MikeLigalig.com

Analysts said that the deal price â€" which was set right at the top end of the indicative price range of P18 to P20.50 â€" was not cheap. But they noted that offshore investors were likely banking on the favorable Philippine macroeconomic backdrop alongside rosy long-term prospects for LTG.  On news of LTG’s equity deal, the company’s shares surged by 11.11 percent to a record high P23 per share.

“It’s good that they were able to sell at that price.  Probably it’s due to the good timing as there’s a lot of interest in Philippine stocks and they (overseas investors) are looking for something big aside from the usual large-cap stocks such as those from the Ayala or SM groups,” said Joseph Roxas, president of local stock brokerage Eagle Equities Inc.

Prior to the LTG deal, the two largest IPOs completed in the country were those conducted by tycoon Henry Sy-led SM Investments Corp. and budget carrier operator Cebu Air Inc.  SMIC raised P28.8 billion in 2005 and Cebu Air, P23.33 billion in 2010.

By Doris C. Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:10 pm | Wednesday, April 17th, 2013


MANILA, Philippinesâ€"Timely riding on the country’s newly minted investment grade rating, tycoon Lucio Tan-led conglomerate LTG Group Inc. raised $920 million from the sale of stocks in a landmark equity deal that commanded unprecedented global investor interest and hefty market premium.

The equity offering set a new record as the largest initial public offering (IPO) or re-IPO done in the local market and its pricing of P20.50 per share marked a 21 percent premium to the three-month average prior to the deal.

The most graceful tree in the world...

Gracefully hungry tree...

Gris bipor mils...

Kahoy nga dili grispol...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 17, 2013, 04:03:34 PM
namit ni paisang ni haw.

Indi paisang, kilawong hang pinakanamit ani nga bibi pangoling...

The latest SC order comes on the heels of a decision on the 2010 case between Homer Saquilayan and Emmanuel Maliksi of Imus, Cavite which reversed the Comelec’s ruling on the issue. A week earlier, the Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling on the party-list system that effectively dismissed the poll body’s basis of its purge of party-lists.

The series of decisions unfavorable to the Comelec prompted Brillantes to ask whether the problem lay with him, or that he may have been very strict in implementing election laws.

“Hindi ko naman gusto ito e. Nagtatrabaho lang ako rito while making the reforms necessary pero kung TRO, TRO lang at tsaka may status quo ante, bakit ko naman pahihirapan ang sarili ko rito? (I did not want this. I’m just doing my job while making the necessary reforms but if all we get are TROs and status quo ante, why will I make my life difficult?),”he declared.

The Supreme Court also dealt the Comelec a setback when it issued a temporary restraining order against its decision ordering the removal of an oversized poster linked to the Reproductive Health Law hanging outside a Bacolod Church.

With less than a month before voting day, Brillantes assured the public that preparations for the May 13 polls will not be affected by whatever decision he makes as most of the work has been delegated to Comelec’s senior staff and are already in the implementation stage.

When asked if he feels his efforts have gone for naught, he said: “Hindi naman. Meron kasi akong mga ambisyon. Meron akong gusto… (Not really but there are things I want to accomplish),” said a teary-eyed Brillantes, who abruptly ended the interview and headed back to his office. -- http://ph.news.yahoo.com/

Hmm, bason long lost bradir ka sa mga Kims haw?

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 17, 2013, 03:52:12 PM

Thanks for your photo, Bay Tobs. May-ong kagid kay Kim...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 17, 2013, 04:15:28 PM
“With this series of decisions coming from the Supreme Court…sabi ko para naming lumalabas na sila na ang nagpapatakbo ng election. Akala ko ba kami? (It appears the Court is now the one running the elections. I thought it was supposed to be us),” a highly emotional Brillantes said.

Kaluoy tawon. Ubanon jud ani si Sixto sa konsimisyon.

By Mikha Flores, VERA Files | Tinig Ng Botante â€" 19 hours ago


A Supreme Court ruling suspending the implementation of new airtime limits for candidates is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Commission on Elections, prompting Chairman Sixto Brillantes to consider resigning less than a month to go before the mid-term elections.

He is taking time off for a day or two in order to think things over before speaking to President Benigno Aquino III, he told reporters on Tuesday.

This followed the high court’s status quo ante order that practically lifts the airtime limits the poll body has set on television and radio advertisements: an aggregate of 120 minutes for television and 180 minutes for radio for national candidates. In previous elections, the airtime limit was on a per station basis.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday voted 9-6 to issue the order suspending the limits based on a petition filed by media organizations TV5, GMA7, BomboRadyo and senatorial candidate Alan Peter Cayetano.

“Why issue the TRO now? Or the status quo ante now? Hindi namin maintindihan (We don’t understand),” the election chairman said.

“With this series of decisions coming from the Supreme Court…sabi ko para naming lumalabas na sila na ang nagpapatakbo ng election. Akala ko ba kami? (It appears the Court is now the one running the elections. I thought it was supposed to be us),” a highly emotional Brillantes said.

Kim Jong-Nam





The eldest son of Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Nam carries the family penchant for bizarre behavior proudly. In 2001, he was arrested in Narita International Airport in Japan on a fake Dominican passport with the Chinese name Pang Xiong (which fittingly translates to “fat bear” in English). When questioned, he admitted he was trying to go to Disneyland of all places. -- http://listverse.com/

How Kim Jong-un outmaneuvered his brother to gain control of the country is unclear, with speculation based on the frailest of character sketches because North Korea has managed to keep a near-perfect seal on biographical information about Jong-chul.

Fujimoto, in a 2003 tell-all book about life with the Kims, described the young Jong-chul as effeminate and uninterested in politics. Chinese experts and visitors to North Korea have also been quoted - in US State Department cables released by WikiLeaks and in the Japanese press - as describing Jong-chul as a video game devotee who was often sick.

Beginning around 2005, experts began to say that Jong-un was favoured by his father.

Some experts say that Jong-chul could have an unlisted position in the Workers' Party, based on rumours from high-level defectors, and that he could one day emerge publicly.

"But right now," said Cheong Seong-chang, an expert on North Korean leadership at the Seoul-based Sejong Institute, on the outskirts of Seoul, "he is supporting his brother by staying silent and keeping out of the public eye."


http://www.theage.com.au/world/the-missing-brothers-of-kim-jongun-20130108-2ce2o.html#ixzz4mAq0zLZJ

Kenji Fujimoto, the former Kim family chef who briefly returned to Pyongyang last summer, meeting with Kim Jong-un, said that "at present, in North Korea, Mr Kim Jong-nam possesses zero power, zero influence".

Experts say Jong-chul and Jong-un, born to the same mother, might be closer. They attended the same international school in Bern, Switzerland, with several years of overlap, and later the same military university in Pyongyang.

Their mother, Ko Young-hui, was neither Kim Jong-il's first love nor his official wife - he met her when she was performing in a state dance troupe - but many researchers say she was his favourite. Almost 10 years ago, state media began referring to her as the nation's "respected mother". North Korea watchers say the designation was significant: They thought her oldest boy, Jong-chul, was being groomed as successor.

Experts think that Kim Jong-il remained married to his official wife - Kim Young-sook - throughout his relationship with Ko Young-hui. Young-sook had only one child, a daughter.

Little is known about the true relationships between Kim Jong-un and his brothers. Kim Jong-il's seven children - born to one official wife and a series of mistresses - were raised in separate households across the country. A former Kim family sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, said last month in Tokyo that Jong-nam and Jong-un have never even met.

Jong-nam - Kim Jong-il's child from an illicit relationship with an actress - was raised in near-isolation, according to the memoir of an aunt who helped raise the boy and later defected. Jong-nam had a massive playroom of toys, restocked annually by a team of globe-trotting purchasers. But Jong-nam felt he was living in a "luxury prison", according to the memoir. When, as a teenager, he had an unsanctioned relationship of his own, his father threatened to send him to the coal mines.

Still, analysts presumed that Jong-nam, as the oldest son, was the heir apparent. But his chances probably evaporated in 2001, when he tried to enter Japan - with the hopes of visiting Disneyland - with a fake Dominican Republic passport. Jong-nam has since lived overseas.

Jong-chul, who is thought to live in North Korea, was last seen in public at a 2011 Eric Clapton concert in Singapore.

As for Jong-nam, he once led a lavish but secluded lifestyle in Macau, Asia's gambling capital, where he wore European designer brands and gave occasional doorstep interviews to Japanese and South Korean media. But he hasn't spoken to the press since January 2012, when he criticised North Korea's hereditary power transfer and predicted trouble ahead for his half-brother. Yoji Gomi, a Japanese journalist, said Jong-nam also cut off contact with him after exchanging emails for several years.

In October, a man claiming to be a North Korean agent said he had been ordered to kill or injure Kim Jong-nam by staging a car accident in China. The allegation came after the man was arrested in South Korea for unrelated activities - he said he had been sent there to monitor defector groups. The man, whose name was not given in court documents, said his orders to harm Kim Jong-nam came from North Korea's state security agency in 2010, the year Kim Jong--un was officially anointed as successor.

The plan unraveled, court documents said, because the agent said he couldn't track down Jong-nam in China.

As the young leader now tries to consolidate power, he has no apparent plans for his brothers, who represent potential rivals whom "other elites could coalesce around," said Ken Gause, an expert on North Korean leadership at CNA, a US-based analysis organisation.

But Kim is believed to be grooming his youngest sister as an aide. That mirrors the strategy once used by his father, who gave his own younger sister considerable power but banished his half-brother into diplomatic exile. These days, Kim Jong-il's younger sister - Kim Kyong-hui - remains a major figure in North Korea, part of an inner leadership circle that also includes her husband.

Even before Kim Jong-il died 13 months ago, Kim Jong-un's brothers led secretive lives - particularly Jong-chul, who has been photographed only a few times and has never spoken publicly. But after Kim Jong-un ascended to power, both brothers withdrew almost entirely from public view, though experts emphasise that it's unclear whether they are acting under orders.

Their absence, North Korea watchers say, is integral to the personality cult that emphasises Kim Jong-un's unique suitability to run the nuclear-armed nation. In state propaganda, Kim Jong-un is depicted as an only son, his inheritance predetermined and uncontested.

North Korea has had just three leaders in six decades - Kim Jong-un, his father and his grandfather - but the hereditary handoffs, in reality, have always caused bitter behind-the-scenes competition.

Kim Jong-un was chosen by his father, Kim Jong-il, over his older male siblings, Kim Jong-nam, now 41, and Kim Jong-chul, 31. Kim Jong-il also had four daughters.

Kim Jong-un is portrayed in North Korea's official state media as a leader without comparison, blessed with a supreme bloodline, flanked by a supportive wife and endowed with the "brilliant" ability to revamp the economy, command an army and guide the space program.

But one thing is notably absent from these descriptions: any mention of his two brothers, both of whom were once rumoured to be heirs to the family-run empire.

Quote from: islander on April 17, 2013, 12:11:34 PM
asa man ang mga ginikanan ni whang? 

Gadanghag lang sa pagbasa, ay...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 17, 2013, 11:36:19 AM
Sa milabay’ng adlaw gikuha na sa mga ginikanan ug kabanay sa Koreyano ang abo niini human nga gi-cremate ang patay’ng lawas ni Whang.

Rothko dessert

Donald Judd tomato soup

Mondrian cake

The story of the Blue Bottle café is itself a heartening tale of modern creativity. It was founded by Freeman’s husband, James â€" a former professional clarinet player and hobbyist coffee-roaster â€" in 2002, after he started experimenting with roasting coffee at home and began selling his drinks at Bay Area farmers’ markets. A few years later, he dreamed up a cafe at Rooftop Garden of the SFMoMA and approached them with the idea. The museum loved it. Meanwhile, Caitlin had just sold her own pastry business, so the timing was perfect for her to bring her talents to the newborn venture. The rest, as they say, is modern history.

By: Maria Popova
http://www.brainpickings.org/


Edible masterpieces from the pastry chef at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.





As a lover of modern art, Mondrian-inspired creative projects, and unusual cookbooks, I was instantly enamored with Modern Art Desserts: Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections, and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art by Caitlin Freeman, pastry chef at the Blue Bottle café at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s, which she roams for inspiration, then translates the artwork into edible masterpieces. From Matisse parfait to Mondrian cake to Frida wedding cookies to Fuller hot chocolate, the recipes hit the spot for art-lovers and foodies alike, adding an extra layer of whimsical delight to the art of dessert.

Quote from: islander on April 17, 2013, 11:38:26 AM
wa lagi sa top ten si sharon cuneta.  i heard before nga siya ang top nga income earner sa entertainment media.

Apil si Sharon sa Top Ten among celebs, not sa overall...

Kris Aquino (Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino) - P49.8 million
Solenn Heussaff (Cynthia Marie Adea Heussaff) - P7.79 million
Derek Ramsay (Derek Arthur Paggao Ramsay) - P7.07 million
Piolo Pascual (Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual) - P6.98 million
Kim Chiu (Kimberley Sue Yap Chiu) - P6.71 million
Manny Pacquiao (Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao) - P6.10 million
Willy Revillame (Wilfredo Revillame) - P5.85 million
Ogie Alcasid (Herminio Lualhati Alcasid, Jr.) - P5.8 million
Sharon Cuneta (Sharon Cuneta Pangilinan) - P5.7 million
Ryan Agoncillo (Kristoffer Lou Ryan Agoncillo) - P5.59 million

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 17, 2013, 11:36:19 AM
Matud pa ni Lapulapu City Police Office Director Sr. Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas “case closed" na ang kaso ni Whang kay namatay na man kini.

Game over...

Ni Bong Soriano/EIM (Banat) | Updated April 17, 2013 - 12:00am


CEBU, Philippines - Koreyanong miinom og hilo human niya giingong gipatay ang iyang higalang babaye sud sa usa ka hotel sa barangay Basak sa dakbayan sa Lapulapu namatay sa tambalanan sa dakbayan sa Sugbu. Si Hyun Chul Whang, 29, sud sa duha ka bulan nga pag-antos sa tambalanan nakabsan gyud kini sa iyang kinabuhi sa milabay’ng Sabado.

Matud pa ni Lapulapu City Police Office Director Sr. Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas “case closed" na ang kaso ni Whang kay namatay na man kini.

Si Whang suspek sa kamatayon sa higala ug gikauban niini sa negosyo nga si Whenvy Jean dela Cruz Noel, 21, ug residente sa Brgy. Kalawisan sa dakbayan sa Lapulapu sa milabay’ng bulan sa Pebrero ning tuiga.

Andam na unta ang kasong murder nga ipasaka sa kapolisan batok ni Whang apan ila pang gihulat nga makahatag usab sa iyang habig ang Koreyano sa dili pa nila kini ipasaka sa korte.

Sa milabay’ng adlaw gikuha na sa mga ginikanan ug kabanay sa Koreyano ang abo niini human nga gi-cremate ang patay’ng lawas ni Whang.

Kahinumduman nga si Noel napalgang patay nga hubo ang lawas ibabaw sa kama nga nagkadugo sulod sa usa ka hotel sa Basak- Ibabao sa dakbayan sa Lapulapu, samtang si Whang nagbula ang baba ug gituohang miinom og hilo. Matud pa ni Lawas hangtod karon wala pa masayri kung unsa nga matang sa hilo o kemikal ang giinom sa Koreyano nga nakapa-comatose kaniya sud sa duha ka bulan. (BANAT NEWS)

Cool Balingsya look...

Quote from: islander on April 17, 2013, 11:01:41 AM
haaay, salamat wa ko maapil sa lista, hihihi.

Taks ibidir, ay...

Then there are cases of individuals who have incorporated their business, such that the income is earned by the corporation, which then pays the appropriate corporate income taxes. Additionally, the dividend income the individual derives from the corporation is levied a final tax collected at source. There is no requirement that this be subject of an individual income tax filing.

“This is true as well for those whose income is passive, i.e., derived primarily from interest and dividends, which are imposed final taxes withheld at source. These are not captured in BIR’s top 500.

“These limitations in the data were not adequately explained by the BIR, either in their post or in public pronouncements. Thus rather than shaming tax evaders which may have been the object of the top 500 exercise, the issuance of such a list without qualification may have just provoked people to unfairly rail against those prominently known but absent from the list but who are already in BIR’s tax net and faithfully paying their taxes.”

“One has to question the wisdom of continuing with such a list, which achieves no apparent public purpose, but just puts listed large individual taxpayers at risk from criminal elements, and unlisted law-abiding ones at risk of unfair shaming by the uninformed. If the BIR insists on continuing with this practice, the least it can do is to remove the amount of taxes paid in the interest of safety of the taxpayer and his family.

“For my part, I truly doubt that the large tax evaders and smugglers, who are completely outside the tax agencies’ data base as they do not issue receipts or file returns, can be shamed into paying proper taxes. The current leadership truly needs to break away from the past practice of simply hunting in the zoo and go after voracious wildlife â€" not an easy tax at all.”

And to better explain the matter, Zobel emailed to me an article “Taxing matters” written by Romeo L. Bernardo that was published in BusinessWorld on Dec. 20, 2010. “He (Bernardo) explains the issues very clearly,” Zobel texted. I will just reprint pertinent portions of that article that questions the rationale of the BIR list of top taxpayers. Bernardo wrote:

“The Bureau of Internal Revenue has posted in its Web page the list of its top 500 individual taxpayers. It is unclear to me what public purpose is achieved by posting such a list. What is clear is that it may have caused unfair and unnecessary unease for both those on and out of the list.

“For those on the list, continuing public Web page access to the information is cause for worry that this provides easy reference for every donation seeker, scam artist, or even worse.

“Those affluent but absent were not spared, for most undeservedly, as the list provided fodder for gratuitous speculation. One broadsheet asked provocatively in its front page why this or that prominent top executive or businessman was not on the large taxpayers list; as did at least one priest’s Sunday sermon I heard about.

“There can be several reasons why one who is rich or earning well may not appear on the list, none having anything to do with lack of fidelity in paying one’s taxes. For many top executives, the company withholds and pays their individual income taxes directly to the BIR under a procedure known as substituted filing. Provided the individual has only that single source of still taxable income, he does not need to file an income tax return. These substituted filings were likely not captured by the BIR’s top 500 list.

Why the Zobels are not in the BIR’s 500 top taxpayers list
COMMONSENSE By Marichu A. Villanueva (The Philippine Star) | Updated April 17, 2013 - 12:00am


[T]he journalist in me took the opportunity to tease Zobel why he and his older brother, Jaime Augusto Zóbel de Ayala (Jaza for short) were not in the top 500 highest taxpayers in 2011 in the list of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

“Many execs have substitute filing. The companies withhold the taxes from the individuals and then file and pay directly with the BIR. That top 500 list is only based on people who file comprehensive tax forms directly,” Zobel pointed out. “That’s why there are so many names missing. The bulk of their taxes are withheld and paid directly,” he cited.

Zobel is the president and chief operating officer of Ayala Corporation, the holding company of the Ayala group. He is also chairman of Ayala Land, the Philippines’ largest real estate firm and its only complete line property developer. Jaza, on the other hand, is chief executive officer of Ayala Corporation, while his father, Jaime Zóbel de Ayala, was president until 1994 and currently holds the title of chairman.

Forensic examiners have recovered fragments of black nylon cloth they believe to have come from backpacks used to carry both bombs. They have also found what DesLauriers described as "fragments of nails that could have been contained in a pressure cooker". He added that he was talking about a basic household pressure cooker of the sort found in many kitchens.

More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/17/boston-marathon-bomb-pressure-cooker

Federal investigators involved in one of the largest manhunts in US history have revealed that the Boston marathon bombs that killed three people and injured more than 170 may been made from pressure cookers packed with ball bearings and nails.

More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/17/boston-marathon-bomb-pressure-cooker

Top 10 taxpayers with corresponding taxes paid:


    Kris Aquino (media) - P49,871,657.37
    Gregory Reichow (Tesla Motors executive) - P38,196,685.00
    Lauro Baja, Jr. (senior diplomat) - P34,257,368.88
    Manuel V. Pangilinan (mining and telecommunications businessman) - P25,992,131.86
    Aurelio Montinola III (Bank of the Philippine Islands president) - P24,472,645.10
    Gerardo Ablaza, Jr. (Manila Water, Co. chief) - P22,645,262.00
    Philippe Jones Lhuillier (Cebuana Lhuillier pawnshop chain chief) - P21,645,000.00
    Victor Manguerra Angeles - P21,202,815.34
    Roberto Panlilio (Investment banking company JP Morgan executive) - P19,613,943.97
    Felipe Gozon (GMA Network chief) - P19,587,983.60

More at: http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/04/15/930988/bir-kris-aquino-smart-top-taxpayers

Quote from: Votives on April 16, 2013, 04:50:50 PM
ameow...ameow...ameow...ameow:)

Meowa, meowa, meowa, meowa...

Quote from: islander on April 15, 2013, 01:20:44 AM
meow.  (don't forget that i'm multilingual, so portuguese and korean are just as easy to speak as esperanto.)

Ha ha ha, it sounds so funny in Portuguese! Meow!

Quote from: Lollapalooza on April 17, 2013, 09:44:38 AM
basin gusto niya ug piggy ride... aw goaty ride diay..

Hmm, mas kaya galing sa kanding nga mag piggy ride...

Hmm, imbis liso o sigay, binantal nga dalar ang gamiton sa duwa...

Quote from: islander on April 17, 2013, 08:51:33 AM
das ist de best-dressed republik.  no visa necessary.

...unja hang Balingsya hang sintral pasyon distrik?

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 17, 2013, 12:17:23 AM

Baboy nga badibildir...

World ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Des Cars, whose agency is part of a cultural exchange between Paris' Louvre and Abu Dhabi, said the goal of the new collection is similar to the globe-spanning collections of the great museums of the late 18th century in Europe: to seek cultural connections as well as rifts and misperceptions.

"We are really talking about the same questions here," she said. "But we will approach it in our globalized time."

Museum officials gave few details of the process of buying the collection on behalf of oil-rich Abu Dhabi, saying only that it was through "normal channels" such as private collectors, galleries and auctions. Among the more modern acquisitions are works from famed impressionists Paul Gauguin and Edouard Manet, the 1928 ink-and-collage "Portrait of a Lady" by Pablo Picasso and mural-size abstract panels by American-born Cy Twombly.

Early photographs include an 1843 daguerreotype of a veiled Egyptian woman and an 1853 image by British photographer Roger Fenton entitled "Pasha and Bedouin" â€" but really models posing in costumes in his London studio.

But recent UAE moves described by rights groups as a crackdown on expression and academic freedom, including closing international research groups and arresting online activists discussing Arab Spring reforms, have raised concerns about possible artistic red lines at the museums as well.

Laurence Des Cars, curatorial director of Agence France-Museums, said there are no "sensitive issues" that are out of bounds. She spoke to reporters during an early viewing of 130 works acquired for the future museum ranging from ancient Persian artifacts to 20th century paintings.

The works include a 1940 primitive-style painting by French artist Yves Klein that suggests naked male and female forms, and a 13th century North African wood carving of an anatomically correct man. An illuminated medieval Quran from Damascus shared a display case with 14th century European diptych showing scenes from the life of Christ.

(philstar.com) | Updated April 17, 2013 - 7:04am


ABU DHABI (AP) â€" Abu Dhabi's new branch of the Louvre considers no artistic subject to be off limits but will not "shock for the sake of shocking", a top overseer said yesterday. She spoke as the museum prepared to open a sample of its growing collection to public view, shedding light on the choices the city makes as it expands its international profile while testing how far to open its conservative culture.

Objects including a medieval nude sculpture and Christian icons suggest the Abu Dhabi Louvre will not steer clear of themes such as sexuality and religion that could draw fierce criticism in many other parts of the Islamic world.

The Abu Dhabi Louvre is building its collection to open in 2015, one of the centerpieces of a planned cultural district that will also include a branch of New York's Guggenheim and a national museum.

Maryse Black, a book blogger who has mostly read and reviewed indie books in the last few years, was among Hoover's early fans.

Black reviewed "Slammed" a couple months after Hoover uploaded it, asking readers if they were in the mood for "a book that will hook you from the first few lines, make you smile, make you laugh, make you ABSOLUTELY fall in love, and then sigh and sigh and sigh again."

"She's 100 percent real in her writing," Black said in a recent phone interview. "I feel like I can relate to her characters. I can relate to their situations and I can relate to their reactions. I can see it actually happening as I'm reading the book it plays out in my head like a seamless movie."
On a recent blog post Hoover shared with her readers what she called "a really depressing blast from the past" â€" a MySpace post from 2006 she recently came across in which she writes that although she's certain she "was born to write a book," she believes that she never will. She writes that she's researched whether it would be worth it to even try and decided that with the low odds of ever getting a publisher or being able to support herself writing, she shouldn't even try.

She writes on her blog, "Good thing I didn't listen to myself. It also says a helluva a lot about how much the publishing industry has changed."

Even after being able to quit her job and signing with Atria, Hoover said it wasn't until a book signing she organized with other indie authors at a Chicago hotel in the fall that her popularity began to sink in.

"I remember coming down the stairs and there was this huge line with hundreds of people and someone goes, 'There's Colleen Hoover,' and they all start freaking out," she said. "That was I think the first moment that it hit me that this was way bigger than I thought."

Hoover grew up in rural East Texas, was married with a baby by the age of 20 and got a degree in social work from Texas A&M-Commerce. She worked as an investigator with Child Protective Services before returning to school to get her qualifications to teach special education, which she did for a year before returning to school again to get a minor in infant nutrition and going to work for the federal Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC.

Hoover says a confluence of events led to her writing "Slammed," which tells the story of an 18-year-old girl who moves to a new state with her mother and brother after the sudden death of her father, falls for their 21-year-old neighbor who has a love for slam poetry and soon makes a discovery that means they cannot be together.

Inspiration for the book came from several directions. Hoover had recently gone to a concert of her favorite band, The Avett Brothers, and a line from one of their songs â€" "Decide what to be and go be it" â€" kept replaying in her head. Then one of her sons got a part in a community theater production that left her tinkering on her laptop during rehearsals, which included looking up videos of people performing slam poetry. That in turn led to her trying to find a book with a main character who was a slam poet. When she couldn't find such a book, it occurred to her that she could write one herself.

"When I sat down and wrote the first paragraph I was like 'Oh, I can go with this,'" Hoover said. "I didn't do an outline. I didn't do anything. I just wrote sentence by sentence, not knowing where the story was going."

In February, Atria bought the digital and paperback rights to two upcoming books from Hoover: "This Girl," the third installment in the "Slammed" series, set for release digitally later this month, and "Losing Hope," a companion novel to "Hopeless" to be published digitally in July. Just last week, Hoover announced on her blog a new deal with Atria for two books to be released next year.

Johanna Castillo, vice president and senior editor at Atria, said she learned about Hoover while perusing book blogs. Checking out Hoover's blog that details not only her burgeoning writing career but also her day-to-day life, Castillo became enchanted. Around the same time, Hoover's agent, Jane Dystel, sent Hoover's books to Castillo.

"I read them and I liked them and we moved forward very quickly," said Castillo, who adds, "The voice that she has to connect with readers is very special."

In a June post Hoover poignantly writes about being able to move from a single-wide mobile home to "a REAL house. A house with doors that work and an air conditioner that cools and electricity that doesn't shut off if you run two electronics at the same time."

"Seven months ago, we were struggling to make ends meet," she writes in the blog post. "Now, things are finally coming together and it's all because of you guys. Every single person that spent a few bucks to buy a book that I wrote deserves a big THANK YOU from my whole family."

Hoover is both a story of self-published success in the digital age and of the popularity of so-called "New Adult" books, stories featuring characters in their late teens and early 20s.

Others in the genre include Jamie McGuire's "Beautiful Disaster" and J. Lynn's "Wait for You." The novels, which often have explicit material, are seen by publishers as a bridge between young adult novels and romance novels.

"In a nutshell, they're stories of characters in their formative year, when everything is new and fresh," said Amy Pierpont, editorial director of the Hachette Book Group's "Forever" imprint, where "New Adult" best sellers include Jessica Sorensen and J.A. Redmerski.

When Hoover finished her third book, "Hopeless," in December, she initially turned down an offer from Atria and decided to digitally self-publish again. By January, that book too was a New York Times best-seller and she signed that month with Atria to publish the print version, but kept control of the electronic version. The paperback is set to come out in May.

By JAMIE STENGLE | Associated Press â€" 45 minutes ago





SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas (AP) â€" After a feverish month of inspiration, Colleen Hoover had finally fulfilled her dream of writing a book.

With family and friends asking to read the emotional tale of first love, the married mother of three young boys living in rural East Texas and working 11-hour days as a social worker decided to digitally self-publish on Amazon, where they could download it for free for a week.

"I had no intentions of ever getting the book published. I was just writing it for fun," said Hoover, who uploaded "Slammed" a year ago in January.

Soon after self-publishing, people she didn't know were downloading the book â€" even after it was only available for a fee. Readers began posting reviews and buzz built on blogs. Missing her characters, she self-published the sequel, "Point of Retreat," a month later. By June, both books hit Amazon's Kindle top 100 best-seller list. By July, both were on The New York Times best-seller list for e-books. Soon after, they were picked up by Atria Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint. By fall, she had sold the movie rights.

"I wasn't expecting any of this at all. And I'm not saying I don't like it, but it's taken a lot of getting used to," said the 33-year-old Hoover, who quit her job last summer to focus on her career as an author.

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 17, 2013, 12:15:02 AM
sang  taas kag obos haw manogpareha lang gid sigoro sila na kantri

Republic of BolBuhol?

Kulang pa gid sang intris haw...

He he, dam nat gibin...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 17, 2013, 12:12:54 AM
indi nako ni aydol sir, pans lang haw.

Ah, sang aton pa, indi ka nalain, nasakitan lang...

Wa ba kaha pud pukasi sa sotana...

Quote from: islander on April 15, 2013, 09:36:56 AM
yet it takes only one prince to become a frog.

One prince. After all, there can only be one...

Quote from: islander on April 05, 2013, 02:16:41 PM
mas maayong di na lang gyod mosaad. hatag kun hatag, diha-diha, otherwise, hilom na lang kun di ka politician.

Agoi, naa na puy nahiagtang...

Labi nag tuy-od tanan...

Quote from: jayson on April 16, 2013, 06:18:38 PM
Arogante kaayo si De los Reyes atol sa miting sa komiteba sa Sangguniang Panlalawigan kalabot sa nikunhod nga koleksyon ug iya pang gihapak si Tirol.

Si Tirol natakilpo ug naumod unta sa sementong sawog sa kapitolyo kon taas pa ang takung sa iyang sapatos. matud sa mga nakasaksi.

Nagbinastos si Delos Reyes ug iyang gikwestyon ang paggamit ni Tirol sa apilyedo sa iyang bana.

Napungot niini hasta ang mga dumadapig ni Tirol kay tinuod man nga Tirol ang bana sa board member ug usa ra gyud ang iyang gipakaslan di sama ni De los Reyes nga matud nila nag-ilis-ilis og lalake.

Agoi, nagkalami na ang karambola...

He he, dark glasses na lay kuwang...

Bugsay's playmate...

hmm, pwede ba kaha bayran og wansak sapal...

Quote from: Votives on April 16, 2013, 04:55:44 PM
may gani wala pusila ang patay...

Bwahaha! Hadlok, basin maantimano unya mobangon...

Quote from: islander on April 16, 2013, 04:57:25 PM
ano gid nang inatay?  ini ba ang silingan sa inapdo?

Pode gid man nga hang oposit sang inatay kay amanay haw...

Quote from: Votives on April 16, 2013, 04:53:04 PM
anggid2x gamay...

hmm, anggid sa kasipat?

The poll chief went on to say that if Sanchez had a problem with automation, "all she has to do is talk to her husband."

Sanchez in 2009 married then Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas, whose name was then being floated as the Liberal Party's presidential aspirant.

"She (Sanchez) should talk to the Liberal party bigwigs. Why are they not complaining about PCOS?" Brillantes said.

"Does the Liberal Party have any problem with PCOS? I have not heard any so far," he added.

He meanwhile rejected Kontra Daya claims that Comelec's replacement of several poll officials has taken its toll on its technical capabilities.

"[W]e have so many technical people here," Brillantes said, as he noted that Kontra Daya's Dizon is not a technical person.

"Si Fr. Dizon ba technical (expert)? Daldal siya nang daldal, hindi rin naman siya technical (Is Fr. Dizon technical a technical expert? He rants on and on, but he's not an expert)," he added.

Sanchez on Monday invited poll watchdog Kontra Daya's spokesperson Fr. Joe Dizon for morning program "Rated Korina" aired over DZMM.

Kontra Daya is a staunch critic of the poll body's capability to effectively implement the automated national and local elections in May.

He also hit Sanchez's purported claims that Comelec is neither responsive nor transparent, noting that he has been "holding press conferences every day."

Brillantes urged Sanchez to devote at least two hours of her airtime for Comelec to answer criticisms.

"[Y]ung mga critics ko haharapin ko sila anytime (I will face all our critics). Give us two hours," the elections chairman said.

Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom â€" 16 hours ago


Is Korina Sanchez unfair in reporting about the Commission on Elections? Poll chief Sixto Brillantes, Jr. doesn't sound so sure.

Brillantes nonetheless lamented how the seasoned broadcaster seems to invite only Comelec critics for her radio program without seeking the poll body's side.

"Hindi ko alam kung bakit si (I don't know why) Madam Korina keeps on inviting the critics but she never invited me anymore," Brillantes told reporters Monday.

Quote from: Votives on April 16, 2013, 04:49:42 PM
hehe basin nakasala ang gurl...

Hmm, unsa kahay sala. Basin gisugo pagdaro unya nibalibad?

Quote from: Pikoy on April 16, 2013, 01:34:44 PM
kaniadto rato bai hubs pero karon ambot lang,,iya daw'ng itahan pero wala bakakon man diay si monsenyor Soc tungod ug alang sa pagpamahal sa iyang buotang anak2x iyang giduphan saunzz.. , kaning iyang anak2x nga sagbot sa katilingban "Kailan kaya ito magsisi na syay nagkamali?" kung mapriso na sa siks pit beloh da grawnd..  tsk tsk...

Hmm, tungod sa gugma sa anak napi-Soc and mata ni monsenyor...

Quote from: insurectus on April 15, 2013, 02:28:06 AM
Kamao man pod na mamili si joavan og taw nga ma engkwentro kanang tanaw niya nga dili maka sukol kay diha man to kausa naka bikil ni tawhana og aznar gibunalan ang sakyanan ni joavan dako og damage wa man mosukol nagsalig pa lagi kay ang amahan naa pa sa pwesto and last term naman pod ni karon unsa kaha ang dagan ani kung wa na sa pwesto ang amahan

Mao puy akong namatikdan aning mga abusado. Kon klarong wa silay dag-anan maayo kaayong magpaitoy-itoy...

Iring Nga Kaluha Apan Lahi Ra

Bungoton pood...





Aw, di diay...

Laing klase sa bungot, goatee nga medyo kalkag...



The Bearded Barbet (Lybius dubius) is an African barbet. Barbets and toucans are a group of near passerine birds with a worldwide tropical distribution. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills.

The Bearded Barbet is a common resident breeder in tropical west Africa. It is an arboreal species of gardens and wooded country which eats fruit, although the young are fed on insects. -Wiki

Bwahaha!

Naa pay vacation leave...

Hmm, si Bugsay diay tingali ang tag-iya aning iringa kay bakyano man kaayong magkumbitay samtang naay gibuhat...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 15, 2013, 06:50:57 PM
ikao lang haw mag inigo sang imon na panaghatag.

Sabagay, hang importangti nga ginahatag tinuy-od, indi ginahatag binabawi...

Quote from: Votives on April 15, 2013, 05:21:26 PM
wa gyud... murag lami baya kay taas og dila..

Taptapi lang ang nawong sa picture ni Kim unya ipalusot ang dila...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 15, 2013, 06:34:16 PM
kasakit manaoghambal haw

Sori nga ginalait namon hang imong aydola, Bay Tobs, biging a tawsang pardongs...

Quote from: Lollapalooza on April 14, 2013, 12:43:28 PM
Whew... tagaktak singot nako sa hinigop nako ug init nga sabaw sa tinolang native manok.... worth it gyud akong pagdagan dagan ginukod aning manoka ni heheheheheh

Hmm, klaro jud nga nitib kay patani ang tiil...

Quote from: Votives on April 16, 2013, 08:09:35 AM
ambot lang ms isle oi, basta malingaw jud aning bai hubs..

Mas maayo jud ang makalingaw kaysa gilangaw...

Quote from: islander on April 15, 2013, 11:48:56 PM
naunsa mo dinhi?  ahat bag makamrasan mog tinuod nga ungo... nagdamgo ra diay mo, unya nakamata; tuod naay kamras, pero ang ungo diay nga nangamras kay ang inyong asawa.  nakamrasan mo kay ilang namat-an nga sige mog siyagit ug ngan ug laing baye, hahaha!  arang lingawa nako ani uy.

Hmm, gi second person account kunohay. Personal experience baya gud...

Quote from: Votives on April 15, 2013, 05:19:48 PM
hahaha kaila ko ana bai hubs..

He he, way wa kaila, baniog man gud ang kabanggiitan...