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Creative Non-Fiction and The Blog

Seriously since you seem to have the energy and inclination for such endeavors, perhaps you can start a campaign to promote not only Filipino women, but also writers who will write in excellent Pilipino, or at least use impeccable English as a substitute.

That’s part of a lengthy email from a FilipinaImages.com reader. Oh my. Seriously now, what a tall order for a mere blogger like me to start such an advocacy? Sorry, I am not the right person. I know my limitations. I have great ideas for blog topics but more often than not, I am often stumped on the opening hook for my entry. If I tortured myself about my imperfect English, I would not be pounding away on my keyboard and blogging for the past two years. In fact, that’s one reason I only blogged in 2006. I felt insecure about my writing. If I let my insecurities interfere with my goals, there would be no advocacy on grief support in the Philippines and Reshaping the Filipina Image Online. It does not mean I don’t want to hone my writing skills. The only way to improve on my writing skills is to write everyday and learn to be better.

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Photo Hunt: Narrow

mount pinatuboPhoto Hunt theme is Narrow. This is the narrow path when one treks to the crater of Mount Pinatubo Volcano. Actually, this is a photo taken by Lauren, my daughter when she travelled with a few bloggers to the crater of Mount Pinatubo. Lauren was only four years old when the Pinatubo Volcano erupted so violently that more than 5 billion cubic meters of ash and pyroclastic debris were ejected from its fiery bowels. The volume of ash was enormous that it went as far as Manila. I wrapped a face mask on my kids’ noses and mouth to avoid dust inhalation whenever they frolicked around the neighborhood streets. And now she traversed that narrow path to swim on the crater’s lake.

According to my daughter, the photos of Mt.Pinatubo Volcano don’t do justice. One has to be there to bask in the beauty of Mt. Pinatubo. When she finally reached the crater, it was filled with deep blue waters:

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WikiPilipinas Filipina Stories, A Contest

Awarding of the Winners of the WikiPilipinas Filipina Stories

Date: March 28, 2008
Time: 11-12:00 Noon
Venue: SMX Convention Hall # 3, SMX Convention Center, beside SM Mall of Asia, Manila
Map: Click on thumbnail

smx_map1.jpg

This is our tentative program for the March 28 event, 11-12nn

1. Opening Remarks
2. About Vibal Foundation
3. Empowering Women Through Internet
4. Walkthroughs: Filipiniana.net and Wikipilipinas.org and Filipinaimages.com
5. Raffle iPod Nano
6. Announcement of Winners
7. Closing

Wikipilipinas will host lunch in a restaurant in Mall of Asia after the program.

wikipilipinas.jpgDine, Gus Vibal, founder of WikiPilipinas, his staff and I met up last week to discuss ways to support their first online Encyclopedia of Philippine Women that they started in WikiPilipinas.org. I believe Gus is truly sincere in his WikiPilipinas’ vision to be ““the largest Philippine knowledge database”. I mean, Gus pratically invested a lot on WikiPilipinas. (A few sponsors helped though).

Dine, Lorna, myself and most of you will agree that we all want to raise the profile of the Filipinas, and be part of a larger movement in uplifting the status of Philippine women. I believe that WikiPilipinas is sincere in their mission as we all are. Here is our collaborative project which I hope you will be a part of:

230px-Filstories1.jpgIn line with the principle of honoring the diverse, beautiful, and powerful image of a Filipina, WikiPilipinas will launch a special portal Encyclopedia of Philippine Women inside the site which will compile and detail the achievements and triumphs of Filipinas everywhere. Its sister site Filipiniana.net will also have a Philippine Women Microsite containing documents discussing Filipino women, as well as selected texts from the oeuvres of Filipina writers. Through a combined effort for advocacy, WikiPilipinas partnered with Filipina Images to help promote a more empowering image of the Filipina. By having an online platform to showcase Filipina intelligence and talent, surely the goal will be closer.

To promulgate the advocacy, WikiPilipinas and Filipina Images websites will launch ““Filipina Stories,” a writing contest with the mission of uplifting the image of the Filipina.

Check the prizes and mechanics of this contest.

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What Is A Blog? How do I Start a Blog?

If you’re a regular visitor of my blog, you already know what a blog is. But some people I meet don’t know. I’m sure some of you faced a similar situation below.

For instance, when I take a photo in a restaurant, I am sometimes asked by the owner: are you a journalist?

Me: No, I’m a blogger.

Owner: What is a blogger?

Me: I write for my blog.

Owner: What is a blog?

Often, I take the word blog for granted that I don’t really bother to explain myself clearly. I found this video through Juned that explains what a blog is in plain English. Watch it.

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Hit by Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Bug

The travel and photography bug hit me after my latest adventure with the young and vibrant Pinoy Travel bloggers. The trip awakened a few wants and needs.

1. I want to travel the hidden paradise islands in the Philippines. I am 50 years old and I have yet to travel most parts of the Philippines. After taking the quiz below, my lakbayan score is only a C. There is room for improvement, I know. I want to earn a grade of B by the end of 2008.


My Lakbayan grade is C!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Traveling with the Eugenius who turned out to be a whiz identifying places from a ““satellite view” was an added bonus. From my SeAir plane window, he pointed Mindoro. I didn’t recognize it from above. When I used to travel the boat from Cebu to Manila, I memorized the islands along the way. What was there to do while traveling for 36 hours? I knew the location of shark infested areas in the Philippine seas. I could tell if the ship passed the islands wof Romblon, Masbate or Mindoro. But that’s over 40 years ago. I want to travel the Philippine islands once again.

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2008 Philippine Blog Awards

Presenting the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards.

2008 Philippine Blog Awards
The awarding is open to all Filipino bloggers who have full ownership of their blogs. This implies that blogs belonging to blog networks or corporate blogs cannot be included because of ownership rights. The awards therefore pay homage to “grassroots bloggers” who have built up their blogs from their own efforts.

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Blogger Conversation in the Family

You know by now that everyone in my family has a blog. Heck, even the pet cats and dog have a blog except it hasn’t been launched yet.

Can you tell the blogger state of newbiness or blogger age (not biological) by the following conversation?

1. Husband after an argument:

“I bet you’re gonna blog about our fight. Go ahead, blog about it. See if I care”

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The Final Blog Post of Andrew Olmstead

andrew olmstead[tag]Andrew Olmsted[/tag], also known as G’Kar the blogger, was killed yesterday in Iraq. Andy gave a friend a post to publish in the event of his death; the last revisions to it were made in July. Here is Andy’s final post. His actual blog is here. Andy must have known of his imminent death since he prepared his final post last July. Losing someone who can write well from the dreaded war zone is a tremendous loss – most people never get the chance to know how, when, and where they might probably die. Andrew knew death was a possible outcome enough to write this last post . For me, some of the most insightful parts are the following: (The quotes are from Andy and my comments are below it.)

It’s not easy asking anyone to do something for you in the event of your death, and it is a testament to her quality that she didn’t hesitate to accept the charge. As with many bloggers, I have a disgustingly large ego, and so I just couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to have the last word if the need arose.

I would never ask anyone to post a final post for me. I know we will all die eventually. I guess if you’re a blogger and based in Iraq, death is a big possibility. It was Andy’s way of immortalizing his life through this last post.

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Recap of The Year 2007 as a Blogger

bloggerI’m preparing for the New Year celebration tonight. While preparing for our noche buena, Butch and I reflected on this year and the 2007 goals we achieved or did not achieve. I’ve learned to be grateful for the positive and negative experiences. They made me a better blogger and person. For everything that happened to me as a blogger this year, there is a reason for which I am grateful. I will list them all but will not mention the specifics of the negative experience.

1. I received three awards for my blog this year.

The truth is I believe other blogs are more deserving than mine. Despite that nagging thought, I accept the judges’ perception and decision with heartfelt gratitude.

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