Annual Convention

I'm just on the way to recovering from a cold and cough, both of which are repercussions of the previous weekend's debauchery. It was that time of the year again when Pinoy Fierceness congregates in one place for a blast, Bangkok being this year's lucky choice. 

Remember our Bali escapade last year? Yes, I'm talking about (more or less) the same fierce people.

We had our two birthday girls from San Francisco, La Fuchsiaboy from Siem Reap, two socialites from Ilo-ilo, and Gibo (who doesn't have a title these days). 

Knowing very well there's going to be loads of partying and excess, I did not smoke, drink, or party three weeks before they arrived. And I had to try hard to lose weight because damn we're a judgmental bunch.

So last weekend turned out to be a chika-fest with loads of smoking, drinking, and dancing. How else would you spend your time with friends, chai mai?

It's so hard to believe we've known each other for four years now, and considering we've only met through blogging (those were the days). 

Favorite Things of 2011

It's that time of the year again when I list down my favorite "things"... for lack of a better term.

I really don't have a proper criteria, just that these are personal favorites from the year that's just about to end. These are the things that I felt were highlights of 2011, the things that make 2011 more memorable. (These books and films for instance didn't have to be released in 2011, but I had access to them in only 2011.)

So let's start.

My favorite film is "Dogtooth" (2009). This Greek film blew me away for its unusual depiction of parenting. It resonated with me because often I question to what extent parents should influence the "reality" that their children are exposed to. This movie has some answers that made me squirm.

My favorite documentary is "Exit Through the Gift Shop" (2010). This is one hilarious and irreverent documentary about street art, its driving forces, and how it has crept into the mainstream art market.

My favorite album is absolutely Adele's "21". I mean, haler!!! Enough said. I'm almost tempted to name Lady Gaga's "Born this Way", but I based my choice on the number of times I listened to each album, and "21" has been on loop in my computer since it was released. 

Which makes my favorite song "Someone Like You". I'm sure I'm not alone in naming it their favorite song of the year, and it's easy to understand why.

My favorite novel is "Room" (2010) by Emma Donoghue. It's very difficult to read it at times because of the horrific experience of its main characters. But it ends with a positive note, somehow. I've been recommending this novel to all my friends.

My favorite non-fiction book is "The Case for God" (2009) by renowned scholar Karen Armstrong. The book traces the history of religion (mainly the Abrahamic ones), its philosophy, and practice, and asserts that religion is transcendental and best known through practice. 

My favorite website is Piratebay. How on earth would I survive the year without this website where I get my movies and music, aber? I looooooove Piratebay! My second favorite website is Google Reader where I now read all my favorite blogs.

And my favorite blog is still "The Sartorialist". Scott Schuman's blog has evolved to featuring profiles and interviews of his subjects. But he is still consistent in his taste for classic and often times quirky fashion on the streets.

Talk about fashion, my favorite model this year is the androgynous model Andrej Pejic. Now he is the quintessential model: a chameleon. He is as good as a "male" model and as a "female" model. Truly, he represents fashion today, one that is undefinable and fearless. 

My favorite clothing brand at the moment is Uniqlo, which opened in Bangkok a few months ago. I love its basics because I'm now on a "basics" phase. It's a big plus Uniqlo is soooo affordable.

Lastly, my favorite trip of the year was my ten days in Myanmar (blog posts here and here). It's a country I've long wanted to visit and it did not disappoint. I was completely enamored of the colonial architecture in Yangon and the serenity of the beaches of Ngwe Saung. I'm definitely going back to Myanmar in 2012.

Happy New Year, my dear ten readers and thanks for still following the blog.

Prevail

I remember those days when there was once a very active blogging "community". It should've been about four years ago when I felt that I could hardly catch up on reading the blogs I regularly follow.

It was exciting to read people who shared my interests on a host of things and I also admired how well they articulate their thoughts. I made friends with a good number of Pinoy bloggers and God knows where that has brought me.

I cleaned up my blog roll yesterday and it was sad that many of the bloggers I used to follow avidly have been left stagnant. I deleted these inactive blogs. Meanwhile, many active blogs are updated erratically, or at least the frequency of new entries have considerably dwindled.

Which brings me to wonder, is blogging (almost) dead? Was it just one of those passing fads that have come and gone?

It might very well be, and two of the culprits of its demise are Facebook and Twitter. Who cares to write a proper post when you can just update your Facebook account with "So and so is..."? You can also upload all your holiday photos without writing much about the weather or cuisine there. Or using your iPhone anywhere you can to tell people whether you liked a movie or not via Twitter, all in 140 characters?

Because my motivation for blogging then was to update my friends and family what I've been up to, Facebook has definitely become a more convenient alternative to those lengthy blog posts. Commenting is also instant, thus, interaction is more dynamic. I've even treated Twitter like a chatroom with friends from all over aside from my mundane (and really stupid) updates on what I'm having for dinner or how many laps I did in the pool today.
So for many months now my blog has functioned as my bookmark. I open it to check which blogs I follow have been updated, courtesy of my blog roll. (But lately, I've been using Google Reader more frequently and it's definitely far more convenient.)

Laziness in blogging always prevails these days. I used to go out of the house precisely because I want to blog about something, say a new exhibition, movie, or shopping place. At times, I felt like I was a journalist, armed with a small notebook and a camera. Even before I sat down to write a post, I've already developed an outline of the post in my head along with an idea of what photos go with it. I even took notes whenever I read a book to help me write a decent comment the next day. Blogging also made me a keen observer of what my friends are doing and saying, all in the hope of getting some good material to write about. I used to list a number of topics under the heading "stuff for the blog".

I miss the discipline of writing though, of attempting to put my thoughts into words (albeit mostly unsuccessfully), or just plainly bitching about minor things (at least that was cathartic, no?).

But that's a lot of hard work, mind you. I reached a point of shameless indolence, and Facebook and Twitter proved to be alternatives to serious research and thinking.

It's no comfort of course that I'm not alone in this lackadaisical attitude to blogging. If I can only shake each blogger I miss reading back to their senses , I would. Then, I also understand why they have opted for Facebook or Twitter in lieu of blogging.

I'm not taking that direction though despite my apparent dearth of posts. I am still very much sentimental of this blog (and it still gives me a good reason to write), hence, it's going to stay. Fuck Facebook.

Happy Blog Anniversary

Ayay, I totally forgot my blog has turned 5 years old last 20 March.

Wow, it has been that looooong?

My sincerest thanks to those who still have the patience to visit my blog despite my erratic posting of late. I will try to get back to my blogging duties soon.

Mmmwah, bitches.

Paradigm Shift

I finally met two of Manila's fashion blogger royalty, Toxic Disco Boy and Inckarlcerating. God, di ako prepared coz I was wearing some office-y clothes whereas Toxic and Karl were in their drapery splendor and decked in eye-blinding cutlery... I mean silver accessories. I looked like their alalaay with a Surigaonon accent!

They were in fact wearing some clothes from Paradigm Shift, a clothing line the girls design themselves. It's truly inspiring how they successfully translated their point of view into something commercial. I heard they will soon sell their creations in a boutique in Podium, which obviously is worth looking forward to.

I love the panache and courage Toxic and Karl have in presenting themselves. Many folks were stealing glances of the girls' billowy tops, diaphanous accents, and deadly rings, but they just keep on sauntering like fab gazelles in the midst of buffaloes in jeans.

I told them they are a bit misplaced in Manila's relatively conservative fashion scene. Where they truly belong is Bangkok, where their forward approach to fashion would be more appreciated. Besides, they'd die shopping in BKK's streets. So Toxic and Karl, gooorah na to BangCock!

Pinay Bloggers in Siam

When I moved to Thailand one of the first things I did was search the web for Pinoy bloggers in Bangkok.. well the bayot kind, to be specific. Unfortunately, I did not find one at that time. Fast forward three years later, I have come across a number of Siam-based bloggers, which certainly is a welcome treat. It's always nice to find out how my kababayans (countrymen) see Bangkok through their own eyes and indeed I found a variety of perspectives among them.

The first blogger I stumbled on is Man of the Rose, and my, my, my what a find it truly is! Man of the Rose features the delectable side of Thailand, its men in particular. Cee, the author, posts photos of Thai men (and other Asian celebrities and models, but mostly Thai) in various states of undress, including see-through moments that leave very little to the imagination... or au naturel some times.

I believe Binibining Cee gets his photos from Thai fashion magazines as well as gay-oriented magazines and websites. Thank God for Cee's resourcefulness, any visitor to his website would have more than enough material for wet dreams to last a lifetime. Warning, this site is mostly NSFW.

The other blog authored by Cee is Carlo de la Rosa's I'm Not Most People.  Here he posts a hodgepodge of stuff, from Thai and Filipino celebrity gossip, to movies, theater, and features stories of some of his trips.

I've in fact seen Carlo a few weeks back at Charice's mall appearance in BKK. He was covering the visit and had the chance to interview the Pinay star... but I was too shy to say hi.

The next Pinay bayot blogger is La Primera Chismosa in the City of Fallen Angels, Gossip Girl TS. The blurb in his profile says: "I am Gossip Girl based in Times Square. Your reliable source of everything juicy and scandalous about the lives of Upper TS office goers. I rely on your tips so message me and let's give everyone something to talk about. Everyone gets SPOTTED. And you're next. You know you love me. XOXO"

Gossip Girl TS is a hilarious account of the misadventures of his other bayot friends, and that includes my dear Bubbles, who is featured in the latest post titled "The XYZ of :Love." I also happen to know most of the people whose lives GG (Gossip Girl) exposes. GG is undoubtedly a gifted writer, making the mundane and raunchy sound at least a bit classy and ultimately amusing.

Speaking of La Bubbles, he has a blog too! Atbp. ni Biloc is his musings on life, love, and lust.  Ok, maybe not lust, but how can you separate that from La Bubbles, right?

It's quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what Atbp. ni Biloc is all about. It's at times philosophical ("But whatever the LOTUS entails, for me it’s a flower that gives radiance. You appreciate the form it shows and how it blooms"), political, or just simply musical. A example of the latter is his latest post on Lani Misalucha's Tila, which I suspect is La Bubbles' ode to the rainy season in this part of the world? Ladies and gentlemen, please help me figure out Atbp. ni Biloc.

Rounding up my finds of Pinoy-authored blogs in BKK is the latest addition to the small group, Siam Stylista. I am totally excited that finally there's a street-style blog covering the many fashionistas in this city (I'm not exactly sure if this is the first and only, but it's the only site of its kind I've seen so far).

It's a relatively newly-started blog and the author has been quite consistent in posting. At the moment, it's still difficult to figure out the aesthetics that draws Siam Stylista to his subjects, but he's off to a good start nonetheless. He even had the chance to interview the owner of one of my favorite Thai brands, Wonder Anatomie (Donita Rose, check it out!).

By the look of it, there's a growing number of Pinoy bayot bloggers in Bangkok and one can only wish that our number increases even further. Again, these are the only blogs to my knowledge but there could be more out there. If you happen to be one of those authors I forgot to mention, please feel free to drop me a message.

4th Blog Anniversary... Tonight I'm not takin no calls 'cause I'll be dancin'

OMG, I'm blowing four candles for my blog anniversary tomorrow! Like, it has been that looooong? Like, really?! Lady Gaga could only wish her career would last four years and right now I'm SUPER sure she's SUPER jealous of me.

Did I hear it right that I already have like ten readers now? *Blush, blush while holding back tears* What else is there to say but a HUGE thank you to everyone who bothers to subject themselves to my torturous ramblings... you masochist monsters! You know I love you! *Rolls eyes*

So on the fourth birthday of my blog, I'm going to give back to my publique. This post is about YOU, my dear readers. Let's bring the focus to you, because without you I'd just be another little lost soul desperately seeking for affirmation.

Because I dedicate the blog anniversary to YOU, what else is there to do but talk more about... who else but my self!?

I want to get your feedback on this blog, you know. I often wonder what you think of what I write here (the comments do not count because most of those who leave comments are my friends, and are expected to pander to me, chai mai?).

I want to democratize this blog for once - open it to everyone - and give a rare opportunity to my ten readers to speak truthfully (well, as long as they are truthfully nice).

I have three questions for you:

(1) What do you want to see/read MORE in the blog?

(2) What do you want to see/read LESS in the blog?

And... a as a bonus (you know I'm generous, right?)...

(3) Anything you want to ask me???

There, as you can tell the theme of this year's celebration is good-old NARCISSISM. Oh, hasn't that been the theme these past four years? Whatever, really.

So to my readers, DO SPEAK UP (you might not get the chance again once the MTRCB takes over). Who knows I might just answer your pleas! Hahahaha.

Text, "Kawadjan Illusionada " and send to 2366 for Globe and Sun subscribers or 257 for Smart and Talk-and-Text subscribers.

Promo closes next Friday (seriously).

Just Saying

Damn, this blog has never been this lifeless, don't you agree? I have to apologize to my four readers (or is it already six?) for having been remiss in my blogging duties since December. Except for the weekend and travel reports, nothing substantial has come out from me lately, I have to accept.

Well, it's not that I'm anywhere close to "substantial" to begin with. But then, I used to have posts in which I put some thought into them, in Fairview Quezon City. What I mean is, my posts of late had been soooooo same-same, chai mai? Or my six readers are just too kind to tell me how boring I've become.

I really don't force my self to write, although ideally there should be a regularity to my entries, something I've tried to maintain before. Add to that some deliberate variety in the topics as well. I even have a list of topics to write about at the start of the week. But lately I've not had the chance to be reflective, hence, the sporadic (even absence of) emo posts.

I have to note here though that my readership has increased steadily, for some reason I cannot understand. When I checked my Sitemeter lately, I'm surprised I have surpassed the four thousand monthly mark, most remarkably in December when I only had like three posts or something. I hardly care how many people read me, as long as my close friends do (after all, I'm doing this mainly for my dear amigas). Still, it's reassuring that some people bother to check this blog and I hope I'm making your time worth while.

On the other hand, I do feel pressured sometimes with the idea of more people reading me. Thus, I cannot write just anything, especially the more sensitive matters (which could mean anything really). Like I cannot comment about my biases on politics and people for fear of offending others.

Of course because I do not enjoy anonymity I try to limit mentioning family stuff and the more intimate parts of my life. I do value my privacy very much, although perhaps readers think I spill too much sometimes. Far from it, dahling! Don't be mislead, puhlease. I reserve the more juicy topics to my self coz they're far too important to be shared with the masses. Gosh, as bloggers, do we really know who's reading us?

The good thing about blogging is you can hide as much as you can reveal. In fact there are times when I exaggerate some posts to cover up my emotional lows. Often, the more frantic I am with posting, the more lonely I really am. Sometimes, but not always, ok mai? Talk about using the blog as a diversion and, to a certain extent, a mask as well. So take this recent bout of blogging silence as an indication of the many things I'm hiding lately. Wink, wink.

Oh, next month is the anniversary of my blog. Just saying.

Publish Post

I'm afraid I'm on a blogger's block. These past few days have been uninspiring despite the many materials I could use for this blog. I have a notebook filled with quotes from friends as well as ideas that pop into my head when I'm in the bus or when I stare at the clouds from my bedroom window.

But I can't seem to write anything coherent, much less sensible, lately.

I wonder if, as bloggers, it is our responsibility to be sensible at all? Or do we write for writing's sake -with sense or without sense?

I've talked to quite a good number of bloggers and it seems that the drive to be sensible varies from one writer to another. It mainly depends on what their vision for their blog is.

Some simply write like no one's reading them, a style that I call babbling but still written in an endearingly raw voice. While some bloggers churn out post after post of well-thought and well-structured entries (gosh, I envy them for their clarity). Either way, some are effective in expressing themselves in certain styles.

I'm not the kind who says which of these two approaches is better as long as they write well (posts should have at least some coherence and preferably tightly-written). In fact I read many blogs that are on both sides of the spectrum or somewhere in between. The variety of writing styles out there makes the whole community as vibrant as ever.

Meanwhile, I always ask blogger friends if they ever think of what their readers say about their entries or their blog as a whole. Again, the answers vary, but most of the time they do care about the feedback they receive. It does not matter whether they write anonymously or not.

(Well perhaps it's the fact that many of my blogger friends are actual writers who know that one of the basics of good writing is to keep your audience in mind.)

When talking about blogs that we read, my friends and I seem to be kind of emotionally invested in our favorite blogs... well, sometimes. We have long been spectators to other peoples' "lives" that we have somehow developed expectations and even made judgments about them.

I realized, readers can be quite critical, if not outright demanding sometimes. Oh, count me in that crop of readers. Sorry!

It's quite odd that we feel entitled to "participate" in the way our favorite blogs are shaped, with remarks such as: "I don't like how he's writing more of this when he should be writing more about this," or "He has completely gone nuts," or "What is he thinking?" and so on.

Maybe as readers we've treated blog authors as characters who need to PROVIDE us with some level of entertainment, if not amusement. I shudder at the thought of people thinking of me, as a blogger, that way.

Are bloggers responsible for how readers perceive them?

Bloggers would understand more than the regular reader that even our blogs are entities on their own, at least to a certain extent. Our blogs may represent a fraction of who we are, but that's just on a minuscule scale. I believe some blogs are even alter-egos of their writers.

So as readers, I don't think we should take blogs THAT seriously. Well, OK, I take the blogs I read seriously coz I realize the posts take a lot of effort to put together. But content-wise, I read my favorite blogs with a certain degree of detachment and oftentimes consume them solely for their entertainment value.

I'm a bit perturbed, however, when bloggers need to defend themselves from some nasty comments. It seems some readers believe they know the authors well enough through the latters' blogs and have thus the bravado to pass judgment. On the other hand, putting themselves in the open, bloggers have to be ready for criticisms as well. Comments are supposed to be not taken personally though.

What do we do when comments are way too personal? Delete them. I have yet to defend my self from nasty comments. I choose to optimize comment moderation instead.

But we certainly love feedback... the positive ones at least. We love throwing around adoration and receiving double that, chai mai?

I chose to write about bloggers' interaction (if not, relationship) with their readers because for the longest time I've been having many discussions with friends about our favorite bloggers or the ones we've discovered recently. Gosh, if only some bloggers know how much time we spend talking about their "creations"! (Yeah, coz we have boring lives.)

Sometimes I guess it's worthwhile to take a step back and ponder on these things, as both a "producer" and "consumer" of blogs.

With the multifarious purposes of blogs, they oftentimes act as refuge from the craziness of daily life. It may also serve as a platform for expression, sharing, and reaching out to others.

But the bottomline is blogs are mostly personal spaces. Readers are invited to step inside these realms of introspection and as guests they are expected to be nice, at the very least. Do not be too engaged, dear readers. It's JUST a blog!

(No, the pictures in this post are not exactly related to the topic. Tse!)

Processing: To Blog or To Date Edition

Agent BangCock: did you not notice na halos lahat ng bloggers na bading eh single?

Celia Rodriguez: hahhahaha

Agent BangCock: well except sa yo... but most di ba? tama ba ang observation kez?

Celia Rodriguez: oo nga

Agent BangCock: why kaya? there should be some correlation between being single and how much time you spend blogging or dating

Celia Rodriguez: kasi nga in your own words... ang taas!

Agent BangCock: ang taas talaga natin ning kase cocooned tayo in our own little, idealistic world.

Agent BangCock: in fact, it might not just be idealistic, but more of narcissistic. scary!

Celia Rodriguez: kasi i think blogging is almost a dead giveaway na ang tao itong has a tendency to intellectualize experiences

Agent BangCock: ay tama!!! korak.

Celia Rodriguez: kaya hayun

Agent BangCock: kaya nawawalan ng sense of adventure, ng sense of spontaneity

Agent BangCock: kawawa... or maybe not

Celia Rodriguez: hindi naman. mas nagkakaroon lang ng doktrina, ng dogma on what should and should not be; lalo na sa relasyon

Agent BangCock: hmmmm... korak. kase iniisip natin ang pag-ibig ay isang blog template. nahuhulog lahat ng tags sa tamang post at ang right column ay always expected to include the links.

Celia Rodriguez: hahahaha! winner

Agent BangCock: kaya feeling natin ang pagibig ganun din, pwedeng i-align at i-classify nang ganun kadali

Celia Rodriguez: cut and paste mo na lang yang linya na yan. sooo bloggable

Agent BangCock: salamat. ikaw ang may sala nito. ikaw ang catalyst ng mga walang kabuluhang paguusap na ito. talk about intellectualising mundane stuff.

Celia Rodriguez: naman. nailabas ko na.

Under the Spotlight

These days, a person's relevance is based on whether he blogs or not. Like you should have one otherwise you are sooo out of the radar. I don't know how blogging caught so many people's fancy, but one main reason that pushes us to put ourselves out there might be our innate predilection for validation from other people.

Being under the proverbial spotlight, however, also exposes us to other people's prying eyes. As readers, many of us are guilty of judging people based on their blogs, not being aware that there's a multi-faceted person behind what appears in print. So it is no surprise as well that as people read us they might be pigeonholing us into classifications and labels that are far from who we really are.

I've known a number of bloggers who were seriously criticized on their blog for an opinion they expressed. This, I believe, is definitely part of the package. Bloggers have to be ready to face dissent, after all other people are as free to express their views.

Defending your self, I believe, is unnecessary because negative comments, more often than not, are hardly personal. Some people simply do not agree with you but the comments they leave are not always about you. Telling the difference is easy. (Still there are comments that directly defame the author, and those need to be rebuked down to your last breath.)

On the other hand, I've heard of bloggers bewail the loss of their privacy because they just put too many intimate details into their posts. Sometimes, the thought of strangers reading our blog is more comforting than knowing that friends and acquaintances have access to our innermost thoughts.

For instance, I dread the idea that my parents or relatives read my blog (hell no!). Perhaps many authors have the same concern with regard to their their exes, colleagues, enemies, etc.

There is certainly no way to screen your readers (unless you restrict access to your blog). My opinion: you decided to publish your intimate thoughts, you should stand up for what you write.

Or there's always the middle path: editing... and this I do a lot; way too much sometimes that I have nearly lost all traces of "intimacy" in my blog. My thoughts here have always been watered down, as you can probably tell.

If I chose to write my uncensored feelings, my blog would be one big soap opera. Or if I don't filter the content of this blog, I would be spewing one politically incorrect thing after another.

But to be provocative is not the vision of this blog. I want to keep it flippant, bitchy, and frivolous. It is my escape, if you may.

The bottom line is: as authors, we have a vision of what our blog is all about. For others, their blog is an extension of themselves, while for some, their blog is an alter-ego totally detached from who they are.

In a perfect world, we should be writing like there's nobody reading us, but of course only a courageous few can get away with that.

Whatever the purpose of your blog may be, the important thing is to stick to your voice and keep your unique point of view consistent. If it brings in the haters... well, fuck them! Remember, you only make your mark on the blogsphere when you have your haters... that keeps you relevant.