National Bookstore Paseo opened about 2 weeks ago and I never really had the chance to stop by. With all the projects lined up, I never really had the time to just sit back and read a good book. The last novel I read was “Blood of Angels” by Reed Arvin and I’m still in page 39 (hehe). When I have nothing to do it would usually take just 5-6 hours for me to finish a 400-page hardbound.
Yesterday, with Paeng and Deanne, I devoured over the books. I haven’t done this in ages! I miss the smell of book paper! I miss flipping through the first few pages! I miss inspecting every aisle looking for the classics, the banned, a new author of a different race, a new book by Paulo Coelho or Haruki Murakami, or a new Filipino author.
There’s something about the experience of being on the bookstore than browsing Amazon.com. I guess it’s the physical presence of the books that move me. When I grab a book from the shelf and read the synopsis at the back, there are no pesky pop ups. I am not bombarded with critics’ reviews, readers’ ratings or information about other books of the same genre. I know I chose a book not because I’m cajoled by the ads, nor influenced by the readers’ comments. I chose the book because of what I felt when I held it and when read through the first pages.
I cannot imagine a time when bookstores will be closed down and books will only be available online. The experience of gong through the aisles, smelling the book paper, holding it and feeling the hardbound or paperback is something I would not trade for the instant gratification/ information- on- a -click that online bookstores offer. (I’m relieved that in our country, online bookstores are not popular. National and Powerbooks do have websites and sell books online but it doesn’t have the full catalog)
Reading and finishing it is just part of the real experience with a book.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
On Blogging
Not because there are no written rules about writing a blog doesn’t mean we can all just type in whatever we have in mind. A blog is posted in the web for everyone to read.
Yeah, it is freedom of expression, but even in our daily face-to-face interactions, we are careful with the words we use. Even writing itself entails one to think first before putting the words on paper.
There are just a number of issues about other people’s rants and raves on blogs. Because there is no body language, there’s no way for us to determine if the entry really was sarcasm, mockery or irony. Non-verbals play an important role – they help decipher the real or intended message of the source. It is also important that you know where the blogger is coming from – not the physical location, but the person’s culture, religion, orientation, etc.
It’s pretty obvious what the difference is between a diary and a blog. You write an entry on your diary with yourself as the intended audience. You make a blog entry, knowing where its going to be posted. You make a blog entry not just because you want to express your thoughts. At the back of your mind, you are looking for someone to acknowledge what you have written, someone who would sympathize with your feelings, someone who would agree to your ideas. You have an audience in mind.
Yeah, it is freedom of expression, but even in our daily face-to-face interactions, we are careful with the words we use. Even writing itself entails one to think first before putting the words on paper.
There are just a number of issues about other people’s rants and raves on blogs. Because there is no body language, there’s no way for us to determine if the entry really was sarcasm, mockery or irony. Non-verbals play an important role – they help decipher the real or intended message of the source. It is also important that you know where the blogger is coming from – not the physical location, but the person’s culture, religion, orientation, etc.
It’s pretty obvious what the difference is between a diary and a blog. You write an entry on your diary with yourself as the intended audience. You make a blog entry, knowing where its going to be posted. You make a blog entry not just because you want to express your thoughts. At the back of your mind, you are looking for someone to acknowledge what you have written, someone who would sympathize with your feelings, someone who would agree to your ideas. You have an audience in mind.
Anti-Siopao Files Symposium with Ms. Celery Aganon
Last week, we organized a Symposium entitled “The Anti-Siopao Files: Guidelines on Responsible Journalism”. We invited Ms. Celery Aganon, the Supervising Producer of The Probe Team Documentaries. The aim of the discussion is to come up with a solution as to how can the students’ awareness regarding responsible journalism can be increased.
Here are a few points that she stressed out that I think we, as Communication Arts students and future media practitioners, should keep in mind:
Be wary of sources. Don’t use the Internet as your primary source, else confirm, corroborate and get more than 2 sources. Never fabricate or plagiarize.
Guard against putting too much importance to ratings.
Reputation and credibility is your most important asset. Never accept bribe or extravagant gifts.
Correct errors quickly and openly
Strive for balance and hold no bias
Reveal a conflict of interest to your supervisor and to the public.
Strive for integrity, fairness and balance.
When asked about bribes, she recalls an incident when a prominent public figure running for office discreetly handed their cameraman a P500 bill. She shared how the cameraman told the candidate, “Hindi po kami tumatanggap niyan. Bawal po sa amin niyan”. The candidate, to avoid humiliation, told the cameraman that it’s for the whole crew’s merienda (strike two). The cameraman still gave back the money.
A certain public official also gives her an expensive watch every year, which she refuses to accept. She also shared how sometimes some of their crew members/researchers are being followed. They also get calls threatening them not to air a particular episode. There was also a time when an advertiser for their show pulled out after the Probe Team aired a documentary that revealed how one of the advertiser’s client’s company contribute to air pollution.
Work at The Probe Team is an adventure. It’s also for a worthy cause. What they do, I believe, is really something that’s relevant and impactful.
I really do wish that somebody I’d be able to work for a production company like the Probe Team.
[I would like to thank Ms. Buyser and Ms. Lily Mendoza for their support. ]
Here are a few points that she stressed out that I think we, as Communication Arts students and future media practitioners, should keep in mind:
Be wary of sources. Don’t use the Internet as your primary source, else confirm, corroborate and get more than 2 sources. Never fabricate or plagiarize.
Guard against putting too much importance to ratings.
Reputation and credibility is your most important asset. Never accept bribe or extravagant gifts.
Correct errors quickly and openly
Strive for balance and hold no bias
Reveal a conflict of interest to your supervisor and to the public.
Strive for integrity, fairness and balance.
When asked about bribes, she recalls an incident when a prominent public figure running for office discreetly handed their cameraman a P500 bill. She shared how the cameraman told the candidate, “Hindi po kami tumatanggap niyan. Bawal po sa amin niyan”. The candidate, to avoid humiliation, told the cameraman that it’s for the whole crew’s merienda (strike two). The cameraman still gave back the money.
A certain public official also gives her an expensive watch every year, which she refuses to accept. She also shared how sometimes some of their crew members/researchers are being followed. They also get calls threatening them not to air a particular episode. There was also a time when an advertiser for their show pulled out after the Probe Team aired a documentary that revealed how one of the advertiser’s client’s company contribute to air pollution.
Work at The Probe Team is an adventure. It’s also for a worthy cause. What they do, I believe, is really something that’s relevant and impactful.
I really do wish that somebody I’d be able to work for a production company like the Probe Team.
[I would like to thank Ms. Buyser and Ms. Lily Mendoza for their support. ]
A Love Story
Once upon a time there was a bird. He was adorned with two perfect wings and with glossy, colorful, marvelous feathers. In short, he was a creature made to fly about freely in the sky, bringing joy to everyone who saw him.
One day a woman saw this bird and fell in love with him. She watched his flight, her mouth wide in amazement, her heart pounding, her eyes shining with excitement. She invited the bird to fly with her, and the two traveled across the sky in perfect harmony. She admired and venerated and celebrated that bird.
But then she thought: he might want to visit far-off mountains! And she was afraid, afraid that she would never feel the same way about any other bird. And she felt envy, envy for the bird’s ability to fly.
And she felt alone.
And she thought: “I’m going to set a trap. The next time the bird appears, he will never leave again.”
The bird who was also in love, returned the following day, fell into the trap and was put in a cage.
She looked at the bird everyday. There he was, the object of her passion, and she showed him to her friends who said: “Now you have everything you could possibly want.” However, a strange transformation began to take place: now that she had the bird and no longer needed to woo him, she began to loose interest. The bird, unable to fly and express the true meaning of his life, began to waste away and his feathers to lose their gloss; he grew ugly; and the woman no loner paid him attention, except by feeding him and cleaning out his cage.
One day, the bird died. The woman felt terribly sad and spent all her time thinking about him. But she did not remember the cage, she thought only of the day when she had seen him for the first time, flying contentedly amongst the clouds.
If she looked more deeply into herself, she would’ve realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion not his physical body.
Without the bird, her life too lost all meaning, and Death came knocking at her door. “Why have you come?” she asked Death. “So that you can fly once more with him across the sky,” Death replied. “If you had allowed him to come and go, you would have loved and admired him even more; alas you now need me in order to find him again”
-Maria, 11 Minutes by Paulo Coelho
One day a woman saw this bird and fell in love with him. She watched his flight, her mouth wide in amazement, her heart pounding, her eyes shining with excitement. She invited the bird to fly with her, and the two traveled across the sky in perfect harmony. She admired and venerated and celebrated that bird.
But then she thought: he might want to visit far-off mountains! And she was afraid, afraid that she would never feel the same way about any other bird. And she felt envy, envy for the bird’s ability to fly.
And she felt alone.
And she thought: “I’m going to set a trap. The next time the bird appears, he will never leave again.”
The bird who was also in love, returned the following day, fell into the trap and was put in a cage.
She looked at the bird everyday. There he was, the object of her passion, and she showed him to her friends who said: “Now you have everything you could possibly want.” However, a strange transformation began to take place: now that she had the bird and no longer needed to woo him, she began to loose interest. The bird, unable to fly and express the true meaning of his life, began to waste away and his feathers to lose their gloss; he grew ugly; and the woman no loner paid him attention, except by feeding him and cleaning out his cage.
One day, the bird died. The woman felt terribly sad and spent all her time thinking about him. But she did not remember the cage, she thought only of the day when she had seen him for the first time, flying contentedly amongst the clouds.
If she looked more deeply into herself, she would’ve realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion not his physical body.
Without the bird, her life too lost all meaning, and Death came knocking at her door. “Why have you come?” she asked Death. “So that you can fly once more with him across the sky,” Death replied. “If you had allowed him to come and go, you would have loved and admired him even more; alas you now need me in order to find him again”
-Maria, 11 Minutes by Paulo Coelho
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