Response

This post is but compensation to all the wasted time I would have spent updating this blog. Previous promises I imposed upon myself were but fleeting  declarations and false hopes. If I were to continue writing (or "keying" in this respect), then I must do it with sincerity and honesty, and with enough concentration to induce bleeding in the eye sockets. If I were to make a new promise, however hard keeping it would be, a revaluation of what I have done a few posts in the past need be considered.

In my previous post, I found myself driveling about conjuring drivel. My twisted mind is not that oblivious to the moronic phrases contained in that "treatise." Take note of this: Although I referred to it as a work purely of drivel, I was actually settled in a state of addressing the sleeping artist incarcerated within. He itches in his sleep, uncomfortably bound by the ankles and the wrists. Poor fellow needs relief, even for a short while. He bangs the back of his head to the wall, and the tumult manifests itself to me as a hellish migraine. He stays there in dire need of attention; but most of all, he needs total independence from all the dullness. He resides in my mind, never bitching much about being uncomfortable and all. He worries much that he might wither into a dust heap before I wither in a coffin myself. Inside a prison cell can be very, very abject, unless the prisoner finds a fanciful way to escape his predicament. I pity the artist within me, so I give him things to muse upon. I give him drivel.  Enough drivel to send him into violent panic, provoke him to break his bonds, and come after me, waxing melancholic and, telling me that I'm doing things in the most atrocious manner.

What I did with my previous post contained hogwash, nonsense or whatever trifling word so-called literary experts use. Like writing in a journal,  one writes without the consent of standards. This blog is never different from a journal. Whoever stumbles upon my writings must bear in mind that I write with the consent of the self and of the freedom-deprived artist that dwells miserably within. Drivel, to me, is a mechanism, that allows a free-flowing river of thoughts stream down from the subconscious and unto an empty sheet of bordered paper. Drivel, to me, is rudimentary in translating insipid thoughts into reinforced language; language which is understandable, which persuades and not pose as revolting to an audience.

I'm not saying that I write drivel for the most serious of occasions. I write (or speak) drivel simply for building confidence, and the more confidence that seeps through my drivel, the more I mature with my writing. If anyone detects problems insofar as my method is concerned, let him step forth so I may use drivel in my defense. Chances are, he may not go as far as understanding the complete gist of my defense. I am an apt student of the School of Drivel, and I have strong conviction that drivel can lead me and the incarcerated artist  from the pangs of intellectual idleness.

By the way, for the record, I am a (self-proclaimed) disciple of the Surrealist Movement. I bet that will explain fully why I am a slave for driveling.

On a side note, unlike those who think they are doing a pretty good job telling people what's intellectually worthy and unworthy,  I believe in individual differences.. People are not the same. Each one is unique from another. Included are the writers and their readers. If a writer sermons on  "accepted standards" in his practice, he is violating not only himself, but his colleagues and his readers. What makes art beautiful is the existence of creative faculties. These are faculties, by the way, that recognize no boundaries, and give a work of art a humanistic touch.

I do not care about how the reader reads, or how I the writer writes. What matters the MOST is the ability to create something without the existence of standards, the very standards that give insult to art.

Drivel

Finally, another blessed time given to me from the heavens; that give light and reason yet to key in my thoughts, no matter how twisted and utterly disdainful they are.

Yet again, the reason for this another preposterous hiatus is my incapability to find the right conditions to churn out drivel. And so, drivel may it result to, I am still in upright and eager capacity to do so. Even through the drivels and the nonsense I relay forth from my mind to the ever curious reader of this isolated blog (if there is such a reader who dares tread upon this blog), the satisfaction and the glory to write again, to return to this world in which I keep my forte, to reopen this bomb shelter that protects such an idle mind from the perils of inactivity.

I shall take the blame for this dilemma; the dilemma of "write or not to write." I agree I do have within the corners of my mind small specks of ideas that, apart from their tininess, have the potentialities and capabilities to expand towards the vast space of the world wide web. But the only problem is impasse of idleness. For it is idleness, I believe, that hinders a surfeit of chunks of thoughts. These thoughts are ready to suffuse itself with billions of other thoughts, influence and persuade the authors of these thoughts and gain ground in an intellectual battle for the Internet.

Winning such a battle seems far fetched. But if only the individual decides to deviate from passiveness, wil he be able to pour his mind into the stream, which is cyberspace.

I will not certainly let my thoughts, ideas, aspirations, philosophies so on and so forth continue to rot in isolated despair, for being deprived of the liberty to invade others minds.

That is my agenda.

This blog will serve that agenda.

And I will ensure that my quest to invade every single Internet user's mind with my drivel. My ideas disguised as drivel.

The Republican Effect

My patience becomes limited when conversation turns to politics for an apt topic, combined with a cup of joe and a pack of mamon and having activists and writers around to discuss social science verbal doohickey. But when it comes to American politics, I for one have yet to grasp everything essential, especially the basic ones like the Two-party System, the midterm elections and how Republicans and Democrats are gradually locking horns for a chance to steer Congress-the US Congress in this case.

This dearth of sufficient comprehension of American politics has led me to a callous state of not caring on how a change in the legislative agenda of the US Congress could mean dire consequences. I'm not the one who cares about consequences here. I have witnessed how politics in the Philippines has turned out, even after the departure of Her Excellent Majesty and High Lord of All Things Mundane and Disparaging (activists who were once a part of proud, fist-raising movements during eight long years of oppression and corruption can easily recognize who I am referring to. Hint: Mole). Why care about politics any more than American politics? But when I was observing the drama behind the Midterm Election held at the States on November 2, there are in fact a lot of reasons why people, not only Americans and Filipinos, should care about politics, particularly the American legislation.

I've learned that most Republican candidates oppose the outsourcing of  US jobs to foreign countries, like the Philippines. If a law is passed easily with minimal Democratic intervention, then doom will come to call centers here in the country, which serve as beacons of hope for college students and graduates alike who are seeking amidst a global economic downturn. Most of these students and graduates who receive minimal wage will find it very insipid to cope up with daily expenses. So if ever the Republicans get through with such a law, there's no telling what will become of our struggling newly grads, especially nursing graduates who are dealing with major problems of their own.

We Filipinos shouldn't limit our selves to being boxed within the current political spectrum of today. There is an even greater need to be cognizant with what's happening abroad. There's no telling what effects the Republican takeover of the House will inflict on the global community.

Well, better turn to the media for guidance at times like these.

State of Fear

As a living, breathing human being with an uncontrollable urge to like and angst just about anything culturally stupid or utterly interesting to the senses, I am fully cognizant with the notion that fear is an inevitable sensation common among all living and breathing human beings walking the Earth.

Fear is what we blurt out every time we come across a carton of milk exceeding its expiration date, knowing that disregarding the apparent warning would make us spend three in the bathroom, regurgitating chunks and chunks of hardened dairy product. You and me both know that the scenario I just mentioned is a not a pretty sight to see; tons and tons of unsightly vomit. And I could just imagine becoming the unsuspecting victim; clutching my stomach to relive the abdominal pain and all, and nothing can scare me the most than abdominal pains and three hours of relentless vomiting. But I'm not going to talk about expired dairy products here. What I'm trying to explain is not about constipation and expired milk. What I'm really pointing out is that fear is an essential component, not only in the individual, but also in this dog gone society. Philippine society in particular, which becomes too irrational to a certain point that it induces more groundless hysteria than lucid crisis handling methods. And this doesn't just happen in a  Southeast Asian nation, but it also occurs in ostensibly rational Western societies.

Recent news reports revealed alleged terrorist plots that would likely happen within the good old capital itself: Manila. The United States, with the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand following suit, issued travel advisories warning tourists to be wary of an imminent danger of a terrorist attack by (wait for it...) Islamic extremists.This precautionary action was raised following the discovery of a parcel bomb destined to blow up Jewish houses of worship. The parcels, which came from Yemen, provoked fear among the paranoid public since the aftermath of 9/11.

And as a result of this reaction wrought by peculiar contents in a box, Western countries released travel advisories in an effort to protect their citizens who want to go on an island hopping expedition in the Philippines from possible instances of a terrorist attack. Take note that these are just travel advisories, and not bans. So why should we, especially businessmen with interests in the tourism sector, be perturbed by the policies imposed by other countries?

We are "enjoying" a considerable amount of threats already. We have extremists terrorizing most areas of Mindanao, and add Communist rebels then we have a party-and not a good one at that. As a matter of fact,  these groups are in existence even before those parcel bombs arrived at a Chicago airport and much earlier than the September 11 attacks at New York. So it's okay for fear to set in. I mean, we have gotten used to North Korea having a stockpile of hidden nukes, we should also feel the same with these threats knowing that they can occur spontaneously.

There is no air of hysteria suffusing into Philippine society right now-because most of society is already distracted by noontime shows and Justin Bieber. It's not like America in the 1930's when Orson Welles created quite a stir among the populace with his mockumentary/science fiction opera. I guess society is getting used to have homicidal maniacs walking the streets from time to time. You can blame it all on the mass media, but you should also put all of your blaming energies to the reality of having religious zeal and nationalism laying around the hearts and minds of suicide bombers.

So why should we worry? Why should the US, or Australia, or New Zealand worry? Despite sophisticated technology epitomed by the latest bomb detecting devices, that still can't stop the fervor of a common enemy to inflict massive dilapidation. We are now getting used to fear, and it is quite annoying in some cases to send a paranoid travel advisory that would mostly protect more of foreign tourists than locals.

Fear is a defense mechanism, much like high tech warning devices installed around Bill Gates' crib. Defense mechanisms are essential to secure our properties, especially Mr. Gates' Microsoft blueprints, from burglars and spies and also with malevolent intentions. So fear works much like an alarm to stir us up into action against those trying to breach our privacy. But we can also note that warning devices can be annoying to the ears of its owners who are protected by them, given there are technical malfunctions of some sort and other electronics related problems within their structures. This could spell great annoyance to these owners who will become so exasperated with the noise that they'll pretty much throw them out to the dumpster.

Just like in society. Feeding the fire makes the flames grow. Much like how these foreign countries are doing. They're sending warnings that don't even benefit us in every level.

Here's a painful reality: The world is in a current state of fear. And we are getting accustomed to it.

After Hiatus

Here I am. Writing another blog entry which should document another one of my crazy excuses for being idle on the blogosphere for such a long while. Laziness, writer's blocks and the satiable impulse to key highfalutin words and phrases are the substantial reasons why I went on another delay in writing blog entries. These or the forsaken ideas that still remain in constant motion that's causing moment of a slack fest. But yes, I have to admit, I'm one hell of a lazy writer.

The sole purpose of creating this blog was to get in touch with other people's ideas; loosen myself a bit to prepare for a wondrous career in the pastures of the world of mass media and most important and painstakingly the . I am a mass communication major, but that wouldn't be a reason for having such an idle mind. And as a mass communication major, I am obliged and given the opportunity to document the things that are going on around me, and not just to slack all day, doing things that are not so productive for society to benefit on.

I think it's time for a little reassessment. I'm currently the news editor of the University publication, so why the hell am I indolent in managing this blog. I created this for a reason and that is to record my expressions that remain in a decomposing state inside my head, and the only way to revive them is to display them for other people to read. Furthermore, most journalists today own a blog or two, writing political opinions and what not.


So I must end here with a promise worth keeping, at least for a considerable amount of time because I know, I'm not good in keeping them let alone remembering them. Because today, I am committing myself to this blog, filling it with entries that are either good to read for some rational being to get interested in or bad enough to send a highly critical yet culturally ignorant dissident in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

Busy (Again)

Been busy for a while. Presentations here and there. Articles to write for the school paper. I am in a drastic position right now. But the only thing that keeps me going is the very thought that I am becoming a college student. A real one  at that.

Art Under Siege

           The arts are under attack. Under attack by the grotesque forces of pop culture that is! Yes, as society mended a drastic turn towards the new millennium, so-called artists that emerged with it began an inquisition that would become one of the most dastardly acts imposed on art since the persecution of Bauhaus philosophy by the Nazis during the 30's. These artists, who pose and call themselves advocates of art despite their lack of awareness of the humanities, have been doing a good job in keeping the arts in check. These pop-soda guzzling, Nike-wearing pseudo-pundits have been raking big bucks since their debut into the limelight.

          What I'm talking about here is the rise of "idols" and "sensations" who want to have their first taste of the good stuff in high society. Pop stars in particular are the ones who are leading this insulting crusade. First, there comes the discovery of talent, where agents or other annoying media vultures prey on innocent people, who live an honest lifestyle, who are oblivious to the effects of brief stardom and would consider the use of botox a genocidal act in pursuit of perfection, they consider having potential. Locked on their victims, these predators will try to convince their prey that they have what it takes to be a star just by looking at their Adonis-like appearance. Well, that's the reality of fame. You get to be uplifted in its ranks because you look just like one of those narcissistic, body-building yahoos who pose for billboards or those anemic, skeleton like beings they call supermodels. And at the end of it all, it's off to the pile of rejected celebrities who had their spirits, and dignity sucked out by the immense mechanism which is given a familiar yet evil name: fame. But when art comes in to consideration, celebrities are merely exploiting it and taking it to their advantage to hasten the effects they impart to the pitiful public.

The artistic prowess they produce are not as artistic as they ought it will be. Theirs is just a sham. A ruthless advantage of the arts for the purpose of blackening the minds of the young ones with idiotic words and lavish costumes present in ravenous, unprofessional music videos. True that their influence is overwhelming the very foundations of art, however, they are, without noticing it, are actually murdering a vast field of the humanities furnished by geniuses for countless years.

Art should be limited to the artist. And when I say artist, I mean a true artist. One who does not want to benefit anything from his craft, but the sole satisfaction of using it in delightful activity. One who does not want to implement stupidity among other beings, but would rather influence them to search for a deeper meaning of what art is. One who views art as art, and not a mindless chase for fame and wealth.

Pop culture can continue to impose its will to the masses, but it will not touch nor shake the beliefs of true art.