RESPONSE BLOG #1: The Dancing Inmates of the Philippines are Back! But is it for Good?

The dancing prisoners of Cebu in the Philippines are back. This time one of Michael Jackson's choreographers was flown in from the U.S. to teach inmates a new dance routine to top their original "Thriller" performance in 2007 that made them an instant viral video sensation.

PERSONAL BLOG #2: Buying Sex is Not a Sport

The Olympics is a time to celebrate human excellence and sportsmanship, but it also exposes the worst in human behavior. An event unknown to many that takes place during large sporting events like the Olympics is human sex trafficking -- a dirty little sport played mostly by male tourists that victimizes many innocent women and children. According to a report by The Future Project, an anti-human trafficking organization in Canada, the sex trade grows exponentially during the Olympics. The number of sex trade victims doubled in 2004 during the Athens Games and still hasn’t returned to pre-2004 levels.

WEEKLY BLOG #3: Changes on the Way People Communicate Changes Society

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations is a book I just started reading on what happens when people are given the tools to do things together, without needing traditional organizational structures. Author Clay Shirky elaborated a fascinating thesis that we’re now going from a world where the media’s role to inform changes to a new role of sharing and collaborative action to bring change. Shirky also noted that changes on the way people communicate changes society (more on embedded video below).

PERSONAL BLOG #1: Celebrating Tim Tebow

The pro-life movement almost went nuts over Tim Tebow's Super Bowl ad aired last Sunday. Below is the clip and you decide if commercial was worth the fuss. Tell me what's so controversial about it? Personally, I didn't see anything divisive, political or anti-choice on the ad.

WEEKLY BLOG #2: Will the World's First Blogger Please Stand Up?

Names that claims to be the world's first blogger is shady. As CNET News said, 

Awarding the bragging rights a the first blogger is more than a little tricky because the definitions of "blog" and "blogger" are slippery. Any definition should probably include posts sorted by date, with the newest posts at the top and the rest archived for future use. 

WEEKLY BLOG #1: The Cluetrain Revolution

I just started reading the "Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business As Usual" for class. The book was published a decade ago but the essence of the book remains current and applicable to this day. Cluetrain Manifesto has 95 Theses that serves as  the "golden rules" a company should live but in order to be succesful in their business. But the theses can be summed up into three main points: (1) Market are conversations; (2) the internet is about giving the public a voice; and (3) understanding and engaging in the conversation can lead to results organizations want.

Pessimistic About Smartmatic?

Public cynicism toward politics seems to be an all-time high. Many express disgust for the political process and many are unhappy with the corruption and dishonesty that are expected to occur during election season. That’s why I am hopeful that COMELEC is boldly going where no Philippine election has gone before, automated polling.

Psyched 100 Days Before the Philippine Elections, May 10

I'm totally psyched this week because of my social media class at Georgetown. I'm ready to learn from my professors and begin hands-on application of the various social media platforms online. We're required to write 18 blog posts and I'll be posting my blog assignments on the The Living Rice in the next three months or so - please pardon me if you see entries that are not related to what I usually post on this site (requirement lang po sa eskwela).

Would You Allow a Bronze Statue of Barrack Obama in the Philippines?

I posted a question on Facebook that I want to publish here on the blog. Apparently, our neighbors in Indonesia are debating if a bronze statue of a young President Barrack Obama should remain displayed on Jakarta’s Menteng Park. Obama was known to live in Jakarta when his mother married an Indonesian man in the late 60’s. The statue was unveiled near the elementary school Obama went to and was intended to inspire young Indonesians to dream big. Opponents of the statue which are mostly organized through social media argue that a statue of a native Indonesian should be honored instead of Barrack Obama who is an American. They also claim that Obama has not yet played a significant role in helping Indonesians nor has any important connection to the country except for knowing a few Indonesian words.

Epigenetics and Sin

TIME magazine's cover story on the new science of epigenetics examines evidence that environmental factors like diet and stress can make an imprint on ones gene's without changing the DNA, and can be passed down from one generation to the next.

I still can't wrap my mind around the possible implications of epigenetics on the "I was born this way" argument, commonly heard from many claiming genetic predisposition for behaviors such as homosexuality and sexual infidelity. But the article reminded me of the numerous Biblical warnings about sin and its consequences passed down from fathers and succeeding generations.