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Bilingual Pen

Bilingual Pen

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A community portal and forum for literary and journalistic writing and freelancing. Also contains poems, short stories and essays. Articles are written in english or ilokano.

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Recent Posts Tagged With 'writing'

  • Ti Maika-7 Nga RFAAFIL

    Posted on Thursday December 3rd, 2009 at 03:01 in writing

    Komentario ken Panirigan ni Jaime M. Agpalo, Jr. Ne, ta nalpas pay gayamen ti maika-pito? Kayatna sawen a naandur met ken nakaibtur iti kastoy a kapaut ti panawen ti Reynald F. Antonio Awards For Iluko Literature (RFAAFIL). Nabara a kablaaw ken ni Re...

  • Ti Makunak Iti Sarita A ‘Ti Sarukod Ni Moises’ Ni Juan S. P. Hidalgo, Jr.

    Posted on Wednesday November 11th, 2009 at 21:37 in writing, essays, featured

    Salaysay Ni Jaime M. Agpalo, Jr. PAKAUNA: Maysa daytoy a pasintawi. Wenno legend. Agsipud ta awan ti awan ti naputar a balikas maipapan itoy, sursuroten lattan ti leyenda a kas panangipatarus. Ngem itay nabiit, nangsurattayo iti artikulo maipapan ito...

  • Ti Literary Award ken Literary Reward

    Posted on Friday October 2nd, 2009 at 00:16 in writing, essays

    Salaysay ni Jaime M. Agpalo, Jr. Kasano aya ti kinapateg ti pammadayaw iti literatura? Masungbatan ngata babaen ti mismo a panangawat iti award? Saanko a masungbatan dayta. Ngamin, ibilangko a maysa a misterio ti biag ti maysa a mannurat. Napnuan it...

  • Rebiu iti Idi Inyawid ni Manong Leon ti Asawana, ni Manuel Arguilla

    Posted on Wednesday September 23rd, 2009 at 00:08 in writing, essays

    Rebiu iti Idi Inyawid ni Manong Leon ti Asawana, ni Manuel Arguilla PAKAUNA: (Inadaptarko ti sagkabassit nga impormasion manipud kadagiti datos iti RIMAT MAGAZINE, Oktubre 2004 Isyu. Impablaak ti RIMAT Magazine daytoy a sarita a kas panangilagipna ti...

  • Pannakailukat ti Pasintawi

    Posted on Sunday August 16th, 2009 at 03:09 in writing, essays

    Pannakailukat ti Pasintawi Salaysay ni Jaime M. Agpalo, Jr. Agdua a dekadan dagiti sarita a naisurat babaen iti sakab ti biography. Sakbayna, idi kanikadua a dekada, awan ti kasta a sarita iti Iluko. Saan pay a naadakan, kas kuna ni Reynaldo A. Du...

  • Dr. Godofredo S. Reyes, 90

    Posted on Wednesday July 8th, 2009 at 19:30 in writing

    “Malaglagipdakanto, doktor!” Daytoy ti sangkakuna dagiti gagayyem, kailian, kaprobinsiaan, ken isu amin a nakalangenlangen ni Dr. Godofredo S. Reyes (1918-2009) idi maiwaragawag a pimmusayen ti pagtamdan a doktor, mannurat ken mannaniw, ...

  • Writer Ka Lang Pala

    Posted on Monday June 22nd, 2009 at 17:51 in writing

    by CONRADO DE QUIROS . I remember an experience I once had with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. This was way back during Cory’s time when I was still paying my taxes. I am not paying my taxes now—not since 2005, when the “Hello, Garci” tape c...

  • Lilly Pad

    Posted on Monday June 15th, 2009 at 11:16 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, allegories, shorty

    My own personal study and observation of the amphibian was never scientific but I did come up with some ideas and notions of why the frogs jumped from one lilly pad to the next. I concluded that the overarching reason was search for food, to find a b...

  • A Diet that Works

    Posted on Sunday June 14th, 2009 at 18:46 in writing, folklore, essays, tall tales, diets that work, shorty

    If you examine the above mentioned spread, there is a glaring absence of vegetable oils and/or animal fats in the food, or butter - not even in the desserts. No synthetic sugars or sweeteners are used in the main course or side dishes. No processing ...

  • Anatomy of a Teacher

    Posted on Friday June 12th, 2009 at 10:45 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, school tales

    Our teacher was a sharp and meticulous dresser. She must have had her own personal dress maker, or access to one. She had her own hairdresser for sure judging from her neatly coiffed hair and baby bangs. She donned a new dress every two weeks. These ...

  • Manang Biday

    Posted on Thursday June 11th, 2009 at 11:08 in writing, short story, folklore, current affairs, essays, shorty

    Now back to Fr. Cutie. Obviously, Fr. Cutie's girlfriend did not heed the warning. "No nangato, dimo sucdalen..." (translation: If the fruit hangs too high up there on the limb, do not use a pole harvester to pick it). Fr. Cutie was way up there, so ...

  • Awan Umasping

    Posted on Thursday June 11th, 2009 at 08:45 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, istoria ti ilocano

    "Apo, awan pay casta nga napasamac ti daytoy nga escuela manipud idi naputar ken naipatacder," imbunannag ni Mother Superiora. "No ti kinalaingna ken kinasiribna dayta nga estudiante. . . awan umasping. . . awan umasping!"...

  • Rite of Passage

    Posted on Wednesday June 10th, 2009 at 13:23 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, shorty

    Freshman year high school arrived with much fanfare. I was moonstruck and didn't even realize it. The girl who lived next door, whose company I dreaded before this mysterious behavior change, gradually morphed into a beautiful, winsome, and alluring ...

  • Self-defeating Acts

    Posted on Monday June 8th, 2009 at 09:20 in writing, folklore, essays, anecdote, tall tales, shorty

    Then just before the lights turned green, the muse behind the wheel did something totally unexpected. She casually slipped her ring finger into her right nostril and commenced to dig, excavate, and mine her nasal cavity. Then she pulled her digit out...

  • The Doormat

    Posted on Thursday June 4th, 2009 at 17:06 in writing, short story, folklore, tall tales, shorty, local sarsuela

    "The man's an inutile," Rosamunda's father began. "There is nothing he can do. He can't even throw or deploy a simple tabucol (throw net), he can't mend a fence, he can't even drive a jeep. Which leaves me wondering, where did this man come from? Wha...

  • On Growth and Maturing

    Posted on Wednesday June 3rd, 2009 at 13:29 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, shorty

    In my own household one evening after we had eaten dinner, one of my teenage sons filed a grievance as he began to wash dishes. He just couldn't do his assigned chores; he had to file a complaint. "Why do I have to wash these dishes all over again? I...

  • “Ma at Pa”

    Posted on Wednesday June 3rd, 2009 at 11:15 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, shorty

    I was left wondering whether this sort of activity - meaning the lack of accountability - was a prevalent practice all over the country - this attitude of, "Malay ko dyan... Pakialam ko dyan..." (None of my business. Don't know and don't care - Ignor...

  • Transformation

    Posted on Wednesday June 3rd, 2009 at 10:14 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, shorty

    All the while, Berting's wife never showed any tendencies - never betrayed his trust, even in the least bit, in her manner and in the way she lived her simple life, to confirm or to render true all of the gossip and bad-mouthing that she unfairly rec...

  • Paradise

    Posted on Tuesday June 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, shorty

    Saturdays were set aside for scrubbing the clay cooking pots, the aluminum calderos and woks, the cooking utensils and the pots and pans. It was a half day operation. We scooped ashes from the wood fire upon which we cooked gruel and slop (bi-nog-bog...

  • The Trial

    Posted on Wednesday May 27th, 2009 at 17:43 in writing, short story, essays, shorty, a take off on sherma's story

    "Didn't Mr. Uy, out of the goodness of his heart, not only on the night of September 9th but on many occasions order for you dinner while you worked overtime hours, but also would even have his own driver take you home in the company car so that you ...

  • Monsoon

    Posted on Wednesday May 27th, 2009 at 11:37 in writing, short story, folklore, essays, tall tales, shorty, barrio tales

    The monsoon brings with it a torrential downpour like no other time. Still, the inclement weather notwithstanding, industrious farmers can and will don their annanga (bury palm leaf makeshift but effective raincoat), tabungaw hat (head cover made out...

  • What’s in a name

    Posted on Thursday May 21st, 2009 at 10:40 in humor, writing, essays, shorty

    There are other name changers too. Among the more popular ones were a former shipmate Jaime Agatep who changed his name to James Roofer....

  • Proud about. . .

    Posted on Thursday May 21st, 2009 at 09:48 in writing, essays, shorty, arts&culture

    Among the peoples of the neighboring ASEAN nations, Filipinos can stand tall and proud to be counted as some of the best professionals in their chosen field of expertise - be it the Medical field, Engineering, or in the field of Accounting....

  • What did she see in him?

    Posted on Wednesday May 20th, 2009 at 14:44 in writing, short story, essays, Magnetism, opposites attract, shorty

    "This is America. Jesus Christ. How cheap can you get?" The middle-aged man was getting palpably irritated. "Only dollar a bundle. Sh*t. That's peanuts. Chicken feed. Don't waste my time."...

  • Your VISA is expiring. . .

    Posted on Tuesday May 19th, 2009 at 15:04 in writing, short story, love story, h1b visa

    We were both walking a few inches above the pavement, with my arm around her waist and her arm around mine. It felt as if we had known each other for years - even her nuanced scent of gardenias smelled sweet to my nostrils....

  • The Soybean Effect

    Posted on Tuesday May 19th, 2009 at 12:29 in observation, writing, essays, shorty

    Is there perhaps a correlation between the effects of soy products in the diet, i.e., early outset of puberty, to the rate of childbirth among young single women?...

  • A Tsinoy Journey

    Posted on Sunday May 17th, 2009 at 12:04 in writing

    What is a Chinese-Filipino or Tsinoy museum doing in Intramuros, the old Spanish enclave of Manila? The answer that may startle is, because it rightfully belongs there.   Why is it housed in a bahay na bato where mestizos or ilustrados lived and not...

  • A Barrio Tragedy

    Posted on Saturday May 16th, 2009 at 22:21 in writing, short story, shorty

    Most of the participants to these lubi-lubi gatherings are the young adolescent males and females. The men show off their muscular strength and steady aim with every square hit into the mortar bowl with the pestle. The women, on the other hand, latch...

  • Images

    Posted on Saturday May 16th, 2009 at 20:02 in poetry, writing

    The view from the floor is elongated I could barely raise my heavy head I see nothing but phantasms truncated Perhaps I should learn to crawl instead In the noonday sun I walk and stand Shadows foreshortened to a small dot Work, toil, mitre with saw ...

  • Motivation

    Posted on Friday May 15th, 2009 at 22:13 in writing, essays

    Having just graduated from high school I couldn’t wait to go to college. The build up and hype of college life and the merits of higher education were hard to ignore. People said that in college one can expand one’s social circle very eas...