May 29, 2004

"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret."

Someone called me a liar. I got offended. I spoke a piece of my mind. I was damned for it. Naiirita ako. Magpakabata po ba tayo at magalit dahil napagsabihan tayo??? Tell me when matatapos ang iyong pagbata-bata-an para makausap kita ng parang nagiisip na tao

salamat.


by Joss Stone
(parang yung energy drink yung name nya)

Fell in love with a boy
I fell in love once and almost completely
He's in love with the world
And sometimes these feelings can be so misleading
He turns and says, "Are you alright?"
Oh, I must be fine cause my heart's still beating
Come and kiss me by the riverside,
Sarah says it's cool, she don't consider it cheating

Oooh ooh ooh [x4]

Red hair with a curl
Mellow roll for the flavor and the eyes were peepin
Can't keep away from the boy
The two sides of my brain need to have a meeting
Can't think of anything to do
My left brain knows all of love is fleeting
He's just lookin for somethin new
I said it once before but it bears repeating

Oooh oooh ooh [x4]

Can't think of anything to do
My left brain knows all of love is fleeting
He's just lookin for somethin new
I said it once before but it bears repeating

Oooh oooh ooh [x4]

Fell in love with a boy
I fell in love once and almost completely
He's in love with the world and sometimes these feelings can be so misleading
He turns and says, "Are you alright?"
Oh, I must be fine cause my heart's still beating
Come and kiss me by the riverside
Sarah says it's cool, she don't consider it cheating, oh

Don't go telling all my
Don't go telling all my
Don't go telling all my lies on Sarah
Don't go telling all my
Don't go telling all my
Don't go telling all my lies on Sarah

Ooooh oooh oooh [x4]

Can't think of anything to do
My left brain knows all of love is fleeting
He's just looking for something new
I said it once before but it bears repeating

Oooh oooh oooh [x4]

Gonna tell you what's on my mind
I'm gonna tell you what's on my mind
Cause it bears repeating

Virgo

Birth stone: Sapphire

You like...
>Paying attention to detail, solving difficult problems and getting the job done on time.

You dislike...
>Confused and lazy people, pointless conversations and mates who can't make up their minds about where to go for coffee.

You're best at...
>Organising projects, meeting deadlines, staying out of trouble and
keeping ur head when everyone else is running around in circles.

Deep down...
>U wish the world was run by Virgos, coz if it was, there'd be no long queues at the mall and no computer crashes. Chaos confuses and annoys you.

Your career...
>Attention to detail is ur thing, so become an anthropologist, police chief,undercover agent or magazine editor.

Fashion
>You like to be trendy, but won't wear clothes you know don't suit you.
>You like to be neat, clean and smart - even when you're slobbing out,your baggy jeans will be ironed to a crisp! Simple clothes appeal the most, but you do like the occasional frill and flounce.

As a mate...
>You are a kind, helpful person but have a very critical side. U pick your friends carefully and choose quality over quantity. Try not to judge them too harshly - not everyone is as clean, organised and together as you are..

As a girlfriend...
>Forget the tear-jerking cards 'n' furry teddies - Virgo girls are
practical, honest and expect high standards from their sweethearts. You work hard at a relationship as you don't believe in failure, so he's lucky to have someone as dedicated as u on his side.

If your boy's a Virgo...
>Don't play emotional games with him, no matter how fed up u are. He prefers to use his head, not his heart, to sort out relationship
rifts, so always be clear and honest about what u want from him. He expects the same from you, so be blunt and don't beat around the bush.

Celebrity Virgos:
Richard Neville - ex-Five (23/8/79), Shania Twain (28/8/65), Michael Jackson(29/8/58), Cameron Diaz (30/8/72), Salma Hayek (2/9/68), Keanu Reeves(2/9/65), Hugh Grant (9/9/60), Macy Gray (9/9/70), Prince Harry (15/9/84),
Davina McCall (16/9/67), Jada Pinkett (19/9/71), Jarvis Cocker
19/9/66), Liam Gallagher (21/9/72) and Billie Piper (22/9/82).
This blinkie is for Teen-Teen



May 28, 2004

"What does not kill you will make you more stronger and more cynical."

After my crying episode last night (na nakatulugan ko) I suddenly woke up around 2am. I haven't had a decent night's sleep for months now. Not even with the help of sleeping pills nope, sleep will not come to this tired body now...no, not yet...i tried to get back to sleep but to no avail...I cried again. My cries has not been cries of pain due to a lost love...it was more of a cry of a person wanting some relief from all the emotional roller coaster...from all the emotional punches and kicks that I've been getting lately...its like I'm in a heavyweight fight...knocked out several times but as the referee counts I get up and and raise my fists again to fight...i know that i can still fight but my body is all black and blue from all the hard hits I've been getting...

I am stronger now..much much more that I have ever been these past few months but sometimes I still feel so weak and helpless...but I am not going to stop..i am not going to let the referre stop the fight not let me count me out...and when the judges annouce their score cards, I am gonna win many times over...I am gonna come out of top...

no matter how badly your heart is broken, the world does not stop for your grief


Come on, let’s reason together
By Dr. Harold J. Sala

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your
sins."- Matthew 6:14, 15

To forgive someone doesn’t mean you give in, that you capitulate in weakness. But it does mean, in simple terms, that you pull the knife out of your own stomach. Instead
of turning yourself inside out with bitterness, you release the bitterness which has been gnawing at your innards, and you allow the process of healing to begin. Long ago God held out the olive branch of peace to those who had wilfully and knowingly turned against Him. He invited them to stop and reason, to think, stressing the fact that to give and accept forgiveness is not only reasonable, it is the only path to healing and
restoration. Here’s the famous text found in Isaiah 1: "Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will
be devoured by the sword" (Isaiah 1:18-20).

Wrongdoing or the extent of it isn’t the issue. Ok, you were wronged. "Come, now," God says, "let’s reason together." Have you ever wondered why people refuse to forgive, why they hold on to bitterness that becomes a cancer that eats them away? Medical research has proven conclusively that people who are free of bitterness and anger live longer, enjoy life more, and are more free of hang-ups than those who refuse to forgive. There is no logic in living with bitterness. Long ago the writer of Proverbs said, "There’s a way that looks harmless enough; look again–it leads straight to hell" (Proverbs 16:25, the message). The way that often seems right from a human standpoint is the way of revenge, of getting even. Jesus talked about the way that is straight and narrow, which leads to life, and the path that is wide, the well-travelled one, that leads to death.

It’s your choice. Releasing bitterness, giving up your right to hurt someone because that person hurt you, is not only good for your health, but also good for your heart and soul as well. Frankly, the best way to deal with those who hurt you is to forgive them, love them, and let God deal with them in His way, and in His time. Paul’s statement, "‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says the Lord" is not idle chatter.

Have you forgiven the one who hurt you? Jesus said that unless we forgive others, our Father in heaven will not forgive us. So just in case, since you are possibly less than entirely saintly yourself, better learn to forgive.

Say it, write a letter, make a telephone call–whatever is necessary–just do it. You’ll be the winner when you do. -

Resource Reading: Luke 16:1-13

May 27, 2004

"We are not evil, inadequate or incompetent when our relationships fail. It may have been that we were simply unrealistic in our expectations of them…the very measure of a good relationship is in how much it encourages optimal intellectual emotional and spiritual growth." (Leo Buscaglia)

Last night, I read Nikki'sblog and what was written there made me cry...not that I was sad for her..God no! I am truly happy for her...I cried for me...self pity? im not so sure myself...mababaw lang naman kaligayan ko e...i don't aspire to be someone great or someone rich and famous...my only dream was to love and to be loved in return...why is that so hard to achieve at this time?...and so I cried until I fell asleep crying and while listening to Fantasia's rendtion of I believe...it's been weeks since my last cry...i hate having "moments' kse it makes me feel depressed all over again(pop 2 pills at once)...makes me feel that I'm a bad person (good things happene to good people bad things to bad people)...makes me feel stupid (why do i still cry)...makes me sad and lonely over and over and over again...hhoooowweeee this is such a roller coaster ride and I want to get off!!! I've been trying to move on since day 1 and here I am still pining for him..putangina pwede ba belinda tigilan mo na...see! that's how mad I am na with myself ..with my heart for still holding on...please i wanna move on na...what else should I do??? get a fucking new heart...anyone who wants to donate their heart???


No More Tears

No sunshine, no moonlight
no stardust, no sign of romance
and I won't waste another tear

If you've had enough,
don't put up with his stuff,
don't you do it

If you've had your fill,
get the check, pay the bill,
you can do it

Tell him to just get out,
nothing left to talk about
pack his raincoat, show him out

(chorus:)
Just look at him in the eye and simply shout:
enough is enough is enough
I can't go on, I can't go on no more,no
enough is enough is enough
I want him out, I want him out that door now

I always dreamed I'd find my perfect lover,
but he tourned out to be like every other man
I've loved, I've loved, I've loved

(chorus:)
Enough is enough is enough
I can't go on, I can't go on no more, no
enough is enough is enough
I want him out, I want him out that door now
enough is enough is enough

Seeing life from God's view
by Rick Warren

What is your life?" (James 4:14b, NIV

How you define life determines your destiny. The way you view life is your life metaphor. It's your description of how life works and what you expect from it.


It influences your life more than you realize and determines your expectations, values, relationships, goals, and priorities

To fulfill the purposes God has for you, you will have to base your view on the biblical metaphors of life. These are: Life is a test, and life is a Trust.

Life is a test - God continually tests people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty. Character is both developed and revealed, and all of life is a test.

When you understand that life is a test, you realize that every day is important. God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them.

Life is a trust - We are to be stewards of whatever God gives us. All we enjoy is to be treated as a trust that God has placed in our hands. The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.

If you treat everything as a trust, God promises three rewards in eternity: affirmation, promotion, and celebration.

If your life metaphor doesn't line up with God's, ask him to give you a new perspective - his

Point to ponder: Life is a test and a trust
Verse: "What is your life?" (James 4:14b, NIV)

What will you do about it: No matter what trials or tests face you today, thank God that he is using those things to build your character.

Prayer: Ask God to keep you mindful that every day is significant. Ask him to help you pass each test and be a good steward of what he's entrusted to you.


I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore

We Agreed That It Was Over,
Now The Lines Have All Been Drawn
The Vows We Made, Began To Fade
But Now They're Gone
Put Your Pictures In A Shoebox
And My Gold Ring In A Drawer
I'm not susposed to love you anymore

Now Sherri Says She's Jealous
Of This Freedom That I Found
If She Were Me, She Would Be, Oooout On The Town
And She Says She Can't Imagine
What On Earth I'm Waitin' For
I'm Not Susposed To Love You Anymore

Oh I Shouldn't Care Or Wonder Where And How You Are
But I Can't Hide This Hurt Inside My Broken Heart
I'm Fighting Back Emotions That I've Never Fought Before
'Cuz I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore

Now I'm Writin' You This Letter
And It's Killing Me Tonight
That I Agreed When You Believed It Wasn't Right
And I Couldn't Sleep Up On The Bed
So I'm Down Here On The Floor
Where I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore

Oh I Shouldn't Care Or Wonder Where And How You Are
But I Can't Hide This Hurt Inside My Broken Heart
I'm Fighting Back Emotions That I've Never Fought Before
'Cuz I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore

I'm Fighting Back Emotions That I've Never (Fade).. Fought Before
'Cuz I'm Not Supposed To Love You (Stop) ..Anymore..
Virgo Daily Horoscope
by Astrology.com

By the time afternoon arrives, that wistful look you've been wearing for the past few days will have changed. At that point, whatever you feel will be quite obvious. Prepare!
><><><><><><><><><><><><><

In my last entry there was a typo: It said : "he wrote when he was asking me to take me back as a reminder" It should have been "he wrote when he was asking me to take HIM back as a reminder."

Today is my first day back from my long and much needed hiatus...tinatamad ako...i wanna go back to my bed and watch TV...Haaayyyy! I was just told by a friend that the new American Idol is Fantasia. Not bad. But my choice was La Toya London pero pwede na din...sa NBA naman po mga kababayan natalo ang Pacers kaya 2-1 against Detroit. Bwisit. That ruined my day.

I got this from Teen-teen's blog sabe nya its for me daw..aawwwww..shiyet first 2 paragraphs palang or lines na touched na agad ako

i'm a nice apple...
a good friend forwarded this email to me. it's a good one....

Women are like apples on trees: the best ones are at the top of the tree.
Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt.

Instead, they just get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy.......

So the apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing.

They just have to wait for the right man to come along - the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.

Share this with other women who are good apples - even those who have already been picked!

And remember ...

Men are like a fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

tinism: let's stomp the crap out of men, period.


***Imma good apple too :)***


'I'M ANGRY AS A PERSON, NOT AS A HOST'
Boy Abunda slams MTRCB memo
May 26, 2004
By Marinel R. Cruz

BOY Abunda, co-host of "The Buzz,'' said the MTRCB memo to the ABS-CBN Sunday show biz talk show made him "angry as a person, not as a host."

But Abunda also said he heard from "reliable sources that the words used in the letters were not hers (Laguardia's)."

"I could not connect the memo to the chairman because I know of her as somebody who is liberal," Abunda told Inquirer Entertainment Tuesday night. "We've gotten into some problems with the MTRCB in the past but she's one who has always been open to dialogues."

Still, Abunda made it very clear that he was very angry at the memo, "not as a host, but as a person."

"I felt insulted by the way the letter was worded, which I considered a personal attack on my being gay," he said. "Since when has a promise of love been promiscuous, unfriendly and offensive on prime time television? It's far from being immoral."

The MTRCB memo noted that the hosts of "The Buzz" had asked the couple questions like "What can you promise each other?" and that the couple told them, "We will love each other forever."

Abunda argued, "how in the world can anybody give another meaning to a simple line like 'we will love each other forever'? I don't understand why I have to be attacked verbally by anyone when I ask two people what they promise to each other. That's cruelty of titanic proportions."

He said he is saddened that "so many societies, specifically ours as verbalized by the MTRCB, have not considered the love between gays or lesbians as a form of human love. I totally resent this.

"I have lived with the same man for the past 21 years," he said. "Are you trying to say that my love and the life that I've dedicated to my partner for the past 21 years is an aberration? Given what I have done to my life or the fact that I have become a good son to my mother, a good supervisor to my employees? I think I've done pretty well."

The MTRCB memos noted that "The Buzz" and "S-Files," being aired during prime time, are watched by youngsters "who are at their most impressionable stage."

"I'm raising a 4-year-old nephew," Abunda said. "Bong and I as partners adore him. Every day of our lives, we try to be the best parents we could be. We are not always successful, but that's OK. If, by our being a gay couple, we are sending the wrong message of love and care to a 4-year-old nephew who is living with us, then I don't know what they're talking about.

"If showing two people professing love for each other would change entirely the lives of children, then what kind of parents are we?" Abunda added. "This is the role of the parents. It's a shared responsibility."

May 26, 2004

for an OC person like me, my room is a bafflement how the hell can I be a clean freak person when it is so untidy, disarranged and full of stuff that needs to go straight to the trash can-better yet, the incinerator.

I tried to fix -mind you, not clean but fix my room this morning. there's a distinction between cleaning and fixing my room. the latter needs a miracle of God the latter...just needs my attention to be able to get the guts to throw all the papers, letters and whatnots from my closet. I was able to fill 2 big grocery size plastic bags and my room is still not fix. Among the things that I threw out are letters, gifts and momentos of my relationship with William. He was the first guy who broke my heart. I read each and every one of the cards and letters he gave me, one of which is the letter asking me to take him back and that he has realized his mistakes and all that horse shit. A couple of years ago, I cried to the high heavens asking for God to bring him back and now that he is, I do not even have the minutest interest in him. such irony. I wanted to throw out all of the things I have of him but decided to retain the letter he wrote when he was asking me to take me back as a reminder. a reminder that God answers our prayers...salamat po Lord...

I watched the Kris and Korina morning chorvalu at medyo naguluhan ako no. there was no clear explanation as to what they were talking about but from the looks of it, i think it was somekindasorta about love and relationships...i think...isang oras akong nabwisit sa host (si Kris lang wala si Korina) at sa mga bobita at bobito ng guests...the saving grace of the show was presence of my boyfriend Christian Bautista and the answers of Luis "I love you lucky" Manzano and that Jodi girl...the host and and the 2 other guests namely, Polo something na ang pag pronounce sa moments is mo-ments, si heart na as usual is Trying hard. camille prats was...so-so...pwede na...their answers were all answers of a selfish person who wants all the men and women to themselves kesohadang may masaktan o wala. I expected it from heart being the ditzy stupid (understatement ito) girl that she is but from Kris...well, i should've expected it too but kse naman medyo may anak na po tayo at ilang beses nang na in love e mukha iha...wala ka pa ding utak..YOU GIVE THE AQUINO NAME NOTHING BUT SHAME...why we make tangkilik these kind of showbiz personalities are sooo beyond me...Kris even made me angrier when during the commercial break, there was a segment about what happened in The Buzz, i think. Which was Kris breaking daw with Mark Lapid on national tv. Our God, this gal absolutely has all the gal and no delicadeza whatsoever...another thing that made me shout "tanga" from where I was seated was when she agreed with what Heart said about breaking up w someone because she's not happy with that person anymore kse we she met another person who made her happy...sure, break up w someone if you think you're not happy with him or her anymore but tell that person that you've found someone new na??? Iha, you want that to happen to you? Follow the golden rule. Can we get better TV hosts and celebrities please!!!!

Kris, you've hurt a lot of people. Your kid got all your bad karma. You got some of it din, kse nagiging kabit ka lang at "sex partner"....Shape up dear. Di ka naman ganun kagandahan. yes, you may have the name and the fake whitened skin but hey...you might wanna put something inside your brain and heart, too.

May 25, 2004

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Virgo Daily Horoscope

by Astrology.com

A surprise is due, and it's going to come about via the revelation of either a secret admirer or a behind-the-scenes guardian angel. Either way, pretend you didn't know

***sus! this is soooo long over due***

I got the survey below from Princess Charming's blog na di nya alam na binabasa ko pa minsan minsan kse naman walang tag board or that comment chorvalu.anyway highway, basahin nyo nalang :)

Survey ng mga what
What did you want to be when you grow up?
madame! una I wanted to a detective ala Sherlock Holmes (sa kakabasa ng Nancy Drew and Sherlock Books) tapos nung mapanood ko yung NAM Tour Of Duty na andun si gwapong gwapo na si LT or Stephen Caffrey, I wanted to be a soldier na coz I wanted to go to Vietnam to fight with him at syempre I didnt know na at that time peace time na pala sa Vietnam hehehehehe then because of Top Gun I changed my mind to another branch of the Military. I wanted to be a fighter Pilot!!! I went as far as to research about being a top gun to collecting model planes and ironing my denim jacket with top gun insignia. Tapos I wanted to be a lawyer tapos..during college when found out how difficult it was to be one I wanted to be a teacher coz I love kids..tapos...eto sa call center nagwwork ngayon...

What is your favorite childhood memory?
lotsa lotsa lotsa

What was the first movie that made you cry?
hhmmmm..i forgot na

If you were to become stupidly rich, what one eccentricity would you indulge in?
tatakbo ako sa pulitka at kukunin ko si juday na endorser

How did you first learn about how babies are made?
i got molested when I was young...

When was your heart first broken?
in College...he left me then and now ilang taon na syang trying to get back w me...

What was your childhood comfort food?
chicken

If you could be a groupie for any band or musician, who would it be and why?
LIVE and Nickelback

If there was one ulam left in the world what would it be?
Chicken! Chicken! Chicken!

If you were on a desert island, what is the one book, person, CD, or practical item you would bring with you?
water! item ba yun?

If you were to commission a musician to make the soundtrack of your life, who would it be?
David Foster tapos si Josh Groban and kakanta

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful you wanted to cry?
yep, a baby..everytime

What do you wish someone would invent?
a cure for a broken heart

Who would play you in the movie of your life?
Charlize Theron kse hawig kme pero sige si....sharon nalang..bwahahahahha

Who would be your leading man?
That won't be necessary, since I don't have a real-life leading man anyway. :)

What song do you wish you wrote?
Silent Night...all those royalties!

What do you do when you are mad at a friend?
wala...depends sa level ng pagka friends namin..if level 1 hay naku makakarinig ka sa akin...pero Im not galit..i'll just tell you na im naiinis tapos after a few minutes ok na ulet pag level 2, wala i wont tell you..mapagtanim ako e..pag level 3 and onwards...excuse but do I know you???

What was your favorite panalo moment?


What panalo moment do you want to have?
pag artista na ako...

What is on your wall?
pictures tsaka i dunno what u call them...

What is your favorite picture of yourself?
on a beach, with my whole universe..THEN!

Who is the best person you met in the last year?


What's the most illegal thing you've done in school?
madame..

What would your last meal on earth be?
chicken, la foresta and watermelom shake ng Cibo, coke

What is your favorite movie scene?


What is your favorite indulgence?
books, shoes, cds, dvds, bags, bling blings

What is the best way to snap you out of a bad mood?
Corny jokes. Mababaw lang kaligayahan ko
^^^


"The worst way to miss someone
is to be sitting right beside them
knowing you can't have them.....
hope you would understand..."


THE WORST WAY TO MISS SOMEONE...

There was once this guy who is very
much in love with his girl...

This ROMANTIC GUY folded 1,000 pieces of paper
cranes
as a gift to his girl...
Although, at that time he was just a small fry in
his company, his future doesn't seemed too bright,
they were very happy together...

Until one day,
his girl told him she was going to
Paris and will never come back.
She also told him that she couldn't visualize
any future for the both of them, so they went
their own ways there and then...

Heartbroken, the guy agreed.
But when he regains his confidence,
he worked hard day and night,
slogging his body and mind
just to make something out of him....

Finally with all these hard work and the help of
friends, this guy had set up his own company!
You never fail until you stop trying.

One rainy day,
while this guy was driving,
he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella the
rain walking to some destination.
Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched.
It didn't take him long to realize those were his
girl's parents...
With a heart in getting back at them, he drove
slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot
him in his luxury sedan...

He wanted them to know that he wasn't the same
anymore; he had his own company, car, condo, etc.
He made it!

Before the guy can realize, the couple was
walking towards a cemetery, and he got out of his
car and followed...
and he saw his girl,
a photograph of her smiling sweetly as ever at
him from her tombstone and he saw his paper
cranes beside her...

Her parents saw him.
He asks them why had this happened.
They explained,
she did not leave for France at all...
She was ill with cancer...

She had believed that he will make it someday,
but she did not want to be his obstacle!!...
therefore she had chosen to leave him.

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you
want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you
with all they have.

She had wanted her parents to put his
paper cranes beside her,
because, if the day comes when fate brings him to
her again...
he can take some of those back with him..

Once you have loved,
you will always love...
For what's in your mind may escape
but what's in your heart will remain forever...

The guy just wept...

The worst way to miss someone
is to be sitting right beside them
knowing you can't have them.....
hope you would understand...

Find time to realize
that there is one person
who means so much to you,
for you might wake up one morning
losing that person
whom you thought meant nothing to you...

"The last thing you want is to be in love with someone you can't have. Believe me, that's
something I know."
Which Philippine Presidentiable Are You?

Weblog Ethics

Weblogs are the mavericks of the online world. Two of their greatest strengths are their ability to filter and disseminate information to a widely dispersed audience, and their position outside the mainstream of mass media. Beholden to no one, weblogs point to, comment on, and spread information according to their own, quirky criteria.

The weblog network's potential influence may be the real reason mainstream news organizations have begun investigating the phenomenon, and it probably underlies much of the talk about weblogs as journalism. Webloggers may not think in terms of control and influence, but commercial media do. Mass media seeks, above all, to gain a wide audience. Advertising revenues, the lifeblood of any professional publication or broadcast, depend on the size of that publication's audience. Content, from a business standpoint, is there only to deliver eyeballs to advertisers, whether the medium is paper or television.

Journalists--the people who actually report the news--are acutely aware of the potential for abuse that is inherent in their system, which relies on support from businesses and power brokers, each with an agenda to promote. Their ethical standards are designed to delineate the journalist's responsibilities and provide a clear code of conduct that will ensure the integrity of the news.

Weblogs, produced by nonprofessionals, have no such code, and individual webloggers seem almost proud of their amateur status. "We don't need no stinkin' fact checkers" seems to be the prevailing attitude, as if inaccuracy were a virtue.

Let me propose a radical notion: The weblog's greatest strength--its uncensored, unmediated, uncontrolled voice--is also its greatest weakness. News outlets may be ultimately beholden to advertising interests, and reporters may have a strong incentive for remaining on good terms with their sources in order to remain in the loop; but because they are businesses with salaries to pay, advertisers to please, and audiences to attract and hold, professional news organizations have a vested interest in upholding certain standards so that readers keep subscribing and advertisers keep buying. Weblogs, with only minor costs and little hope of significant financial gain, have no such incentives.

The very things that may compromise professional news outlets are at the same time incentives for some level of journalistic standards. And the very things that make weblogs so valuable as alternative news sources--the lack of gatekeepers and the freedom from all consequences--may compromise their integrity and thus their value. There is every indication that weblogs will gain even greater influence as their numbers grow and awareness of the form becomes more widespread. It is not true, as some people assert, that the network will route around misinformation, or that the truth is always filtered to widespread awareness. Rumors spread because they are fun to pass along. Corrections rarely gain much traction either in the real world or online; they just aren't as much fun.

There has been almost no talk about ethics in the weblog universe: Mavericks are notoriously resistant to being told what to do. But I would propose a set of six rules that I think form a basis of ethical behavior for online publishers of all kinds.1 I hope that the weblog community will thoughtfully consider the principles outlined here; in time, and with experience, the community may see the need to add to these rules or to further codify our standards. At the very least, I hope these principles will spur discussion about our responsibilities and the ramifications of our collective behavior.

Journalistic codes of ethics seek to ensure fairness and accuracy in news reporting. By comparison, each of these suggestions attempts to bring transparency--one of the weblog's distinguishing characteristics and greatest strengths--into every aspect of the practice of weblogging. It is unrealistic to expect every weblogger to present an even-handed picture of the world, but it is very reasonable to expect them to be forthcoming about their sources, biases, and behavior.

Webloggers who, despite my best efforts, persist in their quest to be regarded as journalists will have a special interest in adhering to these principles. News organizations may someday be willing to point to weblogs (or weblog entries) as serious sources, but only if weblogs have, as a whole, demonstrated integrity in their information gathering and dissemination, and consistency in their online conduct.

Any weblogger who expects to be accorded the privileges and protections of a professional journalist will need to go further than these principles. Rights have associated responsibilities; in the end it is an individual's professionalism and meticulous observance of recognized ethical standards that determines her status in the eyes of society and the law. For the rest of us, I believe the following standards are sufficient:

1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.
If your statement is speculation, say so. If you have reason to believe that something is not true, either don't post it, or note your reservations. When you make an assertion, do so in good faith; state it as fact only if, to the best of your knowledge, it is so.

2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.
Linking to referenced material allows readers to judge for themselves the accuracy and insightfulness of your statements. Referencing material but selectively linking only that with which you agree is manipulative. Online readers deserve, as much as possible, access to all of the facts--the Web, used this way, empowers readers to become active, not passive, consumers of information. Further, linking to source material is the very means by which we are creating a vast, new, collective network of information and knowledge.

On the rare occasion when a writer wishes to reference but not drive traffic to a site she considers to be morally reprehensible (for example, a hate site), she should type out (but not link) the name or URL of the offending site and state the reasons for her decision. This will give motivated readers the information they need to find the site in order to make their own judgment. This strategy allows the writer to preserve her own transparency (and thus her integrity) while simultaneously declining to lend support to a cause she finds contemptible.

3. Publicly correct any misinformation.
If you find that you have linked to a story that was untrue, make a note of it and link to a more accurate report. If one of your own statements proves to be inaccurate, note your misstatement and the truth. Ideally, these corrections would appear in the most current version of your weblog and as an added note to the original entry. (Remember that search engines will pull up entries without regard to when they were posted; once an entry exists in your archives, it may continue to spread an untruth even if you corrected the information a few days later.) If you aren't willing to add a correction to previous entries, at least note it in a later post.

One clear method of denoting a correction is the one employed by Cory Doctorow, one of the contributors to the Boing Boing weblog. He strikes through any erroneous information and adds the corrected information immediately following. The reader can see at a glance what Bill Cory originally wrote and that he has updated the entry with information he feels to be more accurate. (Do it like this in HTML: The reader can see at a glance what Bill Cory originally wrote and that he has updated the entry with information he feels to be more accurate.)

4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete, any entry.
Post deliberately. If you invest each entry with intent, you will ensure your personal and professional integrity.

Changing or deleting entries destroys the integrity of the network. The Web is designed to be connected; indeed, the weblog permalink is an invitation for others to link. Anyone who comments on or cites a document on the Web relies on that document (or entry) to remain unchanged. A prominent addendum is the preferred way to correct any information anywhere on the Web. If an addendum is impractical, as in the case of an essay that contains numerous inaccuracies, changes must be noted with the date and a brief description of the nature of the change.

If you think this is overly scrupulous, consider the case of the writer who points to an online document in support of an assertion. If this document changes or disappears--and especially if the change is not noted--her argument may be rendered nonsensical. Books do not change; journals are static. On paper, new versions are always denoted as such.

The network of shared knowledge we are building will never be more than a novelty unless we protect its integrity by creating permanent records of our publications. The network benefits when even entries that are rendered irrelevant by changing circumstance are left as a historical record. As an example: A weblogger complains about inaccuracies in an online article; the writer corrects those inaccuracies (and notes them!); the weblogger's entry is therefore meaningless--or is it? Deleting the entry somehow asserts that the whole incident simply didn't happen--but it did. The record is more accurate and history is better served if the weblogger notes beneath the original entry that the writer has made the corrections and the article is now, to the weblogger's knowledge, accurate.

History can be rewritten, but it cannot be undone. Changing or deleting words is possible on the Web, but possibility does not always make good policy. Think before you publish and stand behind what you write. If you later decide you were wrong about something, make a note of it and move on.

I make a point never to post anything I am not willing to stand behind even if I later disagree. I work to be thoughtful and accurate, no matter how angry or excited I am about a particular topic. If I change my opinion in a day or two, I just note the change. If I need to apologize for something I've said, I do so.

If you discover that you have posted erroneous information, you must note this publicly on your weblog. Deleting the offending entry will do nothing to correct the misinformation your readers have already absorbed. Taking the additional step of adding a correction to the original entry will ensure that Google broadcasts accurate information into the future.

The only exception to this rule is when you inadvertently reveal personal information about someone else. If you discover that you have violated a confidence or made an acquaintance uncomfortable by mentioning him, it is only fair to remove the offending entry altogether, but note that you have done so.

5. Disclose any conflict of interest.
Most webloggers are quite transparent about their jobs and professional interests. It is the computer programmer's expertise that gives her commentary special weight when she analyzes a magazine article about the merits of the latest operating system. Since weblog audiences are built on trust, it is to every weblogger's benefit to disclose any monetary (or other potentially conflicting) interests when appropriate. An entrepreneur may have special insight into the effect of a proposed Senate bill or a business merger; if she stands to benefit directly from the outcome of any event, she should note that in her comments. A weblogger, impressed with a service or product, should note that she holds stock in the company every time she promotes the service on her page. Even the weblogger who receives a CD for review should note that fact; her readers can decide for themselves whether her favorable review is based on her taste or on her desire to continue to receive free CDs.

Quickly note any potential conflict of interest and then say your piece; your readers will have all the information they need to assess your commentary.

6. Note questionable and biased sources.
When a serious article comes from a highly biased or questionable source, the weblogger has a responsibility to clearly note the nature of the site on which it was found. In their foraging, webloggers occasionally find interesting, well-written articles on sites that are maintained by highly biased organizations or by seemingly fanatical individuals. Readers need to know whether an article on the medical ramifications of first trimester abortion comes from a site that is pro-life, pro-choice, or strongly opposed to medical intervention of all kinds. A thoughtful summation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be worth reading whether it is written by a member of the PLO or a Zionist--but readers have the right to be alerted to the source.

It is reasonable to expect that expert foragers have the knowledge and motivation to assess the nature of these sources; it is not reasonable to assume that all readers do. Readers depend on weblogs, to some extent, for guidance in navigating the Web. To present an article from a source that is a little nutty or has a strong agenda is fine; not to acknowledge the nature of that source is unethical, since readers don't have the information they need to fully evaluate the article's merits.

If you are afraid that your readers will discount the article entirely based on its context, consider why you are linking it at all. If you strongly feel the piece has merit, say why and let it stand on its own, but be clear about its source. Your readers may cease to trust you if they discover even once that you disguised--or didn't make clear--the source of an article they might have evaluated differently had they been given all the facts.


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1 With regard to points 1 and 5, I am indebted to Dave Winer for his discussions on Scripting News about integrity with regard to weblogging. Though our thinking diverges greatly, his ideas were one springboard for my own thoughts on the matter.

Referenced and related URLs

from the Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog by Rebecca Blood, copyright 2002, all rights reserved

I took the Blogging Personality Quiz at About Web logs and I am...

The Patchworker
Blogging is a way for me to comment on and consolidate news, current events, useful resources, and other relevant matters. In my blog entries, I usually add links to other people's blogs or websites with original content instead of writing my own.

May 24, 2004

I read this question in Rei's blog: bakit kung sino pa ang mga nanloko sila pa ang masaya ngayon???

bakit nga ba??? bakit nga ba??? BBAAAAAKKKEEEETTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All I wanted was to love and to be loved in return...mahirap ba yun?

This is all I ever wanted:
"The wonderings of all women: what must it be like to be loved? What must it be like to look into the eyes of a lover and sees only you and finds in you all that he has dreamed of for his life 's mate."

When you are not happy where you are and you are not quite sure if you want to leave or how to leave, you are in the meantime. It's a state of limbo. You are hanging on, ready to let go, afraid to fall, not wanting to hurt yourself, afraid you will hurt someone else. In the meantime, you pray the other person will let go first so that you will not feel guilty.

The other person keeps dropping hints, letting you know that it's time to go. You deny it! Why? You don't know why, but I can tell you that the meantime is fraught with don't knows and can't do's. Don't know why I can't go. Don't know why I should stay. Don't know where I'm going. Don't know how I am going to get there, wherever there is. Ambivalence, confusion, reluctance, and paralysis are all characteristics of the meantime. If you
knew the answers to these questions you would be just fine. In the meantime, you are many things, fine is probably not one of them!

Life would be so much easier if, when we hit a snag in a relationship, any relationship, we would stop, address it, and move ahead smoothly. The truth is, in most cases, we could do just that. The reality is, we don't do it! We keep moving. We allow little insults to become raging angers, little arguments to become festering feuds, little pains to become deep wounds, and
we keep moving. In many cases, we keep hurting. When the relationship at issue is an intimate, loving one, the attempt to move forward without addressing the pain only complicates matters, further poisoning the relationship.

How can I stay and not get hurt? How can I go without hurting? You cannot answer these questions if you are in pain. What you can do is make the effort to discover the truth about love, because it is the only thing that can help you move through the experience. In the meantime, if we can remain loving of ourselves and toward other people by staying in conscious and honest communication, a disruption, snag, or delay in a relationship becomes a healing process. When we cannot, we engage in meantime behavior -- hurting, fighting, not telling the truth, and moving forward in confusion. Confusion begets confusion.
back track to last week..

6 hours of staying under the sun and I only succeded making myself one lever darker...sus! para que pa!?!?!?!

Friends to the rescue: My mom wanted to go back to Manila monday na but i swear I can't stand one more day in Batangas due to my oc-ness...i needed to be back in my old room..own bed...and be able to wash all the dirt....good thing Eric and Den (same guy who rescued me from that panget guy that I met on a blind date) went all the way to Batangas to pick me up...why? kse wala daw sila magawa...ahh such nice friends..we ate dinner at Dencio's Tagaytay...I really like the place...the view...the weather...hhaaayyy...sarap may kayakap....erase! erase! erase!...hehehehe...before we went home, we drove around Nasugbu muna...the "resorts" are nice and all but I miss the old Nasugbu....before punta fuego and all those fancy resorts there was just a couple of nice beaches that we're not that known to the whole philippines...and I miss the old Bamboo beach which has been renamed Kawayan Cove...family developed it ala punta fuego but a bit quieter coz artistas, the military and politicos are not allowed to buy lots there...its still in the process of being developed but then again, i love the old bamboo beach with its old bomb shelter and 100 plus stairs that wound down the side of the mountain, its old well which is the only source of water, the bat cave, the white sand (unlike boracay's fake sand) and of course the quietness of the place...no one could use the said beach unless then came in via boat and they can only stay in the "aplaya" or the beach front but not inside the property. the water is heavenly especially in the morning coz its warm and clear...see the pic below......aaaahhh...the good old days....

I've been semi busy the whole week...shopping...tulog...shopping..tulog...watch tv...watch dvd ( i swear I must have been buying those pirated stuff as if there's no tomorrow!)..badminton (one time lang)...fixed some papers...matulog...manood..kapihan( na dapat pala sa akin is coke-an since I dont drink coffee)...

just got myself a new cpu and some pc gadgets like a webcam kaso ke bago bago dame problema..bwisit..i have difficulty connecting to ym or to any website for that matter...ano buzzzzz......

bad trip...my cd's got fucked up...nag jjump na sya..i think its because of the sands that got lodged inside my cd case when I brought it to the beach...kainis....excuse me puro original po lahat ng cd ko... :P

i dont have the best TM that one can have but so far he is the best and I can talk to him...although others sez na they can't daw...me, I can e....anyway highway, I told him na I'll be retracting my resignation...he said na sana my vacation did some good on me and that I am in a better state than the time when we last spoke...kung si penguin yan naku kesohadang mamatay ka wala syang paki sa yo....

i can't say that I'm 100% better...all I can say is at least I don't cry na...yes, I do get lonely and sad din...melancholic....but again, I don't cry na....aaahhh when will the sadness end...will I ever be able to love as truthfully and openly as I did before...i think not....i think he took away my ability to believe...and for that I hate him...and as Myls said, he doesn't deserve my friendship...

"I was told never to expose my inner senses." (audrey hepburn)

its difficult to trust someone again with your heart when someone you gave your heart to in the past broke that trust..its difficult to make someone responsible again for a part of your happiness...to make yourself feel "unglued"..maybe after what happened I'll never love that way again...who knows its either that I never find my man ever again or that I find someone who I will love more.....who knows...who knows what the fates have in store for us...who knows what God plans for us..who knows...

just this weekend :)

back from rainy Subic...
went to Subic w Myls and "Manong", Garv, tin and Ayn...at syempre nakapag beach kme..nog nog na nga kme kse sa tagal namin nag beach..si myles ba naman e nag nude sa beach...ayan pinagtabuyan tuloy kme..si tin...ayun nag pick up ng mga boytoys sa beach...si ayn....nag jetski hanggang taiwan tapos bumalik after 2 hours ksama si Jerry at Vanness kaso pinauwi din namin yung mga ksama nya kse ang papanget e...di pa maruong mag bisaya so di kme magkaintindihantuloy...ako..ayun...nagpaka perfect lang nanaman...how boring ....actually ang totoong ginawa lang namin is kumain...matulog kumain...shopping...matulog...kumain..matulog...how exciting no!?!?!