Manila Metblogs » Kyameel

The Great Philippine Book Blockade of 2009

Kyameel — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:04:17 +0000

There has been a lot of clamoring for justice recently when social networks spread this article by Robin Hemley, where he posted that local customs tax importation of books, when apparently there shouldn’t be as this is a violation of the Florence Agreement the country signed. As a regular person, I didn’t actually know that books shouldn’t be taxed, growing in a country where almost everything is.

Here’s a link to a video to explain the issue in less than five minutes.

Many books of most genres are greatly affected by this. And quoting my friend Alex who summed up it well,

Administrators should let this sink in – these books are making our students read again. Deprive them of that motivation and surely, we’ll find ourselves more illiterate as a society.

For the time being, we are making a lot of noise in twitter, using the #bookblockade hash tag, and spreading the word via other means. So far, there are already a couple of officials who heard our plea. But we still need more.

Please help spread the word.

For further reading please see: The Great Book Blockade of 2009: Timeline and Readings and We, the People: As Readers.

Responsible Voting

Kyameel — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:29:48 +0000

The May Elections are drawing near.

Soon our streets will be littered with posters, flyers, cards and other campaign materials. Prime time shows will have campaign ads in place of product advertisements. And there will be ~~mall~~ tours around the country ala concerts, as if big stars will be doing shows. Oh wait, there will be actors/ actresses/ people from the entertainment industry in the campaign shows. Either they will be the ones endorsing or actually running for office.

The Elections seem more of an entertainment event than a political one– but the politics is still there. Definitely. The army and police will be on high alert and there will be tension. The pressure will be with the registered voters. Even if they are unsure their votes will be taken into consideration.

To the voters, I post here something I learned this morning. The 10 Commandments for Responsible Voting from the Parish Pastoral Council. It may be already 3 years old already, but it still holds true — or should I say, needs to be complied with. Sure they look easy, but with the political tension in our country today… it’s harder realistically.

10 Commandments for Responsible Voting
from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting

1. Thou shalt vote according to the dictate of your conscience.

2. Thou shalt respect the decision of others in choosing their candidates.

3. Thou shalt seek to know the moral integrity, capabilities and other personal qualities of the candidates you will vote for.

4. Thou shalt strive to understand the issues, platform and programs of candidates and parties seeking your vote.

5. Thou shalt not sell your vote.

6. Thou shalt not vote for candidates using guns, goons and gold.

7. Thou shalt not vote for candidates with records of graft and corruption.

8. Thou shalt not vote for candidates just because of “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude) , popularity, or pakikisama (camaraderie).

9. Thou shalt not vote for candidates living an immoral life.

10. Thou shalt put the welfare of the country above all else in choosing the candidate you will vote for.

The path has been shown. It is up to you to walk the path. Are you voting or not? If you’re voting, who will you vote?

The 10 Commandments are from here c/o PCIJ.org

Flashflooding

Kyameel — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 15:28:26 +0000

The strong rains that fell down last night caused more damage in the suburbs than Milenyo (Xangsane) did, by the means of a flash flood.

Lower areas have been submerged in water for hours, causing major traffic jams in main routes and leaving commuters stranded. We got home around 11PM last night, as the waters have subsided around that time, and evidence of a passing flood can be seen. And I even heard on the news this morning that for the first time in years, Antipolo had a landslide.

Am a bit glad that Neneng (Bebinca) changed it’s course moving toward North Luzon. But still, brace yourselves.

PS* Bebinca? Sounds yummy.

The Typhoon

Kyameel — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:11:03 +0000

Yesterday, because of the storm, work was cancelled, so I had to stay home. The wind and rains didn’t seem to stop. I thought that the strong and fast winds were gonna rip off the roof over my head. Others were not as lucky– some families in other parts of the city had not only found their roofs flying, but also their walls. They tried to repair their houses though, as some of them don’t have anywhere else to go for the night…

This morning, evidence of the storm was undeniable. Trees, electric/ telephone poles, streetlight, and billboards have fallen over. The MMDA picket fences have been pushed aside to the empty side streets as the MMDA & DPWH prioritized clearing up the bigger road obstructions. On my way to the office this morning, I also saw some soldiers clearing the large tree branches at Ortigas.

There have been power outages, also some parts that don’t have power yet (the office I work is still being powered by the generator at the moment).

There is calmness after the storm of course, and seeing people work together to help each other and clear the roads is a sight to see after such a calamity.

National Cosplay Competition

Kyameel — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:48:34 +0000

The first ever National Cosplay Competition is ongoing. 99 cosplayers have entered but only a few will be called winners.

The NCC is the major event for the Ozine Fest on July 30. 2006. This will be held at Le Pavillon in Metropolitan Park on Roxas Boulevard. There will be Contests, Booths, Exhibits, Bands & more.

The online poll is up at Cosplay.ph, and there will be a ballot voting as well at the day of the Ozine Fest.

More info at:
OtakuZine.com
Cosplay.ph

Events @ Rockwell Tent

Kyameel — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 22:39:43 +0000

Who’s going? ^___^

The 1st Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards
Presented by Fully Booked and Neil Gaiman

July 15, 2006
Rockwell Tent
Gates open at 10 AM

Exhibits & booths. Awards will be announced by 7pm. Info from here

A Broken Time Machine:
The Fourth Philippine Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention

July 16, 2006
Rockwell Tent

Info from here

All-Meat!

Kyameel — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 19:45:33 +0000

“Bagong Sarap, Bagong Kaibigan” (New Taste? New Friend)

New Swift Sam Hotdog!

O_o

Has anyone seen this at the groceries recently? I took this pic with a camphone at our office canteen. And I had to *discreetly* take a shot of it. I immediately took off and I couldn’t stop laughing at the hallway.

All-Meat Hotdogs?!

1 more photo after the jump!

And I found out it also has a billboard. Photo courtesy of McVie. The blog entry itself is funny ^_^;

Really, what were they thinking?

BTW, to set the record straight– his entry is purely fictional, except for the billboard picture.

It’s Here!

Kyameel — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 14:21:20 +0000

Toys R Us is opening at Robinson’s Galleria on the 30th of June.

As I’ve reported less than 6 months ago, Robinsons bought the Toys R Us Franchise. They took over the space of the indoor amusement park, Dreamscape, and converted it for Toys R Us. And TimeZone is already on the same floor too. This is the same floor where the cinemas are. The area being filled with kids and kids at heart won’t be hard to imagine.

Did you get that feeling?

Kyameel — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 00:17:12 +0000

There was a minor earthquake that lasted for what seemed like over a minute around 7:12pm tonight.

Did you feel it too?

I’m still at the office, and I felt the table shook, and my swivel chair almost swaying…

*whew*

Fare Discount

Kyameel — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 17:35:54 +0000

Jeepneys to cut fares by P.50 starting Feb. 10 .

SOME 40,000 jeepneys in Metro Manila will cut fares by 50 centavos from Feb. 10 to 17 to offer the public some form of relief amid increasing commodity prices, according to transport groups and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The question is, will ALL the drivers of the participating groups actually follow this?

Details on the discount, here: Inq7.net