My Year 2013 in Review

I'm currently reviewing the goals I had made for 2013 and seeing if I had met each of them or if there had been better alternatives. I will still make goals for 2014 but perhaps not as specific as I used to make them. Let's see...

10. YEARLY GOAL: Travel at least twice a year. Half done.
I spent most of the year being a hermit so I had to think back really hard... OK, spending a team building weekend with my College of Saint Benilde (CSB) co-faculty in Puerto Galera during the summer should fall under this. It was my first time to go to Puerto Galera anyway. Though my mom hailed from Mindoro, I had never been to this particular area. And other than that fun weekend trip to Tagaytay with my former Anino Games officemates in September, I don't think I completely fulfilled this goal.

Read more »

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We Are One: A Seminar for the Benefit of Yolanda Survivors

On December 7, from 9AM to 5PM, there will be a LEARNING event for the benefit of Yolanda survivors. I personally think this is like hitting two birds with one stone: LEARNing more while HELPing others.

Here is the schedule of topics:
09:00am Prayer/ Yoga Exercise
09:15am Session 1 – Resilience Is Not Enough (by Coach Randy Esguerra)
10:15am Session 2 – YES! You Can Inspire As You Live! (by Ricky de Vera, MBA, CSP)
11:15am Session 3 – Creating A Personal Vision: You Can Do It If You Can Perceive It (by Boris Joaquin)
12:15pm Lunch
01:15pm Session 4 – Connecting and Engaging Online (by Janette Toral)
02:15pm Session 5 – Victim s. Responsible Mindset (by Joey Reyes)
03:15pm Panel Discussion (by Gwen Pang, JC Libiran and Pochollo Gonzales)
04:15pm Session 6 – Understanding & Appreciating What Happens To You (by Pido Aguilar)
05:15pm Closing

To learn more about this event, you may simply visit the "We Are One: A Seminar for the Benefit of Yolanda Survivors" website, or click to enlarge the top image.

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How you can help Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda victims

We had heard when Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) would be arriving, but I guess we weren't prepared for what it would leave in its wake. For quite some time, we heard nothing about the areas that it hit because it caused a media blackout. It wasn't until I saw photos of it in Yahoo! News that I understood the magnitude of its devastating visit.

This massive boat was washed ashore, joining the houses and lives (people, plants and animals) that Haiyan destroyed in its wake.

But you know, we can't just sit here and do nothing. We can do something. Here are ways we can help.

Via Philippine Red Cross:

Those who are looking for loved ones who have not been responding to SMS or social network messages can use this form to locate/trace them.

Volunteers can also check out this mapping advocate's blog about Haiyan/Yolanda so they can assess the situation.

Via UNICEF Philippines:

If you want to donate goods instead of cash, you can also do so through the University of the Philippines:

Viber also sent this message when I logged into my phone:

EDIT: This just in from some of the people who messaged me via FB:

http://www.obphil.com
https://www.facebook.com/obphil
http://obphil.com/v2/page/p/emergency-aid-donations

And for all of us bloggers out there: What my sister Alex said last night just hit me today. In addition to donating, we have a bit of power in social media and we can help with these organizations' efforts. We can post about these venues for donation on our blogs and on Facebook (through your own official pages), and we can pay to promote our posts. The last time I paid a measly $10 to promote a post, it reached around 5,000 people. Facebook's minimum is $3. Even if only 1/4th of those people take action, that's better than no action at all.

There's also this related article about UN needing your tweets for disaster response.

I urge all of you to help rebuild those precious lives.

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Close encounter with a Dura-Dura gang.

It was only this year that I had started to take jeepney rides to work (I used to take a cab, which was why I had so many cabbie stories to tell before). Jeep rides are economical, though I must admit they are not very friendly to your skin.

There's another reason to beware when riding jeeps. Last Saturday, I had to submit grades at the Asia Pacific College in Magallanes. This is a very tricky area, actually. I've had co-faculty members who had been victimized by notorious Dura Dura gangs so I'm always on high alert whenever I'm in Magallanes.

Anyway, as I was riding the jeep yesterday, there was this annoying guy who climbed aboard. He was rather clean-looking, light-skinned and seemingly carefree. He insisted on sitting near the exit even though the people in that area did not want to budge. There was a family sitting together on that side and the mother complained, "Kuya, anluwag luwag dun sa kabila, wag mo ipitin yung bata!" ("Brother, it's more spacious on the other side, don't squish our boy!")

I was annoyed because he seemed to be very inconsiderate and I felt my forehead and eyebrows form a scowl. He sat down beside me and my thought bubble went, "Oh, great. I will kick this guy if he even so much as make the wrong move."

A few seconds later, the girl who used to sit beside me (the annoying guy now sat between us) pulled out her iPhone. Another source of annoyance for me, because I think it's the height of stupidity to bring out any expensive-looking gadget inside public utility vehicles (PUVs). Then the man started saying something that made the alarm bells in my head go crazy:

"Miss, ano yang nasa balikat mo? Bubblegum? Parang kadiri ata."

("Miss, is that bubblegum on your shoulder? That's gross!")

I remembered my co-faculty's story and I knew right there and then that the guy beside me was a member of a Dura-Dura gang and he was just about to rob the girl on cue. The girl suddenly went into a panicked frenzy and touched her hair repeatedly while trying to hold her iPhone. She was also allowing this stranger to touch her hair as well. I wanted to scream, "You stupidiot woman, what the heck are you doing!??"

There were three other men that started to make some ruckus about the bubblegum in her hair and I figured that they were in cahoots. I could not tell who among them was trying to steal from the girl while she was distracted. The guy beside me brought out some tissue and looked like he was going to apply it to her hair. I wasn't quite sure if he was going to pretend to clean her hair or he was actually putting bubblegum on it. The scowl in my forehead went deeper and I was watching everyone else's reaction. Everyone was just so...apathetic.

At that moment, I did something that I should not have done: I made it obvious that I knew what the Dura Dura gang was doing by asking the driver to stop and I tried to go down before he even had a chance to stop. The mother of the family in front of me started screaming, "Ay, malalaglag ka, miss!" ("You're going to fall, miss!")

And I walked as fast as I could, looking back twice and also scowling deeper. I saw the guy alight the jeep; I'm guessing he knew that I knew and it ruined their style. An old man sitting under the Magallanes bridge said that I must be in a hurry for walking too fast (usual pick-up line), but I was too pissed that I screamed and pointed, "May holdaper doon!" ("There's a goon over there!")

I walked all the way to the APC shuttle with my heart threatening to run out of my chest. I took a cab home and will not be taking a jeep ride to APC anytime soon. That gang could know my face. I had the misfortune of having no sunglasses that day.

Anyway, here's a video I found under dheiAngelo's YouTube channel, for your reference.



Some suggestions for commuters out there who know how to read and have landed on my blog:

1. Always be aware of your surroundings when riding PUVs.
2. Do not sleep. I am rather guilty of this sometimes, when I'm very tired.
3. For the love of all that's intelligent, DO NOT BRING OUT YOUR GADGETS. I've seen a guy who flaunted his Samsung Galaxy Note II while riding a jeep and all I can think about is, "Stupid poser asking to be mugged."
4. If somebody tells you that you have bubblegum or spit on your clothes (there were even instances of actual vomit, ugh), completely ignore the person and hold on to your things, like what the girl in the video did. Notice that she was holding her bag very tightly because she knew they were trying to rob her.
5. It's extremely helpful to have your kikay stuff and cleaning materials (alcohol, alcogel, tissue, wet wipes) in a separate compartment outside your bag, preferably your bag's outer pockets. That way, you need only open the part that does not contain any valuables.
6. DO NOT DO WHAT I DID. What I did was let my disgust (at what was going on and at everyone's apathy) and annoyance (at the girl's idiocy) get the better of me. When sitting beside members of a gang, pretend you do not know what they're doing. They can follow you and they may be armed. At this point, I am now avoiding that area and will go back to taking cabs to Magallanes.
7. Do not talk to strangers. Not even old ladies. Not even street kids. Many old ladies are members of the Salisi and Budol-Budol gangs and many street kids have been trained by syndicates to maim and murder.
8. My default look when being talked to in public is a perma-scowl. Or the "I am not taking any of your nonsense" look.

Anyway, I hope this post of mine helps other people out there. Remember, my dear readers: KEEP SAFE.

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UP student's suicide, reflexive of our education system

This is a screenshot from the video of Rappler's coverage of the vigil and protest over the death of a student.

Today, I mean to set aside my blog backlogs because, much as I want to avoid Philippine political discussions in this blog, this incident strikes me so much as an educator and as someone who had lived with the University of the Philippines' education system for 8 years (4 years of undergrad studies in UP Manila and 4 years of PhD studies in UP Diliman).

16-year-old Kristel Tejada, who killed herself out of despair because she could not afford to pay her tuition, and I share the same undergrad course. Her story is not new. If I think long and hard, I would remember that I knew of three Kristel Tejadas during my time as a Behavioral Studies major at UPM. Two of them lived and the third one was successful in his suicide. There were probably many others like her in other colleges within the campus that I have not heard about. The only difference between then and now is that we have social media to raise awareness on a national level this time.



My respect for my alma mater runs deep, but so does its problems. The seemingly immediate spike in tuition fee to 300% was a result of long-delayed tuition fee increases. It's a university that already has difficulty sustaining itself, even after the tuition fee rose to such proportions, and even after leasing out parts of its lands to private sectors. It couldn't even give my beloved professors the remuneration they deserve for the level of research they undertake and for cultivating in us a sense of academic freedom.

My complaints about the system -- mostly minor ones regarding long queues (UPD is notorious for this), repeatedly running from the Registrar to the Cashier and back (2 hour ping-pong game), and having to return almost every week because of requirements (that they would identify some balances here and then another balance there on the second week and then another balance elsewhere on the third week, that only the TOR is available and not the diploma, which I have to come back for, that I have not requested for a certain document that they never initially mentioned, etc. etc.) -- are merely the tip of the iceberg. They are nothing compared to the many more serious ailments that I believe stem solely from the government's apathy towards education.

In short: I blame not UP for this, but the government.



State universities are public schools. With the amount of income tax deducted from my salary as both an industry practitioner and an educator every month (30-35%), plus 12% value added tax from my purchases (including food), plus community taxes, I would like to see these being put to use on our public schools. It boils my blood when I hear representatives of Malacañang claim that they are helpless in light of this situation.

To Malacañang: You are not helpless. I, and millions of other Filipinos in the work force, break our backs to support you and the least *I* want to see is a solution to this.

I have said this before and I will say this again: All of this country's problems can be traced to our declining education, so pay attention. Please.

And uh...this...

...is not how you spend "tax payers' money on education."

(Image credits from JV Sayo, who's my colleague at Asia Pacific College.)

Update: My professor at UPD posted a Facebook status that highlights the multi-layered nature of this suicide problem:

This is something to think about and it works towards not just a singular solution. And I salute these nuggets of wisdom, considering I have also been seeing a lot of victim-blaming online.

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On corporate social responsibility: What do you value in a company?

This is actually about the tree planting activity that Anino employees did a couple of months back. I wasn't able to attend because I was doing my thesis but I wanted to and I promised that next year I will be able to do this kind of activity with them.

Let me show you the photos first before I talk about why I am getting more and more attached to this company.

This is actually Anino's project with Haribon foundation. It was also the company outing. These are the beautiful beaches of Zambales.

I deeply regret that I wasn't there. Seriously. I normally do not like company outings (because I loathe parlor games), but I like this because it was fun AND relevant.

Click to view larger version of the above photo. As Vana described it on our company website:

Last June 17, Team Anino abandoned the concrete jungles of Makati to reconnect with Mother Nature in Mt. Tapulao and to cross the turbulent waters of Pundaquit, Zambales...Anino Games continues to support the environment through its annual tree planting initiative, which is now on its 3rd year. This time, the team roughed the rocky Mt. Tapulao to plant trees at Sitio Dampay, Palauig, Zambales on June 17, 2011, in support of the Haribon Foundation’s Road to 2020.

I guess one of the reasons why I am happy with Anino is that I had always been torn between my love for video games and the guilt I've been harboring from the kind of social divide we digital peeps have actually brought about because of the developments we do in new media.

It has been a while since I have worked with a company that shared my values. The CEO and CFO are vegetarians (I am not completely one, but I'd like to be like them in the future) because they care for the environment. They care about a lot of things. They're very socially aware and they're not just lip service. They actually go out there and do something tangible about it. They're not afraid of literally getting their hands dirty (see above photo, that's my boss) if that meant that they're going to help make the world a better place.

I had a rough first month here, truth be told, because I was struggling to reconfigure my paradigms. I had been in the academe for 5 years...that's the longest I have ever been in one field. I felt that a lot of my previous skills went into cryogenic hibernation while I was an academician. I started thawing and rebuilding my skills here. And I guess everything fell into place when the CEO decided to create a new department (Communications) and planted me there. He gave me some of his responsibilities as well, so he could pursue his extra-curricular activities (which are still mostly about social work and outreach projects).

His philosophy is that, if I were to promote the company, I should not just do it for the company's sake but for the entire Philippines as well. Our country has a lot of valuable talents that we've been constantly losing to brain drain, plus we need to recognize that educational and government institutions have to keep up because we are developing so fast. That's why even when I feel so exhausted, I value the the fact that collaborating with government bodies, schools, and other organizations are parts of my tasks.

(I'm actually excited about the launch of a collaborative project we're doing with two major government institutions. It's been taking a while -- three years to be exact -- but we'll hopefully release it by September 2011. The project is more of a vision-mission thing, since we want to show the world what Filipino culture and talent is all about.)

I guess what I'm saying is that I feel like I am empowered to do more for the country now. The fact that the CEO doesn't want us stuck within the confines of our small building and encourages all of us to actually go out there (he'd even adjust our schedules if it meant that universities and other institutions can borrow any of us) means a lot to me.

I guess that's what I value most.

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Human Nature's products for Independence Day

Although we all honor Independence Day as a national holiday, I can't exactly say that I feel it much. Everywhere I look, I barely see anything that pertains to our original culture. In fact, as Independence Day approaches, I realize that the one thing I miss most about being in the academe was the fact that I used to handle a subject (Digital Media in the Social Context) that incorporates social awareness into thesis proposals.

I'm glad Human Nature sees what I see and it's one of the things I respect about the brand. Founded in 2008 by Anna Meloto-Wilk and Camille Meloto, daughters of Gawad Kalinga's Tony Meloto, Human Nature has always professed to be pro-Philippines, pro-poor and pro-environment. In celebration of Independence Day, they are calling for the support of Philippine-made products and of our local farming community.

Here's a snippet from their Independence Day write-up:

Each raw material used in Human Nature products is carefully considered to make sure it has the potential to grow here in the Philippines and can eventually be sourced here too. The raw material for its top-selling product in fact, the citronella bug spray, is sourced from a local Citronella farming community in Labo, Camarines Norte, Bicol and its lemongrass raw material needs on the other hand, are met by the Lemongrass farming community in Negros. Its latest venture with a Filipino farming community is a partnership with the Passion Fruit farming community in GK Catigan, Davao where their passion fruit seed oil will eventually be sourced for Human Nature’s Hydrating Mineral Lipstick and all-new Passion Fruit Hydrating Lotion.

The now popular ingredient, "Manila Elemi oil" (pili), can be found in Human Nature's Balancing Facial Wash and toners. I've read that the ingredient is anti-aging and is used by Chanel, Dior, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs in their perfumes.

I have not tried any of their new toners yet, but I love their facial washes, especially the variant that has bamboo bits in it. Which reminds me...I'm about to run out, hehe.

They also seem to have released new products in time for Independence Day, most notable of which are the Intensive Hair Mask (with gugo bark extracts) and the Natural Moisturizing Shampoo with CREAMFoam Technology. The latter is touted to contain their "star ingredient", the Philippine Coco Nectar. It's supposed to be enriched with 24 amino acids, 17 vitamins and 14 minerals.

Oooh, nifty new packaging! I likee!

Anyway, for those who are not yet familiar with the brand, just head on over to http://www.humanheartnature.com. I've been a long-time supporter of their products since I'm all for using organic and natural brands and it's a boon for these to be completely Philippine-made.

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Goodbye, Timeless Beauty: Elizabeth Taylor

It took me a while to compose my thoughts as I pondered about the passing of an iconic beauty: Elizabeth Taylor, aged 79. I still have not digested the information fully, truth be told. It felt a lot like Michael Jackson's death.

I first beheld her exquisite image on a vintage issue of LIFE Magazine. She was 12. I couldn't believe she was 12 because she looked so grown-up!

Apparently, when she was just starting out as a child star, Universal Pictures found that she looked too old, largely thanks to her now legendary eyes. We all know she's famous for having that much-coveted genetic mutation: a double layer of eyelashes and mesmerizing violet eyes. (Well, besides the fact that she married 8 times.)

Here's a photo of her at age 10.

Unbelievable! Most little girls that age would probably be in their awkward phase.

But MGM saw and nurtured her potential and the rest is history. Who isn't aware of her successful acting career? She is also mostly recognized for her humanitarian activities, especially with regards to AIDS/HIV projects and advocacy.

One of her most famous quotes about her humanitarian works was: "Give. Remember to always give. This is the thing that will make you grow."

Elizabeth owned the role of Cleopatra, pictured here with her (arguably) greatest love Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony. Who else fits the bill of a tempestuous goddess who had the world at her feet? No one else but Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

By the by, madame is Piscean, which probably explains why she had been constantly hounded by drama for most of her youth. Anyhoo...

We will miss you dearly, Beautiful Elizabeth. I hope you're having a great time with your best friend MJ now. T.T

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Jerrold Tarog's Faculty is a soft cry for better education

Whether or not Jerrold Tarog intended to send a message to academicians, one thing's for sure: his short film Faculty is a swift kick in the gut. Or more accurately, it shot an arrow straight into my heart.

My favorite lines:
"Yan ang trabaho natin dito. Yaya."
(This is our job here. To act as nannies.)

"Ah, empleyado ka. Sorry ha, teacher kasi ako. Kelangan ko magturo."
(Ah, you're an employee. I'm sorry but I'm a teacher. I need to teach.)

"No, we are talking about social awareness and responsibilities. Alam mo, sorry ha, hindi kasi ako kuntentong mangitlog ng mangitlog ng mga mangmang katulad mo. May pakealam ako sa mga bata."
(No, we are talking about social awareness and responsibilities. You know, I'm sorry, I'm not like you, content with laying eggs that have no substance. I care about these kids.)



Both sides shown here -- a teacher who wants to develop critical thinking in students versus a teacher who would rather follow the rules -- have their flaws and Tarog was able to highlight the strengths and the weaknesses in their arguments. I'm actually surprised at the level of insight Tarog was able to project in such a short film. Faculty is only 7 minutes long, and yet, without being too obvious or literal, it was able to shake me right to my very core. I had loved his recently released full-length film Senior Year, but it was Faculty that cemented my place among his many fans.

My take on the the thought-provoking issues this short had raised? We educators become complacent when we begin to look at teaching as a job and not as a vocation. My former boss Gerard Cadlum, whom I greatly miss, once (endearingly) called me an idealist because of my blatant defiance against promoters of intellectual mediocrity. Simply put: I do not like diploma mills. They are responsible for the proliferation of the Cut and Paste Generation and the purveyors of the Robot Mentality (all technical work, no critical thinking). Diploma mills are like the more expensive, glorified version of those fake university certificates being sold in Recto.

And shockingly enough, there are plenty of these around the country, run by people who are fueled by political/personal ambition rather than social responsibility. The good news is, many teachers can make a huge difference. I've seen schools that are truly concerned about enriching their students -- not necessarily to go out and attend rallies (I find that to be quite extreme) -- but striving to make students aware of the changes they are capable of enabling.

"[Education] for me is a starting point if you want to try at least to change a society," Tarog once said during an ANC interview. I concur wholeheartedly. That was why teaching became my vocation for the last five years. And even if I am leaving the academe for a year, I know that I can still continue my support of quality education as a media researcher, social scientist, artist and writer. If Tarog can make awareness possible within 7 minutes, then we know we all can follow his example in our own little way.

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Japan 2011: String of Disasters and How We Can Help

The internet and all other media have been abuzz with news of Japan's tsunami and 8.9 magnitude earthquake combo. It's taking me a while to digest all the information that these tragedies imply because Japan, known for its obsessive-compulsiveness when it comes to organization, has very good Disaster Risk Reduction Management programs. And yet they're still rounding up dead bodies that multiply by the thousand. This on top of the main island moving by 8 feet and shifting the entire planet's axis, thereby affecting the world.

Click to enlarge image. This photo, from CNN, was taken by NASA. It shows a comparison of Japan's shoreline before and after the incident. As of this photo's release, hundreds and thousands of people were feared to be dead, with death tolls that may alarmingly rise above 10,000.

I'm looking at the videos in CNN right now and the titles are not very promising:

• Finding more bodies than survivors
• The remains of a Japanese town
• Minamisanriku, Japan: Nothing left
• Tsunami turns airport into island
• Most difficult crisis since WWII

And now they're also talking about nuclear reactor meltdowns in the wake of all these. But scaring ourselves silly instead of acting will not really help matters. Lounging in Facebook and making usyoso isn't really going to help either. So what can we do?

For one, Google has tools that can help track down missing people.


Two, you can also donate to various organizations that are mobilizing to aid Japan. I've been a Red Cross donor since Hurricane Katrina and this is one organization that keeps me abreast of developments. I'm having a bit of problem donating through the main site now (it's no longer accepting my credit card for some reason), so I used Amazon.com's Red Cross portal.

If you want to look at other options, you can check out Network for Good, which has a huge list of other charities that are responding to this crisis.

For BLOGGERS, you can run an application called the Hello Bar. I'm running it right now and you can see the "Help Japan" alert at the very top of this page. If you're signing up for it, use the invite code "helpjapan" because it'll take you quite some time to get an account otherwise.

For now, my prayers are with all of the people who are residing and have yet to be found in Japan.

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DigitalFilipino Talks: Making Philippine History Relevant Online

Thanks to the DigitalFilipino Talks episode that tackled issues about the Big Bad Blogger, I discovered yet another website that deals with one of the things that are very dear to me: PhilippineHistory.PH.

Making Philippines History Relevant Online from Janette Toral on Vimeo.

I must admit that my interest in Philippine History only surfaced in college, when UP professors profoundly -- and animatedly -- spoke about our ancestors' emotions, behavior and culture. Those were things that were never touched in elementary and high school. Primary and secondary education tackled dates and events in such an emotionless manner that it isn't very shocking to find that kids are bored.

Holistic Education
Dates and events, for many college students, are irrelevant. For most people now, these are merely good for dictating holidays. I say this with such deep regret and sadness. When I was in UP and figuratively dying because of my major subjects, my General Education subjects saved me from leading a very unbalanced college life. They kept me sane.

When I began teaching in private schools (after years in the corporate world), however, I noticed that students find General Education subjects -- History in particular -- to be more of a nuisance than a relief from all the cerebral study load. Students now are more concerned about graduating and immediately making money than enjoying their academic life while they still can. Though I do teach technical major subjects (eCommerce and Game Design are just a couple of them), I find it so unbalanced for students to just want to concentrate on one thing, willing to be technical/work force drones instead of critical thinkers that can form various conceptual frameworks. I cite this imbalance as one of the reasons why this generation of youngsters experience burn out at earlier ages.

But who can blame the students? If a professor isn't very passionate about the subject he or she is teaching, they will never go beyond what is written in books. Lack of passion begets lack of inspiration. Ms. Gloria Melencio understood the problem well enough and she took it upon herself, as a writer and educator, to address this.

Reframing for Relevance
Ms. Melencio spoke about primary and secondary sources when Ms. Janette Toral asked about history books. Ms. Toral brought up a very interesting observation and she hit it right on the nose: historical accounts are tainted with the biases of the historian. Comparative Literature majors are well aware of this fact. That's why they compare the works of Gregorio Zaide, Teodoro Agoncillo, Renato Constantino, Reynaldo Ileto (a very unorthodox historian and one of my favorites) etc. and even go so far as to study the works of fiction writers like Jose Rizal to see if they can extract the "full flavor" of a particular period. Agoncillo, for instance, provides the dates and brief descriptions, but Rizal provides the texture, the dialogues, the poetic imagery and language of his time though his literary masterpieces. Primary sources, like Rizal's journals and artifacts, are the raw information, while secondary sources provide angles to which meaning making could take place.

How do all of these make History relevant? Well, they add to the wealth of knowledge that could somehow be useful to us. As a game designer, for example, toying with the what-ifs in history can be a very rewarding task. I have seen the results of such intensive research in my students' thesis Mayi, which is a 3D game set in pre-Hispanic Philippines.

Here's a screenshot of their thesis:

My Personal Satisfaction
As I look at what the author of PhilippineHistory.PH has done, I feel empowered by my decision to co-create Sarimanok.PH: Philippine Arts & Culture last year. We seem to be doing the same thing. Because of Sarimanok.PH, I have undertaken the task of going around the country in search for primary sources -- case in point: the Cebu Sinulog Festival and my Cebu City museum visits -- as I play willing to be a secondary source. I do this in the name of education and my personal goal of highlighting the importance of embracing our culture.

And like my minor subjects, these activities keep me sane. I work in a very cerebral environment. My PhD studies are equally as left-brained. I needed to participate in this project to bring about holistic perspectives, which are my keys to maintaining a balanced lifestyle. Though I don't intend to be an entrepreneur just yet, I'm hoping my passion will keep me from becoming a drone.

Ms. Melencio's interview -- which centered on her passion and her advocacy -- seemed to be echoing my sentiments, which is why her blog has just been added to my reader. Thanks again, DigitalFilipino, for the wonderful insights. I have found yet another kindred spirit.

"So this is what you've been doing instead of studying for our PhD compre." - Manila Standard columnist, Jenny Ortuoste, when she visited my recent art exhibit.

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Social networking is scary. Case in point: Angelo Reyes.

I was checking my Facebook inbox this morning and just before walking to my 9AM class, I saw a few people announce that former Secretary of National Defense Angelo Reyes died of a gunshot wound. Seconds later, people began to speculate about it being possibly a suicide case. I did a quick search and sure enough, Twitter, Plurk and even Wikipedia have already updated: That he died on February 08, 2011, of apparent suicide, in front of his mother's tomb at Loyola Memorial Park.

All this information overload before the broadsheets could even report about the case. (The online counterparts were quicker.)

What's scary about all this? Despite the tragedy, people all over the net went all out with the bashing. (Since a dead man can't really fight back now, can he?) Well, he did expire on the day he was supposed to stand on trial for graft.  I'm not taking sides. I'm just observing all of this while wondering about the future implications this media buzz brings about. Technological Determinism may seem like such a passe theoretical framework for the phenomena that's unraveling right in front of us, but this is what's happening now. Before, it has been said that people are braver online because it afforded them anonymity. But users are less anonymous now, as our offline identities are beginning to merge with our online identities. We are unabashedly posting our opinions with usernames that are quite attached to our real names and faces.

I'm not saying this is wrong...I'm just really interested in where this kind of behavior will take us and what lessons we'll learn after the brouhaha subsides.

Another one of my observations: a couple of Twitter users have already created accounts that are supposedly Reyes' voice that speaks from the grave. It's kind of sick in a way...

But in this day and age of viral marketing and status messages that announce just about everything from what people ate to what they barfed...the lines have blurred, haven't they?

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Cut and Paste Generation

I've always told my students that it's very difficult to be original these days. So many brilliant minds have come before us and majority of them had innovated hundreds of years before we were even born. Hello, Aristotle, Galileo, Leonardo, Beethoven? What irks me, though, is that many of today's "creators" have become so dependent on technology -- technology that took centuries' worth of creative geniuses to build -- that analytical/inventive thinking has been reduced to a bare minimum. We are now witnessing the dawn of what I call the "Cut and Paste Generation".

Case in point, our music. I miss the days when melodious poetry filled the air waves. Whatever happened to: "Return to a land called Paraiso, a place where a dying river ends"? Now my ears are hurting from all the remakes, and worse, absolute rip-offs. Example:



Toni Gonzaga is a very talented artist. She has powerful vocals. Why the heck do they need to make her sound like an electrocuted chipmunk? Don't we only do this for "artists" that look good but can't sing? She looks good and she CAN sing. So what is this?? But that's not all that's disturbing. Take a look at an older video done by Korean girl group 2EN1:



I can't believe we have the gal to rip concepts off the Koreans when we have so many talented musicians and video directors in this country. (Bless Sandara Park of 2EN1 for bringing Tagalog songs over into her home country, even if those Tagalong songs are not my cup of tea.) And it isn't only the Koreans we've stolen from in Toni Gonzaga's video. The refrain sounds too much like Rihanna's Disturbia.

The O in OPM (Original Pilipino Music) is gone. That's why they're calling it P-Pop now. Ew.

Oh, but I don't think it's only our people that do this. I've seen internationals steal content from blogs, websites, etc. and teachers all over the globe complain about rampant plagiarism. This is a worldwide phenomenon. Remember Nick Simmons, who's now being accused of tracing his artwork off of Bleach? Related article here.

 Comparison scans from Comic Book Resources.

The older generation are much more analytical. Our forefathers can boast of animators who were physicists (like Ed Catmull), painters who were also carpenters, artists who were scientists (Leonardo Da Vinci among them), singers that were composers (Michael Jackson is one in hundred thousands), designers that were also developers. Generally, these were creative people who had to be resourceful because the tools of their time were primitive. Each generation's pool of geniuses builds up on the last, that's why our technology has become so advanced.

What is left for the younger generations to do then?  It's sad but it seems many will end up as drones because many are incapable of analytical thinking. They will be merely machine operators, while the few remaining thinkers do the directing.

This now poses the question: Are the inventions of past geniuses to blame for the lack of originality of our present generation? I shudder to think so. I suppose the least we can do now, if our elders have already thought about everything, is to at least ATTEMPT to be original.

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The Queen of Wands: Surviving the Pinoy Blogosphere Part 2

Or How International Predators Stalk Filipina Bloggers

If I were to choose a tarot card to describe the Filipino Woman, it would be the Queen of Wands. Generally speaking, most of the definitions and contradictions that embody the Filipina are in this card. I wouldn't normally cite Wikipedia as a reference but since a blog is an informal medium, and since Wikipedia has the most concise description of the Queen of Wands, I shall quote it:

This combination results in a card which represents a vivacious and warm personality, full of a fiery passion put to the service of encouragement, assurement (sic), attraction, esteem, and enthusiasm. The back of her throne doesn't have a top, indicating endless possibilities. The lions on the back of her throne are associated with the element fire. Her golden atire (sic) shows that she is strong and her fire is burning with great intensity. The desert behind her is another indicator of fire. The rocks on the right side of her throne can show toughness, a hard soul, her independence.

There's the rub. For all the good qualities that we have both as nurturers and as career women (I am very confident that a Pinay can endure the harshest conditions), we are nothing but a bunch of meat to so many men.  Especially in this country. My sister has written an entry about this in her blog, where she gave advice on how to deal with perverts on the street. Thing is, the more education and work experience I attain, the more irksome men's whistles and catcalls have become. (I did not attain this level of expertise, only to be treated as meat by these lowlives.) I have been enduring these -- and worse! -- since I was 13. Each time it happens, I have the strongest urge to cause death and destruction.

And what do you know! The Filipino Woman is very popular among international perverts as well! Case in point, searching with the keywords "personal filipino woman":

Notice I added the word "personal" in it. The keyword, when used by an international blogging community, would seem almost harmless. In the local blogging community, however, it poses a different story. Now here is where -- and I must emphasize this strongly -- parents, guardians and educators should always be on the lookout for: predators.

I have nothing against social networking sites, and I am, in fact, addicted to Facebook. But I think these are also partly responsible for how Filipinas are categorized online: Lovely meat. You'd think that these international predators would be a little bit more discerning but there was one foreigner who "wisely" thought our school was a good hunting ground for Pinays. He mistakenly assumed that every Pinay who smiled at him was interested in a fling. Even the cleaning lady. And the students. (Um. We Pinoys are generally a smile-y people.)

I fed him to my gay friends.

After finding out that we in the academe are not very tolerant of predators, he flew back to his country.

Social networks seem to be the most logical hunting grounds for these. But they're spilling over to blogs. Blogs are ripe because authors post deeper insights in blogs than in Facebook, Friendster and what have you. And the personal categories in Philippine blog listing sites are the perfect starting venues for these people. And who can blame them? Check out what kind of sites are listed under "personal" (majority are all about bedroom activities) and you'll find that the word has been taken to a whole new level of semiotics.

This would normally not be an issue if the site's nature encompasses romance and relationships. It will be an issue, however, for serious hobbyists like me. Both relationships and hobbies fall under the category of "personal". A hobby is a personal thing. A social issue is also a personal thing. A teenager who is both into cross-stitching and photography could end up in a personal category, and is therefore susceptible to being contacted by predators. Heck, when I was in that category, I was not spared. To think I am a fully grown, highly academic person. (Then again, I did mention that many pervs are not very discerning.)

The solution? Find a more specific community and stay away from the word "personal". And guardians (parents and teachers), if you cannot keep your children from having an online life, at least check up on their internet habits and never fail to remind them to be careful.

Comic strip from http://www.xkcd.com

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UP Saga 5-6: PhD qualifying exam will still take place but if you want to volunteer for Ondoy victims...

Here's the schedule I got from my sisters in UP-CSWCD:

1. sept 30 - oct 3 - collection of goods; (nasa sulat ang mga ilalagay natin sa bawat timba)
2. oct 2 - 3: sorting, packing (kailangan natin ng mga volunteers dito)
3. oct 4: distribution - pupunta tayo sa banaba high school, subukan natin makarating doon ng mga 9AM.


Planning to help out after my exams, since UP has become a refugee center. You can join me if you want. Though the exam will be from 9AM to 4PM. Gad. I can't even concentrate on studying. Bahala na si Batman.

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 30, '09 TO ALL THOSE DONATING TO POST ONDOY RELIEF OPERATIONS - Please include sanitary napkins, women's underclothes and infant milk in your donations. Women and children have special needs that are often forgotten in disaster situations. Thank you very much; please pass and repost.

delete reply jvlapa wrote on Sep 30, '09 We have clothes at home for donation. Where do we deposit them?

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 30, '09 jvlapa said We have clothes at home for donation. Where do we deposit them?  The nearest to you, ma, is APC. UP is too far away, but we're doing a class project for the relief at the UP-CSWD

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UP Saga 5-5: Conflicting Paradigms on Pro-Life and Pro-Choice

I have always been anti-abortion.

Thing is, the more I get immersed in my Gender and Sexuality class, the more I get exposed to the shades of gray when it comes to this topic.  Sometimes, it even turns out that Pro-Life people cannot call themselves Pro-Life because...well, extremists kill Pro-Choice supporters. Also, in this country, Pro-Life laws actually kill mothers-to-be.  (In fact, my professor doesn't call this group Pro-Life, she calls them Pro-Natal.)

Some arguments are really extreme on both ends that I find myself stuck in cognitive dissonance.  I still cannot imagine myself deliberately killing a baby, no matter how young it is, but I also believe that women should be given a choice as to the kind of contraceptive she can use. Options. They're very important because the choices "Pro-Life" credos provide us are severely limited.

So I'm starting with the basics: The RH Bill. I cannot even begin to discuss Manila Mayor Atienza's Executive Order 003, Series of 2000 -- not only because it violates international covenants, but also because find it absurd that he'd give P500-1,000 (once a year, like an award) to the biggest families as if that paltry sum would alleviate the poverty he inadvertently threw his people into.

I'm still anti-abortion (except in special cases where the mother's life is at risk or when there are psychological issues to be covered), but I believe in the importance of empowering women, their partners (husbands or...wives?) and children by giving them information on their Reproductive Rights.


Related Reading:
Thirty-five Years of Legal Abortion in the U.S.: The Unfinished Agenda by Marlene Gerber Fried

delete reply legioastartes wrote on Sep 11, '09 Awww. A lot of people tend to see black and whites, but few see the shades of grey. Personally, I don't like the thought of abortion (unless it endangers the mother) but then, my mom is pro choice for women, she says it's the mother's choice >_> so yeah, a lot of people have conflicting opinions..yet don't work toward a practical compromise.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, '09 hmm. nalilito po ako dito. if pro-choice ka, would it be ok if you are using contraceptives? kasi parang dito sa pinas extreme yung pro choice, iba iniisip pag contraceptives. hnd mo naman pinapatay kasi wala pa naman nabubuo. naniniwala ako na the moment na may conception me buhay na yun. well depende sa contraceptives.... natural method and all. except sa mga abortifacients. >__< (dapat talaga, nakinig ako nung dinidiscuss 'to dati XDDD )

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, '09, edited on Sep 11, '09 criys said hmm. nalilito po ako dito. if pro-choice ka, would it be ok if you are using contraceptives?  baka you mean pro-life? kasi pro-life is against anything that isn't natural. that includes artificial contraceptives. dito pumapasok ang complexities ng female body. we are so diverse that we need a lot of options. (and jeez, anyone who's been so exposed to women will probably know how complicated we are in so many aspects.) pro-choice naman believes na dapat may choice ang babae. unfortunately, i'm not comfortable with the idea of abortion. even if my professor (and she's really good ha) is pro-abortion, i got really squeamish during the discussion. i actually went out of the room to get some air. haha! thank goodness the next reporter was funny. i do get her point, though, when she said that we shouldn't discriminate people based on ideologies. like there was this one woman daw who was having a miscarriage and she was being ignored while she bled half to death...apparently, the medical team thought she had an abortion and wanted to teach her a lesson. that kind of attitude is not at all pro-life (which is why my prof calls them pro-natal) and is inhuman. no matter what the reason was for that woman to bleed to death, they should give her medical attention.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, '09 skysenshi said baka you mean pro-life?  ay opo. (sabi na nga ba... -_-; me ma mimiss ako dito, sabaw pa kasi... XD)

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, '09 criys said ay opo. (sabi na nga ba... -_-; me ma mimiss ako dito, sabaw pa kasi... XD)  hehe, anyway, what i like about my prof is she's not just a feminist. she's just anti-oppression because she believes a lot of the men are being shortchanged, too, when you ignore the needs of women. hehe.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, '09 mahirap.... parang ang extreme nga naman. I agree miss, kelangan pa rin ng artificial contraceptives (at marami pang under dito) what I don't agree with are the use of abortifacients. At nung sa stuation na sa isang babae na nag miscarriage, grabe naman ung medical team. nakakalimutan na nila ang tinuro sa ethics. well. that's reality. (sidetrack lang po, kwento lang po sa kin ng mom's cousin na nurse. dun sa isang hospital kasi na public, e maraming nanganganak at para daw maturuan ng leksyon, ung mga marami nang anak e di na daw binibgyan ng anesthesia >___< )

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, '09 waahhh. napaka ironic. nung dinidiscuss 'to sa class, di ako masyado nakikinig. pero ngayon mas nagiging interesting ang topic dahil mag gagamit ito sa future. XDDD (~sabaw mode~)

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, '09 criys said (sidetrack lang po, kwento lang po sa kin ng mom's cousin na nurse. dun sa isang hospital kasi na public, e maraming nanganganak at para daw maturuan ng leksyon, ung mga marami nang anak e di na daw binibgyan ng anesthesia >___< )  yes, that's true. we discussed that. that was part of our discussion kanina. grabe no? namamatay tong mga babaeng to and hindi naman nila kasalanan actually. they weren't educated enough or given options on how to prevent unwanted pregnancies. and you know what's sad? people like us would probably never experience that because we have the means to prevent it. may kaya tayo kahit papaano so nagagawan natin ng paraan. actually medyo ganun din ang take ko on abortificients...ayoko talaga. pero may mga cases na kailangan. pag nagkwento nga yung prof ko na 3rd trimester na ng pregnancy, as in buong buo na yung bata pero naging health risk siya dun sa mother...gosh. she described how paisa, isa tinatanggalan ng parts yung baby hanggang sa matanggal lahat sa katawan ng mommy. di ko kinaya talaga. lumabas ako ng room. ^^;;; i know it was needed so that the mother could survive, pero talagang di ko kaya pakinggan.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, '09 skysenshi said men are being shortchanged, too, when you ignore the needs of women. hehe.  interesting, never thought of it that way..

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, '09 skysenshi said pag nagkwento nga yung prof ko na 3rd trimester na ng pregnancy, as in buong buo na yung bata pero naging health risk siya dun sa mother...gosh.  ang hirap nga po nyan. walang tamang sagot, sino pipiliin ang bata o ang ina? what if ikaw ang ina? (so many questions... hirap) ... nakakapanindig balahibo naman yung isa isa... tanggalin ang parts O.o

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, '09 criys said ang hirap nga po nyan. walang tamang sagot, sino pipiliin ang bata o ang ina? what if ikaw ang ina? (so many questions... hirap) ... nakakapanindig balahibo naman yung isa isa... tanggalin ang parts O.o  di ba? mamamatay din kasi yung bata dahil di pa siya fully developed. so kung ipilit mo rin yung pregnancy pareho silang dead. @_@ gosh di ba?

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, '09 andun na ang pala yung sagot. di talaga madali....

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