things I got up to this month. To catch the upcoming April weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!
W E E K 0 0 9
☞ Binged… Read More
2021-03-23 19:24
At long last — the community of my dreams! Sunnybook Farm is a humble little online space I’ve created on the social media platform Discord, a place for Filipinos who love storie… Read More
2021-03-16 15:06
In the days leading up to March 16, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Francis I tweeted the following message:
While joyful and well-intentioned in the eyes of the leader o… Read More
2021-03-12 02:14
Three years with dorm choir in college . . .. . . plus four years with glee club in high school, makes seven years altogether.
I. Choir voices
1. Soprano2. Alto3. Tenor4. Bass5. Sopran… Read More
2021-03-07 16:12
There is a grave in Greenhills Memorial Park that has never been visited for as long as I can remember.
Of the numerous lots owned by the affluent Roa family in Cagayan de Oro’s… Read More
2021-02-27 20:32
(To catch the upcoming March weekly digests as I churn them out, please check out my Ko-fi page!)
W E E K 0 0 5
☞ Saw Striptease (with Demi Moore) on Netflix. Tr… Read More
2021-02-23 06:48
In the last few weeks, I have turned memories of high school over and over in my head, prompted occasionally by hot takes on social media. Contrary to what most coming-of-age films claim, I… Read More
2021-02-19 06:15
The Ateneo de Manila History Department recently kicked off this year’s History Lecture Series with Dr. Francis A. Gealogo’s “Sakuna: Isang Leksikograpiyang Pangkasaysayan… Read More
2021-01-31 05:38
(On the last day of every month, I shall compile here the weekly digests of my media consumption, plus other meaningful bits that have caught my eye that month. To catch the upcoming Februar… Read More
2021-01-25 17:39
In the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-One… It occurred to me that I have only ever written recaps of the last two years, with no small or subtle doses of pity-partying on th… Read More
2020-12-31 15:36
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty, I — Briefly rejoiced the return of Atossa Kabob, home of the best beef sisig in Cagayan de Oro City (it would re-close a few months lat… Read More
2020-05-13 07:11
Sometime in March, before the coronavirus pandemic rocked the world as we knew it, @qarloscuiapo posed this question on Twitter: “If you had all the resources / time / privilege / tale… Read More
2020-04-02 10:52
What’s all this about? In the wake of president Rodrigo Duterte’s latest media briefing late into April 1, 2020, the Filipino social media scene exploded with both calls for his… Read More
2020-03-20 05:08
(This is the first Smorgasbord Special in three years, to cite at least one positive outcome of this writer’s COVID-19-induced quarantine.) 1. Poetry in the time of coronavirus Last Ma… Read More
2020-01-22 09:10
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one expresses desire to become a history major in college, people’s automatic assumption is that one wishes to enter the academe, presu… Read More
2019-12-31 14:00
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Nineteen, I — Got a brain MRI and some other laboratory tests done. Got dragged into being the Master of Ceremonies at the Corpus Christi senio… Read More
2019-03-03 12:32
It is that most wonderful time of the decade again when the divisiveness of current events and electoral activity wreak havoc on relationships. The fray is so remarkable in that it is not on… Read More
2018-06-12 14:37
During the anniversary of the declaration of Philippine independence two years ago, the local social media scene was notably awash with posts showcasing the trademark Filipino ability to fin… Read More
2018-04-24 02:00
She was but one of your number, one out of the one thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight; and I knew how her name ought to have been spelled; I knew her face well, knew the table where she s… Read More
2018-02-27 02:00
In Westminster Abbey — John Betjeman (1958) Let me take this other glove off —As the vox humana swells, And the beauteous fields of Eden —Bask beneath the Abbey… Read More
2018-02-27 02:00
In Westminster Abbey — John Betjeman (1958) Let me take this other glove off —As the vox humana swells, And the beauteous fields of Eden —Bask beneath the Abbey… Read More
2017-08-05 09:39
Good times; good times. Ang Shit Member ng Thesis. 1. Mareklamo pero Mayabang2. Matalinong Bossy3. Tamad at Ninja4. Mema pero Walang Alam5. Hindi nag Babayad — Ambula (@AmbulaArt) Augu… Read More
2017-07-22 13:45
There is something relaxing — therapeutic, even — about teaching. To the rational, no-nonsense reader, this may sound contradictory: my first-ever semester as an instructor in co… Read More
2017-04-29 15:59
(On weekends, a smorgasbord of discoveries made both offline and online will be featured here, to celebrate how the Internet is full of oddities and ideas from the real world.) 1. Murder on… Read More
2017-03-21 15:35
You Have to Be Careful — Naomi Shihab Nye (reprint. 1995) You have to be careful telling things. Some ears are tunnels. Your words will go in and get lost in the dark. Some e… Read More
2017-02-17 15:00
Humor, it has been said time and again, is so deeply ingrained in Filipino culture that not rarely does it take on an escapist function in a bleak situation. It is particularl… Read More
2017-02-11 15:30
(On weekends, a smorgasbord of discoveries made both offline and online will be featured here, to celebrate how the Internet is full of oddities and ideas from the real world.) 1. Mia … Read More
2017-01-14 15:59
(On this first post of the new year, a smorgasbord of discoveries made online will be featured here, to make up for how the real world was more disappointing than not last 2016.) 1… Read More
2016-12-19 01:00
Suitcase in the trunk The car is Pristine as a hearse Carrying me past My friend’s former house My dead friend’s house Through streets Still awash with mud To the chapel Where my… Read More
2016-12-13 15:00
The Bard of Avon once wrote, “These violent delights have violent ends,” as a line with which a sympathetic friar from his most famous love story counsels the young mal… Read More
2016-11-24 02:00
On midday of November 18, 2016, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was stealthily buried in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, despite an order from the Supreme Court that was still subject to… Read More
2016-11-22 02:00
2016 has been a most horrible year so far, to say the least. It saw the downfall, if not death, of a handful of well-known and decent persons; it also saw the rise of some relatively un… Read More
2016-11-15 15:58
Even before the final quarter of this year draws to a close, there are already predictions that 2016 will go down in history books as a year when nothing seemed to go right. W… Read More
2016-11-05 18:26
(On weekends, a smorgasbord of discoveries made both offline and online will be featured here, to celebrate how the Internet is full of oddities and ideas from the real world.) 1. Beren… Read More
2016-10-20 01:00
1. Just A Feeling — 2. Wipe Your Eyes — 3. Out of Goodbyes 4. Nothing Lasts Forever — 5. How — 6. Mus… Read More
2016-10-15 16:30
(On Saturdays — really, one tries — a smorgasbord of discoveries made both offline and online will be featured here, to celebrate how the Internet is full of oddities and ideas f… Read More
2016-09-24 15:30
(Every Saturday — well, one tries — a smorgasbord of discoveries made both offline and online will be featured here, to celebrate how the Internet is full of oddities a… Read More
2016-09-15 02:00
Recently released outside their countries of origin, Shin Godzilla (2016) and Train to Busan (2016) make for excellent back-to-back screenings for anyone looking to… Read More
2016-09-13 10:13
Originally posted on Things We Like: People replying to email conversations I had long forgotten about Ham-and-cheese-and-pineapple pizza The names Isobel and Isolde A time capsule in Manila… Read More
2016-09-03 15:00
(Every Saturday, a smorgasbord of discoveries made both offline and online will be featured here, to celebrate how the Internet is full of oddities and ideas from the real world.) 1. E•… Read More
2016-08-27 07:00
(Every Saturday, a smorgasbord of discoveries made both offline and online will be featured here, to celebrate how the Internet is full of oddities and ideas from the real world.) 1. Thinkpi… Read More
2016-08-20 00:00
(The Internet is full of oddities and ideas culled ultimately from the real world, and this post is to be the first of a weekly series that celebrates that fact. Every Saturday, a smorgasbor… Read More
2016-08-16 01:00
Released the week before last, the Warner Bros. film Suicide Squad (2016) was met with mixed reviews, setting ablaze DC fans, Marvel fans, critics, and bandwagoners alike. Despite a sco… Read More
2016-08-11 00:00
In a recent rally in the United States, Republican candidate Donald Trump made his usual tirade against Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, but with an extra kick that left his supporter… Read More
2016-08-09 02:00
The subject of love and heartbreak is not hard to find on mainstream media: it has been the concern of many an artistic or literary work since the earliest civilizations. From movies to… Read More
2016-08-06 00:00
Funeral Blues — W.H. Auden (1938) Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out th… Read More
2016-08-02 02:00
(The following essay was submitted in 2012 to an Experimental Writing course at the Ateneo de Manila University. Save for typographical corrections and visual enhancements, the ori… Read More
2016-07-12 00:00
A sea of periwinkles, fuchsias, and tangerines is the meadow behind Mr. Leslie’s house. She bolts through the meadow, for he is calling her name. My rabbit, I am here. She bolts throug… Read More
2016-07-07 02:00
When he was still president, Noynoy Aquino had not been known for his tact and sensitivity: The Mamasapano and Kidapawan incidents were but two testaments to that. For a man who claimed to a… Read More
2016-06-28 01:00
Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable — or so writes the Mexican poet Cesar A. Cruz. If this sentiment is to be twisted around, then the Philippines’… Read More
2016-06-24 13:45
Tagged: Ateneo de Manila University, dormitory, poetry Read More
2016-06-19 00:00
Whether one is the head of a nuclear family or of an entire nation, there is no denying that alongside motherhood, fatherhood is one of the noblest professions of all time. In Philippin… Read More
2016-06-16 01:00
Part of the timeless appeal of the seven-book Harry Potter series is from its author J.K. Rowling‘s (b. July 31, 1965) proclivity for and attention to detail, despite nine ye… Read More
2016-06-12 14:14
National independence is no laughing matter; countries that have once been or that continue to be colonized — like the Philippines — would know that better than anyone. Nonethele… Read More
2016-06-12 14:14
National independence is no laughing matter; countries that have once been or that continue to be colonized — like the Philippines — would know that better than anyone. Nonethele… Read More
2016-06-12 14:14
National independence is no laughing matter; countries that have once been or that continue to be colonized — like the Philippines — would know that better than anyone. Nonethele… Read More
2016-06-07 00:00
1. Do The Hippogriff — 2. This Is he Night — 3. Magic Works Rumors about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though Harry didn’t believe half of… Read More
A Retrospection On The Shelves Of A Juvenile Literatus; Or, Recommendations For Children’s Reading
2016-05-30 16:30
In this day and age of the .epub format, the 21 titles that follow do not constitute the sole canon of children’s literature; nor does the list claim to be comprehensive. The… Read More
2016-05-30 16:30
In this day and age of the .epub format, the 21 titles that follow do not constitute the sole canon of children’s literature; nor does the list claim to be comprehensive. The… Read More
2016-05-30 16:30
In this day and age of the .epub format, the 21 titles that follow do not constitute the sole canon of children’s literature; nor does the list claim to be comprehensive. The… Read More
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