Last night, I hurried on home to try and watch at least parts of the six-hour marathon of Apocalypse: the Second World Wary by National Geographic to commemorate Pearl Harbour.

I managed to watch episodes 3-6 last night and let me tell you, it blew my head away!

Filled with clips from collectors and other various sources, it is the definitive documentary that gives you an insight peek on what really happened during World War II.

I love, love, love, love, loved this documentary! If there's a DVD out I would definitely get it. Not only did I learn a lot about this historic event that changed peoples lives, I also gained an insight on how and why this war had happened and how it became a world war.

Now I'm not sure if this series will be airing sometime soon [believe me, I've just checked tonight's and tomorrow's programme listing on National Geographic], please do look out for it in National Geographic! It's the channel's highest rating documentary ever [and believe me, it totally deserves all the top ratings].

Now I don't have my own war story to tell, but my mom tells me that her brother died during the war. He was sick at the time and since going out of hiding during the war is out of the question, he passed away. :(
Another story was about the LaSallian brothers that were killed in the chapel in the university grounds when the Japanese trooped in to the school.
Trivia: Manila, Philippines was the second most affected/destroyed city during the war after Warsaw, Poland.
So, if you want to learn more trivia, do watch this series!

I vow to read more about World War II and find out what was in the mind of the leaders that were involved at the time, of course I'll TRY not to be unbiased and read more about both parties: the Allies and the Axis.

Any suggestions on books, both historical fiction based during the time and also non-fiction books? Would really appreciate it if you could comment below with your suggestions and I'll see if those books are available in the bargain bins or in local bookstores here in my country.

And so another challenge I've signed up for! This time, it's for an audiobook challenge :)

This one also runs from January 1 -December 31, 2010! And since I do "read" audiobooks, this one should be a breeze!

My goal is to reach at least the Curious or the Fascinated level:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

Watch out for this space as I place the list of books I've read relating to this challenge :)

The 2010 Historical Fiction reading challenge is hosted by http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/

Now, seeing that I've signed up for a bazillion other reading challenges before and never really seemed to finish one yet, I thought I'd give this a try as some of my other TBR books are historical fiction! Plus, I seem to have a knack of reading them as it gives me a glimpse of history :) Also, it'll be nice to interact with other bloggers who are joining this challenge!

Since I am a slow reader, I am gunning for the Curious level -- read three books.

Challenge will run from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2010.

I could probably do this in conjunction with the other challenges :) That's it for now!

So I've joined in another 24 hour readathon on www.dreadlockgirl.com. It was slated from December 5th, 7pm [Manila time] to December 6th [Manila time]

Unfortunately my internet was acting up yesterday evening so I wasn't able to update at around 9pm Manila time and only got online today.

I love readathons, they give me a chance to cut down some of my Mt TBR list and interact with fellow bloggers out there :)

Unfortunately, with this December 5th readathon, I only found out a few hours before, and my weekend plans have been taken! I've been to watch New Moon at the movie theatre and a bit of shopping on the 5th and watch a local musical production of Sweeney Todd on the 6th.

In the past Dewey readathon last October, I managed to save at least an entire day for the readathon.

Sad to say, my stats for this readathon were dismal. Finished around 10 pages in total inthe books I'm reading *blushes*. I didn't stay up late to read any books, but got tempted and saw three episodes of Gossip Girl season 2, slept, and went to the shows I've mentioned above.

Not that I mind reading, but I've just had a very busy month-end at work so I took a very easy weekend off.

For those of you who entered this readathon, how was it for you? Was it more successful and productive compared to me? :P

In this week's mailbox, I didn't buy any books [brand new or used]! Instead, I got the following as parcels from contests I've won from Cherry Mischievous and Bitten By Books! =)

From Cherry Mischievous:
"The Magicians" by Lev Grossman and a bunch of swag [postcards of "The Cracked Throne" by Joshua Palmatier, and a postcard from Cherry too]. This looks like a really awesome book! I can't wait to read it, although I'll have to find more reading time first!

"The Magicians" Synopsis from Amazon.com

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.
He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.
 
The other book is MaryJanice Davidson's "Drop Dead Gorgeous" from Bitten By Books
 
It's a chick lit book, I think? Another genre I so adore! I have one of her Queen Betsey vampire series in my TBR too!
 
Product Description from Amazon.com
Ah, weddings - every single woman's reminder that she'll probably die alone, covered in cat hair and dressed in unflattering sweatpants. And as far as bad wedding experiences go, my friend Stacy's could take the cake - I'm dateless, I'm a bridesmaid, and someone just attempted to whack the groom (known, no kidding, as The Boss) in the middle of the ceremony. Whoa...hang on. I might not relish reception food or doing the Electric Slide, but anyone who tries to ruin a girlfriend's big day by bumping off her true love will have to go through me first. So now I, assistant hairdresser Jenny Branch, am helping to hunt down a real-life bad guy, and the prime suspect is Kevin Stone, who claims to be working undercover for a group called Covert Ops Protection. All of this is hard to believe - my new role as spy-in-training, the fact that I'm surrounded by people with freaky superhuman powers, and most of all, the way that this unbelievably sexy villain/double agent/whatever Kevin is makes every (and I mean every) nerve-ending tingle the second he comes into view...and it appears to be mutual. Living with flying bullets and constant danger is a long way from sweeping up hair at the end of the day. But if it means being around Kevin, a girl could get used to it...

Last Sunday, November 29th, I had a chance to watch "Treasure Island" by Theatre Down South at the Insular Life Theatre here in Alabang.

Tickets were at P450 a pop, and was free seating.

I normally try to watch as many plays/musicals as I can whenever I'm free or have extra funds, and this play is much more special because a very, very good buddy of mine is playing a part!

It's actually my first time to ever watch a musical with my friend in a supporting role. Granted, I had a few sniggers here and there because my friend is not himself [ie in character], but it's part of the whole threatre persona!

The show was good -- it remained true to the original tale, based on a book by Robert Louis Stevenson. And I have to admit, when I was watching the play, I couldn't help but compare bits and bobs of the story from the Muppets version of Treasure Island. I can't help it! I loved that movie when I was younger! And who could top those cute little muppet characters?

The props were excellent! It showed the jungle scene very nicely as well as the bar and ship scenes!
There were lots of funny parts in the tale, the music is okay as well, but there were parts of the dialogue I wasn't able to listen [probably because I'm sniggering or whispering around with my friends lol]

At the front of the auditorium, there were numerous props that you could have photos in! Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera and my mobile phone was low on battery so I wasn't able to take photos! Dang! Before and after the show, cast members also go around meeting the show watchers! Now that's effort!

Too bad the last run of the show was on the 29th of November, however, I'll watch more musicals by this group [well, mainly because my friend was in it] once the time and fund permits!

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City, which will be posted every Wednesday. It allows us to share the books we haven't bought yet but are waiting to be bought and devoured.
I would normally post one book per week as there are loads and loads and loads of books in cyberspace and if I list more than one, I might get a headache! lol.


This week's On My Wishlist:

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl.

I've seen this book on various blogs and they gave it ace reviews! It just came out this week and apparently the rights have been sold to make this into a film! Wow! Something to look forward to!
This is the first out of a series of five novels! Yipes, another series we can drool on after Harry Potter & The Twilight Saga!

Book Description from Amazon.com:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.