Babbling Point

When you start working on a story set in a new universe, where do you find it easiest to begin? Art by Charless Vess, from the book INSTRUCTIONS, written by Neil Gaiman "Begin with the story. Always begin with the story. (Unless you're Lud in the Mist .) The world is there for the story to happen in. Here and now, you don't need to tell the history of the world before you start telling a story that happened on the Isle of Man. You tell the story and let the background and the history creep in where it's needed. The same goes for worlds you've built yourself." NEIL GAIMAN

AMBETH R. OCAMPO – Honoree BRINGING OUT THE STORY IN HISTORY Aguinaldo’s restaurant receipts, Rizal’s quickly scribbled notes on the margin of a page and the contents of Bonifacio’s pockets aren’t your usual historical references. But Ambeth Ocampo isn’t your usual history professor. In his books and articles, he transforms dry and dead tales of our past into stories so full of contextual detail, you can almost touch, smell and hear our national heroes. TEACHING THAT GOES BEYOND THE BLACKBOARD. ZOILO JAYOBO PINONGCOS, JR. - Honoree MOVING TEACHERS FROM THE BLACKBOARD TO THE KEYBOARD For a lot of teachers, their knowledge of the web can be summed up in a document of less thant 2kb. That will soon change if the 2009 Teacher of the Year has his way. Zoilo Pinongcos has pioneered a series of programs designed to convert technophobe educators into next generation digerati. How serious is he about his mission? He refused a promotion to principal and turned down a