‘MENSA IQ CHALLENGE’ TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 30

AT FULLY BOOKED BONIFACIO HIGH STREET

Mensa Philippines – the local organization of the international high IQ society Mensa International – will be holding its qualifying test for individuals aged 14 and above who are seeking membership in Mensa.

The testing, dubbed “The Mensa IQ Challenge”, will be held on November 30, 2008 (Sunday) at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, Taguig. Tests will be given every hour from 11am to 5pm.

The only criterion for Mensa membership is to score within the top 2% (98^th percentile and up) of the test. The test is culture-fair and does not test for math or language skills.

Limited slots are available to those interested in taking the Mensa test. To avail of these slots, interested parties can pre-register at the online facility available at mensaphilippines.blogspot.com. The deadline for pre-registration is before 12 midnight of November 28.

During the test, exam takers will need to bring a valid ID and a testing fee of P500. Undergraduate students with valid student IDs are entitled to a discounted fee of P300. Note that payments will only be received at the testing venue itself.

Mensa has over 100,000 members in over 80 countries worldwide. Actress/Olympian archer Geena Davis, comedian John Cleese and science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov are some of the more prominent Mensa members.

Mensa’s aims are to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence; and to promote stimulating and social opportunities for its members.

For reference:

Dimpy Jazmines

Director for Publicity

Contact nos.: 0917-5268641 / 449-4612

Email: cmjazmines@bayan.com.ph

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My friend, Sheng Tienzo, is in the Intensive Care Unit of Makati Medical Center. She has been continuously bleeding after giving birth to her fourth child. It was her third revival last Saturday. Her condition is critical and we urgently need at least 40 donors of blood per day till the end of this week in order to save her life. She needs plenty of O+ blood, but we can donate any blood type so we could get O+ from the Blood Bank. We are trying to find all the help we can get. Kindly text me if you’re willing to help save a life. My number is 09186091214.

Chai Montero

Updates:
To all friends who reached out to help our dearest Sheng, we would just like to to inform all of you that tonight, we had an overwhelming attendance of donors for Sheng that Makati Medica Center had to turn them down because they ran out of storage. Thank you for spreading the word, for going out of your way to donate, and for your willingness to help. It’s humbling and amazing to see how much people, even strangers, care. MMC’s blood bank could no longer accommodate more units AS OF THE MOMENT, so we’re just awaiting further notice as to when they can accept donors for Sheng again. Sheng is now stable, though still in critical condition, but she has dramatically improved since yesterday. Thanks to everyone’s help and concern. We will keep you all posted as donors might still be needed soon. Let’s keep praying that she gets through this!  Many thanks again.

This story strikes a cord in me because my just like Sheng, my Mom also bled profusely after the delivery of my brother. My brother died hours after his birth while my Mom endured 3 operations before being wheeled out of the ICU to a regular hospital room. This all happened sixteen years ago in the days preceding October 20 - the day my brother died.

I hope people who work in the area could help. Donating blood takes less than 10 minutes and is virtually painless (I’ve tried it myself 2 months ago). You may get drowsy after donating but you’ll be okay after a few minutes of resting. That’s a small inconvenience considering the life-saving benefit that you could potentially be giving to someone else.

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After almost two years, three of the four members  of Wolfgang are once again coming together for a nostalgic night of music and new hard-rocking hits from the band’s sixth studio album. Basti Artadi hinted at the notion of a DVD and a new album back in ALIVE 2007 but it never really materialized until now. This pretty much induces increased salivation and sleepless nights among Wolfgang die-hards  who have been waiting forever for developments regarding their favorite band’s future.

The tickets for the December 10 concert are already being sold. The concert will be held at Eastwood City Central Plaza. Tickets sell for 1000/800/500.

.

This is one of only 50 VIP tickets for the Wolfgang concert. I’m sure there are still lots of 800 and 500 peso tickets at Ticketnet. To buy, simply go to any  SM Ticketnet outlet or call 911-5555. The members of the Wolfgang mailing list are already discussion their requests for the playlists! Sign up if you want to be heard.

SEE YOU ALL!

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Sadly, Science Centrum closed shop in its original location near UP Manila. But as the title of this post would suggest, it is now back and running at the RIVERBANKS MALL in the city of Marikina. To boost awareness on this new development, the people behind the resurrection of the Science Centrum are inviting bloggers on November 22 (2:00 PM) for a free tour. Questions will also be entertained after the tour.

WHAT: SCIENCE CENTRUM TOUR

WHERE: RIVERBANKS MALL, MARIKINA

WHEN: NOVEMBER 22 2:00 PM

If you want in, please send an email expressing your interest to cognitioncreative (at) gmail (dot) com with a link to your blog/s to get on the guest list.

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The UP Forum recently asked me to pitch in my two cents regarding the reproductive health bill and I was more that willing to oblige. Despite my staunch secularist stance on almost all issues, I’ve decided to keep mum on the Reproductive Health Bill because I thought it was a mere exercise in futility. Even if in principle the bill carried weight, the implementation would be a totally different thing. That is why I literally didn’t have the fire to fight tooth and nail for it unlike my buddies at Filipino Voices.

The format of the article was simple. It was simulated “round table” discussion with four students from the UP system - the current student regent, a fourth year law student, a sophomore from UPLB and a Medical Clerk!

Here’s how I answered the questions fielded by UP FORUM:

Q: Should a secular university take the initiative to inform its students about alternative forms of contraception?

As an entity that embraces the value of both practical and theoretical knowledge, a university should teach anything that can potentially benefit the population. Whether or not it is a secular university, an educational institution should be a credible source of information. It should not be beholden to any religious creed that, upon closer inspection, champions ignorance and quick judgment in the face of perceived social taboos. The campaign to make awareness on reproductive health and contraception more commonplace should be tailored to the population exposed to it.

It is very likely that the reasonably sophisticated UP student body is already attuned to such information, and an extensive and mandatory course on the matter would be something akin to overkill. The minority who are still not privy to the information may be addressed through information drives involving more informal and less confrontational media like reading materials and student support groups. Students also have access to references in the library and the internet for information on reproductive health.

There is a need to make the approach specific to its audience due to the relatively sensitive issue at hand. It is not a topic that most students would necessarily want to attend classes for; and forced attendance wouldn’t be that productive due to the potential apathy of the audience. The subject is also something not all people would readily discuss in the presence of a big group and in a classroom setting; thus, a more intimate setup may be needed to make the students more at ease and protect their privacy.

This strategy is by no means a concession to the archaic and myopic views of the Church. If the University goes for a shotgun approach through mandatory courses, it would be to the detriment of the vulnerable parties. A more private and informal setting may be more conducive to openness and effective communication.

Q: What are the possible benefits and/or pitfalls of such an initiative?

The benefit of such a move is an increased awareness among students of the issues surrounding contraception and reproductive health. This, of course, reduces the likelihood of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Best of all, this has a direct impact on the growing number of abortions. University students can use the knowledge to better handle the pressures of intimacy and to keep themselves safe from life-altering complications caused by ignorance and the ineffective “methods” of the church like abstinence.

As far as disadvantanges go, the only thing I can think of is contending with conservative and pretentiously morally upright individuals being up in arms. Their reactions, of course, should not be a determining factor in the implementation of the policy. The University should prioritize the well-being of its students and not be fazed by fundamentalists who continue to insist on solutions (prayers and abstinence) that are not nuanced to the needs and dilemmas faced by young people. And quite frankly, we should be willing to endure the opposition if we truly are serious about making a difference.

–

I’m thrilled to have finally spoken about the issue. I think the debate regarding UP’s role is less futile since the university’s hands are not as tied-down by the church compared to those of elected officials.

If you want to read what the other people had to say, click read The U.P. FORUM ROUNDTABLE on Reproductive Health.

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Chocolate is one of the few things in life that most people can agree on. It has innate properties that makes it a feel-good food for anyone with a sweet tooth. I rarely blog about food events but when I read about this chocolate fondue buffet, I just knew that it would tickle the fancy of so many people.

On November 14 2008 (Friday), Elation Buffet will be launching its novel business concept at the Grand Terrace in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City. Aside from loads and loads of the finest chocolate fondue, Elation would also be serving all the shot drinks that you can drink. The party starts at 8:30 PM and it would only cost you P250 to get in! Given the prices of fondue and shots elsewhere, it really looks like that this is definitely a steal!

For tickets, you may leave a comment  here or text Vero: 09178516637
See you all there!

I got this drinks list from Elation Buffet as well.

23 SIGNATURE INDIVIDUAL SHOOTERS

1. Spongebob Bath Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? This pays tribute to the underwater cartoon

character everyone knows! Fresh pineapple with a simple alcohol beverage will surely quench your fruity

cravings!

2. Original Sin This is a refreshing apple concoction, which creates a surprising sting.

3. Cuba Libre This contains the great match of the spirit of soda with aged dark rum. Simply irresistible!

4. Confucius This is a mixture of different tastes, which may be puzzling, but will be an ultimate favorite!

5. Ocean Joy Just the sight of an ocean put into a drink will give you a relaxing, euphoric experience!

6. Goddess Everyone fantasizes to be a mythical god or goddess while reclining and being fed with grapes.

This has grapes, which are fresh and juicy, with the perfect mix of tartness.

7. Backstabber You may think that this is a light and sugary shooter, but little do you know that this has a

sharp taste of alcohol backstabbing you.

8. Bittersweet Sunset This is a perfect combination of fruity juices and liquors with a smooth taste, which

you will definitely cherish!
9. Scorching Discovery Instead of the traditional and plain tequila, why not combine it with a light fruity

flavor, which makes this ultimately refreshing!

10. Landslide This black forest drink will give your tongue the benefit of a crusty, fudgy landing, which will

flow smoothly from the tip of your tongue to your throat.

11. Melon Madness This mild melon mixture with yummy melon syrup will make you crave for more!

12. Midsummer Night This has the best of both worlds, swishing your tongue with a sour and sweet blend.

13. Flamingo Pomelo This will give you a sour kick you will enjoy!

14. Tine’s Lunchbox Remember the good old days when all you had was a peanut butter sandwich and a

banana inside your lunchbox? Well, this will bring back those fun snack times with your playmates!

15. Pseudo Margarita This is our special version of the lemon lime margarita!

16. Daredevil This is a mixture of various kinds of alcohol with your favorite carbonated drinks, which make

this drink more thrilling!

. 17. Aphrodite Who will not love a rich chocolate shooter coupled with another layer of thick, pure chocolate at

the bottom?!

18. Sarsaparilla Everyone misses the old fashioned root beer! But put together with your favorite liquor and

sweet jelly will give you a taste of its modern bubbly sweetness.

19. Playground Who does not know the famous Philippine chocolate, Chocnut?! The amazing chocolate and

peanut taste we once loved is now made even more captivating! This will certainly bring kindergarten

memories!

20. Earth Fusion Just seeing the colors of this drink will remind you of our mother earth. The green surprise

at the end added to earthy, fruity flavors will surely become a hit!

21. Buco Pandan Surprise What is a better idea than transforming our favorite dessert into a shot with a

native surprise at the bottom?! For sure, this will be a crowd pleaser!

22. Cappuccino Getaway This is the perfect coffee cappuccino shooter, a definite stress reliever.

23. Sweet Temptation You may be hesitant to drink this at first because of its black color, but if you try it,

you will appreciate its sweet, strong and unforgettable taste!

8 SIGNATURE SET SHOOTERS

1. Four Seasons

a. Winter This is a cool and smooth drink with the right amount of unique sweet frosting, which makes

it even more exciting!

b. Spring This light fruity drink will remind you of budding sweet cherry blossoms during spring time.

c. Summer Thinking of a perfect Hawaiian summer vacation? Well, this tropical drink will give you a

taste of the getaway you will never forget.

d. Fall How about a modern taste of tea, which will remind you of memories during autumn?

2. Stages of Love

a. Attraction Everything starts when you see that attractive person. This shot is milky and fruity with

red, sweet syrup, which will surely be a sight to sigh upon.

b. Infatuation Next comes what we call “in like.” After Attraction, this shooter begins to thicken and

become stronger, but still pampers your mouth with its dairy and smooth taste.

c. Love Of course, next is love. This has the perfect taste everyone is looking for.

d. Obsession You think everything ends with love? You are probably wrong. Sometimes, it leads to

Obsession. This shot has a very strong taste, which you can never let go

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Speaking of lofty promises, the cover definitely follows up on that very off-putting premise. I don’t anyone who would proudly take this planner around and claim that it can go to toe-to-toe with a Starbucks planner. Why will it change your life? According to the content, all proceeds for this journal are going to the building of wells and schools, and the  planting of trees all over the world.  It sounds well-meaning and noble but when you factor in how cynical this generation is and how we all clamor for transparency in everything that we’re involved in, the message is quite vague. The URL of a site is supplied but it’s hardly the reputable charity or organization that would command instant credibility. While it’s not really a knock against the planner, what could have been a strong selling point for the product was lost due to insufficient substantiation and the use of motherhood statements.

THE COVER

I’m not really a planner person (I don’t own a Starbucks planner) so I’m pretty much unbiased when it comes to these things. One thing that strikes me about the Starbucks planner though is that there’s an attempt to make it look like more than your average notebook - the use of cowhide as a cover for instance adds some pretentious air to the overall look and feel of the planner. Despite the immense popularity of the Starbucks planner the journal still looks relatively discreet. Last year’s journal only featured a pressed emblem of the coffee shop instead of a very visible insignia.

As you can see  on the picture the above, there is no effort from the journal that will  actually change your life 2009 planner. Instead of going classy and muted, it goes for the jugular - heck, both jugulars in making it known that the planner was significant to the entire human race. Even if you wanted to help the cause, you might just end up donating money to some charity instead of having to carry this journal around. The cover is the only part of the planner that people see and sometimes, people do judge things by the cover. And worse, people will judge the owner of the planner with the atrocious cover.

Rating: 1/10

CONTENT

The dates are divided into weeks with ample space to write on. It could double as an organizer for schedules and appointments as well as a journal for the emo kids out there. Important holidays (ok, and not-so-important ones too like Drop of Water Is a Grain of Gold Day) are also noted. At the end of every week an emo mood chart can be found so you could track how many times you’ve been ecstatic, over the moon, so-so and dark… very…very dark. I’m not making this up! After which is a page for “Strategy”. What is it for?  I’m thinking it’s for the things you want to tell yourself.

There are also some neat trivia inside but most of them are just downright unnecessary - it almost makes you feel that it’s just stealing writing space. There’s also a short bit on conversion tables (most planners have a more comprehensive list on this) and a weird compilation of flags. I would think that they would include countries that would most likely be of interest to people but weirdly enough, a lot of not-so-familiar countries made the list. Of course, me being the geography that I am would be able to label these flags easily but come on, do we really need to see the flag of Turkmenistan, Chad, Virgin Islands and Guinea-Bissau. Also off-putting was the addition of TIBET which isn’t even a country.

Rating: 4/10

OVERALL

If I were to use a planner (and I don’t see myself using one for 2009), I’d want something that I could carry around without much fanfare. This just doesn’t cut it. Maybe it would be appealing to some but as for me, they lost me at the cover. Thanks for the free planner though.

P.S. My brother likes it and he’ll get it from me. I’ll ask him to write his review.

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photo by Ian Castañares

Thanks in large part to Wesoid and Harry, I was able to get a few hours off to attend the much anticipated launch of Up Dharma Down’s sophomore album Bipolar. The records comes almost three years after the release their ground breaking debut Fragmented that saw the band gain accolades from mainstream music junkies as well as the hard-to-please music critics. Staying true to the their established style of textured arrangements and use of electronic samples, Bipolar comes across a richer and more cohesive collection of songs that combines both the familiar and left-of-center elements. Although it’s hard to even conceive the idea that vast improvements could still be attained after Fragmented but the general vibe of Bipolar lends an even more satisfying and transcendent musical experience. You can literally hear elements of rock, metal, electronica, blues and the lesser known subgenres of trip hop and post rock infused in some of the tracks.

The Hexagon Lounge at RCBC Tower provided a very intimate atmosphere for fans to hear the songs off Bipolar for the first time. Ian and I came early (around 7:30 PM) so we were able to squeeze ourselves to a nice spot just in front of the stage. I also had the chance to finally meet legendary Pinoyexchange poster loc0 (Carlo) after almost a decade of participating in the Music and Radio threads. The event was originally slated to start at 8:00 PM so by the time the gates were closed at 9:00, the venue was already packed and dozens of people were left waiting outside. I’ve had a similar bad experience when I showed up late for a Wolfgang “reunion” (read: minus Wolf) gig at Peligro a few years back so I knew better than to not take such call times seriously.

photo by Ian Castañares

The band opened up with Blessed - incidentally  the first song in Bipolar. The track totally set the theme for the night, it was aurally heavy without being too loud as well as being enjoyable enough at first listen but still showing immense intricacies in its structure. The song also reflects the bipolar psychiatric disorder in the sense that it features parts that easily translate to manic and depressive states.

Since people were listening to the songs for the first time, fans were somehow forced to experience the songs for what they really were as auditory experiences. By themselves, the songs truly conveyed emotions, movements and ideas without the help of words. The energy behind each song was more than enough to affect the listeners’ moods and feelings. To say that the experience is akin to being transported to an unknown musical plane is not much of a stretch. Up Dharma Down truly stands out as an innovative and yet curiously still marketable band in today’s stale music scene.

Despite the variation in approach, everything still comes together seamlessly as a collection. Through all the unusual time signatures, electronic blips and beats and soaring vocals, the theme stay clear - an almost rebelious but still masterfully disciplined foray into experimental forms of music. Fans who knew them as simply the band behind the hit “Oo” would be most definitely alienated by Bipolar. Up Dharma Down still has a couple of tracks with mainstream potential but  don’t expect “Taya” and “Every First Second” to be dominating the airwaves anytime soon. Despite the genius behind the songwriting, recording and post-processing, you just know that this type of material is destined to be a treasure to be kept by the fans of the niche as opposed to be something for the average radio listener.

I’m pretty sure that Bipolar is the best album I’ve heard since 2001 and with much apologies to Wolfgang and Razorback, I think that this record has a good case for being the best  OPM album ever. It’s that good, people. I hope those who truly care about OPM and the value of pushing the creative envelope to the hilt would support this superb offering from one of the country’s premiere band.

TO UP DHARMA DOWN:

As a fan, I would like to thank you all for working hard for this album. I’m very grateful that you are sharing this great record with the reast of us. I bought three copies of Fragmented so that I could give my future children sealed copies of that amazing album. I’m sure  I’ll be getting more copies of Bipolar. You guys deserve all the praise and accolades that you’ve gotten to this day. Thank you for setting the bar high!

Up Dharma Down’s album is already out!

There are still a few copies of the limited edition CD with documentary DVD so make sure you contact Terno Records.

to BUY contact Terno Recordings
M +63 917 534 5404
E ternorecordings2 (at) gmail.com

Somebody accidentally took my picture! Thanks BossPonkan!

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cross posted at Filipino  Voices

The Philippine General Hospital by virtue of being the largest government hospital serves more than 600 000 patients every year. Most of these patients are those who can’t really afford the high cost of health care in private hospitals and are left to duke it out with the limited beds and medical personnel in PGH. As big as PGH is and as enormous the government subsidy is for the hospital, the resources and manpower are definitely stretched to the breaking point. Despite having a steady supply of extra hands from the robust studentry of the UP College of Medicine and UP College of Nursing, logistical and financial limitations routinely frustrate both patients and health care providers.

Patients don’t have to pay doctors in PGH. Every patient who enters the hospital as a charity case will never be asked a professional fee no matter what the treatment for him/her will require. Even if one was to have an emergency surgery or spend weeks in intensive  care, no doctor will ever get even one cent from any patient. Unfortunately, treatment requires more than having the doctor lay his/her hands on the patient. For every move the doctor makes, he will likely require a diagnostic test in the form of laboratory or imaging procedures. Relative  to other healthcare delivery  facility, the discounted rates in PGH are probably among the lowest in the country but a considerable amount of patients still find paying for this relatively cheap services challenging. I’ve been forced to shell out some money to facilitate labs and I’m pretty sure that this is a very familiar story for a lot of med students.

It doesn’t stop there. The medicine is obviously not dispensed for free. Doctors in PGH double as social workers and philantropists in an effort to maintain the best possible standard of care in the face of really trying financial dilemmas. I’ve seen residents shell out thousands of pesos to pay for a patient’s hemodialysis. Medical representatives unwittingly help patients when they give doctors free drug samples. These colorfully packed brochures with one or two tablets eventually find their way to the bedsides of needy patients.

Sadly, the story of costs and trials doesn’t end once patients leave the hospital. A good number of patients require life-long treatment and monitoring to ensure that their diseases will not worsen or further compromise their quality of life. Patients with end stage kidney disease would require hemodialysis at least twice a week just to clean the toxic off their blood stream. Once you put into consideration that each trip to the dialysis center would set you back 3000 pesos, the gravity of the problem becomes more apparent. It will be a big challenge for a middle-class family to even shoulder 18 000 pesos a month what more to a family that’s way below the poverty line?

I sometimes  ask myself what’s in store for the poorest of the poor who don’t even have the ability to set aside extra cash for medical emergencies. It’s easy to say that this shouldn’t be the way things should go but the economic principles on which hospitals and drug companies operate on are simply contradict the goal of affordable health care for all. As it stands now and given the infrastructure of the drug industry, I am not a big fan of a more comprehensive form of socialized health care wherein the government shoulders much of the tab. PGH already receives over a billion pesos in state subsidy aside from millions of donations and contributions from politicians, alumni, charities and other organizations.

The price of care is anything but cheap. For the immunocompromised patient with a raging infection due to an aggressive pathogen, the antibiotics to be used may run up to more than three thousand pesos per dose. How many doses are needed? Three… PER DAY… FOR TWO WEEKS. That sends the grand total to well over a hundred thousand pesos - probably way more than what a poor family makes in an ENTIRE YEAR. This of course is just a small part of the medical regimen and the  patient would probably continue to need specialized care and medications for ther rest of his/her life even if great sums are thrown to purchase antibiotics. Though I am very much sympathetic to the needs of patients, I just don’t think it’s right for the government to allocate that much money for the care of a patient with an unfavorable prognosis. I still believe that there should be equity in society.  As cold as it is, I think that economic value should play a part in how much the government would be willing to spend for an individual. The mendicancy-driven  system and the culture of enforced vampirism has to stop if we are to truly come up with a truly lasting and sustainable solution.

As cliche as it sounds, education has to be the solution out of this because if it isn’t then we’re truly helpless. I’m so tired of seeing poverty in my everyday stint at the hospital. I’m sick of being witness to patients dying because their families could no longer afford to buy medicine to prolong their lives. My heart  and ears already too fatigued to the wails and cries of loved ones while we in the duty team try to revive a coded patient. I’m tired -and I’m not even a doctor yet.

For education to work out and provide the new generation with greater opportunities for economic mobility, we have to swallow the bitter pill that the older generation is beyond salvation. Aside from being the ticket of politicians to their respective elective posts, they will also be no longer competitive in the economic game even if they were  to get their due. Resources are limited and it will be far wiser to invest those who could help us more  in the long run. The older generations are products of the systems  of yore - one of patriarchy and shameless cronyism. The rhetoric over the years regarding the poor having more in law along with the church’s poverty-affirming message further made these people exhibit a combination of beholdness with an air of entitlement and pride with a sense of jadedness. It’s not exactly their fault but they’re definitely beyond reform. They have lived this way for so long to the point that a paradigm shift will not sit well with them.

I know this is not the wide-eyed optimistic perspective that most people would expect from a young  blogger such as myself but I have never been a populist. We have to be pragmatic in solving the problem and unfortunately, we can’t save everyone.

—

This is my official contribution for Blog Action Day. Do you have something to say about POVERTY? Blog about it TOMORROW! (15 October 2008)

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Four years ago, George Bush handily beat John Kerry 286 to 252. This was an especially traumatic blow to the Democrats considering how close they came to victory back in 2000 - Al Gore ‘lost’ to George Bush by about 500 votes in Florida thus swinging the final tally at 271 to 266. It’s also worth mentioning that Gore actually won the popular vote that year.

Winning and losing elections boil down to protecting states that are traditionally aligned towards a particular party and aggressively attempting to capture so-called swing or battleground states. These states are areas wherein the deficit between the supporters of the two parties are workable enough to merit allocation resources and valuable campaign time.

As it stands now,  Obama is poised to win the general election and if current trends hold, we  may very well see a landslide of Clintonesque proportions. According to CNN projections, the senator from Illinois just needs one more battleground state to clinch magic number while McCain needs to win every single one (and keep all the red states) to stand a chance.

But what if the rest of the world were to be given an opportunity to vote? Would the outcome be any different? Well, yes and no. No in the sense that Obama will still win. But here’s the big difference - it would be a literal landslide of apocalyptic proportions.

The Economist - easily the favorite publication of debaters worldwide — has assigned electoral votes proportional to a country’s population. Less populous countries like Fiji get three electoral votes while the more populous countries get to have 1,588 (India) and 1,900 in China’s case. Since the Philippines  is the 12th most populous nation in the world, we get 132 imaginary votes.

Just  look at that map! Save for three little smidgens of pink and red, the entire world is on the blue side. For those keeping tabs at home, the three countries that are leaning McCain’s way are the Eastern European nations of Macedonia, Moldova and of course, Georgia. All the rest are heavily slanted towards Obama and Biden. The score? Obama/Biden 8571 McCain/Palin 23.

You can still vote. As of this posting, Obama was leading 79% to McCain 21% among Filipino voters.

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The Filippish PBA Video

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Unbeknownst to most people, Helga (a fellow PBA finalist)  and I actually went a state high school in the backwater province of Laguna. Would you believe that the two of us had to do considerable manual labor in the fields (FIELDS!) for Agriculture class? We weren’t the best of friends back then but we shared the enviable task of interviewing *gasp* Slapshock at the peak of their popularity. Both of us also spent considerable time under the Advanced English program where we were trained to handle the production of our school paper. Gideon Lasco - another Philippine Blog Award recipient — is another schoolmate of mine. If I’m not mistaken, he was also one of the last people ever on the Advanced English curriculum.

We all hail from the University of the Philippine Rural Highschool in Los Baños. It’s a little known school outside of Laguna so we’re ok with just being known as UP Integrated School’s sister school in the boondocks. Despite being a virtual unknown, UPRHS or Rural as we (the Ruralites, talk about major eeew factor) affectionately call it has always had a solid performance in inter-school academic competitions and college entrance exams. Passing rates to the University of the  Philippines have always hovered above the eighty percent mark while graduates have been routinely nabbing slots in the list of Oblation Scholars and Integrated Liberal Arts - Medicine roster (during my time, UPRHS took four of the forty available slots - only Quezon City Science High did better with five).

The student population is quite small at a measly 120 per year level. A vast majority of enrolees are from Los Baños, Calamba City, San Pablo City and Bay with a handful of students from other smaller towns in Laguna and Batangas. Since it’s a UP unit, the tuition is negligible. The curriculum has relatively high standards except in the field of Computer Science. To further emphasize the rustic nature  of RURAL life, we only had one year’s worth of a computer subject and what did we do? Well, we  programmed in Turbo Pascal during a time when the language was nearing obsolesence.

Most of my classmates then could write well and had the inner drive to express themselves. The environment sure was conducive to a multi-faceted type of development instead of focusing on purely academic pursuits. The faculty was definitely supportive of athletic and artistic endeavors.

Why am I exactly pointing these things out?

Well, despite the seemingly strong reasons that would make Ruralites *chuckle* excellent bloggers, there aren’t a lot of them right now. Prior to 2007 - the year when the troika of Espina, Weber and Lasco (ok, just play along) broke out of cyber obscurity— there were no UPRHS bloggers in the mainstream. Though technological limitations maybe a serious stumbling block - no campus internet access as of 2004 — I’m sure most students have a stable connection at home and with the many computer shops around, the option to blog is definitely for the choosing to anyone with the time and love for writing.

On the flip side of things, when was the last time that a high school blogging sensation hit the scene? Maybe it’s a case of overapproximation but I sincerely think that it’s anomalous to have only three bloggers [all three good enough to be Blog Awards Finalists] from UPRHS.

 Speak up people! Let’s go back and teach the kids to blog. hahaha.

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Do you think that being in the Blog Awards is a walk in the park? Think again! We all know that the organizers and volunteers had to move heaven and earth to get everything ready for the big night but for nominees and  finalists, it was also quite an experience. Shutters were literally going off at every second and at photographers were definitely ready to moments as they happened.

This was how I spent my time on the lead up to the awards night:

Saturday, September 20
7:30 AM
I was actually supposed to be on duty on the 21st but since I had a nice classmate who agreed to swap duty schedules with me, I opened up my Sunday afternoon (clerks may go home by 12NN if not on duty during weekends) and set myself up for a very challenging physical task. Going on duty on a Saturday meant that I was only A  DAY removed from my last 24-hour tour of duty at the Medical Intensive Care Unit. Translation: I’ll be lucky to be awake at One Esplanade if I ever wake up on time.

Fortunately, it was an uneventful tour of duty without any mortalities. I had a couple of hours of sleep inside a very humid and poorly ventilated box with a serious mosquito and cockroach infestation. By the time I woke up, my feet, arms and other exposed parts of my body were covered with pruritic erythematous  (that’s itchy and reddish) wheals. After the sole endorsement round of the day, I called up my Mom to ask where she was. I wanted her  to accompany me to the Awards to: 1) give her an idea of what the blogging community is like and 2) make sure that I don’t do anything stupid.

My Mom arrived at around 1 PM and we still had plenty of stuff to do.  We had to grab lunch , as well as get new contact lenses, a new tie and most time consuming of all, get a haircut! My mom actually bought a new top for the event but she actually chose to stay with what she had on at the last minute. On the other hand, I wore clothes that I bought just before the 2008 Worlds. Actually, I’ve been so in love with this combination that I can remember at least three times that I went somewhere with that EXACT same look - a black pinstripe shirt (from of all places, Maldita), a spiffy gray vest from Topman and a skinny tie (for Sunday’s event, it was a new 170 php *LOL* silver tie from Robinsons Department Store). These were worn with a forgettable pair of pants and an even more atrocious pair of leather shoes (my only workable pair of dress shoes!).

We actually did the shopping part rather quickly but the the whole haircut plan totally exploded on my face. My appointment was at four but for some reason, I had to wait until 30minutes later until the first snip at my mane was made. By the time I was finished, it was already 4:50 - we were already running late and I  still had to get dressed.

I saw Helga, Nina and Eric near the registration table so I guess our level of tardiness wasn’t that reprehensible yet. With a spring on my step, I went inside the venue and absorbed the grandness of the event that I was about to be a part of. Before I could fully take  in the scenery though, I was approached by old media folks who wanted me to answer questions for them. Being the seasoned TV-show-guesting whore that I am, I obliged and soon after Karlo was already asking me to appear in a documentary about the Blog Awards.

In the documentary, they asked me if I wanted to win. Hell yeah, I want to win. It would totally suck to be in the short list for three awards and get shut out, right? Random photo ops and glasses of Coke later, Marcelle and Tiff were already giving out the awards. Despite officially having three chances  of winning, I knew that the only realistic chance  of getting a trophy lied with the Personal Category. The Travel Category is literally FILLED to the brim with heavyweights while the Commentary category is similarly stacked.

The people who prepared the programme this year were  more sadistic this time around. They made the finalists  to what is arguably the most contentious and exciting category wait until the very end to find out who the winner was. As luck would have it, with a chuckle and amazement, Marcelle (while channeling German  Moreno for effect) called out my blog’s name for the recognition. I gave my mom a nice long hug before standing up to go up the stage.

And then… instincts took over…

Aside from Bim who took his merry time and played to the crowd when he took his award, the rest of the winners seemed to be very adamant about staying on stage. I knew I wanted to share this moment with my Mom and having her there in attendance wasn’t enough. Upon receiving the trophy, I shouted I love you Mom! to my Mom’s general direction and as this photo would prove, I was facing the right way. Haha

THIS IS MADNESS! Are you serious?! I think I handled this mob fairly well but could you imagine being engulfed by a horde of reporters and cameraman after a euphoric moment?! And yeah, this also includes Cyberprince’s bilingual approach to interviews due to the nature of his mother networks. I literally had to squeeze out every neuron to make sensible 100% Filipino answers to questions that I had just answered in English!

 Since my category was the last major award to be given out and I still had to weather an phalanx of shutterbugs and cameras, I was MIA in the first few shots. Weirdly enough, my Mom still took this photo:

Uh, Mom… I’m not yet on stage! LOL

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From what I recall from last year’s Philippine Blog Awards, the Personal category was actually one of the first awards given out last year. I still remember who the finalists were - Bikoy Villanueva, Mae Paulino, Juan Magdaraog, Jessica Zafra and the eventual winner Shari Cruz. A big reason why I don’t have any problem enumerating this list of five  is because I was so obsessed with following the developments of this race that I even wrote a teaser on how I thought the race was going to go down. It was fun pretending that the competition was akin to a presidential tussle or an upcoming prize fight. Maybe my background as a sports writer got the better of me as I tried to tactfully disect each finalist’s strengths, weaknesses and actual odds of winning - all according to my very biased and absolutely not-so-centrist standards.

This year, the personal category was the last award to be presented. The way I see it, this category has got to be the most diverse due to its potentially broad definition. The approach to blogging in such a format spans the spectrum of personalities, temperaments, beliefs, cultures and even language of choice. It is possibly the most subjective award in the sense that it judges values that could possibly be actual equivalents. Breaking these virtual ties are  up to the discretion of the judges. If you ask me though, the short listed blogs reads like a very distinguished roster of accomplished individuals. And believe me, if I had enough time, I would go have gone crazy doing bookie work for the blogs in this category. Imagine if the finalists were actually released a week before! No one would admit it but I know a good number of people would lose sleep over the result.

Had I had the chance to deliver an acceptance speech, I would’ve asked my fellow finalists to go up the stage with me.  That’s how even the playing field was for me. And besides, it is personal, right? For this category, the breaks just ended up in my favor and had it been another year or another situation, the result would’ve been different. You can’t even begin compare the blogs in this category. Humor me as I pay tribute to the other finalists who are in my opinion equally deserving. * In no particular order:

If I had the chance to put money (other than myself ) on a blog this year, it would’ve been for Bikoy. When I started blogging in 2006, Bikoy was already a big name because at that point, he has already been blogging for 6 years. In my opinion, his blog has already achieved a certain status by which other personal blogs are measured. But again, that’s my bias talking - it’s hard to judge someone you considered to be a role model when you were starting out.

Fritz is just like Bikoy with slightly more miles on the odometer. He’s a wunderkind around these parts. I’ve never seen anyone capture images with a point-and-shoot camera with such technical precision as he does. And oh, thanks to me, his rebuttal to my now largely forgotten entry will be forever be enshrined in the pantheon of great comebacks of 2008.

UP  Rural High School ownage is upheld with the entry of Helga in the short list. Her style couldn’t be more different than mine. Aside from being a superb writer with plenty of fans from overseas, she’s also… let’s just say she’s definitely easy on the eyes. Her humorous approach to life and the curveballs that goes her way makes her blog very endearing and heartwarming. The styles she employs would absolutely take care of the other parts that need warming.

Speaking of easy on the eyes, no one would have been shocked if Mike Villar won. I don’t know anyone who could make fun of a near-bad-case-of-death experience, this unfortunate incident and other unfortunate  incidents that are too graphic to be mentioned in this family friendly blog. His Atrocities of Friendster series from a couple of years ago elevated him to a something  very close to cult icon and to this day, his umm… star continues to rise.

In terms of influence and overall appeal, AJ is definitely a strong contender. He appeals to a captured demographic but at the same time, he has also crossed over to the mainstream through entertaining entries on his favorite restaurant and his unique take on events. Aside from being a personal blog, AJ has transformed his blog into a portal of sorts - it is now a very dependable source for news about reality shows, fashion and beauty pageants.

When it comes to special interests, Misterhubs definitely fits the bill. His easy going style is definitely a big factor on why he has so many readers and commenters. His blog proves the broadness of the spectrum for personal blogs and should serve as a reminder to up and coming bloggers to just stay the course.

The best thing about Ate Sienna’s blog is that it’s very conversational. Reading her entries feel like you’re talking to someone you’ve known for quite some time. There is such a personal touch to the way she relates her own experiences to strangers. By the time you’ve read a couple, you no longer feel that you’re alien to her world.

I have great respect for people who can write well in Filipino because I struggle to write compositions in the vernacular. Kwentong Barbero’s  humorous approach to blogging feels very organic and relateable. One could surmise that it is the type that would inspire others to improve their grasp of Filipino.

And lastly, if there was a Rookie Of the Year award for blogging, it would definitely gone to Funny Sexy.  If people like her could share her frailties and insecurities, we other mere mortals have excuse to let our hangups get the better of us. Despite all her great assets and skills, she’s very down-to-earth and approachable.

In all honesty, I could’ve lost to any of them and I would’ve completely understood why. We all had very valid and strong cases for the top plum and with the undeniable differences between the entries, it would’ve been very hard to select a clear-cut front runner.

—–

For finalists and nominees, we all know that the value and credibility of our blogs doesn’t lie solely on winning awards, but let’s not be hypocrites here. Winning is always nice - may it be a small tea cup from a raffle or an award for something you worked hard for. The people who work hard know the first and last person you need to satisfy is yourself. But of course, there will come a time when other people would choose to recognize you for your efforts.

As nominees, finalists and winners, I believe that we are now all ambassadors of blogging for the rest of those unenlightened individuals with the spark to be a potential blogger. Blogging may stand for different things for us, but whether we like it or not, our actions and published work will affect how the greater public would perceive the movement and bloggers in general. The Philippine Blog Awards is a construct with presumably noble intentions and an aim to showcase the best of Philippine blogs as assessed by a board of judges. Of course we have the right to question and criticize the body for irregularities, after all, the PBAs represents the totality of the blogging community as far as the Muggles are concerned, but in the long run, as this becomes more commonplace and blog events like this start penetrating the mainstream, the medium that we have all chosen to be the conduit of our opinions, thoughts and ideas will be more accessible to more and more people. I think most of us would want blogging to be possible for all those who would like to try it. If we value our right to expression, we should also champion moves that would also make for a more conducive environment for the expansion of the blogging community - not only in numbers but also in diversity.

The past year has been a blur to me.  I don’t think I need to re-enumerate the things that I’ve done for my blog’s  and the greater blogging movement’s sake. I’m sure  the other nominees and finalists could same in various extents. As cliche as it sounds, as soon as we are free to do what we want to do and say what we want to say - we will continue to be true to why all blog in the first place.

And oh, I love you Mom. 

Photo courtesy of Carlo Reid

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I’m just the type who would be aggressive in just about everything that I voluntarily set my self to do. Of course, this would often be the cause of immense joy and disappointment for my parents and at times, conversations about focus and priorities would always arise. The thing is, I never saw myself as someone who will just be great in ONLY one field. I physically needed to be involved in many things - having a band (and for a time being in two), playing basketball competitively, being in med school, debating in national tournaments AND blogging. Figuring out how to balance out things given the obvious finiteness of time has been a challenge, but it was and continues to be a challenge that I welcome everyday.

In two years of blogging, I never thought that it would be so instrumental to so many things that happened to me. For instance, being interviewed by a living legend like Cheche Lazaro doesn’t is a  rare opportunity yet I was able to have that privilege twice! There would have actually been a third one had my schedule just opened up. I guess I’m doing something right.

When I bought Atheista.net last January, the goal was to have a stronger platform from which to launch thought-provoking and novel ideas into the blog community. I was pleased with the largely positive response and this gave way to great surprise when I saw that much of the community supported my call for a more secular and politically-correct blog awards. Call it an emotional outburst, sly strategy or rude remark, but the end speaks for itself. That incident and the response has effectively ostracized the intellectually-inept from further meddling (at least overtly) in blog events. This has also changed the programme for most IF NOT all events since that point on.

Though I would love to be known for the other things that I do - my music, debate, being a med student and athlete — I know that my lasting legacy (at least for the moment) would be somewhat connected to the first Philippine Blog Awards. It was a bold move against more established personalities who knew nothing but to push non sequiturs and pathetic father-to-daughter anecdotes down people’s throats but in the end, the logic was clear - regardless of faith or non-faith, people were able to agree on a common ground.

As I moved away from that incident, I found that I started leaning towards a less hardline and more humanistic approach to writing. Everytime I walked through the charity wards of the Philippine General Hospital, I didn’t just see fifty patients. I saw way more than just their endorsement sheets that contained their laundry list of pathologic conditions. For every patient, I knew there was a story of struggle and of pain. For every day that a patient stayed admitted in the hospital, his or her family lost a considerable amount of money that the patient could have earned. This loss doubles due to the fact that every patient would require at least one watcher to attend  to the needs of the patient. Once you factor in the cost of medication, diagnostic tests and possible surgical procedures, it is not hard to imagine how someone perceived to have a heart made of stone feel vulnerable and affected.

Writing about emotions is foreign territory for me. Back in high school, after spending years under the Advanced English curriculum, I was selected as the school paper’s sports section editor. Believe it or not, I managed to say very controversial things in that forgettable part of the paper. I also joined a good number of essay writing contests but never did I write about feelings. I found classmates who wrote about feelings and *ugh* faith as people who were just pandering to the teacher’s good side to get a better grade. As I kept writing and reading, I developed a revulsion for such people who can’t get emoness out of their system.

Now, I’m both irritated and amused that I was susceptible to the emo bug. What I once thought were irrational trappings stuck to the grand framework of Darwinian evolution has once again - just  like so many times before this instance — snared another cynical, unfeeling sod to further be enamored by the ridiculousness of empathy and sharing a common experience.

I guess I’m seeing my two-year old blog career flash before my eyes. On the eve before the 2nd Annual Blog Awards, I feel a certain degree of satisfaction after being named a finalist  to three categories. Win or lose, I know that this would as close as I would get to feeling this way again. For a year, I devoted my efforts that no one else in my  immediate circle thought was worth the time and patience but in the end, a little affirmation never really hurts. I’m up against amazing writers and incredible people for all categories, no thanks/thanks to the undeniably more meritorious screening - albeit the glitches — this year.

As a debater, I know how it feels to lose. I know what it’s like to deserve a loss and I’m more than familiar with the unsavory feeling of losing despite deserving to win. I’m no stranger to winning, nor am I new at conceding that others could be better than myself. In the end, it’s a game of standards and preferences. If you win them over, good. If you don’t, at least you knew that you tried your best to give yourself a fighting chance. Maybe the fact that I will be probably not blogging as much this time next year bothers me. Again, this is as close as I’ll probably get.

We will all find out tomorrow.  I’m sure  it’s going to be fun.

*written after 30 hours of sleeplessness. Will proof read later.

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