EMPRESSOFDRAC.COM, A Media Blog

Sashi Buri! Do you know that your most beloved Facebook was created by a 20 year-old geek in his college dorm (5 years ago), and a movie about it will be released this year starring no other than Justine Timberlake?

Well, if you are reading this post, it’s 99.9 percent that you are a Facebook user and you are somewhat curious with the title above.  The only thing you and I know is that, Facebook is the best social networking site ever existed in this friggin’ universe.  And you know that I’m not making a baseless statement.  I can attest to this and I can personally go into detail why Facebook is the most superior social networking site in the world wide web.

Aside from the usual social networking features (well, they are really not usual but I will go into details about this in my next post), there is this main factor which makes FB superior among other social networking sites.  I’m referring to TOUCH.  Touch is a term in psychology which is parallel to ATTENTION.  From infanthood to adulthood (an even from conception), the human consciousness always craves for this kind of warmth and bliss.  Everyone loves attention.  Well, not necessarily to become the center of it, but attention from the people they treasure like friends, lovers, family members, and the likes.  Most children who lack attention have high probability of becoming rebellious and tend to develop self hate and low confidence when they grow up.

So, what is the physical or rather virtual manifestation of attention in Facebook?  We can start with its “like” feature.  Believe it or not, you can’t find this feature in other social networking sites.  FB pioneered the use of the “like” button that enables users to like theirs or other users’ statuses, photos, notes, posts, quizzes results, and all activities published on their newsfeeds and walls.  This button looks like any other button out there but if you will examine it closely, it is actually one of the reasons why most FB users are active and love to share their online activities with friends.  If your status is being liked by your friends, it’s a positive form of attention and you will surely post another one again and again.

Another feature that triggers the manifestation of attention is the “tag” feature. If you found out that someone tagged you in his/her note (or post, or photo), the very first thing that would come into mind is that, that person remembers you and he/she wanted to share something with you.  Being tagged would give you a feeling of belongingness and can actually hype up your self-esteem.  Being tagged means that the person who tagged you has given an ounce of his time in paying attention to who you are.

The last feature that would make a complete combo to the features I mentioned above, is the “comment” feature.  This is rather a common one, but it is only in FB wherein you can comment in every activity your friends published (on their walls or newsfeeds).  Just like the like button, comments are one of the strongest manifestation of attention you can get after posting your activities on your wall.  But, it could result to positive or negative reinforcement.  Unlike the like button which only gives positive reinforcement, the comment feature can actually affect your temperament especially if the comments are bashful and indifferent, and contain personal attacks.  This is actually the form of attention that most users wanted to avoid.  Uhmn, well, there are actually deviant ones.  These are FB users who would do everything to anger or irritate anyone in their networks just to gather lots of comments.  They are called KSP (Kulang Sa Pansin).

Conclusion: Like button + tag + comment = The FB Attention Combo.

Ja Mata Ne!

That day would definitely come. The date most of us seem to suppress in our subconcious minds. Others may find it very disgusting to talk about and would fail to see its significance. People may look at it on their own way of interpreting things. Picture it out on their own perspectives and draw conclusions that are mostly harbored from what their faiths made them to believe. A few would just shrugged it off and swore never to think of it again, for they see it as very frivolous and it is neither an alternative for any topics of discussions and the likes.

Death. Whilst the sound of it may frustrate anyone or some may find it horrible and lethal to discuss, a few are really contented just to hear the finality of the word that in an odd way it brings them infinite peace and serenity. Death. This word echoes floods of unanswered queries and made havoc to those searching minds who are in quest to find the mystery that lurks behind the aftermath of its finality. And for those who are courageous enough to face it’s fatal sweetness, its like a gift shrouded with unfathomable darkness. This is because they know that only those enlightened ones who braved themselves to venture the unknown can see its truest essence.

Yes!  Cebu Bloggers Society does exist!  Hahaha!  But as I can see, it’s still in its forming stage.  I’ve already attended a few meet-ups, and the others even attend press conference and the likes.  Hmmn…I’m looking forward to meet more fellow bloggers who are not only into blogging for money.  I mean most bloggers I’ve known are so crazed up in monetizing their sites.

Well, I’m not against the idea of blogging for money.  In fact, I have blogsites under google adsense.  My point is, it should not become the sole purpose why we blog.  We blog because we wanted our voices to be heard.  We blog to share our unique ideas… to express our individualities and to make unlimited connections to fellow bloggers and people worldwide.

I believe that the passion for blogging is a reflection of our passion for writing.  The passion to write should be the primary inspiration for bloggers.  In that way, blogging can sustain its true essence.  And that’s not definitely the essence of commercialization.  It’s because blogging didn’t start as a tool for business, but a powerful tool for individuals to reach out and to be heard.

But on the other side, who doesn’t need money nowadays?  Everybody loves to earn while enjoying what they love to do.  It actually depends on what side  you’re into.  Good luck to all bloggers out there!

Since May of this year I started to list some crappy stuffs that I should accomplish before the month ends. Here are the stuffs in my to-do-list last June that I’ve done doing…

1. Buy a spilled-proof mug

2. General cleaning in the house

3. Treat Roni Babe at Ice Castle

4.  Buy a new pair of decent shoes

5.  Treat jc_hitomi at Tongs

6.  Finish the anti-parasite campaign with libido boi

7.  Go to Camotes or Bantayan Island! Weeeh!

Wehehehe…congrats to myself that I managed to do all of those.  Check my new To-Do List for July.  Hehehe.  I just listed down again the things I didn’t manage to do last month.  I guess the most difficult is losing weight.  Grrr…

When anger consumes you cont.

I am a bit lazy today so I won’t discuss any further what had happened to our chat.  I’ll just post here a few of mine and some “concern citizens” reponses to his angry post in the local forum I mentioned in my previous entry…So here is my response:

As I read your posts I can tell that you’re ruining the Company’s reputation. And it is such a disgrace because you had only worked there for a month and it’s only you among all the past and present employees who is ranting such craps. If you have personal grudges against the manager don’t make a story like the company is like this and like that. It is very alarming that it’s only YOU who had experienced such “maltreatment”. Have you questioned yourself why your clients were not satisfied with your work? Why your clients were not happy with you? And have you also asked yourself why your Manager acted that way? And what have you done why you earned such reaction?

And here are a few selected response posts from those “concern denizens”:

1. No one has the right to ruin the reputation of the company (any company for that matter) just to purge some twisted grudge. Honestly, I think it’s juvenile and totally unnecessary. Granted that everyone has an opinion to convey, but in my humble opinion, comments that are intended to maim the reputation of a company is just downright bitter- who does that? Vanilla Networks is a great company that cares for its employees.

2. NO INSULTS to you or whatever but here is what I think.

Maybe you did not act properly or you have done some things that made you worthy of such acts by their GM. How can I say so? I think “professional” people will not do things without reasons. I was interviewed by the their GM before and I think he is professional enough.

My point is, try to be professional in dealing with things. If you feel that you are being mistreated, you can file a case for them. Not just post something here and talk behind his (Vanilla Network’s GM) back. Sorry to say this, while I read your post, I said to myself “dapat ra man sad di ay xa dili tarongon kai unprofessional man pod xa.”. Your post is here is so unprofessional frankly speaking. If you think that the GM don’t have the skills to be such or he did not have a good system for their company, then, GO AHEAD and apply for his position. Let’s see what you can do and If you will do better, then I will take back all I have said above.

Just a piece of advise, act professionally. If he had mistreated you, file a case or something. If he had underestimated you and your skills, then move on. Work your way up so you can prove that the GM was wrong about you. Not this way to trying to stab him at the back. Makes you look like your worthy of being treated badly because your not professional enough.

3. I heard about this company from a friend of mine, she said their OM is cool, smart and down-to-earth. Sometimes their OM would approach each of his employees and ask them how they are doing with their support. Sometimes he would crack jokes and help them with their concerns or problems. So, I was really shocked to hear some of these silly accusations from their OM, I trust my friend and she wouldn’t lie to me. If you have some issues with the company, then I would advice you to move on than waste your time ruining the company. I worked before in a prestigious company and they suddenly let me go without any warning at all. My friends told me to sue them, but I told them, why waste my time and my money on them, much better to move on and apply for another job. Later on, I realized that you have to experience some things or situations to be able to grow and know what your faults are. It was also a blessing for me, because I was able learn from that experience and prove to myself that I am a capable person. Don’t be bitter about it, cheer up, do something with your life and move on….

I checked the thread a while ago, and I read some comments from other forum members about the company’s people over-reacting about the guy’s post…Oh, well…What should the people expect?  Someone is throwing garbage to the company you’re working with and you fully know that all he said are not true and are just results of his anger.  YES! Everyone has the right to voice out opinions and the likes but people should be more responsible.  A forum is a public place wherein people who can read your post can hastily make unfair judgements.  It is just normal for the company’s people to defend the reputation of their workplace.  And everyone should be more vigilant with their words because badmouthing someone or anyone in public places can be a ground for a libel suit. You should be well-backed up with evidences before you accuse someone of something.

CASE CLOSED.

Empress Of Drac

And I immensely enjoyed the season sooo much! Whew! Today is the 1st of June and I just made the toughest decision ever. I hope this is the best thing to do and I hope that there would be no regrets.

I just discovered that having lots of alternatives is not easy at all. It’s so hard to choose from lots of great choices. It’s not easy to choose specially when all the choices are dearest to your heart. But then, at the end one should make one. And that is what I just did. It is really scary because every decision you’ll make has it’s own consequences. And most mortals are afraid to commit mistakes and so do I. But as what my favorite philosopher said…

“There are no mistakes! Events that we bring to ourselves, no matter how unpleasant are necessary to learn life; whatever steps we take, they are necessary to reach the peak we want to go.”

And I know that Osho is definitely right and I’m forever thankful to all his teachings for they serve as guides in my everyday life. Anyways, here are few pics last 17th and 18th of May during our Forum outing. More pics can be found in my friendster account.

Have you imagined yourself walking in a garden very late in the afternoon? The sun slowly sets, the wind a bit chilly, stilly surroundings, a familiar chirping of birds from trees afar, dried leaves all around you, everything seems stagnant, and a feeling of emptiness creeping inside you…

That’s how I felt when I watched this movie. Silk is way too different from any other movies I’ve seen. The scenes are too serene and melancholic, yet too vivid. The unfolding of characters is softly sculpted that you would slowly learn to like each one of them. The story yielded a climax of guilt-provoking scenes, yet it’s not actually what it seems. The tip of the climax sends a message to everyone about the congruency of true love and unconditional love. That big, red muscle in the center of your rib cage would definitely utter a sigh of longing as the protagonist unveils the most precious secret of his existence. (Hehehe!) (Photo from IMDB.com)

Photo Credit: Movie.Moldova.Org

EOD

You can download the movie here

Nobody in this bloody universe wants to feel sad and lonely.  Everyone likes to be happy.  Human beings NEED to be happy. But, what’s happiness without pains and sacrifices? How can you recognize happiness when you haven’t experienced loneliness or sadness yet?

It is inhibition-activation. Yes! In order for us mortals to experience the pleasure brought to us by happiness we need to inhibit ourselves from sinful pleasures and sacrifice a little so that when activation comes, our senses won’t be jaded. That way, we can ultimately enjoy the good stuffs brought to us by happiness.  Hehehehe! I don’t know if you still get what I want you people to get.

Anyways, according to a famous psychologist, the secret to a happy life is POSITIVITY. Positivity in what way?  Make a Happy Journal. It may be written in old school style like diary, notebook, or you can have the leisure of blogging and online journals. In your journal write only all the happy things, events, occasions that happened in your life or blog about your happy thoughts and musings. YES! All those wacky stuffs you did with your friends, happy moments with your loved ones, sight seeings with your comrades…everything and anything that exudes positivity and happiness.

Honestly, this is what I have been doing for the past few weeks.  And it’s definitely effective! Hehehehe! So, what are you waiting? Fill your life with happiness! Start writing your Happy Journal now!!!

Ta ta,

EOD

Wacky, intelligent, gorgeous, talented, boyish, sophisticated, and everything. That’s Kooki of multiply.com.   I won’t reveal here who she really is. You better check her link in this post so that you’ll know. Ahehehe. Anyways, I visit her site every now and then and I always see interesting and nice stuffs there. She’s…(I’m “speakless”). Ahehehe. I find her recent post very nice and helpful that’s why I decided to repost it here…I hope you can get some clues and maybe some help or tips or the likes…Jah bless…

Losing My Pollution

The 5 things we can do to clean up our act!

1. the guts to eat the right stuff. junk tastes gooood but try drinking as much water as you can. then watch what you take in cos it can make you or break you. an electric juicer is still the best tool for gulping up the desired, but often dreaded, greens

my cousin and i have detox dates, never complete without the cucumber-carrot-apple-honey shake! you can also try adding a few malunggay leaves. according to a nutritionist I know, malunggay supposedly has 3x more calcium than milk and 7x more vitamin C than orange juice

TIP: don’t make the mistake of trying to process fresh malunggay into a shot glass… malakas pala tama nun para kang nag tequila!!! you’ll be hit by a serious migraine, cold sweats and a possible fainting fit.

2. get out of your comfort zone… do something. do one thing every week that scares you. slap yourself when you get crazy lazy & it’s not an official holiday. shake your boo-tay when you like the music you hear, cos angels aside, you are down and depressed sometimes! think of what, in the 9 lives of a cat, you believe in… you have to believe in SOMETHING… make yourself useful. puwera plastikan.

3. compliment someone (and mean it). I read this somewhere before and it’s so great. there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell you wouldn’t get a kick out of it– it works with anyone cos everyone is somewhat vain and wants a compliment! how bout saying THANK YOU to someone… or making a peace offering… there has to be someone you haven’t talked to in a while?
make peace, not war. make loooove, not war.

4. find something to LIKE. a new film? song? out of the box idea? a new dream job? a new tambayan? something about your PAST? laugh. try it now, smile. makes you feel good already i’m sure. laugh cos something’s funny, laugh cos you find something ridiculous. laugh cos it’s good for you. laugh cos you can.

5. never allow anyone to say you don’t have a BACKBONE. take a break. know when & why you have to be fair to yourself. know how to cry whether out of relief or remorse. know when something is hurting you. know when something is an act of truth or just an act, period. know when something is, or isn’t, good for you. don’t stress yourself out about it all… rest, and try to see why you should be proud of your decisions.

check Kooki’s webby here…

Whew! At last! I finished this one. I actually had this concept just last week, and I was thinking how can I interpret it in photoshop.  Well, this isn’t that special to start with because my work isn’t that great, but then I’m still proud because I put some effort on this one.

We were actually talking in our Pysch 141 class last week about the the contributions of our genetic structure in the changes of our behaviours. And then we ended up discussing about the great resemblance of chimpanzees’ genetic structure to human beings’. The chimpz are humans closest relatives. The percentage of resemblance is 99.9%. And it’s only the gene which made our jaws move that made us different from them.

Well, it’s very embarassing because the chimpz greatly denied the statement above. What a very shocking reaction form our beloved chimpz! They cannot accept the fact that assholes and asswipes like us are claiming them as our closest relatives. Ahehehehe! Just kidding! (Well, we really don’t know for sure. Hahahaha!)