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!!!

On Gods With Feet Of Clay, And The Filipino Dream (Or,What I REALLY Wanted To Say About Manny And Willie.)

.:Gods With Feet Of Clay:.

The past couple of weeks has been an exercise in rationalization for a culture built upon deifying celebrity and elevating them far above and beyond the standards by which we expect of mere mortals such as ourselves.

Some of the issues seem petty when you look at it, really. A famous celebrity announces that she is leaving the very thing that has made her famous in the first place, and instead of having people wish her well, some of her fans actually feel betrayed, as if suddenly, what she wishes to do with her life no longer takes precedence over what her fans want her to do.

Couple that with the fact that she probably isn’t even leaving but probably setting up for something else, and you can see how the overreactions from certain people, practically calling her a traitor to a cause that doesn’t even seem to be a particularly earth-shattering cause to give up your hopes and dreams over in the first place, becomes rather silly. Maybe even pathetic.

The power of celebrity exists. There is no point in denying that. But just as we cannot allow them to be anything more than human by virtue of their celebrity, neither should they be anything less than human by virtue of their celebrity. They have their own lives to lead, their own choices to make, and if we truly support them or believe in them, we must realize that we have no right to demand from our celebrity to abandon their own wishes just to cater to our every whim.

And one guesses that’s exactly what is at work here: a very disheartening gap between the idol and the worshippers, a chasm that is ever-widened by how much slack we are willing to cut our personal heroes so long as they continue to entertain us and cater to our every whim. And how that gap is made even more insurmountable when the inevitable betrayal happens, our vicarious hopes and dreams shattered in the failure of our erstwhile beloved god, turning the altar we once worshipped upon into the pillar we wish to scourge them upon in the blink of an eye.

And yet, through it all, they will move on and not really give a damn about what we think, say, do, or feel. When we realize that we have lived through someone for so long that we’ve forgotten to live our own lives, what happens? What do we do with ourselves, then?

The Fists Of Fury

As I wrote in my article on Manny Pacquiao, there is no question that he is one of the greatest boxers of all time. He is, without a doubt, the best one of this decade, and he has been more than well-rewarded financially and socially on the back of his fifty-two hard-earned victories inside the boxing ring. Nobody can take that away from him.

Sports heroes tend to get a pass in a lot of things. It’s rather easy to see, and it was quite fortuitous I was reading Michael Leahy’s book while I was thinking about this. It put a lot of things into perspective for me and allowed me to step back and look at the bigger picture. In the sporting world, it doesn’t matter if you philander, gamble compulsively, get into fights, or heaven forbid, rape someone. So long as you persist in your winning ways, all is forgiven.

Is this right? Of course not. But you see, it’s understandable: what does a basketball fan care about what his idol does in his bedroom? That’s not a part of the game, and that’s irrelevant to how many points he can score in a game, or how many assists he can dish out.

What people are forgetting is that nobody was critiquing Manny Pacquiao, the boxer. They were critiquing Congressman Manny Pacquiao, the guy who was not doing his job when he really should have, by not properly casting his vote for or against the impeachment of the Ombudsman.

Being a boxing legend does not excuse him from being a lousy congressman. The ever-predictable Paclanders are too busy blaming @momblogger not only for the embarrassment caused by Pacquiao leaving Twitterlandia, but even for his choice of words. And then they had the nerve to say that he meant it in jest, so lighten up.

Lighten up? Really? Lighten up?!?

Weren’t you the same people who refused to lighten up when Alec Baldwin made an off-hand joke about Filipina mail-order brides? Weren’t you the same people who refused to lighten up when Teri Hatcher made a joke in a comedy show about Filipino med schools? Weren’t you the same people who refused to lighten up when Chip Tsao made a satirical article that was making deliberately inflammatory statements to expose the bullying tactics of mainland China? And now you’re telling people to lighten up? Really?

Look: you can’t dictate how other people should feel. If they took offense, they have every right to take offense. And as a Congressman and as someone who has been trying so hard to maintain a certain modicum of role-modelness, Manny should have known better than to make a flippant statement like that. You don’t get to dictate what should be or shouldn’t be offensive to people and then dismiss them by virtue of your own thick-skinnedness because you’d take any insult from your lord and savior Pacquiao as a validation rather than a slight.

Manny Pacquiao’s recent misadventures were not the fault of the people who called him out on Twitter. It was the fault of a man who chose to run for public office when clearly, he had more pressing priorities than the welfare of his own district.

There’s nothing wrong with being a boxing legend, but there’s something wrong with shirking on one’s responsibility and then expecting everyone to just understand. No, not everyone understands, nor are they required to. Unlike you, Mr. Pacquiao, we can’t just take a month or two off work if we feel like beating a Mexican up for $20M. Your deficiencies as a congressman are not beyond question, because how well you punch has nothing to do with how well you lead your constituency.

So to those Paclanders who can’t get this into their heads: all the people on Twitter ever did was to tell a man to do his job. The one he ran for public office for. I think it’s ridiculous that anyone could possibly obfuscate the issue just because he’s a boxing legend. If he didn’t want to do his job, he shouldn’t have applied for the job in the 2010 elections to begin with. The tone argument is beside the point, and does not erase the fact that Honorable Pacquiao is still not doing his job.

How many of us here can fully expect to be praised for not doing your job? I sure can’t.

Willieng Pawns

It was an issue I felt strongly about, albeit I recognized I was relatively powerless in comparison to the originator of the news to me, Aileen Apolo, or the one whom I passed the news onto, MomBlogger. When I saw Jan-Jan’s video, I was shocked at how callous everyone around him was. The kid was crying. He was frightened. And yet, despite all of that, Willie Revillame did not show any signs of easing up on the kid, and still made him do his schtick, which proved extremely disturbing, as the kid gyrated like “a macho dancer,” as Willie Revillame himself put it.

I have despised Willie’s shows for years already, although he isn’t the only one whose tacky and trashy programming I’ve despised. It’s ironic how much more heart a Jerry Springer ripoff like Amy Perez’s Face To Face has, compared to a show like Willing Willie, that’s supposed to be giving joy and hope to the Filipino masses. Fabucelles shares my sentiments, to say the least.

We’ve heard that line a million times before: nagpapasaya lang kami at nagbibigay ng pag-asa. But at what cost does this joy and hope come?

Ridiculously long snaking lines for hopefuls who wish to get into the TV studio for a remote shot at riches, some of them doing this routine for weeks: weeks that could have instead been spent actually looking for a productive job instead of hoping to get a crack at that money tree Willie has been bandying about?

People of all ages selling their dignity for a few thousand bucks, then once the well has run dry, they’d run right back in line to do it all over again?

A fatal stampede, resulting in the deaths of 78 people. So much for “saya at pag-asa” for 78 lives snuffed out due to poor planning and terrible logistics?

Are all of these sins placed solely upon the head of one Willie Revillame? Of course not. But he is the man fronting the show that has showcased this kind of exploitative behaviour more than any other show, not only as its main host, but as one of its top producers. He is a control freak who would lash out at a cameraman who is so much as out of place, as a perfectionist and a consummate workaholic. Nobody can take that away from the man.

In fact, let’s give credit where credit is due: he has probably given out more money through his sponsors than any three to five different local charitable institutions you can pick at random, combined, almost all of this money going to the poor, the downtrodden, and ultimately, the desperate.

Unfortunately, it’s precisely that desperation that has allowed Willie’s blinded fans to give him a pass on anything he has ever done. With each victory he scores atop his unimpeachable soapbox, Willie’s confidence has turned into outright smugness, knowing full well that he has more clout than anyone willing to call him out on the mockery he has made of the Filipino masses.

The ends do not justify the means. Otherwise, it would be okay to lie, cheat, and steal just to get money. Entertainment is never an excuse for crass behaviour and lewd sensationalism. Giving hope and helping others is never going to wash away the blood of the 78 lives snuffed all in the name of this hope and help. If you made your officemates laugh in the pantry all the time, will that save you from getting fired if you embezzled the company’s money? Can your good intentions undo the hurt you have caused with your thoughtless actions?

And yet again, people tell us to “lighten up, it’s just a TV show!” Really? Really?!? Just a TV show that has resulted in the deaths of 78 people (Let’s not play coy here: Willing Willie = Wowowee.)? Just a TV show that has made it seem like exploitation and child abuse are just normal things we should come to expect from Philippine television? Just a TV show where people sell their souls for a few thousand pesos, yet not really elevating their lives afterwards? Really? That’s it?!?

No, you douchebags! It’s not just a TV show. It’s a mirror of the kind of society we live in that is not only on the verge of tolerating the abuse of a child on national television, but even making it his fault that he got treated like that, because that’s what he wanted to do when he auditioned! Woooow!

Allow me to educate you for a moment here. When Willie said that it was Jan-Jan’s idea to dance like a macho dancer, Willie has resorted to Victim Blaming, a phenomenon where instead of placing the blame squarely on the offender, we instead point to the victim. If, for example, a woman gets raped, it’s not the rapist’s fault: it’s the woman’s fault, because she dresses too “sluttily”, or she led the rapist on. What kind of backwards thinking is that?!?

Jan-Jan is six years old. The people screening him were far older than that, and Willie’s what? Forty-something? These are people who should have known better. Instead, after seeing Jan-Jan dance the way he did, Willie asked him to do it again, and again, and again! Where’s the concern there? Or is this because it causes so much “joy” and “hope” to see a desperate kid dance like a macho dancer for a few thousand bucks? Ang saya-saya ko naman makita yan! I’m sorry, but I can’t get off of Schadenfreude from a six-year old kid.

And the parents? They’re okay with it? So Jan-Jan has lousy parents, who tolerate having a kid who can dance like a macho dancer for the entertainment of people. Does that suddenly just absolve Willie Revillame? Really? It does? Or is that less an absolution of Willie Revillame, but also an indictment of Jan-Jan’s parents, putting them in the same police line-up as Willie and the vultures backing this mockery of a show?

In all honesty, it’s sad that instead of a call for unity, we’ve had people saying those among us indignant now are hypocrites. Let’s ignore the fact that only now is social media finding the clout to get things done, compared to even just a year or two ago, when it was just next to ignored. Let’s ignore how many celebrities are now on Twitter, whereas they were nowhere to be found online just last year. Let’s ignore that this is a catalyst for action, and not just a knee-jerk reaction of hypocrisy. Let’s even ignore that there is a huge gap between fully consenting adults dancing sexily for a living and a six-year old dancing sexily for a one-time windfall.

Common sense has flown out the window. Iya Justimbaste is probably laughing now, pointing at the folly of the Filipinos who make up excuses for the imperfections of their gods like Pacquiao and Revillame.

Newsflash: they were never perfect. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you will realize that they should be held accountable for their shortcomings when it does worse than just affect themselves.

Our gods have feet of clay. It shouldn’t have been a surprise at all, and it shouldn’t be our fault that we are just pointing out the truth. The truth hurts. The sooner you can accept it, the sooner we can do something about it.

This was never about rich versus poor. Don’t let the Pacquiao’s, the Estrada’s, or the Revillame’s of the world fool you. These people are far richer than any of us so-called rich people, to begin with. It has always been a question of the willingness of the Filipino person to do the right thing and correct the wrong thing, no matter how inconvenient it might be.

Throw away everything and boil down to the essentials, and then ask yourself with all honesty: is it truly impossible to help people without resorting to sexy dancers, exploiting sob stories, and fatal stampedes? And if our answer is “no, it’s not impossible,” then why the Hades are we tolerating the status quo?

Think about it.

A Double Film Review

.:Film Review: Who’s That Girl?:.

Standees rule!

Who’s That Girl?
Sometimes, life is easier if you actually just explained.

Can’t believe that I went on two dates this whole week with the incomparable Jazminne Huang, but I’m glad that we went to two fairly okay movies, so that I didn’t feel like I actually wasted my time with her when we could’ve done something like bowling instead.

You’d be surprised, but this film review is relatively spoiler-free.

“Who’s That Girl” is a pretty fun and light-hearted romantic comedy featuring the ever-reliable Anne Curtis, the indisputably hilarious Eugene Domingo, and of course, the loveteam/career kiss of death leading man himself, Lucky Manzano. With other great people like John Lapus in the equation, there was no doubt that at worst, the movie was going to be worth a few laughs, and it certainly provided just that.

I guess the storyline was pretty obvious by watching the ridiculously lengthy trailer from the get-go: Bea (Anne Curtis) had a longtime crush on John (Luis Manzano), and aside from the obvious fact that it’s a reference to John Lloyd and Bea Alonzo, the creepy flashbacks to Bea’s past are hilariously overplayed. Without ever expecting to see him again, Bea blossoms into a gorgeous woman who is desired by many, and she ends up crossing paths with him when she finds an obituary announcing his death.

Except it wasn’t his death, but his father. You see, John Eduque is a jr so that means she made a fool of herself when she arrived there, causing a scene at the wake. She makes it worse by trying to make a run for it without explaining the miscue, and this sends John’s mom (Eugene Domingo) into a spiral of depression, believing that her husband cheated on her. John vows to find this woman who has destroyed his family. Hijinks ensue.

A simple premise, with a paper-thin plot, and overplayed gags you could see coming a mile away. This wasn’t a shining moment for Philippine film, but there is no question that the movie still has a lot of good things going for it, starting from the unmistakable chemistry between Anne and Luis, who played off of each other pretty well, and had enough acting talent to salvage the terrible script. This is testament to the acting talent of the two lead stars. They did well despite the material they had to work with.

This was, without a doubt, a film made for its kilig factor. It wasn’t ingenious, it wasn’t special, but it was a perfectly serviceable film, and in my opinion, a film I had less problems praising than the last Tanging Ina instalment. Overall, I liked watching the film, but if you compared it to other recent romantic comedies, Who’s That Girl isn’t anywhere near as good as them. It gets even worse if you tried to compare any other movies Eugene Domingo starred in to this one.

Fun Evaluation: B+/A-
Critical Evaluation: C+

.:Film Review: Sucker Punch:.

Role reversal!

Sucker Punch
Eye candy but not much else? Okay lang.

So last weekend, during another K-Pop con, I managed to steal away a couple of hours from Jazminne and her two friends, Jessica and Jemina (Triple J?), so we could catch Sucker Punch, which I’ve been curious about for a while already.

That being said, SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Now, while some reviewers have given great insights that reveals how deep Sucker Punch actually is, I assumed that turning my brain off to watch the film was the best course of action, what with Jamie Chung and Vanessa Hudgens in the cast, not to mention the lead star, who normally shouldn’t even appeal to me, in the first place. I’m not so sure if that was the best course of action, since with four different things they needed to get, there were four distinct huge action scenes in the film, and each one got more and more boring as time passed. The eye candy could only get so far.

The characters were walking stereotypes, and only Baby Doll and Rocket actually felt anywhere near fleshed out, which made their choice of characters who made it to the end of the film intact rather... questionable.

The film was all about a girl who ends up in a mental asylum thanks to an abusive stepfather, who ends up getting a lobotomy. At least, that’s how the film starts, but then, the storyline shifts without any spoonfeeding into the whole thing being a theatre bit, and now, instead of asylum patients, they’ve turned into cabaret dancers or something. All well and good, except even within that, more fantasy sequences are played out in the mind of the apparent lead character, which just gets increasingly frustrating because we actually wanted to see Baby Doll dancing. She was winding up for it already, but instead, we’re treated to a CGI smorgasbord that is awesome to behold, but indisputably leaves the viewers cold afterwards.

I feel that if we had to make an in-depth analysis to show why Sucker Punch is actually a great movie, then it’s either failed at getting the point across, or we’re just guilty of giving the filmmakers too much credit. Even if you can’t quite articulate why a film is good or bad, you should at least get an overall feeling, regardless of a technical analysis, and ultimately, what matters is whether or not you actually enjoyed the film.

Given that Sucker Punch was an action-packed film that had pacing issues and very poor characterization, I have to say that while I liked the concept of the film, the execution really, really left me cold. With my companions actually audibly declaring they were bored by the time they were fighting cyborgs, I realized that the film, from the trailer alone, was misleading the potential audience about everything except the promise of lots and lots of eye candy.

The film failed because it made an implicit promise that you will enjoy this movie if you actually turned off your brain and just handwaved away any shortcomings from within. It made this promise, and yet the storyline actually demanded a lot of thought from the viewer, and expected one to be able to enjoy all the gratuitous violence and cheesecake while taking in the pseudo-philosophical ideas the movie was tossing at you. It was a bad combination and it didn’t work. It was trying to be both a mindless and deep film at the same time, and for that to happen, you needed to excel on both levels. Sucker Punch excelled at neither end of the spectrum.

Would I recommend you to spend your hard-earned money on this film in the cinema? If you’re a hot-blooded male who wants to look at hot girls kick some righteous behind, sure, go for it. But if you don’t fit that demographic, I strongly suggest you wait for the DVD, because it might be more fun to watch the film if there are some insights behind the scenes being thrown into the discussion.

Fun Evaluation: B+
Critical Evaluation: B-

Project 52 (13/52): Absolutely - Nine Days

.:Project 52 (13/52): Absolutely – Nine Days:.

This song is really catchy and captures how I feel in a nutshell. It’s about loving someone absolutely, and doing what you can to make them smile.

Considering how things have been going lately, I couldn’t be any happier. What was once just an ego-booster is slowly but surely turning into a beautiful reality. But I digress. That isn’t really what this song is about.

I really do like listening to this song, as it’s just one of those great alternative hits that you hear that just makes you smile and think for a second. The melody of the song is undoubtedly upbeat, but the lyrics do spell an underlying push and pull between the fact that yes, the girl is lovable, but there is an inner sadness to her that the singer can only hope to quell.

It’s whimsical-sounding, yes, but the song is testament to how romance should always be about making each other happy. Ultimately, that’s why this song never fails to pick up my day, and that’s why this is very likely to be my personal anthem for the rest of the week, Rebecca Black LSS-ing be damned.

Random TL;DR

.:Brain Drain:.

Amid silly Demi Lovato fans whose reading comprehension skills are suspect, I couldn’t help but feel that I need a few days to clear my mind because there’s just so much going on lately.

I’ve been pretty drained on the political climate in the country as well. While the saccharine support for P Noy is overwhelming, I’m still waiting to see exactly what he plans to do. I guess this could only mean that I need to take a hiatus from political writing for about a month, because there has been nothing interesting going on with them lately.

Anyways, it’s been a very low-key weekend for me, but I was pretty stoked about the upcoming week, even if I do believe that the upcoming weekend is going to be another exercise in setting myself up for disappointment.

Nonetheless, enough about the autobiographical stuff for now, and let’s get to the interesting topics for the day, starting with Demi Lovato’s long-ago stint in rehab that I actually reported about. After the exclusive interview I have conducted with the lady, I’m just surprised over the minor cow people are having over the fact that I dared sully the name of their idol. Yes, because I totally have the power to do that and Demi Lovato absolutely feels affected by every word I say about her.

Considering I’m not even a hater of the “Camp Rock” lead star, I don’t even understand what’s going on with these people, except maybe an obvious lack of reading comprehension.

.:All Punched Out:.

Manny Pacquiao’s stint in social media has come to an abrupt end, thanks to his inability to accept criticism from people. Indeed, it has become quite a shocking development for everyone looking on to know that a duly elected official of this great nation is acting like a petulant child.

In other news, water is wet, and night follows day. Who would’ve thunk it, eh?

.:The Race Card And The Black Plague:.

Here comes yet another racist tirade that’s (mistakenly) hurled against Asians, yet actually singles out only Japanese.

Now, I can totally understand how people got ticked off about her not-very-clever rant about the Japanese people who were calling up their families during the time that their people were suffering through one of the worst earthquakes in history, but what really got my goat was that for all of her posturing about being “not racist” at all, you just knew that the minute someone says those fateful words, something definitely racist is going to be said.

Well, I say, she shouldn’t be too surprised at the reaction she’s getting. If she felt so upset by talking Asians in the library, then maybe she could have done a little more than just be passive-aggressive towards them, right?

And really, I’m all for letting her know she goofed, but I’m rather dismayed (Albeit it’s kinda expected, to be honest.) that the responses to her have been mostly racist as well, or worse, sexist. That kinda defeats the whole purpose of things, like saying, “in God’s eyes, we are all equal, you inferior piece of crap!”

I don’t know about this lady, really, and what’s up with her and her intolerance, but y’know what? Considering how many people have been bashing Rebecca Black with so much hatred that certainly seems a tad overkill for a thirteen-year old who just discovered the joys of Autotune, I suppose this world is still an intolerant place underneath it all.

I mean sure, you don’t have to like her music. Heaven knows I don’t. But I don’t think she ruined music. At all. She didn’t come into my house and destroy all my Beatles CD’s or cut up my Itchyworms cassettes. She just made this one song that I can, if I so choose to, not bother ever listening to. Why would I actively seek out something that would aggravate me so, right?

I dunno. Even if I can be a big ball of rage at times, I still feel that there’s no reason for me to look for reasons to be furious. It can be so draining at times, and to be honest, an inconsequential UCLA college student and a kid who thinks she can sing would get a few comments from me at most, but bubbling, boiling hatred? I reserve that kind of stuff for more worthwhile pursuits, because that’s what a human being with INTEGRITY does, yo.

Project 52 (12/52): Friday - Rebecca Black

.:Project 52 (12/52): Friday – Rebecca Black:.

Originally, I had another song in mind to start my week off, but this song is just so insanely catchy that it ended up overriding my music tastes for an entire day.

This isn’t exactly the best song ever, but hey, it caught on, and it caught on pretty well. Close to 30 million views in what? Less than two weeks or so? That’s about the same amount of views the official “Never Gonna Give You Up” video has, give or take three million! Of course, the video labelled “Rickroll’d” has 48 million views, but it sure didn’t take five years for Rebecca Black to hit that many views...

I don’t really know how to feel about a song that reminds me oddly enough of Weird Al’s “Trapped In The Drive-Thru” if only for how often Rebecca Black went through shopping-list lyrics like the great scribe himself. It’s auto-tuned like crazy, but she has a decent voice, and hey, if you don’t like her music, feel free to tune out, since I (really hope) figure that the song won’t be getting any radio airtime soon.

And considering that this thing caught on just a week or so ago, I’m pretty shocked that there’s already a pretty huge meme for her already. Good on you, girl, and I’m glad you can stick to your guns no matter what the haters say. I may not like your music, but I like your grit.

I don’t even know how the song just got out there. I’ve heard much worse songs, and I’ve certainly heard much better ones, too, but for some reason, a well-produced song from a thirteen-year old girl is getting a lot more traction than almost everything else in such a short time. Normally, for something to get this memetic, it takes months or a huge celebrity to pull it off.

That being said, I’m just glad this song is playing on a Monday, so it isn’t stuck to my head as much as it ought to be on a Friday, Friday, gotta get down on a Friday.

I can’t believe I commented more on the memetic value of this song than the song itself, but hey, what can you do, right?