Published late at night of November 30, 2005
Having just caught Pinoy Big Brother’s 100th day anniversary, I was surprised to see how fast things have changed for housemates both inside and outside of “bahay ni kuya.” The remaining housemates had the chance to pick from several, significantly huge gift boxes that turned out to wrap an ex–housemate within. It was an early Christmas present for everyone, and surely a very memorable one for Say and JB who couldn’t just get enough of each other, hugging and kissing while seemingly mumbling sweet nothings for the whole 100 seconds. Everyone was upbeat, even those in the boxes not picked that Big Brother had a hard time ending their short but meaningful reunion.
With December just a few minutes away, PBB’s first season will soon end. Who do you think has the biggest chance of winning?
11 Replies·
2005.11.30
Published in the early evening of November 21, 2005
Yuga wrote about this almost two weeks ago: the local blogosphere is dominated by showbiz blogs, now overtaking those of political nature. The idea caught up with several Filipino bloggers, with The Ca t explaining the trend that prevails for weblogs around the world.
Just yesterday, Manolo took a stab against entertainment weblogs, specifically those covering Pinoy Big Brother. I find this rather amusing, being one of those running a weblog on the topic.
Both Manolo and Yuga, along with Mikey, suggest that entertainment weblogs are simply products of the AdSense phenomenon, a fact I cannot deny but also cannot completely agree with. Unfortunately, the greater number of local nonsense blogs has led everyone to thinking that most showbiz weblogs are simply scraping and reposting without providing anything new. Certainly, there are exceptions. An office friend writes for my PBB blog, and certainly doesn’t just write entries without substance, but rather provides interesting thoughts regarding the daily developments in the reality show.
My reasons for starting the blog midway into the show’s first season was simple: my friend had a lot to say about the show that would be valuable to people with a strong interest in the topic. At the same time, AdSense provided an option to monetize the traffic and somehow cover the cost of running the site, with a few dollars to spare. This is in line with what I’ve been promoting, that blogging can be a fun learning/interaction tool and provide spare income at the same time.
Looking at the environment in a different way, we may be judging the popularity of weblogs incorrectly. At Pinoy Top Blogs, Filipino sites are ranked using evoTopsites, which may be using metrics not entirely applicable to a wide range of interests. This does not rate the high “stickiness” of content in political weblogs, and the passing nature of entertainment weblog traffic. Perhaps if we take a different method of ranking, some local sites would surely lose value, while others will jump to the top. More importantly, revenues and traffic should never be the primary considerations in ranking; a weblog’s primary goal should be to fulfill its objectives and reasons for existence, which for my sites has always been the spread of valuable information to those who need it. Only then can a weblog be tagged a true success.
5 Replies·
2005.11.21
Published in the early evening of November 18, 2005
2 Replies·
2005.11.18
Published in the wee hours of November 18, 2005
First of all, right click on the photo and save it. Why? Sooner or later you just might need it. With the current upswing in the local music scene, you just might be looking at the members of the next big thing. We have the songs, and yes we’re big — physically. Hehe.
Yesterday morning, I was about to get off my ride when I heard a cover of the Eraserheads’ “Superproxy,” which I later found out through an officemate that it was part of a tribute album for the country’s best ever alternative act. Francis M was doing the song, and judging from the artist listing, that could be the only song/artist combo that would be acceptable to any e-heads fan. For the other acts, I’m not sure how well they could give justice to the songs they intend to cover. If simply for doing e-heads covers, we should be part of that big tribute. 
Now let me get back to my band, Pop Ratio. You’re only seeing 80% of it, since the other 20% is probably spreading the bird flu all over Hongkong right now. Hehehe. But on second thought, the “80%” figure is quite debatable if we base it on other terms like weight or looks, or sex appeal. By weight, it should be 90-10, and 10-90 if based on looks. Based on sex appeal, it’s a 0-100 landslide in favor of “the bass player” who can pass off as a chinovela star — who just woke up from a bad sleep. Hehe.
By the time you read this line, you’ve broken my secret that I’m just desperately trying to write so I could write. Now I make even less sense. But back to the photo: what if we don’t make it big? Then print the damn photo and keep it in your wallet, right under your ID. If something happens to you and you need medical attention, there’s a big chance that the darn photo might just save your life.
If you’re still reading this part I’d be grateful if you’d leave a comment, I haven’t heard from my readers for quite a while now.
17 Replies·
2005.11.18
Published just before lunchtime of November 16, 2005
Last week, I finally got the chance to pick up a package that arrived at the end of October. The delivery notice made it to my address a week after the package arrived at the post office, and had no details regarding the source or the content. I had a clue it was from outside the country, from the note “subject to customs inspection” stamped on the paper. I was pleasantly surprised to see two wonderful artworks sent all the way from Indianapolis by Diong of Objects and Pixels. “Far Away From Home” and “I Love You… Tonight” are just some of his great creations, and I’m delighted to have them. Soon they’ll be hanging on my wall once I find a shop that can get it framed perfectly.
Diong, maraming salamat. 
1 Reply·
2005.11.16
Published just before lunchtime of November 9, 2005
So I went to Canon yesterday. I still felt bad about the error 99 and not having a good camera I can shoot with, considering it’s already “ber” season. Upon arrival at Canon’s Pasong Tamo office, I suddenly felt good waiting in line in the company of pro shooters, also with their broken gear. Ah, heaven. Success. I’m in the same place as people who take photos for a living. I’ve always dreamed of this, except for the part where I’m pondering on the life (or death?) of the dSLR I’m holding.
Most of those present were most likely photojournalists, judging from the state of their gear. One guy had a silver Digital Rebel that was almost black due to wear. I couldn’t imagine the situations the camera must’ve been through in its lifetime. And then there was this Canon–shooting, conio–looking girl accompanied by an equally sosi–sounding, Nikon–shooting guy, and all they did was talk about gear. I’m sure he shoots Nikon, he praises the D200 like its twice as good as the 20D and even better than the 5D. Duh. Hahaha, let the flames begin. Hehe.
But let’s go back to my D60. After almost 30 minutes of waiting, it was finally my turn at the service reception table. Like a pro I spoke, explaining the error code that was appearing even without a lens and a CF card. The girl attending to me promptly asked their technical people, and was back in a few seconds reporting that it could be the shutter, just as Karl suspected. Again like a pro, I asked how much it would cost me. “Sir, 3500 po yung shutter tapos 1,500 yung sa labor. 14 working days po matatapos yun.” Now I really feel like a seasoned pro, taking an unexpected 5k damage for camera gear. I’d pay the price since I don’t really have a choice, but how I wish they don’t have to make me wait three weeks! Now I’m just hoping that’s all there is to pay, I can’t afford any surprises. Not unless it’s the lotto jackpot.
3 Replies·
2005.11.09
Published in the wee hours of November 6, 2005
My D60 just got an error 99 that wouldn’t go away even with all the tricks other users have suggested. I feel like a walking zombie without my cam, and dread the possible cost Canon has in store for me. As it is now, this could be the dreaded shutter replacement, since this cam is a few years old. This will definitely take a few days, since I heard from an officemate that routine sensor cleaning takes several working days. Huhu. 
2 Replies·
2005.11.06
Published mid-afternoon of November 5, 2005
Checking my adsense performance a few minutes ago, I noticed something new on their AdSense site upon login: a referral program for publishers. Basically, a new publisher signup through your referral code gives you $100 upon their first earned hundred. Yes, when they finally reach their first one hundred (a highlight of every adsense publisher’s career), your account will be credited with a hundred dollars. Sounds very simple, yet enticing.
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2005.11.05
