The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2005

.:The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2005:.

Suman for others!

First of all, I realized that I actually got to know Clair this year, mainly because this was the year that iBlog first happened, so I'm sorry about that error. Considering how I kept count of every conversation we had, this was highly unusual. Still, poring over hundreds of blog entries like what I'm doing on a regular basis to pull this retrospective off does kind of take its toll on me.

I was in the thick of my career, and the not-so-pleasant tailend of a relationship that showed how I woefully misunderstood what it means to love and to care about someone. It was supposedly a very happy thing when I got into my second relationship, but in reality? It was pretty much a travesty all around because I was flat out clueless what it took to make a relationship work. years from then, I look at myself now, and I realize my knowledge is still far from perfect, but I definitely saw so many thing I did wrong then that I wouldn't even consider doing now.

And I have a confession: a lot of my blog entries in 2005 really make me cringe today. I was very cavalier with privacy, and it may have been very embarrassing for the people I blogged about back then the way I wrote about them, no matter how positive I might have thought it was that I wrote about them. I still write a lot, and I still say a lot of crazy things, but one thing I feel just naturally changed over time was how my writing has been far less incriminating for other people I write about. I've gotten far less detailed and transcript-y, and this was actually a change for the better, I think.

I remember this year because it was the year where I worked for Channel 11 alongside doing radio, and I was ridiculously exhausted because of this setup. I can't imagine how my friend, DJ Aya of WOW 103.5, is doing the same thing nowadays, probably only worse. I was going through rather trying times, but overall? I was just so head over heels in love with Pomelo at this point that it seemed I was just gliding over everything that wasn't going so well in my life.

And yes, that included the first signs that showed me that the academic life wasn't really quite for me.

But one overall running theme during 2005 was suman. It happened mostly because of Dean Alfar's talk on creative blogging, and it sorta stuck for a pretty long while when a few of us who went to the talk decided to blog about suman on a weekly basis. I lasted pretty long doing that, actually.

It was the beginning of amazing things, to be honest. As I went ahead and got to know bloggers left and right due to iBlog, I also met the Sassy Lawyer, who pretty much recognized me because we've corresponded with each other in the past. And yes, iBlog was when I first met the (in)famous Mike Abundo.

2005 was a pivotal year because it was a year of huge changes: changes that would really dictate the pace in succeeding years, and 2006 was definitely going to be even more of the same.

But wow. I really cringed a lot going through my archives, so I'm thankful I managed to find this essay I wrote about the Digital Filipina issue. Amid all the jokes about the gay innuendo and amid all the cringe-worthy things I wrote about, I felt pretty good about the fact that I was writing with a very progressive slant more and more in 2005. I was starting to quote feminist/anti-ableist/anti-racist/pluralist material and echoing these sentiments even if in 2005, my notions on gender equality weren't as informed as they are nowadays.

It feels good to know that I came to my own personal journey against bigotry without any earth-shattering moment. That I quietly just realized how wrong bigotry was, and proceeded to work hard at educating myself over the years. Does that deserve any respect or adulation? Of course not. It's what all of us should be doing in the first place. I'm just glad I figured it out with minimal anguish.

The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2004

.:The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2004:.

Well, crap.

I used to be so thin back in the day...

So I opened 2004 with the highlight of finding out that I won the Asian Blog Awards from Flying Chair. Considering how 2004 was one of my most active blogging years of all time, it was a doozy!

One thing I noticed was that 2004 was arguably when I got the most detailed when it came to blogging. I was transcribing conversations word for word in my blog, and it was pretty insane how religious I was in writing, period.

Graduation really changed the dynamic for me because immediately upon graduation, I quickly moved on to working. I was teaching, I was on WAVE 89.1, and I was taking up my masters, all at the same time. I don't know how I managed to do all of that together at the time, but then again, I have a day job, magic, comedy, improv, and radio all going on at the same time at the moment. I guess keeping myself busy is really where it's at.

I was doing a lot of writing, including this short story series that heavily referenced something going on in my life, and it was during this time that I started being very good friends with Sacha, Peppy, Clair, Krisette, and Kathy. These friendships were really taking root, and of course, in 2004, I spoke a bit about Rowena, who had the best birthday greeting for me way back then.

Looking back at what I've written, it was a pretty amazing time, especially when I consider all the friends I made and all the experiences I went through in 2004. It was a huge point of transition for me, especially when you consider that this was the tailend of my first ever relationship, which lasted well over five years. I didn't realize I was so into poi at this point already.

The entry that best encapsulates how I was during these times must be the one where I wrote about the World of 9:00PM on a Tuesday, which is probably one of the saddest things I've ever written, when I think about it.

Man, I think despite being crazy detailed and wordy, I really had something good going on in 2004. And I was so thin back then! Oh, well. That feels so long ago. Like, so 50 pounds ago.

The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2003

.:The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2003:. 

 In 2003, I got into Livejournal, and it was quite a doozy as my blogging really took off. At some point, I just started breaking up my thoughts into headings as I currently do, and that's been very helpful in getting me to write a lot more.

I started doing Philosophy thesis statements around this year, which really got me into considering whether or not I should teach after graduation. I was ridiculously grade-conscious, I picked up the words "ruddy" and "Hades" and one of them never left my personal vocabulary, and so many other habits really started kicking in. I think I really established my writing personality by then, and despite changes here and there, it's mostly held.

I was in the running for the Flying Chair's Best Philippine Blog in the 2003 Asian Blog Awards at the time, although the results for that came out the next year. It was really a crazy time for me, and yeah, I was doing a lot of ranting, especially when it came to the fact that FPJ was making it known that he had plans of running for president in 2004.

I was a complete Philosophy junkie by the time I kicked off the year. I was waxing philosophical about anything and everything, and I was filled with inside jokes galore, and it was very clear that I wasn't even trying to write for an audience.

Nonetheless, it felt great and liberating to blog my thoughts unperturbed the way I did. I was writing all sorts of things, and I even came up with a bit that ended up in the Matrix Essays, and I wrote it before Matrix Revolutions came out. A few months later, the article ended up proving prophetic, as it actually accurately predicted the ending of the Matrix Trilogy, which is why I'm exceptionally proud of the entry, perhaps even surpassing this series of posts, where I answered Dr. Bulaong's thesis statements in great detail.

I know, he wasn't a doctor yet at the time, but whatever.

It was during this time where I hung out a lot with the Wednesday group in DLSU and the Otakuboards really occupied a lot of my life and time. Pretty crazy for a guy who didn't own a computer at the time, really. This meant I was typing out all these blog entries in the computer labs, under a time limit.

In any case, inasmuch as I'd like to blog about all of this at length, I must admit that I'm far too preoccupied today because someone very special has been spending the day with me, even if only by Skype.

I'm not gonna blow it this time.

The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2002

.:The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2002:.

So I decided to do a retrospective of my blog, featuring maybe my favorite entry from each year or something to that effect, and if I have the time, I could even go into detail with all that while I'm at it.

Not a bad idea, but oh, man. When I looked at my entries in 2002? It was painful to read through them! I mean, seriously. Nowadays, when I make a passive-aggressive post, I cringe while writing it down. Back then? That was almost all I ever did on my blog!

I think I only had one decent post I wouldn't feel bad about people seeing today there, and it was just me putting up info about stuff I researched about the WWF/E.

Despite that, if there's one entry I'd like to highlight for this retrospective, it has to be the first one I ever wrote. I think that even if it had next to no substance to it, it showed a pretty good snapshot of who I was and still am: a guy who may be sheepish about the full extent of what he is as a person, but still goes ahead and lays it all on the line, anyways.

I know this isn't a particularly long retrospective, but I guess it comes with the territory of 2002: back then, I blogged because it seemed like a good idea at the time, and in the middle of this and the stuff I was doing in the E-Fed I was a part of, I was doing an incredible amount of writing as is. Needless to say, this meant I didn't really think much about my blogging and focused more on how my day was, and I used my blog to rant about anything and everything going on in my life, which seemed to be the norm for blogging back in the day - and up to now, although with a little more window dressing in 2012.

When I got into blogging in 2002, I really just thought blogging was such a novel concept. Twitter didn't exist. Friendster was just more or less getting started, I think. Expressing yourself for everyone to see on the internet was a new thing, and it didn't matter if only five to ten people were reading you, you went ahead and blogged anyways. It didn't matter if you didn't make any money from your blog, either, as opposed to how money making or other economic perks seem to now be the main impetus for most blogs, not that there's anything inherently wrong with that.

Today, my blog may be slightly better-written, but the core remains: this is, for all intents and purposes, an online diary. I wear my heart on my sleeve something fierce, after all.

Project 52 (41/52): On This Blog Turning 10 (And How Awesome That Totally Is)

.:Project 52 (41/52): On This Blog Turning 10 (And How Awesome That Totally Is):. 

Ten years ago, I opened a blog. I had no idea what a blog was except that it seemed like “an online diary,” and I remember very distinctly that an old friend, Maia Dumdum, was the one who got me into blogging in the first place. It was a strange and exciting time for me: I realized hardly anyone would probably be reading my blog, I knew it wasn’t my ticket to fame and fortune, but what I understood, deep down was that I was keeping a blog because I wanted to live forever. Through my words. My thoughts. Unless someone deleted the entirety of the interwebz, I knew that my blog would outlive me and hopefully paint a decent and kinda detailed picture of myself. I think.

Well, here I am, ten years hence, still alive and kicking. How does it feel?
 
Pretty damned amazing, if you ask me.

I must admit that I'm not surprised to find myself still blogging for ten years from when I started. Over the years, I've written insights and commentary on anything and everything. I've gone through so many noticeable changes in my blogging style, and for the most part, I've had great experiences with people who have read and enjoyed my blog.

If anything, the things I do today in my career were born out of this blog: working in digital, doing a ton of mentalism and even comedy shows that people have heard about through my online accounts, and a host of other things I may not have noticed. This blog has been a very significant part of my life, and I couldn't be happier about the fact that it has been so.

But where does this place me in the pantheon of bloggers? Have I really made a significant contribution to the blogosphere that merits recognition or even celebration?

I don't care, actually.

I've been blogging because I wanted to keep the memories alive, even if Alzheimer's struck me tomorrow and attempted to take them all away. I've been blogging because I felt I had something to say, and whether a single person or a million people read what I had to say, I'd have kept on writing, regardless. It isn't for me to say how important my blog has been, and if you asked me to be honest about it, I'd probably say I haven't really done much with my blog beyond putting my thoughts into words in a way that is uniquely me through and through - and for me, that's enough.

I'm not out here to gain fame and worldwide recognition even if I would certainly not say "no" to that if it came my way. I'm not out here to get rich as a blogger, or to even tell everyone that I was doing blogging even before it became way too mainstream. [/hipster]

I'm out here because I exist. Because in the endless cacophony and the Einerlei we find ourselves immersed in, standing out isn't what's important so much as standing up to be counted. I value every entry I write because they are inextricably a part of who I am and what I am becoming, and it's this very thing that makes blogging great insofar as people believe that blogs without "one great idea" aren't relly all that important: that they stand up to be counted makes them very important, indeed. Because they dare. Because I dare.

So I don't really know where I will go from here, except to keep on writing and writing because it is what I know to do. If I touch any lives as I go about doing it, then great. If all it leaves me to do is to say to the universe "I exist," then that, in and by itself, would have been enough, too.

After everything has been said and done, if a blog post is written in the middle of the internet and nobody ever reads it, unlike a tree that may or may not have made a sound if it fell down in the middle of the forest to be heard by nobody, the 1's and 0's making up this post remain and echo throughout the entire history of the internet.

This blog is not a celebration of the mundane: rather, it is a sublimation of the mundane, because when you think about it, your life is made up of 99% mundaneness, and 1% excitement. Could we ever truly say that only 1% of our life is ever of any worth? Certainly not.

Here's to ten years of MisterVader, and may more and more years come, as I continue to grow and evolve as a blogger, not for some great big idea that I stand behind, but simply because this blog has become every bit as human as I have always been, and I couldn't ask for more from this little, almost whimsical thing that I started last October 14, 2002.

Today Was A Good Day...

Yes, it really was.

 First of all, the Supreme Court put out a Temporary Restraining Order against the Cybercrime Law. With everything I have said and done when it comes to that topic, the fact that the Supreme Court has decided to put a halt to it while the bill is refined.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that there are issues with the bill, and it's best to fix them before we put it out in the wild. If people are willingly doing that to the RH Bill, then why should the Cybercrime Law get a pass?

And in the past few days, I've been making some changes that I'm not yet at liberty to discuss. I'm very happy about these changes, needless to say.

But really, I'm very happy because my blog is turning ten years this Sunday. I know I'm not one for much fanfare, but if you've ever read my blog and enjoyed it in the past, all I'm asking is you drop me a line and tell me what your favorite entry of mine is and why. I'd really love to hear it, and it doesn't take much for you to send some affirmation my way. :p

The Quick Pre-Weekend Wrapup...

.:Wrapping Up...:.

It hasn't been an easy week. I'm proud of how productive I've been, though.

First of all, my second article about the Cybercrime Bill is officially the most-read article on the entire 8 List website. I know I expected people to take interest in the topic, but I sure didn't expect that it would get this much coverage. As of today, we've hit about 2,700 likes or so already for the post, and counting. I'm just stunned.

So with all of that, and despite being so occupied here at work that I couldn't help in filing the motion that other bloggers such as Tonyo Cruz, Marocharim, Ade, Tin, and others have, I still found myself in the thick of things, and my tweet on the issue actually ended up on TV.

My odds of getting sued just went way up.

And I'd like to keep running my mouth and cracking jokes about PNoy, Sotto, and all the other "luminaries" who made this abomination of a bill a reality now, but what's the point? They're so petulant and myopic that they probably gained a radar sense to make up for it already.

So I'll leave it at that, really: I've written several articles already, so if anyone wanted to hear more, they can always just follow me on Twitter and ask me there. I'm just too tired to have to add to that.

Speaking of tired, you have no idea what I've been up to this week, and the conversations I've ended up having. Had a double dose of SPIT this week, and even got to drop by Chihuahua's open mic night, where Mike Unson decided to visit. Pretty cool on that count, really, since it was a pleasant surprise to everyone that he showed up there.

Typhoon Marce has come and gone, and I feel like I'm the typhoon, just a whirling dervish the entire week, trying to keep my cool as I went through so many things, even making the decision to turn down a job offer after a lot of careful consideration. Didn't think that would happen.

There's been so many changes as well, and all I could think is how much I miss the warmth. I'm getting there, but I really do feel dazed and confused at the moment. One of them even involves a certain radio station, but I refuse to bring it up until they announce it first...

For now, let me just relish that I've done a good job for this week, and if someone sues me for Cyber-Libel next week, it would be the perfect way to celebrate my 10th year of blogging this coming October 14.

Which reminds me... if my blog has been important enough for you to keep track of, I'm going to try to get people to participate in an experiment come Monday. I just hope I don't get crickets in response.

Have a smashing weekend, everyone!

Project 52 (40/52) 2012: On Being A Blogger For Ten Years (And Why The Cybercrime Law Sucks In Light Of It)

.:Project 52 (40/52) 2012: On Being A Blogger For Ten Years (And Why The Cybercrime Law Sucks In Light Of It):.

It's been nearly ten years for myself as a blogger, and I cannot help but feel nostalgic about it. True, I haven't really managed making a comprehensive retrospective for my blog so far, but it has been an amazing ten years, and I hope I will keep on going and blogging for as long as I have the mental faculties to do it.

Or at least, unless nobody ever decides to sue me for whatever I may have blogged here lest I end up in prison over it.

Considering how eager the PNP seems to be to use the Cybercrime Bill to strike down people who speak ill of policemen, we are really going into unchartered territory at this point.

Beware, because they dare.

Ten years of blogging, and today, we come face to face with this. Wow.

Last week, I was part of the Cyberfreedom Forum organized by Senator TG Guingona, and never have I found more to be awed and disappointed by than to discover that only Senator Guingona even bothered to read the Cybercrime bill enough to actually see why it was problematic. Just ask Chiz Escudero, he'd tell you. How could 23 other senators completely miss this or just willfully allow this? Double jeopardy, using the internet as an aggravating circumstance in and by itself, an abridgement of due process, and an archaic libel law upheld in the cyber arena? What were these people even thinking?!?

This isn't even considering so many other ridiculously misguided sections found in the bill that any lawyer worth their salt would be quick to point out to you. It is just a fustercluck of such epic proportions that I can't help but wonder how they could treat the internet with such contempt and such carelessness.

So here I am, celebrating ten years as a blogger. Yet here I am, also standing against these unmistakable transgressions against my rights as a netizen. What should be a moment of celebration for me is instead a moment of trepidation, because I know that while I may not ever get into legal trouble because of my blog, I could be, if it were their whim and fancy, and there's not a damned thing I could do about it if I let it slide now.

The Cybercrime Law is certainly a hot-button topic and I have already written about it on the POC.  Despite that, it bears repeating here on this blog: this is an attack on our freedom. It is the kind of freedom our heroes have died for that we may enjoy it, no matter how trivial or mundane our exercise of the freedom is. That's exactly the whole point of freedom, after all: you get to exercise it as you see fit, within reason. What this law attempts to do is to abridge that freedom in favor of caprice and arbitrariness. At no point are they required to go through due process, and it sickens me that nobody is watching these watchmen as they level veiled threats against us and attempt to villify the internet so as to pretend that their cause is just.

Well, I won't take it. No way, no how. 

I am Marcelle Fabie. I have been a blogger for ten years, writing with a real name to my words.

And I will not be silenced.

We will not be silenced.

29 On The 29th And An Unexpected Eulogy

.:The Birthday Weekend That Was...:.

 It was a very quiet weekend for me, despite everything I was up to. I really spent most of my time contemplating, and talking to someone who really made a difference last weekend, giving me something I never had for the past two years: her time.

 Friday started things out with the IMMAP Open Mic Night, and it was pretty funny that they insisted I be one of the first speakers, facing off with The Mom Blogger on whether or not Twitter influencers should be paid. There were so many interesting things going on that night, even a quick spell where I had to debate the merits of calling myself straight edge with someone, and a reconnection with Wincy Ong, whom I knew from Ateneo and Reedley.

Nonetheless, IMMAP OMN3 was a success, and I was glad to be a part of it. It was also the third anniversary of the Disenchanted Kingdom that night, so yeah. More reasons to celebrate.

Saturday was pretty interesting, what with me dropping by the Morning Rush, and finding myself surrounded by so many rushers that morning. It was surreal how many of us managed to fit there, but it was great to be in familiar ground, especially since my birthday was going to be pretty much unchartered territory for me, except the helping out part.

To cap off my relatively quiet day, I actually went and opened for Mike Unson's comedy show in Grillery, where I debuted a modified set that focused on my relationship jokes. I'm glad it went over pretty well, actually. They ended up surprising me with a cake after the party, replete with a fork design. That was very thoughtful.

Sunday was spent in Bulacan with an old friend, and we watched "The Mistress." Overall, it was a very simple birthday weekend, but it was very meaningful because someone finally greeted me and actually waited me for midnight. I waited for years for this to happen, and all I could say is that after everything has been said and done, it was well worth the wait...

.:An Unexpected Eulogy:.

I never expected that just shortly after meeting him and talking shop with him about random stuff online, my friend and sportscasting legend, Butch Maniego, has passed away.

It saddens me knowing that I would never get to seat myself across him in a prerelease tournament anymore. It saddens me knowing that I can't joke around with him on Twitter any longer. It saddens me I will never get to read his 8 List article that I was hoping would have killer insights about Philippine basketball, if not Philippine sports. It also saddens me to know that he was also friends with someone dear to me, and neither of us even knew until today.

I wonder what he would have said to either of us if he knew? I wonder what more conversations we could have had with each other especially now? Would things have been different for us?

I don't really know what to say. I've only been friends with him so briefly, yet as a part of countless sportscasting teams over the years, it's like I've known him all my life already. I so want to say so many things to him, but maybe I'll get to tell him these things some other way.

For now, I guess I can't help but feel an immense amount of regret, knowing that I never got to speak to him enough times before he passed on. He was a fountain of wisdom and pragmatism. And he was, through everything, a great person.

Thank you for having been a part of my life, Butch. You will sincerely and truly be missed.

I Resolve That This Time...

... my birthday will be a blast.

I'm done moping around for the past couple of years. No more.

I'll post some other time.

Project 52 (39/52): On DIY (And Why CD-R King Will Someday Rule The World)

.:Project 52 (39/52): On DIY (And Why CD-R King Will Someday Rule The World):.

Let's get this out of the way right away, guys: I am not a DIY kind of guy. I'm rather inept when it comes to that stuff, and I really don't think it's something I'm particularly interested in doing on a regular basis.

That being said, when I bought a television for my place recently, I wanted to get a TV stand to go with it, and given my limited budget, I decided to go for a CD-R King TV Stand.

It went for a trifle 3,990 bucks. Most tables elsewhere start at 9,000.

So after unpacking the two boxes, I sat myself down and got to work. It was a veritable mess of instructions that I didn't really understand, if the very helpful dude at CD-R King didn't actually help me out. I know, I know. They're notorious for being very surly people, but on this particular day, they were extra nice!

Stage 1, done! A portent of things to come!

So I managed to assemble the base of the stand after a couple of tries. It was pretty easy once you figured out the internal logic of the parts: which needed washers, which needed to be screwed on, and all of that. It was pretty fun trying to figure out what goes where, and while going through it, I began to feel more and more confident as things started to... well, fall into place.

It was at that point that I managed to assemble the rack where the TV was going to end up on. Yeah, I know, this post is not as joke-filled as the usual stuff, but there has to be something funny about the fact that they didn't even stick a warranty sticker on my TV stand when I got it...

I know what you're thinking: just wait 'til it collapses, Kel!

Well, from there, I had to bring out the television already. It was a Sony Bravia, and it was pretty lightweight, so I had very little trouble mounting it.

The best part? It came with a metric effton of bubble wrap!

With very few pieces left, it didn't take much to know which went where anymore. This was actually the easiest part of setting up the TV stand, except for one little thing...

And no, I'm not referring to my room.

You see, the problem with the new Sony Bravia (The 32-inch LED one.) is that the geniuses at Sony decided that the HDMI and power slots of their brand new TV go very well right in the same columns as where the slots for wall rack mounting would go. That meant that mounting the TV would mean you outright blocked your HDMI outlet from access. Which I discovered the hard way, really, and it forced me to make some adjustments...

Yes, it's a Justin Bieber song. Don't judge me.

You'd notice that I moved the TV to the side just so I could plug the HDMI port in, but the first port, the one that you can use to connect to your phone? That's actually completely inaccessible because of where they decided to place it. Still, I managed to come out on top with this one, and considering that none of these inconveniences were even remotely CD-R King's fault, I have to admit, this was quite an experience.

Gangnam Style, Tagalog/Capampangan Version Lyrics

.:Won't Be Too Shocked To See Someone Record This Or Something...:.

I know, I know. Everyone and their mother has heard of and done a lip-synch video to Gangnam Style by now. 

What nobody has done, though, is to make a Tagalog version. And that surprises me, considering how someone did it for "Teach Me How To Dougie" and other similarly popular songs. I expect the Christmas Mix this December, but a Tagalog version hasn't even been written yet.

Until now.

Yes, I came up with this, and yes my Capampangan is probably rudimentary at best, but I'm pretty proud of it. If you think the lyrics need work and they don't fit as perfectly with the tune as I hoped they would, feel free to tell me.

But yes, if you'd ever record this, and I'd end up hearing this song on the radio, please don't forget to tip your hat to me, at least. That goes for you too, Tito Sotto. ;)

Pampanga Style
translation by Kel Fabie

hO Pampanga Style!
Pampanga Style!

Ang saya sa Pampanga, lahat ay nalolosyang
Pagkain pa lang, tiyak walang sinabi ang hopya
Daming handa, mula San Fernando hanggang Guagua
Maraming gaya-gaya, ngunit hindi makopya

Mga Cabalen!
Mekeni na’t mangan dito sa amen mga Cabalen!
hAndami naming handa, ang saya-saya Cabalen!
Bata man o matanda, manyaman ang pagkain Cabalen!
Puro Cabalen!

Sanikulas ni Borromeo
Tocino (hey!) at Kamaru (hey!)
Sanikulas ni Borromeo
Tocino (hey!) at Kamaru (hey!)
Betute Tugak, Bulanglang, Balu-Balooooo

hO Pampanga Style!
Pampanga Style!

hO Pampanga Style!
Pampanga Style!

Ehhhhhh, Potang benge!
hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp
hO Pampanga Style!
Ehhhhhh, Potang benge!
hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp
hO Pampanga Style!

San Luis, Mexico, Angeles pati na Santa Ana
Macabebe, Sasmuan, sama mo na Candaba
Minalin, Mabalacat, hanngang sa Floridablanca
Kuha mo, Masantol? O siya?

Mga Cabalen!
Mekeni mangan tamu dito cabalen
Dacal a anda masaya cami cabalen
Bata man o matand, manyaman ing kanan cabalen
Puro Cabalen!

Sanikulas ni Borromeo
Tocino (hey!) at Kamaru (hey!)
Sanikulas ni Borromeo
Tocino (hey!) at Kamaru (hey!)
Betute Tugak, Bulanglang, Balu-Balooooo

ho Pampanga Style!
Pampanga Style!

ho Pampanga Style!
Pampanga Style!

Ehhhhhh, Potang benge!
hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp
hO Pampanga Style!
Ehhhhhh, Potang benge!
hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp
hO Pampanga Style!

Tingnan niyo, sarap maghain ‘to
Baby-baby
Kaya si Gloria tumakbo dito

Tingnan niyo, sarap maghain ‘to
Baby-baby
Kaya si Gloria tumakbo dito

hYou know hwhat hI’m saying!

hO Pampanga Style!

Ehhhhhh, Potang benge!
hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp
hO Pampanga Style!
Ehhhhhh, Potang benge!
hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp, hOp
hO Pampanga Style

Project 52 (38/52): On False Equivalence (And Why It Gets Tiring Sometimes)

.:Project 52 (38/52): On False Equivalence (And Why It Gets Tiring Sometimes):.

I really wanted to talk about either hosting Best Of Anime last weekend or the brand-spanking new Anti-Cybercrime Bill, but I couldn't bring myself to cover that stuff just now.

So let's do this one instead.

Shortpacked: right again, like always. Click image to enlarge.

I have noticed a pattern.

It seems to me that every single time a discussion about sexism comes up in any of the fandoms I’m a part of, there will always be people who are so quick to dismiss the issue with a simple “I don’t see it as a problem. Ergo, it’s not a problem.” It points back to the whole deal about dismissing issues just because they don’t matter to us that I wrote about a few weeks ago.

When the issue matters to you, though, it becomes incredibly frustrating. And to me, equality does matter. A lot. Having been indoctrinated by safe spaces like Scans Daily, I feel rather uneasy whenever I see instances of sexism because you know what? They aren’t few and far in between. They happen often enough to be cause for alarm. In fact, they happen so often, and their presence in most forms of media is so pervasive, that we are actually surprised when they’re not present.

One of the common defences against sexism in comics or video games is that while yes, we have women with impossibly sexy bodies and much-abused backbones due to all their swaying, men have it “just as bad” because they are all impossibly handsome and well-built muscled hulks, and frequently wear their underwear on the outside.

That’s a nice defense, until you realize that it’s false equivalence: yes, the two are idealized, but the question is: for whom and by whom?

When you see Psylocke posing in a mind-boggling way where her chest and her behind are facing you at the same time, this is a fantasy put into play by the male artist to attract the male reader.

Hey, it’s Psylocke in a physically impossible pose! Must be a Tuesday.

When you see Superman as the epitome of masculinity, his well-chiseled face and his Adonis-like physique striking a powerful pose on the cover of a comic, this is a fantasy put into play by the male artist to attract the male reader.

Superman gets so boring sometimes, even the caption is more of the same.

See, therein lies the rub: at no point in either case were the desires of a woman taken into consideration. Do women aspire to be able to show off their chest and their butt at the same time? Probably not, but even if they did, obviously, nobody consulted them about it.

On the other hand, being a man, when someone draws an idealized body of Superman or Batman, then that is a power fantasy and aspirational in nature. Even if some people might find Superman sexy, the intent isn’t to be sexy, but to evoke strength and power.

Not that there’s anything wrong about being sexy, mind you. It just becomes a problem when women in comics and video games statistically become all about being sexy. Why the lack of variety? Contrast that to the range of men who are sexy, men who are powerful, men who are average, and just about everything in between, while women are just all sexy? Are there exceptions? Yes. But they are so few and far in between that one cannot help but ask the awkward question why the representation and the variety is so ridiculously skewed.

So we’ve pretty much established that the kind of objectification and idealization women in comics and video games receive are still every bit as male-centric as the kind that men in comics and video games receive. Both are bad, but to say that the fact that men don’t complain about these things means women shouldn’t either is just being disingenuous. Of course they wouldn’t complain! It doesn’t harm them the way it harms women!

As a matter of fact, when there is true equivalence and men in comics or games are indeed sexualized the exact way women are, these very same men who claim they won’t complain actually do. Case in point:

Whoah! Call the waaangbulance!

Here. Have a closer look.

Obey.

Yep. That noticeable bulge isn’t really a power fantasy anymore, eh? Still, it’s definitely realistic. You wear something as tight as spandex, something’s gotta well, manifest itself, yet more often than not, as Spider-Man can show you, it doesn’t really work that way in comics.

The real reason why Peter and MJ aren’t married in the comics anymore…

So apparently, the men get every bit as outraged when they get “exploited.” They complain about how uncomfortable they feel with the artwork, and project all sorts of homophobic sentiments while they call the art out. Yet when it happens to women, they have the gall to say that “it’s nothing?” And they wonder why comic book and video game nerds get a bad rep.

Speaking of “realism,” that was the excuse people used to handwave the fact that Arkham City’s thugs called Catwoman a “bitch” so many times that it would ring in your ears. Funny how that “realism” isn’t necessary for crotch bulges, but suddenly, it’s integral when using gendered slurs. How utterly convenient. So in a world where people dress up as bats, cats, have freeze guns, can resurrect themselves by being dunked into a mystic pit filled with mysterious liquid, it’s important for hardened criminals to call Catwoman a “bitch”, but you can’t have Batman or Robin have any crotch bulges?

WOW.

The sad part is, only one of two things will happen after I bring this whole thing up again: either people will argue with me and try to shout me down, or it will all fall on deaf ears because “women should be happy they can already vote.”

Sometimes I wonder about this planet, really.

Addendum To The Cosplay Wordmark Brouhaha

.:In Response To The Official Statement:.

Cosplay.ph has released an official statement, as I intimated in yesterday's post. Well, that came faster than I expected it to, based on my conversation with Tanya yesterday.

I'll say this much. Given the nature of legal issues, they were well within their rights to act vigilantly and pre-emptively by wordmarking "cosplay." I'm sure there are a few people worried that cosplay.ph would selectively enforce its trademark against people they don't get along with, but at this point, that will probably result in actual legal action, and that will make or break the trademark in practice.

The argument they are making is a "necessary evil" argument, and to be fair, given what they have explained in their statement, it isn't a very far-fetched thing for them to do.

It seems unfortunate that we have a perfectly plausible situation that forces a necessary evil, especially since no matter how much good will there may be for cosplay.ph, no consensus-building was reached to give them this responsibility. Value judgments aside, the political process, as unsavory as it is, was still bypassed and the responsibility was assumed by cosplay.ph on their own accord.

Now, whether this is a case of Messianic complex or simply a matter of course is all a matter of opinion. I can assume all the goodness I want about cosplay.ph, but I'm just one person. I can't speak for everyone else, which is exactly what the critics of this move are worried cosplay.ph is now capable of, by default.

Sure, they have not enforced their trademark, but they are not legally obliged not to. That is enough cause for concern because on legal matters, "take my word for it" means absolutely nothing, and if you don't know who cosplay.ph, or if you don't get along with them, then of course you'd be worried.

Sure, they enjoy the trust of a lot of people, but what people don't realize is that this sets a precedent. They protected their brand. Well and good. What if, say, Best Of Anime decided to protect theirs by registering "anime," hypothetically? How about "otaku?" The worries of people may seem like fear-mongering, but when something big like this happens this secretively and it took a year for it to come to light, could you blame them?

So for now, there is no practical problem, even if a legal snag undeniably does exist. There are valid reasons for cosplay.ph to want and to hold onto the wordmark at this point, but the fact that we know the people behind cosplay.ph and we personally like them should not be one of those reasons. When it comes to matters like these, personal feelings on parties involved should be put aside, and people have to stick to the issues alone.

I believe doing anything else would be a huge disservice to everyone concerned.

On Trademarking The Word "Cosplay" And Double Standards

.:On Trademarking The Word "Cosplay" And Double Standards:.

And here comes this issue just after I do my Project 52 for the week. And it's not like I can hold off on writing about this until next week, considering how much discussion the issue has engendered. I see that Gameops has written about this already, but what the hey. May as well get my two cents in.

But first, let me show you what I'm talking about.

The legalese had me going for a while, too. Click to enlarge.

In the interest of disclosure, if I actually had a horse in this battle (And I don't.), it would actually be the one who filed for the trademark, Tanya Bairan. I have had nothing but pleasant experiences with her through my dealings with cosplay.ph, and if somebody had to own the trademark of the word "cosplay," then I wouldn't mind it at all if it were them.

Buuuut I don't really know if anyone has to own the word "cosplay," in the first place. At least, not on a legal basis.

This isn't an ethical or moral issue, so the fact that it was Mike Abundo who brought this "issue" (Notice the air quotes, because I personally don't think it is one. Yet.) to light isn't exactly the favorite person of the cosplay community is irrelevant. Nobody is beyond scrutiny, after all, regardless of how much we like or dislike the person in question. This is a purely legal matter, and since I'm not a lawyer, the implications of the trademark, as well as its merits, completely escape me.

I have seen similar efforts happen before. A few years back, someone tried to form a National Bloggers' Association without consulting bloggers nationally. What a novel concept! A group that seeks to represent bloggers completely ignores the very people it represents?

What next? Will the CBCP trademark the word "Catholic" now? Oh, wait.

It's okay, Abante fell for it, too.

That being said, I categorically don't approve of assuming the worst of cosplay.ph and their intentions, because whatever the case may be, her side deserves to be heard before we even try to cast judgment on this issue.

Yes, the timing of the issue cropping up is suspect: Cosplaymania is coming up on September 29, yet the trademark was filed in 2011. Why now? Is it an attempt to stir up controversy to discredit the event? Well, I can't assume anything about Mike's intentions, either. I think it's unfair of me to do so since I haven't spoken to him about it yet.

Furthermore, if that were really the intent, well, expect it to backfire, because if anything, this kind of "issue" would only spur more people to attend Cosplaymania. As you should. The event has a pretty good track record in the past few years it's been running.

It's tempting to sneak in a plug about the cosplay event I'm hosting this weekend right here, but I will resist the urge to tell you that Best Of Anime is happening this weekend in SMX. I'm above shameless self-promotion like that.

;)

Aside from "cosplay," the phrase "cosplay Philippines" and the website plus logo for cosplay.ph were also trademarked.

I am willing to go by the doctrine of charity and assume the best of intentions and the lack of any ill will in what cosplay.ph has done, but I am alarmed by the double standards some have employed to blindly defend them from being so much as questioned about this. True, cosplay.ph has a good reputation established over the years. True, I think highly of them. But if, after careful consideration, it is established that nobody should own the trademark to the word "cosplay" (Which has yet to happen, might I say.), then we can't look the other way just because we like the people involved. Nobody is beyond reproach or question. Especially not when we criticize PNoy for supposedly doing just that with Rico Puno.

This hypocrisy alarms me, because some of my closest friends have been subjected to these double standards, not to mention the rampant slut-shaming I see prevalent in the cosplay community whenever a pretty cosplayer gains some measure of popularity. No, wearing skimpy clothing doesn't make her a "slut," nor does accepting money for being a cosplayer/model at an event make her a "whore." Especially if we turn around and praise people we happen to like for doing the exact same thing, when given the chance.

And yes, I'm talking about people like Alodia or Chienna or Myrtle (Who I don't even personally know.). It seems like to certain people, these people can do nothing right, no matter what costume they wear, or whatever they say or do. Always something wrong with the costume. Always clamoring for attention. Always getting the character wrong. Always misrepresenting cosplay. Huh.

Some people would even go as far as to say they're not cosplayers because cosplay should never be about money (Which clearly contradicts the trademark, based on the text.), because the word "play" is in the term.

Yet the NBA is home to some of the highest-paid basketball players in the world, and nobody bats an eyelash at that "injustice?" For shame!

To some people, the overall message is that because these cosplayers are now actresses or models or whatever else, they no longer "deserve" to be called "cosplayers."

Why not?

Who sets these standards?

Who elected these people to set these standards?

What checks and balances are in place to assure that these standards are fair and properly observed?

I ask, because if these so-called defenders of the "purity" of the "art form" merely appointed themselves, then such a practice is specious at best, and downright discriminatory at worst.

I also ask, because the exact same reasoning was given by someone who defended the trademarking of the term "cosplay": to protect the word from misuse by douchebags. If we were to listen to the people speaking for Tanya and the rest of the cosplay.ph, you'd think that these actions are to "save" cosplay from the evil clutches of the "dastardly" Mike Abundo. A little overdramatic now, aren't we? Besides, what is up with that Messianic complex?

Nearly the same questions apply.

How is the word misused by douchebags?

Who are these douchebags?

Who determines when something is misused? Who determines who are douchebags? Are these going to be the same people?

Who elected these people to set these standards?

What checks and balances are in place to assure that these standards are fair and properly observed?

Yet again, that's merely someone speaking ahead of Tanya's turn, so for all we know, that reasoning may not even be applicable at all.

That being said, I refuse to talk about whether or not she has any merit to the trademark claim until she has aired her side, and as of my call to her earlier this afternoon, she promised that she will issue an official statement soon enough. I believe she is due the respect and accord to air her side, so for that, I will hold my piece, especially since my stake in this matter is limited at best.

Aside from the whole hoopla over the trademark itself, I really wanted to write this to decry the double standards being demonstrated by certain people within the community. It's been getting to me for years already, because even some of the people I'm closest to seem to just have a logic block when it comes to these standards. To a guy like me, who's mainly outside looking in, it feels petty and vindictive to apply one set of standards to an Alodia Gosiengfiao and to apply a completely different set of standards to a Jin Joson, solely because they like one and hate the other. These are people, too, and they deserve to be treated as such. They are not whores. They are not sluts. They are not your property. And they certainly do not exist for your amusement alone.

For now, I am vouching for Tanya's integrity, and eagerly await the official announcement, because it will definitely clear up a lot of things. As useless as it may seem, this fence-sitter hopes both sides won't resort to mudslinging and rumor-mongering at this point, because it's a disservice to a community that has grown by the leaps and bounds that cosplay has in the past few years.

P.S. I'm glad I'm hosting Best Of Anime this weekend, and not Best Of Cosplay. Wala lang.

For the addendum post made after the official statement came out, please go here.

Project 52 (37/52): On Passive-Aggressiveness (And Why I'm Doing It A Lot Lately)

.:Project 52 (37/52): On Passive-Aggressiveness (And Why I'm Doing It A Lot Lately):.

You're so vain, you probably think this post is about you...

Woo-hoo! Passive-aggressiveness! I think I've gotten better (Or worse, if you've been on the receiving end.) of this whole thing over the years, mostly because I've tired of confronting people who never learn.

I will freely admit it's not the healthiest thing ever, because with passive-aggressiveness, not only do you learn to sass in a way that seemingly casts a wide net which is in reality meant for only one target most of the time, it actually requires some measure of being able to keep a grudge, since you can't have it out the way you normally would if you were more confrontative.

But why the need for being snarky in plain view but not directly? I guess it's because while the issue is too much to just let go of, it's also not big enough to make a huge stink about it the way a confrontation would. And maybe that's not the way to go about it. It probably isn't the way to go about it. Unfortunately, sometimes, there's just no more room, no more will, no more motivation to even argue about it. The water has run dry, and all you could do is remember you're irked at someone, but maybe not even remember anymore why.

If I were a better human being, I wouldn't be doing this at all. I would forgive and forget and let all slights against me just slide and roll off my back. But I am not a better human being, especially not lately. So much has happened, so much has broken my faith that I no longer see any reason to just let it all happen to me and continue being someone people could walk all over. And yes, when I was more confrontative, ironically, people found it easier to walk all over me, because I definitely reserved confrontation as a last resort, but it takes a lot less to get me passive-aggressive over something or someone.

I'm especially approaching the point where except for a few exceptions, I simply do not find any reason to apologize to anyone when I know it wasn't even my fault to begin with. Not anymore. If it means sacrificing a "friendship" because I was too prideful to drop it, then it only goes to show I wasn't the only one, since the other party didn't extend that same courtesy, either.

More so when the other person's at fault, and it's not just a simple muck-up that was nobody's fault. Why should I be obliged to apologize back to someone who decided to lack empathy and sensitivity? Why should I be obliged to even accept a non-apology that is riddled with its own brand of passive-aggressiveness on someone's Twitter account afterwards?

I can be stupid and look the other way for some people, yes. Despite that, no, I'm not keen on doing that for just everybody. If it weren't for this one friend who constantly has shown me that she believes in the best of me, I doubt I would even be able to do this, to begin with.

Then again, maybe if I really cared for someone enough. Someone who filled every waking moment of mine with thoughts of her, and filled every moment in slumber with dreams of her.

Maybe that someone would be the one person who could make me lower my pride to a point I didn't even think possible for me. Someone Beloved to me, perhaps.

It's crazy, really, and again, it's not healthy. But let's face it: passive-aggressiveness is the only way I can cope with the daily insanity I have to put up with that gets in the way of me doing my job. I'm a professional, first and foremost, and when a person decides to be an immature and petulant douche towards you, you can only snark at them, but still give them the professional courtesy of not outing them for the immature and petulant douche they actually are, despite the fact that they outed you themselves already.

You're so vain, you probably think this post is about you.

And screw you, it is. We don't have to stay friends, let's pretend to be enemies.

So... What Are You Waiting For? An Open Letter To Anti-RH Lawmakers

.:So... What Are You Waiting For? An Open Letter To Anti-RH Lawmakers:.

Dear Anti-RH Lawmakers (I heard there's so many of you guys, so I can't really name you all, but you know who you are.),

We get it, we really do. There is no point in debating issues with you because any attempts to respond to your points have been either ignored or outright rejected. You don't want to find out how wrong you are, and your colleagues in the Senate are decent enough people to not take pleasure in making fools out of you. That's kind of surprising since Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is in your roster, but it is what it is.

So no, I'm not here to debate the points of the RH Bill with you. That achieves nothing at this point, since you clearly refuse to listen to reason, and your mind is made up. In fact, my stand on the RH Bill at this point is rather irrelevant to what I, as a taxpaying citizen, expect you to do, all things considered.

The bill has been met with so many delays that instead of addressing the pros and cons of the bill, people are now discussing how to stop filibustering on the issue.

For the pro-RH, filibustering means a rejection of the bill, by default. For the conscientious anti-RH, filibustering is a denial of the democratic process: the very numbers game that makes them think that because the Philippines is composed of 80 percent Catholics, then their values must be the Filipino's values. If the RH Bill is to be rejected, it must be because the people who voted on it clearly did not want it, not because time ran out on the bill.

You will notice that at no point are the pro-RH trying to delay the proceedings, for obvious reasons. They want the bill to pass, and for them, dealing with Sotto's woes on plagiarism is a very real opportunity cost: doing that, as Sotto himself has proven, will be yet another opportunity to stall progress with the bill. It has become a race against time.

Senator Enrile believes they have the numbers. Tito Sotto obviously wants the RH Bill "out of his hair." And even if they clearly aren't supposed to be dictating public policy since we are not a theocratic country, you don't need a link to know that the CBCP believes that God is on their side, and He will not allow something as dastardly as the RH Bill to ruin the Philippines the way it has "ruined" Italy (Where the Vatican is located.), Spain (Who introduced Catholicism to us.), Israel (Where Christ was born.), and America (Because screw America, I guess? I don't really know why they even have to be part of this.).

How lucky then, that the Philippines is the last standing bastion of morality! We're currently the only country where divorce is illegal! Are we the new chosen people or something? Surely, our high rate of teenage pregnancy must be some weird aberration: our cause is pure, right?

At this point, we've established four things:

1. The anti-RH camp believes their cause is just.
2. The anti-RH camp wants to lay this matter to rest.
3. The anti-RH camp is convinced that its arguments have been strong and irrefutable.
4. The anti-RH camp is confident it has the numbers to once and for all reject this bill.

So... what the Hades are you waiting for?!? Why is the RH Bill on the backburner yet again? Why are you interpellating yourselves when you can't trollbait the pro-RH into getting into long, protracted arguments with you? Or are we actually looking at the Rapture, come to take the rest of the Senate while you rambled on?

Pictured: A riveting debate between two men over what to do with a woman's body. 
Of course, they would be the ones to know best about this, right?*

Even the CBCP is open to putting the RH Bill to a plebiscite. After all, former President GMA is on their side, and she knows a thing or two about putting things to a vote. If you truly don't have time, why not leave it in the hands of the people, who clearly are the ones who will be affected by this bill the most?

You have everything going for you, as far as you're concerned, dear anti-RH lawmakers. So what the Hades are you waiting for? It's not like you had problems getting things done in a timely manner before. Just ask former Chief Justice Corona: he'd tell you.

Do not deny us the right to see this democratic process completed. Whether the RH Bill is accepted or junked, we aren't paying you our hard-earned money to have you merely stall this process out. If it's such a thorn in your side, then strike it down by putting it to a vote!

It has been way too long, and too many lives have already been sacrificed as you stall this law, hoping that the 2013 elections will make it all go away. Where is your confidence that your cause is just? Where is your belief that you are in the right? If you truly believe that you have the numbers, then you should get through the amendments with little incident, then proceed to voting on the bill upon third reading.

Surely, you're not afraid that the numbers aren't in your favor, right? You believe God is on your side. What more can you ask for? Are you questioning His divine power to validate your beliefs through a vote?

Then, and only then, can you truly prove that you are anti-RH, once you have taken this matter to a vote. Then, and only then, do you prove that you are not a public official who just doesn't want to do their job, instead malingering over the RH Bill issue so as to look busy while not actually accomplishing anything.

TL;DR. Let democracy prevail: whether in Congress, the Senate, or a plebiscite, quit stalling and put the RH Bill to a vote. We, the people, whether we are pro, anti, or undecided on the RH Bill, deserve that much. We are not paying our taxes to see you waste our time again and again on this issue.

Sincerely yours, it's true! It's true!
Kel Fabie

*Image from Kenneth Keng.

Project 52 (36/52): On Being Used (And Then Promptly Discarded Afterwards)

.:Project 52 (36/52): On Being Used (And Then Promptly Discarded Afterwards:.

We've all been through this, and I guess the past few weeks, I've been thinking about it a lot, as it kept happening to me.

For as long as I could remember, since I started with radio, I've had people crawl out of the woodwork and remember me just so I could announce something for them on the air, despite never having spoken two words to me prior to that. Then, as soon as I give them that much, they disappear again, never to be heard from once more.

I've had someone who once said she'd love me forever ask me to do her friends a favor. The very same friends who judged me and looked down on me.

I've seen someone run to me because she lost her smile, then run right back to the one who hurt her the minute she found her smile again.

I've been friends with someone who wouldn't give me the time of day, yet expected me to be at her beck and call every single time she needed help writing a letter of resignation or something.

You can't help but find out who your friends really are when you are going through the worst of times, and they're still right there, putting up with you. You realize very quickly who the fair-weathered friends are: the ones who don't give two s#!ts about you while you're going through Hades.

They're simply nowhere to be found after they get what they wanted from you.

I guess I just feel drained from all of this. It's also why I can't quite think straight as I try to write about this, yet in the end, here I am, dealing with the fact that I've allowed myself to be a doormat to people in general for so long that it makes me feel guilty when the thought of being used like this angers me, despite the fact that it well should.

And so, this week is spent in quiet contemplation.

Pictured: quiet contemplation.

Where do we go from here, really? Bridges have been burned, and tables have been turned, but I take no pleasure in seeing them turn to me and say "you were right, and you told me so."

All I wanted was them to come up to me, say "I'm sorry," and all would be well again. Apparently, that's too much to ask.

If you feel used and abused by your so-called friends, it's time to ask yourself if you're giving when you have nothing to give. While generosity is nice, if all you could fill yourself with afterwards are hurtful, self-destructive thoughts, maybe your generosity comes at too high a price at that point.

Where do we go from here, really?

So... Something Put Me In A Lighter Mood Today...

.:Random Goodbyes Were Never This Cute!:.

Say it with me right now: awwwwww!!!

It was a rough week last week. Lost a friend, on the cusp of losing another one as I write this, and, well, a whole host of other things.

Yet some bright spots remained, chief among them the fact that I feel a lot more corporately desirable than I ever have in my entire career.

And when I got to my spot this morning, I actually found a letter. Someone apologized to me. It still wasn't in person, but it was far better than what felt like a non-apology the first time around.

I left it at "we're cool," and that's the end of it. I doubt I'm going to regain any of the friendships I lost recently, nor do I even feel like I want to. Let it be my emotional spring cleaning of the year, especially since, like I said, I expected no less than a face to face apology here.

But whatever. I've felt so used and abused just this past week, giving people the support they need, then having myself discarded to the side when it becomes clear that I have outlived my usefulness. I'm tired and I'm disheartened, and I'm getting to a point where I'm beginning to be wary of really investing in friendships beyond the ones I already have. The new ones have almost unilaterally proved to be horrible missteps, and on a statistical level, we're looking at maybe one good friend after five to seven horrid ones.

Or maybe it's really me who's the problem. Either way, staying the eff away seems like the smartest thing to do.

But still, bad rash of run-ins aside, that video up there? It keeps this day from being a wash. That's just how great it is.

Oh, I just realized. It's September. Never a good month for me.

Project 52 (35/52): On Whether Or Not OPM Is "Dead" (And Why We're Asking The Wrong Question)

.:Project 52 (35/52): On Whether Or Not OPM Is "Dead" (And Why We're Asking The Wrong Question):.

Well, they're Original, they're Pinoy, they're making Music, and they don't look dead to me, so...

And friends are probably wondering why I'm not writing about Sotto after his latest screed. Yeah, I saw myself on Yahoo because of the issue, but the answer why I'm mostly ignoring him by today is pretty simple: writing about his plagiarism is exactly what he wants at this point, and I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of wasting my time.

But he does have one common thread with this issue I'm talking about, though: he was a part of VST and Co., one of the luminaries of OPM back in the day. If he resigned the Senate and reformed VST instead, he would have all my support.

I know I talked about Philippine radio, often the vehicle for OPM, tolling its death knells in 2010. Strangely, this whole issue brings all that to fore to my mind.

That being said, I know the issue itself is all but dead, but I still feel the need to chew on it some more. Yeah, I did an 8 List that is saying what I'm saying right now, but I want to expound my point further.

First, I think we're having a failure to communicate because when Leloy Claudio and Don Jaucian assert that OPM is dead, they seem to have a specific definition people like Zach Lucero and Jinri Park do not necessarily share.

For those who are outside looking in, commercial success is the standard for whether OPM is alive or dead. I doubt anyone would be deluded enough to say that every talented artist out there is getting a fair shake commercially. You probably can't even say that even during the boom periods of OPM, after all, but that gap seems a lot more obvious at present.

It's why I partially agreed with Leloy on Twitter: correct symptoms, wrong diagnosis. Otherwise, this blog, which hasn't really been a blog designed to make money, has been dead since 2002, and all modesty aside, I'm pretty damned sure that is not true. If I pretty much said that blogging isn't always about money or following, then I'd be a hypocrite to make it the only thing about music, too.

Buuuut... don't we all wish our favorite artists made more money for the beautiful music they make? I know I do. That's why I was agreeing with Leloy on this count. If it's all about the money, then the talented people are not getting enough of it. The capitalist in me agrees with what Leloy had to say, but not his conclusion.

There's also the notion that OPM is "dead" because the elites and the masses aren't singing the same song. Maybe, maybe not. I absolutely love Gloc 9 and I don't think he's a guilty pleasure, and I'm not alone in this among my friends. The masses clearly love him enough to keep him on top of the Myx Charts, too.

Cracked talked about this already: people who think OPM is dead think so because that is their perception, and for the mainstream, perception is reality. I don't think I've ever been to 70's Bistro with Leloy, so that speaks for itself, really.

What is "dead" to the mainstream is not necessarily "dead" to everybody else, but really, what does it mean for OPM to be truly dead?

The great Francis Magalona passed away a few years back, and yet, his music still lives on to this very day. Is his music "dead"? Of course not. The same can be said of any artist who has left their mark in OPM, living or dead. Contrary to Don McLean, there is no day when the music dies. It's an art form. "Killing" an art form utterly is pretty hard to do.

In the 90's, when a certain Senator tried to ban "Alapaap" from the airwaves, do you think our parents felt OPM was alive? I'm willing to bet those with protective parents thought the Eraserheads were polluting our minds, and were nothing compared to the OPM artists of their time who weren't singing about drugs. Like Pepe Smith or something.

Hey! Two straight-edge guys hanging out!

It's a question of perspective again. Just like James Soriano last year, which happened also, coincidentally, around the time of Buwan ng Wika. Seems to me it's always the older generation who thinks the new one is killing the good ol' days, and our rose-colored glasses refuse to come off.

Damn, it makes me feel old to realize I'm now part of "the older generation."

So yes, OPM is "dead" given a very specific definition that not everybody agrees with. OPM is also "alive", but it isn't optimal. I doubt anyone would deny that the situation could be better for everyone involved, and though piracy, the broken business model, and so many other issues may be to blame, what is not to blame is the lack of local musical talent. They're all there. We just need to look for them, and in the age of the internet, that might really be the secret demand that is expected of us.

Kung hindi mo alam na may magaling tumugtog diyan sa kanto, hindi ibig sabihin walang magaling tumugtog diyan sa kanto.

We expected the performers to change, but not the ways by which we came to know them. What if we were wrong? What if our tastes, the business model, the distribution model, everything about music, both OPM and otherwise, has to change in this new age? What if we're looking at it wrong if we don't change our expectations?

As a mentalist and a comedian, I know how it feels for your art form to be so out of the eyes of the mainstream that the first time they see a mentalism act, or watch Mike Unson or The Comedy Cartel perform, the first reaction after amazement is always, "I never knew mentalism/POV standup comedy even existed in the Philippines!" But was mentalism or comedy dead? Nope. We were always there. People just didn't see us yet. Incognito? Yes. Dead? Obviously not. Do I look like Bruce Willis to you?

No, kid. That was just Cueshe.

Despite the disagreements on both sides of the debate, one thing is clear: neither side wants OPM to "die". I doubt Leloy does. I'm pretty sure Jinri doesn't. We have people having the same desire, that OPM reach the heights it has reached before, if not greater, but with differing perceptions on where we are today. It's time to stop focusing on where they disagree, and to focus on where they actually agree.

That's why I believe the question should not be "is OPM dead or alive?" That's a divisive question that has engendered debate, yes, but there is no consensus to be built afterwards. All we have are flaring tempers, defensive snarkiness, and ad hominems from the outliers to show for it.

I believe the question should be, "should OPM be dead?"

The answer predictably should be, wherever you were on the side of the previous debate, "heck, no!"

Because if you think OPM shouldn't be dead, you find it your responsibility to keep OPM alive in your own way.

The simplest way is to reminisce on the good ol' tunes you used to love. Nobody went and erased your old favorite songs, and someday, even these new songs we think are utter trash will be the good ol' tunes of the next generation. (Justin Bieber will someday be a classic the way the Spice Girls now are... I don't know how to feel about that.)

Then, you can take it further and find new music you like. You have Route 186, '70s Bistro, SaGuijo, and a ton of other venues artists perform. You can even just watch the Myx OPM Countdown. Malay mo, trip mo pala pakinggan si Christian Bautista? We won't judge. Clearly, ignorance is not bliss when it comes to OPM, because those who willfully remain ignorant think OPM is dead and feel bad about it.

Then, if you really like the music, you can buy their album. We complain that our favorite artists don't get paid enough for the music they come out with. The least we can do is buy their albums. Or keep watching their gigs. That works, too.

Then, you can tell your friends about this band you like, and how they totally should give the music a listen. Oh, look. You're now making a notable dent without having to pick a fight with a senator. I know fighting for OPM isn't as glamorous as fighting for (Or against, if you're being silly.) the RH Bill, but there's very little opportunity cost here, so why should that be a problem?

Then maybe you're inspired now, and you realize you can actually write music. And you write a song, borrow a friend's Macbook and Soundforge, a few mics, then record a demo. Or you're a bit more well-off, and you have a friend you're willing to fund to do just that.

So now, you made your very own song. Or at least produced the song of one of your very dear friends. Cool, right?

Well, not always cool, of course.

It's Original. I'm assuming you didn't plagiarize your song from Sarah Pope's blog or something.

Oh, snap!

It's Pinoy. I'm assuming you're Pinoy if you've gotten this far reading this.

Unless you're Ako Si Chris, aka the father of JoePM.

It's Music. I'm assuming you at least have a bit of talent when you make that song.

Unless...

You. Are. Alive.

I think.

Congratulations! You just made sure OPM won't be staying dead!

Leloy Claudio was right: we should complain about the state of arts in the Philippines. The government is too busy granting idiotic lawmakers time to filibuster away our tax money to pay attention to OPM.

But that's why the power lies in us now. Why stop at complaining when you have the power to do much more? If you care about OPM's well-being, it becomes your duty to see to its well-being. You're free to not care, but don't be like the hypocrite who intentionally doesn't vote, then proceed to complain about how bad the government he got is. This isn't a closing of ranks: it's simply a bunch of people who wonder where you were while the deserving acts you say deserve better were languishing with nobody to watch their gigs or buy their albums. Because they were there.

He's also right that: internet + hard work = magic bullet to success is a work of fiction.

But that's why it won't take a single person to create success for any musician. I can't do that. Zach Lucero can't. Leloy Claudio can't. It's up to us as people who care enough about the music to make it succeed. Isn't that what we want? A chance to be a part of something greater than ourselves? The great artists of yesteryear didn't get to where they are today by not having any supporters.

If you think OPM is dead, but believe it shouldn't be, it's time to resurrect it.

If you think OPM isn't dead, and believe it shouldn't be, keep the fire burning.

If you care enough to feel that OPM shouldn't be dead, then it's worth fighting for. Oh, it's true! It's damn true!

I thought it was a microphone, so sue me.

Kay ganda ng ating musika. Ito ay atin, sariling atin.
- Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika, by Hajji Alejandro