Thoughts About Identifying as a Filmmaker

It happened again this week. I mean, I guess it would make sense for why I’ve been asked about this more than once by now. When your day job oversees funding, distributing, and occasionally producing films (and a film festival), I can see how it would only be natural one would ask if you have any filmmaking aspirations of your own. So when a visitor asked if I am a filmmaker, I said no, but I did say that I am a screenwriter. He argued in saying that a screenwriter is a type of a filmmaker. But is it?

Writing Accomplishments of the 2010’s

In January 2010, I was still in high school. I was chief editor of the school paper, editor of the school literary magazine, member of the slam poetry club, with a bunch of other writing constantly happening on the side. I began the decade doing writing that either or may not have amounted to something, and whenever it was the former, it was frequently to the small audience of my high school and hometown.

Thoughts About NaNoWriMo REVISITED

I’ve touched on a lot of topics on this blog within my first year. In the five years since, it’s only right that my thoughts and opinions have changed and shifted overtime. Already, I previously revisited the topic of young adult fiction. Now, I want to do the same for NaNoWriMo. I feel it’s only right, especially since this year is the 20th anniversary since it was started.

In Support of “Steel Crow Saga” by Paul Krueger: Recommended Readings

I don’t always use this space to hype out over other author’s works. That’s usually what I use Goodreads for. But every once in a while, there comes along a book that is just so captivating, that to limit my thoughts about it to just a Goodreads review genuinely just wouldn’t be enough.

At the beginning of the month, I mentioned Paul Krueger’s latest novel, Steel Crow Saga, when I talked about the support that goes around for Filipino American authors and which ones usually get it. This was before I actually read the book myself. Since then, I took my time with reading it and I am so impressed with it, that I want to recommend the following readings in support of it, and in this particular order:

How You Tell a Story and How That Makes All the Difference

If there’s anything gained from the events that have happened over the last week, it’s that how a story is told can make all the difference in the long run. This is especially notable for when you’re recapturing events and occurrences that have happened in real life. It can influence one’s beliefs, determine one’s perception on things, and how they handle it.

Thoughts About Acknowledging Filipino American Authors

It’s October, which means it is now Filipino American History Month. It is a month devoted to reflecting on the historical events, experiences, and people who’ve shaped the path to where we are as a community now.

To mark the month-long occasion, Randy Ribay, author of the highly acclaimed coming-of-age novel Patron Saints of Nothing, wrote a guest post for School Library Journal where he talked about recommendations of Filipino American books written by Filipino American authors for all age demographics.

Thoughts About Young Adult Fiction REVISITED

Young adult (YA) fiction: This is a subject I’ve been wanting to revisit for quite some time. After spending part of this past week reading a favorite, Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl, I felt that now is just as good of a time to finally write about this topic again, after previously writing about it over five years ago. After all, thoughts and opinions about certain subject matter can change overtime, the more you learn and grow. In the case of YA fiction, my thoughts and feelings towards it have definitely morphed.

The One About Screenwriter Adele Lim

So this news is a little over a week old, but for the sake of its context, it’s something I wanted to dive into and dissect, while providing my personal take on it. After all, one of my long-term goals is to become a professional screenwriter myself, much like the bad-ass that is screenwriter Adele Lim.

What Did I Miss?: August 2019

Published Works

The Timing and Timeliness of ‘Hamilton’ – For The Nerds of Color, I dive into my experience of finally getting to see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical. (This is an altered cross-post of my post that was originally published here.)

Review of The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang – For Goodreads, I manage to write and present a quick overview of my thoughts on the second novel of this page-turning fantasy trilogy.

From “Greetings from Bury Park” to “Blinded by the Light”: The Making of a British Pakistani’s Cinematic Personal Story – For the Center for Asian American Media, I go in-depth on the making of this feel-good, motivating film, by way of conversation with the writer-director and writer.

The Significance of Iko Uwais in ‘Wu Assassins’ – For The Nerds of Color, I point out something special about the lead character of this fantasy-crime-martial arts Netflix series.

Review of Greetings from Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor – For Goodreads, I go over my thoughts about the memoir that served as the inspiration for the film, “Blinded by the Light.”

Other News

Chicago theater: ‘The Band’s Visit,’ ‘The Great Leap’ and more previews, openings Aug. 30-Sept. 5 – My Q&A with playwright Lauren Yee was quoted in this listing for her play, “The Great Leap,” in the Chicago Sun-Times. (To read the full interview with her, you can read it here.)

A Reminder From An Eternal Voice: Recommended Reading

This past week has, for lack of a better word, been heavy. Two more mass shootings happened less than 24 hours apart last weekend, that has left 31 people dead and many other people injured. Right after that, Toni Morrison passed away. It’s hard to write about anything else when once again, the people who’re supposedly our leaders refuse to listen to logic, and the words of Morrison remain as profoundly relevant than when she first wrote them.