Year: 2007

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Mostly Everything

Neil Gaiman Weekend

Neil Gaiman at Fully Booked

I have always argued that Neil Gaiman is more than just a writer. He’s a story teller. There are some writers, who, when you listen to them speak, sound as if they are speaking in prose. The sentences they construct are uttered with a cadence that makes you stop to listen to every word as he effortlessly highlights his point with stops, intonation and the perfect choice of words.

Mr. Gaiman tells how Philippine literature is rich in realism, yet not so in unrealism as, according to him, we have the richest culture in the world. He didn’t say one of the richest. He said we are the richest. Don’t you wonder?

P.S. Perhaps you’ve already heard about it, but during the 2007 Ad Congress, Neil Gaiman served as pastor to two bronze award winners. The tale is recounted here for the guy and here for the girl. Neil writes about it here. Sadly, I was not able to make it to the ad congress, but I did catch him at Fully Booked, where he recounted the tale.

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Mostly Everything

My Facebook Behavior Findings

Here are some personal observations of my FaceBook habits. Are yours similar or completely different?

  • Deleting and ignoring apps can be a tedious process. Do you add every application that’s sent to you? The process is so tiring, it can be similar to writing off an entire cheque book or signing papers.
  • Some apps get old quickly. Some don’t. I’ve deleted WarBook, but kept my Big Photos. Yeah, it’s a matter of preference. As to what I’m more fascinated about is what makes an application stay in someone’s page. What are the benefits involved?
  • More of amusing really – that I’ve been using Facebook’s Inbox messaging system to conduct meetings with two or more people in threads. I’ve been finding it easier to use for managing conversations between three or more people as compared to using a group email system. What you can’t do however (at least from what I’ve tried) is add another person midway into the thread.
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Mostly Everything

Philippine Blogosphere Pitch: Why not aim for the Anvil Awards?

Every year, the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) gives out a set of Anvil Awards for remarkable public relations campaigns done in the Philippines.

The ANVIL is a symbol of excellence in public relations in the Philippines awarded by a distinguished multi-sectoral jury for outstanding public relations programs and tools designed and implemented in the past year. The Anvil Awards competition is conducted annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.

The Anvil symbolizes excellence and quality. The standards for winning are high. No award is given unless the standards are met.

There are four award categories:

The Anvil Award of Merit
The Anvil Award of Excellence
The Bronze Anvil Award
THE GRAND ANVIL AWARD

What exactly am I pitching? Why can’t we pitch the ongoing Filipinas Campaign as an entry in the 44th Anvil Awards happening in February 2009. This February 2008 is the awarding for the Anvil for campaigns done between October 31 2006 to October 31 2007. Though it would be too late to include the Filipinas Campaign as an entry to the 43rd Anvil Awards, it can still very well make it into the 44th.

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Oh the madness begins once more!

Starbucks Planner

Although the line was long at the Starbucks Madrigal cashier I was kept entertained by a dialogue between the barista and a woman with slightly heated undertones. The discussion revolved around whether the woman could get a stamp onto a new Starbucks planner card given the sad reality that she forgot both her cards.

Apparently, you can’t combine three cards to avail of the planner – you can only combine two. The argument went on for a couple of minutes as I sighed and drooled over the mineral water bottle behind the misty glass. Mineral water never looked so thirst quenching.

It’s that time of the year once again.

Here we go. The obsession over the Starbucks planner is nigh. Correct me, but what makes the planner such a prized possession isn’t the fact that you can actually plan your life with it, but because it’s only exclusively available in Starbucks during the Christmas season. I know you can buy it right off the shelf, but spending on coffee for the planner is probably the best 0% interest deal for the holidays.

I’ve never owned a Starbucks planner. However, I do look forward to the gingerbread cookies (christmas tree, snow man, etc) which they only sell during Christmas. So if anyone wants my stamped cards for the planner, just tell me.

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Mostly Everything

Book Recommendations: The Perfect Thing by Steven Levy

perfect_thing_book.jpg

That night, Microsoft hosted a small dinner in New York for a group of journalists, a prelude to its launch of Windows XP the next day. I have lots of experience talking to Bill Gates and do not break into tears when he yells, “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard!” so the Microsoft PR team seated me next to the chairman.

I brought along my new iPod. At the end of the meal, just as the other guests at the table were pushing away their chairs, I pulled out the iPod and put it in front of Gates.

“Have you seen this yet?” I asked.

Gates went into a zone that recalls those science fiction films where a space alien, confronted with a novel object, creates some sort of force tunnel between him and the object, allowing him to suck directly into his brain all possible information about it. Gates’ fingers, racing at Nascar speed, played over the scroll wheel and pushed every button combination, while his eyes stared fixedly at the screen. I could almost hear the giant sucking sound. Finally, after he had absorbed every nuance of the device, he handed it back to me.

“It looks like a great product,” he said. [excerpt from WIRED]

I was looking for another great book to read. Adel Gabot swooped by the desk I was working on a few days ago and flashed Steven Levy’s The Perfect Thing across the room.

“Great book!” he said. “Makes for a good podcast.” Thanks for the recommendation, Adel.

The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness talks about the iPod phenomenon – what does it take to turn a piece of hardware into an icon? As a consumer who is very discerning .. well, let’s just say it as it is – vain about his taste in technology, I’m particularly fascinated with how tech zealots and tech curmudgeons are born into this world. It is icons of tech pop culture such as the iPod that fuels these kinds of people. The book is available at Fully Booked BHS for around P550.00. I tried looking for this title in PowerBooks Greenbelt beforehand but was sadly out.

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