The problem with possibilities and halo effect is people tend to generalize things. In their case, they traveled to have clean fun and celebrate their birthdays but because sh*t happens, they were suspected as drug traffickers — because they are Filipinos. Apparently, the recent cases of captures in the region via the immigration involved Filipinos.

As I read the account of how it happened (and as I spoke to Dyanie last night), I was enraged and I have so much regard for them for keeping their cool. You know the probability of being set-up and all that and as Dyanie said, only when she finally did set foot in NAIA (Philippine airport) that she felt really safe. As she said, “Hindi na ako babalik sa Indonesia, hindi muna ako magtra-travel outside the country. ”

We learn from this experience. No matter how prepared we may seem when we travel like knowing the contact numbers of the Office of the Philippine Embassy in the country we are visiting, observing the luggage security, and all that, there are things beyond our control that happen.  I hope that our government is aware of and doing something about this kind of situation.

Take the best of care, everyone.

You must read this: My traumatic experience as an alleged drug trafficker in Bali, Indonesia by Chyng Reyes.

I am writing this after watching President Noynoy gave his statement, which I consider to have come so late, on Manila hostage crisis. He was calm (yet the smiling could be disturbing, but I think that’s inherent of him) when he was asked by the media. This probably had you wished to see a little more outrage. On the other hand, had he appeared a batshit insane, you would wish that he would be reasonably reactionary. It depends on how you will view it – that he graced under pressure or the statements had no backbone at all. If you will ask me, I was not impressed nor disappointed. What matters to me as a Filipino citizen (and to those who are not) is his recourse on this crisis, regardless if he delivered it calmly or not.

One of the interesting questions asked of him was about the lessons learned from this untoward situation. That linked every element altogether. President Noynoy thought that the media coverage hampered the negotiation with the hostage-taker. This probably will lead to the needed establishment of self-policing mechanism for all concerned. Another issue is not only the insufficiency of equipment in SWAT Team. What happened today could have happened in any other country. But the quality of negotiation is the deal breaker. What we have witnessed calls for a much needed enhancement of negotiation skills. I am no expert. But for anything suicidal, you tend to come to promise the moon and the stars and even the sun. Considering that person is in his less amenable state. As it progressed, you can always (not so obviously) renegotiate.

Who are (some of) on the hot seats today?
(a) A colleague who is in Hongkong right now. She fears that she will get radical reactions from her counterparts. That she cannot fearlessly roam in the touristy spots until she finishes her short stay there. I would love to be in her shoes. Well, maybe it is easier said than done. But I guess she is in a perfect situation to speak for our government and the Filipinos. I have had my share of queries from different locals and expats in the UAE, ranging from serious yet obvious problems in the Philippines to urban legends. It is always challenging but delightful to speak for the Philippines. I remember the day when I returned to office after my whirlwind vacation in September last year and was significantly affected by typhoon Ondoy. My employer and a number of colleagues teased me that I must consider moving permanently outside our motherland because of the storms, volcano eruption alerts (Mount Mayon was moody that time), instability, and more. I politely and proudly said that I will always be a Filipino and I know in my heart that Philippines is the best place in Earth because we have everything in there, including the problems that bind all the Filipinos.

(b) The Filipinos based in Hong Kong and other places who need to deal with Hong Kong citizens. National sentiments are understandable but can go beyond our understanding. I pray that they will especially be objective to our kababayans who are gracing domestic help.

(c) Venus Raj who is currently competing for the Miss Universe title. I bet she is anticipating more than enough that she will be asked to comment on the issue. Grace under pressure is much relevant. (Edit: 25 August 2010, she made it to top 5! We can joy-jump and scream all we want.) I am not competing for any title, but I am sure that tomorrow I will be asked to comment on this particular issue, especially that it will probably make it to tomorrow’s UAE broadsheets. Just like they asked about President Noynoy’s victory, Ampatuan case, and other matters.

(d) Our tourism. It is a fact since the day we were born that Philippines is beautiful. And as I get to travel to other countries, the more I realized that it is indeed beautiful. I would like to speak for my fellows who are categorically OFWs. Did you know that without us knowing, we willingly promote our country in between conversations with non-Filipinos whenever necessary? It just comes, you have a casual chat with some people planning their vacation, and you cannot help but be proud of our country and ask them to go to Philippines instead of the other less beautiful and overrated islands. We feel triumphant when we get to convince them not in a way that it was mainly sales talk, but because it is a labour of our sincere words and pride. However, I must admit that majority of those whom I have talked to are either not aware of the beauty of the Philippines or oriented but have so much hesitation to come there because of the different concerns – safety, weather (believe me, there are people who are afraid of raindrops), and more. And then this hostage crisis occurred out of nowhere. The government of Hong Kong issued a travel ban to Philippines (under the severe threat category: avoidance of all travels). I think that the reaction was understandable, but that is too much. If we will consider the gravity, it is like they are quantifying the risks tantamount to the concerns why Filipinos are discouraged to travel to Iraq. It is immature to judge a nation just by the action of one man.

As I have tweeted earlier, I would like to put it here:
Is this the death of tourism in the Philippines? NO. We CAN always rebuild, if we want. An isolated case cannot put a good nation down.

Photo from Gulf News. A group of diners at a Dubai restaurant were given a 25% discount after they found four bugs crawling around in their food (in March 2008 though). I think discounts attract almost everyone. But for this reason? No, thanks. It is funny that the receipt actually indicated the words, “Insect on the food”. If I were the manager of the restaurant, I probably had termed it as “Allowance for fortuitous events”. (j/k) And if I were one of the diners, I might have insisted on not paying at all and strategically stated my justification.

Yesterday, it was reported that half a lizard was found in a can of baked beans in a store in Dubai. Representatives from the Food Inspection Section of Dubai Municipality pulled all Kimball (Malaysian brand) baked beans cans with the same manufacturing date and lot number. It is interesting to note that the inspectors are actually doing just random sampling of imported food products. Hence, this can happen everywhere. And if you are not very mindful of what you are eating or munching on in the dark, chances are the foreign matter is going to taste like a normal edible or one group of the beans (in this particular case) is going to be more delicious and exotic tasting.

I think that this is the most serious (and hilarious) part of the statement issued by the inspectors:

“I’m just letting people know about this. It’s your job to tell your friends about this, because the other half of the lizard might be in their can.”

I eat frogs, sheep and other selected exotic animals. But it is going to be a nightmare to find any of them in a canned product or on, within, or subdued to a pizza or anything. So far, I have just found a staple wire in my Greenwich lasagna many years ago. I have long forgotten the extent of my complain (but I am sure we called the manager’s attention), if we were given a “staple wire discount”, or another piece of lasagna. I can just imagine how my digestive system is going to struggle if I have took in the wire. What we do not know is not going to bother us. But we better be informed eh?

(Originally uploaded here.) This carton ballot box looks almost the same with those being used in the ongoing election in the UAE. Just take out the label and imagine sealer-tapes on each side of a more vulnerable box instead.

I casted my vote at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi two days ago. That was before 12:00 noon and there were only three voters then. I brought a solid list with me, so it did not take much time for me to finish. I briefly sorted the names of the candidates though and found myself humoured to know their full names, which I probably would not easily identify if not for their aliases and popular names. Also, only that moment I learned that Jay Sonza was running for vice-president and Imelda Papin for senator.

I stayed in the precinct a little longer just to feel the control environment which is contributory to the possible results of the election. It turned out that I had too many WHYs:

(1) The absentee voting began on 10th of April. The same carton ballot boxes will be used until 10th of May. Can we please have more durable ballot boxes? Please take note that there are also ballot boxes taken to and from the Labor Office (also in Abu Dhabi) because there is a number of Filipinos assigned to cast their votes from there. You probably can calculate how depreciated the boxes will be after a month or before the actual counting of votes begin.
(2) I registered in August of last year. We were advised that the voter’s ID will be available (at most) by April. Until the day I voted, I did not receive it. The same applies to the rest of the voters in the UAE. I have no idea if this singly happened here. Instead, we were asked to present the original passport or any locally issued identification.
(3) After presenting the acceptable ID, the name of the voter was checked from the masterlist/registration; and the voter was asked to sign there and signify a right thumb print. But why is the ink delible? One sneeze can erase it.
(4) A few who actually registered last year cannot find their names on the masterlist/registration.
(5) There was no secrecy booth. Voters were asked to cast their votes over a shared rectangular table. Yes, a folder was there with the name of the candidates in it. But the area and arrangement was so open that my neighbor-voter can actually cheat (i.e. copy my list). In a way, I would be happy if somebody indeed copied my list. Since I believe I made a right choice. (I have, however, this inkling that the election will never be 100% clean, no matter how much we pray about it. And that is beyond my control. But I am happy that in the aspect that is within my means, I did my best. Shall my candidate win or not, I would support whoever would be officially elected.)
(6) I was asked to thumb print again on the ballot before slipping it to the box (there goes my precious choices!). Yes, the ink was doubly verified as delible. It was gone in a few minutes without really trying to intentionally remove it.
(7) I have chatted with the person overseeing the voting that hour. I asked a number of questions like the safekeeping of ballot boxes, custodianship of keys, other preventive and detective controls, and a lot more. I got a feeling that she wanted to shoo me away as soon as possible. Sorry, if I made you uncomfortable. But I think I will always have the right to ask that.
(8) Well, there are just too many WHYs.

One hundred two diplomatic posts (embassies and consulates) will have postal voting and 70 posts will have personal voting (voter has to cast his ballot at the embassy or consulate), and the new automated voting system in Hong Kong and Singapore (THIS IS ANOTHER WHY; why not in the Middle East?).

Of the 8.1 million Filipinos (workers and residents combined) worldwide, only 589,830 overseas Filipinos registered* for the May 2010 national elections. Well, of course, not all those who registered are going to vote.

*215,546 voters in the Asia Pacific, 66,745 in the Americas, 61,294 in Europe, 225,148 in the Middle East and and Africa, and 21,097 seafarers.

That one odd day in April, a few of my male officemates thought that something bad happened to my feet. I guess that’s what happens when you wear the wrong foot stockings and/or the male observers are not too oriented with the different kind of foot socks a female can wear. Like in this case, they thought I had a bandage.

Not for too long, I came with patches of salonpas on my left foot. Just when I thought it will draw attention, it did not. Heehee. Except for the smell, maybe. Incidentally, my left foot twisted while I was walking in too much hurry few days ago. When a friend learned about it, she exclaimed “Na naman? (Again?)”. More than two years ago, I fell off from the stairs of an office building. It was tax season that time and we worked until 3:00 AM. Maybe I was already sleepwalking that I didn’t notice that there were at least still five steps before the ground. So, I fell with my two-inch heeled shoes. The guard and a friend-teammate saw me. From then on, I became a fan of flats. And I’ve been very careful. Until my most recent fall. Heehee. Don’t worry, I’m salonpas-free now.

27 September 2009 at 3:00 AM, NAIA Terminal 1

When I reached the airport at 2:30 AM, I was doubly horrified by the sight of numerous stranded passengers and knowing that I’d be among those left by the flight because we didn’t make it at 1:15 AM. Now, I’m naming this airline.

CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT’S GOING TO MAKE YOU CRY

Etihad Airways is the national airline of the UAE and I guarantee you that its inflight services and flying are of topnotch quality from and to the Philippines. It’s just that, its customer service IN THE PHILIPPINES disappointed me big time just when the people/we needed it most.

On the morning of Saturday, I was already trying to reach the numbers of Etihad Philippines to confirm flight cancellation and to course through the request for rebooking, which can’t be done online. From that day until Sunday, the calls were never attended. At early noontime of Saturday, the water favorably receded that we braved the roads going to the airport. With the horror of waist deep water in Calamba, we managed to pass by with God’s help (I leave to your imagination the impossible) and reached Terminal 1.

Joining the stranded passengers, who were a mixture of panicky, angry, emotionally and physically helpless fellows, I had to console myself. I remember the words from our highschool algebra teacher, “When you are working on an equation, work on the given, don’t look for the missing variables. Don’t complicate things.” Incidentally, from the time I set foot in the airport, there was no representative from Etihad Airways. At 9:00 AM the offices of the different airlines located on the second floor of the departure area opened, except for Etihad.

I asked the (airlines) offices around. I tried to gather impressions about Etihad’s working hours, which supposedly is the same for the other airlines. It turned out that its airport employees are known for their laziness and even the people at the information counter were no longer surprised when we told them about the unattended calls since the preceding day. You probably know how it feels to be a stinking gal together with other stranded passengers. The main difference is that their airlines representatives are pacifying them in whatever way they can, luckier as they already have direction as to their rescheduled flights. While Etihad passengers were still clueless. Annoyed. Hungry. Yes, we had to feed and do other necessities at our own expense.

I was determined to be part of the next available flight. Hence, I stayed on the second floor, infront of the door of Etihad office while the others already got tired of waiting. Before 12 noon, the lady representative came. That time, there was already a queue before she got to open to the door. And I was first in line. Then she said, “Hindi sana ako papasok, Pinapunta lang ako ngayon.” At that point, I really burned but I managed to compose myself.

To cut the long story, the lady representative told us:
* That she cannot comment on why the plane flew when it was announced on the preceding day that all the flights in NAIA 1 were cancelled.
* That she cannot process a rebooking for us because the ticketing office is in Makati and we should go there instead.
* That when I asked if it’s open because Sunday is a weekend in the Philippines. She said, it’s not and we should wait until Monday to be able to rebook. What?????!
* That we would still be charged of no show and rebooking fees if we do. I can’t believe she said that.
* That when we demanded an explanation why they were not attending to our calls since Saturday morning, she reasoned it’s a weekend. At this point, I wanted to punch her. Hay. (Just a thought heehee. I’m not violent but just to let you know how I felt that moment).
* When I reasoned that there’s a calamity, so it wouldn’t matter if it’s a weekend or not, just like what the other airlines are doing, there my “saga” begun.

She: Intindihin nyo po kame.

That point, I cannot tolerate.

Me: Miss, inintindi na namin kayo simula pa kahapon. Personally, I tried to understand you why you came late today. Baka nanggaling ka rin sa baha. But what about us? Inisip nyo ba yung sitwasyon namin. Alam mo ba na lumusong na kame sa baha at kung saan saang lugar pa kame nanggaling? Dapat nung midnight pa lang, inisip na ng management yung action plan para sa mga na-stranded, yung probability na massive rebooking, kung iwe-waive ang charge or hindi. Supposedly nga ihohotel nyo kame pag ganitong sitwasyon.”

She: Eh ma’m, wala po akong magagawa. Empleyado lang ako dito. Wala sa authority ko na magrebook ng ticket.

Me: Alam ko. Naiintindihan ko na wala sa authority mo na magrebook. Pero responsibility mo na magpakita ng mabuting customer service. At responsibility mo rin na i-inform yung immediate superior mo kung ano ang sitwasyon sa office nyo sa airport ngayon. Kase, kung hindi mo sasabihin, ia-assume nila na everything is under control. Tingnan mo yung ibang airlines, nagagawan nila ng solusyon. Simula 3am nag oobserve na ako dito, kayo lang sa Etihad ang walang ginagawa. Actually, sa office nyo lang ang walang tao (representative).

She: Hindi nga ako dapat papasok. Pinapasok lang ako. Kung gusto nyo po, overseas na lang kayo magparebook.

Me: Last resort na yun. Tapos kame yung gumagastos sa calls coordinating to your office in another country. Baka gusto mong i-check yung terms and conditions upon purchase of tickets. Na in case of change in booking, ang instructions eh to contact the nearest office, tapos sasabihin mo overseas kame magparebook. Fortuitous event ito, kaya sigurado ako may ready action plan, down to waiver of charges pag may calamity or emergency.

She: Wala po akong magagawa

Me: Ako may magagawa. Pag nakabalik na ako sa Abu Dhabi, magfifile ako ng formal complaint sa Etihad main office dun. Sasabihin ko yung klase ng customer service na pinakita mo dito. Hindi lang yun, pati yung mga na-gather kong information tungkol sa katamaran nyo at hindi pagsagot sa telepono.

She: Naku ma’m, wag naman po kayo magsumbong.

Me: Gusto kong ma-rebook ngayon. I-earmark nyo sakin yung available seat. Willing ako magbayad ng charges kahit hindi dapat. Basta, kelangang makasabay ako sa susunod na flight (1:15 AM).

She: (Tinawagan nya boss nya). Ma’m hindi daw po kame makakapagdesisyon dahil weekend ngayon.

Me: Dahil weekend? Anong klaseng excuse yan?

She: Ma’m wala po kameng magagawa.

Me: Yun lang ang kaya nyong gawin? Titigil kayo? Nakikita mo ba kung gaano kadaming stranded dito sa airport. Uupo ka lang dyan kahit alam mong merong pwedeng gawin?

She: (Pagkatapos ng isang oras ng pakikipag usap kung kani-kanino). Ayan, ma’m pwede na daw po kayo marebook. Saka wala na pong charge dahil fortutious event nga daw po.

Me: (Ngumiti na ako). Salamat. Sa susunod ayusin mo ha.

Nakakainis lang. Kelangan pang takutin para gumawa ng paraan. Sabi nga di ba, kung gugustuhin talaga, may paraan.

NAIA 1 MAKE OVER, PLEASE?

Since I was stranded in Terminal 1 for at least 20 hours, it felt like I’ve been its long time resident. I already memorized the partitions, number of counters, and other things that you wouldn’t imagine I would ever pay attention to.

Batteries dead

Random thoughts:

* It has only one food kiosk that serves siopao, siomai, sandwich, beef steak, sodas, etc. which are all overpriced. That’s monopoly.
* There are no computers for free net surfing, which is available/common in international airports
* The people at the information counter are so attentive and composed even if they’re already on duty for straight 24 hours.
* One of the guards stationed near the terminal fee counter “loves to sit”. Ayaw nyang magpahiram ng upuan.
* There’s no charging booth. Lucky are those whose phones were accommodated through the information counter.
* The offices at the second floor of NAIA 1 are kawawa naman. Mukhang abandoned areas yung ibang cubes.
* The elevator was not functioning that day. According to one employee, that was only for that day. I hope he was telling the truth.

Due to absence of charging station, you have to charge at your own risk. I found this (top) outlet going to the comfort room. I unplugged the sort of TV (I don’t know what’s its purpose) and charged my phone. But it’s quite high I needed to make ends meet. So I chained my bags. This lady followed. She held her phone while charging.

You will notice I intentionally packed so light not because of the typhoon. I was avoiding to check in any luggage since I can only have limited time in Abu Dhabi airport as I was reporting to work straight after a quick shower.)

HOW TO ENTERTAIN YOURSELF WHEN YOU’RE STRANDED IN TERMINAL 1

* Engage yourself with the laptop or PSP. In my case, I didn’t bring a laptop, I was accessing through the mobile. While PSP’s battery died and they don’t have a 3-hole outlet for the recharging.
* Sleep at your own risk
* Spend time at the x-ray counter, discreetly, and study/observe the bags/all the things passing through the x-ray. Just like what I did. I enjoyed and learned a lot. Lol.
* Do a soul search/reflect. I think I did in passing.
* Write on a journal. I wanted to, but I’m too lazy to pull out the moleskine from the pink bag.
* Try all the food from the lone kiosk in Terminal 1. Lol.
* Socialize with the other strangers who were stranded.
* Be an extension of information counter, i.e. help passengers with their queries, etc.

I both love and hate this experience, i.e. the flood, the difficulty of reaching the airport, being stranded, being treated not so pleasantly. But I learned a lot. It’s humbling and awakening. To be patient as much as possible and be assertive when necessary. But most of all, it was a test of faith.

I don’t know when it exactly happened, but I suspect it was yesterday. I think I saw it coming. The other day three new users registered to this blog as subscribers. Their email addresses are strangers to me, i.e. the first time I heard about them. I’m normally security (and anonymity) conscious that I intended to reset my passwords soon because of that. However, I failed to do so because I wasn’t accessing this blog much the past days. And yesterday (I’m convinced that’s when the hacking happened), I had to spend almost the whole day in Dubai that I hardly went online. Except for the few comments that I moderated through my phone.

As I reached home last night, something nagged me to check my dashboard. There I found out that:

(a) There were already two administrators for this blog. I don’t know how that happened but I’m supposed to be its sole administrator. Though it’s too late, I immediately disabled the registration function. This bogus administrator probably used the “back door”.
(b) The permalink structure was strangely modified. Hence, if a reader would try to view a single post, there’s a script above the title that says, “Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ‘”‘ in /home/witsandn/public_html/wp-includes/classes.php(108) : eval()’d code(1) : eval()’d code on line 1″. When I checked the specific php file, I hardly can locate the malicious code.
(c) The preceding script’s immediate effects are that: the reader can’t leave comments or worse the site appears to be inaccessible/down.

I’m not technically literate to immediately fix the bugs. But instead of getting more irritated about these hackers and how to delete or modify the php files, I just consoled myself that I better go back to basic rather than waste my time on thinking of the things that appear complicated to me. I was using one of wordpress’ old versions (2.5.2) and I never wanted to simply upgrade but to go for a complete reinstallation for peace of mind. I was thinking that if I wouldn’t reinstall, some files that contain malicious scripts would probably remain. After almost a couple of hours, backing up, reinstallation and importing of old posts and comments were done. Whew.

The following day, I learned that I was not the lone victim but even the widely read Tech Crunch and Lorelle. The common denominator is that we were using some of the old versions of wordpress.org (wordpress.com is different). As you probably know, wordpress.org as a self-hosted platform is widely used/one of the largest blogging engines.

I don’t know the reason of the other administrators for not upgrading their versions. We probably are alike in some ways in my main consideration that I don’t want to get out of my comfort zone, i.e. I was satisfied with the old version that I’m also afraid that any upgrading will screw my then layout (some themes are compatible with a certain version), etc.

I’ve installed additional security-related plug ins. But I don’t think these would affect much the functionality of the blog. But probably, some good souls will be affected by the content protector plug-in that I activated to minimize stealing of contents (you’ll see for yourself when you try to right click the photo and other contents). I don’t mind sharing of work as long as we respect each other’s copyright.

Going back to being hacked, that’s a lesson learned. Whatever blogging platform we are using, we should be cautious about the obvious risks. I tell you, I cared about this, but I was really into it when it happened to me. In real life, I’m not afraid to get out of my comfort zone. But with a blog being maintained, I cared less with the upgrades because I used to think that it’s just a blog. But not anymore.

Well, when was the last time you’ve changed your dashboard, cpanel and other log in details? You know what I mean. Do it now.

Baby, I Love Your Way (UB40 Big Mountain)
Girl, I Wanna Make You Sweat (Bob Marley Inner Circle)
Don’t Worry, Be Happy (Bob Marley Bobby McFerrin)
Red, Red Wine (Bob Marley UB40)

I decided to use strikethrough to take note of our (usual) misconception. Being great, most of the reggae songs/versions are associated and a number of times credited to Bob Marley. It also happens that one group’s hit is merited to the other. That, of course, is not fair to the concerned artist(s).

When I wrote ‘Hello Sunshine’, I simply wanted to share one of the playlists (covering beach tunes-for my taste) I came up. I could have plainly listed the title of the songs without mention of the artist. But I did to particularly take note of the specific versions, since there could be more than one to too many (e.g. Baby, I Love Your Way). I based the information on iTunes. And it’s my habit whether work-related or not, to at least double check citations.

That early morning before going to the beach, I got an email from somebody, correcting four details in my entry (refer to the strikethrough). I cannot say that the timing was imperfect (imagine being corrected so early in the morning). At a quick glance, it could have ruined my beach mood. I initially wanted to ignore it and respond few days later primarily because I was about to head to the beach. But I gave in because there is something about the correction. The approach was respectful.

So after a few exchange of emails, and checking all the possible sources, googling, etc., I concluded that he is right (an understatement). A better way to announce it is that he has valid claims. To cut the story, I didn’t know that the person I was ‘peacefully debating’ with is indeed Robin Campbell, the singer guitarist of UB40. “But it’s based on iTunes, I checked You Tube, etc.”, I initially countered. Here’s a video of Red, Red Wine. Robin Campbell is the singer-guitarist in black sweater.

People in general keep an open mind. We don’t mind being corrected, as long as it’s valid and approached intelligently and humanely. As to giving due credits, I can just imagine how the artists/groups feel when their works are credited to someone else. This old age politics actually happens in our day to day interactions, in different forms.

On the other hand, in relation to my entry ‘Caveat on the resto’s name’ , I got a comment in my guestbook (which is still held for moderation) last December. It annoyed me for a second, but lucky me that I was too happy and busy that time (while on a trip in Hong Kong) that I was easily pacified and completely forgot it. Few days after that, I got a barbaric comment (through a post). After basic verification, it turned out that they are using the same IP address. I do not say that they are the same person, but it logically sounds like (i.e. the speech pattern, negative tone, etc.) that.

Here is the comment through the guestbook:

Dear Author/Administrator,

I have visited your site today and found out your article ‘caveat in resto’s name’ which is written under our competiotors inspiration to spoil our Image. Most of the statements are pejudiced and not true. Please note that we are not here to kill anybody or beat anybody. Our aim is just to do the buisiness for our (including our employees) survival only. We respect other businessmen eventhough you feel that they are our competitors. Please be understand that when similar business starts in any particular area of a city, normaly the business of all parties will increase and that area will be converted as a corner of that particular business.

So we request you to remove this article and photgraphs from the site immediately.

Rogie Mark,
Manager,
Kamayan Barrio Fieasta
Abu Dhabi

What? Asking me to remove my post and photographs? Are there any legal grounds? That I have written that to spoil their image? Rogie Mark has a very imaginative mind.

Anyway, here is the other comment from a certain Jennythm, who provided a non-existing email address and no URL:

UNFORTUNATELY I READ YOUR COMMENT AND DUE TO THAT ONLY I DIDN’T GO BARRIO FIESTA ABU DHABI UNTIL LAST WEEK WHEN MY COUSIN FORCED ME TO GO THERE. AFTER DINING FROM BARRIO FIESTA ABU DHABI INCLUDING YOUR SO CALLED ‘AWFUL KARE KARE’ WHAT I FELT WAS THAT YOUR COMMENTS ARE BIASED. (TO HELP SOMEBODY OR R U THEIR COMPETITOR IT SELF). I FELT THAT THE FOOD IS GOOD, PRICES ARE ECONAMICAL AND WHEN I WAS THERE THE RESTAURANT WAS PACKED ALSO.

I have not replied to these and have no intention. It is amazing how an informal restaurant review affected them. We know the power of word of mouth and blogging, but nothing is threatening enough if you are secure that your operations are good. Take Jollibee in Dubai for instance, it is not flawless but people go there because they like the food and for the feel of temporary easing up of homesickness. These are some of the must-be considerations of restaurants aiming to target the Kabayan market. I am not a professional blogger, but it is just a matter of going back to basics when we are sharing information (rendering food or any other review in particular). We need to find balance between tact and honesty. And which ever way you view it, there is always a better means to say it.

Further, there’s this rare instance of welcoming a commentator asking for (through the guestbook) KC Concepcion’s address because her University wants to invite her to an important affair in Iloilo. Another one asks for updates about Rob Pengson (of Chef To Go), claiming she’s googling about him and never found new information.

I never thought blogging is this fun. What about you? What are your not so usual encounter with the commentators/comments?

I bought the Twilight DVD from a record bar in Abu Dhabi a week before the package came. Included in the package is a surprise Twilight DVD my closest cousin got from one of the record bars in Metro Manila. I watched it as if that’s the first time I’m seeing it. Lol.

But the moment I opened it and rolled the first disc for the first 10 minutes, that’s when I concluded something’s wrong. What you don’t know won’t hurt you. But because I happened to have a basis of comparison, I thought “bakit parang clear copy lang at hindi DVD copy yung nirelease ng Viva?” Aside from the inclusion of advertisements (i.e. Volvo, Choco Mucho, etc.) in the one released in the Philippines, the following discrepancies were glaring:

(a) Viva-released cover is better. At least. It has a cute cut-out packaging. The back cover is practically just the same, except for the promo lines:

Released in the Philippines
The immortal romance based on phenomenal bestseller.

Released in UAE
The most epic romance since Titanic. – Hollywood.com

But the rest of the discrepancies, I’m not sure you’d like to know if you are planning to buy a DVD from the Philippines or if you already got one.

(b) Absence of Scene Selection mini-poster

(c) Absence of disc separator and censor’s rating indicator

While those are tolerable, I think these make a big difference:

(d) Missing Audio Commentary. This is a significant portion and generally a standard feature.

(e) No option for subtitles and spoken language selection . Isn’t this standard?

(f) 6 out of 7 portions in the documentary The Adventure Begins are missing! How come? That’s equivalent to at least 54 minutes missing scenes. To simply state it, it’s not worth the price.

Here’s an excerpt from the statement issued by Viva Video:

The 1st disc contains the full feature or movie in its entirety. The 2nd disc contains the DVD extras or DVD add-ons licensed to us by the international licensor. Such content are confined and limited to the rights granted to us by Summit Entertainment. The release of the Twilight video is in accordance with the License Agreement between Viva and Summit Entertainment.

Ganun? Eh, bakit yung narelease dito complete naman. I was thinking of the aspect of censorship. Hindi pa rin eh. The regulators here are stricter with regard to the media being circulated.

Although there are missing parts in the Special Features in the DVD released by Viva, the entire movie (as shown in the cinema) came out as it is. BUT, the video quality is really inferior to the one I bought here.

If you’re planning to buy the DVD, the following should be included in the two discs:

* Entire film as shown in the cinemas
* Audio Commentary
* Muse music video: “Super Massive Black Hole”
* Paramore music video: “Decode”
* Linkin Park music video: “Leave Out All the Rest”
* Five extended scenes with director introductions
* Five deleted scenes with director introductions
* Seven-part documentary: “The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen”
* Comic-Con Phenomenon
* Theatrical Trailer and Theatrical Campaign
* A Conversation with Stephenie Meyer
* Music: The Heartbeat of Twilight
* Becoming Edward
* Becoming Bella
* Catherine Hardwicke’s Vampire Kiss Montage and Edward’s Piano Concert
* Catherine Hardwicke’s “Bella’s Lullaby (Remix)” Music Video

What you don’t know won’t hurt you. But whether you ignore it or not, you’d feel something half-baked.

These are the words that struck me most when I listened to this:

As reported here,

GMA claims that Gary Granada is not a co-author in this sense because Under copyright laws, Perez countered, this “does not make [it]… his version.” Perez added that Granada can’t claim joint authorship, either. “[Joint authorship means] 1) there was an intent between two parties to be joint authors at the time the work was created, and 2) the contributions to the work of the party claiming to be a joint author must be independently copyrightable.” Granada’s case lacked these requisites, Perez insisted. He said Granada was engaged to write the music to lyrics “completed by GMA Marketing. Neither GMA Marketing nor Granada intended to be joint authors of [said] lyrics.”

That’s the beauty and flaw of playing with black and white, you can get away with it and turn black into white.

What are your thoughts?