With the steady rise in transition to Digital Media, the traditional book format and its perks might become obsolete in the years to come but it remains a theory, though. I'm sure advocates of the classic format (who are still smellbound) will find a way for its own preservation as we all know that when something becomes obsolete, it also increases its own value. Museums and antique shops will still flourish and if you can read Hieroglyphics or Aramaic today, that's a pretty cool and powerful skill no matter how hard it would take to practice. And if you love reading and remember the exiles in Fahrenheit 451, you know what I am talking about.
As I await the slow-mo 0.11.4 patch update for my Path of Exile ARPG at the exit of tropical storm Maring, dragging monsoon rainclouds across Luzon on this 30th Death Anniversary of Ninoy, I couldn't help but ponder on stories left unwritten and read about real stories that keep on bringing warmth inside like an afternoon cup of tea, coffee, or chocolate. Choose your nourishment--your food for the soul. Hope is always a good thing no matter what they say.
Ages ago, it used to be part of my routine to read Pugad Baboy strips via the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) online and last Tuesday I saw this and found it very critical from the author's point but still, I appreciate the joke and I do not blame him.
Once again, I don't see anything as condemning with the joke. It may be insensitive, but not something new as blatantly scandalous. It's part of a sad truth that we all know exists since time immemorial. Because first, I see it as a classic PMJR style of criticism (spelled as S-a-t-i-r-e) about his fellow Filipinos. That cynical style made him a household name for both his followers and critics. Second, PMJR is depicting here a very unique character giving her part in a story arc. That character is representing the LGBT community's standpoint but the author uses it everyday with the same magnitude as portraying characters like your common government employees, teachers, students, traditional politicians, cult fanatics, vegetarian activists, hippie junkies, et al. In short, they are all part of a diversity that made Pugad Baboy comic strips a mirror of our society---the Philippine Society.
Only this morning when I visited the Inquirer site I saw an article about the PDI apologizing to the negative feedback, leading to temporary suspension of Pol Medina Jr. This one I think, is a near-sighted move by PDI because first of all, the publication of this strip is also an editor's job and giving the bulk of penalty to PMJR is exactly unfair to the author.
Public admittance of one's fault and sanctioning penalty to another is I think a very partial judgment on PDI's side.
My view on this Republic Act 10175 known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 is very simple and straightforward. It's timely as a political ploy to grab voter's attention. Because next year will be a battle in the Philippine Senate and the clowns need to warm up. These "public servants" who in reality are becoming useless politicians who can't write their own speeches by copying online sources and articles without proper and legal citation better watch their own selves before imposing the law to the Filipino people. Better for them to stop watching torrent-downloaded movies if they want to really sound believable.
Those who favor that law use the Uncle Ben argument that "with great power comes great responsibility." Essentially I agree with it but how can you practice responsibility when somebody attempts to steal that power ---your right to free speech? You have to exercise that power first. Where is the power when you're not allowed to speak your mind? Where is the power when you are only allowed to exchange pleasantries and structured thoughts like living a black-n-white world in Pleasantville? Where is the power when due process is kicked to the curb?
If you see yourself ranting about annoying people who oppose the law, you yourself is also guilty of it because you've just practiced free speech with your dissent and disgust on FB. But since you favor the law, you should have put a tape in your mouth instead and shut the F* up to play safe from being cast as "libelous."
Our lawmakers had no doubt, the good intention to finally eradicate legitimate crimes as identity theft, child pornography, fraud, spamming, hacking, and piracy but good intention is not enough. There are no shortcuts in the creation of Law. They need to study this issue deeply and conduct multilateral discussions if needed, never use it to gain popularity. Our beloved politicos have no idea and understanding of what and how technology is working today that shaped our society and what technology is supposed to fight for in the future.
Like these lawmakers should be, technologyis supposed to be a servant and not a dictator. Since we are paying our taxes every 15th and 30th day of the month, as Filipinos we believe that we have the right to rant when these public servants stopped being public servants.
No uniform day kami sa opisina tuwing sabado. Ibig sabihin pag darating and araw na ito, kanya kanyang diskarte sa pagsuot ng kanya-kanyang paboritong damit. Sa kaso ko na sawang sawa na sa pagsuot nang de-kuwelyong damit limang beses sa isang linggo, masayang masaya na 'pag nasuot ang paboritong t-shirt na may logo ng ika-apat na studio album ng Wolfgang noong 1999: ang Serve in Silence. Trip na trip ko ang design nito dahil simple lang ang in-your-face na mensaheng napakadaling maintindihan ng mga beterano sa pakikinig ng mga tunay na kanta---mga awiting napakalayo mula sa estilo ng kagimbal-gimbal, kaawa-awa at lalambot-lambot na Hipster Generation ngayon.
Suot-suot ko ang mga paboritong t-shirt na ganito ang tema tuwing sabado na may pagpupugay sa lumipas na henerasyon ng punk, metal at alternative music ng dekada '90. Sa dekadang ito kasi ako nabibilang at ipinagmamalaki ko ito hanggang ngayon. Hindi ko lang ito basta sinasabi dahil lang sa trip ko, ito din ay isang deklarasyon at testimonya. Hindi din naman natin nilalahat na wala nang pakinabang at katuturan ang mga awiting naimbento ngayon. Ang sigurado ako, mas orihinal at katangi-tangi ang dekada'90 kumpara sa panahon ngayon na puro gasgas at revival.
Kaya nung nalaman ko na may bagong labas na album ang Wolfgang; ang kanilang ika-pitong concept album na kung saan lahat ng kanta ay isinulat sa wikang Filipino, natuwa ako. Salamat sa Diyos!--sabi ko sa sarili ko. Meron na namang dahilan para mabasag ang mga tenga ko...sa pamamaraang matagal ko nang alam at sa pamamaraang matagal ko nang gusto.
By displaying the Blog with Integrity badge or signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.
I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.
I believe in intellectual property rights, providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.
I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.
When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.
I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.
I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them.
Nobody spanked me nor nagged me to do this pledge because first, I spank myself whenever I find myself at fault and second, I believe it's about time to be true to the word of honor both in traditional and digital format.
It saddens me when innocent people are hurt. Worse when they got killed. Clearly, they don't deserve it. If you have issues and want to make a message, think about your loved ones first before doing it.
You know what, it's no longer fun when life begins to imitate art. If you think you've earned the attention of the rest of the world by playing the real-life Joker, the joke is on you. We know that it only takes a grain of courage and common sense to stop a crazy motherf#c%3r like you and we shall always remain vigilant for that. If you read your comic books right, Batman always wins in the end and the Joker always loses. That's something you need to think about right now, right there in your detention cell in Aurora, Colorado.
is simply because this combination, when compared to the traditional "black text on white background" is less strainingfor my eyes. I have seen a lot of web guides that suggest me to follow that classic rule of black text on white page (and renders the usage of light text on black background a blasphemy) but based on my personal experiences in processing digital maps in MapInfo and ArcGIS, engineering plans in AutoCAD and Civil 3D, and programming C in Linux, the opposite of that rule holds true. You can even ask any programmer out there and I can tell you that most of them are favoring the light text on a dark background on a traditionalist's perspective.
I remember my superior seeing my office mate working on his plans and asking him what's up with the black background. "It's less eye-straining" was my office mate's immediate answer. I couldn't agree more. He probably saw my monitor and realized also that this color scheme is much easier on the eyes considering that we're working in front of our computer screens 8-10 hours a day. Yesterday, I was making an organizational chart and process flowchart via Word and Powerpoint with white background and before the day ended, I was already having a headache. I'm afraid of losing my normal eyesight to myopia.
So what really is the best rule for this? I think this is still a very subjective issue. It depends on the individual's eyes. Some might even say using black text on white background is boring while using white text on black background is stressful to the eye. Working in front of a monitor I think is not different in reading a blog like this one. This grey text over black background is the most comfortable in my eyes since this background also provides depth and sense of space compared to the plain white background. But I wont blame you if you think this blog kills your eyes and shun away from it. The important thing here is to protect both the writer and the reader's 20/20 vision.
Recently I joined Book Blogs and one member asked for a better blog format (or blog platform---to be exact) in the discussions. Looking at other sources with comparative stats between varied platforms and providers (not counting out that most online statistical data can be manipulated) and looking at my own experience since 2004, I think it's becoming a subjective inquiry since choosing your platform depends entirely on what you want and need to do with your blog.
CLICK THIS IMAGE FOR IMG SOURCE
There's a platform suitable for free hosting as well as for paid hosting. The latter is good if you want to own your content but you have to pay for it. Some like to earn money from their blogs while others choose to be free from ads (like this blog). Another criteria is the design. Some would prefer the professional look, others choose personalized (widget/gadget intensive) look, while some would prefer the simplified text-heavy look. Some would consider user popularity of the provider like this list did. Considering the boom in the social media sphere by Facebook and Twitter, and in the geek sphere by iTunes Podcast and Technorati, integration between domains also is a big factor. If your platform can easily link to potential readers, the better for your blog. Additionally, it's also important to choose a secured and spam-free platform and a provider that continues to improve and evolve to suit every user's needs. User support and forum is also a good criteria, with the current trend in "cloud" communities. Choosing a provider to keep a constant eye on what sites link to your blog and the detailed statistics of your blog (crawl errors, live feeds, search queries, etc.) will also give the blog owner a sense of control and overview.
Now if you ask me what's my choice in blog platform, I will answer its Blogger. Sorry to disappoint you Google haters, but this platform worked for me since 2004. I have current blogs in Tumblr and Posterous but for a book blog, Blogger is the platform that suits well with my needs. But this is actually, not relevant. There's something more important than merely choosing a platform.
The choice of specific criteria stated above will not guarantee a quality and loyal readership for your blog. The bottom line is still about what you write in your blog.Content is more important than platform.I have seen a lot of blogs with professional looking templates but the content speaks differently (mostly candy-coated childish posts and memes). I saw a blog with an old and simplified template but the writing is very good and very informative. I saw a blog loaded with graphics but what I like about that blog is not the graphics but what the author consistently writes about.
So once again, what's better than choosing your blog's platform? It's what you write in your blog.
This place has been my home for 7 years and whenever the month of December looms in the horizon, that unique atmosphere of excitement leading to inevitable basking in festivity of the Lantern Parade is one unforgettable event for any alumni. Pinoy Theme is an undying trademark and this constellation of "parol"---lanterns glimmering in darkness is simply nostalgic.
After sharing Samuel Coleridge's categories of a reader earlier (the post below) and after seeing the strain-bag type, I asked myself "How about the Douche Bag types out there?" as there are evidently some types of "readers" that easily annoy us in varying degrees. We encounter them in our house, school, workplace, in MRT/LRT, bus, jeepney, the cyberspace, etc. They represent the Other Types of Readers that we dread to face sometime in our lives but they will always surround us in abundance since this world is already populated with 7 billion people. For reasons of amusement and reminder to stay in the right side of the Reading Force, let's take a look at them one by one...
1. The Clone - A reader who agrees with everything he reads. He also copies the style of his favorite author, including the gesture and the bad hair. He believes he is the perfect DNA replicant of his favorite author including his idol's IQ.
2. The Proofreader - If you ask him about his current read, his answer is most likely "The comma is misplaced somewhere in chapter 4, page 238, line 27." The kind of reader who checks every misspelled word and wrong placement of colon, dash, semicolon, comma, apostrophe, italics, caps, and so on, and so forth...
3. The Incomplete - His reading is always partial. After reading the first ten pages of a book he swaps it and read the first chaper of a new one, and then turn to book no.3 only to read up until midway and then turns to book no.4 and the cycle goes on and on, and on...
4. The Lawyer - Also known as the Attorney, he retraces historical and logical fallacies, propaganda, and politically incorrect terms. The kind of reader that does not agree with everything he reads and the hardest one to please, he is a tough nut to crack and a diligent cross-examiner. Fundamentalist by ideology, his opinion is always right and absolute. This makes him the opposite of the Clone and a severe case of the Proofreader.
5. The Douche Bag - A completely useless reader.
6. The Cheater - He declares reading the book complete from cover to cover but in reality, he only reads book reviews, wikipedia articles, blog posts, and overheard comments in public places. He can also be called the Googler.
7. The Poser - You can easily spot him in public places cradling a thick, popular book of the moment, especially when the film adaptation is currently featured, or about to be shown in cinemas. His gesture is "Look world, I'm a nerd! I'm reading the most popular book on the planet and I'm cool!" as he sways and swaggers in public display of his ultra-thick book. What makes him a poser is that he actually does not read books, he just like displaying them in public.
Four to five years ago, we saw the birth of this trend in commercial film making (i.e. Hollywood) and now we can feel the effects in the world of literature. This can't be prevented, given that a lot of films base their stories from books and comics, and vice versa. Insiders would say it was justified given the success of reboot works like Nolan's Batman Trilogy (I already expect the upcoming Dark Knight Rises a success) and Rob Zombie's Halloween, while others remain skeptic after failed attempts of Superman Returns and Dukes of Hazard.
Those who fell in love with the original and classic works say there's no need for reinvention, we just need to create something new. But the problem with this is writers are running out of original idea these days. It's all becoming common, and it's all been done before. JK Rowling's Harry Potter is similar to Neil Gaiman's Tim Hunter, Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games is directly comparable to Koushun Takami's Battle Royale. Even in the narrative and the character structure, Joseph Campbell's "Monomyth" hypothesis or commonly known as The Hero's Journey/Cycle has been used and re-used (coincidentally or not) over and over again by writers of fiction. It can be seen in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Neverwhere, American Gods, Stardust, TheEarthsea Cycle, Enders Game, and other successful mythologies for both the young and old.
Others would just see "reboot" as primarily a financial move for producers and publishers due to global recession, while for authors it's just an experimental attempt, a tinkering of past creativity like a circus move, tiptoeing on a very sharp edge of a sword. But the people's verdict is still, out there. Producers must never count the consumers out since people are becoming smarter. We just have to wait if this trend will turn out good or until reaching a saturation period (3-5 years from now) when the need for a new trend is imminent. Waiting for a resolution, perhaps?
The country's pioneer issue of Esquire Magazine made a list of real life Filipino heroes to look up to. Choosing one's TNL idol is still, highly subjective and comparing my own list to their list is like comparing apples to oranges. You will never find any businessmen here since my own criteria focuses on politics, sports, and culture. Besides, I don't consider the privileged affluent kids who just continue to develop their inherited fortunes (mana) tough enough without trying to make a name for themselves in a completely different field. That made Jose Rizal and Ninoy Aquino exceptional for doing the opposite by sacrificing their names, their fortunes, and ultimately their lives for the good of the country.
Including the Pacman below, the photo collage and list of the other 29 (pictured above) show my choice of Real Life, TNL Pinoy Idols.
It's going to be a long and rainy weekend here in the Philippines so I just reviewed a memorable Post-Apocalyptic Sci Fi film officially released in 2010 that advocates the value of book reading.
The final revelation that the "book" was in Braille format and the blind hero (Eli) was able to memorize every word from cover to cover is something nobody expected! It's unpredictable and to some degree implausible but the message is actually substantial and good if you love reading books. This movie reminded me so much of Ray Bradbury's oeuvre Fahrenheit 451depicting a band of rebels memorizing books at the final scene.
There are good as well as bad points in being a Filipino Reader but I think the good part outweighs the bad (otherwise nobody will give a damn about reading books) and I still believe that the frustrating part can be solved.
Books from the local seller are relatively cheap than buying from the foreign seller or online, cheaper when you buy them from second hand shops, and cheapest when you buy them from the black market. Though I don't promote buying from shops that dont issue a receipt, the choice is still yours where to buy your books. The point here is, there's plenty of books for everybody.
If you can't afford to buy (or there's no immediate supply from local shops) you can easily borrow from a friend or from your school's (or college's) library. The hard part is to find somebody who also love the same genre or set of genre. But if you're into popular fiction, it's easy.
Another good thing in our country is this freedom of expression that is highly valued leading to diverse genre of stories and non-fiction topics for us to choose from. I can't remember any book published locally or globally that is being banned to read in our country. You can read any book you want in the public. While riding the MRT you can even read a book against the administration but you're still okay, no one will hurt you. Try reading The Satanic Verses in Saudi Arabia and you're dead meat. That's a big contrast.
My only frustration as a Filipino reader is that we are highly influenced by foreign culture that we tend to forget about the great, fantastic stories of our land. Harry Potter and Naruto are more popular characters than Lam-ang and Bantugan. You can ask any kid if you need more proof.
Bad News? Image from
filipinolifeinpictures.wordpress.com
In this age of the Global Pinoy, we Filipinos are an adaptable race in fusing different cultures and transform them to our advantage. But we don't need to look that far, outside. We only need to dig deeper. Our country is already blessed with colorful stories from the past that we can no longer remember. Only our grandfathers knew, and I envy them. From here comes the true value of a book---that is, to preserve history. And consequently the value of book reading---to pass on that history.
“The obscenities in this country are the powerful Filipinos who do not do their duties, the corrupt officials, who are not responsible. These are the obscenities in our nation. There are only bad artists, and bad writers.”
---F Sionil Jose comments on Mideo Cruz and his talk-of-the-town Art
THE NATIONAL ARTIST
photo courtesy of streetsmartchic.com
