Sarah Bunting of Tomato Nation writes about tech wars and the revenge of the luddites.
Sometimes I miss the old luddite me. Writing feels more like work when you do it longhand. A couple of years ago, I would consume an entire tablet of yellow paper just to write down my first drafts. After that I'd head to the nearest computer shop, preferably those that stay open all night, or at least until 3-4am. There aren't many shops like those now, and I do my drafts using Word like everybody else. I still have my notebooks and reams of recycled paper which I still use to write random stuff. I like paper, and I like the click-clack sounds typewriters make. But it'd be hell to type out entire scripts that way and re-type the whole thing for the second, third, nth drafts ad infinitum. Long live Word, yey.
[Actually, the Tomato Nation article is more about the inability to follow manuals for techie stuff, or anything that requires a manual. If there's one thing that I would probably not do for a living is be part of a tech support team. I don't have the skill, nor the patience. And yeah, troubleshooting is just so annoying. I just hate the "You've just described a problem that Microsoft Troubleshooting cannot solve. Please refer to our online tech support. That just sucks, much more than the busy signals you get when you try dialing such numbers. Argh.]
Monday, February 4
Sunday, February 3
If you think that adolescence angst as captured in French cinema is all about "forty something guys recalling what happened to them when they were twelve" -- which can be anything from 400 Blows to Zero de Conduite, check out le teen movie Sexy Boys. The Farrelys aren't the only ones capable of gross-out movies. You'll never look at pasta the same way again.
How to start a day of slacking: Watch Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke in Reality Bites, check your e-mail, have a late lunch, talk to your mom, call up a friend and agree to meet up and watch a scary movie, if it's still there.
Then you realize that you actually have an appointment later in the day and it's kinda running late. You panic, and then think that everything is pointless anyway, so why not not cut your hair/chainsmoke/lounge around doing nothing. Hey, all we really need is "you, me, five bucks, and a really good conversation." Why the hell not? After all, everything is pointless and you can't change the world or anything, so let's just go pump gas and go to the convenience store and dance to "My Sharona" to the puzzlement of the Big Gulp attendant. Yeah, why the hell not. Feh. It's making things more complicated. Everything is pointless anyway.
Then let's take it from the top. Have a good day. :)
Then you realize that you actually have an appointment later in the day and it's kinda running late. You panic, and then think that everything is pointless anyway, so why not not cut your hair/chainsmoke/lounge around doing nothing. Hey, all we really need is "you, me, five bucks, and a really good conversation." Why the hell not? After all, everything is pointless and you can't change the world or anything, so let's just go pump gas and go to the convenience store and dance to "My Sharona" to the puzzlement of the Big Gulp attendant. Yeah, why the hell not. Feh. It's making things more complicated. Everything is pointless anyway.
Then let's take it from the top. Have a good day. :)
Drat. Brownpau beat everyone to blogging about the lunch thingie. Fifteen minutes. Hm, PLDT DSL.
Also, somebody remarked that February 2 was a holiday. (Which sucks because A. It was a Saturday; and B. I don't do the weekdays nine-to-five schtick.) We're supposed to celebrate Constitution Day. Didn't even know it existed. And heck, the way this country is run, you wouldn't think we actually have a constitution.
Also, somebody remarked that February 2 was a holiday. (Which sucks because A. It was a Saturday; and B. I don't do the weekdays nine-to-five schtick.) We're supposed to celebrate Constitution Day. Didn't even know it existed. And heck, the way this country is run, you wouldn't think we actually have a constitution.
I went to the Power Plant mall in Rockwell Center earlier today and met up with some of the Manila-based bloggers and learned:
That Mark not only likes Jolina dolls but enjoys paintball war games as well.
That Shiloah and her brother Tom aren’t Slavic, but that doesn’t come automatic for the people.
That Brownpau’s hidden agenda for going to the States is not to find a job or get into graduate school, but hunt up that guy who got the “Brownpau” handle and domain first and shake the hell out of him. Feh.
That Studio Girl has not one, but two EBs today. Busy busy girl.
That Cheesedip wanted to be fashionably late, but woke up sick and so wasn’t able to show up at all. She is missed by every all. Get well, Lia.
That Jio is actually a bit quiet. But we’ll hear more from him soon.
And that people actually read this blog. Yey!
It was nice to finally put a face behind the sites. It was weird to introduce yourself as "Hello, I'm Jessel from kantogirl.com and you are?" and have people reply with other URLs. We didn’t really discuss anything, the way blogging can sometimes appear to be about something but ultimately be about nothing. But we all had a fun time.
That Mark not only likes Jolina dolls but enjoys paintball war games as well.
That Shiloah and her brother Tom aren’t Slavic, but that doesn’t come automatic for the people.
That Brownpau’s hidden agenda for going to the States is not to find a job or get into graduate school, but hunt up that guy who got the “Brownpau” handle and domain first and shake the hell out of him. Feh.
That Studio Girl has not one, but two EBs today. Busy busy girl.
That Cheesedip wanted to be fashionably late, but woke up sick and so wasn’t able to show up at all. She is missed by every all. Get well, Lia.
That Jio is actually a bit quiet. But we’ll hear more from him soon.
And that people actually read this blog. Yey!
It was nice to finally put a face behind the sites. It was weird to introduce yourself as "Hello, I'm Jessel from kantogirl.com and you are?" and have people reply with other URLs. We didn’t really discuss anything, the way blogging can sometimes appear to be about something but ultimately be about nothing. But we all had a fun time.
Saturday, February 2
Waeguk on the culture of eating dog:
Koreans should eat what they wish, and let the west take care of their own backyard. I believe my suggestion to Koreans was to say "Kiss our hairy asses!". My primary problem [with the good professor's essay] lies in the politicizing of the issue, something that not only annoys the hell out of me, but happens constantly in Korea, for complicated historical reasons.He goes on to point out that eating dog per se isn’t what gets in the nerves of people from the West but the cruelty to which the dogs are subjected to before they are cooked. The dogs are beaten because it is believed that the adrenaline forced into the bloodstream actually makes the meat more tender. Then there is the issue of politicizing the idea of eating dog as a product of historical and cultural enslavement. I would want to say more, but I feel like I’d make more of a hodgepodge than actually making a point out of all this. So just go read Waeguk’s take on this.
It may well be because I have heard things like this about "Korea's magnificent culture" so many times that each further repetition becomes an annoyance. When people tell me (as they do, all the damn time) that Korea is unique in that it has four seasons, I nod sagely. When I'm told that kimchi (which I love) is the greatest health food ever invented, I smile in wonderment. When someone insists that Hangul (the Korean alphabet, which may truly be one of Korea's greatest achievements, I admit) is the greatest alphabet ever created, I agree that that may be possible. When a colleague insists that Cheju island is more beautiful than Hawaii and Tahiti combined, I murmur my amazement quietly to myself.
I got two new discs the other day. Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs which I've already seen but would like to see again. If you watched Sugar and Spice, it's one of the movies the cheerleaders watched so they can get tips on how to be a criminal and how to successfully rob a bank. I haven't seen The Limey yet, but Terence Stamp is there and Steven Soderbergh directed it.
We were supposed to watch the movies at a friend's house but ended up channel surfing and watching a video worth over a thousand pesos in overdue fines. Her neighbor forgot to return it and never once mentioned not doing so even if they saw each other nearly every day. I wouldn't want that to happen to me. Question: Are the video guys going to actually haul you to jail for not returning an overdue video?
We were supposed to watch the movies at a friend's house but ended up channel surfing and watching a video worth over a thousand pesos in overdue fines. Her neighbor forgot to return it and never once mentioned not doing so even if they saw each other nearly every day. I wouldn't want that to happen to me. Question: Are the video guys going to actually haul you to jail for not returning an overdue video?
Friday, February 1
From the Letters section of the Inquirer comes a 7-point argument offering UP Diliman as the ideal site for the 2003 South East Asian games which the Philippines will host.
The letter writer wants to avoid the white elephants resulting from the Palarong Pambansa a couple of years back. We should therefore find a place which already has the required infrastructure, or is at least near to several ready venues. He then volunteers the nearby schools' gymnasiums (gymnasia?), the Araneta Center, the Pasig Sports Complex. He has a sense of logistics, yes. If we are to depend on the university's resources alone, we might as well take the games someplace else. I can't imagine a swimming competition in the school's pool. Legend has it that the water is changed only every four years. The water is so murky you can't even see the bottom of the pool, and there are reptiles doing the backstroke with you. Which is why I never took up swimming and enrolled in contact sports. At least all judo requires is a room with a mat and your ability to fling people off the walls.
But let's play the devil's advocate. Isn't he a bit deluded as to the university's actual capability to support such a huge event as the SEA Games? Let's take this one by one:
There are enough dormitories in UP to accommodate 3,000 athletes within the campus. In addition to this, there is a health service (hospital) and medical and dental personnel, several canteens and eating places, a couple of banks, a post office and two telegram outlets. Security is not a problem because the campus is enclosed and there is an existing security force.
Evidently, this guy hasn't come within a two-thousand mile radius of any of UP's dorms. Residents have long complained of the leaking roofs. Two-person rooms are occupied by four people because that's all the university has to offer, and it's all the students can afford. Lodgings inside the campus aren't exactly offered for a song and a jig. They cost an appendage in the very least.
And do not get me started on the infirmary bit. It's a walk-in tomb with zombies for its attendants. If I were in pain and needed medical attention, I'd much rather endure the pain and the traffic and try to get me transported to a more competent hospital. In all the years I've been in UP and try to get medication for various ailments, all I was offered was an excuse slip and paracetamols.
I guess it'll be okay to give the athletes a different health regimen. If you have the penchant for eating paper or cardboard, go for a taste of CASAA's cuisine. Very tasty. Yum. If they want better food, the athletes can also try eating at the Chocolate Kiss or the other eating venues, but they will have to pay for it for themselves.
Let's not tackle the telegram thing and the mysterious case of the 28.8kbps modem connection at the Shopping Center, the Computer Center and the library. As for the security, I would think twice or two million more times about it before I'll put 3,000 athletes in UP Diliman. I was in a first floor Palma Hall classroom when a student was gunned down in the AS Steps at close range. Our class thought the shots were part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, then when somebody shouted for help and several more shots rang out, we immediately ducked and clung to the floor and hid under chairs. Is that security? Armed men freely enter and roam student-populated areas and shoot a student and we're talking about security? You cannot even walk along the roads any more without fear of getting kidnapped or raped.
Media coverage will not be a problem since most of the television stations are located in Quezon City.
Okay, if he says so. I have no doubt that we have some of the most reliable broadcast reporters around. And some of our reputed sports commentators walk around with coffee machines offering people instant coffee passing itself off as brewed.
Many shopping centers are found in Quezon City and, as part of the culture of international sports competition, there must be an abundance of nightlife services. Quezon City can rival those in Clark or anywhere in the Philippines.
What do malls and gimik places have to do with the culture of international sports competition? Is that all we have to offer now? Shoebox structures with plenty of uncirculated air and l'eau de toilette. The athletes can have a hand singing videoke and get insulted by the bar's host. And yeah, maybe they can jog along Quezon Ave and Timog. They're not that bad and go for as low as a hundred on a slow night. Rivals Clark eh?
Investments on sports facilities and equipment in UP will give this premier academic institution the resources it needs to become a Games Village for future international competition. It will likewise contribute to the quest of the state university for world-class status by the time it observes its centennial year in 2008.
Finally, if you still haven't caught on to what I'm trying to point out. Yes, the university needs support and investment not just in sports equipment. It badly needs a rehaul for its dormitories, its facilities, its education program. It's not so much for gaining world class status but to at least retain or improve where it's currently standing: in a muck of mud. Each year when the Asiaweek rankings on the continent's best schools come out and UP slips further down without fail, they all blame the dwindling resources. UP swings by on its reputation where the students are brilliant, socially-aware, etc. I used to believe the myth myself. But now, I'm not so convinced anymore. We have to be merciless in order to have an accurate assessment of a situation. Several decades ago, the "UP is the premier state university" may be a true supposition. Maybe, but each generation becomes a shade paler that the one before it. Students and alumni delight on those old Ateneo-La Salle-UP-Ama jokes, but soon we may find ourselves the butt of it if don't do anything about it.
The letter writer wants to avoid the white elephants resulting from the Palarong Pambansa a couple of years back. We should therefore find a place which already has the required infrastructure, or is at least near to several ready venues. He then volunteers the nearby schools' gymnasiums (gymnasia?), the Araneta Center, the Pasig Sports Complex. He has a sense of logistics, yes. If we are to depend on the university's resources alone, we might as well take the games someplace else. I can't imagine a swimming competition in the school's pool. Legend has it that the water is changed only every four years. The water is so murky you can't even see the bottom of the pool, and there are reptiles doing the backstroke with you. Which is why I never took up swimming and enrolled in contact sports. At least all judo requires is a room with a mat and your ability to fling people off the walls.
But let's play the devil's advocate. Isn't he a bit deluded as to the university's actual capability to support such a huge event as the SEA Games? Let's take this one by one:
There are enough dormitories in UP to accommodate 3,000 athletes within the campus. In addition to this, there is a health service (hospital) and medical and dental personnel, several canteens and eating places, a couple of banks, a post office and two telegram outlets. Security is not a problem because the campus is enclosed and there is an existing security force.
Evidently, this guy hasn't come within a two-thousand mile radius of any of UP's dorms. Residents have long complained of the leaking roofs. Two-person rooms are occupied by four people because that's all the university has to offer, and it's all the students can afford. Lodgings inside the campus aren't exactly offered for a song and a jig. They cost an appendage in the very least.
And do not get me started on the infirmary bit. It's a walk-in tomb with zombies for its attendants. If I were in pain and needed medical attention, I'd much rather endure the pain and the traffic and try to get me transported to a more competent hospital. In all the years I've been in UP and try to get medication for various ailments, all I was offered was an excuse slip and paracetamols.
I guess it'll be okay to give the athletes a different health regimen. If you have the penchant for eating paper or cardboard, go for a taste of CASAA's cuisine. Very tasty. Yum. If they want better food, the athletes can also try eating at the Chocolate Kiss or the other eating venues, but they will have to pay for it for themselves.
Let's not tackle the telegram thing and the mysterious case of the 28.8kbps modem connection at the Shopping Center, the Computer Center and the library. As for the security, I would think twice or two million more times about it before I'll put 3,000 athletes in UP Diliman. I was in a first floor Palma Hall classroom when a student was gunned down in the AS Steps at close range. Our class thought the shots were part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, then when somebody shouted for help and several more shots rang out, we immediately ducked and clung to the floor and hid under chairs. Is that security? Armed men freely enter and roam student-populated areas and shoot a student and we're talking about security? You cannot even walk along the roads any more without fear of getting kidnapped or raped.
Media coverage will not be a problem since most of the television stations are located in Quezon City.
Okay, if he says so. I have no doubt that we have some of the most reliable broadcast reporters around. And some of our reputed sports commentators walk around with coffee machines offering people instant coffee passing itself off as brewed.
Many shopping centers are found in Quezon City and, as part of the culture of international sports competition, there must be an abundance of nightlife services. Quezon City can rival those in Clark or anywhere in the Philippines.
What do malls and gimik places have to do with the culture of international sports competition? Is that all we have to offer now? Shoebox structures with plenty of uncirculated air and l'eau de toilette. The athletes can have a hand singing videoke and get insulted by the bar's host. And yeah, maybe they can jog along Quezon Ave and Timog. They're not that bad and go for as low as a hundred on a slow night. Rivals Clark eh?
Investments on sports facilities and equipment in UP will give this premier academic institution the resources it needs to become a Games Village for future international competition. It will likewise contribute to the quest of the state university for world-class status by the time it observes its centennial year in 2008.
Finally, if you still haven't caught on to what I'm trying to point out. Yes, the university needs support and investment not just in sports equipment. It badly needs a rehaul for its dormitories, its facilities, its education program. It's not so much for gaining world class status but to at least retain or improve where it's currently standing: in a muck of mud. Each year when the Asiaweek rankings on the continent's best schools come out and UP slips further down without fail, they all blame the dwindling resources. UP swings by on its reputation where the students are brilliant, socially-aware, etc. I used to believe the myth myself. But now, I'm not so convinced anymore. We have to be merciless in order to have an accurate assessment of a situation. Several decades ago, the "UP is the premier state university" may be a true supposition. Maybe, but each generation becomes a shade paler that the one before it. Students and alumni delight on those old Ateneo-La Salle-UP-Ama jokes, but soon we may find ourselves the butt of it if don't do anything about it.
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