Thursday, July 22, 2010

Web 3.0 from Kate Ray on Vimeo.

Guys! This is something interesting! Web 3.0!!!!

Web 3.0, by Kate Ray, a Journalism/Psychology major at NYU is a 15-minute film (embedded below. It’s a useful overview of the semantic web (the next evolution in web following the explosion of social networking and user generated content). In summary, it’s turning all of the data on the web into structured data so as to define relationships between it and derive meaning. Check it out to learn more about what tomorrow’s web is likely to offer.

You can check out this cool site: Life Agency Blog. <- Hyperlink. Yes.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Insects in MOTION - -

On a collaborative project...

While I was trying to come up with a statement that would complement this picture taken by Ms. Mikka Marcaida, I saw something strange.



It’s something that is hard to equate with my advocacy. But I felt that it’s humorous enough for people to realize that like human beings, insects live in motion too.

--

Now, kindly look at the picture on a bigger scale. Analyze it again.


It says “INSECTS ARE BEE-SEE TOO”. Try to SEE how the “BEE” works which will answer how insects make sense of our BUSY word (meaning: Engaged in activity, as work; occupied--the free dictionary.com)

What are they doing??

If you have figured it out, well that’s good for you. ;-)

If not, try to evaluate yourself. Why on earth didn’t you notice that? HAHAHA! :D


It’s humorous, right? :D

INSECTS HAVE FEELINGS TOO :)



A Call for Action.

With the natural calamities that we have been experiencing for the past months, we can sort of envision the future of mankind. We see several predictions on the big screen. Experts have different claims on why these disasters are happening. We think. We assume. But whatever it is that’s running in our minds, there’s one thing that stands out, the environment - one of the most pressing issues that we must address.

During my childhood years, I was exposed to the abundance of nature as my family and I would usually spend our summer vacation in Bohol. I can recall how we would make hand-made "antipara" (goggles) that we would use for snorkelling the next day. We get to take a rest with the relaxing sound of the waves. Everything felt so natural not until the regular white beach front just across our ancestral house evolved to a now commercialized beach resort. Suddenly, tourists are all over the place and waste disposal became a problem. It was a mess. Then, I came to realize man's co-existence with the environment.
--
Years later while I was walking around the CAL Building over the summer, I saw this poster about a Global Youth Education Program that would expose students in various environmental situations. I applied for it and went through a screening process until I reached the final interview. Then just recently (June 28), I received a call as confirmation that I was accepted to the program and is one of the four representatives of the Philippines to the Denso Youth for Earth Action 2010. click here ",)


Thus, when asked to join an online group for a cause, the first thing that came to my mind was the word “environment”. I joined the The Nature.Net forums in GardenWeb.com where members are able to share stories and pictures of their encounters with Mother Nature. I particularly contributed to the forum called “Sustaining our Environment”. click here. ",)



I believe that the power of speech is such a good tool to affect and influence someone’s view and/or perspective on a particular issue. I blog about our environment. I blog about the pollution I experience commuting from one place to another. I rant. I inspire. Some may agree and relate while others may remain silent. There are different reactions. But for me the more important thing is, I speak up. I share my realizations and learning. If I blog about the future of this world and how it is in danger, some may reluctantly admit that they care. But at least, I informed them. And I believe eventually they will speak up as well. They will speak their mind. They will debate. And hopefully the debate is to change the system for the betterment of the environment.


“...We are the green people. But we must come to realize it for it to exist.”

“... A forum can be an eye opener for the green people to realize their worth, to be the protectors of our Mother Nature.”

In the end, whatever cause we may support, whatever advocacy we may have in our hearts, we must not forget to share it because it is in the art of sharing that we are able to make a significant call for action. ",)

Balangingi in Bandar Sunway

Hello All!

There's a lot of hard, computing science papers here, and I feel like my head is swimming from all the computational terms and concepts, but when I come up for air (and coffee) I am able to process the seminars.

A lot of the talks here are about ambient intelligence, intelligent environments and their applications in real life. I know it sounds terribly technical but it is simply this: technology that helps create environments that help humans live in - and with - automated places. These can be homes, schools, offices, shopping malls, or transportation vehicles. It's "embedded and cognitively invisible technology in the physical world." Technology that makes tasks efficient but is not invasive. But they're pervasive, and yet you don't "see" them. Keri?

Some examples: mobile learning, ID codes in almost everything to track them, customer-centered designs, smart homes which "tell" you things according to your needs and preferences. Virtually everything you see in a science fiction movie.

In fact, there was a session that encouraged fictional creations that would push scientific and research methodologies. It's multi-disciplinary, and it's about time. :) I can tell you more when we meet next!

Hope everything's going well with your planning and conceptualization. Will be looking forward to seeing/hearing about what you came up with. See you soon!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Animal Instinct and Green Minds

It suddenly occurred to me that I already had an advocacy way before this class even started. I am a member of the Greenpeace email ring. I totally forgot about it! Shame on me for not being green-minded enough. Shame on me for actually forgetting that I signed up for this. So my resolution: Be active and participate. You'll just have to wait and see how that turns out!

And then this lead to me thinking about this new organization that I recently joined: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). One of the things mentioned on their site was how people should strive not to eat animals, and instead go green = vegetarian. As a carnivore with such a humongous love for pork, this hit a chord in me. I cringe at the thought of seeing a cute piggie killed but at the same time I love the taste of liempo. So there lies the problem. Now, I'm considering trying to become a vegetarian. It's not impossible, I've seen it done before. Case in point: My high school friend hated veggies with a passion. As in she wouldn't even go near them much less eat them. Then 2 years ago, she decided to become a vegetarian. Not even a pesco vegetarian, you know, the type who eat fish and other seafood? No, she went full veggie-mode. And well, she's still one now. She doesn't even crave for meat anymore. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea. Taking my cue from Inception (awesome movie!), I will try to toy with this idea. So again, we'll see how this turns out. In the meantime, I'll surely observe the other tenets of becoming a champion for animals!

And this concludes my post. Lol.:)

Signing in from Bandar Sunway, Malaysia!

Hello All!

I'm in the land of kopitiam and teh tarik to deliver a paper on web video's implications on the media and how amateurs online are creating intelligent environments.

PHEW! What a mouthful.

I'll try to send updates as often as I can, but right now I really do have to revise my presentation. Hopefully no one walks out on me at the colloquium. :)

Wish me luck guys!

PS: You can check out more about the conference here and here.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Internet is following me


Remember the time when we discussed about certain ads that pop out according to our preferences? Well, I just experienced that on Twitter! I tweeted about Inception, then a minute after, this tweet mention me (@marjiii) and I clicked the link and it led me to amazon with an Inception DVD for sale! Hanep.

My Advocacy

I wanted to be active with TFK but I have problem contributing to their causes because it's based in the US. So I decided to join Greenpeace since it has both a global and local (the Philippines) reach. Plus protecting the environment is really something I believe in ever since I'm a child.
I decided to be an online activist for Greenpeace....

I submit pledges, read their blogs, tweet about the cause, join their facebook page and uploa
d anything about Greenpeace in my facebook account. Here's some of them:
1. I joined and submitted a pledge about protecting our Marine Reserves
I watched the documentary "Drop into the ocean" posted on the Greenpeace website. It's another eye-opener for me because it showed how bad we really are in treating the environment. SO I sign-up for the pledge and I posted it on my wall so that more
people would know about it.
Anyhow here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdo-YUFZd6c

2. I also scroll some of the related causes to Greenpeace. And I found climateandhealthcare.org. I joined their cause on prescription for a healthy planet. They particularly prescribe to ban toxic materials like mercury from all healthcare institutions. I just remembered the old days when i had to
stuck mercurial thermometer on the armpit of my patients and worrying at the same time that maybe it would accidentally break. Tsk.tsk. I will surely panic about the mercury splashing on the floor and causing health hazard. But at least now there is a call for a health-friendly climate policy even in health sectors.

3. I tweet and utilize my facebook account to let people know about greenpeace and about my cause in helping the environment. And I really want to attend the greenpeace orientation for its members. I hope I can come to their next orientation.

I guess I'm having fun with my advocacy. At least now I'm one of those who tell people: "Hey, pick-up your crap and love our environment more."

Friday, July 16, 2010

Midterm Project-like


Guys, you might wanna check these sites out.
I got this while watching some cool vids on Youtube and while just searching some stuff.
It is like the same "concept" as our project.
Though, I just thought na we have come na pala into a decision.
So check it out na lang for entertainment. :)


""Funemployed" a new web series by Wong Fu Productions and KevJumba
Today is not a good day for Jason and Kyle...
Follow Jason and Kyle on their journey through unemployment as they discove
r what their friendship and chasing dreams really mean."




I watched the episodes and men, ang cool ng series!
The story is also cool!
Ang cool lang din ng production nila.
Check nyu rin mga vlog entries ni KevJumba!

http://www.youtube.com/funemployed
http://www.kevjumba.com/funemployed-episodes/

Here's the first episode of the series. http://www.youtube.com/funemployed#p/c/7007879FA6221A00/0/N7f7udgXREY
Here is the trailer of the Funemployed.



Comment below for reactions! :)
Cheers to this midterm project!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

An Experience with a Twist

I have done my collaborative work with someone I never knew from the internet. It is quite exciting to do this project. I searched for photos on Flickr.com without really knowing what I wanted to create. Then suddenly, one photo appealed to me and I had a sudden burst of idea of what I would do.


The picture was pretty relaxing and very inspiring to look at that I remembered one of the songs we sing at church, Lead Me Lord. So the quest for acquiring it began.

I sent a flickr message to the owner of the photo and well, I received a positive response.

Now I met a new friend online. The owner of the photo, Vearl Brown, was really generous to have considered my request. I was really happy then. There were some little dilemmas such as how the photo will be sent to me and in what size but it was easily managed.

Being inspired by the song I remembered, I used a line from it and put it in my project.

I'm no expert in photo editing, but I really liked my work because the experience was really different. Not only did I get to do a project done, I was able to meet a new friend, too! Now that's a different kind of twist. :)

Thanks to Vearl Brown for the raw photo.
Lyrics from the song Lead Me Lord by Gary Valenciano.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Fur PETA!

So, the organization I chose to support is PETA. :) And so far, most of what I've been doing for PETA are sign-ups and pledges. Here's a rundown of what they are so far:
  • I pledged never to go to a circus that uses animals. Ever since I was a kid, I've never been really fond of amusement places that used animals (yes, that included zoos). I've sworn off going to Ocean Adventure and even Manila Zoo. I could still semikindasorta clearly remember one field trip (Manila Zoo) when I was in elementary and I hated how drab and ill the animals looked.
  • Signed a petition to revoke Ringling's license to exhibit animals. This is especially for their "Elephants Never Forget" campaign, in support of the revoking of Ringling's (the circus) license to exhibit animals. The animals, in particular the elephants, are being taken away from their parents at a very young age, and are trained in very harsh and unsuitable conditions. For more information, do visit http://features.peta2.com/neverforget/default.asp?c=p2_ea
  • Signed a pledge not to support corporations that abuse animals in cruel and unnecessary tests. PETA has a list of products and companies that do and don't test on animals. The list can be found at http://search.caringconsumer.com/
There's so much that can be done at the PETA website, it's all just a matter of how one may be able to apply and actualize. :OOO (And IMO, it takes a lot of willpower and passion, haha~)

BTW, that "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" is interestingly, the first image result on Google when I searched for PETA. Hahahaha! And also, most of the image results in the first page where also from the same campaign. Lulz.

- Dove Subingsubing

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Charm's Online Collaboration Project :)


I chose to create a poster promoting children’s rights.

I wanted to make something that I can contribute to my chosen organization which is...


I searched in Google, Yahoo, and Flickr to find the perfect picture for my project. I think it took me an hour to find what I’m really looking for.

Luckily, I found Mr Jo Pensica’s photo stream in Flckr through typing children, bata, Pilipino and many others in the search box. While looking through his albums, I learned that one of his favourite subjects when taking pictures are children. So it became difficult for me to choose a photo because everything in his stream is just so excellent and amazing.


After minutes of deciding which picture, I finally chose this photo.



I sent him a message to ask permission and thankfully, he replied quickly.


I enhanced the picture by sharpening it to show a bright contrast of black and white. And then, I added my message and voila, here it is.



Thank you Kuya Jo Pensica for allowing me to use your photo. :)



Befriend and Work





Here is my final output in my Broadcast Communication 148 class. You know what's more interesting than doing this activity is the fact that you get to know another person and be able to befriend him or her. 
I like kids that is why I wanted to highlight them through this photo. Especially now the number of kids that is on the street and doing the things that even their fragile bodies cannot do, they still push their limits just to earn money so that they can buy food for themselves.


I found this picture so interesting that I have written to the one says on Flickr, the owner. 


But it turned out that the person I wrote to was not the one who owns the picture, he just took the photo but his boss was the one who I am supposed to write to first. Here's what he replied to me. 


I sent a message to him saying that I badly need it as soon as possible since I need to show him the output after editing it. I am lucky enough to have this new friend that is so nice and was able to send the file I need without going through many stages before I can have the copy. 

Here is the original photo that he sent me. It is available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramdiboy/4325378340/in/photostream/


Again, thanks Thomas Tham for this wonderful masterpiece that you have.



Here is what he sent me just by now. I already edited the pic, Thomas. Thanks again!

Originally posted at www.aldrinandmedia.blogspot.com

From photos to webcomics

Below are some of Gil Policarpio's photos.






Being a writer, I turned them into webcomics. :)
(Click to enlarge)




-Jason Paul Laxamana




Enhance, Enhance 1.0

by Dove Subingsubing

When I heard that the activity for this class was going to be any kind of enhancement of any kind of web content, I knew I wanted to do image-related enhancement, haha. Since I run graphics communities at Livejournal and Tumblr, I decided this would be a nice addition there. :)


So I searched for a nice image at sxc.hu, and I found "pepo" (Ivan Vicencio), an sxc user from Chile. He has a flickr account but I found him at my favorite stock exchange site, http://sxc.hu.

This was his original image:


I did a bit of 'Shopping with it, added a Virginia Woolf quote to it, and here's what I got:


I gave him a link to where he could access the finished product, but he has not replied yet for his comments.
In addition to this photo, I also made other random graphics at http://theyellowplanetarium.tumblr.com/

A New Internet Experience

I first decided to just edit a picture for this activity but I ended up editing a video. I guess I really suck at photo editing and it's a struggle for me to do that so I just edited a video (though I'm not that good at editing video too).

I wanted to make a video with pictures of nice weddings on it or cute little babies depicting the irony of weddings and innocence of a child but my eyes were caught by the pictures of Mr. Calvin Tan from his flickr account. I chose the pictures he took from Ulingan, Tondo. They are so compelling pictures about the lives of children in this part of Tondo. I've visited Tondo before and I have nice memories about the place despite the poverty. Yet, I can't deny the fact that children there don't have the same childhood experiences and environment that I have when I was a kid. So I decided to show their reality through this video.

The Collaborative Experience
It was my first time to navigate flickr so I had difficulty at first. But I contacted him after I registered for a flickr account and luckily, he replied to me. Then came the series of messages sent and replied messages. He was nice enough to help me with this project. He even offered to give me copies of his pictures physically (he is from singapore but he will visit the Philippines this saturday). But I have to tell him that this is due Thursday and the idea of the project is to do a collaborative work from someone in and through the net.

Then I learned that I can't just copy and grabbed pictures from his account just like in google images, he has to allow me first. Whoah. Nice. I never knew that before.

After this collaborative experience, I guess I didn't just met a new friend from the internet but more so my internet knowledge was enriched. Plus I have a flickr acoount now. hehe

Here's the video I made from the pictures taken by Calvin. You can see more of Calvin's wonderful works at http://www.flickr.com/people/caltan29/.


I know you love them XOXO

I recently joined/subscribed to PETA or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I love animals! I believe everyone does somehow. When I was a kid I always played with little animal figures. I have a bag full of them until now. Not just a simple bag, I mean half-the-size-of-a-sack kind of bag. When I was little our neighbors tease me that I turned our house into a mini-zoo. I just like having tons of animals around me. That's why peta.org appealed to me. Let the animals live being loved. :)

Collaborative Work




Bahay na Pula by: Chedrick Sagluet
Edited by: Kath Gabaon


Bahay na Pula is a well-known haunted house in Bulacan. When I was a kid, I'm wishing to visit this house to satisfy my curiosity about ghosts.

last weekend, while browsing my Facebook account I saw this video of Bahay na Pula that was being tagged to one of my friends. This video is public so I was able to access it. I got interested so I asked the permission of the one who uploaded it to use it in this colloborative activity. (The owner allowed me to access his video.)


I told him that i'll edit his video but I encountered difficulty in downloading it. That's why I chose to edit the photo instead of video. (hahahaha, I'm not that good in photo editing by the way:) FUN!

I sent him the link of our blogsite so that he can able to access my edited work.
This colloborative activity was so fun and interesting because I was able to connect with other people whom I don't know and was able to gain their trust. Trust in a sense that they allow me to access their personal files.






Collaborative work

Kyra Yambao

Disclaimer: I suck at editing so my work is lame and cheap.What I did was invade another person's facebook account (it was my boyfriend, so okay lang yun... sana. ) and look at random pictures taken by people I do not know (there were so many people even he does not know). I came across some pictures and the owner was online so I grabbed the chance. :))



At first she was hesistant since she thought that I was going to use pictures of her faces. I explained, as shown below, that it was not the case and she approved! :) Yey!



This is how it went. Man, I feel like a real environmentalist. :) Well, I am.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Collaboration Project 2.0



COLLABORATION CELEBRATION
by: Margie Marie G. Manlunas

This is my collaboration project with a girl named Vanessa whom I met through deviantart.com and as what her profile says, she is from Macau. She loves taking photographs. I think I got lucky when I collaborated with her. So here's what happened:
I logged into my old deviantart account which I couldn't remember when I created an account. I think that was 2 years ago, and never did I post a "deviation". Then yesterday, I opened it again wishfully thinking I could use that account to tap some people for the collaboration project. Little did I know that it worked! So I was searching through a couple of photographs looking for a picture that I can actually work on and edit. So I found this photograph.
It was simply titled, Church. So I thought, I could use the simplicity of this photo and make it a little funky and edgy. So I sent a message to the owner of the photo. And surprisingly (kinatuwa ko naman) she replied 15 minutes after! Below is our conversation (I hope you can read it!).


So there I just made a new friend too! Here's what I did with the photo of Vanessa:


It was fun working with the photo. And then, she liked what I did!


I had so much fun doing the home work that it didn't feel like school work at all! It is so cool! Thanks Vanessa! You can check her deviantart account here. Check her out guys! And you can see what she added to her Favorites, my edited work of her photograph!

Good Vibes!
You can check a bigger version of my work click here.


Safeguard a child's future, Quit smoking now

Smoking endangers not only the life of the person smoking but also the lives of the people around him or her through secondhand smoke. And children are the most vulnerable to secondhand smoke. According to an article, this is because they are still growing and developing. Plus they breathe faster than adults so incidentally, they will also inhale more smoke.

Secondhand smoke can make children sick. They can be at risk for lung problems and respiratory disorders...... But this can be prevented. So if you are smoking, QUIT NOW!

Watch this video we've made, to know more about our cause.





This is a video produced and edited by Rea Agbon, Ma. Ivy Claudio and Faye Marcelino for their Interactive Broadcasting class under Prof. Data Canlas.

THE ECONOMIST: Cyberwar

The threat from the internet
Cyberwar
It is time for countries to start talking about arms control on the internet
Jul 1st 2010


THROUGHOUT history new technologies have revolutionised warfare, sometimes abruptly, sometimes only gradually: think of the chariot, gunpowder, aircraft, radar and nuclear fission. So it has been with information technology. Computers and the internet have transformed economies and given Western armies great advantages, such as the ability to send remotely piloted aircraft across the world to gather intelligence and attack targets. But the spread of digital technology comes at a cost: it exposes armies and societies to digital attack.

The threat is complex, multifaceted and potentially very dangerous. Modern societies are ever more reliant on computer systems linked to the internet, giving enemies more avenues of attack. If power stations, refineries, banks and air-traffic- control systems were brought down, people would lose their lives. Yet there are few, if any, rules in cyberspace of the kind that govern behaviour, even warfare, in other domains. As with nuclear- and conventional- arms control, big countries should start talking about how to reduce the threat from cyberwar, the aim being to restrict attacks before it is too late.

The army reboots

Cyberspace has become the fifth domain of warfare, after land, sea, air and space (see article). Some scenarios imagine the almost instantaneous failure of the systems that keep the modern world turning. As computer networks collapse, factories and chemical plants explode, satellites spin out of control and the financial and power grids fail.

That seems alarmist to many experts. Yet most agree that infiltrating networks is pretty easy for those who have the will, means and the time to spare. Governments know this because they are such enthusiastic hackers themselves. Spies frequently break into computer systems to steal information by the warehouse load, whether it is from Google or defence contractors. Penetrating networks to damage them is not much harder. And, if you take enough care, nobody can prove you did it.

The cyber-attacks on Estonia in 2007 and on Georgia in 2008 (the latter strangely happened to coincide with the advance of Russian troops across the Caucasus) are widely assumed to have been directed by the Kremlin, but they could be traced only to Russian cyber-criminals. Many of the computers used in the attack belonged to innocent Americans whose PCs had been hijacked. Companies suspect China of organising mini-raids to ransack Western know-how: but it could just have easily been Western criminals, computer-hackers showing off or disillusioned former employees. One reason why Western governments have until recently been reticent about cyber-espionage is surely because they are dab hands at it, too.

As with nuclear bombs, the existence of cyber-weapons does not in itself mean they are about to be used. Moreover, an attacker cannot be sure what effect an assault will have on another country, making their deployment highly risky. That is a drawback for sophisticated military machines, but not necessarily for terrorists or the armies of rogue states. And it leaves the dangers of online crime and espionage.

All this makes for dangerous instability. Cyber-weapons are being developed secretly, without discussion of how and when they might be used. Nobody knows their true power, so countries must prepare for the worst. Anonymity adds to the risk that mistakes, misattribution and miscalculation will lead to military escalation—with conventional weapons or cyberarms. The speed with which electronic attacks could be launched gives little time for cool-headed reflection and favours early, even pre-emptive, attack. Even as computerised weapons systems and wired infantry have blown away some of the fog of war from the battlefield, they have covered cyberspace in a thick, menacing blanket of uncertainty.

One response to this growing threat has been military. Iran claims to have the world’s second-largest cyber-army. Russia, Israel and North Korea boast efforts of their own. America has set up its new Cyber Command both to defend its networks and devise attacks on its enemies. NATO is debating the extent to which it should count cyberwar as a form of “armed attack” that would oblige its members to come to the aid of an ally.

But the world needs cyberarms-control as well as cyber- deterrence. America has until recently resisted weapons treaties for cyberspace for fear that they could lead to rigid global regulation of the internet, undermining the dominance of American internet companies, stifling innovation and restricting the openness that underpins the net. Perhaps America also fears that its own cyberwar effort has the most to lose if its well-regarded cyberspies and cyber-warriors are reined in.

Such thinking at last shows signs of changing, and a good thing too. America, as the country most reliant on computers, is probably most vulnerable to cyber-attack. Its conventional military power means that foes will look for asymmetric lines of attack. And the wholesale loss of secrets through espionage risks eroding its economic and military lead.

Hardware and soft war

If cyberarms-control is to America’s advantage, it would be wise to shape such accords while it still has the upper hand in cyberspace. General Keith Alexander, the four-star general who heads Cyber Command, is therefore right to welcome Russia’s longstanding calls for a treaty as a “starting point for international debate”. That said, a START-style treaty may prove impossible to negotiate. Nuclear warheads can be counted and missiles tracked. Cyber-weapons are more like biological agents; they can be made just about anywhere.

So in the meantime countries should agree on more modest accords, or even just informal “rules of the road” that would raise the political cost of cyber-attacks. Perhaps there could be a deal to prevent the crude “denial-of-service” assaults that brought down Estonian and Georgian websites with a mass of bogus requests for information; NATO and the European Union could make it clear that attacks in cyberspace, as in the real world, will provoke a response; the UN or signatories of the Geneva Conventions could declare that cyber-attacks on civilian facilities are, like physical attacks with bomb and bullet, out of bounds in war; rich countries could exert economic pressure on states that do not adopt measures to fight online criminals. Countries should be encouraged to spell out their military policies in cyberspace, as America does for nuclear weapons, missile defence and space. And there could be an international centre to monitor cyber-attacks, or an international “duty to assist” countries under cyber-attack, regardless of the nationality or motive of the attacker—akin to the duty of ships to help mariners in distress.

The internet is not a “commons”, but a network of networks that are mostly privately owned. A lot could also be achieved by greater co-operation between governments and the private sector. But in the end more of the burden for ensuring that ordinary people’s computer systems are not co-opted by criminals or cyber-warriors will end up with the latter—especially the internet-service providers that run the network. They could take more responsibility for identifying infected computers and spotting attacks as they happen.

None of this will eradicate crime, espionage or wars in cyberspace. But it could make the world a little bit safer.

Sexmoan?

Sharing one of my past works as a filmmaker.

SEXMOAN ADVENTURES
Kamaru Productions

A town in the Philippine province of Pampanga has for long been known as Sexmoan. One day, the municipal government decided to dump its scandalous spelling and replaced it with how residents traditionally call their homeland: Sasmuan.

Three students venture into the town of Sasmuan to interview random people about the name and lifestyle of their modernizing fishing village.

-JASON PAUL LAXAMANA

Friday, July 2, 2010

There's nothing wrong with slant lines

I just joined a cause! I changed my cause online after reflecting what I really am passionate in fighting the rights for, then, BAM, Gay Right is the way. I mean, why do people treat gay people differently? I'm hyped up for this!

-Marji Manlunas