My Own Little Man-Diary

Thursday, January 26

All That Remains

A friend told me of his plan of getting bald. He encouraged me to join him in his endeavor. When I asked why he was doing it, he told me because he wanted to be bald during his internship. Well, that was the gist of it.

The guy had never been bald, which is a lie of course. We all come out of the womb with little or no hair, and even then when you were inside growing you were bound to start from being hairless. I had been bald once only since my childhood. Why I did it, I don't know really.

The one thing I remember from that experience is the reaction of my mother. From getting my haircut, I went straight home and do the things that I do, which is first and foremost, turning on the computer. I idly sat down and left my door ajar. When my mother passed by my bedroom door to get to hers, she noticed that my head had been shaved. That moment was priceless.

Not all good memories emerge from hairless heads. Well, not then. A day in the city that never sleeps and my sister and I decide to go out and have a haircut. My sister had her minds set on having a mohawk. On the other hand, I wanted to have hair that swept my face. It was on the verge of my FOB(fall out boy) days, and the hairstyle was popular then.

We went to a barbershop that was up in Queens, far away from where we lived, but my sister said this was where she usually has her hair cut(or just in the area, I'm not quite sure anymore), so we went. It was like a Chinatown in Queens, the stores were mostly labeled in Chinese, and so were the people. Maybe it was Chinatown Queens. The barbershop, not surprising, was employed with Chinese people. The woman who cut our hair was not really good at speaking English, or when she did speak it was with her very heavy Chinese accent.

The poor woman could not grasp my sister's directions clearly, and the work she did on my sister's hair was nothing close to a mohawk. If only she could press Undo like in photoshop. So with the unsatisfactory hair my sister had, she told the woman to just shave it all off. The Chinese woman was shocked because, well, she must have thought she did a pretty good job, might as well have given herself a pat on the back. My sister didn't mind, this was option #2.

When we got home, we were waiting for our dad to arrive. He always arrived near dinner time. Our dad was carrying a bunch of papers for I don't know what (je ne sais quoi). When he opened the door, he glanced at me then to my sister then threw the papers at my direction and, in a fit of rage, walked out the door. Well, that turned out nicely.

Years have passed and my hair had evolved into different hairstyles. This was, in turn, thanks to hair wax. I could mold my hair any way I would liked. And this continued on until earlier this morning, when I took up my friend's offer, months before he did the same.

Why I did it? No reason, nothing but to try it again. It seems that there must be some reason to cut hair, especially if you wanted it bald. This is popularized by mainstream TV shows that sometimes show when a character is going through something. Sometimes, it is true though, all the more for cancer patients. When it comes to the that, going bald is more like a symbolic gesture of control.

This is the process of how it went down.

Before, During, After (or near)
The one thing I was really looking forward to was my friends' reactions. When I told them of my plans the day prior(or at some point before that), they were really against the whole idea, saying that I wouldn't look good bald-headed. I agreed with them. I often classify my hair as an asset, like my glasses. When they saw me, they were shocked, but were retracting their statements, some preferred my old hair.

I kind of miss my hair already. And I keep telling myself, it'll grow back. And it will.

I just wish some of it grew on my face.

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What was done cannot be undone, but what once was can be rebuilt from the ashes.



Wednesday, January 18

Dark Days of the Internet

It has begun.

The blackout has started, with the most popular site being Wikipedia. Other sites have also done the same, blocking/lessening any user interaction for the most of January 18, 2012.  Notable sites participating in the blackout: Google, Wordpress, Reddit, Mozilla, and many more. For a more detailed list: check here.

The strike is to fight against two bills proposed by US legislators: the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). When the SOPA was first introduced, it was met with very negative reactions, mainly from the web community.

SOPA, as it name entails, aims to stop online piracy but many believe that this is not actually going to do that. As I'm not really good at reading laws, or just lazy to do it. I'm gonna redirect you to http://blog.reddit.com/, which is part of the strike. The homepage shows an article on what they believe about the effects of passing SOPA and PIPA

Most people are unaware of the fact that SOPA can be damaging to the global community that is the internet. Casual users that go online for social media sites like facebook and twitter might not have the luxury on doing so. SOPA, as I've read, violates the First Amendment which prohibits  the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. With freedom of speech most affected.


If passed, search engines might have to censor links to other websites. Some websites might not be available to go to. And any site with at least a page of "infringement" could be gone for good. Well, until they make another one. Streaming media can also be considered a crime, this is a very big deal to frequent YouTube goers.




This mostly affects the United States. But with the US considered to be a leader in the world, other countries are bound to follow suit, enacting similar laws. To have a clearer image of what this will be like, this will be like living in China, a communist country. 


I, personally, am having trouble in writing this post. Not having the backing of my usual knowledge-to-go site, Wikipedia, I've come to realize at how much I've relied on the site. But that's what it's for, it's for the community. Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, was in a good place starting this website. And I fear if SOPA is made law, internet websites won't have the luxury of booming like others did. 


Wikipedia on Jan 18, 2012, 24 hours of darkness


Casual users may not appreciate acting against this right now, but if and when social media starts getting censored, they'll have a more active role. By then, it would be a little too late. So, start fighting against SOPA and PIPA now. 


Censorship is a  ████ .


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LOL, I get how stop SOPA sounds stupid. (Stop, stop..) 


Do your part now!


Links to oppose SOPA:  (most of the petitions are for US residents only, but you can still help)
http://americancensorship.org/modal/state-dept-petition/index.html
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
http://stopcensorship.org/
If you have a facebook, twitter account or on any other social media account, say something about SOPA, raise awareness.

Click here to change your profile picture to show your for stopping SOPA.http://blackoutsopa.org/goddre

#sopastrike #stopsopa


Further reading:
http://blog.reddit.com/
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr3261
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112s968 

BTW, it's possible to circumvent the Wikipedia blackout, https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/English_Wikipedia_SOPA_blackout/Technical_FAQ%20






Monday, January 9

Zero 2 Twenty

Since the ringing of the New Year, I have been counting down the days 'til my birthday. And that day is now upon us. But few people knew that already. FEW. Many people didn't know, or didn't realize.

I had thought about doing an experiment whether people actually remembered my birthday. Nowadays, people have a habit of relying on facebook to tell them that it is, in fact, someone's birthday. Well, I'm not exactly one to talk. In times, I do check facebook for whoever is celebrating his/her birthdays, but most of the time really, I don't. I have my phone's calendar for that.

I really had a mind of going on about removing my birthday from my profile, so people won't actually see it. They just had to know it was that day, my nameday! But I thought about how people might really not remember, and don't really greet at all and how it might get me down.

Not telling people was not going well when I was having a celebration a few days my actual birthday. Saturday evening, I had my party and invited a few of my friends over. They would ask what occasion there was, I would respond that there just was. Some people got the hint that it was me celebrating my birthday. Sadly, knowing I don't dole out invitations to eat somewhere on a daily basis, some people didn't get it.

My mother and I had posted some pictures of the event, and some people who saw it actually thought that my birthday was on that day. So, some people posted on my timeline (for ancient users, "wall") on facebook and mentioned me on twitter, and I replied that it wasn't yet. It was just the party that was advanced, family members didn't greet me on that day which was right. Well, one did start greeting me on the sixth. And again on the seventh.

The time had come! January 9th had come! My 20th nameday! On the strike of midnight, I tweeted, "0 to 20." This meant the end of my countdown, which to some became pretty obvious what I was counting down to. Two friends greeted since the ninth started, and I haven't even slept yet. On facebook, two again posted on my timeline, one my dad and the other, the same person who texted me, he greeted again on twitter. Then I slept, but it took awhile before I got to it.

The morning of the ninth, I wasn't expecting much. Living in the day and age of technology, memory could easily be erased from storage, or in the case of the brain, hidden under many layers of other memories. Family greetings are almost always the first to come, they should know when you were born. It's like a requirement for their living, and the same responsibility is bestowed upon you.

When I had gotten to school, the same people who went to my party were the first to greet me. And this was in front of the class, so naturally, classmates started greeting. And non-classmates chimed in as well, when mutual friends told one another. Such is the word of mouth, a very powerful tool indeed.

People have a way of thinking that something is missing, or ought to be happening, that "oh yeah" moment when you realize that you know what it really is. When older friends got to that moment, they texted me. Text messages varied on the time of day. Some greeted in the morning and in the evening, but most really were in the afternoon. I was glad to know my high school friends remembered even without the notification on facebook.

Nothing noteworthy really happened on my birthday, but it's nice to get recognition for being born; even if it's social media that makes it happen. When I got home a number of people had posted on my timeline, I could literally count how many.

It's kind of sad how I want people to greet me on facebook for my birthday, but truthfully it's a nice feeling when they do, even if they barely know you. Or if you've since grown apart by time or location.

To all my friends who greeted me, in person or in any social media site I'm on, thank you. Really. To those who just forgot, were busy, or had something else on their mind, I hope you see I had my notification on again. Greet me nao! ;)

Now, I'm just giving out thank yous like a whore.

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Highlights of my day today:

  • Went back to the gym
  • Controversial test got null and void. #dueprocess
  • Bought myself a new pair of shoes (for the gym)



Saturday, December 31

End of the Year Thoughts

You know, 365 days could really just happen in a snap. It doesn't really. It take three hundred and sixty-five days. So, it must take a while. While you're in it, days just seem to stretch out. But when it's the last day of the year, it doesn't feel that way.

Of course, that's just me.

As I'm typing this down, people are starting to go nuts with fireworks. People are just too excited, or just have too many of it in stock. Either way, using the more expensive kinds this early could really be a sign of your wealth, or your impatience which says a lot about you. Dicks. Or Bitches. Take your pick.

To say "nothing much" has happened this year would be lying. From my own experience alone, I can say that a lot of things have happened. School-wise, I failed three subjects; and other things. Life events? I spent a month at New York and I lost a noticeable amount of weight which, I imagine, is a good thing.

I think most years just play out as they would. You spend most of the year at school or at work, sometimes even both. You celebrate your birthday. You celebrate other people's birthdays. You observe holidays. Most things in the year are routine.

The birthdays are always things you want to look forward to. If you're like me, you expect the gifts that are coming your way. If you're really like me, you expect the cash in-flow to be really be good at the time of the year. Holidays are just those days you don't really do much of anything. There are those select holidays when you have to do something, like All Souls' day.

People really look forward to the end of the year, and the start of the next one. But just as the new year starts, there's a feeling that you want it to end already. There are just a lot of perks at the end of the year, that's why. For young people, there's the Christmas break/gift. For the working class, there's the 13th month pay. And for the sentimental, time with the family.

Why wouldn't people want the year to end already?

Anyway, I don't have much to say really. Sorry for the tacky post. It's one way to end the year. Maybe I could write a better one tomorrow, when it's 2012.

Happy New Year, guys.

BTW, it's been a year tomorrow since I started blogging. Cheers to that.

Accomplishment. Bitch.

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My YIR (year-in-review)

  • I turned 19.
  • Failed 1 class.
  • Went to NY.
  • Lost some weight.
  • Failed another 2 classes.
Failing seems to be the theme for my YIR.


Monday, December 12

The Five Stages of Bloodletting

Today is a very special Monday for me! It's the 3rd month since I donated blood, and I woke up feeling the glee of being 450ml lighter and being able to help someone in need of it, in that order. No, really.

So anyway, I got up like I always do, at 5 AM feeling sleep deprived and aching to go back to bed. And my morning routine followed soon after. It's a good day when you know you're about to help people, and be lighter. 

Red Cross is not part of the route when I take the jeepney to go to school. So, I had to go another way to save money and time. And so I got there, ready to go through all the natural processes of bloodletting: answer a quick interview form, hate the lancet prick, go through a quick physical exam, and be on my way to the bus where they would bleed me.

The interview form had all the natural things. It stated to check on the things that are applicable to you, at the present time. First question was if I was feeling okay today. I felt very dandy today, I would have placed if that had a special tick for that. And the rest was history. I got to the last check box stating that I believe that my blood is safe for transfusion. And I went ahead and checked that too.
Just dandy.

A red cross employee came by and asked if we could just run through my answers and verify everything. I obliged.

RCE: Feeling well today? -- Yep!
RCE: Taken alcohol within the last 12 hours? -- Nope!
RCE: Will operate heavy machinery after donation? -- Don't count on it, Missy!
RCE: Have had a tooth extraction? -- Yep, about a month ago!

I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid you're unable to donate. 

My heart sank. "Why?" I asked.

RCE: We have a new policy stating that if you've had a tooth extraction then you are unqualified to donate blood for at least a year after extraction.

But it says tooth extraction 72 hours before! 

RCE: I'm really sorry, sir. 

I was really hoping she was just kidding. I thought that this couldn't be possibly happening to me. If I hadn't gotten that tooth out, it would have been hell for me. I couldn't even go to sleep the night before I had the thing removed. 

A fury lit up inside me. I was, at this point, very angry. I was cursing, low enough to not cause a scene, but enough for her to hear me. This was the only thing I could do. It was a for a good cause, surely this person could not deny me this!

So, I bargained. I asked her if they could make an exception. I told her that it said in the form only 72 hours before. I had answered truthfully. I'm supposed to give blood today, I was supposed to be a galloner! Just sitting right across me, she asked a colleague. And the other employee bluntly said, "No. One year."

I was crushed. And I walked out of there pretty upset, still cursing. Instead of going to school feeling good about myself, I ended up being pissed. And we still had a test to take, and I had yet to study. I had half a mind to tell one of my friends about what happened to me today, but not really tell them myself. Instead opting for them to ask due to my moody demeanor. Petty, I know.

The test went by, and a friend of mine was busy doing something. I approximated myself near her, and sighed. And being a good friend, she asked what was wrong. Without thinking, I said I was okay. A stupid thing to say when you want to talk to someone about something. She didn't ask again, but I told her anyway.

And after all the denial and the anger passed, I came to accept that maybe it was for the better. I was still pretty bummed about the whole ordeal, but in time I realized that maybe certain precautions had to be taken before just taking anyone's blood. 

Through the whole thing, the Red Cross employee was very nice. She tried very hard not to upset me more. She really tried to convince me to come back in one year, making it seem like it isn't too long. And well, maybe it isn't.

Although my little thing at being altruistic didn't happen today, it could happen some other day, a year from now. It'll be the last good thing I would do, depending we survive December 21, 2012.

Hey, the New Year is less than three weeks away. And in case, I don't write about anything again for this month, advance Merry Christmas to you guys. It's good to know someone is reading. (Even if you aren't really.)

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But seriously though, Red Cross, change your damn forms. 



Tuesday, November 29

Dark Knight Forever

It's official! Filming has wrapped on one of the most anticipated movies of next year. This movie is none other than The Dark Knight Rises. It is the last in the Christopher Nolan trilogy story-arc. And is set to blow our fucking minds. Give in to the inevitable, boys and girls. (For more mind-blowing, see Inception)

In 2005, the Batman franchise was rebooted into a gritty, realistic successor. The first film, Batman Begins, went back to its roots to explain how Batman came to be. It set the bar for gritty reboots everywhere, especially when talking about superhero movies. The only popular movie before would be Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. In a way, it had paved way for superhero movies.

In Batman Begins, it shows Bruce Wayne as he was before he put on the cowl; his journeys away from Gotham and his training with Ra's al Ghul. In the eyes of the League of Shadows, Gotham City is deemed corrupt and must be cleansed (burned to the ground). But like Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne, he believed that Gotham still has a chance. And with that premise, he chose to be Batman to become a symbol that Gotham needed.

The origins of the story of Batman had always been a standard. The witnessing of the murder of his parents had always remained constant. This was especially hard to reboot(in the comic books) because, essentially, Batman's origins are perfect.

In the old version of Batman which was directed by Tim Burton, Bruce had seen the murder of his parents, but in showed that Joker, in someway, did it. In the 2005 reboot, Joe Chill kills his parents when they go out of the opera house in a hurry. Although willing to hand over their belongings,   the mugger still killed the unfortunate couple which in turn set the stage for Batman.



                  Alfred Pennyworth: Why bats, Master Wayne?
                  Bruce Wayne: Bats frighten me. It's time my enemies shared my dread.


Bats have become a fear of Bruce, since falling down a well into a cave, when he was younger. This fear indirectly led to the murder of his parents, and also the creation of Batman. Through the training with Ra's al Ghul, he has learned to embrace his fear. And he epitomizes it, by being putting on the cowl.


Since the release of Batman Begins, people had wanted to look more into the adventures of the Dark Knight. Inevitably, a sequel was released in 2008, The Dark Knight. The film was a massive hit, largely because of Heath Ledger's haunting performance of the Joker, Batman's archenemy.


The film itself depicted chaos through the doings of Joker. It also showed the morals of Batman were threatened by the horrors of Joker's evil deeds. Batman has always shown an aversion to killing. It was his number 1 rule, and in someway his greatest flaw. 


Joker's intent on having Batman break his "one rule," led to the destruction of Gotham City, the death of the love of his life, and her lover, Gotham's White Knight. This was a dilemma on Batman, when asked to choose between two locations that were set to blow up. Batman had intended to save Rachel, but to his dismay he was lead the wrong way by the Joker. 


The death of Rachel also made it easier for Gotham's White Knight to fall in the hands of the Joker. The grief of Rachel's death paved the way for Two-Face to come to life. Basing his actions with a flip of a coin, he left everything to luck. 




                        Joker: Uhh, you... You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an                  unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness... and I won't kill you because you're just too much fun! I think you and I are destined to do this forever.


Gotham's White Knight had already been changed. And in the end, he died when he and Batman fell. And although Batman was not responsible for the death, he chose to be. So that the city would not lose hope on it's once great leader. 


The ending showed Batman running away from the Police. And Lt. James Gordon says to his child that Batman is the hero that Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs. 


And credits roll.


The second installment was a success. And people can't wait for the sequel, especially me who has become very invested in the franchise. 


I had followed the development of this epic since its announcement, which only made it more exciting for me. I would look at leaked photos from the set, and follow with the interviews the cast made. But nothing gets you pumped up for a movie more than viral marketing.


The very first campaign for the new movie was the official website that had audio of people chanting. And that led to a twitter account. If a twitter user placed #TheFireRises and mentions the twitter account, the user would be part of a mosaic that would eventually become the first official photo of Tom Hardy as Bane.


I was very excited to be part of it, pictures of every user had become a pixel to the large image and I had been a part of the process. Social media had really paved the way for viral marketing.


Months later, a trailer was released. It was attached to the last film in the Harry Potter series. It was Gordon talking, and there were chants at the end of it. And that's another thing right there.


Hans Zimmer, the person who scores the film, crowdsourced online. He invited everyone to chant the words to be part of the phenomenon. And being myself, I got on the bandwagon and recorded my chant like a crazy person. 


With a release date of July 20, 2012, it couldn't be farther away. But with each passing day, the set date draws closer and closer! I'm even watching Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol on IMAX to get a glimpse of the movie's prologue.


Can't wait! 


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This post just goes to show how I'm such a fan. Ask anyone, they'll agree. This isn't my best post, probably very redundant, in fact. Mind me.


















Friday, November 4

Literary Wyrm

I had just finished reading a book.

One thing I really wanted to read since it first came out was Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Having read all except one of his books, Dan Brown was fast becoming my favorite author. The third book in the series which features professor Robert Langdon who specializes in symbology.

I had taken interest in his books because of the then controversial release of The Da Vinci Code. My sister and I then bought all the books by Dan Brown: Deception Point, Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code. And just because it piqued my curiosity more, I read The Da Vinci Code first, not thinking that it was the 2nd book in the series. I like Angels & Demons better.

The only Dan Brown book I haven't read was Deception Point. I had only started to read it, but I put it down after reading a couple pages. I had gotten lazy, since reading Digital Fortress which kind of disappointed me. But people tell me that the book is good, and I'll probably go back to reading it, and finishing this time.

The Lost Symbol is the most recent book I've read, but a couple of months before I had read The Little Prince which I read in one night. I am proud, the only other book I've read in a night was Mitch Albom's For One More Day. I read it, simply because I was bored. And a few weeks before reading The Little Prince, I read George R. R. Martin's  A Game of Thrones from the series A Song of Ice and Fire. I wish to read all the books in the series.

I only read A Game of Thrones because I had watched the HBO adaptation of it, Game of Thrones. I saw the series before reading the book and still felt compelled to read it. And after reading the book, I watched every episode again and found that I understood the whole mythos more, even noticed slight changes from the book, like the renaming of Jon Arryn's child into Robin, rather than Robert. This was done so that viewers would not confuse him with Robert Baratheon, from which the child was named.

I'm no bookworm, that's for sure. But with all the books I've read, I actually read more than a lot of my friends who don't read at all. This is with the exception of school books, of course. But if that counts, I lost the reading contest.

And I realized somewhere along writing this post that I only read books that are popular. I've even read the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. This would put-off most male readers because the Twilight series is intended for teenage girls. I don't mind having read the series, and if someone asks me, I'll say Team Jacob.

One series that I haven't read yet is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The books always seem to elude me. The only book I've read is the first, and having seen all movies, some plot points are already known to me. If someone's reading this post right now who hasn't seen the movies, but is reading the novels first, you heard it here first. Dumbledore is GAY. You're welcome.

There are a lot of books out there that have a cult following, most of this involving some form of mythology that only expands with every passing book. Some books that adapted to film are even more famous as a film than it's source, Jurassic Park is one quite example.

There are some books that I've read that are quite surprising even for me, just because I've read it. I've read a novel by R. A. Salvatore, a very popular author known for his Forgotten Realms books. The name of the book fazed me, but after a minute of searching the net by typing a few keywords I remembered, I can say that the title of the book was The Crystal Shard which is part of The Icewind Dale trilogy.

I've actually really just want to read more these days, but without funding I'm stuck with reading eBooks which is, for me, harder to read. There's really just a different feeling with flipping a page with your finger. Most days, I just watch TV series and lie in bed.

And honestly, reading just seemed like a better hobby.