Random Backblogging Again...

.:Ahhh, The Trials And Tribulations Of Being Offline...:.

The office servers were down for a day last week, so I was left here in the office writing this stuff while online. Surprisingly, this has allowed me some measure of productivity at work, as I ended up doing office calls instead of just sending out e-mails.

It’s good to feel productive, really.

.:Starstruck... Sorta Literally:.

So on air with the Disenchanted Kingdom, and suddenly, it turns out that the new FHM cover girl, Ms. Regine Angeles, actually guested on the show last April 14. How awesome is that?

Pretty awesome, actually.

What made it even more amusing was that their marketing girl, Nikka, turned out to be an old acquaintance of mine, so we’re now kinda back in touch after all this time. For a moment there, I thought she was the model, not Regine...

On the other hand, after last Wednesday’s Disenchanted Kingdom, the whole gang, KDL, Marf, Lu, Anna Q5, and yours truly, headed out to Kawasaki’s Krib Party. Videoke, gigantic pizzas, and a certain celebrity whom I didn’t recognize at first.

Thing is, the minute I realized it was none other than Ms. Katrina Halili herself, I flat-out froze, and I ended up telling her “sorry” for no apparent reason. She smiles and asks me why, and I told her it was because I was starstruck, which she laughs off.

It was a lot of fun, to say the least. The pizza was great, the singing was a fun mixed bag, and everything was all good. I was surprised how advanced the playlist was, considering The Script was already there, and naturally, this meant I was going to sing “Break Even” as well as my standard videoke go-to’s, like Gary V, Salbakuta, and so on.

Marf was playing the coy manliligaw, and it seemed to be striking a chord with Ms. Halili. I suppose it works in a way?

Anyways, that was a great night. We already went home around two in the morning, and we all had quite a blast, with much thanks to Kawasaki.

As a side note, I’ve never been a biker guy, but their Ninja bikes really look awesome. Makes me consider getting one.

Having said that, your moment of zen from the party...

Yep, I am the dakilang third wheel...

.:Peace And Quiet...:.

After Nagsasa, my next moment of silence was in Vistamar in Batangas. A bit of swimming, a bit of putting up with horrible videoke singers, but given that it’s with my mom and brother, and given that I’m offline at the moment, it’s definitely a quiet time.

I like the way the beach looks, albeit the fact that there’s no sand is quite a surprise.

Overall, it was a pretty fun and quiet couple of days, and then eating at Fire Grill in Tagaytay for a late lunch on Saturday, plus watching Arthur on Sunday was all good fun as well. I don’t feel like reviewing Arthur, though. It just wasn’t a terribly great movie, and it wasn’t in the context of a date.

Book Review: Undisputed, By Chris Jericho

.:Book Review: Undisputed, By Chris Jericho:.

The one and only copy I found so far! This is so froot!

Y’know, with all the books I’ve read lately, I feel a bit guilty that I’ve only ever bothered to review Chris Jericho’s books so far. Considering I’ve read the books by Bret Hart, Ric Flair, and Mick Foley (Yes, all of his wrestling-related books.), as well as two books about Jordan, and one about Bird and Magic, it’s a bit interesting that it’s only Chris Jericho’s stuff I’ve actually featured on my blog, aside from your standard best-sellers like Dan Brown and JK Rowling.

And no, I don’t feel an ounce of guilt that I’ve gone from reading Hardt and Negri to reading Hart and Foley. Not everything I spend time on has to be some kind of navel-gazing exercise into existential angsting or deconstruction or some haphazardly post-modernized Communist Manifesto.

Maybe I’ll correct that someday, but for now, I’m pretty happy just being able to actually do a book review for a change of pace, and this book is a doozy. Ever since Mick Foley’s “Have A Nice Day,” books by wrestlers have been a dime-a-dozen, most of them being ghostwritten after the wrestler spills his guts to a recorder, leaving himself at the mercy of his writer if his story would be treated in any way different from how he envisioned it to be.

It’s safe to say that Chris Jericho didn’t follow that trend, although there’s nothing bad about having Ric Flair’s story told through the lens of his ghost writer. Like Foley and Hart, Jericho’s books have a unique stamp of authenticity on them, and they have all been best-selling authors on top of all that. When Jericho wrote “A Lion’s Tale,” he himself predicted it would be the first of three books from the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla, so there was a lot of anticipation for his sophomore writing effort.

It took me a while to get my hands of “Undisputed.” I was going to and from Fully Booked branches for about a month before a solitary copy finally dropped off, and I snapped it up right away. While a paperback version would’ve been cheaper, I wasn’t inclined to wait six or so months for a copy of a book that has had tongues wagging and people like Larry Zybysko and “Superstar” Billy Graham frothing at the mouth over the supposed disrespect Chris Jericho has given to them.

I also wanted to see Jericho’s actual thoughts on the unfortunate events behind the Chris Benoit incident, and his very candid opinions made me feel for him all the more. It was done in perfectly good taste, and it neither sensationalized nor glossed over Chris Benoit’s life and times. It was a friend who is, like everyone else, asking himself what went wrong.

This book covers the moment Chris Jericho first entered the WWE to the very beginning of his second stint with the company. His road stories and his manner of telling these stories are funny, upbeat, and irresistibly charming. The way he details backstage politics as it happened right in his face, you would feel every ounce of injustice that seemed to be hurled his way, or every shot in the arm he got as if you were being patted on the back yourself.

I don’t know which parts in this book I’d say were my favourites, but I had a very soft spot for any time he told a story that I know about because I watched the particular show in question, as well as his brushes with (other) celebrities, especially the one where Axl Rose, during better days, actually shot the breeze on a local radio station much less like a rock and roll icon and more like a true-blue rock and roll fan. I never liked metal music, but I admired Fozzy’s dedication to their character for their first two albums, no matter how difficult it was for them to be taken seriously because of it.

As a huge wrestling fan, I marked out every single time Jericho wrote about his interactions with the Rock, Austin, Foley, and Undertaker, but more so when I read about the one time he managed to take Goldberg down. I was especially impressed by his candor when he outright said his win against Goldberg was a fluke and a rematch would probably result in him getting ripped to pieces by the man. At no point did it seem like he was posturing, even during the times where he would talk himself up. It felt like the story of a man who believed in himself enough and knew himself well enough to know when to hype himself up and when to eke in a word of self-aware honesty. That’s very rare, and that’s very commendable. In fact, if you read the book yourself, the best word to describe Mr. Jericho would be "froot." He is froot personified.

I don’t think giving a review of Jericho’s book could do it the kind of justice of simply reading it. If you’re a fan of wrestling, or if you’re just a fan of an honest writer talking about his very interesting and semi-charmed kind of life, then “Undisputed” is an amazing read from cover to cover. I’d daresay it was even better than “A Lion’s Tale,” which is no mean feat, as I loved that book, too. Then again, I guess it’s because I’m honestly more interested in Jericho’s WWE career than most anything else he was doing prior to it, so even if overall, A Lion’s Tale would probably win a lot more fans over, I related to Undisputed much more by default.

It doesn’t really matter, anyways, because even if you think that Undisputed is merely half as good as A Lion’s Tale, that’d still be pretty high praise for Jericho’s writing, in my humble opinion.

Here’s to hoping that the third book would have a day-to-day look at how Chris Jericho eventually wins the Dancing With The Stars show he’s currently competing in. I’d almost bet on him making final three, at worst.

Buy this book if you even remotely like wrestling. I can assure you, it would be much better than "Adventures in Larryland."

Evaluation: A+

Project 52 (17/52): Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

.:Project 52 (17/52): Landslide – Fleetwood Mac:.

I like Fleetwood Mac’s music a lot, and I have to say, this is among my favourites from them. Landslide tells a very heartbreaking tale of how it feels to build your world around someone only to see all of it come crashing down.

I don’t really know what else to say beyond that, really. I’ve been on the receiving end of it all a lot, building your future around someone, only to realize you have nothing once that someone is gone. It’s not easy to find yourself all over again when everything is said and done.

Fleetwood Mac is a group of legendary proportions, having been in existence for over four decades already, and simply churning out hit after hit after hit. It’s pretty funny that I didn’t even know the title or the artist of this particular song until about a year ago, when I asked Jazz Nicolas of Itchyworms fame what that really cool-sounding song was that he covered during one set in 70’s Bistro. From then on, I just learned to reappreciate all the great music from Fleetwood Mac, because those songs are practically legion.

This song wins my personal award for “best song I had to hum for years before I so much as knew the title.” I never knew the song’s lyrics, never knew the song’s title, so I just had to hum it, and only when I hummed it to Jazz did I actually find out what the song actually was.

Project 52 (16/52): Everything's All Right - Jesus Chris Superstar OST

.:Project 52 (16/52): Everything's All Right - Jesus Christ Superstar OST:.

With Holy Week and all being this week, I turn to one of my favorite songs, "Everything's All Right," from one of my favorite musicals of all time - Jesus Christ Superstar. It would be an understatement for me to say that I loved this musical to shreds, considering I can sing the entire soundtrack of JC Superstar from beginning to end, which is astounding when you consider that I've seen the full version only once, as opposed to the edited for TV version, which I watched almost daily every summer from when I was 9 to about 14. Yes, I knew where "Then We Are Decided" and "Could We Start Again, Please?" actually belong in the sequence of songs even if I've only seen that version once.

Jesus Christ Superstar features one of the only two actors who performed Jesus Christ in major releases without going nuts afterwards (Jim Caviezel of "The Passion Of The Christ" being the other exception.). I especially liked the way the whole play or film was laid out, and the (it's my interpretation and I'm sticking by it) obviously subversive use of a black man as Judas Iscariot, whose singing voice was rivaled only by Jesus Christ himself.

I like "Everything's All Right" because it's a great song to sing to someone to go to sleep. It's a very quiet, uplifting lullaby, so long as you tune out when Judas comes into the song to make it just a bit louder. I can assure you that listening to a music-only track can really calm you, though.

This Holy Week, I don't really want to pontificate or evangelize or anything of the sort. It really isn't my place to. I'm just a bit amused though at certain attempts to make the (physical) church more accessible than it already is (as opposed to Her actual personnel) downright seems to open themselves up to the ridiculous Jesus in banal situations memes people are poking fun at Christians with. After all, nothing says "I love God above all else" quite like making out with your girlfriend while taking a leisurely stroll around the stations of the cross display in Bonifacio High Street before you take her home to bang her with that little glow-in-the-dark Sto. Nino eerily leering over you from your bedside table.

And you wonder why atheists laugh at us.

Oh, yeah. The song. Well, regardless of your religious beliefs, I'd have to say that JC Superstar is one of the better musicals out there, and this song is one of my favorites, not least because sans Judas, it wouldn't feel terribly out of place in any other musical not involving Jesus Christ. It has a universal feel to it, enhanced by the fact that it's a genuinely catchy song, to begin with.

So for this Holy Week, if you have those few precious days to think upon things and reflect, whether you are a believer or not, those few precious days are the best times to try not to get worried, try not to turn onto, problems that upset you. All of us could really use the tranquility.

Disenchantlings, Unite! (Plus A Note On Tricia Gosingtian)

.:More DK Madness:.

I'm hitting a bit of an impasse with my writing thanks to all the crazy stuff that's been going on, what with people joking that I might get sued over the whole Willie Revillame sometime soon.

While I frankly doubt they'd bother picking on someone as insignificant as myself in the bigger scheme of things, I wouldn't really stress over it too much if a lawsuit did hit me. It's not that I'm fearless. It's just that I know my libel law well enough.

That being said, I've been there for the past two days with the DK, and the Red Mobile segment "Dial A Drama" has been consistently hilarious the past two days, for all the wrong reasons.

Last Tuesday, Marf was tasked to be a guy who wanted to be a ballerina, against his military dad's wishes. The following hour, I was tasked to be a rich heir who got the household help pregnant, all the while making as many silly references to the absurdity of it all possible.

Then last Wednesday, Marf and I had quickly interrupted turns at playing Chinese guys whose Chinese wife gave birth to a very black kid. The minute we started using stupid racial stereotypes and attempting to prove purity of the Chinese race via "papers," Logan just had to cut me right off lest we went ahead and drove all our Chinese listeners to froth at the mouth over us.

And, oh, this month's FHM cover girl, Ms. Regine Angeles, was also in the show last night!

Can't go wrong with that, yo!

Overall, with tonight's DK happening in Emerald Avenue where WAVE, JAM, and RX all are, I can expect quite an interesting show tonight, even if the last two ODK blind item segments have been crazy explosive and downright dangerous for Mr. Marfori's well-being.

.:A Show Of Support:.

I really should write a longer article, but for now, let me state this categorically...

You may disagree with Tricia Gosingtian's evaluation of the Philippine Fashion Industry, but at no point was it warranted for you to assume her intentions for her or strip her from context. She made a very specific statement, and it was an observation, not a lambasting of the Filipino race.

How many times have we done this already? Foreigners who diss the Philippines are racists. Filipinos who diss the Philippines are traitors. Really, Philippines? Nobody can point out the things they don't think are awesome about this country anymore? Seriously?

Besides, she already apologized! What more did you guys want? You're all acting like Boyet Fernandez now... kneel before us! It's not enough that you said sorry! Beg and grovel!

That's what it means to be a Patriotic Filipino now? Really?

Well, then if you're a Filipino who thinks like this, you're bringing more shame unto this nation than Tricia Gosingtian ever has, having represented our country the way she has when she became the only Asian in fashion week.

And unlike Bryanboy or that Garcia kid, she didn't need to have Generals stealing from the military's funds to get where she is. I'd take her over those two any day of the week, thank you very much.

So... When Do I Get To Blog From Jail?

.:The Patriotic Filipino Strikes Again!:.

Pretty proud of my new Bio blurb on The POC, considering how much time and effort I put into constructing those five brief sentences.

Anyways, here they are...

Marcelle Fabie (Pronounced "Fa-bee-yay".), who blogs on www.mistervader.com, is a man who embodies the two greatest characteristics of a Patriotic Filipino: he is patriotic, and he is Filipino. As an upstanding individual of strong moral fibre (i.e., he doesn't get laid), he puts the "grit" in "journalistic inteGRITy." Hard-hitting, fearless (except when it comes to Rick Astley), and unbelievably opinionated, he stands for truthiness, justice, and the Filipino way. He has a Pulitzer, a Nobel, an Oscar, a Grammy, and five other weirdly-named pet dogs.

He is also a notorious satirist.

And of course, this comes with a new article that I hope you'd check out.

.:I Wish More Rants Were Less Hate-Filled And More About Epic Winning, Like Charlie Sheen. Too Bad, This Isn't One Of Those...:.

Warning: profane language, possibly triggering language regarding child abuse being treated like a non-issue as well.

Normally, I like me some rational discourse, but today, I am angry. Seething, even. If you wanted someone who will take you by the hand and care about your itty-bitty feelings, go read Marocharim. I am not going to coddle idiots in this post. I will simply be the egalitarian I normally am and hate everything. This is not your regular well-reasoned, polite post.

And you know why not? Because saying it politely before has already fallen on deaf ears. I cannot be bothered to educate people who are shocked that I find child abuse offensive and are not only being Willie Revillame apologists, but child abuse apologists as well at this point. Gasp! Child abuse is bad? Who would have thought?!?

But then, how could I be surprised? We live in a society where rape seems to be half as much the fault of the victim as it is the perpetrator (How often do we ask what a murder victim was wearing?). We live in a society where people go "focus on the real issues instead," as if child abuse isn't an issue. We live in a society where people think that if everyone is having fun, then abuse didn't exist. We live in a society where people think that lousy parents giving their consent to their child performing like a macho dancer on national television makes a child performing like a macho dancer on national television okay. We live in a society where we're willing to look the other way for one man's sins just because he donates money to charity.

Well, screw you, because I don't care about your stupid rhetoric or your attempts to derail from the issue. The issue is pretty clear: Willie Revillame has been a smug, self-important douchebag for a long time already. It didn't matter if 71 people were killed for the sake of his brand of "saya at pag-asa," so long as he kept on bringing it. With each victory he scored, he grew bolder and bolder, to the point where he now believes that he is above petty things like the law and notions of decency and appropriateness.

And it's gotten pretty sad when a guy like me, who is far from a moral guardian, already feels compelled to call out someone and say, "duuuuude. That's not cool. At all." The line between acceptable and unacceptable can sometimes be so fine, but even though Willie Revillame and his ilk pushing their luck all these years has allowed for that line to be blurrier and blurrier, it should become pretty obvious when someone has outright crossed it.

Last Friday, in a 25-minute tirade that showed Willie Revillame was every bit as capable of judging the people whom he insists are judging him, all the while employing Ad Hominem attacks, Ad Misericordiam, red herrings, appealing to fear, appealing to some mysterious showbiz fraternity rule, appealing to a class divide, veiled homophobia, splitting hairs between child labor and child work, attacking a woman for being childless, asking at least two National Artist shoo-ins what they have done for this country (LOL, seriously?!?), persecution complex, using "entertainment" as a justification for his puerile means, lawsuit threats on everyone on Twitter who bashed him, assorted silencing tactics in aid of muddying the issue even further, and in the case of accusing ABS CBN and even PNoy himself, plain conspiracy theory nutjobbery.

Did I miss anything else? I wouldn't be surprised, to be honest, but that's a pretty extensive list of logical fallacies and silencing tactics I have observed Willie Revillame using for years upon years while his fans yay and cheer behind him and then boo and hiss those against him. If you wanted a good primer on logical fallacies and their non-bearing on arguments, feel free to read this post.

Apparently, in the minds of Willie Revillame's apologists, their hero can do no wrong. Oh, let's forget that nobody should be untouchable and beyond criticism. Let's assume that anyone who dares dislike their lord and savior Willie Revillame is merely jealous of him.

Jealous?!? Of what?!? Why would I be jealous of having the opportunity to alleviate poverty through the power and influence I yield all over this nation and fucking it up that same opportunity every single day I fall back to giving dole-outs instead? Why would I be jealous of being regarded as lecherous and being worshiped for the lie I have perpetuated about myself? Why would we be jealous of committing child abuse on national fucking television?!?

And don't you dare tell me to calm the fuck down or to lighten the fuck up! I know all too well how child abuse feels like, because I lived through it, first-hand! Try being force-fed your Magic: The Gathering cards or being sucker-punched in the gut or being sent to places you have no idea how you're going to get home from.

Hell, let's not even talk about physical abuse. Try being constantly berated for years that you're the black sheep of the family while you're consistently on top of class all because you're smarter than your pathetic excuse for a stepdad. Try being the subject of endless potshots at the dinner table when all you wanted was to enjoy a quite "family meal." Try having the Bible used and misused to cow you into thinking that all of this is just fine and dandy, and then being forcefully told to shut up because he's the authority in the "family" when you use the same Bible to disprove his backwards ideas.

If I could give up only one of these types of abuse, I'd have gladly taken twice as much physical abuse over the undeniable demolition job that jackass put on my sense of self-worth over years upon years of verbal and psychological abuse.

These are real issues to me because I lived through them, and I can only hope that no matter how snarky or smarmy I can get, if I were to have a kid, I would never subject them to any form of abuse, and make sure to prepare them for the eventual attempts at abuse that will come from without. I will make damned sure that when my child is home, that home is a safe place.

So go ahead, I dare you, you douchebag: sue me. Sue me for taking you to task for something I have personally gone through: a miserable nightmare for years that you just flippantly dismissed as a non-issue. Go ahead! Sue me! And tell me to lighten up, too! Tell me that my years of experience in an abusive household is nothing and I should just "get over it" and fucking move on. Tell me that there are "bigger issues" than child abuse, I dare you!

I know this comes as a surprise to you, dear Willie Revillame and dear Willie apologists, but not everyone complaining about Willing Willie do so dahil inggit lang sila kay Willie. Some people are angry because they actually have valid reasons to be angry about having an asshole make light of something that is by no means a trivial matter.

So really, Willie, good riddance. Go ahead and take your two-week vacation, then please do all of us a favor and decide to make it permanent. I don't need you coming back to tell me some more how I'm too uptight about a situation I went through myself and having you trigger me all over again.

Oh. Was I being inconsiderate about your feelings on being called out for being a child abuse apologist? Did I hurt your feelings because of how I said my piece just now? Good. Because you sure as Hades were being inconsiderate about my feelings when you made light of child abuse. Don't expect me to extend the same courtesy you couldn't be bothered to extend in the first place.

So if telling you that I don't find child abuse funny makes you want to sue me and send me to jail where I can finally ask Ms. Lea Salonga for an autograph, then lock me right up and throw away the key. I just wanna know if the jail cell has wifi.

Project 52 (15/52): The Man Who Cannot Be Moved - The Script

.:Project 52 (15/52): The Man Who Cannot Be Moved – The Script:.

I didn’t want to use another song from an artist I’ve featured here before, but aside from the fact that they’re touring the Philippines, The Script’s music is just totally stuck in my head at this point.

The Script’s music really evokes very strong emotions from me, and “The Man Who Cannot Be Moved” absolutely captures the essence of what it feels to be loving someone so completely, so relentlessly, that no matter how much it flies in the face of logic and good judgment, you just keep on loving that person. Nobody ever said love is the most brilliant thing in the world, I guess.

It’s really nice that the song isn’t just generic verses about love, but, in my personal canon, an actual response to Haruki Murakami’s short story, On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning. Why would you let the 100% Perfect Girl pass you by and never find her again? If she has passed you by, don’t give her a chance to forget you. Be the man who cannot be moved.

After all, if she’s the 100% Perfect Girl, one day, she’d wake up and realize she’s missing you. It’s a vain hope, but in the end, I’ve realized that while people insist on telling someone that their standard are too high when looking for love, there’s no reason one should lower their standards in the first place, either, and whether you’re right or wrong, when you feel that this 100% Perfect Person has walked into your life, hold onto them ever-so-tightly. Never let them go. Be the man who cannot be moved.

And if you’re wrong, regret nothing. For that time, she was exactly who you wanted, and there’s no changing that.

iBlog 7: Keepin' It Light And Breezy

.:A Message To New Filipino Bloggers After iBlog 7:.

Greetings from this Patriotic Filipino!

Hi, guys! I know you don’t know me, but I hope you don’t mind if I take the time out to tell you a couple of things, after iBlog 7 happened. If you weren’t there, that’s fine. If you were there, though, you might have encountered quite a slew of speakers meant to get you to thinking.

I’ll be honest: as I was with my fellow Nuffies for our annual company outing, I actually missed Day 1, albeit I’ve heard some stuff about that. On day 2, though, if in case you missed it, we had some very notable speakers, including Fitz Villafuerte and his semi-controversial discussion on growing your web following without using SEO; the ever-hilarious Roy dela Cruz, who covered how to deal with writing blocks; a sassy discussion on forming online communities through Mike Rubio; the need for a National Podcaster’s Association (A shame about the acronym, though.) through Jeric; and the very concise but insightful talk on Blogging 101 by Jonel.

All the speakers I mentioned were awesome (And there are no complaints about the ones I failed to mention as well, by the way.), and the lingering spectre of Mike Abundo’s absence was undoubtedly permeating the air, having been only one of two people (Yours truly, being the other one.) who has never missed a single iBlog. Nonetheless, he did show up at the end, despite the fact that I had to put on my own Bluetooth earpiece and be his (shudder) spiritual successor for a couple of hours.

Awwwwkwaaaaarrrrdddd...

But see, this isn’t just a recap of iBlog 7, because everyone would’ve done that already, and done it better, to be sure. I truly wanted to focus on one particular talk, because I really feel this talk in particular ended iBlog 7 on a very high note. Whereas many people did have doubts about iBlog’s relevance or even the expertise of some of its speakers (Albeit I was not around to see Day 1, so I can’t really judge...), I believe that Yapatoots really captured the imagination of anyone who took the time out to listen to her talk, Blogging, Social Networks, Online Relationships as a Support System.

Coming from a psychology background, there was no question that Ria knew her subject matter, and it showed with how she managed to share both researched information and personal experiences in a very light-hearted, refreshing talk that made people realize that as technology marches on, virtual relationships have fast approached the same level of importance as offline relationships. I loved how inclusive her language was. It never once felt condescending or holier-than-thou.

By now, most of mainstream media recognizes that bloggers are the exact same citizenry they used to deal with, only more public by virtue of the internet. While there are some attempts to make it seem like bloggers are so wildly different such as the infamous PGB feature in some news outfits, overall, bloggers have been successfully integrated in the mainstream scene now, and there’s no reason to look upon them as some kind of oddity. While it’s true that the medium is the message, there is now enough weight put into the content of bloggers now such that their content is no longer being put down solely by virtue of it being in a blog. That’s progress, and that’s certainly a good thing.

Having said that, and in an effort to remind people that the Philippine blogosphere, while important in some facets, shouldn’t be all srs bznz, I have a few things I’d like to say, coming from my nearly nine years of experience as a blogger without qualifiers.

I’m sure some of the new bloggers might have seen a few discussions in iBlog, or at least heard of them, and they’re left wondering “where do we fit in?” True, there are cliques within the community, but then, which community wouldn’t have that? We place so much emphasis on the differences between the virtual community and the offline one that we tend to forget that the similarities are just as important.

So to the new bloggers, I say:

1. Don’t fret over the possibility of becoming the next Big Bad Blogger or the next Patay-Gutom/Blogger Quolorum without knowing it. There are hardly any special rules in the blogosphere to worry about. If you’re a decent person offline, simply be a decent person online. You’d be surprised how awesome the golden rule is for living a quiet internet life. It’s actually not that hard, and you don’t need a Masters Degree or Wikipedia to tell you how to be a good person. If you can honestly say that your online behaviour, if taken offline, is just fine, then you won’t magically break some unwritten ethos in the community because really, human decency is more than enough to get you by. This should also guide how you write, of course. Do you hate people saying mean things about you? Try not saying mean things about other people, too. There will always be people who don’t respect these basic golden rules (and not just online), but you don’t need to be one of them. And hey, if you do make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world! Never underestimate the power of a sincere apology.

2. Bloggers are people, too. They don’t bite, unless you’re dating. I know it can be daunting to be surrounded by some people in a blogging summit whom you’ve only heard of online. How do you even begin to approach a superstar blogger like Ade? Or a gorgeous blogger like Sarah Cada? Or a veritable guru like Juned? The thing is, you can. They’re people, too. They may be insular at times, but like most people who meet strangers, people generally assume the best out of new people they meet. Don’t sweat it. You’re fine.

3. Being a pro or a hobbyist doesn’t make you a better or worse blogger. I don’t even know why this issue crops up, really. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to earn an honest living from something you like doing. Really, there isn’t. There’s also nothing wrong with choosing not to earn from blogging. It’s all a matter of choice, and respecting the choices people make, and not shoving our own beliefs down other people’s throats. It isn’t hard, and I’m sure you guys already know this, but you might have gotten bogged down with all the intrigue going around lately. Your opinion is every bit as valid and subject to assent or disagreement whether you have ads in your blog or you do not. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

4. The community does not shun new blood. Don’t let the reminiscing fool you. There were bad eggs among the elder members of the community. There will be bad eggs in the new ones. People always look to the past with rose-colored glasses, but if you’re not someone who’s contributing to the things that give other bloggers a headache, why should you feel bad you’re among the so-called “newbies?” Everyone was a newbie once, and this community can only grow with the influx of newbies who blossom into amazing people (or already are) over time. Please don’t fear us. It’s all good. Really.

5. Ultimately, it’s a free world. You don’t need the community to validate you. This is not to say the past four bits of advice to fitting in are irrelevant. It’s just to say that there’s no need to make a goal out of fitting in. Just let it happen, but, if for some weird reason, it doesn’t, that doesn’t make you any less of a person or even a blogger. Your existence as a blogger does not have to be given meaning by being an active part of the blogger community. A lot of standout bloggers have never taken part in a single community event, online or offline. Nobody would have the right to tell them they’re not true bloggers just because. Neither would anyone have the right to tell you that.

iBlog 7 made me feel that finally, some imaginary walls are being taken down in favour of a more inclusive community that respects each other mutually, and works towards mutual betterment. This isn’t Sparta anymore. And that could only be a good thing.

Looking forward to iBlog 8!

In the meantime, sugod, mga bloggers!

Project 52 (14/52): Porque - Maldita

.:Project 52 (14/52): Porque – Maldita:.

It’s funny how I don’t actually understand the lyrics of the song since I don’t speak Chavacano, but just by listening to how they sing the song, you know that it’s a song about heartbreak.

Of course, I took the time out to discover what the lyrics actually meant, and it tells the story of someone who gave their heart and all to somebody only to be left behind, hoping things would change, hoping for a miracle of sorts to happen and turn things around. There’s just something about the song that sounds so ethereal that you can’t help but fall into a trance. It’s a very good tune and I’m really glad that the song has allowed them to break into the local music market, because I can only hope for even better music from Maldita.

I don’t know why, but even before I understood the lyrics, the music and vocals really just tugged at my hearstrings and got me all misty-eyed. You could hear the sheer despair in their voices as they sang, and you could feel their despair become your despair. It was a masterful combination of different factors that just brought about a song I can’t help but really like.

To be honest, if it weren’t for Maro, I wouldn’t even know what the song was called. From there, I just listened to the song, and appreciated it more and more.

I am officially a fan of Maldita, and I look forward to hearing more of their music. “Porque” really is a rare gem of a song that transcends the language barrier by reaching out to the very core of your being and touching you with its own soul. If only for that, I have to say that this song is quite special.

Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 6 Of 6): A Special Bonus Feature On The Entitlement Complex

.:Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 6 Of 6)Bonus Feature: The Entitlement Complex:.

Because I totally have every right to demand her to go to all those conventions so I can stalk her whenever I feel like it, goddammit!!!

Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 5 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Ignorantium and Slippery Slope Logic

.:Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 5 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Ignorantium and Slippery Slope Logic:.

The idiocy! It’s over 9000!!!

Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 4 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Populum

.:Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 4 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Populum:.

So just because everyone is doing it, this makes it right?

Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 3 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Misericordiam and Moving Goalposts

.:Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 3 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Misericordiam and Moving Goalposts:.

Feeling sorry for him makes him right?!?

Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 2 Of 6): Ignoratio Elenchi and Argument By Dismissal

.:Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 2 Of 6): Ignoratio Elenchi and Argument By Dismissall:.

So what?!?

Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 1 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Hominem

.:Logical Fallacies 101 (Part 1 Of 6): Argumentum Ad Hominem:.

Hello there! Given that it was April Fool’s Day a couple of days ago and there are a lot of fools out there running around, I feel that it is my civic duty to help enlighten some people so that they wouldn’t spout off and look like a complete idiot while at it.

You may not realize it, but often, in the fine art of argumentation, people are prone to logical fallacies. Now, what are logical fallacies? Logical fallacies are, at their most basic, errors in reasoning. When a person tries to argue and sway you to side with their opinion, that person is capable of arguing fallaciously, particularly when they make an argument that has not been well thought out.

The problem is most people throw these arguments about without realizing that they don’t strengthen their position at all. Worse, some of them look downright silly, because instead of giving simple, factual arguments, they would use their anger, or perhaps their limited anecdotal experience, or just their flat-out ignorance to try to win an argument.

Don’t fall for it. Don’t let it work. Seriously.

Over the course of the next six articles are a few common logical fallacies, with matching examples. As a disclaimer, yes, these articles will also be prone to their own share of logical fallacies (More so the comments, I'm guessing.), but one hopes that the point is not lost despite that fact.

Argumentum Ad Hominem

What an eloquent rebuttal!!!