David Dizon Article On Blogging

David Dizon of www.abs-cbnnews.com writes about blogging through the eyes of Dean Francis Alfar (author of "The Middle Prince" from PGS1 and "In The Dim Plane" from PGS4). David's article is Write A Blog, Win A Palanca. He also has a related article: The Philippines Has 2.3 Million Bloggers.

David Dizon Writes About Neil Gaiman's Latest Manila Visit

David Dizon of Abs-cbnnews.com writes about Neil Gaiman's latest visit to Manila here. Check it out! An excerpt:

English scribe Neil Gaiman, author of genre favorites Stardust, American Gods, Neverwhere, Coraline and the Sandman series, said Filipino authors and artists are ready to make a name for themselves among the heavyweights of the fantasy genre all over the world.

Gaiman breezed into town earlier this week to talk to fans and hand out prizes for the 3rd Philippine Graphic Fiction Awards, which he has funded for the past 3 years.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, the author said he is proud of the annual contest, which he started with Jaime Daez of Fully Booked after his first visit to the Philippines 5 years ago. During that visit, he said he was surprised by the passion and level of excitement of Filipino fans who trooped to his book signing at the Rockwell Tent in Makati.

"It wasn't the first time that I was greeted with enthusiasm by fans but it was the first time that I saw that kind of commitment and that kind of volume. That began my enormously rewarding and enjoyable relationship with the Philippines. I was fascinated with the mythology and I wanted to give something back," he said.

David Dizon Reports On English Proficiency

David Dizon, the abs-cbnnews.com reporter I met some months back, has a new article up, SWS: English Proficiency Of Filipinos Improves.The article mentions that the reason for this could be market-driven, as the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has risen in the country.

Watchmen Review By David Dizon

David Dizon of abs-cbnnews.com talks to Vin Simbulan (a contributor whose stories made it to PGS1 and PGS4), and gives his movie review here: 'Watchmen' To Divide Fanboy, Mainstream Audiences.

I count myself in the "mainstream". I haven't read the graphic novel, but I finally have a copy in my hands; Vin lent me his copy last weekend. I'll start on it soon. I don't know what to expect, but everyone says it's a comic classic by Alan Moore. I'll read it with an open mind, and watch it the same way when I have the time.

I bring it up 'coz a lot of PGS readers and contributors are talking excitedly about "Watchmen", and I feel left out.

My Thanks To David Dizon

Many "thank-you's" to David Dizon of abs-cbnnews.com, for writing an article about PGS. Much appreciated, sir! And I'm very grateful for the time and space you gave to PGS over at your site. And like Ruel de Vera, you made me sound better than I do. It was a pleasure meeting you. I hope to see you around!

David Dizon Reviews James Cameron's "Avatar"

David Dizon of abs-cbnnews.com reviews James Cameron's film, "Avatar". An excerpt:

Hear that scraping sound?

That's the sound of eyeballs trying to do a 360-degree turn in cinemas while taking in the vistas of Titanic director James Cameron's wondrous yet irritatingly familiar eco-fable about giant blue monkeys saving the environment.

A decade after proclaiming himself "king of the world", Cameron is back with a blockbuster film, this time trying to draw gold from well-worn tropes like industries destroying ecology, and civilization crumbling under greed.

One thing's for sure, you'd have to credit Cameron for having the moolah to bring his daydreams to thespic life.

An hour into the movie, viewers will forget the actual number of zeroes spent on this monstrosity (reportedly $300 million) and wonder, "Where, oh, where do we book a ticket to this green hell of a planet called Pandora?"

PGS Horror Issue Review

Earlier this year, I sent David Dizon, the writer from ABS-CBN News, early copies of the stories from the PGS Horror Issue, and he's put up an advanced review. The horror issue isn't out yet (lots of production conflicts) but I'm still doing my best to get it out before Christmas (the rush at work is a killer, worse than some of the monsters in the issue's stories). I'll blog here as soon as it's available in stores, but my thanks to David once more for writing a very detailed review of the PGS Horror issue. Thank you very much, David! :D

"Book Blockade" Irks Miriam; Senate Probe Sought

David Dizon of www.abs-cbnnews.com writes about this topic here: "Book Blockade" Irks Miriam; Senate Probe Sought. An excerpt:

Online outrage against a Bureau of Customs decision to impose duties on imported books has reached the halls of the Senate, particularly author and chairwoman of the Senate foreign relations committee Miriam Defensor Santiago.

Santiago urged the Senate to investigate the BOC for imposing import duties on all imported books in violation of the 1950 Florence Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials, of which the Philippines is a state party.

The BOC based its decision on Republic Act No. 8047 or the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, which allows "tax and duty-free importation of books or raw materials to be used in book publishing."

“The Florence Agreement provides that the contracting States undertake not to apply Customs duties or other charges on, or in connection with, the importation of books, publications, and documents,” Santiago said.

Click here to read the whole article. Click here for more information and updates.

Thank you for writing about this, David!

PGS Horror Issue Now Available

The PGS Horror Issue is now available at Comic Quest Megamall and SM North Edsa, and will soon be available at National Bookstore care of Anvil Publishing. Here's the link to David Dizon's advanced review.

More "Avatar" Commentary

A friend on Facebook said that he found "Avatar" to be the kind of movie that generated the same kind of excitement and wonder as when he watched "Star Wars" and "The Lord of the Rings". Another friend said he found the story trite, the dialogue wooden, the characters two-dimensional, but the film was still one helluva visual feast. After my posting David Dizon's review, here are links to other comments about James Cameron's "Avatar":

Jigsaw Joker Joseph THE 3 J's review.

Does "Avatar" Contain Hidden Messages

"Avatar" and the American Man-Child

"Avatar" and the War of Genres

Well, just interesting comments, these, on a science-fiction movie that's pushing the bar on movie technical production.

Journalists As Bloggers, Writers As Bloggers

David Dizon writes about what he terms an "upheaval of sorts" in the Pinoy blogosphere: Journalists As Bloggers. It's about the "old media" vs. "the new media", traditional journalists versus bloggers. A quote:

A few weeks back, an article by www.abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak reporter Carmela Fonbuena "Journalists urged to blog, set examples online" (Journalists urged to blog, set examples online) caused an upheaval of sorts in the Pinoy blogosphere. The perceived fault line and source of all the hubbub was the comment of UP professor Luis Teodoro who encouraged "journalists to consciously go into blogging to set examples."

"Many of those who post information online are irresponsible," Teodoro was quoted as saying. "Sometimes, it becomes damaging. It disrupts the democratic dialogue."

Finally, he also proposed that there should be self-regulation in blogs. "Journalists should be models online," he said. Be it a blog on political opinion or personal lifestyle, "the principles of journalism should apply."

Days after the story came out, one blogger (Talk About Kettles Calling the Pots Black) virtually pilloried Teodoro by calling him a CPP-NPA front man and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility leftist. Another blogger (Confessions of a "New Media" Heretic (or, the jester-in-exile throws yet another gauntlet before the MSM "priest caste")) asked Teodoro to "get off your high horse and tell your peers to clean up your stables before you come online and tell us how to live our lives." And finally, one blog (Challenge of the blogs) castigates the professor "for not finding anything good to say about blogs except that they pose a challenge to mainstream media."

Sometime late into 2007, The Spy In The Sandwich wrote about Literary Blogging, and how keeping a blog helps writers (mostly younger ones) keep the words flowing. There is a bit of that "old media" vs. "new media" here too. A quote:

"Can blogging be rightfully considered an effective tool in creative writing? If so, how or why? I ask this question because a prominent writer, an icon in local literary circles who will remain nameless, once suggested to me that I should not waste my time blogging, because blogging he says only takes away from the few hours we have for ourselves for what he calls “real” writing. I suppose he has good reasons to be concerned about blogging becoming a literary vampire of sort—but it soon occurred to me that the suggestion he posed smacked of one accusation: blogging as a worthless exercise in literary considerations, a “waste of time” basically, something that cannot be considered real writing at all. And so I threw the question into the air, by text-messaging some of the writers I knew who kept blogs, hoping that they had a sense of knowing why they blog in the first place, and how it keeps them in tune with the fact of being active writers."


The common thread here is that for some, blogging is not considered beneficial to "real" writing, be it creative or journalistic. The opposite opinion holds true for others. Thus, the conflict.

I think that there are creative writers--fictionists and non-fictionists--among PGS blog readers. I believe that there are students too among the readers (and not necessarily enrolled in writing courses either). There may be a few journalists. I know that there are a few teachers. May I ask you to share your opinions on this? Is blogging a boon or bane to writing, whether it be for academic, personal, or professional reasons?

It wouldn't be fair for me to ask for your opinions without sharing my own. The Spy In The Sandwich texted me for what I thought about blogging before writing his essay, and he couldn't use what I said because, I have to admit, I told him that blogging neither helps nor hinders what I write during my private time. I think this is because I'm pretty new to blogging, having started in late 2006, and only started posting regularly and in earnest sometime in the middle of 2007. So perhaps the more experienced of you can share your thoughts. I'm aware, though, that by posting this online, most of the responses will be in the positive, since responders will also be bloggers. So I'm asking also that those of you who do know the opinions and reasons of those who find blogging unhelpful to writing, to please do share them here too. It would be interesting to find out, and might also make for an entertaining, and educational, discussion. Thank you, folks!