time for some update

A busy week. Not just for me but for the rest of the world as well (insert sigh here).

Kadayawan ‘08 is already a closed chapter in Davao. But for the rest of the world (or at least my world of interest), things are still at the exposition part and climax is a long ways off.

Heads up first, CBS has finally revealed the official cast for Survivor Gabon: Earth’s Last Eden. Speculations are over and we have names, faces, and first impressions to gnaw on. I never had the time to really get to know the casts yet, aside from the fact that they comprise of the typical “hot” chick, Ivy League student, the hunk, and the old guy (yes, indeed old enough to be your granpa). However, what I like best about Survivor is that despite of its predictable cast, the game as a whole is unpredictable. And that’s when each of the contestant’s pangs come out as the quest for million dollars turn them into more cunning individuals.

(to my friends who are hoping to watch this, apparently local channel QTv will be airing Survivor Gabon. will do update you on timeslots.)

On another topic, the US Open commenced this week and already it is making headlines. Nadal and Federer both survived the first round with ease, Federer notably winning in straight sets. Top-seed Nadal and Venus Williams have scheduled matches for today.

only in its 2nd round, there are already some major upsets. The biggest one so far happened this morning before I left for the office. I got to catch the tail-end of French Julie Coin’s (rank no.88) match against top-seed Ana Ivanovic; just in time to see the World No.1 bow down and end her hopes of winning the title in 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 match. According to Yahoo! sports news:

Never before in the Open era that began in 1968 had the No. 1 woman lost this early in the tournament.

Whoa! I can’t wait for the next round!

still poetry

Love wasn’t supposed to be rational.

On Mass Media

Jerry Seinfeld: “It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.”

Countdown to Gabon

Aside from the upcoming US Open, I am much thrilled about Survivor Gabon: Earth’s Last Eden.

I know it sounds geeky but I have been an avid Survivor fan since Australian Outback, thanks much to Colby (chuckles). Kidding aside though, it is now less than a month since the latest season’s premiere and it kills me that there’s no details leaked in just yet. Typically, lots of possible castaway details are revealed around a month before the premiere. However, this time CBS seems to be mum about this.

The thing with me though is that I cannot help my excitement. Especially when I went to check Survivor Fever and found some video captures from the show. It did not reveal much though and only had this video still of one male castaway and a few other promotional video captures.

Hopefully as the premiere draws near, more contestant and tribe details will be revealed as well. Can’t wait to watch Survivor on HD too.

On Racism and Olympic Games

Yesterday, I read this news on Yahoo! about the recent controversy that hit the Olympic Games. This involves what was considered a “racist” advertisement photo showing the Spanish basketball team slanting their eyes in an effort to mimic the Chinese, whom ironically enough is this year’s host. (see photo below)

This happened way before the Games unveiled and was initially published at a Spanish newspaper, but wasn’t until recently that it leaked through the internet. The photo itself elicited various opinions; hence, it prompted reps from the Spanish basketball team to extend their apologies. Spanish basketball star and Los Angeles Lakers’ center Pau Gasol spoke in behalf of the team saying it was all done in “good humor”.

It pains me, as an Asian, to think that they were basically nonchalant about this gesture. In our supposedly modern world with a much higher understanding of cultural differences and the concepts of equality, you can’t help but wonder how they failed to anticipate negative interpretations that the image would conjure. Sure, they can claim that it was all done in “good humor”, but can we take their word for it?

On top of all ironies, this year’s Beijing Olympics’ theme is “One World, One Dream“. Now, where’s the unity and oneness in this?

A couple of days ago, the Spaniards defeated the Chinese basketball team during their match and that is despite the predominantly Chinese audience’s major booing. Sad thing is, a matter like this, with serious repercussions, cannot be settled on the basketball court.

(ghost)writer’s lament

I’ve been having this issue for a while. It never totally vanished because I never had the chance to confront it.

My job as a content writer is a pleasant idea for someone like me who is naturally inclined to writing. Indeed, it is totally different from creative writing wherein I had to create my own characters, scenarios, and even create my own world. On the other hand, the writing that I do now for my job is an entirely new venture. I got to write about topics that I previously had no idea about. I have to say, despite the fact that they are mostly profit driven, they are fun to write at least.

However, seeing my own writings published on the Internet without my name on it is probably the toughest issue I HAD to deal with. So much for taking credit for other’s work, huh? I guess it’s really true what they say about people controlling the means having more power.

The fact that I had been doing this for almost a year, it still has not sink in. If I had to choose between both cases, plagiarism (I think) is much better. Because with the latter, I still have contention over my written work. But with this? What do I hold up against people who hold more power than I do? Dilemmas, dilemmas.

Looking at the bright side, this has fueled my desire to go back to creative writing. I have been inactive in that department for over a year now. So much for promises broken regarding the supposed revision of my thesis entries, I better get started on that. In fact, just recently I had the impulse to travel and hence if I did push through with that, I can probably write a travel essay.

I am already thinking about the long bus ride and the people I will meet there. Can’t wait!

thoughts on “readers’ comments”

To those of you who regularly visit my site and is disappointed to find that I have failed to update recently – my apologies. There is no point stressing the fact that I have completely drowned myself with writing assignments that are, regardless of how challenging they are, have managed to squeeze all energy I have.

When I checked my blog’s dashboard this morning to see any new activity on my blog, I got this instead:

55 total posts since I created this WordPress blog back in April. I managed to attain 76 responses from my readers. Whoa! My readers’ comments have managed to outnumber my posts.

Come to think of it, it isn’t bad at all. If I can relate it to my previous blog posts concerning how I can drive more traffic into my site, it is a positive sign that lots of readers are not just scanning through my site. In fact, they come to my site to read and react. Again, the writer in me is coming out. A written piece will never achieve its purpose until it elicits reaction from the readers.

Catharsis, if I remember it correctly, is one of the main points stressed by Aristotle. If this may be one step closer to achieving that, then it would be a milestone for this blog.

rebirth

First post for the first day of the month. Although I am currently swarmed with several writing and editing assignments, I am giving myself a break as a reward. Blogging about a recent achievement that my blog has just reached. I was busy contemplating on which preposition best to use on a particular sentence I had trouble completing when a YM conversation box popped right in the middle of the screen.

On ordinary circumstances, I would have hit boiling point. I’m sure most writers can relate to this. When you are in the middle of trying to look for a word most suitable for use on a particular sentence, the least you need is an unwelcome distraction. And I say “unwelcome” because this was one of the few things that made me smile considering I had an extremely busy day.

My officemate Joanna was excited to share that I (meaning, the blog I authored) have reached pr4. Another officemate have previously pointed that out to me. But I was so naive when it comes to that, so I had to ask him: “What’s the highest pr you can get?” When he said 10 (I was expecting him to say 1), I was slightly disappointed because mathematically speaking, 4 is much closer to 1 than 10. Right? But then again, I am glad that I am getting increased number of visits. Indeed, an amazing feat considering that my blog is only five-months old.

This was supposed to be just a quick post. So, back to my editing job!