Malditang Librarian

Next month, I will be off on another journey! My free time will be limited so I might not be able to update this blog as often or even have time to read many books. I will write about that experience here, as well. I read seven books this month. I wrote two book reviews on this blog: God's Grace in Your Suffering by David Powlison Layb Life: mga kwento at karanasan ng isang Librarian by Michael Pinto Here are my other book reactions, we'll start off with the fiction first: Bloodline: a Star Wars novel by Claudia Grey I’m a new fan of Star Wars since The Force Awakens, and I’ve also been reading novels set in the Star Wars Universe. So far, I have read the Rogue One novelization , Guardians of the Whills   (links to my reviews), and Knights of the Old Republic: Revan . This book centers on Princess Leia Organa and her political career in an unstable Senate. The Senators are divided into two popular parties, the Populists, and the Centrists. Leia is with the ...

Avengers: Infinity War , directed by the Russo Brothers, started showing here last Wednesday. My sister and I have been semi-regularly following the MCU movies since Avengers in 2012. I have written my movie reactions to previous MCU movies in this blog: Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther (which I still think is the best). The Russo Brothers also directed two Captain America movies,  The Winter Soldier  and  Civil War.  I loved both, so I also had high expectations for this one. I'm just your casual fan, I don't have any more detailed knowledge of MCU lore than the average fan of the movies. Infinity War is the third Avengers movie, and they try to once again save the universe from a new enemy, Thanos. This movie also features characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, where Thanos was the main antagonist of the two films. As I'm writing this, it's pretty difficult to explain it to non-fans of this franchise. If you just watch Infinity War without previous knowledg...

Last Saturday, I decided to watch the 2013 film Island Dreams in Cinematheque Iloilo . There were only four people in the audience including me. I was attracted to the film's trailer, and I did like this movie. I'm not a big fan of the romance genre, but I'll read or watch a story if it's good. It has also won a few awards: it was included in the official selection in the 39th Metro Manila Film Festival under the New Wave Category and won the Most Gender-Sensitive Film Award. Island Dreams tells the story of Zach (Alexis Petitprez), a foreign tourist in a vacation, and Julie (Louise Delos Reyes), a girl who tries to work as a tourist guide so she can earn some money to go to the city to audition for a reality show, so she can have a chance to chase her dreams to be a singer. Julie lives with her blind mother, who always teases her about her love life. Julie cringes at the concept of love and is very cynical about it. The story starts when Julie tries to be a touris...

Last April 13, 2018, I watched the dance drama O'Layra: Princesa cang Dagat  (in English, O'Layra: Princess of the Sea ) live in UPV Auditorium. I saw the event advertised on Facebook and I was already interested in the poster and concept. At 150 pesos, I thought it would be a priceless experience. Their official Facebook page has more information and interviews with the key people of this production. A writer from Antique, Alex Delos Santos, posted a great review of this play . I'm writing my reaction as an ordinary viewer who just heard of the O'Layra legend. I'm not really a theater enthusiast, but you know I love stories and mythology. That's why I keep writing about books and movies in this blog. What I like about theater plays and movies is the audience response - when you are part of the crowd, you can feel their energy and feelings about the story. In this play, the audience laughed, cheered, and expressed dismay at the sad parts of the story. O...

Update: the seminar dates have changed to MAY 30-31, 2018 Link to Online Registration Invitation: Greetings! The Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI-WVRLC) and Central Philippine University (CPU) through its Review and Continuing Education Consultancy Center (RCECC) in partnership with the Philippine Theological Library Association (PTLA) is holding the PLAI-WVRLC International Summer Conference with the theme “Librarians in Action: Innovate and Collaborate” from May 30-31, 2018, at Central Philippine University Educational Media Center, Lopez Jaena Street, Jaro, Iloilo City. This conference has the following objectives: 1. Upgrade librarians’ competency in the field of research, IT, collaboration and linkage building, and standards and accreditation.  2. Provide librarians with opportunities to learn from high impact speakers from the Philippines and abroad. 3. Offer librarians the avenue to share their experiences and evaluate their competenci...

Last time, I wrote about " 5 reasons to enroll in a Master's degree ." Usually, you have to pass comprehensive exams for your graduate degree. These exams try to test your knowledge of the core subjects studied in your course. Not all programs have comprehensive exams, so be sure to check with the school or course coordinator if this is a requirement. I took my 'compre' last February, and here are my tips to do well on the exams. First, of course, if you already understood the basics of the subject and passed them, you don't have to worry much - be confident that you already know them, you just have to review. Schedule time to study. Often, comprehensive exams are scheduled each semester or school year. Decide when you will take the exam, so you can determine how much time you can devote to studying. Take note of the exam redo dates (in case you fail in some subjects and need to retake them). Often, we are juggling our graduate degree with a full-time ...

I started my Master's degree in Library Science last June 2016. It has been a rewarding experience. Two years after graduating college and working, I found that I missed going to school and learning. One of the reasons I studied for my Master's is so I can apply for jobs requiring a graduate degree. I have just finished my comprehensive exams last February, and I only have Thesis Writing left. In the Philippines, those who want to work as librarians but don't have a bachelor's degree in Library Science often opt to take MLIS or Masters in Library and Information Science so they can take the Librarian Licensure Exam and be professional librarians. In RA 9246, only BLIS or MLIS graduates can take the licensure exam. Often, higher-level or management jobs in the library (especially in Academic Libraries) require an MLIS. Another reason why I took up MLIS is that I felt that there was something lacking in my learning during college. Now that we are at the graduate le...