Pinoy Blog Machine (Beta)

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No, I don’t have any Tattoo. Sorry to disappoint you. If you plan on having one or if you have one, care to share pictures?

Hmm, I think I like piercings more.

I never got the chance to be at a prom. Not that I wish I could. Haha~ I was looking at dresses and I thought if there would be anything different the 2008 prom dresses.

Last Friday, I attended a short lecture on new trends in investigative reporting by Sheila Coronel, who is right now in Manila after several months working in New York as the inaugural director of The Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. In her lecture, the multi-awarded investigative journalist and former executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (one of only three Hall of Famers of the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism) discussed several new journalism techniques, including "crowdsourcing."

What is crowdsourcing, and why is it rapidly becoming a popular form of journalism in this era of Web 2.0 and citizen journalism?

Here's an article on Assignment Zero, the leading proponent of this journalism technique.

Crowdsourced Journalism - Assignment Zero: an Experiment in Pro-Am Journalism

Assignment Zero is an experiment in professional-amateur journalism: amateurs write/report, professionals edit. Everybody wins. And with this, “pro-am journalism” enters the lingo of the new world of media.

This win-win-win models solves one of the problems related with citizen/crowdsourced journalism: separating the chaff from the wheat. Very simply, to create a check on citizen journalism sources, including blogs, that influence opinion and pass on as “news.”

Citizen journalism/ my-blog-is-a-newsroom phenomena have many issues associated with them: everything from spelling & grammar matters, to fact verification, to having coverage diversity has been an open question. There are proposals of self-regulation and external control.

Journalism Professor Jay Rosen, in association with WIRED magazine, has found a pro-active solution somewhat Wikipedia style. Wikipedia is a self-governed content system where the contributors choose the editors - and create patrols such as the ”Association of Deletionist Wikipedians.”

Click here for more.

In a letter posted in the AssignmentZero site, Jay Rosen (a prominent American journalist and media critic) explains the reason behind the creation of AssignmentZero, which involves both professional journalists and internet users in reporting.

Why We're Doing This
by Jay Rosen

Welcome to Assignment Zero.

Inspired by the open-source movement, this is an attempt to bring journalists together with people in the public who can help cover a story. It's a collaboration among NewAssignment.Net, Wired, and those who choose to participate.

The investigation takes place in the open, not behind newsroom walls. Participation is voluntary; contributors are welcome from across the Web. The people getting, telling and vetting the story are a mix of professional journalists and members of the public -- also known as citizen journalists. This is a model I describe as "pro-am."

The "ams" are simply people getting together on their own time to contribute to a project in journalism that for their own reasons they support. The "pros" are journalists guiding and editing the story, setting standards, overseeing fact-checking, and publishing a final version.

Click here for more.

Sigh. I have been so busy with the activities at the office that I have almost forgotten I am a dancer -- online.

A few months ago, I was addicted to Audition Online, a popular online dance game where you compete with other players in a dance room by dancing some Korean and other Asian songs using the space bar and direction keys. Being the poor dancer that I am in real life, the thought of competing with other "dancers" was quite thrilling, and the fact that I have a number of relatives and friends (especially the younger ones) that play the game encouraged me to try the game (and unleashing the inner kid in me). When I told my friend Mae-mae, who is an Audition addict as well, that I play Audition, I think I was in level 5 or 6. And that was what? Maybe five or six months ago.

Poor me. After several months of almost-zero activity in Audition, I only managed to move up by just one level, level 7. And now, seeing how many players are well beyond level 7, I don't think I have the energy and time to improve my level. Sigh. I don't know.

Here's Bryant, the Audition Dancer.



Well, as far as dancing in real life and online go, I pale in comparison with my sister Hazel. Not only is she an active member of a dance group called Swipez Crew (a hiphop/R 'n B/breakdance group in our local community), she is also currently a level-16 dancer in Audition. Life can sometimes be so unfair. (Haha.)

Here is Hazel's Audition avatar:



Here's Hazel doing a hollow back, a breakdance move.



Speaking of dancing, I hope Sizzle, currently one of the finalists in Billy Crawford's dance reality show in GMA-7 called Move!, win the contest. I don't watch the local shows anymore, except for a number of news and public affairs programs. But since Sizzle is there competing, I try to make it a point to watch the show especially when I'm at home. Just like today.

Like Hazel, Sizzle is a member of the Swipez Crew, which always practice near our favorite hangout in our place. She seems to me a kind and caring kid who always smile at me every time I see her. I've seen some of their practices, and man, her moves are really awesome. You can count on her to give her very best whether they are just practicing or performing. You can really see how passionate she is -- and her group are -- in dancing. Man, if I only have those moves. I think one reason why my playlist carries some trance, hiphop, and R 'n B songs -- often to the surprise of my friends because they know I love rock songs better -- is because I hear a lot of these by watching the group practice, or even when I'm at home when Hazel plays the songs full-blast in our speaker while cleaning the house.

Here's a group pic of Swipez:



Here's a photo of Hazel and Sizzle, with my cousin Joanna (who's also a Swipez member):



I don't usually do this, but I hope you guys support Sizzle. Text votes are a big factor in determining the six winners of this contest (which will become Crawford's back-up dance team in his concerts in and outside the country), so if you could just text MOVE SIZZLE and send to 2344 (for Globe and Sun subscribers) and 367 (to Smart and Talk and Text), that's a big help already. A text message only costs P2.50 each. Come on guys (including you, avid Crawford fans Rocel and Scent), please help one kid's dream come true.

This happened one night last month. The transformer on an electrical post across the street was suddenly on fire. At first I wasn’t aware, but Allie was barking and barking, our neighbors were noisy, and there was even a loud engine (that was actually from a firetruck). I peeked outside and saw what was all the commotion about. I didn’t see the flames right away. It was only smoking as the firemen tried to put the fire out. Meralco was already called for, but with all the traffic, they didn’t arrive here as quickly as they should have. (Read more)

This makes me remember the time when our house almost burned down. I barely talked in school and no one hardly believed me when I said about the incident. That also reminds of the Romeo and Juliet drama. Juri wouldn’t believe Hiromichi when he said that his father ran away from home and his mom is terribly sick. The drama is probably too hard to believe. I guess it’s the same way with most of my classmates. They probably think that it’s unlikely to happen to me and my family.

This is a Korean cigarette as I see from the text on the bottom of the box. Its design is similar to that of Marlboro. There are others of this here. The later part of that post has some pictures of fake cellphones. The Nokia phones could hardly fool you if you aren’t looking properly at the name on its casing. The problem is if its case can easily be changed.

My brother and I watched the PoT Live Action Movie this early, early, early morning/last night. Around 2:30, I think. The movie’s a waste of time. Ugh~ I was happy seeing Buchou and Echizen though. Haha~ I felt the ♥. Their drama between each other made me say to my brother, “They’re like boyfriend-boyfriend.” Anyway, I said this movie’s a waste of time because the storyline wasn’t done properly. The movie started with Ryoma’s arrival from the US and becomes a new member of the team. They shouldn’t have done this as it confuses the story. The events in the movie feel like they happened in a week. My brother said that the movie’s probably low-budget. I don’t know about that. I didn’t find out about this movie until a trader offered this to me.

I’ve seen too many movies lately. I haven’t seen Transformers yet. I might as well download it when I don’t get the chance to go out and watch it. My Dad setup four speakers in the living room and I want to try them out while watching a movie. We only had 2 speakers there back then and I use it whenever I play PS2 games. Haha~

I’m going to finish one or two from my to-do list before our band practice later. I only found out about the practice. Oh! Before I finish this, I want to ask… When you get old and you start losing hair, will you get a hair replacement?