The Wonderchild

Nail Tales Special Edition: CHUCK VS THE FINALE This isn’t...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:02:00 +0800

Nail Tales Special Edition: CHUCK VS THE FINALE

This isn’t really part of my NAIL TALES OF 2012 project. But one of my coworkers, Tash, asked me to try making a “Chuck”-inspired mani since our favorite action-comedy spy series has finally come to an end.

For the CHUCK VS THE FINALE the designs on each nail are:

Thumb: BUY MORE (the store where Chuck and his friends work at)
Pointer: Nerd Herder uniform (Chuck is a Nerd Herder, a sort of computer whiz/technician that helps people with their computer problems)
Middle: Wienerlicious uniform (Sarah, Chuck’s CIA handler/lover/wife, worked at the Wienerlicious, a hotdog fast-food resto which became one of her covers in the series)
Ring: Chucks sneaker (Chuck isn’t Chuck without the iconic black Chuck Taylors)
Pinky: NERD HERD

Hope you’ll like it! I’m really going to miss Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Ellie, Devon (Awesome!), Morgan and even Jeffster! Thanks for the five fantastic seasons!

The Many Disappointed Faces of Adam Levine

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:53:06 +0800

"The country star over me?"

"I can't believe it."

*Pout face*

"I'm speechless."

"Again? They're not choosing me again?"

"Unbelievable."

"I WON last year. Doesn't that count?"

"I'm smiling, but on the inside s#!@*.."

The Many Disappointed Faces of Adam Levine

Poster by Jon Defreest

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:15:07 +0800

Poster by Jon Defreest

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:13:38 +0800

Poster by Jon Defreest

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:12:10 +0800

Poster by Jon Defreest

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH - Steve Jobs quoting The Whole Earth...

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:29:54 +0800

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH

- Steve Jobs quoting The Whole Earth Catalog in his 2005 speech in Stanford.

So far, my favorite Page One layout of the year.

Kevin Hamilton: Now, I’m not pushing anything, but if you...

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:51:21 +0800

Kevin Hamilton: Now, I’m not pushing anything, but if you guys decide to take things to the next level make sure your wrap up the sausage.

- Awkward. Episode 11 “Fateful”

Why I love ‘Harry Potter’ fan fic

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:23:13 +0800

Why I love ‘Harry Potter’ fan fic:

rainydaysandsunsets:

Dear Dramione shippers of the world,

Today I woke up and flipped through my local newspaper’s Lifestyle section as I do every Saturday morning, when I paused, disconcerted, as I saw the word Dramione in neat print.

I thought I was hallucinating.

But I was quite sane. Here is the link to an article about Dramione written by Cake Evangelista. She has done a great service to our beloved fandom and ship. I have never seen a Harry Potter ship ever talked about in detail on a broadsheet before—and her article was published in the largest reaching daily newspaper in the country.

Go ahead, feel proud. I plan on scanning the newspaper and posting it too. :D Show her some love!

And now, incoherence

OHMYGOD DRAMIONE GOT PUBLISHED IN THE PAPERRRRR DRAMIONE DRAMIONE JHDGFHJDGASHGHJA

I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIPPPPP

People appreciate my crazy obsession! Thank you guys! Hahaha.

This post made me happy.

-Cake

Question: How can I live without “Awkward.”? Answer:...

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:03:07 +0800

Question: How can I live without “Awkward.”?

Answer: I can’t.

Dear Cake Evangelista of The Philippine Daily Inquirer (I hope you see this)

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:47:03 +0800

jacks-dick-is-small:

Your article on the September 24 issue about Harry Potter fanfiction was really amazing!

I cannot believe someone who is much, much older than I am appreciates Dramione fanfiction as much as I do!

Most of my friends are Dramione shippers too! I even convinced (with the help of really good fanfiction) a friend of mine who ships R/Hr to convert into a Dramione shipper!

I just want to tell you that I will keep your article forever and I shall show it to fellow Potterheads :)

-Maxine

Hi Maxine!

I’m glad that you liked my article. Thank you for appreciating my crazy, obsessive dorkiness. Hahaha. Harry Potter changed my life in so many ways and it’s nice to know that a lot of people feel the same way.

Even though I really love the books, I must confess that I will forever be a Dramione shipper. There’s nothing more amazing and touching than reading stories about redemption, change, forgiveness, acceptance and true love. I guess this is why Dramione stories will always have a special place in my heart.

Thanks again! And keep on reading!

Cake

Why I love ‘Harry Potter’ fan fic by Cake Evangelista

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:28:32 +0800

Why I love ‘Harry Potter’ fan fic by Cake Evangelista:

dramoan:

Forgive me, J.K., for I have sinned.

I’ve been a believer in the magic of Harry Potter since I first read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in fifth grade.

It was my mom who brought “magic” into my otherwise ordinary Muggle life. I was 11 then, and just like Harry when he finally read his Hogwarts letter, I had no idea my life was about to change.

Eight years after, I finished reading “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”—all its 759 pages. After closing the book, seeing the cover with the caped Voldemort and his red snake eyes, I realized something was amiss.

With the love and joy I felt after seeing the last sentence in the end of “Harry Potter” was sadness. Surprisingly, even dislike and hate, too. Sadness, because the story I have been obsessing about for more than half my life has ended.

And hate, because I, a Harry Potter fanatic for 12 years, truly hate the “Harry Potter” epilogue.

I can almost see Potter fans grabbing their wands now, itching to cast an Unforgivable on me. A true-blue Harry Potter fan can never hate anything written by Rowling. It’s crazy, criminal even, like mad Bellatrix finding joy in killing Dobby.

Justifiable

But, there are many reasons, some of them even justifiable, why I hated those last seven pages.

(Do you wonder how main characters, including Draco, were able to procreate all at the same time? Is Harry really that cruel to inflict on his child a totally outrageous name like Albus Severus? Yes, they were great Hogwarts headmasters, heroes of the war, but seriously? Albus Severus?)

But I confess, shamelessly, one major reason why I hate the epilogue is because I truly, firmly and indubitably believe Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were meant to be together.

It was all thanks to the numerous fan-created stories, or “fan fiction,” based on Rowling’s novels I’ve read in those months I waited for the books to come out. I found myself obsessed with fan fiction pairing Draco and Hermione, or “Dramione” in fan-speak.

Fan fiction isn’t a new phenomenon. It has always been a part of fan culture. It’s not only books that become the focus of these stories, but films and television shows, as well.

The rise of technology and the Internet made fan fiction more popular and accessible. Issues concerning copyright and plagiarism surrounded it, too. Some authors have even expressed their disapproval of fan fiction.

But Rowling isn’t one of them. In a 2004 BBC report, Rowling’s literary agent said the author was “flattered” that her fans had started to write their own stories based on her characters. Her only “concern” is these stories remain “noncommercial” and devoid of obscenity, her agent was quoted in the report.

I’ve butted heads with other fans regarding my Dramione obsession. One of my best friends, Thea, a Ron lover and a Harry Potter purist, would always remind me during my Dramione raves that “Draco and Hermione will never happen.” I also argued with another friend, a Draco and Ginny shipper, a pairing I intensely dislike.

But I also found allies in other fans who shared the same love for Dramione.

Literary criticism

In my third year in high school, I managed to convince my English teacher to let me write my literary criticism paper, our major project for the year, on a Dramione fan fiction.

The rest of my classmates chose legitimate literary works—films, novels—but I chose a topic that can’t be considered traditional literature. It’s literary, yes, but it’s derivative, unoriginal.

It was a long shot, but my teacher actually loved the idea. Serendipitously, as she later admitted, not only was she a Dramione “shipper” (follower), she’s a fan fiction writer, too!

I don’t know why, of all the pairings in Harry Potter fan fiction, I chose one so totally impossible as Dramione. Maybe it’s that line Dramione shippers often say, “There’s a thin line between love and hate.” Maybe I like the idea of giving Draco a chance to redeem himself. Maybe I’m just sentimental because the first fan fiction I read was Dramione. Or maybe I just like the idea of beautiful, blond, genius babies.

To this day, I still am a devout Dramione shipper.

The last movie may have come out and it felt like my childhood came to a close. But the magic of Harry Potter will live on. Not only because of Pottermore, but because of fan fiction too.

We fans are what make “Harry Potter” special.

Yes, Thea’s right, Dramione will never happen in the books, but it can happen in the imagination of the thousands of Dramione shippers all over the world.

Because as long as fans are inspired by Harry’s story, the magic will never end, epilogue or no epilogue.

Someone posted my article about Harry Potter fan fiction on Tumblr. Thanks for appreciating my craziness! <3

Support message is un-supportive. Note: To people who will...

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:21:52 +0800

Support message is un-supportive.

Note: To people who will correct me that the counter-spell for the Stunning Spell is “Enervate” or “Ennervate” please go to this link.

MAD ABOUT TV Hello, my name is Cake and I’m an addict—a...

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:47:18 +0800

MAD ABOUT TV

Hello, my name is Cake and I’m an addict—a television series addict.

I have been clean since May, and the four months I went cold turkey was the worst 120 days of my life.

Sure there were some nice Summer 2011 TV shows that kept me company during those cold, lonely nights. I celebrated Matthew Bomer Appreciation Day weekly (“White Collar”), befriended a progeny of Bastet (“The Nine Lives of Chloe King”), evaded the scariest, omnipresent, omniscient bitch in Rosewood (“Pretty Little Liars”) and relived my awkward high school life (“Awkward.”).

But nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the fun and excitement of the Fall Television Shows. Now that the “-ber” months are upon us, I can’t even put to words how excited I am to see my old favorites on the tube again.

How I missed thee: “Castle,”“Chuck,” “Community,” “Glee,” “House,” and “The Vampire Diaries.”

As all TV junkies know, September also marks the premiere of the new TV shows whose pilots were picked up by the Fearsome Five (Fox, NBC, ABC, CW and CBS) back in May. I, for one, am really excited by some of these promising new series.

To aid you in your future life full of nonproductivity and tired eyes (BI, much?), I’d like to present you my idiot’s guide to Fall 2011 Television.

(Read More)

"Potterless."

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:16:56 +0800

“Potterless.”

- in Unmagical Me: 23 and still no Hogwarts Letter

Oh Anderson Cooper! <3

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:57:14 +0800

Oh Anderson Cooper! <3

What is love?

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:14:46 +0800

What is love? Great minds have been grappling with this question through the ages, and in the modern era, they have come up with many different answers. According to the Western philosopher Pat Benatar, love is a battlefield. Her paisan Frank Sinatra would add the corollary that love is a tender trap. The stoner kids who spent the summer of 1978 looking cool on the hoods of their Trans Ams in the Pierce Elementary School parking lot used to scare us little kids by blasting the Sweet hit “Love is like Oxygen”—you get too much, you get too high, not enough, and you’re gonna die. Love hurts. Love stinks. Love bites, love bleeds, love is the drug. The troubadours of our times all agree: They want to know what love is, and they want you to show them.

But the answer is simple. Love is a mix tape.

-Rob Sheffield in Love is a Mix Tape.

Happy Birthday Harry James Potter!

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:24:35 +0800

Happy Birthday Harry James Potter!

amenfashion: Also in readable format at:...

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:30:41 +0800

amenfashion:

Also in readable format at: http://www.vmagazine.com/2011/07/from-the-desk-of-lady-gaga-2/?page=1

Beautiful.

"Being a fan of “Harry Potter” is like being in love. You can’t eat. You..."

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:54:37 +0800

“Being a fan of “Harry Potter” is like being in love. You can’t eat. You can’t sleep. You think of him every second of the day. You feel so blessed and lucky. You see good in everyone and everything. And every day is just like… MAGIC. ♥ ♥ ♥”

- Cake, 2011

writing our younger years: Harry Potter and Me #6: Dear Mr. Potter

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:15:00 +0800

writing our younger years: Harry Potter and Me #6: Dear Mr. Potter:

wecomeofage:

by Cake
submitted July 10, 2011

Wherever-My-Owl-Finds-You,
England

July 10, 2011

Dear Mr. Harry Potter,

Can I call you Harry? Am I being too forward? I’m sorry. I can’t help it; I feel as if I’ve known you for so long.

Because I do, Harry. I do know you.

You don’t know me, but I’ve known about you and your amazing, magical, albeit tragic, life.

I was there when Rubeus Hagrid dropped you off on your aunt’s doorstep at Little Whinging in Surrey. I was in Hogwarts, too, following you, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, even when the three of you entered the forbidden third-floor corridor. I was with you when you first faced Lord Voldemort. I was there, also eleven, scared out of my wits for your life.

I was in the Chamber of Secrets, wishing and hoping that you wouldn’t die at the hands (or should I say fangs) of Salazar Slytherin’s basilisk. And when Fawkes came, I was there with you, breathing a sigh of relief because I knew you will live.

I saw the happiness that radiated within you when you learned that you still had a godfather who would watch over you. I was so thankful for Sirius Black because I knew he was what you needed, a parent, someone who will love you, like I love you—unconditionally, forever.

I rooted for you during the Triwizard Tournament even if I knew your joining was a plot of Barty Crouch Jr. and Lord Voldemort. I cried with you when Cedric Diggory died, desperately wishing you hadn’t experienced such violence and cruelty. Because no one deserves that Harry, no one should ever witness someone die like that.

So when Sirius was killed, I knew… God, I knew… I cried and screamed with you in the Department of Mysteries. I’m sorry, Harry, because there was even a moment that I was angry at you, at your recklessness and naivete. But, I realized it wasn’t your fault, and I couldn’t help but question why this happened to you. Can’t life even give you a break? You’ve just met Sirius, you were going to live with him. And he was taken away from you, just like that. It was as if you didn’t deserve happiness, not even a little bit.

And then to add salt to the already festering wound, Albus Dumbledore was murdered. He was your rock, your beacon of hope and strength. He was everyone’s rock! And when he died, you were lost, I was lost. Oh Harry, you don’t know how much his death pained me, too, like a Crucio straight to the heart. I thought, and I’m really ashamed to say this, that you were giving up.

So I was so proud of you that you didn’t, that you forged on, determined to, once and for all, stop this evil from taking over the world. I fought with you during the Battle of Hogwarts, inspired by your courage and strength. Because I knew we will win. That good will still triumph over evil.

And when it was over, Harry, I knew you’ll finally get the happiness and peace in your life that you deserved.

Harry, you haven’t met me, but I consider you one of my best friends. You haven’t even seen my face, but I loved you … love you.

Because Harry, you are—incontrovertibly, indubitably and eternally—one of the most important people in my life. You changed me and my life in so many magical ways. You gave me my lifelong friends—all five wonderful women who grew up with me, who grew up with us.

Without you even knowing it, you are… were my life for twelve long years.

Some ignorant people would say that your story is about to end, but it won’t. Because you will live on, Harry, in our imagination and in our hearts. You will live for another twelve years, then for twenty-four, and then even after I’m gone. You will live on forever, Harry.

Thank you, Harry, for those twelve happy, tragic, exciting, magical, life-changing years.

I will never forget you.

Your best friend,

Cake