This is my commentary about Prof. Danny Arao’s blog post: Huwag Kang Magblog Kung…

Prof. Danny Arao’s blogpost about bloggers who become “sell outs” in the blogosphere is indeed thought provoking. I have been blogging for a long time but it was only until now that I get to meet some other bloggers in “real life” through the the different blogger or media events organized by different marketing or pr agencies. It’s only now I realize that there are some perks by becoming a blogger. I must admit it was fun since I get to experience things I have not done before ( especially the food that I have not tasted before). In exchange of letting me experience those perks of course I should return the favor by writing about their product or event etc. That’s ’social exchange theory’ in real life, but it’s not being forced. Even though they feed me with all the food they want, nothing can control me on what I will say. I will still write a bad review if I didn’t like the taste of the food or if the service is bad. I make sure that it’s being done constructively and not because I am being too personal about it. Read the rest of this entry »

Raymund Marasigan just emailed the Cambio Mailing List this message:

dear wizards and witches

there is some disturbing news at the ministry of magic. the dementors
are doing everything they can to stop the show.

be safe

aldus dumbledore

Dare not to stop the show. It’s the law that has a flaw, Phillip Morris was able to seep into the loophole.

Now the question would be: Would you say that the fans who want this show to push through are “unintelligent” just because they don’t f*cking care whoever sponsors or ‘organizes’ the show?

I remember when I was in college, my thesis was about fandom. I wanted to do a different kind of study and portray fans as ‘intelligent’ beings in this world as opposed to the common notion of fans being the “commoners”, ” unproductive” ( meaning all they do is stalk with their idols) and justify that their idols actions are always correct.

The Frankfurt School theorists ( rooted from the believers of Karl Marx’s theories) would insist that fans are products of mass culture. As for them, mass culture is bad, monstrous and only makes people fantasize about the impossible and ‘alienates’ people from the reality of life. Mass Culture as for them operates with different apparatuses that would control the recipients of mass culture ( i.e. the fans). In this sense, we are led to have the common notion of the fan to be just mere passive audiences. If you will try to analyze it, it is somewhat a one-way relationship when fans just get pleasure from their idols and nothing can be no intellectual or cultural production can be produced from their idols. ( Try thinking about your biology in high school, it’s a symbiotic relationship called commensalism wherein only one benefits while the other doesn’t benefit at all). This kind of notion is pathological since they are the kinds of fans that media shows us.

I beg to disagree that I am like that. I am not that kind of fan. I want the show to happen.

Fans have the power to resist within their domain. Whoever the sponsor of the event is, fans will still support the show. Fans have the capability to resist whatever the motive of the sponsor is. If Phillip Morris is indeed the real sponsor ( which was by the way already confirmed), fans can still attend the event and not accept whatever Phillip Morris advocates. It’s just simple logic, it’s non-sequitur! It does not follow that if a person attends this event then people will advocate smoking. Wow, isn’t that illogical?! By the way, people have individual brains and can decide for themselves. The problem is, we are always concerned about the structural and always neglect agency ( or the individual). People are focused only on the economic structure being the big bad wolf when in fact there are other structures where we can work on. Focus on the ‘is’, capitalism or consumerism IS already here ever since and what we can do right now is to work WITHIN capitalism. Now, don’t mistake me as an elitist, I am just being pragmatic.

I understand other people’s orientation that personal is political. I accept that. But that is not always the case.

I am a fan, a logical fan.

I am feeling krung krung period. For those who do not know what it means, it’s defined as: a state of feeling one undergoes when he/she is out of her ‘normal’ state. Well that’s how I define it, I don’t know for others. I don’t really know why I am feeling this, probably I am just PMS-ing. I don’t know. I am feeling bored. I want to do many things, so little time ( and too expensive ). This morning I woke up from a 17 hour sleep ( I didn’t go to work last night) and suddenly craved for breakfast buffet in ‘Something Fishy’. Since I couldn’t drag Karla all the way from Parañaque, I dragged my mom to come along with me. So we went to Eastwood and ate the breakfast buffet. I really got so full hehe. We arrived there about 9:40 am and they’re about to clean up since the buffet is only until 10. After being the last customers there, we walked around the quiet Eastwood then headed to Cubao. Mom was going to her Church, and as for me ( who is not really into religious things) I went to Gateway Cubao and hung out in Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. This time I was alone. I remember the times when I would be feeling this and this coffee shop is always the place I seek refuge. I am usually alone whenever I go to this coffee shop.

Probably I am bored.

I will now reveal that I will be moving out of the call center industry on September and will be venturing a new career in a different industry. I have already filed my resignation last night effective August 27. It was not an easy decision to make since I have been attached to my teammates. We’ve gone beyond being just teammates, we share stories about our personal lives, our aspirations, rants and raves. I could say that I’ve earned new friendships from my relationship with my teammates that is why it’s really hard for me to decide if I should stay or should I go. This new job that was offered to me just came to me unexpectedly. Read the rest of this entry »

This was a blow by blow account of my experience with the Eraserheads while they were shooting the “Maskara” video for the Carbonsteroxide ( their last) album. I tried to find this in the Circus mailing list, glad it’s still there… This was back in 2001, I was in 4th year high school then. Neneng pa. lolz. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the negative of the pictures taken here, jolog pa nun eh, no digicam yet. Hehe. In the video, I was part of the “party people” and one of the victims of the “face snatcher”. Read the rest of this entry »

I got my new schedule that will be effective 2nd week of July. This is probably the worst schedule that I got: 1 am - 10 am. WAhhh!!! And this will be my shift when we transfer to The Fort ( that will be August). I just don’t know if I can cope with that schedule since I am living in Sta. Mesa. It would be very expensive for me to take a cab all the way from Sta. Mesa going to Netquad at the Fort. Another factor to consider is my time with my partner. Now that I am in the morning shift we can see each other everyday and wouldn’t really mind of the time since we go out after my shift. It just saddens me because I have no choice in the shift schedules that the management gives us. The work pays a lot but I have to compromise other things in my life. It’s really hard to work in a Call Center. I wanna quit and pursue the work that I wanna do however the work I wanna do doesn’t pay that much. By the way, I am the breadwinner in this household so I can’t really make drastic decisions without considering my mom. She’s all that I got.

In the lay person’s perspective the movie’s theme is light, it’s just a story of a bee who wants to be indifferent from his own kind. Looking at it in a sociological perspective there are lots of concepts or perspectives that could be applied to this one. Read the rest of this entry »

I feel happy because there are some ppl and things that make me happy. From simple things like reading my favorite author jeanette winterson, logging on to the internet everyday after work and listening to rock music to the teeny bopper things like seeing my eye candy butch everyday at work. Everybody needs to be happy right? This is needed to survive. This realization of seeking happiness from simple things or even teeny bopper ones came in when everything sank in: that I am single, abandoned by my ex girlfriend and nobody gives color to my life. I’m sorry i cld not find another euphemism for the phrase abandoned by my ex girlfriend. Well anyway, i realized that I am seeking happiness and so I am getting it from different things. It’s human nature ( if there is such thing as human nature) for us human beings to seek happiness whether it may be another person, a thing, a song, or what have u. From what I can remember, i’ve been seeking happiness to other things or persons when my ex girlfriend and i were still together and we’re not seeing or communicating w each other for abt a month. That helped me to entertain the feeling that I am getting used to being without her and that I can be happy without her. It’s true, when you’re in a relationship sometimes u focus ur happiness to that person. Everything u do with that person makes u happy and whatever things that u do without her makes u unhappy ( bec you’ve got the feeling that it wld be much happier if she was here with me thing.. u know) Well it shd be 1st person ok let me repeat. Everything I do with that person makes me happy and whatever things that I do without her makes me unhappy. Oh no, here I am again being dependent to another person. This is the biggest mistake i’ve done in the past and I am doing it all over again. But of course, I did not overdo it like before. I left some love and respect to myself that’s why it was easy for me to let go and move on with my life. I don’t wanna be like before became miserable and lonely when I can be happy with different things.

When I was in Cavite ( which was like a few hrs ago), I was happy bec there are 2 ppl that were texting me. One was a cyberfriend from way back 2006 in which our relationship as friends or acquaintances didn’t materialize bec of my girlfriend then. In short, dinispatcha niya ito using my own cellphone and another one is a colleague of mine at work. Both of them were communicating with me at the same time. I felt happy bec I am gaining ppl to talk to ( from the lesbian circle, though cyberfriend claims she’s bi), u know those ppl who belong to my kind of flock. Would u call it flirting? Hmm maybe. There’s nothing wrong with a little flirtation especially now that i am single. It made me think, am i ready for this? Or am I on a rebound? One of them, actually asked me out. I said yes. that’s not bad right? It’s not as if we’re gonna live together, right? It’s been a month since i started my singlehood. that’s fine.

It’s another NU 107 soundtrippin’ sunday. it’s nice to hear my old favorite songs which i have forgotten that i’ve liked them. I’m just bumming around here at home. I started my Sunday blues at abt 5 am morning on the net, just coming home from a night out w my former colleagues in Eperformax.. WE went to Grilla in Kalayaan had a few drinks then sang our hearts out in Prov. Went home at abt 5 am, thx for Mark Chu for dropping me home.Good thing i saw Gli, a good friend of mine, in Prov. Updated some stories and then part ways. I slept at abt 630 am then woke up at 11 am and went online again.. Read the rest of this entry »