Category: Culture

STC Cebu and the bikini girls – a laughably pointless situation comedy

May 3, 2012October 24, 2014 benign0 55 Comments

In a country where the “word” and “will” of the Roman Catholic God are popular buzzwords and points of deference that transcend profession and social and economic class, it has always been one of modern societies’ biggest ironies that gigantic billboards exhibiting scantily clad models pitching skin whiteners, body sprays colognes, and mobile devices stand…

Culture, Education, Religion

Bloggers stifling freedom of expression? Not what it seems

May 2, 2012August 12, 2013 FallenAngel 16 Comments

Picture this: you’re a moderator/participant in a round table discussion. Someone has just brought up a very controversial point. Another person takes offense at this in one way or another, and rebuts. As the rebuttals go back and forth, you notice that they have strayed off topic, and it has become a contest of whose…

Culture, Society, Tech Talk

Drop the Hype: We’re All Human Beings

May 1, 2012May 1, 2012 a 24 Comments

The recent controversial statement issued by Miss Universe first runner-up Miriam Quiambao subjected her to an endless tirade from the outraged LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) community. Quiambao, now the target of hatred from the said community, issued an apology afterwards. Miriam proceeded to reply, explain, and apologize. She frequently cited Bible teachings. She replied…

Culture, Society

Miriam Quiambao on homosexuals and transgenders

April 30, 2012 benign0 37 Comments

Poor former beauty queen Miriam Quiambao (Miss Universe 1999 First Runner Up). She’s recently been swamped by a deluge of online “feedback” on a quip she made about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in a recent episode of ABS-CBN talk show “The Bottom Line” with TV personality Boy Abunda. According to Quiambao,…

Culture, Glitz and Glamour, Religion, Society

English proficiency is a continuous improvement process

April 27, 2012November 24, 2013 FallenAngel 37 Comments

Filipinos are generally good at English. At least that’s the impression foreigners get when they encounter us. It is also one of the primary reasons why foreign employers like hiring Filipinos. It is well-established that English has made its way into the world as a sort of lingua franca, and we wield it as an…

Culture, Development, Education, Society

Farewell to Jean Giraud a.k.a. Moebius

April 25, 2012July 1, 2012 benign0 2 Comments

On the 10th March 2012, French master comic book artist and storyteller Jean Giraud died aged 73. He was the finest artist of his kind and a virtually silent contributor to an entire genre of science fiction that producers to this day continue to build upon. Giraud earned worldwide fame, predominantly under the pseudonym Moebius,…

Culture, Tech Talk

A sense of nationalism: The Philippines has no such thing

April 23, 2012December 30, 2015 benign0 72 Comments

The Philippines is a country by colonial edict — much like the way the old Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia were, as well as many African nations. They are meaningless hollow pin-up states cobbled together for the sheer pleasure, vanity, and mercantile ambitions of their former imperial architects. In the case of the Philippines, even the name…

Civics, Culture, Development, Society

What Miss Universe really stands for and why feminine beauty exists

April 22, 2012April 22, 2012 benign0 15 Comments

The recent furor over a ruling issued by no less than Donald Trump himself owner of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) allowing transgender contestants to vie for the Miss Universe title sparked numerous debates around what it means to be a “woman” and what defines “beauty”. The Miss Universe pageant after all is a beauty…

Culture, Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle, Media, Science, Society