Updates 2013 APR 21 Prostitutes, Human Rights, Political Campaigns, Horror Novels, Lafcadio Hearn The way I write

now is I have one major project, then I write little things on the side while procrastinating. This is what I'm doing right now. The idea is to have that constant stream of words. it is to allow for the mind to relax a bit, to allow for that ideal environment for the ideas to develop. It's also a way to deal with the little anxieties that routinely plague my head. I write about anything but the story I am working on. I could write about politics and religion, literature, the things I am reading right now, for example. Earlier I ventured out of the darkness of my room and into the livingroom and gazed at the television screen for a while, absorbing the psychic emissions from another political ad from another candidate from another rich and influential clan in this country. I have been reading lately this article from the journal 'Philippine Studies...' (Ateneo) about the karayuki-san in the Philippines. They were Japanese women who were sent to the Philippines and other countries during the late 19th century until the late 1910s as prostitutes. It was really interesting. I enjoin the reader to read it. http://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/download/1239/3893 There are two other articles in that journal which also talk about the issue of prostitution in the Philippines during the same period and a few years earlier. These are all new to me and thus are new additions to my store of knowledge. Another thing that I am trying to read is the United States current annual report on the human rights situation around the world. I went to the U.S. Department of State website and downloaded the pdf file regarding the Philippines. It was surprising to me how unbiased these reports are, given the belief I had that almost all documents that comes out of the United States government is propaganda. Obviously I need to be more scientific and unbiased in my approach to things. I am in page seven of said document. It is fifty pages in total. Overall, if you religiously follow the news here in the Philippines, there's nothing much new you'd learn from it. A quote from said document summarizes the 2012 human rights condition here: ""Leading human rights problems were the continued arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings by national, provincial, and local government agents and by antigovernment insurgents; an underresourced and understaffed justice system that resulted in limited investigations, few prosecutions, and lengthy trials of human rights abuse cases; and widespread official corruption and abuse of power. ""Other human rights problems included: continued allegations of prisoner/detainee torture and abuse by security forces; violence and harassment against leftist, labor, and human rights activists by local security forces; disappearances; warrantless arrests; lengthy pretrial detentions; overcrowded and inadequate prison conditions; killings and harassment of journalists; internally displaced persons (IDPs); violence against women; local government restrictions on the provision of birthcontrol supplies; abuse and sexual exploitation of children; trafficking in persons; limited access to facilities for persons with disabilities; lack of full integration of

indigenous people; absence of law and policy to protect persons from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; suspected vigilante killings; child labor; and ineffective enforcement of worker rights."" http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204231 Speaking of other horrors, I am reading this horror novel 'The Ruins.' It's about this group of friends and a recent acquaintance who are in vacation, who goes on a trip to help a new friend of theirs look for his brother in the jungles of Mexico. I am liking it so far. I like the writing style. The characterization is also good. Jeff is the responsible and knowledgeable one. Eric is the immature and easy-go-lucky type, who is going to be a teacher. I can't recall which of the two girls is which, as they still do not have their individual identities fully envisioned in my head. Pablo is the Greek acquaintance who goes with them. He does not Speak any Spanish and is deathly afraid of snakes. He drinks a lot. Mathias is the tall German scuba diver who initiated the whole trip, as it was his brother who went missing or who went away after a fight. Jeff and Mathias are the strong and dependable characters, while I think everyone else is unprepared to face the situations they found themselves in. Ninety percent finished with Lafcadio Hearn's 'In Ghostly Japan...', (one of my favorite writers for his choice of subject matters alone, besides his writing style) an essential and necessary read for any serious cultural understanding of Japan. I wrote a short review of it and posted it in another online account of mine in another website: ""In Ghostly Japan is Lafcadio Hearn's wonderfully-written long essay on various interesting subjects in Japan. He talks of supernatural and ghost stories, Buddhist proverbs, there's an interesting meditation on spirituality brought upon by the howling of his dog (I particularly liked this one because of its humor), the curious history and activities surrounding incense, on the science of divination, among other subjects. This is a must-read for any serious cultural understanding of Japan. Treat it as an introduction of sorts. What stands out is the writing of Hearn. It is warm and inviting. Though written more than a century ago, it is still highly readable. (Also I recommend his separate short essay 'On the Gothic' as it explains the reason for his fascination with subjects of this sort.)"" Mostly that is 'what's up' right now. I won't make these notes longer, just enough to give a general idea of the current mental environment I am in. My interests remain about horror and the gothic imagination, absurd and dark humor, urban legends, and other related unwholesome topics. ##

Horror, urban legends, creative writing, the ruins novel, lafcadio hearn, japanese horror, japanese anime, buddhism, human rights, philippine studies, prostitution in the philippines, prostitution in japan