It is Photo Hunt day and a perfect excuse to post a photo. I have such a sweet tooth that I couldn’t resist taking such these colorful desserts, the name of which escapes me now.
When Carlo Ople, the New Media Consultant of Senator Mar Roxas invited me for a bloggers’ meetup, I almost choked:
“Whaaat? I hope you won’t ask me to endorse him or something”.
My imagination started to run wild. The buzz is Senator Mar Roxas is likely to run for the 2010 Presidential Elections. I could see it clearly now. He sees the potential of bloggers and new media to promote his advocacies! I was really hesitant about the whole meeting idea because first of all, I don’t like politics. Second, I felt uncomfortable having to “chikka” with a senator. I sort of nodded “yes” to Carlo, unsure if this was my kind of thing. During the last senatorial election, I only blogged of Alan Cayetano, a family friend the day after the elections. I rarely discuss politics in this blog especially if there is no bearing to my blog’s theme.
So I raised the question in plurk to see if my plurk buddies had the same sentiments as mine, if a senator invites you for a meet-up would you go?
Surprisingly, majority said they’d take the opportunity depending on the senator. Of course, it hit me. This is new media content. I cover food events, press conferences and even the launch of a Governor’s blog so why not a senator’s request to meet bloggers? This is a perfect opportunity to meet a senator up close and know the person behind the senator. Definitely a first in the Philippine blogosphere.
This afternoon, I finally met Senator Mar Roxas. I sat across him so I could easily snap photos of the event. But due to the mirror behind him, he moved over to sit beside me. Great.
He saw my plurk name, momblogger on my macbook and asked, “Is that your name, momblogger?”
“It’s my plurk name. Do you plurk?”, I asked.
He laughed “Not yet. I use Twitter”. Not bad. The senator is very tech-savvy.
I couldn’t contain my plurk addiction so I wrote this momblogger is seated beside Senator Mar Roxas and he is asking if momblogger is my username since he noticed my plurk. and even showed him the replies to my plurk. He was surprised at the plurk greetings.
Bloggers from FilipinoVoices.com, Susan ““Toots” Ople,Lester Cavestany, Jester, Arbet Bernardo, Marck Rimorin, Juned Sunido, Sonnie Santos, Abe Olandres, Paolo Florenda, Ding Gagelonia, Gail Villanueva, Marc Villanueva, Ellen Tordesillas, Manolo Quezon, Ricky Carandang, Carlo Ople and myself introduced ourselves to the senator. He scribbled the names of each blogger on a sheet of paper and made sure he remembered each one of us. He even drew a seating layout with our names in it. A man of details. Very impressive, indeed!
The serious talks on VAT on oil started. He said that:
The 12% VAT on oil was imposed in 2005 when the world price of oil was only $30 per barrel and public deficit was at an all-time high. Today, the situation has revered itself. The price of oil has exceeded $100 a barrel and is still rising while our budget deficit has been tamed. In 2005, at the time government sought a higher VAT, the intention was clear: to put our fiscal house in order. Today, at a time when people’s incomes remain largely stagnant against soaring prices of food and oil, it is government’s turn to make the supreme sacrifice of leaving money in our people’s pockets. Stop collecting the oil VAT. This will immediately result in savings of P6 per liter of gas and P66 per LPG tank. Such savings will be felt more by the poor than the rich. These savings will also benefit the government since whatever we buy with it would be VAT-able anyway.
Listening to Senator Roxas, I am very impressed with the structure of his talk. He is highly organized and smart. I would not have known this if I didn’t attend this intimate gathering. The senator seemed unfazed even under difficult questions from political bloggers.
The question is: Do I really want to remove the VAT on oil? Where will the government gets its revenue? The move seems to favor the poor more than the rich but his Senate bill 1962 on a proposal for a 6-months suspension of the 12% VAT on oil has not moved at the Lower House.
(Photo from Carlo Ople)
A cute question raised by Marck was “Who would he want to meet among the three characters in The Dark Knight?” The senator’s answer is 2 Face and he wants to ask him “What happened to you?”. Nick wondered out loud in plurk “if he thinks two face is what happened to Neri..”
Since his committee is on Trade and Industry, I asked him about consumer protection when Internet Service Providers (ISP) don’t deliver.
His answer: Write him and he will coordinate with the Telcos. Wow. I will probably do that only if I exerted all means to fix the problem with my ISPs.
He also launched his Mar Roxas Blog which he promises to update once a week.
What do you think of a senator tapping bloggers or new media to promote an advocacy?
More photos of Senator Mar Roxas and Bloggers
Other Bloggers’ entries
Blogger Meet up with Senator Mar Roxas
Up Close with Senator Mar Roxas
Mar Roxas Asks: What Do We Have To Show For P7-Trillion?
Sen. Mar Roxas blogs, for real
Finally, finally….we have a venue and date. Philippine Blog Awards 2008 will be held at Coral B, One Esplanade , Seaside corner Bay Boulevard Pasay City on September 21, a Sunday. Here is how One Esplanade looks like.
My sister, Dr. Belen Lardizabal-Dofitas appeared in Jessica Soho last night as the resource person in behalf of the Philippine Dermatological Society (PDS) for the “Glutathione Supplements for Whitening”. My sister, a dermatologist by profession wrote the PDS position paper on glutathione supplements. There is also the recent controversial withdrawal of the license of 3 glutathione brands in the market which the public should take note. I’ve been meaning to blog about this because I see billboards everywhere on Supplements for Whitening. The most important message my sister wanted to convey is that there is still a lack of good quality scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety of glutathione supplements and injectable glutathione for lightening skin color.
(Above is the Youtube video of the Glutathione segment in the Jessica Soho show)
Our newly employed househelper wanted to visit her family for the weekend. Sure, I told her you can take your weekend off. I soon left for a movie date with my husband. The next morning, one of my helpers reported that she caught her sneaking out at night carrying a bag. Good thing one of my ex-househelper/Luijoe’s yaya was around for a visit and corroborated my other helper. I took a look at the bag. What did I see?
Lipton Milk Tea
Yoghurt Milk
Instant Coffee mix
Disappointed more than angry, I asked her why she stole those items?
Her reply: “I pity my kids.”
I didn’t buy it. Her children are still small. Why would they need Lipton Milk Tea? or coffee mix? Now that the trust was broken, I could not retain her for employment. Petty stuff like this can lead to other bigger loot. She can also be a security risk for those theft syndicates that commonly invade households in Manila.
I never had to worry about security in my old residence. The village guards checked their bags at the gate and they couldn’t leave the gate without our clearance. Quite a snobbish village. I hate checking their bags. I would like to believe that employers should trust their employees. But being nice does not get me anywhere. I lost my cellphone and camera once. Lauren’s Birkenstock sandals too. And probably many other things.
After employing househelpers for years, I should have been an expert by now in sizing them up. Sure I have shared a few tips with you in the past. In fact, that entry on Tips for Household help or Yaya (nanny) caught the eye of the Baby Magazine writer that they featured it alongside an article for the July 2008 issue.
Every now and then, readers email me requesting for such and such topic to be blogged. If I think it benefits the public, I usually blog about it. One simple email request came from Diane on May 25 .
If it’s not too much to ask, can you please link my entries regarding Danvil Plans to your website? I need enough noise to stop this from happening again to other people.
Of course, I had to do my own research on Danvil Plans (soon to be Legacy Consolidated Plans) first before blogging about it. I was appalled to discover that it was the same Family First who have been using this high-pressure and unethical practices for years. The problem with blogging about this topic is that I was not a victim of Danvil Plans . After reading entries upon entries from bloggers, I was convinced that this kind of high pressure tactics need to stop. Not only Danvil Plans but other “scams” as well.
I soon blogged about the Danvil Plans and other Scams with a mirror entry at my Multiply Account entitled Buyer Beware of Danvil Plans High Pressure Tactics.
I woke up this morning to my husband humming the tune to Abba’s I have a Dream. You know how it is when a song gets stuck in your head. Mine was the Dancing Queen sequence from the movie,
Mamma Mia we watched last night. I loved the movie! I was 19 years old at the time Dancing Queen became a hit and I remember twirling around and around to the music. I love to dance. I could not contain my excitement when Meryl Streep started jumping up and down on her bed. I wanted to dance right there and then. Holding my husband’s hand, I pretended to sashay to and fro on an imaginary dance floor.
Full Dancing Queen Scene – Mamma Mia! The Movie
This entry is a continuation of PR and New Media Publishing.
A few months ago, I got invited to watch the presentation of a scientific study that correlated DHA and ARA (components found in Breast Milk which Milk companies now add to their formula) to the increase of the IQ of a child to 7 points. I was quite puzzled by the presentation of Dennis Hoffman’s Recent Evidence that Dietary Supply of DHA and ARA in Early Infancy Leads to Possible Trends in IQ of 4-Year Olds. Though no milk company was mentioned or direct promotion of the infant formula, I noticed that a popular celebrity was around to host the event. An idiot can easily put two and two together and correlate it to that milk company. I felt sick to the stomach because I thought I was attending a parenting seminar.
No problem there because like I told you, if I don’t believe in the product or event, I am not compelled to blog about it. So I left it at that.
Three months later, I got a call from the PR company. I could have said NO from the start of the conversation. But I listened out of sheer curiosity. She admitted that she was being candid and was exploring the possibility for mom-bloggers to be an advocate.
Hm, an advocate? How?
2006 is the year I started my personal blog. What most of you don’t know is I’ve been blogging on web development, food and entertainment as far back as 2002. The year 2006 is significant to me because I got introduced to New Media Publishing. I know a few bloggers who raised their eyebrows, that bloggers should not be attending PR events or product launches because it is “unethical”. Let me just say that these bloggers are entitled to their own opinion and I’d like to leave it at that.
I have my reasons for venturing into new media publishing.
If you’re a blogger, you probably have your own typical blogger Conversation within your family.
What if you have a food blogger in the family?
You know how it is. I post food photos in my Pinoy Food Photo Blog to complement my entry. Naturally, when my family eats out, I snap away at the food we order. So here was a typical scene when I first started my food blog in July 2006.
Husband: Don’t eat that yet. Your Mom hasn’t taken shots of that dish.
M: (irritated) Have you taken a shot of this? Can I eat now?
L: (pouting) Hurry. I’m hungry. I wish cameras are banned in restaurants.
I bet they got tired of waiting so…
This is my family two years after.
Lauren learned to take shots of her food (at Pepper Lunch) so she can eat it as soon as the dish arrives.
And M too!
If you can’t beat your mom the food blogger, join her. or else, starve.
What is a typical scene with your family or friends? especially non-blogging friends and family?
In other New Media Events
1. I love Ethan Allen furniture designs that a few of my furniture was heavily inspired by it.
Here is a video I took of the showroom,
2. HTC Touch Diamond in the Philippines Mid-July
Imagine having broadband-like Internet with HSDPA 7.2 mbps wireless connectivity right in the palm of your hands?
3. Join the Buhay Coke Contest and get a chance to win a Phillips LCD TV, an Apple iPhone, a Sony Cybershot 7.2 MP Digital Camera, and an iPod Nano .
