“Losers stick together” — Michelle, Survivor Gabon

The 17th season of Survivor (Survivor Gabon) has just started, and the instant crowd favorite seems to be Bob, a 57-year old Physics teacher. He belongs to Kota, the yellow tribe, which dominated the first three challenges.

Fang, the red tribe, on the other hand, instantly had two members voted out: Michelle and Gillian. Michelle, a 24-year old music assistant was voted out because of her “negative attitude” while Gillian, 61-year old nurse, was voted out because she “would slow the team down” — typical reasons for voting tribe members out.

Apparently, Fang is the underdog. Michelle was sort of frustrated because she did not belong to the tribe where the “beautiful people” are, as she put it. I am kind of disappointed that she had to leave very early in the game. I don’t know, but I think the show needs her.

When she was voted out, she had this to say: “I’m not really surprised. Losers stick together. Fat people stick together. They decided to keep Gillian, who’s like a hundred and five, and to vote me, who’s twenty-four and completely fit. I mean they’re all idiots…”

Signs of Aging

Three college students hop on the jeep, laughing. As soon as they are settled, one of the girls says, “Sis, narinig mo na yan sya magkanta? Kaganda gud ng boses nya.”

Then the other girl answers, “Narining na, pero once pa lang man. May exam bya ako bukas, hahay. Ten lang gud kami ang nakapasa sa Accounting.”

Then silence. And they talk again, laughing most of the time.

There you are, sitting beside one of the girls, thinking until when you have to suffer from their tinny voices. You get a headache of sorts, and look back if you were like that a couple of years ago. Then you say to yourself, no, you definitely were not like them.

They say that getting annoyed with the “younger generation” is one of the signs of aging.

2nd Birthday

Yesterday, my blog turned 2. With only 2,199 hits in two years, it is not much quite of a blog, really. It is updated twice a month on the average, and most of its visitors are my friends.

While I want it to stay inconspicuous as much as possible, there is one short entry that has solicited quite a reaction from “others” and my friends. Last September 12, 2008, it generated 175 hits and 35 comments, and for a blog like mine, it is really high.

 

I do not know if it is a very bad case of vanity, but I love reading my blog entries over and over again, especially the ones that I think are well, “well-written”. It is much like a diary, where you write something for yourself, only that you are giving the people you know and, er, other people the privilege to read it and express their thoughts about it.  

 

Two years of “on and off blogging” and I’d be lucky if it generated 3,000 hits at the end of the year. But for all that my blog is worth, I want to thank it for having been the “Mnemosyne” that I need especially during the times when I am on the verge of forgetting.

Bad Lessons on Blogging and Context-ing

To quote Sunburnfreezerburn’s comment on one of my entries, “Posting an entry in a blog is not back fighting. In fact, it is exposed to the world wide web. and it is open for interpretation.”

What is happening to Internet users these days? They come across the link to your blog, read its contents, assume that they are the ones being referred to or that they have something to do with one of its entries, and react negatively.

The weird part is that it is their first time (probably) to visit your blog, and leave a comment on one of the entries that has been posted almost three months ago. They call you names and accuse you of “back fighting”.

Good characters are round characters.

The human character is complex. You are a complex person. They are complex persons. Even the so-called static characters of the fairy tales are now made complex. (Try reading Neil Gaiman’s short story entitled Snow Glass Apples.)

What you think and what you write on your blog at a particular time of the day is apparently not the same with every unique minute of your life. Turning points take place, characters experience epiphanic moments.

Context is vital.
When they are not regular visitors of a blog and have nothing to do with the blog owner’s life, but leave comments assuming that they are the ones being referred to, then the essence of context is missed. What right do they have to assume that you are being a loser, that you are “back fighting” through a blog entry that has been posted months ago when they have missed the context in the first place?

They come to your blog, read your entries, get hurt of sorts in the process and react negatively, and turn the whole world against you.

Whatever is happening to the Web 2.0 users?

Alpha and Omega

I promise, this is my last entry that has something to do with the UAAP Season 71 (with the UP Fighting Maroons not making it the final four and the UP Pep Squad bagging the title ***grin***).

This means that I must have a new television show to get excited about and look forward to. Thanks to Survivor Gabon, which premieres on September 26.

I am Looking forward to discussions with my Survivor-fanatic friends.