our daily bore

Two Laws and Losses for Freelancers and Netizens 

The Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines’ (FWGP) 

Statement on Aquino’s Cyber Laws 

21 September 2012 

In August and September of this year, the Philippine President signed two laws that “recognize the role of information and communications technology in nation-building and social and economic development.” These laws are: 

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS FOR FREELANCE WRITERS THIS YEAR IS HAPPENING ON SEPTEMBER 16:

THE 2ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE FREELANCE WRITERS' GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: SEPTEMBER 16, 2012, 1 TO 6PM IN UP HOTEL. SO MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE MIBF BEFORE SEPT 16, OKAY? :)

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T MISS IT:

1. There will be a talk by CELINE ROQUE about Online Freelance Writing), NOEMI PAMINTUAN JARA and freelancer.com's SHARON DE DIOS will be sharing their freelance writing experiences, too. Plus, seasoned writer BERT SULAT will also be sharing lessons, tips and advice for freelance writers.

2. We have also invited representatives from the client side (yes, you read it right, THEY will be there) to talk about what makes them tick, what turns them off, what skills you should possess, etc. We will be hearing from CES RODRIGUEZ of Yahoo! Philippines, CAMSY OCUMEN from freelancer.com, and YASMIN ARQUIZA of GMA News Online.

3. The panel of reactors will be composed of three freelance writers who will represent all of us (because we can't all be given the chance to speak): DINO MANRIQUE, STEPHANIE GONZAGA, and BEVERLY SIY.

4. PLUS, the results of the RATES SURVEY will be presented, together with the accomplishments and future plans of the the different FWGP committees.

The event will be hosted by VIVA ANDRADA and ANGELICA CARBALLO. Open forum to be moderated by SUSAN CLAIRE AGBAYANI. Performances by PETER ALLAN MARIANO and CHARLIE MORALES' band. 

BOOKS WILL BE ON SALE AT THE VENUE!

FWGP wishes to thank our sponsors: FILIPINAS COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING SOCIETY (FILCOLS), AIR21, BUSINESSWORLD, HERWORD, BALANGAY PRODUCTIONS, TINDAHAN NG ITLOG NI KUYA, MICHELLE'S CUPCAKES, AGIMAT, AND MANY MORE.

YOUR ENTRANCE FEE OF P100 WILL BE USED TO PAY FOR VENUE AND EQUIPMENT.

Come join us this saturday for an orgy.. of ideas!

Have you ever found yourself (or someone you know) in a love triangle? Do you have an “imported” love? Are “mistresses” and “unfaithful spouses” topics that appeal to you? Do you have taboo love questions you have been wanting to ask Dr. Holmes? 

It's FWGP OPEN (NA OPEN) BOOK with Dr. Margarita Holmes and Jeremy Baer! The event features their new books IMPORTED LOVE and LOVE TRIANGLES. 

Come join us this saturday for an orgy.. of ideas!

Date: July 21, 2012
Venue: Chef’s Bistro, Scout Gandia near Tomas Morato, QC
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Entrance fee: P200
Hosted by Bebang Siy

This event is brought to you by:
BusinessWorld
herword
Air21
Agimat
Chef's Bistro
Botski Bakery

LIMITED SEATS.

For early and sure-seat reservations, you may opt to pay via BPI bank deposit or LBC or Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala.

Please text or call

IME (09062457910) OR TEENA (09153913129) FOR MORE DETAILS.

For the month of May, the monthly Freelance Writers' Guild of the Philippines' OpenBook session featured Clarissa V. Militante. She is the author of "Different Countries". Some of the moments here:

Iwa wasn't there personally because he's in Australia. But his friends were there - Lourd de Veyra, Jun Sabayton, and Jim Libiran. No drugs. Only mentions of it. And some other shit, as Iwa said.

After the lame pics are the "damaged" pictures :) Take a look: 

I was invited to a book festival and the first thing that came across my mind was "Am I for this?" 

Of course I'm elated. Because every invitation is welcome and I'm a book worm, I must say. At least in my heart.

But when was the last time I read a book and finished it? When was the last time we read books? Blame the technology. Blame the affordable pirated DVDs. Blame youtube, facebook and twitter. Blame the PS3. Blame porn. Blame the busy work schedule. But of course, the real reason is laziness.

Going back, I always took pride introducing the culture of reading to my nieces and nephews. That when they were kids, and their friends were busy with their coloring books or playing brick games, I was acquainting them with books, literature, graphic novels, anime and european films. Oscar Wilde, Tony Perez, Guillermo Arriaga, Neil Gaiman, Jun Cruz Reyes, Quentin Tarantino, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Chobits, etc. 

But now, the closest thing to this is buying some books. And well, starting to read some of the pages. But that's it. Some close encounters were with Samantha Sotto's Before Ever After because she's our first author in Freelance Writers' Guild of the Philippines' OpenBook; Bebang Siy's It's A Mens World, again because we featured her in our monthly OpenBook; Bob Ong's Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin, because I'm a fan; Ricky Lee's Si Amapola Sa 65 Na Kabanata because he's an institution and he knows how to mix mainstream sensibilities and good content; and Norman Wilwayco's Responde because I like his earlier work "Paano Ko Inayos ang Buhok Ko Matapos ang Mahaba-haba Ring Paglalakbay".

With all the nuances and some other forms of entertainment, how can we stimulate ourselves to read books again? Is it through the efforts of groups like the FWGP having the monthly OpenBook event? Or by attending book fairs and festivals? Or by revisiting old and favorite books in the hope of rekindling our lost love for it? Or are the books and theater, now some forms of lost art?

I hope not.

Because while I am one of the millions guilty of abandoning this habit, I would like to believe that love is still there. The want is still present. What's absent is the push. 

And despite the popular adage that it should come from within, a little inspiration from external factors is not bad. I went to SM Farview.. Uhmm, I mean Fairview. And hope that some influences motivate me to read again. The Book Festival at the annex atrium was featuring, during that time, book author Ronald Molmisa and former Probe reporter and now a sketching backpacker Robert Alejandro.

It was Ronald Molmisa's book signing. His books are "Lovestruck: Love Mo Siya, Sure Ka Ba?" and "Pass or Fail? Paano Maging the Best Student Ever". And was followed by Art Factory and Backpacking Stories with Robert Alejandro. 

As I am tempted to say the how and what happened, I will let the pictures tell you the story. But before that, let me first tell you, in case you want to know, that the SM City Fairview Book Festival is running until Tuesday, March 13. Astigirl Tweet Sering will be there, Peter Pan will tell some stories, there will be book signing sessions (Precious Pages authors), and an open discussion about digital publishing, among other things.

Yes, teenybopper stories of Precious Pages might not be what you want. Because you want sad stories of broken promises, death and futile efforts. 

Or you think Peter Pan's Storytelling session will just be for kids. Because what pleases you are gore fest, complicated plots and twisted characters.

And actually, I'm saying it to my self. Because what's cool for me is Death Note and Elfen Lied. Fight Club, Pulp Fiction and Magnolia. Amores Perros and Life is Beautiful. Battle Royale. Gaspar Noe's Irreversible and I Stand Alone. Among other tales. Those stories that explore melancholy, hopelessness and the sick human mind. 

But amidst all these, our former Business Unit Head, and now a film director, Sir Enrico always said, "All stories are love stories. Or at least, should be." Any genre, any target market, any medium. And I agree.

High School Musical, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, Titanic, Grey's Anatomy, Cedie, Princess Sarah, Dog of Flanders, Spirited Away, etc. Fuck! I love them all. Honest! Because the love to watch or read dark stories is not a negation of it's opposite themes. 

And now I think I'm not making sense anymore :) You can take a look at the pictures now :) Happy week-end. Start reading books now! :) 

Some weeks ago, Freelance Writers Guild of the Philippines invited Ricky Lee for the OpenBook Series and he shared some things and wisdom. Among other things, he talked about writing the book Amapola and his apprehensions; his 1st story and taste of censorship; and some thoughts on being naive and dumb.

After a series of successful OpenBook talks featuring highly-acclaimed and bestselling authors Sam Sotto (Before Ever After), Bebang Siy (It’s a Mens World), Tweet Sering (Astigirl) and Ricky Lee (Si Amapola sa 65 na Kabanata), award-winning poet JOEL TOLEDO will be the featured book author at the Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines’ (FWGP’s) OpenBook talk at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17 at the Chef’s Bistro, located at 94 Scout Gandia near corner Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

     Joel will read works from Ruins and Reconstructions -- his third collection of poems (published by Anvil Publishing) -- and his works in progress. This will be followed by an open forum, book signing and photo ops.

     Joel is the author of three books of poetry, winner of two (2) Don Carlos Palanca Awards for Poetry, and is the first Asian to win the Bridport International Creative Writing Prize. 

     

     He was a recipient of The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center residency in Belagio, Italy in March 2011, and the International Writing Program (IWP) residency at the University of Iowa, U.S.A. from August to November 2011. 

     A poetry-reading session will precede Joel’s talk. Among the guest readers are: columnists Jenny Ortuoste and Karen Kunawicz, Ramil Gulle, Abet Umil, Ceres Abanil, Nonilon Queano, Haresh Daswani, Veronica Laurel, Brandon Dollente, Rustum Casia and Rafael San Diego.

There will be performances too:

The Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines (FWGP) teams up with

the Yuchengco Museum for a series of writers’ workshops on culture, art, design and heritage.

It kicked off yesterday with the topic "Bringing Culture into BLOGGING 101 & SEO". Present in the event were blogging pioneers Ganns Deen (guest speaker for Blogging 101) and Janette Toral (on Search Engine Optimization or SEO). 

Dannie Alvarez of the Yuchengco Museum gave a theoretical framework on culture,

followed by Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Arch. Isabel

“Cookie” Berenguer Asuncion with her talk on “Let the Eyes Speak,

Articulating the Language of Design”.

Here are some of the moments captured:

Here are some the pics last night. I'll post some of the sound bites later. For now, the pictures first :)

If you're not familiar with the venue, here's a map:

Here are the pictures taken yesterday, the FWGP 1st christmas party and poem reading session: