Ditto

Simple joys

Published on 2009-01-27 11:33:00

Just like the "Burger! Burger!" commercials of Mcdo, but funnier.

Halberstam

Published on 2009-01-27 11:22:00

I am almost finished with David Halberstam's "Powers That Be," which details how some of the most powerful and influential media companies in the US came to be. Of course, the media landscape has rapidly changed since its publication 30 years ago so it's a bit dated, but still is a fascinating read. I'd like to give a deeper insight about the book, but I don't have the time. Feel free to contact me, if I have piqued your curiosity. I am wiling to lend the book. Just make sure you don't add to

Shame

Published on 2008-11-24 11:31:00

I really am a glutton for punishment, especially the cruel and unusual kind.As if the shame of getting almost daily reminders that I still have a lot to learn about journalism were not enough, I just got myself talked into dancing.As in the shake-your-booty-throw-your-hands-in-air-like wave-it-like-you-just-don't-care variety. In front of people. Lots of people.This is a huge problem for me because:A) My dancing skills are probably just one notch higher than William Hung's in singing. Name any

Ouch

Published on 2008-10-23 11:31:00

The press is also getting some blame for the ongoing US financial crisis. Some thoughts from an angry commentator. Got this from CJR by the way. As a service to the business-news trade, The Audit would like to offer a few observations about the current financial crisis that may prove helpful in coverage going forward. Our list of some inconvenient truths: 1. Your beat just blew up. From a journalistic standpoint, what we are experiencing today is the equivalent of the city hall reporter arrivi

So long W

Published on 2008-10-20 11:39:00

In a few weeks, Americans will replace the president that some have described as the worst ever. But for all the vitriol hurled against USA's 42nd president, I believe there is still a minority out there that will miss him. With quotes like these, how can you not?Ladies and gentlemen, the 10 dumbest things George W. Bush has said as compiled by http://politicalhumor.about.com/(Cue in Hail to the Chief )10) "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct.

Panibagong pang-karaoke

Published on 2008-06-26 06:14:00

After hearing an uncle's rendition of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" a few nights ago, I have decided to add it to my list of "must songs" during Karaoke. That was the first time I heard the song and I think it's probably unfamiliar too to most of my readers (take a bow my five loyal followers.) But if this song does ring a bell it's probably because you are:A) musically inclinedB) at least eight years old already during the late 80sC) A Billy Joel fanThen again I'm probably just bad a

Welcome to the NBA playoffs

Published on 2008-05-06 00:27:00

TNT has done it again. For the second straight year, the network has made an advertisement that captures best what the playoffs are like for the teams and fans. I think last year's version is cooler though. The brash narration of Jeremy Piven, who was in Ari Gold mode, on what the "central characters" should do to win the title was just too hard to top. The part about the Detroit Pistons was simply brilliant hyping at its best. The rest of the ad was not so shabby either.Anyway, TNT went w

Journalism then....

Published on 2008-03-23 05:02:00

And nowThanks to JB and Bryant for the videos.

Growing up

Published on 2008-03-12 04:42:00

A few months ago, my friends and I had a hilarious conversation on how back in college, we thought that it was creepy for people our age to be in relationships with employed people. Paolo put our sentiment best in these words "Yuck may trabaho na boyfriend/girlfriend nyan?"It dawned on me, and probably them too, that the tables have turned. If one among the singles in our group were to have a relationship with a colegiala or, Heaven forbid, a high schooler, the girl's friends would also probably

Tama na! Sobra na! Palitan na!

Published on 2008-03-09 05:40:00

Sometimes watching Philippine entertainment programs is as infuriating as watching news about Malacañang . The characters are laughable. The performances are terrible. And the script? Let's just say ABS-CBN, GMA 7, and Malacañang all deserve a refund.As you may have already figured out, I am not the biggest fan of Philippine television. And the current crop of shows are not about to win me over. I am in the minority though. This year, a Philippine TV show got a viewership share of 50%. Most pr

Joys and sorrows of journalism

Published on 2008-03-05 04:47:00

During his brief stay in Uruguay for a convention last year, JB said a fellow participant described NGO workers as overworked, underpaid, and always in a hurry. The guy might as well have been describing journalists.And as if those aren't enough to make journalists switch professions, there are other disincentives. In places classified by CPJ and RSF as red zones, journalists also have to contend with people who either want to kill them or throw them in jail. Numerous journalists put up with s

New CMFR publication on libel

Published on 2008-03-03 09:34:00

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) has released Libel as Politics, a publication that examines libel from the perspective of law, history, politics, and press practice.The volume provides an insight why defamation remains a crime in the Philippines despite constitutional provisions guaranteeing press freedom and expression.Efforts to decriminalize libel have not prospered as politicians often use it as an effective harassment tool against journalists who subject them to unfla

Jun Lozada, Thomasian

Published on 2008-02-18 21:19:00

This half-page ad appeared on page A17 of today's issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer .Well it's about time.

Confessions of a hopeless unromantic

Published on 2008-02-15 18:17:00

Being romantic is something I am not good at. Just ask my girlfriend. She would readily regale you with stories on the ways I've managed to fall to new lows in this aspect of our relationship year after year. Like other unromantics, I have convinced myself that it's not necessary to be romantic on the days majority of the population have agreed to be the most apt time to show off their amorous side . In my mind, Valentines Day is a capitalist invention meant to get people to shell out money un

Goodbye Phoenix Suns. It was fun while it lasted

Published on 2008-02-06 02:35:00

The Phoenix Suns, the team that reintroduced basketball fans to the joy and potency of small ball, died last February 6. It was three years old. I am exaggerating of course. The team is very much alive. But with do-everything forward Shawn Marion’s shipment to the Miami Heat for future Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal, the Suns as we know them are no more. The Rules of Sports Fandom states that fans should stick to one team per league. But I strongly believe that basketball fans e

New CMFR project

Published on 2008-01-31 22:27:00

To generate discussion on the unique ethical issues that confront journalism in Asia, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the Asia Media Forum (AMF) launched a blog site on journalism ethics last Jan. 30. The site, Eye on the Asian Media: Asia Media Forum (http://www.eyeonethics.org), will feature stories and analyses on ethical issues facing journalism in Asia—a region in turmoil and change as well as stability and progress. Readers may comment on the articles as well

Reminiscing about the V

Published on 2008-01-26 13:55:00

I was planning to write something that can make people weepy and proud of their stay at the Varsitarian. But seeing that other Amihans or former V writers have already done that, I am taking a different tack. (For those who want the tears and pride inducing articles though, those two are the best ones I’ve read.)"There was a flurry of blog updates last Sunday as former and current staffers of the Varsitarian, the official student organ of the University of Santo Tomas, waxed nostalgic after at

Another failed attempt at public speaking

Published on 2008-01-26 13:52:00

My brother got married on Jan. 19. As his best man I was supposed to deliver the last speech. I gave an eye-moistening speech in a calm and composed manner as I usually do. We'll at least that was how I envisioned things would turn out. To make the story short, I bombed yet again. Hopefully that was the last public speaking or rather public stuttering engagement I will ever do. When it's my turn to get married, I am taping whatever I have to say. Here's the message I delivered (with some changes

Lack of time

Published on 2008-01-14 11:23:00

This, I believe, will be a recurring theme in this space. A few months after I vowed I would regularly update this blog, I am again confronted by the reality that time is resource that I simply have little of. So despite the number of topics that I promised myself I would tackle extensively here, I have to be satisfied with discussing them in bullet form. In order of importance here are some of the things that have been on my mind recently: *The Varsitarian, UST‘s official student publ

Mutual funds 101

Published on 2007-12-15 10:55:00

There are said to be three types of people when it comes to finances. There are spenders, who seek immediate gratification; savers, characterized by their willingness to delay gratification for safety and security; and finally, there are investors, those who seek financial independence. According to financial adviser Francisco Colayco, most Filipinos do not have a strong savings culture and thus belong to the first category. However, most of the savers do not have the necessary financial k

IPO

Published on 2007-12-14 02:37:00

The initial public offerings (IPOs) of promising companies are events generally greeted by much enthusiasm by the public. After all, IPOs usually mean that outsiders get to partake in the fortunes of a company that they hope will lead them to greater fortune. Although I already have two previous entries here, I consider this my IPO. But let me clariffy first that I am using IPO here loosely. I do know that it is a business jargon, I am just using the term because this is what it is- an initial o

Red Rowdy once more

Published on 2007-10-20 11:30:00

This is me eating my words.After saying that I was done with the Houston Rockets when they encountered a bad case of the coughs (a natural reaction to choking) in the playoffs, here I am again back on their side. To my defense, I did say that they can expect me back if they upgraded. And that's what exactly what they did.After a flurry of activity in the off-season, that saw them adding eight new players, and hiring a new general manager and a coach, people are now projecting the Rockets to fin

Math phobia

Published on 2007-08-24 03:21:00

If the saying “Man is afraid of what he cannot understand” were applied to me, Math would be comparable Sadako, a creature that freaks me out so bad, a shriek normally follows whenever I see or think about her. While I don’t scream whenever I am faced with exotic mathematical equations, the prospect having to solve one is enough to reduce me to a pile of sobs and sweat. Unlike my fear of the supernatural, my dread for Math is rational. For more than half of my academic life, math whooped m