Quicky

Ok, I promise to make this one a very short post. After all, I’m trying to resist not blogging until I’m done reading Ulysses, but then again I don’t want to make my most recent post the one about Malu Fernandez. I know you’re tired of hearing me talk about Ulysses, so let’s put that behind us for now (before that though, I’m having a better time with it now than before).

First, books. "My God Nightdreamer don’t you have anything else to talk about other than books?" But, books are fun! Or maybe I’m just a geek. Anyway, National Bookstore is having a 20% off on all books. This is going to last until the end of the month. If you don’t have any plans for the Holy Week Vacation, consider getting a book now so that you won’t be bored by then. If you’re near Robinson’s Galleria, do visit the National Bookstore at the 3rd floor. It’s enormous, and I think its books are better than Powerbooks’s. Anyway, I just bought A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I have a friend who scolded me when she learned that I still haven’t read that. I will  find out if everyone must read it, just like what she said. And if you also have any other books to recommend, do recommend.

As mentioned a couple of post before, I’ve been very disgusted about using the computer for the past few days. I’m still sick of it now, and I intend not to post anything new until next week. I just filed for a week of vacation, which will begin this Saturday, and end the next Sunday. I’m thrilled for some relaxation time. So, I’ll be back by then. I intend to write something about jazz, review Odyssey, A Scanner Darkly and Ulysses, and describe the few events of what is presently the last week. So, yeah, see you then!

Acerbic Wits Extraordinaire, At It Again!

She shall, proceed, and continue, to sock the mind: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife2_mar10_2008

 

The problem with blogging….

By Malu Fernandez

Just this morning I got a text telling me to check out some blog with juicy gossip about the so called “Gucci Gang” curiously enough I logged on and read all the gossip and juicy details. Whether or not the stories were true I didn’t really care to find out nor do I care to be involved. It makes no difference in my life who did what to whom it was just a leisure gossip read and I was just one of the many people who read the blog but halfway through I became quite disturbed as it made me reminiscent of the numerous blogs I was once the hot topic of.

Before I go any further I must stress the point that this is not about my previous issue, but simply the point of view of someone who has been a victim of vicious blogging and blogging as a new communication medium. To those of you who are mass/volume or dense (that’s the physics formula for density to those who are clueless) again, I repeat this is not a reaction toward my past actions.

So let me continue, first of all I believe in the freedom of speech. By all means say what you need to say. Unfortunately for most of the bloggers without advertising you get paid nothing. If in fact you do get paid then hooray for you. But blogging, aside from Perez Hilton and the other big time bloggers (you know who you are) is for me a slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect. Unless you’re in bloody Siberia or in a Gulag prison, try stepping outside your comfort zone and turn off the laptop or pc, you just might find some real live people to talk to instead of typing away in cyber space.

On the flipside blogging can be a good source of information and a great way to exchange ideas. This I strongly encourage whether it is about politics, fashion, food or whatever topic you may choose. Friendly and healthy discussions are always great.

The difference between a journalist and a blogger is that journalists have to adhere to certain guidelines that govern the freedom of speech. And whatever a journalist chooses to write about—be it popular or unpopular—we do not hide behind an anonymous name and are resigned to the fact that we have to take as much as we dish out. However, I simply detest people who place vicious comments and slanderous statements in blogs yet sign their messages as ‘anonymous.’ If you have something to say, don’t hide behind a false name. It’s just plain cowardice of you to do so. I have more of a deep sense of respect for those—however unpopular or vicious their statements are—who post their views with their real names and make no bones about it. At least they stand for something; I would rather take it from them than the cowards that hide behind false names.

Perhaps it is the Filipino culture to foster backstabbing because they never mean what they say face to face. Just how many times have you dealt with co-workers who will smile in your face when you ask them to perform a task or engage in just plain conversation, when in fact they are quite uncomfortable with the situation and are forced to do what they absolutely detest with a smiling face. I guess it’s the kind of culture brought about by 300 years of Spanish colonization. To one particular blogger of Spanish descent but with an Indio face, don’t act like a peninsulares and quote Spanish words from the generation of your abuelita… jeez and they call me elitist. The Spanish rule is over, get over yourself and your Español relatives who used to have power… but I digress (oops, my bad…) Let’s move forward.

It’s just like all this hullabaloo about ousting GMA. You deposed ERAP in Edsa Dos. Now you’re unhappy with his replacement. Make up your minds. (For the record I’m not pro anybody I’m pro whatever lesser evil is out there). You can’t overthrow one president then decide you made a mistake with your second choice. I’s not like buying a green Hermes bag and suddenly deciding, oops I should have gotten the black one instead. Unfortunately that’s the kind of nation we have become, a bunch of wishy-washy whiners who whine about everything under the sun and found the blog sphere to be the new medium for whining. Yes we do what we have to do as a nation to get things done and stop corruption and evil (I’m all for that) but we never seem to be happy with what we have, hence the complaining and whining. It just never stops.

I suppose I started some kind of trend by eliciting nasty comments and reactions via blog because of my indiscretion. But it seems to be a comfortable medium for people to vent their anger on just about everything they disagree with. I have been called an irresponsible journalist so what does that make you? It is easy to hide under the guise of anonymity you can say just about anything you want because you have no repercussions to deal with. It’s easy to hide behind a false moniker isn’t it?

Just a thought to ponder on… Maybe I should start an anonymous blog and really let go… but then again I don’t want to be responsible for World War Three and I would sleep much better being brutally honest in your face than hide behind an anonymous name. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if I started a blog just to shake things up and got a ton of money in advertising? If I do decide to do that I thank you all in advance for inspiring me… I’m always a glass half full kinda girl anyway…

Good Heavens.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is written by a journalist of The Manila Standard. Now not only do we have politicians, but also life-column journalists decreasing our standards.

As someone who has a sizable distaste of some blogging trend, I feel NO SYMPATHY to Malu Fernandez. She brags about being such a fascinating journalist, yet she sure doesn’t know the first thing about writing. The grammatical felonies she committed in that article were so shocking, it’s almost postmodern!

She ridiculously claims that us, Filipinos, are a culture of whiners. And what was she doing exactly? Not whining? Hypocrisy much? Maybe in that bubble where she lives in she actually isn’t a citizen of our country. And wow guess who’s the blogger she looks up to. Perez-freaking-Hilton! Why am I not surprised.

And by the way, that mass/volume metaphor is BRILLIANT! RAW GENIUS! So HILAR-ASS it is, that it demands explanation in case we the inferior being living outside her bubble DIDANT GIT IT!

Just to prove that I’ve got better editing skills than those unremarkable trolls from Manila Standard, I scrutinized Malu’s article and wrote some comments so she could change her draft. Click more to see how it would look like.

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