An Exercise in Plagiarism
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 30th, 2009Please, a little journalism can go a long way. Not like this. Here’s the original blog article by Byahilo on Calea cakes dated some time in 2006 (which by the way I have to agree is really yummy — click to enlarge):
And here’s the article in the Philippine Star, dated May 16 2009 (click to enlarge):
Byahilo’s version:
This cakeshop first opened its doors beside the L’ Fisher Hotel in Lacson Street. In no time, words spread like wildfire. Loyal patrons immediately grew in number, thus, the need for a larger space. Calea, then opened their second store at the Robinson’s Place in Mandalagan Bacolod City. And just recently, they also opened their third branch at the East Block, along the Circumferential Road. So what’s with Calea, anyway? To explain it directly, it’s one of a kind. No Metro Manila cakeshop could ever beat the cakes of Calea. Compare it head-to-head with Goldilocks or Red Ribbon, and you’ll know what I mean. And their cakes are cheaper too! Cheesecakes are pegged between 50-58 pesos per slice depending on the type of the cake. My personal favorites are the Blueberry Cheesecake and the Oreo cheesecake. Their Oreo Cheesecake is far more superior than that of Starbucks. So when you get a chance to visit Bacolod City, never dare miss the cakes of Calea.
Philippine Star author’s version:
The cake shop first opened its doors beside the L’ Fisher Hotel in Lacson Street. In no time, word spread out like wildfire. Loyal patrons immediately grew in number; thus, the need for a larger space. Calea then opened their second store at the Robinson’s Place in Mandalagan, Bacolod City. And just recently, they also opened their third branch at the East Block, along the Circumferential Road. So what’s with Calea, anyway? It’s one of a kind. No Metro Manila cake shop could ever beat the cakes of Calea. And their cakes are cheaper, too (pegged between Php50-65 per slice)! My personal favorites are the cheesecake and the lemon torte cake. So when you get a chance to visit Bacolod City, never dare miss the cakes of Calea.
No s#it, Sherlock!
Finally, my Alma Mater (UA&P) has an Alumni Card!!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 28th, 2009I swear I could hear Ode to Joy playing in the background when Joel Parcon sent this announcement to our alumni group. Oh, and it’s a discount card as well. Sorry if this is such a trifling matter to the more “established” colleges. I graduated from a fairly young university so this means a lot to us alumni.
I’m reposting it here for blockmates and orgmates who read this humble blog of mine. The best perk is actually not being harassed by the front gate guard who insist you show ID:
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Globe Duo spams my phone with … yay, marketing!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 28th, 2009I got this SMS the other day. Been so wanting to blog about it:
From: +63921.252.6124
“Bai, I’m on my way to Globe to get Duo. hassle to bring landline plus and cellphone. One sim lang ang landline n mobile number, on pareho all the time. Unlimited calling daw for P399 lang on top of ur plan. I’ll save here so might as well switch.”
Anyway, my response:
“Pre, Globe DUO uses GSM to connect to the network. What that means is there isn’t any difference between the call quality of your landline number and your mobile number since they both use GSM. Kung gusto mo ng OK na wireless landline, mag Bayan Wireless Landline ka na lang dahil CDMA ang network nila. Diba pre?”
Not that I’m complaining. It’s just humorous. They’re all (telcos!!) just cockblocking each other’s services. Net of discussion, customer wins with cheaper calls, but it reveals how much they’ve been overcharging mobile phone rates thus far by passing the “new” service off as a wireless landline when in fact, it’s the same thing.
Correct me if I’m wrong but GSM, CDMA, and fixed line technology are very different things.
Young Cannes Lions in online conversation
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 28th, 2009Joey once told me that the roots of nation building is all about conversation. The world’s like one big nation now so conversation usually takes place in smaller pockets, like this one, the 48 hour contest on how to change the world.
Two popular local entries are up there (aside from the “Spock Rocks” vid).
Yahoo! Project Purple and the concluding head fakes
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 27th, 2009
Came from the Project Purple launch yesterday, an event by Yahoo! and handled by Ogilvy (cat’s out of the bag — Ogilvy now handles Yahoo! Philippines — Gratz!). In a nutshell, the event, hosted by Patty Laurel was a below the line approach to showcase Yahoo! properties, announce tie ups, and showcase local community members within their products. Check out the local Yahoo! Philippines portal for contests and interesting prizes such as purple Krispy Kreme donuts, BlackBerry devices and the grand prize — a spankin’ new Yahoo! Honda Jazz with Wee Will Doodle all over it. Here are more photos from the Ayala Museum.
Event aside, what I found more interesting was the head fake Jojo Anonuevo told me after the camera interview …
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UNESCO replies to the Philippine Book Blockade; Book Tax Lifted!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 24th, 2009UPDATE: The tax on book imports has been liften! Hurrah! Congratulations book warriors!
MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo ordered yesterday the Department of Finance to scrap the taxes imposed on imported books and reading material.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the directive was prompted by a torrent of criticism on the move of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which is under the supervision of the finance department, to impose the duties.
“President Arroyo ordered the immediate lifting of the customs duty on book importation,” Remonde said in a text message to The STAR.
“The President wants books to be within reach of the common man. She believes reading as an important value for intellectual formation, which is the foundation of a healthy public opinion necessary for a vibrant democracy,” he said. [PhilStar]
I found out about the UNESCO’s official reply to the book blockade issue this afternoon. Looking for the document on the Internet (it was easy — just Google the first paragraph), I was able to find it on Scribd, and apparently posted by Manolo.
There are no better words to put it:
Moreover, the tax scheme has an inherent anti-poor bias as it is the marginalized sectors that will be most adversely affected by more expensive publications. Taxes on imported books and other publications will definitely widen the “knowledge divide” between the rich and poor sectors of society and therefore run counter to UNESCO’s vision of building an “inclusive” society.
and
Taxing imported books is tantamount to taxing reading habits. At a time when parents and educators worldwide have expressed alarm on the continuing steep decline in the reading habits and practices especially among the young, the tax measure is counterproductive to current initiatives to rekindle a reading culture. The measure would surely further discourage young and even old minds from appreciating, recognizing and rediscovering the value of reading.
On a bigger scale, I have chosen not to exercise my right as a voter in the past, and it has much to do with abandonment to a system that I personally cannot objectively and realiztically change. I guess the book blockade phenomenon is making me re-think this complacency. The Internet is a game changer.
Hedgehogs as Pets
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 22nd, 2009
Our two albino hedgehogs are happy parents to what remains of two babies. There were originally four in the litter but the mother bit down on the two weakest. Alas, the laws of nature and natural selection; survival of the fittest.
Here are the two remaining babies which we play with:
And this one is freaky / cute depending on how you look at it:
The albino hedgehogs were gifts from Tito Wilson of Bio Research and Lost Eden. A pair of these exotic rodents will cost you roughly P12,000 to P16,000.
Where it is Humanly Possible
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 18th, 2009
The term “Humanly Possible” is a redundancy.
At 60 feet underwater, there is, what my colleague Prof. Richard Cruz calls a deep feeling in your gut sparked by sheer amazement with what you are experiencing. He describes it as something you feel when you see fireworks – it comes from the clenching of your gut and is in no way cerebral.
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#bookblockade — well, many thanks to David Archuleta’s media clout
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 14th, 2009
Here it is. A series of unrelated events can lead to a change agent for the Philippines. If not transformative, at least it will be very informational to bloggers and news agencies around the world on the plight of the great book blockade.
Thanks to David Archuleta’s appearance in Eat Bulaga, the Philippines is now a trending topic on Twitter. If you love books, please help us cross market the #bookblockade hashtag to let the world know about the stupidity of Espele Sales. You can keep track of the conversation through www.search.twitter.com and keying in the #bookblockade hashtag.
Even Neil Gaiman is in rage:
If you are on Twitter, please re-Tweet your #bookblockade posts from your blogs and social networks and apply the hashtag. What harm can we do? After all, we’re just a bunch of uneducated comic book fanatics.
Prepare yourselves: ABS-CBN upgrading to full HD viewing
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 11th, 2009
See that camera above? Well, ABS-CBN now has 24 of these for their studios. Soon, our favorite telenovelas will be viewable in full HD!
From the press release which was sent by Sony:
ABS-CBN Philippines, Asia’s first commercial television broadcaster, has just announced its intention to acquire 24 Sony HDC-1400R HD portable studio cameras. ABS-CBN is upgrading its studio facility at Quezon City, north of Manila, from SD to HD and Sony was the obvious choice.
ABS-CBN owns the biggest cable network in the Philippines and is involved in the production of television programming for domestic and international audiences. They deliver content around the world to countries including North America, Europe and the Middle East.
The decision to upgrade to high definition was based on the increasing demand for high definition content from their domestic audiences and those that they export to around the globe. ABS-CBN is at the forefront of broadcasting in the Philippines and is the first to invest in Sony high definition studio cameras.
Two huge entities — telcos and the TV networks — these are the two things that push technology to be adopted by the masses. In this case, we’re looking at the death of CRT televisions and say hello to the sexier 720/50P resolutions (I’m not much of an A/V guy but I think the 1400R can also do 1080p).
Here’s the full press release.
Espele Sales: “Books are non educational” (Updated)
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 10th, 2009UPDATE II: Marvic Leonen, Dean of UP Law School is going to be filing a legal case and needs all the evidence he can get. If you have a receipt from the post office or customs, which proves that they asked you to pay tax for books imported from abroad, please gather them up and send an email to chingbee(dot)cruz(at)gmail(dot)com [source]
UPDATE: Dennis Gonzalez, NBDB Chairman writes about the blockade as being illogical and illegal.
Reading this today made my blood boil. Let me quote:
The treaty has provided for duty-free importation of books to guarantee the free flow of “educational, scientific, and cultural materials” between countries and declared that imported books should be duty-free.
But Sales reportedly brushed off this argument, saying novels and reading books are “not educational.”
The imposition of duties on foreign books has caused book importers to reconsider future importations due to higher importation costs for the books.
If there is truth in her unbridled statement, then I fear that all my life, I have wasted my time reading books, thinking that I would have received what she apparently does not see as “education.” Let me show you what the Bureau of Customs sees as non-educational:
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