Confessions on the blog post

When the witness is faker
When victim is oppressor
When the lawyer is liar
When the judge is judgemental
Should I put myself on trial?

When feminists discriminate
When friends hate
When advocacy is put to shame
And innocents are blamed
Should feminism be acclaimed?

When the gurus are ignorant
Selfishness is blatant
Spirituality is a fucked up chant
Self idolatry is a pechant
Can the naive be complainant?

Should I? Should? Can?

Just Quit?

My take for now on the poem Don't Quit, whose author is Unknown.

Just Quit

When things go wrong, as they ALWAYS will
When the road you're trudging IS REALLY uphill
When the funds are NO MORE and the debts KILL YOU
you DON'T want to smile, AND you ALWAYS CRY

When care is pressing you TOO MUCH
Rest ALL THE WAY - JUST quit
Life is QUEER with its twists and turns AND OVERTURNS
As everyone of us NEVER learns

And many a failure turns about
When he might have won IN THE NEXT LIFE
COME ON give up, YOU CAN'T DANCE TO A pace SO slow
You might BE DEAD with another blow

Success is failure AND THAT'S IT
And you ALWAYS never can tell how close you are
It IS ALWAYS FAR when it seems so NEAR
THE FUCK WITH the fight EVEN when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst, That YOU HAVE TO QUIT!


(to 'Author Unknown' of the original poem, just forgive me, okay?)

Sweet sweat shop

The Pinikpikan gig in 70s Bistro last night was a sweatshop. Unlike the maquiladoras who have been organizing to push for improved working conditions (know more about them and let us support them people), the women who sweat it all last night were there to enjoy and express their sensuality dancing to Pinikpikan music.

I love seeing women free themselves and not be afraid of showing how sexy they can get when the music is just so right. Yes, the men simply enjoyed the supple bodies and danced too. One thing special about Pinikpikan nights is that regardless of who you are, you can simply enjoy and dance. Pinikpikan gets inspiration from its audiences-- when people enjoy, we enjoy.

We simply love it when the audience turns into a living organism of hot bodies on the verge of an orgasm.

V for Vendetta, Vivid, Valiant, Visionary, Victorious, Vicious…

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." -- V for Vendetta

If you are confused with what is going on in the world today and you are scared but unsure of what might happen if vicious, power-hungry people continue ruling the world, go see V for Vendetta. Now showing in theaters nationwide!

A movie like a good smoke, satisfying sex, perfect drink, sound sleep, and what-have-you. Clear shot of raindrops falling on Natalie Portman’s (Evey) bald head (observed by my filmmaker friend), smooth swooshing swords in V’s last fight scene, seamless marriage of film and theater, etc., but, most of all, story-telling with depth, imagination and premonition.

Yes, the movie might be too revolutionary for the taste of tight-assed people in power. But like it or not, V simply hooks every viewer. It presents a world we always feared, a societal developmental disorder in danger of going nowhere but ground zero... if we do not do something about it.

The Wachowski brothers, the movie's screenwriters ( also behind the Matrix movies) have mastered story-telling with artistry, intellect and vision. What I like most is how they utilized the theories from college that most of us have forgotten.

Some cool use of theories from the movie...

Conspiracy theory to expose government conspiracies to wreak havoc in the lives of their citizens and lure people into believing that they need a stronger, authoritarian government that can protect them (sounds familiar?).

Reinforcement and cultivation theories for media's part in making people believe government lies. But also inoculation theory for the television viewers who have become resistant to lies. If any media person does not follow, he/she will end up dead like the television host who made fun of and showed the ironies and truth about the state head.

Symbolic interaction theory for V's convincing argument with Evey why he had to blow up the church tower. A building blown up is more than just a building blown up. It literally blows up socially constructed ideas, but presented as truths, that the building symbolizes.

Chaos theory for the rationale of V's vengeance that will lead to the end the vicious cycle of government abuse of power and supression of people's thinking. Conflict and disorder brings new and better order, again, if we do something about it.

Systems theory for explaining how a corrupt government's control of societal institutions such as the church and businesses leads to a systemic cancer; how there are no coincidences, that bits of pieces of this and that make up the whole, or the hole.

Feminist theory for the male-created repressive government. Yes, some women conspired to create such a government but the boardroom scenes (key officials talking to state head on the big screen) were all males. The screenwriters even included a subplot where homosexuals were persecuted but stood strong. Also, Evey had the final decision to push down the lever of that train that leads to bringing down parliament to clean up the mess of the past.

And I must insist, people power theory or EDSA theory (sino'ng aangal diyan ha?). Only this time, the terrorist prepared the way for people to gather on the streets and watch the symbol-of-power building collapse. With the EDSA 1, 2 and, some say, 3, in our country, will we have to wait until something similar happens?

Lots of theories more, what can you add?

No, no. I am not saying blowing up buildings cure society's diseases. I am just saying or going with the idea that blowing up, shaking up, or questioning those concepts and realities we just accept without questioning their validity might eventually lead us to a better understanding of our world and how we change it.

In a chaotic world, indeed, theories, most often, are keys to understanding. It is just up to us what we do with that understanding. We die because of it? We live it?

In any case, we eventually die and the theories live on. VaVaVa-Voom!
Peace ya all.

Hardened feminist

If calling you Patriarchal because you wouldn't let me speak is hardened feminist, then I am
If branding you chauvinist because you think men are superior is hardened feminist, then I am
If punching you back because you punched me first is hardened feminist, then I am
If hating you for oppressing the women race is hardened feminist, then I am
If asking for equal pay for equal work is hardened feminist, then I am
If praying for your kingdom's fall is hardened feminist, then I am
Call me hardened, call me mad
Label me insane, declare me ill
Gossip and slander all you want
Call me hardened feminist
I don't care

Whoever said that Feminism is dead does not have a fulltime, rank-and-file job

So many blahs that I hear from chauvinists and those who claim to be feminists that feminism is dead, is no longer relevant.

Try working in a usual office environment, or even a non-government organization where the boss is male and the culture is so male dominated.

These people who proclaim feminism's death do not understand the importance of feminism in putting sanity into a rank-and-file woman's experiences.

Is there a glass ceiling or am I just inept? Will I be smart or will I be beautiful? Shall I speak because my boss does not know what he is doing? Is that sexual harassment or admiration? Am I emotional or is he rude?

Feminism saves women's sanity. It rescues so many women from the brink of acceptance that their plot in life is to follow the male standard.

Pink for pop-feminist icon!

This sexy woman has it all.. gosh. She is just so cool!

In an interview over MTV a while ago, Pink hit the nail on the head when she said that her latest song/music video simply wants to make fun of an idea, not certain celebrities (although they do act so funny!). Pink wants audiences to think. As she succintly puts it, stupid girl videos make girl viewers not to think and simply act funny. Ha!Ha!

Lyrics from PINK's latest song , and let us THINK!

Stupid Girls Stupid girl, stupid girls, stupid girls
Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl,
I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Go to Fred Segal, you'll find them there
Laughing loud so all the little people stare
Looking for a daddy to pay for the champagne(Drop a name)
What happened to the dreams of a girl president
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees
Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be?
Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that,
I don't wanna be a stupid girl
(Break it down now)Disease's growing, it's epidemic
I'm scared that there ain't a cure
The world believes it and I'm going crazy
I cannot take any more
I'm so glad that I'll never fit in
That will never be me
Outcasts and girls with ambition
That's what I wanna see
Disasters all around
World despaired
Their only concern
Will they **** up my hair
Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
[Interlude]Oh my god you guys, I totally had more that 300 calories
That was so not sexy, noGood one, can I borrow that?
[Vomits]I WILL BE SKINNY
(Do ya thing, do ya thing, do ya thing)(I like this, like this, like this)Pretty will you **** me girl, silly as a lucky girl
Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!
Pretty would you **** me girl, silly as a lucky girl
Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, stupid girl!
Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl

Pop feminists hate men and the water is not wet

Remember that anti-feminist Wikipedia article on pop feminism? Well, here is something from a website called Wiktionary, professing connection with the open-content 'encyclopedia' Wikipedia as the latter's lexical companion.

Wiktionary defines Pop Feminism as

Noun
the belief that women are in all ways superior to men

Guess who gave this definition? There are much more lies in the Internet than we thought. And these sites dare ask for donations. Beware.

Wiktionary has this disclaimer: "please be advised that Wiktionary CANNOT guarantee, in any way whatsoever, the validity of the information found here"

Yeah. But it poses as an online dictionary. Students who rely on websites such as these should be warned.

Beyonce the trance

I was not blinking at all. It seemed that I wasn't. I fell into a trance watching Beyonce' vibrate on screen.

It was only after that video that I realized that I did not even remember what the song was or what it was saying. It was the first time that I heard it. All I remembered was Beyonce', her breasts, round butt and long nicely tanned legs.

Most girl teeners simply love 21-year old Beyonce' Knowles. As an advocate of sexual rights, I have would have no right to say that Beyonce's promotion of women's sexual expression is oppressive. It should not be oppressive but liberating instead. But watching her video everyday, everytime I tune in to MTV, somehow gives me an ill-feeling, a kind of discomfort that I would have to confront.

I took a glimpse of Beyonce's profile on the web. She is certainly a very talented musician. She is an artist, an award-winner. There is no doubt that she is a woman of substance.

Beyonce's beauty and stylish function glared at me when an ad on her web revealed that she is promoting a line of dresses, lotion, lipstick and perfume. Oh, I thought she would promote someone like the Philippine liposuction doctor Vicki Belo . I see now that Beyonce' herself is the advertisement.

Saying this about Beyonce is no way saying that she is not a liberating woman character in popular culture. Her confidence in her body has taught a lot of teeners and non-teeners like myself that a woman's body is beautiful, it should be carried with confidence, not something to be hidden.

But I think what makes me wary about the vibrating Beyonce' is that too much of her would make me want to be like her--even if I am not a teener. Just like reinforcement theory in communication. She is just so perfect. If only she can go beneath her glamour and show me the human and not just the advertisement, I would be much more confortable watching her. And she would be definitely be to me a feminist icon in popular culture.

What I fear in the sexually liberating pop-feminism's oppressive tendency is not really the sex, but its part in the propagation of a standard or set of standards that demands too much from my empty pocket.

Men behind the unpopular popular

Pop feminism is extremely unpopular among male chauvinists and some feminists. They see girl power invasion of mainstream media and entertainment--the likes of Lara Croft, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ms. Underworld, and all other gun-toting and sword-swinging vixens -- as an unjustified assertion of female supremacy over the male species.

My question is who created those girls? Lara Croft was invented by Mr. Toby Gard, Buffy was by Mr. Joss Whedon, and Underworld Evolution girl by Patrick Tatopoulos. Think about any popular fierce female film or videogame character and tell me who her creators are.

What is Pop Feminism + Lesson on online fraud and propaganda

First, here is WHAT IT ISN'T. Christopher John Moor, 25 year-old guy with a degree in genetics, signed up in Wikipedia.com is WRONG IN SAYING THAT...

"Pop feminism is a variety of feminism related to misandry and often a consequence of gynocentrism. Its proponents believe in the moral or other superiority of the female gender and cite it to promote social attitudes that favour a matriarchal society, where women enjoy superior rights and men are marginalised. Some groups believe that pop feminism has already instigated the creation of laws that discriminate against men, particularly in the fields of criminal and family law and sexual harassment civil codes.
......

Under pop feminism, beauty is a form of power, and careful attention to one's appearance yields control over men. This contrasts with other forms of feminism that view the quest for beauty as an artifact of a patriarchical society."

To view Mr. Moor's horrible post, click here. To top that, the same Moor article appears in Answers.com.

PLEASE
Mr. Moor, get out of Wikipedia! Pop feminism or any kind of feminism I can think of is not about hating males! You are actually invoking the reader to simply hate feminism and feminists. You give Wikipedia a bad name. Off with your head! If you know what I mean.

Podcasting Exam

Yes. It was like an exam. I thought I had incisive things to say. But it seemed what mattered was the form. I was doing podcast reading my script because our group decided we should come up with a script. I researched info and wrote my piece of shit about liberalism in the Philippines. Well, I feel the like the reception was as bad as the podcast I made! To top that, they are going to make that podcast an example.. of what not to do???? Hmmm, wait a minute, aguray apo, admit it Dr. RM, our group did good with the script. It was just a bit long [because I was so OC (obsessive-compulsive) to make sure my points were clear] and we just lacked time to edit. Yeah!

Well, life is like that. We are not good enough sometimes.

To my groupmates Noemi and Isolde, I think we did good. We had substance. As we all know, good form is always preceeded by substance.

Carol's Gig Sched for March 2006

Hear ye my gig sched for March 2006
30 March-Pinikpikan Band @ EARCOS Conference, Shangri-la Hotel, Ortigas, Pasig City (tentative)
25 March-Pinikpikan Band @ Chateau Royale, Aguinaldo Highway, Nasugbu, Batangas
22 March-Pinikpikan Band @ SaGuijo Cafe, Guijo Street, San Antonio Village, Makati City, 10:00 pm
18 March-Pinikpikan Band @ 70s Bistro, Anonas Street, Project 3, Quezon City, 9:30 pm
16 March-Women's Night @Conspiracy Garden Cafe, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, 9:30 pm
10 March-Women's Party, Ateneo School of Law, Rockwell Drive, Makati (will sing in this party as birthday gift to my officemate Grace!)
08 March-Closing Ceremonies, International Women's Film Festival as performer U.P. Film Center, Diliman, Q.C.
-Women's Night featuring Carol Bello @ MAG:NET Cafe, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Q.C.
03 March - Forum on Women in Film, International Women's Film Festival as panelist and performer U.P. Film Center, Diliman, Q.C.

The fear of RM is the beginning of wise blogging

Nope, not being blasphemous to the Almighty here. Just borrowing this beautiful saying of King Solomon the Wise (the original phrase in English is 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom') so I can thank Dr. Ronald Meinardus, a.k.a RM the German, for making us toil the whole day and create our personal blogs.

Today, March 9, is day one of the two-day blogging and podcasting workshop organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).

RM heads FNF in Makati, Pilipinas. He is tall and you won't miss him (and he won't miss you because he makes sure you do the exercise(!), especially when there is work to be done. Double emphasis/redundancy intended.)

RM's angels---Anne and Narwin prepared everything from calling and emailing us, to preparing the venue. Abe and Manolo, the blog masters are really blog masters, especially because they were just so willing to share!

RM: SO HOW ARE THINGS?
-There, RM enters the room and asks us in his commanding voice.
We answer in low voices.

RM: WHO WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER?
-There, RM again. He said we should show our work. The sun is setting, pawis na rin kilikili ko. Hay, this is my third write up. RM finally picked one girl, Teresa...

RM: OKAY? GOOD?... YES, GO AHEAD. SPEAK UP. IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL DAY.
-Yeah, in other words, Teresa, start your presentation NOW.
-Teresa finishes her presentation.

RM: OKAY? GOOD. ANY COMMENTS?.. YES, PLEASE SPEAK UP.
-Ay, come on people, let us speak up (!).

RM: OKAY, I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT IS VERY EXPRESSIVE.. I COME FROM A COUNTRY WHERE WE ARE VERY SERIOUS...
-I am sure, I am sure...

RM: OKAY, CAROL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
-A, e. (Sagot, Carol!)

RM: YOU MAY NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY BUT MAYBE YOU HAVE A POINT.
-I answered.

RM: THAT WAS ALREADY MENTIONED
-Ayun, tapos (there, I'm a goner).

Thanks RM and FNF. Time is gold when we are with you! See you tomorrow!